Sailor Senshi
From DPwiki
To tell the truth about the Sailor Senshi, one must begin the tale many thousands of years ago before the Republic, before the Jedi Order.
The Galaxy was a very different place then, united in a peace that has not been seen since. As now, the centre of power was Coruscant, but the structure of government was unusual when considered by today's standards. Everything, and I do mean everything, was ruled by Queen Amaterasu, who lived her life in a Palace of unsurpassed beauty on Coruscant.
She was much respected and loved by the people, for her ways were fair and her methods just. And each planet had their own ruler, who managed the individual affairs of their own world. Some were elected, others inherited their position. Each acted in the best interests of the people and lifeforms who inhabited their planet.
This was also a time of magic, though the word may sound strange to those of a modern persuasion, particularly the Jedi and other Force users. The ruler of each planet, and also the heir to their position, had the ability to manipulate what we now know as the Force in ways most of us will never comprehend. The exact source of these abilities is not known, though many believed that the 'magical' abilities were a gift from the planets or the gods themselves.
What is known is that the first manifestation of power was the ability to transform ones physical being into one of the Sailor Senshi ("Senshi" is an old word that means "warrior" or "soldier", whilst "Sailor" refers in part to the costume worn by such). In such a matriarchal society, the Sailor Senshi were usually female, with a few notable exceptions. In the event that a male heir to a position of power was born / elected, his abilities never seemed to match those of the females in the elemental skills (of which I will speak later), but they were usually compensated by being better able to harness the Force in the ways we are most familiar with.
The Sailor Senshi were easily recognised by their rather unique costume, which I don't really need to describe. Each Senshi took their name from the planet they were to rule over, and each was required to spend a number of years in training at a special Temple, after which they spent another two years serving Queen Amaterasu in her Palace on Coruscant as bodyguards and advisors.
The Senshi were able to use the magic / Force to manipulate their environment in ways that would seem impossible to most. Depending upon which planet they were brought up on, the type of upbringing and the personality of the Senshi, the abilities varied. Some were able to control the wind and rain, some were able to spin illusions in the air. The most powerful Senshi were able to use their abilities for healing or incredible destruction.
And yet, because this was such a time of peace, these abilities had fallen into disuse.
Only one planet did not have a Senshi guardian: Coruscant. It was said that Sailor Coruscant was a spy and assassin for Queen Amaterasu, the soldier who worked in silence and in shadows, but in truth there had never been such a Senshi. Sailor Coruscant was a figure who existed only in legend, she was called the soldier of rebirth and retribution, for it was said that one day she would openly move amongst the people of the Galaxy and that she would choose whether to save or surrender the lives of every being.
Around 25,000 years before the present time, a force from outside the Galaxy was somehow able to manipulate the 'magic' they possessed to cross the bridging between universes. They were known simply as the "Dark Kingdom", and they destroyed or corrupted all they came across in the name of their Queen. Each sucessive wave of the invasion was lead by a General of the Dark Kingdom, and as the black spiral reached closer towards Coruscant, a number of these Generals were Senshi who had been coerced or convinced to change sides and fight against the old ways.
In the end, it all came down to one last battle, which took place just outside the Palace on Coruscant. The few remaining Senshi fell, their powers insignificant against those weilded by the countless soldiers of the Dark Kingdom. Billions had already died, when Queen Amaterasu stepped forward, in one hand the Crystal Staff, a symbol of her position in the Galaxy.
Shining brightly at the end of the Staff was the Sapphire Crystal, which is an object of immense power. In the hands of one born to the royal house of Coruscant, the Crystal is able to respond to that one heart's desire, bestowing on them the ability to do the impossible. And with this power comes a great price, one that most would not be willing to pay. Queen Amaterasu raised the Sapphire Crystal and called forth it's power, using it to send the minions of the Dark Kingdom back to the place from whence they had come. A spell of binding was placed upon the passage they had used, so strong that it took the Dark Kingdom until until a few years ago to break through it completely.
Queen Amaterasu reached further then, summoning the healing power of the Crystal and did what she could to repair the damage done in a number of places, though many worlds would never again be suitable to support life. Such an effort cost Queen Amaterasu her own life and the Sapphire Crystal disappeared.
And so the destruction of this era, which came to be known as the Sapphire Millennium, was complete.
Very few of the Senshi had survived the holocaust, it was they who forswore their Senshi skills and lifestyle who began the task of reforming the structure of the Galaxy. Some set up the foundations for what later became known as the Galactic Republic, whilst those who still wished to use their Senshi ablities to aid others in a less-obvious way became the first Jedi Knights. They also broke one of the old traditions and taught the half-breeds and those of lesser talents how to manipulate the smaller magics, and eventually this group came to believe in the Force that binds and surrounds all things, much as the elders had believed in the magic that penetrated everything.
