#gelfling x skeksis

[delightfulastariontreat]

Yeah, this scene from the Dark Crystal reminded me of the scene with Ascended Astarion in BG3. Lol

Ascended Astarion x Tav

[scientistservant]

Sassy lost grottan

[wdxghosty]

Loyal Seladon

Era of unification chapter - 1

Remember when I made a dark crystal AU where the gelfling won the garthim war? No!? Me neither, until now that is. I've already made a couple chapters, but I never posted any here so here it is. I think ya'll already know what this chapters about considering the name... let's go.

After the battle of Stone in the woods as everyone was celebrating their victory Seladon slipped away from the crowd of mixed gelfling, she was glad that they won but there was this terrible turning in her stomach… “What if they find out what I said?” Her eye dilates, she feels all the booze she drank coming back up, and her head starts aching. “No. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no.” Her mother and her younger sister are both dead at the hands of the general, she only has brea left, she's all maudra now, and she has no one to depend on. If they all find out that she offered her whole race up as collateral for the lives of her and her sisters what would they do?

She got on her hand and knees and started throwing up everything that went down, the sour taste of half-digested food and beer were engraved in her mouth, she tried to take a breath but the puke just came on coming, and after it was all gone she could just cry. She heard someone screaming her name but she didn’t care she cried until she passed out, she knew that eventually, they would all know and she would truly be without anyone she didn’t want it to happen but she knew it was the truth.

When she woke up she was on an uncomfortable bed, the sheets were rough, the pillows were hard, and the blankets were thin. She was in one of the abandoned stones in the wood houses, the sunlight from the open window burned her eyes as she tried to open them, once she finally sat up straight she was greeted by a tall drenchen man leaning against the bed she was on. He was sleeping… He was, “Gurjin?” She screamed as she jumped back in shock, but that scream had woke up Gurjin along with every other person in the town. “Seladon… Good morning” Gurjin being his old bubbly self greeted Seladon ignoring the fact that she was freaking out. “Wha- What am I doing here? What are YOU doing here?” her screaming didn't stop, Gurjin stood up his dreadlocks fell over his shoulders and back as he towered over Seladon. “Why are you screaming so much? You’re gonna wake everybody up.” Gurjin managed to quiet down Seladon for the moment, but then he asked a question that made Seladon's stomach sink.

“Why did I find you in the woods passed out with puke on the ground?” Seladon instantly remembers everything that happened last night and her pale face instantly flushed, “AaA!? I, uhh.” She scrambles trying to look for a reasonable excuse, “You don’t have to tell me I just wanted to know if everything is alright. Gotta protect the All Maudra, right?” Seladon looks at him with a blank expression, “Yes you're right. I must lead all of Gelfling kind to victory, against the Skeksis empire.” Her voice was monochrome as she said that she looked as if her body was on auto-pilot or her mind was somewhere else. Gurjin was confused by this sudden change but didn’t mention it, “I’ll be off now.” Seladon walks off into the town to look for her sister.

As she walked through the stone in the wood village she saw the way all the gelfling of different clans interacted with each other. The Vapra and Sprinton soldiers all acted as if they were better than everybody else, never referring to the drenchen by their names but by their race. The sifan were staying away from everybody, mainly just doing what they needed to do without interaction. The grotton were avoided like the plague, nobody but the dousan would interact with one. All stone in the wood gelfling that remained were childlings and their caretakers, all the soldiers were either fused with the arathim spitters or drained. And the dousan were tending to everybody's wounds, and nurturing all of the injured, even if the majority of them couldn’t read they did have the best doctors and medicine in all of Thra.

As she looked around the town, she saw nothing but division, Even though the gelfing race had started a new era we were still stuck in the last one. This is what the Skeksies had done to us, we were all one but none of us saw that, and that’s why they’ve remained in power for 2000 trine.

“Seladon!” she heard her name so she looked around to find the source and found her sister, “Brea! I've been looking for you.” They hug each other before Brea drags her off, “the Maudras are having a meeting, but they can’t make any real decisions without you.” Brea led Seladon to what was once where the late Maudra Fara would ten to the needs of her people, all the Maudras were standing in a circle conversing obviously panicked, but when Seladon stepped into the room they all went silent. “All Maudra Seladon.” all at once they bowed to her, and the awkwardness in the room was too much to bear. The first to act was Maudra Maudra, “How are we actually supposed to wage war on the Skeksises? How are-” Maudra Seethi cut her off “Mara! Did you not ask that question at Seladon's coronation?” Seethi is very obviously annoyed.

Maudra Argot spoke up trying to calm the others down “Everybody. Let’s allow our Maudra to speak.” She motions to Seladon inputting her into the conversation, “Uhh…” The anxiety inside of Seladon takes a deep breath and remembers all the meetings she had to sit through with her mother. “I- I officially want to go to war with the Skeksisies. They drain us gelfling for our essence to ensure they don’t die, they’ve been diving us scine the start of the era of divvsion, everythign they’ve ever done is to ensure they maintainpower over us gelfling, but all of that officially ends today.” All of the Maudra look at eachother their faceses amixure of calm, worried, and fear. *Clop!* Maurda Leaside Bangs her cane on the group instantly grabbed the attention of everybody in the room. “Why are we still thinking about this?” She glares at all the ladies in the room.

“It doesn’t matter if we go to war or not, We Will Be Drained.” *Panting* Maudra Mara’s breaks her silence and screams “How are we supposed to go to war with immortal Skeksies? We are nothing compared to the-” Someone put their hand on Maras back and grabs her face, “We are thousands compared to eighteen! Their are over fivethousdand Gelfing of everyrace of thra, not including those of mixed blood. Their are eighteen Skeksies on Thra, we will survive!” The calm and colected Maudra Seethi barred a person for the first time in what feels like forever, “Fara is dead! Our sister has fallen by the hadns of the Skeksies and as you sit here wailing the Skeksies are probably scheming. Pull yourself together Mara!”

As Brae stands their watching the women she looked up to scine the day she was born, panic, and scream at eachother, she realises that this never happened when mother was around. Mother could always keep the maudras in check, none of them doubted her, Maudra Fara even said that she’d follow her into the mouth of the mondoleviaden if it was what she wished for. “Everybody Quiet!” This is the first time she ever seen Seladon genuinely angry, she would always get mad at her but it was more frustration or sadness but never true anger. “Is this how you would all act if my mother was here? Or Maudra Fara? The woman who probably has the most battle knowledge died right before a war stared, and our All Maudra is also dead. The skeksies took out our most reliable leaders and now were all lost, but I urge you all to calm yourselves.” This was the first time brea ever saw her mother in Seladon. She’s always been the perfect heiress, she never talked back to mother, everything about her appearance was perfect, she was well educated, and she was trained since birth in leading our people. So seeing her like this was exzlierating for brea, shocking, but still fun to watch. “We need to prepare for an attack, considering the skeksies have been able to fool us for twothousand trine they’ll probably strike first, but we cant act before we know what were up against. They might try to get the podlings on their side this time around, so we need to focus on defense, and we have to make sure we have enough food and water for everyone.” Maudra Ethri but’s in, “What do you mean by “Everyone”?” Seladon looks at her confused “Everyone is what I mean? I believe it’s best if All gelfling stay together until our threat is defeted, Power in numbers you know.” *Gasp* All of the maudras including brea look at seladon in shock. “What about? Uhh…” Maudra Mara tries to reject her proposal but can’t think of a good reason to, “Where will we all go? Will see stay in certain capitals, or will we completely abandon our towns?” The once calm seethi started to distress, and that made all the other maudra’s worry but Brea offers a answer.

