Mirror, Mirror

This young man, who appeared just over age thirty, wore wolf fang ear gauges that seemed to be made from diamond. Who would this be but the Lord of House Trillwolf, Lord Osiris? Lord Osiris smiled brilliantly when he heard this third child of his speaking.

"At ease," Lord Osiris gestured with his hands to dismiss the servants before walking over to the dining table to sit opposite Lady Isis, gesturing that they should all sit. He then fondly told Jody, "Little Joe, come sit next to Papa."

Jody looked up at his mother, who smiled. After seeing her smile, he immediately hopped down from his mother's lap and ran over to his father, traveling under the left row of seats before jumping and climbing into his lap. All the women, including Isis, twitched a bit at this.

It had to be known that the lords of any territory in the West Ward were expected to remain aloof and fierce.

The ward was bloodthirsty and dangerous. Others would definitely exploit any displays of weakness. This section of the continent was ruthless and violent. This made the child's actions wildly inappropriate. However, wasn't he barely even a year old? Thus, no one had it in them to find fault with him. So, instead, they found fault with his mother.

"Little first, this is a bit too much, no? Are you teaching this cutie properly?" Lylian sipped on her wine glass as she berated.

The usually quiet Vivian Barong lost patience at this moment, "Will you two stop? It's so childish."

Jody got goosebumps when she called him cute but was annoyed at her picking a fight with his mother. Wasn't she spinning her sob story earlier? Admittedly, it was harsh.

Jody looked at his father and asked, "Dad, did I do something bad?"

The Lord himself never even bothered to consider this. He looked into those bright blue eyes that seemed like peerless jewels and asked, "Less of that. How have your days here been lately, my son? Are you unhappy at all?"

Jody was about to respond when he looked at the mirror in his second aunt's hand again. Then, he looked up at this father of his and birthed an idea.

"Pops, what is the second mother using? Can I have one?" Jody asked in his childish and heart-melting voice.

He made sure to call her 'mother' instead of 'aunt,' as she made such a big deal about it in front of everyone. Unfortunately, this made Isis frown and Lylian smirk. How could Jody know that Lylian had isolated the sound while they spoke? No one heard her say these words except Jody and Isis.

'Well, can't win them all…' thought Jody as he sensed his mother's displeasure.

The Lord's voice boomed through the hall as he laughed and started explaining, "My son, that is a magic mirror made from serenity crystal glass. We've talked before about the mighty warriors in this world, yes?"

"Yes!" nodded little Jody.

His father told him many wondrous stories about the mighty and brave hero race that dominated their corner of the universe!

"Tell this Lord what you know," said Lord Osiris with a stroke of his chin hair.

"The mighty warriors of Gaea possess enormous strength! Wars are fought daily among these peerless warrior factions to the extent that there hasn't been an era of peace for 10,000 years! Many warriors possess amazing powers and unique souls, or some jazz like that. The weakest among them can slap a mortal man into meat paste, wham! The strongest among them can crush mountains and evaporate rivers, whoosh!" Jody repeated his father's previous words back to him verbatim.

He even repeated the actions of the old man from the first time his father ever told him this two months ago. The House Lord and every lady at the table were amused.

Was his memory innately eidetic?

The House Lord continued to rub his squared chin, squinting at the boy before him who wore his face but with his wife's eyes and skin. Had they honestly given birth to such a genius? This was more than impressive. He was barely a year old!

The room was silent, save for the soft rustling of robes as Lord Osiris placed Jody down and paced back and forth before the young child standing before him. Jody's face remained impassive, but he was sneering at his successful plot inside.

His father may have been fooled, but not his mother, something evident by the current smirk on her lips.

'Innocent, be innocent,' Jody kept reminding himself so he wouldn't slip.

"Indeed, my boy. In this world, there exist not only powerful warriors, as you said, capable of crushing mountains and evaporating rivers, haha. There is also a thing called magic, you see," the Lord gestured with his hands, and Lylian walked over to him, reluctantly handing the magic mirror to little Jody.

Jody's small hand grasped the cool surface of the mirror, already knowing its capabilities as if he had read them from some mystical tome in a past life.

Although Lylian couldn't stand surrendering her possessions to anyone, she couldn't deny her slight interest in the blue-eyed young clone of her heart's desire. This kid was like a recorder; he had instant playback features. She was also confident that her Lord would surely reward her obedience with a night visit - a reward for a good performance.

As for the magic mirror, obtaining another would be no trouble at all for someone of her status. She basked in her wealth like one would soak in warm honey. For the woman of the Lord of House Trillwolf, what could she not have? Taking things a step further, her alchemy could provide her with anything she could want.

"See this, Jody?" The House Lord spoke in hushed tones as he leaned down next to Jody's ear and held up the mirror, and sunlight sparkled along its edges. "This is a Serene Sound Mirror, one of the rarest artifacts in all of Pangaea. It can be used as a communication device and an image recorder. This is only the lowest level of its functionality."

Osiris interfaced with the mirror in little Jody's hands, and Lylian watched intently as images shifted back and forth like ghosts trapped inside.

Jody felt a strange tingle run through his spine as he held up the mirror and looked into it. The glass seemed almost alive with energy - or perhaps that was just his imagination.

"You see," Lord Osiris continued excitedly, his voice rising slightly despite himself, "Serene crystals that originate from the same vein are in complete harmony and are capable of communication and synchrony. Of course, this can only be achieved with the help of certain magical arrays."

His fingers grazed against Jody's as he carefully took back the mirror. Osiris interfaced with the mirror before placing it back in little Jody's hands, and suddenly, images began to appear on its surface - images of unknown worlds and strange creatures unlike anything Jody had ever seen.

As Jody watched on, enraptured by the possibilities before him, he couldn't help but wonder how far he could go with this newfound technology. Would he even be able to use it alone?

Jody stood in awe as a violet blob of energy emanated from his father's hand and sunk into the mirror. The reflection faded away, and colorful lights and runic symbols illuminated the room. Jody's jaw dropped, not believing his own eyes. When he attempted to get closer to his father's hand, an invisible force pushed him back, causing him to stumble backward.

A smirk spread across Lord Osiris' face as he remembered Jody's first attempt to do this same thing on the day he was born. This brat was just as ignorant as he appeared.

"Is there really magic in the world, Pop?" Jody asked while turning to look at his dad with eyes sparkling with excitement.

He felt like he was standing at a crossroads between logic and belief.

The kid was dumbfounded.