Many eons ago, an ancient race known as the Zodakkians inhabited the vast planets of the galaxies. The Ancient Zodakkians were both wise and powerful wizards and scientists. They also ruled Eternia for many centuries, and it was during this reign that they built several buildings of great power. Of these great buildings was the Hall of Wisdom.
The Hall of Wisdom was the center of the Ancient Zodakkian culture, filled with all of their knowledge and secrets of the universe. The Hall itself was a majestic, gorgeous building, which glistened with light and energy, filling the sky with its powerful aura. It was within this spectacular Hall that the oldest, and wisest of the Ancient Zodakkians gathered and meet. It was a place for them to govern their worlds, share ideas and ideals, and to teach the younger Zodakkians their knowledge. It was the elite of these oldest and wisest that formed a council. It soon became known as the Council of Elders.
The Ancient Zodakkians lived peacefully for thousands of years. The Council of Elders governed their worlds, as the other Zodakkians took interest in studying the lesser, more primitive life forms also occupying their worlds. It was at this height of the Ancient Zodakkian civilization that soon became their downfall. On one day, the Council of Elders received a grave vision. From out of a brilliant beam of white light stepped out a woman. It was not a Zodakkian woman, but instead of a mere human. The Council of Elders was a bit insulted that a mere and primitive Eternian would dare address them, but were curious, and listened. The woman, dressed in snake-shaped armor and carrying a snakehead staff, then spoke to them. She warned the Council that evil would come. It would destroy everything the Zodakkians ever created, and it would even destroy the Zodakkians themselves. She urged them to take action, and then vanished back into the white light from which she came. It was this messenger, who soon became known to the primitive Eternians as the Goddess.
The Council of Elders, understanding the message, decided to combine their powers into one magical orb, which would be filled with all of their knowledge, strengths, and powers. It was this orb that was intended to be used to defend the Zodakkian worlds from the expected evil, and was perhaps the last hope of the Council of Elders. This orb was then secretly locked away, deep within the Hall of Wisdom itself. However, tales began to circulate about this orb, and soon the younger of the Zodakkians grew concerned. They pondered what really occurred, and soon discovered the truth about the orb. In time, some grew corrupt with the desire to obtain this orb, and to possess its powers.
The young, corrupted Zodakkians grew evil, and soon joined together and formed armies of the primitive life forms. The Evil Zodakkians longed for the power of the Elders, and began to wage war against their own kind. Battles ensued, as the dark armies of the Evil Zodakkians fought their way to the Hall of Wisdom. On the dawn of the siege of the Hall of Wisdom, the war between the Evil Zodakkians and the Ancient Zodakkians came to an end. In an massive flash of blinding light, the last of the great Council of Elders destroyed the armies of the Evil Zodakkians, but also had to destroy the Hall of Wisdom, as well as themselves. It was then, that all that remained of the once great Hall of Wisdom, were the charred ruins, and the magical orb. Fortunately, moments before the blast, the last of the Council of Elders sealed all of the other knowledge and secrets of the Hall of Wisdom into the magical orb, preserving it for all time. Thinking that both the Council of Elders and the magical orb was destroyed, the surviving Evil Zodakkians left the burned ruins, and some even formed their own army, in which they called The Horde. Others went off and formed their own armies. However, it was the very last member of the great Council of Elders, who lay within the arms of his son, Zodak. It was this Ancient Zodakkian, named Zo *, who bestowed his knowledge and power, as well as his rank of the Council of Elders, to Zodak, as he breathed his last breath. Zodak then became the first Guardian Enforcer of the orb, protecting it and recruiting help from the other life forms.
Over time, the Zodakkian Hall of Wisdom grew into myth and legend. It was several decades before the remains were discovered. By then, the Evergreen Forest engulfed the ruins, as Zodak watched over the magical orb in the shadows. But the dark armies never forgot the powers that once consumed them. Knowing this, Zodak and the last remaining Ancient Zodakkians agreed that the magical orb should be both guarded and protected. Alas, even with their longevity, even the great Zodakkians could not guard and protect the orb themselves forever. It was then that they decided to enlist the aid of the Eternians. The Eternians, knowing that the ruins were sacred grounds, were eager to help. With the guidance of the last few Zodakkians, the Ancient Eternians built a fortress out of the remains of the ruins, and of stone when needed. At the center of this fortress, laid the magical orb. The Zodakkians then forged two great swords, the Sword of Power and the Sword of Protection, for those Eternians chosen to be the defenders, to use in their fight against evil. Besides the defenders, the Zodakkians felt it was necessary to have a guardian of the magical orb. These chosen guardians in turn became rather powerful magicians themselves. This concerned the last few Zodakkians. They would be unable to chose a guardian or a defender after their death, and the fear of having the power corrupting the primitive Eternians also concerned them. It was then agreed that Zo, in spirit form, would choose the defenders and guardians. He being ageless in death would select those worthy to take on this burden. In thus, the last of the Ancient Zodakkians used their magic to bind Zo’s spirit with the magical orb, which was sealed underneath the fortress. It is Zo’s spirit, in which later on becomes known as the Spirit of Grayskull.
