Selenia is the Priestess of the Holy Song, the last survivor of the destroyed Order of the Starsilver. During the final battle against the forces of Halleb, the Caretaker of the Dead, she was suddenly sent back in time seven years in the past, during the time when peace was cheap and lives were flourishing. Yet for Selenia, there is no peace or happiness, for she knows what will happen seven years later and she pledges to prevent that at all cost. Seven Years of Hope Prologue 2 The Fall of Those Who Live By Shiina Ai

On the surface, the forces of General Uleb, The Kin of Champions are pressed to its last man by the rampaging forces of Airu The Plague Bearer. Knowing no other path of retreat, General Uleb raises his hammer, Heaven’s Boulder, that stands the full height of a grown man and slams it against the ground. The ground cracks, creating a wide rift that separates the armies of the allied nations and the plague monsters.

It is unfortunate that he is on the side with the plague monsters, for he could not control how the cracks would form. He could not foresee what would happen in the future. Yet he stands firm.

A man against many, his blows throwing monsters twice his height to the sky, his hammer smashing the skulls, bones and flesh of the plague monsters to mush. The blood of the plague monsters falls on his face, burning him with their acidic substance. Yet he stands firm before the thousands of plague beasts, each the match of a hundred men.

Alas, not even he can stand against so many. For he is only one man. A single man who bought the allied armies precious time to retreat and reorganize at what would be the last line of the defense just outside the city of Gralnika.

It is the same on the high grounds of the mountain pass. While the long-eared soldiers of the Lost Woods stand their ground better than the others, they are about to face their greatest adversary. The black dragons, long thought to have died off, appeared at the battlefield right after the sun reached midday. Despite the power of their long bows made of the sacred oaks nurtured until a spirit resided inside them, they were no match for the scalding breaths of the black dragons.

As the flames with the heat and substance of volcanic magma burn their soldiers, the venerable soldiers of the Lost Woods are routed. These legendary soldiers thought to be mere myths passed down from parents to children, lost their will to fight against the unstoppable might of the black dragon flight. None of them were alive during the battle that saw the annihilation of the black dragons a millennia ago, as all those who fought died during the battle or during the march home. What they knew of the black dragons prowess were second hand stories passed down to the folks who went to look for the survivors before being passed down to the rest.

How did our ancestors defeat them at the height of their power? That same thought plays in each of their minds. Despite their pride of being the most powerful warriors in the world, they now understand that it was mere arrogance. Facing a true foe, their power is found wanting.

Yet one among them stands firm. Slapping the banner bearers and trumpeters to their senses, she urges them to their feet. Sounding the rallying call for perhaps the final time, High Commander Restini stands firm. With her armour broken, her helm missing and her body still suffering numerous bloody wounds, she raises the legendary spear Hal’geris in the air with one good hand and charges alone.

She knows her army’s morale is at its lowest point, yet she is unwilling to give up. She realizes that she can no longer urge her army to fight, not with the powerful black dragons as the enemy’s vanguard. But she must fight, for this must not be the end. She swore to live and die with Selenia, so how can she run away now and allow Selenia to fight alone?

“Great ancestors, I am Restini, daughter of Sayol and Ileas, descendant of Aharis, who fought the black dragons at the valley of death. Grant me the strength with which my ancestor slew the foul black dragons. Take my blood and give me the strength to annihilate them again!”

Restini can feel the ancestors answering her call. Her power surges, her wounds close and her broken right arm heals itself. The ancestors have responded to her wish, to turn her blood into pure power. The same power that the long ears once relied on in the same battle thousands of years before.

She jumps ahead at the face of a vile black dragon. Seeing the lone long ear warrior approaching them, the black dragons together pour forth a torrent of fire and magma at Restini. As Restini is still in the air, she has no way to avoid the rush of fire and magma. Thus she calls for the spirits, “Spirits of air, I beg for wings!”

Mere seconds before the flames devour her, she appears above the torrent of flames, seemingly lifted up by the very wind itself. Concentrating her wild magic into the spear, she makes a wide slash downwards towards the three black dragons that released their breaths at her just a moment before. The force of the slash makes a blade of wind and magic, carving deep into the backs of the dragons, cutting their tough bodies into twos.

Seeing her resolve, the other soldiers of the Lost Woods turn back toward the dragons. Firming their hold against their spears, swords and bows, they take a step forward. And then they take another step. And another. Until in the end it becomes a thunderous charge.

“Great ancestors, I, Murle son of Yum and Sarla offer my blood, my life. Grant me the power to fight besides my lord.”

“Great ancestors, Arin of Ayn and Mare pays my respect. Give me the power to defeat our ancient enemies, no matter what the cost.”

“Great ancestors, great spirits, I am Felmor. Take my everything, let me fight again for the last time!”

“Great ancestors, grant this child your blessing. Let our blood never be remembered as the blood of cowards.”

And so they fight again. Not with weapons made by mortal hands, but with weapons made of blood and nature. Their own bodies become the weapons by which they cut and stab hundreds of black dragons. What was once a hopeless fight has become a fair battle, with thousands of long ears fighting together to defeat hundreds of their ancient enemies, the black dragons.

Yet still, they fail. The power received by exchanging their blood was a temporary and final measure. Had it only been a couple hundred black dragons, they might’ve won. But they were too many. As the long ears skin pales and their movements stiffen, one by one they are ripped apart by the black dragons’ claws or burned to cinders with their magma breath.

As for Restini, she already fell long before the first of the other long ears start to fall. Not even able to utter a single word as she breathed her last, her spirit uttered, “I go first, Selenia.”

*As always, your comments are very appreciated. Praises help me write faster, constructive criticisms help me write better.
**Thank you to Eric for helping me edit this chapter.
***The other titles may take more time. Sorry.

Selenia is the Priestess of the Holy Song, the last survivor of the destroyed Order of the Starsilver. During the final battle against the forces of Halleb, the Caretaker of the Dead, she was suddenly sent back in time seven years in the past, during the time when peace was cheap and lives were flourishing. Yet for Selenia, there is no peace or happiness, for she knows what will happen seven years later and she pledges to prevent that at all cost. Seven Years of Hope Prologue 3 The End of All Things By Shiina Ai

"Hold the line!" General Falrus, the grand commander of all allied armies bellows his orders. His voice loud and powerful, enhanced by his personal charisma and command magic so that even the front line troops two miles in front of him are able to hear him clearly.

"Hold the line! You are humanity's last line of defense. Do not falter. We must delay them here! Now!"

