The mirror gleamed like a polished drop of sunlight, its surface clear, the golden frame finely etched with tiny runes that shimmered when touched.
Bilbo turned it over curiously.
"A mirror? Why would Sylas send me a mirror?" he muttered, squinting at his reflection.
Just as he leaned closer to inspect it, the mirror's surface rippled, and a cartoonish yellow baby dragon popped up, smiling brightly.
"Hello, Master! Please bind your identity first and complete verification to better use the mirror," it chirped in a lively tone.
"Good heavens!" Bilbo yelped, nearly dropping it. "You...you talk? What are you?"
"I'm your mirror housekeeper, Master," the baby dragon said proudly, puffing out its tiny chest. "I'll help you contact other mirrors, manage your messages, and assist you in many other ways!"
Bilbo blinked in disbelief. "You mean… I can use this thing to talk to other people who have one too?"
"Exactly! But first, you must complete identity verification and binding."
"Right, right...er, how do I do that?"
"Simple! Please follow my instructions: place your face in front of the mirror… good! Now nod… blink twice… perfect!"
Bilbo, looking thoroughly ridiculous, obeyed every step.
"Verification complete!" the baby dragon announced proudly.
"Congratulations, Master! This mirror now belongs exclusively to you. No one else can use it without your permission. Oh, and if you don't like my current form, you can change my skin!"
"Change your image?" Bilbo asked, intrigued despite himself. "What other kinds are there?"
The baby dragon grinned, then immediately morphed into a round little bird surrounded by sparks of lightning.
"This is the Thunderbird skin!"
A blink later, it turned into a tiny green snake with sunglasses.
"This one's Basilisk Mode, quite stylish, don't you think?"
Then into a squirming purple octopus baring its teeth.
"Kraken skin!"
Bilbo's eyes grew wide as the little creature kept cycling through forms, Pegasus, Griffin, Cerberus, Hippogriff, and more.
"And if none of these please you," the spirit continued eagerly, "we also have Elf, Orc, Troll, Warg, Ringwraith, and even Sauron modes! Or, Master can design a brand new one!"
"Wait, Sauron?!" Bilbo exclaimed, horrified. "You have a Sauron skin?"
"Of course!" the spirit said cheerfully. "Here, I'll show you!"
The mirror darkened. A shadowy figure appeared, wreathed in flame, with a burning red eye glaring from behind. The voice dropped to a chilling, yet comically exaggerated, tone.
"Behold me, Master. Do you wish to set this as your default skin?"
Bilbo nearly jumped out of his chair. "No, no, no! Absolutely not! The dragon one's fine, perfect, keep it!"
The spirit chuckled and instantly reverted to its sunny yellow dragon form. "Excellent choice, Master. I think I suit you best too!"
Once settled, the dragon blinked and said, "Would you like to contact Lord Sylas now?"
"Yes, yes, contact him!" Bilbo said quickly, his curiosity reignited.
The dragon spun around and knocked on a mirror-within-the-mirror, shouting, "Hey! Number Three! Open up! My Master, Mr. Bilbo Baggins, wants a video call with Lord Sylas!"
A golden baby dragon suddenly poked its head out from the smaller mirror, smacked the yellow one on the head, and snapped, "Stop banging! You'll crack the screen! My Master's on another call, wait your turn!"
Bilbo stared, speechless, as his own dragon flopped over, dazed, with cartoon stars circling its head.
Apparently, not all mirror spirits were equally polite.
Fortunately, after a few moments, the inner mirror expanded, merging into one seamless surface. Both dragons vanished, and Sylas 's smiling face appeared on the glass.
"Long time no see, Bilbo," Sylas greeted warmly. "That's a Two-Way Mirror I sent you. You can use it to reach me, Gandalf, or Balin anytime. And if we're busy, you can leave a message, the mirror spirit will notify us when we're free."
"This is amazing! Sylas, thank you for the gift!" Bilbo said, beaming from ear to ear. His round face glowed with genuine joy.
In that moment, he thought to himself that taking in Sylas all those years ago, giving the mysterious young man a home in Bag End, had been the best decision of his life.
Through Sylas, Bilbo had seen and experienced things beyond any hobbit's wildest imagination: dragons, elven realms, enchanted artifacts, even immortality itself.
And speaking of immortality, this mirror, however miraculous, was hardly the most precious thing Sylas had ever given him.
After all, Bilbo already possessed an elixir of immortality, a shimmering golden potion Sylas had personally gifted him. One sip had granted him ten years of youth, during which his body would not age a day.
Moreover, Sylas had promised to deliver another vial every ten years, so long as Bilbo lived.
Compared to that gift, this mirror, exquisite though it was, seemed a mere trinket.
Still, his heart swelled with gratitude. He could barely find the words to express it, so he simply smiled, his eyes glistening with emotion.
The two chatted warmly for a while, sharing jokes and memories, until Sylas had to excuse himself, his other mirrors had begun lighting up one after another with incoming calls.
Across Middle-earth, snowy owls streaked through the skies like white comets, carrying small velvet-wrapped mirrors tied to their legs.
From Hogwarts Castle, they fanned out in every direction, to Lothlórien, Mirkwood, Dale, Erebor, Moria, Rohan, Gondor, and beyond.
One by one, the mirrors reached their recipients, and under the cheerful guidance of their respective mirror spirits, everyone soon learned how to use them.
Gandalf, riding his loyal horse Shadowfax through the rolling hills of Enedwaith, received his mirror mid-journey.
The moment he realized it could talk, he laughed so loudly that Shadowfax flicked his ears in annoyance.
For nearly an hour, Gandalf conversed with the spirited little creature inside, and in typical Gandalf fashion, promptly customized its "skin."
He set the mirror spirit to a dynamic rotation mode, giving it a new appearance each day. One morning it would be a phoenix, the next a griffin, then a thundercloud with a beard.
He even kept the Sauron skin, purely out of mischief, and told Sylas later with a grin,
"If Sauron ever finds out, he'll be furious enough to choke on his own shadow!"
Others had their fun too:
Legolas chose a Thunderbird image, elegant and noble.
Beorn, unsurprisingly, picked Cerberus, saying it "looked strong."
Balin, the Dwarven Lord of Moria, picked an Orc skin, specifically Azog the Defiler, and found great amusement in hearing the Orc spirit bow and call him "Master."
Before long, the entire network of mirrors came alive.
Once everyone discovered the mirrors' messaging, group chat, and sharing functions, Middle-earth had, in effect, its very first social media.
Balin became a star of the "magic Web," constantly uploading snippets from Moria, dwarves mining mithril, grand banquets, and drinking contests, and gleefully counting his "likes."
Beorn followed suit, sharing recordings of his bear form wrestling bands of Orcs in the Misty Mountains.
King Fengel of Rohan posted breathtaking scenes of him leading cavalry across the plains.
Ecthelion II, the Regent of Gondor, shared majestic images from atop the White Tower, overlooking Minas Tirith under the sun.
Within weeks, what began as a blank magical network had turned into a bustling, colorful hub, full of laughter, images, and messages from across the world.
Even strangers began forming friendships and alliances through the mirrors.
For instance, Ecthelion II and Balin met through the network and struck a trade deal: Gondor would import mithril from Moria to forge superior weapons and armor.
Sylas watched all this with quiet satisfaction. His invention had not only connected distant lands, it had united them.
And as the magic web thrived with life, he turned his mind to his next great endeavor.
He summoned Edward, his loyal butler, now a young man with steady eyes and the poise of someone far older than his years.
When Edward stood before him, Sylas smiled faintly and asked,
"Edward, tell me… do you want to become a Wizard?"
...
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