Disclaimer: I Don't own Sailor Moon.

An: This story will end with Hikari becoming a full-fledged Senshi. The next story will focus more on Serenity and includes the created of the Silver Crystal. A follow-up story may be done after the Stars Arc, and may include Hikari once again.

And yes, I am a fan of Mercedes Lackey :)



Silver Beginnings

By: Lirial Raito

Chapter 4: A Shadowy Encounter



Locked away in her private study Princess Hikari of the Moon paced in frustration. The

study was full of small but beautiful gems, of all shapes, colors and value, and each one

emitted an aura of power greater than any crystal the Princess had ever seen before.



For three months she had been practicing gem creation, and each stone she made was

progressively more powerful than the last, yet she knew without question that her efforts

weren't good enough. With a sigh she dropped her head onto the mahogany desk where

her latest creation lay a few inches to her left, wondering when she'd get things right.

This crystal was as clear as she had been hoping for, her best yet, but she still considered

it a failure.



'Not as strong as that one yet. not yet,' She thought, shifting her head slightly to glare

at the clear crystal, 'though I think they'll be useful strengthening the relationship

between our kingdom, and that of the other planets.'



She nodded to herself and sat back up. Yes, at some point in the future the Moon

Kingdom would need to be aligned fully with the other planets in this solar system, and

perhaps these little crystals she made would help.



'Each planet has a Senshi, but their powers are limited by the amount of raw energy they

call upon to transform. so I'll make each planet a focusing stone to increase that

energy.'



She held her hands in front of her chest and closed her eyes. Then she pictured the

symbol of Mercury inside her mind, allowing the symbol to fill her thoughts. She could

feel a tingling across her skin as she always did when she started to draw on her Senshi

powers, even though she hadn't yet completed her training. The tingling was

accompanied with the feeling that she was surrounded by cool, soothing water. After a

moment, Hikari drew that feeling, and the symbol in her mind, to merge them into one,

and willed them to take shape as a medium sized crystal.



When she felt a lightweight in her hands, she knew she had finished successfully. With a

smile of triumph she held the new crystal up to her eye, examining it carefully. Pale blue,

the gem was cool to the touch, with the symbol of Mercury shining in the center.



She nodded to herself, satisfied. This crystal wasn't as powerful as her other creations,

but she guessed in time that it would become so, with proper handling and ownership.



She closed her eyes again, repeating the crystal creating process seven more times until

there was a crystal for each planet besides Earth. Somehow, she didn't think Earth needed

a crystal. Hikari was finished in an hour, and placed each shining crystal inside a carved

wooden box, with a small silk cushion inside. She'd take these to her mother later, after

shad had a small nap. Making crystals took a lot of energy.

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In all her twelve years no one besides Kero had ever managed to sneak up on Hikari,

even when she was in the deepest of sleeps. The slight change in the air was all it took to

bring her to full awareness, though she held herself still as she listened for what had

woken her up.

Nothing indicated what had brought her out of sleep. there was no noise in her study at

all except that of her own breathing. Yet the feeling of not being alone remained,

increasing her sense of foreboding with every second that passed. Something was here,

something that shouldn't be.



She continued to hold herself still, not knowing what else she could do at the moment.

This once she didn't have any of her weapons on her, thinking she wouldn't need them.

well, maybe she didn't. With no effort at all, even though she was still tired from making

crystals, she summoned a ball of light to shine above her head. This small ball of light

was the first bit of magic she had ever learned, and came as naturally as breathing. It had

enough energy to it that any enemy that got within range of hurting her physically would

be burned, and was the second indication that she could become Sailor Raito some day.



But now the intruder would know she was awake, and before she could act any further

than to stand up, a large ball of mage fire slammed into her chest, throwing her back

against the bookcase. She was able to get a look at her opponent, though she couldn't see

much, for there wasn't much to see. The thing moved quickly than she could follow, and

suddenly. floated, in front of her. She didn't know what it was, but didn't think that

being able to see through it was very good, or being stared at with glowing red eyes.



It reached out to touch the bleeding wound on her chest.



Only to be consumed and burned away by the light ball she had conjured. Or that's what

she thought. but the room was still filled with a glowing light as the pain receded, and

she fell unconscious.

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To Be Continued:

The creature I used is borrowed from Terry Brooks and his 'Scions of Shanara' series,

and are called. Shadowen.