#skekna

[anchasvtt]

The Castle of the Crystal? More like the Castle of Gossip!

Lineart by me, colors by Kylestor

[benjimatorarts]

Note: This does take place right at the beginning of the Gelfling rebellion and before the Garthim Wars. These three only recently learned about the uprising and are still unaware of the deaths in the skeksis' circle.

Wow, this comic has been sitting on my laptop since 2020, but I want it to see the light of day despite being unfinished. I have one more unfinished comic that hasn't been touched in years. I might touch it up a bit before posting.

[doodlepoodle69]

Reblog to beat them all up (or only some, you can be selective)

[zurelazuli]

SkekNa's sprites are now complete, here's a few of them. Out of all the Skeksis to appear in the game, he is the charactest you LEAST want to see smiling; it probably means an game over state is near.

Small thing I want to mention now: not all of the Skeksis will be major characters. We will be including 12-14 of them, all of which you will be able to interact with, but only 5 will have game routes. SkekNa is not a major Skeksis, but his opinion of you will influence the others, and vice versa.

Also, we're probably not going to manage the original plan to release the preview for the first part of the game this month. I am going to tentatively suggest it will be late October now.

[locksnek]

Thinking about skeksis quadrupedality.

[slimydeepone]

hehehe new profil pic :D

[onedismay]

Why do the worst men have the best designs

[themosthairiestlobsterintheworld]

existential doubt... what would Skeksis's reaction be to the death of his partner?

Honestly despite them being deeply saddened of their partner passing for whatever reason, my only thoughts is how busy is skekzok gonna be preparing their most extravagant funeral

[monsterforge]

SkekTek XL Art Doll

[an-indecisive-mess]

SkekOm's Relationships with the Other Skeksis

When it comes to being raised by the Lords of the Crystal, SkekOm had developed specific relationships with each of the other Skeksis lords. These relationships are strictly familial. Anyone who thinks otherwise is disgusting.

SkekOm looked up to SkekSo. All she ever wanted to do from a young age was prove herself worthy to him in hopes that he would see her as a member of the court. And while she never really understood why he valued life and fears death, she still respected the Emperor and wanted to make him proud.

SkekZok, obviously, was the one who raised SkekOm, and the Artisan sees him as her father while the Ritual Master sees her as his daughter (though he refuses to show it to obtain his regal composure)

SkekVar was the one who taught the Artisan how to fight, but there were times when he felt like another father to her.

SkekOk was her teacher. He taught her how to read, write, and all about Thra's history. However, SkekOm saw both him and SkekLach as her grandparents.

SkekEkt and SkekAyuk acted like uncles to her. Whenever her father would be too busy, he'd let the Gourmand and Ornamentalist look after her. SkekAyuk taught SkekOm how to cook and SkekEkt would make dresses and share gossip with her. When she was young, SkekOm absolutely loved hearing about how the Gourmand and Ornamentalist met and fell in love.

SkekTek was SkekOm's closest friend. And would make sure he was looked after if he was kept up in his lab for a long period of time. Sneaking him some food, making sure he was getting sleep, and offering assistance when he needed it. SkekTek even taught her about Thra's biology (in a way that didn't require eviscerating animals).

SkekOm absolutely HATES SkekSil. Whenever they’re in the same room, the Chamberlain would remind her that she doesn't belong in the Castle of the Crystal or Thra and doesn't deserve to be a Lord of the Crystal since she wasn't born a Skeksis. The Artisan woud retaliate by throwing insults and give snarky comments to the Chamberlain, ensuring their hatred for each other. In fact, she once bit SkekSil's hand at the dinner table just because she was forced to sit next to him. Which was why she had to move to sit next to SkekOk.

SkekOm once looked up to SkekUng. She respected his tactics as Spy-Master (which was his title before Garthim Master in my headcanon), and loved hearing stories about his glory days as a fighter. But that respect was short-lived the day he bested her in Trial by Stone and got her banished from the castle for a short time.

