If you're having trouble keeping your Gelflings separate from your Skeksis, you're not alone. The universe of Jim Henson and Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is a lot to keep track of. There is a well-developed history, lore, world, and backstory that the 10-episode Netflix series draws from.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance follows three Gelfling, Rian (Taron Egerton), Brea (Anya Taylor, Joy), and Deet (Nathalie Emmanuel) as they attempt to save their world, Thra, from the Skeksis abuse of the power of the Crystal to stay young forever. Unless they prove what is going on behind closed doors and get the Crystal out of the hands of the Skeksis, their world will forever change as they know it. If all of that sounds confusing, worry not! We've put together a guide of all the Dark Crystal creatures, terms, and references you'll need to know to follow the complex saga. You may want to keep this handy.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Dark Crystal Creature Names
Arathim: A spider-like creature nicknamed "spitters" that are one of the many things the Gelfling guard the Castle of the Crystal against.
Aughra: A wise and mysterious, almost diety-like, representative for the Crystal and Thra. They are all connected. Aughra, whose species is never made known, acts as the eyes, ears, and voice of Thra and the Crystal.
Garthim: The Skeksis' private militia powered by the Dark Crystal to do their bidding.
Gelfling: One of the species in Thra and the species of many of the main characters in the series. Female Gelflings have wings and male Gelflings do not. The Gelfling are made up of seven clans: the Dousan clan, the Drenchen clan, the Grottan clan, the Sifa clan, the Spriton clan, the Stonewood clan, and the Vapra clan.
Landstrider: Large, gentle creatures from the world of Thra that are recognizable by their tall, spindly legs. In the Dark Crystal, Gelflings can be seen riding them like horses.
Podling/Pod People: Small, potato-like creatures who enjoy to live simple lives gardening, singing songs, and playing in the dirt.
Skeksis: The reptilian-birdlike creatures and villains of the series that rule over Thra as they try to live forever by any means possible. They are the self-proclaimed Lords of the Dark Crystal.
urRu: Mystics in the eyes of the Gelfling, the urRu are very elusive. They are the good half of the urSkeks after they were split in two by the Crystal.
urSkeks: A non-native species to Thra, some of the urSkeks attempted and failed to use the Crystal to cleanse themselves of their darker side. Instead, the urSkeks were split into two species: the urRu and the Skesis which represent their good and evil sides, respectively.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Dark Crystal Locations
Castle of the Crystal: This is where the Skesis live and house the Crystal. It's guarded by Gelflings and acts as the center or capital of Thra.
Observatory: Aughra's home and where she conducts scientific inquiries. It was created by the urSkeks and is also known as the Dome of Aughra.
Thra: The world in which The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance exists. It is connected to the Crystal and to Aughra and cannot stay in perfect balance if the Crystal is not in perfect balance as well.
The Crystals From The Dark Crystal
The Crystal Shard: A fragment of the Crystal of Truth/Dark Crystal that broke off after the Skeksis cracked it. In the 1982 original film, this shard is what must be returned to the Crystal of Truth in order to restore balance to Thra.
The Crystal of Truth: A large white crystal discovered by the urSkeks when they first came to Thra. It acts as an energy source and keeps the world in balance.
The Dark Crystal: It's the same crystal as the Crystal of Truth but only after it has been corrupted by the Skeksis when it changed to a deep purple.
Dark Crystal Lore
Dreamfasting: The act of sharing memories through physical contact. Only Gelflings and Aughra can dreamfast.
Thrine: A unit with which the world of Thra measures time. It is their equivalent of a year, though they never explain how long one thrine is in Earth years.
Unum: Another unit with which the world of Thra measures time. It is equivalent to one month.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT