Characters and races of The Dark Crystal

The characters from the 1982 cult fantasy film The Dark Crystal series were created by puppeteer Jim Henson and concept artist Brian Froud. Most of the information about specific characters and species names that were not mentioned in the film come from supplementary materials such as Froud's book The World of the Dark Crystal. The series expanded into books, comics, artwork, games, and the 2019 prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
The Gelfling are the central protagonists of The Dark Crystal franchise. They are slender, elvish humanoids with protracted facial structures who originally populated most of Thra, having three long fingers and a thumb on each hand. Female Gelfling have fairy-like wings that can be folded to fit easily under their clothing, allowing them to safely glide down from high places, even with the added weight of a second Gelfling holding onto them. The Marvel Comics adaptation of the film states that in the past, females could fly, but the wings have become vestigial. Gelfling also possess an ability called "dreamfasting" that allows them to psychically share thoughts, memories, and emotions through touch. The name "Gelfling" is a transliteration of Ghel-lflainnk, which means "those who live without knowledge of the future". This is due to their innocence and naïvety.
The Gelfling once had a flourishing civilization with a writing system similar to hieroglyphics, having relied on Aughra during the Age of Innocence before the urSkeks' arrival, which hastened their development while they venerated the aliens for their advancement. Initially, the Gelfling coexisted with the Skeksis before learning of their malevolent actions in using the Dark Crystal to drain the surrounding lands of their life essence to prolong their lives while using the extracted essence of their enslaved kinsmen for rejuvenation purposes.
This started the events of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, which reveals that the Gelfling were organized as seven matriarchal clans who made their homes in areas of Thra consisting of the Stonewood Clan, the Spriton Clan, the Vapra Clan, the Grottan Clan, the Drenchen Clan, the Sifa Clan, and the Dousan Clan. Each of the Gelfling Clans is led by a leader called a "Maudra" and the ruler of all the clans is named "All-Maudra". Eventually, the Gelfling learned that one among them was destined to find the Shard and restore the Crystal to its natural state alongside the urSkeks during an upcoming Great Conjunction. When the Skeksis learned of this, they attempted using fabrications to deter the Gelfling before resorting to genocide with the newly created Garthim. By time of the events of the first film, only Jen and Kira had survived one such massacre as the former seeks to fulfill the prophecy. At the end of the first film, the two are entrusted with the Crystal by the urSkeks.
In the original film, it required four puppeteers to operate the Gelfling. In The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, the Gelfling puppets require only two puppeteers thus permitting greater freedom of movement. Also, while the animatronic components of the original film's Gelfling puppets were controlled via cables, the mechanical parts of the new Gelfling were remotely operated via a modified Wii controller.
Jen is a young male Gelfling and the protagonist of the film, having been raised by the urRu Master urSu from infancy when his family was slaughtered by the Garthim. His upbringing by the lax urRu made him both deliberate and impatient. Jen wears a pale, cream-colored tunic. His skin has a brown complexion and his hair is dark with fair (almost silver) streaks, and grows to shoulder-length. He carries a flute around his neck, which he is shown playing at intervals, and an urRu token known as a firca.
His creature and costume design were provided by Brian Froud and his designer and fabrication supervisor was Wendy Midener.
Having escaped the slaughter of her people when hidden by her mother in a hollow tree trunk, Kira ended up wandering into a Podling village and was adopted by them. Taught by the Podlings, Kira learned to converse with wild animals and is given to wandering the swamps outside the Podling village, accompanied by Fizzgig. She is soft-spoken and gentle as a rule. Kira wears a golden-brown dress and a brown cloak. She has a fair complexion; her hair is long and fair, almost white; and she is always barefoot. As a female Gelfling, Kira has segmented fairy or butterfly-like wings that unfold from her shoulders on command: a physical feature not shared by male Gelflings. Although not shown in flight, she is twice seen using these wings to slow a fall.
