"Are you SURE this month's attempt will work? I'm starting to think these are bogus."
"We can't be sure until we've tried everything. Would you rather be home doing schoolwork?" — Two teens bickering before the ritual.
Deep within the remnants of a musty oddity shop, several adventurous teens found a box. Inside that box were 30 clear crystal orbs. A yellowing and torn divination manual sat atop the box. The strongest teen carried it back to their base of operations after they finished exploring the shop. It sparked the start of a monthly ritual in attempts to further their group's efforts.
Uncover the Past
Members of the
Truth Seekers spend their free time exploring pre-Shatter ruins for fun while trying to find secrets and glimpses into the past. One Autumn afternoon they stumbled upon the remains of a peculiar shop. It contained items ranging from party tricks to spirituality and divination. The crystal balls and manual intrigued them the most.
It took time to understand the book due to tears and faded letters. Within a week the members had a general idea and their leader grew passionate about using the orbs in whatever ways possible. They would participate in the first ritual on the next full moon.
"Why do we have to wait for the moon, Taimi?"
"I want our chances of success to be as high as possible. According to the text we found, the moon supposedly holds a lot of magical power. It's the most intense when full. Do you wanna be able to look through time or not?"
Materials Needed
Every ritual attempt always contains the crystal balls, divination booklet, and hooded blue velvet robes. Otherwise, each meeting uses a different set of other items. 29 of the orbs were the same size and distributed among members to do their own research. One ball is considerably larger than the rest and is kept at their base of operations. The leader, Taimi, comes up with different ways to "unlock the orb's power" in between gatherings. They've yet to see many results.
Components used in past rituals.
Other crystals
Tea
At least two cats
A tarot deck
A "cool" looking stick deemed magical by the leader
Rose petals
Salt
A basin full of water
Fire
An assortment of spices
Paint
A Peculiar Process
No matter the methods used, each meeting always consists of one goal: ponder your orb hard enough to either see the events of the past or gaze into the future. Participating members gather in the yard of their base on the night of a full moon. Sometimes a month or two is skipped depending on the weather, member schedules, and if Taimi produced a new method in time.
An example of one attempt:
The largest orb is set on a table directly under the moon. It is surrounded by a circle of moonstone and clear quartz in alternating fashion. Taimi stands behind the orb. She holds a lit candle and chants some mantra found within the pages of the manual. All other members stand spaced out in the field, holding their own orbs up to the cloudless sky. They do this for half an hour, chanting and peering through the glass only to see nothing but stars and disappointment.
I swear to the divines, if the next meeting doesn't so much as get us possessed or something, I'm quitting this club. — A disgruntled member growing tired of their leader's pursuit to nothing.
My orb...stared back at me?
To date all of these rituals produced no results...until their most recent gathering. Minutes before the teens would give up and go home, Taimi caught a glimpse of something in the large ball. She stepped closer, pressing her face and hands against the smooth glass. She blinked. The orb blinked. A shriek filled the air as she was taken aback. Within seconds the ghostly eyes disappeared before she could prove what happened to the other members.
You have to believe me, I'm not crazy! There was a pair of glowing yellow eyes inside that thing and I'm pretty damn sure I heard something whispered in my ear. We are DEFINATELY trying this exact same ritual method next month. — Taimi pleading with her friends to believe her.
I wonder if the eyes that stared back are good or evil, if the are as real as Taimi says. I'm not sure they should come back to try again, messing with forces and all that. This was a really fun article so I added it to
2022 Reading Challenge
Thank you for the read and feature! Indeed, maybe they should abandon all the crystal balls and pursue other things, hehe. It could be potential plot stuff if I ever feel like expanding it in the future.