General Falrus looks at the four lines of defense before him stretching throughout the wheat fields east of Gralnika. Their numbers are great, but this is all that is left. There is nothing else to deploy, no one else to conscript. These men who stand before the city of Gralnika are truly the last line of defense. Not only for humanity, they are the last line of defense for all who live.

After all, the mountain people were eaten to the last man by strange monsters that came out of the shadows of their caves two seasons earlier. The short folks succumbed to a mysterious plague that wiped them out the year before. The fae folks disappeared so mysteriously that not one scholar could offer a theory. The bird folks escaped in fear to the west, hoping that the rumoured continent of Naksa existed. The merfolks were eaten by monsters that rose from the deep oceans. And the most powerful creatures, the red and gold dragons were wiped out by who knows what and who knows when. If not for the Saint of Starsilver journeying to their nests and finding only bones, none would've known that the good dragons were all dead.

As for the soldiers, they know in their hearts that they are all that's left. They toughen their resolve, hoping that with their sacrifice, there will be a future for those they left behind. Despite the increasing casualties, they stand firm, unmoving, awaiting the last battle of their lives.

To some, it is for their families who are being transported through a magical portal to gods know where, far in the western part of the continent. To some, it is a matter of national pride, for they will not admit that their nation is weaker than mere monsters. To some, it is their belief that their commanders will stand with them through thick and thin. To some, it is their faith that the Priestess of the Holy Song will be able to sway the gods to join their struggle.

For those who fight for their families, they fight only to buy time for the Twelve Heavenly Maidens. For these maidens are the only help granted by the gods. These maidens, blessed by the gods and ordained by the Saint of Starsilver are the only ones left who can protect their families and loved ones. The only reason for them to stay and fight is to delay the forces of doom for as long as they can. The longer they can hold the enemy off, the more time the Twelve Heavenly Maidens will have to gather the survivors and escape through the portal.

Praises to Grexia The Sailor, may she forever guide the sailors and merchants.
Praises to Illumia of The Dawn, may she protect our children and future.
Praises to Allyn Who Perseveres, who rewards hard work and blesses diligence.
Praises to Miol The Shield, may our homes be forever protected.
Praises to Amarita of Desire, who blesses those who pursue their goals.
Praises to Unar Who Is Passionate, who blesses families to be fruitful.
Praises to Lenya Who Entertains, may she give hope to those without.
Praises to Nuei the Guide of Souls, may she bring the dead to eternal peace.
Praises to Maika The Crafter, may she guide their prosperity.
Praises to Irua The Guard, may she forever protect their lives.
Praises to Nila of the Dusk, may she continue to protect their souls.
Praises to Ya of Abundance, may she feed them always.

This chant is repeated over and over, as these men can only pray that the Maidens of Guidance will succeed. To most, this chant is the only thing preventing them from deserting. It's a constant reminder that if they desert here, not only they, but their families will also perish.

As for the rest, their only hope is that they will not fight alone. For this is the last hour of all who live and it is this last hour that they must fight, even to the last blood. Doom has come to their world, and they shall fight so that those they are protecting can prosper, or die doing their best. To these men and women, they are aware they will die today, and they have resolved to fight their hardest to bring down as many of the enemy as possible and buy as much time that their lives can exchange.

"Your excellency, how is it? Will the gods offer assistance?" General Falrus asks Selenia, the Priestess of the Holy Song.

Throughout the battle that saw the annihilation of the long ears and the death of General Uleb, Selenia was dancing following the tune of the Staff of Melodies. It was a ritual meant to summon the gods to appear in their physical forms. However, it did not work. With every dance, her moves became increasingly erratic, her feelings increasingly desperate. Finally, her stamina gone, she fell to the blighted ground, its grass long consumed by the taint of the demons, plague monsters and undead that press against their combined armies.

"Your excellency, please, will the gods help us? It is now or never. Look, our front lines are already massacred. It is only a matter of time before they break through our rear defensive line as well. We cannot hold the ground!"

Without looking up at the general, Selenia mutters in a voice so soft it can barely be heard over the chaos. "... silent."

"What?" the general asks as he kneels on leg beside Selenia.

"The gods... THEY ARE SILENT!" Selenia cries aloud. If her voice does not betray her despair, her droplets falling from her face certainly do. For a priestess most favoured by the gods to no longer be able to hear the gods, it can only mean one thing.

"What? The gods are silent?" A nearby officer asks.

"The gods are silent?" These words spread like wildfire among the ranking officers.

"Have we been abandoned?" This thought plays among the soldiers, increasing their anxiety the more they repeat it in their minds.

"Are we now truly alone?" This sentiment grows with every word spoken.

These thoughts finally become the breaking point for the allied army. As word spreads that the gods no longer respond to the dances of the Saint of Starsilver, the hopelessness of the situation sets in. Although they didn't truly count on the gods to turn their fates around before, they were comfortable with the hope that perhaps, the gods would lend a hand.

Now that they know with certainty that the gods will not do so, the resolve in their hearts wavers. As more of their fellow soldiers fall by their sides, the fear that took root in their hearts becomes a monster that claws from the deep corner of their hearts, persistent and unyielding. As they see the terrain covered entirely in the mass of enemy monsters, undead and demons, one man turns around to flee. Then another follows, and another, and another. In mere moments the entire remainder of the front lines as well as half of the rear lines deserted the battlefield.

"No! Stop running! We are the last line of defense! Stand your ground!" General Falrus cries his commands to deaf ears. He knows now that not even his voice can persuade the routing soldiers.

Despite his usual polite demeanor, he grabs Selenia's hand, still weak from the despair of being abandoned and throws her to the single remaining officer by his side. The Duke of Marlis catches the young priestess in his arms and receives the general's order to take her away through the portal. The duke gives a single bow of respect, the last of its kind before he puts Selenia on his horse and flees in the direction of the portal. The duke himself is unsure if he will be able to reach the portal that is five days distance from Gralnika.

As General Falrus looks at the prone form of the priestess, he says so quietly that none can hear even if the battlefield is silent, "The gods may have abandoned us in this world, but perhaps the gods of this new world will still listen to your songs, Your Excellency. You are our last hope."

Then he looks up at the sky, raises his broadsword up high and yells aloud, "You gods who reign above, this is my final prayer. Let my life be the payment for hers. Protect her as you have protected her before. My life, I offer it to you."

And so General Falrus, first of the allied armies, the Hero of Canrad Pass, charges into his final battle with the misguided hope that he alone can delay the approaching mass.