Kira was designed by Wendy Froud (Nee Midener) and her design and fabrication supervisor was also Wendy Midener.
The Vapra Clan are a Gelfling clan that reside in the city of Ha'rar within the snowy high mountains and appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, having ruled the other Gelfling tribes for ages. They are experts on camouflage. Among the known members are:
The Stonewood clan are a Gelfling clan that reside in the village of Stone-in-the-Wood within the Dark Wood and appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. They are strong and proud and most of them are employed as Crystal Guards at the Castle of the Crystal. The Stonewood Clan are also expert cobblers and farmers. Originally they were called the Woodland Clan or Woodland Folk. Among the known members are:
The Grottan Clan, named after the Caves of Grot, are a secretive Gelfling clan that reside in the Cave of Obscurity, their tribe long thought to be extinct due to their isolation from most of Thra. The Grottan Clan have large ears and big eyes to help them move around in the dark, but are sensitive to sunlight causing them to wear special blindfolds to filter the light. They appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Among the known members are:
The Drenchen Clan are an amphibious Gelfling Clan that live in the Swamps of Sog. They appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance where their town of Great Smerth is named after the enormous tree that is in the center. The Drenchen Clan have gills that enable them to survive underwater and the females use their wings like fish fins to swim. They are also powerful in combat and take pride in it. The Skeksis could not keep track of the Drenchen Clan's location in their consensus. Among the known members are:
The Sifa Clan are a sea-faring Gelfling Clan that appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. They reside in coastal villages along the Silver Sea where they work as fishermen and sailors. Among the known members are:
The Dousan Clan are an elusive Gelfling Clan that reside on the Crystal Sea desert. They appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. The Dousan Clan navigate the sands of the Crystal Sea by riding Crystal Skimmers, gather at an oasis in the Crystal Sea called the Wellspring, and hold ancient rituals that involve music. Dousan shamans are known to eat hallucinogenic berries in order to glimpse into the future and talk to Thra. Among the known members are:
The Spriton Clan are a war-like Gelfling clan that appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. They are a farming community that live on the southern plains of Thra and are a rival of the Stonewood Clan. The Spriton Clan reside in Sami Thicket, but mostly are in other parts of Thra trading items with its other inhabitants. Agriculture and creature husbandry are also part of their lives. Among the known members are:
Described as "a friendly monster" in the initial draft of the screenplay, the character of Fizzgig is the pet of Kira: resembling a dog in voice and manners, but unlike a dog in that his facial features are tiny and his entire body is represented by a brown/red/gray ball of fur. Fizzgig moves by rolling, though he does appear to have at least two legs. His mouth, when open, appears to encompass most of his size and possesses two sets of sharp teeth. He is fiercely loyal to Kira, has an aggressive temper, and is wary of unfamiliar things. Fizzgig is at first wary of Jen, but becomes his friend.
Fizzgig later made a cameo in the Fraggle Rock episode "Gobo's Discovery", as one of the background cave creatures.
Fizzgig was designed by Brian Froud and his design and fabrication supervisor was Rollie Krewson.
In relating media and prequels, Fizzgig is the name of the species as well. Fizzgig is the only major character represented in the film by a puppet with immobile eyes. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance featured a named Fizzgig.
Aughra, Keeper of Secrets and revered by the Gelflings as Mother Aughra, is an oracle who is actually an emanation of the planet Thra created long ago with the task of observing for the planet until she is reabsorbed back into it, having the ability to command plants and remove her eyes for an extended view of her surroundings. Aughra served in guiding the early Gelflings before the first Great Conjunction. While intersexed, Aughra is mostly female as her masculine side was burned along with her right eye as the result of directly witnessing the Great Conjunction up close. But she was saved from death by the urSkeks with their member TekTih teaching her of the inner workings of the universe while creating her observatory home on top of a mountain known as High Hill, Aughra providing information on Thra in return. Present at the second Great Conjunction that splintered the urSkeks, Aughra attempted to calm down the nascent Skeksis before they cracked the Crystal of Truth and tricked her into entering a deep slumber to see the universe before she reawakens during the events of Age of Resistance. Upon learning what the Skeksis have done, Aughra regrets leaving Thra to them as she allies herself with the Gelflings during their rebellion. In the aftermath of the Garthim War, Aughra keeps the Shard safe in her observatory until Jen arrived to obtain it, but the Garthim destroy Aughra's home while attempting to capture Jen, bringing her to the Castle where she rebukes the Skeksis before being locked away in skekTek's Chamber of Life until she is freed and witnesses the urSkeks' restoration. Aughra makes a return appearance in the comic book sequel to The Dark Crystal, titled The Power of the Dark Crystal.
