Past the guise of worship, absurdly, Styx had infiltrated the garden of her own home. Laughable, she thought. With her batch of knives did she slither across the walls like a spastic spider, taking advantage of every shadow, ensuring no trace remained. To her sisters, she was still pinned by research, forced to read a shocking amount of books. Plain, boring old books.

In search of Xiasma, she tuned out all but the whispers of Diana, the chirping near absolute. Still on property of the Coven, but just outside the impassable mirror unlocked only by magic, they were still safe. Relatively safe, at least. Not until now had an intrusion ever brought concern.

“Finally. Goodbye, Herald the VIII!” She sighed to no one in particular, hiding one book just to start another. With its title read, she nearly fell out of her chair. “Herald the IX!? Ugh…”

Styx smiled, remembering how miserably she’d handled the same all those years ago. Here for any sign of deceit, she swore against intervention, even when Diana began to doze off. “Conceit! She knows the rules… Sleep’s only permitted if blessed by the black of a new moon. Not exactly traitorous, though.”

“Wha… Huh!?” Diana snapped awake. Styx saw it too: several humans, armed with scavenging equipment and masks, approached. “Oh. You guys scared me. It’s not common anyone but Grimm makes their way here. Th-There’s a lot of ways to get lost in these woods. Be careful out here.”

“We could say the same to you.” The ringleader smiled, inching closer.

“What do you mean? Hey!” One of them ripped the book away, nearly dropping it in a puddle.

“Someone of your caliber should stay hidden.” Another cackled. In unison, they pulled Diana away from the table, bringing her to the mud.

“W-Wait! Please stop. What do you want?” She tried to reason. The only answer brought forth was a cacophony of sneers and kicks.

“Hand over the sword!”

Diana refused. “Enough!” A shout came forth. It couldn’t be Styx- she was still stalking from the trees. Eleanor advanced, hands on her hips. The bandits scrambled in an instant. “You’re not hurt, are you!? Are you alright to stand?”

“I… Yes. My aura’s still up. I…” She repeated, her voice shaking.

“Well, at least they didn’t get Tormentyst.” Styx revealed herself.

“Sister Styx? Who cares about Tormentyst? It’s her who’s in danger.”

“That’s what they were after! I heard them.”

“Y-You mean you were watching the entire time?” Eleanor shuddered.

“I was here to assess if Sister Diana constituted any threat to the Coven. She passed the test, by refusing to use either the blade or her powers.”

Eleanor couldn’t accept that. “To stand idly by and watch as she is harmed is the height of heresy. That is traitorous. Do not slip up in such a manner again.”

“At least your head’s in the right place, but you’re cruelly mistaken. In times like these, with the so-called Xiasma in our midst, it’s important to gauge who can be trusted among us. All of us.” Styx declared.

Eleanor stumbled out of the way as Diana broke down in tears, nearly tripping with every step, feeling zero sanctuary from either her friends, or the outside world. With that, there were only two. Where she’d gone was anyone’s guess. “How dare you let this happen.”

Styx’s eyes, concealed under her hood, narrowed. “You’re starting to scare me, Sister Eleanor. I figured you’d at least understand how desperate times call for desperate measures. Do you know something we don’t?”

“What could I know?”

“Exactly!” She shouted. Whenever Styx raised her voice and contradicted her enigmatic nature, it tended to startle. “We know nothing. Right?”

“O-Okay. Sure!”

“Who’s the only person allowed to read those tablets that have brought so much grief?”

“No.” Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Sister Artemis hasn’t led us astray.”

“Think about it!” Styx emerged from behind, whispering, her unmatched guile at work. “Nobody can confirm whether or not anything she’s said is true. This whole thing could’ve been a setup. Look over there. Even now, we’re being watched by her vultures. If she’s planning something, we’ve all taken the bait.”

“Why would she even say anything, then? Wouldn’t she just keep the contents of the tablets a secret? We’re soon to catch up with her in some decades, anyway.”

“Hmmm… Then there must be some sort of impetus to hatch the scheme now.”

“Rather than paint my peers in such a light, I’ll focus on today. I think Sister Diana is owed an apology. If word of what’s happened here spreads, and the others are as quick to judge, you may have attracted a lot of attention. Consider this a freebie.” Eleanor began the journey inside Clotho’s Temple. Yet, in the distance, another plume of smoke threatened to delve into destruction the day’s affairs. “But that’ll have to wait. Look south!”

“Wait a minute. That looks like it’s from the Keraseer Kingdom!”

“I concur. Gather whoever you can, and make haste!”