“We can pick the places hardest for skeksis to get to. I bet it would be hard for them to get theri carriages into the caves of grot, the great sog, and the crystal dessert.” All the other maudras look around filled with doubt. “But we need to think of food, and the only place that growns alot of fruit out of those three places is the great sog. unless you’re all fine eating moss everyday, and escaping nurlock attacks?” Maudra Arogot inputs her two sense. “Shouldn’t we think about sami thicket? They have alot of fertile land we can’t just leave it?” Maudra Ethri tried to calm down Mara with her nomonation. “And they have one of the biggest capitals, they’ll be able to hold the most people.” Maudra Leaside is annoyed by all the ruckus. “Ladies! Please stop arguing. We need to think of places the skeksis can’t get to easily, but we can still thrive in… well, we won’t be able to thrive, but we need to be able to survive. We all saw the magic The Emporoe used, what happenes if any settlement is attacked and the grotto girl isn’t with them?”

“What happened to the collector could happen to any number of gelfling.” Seethi cuts off Maudra Leaside and the chaotic room instantly quiets down. Seladon gets up from her chair. “This meeting is adjourned. Brea.” Seladon and her sister leave the throne room and soon all the other Maudra’s soon follow. But Maudra Mara and Maudra Ethri were last in the room but before Ethri could leave the room Mara stops her. “Can we talk."

Seladon and brea walk through the town square, “The second sun is centered, we were seriously in their for that long?” brea comments on the time to try and get a reaction out of Seladon. “Yeah, mothers meeting would rag on for a long time, I would always loose track.” Brea is trying to strike up a conversation with Seladon but it’s ineffective, Seladons mind is somewhere else. Brea spotted a certain dousan boy and sneaks off, and Seladon walks back into the woods.

_______________________________________________________

So I made this chapter awhile back, so it's kinda wonky I tacky hope it didn't bother any of you. And I joke you liked it. <3

[sparklekittydoodles]

Commissions for someone on Instagram!

[snail-studios]

I'd love to hear about your loz x dark crystal au (if you want to)! Is it set in a particular game or a new iteration? What excites you the most about it?

!!!!!! Thank you for asking!!!

Have some doodles first

Being the person that i am im obviously making it focussed on mipha and link >:) not sure if you like them but I hope you'll hear me out o.oU

- mipha is a grottan, meaning she's lived in the caves all of her life and when she goes to the surface she needs to wear a blindfold. Luckily she's befriended by a band of picori who guide her around

- link is from the stonewood clan, meaning he's strong and a good warrior, but taught to respect all living things and never fight if necessary, and he meets Mipha. They quickly become fast friends over their shared goal go defeat the skeksis (idk what their loz equivalent could be)

- being a grottan, miphas eyes are nearly pitch black and her wings are bioluminescent.

- since link is stonewood he's stockier than he is iirc, and has a darker complexion.

I think mipha would be somewhat of a leader amongst the grottans (maybe a princess or the daughter of a leader?) so when other gelflings come down to rally them against the skeksis she's the person who has to go. Turns out the person who was meant to go with her is a bit of a deadbeat tho, so she's left out in the world blind and alone. Until she meets some picori (pretty much the equivalent of hup lol).

I'm most excited about Mipha's wings. I love making her all fae-like and magical!!

Thank you for the ask!! Lmk if you have more questions!

[fiorimaya]

YAYYY!! May I request some Gurjin x reader relationship headcanons? Reader can either be Gelfling or a species of my own oc except inclusive to all readers!

So my species I made, I don't wanna go through the entire backstory cause it's a lot lol BUT some straightforward stuff, they're taller than Gelfling but still shorter than skekSis. They mainly have human features except they have big ol awesome wings!! And they can fly! Men have feathered wings and women have webbed wings.

ANYWAY I always liked the trope of the silly little boyfriend and the badass girlfriend/boyfriend/partner. I just think it would be really funny with Gurjin being the silly little guy lol

Oh my gosh FIRST OF ALL I love love love this species you've created! They sound so awesome! :D Hope you like these!

Gurjin x Reader Headcanons (Requester's Oc Species Reader)

Gurjin is the only one of the group to be in a relationship with someone of your species

He uses it as a playful flex with his friends

He loves it when you lift him a little so you can kiss his lips/face

He also loves your cuddlessss

He always feels safe with you

As far as he could remember, he had never been in mid-air until you flew, holding him, the first time

Ever since then he often begs you to take him flying

"Please please please please please Y/N pleaseeeeee"

How can you say no to that face?

It's also something you automatically do for him if he's upset

It's the one thing you know will always cheer him up

When he gets himself in trouble, you're always the one to get him out of it

That's because you think things through whereas he is the complete opposite (which is usually what gets him in such positions to start with)

He knew if anyone messed with him, they'd be dealt with accordingly as soon as he told you about it

That was past tensed because the word got out after the first couple times you defended him, and now most people know better than to mess with him

You catch him staring at you all the time

"What?" You ask with a smile each time you catch him staring

He always shrugs and smiles back. "You're just so amazing. I'll never know I did to earn someone like you."

[an-indecisive-mess]

SkekZok x Emily Headcanons

SkekZok first met Emily after saving her from facing punishment from the All-Maudra after stealing food to help feed a hungry childling. Posing that Emily was an esteemed guest of the Skeksis. Emily went along with the lie because she didn’t want to get into any more trouble.

When SkekZok first saw Emily, he was completely enchanted by her. Having never seen a human before, SkekZok thought that since Emily had such composure and cared not about the Gelfling around her that she was of some royal status, and wanted to exploit her knowledge to gain better control and power over the empire right under SkekSo’s beak. 

He never expected to fall in love with her as time went on. He never really thought about the possibility of being attracted to Emily and it was a bit of a dilemma at first because he could not stop thinking about her no matter how hard he tried. Even pushing his emotions deep down whenever Emily was around so he wouldn’t ruin both his plans and his newfound friendship with her.

Emily was completely unaware of SkekZok’s feeling for her until after he tried protecting her from an attack by SkekMal.

After SkekZok was severely wounded in the fight that resulted in the loss of his beak, Emily took charge and started attacking SkekMal mercilessly. Which, after seeing the pain she had inflicted upon the Hunter, resulted into SkekZok’s pain kink.

When asked about certain rituals performed on Earth, Emily gladly told SkekZok of all the different rituals that were performed through out Earth’s history. Mostly holiday traditions, the customs done in her Methodist church, and medieval torture practices. The latter SkekZok took a keen interest in.

Emily unknowingly made a big mistake telling SkekZok about how people in medieval times tortured prisoners and criminals.

SkekZok always allowed Emily to assist him with his rituals, even dubbing her with the title Acolyte, because he found her insights most endearing.