In the film, Aughra is portrayed primarily by Frank Oz in costume. Oz also voiced Aughra originally (similar to a combination of Fozzie Bear, Yoda, and Miss Piggy); but her lines were redubbed by Billie Whitelaw.
Aughra appears in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. She awakens from her journey to find that the Skeksis have corrupted Thra. She gave up her life essence to help the Skeksis heal skekMal. When urVa jumps to his death, skekMal dies and Aughra is reconstituted.
Her designer was Brian Froud and her design and fabrication supervisor was Lyle Conway. The fabrication team for Aughra included: David Barclay, Jeremy Hunt, Paul Jiggins, Graeme Galvin, and Steve Court.
The Skeksis are the central antagonists of The Dark Crystal franchise: the ten dark versions of the ten "good" urRu/Mystics (see below). The word "Skeksis" serves as both singular and plural form for this species, with the singular pronounced /ˈskɛksɪs/ and the plural /ˈskɛksiːz/. They are described by concept artist Brian Froud as "part reptile, part vulture, part dragon". Like their urRu counterparts, they have four arms; but in the Skeksis the two lower arms have become weak and atrophied, and are rarely seen. The Skeksis have kept themselves from dying of old age by draining the vitality from other beings. In the film, the Skeksis are represented by full-bodied puppets engineered under the direction of Jim Henson. Henson has said that in the development of the Skeksis, the creators drew inspiration from the Seven deadly sins, in that each Skeksis represents a different kind of evil, such as cruelty, selfishness, greed, unchecked ambition, treachery, and wrath. The Skeksis were full-bodied puppets operated in a very similar way to Big Bird. The puppeteer's secondary arm was in the arm of the Skeksis and the puppeteer's primary arm was held up over the puppeteer's head and the hand operates the jaw. A monitor inside the suit allowed the puppeteer to see.
The series prequel The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance introduced new Skeksis characters who appeared in other media.
In Archaia Comics the Dark Crystal: Creation Myths 2, two Skeksis are seen:
In the Dark Crystal Author Quest novels, two more Skeksis appeared. Both were referenced in the ninth episode of Age of Resistance:
In Tokyopop's OEL manga Legends of the Dark Crystal vol. 1 and 2, two more Skeksis are introduced. Since later novels and the TV series, these characters are no longer canon:
More commonly known as the "Mystics", the urRu are benign counterparts of the Skeksis and embody the urSkeks' redeeming qualities yet are mostly indifferent and rarely act. After two of their own are killed by a rogue Skeksis, they learn that they are still linked with their counterparts, and most of the urRu take refuge in the Valley of the Standing Stones, leaving the Skeksis to their devices. While initially lean and fairly agile creatures, nearly identical to the Skeksis, the urRu aged differently from their counterparts as they began using walking sticks to move around while gradually losing their memories. During the course of the film, after urSu allowed himself to die to place the remaining nine Skeksis into disarray, urZah leads the urRu towards the Castle to fulfill the prophecy and merge with their Skeksis counterparts back into the urSkeks. The urRu have four arms, elongated heads, white hair, and tails, in a manner that concept artist Brian Froud described as being "... between a dog and a dinosaur".
