The Chronicles of the White Moon: The dawn.
Author's comments: I'm archiving it over at another anime fanfiction portal under a different nickname. It's something I've been wanting to write for some time and I'm hoping to finish.
To every history, there must be a beginning. Even though at times it may seem that there is none, that seeking is pointless because indeed in many cases the sources have been lost to us, yet the quest in itself is a valorous task, praise-worthy. Undaunted by the derision on the part of my fellow scholars I myself have set upon one such quest, called forth by my inquisitive nature. I wanted to find the origins of the White Moon Family, of which our Queen, Serenity the Blessed, may she rule long, after all descends. You may yourselves laugh at me for my gullibility and naivety, for tracing the beginnings of the Moon Kingdom seems indeed hardly possible.
And yet I have been blessed to stumble upon the right sources, with the generous help of the Queen herself and of her friends and I live to tell this tale.
It all began one dreary November morning, when our Crystal Tokio was still undergoing the process of regeneration after the great freeze that put our world to sleep for nearly 10 centuries. You may disagree, but I always thought of it as a sort of punishment sent by the Gods for all our misdeeds and evil that were committed by ourselves or on our behalf. Yet it seemed that henceforth it would bloom in peace, for our new rulers were kind and just people. Their wise hand, I remember thinking, would guide us to a possibly utopian future. I have every reason to believe so, since the Queen ordered that every soul in the city must be purged of evil upon entrance to the new city. There were but a few who dared question the order and those were sent off to a dark corner of the universe. But that is their problem, if they did not wish to share the happiness with the rest of us then perhaps it is better that the are gone.
Pondering over those extraordinary events and enjoying the fading warmth of sunshine (winter would come soon, after all) I was suddenly struck with the notion that actually we know very little of the origins of the King's and Queen's genealogy. We were only told that many millennia ago there existed a White Moon Kingdom that thrived in peace with the Kingdom of the Earth. Verily, one of my profession finds it rather hard to believe without substantial evidence and so many of my colleagues did indeed feel compelled to question the truthfulness of such unsubstantiated tales, waving them off as fables and legends told merely to increase the significance of the new dynasty.
Yet since I have never followed the crowd, I began to question their conclusions. It is after all so easy to dispel theses without first checking them. But then every time I felt a determination rising within me to embark upon this path of truth, doubts stopped me in my tracks. The same doubts that become the nightmare of every scholar wishing to convey the absolute, objective truth. Lack of sources.
But, as you might suspect, then came a revelation: a daring project to ask the Queen for help. Yu cannot imagine how many times did I pluck uop the courage to ask for audience eith the Queen only to back out in the last minute. I dared not trouble our sovereigns with such trifles.
You may now ask, what finally made me do it. Another trifle. Sometimes I just cannot wonder enough hw many things in our lives would not happen without an accidental occurrence to set off a chain reaction, how many inventions would not be made without the interference of fate. It is not very scholarly of me to say, but the reason I finally made up my mind was because I had a dream. A dream, in which I naturally hear a voice summoning me to write the truth.
"Akira, Akira!", it called . It was feeble, as if coming from a distant past, as if an echo of a voice from a long time ago "You must speak the truth. Write the truth about the Princess. All that you seek is within your reach"
You must not mistake me for a naive fool in this respect, though. It was only after the dream repeated itself over the next few months that I finally decided to follow it.
Clad in my best kimono I, Nakamuro Akira, set off to ask permission for the Quest. Had I predicted the reactions of the rulers and their friends, I would have probably hesitated less and chosen to perform such a feat a long time ago.
"Then you intend to seek the roots of the ancient Moon Kingdom?" The Queen's face lit up in delight upon hearing my intentions. Likewise the King smiled upon me graciously and with a noble kindness that suits one of his position.
It was obvious that the royal couple, apart from justice and peace, also promoted wisdom and truth and I soon realized that they would be more than willing to assist me, In their grace.
