Legends of unspeakable horror mention of a fearsome beast.
Heroes and demons alike have fallen prey to this terrible creature.
With deadly fangs and numerous tendrils, The White One has protected its home.
Fear not the dragons that roam the forest with their power. Fear instead-- she who rules them.
Hear her name and stray from the path leading to your doom, o' heroes!
The "White Death."
The queen of the forest.
Never forget this name. For the day you meet her, will be the day you die. Her appellation be...
Kuukona, the white weaver.
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"Kuuukooh!" A voice called out from the second floor of a cottage in the forest.
The volume was loud and unrestrained with an adorable lisp that was common in children.
"Yes, darling? What is it?"
In turn, a gentle voice like a soft and cool breeze responded from the ground floor of the building.
Thud thud
The owner of the voice from above ran down the wooden stairs and her feet made pitter-patter noises as she appeared before the woman below.
"Now now. Be careful, Aria. You might trip and fall again."
The woman softly reminded as she arranged flowers in a basket.
The child, Ariadne responded with an absent-minded "Mm." as if responding automatically, but her excited fervor didn't stop as she grabbed the hem of the woman's white dress with her small, chubby hands while jumping up and down repeatedly.
"Kukoh! Help! Aria needs to pick a dress quickly!"
Ariadne repeatedly tugged at Kuukona's dress with excitement.
Seeing this, Kuukona gently placed the basket on the table,
"Alright, alright. Since it's your first day, you need to make an impression. But, dear..."
Nearing the end of her sentence, Kuukona's words wavered.
Are you sure you don't want to dye your hair?
She wanted to ask the child.
...But she couldn't possibly say it.
Seeing how happy and excited Ariadne was for her first day of school, Kuukona couldn't risk hurting her unfounded vigor unique to children.
"C'mere! C'mere! Aria likes the pink one, but..."
As such, Kuukona had a troubled smile as she wordlessly let Ariadne drag her upstairs.
As inhabitants of the forest, Kuukona and Ariadne had limited interactions with humanity.
It was already unusual for a commoner child to go to school, but Ariadne also lived outside of civilization.
As for how Ariadne received a recommendation... it was all thanks to a new friend that she made.
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In the great forest known to be the home of dragons, a young man opened his eyes as the soothing sound of the wind blowing on the grass had awoken him from his slumber.
"Gummorning."
A carefree voice greeted the man in a strange manner.
"Good... morning?"
The man responded to the greeting without thinking as he sat up.
"Where..."
He looked around him as he tried to recall how he got here.
He remembered everything.
The fight with a dragon, his comrades falling one by one.
Turning to the "white" creature not any taller than half of his height, he asked her a question.
"Hey kid, is there anyone else here?"
"Hmm? No, only mister bucket is here." The child stood on her toes as she looked around in an exaggerated manner as she replied.
"It's not a bucket, kid. It's a helmet." The man touched his helmet as he said this.
Unfortunately, the magical properties of the helmet that granted it durability had been worn down during the fight, rendering it useless.
"What a waste..." He murmured as he took it off.
The child pouted with a defiant voice, "Aria's name isn't kid! Aria's name is Aria!"
The man scratched the back of his head.
He realizes something as he recognizes that he had woken up right where he had fainted.
He was nowhere near the border of the forest.
"Right... well, what are you doing here, Aria? Don't you know that it's dangerous here?" He asked with the slightest amount of worry as he stood up and patted off the dirt in his clothes.
He had thought of the possibility of the child being a monster in disguise, but through his own means, he had confirmed that she was harmless.
There was also the fact that she could have easily killed him in his sleep if that was the case.
In response to his question, Aria only had a wondering expression as she pretended to ponder in a pose, obviously mimicking her parent, "But Aria lives here?"
"What...?" Hearing the unexpected truth, the man was at a loss for words.
He looked around once more.
Scorched earth surrounded him. The landscape had been gouged out. Trees, mowed down and patches of the ground had vanished, leaving craters in them.
All of these were the result of three things only.
Steel, magic, and dragon fire.
There weren't any traces of mortal wounds on his flesh, but his armor had been torn asunder, making it clear that what he had experienced wasn't a dream.
He was inside the forest, still.
