Guardians of the Grail
Chapter 1 The Prophecy of the Shadows
"Your highness, men are here to see you. They say that it is urgent," said the servant girl to her mistress, Queen Selenity.
"Who are they?" asked the queen as she sat in her chair rocking slowly with her new daughter in her arms.
"I do not know, but they have a strange mark on their hands. It is a cup with a sword behind it."
"What?" exclaimed Selenity, "Let them in immediately, and bolt the door after they enter here, understand?"
"Yes my queen," said the servant with a bow before running off to fulfill the order. Moments later the five guardians walked calmly through the large doors. Seeing their queen and their new charge they all fell to their knees with their faces towards the ground. Rising slowly the queen cradled her newborn daughter in her arms and said, "Welcome Guardians of the Grail. My name is Queen Selenity, and this," she said kindly as she held her baby out, "is my new daughter, Princess Serena. Look now upon our universe's savior."
Rising slowly the five men, all towering over the queen looked down in wonder as their eyes fell on the girl. She had creamy skin, and wisps of golden hair. As they gazed upon her she awoke and stared up at them with her huge blue eyes. Eyes shining brightly, she smiled and reached out to them with her small arms. Looking a bit cautious at first, the closest, Seamanus, reached out and took the small girl in her arms. Looking at her momentarily, he passed her over to Seismicanus, then to Crystilos who passed her over to Cirrus, who finally passed her to Shadow-ka. Taking her in his arms, he looked down at her and then gave her back to her mother. Suddenly his body went rigid and he soullessly motioned for them all to look upon the wall. With his long graceful fingers, he began to form shadow puppets. As he did this he spoke in a deep gravely voice,
"This is the destiny of Usagi, the rabbit of the moon," he said as he formed a circle with his hands and placed a small rabbit in it.
"Her home shall be destroyed," he continued and showed the shadow of a tower falling.
"Her beloved will be ripped from her hands," he changed his shadows into that of a young woman in a gown and a man being torn apart.
"But she and the moon children will be sent to Earth," he showed them the form of a girl and other small balls floating up to the sky.
"And there she will fight the ever-present darkness," he droned on as he showed the view of a giant monster raising up to strike down the girl shadow.
"And Earth, Earth will become the battlefield, and we, the Guardians," Here he presented five figures, "Shall be powerless to help."
Lowering his hands he continued to speak, "We will be given keys of space and time. We will battle the unseen enemy, we shall help our princess defeat the darkness, but she will never again look up on faces."
Sinking slowly to the ground the others dropped down to grab their friend. Shaking his head Shadow-ka said in his own voice, "I am sorry my queen but I have been given the power of foresight. What I show in shadows will come to pass. Nothing of the shadows can be rewritten. I am sorry."
"Destiny cannot be fought, cannot be bargained with, cannot be stopped," said Queen Selenity wisely, "All one can do is try their hardest to make this time their best. So what do you plan to do now?"
"Well, one of us will always be with the princess," said Crystilos, "She'll never be safe any other way. It will take awhile before she can actually use the Grail, and before that any power she gets from it will probably be instinctual."
"I will stay the first watch," offered Shadow-ka, "I will be hidden by her side for seven years."
"Are you up to it?" asked Cirrus.
"Sure it'll be no problem. Time will just fly," said Shadow-ka.
"But how are you going to stay hidden, you said yourself that she will never see us again," pointed out Seismicanus.
"My name is Shadow-ka, remember? I have the special ability to absorb myself into shadows."
"I accept his offer," said Queen Selenity suddenly, "Until the princess's seventh birthday you are her guardian."
"Thank you my queen," said Shadow-ka giving a bow.
"You are most welcome," said the Queen giving them all a nod, "Now then, for the rest of you. Go down to wine cellar in the west wing. Pull open the cork of the center bottle and it will open up a passageway. Follow that passage all the way to a room. In it will be five crystals. Each of you are to touch one. It will pull you in but don't resist. They are special crystals that put you in suspended animation. Until next time, thank you all for risking your own lives to protect my daughter's."
"Hey, do you think we get hazard pay for this?" asked Seamanus as they journeyed down to their crystal beds. Meanwhile, Shadow-ka stood by a wall and slowly allowed himself to sink into the shadows of the crib.
"Well kid," he whispered as his figure began to meld into the shadows, "I'll be here for seven years. Try not to get into too much trouble, okay?