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*Here is the last of the prologue for SYOH. There was originally a 4th prologue, but that has no bearing on this story from here afterwards. The 4th prologue was originally the prelude to the story of the refugee humans in this new world with the Twelve Heavenly Maidens as the main characters. Selenia won't even be there except for a single mention.
**Thank you to Eric for editing the chapter.
***As always, please leave your comment or feedback. Praises help me write faster, constructive criticisms help me write better.
****The other titles still need more time, sorry.

Selenia is the Priestess of the Holy Song, the last survivor of the destroyed Order of the Starsilver. During the final battle against the forces of Halleb, the Caretaker of the Dead, she was suddenly sent back in time seven years in the past, during the time when peace was cheap and lives were flourishing. Yet for Selenia, there is no peace or happiness, for she knows what will happen seven years later and she pledges to prevent that at all cost. Seven Years of Hope Chapter 1 A New Start By Shiina Ai

"Sister Selenia! Sister Selenia!"

The loud voice in my ears along with the shaking of my shoulders wake me from the fog in my mind. As I open my eyes, a soft blue light enters my eyes reminding me of what we once lost. It is a familiar light, one I've seen probably a thousand times, even tens of thousands of times. It is the light of the Holy Starsilver, spinning slowly above the magical altar made by the now extinct azure mountain people.

"What - where..." I look around the room, recognizing a chamber that I haven't seen for years.

It is a chamber that I haven't entered for at least six years. This chamber shouldn't exist anymore. Six years ago, this place was attacked and ransacked by the demons of fire and the demons of blades that killed all the priestesses and burned the entire temple complex down. Even the Holy Starsilver that had adorned this chamber for the past 600 years was taken away to gods know where. Only a handful of priestesses and Knights of the Holy Starsilver survived the sudden attack. I was one of those who survived and had to escape alone.

The sister breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you are awake. You suddenly lost consciousness during dawn worship. Are you alright?"

"Sister Eryes?" I ask in disbelief. Sister Eryes was one of those who sat in worship during the attack on the Hall of Stellar Radiance. She should be the first to die. How can she still be alive?

"Yes, Sister Selenia. Greetings of dawn. If you are feeling unwell, you should've told me. It is not good to pray with an ill body."

"No... no, I am fine. Is this a dream?"

"A dream?" Sister Elyes seems to fall into deep thought before she hit the palm of her left hand with her other fist, "Indeed! Life is a dream. A dream that speaks of our worth before the stars. I have finally found the answer!"

"Uh? What?"

Sister Elyes falls to her knees facing the giant crystal of the Holy Starsilver. She closes her eyes, clasps her hands at her chest and says, "Oh Radiance of the Night, I thank thee for thine guidance. Please continue to guide this humble self forever more, until this dream ends and this humble self returns to the stars."

A door behind me opens. "Sister, I heard you collapsed. What happened? Are you alright?"

It is the voice of someone who shouldn't exist anymore. It is the voice of someoneI have missed so very much. Someone who should already be dead, long, long ago.

"Kal-Kaldar?" I turn around, looking at the face that I haven't seen for six long years.

"Yes, it is me. Is something wrong, sister?" Kaldar answers as he gets on his knees with a face full of worry.

"Kaldar!" I cry, my feet push me towards him in a sudden jump.

Caught off guard by my sudden move, he instinctively opens his arms, allowing me to jump into his embrace. His body covered in chain mail is hard and cold, but this... knowing that behind it Kaldar still breathes and his blood still courses through his veins, is such a great comfort that my tears can no longer be stopped.

"Kaldar! Kaldar!"

This Kaldar who followed me when I was chosen as a trainee priestess of the Holy Starsilver. This Kaldar who said he would protect me from the mean senior priestesses. This Kaldar who pledged he would protect my chastity and purity. This Kaldar who swore that he would be my knight once he passed the selection ceremony for the Knights of Starsilver. This Kaldar who trained alone in the woods, fighting wolves, imps and kobolds from the age of 5 to the day he turned 13. This Kaldar who did everything for my good and supported me throughout my whole life. This Kaldar who I remember more than my own parents.

This Kaldar who swore to protect me for as long as I live.

This Kaldar... who said he would protect me, but he lied. He swore to be my shield, promised to be my sword for as long as I lived, but he lied. His promises were empty. His vows were unfulfilled.

Despite swearing to be my knight, he perished right after swearing the oath. With his own strength, nurtured for years in the wilderness, he alone took me out of the burning temple complex into the hidden path under the Hall of Repentance. He alone fought off the pursuing demons of blades, dozens of them, against his single might. Yet he did not complain, he did not tire. He simply fought them one after another. And in the end, he sent me off with a smile as his broken body spilled its lifeblood on the ground.

Kaldar, what was the use of saving me, if you're not there to walk with me? What was the use of saving me, if you perish soon after? What was the use of saving me, this useless me, if you die in my stead? Why was I the one alive? I who was useless, and always useless. It was you who should live. You who were called The Shield of the Stars.

Had it been you, instead of me, Entou would not have fallen in vain. Had it been you, Erle would not have died that day. Had it been you... if it was you... if you only you were alive...

"Kaldar! Kaldar! Kaldar!" There is no other word to say. My mind can no longer form any words. Kaldar is alive.

Kaldar is alive! The feeling of helplessness when Kaldar gave his life for me. The regret of not being able to do anything when Kaldar could only smile to sooth my heart despite the pain in his body. The despair of seeing him hacked into pieces and beheaded by the blade demons. The feeling of being unworthy of such a sacrifice. It is now undone. If this is a dream, this is a wonderful dream.

Now Kaldar is alive again! That is all that matters!

Kaldar is alive!

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*Thank you Eric for editing this chapter.
**Your comments and feedbacks are much appreciated. Praises help me write faster, constructive criticisms help me write better.
***Actually thought of not posting this, since it doesn't seem like the bigcloset crowd enjoys it. However, I received a nice mail recently and I thought, "Heck, if this person likes it that much, then I'll post for as long as this person enjoys it." The comments also helped. So everyone who commented/mailed, your effort wasn't wasted. Thanks a lot.
****Yeah, so this is the first chapter since the time-reversal. In the visual novel, there is another scene where Selenia meets The Anchor, but I decided it would be too slow and therefore skipped it. Probably would skip it in the visual novel as well.

