Mirror Shrouding

The tradition of Mirror Shrouding has long been considered old-fashioned, superstitious nonsense on Akir but its purpose is based on history. Although most mirrors are NOT magic mirrors, the habit of shrouding all mirrors including mundane ones was universally popular back when The Serpent and Shadows War was more active on Akir. Before the recent attack resulting in The Ashen Eclipse & The Infernal Deluge, life on Akir had been peaceful and the war was almost forgotten.

The First Mirrors

The oldest mirrors on Akir date back to The Nightspawn Incursion, a brutal and sudden assault caused by the creation of the Goblins race. Zalthor, a powerful Demonlord created the Goblins to fight the Elves in the light. They reported to Zalthor and received updated orders by scrying through the small handheld mirrors he gifted them. Many of these mirrors were still scattered on Akir after Zalthor's defeat and the eradication of the Goblin race.

Prying Eyes

It was centuries later before Men and Dwarves learned how to use the Goblin mirrors to communicate with each other. They were even able to scry far-away locations and view other worlds in The Dragonstar System.
Eventually, the Dwarves and Humans of Akir figured out how to make their own magic mirrors only to discover that demons could use them to spy on people. Some demons could even communicate through them without being summoned into view.
The rich and powerful people valued the global communication given to them by the mirrors and chose not to abandon the practice of scrying. To prevent demons from utilizing the mirrors or spying on a house, people chose to use a heavy cloth to hide their mirrors when not in use. This is how the tradition of Mirror Shrouding began.
The ability to share knowledge around the world rapidly increased knowledge, trade, and quality of life for a brief period. It became fashionable for the powerful elite to dedicate an entire room to their oversized and ornately framed magic mirrors. At the height of Magic Mirror popularity, Mirrorsign became a commonly known and used language among the aristocracy.
It should be noted that using mirrors has never been acceptable in Elven culture as the Elves remember The Nightspawn Incursion. Since Men and Dwarves were created after the conflict with the Goblins, the only way for them to learn about the Goblins' connection to demons are the oral histories of The Loreweavers.

The Making of a Cult

The Mirrorshade Insurrection began as a massive social engineering scheme. The demons began contacting people on Akir that they believed could be manipulated into claiming allegiance to a Demonlord. They used the scrying magic mirrors to influence the people with lies, bribes, coercion, extortion, peer pressure, and false promises.
This eventually led to the formation of The Voidbound Cult. After building up their numbers and organizing, the cultists caused a violent uprising known as The Mirrorshade Insurrection. It was ended swiftly by the people united under The Dreamer but losses were great in nearly every community. The cult was nearly decimated and its members went into hiding. Magic mirrors went out of fashion and most were destroyed. Mirrorsign has been forgotten by almost everyone outside of The Voidbound Cult.

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Want to read more about Magic Mirrors and Demons? Check out the related articles:

The Voidbound Cult by Midjourney

The Mirror Shade Insurrection

Shrouded Magic Mirror by Midjourney