Dark Crystal - A World before the Fall
 

Shortly after the great conjunction, there was a rumble and a tear at the very fabric of being that was felt by all creatures. The Gelfing council was gathering to consult on the meaning and to determine what great changes have occurred and how they might deal with it as a united front. The Gelfings were a peaceful race by and large and The Queen had specially invited the mystic Aughra, since she seemed to know more than anyone expects.

When everyone arrived in the great council room, the King and Queen were summoned and entered separately from doors on opposite sides of the room, as dictated by their culture. The Queen was dressed in her finest clothing, a dark blue velvet dress with lace ruffles. Hand crafted by their finest weavers. Her long purple hair flowing behind her. Her wings proudly on display, shimmered coloured flecks of light throughout the room.

"the ing coming from the opposite size of the room and then sat next to the queen

ryuk2212: dont you wanna add more? shouldnt you describe yourself? does the king start the conversation?

The king was a very rough looking individual and cared for hid whole kingdom. and when he sat on the throne he looked at the queen" hello how are you today. why exactly were we called here I forgot dearest "

"My Dearest, it is in regard to the Great Conjunction. Aughra has been investigating it. She is going to explain more." The King and Queen took their respective seats and shortly afterwards, everyone else did as well. Then the Queen stood to address the crowd.

"Thank you one and all for joining us today. We are here today is discuss what has changed due to the Great Conjunction and what we must do as a result. Aughra, if you would be so kind as to fill us in"

Aughra stood in her awkward way, her horns curled within her matted hair. " Bet you dont even know what the Great conjuction is, your Majesties. I know, I know all about it, but you don't. Bah! The Great conjunction is when the planets all align. That is what the Great Conjunction is. " there was a hush among the crowd of listeners as they thought about what that could mean for them.

Aughra continued without seeming to take notice. " What does it mean, I bet your asking yourself's. Bah! Ask Aughra, Aughra knows. "

The Queen looked directly at Aughra and without getting emotional or curt simply asked Aughra what does it mean. Aughra explained that it could mean a lot of things, but that this time it means big trouble. At that a visionary stood as if to speak, The Queen glanced their way to knowledge, but wished Aughra to finish first.

"The crystal has been shattered and the great race is now two. It shall be your doom. Your doom. Too late to fix it. You will all die, or maybe you wont. who knows? Only Aughra will be here for the next conjunction, that's for sure. But you? Who knows!"

With that, Aughra sat in the middle of the floor in her awkward way and made a bunch of foul grunting noises as she did so. The Queen proceeded to ask the fortune teller to speak.

"Madamme, if I might, I had a vision of the future during the great conjunction."

"Sure you did" Aughra interupted "Great many a strange things happen during the great conjunction"

"Aughra please, this is a formal setting. Allow him to speak." at that Aughra grunted, but remained silent.

"Thank you my Queen. The vision was of a great war, the death of many, the survival of very very few, and that a Gelfling will be the one to heal the crystal. " At that, he sat, having nothing else to add.

The crowd gasped and begun to speak amongst themselves. The speaking became louder as panic began to settle in. The Queen thought for a moment, unsure of what to say. Both Aughra and the fortune teller spoke of the doom of their people. Could that really be true?

(there, that should give you lots to work with[yes])

people people don't worry no need to panic the great conjunction is all a big misunderstanding, no one is going to die " he said rising out of the chair he then proceeded to walk down the thrown stairs and confronted Aughra " wel madam aughra I am sorry o say but you need to stop scaring all these people the queen has enough on her plate with our son almost being born and all , and what about this talk of the crystal breaking iot cant be as bad as you say" he then walked back and addressed the crowed " hmm hmm . everyone there is no need for alarm. no one is going to die. and all will be fine when the great conjunction is over we will have our usual feast. and celibrations. and by then my son will be born and there will be a new hair for the throne" he then noded his head in approval and sat back down in the chair.

The crowd seemed to settle after hearing the King speak. He had that way with people. Although they were confused since this meeting was taking place after the great conjunction and the huge rumble and tear in the fabric of being that everyone felt. Somehow, no matter what the King said, it always reassured and calmed people. The Queen even seemed to relax and breath easier.

"My lord is correct" The Queen followed. "Panicking will get us no where, as will listening to some prophecy. We need to think rationally. Now, if the crystal is indeed cracked, that would explain the rumble we all felt. Seems logical enough. It most likely does not mean our doom, just a great change. Aughra, you meantime the Great Race and that they are now two. Explain."

Aughra stood again to address the Queen in her usual way. "Where once there was one, now there is two. One is peaceful and one is not. The ones that are not are greedy and will invade, or maybe they wont. hard to tell. They are still new and different and therefore difficult to predict. "

"Then we shall send a messenger of peace to both. Who shall volunteer to go?"

