We Have the Power!
Copyright© 2026 by Carlos Santiago
Chapter 13: Defenders of Eternia
“A man is known by the company he keeps.”
— Traditional English rendering of the moral to The Ass and His Purchaser, attributed to Aesop. The fable originated in Ancient Greece, traditionally dated to the 6th century BCE, and survives through later manuscript traditions and translations. Original Greek tradition in the public domain.
Circumstances and the broken drawbridge left their group little choice in their shared decision.
The facts were simple. Both the Sword of Power was missing and Adam was too badly injured to walk, so the four of them were forced to approach Castle Grayskull on foot. They were uncertain of the wooden panels, but Sorceress was already undertaking the process of repairing the boards.
Duncan bore most of Adam’s weight across his shoulders while Lyn supported him from the opposite side. Though her magic could have carried him, Marzo had advised against it.
“His body has already endured enough magical interference for one afternoon,” the old wizard had remarked. “Let’s not tempt fate into becoming creative.”
While Man-at-Arms was not sure what this meant completely, he did know that Skeletor had attacked Adam with magic and this small being had used magic to repair some of the damage.
He thought of the supposed Defenders of Eternia, and he realized that among that group, there was no mage centralized around the idea of healing. That would need to be rectified sooner rather than later. While Skeletor blasting Grayskull was an anomaly, there would come a day when injuries such as this were more common.
Nevertheless, the three of them walked with the prince in tow.
“Duncan,” the warrior said, introducing himself to the small man. “I am Man-at-Arms, Defender of Eternia.”
“Ah, yes!” Marzo said. “You fought with Miro’s son.”
“You knew Captain Miro?” Duncan said.
“Once upon a time, I tried to kill him for denying me power,” Marzo said. “But that’s ancient history. Now, I am an ally of Adam there.”
Duncan blinked, looking from the two individuals he would have classified as villains only a day ago. He shifted his eyes back to Adam and wondered what that boy had been up to.
Adam stirred only once, a faint groan escaping his lips before unconsciousness reclaimed him.
Lyn’s grip tightened on Adam’s arm
“ ... He’s burning up.”
“Head injuries often do that, Evil-Lyn, and he took quite a blow,” Duncan answered quietly. “Do not be so concerned. Marzo bought Adam time. Now, he just needs to rest, and his body should heal on its own in a few days.”
Neither looked at the other for very long. Only hours ago they might have considered one another to be an enemy. Though, they both recognized the irony.
As they crossed beneath Grayskull’s towering gate, Duncan finally let himself breathe. To Duncan’s surprise, Sorceress did not stop Evil-Lyn or this small wizard from entering.
“I don’t understand any of this,” Duncan said. “You’re Evil-Lyn, and if you fought Captain Miro, you must also have a dubious past.”
Marzo laughed.
“You do not know the half of it,” the wizard said. “But yes, I do, Duncan. I am Marzo, Count Marzo.”
The name was part of Duncan’s training to know the historical enemies of Eternos. Marzo was certainly up there with the likes of Evil-Lyn and Skeletor.
“Then why are you helping us?” Duncan said.
“To be fair,” said the wizard. “I am not helping you. I am helping Adam.”
“As am I,” Lyn admitted. “However, I do recognize that this does look strange.”
“How did this happen?” Duncan asked. “Adam did not leave that many weeks ago.”
“I helped him capture the Evil Warriors, and Marzo here is supposed to help with a problem Sorceress is helping.”
“And oversimplification of events, Lyn,” Marzo said somewhat defiantly. Then, he shrugged and added, “However, not altogether untrue.”
“Then, what does that mean? We’re allies.”
“No, but I think we are allies of an allym” Marzo said. “A friend of a friend, and I think that is progress.”
“Progress?” Lyn wondered
“Certainly,” Marzo said as Adam was laid on a sturdy wooden table.
The old wizard rested his pole across one shoulder while Duncan looked over Adam.
“Once upon a time the three of us would have been trying to kill one another. Instead, we are all attempting to save the life of one young man. Survival is preferable to destruction. Is it not?”
Lyn looked toward Adam.
“Well, I suppose so, but what happens when he gets better?”
Marzo considered her words.
“We allow him to decide. He is our leader, whether we have wanted to admit that fact before now or not.”
Duncan blinked in confused before he started to think that this was some sort of conspiracy.
“Do you expect me to trust the two of you? For all I know this could be a trap.”
