The Legend of Selene
In the eternal life of every god or goddess,
there is a period of approximately one thousand years during which that
god or goddess is permitted to live in the world of men as a being of flesh
and blood, looking just like a mortal creature, but unable to die as they
do. It was during that era in her existence that Selene, goddess of the
moon, united the ruling goddesses of eight planets to form a single, powerful
kingdom. Because it was she who had brought them together, the eight goddesses
named Selene High Queen, and the new kingdom was called the Kingdom of
the White Moon in her honor. Furthermore, the goddesses declared, in gratitude
to Selene for spawning such a magnificent and peaceful kingdom for the
mortals of their planets, they would become soldiers. Armed with their
divine powers, they promised to forever protect the Kingdom of the White
Moon from those who would wish to harm it. Selene, however, rejected this
proposal.
"My friends," said she to the goddesses, "a
mortal man can become a warrior, and successfully defend his homeland using
only his physical skills and the power of his own will. But I cannot rule
this kingdom alone. Your own skills and powers should serve me better if
you used them to govern your native planets as my surrogates. Please, let
us leave the battles to those of our subjects who are trained to handle
them." The goddesses protested, so certain they were that the kingdom would
benefit from their becoming warriors. Though soon they relented, for all
had to acknowledge the truth in Selene's words. Each returned to her respective
planet, and there she remained, unless called upon to attend a meeting
or formal occasion on one of the other planets. With each of the eight
goddesses in place on the throne of her home planet, and Selene presiding
over all from her place on the moon, the White Moon Kingdom prospered.
But, as the decades slowly turned to centuries,
Selene began to feel troubled. Her time in the world of men was waning,
as was the time of the other eight ruling goddesses. What would become
of the Kingdom of the White Moon once they all had faded back into the
Realm of Gods? With its rulers gone, would the beautiful, tranquil kingdom
survive? Selene, being the pure and good deity that she was, could not
abide the thought of her kingdom, which had brought so much happiness to
her mortal subjects, fading away with her. Even worse was the possibility
of another worldly god—one less altruistic and kind than Selene and the
eight goddesses—taking over the kingdom, and turning the mortals' lives
to misery. The thought disheartened Selene, for she could find no solution
to her dilemma,
Meanwhile, the eight goddesses had begun to
find love on their home planets, and most had wed. Presently, Selene, too,
found love in a young lunarian mortal, and joined her heart to his in a
ceremony which marked a day of celebration and joy throughout the kingdom,
though only the eight goddesses and, of course, the man's family were allowed
to attend. Not long after, the lovers conceived, and Selene brought forth
a daughter. The beautiful little creature bore a golden birthmark in the
shape of an upright crescent on her brow. A token from her immortal mother,
the mark was a divine symbol of power and goodness. Selene named the child
Serenity, for the lunarian princess, the heir to Selene's throne, was the
answer the problem that had burdened her, and put the goddess's kind heart
at peace.
Although Selene did not realize it, the eight
goddesses had also been fretting over the fate of the White Moon Kingdom
once it came time for them to leave the mortal world. Their greatest fear
was of the power-hungry dark gods who would doubtlessly be looking to acquire
the kingdom for their own once its rulers were gone. They were, however,
reluctant to approach the High Queen without a solution in mind. Just as
the coming of the child Serenity brought peace to her lady mother, the
answer to the goddesses' questions came in the form of their offspring.
They had never truly abandoned the idea of using their divine powers in
defense of Selene and her glorious kingdom. Soon after Serenity's birth,
they came before Selene again, this time, each bearing a beautiful girl
child in her arms, and raised the subject again.
"These, our daughters," said they, "fruits
of our own wombs and the love of our mortal husbands, are blessed with
our divine gifts." They went on to explain their plan to Selene. They would
train their daughters to use the gifts they had been born with as warriors.
Thus, they would serve Selene, and protect the White Moon Kingdom, until
the goddess's Passing into the Realm of Gods. Then, each would marry, and
inherit the throne of her home world so she could continue to serve by
governing her own planet. What's more, each would pass the skills she had
learned to her own child, to ensure that the kingdom would always be protected.
This time, Selene agreed.
"But what of my own child?" she asked. "What
of Serenity, who will follow me as High Queen? I must know that she will
always be safe, for if the dark gods were to attack with the intention
of conquering the kingdom, they would surely eliminate her first."
"Indeed." Lady Pluto agreed. "Some of our
children must be selected as her bodyguards, for it would never do to leave
the reigning princess unprotected. Oh, but it shall not be my child. The
princess's guardians should live closer to the moon, and Pluto is the farthest
of all our eight worlds. No, no. We are much too distant to serve well
as bodyguards."
