**Updated twice a week, one chapter on Tuesdays and two chapters on Saturdays** An orphan from the territory of Oril, Elizabeth Hale has spent her life believing she needs no one. When Omar Methuen, a Mage of the Republic of Erae, arrives searching for children worthy of joining the Alessia Program, Elizabeth is offered a chance to become one of the Republic's elite soldiers. To earn her place, she must survive a mysterious trial known as the Ikthan. Though she passes, something within the realm awakens and follows her home. Far away, beneath the Vaelin Empire, the imprisoned Psion Galendil breaks and utters a prophecy foretelling a woman whose hands will both destroy a continent and bring lasting peace using the artifact Hal Uther. As war engulfs Balrus and long-buried secrets begin to surface, Elizabeth finds herself drawn into a conflict far greater than she ever imagined. Pursued by powers she cannot yet understand and haunted by a realm that refuses to let her go, she must uncover the truth behind her past before the fate of the continent is decided for her.