#Some of this is taken from The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths comics

[adara-of-the-flame]

the-name-is-hoggle

You’d think the concept of a mother nature” having a child would be what really throws the dwarf off. But no, that made sense to him.

“How could the flaws of one of a group mess up a-a traveling spell? Portal crossing? So much! That they -they- all fragment? I assume you mean split as in their essences were halved in some way?”

He questions further, leaning forward now as he drawn in by the truly buck wild story Mars was attempting to tell.

“All of them must have been faulted in some way for that sort of result…”

adara-of-the-flame

"I..." There was a long a pause as the half-Urru processed what Hoggle had to say. "I guess that's true.

"But, the thing about Urskek society is that its...ultra-conformist. Like, they look alike, they walk alike, they talk alike. It's sorta as if they have a hive mind, but don't? I dunno how else to explain it. Having your own identity, speaking for yourself, being just you is just...wrong." Another pause. "I wonder if that's the 'heresy' they were exciled for? Just...wanting to be themselves? Maybe they all had that problem? I dunno. I'll have to ask Dad next time I see him."

Mars settled back into her sheets. "Anyway...yeah, they were split. Into two separate people. But, still one soul. And, they could only ever share each other's pain after that. But, not me and my sister. We share lots of stuff." The half-Urru's wide snoot grew widder with a proud, playful grin. Seems she was grateful for the link she and her sister shared.

"So, a lot of people think they were split between good and evil, but..I took psycology, and I don't think so. I think it was more like...Id and Ego? I dunno if I need to explain that. Anyway, when they split, the first half were the Skeksis. And, they look like these dinosaur-birds, and they were really, really selfish, like, they wanted everything, wanted to rule everything, couldn't be patient for anything. They got to work ruling the Gelfling and being like these collective Lords of the Crystal and took over the Castle and everything. The other half...were so quiet!" It almost seemed as though Mars was a little frustrated by this. "And, slow, and seemed to really like the color brown, but they were sweet and gentle and called themselves Urrus. But, lots of people in Thra called them Mystics, because they were so mystical, and spiritual. And, they had long hair and long snoots and four arms, but would never stand upright for some reason. And, they wandered off and hid in a valley and sort of just...hung out there, doing their own spiritual thing away from the rest of the world."

Mars seemed thoughtful now, as she propped one of her four arms up on her chin. "I think...I think the Urskeks weren't so much split between 'Good' versus 'Evil' as they were split between 'want and drive' vs 'slow down and restraint'. Because the Skeksis seemed to be the ones who got things done. They were bad things, but they did them, and they just kept wanting more, and not knowing when to stop. The Urrus just stayed in one place, not doing much but meditating and being spiritual. They could connect with the harmony of Thra, but they never did anything to stop their other halves. They would get stuck doing the same, slow thing for days. Like trees just...vibing in the ground.

"Both sides were broken and...neither one of them wanted to be put back together again..."

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[skekheck]

Dark Crystal Question: Rank the best ways to consume the lore of the world. I've seen the original movie and the Netflix adaptation and I love them both and I want to participate in more of the Fandom but it feels like I only have a third of the pie. Rank the best-to-worst canon materials and lore!

So here's the tricky thing about the Dark Crystal's lore: it's contradictory. Even in stories centered around AOR, because the Jim Henson company is pretty loose with how their work and characters are portrayed, things get muddied up.

The best way I believe to think of the inconsistencies is seeing it all as different timelines (which could be backed canonically if Aughra's line of "I see many endings laid before us" has anything to go by). So what I am going to do is categorize lore-based materials into different groups, but still rank them from consistent to inconsistent.

Also, FYI, these are subjective so you can take it with a grain of salt if you don't agree.

Uncategorized:

Creation Myths: This is probably one of, if not the most, important lore-based material for this franchise. It dives into what happened during the very beginning of Thra's life, the arrival of the urSkeks, what led up to the Division, and what followed shortly after. There is some very minor contradictions between info told here and AOR, but it's not so distracting that it's noticeable. In my opinion, this should be the first thing to read as it sets groundwork for a lot of the other stories.

The Dark Crystal Bestiary: This is basically a compendium of all the creatures of Thra, including Gelfling, Skeksis, and Mystics. It doesn't include every animal within the franchise and it leaves some of the Urru and Skeksis out but overall pretty informative with nice illustrations to boot. There are some info mentioned in here that people didn't agree with but in my opinion it adds more to a lot of other characters.