"It is all very well" ,The more practical King added "All that seek wisdom and truth are very much welcome within these walls. Yet what concerns me is howexactly you intend to perform such a feat, Akira. There are not many sources you can use.
I bowed and here was when I explained my plan which had also been revealed to myself in the dream. I stated that the ideal situation would be to explore the beginnings at first hand.
"And if you'll allow me to say so, I know you may posses the means to communicate with the past easily. I would be most obliged if those means were made accessible to my humble person that is, of course, if no undesirable consequences would result from my simple wish."
A cloud of troublesomeness seemed to pass over them as they exchanged looks and I anticipated their answer tremulously . Silence seemed to dominate for a while, such silence as I have, again, never experienced. It was not exactly troubled, nor comfortable either. Yet I suspect it must be their life forces that emanate such calm. Even, or especially, in silence. Finally it as the queen who spoke.
"Akira, time gates are beyond our control and it is not us who can allow you to use them. However, I can promise you we shall talk to the Tine Guardian on your behalf. If she has no objections, then you will receive our heartfelt permission to go and explore the mysterious beginnings."
I bowed low in appreciation of her kind words. For then, it was all I could expect.
"Go now." The King added sympathetically. I saw a twinkle in his eyes. " You shall be summoned to hear the Time Guardian's decision.
I expected to be summoned a moth afterwards at best. After all, we were all aware that there more important issues at stake than a perhaps somewhat daring permission of a humble scholar. However, towards my great surprise, I was summoned the the palace not two days afterwards and given the desired permission to go time traveling.
I shall never forget the parting words of the Queen, her kindness etched forever in my heart.
"May your quest prove fruitful, Seeker of Truth. We expect a full relation of the wonders you may see. May Selene smile upon you."
"And Tyche lend you a helping hand" , Endymion honoured me with a shake of his hand.
Soon after I was brought before the countenance of the Time Guardian, the solitary senshi who had the most, shall we say, controversial, opinion among people for her reputation of a fierce loner. Yet upon meeting her I sensed within her great gentleness, hidden by the seriousness which her profession must needs required of her.
"Remember, Akira. You may explore and observe but you may not interfere", she warned me, explaining the consequences for the future if I dared disobey this basic rule, even for a good cause and out of good intentions. "You must restrain impulses of the heart so that the timeline is not disturbed"
I answered that I understood perfectly well the consequences of such irresponsibility and assured that my sole intention was merely to write the truth to convey and gather evidence of such.
"I wish to be a journalist on the behalf of past, if you will", I explained to clarify things between us.
She nodded her approval and opened the Gates for me with a smile. Thus began my adventure, leaving the future behind and leaping back to the ancient past of noble deeds.
I shall not even attempt to describe my experience in the time gates. It is way too abstract, to fantastic for words even to grasp. It is beyond understanding of the rational mind. Let me therefore come straight to what occurred afterwards. No sooner had the gates closed behind me, I found myself wandering in a beautiful place, a garden filled with sweetly scenting flowers, now all in bloom.
Upon my arrival I noticed movement on the opposite side. Deciding it would not hurt to take a look, I sneaked closer and hid behind and enormous, sturdy looking oak tree.
There, among a sea of flowers I saw a vision of striking beauty and whose image bore a stunning resemblance to our Queen. She shared her noble, delicately carved features and long hair which were falling down to the ground in two silvery streams, tied at the top of her head in elegant odnagoes, adorned with little pearls. The aura surrounding her emanated peace and gracefulness yet I sensed within her a longing and deep melancholy. I noticed her gaze rested on the moon which that night seemed particularly impressive, a huge argent orb on the vast blanket of darkness.
She did not remain alone for much longer. Following a lovely, though very short, tune of a flute I observed a male figure, approach her and encircle his arms around her slim waste. They embraced and shared a tender kiss. The lady visibly enlivened.
"Hou Yi, my love", I heard her speak in a soft, sweet voice, like a balm to my weary heart "I am so glad you have come tonight. I feared I have lost you when the news of the battle reached my ears. Are you all right?"
