Could've sworn I'd uploaded this here, heh, but I guess I was mistaken. :)

NOTE: This was written before The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance came out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Silence, animals!"

The twittering and mewling cries of the various caged things stopped suddenly, and the Chamber of Life was silent for a few seconds. In a moment the noises would begin again, but skekTek didn't mind. Just as long as the infernal creatures stayed quiet for the procedure he was about to perform at the Emperor's behest.

SkekTek had only been the court scientist for four-hundred years. Relatively early in skekSo's reign, the previous scientist, to whom skekTek was an apprentice, had died. A victim of the predator the Skeksis called time. The enemy that ravaged their ancient bodies in spite of all their attempts to stave off death.

Upon his mentor's demise, skekTek had been promoted by skekSo. Leaping at the opportunity, skekTek had taken no apprentice himself. His exploits were legend among the Skeksis. His predecessor had been a fair biologist but a poor physician; he knew nothing of the Skeksis' unique anatomy. To this end, skekTek sought to solve this problem, by dissecting his own body. His entire right leg, and most of his right arm, were mechanical.

He'd managed to keep his right hand. Jury-rigged to the wrist of the metal arm, it was kept alive by blood fed through tubes running down the metallic framework of the arm from his shoulder. The limbs were near useless. SkekTek was forced to hobble due to the metal leg, and his hand was withered and weak, the arm stiffly jointed and typically seen hanging limply against his side. Only with concentrated effort could the scientist even make use of it.

One augmentation he had not counted on was his bionic eye. Once, prior to their extinction, one of the Gelflings he was working with had gotten lucky. Wrenching free from the grasp of his weak mechanical arm, she had seized up a flask and smashed it against his face. The shattered glass gouged his flesh and blinded his eye.

To this day he bore deep scars, and in his eye socket sat a mechanical eye that shone a brilliant white light. Like his metal limbs, it was functional but not perfect; the vision provided by the metallic eye was weak. Not that it impeded him in his work. As long as he possessed one good eye and two functioning hands, even if one was attached to a weak, false arm, he could do his job.

The Chamber of Life was in fact a chamber of death, skekTek mused. What lived here could not be considered to experience "life" as most sentient beings knew it. The laboratory specimens just squirmed and whimpered pathetically in their cages and pens, wishing for death which would come only when the scientist himself decided, for skekTek was lord and master of his workshop.

He opened one of the cages built into the wall, one of two containing a total of four Podlings. This one was a female, old and gray-haired. He wouldn't get much essence from her. But until the Garthim returned from their latest raid, these were what skekTek would have to work with. And skekUng had literally demanded his first taste of life-essence, forcing the scientist to make due with what he had.

He had wanted to use Aughra, who currently sat in a cage of her own across the room, but skekUng had forbidden it. Until the Great Conjunction, the Keeper of Secrets was not to be harmed. This annoyed skekTek who felt certain that the wise old crone, who must surely have some magic in her to have survived for as long as the Skeksis, would yield excellent life-essence, but skekUng was adamant and the scientist dared not cross him, especially when he was backed by that vindictive serpent, skekZok.

The Podling woman was strapped into her chair without much of a fight. Once he had her secured, he turned and grabbed her cage-mate, a younger male. This one put up more of a struggle.

"You're next, little Podling!" he told the creature.

The thing pleaded in its native language, a language skekTek had never even attempted to understand. One thing he did know, however, was that the Podling wanted to be let go, and now.

The Podlings were strange creatures. More than animals, possessing a culture of a sort, and a language, but less than Skeksis. SkekOk was better suited to figuring out the intricacies of their speech and culture; all skekTek was required to do was drain the stupid things. This particular feisty fellow might yield better essence than the elderly female.

And speaking of animals, skekTek noted that his other specimens had started up with their noises once more, albeit with less enthusiasm. One look from the blue-skinned Skeksis made them wither and cringe.

As he strapped the Podling in, skekTek "reassured" him with mock sincerity. "This won't hurt!" he said. "We just want to drain your living essence. Then you can be the same as the other Podlings here. A slave."

Once skekTek had him secured, he stood back. There were three chairs, and the third was still occupied by another Podling skekTek had drained earlier and forgotten about. He didn't feel like loosing him just yet, so the other two caged Podlings would have to wait.

Turning to his assistant, he barked, "Open the wall!"

The assistant, a specially-trained Podling slave possessing a modicum of knowledge regarding laboratory work, turned to a control panel and numbly pulled down a switch. A deep rumble filled the Chamber of Life. The animals fell silent again. A portion of the wall which the chairs faced was concave, and the floor tilted downward and slowly opened, but only a slit, admitting red light into the room. The wall could open further, but the Great Shaft was like a furnace and so skekTek only opened it the barest minimum.

Now came his favorite part. Most would assume that the work he did was tedious and repetitive; that he was little more than a life-essence assembly line operator. While this was true to an extent, skekTek found ways to make it enjoyable. One of these ways was in explaining, in detail, the process his victims were to undergo. Whether or not they could understand what he was saying was beside the point.

"Now, Podling," he said. "Out there is the Great Shaft of the castle."

He limped over to join his assistant. "Position the reflector," he ordered.

The assistant didn't budge. SkekTek frowned. Did he have to do everything? Apparently. He sighed and pulled a second lever. Out in the Shaft, a crystal prism on a jointed arm slowly swung down and moved into position. At the top of the Shaft was the Crystal Chamber, and hovering directly above was the Dark Crystal itself. Light filtered through the Crystal Chamber's triangular skylight and into the Crystal, and then down through the Shaft.

"The reflector will capture the beams of the Dark Crystal floating high above," skekTek explained.

In the chair the Podling wrenched his head free. He and his fellow prisoner looked in dismay at their blank-eyed predecessor still strapped into the third chair.