Selenia is the Priestess of the Holy Song, the last survivor of the destroyed Order of the Starsilver. During the final battle against the forces of Halleb, the Caretaker of the Dead, she was suddenly sent back in time seven years in the past, during the time when peace was cheap and lives were flourishing. Yet for Selenia, there is no peace or happiness, for she knows what will happen seven years later and she pledges to prevent that at all cost. Seven Years of Hope Chapter 2 A New Start By Shiina Ai

"Selenia? I could hear you from the hall - oh dung, Sister Eryes!"

This voice...

"Umm, greetings of dawn, Sister Eryes."

Aria? Is it truly Aria? Aria is alive? Aria...

Will I be forgiven for embracing this dream?

"Greetings of dawn, Sister Aria," Sister Eryes greets back making a small bow just like Aria probably did.

"Aria? Is that really you?" I speak as softly as I can, afraid of my voice shattering her image like it has so my times before. My eyes grasp at Aria's fleeting figure, afraid it will fade away again. This Aria who kept running away from me in my dreams. No matter how hard I chased, no matter how much I begged, no matter how many tears I shed, I was never able to catch her.

Aria makes that teasing grin that I have already started to forget. That same grin that I kept clawing through my memory just to remember but failing increasingly often. "Silly Nia. Of course it's me. It's only been a few hours and you can't recognize me anymore?"

Aria! I slacken my arms that are wrapped around Kaldar. Getting on my feet, I take a step slowly in Aria's direction. I do not want my steps to disturb her image. I do not want the sound of my movements to scare her away. I do not want her to disappear again. I can't bear it anymore.

Please don't disappear, Aria.

Please don't disappear.

Please don't disappear.

Please don't disappear.

Please I beg you, stay where you are. Just this once.

Please don't leave me again. Just this once.

Please gods who reign in Heaven, allow me this one selfishness. Just this one. You have never allowed me any.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Aria!" I throw myself at her.

My arms wrap around her waist, expecting her to turn into butterflies again. It doesn't happen. She doesn't disappear. She doesn't fade away. She doesn't shatter. She doesn't run away. Aria is here, in my arms. She feels real, this feeling that I have already started to forget.

Oh gods, thank you for letting me hold her one last time.

"Nia, why are you crying?" She asks as she wipes the tears from my eyes with a jasmine scented handkerchief.

I bury my face in her voluminous breasts covered in a particularly revealing fashion common among the divine dancers of the Starsilver. I remember this raiment from long ago. She used to wear it on every special day. And in this raiment, she would dance for me, just for me.

On the Day of the Silver Sun, she danced and sang the Hymn of Guiding Light. On the Night of Endless Stars, she danced with a hum following the song Light of A Thousand Lights. On the day we kissed for the first time, she danced to the silent tune of Eternally, Passionately. And on the day of my first foray into the cursed forests to study the demon monsters, she danced the steps for The Way Home, as if praying to the gods for my return. I only learned later that she danced The Way Home for the whole night until she fell exhausted at ghost hour.

I look up at her face as I tell her, "I miss you." I do not know how I look like to her with all my crying, but it doesn't matter. I miss her. For the whole six years we've been apart, I've missed her. My dear, dear Aria. My first love.

"Umm, it's only been a couple of hours. Are you that excited for today?" She looks embarrassed as she looks to the side. Then her face goes pale and cold sweat appears on her forehead.

"Selenia, get off me! We'll both get in trouble. Look! Sister Eryes is looking! And her mouth and eyes are wide open! Get off!"

I tune out her words. Nothing else seems to matter anymore. Aria is here, in my arms, her face only inches from mine.

Aria, I miss you. For the past six years, I have longed for you. Your face that I saw every night as we sleep. Your hands that stroke me softly while you told me how I've been doing a good job. Your scent that calmed me and made everything felt right. Your kiss that made me feel alive and cherished. Your voice that sings me to sleep.

Your voice. Aria, for these six years, I keep replaying your voice in my head. As I do good deeds, I would play your words, "That's my girl." When I failed, your "You've done your best" would always bring me back up. When I was about to do something wrong, your "I don't like this Nia" would always stay my hand. Your voice in my memories have always been the only thing that kept me on the right path.

Aria, your beauty that radiates like the full moon.

Aria, your voice that is like the songs of angels.

Aria, your dances that move heaven and earth.

Aria, your smile that lights up even the darkest of days.

I miss all of those.

You have always been the only one I longed for. You and only you. When King Garan forced me to be God's Chosen Saint, I wished you were there to tell him off. When I had to fight for my life in the back streets of Kellomis, I wish you were there to pull me away. When I had to beg for food to fill my belly, I imagined that you were there pulling my hand to the dining halls again.

If I wasn't at the library at that time, would I have been able to save you? Would I have had your company while I walk through that path alone? Would you stay with me through thick and thin, penniless, hungry and at the mercy of people who only had their own self-interest in mind? Aria, what a wonderful world it would have been if only you had been there to walk it with me.

I will say this now, so that I will not regret it again. Even if this is a dream. Even if this is an illusion I'm seeing at the end of the doom of our world. Even if this is the illusion I'm seeing at the end of my life, I will say it. The words that I couldn't say six years ago. The words I couldn't say before that. The words I had tried to keep secret in my heart, afraid of the punishment I would receive for saying it aloud.

I hold the back of her head in my right hand and say it aloud, clearly, without pretense, without hesitation, without any doubt, "I love you, Aria."

Aria, if I have only one regret in this world, it is that I never said these words until it was too late. I will not make the same mistake again. And with that, I give her the kiss that I had been dreaming about for the past six years. The same kiss I was afraid of initiating. The same kiss that I have been afraid of savouring. It is the kiss and passion that I have kept bottled up for the past six years.

For this moment, there are only the two of us in the world. A world of our own. A world with no one else. A world we belong. Nothing matters to me in this world other than Aria.

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*Thank you Eric for editing this chapter.
**Your comments and feedbacks are much appreciated. Praises help me write faster, constructive criticisms help me write better. I do enjoy reading all your comments and your speculations. Please keep them coming.
***I'm feeling somewhat motivated lately, so I've been slowly writing the continuation for Escape! and Age of Gods Online. Cross Race Destiny may need more time. It's almost finished but I just feel the chapter is not ready to be read.
****The cover picture fits my imageof Aria, except Aria like all priestesses of Starsilver has silver hair.
*****Since this story is very long, and some of you may not be interested in staying for that long, I'll give a bit of spoiler. Halled is without a doubt the reason for the Doom March, but she is not actually evil. Want to know why she started the Doom March? Please stick with this story to the end, or you can buy the visual novel when it's out one day.