“No, I don’t expect your trust. Right now, all I care about is making sure that Adam will get up.”
“Besides,” Marzo said with a shrug. “This is unlikely to be a trap. Did we somehow wrangle Sorceress into our deception? I do not have my amulet, so I am not nearly as powerful enough to make her do my bidding.”
“How can I trust you? Duncan said.
“You can’t, but he did.”
Marzo paused them both and lifted his hands.
“Think it through, Man-at-Arms. Either, one, we are lying to you for some unknown reason, and we have tricked both Adam and Sorceress. Deceiving a prince is easy; a mage who has access to the powers of Grayskull, not so much.”
He looked down at Adam’s pale face.
“Next, we are both insane and think we are doing something we aren’t. That’s likely out because what are the odds that the same psychosis is affecting both of us? That means, until you have evidence rather than instinct young man, you must accept the only option you have left.”
“Which is?” Duncan wondered.
“We are telling the truth,” Marzo said. “If you eliminate that which is plausible or likely, you must accept the unlikely so long as it is viable. For now, we are allies of convenience.”
Duncan wanted to counter that because this seemed entirely un-viable.
Finally, Lyn spoke again.
“Think whatever you want about me, Man-at-Arms, but whatever I am in your mind and whatever else I used to be ... right now,” she said, gently brushed a strand of blond hair from Adam’s forehead. “ ... I am Adam’s friend.”
Marzo inclined his head.
“As am I. Though, maybe not as affectionately as Lyn is to him.”
Lyn shot Marzo a deadly glare for that comment.
Duncan studied both of them before looking back toward the unconscious prince.
His duty was to Eternia.
His loyalty belonged to the royal family.
Everything else could wait.
“Then,” he said firmly, adjusting Adam’s weight upon his shoulder, “until the boy is safe, I suppose we can work together.”
He glanced toward both former servants of evil.
Without another word, the unlikely company encircled Adam. Clothes and water were obtained, and after this, there was little to do but wait.
Skeletor groaned as consciousness slowly returned. His body ached from the Sorceress’s spell, but pain was a familiar companion.
As much as he wished to ignore the sensations, he was reminded that he was alive. That was certainly a start. However, as he thought on the matter of the pain he suffered, he could not help but smile.
Suffering meant survival. One could not be in unearthly amounts of agony and be dead. Life meant he could keep going, so he did by pushing himself upright.
The shattered remains of the portion of the drawbridge he had stood one was littering the valley around him. Dust still drifted through the air where stone and timber had collapsed moments before.
“Well... that was a disappointing setback,” he muttered to himself.
His eyes swept across the broken ground. There was his Havok Staff, the Ram Stone, and the amulet. All things considered, it would have ended much worse for him, but then, his gaze fell upon something he had not come to Grayskull with.
Resting scarcely a few feet away lay the Sword of Power.
For a long moment, Skeletor simply stared.
A smile slowly formed on his face.
The blade had been thrown clear during the explosion and must have landed with him. Its silver metal gleaming in the afternoon sun.
One by one, the relics floated into his waiting hands through the power of his magic.
The Overlord of Evil looked toward Castle Grayskull. He could return to try again, but this would not work, but then his mind started to recall what he had heard.
“The Key...”
The Sorceress’s words echoed through his memory.
You shall not claim the Key or the Power, Skeletor.
At the time, he had not the components to understand, but many magic-users called certain artifacts and talismans their key to power, but what if the Sword was the Key to the castle? He let out a laugh.
His gaze settled upon the ancient blade, and he knew it was important to breaching the walls. That foolish prince had all but handed it to him rather than going and finding He-Man.
Ha!
Maybe the weapon needed to be in the fortress to summon the hero. Maybe he was in the Dark Hemisphere. Skeletor could not be sure, but as he thought of the complex nature of the situation, he realized that if the sword was somehow necessary to break into Grayskull or access its magnificent powers, his enemies would not be idle.
That was good though. He knew that would need to react to this choice. If he were them, and his stronghold was about to be overcome, Skeletor would shore up allies there, and that’s what they would do. If that were true, Skeletor knew that he would need reinforcements.
He looked from the Sword of Power to the towering gates of Castle Grayskull.
For decades, he had been waiting in the Dark Hemisphere for a chance at revenge, and he had rushed into battle by himself, but fate had blessed Skeletor. Soon enough, he could try again.
How foolishly lucky he had been to get what he wanted.
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