The Mirror of Llunet is an oracular pool of water and the object of a quest in Lloyd Alexander's fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. It is featured in the fourth novel of the series, Taran Wanderer. Those seeking truth travel to the Mirror to gaze into its depths.
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The Mirror itself is actually a pool of water hidden in a cave in the fictional Llawgadarn Mountains in the land of Prydain. The pool is no more than a finger's depth of water, fed by moisture twining down the wall of the cave. It glitters like a polished silver shield, and the water seems a depthless crystal catching beams of light.[1] The Mirror rests in a hushed cave and has a mystical feel, appropriate for the object of a quest. The Llawgadarn Mountains are in the east of Prydain, near the Free Commots.
Taran, the protagonist of the series is on a quest to discover his lineage. He hopes to find he is of noble birth so that he may propose to Princess Eilonwy. He learns from Orddu one of the witches who live in the Marshes of Morva that the Mirror of Llunet may reveal something significant. Taran spends the rest of the novel (with various adventures along the way) searching for the mirror, although he gives up his quest for a time.
He finally discovers the Mirror in a cave at the foot of Mount Meledin near Llake Llunet. After Taran gazes into the mirror, it is destroyed by Dorath, a mercenary. Dorath believed the Mirror held literal treasures.
Taran recognizes that the Mirror is merely a beautiful pool of water. Those gazing into the pool see a clear picture of themselves: "I saw strength--and frailty. Pride and vanity, courage and fear...wisdom [and] folly...I saw myself a man like any other"[2] The Mirror teaches that what you are is the sum of your experiences. In Taran's case, he abandons his quest to learn of his lineage, realizing its irrelevance.
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