Age of Resistance Focused Material:

Songs of the Seven Gelfling Clans: This is basically an in-depth look into all Seven Clans written by J.M. Lee who also was a creative consultant for AOR so because of this I think this should be ranked highest in this category. It's a nice info dump of the seven Gelfling clans so if you wanted to learn more about a specific clan this is your go-to book.

Heroes of the Resistance: It's a small book with a lot of the information taken from the Dark Crystal website word-for-word, but it also has nice additional information not seen anywhere else about some of the other characters.

The Ballad of Hup & Barfinnious: Of all three prequel comics, this one hardly, or doesn't even, contradict lore established by AOR. It's the story of how Hup got the idea of becoming a paladin being mentored by an ex-paladin named Barfinnious who get into sorts of trouble. We get little lore drops about paladins and the Spriton clan. While a fun read, it's the least memorable out of the three.

The Quest for the Dual Glaive: My personal favorite of the prequel comics. It's the story of how Ordon retrieved the dual glaive. It gives needed exploration of Ordon, as well as Fara's, characters with a look at how the First Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood went. There is some minor contradictions between how the story went and Maudra Argot's accounts of it in AOR but it's not enough to ruin the comic.

The Journey into the Mondo Leviadin: This one is a double-edged sword when it comes to consistency. The comic adds a lot of interesting things to the world including an in-depth look into the All-Maudra lineage, additional lore about the Sifan clan, and crustecean sub-species of Podlings and Arathim (called the Bobblings and Zoas in that order). However, it also makes some odd writing decisions, some of the major ones being the characterization of skekSa the Mariner and the ending which, to not give off too much spoilers, sort of flips the whole idea of the Vapra disapproving Gelfling of two different clans from getting together on its head. It also painfully contradicts some of the lore stated in Songs of the Seven Gelfling Clans that came out a month or so after this comic.

Quadrilogy Book Series:

Also known as the J.M. Lee book series. This should be seen as a self-contained story because while it eventually follows key plot points we see in AOR, it definitely takes place in a different timeline with a focus on Naia, Kylan, and co. I do recommend reading these books anyway as it gives focus to side characters who had little screen time or who haven't shown up at all (including villains such as skekLi the Satirist and skekSa). Also some other characters (like skekLach and skekMal) are different from their on screen counterparts.

Movie Focused Material:

Dark Crystal Novelization: Jim Henson said this book was like the child to the movie, as it was written along with it under his supervision. I feel like this is an important piece to read as it adds context to the film that was sorely needed. The biggest of these was giving Jen more depth as a character which honestly should have been in the film. Aside from that, the book contains ideas that are outdated, both within the franchise and surrounding certain subject matter (as this was written in the late 70s/early 80s).

The World of the Dark Crystal: This is another companion book written for the film. It's written from Aughra's point of view and does contain lore specified within the movie. Much like the novelization, it also contains outdated information.

Legend of the Dark Crystal (Vols. 1 & 2): This is the only story within the franchise so far that focuses on the Garthim Wars. I remember reading these books followed more closely with the original notes from the movie and it's one of the first lore-based material released for the Dark Crystal. Of course, this takes place in a different timeline for various reasons. The most entertaining of which is skekLach, completely different from his on-screen counterpart, being a main villain for both volumes.

Power of the Dark Crystal: This is a sequel comic to the film and was based on the script for the sequel movie that was canceled after a decade of development hell. And boy does it show. While it does introduce cool ideas, mainly the introduction to Firelings, the plot is a poorly rehashed version of the film's with many plot holes and lore contradictories. Some people might enjoy this, but if you're lore focused it's okay to skip this unless you're really curious.

Beneath the Dark Crystal: The least interesting material, not just for this category but out of all the reading material in the franchise. It doesn't do anything to clear up the plot holes and follows the inconsistencies from the previous prequel comic while being a boring read. It does add more lore about the Firelings, but a lot of ideas introduced around that is uninteresting or missed potential. I don't recommend reading this unless you really enjoyed Power but don't expect the same writing quality.

[neriad13]

Media Consumed Impressions 3/24-30

Tipping the Velvet [book - fiction] - This book was difficult to get through at times. For a long stretch of the middle section I was completely infuriated with how the main character was coping with a bad breakup and considered putting the book aside numerous times. 

