skekSa

skekSa
General Information
Species	Skeksis
Occupation	Mariner
urRu counterpart	urSan
Era(s)	Age of Division
Residence	Silver Sea
Appeared in	The Journey into the Mondo Levidian Tides of the Dark Crystal Flames of the Dark Crystal The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (mentioned)

To be powerful is to be like water. Unflinching. Unstoppable. Uncaring. Crushing everything!

SkekSa

SkekSa was the Skeksis mariner, and counterpart to urSan the swimmer.

Biography

SkekSa had left the Castle of the Crystal by at least the early Age of Division, as she had already become a prominent figure in Sifan culture during Thriya's visit to the Sifan Coast. During this period, she traveled the seas aboard a living ship named Vassa.

Centuries later, after the ascension of All-Maudra Mayrin, skekSa, now captain of a Dreadnought, accepted to have her own ship act as neutral ground in negotiations between the All-Maudra and the Sifan separatist Fenth during the Age of Sifans crisis. Unknown to all parties, skekSa was deliberately stoking the flames of division, hoping to manipulate the Sifans once they were free of the All-Maudra's authority. When news came that Mayrin had been swallowed on her way to the negotiating table by the Mondo Levidian, skekSa ambiguously promised Fenth the Vapran throne in exchange for his services to her.

During the negotiations, skekSa caught sight of the Mondo Levidian and became obsessed with taming it, naming it "Vassa" after her previous vessel and hoping to use it to explore new regions and name new territories after herself. She then announced her lack of interest in continuing to assist Fenth in his power grab and joined Mayrin and the other Gelfling in repelling a Zoa attack on her Dreadnought. After the battle, she detained Fenth, intending to hand him over to skekTek for his failure.

In the buildup to the Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood, after skekMal returned to the Castle on the brink of death, skekZok briefly mentioned skekSa, opining that she and skekNa would have been "useful in a fight."

Other continuities

All I wanted was to be rid of this wretched landlocked place, travel the sea, and find my fortune - but you betrayed me! Just like everyone has betrayed me. urSan, the Sifa, the Gelfling! - skekZok. Now I'm truly alone.

skekSa to Naia

SkekSa was the focal Skeksis antagonist of J.M. Lee's young adult tie-in novels Tides of the Dark Crystal and Flames of the Dark Crystal. She and her urRu counterpart, urSan, mentored both Amri and Naia throughout. In the timeline established in the young adult novels, skekSa was depicted as a travelling Skeksis who rarely stepped foot on the mainland, and rarely attended events within the Skeksis' castle. She sailed the Silver Sea coast aboard her living behemoth ship, Vassa, an enslaved sea monster. SkekSa seemed to have no interest in the politics of the castle, and would have preferred to leave it all behind if it were possible. Unfortunately, she was unable to cross the sea without the help of the Sifa—or without her urRu counterpart, urSan the Swimmer. 

SkekSa was the patron Skeksis of the Sifa clan, and appeared to have a genuine fondness for them. However, when the Sifa joined the Gelfling resistance, skekSa saw this as a betrayal and turned against them, re-allying herself with Emperor skekSo. She believed that the only way to win back her favor among the Skeksis at the castle was to return Naia and Gurjin to them. When she and her old ally skekZok failed to do that, skekZok turned against her putting the blame for Naia and Gurjin's escape solely on her. Furious that everyone she had been allies with had betrayed her now skekSa resorted to revenge. Realising skekSo wanted her dead skekSa decided to outright kill Naia blaming her for turning the Sifa Gelfling against her. Arriving at the Drenchen Clan's home in the Great Sog skekSa managed to kill Naia's and Gurjin’s mother, Maudra Laesid, before she was ultimately stopped by the Drenchen and her Mystic counterpart urSan in the finale of Flames of the Dark Crystal.

Behind the scenes

SkekCru

The character first appeared in the second volume of Legends of the Dark Crystal but, according to Heidi Arnold, was meant to be named skekCru. In J.M. Lee's Tides of the Dark Crystal, the character is the first Skeksis to be identified with female pronouns. Lee stated in an interview that his choice in identifying skekSa as female was in part inspired by the original film's novelization by A.C.H. Smith, which describes how the Skeksis lack sexes, but have a form of gender identity.