The land of Terramis was filled with many mysteries. Just based on the historical lore passed down through generations it was evident that there was more to the world than meets the eye. The sheer number of stories that mentioned the rise and fall of empires and the destruction caused by people and beasts alike.
However, the once boisterous and prosperous Land had declined into a state of isolation and passiveness. Along with that decline, was the disappearance of all the threatening creatures than used to run amok across the land. No one knew what caused such a thing but this was the case nonetheless. At the very least Craig didn't know the reason.
And so, there wasn't any knowledge related to anything like Transcendents and the like. Learning something like this from Avanelle put Craig in a thoughtful state of mind.
If Transcendents already existed way back in Avanelle's time, then they naturally weren't a current phenomenon. That meant that they had been around for over five thousand cycles, and even longer. Yet, there had never been any mention of them during his twenty nine years of living. In that case, where are they and what were they doing?
The term seven families passed through Craig's head at this point. Rakan was definitely referring to families of Transcendents when he said this. Thus, who were these seven families and where were they?
A picture with a lot of gaps was being painted in Craig's mind as he thought of these things. He deduced that, these matters were being controlled and covered up by the powers that be. If he wanted answers to these questions, he would have to seek it out from those who would have them.
"The royals and nobles." He muttered unintentionally.
Avanelle gave him a perplexed look? His response didn't make any sense. She had just told him that Transcendents were corrupted. What did that have to do with royals and nobles? Then again, corruption ran deep there as well. "I was referring to the Transcendents you know?"
Craig snapped out of his thoughts as her words reached him. "Huh? Oh sorry I was just thinking out loud." He explained. He had truly gone deep into his thoughts. His eyes fixed onto her once more. "Speaking of Transcendents being born from a Cursed Lake, wouldn't that mean that Spirit Lakes can also give birth to Transcendents?" He asked. This was one of the things that crossed his mine after she explained the origin of Transcendents.
Avanelle smiled and replied, "Not exactly. Indeed Spirit Lakes also cause animals to evolve, however they're different from those evolved from a Cursed Lake."
"Different how?"
"Transcendents were originally called Cursed Beasts because of their connection to Cursed Lakes. However it was changed over time after people realised that not all of them were evil. Cursed Beast didn't bode well for those who were good and it also instilled a form of fear when people heard it. In light of that the term Transcendent was used to differentiate the good from the bad. Then at some point it just became a general term for them all."
"That curse energy, or corruption energy is what makes them different. Their ability to absorb source energy is a result of their corruption energy. In comparison, those that evolve from a Spirit Lake are known as Spirit Beasts which was also generalised into Divine Spirits for the same reason. They're non aggressive and incapable of absorbing source energy. An example of a Divine Spirit would be a Unicorn or a pegasus."
There was really all of this mysterious knowledge associated with Spirit Lakes? Craig had a whole new understanding of the world around him. He couldn't believe he was this clueless about his surroundings. Albeit, he surely wasn't the only one that didn't know these things. He was certain that majority of or probably the entire human population was just like him. This new knowledge would help him greatly in the coming future.
Avanelle suddenly dropped another eye opening piece of knowledge.
"You should know, it isn't only animals that can end up evolving from the effects of a Cursed Lake or Spirit Lake." She proclaimed. "Humans, Orcs, elves and my race as well as others. We can all be affected by them one way or another."
"Really?" Craig blurted in surprise. That would mean that Greymont's words weren't entirely accurate. If so then didn't that mean they could potentially all become Transcendents or Divine Spirits? He didn't hesitate to voice the question. "So does that mean we could all become Transcendents or Divine Spirits?"
Avanelle nodded. "Potentially yes. Which was why any discovered Spirit or Cursed Lakes would always cause a major stir to take place. New races and creatures were being born all the time, causing a whole lot of chaos around Terramis in my time. Why do you think I'm curious about the state of Terramis right now. It should have been overrun with Transcendents and Divine Spirits. Yet that doesn't seem to be the case."
Craig now understood why she was so surprised that he didn't know what a Transcendent was. It seemed like Terramis had a much greater history than anyone knew about. Or maybe it was just him that knew the wrong people. A feeling of desire welled up inside him. A desire to learn the truth about his homeland and the reason behind its mysterious absence of cognizance.
His mind settled. He had so many things to ask Avanelle about but he didn't feel like now was the right moment to get into an in depth conversation about the past. He intended to return and gather as much knowledge as she knew after he was done with his mission. "If I hadn't met you I'd have died a useless idiot. I would have died without truly living or knowing anything. I have a shit load of questions for you but right now I need to go back and help my friends."
"Aren't you concerned about this?" She raised her corrupted arm. She was deeply concerned about it and wanted to find a way to get rid of it. Craig however, didn't seem all that concerned, as if to him it was just corruption energy, so what?
