#skektek fanfic

[baccoart]

Drawing my Er○t!c Comic before work💜

[thoughtfulbelieverstrawberry]

by any chance do you still write for the dark crystal?? and if so will u be taking any.. requests for it?

Hello, I'm sorry to see your message so far, university is keeping me busy but I will gladly accept your request, I may abandon my stories but I love writing unique things, so you are free to request it again in my inbox or in private message at least What do you want me to do, I'm sorry if my English sucks but I use a translator anyway, thank you for this opportunity ♥️✨

[chaifootsteps]

Ten First Lines Game

Rules: Share the first line of ten of your most recent fanfics and then tag ten people. Don’t have ten? Not to worry, just share what you have.

Thanks for the tag, @ladystormcrow! I tag @ben-the-hyena and you if you're reading this and want to do it.

(Fair warning, only 3 and 8 are SFW.)

1. Funny Little Words You Can't Say at the Circus

The gang has a tried-and-true method of easing tension. Pomni struggles to decide whether she wants in.

Pomni wasn’t surprised to learn that they ganged banged each other on the regular.

2. A Leg Up

SkekNa fucks a Landstrider.

He never thought the smell of the barn would get him going.

3. Good Medicine

You’re a fibroblast, and it’s a quiet night in the lower intestines.

You’re a fibroblast, and it’s a quiet night in the lower intestines.

4. Happy Endings

The Devil's latest deal has fallen through and he's in a foul mood. Dice, ever helpful, offers to work out the tension.

Want to know a secret? The Devil’s incredibly easy to pacify when it comes to things that don’t matter all that much.

5. How to Rise, Rise, Rise, and Never Fall

SkekSo and skekMal are young, complicated, and happy for a little while.

It had never occurred to skekSo that he should be anything but Emperor. 

6. only little bitches strum the strings of their hearts

Who's a big dumb sap who's head over heels in love? Certainly not Asmodeus.

You’re gonna have to forgive him if he’s not completely over this just yet.

7. Lo! 'Tis a gala night

The Skeksis reach their 100th trine. You, the Emperor ruling over all, could think all sorts of thoughts about that, or you could seek out a moment alone with skekMal.

You are young. 

8. It Don't Hurt to Dream

Camped out beneath the stars of Wrath, Blitzo wakes from a dream of another life.

“I'm not bottoming with no lube and an assful of beans.”

9. Thirsty

Striker and Blitzo celebrate their new partnership.

“Oh fuck...oh my fucking fuck...”

10. All Things Wise and Wonderful

When Sidetic falls ill, skekTek calls upon the one who brought him his pet in the first place.

“Where do you keep the young one?”

[angstybreadstyx]

Can someone write me SkekTek Dark Crystal X Singed Arcane crackship fanfic pls

[skeksha97]

Extra Details About SkekSha:

These are some extra details about SkekSha that I have answered by question and answer format. My good friend on here TwiggyStardust gave me the idea to fill out questions like this and this way you all can get to know her better outside of my AU fanfic on AO3.

1. How does your character put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

SkekSha puts herself to sleep at night at times by singing herself to sleep. She is prone to her own nightmares and thoughts that keep her up and night and since SkekSo isn't always around she finds singing herself to sleep the best comfort.

2. How easy is it to earn their trust?

Easier then it is to earn SkekSo's (for example) but she gets very bitter and cold if her trust in someone is broken.

3. How easy is it to earn her mistrust?

Unfortunately once her trust in someone is broken it is very easy for that said other skeksis to earn her mistrust. SkekShod in my AU would be a good example of this as she never trusts him again after he attacks her.

4. What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

What usually triggers nostalgia for SkekSha is when SkekSha, SkekLach and SkekEekt talk about how beautiful they were when they were younger. She does rather enjoy reminiscing those times. When she was younger she was a much more beautiful Sky-bluish skin color and as she aged her color changed to the blue-gray color she has now.

5. Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

SkekSha does swear (usually under her breath or only when she gets really ticked off about something or at someone) at times but she doesn't exactly remember what her first swear word was.

6. What lie have they told? Does it haunt them?

SkekSha lied to SkekSo when SkekShod attacked her in her room to protect his reputation. It did haunt her though as she eventually did bring it up to him one night in private as she knew he had a right to know why she at times was afraid to sleep in her room.

7. What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

SkekSha has a few colors she thinks she looks the best in actually. Those being red and black robes and silver robes. She does actually look the best when she wears either of these robes.

8. How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

Depends on who she is talking to. If it's someone causing an issue within the Skeksis then she usually says the first thing that comes to her mind. If it's something she wants to tell SkekSo in particular (something such as expecting his skeklings or other important matters like that) she will rehearse things in her mind first. This was the case when she finally told SkekSo about SkekShod's attack on her in my AU story as it was a sensitive topic for her but she knew he has a right to know as during that time she barley got any sleep worrying that SkekShod would come after her again.

9. What makes their stomach turn?

Anything regarding SkekShod or when SkekShod is in court. She refuses to take her eyes off of him since his attack on her in her room.

10. Are they easily embarrassed?

No

11. Why do they get up in the morning?

Her duties to the Skeksis as a whole and her duties to SkekSo as Empress always get her up in the morning. She is usually one of the first skeksis up in the morning in fact. Always ready to do what she needs to in court.

12. How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof etc.)?

SkekSha actually isn't the most jealous type.

13. Is sex something they are comfortable speaking about? To whom?

She is somewhat comfortable speaking about it but usually only to SkekSo and maybe sometimes her closest friends in court SkekZok, SkekTek, SkekLach and SkekEekt.

14. What causes them to feel dread?

Anytime there is a major threat the Skeksis have to face (such as the gelfling rebellion). That and whenever her skeklings SkekZi, SkekVrie, SkekNi and SkekVex are in any sort of danger. She also gets this when when SkekSo has one of his outbursts as it makes her feel a little vulnerable at times.

15. Would they prefer a lie over a unpleasant truth?

Perhaps it would depend on the situation though.

16. Do they usually live up to their ideals?

I would say yes she does.

17. Who do they regret meeting?

In my AU, SkekShod no question.

18. Who are they glad to have met?

SkekSo, SkekZok, SkekLach, SkekTek, SkekEkt and Mother Aughra in my AU.

19. How hard is it for them to shake guilt?

Usually fairly easy except when it involves (in her eyes) failing SkekSo such as when she voluntarily took the blow from the darkening to save him in my AU during the Second Battle of Stone in The Wood and she believes she failed him by doing so. She feels pretty guilty about it afterwards until he reveals to her in her dying moments that he knew what she did (given his experiments with the darkening) was actually the bravest thing she could of ever done for him at that time.

20. How do they treat things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive?

She is very supportive for her friends when they come to her about such things. She's even this way when her own daughter SkekZi comes to her and reveals her relationship with SkekSil to her.

21. Do they actively seek romance or do they wait for it to fall into their lap?

This answer honestly depends on the situation. If she's in heat or high on essence then she will actively seek romance but if she isn't she is usually more relaxed about it.

22. What memory do they revisit most often?

Every time she and SkekSo share a moment together alone since she's happy and honored to have such moments with him as he acts completely different around her in my AU.

23. How sensitive are they about their own flaws?

Depends on the situation again. Sometimes she's ok with her flaws and works to overcome them but other times she can be really sensitive about them.

24. How do they feel about children?

Well since in my AU she and SkekSo have their skeklings SkekZi, SkekVrie, SkekNi and SkekVek and not to mention the fact that SkekZi also has skeklings of her own SkekSha rather enjoys them.

25. How badly do they want to reach their end goals?

Even though she is a Skeksis she likes to take life in strides so she doesn't tend to rush things.

[sunderedandundone]

New chapter is up! Go get it! :-D

[bcdrawsandwrites]

For Unity by @jaywings and me

Rating: T Genre: Friendship, Angst Characters: urGoh, skekGra, skekSil, skekSo, skekTek, skekVar, urVa, urSu, urSol, urZah, possibly others… Warnings: A LOT OF VIOLENCE. Description: One was as vile and repulsive as his brethren. He murdered, and maimed, and reveled in it. The other was as slow and indirect as the rest of his brethren. He hated his dark half as much as the others did theirs. But who they were did not matter, for Thra saw its moment, and seized its opportunity. Beta Reader: ThePrairieNerd

—~~~—

Chapter 8: Their Harsh and Twisted Wills Summary: In which the Conqueror and the Wanderer must sort out their... similarities.

—~~~—

Chapter 8: Their Harsh and Twisted Wills

The two Mystics stared at each other for a long time after the shard—and the Skeksis’ voice—had fallen silent.

"The Wanderer... has quite a ways to wander," urLii remarked.

UrGoh heaved a great sigh, closing his hand around the false shard. "At the border... of the Crystal Desert..." he muttered. "He could not... have chosen someplace... closer…?"

"UrGoh had best get started, then." And before he could reply, the Storyteller was already making his way back to the boat that had carried them both across the underground lake. However, he paused, partially turning to glance back. “And urLii is sure that, should urGoh speak to his shadow again, he will not mention urLii or his home in these caves?”

UrGoh dipped his head obligingly. “I… will not divulge the Storyteller’s secrets.”

The other Mystic nodded and resumed his path to the boat. He was right, anyway—urGoh needed to head out now, in order to reach the desert on time for their meeting. But first...

The Gruenaks hadn’t moved from the spot he’d found them. He hoped, with a sudden twist of his stomach, that they hadn’t overheard his conversation. The last thing wanted was for them to hear the voice of the one who murdered their mate and father. But they seemed to be as calm as could be expected in their circumstances; in fact, they were now hesitantly sipping at the broth they'd been provided. When urGoh approached, however, they both lowered their bowls and huddled closer.

