The ubiquitous barker bat with an ever-present grin and a cane that twirls at a leisurely pace calls out, "See the Hall of Mirrors! Find your way through to the other side and find your way to Paradise! Try it! You'll be a-maze-d!" He chuckles at his own cliche pun.

"I've already got a pass to Paradise," a white and gold dragon says while eyeing the attraction with suspicion. "Do I need to traverse this maze in order to reach it?"

The bat flashes a winning grin to the dragoness. "Why, yes indeed, and I'm sure you'll have no trouble at all finding your way! Just show me your pass, and you can go right on in!"

Envoy shows the Eeee the pass she won from the Mystic, but doesn't let him touch it.

The barker reaches for the pass, but as it eludes his fingers, he frowns a moment in frustration, then chuckles heartily. "Aha! A tricky one, I see! Now then, I'll have to take the pass to make it official, I'm afraid. If you'd allow me?"

The dragon frowns, and asks, "Will I get it back if I don't manage to win through the Hall of Mirrors?"

The barker tsks. "If that should occur, may Inala forbid it, then I'm afraid that would be the case. Fair is fair! And so is the maze. But determination is what you need to make it through the maze. And you don't strike me as the sort to give up easily!" He chuckles again.

Somewhat reluctantly, Envoy hands over the pass. "Are there any special instructions for this challenge?"

The bat takes it in his hand, and says, "Why – OOF!" And then, without warning, he suddenly stumbles over his own feet, crashing to the ground in a flutter of wings!

Envoy blinks three times, taken aback by the barker's stumble. "Are you all right?" she asks.

The barker blinks a few times himself, muttering, "Whu?" and then after a moment gets up, dusting himself off. He quickly returns to his trademark grin, as if nothing is amiss. "Pardon my clumsiness, Madame! Just got a little off balance there. No, you just go right on in. The object is just to find your way to the exit, and not to get distracted by too many reflections of your lovely self along the way!" He makes an exaggerated wink.

The dragon arches an eyeridge at the bat, then makes her way into the entrance.

Countless white and golden dragonesses make their way in as many directions, as Envoy enters the maze of mirrored walls. The floor is dirt and the ceiling is composed of the tarp of a tent. And then, there's a resounding CRACK that echoes through the maze. Behind Envoy, she can hear the sound of the barker groaning, "Ohhhh… "

Ahead, the mirror maze soon parts in a T intersection. Right before the mirror at the end of the entry corridor, there is an "X" barely visible in the dirt, though it has been scuffed.

Envoy stops at the marking without stepping onto it, and cranes her neck to look down both directions of the intersection.

Both ways head off betwixt countless mirrors, each one reflecting an image of the dragoness, each one looking this way and that just as she does. But to the left, it seems that there is a long line drawn in the dirt, as if by something being dragged across it.

It's scuffed in spots, so it takes a keen eye to follow, but it's still there. And the fox in the mirror right in front of Envoy mimics her position perfectly as he gazes in the same direction.

Envoy blinks and stares at the reflection of the fox. "What is it with you and mirrors?"

The fox sing-songs, "Maybe it's because this way, I seem to be nearer?"

The dragon has no come-back for that, so asks, "Do you have a message for me? Or are you here to see me get hit on the head and dragged away?"

The fox looks hurt, and sing-songs, "Oh, do I have a message? Let's see! And maybe you won't get clobbered, if you listen to what I say!" He then strums his lute, and breaks into song…

The fox finishes strumming his lute, and strikes a strange pose, one hand sticking out from under his folded arms, and "subtly" pointing repeatedly in the direction of the line drawn in the dirt. He clears his throat several times and winks as often.

Envoy looks again down the marked trail. "All right, I'm not afraid of dopplegangers. Thanks." She starts to follow the trail in the dirt.

The trail leads Envoy through the twists of the maze, which surprisingly never takes her to any dead ends. Although it seems all quite rational enough – just a maze of mirrors standing in a tent – after a while her logical side and her nearly flawless memory prod at her that this maze seems to be violating certain laws of reality that a casual explorer might miss. Namely, that she has gone in a circle at least once, without crossing the dragged line. Or maybe it's just some subtle trick, and the mirrors aren't all at the 90-degree angles that they seem to be at first glance.

In any case, at last the dirt line ends, as the earthen floor gives way to a floor made of more mirrors … and the ceiling has become mirror as well.

The dragon treads more carefully now, using her wings to feel out the sides of the passage. She focuses more on the floor though, in case a drop is hidden in the reflections.