"Look into the reflector, Podling," skekTek said.

Apparently the Podling's curiosity got the better of him, for he did indeed turn towards the slit in the wall, and the reflector. A fatal mistake. Just as he turned his head the prism moved into position, caught the light, and a thin beam of purple energy was shone directly into the terror-widened eyes of the Podling.

"Mmmm, yes," skekTek sneered. "And now the beam will rid you of your fears, your thoughts, your vital essence."

Immediately the process began. The Podling's facial features shrunk and withered. His hair, once a lustrous red, turned white and stringy. His eyes glowed purple. And his liquefied life-essence drained into an ornate flask through an IV tube inserted into his wrist. SkekTek walked over once the flask was full and picked it up with his good hand, examining its clear liquid contents.

"You're very lucky, slave. Only the Emperor can drink your essence."

Wryly, skekTek doubted the Podling would agree. Just then, over the rumble coming from the Shaft, he heard footsteps and clinking spurs. SkekUng. Whirling to his assistant, skekTek hissed, "He's here! Close it, slave!"

The assistant obediently pulled the levers. The prism moved out of position, cutting off the purple light beam. The floor slid back upwards and closed with a loud bang that reverberated throughout the Chamber of Life. The drained, mindless Podling still in the chair panted, looking thoroughly traumatized, and identical to the one seated next to him. This still left the elderly female, to say nothing of the other two still in their cages, but skekTek would see to them later. Now, as skekUng strode in like he owned the place, the scientist was forced to see to his Emperor.

"Is it ready?" skekUng demanded. Not even a hello.

SkekTek hid his annoyance. His assistant at his heels he staggered over and met the Emperor halfway. The flask containing the Podling essence changed hands and skekUng looked at it with a mixture of skepticism and barely contained excitement.

"Very fresh, very strong, sire," skekTek assured him.

SkekUng said nothing and downed the essence in one gulp. Or at least he tried to. Quite a bit of it dribbled out of his jaws and down over his armor and robes, to skekTek's disgust. What a waste of perfectly good essence.

"Now," skekUng muttered and went to a nearby mirror.

Feeling the need to reassure him, skekTek said, "Oh, it will make you young again, sire!"

Make him young it did. SkekUng's wrinkled facial features pulled taut, the bags under his eyes disappeared, and his sparse gray hair became black, lustrous and full. He turned to the scientist and puffed his chest up, beaming widely. Then he let loose a loud, happy cackle and began marching to and fro waving his arms around and going, "Young!" over and over again. "Yes, young!"

Proud of his handiwork, skekTek allowed himself a chuckle. Beside him his assistant smiled dumbly, merely imitating the two Skeksis in their merriment. But that merriment ended mere seconds later. SkekUng stopped, as if sensing something was amiss. His wrinkles returned and his hair thinned as he aged centuries in mere seconds. He was back to his "old self," as the saying went, and, to skekTek's dismay, he may have even looked slightly older than he had before. Anticipating an outburst, skekTek drew back a bit, hissing, praying it was just a trick of the light.

"You fraud!" skekUng roared, pointing an accusing finger at him. He flung the empty flask to the floor and it shattered loudly. SkekUng took a threatening step toward the scientist.

"No, wait!" skekTek yelled. "Please, sire!"

He sidestepped, putting a table between himself and skekUng. Rather than move around and attack the scientist, skekUng instead, rather humorously, took his anger out on some perfectly innocent lab equipment. A sweep of his great arm sent baskets, jars and bottles crashing to the floor in a huge mess.

"Liar!" he snarled. Then, his rage having apparently been vented, he spun and stormed out of the room, yelling "Slave-squeezer!" over his shoulder.

SkekTek panted with relief. He had a mess to clean up but at leasy skekUng hadn't harmed him. He had feared this might happen. One flaskful of Podling essence didn't last very long. But it normally never wore off this quickly. What had happened? He assumed it was because skekUng's body was just so aged that nothing short of a whole barrel of essence would restore him to youth for longer than a day. But try explaining that to an enraged Skeksis Emperor!

"It always worked!" skekTek cried in dismay.

Ignoring the mess for now he turned and hobbled back over to the chairs. He would finish draining the Podlings now, and hope and pray that those Garthim returned from their raid soon with more for him to drain. As he went, he mused, "Better when we used Gelflings."

Yes, that was it! A Gelfling! If the Garthim succeeded in capturing the Gelfling they had seen in the Crystal earlier, skekTek might have something worthwhile to work with. And then skekUng's anger would be salved. That was of course if the stupid beasts didn't kill the Gelfling while capturing it. The Garthim had a tendency not to know their own strength, after all. But skekTek would worry about that later. For now he dealt with the Podling woman, flipping the switch on the control panel, and once more red light flooded the Chamber of Life.

Back to work...

~*~

After he had drained the last three Podlings, and handed them over to skekNa, skekTek had retired to the throne room, where, it seemed, all of the other Skeksis had decided to congregate. Unusual, as with the exception of that odd couple skekEkt and skekAyuk, who ironically were the only two currently absent, the Skeksis were not habitually social creatures. But every once in a while they felt the need to gather outside of the Sun Ceremony and meals.

Their inherently antisocial nature however ensured that they spoke to each other little. As a consequence, skekTek found himself standing boredly alongside skekNa near the throne, saying nothing either to him or to any of the others. He merely occasionally adjusted his weight upon his gold-handled walking stick and wondered when the Garthim raiding party was going to return, so he could get back to his work. Anythiung beat the tedium of mingling his small-minded fellow Skeksis.