"I will... be leaving again," he said, and paused, considering his next words as the two of them blinked up at him. "I will... do everything in my power... to make sure the Conqueror... never harms you... or your kind... again."

The mother gazed at him, and he wondered briefly if she had fully understood him. But she nodded slowly, and he thought he saw a hint of gratefulness in her weary eyes.

"Did the Wanderer lose his way already?" urLii's voice called from a distance, and urGoh finally turned away from the Gruenaks.

"No," he called in return. "I am... coming." With that, he marched back toward the shoreline, where urLii was waiting in the boat.

This time, he did not look at the shard in his hand; for once, he already had a destination in mind.

—-~~~—-

"E-Emperor!" skekGra cried, giving a belated bow. When he straightened himself, he was disappointed to find that Emperor skekSo did not appear any less displeased... or suspicious.

"Well?" skekSo said, raising his brows. "What are you doing in the Crystal Chamber at this hour? And to whom were you talking?"

"I was speaking… with m-myself!" he replied quickly. The ramifications of this choice of words hit him almost immediately and he stumbled over his own speech. "Th-that is to say, I was... practicing my next puppet show, my Emperor."

"Ah." The Emperor stared at him unblinkingly. "And where are your puppets?"

SkekGra balked. "They... h-have yet to be made, sire!" He fiddled with the handle of his sword, wincing when he realized he still held it, and turned himself at an angle to make the weapon less visible. "I wanted it to be a surprise, but... I was making a puppet of you, sire. But! I also wanted to practice in here, to make sure the... acoustics were good enough."

"...I see." SkekSo's gaze narrowed. "And that... noise?"

Agh, curse that howling Mystic.

"A nurloc mating call," he said hastily, and inwardly cringed. "I was practicing it for a different show. I can do it again if you like—"

Holding out a talon, the Emperor shook his head. "No, no, that's quite enough." The taps of his scepter against the floor rang hollowly throughout the near-empty chamber as he circled closer to skekGra. "I would prefer you not hold your shows here, Conqueror."

"I... understand, sire." He drooped in what he hoped looked more like disappointment than the actual relief he was feeling. It sounded like skekSo had—

"I don't want random Skeksis milling about the Crystal Chamber unattended," the Emperor went on, stalking closer and keeping his eyes trained on skekGra, who froze up under his gaze. "Don't think I have not noticed your behavior as of late, skekGra. Even the Chamberlain has noticed."

SkekGra's tail curled at the mention of skekSil. What business didn't he stick his nosy beak into? "SkekSil has... n-no reason to worry about me, sire. I want nothing more than to serve you, and conquer all the lands of Thra in the name of—"

"Yes, conquering." SkekSo came to a stop between skekGra and the Crystal of Truth itself, as though shielding it. "Have you come to the Chamber to drain extra power from the Crystal, to aid you on your conquests?"

"What—no!" SkekGra staggered back, shaking his head. "Of course not, my Emperor, I would never—"

"Then why have you not been attending the rejuvenation ceremonies?" SkekSo's hardened stare was unwavering. "It seems to me you have been planning instead to draw your own power from the Crystal when no other Skeksis are around to witness it."

It took every bit of skekGra's willpower to keep himself from shaking. "No, Emperor, I promise you, that is not what I was doing!"

"Then why did you not attend the Ceremony of the Sun? Why do you avoid it?" SkekSo stood firm, leaning against his scepter, his neck craning forward. "What, Conqueror, are you up to."

It was not a question. It was a demand.

SkekGra drew in a breath. "Sire... I had tried to tell you before." Forcing himself to look the Emperor in the eyes, he steeled his will. "I was given a vision."

The grandiose statement hung in the air for a moment, before skekSo impatiently waved it aside.

"As grand as they may seem to you, your artistic visions hold no importance to—"

"It was a literal vision!" skekGra cried, unable to help himself. "I saw things! Images Thra itself forced into my mind! It gave me visions of the future!"

For a long while, skekSo regarded him, and in a flash skekGra wondered if he was wrong to do this, if skekTek had been correct and he should keep quiet. But he'd intended to tell the Emperor all along, had he not? This was bigger than himself; this concerned all of Thra, over which the Emperor had full reign. But skekSo did not speak, merely watching him, and skekGra found himself going on.

"Thra showed me a future in which it was devoid of life. In which every race was destroyed, the Gelfling slaughtered, and no green thing grew. And yet in the midst of it all... we Skeksis gorged ourselves, and drank to excess, and..." His voice faltered, and he lowered his head. He couldn't bear to describe the rest. "It showed me a future, Emperor, in which there was nothing on Thra left for you to rule."

"I see."

He dared not meet skekSo's gaze again, suddenly finding the half a soul within him gripped with terror.

"Do you recall, Conqueror, what Thra is?"

SkekGra blinked, looking up, his beak opening and closing a few times. He couldn't imagine what sort of answer the Emperor was expecting. "It... it is where we live, sire, it is what you—"

"Thra," skekSo said, and he began to walk in a great circle around skekGra, "is a primitive planet that we were sent to rebuild."

Tracking the Emperor's path, skekGra frowned; this hadn't been what he'd expected to hear. "I... I don't remember much of those days, Emperor." That was at least one truth he could give.

"Few do," skekSo replied, with what might have been sympathy, "and those who do shudder to think of it. There is good reason to forget those days. However..." He tilted his beak to skekGra, looking him in the eye. "We must not forget what we accomplished here, skekGra. The Crystal was unprotected, the Gelfling frolicked naked in the forests, and there was not a trace of proper civilization anywhere on the face of this rock... until we changed that."

SkekGra opened his beak to say something, but what? It mattered little anyway, for the Emperor went on:

"We built the castle. We showed the Gelflings how to construct cities. We brought them to subjection. We raised Thra from nothing but a primitive rock..."

He gestured with his scepter and all three of his other arms to the Crystal of Truth behind him, and the grand chamber that encompassed it.

"...to what it is now."

And finally he brought all four limbs down, his front arms clutching his scepter and striking it against the floor with a final, definite clack.

"What does Thra know of what it wants?"

The air was heavy around them, and skekSo's gaze was unwavering. The Crystal towered over him, and yet the Emperor seemed enormous still, his eyes glowing the same malevolent purple as the Crystal itself in the dark.

Unconsciously skekGra took a step back, and suddenly skekSo was striding past him as though he were nothing but a Podling-slave.

"You will attend the ceremony tomorrow, Conqueror. And if you speak a word of this to the others, there will be punishment. Something… hm… permanent."

SkekGra swallowed, and the Emperor glanced over his shoulder.

"And the Chamberlain will not be here to save you again."

And with that, he was gone, vanishing into the darkness of the castle.

SkekGra heard his sword clatter to the ground before he even felt his grip begin to slacken.

Whatever he decided to do about urGoh... he would have to keep it secret from the Emperor.

—~~~---

The rest of the night was spent in restless wakefulness. SkekGra wondered, vaguely, if he would ever feel like sleeping again. His double encounters in the Crystal Chamber had left his nerves frayed, like he was a piece of cloth scratched over a dull knife blade. His talons gave periodic twitches and he found himself merely pacing across the floor of his bedchamber, unable to focus on anything.

By first light, skekGra stopped moving in a daze, staring down at the partially-repaired masterwork of a painting he’d left on the floor. On impulse, he knelt down and took up the crushed-berry paint, hesitating for a moment; he flipped the painting over, rolled a thick paintbrush between his talons, and began making marks across the rough underside of the canvas.

Thoughts strung themselves through his head like an indecipherable tangle of finger-vines as he worked. His mind swam with images of dim caves and black lakes, glowing moss and glowing trees, blood both dark red and bright green… in the center of it all, the Crystal, and an infuriating Mystic…

He gave a start, suddenly realizing that the first Brother was climbing high in the sky. It was time to head back down for the ceremony, if he hoped to appease skekSo. Turning the painting back over, he propped it gently against the wall to let it dry, sheathed his sword at his side out of habit, and headed out of the room once again.

His arrival time was carefully calculated; taking up his ceremonial staff from where it had been left for him by Gelfling servants and finding it as untarnished as the rest of his equipment, neatly cleaned and polished from its trip out to the caves and back, he found the line of Skeksis trudging their way toward the Crystal Chamber and slipped into the middle of it.

“Ssssslime-feeder!” skekShod hissed at him, and skekGra realized he had nearly trodden on the Treasurer’s tail.

Behind him, skekLach let out a dark laugh. “Well, well, look who’s decided to join us again at last. Stomping over us as usual.”

“Enough chattering back there!” skekZok called sharply from somewhere up ahead. “The Ceremony of the Sun is a solemn occasion!”

SkekGra let himself fall silent and was relieved to have the others follow suit as they filed into the Chamber and took their places in a circle around the Crystal.

He spotted both skekSo and skekSil casting narrow-eyed glances in his direction and carefully pretended not to notice, shifting so that he could stare unblinkingly at the darkened Crystal of Truth. It rippled with purple light but revealed no images within. How had the Wanderer managed to contact him through it?

His heart clenched. What if the idiot decided to appear again? SkekGra glanced hastily from side to side, hoping his fears weren’t evident on his face. He used to be a master at hiding his emotions, though in recent days the skill seemed to be slipping.

As the suns rose and skekZok spread his arms to welcome the Brothers in their zenith, the Crystal shone with violet light directed into the waiting eyes of each Skeksis. The achingly familiar surge of energy warmed skekGra’s body and he allowed himself to relax, his talons flexing against the staff he carried, breathing in the cleansing, strengthening light from the Crystal.

