Liryon's Armour of Mirrors — hypersensitivity and feeling persecuted

Liryon, a small white creature with a glowing crystal heart, sitting alone in an ancient forest holding a shard of mirror — Liryon and his heart of thin crystal – every breath of wind sounded to him like a storm.

In the kingdom of the Emerald Valley, deep in a forest of ancient oaks, there lived a small, gentle creature with soft fur, named Liryon. Liryon had a heart made of thin crystal – he felt every breath of wind with the force of a storm, and every falling leaf sounded to him like rolling thunder.

But a heavy shadow followed Liryon: he believed with all his heart that he was small, flawed, and unworthy of love. And because he thought that of himself, he was certain that every other creature in the forest saw him exactly the same way – and that all of them, without a single exception, were plotting to hurt him or to mock him.

The Shield That Became a Wall

Liryon in heavy armour made of clouded mirror shards, his red heart glowing through the cracks — The armour meant to protect him – shards of clouded mirror that filtered everything he saw.

To protect his fragile heart, Liryon built himself a garment like no other: armour made of shards of clouded mirror. He believed the armour would dazzle anyone who looked at him and would guard him against the world's arrows of ridicule.

But the mirrors of that armour were warped: when the forest fox looked his way and smiled kindly, Liryon saw in the mirrors a smile of scorn and contempt. When a flock of birds chirped excitedly on a nearby branch, Liryon heard malicious whispers plotting to cast him out. When the hedgehog offered to share a juicy fruit, Liryon was sure it was an attempt to poison him, or to prove to him that he was too weak to find food himself.

A hedgehog offering Liryon a ripe fig, while the reflection in the mirror armour shows the hedgehog snarling and threatening — The hedgehog held out ripe fruit – but in the warped mirrors it looked like a snarl.

Every time someone came close, Liryon would snarl, cry out at the injustice being done to him, and declare a boycott: "I will never speak to any of you again! You are all cruel, you are all against me, and I alone am left to suffer in this world!"

He cast out the fox, shunned the birds, and slammed his door in the hedgehog's face.

Alone in a Tower of Glass

As time went on, the creatures of the forest – who loved Liryon and wanted him near – tried again and again to leave flowers, letters of peace and small gifts on his doorstep. But in every gesture Liryon saw a fresh insult:

"They send flowers to remind me how pitiful I am," he muttered bitterly to himself. "They are only trying to quiet their guilty consciences."

In the end, the creatures of the forest grew weary. The pain of having every kind intention read as deliberate cruelty became too heavy a burden. They began to keep their distance, stepping quietly around his house so as not to rouse his anger.

Liryon in his armour sitting hunched and alone at the foot of a tree, a basket of fruit left beside him by the forest creatures watching from afar — The gifts stayed where they were left, and the forest watched from a distance – loneliness inside armour.

Liryon sat inside his darkened house, wrapped in the heavy armour of mirrors, and looked out of the window. When he saw the forest empty around him, hot tears ran down his cheeks:

"I knew it," he whispered in searing pain. "I knew they all hated me. Look how they cast me out and left me alone in the world. Everyone is against me, and I am the poor victim of them all."

The Old Owl and the Clear Spring

One day, an old and wise owl with eyes as deep as the night landed on Liryon's windowsill. Liryon knitted his brows at once and shouted: "Have you come as well, to look down on me and to wound me?!"

The owl did not retreat and did not take offence. He only said, quietly: "Dear Liryon, the armour you wear is so very heavy. Come with me to the spring of truth at the mountain's summit. If the spring shows that they truly do all hate you, I will stay here and protect you forever."

Liryon, who wanted to prove to the owl how right he was and how everyone was to blame for his state, followed him.

When they reached the summit, Liryon stood over the clearest waters in the kingdom. He looked into them to see his own pitiful, outcast figure, but saw only the clouded mirror shards of his armour, throwing back at him countless reflections of his own face – furious, frightened and full of suffering.

"Take off the armour for one moment, Liryon," said the owl gently. "Look into the water without your mirrors."

Liryon without his armour, glowing in warm light, touching the water of the spring of truth while the mirror shards lie on the shore and the forest animals look on — At the spring of truth, without the armour, he saw himself for the first time – and who had been waiting on the shore.

With trembling hands, Liryon loosened the straps and let the heavy armour of mirrors fall away. He bent over the water. Instead of monsters or enemies, he saw a gentle creature with beautiful eyes, wounded deep inside. And when he looked around him without the warped mirrors, he suddenly saw the forest path as it was: he saw the hedgehog who had left a basket of fresh strawberries by his door out of concern; he saw the birds who had sung a song of longing; and he understood that the fox had only been trying to smile at him with affection.

"No one hated you, Liryon," the owl whispered. "The only enemy that ever hunted you was the thought that you were not worthy of love. Because you did not believe in your own worth, you turned every hand held out to you into a fist, and every smile into mockery. You are the one who cast out a world that only wanted to hold you."

The Healing of the Heart

In that moment something broke inside Liryon – not a breaking of pain, but a deep release. He left the armour of mirrors on the mountain top and went down into the valley in his bare, vulnerable fur.

When he reached the valley, he demanded no protection and blamed no one. He simply opened his door, looked at his neighbours and said: "I was wrong. My pain made me see enemies in you, when you were the family that only ever wanted what was good for me."

Liryon standing at sunset by the lake surrounded by a hedgehog, a rabbit, a badger, a squirrel and a fawn, the mirror shards lying behind him — At sunset, with the shards left behind, Liryon found he had never been alone.

And in the Emerald forest, no one held his past against him. They simply took him back, because all along – every step of the way – they had only been waiting for him to agree to be healed of his own fear.