The Crystal Castle

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The Crystal Castle is a fictional castle in the animated television series She-Ra: Princess of Power. It is a place of refuge for She-Ra, which she must keep secret from anybody else. Within the castle resided a magical entity named Light Hope, which acts as a guide and mentor for She-Ra.

[edit] History of The Crystal Castle

Long ago a castle was built on the summit of Etheria's highest peak, Skydancer Mountain. This building was The Crystal Castle. Like Castle Grayskull, on Etheria's sister planet Eternia, the castle serves as a refuge for the series' protagonist. The origins of the Castle and how She-Ra found it are revealed in the episode The Crystal Castle.

Shadow Weaver launched a series of brutal magical assaults on Bright Moon for the specific purpose of exhausting the magic that maintained its defenses. The reason for this was an approaching lunar eclipse that would darken the three Etherian moons from which Queen Angella's magic is derived and render her powerless, making Bright Moon ripe for conquest. The Rebellion's only hope was for She-Ra to find the mythical Crystal Castle. She-Ra realizes what she must do. Knowing of the links between the trolls and the Castle, She-Ra sought Ahgo, a very powerful sorcerer and King of the Trolls of Spikeheart, to ask him the location of the Castle. King Ahgo, was the only one she knew who had seen the castle. The Trolls distrust humans due to the fact that the Etherians rejected their offer of help when the Horde first arrived, so Ahgo is unwilling to tell She-Ra the location of The Crystal Castle. She-Ra is able to convince Ahgo that she can be trusted. He didn't tell her the location directly, but instead gave her a riddle.

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"The Castle is always where its seeker most wants it to be. In plain sight, yet never seen. This is its nature."

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She-Ra understands and sets off to The Crystal Castle on Skydancer Mountain, whose peak is constantly surrounded and hidden from sight by a dense cloud bank. As Shadow Weaver's final attack on the castle begins, She-Ra enters the Castle and finds Light Hope, who explains the only way to stop Shadow Weaver is to find The Great Clock that measures out all time on Etheria and cause it to move faster, thus speeding up time itself. He transports She-Ra and Swift Wind to the clock, and after battling a trio of gargoyles, She-Ra reaches the Clock and speeds up its movements, causing the eclipse to end. Angella's magic is restored to full strength and she easily defeats Shadow Weaver. After the attack, She-Ra goes back to The Crystal Castle, and Light Hope tells her the Castle is her haven, and that she must keep its location secret from any others who do not know her secret. She agrees and the Crystal Castle remains a place of legend to all Etherians. The people who know She-Ra's secret and about the Castle are He-Man, Kowl, Loo-Kee, Swift Wind and Madame Razz. Only these few trusted allies joined She-Ra to see Light Hope. It should be noted in the episode "Out Of The Cocoon" Flutterina also visited the Crystal Castle with She-Ra upon discovering her own powers. She is the only one, next to Ahgo, out of the very few people on Etheria that knows of Light Hope and The Crystal Castle's whereabouts, but does not know that Adora and She-Ra are one and the same. ^[1]

Because the Castle was shrouded in legend and myth, Hordak and his Evil Horde never attempted to attack it, unlike Skeletor who was always trying to capture Castle Grayskull for his own nefarious plans.

Light Hope

[edit] Light Hope

Light Hope is a magical entity composed entirely of light. He is the guardian of The Crystal Castle, and acts as a mentor and advisor for She-Ra in her battle against Hordak and the Horde. He was portrayed by Lou Scheimer.

Light Hope is also one those on Etheria that know Adora is She-Ra. The entity, created by the founders of Etheria, called the First Ones, built the Crystal Castle on top of Skydancer Mountain. The mountain, not too far from The Whispering Woods within the Kingdom of Brightmoon.

Light Hope appears outside the Castle in the episodes, "The Stone In The Sword", "Treasure of the First Ones", and "The Day The Whispering Woods Bloomed". He also appears in the stone of the Sword in various episodes such as "Shades of Orko" and "Darksmoke and Fire".

Light Hope is kind of the equivalent to the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull. In spite of being introduced in the opening credits as one of She-Ra's trusted friends, Light Hope appears in only 15 out of the 93 episodes of the series, being introduced in the episode, The Crystal Castle, the 22nd produced episode of the series.

On DVD, he also appears in the "Best of She-Ra: Princess of Power" episodes entitled, "Of Shadows And Skulls" and "The Stone In The Sword."