Celestial Warrior Moon:
Memories of the Silver Millennium
Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon related properties. Sailor Moon is the property of Toei Animation and Naoko Takeuchi. This is a fan work created to celebrate the work. It is not intended to infringe on any copyrights.
Cover image by SomeoftheFame. Thank you so, so much, man.
Author's Introduction: Hello and welcome, good readers, to the prequel of Celestial Warrior Moon. This is going to be a lot shorter than the main fic, but it still isn't going to be short, really, since everyone's getting full backstories, from the Warriors/Senshi, to other Moon dwellers, Earthlings, the Dark Kingdom, everyone.
Content Warning: This chapter contains a scene of intense violent and some nasty gore. New readers please be warned before continuing. However, I would not recommend this as a good jumping on point for new readers.
Also For new readers: Read up to Chapter 84 of the main fic and then come here before moving onto Chapter 85. Yes, that is a lot of chapters. I apologize in advance. This is split off as its own fic in a futile attempt to keep the sheer size of the main fic somewhat under control. Yeah, it's kinda too late for that, I know.
Anyway, a couple of notes before diving in, it occurred to me that the Moon Kingdom would have developed its own calendar system. We use a lunar calendar based on the moon's phases. Obviously, the Moon Kingdom couldn't do the same thing, so I came up with one for them that uses the number of times the Moon rotates around the Earth in a year as their months. It only does so thirteen times a year despite it looking like a nightly thing from our vantage point down here. So yeah, the Moon Kingdom calendar has thirteen months. Twelve of those months will have 28 days, and the last month will have 29 to add up to a full 365. They're named using the Classic Greek numeral system. Greek numerals work like Roman ones, in which the symbols/words stack to count up past 10.
1 Alpha
2 Beta
3 Gamma
4 Delta
5 Epsilon
6 Digamma
7 Zeta
8 Eta
9 Theta
10 Iota
11 Iota-Alpha
12 Iota-Beta
13 Iota-Gamma
And there you have it. It's not fancy, but I'm not the world-building genius J.R.R. Tolkien was.
And the most widely used calendar on Earth at the time was the Julian calendar, the precursor to our current Gregorian calendar. The two are very similar, but the Gregorian calendar corrects the year length by 0.002% (no joke), so you won't need to worry about cross-referencing dates or anything like that.
Remembering a Kingdom
It had been months since Usagi first revealed her dreams and visions to Luna, and asked her what the Moon Kingdom was like. Now, she no longer needed someone else's hearsay, but she still recalled the conversation well.
Luna stared, wide-eyed and slack jawed as Usagi finished speaking. Usagi let out a long breath.
"…And that's it. These dreams have to mean something. I get the part about finding the Silver Crystal being important, but what's this about a Golden Sword? And did the real Moon Kingdom really look almost like a modern city with a dome over it?" she asked.
Luna sunk back in her chair from the shock and looked away, staring off into space as this bomb hit her.
"Luna?" Usagi said, waving her hand in an attempt to get her attention.
How had Usagi received such visions? Everything she had described was accurate to things she couldn't know about. There had never really been any time to discuss what the Moon Kingdom was like and she was certainly never told them about the Golden Blade.
"Luna?" this time, Usagi was louder and more forceful.
The possibilities spun around in Luna's head as she tried to make sense of this.
"Luna!" With a great shake, Luna was dragged out of her trance.
Luna jerked back with a cry. She was suddenly lookng into Usagi's big eyed stare.
"Oh, Usagi," Luna said, as comprehension came back to her.
The two sat staring each other awkwardly for a moment longer.
"Sorry about that," Luna then added apologetically. "You just gave me a real shock there."
"Really?" Usagi asked, intrigued. "How?"
"You might want to sit down," Luna replied.
Usagi nodded and obeyed, taking seat on Luna's bed again. Luna took a deep breath, and began:
"The Moon Kingdom was a great nation of modern wonders, the likes of which Earth is just now beginning to catch up with. However, even this modern era of technological wonders still a good few more decades before it matches the Moon Kingdom's level."
Usagi nodded, indicating that she was listening. Luna continued:
"On the moon, we had concrete streets, buildings made of crystal and glass instead of iron and glass, and cars, trucks, and motorcycles. We had electricity, but it wasn't fueled by a power plant in traditional Earth terms." Luna then paused.
"The Silver Crystal, right?" Usagi guessed.
Luna nodded.
"You got it," Luna answered, with growing enthusiasm.
