Editing Mr Mirrors

|relationships = [[Curators]] (species)|allegiance=[[The Masters of the Bazaar]] (<span style="background-color:purple"><span style = "color:purple">formerly</span></span>)<br>[[The Echo Bazaar]] (<span style="background-color:purple"><span style = "color:purple">formerly</span></span>)}}<blockquote>''"And Mr Mirrors?''

''""Ah, well, you just missed Mirrors," says Wines.''

''""Indeed, Mirrors was here just before you arrived," adds Apples."''<ref name = "inquire other masters">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inquire_after_the_other_Masters|Inquire after the other Masters|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

'''Mr Mirrors''' is a curiously missing [[Master of the Bazaar]]. Its identity and duties have been assumed by another Master in its absence.

<blockquote>''"The frangible and the fine!"''<ref name = "mirrors nemesis suspect">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mr_Mirrors|Mr Mirrors|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

In modern [[London]], Mr Mirrors trades in "the frangible and the fine:"<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mr_Mirrors|Mr Mirrors|Fallen London}}''"The frangible and the fine!"''</ref> all kinds of glasswork, such as mirrors and windows.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Incarnadine_Fur_Robe|Incarnadine Fur Robe|Fallen London}} ''"Mirrors, we thought, for that is our name, this is a most excellent example of glasswork! [...] "Not like Mr Wines, no, who only appreciates the contents of a cup never its vessel. But we love all manner of glassware, from Murano delicates to the grand stained windows that we hear reside in the cathedrals of France— " It continues [...] At last Wines tires of its act [...]"''</ref> It also has an interest in [[Parabola|dreams]];<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Piece_your_clues_together_(1)|Piece your clues together (1)|Fallen London}} ''"The Calendar Council [...] Of that twelve, one stands in opposition to Mr Mirrors and its bailiwick over dreams [...]"''</ref> according to its version of [[Mr Sacks]],<ref name = "call cups">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mr_Sacks!_Take_my_ignorance_from_me._Are_you...|Mr Sacks! Take my ignorance from me. Are you...|Fallen London}} ''"Yes, yes. I might be called Cups."''</ref> it wishes to reflect dreams, not rule them,<ref name="day five">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Day_5%3A_Mr_Sacks%2C_purringly|Day 5: Mr Sacks, purringly|Fallen London}}''""Give of your dreams," it says. "You've met the ones who desire to'' rule ''dreams. I wish only to'' reflect ''them.""''</ref> unlike [[Mr Wines]] and [[Mr Spices]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Tell_him_about_your_dreams_of_ice_and_fire|Tell him about your dreams of ice and fire|Fallen London}}''"Entwined, symbiotic, in an orbit of hatred whose parabola describes fixated love... I can think of two who might be interested in the details of this. But perhaps I should tell only one, heh heh."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mr_Sacks!_Take_my_ignorance_from_me._Are_you...|Mr Sacks! Take my ignorance from me. Are you...|Fallen London}} ''"And I smell Spices here, and Wines, and a certain familiar flintiness."''</ref> Mirrors has other odd hoards to its name, such as a large quantity of [[First City]] coins<ref name="master voice">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Master%27s_Voice|The Master's Voice|Fallen London}}</ref> and crates with "growling" contents.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Investigate_the_Embassy_warehouses|Investigate the Embassy warehouses|Fallen London}} ''"[...] you discover a pile of boxes marked "PROPERTY OF MR MIRRORS" [...] Best not to open them. They growl."''</ref> [[File:Mirrorsreflection.png|alt=A three-sided mirror showing a green landscape.|thumb|Mr Mirrors' Most Heartfelt Reflection]]Mr Mirrors never appears in public,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Incarnadine_Fur_Robe|Incarnadine Fur Robe|Fallen London}} ''"Mr Mirrors never appears in public."''</ref> but can still be contacted and typically responds via letter.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Master%27s_Voice|The Master's Voice|Fallen London}}''"You're not given an audience with Mr Mirrors itself, but a package is delivered [...] "Mr Mirrors wishes you good fortune," the messenger says. "He's certain you'll remember him.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Lost_in_Reflections|Lost in Reflections|Fallen London}} ''"A word [...] will soon reach Mr Mirrors. [...] The Master doesn't [...] meet you in person, but it sends [...] Constables to retrieve the mirror, and a grateful note. 'Dear Friend: this has preserved more than you know. [...]"''</ref> The "Mr Mirrors" known to current Londoners is an alias taken on by [[Mr Cups]].<ref name="distraction">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Distract_yourself;_read_the_newspaper|Distract yourself; read the newspaper|Fallen London}} ''"This is, [...] what they do when one of them falls. As Cups took over Mirrors' identity and bailiwick, [...]"''</ref> Cups is also the true "Original"<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Mr_Sacks!_Dispose_of_this_sedition_for_me!|Mr Sacks! Dispose of this sedition for me!|Fallen London}}''"We shall see that these our consigned to the flames. Or if not us, our Original. Please ignore that last sentence. Purge it from your memory. Thank you."''</ref> of Mr Mirrors' version of Mr Sacks that appears in modern London.<ref name="call cups" /><ref name="day five" /> This information is not known to the public,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/...an_incognito_Master%3F|...an incognito Master?|Fallen London}}''"It indicates coyly that Mr Hearts and Mr Mirrors are trading names, though it doesn't say who for."''</ref> who typically assume<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Something_to_burn%3F|Something to burn?|Fallen London}}''"Perhaps […] Mr Mirrors is Mr Cups."''</ref> them to be separate.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Inquire_after_the_other_Masters|Inquire after the other Masters|Fallen London|}} ''""And Mr Mirrors?" ""Ah, well, you just missed Mirrors," says Wines." ""Indeed, Mirrors was here just before you arrived," adds Apples.""''</ref> Cups took on this role after its colleague disappeared under mysterious circumstances.<ref name="distraction" />

