The Mirror of Llunet is an oracular pool of water and the object of a quest

Quest

In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...

 in Lloyd Alexander

Lloyd Alexander

Lloyd Chudley Alexander was a widely influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books...

's fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain

The Chronicles of Prydain

The Chronicles of Prydain is a five-volume series of children's fantasy novels by author Lloyd Alexander...

. It is featured in the fourth novel of the series, Taran Wanderer

Taran Wanderer

Taran Wanderer is the fourth book in the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander. It tells of Taran's search for his lineage through which he encounters many different people who each help to shape Taran as he learns about who he truly is. It is the only book in the series in which...

. Those seeking truth

Truth

Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...

 travel to the Mirror to gaze into its depths.

Description

The Mirror itself is actually a pool

Puddle

A puddle is a small accumulation of liquid, usually water, on a surface. It can form either by pooling in a depression on the surface, or by surface tension upon a flat surface...

 of water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 hidden in a cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

 in the fictional Llawgadarn Mountains in the land of Prydain

Prydain

Prydain is the modern Welsh name for Britain.-Medieval:Prydain is the medieval Welsh term for the island of Britain . More specifically, Prydain may refer to the Brittonic parts of the island; that is, the parts south of Caledonia...

. 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

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 shield

Shield

A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....

, and the water seems a depthless crystal catching beams of light

Light

Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...

. The Mirror rests in a hushed cave and has a mystical

Mysticism

Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...

 feel, appropriate for the object of a quest. The Llawgadarn Mountains are in the east of Prydain, near the Free Commots

Free Commots

The Free Commots are a region in the fictional country of Prydain in Lloyd Alexander's fantasy series, The Chronicles of Prydain. They are most prominently featured in the fourth novel, Taran Wanderer, where the protagonist of the series, Taran, does much of his maturing into...

.

The Quest

Taran

Taran

- Given name :* Taran, a 7th century king of the Picts* Taran Taran, founder of the Taran Panth religious sect* Taran Adarsh, an Indian film critic* Taran Killam, an American comic actor* Taran Noah Smith, an actor...

, the protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 of the series is on a quest to discover his lineage. He hopes to find he is of noble birth

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 so that he may propose to Princess Eilonwy

Princess Eilonwy

Princess Eilonwy is a fictional character in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain and wife of High King Taran in the Chronicles of Prydain and also appears in Disney's 1985 animated film The Black Cauldron...

. He learns from Orddu

Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch

Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch are fictional characters in Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series.They are three witches who live alone in the Marshes of Morva...

 one of the witches who live in the Marshes of Morva

Marshes of Morva

The Marshes of Morva is a region in the fictional country of Prydain in Lloyd Alexander's fantasy series, The Chronicles of Prydain. It is most notable for being the home of the three Fates-like enchantresses, Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch.-Description:...

 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

Mercenary

A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

. Dorath believed the Mirror held literal treasure

Treasure

Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...

s.

Secret of the Mirror

Taran recognizes that the Mirror is merely a beautiful pool of water. Those gazing into the pool see a clear picture

Reflection (physics)

Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two differentmedia so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves...

 of themselves: "I saw strength--and frailty. Pride and vanity, courage and fear...wisdom [and] folly...I saw myself a man like any other" The Mirror teaches that what you are

Introspection

Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul...

 is the sum of your experiences

Wisdom

Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...

. In Taran's case, he abandons his quest to learn of his lineage, realizing its irrelevance.