It didn't take long for Craig to return to the campsite. Along the way, he was slightly concerned that the Red-fang Slaughter Wolf, Rakan, would attack him, but so far nothing like that happened.
The Dual-stripped Wolves were also spread out in the vicinity as lookouts.
Upon arrival Craig did not immediately fetch the horses or put out the campfire. Instead, he sat down where he was sitting previously and let out a deep sigh. "What have I gotten myself into this time? Transcendents?" He muttered rhetorically. "Why does everything I get involved in always end up being so complicated?" Another deep sigh came out as he lowered his head to look at the flames. Although he should have been in a hurry to get back, he ended up getting lost in his thoughts instead.
As he did, memories of the past came rushing through his mind. A childhood memory was the first to surface.
"Mama and papa are gone." The five year old Craig said in his memories. The figure of a man was standing before him, looking down at him.
"Is that why you resort to stealing from others? Because you don't have parents to take care of you?" The man asked.
Craig nodded his head straightforwardly. "Someone told me I should do whatever I can to stay alive. He also told me that I should steal if it was my only option." He explained, his tiny voice filled with certainty that he was doing what should be done.
The man shook his head in pity and disappointment. Then he knelt down and placed a hand on Craig's head. "You're too young to have to suffer so much. Would you like me to be your father? That way you wouldn't need to steal to stay alive. I'll raise you as if you were my own son."
"Really mister?" Craig said as his little face turned into a bright smile.
"Really." The man replied.
"Okay, I won't steal anymore. You are my papa from now on." Craig stated merrily.
The man held Craig's little hand. "Come, let me introduce you to someone. This is Andre, my first son. From now on he will be your brother." The man said as he brought Craig over to Andre who was standing near a merchant stall. Andre was very short, thin and dressed in a neat white outfit. "Andre, from today onwards this is your brother, uhh..." The man then looked at Craig. "What is your name little one?" He asked.
"Everyone calls me little bastard thief." Craig said with a smile.
"Uh. Then what did your parents call you?" The man asked.
A slightly saddened expression appeared on Craig's cheery little face. "Papa always said "boy come here" and mama called me "my little angel." He replied.
"What the—" The man didn't know how to respond to that. After a moment of bewilderment he said, "Since I'm adopting you I might as well name you properly. Hmmm, seeing as we're in the capital city, I'll name you after it. You shall be called Craigavon and you'll carry my surname, Stormfrost."
The memory faded and another took it's place.
"What did the two of you get into this time?" The man asked as he glared at Craig and Andre angrily.
"We just borrowed a few books from the library." Craig who was now nine years old and slightly taller said as he struggled to keep hold of a stack of books.
Andre was standing beside him, also holding a stack of books. His tiny body was even being hidden from sight as his books were wider than him.
"Borrowed!? A few!?" The man shouted, his anger ready to explode. His fiery gaze shifted to Andre. "Andre I thought you knew better? Why is it that you always follow your brother when he's doing stupid things?"
Although half of Andre's face was hidden, it couldn't hide the foolish smile he was making.
Whilst the man was reprimanding the two, he couldn't help but observe the labels of the books they were carrying. Andre had a total of seven books all about blacksmithing whilst Craig was holding nine books all about animals and hunting.
The man sighed and shook his head, then he looked at two guards standing a few feet away. "I'll pay for the books. Tell the library head I'll come by later to make the payment. I promise this won't happen again."
"Yes lord Asclepius." One of the guards replied. Then the two of them left.
Asclepius looked at the two boys and the books in their hands. "A blacksmith and a hunter huh." He muttered. Then he raised his voice. "Andre!"
"Yes father." He replied.
"Since you've taken to stealing these books about blacksmithing you are to study each and every one diligently. From this day onward you will aspire to become a blacksmith, that is your punishment."
Instead of being burdened, such a punishment actually made Andre very happy. "Yes father, I promise to work hard to be a blacksmith." He vowed enthusiastically.
Asclepius then looked at Craig but before he could say anything, Craig had already begun speaking.
"Father I promise to study all these books diligently and become a great hunter one day." His face was glowing with excitement.
Asclepius chuckled and said. "Don't think I'll be letting you off that easily. On top of studying to become a great hunter you are to do all of Andre's errands for the next two weeks along with your own."
Bang!
All the books which Craig was holding fell onto the ground. "But that's not fair, why am I the only one getting punished." He cried in complaint.
"You should be able to figure that one out." Asclepius said as he turned to walk away. "Quickly pick those books off the ground and head inside."
The memory changed again.
This memory however, was a rather strange one. It was something Craig had forgotten and never thought of for a very long time. He was reminiscing on his childhood days and the path that he took to get where he currently was, which was why he suddenly he remembered something like this.
