Skylands was peaceful, when she wasn't fighting villains.

Dark Crystal Master, or Crystal, for short, was enjoying the day. Her long, ebony hair was in a long ponytail, with a crown of dark crystals and dark colored flowers in it. Her navy blue eyes were closed, and she was half asleep. Her thin, bony body lay on the ground, and she wore a dark blue tank top, jean shorts, and a long, black cape with a silver clasp. She was barefoot, and her only jewelry was a simple, silver armband.

She had been up all night, training hard, specifically with a spear. Spears were easy to attack and defend with, so she used them a lot. Not that she was usually sent into battle, no, on the contrary, she was rarely sent into battle. As portal masters like her were becoming rarer, she wasn't allowed to risk getting injured, and possibly killed. No matter how much the young girl pleaded, she was forced to stay behind, creating a portal to transport her skylanders. She was on an even tighter leash after what had happened to Master Eon, and he still bossed her around!

Crystal huffed.  If only portal masters respected her!  Well, Nifty Space Time did, he was always nice, and honest. If only portal masters were less snobby, and more like Nifty. That would be nice, though it was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Crystal thought of all the portal masters she knew of. Nifty, Kaos, herself, Master Eon... did Eon still count? He couldn't open portals anymore, so perhaps not. There might be others that she couldn't name off the top of her head, though not very many.  How many had died in their line of work?  Most of the ancient ones of legend, and probably more. 

Crystal sighed, spreading out her fingers.  She should be happy.  Nothing bad was happening, she had magic at her fingertips, and yet...something felt like it was missing.  Respect?  No, something different, though she longed for respect as well.  Friendship?  She had friends...technically.  Her skylanders, and Nifty.  They were her friends.  Power?  Crystal frowned.  That sounded like a thought someone like Kaos would have. 

Crystal pushed the thoughts away, and stood up with a sigh.  She should probably head back to her cottage, and rest.  She hadn't been getting enough sleep lately, and it was starting to show.  She'd take a nap, and she'd feel better, and she wouldn't long for power and respect.  Sleep would fix everything. 

She was about halfway to her cottage when she was stopped by a certain ninja elf.  Crystal jumped a mile when she heard the elf's voice.  "Crystal Master?  We have a problem."  Those words turned Crystal's world upside down. 

And not in a good way, if that was possible.