“Ah, Mister Virtus and Miss Keraseer! How lucky for us all, that I find myself greeting you two at the Cross Continental Transmit Tower. What business brings you here to begin with?” A member of Beacon Staff intercepted his students near the entrance to the grand monument in question. A glowing mid-day sun contrasted against the tall tower as a majestic backdrop.

“Professor Stam!?” Alecto hissed through the slits of her helmet. “Err, we were just, um-“

“We were simply passing through to research Vale, and the surrounding villages.” Lucifer spoke for them both.

“Aha, I’d gathered that much on my own, Mister Virtus. What I’m asking is, why?”

“Should we tell him? If he finds out she’s been absent all this time, she might get in trouble. Plus, it’s probably bad news if he finds out Selene and Boreas are gonna go snooping around the library.” Alecto pulled Lucifer aside, murmuring to make sure they couldn’t be heard. She overlooked the fact that Stam was mere feet away, and anyone in that position could still hear her. Lucifer looked over at the Professor, understanding this trivial mistake.

“Hm. Rather, the brief secrets between teammates should stay secrets! Especially for ones of your stature.” He bowed. Lucifer appeared completely unaffected by the compliment while his counterpart couldn’t hide the flattery in her posture. “I do hope you weren’t expecting any action inside the CCT-Tower. Otherwise, I don’t see why you’d bring your weapons. You do know we have lockers for that, yes?”

“They don’t reach outside the Kingdom- ah!” Alecto caught herself after it was too late.

“It’s no problem, Miss Keraseer! I’d be ill-mannered to control what my students do outside the confinements of Beacon Academy. As far as I’m concerned, a journey away these walls means extra training. Don’t let me stop you.” Stam chuckled, softly pacing away.

“I think we fooled him.” Alecto gave a thumbs up. All she was rewarded with was a sneer and leave of absence. Before the door closed, Alecto ran through to join Lucifer. “She still isn’t responding to her scroll, you know. Should I try again? Do you think we’ll get any service?”

“We’re literally inside the CCT-Tower and you’re asking about service. Are you out of your mind?”

“I don’t know, I’m still new to this scroll thing!” She followed him through an auditorium of which the most noteworthy structure was a metal pillar in the middle, one laced with holographic monitors.

“You’ve had it for how long now? And you’re still unfamiliar with it.”

“Ugh, not everyone was raised in the technological center of mankind, okay? You may have gotten a comfortable life from a family snuggled in a prestigious town, but don’t assume the same applies to me.”

“You disparage assumptions while making up your own. Don’t think you know my past.”

“Tell me about it, then. How about this? You’re pretty familiar with the Cross Continental Transmit Centers, huh? Is it possible for them to ever go down?”

“It was Atlas that invented the system, to the ungrateful arms of the rest of Remnant. You would need an army or two, or three to take down this tower, even if it’s dwarfed by the one in Atlas. I don’t see that happening anytime soon, I’m sorry to say.” He thought himself a fool for even considering the thought, now meandering in an elevator.

“I’m not complaining. What floor do we go to?” Alecto pointed at where she thought the buttons would be. Only a series of scanners awaited.

“Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?” A female’s voice spoke over the speakers.

“Oh, cool! Do we go down, or up?” She cheered.

“We’re on the lowest floor, imbecile. What, do you want to go lower? How about the secret dungeon?” Lucifer chided.

“We have a secret dungeon? Is there like a ‘secret dungeon’ option, and if so, how is the secret dungeon a secret?”

“I was joking. Please explain to me the long winded, convoluted reason why there’d be a secret dungeon in Vale’s CCT-Tower?” He noticed a batch of civilians waited in front of the elevator, not quite on board with sharing the space with two bickering opposites of war. On one side the ideal paradigm of military prowess, on the other a horned cavalier cloaked in shining armor. Needless to say, Lucifer moved things along.

“Take us to the Chronicle of Memoirs.” He demanded.

“It seems that area is restricted for authorized personnel only. If that applies to you, could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?” The semi-monotone script continued. Lucifer didn’t hesitate to comply. “Perfect. Thank you, Mister Virtus.”

“Wow. How many people get to claim they’re authorized personnel? None. So you’re top dog around here, too... I’m pretty sure I’m like one more one-up away from locking you in my semblance. Sure I might get a headache from keeping you trapped, but it couldn’t be worse than the one brought on by your incessant babbling. I can’t wait to beat you whenever we discuss kingdom lore, religion, or the Old Arts.” Alecto droned on.

“Huh. ‘Kingdom lore.’ I’ll give you that one. Religion- Another term for fiction. As if that matters. Don’t expect me to ever entertain this foolishness. Gods and goddesses are not real.”