SkekOm's relationship with SkekShod is a bitter jealous rivalry to the Treasurer. He believes that his ability to get SkekZok into buying his loyalty is more useful than a false Skeksis being loyal to the Ritual Master. And when he found out that SkekOm was to be SkekZok's second-in-command if he were to be Emperor, SkekShod was not happy to say the least. SkekOm, remained unaware of this and just saw the Treasurer as someone who did not want to be confronted after and kept her distance in order to make him feel comfortable.

Whenever SkekNa would make visitations to the Castle of the Crystal, SkekOm was strictly told to keep a safe distance from him. The former Sawyer (which was his former title in my headcanon) turned Slave-Master was known for his dislike of small creatures he deemed worthless and how he'd kill them on the spot if they failed even the simplest task from him. A little human girl was no exception to this. But over time, and after she was turned into a Skeksis, SkekNa saw her as a useful warrior. That is, after she earned her status back after getting bested by his mate in Trial by Stone.

SkekOm and SkekSa had almost like an aunt and niece bond with each other, and when the Artisan was younger, she always loved hearing about the Mariner’s adventures on the seas of Thra and wanted to join her on an expedition when she was old enough. The Artisan never had the opportunity to go on any expedition, unfortunately.

SkekMal was SkekOm's hunting master. When she was 13, the Hunter was tasked to train the girl how to track and hunt. He made her a challenge that if she were to complete said challenge, he'd let her return to the Castle unharmed. Fail the challenge, and his prize would've been one of her arms. The Artisan obviously succeeded, but she remained fearful of the Hunter ever since.

SkekOm barely remembers SkekLi. He only showed up to the castle for her christening, and she can remember the Satirist being there because of his voice and the way it sounded when he teased SkekZok. SkekLi never saw any reason to return to the castle after that day.

She never met SkekGra, but has heard from SkekUng about his days as the former Conqueror and how he used to be a fearless and ruthless warrior before he became the Heretic. SkekOm often wondered about what happened to him after he was exiled from the castle.

She never met SkekHak or SkekYi, (since they died 1000 trine before she wasa born) only hearing about them in stories from SkekZok and SkekOk about how they essentially solidified the Skeksis religion.

[loveforskekshod]

[ben-the-hyena]

Skektember 10 : the one they care for

And we finish this short yet long journey with the one prompt I instantly knew I would draw as soon as I read it. SkekNa the Slave Master and the only person on whole Thra he has a genuine affection, the paternal kind, SkekEi the Chatelaine. Picked from the streets of the Skeksis capital as a preteen orphan by some servants, she was brought to the scary Slave Master who was looking for a trainee/assistant for his tortures and emprisonment. It first started with quite... hostility hil not being tender at all on that street rat and she once fear passed resenting his guts for always be so demanding and loud, but little by little a connection formed, the same as Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins little by little. They brought the best out each other, she who always needed parents and he who was used to live alone as the feared and cruel Slave Master and had grown to like that but realizing he needed tenderness too, both of them realizing they were feeling alone all along, they needes each other. With now another goal in his life other than his job, Na adopted her as his daughter officially later, hid from her they enslaved UrSkeks too (who, in the Natives AU, are Skeksis and UrRu hybrids seen as nature mistakes that deserve no right, but he knows that the fact they are half Skeksis would tick her off) for trines, made her a courtirr threatening anyone with his hook and torture device anyone lacking respect to his daughter and calling her what he used to call her, and she loving her dad and not minding the nature of his job she assisted him with after all (Skeksis superiority propaganda does that even to kids) although calling him by his name and sometimes thinking he can be extreme. Nowadays as an adult, he got her a post as the Chatelaine of the castle, she has a mate and he is a grandfather. And they are as close as ever

I thank you all for having followed that journey and having been patient enough for me to release them all at last ! Hoping I will finally break free from that block... hopefully for Drawtober too

[punkcalf-art]

skekna and the podling choir shaker charm

[locksnek]

It's that time again, jeyepatch time

[punk-calf-art]

Shaker charms are neat