STARLIT LEGENDS - THE FALL OF THE KINMOKU KINGDOM README ____________________________________________________________________ CONTINUITY In Part One, the main characters (Seiya, Taiki, Yaten, and Kakyuu) are all twelve years old. In Part Two, two years have passed and they are now fourteen years old. (Tsukino Usagi was fourteen years old when she first became Sailor Moon.) In Part Three, a little over a year has passed. Princess Kakyuu is sixteen years old, and Seiya and company are fifteen years old. I can safely say this because . . . er . . . Kakyuu's birthday is before any of the other Senshi have a birthday. Yeah, that's it. It is generally assumed that the Three Lights are sixteen years old during the Sailor Stars anime and manga, which would make this story end about a year before the events depicted in Sailor Stars. A lot of people assume that Kakyuu is much older than the Starlights, but I think that (based on observations of Usagi and her friends) it is safer to assume that Kakyuu is actually the same age as her guardians. I know that this is an issue with some readers, so I might as well address it right here. In the first part of the story especially, there is a HUGE discrepancy between Kakyuu's character in this fic and the way that she appears in the anime and manga. Yup, I did that on purpose. I wanted to show how Kakyuu's character evolves as she ages and the poor girl is faced with one tragedy after another in the course of her adolescent years. By the end of this fic, Kakyuu has become the woman that we are familiar with, the same Princess Kakyuu that appears in Sailor Stars. ANIME OR MANGA What version am I working from here, the anime or the manga? Actually, it's a hodgepodge of both. With a little bit of the Sera Myu musicals thrown in for good measure. The first glaring difference you should notice from the anime version is the use of the term "Sailor Crystal." In the manga, this term was used to describe the Star Seeds inside of the Sailor Senshi. In the anime, the Star Seeds of the Senshi weren't really distinguished from normal Star Seeds with any specific terminology. I think that they were called "true Star Seeds" or "eternally shining Star Seeds." I prefer the manga terminology - it's far less confusing. Everything that I assert about the creation/formation of Sailor Crystals is purely my own conjecture. In fact, it's COMPLETELY different from the recipe used by Naoko Takeuchi in the SM manga. Just so that you know, in the manga it is written that all Sailor Crystals are created in the Galaxy Cauldron, and there is a finite number of Sailor Crystals in the universe. As for my version . . . see "Recipe for a Sailor Crystal." The second glaring difference from the anime version - Princess Kakyuu can become Sailor Kinmoku. Yes, that was in the Sailor Moon manga. It was never brought up in the anime. I tried to describe her Sailor fuku as being identical to the one that appeared in the manga. The attacks that Sailor Kinmoku uses in this story are the same attacks that she uses in the manga. The third glaring difference from the anime version - Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki are female! Actually, this ISN'T a real difference from the anime version. In the anime, it is suggested that the Three Lights are normally female on their home planet of Kinmoku, and only became males while on Earth. The first hint is in Seiya's Sailor Stars prologue: "We must search quickly for our Princess and protect the galaxy from the evil hand of Galaxia . . . To that end, we've become idols, we've become high school students, and we've become boys." This would seem to suggest that Seiya was not a boy previously. Also, in one of the final episodes of the anime, Kakyuu asks Seiya "Why did you choose... these... forms?" seeming to imply that she is not used to her guardians as being male. (Er, there may be one or two typos in the fic when I refer to Seiya, Yaten, or Taiki as "he." I tried to catch as many as I could, but . . . It's difficult. I'm used to thinking of them as male.) As for the names issue . . . When I first began writing this story, I was under the impression that "Kou" was the first name of Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki. This was based on the assumption that their names were always listed in Japanese order - family name first, individual name last. In the anime and manga, they were referred to as Seiya Kou, Taiki Kou, and Yaten Kou . . . So the logical assumption was that "Kou" was their first name. Since then, however, it has been brought to my attention that in Japan, the names of pop idols tend to be Westernized whenever they are written or spoken. Thus, "Kou" is more likely the last name of all three characters. But heck, I like the first way better. I just thought that it was nifty the way that they all had the same first name . . . So this is my story, and that's the way that I like it! So there! Third of all, there are numerous mentions of planets named Mau, Chuu, and even Coronis. These are planets mentioned in the manga arc of Sailor Stars, each having produced a Sailor Animate. Sailor Tin Nyanko is from the planet Mau, as are the cats Luna, Artemis, and Diana. Sailor Iron Mouse is from the planet Chuu. Sailor Lead Crow is from the planet Coronis, as are Rei's guardian crows Phobos and Deimos. Yes, I do take artistic liberties with both the location and the populace of these respective planets. At one point, an alien from the planet Chuu is described as having big round ears and whiskers. Kind of like Sailor Iron Mouse . . . but not really. Finally, there are the Sailor Animates that appear in the story. The first is Sailor Stone Croco. This is a character that originally appeared in the live-action Sailor Stars musical. Although she is a character that already sort of exists in the Sailor Moon canon, I merely use her name and not the actual character. I didn't have a visual reference available at the time