Winter looked around and saw a silver, deer-like creature with crystal antlers. She blinked, surprised to see her here. "Orynthiel, what are you doing here?" It was ran the Veilstrider Kirin rarely ever accompanied her when she was in the Somnium Veil by choice or simply when asleep. Right now, she was merely asleep. It wasn't like she could avoid the Somnium Veil when she closed her eyes; nobody could. It was where all dreams took place. She was in the Lucid Expanse right now and wasn't using her magic at all.She didn't want to experience even further Arcane Burn.

  The Kirin moved her head and took a step. In an instant, the tranquil forest turned to a dark, shadowy forest. Winter's insides chilled. It wasn't everyday that a Kirin took control of their partner's dreams. Their powers could easily override even the most powerful Liminal Mage's simply because of their power and age. Nobody knew how old any of the familiars that existed in Ny ther is were. They were simply a part of the Divine Weave in away humans and Faunus weren't.

  Orynthiel took another step and started to walk. Winter sighed and knew better than to ignore her familiar's clear message. It was only every so often that Orynthiel brought her messages like this. It may very well be a message from Noctis or Thyressa. The Arcanum Lords worked in mysterious ways and were rarely ever direct. These woods looked like they were a tunnel, leading them somewhere. Actually, it looked alot like the forest about a day's ride away from Sylwen. That forest was incredibly distinct. having only whisper thorn trees in it. No other trees grew in the area which was very strange.

  She was silent as she followed Orynthiel until they came upon the form of a man maybe about her age. He had slicked back black hair. A silver-grey horse stood nearby, but it was clearly no normal horse. Its mane and tail were inky black and flowed in unnatural ways. She almost couldn't see it as it nearly blended in with the

  darkness of the whisperthorn trees, but a dark bird that appeared more shadow than physical. It blended into the darkness. Yet somehow stood out at the same time. That was no natural black but the absorption of light. It was strange to see.

  "Orynthiel, what…?" she looked at the Kirin who tilted her at the man.

  The bird awoke with a start and began cawing noisily. Winter froze as the bird looked right at her which only made it caw louder.

  She snapped back to her body and looked around wildly. Orynthiel stood by her bedside, head dipped. The Kirin raised her head and turned around, going for the door. Winter rubbed her eyes. "Orynthiel, it's not even dawn yet… You want me to go right now?" The Kirin simply looked over her shoulder, those steely blue eyes waiting. Despite being silent, the Kirin could be incredibly emotive through body language and expression. Orynthiel didn't seem to be losing her patience…or at least not yet. She knew better than to wait too long or else Oynnthiel would simply drag her through the layers of the Weave in order to get Winter to where she needed to be.

  With a sigh, Winter flicked on the room's illuminator and found a change of clothes. She was not going out dressed in only her nightgown. She heard tales of a royal messenger that had made it several town over in only her nightgown because the call was too strong. While her mother wouldn't cast her out for that, she did not need any sort of rumors like that bringing negative thoughts to the family.

  Once changed, she headed down to the kitchens and asked for some provisions from the sleepy night cook.

  "I think three days' worth should be enough." The woman nodded, then gave Winter meat, cheese, some dried fruits, and hard bread. Not the most appetising of food but it would only be a couple of days, The forest wasn't that far away and Orynthie would likely help expedite the travel process. Winter was on a strict rest regime since she'd used too much magic and wound up with Arcane Burn.

  She went out to the barn and tacked up Sable, herd an gelding. After that, she set out at a trot where Orynthiel Met up with her outside of town. The Kirin glowed faintly in the predawn darkness. "Lead the way." No point in beating around the bush and waiting.

  Thankfully, it didn't seem like the Kirin had lost her patience while waiting. It wasn't like Winter could use her magic to expedite the travel. She wished she could, but worsening her Arcane Burn wasn't high on her list, Orynthiel started walking and she urged Sable into a trot. There was no point in pushing him any harder because it'd be a long journey. She always despised lone travel because she had no body to talk to. The sounds of nature kept her company but it was never enough to not make her feel incredibly lonely. It was probably that she'd not be alone on the journey back, but the way there would be more silence than for her liking.