"I am concerned about it." He replied. "That said, don't you know how we're supposed to remove it?" He asked.
Avanelle lowered her head in a helpless manner. "The only way I Know was the State Of Purity. I had assumed once you achieved it I would have also been cleansed but I quickly realised that wasn't the case. So now, I have no idea what to do about it since I can no longer achieve the State Of Purity myself because of the corruption."
Craig walked over to the her side with a light smile on his face. "I figured as much. That said, you don't need to worry too much about it. We'll figure out a way to solve it together. That's a promise."
Being linked, Avanelle could feel the conviction coming from Craig as he said those words. She could feel the difference in his state of being after undergoing the purification of the Divine Lotus. It was like, nothing could truly bother him anymore. Yet, his calmness gave her a strange feeling.
She nodded with a smile.
"Oh, right. How do I get in and out of here?" He asked. He was puzzled by how what she had told him before, didn't seem to work.
"We're linked, focus on my presence and you'll be transported in instantly."
Craig furrowed his brows. "But the first time you said..."
"I know what I said." She interjected with a giggle. "It was the quickest way to get you to learn how to control the divine energy."
"Oh, okay. Then how do I leave."
"Just walk with the intention of leaving, it's that simple."
Walk with the intention of leaving? Craig closed his eyes and did as she said. He took a few steps forward with leaving intent.
Whoosh!
He vanished.
Avanelle looked at where he was standing, her expression turning a bit sad. "He left without even saying goodbye." She muttered and sighed.
***
Outside,
Greymont had walked up to Craig's body with a pondering gaze. Using his focused sight he was trying to figure out what caused Craig to end up in that state. The only thing he could pick up was the same glowing sphere of energy in his chest. There was no trace of any other type of aura anywhere else.
With his normal sight he did notice a line of blood at the corner of Craig's lips. His attack must have truly been brutal to cause internal injuries. He looked over at the treeline. "Girl!" He called out as if he didn't know Maeli's name. "You can come out now." He lowered his gaze. "He shouldn't end up like that again."
Maeli immediately walked out from behind the trees and made her way over to Greymont's side. Her gaze hinted caution as she said, "Are you certain he won't suddenly act up again?" She was a bit concerned after witnessing the fight between the two of them. Their unbelievable speed was nothing she was able to match up to. After all, she was only a handmaid with a bit of battle training. She was only in this situation because of her troublesome princess.
She couldn't wait to return to A'ina's side and save her life in order to return home where it was safe and life was simple. Where she didn't have to be surrounded by unexplainable occurrences everywhere she turned. Where she wouldn't be chased by giant wolves intending to take her life. She had only put up u with all this for one reason and one reason only, and that was her duty and love for A'ina.
"Nothing is truly certain." Greymont replied.
Maeli's expression turned strange as she asked something she had been considering. "Do you think he's an undead?"
"An undead?" Greymont asked in return glancing at her in confusion.
Maeli nodded. "There have been stories of people rising from dead and living again. In those stories they're called undead; the living dead. They attack the living and are capable of using strange powers." She explained. She had been thinking about this ever since Craig came back from the canyon. She had cast away the thought after finding out about Glowmyth saving him but now she felt that probably he had already died and was somehow brought back. Maybe it had something to do with the strangeness of that canyon?
Greymont hummed in thought. "An undead huh?" He felt amused by the idea and didn't believe in such stories. But he had to admit that it made a lot of sense. Maybe... maybe he really was an undead.
As Maeli was thinking about it she suddenly had an idea. Didn't Glowmyth use an electric current to zap him awake before? In that case she knew a spark spell. It was worth a shot right? Why hadn't she thought of this before?
She cautiously approached Craig's body and poked him with her toes in case of any other sudden outbursts.
"What are you doing?" Greymont asked in amused puzzlement.
Maeli smiled at him. "Just watch." Then she knelt beside Craig and did a few hand signs whilst chanting a spell. Afterward, she placed both hands on his chest. As mana gathered around them a glow of blue light radiated from her hands.
She was focused on her hands and didn't notice that Craig's eyes were trembling and slowly opening at that moment. Her expression hardened as she yelled,
"Spark!"
A series of electric bolts appeared as the mana was converted into electricity. Without any mercy the electric Currents multiplied and spread over Craig's entire body. Maeli pulled away and left them to do the their Job.
Craig's eyes opened, only to see a number of bright little electric snakes above him. His eyes widened, instantly realising his predicament. It was already too late.
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzzzzzzzt!
Arrrrghhh!
An agonising scream echoed into the quiet forest. Anyone that heard it would feel their skin crawl at this time of night.