Part two of the three-part intro thing involving my interpretation of how the urSkek became Skeksis and urRu. Next part will contain what pieces I got from the Creation Myths images that I hunted down on Google Images.

TahTao belongs to me. No stealing!
Everything else belongs to Jim Henson.

Middle

It had been six hundred years—or trine, as Thra's inhabitants called the yearly cycle of time—since they appeared on this new planet. Thra, inhabited by Gelfling and Podlings and other innocent, kind creatures. And Aughra, the mother of Thra, their dear friend.

Thra had been a frightening place at first. Or TahTao had believed so. Maybe it had been his terror at being thrown from their world and into a new one that had him thinking that. Over time, Thra became something tolerable and then, with even more time, a place that TahTao didn't mind calling home.

Only it wasn't home. Thra could never be home.

Upon emerging from Thra's Great Crystal, they healed a burnt Aughra and learned about the planet they were on. SoSu directed them to excavate the Great Crystal and, to protect it from harm, create a castle of lesser crystal blocks around it. Thus their home, the Castle of the Crystal, was built where the mountain that had housed the Great Crystal had stood.

Aughra helped them adapt to life on Thra. The inhabitants were innocent and naïve, though Aughra had taught them some things. With the Great Crystal being Thra's heart and the urSkek protecting it, they became reverent, holy beings after their arrival. There was no part of Thra where their kind light did not shine.

TekTih learned of the Great Conjunction, the event that allowed them to reach Thra through the Great Crystal. The Great Crystal became unusable for transport after their arrival, so any plans to go elsewhere would need to wait until the next Great Conjunction. He and Aughra would vanish for weeks at a time researching the event.

Of course, SoSu did not care to use the Great Crystal again. Guard it, yes. Use it, no. SoSu was satisfied with the world they had come to. Thra was teeming with life but it could use the guidance and wisdom of a higher force. SoSu made the decision that they would be that guiding force and make this world their own.

TahTao learned to enjoy all the sights that Thra had to offer. It was a gorgeous place with many forests and a vast sea. He, along with OkAc and LachSen, traveled between the Gelfling and Podling villages to learn about the world around them. They taught the innocent races new songs and traded knowledge. It was a wondrous system of learning for all parties.

But not everything was good.

The band of nineteen, now free of the oppressive system of their kind, had begun to act out on their suppressed urges and emotions. The results, while at first liberating, over time became frightening. Always, these urges had been unleashed in secret amongst one another. As of late, they had begun to manifest out in public too.

Aggression and rage were the worst of it. SoSu found himself frequently striking out at his companions, his voice rising with anger. TahTao watched many of their fellows resort to physical violence and loud verbal battles. They struggled to hide these from Aughra, afraid of driving her away.

Raunip, Aughra's odd-looking son, on the other hand, had noticed these outbursts. He'd seen. He'd heard. He knew.

It scared TahTao. The repercussions of these outbursts, the results of these stirrings, were not what he'd imagined. He'd envisioned freedom. Instead, he saw destruction and violence. It was terrifying to him.

He missed home.

.o.o.o.o.

"SoSu?"

The older urSkek was atop one of the many crystalline balconies of the castle, overlooking the land of Skarith where the castle had been built. TahTao was so careful with approaching their leader. His cheek still hurt where SoSu's staff had struck him only yesterday during a violent outburst from the other. Though SoSu had apologized profusely, the pain was still there.

The damage had been done.

"You require something, TahTao?" SoSu asked, eyes not diverting from the view.

TahTao carefully drifted close to SoSu's left, though out of range if another strike was aimed at him akin to yesterdays. "Was all of this worth it? Being banished, gaining our freedom from self-denial. Because…"

"You don't think it was worth it now," SoSu guessed.

TahTao reluctantly nodded. "That is indeed my current belief. The end result of this…was not what I had expected or predicted from this."

SoSu sighed, hands resting on the banister. "I believe you raise a valid point. It is one I have thought about for the last one hundred and forty trine."

TahTao lifted his head in surprise. "You have?"

"Yes. I too now believe we may have made an error of judgment," SoSu stated. "None of us had predicted that the resulting torrent of emotional and verbal baggage inside of us would've resulted in so much destruction and violence over such a long period of time. This is not the freedom we had sought out."

"You did what you thought was right," TahTao pointed out, uncomfortable with hearing his elder doubt himself.

"And what I believed was wrong. I have caused harm, the greatest of sins. And not just that but I have hurt one of my own." SoSu's gaze lingered on TahTao's face, no doubt taking in the dulling bruise across the younger's cheek. "This, I cannot accept as our future."

"There must be a way to reduce the effects of this. Or even destroy it," TahTao suggested. "Perhaps TekTih—"

"I have a theory," SoSu interrupted, turning and drifting back into the castle. He stared down at the Great Crystal, suspended by its own gravity at the center of a grand chamber meant to concentrate its power through a shaft in the ceiling. "The Great Crystal channels pure, positive energies at the climax of its power, both here and back home. I have spoken with TekTih and ZokZah about this in great length. I believe that if we can predict when the next Great Conjunction arrives, we can use that awesome power to both eradicate our impurities and return home."

"You think the crystal is that powerful?" TahTao asked.

"If it's anything like ours back home, I believe so. TekTih is working with Aughra to find a way to concentrate the beams of sunlight. Perhaps that will allow its pure energy to destroy the negative energy, the impurities, inside of us."

TahTao couldn't help but smile. To rid himself of these awful stirrings that drove him to yell and break things without thought would be a truly wonderful thing. To go back to being the kind, peaceful urSkek he had once been would be exquisite.

"Have the others agreed to this?" TahTao asked curiously.

"Not yet but with the amount of complaints I have heard, especially from SilSol and UngIm, I believe we will all agree on this," SoSu admitted. "What we had once wanted free…is now draining us of what makes us urSkek. It is very tiring. Perhaps the system of self-denial was the proper solution for this."

"Then we will go home?" TahTao questioned. "What if we are wrong? What if the crystal cannot make us pure?"

"Then we will return home and fall back on self-denial," SoSu said, head lowered. "We will do what we must, no matter the cost. The crystal's light is pure. Surely it will purify us as the one at home is said to be able to."

TahTao felt a shudder run through him. What exactly did SoSu mean by 'no matter what the cost'? The Great Crystal was the heart of Thra. Aughra had told them this many times over. To damage the crystal was to hurt Thra.

Would SoSu really take such a daring chance with something so important?

The image of home lifted his spirits. After six hundred trine, TahTao finally knew what they would be doing. Once TekTih knew when the next Great Conjunction was, they could prepare to go home. These awful stirrings would be eradicated at last.

Perhaps life would go back to normal then.