Future in Flames

Meetings – Part 2

Wind, red with the rusted sand torn from the surface, that’s what I will always remember about Mars. The winds that blew down from Olympus Mound were cold and I felt the breeze every day of my life as it slow turned the marble columns of the temple into dust. Mars is tough on freestanding building and our home was no different from any other structure that graces the red sand of Mars. Our temple was located at the base of the gigantic edifice and we were the first to feel when the weather changed because of that cold wind. The plateau that towers over us was so massive that it influenced the weather for kilometers around but we like our temple will stay until the sands cover us.

I live here with my grandfather, he is my sole support in this world since my parents and my grandmother died years ago climbing to reach the summit above us. I guess that’s why Grandfather built the shrine to them and the others that have lost their life upon this mountain. Maybe, people believe that because something is there, it gives them an excuse to attempt a stupid feat that is totally foolhardy but it gave me a hole in my heart whenever I look upon the towering mountain. My name is Rei Hino but everyone calls me Raye. Grandfather says that our service at the temple is our penance to warn others from the plateau above us or to pray for them as they start their ascent. I wish that no one would attempt the endeavor but I knew that as long as the mountain stares down on the world that someone would come and tempt his or her fate. I still pray everyday that it would change but my tear-stained pillow lies in testament to unanswered prayers.

I was born many miles from this spot in the green area around the northern ice caps but like the drifting sand, we wandered and I have traveled over most of the planet in my fourteen years of life. I have been trained in the way of a priestess almost from the day that I was born. It was in my fourth year of life when the High Priest discovered that I possessed the talent of second sight. I could see things that are happening or has happened and they are usually clear in my thoughts but scenes of the future do not come easily and when they do, they are well fogged in my mind. My mother was glad that my sight didn’t extend clearly in the future and one day I finally understood the her reason. After her death, Grandfather told me that she could see the future and it almost drove her crazy. She was taking massive dosages of psychotropic drugs to deaden her second sense but she wasn’t getting better. I was young at the time so I never understood what she must have went through but now I understand and my heart still feels the bottomless sorrow of her parting when I think of her and her lovely face reaching down to me as she kissed me good night.

My father, a High Priest after his father, fought in the war with the Queen’s Consort and somehow the Prince’s death affected his remaining years of his life. It seemed that when he saw him die battling against the monsters, my father’s spirit died with him the same day. My mother told me that he wasn’t the same after that and he decided to leave the priesthood without a single word of the reason for his parting of his faith. I was in my mother’s womb but I could feel his pain when he was near us. Grandfather told me that Mother had a vision of the Prince’s death but refused to tell anyone because he had to die to bring a new order into existence. His death and the sorrow that followed will affect the Queen and change the universe but only if the Prince is not alive to influence a relative of hers. Visions, I’m glad that I can’t see the future because I would be afraid of what I see or tell someone that could change everything that they would have done if I had told them something that I saw in their future.

I woke shortly this morning just after the distant sun peaked over the sill of my window. I like to sleep late but we had so much do around the shrine so I had little time to spend in slumber. I walked to the window and threw it opened. The winds blowing from the mountain drew me swiftly from my slumber but I smelled the dryness of a desert storm brewing in the south. It would be bad weather today when the cold moist winds from the mountain hit the dry winds from the desert. I pity anyone that would challenge the mountain today. It’s not a good day to be outside, let alone climbing a mountain to their certain death.

I looked out over the plains and saw a party making its way to our shrine. I rushed to my closet and grabbed my robes from their usual place and quickly dressed. I knew that Grandfather wouldn’t be up this early and I had to prepare the shrine before the party reached our doors. If I couldn’t stop their insanity, I would at least give them comfort before the transverse the mountain. I picked up a broom from its place by the door to the inner apartments and started to sweep the dust from yesterday to a more inconspicuous location in the main shrine area. My cleaning must have woken Grandfather because I saw him enter the room hurrying to finish putting his robe on his thin body. Grandfather was the perfect Martian with his lean and thin body that is tanned by the brilliant sun. The sun may be far away but we don’t possess the atmosphere that filters the ultraviolet light effectively. He makes me stay inside the shrine a great deal so my skin hasn’t darkened. It seems that the priests doesn’t care about male applicants to their society but they wish the females to have the light skins of our mother planet, Earth.

