A very long, long time ago - long enough, even, to be called ancient today - Desire of the Endless was feeling bored. The genderless, beautiful being with short, dark hair and smooth, alabaster skin wandered listlessly through the halls of its palace that was shaped like itself until it entered a large room that contained nothing in it but seven frames that hung along one wall. In each frame there was something different: a book, a helmet, an ankh, a heart, a sword, a colorful swirl, and finally a ring with a sharp, barbed hook on it.
Desire took the ring from out of the frame and than in a silky, soft voice said, "Sister, dear, I stand in my gallery and I hold your sigil, will you talk with me?"
Immediately Desire found itself transported to the realm of Despair; a dark and misty void that contained only rats, and rows and rows of floating windows of all shapes and sizes. At least, in this place they were windows, on the other side of each of them they were mirrors. Mirrors that hung in other worlds, in people's homes, offices, and anywhere else imaginable. Sometimes people would look into a random mirror somewhere and see Despair looking back at them through one of these windows. Desire, however, could not currently see its sister, Despair, anywhere. Not in all the mist. So it began to walk and, presently, it came upon a large, pale, naked woman sitting cross legged on the ground.
"There you are, sister," said Desire.
The woman, Despair, looked up at Desire, revealing a sallow, puffy, white face that was slick and greasy with tears. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, sunken into her face and surrounded with dark circles. Her black, dirty, long hair was twisted and knotted and heaped on top of her head like an old dead tree.
"What do you want?" Despair croaked.
"To play," said Desire, and its golden eyes glittered with mischief.
"I'm in no mood," Despair said with a sigh. She looked back down at her hands, one of which had a smaller version of the hooked ring on one finger. With it she began to pick at the skin on her kneecap until it started to bleed a little.
"But I have a great idea," said Desire. "You'll like this, I swear."
Still focused on her macabre task, Despair simply said, "What is it?"
"Well, it's more of a germ of an idea," said Desire, mindlessly tapping its fingertips together and staring off into space. "I want to create something. Something that will cause whoever looks at it to see their hearts deepest desire."
"That's what imagination is for," said Despair. "Talk to our brother, Dream."
"No, said Desire. "This would go far beyond imagination. This would be real, or at least, it would seem as real as possible. That's what makes it fun. The person would see their heart's desire right in front of them, but never be able to actually touch it."
"It would be like a hallucination, then," said Despair. "Talk to our sister, Delirium."
"I'm talking to you!" shouted Desire, harshly.
Despair looked up at her sister/brother in surprise. "What do you want from me?" she asked, glumly.
Desire walked over to one of the floating windows and ran its hand along the frame. "I think I want one of your mirrors," it said.
"Ah," said Despair in realization. "You want the object to be a mirror. A mirror that shows whoever looks into it their heart's desire. A reflection of their inner self, almost. Or a perverse parody of the concept at least. Clever."
"Isn't it?" said Desire with glee.
"But what's in it for me?" asked Despair.
"Don't be a dolt," retorted Desire. "Surly even you can see the potential here. Once the viewer gets a good look at their desire made real they won't be able to look at anything else ever again. They'll spend every waking minute staring at the mirror wanting and wanting and realizing that what they see will never be theirs, and ultimately...,"
"They'll fall into despair," said Despair.
"It's mutually beneficial," said Desire. "And funny too."
Despair thought about it for only a moment before finally saying, "Okay, you can use one of my mirrors."
She pointed with a chubby, pale finger at a large rectangular window with a golden frame around it that was off to one side of the others.
"That one hasn't been used in ages," she said. "Take that one."
Desire went over to the window and grabbed the sides firmly with its two beautiful hands. Then, with only a slight bit of effort, it spun the window around so that the mirror side was facing it. For a few minutes Desire just stood there admiring its own reflection. It liked how the gold of its eyes matched the gold frame of the mirror. Finally, Desire shook its head clear and began to focus back on the task at hand. Despair watched on as Desire took one of its slender fingers and wrote on the top of the frame the word ERISED. And then, STRA EHRU OYT UBE CAFRU OYT ON WOHSI.
"Subtle," said Despair, sarcastically. "You don't think people will see that and take it as a warning?"
"People can be incredibly stupid," said Desire, smiling. "And for that they deserve everything they get." Then it leaned forward and kissed the surface of the mirror with its perfect lips, which sent a ripple through the reflective surface like a leaf falling on the top of a still pond.
"Done," Desire said, proudly, as it stood back and surveyed its handy work.
"Now what?" asked Despair.
"Now I take it and leave it somewhere on Earth. Somewhere where the curious will find it easily," said Desire.
"Most people aren't going to be too trusting of a magic mirror," said Despair.
"Then I'll put it amongst people who will be," Desire said in annoyance. "The wizarding folk. They wouldn't think twice about a magic mirror. Yes, that's what I'll do."
"Good luck," said Despair, solemnly.
Desire giggled and grabbed the mirror, then both vanished from Despair's realm, heading for parts unknown.