When Emily would bathe or groom herself, she’d always sing, and SkekZok would always stand outside her closed door just listening to her voice. Thinking it was the most beautiful voice he’d ever heard.

With this, he was able to convince SkekSo to let Emily be a court singer during special occasions.

Emily tends to ramble when she talks, and while most people or Skeksis were annoyed by this, SkekZok wasn’t. He found the things she talked about to be interesting and humorous. Even if he eventually got annoyed, he always made sure she was being listened to.

They were engaged to be married after being together for five tine.

When Emily was forcefully taken away from Thra after a minor conjunction, SkekZok changed for the worst. He became cold, merciless, and more of what we, the fandom, are familiar with. SkekZok didn’t just lose an acolyte that day, he lost the love of his life. The one person who made him feel like he could be better.

With this, SkekZok dealt with an 800-trine grief in a very unhealthy way. Destroying everything that reminded him of Emily, including killing choir Podlings for singing off-key and not perfect enough like his Acolyte. The only object that survived SkekZok’s grieving rage was Emily’s locket, which SkekSo had managed to keep safe and placed in a monstrance in his study.

NSFW Warning for Below.

Since Skeksis aren’t usually a sex-driven species, SkekZok getting aroused when Emily inflicted pain upon SkekMal was an unusual feeling. He was never aroused by anything before until then, and immediately wanted to do everything he could so he could experience such pleasure from her.

Emily was a little nervous the first time they did it, but when SkekZok made her an oath that he would not force her into anything she was uncomfortable doing, she felt safe and fully trusted SkekZok.

He switched between a gentle and rough lover. Depending on what Emily wanted from him.

Whenever they made plans to do it, Emily would leave a specific colored flower outside of SkekZok’s cathedral to let him know what time of love-making she wanted from him and what he should prepare for.

White = Gentle

Orange = Rough

Red = Make Me Beg for Mercy

They are lucky Emily’s room is the one of the only rooms in the castle with actual doors.

Knife play is involved, and SkekZok loves it when Emily gently traces a knife across his body. Slow enough not to cut the skin, but sharp enough to get a slight twinge of pain. It’s the rare time he likes to be the one being dominated.

Hot candle wax is also involved, but this is only for special occasions because the wax gets everywhere and is a pain to clean out of the bed sheets.

Emily has more of a bondage kink. Letting SkekZok blindfold her and bind her wrists to the bedpost, and just let him commence their own “ritual”. Hearing nothing but soft and silky words coming from his beautiful voice as he completely takes charge.

Aftercare is surprisingly gentle. They pamper the heck out of each other, giving each other small kisses, extra pillows for comfort, and taking turns massaging their muscles and using only the finest creams to make their skins softer. While Emily loves the feel of SkekZok running his hands over her body during massage time, SkekZok loves how he can finally be truly relaxed and trusts Emily with this gentler side of himself.

[gelfling-writer]

Hey! I write little one shots of OCs, here are the rules and a sample submission:

I will do 💚

Light Fluff

Male x Female

OCs

Canon characters

Canon ships

Oc x canon character

Canon character x canon character

Gelfling x gelfing

Platonic fics

I won’t do 💔

NSFW

Gelfling x Skeksis

Malexmale

Femalexfemale

Angst

Sexual content

Incest

Pedophelia

Anything kinky

Example submission:

Hi, I was hoping you could do a short story for me about my oc ____ x Kylan my oc is (short or long description of oc) I’d like it to be about my oc seeing the spritan plains for the first time.

[scientistservant]

Coloured it heheheheheh

[wdxghosty]

I just watched the Godzilla X Kong movie and it reminded me of the dark crystal so much (but only in the beginning

Kong think hes the last of his kind hes not - Jen thinks he's the lady Gelfling he finds kira

The iwa people can read eachothers minds and when they touch hands they can see eachothers memories - Gelfling can dreamfast

The money ate supposed to protect the people but their leader went power hungry and turned on them - the Gelfling thought the Skeksies would protect them but in reality they were using them and eventually killed them.

The monkeys tried to find a way to the surface, cyz they were trapped down there - the Urskeks tried to find a way back to their planet cuz they were trapped on thra

There was a proficy and someone who would return order to the world

Crystal powered their civilization

I'm not being crazy am I?

Oh and in the test watch of the dark crystal tubby originally wanted it to be silent aka no dialog or the skeksis language but it didn't work so they had to change it. In God x Kong, they managed to pull off the no dialog thing... kinda.

[mellice-arts]

Old Watermark and old sketches :D Some Gelfskeks shipart ♥ My Oc Oona x skekTek, also my OC Lys x skekNa and my two OCs Faizah x skekHal ♥ love them - love TDC - love Gelfskek ships qwq

[darkskek]

Fandom Drama

As somone who has 600+ followers i think i should make a statement about the Drama,...

Theme are abuse/toxic relationship in fictional writing and art, you have been warned:

The Drama is: Gelfling x Skeksis

I don’t ship Gelfling and Skeksis. Never seen suitable for me, but i know a bunch of people who do. And that is okay. Because fiction is fiction. 

I know enough folks who ship it, and i have nothing angaist it. You know why? Because THEY KNOW it is a toxic relationship.  And sometimes they alter their characters to a much more nicer self, and that makes it a “good” relationship again. 

I am aware that Toxic and abusiv relationships are something which can trigger people who have experienced those things. And there are people who maybe handle their own Trauma with this. It is all a point of view situation. 

There are enough mainstream media couples who have toxic relationships and don’t get the hate those small artists get. Which is absurd. 

If people like to write, draw or just discuss their Gelfling x skeksis content, let them. They don’t hurt you, you can choose to ignore them, unfollow them or in the worst case block them. Either way, there is no reason to hate on someone who likes to enjoy their fictional stuff. 

Take me as an example: I ship Skeksis, i ship the evil with the evil, does it make a healthy relationship? No.  Does it bother people? Maybe! Do i hate on other because they ship my OTP skeksis with other skeksis? NO!

I support ART! I support Creativity! 

I don’t support REAL LIFE Abuse in any form.

There is enough hate in this world already, why do we need to annoy people out of an already small fandom?

This is not okay. 

[your-super-paper-grandma]

Dumps more doodles and runs

[ben-the-hyena]

9, 25, 27, 40 and 47!

Sorry for the delay !

So keep in mind I may have more than one ship for those but the rule is to pick one so I'll just say one for each !

