A lush and stinking amber place of trees and eyed vines and orchids twining round mirror-frames
Access to the Mirror Marches is granted by three methods.
The direct method is the Mahogany Mirror in the Carnival - it's unlocked with 10 x Memory of Light and expends two of them to gain entrance. Another method is to go insane - reach Nightmares 8 - with at least one Memory of Light in your possession. A third method is to pay 7 Fate and take the "Option 2: Set fire to your mirror" branch of the "A plan occurs" opportunity card in the State of Some Confusion.
Storylets often raise and lower Nightmares, so keep a close look on where your rating is… and some of them are only unlocked with a certain level of Nightmares.
As of Nov 10, 2010 there is nothing special if you raise your Nightmares all the way up to 21.
If your Nightmares quality ever reaches zero the following event will happen:
A familiar darkness
You look away from your reflection in the mirror, to the familiar darkness of the Neath above and around you. Where have you been? Lost for a moment in a reverie, watching yourself in the mirror? Why are your clothes so stained and tattered? What are all these scratches and scrapes? Did you fall into a thorn-bush? You struggle to remember the details.
Rewards:
You've moved to a new area: your Lodgings
Lose: 1 x Memory of Light
having Recurring Dreams: Is Someone There? decrease
Wounds increase
The mirror-frames
Here and there are peculiar, empty shapes, tangled in the undergrowth or opening in rock.
Look at the brass frame
Fat and round, there is something a little obscene and suggestive about the shape of this frame.
[Unlocked with Nightmares 3]
A melodic chime
You touch the frame's surface, finding a free spot in the tangle of foliage. It rings, a clear, soft sound like a bell. The sound clears your head of the noise of the forest, for a moment.
Nightmares decrease
[3 cp]
Scandal increase
[1 cp]
Look at the silver frame
This is a simple, slender frame. Nothing is growing on it, in contrast to all the others, which are thickly covered in vines.
[Unlocked with Nightmares 4]
Soft and shining
This frame is elegant, and entirely smooth. The surface gleams wonderfully in the dappled sunlight, and you run your fingers over it. A second later, your fingertips start to tingle, as if you'd brushed them with a nettle. A mild sting, but the irritation breaks the shining metal's spell.
Nightmares decrease
Wounds increase
Look at the iron frame
This is a huge, twisted monstrosity, covered in black iron thorns, wicked and sharp.
[Unlocked with Nightmares 6]
Bright blood
You come close, but not too close. You'd swear you didn't get near to touching the thorns, but your hand is bleeding. The sharp pain clears your head a little.
Nightmares decrease
[1 cp]
Wounds increase
[1 cp]
Look at the ivory frame
Ivory, or bone? Its design is a hundred coiling serpents. Look closer: each is eyeless.
A matter of luck: how can you fail?
[Unlocked with 3 x Mouse: So Little Time and no more than 6 x Mouse: So Little Time]
[Unlocked with Playing Cat and Mouse with an Evasive Target 6 and Playing Cat and Mouse with an Evasive Target no more than 6]
The serpents speak!
'Our brothers. Their sister. Eyes wide. Fingers tight. Songs deep. Open heart. Garden gate. Children wait.' Their whispers touch something in your memories. Yes. A place to go. A time to be there.
Nightmares decrease
[2 cp]
Gain: 9 x Cat: Getting Warmer
Lose: 1 x Mouse: So Little Time
The serpents are silent.
Something to be thankful for, perhaps. The mirror is smooth beneath your fingers: solid and certain as the frame of your bed.
Nightmares decrease
The seductive forest
The jungle you find yourself in is lush and hot and verdant. Explore a little.
[Unlocked with Nightmares 5]
Follow the scent of roses
The forest smells of moisture and rot, mainly. But you catch a thread of a sweet, clear, floral scent - something still fresh. Follow it.
A bright cloud
The scent of roses grows stronger as you walk. Stronger and stronger until it becomes cloying, thick, heavier than the damp rot of the jungle, which now seems clean by comparison. You push through a tangle of vines and find an immense cliff of a rosebush, covered in fat, heavy blooms. A breath of air sends a cascade of petals falling, and you catch one. Its touch is comforting as you walk away.
Nightmares decrease
[1 cp]
Follow the sound of water
That could be a stream you hear. Water is important, is it not?
A matter of luck: it could go either way.
Sweet as rain
A stream! It is a stream, cool and liquid in its bed of black earth. You drink greedily from cupped hands, splash your cheeks and forehead. Your head begins to clear.
