Tissa stopped looking at her hands and took the cup of tea on the table and took a sip.
She was not fooling anyone even herself, she was in no way normal nor was she normal in herself. Seriously she has been stressed these past few momentarily and did not know how to cope with it.
To be honest her mindset has also been...enhanced. "I wonder what I am now."
*Click*
*Click*
Tissa sighed, her mirrors were getting restless too, it seems she might have to confrot that weird book. She gently placed her teacup on the table and went towards a nearby mirror, in that mirror a large book that had a crystal cover was continously slamming in the mirror.
Tissa raised an eyebrow and cross her arms. "Do you need my permission to come out or..."
The book stopped for a moment and then it opened up.
[YES FOR THREE MONTHS I HAVE BEEN GANGING THIS STUPID MIRROR, LET ME OUT]
Tissa winced as it felt like the booes screaming at her. So it was sentient in a way, she waved her hand. "Sorry, I was still processing some things and I am still not done processing them, you have my permission to come out."
The book did not wait, it pressed against the mirror and it rippled as if it were breaking through from another dimension, within seconds the book came out of the mirror and then shrunken down to the size of a notebook and presented itself in front of Tissa.
It opened itself and wrote. [I am your Wand, your magic medium to cast spells as now you are a witch, I was born the moment you became one.]
Tissa's eyes lit up. "Oh so that's what I am, a witch....but aren't witches just humans that can use magic?."
[No witches are in no way human, they are abnormal creatures born from the exposure to Aetherium or the union between a human and a witch that wield magical spells that are attuned to a speciality and wield creatures known as wands. You have a speciality with the Mirror world and with the Rubient element.]
Tissa raised an eyebrow, the words "Rubient element" echoing oddly in her mind. "Mirror world… Rubient… that's oddly specific. What even is Rubient? Sounds like some fancy gemstone."
The book flipped its pages rapidly as though huffing at her ignorance before settling on a new message.
[Rubient is a rare sub-element tied to emotion, reflection, and distortion. It mirrors not only physical reality but perception, feelings, and time itself. It is volatile. Beautiful. And nearly impossible to control.]
Tissa blinked. "So, basically—chaotic magic wrapped in a mirror?" She snorted and picked the book up, flipping it in her hand like a paperback. "No wonder I've been seeing weird reflections of myself doing things I didn't do."
The book flipped a page.
[That wasn't your imagination. You've already connected to the Mirror Realm. You're unstable, yes—but powerful. Dangerous even. I was created by you because only a fractured mind can safely cross into fractured dimensions.]
"…That's mildly offensive."
[It's also the truth.]
Tissa sighed again, walking back to the table and plopping into her chair, the book floating gently to her lap. "So what now? Do I get a hat? A sparkly broom?"
The book didn't even hesitate.
[You would have to use shattered dust to make witch garmets for your Speciality by entering the mirror world. I am merely your Wand, a medium for you to cast spells.]
Tissa pondered for a moment, entering the mirror world sounds dangerous...but she is quite bored and very lonely so goiqqng on a strange unannounced adventure in an unknown does sound fun. "OK, let's go now"
[Now?, shouldn't you learn some basic spells first?]
Tissa only smiled. "Wouldn't it be better to learn it in a natural environment?."
The book passed and then flipped its page.
[...good Point, then let's go].
The book floated away from her going back three meters began to expand and twist until it resembled a pure reflective mirror with a red frame.
Tissa was fascinated by this thing that calls itself a wand and her being a witch seems to have opened up a new path for her so she can move on from her past....besides it's not like she has friends who actually care for her.
Without a moment of hesitation in her thoughts, Tissa stepped into the mirror as it rippled like a stone falling In water.
When she passed through, the mirror slowly tranformed back to normal and appeared by Tissa's side.
"Huh...this place seems lonely." The entire Mirror world seemed to be just white sand and reflective skies, it looked like a large desert.
Her floating wand-book hovered at her side, flipping pages like it was scanning the environment.
[This is the Threshold—a neutral zone between your mind, your memories, and the deeper Mirror Realms. Nothing here is real, but everything has meaning.]
Tissa raised a brow. "So… a desert made of symbolism and ego?"
[Correct.]