<blockquote>''"For years she stalked one Master, Mr Mirrors. It's gone. It's been gone for years. She lured it into dreams. And dreams – nightmares – are her weapons."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote><blockquote>''"Take this secret, and go: every dream imprisons its dreamer."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Offer_a_gift_to_the_serpents|Offer a gift to the serpents|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:October small.jpg|alt=A black and gold mask.|thumb|[[October]]]]

The original Mr Mirrors was imprisoned in [[Parabola]]<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Dreamer%27s_End|Dreamer's End|Fallen London}} ''"[...] the Beggar's Wake is the dream of the [...] creature chained at its heart, that the creature is the last remnant of Mr Mirrors [...]"''</ref> sometime after the [[Fall of London]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Piece_your_clues_together_(1)|Piece your clues together (1)|Fallen London}} ''"[...] one stands in opposition to Mr Mirrors [...] October. To your knowledge, October has not been seen in London for years."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_an_old_friend|Ask an old friend|Fallen London}} ''"October achieved her goal and vacated the Council."''</ref> The party responsible was [[October]] of the [[Calendar Council]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_her_heart%27s_desire|Ask about her heart's desire|Fallen London}} ''"I used my reward to cast one of the Masters in a prison of its own failures. [...] October sighs wistfully, "I understand that most of them have had second thoughts about the game since then.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_for_Gregory_Beechwood%27s_heart%27s_desire|Ask for Gregory Beechwood's heart's desire|Fallen London}} ''"I said after the Mirrors incident that we should put an end to the d_mn thing."''</ref> who disguised herself and won the [[Marvellous]], the Masters' game that awards winners their heart's desire;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_her_heart%27s_desire|Ask about her heart's desire|Fallen London}} ''"I asked for my dreams to come true [...] I spent years constructing a false identity in order to join the Marvellous."''</ref> she used her wish to gain great power in Parabola<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_her_heart%27s_desire|Ask about her heart's desire|Fallen London}} ''"I asked for my dreams to come true, and the Masters arranged certain accommodations with the powers of the Is-Not."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Leave_October|Leave October|Fallen London}} ''"Perhaps October's powers are not wholly spent."''</ref> and chain Mirrors in a "prison of its own failures",<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_about_her_heart%27s_desire|Ask about her heart's desire|Fallen London}} ''"I used my reward to cast one of the Masters in a prison of its own failures."''</ref> destroying its presence in reality.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Dreamer%27s_End|Dreamer's End|Fallen London}} ''"I am only a splinter of myself, now. A dream, dreaming. A reflection, cast by nothing."''</ref> All that was left of Mirrors after this was a "reflection, cast by nothing."<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Dreamer%27s_End|Dreamer's End|Fallen London}} ''"[...] the creature is the last remnant of Mr Mirrors [...] The chained thing spits [...] I am [...] A reflection, cast by nothing."''</ref>

