Archmagus - The Battle At Grayskull Tower

Archmagus is a character I've had kicking around in my head for years. I finally decided he might be worth entering in the custom character contest this year, so I put the final touches on a background story for him.

And with the help of some amazing artists from here on the boards my vision came to life!

Special thanks for Mista Jonz, The Raw, and Buffalo-Bill-Man



Name: Archmagus
Real Name: Logan
Affiliation: No Allegiance
Style designation: MOTUC or 200X
Powers: magical bolts, levitation, creation of magical weapons which dissipate when not in his hands. Control over an ancient sand spirit, which can conceal himself within the Archmagus' armor and attack when called upon.





Bio:
More than five centuries ago the (Green) Goddess was given both halves of the divided Sword of He. One half of the sword she hid away inside Grayskull Tower where it was guarded by a spirit she discovered in the Sands of Time, known as only "The Lich". The other half of the power sword the Goddess used to fashion champions of Eternia who took on the title He-man and defended the location of the other half of the sword as well as the Elders and Castle Grayskull when called upon. This remained true for some time.

460 AGS (After Grayskull) The Goddess gave birth to her own son whom she called Logan. The identity of the boy's true father was never revealed. When her son came of age he inherited some of his mother's magical prowess and her natural fighting skill.

The Goddess came to believe her son was powerful and noble enough to wield both halves of the Sword of He and beseeched the Elders on his behalf to combine the swords once more. The Elders dismissed her request saying they had possibly found the true heir to the sword halves.

Through what the Elder's could ascertain from the prophecy surrounding the Sword of He, they believed when the one worthy to wield the sword would be born, there would be twins. With Miro being the only king in the history of the bloodline to produce two heirs, the Elders began to consider they had misread the prophecy and that it would be siblings...rather than twins who would wield the swords.

The Goddess and her son Logan, watched as Randor, son of Miro and a Gar soldier were brought forth before the Elders. The Elders as a test explained to Randor and Keldor that they were the rightful heir of both halves of the swords. Keldor readily agreed claiming it was his birthright, while Randor adamantly refused this calling. Randor (As his own son would later follow in his footsteps) insisted he was not the hero they were searching for.

When Randor left, Keldor's was also sword withheld from him. The Elders explained that if there were not two heirs, it did not forefill the prophecy of the sword and they would continue to await the day when the rightful Champion of Eternia would arrive.

Outside, Logan and Keldor struck up an alliance to retrieve both halves of the sword, both believing it was their birthright to wield them. They agreed to return to their lives and when the time was right, they would assault Grayskull Tower and claim the first half of the Sword of He. Then together, they would use its power to take the other half as well, sharing the two halves between them.

The Goddess, unwilling to find another less worthy heir to her half of the Sword, went alone to place it inside Castle Grayskull. She believed that in time, the Elders would come around to believing that her son was worthy of the blades. A few days later, she was caught by surprise and captured by a new menace who called himself Count Marzo. This Marzo tortured the Goddess for many days in an attempt to learn the location of the sword, but she was unwilling to give him the information even if it meant her own death.

When at last her location was discovered, Randor, Duncan, Logan and the Goddess' protector assaulted Marzo's Castle to attempt rescue, but it was too late. Though Marzo was defeated, the Goddess was already wounded and poisoned beyond saving.

The Goddess passed on what remained of her power to her son Logan and died in his arms. Filled with new magical power and enraged by his mother's death, Logan fashioned for himself the name Archmagus. Using the power of the Goddess, Archmagus created translucent magical weapons which he thought would be enough to destroy the spirit that guarded Grayskull Tower. He found Keldor and that very night they attacked.

The two of them had decided that while Archmagus attacked the sand spirit known as "The Lich", Keldor would steal the sword half and help to finish the creature. Then with their combined might and magic they would attack Grayskull Castle obtaining a sword for each of them, thus reclaiming their respective birthrights.

But while Archmagus was locked in combat with The Lich spirit, Keldor escaped the Tower and used the stolen half of the Sword of He to seal it shut behind him, trapping the Archmagus and the spirit inside.
Soon after the Elders decided the Towers of Eternia should be buried in the sands to protect their remaining secrets from Keldor and his forces. Keldor's evil corrupted his half of the sword darkening it's color to match his own evil power and with it, began the conflict that was to become known as the Great Unrest.

The Archmagus however, with his Mother's immortality had met his eternal prison inside the dungeon of Grayskull Tower. Sealed away, he asserted his own will over the sand spirit like his mother had before him and waited for his time to escape. He vowed to one day find a way out of the Tower to destroy Keldor, and anyone else who stood in his way of claiming both halves of the sword which he believed was his birthright.

Hey there buddy, love the backstory and art! Sounds like a really cool character and it seems you tried to fit him in nicely with motu "continuity" (if we want to call it that). Good luck to you and your creation in the contest!

I really like him. His sand spirit is very cool as well!

You have one very interesting character there. I love your bio and he is one cool looking magician/swordsman. Good luck in the contest!

Thanks for the comments guys! Arch is up for voting now so please be kind!

first off i dont know why but his design just feels a bit off for MOTU....kinda like a ravenloft in D&D....but then again MOTU is all encompassing so its just a vibe i am getting...and that is the only thing somewhat negative i can say...

this guy is just too cool.. i am not so much feeling his MOTUC version although the raws art is awesome...but he is an awesome design and bio...

i hope he does well in the contest .. and maybe make more characters of this type to be sort of a spin-off MOTU universe...

btw does the sand spirit have a name...

Originally Posted by gatchagrey

first off i dont know why but his design just feels a bit off for MOTU....

I don't know about him being off. I respect your opinion, but to me he doesn't look all that different from several other wizards who have appeared in MOTU. Especially in Filmation. He is similar imo to a Marzo type or some of the others.

Originally Posted by gatchagrey

this guy is just too cool.. i am not so much feeling his MOTUC version although the raws art is awesome...but he is an awesome design and bio...

If on the very off chance he happens to win the contest, I don't feel we have to stick 100% with the Raw's version. (or the other drawings either) All though I like it and very much appreciate The Raw lending his talents to the cause. I enjoy seeing different artist's interpretation of Archmagus. In year's past I know forum members pooled their ideas of what they though the final character should look like and in many cases Royal ended up using some of the suggestions. I think that is great! I would be very fun to see everyone's ideas about what he should look like. I enjoy the creative process!

Originally Posted by gatchagrey

i hope he does well in the contest .. and maybe make more characters of this type to be sort of a spin-off MOTU universe...

btw does the sand spirit have a name...

Thanks for the kind words! I hope he can at least move on to compete in a few more polls, but either way I'm happy to participate! I've been thinking about entering him for years and this time just felt right with all the new entrees! It's going to be an exciting year!

BTW the sand spirit...I've been calling him The Lich. But that seems like more of a title than a name. I'm totally open to ideas on that one!