The villagers in Kossech Village were caught off guard by the bombardment of dialogue boxes appearing in their vision. One would appear and stay for a moment, only to be replaced in an instant by another. The villagers, who very rarely saw the messages from the System, were overcome with shock as they were blasted with information.

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!

Yrlett has discovered the presence of her child! New Objective: Return the child, kill the child, or escape with the child. Challenge rating: Calamity

“Oh Gods, please grant us mercy!”

A chorus of heartbroken and devastated cries came out in response to the dialogue boxes. Some villager men, some villager women, and many frightened children.

“Spare me! I beg of you! I don’t have the child!” Even the most masculine of men lost all decorum, dropping what they were doing and fleeing in terror, or cowering beneath any sort of shelter. In a particular tavern, a man named Gregor proved his bravery and courage, by holding back the piss that threatened to force its way out of him and into his trousers. He didn’t, however, manage to stop his trembling as he threw himself beneath a table and sobbed loudly.

His friends, as sarcastic and witty as they were, would likely have torn into him and mocked him, had they not been there alongside him, shaking with terror. The once lively and happy atmosphere of the tavern had turned dreary and anxious, filled with the sound of muffled and fearful crying.

Of course, there were one or two fools so drunk that they believed themselves to be capable of actually felling Yrlett, but they were more likely to stumble and knock themselves out than anything. In fact, not a single one of them made their way out of the hectic and chaotic tavern, either tripping over themselves or being knocked aside as patrons fled for their lives.

…

In a small house, where a little boy slept soundly on a bed that didn’t belong to him, three people were trembling with panic, one drastically more fearful than the others, while another looked on in confusion. The old man was wide-eyed, stunned into a fearful silence. He already came to the conclusion that the boy was a demihuman of sorts, but he had not anticipated for him to be the dragon’s child that his son had heard about earlier that day.

It wasn’t hard for him to piece it together. He was rather knowledgeable, considering that he was once an accomplished knight of the empire, and was quite well educated. Many would not have known that dragonkin were fully capable of shapeshifting into a human form, but he was aware of this ability they possessed. When you look at the time frame, it made sense that the stray child his son found was the missing dragonkin. After all, his son traveled relatively close to the battlefield. What’s more was the strange inhuman language the boy spoke. All in all, it was virtually undeniable.

“He’s…” the old man stammered as he spoke. “He’s actually the… the dragon’s child…” The revelation floored the other two, before setting them into a panic equal to the old man’s.

“What?! How do you know? Are you sure?!” Edward cried out in fear. Not only had he picked up a child of importance on accident, it just so happened to be the very child that had nearly caused the human empire to be destroyed. Edward’s knees were shaking so hard that they nearly gave out from under him. “We have to bring him to the dragon! Before she finds her way here and kills us all!”

A sudden and low growl caught them all off guard, followed by the voice of a woman. “Too late, little human. So… You’re the thieves who stole my child… Good, good. I was worried that I would only end up finding my child here, and not the filthy human thieves. It seems,” she paused, as she appeared the doorway, entering into the view of the four. She had a menacing, almost sadistic grin on her flawless and beautiful face as she continued, “It seems that my worries were for naught.”

“W-wait!” the old man stuttered. “Please, we didn’t take your child! He slipped into my cart without us knowing!” He clasped his hands together and begged, his voice shaking as much as his hands. “Please, we did the boy no harm!”

The old man’s shaking only grew worse when he watched as the crease between the woman’s eyebrows deepened, and her grin turned into a scowl. He saw a tall man appear behind her in the doorway, smiling deeply, but without the malice and viciousness that the woman had. He was abnormally handsome, his face smooth and without blemish, almost feminine in appearance.

The old man was suddenly reminded of the second red dialogue box when he spotted Yrlett’s companion. He already had known that Yrlett had been coming, and knew her to be the Queen of the Dragonkin. As such, he had completely overlooked the notification about a companion in his panic.

He had never seen the man before, but he had an inkling of an idea of who it was. When he was a knight, he had heard many stories of the powerful figures of the other races. He had heard of a demihuman man who was renowned for his beauty and power alike, one with wings strikingly similar to the ones the man had: Fae King Eseit, the leader of the fair folk, and the strongest of the demihumans. Not to be compared with a mere tribe leader of one of the demihuman tribes of the plains, but stronger than the powerhouses of the real demihuman kingdom far to the south of the Empire.

