Species Seed: Mirror Ninja.

Mirror Ninja – Google Docs

Mirror Ninja

Mirror Ninja are very dark blue-skinned humanoids of extra-dimensional origins.  While they’re about the same size as Humans, they typically aren’t as quite bulky.  Their features are regular enough and close enough to those of other humanoid races to be attractive, while still being different enough to not look disturbingly distorted.  Most Mirror Ninja have very dark red-black hair; their men have facial hair. Their eyes and teeth are almost exactly like those of Humans. Mirror Ninja cannot interbreed with any other known race.

Mirror Ninja get their name from their ability to use mirrors as portals from this plane of existence to an adjacent one (rather unsurprisingly called Mirror-space).  Any reflective surface that’s large enough to allow a Mirror Ninja pass through can be used; Mirror Ninja have been observed jumping through puddles, buffed metal surfaces, and sufficiently polished granite.  A Mirror Ninja can bring about thirty pounds or so of gear along; however, living creatures cannot be brought through. Mirror Ninja typically favor wearing loose trousers and hooded tunics of as dark a color as they can manage, mostly to avoid wearing anything reflective.

Theoretically, these entities could be the ultimate assassins.  Certainly every totalitarian realm in existence regularly accuse Mirror Ninja — and their allies on this plane of existence — of being precisely that.  Then again, that’s what totalitarian realms like to do when trying to deal with their enemies. Mirror Ninja certainly qualify: their species is firmly on the Good side of any particular moral spectrum, although they’re decidedly indifferent to legal niceties that don’t actually benefit anyone.  It’s not that Mirror Ninja run around looking for oppressive regimes to topple, but once they encounter one it’s remarkably easy to convince a Mirror Ninja to help out whatever revolution or reform group is out there.

How do they do that?  Mostly by being difficult-to-stop spies and couriers.  Mirror Ninja can fight — don’t attack one if there are mirrors about — and they’re not pacifists.  But if they don’t have to kill the people they’re fighting, they won’t.  The most interesting thing about their combat psychology is that they have no problem with disengaging from fighting the very moment they can do so while still accomplishing their goals.  Mirror Ninja simply don’t want to see their opponents dead on general principles. On the other hand, Mirror Ninja do not feel guilt or emotional distress over killing their enemies, as long as those enemies deserved it.

There are two main ways to defend against Mirror Ninja: having spaces with no reflective surfaces in them, or having a space that has mirrors on all four walls, the ceiling, and floor.  The latter produces severe vertigo and nausea in a Mirror Ninja, to the point where they can barely function — as long as they have their eyes open. You thus can’t trap one in a mirror room; but then, you don’t have to.  A regular underground dungeon will do just as well, provided that there isn’t a mirror within reach. And you can use those for regular prisoners, too.