In Archaia Comics The Dark Crystal: Creation Myth Volumes 2 and 3, four new Mystics were introduced:
In the Dark Crystal Author Quest series by J.M. Lee, three new canonical urRu are introduced and one appearing in the Netflix series The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance.
The urSkeks are the beings from which the urRu and the Skeksis are derived, depicted as tall, luminescent beings of vaguely Gelfling-like shape. They sported large craniums and slim bodies. As revealed in The World of the Dark Crystal, their people considering both their moral imperfections and attempt of manipulating their homeworld's Crystal intolerable, the eighteen urSkeks were banished to Thra through the Crystal of Truth until they have learned to master their dark aspects. Once on Thra, presenting themselves as "light bringers", the urSkeks spend the next thousand years hastening the development of the planet's people while exploiting Aughra's interest in the universe to acquire the Crystal of Truth from her. By the time of the second Great Conjunction, the urSkeks created a mirror network around the Great Crystal to trap the light of the next Great Conjunction for their use in returning to their world while purging their imperfections. But the attempt failed and resulted in the Crystal of Truth becoming the Dark Crystal and splintered the urSkeks into the urRu and the Skeksis, each member being spiritually linked to his counterpart. If any member of either species is wounded or killed, an equivalent suffers the same in the other. By the events of the film, the others having died of various causes, only eight of the urSkeks are reformed before they depart Thra soon after. In between TokyoPop's Legends of the Dark Crystal, Archaia Comics The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths and Dark Crystal Author Quest, various Skeksis and Mystics were introduced which provides the identities of some of the deceased urSkeks (Skeksis/urRu), but thanks to The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, alongside the J.M. Lee novels, these are the canon 18 UrSkeks:
The Podlings, also known as the Pod People, are a species of gentle "earth-people" native to Thra and affiliated with the Gelflings, named for the giant seed-pods in which they live. In their own language, they referred to themselves as apopiapoiopidiappididiapipob, which translated as "master gardeners who live in bulging plants." The Podlings are dwarf-like in stature yet with very rounded, circular-shaped, bulbous potato-like heads and small round eyes. They have a love of music and parties. In tune with nature, they can speak to Thra's wildlife and Kira was taught this skill by her adoptive mother Ydra. With The World of the Dark Crystal revealing that many were initially lured to the Castle, the Podlings were abducted from their homes by the Garthim so that skekTek can extract their vital essence for a youth serum reserved for the Emperor. While the serum's effects are temporary compared to the essence extracted from Gelflings, the process turns the Podlings into aged and mindless slaves who submit to the Skeksis' commands. At the end of the film, the enslaved Podlings are restored to their original selves.
The unnamed Podlings in the film are performed by Dave Goelz, Jim Henson, and Frank Oz and voiced by Barry Dennen, Patrick Monckton, and Sue Weatherby.
The creature and costume designs for the Podlings were done by Brian Froud and the design and fabrication supervisor was Sherry Amont. The design and fabrication team for the Podlings consisted of Bob Payne, Amy Van Gilder, Mike Quinn, Cheryl Henson, Marianne Harms, Nick Forder, Sarah Monzani, Peter Saunders, and Debbie Coda. Polly Smith, Barbara Davis, and Ellis Duncan were associate costume designers.
There have been some named Podlings:
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance also features some unnamed Podling servants (performed by Warrick Brownlow-Pike and Louise Gold) that work for the Skeksis.
The Garthim are crustacean-like creatures that skekTek animated with the Dark Crystal to serve the Skeksis as their enforcers following the Gelfings' war declaration, each pieced together from the corpses of the spider-like Arathim and the humanoid Gruenaks in a form resembling sea creatures native to the urSkeks' world. The creation of the Garthim, as depicted in the first-season finale of Age of Resistance, led to the massacre of the Gelflings in the event referred to as the Garthim War. In the film, some are sent to capture Jen and end up bringing Aughra instead. The Garthim are instantly destroyed when Jen restored the Crystal, causing them to crumble along with the Skeksis architecture covering the Castle.