Idly, he wondered what urTih was doing. His "other self," so to speak. But at the same time not his other self. Even skekTek, a dedicated and brilliant scientific genius, found the precise nature of their dual selves difficult to fathom or even explain. SkekZok claimed he could, but never bothered elaborating in the hundreds of years he'd been the high priest. Dodging the issue was something he was known for.

It occurred to skekTek that they never thought much of the Mystics. They left them alone, instructing the Garthim to stay clear of their valley, as they knew well enough that their survival depended on it. Whatsoever happened to a Mystic, happened to a Skeksis, and vice versa. Certainly urSu perished the same night skekSo had, and skekTek knew for a fact that urTih was missing an eye, one of his arms, and a leg.

But for the most part the Skeksis seemed content to just pretend they didn't exist. Not skekTek. At times of great boredom, he had thought of them often. And not at all highly. His opinion of urTih was quite low. He was an alchemist, not a true scientist, and an unimaginative one at that. SkekTek supposed this was why his fellow Skeksis ignored the Mystics. They were, put simply, uninteresting. They had no great dreams or aspirations, and never left their stupid little valley, unlike the Skeksis who made things happen as a matter of policy - even if, skekTek reminded himself, they typically used others to do their work for them.

A shrill scream interrupted skekTek's thoughts and all eyes were on the throne room entrance. Shrieking like a dying landstrider, skekEkt scurried in, followed by skekAyuk, who was waddling along as quickly as his bulk would allow.

"Gelfling!" skekEkt was screaming. "Right here in the castle!"

Barely able to comprehend what was happening, the assembled Skeksis looked at one another on confusion. SkekNa shrugged helplessly at skekTek, and then the intruders skidded to a halt before the throne, upon which skekUng reclined, and continued their frenzied wailing. SkekEkt in particular was making a show of waving his arms about wildly.

"Come and look!" skekAyuk managed to choke out, terrified, jerking a thumb back the way they had come. "Such an ugly monster!"

"So, so awful!" skekEkt concurred.

Movement from behind them made everyone turn, and the last thing any of them including skekTek had ever expected to see entered: skekSil, still clad in the ragged remains of his robes, clutching a struggling Gelfling. As this pair approached the throne they all drew back with various expressions of shock and fear. Even skekTek despite his natural curiosity joined skekNa in shrinking away from the hideous fair-haired creature.

"Mmmmm, royal sire," skekSil was saying, "I bring you...Gelfling."

Murmurs passed amongst the group, and then skekSil, holding his head high, declared, "I! I have done this! I have caught her! I was wounded! I suffered horrible, searing pain!"

SkekTek was paying the outcast not a whit of attention. Mustering his courage he inched closer to the thing which the Prophecy said would bring about their ultimate destruction. Bending down on his cane he cupped the Gelfling's chin with a crooked finger. His mind was racing. It had been several years since he had seen a Gelfling up close. SkekSo hadn't even allowed him to preserve any.

"A live Gelfling!" he hissed under his breath. She jerked away with a cry of loathing.

"Kill her!"

Now skekTek glanced up. It was skekZok who'd spoken. The pompous peabrain had a ceremonial dagger out and was brandishing it towards the Gelfling. Even skekUng glared at the priest for this outburst, which was dangerously close to being an order.

"We are sworn to kill all Gelflings!" skekZok explained, upon realizing all eyes were on him.

SkekOk nodded in agreement. And who better than the historian to realize the danger the Gelfling posed, and side with the priest? But skekTek wasn't going to let a chance like this pass him by. Even as the chamberlain was declaring the Gelfling "his," the scientist sidled up to the throne on the side opposite skekZok.

Into skekUng's ear his whispered, "But sire, you could drink her essence!"

SkekUng grinned. He too remembered the fabled potency of Gelfling essence.

SkekZok, who had not heard him, was still ranting. "Becauce of the Prophecy, we must kill the Gelfling!" Another nod of agreement from skekOk.

"No!" boomed skekUng, holding up his scepter and getting up out of the throne. SkekTek knew then he had won. "First we take her essence, then kill!"

At this even skekOk sided against the priest, and cheers rose up from the crowd.

"Drain her first, then kill her!"

"Essence! Take her essence! Get her!"

"Yes!"

"To the Chamber of Life!"

At this, skekTek watched skekZok sink back in a mixture of anger and disbelief that no one was listening to him.

All but granted permission to take possession of the Gelfling, skekTek came 'round and grabbed her by the arm with his weaker hand, its grip still strong enough to restrain the female. He pulled her away from the unresisting skekSil, who smiled.

"No, let go!" the Gelfling protested.

As he roughly escorted his prize from the throne room he heard skekUng reinstating that slime bucket skekSil to his former position. SkekTek could care less. He had a living specimen of a Gelfling, and she was his to do with as he pleased!

A few minutes later he was down in the Chamber of Life once more. The animals chittered noisily and his Podling-slave assistant awaited him. He dismissed him. He didn't want anyone to see what he was about to do and report back to skekUng.

"I don't need you anymore for today, go away!" he snarled.

The assistant walked out wordlessly. The Gelfling watched him go with a strange look. It occurred to skekTek she hadn't seen a Podling in such a state before, but, he thought with a smirk, she'd soon find out how he got that way. Setting his cane aside, he dragged her over to the row of chairs facing the wall.

"Silence!" he bellowed, the animal noises grating on him. "Silence, animals!"

Once more they quit. The Gelfling put up a fierce struggle, but skekTek overpowered her easily. Within seconds he had her strapped in. She didn't quite fit, as these chairs were designed for smaller Podlings, but she was held in place nonetheless. That accomplished, it was over to the control panel again. SkekTek's hands shook with excitement as he pulled the necessary levers. As he watched the floor tilt downwards with a rumble, he mused on his scheme. Why should skekUng be the only one to drink the life-essence?