“Quite the contrary. It’s foolish to deny the impact legends and heroes can have on those devoted. Why did you decide to be a Huntsman? I bet you were inspired by someone, right?”

“Classified.”

“What?” She didn’t quite catch his response.

“Classified. I cannot tell. Sorry. As for the Old Arts, feel free to do what I could not. Explain why you’re here, or at the very least what these ‘Old Arts’ are.” The door opened, revealing a large but dim coliseum. The room was stocked full of computer tiers, each one astonishingly powerful. Lucifer and Alecto surveyed the rows, taking a considerable amount of time to reach the end.

“The Old Arts- not to be confused with the Old Fang, are considered by those who practice it to not only be a method of combat, not a way of life, but a state of being. You’ve already seen it, believe or not. Every time you’ve seen me fight, I’ve demonstrated skillful techniques that respect the Old Arts. Even against you. But I’m nowhere near perfect.”

“You don’t have to tell me.” Lucifer took a jab at her.

“Hey! You make it very difficult to adhere to the Arts. As a lady I’m supposed to ‘hold thy tongue’ and ‘turn thou other cheek.’ I haven’t done a very good job of that, have I? Fortunately, the nature of the Old Arts is to learn. We must work at it.”

“We’re the same in that respect, then. Enough, we’re here.” Lucifer sat down at the last machine and began vigorously typing. After receiving an error and not being allowed into the system, he held his scroll up to the display. “Bingo.” He was in.

“How did you do that?” Alecto was first impressed with his keyboard speed, hardly being able to type at all herself, then his ability to bypass the precautions.

“If you’re the right person, they let you right in. I’m allowed.” Lucifer payed little attention to her, focused on manipulating the interface with a few more scroll confirmations.

“Why are you the right person?” She asked.

“Classified.”

“Welcome to the Chronicle of Memoirs, Virtus. What do you wish to know?” A digital assistant distinctly different than the one in the elevator spat out instructions. It was uncanny.

“Make sure you keep this between us, understood? I am allowed here, but it’s best I use the Chronicle as sparingly as possible. It leaves a trail of what we ask, and it catalogues our misadventures.”

“I get it. So, now we’re going to ask this voice where Nadia is, and it’ll magically have the answer?” Alecto still didn’t fathom the plan.

“Not quite. If we have a lead, we might be able to track something down through specific questions. The CCTS has an extensive record of everything if you know where to look. It’s just a matter of recognizing the system’s dynamics. Therefore, is there anything particularly noteworthy about Nadia?”

“Well, she’s got those needles. They use venom, that’s pretty strange.”

“Chronicle. Where do you find strains of venom?” Lucifer put in a command.

“Narrowing the search.” It loaded, then brought up many hundreds of results.

“Um… Chronicle? Are there any areas where invisibility semblances are more common?” Alecto caught onto the strategy.

“Narrowing the search.” It continued, processing the list of unique traits and anomalies about their missing friend until one last inquiry from Alecto pushed the data over the edge.

“What do you know about ritualistic hoods?”

“The search is complete.” One source was unveiled, a single file now presented in the middle of the screen. “Thank you for using the Chronicle of Memoirs, Mister Virtus.”

“Huh. I have no idea what this means. The ‘Covenant of Dukes?’” He read out the three words with extra contemplation. Tapping it brought up a short but eerily enlightening article. After all this whittling down, they stumbled upon only a paragraph of which they read in silence

“Although the Chronicle has no answer to your problem, if you’ve been led to this page there’s an entity who does. The Covenant of Dukes is a mostly unknown organization off the grid. Great efforts have been taken to keep its existence a secret, but after negotiating with CCTS executives several times, and after many attempts to erase itself from the Chronicle of Memoirs, a reprieve was granted. This single reference of the Covenant would be its only trace in the event somebody useful to its cause would stumble upon it. What little information could be compiled outlines that within the Covenant of Dukes resides an ‘all-knowing’ disciple waiting for an oracle.”

“…Okay, so when they can’t find anything, it pulls up a secondary questionnaire. We’ve just been redirected to a living ‘chronicle’ at this point. Some help this was.” Lucifer sighed.

“Don’t give up just yet. This ‘all knowing disciple’ might, as the name suggests, actually know something. Amazing, right? I’m a genius. Obviously he knows about Nadia, otherwise he wouldn’t have been narrowed down in the search.”

“What are you suggesting? That we go to this Covenant of Dukes and confront the disciple?”

