Edwyr couldn't remember falling asleep, but he must have. Or perhaps that wine he'd been offered had had something extra in it, and he was hallucinating because he was now standing in the middle of a forest. But unlike last time, this forest was beautiful. Unnaturally so.

It was all gold and orange colors. The trees themselves, the sky, the sunlight—it was as if everything was made of precious metals. The trees still looked hazy, but in a way that made them look like they were glowing. Unlike last time, none of it was ominous.

Edwyr frowned, an annoyed grimace on his face. If this was a dream, then that elf was surely here as well. As he realized that, he suddenly got the feeling like he was being watched, and so Edwyr turned around, immediately coming face to face with Wyn. Of course.

"Again?" Edwyr grumbled, even though he wasn't surprised at all. He'd been somewhat expecting to be contacted this way again, especially since their last meeting had been so rudely interrupted by tigers.

He might have even welcomed this if he knew he would be given some answers, but that was probably not going to happen if their last talk was anything to go by.

"I thought it best to visit you again, given how our last meeting ended." Wyn looked a little irked as if he'd taken offense to Edwyr's tone, but he didn't let it show in his tone. "You are getting close, correct?"

Edwyr wanted to once again remind this elf that he owed him no answers, seeing as Wyn had given none in turn so far, but strangely he felt too tired to bother. Was it normal to feel tired in a dream? He would have to ask Arbane or Lanna later.

Still, he didn't feel like being particularly helpful, so instead of giving Wyn a straight answer, Edwyr decided to play coy. "Close to what?"

Wyn grinned in amusement. What a strange expression to see on an elf. "Oh, come now, Edwyr, we both know what I am talking about."

Edwyr didn't reply, instead preferring to simply narrow his eyes at the other elf. While yes, that was likely true, Edwyr had no idea who Wyn was, nor did he know his goal. Was he at the ruin they were heading to? Genrith had told Edwyr to go there, after all. But if so, why was Wyn there in the first place?

Edwyr almost sighed, then. What was the point of asking himself these questions when he knew he wouldn't get answers? Of course, that wouldn't stop him because he couldn't help himself, but it was so exhausting.

"South of Mistglen, there is only the jungle and mountains. And I highly doubt the Council sent one of their own to certain death," Wyn continued, still smiling.

A shiver ran down Edwyr's back at the confirmation that Wyn knew exactly where he was. But he felt disturbed for only a moment before it turned into irritation. "Are you watching me?"

Wyn connected his hands behind his back in what seemed to be an attempt to look calm and casual, but he was now also very obviously avoiding Edwyr's gaze. "Not watching, per se."

Edwyr glared at him, folding his arms over his chest. It was then that he realized how odd it was that this conversation felt the same as if he were awake. Edwyr knew this was all possible through magic, and so he doubted this was accurate to what a true dreaming experience would be like, but it was still very odd. What was Wyn doing to make this possible?

Wyn sighed, shaking his head. "If you were alone, I would tell you what is going on."

"You come into my mind without my permission, and then imply that you don't trust me?"

Wyn grimaced before looking directly into Edwyr's eyes. The intensity of his gaze almost made Edwyr look away, but he did his best to resist.

"I promise to explain everything once you get to Urzikal."

Edwyr glared at Wyn harder. He wasn't at all surprised by this, but he still felt disappointed.

"Do you trust me?" Wyn asked, one eyebrow raised.

Edwyr blinked. What a ludicrous question. Wyn hadn't even given him a reason to trust him yet. "Of course not."

Wyn grinned, once again looking very amused. "Good."

Edwyr shook his head. He was starting to feel like he was being made fun of, which was entirely possible. Though he could somehow sense that there was a legitimate reason for Wyn's presence, even if he couldn't figure out what it was. He would have assumed that reason was only be related to Feyrith, but with what Wyn had already told him, Edwyr wasn't sure it was quite that simple.

"Good?"

Wyn grinned again, though he looked far from happy. "The Council keeps preaching the idea that we should give the benefit of the doubt to everyone. That we should put away our suspicions and prejudices and instead be helpful to the point of self-sacrifice, while they do nothing themselves. I could never stand it, so I appreciate your honesty and common sense."

