A misty jungle. Rain. The Beast Man Rqazz is fleeing through the trees and thick foliage. His only garb is a loincloth. His fur is matted with blood from an apparent flogging. His wrists are shackled by a short length of chain. His ankles are also shackled but the chain is broken. He is being pursued by other beast men of his own tribe, who want him dead or alive for an unspoken crime.
Clad in armor and thick animal hides, the tribesmen appear. They slow down, and at the chieftain's signal, they fan out and search. One young warrior, eager to find his quarry, climbs a tall tree for a better view. As the others continue ahead, he scans the terrain intently. With no sound or warning, Rqazz's chain quickly falls around his neck and pulls tight, strangling him. Rqazz's strength is enormous as he holds the flailing Warrior dangling in the air, using only his legs to hold on to the tree. The young warrior quickly goes limp, and is dropped to the ground.
The tribesmen return, having noticed the warriors absence. They find his dead body stripped of weapons and armor. The chieftain is as saddened as he is angered. The pupil, so full of promise, now lost. Youth and potential wasted. No stories to ever be told of him. Another crime to add to Rqazz's list of atrocities.
The pursuit continues. The tribesmen are nearly upon Rqazz when they are abruptly ordered to stop. The chieftain steps to the front of the group. One of his men pleads to continue the chase, demanding justice. The Chieftan wears a large blue Talisman on his chest armor. He clutches it as he watches Rqazz disappear into the jungle ahead, quietly whispering a prayer to himself. He points out that Rqazz has entered the forbidden lands. No punishment they could ever give him will match the suffering he will find there.
"Never come back, Rqazz! We'll flay you alive!"
The rains continue. Rqazz looks for shelter, but is in unfamiliar territory. Days later, he discovers a huge cave, almost completely hidden by jungle growth. Huge spikes seem to be growing from the ground. He has to pass between them to enter the cave. It's completely dark inside. He ventures in just far enough to be out of the rain. Tired from fatigue and hunger, he rests.
He awakens later with no idea of how long he has slept. He feels a presence, like a voice inside his head, though he hears no sound. He looks around and sees the walls are bricked and realizes he's in no cave, but a man-made dwelling. Following the summons in his head, he finds a stairway leading downwards. He descends until he comes to a dungeon chamber. In it he finds a slimy pit writhing with the limbs and tentacles of various creatures. He notices the form of a man, struggling in this pit with a huge slug-like beast, wrapped around him, trying to pull him under.
Rqazz approaches and wrestles the slug thing away, and sinks his teeth into it's head, killing it. He begins to bite huge chunks from it, and we realize Rqazz wasn't trying to rescue the embattled man, but merely feeding his own ravenous hunger.
As Rqazz dines, the muck-covered man crawls weakly from the pit, and collapses face down on the floor. Rqazz eventually takes notice of him again. Still chewing his meal, he leans down and turns the body over, and looks upon a ghastly sight. The man's skin is a pale blue, with dark blue veins easily visible all over. The flesh on his face is decayed to the point where one can almost see the bare bone underneath the skin.
Rqazz recalls the image of a demon described to him in tales as a child. A creature that would drain the life force of it's victims while they slept. He recalls the name and says it aloud.
Skeletor.
Skeletor struggles to get up. Rqazz, because it doesn't inconvenience him to do so, offers a hand to help. To his surprise, the hand is shoved defiantly away. This stirs a rare feeling of curiosity and respect in Rqazz.
Shakily, Skeletor stands. Carefully, he walks. Slowly, to keep balance. Until he reaches a shallow pool of water on the floor, fed by drainage from the storm. He drops to his knees and drinks thirstily, rapidly bringing the water to his lips with his cupped hands again and again. His thirst satisfied, he finally notices his reflection in the pool, and begins to laugh, quietly at first, and then louder.
From outside the cave entrance, his laughter can be heard. Our view backs away until we see the cave is in fact the open Jawbridge to Castle Grayskull, obscured by trees and vines.
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