Welcome to Miror

Amir the White Knight

Female Main Character x Male Monster (both cis)

Before the current royal family, Miror was ruled by the Court of Chess. It was made up of two warring families, who hosted a great battle every five years to determine who would be the next ruler of Miror. For those five years the King and Queen of each side would train their troops and build up an army as strong as possible to win and claim the throne.

When they were challenged by the human form of the Goddess Alice, the two families united to defeat her. Unfortunately, it was for naught. Alice won, becoming the first united queen of Miror, and the progenitor of the modern royal family. She took pity on the Court of Chess, and while she banished both kings and queens, she kept their armies. But fortune did not smile on the two armies, as Alice used them very little. What was once a mighty army was now nothing more than a plaything of the royal family.

My ancestors were part of the Dynastinae Court, who held the throne the longest in their day. We were considered the mightiest army in all of Miror, well-trained, intelligent, and ruthless. Nowadays, we're lucky to even be able to talk about our former glory. Thanks to our ancestors trying to stage coups, we're relegated to a sort of village prison. The Chessboard was where our ancestors fought their battles to see who would take the throne. Now, we're forced to live inside it. Both the Cyphochilus Court and Dynastinae Court inhabit this village, and once a year the Royal Family makes us reenact the War of Alice. Humiliating, to say the least.

Sometimes we're trotted out for special events at the royal palace, nothing more than glossy setpieces for the royal family. I get it - both sides of the Court of Chess are a bit volatile. Some of the elders still speak of overthrowing the current regime, but some of us younger ones have gotten, dare I say, lazy? None of us have the drive that previous generations did. Most of us don't even remember the Battle of Alice or the way things used to be. Some of us have never even been outside of the Chessboard. What are we supposed to fight for?

The old Chess Pieces are barely touched anymore, and are basically giant landmarks dotting the outskirts of the Chessboard. The large mechanical suits of armor that once served as the main vessels for battle are growing moss and vines and sinking into the earth. Whenever we are forced to do the reenactments, we have special props that resemble the mech suits. One person operates one of those props, but it takes two, sometimes three people to make one of the Chess Pieces fully operational.

My parents were once the pilots of the Queen Piece, and they still talk about it to this day. "Oh it was wonderful, Zari. It was captivating, Zari," they say. "The Queen Piece was the highlight of all the battles! We were always the center of attention."

I can't imagine what going from center stage to nothing felt like. I was born just before the Battle of Alice, so I have no context for what being on top is like. The only view I get is from climbing the Chess Pieces and looking out over the Chessboard. Each side keeps themselves separate. The Cyphochilus Court and Dynastinae Court really stick to their rivalry guns, and not even being defeated by Alice could stop that. If you cross the line separating both sides, it causes a fight. I suppose it's as close to fighting for the throne as we can get these days.

From the top of the Chess Pieces, I can see a little beyond the Chessboard. The royal palace is a jewel in the distance, with the Tulgey Wood spreading out on the other side. I can sometimes see smoke rising from the chimneys of the villages nearby, and on clear nights I can see their lights glowing like a halo. I'm too young to remember a time before we were trapped on the Chessboard, but I want to go beyond it someday.

It's growing dark, and I can see the lights of the closest village. I should be getting home, but I love to watch the stars come out. I have quite a large family, six younger siblings that I have to help wrangle at the end of the day. They rely on me to tell them stories before bedtime.