#skekhak

SkekTember, prompt 8: "Invention time!"

(✨️Short story below!✨️)

In the dim belly of the Castle of the Crystal, where gears rust and shadows clatter, skekHak crouched over his invention—no bigger than a gourd, and just as full of secrets. Its golden shell pulsed faintly, wiry antennae twitching like insect limbs, and in its heart, a glass orb shimmered with soft light.

He cast a glance over his hunching shoulder, eyes round and crazed—paranoia tugging at him.

"No one must see."-- he thought.

Not skekSil with his silken lies. Not skekUng with his thunderous pride. Especially not the Emperor.

He shook at the mere thought of skekSo finding out about this.

"No...not HIM"

Everyone thought him mad. Perhaps he was.

"Perhaps...I am"- he hissed between his clenched teeth, voice harsh and gravelly and nervous.

But once—just once—he had dreamed.

Of SilSol’s song, carried into the sky in a painfully desperate plea for forgiveness. Of a reply from the skies that never came. When they still were whole.

When they still ached to return home.

This machine was meant to answer that ache.

Instead... it whispered.

Echoes of voices never meant for him. The Emperor’s hissed monologues, the things he murmured to himself when he knew nobody was listening. skekZok’s sermons to empty halls. The low whispers of skekSil and skekLa, conspiring together in some forgotten, empty room. Even skekOk, weeping softly in his sleep.

The machine drank their truths and murmured them back in warped lullabies. He hadn’t built it for this.

The Machinist clutched the device to his chest, velvet and silk robes catching in stray screws, copper threads biting into trembling, calloused hands.

A flaw. A failure. A confession he could never make.

The machine chirred.

He thought he heard it say “…They will banish you, skekHak… when they find out…”

A whimper snagged in his throat.

No home to call.

No stars to hear.

Only a spy-machine.

Only Thra.

Only the dark.

Hope was lost.

He could never go home.

THEY could never go home.

He had failed.

*DISCLAIMER*

This art challenge is not official or sponsored by the JHC. SkekTember is a small, fun thing created by a fan, for fans.

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I do not consent to ANY platform to use my artwork, posts, writing or reels to train generative AI tools.

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Artwork may be reblogged, but not used or redistributed elsewhere without written consent.

Artwork © @skekla

All publically recognizeable canon The Dark Crystal characters, designs, settings and situations TM & © Jim Henson / Brian Froud/Universal studios/ The Jim Henson Company

(No commercial use or copyright infringement are intended)

skekSo: Grape

skekUng: Raspberry Blueberry

skekSil: Redpop

skekZok: Tonic

skekVar: Root Beer

skekNa: Black Cherry

skekSa: Jazmin Bluesberry

skekMal: Cola

skekOk: Key Lime Pie

skekTek: Moon Mist Blue

skekLi: Orange

skekLach: Ginger Ale

skekAyuk: Fruit Punch

skekEkt: Cotton Candy

skekShod: Ohana Kiwi Strawberry

skekGra: Vanilla Creme Soda

skekHak: Firework

I did a bit of digging to get the following information, but I'm not sure if this is complete or correct as the places I found them were barely sourced. If anyone knows where I can find the following or have additional information I can check out, please let me know!

With that being said, it's likely their names were canonized publicly on the official Dark Crystal website. They are the only Skeksis without titles. Strangely skekHak's other half, urHom, is the only one of the two pairs to have a title (he was called "the Carpenter"). To my knowledge, there is no official reading material that states which Skeksis is who. It likely may come from outside material, like interviews, though I have not found them if they exist.

In the J.M. Lee novel continuity, only skekYi died at the beginning. (This part I was able to find in Flames of the Dark Crystal so likely the rest of this paragraph can be found in that book or the other three but I don't have the time to verify.) SkekHak, on the other hand, survived and was known as the Machinist. He was responsible for remodeling the Crystal Castle to suit the Skeksis' tastes. SkekYi apparently is known as "the Deceased" in the novels, but I can't find where this is said (if it ever was).

It's been changed for AOR, though. In the Crystal Calls, at the 19 minute mark, there is a billboard with 17 out of the 18 Skeksis titles (skekGra is missing from the list). However, there are three unique titles we've not seen yet: Spy Master, Steward, and Merchant.

(This was pulled from the Dark Crystal Conjunction on Facebook (I believe)). The new Skeksis are highlighted in red meanwhile the original Skeksis from the movie are in black. So people have assumed the Spy Master is skekUng's original title (especially because it's so similar to Garthim Master). And we know skekGra was known as the Conqueror and later the Heretic so it's safe to assume Steward and Merchant belonged to the last two Skeksis. However neither Skeksis were given an official title designation and this could likely be retconned in future material.

