"We move forward in time," Jinn declared as the world once again began to fade out around the group. "Only a matter of hours, but hours still containing nonessential information."

"…this all feels pretty essential, even if in a roundabout way," Jaune said uncertainly as the background once again began to resemble a featureless white void. He looked up at the towering spirit with an expression of frustration, and oddly enough, she returned it. "You can't just… bend the rules a little bit? Show us a little extra so we understand better? I mean, we still don't know anything about the whole war…"

Jinn let out a sigh, though it seemed more for effect than anything as the sky grew dark and unfamiliar ground manifested beneath them all once again.

"She can't even answer that," Ilia mumbled as she held out a hand to try to catch some of the suddenly falling snow. Predictably, it fell right through her palm and onto the ground below. "Must be one hell of a spell on her, if that's even what it is…"

Jinn exchanged a look with Ilia, though she said nothing at all. The spirit closed her eyes and tilted her head downward while sweeping an enormous arm over the space and summoning up all sorts of background detail. A snow-covered mountain path, winding and pocked with uneven stairs hewn from what appeared to be natural stone wound its way up the side of an enormous peak. Stars and a strangely whole moon hung overhead as Salem and her daughters ascended just ahead of Sun. He recognized Fiorella walking just behind the witch, though the next two in line were as of yet unfamiliar.

One of the remaining Maidens was a tall, fair-skinned young woman with short blonde hair in a spiky, unkempt style. She wore simple leather armor that left much of her scarred arms exposed, likely to show off her impressive muscles. Her eyes glowed just like her sisters', though they were a unique and icy pale blue among their number. At the warrior woman's side was a shorter Maiden who appeared about the same age, her deep red hair organized into a meticulous braid that hung down to the small of her back. The final girl's eyes were an eerie yellow, and she was dressed in what looked to be sorcerer's robes with only small sections of armor affixed to them. Each of the Maidens, as well as Fiorella, were carrying traveler's packs of varying sizes on their backs. The entire party looked exhausted… and their journey had clearly only just begun.

"Salem led her daughters toward the God of Light's domain, hoping for answers… and vengeance," Jinn narrated. "Their spirits were low. None among their number but Salem herself believed that it could be done… but still, they pressed on in the vain hope of being able to save their father. And so, they climbed."

A dragging noise caused the hairs on the back of Sun's neck to stand on end. Blake flinching beside him told him that he wasn't the only one caught off guard, and he instinctively moved to shield her from whatever incorporeal threat was behind them. The majority of their friends followed his gaze, only to find Astrid at the back of the group with a rope slung over her shoulder. The length was attached to a long, ornately decorated box on wheels, and the sight caused Sun's face to fall as the Summer Maiden dragged it along. Astrid was already pouring sweat early into the journey, though she had a look of determination upon her face as she soldiered on. There was an enchantment upon the wheels of the transport to help them glide along the rough steps, but it only seemed to be helping so much. The magic of the spell was strong enough that Sun could feel it even in an illusory approximation… or perhaps instead, he was feeling the concentration of magic within the box instead.

Sun was again caught off guard as the scene shifted, jumping them all farther up the mountainside. The box had changed hands to the blonde Maiden with Astrid leading the pack, spear in hand. Another jump forward and the moon was directly overheard. Salem and her daughters had created a firepit and erected tents on a flattened section of the climb. Qrow watched the gathering for mere seconds before walking toward the edge of the area and looking downward instead.

"…we're only about a quarter of the way up the mountain," the man declared. "You can see the castle from here. Barely."

"They left the kingdom undefended?" Raven asked as she joined her brother's side. "Well… relatively. You would think at least one of the Maidens would have stayed behind…"

Alice was the next to join the lineup, hands on her hips as she stood at Qrow's other side.

"I mean, makes sense t'me, really. If you're gonna beg for someone to break the rules, even a literal god, bringing the kids of the dead along as showpieces for pity ups your chances. Salem's a shrewd bitch, as far as I can tell."

"…who are you again?" Qrow asked the woman, more confused than anything.

"Sun," came the call from deeper in the camp, snapping the faunus out of his thoughts. He looked toward the sound of the voice to find Cinnamon addressing him with a serious look on her face. "We're being shown this for a reason. I would suggest we split up and examine the camp site before Jinn blinks us ahead again. There's got to be something useful here. Something that tells us a little bit about what's going on."

"Right. Yeah," Sun agreed as he looked up at Jinn. The spirit seemed almost distracted, gazing off over the horizon to parts unknown and saying nothing. "Start looking, people. Anything of value, anything that seems important, make a mental note."

Blake let go of Sun's hand with a nod and wandered closer to the fire pit where Salem and her daughters sat upon fallen logs. Their conversation was eerily silent- the faunus could see their lips moving, but the women made no sound. From their facial expressions, Blake could tell that there was an argument going on- the blonde Maiden seemed infuriated, while Salem regarded her with narrow-eyed scrutiny. Astrid said something that drew both of their attention before standing up and stomping away from the fire and into the nearby tree line. Nothing was said afterward, and Blake took the opportunity to try to sit on the log next to Salem.

The faunus tumbled straight through it and landed on the ground, her lower body inside of the wood as she fell squarely on her butt.

"…bullshit spirit-realm rules…" Blake mumbled to herself as she scooted closer to Salem, looking the woman over from a distance of mere inches. With a sigh, she got up on one knee and leaned in even more as something around the witch's neck caught her eye… and her breath in her throat. "Is that…?"

There upon a simple chain was a small bauble dangling just above Salem's chest. It was an odd shape with silver accents around its top and bottom and some sort of smooth, blue stone in its center. No magic or aura or anything else seemed to radiate from it, but Blake recognized it immediately. It was a smaller version of the Lamp of Knowledge, worn as a mere accessory.

