Silver Millennium Part 1: The Dominion of Knights

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or its characters, but I do own all of the planetary monarchs except for Serenity and her senshi of course, and I own all of the knights and cultures represented here.

Part three of five Silver Millennium Fanfics (in chronological order):

1. Silver Millennium: the Prologue

2. Interlude: A Silver Millennium Snippet

3. Silver Millennium Part One: The Dominion of Knights

4. Silver Millennium Part two: Years of Silver Light

5. Silver Millennium Part Three: The End of All Things

"Time has a unique balance in which history is written by events coming into motion according to fate. According to the laws of destiny, everything that happens comes and goes in cycles, one group must flourish and then fail before another may do the same in its stead. This in itself is disturbing to us, but practical and necessary for all beings to coexist in harmony. No matter how hard it may be for people to accept; this has proven forever true with the testimony of time as its witness and history as its record."

-Bruteaous-

Chapter 1: Prelude to an End

Second Millennia of Queen Seda Selene Serenity II's Reign year 1339

Naith, the Last Moon of Pluto

The Battlefield of Menasich

The wind soared over the planted fields. From the clouded night sky a soft rain began to fall, its drops wetting the armor of the troops below. The shining armor of the knights of the Moon kingdom glistened brightly from the dim light of the stars shinning through the smoky clouds. Twenty thousand of them stood on this field.

Many of them were intermediates, who were almost finished with their training. For many of them, their training would end on that fateful day. Their coming to fight on this battlefield and answering to their queen's summons was a test of loyalty to Serenity herself.

The guardians sat a top horses stating their status as the commanders on this field, the strongest and most loyal of Queen Serenity's noble warriors. Among these elite knights sat such legendary names as Tudor, a Lunarian born knight whom fought against the Duke of the Roses for his title and crown or Lantar, the Jupiterean bowman and prince who fought the esteemed Prince Ducon, the only surviving son of Chaos and defeated him in combat. Or even Daro, the shadily handsome dark armored knight of Saturn, who had been the artisan employed to seal the Millennium crystal into the coat of arms of the Serenity bloodline.

But of all of the legendary names gathered to once more prove their worth in battle, there were only two most revered and respected above all: Regelle & Entarais. Noble Regelle of Uranus and Charming Entarais of Neptune sat upon their steeds watching the dark forces gather at the base of a far away hill. They had, but one distinction from their fellow knights: they were the most well known and strongest knights in the Moon Kingdom. The two were friends and allies, set in friendship by bonds forged one thousand years ago. The two legends would have died long ago, under ordinary circumstances, but Serenity had made them into her guardians therefore giving them ageless long life.

Entarais had short brown hair, as short as any knights and good looking, yet sharp features to match. But the Neptunian's true distinction was in her eyes, for she possessed deep cerulean eyes, described by some as being as deep as the many seas of Neptune themselves. It was true this knight was seen as skilled in the arts of both combat and in all of the arts as a whole themselves. She was known on her planet as the first of Neptune's five muses for her teachings on self-government

and equality throughout the planets.

Regelle had hair as short as Entarais's, only sandy blonde in color and her eyes too were distinct; a beautiful shade of teal only seen in the Uranian royalty. She seemed intensely focused and concentrated on a message she was reading on a small scroll of parchment which she was shielding from the offending rain. The teal depths of the Uranian's eyes were phantom less as they seemed to be scanning the aging parchment, rereading the short message over and over again. Then she rolled up the scroll and tied it to her belt, in enough time to turn and hear her companion's voice.

"It is time." Entarais said as she steered her dapple gray horse over more to the left side of the group. From their vantage point, one could clearly see the droves of blood thirsty creatures gathering at the hill's base, gaining their strength for the coming charge.

Entarais looked the enemy over carefully. The dark armored soldiers definitely out numbered them, but she knew that their soldiers had a better chance of winning if they doubled up and avoided the enemy valley, making the enemy climb up the slopes to come to them, but the leading knights would charge down the hill into the open valley diving head first on into the fray, willing to die nobly for Serenity in battle as they felt their time had come to an end. Then the Neptunian knight turned to her troops who were studying her expectantly.

"For coming to Serenity's aide on this theatre of war, I sincerely thank you." Entarais spoke to her troops walking her gray stallion alongside the wall of armored knights looking up at her, "Never will our kingdom observe a greater sacrifice than the one which you have all agreed to make on this field today."

"None of us came here to fight for the well being of our rivals." A Marian knight piped up gesturing towards the legions of Venus carrying their golden banners upon long wooden pikes. "We only came here to have reap the rewards of pillage and spoils."

