Keldor sat in front of the small basin on the low table in front of the sofa.
His hair was damp from running his wet hands through it. Lyn had long since given up trying to draw him away from the small bit of the waters in the bowl before him. He had been through his cleansing ritual multiple times, but his spirit was weighed down. He sat for hours with his hands in the water, and his heart resting at his feet. His confrontation with the former sorceress weighed heavily on his mind. Now he was leaning forward looking at his reflection in the water. 'Why did you save me Truth? What have I done now that is worse than all of my crimes against Grayskull? Why do you have me here to cause others pain? '
There was a knock at the door, as if in answer to his question. Keldor ignored it, too lost in his self-pity to want to deal with anyone...that is, until Adora's voice reached his ears.
"I don't care what kind of mood he's in, Lyn," Adora said in her best force captain voice. "We need to talk."
"We?" Keldor muttered to himself, looking up as Lyn led Adora in. He paled when he spotted Lana, Adam, and Teela behind them.
"You told me you felt as if you needed to talk to Adam," Adora reminded him, hands on her hips. Obviously the fact that Adam and Teela had been keeping a vigil next to Josiah's cradle the last few days was not enough of an excuse, Keldor reflected wryly.
"And I told you the timing wasn't right," he retorted half-heartedly.
"That was a few days ago," Adora said sweetly, sitting down and making herself comfortable.
"If it's any consolation, I don't necessarily want to be here either," Adam muttered as he motioned for Lana and Teela to take a seat on the couch.
"Don't you outrank her?" Keldor asked, feeling a sudden desire to postpone the inevitable conversation.
Adam snorted. "Tell her that."
Keldor thought of doing just that. Until, that is, he saw the determined look on Adora's face. He passed his hand over the basin of waters to renew his magelock over the bowl. He remained on his knees however, and gave one last look at the waters below him before he looked up into the face of his visitors.
"I spoke with Adora earlier this week about an anger—more so than usual--coming from you two," Keldor said to Adam and Teela. "I see now that it has to do with you as well," he added with a brief glance at Teelana. Lyn moved to sit in the chair beside the table where Keldor still knelt.
"I've no doubt I have committed whatever crime you accuse me of, but I wish to say I'm sorry. Whatever it was I am deeply, truly sorry."
"Of all the pompous-," sputtered Teela, jumping back to her feet. "It wasn't just anything, it was-"
"Silence," Lana ordered her daughter. She stood as well, shaking with unfamiliar fury. "I have no wish to discuss this."
"Maybe it would help-," Adam said hesitantly.
"No!" Lana snapped. "If I had wanted Skeletor to know then I would have told him!"
"But he killed my father!" Teela snapped back.
"He was my husband!" Lana yelled. She stopped short, realizing there was no use in protesting any longer. She sank back onto the couch, her knees no longer able to support her.
"Ancients," breathed Keldor. "I am sorry." Keldor looked up into the eyes of the two women he'd hurt so deeply. He realized that there was nothing he could say or do. He looked back down into the waters on the table. "I would give my life in his place if I could undo what I did."
"You expect us to believe that?" Teela shouted. She stood and began to pace. "And even if you meant it, there's nothing you can do. Nothing."
"Except turn himself in for trial," interjected Lyn. "Which he has done."
"Admittedly, it is not enough, and never will be," Lyn quickly added as Teela's face grew red and she began to sputter.
"You're right, it isn't," Lana said coldly.
Teela reached over to grab her mother's hand as the two of them stared hard at Keldor. But Teela found her anger combining with confusion as Keldor turned his head to hide his face in shame, and she saw tears drop from into his folded legs. Not that she hadn't expected an emotional apology, given Keldor's recent behavior. But if he had been putting on an act, surely he would have been staring at them as the tears fell, not trying to hide them.
"I think we're done here," Adam said quietly, coming to his feet to stand beside Teela. He glanced over at Keldor with an unreadable glance, hiding his frustration.
"We've settled nothing," Adora protested.
"Keldor wanted to know why we were upset; now he knows," Adam countered firmly.
"You can't fix this, Adora," Lana said, her voice sounding more tempered, more like it usual melodious tones. "There are some things that cannot be forgiven."
"I don't believe that," Adora objected. "If everyone in the rebellion felt that way, I wouldn't have been allowed to join, much less be their leader."
"But you were under a spell," Keldor pointed out in a defeated voice. "I have no such excuse, Adora."
