Jesse joined the rest of the group; he snuck a glance at Tangle who finally made progress on removing most of the red aura that surrounds the blonde stranger.

'Why is my stepmother's handwriting in that book?' Jesse thought to himself. His stepmother was considered unorthodox and weird, but that's what made her special, as she used to say: normal is boring.

The more Jesse thought about it, he doesn't really know all that much about his stepmother's past.

Axel looked at his disturbed friend as he placed a calming hand on Jesse's tense shoulder. "Dude, check this out!" He pointed at the large, beautiful carving, putting on a smile. "It's awesome!"

"It's creepy, Axel, not awesome," Olivia scolded as she looked at the inhuman riders with their even more disturbing 'horses'. "For all we know, there could be another cult based on this!"

"Hey, cut the guy some slack," Luke defended Axel, tired of Olivia's attitude. "He's just trying to be positive, unlike you!"

And so the arguing started, Petra staying silent as Raven and Jesse were smart enough to stay out of the bickering. Raven felt her book pulse in her hand as the duo walked closer to the carving.

Jesse once again found the runes in his eye mostly useless. Not because of another red aura, this carving didn't have that, but because he couldn't translate the language on it.

But he did find out that melted colored crystals, which was smeared and placed in before hardening to form this magnificent work of art, caused the coloring on the ominous carving.

"Hey, Raven, can you...?" Jesse asked, pointing at the carving.

She nodded and pressed her hand on an open page in her book. "It will take a while," She then looked around, Tangle still healing the blonde stranger as everyone else is arguing. "You know, I thought that people would look at me differently."

"What makes you say that?" Jesse asked as Raven gave him a blank stare and flapped her wings. "Oh, right."

He then took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Honestly, ever since Mana has been discovered, nothing is really surprising, only interesting."

He then looked at Raven's scowl. "You really despise Mana that much?"

"It's simply wrong." She declared bluntly. "It's like spitting in Notch's face; why turn against the one true creator?"

"Raven, that's a bit harsh," Jesse defended. "Using Mana doesn't mean they're automatically anti-religious." At that moment, Jesse finally understood her title, 'Crisis of Faith'."

"Then why doesn't everyone use divine energy?" Raven argued. "I can do it, and it's just as good, if not better; look at all the things I can make!"

"Well one, Classes determine doing which actions are easier; not everyone is a cleric or paladin," Jesse countered, remembering how Petra fell into a coma when using illusion magic. "Second, not everyone believes in the same religion; you don't believe that Herobrine isn't real, and there are religions that worship Herobrine."

"But I don't have the Cleric Class," Raven pointed out as the symbols on the colored carving started to glow white. "And doing divine magic is easy for me, so anyone else can do it."

"But isn't your book doing it?" Jesse remembered what he read when he used the runes in his right eye, how that book is a 'cousin' of the Harbingers. "Not everyone can have an overpowered book, Raven."

"Notch demands love, so I must show that by carrying his words." Raven lectured, clearly missing the point of what Jesse is trying to say. "They simply refuse Notch and what he does; this book is nothing more than a focus for me."

Jesse wanted to argue that it was actually the book doing all of the work, and how it's not really the true Notch, but Raven was finally done. "Hey, everyone," Jesse called. "It's done!"

"What does it say?" Olivia walked a bit ahead of the group as Luke and Petra flowed while Axel lagged behind, clearly not enjoying being caught in the middle of the argument.

"Let's see..." Raven looked at the large, golden rectangle that formed in front of her. "Whoa, this is a lot of information to go through."

"What's it say?" Luke curiously asked as Axel and Petra glanced at the crystal-covered carving.

Raven's pale face showed confusion. "I think it's a story, about four beings called the Harbingers?" She then had an expression of struggling. "It's... oh boy, I don't even know where to start; there is so much!"

"Wait," Petra stopped her. "What did you mean by 'I think' when you said it was a story?"

"I'm getting a rough translation of what this is," Raven admitted, pointing to a tiny, plain symbol at the very top. "It either means 'Story', 'Warning', 'Observation', 'Entry', or 'Diary Page #...'- okay, I can't read that number that big!"

"You can't translate it?" Jesse asked.

Raven pointed to the plain symbol at the top. "If that symbol had more details into it, it could have gotten a more accurate reading." Raven explained. "But this carving is old, and probably deteriorated over time. However, I'm thinking it's the last two, since it's written in first-person..."

