The Silver Millennium was a peaceful time period during the prehistoric age when the Moon Kingdom existed in harmony, along with the rest of the planets of the Solar System. The Moon Kingdom held a strong alliance with Earth, assisting one another with the advancement of mankind. It was all thanks to Queen Serenity, who ruled the Moon Kingbdom with a velvet glove and many had enjoyed her rule.
Her daughter, Princess Serenity, was next in line for the throne. Because of her importance, her safety was ensured by eight soldiers known as the Sailor Senshi.
Her four entrusted bodyguards were led by Sailor Venus the Soldier of Love. The rest of her closest aides consisted of Sailor Mercury the Soldier of Water, Sailor Mars the Soldier of Fire, and Sailor Jupiter the Soldier of Thunder. They were not only the princess's personal team, but also her closest friends.
The other four had been tasked with protecting the home world where the royal family resided. Sailor Uranus the Soldier of Sky and Sailor Neptune the Guardian of Sea we're responsible for protecting the kingdom's defenses and scouting towards incoming threats. Sailor Pluto the Soldier of Time was responsible for protecting a sacred artifact that no one but the Queen knew.
Sailor Saturn, the Soldier of Death and Rebirth, resides within the palace, hidden as a last resort.
These Sailor Senshi were not just soldiers of the Moon Kingdom. They were also princesses that ruled their own planets. Together, they brought peace and prosperity to the solar system.
However, they weren't the only ones that helped contribute to the Moon Kingdom.
Queen Serenity wasn't the only one with personal bodyguards. There came two warriors that served as the queen's shadow. These two were on par with the Sailor Senshi when it came their power. Although they had illuminated in the light, they were also shrouded in darkness.
They were the Order of Eos, warriors of dawn.
This is the tale of the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium days they've spent in a certain royal palace.
XXX
"Are you still sleeping on the job again, Tenebrae?"
Tenebrae opened his blue eyes and looked up. His black hair was tied into a long ponytail. His uniform was dark blue with a shoulderguard on his left.
"Hey you'd be sleeping too if you were bored, Lux," he retorted with a grunt.
Lux had light violet hair that was in a short hime-cut. His eyes were a pair of magenta.
He gave his fellow guard a stern look. "Still, you've got a job to do."
Tenebrae groaned as he stood up from the grass. "All I'm doing is compiling a useless encyclopedia that no one is ever going to remember. That pretty much makes my job redundant."
"That is so like you," Lux remarked.
Tenebrae ignored that comment. "Besides, I can't think of anything to write. Why can't Mercury do it?"
Lux shook his head. "Her duty as one of the princess's bodyguards is more important. I highly doubt that she'd be free to do any of that stuff."
Tenebrae groaned. This totally sucks!
Suddenly, the alarm rang through the palace.
"That's our cue!" Lux shouted. "Let's get to the queen!"
Tenebrae nodded eagerly. Finally, some action! With that, they grabbed onto the sheaths of their swords and sprinted inside the palace.
XXX
The duo ran through the palace corridors, though it was quite the long distance since the palace itself was huge. After finding the directions, they had arrived in front of the queen's chambers without losing breath. They barged through the door in a haste.
"My queen, are you alright?!" Lux called out as the two of them hoped that the queen was alright.
They sighed in relief as they saw the matriarch of the royal family. She was considered to be a beauty to behold as her silver hair trailed down like split paths due to how tied her hair was. She was quite a tall woman that held an aura of elegance and regality, though there was an underlying thick layer of kindness.
Queen Serenity smiled warmly as soon as she saw her two bodyguards.
"I'm quite fine, Lux," she assured. "However, I need you to assist the rest of the Senshi out in the field."
Lux nodded. "Yes, your majesty." With that, he was off.
"I'll go too-" Tenebrae said before the queen raised a hand to stop him.
"That won't be necessary," she said. "I believe that they'll have the situation under control."
"But your majesty, what if they're in trouble?" Tenebrae objected, desperate to get into the fight.
"They are capable fighters," the queen assured. "I have faith in their abilities."
She gave him a warm smile. "Just as much faith as I have in you protecting me."
This brightened up his expression with a dumb smile before he got fired up. "Alright! I'll make sure you're safe from harm, your highness!"
She gave a small giggle, seeing him become motivated.
"We should join them soon," Serenity said as she offered a hand. "Shall we?"
Tenebrae nodded as he gently took her hand before they left the chamber.
XXX
The battle between the Senshi and the youma was intense, yet the protectors of the Moon Kingdom had overcome such numbers due to their tremendous power.
Princess Serenity watched in sheer terror and worry, as she watched her closest friends fight off the baddies. She was a splitting image of her mother, though her hair was golden blonde. The princess wished that she could join in the fight to aid her allies, but her powers were still developing. What could she do?
Sailor Mercury had managed to keep the youma in a frenzy by shrouding them in cold mist, causing confusion amongst the enemy. She served as the princess's strategist, using tactics to defeat the enemy.
Sailor Venus used her whip to vanquish each and every one of the youma.
"The enemy's numbers are dwindling, keep pushing forward!" She exclaimed.
Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter used an array of attacks to defeat them. Both of them were like a pair of arms, being the muscles that's strong to overcome these enemies. However, Mars had spiritual power while Jupiter held raw strength.
Slowly, the numbers began to dwindle. However, the youma held strong as they pushed harder. Despite the Senshi being stronger, the youma were still a threat as their various abilities had managed to deliver damage due to their numbers.
"There's still more of them," Jupiter exclaimed, delivering another lightning projectile. "We need reinforcements!"
"I'll get Uranus and Neptune," Princess Serenity said as she was about to leave.
"That won't be necessary, princess."
She turned to see Lux arriving on time, sword already unsheathed and in hand. He ran towards the battlefield and began to hack his way through. With flashy swordplay and elegant movement, the youma's numbers began to decrease rapidly.
"Retreat!" One youma shouted as panic began to arise.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Another cried out as the youma began to flee.
"Let's go after them while we still have a chance!" Mars exclaimed, preparing to take off.
"Don't!" Serenity shouted, causing everyone to turn to her. "We need to make sure everyone is safe."
"But the youma-" Mars tried to object.
"You heard the princess," Venus cut off. "Her orders are absolute."
"My apologies, princess," Lux said as he lifted up his sword. "My orders are from the queen. And they are to assist you in eliminating the youma."
"That won't be necessary, Lux."
Everyone turned to see Queen Serenity arriving on the scene with Tenebrae behind her. In an instant, the Senshi knelt before her.
"Your highness, I didn't expect you to arrive," Venus stated, head down.
"Please rise," the queen ordered, making everyone do so. "You have all done well in keeping my daughter safe. While the youma threat has finally been dealt with, we shall join up with Uranus and Neptune to see if they're alright."
Everyone nodded as everybody followed her. Lux walked next to Tenebrae, sheathing his sword.
"So how many this time?" Tenebrae asked.
"The Senshi had most of them," Lux groaned. "So it was practically the smallest count I had."
"At least you get to fight youma," Tenebrae mumbled. "I'm practically still an exclusive guard."
"Well, being the queen's bodyguard should be an honor for you," Lux said. "I thought that you would be happy about it."
"I am, but at least you've get to mix things up a bit," Tenebrae retorted. "You get to be sent out of the field more than I could count."
"You will have your chance," Lux assured. "I'm sure the queen has something in store for you."
"Probably some sort of boring thing like compiling an encyclopedia," Tenebrae grumbled. "It's not like people are actually going to read it since it'll be ancient history by then."
"Careful, Tenebrae," a voice from behind said. "You might hurt my mother's feelings."
Both guards turned to see Princess Serenity walking towards them with a smile.
"Princess," Tenebrae greeted. "Shouldn't you be with the rest of your Senshi?"
She hand-waved that question. "They're right behind me, so I'll be fine."
"Besides," she turned to Tenebrae. "As much as I enjoy their company, you both being here makes it all the better."
"How flattering," Tenebrae flatly said. Lux chuckled at his unenthusiastic response.
The younger Serenity puffed her cheeks. "Geez, you could at least be happier about it!"
"Don't mind him," Lux said. "He's still bitter at the fact that he's put on guard duty rather than being sent on the field."
"I just don't understand why though! We've been doing this for many cycles and I'm the only that gets stuck behind the scenes," Tenebrae exclaimed, venting his frustrations. "When is my time to shine?!"
Lux places a hand on his fellow bodyguard's shoulder to calm him down. "You'll get your chance."
"Besides, isn't being my mother's bodyguard a really big honour for you?" Serenity asked.
"Don't get me wrong," Tenebrae said. "While I am content in my position, sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in a rut. I need to mix up my duties that make me more proactive."
"Then why don't you assist the scholars in recording the Moon encyclopedia?" she suggested.
"I said proactive, not reactive," he reiterated, looking irate himself.
"Maybe if you actually took the time to train, you would actually be deployed more," came from the voice of Mars.
The trio turned to see the rest of the Sailor Senshi join them.
"I do train," Tenebrae said, clearly indignant.
"Oh, and napping on the grass counts as training?" Mars retorted.
"Yeah! It builds heat resistance!" Tenebrae justified, yet no one bought it.
"I'll show you heat resistance," Mars seethed as she was held back by Jupiter.
"Alright, break it up," Jupiter sighed as she tried to hold her fiery companion back.
"Besides, Tenebrae," Mercury added. "There's nothing wrong with organizing an encyclopedia. It's a huge responsibility."
Tenebrae rolled his eyes. "I'm not a scholar like you, Mercury."
She shook her head with a small frown. "You don't have to be a scholar to partake in this kind of responsibility."
"Guys, cut him some slack," Venus assured them. "He's got enough on his plate as the queen's bodyguard."
Tenebrae smiled. "Thank you."
"Besides, if he ever did mess up, Lux would eventually clean it up."
Tenebrae deadpanned. "Yes, thank you for the vote of confidence."
"Now, ladies," Lux said sternly yet kindly. "You are underestimating Tenebrae's abilities. Just because he always slacks off doesn't mean that he is not capable of focus."