All of the mirrors are plain reflections of the dragoness, pretty much, and the dragoness almost walks right past a mirror that … hmm … something's wrong here. It doesn't reflect Envoy. And it doesn't reflect any fop foxes, either.

In the distance, there is an echo of footsteps – chitin boots on glass.

Envoy stops, and looks instead at the mirror opposite the anomalous reflection, to see if it shows the reflection of the reflection, as it were, rather than risk looking directly into the other mirror.

Sure enough, Envoy can see a line of Envoys … with a single Envoy missing out of the ranks.

Not every other Envoy. Just one.

"Now that's unusual," the dragon mutters, and risks a glance over her shoulder at the mystery mirror.

The other mirror likewise misses one Envoy – the first reflection that there ought to be … but beyond that one omission, there is an endless line of Envoys, framed by the edges of the mirrors, stretching on into infinity.

However, it occurs that another curious thing about all these reflections is that they are indeed reflections of Envoy … but Envoy of Lothrhyn, a humanoid ki'rin-like creature, with feathered wings dipped in gold.

Envoy swings her tail to test that there really is a pane where the missing reflection should be.

Envoy's tail impacts a solid surface, even though logic would be more satisfied with the absence of one at this point, perhaps.

There are more sounds of footsteps in the distance, perhaps a little more strident. It might just be an echo, but it sounds as if there might be two different sources of these sounds, though it's nigh impossible to guess at a direction.

"Aspects," the dragon whispers, "and dopplegangers. Perhaps the missing reflection stepped out of this pane to stretch its legs." Envoy shrugs, and continues carefully down the corridor.

Envoy's exploration takes her further through the maze, accompanied by not-dragon Envoys all the way … until she encounters another out-of-place mirror – out of place in that it has been shattered to pieces, and the sharp shards lie strewn across the reflective floor.

Amidst the broken pieces can be seen a scrap of torn fabric. It looks somewhat frilly, lacy, like part of the hem of an expensive dress, torn violently away, perhaps cut on the shards of glass.

"Seven years bad luck," Envoy says, darkly, as she tries to sweep the shards aside with her wingfeathers. "That's three possible Aspects wandering the halls now, including the original."

The shards appear to be nothing but ordinary pieces of a broken mirror, and are swept aside with little trouble. The clicking of chitin soled boots on glass seems to grow louder, then quieter again.

Envoy waits for the footsteps to fade a bit, then continues along the corridor.

Envoy's progress is unimpeded as she winds her way through the maze. Despite so many choices of turns, she has yet to encounter a dead end … and she doesn't encounter the broken shards again, so it would seem that she is not truly going in circles … though there might be an argument that this funhouse is built on a moebius strip instead of a plane. Envoy is most certainly her waking world self now … and the mirrors no longer seem to reflect simple images of herself. Rather, they are all warped and distorted like funhouse mirrors. One is so warped and distorted, in fact, that it resembles how Envoy might look if she were a foppish fox.

The Aeolun pauses and grins at the fox-reflection, something the dragon would never do. "Hello there!"

"Don't stare!" the fox sing-songs, but with a hint of alarm to his voice!

Envoy looks up at the ceiling then. "Afraid we'll swap bodies?" she asks.

The fop-fox-Aeolun strums a lute … and as he/she/it/whatever does so, Envoy finds her own arm absently strumming an imaginary lute as well. Her own reflection in the ceiling is a bulbous distortion with an enormous head and googly eyes, and a body that vanishes below into nothingness.

The fop-fox reflection begins to dance and sing … and each movement is involuntarily matched by the real Envoy's own.

Envoy blinks as her arm seems to act on its own, but doesn't fight it. Instead she, shifts her gaze to a different mirror, not letting it linger for long on any given reflection.

The Aeolun decides at that point to close her eyes.

And then, the reflection stops singing, and apparently is doing the bowing routine, since Envoy finds herself doing exactly the same motion, like a puppet on strings. "Thank you! Thank you very much! You're a lovely audience!" And then the strings are suddenly cut loose and Envoy is free to move on her own once more.

"Oh dear," Envoy says, keeping her eyes closed. "I wonder if my own mirrors would be able to fix a transformation like that."

"No!" comes a scream from somewhere else in the mirrored maze.

Envoy opens her eyes again and jumps a bit at the shout.

There is no more fop-fox reflection, though the reflection in that mirror might make Envoy look like she's only four feet tall. The other reflections are more grotesquely distorted, some to the point where it looks like body parts are separated one from another.

