Chapter Two
Dragon Rock was a secluded Royal Army base nestled deep within The Evergreen Forest. Nestled amid a large stand of trees, there were no farms, villages, or any other settlements for miles around.
Shadow reined his horse to a stop a few hundred feet outside the gate. He dismounted and led his horse off the trail, out of sight. Today, he wore a scoped high-powered rifle slung across his back in addition to his usual black mask and bodysuit. After taking care to see that no one else was around, he tapped a button on his belt buckle -- a button that activated a portable cloaking device -- and disappeared into thin air.
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King Randor and Queen Marlena sat in the Royal Box on the parade ground at Dragon Rock, reviewing the columns of troops marching before them. Somewhere in the distance, a marching band played an accompaniment.
Teela stood at parade rest just below the Royal Box, her eyes scanning the area around and in front of her, ever on the alert for signs of danger.
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Meanwhile, at that very same moment, Lysia and her army laid waste to a village far to the north of Dragon Rock. The air was thick with the smoke of burning houses. Rampaging marauders on horseback ran through defending villagers with their swords. Panicking villagers ran to and fro for cover.
"BURN EM ALL!" a mounted Lysia cried above the din, her purple silk cape swinging in the breeze behind her.
All at once, a mighty roar split the air. Lysia turned her horse towards the noise. From out of the smoke came none other than He-Man, riding his mighty Battle Cat!
"LYSIA!" He-Man cried.
"HE-MAN!" Lysia exclaimed. She then commanded, "SOLDIERS, ATTACK!"
All at once, He-Man was set upon by a swarm of sword-wielding marauders on horseback. He-Man grabbed the wrist of one marauder, plucked him off his horse, and threw him into a mob of oncoming marauders on horseback. After seeing this display of raw power, the other marauders quickly turned their horses around and beat a hasty retreat.
"Why are you doing this, Lysia?" He-Man inquired.
"I'M doing what YOU won't!" Lysia hissed. "I'm protecting my people!"
"You call looting peasants 'protecting your people'? "
"You call it 'looting' … I call it creating a buffer zone," Lysia retorted. "Besides … shouldn't you be more worried about Teela right now?"
"What about Teela?" He-Man inquired, a note of worry now in his voice. "What about her?"
"You'll see," said Lysia with an evil grin. With that, she turned her horse around and galloped away.
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Back at Dragon Rock, the invisible Shadow had climbed onto the roof of an aircraft hangar overlooking the parade ground and Royal Box. Lying in a prone position, he removed the rifle from his back, temporarily turned off the cloaking device (the field the device generated interfered with the electronics inside the rifle), lined up Teela in the crosshairs, and squeezed the trigger.
Having done all of that, Shadow touched the button on his belt buckle once more (thereby reactivating the cloaking device), and disappeared into thin air once more.
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It wasn't long before the news reached Castle Grayskull. A terrified Orko flew madly through a window over the Castle's great drawbridge, screaming in horror, "SORCERESS! TEELA'S BEEN SHOT! TEELA'S BEEN SHOT!"