Andraia has no knowledge of where she was born. She was left on her adopted father's doorstep by a mysterious woman in a dark, hooded cloak in London, England, during a rainy night. She was six years old when they moved to Tokyo, and has lived there ever since.
Andraia is a bright, cheerful young woman, headstrong and sharp willed, with great intelligence and a refined, subtle sense of humor that gives her an innate ability to make the driest phrase into a wonderful joke. She's unwaveringly loyal to her friends, devoted to her guardian, Icarus, and unshakeable in her determination to seek out justice and revenge for the souls of her world and the worlds of her friends. She is unwavering in her sense of justice, and despite her sometimes ruthless battle tactics, she does, deep down inside, have a sense that good will triumph over evil in the end - even if she must sometimes stand within the shadows to better wage war for the light.
Andraia has telekinetic and telepathic powers even aside from being a Sailor Senshi. She was unable to focus these powers for a long time growing up, and all through school and social activities during her early youth, earned a reputation for being something of a "freak," and has a hard time opening up to people because of it. Even today, even though she's learned how to control these powers and all the abilities that stem from them, people are wary of her, and tend to point and stare, or mutter under their breath as she passes. As a result, she's been involved in more than one attempt on her life, and now takes classes working toward a criminal justice degree.
She also performs martial arts as a hobby and is a first degree blackbelt in three different disciplines; her father had her enrolled in classes from the time she was small for her own protection, as if somehow he knew that the child he had adopted was something special, something unusual. This treatment through her life, and the memories of her previous life have given her a tendency to be cold-hearted. This has resulted in Sailorabraxas' fire-based powers manifesting in blue flame rather than something of a normal shade of yellow or orange.
***SPOILER ALERT***
When she and Duo announced their engagement to Andi's father, Marcus gave them the little black box that had been left with her on his doorstep. It contained two medallions of silver, each with the birthmark of their station engraved on the front, the Mendhaian character for their former name on the back...one for Mellissandre, one for Icarus.
WARNING: The story of Abraxas' origin is directly tied to her life on earth in present day. Spoilers may and likely are present; proceed at own risk. As with the awakening, this is taken word for word from the Sailormoon Vengeance chronicle itself.
"Don't!"
"Icarus, stop."
"Melli, I'm begging you! You don't have to do this, we'll find a way to hold them off! You can't withstand that kind of energy buildup!"
"Icarus, please! I need to concentrate...or there's no way this will work."
"There's no way it's going to work anyway! Mellissandre! Princess!"
She could no longer hear his cries, though. The auburn-haired princess in the simple, royal blue dress had knelt on the tile floor of the castle's main audience chamber, her hands folded serenely in her lap. The mark upon the back of her left hand was glowing faintly with a bluish aura. She knew without knowing how that the powers of Sailorabraxas would not be enough. It would take the might of a full-fledged Mendhaian crown princess to protect her homeland from the forces of evil that were massed outside the gates.
Her companion and future mate, Icarus, stood to one side, waving his arms wildly, a panicked look on his face.
She gave him a last loving, apologetic look, and mouthed the words "I'm sorry." She closed her eyes. After several moments of silence, a beam of incandescent blue surrounded her, arcing up into the sky and blowing a hole through the roof of the palace. The blue shot straight into the sky, and fountained out around the palace proper, creating a dome of pure soul, Mellissandre's own in play. She stood, and when her eyes opened, they were no longer the pale, creamy jade they should have been, but a glowing, fiery azure. Her hands raised slowly, and centered, palms in, around her heart. A vivid white light grew between them, and in a blinding flash, there was a delicate crystal floating serenely between her hands, its center the same blue as her eyes.
"MELLISSANDRE!" Icarus roared, taking a step forward. She'd just released the full potential energy of her Starseed, and if she wasn't careful, the entire thing was going to backfire on her.
He reached forward, his hand stopping suddenly as it came up against the beam of blue that encased her. Roaring, he slammed his fist against it, again and again, his heart pounding in terror for his beloved. "MELLISSANDRE!" he bellowed again. Fear and anguish wrote lines across his handsome face, his cobalt eyes reflecting his terror.