Then Luna stood up and held up her hands as she really started to get into her lecture.
"It powered everything! Lamps, lights, the cars, the dome, our artificial gravity, our air supply, absolutely everything!" Luna said.
At that, Usagi blinked as she grew curious.
"Your air supply?" she asked, inquisitively.
"Well, yes," Luna replied, beginning to slowly walk around the room. "The moon has no inherent atmosphere of its own. So we had to develop an artificial one using our technology and the crystal's power."
Usagi looked confused.
"So…you're not from the moon originally?" Usagi asked, confused.
"Well, of course not!" Luna replied. "No one can live there unless they build the necessary facilities first."
"But you were there a long time, right?" Usagi asked.
"Oh, yes, we were there a good ten thousand years before the fall," Luna answered.
"So you've been here eleven thousand years," Usagi stated to make sure she had this right.
"Right," Luna replied, pointing at her to punctuate the response.
"How long did the Silver Millennium last?" Usagi asked.
Luna held up her hands, hopelessly at the girl.
"About the length of its namesake, Usagi," Luna answered in a tone that told Usagi that she really should have guessed that one. "From 10 B.C. to 992 A.D. The Silver Millennium was an era of untold prosperity for our kingdom. Then the Dark Kingdom invaded with all the power of their leader, Metalia, backing them up, and it fell to ruin. It was on the night of our princess's wedding, too."
Luna said that last statement with a great deal of melancholy.
"Really?" Usagi asked, becoming fascinated.
"Oh, yes," Luna replied. "She was to be wed to a prince from Earth to form a permanent alliance with a powerful kingdom on this planet."
Usagi leaned back, and her eyes lit up as if she had just thought of something.
"Speaking of kingdoms, I'm Celestial Warrior Moon, right? I represent the Moon Kingdom, specifically, right?" she asked.
Luna nodded.
"That is correct."
"So were the other planets inhabited and had their own kingdoms, too?" Usagi asked.
Luna shook her head.
"No, the other Celestial Warriors simply draw their power from the planets. The other planets just aren't inhabitable," Luna explained.
"Eh?" Usagi asked. "We draw our power from the big rocks floating in space?"
Luna chuckled and leaned back.
"Well, it's more that you draw your power from their cores. Each planet has a core that is the gravitational center that holds the whole thing together and in its place orbiting around the sun. But there's more to them than that, something science can't detect," Luna explained. "The cores of many planets are full of cosmic power from an unknown source. No one knows why, but that energy forms into crystals, called Warrior Crystals. They're somewhat like the Silver Crystal. You have one inside you…well, not physically, but your Warrior Crystal is attached to your spirit."
Usagi held a hand to her chest.
"I've got a crystal attached to me, giving me the power of the moon?" she asked.
"Yes, and the Beryllus Crystals in the bodies of Beryl's generals are crude copies of a Warrior Crystal. The concept is the same, though. Fuse a human soul with a Warrior Crystal and they're granted great power," Luna explained. "Anyone fated to become a Celestial Warrior had high standing in the Moon Kingdom as a Lady of the court."
"So what were the Warriors doing before the Moon Kingdom came along?" Usagi asked.
"Nothing. This was a primitive solar system, devoid of Warriors. I don't know the method she used, but Queen Serenity somehow cultivated the planet cores to birth the Warrior Crystals," Luna answered.
"So how did she keep the Crystals from appearing in someone on Earth?" Usagi asked.
"The Warrior Crystals pass down family lines, mother to daughter."
"Huh?" Usagi blurted out, surprised.
"You see, when a Celestial Warrior gives birth to a daughter, she gradually loses her Warrior Crystal and eventually she ceases to be one, because she passes the crystal onto the next Warrior, her daughter. Well, presumably to her daughter," Luna told her.
"Geez," Usagi said, both troubled and amazed. "That must suck when the kid's still like, six, and you really need a Warrior."
"That's why Celestial Warriors were forbidden by law to become pregnant around the same time as one another," Luna responded with a sigh.
"That's harsh," Usagi said, more troubled than before.
"Well, being a Celestial Warrior carries a lot of responsibility. You have to make sacrifices. You've already experienced some of the hardships of being who you are," Luna said.
"So what happens if a Warrior dies before she has a daughter?" Usagi asked.
"The next runner-up in the family can inherit the soul link to the crystal. I have no idea what happens if there are no other potential heirs," Luna replied with a shrug.
