Eternal Foe
Chapter 10 - To Snake Mountain
Mekasha watched as the strange warrior and the woman flew off into the night. So there were those on the council that had stayed true to their convictions, a rare trait in the human race. The Snake King wondered how many fools martyred themselves for those convictions.
Looking around, it took Mekasha a moment to realise that this was not Derren-Ma, or the Derren-Ma they had departed the world from. Footsteps crunched on the coarse sands. Breathing in the crisp, night air told him Rattlor approached.
"How many?" Mekasha asked.
Rattlor bowed to one knee before his lord. "Little more than seven of us remain. That warrior's strength is inhuman, it will take cunning to bring him down."
"Even with his unnatural power he is still vulnerable before the might of the Singer."
"What are we to do now my liege?" asked the loyal soldier.
"Our numbers are weak, we cannot conquer in this state. We must return to the lair and nest or our cause is lost."
Rattlor surveyed the surrounds, "How will we find our way, these lands are strange?"
Mekasha grabbed a handful of sand. "This island is what remains of Derren- Ma, these black sands are the work of The Singer, this area seared of life from when I plunged its crimson blade into the earth to purge it of our foes. The venom must have spread even after our capture. Even now, after many lifetimes the power of the Crimson Singer is still an enigma to us."
He let the grains fall from his fingers. "We must follow the morning sun to our lair.to Snake Mountain."
The Wind Raider skidded to a halt. Teela had not dared venture conversation with He-Man since their escape, for months now she thought she had put the mighty warrior to the back of her mind. But now, in his company she could not help but admire him through sidelong glances. He had a casual air and a chiselled handsomeness to his features that belied his amazing combative talents; even if he did fight a little recklessly, a man of his strengths could take risks. Come to think of it, Adam fought in a very similar style. Teela snorted, knowing Adam he was trying to emulate the Eternian Champion thinking he could be as mighty.
He-Man leapt from the cockpit and greeted the young guard who came up to meet them. "There are some men sailing from Vaneda as we speak, they were attacked and they may currently be under pursuit, could you send some men to oversee their safe passage?"
"At once Sir!" the dutiful guard responded.
Returning to the cockpit He-Man picked up a bundle from the rear seat Teela had not noticed before. She judged by its length and shape that it was a sword.
"Isn't one enough?" she asked bluntly.
He-Man gave small smile, "It's not mine it's for a very special someone."
"Oh He-Man, you didn't have to."
The hero screwed up his face. "It's not for you!" he burst out laughing.
Teela turned red and decided she would keep her mouth shut in the future.
Another guard came and they were both escorted to the chancellor's residence; Gephantide was the only district on the Eternian continent not to be governed by a family of noble status. Instead, the tradition had been to instil a chancellor as regional governor.
"Why do you think Gephantide is ruled by a non-noble governor?" Teela asked He-Man.
"The king at the time could not convince any family that these lands were a fine reward." He-Man said, giving a knowing little smirk.
Gods she hated that smug look of his, the way he seemed to be always holding onto a secret and never revealing it. Adam had the same trait, yet another character flaw he had aped from the muscular champion.
"Why not?" she asked, perhaps a little more tartly than she intended.
"You've already seen the reason why not. More than a thousand years ago these lands were fertile and reached all the way across to what we now know as Vaneda, back then it was called Derren-Ma."
"So why are the two land masses now disconnected?"
He-Man again gave that infuriating little grin, "Are you going to let me finish?"
Teela flushed, "Of course."
"A great battle was fought in the Vaneda region between the Snake Men and the remnants of the broken Council of Eternia. Before his defeat and subsequent incarceration, King Hiss poisoned the soil with his sword. The great sorcerers of the time could not stem the poison and it slowly spread through the ground. The Council took the drastic measure of severing a portion of Derren-Ma from the mainland."
He-Man took a breath. "After the battle the Council decided that Eternia needed one king, a unifying force to lead them against the terror that still ravaged the land."
"You mean they had another menace to deal with?" Teela asked incredulously.
"Yes, someone that is also familiar to modern Eternia - Hordak!" Looking at Teela's disbelieving expression he continued. "Anyway, Hordak's another story. The point is the man charged with the task of ruling the nation was He-Ro, a powerful warrior wizard who also served on the Council. He-Ro rode to the land of the Snake Men and made his capital on the ruins of Snake Mountain, the fortress of King Hiss and his people."