This whole time, it had been clear Wyn wasn't acting on behalf of the Council. Edwyr didn't know who he was working for or with, but it had clearly not been the Sixth Circle. But to hear him confirm it like this made Edwyr's mouth go dry.

He swallowed thickly. So, this truly was an elf completely unaffiliated with the Council. That would explain the strange name—whether a shortened version of his real name or a complete fabrication—as it would help protect him from them.

But was this elf simply not on the same side as the Council, or was he directly opposing them?

"Who are you?" At this point, Edwyr sounded incredulous, much more so than he'd intended to.

This time Wyn's grin looked a touch bitter. "Come to the ruin. I will explain everything there."

Edwyr opened his mouth to repeat his previous question and demand an answer, but the other elf spoke before he could say anything.

"Farewell, Edwyr. We shall meet again soon." His grin softened into a small, genuine smile. "Your destiny awaits."

And then Edwyr's eyes flew open. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. Shaking his head, he huffed and sat up in his bed. For a moment he stared at the dark, stone walls, keeping his mind as empty as possible as he did his best to calm down. And once he did, he rubbed his eyes, sighing. He was glad that they were only about two days away from reaching that ruin because he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

He'd found out nothing new, and yet his mind was reeling with new questions, to which he had no answers. So he was worse off than if Wyn hadn't invaded his mind once more. Simply wonderful.

He pulled himself to his feet, running a hand through his hair. There was no chance of him going back to sleep after this. He wouldn't be able to get his mind to calm for long enough to manage it.

With nothing else to do, he ended up wandering outside of the room he'd been given for the night. He hadn't even had to ask for it—the local innkeeper had simply given each of them a room along with food and drink for free for helping them defeat the scalewings. Edwyr couldn't say that this level of generosity didn't make him a little suspicious, but he wouldn't complain—not even about the fact that roasted bugs were a normal dish in this town. No, Edwyr was very grateful for the hospitability, even though they could have easily paid for everything. Feyrith could simply turn another rock into gold, after all.

Edwyr came to a halt as he suddenly found himself outside in front of the inn without even meaning to get there. But then, where else would he go right now? He didn't feel like being social with the local humans even if some were still awake, and it was going to be much more pleasant outside in comparison to the halls of the inn.

He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment and enjoying the warm, night air. The wind was blowing, but not nearly hard enough to become unpleasant. In fact, it just made staying out here more refreshing, especially when paired with the enjoyable silence. The only thing Edwyr could hear was the chirping of bugs in the distance.

Finally, Edwyr looked around himself, realizing that he hadn't given the town much thought until now. It was dark, but the moons above shone brightly enough to show the buildings surrounding him in a different, interesting light. They were all truly made of stone, so unlike what he knew from Sunwood. Edwyr hadn't really heard of anything like this, but then, he hadn't traveled much, and he hadn't read many books about humans back on Aendor either.

Edwyr absently ran his fingers over the rough wall of the inn, tracing the edges of the jagged stone. There was something painted on them, but he couldn't see well enough to figure out if it was supposed to look like something, or if they were simply large dots and swirling lines arranged in random but visually pleasing patterns. He briefly wondered what the humans had used as a lasting paint as it was a very expensive commodity before he wandered off, simply letting the street take him wherever it led. Hopefully, after a walk, he would find falling asleep easier. Based on where the moons were in the sky, it was still much too early to simply wait for his friends and Feyrith to wake up.

The town was empty and quiet, which he liked, as he never liked the company of others when he needed to process his thoughts, but it also made him feel ever slightly on edge. If this were Sunwood, he'd be perfectly calm and relaxed, and he would barely pay attention to where he was even going, but here he didn't have that advantage. Still, as long as he remembered the way back to the inn and no beasts came to attack from the jungle, he had little to worry about.

He didn't stop until he reached what he assumed was the center of the town, and he couldn't help but to stare in surprise at what he was seeing.