"So anyone could be a Warrior if they were in the right family?" Usagi asked, cynically.
"Eh, yes and no. The Crystals are not completely without a will of their own. They aren't alive in the traditional sense of the word, but they only join themselves to those strong and noble in spirit," Luna explained.
Then Luna smirked.
"You'd be amazed at how many times an illegitimate child of one of the nobles would receive the Warrior Crystal over their more wealthy relatives," she said with a laugh. "The last Jupiter before the fall was one such case, a baker's daughter, as a matter of fact. That's why we're almost certain you girls are descended from the Celestial Warrior's family lines."
Usagi nodded, accepting this information.
"Alright, so what was the standing of the Celestial Warriors in the Moon Kingdom, exactly? From what you say, it sounds like they were lords, or, er… ladies," Usagi said.
"They were. The Moon kingdom was a matriarchal society, largely. Yes, I know the word 'kingdom' implies otherwise, but queendom just doesn't sound as good," Luna with a bit of humor.
"Okay, then…" Usagi paused, shaking her head.
"I can't believe I never sat down to talk about this with you before," Usagi said in disbelief at her lack of consideration for the topic.
Luna chuckled.
"Let's be fair, here, Usagi. There was always something else important on your mind all those other times," she said in good humor.
"Yeah, I guess, but still…" Usagi replied.
"And in case you're wondering, the other Celestial Warriors all lived in their own properties in the Moon Kingdom. Here, let me show you," Luna said.
She turned towards the desk and took out a piece of paper and a pencil. She drew something on it, turned back around, and held it up for Usagi to see. The image looked a little like a flower or the inside of a honeycomb. It was seven hexagons connected together. One in the middle with the other six surrounding it in a circle. The center piece read "Moon District; Capitol". The top was "Venus District". The "Mercury" and "Mars" districts made up the upper and lower right, respectively. "Jupiter District" was on the bottom, and the "Uranus" and "Neptune" districts were the lower and upper left pieces, respectively.
"Former Celestial Warriors would take the role of the ruling Lady of their district after their child Awakened. Their daughters meanwhile served in their role as the Celestial Warriors," Luna said.
"Okay, but what about Earth, Saturn, and Pluto?" Usagi asked. "Where are their honeycombs? Are the others going to join us?"
"Uranus and Neptune's duties lie elsewhere, and as for Earth, for some reason or another, there never was a Celestial Warrior Earth. While the Celestial Warriors of the inner galaxy are the Princess's body guards and the Queen's confidants, the others had other duties. Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn guarded the Outer Rim of this solar system from all outside threats. They were the first line of defense we had against anything that invaded from outside," Luna answered. "They will again fill that duty, someday."
Usagi pouted and let out a 'humph'.
"They didn't do a very good job! They let Metalia right in."
That got her a slap across a face from Luna. Usagi fell back, clutching her cheek where she had been struck, utterly shocked.
"Show some respect!" Luna roared angrily, shooting up from her seat. "Ouranos and Amphitrite, who were the Warriors Uranus and Neptune at the time, died trying to stop Metalia from invading the Sol System. It took Queen Serenity and the power of Silver Crystal to wear that thing down enough to seal it away! Because of that, young relatives of theirs', younger than you are, had to take up their charge! Pluto was gracious enough to teach them and lead them until they were old enough to patrol the Outer Rim on their own."
"Sorry…" Usagi apologized, pitifully. "I guess I didn't think before I spoke."
Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming down. She sat back down.
"It's alright. You didn't know. Sorry I overreacted. Did I hit you hard?" Luna asked, considerately.
"Nah, I'm fine," Usagi said, still rubbing her cheek.
"Anyway," Luna continued. "Pluto was exclusively the Guardian of Time and Space, keeping reality flowing on its natural course, so the less attention that was drawn to her, the better. And Saturn…"
Luna trailed off, looking very distressed. She sighed.
"Saturn is, or was, rather the Warrior of Death and Rebirth. She was lost to us in a great battle against an evil from another galaxy. I believe they came from the…" Luna paused as she tried to recall. "The Tau Ceti Star System."
Luna was hesitant to just say it, since she wasn't sure she was remembering it correctly. She shook it off and waved her hand dismissively.
"Well, the name itself is not important. They called themselves the Deathbusters, and they were led by one of their generals, The Mistress 9," Luna exposited.
The way that last title rolled off the tongue sent Usagi shivers.
"What did they want?" Usagi asked, almost afraid to know.