In The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, their origins are shown at the end of the first season as skekTek reveals the first Garthim (performed by Daniel Dewhirst) following the fight at Stone-in-the-Wood.
The conceptual designer for the Garthim was Brian Froud, who claimed to have had a fascination with lobsters, and Fred Nihda as the design and fabrication supervisor. As the suits were so heavy and prone to overheating, special harnesses were constructed to lift the performers in the Garthim suits and give them time to recover in between takes.
Known as the "Son of Aughra", Raunip was born from the organic material of a meteorite that landed on Thra which Aughra brought to life. Unlike the more reserved Aughra, Raunip is more outgoing and with an adventurous curiosity, allowing him befriend Gelfings and other members of Thra's races. But Raunip earned the urSkeks' ire, his distrust of them playing a factor in the events that splintered the urSkeks into the Skeksis and the urRu/Mystics. Helping Aughra search for the lost shard, fruitlessly gathering similar shards, Raunip learned the Skeksis have enlisted the Gelflings to repel the invading Makrak horde in his absence.
Raunip attempted to convince the Gelfling elder Carn of not trusting the Skeksis, only to be rebuffed and accused of abandoning the Gelflings in their time of need. Raunip left Carn's village with her daughter Thall, who shared his suspicion over the Skeksis' motives. Taken to Valley of the urRu by urGoh where he is reunited with Kotha, Raunip tried convincing the urRu to stop the Skeksis from taking the Gelfling to war. When the Makraks reached the Valley the following day, Kotha's translation of their language allows Raunip to understand that Makraks were forced from their underground home with the destruction they caused motivated by fear of the surface world. While the urRu convinced the Skeksis to not exterminate the Makraks, Raunip participated in the peace talks and suggested their relocation to the region known as the Field of Fire. Raunip offered himself to guide the Makraks, knowing that he would never return or survive the journey despite receiving protective clothing and amulets from Thall. After bidding farewell to Aughra, who wept silently after he left, Raunip succeeds in his mission despite half of his face burnt and on the verge of death. He was last seen with a Fizzgig whom he recounting his tale to, resolving to live as long as he can while hoping to be remembered by those he left behind.
The Firelings, also known as the U-Mun, are an offshoot of the Gelfling race that reside in the underground region of Mithra where they are ruled by a council of three Ember Queens. Descended from Gelfling exiles that came to Mithra during the Age of Division, resembling Gelflings enveloped in flame, the Firelings adapted to their environment with their physiology altered to the point that they are unable to survive on Thra's surface without assistance and with exposure to water weakening them. While they resemble Gelflings, the female Firelings lack wings and the older members of the race had fin-like ears and sported a pair of antennae on their foreheads. Firelings also possess an ability similar to dreamfasting called "firefasting", that enabled them to learn of events and emotions from the past through flame.
Thurma was a female Fireling who lived during the Age of Power. She was the heir of one of Mithra's Ember Queens and the first Fireling to leave her homeland since the race's creation, heading to Thra's surface world in a misguided quest to retrieve a shard from the Crystal in order to stop the Great Dim. Her efforts resulted in a brief return of the Skeksis and Mystics while learning her race's true origins through her relationship with the Gelfling Kensho.
Her return home after the crisis saw her confront Nita, a rival claimant to her position as Ember Queen, though the two eventually joined forces in order to stop the Fire That Stays from finishing what the Great Dim had started. She subsequently ruled Mithra jointly with Nita and Fiola.
The Myth-Speaker (voiced by Sigourney Weaver) is the narrator of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Vliste-Staba (voiced by Theo Ogundipe) is a Sanctuary Tree that appears in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and makes it home in Grot, being one of the many Great Trees that held the Darkening at bay for a millennia before it became too strong for them to subdue thanks to the Skeksis' experiments with the Dark Crystal. When the tree's death occurs, Vliste-Staba gives Deet the ability to absorb the Darkening into herself to purify the infected.