Many years passed by, as the bloodline of the once great Ancient Zodakkians grew thinner and thinner. Soon, they became all but extinct. Zo’s spirit had yet to choose suitable candidates for the defender and guardian. It was Zodak himself that watch from this Ancient Eternian castle, serving as both the first guardian and defender, of the once great Zodakkian Hall of Wisdom. Still more years passed by, and in time an army from the Evil Zodakkians re-emerged. A group of reptilian humanoids, called by the early Eternians as the Snake-Men, formed an army of their own. Lead by an evil dictator and magician, the Snake-Men followed the orders of the vile King Hiss to the death. King Hiss learned about the magical orb while studying his magical arts, and sent his army to attack the fortress. It was then that the Spirit chose a defender, an Eternian wizard who became named He-Ro. The Spirit also chose a guardian, a woman name Kodak Ungor. Battles raged across the Eternian planet between the Eternians and the Snake-Men. Being more numerous than that of the Eternians, the Snake-Men were eager to destroy the fortress and obtain the magical orb. He-Ro soon learned about the oncoming assault on the fortress, and used his magic to send Kiss Hiss and his evil minions to a time-less void. The remaining Snake-Men, leaderless, either fled to The Horde, or set off on their own. Alas, the task was too great, and it drained He-Ro of his life force. As He-Ro died, the castle returned to the shadows, and Kodak Ungor secretly guarded the powers within, with the assistance of Zodak, the last of the Zodakkians.
Generations passed, and Eternia forgot about the Castle in the Evergreen Forest. In time, a king emerged to lead the Eternians. Soon, a young prince named Miro became the King of Eternia. King Miro wed, and soon had twin sons, Randor and Keldor. Being the first of the twins born, Randor was chosen to succeed his father’s throne, and was also the most favored. This caused the younger brother, Keldor, to grow jealous. Keldor pushed aside his jealousy and was soon consumed by his practice in magic. At this time, The Horde decided to invade Eternia. The supreme leader of The Horde, Horde Prime, dispatched his brother and second-in-command, Hordak, to lead the attack on Eternia. The Horde attacked swiftly, and enslaved most of the Eternians. Horde Troopers then searched the planet for the hidden castle. It was in a slave camp that a young woman named Teelana heard of the tales of this secret fortress. Desperate to save her planet, she escaped from the slave camp, and searched for the castle. Moment from her death, Teelana saw through the thick trees of the Evergreen Forest, the outline of the fortress in which she was searching for. Drawing upon her last bit of strength, Teelana entered the fortress and found an aged Kodak Ungor. Kodak Ungor nursed Teelana back to health, and knew why this former slave girl had entered the fortress. It was then that Kodak Ungor informed Teelana of the role of guardian, and since the Spirit of the fortress had also chosen Teelana to succeed Kodak Ungor, Teelana agreed to become the next Sorceress. As Kodak Ungor disappeared, Teelana realized that she needed help to defeat the Horde. Teelana then transformed into a Eternian falcon, and flew into the sky, to search the area around the castle for someone who could help. It was by a stream that she first met the young Keldor. Already a skilled magician, the young Keldor agreed to help the Sorceress Teelana by becoming the Sorcerer of the fortress.
Due to his suppressed jealousy, Keldor failed the test given to him by the Spirit of the fortress. However, because Keldor was a good man, Teelana appointed him as her college in defending the fortress. Keldor and the Sorceress practiced their magic together, and both grew stronger with the help of the secrets held within the fortress. But as they grew in power, so to did The Horde. It was Hordak that noticed Keldor’s flaw, and it was Hordak that intrigued Keldor to study some of the more darker magic. The dark magic corrupted the once noble Sorcerer, and turned him into an dark, evil man. It was then that Keldor betrayed the Sorceress Teelana, and became Hordak’s assistant, as The Horde captured the fortress.