Nightmares decrease
[4 cp]
Turning in circles
You try to follow the sound of running water, but the jungle is deceptive. Trees form thick barriers around and overhead. The carpet of moss deadens what sound gets through. And the forest is alive with the little sounds of insects, the calls of birds, the steady drip of moisture. Soon you forget all about the stream. It was probably never there in the first place.
Nightmares increase
[2 cp]
The Temple Complex
Welcome shade among those fallen walls. But also darkness.
[Unlocked with Nightmares 3]
Be enticed by the temples
The buildings look abandoned, but that doesn't mean they're safe.
_ challenge
Last traces of patterns
Paths now more moss than stone, halls open to the sky. Long ago this was harmony and order. Now, they are twisted by roots and draped in creepers. The ancient trees that grow up from the walls are the colours of the stone. Or perhaps, now, the stone has taken on the colours of the trees.
Delicate, intricate friezes are still visible on some of the walls. There is a subtle mathematics in the abstract patterns, and a vivid energy in the figures. With one finger you trace the curve of a parabola. Something in the gritty touch of the stone puts you in mind of Fallen London…
Watchful increase
Nightmares decrease
[1 cp]
Walking the Falling Cities increase
[5 cp]
Seeing through the Eyes of Icarus increase
[5? cp]
Forgotten patterns
Paths now more moss than stone, halls open to the sky. Long ago this was harmony and order. Now, they are twisted by roots and draped in creepers. The ancient trees that grow up from the walls are the colours of the stone. Or perhaps, now, the stone has taken on the colours of the trees.
Delicate, intricate friezes are still visible on some of the walls. There is a subtle mathematics in the abstract patterns, and a vivid energy in the figures.
Brr. Despite the heat outside, it is chilly in here.
Watchful increase
Stay away from the ruins
The buildings look abandoned, but that doesn't mean they're safe.
The safety of sunshine
You stay away from broken paths and walls as much as you can as you wander through the jungle. Here is a cluster of tree-roots growing from the base of a broken pillar. Here is a course of stones split like old timber. Here is a sapling standing struck to stone. Are the ruins becoming wood, or is it the other round?
It is so hot, though. The air shimmers. You are keenly aware of the bright sounds and scents of the forest. Where were you going again? Sunlight strikes through the foliage, illuminating a patch of flowers like - you've forgotten what.
Nightmares increase
[1 change point]
Touched by Fingerwork increase
A familiar scene?
A flickering glow emanates from this mirror-frame. On the other side is a lavishly appointed hotel bedroom: polished wood, thick violet carpet, candles in silver sconces.
Step through the mirror
Yes, that's where you should be! The Royal Bethlehem! The State of Confusion!
A shattering shower of shards
You did just step through a mirror. What else would you expect? You're in your hotel room, surrounded by dagger-sharp fragments of mirror. Like fallen stars. Charming! Time for tea.
Move to area: A
state of some confusion
Wounds increase
[1 cp]
Opportunities - autofire
Ordinary opportunity cards do not show up in the Mirror Marches. The bold explorer may find many strange things here…
A glimpse of a tavern
Unlocks: Route: Wolfstack Docks
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are behind a bar in a Wolfstack tavern. There is a range of weapons hidden under the counter, from simple cudgels and knives to a beautifully engraved antique ratwork pistol. A solid, serious place for solid, serious people.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
A glimpse of a clock
Unlocks: a bringer of death 1
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are facing a clock. Its tick is slow. You feel your heartbeat slow to match. The hands on the clock are fingerbones.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
Dangerous increase
A glimpse of debauchery
[Unlocked with Connected: Bohemian 10, Hedonist 5]
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are in the Parlour of Virtue. It is late morning. A tangle of drowsy limbs. Lace and silk. Sticky honey fingers.
Connected: Bohemian increase
Nightmares decrease
A glimpse of a kiss
Unlocks: Connected: Revolutionaries 5
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are in a back courtyard. You are kissing someone you should not be kissing. This is a terrible betrayal. You can't stop.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
Hedonist increase
A glimpse of amber
[Unlocked with Connected: Rubbery Men 5]
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are in a tent at Mrs Plenty's Carnival. It is smoky. A figure sits in the shadows, rustling gently. Amber changes hands.
Connected: Rubbery Men increase
Nightmares decrease
[2 cp]
A glimpse of a dressing-room
Unlocked by An Annoyance to Jack-of-Smiles 1
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are surrounded by people. They are changing costumes, putting greasepaint on, brushing wigs out. There is light and noise all around you.
