Chapter VI: The Confrontation
Teela stood across from her father, waiting for her chance to get in a comment.
Man-at-Arms had the floor. "Alright," he was saying. "At least now, thanks to you, we know that it is, in fact, the Dereskian Queen who has been helping Skeletor." A silence fell after the name of the 'cursed' woman out of legend, as it did in any Eternian gathering. "Teela," he continued. "You took an enormous risk fighting that. woman .one-on-one, and you are very fortunate that you were not hurt."
The young redhead nodded dutifully, choosing her words carefully. "I know that, Father. She is. extremely strong, and . definitely knows what she's doing when she uses a sword. I was very .thickheaded to fight her." If you could call it a 'fight,' she finished mentally. She never even tried to go on the offensive, and she still beat me. "But regardless of my stubborn actions, Father, the Dereskian Queen is very strong, and she fights very well. Much better than I do. Fighting her directly would be. very difficult, even for someone like He-man, especially if she uses her Majick as well."
"She's more myth than anything else, Teela," Duncan said, his own stubborn nature coming into play. "You can't let her intimidate you simply because of all the stories about her."
His 'daughter' interrupted him. "But didn't the Sorceress tell you that most of those stories are true or, at least, based in truth? Isn't there always some fact in myths?"
"Yes, Teela," he answered, almost condescending. "However, the myths of the Dereskian Queen are all extremely exaggerated, I'm sure. No woman could possibly be as strong as those stories make her out to be."
Teela shook her head. "But the Sorceress was there, Father. I'm sure she knows the power of those legends and how true they are. We can't afford to underestimate the Dereskian Queen simply because she's a woman."
"That's enough," Duncan said, cutting her off if she was going to say more. "We're not going to outwardly fight the Dereskian, anyway. That would be madness. Whether or not the stories are true is not the issue. How we are going to combat this new crisis is, Teela."
The redhead shook her head from side to side. "Well, it's not as if we can fight her outright, her physical strength is like nothing I've even seen before in a woman. And she didn't even begin to go into her resources of Majick when I fought her, barring freezing me against the wall with a flick of her wrist."
Man-at-Arms sighed raggedly. "I'll go talk to the Sorceress again. There has to be some way we can get this woman without having to directly confront her." Inwardly, Duncan shivered at the memory of the way Moria had looked when she had come before the Masters that first battle. It had been four months since then, and even he knew that they would no longer be able to hold back Skeletor's forces if things continued on this way for much longer.
He arrived at Grayskull fairly quickly, and the drawbridge lowered automatically for him. Duncan bypassed all of the illusions and security measures, which he noticed were heightened to new levels than they had been previously. He went into the viewing chamber, because he knew that would be where the Sorceress awaited him.
Teelina sat in her chair at the top of the great pyramid. She was dressed once again in the turquoise and gold costume, with the great white wings extending from her shoulder blades proudly.
"Welcome, Man-at-Arms," she said simply, flying down from her perch to greet him on the floor. "It has been a few weeks since you last came here. What can I do for you?"
Duncan wasted no time in getting down to business. "I need information on the Dereskian Queen," he stated plainly.
The Sorceress of Grayskull was silent for a small minute. "You have asked me such things before, and I have responded as best I could. What makes you think I have anything new to tell you?"
"Because now the reason to get rid of her is more urgent," Man-at- Arms said, looking at her intently. "We've discovered that she's the one who's been aiding Skeletor in his planning." Teelina lowered her gaze and said nothing. Duncan regarded her curiously. "You don't seem very surprised to hear that," he commented dryly.
She continued in her silence, eventually whispering almost inaudibly, "I'm not."
Man-at-Arms looked at her somewhat untrustingly. He asked after a moment, "How long have you known, and why didn't you tell us?"
Her head was still lowered, as if she was unable to meet his gaze. After a moment, she spoke softly. "I've known since it was apparent that she had returned to Eternia. .She told me a long while beforehand in a dream .but I didn't think it was real. I thought I had imagined the entire incident."
The Master was not swayed from his goal by her soft, saddened tone. "Why didn't you tell us?" he demanded. "We've been wandering around in the dark for over four months trying to figure out how to keep Grayskull safe, and all the time you knew who was helping Skeletor come close to defeating us?!"