She turned to look at him, regarding him with an eerie calm. "I'm sorry..." she said again, though her words were silenced by some indescribable force, the same one that held her bound within that field of pure energy.
The noise from the rioting evils outside the gate came again unbidden to his ears, and he whirled, his sword held at the ready, his eyes flickering about for the slightest disturbance.
It wasn't a tremor from outside the Mendhaian captial palace that caught his attention first. It was a tremor from within himself...the part of him that cried out at his Princess being in danger. He whirled just in time for his heart to stop. "Melli..." he whispered.
Her eyes were no longer that bright, fiery blue. They were a dark, chilling black, empty and lifeless, staring blankly forward. He had but to look down at her feet to realize why.
Her Starseed had shattered and now lay glittering in pieces at her feet.
Something dark and ominous seeped from the shards, melting away into the night air with a chilling cackle.
Icarus swallowed, realizing even in his shock.
Mellissandre had broken the laws set by their Gods.
She'd released the God of Chaos.
And killed herself in the process.
"NO!" he roared, pounding even harder against the blue barrier that had already begun to flicker and fade. As it disappeared, she tilted, falling limply down against the cold tile floor.
He dropped to his knees beside his princess, gathering her up in his arms, unable to tear his eyes away from the shards of her Starseed that littered the floor, their glitter already fading. "No, Melli," he whispered, tears streaming down his face. "Oh, please, no..." he brushed at her auburn bangs with one shaking hand, leaving it against her forehead as though he could keep her soul from escaping through his fingers. The heartbroken knight shut his eyes and put his head down, face buried in her hair. "No..."
She moaned briefly, and his head snapped up. "Icarus..." she whispered weakly, struggling to stay alive. Each breath was a hoarse, ragged gasp, her soul beginning to slip away.
He searched her face for any sign that she might be pulling her shattered Seed back together, but she only got weaker as the moments passed. "Oh, god, Melli..." he whispered hoarsely, weeping so hard that he was blinded by his tears. "You can't do this," he said. "You can't."
She reached up, her fingertips brushing lightly across his face, her hand shaking. "I'm sorry..." she whispered again, her faint voice even weaker. "I-I had to try..." she explained. "Had to try...I love you..." she whispered finally, and her hand dropped limply away, head sagging down. Her eyes closed, she let out one last, shaking breath, and was still.
"Melli?" he cried. "MELLISSANDRE!!" Icarus roared, his face to the sky even as he sobbed out her name, clutching her still form up against his chest. The shards of her Starseed, unnoticed behind him, shimmered and faded away.
He sat there on the floor for what felt like an eternity, knowing that their world was being overrun and destroyed and killed all around him, but something inside of the knight had shattered along with the Starseed of his princess, and he simply didn't care anymore. Icarus clutched her body to him, stroking the soft auburn hair, dead inside his heart. He knew without a doubt that he'd failed her more completely and fully than he could ever have imagined. He rocked slowly back and forth, tears streaming down his face to drop into her hair.
A crashing sound rocked the palace and he knew that their enemies had breached the castle gates. He knew what he had to do, even as he looked up. With one last long, tender kiss, he laid her slender, motionless body back down upon the cold, unforgiving tile, and stood, his sword in hand. The mark upon the back of his left hand began to blaze with fiery blue-black light that burned simply to look at. He turned to face the door, his eyes cold and dead. "In the moment that they took her from me...I became Death," he murmured coldly, his voice seeming to echo somehow, an unnatural throb of power to it. "And I'll have revenge for the Starseed of my beloved." The blue-black light spread from his hand to surround the blade of his sword, which leapt as if into flame. An aura formed about the now-enraged knight, and he took a step forward, his bootheels seeming to rock the very ground on which he stood. Resolutely, back straight, swordpoint low, he walked toward the door, throwing it open. The massed armies of the Mendhaian people's enemies turned, ready to charge him, and simply stopped.
Icarus was fearsome to say the least, seeming five feet taller than he actually stood. The blue-black, burning light had surrounded him completely, and in his knightly garb, he was fierce and darkly terrible, the feel of death seeming to radiate from his form. The cobalt eyes had darkened and were now an intense, burning black, a nonexistant breeze making his chestnut hair and blue-lined cape flutter softly in the dead air.