Mirrors is chained to a post in the '''Beggar's Wake''', a crossroads<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ambition_Nemesis_%E2%80%93_A_Guardian_(2)|Ambition Nemesis %E2%80%93 A Guardian (2)|Fallen London}} ''"A [...] fence-post stands at the centre of a crossroads [...] Chained to it is an emaciated winged creature, clad in [...] robes."''</ref> that guards the '''Grave of Mirrors'''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Journey_to_the_Beggar%27s_Wake|Journey to the Beggar's Wake|Fallen London}} ''"This is the Beggar's Wake: you must pass through to reach the Grave of Mirrors."''</ref> and is a manifestation of one of Mirrors' dreams.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Dreamer%27s_End|Dreamer's End|Fallen London}} ''"[...] the Beggar's Wake is the dream of the pitiful creature chained at its heart [...]"''</ref> The '''Claiming Wind''', a tempestuous entity that was once its pet, was set free<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Accept_the_creature%27s_help|Accept the creature's help|Fallen London}} ''"The wind is hungry. [...] used to be mine. Now free and angry."''</ref> and now vengefully torments its former master.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Speak_its_name,_and_unchain_it|Speak its name, and unchain it|Fallen London}} ''"[...] you speak the words – "Mr. Mirrors," [...] The Claiming Wind is not pleased [...] you have freed its toy. [...] It is [...] full of vengeance."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Find_the_Grave_of_Mirrors|Find the Grave of Mirrors|Fallen London}} ''"[...] given to my own pet as a toy—" [...] it shoots a wounded look [...] to where the Claiming Wind harries the heathers [...]"''</ref>[[File:Parabola_medium.png|thumb|100px|Every dream imprisons its dreamer.]]Around the Wake, Mirrors' other dreams have also manifested,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ambition_Nemesis_%E2%80%93_The_Beggar%27s_Wake|Ambition: Nemesis - The Beggar's Wake|Fallen London}}''"Signs point to the 'Pedlar King', 'the Convocation of Runts' and 'The Court of Honey and Spice'. A fourth sign lies toppled in the dark grass."''</ref> although these may each portray Mirrors as a reflection of another Master. The Court of Honey and Spice<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Offer_a_gift_to_the_serpents|Offer a gift to the serpents|Fallen London}} ''""No. Don't want to dream of this again," [...]"''</ref> represents its capture by other [[Curators]], though the name at least is suggestive of [[Mr Spices]];<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Offer_a_gift_to_the_serpents|Offer a gift to the serpents|Fallen London}} ''"The shrill cries of the hunters above echo through the tunnels, and the bat-thing shivers. "No. Don't want to dream of this again," [...]"''</ref> the Convocation of Runts<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Convocation_of_Runts|The Convocation of Runts|Fallen London}} ''"The lone, [...] one with the box glares at you. Its eyes are mirrors. "What are you doing in my dreams?""''</ref> shows Mirrors joining the [[Masters]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_the_Convocation|Approach the Convocation|Fallen London}} ''"Monstrous, winged, batlike. There are eleven; ten together, one alone. [...] One stands before the rest. [...] "Take me with you," the creature whispers."''</ref> though it seems to have entered [[Mr Eaten|a devoured Master]]'s dreams here in order to witness its own memories;<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Convocation_of_Runts_2|The Convocation of Runts 2|Fallen London|}} ''"The lone, scarred, whispering one with the box glares at you. Its eyes are mirrors. "What are you doing in my dreams?" it hisses. Its tone is possessive, wheedling, pleading."''</ref> and the Pedlar King<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Entreat_the_Pedlar_King_to_forgo_its_demands|Entreat the Pedlar King to forgo its demands|Fallen London}} ''"This place, all of it, is the dream of the one shackled at its heart."''</ref> represents its desire to become a king, though this may reflect the overthrown king [[Mr Wines]] instead.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Pedlar_King|The Pedlar King|Fallen London}} ''""We would have been an excellent sovereign, were it permitted." [...] "But these things are only allowed to us in dreams. And I am only a king in the glass.""''</ref> Notably, Spices, Wines, and the one now known as [[Mr Eaten]] were all competitors with Mr Mirrors over the domain of dreams. Perhaps it is this detail that makes the Beggar's Wake "a prison" of Mirrors' failures.

