Chapter Seven

"Destiny's Call"

The summer sun shined down upon Eternos two days after the defeat of the Dark Cloud. The heat was climbing, as was to be expected this time of year. Man-At-Arms took this into appreciation as he walked along the corridor towards the throne room. The fact that there even was a sunny day to be had was worth appreciation.

His report had been due first thing in the morning - and he was quite satisfied with its detailed analysis of the past few weeks events. Walking into the throne room, he passed Chef Allan, who had just taken the breakfast orders of the king and queen.

"Anything for you, sir?" asked the Chef.

"No thank you, Allan. I'm fine."

"Very good, sir."

Man-At-Arms smiled and entered into the throne room. Randor stood up immediately. "Duncan! Good to see you this morning!"

Man-At-Arms nodded. "Thank you, sire. I have my report for you," he told the king, handing it over.

Randor took it and sat back down. "What's the current status of Eternia this morning?"

"All peoples have returned to their kingdoms, sire. It seems, though, that already relations are returning to normal. The Kobloids and Bats are already claiming to their civilians that they themselves are the champions that defeated the Dark Cloud."

Randor smiled and nodded. "To be expected, Man-At-Arms. But still . . . the threats have passed this day. The status quo is returning, which is always good."

"Indeed, sire, though I should point out that King Hiss and his Snake Men still remain a threat."

"And we shall be ready to meet them head-on."

Marlena touched her husband's hand. "It's in our blood to be more powerful than we seem," she said with a sly smile.

Randor returned the smile, though he didn't quite understand it. "In any case, Duncan, why don't you check-up with the Sorceress this evening, if you have time. I want her to know that Eternos cares about her and Grayskull. And that she shall be protected from the forces of evil as long as any of us shall live."

Man-At-Arms smiled, bowed a bit, and left the throne room. He went down the corridor and caught a glimpse outside in the courtyard. The Heroic Warriors were training with each other, good and hard. It swelled his heart to see them still so strong after so much that has happened in the past few weeks. King Randor was right - Castle Grayskull - and all good forces - shall be protected as long as of them still live.

***

Adam sat atop the north wall and looked down upon the teeming garden below. His feelings were a jumble after what Teela had said to He-Man the other day. What made it harder was that he had to let Teela tell him all over again - this time with breaking his heart.

She had avoided him all yesterday and last night, but it was pretty obvious that now - as she walked towards him - that the subject was about to come up.

"Hi," she greeted, sitting next to him.

"Hi," he replied with a fake smile.

"We need to talk, Adam," she said, and Adam suddenly realized that they were in nearly the same places they had been in when they had talked last - except without the snuggling, of course.

"Okay. Go ahead. I'm all ears."

She frowned and looked away. "I'm just going to say this, Adam. I'm sorry, but it's the only way I can get it out. I made a mistake. I made a big mistake and now I've hurt you."

"What do you mean?"

Teela looked to Adam. "I don't love you. I'm sorry. I was just in a different place the other day and . . . and I was projecting my feelings for someone else onto you."

Adam pretended to look shocked. "What?! Then . . . who?"

"He-Man."

Despite having the information ahead of time, Adam still felt hurt. It was ironic that she had placed her feelings of He-Man onto his alterego, Adam. "I . . . I don't know what to say."

"It was that bond, Adam, that I talked about. For a minute, it was like I was with He-Man, you know? I . . . and . . . I took advantage of you. I did. I'm sorry."

Adam nodded. "Me too . . ." he started. It was time to lie - for her sake, it was time to lie. "To be honest, Teela, I don't love you either."

At this, it was Teela's eyes that grew wide. "What?"

"I don't. I just . . . I didn't know what to do, so I kissed you."

Teela put her head down, finding herself more hurt than she ever would have expected. Maybe she was wrong about this. Maybe there was more to Adam - and the way she felt about both He-Man and the prince - that she hadn't explored yet.

"Teela?" asked Adam then. "Are you okay?"

Teela pulled herself from her thoughts and nodded. "Yeah . . . yeah, I'm fine. I'm good. I'm okay. It's just . . . I'm . . . yeah. I'm okay."

Adam wrapped his arms around her body, holding her in a firm embrace. "Thank you," he said.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Thank you for being such a good friend," Adam then said. He let go of her then and walked off, feeling more alone than he had in . . . well, since before he could remember.

***

"I trust you are yourself once more," roared the voice of Horde Prime.

