Grayskull Castle had come by its name honestly. It was named for the king, a millenia ago, who had first forged the Sword of Power and founded the castle, but the gray stone building also boasted the facade of a helmeted skull, long, pointed teeth in itâs gaping maw forming the solid wooden door: the only visible entrance to the keep. Stone towers rose from either side of the skull, ancient and not quite crumbling, but looking as though they might come close to doing exactly that. It was surrounded by a gaping chasm, a stone path about two car-widths wide bridging the gap, lined with pointed stones that looked like nothing so much as more teeth, giving the impression that anyone who would cross the bridge would be devoured by the castle.
It was foreboding, not least of all because of the dark purple and reddish clouds that swirled perpetually behind the building, unlike the skies anywhere else on Vallo.
It was home.
âWelcome to Castle Grayskull,â Adam said cheerfully, the door lowering like a drawbridge, chains rattling. The inside of the door, too, was lined with protrusions that looked suspiciously like teeth. He led Adora through the doorway, and then stepped inside so she could see the large stone throne-room inside: large pillars with bases decorated with stone femurs and skulls, each of which held a scone that held a burning torch, a skull-shaped throne surrounded by pointed, teeth-like protrusions, the carved, stone spine of a giant rising behind it, jagged ribs to either side.
âWhat do you think?â
âI canât believe you live here,â was Adoraâs reply. She gazed around the interior of Castle Grayskull in some combination of wonder and horror. Somehow, sheâd never imagined Grayskull was intended to be quite so literal, but well, sheâd apparently been mistaken. Not only was the entire face of the castle literally a skull, but the place was filled to the brim with bones. Whether they were real or not, she hadnât quite determined yet.
It was probably best she didnât know.
âSo, this is⊠where you found out about He-Man? And where Teelaâs mom lived, right?â she asked, double checking that sheâd gotten her facts straight. Teela and Adam had been around long enough now that sheâd learned about the Sorceress and knew Teela had stepped up and taken that same title after her motherâs death.
âYeah,â Adam said, nodding. He knew it was a lot of skulls and bones â Skeletor had probably looked right at home for the very short period heâd possessed the Sword of Power; Adam couldnât remember it, but Teela had told him about it and he could picture it well enough â but heâd grown used to it over the last six years. âIâd been walking through the woods, and she came to me in the form of a falcon. It was the only way Teela Na could leave the Castle. I followed her here, and⊠well, the rest is history. Itâs where I discovered the Sword of Power and learned the secrets of Grayskull. It gets less creepy the longer you spend here, I promise.â
âWait, she was restricted to the Castle?â Adoraâs voice was tinged with disbelief. Not because she thought Adam was lying but because that seemed so cruel. Teela Na had given up her life for the sake of Eternia and the universe, and in exchange, she was tethered to one place for the rest of her life? It didnât seem fair.
âAll the sorceresses were; part of the sacrifice of knowing all the secrets of the universe and controlling the power of Grayskull was giving up your former life and being tethered to the Castle. Itâs why they required a Champion, like He-Man, during times of turmoil, when the Secrets of Grayskull would be under attack.â His voice took on a hint of pride, his expression softening a little. âAll of them up until Teela, at least. Sheâs obviously too stubborn to be confined to the Castle for the rest of her life.â
Adam still didnât know, entirely, how sheâd managed to defy that particular edict, but he was glad she had. The Castle needed a sorceress, but he needed Teela. He wouldnât have lost her had she become the sorceress. He still would have been her champion until one or both of them died. But he would have lost the chance to have the life with her that he â that both of them â had wanted.
âI canât see her standing for that,â Adora agreed with a grin. She liked Teela. She was a little Catra-ish in some ways, though not as outright snarky. She was a good balance for Adam, just like Catra was a good balance for Adora. And she was so strong-willed. Must be why she was able to live amongst all these skulls,
âOkay, letâs keep going, tell me more,â she encouraged him. âWhat are the Secrets of Grayskull? It is just âthe Powerâ?â
âA lot of itâs the Power,â Adam said. He stopped at a particular carved design in the floor of the throne room, and reached behind his back. When his sword materialised in his hand he drew it, but instead of holding it to the sky and calling down the power of Grayskull, he instead brought the sword down, striking the carving with it. A seam opened, and the floor shifted away, a soft, pastel light rising up from it.