Silence regained supremacy over the airwaves. "I think I was hoping in the back of my mind that it wasn't true. That if I didn't think about it, it would just go away.. I am not exactly thrilled about Lady Moria's return, if you hadn't guessed."
"You don't seem exactly opposed to it, either!" Duncan retorted sharply. "I've never seen you this calm about a possible threat to Grayskull!"
Teelina looked suddenly up and met his eyes calmly. "Moria Vadorian poses no threat to Grayskull, Man-at-Arms." He looked confused, and as if he was about to interject, but she raised her hand, cutting him off. "It is true that Lady Moria has the potential to be a menace, I will admit that. But as for actually threatening the power of Grayskull herself. well, Moria doesn't want it. She has no desire to possess Grayskull's secrets, Man-at- Arms, because she does not need them."
In a far off corner of her eye, the Sorceress saw, or imagined she saw, the figure of the Dereskian Queen herself, smiling her secret smile. However, when the Eternian turned her head for a better look, the form had gone.
"What do you mean: 'she doesn't need them?'" Duncan questioned uncertainly. "She hasn't obtained ultimate power yet, has she? So, wouldn't she want more?"
Teelina shook her head softly, almost sadly. "You must not confuse the objectives of Lady Moria with those of Skeletor, Man-at-Arms. The ultimate power on the planet does not interest the Dereskian Queen, and, even if it did, she is already much closer to achieving that goal than the Elder's power is."
"Even if she does not want the power for herself, the Dereskian Queen is still aiding Skeletor so he can take it. Doesn't that concern you, as Grayskull's protector?" he asked, his tone not a little sarcastic.
The winged woman's eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course it does, Duncan. What do you take me for, a fool? I know that Moria is dangerous. I know that you have to find someway to prevent her from aiding Skeletor. But I do not know what you expect me to tell you that will enable you to do so."
Man-at-Arms stepped closer to her. "Surely she has some weakness, something we can use against her without having to fight her directly?"
The Sorceress looked at him sadly, her blue eyes blank of emotions. She was silent for a long minute, phrasing her reply in her mind. "The Queen of the Dereskïgiä has no weaknesses, Man-at-Arms," she said simply. He looked about to interject, but she continued. "I am going to tell you how I know that now. Once, long ago, the Elders sought to destroy the Dereskian Queen once and for all. They attempted to do so by combing their power into a series of incantations and enchantments. They grouped these spells, and termed them 'High Magic.' The High Magic was designed to strike at a person's individual weaknesses in their magic and utilize these mistakes to its advantage.
"They fired it at the Dereskian Queen. But, the High Magic had not been designed to hit a collective grouping of Majicks, such as the Majicks of the Dereskïgiä are. They 'hit' Lady Moria, searching for a flaw in her defense system with which to crush her. Do you know what happened?" she questioned as a teacher would a student.
Duncan could only shake his head in ignorance.
"The High Magic was unable to find anything, not the slightest crack in the Majicks of the Dereskïgiä. They 'bounced' off of Lady Moria, and instead impacted upon their casters. But, where the Dereskian Majicks are virtually flawless, the High Majicks were able to penetrate the defenses of the Elders, and it hit them at full force. It took the Elders nearly a century to regain their full strength, and by that time, Lady Moria had vanished," Teelina finished, her voice no more affected by emotion than her ice-cold eyes.
Duncan looked a little frightened. "Sorceress," he began, "You've been acting. oddly recently. First you don't tell us that the Dereskian Queen is back, then you withhold the fact that she's helping Skeletor, and now you're. not giving me information when I ask for it."
"What makes you think there is any information to give?" she asked icily, eyes hardening slightly. She did not even begin to comment on his other statements.
Duncan looked at her empathetically. "Because. there has to be. I mean. no one is completely without weaknesses. are they?"
Teelina was silent, her gaze wavering as she turned her face away. "I do not know of any weaknesses Lady Moria has," she said softly.
Silence greeted her for a time. "Then it appears I can ask you no more." She heard his footsteps echo down the corridor, and felt rather than heard the drawbridge at the main entrance lift up behind him.