"all of a sudden a good friend of the king the smith in the village stepped up .

" your majesty I will go I am the quickest and the best equipped for the job just tell me a place and I will go post haste "

*he bowed gracefully and walked up to the bottom of the steps and awaited the queens approval the king looked down at him and nodded .

then looked over to the queen .

"well my dear what do you think he is the most able boddied man for the job and we need all we can to go. our son must be born I n a peacefull world I owe him at least that. this kingdom is going to shambles.

"Agreed. The Smith shall go as an embassy of peace from the Gelfling Kingdom, for the future of all our people. You shall go to the Realm of the Great Race, carrying a message of peace. Hopefully, both new races shall be there and accept your proposal of peace. If not, you shall find out where they are and deliver the same message to both. If a peace treaty is needed, please bring their representative back here for discussions. " The Queen breathed a sign of relief, she had hoped he would rise, as he is the fastest. Although his smithy skills are needed, she had high hopes for peace. She grasped the Kings hand and looked out to her people again.

"This is a time of celebration, We have survived the Great Conjunction! Let us celebrate as is our tradition!" The crowd heralded her announcement and rejoiced that the stress was dealt with appropriately and they everyone was a part of the discussion. The chefs brought out their food and set it out in front of people and the entertainers were just entering the circle as Aughra stood up and humpfted loudly. The Queen and Aughra met eyes briefly and The Queen's relief was short lived. The look in Aughra's eyes meant that her words were not to be taken lightly as the King had done. Aughra made no move to speak further, knowing that speaking out again would only result in panic. The Queen nodded, acknowledging her concern and made a mental note to makre certain her child's safety.

&* the king looked around the room and smiled at all the gelfling that had come to the feast the smithy true to his word left at once and was given more food o take with him then he truly needed.

" well my daer I think we handled that well although it is a dire situation with this race we need a another plan in case this whole thing goes sour "
*he looked over at the queen and gave a half hearted smile then addressed the crowed


" people of mine I just wanted tto let you know how amazing you all were and how comly we prided ourswlves in the cituation at hand w eneed not worry but for" now he looked at the entainers and they started to play some music he took the queens ahand and hey elegantly wwalked down to the dance floor and the king took her hand and started to dance .

As the King and Queen danced, the crowed seemed to cheer and join in the traditional motions passed down through the generations. Delicately, they stepped and side stepped, dipped and twirled. The King took extra precautions due to the sensitive nature of the Queen's pregnancy. After their dance was done, the Queen gracefully excused herself, for the baby of course and retreated to her study where in she began to make plans. From what Aughra said, at least one race was peaceful. If she could arrange to send her child to them, perhaps there he will be safe from anything the other race may conjure up. It was only a back up plan since she still planned on raising the child herself. She also wanted to make sure the King didnt know, because she knew he would be against it.

*the king longingly whatched as the queen walked away he wonderd what she was doing and he often though he had done something wrong*

"well the queen is resting now so we get on with the festivities. he clapped his hands and servents flooded the hall with games and merry drink and all were laughing.... meanwhile on the road

"hmm ok so I go this way" the smithy said to himself as he changed course yet again he was beginning to think he was lost and by the looks of it he was right.

he ran of in a direction hoping he was going the write way it was growing dark and no gelfling wanted to be outside in the dark for strange and dark things lurked in the shadows*

---------- Post added 12-13-2014 at 11:14 AM ----------

hey my room mate needs the computer so ill be o nlater se yall

Aughra watched as the smithy walked into the darkness with nothing but a map and a backpack full of food. "Fools" she thought to herself. She went in search of the shards of the Crystal alone and unguarded. She knew her way around and knew what to watch for. The smithy though, he was going to have a hard time of it for sure. The darkness was the best time to search for crystal shards, for they caught the moonlight in a way that made them sparkle. She knew not which shard would be the right one, only that she would find it. As she walked she grumbled to herself about the fools that call themselves leaders today.

***

As night fell upon the land, The Queen rested, having completed her plans. In the following weeks, given the outcome from the Smithy, she would be able to make her moves behind the scenes as she commonly did. She rubbed her swollen belly and began to softly sing herself and the baby to sleep.

"the king waled into the room with his wife and waled over to the bed sitting down he smiled and looked at his wife* " hey dearest how is our son I hope he will grow up to be a strong lad just like his mother .......where do you disappear to all the time im getting really worried" the king looked at the queen with honest fear and anguish like he was doing something wrong and genially wanted to make it right.*

"Nothing Dearest. The pregnancy is just tiring. You know that. Pregnancies are always like this. I can only do so much, specially this late in the game. " she rubbed her belly and smiled, then yawned. "I need more sleep. Care to join me?" She smiled weakly. The King was always worried about her pregnancy needlessly. This was their first child and his mother had had only him and died during the birth. His concerns are justified based on his experience, but she knew she would make it through alright. There were not any complications so far, why would there be later?

