Nathan did not understand what Enarys meant when she said she wanted to show him her culture. Then he did not understand why she suddenly led him to a forest somewhat far away from the mansion, behind what seemed to be a summer house of Enarys' family.
"What are we doing here?" asked Nathan questioning Enarys' intentions.
"I told you before, I'm going to show you my culture" Enarys said as she led him down a dirt path through the rainforest.
Nathan asked no more questions and hesitantly followed Enarys.
'Not wearing a mask feels refreshing. The fresh air hitting my face... I had forgotten about it' Nathan thought, breathing deeply in the fresh forest air.
He had no idea where Enarys was taking him, but somehow he felt relaxed. Then in the distance he heard the faint sound of a waterfall.
A short time later they both reached a small waterfall that fell into a small lake. Nathan frowned as he realized that the only sound around was that of the waterfall, but compared to when they were on their way he could not hear any birds or insects.
"Oh? I didn't think I would see you again so soon, Enarys. I remember you wanted to leave the archipelago with all your soul, what made you come back so quickly?" said a voice suddenly, surprising Nathan.
Enarys smiled and turned around to look at the man with the naked torso emerging from within the undergrowth.
"Grandpa!" cried Enarys like a little girl as she ran to hug the man, stopping at the last second seeing that he was covered in dirt from walking naked through the woods.
"Grandpa?" asked Nathan in surprise as the man in front of him didn't look a day over 30 years old. His hair was completely black, and his eyes were a purple color just like Enarys'.
The only distinguishing feature of the man was the large horizontal scar on his forehead and his completely muscular body. But the man was not that tall, only slightly taller than Nathan, and his body, although muscular, was not very large.
The man greeted Enarys and then looked at Nathan. "Who is your companion?"
Enarys turned and pointed at Nathan with an open palm. "This is Nathan Aeterna, I bring him here to teach him about our culture"
Enarys' grandfather smiled and massaged his chin devoid of any facial hair. "Our culture? Why not, I suppose it was good to show our first visitor what we do in the northern islands" Suddenly the man tilted his head and frowned slightly, watching Nathan carefully. "Aeterna? That rings a bell... Ah, I remembered!"
The man walked over to Nathan and put his hands on Nathan's shoulders. "I take it you're Lionel's grandson?"
Nathan blinked several times in surprise when he heard the man. "Do you know my grandfather?" asked Nathan astonished.
The man nodded vigorously. "Ask him about Abel Shraon, he will surely remember me... even though it was over fifty years ago. Wait... He is alive, isn't he?" asked Abel with a pale expression.
Nathan was surprised for a few seconds and sighed internally. "Yes... he's still alive"
Nathan's grandfather had been out of the territory for more than 15 years. The last time he had seen him was on his fourth birthday and he could barely remember his face.
He knew that the news of the death of his grandfather, the former leader of his family, would be hard news to ignore, so he assumed he was still alive even if he had not seen him for more than a decade.
Abel sighed and released Nathan. "Thank goodness. There are few of us left alive from that era, old age is a terrible thing, don't you think?"
Nathan remained silent, trying to guess Abel's real age. He had said that it had been fifty years since he had seen his grandfather, so he must at least be around sixty to seventy years old.
"Yeah, I guess so" Nathan replied somewhat confused.
"I like you boy, plus I can see a lot of potential in you. Worthy of Lionel's offspring" suddenly Abel changed his relaxed expression and looked at Nathan seriously. "But I can sense quite a bit of negative energy around you. It's not normal"
Nathan tilted his head slightly. "Negative energy?"
Abel shook his head slightly. "You may have a lot of potential, but if something's holding you back you're never going to move forward. We need to take care of that"
"Are you going to take care of it, Grandfather?" asked Enarys who had been silently observing the conversation between Abel and Nathan.
Abel nodded without looking at her. "Yes, it's always good to train enthusiastic young men... even though the last one died" he whispered the last part, but still Nathan was able to hear him.
'What is he going to do to me?, can I refuse? Besides, what's this about negative energy' Nathan asked himself as he looked into the purple eyes of his grandfather's supposed friend.
"Then I'll leave him in your care. I'll be back in a week" Enarys said casually before turning and starting to walk away.
"You're just going to leave me like that?!" exclaimed Nathan.
Enarys just held up her hand waving goodbye to Nathan. "Good luck"
"Don't worry kid, we're surely going to have a good time" said Abel lightly touching his head. "First, let's see what you're made of"
Nathan frowned slightly. "Enarys promised me no realms"
Abel looked at him slightly stunned. "Why, are you afraid of dying? do you consider yourself weak? Never mind, we're not going to a realm anyway. I'm going to test you right here in this forest"
Nathan felt slightly reassured that he would not have to face calamities. It wasn't that he was afraid of these, he simply wanted to rest for a while and focus on training by himself.
"You just follow me, I will teach you our culture correctly as my granddaughter wants. After all we have to watch over the youth"