"Evil is its own spell, Uncle Keldor," Adora argued softly, her blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
The exchange gripped Adam's chest like a vice. He recalled how he had considered Damien's recent offer. In his heart, he knew that three years ago he wouldn't even have been tempted in the slightest. He would have confidently brushed Damien aside, positive that he would find a cure for Josiah on his own. For the first time, he felt a tiny glimmer of kinship with Keldor, an understanding of the suffering the blue mage had endured.
Keldor stayed on his knees as Adora followed Lyn wordlessly to the door. Lyn held the door open for Adam, Teela, and the former sorceress. Adora looked back at Keldor, but Lyn stopped her and sent telepathically, 'I'll work with him for now, Adora. You help your family.' Adora nodded, a reluctant look on her face, and followed the others.
Lyn shut the door quietly behind them and knelt beside Keldor. She removed the mage lock and dipped her fingers into the waters.
"May these ears hear only truth," she began their daily cleansing ritual. She twisted in front of Keldor long enough to trace his ears with her dampened fingers.
"May these eyes see only Truth," she repeated the ritual words as she dragged her dampened fingers over his now-closed eyes.
"May these lips speak only Truth," she concluded as she gently lined his closed lips with her dampened fingers.
Keldor reached up and held her fingers to his lips to kiss them.
"I thank you for the cleansing, Lyn, but I'm not sure I can stand to see, hear or speak any more Truth." Keldor's voice was a rasp and his eyes, now open, showed his pain.
"You can and you will," Lyn assured him gently. "You are here for a reason. We have already saved countless lives. We have helped free untold numbers of slaves and no one could have done that without you. You have you father's love and forgiveness."
"But Teela's father," interrupted Keldor.
"Is in the past," Lyn said firmly. "You regret it as you do all who were injured or died as a result of our assaults over the years. You and I both would undo it if we could, but we can't. We were given specific reasons for our new life and that was to free, heal, and save lives. We do that as long as we are able to and do what little else we can to face justice. Keldor, we cannot bring anyone back who died as a result of our activity, but there is one more truth that you have forgotten."
Keldor started to look away, but Lyn held his face in both of her hands and turned his eyes to her own. "The truth that you shared with Micah before our purification. Good is strong enough to bring good things from even the ruins of the greatest evils. I still believe that, Keldor."
"I know it to be true," Keldor said in a low voice, "but the weight of my crimes is..."
"Something that has been cleansed away from you. Keldor, yes, we must face Eternian justice for our evil deeds and we will. But on a greater cosmic level, we both know we are cleansed from every evil deed we've ever committed. When we face our end, even if it is by execution here, we will not be in Blazes. We were given a second chance at life by Truth, and that second chance cannot be taken away from us by a thousand worlds and not by one. We are meant to see Carina free. It will happen. And the lives we save and the families that are repaired and restored after that happens will greatly outnumber any lives we have destroyed here.
Keldor nodded. "I just wish I could undo...."
"We both do," assured Lyn. "But we can't. And brooding about it can do nothing."
"I must again admit that you are right," Keldor groaned. He pulled her down by his side and kissed her. Keldor had every intention of thanking her for her counsel, but his lips remained otherwise occupied for the rest of the afternoon.
The three of them had marched down the hallway in silence. Teelana nodded distractedly as Adam informed her that he and Teela would be returning to the infirmary. Teela looked at her mother in concern and hesitated outside the door.
"Will you be all right?" she asked.
Lana nodded and mustered a weak smile. "I'll be fine, dear. I just need to go for a walk and clear my head." She longed to go for a flight as she once had as Zoar. Problems had seemed easier to work through when she had been able to soar on the wind, feeling the pure air ripple through her feathers. She sighed as she continued outside the palace. She could probably take a wind raider, but that was far too complicated--and it could never replace flying on one's own wings.
Teelana ambled through the pathways that led out of the palace grounds. 'I don't understand why Serena would encourage Adam to call him back. I worry sometimes that I misinterpreted the signs--that I left Grayskull too soon. Oh Ancients, I hope I didn't misunderstand. If the castle falls...all Eternia falls.'
Lana walked toward the towering pines of the Evergreen Forest. She looked up longingly at the great branches waving overhead in the evening breezes. She used to perch atop the highest branches and look over all of Eternos. It was one of the few things she missed about her life as sorceress. Without even realizing the direction her path led, Lana turned down a worn path in the forest. One Adam used to take regularly when he was summoned to Grayskull.