Then... this child...
Just who is she?
"Say... where is your mother?"
He knelt down on one knee as he talked to Aria with a smile.
She pressed both of her forefingers to her temples and furrowed her brows,
"Aria doesn't know! Kukoh takes care of Aria. Aria and Kukoh live over there!"
She said, pointing to a certain direction.
Looking over at the direction that she's pointing, the man saw nothing but trees for miles and miles over. He couldn't help but think that she wasn't lost at all.
"Hey hey~ Aria doesn't really meet many people. Will you be Aria's friend?" She smiled.
Just as he was thinking deeply, he heard the heavy flapping of wings.
He could feel his blood flowing and his instincts were screaming at him.
He would not soon forget that sound.
"! Dammit-- why now... get away from here, Aria! That thing's a--"
The man panicked and called out to the child. However...
"Over here, Ysah~"
Aria waved her hand. Energetically, at that.
"What are you doing, kid?!"
Dumbfounded, the man raised his voice at the child.
"?" Aria had a wondering expression and she didn't know what he was panicking about.
The man unsheathed his sword and was prepared to protect the child.
The dragon landed right in front of him, and...
It knelt upon the ground.
[WE HAVE COME, YOUNG MISTRESS.]
With its head lowered and its eyes closed, the dragon showed a servile attitude.
The man didn't understand what was happening.
Aria quickly moved past him and ran towards the dragon and hugged its head, her arms spread wide open.
The dragon's head was much too broad and her arms were not enough to encompass it.
[...] The dragon remained still.
No noise or movement came from the towering creature.
The man was at a loss.
*That's a dragon... right?*
He thought to himself as he eyed the mysterious child and the dragon.
Aria turned to face the man with a naïve, innocent smile.
"This is Aria's friend, Ysah. She knows everything! Even though Aria asks her to call her Aria, she doesn't like to. She talks funny, but don't be mean, okay?"
As if waiting for her to finish, the dragon once again spoke in a thunderous voice.
[YOUNG MISTRESS, WE HAVE COME TO FETCH YOU AT THE ORDER OF YOUR MOTHER, THE QUEEN.]
Hearing this, Aria posed once again, as if copying somebody.
"Ysah!" She called out.
[WHAT IS IT, YOUNG MISTRESS?]
The dragon finally raised its head as it asked.
"Can my new friend come, too?"
Contrary to her oddly daunting pose, her voice resounded in a cheerful tone.
Hearing her request, the dragon turned its head to the side and stared straight at the man with one of its eyes.
The man's muscles tightened, his body instinctively prepared for combat.
Though the dragon was staring at him for only seconds, it felt like an eternity to him.
The dragon's eyes narrowed, clearly displeased with this as it turned to look at Ariadne again.
[...IF THAT IS YOUR WISH, THEN WE SHALL OBEY.]
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Contrary to his expectations, the dragon bent its body even lower, allowing Ariadne to climb on its back, although clumsily.
"Yay~ come come, mister helmet~ Kukoh said to introduce my new friends to her!" Aria waved at the man, beckoning him.
"...What the hell is going on...?"
The development of the situation was too fast for his brain to process and he ended up muttering such.
The dragon lifted off the ground and began to hover above the trees before flying towards the center of the forest.
"Oh... mister helmet forgot to tell Aria his name!" Aria called out to him as she sat on the dragon's head.
The man scratched his head with a wry looking expression. He wanted to find his companions soon, but he at least had to make friends with his new... company.
"Oh, it's Tokigawa."
"To-kee-ga-wah?"
Aria's eyebrows furrowed as she parroted the name, finding it quite peculiar.
Unbeknownst to him, she would have parroted it no matter what his name was.
"Ah... yeah. It's Tokigawa Yasuo."
Yasuo smiled wryly as he saw how much trouble Aria had trying to pronounce his surname.
Aria nodded with a serious expression.
"Yasoh!" She yelled out with a small smile on her face.
Yasuo could only smile at Aria's lisp.
Despite both the abruptness and strangeness of it all, he seemed to have quickly accepted everything that happened.
The dragon remained silent and paid extra attention to Yasuo.
Aria on the other hand was excitedly pointing at everything she could see while explaining what kind of places they were to her new friend. She grasped at Ysamogruas's horn to keep herself from falling off.
