Writing Championships #5

Pink Procrastinators

Prompt: Seeing Crystal Reveals Yourself (SCRY)
Scar hadn't expected to find his old magic crystals in the midst of his giant chest monster.

The small gems were just sitting in his chest, along with a couple of diamonds and some obsidian. How they had gotten here, he had no idea. He smiled a bit and picked up a few, feeling the familiar magic course through him again.

"When I said my chest monster could wield up hidden gems, this isn't what I meant," he said to himself. "But I'm not complaining!"

He wished he had his staff on him. It always made using the crystals' magic a bit easier. But that was back in Larry's shell, and Scar was itching to try out the crystals again. He hadn't done so in a while, ever since he became the mayor and ditched his old wizard robes.

Scar sifted through the crystals, careful not to shatter them. A few he recognized--his nature one, the breathing bubble, and the regeneration one--but others were a bit more foreign to him.

For old time's sake, he lifted up his green nature crystal and channeled its magic. Instantly, flowering vines started snaking their way up the chest. Scar smiled--he hadn't realized how much he'd missed using simple magic like this.

Nowadays, everything was so complicated--do your mayoral duties! Stop those Mycelium Resistance hooligans! Build your base! Spend time with your friends! It was all so overwhelming, and using the crystal calmed Scar's mind, even if it was only for a little bit.

He sighed, snapping himself out of thought. To distract himself, he started taking the crystals out of the chest and sorting them out. He'd forgotten how many he'd collected: there was at least two dozen or so of these, and he knew there were more he hadn't found yet.

The last crystal caught his eye. It was one of the gems he didn't know very well. It was a pale white color, and it looked more cloudy and cluttered than the usual transparency of the crystals.

Even though he wasn't familiar with its appearance, Scar knew full well what it did. This was a seeing crystal--wizards used them to peer into the future, to see glimpses and flashes of what was to come.

"I've never used this one," Scar mumbled, picking it up. "I never saw a need to. I felt like I had a direction in life, like I knew what I was doing. And that's all scrying is really useful for - figuring out your path forward.

"But now, everything is such a mess. I'm the mayor, but I don't know what I'm doing!" He yelled. "There's a resistance trying to tear me off my throne and I'm tempted to let it do so. But I know that wouldn't be the right choice."

He paused, realizing he was stalling. He was scared of this crystal and what it would reveal. But he also knew it was his only hope. He chanted a spell, the words coming to him easily despite not having ever used the crystal before.

"Through the fog of the future, I will pry, the information I seek in this scry. In a world that is feeling increasingly bleak, I tell you now what it is I seek. 

"...I feel lost for where to go. I don't know what to do, and I feel like I have no one to turn to for help." He hesitated once again, unsure of himself. The next words would complete the spell. Was he ready for what he would see?

"To see, videre."

The crystal glowed with bright light briefly, then it quickly faded. The milky surface faded into a familiar scene, from earlier in the season. 

"Hey, Cub! You got any spare resources? I need some more for my village."

"Uh, I actually don't, sorry Scar. Maybe next time?"

Scar's smile had wilted slightly, but he brushed it off quickly. "Yeah, maybe next time. See ya!"

And the Scar in the crystal flew off, not missing Cub's goodbye - since there wasn't one to miss.

He frowned, staring at the crystal.

"Cmon, stupid thing! That's not what I wanted to see!"

It glowed again, another familiar sight coating the surface.

"Bdubs! Hi! I was wondering if--"

"Huh--oh, hi Scar. I'm a bit busy now, could you come back later?"

"Oh... uh, sure! Yeah, no problem. I'll be off, then...bye!"

"Bye!"

Scar growled in frustration.

"Seriously?! This is pointless! You know exactly what I asked for, so show it to me!"

It shone once more. Another memory - and to Scar, another waste of time.

"Hey there, Grian!"

"Hi, Scar! What brings you here?"

"Well, you see...it's a little embarrassing if I'm honest, but there's a project I'm working on that I just can't seem to get right! It's been annoying me for a while now, and I thought I could come ask you for some input, if you don't mind?"

"I'd love to, but I've just not got the time - we could see next week?"

"Yeah, that's fair...maybe next week. Anyway, bye."

"Scar- Hey, Scar, wait up! Wai- oh, he's already left." 

 Scar growled with frustration as he broke his gaze with the crystal. "This is useless! I want to see who can help me with all this, not stupid memories about my own failures!"

In his anger, Scar threw the crystal to the ground, and it and shattered with a final exhale.

"Oh, void, and now this happens!" He bent down and started to sweep up the pieces with his hands. That was obviously a bad idea because, in his haste, he cut his hand.

He yelped in pain and muttered a curse under his breath. He went to the nearby river to wash off the blood, and the shards he was holding fell into the water with a small plop.

"This day just keeps getting worse," he muttered, staring bleakly into the flowing water.

The pieces shimmered in the water, and soon...Scar could swear an image was being formed. His eyes went wide and realized the crystal's magic was still there, even if the crystal itself was broken.

The image solidified and showed him...

Himself.

It was his reflection staring back at him.

Scar waved his hand in the water, trying to break the image. He didn't understand. What did this mean? The reflection in the seeing crystal wouldn't go away. Scar could see his face staring back at him.

Then it clicked.

"Me? You're telling me that I can help myself...?" He felt kinda stupid talking to shards of crystals, but the image faded away after he said that. As the mist cleared up, he could see the crystals glowing.

He assumed the crystals meant that as a yes.

Perhaps he didn't have anyone to lean on, but he had a lot more strength inside himself than he realized.

Score: 9.5