Eternal Foe
Epilogue - Twilight
Duncan walked along the courtyard leading to the main hall of the palace. He bit his bottom lip in a gesture of frustration, apprehension and worry. He had seen many battles in his lifetime - The Horde War, Keldor's Rebellion. But he had not felt dread like that which had been gnawing at him these past few days.
A new era in the war against Skeletor was to emerge according to Teelana.no, the Sorceress as she had come to call herself. One so brutal that even He-Man could not alone be the difference maker. Yet for He-Man to bring the required assistance he first had to leave the planet altogether, leaving Eternia near defenceless against what was to come.
Then there was He-Man, or Prince Adam. Duncan put a hand over his eyes; these secrets were all too much. How many times had that poor boy endured suspicion and ridicule for his apparent reticence to engage battle? Yet that closet must still remain shut, Adam would be gone awhile and He-Man in the process.
It had fallen upon Duncan to provide an alibi to explain the Prince's absence, a lie he did not relish telling the King and Queen in the slightest. Even now he did not know how he was supposed to tell them Adam had died; it still wouldn't explain the prolonged absence of He-Man. Sweat ran from Man-at-Arms' brow, in just minutes he would be face to face with the King, his dear friend Randor and he would have to tell him the biggest lie of his life.
And Teela. She remained at Castle Grayskull, recuperating from her injuries. Adam had confided to him that Teela had begun to exhibit signs of sorcery. That filled Duncan with all sorts of dread, was it her destiny to become a reclusive, bitter figure like her mother? Would it mean he could no longer see the girl he had raised and loved like a paternal daughter?
The doors of the main hall loomed before him. Yoren, the guard on duty pushed one side of the doors open and announced Duncan's presence to the King. The hale King Randor descended the steps leading from the throne and met his old companion about halfway, a significant gesture of intimacy between the two.
Randor hugged Duncan as they met. "Good friend, what news do you bring?"
Duncan ground his teeth against the words that were to follow.
Teela looked out from a window facing the entrance to the hidden valley. In all her years she never had imagined a place like this could exist, even with all the improbable things she had witnessed in her short life. The valley below was beautiful, every blade of grass as green as gemstones. Only a few trees dotted the land around, but they grew tall and thick and birds of all kinds came to rest upon their branches, animals resting in the shade beneath.
The strange woman that called herself the Sorceress was again in conference with the even stranger spirit she now knew to be called Zodac. She had tried to attack the Sorceress when she had first regained consciousness, not realising she was no longer down in the Snake Pit. The woman only appeared bemused and had gently levitated Teela back into the cot she had rested on.
She claimed to be a friend to both He-Man and her father and that they had left her in the Sorceress' care. The Sorceress had also surprised Teela by telling her precisely the unusual feats she had achieved in donning the Cobra Armour. She told Teela that she possessed special innate abilities and that she, the Sorceress would help her learn about, and consequently control those abilities.
In truth Teela was anxious to be close to her father. She had not seen him in months and missed him terribly. She missed everyone in Eternos she realised, and yet she did not know when she would get to see them all again. The Sorceress had told her difficult times lay ahead and that she, Teela, would play a pivotal part in the survival of Eternia.
Prince Adam stood in lightly foliaged scrublands. There was little to be seen for miles around, there were some mountains in the distance, some smoke that may or may not be coming from a smokestack.
Adam still felt more than a little strange about being in this place. It had appeared as though the Sorceress was literally pushing him out the door, metaphorically speaking. She was right though, in that now there was a chance his sister could be found and accounted for he could not sit around and wait and do nothing.
Deciding that looking at the scenery was getting him nowhere Adam started walking towards the smoke, judging by the distance it would still be some hours before he reached the source of the smoke. He surmised that this world was not that different from his own - The sky was still the same colour, the foliage looked to be the same and thankfully the air was breathable.
He eventually came upon a path well worn into the ground and felt it would be prudent to follow that. Some time later and Adam spotted the first signs of life since coming through the portal, a lone trekker bearing no pack walked the path from the other direction.
"Excuse me sir, but could you point me in the direction of the nearest town?" Adam asked the man as he approached.
The trekker was stick thin and his clothes resembled rags more than decent garb, his feet were bare and clotted blood covered them in a grisly fashion. The man looked up and his face was as gaunt as the rest of his body, his eyes appeared as though they were being pushed from his head. He collapsed in a heap at Adam's feet.
Adam trickled water into the walker's mouth, increasing the dose as the man's throat became increasingly wet. The traveller started to cough and splutter and he weakly opened his eyes.
"Are you okay?" the Prince asked. The man feebly shook his head.
"Could you tell me the way to the nearest town?" Adam again asked.
This time the man shook his head a little more violently. "No.no..!" he muttered. "That.way, that.way is.Hordak!"
