Jareth and the Dark Crystal
A Labyrinth and Dark Crystal Fan Fiction
Chapter 1 – Akira the Fay Mother
A/N: I do not own Labyrinth or Dark Crystal its characters.
OC: Alisod, Akira (Some more to come)
Have you ever heard the story of how our ruler, Jareth the Goblin king came to power? Well, let me tell you the story of how two kingdoms collided in one of the most epic of ways…
Our story begins with our king Jareth, but this is not when he was ruler. No, no this story is set way before our gracious land, The Goblin Kingdom came to be. He was no king, nor prince for that matter. This tale is where we can see Jareth in a different light. Much different to the ruler we used to know. His tribe, the mighty Kai Kun Ayal the oldest of fae clans were ready to leave their territories and make haste for the north of AnotherWorld. And a young women Akira, far into pregnancy had to depart her home to go with the clan to a new part of life. She was not like most of the Kai Kun Ayal women. She was a mother first, a fighter second. She was more than upset to hear that she had to leave the same place where her birth had taken place so many years ago. She had not wanted to leave her home, her place of birth, her heritage. She had decided to stay home to make sure that Jareth was going to be born and raised a pure Fay, not one of the fools of the clan that decided to leave the home of where their tribe came to be.
Many nights after the clan had set out to find these lands, she had struggled to stay alive, but knowing that her son will be in the world in just another 2 days, was the only courage and strength that she had to her being alive. But tonight, was different. This is when she knew she wouldn't be able to make it to the next days of labouring a child fae. The night was colder than usual, it was even quieter than the rest that she had faced. His mother's home, a small alcove in the side of a mountain, was starting to collapse under the pressure of the rain on the mountain was coming down even harder. She had to leave and she knew it would kill her on the inside if she did. Akira grabbed all of her belongings from the top shelf, and her blankets and tent kit from a cupboard under her stairs, and set off into the night. Riding her horse in the night, she travelled north to find the Kai Kun Ayal, whilst watching her home in the cliffs side collapse. As a single tear rolled down her eye, she rode on into the distant darkness.
Time had passed through the journey of Akira, what are the tribe going to say to their healer when she abandoned the clan's leader and had not followed orders of the older kinsmen? What if she gets left out to raise her son in the cold of the night? These were the thoughts going through her head as Akira rode on. Whilst riding, she had looked out of the corners of her eyes to see a settlement, with music playing faintly and softly in her ears. Was this her tribe? Was this her people, making life as she was gone? Akira then rode to the settlement. Getting off and tying her horse to a nearby pole, she walked slowly to the music, it got louder and louder. But then the music stopped, and the sound of bows being drawn had come to her attention. Akira looked up at the walls to the gate to see shadows of people, but these people were not her tribe. These were beings of a different race that lived in AnotherWorld.
"Gelfling!" cried Akira. "I wish to speak to your master! Right away! I am with child and need a place to seek refuge from the cold." The Gelfling archers put down their bows. An older male of the kin, turned his head away and shouted to the tribe "Alisod! We have an outsider, a fay by the looks of things. She is with child and armed with a horse and sword!" Silence from the gates made Akira worried of what the response she was going to receive. Either the response of help from the Gelfling master, or death from a barrage of arrows. The gate to the settlement opened slowly, Akira was safe at last. Akira walked through the town of stone to see shops closing for the night and other Geflings heading into their huts for some deserved sleep from the days end. The Gelfling guard escorted the young fay through the street. She was cold, weak and needing food and a bed, but seeing the Chieftain was first. Akira was escorted to the main hut, the biggest in the tribe. It was covered in ancient text from years ago and pictures of tribesmen fighting bears and other mammals and bringing them back to the people to feast upon. She lifted the sheet door and walked in with the guards. Akira heard the Chieftain mumbling to his advisor. Alisod had noticed the fay in his home, sent his advisor away and stood from sitting upon his knees, to greet Akira.
"Well, a Fay is in our company tonight it may seem, and with child I see?" the chieftain looked down upon Akira. He was a very tall, muscular man. With wispy long blonde hair and a scar across the left of his forest green eyes. Akira replied with a simple nod. It is a custom for Fay women to not speak to men unless told so. "You may speak" Akira looked up at the tall man and replied "Gelfling chief, I am with child and may not be able to make it to my tribe. For they have headed north to seek out a new territory away from the Skeksis." The chieftain pleased to hear that the Skeksis were still alive, for the hunt of the emperor was soon approaching the tribe. "Judging by your markings, I see you are Kai Kun Ayal, are you not?" Akira replied "Yes chieftain, I need to find them very soon for my son enters the world in two moons." The chieftain then sat back down and looked to a nearby bed. "Listen." Said Alisod. "We saw your tribe go past here two nights ago. I am not sure how much further they have travelled since then, so it will be hard to find a location." Akira listened to his words and replied in a worried tone "For what am I to do then? When birth nearly approaches me?"