All of the stories about Yrlett and Eseit were so ridiculous that some fresh recruits believed them to be overly exaggerated. Stories of impossibly powerful figures were always seen as unrealistic to the average man, after all. However, the old man had been a staunch believer in those stories, as he had first heard them from his father when he was but a child. Thus, when he saw not one, but two of such figures appear at the doorway of his son’s house, he nearly collapsed then and there. All that kept him on his feet was a determination to keep his grandchildren and son alive.

“So, I was right!” the handsome stranger laughed. “A boy! It seems that someone has lost a bet, doesn’t it?” He leaned in and whispered something into the woman’s ear, causing her to blush furiously.

“Enough!” she said in a harsh tone, which only served to contrast with the red tinge that stained her face. After clearing her throat, she turned to face the old man. “If my child confirms what you said to be true, then perhaps I’ll spare you and this filthy town. Otherwise…” she growled low once again. Yrlett walked past the shaking and kneeling old man and his family, entering the room that her beloved son was in, fast asleep.

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As soon as she entered, the boy woke up, feeling a strange and familiar presence. He looked around, his eyes barely open, and his hair a mess. He looked over Yrlett once, before looking back at her, a slight confusion visible in his eyes. After determining that the presence that he felt belonged to her, he rubbed his weary eyes and got out of the bed. He walked over to her slowly and stopped right before her, his head tilted back so he could look at her face. She stared down at him, her eyes filling with tears as her lips quivered silently. He continued to look up at her for a moment, and then wrapped his little arms around her leg, shutting his eyes and resting his head against her stomach.

As soon as he touched her, she began to quietly sob. She crouched down and hugged her son tightly, pressing her cheek against his as she gently stroked his head. “Mama’s here, baby,” she whispered softly in Draconic. He gripped her tighter, burying his face into her presence. After embracing for a while, she pulled away from him, holding him in front of her with one hand while she wiped her tears away with the other. Yrlett stared at his little face for a moment, before scolding him, “Don’t you go running off like that again!” The little boy looked down, crestfallen and silent. He nodded, a sad little bob of his head, causing mixed feelings to well up within Yrlett.

“Don’t be so harsh on him, my love,” called another voice unfamiliar to the boy. Eseit walked up from behind Yrlett and joined her in crouching in front of their son. “Hello, my son. My mischievous little boy. I knew you were going to be a boy, as soon as I heard that you ran off.” Eseit gently patted the boy’s head, an unmistakable glimmer of affection in his eyes.

The little boy looked questioningly at his father, before running into his mother’s embrace once more. He began to whisper into her ear in Draconic, causing Yrlett to burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” grumbled Eseit, his happy smile slowly disappearing after watching his son ditch him.

“He may be a boy,” Yrlett started, only to burst once more into a fit of laughter. “He may be a boy, and he may have your looks…” She couldn’t help but start to laugh once more. “But, he doesn’t understand a word you’re saying!”

Eseit frowned. “Then, how does he understand you? This is simply not fair.”

“That’s obviously because of his inherited knowledge. He’s the son of a dragon, it is only right that he inherited the same knowledge that I did. That’s why he already knows Draconic. It looks like I’ve won this round, dear husband.”

“So, it’s only because of a cheat, then,” said Eseit as he turned his head. “That’s fine, eventually he’ll learn to speak Common… No, instead, I’ll teach him Faespeak! After all, one day I’ll be passing my seat to him.”

“Hmph. As if he’ll want to play around in your little forest,” Yrlett said with a snort. She and Eseit both rose to their feet and faced one another with crossed arms.

“Oh, is that how it is? And you think that he’s better fitted to lead your bird colony, holing up in mountains and caves all his life?”

“Bird colony? I don’t want to hear such blasphemy coming from an overgrown pixie!”

Each launched into a tirade against the other, bickering and hollering as their child and the human family watched on. The child, who was unable to understand what they were saying, quickly lost interest in the loud noises and began exploring the house lazily, scavenging for something to eat.

On the other hand, the family of four were confused and frightened. Yrlett and Eseit were loud and the insults they threw could be very offensive to any dragon or fae, yet their tones were playful and mischievous. If not for the threat of death still looming over his head, the old man might have even chuckled at some of the jokes that were made.

It wasn’t long before the two stopped their bantering, returning their attention back to their child, who happened to be rifling through the belongings of the family. “Hey, get your hands out of there,” called Eseit. “That’s not yours.”