This was their home. Thra itself gave them new life each day. And yet, according to the Great Tree in the Grottan caves, the Skeksis were doomed to contaminate their world and must destroy themselves to prevent this. How could Thra bless the Twice-Nine in one breath, and curse them in the next?

SkekGra blinked quickly, his grip on the staff tightening again as he wondered, suddenly, whether skekSo had been right.

He stood numb with disbelief as the suns continued on their arc through the sky and the Crystal’s light faded, the tightly-knit group of Skeksis breaking up to shuffle on their separate ways. The ceremony had gone without incident—even the Emperor and the Chamberlain paid him no mind as they left the chamber in step with each other. So why did his heart feel frozen and brittle, like it might shatter if it pounded any harder? Why had the Crystal’s light left him feeling… strong, yes, but scraped out, hollow?

SkekGra shook his head and hastily looked around until he caught sight of skekTek, who had meandered over to inspect a lever that had been installed on the wall.

“Scientist!” he called quietly as he approached, wary of the few straggling Skeksis still meandering about. “I need to talk to you.”

SkekTek looked up, scowling. “What now, Conqueror? Surely you can see I’m presently unavailable for your manner of perfunctory diversion—?”

He trailed off, looking skekGra in the face and scrutinizing him with the same intensity that skekSo had shown the previous night. Realization seemed to strike at once, as his beak gaped and his eyes flashed. “You told the Emperor, didn’t you!”

SkekGra tensed, casting a hasty glance over his shoulder. “Er!... Very perceptive. Perhaps we shouldn’t talk here.”

“Perhaps we should not converse at all, as you seem intent on ignoring my advice!” The Scientist snapped his beak, his eyes narrowed to livid slits. “I knew I was unparalleled in terms of intellect, but I had no idea I was the only Skeksis with any amount of common sense as well!”

“Ooh, look!” the Ornamentalist said nearby, and skekGra jerked his head up in horror to see skekEkt watching them with glittering eyes. “The Conqueror and the Scientist are fighting!”

“Planning to start more fires, Conqueror?” skekOk asked wryly.

“Yes, among your scrolls!” skekGra shot back. What were they even still doing here? With an agitated look at the Scientist, he muttered, “forget it,” and turned to march out of the chamber, feeling his skin prickle with several sets of interested eyes watching him leave. It had been foolish to try to seek help from skekTek again—he’d only succeeded in attracting the attention of every Skeksis left in the room.

His pace slowed as he got further from the Chamber, his thoughts drifting. He’d promised to meet urGoh at the border of the Crystal Desert today. SkekGra scraped his talons down the stone wall, grinding his teeth together.

“I suppose I don’t have any other choice,” he said to himself, darkly. How had it come to this? Meeting with a Mystic?

“Conqueror,” a sharp voice said.

Startled, skekGra whirled around, bracing himself—but it was skekTek. The Scientist must have followed him out.

“I assume you had a reason for nearly shouting your secrets in the middle of the Crystal Chamber,” skekTek said, stopping in front of him. He still looked irritated, though skekGra was beginning to suspect that that was the Scientist’s default expression.

He sighed. “I did tell skekSo. He more-or-less cornered me to demand answers for my behavior lately, and telling him about the vision… seemed like a good idea at the time.”

SkekTek visibly rolled his eyes, pushing past skekGra and growling, “All ideas seem like ‘good’ ideas at the time.”

He glanced back, jerking with his beak for skekGra to follow. “But there’s no sense in sniveling over slopped milk dumplings. What did the Emperor say in response to your ludicrous claims?”

SkekGra closed his eyes, massaging his head with his fingers. “He said exactly what you’d think he’d say.”

“Yes…” skekTek’s breath hissed through his teeth. “I was planning to investigate this. You understand you have just made that substantially more difficult.”

"That wasn't my intention," skekGra said, peeling his hand away again. "I hadn't meant to tell him, after your advising." Or, well, not this soon, anyway.

SkekTek's hardened gaze drifted to the side. "Hrm. We'd best hope the Emperor does not speak to the sniveling Chamberlain on this matter, for both of our sakes," he muttered darkly.

SkekGra barely managed to repress a shudder. As bad as skekSo's response had been, he was sure things would be infinitely worse if skekSil learned what he’d shared.

"How did the Emperor succeed in trapping you, anyway?" the Scientist went on, cocking his head at skekGra and narrowing his eyes. "Did he barge into your sleeping quarters and grasp you by the neck until you spoke?"

"What? No, I was... um. I was..." He cast a glance around the hallway, making certain he was safe from eavesdroppers this time, and lowered his voice, "I was in the Crystal Chamber, in the middle of the night."

"And what could you possibly hope to accomplish there at such a preposterous hour?"

"Only, er... practicing my puppetry, of course. I'd had plans to do a show in the—"

"You are not speaking with an imbecile, Conqueror," skekTek said flatly, his lips curling to show fangs.

SkekGra hesitated, his talons clicking together and his tail curling behind him. "Very well. I heard the Crystal call." He swallowed. "Only to me, apparently."

The sarcastic-but-suspicious expression on the Scientist's face immediately dropped, and he stared at skekGra for a long while, his look unreadable. SkekGra would have felt uncomfortable, had the Scientist's reaction not been so bewildering. He opened his beak, but skekTek cut him off.

"The Crystal... called... to you."

"Yes," skekGra said, nodding slowly. "It did."

He wondered, briefly, if skekTek was angry with him—or jealous, perhaps?—but the Scientist regained his composure, grunting and turning around. "Come with me."

For a moment skekGra considered telling him he had an appointment to keep. (“With whom?” he could just imagine skekTek sneering. “The Ascendency, come to offer their immediate surrender?”) He quickly tossed that idea, and simply followed the other Skeksis with no comment. Mystics were supposed to be patient, weren’t they? If by some miracle the Wanderer got to the meeting point before he did, the thing could stand to wait a while. An entire ninet, maybe.

SkekTek, to skekGra's lack of surprise, led him straight back down to the Chamber of Life, and immediately began rifling through some books on a table. "You are quite certain that the Crystal addressed you alone?"

"I think so," skekGra answered, stepping up to the other side of the table and examining the mess of pages for himself. It all looked to him like nothing but meaningless numbers and symbols. "No one else showed up."

"Except the Emperor."

"Yes, but I don't think he was called. He didn't come until... after."

"After," skekTek repeated, settling over a book written in a hasty scrawl skekGra could not hope to read. "After the Crystal showed you something."

"That's right." SkekGra felt a chill crawl up his spine, suddenly realizing what the Scientist would ask of him next. "But—"

"And what," skekTek went on, "did it show you?"

And... there it was. SkekGra's talons grasped the edge of the table, and he stared down at them. Bandages still bound his hands, though the burns hurt a great deal less, now. "It... showed me..." He hesitated, unsure how he could put this in a way that would not make him sound like he was betraying his own kind, like he was going against his own Emperor, like he was a...

"Well? Out with it. Some of us have matters of significant importance to attend to in the near future."

"It..." He shook his head, and scraped his talons into the table. "It showed me my other half."

"UrRu?" the Scientist said, and skekGra tensed, preparing to defend himself. But skekTek only shuddered, making a sound of disgust. "...You wouldn't be the first."

SkekGra released his breath in a rush of air, trying to relax his hold on the table.

And then gave a start, knocking the desk and sending sheafs of paper flying, eliciting an irritated squawk from skekTek.

"What do you mean, not the first?"

"You ungainly blockhead!" skekTek sputtered, hurriedly grabbing up the papers again. "What do you think I meant?"

"I... have you seen visions in the Crystal as well?"

The Scientist let out a deep sigh, heaving his work back onto the table. "I experiment daily with the Crystal," he began. "Trine upon trine have I done so. And before I could pull the Crystal into my laboratory to study it here, I would visit the Crystal Chamber to examine it and learn what I could. Often I visited at night, when all other Skeksis slumbered unaware."

"And it... showed you things?" skekGra gasped.

"Indeed. There were times when I would see vague shadows within the Crystal if I stared long enough, and I was able to ascertain that these were not merely the tricks of unreliable, organic eyes." He tapped beneath his right eye with a talon. "Sometimes if I concentrated enough, I could force the Crystal to show me sights from the far corners of Thra, farther than even you have traveled, Conqueror."

SkekGra's beak gaped, and he found an odd sense of envy stirring up within him at the concept. What other civilizations lie on this rock? What other creatures that he had yet to see?

"I recorded whatever I saw in my notes. But the Crystal was not merely to be used as a telescope," skekTek went on. "Though I would have preferred it stayed that way. It seems the Heart of Thra has a mind of its own... of sorts."

Oh, more than you know.

"After some time, it began to show me something I had no desire to see whatsoever." The Scientist's lips curved into a snarl. "It showed me visions of four hands at work, performing experiments, similar to my own but... cowardly. Uninterested in the results. It showed me... the Alchemist."

The name seemed like a vile taste on skekTek's tongue, and he shuddered as he spoke it.

"Your Mystic," skekGra breathed. "The... the Crystal showed you your Mystic."

"Yes," skekTek grunted. "It did. Annoyingly often, despite my protests."

"Did... the Alchemist ever speak to you?"

SkekTek frowned down at the page before him, smoothing over a small tear with the flat side of his claw. "I heard that horrible humming racket from his overlong throat, and some mutterings, but the creature never addressed me."

"...How long has this been going on?" skekGra ventured, edging along the table to move closer to the Scientist.

"It went on for far longer than it should have," skekTek snapped, finally slamming his book closed. "I proclaimed to the Crystal that if he was all it would show me, I would personally splinter further shards from it until it dared not defy the will of its Lords any longer." The Scientist blinked. “After that, it ceased showing me images of any kind.”