It was a normal day like any other and he and his adopted father were walking the streets of the capital city. Asclepius was shopping for medicinal herbs and ointments along with finding Craig a suitable weapon for hunting. Several years had already passed since Craig begun studying books about hunting and it was finally time for him to join a hunting unit.
They ended up finding a merchant stall that sold weapons for amateur hunters at a young age. The merchant himself was an old man dressed in a cowl hooded cloak. On his head he wore strange looking hat made from coconut leaves. His face was aged and as he smiled the few lonesome teeth he had left stood out.
"Welcome sage, youngling?" He greeted whilst placing his hands together with a bow. He had the etiquette of a monk. "Please, have a look at my wares, is there anything that fancies you?" He asked.
Asclepius glanced over the weapons and several commodities displayed, then he looked at Craig and said. "Take your pick, the quality and abundance of choice here is just right for you."
Craig nodded and scanned through the sheer number of weapons displayed. There were knives, daggers, whips, bows, short and long swords, shields, clubs, maces and more. Although the number of different choices were high, there weren't many options to choose from when making a selection.
For example if Craig decided on a bow, he only had two options as there were only two bows.
Craig glanced over the items over and over in thought until he selected a sword. In fact, it was the only short sword available and wasn't too eye-catching compared to the two long swords next to it. Nevertheless Craig had selected it. He'd always thought of becoming a great swordsman so it was natural that he'd select a sword. Since the longswords would be too heavy for him he decided the short one was better.
"I'll take this one." He said as he picked up the sword.
Asclepius glanced at the sword and then looked at the old man. "How much?"
"One gold coin." The old man replied with a smile.
"Just one?" Asclepius was shocked. A sword like that could easily fetch twenty gold.
The old man nodded. "That is correct. It would look bad if I were to overcharge the Transcendent King." He said with a strange smile.
"The what?" Asclepius was confused. "You must have me mistaken for someone else." He stated with certainty.
The old man shifted his gaze over to Craig. "I wasn't referring to you, I was referring to him." he pointed at Craig using his decrepit looking hand.
"Huh? Me? I'm a king?" Craig said in shock and excitement.
Asclepius was surprised. He quickly asked, "Do you know who he is? Who his parents are?"
The old man was taken aback. "Such a strange question. Are you not his father then?" He asked.
Asclepius realized his actions were too overbearing and calmed his emotions. "I am his adopted father. I thought you might have recognised him and probably knew his parents, my apologies."
The old man suddenly let out an odd laugh. "Hahiha. I understand. I do not know the boy's parents nor do I recognise him." He said. "However, I was told by a mysterious individual that whoever purchases this sword will become the Transcendent King." He looked at Craig as if he were looking at someone of major importance.
Asclepius gave the old man an odd look. "And that's why you're selling the sword for a single gold coin? Because of some superstition of prophesy?"
"Indeed." The old man replied.
"Suit yourself then?" Asclepius remarked as he prepared to leave with Craig. From his point of view there was clearly something wrong with the old man's head.
"Young one." But then the old man called out to Craig.
Asclepius and Craig both stopped and looked at the old man.
"I have a message for you." The old man said.
"A message? From who?" Asclepius asked with a puzzled expression.
"From that mysterious individual." The old man replied. Then he looked at Craig in thought. "What were his exact words again?" He mused. "Ah yes, yes he said 'You will draw them out from hiding and out into the open. They will not rest in attempting to take your life, but if you die, all will be in vain for only you can put a stop to the uprising.'"
Craig looked at he old man attentively but when the old man stopped speaking he was completely lost. "Who are them?" He asked.
The old man smiled. "The Transcendents, of course." He replied.
Craig was even more confused than than before. "But didn't you say that I am the Transcendent King? Why would they try to kill me?" Nothing the old man said was making any sense.
"All will become clear when the time is right." He replied in a mysterious manner. "That was what that individual said at the end of our encounter."
Craig wanted to ask more questions but Asclepius stopped him and dragged him away from the crazy old man. As he was being pulled by his father he looked back at the old man longing to ask more questions. Eventually he was too far away to be seen.
Crackle! Crackle!
The dying embers of the campfire caught Craig's attention as he snapped out of his thoughts. "So that's where I heard that word from. Yes I remember now." He muttered to himself. "I searched many books and asked many people but no one had any answers. I thought that old monk was a lunatic at the time. Who would have thought I'd truly come across them now?" Just as quickly he was lost in his thoughts again. "But they aren't trying to kill me like that old monk said. Could Maeli be the so called Transcendent King? Transcendent... Queen?"
"Rihihi."
Just then, one of the horses let out a low neigh, snapping Craig out of his thought session.
"Sigh, whatever, I better get back before something bad happens." He said as he walked over to the horses and untied their lead ropes. Then he hopped onto Black Lotus and slowly made his way back with Snow in tow.