Flames of the Dark Crystal

by J. M. Lee

  “Um, obviously. You promised we’d have a soft-talk. Remember?”

  Naia felt a blush creep up her neck. “As if I’d forget!”

  Then she shoved him away and snorted, pushing past him and his sideways grin and heading toward the wall where she’d last seen Kylan.

  CHAPTER 31

  The wall with the five figures was in the center of the ruins, out of sight from the campfires that flickered along the perimeter. The stench of the battle with the Skeksis had cooled, replaced by the indigo scent of the night and starlight. Naia followed the orange glow of a torch, finding Kylan kneeling at the base of the wall, clearing away vines and recording the figures on the wall in his book.

  “Kylan. There you are!” She crouched beside him, nodding a second hello to the crystal spider on his shoulder, shining in the light of the clear sky. “And Tavra.”

  “The etchings go on for what seems like forever,” Kylan said. He sighed and looked into the pages of his book. “I’m never going to be able to record them all. Especially not if we’re leaving in the morning. We may know the final outcome, but we can’t deny that hard times are yet to come. For all of us. The Skeksis may try to destroy the wall. The song of the prophecy must be preserved. But . . .”

  Naia followed Kylan’s glance, seeing what he meant. The etchings were sprawled across every stone and fallen wall, some in the dirt that was already muddied from dew and the night breeze. The Gelfling couldn’t all remain here. Even if Aughra had said the Skeksis would stay away for now, they would not stay away forever. Especially not if many Gelfling remained.

  Still, there was something that connected Kylan to the wall. Something strong as a dreamfast, as if his destiny was intertwined with the lore of the prophecy. Kylan, the song teller from Sami Thicket, whose firca resonated with the very shard of the Crystal.

  From how he touched the wall, how he could not look away from it, she could tell he knew it, too. That though he might want to go with his friends, he knew this was more important. They both did.

  “Then you’re staying,” she said. “Here, with the etchings.”

  He jumped, eyes widening at her. “But . . .”

  “Someone has to interpret the etchings and record them. If it’s just you, here in the ruins, it won’t attract the Skeksis’ attention. You know your way around this place now. In the Dark Wood. And Sami Thicket isn’t too far.”

  The song teller’s ears twisted back and forth, not sure whether to be relieved or worried.

  “I will stay with you,” Tavra said. Her spider voice was audible thanks to the still of the night. “Onica was drawn to the etchings as well. I think she’d be delighted to stay. The two of us will keep you company while you make sure the song of the prophecy is recorded.”

  Kylan’s sigh ended with a smile.

  “It’s difficult to say no to the two of you,” he said. “Naia, are you sure?”

  Naia laughed to hide the opposite feeling that was burrowing in her chest. Even deciding Gurjin and Rian would go to the castle hadn’t felt like a farewell. Not really, and certainly not like this. Naia wasn’t sure the time would ever feel right to say farewell to Kylan of Sami Thicket. Her friend the song teller.

  “I’m sure,” she said. “And when you’re done here, you should go to see Master urSu in the valley. The Mystics may be able to help us understand the wall. If there’s any writing you and Onica can’t decipher . . . but it’s a big responsibility, Kylan. Maybe I’m the one who should be asking you: Are you sure?”

  Kylan’s hand drifted to the bell-bird firca at his neck, no longer bone white, but singed a darker shade, like clay or earth.

  “If I’m honest, I’ve never been so sure of anything,” he said. “I’ll make sure one day all the Gelfling know the song of how we endured the Skeksis. Forged the prophecy and healed the Crystal. And in that song, your name will ring. As will Rian’s and Gurjin’s. Tavra’s and Onica’s and Amri’s.”

  “And yours,” Naia said, tears pricking her eyes. She tried to capture his face in her memory. The path ahead was unsure and uneven, and even though the Gelfling were united in spirit, there was still distance between them. It was likely it would be a long time before they saw each other again.

  Kylan chuckled. “Don’t be silly. It’s poor taste for a song teller to insert himself as a hero in his own song . . . I’m glad to have met you, Naia.”