  White Sable trotted, Orynthiel glided along in silence, keeping up with the horse's pace without breaking a sweat. It was always a sight to see a veil strider Kirin with a rider. The Kirin moved along at what looked like a slow, ambling pace while the horse was hustling. The Kirin were incredibly ethereal which made them a good match for Aetheris mages who could often warp reality.

  The sun began to rise and Orynthiel came closer to Winter. Sable didn't shy and allowed the Kirin to approach. A moment later, Winter found them in the whisper thorn forest. Well, she certainly wasn't expecting to betaken directly to the forest... She wouldn't have to ride all the way there... Definitely a boon to her. Orynthiel had definitely taken mercy on her and Sable in that regard. "Thanks." She blinked at Orynthiel and the Kirin bowed her head. She didn't walk, though, which made Winter sigh. Of course she had to figure out where the man was on her own. The Arcanum Lords never made anything easy. Orynthiel no doubt knew where he was bat wouldn't show her the way.

  Annoying.

  She clucked Sable into a walk. She didn't want to risk him risking his legs on the forest's incredibly uneven ground. The whisperthorn forest was a place filled with treacherous ground due to the gnarled roots the trees had. They were far more gnarled than normal tree roots due to how much more they stuck up from the ground. This forest was not somewhere to go alone due to its nature. She had Orynthiel with her, so she wasn't truly alone. If something happened, Orynthiel could easily get her out of there. She just hoped nothing would happen to Sable. A horse with a broken leg needed to be put down.

  Winter listened, though. Yes, she was alone in the sense of not being with a human or Faunus. but the whisperthorn forest spoke secrets if one listened well enough. She'd been in here enough times to map the rivers and streams to make observations about the forest and begin to understand how it worked. Locals knew to avoid it due to the uneven ground. but they did sometimes sit on the outskirts to learn secrets of ages past and sometimes hear messages from the Arcanum Lords themselves.

  The slightest sound of a voice could be heard, so Winter stopped Sable. "Where is the intruder?" The forest rarely made this much noise. To anybody else, it would likely sound normal, but she knew the forest's moods for lack of a better descriptor. Something was definitely causing the forest to feel restless and almost violated. It was an ancient area of Nytheris where few dare wander.

  A rush of wind, unnatural, gusted past Winter and she held Sable's reins tight. She could feel the gust had stirred him up and he wanted to bolt. She looked up and saw the ever-rustling leaves pointing clear northeast. They were still which was definitely unnerving. They always rustled. It was one reason the forest always had sound in it. They never tell during the winter despite not being pine trees either. It was definitely unnerving to see the forest react so strongly to her request when it rarely ever cooperated with mortals. Whoever this man was, the forest itself wanted him gone.

  She kept Sable on a short rein and felt several more gusts that got her attention to look up at the leaves to direct her. Wherever this man was, he had gotten incredibly deep into the forest. She could see several creeks she had mapped previously and could feel the way markers she had placed on the lucid Expanse to keep herself oriented in the forest. So few people dared come into the forest that she was surprised to know someone made it this far in. He was likely lost at this point and Winter would need to extract him.

  She started to feel hunger pangs but she decided against stopping. She had apparently gained the forest's trust if it was responding to her like it was. Eventually, though. She came to the edge of a cleaning and saw the man sitting there. The bird sat on his shoulder and began cawing loudly while the horse raised its ears and whinnied. The man looked up from his meal, then at the bird and iteuieted down. He didn't seem alarmed in the slightest. "Oh, are you the one Duskwhisper warned me about a few hours ago? Vorithar Seems a bit concerned too…" He looked at the horse.

  Winter nodded a bit. "My Veilstrider Kirin pretty much forced me out here against my will." She looked at Orynthiel who stood only a few feet away from her. The Kirin had a nonplussed look on her face, completely unconcerned about Winter's safety. It was beyond strange Orynthiel had dragged her all the way out there…

  The man smiled. "Familiars can definitely be strange." He looked at the horse which gave Winter the side eye. "Duskwhisper said you were in the Somnium Veil though… I've never heard of people able to enter it. That's really weird."