Not only were her explanations insufficient, they were wishy-washy and practically useless information that you could discern just from looking.
Yasuo laughed heartily and feigned interest as she explained. *Somebody else must have taught her this.* he smiled as the thought crossed his mind.
Aria seemed to be easily pleased. Yasuo had only been nodding and grunting to say he understood the entire time. He felt good when he saw just how radiant Aria's smile was.
To him, she was an inhabitant of this forest. From what he understood, Aria was probably related to that "queen" the dragon mentioned. He felt that he couldn't afford to be careless.
However... "She's just a kid." He muttered to himself.
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Aria gradually grew more quiet the farther they traveled.
Yasuo found it strange, but he hardly knew the girl.
Before long, a vast rainbow-colored clearing had entered his view.
From above, the trees no longer obstructed his vision. The place where they were headed to was a vast field of flowers.
A white haired figure sat at the center. He had guessed that she was the one nurturing all of the flowers that stretched in the field.
The dragon landed a little ways from the woman tending the field of flowers, not daring to crush any one of them beneath its feet.
[MY QUEEN, LADY ARIADNE HAS RETURNED.] The dragon lowered its head as Aria jumped down.
Yasuo rounded his shoulders and followed in turn.
The woman held on to her pure white sunhat as the dragon's arrival had disturbed the wind.
A surprised expression appeared on her beautiful face.
"Oh my, a guest has arrived."
She stood up. Strangely enough, not a single patch of dirt had stuck to her dress.
Yasuo's eyes narrowed in interest.
"White haired beauty... a fantasy staple." He muttered to himself.
Ariadne stared blankly, seeming to have heard him.
"This one's name is Kuukona. In this forest, I guide the lost and shelter the weary."
A charming smile blossomed on her face as she introduced herself meekly.
Yasuo nodded deeply and smiled as he responded, "I am Tokigawa Yasuo."
"Ah... you can call me Suo if it's hard to pronounce."
Awkwardly scratching the back of his head, Yasuo thought that it must be the first time Kuukona is meeting a foreigner, not realizing that she couldn't even tell the difference, as a dweller of the forest.
Kuukona seemed pleased and her fingers grasped at her own dress again and again.
Her smile blossomed further, excited at the prospect of a human friend.
"Mm... Tokigawa Yasuo. Suo... I will remember your name."
Charmed by that smile, Yasuo had lost his words, forgetting what he wanted to say.
After a moment, he felt his clothes tighten and he turned his head.
"I believe that my new acquaintance is your sister?"
He said as he turned to look at Ariadne.
For some reason, she was hiding behind him, peeking at Kuukona as her chubby hands grasped at his coat.
The reason became obvious soon enough as the expression of Kuukona had a certain sternness to it.
"And just where have you been, young lady?"
Despite admonishing Ariadne, Kuukona had a gentle, motherly atmosphere as she grasped at the basket full of flowers in her hands.
Aria came out of her hiding place and looked down, seeming to know that she had done wrong.
"Aria was... Aria was just... she was..."
Immediately after witnessing Ariadne stammer, Kuukona weakened as her expression turned even more motherly.
She walked slowly towards Ariadne and knelt in front of her.
"Aria... I am not angry. I'm sorry if it seemed that way. Kukoh was just worried, okay...?" She said softly.
Ariadne's expression broke down as she rubbed her eyes and started to sob weakly.
"Okke... Aria is... she is sorry..."
Despite being energetic, Ariadne was unexpectedly quiet and obedient when she's crying.
Kuukona embraced her gently. Ariadne was nestled in Kuukona's arms and it was only then did Yasuo realize his mistake.
*Ah... they're not siblings. She is...* He muttered to himself. "So young..." He whispered as he looked at Kuukona.
"It's okay baby, Kukoh knows... It's okay. Don't cry..."
Kuukona gently rubbed Ariadne's back.
It seems that she snuck out by herself without telling her mother. Yasuo looked at the white duo with a smile on his face.
After a few minutes, Ariadne's sobbing and hiccuping stopped.
Kuukona held her in her arms with a serene smile. She turned to Yasuo and apologized.
