The Goddess Selene, Book 1
The Goddess Selene: Act I
When We Were Gods
There were three hundred and sixty-five gods in Selene's kingdom; she'd counted and catalogued them. She knew each by name, face and ability. She took these abilities and used them to determine where each one's talents best suited her needs. She was not above exploiting their weaknesses to suit her purposes, either. After all, weren’t her needs the needs of the Kingdom? And was it not their duty to serve her in every way?
So she justified it to herself, ignoring the coolly disdainful looks of Themis. Themis, Goddess of Pluto, had warned the Queen on more than one occasion to ‘look towards the future’, but Selene merely laughed in the goddess’ face. She had looked into her future, in so far as she could through the limited vision she’d been given into the Space-Time Door; her future was as bright and shining as the Ginzuishou she wore around her neck. As she pulled up the central computer’s database in her suite of the palace, she looked closely at those at the files of those she had the most use for.
The Queen had little affection to give others, save Endymion, and there were times when even that had been called into question by some. There were rumors that she had allowed Helios, God of the Sun, into her bedchamber, and Chaos, God of Ceres, boasted that he had been invited in as well. Others, who granted their undying loyalty to their sovereign, insisted that these were lies; whatever disregard she might display for the others of her court, Endymion was always spared.
Helios looked at his companion and a smile of pleasure lit his face. While it was true that Tyche wasn’t the most beautiful goddess in the realm (it was an established fact, for instance, that Cytherea was the most beautiful of all the goddesses), she was a delightful companion. She was brilliant, with a quick mind and a peaceful nature, flowing naturally through the path as the water in a small stream. A historian by nature, Tyche had recently become obsessed with the birth of their kind, and determined to discover how the miracle of their creation had come into being.
“Imagine, Helios, that each of us carries inside of our person a stone that is just as powerful to our planet as the Ginzuishou is to the Moon!” she was exclaiming in excitement. “Imagine the realms we could create on our home planets if we could but harness the power of these crystals!”
“Yes, my dear, but how would one go about tapping into that energy, and if one did manage it, what do you imagine the Queen would do?” he reasoned. He cast a sidelong glance at her, her beautiful blue eyes narrowed in deep thought, as she puzzled out the possible consequences of such an action.
He paused to pick a small rose from the bush in front of him and handed it to her. Her face still screwed up in concentration, she tucked the flower behind her left ear and continued along the path. He knew her mind was working at a far faster pace than any of the others, and he was struck again with the pang of regret that he couldn’t love her the way he wished to. No, his heart belonged to another, a nameless young woman he knew only as The Maiden. Time and again, he’d tried to force the image of this goddess’ face upon the dream that haunted him nightly, but the eyes…no, the woman he was to bind himself to had eyes of brightest garnet. He shook his head to clear the thought, waving a hand in front of his face as though brushing away an errant cobweb.
“You should share these thoughts with Chaos,” he suggested slyly, for he alone among the gods knew the deep and devout affection the brilliant goddess held for the god of Ceres. He was rewarded for his efforts with a deep blush as she cast her eyes around quickly to make sure no one had overheard him.
Tossing an arm casually about her shoulders, he pointed out various plants that Demeter had recently grown, effectively turning her mind away from both the embarrassing mention of Chaos and the troublesome thought of the Planet Crystals.
From a shadowed alcove, Themis looked on jealously. She knew that the day would come when the Senshi would be called upon to face the threats that lurked, and though she could warn the Queen, truly she could do no more. A greater power than the Queen commanded the goddess of Pluto, and she had to obey it. This goddess so casually walking through the garden’s path would one day be surrounded by friends, and dear to the heart of the Queen, yet she knew it not. Themis knew what her own future held, and envied Tyche.
Demeter smiled from a few yards away. The goddess of Jupiter, she had only to touch the sand for a flower or tree to appear, and the gardens bloomed eternally with her creations. As long as Demeter drew breath, those flowers would never wilt, never change; it was a satisfying thought. She’d heard Helios and Tyche’s conversation, hidden as she was in a bower of her latest creation, the rose. She, like most of the court, believed there was more to the easy camaraderie between Helios and Tyche, and she felt joy for her friend.
“What makes you smile so?”
Demeter turned to see Athena standing beside her. “Just Helios and Tyche,” she answered her friend.
“Oh, those two,” Athena snorted. “They should just accept that no one, not even the Queen, believes their assertations that they are just friends.” Demeter smiled her agreement and turned her friend’s attention to the flowers.
“Look, Athena,” she said, pointing at the crimson bloom. “A rose. The vision came to me while I watched our Queen and King. The flower of passionate, eternal love.”