There is the sound of chitin soles clicking on glass – growing louder. And then … a figure clad in black chitin armor, with trimmed in blue, turns the corner. She carries a steel sword at the ready in her right hand, having the look of a seasoned warrior to her. Her jaw is set and locked, and she swivels her head from left to right as she warily scans the scene before her.

Envoy backs up against one of the walls at the sight of the warrior, and tries to be very still.

The warrior turns to look coolly at Envoy. It's Elise. But graduating from the Academy and serving in the Air Guard must have done something to her demeanor.

The Aeolun doesn't risk addressing the figure, since Elise never seemed to remember her well from these dreams anyway. She just smiles and nods to the warrior.

Elise nods coolly to the Aeolun. "I hope you've been more careful than I was in going through here," she says, a trace of wryness in her voice. The other notices that the warrior's sweeping gaze allows her to see the full area without lingering on any of the mirrors.

"I've been warned of the hazards," Envoy replies. "I wish you luck in finding your … self."

"I appreciate the sentiment. I … wish I knew better where to look for … her." A quiet sigh from the poodle. "I gather you've not seen her?"

Envoy shakes her head, looking at the warrior instead of the reflections around her. "I've heard footsteps, but you're the first Aspect I've seen that wasn't my own."

Nodding in sympathy, the canid finds her own gaze wandering over Envoy, as she provides a safer place to look than the dangerous mirrors. "Did the fox warn you, too?"

"Yes, he told me that I will become what I look at, if I look too closely," Envoy says. "I don't know if my mirrors would let me change back though."

The poodle raises her hand to cover her eyes, rather than continuing to stare at the Aeolun. "Forgive my rudeness," she apologizes. "You won't … necessarily become what you look at. Sometimes what you look at will just be let loose, to wander around. I … I find it very discomfiting to think that another me is wandering these halls. I must stop her. Somehow."

Envoy blinks, and can only advise, "When you do … be careful. She might be the real one, after all."

At this, the canid blinks. "What do you mean, she might be real?" The armored figure looks astonished.

"Which of my Aspects is real?" Envoy asks. "I'd like to think they all are. They're all me."

Elise's jaw clenches. "But, she cannot be the real me. She's … weak, and helpless – everything I have spent my whole life ensuring I would not be. I cannot abide the thought that she can walk about, claiming to be me."

"I live with the Probe," Envoy says. "A strong person doesn't need to deny the Aspects of herself that she finds embarrassing, or weak. You need all of them."

The warrior seems to wrestle with this concept. "But the Probe is at least useful. You may use her to find out information. What good is a simpering, delicate flower, that wilts under the slightest pressure? What do I need with that? She only makes me doubt and hesitate – what help is that in battle, or anywhere?"

"She gives you someone to protect," the Aeolun suggests.

"I already have too much to protect!" The warrior gestures with her sword, then turns. "I must find her," she mutters darkly. "I am sure she is creating more hazards for us even now."

"Just don't hurt her," Envoy says, sounding worried.

A grimace settles onto the canid's face. "How do you propose I take care of her? I simply do not know," she confesses after a long pause. "I feel like this is my opportunity to expunge her – to finally be free from doubts. Surely I cannot just leave her to wander about. What other choices have I?"

While the canid speaks, Envoy can hear footsteps again, coming closer. They do not sound as distinct as the sound of chitin soles on glass – no, lighter than that.

Envoy says, simply, "Embrace her. You need doubts; they make you cautious. To be without them is to be a robot."

"But … but … " The warrior stops and glares at the Aeolun. "Now you are making me doubt!" Elise sighs deeply. "Perhaps I cannot be free of them regardless."

"You'd make a terrible Zelak anyway," Envoy says, perking her ears at the sound of lighter footsteps. "Trust me, I've been there."

"I have no wish to be a machine or insect," Elise confesses, then turns her head towards the footsteps. "It must be her," she hisses. "Or some other figment she's set loose, blundering about."

"The fox mentioned you'd made it through here before," Envoy says. "Can you point me in the right direction?"

"I believe it is this way." The warrior gestures forward with her sword. The sound of footsteps has faded. "Would you care to accompany me?"

Envoy says, "That might be best; we can distract each other then."

Together, the Exile Mage and the Poodle Warrior wander off, their actions mirrored by a multitude of misshapen parodies of themselves as reflected in the warped walls of reflective glass.