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'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance': What is the Dark Crystal, the powerful but broken gem which is central to the Gelfling quest?

The crystal was the heart of Thra and the source of all life, and every living thing was connected to it but when it shattered, there was chaos. This 'Age of Resistance' will bring an end to that strife.

Later this month on August 30, 2019, the fantasy adventure series 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance', a prequel to the 1982 Jim Henson cult classic 'The Dark Crystal', is coming to Netflix.  The land of 'The Dark Crystal' is as mysterious as it is beautiful. The original movie, a cult classic, tells the complex mystical saga of the victory of good over evil.  The story follows a Gelfling named Jen, who is entrusted with the task of fixing a broken Dark Crystal and restoring life to normalcy before it is too late. 

"Another World, Another Time... In the Age of Wonder. A thousand years ago, this land was green and good, until the Crystal cracked. For a single piece was lost; a shard of the Crystal. Then strife began, and two new races appeared: the cruel Skeksis... the gentle Mystics." So begins the 1982 movie telling the story of a thousand years in barely three lines. The prequel delves deeper into these thousand years. But before the series comes to Netflix if you haven't any idea of the massive universe of the magical world of Thra, here is an explainer on the Crystal to get you started on the journey. 

Quartz-like in shape, rhombohedral at its top and base, with a threefold symmetry, the Crystal originated during the formation of Thra and was the "beating heart" of the planet. Depending on the era, The Crystal went by different names. Before the arrival of the Fallen urSkeks, The Crystal was known as The Great Crystal. It went by The Pure Crystal during the Age of Harmony. It was named the titular The Dark Crystal after The Great Division - a monumental event in Thra's history which resulted in the division of the urSkeks into Skeksis and urRu and marked the end of the Age of Harmony.

How did the Great Division come to happen? With Aughra's assistance, the Fallen urSkeks hoped to use the light of the Crystal to purify themselves of their dark nature and return home during the second Great Conjunction. In order to do so, they created a network of mirrors around The Crystal to focus the rays of the Three Suns onto each one of them burning their souls. However, when the Great Conjunction began, one Skeksis gave into its dark nature, which resulted in The Great Division of the urSkeks into Skeksis and urRu. 

In the confusion following The Great Division, a Skeksis attacked the Crystal and chipped off a shard. This is the very shard that Gelfling Jen must put in place to restore peace in Thra in 'The Dark Crystal'. 

Following this, the Skeksis took residence in the Castle proclaiming to be "lords" of The Crystal and began using it to increase their mortality, become powerful and using the beams emanating from The Crystal to drain the essence of Podling and Gelfling slaves. 

However, we don't have to wait much longer before 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' premieres on Netflix this month and then we can learn of the heroes, their epic quest and the crystal that will help save them from the evil threatening their land.