"Well, if Lux says that Tenebrae's strong, then he's strong," Serenity said. Truth be told, she also thought that the underachiever was strong as well. How do you think he got into the Order of Eos?
"I know he's strong, but the Outers don't seem to think so," Jupiter mused.
Out of the most critical, three of the four Outer Senshi were the most harshest. While Neptune did her best to delicately critique his abilities, Uranus had not only tore into his skills, but gored them without mercy. Pluto's was very blunt and straight to the point, tactless yet more reasonable than the Sky Scout.
Saturn was practically the only one that would show kindness since she doesn't do much fighting due to her powers.
"They'll see it sooner or later," Lux assured. Tenebrae smiled at his brother-in-arms. Always count on him to have his assurance. It's more reassuring since Lux was probably the only one that could match the Senshi with equal power.
Maybe he could finally prove his chance.
While the group were in their small group chat, Queen Serenity heard what they were talking about. She couldn't help but smile as they failed their attempts to make it a private conversation.
Still, maybe it was time for Tenebrae to prove himself. He had been working quite hard on his swordplay. Plus, his powers were still starting to get stronger than when he first joined the guard.
Soon, they arrived at their destination where the queen noticed two familiar figures.
"Ah, Neptune. Uranus. What is the situation of the battlefield?"
Queen Serenity's voice pulled the group out of their small conversation.
The two Outer Senshi had approached the group as they were about to report on their scout sightings.
"We've driven off the youma," Neptune began. "Yet, it seemed that they were looking for something."
"This is the third time they've tried to attack us," Uranus scowled. "I don't know what they're trying to pull, but we need to act fast and eliminate them sooner or later."
Queen Serenity held her hand to calm Uranus. "For now, we need to bolster our defenses. We can't afford to lose too much."
"But we won't have any time to prepare the search!" Uranus objected. "This will become a cycle of danger!"
The queen did not lose her smile. "That is why I have decided to send out the Order of Eos on a winter scouting party to find the youma's base of operations."
Everyone's eyes had widened. Tenebrae was stunned with jubilation while Lux nodded with determination.
"Your highness, I can understand Lux...," Uranus pointed at Tenebrae. "But why send the fool out on such a dangerous mission?!"
"Now, Uranus," Neptune held onto her partner's shoulder. "While I may have my doubts on this, you must respect her highness's decision."
The aquanette gave Tenebrae a gentle smile. "Besides, I trust that he will get the mission done."
Uranus stared at her partner in disbelief before she turned her head away. "Tch."
"Well now that everything is settled, let us return to the palace and recover from this attack," the queen said.
"Yes, your highness," both the Senshi and the Eos guards said as they began to return home.
"What about the citizens, mother?" The princess asked. "Won't they panic at the fact that we had been attacked?"
The queen smiled. "Pluto is handling that as we speak."
Tenebrae smiled. He always enjoyed his visits to the Time Gates just to annoy her when he was off-duty. It was funny to see her lose her cool, albeit rarely.
He looked up at the sky and sighed softly.
"What's the matter, Tenebrae?" Lux asked.
Tenebrae looked at his brother. "I'm just wondering how Pluto is doing?"
Lux rolled his eyes. "You're practically hanging around the Time Gates bugging her. Even I'm not able to reach them."
"It's easy," Tenebrae said. "All you have to do is-"
"Pluto!"
The princess's voice had snapped them out of their conversation as they approached the Senshi of Time. She gave a small nod before rolling her eyes at Tenebrae's waving of hello.
"The people are calmed, your highness," Pluto reported.
The queen nodded. "Now we must rest and prepare for the worst."
Everyone nodded. Tenebrae looked out at the sky. Maybe once his time will finally shine, peace will be reign in this Silver Millennium.
Tenebrae began to walk back to his quarters. However, he felt someone grab onto his wrist. Turning around, he saw that it was Princess Serenity.
"Could you meet me by my room tonight?" She requested.
Tenebrae sighed. Another nightly visit again? Oh, well. "Of course, your highness."
The princess puffed her cheeks. "I told you to call me by my real name when we're in private, Astraeus."
Tenebrae chuckled. "Of course, Selene."
XXX
A/N: And so our prequel begins! Usually I would write this very later, yet I felt like there are big plans. So this would be a series of short stories that revolve around the Silver Millennium.
You can request which interactions you wish to see during the time.
I decided to give everyone "real names" since I feel that names such as Mars, Mercury .i.e are merely titles for their respective planets.
Names:
Princess Serenity = Selene
Queen Serenity = Theia
Mercury = Larunda
Mars = Nerio
Jupiter = Hera
Venus = Voluptas
Pluto = Persephone
Uranus = Gaia
Neptune = Salacia
Saturn = Rhea
Tenebrae = Astraeus
Lux = Apollo
Only Endymion remains unchanged since his makes sense as Tuxedo Mask and being an Earth native. I don't use their reincarnated names because this is set in the Silver Millennium. Venus was a name that I changed with reluctance since hers fits as the name is that of a goddess. In the end, I decided that everyone needs the name change for equality. Serenity is probably the name of the royal moon family.
Tell me what you think. And request what kind of interaction you would like to see.