Selenia is the Priestess of the Holy Song, the last survivor of the destroyed Order of the Starsilver. During the final battle against the forces of Halleb, the Caretaker of the Dead, she was suddenly sent back in time seven years in the past, during the time when peace was cheap and lives were flourishing. Yet for Selenia, there is no peace or happiness, for she knows what will happen seven years later and she pledges to prevent that at all cost. Seven Years of Hope Chapter 3 A New Start By Shiina Ai

"So am I to get this right? You can see the future?" The head priestess narrows her eyes, her cheekbones move a fraction of an inch higher with her hands clasped in front of her lips. Her eyes pierce through me, as if trying to see any falsehood, any lies in my words.

But there is no lie. I have not uttered a single lie. My words have been the truth and nothing but the truth, as far as my knowledge goes. And I know, very well, that seven years from now, the world will meet its doom.

If we, the sentient creatures of this world continue to bicker among each other, that future will come true again. Humans enslaving long ears. Long ears killing humans who enter their forests. Mountain folks isolating themselves from the other races. Short folks who steal, rob and murder. The fae folks and their mischievous tricks. The forest maidens who jealously guard and propagate their sacred trees. The bird folks who look down on the land dwellers. The merfolks who prey on fishermen and sailors. And the red and gold dragons who constantly fight each other for dominance.

This must all come to an end. If we are to stop the end of the world, all the races must work together. We cannot afford to lose any of the sentient races again. But before all that can happen, I must first convince the head priestess, Sister Jihan the Unforgiving, that our future is bleak.

"I do not see the future, I am from the future, Sister Jihan."

It is amusing to see her left eyebrow tick upward hearing me speak her name so casually. I actually forgot that as a mere Listener, it was rude of me to speak her name so casually. It's because I've been at the top of the clergy for several years that I forgot that right now, I'm only at the second lowest tier of the ordained priestesses of the Starsilver. In comparison, Sister Jihan is at the highest rank, a Keeper, as only a Keeper may lead the sanctuary. She is a Starkeeper, one who foretells the coming events by watching the stars.

It is at this point that I hope that Aria who is standing beside me will stop fidgeting at everything. I don't remember much about Aria of this time, but had she always been this nervous? Or is it because we are in front of the high priestess? Regardless, if she is this nervous, it's like she's admitting that everything is our fault.

Instead of making an issue about my transgression, she decides to drop the issue. "Am I supposed to believe the predictions of a Listener without any evidence?"

"What kind of evidence would you like to see, high priestess?"

"Anything that proves you are from the future, of course."

I say nothing as I look back into my past trying my best to find evidence that cannot be doubted. I have no items from my seven years of wandering. I have no friends to vouch for me, for I have not met any of them yet right now. I have no wealth to show. What can I provide as evidence other than my own knowledge?

And therefore, I look into my memories and find the answer. A prayer that I had sung hundreds, thousands of times, that I now know by heart. Every word, every syllable, every note, every single meaning, I knew them all. I knew the Call of the Dead Queen more than I knew the Path of Starsilver, the sendoff prayer for the faithful of the Starsilver. For the Starsilver was lost, what reason would I have for praying to a lost god?

And so I sang, just like I had done hundreds, thousands of times before. Pleading for the Queen of Death, Halleb to honour the ancient covenant and provide safe passage for the souls to their final destination. To never corrupt, to never mislead and to never refuse.

Listen to my call
Oh wandering soul
My voice
shall guide you home

Leaving this world
Eternally

"I see," the head priestess looks at me with a glare, "Is that a challenge, brat?"

"What? What do you-"

My blood goes cold as I notice the atmosphere change. The air turns colder, my breath comes out as fog. Her blood filled with magic, carrying the mana around her body to complete a magic circuit. I know what this is.

She wants to kill me! The thought appears in my head as the blade of ice in her hand becomes longer and longer before my eyes.

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*Thank you Eric for editing this chapter.
**Your comments and feedbacks are much appreciated. Praises help me write faster, constructive criticisms help me write better. I do enjoy reading all your comments and your speculations. Please keep them coming.
***Sorry about the wait. The truth is, the song Call of the Dead Queen was lost somehow. Wrote that about a month ago and either I lost the document or I never saved it in the first place. Unfortunately I couldn't remember how it went, so I had to rewrite everything from scratch. Such a pity, the original was very good if I may say so myself :(

Selenia is the Priestess of the Holy Song, the last survivor of the destroyed Order of the Starsilver. During the final battle against the forces of Halleb, the Caretaker of the Dead, she was suddenly sent back in time seven years in the past, during the time when peace was cheap and lives were flourishing. Yet for Selenia, there is no peace or happiness, for she knows what will happen seven years later and she pledges to prevent that at all cost. Seven Years of Hope Chapter 4 A New Start By Shiina Ai

The tip of the spear of ice approaches at a speed too fast for the eyes to catch. It would've been too fast for even my eyes to catch if it were the old me. But I am not the old me. I have fought monsters the size of a castle, dragons that breathed poisonous acids and even fiends that charged out of the shadows.

A familiar coldness spreads around my right hand. There is no moment of hesitation as I raise my right hand and it smacks the approaching tip of the ice spear to my left. The bookshelf on the wall beside me breaks as the seven-foot long ice spear crashes against it, throwing the leatherbound books and numerous trinkets on the floor.

It was an impressive ice spear. Indeed, there was nothing to complain about the power, shape, size or toughness of the ice spear. It was solid and merely being stabbed with it could've frozen the victim if one didn't have any resistance to frost.

However, it was still merely an ice spear. If she had any hope of killing me with it, she'd have to cast Ice Chains and Flight of the Polar Birds as well, or employ some other similar strategy. But that is something someone who is familiar with the battlefield will do. I have nothing to fear from someone who lives her life in peace and sits in a comfy chair behind an ornate desk made out of holy oak.

Sister Jihan looks at me in disbelief. Her right hand is extended towards me, still covered in mist of frost, but without the ice spear she sent my way earlier. The moment lasts merely seconds and her blood quickly forms another spell.

"Who sent you?" she asks while the magic circuit circulates around her body.

"I don't know! One moment I was on our final battlefield, and the next I was in the Hall of Stellar Radiance."

"Still playing dumb, huh? Alright, I will make it easier for you. Crimson Crusade or Temple of Flames, which one?"

"What? I don't even know who those are!"

