This epic, if you will call it so, (or maybe the beginning of an epic, if we're lucky *mysterious grin*) has simmered in my brain for some time. The character Sailor Dark Moon, (otherwise known as Opal and later as Selene) was already in existence, scribbled in my notebook and sketched here and there on my worksheets, but the obvious problem I had was - where the hell did she come from? So in trying to solve this mystery I decided to tackle the Black Moon clan as well and tie her in there. The image of this clan in the manga is somewhat different from the one in the animation, but in both the clan represented such an enigma for me that I desperately wanted to explain its history. In the process of writing this story I also found a rather unique way of giving Saturn a chance at romance, and an explanation for her solitude until the end of the Moon Kingdom - it was NOT planned at all, by the way, it just sort of happened. *shrugs*
Within the story you'll find many inconsistencies with the original storyline. The main one being that there really isn't a clan called Black Moon in the mange/anime - the so-called "clan" is actually a band of traitors banished to a planet on the outskirts of the solar system. It's been so long since I've actually read the manga (or seen the anime) that I can't recall all the little details of the Moon Kingdom. You might want to know a few things about the background of my fic before you read -
* The Earth Kingdom and Moon Kingdom are on good terms
* The Earth people are immortal - I don't really think of these "Earth people" as humans, and I would think it odd that the Earth people are mortal when the people of other planets seem to be immortal at the same time.
* Aerin (which was inspired by the Greek name Aesteria) is a relation of Serenity, and is not the ruler of the Kingdom - he is the Consort of the Queen, just like Helios with Demeter.
* Demeter is the Greek goddess of grain and harvest. I thought about the names Terra and Rhea but they're used way too often, so I wanted to try something new. Helios is the god of the sun. The name Rion I got from the Greek hero Orion, who was the lover of the Moon goddess Artemis. Believe me, this all works out in the following stories, ok? (following stories? *gasps* did I just say that?)
* Likewise, Hecate is the goddess of the witches and the dark moon, while Aidoneus is the god of the Underworld (Hades, as most of us know him). Here I put a King as ruler - too many women already on the throne, ne? ^_~
* In Greek myth, Selene (Serenity) and Helios are brother and sister, so that's their relationship in this fic.
* I am perfectly aware that Serenity (the princess) will end up over ten years younger than Endymion according to this fic, but my opinion is since they live forever anyway, a few years difference won't really matter once they reach adulthood.
* I am clueless when it comes to the Generals. I have NO idea what their personalities are supposed to be like, and I'm still not sure whether or not they really are supposed to be coupled with the Senshi. However, the idea seems nice, so I'm exploring possibilities.
Disclaimer - Pretty Soldier Sailormoon and all the characters in it were created by Takeuchi Naoko (with the exception of Aerin, Demeter, Helios, Rion, Hecate, Aidoneus, and Opal/Sailor Dark Moon, who are my personal creations). I'm not crazy enough to try saying I made them up when everyone knows who did. *kicks the lawyers out*