masters of the universe wings of doom ladybird)

8/6/2019 Masters of the Universe Wings of Doom Ladybird)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/masters-of-the-universe-wings-of-doom-ladybird 1/48



Might goes hand in hand wz'thri'ghl as He-Man

and the Masters of the Universe fight to make their

planet safe. The greatest of their enemies ij Skeletor,

the Lord of Destruction, and his euil band, whose

hatred for the-irfoes is never-ending. The uiar goes

011 but who will u)iu.'

First edition

© LADYBIRD BOOKS LTD M C M L X X X N and MA ITEL INC M C M L X X X N

Masters of I~ UrN'ol6rse and SS5oc.: .ared ChW8CUlf;S lfft' US rT8de~s ot. g_nd used u,f?der

"C~(lr;e tram, MBtted/nc_ TliJS edi'li'cn ,nubJt$l'frn tu orr~"'ge~.m t;'~;rll wosrem PvbhshirtrJ

COfl'PIi('Y tnc, RK,nfo:. ~·"~SCOf]sm.USA. AN rf9"ts "-f3.~E!nied_NrJ PfNl (J f 1~.fJ~bhcatfO" mar

be ,erxoClJCt:.d, ~IDrl!d ,·nif reftlfftla~ SYSlBm, or lrfit1~tntttQd ,{'I any lo"nl or lily' f}Frr Plt!,aflS.

eie'tronic. tf'Khll"NC:aI, phato-cap.yfnf;~ recordl,"}!) or OtherwISE. v...rhaur tP~pnor ctJl'SfJ...II' of

l/ttl copyr,ght C J . .¥Ile"s_



Wings of Doomb)1 John Grant

illustrated by Robin Davies

Ladybird Books Loughborough



High among the peaks of the Mystic

Mountains lay the beautiful land of Avian. The

people of Avion had the power of flight, and the

most skilled of all in the air was their leader.

Stratos. Stratos had many times helped He-Man

and his friends in their fight against evil. And

because of this he had made a deadly enemy of

Skeletor, Lord of Destruction. At length Skeleror

decided to punish Stratos. He knew, however,



that Stratos was clever and brave. Only by a

trick could the Lord of the Air be lured into

Skeletor's clutches.

Skeletor knew that Stratos had a lovely wifecalled Delora. H she were in danger, nothing

would stop Stratos coming to her aid. Too late,

Stratos would discover that he had walked into a

trap.

Skeletor called for one of his slaves and gave

him instructions for the kidnapping of Delara.



In the warm early morning sunshine, Delara

stood on the balcony of her home. Far below lay

the peaceful Avion countryside. Suddenly a

speck appeared in the sky. High above the

mountain peaks it grew steadily bigger. Was it a

messenger seeking Stratos?

Delora strained her eyes to see. Too late she

realised that it was not one of Stratos' people. It

was not even human. Itwas a giant winged

reptile, a wyvern, one of the evil creatures in the

service of Skeletor, Lord of Destruction.

The wyvern circled above the; house, its long

neck swaying from side co side as it searched for

its prey. Then, with a loud screech the winged

monster swooped down in a powerful dive.

Delara ran for the door leading into the

building. The wyvern sailed across the balcony,

seized her in its talons, and in a moment was

winging its way back across the mountains

before she could utter a single cry.

6



High in the chill air the wyvem soared. Soon

the Mystic Mountains lay far behind. Ahead,

grey snow clouds showed where the Ice

Mountains towered above the bleak northern..lands of Eternia.

A gap appeared in the snow clouds. The

wyvem with its burden made for the gap, and

Delara felt a gust of warm air. But the air was

foul and evil-smelling. It rose from the surfaceof a volcanic lake which boiled and bubbled far

below. The snow-covered mountains surrounded

tbe lake. A barren island lay in its centre. On

8



the crags surrounding the lake scores of wyverns

perched, their leathery wings folded. They were

the fierce sentinels of the lake.

The wyvern carrying Delara glided over the

island and put her down on the gravel shore.

In Snake Mountain, Skeletor rubbed his

bands with satisfaction as he sent a message to

Stratos:

"YOUR WIFE WILL BE RETURNED

SAFELY TO AV10N IF YOU SURRENDER

YOURSELF INTO MY POWER."