Hordak nodded. "The power of the Council of Elders has been ripped from me, yes. Their thoughts have faded and all that remains before you is Hordak."

Horde Prime rumbled in response. "Excellent."

"How is the ship? Ready to depart?"

"Yes. We are heading to the Horde World within minutes," replied Horde Prime. "I was just making sure you were back to normal."

"Completely," Hordak answered.

Horde Prime eyed him. "We'll be watching you carefully, Hordak. Because of what has happened, the importance of your operations on Etheria has just doubled."

"Understood," Hordak replied. "Fright Zone out."

Horde Prime faded from sight, and Hordak turned on his heel and made for the door. As soon as he exited, Mantenna stood waiting for him. "Report," he snapped.

"We're running out of money to complete the repairs. It's slowing down the reconstruction."

"Raise taxes in Delvan. Send Dylamug to enforce them."

"Yes master."

Hordak smiled. It felt good to be evil again.

***

Around noon, Adam found himself standing in front of drawbridge of Castle Grayskull for reasons he wasn't quite sure of. Deciding it was best to trust his instincts, Adam entered the castle. He walked along the dark corridors of the Castle until he reached the throne room.

It had been restored to its former glory, the statues, the pits, the banners, the tablets and the Great Eye now gone. The Sorceress looked up from her post on the throne and smiled at Adam as he stepped forward. "Prince Adam," she addressed. "Why is you have come to Castle Grayskull?"

Adam scratched the back of his head, a little lost. "I'm not quite sure, really," was his answer. "I suppose . . . I suppose I just feel very alone right now and for some reason I thought that you might be able to help me out."

At this, the Sorceress was surprised. "What do you mean, Prince Adam? I do not understand. Why do you feel alone?"

"It's . . . okay, here it is," he started. "While we were on the quest to find the Sword of the Ancients, Teela and I shared this moment where she told me she loved me and we kissed."

Much to Adam's surprise, the Sorceress suddenly had the look of a concerned parent. He didn't quite understand it, so he kept going.

"Now, yesterday, while I was He-Man, she told it was a mistake and that she never loved Adam and that she really loved He-Man. Basically, that she was projecting her feelings for He-Man onto me. When she told me as Prince Adam today, I told her - get this - I told her I didn't love her. It's a lie. I do love her, you know? Well . . . can you now see the kind of mess I'm in now? I love Teela. I do. And she doesn't love me as me - she loves me as He-Man. Why?"

He sighed and looked away. "Anyways, that's why I feel so alone. I thought maybe you could help me, but I'm sure that - "

"Adam, come with me," she told him, placing a hand on his shoulder after coming down from her throne.

The pair walked down a nearby corridor and towards a door that Adam had never seen before. She unlocked it and the two of them walked down a long set of stairs before finally arriving in a large circular room lit by torches.

"What I'm about to show was something that perhaps I should have showed you earlier. But nonetheless, the time has come for you to know the truth."

The Sorceress waved her hand and the torches were blown out, casting the room into absolute darkness. And then - there was the image of the Ancients. They appeared in the center of the room, all of them - Ground, Wind, Water, Fire, Strength, Thought, Heart, Population, Animals, Peoples, Ancients, Before, Phoenix, Science, Sorcery, Unity, Good, Evil, Time, Space, Procrustus, Intrepid, Forge and Master.

"The Ancients of the First Age. The First Age, as you know it, began at unknown date, but ended 2,000 years ago. But before the end of the First Age, the Ancients created many things. Not only did they bring Sorcery to Eternia - but also weapons and fortresses."

New images appeared in the place of the Ancients, showing what the Sorceress was saying. "The Sword of the Ancients . . . even Castle Grayskull, though it was known then as Skull Castle. We shall get to that point later. Among the weapons created was the Power Staff, which would channel the energies of good and evil."

"I've never heard of that. And Skull Castle? When did the name change?"

"Keep watching, Prince Adam," the Sorceress replied. "The First Age had ended. For the first 1,000 years of the Second Age, chaos reigned the planet of Eternia. And then, 1,000 years ago, the Council of Elders appeared - twenty-five powerful wizards and witches, who sought for peace and wellness for Eternia. It was a great time of change for Eternia. But most importantly, was the mysterious arrival of technology. With it, the constant struggle between Good and Evil was heightened. In an attempt to counter this, the Council of Elders and their fifty apprentices formed the Great Towers of Eternia.