That bellowing imbecile had no clue about the precise amount of liquid essence that could be drained from a Gelfling, after all. SkekTek would give skekUng half, and keep the remainder for himself to drink when the time was right. This was why he'd sent his assistant away. No witnesses. The animals wouldn't tell. SkekTek doubted they even understood what it was he did in the Chamber of Life. And the Gelfling herself would be disposed of immediately after he had squeezed her dry.

This left Aughra. Aughra who was now at the bars of her cage, sniffing the air curiously. Her eyeball, sitting on a table, was watching skekTek. He thought about going over and squishing it like a grape, before the boom of the floor-plate thudding into its pre-set, slitted position brought his mind back to the matter at hand. Aughra he'd deal with later. No matter what skekUng said.

The Gelfling no longer protested. Instead, like the many before her, she was transfixed by the sight of the reddish light pouring into the room through the slit. And moreso by the prism as it slowly moved into position with its characteristic whirring sound. She shrank back slowly in the chair, fat lot of good it did it. Once the reflector was in position the beam shone true, directly into her eyes. SkekTek forwent explaining the process this time. Instead he merely licked his lips as he watched her liquefied essence begin trickling through the IV tube and into the waiting flask.

"Mmm, yes," he intoned, "essence of Gelfling!"

Suddenly, she said, "Jen?"

This threw skekTek for a loop. Who, or what, was Jen? And for that matter why as she even speaking? He'd forgotten how much more resistent to the beam Gelflings were than Podlings. The latter creatures typically went braindead the minute the light hit their eyes; this female however maintained enough of her mind to speak, although it seemed to the scientist that she was hallucinating.

"Jen!" she called again.

"You, Kira!" This time it was Aughra who spoke, from her cage nearby. SkekTek shot her an angry look but she ignored him. "Call the animals! You have the gift! Call them to freedom! Now!"

Gift? What gift? What was the old hag talking about? SkekTek hadn't the faintest idea. He'd heard Podlings possessed the ability to speak the "languages" of animals, but none brought into the Chamber of Life had ever attempted it. He was right in the middle of thinking the whole idea was bunk when the Gelfling, whose name was apparently "Kira," hitched in a deep breath and shouted forth a single word.

"Kamalaya!"

SkekTek didn't know or care what it meant. "Quiet, Gelfling!" he snapped at her, annoyed. "Be quiet!"

"Kamalaya!" she repeated, as if she hadn't heard him.

After this, the animals started up again. First a few weak barks and chirps. Then a flurry of growls, chitters and snarls. His attention previously focused on Kira, skekTek said, "Eh?" and stood up, blinking, as he turned and beheld the entire menagerie of the Chamber of Life come alive.

SkekTek didn't like this. Not at all. Moving away from the chair, towards the cages, he started feeling more than a little worried. For the first time he seemed to notice just how many hundreds of animals he'd collected over the years. The room he had spent countless hours working in, knew every nook and cranny of, suddenly seemed threatening.

"Quiet, all of you!" he said. The animals kept up. "Stop! Stop! I warn you!"

His threat fell on deaf ears. Then everything was happening all at once. The animals were hopping up and down excitedly in their cages, some rattling the bars. The ones suspended from the ceiling were swinging around in circles. Aughra, for her part, was also shaking the bars of her own cage, yelling in rage. One by one the cage doors burst open, or they fell to the floor and smashed open of their own accord. Soon hundreds of furry things and scaly things were scittering wildly across the floor. Feathered things flapped madly in the air. SkekTek ducked, yelping.

"All of you, get down!" he shouted.

This did absolutely nothing. As though driven by one single mind the creatures surged towards the unprepared Skeksis. Before skekTek knew what was happening, he was covered in living things. Crustacean-like creatures bit at his neck and carapace. A turtle-like animal bit his left arm, making him loose a yowl of pain. He shook it loose, sent it flying, and staggered back, bumping against one of the empty chairs.

His arm now freed he clawed at the dozens or more yapping and snarling at his feet, biting, ripping and clawing at his robes. His other arm was bitten but he felt nothing, as it was mechanical. Nevertheless the animals' teeth and beaks severed the artificial veins, causing purple blood to dribble out. The already weak arm was now rendered entirely useless and hung limply at skekTek's side as he used his only good arm in a vain effort to defend himself.

There were just too many. He suddenly wished he hadn't dismissed his assistant. Even a Podling-slave could have provided at least some help. Alone, the Skeksis scientist didn't stand a chance.

Howling in pain and anger he pushed off the chair, and stumbled backwards, desperate to escape his attackers. He backed right up against the control panel for the reflector and wall, felt his ribbed carapace shove the reflector-lever up into the "off" position. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the p"Silence, animals!"

The twittering and mewling cries of the various caged things stopped suddenly, and the Chamber of Life was silent for a few seconds. In a moment the noises would begin again, but skekTek didn't mind. Just as long as the infernal creatures stayed quiet for the procedure he was about to perform at the Emperor's behest.

SkekTek had only been the court scientist for four-hundred years. Relatively early in skekSo's reign, the previous scientist, to whom skekTek was an apprentice, had died. A victim of the predator the Skeksis called time. The enemy that ravaged their ancient bodies in spite of all their attempts to stave off death.

Upon his mentor's demise, skekTek had been promoted by skekSo. Leaping at the opportunity, skekTek had taken no apprentice himself. His exploits were legend among the Skeksis. His predecessor had been a fair biologist but a poor physician; he knew nothing of the Skeksis' unique anatomy. To this end, skekTek sought to solve this problem, by dissecting his own body. His entire right leg, and most of his right arm, were mechanical.