Blake stumbled backward and fell once again as Salem raised a hand up and through her chin, addressing one of her daughters. As the hand came up, Blake caught sight of a wedding band upon Salem's finger. The ring was a simple, thin, silver length with laurels on either side of its center, and the faunus recognized it immediately. It was the same design as that found in the emblem of Beacon Academy… and very like the Crown the Choice.

"Sun!" Blake called, turning her head back to see where he had gone off to. "I think… I think I found the Relics!"

Sun didn't bother to look back at her. He was stood over the rolling box that the Maidens had been dragging, only to find that the top of it was covered by a transparent sheet of glass partially covered by snow. Within the box was exactly what he had expected- a body, its eyes closed and hands clasped over its chest. Though he didn't recognize the handsome man lying silent within the coffin, he knew exactly who it was… and what the sword and staff on either side of him were as well.

"…yeah," Sun called. "Me too. Ozma's weaponry…"

"Salem's jewelry," Blake stated as she jogged over to meet him, waving some of their companions to follow her as she went. "But the colors, they're all…"

"Wrong," Sun finished for her as he turned to look at the girl. "It's all just… silver. Unenchanted, and dull. I can feel magic radiating from Ozma's body, but nothing from the Relics. What's going on here…?"

"Days passed as they ascended," Jinn said suddenly as the scene began to fade.

"No!" Sun yelled, looking up at her. "There's more here that we need to know! Don't just skip ahead!"

Jinn once again closed her eyes, ignoring the faunus as she moved her hands to begin creating the new backdrop.

"There were many arguments along the way, and more than once, a daughter of Salem threatened to leave the others. Eventually, though, they did reach the mountaintop- the realm of the God of Light."

Sun let out a low growl as he turned in place, observing the mountaintop. His anger soon gave way to slack-jawed confusion as more and more details were filled in. The snow and bleakness of the mountain seemed to stop suddenly with the final step before the apparent realm, and the climate shifted entirely. Where before there were only evergreen trees covered in snow, there was a forest of exotic trees and plants unlike any the boy had ever seen forming a wide circle around the perimeter of the summit. The ground itself was covered by lush grass, and not a single snowflake was to be seen among the blades. A warm, heady haze engulfed the entirety of surroundings, seemingly coming from the waterfalls spilling over a raised semicircle of rock almost a quarter mile away at the opposite end of the mountaintop. The incomplete ring of rock surrounded a massive crater, and a staircase of perfectly carved marble led up above it and to a large circular platform suspended high above it.

"Finally here," Astrid said from just behind Sun before walking straight through him, dragging the coffin as she went. "Should he not be up on that platform?"

"He should be," Salem agreed. The woman looked breathless and angry, her eyes narrowed and expression twisted into a scowl. "Though for all it took to get here, he should be coming down to meet us. Come."

"I almost admire the attitude," Yang considered as she led the group in following Salem toward the staircase. "It does seem like a bit of a dick move to make her march up to that altar, or whatever it is. A literal god should've been watching them all climb…"

"Unless he isn't in favor of their ascent," Corsac replied. "I have a terrible feeling about all of this."

"Yeah, you're not the only one," Harriet agreed as she walked along at the blonde Maiden's side. "Doesn't help that I feel drawn to this one. She's gotta be the original Winter. Our magical connection is freaking out, and I don't know why."

"I feel much the same," Raven agreed as the group began to ascend the stone steps to the dais. "The little one- Fiorella. She is Spring…"

"Then the redhead is Fall," Sun reasoned, "considering Astrid was introduced as Summer. I guess that m-"

"God of Light!" Salem roared as she made her way up to the ceremonial stone circle, finding its surface scoured with a golden emblem that none present recognized. "I come as your loyal servant to make a request and demand explanation!"

The group paused as they reached their destination, spreading out to occupy the edge nearest to the staircase. Almost predictably, there was nothing waiting for them but the glyph and a tall, bright blue crystal towering over them at the far end of the platform.

"…he isn't here," Astrid spat. "All this effort, and he can't even be bothered to meet us…"

"Perhaps he is otherwise occupied," the redheaded sorceress Maiden suggested as she looked up at her sister. "Dealing with something outside of his realm."

"Nothing is more important than this," Salem asserted as she stomped toward the center of the platform. "Where are you!? Show yourself to me, oh supposed God!"

Fiorella's eyes widened and she jogged forward, sounding worried.

"Mother, w-we shouldn't act l-"

"Answer me!" Salem demanded, ignoring the little one as she advanced. "Ozma and I have served you for years- decades- and this is our reward!? Or were you never really here at all…"

"Mother, calm yourself!" Astrid hissed as she abandoned the coffin and moved to join her sister. "Our odds are better if you remain humble…"

"I've grown tired of being humble," Salem seethed as she continued across the platform and made her way toward the crystal at the far end. The giant pillar stood almost fifty feet in the air, its base triple Salem's arm span in width. "If he won't answer me, then perhaps I'll just have to get his attention."

"Don't do anything to that!" Fiorella warned. "There is magic within! Powerful magic!"

"I am well aware," Salem hissed as she arrived at the base of the crystal and narrowed her eyes at it. "What is this? And who are you?"

Sun made it up to the crystal in time to watch a figure trapped within the stone become visible just beyond the surface. The captive put a blue hand up to the inside of the crystal as it watched Salem curiously.

"I am Jinn," the spirit within the oversized gem answered as another, similar figure floated forward to hover at her side. "And this is my brother, Ambrosius."

Author's Note:

Next week- some answers on what the Relics are… and a little bit about the spirits themselves.

-RD