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#Movies like the dark crystal trial#
However, he was challenged by another and was bested in Trial by Stone, which required each to strike a large rock. When their Emperor died-his body literally disintegrating like a falling building-the Chamberlain of the Skeksis expected to assume power. Both creatures gained their power from the Dark Crystal, too-which also showed the Skeksis visions of things happening on Thra. The Skeksis could also see through the eyes of their flying spies known as Crystal Bats. Skeksis also controlled some very powerful and dangerous creatures: chief among them the giant crustacean, bug-like Garthim, who they used to kidnap their enemies and collect Podlings.
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However, Gelfling life essence was far more lasting for the Skeksis. The Podlings, whose physical features literally caved in during this process, like a grape becoming a raisin, were left mindless slaves with no will to fight for their freedom. The Skeksis used the Crystal to draw the “life essence” from the Podlings, which he then drank. They ravaged the land, enslaved the harmless Podlings, and nearly exterminated the Gelflings entirely. Their long life-spans were obtained by drawing new life from the sun via the power of the Dark Crystal… though the Emperor gained youth in a far more sinister way. The Skeksis were terrible tyrants, led by an Emperor.
#Movies like the dark crystal movie#
At the start of the movie there were ten of each race left (originally there were 18). If a Skeksis was injured or died, the same thing happened to a Mystic. The Mystics moved far away, but maintained a cosmic connection to both the Crystal and the Skeksis. Since then, the Skeksis have ruled Thra from the imposing Castle of the Crystal, where they kept the powerful, purple Dark Crystal in the Sacred Chamber. The land of Thra, home to Podlings, Gelflings, and countless animals, was “green and good,” until the powerful Crystal “cracked” and a shard was lost.
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During the event, two new species, equal in numbers, suddenly appeared on Thra when it did: the “cruel,” greedy, bird-like creatures known as Skeksis and the wise Mystics (officially the urRu), a peaceful group of “gentle” wizards who resemble doleful dinosaurs. Almost exactly a millennium before the start of the film, the three suns of Thra all lined up during an event known as The Great Conjunction, which only occurs every thousand years.