Raiders Of Point Dread: An Age Without Fear

By T. F. Cooper with Kirk Trigon (Based On "The Power of Point Dread" by Gary Cohn)

The sapphire, ivory and gold of skies that, mere seconds ago, had stretched into a battle-weary horizon, disappeared ..and were replaced by the emerald glow of torches and the smell of burning incense. Awaking in the shadowy cave sanctum of the Divine Sorceress, He-Man sat up on an altar of alabaster rock, ..surrounded by glowing, ethereal figures in every costume known to Eternian man. “I am confused, gods of Eternia! Where is Zoar ..and the She-Ra, Adora?! W-where—where am I?!”

Naked, but, for a crown of laurel leaves and pale green from head to toe, youthful Eternos, God of Time and Brother of the Golden Plains, reclined on a large rock, ..laughing, as he carelessly played his golden lyre. “Your noble allies have returned to Eternia, Heathen Man, ..Slayer of Beavers! Now, it is time for you to stand and face the Council of Elder Gods!”

The big Vulnarian stood up and studied his ethereal company with a wary eye. “Then, for what new threat to Eternia am I called to commune with you now, ..and so soon after defeating the Enemy of Man?”

“Don’t be a fool, my champion!” the green-skinned Divine Sorceress demanded. Dressed in a crown and aegis made from the copper-scaled hide of a giant serpent, fair Heauy was Mighty Teela’s twin in every way. “As my sister has entrusted a portion of her power to her clone, Captain Teela of Eternos, ..so was the Sorceress Boa’Na, once, an avatar of mine! Do you think the Lord of Destruction, an evil more ancient than Eternia itself, has not also invested his power with such diversity?”

“Then, Skeletor still lives?” He-Man asked, with disbelief and no small share of outrage. “The deaths of my comrades—of Sy-Klone, Mekaneck, Snout-Spout, Extendar, Rokkon and the others—has changed nothing! The brave fighting men all over the world, who gave their lives defending the Lighted Realms have died for nothing!”

“Nothing, Lion of the Vulnarians?!” Long-suffering Procrustus, God of the Inner World, who supported Eternia’s crust upon his back and hands, folded his four, mighty arms across his broad chest. “Though the ancient evil that became Skeletor endures, his power to menace and seduce the tribes of man is greatly diminished, ..after eons of unraveling all we gods have created! Who are you to say this relief from his mischief, however fleeting it may be, is nothing?!

Golden-skinned, green-bearded Gnarlos, wise Master of the Oceans, threw back his head and laughed. “I am worshipped throughout the Golden Isles, as a dragon, He-Man! In the Mystic Mountains, fierce Heuay becomes the lusty Sun goddess, Hyperia, ..and I am the wild, white horse, who carries her off into the evening sea! Though the Evil One walks the world in as many forms, as we, you and your progeny will be there to defeat them all!”

“And you will not fight alone!” huffed Tytus, the Father of a Billion Giants, as he knelt before He-Man to examine him more closely. “Every year, my wife slaughters the fittest of our sons and pours from his blood, the most amazing elixir to inspire my work! The Master of the Forge and of Machines will stand beside House Freenorn, against all foes!”

God of Light and father of Gharycon the Dragon, Miro studied He-Man from a pile of books. “For millennia, the warlike tribes of the Ice Mountains have held me above all other gods, because the light of my wisdom has wrought order and justice from their dark savagery! Though I have I regarded House Freenorn’s children as mine own, since the birth of your grandfather, Miro the Wise, you must now be left, in peace, to chart your own paths, ..or your victory will mean nothing!”

Hawk-headed Targa, Lord of Predators, squatted on a large statue of Heuay. With the wings and talons of a giant bird and the body of a man, Avion’s golden-feathered son was one of the most feared of the Vine Jungle and Evergreen Forest spirits. “You’ll know no peace from me, Vulnarian, if Man cannot survive the Great Hunt that is his miserable existence! After eons’ imprisonment in the circuitry of the Talon Fighter, trust only that Targa will hunt again, ..and that you will be his prey!”

“I trust the weapon in my hand, Hawk God,” growled He-Man, pointing his sword at Targa.  “So has it been since my days in Vulnar’s Valley—so, is it today! Leave mankind to make his own destiny for awhile, or you'll find it at your throats!”