There was a pond right there, lined with stone. It was relatively small in comparison to ones Edwyr had seen before, but none of those had been in the middle of a town. Had the humans built Mistglen around it so it could serve as a source of water? He had noticed that the river was farther away from the town than usual, but he hadn't thought anything of it as he had seen a well around here somewhere.

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"Edwyr," said a voice from behind him, making him tense up for a second before he realized who this was. And his mood immediately worsened. Of course it was Feyrith. "Erm, hello."

Edwyr turned his head to look at the other elf, frowning at him as Feyrith walked up to the pond as well. He seemed much more interested in the pond than Edwyr himself, but Edwyr didn't care enough to take offense at that.

"I have asked the locals," Feyrith said, staring intently at the pond. Edwyr could already tell this would be a long lecture. "This pond is entirely artificial. They'd dug a well, and then brought water from it here by themselves, without any magic. Incredible, is it not?"

Seeing the genuine interest and fascination in Feyrith's eyes, Edwyr suddenly found it incredibly difficult to get annoyed with him. Despite his complete lack of tact, Feyrith truly did care, didn't he? Beyond just his duty, Feyrith cared about humans. That was much stranger than Edwyr had thought at first. He'd simply assumed Feyrith saw humans as nothing more than a curiosity, perhaps something to study, but he seemed in awe of them—of what they could do, despite not having magic.

Edwyr had always seen it as the summation of everything that was unfair about the world instead. So much work and thought went into everything humans did and had to do because they couldn't simply wave a staff, say a few words, and fix all of their problems, and it made Edwyr angry every time he thought about it.

Perhaps he and Feyrith should swap lives for a while. He seemed to enjoy being around humans much more than Edwyr. But maybe that had more to do with Feyrith being here by choice than anything else.

As Edwyr studied Feyrith, he tried to figure out why he wasn't angry or even irritated by his presence at the moment. Perhaps he was simply too tired and mentally preoccupied to do so. Either way, he was glad because it was exhausting to be constantly annoyed.

Feyrith cleared his throat, looking at Edwyr directly. "I...wanted to apologize for what I said. In Everward."

Edwyr's eyebrows rose, his eyes widening in surprise. That wasn't what he'd thought Feyrith would say. Ever.

"I meant nothing by it. But I apologize for...upsetting you."

Feyrith was keeping his gaze glued to the pond now, clearly to avoid having to look at him. Edwyr felt an urge to turn this all around and throw it back in Feyrith's face, but he knew that was only a kneejerk reaction. Edwyr didn't truly want to do it, and even though he'd already known that Feyrith hadn't meant to hurt his feelings, it was still nice to hear him realize the problem and apologize for it.

Still, Edwyr couldn't help but feel a bit bitter. He was sure Arbane or Lanna had put Feyrith up to this, but he supposed he should take what he could get. It was the first apology he'd ever gotten from another elf, at least since he'd been deemed Cursed, which was monumental in itself, he supposed. It didn't feel that way, but there was nothing to be done about that.

"Okay," Edwyr replied, letting out a sigh. "Apology accepted."

Feyrith looked surprised, but he bowed his head at him without a word. Edwyr took a moment to appreciate how much lighter this conversation had made him feel, though very soon, the silence became uncomfortable and stifling. And since Feyrith didn't seem to want to say anything, Edwyr had to do it himself.

"Why are you out here in the middle of the night, anyway?"

Feyrith's shoulders seemed to relax a little as he straightened his back. Edwyr almost laughed. He'd thought Feyrith would appreciate the change of subject.

"I woke up a while ago to a noise." Feyrith proceeded to narrow his eyes in thought. "I went to investigate, but I found nothing, and so I thought I could use the time to explore this town since I was awake already."

Edwyr frowned. A noise? That could have been anything, but it must have been something strange or unusual to make Feyrith go investigate it. Edwyr's immediate thought was that this was somehow related to his dream, but he pushed that thought away. That was completely ridiculous. How would a noise even relate to it?

He was getting paranoid.

Still, since he was now thinking about the topic, perhaps he could use this moment of him and Feyrith alone to finally ask about Wyn. He would have to be incredibly subtle about it, however. Feyrith wasn't stupid, and he would pick up on something not being quite right if Edwyr wasn't careful.

