Mirror

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Queen Mirror is a minor character in Ascent: Trials of Vore. They are the Overseer of the 2nd Floor of the Tower.

She was first mentioned in Floor 1 - The Gateway, and first appeared in Floor 2 - Mirror/Mirror, overseeing the 2nd Floor, the city of Chessboard, and the trial therein.

She last appeared on the 2nd Floor.

Appearance
Mirror, as an person, appears to be divided into two halves that manifest as two different individuals who seem to function independently of one another, one describing the other as their "reflection". To this end, there is a Red Mirror and a White Mirror, both of whom have a human form and a dragon form that they switch between intermittently, though it appears that only one of them inhabits a specific form type at any given time.

Red Mirror
In her human form, the red Mirror appears to have tanned skin and a gruff voice. For clothing, she wears a red dress that is torn slightly to allow her freedom of movement. She walks barefoot, and when walking on grass, any nearby ice and snow melts, while the grass burns.

In her dragon form, the red Mirror appears as a somewhat stereotypical red dragon, being an enormous, winged lizard with a leathery underbelly. She sports a fire-breathing, smoking maw, sharp teeth and hard scales, as well as giant claws strong enough to be capable of containing a minor rocket explosion. She also seems capable of shrugging, a decidedly impressive movement.

White Mirror
In her human form, the white Mirror appears to be beautiful, being compared to a snowstorm, flakes of white floating in her wake. For clothing, she seems to dress in all white.

In her dragon form, the white Mirror appears as a white dragon, with a slender neck and feathered wings. Like her human form, a flurry of snow follows in her wake, and ice appears to form around whatever her talons touch. For a creature of her size, her tone of voice is surprisingly high pitched.

Personality
Though a little contradictory in some ways, Mirror's two halves are - understandably - exactly alike in others, making it very clear they're two halves of the same whole.

The red Mirror often comes across as a little grouchy and even testy. She is louder and rougher, more mocking, and overall the darker of the pair. This is best evidenced by her considering herself to be the 2nd Floor's most ferocious beast, as well as seeming amused at the prospect of climbers continuing to use loopholes in the predation ban during the 2nd Floor trial, and by Syl's failed attack attempt.

The white Mirror, meanwhile, comes across as the calmer and friendlier of the duo - despite her noblewoman's laugh - prone to bad puns that nobody laughs at and being graceful in many of her movements. Despite this, though, she seems to share her other half's darkness, as while she seemed embarrassed and even concerned at the prospect of climbers using loopholes in the predation ban during the 2nd Floor trial, her exaggerated worry - as well as her other half's amusement - bring her sincerity into question.

Background
At some point prior to Ashley Gray's arrival in the Tower, Mirror would alter one of the 2nd Floor's entrance corridors from a "grimdark future" aesthetic to a more medieval style. (Floor 1 - The Gateway)

Also before Ashley's arrival, Mirror would see issue with contenders taking advantage of Morning Wood sitting outside the predation ban zone to get the upper hand in the 2nd Floor's trial, and her white half would later express hope that it wouldn't happen again. Given her red half's amused reaction to the prospect, however, it is unclear how sincere this concern was.

At some other earlier point, Mirror would come to know of the Duchess, Alice Little and Michelle L'Instar - apparently being aware of at least the latter two's apparent capabilities - though it is unclear in exactly what light they were viewed in, and how sincere Mirror's knowledge of them was. (Floor 2 - Mirror/Mirror)

2nd Floor
Mirror would first appear to Ashley Gray and Syl - in both of her halves - on the evening of the full moon on their arrival at Chessboard Castle on the 2nd Floor. At the stairs leading up from the ground floor, the pair would meet fearsome red dragon Mirror – who nearly toasted them alive after Syl insinuated her vision was based on movement – before her white, human reflection arrived and scolded her for attempting to torch "guests". After panic passed, the two Mirrors would lead Ashley and Syl upstairs to the throne room, making them the last trial-goers to arrive. In the throne room, others would already be waiting, including a large pig-woman known as the Duchess and her followers, a tanuki, a little catgirl, an armored blonde known as Alice Little and a demon-esque woman by the name of Michelle L'Instar. Mirror and Mirror - the human sitting on the throne and the dragon behind it - would greet the group, welcoming them to the 2nd Floor trial and - after the human Mirror's attempts at humor fell flat - setting their task: To brave the Morning Wood and catch the Jabbercock – one of the kingdom’s most feared beasts – alive. The first to capture it would be allowed passage to the next floor. There was no penalty for failure - as Mirror only hosted the trial at all out of obligation - but it wouldn't be without risk, as the forest sat beyond the city walls and wasn't covered by the predation ban, though Mirror seemed hopeful - with questionable sincerity - that everyone would play fair.