All of the ranks broke out into budding protests as different knights whom were allies in arms argued among themselves with their planetary and racial boundaries clearly coming into prominence over their surroundings and senses of responsibility. Entarais reared her horse and then started galloping up and down the lines, getting her soldier's attention as the buzzing of angry voices died down.

"We must go home, the enemy out numbers us greatly." a young Paladin of Jupiter shouted towards Entarais, whom briefly gazed over her shoulder to see what she already confirmed about their enemy's , before turning back to her knights.

"Knights of the Moon kingdom, you have come here to fight to preserve your independence, and righteous and just this cause is." Entarais shouted to her troops, "What would you do if the Dark Kingdom took away that gift of free choice and enslaved our family's and our peoples? Would you retaliate?"

"No!" Yelled the same young knight from before, "We would flee, to preserve our lives while there is still time left."

Entarais eyes held in them an emotion no one beheld in them often. An indiscernible yearning which had existed in them since her childhood and which had taken over dominance every since she had become a knight: a yearning for something better for the moon kingdom, but which was even beyond the reach of a legendary warrior like herself. It was the fact that she could not have what she so desperately wished for which was the reason why she fought. She wished for the realization of unity among her soldiers, among the people of the moon kingdom, merged as one solid identity; but it was not to be so.

"So what would you do then?" She swallowed hard and cleared her throat loudly, her voice strong and her resolve stronger while the indescribable yearning remained still present in her cerulean eyes, "Leave for home? Of course return to your families and peaceable homes…while they still stand. Run from this field today and you will live another day…until our defenses fall and the enemy comes for you in your beds or in your fields. Would you not just give all that you are for this one lone opportunity, to tell your enemies that although they may end your lives they will never destroy the noble fighting spirit of the hearts which beat within you now. Would you not give anything in the universe to let your foes know that although you may die, your people and their families will prosper because of your sacrifice? To know that although you have sacrificed your life, that your sacrifice was not in vain as long as our kingdom still stands? Let them know that even if they destroy your body they will never be able to destroy all that you have fought for, knowing that someday someone stronger will come and take your place. Let it be known unto them that as long as breath resides in our lungs, our families and loved ones will remain safe because of what will happed here today! Courage, do not falter, be brave and die with honor!"

Entarais turned her steed and galloped along the ranks as loud cheers erupted from the knights within them. She rode her horse back towards her companions who were surveying the hill mobbed by black bodies resting at its base. Lantar shook his head wearily. The Jupiterean prince did not feel a strong urge that they would somehow turn this battle in their favor.

"Their numbers are great." Tudor spoke first grimly, his hazel eyes showing just a bit of green in their depths, illuminated by the starlight as he spoke; the tow colored hair upon his head being shaded by the night and dampened to his straight forehead by the rain. "But our sacrifice will be greater than their numbers and not in vain. If all goes to plan and we keep our advantage at the top of the hill, allowing the Jupiterean bowmen to shoot them down, then our numbers will be evened out and the battle will close at a stalemate. If our loss is great we will be avenged by an even higher power, soldiers appointed by Serenity herself to guard the universe with the use of their planet's power."

"Do not be so confident." Lantar warned, short auburn hair and emerald eyes coming into view from the starlight above, his long bow held steady in his left hand as he unsheathed his one handed sword with the other hand, still holding his horse's reins in his occupied bow hand. "This may be dire for us, and I fear that this battle in itself, will be the beginning of the end for us…the end of all things will soon be upon us."

"Every prediction is dire according to you, Lantar." Daro replied his handsome features, amethyst eyes and ebony hair coming into full view as a bolt of lightening shot across the green stormy sky. "The way I see it, between the five of us, we can easily massacre thirty to sixty dark soldiers each. That at least gives us some hope, if hope is possible."

"Maybe I would like to be warned of my impending doom before it happens, you see, unlike some I am not very accustomed to death and destruction and I do not kill for the thrill of seeing another die." Lantar retorted still starring down at the recruiting army as a bolt of lightening illuminated his features and shed some light upon the jagged scar across the length of his face and part of his neck.

"You should try it, really, relishing in the hunt that leads to your kill on the battlefield. It is actually quite satisfactory. There is no greater thrill than to hunt another human being who has the will to reason in the same way as the hunters themselves do." Continued Daro smirking in his arrogant way as he finished, his ebony eyebrows straightening while matching the ill humor of his expression. "What is your insight on the battle to be, Entarais? Regelle?"

"I am ready." Entarais replied truthfully. "I have no greater purpose in this world than to protect this kingdom and if fate commands it, die for it. This is the Kingdom of Serenity. The place of civilization and life. Ordered, sophisticated, advanced, a place of light and beauty. Where would my duty lay if not here? This is a place of peace, a peace which is so fragile that suggesting it in any tone louder than a mere whisper would cause it to evaporate with the wind and yet peace is the most important of all things. I would gladly give my life to preserve it."

