Part 8: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

As Theo reached the top of the swiftly growing ivy vine he found himself on top of a balcony on the second floor of the castle. He could only think that the country of Riccard must have been very peaceful indeed to have such easy access to the castle.



In a strange twist of architecture the balcony led directly into the throne room. Looking at the throne evoked strange feelings in the prince's heart, as he couldn't help but think that this very chair was where his father had sat to conduct the business of the kingdom. As he examined the chair more closely, however, much to Theo's surprise one of the legs broke off!



The leg contained a mysterious spell that was only labeled as "Secret," which gave Theo no idea of what the spell could possibly be used for. He could only hope that a use would be found for it later.



One of the exits from the throne room led to a chamber that Theo could only imagine must have belonged to his mother. Theo held tightly to the charm that had been given to him at the worship site, thinking of how the tragedy of the kingdom's downfall had taken his chance to know his mother.



As he held the charm, Camu's prediction came true and with a sudden fragrance of flowers his mother appeared before him. She resembled Camu quite closely, and Theo had to wonder if the two were somehow related. The prince was disappointed that after a few words for him his mother was more concerned about the danger his father was in.



Proving that the dead are certainly not all knowing, Theo's mother then proceeded to tell him about the magical scroll he had already located.



The inside of the castle was far vaster than Theo had anticipated, and he soon found himself heading downstairs to seek after this secret door that his mother had alluded to.



The building was well appointed and spacious, and had obviously been a lively place in the golden era of Riccar. As he wandered through the castle Theo wanted, more than anything, to see this place come alive again.



Perhaps, however, come alive was not exactly the right term. The castle was already alive with fearsome creatures, roaming the halls in small groups in search of intruders and prey. Theo knew that if he allowed these groups to distract him he could fail in his quest, and slipped away like a shadow at every possible event.

A group like this could end the game in a single round if they were of a mind. Two druids is barely survivable if Theo can get a chance to go first on the second round. Three would be suicide. As I've mentioned before, at this point in the game I had no problems in running away from enemies anytime I needed to.



Theo's search even took him as far as the kitchen, although nothing of any use was left behind by this point. Even a mouse would have bypassed the kitchen in its current condition.



On the other side of the dining room, Theo found a room with considerable possibilities in a bookshelf. Of all the places to hide a secret passage, surely a book shelf would be one of the easiest.



Theo's search was ultimately fruitless, but did turn up an odd representation of himself tucked within a book. The prince had to wonder why someone would make a sketch of a baby, and why they would hide such a picture away in such an out of the way place.



Having found nothing downstairs, Theo continued his search upstairs. At last he came to a room that contained a spacious mirror which aroused his suspicions. Something was off, but Theo couldn't figure out what it might be.



To the north Theo found a room that must have been intended for his use, complete with a picture that had clearly been created in anticipation of his present appearance. Its presence, while bizarre, gave Theo yet another sign of how much his birth had meant to his parents. Taking the picture in his hands, Theo noticed something even stranger.



Someone, unimaginably anticipating Theo's return to the castle, had written on the back of the painting about his birth and the location of the darkness that had taken control of the castle. Further, they had even written another hint about the location of the Secret scroll.

Can you guess that they REALLY wanted you to realize where that scroll was?



Bypassing the sitting room one final time, Theo investigated the only room in the room he hadn't yet visited. It was truly a bathroom worthy of a king.

Makes me think, how many bathrooms do you actually see in video games?



Time had certainly not been kind to the plumbing, and Theo was certain that a good deal of work would be required to fix the problems.



Despite his better judgement, Theo was thirsty enough to drink the green water. Surely anything the color of new leaves couldn't be that bad for you.

Drinking the water here actually gives you 30 life, which is quite handy by this point if you're running low on resources.



Feeling much better Theo approached the mirror and used the spell of Secret to open the path. Within moments the glass of the mirror had disappeared, but what was revealed was not the wall behind the frame. Instead, Theo felt himself drawn forward.



The other side of the mirror was disconcerting to say the least, being identical to the real world except for being exactly opposite. The longer Theo wandered in the strange mirror world the less certain he became as to which was actually the real world.



The first place that Theo could spot a difference was through the downstairs entryway, where a rose garden stood in place of the front gates.



Just like the trees had previously, the roses spoke to Theo...



Although they weren't always trustworthy. The idea disturbed Theo. Had the roses been the residents of the castle? If so, how had they all come to be in the garden?



Regardless, a bit of digging soon revealed an unsuspected path leading out of the garden.



Well concealed from casual view a narrow cave entrance and a shadowed forest stood in the darkness.



While the initial path was blocked, eventually Theo found himself in a small and confusing cave. All the rooms looked the same, and at times Theo could swear that that he was walking into the same room that he had just attempted to walk out of.



Eventually, however, something struck Theo as a bit odd. While he did not know the lore of stones, it seemed to Theo most strange that the large rocks in each area were apparently of a different stone than the surrounding walls.



Continuing on the path of violence that had served him well so far, Theo soon began striking out at every rock he could find. Eventually his patience was rewarded, and one of the rocks revealed a hidden ladder.



There was obviously something amiss in a hidden ladder in such a remote place, as no good could come from such a secret hideaway.