An incubus, of faulty origin but unmistakable age, had tormented the lands with only the primal lust for eradication. Experience exhibited a craving for death, never below foul play- but seldom of low intelligence. The worst concoction for a Grimm. And now, it held responsibility for the rampage within the walls of the Keraseer Kingdom, which succeeded Clotho’s Coven in grandeur, home to a trove of imperishable artifacts. Every surface was reflected in gold, tempting to blind mortals.

A forge was torn from its molten casket and thrown across the banquet, spewing liquid fire across a swarm of human legions. Quickly, the Seventh Brigade was cornered by this abominable Grimm.

“This ballista is worthless. Why won’t it die!?” Abigor begged.

“It’s the Geist’s power! It’ll possess our surroundings- Ahhh!” One of his more scholarly men would’ve granted a fervent explanation, had he not been gored through the abdomen and whisked towards the ceiling.

The doors swung open, Eleanor and Eos stepping through. “Geist.”

“Impossible!” Eleanor gasped. “Geists don’t fight exposed. How old must this specimen be, to have such armor and vitality in its base form?”

“It must have high defense. I still have more.” Eos said.

“No question. But if it can survive this long in the weakest form, what would happen if it took control of something?”

“Don’t let it take control.” Mania charged past them, only to receive a witless reminder of restraint’s value. The Geist let her weapon pass through, weaving such that its weak point- the white mask, was inaccessible. And once it was all done, Mania lurched back to the entrance, a brutal throw the cause.

“Should we mount a retreat?” Abigor asked a question.

“Where are the Keraseers?” Eleanor offered one of her own.

“They can hold their own. Better than we can, frankly.”

“That’s not the point. Just as Lord Keres is valued above Lady Clotho, so are their kin. If anything happens to them, I’ve failed. We failed. Is this Geist the worst of this incident, or is there something more sinister at play?”

“Oh, surely there is. If that thing’s smart enough to possess a powerful host, be it another Grimm or an indestructible blade, we’re finished. You didn’t bring Tormentyst, did you?”

“Questions are for the weak.” Eos decreed. “We’ve already missed our chance.” Ahead, the Geist had phased into a prodigious statue of the fabled Kyradin Bael. Bit by bit, the bronze humanoid twitched. And once it had stepped forward, groaning like mad, there was no choice left but to fight.

The screeches of bloodshed kept the Geist from advancing, critically, as any shift in the battle opposite the castle would’ve proved indomitable for Artemis. Alongside her, five foreign knights of indistinguishable appearance waited. Artemis took advantage of the lapse in Grimm to recuperate.

“How… How were the walls even breached?”

The Keraseer Wife, Demeter, raised a hand. “They weren’t. A beast became one with the gates, and opened them, before walking through the rest of our defenses.”

“Geist.” Artemis deduced. “Were you able to determine its age?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“…Lady Demeter. Sir Orthus.” She identified the monarch. “We can’t risk anything. Take your daughters far from here, and wait for our return.”

“We are not above combat, Artemis.”

“I know. It’s just… Something about this doesn’t feel right.”

“With all due respect,” Demeter said. “We are free to make that decision ourselves.”

“The chance is yours to take, but we cannot stay here. Follow me if you must.” Vulnerable, a hidden Boarbatusk spun her down, but stealthier was Styx, who lunged in the way to drive her knives deep into the stomach. It died faster than it arrived.

Demeter paused, before waiving the other Keraseers away. “I alone will help you. We were bred to combat a foe bested eons ago. How much trouble could his children be?”

As if to provide an answer, the possessed Kyradin Bael smashed through the wall-spanning murals, Eleanor in hand. Completely alone, it would not leave without recompense. The rest of the Grimm were gone, either dead or smart enough to flee the scene once both Keraseers and Silver-Eyed warriors joined forces, but the Geist had started the invasion. It would see this to the end. Determination was high, but it wouldn’t get far, not with Artemis at the helm. She shot open its hand, releasing her ally.

“Can you keep it occupied?” Artemis asked Demeter.

“Can I? Please.” She was the best choice for this sort of task. Through her semblance, which was passed down through ancestry, she entrapped an arm of the haunted effigy, creating an opening for the Keraseer Heirloom. But there were still incoming attacks to be weary of, thus, Eos commenced her standard defensive position. But while they had her hands full stalling the fiend, everyone else had to form a plan to kill.

“You have a plan, right, Abigor?”

“As always, Eleanor, you are correct. But first, let me just confirm with any Grimm hunters. The Geist’s only weak point is that mask present in its most exposed form, right?”

“Right.”

“Then all we have to do is draw it out. Force it out. There’s only one way, literally. We’ll have to incapacitate it, with this ballista.” What remained of the Seventh Brigade dragged the weapon inside. “Then, one of you is to attack the mask. I cannot do it alone. I’ll need you to divide and conquer each limb, one at a time. I’d start with the eyes.”