"Oh? And what of your lover and your family members, are they ready to lose you, too?" Daro asked with some amusement to Entarais' willingness to fight, enjoying bothering his stoic companion. "I am surprised your young love let you leave, or did you simply ride off to the front line sieges in the middle of the night while not informing your lover of your absence?"

The Neptunian knight raised her head up towards the clouds as she allowed the cold drops of rain to caress her face and cool warm skin.

"They will understand when the news comes to them." Entarais answered the focus in her cerulean gaze becoming far away and distant as she thought of her loved ones and one close companion in particular. "It is better in life to forsake the happiness of a few for the promise of a much greater good to fulfill the hopes of many. This universe is not a peaceful place, but perhaps our sacrifice will aid in making our Kingdom so, that we may be one step closer to peace than we were before."

"Nah, Peace, who needs it. Certainly not I. Peace is for the weak, for the women and helpless children. What would I do to entertain myself in a peaceful world with no battles being fought for my amusement?" Daro spat with a smirk, before turning his attention to Regelle. "What about you, Regelle?" Daro asked pushing his good fortune to tease the short tempered Uranian, "Are you going to reply to your family's message before you die? You know your cousin, King Aegelle, worries for you. Why not send him one final message before you die? Or at least write a short reply to the one he sent you. "

"Do you not take into account what an affect your disrespectful and uncaring words have on others?" Tudor asked casting a disdainful look towards the Saturnarian prince.

"I take note of the despising reactions and piercing looks with the utmost feeling of pride. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to insult or pester another human being." Daro replied, then turned back to Regelle. "Are you going to reply to your king?"

"There is nothing to reply to. It was made painfully obvious to me today that although I may want to, I cannot return to Uranus ever again, fate forbids it as my death calls to me here and now." Regelle spoke in a forlorn tone as the prideful, merciless look returned to her royal features. She unsheathed her sword and brought the bronze blade to rest upon her forehead, the sold metal giving her some reassurance before the enemy drums started rumbling. "Besides, in the end, when the fates take us and death engulfs us; all that really matters is what we have accomplished in this life. All that we have done, that is all destiny judges."

Daro removed his attention from the Uranian warrior and motioned his black steed forward a bit to look over the edge of the hill. The enemy was forming lines, preparing for their charge up the hill. The dark standard bearers held up their black banners high, soaked and clinging to their poles from the falling rain. One of the generals barked an order in their dark language and a man in a gray colored uniform, who stood out plainly in the lines of black uniformed soldiers, blew a horn.

he dark sound echoed in the distance and the drummers of the army began beating their drums to match the rhythm of their normal marching pattern, the deep sound of the drums resonating up the hill with the finality that the battle was about to begin. No withdrawing could be done now. This was the final fight that would decide whether the Moon kingdom would remain peaceful or be engulfed by an encroaching darkness, not experienced before since the time of Chaos and the immortals.

Daro pulled a silver pendant from underneath his amethyst cloak and kissed the claret

surface. The small jewel was frigid and moist from the rain drops that still misted the air, but it was still a small comfort to him. He died here for his own satisfaction, knowing that he lived his life the way he wanted it, not taking orders from anyone else. That life would end here, now, on this battlefield. He was not worried though, for he knew that his name would live on in the history of this kingdom, no matter what he fate might be. In the end, when the fates take us and death engulfs us; all that really matters is what we have accomplished in this life. All that we have done, that is all destiny judges.

"We need to ready our soldiers. Tell the bowmen to advance to the front, tell them to spread out." Lantar ordered a Jupiterean horseman near him who rode off to execute his king's orders.

"Rally the troops it is time." Tudor said kicking his horse and galloping up to the lines of knights with Lantar not far behind him.

The Dark kingdom soldiers at the foot of the hill were also rallying to fight. One of their generals raised his sword for silence amongst his troops, his black armored steed stamping his hooves in the mud impatiently.

"Silence all of you!" General Dracul yelled to his men, never dropping his sword from where he held it high in the air. "When we charge up this hill, not one of you will flee. If anyone of you dares to do you, I will hunt you down personally and kill you myself."

He lowered his sword arm carefully and swiftly dismounted his horse, slapping it on the rear, causing the skittish animal to ride away quickly from the battlefield.

"Today is the day that we feed Serenity's legends to our hounds. The land will cry out at the sudden flood of blood as corpses of the Moon kingdom's faithful will litter the ground and choke the rivers. Today is our day! This day will go down in history. Years from now, our descendants will ask us about the events of this day. They will ask about the day that the dark armies of Metallia changed this world and made it the paradise of all evil. They will ask about this day and when they do, let them know that our victory was built upon the blood drained bodies of Serenity's guardians!"