“Why not? Look, there’s loose coordinates right there. Even if the records are slim, we still get a general idea of where to go. The Covenant is just south of here. It says he’s waiting for an ‘Oracle.’ Maybe that could be us! I mean, we were planning on leaving Vale anyway. Do you want to find Nadia or not?”

“…Fine. But first, we need to stop by the dorm rooms. I’m guessing this symbol will guide us when we do embark?” Lucifer pointed at the screen, clarifying what he meant while entering the coordinates into his scroll. Under the passage watched a runic illustration depicting some sort of pointed mask. Without a shred of further discourse, they left the Chronicle of Memoirs and the Cross Continental Transmit Center altogether. Their dormitory was overtaken in no time flat.

“W-Who are you!?” Alecto had become accustomed to walking in on uninvited guests at this point. Lucifer was far less hospitable though, pulling his gun on the cretin. Anyone would have, considering the man’s appearance. He wore a brown wavy coat, and had hellish mist where his legs would have been.

“Augustus. I’m the Warden at the facility of the same name.” He held his shriveled hand out.

“Where we aren’t. You should have stayed there.” Lucifer threatened, still aiming at him. Alecto had the sense to quell his frenzy.

“Wait, stop! This guy’s the leader of Augustus Correctional! Nadia talked about him a lot! It’s great to meet you, sir. You’re ten times scarier in person!”

“Aha. Thank you.”

“What are you doing here? H-How did you even find our dorm rooms?”

“I knew I was looking for Team Lance, you can thank Nadia for that. And I’m good friends most of the staff here. It wasn’t that difficult- there are far more mind-bending investigations taking place at the prison nearly every day. Nadia knew about that, she was part of several prior to her departure.”

“How so?” Lucifer lowered his hand-cannon.

“Well I must admit, she came to me the same day she left.” Augustus fixed his hat then glasses, respectively.

“She did!?” They blurted in unison. “Why didn’t you stop her?”

“She was already determined. I can control almost everything happening in the walls of my great asylum, but I can’t control her. The point is, I came here for, well, a couple reasons. First, she has a good friend-“

“Ella.” Lucifer nodded.

“Oh, you know. Perfect. She’s an interesting specimen, an anomaly neither I nor Vale’s files can piece together. I was hoping a train ride to Atlas would uncover something, and if you saw her in person, you’d know why. Surprise, she’s back and we’ve learned nothing. But more importantly, her bodyguard’s gone missing.”

“Who was it? Did they get hurt?” Alecto gulped.

“I don’t know. And frankly, I don’t care. He was a dangerous patient climbing the ranks of Remnant’s Most Wanted. Dimitri, as he was known. His tracking device was impenetrable- a pinnacle of Atlesian engineering, and yet we find ourselves here.” Augustus tossed the wrist guard to Lucifer. It was sliced down the middle, and whatever was responsible was no doubt leagues beyond anything Atlas could provide. “The tracker recorded everything. Hit play.”

They listened to Dimitri and Nobody’s conversation without interruption until Dimitri mentioned the possibility of a Delphic being involved.

“A Delphic!?” Alecto yanked the device away, pausing it. “This guy was negotiating with a Delphic!? Argh, the nerve of him!”

“What? What’s a Delphic?” Lucifer seemed lost. Augustus was able and willing to deliver the same explanation he gave to Dimitri, but Alecto wasn’t having any of it.

“Delphics are a rare creed-“

“They’re despicable amalgamations of human and Grimm! How dare any remain on Remnant! They’re impure, a bastardization of the order of things! An unnatural breed that should have been wiped out when the Slayer of Heretics-“

“I think he gets it!” Augustus twisted the gadget away from her with the use of his black-fog inducing semblance and hit play. Alecto struggled to continue listening, clearly shaken. The recording ended once Dimitri severed his bonds.

“His sword is ‘undoubtedly the sharpest in all of Remnant.’ What a joke. Why are we even listening to this?” Lucifer checked his own knife.

“It might lead back to Nadia. Nobody is responsible for the rising Grimm attacks in Forever Fall, I’m sure of it. If Nadia made a detour through there, she could have been captured. And more importantly, if you two are going to be searching for Nadia, asking about who this Nobody is might help all three of us.”

“It seems like you’re just tacking this on us so we can do your investigation for you. Do you even care about Nadia?” Lucifer saw through the lie. The warden drooped his shoulders and craned his neck back.

“Fine. I just had to get that Delphic incident off my chest, but I couldn’t do it at the Correctional Facility. This is the only place I knew for certain the Administrator won’t overhear me. I lied to him, I neglected to tell him about the Delphics. I need you two to destroy Dimitri’s tracking device. And… Truth be told, I didn’t come here for finding Nadia nor Nobody. I came because she talked about Team Lance non-stop, and she was about the closest thing I ever had to a friend...”