that I wrote this story, so I basically made up her physical appearance. And I haven't yet seen the Sailor Stars musical, so I couldn't make any judgements on her existing character . . . thus I pretty much created her personality and physical attributes all by myself. Sailor Theta is the name of another Animate that appears in the Stars musical. In the musical, she was dressed in a blue fuku and was a companion to Sailor Phi and Sailor Chi. Once again, this was the extent of my knowledge about Sailor Theta when I wrote this story. So everything else about Sailor Theta is purely made-up by me, myself, and I. And probably does not jive with the original Sailor Theta in any way, shape, or form. HOMAGES TO OTHER ANIME Yes, there are a LOT of little nods and references to other anime. And most of them are intended, not accidental. "Anya Cerise Wil Galune" -- The name is a combination of elements from two other characters that bear absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to our dear Lady Anya. The first name is from the 20th Century Fox animated movie "Anastasia," which forever corrupted the minds of history students by teaching them that the Russian Revolution was caused by tiny winged green-glowing demons (and NOT by Communism, as their sadly misinformed parents will contend.) That, and the name just seemed to fit the character that I had envisioned in my mind. "Amelia wil Tesla Saillune" is the name of a character from the comedic anime "The Slayers." The rest of Anya's name is kind of based on Amelia's name, just because I think that Amelia has a really cool name. "Kuno Saotomei" -- Again, a name taken from two characters that bear no resemblence whatsoever to our dear Captain Kuno. "Kunou" is the name of an obsessive kendou student in "Ramna 1/2". "Saotome Ranma" is, of course, the name of the title character of this series. I chose the names because I thought that they sounded good, not because I meant for Kuno to be reminiscent of either of these characters. "ginyu trees" -- I don't know much about Dragon Ball Z, but I think that at one point there was a group of villains called the "Ginyu Force". " . . . The nearest system to Kinmoku that has not yet been touched by Galaxia is the Jurai kingdom . . ." -- A tiny throw-away reference to the anime series "Tenchi Muyo". ^_^ If there are any more, then I've lost track of them . . . RECIPE FOR A SAILOR CRYSTAL Like I said before, this is purely my own conjecture . . . A) A planet shall not produce a Sailor Crystal unless its populace is threatened by some dire evil. For example, there was nobody in the Royal House of Kinmoku with a Sailor Crystal until after the civilization became a potential target in the Sailor Wars. And then Princess Kakyuu was born . . . I based this on the fact that, during the Silver Millenium, there was no Sailor Moon. And by the time that the Moon Kingdom was attached by the Dark Kingdom, it was already too late. HOWEVER, when Usagi was re-born in the 20th century, she gained the ability to become Sailor Moon and she was able to fight against the Dark Kingdom. B) A Sailor Crystal shall not be "activated" without the necessary sacrifice of one's own mother. It's kind of complicated, but when a mother dies for the sake of her daughter, her love provides enough energy to properly activate her daughter's Sailor Crystal. NOTE: This is only a requirement of the "first generation" owner of a Sailor Crystal, like Princess Kakyuu, who was the first person to ever have the Sailor Crystal for the planet Kinmoku. If Kakyuu ever had any daughters, they would also have Sailor Crystals, but they would be born with their Crystals already "activated." Or one could make the argument that a sacrifice is required for every Sailor Crystal in subsequent generations. For example, in the Sailor Moon R manga, Chibi-Usa did not "awaken" her powers and become Sailor Chibi-Moon until Sailor Pluto died to save her. Pluto was definitely a mother-type figure for Chibi-Usa . . . But now we're just getting too darn complicated . . . C) In the event that a planet is threatened and the holder of a Sailor Crystal has not yet been born, there is a way to induce the creation of a Sailor Crystal. Essentially, it consists of finding suitable candidates . . . and killing them. You see, a Sailor Senshi is bound to her guardian star by a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth. If said candidates are accepted by the Powers that Be (God, Buddha, Muhammed, Bill Gates, Tony Blair, the Fates, or whatever you want to read into it), then - hooray! - they aren't dead anymore. If they are found to be . . . er, lacking . . . then they stay dead. Simple as that. The question that arises - is all of this orchestrated by some sort of Higher Power? Perhaps. It is an extraordinary coincidence that Seiya, Yaten, and Taiki all had the same first names and had all lost their mothers. And no, I don't have a way to explain the setting of the last scene of the story. I'm personally not a religious person, but I do believe that there is Somebody Up There who's looking out for the little guys down below. And I do believe in Fate, and in Destiny. I think that both are particularly strong themes in the Sailor Moon saga, and wove themselves perfectly into the fabric of this story. Whatever you read into it is up to you. TECHNICALITIES On many occasions, I blur the line between "empath" and "telepath". Personally, I tend to think of them as the same thing. Both Anya and Yaten are labeled as empaths. However, only Anya can read a person's aura . . . and it's never something that she can conciously do. When she saw auras around Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten, it was because . . . well . . . to put it in the words of Barney the Purple Dinosaur, they're "special people." There is a fair amount of Japanese language thrown into the story. For example, "Kami-sama" is used to refer to the concept of God. However, it is doubtful