The tranquil lull of nature blanketed the forest atmosphere. The soft whisper of the wind through the thick branches, the whir of insect wings, a distant caw of a bird of prey. Slinking through the thicket, a Sabre Cat stealthily hunted for its next meal with the fervent caution only a feline creature possesses. It paused in its tracks; sniffing the air, unsure of where to proceed next.
The silence was suddenly broken as a metallic bolt whizzed through the forest, imbedding in a mighty oak mere inches from the cat's haunches with a splintering thud. The Sabre Cat instantly sprung into the tall bushes on pure instinct, vanishing from sight just as quickly as the projectile itself.
"Curse the Ancients!" muttered Randor as he trounced through the clearing, no longer concerned with being detected.
"A fine shot nonetheless, my liege." The King's Man-At-Arms attempted to console him, following closely behind.
"Please spare me, Duncan. I'm afraid these old eyes aren't as keen as they once were." King Randor stopped to take a swig from his canteen and retrieved his failed missile.
"Those days weren't that long ago it seems, I still remember them clearly."
Despite King Randor dismissing his efforts, the noble soldier couldn't help but offer kind words to the man he had so loyally served the majority of his life. Just as the Sabre Cat had acted on impulse, the Man-At-Arms did so as well.
The two men took a moment to relax and find their bearings.
"Perhaps we should head back to the Palace, my King. It's getting late, and my lord has a certain engagement he still needs to prepare for."
The last statement was meant as a friendly jibe, a subtle smirk crossed Duncan's face as he surveyed the woods.
"Yes, yes. No need to remind me. The Queen has certainly seen to that with great dedication." King Randor knew that Man-At-Arms was right; he was almost always right, which is clearly why he was his Man-At-Arms.
"Very well, Duncan. Let us retire for the day. Besides I'm quite certain I've managed to scare away every Spine Deer and Bush Tail in Eternia!"
Duncan's smile grew wider as the two made their way home.
Like the great forest beyond its protective walls, Palace Eternos offered its own sense of solace, particularly within the Royal Gardens. Prince Adam strolled alongside his twin sister Adora, their blonde hair shimmering against reflections of stone.
"I still can't believe Father insists on going hunting with Duncan every year on his anniversary. There are plenty of other days in the year that they can spend chasing animals around."
"Easy, sis. Knowing Duncan, he won't keep him out there long. Besides, its become tradition for him. Calm before the storm." Adam gave a soft chuckle, prodding his sister with his elbow.
"Such male foolishness. I don't know why Mother tolerates it year after year."
Adora sighed over-exaggeratingly, gazing at the statues and monuments of the Ancients, their imposing figures casting long shadows onto the paved pathway. She pondered for a moment whether one day future generations of Eternia would craft marvelous statues of her for others to admire. Almost certainly, they would. But even more so she realized that at least one statue, if not several of She-Ra were sure to exist, and that brought a beaming grin to her face.
"What the…?" Adam halted quickly, jolting Adora out of her daydream.
There before them was a statue Adam had never seen before, despite wandering through the Royal Gardens more times than he could remember. Amid grandiose Ancients that towered around them, a small stone figure stood; its dwarfish stature and peculiar looks seemed odd and out of place.
"Since when did the masons make a statue of Orko?" Adora asked, just as intrigued as her brother.
"They didn't." Adam replied, leaning in closely to examine the statue, just inches from its face.
The statue suddenly burst to life, a massive exhale coming from Orko's mouth like a great gale wind. Prince Adam stumbled backwards, taken totally by surprise. The Princess gasped as she watched the statue come alive, color and life returning to its body with each wheezing breath. Then it became clear to her what had happened, and she couldn't resist the urge to laugh.
"Orko! What in Eternia are you doing?" Adora asked through her chuckling. The Trollan wizard attempted to respond, but still couldn't catch his breath to muster an answer.
"Let me guess," chimed Adam, "Another magic experiment gone awry?"
Orko was finally able to speak. "Err, yes…but you're only half right. To be fair, the spell has actually gone exactly as it should."
"Is that right? Well if the effect was to scare the Prince half to death, I think you can call it a success," Adora joked.
"Very funny," said Adam, rising to his feet.
"You see, the spell transforms the subject into the most impervious of granite rock," explained Orko, "However for only as long as the subject can hold his or her breath…then the effect wares off, as you both just witnessed. I've been practicing all morning, I'm almost up to three minutes flat!"
