Author's Note: This story takes place after the events of "Year One: Prelude." It ties into "Preludes and Beginnings," "The Elfsong of Eternia," "The Crossroads of Destiny," "Prophecy & Change," "Just Another Day," "Liberty and Valor," "Manifest Destiny," "Roots," "The Final Adventure," "A Winter's Heart," and "The Shroud of the Horde." These characters don't belong to me.

HE-MAN: YEAR ONE

JANUARY

"He-Man and the Power Sword"

Part One

The snow and the wind howled that cold January night. Despite a temporary relief from winter, it was back with a vengeance. Flags of Eternos flapped harshly in the high winds and Royal Soldiers did their best to hold back shivers from the cold that stung them to the core. It was a dark night . . . a lonely night . . .

The moons of Eternia – Bright Moon, Dark Moon, and Org – sat behind a thick blanket of clouds. Snow flowed from these clouds in spurts, occasionally accumulating in small areas of Eternos. As midnight came and the Palace lights began to extinguish, the night guard took the place of the evening guard.

Houses and vendors were peaceful and quiet. A few late night walkers roamed the streets of Eternos, but as the night continued to settle in, they were aimless in their nightly travels and returned to their homes. Eternos was a beautiful city, composed of red and pink bricks with citizens living on multiple levels of the large plateau. The Palace sat at the top of the plateau, overlooking the city itself.

The night, however, was filled with a strange sort of tension. Something, it seemed, was happening off in a far part of the world. Many of the stragglers didn't stay out much later than 30 after midnight.

"Who goes there!" came a sudden shout from the gatekeepers.

There were three gates to Eternos, one at the bottom, one before the bridge into the city and one at the other side of the bridge. This came from the first gate's keepers.

A rider on his horse sat before the gates. He looked up at the gatekeepers.

"I am a messenger from Drisdos!" shouted the rider. "I seek an audience with the king of Eternos!"

"What is your business, messenger?" asked the gatekeeper.

"There's been an attack on Drisdos! Our communications tower was destroyed and I need to see the king!"

"Let him through!" shouted the gatekeeper.

The gates opened wide and the rider was let in. He galloped up the path to the second gate. It opened as well, and then the final gate, which granted him entrance into Eternos.

An hour later, King Randor (who had been in his study looking over some documents for the next week) was sitting the in throne room with Man-At-Arms, listening to the tale this man spun. There had been an attack on Drisdos just after sunset. Creatures led by a man in a cloak. The attack had been devastating. The descriptions of the creatures were the same told to Man-At-Arms back in December.

The messenger was given stay for the night and a legion of Royal Soldiers was dispatched to Drisdos to investigate.

"What do you think, Duncan?" asked Randor after the messenger had been led out of the throne room.

"I think we need to start talking to some of the others."

"Agreed. I'll stay up and monitor the situation in Drisdos. In the morning, we'll call out for our allies and get their input."

Indeed, the next morning, two visitors came to Eternos from the Mystic Mountains. One was King Stratos from Avion – a tall, lean man with gray down feathers covering his body and two huge red wings that arched out from his wrists. He wore a red helmet with black goggles. With him was Lord Buzz-Off of Insectia. Buzz-Off was one of the four races that inhabited Insectia and was bee-like in his appearance.

The two of them landed at Eternos and were greeted by Teela and Prince Adam.

"Welcome to Eternos!" Prince Adam addressed.

"Good morning, Prince Adam," Stratos replied. "Teela."

"Hello sire."

Buzz-Off smiled. "She just called you 'sire.'"

Stratos laughed a little. "Teela, I have known you since you were a baby. And there is no real monarch in Avion. It's just a title."

"Well . . . still. And Lord Buzz-Off, good morning."

Buzz-Off snickered. "It's always good to see you two kids."

"Don't mind her, Buzz-Off. Teela's just sucking up and putting on a good show because she wants to make Captain," Adam stated.

"Adam!" gasped Teela. "That's it! Ten laps around the main courtyard!"

"What!"

"You heard me! And if you dare disobey, I'll make sure your father knows about it."

Adam rolled his eyes and walked off. "See you guys later."

Teela followed, eyes stern and centered on Adam.

"Stratos! Buzz-Off!" came the shout of Mekaneck from the doorway. "Good to see you guys again!"

Stratos and Buzz-Off walked into the Palace and shook the hand of Mekaneck. "Likewise," Buzz-Off replied.

"Do you know what's going on, Mekaneck? We've all been hearing rumors for months," Stratos questioned. "And now, the attack on Drisdos. Who is behind this?"

"We have a theory," stated Man-At-Arms, walking over to the group. "Though I doubt you'll like it."

"Oh?" Buzz-Off asked.

"It seems a lot of the suspects line up with the descriptions of those that attacked the Hall of Wisdom a number of years ago," Man-At-Arms replied. "Remember?"

Both Stratos and Buzz-Off did, though their memories had been altered. The man who had led the attack was known to them simply as the Apprentice, as he was the student of the warlord Hordak. But in truth, he was once King Randor's brother, Keldor.

"Yeah. Really? Are we really talking about this?" asked Buzz-Off.

"Why now? After all these years?" Stratos followed up.

"That's exactly what I'd like to know," Randor stated, joining them. "I've called in someone else who was with us that day who might just be able to help us."

The group entered the throne room and there stood Moss Man. He smiled and walked over to the others.

"Long time, no see," Moss Man greeted, shaking their hands.

"Been about a year or two," Stratos responded, thinking back to a chance encounter in the Evergreen Forest.

