32nd of Glade, Year 120
"Mirroring. Describe it to me, Taelian."
"Ah... uh -- sorry, I don't remember."
"Really?" she asked. "Can you imagine being at the court of Finla Iulide, one of the most powerful men in Atinaw, being asked if you could inform him of the proceedings of a treasurer's meeting and simply answering: I don't remember? If you're going to have poor memory, at least do so with things unimportant, so I don't need to persistently repeat myself." Her expression grew agitated, though Taelian knew it was... something of a farce. Eloise had been hard on him of late, but like much of the rest of her, it was inauthentic. He had a difficult time explaining it, but she liked to play these... games with him, feigning rage or aggravation. He assumed it was for motivation.
"Okay, well -- from the beginning. Mirroring is an off-shoot of blink, working with the mage's ability to be present in two places at one time. Mirroring elongates that period of time in which the mage is doubly present, increasing the strain and recovery time for the ability but equally allotting the mage with a benefit. Firstly, you can use both bodies however you please, attacking or defending however you wish. Equally, you may choose which location you remain in when the ability ends, either the location you 'blinked to' or the one you began at, as both bodies are legitimate and may be chosen as your permanent space. I would like for you to perform Mirroring for me, now, based on that description. Whatever your attempt may be, however, keep it brief; Mirroring quickly drains aether when performed."
Taelian nodded quietly, envisioning the ability in his head. Of course, it would've helped if Eloise had actually chosen to demonstrate it like with other abilities, but he felt the explanation was clear enough for him to work with it. The two of them were venturing through the mountain pass east of Melitene, leading towards Loregard, with Eloise swearing she would transport him to the city by portal once they had reached the end of the pass. Until then, this would essentially be his final days of training for a while. She wished for him to be ready.
After garnering some sort of idea on how he was meant to go about this, the Ebon Knight stepped forward on one foot and prepared to blink, concentrating his aether to perform the task. Even Blinking wasn't particularly native to him, so the strain was immediate. But with a second step, he blinked to his intended location, proverbially zipping past Eloise as he re-appeared elsewhere. He was still facing his simultaneous self; the one existing at the original point. Concentrating his aether, he attempted to keep it there, maintaining that split moment for a while longer. Unfortunately, though he did seem to be able to hold it for a second or two longer than expected, the original point collapsed.