"I seem to have kept you waiting, Tokigawa Yasuo."
Yasuo smiled, "No worries. I didn't think that such a young and beautiful woman was the mother of my new friend."
As an afterthought, he added.
"Ah, Suo is fine."
Kuukona only smiled mysteriously.
She turned to the dragon silently standing watch even further behind.
"Do you want to play with Ysah for a bit? I have something to talk about with your friend for a little while."
Kuukona wordlessly signalled to Ysamogruas, and the latter bowed its head in acknowledgement.
Having just finished crying, Ariadne nodded before Kuukona let her down. Walking first and then running towards the dragon after a few steps.
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"Suo, would you like my assistance in leaving this forest?"
Kuukona asked with a smile as she set the basket in her hands down.
Yasuo nodded, "That would be a big help. But first, there is something I must do first."
Kuukona kept silent, prodding him to continue.
"My friends. I must find them first. Do you have any idea where I should start looking, lady Kuukona?" Yasuo had a serious expression. Hearing her name, he had already discerned her identity as the queen of arachnids, the spider goddess.
Not only were they defeated by the servant dragon, the other party had even showed them kindness.
Yasuo had no idea if Kuukona already knew of this matter.
Kuukona on the other hand, was quite excited that she had made a human friend, barely concealing the fervor in her voice.
She nodded softly with a smile on her face. Yasuo was briefly under the illusion that she had a halo above her head as her radiant smile hurt his heart.
Who knew that the rumored spider goddess was so gentle and easy to befriend?
Kuukona's eye twitched as she responded, "Aha... I heard that all adventurers who brave this forest are brought towards its entrances upon their defeat. Now *isn't that just mysterious.*"
Awkward, dry laughter escaped her lips.
Yasuo found himself charmed by this as he laughed heartily in turn.
He spoke half-jokingly, "Is that so? Did you perhaps ask the monsters to politely return the adventuring humans safely?"
"**N-No!** I... I h-hold no power in this forest... I'm just a girl. You are quite imaginative, mister Suo..."
Kuukona's voice turned a pitch higher as she spoke quickly.
Seeing how her face had cramped up, Yasuo had the strangest feeling of wanting to bully her.
"Ah. That's strange. It is clear that I had been defeated, but I was woken up by your daughter. I wonder why I hadn't been taken to the entrance, as well?" He faked a wondering expression, pretending to ponder deeply as he peeked at Kuukona's reaction from the corner of his eye.
Her brows furrowed as she glanced at the dragon. An expression of slight impatience had surfaced on her face.
"Ah... perhaps the monster that had defeated you simply forgot about you, or hadn't seen where you had fallen..."
"In the first place, it's quite strange that there have been no human deaths in this forest for a while..."
"I-Is that so? Is... Is that not a good thing?"
"Ah... well, we were getting the idea that the monsters were planning something."
"What... What if we just wanted to befriend the humans...?"
"Is that so, ms Kuukona?"
As they entered a back and forth, Yasuo had noticed Kuukona become slightly depressed.
He smiled wryly and announced, "Well... even though we've been defeated, I think that this trip to the forest was worth it."
Hearing this, Kuukona seemed to be happy.
Unexpectedly, she was quite simple and easy to please.
Just like somebody else, it seems...
"Is that so?!"
Her face cramped up once again but for a different reason as she attempted to stifle a smile.
"Yeah." Yasuo smiled. "Today, I made a friend."
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"Ysah is so strong!"
Ariadne loudly proclaimed as she smiled unreservedly, swinging a stick.
"Ah, but young mistress shows promise."
Ysamogruas had turned into a human in order to play swordfighting with Ariadne using sticks.
Her sharp eyes were staring right at the child before her.
Just then, when she was about to strike--
"Ysamogruas."
The chilling voice of her queen and mistress had called out.
She stood at attention before bowing towards Ariadne.
Dropping the stick, she flapped the wings on her back and flew towards Kuukona and Yasuo.
"Yes, our queen?"
Kneeling before Kuukona, Ysamogruas lowered her head.
"Ysah, why not take mister Suo back to his home?" Kuukona turned to her servant with an amiable expression.
Ysamogruas's face jolted to look up at Kuukona as she heard those words.
