Council of Elders

The Council of Elders were a group who were featured in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

History
The Elders came from an earlier period in Eternian history and were members of King Grayskull's Court who ruled his kingdom from Castle Grayskull. They were present in the era when King Grayskull fought against the evil Snake Men and later the Evil Horde. In the latter of the two conflicts, King Grayskull was mortally wounded by the hands of Hordak but not before he banished the sorcerer to the realm of Despondos. Before his death, King Grayskull transferred his ancient power, magically enchanting his closest advisors, who then became the Council of Elders, continuing to protect Eternia following the death of their lord. Afterwards, the Elders abandoned Castle Grayskull and ruled from the Hall of Wisdom where they fought against numerous threats such as the Snake Men. While Hordak was defeated, King Hiss remained at large and the leader of the Snake Men unleashed the dread Snake God Serpos onto Eternia. However, the power of the Elders was used to imprison the giant snake and petrified its body in the Dark Hemisphere which later became known as Snake Mountain.

Afterwards, the Council of Elders worked alongside the warrior Zodak in defeating the Snake Men once and for all. Using their magic, the Elders contained King Hiss and the Snake Men who were banished into an alternate dimension known as the Void. The chamber to that realm was left within Snake Mountain itself and Zodak's Staff served as the key to opening it. Thus, the last enemy of King Grayskull had been vanquished though, peace did not reign as new threats emerged during the reign of the Elders. One of these forces was the wizard, Count Marzo, who attacked the Hall of Wisdom in order to attain ultimate power. However, Marzo was defeated by the actions of Captain Miro and the Elders imprisoned him within the body of an old man and stripped him of his magical amulet. In their final years, a new evil emerged in an ambitious warlord called Keldor who wanted to rule Eternia by claiming the power of the Elders. By that point, the Council of Elders had reached the end of their rule and declared that Captain Randor would rule in their stead after which they disappeared but not before they promised that the Masters of the Universe would defeat Keldor along with his Evil Warriors.

Following Keldor's defeat, the Council of Elders told Captain Randor that he would rule Eternia as King and that in later years a Champion would emerge when evil once again appeared. With that done, the Council of Elders transformed themselves into the crystal orb which was transported into the catacombs of Castle Grayskull. There, the combined magic and power of the Elders resided and was watched over by the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull until evil once again threatened the lands. After the collapse of the Mystic Wall, the time came to pass when Skeletor once more sought to claim the power of the Elders. During that time, Randor's son, Prince Adam, was given the power of King Grayskull himself and became He-Man who battled against the forces of evil. That first included Skeletor, but later involved other villains such as Evilseed and a freed King Hiss.

Appearances

 * The Beginning Part 1
 * The Beginning Part 2
 * Snake Pit
 * Rise of the Snakemen, Part 1
 * The Power of Grayskull