Daily Dialogue — June 30, 2012

urSu: Gelfling, I have told you of the Skeksis…
Jen: The Skeksis killed my mother and father…
urSu: The story runs deeper than you know… and you are part of it.
Jen: I don’t understand.
urSu: The Skeksis will vow to destroy you. For the prophecy says, you must find the shard… the crystal shard…
[image of shard appears out of the reflecting pool]
Jen: the crystal shard?
urSu: …To save our world, Gelfling, you must find the shard… before the three suns meet… If not, Skeksis rule forever.
Jen: Where is it?
urSu: Aughra holds the shard. Follow the greater sun for a day to the home of Aughra. There, she knows all the secrets.
[gnarled image appears out of the reflecting pool]
Jen: Aughra…Follow the greater sun… But master, I’m only a Gelfling.
urSu: I should have told you these things long ago, now it is up to you. Remember me Jen… We may meet in another life… but, not again in this one.

— urSu (Simon Williamson), Jen (Jm Henson), The Dark Crystal (1982), screenplay by David Odell, story by Jim Henson

Trivia: Early drafts of the script featured Jen and Kira traveling through the underworld where they encountered a race of underground mining creatures. This concept was later integrated by Jim Henson into Fraggle Rock and served as the partial basis for the story of The Power of the Dark Crystal.

Dialogue On Dialogue: So often, the Herald’s Call conveys a sense that the character to whom the challenge is delivered is a somehow special, tied to a larger Destiny. This is especially true in fantasy stories.