Chapter Three

When Mark opened his eyes he found that he was still outside of Aughra's observatory. He shook his head to try and clear it and then sat up.

"So much for not trying to hurt me," he said aloud to himself. At the sound of his words Aughra appeared at the observatory door.

"Hurt you?" Aughra not try to hurt you," Aughra said, watching Mark.

"I understood every word you said," Mark said in surprise. "But I know you can't possibly know English."
"English? What English?" Aughra replied. "You speak fine now. Urskeks knew what. to do. They left potion to help." Aughra took a few steps closer to Mark and then frowned. "Why you come to see Aughra?" she asked.

Mark stood up slowly. Why am I here?" he began. "For one thing, here doesn't exist, or at least it's not supposed to. It's just a fantasy , a movie, a story, a dream and yet it's real."

"Humph.." Aughra went, putting her hands on her shoulders. "You talk foolish. Look around you, all is real."

Mark did as she said and looked around. He saw the observatory, the short plants and grasses growing on the hilltop, the vast expanse of the plain sweeping towards the horizon and, all the time, Aughra watching him.

"Yes, I accept its reality," he said to her. "I still don't know why or how I came to be here, though. One moment I was on Earth, then there was something coming towards me and the next thing I knew I woke up here on Thra."

Aughra studied him, then muttered something that sounded to him like "not ready yet."

"YOU study with me," she said to him. "Learn here, sleep in big room."

"Study what?" Mark asked.

"Study numbers, how think, how look inward. Prepare. Be ready."

"Prepare and be ready for what, Aughra?" Mark asked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know soon," Aughra said. "Now much work to do, little time."

Realizing that he was getting nowhere, Mark decided to try and find the answer to other questions. "Tell me, Aughra," he began, " when in Thra's history are we? Do the Skeksis exist, or have they gone?"

Aughra looked at him. "Skeksis gone., urRu gone, Urskeks gone, not long ago," was her reply."Wait here," she said, then turned and walked back into her laboratory.

Mark heard a low rumbling sound, then saw part of the observatory wall open. He stood up and walked over to where he could see a snort corridor opening into a large, nearly empty room. Aughra came out of the observatory and entered the corridor then moved to the room beyond. Mark followed.

"This is where you sleep," she began. "Time yet for work now." She deposited a load of different objects on a bed made of grasses and covered it with a brown, homespun blanket. Mark saw a mix of various papers, metal and stone symbols, and a few instruments he recognized as being scientific in nature.

Aughra bent over the bed and picked up a small stone symbol. She gave it to Mark and he examined it closely. What he saw was a triangular stone symbol, each corner having its own inlaid triangle. The symbol of the Great Conjunction, circles within a triangle, was in the center of the stone. Around that symbol was another circle from which radiated three lines, one towards each corner of the triangle. The lines connected to a crescent like shape surrounding a circle in the center of each of the smaller triangles making up the corners of the larger triangular stone.

"What does this mean to you?" she asked him.

"I don't really know what it means," Mark replied. "I don't see any writing, just the symbols on the stone."

"Aughra knows what it means," she began."This corner God," she said, pointing to one corner of the symbol. "This one individual, this one cosmic," she said as she pointed to the two remaining corners. "Between God and individual is preservation. Between God and cosmic is creation. This last one here, between cosmic and individual is destruction. Preserve Thra or destroy it, that is your task."

A look of intense worry crossed Mark's face. He thought he had found a home and friends, but now that seemed to be already threatened. "Aughra," he began, "I don't see how this relates to me and my being here on Thra. I'm sorry, but I'm really confused."

Aughra placed her hands on her hips then looked briefly at the sky where dark clouds had begun to appear from the west, threatening a major rainstorm. Although rainfall was plentiful on Thra, there was something different about this storm that was approaching, something that reminded her of the storm that happened before the Crystal had been healed.

"I have seen," she began slowly," in the Crystal."

She hesitated for a minute, then continued. "Yesterday, Aughra in castle," she replied. "Heard crystal sound warning. Go to chamber and look into crystal. There Aughra see you come, walk through swamp and forest, then go to river. Aughra then see something else."

"What else?" ,Mark asked her.

"Not know," Aughra replied. "Something not belong here, something evil. It come with you. Must be from your world. Aughra watch. It was purest black. Thing stayed on ground, killed the plants. It weak now but maybe grow strong soon. You must stop it."

"How can I do that?" Mark asked.

"Don't know," Aughra replied. "Don't know."

The more Mark thought about it the more depressed he became. He had entered Thra a worn, used up person, feeling that he was near the end of his life. This world had quickly restored him, had raised his hopes, giving him a possible chance to enjoy life. To know that he had brought something here that could destroy plants now, maybe everything else later, this was too much for him to easily accept. He felt that happiness was once more being snatched away from him, that his lot in life was always to suffer and to spread suffering to whomever he met.

He looked at Aughra and spoke softly. "If I were to die, would that stop this thing?"

