It was a dark room as such locations go. Towards the middle of the room stood a tall and twisted throne, illuminated by the only source of light in the room. The light split off a jewel from the top of the throne, dividing the room into equally sized quadrants, each partially bathed in reflected light of a different colour. Four young men knelt in the shadows, one per quadrant and ninety degrees to one another, their heads bowed in reverence. Though their leader had not yet arrived, it would not do for them to mark the throne with disrespect. They did not have to wait long.
A door in the ceiling opened and a long slender feminine leg passed through it, quickly finding purchase upon the ceiling. That one leg was followed by its twin, and in turn they were shortly followed by the rest of the woman standing upside down upon the ceiling. She was, in short, a beautiful woman. The kind that would send shivers down the spine of anyone with passing interest in the fairer sex. Her skin was a healthy pale that contrasted magnificently with her flowing black gown and her long jet black hair. Upon her attractive face lay the expression of one who has recently learned that the world rests upon their shoulders alone, but struggled to hide it against every instinct in her body to break into tears.
This alluring figure strode across the ceiling with unmatchable grace and poise, and without seeming to turn, change direction or decrease in altitude, somehow reached the floor and elegantly seated herself upon the throne without walking in between any of the still kneeling men.
As one each man declared “All hail Queen Nulas! New Queen of Nowhere! We pledge our service as your Champions as we did your father before you!”
The throne did not move. It did not rotate. Nor did Queen Nulas rise from it. Even so, she looked at all four of her champions as though they were in a row before her and did not seem to think this in any way odd. After a moment of thought, she opened her mouth and spoke in a voice that was as soft as silk yet as commanding as a gale. “My Champions - No, not my Champions. You are the Champions of this Kingdom long before myself. Each of you has well earned your place as a Champion several times over your illustrious careers.
“It was thanks to the Blue Champion’s cunning stratagem that we were able to rout the Anywhere Army. His new inventions have allowed our society to advance as far as it has.
“It was thanks to the Red Champion’s passion that we were able to pull together and break through the Everywhere Siege. His spiritualism has given us light during the darkest of times.
“It was thanks to the Green Champion’s strength that we were able to survive the rampaging beasts of Elsewhere. His hard work and determination have been essential in rebuilding.
“It was thanks to the Yellow Champion’s diplomacy that we finally brokered peace with the people of Somewhere. His kindness and compassion have given us powerful friends and allies.
“I trust you will serve me as well as you have served my father,” Nulas smiled faintly in remembrance of the man. “He was a kind soul. A visionary lost to us long before his time should have come. His death has hurt us all, and everyone throughout Nowhere must surely feel his lost keenly. He was a good King, and a good man.”
Nulas closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This next part would not be easy, but leadership was made of hard decisions. “This is not a time for good men. You must surely be aware of the… shortages. You must also be aware that my father’s attempts to solve this problem have either failed or made the problem… the problem worse. You must know as I do that there is but one option available to us. This is why I have called you here for your first meeting with your new Queen. All through the night I have searched through the Places for potential sources to replenish what we have lost. All through the night I tried… I tried to find viable locations without life, but in this regard I have failed miserably. There is but one location that suits our requirements in this dark times. My father knew it, and discarded the possibility because… because he was a good man. We do not have that luxury.
“Approach your Queen and receive these folders, the fruits of her long night of research. In them, you shall find the description of the Place to which I would send you. You will perform your own, more in-depth research, blend in with the population and extract as much as you can, as quickly as you can. I send you now… to a Place called Azabu-Juuban.
- The Champions soon encounter the Senshi, and a battle breaks out.
- One of the Inners runs into this cute guy, and really hits it off!
- The Champions discuss their latest mission, and soon discover the Senshi! How will they deal with this problem?
- The Inners don’t run into the plot quite yet. What are they up to right now?
- Something else
I reread the queen's introduction a few times trying to imagine how it worked. It was a very nice way to introduce physics shenanigans.
ReplyDeleteI felt a little guilty about accidentally cutting you off last week, so I decided to make it up by providing this as a teaser. I wouldn't have gotten to this until next year - probably March - otherwise, and it might not have been much more than this anyway.
DeleteI'm glad you liked it. Maybe others will show enough interest to either vote it up, or perhaps even continue it. I think it's pretty obvious which of the Champions is intended for which Senshi, so there is at least a little to work with in that regard. When I do inevitably return to this, I think fleshing out their personalities a bit more would be my number one priority.