"Oh? You don't sound like you're lying. There is another group of thugs out for my blood? Well, it doesn't matter. I survived four cullings, I will survive another. Say hello to your bosses in Halla."

She won't even listen! It seems like she has it set that I'm here to kill her. "Won't you please stop and listen?!" I ask for the last time.

"No. Your friends didn't listen when they cut off my mother's head. They didn't listen when they stabbed me twice and left me bleeding on the ground. Why would I give you that benefit?" She refuses as her magic gets nearer to completion.

With diplomacy failing, there was nothing else I can do but to survive long enough and hopefully show her that she was wrong about me. The pattern of her spell suggests something remote casting and area effect with high damage, which means either Frost Field or Icicle Nova, two of the spells that Erle used quite often. Neither of which is good. Both can be countered, but the counter spell requires a lot of mana, which I in my current form do not have. What I do have, is knowledge.

"Aria!" I grab Aria's hand and pulls her close to me.

"Ah, eh, what... what just happened?" she asks as she recovers from her shock.

Holding her right hand in my left with my right hand on her back pulling her against me, I close her lips with my own. She struggles, flustered at the sudden kiss, but I hope she stops misunderstanding this. This is not anything romantic.

Back in my previous life, there was one time when I arrived at a hidden castle deep in the woods. The residents were friendly and looked just like normal people, but they weren't normal people. They were vampires. On the very first night, my whole party was feasted on. As for me, I attracted the attention of the vampire lord and she attempted to turn me into one of them.

Thankfully, all initiates of Starsilver were imbued with a small amount of Starsilver dust. The head priestess back then told us it was so that we would never lose our way. The real purpose was to keep our bodies pure to prevent all transformations that defile the purity of life. For that reason, my body rejected vampirification, but I pretended that I was turned with incomplete transformation, and there I learned their secret art of life feeding.

Life Feeding is a shameful method of consuming life and mana from another person to nourish the life and mana of the one feeding. It is shameful even for vampires, for a different reason. After escaping from the vampire castle, I swore to never use this technique again. Now there is no other choice. If I do not do this, we will both die.

I am sorry, Aria.

And so I start feeding on Aria, my beloved, my cherished, my only one. I am aware that this may turn bad, but as long as I consume only her mana, she should be fine. It is difficult, particularly since I haven't done this for years, but as long as I stay in the region of 'energy' and stay away from 'life', and not touching the blurry boundary that separates the two, there should be little chance of consuming her life.

While feeding on my dear, sweet Aria, I start preparing the magic circuit to defend myself from Sister Jihan's attack.

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*Thank you Eric for editing this chapter.
**Your comments and feedbacks are much appreciated. Praises help me write faster, constructive criticisms help me write better. I do enjoy reading all your comments and your speculations. Please keep them coming.

Selenia is the Priestess of the Holy Song, the last survivor of the destroyed Order of the Starsilver. During the final battle against the forces of Halleb, the Caretaker of the Dead, she was suddenly sent back in time seven years in the past, during the time when peace was cheap and lives were flourishing. Yet for Selenia, there is no peace or happiness, for she knows what will happen seven years later and she pledges to prevent that at all cost. Seven Years of Hope Chapter 5 A New Start By Shiina Ai

The spell completed, Sister Jihan activates the magic, causing a large magic circle to appear under our feet. I know this magic, I was right when I deduced that the magic is remote casting and area effect. If the caster were just another person, this might be complicated. Thankfully, Sister Jihan is a descendant of a certain distinguished bloodline, and those people can only use ice magic. While strong, their magic is predictable by someone of my experience.

As I cast my magic, an orb the size of a fist forms above my head. This is not my magic, it is Sister Jihan's magic. This is Frost Nova, a fairly high ranked magic, but pretty useless in a melee. I've never seen this used in battle, and the only one I know from my past life who could use this used it only once when he was angry about failing to catch fish and decided to freeze the whole lake in revenge. It can create a whole field of ice, but it takes time to do it.

If this were a battle situation, interrupting the caster's concentration would break the spell being cast. Unfortunately, descendants of this special bloodline use their magic differently. Even if the caster is killed, the magic will continue to drain remnant magic and mass from the dead body, effectively exchanging the corpse for the completion of the magic.

That's not a problem for me. My counter is perfect. As the orb of Frost Nova pulses with the terrifying sound of a hail storm, releasing a wave of frost that freezes the water in the fishbowl on Sister Jihan's desk, my spell completes. I push Aria down on the floor feeling the first pulse of the Frost Nova hitting my body and covering my back in ice. The cold makes me wince, but this is nothing compared to falling into a frozen lake when I went to search for the gold dragons.

I press Aria down with my own body, and in this position, I can feel how close we are, her breasts pressing against mine, her arms up on the sides of her head as she looks up at me. Her face is framed by the curls of her silver tresses, emphasizing her oval-shaped face, her long eyelashes that partially cover her wide open eyes, her small nose free from any blemish and her red lips that seduce and tease.

Instead of an angel, perhaps Aria can best be described as a devilish temptation. But I have no time to indulge in her beauty. I push my own silver hair aside with my right hand, get up on my knees and thrust my left hand up a few inches above my head.

"Protect us, Dome of Winter!"

From my palms, a bluish barrier spreads out. It forms a dome above us as the second pulse of Frost Nova releases more cold air into the room. The surface of the barrier immediately becomes covered in ice but the effects of the Frost Nova miss us this time and once the Dome of Winter comes into contact with the floor, we are no longer in danger. Ice is a terrible conductor of heat and therefore, it is possible to defend against the heat-robbing effects of ice magic with another ice magic.

The Frost Nova pulses seven more times before the orb in the air disappears. When the sound of hail storm stops and the waves of frost stop hitting the dome, I release the magic that holds the dome in existence. But despite cancelling the spell, the dome remains in place, which puzzles me as it should have already been dispelled.

"Ah! I see!"

As I look at the smooth dome of ice above us, I realize the reason the dome is still up. The answer is that this is not my spell. I can remove the barrier, but I can't remove the ice that accumulated before I removed the barrier. So with this knowledge, I brace myself beside Aria and kick the ice with my right leg to break out.

"How did you do that?" Sister Jihan asks without even caring that her body is covered in fragments of ice. Apparently not even the caster who should have had complete immunity to ice is spared from the spell.

"This is not the first ice magic I've seen. Were you trying to kill me, high priestess?"

"That is impossible!"

