At first it was a bit awkward. Fox and I didn't talk for a few days, until everything quieted down, and some time passed. She broke the ice first by asking "What exactly did you do throughout almost six years?". I said "Training. Someone visited you a few years ago right?". She nodded, and asked "Yes, who was that anyway?". I replied "A sort of my master. He was the one who saved my ass, after the Royals almost killed me. He and the other two "taught" me about three Forbidden Arts".
She suddenly stopped, and asked "Three?". I nodded, and said "Yes three. The Art of Stealth, which you know about. The Art of Hidden Weapons, which you should be aware of too". She nodded, and asked "And the third?". I replied "The Art of War". She looked at me confused, and asked "Art of War? There are no wars around". I smiled, and said "These days, people call it Art of Rage".
She looked at me for a while, and asked "You are pulling my leg right? There is no such thing as Art of Rage or War, right?". I released my Bloodlust Aura, and asked "There isn't?". She stumbled backwards, and almost fell to the ground. I retrieved my Aura and waited for her to gain back her footing. A while later, she asked "What exactly was that… Disgusting and full of killing intent Aura…?". I replied "It's my Aura. Call it however you like. You have no idea what stuff I had to go through, in order to fully tame it".
She asked "You want to say that three master in the Forbidden Arts, were your teachers?". I nodded, and replied "Pretty much. I also visited Elysian Empire. Although a brief visit, I came back with mixed feelings". She asked shocked again "You've been there?". I said "Yep. Turns out that practitioners of the Forbidden Arts are allowed in". She laughed for a bit, and said "You are indeed something else. I sat there in Ortava doing pretty much nothing all day, while you became a figure that even Royals have to be careful around…".
I said "Not without costs. I had my share of pain along the way. Getting beaten up everyday, is not my idea of holiday either. You regret going with me?". She shook her head, and said "No. I'm weaker than you, that much is apparent, but I can also improve". I said "There's no need to push yourself…", but then I realised I was always doing just that. I changed my mind, and said "Actually, it's good. You have something to work towards, a goal". She nodded, and asked "Can you teach me?".
I was a bit… surprised? 'Can I teach her? I already have one student…' I thought. I asked "What do you want me to teach you?". She replied "The Forbidden Arts". I asked "All of them?". She shook her head, and said "Not that Art of War, or whatever. The other two". I said "The Art of Hidden Weapons is also not for you". She asked "Why?". I said "There are specific conditions you need to fulfil. You are not fit to learn that Art".
She pestered me more, and asked for the conditions. I said, "First of all, you need to experience slavery. You didn't, so that already is a no deal. Besides, you have to learn it yourself. I can show you things, but you will not master anything. You can spend that time on something else instead". She asked "Then what about the Art of Stealth?". 'Hmmm… There are no conditions to learn it. She has potential, but does she have a mindset?' I asked myself.
I replied "I can introduce you. You will have to figure everything else out by yourself. I'm no master either, all I can do is show you how to train". She nodded, and said "I'm alright with that". I nodded and said, "In that case, we will start from the basics. By the way, you are not allowed to use your Aura. It might be convenient for you now, but it will not teach you anything". She asked "So what do I do?".
I said "Let's check your balance" and began chopping down some trees. I then chiselled the logs, and finally created some wooden poles. I placed them on the ground vertically, making sure they would stay that way. With that taken care of, I said "Just go from one pole to another". She looked at the poles, and jumped up. Her balance was not bad, but she still crashed to the ground. 'I think I made the poles a bit too tall. Ah whatever' I thought. She stood up, and said "It's impossible!". I asked "Is it?", and jumped on top of a pole. I stood there, without the pole moving at all. I then jumped to the next pole, then the next and so on. After I traversed around 10 poles, I jumped down and said "Turns out it is possible".
She stared at me for a while, and asked "What sort of hell, did you go through?". I laughed, and replied "Actually? I learned this around 15 years ago. This is nothing compared to what I did recently. Alright, try again". She fell off a few times and asked, "Can't you just catch me?". I replied "Land by yourself, don't you have fully working legs? If you prefer to use your ass as a cushion, that is your choice". She muttered "Bastard", and tried again.
This was actually many times harder, than what I used to practice. Not only we were inside a forest, so the poles were much more unstable. The poles were also taller, and varied in height a lot more. 'If she wants to learn, this difficulty should be nothing' I thought. About an hour later, she gave up. I could see her rubbing her butt, from all the falling. She turned towards me, and said "You know about medicine right? Give me some!".