  “Same, Song Teller,” she said, and wrapped him in another hug that she hoped could last until the next time they met.

  CHAPTER 32

  Morning came softly and quietly.

  Naia woke to the smell of the fires being put out, the gentle murmuring of the Gelfling saying their goodbyes to one another. It was time to leave.

  Naia busied herself with a Landstrider bestowed upon her by Maudra Mera. Amri was already in the saddle overhead, adorning the beast with braided blue and green ribbon that flowed in the early wind like victory banners. Gurjin and Rian approached. They’d shed their armor and dressed in the lightweight tunics and cloaks they might have worn had they never been guards at the castle.

  “Well, this is it, I guess,” Gurjin said.

  “I tried to find Aughra to say goodbye, but she’s gone,” Rian added.

  Naia scanned the ruins, but she didn’t see the hunched back of the old witch. She didn’t expect to. But in the air and in the earth, in the last ashes of the fires as they were doused with water from the nearby river, something stirred. The voice of Thra, quiet and constant as ever.

  Naia smiled.

  “She isn’t gone,” she murmured. “Just busy. We’ll see her again . . . You’ll be all right, you two? I’m not going to regret sending you off on your own, am I?”

  Gurjin snorted. “Not if I have any say. Though knowing this blue-streaked fizzgig, I might not.”

  “If anyone can handle him, it’s you,” Naia teased.

  Rian rolled his eyes, blew his bangs back with a puff of air. The shard was nowhere in sight, though the satchel at his belt had a familiar shape and weight to it. He’d keep it safe. He held his hand out to Naia.

  “Until next time,” he said. “We resist. For Thra.”

  “For Thra,” she agreed. Then before any of them could say anything more, Rian strode off into the wood. Gurjin gently punched Naia on the shoulder, refusing to hug her. Refusing to act as if this could be the last time he saw her. Without words or dreamfasting, Naia knew how her brother felt.

  “Later,” he said, and then turned from her. Not knowing what to say, she reached out and socked him back. They shared a final look as Naia climbed the rope ladder onto the Landstrider where Amri sat waiting.

  Naia and Maudra Mera led the way south out of the Dark Wood. Their party paused when the woods cleared and the Spriton Plains opened before them.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Amri said suddenly. “Do you remember what skekZok said, back in skekSa’s ship? About how our descendants might not know the names of the clans?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, take a look around. Maybe he was right.”

  Gelfling surrounded them. On foot and some on Landstrider, the Drenchen and the Spriton and the Stonewood. There were even some Sifa and Dousan with them, and silver-haired Gelfling, though whether they were Grottan or Vapra, Naia couldn’t tell from the lofty saddle of her mount.

  It didn’t matter, anyway. They were one clan, now. No matter what else happened, that was something the Skeksis could never take away from them.

  In the distance, the mist of Sog beckoned. Though Naia had stood on so many brinks before, for some reason this one seemed the most decisive of all.

  “I feel like I’ve never been here before,” she said. Sharing the little, vulnerable feeling with the Shadowling at her back. “Never seen it, even though we have. Even though we’re going back home. To my home, anyway. And now yours. But everything’s different.
It seems like a brand-new world I’ve never stepped foot in, all over again.”

  “It is new,” Amri said. “It’s new every morning. It’s only our memory that ties us to yesterday. Everything else is different, every time the suns come up.”

  Naia closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the three suns as they brightened across her face. She took in the moment, the fresh air across her shoulders. Amri nearby, holding her waist. The Gelfling waiting below and all around. Listening for her signal.

  To continue. To go on. To survive.

  She opened her eyes. Kicked her heels and whistled, letting the moment pass as her Landstrider raced first into the awakening day.

  GLOSSARY

  Arathim: A race of ancient arthropods, including crystal-singers and silk-spitters. Their color and shape varies widely from family to family, with number of legs ranging from three to twelve.

  armalig: This slow-thinking but fast-moving creature is motivated by food and so easily tamed. Often used by the Skeksis for pulling their carriages.

  bell-bird: An ancient, extinct bird whose bones and beaks are said to resonate with Thra’s song.

  bola: A Y-shaped length of knotted rope with stones tied to each of the three ends. Used as a weapon, the bola can be swung or thrown, enabling the wielder to ensnare prey.

