Chapter II: The Age of the Horde
The Invasion of Infintia by Prime, The War of Illumination, The Banishment of Prime, The Birth of Hordak, The Horde, Horde Prime, Horde World, Brakk, and The Mutants
Years after the battle with King Hsss at Mysticore, Light Hope established himself as king of Infintia. Under his rule peace flourished for centuries and the planet became a renowned center of learning. That was about to change, the evil god Prime invaded the planet and turned Infintia into a world of darkness and evil. He enslaved the people and forced them to build a stronghold for him. The fortress became known as the Fright Zone. He forced the citizens to mine the earth for minerals and ores needed to build his empire. Using the minerals of the planet he constructed the Crystal of Prime and The Orb of Agony. He would use these objects to focus and increase his power.
Prime ruled the planet with an iron fist for centuries, many innocents died over the years. People began to despise the name of Infintia, once revered and called "the jewel in the diadem of the universe" was now called "hated" and "a synonym for unbridled Evil." Prime killed off many species of animals; nearly all of the Flying Unicorns on Infintia were killed. Only one, Swift Wind survived when his master, used a magic spell to make him look like an ordinary horse and renamed him Spirit. The majestic creature was teleported to another planet. He landed on Eternia, where Kalion, the Goddess of Grayskull discovered him. She fell in love with him and cared for him in the stables beneath Castle Grayskull.
Thousands of towns and villages were wiped off the face of the planet. One of the most heinous was the Massacre of Infinitum. Infinitum was the largest kingdom on Infintia and was place of learning and peace. When Prime sent his forces there, they brought the kingdom to the ground, everyone in the kingdom died. When Prime was done there, all that remained was a disaster area. Many people thought that after Prime's display of power at Infinitum, no one would stand up to Prime and his forces, however one being did take matters into his own hands.
Light Hope declared war on Prime and vowed to free his world from the god's dark power. The War of Illumination, as it is recorded in history lasted for years. It finally ended in of all places, Mysticore. Light Hope used the ancient power of the Gnostics that had laid dormant for thousands of years to defeat his enemy. The battle was draining Light Hope of power and life; he had to think of a way to end the battle. He knew that he couldn't send Prime to Despondos since he created that realm and would know how to escape from it. After thinking for a moment he knew of the place was he wanted to send Prime. Using what little magic he had left, he opened a portal and banished Prime to the planet Omega Terminus at the very edge of the universe, and sent the Crystal of Prime and the Orb of Agony through another portal where they would end up on a random planet. Light Hope had won the battle against Prime, but the cost was dear, he was dying.
Meanwhile at the very edge of the universe, Prime arrived on his adopted homeworld. He began to conquer it and use its resources to build war machines and enslave its people. He renamed the planet Omega Prime and using his own demonic magic and the energies of the planet he began to assemble an army for himself called the Aermae Verlyx Primae or The Army of Prime. He built robotic drones called Mechatroops and recruited beings from across the universe to serve him. The Blood Bat, Prime's symbol, soon was seen across the planet. Even though he had an army and could summon warriors to Omega Prime, he himself could not leave the planet, Light Hope had locked the gateway to Infintia and thus he was a prisoner on his own capital world.
Back on Infintia, Light Hope summoned his advisers, the Magi to his deathbed. He told them that Prime was defeated and Infintia was freed. He conferred his power and leadership upon the Magi and told them to govern the planet with justice. His last words were "Call upon me if you are in need." After giving up his authority and promising his aid to his allies Light Hope transformed into a being of pure energy.
The Magi renamed the planet, Etheria, which is Gnostic for "Reborn to Light." They constructed a temple in the kingdom of Mysticore and established their government in that kingdom. The Temple was the most beautiful building on Etheria and within its walls, the Magi established peace. The words of Eldor ring in this story: "The first god is banished by the light and a new world is made"
Once in power, the Magi helped the people rebuild their kingdoms and governments. When they got to Infinitum and saw the destruction first hand, they decided to turn the kingdom into a memorial for all that died during the war. They chanted a spell and turned the entire kingdom into a forest with every tree representing a life lost in the war, over the years some would say that the Magi could still be heard chanting the spell, this legend gave the place it's current name, The Whispering Woods.