In the ''Sunless Skies'' timeline, the original Mr Mirrors is called the '''Saint in the Glass''' by the Cult of the Sanctified at [[Avid Horizon]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Jolly_Anchorite#Interactions|Recite the litany of the dead|Sunless Skies}} ''"It's true. They were lost before the rest. The Saint of Tapers and the Saint in the Glass. We never speak their names. One we have hope of seeking, the other is gone. That saint will not be with us again."''</ref>

<blockquote>''"To be reduced to this. Undone by a perfidious revolutionary, given to my own pet as a toy, and now at the mercy of some anonymous Parabolan vagrant. Miserable."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Find_the_Grave_of_Mirrors|Find the Grave of Mirrors|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>''"It is a kingly gift you ask of us. But then we are a king. And what better demonstration of our quality than charity?"''<ref name="remove demands">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Entreat_the_Pedlar_King_to_forgo_its_demands|Entreat the Pedlar King to forgo its demands|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

In the Beggar's Wake, Mirrors' eyes are mirrors.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sneak_past_the_serpents|Sneak past the serpents|Fallen London}}''"The creature opens its eyes, and its eyes are mirrors, too.[...] "No. Don't want to dream of this again," it whispers. "Take this secret, and go: every dream imprisons its dreamer. Find the prisoner.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Convocation_of_Runts|The Convocation of Runts|Fallen London}} ''"The lone, [...] one with the box glares at you. Its eyes are mirrors. "What are you doing in my dreams?" [...]"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Provide_the_Pedlar_King_with_gifts_for_its_hall|Provide the Pedlar King with gifts for its hall|Fallen London}} ''"The shine of your gifts reflects in the kings' eyes, for its eyes are mirrors."''</ref> Notably, one of its aspects has a chip in each eye,<ref name="the guardian">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ambition_Nemesis_%E2%80%93_A_Guardian_(2)|Ambition Nemesis - A Guardian (2)|Fallen London}} ''"Eyes glint within the hood – eyes of mirrored glass, each missing a chip."''</ref> a trait shared with the mirrors<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Assemble_your_salvaged_thoughts|Assemble your salvaged thoughts|Fallen London|}} ''"Each has a chip removed; a small technique which makes the mirror incomplete, [...]"''</ref> in its now-abandoned London home.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Search_for_mirrors|Search for mirrors|Fallen London|}} ''""The framed mirrors [...] Black mirrors and red, gold and polished amethyst. A pale mirror made of diamond. [...] an entry on a mirror that was a gift from the Priest-Kings of the Third City [...]""''</ref>

In its current state, Mr Mirrors is miserable and self-pitying, bemoaning its incapacitation and wounded pride.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Find_the_Grave_of_Mirrors|Find the Grave of Mirrors|Fallen London}} ''""To be reduced to this," [...] "Undone by a perfidious revolutionary, given to my own pet as a toy—" [...]  "—and now at the mercy of some anonymous Parabolan vagrant." [...] "Miserable.""''</ref> Furthermore, Mirrors does not consider the Bazaar a worthwhile recipient of the services it once provided.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Call_on_the_Shadow_of_Mr_Mirrors|Call on the Shadow of Mr Mirrors|Fallen London}} ''""I remember this," [...] "A service I once did for the Bazaar. [...] Not the first such service and not the last. One of far too many." The thing's voice is gloating."''</ref>

