Some stories reach so far back, they are lost to time. Ages and Millenniums fade away without annals. Forgotten. Discarded.

But some legends never die. When heroes are made, their songs echo. Reborn again and again, endlessly shouting into the future. Voices undying. Victories everlasting.

Ten Kingdoms Fall. Nine Heroes Rise. An Angel Is Summoned.

This is the story of the Princesses who dared reach their hands toward Godhood.

This is the CHAMPION'S CRUSADE.

A ROYAL PICKS UP A PEASANT'S BLADE

"You're a Princess, Makoto," insisted Shinozaki, "You have duties to the Court."

"What duties? To smile vacantly and charm nobles? To sing pretty songs and bat my eyes demurely in hopes that I'll attract a Prince to marry?" She shook her head vehemently. "I'm sorry brother, but I'm a Seedmark now. I fight for Jupiter."

"Fight for Jupiter?" he repeated incredulously, "You went into infantry basic training for six months and now you fight for Jupiter? Have you even been in a battle? We're not even at war yet."

"Yet?" she emphasized, "So, you admit that you plan for war."

"That's not the point."

"It's my point," she reaffirmed, "I'm going to get stronger. I'm going to get smarter in the ways of battle. Then, I'm going to track down our real enemies and kill them myself. And I'm going to do this before you start your pointless war with the Mercurians."

"It's so simple in your world, isn't it Makoto?" scoffed Shinozaki, "You're the hero, and I'm the villain. It's that easy?"

"No, it's not easy," denied Makoto, "This is hardest thing I've ever done. But I'm doing it. You're not a villain, you're just making the wrong choices."

"The world isn't black and white," argued Shinozaki, "I don't make these decisions lightly."

"Neither do I," nodded Makoto, "Like you told me, you do it your way, and I'll do it mine."

"I wasn't expecting you to actually go through with all of this!" he exclaimed, "I thought it was a phase. Something you needed to do to get over Mother and Father's deaths."

"I'll never get over it," she said seriously. "And I'm not going to stop."

A RUNAWAY CHOOSES EXILE

"Don't you miss them?"

Another choke of rusty laughter escaped Haruka's throat. Did she miss them? Of course she did. Every day.

"Yes. I miss them. I miss my siblings. My people, my world. But I can't live that lie, I'd rather perish."

"They're not too far outside this door, Haruka," said Serenity, "You should speak to them. At least, let them know that you're okay."

Haruka balked at the notion. Speak to them? Again, it wasn't as effortless as it sounded. Serenity hadn't been there. She hadn't been there for the anger. For the accusations, the tears, the emotional and physical blows. Their fallout was mutual and painfully deliberate. Haruka couldn't just speak to them. It was far too late for words.

She may as well hold on to what little pride she had left.

"I'm afraid that isn't an option," she denied, "It's too much of a risk. I've created a life here. It's not much, but it's mine. And I'm not going to give it up. Not even for them."

"But they're your family! Don't you want to go back to your home at all?"

"Uranus is no home for cowards or traitors," she recited coldly, "I've abandoned it. And I can never return."

"But what if you could? If I was the Queen, more than anything I would just want my daughter back."

"The Princess of Uranus is dead, Serenity. She's gone. I'm what's left and I can't show my face to them ever again."

"So you're just going to hide around corners, until they're gone?" questioned Serenity, "It's been three years, surely you can forgive each other!"

Haruka turned away in a huff, angry at her parents for still having such an effect on her, angry at Serenity for pressing the issue, angry at herself for letting it get this far.

"I don't want forgiveness."

ALLIANCES TEETER ON THE CLIFFS OF SUSPICION

"An invitation to Venus?" repeated the Queen of Mercury, glancing warily at letter her daughter had handed her.

"Yes, Minako writes that she'd like to give me a tour of the palace," said Ami, summarizing the correspondence. Her mother appeared not to be actually reading it, and that was fine with her. "If I leave tomorrow morning, I can be back in time for the wedding."

"No, absolutely not."

Ami was surprised at the sharp denial. "May I ask why not?" Was there a scheduling conflict she had failed to recall?

"You have duties to the Mercurian court, that's why not," reprimanded her mother, "You should be focusing on completing the warp portal."

"But Mother, it's only for two days, surely-"

"Surely what?" interrupted the Queen, "Are you questioning me?"

Ami went sheet white and shook her head rapidly. "No, your highness. I would never."

"That's what I thought," nodded the Queen, "Now what of your progress with the prototype?"

"We've been making significant strides, your Majesty."

"Excellent."

"But we are at a momentary standstill while we wait for additional supplies to arrive," remarked Ami nervously, "So I thought perhaps that I may attend Venus's summons, as it may be of significant interest to the advancement of our Kingdom."

Ami's words managed to pique her Mother's interest. "How so?"

"Well, as you have indicated, the Venusians may be untrustworthy," reminded Ami, "Especially, as Minako will be ascending to the Jovian throne. Perhaps, I may be able to discover any nefarious plots."

"Hmm…"

"I would of course travel in the guise of diplomacy, but additional reconnaissance on the enemies' home turf could certainly prove useful for future endeavors."

"Ami, I'm surprised at you."

The blue haired girl winced, feeling as if she had been caught in a lie. She had never been very good at these things.

"You're thinking with your head," acknowledged the Queen with approval, "Those fools won't see it coming."

"M-may I go then?"