Silence lasted for several moments while his enemies took in their new foe. And then, as one body, they charged.
Icarus didn't even flinch. He simply swung his sword in arc after fatal arc, cleaving demonic soldiers in twain with the slender, powerful blade. It seemed encompassed about with a palpable force that kept it from even being stoppable. He sliced through an iron blade, the black sword falling to the ground in two as he split its owner's head from his shoulders.
As valiant and powerful as he was, however, Icarus found himself slowly retreating.
In answer to the retreat, he roared at the top of his lungs, an ancient Mendhaian word, a plea to the gods for strength and power beyond his own, and the aura of blackish blue flared even higher, searing away the enemies closest to him. There was a dark, blinding flash, and when it cleared and he could again see, he found that his own Starseed was embedded in the crosspiece of his sword hilt. Willing it to provide him with the power he had demanded, he lunged back into the fray, and fought with a renewed intensity, his sword whistling through the ranks of his enemies. Before much time had elapsed, he had the entire procession of evil reduced to but a few men, the rest a heap of death in the doorway. The remaining soldiers of darkness took one look at their terrifying opponent, turned, and fled.
The aura of dark light flickered suddenly and died away, leaving Icarus dizzy. He turned around and staggered back over to Mellissandre, dropping to his knees beside her.
'You knew there was a price,' a voice from out of nowhere said. Zirriph, the Mendhaian Goddess of War, shimmered into existance beside him, her black and gold eyes gazing directly at him. 'As one of my sons, I had to grant your request...but there was a price.'
He nodded, his sword feeling like lead in his hands. He looked down at it and saw the reason for his disorientation. There was a crack in the center of the Starseed. It had fractured under the stress of the power, as had Mellissandre's own. How fitting, he thought bitterly.
The raven-haired goddess sighed, highlights of gold shimmering in her locks. 'You know what the price required was, too...' the deity had sadness in her eyes as she gazed at the knight who had served her so faithfully. Zirriph reached out, brushing a strand of hair from his face. 'Icarus, I am deeply saddened that this has come to such an end. Our world has not much longer to be, I am afraid, and this was not the end that I had planned for us.' She leaned across and took his sword gently from his hand, looking down at the fractured 'seed, the sadness deepening. 'You know you won't be reborn,' she said. 'Not now. Your Starseed won't survive another cycle.'
Icarus looked over at her, the light beginning to fade from his cobalt eyes. "What does it matter?" he asked, looking down hopelessly on the dead face of his beloved princess. "She'll never have another cycle either. Without her...I am nothing."
Zirriph nodded. 'Maybe you would have been better suited to be my brother's son,' she said, bemused, 'with that kind of love talk. Oh, Icarus, why did you have to ask me for such a request?' the goddess asked mournfully. 'There might have been a way to save her!'
He shook his head. "No way...to mend..." he mumbled, his strength sapped. He dropped limply to the ground beside his princess, and reached over weakly, taking her cold hand and drawing it slowly to his lips. "No way to repair a broken 'seed...no more life."
And then he was gone.
Zirriph watched the pair for a moment, he with his hand around hers. Even death could not separate them, she mused sadly, and then turned her face to the sky. 'FATHER!' she roared, and though soundless, her voice was deafening, sending plaster from the castle ceiling dropping. 'FATHER!'
'What, my warrior daughter?' a voice came back, descending from the heavens. 'Your cries I could not ignore even had I the desire,' the father of the Mendhaian gods, Irrin, said softly. 'What ask you of me?'
'I wish restored my son and daughter,' she said softly, looking down at Icarus again, tears springing unbidden to her eyes. 'Please...restore the Stars of my noble children that they may rise again with our world and know each other again...I would not lose them.'
'I know not how this thing may be accomplished,' Irrin replied sadly. 'The mending of a Star so noble is an impossibility.' He was silent for a moment. 'And she has broken our laws. You know that. Chikatte is released and in Him we are all doomed...unless you can find a way, the God of Chaos will destroy us all.'
'NO!' Zirriph screeched, tears streaming freely down the delicate face. 'No...please, my father...find a way...find a way...'