There had never been as much silence in the dwelling as there was right then. Everyone dropped their heads in despair. Lucifer looked at Alecto.

She nodded. “Okay, we’ll help you. We’ll keep a hold of your radio-thing, and ask about Nobody on our voyage. Although I could hardly see what use you could have for a Delphic other than killing it. Right now we’re going to this place we found out about in the Chronicle-“

“We’re going to the Covenant of Dukes!” Lucifer whooshed in front of her to put his hand over her mouth. Now was as good a time as any to collect one of Nadia’s vestments once he confirmed she wouldn’t reveal the Chronicle.

“What!? Really? I-I really don’t think that’s a good idea. You shouldn’t do it.” Augustus rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly nervous.

“Why not? You know the place?” She hypothesized.

“I don’t. It just sounds frightening. I wouldn’t recommend going to a place like that right now, you should really try one of the less dangerous settlements.”

“We’ve already been to most of them, and I’ve got a feeling this’ll be a keeper. We should have left already anyway. I look forward to our next meeting! Bye!” Alecto set precedent by leaving in a brisk fashion. Augustus didn’t have a chance to say anything else.

“Yeah, me too. You’ve just made things a lot more difficult for me.” He uttered, frowning at the now closed door. Still hovering a foot off the ground, the twinkling vapor constituting his lower half began to envelop him completely. Apparently another perk of his semblance was the ability to teleport, as when the smoke cleared there was nothing left.

The coordinates from their studies was only slightly further than Summit’s Blight, but was distinguished by being in a completely different direction. All the numbers led to was a smooth but cracked dam. Perfectly formed, the mountain was. But the height of it, and the empty courtyard in which it was slammed into gave the migrants an odd feeling. This blockade stretched across the entire landscape.

“Oh, look at that!” Alecto pointed to an area of the barrier tainted with markings.

“That’s just a bunch of random crevices. Don’t be… Wait a second. Alright, I stand corrected.” Lucifer recalled the symbol of the mask seen in the Chronicle of Memoirs. From memory alone, he could see how the nine etches in the mountain, if rearranged, could form the insignia. And then he realized touching them swapped them based on pressure. “So it’s a puzzle?”

“Hmm. How about this?” She said, joining in by tackling the right side. If they hadn’t seen the image representing this Covenant, it would have been impossible. Only with the answer could the obscure hallmark be remade. Failure, success, and then pause. That was the routine. Copious variations on the method finally allowed them to line up the pieces. The gravel upon which they stood rumbled, and the bluff split itself right down the middle, separating the mask into two halves.

The extremely flamboyant mechanism for entry exposed a tremendous catwalk held by embellished pilasters. It took minutes for the pair to brave the overpass on foot.

“Great. Do you think this is enough? I don’t think Grimm of any size could breach this defense. Talk about overkill. What could the disciple possibly be expecting?” Lucifer identified a colossal door mounted in their path. It didn’t take much to pinpoint. Compared to the splintery archaic entrance to the Anti-Citadel, this one was likely several times taller, and appeared nigh indestructible. Showered with intricate engravings, and bolted to huge walls with similar grandiosity- the entrance to this Covenant instantly landed a spot among the greatest monuments they’d seen so far in Remnant.

“Wow… So, how do we approach this?” Alecto looked straight up, observing how the acropolis was trapped by sheer cliffs, not unlike a broken snow globe.

“Let’s try knocking.” Lucifer advised. Neither felt confident enough to actually approach the gates, so Alecto picked up a mess of stray rocks and lobbed them at the entrance. In order to make sure her hits could be heard, she had to put all her strength into the throws. The booming sound was impossible to miss even in the depths the hidden bastille. Now it was Lucifer’s turn to gaze upward. He saw a formation of black silhouette peer over the wall, watch them for an uncomfortable amount of time, then disappear.

The double doors were pushed open from inside by around twenty identical minions, with about ten more walking through the newly formed opening. It was clear who was in charge. Leading the parade was a tall individual wearing opulent robes. The person was pinned by a spiky ceramic mask privy to a permanent grin, clearly reflective of the Covenant’s emblem. The most shocking aspect of this stranger, besides the mask, were his legs. Or lack thereof. Both his limbs were replaced with lanky, razor sharp peg-legs.

“Of all the places within Remnant, nobody finds this place by accident. And with infantry of this sort, and armor like that, the question begs. Why are you here?” His query was punctuated by the metal clanks of his gait.

“W-We’re here to find our friend. We were hoping this place would do the trick.” Alecto cooperated. The man with the mask settled still for a moment, then turned to recoil.