He'd managed to keep his right hand. Jury-rigged to the wrist of the metal arm, it was kept alive by blood fed through tubes running down the metallic framework of the arm from his shoulder. The limbs were near useless. SkekTek was forced to hobble due to the metal leg, and his hand was withered and weak, the arm stiffly jointed and typically seen hanging limply against his side. Only with concentrated effort could the scientist even make use of it.

One augmentation he had not counted on was his bionic eye. Once, prior to their extinction, one of the Gelflings he was working with had gotten lucky. Wrenching free from the grasp of his weak mechanical arm, she had seized up a flask and smashed it against his face. The shattered glass gouged his flesh and blinded his eye.

To this day he bore deep scars, and in his eye socket sat a mechanical eye that shone a brilliant white light. Like his metal limbs, it was functional but not perfect; the vision provided by the metallic eye was weak. Not that it impeded him in his work. As long as he possessed one good eye and two functioning hands, even if one was attached to a weak, false arm, he could do his job.

The Chamber of Life was in fact a chamber of death, skekTek mused. What lived here could not be considered to experience "life" as most sentient beings knew it. The laboratory specimens just squirmed and whimpered pathetically in their cages and pens, wishing for death which would come only when the scientist himself decided, for skekTek was lord and master of his workshop.

He opened one of the cages built into the wall, one of two containing a total of four Podlings. This one was a female, old and gray-haired. He wouldn't get much essence from her. But until the Garthim returned from their latest raid, these were what skekTek would have to work with. And skekUng had literally demanded his first taste of life-essence, forcing the scientist to make due with what he had.

He had wanted to use Aughra, who currently sat in a cage of her own across the room, but skekUng had forbidden it. Until the Great Conjunction, the Keeper of Secrets was not to be harmed. This annoyed skekTek who felt certain that the wise old crone, who must surely have some magic in her to have survived for as long as the Skeksis, would yield excellent life-essence, but skekUng was adamant and the scientist dared not cross him, especially when he was backed by that vindictive serpent, skekZok.

The Podling woman was strapped into her chair without much of a fight. Once he had her secured, he turned and grabbed her cage-mate, a younger male. This one put up more of a struggle.

"You're next, little Podling!" he told the creature.

The thing pleaded in its native language, a language skekTek had never even attempted to understand. One thing he did know, however, was that the Podling wanted to be let go, and now.

The Podlings were strange creatures. More than animals, possessing a culture of a sort, and a language, but less than Skeksis. SkekOk was better suited to figuring out the intricacies of their speech and culture; all skekTek was required to do was drain the stupid things. This particular feisty fellow might yield better essence than the elderly female.

And speaking of animals, skekTek noted that his other specimens had started up with their noises once more, albeit with less enthusiasm. One look from the blue-skinned Skeksis made them wither and cringe.

As he strapped the Podling in, skekTek "reassured" him with mock sincerity. "This won't hurt!" he said. "We just want to drain your living essence. Then you can be the same as the other Podlings here. A slave."

Once skekTek had him secured, he stood back. There were three chairs, and the third was still occupied by another Podling skekTek had drained earlier and forgotten about. He didn't feel like loosing him just yet, so the other two caged Podlings would have to wait.

Turning to his assistant, he barked, "Open the wall!"

The assistant, a specially-trained Podling slave possessing a modicum of knowledge regarding laboratory work, turned to a control panel and numbly pulled down a switch. A deep rumble filled the Chamber of Life. The animals fell silent again. A portion of the wall which the chairs faced was concave, and the floor tilted downward and slowly opened, but only a slit, admitting red light into the room. The wall could open further, but the Great Shaft was like a furnace and so skekTek only opened it the barest minimum.

Now came his favorite part. Most would assume that the work he did was tedious and repetitive; that he was little more than a life-essence assembly line operator. While this was true to an extent, skekTek found ways to make it enjoyable. One of these ways was in explaining, in detail, the process his victims were to undergo. Whether or not they could understand what he was saying was beside the point.

"Now, Podling," he said. "Out there is the Great Shaft of the castle."

He limped over to join his assistant. "Position the reflector," he ordered.

The assistant didn't budge. SkekTek frowned. Did he have to do everything? Apparently. He sighed and pulled a second lever. Out in the Shaft, a crystal prism on a jointed arm slowly swung down and moved into position. At the top of the Shaft was the Crystal Chamber, and hovering directly above was the Dark Crystal itself. Light filtered through the Crystal Chamber's triangular skylight and into the Crystal, and then down through the Shaft.

"The reflector will capture the beams of the Dark Crystal floating high above," skekTek explained.

In the chair the Podling wrenched his head free. He and his fellow prisoner looked in dismay at their blank-eyed predecessor still strapped into the third chair.

"Look into the reflector, Podling," skekTek said.

Apparently the Podling's curiosity got the better of him, for he did indeed turn towards the slit in the wall, and the reflector. A fatal mistake. Just as he turned his head the prism moved into position, caught the light, and a thin beam of purple energy was shone directly into the terror-widened eyes of the Podling.

"Mmmm, yes," skekTek sneered. "And now the beam will rid you of your fears, your thoughts, your vital essence."

Immediately the process began. The Podling's facial features shrunk and withered. His hair, once a lustrous red, turned white and stringy. His eyes glowed purple. And his liquefied life-essence drained into an ornate flask through an IV tube inserted into his wrist. SkekTek walked over once the flask was full and picked it up with his good hand, examining its clear liquid contents.

"You're very lucky, slave. Only the Emperor can drink your essence."

Wryly, skekTek doubted the Podling would agree. Just then, over the rumble coming from the Shaft, he heard footsteps and clinking spurs. SkekUng. Whirling to his assistant, skekTek hissed, "He's here! Close it, slave!"