Suddenly, as the lead general was preparing to charge up the hill, a hail of sharp pointed and green fletched arrows rained down upon the Dark Kingdom soldiers. Echoes of pain rang out from their ranks as many a evil creature fell, struck through their black hearts by the sure arrows of the Jupiterean bowmen. The Dark generals were barking orders for their soldiers to hold their lines and not to fold, but the task seemed daunting as soldier after soldier were cut down by arrows.

So many arrows were there that it was later reordered that they blocked out the little light of the sky, falling as smoothly as the raindrops from the clouds. Many dark soldiers broke their lines against orders and hide themselves behind rocks and trees from the surrounding forests.

But a few moments later a force of Venian and Marian knights raced toward their enemy down the hill lead by the five mounted legendary knights at their front, drawing the dark soldiers from their hiding places. The mounted knights were knocked off of their horses by dark arrows or by a blow from the spear of a Dark kingdom pike man. The enemy, encouraged by the breath of victory they had captured over the kingdom's strongest knights, raced up the hill towards the waiting planetary knights.

The Knights whom had been knocked from their horses had regained their footing quickly, lashing out with all of their strength at the enemies who tried to charge past them up the hill.

Lantar stood, but with great difficulty as a poisoned arrow had lodged into his leg, but he would not rest with his ability to wield a sword and a bow still in tact. He gazed up at the battle upon the hill. The Dark Kingdom soldiers were pushing against the wall of shields each separate battalion had created and hacked at any arms or limbs which were not entirely protected by the wall.

He watched as a Dark Kingdom general wearing a black cloak already drenched ruby in the blood of his foes, slashed the bow arm off from of a Jupiterean bowman, making the young man sink to his knees in agony. Ensuring that his suffering would not be prolonged, the Dark General smiled and laughed before raising his sword and in one swift stroke, beheading the young archer.

Lantar gritted his teeth and raised his bow, skillfully knocking a green fletched arrow into place. He aimed carefully and then let the arrow fly swiftly through the air to land smartly in the evil General's back. The Dark General fell over on to the ground while holding his back and yelling out in pain.

"A favor to repay the one you offered to my bowmen." Lantar whispered before he heard rushing footsteps behind him, ducking to avoid his adversary's sword before slicing the unfortunate man in the stomach.

As Lantar made short work of the foot soldiers foolish enough to retaliate against his blade head on, a strong arm came up from behind him and smashed a sword handle into the back of his head. The Jupiterean knight fell to his knees, a look of confusion expressed on his features.

His head felt numb and yet he was very aware of a cooling sensation on the back of his neck. Lantar reached a weary hand back to touch the broken back of his head and brought his fingers back drenched in his own crimson blood. His vision began to blur as his hand dropped to the ground and he gazed at the dim masses of the freshly slain corpses of both his countrymen and his enemies strewn out before his line of vision.

Lantar shook his head to try and rid his eyes of their dizziness, but to no avail. As the Jupiterean prince was doing so, his earlier attacker slammed again the hilt of his dark blade into the noble knight's head. This time Lantar faltered, his balance waning, the Jupiterean prince fell face first into the bloody mud, his focus less emerald eyes still retaining a tiny spark of life in their depths.

It was apparent from the lost gaze of Lantar's eyes that he could no longer comprehend the world around him through his vision, and that what ever life he had remaining in him, was fading quickly.

Lantar's attacker stood proudly in front of the fallen prince smiling broadly as the prince's prone form twitched and writhed upon the ground in subconscious agony. The general placed one of his hands on his back where a small wound remained from the true flight of Lantar's green fletched arrow which had been roughly pulled from his wound as the dark general had come down to seek revenge upon his aggressor.

"You see, my friend." the dark general said with a pronounced unfamiliar accent, "What death you had intended for me I now deal to you. Your resistance was futile really, because when we win on this battlefield I shall make sure to travel on a personal note to Jupiter. No, you will not be alone in your death, oh no, rest assure that the last of your blood will join you in the afterlife. Now, here you die!"

The dark general lifted his blade above his head and with great finality, plunged it through the left shoulder blade of Lantar's back and through his heart. The Jupiterean prince's emerald eyes, once so full of strength and vigor, drained of all life as his cooling ruby blood enriched the already muddy soil around him.

The dark general grinned and watched as an entertained spectator as Lantar's body stopped its twitching and blood filled the space entirely around the corpse. But before the dark general could celebrate his victory any longer, a knock from a metal shield hit him firmly in the back making him vault forward, his balance unsteady. He turned sharply to see Tudor, the young fair haired knight raising his sword and leveling it over his shield in challenge.