“Come. Enter Tiberius: Covenant of Dukes.”

“Tiberius? Is that you?” Alecto had to pick up the pace to keep up with him.

“No. I am the ruler of this castle. My name is Raphael.” He told them.

“What is this place?” Lucifer marveled at his surroundings. They were being toured through stone bridges, hallways, and theatres. No corner of the gray fortress was unfinished, everything was perfectly carved and organized. And with the presence of clone-like guards everywhere to be seen, it was clear how much of a living, complete stronghold the Covenant was.

“What you see is true. There is an unremarkable amount to learn about this place, but that knowledge is left to the Dukes. You should not even know of this place’s existence, but you do. Therefore, you may very well prove invaluable.” Raphael spoke. “Just know, you’re within a hidden Kingdom. Consider it no different from your own. We are here, because we have to be here.”

“Okay. So it’s like a heightened village?” Alecto said.

“To you, that’s all it should be.”

“What a minute. Are these soldiers the only people this ‘village’ has to offer?” Lucifer believed himself not to be in the safest of locations.

“Witness my army: Shrewds. Anyone devoted to my reign must don their garments.” Raphael illustrated his leadership by having every Shrewd stand ready for him at their mere mention.

“Shrewds. That’s a cheery name-” Lucifer could only get so far with his comments before Alecto interrupted.

“Oh, we haven’t told you our names. This is-“

“Not needed. Lucifer. And you: Alecto.” Raphael continued on his way as though he hadn’t said anything concerning.

“How did you know that!?” Lucifer advanced his way in front of the new accomplice. Every Shrewd in the area turned on him without a word from their master.

“Everything is okay. And I know everything. That’s why you came here, is it not? Or, would you like to leave?” He didn’t change his posture, therefore any fear in his face, whatever it looked like, was hidden behind the mask.

“…Just tell us where our friend is. Then we’ll gladly leave. Her name is Nadia, she always wore one of these. She left them all before she disembarked.” Lucifer showed him one of her traditional hoods. Raphael analyzed the piece of clothing without much thought, eventually finding himself taken aback with the emblem on the bonnet. “Exquisite. Whoever wore this was a Descendant.”

“A Descendant? What does that mean?” Lucifer asked. Alecto reached for the cloak.

“Would it bother you if I kept this? With it, I could do some research and help you find Nadia. You want to find her, right?” He did a good job guilt-tripping them into allowing him his desires to keep the article.

“Of course. It’s yours.” She dared not inquest her own loyalty. “Oh, we were wondering, she was good friends with a man named Augustus.”

“…Really?”

“Yep. The day she left, he sent a crook named Dimitri to Atlas through the Forever Fall Forest. His tracking device recorded a conversation he had with an outsider called ‘Nobody.’ From it, we’ve deduced Dimitri encountered a Delphic.” As usual, Alecto spat out the word with intense hate.

“Delphic? Do tell.” Raphael giggled, leading them into an amphitheater.

“Delphics are scum, that’s all you need to know. If you see a humanoid with the physique of a Grimm, you’ll know you’ve found one. And apparently Nobody thinks it’s welcome in Remnant. I don’t really see how, but Augustus suggested this incident could lead us to Nadia. In their dialogue, it became clear Nobody used a sword, and described it as ‘undoubtedly the sharpest in all of Remnant.’”

“Really?” Raphael froze for a moment. Alecto and Lucifer assumed he had an answer, and was reveling in the moment of clarity. “…Not a clue, I’m afraid. I do not know where your friend is. My apologies.”

“Ugh, this is useless. First the Chronicle has nothing, now you have nothing.” Alecto whined.

“Do what you will. You can even explore my castle, but only as long you tell me anything you think might help the search. Anything could help, simply call for me. Don’t go anywhere you’re not supposed to. The populace will alert me, and I will be there.” Raphael probed for more information.

“I’ll look around, maybe that’ll finally yield answers. It’s clear I’m not going to find anything from you. Enjoy each other.” Lucifer left. He’d occasionally bump into a Shrewd, but all things considered he was grateful not to receive their stares for being so different. Tiberius: Covenant of Dukes was big enough that he almost began to think himself lost. There were so many empty churches, forums, and dining halls, trickery couldn’t be ruled out. Could this castle be alive? It wouldn’t be the first time a foreign region hoodwinked him.

Resigned to roam around without any purpose, Lucifer eventually encountered a different scene. A narrowing staircase led to a huge vault door, and to say it was guarded was a gross understatement. There were likely over twenty Shrewds watching the gateway, each armed with a blade and crossbow. They were all lined up along the walls, encapsulating the stair-well towards the fort. Perhaps it was boredom, perhaps it was a desire for answers, but Lucifer decided he should infiltrate the armory.

