Someone needed to undertake missions for the Queen, and these were the Knights.
Each of the Knights fit a sort of male archetype.
Bennu, the Mage Adept, was the reclusive Prince Of Love, though most thought him another role instead. The aristocrat/scientist.
Basalt, who guarded the nursery and had been given the nickname of the Queen's Hawk, was also Nebula - the Knight Of Duty. He had been Consort to the Queen until she dismissed him after the birth of her daughter Neo-Serenity. The professional soldier.
Hematite, the brash "can do" kid. The Knight Of Valor. The rogue.
Endymion, Earth's Knight and prince. The Knight Of Hope. The prince.
Then there was the one called Shade.
Shade had been neither of the Earth Kingdom nor the Moon Kingdom. Just a barbarian from one of the pre-Mongol tribes who was the best of the best of the best and tired of the constant squabbling. He wanted decent fights, he wanted a better retirement plan, and he wanted to do something more important than lord it over a stinking horde of morons.
Which is how he'd eventually found the Earth Kingdom, then found his way to the Moon Kingdom, then decided this beat out shivering in a fur tent in a Siberian winter.
Shade, nicknamed "the Queen's Wolf." If there was a dirty nasty way to do the job, he'd find a dirtier and nastier way to do it. You wouldn't send him out on a diplomatic mission, oh no. You'd send out Shade when something absolutely positively had to be dead.
Atlantis had tried to side with the Earth Kingdom. Shade had learned of it. That was why Atlantis sank beneath the waves.
He was the Knight Of Fear, his Silver Millenium name - Obsidian. He gave off fear like a personal aura. It had once been said in Serenity's Court that Obsidian had once been eaten by a void-dragon, and he'd ate a tunnel out from the inside. The tag line being that he belched and told the Queen it tasted like chicken.
So it was that Shade looked down at the little boy, then over at the transparent image of his long-dead Queen. "Ya gotta be shittin' me."
Queen Serenity shook her head.
"What about Basalt? He's good with kids. Or Bennu. Hell, even that peacock princie guy yer daughter's after would know more about raisin' a kid than me!"
"Basalt was not reborn. Bennu would judge him by his own standards. Endymion... has his own problems. Besides, he is to become one of the new Knights for this new era. He needs to become a hero."
Shade looked over at the kid who was staring back. "A hero, huh? Epic quests and that sort of shit, huh?"
"Obsidian. Could you please? Not in front of the child."
Shade grunted. "Martial arts and that kinda sh- thing?"
"He has to be able to fight, that is the fate he is under."
Obsidian considered. "Okay, Queenie. Ya got it. I won't be gentle with da kid, but when I'm done - he's gonna be able to walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear nothin' - cause he'll be the baddest SOB in the valley."
Serenity sighed. "I would expect no less. Though I think I'm going to regret this."
"Okay, kid," grunted Obsidian. "First things first. This here is an H&K .45, the safety is on. You *keep* the safety on until I say otherwise, capice?"
"Nani? Anata dare?"
"Oh man, why couldn't Basalt or somebody else have gotten this gig?"
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(Posted Sat, 19 Oct 2002 14:40)
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