****

Aughra found a shard that night, though she didnt know if it was the shard, only that it was a shard. She continued looking all through the night, but she only found that one. She decided she had better get some sleep as the sun rose but she was so far from everything. There was a cliff nearby with some vines on it. She decided to make camp there.

"ok dearest of course I will join you he said crawling into the bed with his wife. as they lay down he sat and thought what he could do better to help his wife he missed his family dearly and didn't want to lose his wife or his son then he rolled over looked at his wife and gently kissed her cheek>

The Queen slept soundly until the break of dawn. Then just as light was breaking across her face and she woke to its warmth, she felt a sharp pain and then water near her legs. she shook her husband the King. "Dearest. Dearest, wake up. Its happening. Right now. Go get the nurses." pain rippled through her "Now!" she yelled. holding in as much pain as possible.

*the king mumbled a little and then flew awake " nurses nurse hurry my baby boy is coming in a matter of minutes a team of four nurses came into the room and escorted the king out of the room*


the king passed out side the room and waited wondering if anything would go wrong he was truly worried for his wife and son. he paced and passed and the guards told him to sit down and relax and soon enough he was u[p and pacing again


and just as he had thought the smilthy was lost and hopeless ly so he sat down and waited for morning so that he could get his bearings.

The Queen in her pain was unaware of most everything. She saw the nurses, but recognized none of them despite spending months with them about her every day fusing over her meals and dress and even how she slept for some particularly troublesome months. But now, the pain was all. One was telling her to breath and she remembered to breath. Another was telling her to push, and she pushed with everything she had, screaming the entire time. She was crying and laughing and felt like she was being ripped in half. But in the end, it was all worth it when she hear the tiny cry. She almost fainted at the exertion and joy that filled her. In a daze she watched as they washed and measured her son.

"What would you like to name him, your Highness" one of the nurses asked.

"Jen. He shall be known as Jen" She said, holding him for the first time. There was a strange feeling that came over her as she realized that this boy was just inside her growing and is now outside in her arms. Fascinating! She saw as her husband entered the room. He looked almost as exhausted as she was and just as filled with joy at the sight of their new son.

"Jen, meet your father, The King" She said as she presented their son to him. "Dearest, This is our son, Jen" as soon as the King took their son, she passed out.

" he took th beaby and smiled then looking at the queen started tio wory he left the room to give her some space but told the nurses to make sure that she remained alive he then took his son for the night. telling him stories and isnging to him and telling him all the fun they will have

Aughra had not found another crystal for a while and was feling a little discouraged. She did, however, find that the vines were more sentient then she had though. With some quick and creative thinking she was able to influence them and found them to be very agreeable. She decided that she should build a home here and began working on it right away. While she was clearing the rubble, she found another shard. Strange place indeed for a shard, but Aughra had faith that she would find the right shard eventually.

***

The fortune teller tossed and turned having vision after vision of the doom of the Gelflings. He could not shake the prophecy from his mind. He decided to write it down in hopes that that would easy his troubled mind. He was given only the slightest hope, and that was that a Gelfling would be the one to heal the crystal. He knew not how or when, only that it would happen.

the king walked back into the room were the queen was and sat on the edge of the bed waiting for her to wake up

The nurses were frantic. If the Queen didnt wake up, the King would surly punish them. But nothing they were doing was working, all they were doing was making sure she didnt die. But she was so close to falling over the edge it was frighting. She had to wake up in order to be out of danger. After 3 days the Queen finally opened her eyes to everyone relief.

The king sat up on his side of the bed and smiled" my dear how do you feel I got so worried our son is doing fine do you feel well" as he spoke he paced around the room like a mad man > meanwhile,e the man out in the room had gotten to the mystics " hello friends I need to ask you a favior a prince was born today and if anything happens to the parents we need you to take care of him can you do this "
he looked around at each of them awaiting an answer

The Mystic creature looked sad and tired, old and wise and thoughtful of the question asked. The Queen sat up in her bed assessing the strange new creature. How could something be new and yet seem so old?

"There is a prophecy." He began. His voice was deep and melodic. He spoke with sure words and confidence despite his sad appearance. The room went silent at his words. "A prophecy that has been written is one that rings with truth. The hand that will heal the Dark Crystal will be that of a Gelfling. And the crystal must be healed to save us all. Should anything happen to you or your kin, let me me known that the Mystics will raise the child gelfling known as Jen"

A sigh of relief seemed to settle over the room, but only at first. The mystics words were a lot to think about. If the prophecy is true, and the Mystics already are aware of it. Who else might be aware of it? And what do they intend?