9. Would be toxic in real life but it fits them in fiction

SkekSil X SkekUng from the Dark Crystal franchise. In the movie, I can't help but see them as very angry bitter exes who still have feelings deep down (SkekSil didn't kill him and SkekUng not only stopped the others who were about to rip him to shreds and accepted him back in the court later) hidden under anger, insults, fights, revenge and humiliation not helped by their common ambition : wanting to become the new Emperor. They regularly fight as much physically as verbally and hatefuck inbetween and feel cheated when one fucks someone else even if they are no longer together, but that doesn't stop them both to move on and to enrage the other. But even when they were together in my HC or even in @dracocheesecake's and mine Native AU in which they are still together, they would angryfuck, backstab each other, argue very often, kill one's enthusiasm and even going as far as hitting. But they are evil bastards, it just FITS them and feels "sexy" and funnt for them y'know

25. Power duo in their profession

Dogamy and Dogaressa from Undertale. A canon married couple ! They are very in love with each other often kissing and being affectionate and if you choose to kill one the other is extremely sangry feeling empty but determined to avenge the other by killing you and being more dangerous than when they were 2, but they still are very professional and not blinded or distracted. They are equally good at their Royal Guards job, don't stray from their mission, form a very good duo attacking in sync with a good strategy to get their enemy, they are not just a couple they are a duo

27. Dumb and dumber

Scratch X Grounder from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. NO They're not brothers, they're not more brothers than the other robots who still get together but nobody say a thing like Breezie and Junior, why is it any different for them ? That said, they're absolute dumbasses who keep bickering because that's all their artificial brains can do, but they do care, have very sus moments that had teenager me go "BRUH" and THEY EVEN MADE A KID TOGETHER

40. Old married couple

SkekGra and UrGoh from The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance. They technically are the same person but when splitting with their own personalities they feel whole together and want to feel even closer by wanting to fuse back. SkekGra fucking became GOOD for UrGoh and his morals which is a huge exploit from a Skeksis who are meant to be the darkest part of UrSkeks, and UrGoh himself isolated himself from the other UrRu because he wanted to be as active as his other half rather than waiting like the others. They also bicker over anything or are annoyed without being too much annoyed, and are old funky men. They have been together smoking weed and playing puppets for centuries in the middle of the desert so I guess it counts as old husbands

47. Soulmates

Jen and Kira from The Dark Crystal. Not only was it fate that they would meet, restore peace and more or less "repopulate" as the 2 last of their kind (even if the sequel comics had them childless with lots of Gelfling popping up from nowhere), they have an instant connection, not just a cliché love at first sight but the first time they see someone of their species, the first time they can be as intimate as dreamfasting, learn from each other, and finally know happiness. True soulmates

[the-experimental-writer]

The palace of Ha’rar was shrouded in complete, sepulchral silence, the constant rambling and political rants amongst the many nobles and elders had ceased as the first brother had begun its descent behind the crystalline and etched windows of the citadel. In the eastern wing of the castle, sitting upon a marble-etched bench, sat a young Spriton, head back down to the ground, allowing his long, ebony hair to fall around, concealing the morose, worried look on his face. He reached out for the Firca around his neck, sliding his fingers down the single new crafted rune upon it, finding a semblance of comfort in its feel.  The marked carvings upon the bone, the golden, dried ink lining the runic patterns;  it was a symbol his love had made for him, a comfort in this dark time.  The sound of steps over the finely polished stone and marble floor echoed through the room, yet the young man did not tear away from his thoughts, too embedded in the texture of the rune to do so.

“Kylan?” a voice uttered gently over him, the Spriton held tightly to the Firca for a moment, as if letting go of it would bring his most dire fear to life, that the banishment of the thought could bring a much darker fate upon him. “Kylan…” the voice said again, just before the Song-Teller felt a hand slowly reaching down to his shoulder. The trembling Spriton slowly lifted his gaze to meet his friends’ faces.  Gurjin’s alert, intense yellow eyes and Rian’s gentle, azure eyes looked at him with matched concern. The well-built Drenchen gave him a calm, gentle smile, yet despite his own efforts the Song-Teller could not return it, the same barren, fretful expression on his face, concealed between the strands of loosened and mussed ebony hair.  “How are you holding up?” the broad-shouldered Gelfling questioned amicably, clearly trying to cheer up his friend. The dark-haired Spriton let out a sigh. There were no words needed to express his feeling, a cruel irony of fate, one that he and his friends could see.  It had been the grief of loss that had made him become a Song-Teller, the need to express through the music of instruments and the stories of old, and yet it had been the same feeling that had rendered him speechless now, mute and unable to even respond to the simple question. He had been as such ever since the pain began a few hours back, when Brea had awakened in the middle of the early-morning, seized by a sharp pain. He had helped her get to the medic wing before being pushed out by Naia and the rest of the attending healers. The rest of the Castle had been awakened by the commotion, all attending and awaiting the moment.

“Kylan, I know what you think, but you know Naia is a capable healer; this isn’t the first birth she has tended to,” Gurjin reminded him, “She’s in the most capable hands…” “She had to attend many refugees during the war,” Rian agreed with a nod, “Honestly, this should be a breeze for her after so much conflict…”

Kylan nodded somberly, trying to take in the words of his friends and swallow away all the dread.  They…they’re right , he thought, trying to reassure himself, reminding himself of the time he had spent at the many camps, accompanying the Drenchen healer to treat the injured refugees, the many times she had been called upon to tend to a birth.  At times he had been forced to help, with the number of healers stretched thin, remembering as Naia talked him through a complicated birth, patiently and calmly navigating the blood, internal fluids, and soothing elixirs while he tried his best not to faint or vomit.  Despite her young age, she had delivered more of them during the entire trine and half that the war had lasted. And yet…she was not infallible, no one was, the war itself had taught them as much, that even beings of supposed great power like the Skeksis and the horrid constructs of flesh and metal their twisted wills had brought to life were not flawless, and so the Gelfling themselves were not, and the young Song-Teller could remember despite her best efforts one of the expecting mothers, a young Stonewood woman, barely reaching her twentieth trine.  She had been too tired and weakened, and no matter how much Naia tried…they had lost her, and the child had died within the healer’s own arms. The feeble, withered, bloody form of the infant had haunted the young Song-Teller’s mind. A sudden, painful scream reverberated within the high, vaulted walls, wrenching Kylan away from his thoughts. Unlike the first time, he did not turn his eyes, not even to look back into the worried faces of his friends.  He did not gasp, he stood in complete, utter, silence, waiting for it to pass, holding onto the native instrument, onto the one semblance of peace and tranquility he carried.  Please…please be safe, my love , was all he could think, slightly turning his head, looking to the closed door by his side, not wishing to imagine the horrors that lay within. My Brea…