Her mind wandered back to the day John was killed--the day Skeletor killed him. Oddly enough, now that Skeletor--Keldor knew, she could almost look at it more objectively. It had not been a deliberate murder. John had simply been in the way. The target had been King Randor. It had been war. 'I wish I'd never looked in Grayskull's window and discovered who killed him,' she thought violently, her steps increasing in speed. Not taking revenge had been the hardest thing she had ever done. But now, seeing her husband's killer living a happy, contented life, free from prison...it made her blood boil.
'He will go to trial, and he will face justice,' Lana reminded herself. 'But if Adam thinks justice is for Keldor to return to his happy home on Carina, he is sadly mistaken.'
Stone crunched under her foot, and Lana looked up, surprised. She was at the edge of the Evergreen Forest, standing just in front of Grayskull. She smiled slightly. 'I suppose I should have expected my subconscious would lead me home.' Without hesitating, she crossed the arched stone bridge towards the jawbridge, which opened before she reached it.
Lana entered the dark stone archway taking a strange comfort from the foreboding surroundings. She could still feel the magic of this place even though it no longer coursed through her. She turned down a non-descript hallway in the direction of the throne room to see Serena walking up to her.
"Hello Lana," Serena greeted, stopping a few feet from her former teacher. "What brings you to Grayskull today?"
Lana's eyes narrowed. 'I wonder why she didn't wait for me in the throne room." Dismissing the thought, Lana leaned against a stone wall, which automatically created a bench for her to sit upon. She sank onto it, negative feelings overtaking her mind again.
"Keldor killed my husband," she said bluntly.
"I know," Serena said quietly.
Lana sprang back to her feet, going nose-to-nose with Serena. "You knew?" she asked, venom in her voice.
Serena simply nodded, though she folded her arms loosely around her stomach. Lana stared hard at her former apprentice, then backed up a step. She needed Grayskull's wisdom more than she needed to attack its guardian.
"I'm surprised by the anger I still feel towards him," Lana confessed.
"Seeing what we perceive to be an injustice can easily make us angry," Serena said in an understanding tone.
"Perceive?" Lana demanded. "It is a terrible injustice! He has a wife, children, a secure home! He has in no way paid for his crimes! He's living in happy retirement!"
"Lana, you do not know what he went through to get to that point," Serena pointed out. "Nor do you know..." she started to add, but was interrupted by Lana's retort.
"I don't need to know. Whatever it is, it wasn't enough," Lana snarled. She turned away from Serena, closing her eyes and pretending for just a moment that she was secure in the castle, with the ever-present sense of peace she had had here filling her. But when she opened her eyes, it wasn't the familiar sight of He-Man, Duncan, or Orko in front of her. It was Malick.
Lana stumbled back a few steps. Malick reached out to steady her.
"I'm sorry," Malick apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you. I heard shouting and came to see what it was all about."
"What is going on here, Serena?" asked Lana, her green eyes wide with shock. 'Malick is garbed with the mantle of Grayskull's power, and I sense that the magic flows through him now. It can't be!'
"Malick, may I introduce you to Teelana. The Sorceress of Grayskull before me. Lana, Malick, as you can see, has been accepted by Grayskull."
"But that means-" began Lana worry etched on her face.
"The time has come for the hero's prophesy to be fulfilled," confirmed Serena.
Lana sat heavily on the bench she had abandoned but a moment ago. "No," she whispered. "Not already." She looked up at Serena, her eyes swimming with tears. "It's not Josiah, is it? Please tell me it's not Josiah."
"What's not Josiah?" Malick asked, but neither woman answered him.
"I don't know," Serena admitted soberly, conjuring another chair and taking a seat. "All I know is that Keldor's presence is critical to this, Teelana. Regardless of your feelings about him, we need him to withstand the coming battle."
"I curse the day I had to give Adam that sword," Lana said miserably, as if she hadn't heard Serena. "If only I could take this burden from him. And Teela." She put a hand to her mouth.
"You don't know that it's Josiah," Serena argued, though she too looked almost defeated.
"What's going on?" Malick asked more loudly, frustrated. His head swam with all he'd learned since he arrived at Grayskull. Serena had been vague about some things, especially this prophecy she was so worried about. "And what does this have to do with Adam or Teela?"
Teelana turned startled green eyes to him. "He does not know?"