  Winter nodded. "Yeah, it's not the most common ability. I'm a liminal mage I chose to be a dream cartographer who maps out the Samnium Veil, though I can't really do my job right now due to Arcane Barn." She sighed. This wasn't the first time she'd been in Arcane Burn unfortunately, Going between the normal plane and the Somnium Veil took an incredible amount of magic which was one reason why dream cartographers were so rare. The other main reason was because it was a dangerous place that didn't follow the normal rules of the Weave. "What's your name? I'm Winter."

  "Qrow…with a q.." He chuckled. "It's a weird name but my old man had a strange sense of humor."

  "I see,.. Well, why don't we get out of this for stand back to Sylwen?" Winter could feel the forest getting restless around her. The leaves rustled more than they normally did but there was no voice among them. There was an... energy to the forest that she couldn't really put words to. It was agitated, but she couldn't understand why. Something about Qrow upset the forest itself. It wanted him gone.

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  Qrow nodded. "All right." He covered the remains of his fire pit with dirt and saddled up his horse. "You seem hungry, though I want to take a few minutes to eat?"

  Winter hesitated. not certain what to say. The trees quivered, the leaves now rustling as it caught in a windstorm. They pointed sharply toward the east which was the quickest route out. But she was hungry. Incredibly so, she sighed and nodded, getting in her small stash of food. She downed some of the meat, cheese, and bread then drank from her water skin. It was enough to drive away the worst of the hanger pangs even if she wasn't entirely full. "Okay, let's go."

  Qrow nodded. In the few minutes she'd eaten, he'd sad led up his horse and was on the steed's back. “How do we get out of here?" "to the east." Winter clucked Sable into a walk, but a moment later, she found them outside of the forest.

  "Woah," Qrow said. She looked at him and saw the bird and horse look incredibly spooked. "What just happened?"

  "Orynthiel got us out of there. The whisperthorn forest wanted you out of there for some reason. so she got us out of there. Veilstrider Kirin can manipulate the Weave and its different layers. Orynthiel is no exception. She led me to you while I was in The Lucid Expanse to show me where you were." Veilstrider Kirin were definitely something else. Compared to Weiss' aetherwing moth, Orynthiel was far more interactive and able to do things. Granted, Velmora could be Quite the character from what she'd seen.It was amazing how silent companions could have so much personality.

  "I've heard about Veilstrider Kirin, but I didn't know they could manipulate the Weave like that. I've been trained in Nyxara my whole life and the community around me Were purely Nyxara users. So to see Ethereal magic so up close and personal is something else." Qrow looked beyond mystified, but she couldn't exactly blame him. It wasn't everyday one met an Aether is user on par with Winter… even if she couldn't use her magic right now. There weren’t too many Great Houses in general, let alone on par with the Schnee family. Veilstrider Kirin weren't the most common either, so it definitely was a unique experience to have the Weave manipulated in such a way.

  Winter took a few moments to orient herself and she nodded." Okay, to the south. That's where Syl Wen is. "she'd been in the area for months and knew it pretty well by now. She ranged out to a week's ride away from Syl Wen. so she definitely knew the area well by now. The whisper thorn forest wasn't that far for her personally. She'd spent weeks in there, mapping all of the Various streams and rivers inside.

  "All right then; lead the way." Qrow said. Winter nodded and clucked Sable into a trot, Qrow doing the same with his horse.

  However, she noticed something strange about it. "No bit or bridle?" The horse only bore him through a saddle. That was beyond strange. She had never seen anything like it before. Not even a rope around the neck. She'd seen some people forego bits and bridles for neck ropes, but this horse didn't even have that. Talk about strange.

  Qrow shrugged. "Shadowmanes feeds don't need such things. We're bonded through magic. They're magical horses just as Nyxwing Ravens are magical birds. They come from beyond the Weave."