"You shall pay for what you have done to my friends and countrymen." Tudor yelled circling his enemy without turning his back to him, "Lantar had an infant son he had not yet beheld yet. He wished to survive this so that he could return to Jupiter and hold him. You ended his life before his time and for that you will pay dearly."

The dark kingdom knight smiled and chuckled harshly.

"If he did not wish to die than the ignorant Jovian prince should have known better than to show himself on this battlefield. You know, the Jupiterean thought to make me pay in the same manner and as you can see, he failed. His failure cost him his life just as your arrogance is about to claim yours."

"We shall see." Tudor replied.

No sooner had he said so, then the dark general's blade came fiercely down upon his shield. With all of his might, Tudor pushed back the dark general and parried towards his opponents stomach, but he was not fast enough and the repulsive soldier whisked the top part of his blade across Tudor's cheek throwing the Lunarian knight back with his free arm in the process.

Tudor reached up and touched his cheek, where his warm vermilion blood was flowing freely from the gash down his drawn face and slender neck. The dark general nodded in approval while grinning luminously, a gesture clearly showing that he was only toying with Tudor, enjoying the competition of a potential plaything before he could simply kill him.

"Is this all a legendary knight of Serenity's court has to offer me?" the dark general laughed coldly, sending offending chills up Tudor's spine. "And I had so much hope in your fighting abilities, which I must say after meeting you in combat have clearly been embellished by your reputation."

Tudor's face flushed in fury as all decent thought left his mind and he flew forward with his sword aimed for the dark general's head. Smiling in triumph not yet assured, the dark general leapt to the side and in the space vacated, slammed his armored shoulder into his opponent whom roughly fell to the ground with a clatter of metal.

"What a strong fighting spirit you still retain. I am certain only excess of torture will drain that out of you. Captain!" the dark general turned from his deeply winded opponent and called his personal guard captain whom had been standing idle as a last resort.

The captain ran over to his superior. "Yes, sir?"

"Take this man into custody, when we leave this planet he is going with us, as a gift of gratification to our queen." the dark general said.

The captain smiled broadly, "Yes, sir." Before he bent down and slammed his fist into the back of Tudor's neck.

Tudor immediately lost consciousness and lay prone before their eyes as the dark captain bent down and picked up the fallen knight, tying his hands behind his back before carrying him back to his waiting comrades and throwing him at their feet.

"Return him to the transport." the captain ordered his men while grinning down at the motionless body of Tudor, the tow color of his fair hair being stained with the vermilion blood seeping down over his head from a cut on the back of his neck, "We shall see how his disobedient spirit fares when we march him before our queen in chains.

Thrilled by the new challenges, the dark general turned his attentions to searching the battlements for the remaining legendary knights he could fight. He gazed across the fleeting battlements in search of his prey, before he saw his target.

Entarais was battling with a group of dark soldiers were circling her, waiting for her to misstep for as soon as she did, the circle of enemies would enclose on her and hack her down, still fighting. One dark pike man from the northern end of the circle thrust his spear at Entarais whom caught it with her shield and as the spear head was embedded in the wood of Entarais Neptunian shield he could not pull it back quickly enough to attack her.

To prevent the pike man from retracting his spear at all, Entarais sliced through the carved black wood of the spear, severing the main body of the spear before pulling the spear head roughly from her shield and discarding it.

A long swordsman from the eastern end of the circle lifted his two handed sword above his head and with a distinct cry of determination slammed the blade upon Entarais hand and a half sword. Entarais' sword, being of Neptunian make, was of fine craftsman ship, but it was only a hand and a half sword and as she was also handling her shield in her other arm, parrying her opponent's blow would prove difficult.

As Entarais struggled with the weight of the long sword being imposed upon her sword arm, she thrust her shield forward with the other arm and into the open area of the dark soldiers chest left vulnerable by his attack. The dark soldier was thrown back by the intensity of Entarais' blow and dropped his guard while grasping his chest in an attempt to breathe.

Entarais took the opening presented to her and plunged her sword through the middle of her enemy's middle, withdrawing her weapon as the dark soldier fell to the ground. The rest of the dark soldiers in the circle began to close in on Entarais. Entarais smirked at the bitter reality that she may fall on this battlefield, but would be reborn in another form some time along the course of time.

Readying her stance for defense of last resort, Entarais bared down. As the group closed in, a flash of lightening darkened the sky and left only the silhouettes of the dark soldiers to be seen. When the lightening subsided and normal lighting resumed, each dark soldier in the circle fell to the ground dead in a spurt of emerald blood.

