The Mystics are a race of characters from the 1982 Creature Shop film The Dark Crystal.

At the last Great Conjunction, the urSkeks were divided into two races -- Mystics and Skeksis. The four-armed Mystics (also called urRu) took on the sorrows of the world. They inherited the mystical wisdom of the urSkeks, but were powerless to use it outside their own valley. Their hopes for redemption rested on Jen. There were originally eighteen Mystics, but by the time of the Great Conjunction when they rejoined the Skeksis, only eight remained.

The Mystic puppets are full body puppets, which are mainly operated by mimes and dancers. The operators have to crouch down on their haunches, with one arm stretched out in front to operate the jaw, while the other arm operates one of the puppets' front arms. Fine facial movements, such as blinking or moving eyes, were operated by another puppeteer by remote control.

Mystics[]

The 1982 book The World of the Dark Crystal described each of the Mystics:

urAc the Scribe Hus Levant		"urAc the Scribe wrote the simpler thoughts of his comrades on unwound cloth spirals. This they called writing in rays of sunlight. Thoughts that he judged deeper and worthy of growth he wound into spirals to bring out their richness. Also he made the prayer sticks and composed their prayers."
urAmaj the Cook Hugh Spight	urNol the Herbalist Swee Lim	"The closest together among the urRu were urAmaj the Cook and urNol the Herbalist. They attended to the greater and lesser balances of the body and spirits of their companions. Over much time urAmaj would blend the flavors and textures of fruit and root and grain and spice, sour and sweet, salt and aromatic, smooth and granular and fibrous, till the dish had the desired properties to soothe the urRu... urNol's herbs were taken for adjustment in the time between meals; he also made use of birds' feathers, and in particular the mosses and lichens that grew on the Standing Stones, where he had his favorite gardens."
urIm the Healer David Greenaway and Richard Slaughter		"To the eyes of urIm the Healer, the corona that had flared around the heads of the urSkeks still flickered over the urRu. His amulets, his baths, his acupuncture, were designed to restore balance to the corona. With his right hands he made patterns in the air to restore the fires of the soul; with his left hands he made patterns in water to reduce them. He knew the art of the death trance; all other music he neglected."
urSol the Chanter Simon Williamson		"UrSol the Chanter had two voices: one light and gentle for speech, one deep and resonate for song that could calm thunder or make waterfalls still. Music, he said, is the most ephemeral form of sculpture and therefore the most powerful. He wore his hair tied in a club; the knots it formed were varied for each chant and loosened at lesser conjunctions. He had the art to sing one note that made all the different stones of the valley tremble."
urSu the Master Brian Muehl		"Whenever an urRu died in the Valley, a Skeksis died in the castle, for their bodies were divided but their souls were still linked... urSu the Master chose death that the balance of urRu and Skeksis might be broken. Wise was he always and subtle in meditation beyond understanding."
urTih the Alchemist Toby Philpott		"urTih the Alchemist was forever lost in his experimentations. He would seek to change the forms of things, solids into liquids, liquids into solids again. With humility did he approach his work, bearing in mind the knowledge that he could not make or create anything that was Nature's work."
urUtt the Weaver Jean Pierre Amiel		"The blanket coats of all the urRu were made by urUtt the Weaver. Such delicate work from such thick fingers! Each coat was a record of its wearer's thought and fate, with spirals that were also a comment on his past life and that controlled his dreams. At an urRu's last breath, the coat became as delicate and transparent as gossamer, then collapsed as the body beneath it vanished and the thoughts within its weaving were released. The urRu die, said urYod, because they can no longer join their future with their past."
urYod the Numerologist Robbie Barnett		"urYod the Numerologist kept track of time with moving strings of stones...Before the division he aided (Aughra) with the Observatory."
urZah the Ritual Guardian Brian Muehl voice: Sean Barrett		"urZah the Ritual Guardian had another wisdom. His mind was like a deep pool stirred by profound currents. Very slow to move, to speak; as wise as the silent stars. He made the sand paintings of prophecy for the urRu, pouring out the colored sands while the others chanted; combining and brushing the sands of amethyst, opal, agate, onyx, and chalcedony; building the forms of spiral energy, himself a spiral, and at the moment of completion and revelation sweeping all away with his tail. He spoke more freely than the other urRu, but in riddles for choice. Long nights of meditation had left thought spirals not only on the skin of his face, as on the faces of the other urRu, but all across his body. Of this he would not speak."
UrVa the Archer Olly Taylor voice: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson		"UrVa the Archer was noted for his expertise in archery. Quick of foot. Quick of wit. Of all the Mystics, urVa is the most adept at their powerful four-armed martial arts. If he could be turned to serve us, he would be a powerful tool."
UrGoh the Wanderer Olly Taylor voice: Bill Hader		"During the Makrak raids, UrGoh the Wanderer took an active role in giving Podling refugees safe haven in the Valley of the urRu. When the Gelflings, Skeksis and urRu convened to decide the fate of the Makraks, urGoh revealed the existence of the Field of Fire, which he stated would be an ideal home for the creatures.

Other media[]

• In Legends of the Dark Crystal, a new character, urSen, the mystic monk, narrates the story.
• In The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, there are two mystics: urVa, the archer and urGoh, the wanderer.
• In Song of the Dark Crystal, urLii the storyteller is introduced as the keeper of the Grottan Clan's Tomb of Relics.
• Tides of the Dark Crystal introduces urSan the swimmer.