There were few survivors of the massacre, it had been a horrifying task for everyone involved but with the help of the Efestian troops they could supply medical assistance to the wounded and many graves could be improvised, sorting the grieving relatives in a mass funeral.
He-man tried to comfort Ariadne but she rejected him.
-"You are a warrior, the most powerful of all. Because of people like you this tragedy happened"- She said enraged.
-"I had nothing to do with this your highness. If anything I am trying to defend your people"- He said heartbroken.
-"My people were fine until someone decided to cause a war, for that they used warriors, like you. Your presence will only encourage further battles where yet more innocents will suffer. Don't you see? Fighting fire with fire will burn us all"- She began to sob –"You violent fool! You could never understand, only my future husband sees the light and therefore avoids battle at all costs. He is ten times better than you. If you really want to help me then fetch him and bring him to my side."-
He-man wasn't used to being insulted when he took this particular form, he also didn't know what to do with a fiancée that loved his true nature but despised his alter ego. Years ago, before the wall was torn, he had coveted the heart of Teela. That of course went to hell when she respected and flirted with He-man but mistreated his original self. He realized that if she couldn't even dare to think there might be more to Adam than the coward he presented to the world she was perhaps better left alone. He believed Ariadne had succeeded where Teela failed, seeing qualities in him most people chose to ignore. But not in a million years he would have thought the princess would see anything negative about He-man.
Now was not the time to worry over such details, if Ariadne wanted Adam he would give him to her. After all it was his duty to care for his bride to be, that was something that should not be delegated to He-man.
-"I shall bring him to you, my princess"- He bowed and surveyed the area for a spot where he could change back.
-"Perhaps it would be more practical if she met Adam outside the realm. I told him it was safer for him if he just left the kingdom, since there is a real chance another attack might surge. As the sole ruling monarch of the kingdom of Ishteurea it is top priority that she leaves the realm with as many citizens as possible, she can come back as soon as the threat is dealt with"- Duncan said curtly.
Adam resented having Duncan meddle with his relationships yet again; knowing Ariadne would be disappointed when she didn't find him outside the realm. Nonetheless he couldn't help to acknowledge that the best way to keep her safe was to get her out of the war zone.
Then Randor came holding the Crown of the Ishteurean queen and placed it on Ariadne's head.
-"I know this is a very difficult time for you, but right now you are the only member of the royal family capable of ruling. Therefore you are now the queen and regent of Ishteurea. In the light of these events I can only offer my condolences and best wishes, along with the promise that I will see that the perpetrators of this crime are caught and punished and your kingdom shall be safe once again."- The king said sadly, and then he sent the dumbfounded girl with her wounded sister into the Efestian main ship to Eternos.
An hour later He-man could be found sulking among the remains of the castle, in less than a day innocent lives had been taken and many of his hopes and dreams had been crushed. Ariadne could not be queen of Ishteurea and Eternos at the same time; if Lena didn't survive he could kiss his marriage goodbye and his poor bride would be burdened with the weight of an entire damaged nation on her unprepared shoulders. He would be dammed if he left the culprit of this massacre get away with it.
Unfortunately whatever evidence left of the attempt got destroyed when the bomb went off, but when he removed the huge rocks beneath the ground he found an intricate pattern of underground tunnels unknown to the Ishteureans. It meant that it's possible the attackers dug it a long time ago; someone able to dig such a complex structure inside a rocky mountain had more resources than the Efestians could ever raise.
Teela was right, if they were responsible for any of this they didn't do it alone; besides his instinct told him to trust Nadir. The Efestian prince seemed rather torn when he knew of Lena's condition.
In the distance he heard a heated argument between King Randor and Man at arms. After the dust cleared and most of the damage was contained an argument between them was expected, if he wanted to keep his secret hidden he had to get them to stay quiet and that sadly meant he had to get involved in the altercation.
-"How could you Duncan? I trusted you with secrets and information not even Marlena knows!"-
-"I had no choice Randor!"-
As soon as He-man entered the makeshift tents were the monarch was, both men gave him a dead serious look.
-"Please I need you to keep your voice down"- He-man said evenly.
The king walked and stood glaring at the large warrior, it was strange to see Randor angry at him, at least in this form. As Adam he had grown used to his towering, scolding presence, but as He-man he had usually seen nothing but deep respect in his eyes. Now instead Randor no longer saw a powerful mature warrior, he saw his own son.
-"For what? So you can protect your identity? Is it so precious that it's worth destroying all you have? Your people is afraid of the time when you take over the throne for they think you are an irresponsible coward, the same applies to your fellow masters and your friends. If you told them the truth all those problems would be solved!"-
-"My friends accept me for who I am, they can see that there is more about me than the way I handle myself in the battlefield. For their understanding I shall reward them tenfold as soon as the opportunity arises, as for the rest they will see I am not a coward in their due time"- He-man responded coldly.
-"And you will shut them out like you did with Teela? Or would you deny them as you did with me? Those who stood by your side are faithful people but how could they accept you if they don't know who you truly are? You presented a fake image of yourself to the world and then judge the ones around you depending on how they react towards your lies!"-
-"My lies showed who they truly are!"- He-man said raising his voice.
-"Balderash! You can't base your perception of people for the way they react at the unreliable information you give them"-
-"He is right about that He-man. By hiding your positive traits people can only perceive the negative ones, which are actually false. They act according to that image in their own nature"-
While He-man considered the new information Randor turned to face Duncan.
-"You are responsible for all of this! It was your idea that he hid his identity from us! You looked me right in the eyes and fed me a lie after another without even a flinch!"-
-"Actually I rarely lied; I gave you a small fragments of the truth."- He said sheepish.
-"Do not hide away behind technicalities; "half truths" are a meek way to call lies"-
-"I know and that is not an excuse, but you have to understand that I had no choice. Put yourself in our enemy's place: What would you do if you knew that the most powerful man in Eternia not only had family and loved ones but also took the frail form of a teenage boy? Either Adam would have been killed at the first opportunity or his family would have been used as a pawn against him."- Duncan pleaded.
The king was about to argue the point when nearby screams called their attention.
The three men saw in outrage as large robots emerged from the underground caves, their metal carcasses barely smudged at the shots and swords fired by the Efestian and Ishteurean army.
Taking into action He-man launched himself into combat with the larger one, a hell spawned contraption tall as four men while Randor went to Nadir's side leading the army. Duncan went to the opposite side in the hope of circling the enemy while Teela stood behind him, leading a small group of civilians who chose to take arms instead of fleeing to safer ground.