Ruslan encounters an old man in a cavern who tells him that Ludmila had been abducted by the sorcerer Chernomor (Черномор), but hurries to add it is extremely unlikely he damaged her honor – for all of his magical abilities, Chernomor is powerless before the ravages of old age. The old man himself is a Finn who tells the story of how he had fallen in love with a beautiful young maiden, Naina (Наина), who spurned his attention. In order to win her love he tried to become a glorious warrior, but when she rejected him, spent years learning the magical arts instead. He finally cast a spell to win Naina's love, only to find that she herself was actually an old crone. After he rejected her, she became bent on revenge. Now that Finn had helped Ruslan, Naina will hate him as well.