9



Straws was with his friends, He-Man, Teela

and Man-at-Arms in Castle Grayskull when he

received Skeletor's message.

"I must go to Snake Mountain immediately!"

he cried. "There's no knowing what might

happen to Delara if I do not agree to Skelcror's

terms!"

"No," said He-Man. "\Ve cannot trustSkeletor to free Delara even if you do give

yourself up. That way we shall achieve nothing.

We must match cunning with cunning. Our first

10



task is to discover where Delora is held prisoner.

We shall meet here again tomorrow. Before

then I hope that Iwill have learned more of

Skeletor's evil plot."Leaving the castle on Battle-Cat, He-Man set

off at speed for the royal palace of Eternia.

In a grove of trees close to the palace he

dismounted, and became Prince Adam. With

Battle-Cat also transformed into the cowardly

Cringer he strolled through the gates.



As gentle Prince Adam, He-Man lost no time

working out a rescue plan. In the top-most

turret of the royal palace were stored ancient

books and maps. In them was all (he knowledgeand wisdom of the Kingdom of Eternia. Here

was perhaps a clue to Skeletor's hiding place for

his prisoner. Only a creature of the air could

have snatched Delara from her balcony. Skeletor

had many evil winged things at his command.

Griffins, harpies and wyverns were the biggest

and most powerful. But they all lived within the

depths of the Evergreen Forest. far from Avian.



In an ancient scroll there were pictures of

wyverns. They were perched among the crags of

the lee Mountains. Was that where Delora was

held prisoner?

At that moment a shadow fell on the scroll.

At the open window hovered a giant falcon. It

was Zoar, messenger of the Sorceress.

In his mind Prince Adam heard the voice ofthe Sorceress:

"DELORA IS GUARDED BY EVIL

WYVERNS IN THE VALE OF CALDOR."



Prince Adam looked again at the scroll. Now

he saw that it was a sort of map. And in the

centre of the mountains was a spot marked: The

Vale of Caldor. It lay many miles to the north.There was not a moment to lose. He turned to

the window, but Zoar had gone.

Hurrying- from the turret with the scroll,

Prince Adam went to his private chamber.

Holding high the Sword of Power he cried:"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!"

And a moment later he was speeding towards

Castle Grayskull as He-Man.



In the council chamber of the castle. He-Man

snowed his friends the ancient scroll and told

them of the Sorceress' message. Quickly a plan

was made.

In order to draw Skeletor's attention. Stratos

agreed to pretend to surrender to the Lord of

Destruction. Meantime, He-Man, Teela and

Man-at-Arms would travel in the wind raider to

the lee Mountains on a rescue mission.

l5



As the Masters of the Universe were about to

set out, Stratos handed He-Man a ring. "There

are only two of these rings on the planet," he

said. "Delora has the other. They glow in each

other's presence and will help you to find her."

And while Stratos flew off towards Snake

Mountain and the lair of Skeletor, He-Man set

the wind raider on course for the Ice Mountains.

As they landed on the foothills He-Man said,

"The wind raider will find it difficult to cross

those peaks with a full load. We must seek a

pass or some other route to the Vale of Caldor."

As he spoke, a voice rang out and a .figure

appeared on a high rock.

"HALT! WHO TRAVELS IN THESE HILLS?

DO YOU COME AS FRIENDS OR ENEMIES?"



"That is one of the dwarfs," said Man-at-

Arms. "They are good friends of mine. They

mine much of the rare metal I need for making

weapons.

Man-at-Arms stood up and waved, and a

crowd of dwarfs poured out from among the

rocks and surrounded the wind raider.



Laughing and chattering to each other the

dwarfs gathered round the Masters of the

Universe.A slightly taller dwarf stepped forward, and

Man-at-Arms cried, "Trag, myoId friend! That

was a fine load of metal you sent me last time."

"We dig nothing but the finest," replied

Trog. "Who are your companions and what areyou doing in these pans?"

Quickly Man-at-Arms explained who He-Man

and Teela were. Then he told Trag. who was

leader of the dwarfs, about their rescue bid.