One spark of hope remained for the old world. Before the fall of the Sapphire Millennium, Queen Amaterasu had sent her daughter away from the battle, to a place where she would be safe. No one but the Queen kenw of its location, and none knew if she survived. And as the years passed and no princess came forth to claim her throne, hope faded, as did the memory, until the stories of a united Galaxy and it's beautiful ruler drifted into the realms of fantasy, and only one person continued her search for the true heir to the ancient throne. Even she eventually lost hope of ever finding the Princess, and only the spell cast upon her by the dying Queen Amaterasu kept Palomene alive.
Six years before the present day, the Dark Kingdom made their move once more. Whilst before they had attacked openly, this time they sent one General, Hematite, and a number of lower-ranked soldiers known as youma to scout out the structure of our Galaxy and the type of resistence that would be mounted against another invasion attempt.
What they found was a world in which the power of the Senshi had been forgotten, where the government was failing, new powers were taking hold and those who held any semblence of the old fighting skills were set in their ways and had little idea about the dangers they were facing. (There is some debate about exactly how much the Jedi Council knew about their heritage, but it is known that none of the lesser members of the Jedi Order knew about the origins of the Jedi and their abilities.)
However, Palomene, who had been gifted with a long lifespan by Queen Amaterasu, was able to detect the movements of the Dark Kingdom, and she followed them to Coruscant intent on somehow stopping them. What she found instead was a young Jedi Padawan of fourteen years, Hikari-No Miko, who was somehow able to resist a spell cast by the Dark Kingdom General. When Palomene approached the girl in spirit form, she was able to identify that Hikari-No's Jedi abilities did indeed mark her as one of the Senshi of old, but what was most surprising was that the Padawan seemed to draw her power from Coruscant rather than any other place.
Palomene held off for as long as possible, fearing that the revelation of Sailor Coruscant would bring about the time spoken of in the prophecies. But when she could find none of the other Senshi, Palomene realised that she had to act, and so she confronted Hikari-No and told her of her ancient heritage. She presented Hikari-No with a locket on which the sigil of the royal house of Coruscant, a circle within a heart, was inscribed, and Hikari-No used this device to transform herself into Sailor Coruscant.
Sailor Coruscant battled a number of the youma on Coruscant, and was eventually aided by Sailor Durillion, another Jedi Padawan, who went by the name of Princess *Starinia Fallus of that same world in her normal life.
After a number of small battles, Hematite challenged Sailor Coruscant and Sailor Durillion to a duel to the death, with the lives of every person on Coruscant at stake. The two teenagers had no choice but to go. Through treachery Sailor Durillion was killed, leaving Hikari-No alone with the Dark Kingdom General.
They fought for a time, each throwing magical attacks at each other and neither gaining any ground, until the queen of the Dark Kingdom spoke to Hematite using the Force and told him that the magic locket was the source of Sailor Coruscant's power. He grabbed the piece of jewellry and it broke, reversing the transformation and leaving Hikari-No kneeling helpless before Hematite.
Hikari-No thought for a moment that lasted an eternity of all the people who were counting on her, and she suddenly realised that her own life did not matter. She simply had to defeat this General who was threatening everything she loved in life, and she reached deep within her heart to find the strength needed. When she stood again, she reached out with her hand and called forth both the Crystal Staff and the Sapphire Crystal. Her Jedi robes were replaced in a flash of light by a dress of navy blue and the Royal Sigil for Coruscant shone brightly on her forehead. This final transformation brought to light Princess Amaterasu, who had once been heir to the Sapphire Millennium and was able to weild once more the power of the Sapphire Crystal.
She called on the Crystal's power then, and she used it to once more banish the Dark Kingdom from our Galaxy. But the battle before had taxed her strength, and she did not know how to properly control the power of the Crystal. As the Crystal drained her own lifeforce to feed the spells, Hikari-No Miko / Sailor Coruscant / Princess Amaterasu found herself wishing with all her heart that her dear friend *Star had not died, and as the Princess died the Crystal granted her wish. And because her last wish had been completely unselfish, the Crystal also gifted Hikari-No with her life.
Despite Palomene's urgings, Hikari-No refused to fulfill the prophecies that stated that one day the Princess would return to take her place as Queen of Coruscant and thus of the Galaxy. She had been discouraged by Palomene's disregard for the fact that *Star had died in the battle against Hematite, and though she would not admit it, Hikari-No was terrified of the power she had wielded, both as Sailor Coruscant and as Princess Amaterasu. Although she had used her powers primarily for healing, particularly in the act of bringing her friend back to life, Hikari-No knew that she could also have used them for destruction, and she hated herself for what she had done both to Hematite and the Dark Kingdom. She forswore her powers as Sailor Coruscant and banished Palomene from her presence, hoping that she would be able to live her life in peace as a Jedi. This was not to be the case, but that is another story to be told another time.