Forgot my login to my dark crystal tumblr so this is going on here too lol

For a Native Thra au! So skeksis and urru originate from Thra instead of being an alien species. All of the skeksis are older than drawn, just wanted to draw them younger cause I love giving them so much hair and feathers.

Anyways! This is the royal family. I don't have names for the parents yes, but from left to right (And top to bottom), here are their kids:

skekOk the Scrollkeeper + urAk the Scribe = OkAk the Historian

These roles are quite similar; people who write and record things. Thus, this one was easy for me. OkAk would be the one who recorded and knew all of UrSkek history, and would likely have a large library.

skekAyuk the Gourmand + urAmaj the Cook = AyukAmaj the Chef

These roles go hand-in-hand, one who eats and one who cooks. Thus, I went with the logical mix; a Chef, one who improves and creates new dishes. They would obviously be the chef of the UrSkeks, providing meals for the others.

skekGra the Conqueror/Heretic + urGoh the Wanderer = GraGoh the Explorer

While I was tempted to make GraGoh an artist due to their shared interests during AoR, I went with their official titles, both known for traveling. I think GraGoh would be the type to be constantly finding new places, meeting new creatures, and relaying the things they learn to the other UrSkeks.

skekHak the ??? + urHom the Carpenter = HakHom the ???

Unfortunately, we don't know what skekHak's role was. Thus, I can't combine their roles as I did with the others. For them, I speculate that skekHak would have ended up being some sort of craftsman or builder, and it would have extended to HakHom.

skekUng the General/Garthim Master/Emperor + urIm the Healer = UngIm the Leader

After the deaths of skekSo and urSu, skekUng took over as Emperor of the Skeksis. I'm not sure what their role would have been before this, as I can't find any real comparison between them. Maybe a Medic? Like, a battle medic.

skekLi the Satirist + urLii the Storyteller = LiLii the Entertainer

Though we've never seen them, these two were also easy for me. In my mind, Lilii was the one who would come up with humor and stories to entertain the other UrSkeks, based on the halves' titles.

skekVar the General + urMa the Peacemaker = VarMa the Strategist

In the case that the UrSkeks would ever have to fight, it would come down to VarMa to figure out what to do. They're a master negotiator, but also skilled in battle when need be. All in all, they would be the one to figure out how to best face a conflict.

skekNa the Slave Master + urNol the Herbalist = NaNol the ???

Honestly, I have no idea what to do with these two. Their roles seem completely unrelated to me. If y'all can come up with something for them, let me know, I'd be excited to see.

skekSa the Mariner + urSan the Swimmer = SaSan the Sailor

Similarly to GraGoh, SaSan would be a constant traveler, the only difference being that they focused on the sea.

skekLach the Collector + urSen the Monk = LachSen the ???

These two seem like complete opposites. Honestly, I'm not sure what to do with them. Maybe something to do with sorting or rating.

skekSil the Chamberlain + urSol the Chanter = SilSol the ???

While I can't quite figure out exactly what I'd want their role to be, with their titles being so different, but I know that they were likely an assistant to whoever bore the title of Leader. Perhaps something to do with speaking, due to skekSil's tendency to mess with people through words.

skekSo the Emporer + urSu the Master = SoSu the Leader.

They were the original leader of the UrSkeks, before the role was passed to UngIm with their death.

skekTek the Scientist + urTih the Alchemist = TekTih the Researcher

They spend all of their time trying to learn new things, trying to find information about the world around them. Unlike GraGoh and SaSol, however, they don't travel, instead researching through books and experimentation.

skekEkt the Ornamentalist + urUtt the Weaver = EktUtt the Tailor

EktUtt was likely the one who provided clothing for all of the UrSkeks, and in my mind, were the most materialistic UrSkek. They like high-quality clothing that tells a story and expresses the wearer.

skekMal the Hunter and urVa the Archer = MalVa the Warrior

MalVa was likely one of the physically strongest UrSkeks, fighting/killing for food and to protect the others when needed. They likely worked closely with ValMa, both dealing with battle more than the other UrSkeks.

skekYi the ??? + urYa the ??? = YiYa the ???

Legit have no info on either of them. No idea what they could've done.

skekShod the Treasurer + urYod the Numerologist = ShodYod the Mathematician

They're a master of math, with their accounting skills moving to skekShod. If UrSkeks had a system of currency, they totally were the one who handled it.

skekZok the Ritual Master + urZah the Ritual Guardian = ZokZah the High Priest

.My starting date for this image was in February, I can’t believe it took me this long on and off to finish it. Another round of gelfling skeksis and urru which, like my first drawing of them, is their own clan rather than part of the specific one from the show. Basically always twins born that are considered as one person. Want more info about that/want to see SoSu, here’s the link to the first drawing: https://glitterfilledtrashcan.tumblr.com/post/631916487744077824/had-some-inspiration-to-draw-some-gelfling-au-for