"No," Serena answered, also looking at Malick, "not yet. As you might imagine, Lana, there is a sense of great urgency now. I have been assisting Malick in adjusting to the power of the Castle much as you did in the first week of my training. There has been little time to share all of the Secrets of Grayskull."
"Granted, I understand your need for haste, Serena," said Lana, through her sadness and despair, "but the secrets of the Swords of Power and Protection are vital knowledge for anyone in this castle's service."
"You are right, of course," Serena admitted with a slight blush.
"Again I ask," Malick repeated, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's going on?"
"Malick I have told you much of our duties as protectors of this Castle's magics, but you know that this Castle also has two champions..." Serena trailed off meaningfully.
"Of course," said Malick. "Every Eternian does. He-Man and She-Ra."
"And I suspect that you realized that their great strength flows from this castle?" continued Serena.
Malick nodded again.
"The power that strengthens He-Man and She-Ra is held within the Swords of Power and Protection. Those swords were given to the ones meant to wield that power, and serve as Grayskull's protectors, years ago."
"Wait, you said Adam had a sword--Prince Adam is He-Man?!" Malick concluded in an incredulous voice, his arms dropping to his sides.
"Yes, and Adora is She-Ra. It was the power of the Sword of Protection that freed her from Hordak's spell. And it is that power that transforms them both into He-Man and She-Ra."
"By the Ancients," gasped Malick. The import of what he'd just learned caused his head to spin.
Serena reached out and grasped Malick's hand, urging him to sit beside Lana. Once he had done so, she stared hard at him. "What we say, Malick, must not be repeated. Adam must not know what is to come, nor anyone else it might involve."
"Why not? Doesn't he or others have the right to know if a prophecy concerns them?" Malick asked, confused.
"If a prophecy gives warning to turn from evil or gives hope, then yes," Lana answered earnestly. "But sometimes it can cause despair or a change in attitude for the worse, one that makes the prophecy come true. Think of your own life, Malick. If you had known you would end up here, would you have ever married Kareem?" Without waiting for his answer, she continued. "Probably not. And Kareem would been the loser in that, Malick. In spite of your pain now, her life was richer because of your love."
The magician said nothing for a moment as he swallowed several times, seeking to remain composed. "And this prophecy is definitely about Adam?" he finally asked.
Lana lowered her head. "There is always room for error," she said in a low voice. "But it is clear that the final battle will require a great sacrifice of some kind, from someone associated with Grayskull."
Malick stared at her, horrified. "And you think that sacrifice might be Josiah?"
Serena stood, her feathers ruffling around her. "Come. Let us go into the library and look at the scrolls."
Malick walked behind the two ladies who knew so much more about the mysteries of this castle. His mind was still swirling with all of the revelations he'd just been made aware of. And a sick feeling was in the pit of his stomach. The prophesy..his very presence in the castle seemed to be a precursor to something Malick was sure he did not want to know about.
Serena waved her glowing hand over a wide stretch of wall. A door appeared and swung open with a great creak. Malick looked at the high shelves that surround the ancient library. With assurance that had to come from years as the castle's keeper, Teelana walked directly up to a locked box, carved with scenes of sorrow and sacrifice. Serena followed, and with a touch the lid lifted away and a wide parchment scroll rose from above the box.
"Over the years, many of the Castle's guardians have had visions of the future," Lana explained to Malick, her voice rich with the knowledge that she was part of something larger than herself. "Sometimes they are pictures of actions yet to happen. Other times they are words that can seem as meaningless as a child's poem."
Serena placed the scroll on the wide, angled reading table, where it remained open by magic. She beckoned to Malick, and he came up alongside her and stared.
"It's just a bunch of scratch marks," he said in confusion. The paper was almost black with them.
"Enchanted," Serena summarized. "Stare into it, Malick, and let your mind relax. Tell me what you see."
Malick did as bidden, and the black lines slowly started to swirl. Gradually the motion stopped, and Malick could see what was written. Without meaning to, he found himself reading it aloud.
The time will arrive
when two forces collide
on fair Eternia's soil.
When the deed done
to save everyone
will throw us into turmoil.
Two forces that join and divide
heal and kill
create and destroy,
will battle that day.
Two champions shall rise
two guardians shall fly
and two once evil shall employ
all skill and virtue
valor and forgiveness,
endurance and strength
prove hearts to be brave and true
that our world should not fall under Evil's foul rule.
