The Mirari was an artifact of unspeakable power that appeared on Otaria roughly a century after the Phyrexian Invasion. The mysterious orb tapped into its wielder’s desires, making them real. However, the Mirari also inevitably caused disaster to strike the bearer, usually leading to their death. Another effect it had was that it caused intense longing in those that saw it, causing many individuals to become obsessed with owning it.

«It offers you what you want, not what you need.»

—Braids, dementia summoner

The Mirari was found by Chainer in an old mansion, where it called to the young cabalist with promises of power. However, Chainer instead decided it was only fit for the Cabal’s leader to own and so presented it as a gift to the First, who put it in the Cabal’s coffers as a prize in the upcoming three-day tournament. It was there that Kamahl first saw the Mirari and became obsessed with it. However, it was instead claimed by Lieutenant Kirtar of the Order as a reward for his role in defending Cabal City from a dragon attack. Kirtar took the artifact with the intention of destroying it, but it soon corrupted him with promises of glory. Instead, he took it to the Order’s citadel and used it to kill Pianna, the human leader of the Order on Otaria. However, Kirtar was unable to end his spell, which went on to devastate the citadel and kill the Lieutenant.

The Mirari itself was recovered by Laquatus’s minion Turg. The merman had been pursuing the artifact ever since Kirtar had claimed it and seized his chance to get hold of it. However, Laquatus’s plan was frustrated when Turg gave the Mirari to Captain Satas, who then took it to Emperor Aboshan. Laquatus raced to recover it, but found that it had been lost within the royal treasure vaults. In order to get his hands on it, Laquatus made a deal with the cabalists that had been brought in to index the vaults: he would let them keep whatever valuable artifacts they wanted in exchange for giving him the Mirari when they found it. However, the Mirari was found first by the emperor himself.

Aboshan had gone down to the vaults in search of a magic weapon that he could use to secure his empire. As he gazed into the orb, he saw visions of a world covered entirely by water. He poured mana into the Mirari to try to make the vision a reality, creating a massive wave that flooded the northern third of Otaria. However, once again the spell ran out of control, devastating the Imperial capital and killing Aboshan just as it had Kirtar. The Mirari again escaped unharmed and fell into the hands of Braids, one of the cabalists that had been working in the vault. Like Chainer, Braids proved resistant to the device’s charms and so rather than use it herself, she took it back into the hands of the Patriarch.

After having seen the disasters that the Mirari had caused to the Order and the Mer Empire, the Patriarch decided to be cautious with the orb. He decided to give it back to Chainer as he had resisted it before in the mansion, which suggested that he might be able to control it again. Chainer successfully used it to heal Kamahl after he was wounded defending Cabal City and also used it to create Laquatus a new champion, Burke. However, the Mirari eventually poisoned Chainer’s mind as well, as he used it to overthrow the Cabal Patriarch and exile him to Aphetto, seizing control of Cabal City for himself. In a battle with his friend, Kamahl, Chainer was also overloaded by the Mirari, causing hordes of dementia horrors to appear and run riot in the city. As with Kirtar and Aboshan, he was overwhelmed by his own spell and died.

Kamahl took the Mirari with the intention of preventing it from causing harm, but was unable to resist its lure. He attached it to the pommel of his sword and tried to use its power to unite the Pardic barbarians under his rule. He was opposed by his mentor, Balthor, and his sister, Jeska, and so, in a fit of rage, he used his Mirari-enhanced sword to mortally wound Jeska. This act left Jeska with a consuming wound that could not be treated, so in order to make amends, Kamahl travelled to Krosa to try to heal her and to get rid of the Mirari.

In Dungeons & Dragons

In essence, the Mirari works just as a ring of three wishes, but with one charge per day.  The real problem here is that it’s cursed: by using its powers, the orb twists your desire into the most terrible outcome: when a character expresses a wish for things to be different, it is very possible that the results will not live up to their will.

The circumstances can vary on how the wish is made, then consequently granted. Maybe the character finds out that to get what they wanted they must give up something even more important to them; maybe the element of their life they wanted gone is really essential to who they are; maybe their wish has consequences they haven’t thought of. Anything is possible when the Mirari is involved.

Additionally, if you’re a spellcaster, and you use the Mirari as a spellcasting focus, when you cast a spell, you can spend a slot of the same level to have that spell copied (just as the Twinned Spell metamagic feature form the Sorcerer class, but without restricting it to having only one target).

In Eberron

When the Mirari appears, blood is left in its trail. The powerful corruption it exerts over its users makes them paranoid to the extreme, and every time a powerful tyrant is depicted with an orb in pieces of art, historian agree it’s the Mirari who turned them. More recently, a few arcane investigators have linked the powerful artifact to the Draconic Prophecy. When placing the Mirari in Eberron, I looked at the infamous Cabal’s dementia summoning technique and how it enhanced it a thousand-fold. And given the link between dementia and nightmares and dreams, it’s only natural that its current resting location, unbeknownst to most, is in the depths of Sarlona.

How would you ask for a wish, knowing the thing in charge of making it real will try to subvert your intentions? Are you planning to search for this mythic artifact, or is it better to leave it alone?