I could not see the man's face for he was turned back to me yet I noticed he was tall and strong. The fact that he was coming straight from the battle could explain why he was still in his armour, his dark hair (I could not determine whether it was black or purple or brown) disheveled and unkempt. He shook his head.
"I am all right. We were aided by the forces of the Moon Kingdom".
She loomed surprised.
"The Moon Kingdom? Is there such a thing?"
"We were equally surprised, Selene, but the elders explained it to me. It seems that the Moon Kingdom has existed for centuries. It thrived under wise rulers and saw no reason to interfere with our matters. Their presence was kept from us by a protective barrier cast by the rulers for the safety of their subjects. Yet now because we are facing a common threat they proposed joining our forces under the leadership of my father Endymion."
Oh, as you might imagine, I found this information of utmost importance to my quest. I listened on keenly.
"Why under Endymion? Do they nothave their own leaders?"
That was a good question. Did they not?
Once more, Endymion negated and his next words came out with some troubled sorrow.
"Their leader fell trying to protect them and the state is in depletion. Not even the barrier could prevent their country from being attacked. For the time being, royal advisors have been asked to lead them and it was by their decision that our forces should be joined."
"Which meanswe might expect a full-fledged war" she murmuredpressing her headagainst his chest. "I don't like this"
"I'm afraid there is nothing we can do to avoid open conflict", he admitted, fingering through her lavish hair. " The attacks, as you know have been growing in intensity for the past few days. They are provoking us and in order to save the earth we will be eventually obliged to respond. We cannot always be on the defensive. To win, to protect this place,we willhave to attack."
"But I don't want that! Hou Yi, you might be injured or worse, I don't want you to go and fight, I don't want you to leave me And besides you realize that the chances of victory are thin, Metallia's army is far too powerful!", she sobbed desolately.
He held her closer. "You know I have to go, my skills will be needed. But I promise I will return to you safe and sound. We have the Moon Kingdom on our side, it bodes well for our future for their warriors are powerful. We will have no other options if diplomatic ways fail as they are bound to. "
"Why won't they listen to reason? We could live in peace!" she mumbled angrily.
"Their hearts are closed to all but greed and desire to rule" came his thoughtful answer but then he reflected that it was not time yet to speak of such grave affairs "Let us leave the subject for now", he suggested "Or else it may spoil for us the beauty of our reunion. Right now I want nothing else but to hold my beautiful wife in my arms and forget about the whole world and its troubles." To which she responded by kissing him.
Afterwards, they fell into contented silence for a while, holding each other and enjoying the moment that they knew could probably never repeat again, with the threat of war looming on the horizon.
Verily, I pitied their condition; newlyweds, as it laterbecame clear to me, on the eve of dramatic occurrences. I am sorry to say however, that they never even suspected then that it was to be their last meeting.
I left them to their privacy, deciding instead to quietly explore other parts of the garden. It was vast, perhaps greater than that our Queen had in the Crystal Palace patio, but I dared not compare.
I hid in the shadows and there, unbeknowst to watchful eyes, followed along a path leading to an impressive palace. Its façade was covered by magnificent ornamentations, leafy, fantastical patterns carved in stone and elsewhere mosaics composing charming pictures of flora and fauna. There were two guards at the entrance door. I guessed it was not the main gate for from where I was I managed to glimpse the interior-the door, it seemed,led to the couple's private quarters and any intruders, I supposed, would be immediately stopped under suspicion of spying.
I needed to get into that palace.
TBC..
The legend it is based on comes from Chinese mythology. In it it says that a wife of a bowman Yi who had been given the herbs of immortality. While he was absent, Chang'e ate them, became immortal and ascended to the Moon, where she dwells in the palace of eternal cold (Gunahanggong). Hou Yi tried to catch her, but in vain and later he settled on the Sun. and thus was transported to the Cold Palace I The Moon Kigdom, becoming immortal goddess of the moon.
I hope it wasn't that awful