Mirror of the Darling Never

A High Elven artifact dating to the late Spring Age, enchanted with magicks that have been unknown to the world for ten thousand years, the Mirror of the Darling Never has arguably been witness to more epic adventure than any person, place or object in Oan history.
The mirror itself appears to have been made of a deeply enchanted, polished onyx set in a case of sterling silver.   The case features a relief of an oaken grove, behind which are engraved the High Elven words "Darling Never". In even the earliest fairy stories featuring the Mirror, it is described as already tarnished, dented and scored by fire and acid -- though the mirror itself is invariably in flawless condition.
The mysteries of the artifact's purpose, construction, enchantment and creator are long since lost to time.  The only origin story with any consistency across sources has it that the Mirror was created for Queen Tai in response to the First Omnicide as a scrye, in order to determine the outcome if she were to turn apostate and challenge Sylvanas on behalf of her people.  The Mirror was not adequate to the task, of course, and in the end it is difficult to imagine the great Queen's descent into sin as the lich Naraoch was a fully advised one.  That tale, however, seems awfully convenient and manages to tie virtually all folk tales across Oa together, such that the Bard's College has rejected it as history and celebrated it as legend instead. 
While the physical appearance of the Mirror has been debated and re-imagined from time to time, it has been a longstanding trope in Oan folk tales that near the outset of a heroic quest, the protagonist finds an opportunity to consult their future self in a tiny, black magic mirror.  Typically these adventurers meet their ruin by ignoring the hard-won wisdom of their future self.  Some stories go so far as to grant the Mirror some degree of agency, as though it had an insatiable appetite for adventure, or in some tellings a hatred of evil, and was capable of somehow willing itself to be found by the worthy in each of these stories.

Recent Ownership and Usage

The most recent popularly acknowledged use of the Mirror was in a widely publicized adventure some fifty years past that saw a trio of intrepid brigands get swept up in the politics of the Tenth crown and marshal an army to effect the overthrow Kern of Esden in favour of restoring House Kaelin to the throne. The sagas officially adopted by the Bard's College in the Wandering City have it that the Mirror of Darling Never was a gift to the three -- the humorless blade of nature Hykkil von Hickenbottom; the randy and iconoclastic Lord Chaddock and the wholesome, doe-eyed camp chef Brix -- by the Seelie Court. The Mirror was the gift demanded of Mote by Lord Chaddock in return for the heroes purging a blight that had threatened the entire feywild with mortality.
While that demand had its ramifications for the hero in due course, the trio made great use of the gift -- most famously in avoiding the ambush awaiting their army at the Dartwright Falls. In a roundabout way, it was the Mirror that facilitated the siege of Dawning Keep and allowed the epic adventure to come to its merry conclusion.

Operation

While the exact operations of the Mirror are a mystery, the tales are fairly clear that the mirror opens somewhat like a stopwatch.  By pressing the small button in the center of the crown, the case opens to reveal the mirror. By then pressing the bulk of the filigreed crown down into the body of the case, the user will cause a wave of Divination magic to wipe the reflection clean and replace it with the reflection of its master -- complete with sound -- as they are nine minutes hence, for a connection lasting no more than nine seconds.
The tales do tell of the frustration of Hykkil at a critical juncture seeking the Mirror's wisdom and only encountering a future version of himself still struggling with the same choice; and the anguish of Brix and Repp as they desperately and unsuccessfully tried to avoid a shocking vision of the latter being pulled apart by cave trolls.
The Mirror can offer great insight if used properly, but in the literature -- whether it be recent history or fairy tales arguably predicated on true local lore -- its use just as often leads to frustration, disappointment or extensive expostulations as heroes furiously debate the immutability of destiny.
When the Mirror has been engaged, an arcane system within begins to reverberate, gradually raising the crown until it is reset to its initial position.  It takes an extraordinary amount of time to do so, and the artifact is typically ready for another use after two days (or, more accurately, two long rests).
The artifact also features a tiny silver bell and hammer inset the top of its crown, but as far as history has been able to record, no one has ever been able to make it chime; and no one knows exactly what it is intended to do.

Item type

Magical