21st year of the reign of King Randor I
Season of Chill
307th day, 16th bell
"A mighty warrior who opposes Skeletor, and through him Hordak? And he has a sword like this one?"
Her eyes dart for a moment to her Sword of Power, and I nod.
"You're… Simplifying things rather a lot, but that's an essentially
true summary. I
will say though that it's entirely possible that he's never heard of Hordak."
That gets a frown from Evelyn. "Never?"
"He's not the most studious sort, and his tutors have focused on warcraft and statecraft and rather let history go hang."
And to be fair, teaching the Crown Prince to swing a sword is a far better use of his time than having him study pre-invasion Eternia. That society will
not come again, and interesting as its successes and failures are they won't have much impact on his life. The general state of
He-Man's education can be deduced from his primitive attire; he's clearly from some tribe somewhere and only ever used a book to light fires.
"They
never heard-!" Adora seems genuinely incensed. "How could they be unaware of the being whose invasion brought their world to its knees?!"
At least she's eating normal food now.
"Because one of the things that got ravaged was the education infrastructure. And also the data storage repositories and libraries. There
are records, but a people who are forced into a subsistence existence are more interested in learning how to grow enough food for them to last the winter than learning about the history of centuries ago."
"And this 'He-Man'. He is their greatest champion?"
"Yes. Has Hordak mentioned his fights with King D'Vann Grayskull to you at all?"
"I was told that he was the Eternian ruler Hordak killed, though he was banished in return."
"Accurate. There's a certain amount of evidence which suggests that the sword He-Man wields belonged to
him."
"A descendant, then?"
Huh. I hadn't really thought about it, but…
Veena was his wife, but he passed authority onto the Elders as a collective body rather than to her or any children they might have had. Did they not have children? Or did he just not set any store by hereditary succession? Regardless, the Elders lived until Keldor's insurgency, while… His children didn't? I know that Zodak literally lived through the invasion… Eternian lifespans are weird, and I don't entirely understand
why.
"Between the sword and the sheer size of the man, that seems likely."
"He is a warrior
without equal." Evelyn makes sure to make eye contact with Adora as she says it. "I've yet to see him command any sort of army and he knows nothing of magic, but his sheer physical power makes enemies and obstacles alike a trivial inconvenience."
"Hordak would overcome him as he did his ancestor."
"Hordak isn't here. Are
you his equal in might or intellect?"
Adora looks mildly surprised, then shakes her head. "No."
"Then you realise that attacking him yourself would be a fool's errand. So you must decide what you want to do. I know the location of the temple Skeletor used to contact Hordak."
"Is it near to here?"
"No. Travelling there would take several days, and require us to avoid detection. Alternately, we could disguise ourselves and conduct covert reconnaissance on the city of Eternos."
"Are you not known to them?"
Evelyn rises from her chair and waves her now-glowing staff in a circle. Purple mist billows around her for a moment, then disperses to reveal her
altered form. Her turquoise and bronze outfit has been replaced by something in green with a red cloak, and the structure of her face has changed enough to render her unrecognisable.
"Not like this."
She's changed her voice as well. Her expression is pretty recognisable, and I wish we had some way of communicating without Adora overhearing because I.. don't really know where she's going with this. Taking Adora into Eternos puts her close to their army, the Masters and her natural parents. With overwhelming power available, detaining her by force would be a good deal easier, but I'm not sure how that actually helps bring her over to
our side. I don't at all remember how it was managed in the original animated series, which is annoying because I'm fairly sure that.. my.. cousin..? Owned the book version of the story.
I nod. "Anyone can wear a hooded cloak. If I leave the staff behind I'm not immediately recognisable. And you would not be known at all."
"They would not recognise my helmet? Surely there are
some scholars amongst them?"
Evelyn nods. "You would have to change into something that would fit it. I'm sure that I can conjure something appropriate."
Getting her to take off her
armour. And she can't carry the sword with her, so
that stays here and we don't need to worry about 'She-Woman' appearing by accident.
"Something I can wear over my armour?"
"The citizens of Eternos do not habitually wear armour. Those that
do do not wear armour that looks like
that. It's far too advanced."
"Too
advanced? How primitive
are these people?"
I perk up slightly. "Soldiers in most places are limited to armour made of steel plates. More
advanced armour is available in a
very small number of places new, or as valuable heirlooms handed down from before the invasion. I… Suppose we could paint it a different colour, if-"
"
No."
"-you could accept that. Hordak heraldry hasn't changed in the intervening period. You might be able to get away with it at some sort of fancy dress party-"
"
No."
"-but otherwise I'm afraid that it wouldn't work. If you don't want something conjured, there…
May be something in your size in this castle?"
Adora nods uncertainly. "I could gather useful intelligence and take it back to Hordak once Shadow Weaver opens the portal once more."
Evelyn nods. "Or perhaps we could travel to Hordak's temple once we are more certain of the disposition of our enemies."
Adora nods. "Agreed."
I raise my right hand and think hard about a book on modern Eternian customs-.
A book flies from a book case and slams into my hand. I take a quick look at the cover -Diary of a Journeyman- and offer it to Adora.
"This should give you
some idea of how Eternian society works. Evil-Lyn and I can go and look for some clothing while you read it."
She takes it, and I stand and follow Evelyn out of the library. I close and sneck the door behind us.
"So what are you planning?"
She looks down, looking at the lock for her staff.
"So what are
you planning?"
"Get her to disarm herself, take her to Eternos… Hope that she works out that she's Adora for herself without us needing to tell her so that it's more convincing."
She smiles. "Precisely. Perhaps we could even deny it to make it more convincing?"
"I'm not sure-. I can't leave the castle entirely unattended.
You can't go out unsupervised, and-."
"Even with the princess of Eternia?"
"
Especially with her."
"Then I suppose that I will simply have to stay
here. With the Sword of Power. And since no one
else is available-."
Oh no.
"I have to transfer the power to
you." Damn it. "Go and find her some clothes while I try working out how to modify the geas so that Teela Na won't put one on
me when she finds out about this."