There was a large spiral staircase that looped downward, deep into the earth, which terminated, eventually, in a verdant garden. There were exits on the way down, hallways that branched into other areas of the castle â the rooms where he and Teela slept, the dungeons, the pool where Teela had gone to become the Sorceress, but that wasnât their destination.
âBut thereâs a lot more too.â He began to walk down the staircase, sure that Adora would follow him. âHow magic came to Eternia and the rest of the Universe, how the world came to be⊠The Elders â I guess you probably know them better as The First Ones â housed all the magic of Eternia here.â
Adora wasnât sure how she felt about this place just yet, but she hadnât expected the Secrets of Grayskull to include a literal secret passageway. Or, well, at least a secret stairway leading down to a bunch of underground levels. Sheâd lived in a castle back home, and they didnât even have a basement level. But sheâd always gotten the feeling Castle Bright Moon wasnât really your typical castle structure.
She didnât really think Castle Grayskull was either, though.
She descended the staircase following Adam, taking in everything around her as much as she could without stumbling over her own feet - one of her hands was definitely clutching the rail.
âSounds like what the First Ones did with the Heart of Etheria,â she remarked. All of that magic contained in one spot, only accessible to a few. Magic was everywhere back on their home planet, but so much of it had been sucked up into the Heart, meant to act as what Adora could only assume was a tool of destruction.
Adam nodded. âI donât think they meant to use this as a weapon though,â he said. âJust a place to contain all the secrets of the universe. A place where they could concentrate the magic of Eternia â somewhere from where it could flow out to the rest of the planet â so that they could protect it from people who would do it harm.â
He trailed his hands over the thick, woody roots that climbed up the wall, the moss and the greenery and the pink flowers. It was one of his favourite places to come when he just needed a place to relax, even if Moss Man was no longer there.
Adoraâs only response to that was a hum. It still sounded dicey to her, but she knew her experiences with the First Ones on Etheria and the Heart were coloring her experience. She needed to try to see this through Adamâs eyes, and he seemed in awe of this place, even if heâd seen it probably thousands of times.
âItâs beautiful down here,â she conceded. âMakes up for all the skulls and spooky stuff upstairs.â She supposed all of that was part of protecting everything else here - an intimidating exterior and upper level might unnerve anyone brave enough to approach or try to come in.
âThe skulls and spooky stuff upstairs are there because of this place,â Adam said, confirming Adoraâs thoughts. âIt tends to keep most people away from here. The first time Duncan, Teelaâs dad, brought me here, I almost didnât go in,â he confessed.
Theyâd reached the bottom of the staircase, and Adam stepped onto the mossy ground, spongy under his feet. âI canât show you all the Secrets of Grayskull,â Adam confessed; that was the Sorceressâ job. Teela would likely do it if she felt she needed to, but he wasnât going to volunteer her or pressure her into it. âBut sometimes if I just sit here for a while I feel more connected with it. Meditating helps too.â
It was subtle, but if one just concentrated, it was obvious how much magic had seeped into this place. He could feel it in the air he breathed.
âIâm not great at meditation. Just ask Perfuma,â Adora joked, rubbing her hand across the back of her neck with one hand. Her friend had already publicly scolded her for not keeping up with her meditation, but the truth was, it just wasnât something she could keep pursuing herself. She was too stressed and too in her own head. Honestly, even with an instructor, it was a struggle.
She took a deep breath nonetheless and let her eyes close. The magical energy was easy to pick up on, with magical energy of her own pumping through her, but connected? Not quite. Maybe if she tried a little harder.
âDo you actuallyâŠhear the secrets?â she asked, opening her eyes to refocus on Adam. âMaybe thatâs a dumb question, but I guess I just donât understand what these Secrets are supposed to be.â
âI donât know if hear is the right word,â Adam admitted. âItâs just something that I guess I suddenly knew once the Sorceress brought me down here the first time. Like osmosis, maybe? It was like suddenly I knew the secrets of the universe. How to control the power, and how to use it in a variety of ways. The birth of magic on Eternia, and how King Grayskull came to wield it. If I come to this place, and I have the time, I can find almost any answer Iâm looking for.â
Not now exactly. Castle Grayskull was just as cut off from their universe as the rest of them were. It still thrummed with power, but he wasnât so sure heâd be able to find answers he and Teela didnât already know, but then, he thought Teela probably already knew most of it.