'I must consult with the other races, my daughter. Mayhap Li-Xing will know of a way....he of all our members is the wisest.'
'I beg of you, my father, do this thing...I would have these children restored to me.'
'I heed your cries, my daughter. I will consult with my brother Gods that this may be brought about.'
"There may be a simpler solution," a third voice said quietly.
Zirriph turned and smiled softly. "How is it you come to be here?"
"I am the High Priest of your sect, Most Holy," the old man said, bowing respectfully as he continued leaning on his decorative staff. "I can sense your presence on this planet no matter where I am. I thank you for having the grace to appear close by for the benefit of a feeble old man," he finished, smiling softly.
Zirriph stood and walked over to him. 'Milo,' she said softly, bending down to kiss the little old man on the forehead. 'You're so wonderful, as always,' she murmured. 'What did you mean there might be a way?'
"Our Lady of Destiny, Chikalle," Milo said simply. "Can she not do the impossible? Does she not weave the tapestries of life, the fabric of our very Fates, God and man alike? Mayhap your father, Holy Irrin," he said, one hand moving in a respectful gesture across his breast and raising his eyes briefly to the sky, "must simply consult with Our Lady?"
There was a pause of silence deader than any graveyard, while Zirriph stared at the little old man. Milo just waited. 'I thought not of that possibility,' the Goddess of War said, something akin to hope dawning in her eyes. She looked toward the heavens. 'My father, can it be done?'
Irrin was silent for several minutes. 'I...will look into this. It may be that Our Lady of Destiny can help.' There was a silence and a sense of removal, and both Zirriph and Milo knew that the Creator God had departed.
Milo turned to look at his Mistress, and bowed deeply to her again. "I think that I shall return to your temple for the end," he said quietly. There was no skirting around the issue. The king and queen were both dead, and now their daughter and her guardian were as well. With the forces of evil having overrun the capital city and no word coming from any of the other cities on the plain, it was a fair bet to say conditions were the same everywhere. "I look forward to seeing you again very soon, Most Holy," he said, and then turned, walking away.
Zirriph watched him go and then returned to her mournful watch over the two fallen lovers, seating herself on the tile beside them. When the soldiers of darkness came, the reinforcements of the slaughtered warriors that had fed Icarus' earlier rage, Zirriph made no attempt to stop them. She simply watched as they looted the palace and destroyed the once-beautiful monument to her world's royalty. Tears fell in silent tribute from all their gods as Mendhai and its sister worldplanes were destroyed by a great evil that no one could stop.
The Lady Chikalle watched from her vantage-point in the heavens, the fury building within her at what her Chaotic brother Chikatte had caused to come to pass. 'This must not be allowed to stand.' She probed the galaxies, and upon finding a world unmarked by the evil that had destroyed its sister worlds, she gathered up the broken Stars of her children, her warriors, the guardians of their worlds, and tried to do as the Creator God Irrin had beseeched her to do.
But with one, there was simply not enough left to repair. Mellissandre's dear courageous heart had simply held power too great for her Star to handle. When it had shattered, releasing Chikalle's wicked brother, it had become irreparable. Instead, Chikalle took the fractured Star of Icarus and touched a finger to the hairline crack. The Star obediently split in two. From those halves, the Lady Fate spun new Stars, one with a center bright and fiery blue, the other with a center of burning blue-black light. There. Two Stars from one, a bond spun between the pair that would survive any loss of memory or rebirth or crisis thrown at them.
That had, after all, been the point. Had it not?
Following those Stars, Zirriph, the Goddess of War, threw herself into the heavens, taking the form of the great, luminsecent azure phoenix that was her totem and guided them to a small, blue world, one where evil needed fighting and where people needed loving. The perfect place for her last children.
WARNING: The story of Abraxas' awakening is taken word for word from the Sailormoon Vengeance chronicle itself; spoilers might be included, but if so, they are small in number and importance.
Andi stood, beckoning the Terran Sailor Senshi, her friends, along with her. "What are we waiting for? Let's go." And she reached into the air, pulling a sword from a hidden pocket of otherspace, flames of vivid blue dancing along the razor sharp blade.