"Why are you awake, if I may ask?" Feyrith said, not looking suspicious in the least. Good, at least he didn't suspect anything odd was happening for now.

"I'm not sure. I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk," Edwyr replied, hoping that that would be enough of an explanation. If he were human, he could have simply excused it by having had a bad dream, but obviously, as an elf that would only raise more questions. He would have probably been able to use his affliction as an explanation since Feyrith likely wouldn't know any better, but it was better not to risk it.

"I see." Feyrith let out a small, barely noticeable sigh. "Well, I suppose I will leave you to your walk, then."

Edwyr grimaced. Dammit, he needed to talk with Feyrith. But being so direct about it would seem strange, given how he'd treated him until now. If only he had been better at keeping his anger and resentment to himself. "Actually, I wouldn't mind if I could talk to you about something."

Feyrith eyes widened almost comically, his bright blue irises turning into thin circles. "Truly?" There was both shock and confusion in his tone, even if it was as subtle as ever. But without questioning it further, Feyrith bowed his head again. "Very well. What would you like to talk about?"

Great, now Edwyr had to scramble to put together some kind of inconspicuous question, or at least stall for long enough to distract Feyrith into not thinking anything of the question later.

Thankfully, he was somewhat skilled at improvisation. "How old are you?"

Edwyr assumed the other elf would be shocked once again, but he seemed confused if anything. "Twenty-three."

Edwyr did his best not to let his surprise show on his face. That was even younger than he'd thought. He hadn't even been aware it was possible to ascend the ranks so quickly. "And you were accepted into the Third Circle?"

Feyrith's rather passive expression immediately became much more forced. Edwyr wished it wasn't so dark, so he could more easily spot the subtle changes on Feyrith's face because right now he couldn't tell if the other elf looked nervous or sad. Was he not supposed to tell Edwyr these things? Because Edwyr already knew most of how the elven society worked, for better or for worse, so it wouldn't matter.

"Yes," Feyrith finally confirmed, now very obviously avoiding Edwyr's eyes once again. "That is why I am here. To prove I am worthy of the Council's trust in me."

It would have been so easy to use what Feyrith had just said against him, to mock him. He had been supposed to get help from Edwyr, but surely the Council hadn't actually believed that Edwyr would lend it—not without something in return, and nothing had been offered. Which meant that if Edwyr hadn't come along, Feyrith would have failed not even a third of his journey in. And even if the Council had been too preoccupied with their egos and assumed Edwyr would help, then that meant that this mission rested on the shoulders of a Cursed elf. And none of this was exactly proof of Feyrith's worth, was it?

Spelling any of this out would have hurt Feyrith, more than he had hurt Edwyr by needlessly and without a thought pointing out his lack of magic. Edwyr would be completely justified in saying it. But he didn't.

He wasn't even sure why, but his usual, automatic reaction, which would be to take this opportunity immediately, was nowhere to be found. Perhaps it was because Feyrith looked miserable enough already, from the way he kept staring blankly off somewhere over Edwyr's shoulder.

"Your skill with magic seems...impressive," Edwyr admitted, managing not to grit his teeth as the words left his lips. He'd mostly said it because he wasn't sure what else to say, but it was still true, no matter how much he wanted to pretend otherwise. Edwyr just wished admitting it didn't make him feel quite so hollow inside.

"It doesn't seem to be enough," Feyrith muttered quietly to himself as he bowed his head, but in the silence of the night, Edwyr could easily hear him anyway. He blinked, shocked that Feyrith had just admitted that outright, but he wasn't surprised when Feyrith schooled his face back into perfect neutrality. "Your skill in combat is also impressive, considering...."

Edwyr would have gotten annoyed at once again being reminded of his situation, but he supposed he would accept it, as Feyrith had clearly meant it as a compliment. Elves in general weren't very good at giving those.

"Thank you. I think."

Surprising Edwyr again, Feyrith's neutral mask slipped once more, his eyes turning sad as he let out a soft sigh. "No, I truly mean that." He then bowed his head once more, but it didn't quite look like the normal bow the elves did. The gesture seemed more akin to sorrow or dismay. "I never thought a...an elf like you could be so capable."