"Very well, my daughter," said the Queen, "Go to Venus and make them prove they aren't snakes. If they give any indication otherwise, we will strike preemptively. Just be careful and remain wary, who knows what that wretched Princess Minako has in store for you."

THE CHOSEN PASS THE MANTLE FORWARD

"What's wrong, Mother?"

The Queen of Mars clung to her daughter, weeping in an unexplained grief. "I fear for you, my dear child."

Rei stiffened in the anguished embrace, "Was I in one of your visions?"

"Rei, my dear Rei," cried her Mother, rocking her without answer.

"Was I in your vision?" repeated the young princess.

"Rei, I want you to know that I love you the most," she sobbed.

"And I love you, Mother," replied the girl in a frightened daze, "What of your vision? What has you in such a state?"

The Queen inhaled a deep breath. "We cannot escape our fates, my child. Hard as we try." Her eyes began to dry, as she released her daughter. "I'm so sorry to leave you behind."

"Where are you going?" asked Rei, fearful tears clouding her vision, "I don't understand what's going on."

"I haven't much time," lamented the Queen, "I didn't want to waste so many words, but I had to tell you that I'm sorry, before it's too late."

"Mother, please!"

Rei felt the sudden pressure of her Mother's lips upon her forehead. They were so hot, they set her skin ablaze. The heat spread down to her eyes, blurring her vision. It reached into her ears, screeching with hot fire. She could taste a thick smoke and was slowly overcome by the oppressive scent of burning hair.

The young Princess of Mars was thrown from the bed by an unknown force and sent tumbling to the floor. As she choked on her charred breath, her eyes began to glow.

Kengo burst through the door to find his cousin seizing upon the floor and his Queen devoid of color and life on the bed.

A frenzied scream for help tore through the palace.

...

They say that when a Diviner is about to die, their final vision is of the chosen Next that they must pass their Gift onto. They see everything that lies within the future of the Next, but are left without time to explain before they must move on to the Spirit World. That is the Curse that accompanies The Gift.

DREAMS ARE SHATTERED TO BE REMADE

"Minako," whispered Serenity, "Do you want to marry this prince?"

"Of course I do," choked Minako, "It's for the good of our planets. We'll be at the forefront of an alliance for peace."

"Are you sure?" questioned Serenity again.

"No."

She finally broke, collapsing to the grass, trying to hide herself behind the cover of rose bushes. Serenity dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the now weeping Princess of Venus.

"You'll be okay, Minako."

"How can I?" sobbed the blonde, "Once I go back to Jupiter to marry him, I won't be able to go home again."

"Makoto can help you," tried the Moon Princess.

"I didn't want this."

"I know."

The Venusian allowed the comforting embrace to consume her, as she wept. She wept for the beautiful planet that she would have to leave behind, for the bonds of siblings and friendships she would have to sever, and for herself. For the future she could never have and the dreams she had yet to dream.

"Minako, I'll figure out something," promised Serenity suddenly.

"There's nothing you can do," sniffled Minako.

"Maybe not now, but someday. Just wait and see." Serenity squeezed her friend harder, making a vow to both of them.

Serenity was determined, Minako could tell. But determination alone couldn't change her fate. She said nothing, allowing herself to return to the stasis of calm. When she felt composed, the pair returned to their chambers as they were scheduled.

The look of empathetic concern never left Serenity's face. It was there the next morning, when she and her father boarded the vessel back to Venus. The Moon Princess waved her farewell with glimmering eyes.

It pained Minako to know that she might not see her friend for several more years. An inexplicable need tugged at her heart, telling her that she could have stayed by the Moon Princess's side for the rest of her days. But being able to relish in Serenity's companionship was simply a fleeting dream.

She had to start letting go of those.

AND A DARKNESS UNLIKE ANY OTHER LOOMS ON THE HORIZON

"Please, Michiru. I'm worried about you. Please, let me in."

The door crept further open, revealing a haggard, red-eyed princess.

"Hello, Elsa. May I help you with something?"

"Well, I-" Elsa entered the room, but didn't get very far. She stopped in her tracks. Before her, waited a large canvas, covered in oppressive blues. She might have described it as a city scape, if the buildings had been in tact.

"You normally do portraits…" she muttered awkwardly, eyes trailing the depicted scene of destruction. In the foreground, broken stone formations lay in waste, smothered by a devastating flood. Wreckage floated to the surface in the background, leading the eye upward to a blackened sky. Eerie dark green clouds lay above the chilling scene.

"It is a portrait," Michiru choked out.

"Michiru…"

"A portrait of my own hell," she added painfully.

The green haired princess fell to her knees before the painting.

"I don't understand."

"This. I see this every night in my dreams. Over and over. It only gets more real. I've been painting it from memory."

Elsa approached the painting, studying the detail. At a close distance, one could make out scattered corpses floating amongst the wreckage.

"You see this every night," she repeated in horror, "For how long?"

"Six months," admitted Michiru.

"Why haven't you told me?"

"I haven't known how to explain. How to even begin describing it…" Michiru's eyes trailed the art work. "But now, I can. This painting. It says what I haven't had the courage to."

"And what does it say?" asked Elsa, fearing the answer.

"That the End of the World is coming. And I'm involved somehow."

The Silence Is Coming. Prepare for War.

CHAMPION'S CRUSADE

The Awakening Approaches, 2014