Over the centuries, the Magi continued to rule Etheria justly and their government was the envy of the universe. However, one Magus, Ralabad the Wise, wanted to become the sole ruler of Etheria. He petitioned the other Magi to confer this honor upon him. He told them that even though Light Hope banished Prime, other evils could come and take over the planet, only if there was one sole ruler, could evil be vanquished again. The Magi refused, and excommunicated Ralabad and his disciples from their ranks.
Even though he was excommunicated, Ralabad did not give up his insane dream. He knew that the only being who could give him the power to conquer Etheria was Light Hope's old nemesis, the god Prime. There was one problem however, Prime was banished to the very edge of universe and the Prime Crystal, the artifact that was needed to contact the deity, was sent to some unknown planet. This did not deter him he hired archeologists to scour the universe to find the crystal for him. After years of searching he found the Crystal in the most unlikely of places, Etheria's sister world, Eternia. Ralabad had, at last, the one item he needed to give him ultimate power.
Ralabad retreated to a small village to begin studying the Crystal to figure its secrets. Before he departed, a low-level ambassador from the remote planet of Denebria named Brakk approached him. The Denebrian had only one goal in life, to become all-powerful. He had heard that the fallen Magus had been seeking the god Prime to ask the deity for power, Brakk wanted a share of this power. Ralabad agreed to mention him to Prime and left for his hideout.
Ralabad spent days studying the crystal and finally learned how to activate it. When the awesome image of Prime appeared, Ralabad introduced himself and pleaded with the god to give him the power to conquer Etheria. Prime agreed but told Ralabad that he must 'die and be reborn'. Ralabad agreed and Prime used his powers to transform Ralabad the Wise. Prime was true to his word; Ralabad had indeed died and now in his place stood the vampiric son of Prime, Hordak.
Prime gave Hordak command of his forces, which Hordak named the Evil Horde. Hordak devoted the Horde to Prime and renamed his "father" Horde Prime and the world of Omega Prime to Horde World. Before the mystical communiqué was, aborted Hordak asked Horde Prime to give Brakk some power, Prime made the Denebrian a Planetary Commander of the Horde, the lowest rank in the Horde Army and told Hordak to send him to conquer Primus.
When word of this reached Brakk, he was furious, he had wanted great power not to be a pathetic low-level flunky. He left for Primus and has ever since then hated the Horde and all it stands for. Once on Primus, Brakk hired a local group of criminals called the Mutants and made them commanders of his army devoted to conquer the planet. Knowing that they would not be safe on Primus, they set up base on Nordor, the skull-faced moon of Denebria.
Back on Etheria, Hordak's first target was the Temple of the Magi. The Etherian Honor Guards, the Magi's personal army fought bravely against Hordak's demonic Horde but was outnumbered. With the guards soundly defeated, Hordak entered the Holy of Holies, the sacred room where the Magi meet, and tried to destroy his former colleagues. The Magi fought back, they fought for hours and although things seemed bleak, the Magi were able to defeat Hordak.
The remaining Honor Guards fought against the Horde and was able to capture all of the Horde's demons except one, the warrior Catra; she escaped and went into hiding to prepare a counter strike.
The Honor Guards brought the Horde to the Magi. They banished Hordak and his forces to Eternia. Before he was hurled into the portal, Hordak vowed to return to Etheria to exact his revenge and destroy the Magi forever. The last thing that was heard was Hordak's voice saying, "I shall have my revenge!" the first Horde Invasion was over and Etheria was at peace.
The Magi knew that Hordak would be true to his word. Fearing the return of Hordak, the Magi moved the capital of Etheria from Mysticore to the Kingdom of Brightmoon and its capital Ethereal City.
Knowing that the government was now safe, they turned themselves and their temple into crystal. The structure would become known as the Crystal Castle and its location would be lost for generations.
The Ascension of the Angellians, Catra's Rule, The Great Rebellion, The Horde on Eternia, The War with the Snakemen, Banishment to Despondos, and The Swords of Grayskull
The Magi entrusted Brightmoon to the Angellians, mysterious beings who are said to be descended from Light Hope himself. They ruled Brightmoon with kindness and grace, until Catra, exiled them and declared herself ruler of Etheria. Her rule, although not recognized by Horde Prime, regained Etheria for the Horde.