"Right. I understand our old enemies may just be back in action. Thought I'd help you guys out."

"It's good to have you on board," Man-At-Arms told him. The five men gathered together in the throne room and shut the door behind them.

Standing in the deep recesses of the Tar Swamp was a gathering of powers. A man in violet cloak stood before his followers, the hood drawn heavily to conceal his features. Before him stood his minions, each one of exceptional power and ability. Evil-Lynn, mightiest of dark witches. Beast-Man, feral creature who commands animals. Mer-Man, terror of the seas. Trap-Jaw, cyborg with both a robotic arm and jaw. Tri-Klops, the triple-sighted swordsman.

"Our time has come at last," the leader announced. "We have worked long and hard at this goal and let all of our sufferings pay off. Remember our plan. Attack Eternos and then, we move onto Castle Grayskull!"

Two massive, robotic spiders clambered over. Trap-Jaw and Tri-Klops boarded them. Mer-Man leapt onto a vehicle that was called the Roton. Evil-Lynn slid into tank-like vehicle known as the Land-Shark. The cloaked figure hopped onto his purple-furred feral cat, whom he called Panthor. As the group rode east, so did an army of floating attack robots called Hover Robots.

They brought with them war to Eternia.

As King Randor, Buzz-Off, Stratos, Moss Man, and Mekaneck continued their discussion, Man-At-Arms felt himself being pulled away from the conversation by a telepathic voice. One that was very much familiar . . .

Man-At-Arms!

Sorceress, Man-At-Arms returned. What is it? What's wrong?

Adam must come to Castle Grayskull immediately!

All right, all right. I'll get him.

Adam was kicked in the side. His blue eyes snapped open and looked up and saw the angry (but kinda cute) expression of Teela before him. Cringer, by his side, gulped loudly.

"Uh-oh . . ." Cringer gasped.

"ADAM! I told you to do those laps!"
Adam stood up and rolled his eyes. "No need to kick me like that!"

"I'll kick you any way I want to kick you!"

"Jeez, Teela, we were just taking a nap. What's the big deal?"

"Big deal? Big deal? It is my duty to train you, Adam! That's the big duty! You think this is all about you!"

"Ancients, Teela, give it a rest!"

Orko floated over at that moment, hovering right next to Cringer. "At it again, are they?" asked the Trollian.

"Second time today."

"It's not even noon yet."

The blue sky was beginning to cover up with a large patch of gray clouds that would soon bring snowflakes to Eternos.

"Adam! Teela!" shouted Man-At-Arms, marching over. "Adam come with me."

"Father! It's not my fault Adam won't listen to me!" Teela started.

"Don't worry about that right now, Teela. I need you to - "

DUNCAN! shouted the Sorceress. THEY ARE NEARLY THERE!

"Now?" questioned Man-At-Arms.

"Now what?" asked Teela, who shared a quizzical look with Adam.

"Get inside, Teela. Immediately! Orko! Fetch the king! We're about to be attacked!"

"What?" asked Teela, stepping back.

"GO! NOW!"

No needing to be told twice, Teela turned on her heel and ran into the Palace. Orko zoomed after her. Duncan reached forward and grabbed hold of Adam's shoulders.

"Get a Sky Sled and make for the north. Into the Evergreen Forest. Go to coordinates 773 by 332."

"What? Where am I going?"

"Castle Grayskull."

Adam bulked. "Castle Grayskull? But I thought that it was just a myth. Like the Great Towers . . ."

"It is no myth! And you must go! It is your destiny!"

Adam's eyes widened. "Destiny?" he wondered, rolling the word around in his mind. He had never heard that word used in such a serious tone before – especially about him.

"That's right. Go. Now. And tell no one."

Adam started to walk away, Cringer in tow. "Okay . . ."

"And don't look back! RUN! NOW!"

Adam broke into a run, Cringer by his side. He ran into the Palace, passing Teela, who was talking to several soldiers. She shouted his name, but Adam ignored her. He ran hard and fast, Cringer just a few feet behind him, running after him.

The Prince of Eternos then reached a line of Sky Sleds near one of the landing pads. He activated the engine and sat down, ready to take off.

"I'm coming too," Cringer then said.

"What? Really?"

"Man-At-Arms was just a little scared back there. That can mean nothing but trouble!"

Adam smirked and pressed the extender. The seat of the Sky Sled slid back another five feet, which was enough room for Duncan.

"Just don't go too fast. I'm afraid of speed . . . and heights!"

"I'll do the best I can, Cringer, but you saw Man-At-Arms. Whatever is going on here is pretty big."

The Sky Sled blasted off, tearing away from Eternos, heading north towards the Evergreen Forest.

Meanwhile, back at Eternos, Man-At-Arms hand his hand to the side of his helmet, connected to the comm-line. He was receiving reports from all across Eternos. Listening posts between here and the Tar Swamp were going quiet.

"What's going on, Duncan?" asked King Randor as he ran out into the courtyard. With him was Orko, Queen Marlena, Teela, Buzz-Off, Stratos, and Moss Man.

"We're about to be attacked, sire."

"By whom?" asked Marlena.

But before she could answer, terrible explosions rocked the Palace and the city. Alarms blared, soldiers ran, and fireballs roared from the impacts. As the small group was about to move, an explosion blasted right in the courtyard. The entire group was thrown down.

The sky filled with Hover Robots and a portion of the wall of the courtyard was blown away. In walked Beast-Man, Mer-Man, Trap-Jaw, Tri-Klops, Evil-Lynn, Panthor, and their leader.

"Remember us?" asked Trap-Jaw.