The child woke to the boisterous but muffled laughter of a man. Looking around, the boy found himself to be in a small cot in an unfamiliar building. Worst of all, there weren’t any flowers in sight. He sat up and began to listen to the conversation outside of the bedroom, the very conversation that woke him.

“You’re telling me that you went the entire way from Fort Greidan to here, without realizing you picked up a kid at some point?” An unknown man’s voice said through a fit of laughter. “You absolute simpleton, you could’ve been robbed blind and you still would’ve ridden into town with a stupid grin on your face!”

The boy tilted his head as he listened to the man’s loud voice. He could not understand what the man was speaking. He rose to his feet and exited the bedroom, entering the room the people were in. None of them seemed to notice, though.

The boy shut the door quietly behind him as he glanced around the room. There were only a few people inside, only two girls and two men. Both the girls were rather young, one of them in their early teens and the other still a young child. The two men were considerably older, both easily old enough to be their father. The man who was laughing was by far the oldest of the group. The little hair he still had was nearly completely white, and his tanned skin was weathered and wrinkled.

“Grandpa, that’s enough, you’re being rude,” the oldest of the two girls said, crossing her arms. “Mom said that you lectured him enough last night, and you’ve been doing it all morning still!”

“Yeah, be nice to Uncle!” the younger girl chimed in, mimicking her older sister. “Mommy said so!”

The little boy quickly lost interest in what was seemingly an ordinary conversation, albeit one in an unfamiliar and unknown language. He lifted his nose and sniffed deeply a few times while glancing around the room. After getting a good sense of direction, he left, wandering out of the house through the side door. He shut the door quietly, so as to not disturb the four inside. He quickly found his way to the garden, and with a smile, he laid himself down on a bed of grass beside some flowers and began to watch the clouds overhead.

“Pretty,” he said softly. Watching one cloud drift slowly was very relaxing to him, but eventually, he’d grow tired of the shape, and fixate on a new cloud. Thankfully, there was no shortage of clouds in the sky, and so he was free to gaze for as long as he so desired.

As he gazed at the beautiful white clouds, he held his hand out, gently touching the flowers. They almost seemed to rub their petals against his hand of their own volition, as if they sought his affection and attention. He obliged them, gently stroking the petals and stems of the flowers absentmindedly.

After over an hour, the boy stood up and stretched. He smiled at the flowers, waving goodbye before skipping away. He wandered aimlessly, walking towards anything and everything that caught his eye. After approaching whatever it was, he’d examine it closely before moving on to the next interesting place. Eventually, the boy’s wandering led him into the town.

Presumably, the boy would stick out like a sore thumb in his elegant and fanciful silk clothing, and yet nobody seemed to notice him at all. It was almost as if he wasn’t there, weaving his way through the crowd with the grace of a skilled seamstress’s needle. As he walked down the winding road of dirt and stone, his gaze wandered across the many stalls and stores, but he did not approach any of them.

Eventually, the boy came to a stop before a tavern, the smell of the cooked meat and the loud voices drawing him in. He came to the door of the tavern, slipping in after a man opened it, drunkenly stumbling out into the street. The boy ducked under the man’s arm, slid through the maze of tables and patrons until he came to the front bar, which was relatively empty. Carefully and slowly, the boy climbed his way onto a very tall stool at the bar.

After settling into the stool, the boy couldn't help but listen to the conversation between the group of men to his right, the only group at the front bar.

“Did you hear about the recent World Event? No? Well, when the soldiers were fighting against the demihumans, a massive dragon came and nearly attacked! If not for the beautiful Lady Solvenya, who bravely stood up against the evil beast, it would have destroyed our entire army!”

“Yeah, I heard about that! Did you hear that His Imperial Majesty gave an Imperial Decree, ordering everyone to keep an eye out for baby dragons? Supposedly, the dragon was on a rampage because its child was taken from them! It's lucky that the Lady was there to talk reason into the dragon. I heard it planned on killing off all the humans!”

“Hah, you two really believe that nonsense about Lady Solvenya? I heard that the dragon spared them on a whim and that all Lady Solvenya did was beg and cry. Bravery and reason? Ha! As if there is anything brave about kneeling before a mere beast.”

“Oh, yeah? And I suppose that a mighty hero yourself would not yield before an elder dragon?”

“Let's just say that if I were there that day, you'd be calling me Gregor the Dragon Slayer.”