The priesthood wants me to join them, well, Grandfather wants me to follow in his footsteps but I don’t mind. I enjoy helping people through their personal crisis but I also realize that I have many years ahead of me before I could counsel people the same way that my grandfather helps them with their spiritual life. He took over the cleaning of the main room and I went to the kitchen to prepare meals for the travelers that would be here soon. I carefully prepared the spiced cakes and honey for our visitors and set the table for their arrival. I looked out the window as I lay the food for them and saw that the party would be here in minutes. I saw a tall tanned man leading the others and I could tell, even from this distance, that he was a priest of our order. It’s strange to see someone from our order out in this weather and I suspected that he was the guide for the others.

I could see the party clearly as they enter the courtyard below the window. There were five men in the party but one of them couldn’t be more than three years older than me but all had the bearing of a military background. I could tell they had training in the way they moved. The other two members were unusual. They were roughly the same height with the blue haired girl may be the slightly taller of the two but it more the way they move that could my eye. They move with the grace of a flame dancer but every movement had purpose almost like a sand cobra preparing to strike at a moment’s notice.

Grandfather greeted the visitors in the outer courtyard where he took their burdens while they removed their boots and slowly cross the cleansing pool of water. He wiped the wetness from their feet and after the last one’s feet was dried, he brought the tray of silver goblets filled with the cold waters drawn from the deep inversion well under the shrine. I peeked around the corner to see the faces of our guest and was seen by Grandfather. He smiled, “Raye, please come here. I have someone that you must meet.” I blushed as I walked to where he was standing beside the tanned priest. “My child, let me introduce you to Hel Landers. He is the High Priest of Mars.” I have heard his name before and realized that he is the highest-ranking priest on the planet. He held the same position of my father before he lost his faith. I bowed to him, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He reached for my hand, “You are the image of your father. I can remember those eyes when we were in training together. He is the reason that I assumed this post. He was like a brother to me and I can see that his legacy lives on in you.” I blushed and was about to speak when Grandfather told us that we needed to get out of the sun before it ruined the “ladies” skin.

We all entered the main room of the shrine. Landers and my grandfather bowed to the mountain that we could see behind the altar and perform the ritual of purification. The rest of the party remained silently while the two older men completed their devotions. The girl with the long blonde hair smiled at me and cross the room to where I was standing. She came close to me and whispered in my ear, “Raye, that is your name?” I shook my head in acknowledgement. “Raye, the men of our party may have the constitution of a horse but all that walking without a stop, well, you can imagine. Where’s the little girl’s room?” I almost laugh when she said those words but I could understand her urgency in the matter. I took her hand and motioned to her blue-haired friend to follow.

After their visit, the two girls decided that they would let the men talk about whatever they want so we went to my room to talk among ourselves. We sat on the floor, “Hi, my name’s Raye.” The blonde girl extended her hand, “Hello, I’m Serena and my friend is Ami. You have such a lovely place here, not unlike some parts of the moon.” Oh, they come from the moon. “The moon … how I would like to visit there one day … but … I guess that never will happen.” Ami looked puzzled, “Why do you think that you never will visit the moon?” It hard for an outsider to understand but since she was my guest, I am obligated to try to explain. “Ami, my grandfather is my only living relative and I would never leave him unless I must but there’s a pressing reason.” I took a deep breath to collect my thoughts, “I’m in training to become a priestess in my order and for the last five hundred years, no priestess has ever left Mars so when I become one, I will have to remain here.”

Serena grabbed my hand, “No one should tell you what to do. You need to fly like an eagle, feel the wind under your wings. You need to live your life and not someone else’s.” I broke her grip, “No, I have to do my duty and if my destiny lies within these four walls then I will perform my duty as best I can.” I could tell that Serena wanted to say more but one of the men in her party came to the doorway, “Princess, you are needed.” Serena rose from her chair and patted my hand, “Ami, please stay here. I think that our new friend looks puzzled.” I saw her exit the room and my mind was reeling from the man’s address to Serena. The man had called her, ‘Princess’, my mind is so confused that I didn’t see Ami take a seat besides me. “Raye, you sure look confused. Let me explain a few things.”

Ami took a deep breath, “Serena is a princess, as am I. I am from Mercury where my father rules the planet even though I haven’t seen my homeland in many years. Serena is Queen Serenity’s daughter and the heir to the throne of the Silver Kingdom but sometimes I wonder if she fully understands what is expected of her.” My mind started to settle down and a thought came to it, “Ami, Serena didn’t come to climb the mountain?” A small laugh issued from Ami’s lips, “No, Raye, Serena wouldn’t take such a frightful chance. In her own way, she is brave but that bravery usually comes out when her friends are in danger or when she’s near Nova.”

