Silvering | ONC 2025

An apprentice silversmith, haunted by his reflection.
A wealthy family, falling to ruin.
A patron spirit, searching for a pact.
Five games will decide their fate.

After acquiring great wealth from a boom in silver trade, the Blackwood family moves into a mansion that was mysteriously abandoned by its previous owners. The property has everything a family of established silversmiths could need: prime trade location, a smithing workshop, and a large mirror that was left behind. To Kyren Blackwood, the promises of a new life and the riches that come with it are more than enough to overshadow the eerie tale.

But the mirror watches. Reflections are not what they seem. Driven to the brink of insanity, Kyren must uncover the mirror's secrets before his family loses everything. In a desperate attempt to free himself, he agrees to play five games with the spectre in the mirror. If he can win three, the curse will end. Lose, and he surrenders his soul to the silver spirit.

~An ONC novella, inspired by prompts 13 and 55.
~Set in the same world as Buried in the Sea but can be read completely independently (with no spoilers to one or the other).
~Beautiful cover by @avadel