<blockquote>''"Monstrous, winged, batlike. There are eleven; ten together, one alone. One stands before the rest. Its monstrous face is scarred, its jaw hanging by a thread of gristle. Its wings are torn. It limps. An accumulation of mistreatment, over years and years. It clutches a heavy box, which bucks and rattles. From inside it, you can hear a howling, like the wind on the moor.''<br>

''"'Take me with you,' the creature whispers."''<ref name="approach convocation">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_the_Convocation|Approach the Convocation|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>

Mr Mirrors, along with the other [[Masters]], is a [[Curator]],<ref name="master secret2">{{Citation|https://www.failbettergames.com/news/a-secret-about-the-masters|A secret about the Masters|Failbetter Games}}''"[...] the Masters' kind are denizens of the High Wilderness. Their hunting-grounds lie in the dark span between the stars. [...] Their chiefs are victorious, merciless pedlar-magnates."''</ref> a bat-like being who scoured the [[High Wilderness]] for treasures to hoard.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.miraheze.org/wiki/Curator|Curator|Sunless Skies}}"''Intelligent, locomotive-sized chiroptera [...] Curators accumulate hoards, which they guard violently. Each hoard collects artifacts or creatures themed to the Curator’s particular obsession."''</ref> It was hunted down by other Curators<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Court_of_Honey_and_Spice|The Court of Honey and Spice|Fallen London}}''"Above and below, winged, chiropterous shapes flit across the stars. Their shrill hunting-cries pierce the air. But what are they hunting?"''</ref> for "glass-whispering:" a forbidden ritual to commune with the [[Fingerkings]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Enter_the_castle_in_the_sky|Enter the castle in the sky|Fallen London}} ''"[...] the winged creatures circle and scream. [...] You follow a sound through the shadows: a thin whispering, [...] you find the source. A hunched batlike creature cradles a shard of mirror. [...] its snout whispering soft nonsense to the glass. It is not alone. Serpents coil about it; a braid of monstrous, tangled serpents, banded in corn-yellow and midnight-black."''</ref> To escape further torment, the now heavily-scarred<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_the_Convocation|Approach the Convocation|Fallen London}} ''"One stands before the rest. Its monstrous face is scarred, [...] Its wings are torn. [...] An accumulation of mistreatment, [...]"''</ref> Mr Mirrors chose to join the other Masters at [[Avid Horizon]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Conversation_on_the_Road|A Conversation on the Road|Fallen London}} ''"[...] I have grown [...] fond even of our new associate here. Lowly origins notwithstanding." [...] he gestures at you, and at the wound-in-the-world far, far behind you."''</ref> bringing it under the employ of the [[Echo Bazaar]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_the_Convocation|Approach the Convocation|Fallen London}} ''"One stands before the rest. Its monstrous face is scarred, its jaw hanging by a thread of gristle. Its wings are torn. It limps. [...] "Take me with you," the creature whispers. Another answers, [...] "We have found a way: through a wound in the sky. [...] Behind them, something massive looms [...] Spires hang in the gloom. Sigils flare on its skin."''</ref> Mirrors brought with it a box containing its pet, the Claiming Wind.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Force_the_Convocation_tell_you_how_to_reach_the_Grave_of_Mirrors|Force the Convocation tell you how to reach the Grave of Mirrors|Fallen London}} ''""The Claiming Wind has not yet been tamed. Releasing it would be unfortunate for everyone concerned. Best to keep it in its box.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Approach_the_Convocation|Approach the Convocation|Fallen London}} ''""Take me with you," the creature whispers. [...] "We have found a way: [...] You could even bring your pet," it inclines its head at the box."''</ref>