Entarais gazed bewildered at her fallen opponents, but just then she noticed a man standing behind the dead bodies the insignia on his dark cloak clasp stated his rank as a Dark Kingdom general and his sword and garb was covered in both the red blood of Serenity's knights and the darkened green blood of his own soldiers.

"You will fight with me now!" the general yelled pointing his bony thumb at his chest.

"What kind of commander sacrifices his own men just for a duel?" Entarais whispered to herself gazing upon her blood soaked opponent in disgust.

"A practical one." The general answered with a smile as his red eyes narrowed in anticipation of the battle to come, "I have heard great praise of your fighting skills, you might even say that I am one of your greatest admirers. I ,in fact, came to this battlefield with the intention of meeting you face to face in battle."

"For all of your trouble I promise, you shall not be disappointed." Entarais spoke wiping the blood off from her sword with her blue cloak.

"Indeed not." The dark general's smile widened as he leaned on his sword, the point lodged loosely in the dirt, "I like to seek out and battle the greatest challenges that I can find and I know that you are a knight who understands such a search. But enough of this conversation, let us speak no more of this, we will only battle for now."

The dark general and Entarais circled one another. Then the dark general lunged forward and he and Entarais became locked in a stalemate of blades. In order to break the stalemate, Entarais summoned all of her remaining strength and pushed the Dark general backwards where he was forced to jump still back farther to prevent his opponent's blade from coming down on his exposed forward knee.

"Well, well, you certainly fight better than the Lunarian knight, but I suppose his youth simply went to his head." the dark general said with a smirk.

Entarais' cerulean eyes widened in terrible realization and her face set in determined anger.

"It was you, you were the danger Regelle alerted me to, the man who felled Tudor. Hear me now, it ends here. All of the evil deeds you have committed in your lifetime, they are accounted for here." Entarais said raising her sword and holding the blade point so near to the dark general's face that he had to take a step backwards.

"Did you come here to kill me for retribution or to lecture me?" the dark general asked.

"I came her so that you could meet your end and mind you, when you meet it, my face will be the last thing you will recall of this life." Entarais said not lowering her blade, but moving it forward menacingly a few inches.

The dark general did not cower in fear, but grinned widely, "Finally, I have found one of Serenity's knights worth putting to death."

Entarais pulled back her blade and the two circled one another, once more, searching the other for any sign of weakness. Satisfied with his analysis, the Dark General leapt forward and scored a powerful blow on Entarais' shield causing her to lift it above her eyes and push her back a couple of steps. When Entarais lowered the shield in the next instant she could see nothing of the Dark General for he was no longer before her, but behind her.

Without giving Entarais a chance to turn to him, the Dark General slammed the hilt of his sword into the base of Entarais' neck. The Neptunian knight clamored to the ground ungracefully, head bleeding profusely and limply laying in the vermilion stained mud.

Meanwhile the tide of battle was turning in Serenity's favor. Although, her causalities far out weighed that of her enemy, the soldiers of the Dark kingdom were being backed up against the hill side and the forest trees and slaughtered in the small spaces; causing their morale to drop considerably. Dark soldiers were deserting their squadrons in large numbers.

Coming to the realization that the battle could not be won, the Dark General rallied his remaining troops and left the battlefield taking the limp forms of both Tudor and Entarais with them.

The battle commenced and ended with Serenity's Planetary knights having been slaughtered in droves. Although the Dark kingdom lost the battle it was not the dark forces who had come out worse. Only five thousand knights survived the fray out of the original twenty thousand. The only survivors were walking among the carnage surveying their losses, some kneeling and weeping at the sight of the loss of a relative or close friend, some remaining silent and bearing up against the pain and rage.

The death of the knights of legend was the sign of the end of an age. They were pillars which represented the old ways, heroes of a by gone time which would forever resonate in history as a turning point in the Silver Millennium: the end of peace from threats venturing from outside the kingdom. War was upon them and the torch was now passed on to new heroes to protect the people.

A band of riders reigned up at the wooded edge of the battlefield. One of them was a young man dressed in the black armor and garb of a Saturnarian knight cloaked in garnet riding upon a dark horse. His blue eyes scanned the horizon and his features grimaced as he surveyed their losses.

"Daro.." The young man whispered, stepping down from his horse searching the battlements for his elder cousin and fellow Planetary knight. He turned sternly to his men, "Search the field for Prince Daro. Leave not a stone unturned nor brush unearthed."

"Yes, my prince." The captain of the guard acknowledged the order while stepping down from his horse, as he was doing so his amethyst cloak swirled around his dark armor. He turned and called to his men whom were also dismounting from their steeds, "Search the field and find Prince Daro."

