Prologue ~ Awakening

“Venus…” a silhouetted figure called for her as they reached out to her. The details were hazy but so familiar. “Endymion!” another voice screamed, and Dawn gasped, waking up! She sat up, her eyes wet with tears, and her heart ached. Her hand rested on her chest, a feeble attempt to ease her heart. It was the same dream. She couldn’t recall when the dreams started, but she felt so sad when she woke up from them. She didn’t have the dream every night, but when she did, a new, subtle detail revealed itself, like the silhouette or the voice. While sad, Dawn couldn’t help but want to go to that person in her dreams. That person needed her, didn’t they? “Venus,” she whispered to herself. That’s what they said. “Endymion,” she said in a hushed voice as if saying the name out loud would summon the person into her bedroom. She couldn’t help but wonder, who was calling out to her, or was she calling out to them? Who is Venus? Who is Endymion? What happened? Why was it all so sad? Dawn wanted to know the answers to these questions, yet a part of her was afraid of the answers her dreams would reveal to her.

Dawn threw off her soft white linen comforter that decorated her soft, plush bed and got out of bed. She tugged her large, oversized Traditionnel l'Grâce European Tour t-shirt over her orange pajama shorts, her bare feet padding on the wooden floors of her top-floor apartment located just west of Paris.

Dawn went into the kitchen and grabbed a cold bottle of Evian from the under-counter refrigerator. Dawn opened the bottle, took a cool sip of water, and sighed. She glanced at the nook and through the large sliding glass doors, she noticed a faint glow of light. Dawn set the water bottle down and walked over to the doors, the glow becoming more prominent.

Sliding the door open, Dawn walked out onto the rooftop and passed the wooden patio table. The night was cool and silent. Lights decorated the dark city below, and in the distance stood the shining Eiffel Tower, and the Moon hung in the sky, shining just as brightly. That’s when she felt it. The light was the Moon, and it shone brighter and brighter until Dawn was bathed in its light!

A soothing feeling of calmness and comfort washed over her, and the ache she felt in her heart subsided. When Dawn opened her eyes, sparkles of moonlight danced around her. She watched in awe as the fragments of light swirled about her and coalesced in front of her, creating a golden crescent-shaped compact.

The mysterious object floated before her, seemingly offering itself to her as a gift. Dawn reached out for the compact but hesitated. She felt something just as it was within her grasp. A feeling of trepidation entered her mind, and her hand drew back ever so slightly. At that moment, Dawn knew that by taking the compact, her life would change forever, and knowing that scared her. She remembered the figure that appeared in her dream and how they called out to her. Was this an answer to her dream?

Dawn looked at the compact. She knew in her heart that it belonged to her. So why not take it? She marveled at the compact’s gilded casing; traces of reflected moonlight highlighted the embellished stars on the covering, each interspersed neatly along the curve of the crescent between embedded gold gems. At the center of the crescent, a prominent, round ruby glistened. Then, the compact clicked open, and Dawn watched as it revealed its crescent-shaped mirror inlay.

Dawn looked at herself in the mirror of the compact, her skin glowing in the moonlight that shined down on her. A blinding flash of white light beamed from the mirror! Dawn instinctively raised her arms to shield her eyes, and when she lowered them, she was surrounded by a vision of outer space! Dawn watched in wonder as she seemingly floated in the starry expanse. “You are chosen. You must awaken…” a voice echoed. Dawn’s blue eyes cast upward toward the Moon. Was the Moon speaking to her? The voice sounded so familiar to her. “Awaken?” she asked the shining orb. As if responding, the moon shined brighter. “Fate has chosen you to carry out your calling…” the voice echoed as white light enveloped everything.

Dawn blinked, and the bright white moonlight was gone. All that remained was the soft glow of the Moon illuminating the rooftop and the open compact, floating before her. “The mirror reveals the truth,” Dawn said, repeating the words, and looking at herself in the mirror. The mirror’s reflection flashed, and Dawn’s appearance changed!

Watching herself in the mirror, Dawn reached up to her face, pulling the red cat eye mask from her eyes. She looked at the mask in her hands, noticing she was now wearing white gloves with gold trim. Dawn began to turn herself this way and that to see the strange outfit that had appeared on her body!

Her bare feet were adorned in a pair of navy ankle-strapped heels. Her orange pajama bottoms were gone, and in their place, a navy pleated skirt with red trim hung from her waist. Her large t-shirt was now a white short-sleeved top accented in red with navy blue trim on the sleeves. A large red bow was fastened to the front of the shirt with a circular golden pendant at its center. The collar of the shirt was a navy, red-trimmed sailor collar that hung over her shoulders where silver-laden epaulets engraved with flourishes and crescent moons along its trim were attached.

Dawn marveled at herself in the mirror. Her gloved hands reached to her neck, touching the shining gold moon on the white choker. A crescent moon mark glowed in the center of her forehead. Her hair was styled, partly clipped with a red bow, while the rest of her hair cascaded down her back in waves. Dawn stroked her blonde hair in the mirror. Was it longer than it normally was? Suddenly, the mirror flashed once more, and Dawn looked at herself again, noticing that everything was back to normal! Her strange outfit was gone, but the Crescent Compact remained floating in front of her.

The memory of that night faded away from Dawn’s mind, bringing her back to the present moment. She looked at the Crescent Compact in her hand. She was right. Her life was forever changed when she claimed the compact that night, and strange things began to happen, or maybe they were always happening, and now she had become aware of them.

After claiming the compact, Dawn instantly knew, or remembered, how to transform into Sailor Venus. She admitted to herself that the name seemed odd at first, but the name fit her new identity like a glove. Dawn’s prowess and newfound powers as a Sailor Soldier were soon put to the test. Mysterious Phantoms began appearing throughout Paris, terrorizing the civilians. While dispatching the Phantoms became easier over time, Dawn didn’t have the answers she sought from her dream. She kept having the same dream, and with her new powers, she only had more questions.

Why was all of this happening?

Why was she chosen?

Were there others like her?

Deep down she knew, this was just the beginning…