Adam looked out towards the smoke and a glint from the mountains caught his eye. He stared hard at the shapes in the distance before it dawned on him, he was not looking at mountains on the horizon, but man-made structures.
"Hordak.Hordak!" the said man more fervently pointing off towards the mountains.
The prince squeezed the man's hand. "Don't worry about Hordak, I'm here now."
Evram stopped to rub his sore legs. Even after six months he had still not accustomed to the long, tedious shifts of guard duty. Up and down the one stretch of wall bored him to tears and the aches that had accompanied the job made him wonder not for the first time why entered the military.
He returned to the north-eastern guard tower and sat down. He drew from a now cold mug of coffee and complained to himself once more about life in the army. Rian, another novice recruit who had been assigned to walk the north stretch of the wall walked in moments after.
"Sitting down again Evram?" Rian said smugly. Evram resented him because he never seemed to complain.
"Well I've consulted with an invading force outside my watch and they've agreed to hold off their attack until after I've finished my drink." Evram replied sharply.
"Ah, if we could all be so carefree." Rian replied with that infuriatingly superior smirk of his. Evram had many times thought of pushing Rian off a wall one night.
Rian apparently had grown bored of the verbal barbs and left to resume his watch. Evram was still thinking about nudging him off the wall. The sound of footsteps prompted Evram to resume his post.
The night air was heavy with chill, it was not the kind of weather a man should be made to endure. It was no use saying so to his sergeant, that complaint had already been laughed at the first time.
The hours passed by agonisingly slow, tormenting him in their lethargy. The sound of whooshing in the air caught his attention. Evram peered up but could not make anything out. Minuted later hundreds of shapes materialised in the air, big shapes, big shapes with wings.
He could only stare in horror as the creatures he thought looked like dragons descended upon the city of Ilandra.
He made no sound until the flames first touched him. He shrieked wildly, rolling on the ground trying to put the fires out. Everywhere he could see as he thrashed about there was flame; from the highest tower, to the lowest abode. Screams and shrieks louder than even his own shattered the night air, but above it all came the strangest sound of all.
Evram rolled onto his back crying and weeping. He saw one particularly large beast circling overhead from which he thought he heard maniacal laughing. The beast dived and atop it he could see a lone figure, shrouded in darkness and cackling uncontrollably. The light of the fires momentarily shone upon the face of the rider and Evram screamed louder than he had before.
For in the night he saw the end of all things. For in the night he saw the face of Death.
The End
Epilogue - Twilight
Duncan walked along the courtyard leading to the main hall of the palace. He bit his bottom lip in a gesture of frustration, apprehension and worry. He had seen many battles in his lifetime - The Horde War, Keldor's Rebellion. But he had not felt dread like that which had been gnawing at him these past few days.
A new era in the war against Skeletor was to emerge according to Teelana.no, the Sorceress as she had come to call herself. One so brutal that even He-Man could not alone be the difference maker. Yet for He-Man to bring the required assistance he first had to leave the planet altogether, leaving Eternia near defenceless against what was to come.
Then there was He-Man, or Prince Adam. Duncan put a hand over his eyes; these secrets were all too much. How many times had that poor boy endured suspicion and ridicule for his apparent reticence to engage battle? Yet that closet must still remain shut, Adam would be gone awhile and He-Man in the process.
It had fallen upon Duncan to provide an alibi to explain the Prince's absence, a lie he did not relish telling the King and Queen in the slightest. Even now he did not know how he was supposed to tell them Adam had died; it still wouldn't explain the prolonged absence of He-Man. Sweat ran from Man-at-Arms' brow, in just minutes he would be face to face with the King, his dear friend Randor and he would have to tell him the biggest lie of his life.
And Teela. She remained at Castle Grayskull, recuperating from her injuries. Adam had confided to him that Teela had begun to exhibit signs of sorcery. That filled Duncan with all sorts of dread, was it her destiny to become a reclusive, bitter figure like her mother? Would it mean he could no longer see the girl he had raised and loved like a paternal daughter?
The doors of the main hall loomed before him. Yoren, the guard on duty pushed one side of the doors open and announced Duncan's presence to the King. The hale King Randor descended the steps leading from the throne and met his old companion about halfway, a significant gesture of intimacy between the two.
Randor hugged Duncan as they met. "Good friend, what news do you bring?"
Duncan ground his teeth against the words that were to follow.
Teela looked out from a window facing the entrance to the hidden valley. In all her years she never had imagined a place like this could exist, even with all the improbable things she had witnessed in her short life. The valley below was beautiful, every blade of grass as green as gemstones. Only a few trees dotted the land around, but they grew tall and thick and birds of all kinds came to rest upon their branches, animals resting in the shade beneath.