The knights did as they were told and quickly began running to and fro over the field glancing and checking the battered bodies for any recognition of their prince. They overturned mangled corpses starring up towards the stars with haunting lifeless eyes, none of which belonged to their prince.

The young man, the Saturnarian prince whom had come to this battlefield searching for his cousin, began walking half heartedly around the battlements, without purpose. Then he came upon a familiar figure and cringed at the sight.

The Uranian knight Regelle was lying upon the ground a steel tipped spear lodged through the bronze armor on her back and a section of the back of her neck was cut away and bleeding. The Uranian's face was pale, and the pulse weak, yet the young Saturnarian prince still attempted to wake her.

"Regelle, you must find the strength to wake." the young prince spoke gently as he removed the spear from her armored back, receiving a pain filled groan from the bleeding lips of the broken Uranian while he laid her upon her back.

"They…Th…" Regelle tried to speak, but coughed up blood in mid sentence. The Saturnarian prince reverently removed the offending blood from the wounded knight's cheek with the edge of his cloak and cradled her head in his hands before she smiled ruefully and continued, "They took Entarais…a…and…capt…ured…Tudor, but they did not…h…have the strength afterwards to…tak…take Daro, or I."

The blood coming from the wound on the back of Regelle's neck pooled upon the ground and stained the young prince's hands as he cradled his friend's blonde head gently. Tired teal eyes opened slightly and looked up at the Saturnarian prince pleadingly for a moment.

"I need you…t…do something for me." Regelle pleaded as she was interrupted by more blood choking coughs.

"Of course anything, just name it." the young Saturnarian prince spoke, his voice honest and true in its meaning.

"Tell…my family what happened…t-that…I love…'em" Regelle sputtered as fresh blood came up from her throat and ran down her chin, "Tell…sorry."

Before the Uranian knight finished her sentence, her eyes closed and her body fell limp as all life left her. The Saturnarian prince gently lowered Regelle's head down to the ground and stood up starring around at all of the bodies of the dead knights and bowmen surrounding him.

"The Dark Kingdom will pay the price for what they have done on this day." the young prince whispered angrily gazing down upon the dead body of Lantar not half a league away, the Jupiterean knight whom was sprawled, face first into the mud mingled with blood on the ground.

"It was very amusing, young prince, you should have been there." A laughing voice spoke up from behind the Saturnarian knight.

"You're right I should have been there." The Saturnarian prince did not turn around, but drew his sword at the ready.

"Do you honestly think you could have made a difference when Entarais and Regelle could not? Seriously?" the laughing voice mocked.

The young prince turned to see a wounded Dark kingdom general mocking him from where he lay beaten and broken on the ground, his poisonous dark green blood flowing freely in to the soil.

"You just wait…this shall be the end of you knights…you watc-" but the Dark Kingdom soldier couldn't finish his sentence before the Saturnarian prince's sword slashed through his throat and abruptly ended his life.

"My prince! Over here!" one of the young knight's soldiers called to him from afar.

The Saturnarian prince ran to the soldier who had called to him and saw the gruesome burden he held in his arms. It was Daro. He was alive, but barely so, with a great excess of blood pouring from the gashes in the breast plate of his ebony armor.

"Daro.." The Nathaniel whispered as he took his cousin in his arms and turned to where they had left their horses, calling over his shoulder to his knights, "We have to get him to safety!"

The knights followed suit and mounted their steeds as the prince mounted his horse with Daro cradled in front of him. They rode off, galloping at a great speed, finally coming to Chirion castle of the Plutonian royal family on that moon.

The Saturnarian prince did not even send a messenger ahead for permission to enter the Plutonian palace, he instead ran into the castle and ordered servants to fetch healers, as many as they could and send them to him. The rest of the day was long as the healers toiled over the injured Daro.

Nathaniel had sent word to Queen Serenity for her immediate arrival, and had sent word to Regelle's family of her death and a message to the Neptunian royal family explaining the nature of Entarais' capture.

"Stop pacing or you will wear a hole in my floor, Nathaniel." Jade, the eldest Prince of Pluto teased his young friend as the Saturnarian prince paced back and fourth on the red marble of the castle Chirion.

"I do not care! I cannot bear to sit this one out, I will go stir crazy if I do!" the young prince replied back, very much on edge from all of the adrenaline rushing through his system.

"Patience." Jade assured his younger companion, "Courage, Nathaniel, to battle your demons."

"You should not speak, Jade." Nathaniel spoke up trying to lighten the moment, "As I recall it is you who has trouble fighting your demons when you are separated from the Neptunian princess Neptunia."