Prince Adam had to hand it to Orko; not only had he indeed succeeded in startling him, but he also managed to do what was widely considered abnormal for the Court Wizard; he had flawlessly cast an impressive spell. Although not a magician of any sorts, Adam still recognized that transformation spells, in particular, were very difficult.
Adam was also taken with how long Orko had claimed to hold his breath. Three minutes was practically impossible for any human, so he wondered if perhaps Trollans had stronger lung structure. Or maybe they required less air to circulate their smaller bodies.
"A fine spell, Orko, but shouldn't you be helping prepare for my parents' ceremony this evening?"
"Of course," he replied, "But I just had to see how this spell would perform first. Besides, I have lots of helping hands here at the Palace; Madamme Raaz is here, along with Uncle Montork and my beloved Drelle." The wizard dwelled for a moment on the last one, lingering in affection.
"I see. With all these Trollans around we shouldn't be short on entertainment, either," bemused Adam.
"To be honest, I'm glad you both found me, I also have a somewhat important matter to discuss."
"Please, go on Orko," said Adora, interested in why Orko's tone suddenly changed.
"Well its probably nothing, but I've been picking up odd disturbances in some of the energies in the Kingdom. Just beyond the Eternian Badlands, to be exact."
"What kind of disturbances?" asked Adam.
"Oh, nothing too unsettling, but it did manage to peak my curiosity. Keeping in mind that tonight's festivities are bringing visitors in from several different worlds, so I figured anomalies in the dimensional barriers were to be expected. Still, this one in particular doesn't feel right to me, so I thought I'd atleast mention it."
"You did right, Court Magician," stated Adam, raising his hand to his chin to contemplate. "This might be worth investigating, especially if your senses are telling you something's amiss."
"Perhaps we should tell Duncan. He can assemble a scouting party," suggested Adora.
"It might be hours before Duncan and father return. We may not be able to afford to wait," said Adam. He paused to think for a moment. "I'll find one of the other Masters to lead the scout. Besides, if something were to happen, we will need Man-At-Arms here to command the guard."
"You're right," Adora agreed. She was glad to see her brother making smarter, more thought out plans. He really seemed to be transitioning from less of a Prince's role to that of a true King's, despite what she knew others thought about Adam's supposed ineptitude.
"Well I'll leave it up to you now, Prince Adam," said Orko as he began to float away, "Oh, and here – before I go, each of you take one of these."
Orko handed each sibling a small round stone, concealable even in his tiny palm. "Each of these stones is enchanted with the spell. Just grasp it in your hand and hold your breath – the stone will do the rest! Who knows, might come in handy. Our Royal Family can never have too much protection!"
And with that Orko zipped away, leaving the two processing everything that had just occurred.
"So who do you think is the right choice to send on the scout?" Adora queried, eager to see who he might choose.
"The obvious choice would be Mekaneck," answered Adam, "seeing as he is the main scout for the Masters, and he most likely wouldn't even have to leave the Palace grounds. However I've decided to investigate the matter personally, after acquiring some details from Mekaneck first."
"What? Adam, are you sure that's wise?" Adora countered, beginning to think her previous judgments about him were made too soon.
"Wise, I'm not so sure. But I feel that I need to take care of this on my own. I want to prove to my father – and myself – that I'm entirely capable of handling matters like this that may threaten Eternos."
"Do you really think this is that serious?" said Adora, still uncertain of her brother's decision.
"Hopefully it's not, of course, and Orko is just overly paranoid. But then again, if Skeletor or other evil forces wanted to plan something, an occasion such as this would be a good opportunity for them, advancing on us while we're distracted with celebration."
Both seemed entirely plausible, but Adora still didn't like the fact that her brother was going to go himself, especially on their parents' anniversary. Knowing Adam's misfortunes in the past, this plan of his might entirely backfire if he wasn't present for the Royal proceedings. Still, Adora understood why Adam came to this decision, so she didn't express these doubts. She also knew Adam had made up his mind, and debating with him further about it would merely waste time.
"Alright Adam. I'll do my best to cover for you while you're away," Adora promised, "but you better make sure you're back in time for the procession. I don't think I need to tell you what that may result in if you aren't."
Adam nodded his head. "Well I guess that doesn't leave much time. I'd better see our tall-necked friend at once."
"Be careful, brother." Adora pleaded, hugging him quickly yet firmly.
"I will. I'll be back in no time."
Adam hustled off, leaving his sister alone in the Gardens, the shadows of the Ancients crawling even longer as the sun continued to rise.