  Crystal Skimmer: These large, flippered creatures are very social and travel in pods. They are native to the Crystal Sea. Easily trained by Gelfling, these majestic beasts are used by the Dousan clan to cross large expanses of the desert.

  daeydoim: Six-legged desert-dwelling creatures with large dorsal scales and broad hooves. Frequently domesticated by desert nomads.

  firca: A Y-shaped Gelfling wind instrument, played with both hands. It was Gyr the Song Teller’s legendary instrument of choice.

  fizzgig: A small furry carnivore native to the Dark Wood. Sometimes kept as a pet.

  hooyim: One of the many colorful leaping fish species that migrate in large schools along the northern Sifan coasts. Often called the jewels of the sea.

  Landstrider: Long-legged hooved beasts common to the Spriton Plains.

  maudra: Literally “mother.” The matriarch and wise woman of a Gelfling clan.

  maudren: Literally “those of the mother.” The family of a Gelfling maudra.

  merkeep: A delicious tuber. It is a traditional food of the Stonewood Gelfling.

  muski: Flying quilled eels endemic to the Swamp of Sog. Babies are very small, but adults never stop growing. The oldest known muski was said to be as wide as the Black River.

  ninet: One of nine orbital seasons caused by the configuration of the three suns. Arcs in which Thra is farthest from the suns are winter ninets; arcs in which Thra is nearest are summer ninets. Each ninet lasts approximately one hundred trine.

  swoothu: Flying beetlefur creatures with strange sleeping patterns. Many act as couriers for the Gelfling clans in exchange for food and shelter.

  ta: A hot beverage made by mixing boiling water and spices.

  Three Brothers: Thra’s three suns: the Great Sun, the Rose Sun, and the Dying Sun.

  Three Sisters: Thra’s three moons: the Blue Moon, the Pearl Moon, and the Hidden Moon.

  trine: The orbital period of Thra moving around the Great Sun, roughly equivalent to an Earth year.

  unamoth: A large-winged pearly white insect that sheds its skin once every unum.

  unum: The time for Thra’s largest moon to circle Thra once, roughly equivalent to an Earth month.

  vliya: Literally “blue fire.” Gelfling life essence.

  vliyaya: Literally “flame of the blue fire.” Gelfling mystic arts.

  xeric: One of twelve Dousan nomadic groups, each led by a designated sandmaster.

  zandir: A flower native to the wetlands near Cera-Na. Its pollen can cause the lowering of inhibitions and talkativeness, so it is often used in truth-telling potions.

  APPENDIX A

  THE GELFLING CLANS

  VAPRA

  Sigil animal: Unamoth

  Maudra: Seladon, the All-Maudra

  The Vapra clan was an industrious race with white hair, fair skin, and gossamer-winged women. Considered the oldest of the Gelfling clans, the Vapra resided in cliffside villages along the northern coasts, making their capital in Ha’rar. Chosen by the Skeksis after the death of Maudra Mayrin, Seladon doubled as All-Maudra, matriarch leader of all the Gelfling clans. Vapra were skilled at camouflage; their vliyaya focused on light-changing magic, allowing them to become nearly invisible.

  STONEWOOD

  Sigil animal: Fizzgig

  Maudra: Fara, the Rock Singer

  This clan was a proud and ancient people who dwelled on the fertile lands near and within the Dark Wood. They made their main home in Stone-in-the-Wood, the historical home of Jarra-Jen. Many Stonewood Gelfling were valuable guards at the Castle of the Crystal. They were farmers and cobblers and makers of tools. They were inventive, but pastoral; like their sigil animal, they were peaceful but fierce when threatened.

  SPRITON

  Sigil animal: Landstrider

  Maudra: Mera, the Dream Stitcher

  Age-old rivals of the Stonewood clan, the Spriton were a warrior race inhabiting the rolling fields south of the Dark Wood. With such bountiful land to raise crops and family, this clan’s territory spread to cover the valley in several villages. Counted among the most fierce fighters of the Gelfling race, the Spriton were often called upon to serve as soldiers for the Skeksis Lords and guards at the Castle of the Crystal.