The assistant obediently pulled the levers. The prism moved out of position, cutting off the purple light beam. The floor slid back upwards and closed with a loud bang that reverberated throughout the Chamber of Life. The drained, mindless Podling still in the chair panted, looking thoroughly traumatized, and identical to the one seated next to him. This still left the elderly female, to say nothing of the other two still in their cages, but skekTek would see to them later. Now, as skekUng strode in like he owned the place, the scientist was forced to see to his Emperor.

"Is it ready?" skekUng demanded. Not even a hello.

SkekTek hid his annoyance. His assistant at his heels he staggered over and met the Emperor halfway. The flask containing the Podling essence changed hands and skekUng looked at it with a mixture of skepticism and barely contained excitement.

"Very fresh, very strong, sire," skekTek assured him.

SkekUng said nothing and downed the essence in one gulp. Or at least he tried to. Quite a bit of it dribbled out of his jaws and down over his armor and robes, to skekTek's disgust. What a waste of perfectly good essence.

"Now," skekUng muttered and went to a nearby mirror.

Feeling the need to reassure him, skekTek said, "Oh, it will make you young again, sire!"

Make him young it did. SkekUng's wrinkled facial features pulled taut, the bags under his eyes disappeared, and his sparse gray hair became black, lustrous and full. He turned to the scientist and puffed his chest up, beaming widely. Then he let loose a loud, happy cackle and began marching to and fro waving his arms around and going, "Young!" over and over again. "Yes, young!"

Proud of his handiwork, skekTek allowed himself a chuckle. Beside him his assistant smiled dumbly, merely imitating the two Skeksis in their merriment. But that merriment ended mere seconds later. SkekUng stopped, as if sensing something was amiss. His wrinkles returned and his hair thinned as he aged centuries in mere seconds. He was back to his "old self," as the saying went, and, to skekTek's dismay, he may have even looked slightly older than he had before. Anticipating an outburst, skekTek drew back a bit, hissing, praying it was just a trick of the light.

"You fraud!" skekUng roared, pointing an accusing finger at him. He flung the empty flask to the floor and it shattered loudly. SkekUng took a threatening step toward the scientist.

"No, wait!" skekTek yelled. "Please, sire!"

He sidestepped, putting a table between himself and skekUng. Rather than move around and attack the scientist, skekUng instead, rather humorously, took his anger out on some perfectly innocent lab equipment. A sweep of his great arm sent baskets, jars and bottles crashing to the floor in a huge mess.

"Liar!" he snarled. Then, his rage having apparently been vented, he spun and stormed out of the room, yelling "Slave-squeezer!" over his shoulder.

SkekTek panted with relief. He had a mess to clean up but at leasy skekUng hadn't harmed him. He had feared this might happen. One flaskful of Podling essence didn't last very long. But it normally never wore off this quickly. What had happened? He assumed it was because skekUng's body was just so aged that nothing short of a whole barrel of essence would restore him to youth for longer than a day. But try explaining that to an enraged Skeksis Emperor!

"It always worked!" skekTek cried in dismay.

Ignoring the mess for now he turned and hobbled back over to the chairs. He would finish draining the Podlings now, and hope and pray that those Garthim returned from their raid soon with more for him to drain. As he went, he mused, "Better when we used Gelflings."

Yes, that was it! A Gelfling! If the Garthim succeeded in capturing the Gelfling they had seen in the Crystal earlier, skekTek might have something worthwhile to work with. And then skekUng's anger would be salved. That was of course if the stupid beasts didn't kill the Gelfling while capturing it. The Garthim had a tendency not to know their own strength, after all. But skekTek would worry about that later. For now he dealt with the Podling woman, flipping the switch on the control panel, and once more red light flooded the Chamber of Life.

Back to work...

~*~

After he had drained the last three Podlings, and handed them over to skekNa, skekTek had retired to the throne room, where, it seemed, all of the other Skeksis had decided to congregate. Unusual, as with the exception of that odd couple skekEkt and skekAyuk, who ironically were the only two currently absent, the Skeksis were not habitually social creatures. But every once in a while they felt the need to gather outside of the Sun Ceremony and meals.

Their inherently antisocial nature however ensured that they spoke to each other little. As a consequence, skekTek found himself standing boredly alongside skekNa near the throne, saying nothing either to him or to any of the others. He merely occasionally adjusted his weight upon his gold-handled walking stick and wondered when the Garthim raiding party was going to return, so he could get back to his work. Anythiung beat the tedium of mingling his small-minded fellow Skeksis.

Idly, he wondered what urTih was doing. His "other self," so to speak. But at the same time not his other self. Even skekTek, a dedicated and brilliant scientific genius, found the precise nature of their dual selves difficult to fathom or even explain. SkekZok claimed he could, but never bothered elaborating in the hundreds of years he'd been the high priest. Dodging the issue was something he was known for.

It occurred to skekTek that they never thought much of the Mystics. They left them alone, instructing the Garthim to stay clear of their valley, as they knew well enough that their survival depended on it. Whatsoever happened to a Mystic, happened to a Skeksis, and vice versa. Certainly urSu perished the same night skekSo had, and skekTek knew for a fact that urTih was missing an eye, one of his arms, and a leg.

But for the most part the Skeksis seemed content to just pretend they didn't exist. Not skekTek. At times of great boredom, he had thought of them often. And not at all highly. His opinion of urTih was quite low. He was an alchemist, not a true scientist, and an unimaginative one at that. SkekTek supposed this was why his fellow Skeksis ignored the Mystics. They were, put simply, uninteresting. They had no great dreams or aspirations, and never left their stupid little valley, unlike the Skeksis who made things happen as a matter of policy - even if, skekTek reminded himself, they typically used others to do their work for them.