Nova, that name meant a great deal to me, almost as much as the Queen’s. He is the rising star among all the houses and many believe that he will raise House Moon over all the other houses and take complete control over the Silver Kingdom. I have seen videos of him and I know that he had the personality to draw many to his side by just his noble bearing and speech. He is the Queen’s brother and I guess; Serena’s uncle but I have to wonder what these nobles are doing at our lowly shrine. There are many shrines and temples that are better known and more conveniently located to the regular travel routes. Out shrine is considered by many to be a relic of the past but it still serves its purpose.

I heard Serena talking to someone in the main room, “Darien, I know what Nova wants me to do and you nor any of the others will stop me from my task.” I heard a sharp intake of air form someone in the room and multiple voices started to murmur. I slowly peeked around the corner of the room with Ami close beside me. Serena was standing in front of the gathered men who looked at her with awe in their faces. She pointed to High Priest Landers, “We have found her in this out of the way place and Nova calls her to his side. I can feel the power inside her just waiting to reveal its strength. She is the warrior of the flames, the fire that burns in the heart of everyone. You will release her from all her duty and we will take her with us.” Her words were more a command than a request but suddenly I realized that she must have been talking about me.

I gasped at her words and every face turned to me. I wanted to hide but Ami pushed against my back and I fully entered the doorway to the hall. I cleared my throat and whispered, “Excuse me,” and turned to leave when I heard Serena, “No, Raye, please stay since this matter concerns you.” I looked to my grandfather who just nodded. Ami took my hand and we approached Serena. She extended her arms to me and embraced me, “My sister; my dear sister. We have found you and we will never let you go.” I didn’t know what to do but I felt it was right to return her hug.

I felt deep in my soul that she was right. I was hugging my sister. She was my sister not by birth but one in spirit. My revelry was cut short when Landers said, “No, you can not have her. She is important to us. One day she will be a High Priestess but if she leaves now then all of her training will go to waste. It was her parent’s will and words that she remain in the service of the priesthood.” He produced a document that was reviewed by one of the men present who just shook his head. I could feel the tension between Landers and Serena but I could tell that she was looking for advice. Ami walk to her side and grasped her hand. They looked to the ceiling and I can feel the combined energy of their minds reach across the heavens to find a small point of light. My mind connected with theirs and I saw a girl roughly my age sitting at a desk. “Mina, sorry, I thought Nova would be at his desk. We have a problem on Mars.” I heard this girl shout the name of Prince Nova and I could see him enter the room and walk to her. I saw him through her eyes as she tilted her head up and Nova’s face approached her face. Mina’s, I assumed that was her name, eyes closed and I imaged her kissing Nova on the lips. This girl must be Princess Mina, Nova’s young wife and a Grand Duchess in her own right.

I blushed at their intimate contact and as my eyes opened I saw that Serena and Ami were also blushing. Mentally, Serena cleared her throat and the perspective changed as I saw both Mina and Nova in the same frame. Mina rose from her chair and Nova took her place and she sat down in his lap. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, “Serena, what problem are you having?” Serena and Ami related the problem with my parents’ wishes and Lander’s refusal of turning me over to them. I tried to break the connection with the group. I don’t want them to think that I was ease dropping.

I still could hear his voice in my head and it drove out all thoughts of the present. I listened as the four Sailor Warriors talked among themselves. Finally, Nova said, “Serena, remind the clan of the Accords of Siridon.” I heard of the accords, they were written almost a thousand years ago and allowed the clans of Mars to withdraw from the oath to House Moon and swear allegiance to the Silver Kingdom. I saw a sinister smile on Serena’s face. She approached Landers, “You Holiness, the Grand Duchess wish the clans to honor the Accords of Siridon. She has chosen Rei of the Hino clan to be her lady-in-waiting.”

Confusion ruled the room as my grandfather and Landers searched for a copy of the Accords to see exactly what it said in relation to my situation. Serena came to me and placed an arm over my shoulders, “Raye, you are destined to fight with us and we will make sure that your destiny is fulfilled.” I didn’t understand what she was saying but I knew deep in my heart that I would soon leave my comfort of my home world. I knew deep inside that I would never see this world again but my heart was glad because a small voice inside me told me that everything was going to be fine. I thanked my mother for her advice and went with Serena and Ami to pack some clothes for my voyage. They tell me that I’m Sailor Mars, the soldier of the flames but all I could see in my mind’s eye was myself engulfed in the flames of the right against the power of darkness. I don’t see what will happen but I knew that I would have my friends around me. Maybe I can persuade Grandfather to come to the moon so we can be close to each other but he’ll probably remain at the shrine aided the lost souls trying to find themselves.

Now, the fifth Sailor Warrior, Rei, joins us but our adventure is not over. Stay tune for the next installment, Meeting part 3 – “Under a Green Moon”.