Editing X12: Skarda's Mirror (section)

==Backstory (there's a lot of it)==
A long time ago in some place far away some now-deceased demigod cooked up a pocket-dimension. (X12 is post-Masters Set so: an [[Immortal]].) Most of the plane's native surface is a strange rock that's a perfect mirror regardless of cut, yet has the friction of concrete. There's another substance, a clear rock that looks like Onyx and is suitable for building. We assumed, overall, a particularly reflective part of Elemental Earth; once 3e mooted the [[Plane of Mirrors]], that was suggested as an alternative. Either way the plane blocks summoning of fire and earth elementals; and the spell Mirror Image is enhanced. And there's light. Water, too - take notes, reader.

The Immortal built up seven portals to get at it, in the form of mirrors. We're unsure on details, except that His pronoun was "He", that He was Sphere of Thought, and that His last thoughts were of world-conquering "mortal dictators". As time went by, six of the mirrors went the way of most [[Tolkien|Tollers]]' palantirs. The seventh mirror, somehow, either wasn't lost or else it was re-found. It was believed to be a Life Trapper until "twenty years ago", when some wandering magic-user named Mallek stumbled in there himself.

Mallek wasn't a high level wizard at the time, and although his INT was high his CHA was, at most, 15 (it's 15 now), and his WIS was probably about the same 13 it is now. Whichever [[Dump_Stat|statistic/s his DM used]] to tot up bonuses for Will: when the vestige of this Immortal's last violent thoughts hit him, his brain broke. Mallek rebuilt his psyche upon those thoughts: he would henceforth be SKARDA, the REAVER. Unfortunately for everyone else, this newly-minted megalomaniac subsequently also discovered a way ''out''. He's spent the decades kidnapping slaves from Mystara, doing hydroponics for food ''in situ'', and (after discovering all that onyx) quarrying the ambient mirrorey rock. This entire demiplane is, now, approaching a cubic mile in size. Skarda to start his conquests in this world has recently figured upon the Duchy of Karameikos.

Two years ago, the fighter Retameron and the mage Halia, from the hamlet Verge not far south of ole fabled Threshold, scotched Mallek-Skarda's cunning plan and covered up the Mirror. But recently those two heroes fucked up and uncovered it again, allowing Skarda to send forth Mirror Fiends to grabble them into the mirror-world.

Skarda (now 11th level) is somewhat desperate at this point because all that quarrying and other messing-about has upset the demiplane's balance. We're unsure if the mirror-world hosts a direct link to Elemental Water but, the dihydrogen-monoxide ''does'' come in, one way or another, and it ain't draining out. Or at least Skarda hasn't hit on such a method yet.