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brea let out a sudden sigh as the pain dimmed, the Princess breathing in quick, short breaths, trying to regain air as the stinging feeling ebbed, her throbbing muscles slowly returning to calmness. Her clasped hands slowly let go of the ragged, bloodied unamoth silk underneath, leaving behind a few dented marks of her nails in the fine textile.  She tried to raise her head, the tensed muscles of her neck and even the thin strands of messy hair that fell behind her like a waterfall of tainted silver seeming like a weight of lead, and her elbows struggled to even lift her weakened form.   “I….” she tried to speak through the exhaustion, struggling to pull herself up against the headboard. She didn’t know how long she had been doing this, her mind had been too focused on the slowly growing pain inside of her, on the sensations that had taken over her petite frame. No amount of knowledge within the medical books, no talk with specialized physicians or even soothsayers and shamans of all clans who had come as envoys upon the news that she was with child could have prepared her for what was to come, not even the pain she had lived through her time at war could have prepared her for what was to come. “My lady, here!” a young Vapran nurse said, quickly rushing to her side, helping her sit up against the soft, cotton, unamoth-silk pillows. The Princess breathed deeply, feeling the air uncharacteristically cold, brushing sharply against her nose and her lips as she slumped back, head barely gracing the pillow behind her, one of her hand reaching down to caress the rounded, protruding womb, hard to believe it had only been three months since the midwives and healers had told her she was with child, hard to believe how much she ha changed at that time, her movement becoming to constrained, as if tied down, her own wings unable to lift her weight into the air. She had felt helpless, drained, prone…much like the ancient ceremonial stories had said. “We are almost there, Brea!”, a voice said from the far end of the bed, the young Vapran rose her eyes away from her form to see Naia rising up, she had to force her sight to completely make out her form. “My…my baby…”, the Princess uttered upon her exhaustion, in this state even attempting to articulate words tired her out, it had been an extremely frustrating process, to slowly lose the will and strength to do sometimes even the simplest task, reading by candlelight or creating murals on her journal and helping at the library had turned nearly herculean, and it had only gotten worse over the trine. The amount of activity she had seen during the war had not calmed her enough, the help she had lent in her efforts to rebuild the lost towns and vestiges of their culture had to cease upon the news, while she had been overjoyed to know the effect of seeing her become more and more dependable and unable to perform frustrated her to no end. “I know it hurts…”, the Drenchen healer said, the tone was the kindest she could muster in her voice, her own trine of experience had not prepared her for the task of tending to the pregnancy of her own friend, most of her own patients and charges had women from far villages and towns, none she had known too personally, the love that extended to them the same as was expected from a Maudra, the profundity of what this meant was wounding, to think that the possibility of losing the two or delivering the withered body sent shivers down her spine. “I know it hurts, but we are so close!”, she repeated, stiffing her tone, “You gotta push, your child is almost here!” The Princess took a moment to take in her words, her exhausted mind processing her words slowly, time had lost all meaning the moment she had been taken into labor and the dim sunlight penetrating through the upper, gold and purple stained glass window was barely, the eyelids feeling like weights of lead and the bags beneath her eyes bloated and profound.

Almost there… , the Vapra thought to herself, caressing the prone skin of her exposed stomach, she couldn’t tell if the feeling of the child insane was real or her own mind playing illusions from the long hours of toil, her small hands clasped together, lifting herself up and lying back against the pillows, “Al…alright…” Naia nodded, giving her friend a comforting smile before re-aligning herself in front of Brea’s birth canal, “Now push…we are almost there…” The Vapran nodded, placing her hands at the side and itching herself slightly towards her Drenchen friend. Remaining quiet for a few moments, the Princess took a deep breath, slowly feeling the pain filling again, her lips curling at the sudden contraction of her muscles, it was unbearable, as if she was being rent asunder, her lips parted to let out a scream.

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In the courtyard, Seladon phased back and forth, her elegant, azure robe flowing down, dragging through the thick, snow-covered grounds, her eyes open and unease as they turned to look through the windows that peered into the Citadel and her hands , hidden beneath the long sleeves of the ceremonial dress she had received from the Maudren as a sign of their new unity upon the end of the war and the healing of the heart of Thra trembled intensely. She opened her lips, attempting to let out a sound, but the air rasped against her sore, throbbing throat, causing the young All-Maudra to grasp her throat. She had entered a panic attack mere moments after Brea had gone into labor, the screams of pain reverberating within her mind had awakened the dreadful memories of her mother’s and Tavra’s deaths, both ran through by the wicked blades of the Skeksis before her very eyes, the fear of losing her sister, the last of her family, of her blood was too much to bear, she had already feared what would happen if Brea followed them to Thra…much as it was improper for a leader, Seladon wouldn’t know if she would have the courage to continue walking amongst the living. “You should sit, All-Maudra”, A voice said from the right, causing the Vapran woman to let out a sudden gasp, a plume of smoke escaping her lips before she turned back.

Behind her and a few meters, sitting close to the flowing but cold, small garden river was a sight that would have confused many, a Skeksis, a strange appearance indeed, the Great Conjunction had occurred little more than a trine back, reuniting all the Skeksis who did not fall on the war, with only The Mariner and the Scroll-Keeper being granted amnesty for siding with them in the war, but the former patron of the Sifa had long departed Skarith, too guilty of her failure to the sailor clan, seeking islands beyond, whereas the former court scholar had remained in Ha’rar to run the local library but had been sent on a program to educate the still many illiterate Gelfling and the news would take time to reach him in the borders of the Endless Forest and close to Sog, where a cabal of Vapran scholars and Spriton Songtellers had joined him. The creature itself didn’t resembled the withered and broken reptilian beasts that had taken the heart of Thra, no, this being stood tall and proud, in a way that not even the still elegant and fresh Mariner could not hope emulate from the prime of their youth, when they had been birthed by the Crystal, a muscular, well built form towering like a massive statue above the All-Maudra, clad in what seemed a relatively simple apron of Gelfling design, a few sprinkled of dried oil and charcoal staining it and the naked, four arms showed a collection of crimson and orange feathers. “The healers got it under control, everything is gonna be fine…”, the Skeksis continued,  If a stranger had heard the rich, profound and slightly rasped tone of the voice one would not have been able it was a female, “Besides, your own issues with your back and wings due to overworking haven’t been solved yet…” “And she still refuses to use that wheelchair we designed for her…”, pointed out the Mystic by her side, a long yet bent creature holding into an intricately decorated staff, but unlike many of the wooden canes used by the Mystics she had dealt with, this one was metallic and heavily decorated with sigils. The All-Maudra curled her lips, clenching her fingers as if she wanted to immediately retort but she could not, it had been an entire trine since she had formally taken the position of All-Maudra, being forged, hardened by the former war and the rough politics of the now independent Gelfling, yet the re-establishment of order, creation of a new system of laws and negotiations to avoid infighting, plus the fear of losing her sister had worsened her already frail health overtime, Nothing I can’t handle , she had thought to herself, Mayrin hadn’t allowed for special measures to be taken to help her crippling scoliosis and despite the council the court healers and the Engineers the idea was still hard to come by.