“Lower thy blade and look upon our valley now, my son!” beckoned the King of the Vulnarians.  In silver breastplate and devilbeaver pelt of royal violet, he embraced He-Man and led him out onto the hillside, ..where the merry ghosts of fifty-thousand warriors celebrated his victory in the wild, ancient land below. “Today, mankind has won the right to pursue his destiny, as boldly, as once did we! Let no gods interfere, who do not want an army of immortal Vulnarians, as enemies!”

His eyes swelled with grateful tears, Adam turned to the men rejoicing in their time-lost valley and raised his right fist in salute. “Man will be worthy of our unwavering faith in him, my king, and the avenger of his own will, ..and we will journey fearlessly upon the path of truth and righteousness. I will miss you, my brothers.”

Not since Creation began, had the elder gods of Eternia known such true accord.  There was, after millennia upon millennia of war, peace in the heavens, and the Ancients reveled in it!

With a deep breath, He-Man of the Vulnarians found himself climbing to his boarhide-booted feet, amidst the smoldering ruins of King Randor’s palace at Eternos.  Wandering into the Royal Gardens, he could remember nothing more of his brief commune with the gods, than the assurance of their good will to all men, ..when a terrible roar filled the air, so loud that it rattled the big warrior’s skull and bones, and the ground beneath him shook and cracked apart!  Leaping onto a pile of rubble, he drew his mystical Sword of Ancients ..and prepared for battle!

A green-eyed, giant of crude black metal lumbered from the cloud of dust and debris, glowering at the world over silver tusks that jutted from its head like two monstrous sabers and the broad treads of a tank! Between them, a massive cannon was lowered toward the ground, ..and, from the dome of its skull and the controls inside it, climbed Eternia’s Man-At-Arms. “I’ve finally done it, Lord Adam—a modified, Infinitian Land-Shark, augmented with the Horde technology we recovered in the Etherian Mountains! It has a korodithium hull, two mining drills for subterranean invasion and a few other surprises! Meet Tank-O-Don One!”

“Well fought, Man-At-Arms!” laughed He-Man, as he sheathed his blade.  Searching the clouds for his heroic allies, he found nothing. “Now, that you’ve overcome the invaders, what’re you still doing here, ..with all the taverns and wenching to be had in Eternos’s eastern quarter?!”

“Nay, my savage friend!” Duncan chuckled, watching a throng of fire-backed orcs being led to the Prison Mines. “As the fight went out of the orcs and Infinitians, once they saw their master fall, I can’t claim all the credit!”

“Amazed we escaped this ugly pile of scrap metal with our lives, Titus Duncan!” grumbled Randor, climbing from a chair behind Man-At-Arms. “How many more of these monsters did you make, old chum?”

“About forty thousand, I think!” laughed Queen Marlena. In her silvery, form-fitting astronaut’s uniform, the Earthwoman, once known as Molly Glenn, followed King Randor out into the courtyard. “Considered giving them to you as a birthday present, ..just before that strange, little magician from the Tar Swamps brought you a bucket of water snakes! And you both know damn well Duncan’s still around, because the taverns don’t open, this early!”

“Ho, Great Zoar!” called the King of Eternia to the dark red falcon flying overhead, pulling Marlena into his arms. “Our hearts sing to see you alive, ..but, where is the She-Ra, who fought so bravely at your side?!”

“Far and wide for her, I’ve searched, my friends, ..but found nothing!” spoke the falcon’s thoughts into the minds of his gathered allies. “I know only that Point Dread and the Talon Fighter are back atop Castle Grayskull. Pray that the Crystal of Gharycon is no longer in the Enemy of Man's possession, so that he can never again regain the control over them, he wielded today!”

"My brothers called Point Dread, Areopaguay, ..the Rock of War," He-Man began, climbing from a small mountain of smoldering rubble. "Once, it was a god, the offspring of the Divine Sorceress and the God of the Inner World, ..the one you call Procrustus! But, it was deformed—ugly! The Many-handed One cast Areopaguay out of the ground, and, so that no other gods might claim it, Fierce Heuay cursed it ..and set it adrift in the sky!"