“Done.” Artemis leapt into the air, unleashing a volley of arrows. All would’ve been blocked if not for Demeter’s distraction, which let two bypass the Geist’s tantrum, blinding it in an instant. Styx already had the wits to swindle an opponent with sight. Now, breaking off the reanimated legs was a bore.

Before the statue could brace for a crippling fall, Mania dislocated first one shoulder with her scythe, then the other, eliminating every defensive option. With that, Abigor ordered the ballista’s activation.

Once stapled to the wall, all the cast sculpture could do was writhe and convulse, emitting a terrible, metallic scream. Everyone covered their ears. It wasn’t long until it had abandoned this vessel, once again smearing through the air with the standard black, dried carrion that acted as a body for every Geist. Eleanor’s best efforts were not enough. It swirled past every attack, distinctly giggling, before departing towards the setting sun.

Styx paused. “…Does this count as vandalism towards Sir Kyradin Bael?”

“I’ll arrange Lord Keres to issue a pardon.” Demeter joked. “You deserve that much. There is nothing I could do to express my thanks.”

“Well…” Artemis looked to her allies for reassurance. “We’re dealing with something of a crisis back home. I figured a Descendant was right to know, and offer something we could not.”

“Oh, is that why you’ve come? Not to help, but to bargain? How flattering.”

“Haha.” She rolled her eyes before launching into the series of events that’d led her most specifically here. Not yet could she truly reveal the intricacies of the tablet’s texts, but her brief explanation worked now as well as it had before.

“I see. So, in short, Xiasma waits among us. Among you. Anyone who’s vowed to bring back Trajan is a sworn enemy of the Keraseers. You know that’s the way it’s always been, but let’s not limit the scope. There’s only one race that would ever seek such a thing.”

“I can’t remember how long it’s been since I last saw a Delphic.” Artemis grimaced.

“I’ve never seen one.” Styx shrugged, to the approval of Eleanor, who elaborated.

“There is one out there, though. The Eidolons are growing restless, and unless their hunger can be ceased, the Captain Aku will return to the frontlines.”

“But what’s the point?” Demeter corrected. “He’s not the traitor. One of you are. So the question begs- who among us is a Delphic?”

Every member of the Coven burst out laughing, even Eos.

“Alright guys, it was me! I’ve secretly been a Delphic all these years, you got me!” Styx managed to chuckle out in between her whooping.

“I’m so glad to see you’re all taking this seriously. What about you? I don’t recall letting anyone other than Descendants past these walls.”

“Me?” Abigor sat up. “Head of the Seventh Brigade, second only to warriors of your rank. My troops and I wander Remnant and save humans from themselves and faunus, in addition to Grimm. Bit of a foreign concept, I’m sure, but it just saved you. That must count for something.”

“I suppose you’re right-“

“Excellent! If you ever need my help again, just yell.”

“Cocky little human, aren’t you?”

“Only if that’s what you’re into.”

“H-Hey!” Eleanor, flustered, stepped in front of him. “Shut it!”

Demeter marched past the charred architecture, most of it little more than embers, to a cobweb caked chest. Inside waited a stack of maps. “You were right to come to a historian such as I, but the fact you’re here at all, Artemis, means you’re at a dead end. I wish I could be of more help, but all is not lost, yet. There is one more Descendant tribe, from the shores of a westward beach. Aha, here it is! Herald the XVI awaits. Only a servant to the Arbiter could know more than us.”

“Ever since the Heralds fell one by one, we’ve kept our distance. Where is he?”

“He, and the Old Fang, have merged forces with a newly formed city, founded by a man who calls himself Gaius. I think they see something in the alliance, in terms of security. But for now, their relationship is seen as a symbol of unity, between humans and faunus.”

“What is this state’s name?” Artemis interrupted.

“Ah, it says right here. Servus City.”

“We’re done here.” Eos boomed. “’Servus City’ will have to wait. Look. Smoke. Another sign of an invasion. Hopefully, this one will be more manageable.”

“May we keep this, Lady Demeter?” Artemis held her hand for the map, receiving it with no argument. In a near instant, all but the queen of this kingdom were lined up, ready to bolt towards another quest. As immortals, it was clear they took solace in the fact their work was never truly done. For everyone else, exhaustion was beginning to set in.

“Actually, I think I’ll stick around here, with Miss Keraseer.” Abigor smirked, knowing exactly what he was doing.

“You’ll do nothing of the sort!” Eleanor grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

Now approaching nightfall, they had to watch their step across many villages, some of which were wealthy, though most of them quant. The myth of the Coven was not known to just a few. Every civilian could see the column of smoke upon the mountains, noting how the five heroes paraded only towards danger, never away. They cheered. That sound always emboldened Clotho’s Coven.

Entry No. 4 complete.

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