The Dark Crystal Collection
PERFUME OIL BLENDS
Presented in an amber apothecary vial.
Because of the nature of this project, imps are not available for Dark Crystal scents.
The land of The Dark Crystal is beautiful and mysterious. Sometimes frightening, but always magical, it is a world where no human walks. Nature has its own intelligence and the kingdom of plant and animal no boundary. In this world trees walk, mountains move and rock, water, and plants converse in a myriad of unknown ways.
Over all rises the Castle of the Dark Crystal, home of the Skeksis, the masters of all evil. Inherited from a legendary group of wise beings who vanished mysteriously years ago, the Castle is evidence of the Skeksis’ decadent corruption. The grandeur of the past is dimmed by the filth of years of greed and decay.
The Castle is guarded by the Garthim, a band of fierce warriors encased in shell-like armour, who enforce the Skeksis’ rule. Deep in the heart of the Castle lies the Dark Crystal. This glowing stone is the key to the Skeksis’ power and focal point of their rituals.
The Skeksis fear one thing, an ancient prophecy that the Gelfling, a race of elf-like creatures, will somehow destroy their power. To save their corrupt dynasty these cruel rulers have tried over many years to eliminate the Gelfling race. Unknown to the Skeksis, one Gelfling, Jen, was saved, plucked from death, and raised by the urRu, a group of hermit-like mystics…
THE SKEKSIS
At the close of the Age of Harmony, the second Great Conjunction occurred and marked the beginning of the Age of Division. During this Great Conjunction, the urSkeks stepped into the light of the suns that filtered through the Crystal and refracted through the urSkeks’ mirrors. Unintentionally, the urSkeks were split into two separate creatures: the Skeksis and the urRu.
The Skeksis were the personification of their destructive, cruel and aggressive impulses while the urRu were the personification of their creative, healing and passive impulses. For every urRu, there was a corresponding Skeksis. Immediately following the split, confused fighting erupted. Two Skeksis, and therefore two urRu, were murdered.
Destructive behavior continued, and one of the Skeksis struck the Crystal and cracked it. The resulting release of energy – the kakoi – broke off a dagger-shaped shard and changed everything.
The Crystal darkened, turning from pure bright white to dimly glowing violet. And with the darkening of the Crystal, so too did the world turn dark. A blighted wasteland slowly and inexorably crept from the Castle and strange creatures began appearing throughout Thra’s wilderness.
After the initial shock of the cracking of the Crystal, the Skeksis settled into their roles as Lords of the Dark Crystal. Led by Emperor skekSo, they played the role of extravagant hosts to both Gelfling and Podling alike, holding grand feasts and games.
Meanwhile, over the course of hundreds of trine, the Skeksis went from eccentric nobles to mad despots. With the passage of time, their powers began to fade. The Skeksis scientist called skekTek experimented with the Dark Crystal. It discovered how to use the refracted light of the Crystal to drain the essence and weaken the will of Gelfling and Podlings, turning them into mindless slaves.
memorylikeasieve –
One would never think anything to do with Skekses would be anything other than horribly minging, but you folks have proved that wrong, indeed, with this engaging, heady, and almost addictive kind of scent. I’m no expert, and I can’t pick out which individual components are more prominent than others, but I can say that this is an incense blend that manages to smell like exactly that, even down to the wee touch to the sinuses that good-quality incense gives to me. I adore incense blends and am very satisfied with the result. My housemate thought it smelt like a hair salon right out of the bottle but once I put it on he agreed that it perfectly imparted incense without the irritating smoke. Sort of a grey-brown with just the hint of bronze censers. A dry, herbal, grey-green kind of scent accompanies it. I’ll admit that, on me, it makes me think more of urRu than Skeksis, but I’ll take that, and gladly.
boomtownrat –
Put a little of SkekZok on, just a small dab behind your ears, and he will stick to you all day, through the night, and into the next morning. He will announce his presence to all and sundry with a shout, so it might be best to apply less than you might with your other scents. Frankincense, opoponax, and champaca are the major notes on me, and I get only a brief flicker of an herbal tone, probably from the hyssop. Opium poppy accord is just an accent on me, and gives it a small hint of sweetness. What lasts the longest are those three main notes and even close to 24 hours after application, I can still smell that trio.
There’s something about SkekZok that does induce a sense of ritual and darkness. When I wear this, I want to sit in meditation or read ancient tomes by a dying fire. Incense lovers should be seeking this one out any way they can, because it’s really a classic incense blend. Fans of Smoky Moon 2012 might find this to be a less burnt-smelling alternative because of the lovely (and talented!) champaca.