Chapter 4: Childhood & Responsibility
King Elieon's reign upon the moon 576
Ida, city on Pluto
A clearing on Temhai hill
The midday sun was warm over the heads of the children gathered in the clearing. Each child was of one of the different royal families and each wore clothing of various different styles and colors, representing these cultural differences. Many of the children here were of the lower nobility, not directly descended from the ruling kings and queens of their planets. The children had been called to assemble here to await the arrival of their teacher, the great Plutonian philosopher, Anshar, whom their parents had sent for to instruct them.
A small girl with dark hair and tanned skin was dressed in the deepest of reds, spotted with upraised designs of golden thread. A pair of worn leather sandals adorned her feet, allowing the small appendages their ability to feel the heat of the day. She was a young princess of mars, no older than six, but she behaved in a manner which out lived her years. She sat with stillness, which would have made any tutor proud, while leaning silently against a withered tree; its once green leaves now turning brown with the changing of the Plutonian seasons.
Not far from her, gallivanting around in circles while chasing the frightened prince of Saturn, ran a small noble daughter of Venus; golden hair streaming out from behind her along with her long amber robes which were tied with a jewel adorned leather belt tightly about her lithe waist.
The Mercurian prince, Orion, was studying rolls of parchment in the ancient script of Pluto, of course on a planet where the civilization is immortal; the knowledge to be read and known is vast. The perfect place of comfort for the studious prince of Mercury. He lay nonchalantly sprawled out upon the ground, with no care to soiling the front of his periwinkle blue tunic in the dirt, his parchment laid out around him to gaze at and recite.
Anna, a lower princess of Jupiter, sat poised on her haunches above a small orange lizard she was intently following as it crept along the ground. Wildlife had always peaked her interest. As a child on a very large planet, the range of strange creatures and unconquered wilds were what she dreamed every day of exploring, but her parents had not the patience for her dreams; and had sent her to the immortal planet for study, not for fantasy. But so far, the tiny brightly colored lizard was peaking her interest more than any subject of academic study.
The prince of Saturn, well out of reach of the clutches of the Venian princess, fell back tiredly onto the ground tiredly beside the prince of Mercury, startling the young scholar slightly.
Entarais sat on large gray rock, her head resting on her up drawn knees as she leaned down and began writing her name in the dry dirt of the ground with one finger, the flowing script of her native land vanishing as the breeze brushed loose grains of sand over it. She was six summers old and according to her uncle, she was now old enough to begin her education on other planets rather than being confined to the teaching of the stuffy palace tutors of Neptune, which her cousin Mariner seemed to despise so much. Her auburn hair was short, no longer than a common soldier's. Her aunt had argued against the cut saying that it framed the child's beautiful face too much and made her appear as if she were a boy, but the emperor had said that it was a style of convenience, as it would prevent her hair from falling in her eyes while she practiced art or music. It was a short style, not longer than that of most Neptunian boys.
Entarais also wore a pair dark blue breeches and a waist long tunic, in the style of Neptune's royal guard. She had long ago taken to playing in trousers and breeches because they were easier to run and ride in, though she occasionally wore dresses when dealing with royal matters. The emperor had not objected to this. Whatever made Entarais comfortable, within limits, he consented to. For example, just this same year he had condoned her sword fighting training with his royal guards, saying that a noble woman must always be prepared to defend her honor and dignity.
Emperor Triton's wife had objected to sending the child away so abruptly, but Triton had insisted that had his brother survived; he would have wanted his only child to be well versed in the cultures of all worlds so that she could survive in them without peril. This came as no surprise to the young Neptunian princess. Her uncle was always doing things of this nature. Always trying to raise her in a fashion he thought his brother would have wanted. Entarais often wondered if her uncle had not held himself to such standards, how would he have raised her? She often compared her uncle to the father she had never known, but had been told great stories of.
Entarais let her knees slide down from her chest and allowed her booted feet to touch the ground as she leaned her elbows on her legs, feeling more comfortable now that she had thought for a moment.
He was apparently some great adventurer and a noble prince, gifted with love of both people and the sea. Sometimes Entarais wished she had known him or could have met him, but fate was fate and you could not right the wrongs of the past. Entarais glanced up from her stupor hastily as a laughing princess of Venus fell into her lap. The Neptunian princess said nothing, she simply watched in bemusement as the small Venian girl trembled with laughter. As her giggles resided, playful cobalt eyes glanced laughingly up to meet deep cerulean.