"Wasn't that just a little ostentatious?"
"Precisely, it was meant to act as a symbol of the power of the new king, a conqueror of conquerors. Even though the Council members endorsing him also bequeathed the lands under their influence to He-Ro, there were still some independent factions that would not have recognised him had he only wore a crown without having fought for it."
Teela nodded, it was good military practice, soldiers did not carry out orders issued from simpletons. "So where is this Snake Mountain?"
"The rubble of Snake Mountain lies beneath the city-fortress of what is now called Aohre's Peak, He-Ro was the first in a line of kings that have descended all the way down to Randor."
"So what does this all have to do with Gephantide?"
"No noble would take residence in Gephantide, for fear of the Snake Men swimming onto the shores or the poison sands somehow infecting the mainland, starting with the Gephantese area. It took one of King He-Ro's advisors, a man named Gephan, to volunteer to govern the region for He-Ro."
Teela pondered something for a moment. "Tell me, why did the Council not destroy the Snake Men? Why were they given the opportunity to return?"
"I wondered that at first, but it soon became clear. Twisted as they are, the Snake Men are still a race of Eternia. What right do men such as me and those before me have to eradicate entire races? Who am I to judge, based on skin, outward appearance or even ambition, who can live and die in this world of ours? This is dilemma the Council faced, were they to succumb to the same actions of their enemies, become them by deed?"
"So what are we to do, let them run free to ruin the earth as they please? Are you telling me that you will do nothing to stop them?"
"Of course not." He-Man replied. "A confrontation is inevitable and lives will be lost, that too is inevitable, but there are other means to stopping their rampage." He looked at Teela. "You have heard the saying that 'to kill a snake you must cut it off at the head'?"
Teela nodded. "So you're saying that if we kill Hiss we stop the Snake Men?"
"No, that will not be enough." He-Man said shaking his head. "The power of the Snake Men comes from their sword - The Crimson Singer, if we destroy that then we stop the Snake Men."
"What do we do now then," Teela asked, "wait for the Snake Men to arrive on our doorstep and smash the Singer to little bits?"
"I don't think that it will be that easy, we need to take them by surprise and they will be expecting us every step they take. I say we attack them where they will be feeling the most secure, in their lair, in Snake Mountain."
Chapter 10 - To Snake Mountain
Mekasha watched as the strange warrior and the woman flew off into the night. So there were those on the council that had stayed true to their convictions, a rare trait in the human race. The Snake King wondered how many fools martyred themselves for those convictions.
Looking around, it took Mekasha a moment to realise that this was not Derren-Ma, or the Derren-Ma they had departed the world from. Footsteps crunched on the coarse sands. Breathing in the crisp, night air told him Rattlor approached.
"How many?" Mekasha asked.
Rattlor bowed to one knee before his lord. "Little more than seven of us remain. That warrior's strength is inhuman, it will take cunning to bring him down."
"Even with his unnatural power he is still vulnerable before the might of the Singer."
"What are we to do now my liege?" asked the loyal soldier.
"Our numbers are weak, we cannot conquer in this state. We must return to the lair and nest or our cause is lost."
Rattlor surveyed the surrounds, "How will we find our way, these lands are strange?"
Mekasha grabbed a handful of sand. "This island is what remains of Derren- Ma, these black sands are the work of The Singer, this area seared of life from when I plunged its crimson blade into the earth to purge it of our foes. The venom must have spread even after our capture. Even now, after many lifetimes the power of the Crimson Singer is still an enigma to us."
He let the grains fall from his fingers. "We must follow the morning sun to our lair.to Snake Mountain."
The Wind Raider skidded to a halt. Teela had not dared venture conversation with He-Man since their escape, for months now she thought she had put the mighty warrior to the back of her mind. But now, in his company she could not help but admire him through sidelong glances. He had a casual air and a chiselled handsomeness to his features that belied his amazing combative talents; even if he did fight a little recklessly, a man of his strengths could take risks. Come to think of it, Adam fought in a very similar style. Teela snorted, knowing Adam he was trying to emulate the Eternian Champion thinking he could be as mighty.
He-Man leapt from the cockpit and greeted the young guard who came up to meet them. "There are some men sailing from Vaneda as we speak, they were attacked and they may currently be under pursuit, could you send some men to oversee their safe passage?"
"At once Sir!" the dutiful guard responded.
Returning to the cockpit He-Man picked up a bundle from the rear seat Teela had not noticed before. She judged by its length and shape that it was a sword.