The white, human Mirror would teleport the entire group to the snowy outskirts of Morning Wood, leaving the red dragon Mirror in charge, as she Mirror rapidly departed again after wishing everyone luck. The dragon Mirror would, after some thought, opt to decide who would get to enter the forest first by testing everyone’s strength through attacking her underbelly, and assigning them numbers based on the strength of their blow.

The dragon would assign the small tanuki monk a 2, based on their weak, aura-fueled blow, before moving on to the Duchess, who seemingly acted on her entire group's behalf, and would arrogantly ask Mirror - who seemed to have heard of her - if she wanted to be struck somewhere less soft, to which the dragon shouted for her to just get on with it. The Duchess would oblige, attacking with a powerful blow from her giant cleaver, earning a score of 9 that the Duchess nor her followers were entirely happy with. Next would come Alice Little's turn, during which she would call Mirror a beast and threaten to decapitate them - denying them an attempt to teasingly introduce her - and strike at them with all the power of her blade after the dragon goaded her, earning a maximum score of 10 - being the only contender to leave even the tiniest scratch of damage on the overseer, though it was quick to heal. After Alice would come Michelle, who would ask Mirror a leading question about the order of entry - namely whether the strongest would enter first - and whether she should use her strongest attack. Mirror would ignore the first question entirely, but also bar Michelle from testing her strength with her kitchen knife, placing her as the last to enter due to her specific circumstance, much to Michelle's bemusement.

On Syl and Ashley’s turn, Syl would ask to be allowed to take the shot for both Ashley and herself, which Mirror would permit. As she held her rocket launcher the wrong way around, however, the shot would fire backward before impacting Mirror's claw, the dragon assign Ashley and a terrified Syl a 5. Once all participants had numbers, Mirror would reveal that the lowest numbers – the weakest – were to enter the trial first - causing a stir among certain members of the congregation - and would call for each numbered group to enter, one by one, last being seen after calling on the "Fives" - that being Ashley and Syl - to enter the woods.

Neither Mirror would be seen again until the conclusion of the trial, Ashley and Syl being joined by both in the depths of Morning Wood after capturing the Jabbercock and consuming Alice, on Ashley's part – her two halves having switched forms, the white Mirror now a dragon and red Mirror now human - congratulating them on completing the trial with a somewhat awkward dragon clap, the red, human Mirror admitting to underestimating the duo. Ashley would briefly be the victim of some inappropriate squeezing of certain, newly acquired boons by the red human Mirror, while the white dragon Mirror would chide her for "encouraging" Ashley, and lament the trial not having gone more pleasantly, before they got down to business. Mirror would reward Ashley and Syl each for their bravery with a ‘Royal Key’ that would allow travel between the 2nd and 3rd Floors, instructing the two to touch the keys to their ID cards. On touching they keys to their ID card, they would find they would be absorbed for safe-keeping with a flash, becoming a key symbol in the card's corner. Mirror would also provide both victors with 10,000 credits, for later spending. The white Mirror would suggest visiting the 2nd Floor "gift shop", though the red Mirror would suggest skipping it due it apparently being "mostly cheap crap".

Mirror - the white dragon - would take note of Ashley’s shield, explaining that it was her old, lost hand mirror - though she'd since had new, finer one made to replace it. When told Ashley found it at the "blacksmith" in Chessboard, she seemed amused, but allowed Ashley to keep it as an extra reward. With everything cleared up, the trial was complete, and Mirror would invite Ashley and Syl to a celebratory banquet to cap things off, making the observation that she hoped they had plenty of space left in their bellies. (Floor 2 - Mirror/Mirror)

Later Mentions
At some point not long after Ashley's completion of her trial, Mirror would inform Mordium of the girl's ability to disgest a giantess into nutrients within two minutes. (Floor 3 - Greed and Glory)