"Sorry." The Venian princess said as she slid off from Entarais' knees and came to sit on the ground in front of her, "I am Alexandria, the daughter of Phaethon, ruler of the region of Phaedra in the foothills of Pallas and the niece of King Alexander of Venus." the girl giggled while making no attempt to hide a smile showcasing the perfection of a mouth full of white teeth, "Now that you know me, who are you?"
"I am Entarais, princess of Neptune and niece of Emperor Triton of the same planet." Entarais stated quietly, almost inaudibly. It was not hard for her to understand the Venian princess as Entarais had been taught basic Venian long ago.
"Oh, well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Alexandria replied holding her hand out to be shaken, "Sorry, for the abrupt disturbance. You must think me unreliable."
"No, not at all." Entarais said with a genuine smile, shaking the hand offered to her lightly before dropping her own lightly back to her side, "It was actually quite amusing to watch. I did not know Sinis of Saturn was capable of running at that speed."
"Now, now children calm down." a low voice gently reprimanded as the scholar made his way up the hill, the garnet cloak, double clasped about his shoulders to represent his status as an educated man of stature, swaying in the warm breeze with him as he walked up in his polished leather sandals. He was garbed also in a deep purple tunic, which seemed to cling to his thin form in the heat of the day.
Warm days like this one were few on Pluto, considering the fact that because of their distance from the sun. Pluto had eighteen months in its calendar year, unlike the calendar of the Moon which was only twelve months to a year. Winter was the longest season and lasted twelve months in the plutonian calendar while spring and summer only lasted for three months each. Even then warm, sunny days like this one were rare. Dark purple was the color of the aristocracy on Pluto and represented someone who was either born into power or wealth or someone whom had achieved the same status throughout the course of their immortal lives. On Pluto you could tell the status of a person simply by the color and fashion of the clothes they wore and this was definitely a man of great reputation in his native land.
"Gather around, children! Gather around in a circle!" he called out as he sat himself down on the ground crossing his legs at the knees, as was the Plutonian custom. "That's it children, a round circle."
What a strange little man, though I cannot yet judge him fairly. Entarais thought as she rushed to do what she had been told. The children obeyed and sat around the strange man in relative silence. The dark haired scholar smiled, he did not seem surprised at the children's willingness to obey. After teaching children for over a millennia, he knew that this was only a result of their curiousness about him, once the initial shock wore off they would be fidgeting and losing their will to pay attention to what he was telling them to such things as the thrills of their imaginations or the travels of tiny insects across the sand beneath their feet. Yes, children only had an attention span of so long.
"Now which one of you would be so kind as to tell me where your palace tutors left off in your studies?" Anshar asked patiently still smiling almost enthusiastically and chuckling deeply as if he were an overgrown child, "I am afraid that your parents were a little vague as to where your native educations ended."
An awkward silence seemed to hang between them as the children debated whether to reply to him or not, finally finding restraining his answer very difficult, the prince of Mercury raised his hand slowly.
"Ah, yes." the scholar smiled seeing the genius behind the youth already taking fledgling form in the small prince, "Prince Orion, where did your palace tutors leave off in your studies?"
"Me, sir?" the prince asked, shyness coming to him naturally, "Well I may have ended a few chapters ahead of most my age, or at least that is what my tutors tell me."
"Where were you in your personal studies then? How many chapters ahead of the others?" the scholar asked.
The young boy's cheeks began to redden, "Um…a fair few, sir. I ended my studies with the literary account of when the higher powers dispelled chaos from our galaxy and I had begun translating the story into basic Jupiterean when I was called away."
The princess of mars, Lucretia, who had remained silent until now; uttered a small sound of disbelief, "I have only just finished translating the story of Cecrops, the first immortal, into a different tribal dialect. The rest of us are hardly as far as he, it is unnatural."
Orion's embarrassed blush darkened and he watched his tiny thumbs twiddle around in nervousness as Lucretia's steady glare never left him.
"Silence now, stop your bickering." Anshar scolded, "That is common. On Mars the different tribal dialects are not taught to children until they reach at least five years of age. On Mercury customs are different. Out of political necessity, the Mercurians begin teaching their young the languages of other planets and peoples at the tender age of three and so it comes as no surprise that Orion is further along than the rest of you. Now setting where you left off aside, let us begin a new chapter, one that I am sure none of you have covered. Today were are to ponder the worth of myths and legends and what it is they teach us about the lives we live."
