Chapter Five - "The End of the Third Age"
"Lay him there! Right there!"
Keldor was spread out on a long table, his face still peeling away and burning up.
"Is he dead?" Beast-Man asked sadly.
"I don't know, damn it!" shouted Evil-Lynn, reaching for an old book from a nearby shelf. She didn't even know what she was looking up, only that . . .
"Stand aside."
It was a hissing, cold voice that sent chills up Evil-Lynn's back. Evil-Lynn and saw a creature composed entirely of glowing bones. It floated forward, a torn purple cape flowing behind it. She knew immediately who it was. Scare-Glow, the creature Keldor had encountered in the tunnels below Snake Mountain.
Keldor made a terrible gurgling sound as his tongue was burned away. Scare-Glow drifted to the head of the table. He learned forward, his bones glowing brightly.
"Time to meet you destiny," Scare-Glow hissed.
And then . . . Scare-Glow pushed his hands into Keldor's head. They slid right through like a ghost would. Keldor then began to scream. Light exploded from his head and Scare-Glow's entire body brightened. A scream so unlike anything Beast-Man or Evil-Lynn had ever heard before came from Keldor as Scare-Glow worked whatever power he was using on Keldor.
Evil-Lynn and Beast-Man averted their eyes as the light filled the entire room and began to change colors, from blue to green to red and finally . . . to yellow. The scream continued, reaching higher pitches. And then, there was a sound like thunder and the light dimmed.
Evil-Lynn and Beast-Man watched then as Scare-Glow walked off, a huge plume of smoke rising from Keldor's head.
"You have not seen the last of me," stated Scare-Glow and then he vanished entirely.
Keldor sat up, the smoke still rising from his head. He moved normally, just as always had. But his face was blocked to them.
"Keldor?" asked Evil-Lynn, stepping forward.
There was a pause and Keldor said nothing.
"Are you okay?" questioned Beast-Man.
The smoke suddenly cleared. Keldor's face was shown to Evil-Lynn and Beast-Man. Beast-Man's mouth unhinged and his eyes bulged. His entire body went stiff, his fur on end. Evil-Lynn brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide as well. A scream threatened to come out, but she couldn't find the ability to muster it.
At that moment, Eathos and Mer-Man came in. "I found the medical lab. I put Kronis in what the computer said was a stasis chamber. With the right technology, he should be able - "
Eathos halted in his steps, eye catching a glimpse of the man once called Keldor. Mer-Man stopped just short of running right into him. He made that bubbling sound once more and shook with fright.
""What has happened to me!" he demanded, the last tendrils of smoke finally fading off. His voice was higher – much higher. It was shrill and high. It gave them all goosebumps.
"Keldor . . ." Evil-Lynn whispered, bringing her hand down from her mouth at last.
He glanced, then, upon a mirror. He stared at the reflection, where once his face was. After a long, tense moment, the fallen prince did something no expected.
In that terrifying new voice, he laughed. He threw his new head back, his eyes burning red like a pair of coals and he laughed.
"Keldor is dead!" he shouted between fits of laughter. "KELDOR IS DEAD!"
And then . . . he turned to those assembled before him. The laugh was gone immediately, replaced by a tone so very grim and serious that it frightened them all. What stood upon his neck was no head as one would define, but a pure white skull with a darkness deeper than shadow and night in its sockets.
"Keldor is dead. So declares SKELETOR!"
"It really is over," Randor breathed, the dawning sun rising over the horizon. He stood on a lone balcony, staring out at Eternos, a fog rolling over it in the early morning hours. His brother was dead . . . Keldor was dead. The victim of his own plot, just as what had gotten him banished in the first place.
He had but a small lingering doubt, but much like his own brother, he ignored it. Instead, he focused on what lay ahead. The Elders had to alter a few memories regarding what happened at the Hall of Wisdom, which gave Randor a feeling of starting over. Rebuilding after the war, mourning for his brother, hoping for the rescue of his daughter, the raising of his son . . . and what he knew would be a long, hard quest for an endearing peace.
Marlena was suddenly at his side as the rays of light poured across Eternos and the lands around. Her hands wrapped around his waist and she held him.
"Good morning," she told him, his red-brown hair caught in a stray early morning breeze. He kissed her forehead.
"Good morning."
She put her head on his shoulder. "What kind of day is it going to be?"
He smiled. "A good day, my love."
That evening, Duncan sat in his quarters. It had been a busy day. Training for his new position as Man-At-Arms, plus he had a new design for a vehicle he called a 'Talon Fighter' that he was working up. Not to mention Teela, whose bedtime was coming up.
But it was just as the sun began to dip down into the horizon that a telepathic message entered his mind.
Duncan . . . it is time.
Duncan stood up, not sure what to think. He knew this day was coming, but assumed it would have been earlier. It was a warm, autumn day outside, the leaves a many splendid colors. But it would be chilly and he knew that the Sorceress had wanted him to bring Teela.
He bundled Teela up, then, and left. Already, she was walking and saying a few words. Would she know how her mother is? Would she remember this moment?
They rode out on Rusher. Duncan knew that it was going to be soon that Rusher was retired. This made him quite sad, for it seemed as though Rusher had been a constant companion to him for so very long . . .
The sun was merely a faint sliver over the trees by the time Duncan arrived at Castle Grayskull. Teela looked up at it with wonder.
