The Blood of Eternia

Chapter Two

"Teela, I don't know what to say about all this"

"Just say you're He-Man. You owe it to me, you owe it to yourself"

Duncan, Man-At-Arms, soon approached the two, flanked by the Eternian court jester, Orko.

"I hope we're not interrupting anything"

"Not at all father, just a little game of truth or dare is all, and in this case, even a little bit of daring would mean a lot. Goodnight Adam"

"Goodnight Teela"

As Adam watched her leave, he felt only a light touch of relief that he need not deal any further with the burden for at least a little while, but then his thoughts drifted to the rise of the morning star at the turn of tomorrow, and the dread of what to do upon that appointed hour filled him with doubt and one other feelings, a pull towards a notion he should not try to consider. The need to give Teela the clarity she desired.

"What am I going to do Cringer?"

Cringer, his instincts in perfectly aligned synergy, said what was far too evident on Adam's mind.

"Tell her the truth Adam"

"If I do, we'd have to tell her everything, how do we know she's even ready to handle everything at once? Is it time?"

"Consult the Sorceress, if anyone can tell what time it is, it's her" Orko suggested.

"You can do it in person, that is why I came to fetch He-Man, The Sorceress is in need of his audience back at the palace"

"The Sorceress is here? How? She can't leave Grayskull in her human form"

"Let the lady explain herself eh?"

"What about Teela?"

"If Teela is gradually realizing these things on her own, there's little we can do to change her mind"

"But we can, the Sorceress had a hand in altering what she knows about herself before, remember?" Adam reminded them.

Adam, we can't keep messing with her memories" Cringer replied "It's not the responsible thing to do, she could turn out to be a worse person through all these alterations, do you really want to lose parts of her that could help forge her into a friend for the future?"

"Your name may be Cringer, but you've always been brave enough to speak your mind on what ought to be done" Adam responded, giving Cringer a tight hug.

"I hope you won't reward me in the usual fashion; a little peace and quiet is all I'll ever ask for"

"They'll be time to settle down another day old buddy, we've got work to do"

"Oh there's that word that fills me with greater dread than Skeletor, 'work'"

***

Back at Snake Mountain, atop Viper Tower, Skeletor peered through a periscope, watching a plum of turgid smoke encircle the sky, ghostly disembodied spirits flying in and out of a swirling vortex high above him. Evil-Lyn expressed some concern.

"Skeletor, leaving the veil open goes against all conventional laws of magic on Eternia" Evil-Lyn protested.

"Cease your constant whining fool, otherwise you'll break my concentration"

"Concentration?"

"I must maintain the illusion for as long as necessary, until Scare Glow is ready to spring my trap"

"So, what we are seeing above-it isn't real?"

"Of course it isn't you boob, even I know of the dire consequences that can come from keeping the veil open beyond its natural cycle...but if I can make it look like it is in some kind of danger, it will attract He-Man's attention before too long"