But I kept on, having made it a priority to read more lesbian books and thankfully it got much better after the main character was free of a terrible lover. 

I especially enjoyed the development of the relationship between her and Flo, the final lover of the book. They both have their pasts and their sorrows and both of them learn to accept the others’ shortcomings in such a sweet way. 

Lesbian Cassanova’s alright. 

The Dark Crystal Creation Myths Vol. 1 [comic - fiction] - Astoundingly gorgeous art! And such a surprising find on the shelf of a library I don’t frequent all that often!

I hadn’t thought about that movie in ages, but these stories jogged my memory considerably. The story behind the gods of this world is way, way different and more interesting than I thought it’d be. Part of me thought it would spoil the mystery of the movie, but the weird reality is that it actually adds to it.

Safari Honeymoon [comic - fiction] - Yep. Pretty dang weird. =B Nice art though. Alas, poor Winston.

Us [movie] - I did like this movie...but it didn’t feel as cohesive as I would have liked. The separate bits and pieces of it, when taken on their own, were amazing. But the entire thing just didn’t come together as a whole for me.

The point where I started to lose interest was after the other family confronted them in their living room and the mystery of the affair was taken away. I felt like at that point, it ceased being a horror movie and shifted to being an action one. I do like a bit more suspense in horror movies. 

Trees: In Shadow [comic - fiction] - I didn’t care for this one. The premise was an interesting one and the sociopolitical ramifications of it were pretty well illustrated but...literally every single character I cared about died in the most pointless of ways at the end. 

Also, a group of Antarctic researchers in charge of monitoring the most important development in the WORLD whilst behaving like squabbling children didn’t sit well with me.

Dracula (1931) [movie] - Why are there armadillos in Dracula’s castle?

Anyway, Renfield’s weird little laugh was the highlight of the movie. =‘D

Deadly Class [comic - fiction] - Surprisingly poignant for a book which contains the phrase “Freshman Manhunt.” 

Some really strong, distinctive character designs too! 

Shout out to the panel in which a shirt with a skull on it looked like the character’s boobs. I see you there.

The Seventh Seal [movie] - Those are some relatable atheist feels right there. 0.0 It made me shiver, hearing a voice that expressed the exact same doubts that I’ve had, from fifty years ago.

And man, did I love this personification of death. I can totally see how he influenced Terry Pratchett’s version. 

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb [movie] - The ending was so good that I absolutely had to spoil it for a friend. =B

And oh my god, the collect call scene!!! =‘D

Uzumaki [comic - fiction] - This is actually the third time I’ve read the entire thing through. It’s my favorite piece of horror in the entire world - maybe even my favorite piece of media ever. 

This read’s purpose was for tattoo ideas. I’m leaning toward an armband of twisting arms.

Mata Hari [movie] - The movie in which all characters, whether French, Russian or German...have American accents.

But Greta Garbo’s acting! This is the first movie I’ve seen of hers and...damn...now I need to watch more. =0 

Mata Hari was a surprisingly complex and well written character. And the costume design was off the charts.

[smilingperformer]

SM087 - Plot, plot, plot ~

Silly title is silly. Anyway, Necrozma Arc has finally started in it’s glory, and the newest episode focuses on building up important lore points about the legend of Alola’s Creation and Alola’s three legendary Pokémon related to said lore. I’ll be focusing on the lore and plot in my thoughts post this time around, so I hope you’ll enjoy it! Without further ado, welcome to the start of the Necrozma Arc in Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon:

A Crisis in Alola! The Darkness That Eats Radiance!

Since the start of the episode is important to the plot, let me recap it the best I can: Necrozma is shown to be breaking free from some Crystal-like formation, and as it sees Lunala and Solgaleo, who we know as Nebby, it screams in a scary, possibly painful way, and charges at them. As this happens, Satoshi wakes up only to face a cursed sight of Kukui having his coat closed up and wearing a shirt! Kukui isn’t the only one affected: Burnet is also being extra sleepy and is skipping out on morning Ocean trip! And that’s not all: as we learn after the opening, it’s all of the adults in Alola! Even Rocket Gang! (We can scratch any false information of Rocket Gang being teenagers now right?)