“We agreed I would only use it outside court appearances and only when in extreme cases!”, Seladon finally managed to retort, her voice barely above a whisper but she knew well the Skeksis and her mystic counterpart heard, “Not like I need it here or can use it anyway…”, she muttered. “Still think you can fool us, All-Maudra?”, the lumbering creature questioned with a chuckle, raising a feathered eyebrow, “We know full well how you feel about this, or have you forgotten we have been leaving with the clans longer than any other?”. The young Vapran woman let out a sigh, placing her hands on her head and rubbing her temples, “No…no I did not”, she recognized, suppressing a shudder as another wave of pain shot down her form, the woman hugging her arms around herself. “Trying to suppress the pain with another pain will not help, All-Maudra”, the Mystic insisted, slowly walking over to the woman’s side, deciding against placing a hand over her shoulder, aware of the zones that most ached when she tensed, “You should not be this cruel to yourself…” The All-Maudra nodded weakly, “I…I just don’t wanna lose her, urMyr”, she confessed with a hoarse voice, gently turning, the wings on her back feeling like they were made of pure, carved stone, threatening to drag her into the snow, “She’s all I really got in life…”. skekOr and urMyr shared a glance and nodded somberly, in a way they knew it was not true, the All-Maudra had found love in the arms of the Prince of the Drenchen during the war, finding his humor refreshing, but hearing all she had lost in her family and how much the relation between the two had grown in the war, how much Seladon struggled to protect her, they could only agree with her. “She’s all I have…”, Seladon repeated, holding her chest, her voice breaking slightly and her words barely audible, thoughts of her sister perishing flooding her mind, of her from slowly closing her eyes as They claimed her, like it had claimed all her family before her, “No…”, she said, trying to hold back the memories, tears beginning to slide down her pale cheeks. “All-Maudra…”, skekOr said, noting the sudden shift and sudden distress, “All-Maudra you gotta calm down, the healers said…” “No…”, Seladon interrupted but she hadn’t even heard him, too focused on her thoughts, on the pain of her, “No, no, no, she’s going to die…”, the Vapran noble exclaimed, holding the sides of her head and collapsing on the snow-covered ground, “Brea, Brea, no, no…”, she said. “Seladon, you gotta calm down!”, skekOr said, “She’s gonna be alright, please, remember the diagnosis…” “She’s going to die!”Seladon shouted, clasping her hands and burying her fingers under the platinum strands of her, “She is going to die!”, she yelled, “No, no, no…you can’t leave me, Brea, not after father, not after mother, not after Tavra!”. At the sudden sight, the Skeksis woman couldn’t keep away anymore, she scooped the All-Maudra up and hugged her, careful not to excel much pressure and avoiding the particularly tense shoulders of the woman, where she had read nearly all of her pain concentrated, “Seladon, it’s alright…it’s going to be alright”, she reassured her, the rasped profound voice still filled with tenderness, she held the suddenly silent woman against her chest, the only sound being her muffled cries. “There, there, let it all out”, skekOr continued, reaching out to gently pass her hand along the cascade of silver hair, she had seen the All-Maudra grow during the time they had served together in the war, watching the insecure girl become a true leader, rising above all adversity and standing for her people, still the subject of family was dear to her, she could understand what, losing them all and not being able to truly express how she felt about them her entire life, not able to show her affection as often as she would like wounded her, “Deep breaths…deep breaths…”, she indicated, pulling away the young woman and slowly placing her back on the ground, looking as she let out harsh breaths. “Slowly…”, the Skeksis woman indicated, raising a taloned hand, beckoning her to stop, the Gelfling woman sniffling and stopping to cry, “There you go, take it slow and easy…”, the engineer beckoned, “Slow breath…”. The Gelfling woman inhaled, feeling the cold air brush the insides of her nose, almost cutting painful but she followed, trying to follow the instructions she had been given, “There you go”, the creature said with a smile on her short beak, “Exhale now, slowly…”, she beckoned with a gesture that looked strange from her massive, muscular hand, the Vapran however, followed her instructions, exhaling, “Again…”, she followed almost as she let out, trying to prevent Seladon from shuddering again. After a few deep breathing exercises that felt like an hour to Seladon, the young Vapran noble lowered her head, all the anguish and fear slowly dissipating from her mind but clarity would take a while before fully manifesting in her, leaving her to still worry. “I am sorry, skekOr…”, Seladon apologized, still too hurt, too worried to care about protocol again and still knowing that the woman prefered to be called by her name, “I…I shouldn’t have reacted like that again…I…I lost control”, she admitted with a polite nod of recognition, “It was immature, it was unworthy of the All-Maudra…” “It was a perfectly normal thing, Seladon, no need to apologize…”, the Engineer dismissed with a comforting smile, “You love your sister more than anything in this world and that is enough, your worry is understandable…”, she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean you should hurt yourself”, the Mystic behind added, “You should take care of yourself and trust in the ability of the healers and the strength of your sister, she has always been strong…”, she insisted, gently brushing the Gelfling’s robe on the arm, “Come now, sit…we should order one of the cooks to bring you some relaxing Ta” Seladon nodded, allowing the two halves too escort her to a polished bench, the Skeksis and Mystic brushing the snow with their talons before allowing the woman to sit, her sight losing itself in the single mosaic window that allowed her to into the citadel, hoping her sister would be well.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brea screamed as she pushed once more, her hands clasping the sides of the bed and her wings flapping franatically, feeling every nerve, every muscle contracting and parting, she stopped, letting out brief, choked breaths and swallowing bitterly, her forehead was drenched in a layer of sweat from the sheer efforts, she couldn’t keep it much longer, the pain was just too much for her, “I can’t…I…I can’t…”, she uttered. “Brea, we are almost there, you just gotta push a little bit more!”Naia said at the edge of the bed, raising her head and giving the woman a look, “Come on, you gotta do it, you can’t stop now!” The Princess licked her lips, a bitter, salty taste briefly before trying to mouth something, “I…I can’t…Na-Naia…”, she said through her exhaustion, “It’s…it’s…” “Brea, I can see the head, you are almost there!”, the Drenchen healer interrupted her friend, the voice deviating from the calm, collected attitude she had presented, even in her tired state Brea could notice she was more frantic, “You can’t stop, just a little more and your child will be here but you gotta go on!” At the sudden news the scholar felt a sudden warmness washing over her, a gentle caress, a feeling of renewed strength and purpose on the current situation, My child…our child is here, it has come… , she realized, a part of her feeling strange for doing so, after all the time she had spent educating herself with book in the library and talking with Seladon over her observation of Mayrin while pregnant with Tavra and her and helping raise them that she was giving birth now, that her child was no longer just a concept that she carried but a very real life that had been growing inside her womb and was ready to come into Thra, into their arms. “Brea, please!”, Naia yelled, raising her voice, “No time to stop!” The Princess raised her head, a determined look upon her face as she turned to the Drenchen healer and beginning to push again, the feeling of pain, of her body being rent asunder that was slowly dissipating now rising again, invading every nerve, it was unbearable, a part of herself begging her to simple give in, to abandon, it was too much. No, I can’t give in , Brea told herself, opening her lips to let out another groan of pain, her thoughts being harder to keep in proper order through the feelings invading her, I cannot give in now, our child is almost here and I have to deliver her, have to bring her, she insisted pushing harshly. From the border, Naia’s eyes remained firm on the young Vapra’s bird canal, her hands, protected by thick but soft and flexible Nebrie leather gloves struggling not to tremble in the sudden knowledge of what was to come, the small head of the newborn slowly emerging, a moment later a cry filled the room, almost causing the young but experienced healer to doubt herself, Nearly there , she thought. “Come on, Brea, push!”, she insisted, “Push!”, she commanded, trying to speak over the newborn’s cries. Brea nodded, just when she felt that even with her renewed feel the pain was going to kill her she let out a final push, her lips parting to release a massive squeal of pain that reverberated across the Citadel, the feeling of all her form parting, making way for the new form becoming unbearable, she felt her blood run at an extreme level to her lower half , gushing out down. And then, as soon as it had began, it ended, Brea allowed herself to fall into the pillow as the pain subsides, her lips trembling as she suddenly could hear, interrupted by her own pain, by her own yells, the cries, she slowly tried to rise her head again, feeling her bones aching at the slightest move. “Careful, milady…”, the nurse said, gently helping her rise and placing the pillow in a way she could lie against it, “You have been through a lot, better not to force yourself”, she warned, gently caressing the messy strands of hair. “M-my child…”, Brea stuttered, “Is…is it…” “All is well now, Brea…”, Naia said, slowly approaching her friend, holding a bundle in her arms, a gentle expression on her face, “Your child is fine, everything went well, thank Thra…”, she said with a sigh, reaching down to hand over the newborn to her mother, “It’s a girl…” Brea gently stretched her arms, grabbing the baby wrapped in a blanket, her eyes looking down to see her child, incredulous, the child had a tanned complexion, akin to those of a Spriton, with lightly freckled cheeks and a thin layer of orange hair with a small strand of graying blue. The baby’s eyes opened, they were a deep bronze like her own and she smiled. “She’s…she’s so beautiful…”, Brea uttered in disbelief, gently reaching down and caressing the child’s cheek, a single tear streaming down her face, “So perfect…”, she said before breaking down into tears of joy. “I shall notify the others of the situation”, Naia said with a polite bow before leaving the room, giving the young Vapran nurse by her side a look to accompany her, leaving the Princess alone with her daughter in her arms.