"No good," Aughra said. "If you die evil grow forever. It comes from your World. Crystal tell Aughra that you only one who can destroy evil; now you see why stone symbol say individual so important?"

"Yes," Mark replied, wearily. "How much time do we have?"

"Don't know," Aughra answered. "We must go to castle, look into Crystal. Maybe it will tell you."

The storm was fast approaching and it was far too late in the day to begin the journey to the castle. While Aughra returned to her observatory Mark stood thinking. Turning the symbol over and over in his hand,he tried to find a reason why everything good he tried to do seemed to end up in failure. He loved Kira, he loved this world and now he had placed both in the greatest danger possible. It was his fault, and he didn't even know if there was anything he could do about it.

He walked through a short corridor and soon stood looking into the distance. Two moons were visible in the sky, both far smaller than the Earth's moon, but still reflecting enough light for Mark to see clearly. The open plain spread before him and further on there were some tall mountains.

"This beautiful world," he said. "I've so wanted to make my life here, but instead of life I've brought death." He shook his head sadly and returned to his room where he was asleep in moments on the comfortable grass bed.

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Chapter Three

When Mark opened his eyes he found that he was still outside of Aughra's observatory. He shook his head to try and clear it and then sat up.

"So much for not trying to hurt me," he said aloud to himself. At the sound of his words Aughra appeared at the observatory door.

"Hurt you?" Aughra not try to hurt you," Aughra said, watching Mark.

Mark stood up slowly. Why am I here?" he began. "For one thing, here doesn't exist, or at least it's not supposed to. It's just a fantasy , a movie, a story, a dream and yet it's real."

"Humph.." Aughra went, putting her hands on her shoulders. "You talk foolish. Look around you, all is real."

Mark did as she said and looked around. He saw the observatory, the short plants and grasses growing on the hilltop, the vast expanse of the plain sweeping towards the horizon and, all the time, Aughra watching him.

"Yes, I accept its reality," he said to her. "I still don't know why or how I came to be here, though. One moment I was on Earth, then there was something coming towards me and the next thing I knew I woke up here on Thra."

Aughra studied him, then muttered something that sounded to him like "not ready yet."

"YOU study with me," she said to him. "Learn here, sleep in big room."

"Study what?" Mark asked.

"Study numbers, how think, how look inward. Prepare. Be ready."

"Prepare and be ready for what, Aughra?" Mark asked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know soon," Aughra said. "Now much work to do, little time."

Realizing that he was getting nowhere, Mark decided to try and find the answer to other questions. "Tell me, Aughra," he began, " when in Thra's history are we? Do the Skeksis exist, or have they gone?"

Aughra looked at him. "Skeksis gone., urRu gone, Urskeks gone, not long ago," was her reply."Wait here," she said, then turned and walked back into her laboratory.

Mark heard a low rumbling sound, then saw part of the observatory wall open. He stood up and walked over to where he could see a snort corridor opening into a large, nearly empty room. Aughra came out of the observatory and entered the corridor then moved to the room beyond. Mark followed.

"What does this mean to you?" she asked him.

"I don't really know what it means," Mark replied. "I don't see any writing, just the symbols on the stone."

A look of intense worry crossed Mark's face. He thought he had found a home and friends, but now that seemed to be already threatened. "Aughra," he began, "I don't see how this relates to me and my being here on Thra. I'm sorry, but I'm really confused."

"I have seen," she began slowly," in the Crystal."

She hesitated for a minute, then continued. "Yesterday, Aughra in castle," she replied. "Heard crystal sound warning. Go to chamber and look into crystal. There Aughra see you come, walk through swamp and forest, then go to river. Aughra then see something else."

"What else?" ,Mark asked her.

"Not know," Aughra replied. "Something not belong here, something evil. It come with you. Must be from your world. Aughra watch. It was purest black. Thing stayed on ground, killed the plants. It weak now but maybe grow strong soon. You must stop it."

"How can I do that?" Mark asked.

"Don't know," Aughra replied. "Don't know."

He looked at Aughra and spoke softly. "If I were to die, would that stop this thing?"

"No good," Aughra said. "If you die evil grow forever. It comes from your World. Crystal tell Aughra that you only one who can destroy evil; now you see why stone symbol say individual so important?"

"Yes," Mark replied, wearily. "How much time do we have?"

"Don't know," Aughra answered. "We must go to castle, look into Crystal. Maybe it will tell you."

He walked through a short corridor and soon stood looking into the distance. Two moons were visible in the sky, both far smaller than the Earth's moon, but still reflecting enough light for Mark to see clearly. The open plain spread before him and further on there were some tall mountains.

"This beautiful world," he said. "I've so wanted to make my life here, but instead of life I've brought death." He shook his head sadly and returned to his room where he was asleep in moments on the comfortable grass bed. Main index page Dark Crystal main index page

"This beautiful world," he said. "I've so wanted to make my life here, but instead of life I've brought death." He shook his head sadly and returned to his room where he was asleep in moments on the comfortable grass bed.

Main index page

Dark Crystal main index page