"Just try to explain from the beginning," Olivia said. "But try to keep it simple for Axel."

Axel let out a tired sigh, already used to it as Petra and Luke glared at Olivia.

"Uh, wait..." Raven skimmed through the info, trying to find a good beginning. "Okay, this is a good start."

----------

Raven cleared her throat before reading loud and clear. "I knew a day of judgment would come for the human race, a punishment that will last beyond generations that scar the soul. These four beings will be the cause; each one capable of reducing the population of the world, of any world, by a minimum of twenty-five percent."

"They will ride out on their horses, unstoppable as they bring destruction to the Holy Empire without prejudice."

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"The Holy Empire?" Raven double-checked that last part. "This was during the reign of the fourth Emperor...!"

"The fourth Emperor?" Luke repeated, and turned to explain to those who didn't know. "She's the most infamous woman to rule all of the kingdoms, and each kingdom tried their best to erase all known history about her."

"But no one know why she's hated?" Petra asked. "How much history of her did they destroy?"

"Whatever that they could find," Luke shrugged, recalling his history. "Whatever she did, they really hate her for it."

"Hopefully this carving can give us some insight," Jesse said as he looked at a stunned Raven. "Keep reading."

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The winged-girl nodded before taking a second to find where she left off. "I have seen these four riders time and time again as they make their impact this world's history from the shadows, but never have I seen all four together before."

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"This world?" Petra repeated quietly, looking to her friends for answers as they just shrugged. "There is more than one?"

"It could be talking about the Nether," Luke guessed. "There was a Kingdom of the Nether before, but that itself is a long story."

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Raven continued, not even noticing the interruption. "I have heard all the different names for these beings, but only I know their true names. Ironically simple names for complicated beings, but the others who do know these riders' names usually end up dead."

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Raven then stopped, and walked towards one rider. He wore a skirt made out of the faces of skulls to match his bony exoskeleton body. His icy-blue, glowing eyes here hidden in the shadow of his encased head of bone as a crown made out of yellow bones protruded out the top.

His bony fingers were charred black as he has two massive, curved protrusions exiting away from each other out of his left wrist; a bow that he aims with the eye on the palm on his left hand.

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Raven started again. "Conquest, the controller; domination personified. With his limitless will so strong he will bend the heavens with his hands; there is only one being in control, and it is he. When he rides across the land, he will bend the free will of any being. He will conquer every home, town, and kingdom. He will enslave every man, woman, and child, not to rule, but only to be sacrificed as pawns for his endless urge to conquer."

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Raven then pointed to the monster Conquest was riding as he aims his 'bow', a horse made out of poorly melted iron weapons, glowing with heat as fire spews out of the eyes, nose, and mouth of the mount. A trail of burned hoofprints is left behind as it sprints across the land.

----------

"His loyal horse is named Revolution, a beast made of weapons and the inner fire of resistance, for what else could follow the aftermath of one's home being taken over? Conquest does not care about your beliefs; he will overpower that. Conquest does not conquer for petty reasons like land and power and respect, he only does so because it is what he exists to do."

"Conquest does not exist to defeat enemies, Conquest exists to impose a biased will on everyone's lives. Then again, who isn't?"

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Raven stopped as she moved towards another rider as silence spread out between everyone else, a sense of horrified curiosity mixed with disturbance as if asked a mind-opening question.

This rider was a gluttonous female if her wide body is any indication. Her thick body is something that resembles a jagged, insect-like humanoid with green-black tentacles spewing out of her jawless mouth.

Her thick body was covered and imbedded with precious gems and metals as she hunched over from the weight. She carried a pair of scales on a staff, weighing a healthy heart and a withered heart: both of them bleeding down to her three-clawed, insect hands. Her multiple purple eyes around her warped head seemed to always have an inner hunger while they bleed.

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"Famine, the hungry; craving personified. With her bottomless appetite for food and knowledge, she will never be full; Famine will starve the world of its nourishment, and the beings that live upon it. When she rides across the land, she will siphon and consume the vitality of the animals and the fertility of the crops. Beautiful materials shall be left behind in her consuming path, replacing the dirt, grass, and water with diamonds, gold, and iron. All of it worthless, for these material possessions cannot feed a starving child."

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Raven then pointed at Famine's 'horse', a monster resembling a steed, yet it was bloated and diseased while it's physiology seemed to be an amalgamation of rotten food and deteriorated valuables. The hoofprints it left behind caused the ground to turn infertile for planting crops.