"O-Our queen! B-But we..."
As a female of the strongest race, having a human man ride her back seems unacceptable to her.
Kuukona had a disappointed expression as she peeked at Yasuo.
"...You can't?"
Hearing her mistress's despirited voice, Ysamogruas's face twitched as she rubbed one of her horns.
"If... If it is our queen's request, then we shall comply."
With a sigh, she resigned herself weakly.
"Is that so? Did you hear that, mister Suo? Ysah is willing to carry you back!" Seeing Kuukona's incandescent smile, Yasuo and Ysamogruas could only share dry laughter.
Ariadne hummed a tune as she picked flowers and presented them to Kuukona.
Kuukona smiled gently and placed one of them behind Ariadne's ear.
After thinking for a second, she proceeded to place one behind the kneeling Ysamogruas's ear. The delicate, yellow flower had strangely contrasted well with her reddish brown hair.
She offered her hand, prompting her to stand up. The dragon gratefully accepted her hand and stood at attention instead.
"Kukoh, is Yasoh leaving now?"
Ariadne seemed sad as she looked up at Kuukona while holding her hand.
Kuukona lightly patted her head and explained in a way she would understand, "Well... mister Suo's mother must be worried sick, darling."
Ariadne nodded, showing that she understood. "Ohh! Okke... But wait... Yasoh will come back, right?"
Yasuo smiled, "We can always visit each other, right?" He said as he turned towards Kuukona.
Yasuo had promised Kuukona that he would return, prompting her to reply, "Really? That's wonderful!" As she smiled radiantly.
Her straightforward nature had left a great impression on him.
He turned to Ysamogruas and bowed, "Shall we go?"
Ysamogruas was clearly displeased, but nodded anyway. She took five steps back before turning into a towering dragon, nearly ten meters tall.
[THIS IS BUT AN EXCEPTION, HUMAN.] She said a few words and spoke no more as Yasuo got on her back.
"Yasoh! Come back, okay? We'll play next time!"
As Ysamogruas flapped her wings, she rose higher and higher into the air.
Yasuo waved with a smile,
"Next time, Aria. See you again, lady Kuu."
As Ysamogruas's visage vanished in the horizon, Ariadne kept waving.
"See you agaiiiin!"
Kuukona had a smile on her face.
"Kuu... Kuu, huh?"
Hearing her new nickname from a new friend made her unbelievably happy.
"Well, let's go home now, dear. Shall we?"
"Okke!"
The two held hands as they walked.
"Hey, Kukoh..."
"Yes, dear?"
"Why are your legs like Aria's today? Where did the others go?"
"Ah... that's... you see... Kukoh just didn't want to scare away your new friend."
"Oh. But Kukoh's legs aren't scary. Aria thinks they are pretty... will you show Yasoh next time?"
"...I'll think about it."
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Far north from the forest that Kuukona and Ariadne reside in is a city flourishing with trade and color.
Ysamogruas's wings flapped restlessly as she looked around wearily in her human form.
On the way back, they had met with Yasuo's party members and had taken them along for a ride on her back.
"Hrm... Ysamogruas, was it? I am grateful that Kuu is quite friendly. She's... different from what I imagined."
Yasuo spoke.
"...Speak not of our noble appellation, foul knave. Our queen had simply spared your miserable lives. This does not deem you worthy, much like how we would spare a measly fly... We shall return once you have been escorted to this... castle that you speak of." Ysamogruas stiffly responded.
She had an uneasy look about her as she walked behind him.
His companions were resting in their lodging as they were considerably tired. He asked them to rest and took the responsibility of reporting about the success... and failure of their quest.
Yasuo had a wry smile on his face when suddenly, his expression lit up.
"Hey, why don't you look around with me first? With me, I mean."
Her eyes sharpened in suspicion as she frowned, "Why should we?"
Ignoring her pointed glare, Yasuo only smiled as he continued, "You can look around the city if you like. When you get back, you can tell Kuu all about this place. She'll like that, right?"
Hearing this, Ysamogruas's brow twitched and she contemplated for a few seconds.
"Perhaps... very well. We shall accompany you. For now."
After that was a date between a hero of humanity and the servant dragon of the spider goddess... but that is a story for another time.