She could feel it too..."shit...this is bad. TRANSFORM NOW!!" And she dashed out of the room. "I'll run interference!" She stopped in the center of the street. "I can feel them...why can't I see them?!" She whirled suddenly, sword swinging in a wide arc and cleaving an unseen enemy in twain, a scream escaping into the air as it flickered into being in two pieces, an ugly creature of foul darkness.
"Damn...NEPTUNE! THE MIRROR!" She growled low in her throat, eyes blazing with a new ferocity that they'd never before shown. "Bring them on," she hissed. "No one ruins my happy day." And she brandished the silver blade with a flourish, the flame reflecting in her pale jade eyes.
She lunged forward into the fray and had downed ten more of the youma before they overpowered her, taking her down and giving her the beating of her life. She disappeared beneath the pile, her enraged roars turning into screams of pain as they began pounding her unmercifully.
One hand came up, arm standing straight up out of the pile. On the back of it, a tiny symbol flared to life, gleaming with vivid blue light. It was a symbol made of two crescent moons, back to back, with a star at their crest. Before anyone could stop it, there was a flash of bright blue light and the youma pile screamed, seared away into nothingness by the power thereof.
And standing in the midst of the flame-like aura, with the elegance and fury of a billion lost souls, was a new Sailor Senshi, garbed in a fuku and tiara unlike any of them had ever seen. There was a glowing gem in the crosspiece of the blue-flaming, silver sword, and the eyes of the new Senshi were a very familiar pale, creamy jade. Her eyes were cold, reflecting the light of the aura surrounding her and the silver blade, and she gazed with an unearthly calm at the youma before her. "With the anguish of lost souls, fighting for the hearts of the damned, and in the name of a dead world, I strike at evil with a blade that cries for blood...I am Sailorabraxas, and vengeance will be MINE!"
Name :: Andraia Renee McCloud Meaning :: "Courage Reborn of clan McCloud" Gender :: Female Height :: 5'0" Eyes :: Pale Jade Green Hair :: Long, dark red, worn straight Birthday :: July 28 Age :: 21 Sign :: Leo Blood type :: A Favorite Food :: Combination pizza Least Favorite Food :: Baby corn Favorite Gemstone :: Sapphire Goals :: Finish college, entering police academy after earning criminal justice degree Strengths :: Perseverence, loyalty, tenacity, tactical expertise, clinical detachment from battle Weaknesses :: Holding a grudge, cold-heartedness during battle, anger, guilt Hobbies :: Music, track and field, sketch art Family :: Adopted father, Marcus McCloud
Princess Name :: Mellissandre [Appendix A] Name Meaning :: Dual Nature Planet :: Mendhai [Appendix B] Senshi Name :: Sailorabraxas Name Origin :: Greek Angel of Vengence Alternate Identities :: Sailorblackadder Colors :: Blue, Grey, Black Guide :: Zirriph, blue phoenix [Appendix C] Weapon :: Silver Sword, "Aisha'avari" [Appendix D] Collar :: Blue Tiara :: Silver Tiara Gem :: Blue Earrings :: Blue star gems Choker :: Blue, silver star in center Brooch :: Blue star crystal Gloves :: Fingerless except index finger Right glove :: Grey Left glove :: Blue Upper bodice :: Black; grey stripe and blue stripe at hemline Skirt top layer :: Blue Skirt bottom layer :: Grey Skirt bows :: Blue ribbons, grey bow Boots :: Black, silver star in the center of each boot Left Boot :: Line at top of boot :: Blue Right Boot :: Line at top :: Grey Henshin Mantra :: God of War, Ensoul Me! Power Realm :: Fire, with power from flame Other :: Telepathy, Empathy, Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis Power Counter :: Ice Dead Soul Vengeance Flame :: Blue flame swirls in a circle around the feet of the enemy, surrounding their body in burning flame. The sound of angry howls can be heard, adding to the agony when it becomes obvious that the dead souls of Abraxas' homeworld are lending their power to her attack. When it ends, the flame spirals back down around into the small circle. Of the enemy, nothing but cinders are ever left. War Goddess Fury :: The silver sword bursts into blue flame, flame that then surrounds Abraxas herself, raising into the sky above her in the shape of a vivid blue phoenix, and Zirriph herself soars down out of the sky, rending and tearing at the enemies (generally nasty youma) until all that's left are shreds of dark skin and energy. This is a very taxing attack since it requires Abraxas to