Rewards:
Nightmares
decrease
A glimpse of a cat
[Unlocked with Connected: Urchins 5]
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are looking upwards through a murky film. A white cat is looking down at you, pink tongue extended to lap water from the puddle.
Nightmares decrease
[2 cp]
A glimpse of a church
[Unlocked with Connected: The Church 10]
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are in a dim vestry. The air is thick with incense and candle smoke. There is the taste of wine, and the murmur of plotting.
Nightmares decrease
[3 cp]
Connected: The Church increase
A glimpse of silver
Unlocks: Master Thief 1
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are sitting at a long damask-covered table. You are eating blancmange from someone else's silver.
Rewards:
Nightmares
decrease
A glimpse of brass
Unlocks: Recurring Dreams: The burial of the dead 5
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are lying flat, confined on all sides. It is cold and musty and dark. As your eyes clear, you realise you are looking at your own face, reflected in the brass of the lid above you, barely visible in the glimmering light of the distant forest sun.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
A glimpse of a devil's teatime
Unlocks: Nightmares 1, Connected: Hell 10
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are in a genteel parlour. A grandfather clock ticks slowly. Delicate sandwiches are served with tea. A devil crooks his little finger as he raises his china cup.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
Connected: Hell increase
A glimpse of a sea
Unlocks: Having Recurring Dreams: The Fire Sermon 1
A glimpse of a sea
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are trapped in what seems to be a glass chamber, surrounded by water. It is hot and sulphurous. No - you are in a bubble of steam, rising to the surface. The volcano rumbles beneath you on the seabed
Nightmares decrease
A glimpse of flowers
[Unlocked with Heartless 5]
A glimpse of flowers
You glance through one of the empty mirror-frames. For a moment, you are standing by an empty grave, holding a bunch of lilies. The scene is blurred by tears.
Nightmares decrease
[3 cp]
Heartless decrease
[1 change point]
A forest fire
You come to a part of what was a walled garden in a temple. There is a tiny round window in one of the walls that's still standing. The earth around is charred in patches. As you watch, sunlight is focused by the window and a small fire begins to crackle and smoke.
The smoke is intoxicating. Your head spins. In a corner of your mind, you hear cackling laughter, and see a brief glimpse of a cowled figure, but it's gone before you can catch it. And anyway, this perfumed smoke is lovely. Time to sit down and have a little rest.
Rewards:
Nightmares increase
Wounds decrease
A striped cat
Unlocked by Persuasive 48, Nightmares 4
You walk through a clearing and come to a small pond. On the other side, bold as infernal brass, a tiger laps at the water. You stop still.
He looks up at you as he licks his jaws, drops of water flying from his muzzle. "How did you get here?" he asks. "Did you escape from the Labyrinth? That's interesting. I'd love to hear all about it, if you have a moment." His voice is a soft, dangerous purr, but his words remind you of a tabby cat you used to chat to in Veilgarden. Veilgarden!
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
Persuasive increase
A black cat
Unlocked by Shadowy 48, Nightmares 4
Although the forest is noisy, it's the sort of soft, faraway noises that blend into an insulating backdrop. The faintest of rustles from above your head - a wrong note. Too immediate. You look up; at first all you see is the green of the tree canopy.
A golden eye opens. A massive panther is draped across a branch, fur shining like black oil. He regards you lazily for a while with his one open eye. "And," he says, finally, "where did you come from?" He sounds just like the alley-cats you find in Spite. You stop to think about his question. Yes, where did you come from? From Spite?
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
Shadowy increase
A spotted cat
Unlocks: Nightmares 4, Route: The Flit 1
Seeking shade, you duck under a low-hanging branch draped with vines into a small clearing. The canopy of leaves is low here: dark to your sun-dazzled eyes. Shadows shift and merge, sending bright coins of sunshine dancing across the ground.
As your eyes get used to the shade, some of the dappled shadows change; they resolve themselves and you realise you are looking into the eyes of a leopard. He is long and lithe. His green eyes glimmer with curiosity.
"Is this your first time in the Marches?" he asks. "Don't worry. I've already eaten today." That voice… Last time you heard that voice, it belonged to a tortoiseshell cat in the Flit, who told you a particularly salacious bit of gossip about the Duchess. The Flit: where there are no trees, where there is no sunlight.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
Shadowy increase
A golden cat
[Unlocked with Watchful 48]
A golden cat is walking through the jungle, huge as sunlight and infinitely graceful. Behind her tumble two cubs, paws too large for their bodies, stopping every few moments to bat at butterflies or the trailing ends of creepers.