Teela stood across from her father, waiting for her chance to get in a comment.
Man-at-Arms had the floor. "Alright," he was saying. "At least now, thanks to you, we know that it is, in fact, the Dereskian Queen who has been helping Skeletor." A silence fell after the name of the 'cursed' woman out of legend, as it did in any Eternian gathering. "Teela," he continued. "You took an enormous risk fighting that. woman .one-on-one, and you are very fortunate that you were not hurt."
The young redhead nodded dutifully, choosing her words carefully. "I know that, Father. She is. extremely strong, and . definitely knows what she's doing when she uses a sword. I was very .thickheaded to fight her." If you could call it a 'fight,' she finished mentally. She never even tried to go on the offensive, and she still beat me. "But regardless of my stubborn actions, Father, the Dereskian Queen is very strong, and she fights very well. Much better than I do. Fighting her directly would be. very difficult, even for someone like He-man, especially if she uses her Majick as well."
"She's more myth than anything else, Teela," Duncan said, his own stubborn nature coming into play. "You can't let her intimidate you simply because of all the stories about her."
His 'daughter' interrupted him. "But didn't the Sorceress tell you that most of those stories are true or, at least, based in truth? Isn't there always some fact in myths?"
"Yes, Teela," he answered, almost condescending. "However, the myths of the Dereskian Queen are all extremely exaggerated, I'm sure. No woman could possibly be as strong as those stories make her out to be."
Teela shook her head. "But the Sorceress was there, Father. I'm sure she knows the power of those legends and how true they are. We can't afford to underestimate the Dereskian Queen simply because she's a woman."
"That's enough," Duncan said, cutting her off if she was going to say more. "We're not going to outwardly fight the Dereskian, anyway. That would be madness. Whether or not the stories are true is not the issue. How we are going to combat this new crisis is, Teela."
The redhead shook her head from side to side. "Well, it's not as if we can fight her outright, her physical strength is like nothing I've even seen before in a woman. And she didn't even begin to go into her resources of Majick when I fought her, barring freezing me against the wall with a flick of her wrist."
Man-at-Arms sighed raggedly. "I'll go talk to the Sorceress again. There has to be some way we can get this woman without having to directly confront her." Inwardly, Duncan shivered at the memory of the way Moria had looked when she had come before the Masters that first battle. It had been four months since then, and even he knew that they would no longer be able to hold back Skeletor's forces if things continued on this way for much longer.
He arrived at Grayskull fairly quickly, and the drawbridge lowered automatically for him. Duncan bypassed all of the illusions and security measures, which he noticed were heightened to new levels than they had been previously. He went into the viewing chamber, because he knew that would be where the Sorceress awaited him.
Teelina sat in her chair at the top of the great pyramid. She was dressed once again in the turquoise and gold costume, with the great white wings extending from her shoulder blades proudly.
"Welcome, Man-at-Arms," she said simply, flying down from her perch to greet him on the floor. "It has been a few weeks since you last came here. What can I do for you?"
Duncan wasted no time in getting down to business. "I need information on the Dereskian Queen," he stated plainly.
The Sorceress of Grayskull was silent for a small minute. "You have asked me such things before, and I have responded as best I could. What makes you think I have anything new to tell you?"
"Because now the reason to get rid of her is more urgent," Man-at- Arms said, looking at her intently. "We've discovered that she's the one who's been aiding Skeletor in his planning." Teelina lowered her gaze and said nothing. Duncan regarded her curiously. "You don't seem very surprised to hear that," he commented dryly.
She continued in her silence, eventually whispering almost inaudibly, "I'm not."
Man-at-Arms looked at her somewhat untrustingly. He asked after a moment, "How long have you known, and why didn't you tell us?"
Her head was still lowered, as if she was unable to meet his gaze. After a moment, she spoke softly. "I've known since it was apparent that she had returned to Eternia. .She told me a long while beforehand in a dream .but I didn't think it was real. I thought I had imagined the entire incident."
The Master was not swayed from his goal by her soft, saddened tone. "Why didn't you tell us?" he demanded. "We've been wandering around in the dark for over four months trying to figure out how to keep Grayskull safe, and all the time you knew who was helping Skeletor come close to defeating us?!"