  Winter blinked. "Beyond the Weave...? What do you mean by that?" She had never heard of something coming from beyond the Weave except for liminal mages that dared venture into dangerously uncharted waters. They did go beyond the Weave but often ended up with such severe Arcane Burn that they went mad. Nothing they said was to be trusted simply because they went beyond where even the Arcanum Lords dare not go. The Weave had different layers like the Somnium Veil but to go beyond that…

  "Have you never heard of the Void?" Winter's eyes widened as she reined Sable around a bit. "You're a Void Worshiper?" Void Worship was strictly outlawed in Nytheris due to the dangers such beliefs posed. There were hidden areas that Void Worshipers used that he Magisterium tried to do away with, but they were persistent. She didn't know much about Void worshipers other than they were dangerous extremists that wanted to see the government and all of reality itself come crashing down. She should report Qrow to The proper authorities so he could be dealt with but…

  She frowned.

  He didn't seem dangerous. She should probably hear him out before making any rash decisions.

  "Not entirely? My sect is called the Veilbound Order of the Twilight Weave. We still pay respect to the Arcanum Lords and believe the Weave is essential, but that the Void also offers potential. Well... they believe that. I don't entirely adhere to Branwen beliefs." He shrugged. "The Void and the Arcanum Lords both old some level of truth but I'm not a theologian. I don't care about upholding the Veilbound Order's beliefs. I just want to live life outside of the Order." He frowned. "I'm not a danger."

  Winter nodded slowly. "I'll take your word for it but if I see anything that shows you are a danger, I'll turn you into the Magisterium." She couldn't put a black mark on her family for harboring a Void Worshiper. It was outlawed in Nytheris for good reason to her knowledge. She really couldn't risk being killed for harboring a heretic that went against the social order. She was one of the few willing to attempt to map the Somnium Veil and directly go to the four 50mn arch kingdoms that existed with in the Veil. She was worth her weight in gold to the Arcane Sovereignty and Magisterium. To lose her might even cast the Schnee family out of the Great Houses.

  "I promise I don't want to harm you or the people around here.I didn't agree with the sect's philosophy and just want to live my own life. Yes, I was with them until recently, but I've never been one to align with their beliefs and methods. Duskwhisper and Vorithar have just been with me so long they didn't want to leave me." The horse nodded at Qrow’s words. She had seen some horse breeds do that before but it was always impressive to see. Sable had a personality to be certain, but he was far more instinct driven than intelligence driver. Not stupid by any means but... just a normal horse.

  "I'll take your word for it." but why leave everything you've ever known? She couldn't help but be curious.

  "I just didn't believe in the idea of the Unraveling or changing the Weave in the way Void Worshipers and the Veil bound Order do. By Brannen standards, that's heresy. And my feelings only grew. My mother, Dove, is the leader while my sister, Raven, is soon to be the next leader. I told my mother I wanted to leave. I didn't explain why, though. She put me through the discharging rite and I left." He frowned. "I can't go back, so I need to find my way out here."

  "I see." Nothing about what Qrow said rang as untrue for her. She knew that harboring him was putting her and her family at risk but he seemed entirely sincere. Why would somebody from such a shadowy order lie about leaving? It didn't make a whole lot of sense to her. "Do you have magic?"

  He nodded. "I'm an Umbral Architect and received a fair amount of training in it. Most Branwens—at least those born into it. like me—tend to be Nyxara users."

  Winter frowned. "And you have no Tenebris Wraith cat?" It was so weird to see a mage with no familiar. Some sub paths like Echo keepers had their own, unique familiars like Murmureans, but most mages simply had a singular familiar that helped them interact with the Weave and the Arcane Currents. There were stock familiars for the fire primal sources. Then again, it sounded like the Brannen sect had its own unique culture. If they saw both the Void and the Arcanum Lords as holding some form of truth, that truly was unieae." Qrow shook his head.