The lioness stops when she sees you. "Where are you going to go from here?" she asks. "Didn't you know they're fighting a war with fire and water?" You know her voice. It's not her voice. It belongs to a famously grumpy ginger cat who is usually to be found lurking in the alleys around Ladybones Road. She slips away while you are remembering your real life, cubs clambering through the undergrowth after her.
Nightmares decrease
[3 cp]
Watchful increase
Opportunities - not autofire.
Ordinary opportunity cards do not show up in the Mirror Marches. The bold explorer may find many strange things here…
A green vine
A muddy dip in the ground. To get past it without slipping, you'd need to hold onto that line.
Grasp the vine
It is as thick as your wrist. It should be safe.
(A matter of luck: it could go either way.)
That's not a vine
It moves when you grasp it. A snake's head appears beside you. "Excuse me," it hisses. Your apology is profuse. Mollified, the snake becomes chatty. He asks you if you've any news of the Fingerkings. The Fingerkings? Does that ring a distant bell? You need to get back to Fallen London.
Nightmares
decrease
Gain 10x Cryptic Clue
Treacherous thing
You tug on the vine a few times. It feels secure, so you put your weight on it and lean forward. Quick as a change of heart, the vine slackens and you lose your grip; you land with a splash in the mudpool. The vine hangs innocently where it was.
Purple Orchids
You reach a rather swampy area. Mud bubbles thickly underneath you, but the trees are strung with myriads of delicate orchids, glowing like tiny Christmas lanterns.
Pick an orchid
Allow yourself to be seduced by their elegant beauty.
As refreshing as ice
You gently pluck one of the exquisite blooms. As it nestles in your hand, you feel a coolness steal over you, like a breath of the freshest, sweetest mountain air. It is at once soothing and deeply refreshing.
Nightmares decrease
Orange lilies
You come across a profusion of lilies, a forest within a forest. The hot orange blooms are speckled with dark red pollen. The scent is overwhelming.
Get closer to the lilies
That wonderful perfume! The luxuriant beauty of the blooms! Why resist them?
Treacherous beauty
You wake up on the ground with a pounding headache. Slowly, you piece together what happened. You went over to a particularly gorgeous bloom, and inhaled deeply… and that was it. The sweet perfume masks the vapours these flowers use to drug the small animals that are their prey.
Nightmares increase (at least 2 change points)
Wounds increase (1-2 change points)
Touched by Fingerwork increase
Night is falling
The Mirror-Marches have a sun, that is for sure. It would not necessarily follow that they have a day or a night as such… but in fact, the sun is sinking and a coral flush is spreading across the sky. Soon it is twilight. Pinpricks of light begin to wink in the darkening sky. Stars! How long is it since you saw a sky with stars? The sounds of the forest change, too, the moment the light changes - a new, softer chorus of squeaks, rustles and chirps.
Later, much later, a crescent moon rises. Its light is something like the moonish light of the Neath; but colder, bluer. The moon hangs low in the sky, and you look up at its cratered face. Look, there are patterns there, just like the surface's moon. Only… these don't resemble a man, or anything else so much as a cat, curled up asleep.
The soft light and cool air are comforting, after the harsh brightness of day. You sleep, comfortably, on a bed of leaves, without dreaming.
Rewards:
Touched by Fingerwork
increase
Nightmares
decrease
Heavenly fruits
As you wander the Mirror-Marches, branches laden with fruit occasionally sway into your path. Fruit! Real fruit. Golden peaches, indigo berries, ruby grapes - the forest seems to be offering it to you.
Eat a plum
We all know that succumbing to the temptation of strange fruit can be dangerous. But this branch is laden with fat, warm, amber plums. And you are so hungry…
The nectar of the gods
The plum is sweet and tart and tastes of honey. Juice runs down your chin. You eat another, and another, and another…
You look up. Night has fallen. How long have you been standing here, eating plums? What's that rustling in the undergrowth nearby? And how come you're still hungry? Hungrier than when you started.
Rewards:
Nightmares increase
Unaccountably Peckish increase
Eat some grapes
A vine hangs overhead, one heavy branch dangling bunches of crimson grapes in front of you. The bloom lies soft on them, like dust on rubies.
The grapes of wrath
The fruit lies within your reach - you are Tantalus, freed. The grapes burst on your tongue with a winey, fragrant sweetness.