Abilities
Most of Mirror's abilities can be attributed to her being Overseer of the 2nd Floor. It is unclear what the origin of her abilities is, but the following are powers she has been shown using in one form or another.
 * "Reflection of Self": Mirror appears to be capable of "reflecting" herself into two separate individuals - the red Mirror and the white Mirror - both of which appear to be equally as much her as the other, it being entire clear if either - if at all - is the original.
 * Transformation: Mirror - that being both halves of her - is able to transform between a human form and a dragon form. The exact appearance of each form varies between the halves, however. Both halves' dragon forms are capable of flight as part of that form's natural abilities.
 * "Teleportation": Mirror was shown to be capable of teleporting herself and large groups of others from one location to another, apparently able to do so without many side-effects beyond a brief, blizzard-like blindness. Mirror seemed to be able to teleport instantaneously if she so chose, any motion - such as snapping her fingers or waving her arms - being purely for show.
 * Elemental Powers: Mirror was shown to have access to the elemental powers of fire and ice/snow. Her red half possessed the former - being able to breath fire in their dragon form and cause grass to burn where they walked in their human form - while her white half exhibited the latter - leaving a trail or flurry of snow behind her in both forms, as well as causing ice to form on whatever her dragon form's talons touched.
 * "Nigh Invulnerability: Mirror was shown to be almost entirely impervious to any attack leveled against her. This was most prominent during the 2nd Floor trial, in which her red half - in dragon form - invited the climbers present to test their strength by striking her underbelly. Of that group, only Alice Little - seemingly the most powerful climber present - was capable of landing a blow that in any way wounded Mirror. Even then, the mark left by a sword blow that caused a large pressure wave was only the size of a paper cut, and almost instantly healed.
 * "Information Recall": According to Porter, all Overseers are capable of recalling information pertaining to any climber as if it were public knowledge, including all details of their life prior to their arrival in the Tower. It is unknown whether this ability also extends to their life following arrival.

Equipment

 * Mirror's New Hand Mirror: A hand mirror that Mirror had commissioned to replace her old one, after she lost it. She considers it "far finer" than the mirror/shield it was intended to replace.

Former Equipment

 * Mirror's Shield: A magic shield designed as a fancy hand mirror. Showing up with a moonlit sparkle through Porter's Glasses, it has the ability to reflect back entities launched at it. This has included the physical momentum of attacking blows, as well as large amounts of "liquid" - which the shield briefly stored and then fired back at its origin. It used to belong to Mirror prior to her losing it. Upon its recovery, she allowed Ashley to keep it as a reward for beating her trial, as by then had opted to have the new shield made to replace it.

Prey Tracker
Total Prey: Unknown

Affiliations

 * The Tower‏‎: As of Ashley Gray's arrival on the 2nd Floor, Mirror is its Overseer. These responsibilities - being what loosely amounts to a job - include running the floor and keeping order as ruler and presenting a trial to climbers passing through the floor.

Others

 * Ashley Gray: As Ashley's views of Queen Mirror are split between the halves, largely due to their action in relation to her, so have Mirror's views on Ashley. While the white Mirror seemed to be nothing but pleasant throughout, the red Mirror initially didn't seem to think much of her, though would later admit upon her victory that she had underestimated her, being very handsy in showing how impressed she was.
 * Syl: Though Mirror does not seem to have given much thought to Syl, what views she does have seem to match her views on Ashley, up to and including self-admittedly underestimating her. Additionally, Syl seems to be something of an amusement for the red Mirror, finding her failed attempts at an attack during the pre-2nd Floor trial strength test to be a source of humor.
 * Alice Little: Despite Alice's mix of contempt and odd respect for Mirror's authority, the red Mirror at least - having prior knowledge of the woman - seemed to enjoy teasing and goading her by prodding at her superior attitude. Despite this, though, the red Mirror had no real attachment to the knight, finding enjoyment in admiring how Ashley had put the "bitchy paladin" to use in her absorption of Alice.
 * Michelle L'Instar: Mirror's personal opinions on Michelle are unclear. That said, it can be noted that Mirror seems more than aware - albeit annoyed by, in her red half's case - of the potential consequences of Michelle's seemingly unstoppable power and lack of fear of the dragon, going out of her way to prevent the demon-like woman from testing her strength, instead predetermining her result.
 * The Duchess: Most or all of Mirror's interactions with the Duchess' were with via her red half - exclusively in her dragon form, to whom the Duchess acted with arrogance. She would ask the red Mirror, who seemed to have had heard of her, if she wanted to be struck somewhere harder than her belly. Mirror, for her part, was unamused and irritated - shouting for the pig woman to get on with it - the Duchess' blow ultimately not harming her.
 * Mordium: Mirror's exact relationship with the overseer of the floor above her's is unknown, but they have been shown to at least be on speaking terms, given Mirror's gossiping to him about Ashley Gray's predator abilities.