On the door to the east, Theo found a cryptic warning that seemed to hint at great evil. This, then, must be what he had been seeking.

As a final screw you to the player, at this point it's possible to get teleported back into the maze of rooms we just left by heading to the western door.



A gap existed between the door and frame, giving an opportunity to budge the door despite its otherwise study construction,



Although it seemed to him a grievous misuse of his mother's gift, Theo could think of no other item than the Ruby charm that had a pointed tip that could be used on the door.



The room on the other side of the door was full of dust, as though it had been empty for a long time... perhaps as long as 15 years. Theo began to search the room for some clue as to where the source of evil was located.



Concealed by neglect, Theo at last located the accursed painting that had been the source of so much misfortune for the country of Riccar. As Theo considered the necessary steps to seal the painting away again, however, he was suddenly interrupted.



A man who Theo had never seen appeared and called him by name, although his intentions were far from fatherly.



Before Theo stood the King of Riccar, his father, who had been in his time a mighty warrior and king. The prince knew that just to survive he would need all his wits and strength, with the king being strengthened by the evil power of Mammon.



Thinking quickly, Theo pulled out the spore he had carried since Camu's tower and flung it in the King's face. The effect was immediate, but short-lived. Unable to keep the King in a state of slumber, Theo was forced to raise his sword against his only surviving parent.

The King is TOUGH. He's only got about 110 HP, but hits in the 50-70 damage range aren't uncommon. He can also use the most powerful spells in the game, including Explosion 2 and Arctic 2. While the Spore makes a nice surprise trick, it's not 100% and hardly worth the time. You're better off alternative between RecMax and attacking. It's quite possible to die in two hits from the King, even if you're doing everything right. He has a nasty habit of causing any spells you send at him to rebound, and it's by no means certain that you'll do very much damage to him with regular attacks.



Even as Theo struck the final blow and left his father collapsed on the floor, the evil that had filled the King escaped and entered the painting. Without fail, the smoke entered directly into the mouth of the dragon in the painting.



The foul creature came alive from the painting, filling the small room and somehow extending beyond its confines. At last, Theo was facing the menace that had destroyed his home.



Unfortunately, the entire situation had happened so fast that Theo was still wounded and exhausted from fighting the King. The dragon was swift, and before Theo could react it was upon him.



In contrast to the various wounds he had suffered throughout his quest, having his blood let out by the source of evil in the kingdom changed something inside of the prince.



In that moment Theo realized that to strike at the dragon he would have to strike with the arm that bore the mark of destiny. Although he had previously wielded a sword with his right hand, a force beyond his control forced Theo to grip the blade in is left hand for the final battle.

At this point your regular attacks will usually strike at a vital point, basically giving you a critical hit. You can do as much as 40-70 damage to the dragon now, but sometimes you'll do only 1 or 2 damage. At the worst possible end of the scale you can even do 0 damage.



With his free right hand the prince took out the magical Treant's fruit and tore it open with his teeth. The rare fruit sent a surge of strength through Theo's body. He struck at the dragon with the Sword of Hope, trading blows and healing himself as the need arose. After a long struggle, the dragon fell away into the darkness. For the moment it had been driven back into the painting and Theo knew the time to strike was now.

This is pretty much the real use for the treant fruit. If you're using it anywhere else, you're wrong. Anyway, as for the dragon. He's got no special tricks, just a brutal attack and the ability to use RecMed to heal himself. It's a real kick in the testicles to find yourself doing 1 or 2 damage as the dragon heals himself for 45 or 50. He's got about 250 HP, but the fact that you're taking it away 40-70 at a time speeds things up a bit. Just like the King, however, the dragon tends to rebound spells back at you.



All of his training and experience had given Theo no clue as to what he should do now that he had reached the end of his quest. The dragon had been sealed away in the painting, but could that effort be duplicated in this day and age by the untrained prince?



With no other options Theo drove the Sword of Hope into the painting, drawing forth a sharp cry from his gravely injured father. Even defeating King Hennessy had not completely severed the connection between the two.



Only the final sealing of the painting with the Sword of Hope had the power to free the King, although it came at a grave cost. The King had no memory of his actions while he had been possessed, nor any awareness of who Prince Theo was.



Despite this, the King recognized Theo as the one who had been spoken of in prophecy and knew that he must owe his life to the prince.



There was no time to talk, however, as the mirror world began to tremble without the power of the dragon to keep it stable.



Theo supported his gravely wounded father as the two made their best speed, fleeing toward the true castle. Step by halting step, the two re-traced the path Theo had taken to reach the hidden cave.

Quite literally, the game displays each individual screen on the most direct path toward the exit.



Passing through the mirror the second time destroyed the frame itself, forever sealing off the path to the reversed world. Theo could only hope that the talking roses, if they had indeed been people, were either released from their captivity or would be able to rest in peace.



In the days that followed, the kingdom of Riccar returned to a semblance of its former beauty, although the long rule of darkness had wrought changes that would be years in healing.



Those who had survived the darkness, who retained their minds after years in another shape, recognized Theo for the hero he was and passed his legend downward to the generations to come.



And with that, the legend of the Sword of Hope ends.

Although we're not quite done...