The other men started laughing loudly. Perhaps if the boy had understood the language that the men were speaking, the chaotic tavern would be much more hectic. However, since he was still young and did not understand the language, he continued to play on the stool without a care in the world. Swinging his short little legs, he looked around the tavern with wonder and fascination.

It was so very lively. He watched the various different people, all leading their own lives. His wide, gleaming eyes were glued to the scene. He watched the scoundrels and drunks try again and again to gain the favor of the female workers, and saw how they would be battered and tossed out if they tried to cross the line. He watched the more respectable and controlled individuals chatting or idling about.

He saw fists get thrown and handshakes exchanged. He heard harsh cursing and bellowing laughter. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He laughed along to things he didn’t understand and winced when he watched harsh punishment be dealt out. All the while going unseen by the tavern-goers.

…

At the small house, chaos was unfolding. A long, long time after the boy had wandered off, they had discovered that he was missing. The grandfather sat calmly at the table, as though he were completely uninvolved. He watched as his son and grandchildren kicked up a fuss over the matter, chuckling inwardly. He knew that the boy must have snuck out of the house when they weren’t paying attention, which meant that he was very much out of the ordinary. It was likely that the boy was more than capable of taking care of himself.

“Seems like he’s from a fairly capable noble family. Hm, I wonder whose kid he is to be so talented at such a young age,” the old man muttered. “Or is it that I’m getting too old.” He shook his head. Definitely not that. Couldn’t be that, he thought stubbornly.

“What, grandpa?” the youngest of his two granddaughters called out to him with a puzzled look on her face.

So cute, thought the old man as he patted her on the head, causing her to giggle. She didn’t really get why everyone was so worried, but she didn’t want to be left out, so she joined them in their panic. After all, she didn’t understand how dangerous the world was, thanks to her overprotective grandfather. “Nothing, little Dana. Go on and keep playing.” He took his hand from her head, and she bounded off to join her older sister in searching for the strange boy.

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“Father!” exclaimed the old man’s son. “Do you truly care that little for my well-being? If this noble’s child gets himself killed, who do you think they’ll blame?”

With a snort, the old man waved his son’s accusations off. “The kid’ll be fine. You worry too much, like a woman. Be a man for once in your life, Edward,” he said, and then gestured at his oldest granddaughter. “Look, your own niece is more composed than you are right now.”

Edward gave a dissatisfied harrumph. “She’s not the one whose life is at risk, old man. And, how will that child be okay, you delusional old man? Wandering around an unfamiliar village with such fanciful clothing at his age is anything but safe! Any greedy thief would be more than happy to kidnap or even kill him!”

The old man gave him an impatient glance. “You think that child is intelligent enough to be capable of sneaking past us, but stupid enough to not know that being alone in the village at his age is dangerous? Go back to your meaningless search, leave me be. I’m not throwing my back out to look for some overdressed brat.”

…

In a manor on a hill, a tall and strangely dressed man gently embraced a woman as tears spewed from her eyes like a rainstorm. He ran his hand down from the crown of her head to her upper back repeatedly as he whispered to her in a gentle tone.

“There, there, Yrlett my dear. I’m sure our child will be safe. Their innate abilities will keep them safe from harm. I’m sure they’re just exploring somewhere nearby, my love,” he said.

She sniffled a few times before speaking in a shaky voice, “We just spent so long trying to have a baby, and the instant I step out of the cave he disappears. I just can’t bear it, darling, we didn’t even get to see if we had a son or a daughter! Will they even know that we are their parents? Oh, Eseit, I’m so worried!” She burst into tears once more, squeezing herself against her husband even tighter.

“They will know, darling. You already imprinted on the egg, so our child will recognize your aura.” He continued to gently stroke her hair. “I’m sure they’re somewhere nearby, having the time of their life. Now, let’s go and find our child. I’m excited to see who they took after more, you or me.” He chuckled slightly. “Perhaps he’s at one of the human villages near here, making a mess.”

Yrlett nodded and smiled slightly as her husband wiped her tears away. She followed him out of the manor, her hand in his. When they stopped and stood still on the grass out front, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands gently brushing his long and pointed ears, causing him to smile back at her. Eseit clasped one of his arms around her waist and unfurled his great and majestic fae wings. Scooping her legs up with his other arm, he took off into the sky with a beautiful woman in his arms.

…

The boy found his way back to the small house with the four strange people after he had his fun at the tavern. In his exhaustion, he had forgotten to be quiet, and so the noise of the door shutting behind him alerted the old man, who still sat calmly at the table.