“You truly think their love is eternal?” Athena asked, truly curious. The goddess of Mars was known for her stubborn nature, and it was said that there was no man who could tempt her. Of her companions, she was one of the only that had not succumbed to Cytherea’s influence.
“I believe it is, yes,” Demeter responded. Athena didn’t respond. In her heart was a secret, a secret she feared would bring about the end she foresaw, and she kept her thoughts to herself. A fear awoken by Cytherea caused her to stare into the flames the night before, and her visions were troubled.
It was agreed, by all the gods, that under the combined strength of the Ginzuishou and the Kinzuishou their way of life could continue until the end of eternity. No other Galaxy could possibly hold the combined strength of the two Great Crystals. No one would dare attack them while the lovers were united.
Perhaps this was why so much interest was paid to the lovers’ bedroom arrangements, as well as their close companions. Endymion believed in looking to the future, and his companions were those who had gifts of foresight. Selene preferred amusement to practicality, and her companions were those who could entertain her. Helios was an especial favorite, for he could see into the dreams of his companions and related the things the Queen liked to hear; they were harmless things on a grand scale, but it made him uncomfortable to share the dreams of others. The Queen wanted to know who had taken whom as a lover, who was cheating on their lover, and such things; the darker things she wanted to know he would never share, and so he was forced to lie to his Queen, from time to time, when she would turn the cold blue eyes upon him.
“Have there been any dreams of those wishing to rise out of their place?” she would ask, and he would always respond negatively, taking special care to void his face of all emotion. He had seen dreams of those who wished to come to power in place of the Queen, but he averted his eyes from such dreams before he could determine to whom they belonged. It was better not to know. While he feared for his Queen, like any loyal subject, in truth, he feared her wrath upon those who might harm her more.
His Queen was beautiful, yes, and benevolent, and all that he believed a queen should be, but she was also vengeful, jealous and full of an emotion he couldn’t name. If it were any but his Queen that harbored the emotion, he would call it fear, he knew, but fear from one so self-assured seemed a foolish fancy of the one who imagined he could see it in her heart.
Helios had just returned from one such meeting with his Queen when he had happened upon Tyche, the goddess of the first planet, in the garden. He enjoyed the company of the intellectual goddess, and silently groaned when Cytherea joined them a few moments later.
The many ages of the Moon passed thusly, as alliances between the gods formed and were broken. Tyche, clever being that she was, never entirely gave up her goal of awakening the crystal inside each of the gods and enabling them to become rulers of their own planets, but she wisely kept such thoughts to herself. I watched these events unfolding from my post at the Cauldron, eyeing Themis with respect and fear, for she was truly the most powerful of them all, and held the destructive power of time in her hands.
It was Athena who truly interested me the most, however. Her visions haunted her, and I longed to be able to assure her that they would come to pass, unless the Queen could be stopped, but though I might send her these flashes of the future, I could never intervene further. She To Whom I Made My Vow had ensured that. While I could see all the Galaxy, I could never leave the Cauldron, and should I attempt to take just one step away from my post, I would be blocked by an insurmountable, though invisible, wall. For millennia I watched the events unfold, wondering what could be done to prevent the destruction to come.
And then, it came about. Chaos, with the power of Creation itself behind him, had committed the ultimate crime, one I could not warn him of, one that I could not prevent. He created that which would destroy the kingdom of his Goddess, and that which would build it again once more.
Chaos had always been one of the Queen’s favorite companions. With the gift of Creation, he could fashion various creatures for her amusement, and this pleased her greatly. That the Queen took almost as much pleasure in these same creatures’ destruction at the hand of Nemesis was never spoken of in the court. Giver of Life and Giver of Death were companions throughout the long millennia of the Queen’s reign, and the dreams that Helios never looked too closely into often belonged to them. Once the Queen tired of the creatures Chaos constructed for her, Endymion often asked that they be sent to the Earth, which shone brightly below them, a blue orb of shining seas and thrusting mountains. With an arena such as this for his pleasure, Chaos created beings of such size that they soon overran the planet. The Queen was fascinated by these creatures, vast, leathery-skinned giants who roamed the Earth for many millions of years. The advent of a large meteor was the first in a series of events that would bring about the destruction of the Queen’s kingdom. Its source was unknown, a rare thing in these times, for Tyche was able to analyze nearly anything in the palace’s central computer, and whispers began to emerge of kingdoms in other Galaxies, perhaps more powerful than their own. If these gods could send such destructive power, the power to wipe out every species, and turn the Earth’s blue to bleakest gray, what else could these gods do?