During the era of the [[First City]],<ref name="a loophole">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Sleeper|The Sleeper|Fallen London}} ''""The Debtor cannot be woken," [...] Parabola takes the shape of her story. A caravan on the road. A man who carried the clay seal that allowed him to pledge the faith of the Bazaar itself for an impossible ransom. [...] The city almost sold, and the loophole [...] that sent the Debtor to sleep instead. "His promise was sworn by the Cedar that stood in the square of the first of all cities. It hears him still.""''</ref> Mr Mirrors was responsible for sealing the [[The Sleeping Merchant|Sleeping Merchant]] in [[Parabola]],<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/A_Conclave_of_the_Masters|A Conclave of the Masters|Fallen London}} ''"The Merchant will not wake," [...] "Mr Mirrors did solid work there." [...] "Mr Mirrors may have sealed him into Parabola," [...]"''</ref> as the Merchant had made a dangerous deal with the [[Creditor]] on behalf of the Echo Bazaar.<ref name="a loophole" /><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Way_West|The Way West|Fallen London}} ''"A payment was offered long ago, in the Bazaar's name. The Creditor still lives."''</ref>

<blockquote><em>"But what</em> was <em>Mr Mirrors doing? I haven't the foggiest clue, but I can pretend that I know. Isn't that just as good? After all, what can the Master of Mirrors desire, except what others desire? Balance, perhaps, between reality and reflection. If the balance is off, from which side does one add or subtract the weight? What is the weight? It's probably more than honey."</em><ref name="king croc">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>[[File:Kingcroc.png|alt=A picture of a crocodile zoomed in on the eye.|thumb|The Yolk-in-Yearning]]

During the era of the [[Second City]], the [[The Sisters|Pharaoh's daughters]]<ref name="didn't care">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''"And the pharaoh's daughters didn't always care for me. After I opened the glass, I was lucky to get scraps [...]"''</ref> began exploring [[Parabola]]. For their glass-rituals, they needed a creature with an equal presence in both reality and dream,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''"In order to open the glass, the Egyptians developed certain rites. During the Second City, those rites came to fruition. They needed [...] Something with one foot on this side, and one foot decidedly not."''</ref> so they created one called the '''Yolk-in-Yearning''':<ref name="didn't care" /> a crocodile possessed by a [[Fingerking]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''"[...] mirrored, the crocodile gazes back at you. Its reflection [...] and the reflected serpent coiled around its head, [...] There is no serpent, [...] outside the reflection."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''"When the crocodile speaks, the serpent speaks too: "The Yolk-in-Yearning, at your disposal.""''</ref> Typically, host animals possessed by Fingerkings are considered their "retainers", but the Yolk was unique, as the crocodile and Fingerking formed a singular self.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''"How are the serpent and the crocodile truly related? [...] "You might as well ask how you're related to yourself. [...] Behind the glass, it's not unknown for kings to claim retainers on this side. [...] But our crocodile isn't a retainer."''</ref> The Yolk-in-Yearning later became a bodyguard for Mr Mirrors, even battling [[October]] when she strove to destroy the Master.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''""Mr Mirrors, [...] has been delinquent," [...] "When was it? Since October?" [...] "What a bite! What a battle!" [...] "I have been a guard-dog on a chain,""''</ref>  

Mirrors wanted to achieve balance between reality and dream,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''"[...] what can the Master of Mirrors desire, [...] Balance, perhaps, between reality and reflection."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''"They weren't balanced. Mr Mirrors taught me all about balance."''</ref> and the Yolk was "balanced" by its metrics.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''""Nobody can imitate me," [...] They weren't balanced."''</ref> It made many attempts to replicate its own bodyguard, but these failed, and many of the test subjects were fed to the crocodile.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Crocodile_Who_Would_Be_King|The Crocodile Who Would Be King|Fallen London}} ''""Nobody can imitate me," [...] "But who wouldn't make an attempt? And when the experiments failed, I had the most lovely suppers. They sank into my tank. They weren't balanced."''</ref>