The children groaned and sighed, but Anshar held his ground and began reciting his lesson.
"Now we know from the peoples known as Ampurias that their myths greatly influenced their perception of life for they taught them the merits of life and death or represented it in a way that every person from their nobility to their serfs, could understand." Anshar said taking from a pack of animal hide, a long scroll. He sat on his haunches and unrolled the aging parchment, using stones to weigh the corners down to the ground.
It was a map of the various providences and major cities of Pluto. Whenever Anshar taught a lesson to a new group of children he always used his people as an example and since he was a resident of the providence of Ampuria, he had decided to use the Ampurias peoples as his model. Pointing with his golden ringed forefinger, Anshar outlined the borders of the tan providence on the map to the children.
"Like the story of Ilus, the Ampurian hero who fought in the Laocsian war against the barbarians of Laio. He was not the most common hero in all of mythology, but he was proven more human than divine. Ilus' was fraud in the way that he was vengeful and not selfless in any way. He fought because he loved dealing death to others and the only reason he was thought of as a great hero was because he killed the assailant of his king, but to meet his own ends. He was human, with his own unique views on the world we live in. The enduring question is what did his life and death truly teach us about our own morality," Anshar chuckled repentantly rubbing his chin, "I mean your morality?"
"That we humans are vengeful, vindictive creatures who would always wish to be selfish over being selfless." Lucretia answered without hesitation.
"Go on?" Anshar prompted resting his chin on the back of his hand.
"Well, being selfless is never easy, that is why all of the heroes of legend and myth are so respected." Lucretia finished. "Because they, by pass standards we ourselves hope to reach."
"Very good!" Anshar praised clapping his hands. "I can see your father's sharp wit in you, child. I am sure I will never cease to amaze me at future studies. Now, if what Lucretia tells us is true, then why do the peoples of Ampuria count Ilus as one of their foremost heroes?"
He waited patiently, scouting the circle for the timid answer of one of his unsure students, but the answer never came. Not one of his budding young scholars seemed to want to put forth an explanation.
Lucretia of mars was glaring across the expanse of the circle where she was whispering to Entarais who had diverted her attention from the lecture at hand, to accommodate their conversation. Orion of Mercury was staring at the ground and holding his knees up tightly to his chest as if afraid to speak his mind publicly, although Anshar was certain the quiet boy knew the answer. The prince of Saturn, Sinis, was laying on his back beside Orion, hands clasped behind his ebony haired head as he stretched out on his amethyst cloak; deciphering the shapes of the thin pink Plutonian clouds. Anna of Jupiter was sitting up against a tree beside Lucretia, playing with a small red beetle that had captured her attention during the lecture by hopping about in the dust of the ground.
Anshar sighed to himself, short attention spans, indeed. But he clapped his hands loudly, undaunted by their seeming disinterest in his topic of study.
"None of you know the answer, hmm?" Anshar questioned glancing at each one of the royal children. "Well then, we will simply have to ponder the question together to realize its proper answer." He stood and walked in slow circles around the map, keeping his eyes on his pupils while making gestures with his hands. "Ilus was hot headed, the perfect example of a selfish person and yet he captivates the hearts of people wherever his name and story are told. Why would that be? What were the defining characteristics that Ilus himself possessed?"
This time, Alexandria, now very interested in what her tutor had to say; raised her hand and waved it wildly in the air, barely managing not to hit Entarais in the head as she did so.
The elder man appeared revitalized at seeing one of his students so enthused by his teachings, "Yes! Alexandria, what were Ilus' most defining characteristics?"
"Selfishness and pride." Alexandria answered her smile beaming, betraying her own pride in the confident answer.
"Correct!" Anshar shouted slapping his hand against his knee excitedly. "Every human possesses these base characteristics, so what does this prize commonness tell us about Ilus as a hero?"
Entarais spoke aloud, her auburn eyebrows knitting together in realization , "That he was human."
"Excellent!" Anshar grinned, his satisfaction with his students growing with every correct answer. "But why, if humans so value the selfless nature of the hero, would they credit a selfish person who was at their same moral level, as a hero above their station?"
"People always identify with what they can understand." Sinis spoke up, leaning up on his elbows as he become engaged in the now riveting conversation.
