Zalesia

Zalesia was Preternia's second greatest city, but it now lies in ruins under the Sands of Fire.

History
Zalesia was a major Preternian city with a giant ram skull motif, apparent both in its architecture and the two mystic treasures guarded by its royal family, the Havoc Staff and the Ram Stone. Its woods were home to The Oracle of Zalesia, a wise seer who King Grayskull once came to for council. The Lord of Zalesia, Nikolas Powers, was once a member of the Council of Wisdom. But he defied his sacred oaths to the Council by taking a mate and fathering a child, Evelyn. When King Hsss kidnapped the infant, he was forced to give Hsss an Amulet with the power to summon and control Serpos to save his daughter.

Serpos laid waste to many lands in Eternia, including Zalesia. Before Serpos could hurt his daughter, a time-traveler offered to take her someplace safe from Hsss where he would raise and safeguard her, but only if he was given the Havoc Staff in exchange, and Powers agreed. Even with the power of the Ram Stone, he could not stop Serpos from reducing Zalesia to ruins. The Council of Wisdom petrified Serpos back into Snake Mountain, then punished Powers by transforming him into The Faceless One, a formless shadow doomed to haunt the ruins of Zalesia forever.

The time-traveler ultimately returned The Faceless One's child to him sometime during Miro's tenure as Eternia's Captain of the Guard. He raised her for a time, until she left to become the dark sorceress Evil-Lyn.

Temple of the Ram Stone
The Faceless One was charged with guarding the Temple of the Ram Stone in the ruins of Zalesia, perhaps the only Zalesian structure not buried under the Sands of Fire. In recent times, Skeletor had the Ram Stone stolen from it twice: once by Evil-Lyn, who returned it soon afterwards, and later by Count Marzo, after which it was destroyed by He-Man. Evil-Lyn later tried to flee to Zalesia to escape the Evil Warriors, but they captured her in the outskirts of the ruined city, just beyond The Faceless One's domain. When Skeletor tried to sacrifice her to the Pool of Shadows, she called out to The Faceless One for help, and he cursed the forces that bound him there.

Later Appearances (MVCreations)
The Snake Men again took Evil-Lyn and used her to make a deal with the Faceless One. They brought her and Skeletor to Zalesia, allowing the Faceless One to use him and their two magic staves to cure her Despondos poisoning, and in return, he gave Hsss's amulet the power to control Serpos again. Though the Snake Men betrayed him towards the end, and would have killed Evil-Lyn if not for He-Man's aid, he managed to convince Skeletor to use the staves and his power over Despondos to save Evil-Lyn and take her back with him to recover despite her treachery. But before he left Zalesia, Hsss retrieved the Amulet, and soon summoned Serpos with it.

After defeating Serpos, He-Man and Orko came to the Faceless One for help locating The Oracle of Zalesia, so he could aid Orko in returning to Trolla. The Faceless One gave them directions to the remains of the Oracle's temple, and wished them luck. At the temple, The Oracle's shadow gave Orko a choice, the component of a doorway to Trolla, or a scroll that would give him a greater role in the war on Eternia. As the temple collapsed, Orko, recognizing The Oracle as a fellow Trollan, chose the scroll. The Oracle told Orko he made the right choice, and his time to return to Trolla would come. The scroll was a map that led Orko to his missing wand.

Appearances

 * Lessons
 * The Price of Deceit
 * The Power of Grayskull
 * Masters of the Universe: Volume 3