Alisod looked to the bed again. "You will sleep here in my hut tonight, I do not mind sleeping with the guard tonight. It's the least I could do for Kai Kun Ayal, after all." Akira approached the silk bed and asked the men to leave the hut, for she had to rest herself up after all of the travelling she had done that day.
Many moons had passed since then. Akira was ready to have her child without her tribe to help her. Her husband had passed away, like Alisod's wife did also. Akira and Alisod had got along so well, that she had moved on for the sake of Jareth to have a father figure in his life. Alisod filled that hole in Akira's life. She felt peace at last amongst the Gelflings and their home. The night was still at foot, and the sound of crying was heard throughout the valley as Akira pushed and pushed. The nights are cruel in AnotherWorld, they do not go as peaceful as others do. The baby boy was on his way to the world. To bring joy and happiness to a new mother and father. To bring life to the realms and make peace once and for all. Meanwhile, further out into the lands. Past the plains of sadness, past the ruins of the old world. Beyond the mountains of calmness, the Skeksis plan their next attack. The emperor, the oldest of the Skeksis, stands in the main hall. The sound of troops stomping and growling is heard through the doorways and the noise of chatter can be heard as the grand council face the emperor with joy and excitement. The Skeksis general, with his blade unsheathed, approached the emperor.
"My lord, the Gelflings are hiding a fay female in their tribe, we must attack at once, before the moons are down and the sun has rose! We have intelligence from the Garith that shows that she is in labour and if this continues, there will be more fay to worry about than her! What will you have us do your highness?"
The emperor looked upon the general and without hesitation he said "Murder the woman, the child also! Getting TWO fays and the Gelflings aswell! Then make it be! Send in the Garith, general! Leave no survivors!"
A roar was heard throughout the darkness, the Skeksis troops were on the move and heading towards the camp of the Gelflings. Heading to the camps the Garith moved on and on into the night….
They approached the doors, and the archers made themselves ready to raise their bows to the Garith. "Men!" yelled the archer master. "Ready! Fire!" A barrage of arrows hit the Garith, but none penetrated the hard shell of the hideous, dark, crab like monsters. Nothing worked against them, and then the Garith started to bash down the gates! Nothing could stop them, nothing would help the Gelflings and Akira survive. The baby was going to be killed and the fay will lose their hope for survival! But here is a thing, my friends. The Geflings had forgotten that they had Akira, the Kai Kun Ayals most talented enchanter. With the sound of arrows, banging from the Garith on the gate and the panic from the tribe, she started to glow! She glowed brighter than all of the stars light combined! She had so much power to unleash and with her first born son, she let out a wave of magic energy from her raised hands. Her tattoos glowed so bright that they could have been seen from the heavens! An energy shield began to appear and make a dome shaped force field around the encampment! The gate began to repair itself, the Garith became scared to go near the town, and so they had turned and fled away from the Gelflings and the magic aura from Akira. The battle had been won. But the rush of magic from Akira was too great, Akira shortly after, started to become grey and pale, she was beginning to die. Alisod rushed to her side "Akira! Please speak to me! Your son is here! Jareth has arrived, he will need his mother!"
Akira looked upon Alisod and reached for his face. She ran her cold fingers down the side of his tattooed face, and spoke in a slow tone to her new husband "Please Alisod, I care for you, and I love you. I could not risk the tribe being in danger from the Skeksis, please keep Jareth safe. I need you to promise me…."
"I will do anything for you, my love. He will be a fine warrior one day. I promise you this, we will miss you so much and we are happy you came into our lives that night we are eternally grateful for everything…" a single tear rolled down his right eye and as it dripped down onto the floor, Akira, healer of the Kai Kun Ayal, passed away and her magic aura ascended into the midnight sky, looking down on Jareth, the newest addition to the lands of AnotherWorld. This my friends, is how our king came to be on this planet.
Chapter 2 – Strength and Power
"Jareth!" cried Alisod "Training time!"