If in those moments when all battle is due,
our champions, guardians, and forgiven stay true
and do all good has sent them to do
the fount of evil will be removed,
and a time of peace will ensue.
But first a price... A sacrifice.
The seed of a hero must be laid down--one life denied.
That all others may live to see another sun.
This will be the end of a beloved one.
Malick gasped in horror as the import of the prophesy struck him to the heart. Someone--losing their seed. "It can't possibly mean," began Malick in a whisper.
"We cannot be sure," interrupted Serena. "But never before has there been two guardians of Grayskull, and I believe now, Lana," Serena added gently, "you understand why it is so important that Keldor and Lyn fight on our side."
Lana nodded, but her eyes began to overflow with tears. "My grandson," she murmured. "He's my grandson."
Serena wrapped her arms around her mentor in a caring embrace. "Take comfort, Lana. And remember that we can misinterpret the signs. It was not too long ago that Adam fought against his love for Teela because you and he believed that Teela was to take your place as guardian."
Malick's eyes grew wide at that new information, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. There would be time to ask Serena about it later.
"There is always a chance there is more here than what we see," Serena reminded gently.
Malick watched as Serena continued to comfort Teela's mother. A slight glow surrounded them both and Teelana looked dazed for a moment.
Serena stepped back from her mentor. "I am sorry to do this to you, dear teacher, but this is more than you can bear." Serena raised both hands in front of her mentor. With a flash of light, Lana's eyes glazed over. "You will forget what we have seen here. Including this prophesy."
Serena then produced a clear green sphere. She placed it into Lana's still hands. "This will guide you back to the place. You will remember nothing, but that things are happening as they should, and there is always hope. No matter what." She glanced at Malick with a small, lopsided smile. "And tell Teela that Malick is still searching for a cure for Josiah."
Malick flushed. He hadn't realized Serena knew that he had been combing through Grayskull's library in his limited free time.
Lana made her way to the door of the hidden library, looking as though she were sleepwalking. The door closed behind her leaving Serena alone with Malick.
"Are you sure that was the right thing to do?" asked Malick doubtfully as he looked over Serena.
"Teelana has too long carried the weight of Grayskull's secrets. It is hard for her to let go, but in this case, it will do nothing but cause her pain and cost her hope."
"But if the prophesy is referring to Josiah?" Malick questioned.
"Then there is nothing we can do. Allow Lana's last days with Josiah be colored with hope, rather than grieving. It is all we can do for her."
Malick nodded. Serena had a point. Had he known of Kareem's death ahead of time he would have spent it in agony seeking anything to stop it rather than letting himself laugh with her and losing himself in her eyes as he had only that afternoon just prior to losing her.
Serena wrapped her arms around herself. "I hope I did the right thing," she said softly.
Malick placed a grasped her shoulder reassuringly. "After hearing your reasons, I think you are right. I just wish there were something, anything we could do for Adam and Teela, and Josiah.
"I do as well," said Serena softly. "But all we can do is prepare, and continue to search for answers."
Malick nodded. "Let's get back to work then."
Keldor groaned as he heard the crash in the adjoining room.
"Blast that hairy safety hazard," he growled, casting aside his book.
"Keldor, what's wrong?" called Lyn.
"It's just Bedorat going berserk again. I'll get him."
Lyn sighed and turned to go back to bed. Perhaps it was all of the stress surrounding her, but she was so tired lately, and her stomach was constantly upset.
Keldor burst out of the room in time to see Bedorat knock aside the door.
"Drat it! Where is that cowardly cat when you need it?" Keldor cursed.
Bedorat looked around wildly for a minute. "Killer kitty not here," he said, clearly excited. "Bedorat will escape!"
"Look you ferocious furball, get back into your room," Keldor ordered him.
Bedorat barely glanced at Keldor as the sound of footsteps coming from the other end of the hall reached his ears. He turned away from Keldor, growling softly. For a few seconds Keldor felt relief. It was Adam, who already knew about the foolish creature's insanity. At least it wasn't some ignorant bystander who-
Keldor's thought was cut off as the Syriak's growl suddenly intensified and it crouched slightly. Adam came to a dead halt, his blue eyes widening. He quickly drew the Power Sword, but before he could call on Grayskull's power or Keldor could even think to conjure up pies, the Syriak flew at the prince, his deadly claws extended and his teeth bared with a clear intent.