Reflect Upon This and Weep

Character fiction from a troupe Vampire: The Masquerade LARP...

Reflect Upon This and Weep

by Simon W. 

May 2025 

The demon's mocking voice rang in Nyx's ears as they raced through the Abyss. Steven, the new mystic in town, had helped them into this plane of existence and by all rights they should be following him as the actual expert. But their blood was up and Mjölnir was singing and glowing blue with rage. So they charged into the depths and didn't even notice the slight curvature to the path or the ever downward slope. 

Eventually they reached what could only be called the bottom of the Abyss. The demon stood before them; tall as a building, their golden horns reaching to the sky. In that moment, Nyx realized that the curse of this Fae treasure, Mjölnir, was in fact going to come to pass. They'd had a great few months killing demons but now here was the very inevitable fall. They'd flown much to close to the sun and were about to suffer the same fate as Icarus. 

The demon looked at them, impassive and unreadable; and then something unexpected occurred. Nyx stood before themselves. Nyx found themselves chained, arms splayed out while they looked at themselves. The reflection smiled but it didn't reach their eyes. "You are so stupid; running in here without a plan. Some Sage you are. In the end you're as much prey to your emotions as everyone else. Only in them, it's normal and expected. From you? It's shameful and unworthy."

Nothing existed after that but darkness, dreamless sleep, stasis. Time stopped; which Nyx understood down to their bones because of the inherent nature of their blood. 

***

Time started again. A half second before the darkness lifted Nyx felt the inevitable ticking of the universe marching on. But something was wrong.

***

December 21, 2025

Nyx was standing outside a building that appeared to be in the woods. There was a moment of confusion and then, in a wild rush of sensation and chaos, eight months worth of memories suddenly flooded into their brain. 

Instructions, messages, reports, diversions, misdirection.... Nyx remembered everything that the reflection of themselves had done. They saw, in their mind's eye, every time the reflection had lied, had diverted attention away from the demon threat, had spied on the domain, had given the Mirrored Sovereign every bit of information he had asked for. And it had worked and he had succeeded and now Nyx was left with the knowledge that someone wearing their face had just betrayed everyone and everything they ever had cared about.

Nyx walked into a gathering in full uproar. The New Camarilla had finally realized the enormity of the problem they had missed for the past several months. The Elders were trying to organize and rally and everyone needed to ask Nyx what had happened. Nyx was as honest as they could be but they looked around and didn't see the person they really needed to apologize to.

In the midst of all of this, Reinhart, who claimed to be an ally and a friend suddenly attacked. But he didn't attack Nyx, he attacked Mjölnir. His overpowering strength from the potency of his blood destroyed the hammer utterly. It was later revealed that he had not been himself, but another reflection. But that was cold comfort as Nyx lost the last connection they had left to Arne. They'd given up the memories of him to a Dark Fae shortly after he'd died and only had gotten them back when they'd gotten the hammer. And they knew that those memories would fade again now that it was gone.

Eventually Nyx was able to go and try make their apologies to their own clan Elder but when they did there was another problem. Luka, who until recently had been calling himself Ulfric, said that he'd had a vision of the Fae mustering for war and no one knew why. But then he looked at Nyx. "where is the hammer?" he asked.

Nyx shrugged, "it got destroyed.... about an hour ago."

The silence that descended after that statement was heavier than millstones. And then, there was a frenzy of activity. The Prince told Luka to go take care of it and next thing Nyx knew they were in some sort of ritual circle. And then... they were in a green, sunny field that was filled with otherworldly beauty and a standing army. They same troll that Nyx had returned Mjölnir to after Arne's death was there, looking extremely disappointed. 

"Who destroyed the hammer?"

"I did, by way of not being able to prevent it from getting destroyed."

Luka didn't like that answer and revealed the name of the person who had actually done it. He and the king of these particular Fae creatures talked while Nyx just sat there wondering when the price of failure was going to be revealed. Eventually it came time to talk cost, which there always is with the Fae. 

"You will have the memories of the one who wielded the hammer before you. No one will be able to take them away from you and you will not be able to give them away."

Nyx agreed. Luka seemed relieved that the price wasn't higher. But that's because Luka didn't understand the nature of those memories. 

Eventually they returned back to the more normal world, which was still in chaos due to the events of the evening. Nyx still had more apologies to make and much work to do to make up for the damage they had caused over the course of the last eight months. But for now they were going to go home and grieve. 

And they knew, that on some level, they would be grieving the loss of Arne for all eternity now...