The cracking- chapter 1.

Hundreds of trines ago, when the world of Thra was still younger, and the reign of the Skeksis over the land was still mostly benevolent...Rumors began to spread. Rumors which spoke about a prophecy, a revolution, and war.

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SkekOk, the Historian, raising a bony hand, settled his second pair of glasses for they were sliding down his long thin beak. Then, with a masterful strike of his quill, he traced his ellegant signature on the last document.
His long, pointy head, bearing features like those of a crane, rose in tension over his elongated thin neck.
The scarce white hair crowning his head seemed to flutter with each gesture he made.

With pale and clever eyes he darted a furtive gaze, studying the tall, stooping figure which stood before his writting table, decked in rich garments of deep crimson velvet, and white fine silks trimmed with delicate lace.

Emmiting a lazy sigh, he rolled up the parchment and, after tying it up with a piece of red silken stripe, he lend it to the awaiting hands of skekSil, the Chamberlain, who produced a small approving “Hmmm” staring back at him with an ambiguous and undecipherable gesture drawn in his face.

-" Here it is, Lord chamberlain, all signed and approved. You should deliver it to the Emperor immediately!...There is vital information within this scroll." He said with an anxious tone in his meek, high pitched voice.

The Chamberlain was curious. Seeing the sleepy headed Historian show so much agitation was very uncommon.
He made up his mind to find out as much as he could before leaving,so, with the corners of his wide mouth turned up in a characteristic sardonic smile and his eyes insolently squinted, he threw a quick, half veiled taunt, to see how much information he could obtain from the nervous Historian, who was trying to stop one of his three sets of glasses from falling off his beak again.

-"HhhmmmmMMmm...why, it might not be such an urgent matter when it concerns your scrolls, Historian!...What could this one contain that any of the previous ones did not?...Surely this is but another chronicle of events you have accomodated to suit your, or His prefferences...Am I right?...Hmmm?..."

The whimpering sound he produced had always annoyed the rest of the skeksis. SkekOk was no exception, and the Chamberlain knew it. This time, he was using that to break the Small framed Skeksis' nerves, so his tongue would loosen. It certainly had the effect he had expected.
-"Well!...You know as much as I do that I have but followed our Sire's orders!"-The Historian defended himself, his emaciated, wrinkly face turning even paler than usual.
-"...If He desires an event to be written after HIS personal point of view...!"- It was at this point that the Chamberlain KNEW he had the Historian where he wanted, then he abruptly shot another question, in a wheedling, soft voice -"Yes, yes, I know it, too...but what does this scroll contain that bears such importance?"-
He was smiling again, but now his expression was soft and nearly innocent.

At the edge of his nerves and taken by surprise by the Chamberlain's shifty demeanor,skekOk wrung his wiry hands impatiently while he whispered a reply in a small, barely audible voice:
-"It speaks of...war. There are rumors spreading...they say the Gelfling have cast a prophecy upon our kind...One so horrible I can't even repeat it out loud!...It seems some of the Gelflings out there KNOW what our Scientist has been doing to some of our Gelfling servants here, in the castle...and they are preparing to rise against us!..."

SkekSil's scaly eyebrows rose, and he impulsively scoffed at the Historian's words, though he said nothing. -"The Gelfling?"- He thought to himself- "I wonder what do those small animalcules think they can do against our empire..."-

With an even kinder voice, he promptly replied -"Worry not, Historian. I will see that Our Lord skekSo receives this as fast as I can get to the throne room."-
His smaller, thinly fellow followed him with his eyes as he exited the Library ,amidst the murmurous rustle of silk and velvet of his ellaborate rich robes brushing the floor.
The Chamberlain strutted resolutely across the darkened hallway that led to the courtyard.The ill news about a possible revolt kept twisting and turning within his mind.

So, those small savages living in the outskirts were planning to vanquish the Skeksis Empire. But how? By what means could they damage the empire's stone foundations?...A Gelfling was nothing but a tiny thing, the tallest could barely reach the chest of a skeksis in size. ...So, what could they possibly do to threaten their power?...Even if they knew about the Scientist performing essence extraction in some of their kind...Even if they were aware that it was this essence what allowed the Emperor to prolong his fragile life and restore his decaying health. Even if they knew all of this and had seen the emotionless husks the "drained" Gelfling had become...it was hard to imagine there was anything they could do about it.

Starting to feel actual worry over the dawning idea that the Gelfling might have secretly developed some kind of weapon or plan that he did not reach to comprehend yet, the Chamberlain rose his voice and called out : -"Kaia!...Where are you?!. Come here,now!"
At the sound of his claim, a tiny young Gelfling dressed with a long green tunic left the shadows of the hall where she had been waiting.
Her hair was long and nearly white, with a pale shade of yellow, and her grey eyes were sparkling with readiness.  
-"Yes, Master skekSil"- She said, waiting for her Master's orders.

Now the Chamberlain found himself in a truly uncomfortable situation. Carrying the scrolls had always been his assistant's duty.
That's what she was there for: relieving him from the weight of the administrative papers he endlessly delivered from one pair of hands to another.
But as the news about the Gelfling conspiracy were unsettling him so badly, he wondered what he ought to do now. He had impulsively required her services as usual, she had always been expeditive and obedient to him...but today...should he still trust her the scroll?...THIS scroll, and the rumors of doom it contained?...

