Varian

The next morning, we ate breakfast quickly, then started preparations to put Vala's plan into action. Honestly, I knew the basics about what the mage was trying to do, but the actual mechanics were a different language to me. I simply had to trust that Vala knew what she was doing, at least partially. She seemed confident, which made me feel better.

She handed me the mirror. "Be careful with this. It's the only mirror we have. You should sit, but get comfortable, this might take some time."

I sat with my back against the far wall, while Vala took up a place to my side, opting to sit away from the wall, her legs crossed. I could see a solid look of determination on her face, though I could also tell she was nervous. She tended to get very talkative when she was nervous and had been chatting my ear off all morning while we ate.

I placed a hand on her knee and she looked up at me. "Just relax. This is just a trial run, remember. If things don't work as planned, we'll adjust and try again."

She nodded. After taking several deep breaths, which seemed to calm her marginally, she looked me in the eye and gave me a reassuring smile.

"As I try to make the link, you need to focus on your friend. Not just how she looks, but how she acts, her personality, her mannerisms, anything that makes her memorable to you. Since this mirror in particular was set up with your son in mind, she probably put a little more of herself into it...or at least I hope she did."

I looked into the mirror at my own reflection and began to think about Jaina Proudmoore. I started with the way she looked, focusing on her face, but then started to remember the exasperated look she often gave me when she was disagreeing with me. The way her eyes turned kind and caring the moment Anduin was brought up in conversation, no matter how annoying I was to her at the time.

I pictured how she dressed, her casual look when she was young having morphed into more functional armoring with age and experience. I could almost see the forms she used when she was conjuring a portal or teleporting herself. I remembered the aggression and anguish in her eyes when Theromore was destroyed. The memories weren't exactly pleasant, but they were memorable. They were just as much a part of my friend as the good memories from earlier, less tragic, years.

"Perfect. I can almost picture her in my mind. Amazing." Vala said softly, more to herself than me. "Okay, now that I got the idea, let's look for that mirror."

The view from the mirror in my hand was still only of my own reflection, but obviously, Vala was sensing something else. I doubt she was actually seeing anything, since her eyes were closed. Her look was one of gentle concentration.

After at least an hour, though I had no way of knowing for sure, the mirror stopped showing my own face, turning pure black.

"Vala? The mirror just went black."

Vala opened her eyes, seeing the mirror for herself as I turned it to her, then closed her eyes again. "Good. You can stop focusing on your friend and just keep an eye on the mirror. Let me know if it changes at all."

For hours, we sat where we were, me looking into a black mirror and Vala breathing slowly, the look of concentration never leaving her face. As time ticked by, I watched as her look of concentration got more and more strained. Even though it didn't look like she was doing anything, Vala was obviously using magic in some form. The effort of it was slowly, but surely, exhausting her.

I was beginning to get drowsy myself when the view from the mirror changed back to my own reflection. "Vala…"

"Yeah, I know. I had to break the connection. Honestly, I lasted longer than I thought I would, considering the effort I had to put into maintaining the link. I thought maybe once I connected to the mirror, I wouldn't need to use much energy, but I was wrong. It must be the distance between dimensions or maybe the time differential."

"But...did it work?" I asked, unsure of whether it was the right thing to ask, but knowing full well that I had no idea if the day had been a success or a failure.

"Yes. I think." Vala said, leaning forward to rest her arms on her knees. "A connection was made, but I think the mirror was either turned upside down, packed away somewhere, or maybe it's just in a dark place. I have no idea if I was even connected to the correct mirror or even if the mirror was in the correct dimension."

I carefully placed the mirror down next to me, then turned to face the young woman directly. "Something worked, Vala. This was a start. A test run. We knew none of this was going to be easy."

I stood, helping Vala to her feet. She stumbled slightly, but I caught her and helped her to sit at the table. I pulled the leftovers from breakfast from their storage spot and took a seat across from her. "Eat a little bit, then I'll help you into your bed. You need to rest. Whatever you were doing took a great deal out of you."

Vala chuckled weakly. "If you can see how exhausted I am, you can imagine how I actually feel. I think this activity will need to be an every other day kind of event. Or maybe every two days, depending on how I bounce back. I'm hoping the connection is easier to maintain next time."

"Well, we have nothing but time. It was a good start, Vala, keep that in mind. You did very well today."

Vala didn't seem convinced, but she nodded in agreement anyway. She took a few bites of bread and cheese, then I helped her into her bed. She was fast asleep before any more could be said.


To Be Continued...