Noble woke with a start after only a couple of hours of fitful sleep. She had barely gotten used to the fact that the ancient land was being consumed by the Nightmare Spell.
Now the world had been flipped on its head—literally. What was she supposed to do with that information?
After braiding back her hair, Noble left the wagon, her mind still heavy with too many questions. She found Flint having breakfast around one of the cookfires. His leather belt hung over the log next to him.
He looked up from his bowl. "Took you long enough. Thought you might sleep all day."
"I did suffer a lot of soul damage last night. Rest is the only way to heal that kind of injury." Noble furrowed her brow. "And it hasn't even been that long since we parted. Are you saying the others are already awake?"
The surly Master emptied the contents of his bowl and nodded. "We were just waiting for you. We've a lot to do today."
Noble accepted some food from a servant with a gentle smile. She hovered over another log by the fire.
"Is that why you have your belt? And here I thought it might be your new favorite fashion accessory."
Getting off the belt earlier that morning had been easier than the two times before. Noble had seen Flint's dream of the future, and the mere mention of it frustrated the man enough to send the termination request.
By his emotions now, his anger hadn't lasted. Really, his dream of the future was not a surprise and hadn't revealed any secret she didn't know. Flint had become a very easy book to read.
"As dashing as I look in anything I wear, I brought it for our excursion. Roan wants to explore both the castle and the surrounding areas, and flying is the best way to accomplish both."
"That's good. I was going to suggest we do that anyway." Noble was grateful that she and her cohort leader were on the same page.
With the dragon trapped and the castle rebuilt, the world around them was essentially a blank slate. They needed to gather information to see where exactly they stood going forward.
"Eat up. The day is wasting." Flint stood and dismissed his spoon.
The porridge was made from some unidentifiable grain, but it was warm and filling. Noble swallowed and smacked her lips.
"Tell me where we are meeting and I'll be along in a moment."
Flint eyed her incredulously. "I'd better wait so you don't get lost."
"Hey!" The floating Master felt her temper flare. "I know which way the castle is. It's that big thing up on the hill. You just want to wait so you can fly instead of walking."
"Unlike you, I am perfectly capable of walking anywhere I please. Watch and be amazed."
Flint lifted his chin and went to return the bowl to the kitchen wagon. When he returned, Noble was almost done with her food.
A servant came to collect her leftovers, bowing deeply as he took them away.
Flint frowned. "You can fly any time you like, and servants cater to your every whim. Some people have all the luck…"
"Then you better be extra nice to me. Maybe some of that luck will rub off." Noble smirked.
"Ha! You'd like that, wouldn't you?" The Legacy rolled his eyes.
"I would! I always like to help spread the luck." Standing, Noble patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, I'm ready. Lead the way."
The morning was spent searching, and a quiet morning it was. The palace was about what they would have expected for the home of an ancient Daemon. Some rooms seemed fit for humans to dwell, while others were far too large in proportion. The furniture was also varied in size, and some of it seemed to serve no function whatsoever.
The Masters looked with varying amounts of curiosity at the strange sights.
"I thought you said Mirage kept to herself," Noble asked Syrce, who was leading the way.
"She did during my lifetime. Before that, who can say? Imagination may have had guests of all sorts once upon a time. Or maybe she just prepared in case anyone came…" Syrce shrugged.
It was odd enough to imagine a daemon walking the halls, but now Noble pictured fantastical beasts in their uncorrupted forms just milling about the castle. Had the Pink Ones been like pets to Mirage? Perhaps a Purple One had been like a perched parrot in her sitting room.
Whatever might have once been in the copy of the palace, it was not there any longer. The halls and rooms, though beautiful and inspiring, were void of life and lacking enchantment.
Mirage seemed to have stored or scattered all her relics, which was just as well. It meant there were no surprises.
The only noteworthy place was the palace's throne room.
The ceiling was covered with a mosaic of mirrors, cut in intricate shapes that seemed to shift like clouds even though Noble was sure they weren't moving. Could Mirage watch the world around her through them?
Even if she could, the humans could not. All they could see were fractured images of themselves.
Another novelty was the arch above the ornate throne. The entire room was completely symmetrical except for the stone structure. Its reflective surface was missing of former luster, but Noble could feel that immense power had once run through it. Or at least it had in the real Bastion.
Whatever had once been housed in the archway was gone, with only the husk remaining. The mystery would remain, at least for now.
Flint, Roan, and Helie viewed the room with pensive expressions. As Syrce looked more closely at the throne, Noble approached the cohort leader.
"Is something wrong?"
Roan chewed his lip. "Lord Anvil's throne room looks very different."
"There are no mirrors anywhere. I'm not sure I saw a single one in the palace." Flint furrowed his brow.
Helie nodded. "The only reflective things around the palace are His Majesty's swords."
Noble had many guesses on why the room was changed. The most likely explanation was that the mirrors had been destroyed in the years between the Doom War and the present.
It was also possible that the Spell had not brought the unusual fixtures into the Dream Realm—Noble still wasn't sure how that process worked.
Or maybe Anvil or his father didn't like mirrors and had them removed.
Anything was possible.
The only thing that Noble could say for sure was that Mirage liked reflections. It was very curious, but trying to understand her thinking would be a fruitless venture.
Syrce ran her hand across the oversized throne before leaving it behind. Noble noticed that the Saint did not try to sit on the seat. Most people would find the allure too intriguing to resist, yet it didn't seem to enter Syrce's mind.
She smiled contentedly and patted the hand mirror hanging from her waist.
"Lyra and Maelys will love it here. I cannot wait until they arrive and I can show them the new home of our people!" Her whisper of glee made the blonde Master smile.
'She only thinks about her people and her family, never herself,' Noble noted.
On that, they were far too similar.
"It seems that the palace is clear, My Lady. Is there anything else you need from us?" Helie asked as she walked from the far side of the hall.
The Saint waved her hand lightly, "You have done more than enough here, Aurelia. Thank you all for your unwavering help."
Taking their leave, the Masters left for their second task of the day—exploring their new world.