"...I see." SkekGra took a step back. For some reason, his chest felt oddly heavy.

"If it is doing the same to you, you may be wise to put it in its place, as I have." He tipped his head. "Or let it go on. Perhaps it may show you something of interest if you let it have its way."

"Yes..." skekGra said, lowering his head. "That is something to consider."

SkekTek peered at him shrewdly. "And... this was all it showed, Conqueror?"

He nodded. "Just the Wanderer, nothing more."

"Hm." After a moment, skekTek clicked his beak. "It seems for some reason or other, the Crystal has put us in similar situations. As we seem to be the only ones, I suppose you are welcome to speak to me of this matter should it continue, skekGra." He swished his tail briefly, lowering his head. "It feels beneficial to... tell another of such things."

The sudden, palpable relief that swept through skekGra at this declaration almost took his breath away. The decision to confide in skekTek had been an uncertain one from the beginning. But now he felt that, at last, he had an ally—someone who wouldn’t mock, like skekVar, or pry, like skekSil, or demean and threaten, like even the Emperor.

“Thank you, skekTek,” he said. “That is… good to hear.”

The Scientist eyed him for a moment. “Of course, if you should receive… further visions, from the Crystal or otherwise, you must bring them to me forthwith.”

SkekGra’s eyes narrowed slightly. And now his one ally, the weakling Scientist, was giving him orders.

“Of course,” he replied, in a somewhat cool tone. “After all, you’re the expert.”

The other Skeksis’ face folded once more in a glare. “And you would do well to remember that.”

—-~~~—-

SkekGra had been dreading the walk to the desert. He longed to take a carriage or similar comfortable travel, but he could not afford the others to miss the transport when they were already suspicious of him. Especially when the Emperor had all but forbidden him to partake in any further conquests, for an indefinite length of time.

He passed quickly over the leaf litter and springy green plants that coated the forest floor, his feet taking practiced steps to avoid the slightest crunch on a dead leaf, his dragging tail and robes equally soundless save for a slight rustle that matched the wind. He breathed deeply, the chilled breeze bringing scents of the forest to his nostrils, his lips curling when he also detected the sour stench clinging to his own robes.

In a rapid change of his initial plan, he had taken the opportunity of being brought down to skekTek’s laboratory to slip into the catacombs—rather that than leaving the castle through the main entrance, where he would be seen by the guards as well as anyone else who happened to glance in that direction. Down in the labyrinthine catacombs below the castle, he was able to creep along undetected and squeeze out through the ancient Teeth of Skreesh carved into the cliff face, landing with a small splash in the slow-moving creek below.

This had come with consequences, of course. The dark, looming stone walls, the musty smells, the muffled echoes of running water and skittering crawlies that rang in his ears—it all reminded him forcefully of the Grottan tunnels. He had finally clambered out of there in relief, only to soak in the warm light of the suns outside and realize that the escape had left the hem of his robes drenched in foul-smelling water and waste flushed from the castle.

Wonderful, now he could trek all day through the Dark Wood and arrive to meet his self-righteous counterpart while smelling like a long-dead fish.

He rolled his shoulders irritably. Well, it wasn’t as though he and the idiot Mystic could think any less of each other. At least skekGra wasn’t planning on going out of his way to alert others about their communications, as the wretched Wanderer had last night. And as he was probably doing now. SkekGra scraped his nails along his palms, biting back the roiling ball of fury in his chest.

Imagine the creature making his ear-rattling howling noise right there in the Crystal Chamber, bringing none other than the blasted Emperor down on them and nearly getting them caught speaking to one another. Out of spite. He ground his teeth together.

Today they would end this.

The sick, anxious feeling that had taken up residence in his gut over the past few days seemed to intensify as the hours passed and he continued to walk, checking both his position and the time by the shape of the three Brothers and the angle of the shadows cast by towering trees. He was unused to traveling for so long by foot over mulchy, uneven ground, but he could at least be thankful that it wasn’t raining this time. He gripped his sword tightly, a pair of knives clenched in his secondary hands.

No beasts bothered him. The air was strangely quiet, absent of the stirrings of small forest creatures—likely too afraid of the clear predator stalking lightly through their wood, he mused. If anything dared show its face to him, he merely let out a low, rattling hiss, and it vanished again. He was Skeksis—nothing native to this forest could bring any harm to him.

His eyes darted quickly from side to side, lingering on the deeper shadows for the slightest movement or out-of-place form. There was, of course, one phantom known to haunt these woods that he did fear a confrontation with, and his grip on his sword tightened all the more. It would be best not to be out here after dark.

SkekGra’s breath seemed to come easier once the clustered trees and pines began to thin out and leaf dirt transitioned to grass, with rocky hills rising steeply to his left. Tall, reddish shapes stood out against the cloudy horizon, a pale, shimmering line in the distance. The light was dying—the first sun was about to set. He let out a sigh, shuffling one foot through the springy grass. At this rate he wouldn’t reach the desert before nightfall.

Suddenly he wondered if he had already been missed back at the castle. SkekSo and skekSil would almost definitely be sniffing around. He imagined them side-eyeing his empty spot at the banquet table tonight. There would be yet more questions upon his return. How was he to answer them? It was getting more and more difficult to come up with plausible excuses.

Plausible excuses such as ‘imitating a nurloc mating call,’ he thought, wincing slightly.

Steeling himself, he continued on, as the day’s warmth faded and the air began to chill his skin. One by one, the suns sank over the horizon, the three Sisters rising in their stead, and strange noises seemed to echo at him from every side. Chirps, low howls, rustling. SkekGra let out a growl, his long tail swishing the grass, and the noises ceased. It was only after several minutes of this that he decided silence was much worse.

The tense knot of anxiety in his chest now threatened to overtake him; his skin prickled, the spines on his back rising, his eyes flicking from side to side and struggling to make out anything in the darkness.

Was that the swish of robes along the ground? The telltale shwing of a sword being drawn? Had someone followed him from the Castle? No, that was ridiculous, no one among the Skeksis could pursue him without detection, not out here in the wilderness of his own domain, no one except—

Snap.

Heart pounding, skekGra whirled with a hiss, lips drawn back to reveal jagged fangs, and stood at his fullest height with his sword posed to strike. “Reveal yourself!”

For a moment, there was no sound save for the quiet chirping of insects and the wind stirring the scant vegetation. SkekGra peered through the darkness, sword at the ready, hardly able to distinguish individual shapes in the deep shadows along the landscape.

Then, a low voice spoke up.

“Careful… with that… Or you may hurt yourself.”

A lumpy boulder standing near him stirred, watching him with dark eyes and unfurling four long arms and a heavy tail. SkekGra bit back a shocked yelp, stumbling backward a step. In an instant he readjusted his stance and pointed the tip of the sword directly between the Mystic’s baleful, blinking eyes.

“You,” skekGra rasped, eyes narrowed in hatred. The cretin had disguised itself as a boulder to deceive him in the darkness yet again. “I’ve had enough of that trick!”

The Mystic’s brow furrowed. “What… trick?”

With a loud snort rivaling those of even the General, skekGra turned with a flick of his tail and hunted along the ground for stray branches and dry kindling. When the Mystic neglected to move, he snapped, “Well, help me build a fire! It’s freezing out here, and I’ll not talk until I can see my enemy clearly.”

The eyes set deep in the Mystic’s long face narrowed as well. “So… the murdering scourge of Thra… is afraid… of me.”

“Distrust does not equal fear,” skekGra replied, his tone clipped. He glared at the other creature until it finally obliged, bending down slowly to hunt for firewood as well. The two of them seemed to walk in spiraling circles around each other, both refusing to turn their back on the other. When they had found a few handfuls each, skekGra snatched the kindling from the Mystic’s hand and set to work building a fire. There were pieces of flint in his pockets, which he pulled out and struck. Nothing happened.

“Hmmm,” the Wanderer said, somewhat sardonically. “Perhaps you have… lost your touch. Especially since it seemed… this humble, lumbering Mystic… snuck up on you.”

SkekGra clacked the two pieces of flint together harder than he meant to, showering a spray of sparks across the ground but not managing to light anything except for the hem of urGoh’s robes.

“Not… again…” the Mystic murmured, stamping out the smoking fabric before it ignited properly.

SkekGra scowled at him, his eyes shooting poison. “It’s sneaked.”

The Mystic slowly looked up. “What did you… say?”

“It’s sneaked, not snuck. Idiot.”

“...Ohh.” The Mystic blinked. “I see the mighty Conqueror… has traded in his sword… for a far deadlier weapon: grammar.”

The jibe should have made him angry, and it nearly did, but skekGra almost found himself choking back a laugh instead. That was... quicker wit than he expected of a Mystic. But—no, what was he doing? He was talking with an enemy! With a growl, he struck the flint together again, finally igniting the campfire. Now that their meeting spot had a light source that was slowly but steadily growing brighter, he could see the amusement in the other creature's eyes—clearly proud of his own joke.

"Now is not the time for jests," skekGra muttered.

"For one who.... bears much armor... the famous Conqueror... has a fragile ego."

One of skekGra's claws scraped against the flint as he pocketed it, chipping its edge. "I do not!" But realizing he'd raised his voice, he cast a cautious glance at their surroundings, making sure a familiar phantom was not nearby. "That's not what I'm upset about," he went on, quieter. "The Hunter roams between the forest and the desert, and I'd rather we wrap this up before he rears his masked head."

"Oh." The Mystic stared down at the fire, his amused expression melting into a somber one. "The Archer's... shadow."