A shrill scream interrupted skekTek's thoughts and all eyes were on the throne room entrance. Shrieking like a dying landstrider, skekEkt scurried in, followed by skekAyuk, who was waddling along as quickly as his bulk would allow.

"Gelfling!" skekEkt was screaming. "Right here in the castle!"

Barely able to comprehend what was happening, the assembled Skeksis looked at one another on confusion. SkekNa shrugged helplessly at skekTek, and then the intruders skidded to a halt before the throne, upon which skekUng reclined, and continued their frenzied wailing. SkekEkt in particular was making a show of waving his arms about wildly.

"Come and look!" skekAyuk managed to choke out, terrified, jerking a thumb back the way they had come. "Such an ugly monster!"

"So, so awful!" skekEkt concurred.

Movement from behind them made everyone turn, and the last thing any of them including skekTek had ever expected to see entered: skekSil, still clad in the ragged remains of his robes, clutching a struggling Gelfling. As this pair approached the throne they all drew back with various expressions of shock and fear. Even skekTek despite his natural curiosity joined skekNa in shrinking away from the hideous fair-haired creature.

"Mmmmm, royal sire," skekSil was saying, "I bring you...Gelfling."

Murmurs passed amongst the group, and then skekSil, holding his head high, declared, "I! I have done this! I have caught her! I was wounded! I suffered horrible, searing pain!"

SkekTek was paying the outcast not a whit of attention. Mustering his courage he inched closer to the thing which the Prophecy said would bring about their ultimate destruction. Bending down on his cane he cupped the Gelfling's chin with a crooked finger. His mind was racing. It had been several years since he had seen a Gelfling up close. SkekSo hadn't even allowed him to preserve any.

"A live Gelfling!" he hissed under his breath. She jerked away with a cry of loathing.

"Kill her!"

Now skekTek glanced up. It was skekZok who'd spoken. The pompous peabrain had a ceremonial dagger out and was brandishing it towards the Gelfling. Even skekUng glared at the priest for this outburst, which was dangerously close to being an order.

"We are sworn to kill all Gelflings!" skekZok explained, upon realizing all eyes were on him.

SkekOk nodded in agreement. And who better than the historian to realize the danger the Gelfling posed, and side with the priest? But skekTek wasn't going to let a chance like this pass him by. Even as the chamberlain was declaring the Gelfling "his," the scientist sidled up to the throne on the side opposite skekZok.

Into skekUng's ear his whispered, "But sire, you could drink her essence!"

SkekUng grinned. He too remembered the fabled potency of Gelfling essence.

SkekZok, who had not heard him, was still ranting. "Becauce of the Prophecy, we must kill the Gelfling!" Another nod of agreement from skekOk.

"No!" boomed skekUng, holding up his scepter and getting up out of the throne. SkekTek knew then he had won. "First we take her essence, then kill!"

At this even skekOk sided against the priest, and cheers rose up from the crowd.

"Drain her first, then kill her!"

"Essence! Take her essence! Get her!"

"Yes!"

"To the Chamber of Life!"

At this, skekTek watched skekZok sink back in a mixture of anger and disbelief that no one was listening to him.

All but granted permission to take possession of the Gelfling, skekTek came 'round and grabbed her by the arm with his weaker hand, its grip still strong enough to restrain the female. He pulled her away from the unresisting skekSil, who smiled.

"No, let go!" the Gelfling protested.

As he roughly escorted his prize from the throne room he heard skekUng reinstating that slime bucket skekSil to his former position. SkekTek could care less. He had a living specimen of a Gelfling, and she was his to do with as he pleased!

A few minutes later he was down in the Chamber of Life once more. The animals chittered noisily and his Podling-slave assistant awaited him. He dismissed him. He didn't want anyone to see what he was about to do and report back to skekUng.

"I don't need you anymore for today, go away!" he snarled.

The assistant walked out wordlessly. The Gelfling watched him go with a strange look. It occurred to skekTek she hadn't seen a Podling in such a state before, but, he thought with a smirk, she'd soon find out how he got that way. Setting his cane aside, he dragged her over to the row of chairs facing the wall.

"Silence!" he bellowed, the animal noises grating on him. "Silence, animals!"

Once more they quit. The Gelfling put up a fierce struggle, but skekTek overpowered her easily. Within seconds he had her strapped in. She didn't quite fit, as these chairs were designed for smaller Podlings, but she was held in place nonetheless. That accomplished, it was over to the control panel again. SkekTek's hands shook with excitement as he pulled the necessary levers. As he watched the floor tilt downwards with a rumble, he mused on his scheme. Why should skekUng be the only one to drink the life-essence?

That bellowing imbecile had no clue about the precise amount of liquid essence that could be drained from a Gelfling, after all. SkekTek would give skekUng half, and keep the remainder for himself to drink when the time was right. This was why he'd sent his assistant away. No witnesses. The animals wouldn't tell. SkekTek doubted they even understood what it was he did in the Chamber of Life. And the Gelfling herself would be disposed of immediately after he had squeezed her dry.

This left Aughra. Aughra who was now at the bars of her cage, sniffing the air curiously. Her eyeball, sitting on a table, was watching skekTek. He thought about going over and squishing it like a grape, before the boom of the floor-plate thudding into its pre-set, slitted position brought his mind back to the matter at hand. Aughra he'd deal with later. No matter what skekUng said.

The Gelfling no longer protested. Instead, like the many before her, she was transfixed by the sight of the reddish light pouring into the room through the slit. And moreso by the prism as it slowly moved into position with its characteristic whirring sound. She shrank back slowly in the chair, fat lot of good it did it. Once the reflector was in position the beam shone true, directly into her eyes. SkekTek forwent explaining the process this time. Instead he merely licked his lips as he watched her liquefied essence begin trickling through the IV tube and into the waiting flask.

