Van and Alv woke up, got ready, packed everything they needed, and left deeper into the forest. With Alv telling his son to keep close and to not stray too far.

Van was very excited, just as much as he was nervous. This was the first time in his life where he ever felt like he was in an area of serious danger. As they walked down the path to who knows where. He couldn’t help but look around at the majesty of the forest and its unique flora and fauna.

The trees were even larger deeper in the forest than when they first entered. So large were they that the already cloudy nature of the Vampire lands made the forest dark as if it was already nearing night, despite being so early in the morning. Almost as if to combat this, the trees and plants of the forest took to making themselves glow a soft blue light. Lighting up the area with a radiance sometimes comparable to a well-lit town such as his own home. Making it easy to see.

As he was turning his head to take in the sights, he noticed a reddish star-shaped flower with thorns on its petals haphazardly placed in a manner that at first look, didn’t seem that it would be at all effective in deterring any insects that might want to reach out and pluck the globe of honey that was sticking out on its large stamen like protrusion. Taking a closer look, Van realized that it also had a nice sweet smell to it. Curiosity getting the better of him, he took a step closer to view the strange flower and see what else there was to discover. Only to be pulled back by his father, forcing him a whole step back.

With a slight glare towards his son, Alv then took a very small pebble from the ground and flung it at the flower. The flower then shut with an audible snap! Revealing that it was in fact, a small lizard with a five-pronged mouth. The thing then looked at them with two beady black eyes before scampering away.

“The stupid lizard can’t see when it has its mouth open like that, so if something gets to close, it will sometimes instead of waiting for its prey to land on its mouth, jumped at it with a bite. Newbie hunters and the like can find themselves with a wound that's slightly paralytic, numbing a hand or sometimes a part of their face.” Alv said.

He then turned to Van. “never trust a forest that you haven’t become familiar with. And even if you have, still don’t trust it. Let this be a reminder that not everything is as it seems. And that you should keep close to me… and listen to me.”

Van felt a little embarrassed and properly chastised, it wasn't like him to let his guard down so easily. “Sorry… I was just very curious…”

Alv gave a gentle nod, before taking on a more thoughtful expression. “I suppose on the way to our destination, I should show and tell you of a few other dangers we will face out in the forest.”

Then quickly looking around he found something and pointed at a very colorful rainbow-like bird that was very far away, to the point that it had not noticed them. Squinting, Van noticed that its feathers were as if spun by gold, silver, and many beautiful colors. Giving the bird and amazing beauty and elegance.

“That right there.” Alv began, “is a Charm wing, also known as a blood wing, they are very Vain and narcissistic creatures.. Their feathers are highly prized and very valuable. But they are also very dangerous… They use a type of magic on their wings that mesmerize their prey. Luring it to its death and into other predators and then bathing in the blood of their victims, absorbing its life energy into its feathers and wings. As it grows in power, they can hold sway over a small group of monsters to hunt for it or use as food as it so desires. Be very careful not to follow it wherever it leads.”

Van’s eyes widened at that and at the bird off in the distance. Never thinking that such a beautiful creature could be so dangerous.

With that his father set them out to walk again, explaining things as he went. Pointing at trees and plants and what they did and didn’t do. Van’s view of the world around him seemed to widen as he saw large trees with glowing lantern-like fruits that he was told used to be cultivated and used in lighting a long time ago. Pointing at a fungus called an Esophungus, and how if you eat it, it will choke you to death and use your corpse to grow. Chopping a few branches from a tree called a fire oak, who’s wood will burn for hours and sometimes days without going out. Planning to use it for when they decided to make camp. As they walked, all of a sudden Alv stretched out his arm to stop Van from moving any further. Then pointed to a hazy red mist off to the side of their path.