"What?" SkekGra blinked, then shook his head. "Nevermind, it would probably take you all night to explain." He leaned in closer, careful to keep the hem of his robes away from the flames. "We need to discuss what we came here for, and then leave."

The Wanderer breathed out slowly, embers scattering in the wake of his sigh. "And you think... we can take care of this... in one night?"

"I don't know! Let's just get on with it." His tail gave an impatient swish, and it unnerved him to see the Mystic's tail tip mirror the motion. "Do you remember what I told you last night?"

"Yes..." Now the creature's face fell, his head dipping. "I do not wish... to hear it again."

"Yes, well. That's our future, apparently." He leaned back, taking a seat on a nearby stone and frowning when a sharp corner of it dug into his leg. "Or did your vision say otherwise?"

"My vision..." The Mystic turned away from the fire, his gaze slowly traveling up to the stars. SkekGra followed it, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "I... saw the heavens... and I saw Thra."

"And maps?" skekGra tipped his head. "Didn't you mention that?"

"...Yes... and... maps." He lowered his head again. "I saw... the heavens... and maps... and—"

"Yes, we established that. Can you go any faster?"

The Mystic blinked, then slowly, slowly turned his head back toward skekGra. "I... can..."

Oh, Aughra's eye.

"...go... as..."

"Are you serious?"

"...fast... as..."

"As you like, yes, I get it!"

"I..."

"YES! I understand!"

"...like."

In spite of the consequences of the action, the thought of strangling the Mystic was quite tempting at the moment. The tip of his tail flicked.

"Now... as I was saying..." The Wanderer glanced up at the sky again. "I saw... the heavens... and the suns... close to aligning themselves..."

"The Great... what's it. Conjunction?" skekGra offered, glad to finally be getting somewhere.

"...Yes. That was... it. I also saw.... Thra... as a map. The Gelfling... civilizations... were torn away..."

An image of bloody battlefields flashed across skekGra's mind, and he blinked hard, staring into the fire to try to rid himself of the thought.

"But... later... the map pieces were... put together." The Mystic joined each pair of his own hands thoughtfully. "Not where they were... before... but grouped together... in one... place."

"...Is that all?" SkekGra reared his head back. "You got off easy."

"No... that is not... all..." Now the Wanderer parted his hands, and only then did skekGra notice that he clutched something in one of them. The Mystic held the object closer to his face, letting it glint in the firelight. "I saw... the Crystal... and... felt it."

"Felt it? What did it feel like?"

"Pain... emptiness... and... incompleteness." He thumbed the object in his hand, then closed his fist around it. "It is... fractured."

"You only just noticed?" skekGra snapped, only to pause—it was easy to forget that other beings didn't have ready access to the Crystal like the Skeksis did. "It's been fractured since you creatures left."

"Yes," urGoh said solemnly. "Have you... not thought... that it needed... to be healed?"

SkekGra hissed in a breath. No, because if it were fully healed, we would be unable to take in its power, and we would die.

"...It... never occurred to me," he lied.

The Wanderer gave him a hard look, and skekGra cleared his throat. "So... what, we're supposed to heal the Crystal?"

"Yes... and help... the Gelfling..." The Mystic's gaze hardened further. "Unless... that is beyond you."

"I'm not opposed to helping the Gelfling!" skekGra cried, indignant. "What do you think I was doing in those blasted caves?!"

"Murdering... innocents?"

SkekGra rose to his feet, all four fists clenched. "I spared them!"

"You... spared... two." UrGoh was shaking, and so was he. "Two... of the hundreds... that fell by your swords—"

"I KNOW!" he screamed.

He knew he had to be quiet, he knew he could be endangering himself if he was seen, but he could not stop, the words tumbling from his beak as he paced before the fire and before his other half. "You think I'm not aware of what I’ve done?! I killed so many! More than skekUng or skekVar! I made paint of their blood, puppets of their corpses! I did it with every creature I conquered! Every race! And when I'm not being repeatedly afflicted by sickening visions of the Crystal’s design, I'm seeing them! I'm seeing their blood on my swords, my claws, on me!"

And he rounded on the Wanderer once again, his eyes burning as bright as the fire between them.

"And it's because of you. You did this to me!" His talons clenched and unclenched, raised and shaking in rage. "Ever since you did—you did—whatever in Thra's name you did to me, I haven't been able to stop thinking about that stupid, rotten Gruenak I beheaded in those caves, or his mate and his child that saw it!"

His chest heaved in harsh gasps and his eyes burned in the smoke and heat of the fire.

"Does it bring you joy to know what you have done to me, Wanderer?"

UrGoh stared at him silently, unmoving, the fire casting dark shadows across his face and form. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. "You believe yourself... to be the only one... unchanged?"

SkekGra's arms lowered. "What?"

"In these few days... I have felt... more anger... toward you... and your kind... and my own kind... than I have ever felt... in my hundreds of trine."

The Mystic was, skekGra suddenly noticed, trembling again.

"I had not felt it... until you touched me."

"You were the one to grab me," skekGra said, but the rage had gone from his voice. He paused. "Is anger really so terrible?"

The Wanderer opened his mouth, but faltered.

"Anger at incompetence leads you to taking matters into your own claws,” skekGra continued. “Anger at others leads you to confront them. This is how the world functions." His tail swished one way, then the other, and he turned aside. "At least you don't have this horrible, nagging, endless... something... that keeps reminding you of—"

"Guilt."

The word ripped the air from his lungs, and he clutched a talon to his chest. "No."

But you've already known, something within him said. Something that sounded alarmingly like the slothful being before him.You knew it the moment you felt it.

"You feel... guilty... Conqueror."

"No!" he cried, his talons moving to clutch his head. "Skeksis don't feel guilt!"

"And urRu... do not... feel anger."

Silence hung between them, and even the fire seemed to quiet, sensing the gravity of the situation.

"We have... been changed."

SkekGra swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "I don't want to change." He swallowed again, his tongue sticking to his mouth, uncomfortably aware of how much he sounded like a pitiful childling. "I want t-to..."

"You want to... go back... to killing?"

In spite of his words, the simmering anger was absent from the Mystic's voice this time.

Head bowed toward the ground, skekGra felt hollowed, bloody, raw; half of him heated in the flickering firelight, the other part, shadowed, shivering like brittle ice.

“I… I am skekGra the Conqueror,” he said, without looking up. His voice was a rasp. “For over five hundred trine I have wounded, I’ve maimed, I’ve killed. And now you come to me? Now is when Thra chooses to speak, to threaten everything I have ever worked for and achieved?” He whipped his head up, eyes flashing in the firelight. “My honor is already being questioned, ever since the battle with the Gruenaks where you decided to show your stupid long neck and make me—”

He broke off, breathing hard.

UrGoh the Wanderer watched him through narrowed eyes, unmoved. “I… was not aware… that the Skeksis had honor.”

SkekGra scraped his teeth together, letting the insult slide with no comment. “I am being watched, you should know. The Emperor is suspicious of me, the Scientist probably knows too much, if he chooses to speak. The General noticed my absences in two consecutive battles. SkekMal will hunt us both for sport if he finds us out here. And the Chamberlain will haunt my every step until he’s convinced of where my loyalties lie, either with the Skeksis… or against them.”

“And… where do they… lie?” urGoh asked quietly.

The tips of skekGra’s talons twitched. “I am Skeksis.”

UrGoh let out a frustrated huff. “Then this meeting… will get us nowhere.”

“Particularly since Thra itself seems to be calling our kinds to unite,” skekGra hissed through his teeth. There was an uncomfortable, fizzling silence, like the feeling in the air after a bolt of lightning strikes.

Words rang in skekGra’s head, as clearly as though someone were speaking them directly into his ear.

“What does Thra know of what it wants?”

“Well…” urGoh said, slowly once again, apparently weighing every word. “Of course… we are not doing… that.”

Suddenly, unexpectedly, a surge of defiance ripped through skekGra, leaping from his tongue in the form of a one-word demand. “Why?”

The Mystic stared at him with brows raised, the fire dancing in his dark eyes. SkekGra himself was just as taken aback by his own outburst, but he scarcely let it show, instead pacing back and forth in front of the fire again with his hands clasped firmly behind his back and his tail swishing over the gritty rock, brushing up against knotty tufts of grass that sprung up among the stone here and there.

“Have you been seeing them?” he asked, his voice harsh, his eyes flicking to settle on urGoh. “Visions in the waking world? Things…” he hesitated, but then forged ahead, “changing before your very eyes?”

He blinked quickly, preemptively, to dispel the images before they came, but they came anyway. The land through the carriage window ravaged and blackened by glowing purple veins. SkekVar’s face crumbling to dust. The Scientist bearing an empty, bloodied eye socket. Dark blood pooling from a strange wound on urGoh’s head...

The Mystic had his head tilted very slightly. “I… suppose,” he said, and he gave an almost imperceptible glance at the ground where his flickering shadow was cast.

SkekGra snaked his hand back out and pressed his talons to his chest, where his heart—or whatever shred of blackened tissue he might have in place of it—beat in an almost convulsive manner. “They won’t stop.” The certainty weighed on him like stone. “If we don’t do what the stupid planet wants us to do, we won’t stop seeing these… things.”

UrGoh stirred slightly, rumpling the woven coat on his back and the frayed cloak that lay over his shoulders, perhaps trying to warm himself up. “Then… they don’t stop,” he said, in a voice as nonchalant as though he had simply looked up to pass comment on the moons.

To outside eyes, it would almost appear as though skekGra had barely moved at all.

His talons were already dripping dark blood, his robes slightly singed and his face stinging like he’d been branded with hot coals, before he even registered what had happened. UrGoh looked stunned, his face now sporting long scratches that hadn’t been there before.