"As are we." Lady Uranus admitted. "But my
daughter can join Lady Pluto's, and both can fight against invasions which
come from the outside." Selene was quick to consent, for imagining the
dark gods' battle-hungry minions storming any of the nine worlds of the
Moon Kingdom frightened her greatly.
"If that is the way her protectors shall be
determined," said Lady Venus, "then Lady Mars's girl and my own should
surely be young Serenity's guardians, for we are the closest worlds of
all to the moon."
"But two guardians would not be sufficient."
Lady Mercury declared. "But I am close enough. My daughter shall become
a sentinel unto Princess Serenity."
"Mine will, as well." Lady Jupiter decided.
"What of yours, Lady Neptune?"
"The distance between the moon and my home
world would matter not to me. But Neptune sits between Uranus and Pluto,
Stars of the Heavens and the Afterlife, and must always remain so, for
it is the Star of the Sea, and keeps the balance between the high and low
worlds. For the sake of the natural balance, my child will join the daughters
of Lady Uranus and Lady Pluto." Selene accepted all of this.
"But what of Lady Saturn?" the moon goddess
asked, for until that moment, the goddess of Saturn had remained silent.
Now, she glanced up at the Queen, looking troubled. Unlike the other goddesses,
Lady Saturn had no child. She had not found love as the others had, for
she was proud, and could not abide the thought of being wed to a mortal
man. Until now, her unwed state had not troubled her. But now, she felt
as if she were a failure to her Queen.
"I am sorry, Majesty," said she, "for I have
no husband and no heir. I do not wish to leave my planet without a ruler
when the time of my Passing arrives, but I could not wed, nor surrender
my virginity to a mortal. It would be a crippling blow that was dealt unto
my pride."
"I could not think to ask you to abandon your
pride, my friend," responded Selene, "but your planet is in need of an
heir. Could you not try to find one you love in this world?" Lady Saturn
heaved a despondent sigh. Love her Queen though she may, she could never
love a mortal. She could, however, serve Selene and the Moon Kingdom well.
Suddenly, she realized how.
"I love this world, Majesty. If not the men
it offers to me, I love this world. I do not wish to leave it."
"You can not conceive a child with this world
of men, Lady Saturn." Selene replied.
"But suppose I were not made to fade from
it?" Her question startled the goddesses, Selene most of all. After all,
every immortal being was returned to the Realm of Gods once her thousand
years amongst the mortals were spent.
"Pray tell, Lady Saturn, what do you mean?"
they demanded.
"You have great power, Selene." The goddess
of Saturn stated. "I believe one of your abilities is the power to grant
that god who wishes not to Return shall not." A dreadful shudder passed
over the High Queen, for she did indeed possess such a power, and hated
to use it. She could not grant a god his wish to remain without asking
for a promise in return, and should he ever betray his promise, the consequences
would be dire. Selene begged Lady Saturn not to wish for her to use her
terrible power, but the goddess had made up her mind, and Selene could
not deny her friend what she so fiercely desired. Lady Saturn's wish was
granted, in exchange for her vow of eternal maidenhood. Thus, she returned
to Saturn, and continued her reign over the planet, governing it in the
name of Selene, the Moon Kingdom, and her sacred promise of unending chastity.
For the time being, it appeared to the goddesses
that all was well, and so, they soon set about carrying out the plans they
had made. Under Selene's motherly love and tender care, Princess Serenity
blossomed into a gentle and compassionate young woman of surpassing beauty
rivaled only by Selene herself. As planned, the daughters of the seven
goddesses were trained to use their celestial gifts, and it came to pass
that they became the team of divine warriors their mothers had longed for,
a team that became known as the Sailor Soldiers.
And as time passed, Lady Saturn lived on.
One by one, the goddesses faded from the mortal
world, returning to the Realm of Gods as every goddess, save Lady Saturn,
must do one day. But each left a small piece of herself behind in the form
of a divine treasure, a token for her daughter and the child she would
bear. When Princess Serenity became High Queen, she did so with Selene's
Silver Crystal under her command. Under Serenity's reign, the kingdom flourished.
The Silver Crystal was handed down through the years, and the name Serenity
was bestowed upon each new lunarian princess. Lady Saturn lived on.
And time passed.
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Author's Note: Yes, this chapter is relevant! How will
become clear later on. I'm almost through Chapter 5 as far as longhand
goes, though I find typing it all up is easier said than done. ;) Keep
those reviews coming! Reviews motivate me!