“That there is a bloodthorn.” he said pointing at a very large blood-red fungus with thorns, it was a fungus bigger than the average person. It was surrounded by a red mist about thirty feet around it. “I was not expecting to see this here… I’ll have to tell the rangers about it and have them properly burn it out…”

He then gave a very serious look towards Van. “whatever you do, don’t enter its domain. That red mist is its spores and if it touches you, you will become infected with it. Once you die, the spores will grow all over your body and reanimate your corpse. Attacking anything that might enter into the blood thorns domain. Normally we leave them alone since they are a hassle to deal with… but this one is a little too close to the main camp for comfort. A lot of newbies can die from this…” he said

Just then something moved on the ground within the red mist. What at first Van thought was another collection of fungus, was actually a corpse that slowly got up to move around the blood thorn before settling down once more.

Such a sight sickened Van and made a ball of dread grow in the pit of his stomach and his hairs stand on end. He had to remind himself again that this world wasn’t like the nice and safe worlds that some of his past lives had. Where they could just go anywhere without any real fear of danger or loss of life. It made him second guess his dreams of adventuring and how truly feasible it would truly be. It made him want to go home…

With a sharp shake of his head, Van dispelled those thoughts. Taking a deep breath and trying to fill himself back up with the determination he had before to continue on. He wasn’t going to give up just because things were a little more dangerous than he first thought they were. If he didn’t overcome this, then he might as well just strap himself to the bed and let himself be used like any good male would. And be nothing but a breeder or stud. That was not the life Van wanted. He knew there was more in life for him than just that. And he wanted to see how far he could go.

From the corner of his eye. Alv saw the rapid change in his son’s expression and seeing the determination, nodded to himself in pride at the last look on Van’s face that he showed. An expression of determination. With that Alv brought out his Vespera bangle and made a call to the main campsite. Telling them of what he found and its coordinates. With that done he gently snapped Van out of his thoughts and the two began their walk once more.

A few hours of walking later they finally made it to an old abandoned campsite in a clearing in the woods. The campsite was surrounded by glow petals and chime flowers, giving it a very beautiful and peaceful looking sight.

Making camp, Alv gave instructions to his son on how to properly set up a fire pit and then the barriers stones. Connecting the barrier stones to a mana orb in which they can draw their power on. Soon their encampment had a nice shimmering wall that surrounded it. Van tested the barrier by walking back and forth inside and outside its protective walls. Each time a funny tingle would pass through his body. Alv watching in amusement.

Starting the fire. Alv brought out some of the fire oak wood he collected and set up the bedrolls. Taking out tents and pots and pans from his bag to add to the collection of camp tools that they will be using in their time in the woods.

After warming up a quick meal on the fire. Alv sat down next to Van to eat and tell him how things are going to work from now on.

“Van… this should go without saying but… listen to everything I say when we are out here. Don’t go wandering off on your own. Don’t go touching or smelling or gods forbid, tasting anything you shouldn’t. I know you probably already know this, but it needs saying anyway. This world is dangerous… this forest is dangerous… and you are not ready to take it on without some learning and help along the way…” Alv said, looking Van in the eye.

“You have come far since you were a child. But while it is true you have grown strong… I have noticed that you don’t utilize your strength, or for that matter, even realize how strong you truly are… I believe this might be in a small part due to your past lives. You are very logical Van… but you are also very adamant on how things should be. Unless shown that it is possible, you won’t believe in it…. If I didn’t show you what I could do with aura, you wouldn’t believe it was possible to jump so high or to move so quickly, or a number of other things…” he then leaned forward.

“Van… you have a mental block that seems to be keeping yourself from using your true potential. And that's why we are here, we are going to try to get you to understand that…” Alv tried to look for the proper words, but not finding them, just decided to say what he felt on the matter. “That, you should try and believe in the impossible… as illogical as that sounds… you keep using the science and physics of your past lives when even you have acknowledged that in some cases they contradict each other. While using this knowledge has made you smart, it also made it hard for you to understand new concepts that don’t follow its pre-set rules.”

“Van… I want you to tell me about your past lives. What you think is true, and everything else as well. Let's go over those memories and see what can be used and what can’t. As well as a few other things…” he then tried to explain his desire to better know Van, to know his son. To figure out where they both went wrong and how to help Van overcome this mental block.