  SIFA

  Sigil animal: Hooyim

  Maudra: Gem-Eyed Ethri

  Found in coastal villages along the Silver Sea, the Sifa were skilled fishermen and sailors, but very superstitious. Explorers by nature, the Sifa were competent in battle—but they truly excelled at survival. Sifan vliyaya focused Gelfling luck magic into inanimate objects; Sifan charms enchanted with different spells were highly desired by travelers, craftsmen, and warriors of all clans.

  DOUSAN

  Sigil animal: Daeydoim

  Maudra: Seethi, the Skin Painter

  This clan made their settlements on sandships—amazing constructs of bone and crystal that navigated the Crystal Sea like ocean vessels. Resilient even within the arid climate of the desert, the Dousan thrived. Their culture was shrouded and unsettlingly quiet, their language made of whispers and gestures, their life stories told in the intricate magic tattoos painting their bodies.

  DRENCHEN

  Sigil animal: Muski

  Maudra: Laesid, the Blue Stone Healer

  The Drenchen clan was a race of amphibious Gelfling who lived in the overgrown Swamp of Sog, deep in the southernmost reaches of the Skarith region. Sturdier and taller than the rest of their race, the Drenchen were powerful in combat, but generally preferred to keep to themselves. Though one of the smallest Gelfling clans, the Drenchen had the largest sense of clan pride; they were loyal to one another, but remained as distant from other clans as possible.

  GROTTAN

  Sigil animal: Hollerbat

  Maudra: Argot, the Shadow Bender

  A mysterious, secretive breed who dwelled in perpetual darkness in the Caves of Grot. Generations in the shadows left them with an extreme sensitivity to light—and solid black eyes that could see in the dark and large ears to make out even the faintest of echoes. The Grottan clan was said to number less than three dozen Gelfling, and their life span was said to be unheard of, lasting three to four times as long as other Gelfling.

  APPENDIX B

  LOCATIONS OF THRA

  Black River: The main waterway within the Skarith Basin. It flows from high in the Grottan Mountains north to Ha’rar, where it empties into the Silver Sea.

  Castle of the Crystal: Also known as the Skeksis’ castle, this obsidian tower is where the Skeksis Lords live, and where th
ey protect—and control—the Crystal Heart of Thra.

  Cera-Na: A bay on the western coast of the mainland where the Sifa gather.

  Crystal Sea: A desert of crystalline sand just southeast of the Claw Mountains. Frequented by electric storms and sandstorms.

  Dark Wood: The large forest that fills most of the Skarith Basin. Also called the Endless Wood, it seems to go on forever.

  Domrak: The home of the Grottan clan, a network of caves deep in the Grottan Mountains.

  Grottan Mountains: A ridge of rocky mountains on the west border of the Skarith Basin.

  Grottan Sanctuary: A deep mountain valley overgrown with giant stone mushrooms. An ancient nesting ground for bell-birds, this is where the Grottan Gelfling often go to meditate.

  Ha’rar: The northern, snowy home of the Vapra clan. Made the capital by the Skeksis when they ordained the Vapra All-Maudra.

  Kira-Staba, the Waystar grove: A grove of glowing trees growing on the bluffs that overlook Ha’rar and the Silver Sea.

  Mystic Valley: A mysterious ravine to the south of the Dark Wood, on the northern edge of the Spriton Plains.

  Nenadi-Staba, the Low Tree: A low-lying, gnarled-root tree growing in the wood near Sami Thicket.

  Olyeka-Staba, the Cradle Tree: A towering tree in the Dark Wood, said to be the tree from which the entire forest originates.

  Omerya-Staba, the Coral Tree: A floating coral tree made of thousands of marine colonies, converted into a living, sailable ship by the Sifa clan.

  Oszah-Staba, the Wellspring Tree: A tree growing in the Dousan Wellspring. Its enormous leaves prevent storms from damaging the oasis.

  Sami Thicket: A village hidden in a forest within the Spriton Plains, and home of the Spriton clan.