Catra had created her own Horde, which included the Scorpian Queen Scorpia and the Aquataian Octavia. Along with her army of Horde Troopers Catra ruled with an Iron Fist. However, greed and conquest were not the only things that occupied Catra's dark mind.
A few months after she conquered Etheria, she married a local warlord by the named of Masque and the two had a son. They named the child Zed and for many years Catra's followers thought the marriage between Catra and Masque would last forever, but that changed. One night, Lord Masque disappeared; he had gone off to Eternia to start his Religion, the cult of Shokoti. Catra was heartbroken and forced to raise Zed by herself.
While this was happening, Hordak set his sights on his adopted homeworld of Eternia. If he could not have his homeworld than this world would be forced to feel his wrath. There was one problem; the planet was currently under the control of the Snakemen and their leader King Hsss. Hordak declared war on the Serpentis Imperium and thus began a series of wars that would shake the very roots of Eternia.
Hordak's first attack plan was to kill the Snakemen by freezing them. He ordered his Shadow Priests, the magi who were excommunicated for serving him, to create a Magical artifact to accomplish this task. After months of studying and work, the Shadow Priests presented the Triad to their master. They told him that when activated with the Spell of Separation, it would create a darkness that would plunge Eternia into a deep freeze that would kill the Snakemen.
Hordak and his Magi took the Triad to the Well of Darkness on the eastern hemisphere of the planet and invoked the spell. All went well at first, but the spell soon proved to be too powerful even for Hordak to control and he was forced to abort it. The Shadow Priests tried to destroy the triad but could not, so they broke it up into pieces and scattered them across the planet. The spell forever split Eternia into two halves, Light and Dark, and altered the geology of the planet. The most profound example would be the Caverns of Rakash; the spell had flooded the caverns and turned them into a sea.
The spell was not a total loss for Hordak, the Darkness created made Hordak even stronger. He retreated to the newly created Dark Hemisphere and built a base for his armies, The Eternian Fright Zone- named in honor of Horde Prime's fortress on Etheria. He also created a Sanctuary for himself in the very center of the Fright Zone, where he could rest and commune with his "father."
During the next decades the Ophidian War, as the battle became known as, raged on. Hordak was determined to exterminate King Hsss and take his place as ruler of Eternia. The two finally met in the location where Viper Tower once stood. The two were locked in a duel of magic, but in the end, even King Hsss was no match for the power of Horde Prime. Using his evil magic Hordak imprisoned the Snakemen in a block of ice. Hordak took the ice containing his foes to the Ice Mountains to be kept frozen forever. With King Hsss defeated Hordak could now concentrate on Eternia
While Hordak was confident of his victory, there were some amongst his ranks who felt it would be foolish to launch an attack now. The most vocal of these dissidents was the Petrian, General Calix. He warned his master that his forces could not be able to withstand against the Eternians after being depleted over the decades by King Hsss's forces. Hordak thanked the General for informing him of that, but told him that news such as that was not the kind of information he liked, after that he killed the General. Calix's stunned comrades remained silent after that incident.
While this is going on, the true King of Eternia, Grayskull the Great, a descendant of the Gnostic Grayskull and the only member of that lineage since the Gnostic's death to take the name of Grayskull as his own, was preparing for the conflict. He was afraid that he would not be powerful enough to defeat Hordak and the Evil Horde. His wife, Queen Veena, told him that the path to find the power he needed meant that he couldn't back down he was unswayed. She told him then to seek the Oracle of Zolacia, he would be the one who could help King Grayskull to find the power to defeat Hordak.
Grayskull did as his wife said and journeyed to Zolacia; there he met the Oracle of Zolacia. The sage told him that the journey to find the power was long and hard, but if he succeeded, he would find what he needed. The journey took him through the Corridors of Lithos, the Valley of Dragons, The Labyrinth of Thorn, and the Sands of Time. After the journey, he reached his goal, Mount Imperium. When he reached the cave at the top, all he found was the Oracle. The Oracle gave Grayskull the sword that he had lost in a battle with the Snakemen. The Oracle explained to Grayskull that he had the power all along, the ancient power of the Grayskulls. King Grayskull did not believe him and left. Before he did, the Oracle warned him that he would die by Hordak's hand he did not care. He would pay any price to free Eternia from evil.