I replied "I have none", which was an obvious lie. She looked at me for a while, and asked "You sure?". I nodded, and said "I'm. Alright, let's go now. You can practice that as we travel". She gave up on the idea of getting some medicine from me, and followed. We would repeat that every day. She would fall many times, but every time I told her to train, she persisted. This was promising, if she didn't have the perseverance, this would be pointless.
We were about to arrive at the Savala Village, so I told her to stop the training for now. A few guards stopped us at the gate, with spears pointed at us. I said "Relax will ya? I'm Nex". The guards stood there bewildered, but didn't lower their weapons. One of them said, "Anyone can just claim that". I said "Anyone can kill you and enter. Your point?". They looked at each other, and one of them said "Prove it!". I took a step forward, and disappeared from their view. Before they could even react, I knocked them out unconscious. "Here is your proof".
Fox said alarmed, "I think they meant your identity… What now?". I said "Nothing, this is my home. How can they even punish me for that. I wouldn't be surprised if those two got punished instead… Don't worry though, I will tell uncle to actually reward them". She asked "Huh? Why? Didn't they fail?". I said "Against me? They already did a good job not letting me in. They are supposed to keep strangers away, and they did their jobs… sort of".
We headed straight to Finch's house. When I knocked on the doors, a familiar figure opened them. "Yes…Do we know each… other?". I smiled, and replied "Don't you recognise me? Well, I guess I changed a bit, didn't I?". She rushed over, and grabbed me into a hug. "Nex, you are back home! We heard what happened from Paul, it's good that you are alright". After she released me from her hug, she asked "Who might this be… Your wife?". Fox replied flustered "No no, we are not... Just call me Fox… Nice to meet you!".
Tina smiled, and said "I'm Tina, Nex's aunt. Nice to meet you too. Come inside guys". We entered the house, and sat in the living area. Finch came down as well. He must've heard my voice already, so he knew we came over. "Nex! You've grown up a lot! That beard, and long hair… You should trim them you know". He then looked at Fox, and said "Ladies like well groomed men". I just rolled my eyes, and asked "How are you guys doing? I assume you didn't have any problems".
Finch replied "No, none at all. In fact, a few of the guys broke through their Inner Limits. This is the strongest village of them all… I think". I nodded and said "Great, just don't flaunt that strength". He replied "Of course, I'm no idiot". I asked "Where is Norty, Haily and Aron?". He replied "Aron went out to train himself. He comes back once in a while. I think he should be back in a week or so. Haily found a husband, and lives in another village with him. They travel around too, so they rarely visit this place now. As for Norty? He and his wife took your advice".
I asked "What do you mean?". Finch smiled, and said "I became a granddad. Their daughter Lana is two years old already". I smiled, and said "You guys changed as well. What about Paul?". Finch nodded and said, "He is here. We provided everything he wanted, and he now works at the workshop. He thanked us, but we owe him a lot more, right?". I nodded and said "Treat him well. This man and his family, it was worth to make them our friends. They are good people".
Finch asked "But more importantly, what were you doing past those few years?". I smiled, and said "It's a long story". He replied "We have time". I nodded, and narrated some of the things I did during those years. I didn't mention everything, but I did tell them about Elysians. Finch asked shocked, "You visited Elysians? How are they, what does the place look like?". I said "Elysians… are weird. Their Empire is beautiful though. One of a kind I might even say".
I then recalled something, and said "Oh, you should reward those guys at the gate. They are doing their jobs properly. I knew people would have a hard time recognising me, but they stood their ground". Finch replied "Of course. The warriors we train here, will only let in certain people. We do trade and such, but we limit the information that escapes our home. We get some curious strangers, but after they spy for a while, they leave. No one is aware of anything, which is a good thing". "That's good to hear".
Finch smiled, and asked "So! Have you come back for good? You know you can settle here. There are houses available, just chose one". I shook my head, and said "I will be leaving for a long time now. I just came over to say farewell". Tina asked "Going so soon? But you only just arrived". I smiled and replied, "I still have something to take care of here, but we will be leaving today". Finch asked "What's that?". I said with a grin, "You will see in a few years time. Don't worry, it will be very beneficial to you guys". He was confused, but didn't probe anymore.
I turned towards Fox, and said "You can stay with them, while I take care of something". She shook her head, and quickly said "I will go with you". I stopped her while saying, "Just stay with them, they don't bite. It won't take long, besides it's a private matter". She sat back down, and agreed. I left the house, and headed towards Olav's place. 'I wonder how she's doing?' I asked myself.