"No more," skekGra found himself gasping, the words like razors in his throat. "I will put up with this no more. We will agree to Thra's demands if I have to take you by your ugly tail and—"

"A Skeksis... aligning with Thra?" urGoh said, seemingly unaware of the blood on his own face.

SkekGra faltered. "Of... of course we align with Thra. We make Thra align with Skeksis. It does as we see fit."

"Yet now... you are bowing... to its will."

A shudder ran down his spine. He brought a hand to his face, smearing his blood across his beak.

UrGoh's tail dragged closer around his body as he regarded skekGra. "Perhaps... this will get... somewhere... after all." He paused. “...Ouch, by the… way.”

Shakily skekGra sank back onto the stone he'd sat upon earlier, impatiently dabbing at the claw marks in his own face. “Are you a pouting infant? These are shallow. They won’t even leave scars.”

The Mystic's brow furrowed again. “Hmph. As you… say.” He shook his head, tossing his mane. "I want this... no more than you.”

"Yes." SkekGra flexed his talons; they felt sticky with blood (whose, he no longer knew). "We'll... play along, for now. Only until that blasted rock leaves us be."

"Hm." The Wanderer sat back, staring into the fire. "And how... do we plan... to do that?"

"I don't know."

The two remained silent, skekGra's vision blurring as his thoughts turned inward, reflecting on what he had just agreed to.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he heard a strange huff. Blinking, he looked up, bewildered to find urGoh smiling into the flames. "What?"

"Oh." The Wanderer's smile faded and he blinked slowly. "I was... remembering something."

"Is it anything useful to our current situation?" skekGra mumbled, leaning his jaw against his knuckles.

"No." UrGoh shook his head from side to side, and the smile returned. "This place... reminds me of another fire I sat around... many trine ago."

"You don't say."

"I was with... Gelfling... for your kind had not caused them... to fear us yet." As the Mystic turned his head upward in memory, skekGra's gaze was downcast toward the ashes on the ground. "They were... telling a story."

As they often do. His vision grew unfocused again as he remembered the Gelfling battalions he would lead, and how the soldiers would tell each other tales to keep themselves entertained on long journeys. SkekGra had rarely paid attention—Gelfling stories were not nearly so interesting as his own conquests... or so he'd thought at the time, anyway.

"It was a story... of how the Gelfling maiden... obtained her wings..."

Snorting, skekGra shifted where he sat. Gelflings were the sole intelligent race with the ability to fly, a useful tactic in battle. He’d never particularly cared why the females had wings when the males did not. It had always seemed to have a strange logic to it. But something nagged at him and he blinked, lifting his head slightly. "I think I did hear that one."

"The songteller said... the maiden’s wings were forged... from hollerbats..." The amusement in the Mystic's voice was evident. "But the others... cut him off... and they argued..."

"Yes," skekGra said, his mouth quirking in a small smile. "The one argued that her wings were made from cragraptor feathers."

"And another said... his mother's version was..."

UrGoh fell silent abruptly.

Frowning, skekGra raised his head. "Was what?"

The Wanderer stared back at him, sheer confusion clouding his gaze. "You... were not present."

"What are you on about?" He straightened himself, the tip of his tail flicking indignantly. "I remember this. The Gelfling all got into a fight over whose story was right. And there was that little whiny one, who hadn't—"

"You... weren't... there..."

"Of course I was!" But now that he thought of it, why would he have been? Aside from the Makrak incident, when had Skeksis and Mystics ever met together peaceably? It wouldn't have been then, surely. He knew he hadn't been present for this incident. But then how...

Suddenly skekGra stared into urGoh's eyes, and urGoh into his, and all of Thra went still around them.

Something crackled up his back like electricity, and it chilled him, and yet... at the same time, there was warmth, warmth that had nothing to do with the fire. It filled him, more and more, until it was greater than himself, like nothing he had felt before...

No, he had felt it before. Trine upon trine ago, nearly past his memory, like he was... they were...

He blinked, and it was gone, leaving him empty and wanting.

The fire crackled before them.

"Oh," urGoh said simply, and his entire frame drooped, as though it had grown heavy. He was staring down at something in his hand, and there was a weariness in his eyes that had not been there before.

SkekGra realized he probably looked the same.

For a moment, he was tempted to look up into the stars, but he resisted, unsure what their light would remind him of and certain he didn’t wish to know. "Perhaps... this will take more than one meeting to resolve," he admitted, staring stupidly at the ground.

"That... seems likely."

Having nothing else to say, skekGra heaved a sigh. Finding his mouth dry, he licked his fangs, only to wince at the sharp tang of blood that he had smeared on his face earlier. With it came a sudden memory—one far more recent and that had nothing to do with the Mystic before him—and he rose to his feet. "I have to get back to the castle," he said hurriedly.

"Why?"

"The others will miss me," skekGra said, already kicking dirt over the fire. "Especially the Emperor.” Even this lumbering oaf must realize the danger they were putting themselves in.

"Thra... wishes for us all... to unify..."

"I know." The flames now put out, he began hurrying back in the direction he'd come.

Frustratingly, urGoh dragged himself alongside him. "I don't think... we should approach... the Skeksis... about this..."

Sickness churned in his stomach. "Of course not!" he snapped. "Do you think I have a death wish?" He wrenched his head around as he walked, his back spines prickling with a sudden anxiety. "Speaking of, keep your voice down."

The Wanderer lowered his head and his voice, keeping up with skekGra's pace oddly well. “But what of… the Mystics?”

SkekGra barked out a dry laugh. “By all means, if you think your fellow snail-crawlers can be convinced…”

"We must... arrange... a meeting with them."

"Fine! Let’s set it now, and then get away from me, before someone sees us."

UrGoh did not immediately answer, and skekGra lashed his tail impatiently—turning down to look at him, he found the Mystic studying his face carefully. Unnerved, skekGra faced forward again, straining to find his way in the moonlight.

Finally the Wanderer spoke: "Meet us..."

"Yes?"

"At the southern border..."

"Yes?"

"Of the Dark Wood..."

"Can it be anywhere else—?"

"...and the northern border..."

"Now what?"

"...of the Spriton Plains...."

"Seriously?"

"...where they meet the Black River."

"What?" He turned to look at the Mystic, but urGoh had already broken off in another direction. "Wait, why all the way out there?"

"You can... find your way... yourself."

"But why should—?!" SkekGra cut himself off; he was being too loud, and the Mystic probably wouldn't answer him anyway. Growling, he lowered his head, quickly rearranging his robes for what he would have to do.

In a few moments he had his robes tied back, and he lowered himself onto all fours, sprinting back toward the Dark Forest. This was not his preferred way of travel. His feet hurt from travel and his stomach ached for want of food. But the meeting had taken too long, and he could not be late for the Ceremony of the Sun.

Yet as he ran, his mind was not on what potential tortures awaited him if he failed to arrive, but rested instead with the strange, fire-lit meeting he'd so hastily left behind, and the creature he'd found himself forced into an uneasy alliance with.

Occasionally his thoughts were tempted to wander back to that moment, when they had gazed into one another through the flames with that spark of oneness, but he forcibly shoved it aside.

He was Skeksis. And this was temporary.

[tofadeawayagain]

Drabble update:

Two new drabbles posted to The Little Things!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28032549/chapters/70689933#workskin

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28032549/chapters/70690194#workskin

[ben-the-hyena]

Sure SkekTek's love for his little pet Sidetic is precious

But have you guys remembered

SkekTek is immortal

Sidetic probably has the lifespan of a normal bird

Imagine a very very old Sidetic who just feels very weak, knowing his time has come but SkekTek doesn't. SkekTek is very worried and tries to feed him, holding him in his palm

"Hey..." he softly coos with worry "Little guy... you should eat... you didn't eat in days..."

Sidetic weakly looks up at the food, then emits a very faint "peep" and lies down in the Skeksis's talons

"Sidetic ? Hey my friend... what's wrong these days ?..." he mutters, holding him with both hands, saddening more and more

Sidetic shakes a little, weakly looking up to his owner's remaining eye, and says one last "peep"

SkekTek understands at this moment. Eyes get tearful, voice gets shaky

"N-no not now..." he whines "20 trines already ?... you cannot be that old !..."

Sidetic's eyelids become very heavy. Breathing fastly and hardly, he slowly closes his eyes

"I beg you, don't !..." the Scientist would beg between 2 sobs, his voice cracking, his thumb caressing his tiny body. Why would he embrace death that easily !? Death in unnatural, a mockery to his species. Maybe if he gave him a drop of essence he would be young again ?

But too late

Under the familiar and reassuring hold and caress of his owner, Sidetic sighs his last breath out. His little body then stops inflating and deflating from breathing. Forever

SkekTek is sitting in the middle of his lab, his little friend's cage open and empty. He stares for long seconds at the tiny lifeless body in his hands, still warm, and sniffs it in the hope to smell a lively scent. But he doesn't. He finds only death in his hands. Sidetic is no more

He hugs it close to his heart, quietly weeping, shaking in sobs, tears running down his beak and dripping on the fur of his late little pet and friend

He is alone. For real this time

[baccoart]

Enjoying my day off and drawing a few more pages of my er0t!c comic

[thoughtfulbelieverstrawberry]

Anuncio — Ad

Ya casi publico mi fanfic de El cristal encantado [skeksis x personaje original]

I have almost published my fanfic of The Dark Crystal [skeksis x original character]

[aughraseye]

5) A cherished personal belonging - Gurjin

Hey anon sorry for the delay on this! I actually forgot that I had added that ask meme to my queue! But, since this was the only ask I got for it I decided to write you a short fic! Hope it’s worth the wait!