When Grayskull arrived back at the castle, he saw that Hordak was beginning his assault on Eternia. When the evil leader arrived, he saw only one defender, Grayskull. He ordered his Shadow Priests to surround Castle Grayskull; they floated up to the mountains surrounding the Castle and waited for their master's orders. He then ordered his Horde Troopers to attack. Grayskull's faithful pet, Battle Lion, took care of the troops while Grayskull went after Hordak. Hordak's generals, Mantenna, Leech, and Grizzlor went after Grayskull, but were defeated. It was now down to Grayskull and Hordak; the two fought and at first Hordak was winning. The Ruthless leader threw Grayskull across the battlefield. Hordak then ordered his Shadow Priests to summon a portal to Despondos. While they were chanting, Grayskull tried to get up, but was pinned down by the Shadow Priests and a dust monster Hordak had created. As he was lying on the ground, Grayskull saw his sword. He picked it up and for the first time in history, Grayskull said the words Iloina Hervunx Kephos, which is Gnostic for "I have the Power."
Fueled with power, Grayskull hurled the portal of Despondos to the ground. The force of the gateway hurled Hordak's forces into the netherworld. The fallen Magus tried to prevent himself from being sent into the dimension, but the winds were too powerful even for Hordak and ripped his very soul from his body, sending him hurdling into Despondos. Before being sent into the prison realm, Hordak's twisted spirit ripped through Grayskull's body poisoning him and just as he entered the portal, the fallen Magus vowed that he would one day return to Eternia
Hordak's venom was killing Grayskull, as the Oracle predicted would happen. As he lay dying, he told his allies, The Great Defenders that his power would fill them and they should rule over Eternia with Kindness and Wisdom. His last words were that a hero would be born by the invocation of the name of Grayskull; this hero would protect Eternia from evil when darkness would once again befall the planet. Using his last ounce of strength, King Grayskull told his wife to promise him that she would guard the castle all the days of her life, but before he could tell that to her, he died. Veena new that her husband requested of her, she vowed to guard Grayskull all the days of her life, and before she too would join her beloved in paradise she would find another to take her place. She became the first Sorceress of Grayskull, the castle's temporal guardian. She kissed her husband goodbye, when she did Grayskull became pure energy. After Grayskull's death, no one would ever take the name of Grayskull again.
The Ancient Power of the Grayskulls did fill the Defenders, the power of gods and magic made them immortal; they became the new rulers of Eternia, the Council of Elders. They would rule the planet for millennia to come. The power also filled the sword of King Grayskull; it would become the sword, which would be used by the great hero to come. Later generations would call the weapon the Sword of Power.
Queen Veena, years later would marry Prince Michael of Brightmoon, an exiled Angellian prince from Etheria. They would have a son, Julvenius, who, much like Eldor's son, would continue the bloodline of Grayskull, but she would never forget her husband who sacrificed himself to free Eternia from Hordak.
As the years went on, the Elders began to worry about the return of Hordak. The Evil Warlord vowed to return and they knew he would be true to his word. They knew that King Grayskull died while defeating Hordak and feared that the great hero would meet the same fate. So, using the Great powers given to them, they forged a second sword of Grayskull. A second hero to protect the first one would use it. Just as the first would be male; the second would be female and just, as the first would invoke the great power of the Grayskulls; so would the second invoke her duty, the restorer of the Grayskull's honor. The Elders called the sword, the Sword of Protection, since the sword would be used to protect the first defender.
They needed a safe place to hide the Sword of Protection, Castle Grayskull was too risky because when Hordak returned, Grayskull would more than likely be his first target, and should he capture the Sword of Power, and the second hero would need to be called upon. They decided to give it to the leader of the Cosmic Enforcers, Zodak, to guard. The mystic warrior vowed to protect the Sword with his life until the descendant of Grayskull would come to claim it.