Through the ~wisting, winding tunnels the

dwarfs led. He-Man, Teela and Man-at-Arms. In

plac es the rocky ro o f was, 'So lo w that even thedwarfs bad to sloop to pass. In others the

tunnels opened out intn cavern'S whose roofs

weli't':so high that the light of the torches, failed

to reach them.



At length the level pas~age began to slope:

sleep I,' upwards. ,\Vl1cn it was almost to-o steep

to walk. (he party found themselves climbing a

staircase Cui in the rock.

As they paused to rest <it the top 0'1a flight of

step::. they could hea r 1 : 1 distant sound ef wate:r_

A I1d in a few mnmen ts the ir path LOok them

across a,stone arch over a swift underground

river. The river flowed into a lake, and at thefar end of the lake a mighty waterfall tumbled

out of the darkness above with at loud roar.

They left the lake, and were just approaching

a tunnel entrance when, without warning, a

screaming mass of dark shapes sprang out of the

shaduws.

j<l'ROl.l..S t" cried Trog_



TlLC t 'olls outnumbered the dwarfs many

times. Their sharp claws caught. the light from

the. torches, and Lheir fangs were bared i t ) . hlood

lust. Quiduy Trcg ordered the dwarfs into a

line, I'hen lhey drew swords and swung axes as

they faced the trolls.

He -.\1an ware hed for a moment. The trans

had not ye t noticed the full-sized rigurcs in {he

dim light. He-Man, Tecla and Man-at-Armsaimed their energy weapons. and He-Man cried,

"Trog, order your men to fall back."



The:' line uf dwarfs. di vided in two. The trolls

found themselves face to face with tine armed

humans twice the size of the dwarfs. For a

rnomen t they stopped.

11<:-1\1 an gave a signa], and bolts of energy

blasted from the Masters' weapons. The trolls

were bowled over In all directions. They fought

one another as lhey tried to escape. The Masters

reased firing. and the dwarfs charged. Soon

rhere was not a troll to be seen.



The: sound of the last fleeing troll died in the

distance. Tmg led the way once more, and in a

short time daylight appeared in front of them,

A rew rrtorc steps and the pouty came out of the

tunnel, They found themselves on a broad kdg'C

hig'h abov.e a deep valley, "There," said TWg,

'''is the Vale of Calder."

Inthe centre of a bubbling. fum ing lake was

a sm a 1 1 isla nd, I Ie- 1\;1n held Stratos' ring atarm's. length towards the island. The: SLOne

glowed faintly, "Delora is somewhere on the



islaud," he said, "But there is noway to peach

her without the wind raider. With my wcight

alone it should be: possible to cross over [he

meune ains, "

Fscorted by the dwarfs. He-Man set off backthrough the ~unnels,

There was no sign of the trolls, but as the.]'

crossed the rock arch they round the way barred

by the ftgUI':C of a strange·[ooking warrior. b'A

guoll." exclaimed Ha -M3,[1. He drew his weapon.

The gnoll charged, om erre blast hom H e -Manand it stumbled b~d to panic, lost its foeti n g - .

and fell with a lbud splash into the river far

beluw.



Hack at Ilhe wind raider, He-Man lust no time

in checking the power system. Then he climbed

behind theennerela. \¥11h a wave to the dwarFs

he set the powerful machine at maximum aseent

and roared upwards rowards the sn owy peaks,

Swiftly the wind. rffider gained! height, skimming

just clear ef the 1:ildt:uf the mountains, Despigethe craft' soheati ng system, the i.cy cold of the

mountains chiHed. l1c- Ma:nt~' t hanrla GIn the

controfs .. Fros& and icicles formed on. the outside

liurf("u ..Jcs.



The air grew rhinnes the higher He· Man flew,

Fn::C:i i l ing wi.nds buffeted the machine. Then the

snow elouds dosed in. He-Man now only

occasionally had a glimpse of the mountainside.

Then t.h(0ugh a gap in the cloud he saw a sh a::rp

peak directly infrunt. A last sharp, burst C o l I

power and. the ",inn raider was over the summit

and. diving: .into the. Vale of Caldne.

Be low, on their- ]edge. Teela and Man· at-Arms hea-rd the roar of the wind rairl.e:r'SrJets as,

He -Man trie.d telocatehis companions through

the thick cloud.