"Impossible, yes, if you consider that everything I have said was a lie. But it is a fact that I came from the future and I saw the exact same thing many times in the last two years of my other life. The bloodlust, the mana buildup, the magic circuit that your blood completes, I have seen it a hundred times. I knew you were going to cast the ice magic before you could cast them. One grows up quickly in the middle of war, especially if it is a war of genocide."

"Even if you've seen it a hundred times, even a thousand times, you still shouldn't be able to see my magic and have enough time to prepare a counterspell to deflect it. No mage can rival my ice magic even if they were to train for half a century!"

"Bloodline of King Frost, isn't it?" I ask as her eyes widen in shock.

"Yes, I know of that. While I do not have that blood, I do have the same blessing, you see." To prove my point, I conjure a blade of ice from my right hand in a single breath.

It is a small blade, no bigger than a very short dagger, but this is all I can do with my current mana capacity. Despite draining a lot of mana from Aria, I have used up most of it to form the Dome of Winter. I'm not a real descendant of King Frost after all.

"How... the previous High Priestess examined your family bloodline. Apart from the Blessing of Starsilver, there was nothing of note in your bloodline. How can you have the power of King Frost?"

Blessing of Starsilver is actually a misleading term. There is actually no real blessing, except for the families who are able to get a lot of money from selling their daughters. You're said to have the Blessing of Starsilver if you have silver hair. When a baby is found to have silver hair, a Watcher of Starsilver will be sent to monitor the child until she completes six years of summer. If after six summers she retains her silver hair, the Starsilver Sanctuary shall then buy the child and have her brought to the Sanctuary to be raised as a priestess of Starsilver.

Initiates of Starsilver are forbidden from cutting off their silver hair until they achieve the qualifications to be a Watcher of Starsilver. For that reason, all the priestesses of Starsilver have silver hair and almost all of them have hair that reaches their waists. If an initiate of Starsilver were to cut off her hair, she would be chained atop the Tower of Repentance until her hair grew back. The faith of Starsilver teaches respect towards silver hair, which by itself is the Blessing of Starsilver.

It is different for the Knights of Starsilver. While some of them do have silver hair, they are treated no different from knights with different coloured hair. In the faith of Starsilver, men cannot become priests of Starsilver as they are impure and vulnerable to greed and lust. Despite that, their position is indispensable as the knights protect the sanctuary and the priestresses and even conduct deals with outsiders in place of the keepers.

"I can assure you that I am not your relative, High Priestess. But I know someone who is. His name is Erlesion, the first son of Duke Rarnwad. I believe you know him, High Priestess?"

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*Thank you Eric for editing this chapter.
**Your comments and feedbacks are much appreciated. Praises help me write faster, constructive criticisms help me write better. I do enjoy reading all your comments and your speculations. Please keep them coming.
*** Psst! If you want to support me and want to encourage me to absolutely deliver quicker, I've decided to make a patreon at https://www.patreon.com/shiinaai . This is completely voluntary, you don't have to pledge if you don't want to. I'll still update stories as much and as often as I can even without this. Where I live, $2 can feed a dude for a day.

Selenia is the Priestess of the Holy Song, the last survivor of the destroyed Order of the Starsilver. During the final battle against the forces of Halleb, the Caretaker of the Dead, she was suddenly sent back in time seven years in the past, during the time when peace was cheap and lives were flourishing. Yet for Selenia, there is no peace or happiness, for she knows what will happen seven years later and she pledges to prevent that at all cost. Seven Years of Hope Chapter 6 A New Start By Shiina Ai

Sister Jihan falls back down on her chair, stunned by the one name she didn't expect me to mention. It was really a shot in the dark. While the surviving bloodline of King Frost had scattered to the four corners of the map, it was still possible to find two who carried the bloodline in the same city, however diluted they would be. At least, that was the case before the Doom March started.

"I have never heard of that name," the high priestess says, clearly denying her connection to both Duke Rarnwad and his heir Erlesion.

It is foolish to deny the connection. While she may have her own reasons, her reasons pale in significance to the doom of our world. There are two simple reasons why I believed the high priestess is connected to them.

"Erlesion told me he never knew his real mother. She left a month after he was born. He should be ten years old now. I also happen to know that you came to the Sanctuary ten years ago. Was I wrong?"

She gets up from her chair, her face a mix of emotions as she walks to the window and looks outside. With her back to me, she asks with a small voice, "Is he well?"

The question was almost too quiet to hear. It was as if she was trying to speak normally, but something inside her restrained it. I wonder what happened in the past. As Erlesion never met his real mother, I have no way of knowing the story behind how Sister Jihan ended up leaving her newborn child behind and seeking shelter with the Starsilver.

"He died in the ambush at Selemir Road six years from now. I was there when it happened."

"I see..." her voice flat, but the trembles in the end betray her emotions.

I still remember that day. We were accompanying the 5th Malrim Army to deliver a relic called The Migration of Spring to reinforce the recently built border fortress Whiterock. We were ambushed by blade demons and undead right after passing the split in the road that led to a small lumber cutter village in the forest.

While the number of the blade demons and undead were double our number, it wasn't too big of a problem. All the members of my party back then were battle veterans, each having felled hundreds of blade demons and even more undead for the past years. However, none of us could prepare ourselves for the attack from three lichs, each having the power to best my entire party.

The melee happened so quickly that I was not able to perform my dance. The battle was joined so quickly that our Priestess of the Holy Light, Aramantine Caludell, could not even cast her protection spell. It was so quick that our support archer, Clemindel, had his life drained within a minute of the battle. Although we won, the victory was pyrrhic at best.

We did not defeat any of the lichs. We did not drive away the undead. They simply left after they had killed many of us. It was as if they took pity on us. Imagine that, lichs taking pity on the living.

We were cautious as we travelled to the closest city. That delayed us so much that many of our injured ones lost their lives while on the road. Erlesion was one of those who lost his life after the battle, he was only sixteen summers at that time.

"Sis... ter." He called my name right after the battle.

"Sis... sister." He called me again and this time I was right beside him on my knees, the clean white silk dress I wore stained by the blood on the ground.

"Erle, don't speak. You're going to be fine."

It was a lie. He was not going to be fine. How could someone who had a gaping hole in his stomach be fine? But it was my duty.

I who could do nothing. I who had no power. I who depended on others. I who merely did what the people in power wanted. I who was the puppet of the kings, priests and nobles. What could I do apart from easing their deaths? What could I offer other than lies and empty promises that everything was going to be alright?