“Van… tell me. What do you remember about your past lives?” Alv asked.

Van never thought he would be put on the spot like this. His parents always just silently accepted him for who he was and never asked and pointed questions about what memories he may or may not have. Nor did it ever occur to him that his past lives might be getting in the way of his progress. But as he traveled through the forest, and saw all the fantastical sights it had to offer. He knew that his worldview on how things work was naive at best and stupid at worst. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his thoughts on what to say. His father waited patiently for him to begin.

“This might be a little hard to believe… but… I actually don’t have any concrete memories of my past lives. When I was born… I just felt… awake… like all the cloudy and foggy nature of a newborn mind just wasn’t there. I was aware… with strange concepts and ideas that I couldn’t place. There weren't any flashbacks or direct knowledge of any past lives. I still was an empty slate… well… mostly empty…” Van took a deep breath once more and let it go.

“When I was learning math with Lorenzo, things just clicked into place… I didn’t know what math was beforehand. But when I started learning it… the concepts and knowledge on how it should work just… kinda… fitted together… like a puzzle piece connecting to another. It's why I didn’t always question everything around me. When there were more women than men around, I chalked it up to being a cultural thing, or that it was just the hiring method. When I thought I figured something out, I didn’t question it because I couldn’t believe I could be wrong. I felt like I had a hundred examples as to why I was right. But if you asked me why I probably couldn't’ even give you one…”

He then looked up at the empty air. Looking at something far away. “When you told me how the planets worked that day. It was like I already knew it, before ever hearing about it. As if the knowledge was always there in my mind… I would then immediately think, ‘huh just like my past lives said was true’, despite never actually experiencing the memories of that or whether or not that was actually true…”

“I read a book about someone who said they had a past life. They talk about things their past life remembered. And as I was reading it, many of the things he said made sense… but… if someone asked me what my past life or lives was. I couldn’t tell them because I couldn’t remember…”

Van then gave an annoyed look. “It's like always having something on the tip of your tongue that can never be said. An incomplete thought. A distant memory. A question you know the answer to but can’t remember. You just know it when you know it, or you know it's true even if you don’t know why. It was only recently that I was finally able to learn a little more about my past lives thanks to my complete soul realm. But even then I have never been able to experience them first hand…”

“But… I was told that that was a good thing. That it just means that I am more myself and less the others. That I am I and not a past memory.” he said, thinking back to that conversation he had with Ren.

But you're right. There are a few things we need to talk about, to go over.” Van looked at his father, eyes filled with determination. “ I want to grow strong and live my life the way I want to and not be dedicated by anyone, whether by those who are in my present, or those who are in my past.”

Alv almost felt like tearing up a little. While he didn’t fully understand everything. He knew through seeing into his son’s eyes alone that he reached a powerful conclusion that should he follow, will lead him to great things. “And I will help you every step of the way,” he said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder.

With that, the two talked throughout the night about Van’s past memories and what he did or did not remember. Clearing up a few misconceptions and thoroughly explaining a few misunderstandings. Alvaroz never felt closer to his son than now. They both opened up to each other and he accepted all of his son's questions without an ounce of prejudice.

The two talked for hours, sometimes laughing about some of the misunderstandings that Van had, all in good fun and humor. Van in turn learned a little more about his father’s life growing up. About his older sister who was meant to be the heir of the barony. About the mistakes he made and many more.

As they talked, Van realized who his father was. This was his element, not the castle or the town, or being a ruler. But a man out in the woods, talking it up with his companions. In a way, he somewhat forgave his father for his failings. Just like he said, he was never meant to be the ruler. But he is trying his best. Especially considering everything he had been through. Learning about what happened to him and Thea and the others. Made Van’s blood boil with anger. And he silently vowed that if he was ever strong enough and if he ever crossed paths with those people. He would pay them back for everything they did.

Finishing up their meal and their talks, the two went to their beds to prepare for what tomorrow brings. But of their heads filled with thoughts of the conversation they had. And both feeling like a weight was lifted off their shoulders.

Varenes

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