"And naturally, the people can understand being human." Lucretia spoke up in agreement.
"And the restrictions that come with mortality and the flaws that come within the building blocks of our beings." Orion finished.
Anshar smiled, now children, just see what great levels your young minds can ascend to if only they are inspired to fly.
"But why go through all of that trouble to tell the tale of a hero who possesses the same flaws we ourselves struggle so much to overcome? Why tell the tale of a man who has the same characteristics of the market manager or of the tax collector?" Anshar asked gazing at each one of the children in the circle.
"Because he was an equal." Sinis croaked up, falling back comfortably onto the ground with a thump, "We would not have to serve him as we would any demi-child of a god, nor fear him as such."
"But relate and laugh at his, uniquely human condition." Anna of Jupiter finished. "He served as a point of humor as much as he served as a figure of ancient legend. That is his duality, as a human hero."
"Then the truth is," Orion paused tapping his chin for a moment before continuing, "That we admire Ilus for his flaws, among various other qualities, other than the divinity which most legendary heroes seem to possess. Telling the story of a human hero infinitely brings us closer to the goals that we feel are reachable, it gives hope that anything is attainable."
And this, is precisely why I cherish my calling, Anshar thought his grin widening, in not even a normal mortal lifespan, would I proclaim this vocation too tedious to live. Their young minds soak up the knowledge of their own conclusions like coral sponges, let us hope the cruel world never rids them of that ability.
"Would the gods allow that?" Lucretia asked her ebony eyebrows narrowing incredulously. "Allow for a human to assume their status amongst our mists?"
There was a flicker of doubt in the Marian princess's eyes and Anshar wanted desperately to quell it. He knew the reason for this doubt. Religion was the main influence of the Marian society. If the gods did not favor it, neither did anyone else. The very problem was that, on Mars, as it is on many of the other planets; the will of the gods is often deciphered by the people in power. Anshar was an immortal. He had lived long enough and had seen what the extremist in the field of religion used to exercise their reign over others.
That was what Anshar had always been inspired to teach against, which was why he had been cast out of the Scholar's academy, for preaching unnatural and untraditional views; but that no longer bothered him. What did, however, was the corruption of young minds with shrewd, closed ideals. These were the children of royalty, therefore it would not be prudent for him to contradict their original cultural points of views, but some views had to be changed.
"My, dear children I teach you this." Anshar said his expression becoming serious, "If you walk away with nothing more from this lesson, know what I tell you." their teacher stood before them, standing tall and proud, "Every human is free of their own minds and bodies, with the ability to make their own choices live. Every person carries a distinct power within their beings, the power of free destiny, the power to choose their paths they would wish their lives to follow. This power gives the most insignificant of beings the right to change the future. Never forget, in these times of peace, we write our own destinies.
"That is why the people so love Ilus. He was a human who struggled against great odds and succeeded, even against his own society, despite the gods. True, he was a horrible example of a noble character, but stubbornness and determination also made him the people's hero. Without choices, without freedom lacking disdain, what are we? Miserable creatures who kill each other in war after war with no higher purpose. It is not the gods who give us wings, nor restrictions. The restrictions reside as walls of stone in our minds, while our wings remain too captivated to fly. But if we drop these walls, the distances we could soar over are limitless. Nothing restricts the individual, except the individual himself. "
The children were all silent. Sinis had returned to observing the clouds above him with interest while the prince of Mercury was watching his tutor closely, pondering the pure truth of his words. Anna of Jupiter sat silent, sometime along the conversation she had pulled her knees up tightly to her chest and slumped against the tree behind her heavily. Lucretia of mars was watching some distant object which she pretended to see on the horizon. Entarais was watching her tutor inquisitively, as if searching for more answers in the creases of his serious face. Alexandria appeared bewildered, her head cocked to one side as one of her small sandaled feet played with a rock in the minarets of sand beneath them. They were too timid to speak. The children themselves may have been young, but they knew what their parents had taught them. 'To be a good leader, you do what is expected of you', freedom for the sake of the individual was not permitted in the royal world. How could they comment on such a topic? One that was forbidden to someone who was to inherit their stations?
Anshar had expected an uncomfortable silence. Not many royals taught their children how to live for the success of their own lives, but instead demanded that they live for their planets. Anshar smiled, "Now on to a different topic of study, geography."