Now that I’ve managed to somewhat explain one of the main conflicts of the episode, and the arc, let us move on to explaining the lore bits of the arc that will become important during the arc episodes later on. Since Kukui was supposed to explain about the following information, but was too sleepy and slacky to do it, Kaki is doing the explanation instead! (And I’ll slack of by showing it through screencaps. Maybe Necrozma affecting me as well. I am a young adult after all.)

The Manalo Festival

This is something I couldn’t understand without subtitles, but is definitely an important lore bit for the future of the arc. I find it clever that they sneaked in the years Pokeani has been airing into this lore. Very sneaky Pokeani team, very sneaky.  We also learn that Manalo and Alola are from the ancient language, where Manalo means “You and I will live together”, while Alola means pretty much what we’ve learned the main treat of the region to be: “To Share”. The Legendary Pokemon in question of the festival is none other than The Radiant One (Kagayaki-sama).

And this is where the next lore point comes to play as well. This time explained by Lilie, who’s been hearing the story about Alola’s Creation from Lusamine herself, ever since she was a small kid. And apparently, Lusamine’s repeating a family tradition with it. It’s actually a continuation from the myth we learned from Acerola back in SM074!

The Myth of Alola’s Creation

Pretty neat bed-time story isn’t it! The emissaries of light are of course Lunala and Solgaleo, while the ends of the sky is a way of describing an Ultra Hole. When you start thinking about the very start of the episode, this story starts making a lot of sence, as it seems to be occuring right at that moment. This bit of lore has made me believe that the main goal of this Arc is for Lunala and Solgaleo to help Necrozma regain its lost light after awaking from it’s long slumber.

But as myths always are, the stories tend to get trimmed over time and important parts of it will become lost. I believe the bit that has been lost in the myth is how Necrozma without light is in constant pain (the scream it makes both at the beginning and the end of the episode makes me highly believe this is the case. It sounds painful), and will use any means to get its light back. That includes its ability to fuse with Lunala and Solgaleo, which is what makes it become Ultra Necrozma, The Radiant One. No one who knows the myth of The Radiant One in Alola seems to know about this bit thou, which highly makes me believe the people of Alola will be shocked after they learn the truth.

Whatever the case, Bebenom is shown to be very curious about The Radiant One in this episode, as it’s been in previous cases. And it seems to sense that the arrival of Necrozma is incoming, and whatever is happening in Alola as of now (with Mysterious Clouds hanging over Alola Region and all) is related to it. Maybe the situation has it’s wary because of how similar it feels to when its homeworld was sucked out of light?

The Z-moves lacking power

For some reason, I saw people claiming this wasn’t important at all, but let me tell you, this bit is extremely important bit to the plot! As we know from the games, and as it is confirmed by Burnet later on in the episode as well, Z-moves power originates from the Ultra Aura that is surrounding Alola, and this Ultra Aura originates from the Ultra Wormhole. And, we also learn later on (more about it later in this post), the whole reason Adults seem to be affected this way is because of a tiny Ultra Wormhole that is sucking Alola’s Ultra Aura, diminishing the amount of it bit by bit. So the reason Z-moves are acting less powerful is because of the same cause as Adults being tired and acting weird. I’m telling you, do not shrug this plot point off as nothing! It will play a part later on! It’s the story-telling 101. Show a plot point, explain it later, solve it later. This will most likely play a huge role with Ultranecrozium Z as well. Hoo boy am I scared of seeing that.

During this scene Bebenom also gets inspired to draw Ultra Necrozma’s symbol. But more about that later!

The tiny Ultra Wormhole sucking up Alola’s Ultra Aura

Pretty much what I explained briefly before. But this time explained by Burnet and Wicke! Let me fastforward the episode for more information!

Thou before that, let it be known that Rocket Gang has noticed the opening of the tiny Ultra Wormhole as well, and are heading to Alola, lead by none other than Matori! And as we know, they’re coming to get The Radiant One. Anyway, fastforward to when the Ultra Guardians and Aether Foundation team gather at the Altar of the Sunne:

(Looks like a full day passed since the episode started, meaning the Solar Eclipse is happening in just one day!)

To anyone believing the Adults only being affected by this won’t be explained, please listen to this dialogue! Because they are acknowledging it, I’m very certain we’ll learn the full reason for this later down the road of the arc. Again, story-telling 101: introduce plot point, explore it, find the explanation.