Edwyr wasn't sure what to make of that. Was he supposed to feel flattered, or insulted that Feyrith, and likely all the other elves, thought he would be completely useless? But before he could react in any way, Feyrith looked up again, the spark of realization in his eyes. "Oh, I still have the letter Councilor Hellan gave me to give to you."

"Keep it," Edwyr said immediately when he saw Feyrith start to reach for his satchel. He hated that a part of him was morbidly curious what the councilors had written to him. After all, what could they possibly tell him to convince him to help one of their people after they'd exiled him?

But even then Edwyr wanted nothing to do with this or the Council. Especially not now that there was possibly an alternative to living among the humans for him. Edwyr could only speculate on who Wyn actually was, but he was an elf, and he wasn't affiliated with the Council. Unless that was a lie, but Edwyr doubted it—what could they possibly stand to gain by misleading him like this?

But whatever this all meant, Edwyr wanted to find out, and so he had as much of an interest in reaching the ruin as Feyrith did. Whatever offer the Council might have tried giving him, Edwyr could feel it in his bones that whatever Wyn had meant by his destiny would be much better.

But that brought Edwyr back to the question of who Wyn was, and with no subtle way of asking Feyrith.

"Well, if you're certain...." Feyrith sounded a little disappointed but not surprised. "I will do my best to talk about you as favorably as possible in my report when I travel back to Aendor. Despite being...disadvantaged, you are doing what our core mission is supposed to be—helping humans—and your efforts should be recognized."

Edwyr was starting to wonder if Feyrith was drunk. He didn't think Feyrith had drunk anything alcoholic, despite the celebration only a few hours prior, but it was starting to sound like a genuine possibility.

"Don't bother. The Council won't care," Edwyr said, waving his arm dismissively. "And I doubt they would appreciate it."

Feyrith's face stayed perfectly neutral, but if Edwyr didn't know any better, he could swear his eyes had turned almost resentful for a second. "I might be forced to return to the Second Circle after this, anyway. After what happened...."

Edwyr respected that Feyrith was so honest about it and that he said it in the first place. Clearly, it had taken effort, though instead of being angry with the Council, Feyrith seemed to be angry with himself. Edwyr didn't like that very much.

But he couldn't talk about any of that because at last, he had a way to sneak in a question concerning Wyn. Or his situation, at least.

"You couldn't get banished for this, could you?" Edwyr asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Feyrith looked at him with confusion, but still, he seemed to take the question seriously. "Oh no, of course not. Banishment is only meant for.... Well, you know."

For once this didn't annoy Edwyr in the least. "So it can never happen to you?"

Feyrith narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to figure out why Edwyr was asking. "No. Have you heard otherwise?"

It was possible that Feyrith was lying, Edwyr supposed, but it was unlikely. For one, elves didn't lie and therefore weren't skilled at it, and he was also getting the feeling that Feyrith would be extra inept at it. Besides, Edwyr himself had never heard of an elf being banished for any reason other than the Curse.

And so Edwyr simply shrugged, which seemed to convince Feyrith there was nothing other than innocent curiosity at play here. This had probably been his only possibility at finding out who Wyn might be before meeting him. Edwyr couldn't very well ask if the elves who had been sent out into the world had ever gone missing without explaining why he wanted to know, so he had no choice but to walk into this mostly blind.

But despite that unfortunate fact, he had a good feeling about this. He felt like he could trust Wyn, despite his irritating insistence on being as cryptic as possible, and if he wasn't lying, Edwyr would find out about who he was and what he was doing soon enough. Whatever this was, he was ready for it. And with that realization, he finally felt at peace enough to go back.

Excusing himself rather abruptly, for which he earned a slightly puzzled look from Feyrith, Edwyr made his way back towards the inn, taking in a few deep breaths of the fresh, night air before heading inside. Tomorrow they would reach the mountains, and possibly even the ruin. And Edwyr was more than prepared for whatever answers it would bring him.