syzygy
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The leader held his hands up to the night sky and chanted. His followers intoned the ancient words in time with his. The great crystal stood, bathed in the moonlight, ready to absorb the energies that would soon be brought to bear upon it. The leader of the small cult finished the chant. It was almost time.
“Brothers,” He heard a throat clearing from one of the members towards the back. “And sister. Now is a great time. Now is the moment of our apotheosis. Our rise to glory! In accordance with the ancient prophesy, this moment, when the stars and planets are in perfect alignment. The crystal shall bath in their combined power and grant it to us, the divine stone’s chosen!”
His followers cheered. It was a weak cheer though. They lacked his dedication to the cause. He knew they all believed in the prophesy, otherwise they would not be here. Perhaps they were simply nervous. They had been waiting for this moment for so long, that it was understandable. But there was nothing to be nervous about. He had read and reread the prophesy so many times that he had memorized it. Everything was perfect.
The clock struck midnight. It was time.
“Behold! The hour is upon us! The planets are aligned and the power shall rain down upon us, gathering in the divine crystal!”
He turned to the large stone and spread his arms out wide, embracing the rush of power he would no doubt feel.
Nothing happened.
Not even a glow appeared. He heard one of his followers cough nervously.
“Is…something supposed to happen?” One of them asked.
“I…I’m sure it’s just charging.” The leader said. “It’s been so long, after all. Yes, I’m sure any minute now we’ll be flooded with power from the heavens.”
“Hey, uh, I know this is a bad time,” Another cult member said, “But I’ve been thinking. Why would a planetary alignment cause any abnormal amount of energy? Plus, by what metric are they aligned? A viewer on, say, another planet wouldn’t see them lining up. And why would a lump of quartz hold any power at all, let alone distribute it to a select group of people.”
“Uh, well, it’s very complicated. The prophesy didn’t really go into all that.”
“Wait, hold on.” The lone woman amongst them said, “Uh, quick question, but is that whole prophesy thing real? Because I thought this was just a dedicated LARP group.”
Several other members agreed with her. The leader looked at those gathered with wide eyes.
“LARP? You thought this was a…a game?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, you’re here talking about magic crystals and ancient prophesies. What else was I going to think?”
“That it was a gateway to power beyond mortal comprehension?”
“Hold on, you actually believe that?” A third cult member said. “Like, you unironically believe a big lump of rock will give you powers just because the planets happen to be a specific place?”
“Well, yes. Of course.”
Most of the cultists groaned. Several questioned his sanity. Most just took their ceremonial robes off and turned to leave.
“Wait! Where are you going? I’m sure it’ll happen any moment now!” He called after them.
But it was too later. They were leaving. Every man—and woman—that he had thought were loyal, true believers had abandoned him. Their cause. The power that he was sure was coming. Well, he would show them. They would regret leaving him. He sat, back to the divine crystal, and waited for the rush of power he was sure was coming.
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Sometimes I think it'd be cool if stuff like magic crystals and stuff was real. Then I remember what people are like and I figure off we're better off without that kind of thing.
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