Nearly five months later, the she-mystics have joined their fellow UrRu in the valley of stones. While the small clan of skeksis remained hidden within the darkest forest wild. There they learned to survive in the harsh environment as a pack, not knowing there were others like them.
One day, two of the rogues were scouting, setting up traps to catch prey. Then they heard the sound, the clicking of several creatures. Quickly they leapt to the trees to hide and observe what they were up against.
Strange black shiny bugs with glowing purple eyes were marching through the bush yet it was the two beings urging them that got the females' attention.
"They look like us!" whispered the one with periwinkle skin and brown eyes.
"And they are getting to closer to camp where Liat and Rin are, Meh!" the other with dark mane and cold blue-green eyes retorted.
"Wait, Arra!" Meh gasped, "They could be dangerous!"
She dropped like the silent huntress she is to either fight or lead them away. There was a shout of alarm one of the two things that looked like her and her sisters had fallen into the deep trap holes leading to the vagrants' camp. Now it was cursing and trying to climb out of the steep pit.
"Garthim, spread out!" The other ordered fiercely, this one was of a bluish tinge and wore rattling armor.
The large round insects scattered and it was just the chance the female amazon needed. She leapt off the branch and gave the intruder a swift kick on the chest. The skeksis – SkekUng, the Garthim Master- was forced back a few inches but was unharmed.
He looked up and was briefly surprised to see it was another skeksis that had attacked, except this was a tad shorter and dressed in animal skin clothing. However it was still showing hostility.
"Trespasser! Interloper!" Arra growled aiming a few blow at him, "This'll teach you to hunt in our territory!"
The Garthim Master snarled back, baring his teeth, "These lands belong to the Lords of the crystal, little worm!"
He took a swipe which she dodged. As they fought, Arra's sisters lurked in the underbrush setting up traps for the Garthim.
Then at one point SkekUng slashed at Arra – but he missed her neck and instead had sliced part of her top. And as a result it revealed her 'female assets'. The discovery of how this one physically differed from him and the other skeksis was enough to shock him.
Arra gasped and covered with her lower right arm. "Why you – you…! You did that on purpose!" she cried angrily.
Fortunately for her, Meh dropped from a hiding spot and flung up a cloud of dust shielding their escape. They needed to regroup and find a new place for camp.
Once the group was a good distance away from their irate attackers, the other two females spoke to their sisters.
"You spoke to it?"
"He was fighting Arra!"
"I don't see why we had to leave the area."
"They're much more experienced fighters than we are." Liat replied, "Furthermore, if there are two then surely there's more. I also doubt it'll be the last we see of them."
The rogues had no idea just how soon they meet the castle residents.
A full fortnight had passed since the fierce clan of females had been discovered by the Castle denizens' two generals. The small group had abandoned the area yet with sufficient evidence to their existence.
It would seem that the trail was lost; however that would not be the case for tiny, flying spies have found the Rogues' new hiding place. And the findings were of great importance to the first skeksis, they determined to sway these newcomers over to them. So a plan was made: the crystal bats were sent to the females when they're altogether as an envoy requesting their presence in the castle.
At first they'd been uncertain yet decided it best to meet these strangers that resembled them and learn what they knew. They followed it through the forest, over the harsh terrains and into the tunnel leading to the castle interior.
One by one, the females passed the castle threshold into the courtroom. Liat was the first, with her coppery locks, hazel brown eyes, and cyanic green feathers, looking unruffled.
Meh with her honey colored waves, periwinkle skin and silvery blue feathers followed with newfound confidence.
Rin was next with her natural curls, fuchsia feathers, and dark eyes. She was glancing around unsurely at the residents and their surroundings.
Arra came last. She with black hair, blue-green eyes and feather of royal blue and indigo.
It was she that the Garthim-master SkekUng recognized as the same rogue he'd fought two weeks ago. His lip curled at the sight of her until two of the others standing beside him whispered something that kept him from lunging at the female.
The small clan stopped three feet away from the throne, allowing the Skeksis emperor to get a good look at them. Yet even his presence could not stop the spiteful whispers of the others.
"Have you seen anything so common and coarse in your life?" sneered one with a round collar.
"Aren't they a sight? I never knew such primitive creatures even existed in the harsh terrains." Another sniggered.
Their words had the small group tense up. So the group of females didn't have such grand robes like the castle clan but it was no reason to twist the knife as they were doing.
"Female or not, we can still whip you and your fellows!" Arra snapped at the taunting skeksis.
SkekUng stepped forward menacingly, "Is that a challenge?!"
The seated emperor ominously raised his hand, silencing the brute. Quickly, Meh and Rin had pulled Arra back before she did anything drastic.
"As belligerent as that was, she has a good point." Liat stated coolly, "We're not here just so the rest of your group can laugh at our expense!"
There was certainly no nonsense about this one.
"You are correct. I sent for your clan to see if what my generals had informed me was true." said their Emperor. "That a group of rogue skeksis had been living the wilds for some time now. Furthermore that they are of a single gender: pure female. Do you confirm this?"
"Yes sir. But if you'll forgive my inquisitiveness, why ask if my sisters and I are females?"
Her answer was met with gasps of astonishment and surprise, not at her question but at the confirmation, before the Emperor called for order then motioned for one wearing light, cream-colored robe with a protruding back skeleton hump to speak.
The limping one with a cane spoke in a rough, raspy voice. "To answer your question: Here we are all hermaphrodites, dually gendered. Yet while you share many similarities to us, you and your clan are all female. An anomaly if you will."
Likewise the females were stunned; so the castle group were all both masculine and feminine at once?
There the Emperor told them of their race and if the small pack would consider joining the Castle clan so as to extend Skeksan power.
Confused yet filled with overwhelming curiosity…. The females nodded to Liat before she spoke up.
"Sire, we…accept your offer."
Emperor SkekSo smiled, "Perfect. Ornamentalist SkekEkt, see to it that our new arrivals are dressed accordingly."
A skeksis with blue eyes and auburn mane, wearing mauve and cream robes adorned with pearls beckoned to the females. "Come, come! If you would follow me!"
Puzzled, the group of four were led into the Ornamentalist's workshop.
"Firstly something must be done about those animal skin garments."
"What's wrong with them?" Rin asked.
"They're not fitting for life in the castle!" SkekEkt replied as he brought out rolls of fabric and other sewing materials.
It was certainly the beginning of a new chapter for the Skeksis empire…no one knew just how much.
To be continued...
Author's note: Here we learn their names but they don't ad the 'skek' part to their names until they officially receive a title.