“Who’s there?” called the old man. He glanced over, his eyebrows furrowing when his eyes settled on the young boy. “Well, look who decided to come back. Had your fill of worrying my son and grandchildren, did you?” the old man said with a scoff.

The boy looked at the old man, confused and tired. Their languages were just far too different. The boy said to the old man, “I am tired, I am going to sleep.” He walked past the old man, entering the same room he had found himself in when he awoke. Collapsing onto the bed, the child fell asleep almost instantly, leaving behind a shocked old man.

When the boy spoke, to him it had made perfect sense and was a coherent sentence. However, the old man had heard nothing but guttural growls and hissing, sounds which raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

“What the hell was that,” he muttered under his breath. “He’s not a demihuman, is he? Do demihumans even talk like that?”

Edward came back while his father was lost in thought. “You’re still just sitting here, not helping us look, huh old man?” he said, frowning. “Looks like you really are getting old, you’re talking to yourself more and more lately.”

His father put his hand up to silence him, before standing up. He snuck quietly into the room the boy was sleeping in, and gave him a thorough inspection. The boy’s face was very human-like, with no strange animalistic traits for his nose or mouth. As far as the old man could remember, his eyes weren’t like that of a demihuman either.

“Oh, he’s back! Thank the Gods, I don’t know what I would have done when his parents came searching for him and found that we had lost him,” Edward said, collapsing onto a stool in the dining room. “Finally, I can relax.”

The old man was not listening, not at all. He was busy, as stared hard at the boy’s ears. While they were still fairly normal in size for a human child, the ends were a little too pointed. They could very well be human ears, but at this point, the man was just looking for any excuse to explain that unearthly language the boy had spoken.

After finding his excuse, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Although it wasn’t the most pleasing thing, housing a demihuman was much better than housing a body possessed by a demon. Little did the old man know that not only was the boy a demihuman, he was a very, very important one. More important than he or Edward had ever dreamed that he might be. Very quickly, however, he would come to discover this fact.

…

In a village not far from Kossech Village, the people were enjoying a peaceful and beautiful day like any other. The sun was shining down, the crops were healthy and plentiful, and the temperature was neither hot nor cold. It was truly a great day, all the way up until they all received two notifications, the first red and the second blue.

Warning! A dangerous entity is approaching. Challenge Rating: Calamity. Warning!

You have entered the zone of World Event “A Mother’s Rage”. Main Objective: Defeat Yrlett or appease her anger. Challenge rating: Calamity

Warning! A second Calamity rated entity has joined Yrlett for the World Event. Warning!

 After processing what the notifications meant, the populace burst into hysteria. Women and children were evacuated to the safest location, which happened to be the Mmayor’s home at the center of the town. Meanwhile, any men or boys old enough to handle a blade were sent to back the Mayor up, as he waited at the edge of town, prepared to give in to any reasonable demands the dragon might have.

Thanks to the Mayor's foresight, when Yrlett and her husband landed in the town that was all but deserted, they went entirely unnoticed. Yrlett quickly went to work, searching for her child’s scent.

“I don’t smell our child, Eseit. Quickly, let’s go to the next town!”

Eseit was exasperated. “That quickly? We just arrived, how can you be sure that our child isn’t here?” He glanced around the small and empty village. “It’s possible that he’s hiding in that crowd of humans. Hm? Oh, there’s another group that way. Perhaps he’s—”

“He?” Yrlett quickly interrupted Eseit, annoyed. “Who said our child is a boy, huh? I don’t recall that you knew that. Our child could just as easily be a beautiful dragoness, just like her mama.” She placed her hands on her hips, staring up at her husband angrily. “You demihumans and your priority for males, hmph. You better hope that our child is a boy, otherwise, you’re going to be in trouble after she shows her domineering side when she comes of age.” Her lips twitched as she maintained her angry pout, suppressing the smile that threatened to manifest as she thought of their child bullying him.

“Yes, yes, my dear,” Eseit said in a placating and humbling tone. “As usual, you’re right. But, I still think I’m right. Our child is most definitely a boy. Only a Fae boy would be so mischievous.”

Yrlett shook her head and ignored him. “Anyway, our daughter is most definitely not with those humans. I would be able to find her scent, even with that many smelly humans around. Hurry up, before I take flight on my own.”

Just like that, they flew off to the next human village, where they proceeded to frighten the populace just as much. Then, they left for the next one, and then the next one. They proceeded to search the villages one by one, and only after quite a few searches did they finally proceed to Kossech Village.