The glass of seeing twice

Object Class: Mirecourt Relic — Reflective, Transformative
Containment Level: High Observation
Status: Contained — Vault Section M5, Light-Suppressed Storage


Description:
A square mirror measuring 28 x 28 cm, backed in warped mahogany. The centre is heavily tarnished to near-black, with radial silvering loss. A cracked upper corner bears the imprint of a small hand, embedded in a decades-old layer of dust. Surface analysis suggests no known origin for the backing glass compound.


Recovery Summary:
Unearthed in 2014 within the cellar of a condemned farmhouse on the outskirts of High Halstow. The mirror was sealed behind an internal stone wall, embedded in what appeared to be non-existent architecture—a wall misaligned with known blueprints and not physically connected to adjacent foundations. The house had no recorded occupants for over 70 years.


Anomalous Properties:

  • Reflected Distortion:
    The object displays a secondary reflection, not aligned with standard visual physics. It presents a version of the viewer as perceived by the Mirecourt Realm—this includes visible mutations such as gill slits, webbing, elongated pupils, root-vein patterns beneath the skin, or total ocular absence. Observed mutations vary by individual.
  • Somatic Manifestation:
    Exposure exceeding 60 seconds induces physical symptoms:
    • Brackish perspiration (saline + organic debris)
    • Transient interdigital webbing
    • Claustrophobic aversion to daylight or mirrors
    • Hallucinatory doubling (self-as-shadow, shadow-as-self)

Symptoms typically fade within 12 hours, though chronic exposure (see Incident M.Crane) may result in long-term cognitive deterioration.


Field Note — Agent Report:

“My shadow looked different. It wasn’t me. It turned and looked at me. I don’t think I’m casting it anymore.”
Agent M. Crane, prior to full transfer to Dream Unit Observation. Subject no longer responds to own name.


Containment Protocols:
Object is housed in a lightless vault chamber, covered in black silken shrouds and suspended in a carbon-frame rack. Personnel must observe via indirect camera relay only. Direct eye contact strictly prohibited. No reflections (mirrors, glass, polished surfaces) are permitted within the vault.

Faylinn Defence Group - Britannia's defence against the faerie realms