  "Only those that join the Veil bound Order have one of the traditional five familiars. Bran wens have Shadow mane steeds and Nyxwing Ravens to act as their guides. They come from between the Weave and the Void. They live in the twilight between the two." He looked at the bird on his shoulder. "Normally they would leave someone exiled from the Order, but Duskwhisper and Vorithar were too bonded to me to return from whence they came."

  Winter nodded and looked at Orynthiel. "I can understand that. I don't know what I'd do without her..." Though she wasn't sure how bonded familiars were to their handlers sometimes. Some, like Veilstrider Kirin, were essentially ageless and passed from person to person. Aetherwing moths generally hatched as catepillars on their handler's birthday, then became moths on their handler's fifteenth birthday, only to die at the same time as their handler. It was interesting to see how different the familiars could be.

  "They aren't familiars in the sense your Veilstrider Kirin is; they're guides to knowledge and the unseen parts of the Weave. Granted, I slacked a lot and tend to not listen to them." Qrow laughed and shook his head. "They still didn't want to leave me despite that, though. It was unusual, but I'm grateful. The journey would've been lonely—and much harder—without them." His tone was warm and he smiled. Despite everything, Winter also found herself with a smile on her face. He was clearly incredibly fond of his animals, just like she was fond of Orynthiel. Somethings would never change despite different upbringings…

  "I see. Do they bring Messages from the Arcanum lords like Orynthiel brought me news of you? "Then again, Orynthid wouldn't have acted like this if the Arcanum Lords themselves hadn't sent a message. Or maybe... "Did you appeal to the Somnarchs for anything?" The Somnarchs were the rulers of the Somnium Veil. They weren't divine beings in the same way the Arcanum lords were but they were incredibly powerful beings that mortals could appeal to for favors. If he had appealed to the Somnarchs, it would also make sense.

  "I did appeal to Xaltheris for help to know here to go next. I didn't think anything came of it, though, because that was weeks ago. Bran wens don't seek the Arcanum Lords directly."

  Winter nodded. "That does make some sense. The Arcanum lords can be fickle and difficult to work with. Few choose to go to them directly.” The different layers of the Weave had their own ways of handling mortal requests. She was still surprised Xaltheris had reached out to Orynthiel. She rarely ever went to the Oneiric Sea because she had no desire to become lost in the visions and fragments of the future… It was why Weiss had become an administrator and forsaken her training as an Astral Weaver; the future was a headache to deal with and not something to be trifled with.

  "Yeah. The Order does believe they hold some truth but they aren't the end all, be all of existence. The 50mn arch s are easier to deal with than the Abyss or the Arcanum Lords. "He let out a hollow laugh. "Plus with the Abyss philosophies. I'm not sure the Arcanum Lords would listen to and help me out anyway. The Somnarchs made the most sense to me.”

  “I would rather appeal to them than go to the Arcanum Lords too. Ido actually have a working relationship with Azryth and the Phantasm Court since I spend most of my time in the Reverie Isles though I do also spend a lot of time in the Forgotten Echoes. Not many are willing to traverse the Somnium Veil."

  Qrow nodded. "It's a dangerous place from what I've heard. The only time I got here is when I'm asleep since it's not like I have much of a choice." He chuckled. Yeah, that was true. Nobody had a choice but to go to the Somniam Veil when they were asleep. Not unless they were a Liminal Mage that could easily go between the different layers of the weave. Even then, it was dangerous because the mind being cut loose from the body like that could have catastrophic consequences if the Mage couldn't find their way back.

  Winter went to speak again but Orynthiel stepped between them. In a moment, they were in Sylwen. Qrow shook his head.. "Man, that's freaky… Are you used to it?"

  "Orynthiel generally only does it if I ask her to." She chuckled. "She probably got sick of us talking. Anyway, how about I show you where I'm staying and you can get a room?"

  Qrow frowned. "I don't have any money."

  "Don't worry too much; I'm from a Great House and have money to spare." She always had enough on her to cover plenty of expenses. Another room at the inn wouldn't be an issue.

  Qrow nodded a bit. "Okay. Lead the way then." Winter reined Sable around and ducked her into a trot, heading back to the inn.