There was no feasible angle for subterfuge as long as Raphael’s men sat prone and concentrated on security. If he fought them, no doubt Raphael would descend upon him. Could he fight Raphael? Was it even worth it? “Nadia could do it…” He groaned in frustration. Getting inside without being seen at all was the best option.

The Shrewds set their sights on Lucifer, as he figured the best idea was to crawl down the shooting gallery under his cape. A couple of the marksmen looked at each other in bewilderment, then hopped from their balcony to check. They prodded the bundle of cloth a handful of times, waiting while all others watched until one of them flicked it away with their saber. Nothing.

Lucifer used this opportunity to slip past the spectators into the mausoleum. His cape was gone for good, but it may very well have been a worthy sacrifice. So far, nothing but the comparatively perplexing architecture peaked his interest. The cobwebs didn’t help. There were far less torches inside. Numerous flights of stairs brought him to a circular chamber, damp with moisture, stained by moss and mire. Sculpted pillars and a cloudy atmosphere couldn’t distract from the violet flame in the middle, some sort of ritualistic pyre sleeping in a golden cradle, its heat searing even from a distance.

“What kind of mindless gibberish is this?” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Every corner held an altar decorated with recently extinguished candles. He swept the dust off a nearby mural out of pure curiosity. It depicted four basic figures standing against a fifth. Inscriptions in an extrinsic language covered everything, but one mundane list of words he could read at the very bottom set the tone for the rest. “Slayer, Blood, Scourge, Spawn, Arbiter.” he read out.

Another one, chosen at random and requiring Lucifer to slog a great distance due to the enclosure’s size, illustrated what he could only assume to be the same five idols standing below a star. Much like before, the only legible text recited a cryptic phrase. “First Bewitchment.”

The Huntsman-in-training turned his attention to the fire. As he drew closer, it’s earthly but unnatural glow gleamed brighter. Lucifer couldn’t resist reaching for it. The brazen cinders called to him.

Just a few minutes earlier, when he split up with his partner, she spent her time conversing with Raphael, hoping she could squeeze more insight out of him. Hesitant to jump in, however, they walked in silence.

“I thought there weren’t any Keraseers left.” He stated.

“W-What do you know about me? Or the Keraseers?” She sputtered.

”I recognize that mail. And those swords? There’s no mistaking it. You are a Keraseer.”

“Fine. Is that a problem for you?” She stomped her feet, suddenly on the defensive.

“No, no, nothing like that! Not yet, anyway. And your friend, a Virtus. Some may consider it an honor to have both a Keraseer and a Virtus in their presence. I’m exempt from that charm, fortunately. And after all that build up, you two are here looking for a Descendant. How poetic.”

“Why do you keep calling Nadia a Descendant? How do you know about that? Not even Lucifer knows. And speaking of which, what’s so special about him anyway? Or Selene for that matter?”

“Selene Virtus. So she’s here in Vale, too? Hahaha. You understand so little. Nadia hasn’t told any of you about her past. Is he oblivious to your history, as well? You’ve kept Lucifer in the dark too, haven’t you?” Dead silence. “Oh, you have. How wonderful, it’s an entire team of liars.”

“Y-You don’t know anything. Silence!” She drew her blade.

“I know everything. It’s just like a Keraseer to jump straight to bloodshed once the truth is unveiled. But know this. No matter how hard you four try and bury the past from each other, it always comes clawing back. But, don’t pay any attention to me! Just the ramblings of a weathered traveler.”

“It matters not! How dare you insult a Keraseer! Have at you, then! Let us see who’ll prove victorious, you coward!” She took a battle stance. He simply laughed, still intertwining his fingers, not at all intimidated. But suddenly, before she rushed forward, his attitude shifted. His head jolted to the side.

“The Flames of Tiberius!” He gasped. Instantly, he broke into a sprint, blazing through the Covenant of Dukes with speed so swift, Alecto didn’t have a chance at catching him. Raphael navigated the corridors and gardens expertly. It wasn’t long before he found the guarded staircase. The Shrewds made way for him without instruction.

Within the divine passage, Lucifer was entranced by the Flames of Tiberius, inching his outstretched fingers toward the flames. Before contact was made, a hand ripped his own away. It took him a period of confusion to garner back his senses.

“What are you trying to do!?” Raphael screamed in his face, tugging him away from the prized suttee. Every one of his grunts funneled into the room after Alecto, each waiting for a signal to fire.