When the giants were gone from the Earth, the Queen asked Chaos for smaller things, softer things, things she could hold, and he complied. Soon, the Earth was populated with many such creatures, and it became evident that the Queen was becoming bored with these pleasures.
Themis was present in the Great Hall the night the Queen asked for that which should never have been made, and she shuddered after the request had finished.
“Chaos, I would know if you can create something new for me tonight,” the icy voice began. “Something a bit larger than the creatures that roam the Earth now; a being in the image of a god.”
Several gasps rang through in the silence that followed, but Chaos merely smirked confidently and said, “Of course, my Queen. In which god’s image would you like to create this being?”
“Endymion’s, of course,” she responded.
The sands of the Moon coalesced, swirling brightly for a moment before taking shape. As the room drew in a collective breath, the being came into focus, and before the court stood a creature as like Endymion in every detail, from the deep, indigo eyes to the long, thin toes. The being was completely nude, but seemed unaware of this. Cytherea stared at him in naked lust, and Athena grimaced.
The creation of the doppelganger Endymion was cause for much concern among the gods. If Chaos could create their King, whom else could he create? What would the creature do? Could it speak? Did it have the same powers as their King? The gods were both fascinated and appalled.
Within a mere century, the Queen had requested copies of all the gods, including herself, once it became apparent that they were powerless. They did possess the ability to speak, and appeared to have brains that worked as well as their divine counterpart’s, though without the knowledge that millions of years had given to the gods. Selene thought it was great fun to force them to fight one another to the death, and often arranged for such entertainment when she was bored. It was rumored that Cytherea enjoyed herself with them, taking several to her bed each night, while Tyche liked to ask them questions, find out how their minds worked.
Helios was fascinated by their dreams. Without fail, each of them dreamed of going to the blue planet below and exploring it, discovering varieties of plants and animals that were not in existence on the moon. They also dreamed of each other, and their divine leaders. It was a study of which he thought he would never tire. Themis cringed whenever one was near her, but Demeter sought them out, pushing them to describe the plants they conceived of so that she might bring them into existence in the barren soil of the Moon. Athena feared them, for it was their creation that she had foreseen, and though she did not yet know the particulars, she felt they were a threat to her very existence.
The humans, as they came to be called, were a constantly evolving, learning species, something which fascinated the Queen immensely. The first time she came upon a pair of them coupling, she forced them to continue until it was clear that they had no energy left. And when the woman ripened, her stomach rounding with the life within, the Queen brought her into her own chambers, watching the progress with great interest. The babe was born in the night, and the Queen held it up as though it were her own.
It was then she decided to populate the Earth with these creatures of her imagination; to set them free in the land of their dreams and watch their lives unfold. Chaos spent much time and energy, but soon the Earth was teeming with these humans. However, something strange began to happen to Endymion. As each human came into being, he seemed to grow weaker. The Queen tired of all other amusements, and spent her time by his side, but he continued to decline. She pushed the power of the Ginzuishou itself into him to no avail.
He slipped into a sleep from which there was no awakening him. The entire court soon began a silent vigil, waiting for their King to awaken, wondering what could have caused this strange illness.
It was as I had warned them. The Lambda Power that created a star, a planet asked only one thing in return for that power: if the planet were ever to evolve sentient life, the Guardian of that planet must become one with the planet, relinquishing their divinity to sustain that sentient life. The court of Selene did not understand that with the power of the gods comes the responsibility of the gods, and when one creates something, there is often a price to be paid for that creation.
Two hundred years after Chaos created Endymion’s doppelganger, Endymion himself rose from the silken drapings that surrounded him, his eyes still closed, his body still motionless, and floated down to the Earth below, to sleep the Guardian’s sleep, until such time as his planet would need the help of his Kinzuishou, and would awaken him. Selene followed, but his journey seemed to end at a mysterious outcropping of stone, and she could feel his presence no longer.
The Great Goddess of the Galaxy fell to her knees and wept, and because her grief ran deep, her tears flowed long. When she finally stood, she was a changed being. What softness had existed in her was replaced by cold, hard ice, and her eyes, which were wont to twinkle when she was amused, shone lifelessly in her face. The Selene I truly feared had come into being.
Many of the gods were sent to investigate the stone under which he had vanished, but only Helios appeared able to enter. The Queen coldly banished her favorite to the Earth to watch over Endymion, and Helios complied with his Queen’s wishes. For one full rotation of the Moon during each orbit, the Queen could be found staring at the stone that barred her from her lover, but when it moved out of sight, she retreated to the darkened rooms of her palace. The dark reign of the Goddess Selene had begun, and it would only end in tragedy.