The Sorceress was able to elude capture, as she transformed into her falcon form and flew away. Hordak then ordered that the fortress, which suffered some minor damage in the betrayal, be re-made into a bigger, more powerful castle. Keldor, consumed by the evil magic within him, tried to find the magical orb within the fortress. As he went to retrieve the orb, the dark powers and the powers of the orb attacked each other. The magical orb repelled Keldor away, as the dark powers engulfed him. Streaming with evil magic, Keldor grew even more evil, as the flesh on of his faced burned off. It was then, that Keldor died, and was transformed into the evil Skeletor. To mock him of his foolishness, Hordak then ordered that the fortress to be re-made again, but to have a giant skull in front, as punishment for the faceless Skeletor. It was then that the fortress became known as Grayskull.
As the Sorceress flew through the sky, she eventually found help in the form of the young Prince Randor. She also found help in a young Eternian soldier named Duncan, as she gave birth to her daughter, Teela. Together, Randor and Duncan rallied the Eternian armies to recapture the Castle Grayskull. The Eternian armies were successful, in that the Sorceress was able to fly into the fortress, and use her magic to purge The Horde from Castle Grayskull. The Horde retreated back to Skeletor’s base, called Snake Mountain. Victorious, Randor then married a young Earth woman named Marlena, and was made King by his father, Miro. The former King Miro, also appointed the young Duncan, to the position of Man-at-Arms. However, the war between Eternia and The Horde was far from over.
It was during the end of the war that Queen Marlena gave birth to twins, Adam and Adora. One day, Hordak and Skeletor attempted to kidnap the twin babies. As Hordak grabbed up the baby Adora, Duncan spotted Hordak as he was about to take the baby Adam. Duncan succeeded in stopping them from taking Adam, but failed as Hordak retreated with Adora, leaving Skeletor behind. To save himself, Skeletor told Duncan where to find Hordak and the baby, then left to form his own army. It was then that Duncan and the Sorceress tracked Hordak down at Snake Mountain. As they were about to capture Hordak, he fled into a portal, off to the planet Etheria. Finally, the war between Eternia and The Horde came to an end, but at the cost of a missing baby.
Years went on, and Skeletor’s army grew. Still consumed with the desire to possess the powers of the magical orb, Skeletor made several attempts in trying to capture Castle Grayskull. In time, the young Prince Adam grew into adolescence, and was then summoned to visit Castle Grayskull. It was here that Adam was chosen by the Spirit of Castle Grayskull to become the next defender. Adam was given the Sword of Power, which transformed him into the mighty He-Man, and his pet Cringer, an Eternian tiger, into the ferocious Battle Cat. For years, He-Man has been successful in warding off Skeletor from capturing Castle Grayskull. One day, a vision was given to the Sorceress. With the help of Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress was able to send He-Man through a portal to Etheria. On Etheria, He-Man found his twin sister, Adora, working with The Horde. He-Man was able to convince Adora to leave The Horde, as she was then given the Sword of Protection. With the Sword of Protection, Adora became She-Ra, and her horse, Spirit, into the pegacorn, Swift Wind. Afterwards, She-Ra remained on Etheria to free that world from The Horde, which plague both Eternia and Etheria for so long, as well as taking her from her home. He-Man returned to Eternia to defend Castle Grayskull from Skeletor’s Army and on occasion, returned to Etheria to assist his sister in her fight against The Horde.
It was not until the creation of the Cosmic Key, a device used to make portals to literally anywhere, that Skeletor was able to finally take control of Castle Grayskull. However, as the Defender of Grayskull, He-Man, was able to befriend Gwildor, the inventor of the Cosmic Key. With the prototype Cosmic Key, He-Man, Gwildor, Duncan, and Teela, were able to reclaim Castle Grayskull, as Skeletor retreated back to Snake Mountain once more. It is now that Zodak, the last of the great Zodakkian Council of Elders, can watch from a distance, as the Guardian of Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress, is able to protect the ancient knowledge of the once great Ancient Zodakkians. All with the help of the Defender of Castle Grayskull, the mighty warrior, He-Man.
* In some versions, Zo was also called Zoa, or Zoar, as it was the Ancient Eternian translation of Zo’s Zodakkian name. The name of the bird in which the Guardian of Grayskull transforms into is also called Zoar, in memory of this Zodakkian.
