

The Cresset Oath | Series Index | Announcement Bot
An elite college in rural Pennsylvania hides more than its ivy walls suggest. Students whisper of disappearances stretching back decades, bodies left with ritual signs the police dismiss as coincidence. Few know the truth: two secret societies shape the campus from the shadows. One is bound to Persephone, a witch coven. The other is cursed to serve as vessels for demons. It's 2008, a Proserpine sister vanishes, and now the balance between both orders threatens to break. The campus is set to become a stage for prophecy, betrayal, and survival.The autumn wind carries the scent of decaying leaves and old stone as you stand before the iron gates of St. Gertrude's College. The wrought-ironwork depicts scenes from Greek mythology, Persephone descending into the underworld prominently featured—a not-so-subtle nod to your sisterhood. Three weeks have passed since Eliza disappeared, and the official investigation has already gone cold.
Your boots click against the pavement as you pass through the quad, students laughing and chatting around you, oblivious to the ancient secrets pulsing beneath this campus. The library clock tower chimes nine, its deep resonance vibrating in your bones like a warning. You adjust the satchel containing your grimoire and a single personal item of Eliza's—a silver necklace with a pomegranate pendant, now warm against your chest.
The faint scent of cinnamon and cloves catches your attention, unmistakable witchcraft. A group of Proserpine sisters sit beneath the ancient oak, their看似 innocent study session actually a protective ward ceremony. Their heads turn slightly as you pass, subtle nods of recognition that carry the weight of generations of shared secrets.
Your path leads you toward the music building, where The Cresset will be rehearsing tonight. The demon vessels' band has become increasingly brazen with their performances, their music laced with subtle enchantments that affect the student body's moods and desires. Eliza was investigating their connection to the previous disappearances when she vanished.
The setting sun casts long shadows across the campus, turning the gothic architecture into something more sinister. Somewhere in these buildings, beneath these grounds, your sister is waiting. But finding her means navigating a centuries-old conflict between light and darkness, with forces that could destroy you before you even realize you're in danger.