I had done it so many times, I no longer thought differently. It had become second nature. My second nature. To lie to people in their final moments. To sing the Call of the Dead Queen. It was my duty, a duty that I myself undertook. The only duty I was not told to do, but one that was the only thing I could do.

I was never trained in swords. I was never trained in magic. I was never trained in diplomacy. I was never trained in healing. All my life, I was trained to appease the gods, but even that education was lacking. In my previous life when I had to escape the Sanctuary of the Starsilver, I was only a priestess with the rank and position of Scribe. All I did was copy old tomes so that the Sanctuary could sell them for gold coins.

Yes, I did learn a lot from those old tomes. But without the physical strength, I could not apply the martial skills. Without the mana required, I could not cast the grand spells even if I had practiced them. Without influence or power, I could not use the knowledge of statehood and diplomacy. If Duke Rarnwad hadn't recognized my raiment when I was lying hungry and wounded from fending off the scum of society in the back streets of Kellomis, would I even have lived past the month after escaping from the Sanctuary?

Yet, four years later, I would watch the boy who came to see me as his older sister die. And there was nothing I could do but to tell him that he would be okay. It was the same lie that I had spoken so many times. Yet, why did this one feel so painful?

"Khok khok..." he coughed, spraying blood in the air. With his mouth covered in fresh blood, he said with as much coherence as he could, "Sis... sorry."

"There is nothing for you to be sorry for! It was my fault! If I could only fight, I could've at least been of some help. But without my song and dance magic, I have nothing. Nothing at all! I am useless. Useless!"

"Sis... where," he coughed again, the reddish stain on his face grew. I tried to wipe it with the sleeves of my dress, but the only thing it did was smear the blood from one cold cheek to the other.

"Sis... can't... see... where?" Erle asked as his eyes clouded over. The black in his eyes slowly turned grey, a sign of approaching parting.

"I'm here!" I quickly caught his hand with both of mine and raised it to his face. "See, I'm here. I'm right beside you, Erle. I will never leave you behind. Never, you know I won't. You'll be fine."

"Sis... not... fault... I..."

"Don't speak. It will be fine. We will be fine. We will go home."

"Take... for you..." Erle suddenly went silent. I shook his body, but it only caused more blood to drip from the hole in his stomach.

"ERLE!!! Don't go! Please Erle, don't you leave me too. Erle, please, hold on a little longer."

I buried my face in his chest. The steel plate he wore was covered in slick, drying blood, mostly his own. Hugging him by his armour, I could only blame myself. If I didn't have the grand goal of avenging my friends at the Sanctuary. If I didn't tell him I would avenge Aria. If I did not make it sound as if my vengeance was such a noble endeavour, would he have joined me in this pointless quest? If he did not follow me, wouldn't he have stayed in the castle, perfectly safe in the comfort of his own home, his maids, his knights and his parents?

"O gods, if you still have any mercy left for me, please don't take Erle away from me too. Goddess of Life Amman, please spare a speck of your power, just a little, and allow my brother to live for a little longer. Goddess of Death Halleb, please do not take my brother so soon. Please give me another chance, for this is my sin and mine alone. Must you do this to me again?"

"Do not cry, sister."

"Erle?!" I raised my head, relief washed over me. I thought the gods finally showed mercy on me. But no, the gods did no such thing. Erle was still. Erle remained dead. His body cold, freezing.

"It is not your fault, big sister. I chose this."

"Erle?"

"Yes, it is me. But I will not be here much longer."

"Erle, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry."

"I never blamed you, sister. I am happy. I died protecting the person I cared for the most. It is not a long life, but for the time I have lived. I've felt what it meant to be loved, the warmth of my father, my mother and my sister. I've gotten to know what it feels to have a sibling. I've gotten to know the feeling of adventure together with my sister."

"Erle..." I didn't know what else to say as I cried against his armour, now so cold it was like hugging a block of ice.

"I have to go, sister. This is all I can give you. I hope my power can continue to protect you even after I'm gone. Goodbye, sister."

"Erle! No!"

I cried against the sky, but as my tears froze, I noticed the strange coldness that should not have existed here, at this moment. I opened my eyes and as my tears dried into ice, his corpse under me turned as white as virgin snow. Then his corpse exploded and the snow that was his body flew outward, floating around me. The floating snow that was white and pure, just like Erle, spun fast around me like a hurricane. Just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, leaving a strange coldness around my body. It was the same coldness I have felt whenever I touched Erle. It was the same comforting coldness as Erle in the summer. It felt like I was being embraced by Erle.

Erle, my little brother. We did not come from the same blood, not from the same origin, nor from the same fate, but you are certainly my one and only little brother. Your big sister will do her best this time, do it differently, so that the same outcome will not happen again.

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<-.->

*Thank you Eric for editing this chapter.
**Your comments and feedbacks are much appreciated. Praises help me write faster, constructive criticisms help me write better. I do enjoy reading all your comments and your speculations. Please keep them coming.
*** Psst! If you want to support me and want to encourage me to absolutely deliver quicker, I've decided to make a patreon at https://www.patreon.com/shiinaai . This is completely voluntary, you don't have to pledge if you don't want to. I'll still update stories as much and as often as I can even without this. Where I live, $2 can feed a dude for a day.
**** The next chapter of Age of Gods Online will probably come out within 2 weeks. Hopefully it can come out next week, but I've been so busy with work.

Some of you may have read Seven Years of Hope, a non-TG story written by yours truly. It's a novelization of my visual novel meant to create hype for the game. Anyhow, for the next chapter, the player will be given a choice of which power (only 1) they want to inherit from their past life:

1) Legacy of King Frost - ice magic
2) Shaadi's Tears - healing magic
3) Wisdom of Marras - appraisal magic (identification magic in Diablo game series)
4) Voice of Anra'e - enchantment magic (adds temporary additional quality to an item such as fire magic)
5) Arel's Anvil - inscription magic (adds permanent additional quality to an item but requires time to inscribe even one)
6) Black Dragon's Hoard - not magic really, but a knowledge she acquired from a party member that she'd meet on the 6th year, this is a shortcut to allow her to start preparing early instead of waiting for the 6th year to start extensive preparations. This one opens the way for the development of cannons and battle golems

There's a 7th power that I feel to be breaking character, which is Whispers Of The Dead, which allows Selenia to speak with the dead and even command undead beings in some events. I thought of removing it as it doesn't go in line with her character, who hates Halleb, the Goddess of the Dead for creating the Doom March.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Do you have anything to add? For the novelization, which of these powers do you want to be written as canon?