“Oh, you poor thing, you must be so hungry!” Yrlett quickly pulled him from Eseit, crouching down to her son’s eye level. “Don’t worry, we’ll go home and get you something yummy,” she said as she smiled endearingly at him. “But first, tell Mommy, did these little humans do anything bad to you?” Her tone grew lower and colder and although the old man couldn’t understand Draconic, a powerful shiver coursed through him.

Thankfully for the old man and his family, the little boy thought for a second before shaking his head. His eyes lit up as he suddenly had a thought, and a large smile blossomed on his face. “They have pretty flowers,” he said excitedly.

Yrlett chuckled quietly. “Darling, he likes their flowers,” she said to Eseit in Common. “Do we have any pretty flowers at home?”

Eseit shook his head. “Flowers? I don’t believe so.” He began to speak under his breath, “But we would, had you not made us move away from Faerest.” He paused, making sure she didn’t hear his remark. After a moment, she showed no signs of having heard him, and so he relaxed. He cleared his throat and continued to speak to her with a grin, “But flowers, huh? Looks like he takes after me more and more. He might speak Draconic now, but with his love for flowers I’ll have him speaking Faespeak in no time.”

Yrlett harrumphed. “We’ll see. Let’s go home, already. We’ve already spent more than enough time in the human territory than I like.”

“Leaving so soon, are you?” called a loud and elderly voice from outside the home. “Do you truly believe that you can freely trample your way in and out of our territory as you please, without consequence?”

“No warning? Damn it, damn it.” Upon hearing the voice, Eseit began to mutter under his breath, “Damn it, we’re in their territory, of course, there was no warning.”

The two quickly swiveled to face the newcomer, instantly on guard. Yrlett gave a low and throaty growl, “I knew it was you, old thing. Just what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be babysitting your grandchildren, or punishing your inept Boy King?”

Stepping into the room was an old and haggard figure, dressed from head to toe in spotless and tidy robes. They were the deepest of purple, giving him an aura of absolute and pure nobility. “I took a break from my matters, to instead punish some trespassers of the younger generation. It seems that ever since you replaced the former Matriarch, you’ve become more and more rambunctious. I overlooked you terrorizing my people once since you let my foppish son go first. However, your gallivanting has gone too far. And for what, to find your child who went on a little walk? How absurd.”

Eseit stepped forward, his eyes narrow under his creased brow. “What is it that you want, Former Human Emperor William the Fifth? We all know you won’t risk a fight in these circumstances, not over such a matter.”

“Ah, Fae King Eseit, always so straightforward. I remember back when you were the Fae Child, how mischievous you once were. Whatever happened to that childish novelty of yours? Ah, it’s no matter. What do I want, you ask? That’s simple. I want your son.”

Yrlett’s eyes seemed to change as her voice roared out in her menacing draconic tone, “My child?! You dare, old dog?! See if I do not risk my life to tear you limb from limb, you old decrepit thing!” She barely managed to withstand the urge to attack him at once, knowing that it would only put her child in danger.

William began to laugh slightly and spoke once more, “Would you relax? You misunderstand, you misunderstand. I don’t want to take your child from you. I want your boy to marry my granddaughter, Elizabeth. They are quite similar in age, well, if you count how long your boy was in the egg.” He paused, letting that sink in for a moment.

“What do you think? You had a boy, after all, so he cannot take the place of Matriarch, and the Fae have long since pulled away from the Kingdom. It’s of nothing but benefits to both sides, you get a beautiful and gentle daughter-in-law, and I get an interesting and intelligent grandson-in-law. Not to mention, we can put the violation of the treaty I made with the Former Matriarch behind us. You do remember that little agreement, don’t you?” William smiled wide at the mention of the treaty, causing Yrlett to frown.

A brief moment of silence passed, before Eseit began to speak, “So, you only want to wed your granddaughter to my son, then? No promises to defend your Empire, nothing else?” After seeing William nod, Eseit thought for a moment before continuing. “Let us see your granddaughter first before we decide. With Fae in his blood, our son is destined to be handsome, and only a true beauty could be his match.”

William’s smile grew wider and more enigmatic. “I think that you’ll find her to be quite the match indeed. I hope you don’t mind riding in a carriage, not all of us are capable of flight.”

Although Yrlett and Eseit were unhappy, their son was quite satisfied after William discovered that he could easily be enticed with flowers. Thus, their long adventure began by carriage, as Yrlett and Eseit reluctantly agreed to consider the proposal in an attempt to avoid the consequences of breaking the treaty.