She whistled low. "Nice. I always wanted to go on a soul-searching quest with my sarcastic diary."
[Wand.]
"Right, wand. So where is this so called shattered dust."
[You're stepping on it]
Tissa was doubtful but she squared down a little and scooped a bit of it and brought it close to her face. When she observed it, it showed her face on the countless grains of shattered dust. "How do I make my witch Garments now?."
[That's the first and most basic spell of all witches in making their Garments or repairing them if destroyed, you have to draw the rune of Protection
Tissa frowned, brushing her fingers across the floating book's page. "Easy, huh? Spoken like someone who doesn't have hands."
[You'll be fine. Your mind remembers what your mouth hasn't learned yet. Just focus.]
With a sigh, Tissa stood up, the white sand crunching faintly beneath her feet like glass powder. She took a deep breath, raised her hand, and felt a strange heat spark to life in her fingertips. As though something within her recognized the ancient symbols without needing to be taught.
"Alright… Protection—Ure."
Her fingers moved almost instinctively, tracing a glowing symbol in the air like burning glass suspended in time. The air shimmered. The rune pulsed.
"Identity—Kel."
"Day and Sun—Sol, Lun."
"And finally, Power—Det."
Each glyph she drew added a new layer of light and complexity in the air, floating like radiant puzzle pieces. Once the final rune was placed, they spun together, forming a spiral that dropped suddenly and sank into the dust beneath her feet.
The sand reacted immediately—lifting into the air, gathering around her like a graceful storm. It danced along her skin, clinging to her like silk and slowly shaping itself into clothing. Mirror-shards stitched themselves into sleek patterns along her arms and chest, glowing faintly with hues of rubies and crimson light. Her shoes were flat and sharp-heeled, formed from cracked glass and soft crystal. A flowing black and red cloak adorned her back, the inside reflective like a mirror's heart. And a white reflective witches hat that was large appeared on her head, Her reflection blinked back from the lining.
[Noy you look like a true Rubient Mirror Witch]
Tissa turned her head slightly to look at her back, the cloak looked good on her and the black and red reflective dress is also quite fabulous and tha hat, it looked big but it perfectly fit her head. She felt...comfortable. "I like this, it really fits on my body."
[Yep, now that you are done, I have over a thousand spells for you to learn and over a million runes to memorize]
Tissa suddenly paused and then gave the Wand a glare. "Excuse me?."
[Ahem...it was a joke, well no there are a thousand spells here and over a million runes but we will be taking your witchery step by step by teaching you basic spells beginner witches learn and their Rune sequences, these aren't mirror witch spells or Rubient ones, just normal Aetherium spells.]
Tissa nodded with satisfaction, why would she want to learn smething that would probably take her years to properly memorize. "OK, what's the first spell."
[It is the illusion spell used to disguise witches it consist of the Light Rune
Tissa tilted her head, processing the runes the Wand just listed.
"Lumia, Det, Dak…" she repeated under her breath, tracing each syllable in her mind. "So… light, power, and shadow together make a glamour spell?"
[Correct. It bends perception by harnessing the balance between illumination and concealment. It won't hold up to direct magical scrutiny, but it's perfect for walking among normals.]
"Normals," Tissa muttered. "You mean humans, huh?"
[Yes. Or anyone who hasn't been touched by the Aetherium. Now try it.]
Tissa sighed but raised her hand again. Her newly-formed gloves shimmered faintly as she began to move her fingers, mimicking the graceful shapes she'd somehow already memorized from the earlier spellwork.
"Light—Lumia."
The rune blazed to life, hovering bright and golden.
"Power—Det."
A steady crimson rune anchored beside it, pulsing gently.
"Darkness—Dak."
A shadowed glyph coalesced, flickering like it was made from smoke and mirror cracks.
When the three runes hovered in the air together, they began to spin slowly, overlapping one another like gears interlocking in a grand spell-engine. Then they pulsed—and with a soft shimmer, a wave of distortion passed over Tissa.
She looked down and blinked.
Her reflection in the sand no longer showed her elegant witch garments. Instead, it showed a plain, average-looking girl in jeans and a hoodie—her original human appearance before the transformation. Her hair was black and pulled back, dull and untamed, eyes a muted brown.
She was astonished by the realism of the illusion.