"But, Man claimed it, ..didn't we?" King Randor mused. "Only mankind could claim something so ugly, as War."

"Aye, milord," He-Man answered. "Foolishly, Man claims War and the fear that keeps it alive—the same fear that brought Skeletor to life from the legends of the ancient plainsfolk! The Evil One thought he could control Point Dread, but, no one truly can. Like him, War is an eternal thing that springs from the hearts of all, who would claim…"

The big Vulnarian’s words were stopped at the sight at what wandered over the midday horizon.

She was a tall, bronze-skinned creature in battle-scarred armor of silver and gold, ..and the Royal Guard, on high alert since first the Talon Fighter appeared, lowered their laser rifles before her.  In her right hand, was a golden rod shaped like the treacherous hooded serpents of the desert ..and agleam with otherworldly power.  Clutched in her left, was the bloody, smoldering head of a moon goddess.  “Evil-Lyn is dead, milord, ..and the Crystal of the Caverns has been destroyed.”

Though their souls soared to see her alive, Eternia’s fighting men and women stepped back to allow King Randor to meet his heroic Captain of the Guard, when the ground before them cracked open and lightning flashed overhead.  The warriors fell back from the ruins, until a great expanse between them was made, ..and from a warm, golden glow emanating from everywhere at once, lords far higher born than Eternia’s sovereign took shape.

“With the destruction of your enemy, you have balanced the scales of power,” said King Zoras, Father of the Gods, from beneath a white-feathered cloak and golden helmet adorned by falcon’s wings.  At his side, stood his beloved queen, Avion, a Goddess of Victory, whose name meant ‘horizon’ in every tongue.  The King of the Heavens held his silvery Staff of Living Light out before him, and the ground shook and cracked apart before his sandaled feet.  “Mighty Teela, Holy Warrior and Protectress of the Land, ..return unto the gods that which Man’s will wrest from us so long ago!”

Teela held up the golden head of Evil-Lyn and saw it vanish from her hand and reappear atop the titan-king’s staff.  Grayskull endures, Great Zoras, and supreme power over Madness and over Conquest is once again in your keeping. With the creation of this cosmic accord, I will take my leave from the Council to live among mortals for a time, ..if it is your will.”

From a column of golden and sapphire light, the Skyfather bowed to his ancient emmissary. “Unburden thy path, Friend of Man ..and journey with the blessings of the Elder Gods…”

As Zoras and Avion vanished before their astonished eyes, Man-At-Arms tethered his mace and, followed by Lord Adam, rushed to Teela’s side. The emerald fire flickering behind his daughter’s tears filled the bronzium-armored hero with uncertainty, and he suspected he knew why.  In his heart, the old soldier knew the Warrior Goddess now invested a greater portion of her divine power in Teela, than before, ..and that the time came ever closer, when she would disappear into the Goddess forever.  “By the Four Grails, Teela—your staff has turned to gold!”

Lifting Teela up into his arms, the big, golden-haired Vulnarian kissed her ..and saw the fire-haired amazon search his broad, bronze face for judgment.  “More than Grayskull endures here, woman, ..and more than a goddess’s power thrives within you. It is the heartbeat of a child, noble Teela—of our son!”

Looking on, King Randor took his brave and restless Queen Marlena’s hand in his own.

Overhead, they saw the Sun at play on their golden-haired daughter’s armor, before that last She-Ra, Princess Adora, drove her pegacorn steed, like a hurricane wind, for a Crystal Castle somewhere beyond the Sands of Time.  Kissing his queen’s tear-stained face, King Randor rocked her gently in his strong arms. The grief between them so familiar and so great, that neither needed speak of it…

And it would be endured no longer.

As one, fierce Princesss Adora turned her wild, powerful steed back toward Eternos, ..and He-Man of the Vulnarians, with a heavy heart, knelt before his father and mother, and House Freenorn was made whole, once more.

THE END

Dedicated to Gary Cohn and his creation ‘Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld’, Mark Texeira, Dave Manak, Donald F. Glut, Alfredo Alcala, Mike Tollin, Michael Halperin and all of the people, whose hard work made the ‘Masters Of The Universe’ minicomics an experience your fans will never forget.

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