Busiek reunites with artist Greg Ruth, whose art "is gorgeous to look at, conveying a different but equally lush vision of Cimmeria" according to The Fourth Rail. This story looks deeper into Conan's earliest adventures. Having crippled a bullying playmate, young Conan's become a solitary figure. Born on the battlefield and destined for greatness, the boy's shown a fierce independence and bravery. The adults don't know what to do with such a formidable child and the other boys are afraid of him. When he discovers an Aquilonian wizard and daughter living in the woods outside his village, Conan is torn between his respect for their rogue existence and his chance to become a real Cimmerian warrior by exposing the foreign spies.