You bite down on something hard. A seed. You make to spit it out, but it grows in your mouth, swelling up until you are choking. You scrabble at your throat until everything goes mercifully black.
Rewards:
Nightmares increase
Wounds increase
Eat some cherries
These cherries are a deep, deep purple, so dark they are nearly black. They shine in your hand. Even if they are going to kill you, it might still be worth it.
Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor…
The fruit is luscious, velvety and perfumed. It is revitalising, too - each bite makes you feel healthier, clearer-headed. And soon you have a small pile of cherry-stones with which to play games to pass the time. One stone for Mr Wines. One for Mr Cups. One for Mr Iron…
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
Unaccountably Peckish
decrease
A bird of paradise
The jungle is alive with birdsong, but most birds are shy; they usually stay hidden high in the tree-canopy. A bright flash of colour bursts from the bush beside you. A bird-of-paradise! It darts past you.
Follow it
Bright gold and orange glow against the green of the forest.
The blessed clarity
The bird flits from branch to branch, obviously waiting for you to follow. It leads you through curtains of creepers, past graveyards of mirror-frames, along paths lined with hooded orchids, and finally to a stream, where it stops to drink. You scoop up a handful of cold, clear water. It clears your head. You remember that this place is not your home.
Nightmares decrease
Touched by Fingerwork increase
Pick up the feather
The bird has shed an iridescent feather. It looks like a fallen rainbow. You have to stop to pick it up.
Bright gold and orange glow against the green of the forest.
Too beautiful
The feather is not much longer than your hand, but in its delicate threads there are countless colours. Each way you turn it, it catches the light in a new and more beautiful way. It is endlessly fascinating. Time passes unnoticed as you gaze at it.
Nightmares increase
Touched by Fingerwork increase
A snatch of music
The forest is full of birdsong. Some is harsh and discordant, some is intricate and melodic. But the snatch of music you just heard was something different: composed, orchestrated. Human?
Option 1: Follow the music
Is there someone here who can help you?
Melody of the forest
You follow the music through the forest. It's coming from the ruined temple. Perhaps there is someone there! You walk through the labyrinth of corridors, hearing the strains, losing them, finding then again. Eventually you come to a dead end; the music is louder. It has to be coming from behind that door. You open it. An empty room, roofless and open to the sky. You are too exhausted to go any farther.
Rewards:
Nightmares increase
Option 2: I will sing with the forest!
We will entwine our voices like strong wild lianas!
unlocked with Stormy-Eyed 1
I become one with the music!
I sing, and the forest sings with me! The raindrops my piano, the wind my flutes, the thunder my drums! I join the symphony of the storm!
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
increase (1 change point)
A thunderstorm [Standard]
In the time it takes to whisper a secret, the sun goes in and a chill settles on the jungle…
Take shelter
There is no point getting chilled to the bone on top of everything else. Wait the storm out under a tree.
A fresh start
The storm is gone as fast as it…
Nightmares decrease
Listen to the thunder
You have had many dreams of thunder in recent weeks. You are attuned to its voice.
[Unlocked with Having Recurring Dreams: What the Thunder Said 10]
A tree of scars
One of the tallest, thickest trees has been marked. High on its trunk, thick cuts can be seen.
Try to read the markings
Did someone leave a message for you?
Impossible letters
You scramble up a creeper until you can get a good view. Unfortunately, even if you could once have read the shapes - if they were even meaningful to begin with - what looks like hundreds of years of growth has distorted and strained them to bursting point. Still, maybe you are better off not knowing.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease
Read the markings, if you know how
You can already see that the shapes are part of the Correspondence. Get a little closer and you may be able to discern their meaning.
Unlocks: a Scholar of the Correspondence 1
A gnomic text
Once you have swayed your way up a creeper and are settled on a convenient branch, you are able to discern the Correspondence script, though the years have split the cuts wide and gaping. You read of a process that can only take place behind a mirror, by which stone becomes wood and wood becomes stone. A process in which petrification and lignefaction are opposed but complementary and dynamic forces.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease (at least 4 change points)
A shining beetle
A beetle whirrs past you, its flight slow and convoluted. Its carapace glows richly.
Catch the beetle
It's as simple as reaching out your hand. (A matter of luck: it could go either way.)
A talisman
You catch the beetle between cupped hands It settles immediately. It is much heavier than it looked. You open your hands slowly to peer inside. You are holding a jewel. It flashes in the sunlight and lights up the palms of your hands.
Rewards:
Nightmares decrease (2-3 change points)
Gain 1x Diamond