Silence regained supremacy over the airwaves. "I think I was hoping in the back of my mind that it wasn't true. That if I didn't think about it, it would just go away.. I am not exactly thrilled about Lady Moria's return, if you hadn't guessed."
"You don't seem exactly opposed to it, either!" Duncan retorted sharply. "I've never seen you this calm about a possible threat to Grayskull!"
Teelina looked suddenly up and met his eyes calmly. "Moria Vadorian poses no threat to Grayskull, Man-at-Arms." He looked confused, and as if he was about to interject, but she raised her hand, cutting him off. "It is true that Lady Moria has the potential to be a menace, I will admit that. But as for actually threatening the power of Grayskull herself. well, Moria doesn't want it. She has no desire to possess Grayskull's secrets, Man-at- Arms, because she does not need them."
In a far off corner of her eye, the Sorceress saw, or imagined she saw, the figure of the Dereskian Queen herself, smiling her secret smile. However, when the Eternian turned her head for a better look, the form had gone.
"What do you mean: 'she doesn't need them?'" Duncan questioned uncertainly. "She hasn't obtained ultimate power yet, has she? So, wouldn't she want more?"
Teelina shook her head softly, almost sadly. "You must not confuse the objectives of Lady Moria with those of Skeletor, Man-at-Arms. The ultimate power on the planet does not interest the Dereskian Queen, and, even if it did, she is already much closer to achieving that goal than the Elder's power is."
"Even if she does not want the power for herself, the Dereskian Queen is still aiding Skeletor so he can take it. Doesn't that concern you, as Grayskull's protector?" he asked, his tone not a little sarcastic.
The winged woman's eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course it does, Duncan. What do you take me for, a fool? I know that Moria is dangerous. I know that you have to find someway to prevent her from aiding Skeletor. But I do not know what you expect me to tell you that will enable you to do so."
Man-at-Arms stepped closer to her. "Surely she has some weakness, something we can use against her without having to fight her directly?"
The Sorceress looked at him sadly, her blue eyes blank of emotions. She was silent for a long minute, phrasing her reply in her mind. "The Queen of the Dereskïgiä has no weaknesses, Man-at-Arms," she said simply. He looked about to interject, but she continued. "I am going to tell you how I know that now. Once, long ago, the Elders sought to destroy the Dereskian Queen once and for all. They attempted to do so by combing their power into a series of incantations and enchantments. They grouped these spells, and termed them 'High Magic.' The High Magic was designed to strike at a person's individual weaknesses in their magic and utilize these mistakes to its advantage.
"They fired it at the Dereskian Queen. But, the High Magic had not been designed to hit a collective grouping of Majicks, such as the Majicks of the Dereskïgiä are. They 'hit' Lady Moria, searching for a flaw in her defense system with which to crush her. Do you know what happened?" she questioned as a teacher would a student.
Duncan could only shake his head in ignorance.
"The High Magic was unable to find anything, not the slightest crack in the Majicks of the Dereskïgiä. They 'bounced' off of Lady Moria, and instead impacted upon their casters. But, where the Dereskian Majicks are virtually flawless, the High Majicks were able to penetrate the defenses of the Elders, and it hit them at full force. It took the Elders nearly a century to regain their full strength, and by that time, Lady Moria had vanished," Teelina finished, her voice no more affected by emotion than her ice-cold eyes.
Duncan looked a little frightened. "Sorceress," he began, "You've been acting. oddly recently. First you don't tell us that the Dereskian Queen is back, then you withhold the fact that she's helping Skeletor, and now you're. not giving me information when I ask for it."
"What makes you think there is any information to give?" she asked icily, eyes hardening slightly. She did not even begin to comment on his other statements.
Duncan looked at her empathetically. "Because. there has to be. I mean. no one is completely without weaknesses. are they?"
Teelina was silent, her gaze wavering as she turned her face away. "I do not know of any weaknesses Lady Moria has," she said softly.
Silence greeted her for a time. "Then it appears I can ask you no more." She heard his footsteps echo down the corridor, and felt rather than heard the drawbridge at the main entrance lift up behind him.