that the people of Kinmoku actually speak Japanese. ^_~ I use Japanese terms at my discretion, like when they sound exotic or foreign (ie, "Kami-sama") or when they express a concept that doesn't really exist in English (like the suffix -chan). And there are a few linguistic things that probably wouldn't make sense in a non-English speaking society . . . At one point, Anya describes Kuno as "Machiavellian." I tried to substitute a different word, but in the end I just couldn't. Oh well. Artistic license, and all that. Who is that woman that appears before Princess Kakyuu in Part Three, the woman that gives Kakyuu her new mission? Would it help if I said that she had HEART-SHAPED odangos on top of her head? Queen Olibidia (mentioned in the appendix) is loosely based on the katakana version of the Western name "Olivia." Get it? It's a pun on that ever-present olive theme . . . And yes, the social-political state of the Kinmoku Kingdom during the time of the story is meant to parallel the Moon Kingdom during the last days of the Silver Millenium. Out of the handful of characters I created for this story, Jena was by far my favorite. A kleptomaniac, and a pathological liar to boot. I kept looking for excuses to include her in scenes beyond Part One . . . but alas, no opportunities really presented themselves. _______________________________________________________________________ APPENDIX: A HISTORY OF THE KINMOKU KINGDOM Like all great civilizations, the Kinmoku Kingdom had a humble beginning. The fourth planet in a system of ten, orbiting a yellow star not unlike our Sol, the planet Kinmoku was the only one in its solar system to support life. A race of sentient beings extremely similar to humans gradually evolved from the life on the planet. The people of Kinmoku organized themselves into nations, and soon their population grew numerous enough to cover most of the planet's inhabitable space. In a world overflowing with people, short on resources, and sharply divided among lines of nationalistic pride . . . war was inevitable. And there was a war, a terrible one. Millions lost their lives. Societies which were on the cutting-edge of modern technology unleashed devastating biological and nuclear weapons upon their neighboring countries. The planet was virtually ruined. Finally, the war ended. But not because any side (of which their were numerous) actually surrendered to the other. It was because the people were horrified at the devastation caused to their planet, and realized that the only way to save their species was to work together to rebuild their environment. Across the globe, former enemies became friends as a massive clean-up project began. As peace settled upon the planet and people forged new bonds through the task of working together, a new era began. A world government was formed, but it was far from a hegemony. National sovereignty was allowed to a large extent; but nevertheless, a higher authority was established. As was tradition for the societies of the world at that time, the new world leader was a monarch. The first Queen Mother of Kinmoku, the wise and regal Queen Olibidia, ushered in an era of peace and prosperity under her reign. One of her most radical administrative decisions was the abolishment of all high-tech weaponry. As it turned out, this decision was also the most important part of her legacy to the people of Kinmoku. The practice of war was practically extinguished. Although science continued to make spectacular advances in the fields of medicine, mass media technology, and space travel . . . For the most part, the soldiers of Queen Olibidia's forces were armed only with staffs, clubs, swords, and archaic projectile weaponry. Guns, energy-emitting weapons, biological weapons, and long-range weapons were abolished. Kinmoku soon developed into a peaceful agrarian society. The people learned to use their resources wisely, treat their fellow neighbors with respect and love, and work together to solve problems. A state of near-Utopia existed for thousands of years. Over many years, Kinmoku developed a fledgling space exploration program. Although early missions rarely ventured outside of the solar system, the technology was soon developed to allow for longer forays into space. Faster-than-light travel was inevitably accomplished. Encouraged by a rapidly-expanding population, scientists set to work terraforming the three planets closest to Kinmoku. Soon inhabited by adventurous former citizens of Kinmoku, the terraformed planets became collectively known as the Colonies. Although each Colony had its own semi-independent government established, they were still largely ruled by the authority of the Royal House of Kinmoku. Centuries passed, and the Colonies flourished. The Kinmoku Kingdom became the official name for the system of three Colonies and one home planet. As astronauts from the Kinmoku Kingdom explored the farther reaches of space, the made contact with other alien civilizations. The first was the Mau Kingdom, centered on a planet in a star system not far from that of the planet Kinmoku. Soon the Kinmoku Kingdom had made steadfast allies among the people of Mau, Chuu, and even Coronis. It was through contact with these other civilizations that the people of Kinmoku learned of the Sailor Wars. Kinmoku has never had a Sailor Senshi. It is hypothesized that because the kingdom has never been threatened by an outside force, there was never any need for a guardian Senshi. However, many feared that the looming threat of the Sailor Wars would destroy the defenseless Kinmoku Kingdom. Those fears were partially placated with the announcement of the birth of the 1,002 nd princess in the royal bloodline. After the presence of a Sailor Crystal was confirmed by one of the Queen's specially-trained empathic Knights, the kingdom breathed a collective sigh of relief. It appeared that with the birth of Princess Kakyuu, there would be a Sailor Kinmoku after all.