On his deathbed, the aged leader of the
Mystics thought it time to reveal to young Jen what his true destiny entailed.
While
the last Gelfling sat earnestly at his master's side, the dying mystic used a cauldron of enchanted water to show Jen the vision of a curious object; a
shard.
It was a small sliver that had been broken off from
The Dark Crystal when it was furiously shattered so many years ago.
The Crystal had been smashed in an act of fleeting anger and carelessness by a misguided member of the ungrateful and spoiling race that had occupied the land long ago.
According to ancient prophecy, in order to restore balance to the world and once again unite the last few of the evil
Skeksis and the gentle Mystics into the single,
enlightened race they once were, that missing shard would have to be returned to The Dark Crystal at the precise moment when the three suns aligned.
The prophecy further stated that it would be a Gelfling who would replace the crystal shard.
The Skeksis, blinded by the hateful and evil tendencies they were made to embody, wished to prevent this restoration from occuring. In a bloody rampage, they killed every member of the Gelfling race to avoid the prophecy's truths.
Unbeknownst to the Skeksis, the baby gelfling Jen was rescued and raised by the Mystics; kept safe until the time his quest was destined to begin.
Jen grew cared for but alone, unaware of this task he was destined to complete, never knowing of
The Dark Crystal, its powers, and this ever-important shard that held the fate of his world.
The timid and naive Gelfling buried his dead master and began his great quest for the shard.
He only had a few days to reach the crystal by the time the three suns aligned.
Jen was alone and afraid but
empowered with his newfound direction and the knowledge that his life had a greater meaning.
As Jen looked out over the countryside, a wave of bravery washed over him.
He said aloud to no one in particular, 'alright...alone then,' unable to imagine the adventures,
temptations, unthinkable creatures of
good and evil, or the great destined love he would soon encounter.
Soon, Jen would be
racing against time, against his enemies, against his own disbelief in the power of
The Dark Crystal; testing his own image of self-worth and renewing his
concept of family and
affiliation. He boldy set out over the mysterious and extremely
Jim Henson-esque terrain to search for the crystal shard; nothing was known of its whereabouts other than that he should seek a person named
Auhgra...
'And so begins a quest....The Quest of Jen.'