"Isn't one enough?" she asked bluntly.
He-Man gave small smile, "It's not mine it's for a very special someone."
"Oh He-Man, you didn't have to."
The hero screwed up his face. "It's not for you!" he burst out laughing.
Teela turned red and decided she would keep her mouth shut in the future.
Another guard came and they were both escorted to the chancellor's residence; Gephantide was the only district on the Eternian continent not to be governed by a family of noble status. Instead, the tradition had been to instil a chancellor as regional governor.
"Why do you think Gephantide is ruled by a non-noble governor?" Teela asked He-Man.
"The king at the time could not convince any family that these lands were a fine reward." He-Man said, giving a knowing little smirk.
Gods she hated that smug look of his, the way he seemed to be always holding onto a secret and never revealing it. Adam had the same trait, yet another character flaw he had aped from the muscular champion.
"Why not?" she asked, perhaps a little more tartly than she intended.
"You've already seen the reason why not. More than a thousand years ago these lands were fertile and reached all the way across to what we now know as Vaneda, back then it was called Derren-Ma."
"So why are the two land masses now disconnected?"
He-Man again gave that infuriating little grin, "Are you going to let me finish?"
Teela flushed, "Of course."
"A great battle was fought in the Vaneda region between the Snake Men and the remnants of the broken Council of Eternia. Before his defeat and subsequent incarceration, King Hiss poisoned the soil with his sword. The great sorcerers of the time could not stem the poison and it slowly spread through the ground. The Council took the drastic measure of severing a portion of Derren-Ma from the mainland."
He-Man took a breath. "After the battle the Council decided that Eternia needed one king, a unifying force to lead them against the terror that still ravaged the land."
"You mean they had another menace to deal with?" Teela asked incredulously.
"Yes, someone that is also familiar to modern Eternia - Hordak!" Looking at Teela's disbelieving expression he continued. "Anyway, Hordak's another story. The point is the man charged with the task of ruling the nation was He-Ro, a powerful warrior wizard who also served on the Council. He-Ro rode to the land of the Snake Men and made his capital on the ruins of Snake Mountain, the fortress of King Hiss and his people."
"Wasn't that just a little ostentatious?"
"Precisely, it was meant to act as a symbol of the power of the new king, a conqueror of conquerors. Even though the Council members endorsing him also bequeathed the lands under their influence to He-Ro, there were still some independent factions that would not have recognised him had he only wore a crown without having fought for it."
Teela nodded, it was good military practice, soldiers did not carry out orders issued from simpletons. "So where is this Snake Mountain?"
"The rubble of Snake Mountain lies beneath the city-fortress of what is now called Aohre's Peak, He-Ro was the first in a line of kings that have descended all the way down to Randor."
"So what does this all have to do with Gephantide?"
"No noble would take residence in Gephantide, for fear of the Snake Men swimming onto the shores or the poison sands somehow infecting the mainland, starting with the Gephantese area. It took one of King He-Ro's advisors, a man named Gephan, to volunteer to govern the region for He-Ro."
Teela pondered something for a moment. "Tell me, why did the Council not destroy the Snake Men? Why were they given the opportunity to return?"
"I wondered that at first, but it soon became clear. Twisted as they are, the Snake Men are still a race of Eternia. What right do men such as me and those before me have to eradicate entire races? Who am I to judge, based on skin, outward appearance or even ambition, who can live and die in this world of ours? This is dilemma the Council faced, were they to succumb to the same actions of their enemies, become them by deed?"
"So what are we to do, let them run free to ruin the earth as they please? Are you telling me that you will do nothing to stop them?"
"Of course not." He-Man replied. "A confrontation is inevitable and lives will be lost, that too is inevitable, but there are other means to stopping their rampage." He looked at Teela. "You have heard the saying that 'to kill a snake you must cut it off at the head'?"
Teela nodded. "So you're saying that if we kill Hiss we stop the Snake Men?"
"No, that will not be enough." He-Man said shaking his head. "The power of the Snake Men comes from their sword - The Crimson Singer, if we destroy that then we stop the Snake Men."
"What do we do now then," Teela asked, "wait for the Snake Men to arrive on our doorstep and smash the Singer to little bits?"
"I don't think that it will be that easy, we need to take them by surprise and they will be expecting us every step they take. I say we attack them where they will be feeling the most secure, in their lair, in Snake Mountain."