The children listened and then eventually lost interest in the discontented subject, but could never truly get their tutors previous choice of study out of their heads. It troubled them all from the end of this lesson on towards when the children concluded their studies on the immortal planet, and were placed on a special transport shuttle to Saturn for another course of study.
During the shuttle ride, news reached the ears of the royal children of an untimely death. Anshar, one of Pluto's most respected and liberal scholars, had been assassinated in his sleep for the views he had presented at a political rally in the marketing city of Mann. Strange, the immortal planet of Pluto was still subject to tragedy and unrest. Entarais often wondered, after that day, if Anshar had known the penalties for speaking in such a manner and had still chosen to do so despite it.
"He had to of known of the possible consequences for his actions." Sinis had argued on the shuttle, the children had begun discussing the misfortune amongst themselves almost immediately in the main room after they had absorbed the news.
"He was a brave man." Orion said as he sat beside the quietly sniffling Venian princess, "The best scholar I have ever had the chance to meet, he fought for his views, and we should all be so fortunate as to follow such an inspiring example."
Anna stood silently, leaning against the side of the clear window which showed the outlying stars. Entarais, who sat on a wooden chair hunched over and resting all of her weight on her knees, looked up at Anna and held her gaze. There was fear there in those emerald eyes, great apprehension, and Entarais would not challenge the Jovian princess on her decision to remain silent. It was perhaps the wisest single choice any one of them could make, considering the unfortunate circumstances.
"No!" Alexandria wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She had held them off as long as she could, but once the tidal wave of turbulent emotions was unleashed, there was no stopping it. The Venian princess was the youngest and most sentimental of them all, and so she was taking this unexpected loss the worst. "How terrible! How awful!"
Lucretia let out a much needed breath, not willing to listen to the Venian child's sniffles and cries, but unable to find the words to console her, she handed over a burgundy handkerchief to Orion who was cradling Alexandria and speaking to her gently in soothing tones.
"If death is a certain penalty, why speak out like that? What good could come of such an action?" Lucretia asked, bewilderment written all over her features, ebony eyebrows knitted together. "I do not understand any of this."
"Cultural differences." Entarais mumbled almost inaudibly earning an inquisitive look from the slowly calming Alexandria. Her tears had stopped coming, but small sobs still wracked her lithe frame.
"You do know that he left behind two new additions to his family by a recent marriage, a wife and a small infant. In all his years he had neglected to take a wife and now when he finally takes one and has a child, he blows all of his chances at happiness. He has condemned them to a life of solitude simply because he could not hold his tongue. Why make such a sacrifice if you know that you will have to leave those whom care for you behind?" Sinis said shaking his head angrily. "What a waste."
Entarais contemplated these words as she gazed out of the large window, watching the stars as they passed them. Worst of all, Anshar had been an immortal and so had the choice to live forever and yet he had given up the opportunity most rulers of the other planets would kill to have. Why make that kind of sacrifice? Why risk all for no promise of success and every possibility of failure for something so simple as a personal belief?, but she answered her own question with ease. For the good of yourself and others, why else? Why On Neptune there was no risk of such a catastrophe, as Neptune was one of the most liberal planets in their galaxy. On Neptune the people ruled and the government was based on the principal of common freedom. The royals accommodated the wishes and problems of the people, not vice versa, as it was on most planets. In short, a peasant on Jupiter who had no home could, on Neptune, be a person of distinguished means with an estate all his own.
Entarais hoped in time that she would be able to appreciate such a sacrifice or even learn from it. But she was young yet, with more years yet to learn life lessons from the actions of others. At any rate, Anshar left quite the impression on the young Neptunian. Quite the impression.
Author's note: Contrary to most readers' beliefs, these royal children are not the senshi renamed. No the senshi will make their appearance in a later story. This is a prehistory to the Silver Millennium in which the senshi are present. It gives their families depth and back ground and it explains the diverse cultures of the planets and their relationships.
The order of events are mixed and matched. I often do Entarais childhood experiences inter mingled in the same time period as Regelle's, as so that the reader will not forget that Entarais exists. At this time, during the setting of this chapter, Regelle has not been born yet. I have often thought that the chapter order should be reversed so that Entarais came before Regelle, in order of appearance, but I have simply never taken the time to make the appointed adjustments. Please R & R! Any feed back is appreciated (even negative feedback).