That hole being the tiny one they found out about earlier in the episode (they also explained it to the Ultra Guardians here). When the new member of the Ultra Guardians team, Gladio, asks about an UB possibly coming out of it, Lusamine tells that if the hole grows larger, there’s def a chance for it. To which Burnet continues.

After small comic relief of Wicke being harsh on Sauboh (unintentionally, because of being tired), Sauboh continues from this:

See? The Clouds itself aren’t the cause of the crisis. They are only one of the outcomes of the crisis happening. So, today’s mission is for the Z-users of Ultra Guardians to power up this machine, so that the clouds can be taken out of the way to help locate the tiny Wormhole before anything else happens.

Here’s the bit that explains the Z-Power lore!

So, the Ultra Guardians fire of their Z-moves, and the clouds are taken out of the way.

The Ancient Painting regarding Alola’s Creation Myth

I actually talked about this a week ago after the preview, so I don’t want to go into detail anymore, but what I want to correct is that Solgaleo actually does have it’s face, but it’s drawn in an ancient akward way. Also, as I was being corrected on, there are Trumbeak in this painting.

Bebenom is shown very, very interested in the painting, and definitely knows about the symbol. And this is very well acknowledged by Rotom and Satoshi!

We once again see that curious, lore-loving Lusamine here. Even when she’s tired, she wants to unlock the mysteries of the ancient myth behind Necrozma. And I’m telling you, I’m certain desciphering this painting is part of the arc. Maybe, possibly during the next episode or two, Lusamine will be trying to uncover the mystery of this painting, while the Ultra Guardians will be trying to Protect Lunala. Speaking off which, we have now reached the end of the episode, where the amazing stuff starts!

The Arrival of Necrozma

After Burnet calls the squad to come back up because of the tiny Ultra Wormhole getting bigger, we finally see Lunala in its full glory, arriving from the hole! But what’s more…

(Did I forget to explain why Gladio is here? He’s here because Silvuddy is scared of the presence Necrozma is giving off through the tiny wormhole, and I bet it’ll increase with the arrival of the being! Speaking of which)

Necrozma arrives right behind Lunala, tearing through the Ultra Wormhole, and making that same scream it did at the beginning of the episode.

Everyone’s reactions say a ton about the situation. This is after Necrozma screamed. Lusamine’s reaction somehow feels more curious than worry or scare. I’m sure she’ll realise this is not the time to be curious during next episode. She has learned the lesson back in Aether Arc after all.

And I have to say this right now: this scene right here has by far my favourite track in the whole series of Pokeani now! The Guitar, the atmosphere, the sound, everything about is so god damn glorious and I want the OST of this series so bad now. Sony, you’re the guys licensing the music, pleaaaaase release the OST!

The End of the episode! Honestly, this is a great start for what seems to be growing into an amazing Arc, and I can’t wait to see the next episode! The music in this episode was excellent, the plot reveals and lore explanations were a delight and the return of Gladio and arrival of both Lunala and Necrozma has be extemely hyped! Necrozma Arc, bring it on!

If I forgot to talk about a certain plot point, please point it out. I wrote this as I rewatched the episode, so I should not have missed out on anything, but, I’m a human, and humans make mistakes. (And I was kinda unfocused during this process. God damn.)

Also, Ishizuka was back to narrating this episode, and honestly the death of him is still affecting the way I hear his dialogue in this episode. ;-;

The PokeProblem segment has Mao’s Papa returning from having spend this… whole time (?) at Yareyutan’s bar, to which Yareyutan just… sighs. Oh dear. A good mood lighter after the plot-heavy episode. Not too comical, and not too serious. I like it.

Next week, Matori shows how good of a secretary she is to Sakaki, and the Rocket Gang’s special Unit arrives to Alola to capture Necrozma, who fights with Lunala, as it seems to eventually manage to fuse with it. Looks to be a action-heavy episode, with Bebenom somehow looking scared D: Everyone, protect the poison baby!

SM088 - Lunala VS UB: BLACK! A Battle at Full Moon!!

And as Gozu says at the end of the preview: Watch it, or you’ll suffer That!

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all in the next post!

[adara-of-the-flame]

the-name-is-hoggle

If one could take a picture of the dwarf’s face in that moment, it would not only speak a thousand words of his confusion but a good two thousand. At least for those first few seconds as his mind tried to make sense of what his friend was trying to explain…..in her own round about way.

