The Dark Kingdom

Hold onto your hats, kiddies! We're taking a little field trip on down to the Dark Kingdom to learn about that mysterious dark castle that our Shitennou spent so much time in. You can tell a lot about a villain by his domain. It is the place where schemes are formed and personalities are revealed. The place where they retreat to lick their wounds after once again being thwarted by jr. high students. While we only catch glimpses of what the manga's Dark Kingdom looks like, from the various half-pictures scattered throughout the pages we can begin to get a vague idea of the location where our dear kings lived.

The Castle

The actual location is deep underground at Point D in the Arctic Circle. Whether it is physically located there or simply in a seperate dimension that is connected to Point D is unclear. Even though the sailor senshi had to get to it by actually traveling to Point D, both Jadeite and the evil Mamoru went through a portal to reach it. When Usagi and Mamoru used one of those portals, Luna actually tracked them traveling beneath (through?) the Atlantic Ocean. Luna also called the Dark Kingdom "that other world" and said that it was "unstable". Either way, we know that somehow it exists deep below the Earth's surface.

From the outside, it hardly looks like the military base one would expect. Actually, it looks more like a parliament building. It has various pillars and tons of arched windows, with a large staircase leading up to it. It is most likely made up of stone, seeing as how everything Metallia touches is turned to stone. The place is too dark to see whether it's in a sort of cave, or if it's merely surrounded by darkness, but it seems to eminate an aura of energy.

The inside is much more interesting. Spacious rooms, arched corridors, a basement big enough to house a planet-sized demon. Being that it's underground, it's very dark, with nearly tangible shadows whisping between the columns. Like the outside, it appears to be made entirely out of stone, although a few images show a brick pattern in the hallways. While there is no visible light source, it seems to have electricity, what with the amount of television screens and computers it contains (although these may also be run by magic, it seems rather inefficient to channel all of Metallia's much-needed energy just to catch some TV). We aren't shown living quarters for any of the characters, but given the size of that place, I'm sure they're around there somewhere. Even so, there are a few areas of interest that we are given a glimpse of.

Beryl's "Throne Room"

Beryl's throne room is probably the one we see the most often, usually when someone is in trouble. It's quite large, of course, with a high domed ceiling and a slightly raised platform on which Beryl stands (I find it interesting to note that she has no "throne" to speak of). There are three smaller windows behind the platform and one huge one higher up (former sky light?). The floor has a cool glassy appearance, and there is at least one open balcony through which you can apparenly see stars. The rest of the room is a little harder to determine, although we do know that there are some windows with really big windowsills that Zoisite and Nephrite like to lean on while sipping random beverages (Utena fans refer to this as the "iced drink conspiracy"). Other than the platform, the room appears to be entirely unfurnished. Like many other villain groups, this is where the Dark Kingdom members usually gather to discuss such topics as who gets to try and destroy the world next.

The "Television Room"

Then there is the room with the television monitors. One wall is entirely covered by them, which supports the theory that the Dark Kingdom has electricity. This apparently isn't a very large or well-furnished room, being that Kunzite and Zoisite chose to share a chair while in there (unless they enjoy that sort of thing ^_~). Opposite to the TVs is a wall with yet more arched windows, and probably a few pillars too. Not much else can be said about this room other than that Zoisite, and subsequently Kunzite, spend a lot of time in here while planning their next big move.

The Corridors

Since I mentioned pillars, let's digress from the rooms for a moment and take a look at the corridors, since they're probably one of the most interesting features, IMHO. I like hallways, I don't know why. With the possible exception of the underground areas (of course, it's all underground... um, yes), the hallways are perhaps the darkest parts of the Dark Kingdom. They are all characterized by high arched ceilings and Greek pillars, which seem to vary in style from simplistic to quite ornate. Wind can always be heard within these hallways, unlike the rooms where people are too busy talking. I also find these interesting because unlike in the anime where everyone seemed to teleport wherever they went, people actually use the hallways to get places. Whoa.

The Coffin Room

Next we have the room where the coffins were placed as each Shitennou was killed. This room is not very large, and actually has a tile floor. The ceiling is flat and ordinary, and one barred window sits at the foot of the coffins, with two candles burning. Not much else can be said about this place, really.

The "Basement"

Last, and most hidden, is the area deep beneath the castle, where Metallia resides. To get there, Beryl climbs down a winding staircase, which leads into more of a cave-like place. Here she comes to a massive double door, with the emblem of what I think is a horse, with leaves lining the edges. She then speaks a password in an unusual language and the great doors open. Inside it is, again, much like a cave. Large steps lead up to a platform, out of which Metallia appears when Beryl wishes to speak to it. That's pretty much it. Oh yeah, and Kunzite says it smells bad. ^^;

More than it seems?
Now what I want to know is, how did that castle come to be? Normally in the Sailormoon universe, a villain's domain owes its origins to one of two things. Either the villains themselves create it from scratch (as in the case of Nemesis), or it is converted from an existing man-made location (as in the case with the Death Busters). Now, while Metallia may have been quite powerful during the Silver Millenium, and had the ability to create big stone... things, I simply cannot see her making anything as ornate as a window, or as detailed as a staircase. In fact, nothing in the Dark Kingdom looks anything like the kinds of stuff Metallia produces, except the underground cave where she spends most of her time. The material she makes is rough and jagged, unless it is coating an existing object, such as the Moon Sword. So that means that even if the castle is entirely covered in Metallia's poisonous stone, the original version still had to come from somewhere. And honestly, where could an ancient castle somewhere underground in the middle of the Arctic possibly come from?

My theory, as random and half-baked as it may be, is that the Dark Kingdom of today was the Golden Kingdom of the past. Both exist somewhere below Earth's surface. Both were the homes of the Shitennou, and possibly even Beryl. One was destroyed just as the other appeared. More than anything, there is that barely-visible emblem on the door the leads to Metallia. I mean, c'mon, a horse? There is no mention of horses anywhere in the Dark Kingdom, which is why it seems so random when we see one in a place that houses a demon. Something so majestic and, well, alive, does not seem to fit the Dark Kingdom's description. But somehow, I could surely see it in the Golden Kingdom. In fact, the winged horse Pegasus was a symbol of Elysion (another name for the Golden Kingdom), and is closely linked to both Prince Endymion and Helios. It could very well be that the horse was a symbol of Earth's royal family. Also, when Beryl was killed by Sailor Venus, she had a memory of hiding behind some pillars while watching the Prince and Princess. These pillars look exactly like the ones in the Dark Kingdom's castle. Coincidence? Who knows?



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