“What is the meaning of this?” Lucifer jerked his arm away.

“Merely the old antiques of a historian, nothing more, nothing less. And nothing of interest you two. You should leave, now.” Raphael’s sudden but level-headed resolution convinced Lucifer to trudge outward, past Alecto.

“C’mon. He’s right. Why do we care about this?” He lowered her steel.

“But, Lucifer!”

“He’s not going to tell us where Nadia is. What’s the point?”

“Listen to him, Alecto. Do as your team leader says, always. Never betray his rule.” Raphael stood in front of the Flames of Tiberius, making sure there was no chance of trespass.

“Grr! Your time will come!” She retreated outside, wherein Vale’s representatives were overseen by a congregations of Shrewds. Raphael stayed put and walked over to relight most of the candles with a scorching piece of wood from the fire. Throughout the journey out of Tiberius: Covenant of Dukes, Alecto consistently glanced backwards, reaffirming the notion that they were not being followed. Out the main gates they went, and that was the end of that.

“Fantastic. That didn’t accomplish anything. In fact we lost progress, because now he’s got one of Nadia’s hoods, my cape, and a bunch of information. A complete waste of my time.”

“That’s our time, actually.” Alecto replicated the strategy from before, throwing rocks at Raphael front door, although this time out of spite. In the back of her mind, his words regarding secrecy never left. “C-Could they really be keeping something from me?” She then remembered the supposed amount of skeletons hiding in her own closet.

“C’mon. We shouldn’t waste any more, if it matters that much to you.” Lucifer began the long trip across the bridge, back to the beloved Academy. While Lucifer had Alecto accompany him in a search into the deep recesses of Vale hidden from the public eye, he had tasked a set of equally important allies to do their own research in Beacon’s library. And with night cascading upon the heroes without a hint of benevolence, now was the perfect time for such an undertaking.

“Our peers like to use the library as a gathering ground to socialize, play games, or just loiter around. Therefore I’m not surprised Professor Stam hid his antique tome collection in the bookshelves. Who would ever look for books in a bookshelf? It’s laughable! Unless you’re me, of course.” Boreas attended Selene to the furthermost shelf on the second level and began pulling the books out. He was right, behind a set of encyclopedias were a stack of withered yellow writings.

“He hid his secret textbooks in a library behind encyclopedias? Genius! Who would ever read an encyclopedia?” Selene piped.

“Don’t go too fast, we’ll have to put these back the way we found them. It’s a risk to do this, but anything for Nadia. Considering the time, I doubt anyone will intrude. The only reason someone would come here at night is to fall asleep. Unless you’re me, of course.” He repeated himself.

“Got it! What should we look through first?”

“She’s kind of old-timey, is she not? She wears those hoods religiously. So here’s one on religion.” Boreas handed her a fresh scripture. Selene, precocious as she was, skimmed through it and soaked in the basic gist of everything. One chapter covered a multitude of supposed deities.

“Huh. According to this, there’s a bunch of extra gods I’ve never heard of. There’s one associated with war named Odynavus. And another one who dealt with time, named Troy. Oh, this one seems important, there’s a lot of information about him. He’s called Keres... But these guys can’t actually be real, right?”

“Simply a different belief system than ours. No more real than any entity in which you or I place our worship. Even a man of science has to take a leap of faith, sometimes.”

“Why does Professor Stam have these anyway?”

“My understanding is he researched them extensively to help navigation in Summit’s Blight. I saw him with one myself during the field trip. Fortunately, there’s all manner of extras for us to find.”

They read in silence, almost enjoying themselves with literature whether it was real or not. Selene seemed disappointed to find something with any connection to her situation, since it meant playtime was over.

“Hey, here it mentions ‘The Grand Gatekeeper’ and gives us details about it! Maybe we can finally take down Galathyn for good!” She confided.

“Galathyn? Explain.”

“It’s that Grimm in Summit’s Blight. Nomad told me all about him, but this is on a whole other level! It says here that it’s been thriving in Remnant as long as anyone’s remembered. I-It’s kind of hard for me to read this cursive, though. Err… ‘Heed its legs, for the pikes of its bony stilts remain tipped with an ancient poison. Not a single documented survivor of its strength exists save for myself, with everyone else succumbing to the arms of death mere minutes after being punctured. The secret to its own demise is beset in the unknown, but my estimations is that a dose of its own medicine would prove equally fatal. There is so very much work left to be done.’ Umm… Nomad never said anything about that. Do you think he was hiding information from us?”

“Care to explain who Nomad is? Not one of those magic-men read about in these books, I presume?” Boreas flipped through the pages of his own selection of documents. Half of them appeared to be printed. They could clearly tell the other half was hand-written, all by the same individual.

