The original film's plot revolves around one Gelfling, Jen, who must restore balance to their world by returning a lost piece of the dark crystal. The crystal is meant to keep their world in perfect balance. That is, when it's not being misused by the Skeksis as their own personal fountain of youth. The prequel is ambiguous on exactly how many years the events happen before the original, but the graphic novels released after The Dark Crystal delve more into the lore and universe of the series. Given the backstory explored in the graphic novels, it is likely that the prequel occurs sometime within 200 years before the original. It was around that time that the Skeksis began sacrificing Gelflings and another species known as Podlings to the crystal in order to obtain their life essence. Jen reuniting the lost piece, the shard, to the dark crystal was reportedly foretold as a prophecy.