Above the streets of the settlement, came the sound of a loud yawn came from the bedroom of the Gelfling/Fay warrior. But this is not the warrior that we wouldn't like to see so far, he was nothing but a boy. With long ears, left eye of green and the right eye of blue with the right eyes pupil bigger than the other. None of us know the reason for why Jareth's eyes were like this. But he was a child, so finding out was not part of his agenda. Jareth was pretty tall for a 10 year old. He had blonde, shoulder length hair with hints of blue, and an oval shaped face. The boy grabbed his white linen shirt, and his cotton trousers accompanied with his leather greaves and boots and made his way downstairs. His master and also step father, Alisod stood in the training room, tapping his feet upon the ground, waiting for his step son and apprentice to make his way into the hollow shell of the mountain. Jareth walked into the training room and looked at his father. "Sorry for being so late father, I was busy meditating." Alisod looked upon his son with the look of amusement on his face. Jareth kicked at the floor looking down on it. "Son, it is time I show you something. Your mother left this for you." Alisod walked towards one of the walls in the cave and pressed down on a stone in the wall. This then rotated with the sound of stone scraping along a floor. He then grabbed hold of a bronze medallion from the shelf, walked up to Jareth and pressed it into his hand. "Father? What is this? This is nothing like the jewellery that I see on the other boys." Alisod replied "This my son, is different…. It is so much more, this medallion holds the soul of your mother, Akira." In the early stages of the Kai Kun Ayal, an ancient crystal was found in the core of the tallest, most dangerous mountain of AnotherWorld. It was taken to the birth place of the fay tribe. They looked upon the crystal with all of the intelligence that they could. They could not see where it had come from. No one knew… it was just there….
These were good times in AnotherWorld, there was order, and there was peace. But that was before a dark night, known as "The Great Conjunction". This was when three moon lined themselves up. And the crystal began to crack. The world than went into chaos, that was when the Mystics and the Skeksis appeared. The fays home was destroyed in the process, and the old tribe rebuilt, pieces of the shard were then scattered across the lands. All together there was nothing but two pieces left. One the fay had taken and made into the medallion, and the other, stolen by someone buy the name of Aughra, a one-eyed wild-haired seer with the horns of a goat. She is also known as the watcher of the heavens and the keeper of secrets. She ran away from the event and the Skeksis killed the first generation of fay, and the Gelflings fled to other lands. Like the ones in this story, the second generations of the fay and Gelflings, that is. The shard that the fay had, was made into the medallion Jareth was given, with his mother's soul. Now, back to the story at hand, my friends….
Jareth looked at the medallion, and he had felt power course through his veins! His magic ability had come to life and manifested itself within his eyes. He saw the past of his tribe, he saw the crystal being discovered, and he saw Skeksis. He saw the end of time. Jareth collapsed upon of the training ground floor. A few days after, he woke up too see the kind face of another member of his tribe. Jen, he was the youngest Gelfling child in the settlement. He had long grey hair and a sharp face. He was the same age as Jareth. He looked into his eyes. "Jareth? Are you okay? You have been out for a few days now." The tribe were worried for a while when Jareth was out, and Jen helped make sure his friend was still in good health. He made it back into consciousness anyway, and the tribe was happy to see him up and well. Jen helped Jareth back up from his bed. "Thank you Jen, I could do with something to eat." Jen looked at the food shelf and picked up a loaf of bread and gave it to Jareth to eat. He tucked in without hesitation. "I see you're hungry then? By the way, what did you see?" Jareth looked pale straight after Jen had spoken. "I saw weird things, amazing things. I saw myself as king, as a ruler of lives and a kingdom. I am not too sure how old I am at the time though…" Jen looked into his friends' eyes and called for his father, who then walked into the room to see his son back on his feet. Alisod looked very happy to see Jareth awake. He said to his son "listen to me Jareth, the things you saw may not be true, it is what the heart wishes. Your mother told me that the wearer of this medallion is able to see their life in the blink of an eye." The boy was still full of content despite his father's claims. "Whether it is true of false, I am happy to see what happens in the future, I look happy."
Alisod grabbed a staff and handed it to Jareth. "Now, do you have some training to do young one?" hours had went by since the awakening. Jareth was done with training for the day. Alisod looked at Jareth. "Son" he said "I think that is time for you to go to your tribe… they would have been waiting for you all of these years and I think it is time for you to show them you're ready to be fae again and make peace." Jareth held his father for the last time. "If I don't make it, I want you to know, you may not have been my real father, but you will always be my friend. Thank you." The young boy, who is now ready to be a hero, set out into the wilderness. But Alisod knew that Jareth's kindness may lead to his death. He was still not emotionally ready to go out into the dark, inhospitable lands of AnotherWorld. The little Faye trembled in his leather boots and held the staff uncontrollably.