“Nope! He’s an ally from Summit’s Blight! He told me how to navigate around myself! It’s pretty tricky though, it has to do with the phases of the moon.” Selene said.

“Oh, all the more reason to get my telescope back in use. Anyway, I’ve learned all sorts of interesting lessons, but nothing that would lead back to Nadia. One thing that did ruffle my feathers, however, was the mention of a sort of collection of antiques called Relics. And I’m not talking about the keepsakes from our initiation in the Emerald Forest. ”

“That’s right, Relics!” Selene squawked, before covering her mouth.

“Oh, you know of them?” Boreas loomed overhead.

“N-No, you misheard me. I just, err, coughed. Seriously.” She threw in a few obviously fake chokes.

“…Okay then. Whoever wrote this was being strangely discreet about the purpose of the relics, however many there may be. That’s what makes it stand out. I was able to gather that each one was hidden by another unspecified being. I haven’t the slightest clue of the specifics. Apparently they’re important enough not to talk about on paper, I’m guessing in the event this falls into the wrong hands… If you were going to hide something crucially important, you’d put it in Remnant’s greatest labyrinth. You know what that sounds like?”

“…Summit’s Blight?” She theorized.

“Exactly. Maybe the White Fang, or this Nomad is searching for it. It would make sense, and it would also explain…” He slowly lifted the Beryl Rhinestone. “W-Wait a minute!? Could this be it?”

“What, a relic? No, I-It can’t be. If Nomad was after it, he wouldn’t have given it away. Not to mention he, at one point, got his hands on… Uh, n-never mind.”

“Well, it’s a great possibility he didn’t know! And if this is in fact the truth, we’ve got the White Fang cornered!”

“Um… We can only hope. It’s not like we can ask anyone about it. Wait! Look!” Selene clutched another textbook, this one stamped with the same iconic label seen on Nadia’s clothes. So far her brand was turning out to be a pivotal clue in the search. Boreas caught her drift with ease, and held one half of the cover so they could read together. After a scribbled foreword, which was looked over with incredible disinterest, they found a good starting point to compile whichever details seemed relevant.

“The Origin of an Amaryllis.” Boreas recited the first chapter’s name.

“Ahem. What could two promising young minds possible need with an elder’s treasures?” Somebody tapped Boreas’s shoulder.

“P-Professor Stam!?”

“Don’t mind me, Mister Zale. Mind yourself. I don’t think you would appreciate your old collection being soiled by grasping hands and prying eyes. And you too, Miss Virtus? Isn’t it past curfew?”

“Professor, w-we were just trying to, um-” Selene failed at rallying any substantial defense.

“It’s no problem, Miss Virtus. I trust neither of you saw anything too important, yes? Just the rambled teachings of a seasoned scribe. Run along now, just don’t let me catch either of you doing it again.” Stam smiled, watching Boreas file the fables back into place. His two students whispered to each other in a rushed fashion, contemplating whether or not to pull a third party into their quest.

“Oh, um, Professor?” Selene made the first move in dashing up beside him. “We’ve been looking everywhere, trying to find Nadia for quite some time now. She’s been missing ever since our fight with Lucifer. And we really miss her. We were just hoping your books might have a clue as to where she went, or who she was.”

“Miss Flora didn’t tell you much about herself, did she?”

“No… But she was such a great friend. I really wish things were different… Aha, I guess I just had this idolized vision of what it would be like in Vale. My fault for setting expectations so high. I never thought my team would fall apart like this.”

“Nonsense, Miss Virtus. You and your team exemplify not only the standard for this combat school, but to the other teams. Just look at you and Miss Keraseer. I’d be hard-pressed to find a more exceptional partnership. And your team leader? I don’t think I need to explain how admirable the relationship between all four of you is.”

“He’s got a point, you know. If only my team was as dutiful.” Boreas set a hand on Selene’s shoulder.

“Y-You’re right. Maybe, if Nadia really is gone for good, we can visit her in Mistral sometime! I’m sure she’d love to see us again! Even Lucifer! I already can’t wait to travel there and see the look on her face once I’ve finished training my semblance! But one thing I’ve been thinking is, if she’s gone, how will Team Lance continue with only three members?” She sprung out of the gloom of pessimism.

“Don’t worry, Miss Virtus. I will take care of everything. Run along, now.” He put full weight on a convenient pedestal, stopping at the exit to the library. Boreas and Selene pranced away without a hitch, back to their dorms were they belonged. “I have a feeling that moment of rekindled friendship may come sooner than you think.”

Entry No. 8 complete.

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