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Kylan and the rest remained silent for the reminder of the time, muffled as Brea’s screams were they were still heard along the long passages of the Citadel, the young Songteller hugged his arms around his form, trying to suppress the feeling of dread and loss, of the pain that his lover must have been going to bring their own child to the world, he was going to be a father, that and the illusion of seeing his love again and forming a family where the only things keeping them at bay, the rest of the group around them could not do much more, their own powers of persuasion and attempts to relieve him of his fear had only done so much. The sudden door opening caused Kylan to snap out of his thoughts, startled at the sudden sound, his head quickly turning to the side and seeing the Drenchen healer emerge, hands behind her back. “Naia…”, the Spriton hurried to say, rising up from his seat and limping, “What happened, is she alright? Please, tell me she is alright!” The young heir to the Drenchen nodded, “She is fine, Kylan”, she declared, placing her arms around his shoulder and patting him, “She is fine and has given birth to a healthy little girl…” The dark thoughts inside his mind seemed to slowly banish at the sudden knews, the tormenting melody inside of his heart replaced with the dawn of peace, of love at the knowledge of his beloved and his daughter being well, the young man immediately threw his arms around his friend. “Thank you, Naia!”he thanked through a sob, “Thank you!” “Hey, just doing my job”, the Drenchen said with a chuckle, “You better come inside and see the two of them…”, she continued before turning to the her brother, “Gurjin, be so kind to fetch Seladon, the Engineer and the Artificer!” “Sure thing!”, her twin said with a nod, “Sure Selly will be pleased to hear of her sister but the two stooges are gonna have a hard time fitting inside again…”, he said with a chuckle. —------------------------------------------------------------- Kylan walked into the healer’s room with a heavy heart and a heavy mind, he wasn’t sure what to think or feel, even with the joy he had experimented upon hearing the good news the idea of being a father, that his own child was here now, his life had taken a strange turn, from being the son of two social outcasts merchants, rejected from their clans for simply loving each other to being one of the heroes of the Resistance and the husband of the young Princess of Ha’rar and helper at the newly formed scholar program, it was hard to process it all now, seeing how much things had changed. He raised his head, seeing Brea lying on the mattress, holding a bundle of blankets in her arms, her face was pale and tired, with heavy bags under her eyes but a wide smile on her face as she looked down at it with loving eyes. “Brea…”, the Spriton uttered, causing the Princess to tear away her gaze from the child and to him. “Kylan!”, she exclaimed, her voice weak but filled with happiness. “How are you feeling?” the young Songteller questioned with a gentle voice, walking to his lover’s side and gently caressed her face The Vapra chuckled before kissing his on the palm, “Tired, more than I have ever been before but happier than ever too…”, she described, holding the little girl close to him, “Come, meet our girl…”, the young scholar said, passing the bundle to Kylan, the Spriton looked down upon the child as she squirmed in his arms, he was mesmerized at the sigh, mouth hanging agape and trembling, as if he was attempting to form words but the situation wouldn’t just let him.

This is our child… he realized, it had been strange to think about the idea of being a father, of being that which he knew so little about, barely having known his own before he was taken from him when he was but a few trine old and yet it was even stranger looking upon their own daughter, their own blood, what it all meant.

“Hello, little one…”, he said shily and gently rocking the baby in his arms, “It’s me your..your…”, he struggled to say, feeling tears beginning to slide down his face and his voice breaking down into sobs

Brea’s eyes widened at the sight of her lover’s sudden reaction, “Kylan…are you ok?”, she asked warily, sliding gently to the side of the mattress.

“She is so beautiful, Brea!”, the Spriton practically wailed, turning back to his lover and leaning down to her side, his eyes and face reddened from his cries, “So beautiful…our little girl”, he uttered, gently caressing the childling’s face with his thumb, careful not harm her, “I…I never thought we would…” “I know, Kylan…”, Brea complimented, gently placing a hand on her lover’s shoulder and massaging it, her own eyes still filled with tears, they had both lost so much, nearly their entire families taken in the bloodied conflict with the former lords, the thought of having a child, of a better tomorrow seemed strange, impossible amidst the despair, even after their victory at the Castle of the Crystal.