"They wanted to open a gateway to Earth for their leader, Pharaoh 90 (before you ask, no, I don't know the significance of the numbers in their names, Usagi), so he could assimilate himself into Earth. Their plan was to establish a powerful stronghold in this part of the galaxy," Luna answered.
"So what happened to Saturn?" Usagi asked.
Luna shrugged.
"I don't know. She fought Mistress 9 woman-to-woman, and it's said that they both perished. I once asked Myddin about it… couldn't get him to tell me. He looked… disturbed by the memory, though. Myddin is a man of many millennia. He's seen many things, great and terrible, so if Saturn's fate unsettles him so, we can both assume it was real, real bad," Luna said in a low voice.
Usagi chewed her lip uncomfortably.
"Let's change the subject," she said suddenly. "So you said you guys were originally from someplace else? Where?"
Luna let out a single melancholic laugh.
"Where, indeed? I would imagine that space has long since been filled by something else, as the place we came from no longer exists," Luna said. "It was called, Planet Khrono, though, of the Chronia galaxy. Don't bother asking Ami about it. It hasn't existed for 11 and a half millennia and will be found in none of Earth's astronomy texts and charts."
Usagi didn't know to be incredulous or terrified.
"Doesn't exist anymore? What could have wiped out a huge collection of millions, or billions of stars and planets?" Usagi asked, scratching her head.
"A black hole, for starters, but that's not what hit the Chronia galaxy," Luna replied. "There was a war, a great galactic war. Everyone lost. The only survivors were our ancestors who boarded the Deep Space Arks and fled for their lives. Queen Khrono sent them away with the Silver Crystal in their keeping."
"And you came to the moon," Usagi said. "Why didn't you just come to Earth?"
"Well, our ancestors couldn't breathe the atmosphere of any of this system's planets in the beginning. They also had nowhere else they could go by that point that could be reached with their limited supplies," Luna answered. "So they used their technology and the power of the Silver Crystal to terraform a section of the moon. They built themselves a dome, built the first buildings by scavenging parts of the arks and whatever materials they could use up there and developed a supply of Khrono air. They gradually introduced Earth oxygen into it. The plan was to slowly evolve to become tolerant of it and then relocate to Earth. By the time they had switched to Earth air entirely, they had settled onto the moon pretty comfortably."
"I see," Usagi replied. After a pause, she added: "So what caused the war? How come the queen of Khrono didn't go with her people?"
"Don't know. It's a mystery. While floating around in space with nowhere to call their home, that knowledge was lost," Luna answered. "They left in a big hurry and in their struggle for survival, recording all the details probably didn't seem that important, as silly as that sounds. What is known is the Chronia galaxy's solar systems started fighting amongst themselves for whatever reason. Power, territory, religion, who knows? It was chaos that was for sure."
Usagi's hand moved from her cheek and started rubbing the back of her head and then made its way up to her hair where it started scratching.
"I didn't realize how dark the Moon Kingdom's history was," she said.
Luna laughed at that.
"Well, it's history, Usagi. In all eras and places, it's made up of 80% war," she said.
"So what about this Moon Princess, the Earth prince, and the Golden Sword, then?" Usagi asked.
"Princess Serena, Prince Endymion, and the Sword of Heroes," Luna commented idly. "Serena was the last princess of the Moon Kingdom, and a real handful at times."
She looked at Usagi with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Not unlike you," Luna said, teasingly.
Usagi blew her a raspberry in return. Luna ignored that, and turned her eyes away sadly.
"A Princess, a royal pain, and a very dear friend," Luna muttered wistfully.
"You… knew her?" Usagi asked, hesitating to say anything that might upset Luna.
Luna chuckled ruefully.
"Knew her? I was the daughter of the one of the queen's personal maids. I grew up in the palace with her. We played together all the time. I was her only real friend. Friends are a rare commodity when you're royalty, and I knew that. I was named Serena's personal attendant when I was twelve. We were always together," Luna paused before continuing. "Then she got engaged to Prince Endymion of Camelot."
"Camelot?" Usagi questioned. "Camelot, as in King Arthur, Merlin, the sword in the stone, and all that? THAT Camelot?"
"Oh, yes, that Camelot. It was the primary adversary of The Dark Kingdom down here on Earth. Of course, Morgan la Fey becoming Metalia's right hand servant at the time probably helped them make that decision," Luna said dryly.
"Who's Morgan la Fey?"
