Court of Shattered Mirrors
The Court of Shattered Mirrors is a haunting realm, where the very fabric of reality appears fragmented and distorted. Its atmosphere is cold, not just in temperature but in the very essence of its being. The landscape is a surreal labyrinth of towering mirrors, each cracked and splintered, reflecting distorted images of all who pass by. Snow falls gently in the court, but each snowflake is as sharp as glass, cutting through the air with a sinister grace.
A broken mirror represents fragments of reality, each perceiving it at a slightly different angle, each different than the other, but each just as valid. It is said that when someone looks into a broken mirror, the Fractured Princess looks back at them from one of the shards. Travel to this court is not restricted by just Moonwells and well-trod fairy roads. One can enter this realm through fractures of the self--either through fractures of a mirror, or fractures of one's mind.
The court’s sky is perpetually overcast, with clouds that seem to move in unnatural patterns, casting eerie shadows across the ground. These shadows twist and writhe, as if alive, creating an unsettling sense of movement even when all else is still. The ground is littered with shards of broken glass, each one reflecting a different scene, a different reality. Some show the past, others the future, and some display twisted versions of the present, all blurring together in a chaotic cacophony of visions.
The fey who dwell in the Court of Shattered Mirrors are as fragmented as their surroundings. Their forms are often incomplete or distorted, with features that shift and change depending on the angle from which they are viewed. They are masters of illusion and deception, able to manipulate reflections and shadows to create a world where nothing is as it seems. Trust is a rare commodity here, for even the most loyal of allies may turn out to be nothing more than a reflection, a phantom conjured to deceive.
At the heart of this shattered world stands the Fractured Princess, a figure as broken as the court she rules. Her appearance is that of a happy and carefree child of ten or twelve years of age, happy and laughing and joyful. But should she ever pass a broken mirror, each shard reflects a different dark aspect that lay withi her. She is a master manipulator, weaving intricate webs of lies and half-truths that ensnare those who seek his favor. The Fractured Princess revels in the chaos and confusion that her court breeds, finding beauty in the broken and the fragmented.
She is served by her guardian, Bloody Mary, who is never far--as she only need say her name three times and she will appear. Bloody Mary appears as a gaunt, sickly woman with a chalky white pallor and deep, dark eyes deeply sunken in. Black tangles of hair hang down over her and she stands seven feet in height. She has long claws that are caked in old blood. She does not speak and obeys the Fractured Princess completely. It is said that Mary was once a girl, deathly ill, and as she lay in bed, her father put a mirror to her nose to see if there was breath, but the mirror shattered as she died, trapping her soul in the mirror's shards where the Fractured Princess found her.
The Court of Shattered Mirrors is a place of reflection, both literal and metaphorical. It is where the past haunts the present, and the future is a thousand fractured possibilities. Those who enter this court often find themselves confronted with their darkest fears, their deepest regrets, and their most unattainable desires, all reflected back at them in endless, splintered mirrors. To survive in the Court of Shattered Mirrors is to embrace the chaos, to find meaning in the broken, and to see the truth that lies hidden in the fragments.
Demography and Population
The Court of Shattered Mirrors is home to fey that embody the themes of distortion, illusion, and fragmented reality. These fey are as elusive and unpredictable as the reflections in broken glass. Few survive long in the realm without it changing them, fracturing their mind or bodies. Winter eladrin make home here in small settlements, though it is only through illusion that they keep a semblence of normal appearance. Small, delicate glasslike fey mirrorlings skit through the broken glass and shards throughout the realm. Fractured wraiths whose forms have been shattered into countless pieces roam the lands, and their very presence shatters and distorts mirrors. Prismancer fey who have developed magics to bend and manipulate light, creating dazzling illusions and bending reality around them. Broken Ones are tragic fey who were once whole, but have been shattered by the effects of this realm, now their bodies fractures with parts of them missiing, distorted, or replaced by mirror shards. They are pitied and feared, serving as reminders of the court's power. Numerous autonomous illusions and mirages wander freely through the realm, seemingly with their own intelligence, causing people to question what is truly real within the court.
Laws
- Truth is a lie, and lies are truths. Honesty is a weakness, facts are expected to be twisted, realities concealed, and lies are interchangeable.
- No reflection without a price.
- Fragment before unity. Repairing or making whole is forbidden, including healing.
- Shadows are sacred.
- Trust no one, especially not yourself.
- Never show your true face.
- Avoid stagnant reflection.
- Shattered promises are to remain broken.
In every shard, a truth half-spoken.
Type
Court, Noble
Leader
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Parent Organization
Location
Notable Members