âSo⊠do you want to try?â Adora asked. She wouldnât mind, although her expectations were low. It was pretty here, and she wasnât going to lie - getting some of these secrets through osmosis sounded like an interesting experience, at least. Maybe it would provide some sort of clarity. That was something sheâd been desperately needing lately, even if she tried her best to mask it and smile.
âIâm game if you are,â Adam said. He was guessing she probably was, if she was asking. âCome over here, this is my favourite spot,â Adam said, leading her to a patch of soft grass under one of the trees that was climbing up the wall. Pink and purple flowers surrounded the area, though there was a section clear enough for them to sit without disturbing them.
âSometimes I like to nap here,â he confessed. âI think it does pretty much the same thing. You know, opens the mind and all that. If falling asleep is easier for you, then just do that. Otherwise, I can walk you through a little bit.â
âIâll try my best,â Adora told him seriously. This was going to require exerting a lot of effort for her. Silence didnât suit her, she had never been a good sleeper, and her mind tended to race. It was racing right now just in anticipation of trying to absorb everything here. She wanted to try, though. Adam was trying to let her into this part of his life - of her life - that she didnât know at home. The least she could do was try.
She sat down beside him in the grass, took a slow deep breath, and dropped her hands to her knees, just like Perfuma had taught her. âI donât think Iâll fall asleep,â she admitted. âMaybe tell me about your process?â
She sat down beside him in the grass, took a slow deep breath, and dropped her hands to her knees, just like Perfuma had taught her. âI donât think Iâll fall asleep,â she admitted. âMaybe tell me about your process?â
âYeah, of course. I can walk you through it,â Adam said. âFirst, I get comfortable.â He flopped down onto his back, hands pillowed under his head, one knee bent. And then I close my eyes.â He demonstrated. âAnd then I just take it all in. If you listen carefully, you can hear the magic flowing. Itâs kind of like a quiet hum. It sounds different here than it does back home â back home it flows through all of Eternia, but here itâs contained more to the Castle.â And to him and Teela. Maybe to Adora, too. âItâs like the difference between listening to a river flowing, or a lake lapping up on shore. I try to feel whatâs around me. The coolness of the grass under me, the warmth and the humidity in the air. And I take in the smell of all these flowers, and the grass, and the trees. You know, deep breath in through the nose.â He did so, held it a moment, and then, âAnd exhale.â
Adora decided to mimic him a little more closely. Trying to sit with her legs crossed and her back straight probably wasnât helping her relax and be in the moment. So she laid down beside him, tucking her arms over her head and making sure to leave one knee bent, just like Adam. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and listened to Adam speak.
Slowly, the sound of his voice faded, and then - she could hear it. At first, she thought it was just the sound of her heartbeat echoing in her ears, but it was more than that. This weird whooshing sound, followed by warmth, starting in the tips of her toes and flowing further and further upward. It was that same feeling she got when she was about to transform into She-Ra.
âWow,â she breathed. âI think - I might hear it?â
Adam beamed at her. âI thought you might,â he said. Heâd have honestly been surprised if she didnât, but he hadnât wanted to say anything. He didnât want to put that kind of pressure on her if she hadnât heard anything.
âNow for me, if I have a question, I just think about it for a while, and sometimes the answer will just⊠come to me. Itâs not always clear, depending on the question, but Iâll usually get an answer of some kind.â
He wondered if it would work for Adora. He was the Protector of the Secrets of Grayskull. Grayskullâs Champion. Adora had access to the Power, but he didnât know if She-Ra had the same access to the secrets as He-Man did. He hoped she would.
âOkay,â Adora agreed. She had a lot of questions, none of which she thought Grayskull could answer, but why not try it? Sheâd come this far, despite her doubts, and now with warmth coursing through her veins, she was relaxing. Maybe this wouldnât be so hard after all.