Chapter 1 The Prophecy of the Shadows
"Your highness, men are here to see you. They say that it is urgent," said the servant girl to her mistress, Queen Selenity.
"Who are they?" asked the queen as she sat in her chair rocking slowly with her new daughter in her arms.
"I do not know, but they have a strange mark on their hands. It is a cup with a sword behind it."
"What?" exclaimed Selenity, "Let them in immediately, and bolt the door after they enter here, understand?"
"Yes my queen," said the servant with a bow before running off to fulfill the order. Moments later the five guardians walked calmly through the large doors. Seeing their queen and their new charge they all fell to their knees with their faces towards the ground. Rising slowly the queen cradled her newborn daughter in her arms and said, "Welcome Guardians of the Grail. My name is Queen Selenity, and this," she said kindly as she held her baby out, "is my new daughter, Princess Serena. Look now upon our universe's savior."
Rising slowly the five men, all towering over the queen looked down in wonder as their eyes fell on the girl. She had creamy skin, and wisps of golden hair. As they gazed upon her she awoke and stared up at them with her huge blue eyes. Eyes shining brightly, she smiled and reached out to them with her small arms. Looking a bit cautious at first, the closest, Seamanus, reached out and took the small girl in her arms. Looking at her momentarily, he passed her over to Seismicanus, then to Crystilos who passed her over to Cirrus, who finally passed her to Shadow-ka. Taking her in his arms, he looked down at her and then gave her back to her mother. Suddenly his body went rigid and he soullessly motioned for them all to look upon the wall. With his long graceful fingers, he began to form shadow puppets. As he did this he spoke in a deep gravely voice,
"This is the destiny of Usagi, the rabbit of the moon," he said as he formed a circle with his hands and placed a small rabbit in it.
"Her home shall be destroyed," he continued and showed the shadow of a tower falling.
"Her beloved will be ripped from her hands," he changed his shadows into that of a young woman in a gown and a man being torn apart.
"But she and the moon children will be sent to Earth," he showed them the form of a girl and other small balls floating up to the sky.
"And there she will fight the ever-present darkness," he droned on as he showed the view of a giant monster raising up to strike down the girl shadow.
"And Earth, Earth will become the battlefield, and we, the Guardians," Here he presented five figures, "Shall be powerless to help."
Lowering his hands he continued to speak, "We will be given keys of space and time. We will battle the unseen enemy, we shall help our princess defeat the darkness, but she will never again look up on faces."
Sinking slowly to the ground the others dropped down to grab their friend. Shaking his head Shadow-ka said in his own voice, "I am sorry my queen but I have been given the power of foresight. What I show in shadows will come to pass. Nothing of the shadows can be rewritten. I am sorry."
"Destiny cannot be fought, cannot be bargained with, cannot be stopped," said Queen Selenity wisely, "All one can do is try their hardest to make this time their best. So what do you plan to do now?"
"Well, one of us will always be with the princess," said Crystilos, "She'll never be safe any other way. It will take awhile before she can actually use the Grail, and before that any power she gets from it will probably be instinctual."
"I will stay the first watch," offered Shadow-ka, "I will be hidden by her side for seven years."
"Are you up to it?" asked Cirrus.
"Sure it'll be no problem. Time will just fly," said Shadow-ka.
"But how are you going to stay hidden, you said yourself that she will never see us again," pointed out Seismicanus.
"My name is Shadow-ka, remember? I have the special ability to absorb myself into shadows."
"I accept his offer," said Queen Selenity suddenly, "Until the princess's seventh birthday you are her guardian."
"Thank you my queen," said Shadow-ka giving a bow.
"You are most welcome," said the Queen giving them all a nod, "Now then, for the rest of you. Go down to wine cellar in the west wing. Pull open the cork of the center bottle and it will open up a passageway. Follow that passage all the way to a room. In it will be five crystals. Each of you are to touch one. It will pull you in but don't resist. They are special crystals that put you in suspended animation. Until next time, thank you all for risking your own lives to protect my daughter's."
"Hey, do you think we get hazard pay for this?" asked Seamanus as they journeyed down to their crystal beds. Meanwhile, Shadow-ka stood by a wall and slowly allowed himself to sink into the shadows of the crib.
"Well kid," he whispered as his figure began to meld into the shadows, "I'll be here for seven years. Try not to get into too much trouble, okay?