• The mirror of souls is in the farthest room in the court of the dragon king. I have braved the rooms before, and won, for my soul is good and pure, and to see the Mirror is my greatest wish, for it would inspire me to great hights.

    I will pass the test, for my soul is good and pure.

    Now only one room remains. The room of those whoes souls created the Mirror. The last room before the Mirror in the Court of the Dragon King.

    This room is in the form of a many-pointed star. And at the point of each arm is a shrine. A shrine to those who died for the Dragon King.

    They cry out, beating me back. Their souls scream in terror, in terror of what came before, and what is to come, but i do not shrink back for my soul is good and pure. I will pass the test.

    In each arm, in each shrine, is a switch to open the way to the Mirror. And so, to open the way i must listen to each soul's wailings.

    For this is the way of the Dragon King.

    The Burning
    I flew one hundered and eighty six miles into the sky. I flew and watched the oceans boil. And the people cried out to me. "Help us!"

    So I dreamed I flew down among the burning mountains and the lakes of fire. But to my touch they withered, dry as dust, and their faces twisted into the mask of an evil thing. Their screams scorched my ears, and I became one of them, withering and twisting into an evil, tortured thing.

    I awoke and looked down into the burning land. And the people cried out to me. "Help us!" And I turned away.

    For this is the court of the Dragon King.

    Shattered
    I asked the winged one for a thing of beauty. He turned and gave me a round, glass ball, perfect and clear. It was perfection. It was ugly. So again, I asked for a thing of beauty. Again, he turned and gave a round, glass ball. But this one was broken and cracked. I asked where the beauty was, and he took the ball in his hands and held it up to the light. Here an unbroken beam entered, and was fragmented, spilling rainbow perfection upon the walls. It was beautiful. So I took the cracked ball in my hands and dropped it a thousand miles, so that it would be more cracked and more beautiful. It shattered into a thousand pieces, once for each mile, and so Beauty was never seen again.

    For this is the court of the Dragon King

    Chess
    I played chess against death in a huge hour glass. Our table was a little offset from the center so the stream would not hit our pieces. And Death is very good.

    I played Chess and I lost. For caught in the hours, our board had sunk under the sand. And Death himself vanished, leaving me buried under the weight of ages.

    For this is the court of the Dragon King.

    The Celestial Clock
    I fought the Sun. I fought him with my army of Stars and Nightmares, and led them with my sword. Some say it is made of glass, some say of ice. With it I was invincible.

    But the time was not right, and the Sun's piercing gold sword melted my sword and burned my face. I called upon Taurus and Gemni, but the inexorable weight of the Sun's Rays and Cloud Warriors fought us back. And the Sun himself fought me, driving me back farther and farther across the clock.

    I swung my dripping weapon, but swung it slowly for I was weary. Defeat and death would almost be preferable to the agony of His presence. But they would ressurect me, and I would have to come back and battle again.

    He dodged my clumsy swing and ducked under my feeble defences, and only barely did I jump back in time. He smiled a mirthless smile and swung again, and overhead blow, and I raised my sword to stop him. He smiled again and I struggled, small cracks forming in my sword and the water washing down my arms. Until the clock struck. It was a long, deadly note, but one that gave me strength. I laughed and screeched a demon's screech, and was echoed by my Stars and Nightmares and Shades and Nightwings. I snapped the Sun's golden sword and grabbed him, shoving him under the sea and drowning him. The sound of the water boiling and hissing was drowned out by my cry of triumph, a demon's cry.

    For this is the court of the dragon king.

    Sacrifice
    I saw a woman in an infinite, sunny field. She lifted a red stained clay jar above her head and cried "Oh Woe, for I have killed Love, Light, and Joy! Woe, Woe!"

    And saying this, she lifted the red stained clay jar and poured from it a thick red blood. "Woe! I have killed my Love, my LIght, and my Joy!"

    And she let the earth swallow the blood. In return, the earth gave her a limitless power.

    For this is the Court of the Dragon King.

    And, so, after an eternity, I stepped away from the last switch and stood in the center of the star room. I stood as the central tile in the floor sank, and descended to the Mirror of Souls.

    I peered into its inky depths and saw... nothing. There was the wall behind me, and the cieling above me, but I was not in the picture.

    And so, now I have an arm in the Star Room. I have one of my own choice, for where else would I go? I failed the final test, in thinking the price could ever be paid.

    The Dragon King asks many things from us, all of them different. Though what he asks of us is always different, the price is the same.

    For this is the Price of the Dragon King.