call upon the power of the patron Goddess of her previous identity on her homeworld, and is not used unless in the most dire of situations. Berserker Rage Inferno :: Abraxas's most dangerous attack, for a number of reasons. Fire colored bright blue swirls up and around her body, creating a shield that will incinerate anything that touches it. She then goes into a full-out berserker rage, and fights with speed and fury that can't be matched by any living thing. This attack is dangerous for four reasons: The attack draws directly from her own life energy and will drain her to the point of death if not stopped fast enough, Abraxas cannot distinguish between friend of foe, she cannot be stopped without serious injury to herself, and the flame that surrounds her is instant burning death to anything that touches it. This is Abraxas' last resort attack; it's a variation on the attack used in her former life to attempt to keep the armies of darkness from breaching the outer walls of her palace on Mendhai. Opening Theme :: "I'm Still Here" Vertical Horizon Image song :: "When I'm Gone" 3 Doors Down Dance Club Mix :: "Lost Complex" Iceman Memory Retrieval Mix :: "I Knew I Loved You" Savage Garden Romance Mix :: "Can't Fight This Feeling" REO Speedwagon Background Mix [happy] :: "Why Don't You And I" Santana & Alex Band Henshin Mix :: "Future Girls" DDR - SmileDK Evil Mix :: "Devil's Trill Sonata" Vanessa Mae [Yami No Matsuei] Fight Mix :: "Lies" Evanescence Angst Mix :: "Bring Me To Life" Evanescence Death Mix :: "When I Look To The Sky" Train Heartbreak Mix :: "White Flag" Dido Background Mix 2 [sorrow] :: "Sleepless Beauty - Sacred Aire Version" Nittle Grasper Fight Mix 2 :: "Supernova Goes Pop" Powerman 5000 Angst Mix 2 :: "Are You There" Oleander Sorrow Mix :: "Long Way From Home" David Lanz Fight Mix 3 :: "Firestarter" Prodigy Evil Mix 2 :: "Break Me Shake Me" Savage Garden Fight Mix 4 :: "When Worlds Collide" Powerman 5000 Background Mix 3 [tense] :: "Eden Instrumental" To Destination [Yami No Matsuei] Final Fight Mix [end] :: "Viva Forever" The Spice Girls Aftermath :: "Full of Grace" Sarah McLachlan Closing Theme :: "Calling All Angels" Train Appendix A - Mellissandre :: This name has an interesting history on the world of Mendhai. The name means "Dual Nature," signifying a balance between light and darkness that is meaningful in a variety of ways. The first and foremost being the legend of the royal Mendhaian line. According to historical records that were kept in the libraries of the palace in the capital city, one million years had passed after the Gods had created Mendhai and its sister worlds, and there was naught but chaos in the planets they had created. This was found to be due to the actions of one very vile, black-hearted God named Chikatte, whose realm was indeed that of Disorder and Chaos. The God Chikatte was wreaking havoc on his brother Gods' creations because his voice, he felt, had not been heard in the creation of the world, and Mendhai only spent half its existance in darkness instead of year-round as Chikatte had demanded. The people of Mendhai were praying almost constantly for some relief from the insanity and depravity taking place due to Chikatte's vindictive nature. So the Gods made a bargain with the people. If they would give their beloved princess, Mellissandre, to the Gods, then the Gods would seal Chikatte away from the realm of men and gods for eternity, provided a contract was kept: every thousand years, a princess of a special nature would be born. She would fight the war against the darkness left behind by Chikatte's actions. And whereas the people had once been able to call upon the power of their hearts, the Starseed, to give them strength to achieve wishes of a pure nature, the Starseed of this princess would be bound, the power inside it used for another end. The people agreed, and the first Mellissandre was given to the Gods for the bargain. Instead of requiring a ritual sacrifice, for these Gods did not, they used the power of Mellissandre's Starseed to seal Chikatte away into a void between dimensions where he could never harm anyone again. The contract was thus made, and Mellissandre became the first of a thousand-year cycle of rebirth. Every thousand years, a princess is born and named Mellissandre in honor of the bargain with the Gods that saved Mendhai. She still cannot use the full power of her Starseed, for the seal that holds Chikatte bound exists even in the heart of each millennial princess; and were she to