The strange woman that called herself the Sorceress was again in conference with the even stranger spirit she now knew to be called Zodac. She had tried to attack the Sorceress when she had first regained consciousness, not realising she was no longer down in the Snake Pit. The woman only appeared bemused and had gently levitated Teela back into the cot she had rested on.
She claimed to be a friend to both He-Man and her father and that they had left her in the Sorceress' care. The Sorceress had also surprised Teela by telling her precisely the unusual feats she had achieved in donning the Cobra Armour. She told Teela that she possessed special innate abilities and that she, the Sorceress would help her learn about, and consequently control those abilities.
In truth Teela was anxious to be close to her father. She had not seen him in months and missed him terribly. She missed everyone in Eternos she realised, and yet she did not know when she would get to see them all again. The Sorceress had told her difficult times lay ahead and that she, Teela, would play a pivotal part in the survival of Eternia.
Prince Adam stood in lightly foliaged scrublands. There was little to be seen for miles around, there were some mountains in the distance, some smoke that may or may not be coming from a smokestack.
Adam still felt more than a little strange about being in this place. It had appeared as though the Sorceress was literally pushing him out the door, metaphorically speaking. She was right though, in that now there was a chance his sister could be found and accounted for he could not sit around and wait and do nothing.
Deciding that looking at the scenery was getting him nowhere Adam started walking towards the smoke, judging by the distance it would still be some hours before he reached the source of the smoke. He surmised that this world was not that different from his own - The sky was still the same colour, the foliage looked to be the same and thankfully the air was breathable.
He eventually came upon a path well worn into the ground and felt it would be prudent to follow that. Some time later and Adam spotted the first signs of life since coming through the portal, a lone trekker bearing no pack walked the path from the other direction.
"Excuse me sir, but could you point me in the direction of the nearest town?" Adam asked the man as he approached.
The trekker was stick thin and his clothes resembled rags more than decent garb, his feet were bare and clotted blood covered them in a grisly fashion. The man looked up and his face was as gaunt as the rest of his body, his eyes appeared as though they were being pushed from his head. He collapsed in a heap at Adam's feet.
Adam trickled water into the walker's mouth, increasing the dose as the man's throat became increasingly wet. The traveller started to cough and splutter and he weakly opened his eyes.
"Are you okay?" the Prince asked. The man feebly shook his head.
"Could you tell me the way to the nearest town?" Adam again asked.
This time the man shook his head a little more violently. "No.no..!" he muttered. "That.way, that.way is.Hordak!"
Adam looked out towards the smoke and a glint from the mountains caught his eye. He stared hard at the shapes in the distance before it dawned on him, he was not looking at mountains on the horizon, but man-made structures.
"Hordak.Hordak!" the said man more fervently pointing off towards the mountains.
The prince squeezed the man's hand. "Don't worry about Hordak, I'm here now."
Evram stopped to rub his sore legs. Even after six months he had still not accustomed to the long, tedious shifts of guard duty. Up and down the one stretch of wall bored him to tears and the aches that had accompanied the job made him wonder not for the first time why entered the military.
He returned to the north-eastern guard tower and sat down. He drew from a now cold mug of coffee and complained to himself once more about life in the army. Rian, another novice recruit who had been assigned to walk the north stretch of the wall walked in moments after.
"Sitting down again Evram?" Rian said smugly. Evram resented him because he never seemed to complain.
"Well I've consulted with an invading force outside my watch and they've agreed to hold off their attack until after I've finished my drink." Evram replied sharply.
"Ah, if we could all be so carefree." Rian replied with that infuriatingly superior smirk of his. Evram had many times thought of pushing Rian off a wall one night.
Rian apparently had grown bored of the verbal barbs and left to resume his watch. Evram was still thinking about nudging him off the wall. The sound of footsteps prompted Evram to resume his post.
The night air was heavy with chill, it was not the kind of weather a man should be made to endure. It was no use saying so to his sergeant, that complaint had already been laughed at the first time.
The hours passed by agonisingly slow, tormenting him in their lethargy. The sound of whooshing in the air caught his attention. Evram peered up but could not make anything out. Minuted later hundreds of shapes materialised in the air, big shapes, big shapes with wings.
He could only stare in horror as the creatures he thought looked like dragons descended upon the city of Ilandra.
He made no sound until the flames first touched him. He shrieked wildly, rolling on the ground trying to put the fires out. Everywhere he could see as he thrashed about there was flame; from the highest tower, to the lowest abode. Screams and shrieks louder than even his own shattered the night air, but above it all came the strangest sound of all.
Evram rolled onto his back crying and weeping. He saw one particularly large beast circling overhead from which he thought he heard maniacal laughing. The beast dived and atop it he could see a lone figure, shrouded in darkness and cackling uncontrollably. The light of the fires momentarily shone upon the face of the rider and Evram screamed louder than he had before.
For in the night he saw the end of all things. For in the night he saw the face of Death.
The End