Echoes

Every sound echoed loudly across the high stone walls of the dungeon - steady boots coming closer, making Gurjin suck in and hold until the steps grew softer as they passed him by, squealing and growling noises from The Scientist’s creatures locked in cages not unlike his own, even the soft trickle of water as it slipped down cracked walls and into older drains.

Gurjin listened to each sound closely, expectant and afraid. He knew that soon they would came back for him. That the skeksis would decide that more punishment would yield the answers they sought.

So he listened, waiting for high pitched hmmm of The Chamberlin, the low mumbling of The Scientist, or even the deep commanding voice of The Emperor himself.

Gurjin shivered.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to steady himself. He could not yield no matter what they did to him. Rian’s dreamfasted memory still lingered in his mind. The sounds Mira made as the essence drained out of her echoed through his thoughts like the noises echoing through the castle.

And mixed with her cries of pain was the laughter of the skeksis lords.

It was the same laughter, sadistic and sneering, that he had heard when The Chamberlin and The Scientist first chained him up in the lab. It was the same that mixed in with their incessant threats, the same that was drowned out by Gurjin’s own pained shouts as he suffered through their ‘interrogation.’ And even if he hadn’t already seen Rian’s memory, this would have been more than enough to prove their true nature.

But they had soon realized that Gurjin would not betray his fellow gelfling. So, they had dragged him, beaten and bruised, to the dungeons to await further punishment.

He didn’t know how long it had been since then. He only knew that his body ached from what they had done, and further ached from sitting rigid and still against the damp dark wall. The cold and the wet kept him awake though, staved off his exhaustion. And if he was awake he could not dream of all the terrors he had lived through or of all the wonderful things he may never know again.

Sighing, Gurjin ran his hands through his hair. He needed to keep a clear head and stay strong, but he felt weak and tired and did not know what more he could take. But as his hands worked through his thick dreaded hair, his fingers grazed a knotted cord he had long ago braided into it. He paused, feeling the coarse material - knox weed from the Swamps of Sog, bark torn from inside The Great Smerth, small tokens his family had given him for luck when he had been called to service at the castle. Even Naia had made him a small stone charm. ‘To remember her by,’ she had told him with a sharp laugh.

Her voice rang in his mind, in tune with those of their sisters and parents.

He didn’t know if she knew that he wore it, that he had woven all their gifts into this cord and kept them with him, that each time it brushed his cheek under his guard’s helmet he thought of them and of home.

Even now, Sog seemed a little closer as he held the cord lightly with the tips of his fingers.

Suddenly, more noise reverberated down the hall. It sounded of clanking armor and booming snorts - The General. Letting go of the cord, Gurjin stood despite the wobble in his legs. The sound grew closer and he clenched his fists hard enough to leave small crescent imprints in his palm. But as The General rounded the corner into the dungeon Gurjin felt the cord against his face and a flash of strength for what lay ahead.

[skekiss]

for anyone interested here’s the first little (unfinished) opening segment of the first chapter of a wip fanfic. warning: many skeksis under the cut

'Another! ANOTHER! Tell me another one!'

The Emperor roared. Raucous laughter followed, echoed in the near empty open chamber of the high banqueting hall. Cruel and mocking, wicked pleasure rang off the stony tarnished walls, over and over, filling the candlelit chasm with a cacophony of snarling, snapping, cawing, clawing. Barking, biting, sneering. The Skeksis Lords were gathered together at their long table, settling into their spaces, ready to dine. 

It was SkekLi at the Emperor's ear during the starting course, the Satirist reciting a story of his own imaginings, peppered with mention of the Emperor's impressive eternal rule, he wielded his long, scaly arms, with grand and sweeping gestures, ruffled sleeves dragged through cold and acrid soup. The beady, gleaming eyes of the Emperor, far too enraptured to notice his meal had been soiled. As SkekLi, the Satirist, graciously appealed to SkekSo's dark and wicked sense of humour, and to his ego, in unrivalled manner. Silver tongued and skillful, SkekLi had taken it upon himself as the entertainment of tonight’s dinner. 

Clawed fists curled tightly, they beat their bony knuckles against the table, as the Skeksis erupted in a bout of cackles again at SkekLi's woven tale. Silverware trembled, liquid sloshed and spattered from their metal goblets. Those seated closest to the Emperor, and to SkekLi, erupted into another violent chorus of sniggers and howls. The Ritual Master, the Treasurer, the Scroll-Keeper, the Ornamentalist, the General -- even the Gourmand, all crowing and screeching, flailing and falling into one another. 

SkekKa's maroon eyes narrowed enviously. From his seat at the very far end of the banquet, he just wasn't in on the joke. Unable to hear the story over the excitement of the others, he was left only to his imaginings of what could possibly be this funny. To make matters worse, with all of the rumbling, the stomping and stamping surrounding the Emperor, SkekKa's goblet tipped over and flooded his plate, it bled into his viscous soup and rolled with a clink, clink, clink onto to the floor. He groaned. He was thirsty and famished. His skull ached from the racket, his belly bloated by hunger, his throat hoarse with thirst. 

Unlike the other Skeksis at the table, pouring their soup down into their gullets, overspill running from their open snapping maws staining their collars, gowns and furs, SkekKa at the very end of the table would now instead have to wait for mains to be served, stomach whining. He sighed, glared, shifted with impatience and irritability. After all, it wasn't just his seat at the table nor his lack of food that segregated him from the other Lords at the banquet. 

SkekKa, though taller and spine straighter than the other Skeksis, and appearing stern and somewhat respectable at a glance, he had been unable to hide his frailty, nor his glaring differences from the rest. And so, SkekKa was often ignored or avoided, as though his difference was some disease they could catch, as though his weakness contagious, the other Skeksis refused to to take their chances with him. Often left to his own devices, his own sole company.

SkekKa wasn’t diseased, though he was very thin and with very little strength in his spiny limbs, he avoided violence and conflict, much to the disgust and shame of the other Lords, whenever he was cornered and confronted.

He equally just wasn't as crass, his voice carried a quieter, gentler tone -- of which the others loathed and mocked with much delight. SkekKa had soon realised he made a far better listener, only by staying so quiet and withdrawing from conversation, his presence became less and less noticeable amongst the noisy, obscene Skeksis. Unable to compete with them, SkekKa was often forgotten.

Even his dress was muted, compared to the others. He carried less layers, due to struggling under the weight of the cloaks, ruffled, metals and jewels. SkekKa donned only rags, having scavenged for scraps, discarded materials from the Ornamentalist’s extensive dresser. Though this was not so much by choice of his, that didn't matter at all to the other Skeksis, they found his ravaged appearance to be insulting to their fine, ornate species. 

Then, impossible for SkekKa to change, was his shuffling gait. Having to walk with a cane ever since the early days hadn't helped in his appeal - - as he suffered not through gnarly injury or battle or any other bold and bloody claim - - his cane he’d carved for himself was just to steady and ease his awkward limp of which he’d been borne with. A weakness the Skeksis found entirely insufferable.

They called him soft, a runt, among other far worse things. ‘I’m not quite certain you’re even really a Skeksis!’ SkekTek had claimed once, when examining SkekKa’s withered leg and chuckling coldly. Others too, considered this. It was only SkekKa that doubted the Scientist’s credibility. 

SkekKa eyed the cavernous corridor that led down to the kitchens anticipating the next round of food, his belly cramping with insatiable hunger. Usually the Emperor would have barked for the next course by now, but so engaged were they all with SkekLi’s jokes, SkekSo had yet to call for more. Again SkekKa stared down the length of the table, hungry, thirsty and furiously jealous.

Between SkekKa and thoroughly entertained gathering, there were a few Skeksis that appeared to be skipping tonight’s mealtime, he noted, from the spaces left, their silver plates shining and empty. The Scientist, for one, was thankfully absent, most likely tinkering down in the bowels of the Castle with his metals, his potions, his flurry of frightened caged creatures. SkekNa would be down in the kitchen threatening his slaves, and SkekSa’s seat was always empty. She preferred the salted wind and sea to the confines of their Castle keep. So, where was the…

‘Hmmmmmmmmmm?’

The Chamberlain.

His whine, high and tuneless split the laughter, as SkekSil shuffled into the hall dragging all of his layers and layers of crimson, of black, frills, ruffs, almost suffocatingly covered and crippled by the mass of them. Silence, finally, descended upon the banquet at his entrance.

‘Ugh,’ the Emperor grunted, ‘that noise.’ 

The other Skeksis too looked towards him with disdain, but the Chamberlain didn’t respond nor appear to even care for their unpleasant reactions, his simper steadfast, bowing his head -- the slightest shift before the Emperor -- he ambled towards a seat for himself at the table, the seat that was spare next to SkekKa.

‘Many missing. Wonder where SkekUng might be,’ the Chamberlain said, sliding in next to SkekKa and somewhat pushing him aside. SkekKa then realised, SkekUng too had not yet made an appearance, his great hulking form and bellowing voice was not present at all in the chamber.

‘Very curious,’ the Chamberlain continued. 

SkekKa hadn’t thought much of it -- and rarely ever was he included in gossip, save for what he overheard. Left out, outcast, SkekKa knew very little of the happenings in the castle, much unlike the Chamberlain, who made sure to make such things his business, as was his nature. 

‘I hear SkekUng has found breakthrough with making a beast.’

‘A beast?’ SkekKa’s muddy red eyes flitted to SkekSil for the first time.

‘Hmmmmmm.’ The Chamberlain nodded fervently as he whined.

‘A beast? What for?’

‘MORE!’ Cried the Emperor. This time, it wasn’t for another of SkekLi’s stories, but for food. ‘Bring me my main course!’ Main course, main course, main course, came the giggling chants of the other Lords.