Jade only smiled slightly at the memory of his princess. She was a beautiful, charismatic girl around his sister's age and the scourge of his heart. It is forbidden for an immortal, my son, forbidden. Those had been his father's words. She was still young yet, but the Neptunian princess was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, both inside and out. He could never bring himself to stop loving her, but he would simply love her from afar, causing no shame to either of their two families.

"She plagues your mind." Nathaniel's sympathetic voice broke him from his thoughts. "Try to put her from your thoughts, at least for the moment."

Jade smiled bitterly, "That is an action easier spoken of than accomplished."

The Saturnarian prince became apologetic, "I apologize. My anxiousness is not helping, but I simply cannot fathom what is taking the physicians so long."

"Have faith." Jade encouraged, "Many of my physicians are over one thousand years old. They have survived the dark years when our planets were caught up in the civil wars and have seen many war related injuries. Be at ease, my friend, whatever Daro has my physicians have most likely seen it before."

The doors to the chamber the two young friends were waiting in suddenly opened, and in walked Queen Selene Serenity in all of her grace. The queen was dressed in an elegant white gown, her long silver hair flowing down from two pigtails atop her head, cascading down her back like the currents of a river. Her cobalt eyes were filled with worry, but years of ruling her kingdom had taught her to keep her expression demur.

"What news of the Daro, Nathaniel?" the Queen asked in a voice made calm by years of practice, although her eyes showed the true worry and conflict within herself.

"None, your majesty." the Saturnarian prince answered rubbing the back of his neck nervously and looking down at the floor where his dark ebony hair was highly reflected in the surface of the ruby marble.

Queen Serenity sensed the young man's distress and gently placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. The small touch chased all of his worries away, allowing him to breath a little easier.

"We will do everything in our power, to try and save him." the queen said smiling reassuring and speaking in a comforting voice as if she were speaking with a grieving child.

"We have my planet's best healers in there treating him as we speak." Jade spoke reassuringly to his friend.

Just as they spoke the sobbing Saturnarian queen whom had arrived quite a while ago, came walking down the hall from Daro's chambers, clad in the black of mourning. All of the present company were watching her with interest, fearing the worst; but still hoping for the best.

She stepped in front of Nathaniel, her only son, looking upon him with a look of disgust and before he knew what had happened, she had slapped him hard across the face, leaving a red mark on his right cheek.

"Why did you not go into battle with him?!" Queen Neia of Saturn yelled at her only child as he regained his composure and straightened up to face her, "My beloved nephew is dead because of you!! If you had gone in his stead maybe I would be celebrating the honorable death of my bastard son instead of mourning my beloved nephew! It is all your fault, Daro is dead because of you!! You have caused the death of your own cousin, of the very boy whom should have been the son I should of had you instead of the great disappointment I now must live with. Go, leave my sight and do not ever return!"

Jade visibly flinched as he watched the queen of Saturn harass her son. Everyone on this side of the universe knew exactly why Queen Neia hated her only child. He was an illegitimate heir, born from a languid affair between the queen and one of her Galapagos Knights. The king and queen of Saturn themselves had long been trying to conceive a child, and as the queen was not an ignorant woman, she wisely told the king that she was with his child when the time came instead of informing him of her infidelity. The king embraced the prince as his son and trained him in all royal aspects. Because of this the king did not have the time to spend enough time with his wife, not enough at least for him to stay in one place while she pitted numerous assassins against him.

The young prince had even once, diverted an assassination attempt away from his father, taking an arrow to the chest. The queen had hoped that the young prince would die of his injury, but he recovered and instead made himself more of his father's favorite from then on. That is why Queen Neia had always despised her son: he had single handedly and quite accidentally diminished her stance as Saturn's most powerful ruler.

Nathaniel, the young prince of Saturn rubbed the small place of his cheek where a bruise was already forming and walked silently away from his hysterically weeping mother towards his cousin's chambers to pay his last respects to his childhood friend and mentor.

"Something must be done." Serenity whispered sadly, "Too many knights have died in the name of sacrifice for the sake of our kingdom. Something must be done, but what can be done?" the queen pondered silently for a moment, but as an idea struck her she turned to the eldest prince of Pluto who had been watching her in thought for a moment and commanded, "Jade, I need you to send word to every planetary monarch, and arrange a meeting. Tell the ruling royals that all of them must attend no excuses."

Jade nodded his head in wordless agreement and left the chamber silently, his garnet cloak swirling out around his back as he did so.

"It is time to bring order back into balance." Spoke the queen softly to herself in the echoing silence of the chamber. "The time for action is now. We must save our present or we will not survive to see our future."

Author's Note: This is a story which I hope others will enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed dreaming it up. So please, read and review. Oh, and if anyone finds any continuity errors please do not hesitate to tell me. It is always good to be sure you have not missed anything. Thanks!