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"Her loyal horse is named Hording, a beast made of precious materials and greed, for what else could follow the aftermath of a shortage on food? I've wondered which was stronger to overcome a human's decision-making: a hunger for nourishment, or a hunger for wealth? When Famine arrived, everyone forgot about the former, and only noticed the latter when the babies died from starvation."

"Famine doesn't exist to starve, Famine is here to inspire separation and greed of the desperate and hungry. I noticed now that you don't need her to cause a shortage on food, humans waste it too much as they neglect the land that provides them."

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Raven walked towards the next rider. He was... odd. Wearing thick red and black armor, his massive melted arms seemed to reach his ill-proportioned legs, as one seemed longer than the other.

In his clawed hand, he held a large, crimson broadsword twice his size, resting on his large shoulders as a red aura of fury seeped out from him. His skin was blacker than the Void, and had no physical features on his face.

The only way to tell he had any was the red stiches that closed his eyes, nose, and mouth as red smoke leaked out of the gaps and trail behind him. Nonetheless, he has an emotionless expression on his hidden face.

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"War, the silent; conflict personified. With his superior intellect, he will decimate any resistance that comes across his path; War does not take sides, he only destroys. When he rides across the land, peace will be removed and replaced with bloodlust. Everyone left in his wake will kill each other by their own will, regardless of age, gender, and family relation."

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War's 'horse' was mesh of shattered glass and warped metal and fragments of stone; this beast is the closest in resembling a horse. Yet this solid monster was covered in ashes and veins of magma originating from its eyes that are also closed with red stitches.

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"His loyal horse is named Ruin, a beast made of broken buildings and the ashes of loved ones, for what else could follow the aftermath of a pointless battle? War is not picky about casualties; he does not discriminate. War does not need words do cause harm, only physical actions are needed."

"War does not exist to see who is victorious, War is here to see who is left alive after the fighting. I find it ironic that something as impulsive as a personification of war, has the patience and intelligence of peace."

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Raven, hesitantly, moved towards the final rider. After everything she's read about the others, this one disturbs her the most considering how normal this rider looks.

A female human with sickly pale skin, or perhaps a monster merely looks like one, with platinum blonde hair that reached her feet just like her black dress. Her purple eyes invited a feeling of comfort and peace as her black lips gave a sense of love.

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"Death, the peaceful; death personified. When humans are born into this world, they do two things. First, they live out their lives. Second, they attract her attention. She will be everywhere, in every war, in every conquest, and in every famine, and in everything else that claims a life."

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That unsettled everyone, along with everything else they heard. Raven then looked at the black mass that was following Death. It was nothing like a horse!

It was dragging itself across the dead ground, and yet it seemed to have the physiology of slime and mist. This amalgamation of mouths and limbs from various animals and people appeared to be at peace. Not suffering, but full of gratitude as if they had been released from terrible pain.

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"Her horse is Pain, an amalgamation of negativity of any being who can feel suffering, for what else could follow the aftermath of losing someone, or something, close to you? She never rides her fast beast, because Death is patient, and will catch up to you."

"Death can be instant, and it can be slow, but no matter how it happens she will claim your life. Death is silent, will bring silence, and will make you silent."

"You will run... she will walk... You will rest... she will not... You will hide... she will find you... You will resist... she will overwhelm you... You will leave her... she will wait..."

"No matter what happens, may it be when you sleep for too deep, or denying the natural process, your life will come at an end."

"Death does not exist to bring pain and grief, Death exists to end your suffering known as living a full life. Sometimes... I wish that I did a long time ago, maybe then I wouldn't have to see the unsurprising result of the Holy Empire, it's very existence proving my beliefs on humans."

"Despite ending a terrible era of inhuman suffering and beliefs, these beings do not bring peace, but they do not start wars either. They are not needed for causing destruction, for they are only tools used by humanity for their own selfish desires-"

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"-They are the Harbingers." Raven finished. "Signed by, Theodor Isaac Maxwell?"

A/N: Does the name ring a bell~? Leave a comment on what you thought about the Harbingers- oh, and theories! I love seeing the theories in the comments!

As for that colored carving, if someone actually managed to draw that, I would be beyond impressed.

So we get to see a little bit more of Raven's anti-Mana/ blind faith personality here, and more information about the Holy Empire and some other background information. As for Raven's OC creator, thanks for letting me use her. As for Luke: finally someone stepped up to defend Axel!