‘SkekSil --’ SkekKa pressed, but the Chamberlain’s attention was drawn to the cavern at the sound of their chanting, the clunking of metal on stone. A deliberate, slow dragging sound, closer and closer. Thurump - thurump - thurump.

Finally, SkekNa, the Slave-master, appeared at the mouth with his hoard, dragging his many gelfling along in tow, linked by chain, they stumbled, single file, slumped, sweaty and tired, each carrying a bowl, a plate or cloche, covering all manner of cooked foods to the table. A Skeksis of little words, his features severe, his expression solely unforgiving.

Exhausted from the torturous heat of the kitchens, the gelfling train couldn’t keep time with their master. SkekNa hissed at them loudly, mouth wide and baring all of his teeth, snapping viciously at another who squeaked at his rage. With all their flinching and dodging, the last in the long line of gelfling fell to his face. Everyone laughed, save for SkekSil and SkekKa -- watching as the captured creatures, small and fuzzy like soot, bounced from their crashing container and scattered the floor. The Chamberlain’s gaze followed one, right out the door and away.

SkekLi’s evening entertainment had meant the Skeksis were in an unusually good mood and so even when faced with the wastefulness of the fallen gelfling they barked with malicious laughter. Even SkekNa, who had screamed murderously at his gelfling slave’s mistake, snorted at it struggling back to its feet. Yanking the chains again roughly so that all of them were jerked around, whiplashed and desperate not to lose their footing.

The gelfling male was emaciated and could barely stand, breathing hard. His sunken cheeks and frightened, dark and wild eyes were ringed by deep shadow. His features mostly hidden behind ratty dark hair, uneveningly hacked at. His pale flesh spattered with shining scars. He was trembling, arms wrapped at his waist, bare arms bandaged from his hands to his elbows, crusted with old, brown blood, and blossoming with bright red anew. Burns.

‘I… I’m sorry, m’Lord,’ the gelfling bowed low as he could, smarting and panting.

‘Silence!’ Hissed SkekNa.

‘Oh, you are forgiven.’ The Emperor said, his cold eyes glinting in the flickering candle-light.

The gelfling bowed again, brought to tears. ‘My Lord.’

‘Take that one down to SkekTek.’ The Emperor pointed viciously, an order to SkekNa.‘See that this one’s ailments are seen to.’ A joke of his own, the Skeksis cackled again, clutching their sides and clawing the table.

The gelfing’s eyes grew wide as the Slave-master swept towards him, unhooking him from the link of his kind.

‘No -- wait -- I --’

SkekNa dragged the gelfling viciously by the chain. 

‘It won’t happen again I --’

Taking a clawful of the gelfling’s tattered hair, SkekNa heaved him across the stone. The other slaves looked on with fear as their master separated himself from them, unfastening their metal leash from his belt, forcibly pulling their fallen comrade from the hall. Nails scraped and the gelfling cried out in pain, choking and spluttering still that he was sorry -- it won’t happen again -- drowned out by the jeering and cheering of the Skeksis, tongues lolling and clapping and peeling with laughter.

‘That it won’t!’ The Emperor roared. ‘Now let’s eat!’

[ohfugecannada]

Ok so I unintentionally pulled an all-nighter, came across this gem on Ao3, and long story short, this is one of my favourite skekGra/urGoh fanfics.

[miss-horror-art]

Have some doodles of done with the two star crossed lovers I’ve done last year. Yes, unlike most oc x canon couples I wrote about, these two take a more dark and tragic turn.

So expect this to be more of a relationship you see in gothic romance novels and films since I was very much inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde along with The Bride of Frankenstein. And because gave me so much encouragement and inspiration with these ideas for Talia.

Talia is very sympathic towards SkekTek and always feel sorry for him for getting constantly abused by the emperor. She would sometimes help him out with experiments whenever she’s not to busy serving royal duties from her tribe. SkekTek would often get annoyed by her presence at first yet sometimes he will vent his problems out to her and mostly trust her with his equipment. He does eventually star warming up to her as she did with him and would meet in private places to bond with each other. And yes, I plan to make TDC fanfic that may center around Talia's life in the Vapra clan and the SkekSis castle before the resistance. Yes, I'm aware of the conflict the Skeksis have with the gelfings and no, I don't care what you guys think. In fact, their events together occur way before SkekSil and SkekTek found the solution to cheat death. And I like to think he was a much neutral and lenient person before he lost his sanity to the Crystal's power. Interpretations of villain characters are always a thing you know. And I rather not give the SkekSis Draco in Leatherpants treatment, and oc x canon relationships are no exception from that. So please don't cry to me with that "waaaaah this is abusive" propaganda bullshit.

[soloragoldsun]

What I Preferred in Age of Resistance

So, I’ve mentioned already that Age of Resistance and J.M. Lee’s The Dark Crystal book series have several differences concerning how certain events play out. I decided to go into detail about what I liked most in both versions. Overall, I preferred the books, but I still find Age of Resistance to be an incredible, necessary part of the lore of Thra. Here are some plot points and inclusions that I preferred in the show.

-Rian, Deet, and Brea: This is an obvious one, as the show was specifically about this trio, while Lee’s books focused on Naia, Kylan, and Amri. Rian was a figure who came in and out of the plotline throughout the books. He was there just enough to get a basic idea concerning his character and struggles. Brea was seen only twice, and Deet didn’t appear until the end of Flames.

In the show, we really see the struggles Rian faces, along with the horror of what he has witnessed (more on that shortly). Brea provides a closer look at the Vapra than what we were given with Tavra in the books, and is a perfect example of a person of privilege changing her views of the world. And Deet is just marvelous in every possible way. (I think I have a thing for the Grottan. I mean, Amri is my fav in the books while Deet is my fav in the show.)

More character development is always a plus, so these three were an absolute win for me.

-The Skeksis: Since each book was only told from the point of view of one Gelfling (Naia, Kylan, Amri, then Naia again), there were certain things that weren’t explored. We only saw a Skeksis when they were directly interacting with the characters, or being shown in a dreamfast.

In Age of Resistance, we get to see the politics within the Castle. We get to see just how intelligent and conniving skekSil is. We get to see how skekTek lost his eye and was turned into the psychopath we know and love. An intimate look at the Skeksis was needed in order to truly understand the state of Thra at this point in time, and the show did an incredible job.

Also, the show went above and beyond in making the Skeksis truly vile, disgusting, evil creatures (except for skekGra, of course). I mean, the scene where Mira is getting drained was downright terrifying. As I mentioned before, the de-crowning of Seladon was a scene I had to skip altogether. We also find out that skekTek lost his eye in a sadistic punishment devised by his own kind! Every moment with these villains was golden, and made me hate and fear them even more.

-Hup and the Podlings: The Podlings only made a brief appearance in the books, and it wasn’t significant in any way. In the show, however, we were given a glimpse of the class system that makes up Thra. We see how Podling villages apparently are treated to forced baths by interloping Gelfling who see it as their “duty” to clean the “filthy” citizens. We see how Hup is immediately arrested for the brawl in Stone-in-the-Wood based on the word of the local Gelfling. Podlings are second-class citizens on Thra, and I really hope season 2 explores this fact even more.

As for Hup himself... Do I even need to say anything? He’s a precious little paladin who will kick ass with his spoon and defend Deet with his life. He is perfection, and Age of Resistance gets heavy points for his mere existence.

-Aughra: She plays a much more active role in the show, and I am so happy about it! She actually goes looking for answers, has genuine flaws, and shows so much emotion in each scene she’s in. You can really feel her love for the Gelfling, as well as the snappy personality she is known for. Hell, she actually offers up her life in exchange for the imprisoned Gelfling, temporarily dying as a result!

In the books, her main contribution is giving Kylan the book that tells him of the bone firca (a plot point that’s entirely book-specific, which I’ll talk about in my post on what I liked more about the book series). Later on, she summons the various Gelfling to the dreamscape, and is gone until after the battle in Stone-in-the-Wood. She is seen as more of a motherly, godlike figure who returns to the Gelfling when they finally open their eyes and ears to her again.

Personally, I prefer the flawed Aughra who realizes her mistake in abandoning the Gelfling and attempts to actually fix things on a more active level.

-The Heretic and the Wanderer: skekGra and urGoh’s relationship is an incredible addition to the lore of Thra. Their union shows that the Skeksis aren’t simply evil by nature. It is possible for the two halves to come together and cooperate, and it’s not just the Mystics who want that!

Also, they were definitely the most entertaining characters in the series. I loved them as soon as they appeared, and will continue to love them whenever I rewatch the series and write my fanfics. Everything about their scene, from skekGra’s first appearance, to the puppet show, was masterful and hilarious!

-Seladon: Due to the limited perspectives of the books, we only hear about Seladon’s betrayal second-hand. She is clearly being manipulated by the Skeksis, but joins the fight when the Vapran flame is lit. She is quickly forgiven by the other maudras, and that’s that.

In the show, we see her full descent. We see how she was taught to put her position as the All-Maudra first, no matter what. We see how determined she is to protect the Gelfling as a whole, no matter the cost, because she truly sees the Skeksis as invulnerable lords.

Her development was incredible, and I will forever be a Seladon stan!

-The Arathim: Making the spiders into allies was not something I expected, especially since the book depicted them as unquestioning servants to skekSo. I’m glad that the show explored the fact that Domrak was originally home for the Arathim, and showed how the Skeksis tried to turn two oppressed groups against each other to further their own plans.

Also, we got to see Gurjin hugging a giant spider.

So, yeah. Those are a few of the things that Age of Resistance did better. I’ll be back at you with book details later!