"Nonsense"- He thought, trying to ease himself -"This Gelfling has always been loyal to the empire. She knows nothing at all. It is just a small distance from here to the Throne room. Let her do her job, that's what I feed her and keep her for."-
Besides, how would he look in front of the others, entering the Throne room without his assistant? It would be undignifying to show up alone, arms brimming with scrolls. He could vividly imagine his back aching under the weight of the paperwork.

Repressing his nervousness, he passed the handful of scrolls and papers he carried under his arms to the Gelfling servant who, knowing what to do, accomodated them with extreme caution inside the big leather satchel she carried.
-"Make haste, now. Hmmmm!" - He murmured, and without further delay, he walked towards the ogival gate that led to the outer courtyard, followed closely by the small servant.

Outside, the light shed by the three suns was barely visible. Thick clouds had turned it dim and grey, announcing an incoming storm.
SkekSil felt his old bones stir with the ache of centuries, and thought that, if that storm did come, it would surely be a big one.
His clever green eyes rose for a moment, tracking the clouded skies above for any sign of lightning.
The Gelfling girl, Kaia,who had been walking in silence next to him, suddenly let out a loud strangled yelp.
Surprised by the sound she had produced, the Chamberlain stopped and asked -"What is it?..."- only to find the reason for her exhabrupt right in front of him, barely steps afar.

It was a huge wild Rakkida. The animal stood in the middle of the courtyard, its stern, muscular body stiff with rage. The flabbergasted Skeksis froze in the middle of a step.
How had that thing entered the castle?...
The beast's heavy jaws let out bubbling threads of foam, as it snarled to the two creatures it had just discovered. Its glowing yellow eyes squinted maliciously when its sharp, hooked claws dug the earth in evident preparation for a deadly pounce.
Then, the Chamberlain reacted.
-"RUN, NOW!"- He yelled at the Gelfling. But she did not oblige. She could only stand there, squeaking like a frightened screechrat, and then flung her heavy satchel forward to hit the predatory beast's snout with it.
-" NO!"-skekSil shouted as he jumped forth, grasping at both Gelfling and satchel. The Rakkida bared its pointed teeth, emmiting an unearthly roar as it jumped forth, barely missing its prey. The terrified Skeksis clumsily dodged the attacking beast and then turned back, running as fast as he could, tripping on his floor-length robes in search for salvation.

The Chamberlain knew the castle like the very palm of his hand. He remembered there was a huge crack nobody had ever cared to repare in one of the walls of the hall he was now running through.
He had the desperate thought that he could fit in there, but that broad monster wouldn't.
Just some steps further ahead.
There it was!.
SkekSil quickly shoved the astonished Gelfling into the big crack in the hallway wall, which was indeed big enough to shelter them both, and then squeezed himself in, huffing, snorting, feeling his rich attire rip against the ragged stone.
It was a real struggle for him, being a lot bigger and broader than his servant was, but when the roaring Rakkida clawed at him tearing through his silken sleeves, he found a way to fit into that narrow space, making himself as small as he could manage.

-"Master!"- The Gelfling screamed in fear, since she had seen the beast clamping its teeth onto the Chamberlain's arm, and knew not if they had reached the flesh beneath his ellaborate, thick robes.
She stretched her tiny arms upwards, toward her master, in a desperate attempt to check him, to find out wether he was injured or not.
The skeksis felt her movements pushing him back through their improvised shelter and towards the snarling Rakkida, which was trying to dig its way in to catch them.
-"No!...Stay still, Gelfling!"- he squeaked, shoving her further into the narrow space between the rocks, towards the farthest end of the crack. He hoped that by keeping her away from him, he might be able to stop her from endangering his already precarious situation.
The Gelfling seemed to understand this, and instantly obeyed, though she was still worried about the state of her Master's arm.
Was he bleeding? Had he been bitten by the monster?
Unable to refrain herself for long, she reached one of her tiny hands to touch the Skeksis' arm, there where his fine silken sleeves had been torn to pityful shreds...then the Rakkida's snapping jaws penetrated the wall for a second,closing with a brutal crunch merely inches from the girl's fingers.
-"Silly Gelfling, I told you to stop moving!"- SkekSil growled, pushing her back once more. As he did so, his long tail unavertedly flicked in an instinctive twitch of unease. The beast outside took its chance, and clamped its jaws around the Skeksis' tail.
The Chamberlain let out an ear splitting screech of pain, and violently swished his tail back to safety, tearing his own skin in the proccess.

Moaning in agony, skekSil curled the torn, bleeding tail around his ankles. Kaia's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the jagged wound...then, they brimmed with tears.
-"Master...Master, I am sorry, I only wanted to help!"- She stammered, not daring to move again, though burning in desire to nurse the injury she felt she had unwillingly caused him.
-"Hmmmmm...just stay still. That is all the help I need from you!...do you still have the scrolls?"- The Chamberlain demanded urgently, his voice rasping with pain.
-"The scrolls?...Yes."- replied the Gelfling, checking her satchel. Fortunatey enough, its lid had held in place and all the contents seemed untouched.
-"Well, then...hmmmm. Everything will be alright. I only need to think of a way to get us out of here safely."- whispered the Skeksis, trying not to sound as unsure of his ability to do the latter as he actually felt.


Growling and snapping its jaws, the huge dark rakkida clawed futilessly against the stone wall, drawing trails of blue sparks from it in its furious attempt to make its prey come out and meet its deadly teeth.
When the beast understood that this approach was not working, it simply sat there, staring intently at the crack on the stone wall.
It would remain in this place and watch the prey he could still smell and hear in there.
They would eventually come out.