In the days leading up to the Emperor SkekSo's impending death, SkekSil the Chamberlain was sure he was going to be the next emperor soon. He had planned for this for all during the trines of the emperor's reign. He had plotted and schemed to try to keep the emperor's favor as much as he could and he fell out of favor several times, but he had always managed to regain it somehow.

It was only a few days prior to the Great Conjunction when the Skeksis were sure they would finally achieve immortality. The Emperor had not been able to get to the Crystal ceremony, he was so weak. He wanted to live so badly, but he was so sick. But also extremely paranoid as well.

After the ceremony, all the Skeksis went to attend to their emperor. SkekTek the Scientist was his doctor. He had tried time and again to help him, and all the effects of the Darkening over the trines had done all the damage that couldn't be repaired.

The Gelfling species had all been but wiped out harvesting them for essence to try to keep the Emperor young and healthy long enough. But his health would continue to decline. And though all Skeksis had been able to enjoy essence consuming in the beginning of its discovery, but, when the Emperor's health got to be much worse and Gelfling numbers dwindled, it became vital that only the Emperor could have it to keep up his enforced reign.

The Chamberlain and the Garthim Master, also known as the second General, were the last ones to come to the Emperor's bed chamber. Chamberlain went up to the head of the bed, as he was currently the second in command at the moment.

The Emperor was feisty till the end. After he died and he crumbled into dust, it just didn't seem like it was happening. Even as the others had anticipated his death for so long when his health had been failing him, and he had been their ruler for so long, it was still a shock to see him die and crumble.

The rest of them hadn't been subjected to the Darkening like the Emperor had, so the rest of them had remarkably good health despite their aging.

…..

The Emperor's counterpart, urRu leader, urSu the Master, had died at the same time SkekSo had. He had raised a Gelfling boy from infancy to be the one to have to save their world, even though he didn't understand his master's words. This had been sprung on him at the last minute. Jen was young and naive, and didn't know anything beyond the Valley of the Stones.

Jen was sad and knew he was going to have to begin first thing after the storm passed and after his master's funeral.

The storm only went on through the night. In the morning, there was a calm serenity about the valley. Jen played his firca while the other urRu did the funeral preparations. The Ritual Guardian, urZah, was the next Mystic leader now. He gave Jen his final instructions, even if he didn't fully understand them, as the urRu often spoke about in riddles, making it hard to understand.

Jen gave his surrogate family one last sad look, as they looked up at him too. He didn't know everything of what he needed to do, other than find an unknown being called Aughra and a crystal shard.

Jen went on his way, alone.

…..

At the castle, the Skeksis had had a funeral for the Emperor the evening before, and this morning, were ready to try to find out who would be the next emperor.

Chamberlain was feeling pretty confident it was going to be him. If it wasn't for violent laws and rules among them, and if it was to just name an heir, SkekSil would have had it his way, but it just wasn't that way with the Skeksis.

He went to try to claim the Scepter of Office, but SkekZok and SkekUng tried to stop him. Then Ung challenged him. Sil was shocked for a moment, but he didn't let it faze him. He named the Trial by Stone to seal the deal of who won the leadership.

The outcome wasn't what the Chamberlain had expected. The General was a lot stronger than him. He now knew he should have called for something a little simpler, but it was too late for that. He started to slink out while the others were cheering, but he didn't quite make it.

Zok saw what he was doing. He wasn't going to get away with that. "Now, by the law, he must pay!" he exclaimed.

The other Skeksis began to gang up on SkekSil. He whimpered in fear. They soon had him cornered against the back wall and began to strip him of his robes and title.

Lucky for him that his rival didn't seem to wish to see him killed. Ung called them off after several moments that seemed like hours. Sil was solidly against the wall, panting hard after he had felt he had been skinned alive, so to put. He couldn't believe that even his own allies had turned on him just like that.

"Now let him go! The Chamberlain is banished! Now to me! I am Emperor!" Ung shouted proudly. The others gathered in front of him and bowed respectively. Ung was now their new leader.

Sil panted until he was able to catch his breath enough. Everything he had ever planned for was now gone, just like that. Who wanted this life anyway? Something in him clicked at that moment. For his own kind to do that to him was obvious how they had had so many rivalries over the trines.

Chamberlain decided he was going to leave this life behind from here on out. It just wasn't worth it anymore. After all, some other fellow Skeksis had been banished in past trines too. SkekGra had been and had apparently made it just fine out there without essence or Crystal energy. But he had also wanted to be reunited with his Mystic counterpart, and that was one thing Sil did NOT want to do.

He just hoped he would make it without the Crystal's energy. Once the Conjunction passed, he should be able to live forever.

Then, suddenly, a humming went off in the castle, surprising all the Skeksis.

"Listen, the Crystal! The Crystal calls! To the Crystal chamber!" Ung ordered.

All the Skeksis turned and started filing out of the throne room to the Crystal chamber to see what the Crystal was reporting to them.

Sil knew that he was not welcome to go with them. He had a handful of his undergarments in his hands and he sought a chamber closer to the Crystal chamber so he could listen to what was going on. He had to know.

What he heard was a quite a surprise. A Gelfling? Alive? He thought they were all gone, wiped out by the Garthim.

This brought a smile to his face. Maybe he could go find this Gelfling and see about joining up with him, or her. But then, all Gelflings had turned against the Skeksis. He would see how it went first. It had been a number of trine since any Gelfling had been seen or used for essence.

The Chamberlain then saw some Garthim heading out to capture the Gelfling. This would be a sure way to catch up to him. After all, he didn't know where the Gelfling was. But there could only be one reason why a Gelfling showed themselves now; because of the impending Conjunction in just days time.

It was going to be quite a trek to where the Gelfling was.