"Astle, Daddy!" she yelped.
"Yeah, sweetie. It's a castle. Castle Grayskull."
"Ayhull?"
"Yes, honey."
"Big Astle Ayhull, Daddy!"
Duncan smiled and walked towards the drawbridge. Immediately, it opened up, and there stood the Sorceress, her features soft and her beauty unchanged since he first laid eyes on her. Teela just stared at her and Duncan wondered truly if she knew . . . and just how would it be that she forgot whom it was that stood there . . .
Rusher was hitched up and both Duncan and Teela entered Castle Grayskull. The Sorceress led them into the Throne Room.
"Can I hold her?" asked the Sorceress.
"Of course," Duncan replied awkwardly.
The woman once known as Teelana lifted the girl that would forget her mother. She held her tightly and a tear traveled down her cheek.
"Teelana . . ."
"After tonight, my dear Duncan, Castle Grayskull shall vanish for a long time. Eternia will know a brief period of peace, and then a new war will begin."
Duncan took a step back. "What?"
She rubbed Teela's back and kissed her cheek. She then turned back to Duncan. "This war will be unlike any other Eternia has seen. A hero shall emerge, you see, to protect all of Eternia. His shall come from Castle Grayskull, which will return someday many years from now. On that day, you must help someone very close to you embrace his destiny."
"Who?"
She told him. Duncan flinched in surprise and his eyes widened a bit.
"You mean . . .?"
"Yes, Duncan. He shall someday become a great warrior. He will need all the help he can get to reach that point."
Duncan nodded. "Understandable. What about Teela?"
The Sorceress pulled Teela back and stared at her smiling face. She returned it, but there was a lot of sadness in her eyes. "My daughter and I will not see each other for a very long time, my dear. And you must know that as my daughter, Teela will someday have to take my place as Sorceress."
"What!"
"It is the way things are. Daughters must replace mothers. There have been many of those who claim the role of Sorceress and became a member of the Order of the Goddess. Some have been sisters, some have been strangers. And some have been mothers and daughters."
"I . . ."
"You must prepare her for her responsibilities," she stated. "And worry not about this fate. It will be a long time before she must face it. You must show her love . . . enough love from both her mother and father. Enough love . . . from the both of us."
Duncan shut his eyes, tears filling them. "I am going to miss you."
She kissed his forehead and returned Teela to his arms. "I know, my love. I know."
Just then, the doors to the Throne Room opened once more. In came all 25 members of the Council of Elders, glowing in their power. Each one carried a small sack.
"Commander Duncan," addressed Eldor. "Teela."
"What is it?" asked Duncan, suddenly all business. "What is the matter?"
"Ah," Eldor answered, smiling amusingly. "It seems our time here on Eternia has ended. Our riders are now announcing our withdraw from Eternia. I am certain that the Sorceress has informed you of what is to come?"
"Yes."
"Then you must be made aware that Castle Grayskull's power is about to expand, for we our adding ourselves to its strength," Eldor explained.
"As per our directions, it is your responsibility to keep this all a great secret," stated Kor.
"I shall."
"And to protect the one that has been chosen for the champion of Grayskull," Ali followed up.
"I shall, on my lives blood."
"And to watch over the one we call daughter," the Sorceress suddenly said. Duncan turned to her, surprised but more than willing.
"Until my last breath."
"And thus, the ending has begun," Schemdrick stated.
"Our final decrees, Commander Duncan. The lands of the Elders have been given to Eternos in the wake of their great victory over the Horde," Eldor told him. "And, as our riders are telling all, this is the end of the Third Age."
"So ends the Age of the Elders," the Sorceress said. "And so begins the Age of Kings."
Eldor nodded. "We ask that you leave us, now, Duncan. As you can imagine, we have much we must do."
"Farewell Duncan," said the Sorceress, sadness resonating in her voice.
"Good bye, my love," Duncan responded, tearing up.
"Bye Momma!" Teela threw in.
Duncan left Castle Grayskull.
The drawbridge closed.
The Elders took their position around the Sorceress, the gateway to the Pool of Power opening in the middle of the circle they formed. Eldor went to take his place, but Ali stopped him.
"You have a different task, Eldor," Ali told him.
"Hrm?"
She then pulled out a huge book, bound in leather. The Book of Living Spells.
"You must be guardian of this tome," Kor said.
Sparrow nodded. "Its secrets you must keep. Its spells you must hide. It is your responsibility."
"It is your destiny," came the voice of Gor.
Eldor took the book and then looked them all over. "Who am I to argue with destiny?" he mused. "I shall miss you all so terribly much, though."
Ali smiled and kissed his cheek. The others came over and either hugged him or shook his hand. After it was all done, they took their places back at the Pool of Power. Kor, Ali, Sparrow, Schemendrick, Frondor, Farnsworth, Chalon, Gor, Ulong, Angus, Napo, CeeCee, Ph'Bee, Slyn, Via, Vic, Mune, Ann, Eve, Hef, Niko, Mando, Delt, and Dubbau all prepared themselves.
"We shall always be with you, Eldor," Ali said with that smile of hers. "It is our legacies that keep us alive."
Outside, standing at the edge of the field around Castle Grayskull, Duncan watched as the windows and doors of the old castle were filled with a brilliant white light. He took a deep breath and he and Teela rode off down the rode, under a blanket of stars and a trio of bright moons.