Q,uick]y Ted a held her Kebrapower !iccptrc

above her head < U 1 . ( i S<:iU G u t a powerful enengy

beam" In the \!Vina r aider He· Man saw his

energy bladct> pulse with PO'WeT. St~r-ing murud

until the pubes were strongest. he dropped do l r ' o ' n

to' land beside T cela .



lU:...mraln, Skcleror

had his slaves bring Stratos before him. "You

pOtJr rooJ," he gloated~ "Did yuu really think

tha t giving YOU'I"!l.t.;]f up would do any good?

While I decide you:r fate you shall joi,[) me ill

watching the feeble a nties of your friends."The Lord of Destruction pressed a swict'_h and

pan of the rock wan slid aside to reveal a huge

\ ..LUCO creen, Another touch to the- controls and

therebefore them !ay th 'Vale of Calder.



In the centre of the boiling lake lay the

island. And on the island was ,a t small figure.

"DELOR A.!" cried Stratus,

"And here we h,aveyour noble friends who

hope to rescue her "" mocked Skelet or. And

Stratos saw He-Man, Tecla and Man-at-Arms

clustered around. the wind raider as they

planned what to do next.



He-Man scanned the cliffs surrounding the

lake. Wyverns perched on every crag. Theirwings were folded. But their ,eyes never blinked

as they stood. guard over the hike. the island,

and the prisoner. On1:y on the [edge high on the

mountain were the Masters of the Un iryerse QLIt

o r their s~ght."These monsters make th~ngs difficult," said

He-Man. "Before the wind raider " , " las hallway to

'the island the nearest w}'vern could seize Delara

and 'I;:arry her off"again. "



"Could we nm try after da rk? ,. sugg"t'~ed

T,ecla.

"WY"-erilli see as well in (he dark. as in

d<! iy1ight ," fcp]ico He-Man.

"Then, we w in make 001" own dark," said

Man-at-Arms, "With the help o r the snow and a

little work on the wind raider we wilt bJind these

evil creatures long enough to carry om: our

rask ...

Using the lOO~kit from the wind raider> Mall-

at- Arms set to work,



Man-at-Arms' skill madt' short work of his

,task. Then He-Man tonk the eentrols and. thewind. raider Iifted o ff w ith a roar of its jets. Up

went thcpowcrfu It~aft unt il it. was level wiH I

ahe great snow cornices which ov~rhu.ng the lake.

far below.

Skimming just above.i l 1 : 1 , C

snow, He-Manpressed the extra control fiued by Man-at-Arms.

Instantly the jets fi ,e:IJIL a blast of super-heat down

orita t ' I " I ( ' snow, The mow melted. and. all round

thevalley it began w slip and. s~ide in a vast



avalancheinto the boiling Lake. In a moment

douds of dense steam rose into the air. filling

[he valley and covering the island.

Instantly. He-Man put the wind. raider intu a

steep dive, Straws'ring was glowing, Now it

began 'LO flash. hrighter and faster every

moment. Through the half': He-Man made out

the sh 3.pe of the island. As the wind ra ider came

d.own on the shore, Delora ran down from

~mon.g the JOcks and leapt aboard,



.~...' ....--. 1he. la.s.{of .the. ,snow fell mtn th.e lake and the

steam began {ol1ft. Almost touching the

/- bubb:ling surface, Lhe.wi,nd raider. skimmed low

I at top speed. The way ahead was clear, butI above was still covered in a thick ~ayel'of s(~am. I

/ T~.le~arding w~'~ns heaI~ the sound of

/ the Jets, 'but even their keen :SIgbt. was helpless

.1.ro see anything. Several of the fierce reptilesI dived from their perches after the invisibleI enemy. They tried to follow the echoes of the

I I



wi nd raider's engines, Screeching with rage they

flew b l i n c . : U y about. Some crashed 'into 'themountainside. Others collided with each other.

And Lwo. in head-on collision, fell into the

boiling waters uf the lake.

Again guided b y Teela's Kobra sceptre, He-

Man brought the wind raider in to land on the

ledge. Trag and the dwarfs ,"'Crewaiting. While

He-Man took off on the return journey over the

mountain, they escorted Teda. Man-at-Arms

and Delora back through the tunnels.



