Text from The Making of the Dark Crystal by Christopher Finch

Jen

Raised by the Mystics in their valley, Jen believed that he was the last survivor of the Gelflings, a race of fawn-like elfin creatures. But when his dying master sent him on a quest, he discovered he was not alone. The Dark Crystal is the story of the terrors and final triumph of Jen's quest.

Kira

Like Jen, Kira survived the slaughter of the Gelflings. Rescued by the Pod People, she learned to live in harmony with the woodland creatures who inhabited the swamps and forests surrounding the Pod Village. When fate brought Kira and Jen together, she joined him on his quest. They gave each other strength, encouragement, and the will to succeed.

Aughra

Old enough to know the world that existed before the race of Gelfling came to be, Aughra remembered life before the Mystics and Skeksis evolved their separate codes. She studied the movements of the planets in the heavens and lost an eye a thousand years earlier observing the last Great Conjuction of the Three Suns. Jen was sent by his master to Aughra to fulfill the prophecy and find the shard that would make the Crystal whole again.

Mystics

When at the instant of the last Great Conjunction, the urSkeks were divided into two races, it was the Mystics, or "urRu", who took on the sorrows of the world. Although they had inherited the mystical wisdom of the urSkeks, they were powerless to use it outside their own valley, since the division had robbed them of the ability to act. Their hopes for redemption rest on Jen.

Skeksis

For every Mystic there was a corresponding Skeksis. SkekTek the Scientist was the counterpart of urTih the Alchemist. Skek Ayuk the Gourmand was the alter ego of urAmaj the cook. The Skeksis had control of the castle where the Crystal was kept; in its chamber they practiced their evil arts, hating each other as much as they hated the rest of the world.

Pod People

The Pod People were master gardeners who lived inside their plants. The Garthim disrupted their happy peasant lives when they began to carry off Pod People to the castle. There drained of their life force by skekTek the Scientist, they were reduced to slaves and made to serve the Skeksis' decadent lifestyle.

Garthim

Clawed warriors of amazing strength and savagery, the Garthim unthinkingly carried out the commands of skekUng the Garthim-Master. Created by skekTek the scientist they lived in caverns beneath the castle and left their nether world only to plunder the surrounding countryside, from which they returned with slaved for the Skeksis' household.

Landstriders

Friends of Kira, the Landstriders were bitter enemies of the Garthim warriors. Less powerful than the Garthim, they compensated with speed and intelligence. When a landstrider fell in battle, its flesh was highly prized by the Skeksis, who considered it a great delicacy.

urSkeks

Born of the Crystal before it became dark, the urSkeks were noble beings shining with an inner light. In attempting to perfect themselves they instead tore themselves apart to become two distinct races, Mystics and Skeksis. Only if Jen succeeded in his quest could the urSkeks be born again and the world of the Dark Crystal become whole once again.