unleash her Starseed's full potential, the seal would shatter and not only free Chikatte, but claim the life of the princess. Thus the princess became bound, and Chikatte became that lone Power that twists and corrupts the hearts of men; the first and great evil. The meaning of the name is designed specifically to bring to mind the bargain made so long ago with the Gods...for while the princess may fight as a protector of light and justice, the personality that nearly always prevails has a tendency toward hardness, an almost cold indifference in battle that doesn't exist in everyday life. Almost as though she were two different people. [top] Appendix B - Mendhai :: The innermost world of its' star system, Mendhai was a lush planet that had, oddly enough, a very wide elliptical orbit around its sun. This caused a great deal of darkness to be had during the latter half of each year. Mendhai, a word in the tongue of the people who lived upon it, meant "Dark Beauty." The people of Mendhai were happy; in their ancient days they'd created a festival to celebrate the last few days of light before their summer equinox, their "Eclipse Faire." A three-day celebration of what little light they had left, and a joint celebration the year their princess, Mellissandre, was born on the night of the Equinox itself. Mendhai was a planet of both light and darkness and housed a loving, happy people that found beauty in both the light and the dark. [top] Appendix C - Zirriph :: Abraxas' animal guide, Zirriph, didn't always exist in this form. Zirriph was the Goddess of War on Abraxas' former homeworld, Mendhai. Zirriph was not only the Goddess of War, but also the oldest daughter Goddess of a surprisingly peaceful pantheon that lacked the usual incestual, violent relationships of so many pantheons of legend. Zirriph was absolutely devoted to her children on her world. It broke her heart every time she lost one of her valiant warriors. Zirriph maintained - with her father's permission - a small contingent of warrior angels that would escort the souls of fallen soldiers to the afterlife, to a special place prepared specifically for the fighter. She was devastated when her princess and knight were killed in Mendhai's final moments, and with a little help from the high priest of her sect, asked her father god, Irrin, to plead with the Lady of Destiny, Chikalle. Chikalle, the Mendhaian Goddess of Fate, and sister to the black God Chikatte, Lord of Disorder, God of Chaos, intervened on a wider scale than Zirriph had asked. The souls of the fallen princesses and knights on all the worlds of the Mendhaian star system were sent across the universe to Earth to be reborn right alongside the Terran senshi in the beginning of the next thousand year cycle. Zirriph, knowing her world was doomed, left with her father's permission, and followed her children to Earth, taking the form of a small, blue phoenix who would guide the princess and her guardian through their new lives and bestow upon them their destinies if it ever became necessary that they should fight once again. [top] Appendix D - Silver Sword "Aisha'avari" :: The silver sword Abraxas carries does indeed have a name and history of its own. When the gods sealed Chikatte with the power of Mellissandre's Starseed over a million years ago, they gave her another source of power: the soul sword "Aisha'avari." Its name translates to "Life from the heavens." It's quite a play on words by the father God, Irrin. But then again, his priests always did say he had quite the sense of humor. The sword itself is merely a vessel, a tool to magnify the power Mellissandre already bears within herself, but it refines the energy, tuning it into a sort of fire that burns hotter than any ever before manifested on the plane of Mendhaian or Terran existance. The sword's name has a double meaning, like so many things in these appendices. The title Aisha'avari, [pronounced ah-ee-shah ah-vah-ree] designates its true importance. The seal that holds Chikatte can be broken, and Mellissandre might still survive. The sword is the last remaining key to repairing the holy seal. If the blade ever breaks, the break of the seal is permanent and Chikatte goes free. But if he can be slain with the soul sword itself, then the seal is repaired once again. It is ironic that the blade given to Mellissandre to defend her world against the Chaos sealed inside herself is a two-edged sword...for her fate is as two-edged as any blade; just as likely to cut herself as the enemy.[top]