"Mmm, yes," he intoned, "essence of Gelfling!"

Suddenly, she said, "Jen?"

This threw skekTek for a loop. Who, or what, was Jen? And for that matter why as she even speaking? He'd forgotten how much more resistent to the beam Gelflings were than Podlings. The latter creatures typically went braindead the minute the light hit their eyes; this female however maintained enough of her mind to speak, although it seemed to the scientist that she was hallucinating.

"Jen!" she called again.

"You, Kira!" This time it was Aughra who spoke, from her cage nearby. SkekTek shot her an angry look but she ignored him. "Call the animals! You have the gift! Call them to freedom! Now!"

Gift? What gift? What was the old hag talking about? SkekTek hadn't the faintest idea. He'd heard Podlings possessed the ability to speak the "languages" of animals, but none brought into the Chamber of Life had ever attempted it. He was right in the middle of thinking the whole idea was bunk when the Gelfling, whose name was apparently "Kira," hitched in a deep breath and shouted forth a single word.

"Kamalaya!"

SkekTek didn't know or care what it meant. "Quiet, Gelfling!" he snapped at her, annoyed. "Be quiet!"

"Kamalaya!" she repeated, as if she hadn't heard him.

After this, the animals started up again. First a few weak barks and chirps. Then a flurry of growls, chitters and snarls. His attention previously focused on Kira, skekTek said, "Eh?" and stood up, blinking, as he turned and beheld the entire menagerie of the Chamber of Life come alive.

SkekTek didn't like this. Not at all. Moving away from the chair, towards the cages, he started feeling more than a little worried. For the first time he seemed to notice just how many hundreds of animals he'd collected over the years. The room he had spent countless hours working in, knew every nook and cranny of, suddenly seemed threatening.

"Quiet, all of you!" he said. The animals kept up. "Stop! Stop! I warn you!"

His threat fell on deaf ears. Then everything was happening all at once. The animals were hopping up and down excitedly in their cages, some rattling the bars. The ones suspended from the ceiling were swinging around in circles.

Aughra, for her part, was also shaking the bars of her own cage, yelling in rage. "Gelfling! Free them! Yes!"

One by one the cage doors burst open, or they fell to the floor and smashed open of their own accord.

"Back to your cages!" skekTek commanded.

They didn't listen. Soon hundreds of furry things and scaly things were scittering wildly across the floor. Feathered things flapped madly in the air. SkekTek ducked, yelping.

"All of you, get down!" he shouted with as much ferocity as he could muster, but his voice was trembling, and there was no real conviction behind his commands. He was beginning to feel panic rising in his throat.

This did absolutely nothing. As though driven by one single mind the creatures surged towards the unprepared Skeksis. Before skekTek knew what was happening, he was covered in living things. Crustacean-like creatures bit at his neck and carapace. A turtle-like animal bit his left arm, making him loose a yowl of pain. He shook it loose, sent it flying, and staggered back, bumping against one of the empty chairs.

His arm now freed he clawed at the dozens or more yapping and snarling at his feet, biting, ripping and clawing at his robes. His other arm was bitten but he felt nothing, as it was mechanical. Nevertheless the animals' teeth and beaks severed the artificial veins, causing purple blood to dribble out. The already weak arm was now rendered entirely useless and hung limply at skekTek's side as he used his only good arm in a vain effort to defend himself.

There were just too many. He suddenly wished he hadn't dismissed his assistant. Alone, the Skeksis scientist didn't stand a chance.

Howling in pain and anger he pushed off the chair, and stumbled backwards, desperate to escape his attackers. He backed right up against the control panel for the reflector and wall, felt his ribbed carapace shove the reflector-lever up into the "off" position. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the purple beam vanish, and the infernal Gelfling was freed from the Dark Crystal's grasp. The reflector had become accidentally disengaged.

Realizing what had happened, skekTek shrieked, "No! Nooooo!"

Sidestepping away from the controls, he moved towards the Gelfling. He wanted to attack her. To claw her face off. Instead he was only further overwhelmed by the assaulting animals and in trying to escape them backpedaled further away until he realized too late he was standing on the floor-plate.

The slit in the wall widened as the plate gave way under skekTek's weight. The floor literally gave way out from under him and he fell backwards. He landed on his back and, with dozens of animals still clinging and biting on him, he slid down the plate even as it banged against the interior of the Shaft, and right off the edge. All he could do was loose an inarticulate scream that echoed off the walls as he plunged down the thousand-foot Shaft. In midair he turned, felt himself catching fire already as the molten lava rushed up to meet him.

His final thought was that at least he'd be taking urTih with him, and what a surprise it would be when urTih spontaneously combusted in front of all of the other Mystics...urple beam vanish, and the infernal Gelfling was freed from the Dark Crystal's grasp. The reflector had become accidentally disengaged.

Realizing what had happened, skekTek shrieked, "No! Nooooo!"

Sidestepping away from the controls, he moved towards the Gelfling. He wanted to attack her. To claw her face off. Instead he was only further overwhelmed by the assaulting animals and in trying to escape them backpedaled further away until he realized too late he was standing on the floor-plate.

The slit in the wall widened as the plate gave way under skekTek's weight. The floor literally gave way out from under him and he fell backwards. He landed on his back and, with dozens of animals still clinging and biting on him, he slid down the plate even as it banged against the interior of the Shaft, and right off the edge. All he could do was loose an inarticulate scream that echoed off the walls as he plunged down the thousand-foot Shaft. In midair he turned, felt himself catching fire already as the molten lava rushed up to meet him.

His final thought was that at least he'd be taking urTih with him, and what a surprise it would be when urTih spontaneously combusted in front of all of the other Mystics.