Lore (performed by Damian Farrell) is a sentient rock construct created by skekGra and urGoh. Debuting in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, skekGra and urGoh placed him in a chamber beneath the Vapra Clan's throne room to await the Gefling that would revive him. Lore is awakened by Brea in "The First Thing I Remember is Fire," playing skekGra's recording to explain himself as her guide and protector in her journey to Circle of the Suns. Once Lore accomplishes his mission, Lore is deactivated by skekGra and remains in the Circle of the Suns for the duration of the first season.
The Arathim are a spider-like race that appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, all connected by a hivemind known as the Ascendency. The Arathim initially lived in the Caves of Grot until the Skeksis drove them into the wilds for refusing to submit and fought the Gelflings in many conflicts. The Arathim eventually become the Gelflings' allies in their rebellion against the Skeksis, who respond by having skekTek graft some Arathim corpses with the remains of one of his Gruenak slaves to create the first Garthim.
The Crystal Bats are winged bat-like creatures with stick-like bodies which serve as spies for the Skeksis. Two are seen spying on Jen and Kira.
According to The World of the Dark Crystal by Brian Froud, the Crystal Bats were bred by the Skeksis to carry lenses of artificial Crystal that relay whatever they see to the Dark Crystal.
Landstriders are quadrupeds native to the forests of Thra, having white skin, vaguely anteater-like faces, long rabbit ear-like appendages, and extremely long and powerful limbs with which they move very fast over vast distances. They are ridden by Jen and Kira in the film, and identified by Froud as regular mounts of Gelflings. Landstriders are very tough and their limbs can be used as formidable weapons as seen when they, Jen, Kira, and Fizzgig are attacked by the Garthim. One Landstrider is taken down while another falls off the cliff with a Garthim. As a result, Landstriders are perhaps the only natives of Thra able to oppose the Garthim. A dead Landstrider's flesh is highly prized for the Skeksis.
In the production of The Dark Crystal, the Landstriders were performed by professional stiltwalkers operating on four stilts like Robbie Barnett, Swee Lim, and Hugh Spight. A digitally-erased safety wire, pulley system, and the associated crane were used to help perform the Landstriders so that the performer will not accidentally fall and hurt their necks. The World of The Dark Crystal revealed that Robbie Barnett helped to conceive the Landstriders due to him being an expert at stiltwalking as well as the safety information that Jim Henson revealed to make sure the Landstrider performers do not get hurt.
The Landstriders appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Ordon and some Crystal Guard members rode some Landstriders when escorting skekOk and skekLach to Ha'rar. The Landstriders also took the brunt of the Darkening.
The Nebrie are large amphibians apparent in marshes and swamps. Although they appear menacing, the Nebries are not especially aggressive and appear to be vegetarian. A Nebrie infant is seen roasted on the dining table of the Skeksis in the Castle of the Crystal, and the novel depicts Nebries as the Skeksis' food of choice.
The Nebrie was designed by Brian Froud and the design and fabrication supervisors were Tim Miller and John Coppinger.
The Gruenaks are a race of Gelfling-size brutes with superhuman strength and mechanical minds that have been driven to near extinction. In the first season of Age of Resistance, skekSil provided two known Gruenak survivors (performed by Kevin Clash and Neil Sterenberg) with stitched mouths to assist skekTek in repairing his essence extraction machine and improve on it. The two Gruenaks were also manipulated by skekSil with the promise of their freedom, openly rebelling when skekSil revealed to them he had no intention of setting them free in the immediate future. This resulted with the Gruenaks being killed by skekTek, who threw one down the Crystal Shaft and then used the other's corpse after beating him to death in the creation of the Garthim.
Both the film and Age of Resistance depict the wildlife of Thra. Among these creatures are plants able to fly; flowers able to retract their petals; thick tree-like stalks that expand and compress; mobile vine-like or grass-like creatures; rodent-like animals; and birds with a large horn instead of a beak.