"…Oh, right, you probably know nothing about her. Morgan la Fey was the jealous older half-sister of Arthur. She felt that the kingdom should be hers', or at least be ruled by her son, Mordred, since Arthur was illegitimate."
"But he pulled the sword from the stone," Usagi asserted.
"Indeed, he did. It was the first time in history the Golden Sun began to be passed down a family line," Luna said.
"Eh?"
Luna sighed.
"Herald, Gigas, Dyrnwyn, Fragarach, Shamshire-e Zomorrodnegar, Skofnung, Dáinsleif, Gram, Excalibur, and many more… The blade has been called many names and celebrated in myths and legends throughout history, but they all speak of the same weapon: The Golden Blade, the sword of heroes. If they be worthy, they will wield its power," Luna said, mysteriously. "No one truly knows its origins, but Queen Serenity and Myddin had a theory about it."
"Oh?" Usagi said, sitting on the edge of her seat.
"Uh-huh. They theorized that it's how the Warrior Crystal of Earth manifested itself," Luna explained. "In fact the kings of Camelot used the sword as a means to decide who succeeded them. That is how they survived as long as they did against the Dark Kingdom without our direct help. They would literally stick the sword back into the stone at the time one king passed away and the person who could draw it out next was named king or queen."
"That makes sense. Only the worthy can have it," Usagi said, happily.
By now, though, Luna was looking anything but happy as old memories and wounds came to the forefront. When she spoke again, it was with great sorrow and weight.
"When Endymion and Serena began courting, the Moon Kingdom came to Camelot's aid in the final campaign against the Dark Kingdom, as led by Morgan la Fey, but like a hydra, cut off one head, and another shall take its place. Times were peaceful for a while, but then a young woman named Beryl, who had been a Sage in the king's court, took Morgan's place after losing everything. The Dark Kingdom was born anew. They came down on us without warning and without mercy on what should have been the happiest night for both the Moon Kingdom and Camelot. It didn't help that the prince's personal attendants turned traitor," she said, finishing her story.
"Attendants?" Usagi asked. She looked away as she mulled over who that might be, and then it clicked. "Beryl's four generals."
"Yep. As for your visions, Usagi, I don't know why you started having them," Luna replied. "But I'm sure there's a good reason for it. Why, without you bringing it up… I never would have imagined the Golden Blade might resurface."
"Why not?" Usagi asked.
"Well, it's been missing ever since the fall of the Moon Kingdom. After generations of being carried around by heroes and kings, it simply vanished," Luna answered with a clueless shrug. "Anyway, I'll have to sleep on these reoccurring dreams of yours'. Please let me know if there are any changes in them."
"Alright," Usagi nodded. She got up from the bed and headed over to the door.
She opened it, and then stopped and turned to Luna.
"Thanks for listening, and telling me everything. It really made a lot of things clear up for me," she said, and then exited the room.
"No problem," Luna called after her.
Once left alone, Luna sat deep in thought.
"I've never noticed before, but… Usagi… She looks so much like Serena, right down to the hairstyle. Could she be…?" she wondered. Luna bit her thumb apprehensively as she contemplated this while curling a strand of her hair around a finger on her other hand.
In her mind's eye, Usagi could see Luna's recollections had been accurate. More than that, though, she began remembering other things, too, such as how the alien refugees had discovered the Sol System in the year 9004 B.C., by Earth reckoning. Six years later, the travelers officially founded their nation and established their calendar, starting it at Year 1, M.N.S. The initials stood for "Metá to Néo Spíti", or "After Homecoming."
Usagi could now remember her former self was born in the year 9974, M.N.S. On Earth, the year was 976 A.D. Her birth had been on the 12th of the seventh Lunarian month, Zeta, or the June 30th.
"Wait, that's strange," Usagi thought. She sat and stared out Rei's bedroom window in the early morning hours. "I… the me I am now, or however the heck I should say that, was also born on June 30th. Wait… did I just calculate when Serena was born by Earth's calendar?! Holy crap, I have to tell Rei as soon as she wakes up! She'll freak!"
Though she remembered much, Usagi's scope of the events of surrounding her life had been limited by years of being restricted to living in the Lunar palace. She'd had little exposure to the outside world prior to when she began sneaking off to Earth, so there was much she was not privy to. And even some things that had happened within the castle walls which were kept from her.
One such secret now dwelled only in the memories of Keepers old enough to remember.
Next: The Prologue: The Birth of Princess Serena