He handed over the baby back to her mother as the two gazed upon their newborn girl as she squirmed between their arms, snuggling against her mother’s chest, her small hands grasping for the warm blanket wrapped around her form, as if frightened it could be taken away. “What should we call her?”, Brea suddenly questioned, gently rocking her. “Oh, I thought you would have a name for her”, the Spriton said gently, “You spent so much time looking into the old times with the specific purpose of finding a name…”, he reminded his wife with a sly smile, “Even went to Onica for answers and to see her scrolls on numerology and star reading”. Brea chuckled sheepishly at his reminder of the search they had entailed, while her lover had agreed that they wanted a name to hold a certain meaning for their child they didn’t wanted to make her after some historical figure, something that had suppressed many when revealed but the fact that the royal family had to deal with carrying a questionable name after Mayrin had named her eldest child after her own mother. The young Vapra pondered for a few moments, gazing down over the sleeping baby girl, searching her mind over the many names she had found in the months, “Hmmm, perhaps…”, she began, reaching with one of her hands to click against the side of her face, still pondering, Something that can encompass her without putting pressure…names have power, after all . “Anekka?”Kylan questioned, despite his earlier assertion he wanted to participate, knowing his beloved might have been too tired, “It stands for an ancient warrior bard in Stonewood myth, a companion to Jarra Jen…” Before the Vapran woman could answer, the infant shifted with slight discomfort over, emitting a groan, “Oh…don’t think she likes it…”, she said, as sweetly as she could, Kylan simply shrugging and emitting a chuckle, “How about…Wynne?”, she proposed then, “Name of an old Scroll-Keeper who wrote many of the Crystal Scrolls we used for magic and research”. The crimson-haired girl wiggled inside, an uncomfortable look on her face at the mention of the name. “Hmmm, she didn’t liked that one either…”, Brea said with a weak smile and a chuckle before falling silent and starting to think of more names, gazing down into the face of her daughter, at how her bronze eyes studied her mother with curiosity and then…it came to her. “Ariya…”, she uttered almost as soon as the idea germinated within her mind, sounding softly as she escaped her lips, and in that moment the world seemed to stop around her but the child opened her eyes, “Ariya…”, she uttered again. “Ariya?”, Kylan questioned with slight confusion, “I…I think I heard it once from you but I don’t remember what it means”. “It’s an old Gelfling word…”, the scholar explained with as much passion as she could muster in her weary voice, “It was used for traveling scholars who were also trained as bards in Vapra culture, back before the clan was propelly established”, she explained, “They were inspired by the Spriton songtellers to bring the knowledge in a way the ones who could not read could understand…they were named the Ariya”. At his lover’s explanation Kylan smiled, “That’s a nice name…”, he admitted with a shrug, leaning over the Vapra and placing a kiss on her forehead, “I like it, really exalts the smart she inherited from you”. “Oh, hush now, Kylan”, the Princess said with a chuckle, “She inherited those from you!”, she declared, placing a kiss on his lips and pulling him close. The two lovers remained in embrace together and close to their newborn daughter, holding her close to their chest warmly, not wanting to part for that moment, wishing it would remain forever. —---------------------------------------- “So, that’s the babe then?”, a profound, raspy voice said from the door, wrenching the two new parents from the moment, their eyes opening and the child in their arms turning as best as her mother’s gentle but firm grip allowed her to see the massive form of skekOr and urMyr struggling to enter the room, “Just…just a minute!”, the creature said in a loud and growling voice, “Can never fit here!” “Remember to pull yourself against the sides!”, the Mystic behind him said, “And hurry up, others are waiting to see her and you’re taking up all the view…literally”. The Skeksis growled, reaching out to the sides and clasping the finely sculpted marble wall, “Alright…like something struck between two engrained or cogs…”, she reminded herself of the process they had devised to get through the less-than-ideally sized Gelfling doors. “urMyr, I’m gonna need you to push from behind!”, the Skeksis woman ordered, “Same for you, Seladon, Gurjin and Rian…”, she said, the muttering behind letting her know they were less than thrilled with needing to do so. “Oh, come now!”, the Engineer said with exasperated sarcasm, “Next time I won’t attempt to come in first…I am sorry…”, she added, scratching the back of her head and rustling the large, black and orange feathers, “Help me out and push!”, the Skeksis then ordered, clapsing the sides tightly and comenzing to push. She felt the many hands on her back, pressing against her muscular form and pushing forwards, both the small Gelfling ones, and the ones of her Mystic other, gnarled as if they were more stronger than ever her own, the natural strength of her Urru heritage. “Come on…almost there!”, she said, clenching her teeth and feeling the short and sharp ends of her beak gnashing together, slowly feeling the sides of her body sliding out of the cramped passage into the room. In a moment, there was a loud groan as the Skeksis was pushed inside, her entire body trying to balance out and waving her four, thick as beams of steel arms before she reached to clasp for a table and tripped to the ground. “Oh, dear Thra!”, the voice of urMyr said from the entrance, the Mystic quickly entering to help out her other half, her blunt teeth clenching at the feeling of the cold groan struck the Skeksis, “skekOr, you ok?”, she questioned. The feathered creature lifted an arm and raised her taloned and curved thumb before mumbling something. The azure colored Artificer huffed, a mixture of relief and annoyance, “She’s alright!” “What I don’t understand is why don`t you, girls, just invent some sort of shrinking device or look for a spell?”, Gurjin posed, shrugging his shoulders and walking into the room. “I’ve told, Prince of the Sog…”, urMyr said, crossing her arms, “Magic and inventions don’t work like that and we are still developing that rod of concentrated Crystal Magic to carve out larger doors…” “Yep…gotta focus the beams into a more focused one…”, the Skeksis said, rising from the ground and dusting off her armor encrusted and oily robes. The couple couldn’t help but chuckle at the moment happening before their eyes, the Vapran woman in bed taking one of her hands to mask her smile. “Brea…”, Seladon finally said, causing the young Princess to turn to the entrance, her sister slowly walking to her side, her pale-golden skin reddened and her eyes hugged by thick, bloodshot veins, “You…you are alright”, the All-Maudra uttered, approaching the bed. “I…I thought I was gonna lose you…”, the older Vapran confessed, almost feeling herself about to break into tears once more, “Like mother…like Tavra”. “Seladon, I am well…”, Brea reassured her with a smile, “I wasn’t gonna abandon you or Kylan…”, she said, slowly raising the childling, “Come, come meet your niece…” As the eldest sister approached she slowly took in the look of the girl, her tan skin and red hair, the small, almost unnoticeable freckled that lined her cheeks and upper nose, her jaw dropped down at the recognition, “Oh, Brea…”, she said as tears began falling down from her cheeks, she gently reached down to grab the childling. “She…she looks so much like father!”, she said, unable to contain the feeling that the awakened memories stirred within her, the thoughts of her long forgotten father being too much for her, “I…I…” “It’s alright, Seladon…”, Brea said, slowly incorporating and embracing her sister, “I miss him too…” “He would be so happy to see her grandchild…”, Seladon moaned, “It’s…it’s just sad that neither he or mother are here…” Kylan, who had managed to overhear the conversation lowered his head in slight pain, “Yes…I too wish my parents could have been here to see us”, he pondered, much as he loved his adoptive mother, Mera, there was always a longing for what could have been, “But you are here, Seladon and this childling will grow to meet you…” Seladon nodded, gently handing the child back to Brea. “Well, well, let us see the little one…”, skekOr said, her entire form towering above the bed, shadowing the three Gelfling, “Hmmm, red hair…like your father, you said?” “Kinda…”, Brea admitted with a shrug, “Father wasn’t completely red-haired, he had Spriton and Stonewood ancestry and his hair was dark…there is no precise way to understand how the pure Sifa gene manifests yet, given the high concentration of mixed-blood individuals in the clan”. At this the Skeksis raised her eyebrow with, “Interesting…skekSa never told me how that one worked…”, she said with slight confusion, “The way Gelfling adapt is a fascinating process and yet one I can’t fully understand”. “Whoah, Engineer, I hope you’re not expecting to do any experiments to find out”, Gurjin chuckled, gently punching the woman on the shoulder. At the suggestion, the feathered creature smirked, her glistening, sharp teeth showing threateningly, “Maybe I will…care to help me out?” “Uh…”, Gurjin said, turning his eyes to the side with discomfort, “Uh…no thanks!” “Thought so…”. skekOr chuckled, winking an eye. A sudden cough interrupted the moment, the entire group turned to see Naia and the Vapra healer behind them, a stern look on her face, “I am sorry to interrupt the moment but the patient needs time to rest…so everyone except Kylan, out!”, she ordered, not afraid to even bark orders and instructions to the All-Maudra and the Skeksis and Mystic pair, they might have had authority over her but in Sog and in the medical wing they all answered to her. As the room was emptied, Brea and Kylan remained together, both looking with love upon their child, the one being they loved most.

[tokenmenagerie]

My first ever enamel pins. 😭 Pre-orders are now live (shipping out end of July-early August)!