”…..you come from another realm with multiple suns and moons. It has a floating crystal as well as a physical avatar at the center of it’s existence. During major eclipses of, I’m assuming, all major celestial bodies, weird things happen. Like powerful visitors appearing from seemingly nowhere…..“

He repeats back in a much more concise and simple way, face squinting in concentration.

"I believe I’ve got it. Please continue…”

She was totally a fairy.

adara-of-the-flame

"Well, I was made there, yes. But, I was raised on Earth. That's why I know so many Earth songs." The half-Urru raised a long, explainative finger. "I guess I'm one of those people that have like, dual citizenship or something. Which is really cool."

By now, Mars had propped her chin up on her first pair of folded hands. "So, anyway, a thousand years pass, and the Urskeks do their thing with helping to 'civilize' the people of Thra, which I don't think they needed anyway, but then it becomes time for the Urskeks to go back home..and, something bad happens.

"You see, they'd already lost contact with their homeworld, and they were getting antsy, and I can't imagine how homesick they were, and they just wanted to go home, and nothing, NOTHING could go wrong at the next conjuction or they'd be stuck there. ...And, then Aughra's son, Raunip, who never liked the Urskeks, and thought they were secretly evil, but I think he was just jealous his Mom was giving them so much attention, just had to notice one of them was showing a dark heart in their chest and he started pointing it out to his Mother, and making fun of the Dark Hearted one, and well, the Dark Hearted one was really, really insecure about that, and it was probably why he was exiled on Thra, and this was ALL taking place durring the conjuciton and Dark Heart's pain and insecurity was pretty much poisoining the ritual because he was different and that's a bad thing in Urskek society, and all the other Urskeks got scared they were going to be stuck on Thra for another thousand years, and everything was just going wrong, and they just...split!"

Mars demonstrated by taking two raised fingers together, and separated them quickly. "The Urskeks split into two separate beings! And, they didn't even look like Urskeks! "

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[adara-of-the-flame]

the-name-is-hoggle

To say that Hoggle was caught off guard by the information Mars dropped into his lab, would be an understatement. The sleepy dwarf no longer so as his eyebrows rose so high they actually met his new hairline.

"What?”

It’s all he can say at first, blue eyes blinking rapidly.

“Magic crystals and floating castles? I thought you were a creature from Earth…? Are you actually a fairy…or part fairy…? Or something?”

Of course, Hoggle would have no idea what an alien was. Or even the concept as most would know it. So he’d never guess that-

“Honestly, it explains the musical magic a lot….”

adara-of-the-flame

"No, no, it'd the Crystal that floats. The castle was build on the ground around it, by the Urskeks before they were split in two. But, they're back together, so everything's fine now."

Ever cheerfuly matter-of-fact, Mars's tone hardly relayed the literaly eon-spanning other-wordly tale she had been born into. It was all well-known family history to her. The same as saying, 'So, my great-great-grandparents sailed to the New World at the turn of the century, and set up a little deli downtown.'

She glanced up at Hoggle, her completely confused companion. "Oh, yeah, i'm magic, but not fairy." And, as she said this, a metaphorical lightbulb lit above her head. Now, Mars is by no means stupid; it just takes awhile for her to get her head out of the clouds.

"Well, maybe I should start again: Okay, so there's this planet called, 'Thra', right, and it was all green and good and had Gelfling people and Mother Aughra, which is like Mother Earth, but instead she's Mother Thra, but we call her Grandma Frowney, and she comes by every Christmas and it's great. So, Thra has three suns and three moons, and when they all eclipse each other, things get really weird. So, at the first one Grandma Frowny got to see, eighteen of these light-people that look like mutant Christmas angels called Urskes come out of the Chrystal of Truth, which is this big, cool, floating crystal that is also the lifeforce of Thra. They come through, because their world also has a crystal, and after the eclipse--which they call the 'Conjunction', they have to stay there. Ends up, they were forced to come to Thra as punnesment for heresy, and they can't go back till they've atoned, which I guess means trying to 'civilize' Thra, because the Gelfling were like cavemen back then, and the Urskeks have to wait on Thra and do stuff till they can go home a thousand trine--which I guess is like years--later durring the next Conunction."

Mars's smile was innocent. "You keeping up so far?"

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”