Synopsis
Night creeps fast near the edge of Runehold. A young swordsman, Shun, stands outside the faded gates, cheek marked from a fight. Tonight’s quest isn’t one he wants. His sister, Mina, is missing. Everyone says don’t enter Mirror Valley. Shun doesn’t listen.
He shoulders his blade, steps from pure moon into the tangled unknown. Air smells of wet soil. Every path looks the same here. Except, nothing moves. Nothing but shadows. “Stay back, Rio,” Shun hisses as a boy thin as a ghost follows.
Rio laughs. “Not a chance! You told me you’d save Mina. I’m as worried as you.” Their breath clouds in the cold green world ahead.
Who’d risk danger for your family? That’s Shun’s fuel. And yours? Who would follow you through that gate?
Characters
- Shun: Protagonist. Driven and rash. Can’t let go of risk if it means protecting those he loves.
- Mina: Support. Young mageling, clever, proud, now lost somewhere unseen.
- Rio: Friend. Light with a joke, but quick to run if spooked—unless his friends count on him.
- The Oracle Crow: Guide or trickster? A talking bird who owes Mina a debt and swears she lives somewhere near the waterfall murk. Not easy to trust—yet.
Conflict Setup
The village didn’t just banish the Mirror Valley—they sealed legends into the earth. Queen Thyla rules this ash-root place only by will and bloodmarks. Mina, known for forbidden magic, wanted to see if the whispers were more than fairy tales.
When she vanished, Queen Thyla sent a dream to Shun. “Cross my path, lose yourself in memory. Or bring my heart from the pool.” Dirty luck that Mina still lives as a shadow in the mirror pools.
Would this dream scare you off? Or would you come closer?
Development
Rio trips over twisted willow branches, cursing. “We need fire,” he says. Shun snaps, “Don’t draw notice.” Still, there’s a trembling in his voice. Of course, they’re afraid. Every reflection in those pools shows different versions—faces young or aged, eyes swapped or streaked with loss. Shun fights one, shadow against sword—how could you know which scene’s real?
At dawn a hiss breaks the hush. Oracle Crow lands on Rio’s head. “Gifts come at a cost! Thyla is near. Mina’s trapped between, behind, beside herself.” Mina’s reflection now reaches for them from beneath the glassy pool they find at the heart of a maze. Darkness coils beneath her. Mina whispers, her voice sharp with fear: “You shouldn’t have come. She’s watching.” 
Are you seized by fear? Or desperate to act, no matter the risk?
With one wave, Queen Thyla appears, silver eyes, hair grown with brambles. She offers a choice—one escapes alive, if the other gives their truth, the memory they value most. Shun faces a hope he dreads. What if he and Mina both survive, but forget each other?
Pools deepen. Shadows stir. Shun, Rio, and Mina are surrounded by a dream so vivid they sense every sharp edge, damp underfoot, fumes curling up from below. Oracle Crow laughs—soft, sharp, strange.
Cliffhanger
Shun grabs Mina’s hand. “Even if we forget now, I’ll find you again,” he declares. Queen Thyla calls, “So choose!” Fade out as Shun steps toward the water. One single tear falls from Mina’s eye, causing the pool’s face to ripple— is he lost already? The story hangs there, unsure who wins— or if anyone will make it out unchanged.