"Consisting of three Towers, the Great Towers channeled the power of Skull Castle and Snake Mountain into the Central Tower in the hopes of neutralizing the conflict. Sadly, the plan of the wise Elders backfired. Instead, it caused a great stir in the Evil Hemisphere.

"King Hiss, who had acquired communication technology, made an alliance between his people - the Snake Men - and the Reptons and Goblins. Together, they sought the Great Towers for themselves . . . as well as the destruction of those living on the Light Hemisphere. As his armies marched on, the Council of Elders went to Skull Castle and summoned forth its keeper, the Sorceress of that time. The time for the Power Staff had at last come. So came the human named Gray, who had lived as an orphan in the village of Eternos. He was given the weapon forged in Skull Castle known as the Power Staff. This Power Staff allowed Gray to become the warrior known as He-Ro, from which the word came from."

The image of a man, covered golden armor and wielding a large, metallic staff appeared.

Adam lifted his hand to stop her. "He-Ro? That's . . . my name and the male form of She-Ra's. That's how the word 'hero' came about, isn't it? Sorceress, I've never heard anything about this before. These are the things of myth . . ."

"There is much to still be revealed," the Sorceress replied. "For many years, He-Ro and his allies of Good battled King Hiss and his Dark Forces. Until one day, when a great battle began that spread from the Light Hemisphere to the Dark Hemisphere. It was a battle that lasted weeks, and in the end, King Hiss and his Snake Men were forced back into Snake Mountain.

"But it was not enough for the Council of Elders nor He-Ro. They struck at King Hiss, and banished both Hiss and his 40,000 Snake Men warriors into the Snake Pit - a timeless Void in which they would be forced to survive as long as Eternia exists. Yet this victory still held tragedy. Gray, as He-Ro, was mortally wounded in the final battle. Gray died, but not before his son was born in his home village. In honor of Gray's passing, his home village was empowered by the Elders as the capital kingdom of Mankind, and his son was the first king of this kingdom - which was now called Eternos. Also in honor of Gray's incredible bravery, Skull Castle was renamed Castle Grayskull."

Adam nodded. "Okay, that covers the renaming. And as much as a revelation as this is, Sorceress, I don't feel much better."

The Sorceress moved and displayed the visage of the Power Staff. "Gray's son led to your family line. But most importantly . . . the Power Staff was destroyed and then reforged . . . as two swords. The Swords of Power and Protection. The power and spirit of the Elders, Grayskull, the Ancients and He-Ro lives on within you and your sister."

Adam nodded and smiled. "This is incredible history, Sorceress, but like I said . . . it doesn't help me with the way I'm feeling right now."

The Sorceress nodded and the images faded away. "Look at these past few weeks, Prince Adam, then. Perhaps you will see my point then.

"The return of Hordak, Adora and the transformation into She-Ra," she stated. Suddenly, to his left, the three of them appeared.

"The rise of King Hiss and the restoration of the Great Towers," she then said, and King Hiss and the Great Towers appeared to his immediate right.

"The Dark Cloud and Teela's gaining of the Sword of Ancients," she said. The Dark Cloud, Teela, and the Sword of the Ancients came into view before him.

"Skeletor claiming the power of Grayskull, and Gwildor's use of the Cosmic Key," the Sorceress weaved then, and the pair faded in behind him.

"And you are . . ." she pointed out. "In between them all. At the crossroads of destiny."

Adam looked around and began to get at what she was saying. "I think I'm starting to understand . . ."

"Are you? We all have a destiny in this universe. The past number of days has been a flashpoint and you have stood in the center as the most momentous events in the history of Eternia unfolded. But were you ever alone? No. Not once."

Suddenly, Adam was surrounded by the Heroic Warriors, the Great Rebellion, his sister, his parents, the Sorceress . . . Teela.

"We are never truly alone, Adam, most especially you. These people - the people whom you fight for - they are what are in your heart. You know that . . . as did He-Ro. And he never felt alone as long he knew that. Now you do."

Adam nodded and somehow knew that the Sorceress was speaking from the heart.

"You've given me a lot to think about today, Sorceress," he said then. As he started back up the stairs with the Sorceress behind him, he paused. "He-Ro? Really?"

"Yes," answered the Sorceress. "You are his legacy - both as the great warrior He-Man and the great royal heir Adam. I have no doubt that your destiny will be great."