On the video screen Skeletor watched as the

steam cloud obscured the pirture, Angrily he

moved the controls, but the image Willi no

dearer. He had an occasional glimpse of a

baffled wyvern, 'but dun was all. He gues.sed

that his prisoner had escaped"

With a scream of rage, the lord o f

Destruction crashed his f i s L on the ecntrelpanel.

lot am served by fools and weakling,Sc," he roared.

and scru a blast from his Havoc staff crackling

across the cavern.



In a panic 1 is slaves scurried for cover,

, If'aving Straros unguarded, Dodging another

1) ]01 '81. the Lord of the Air soared up to the

cavern roof. Skeletor fi;rrd again, but ouly

succeededin bringiag down a secuon of mC)L

"Careful!" mocked Stratos. "Even the Lon! of

lkstrm.tiou needs a roof over his head!"



Through the passa gf'S and ca verns inside

511ake MOll ntairr, Stratos led. sh e raging Skd etor .

Skeletor tried every trick he knew . but Stratos'

aerohatics left him panting and bewildered.

E\'ery part or Skeletor's lair contained cunning

traps. These were meant to Slop enemies getting

if), or getting out. But Stratus evaded them alr.



Falling rocks. IIidden trapdoors, Spiked gates.

StraLQS swooped and circled, just Gut ef reach.

Now, the), we rl'" at the entrance [0the meuarain

la]f.

Daylight shone outside the gloomy gate ......y.

But, instead, 01 making his escape. Straws kep-t

on taunting Skelewr, dra ...ing him a[wa:ys closer

to the archway,



Skelernr's eyes blazed red in his bony skull.

Mad with rage he watched Stratos skim through

the gale tu the bridge linking the twin peaks of

Snake:' Mountain.

The LUN of the Air eame down on rho

bridgeT But ashe did !ill he gave a ICry of pain

and collapsed, clutching his leg.

Skdetur ga\'e <I .great cry of triumph. "LeI.

that be a lessen to yuur You thought [hal you.

could outwit and make a fool of Skeletor, Lord



r

of Destruction! You ale' at my mercyl" And. he

strode through the gate towards the fallen

StHtO'S.

Too late. he realised that he had been

tricked ...The trapdoor which guarded the

entrance to Snake Muuntain crashed open.Ylith

a scream, Skelctur plunged into ti l deep and foul

dungeon.

"Goodbye 1" cried Straws.U

I think it wH 1 bemany hours before your frightened slaves come

to gel you om!"



At Castle Grays.kuU He-Man, Tecla and Man-

at-Arms waited with Delnra, Before" 10ng Srratos

joined them and described how he: had trickedSkeletor into falling foul of one of his own traps,

He-Man returned StraWs'ring as Dcima and

her husband p,rcpareJ toreturn to {heir

mountain home in tht" fair land of Avion,

""''lIen they had gone, He-Man stood alone 011

the 'battlements, He heard tilt" sound of wings. It

was, the great {alton Zoar. The noble lJh'd

circled Lh("(';Js'lle and. pe rched on a pinnacle



dose to He-Man. The bird's dark q-e;s glowed

and i n . his mind He-Man heard the voiee of the

Sorceress .

"You have done well, and have used your

power wisely. But, remember, without the aid of

Trog and his people, things might. have been

very different. Never fo rget thateven the

smallest of the people of Erernia have apart to

playrn overcumi ng the powers of evil ."1 " 1 1 ( ' 1 1 tl e bird was gone, and He-Man

prepared to return to the palace and his other

life as the gentle Prince Adam.



I!"rmted in InyI,"d

I.ldr!!o£df~I"" c"" .... a w~ [F'ilS Q r "~iOCl& ..,,;I

r •• :ding!.. W I i[1' ~o r 1 I tr . . .. [JJi;lmtfl~~ l i l l i . 1 ' rrJI"'1

'tJiil jkluI!Mt_. ~"OYBIRD BOOKS L:iD'!.~L !T1!!l'Qu~b Lo",... t_ ... ftil'l ~"'II!_

masters of the universe wings of doom ladybird)

Documents