Astrid and Merrill just stared at Irene as he had just announced that he had been known as the Dragon Queen also knew their guild master.

"You're lying!" said Astrid.

"No, it's true," said Irene. "I was known as the Queen of dragons and I indeed were friends with your guild master. I shall tell you a story, about events that took place 1000 years ago in a kingdom here called Dragnof.

Thousand years ago, back when dragons exist, there was an uneasy peace within the continent as he was split into two different ideologies. To the west, there were the dragons that ruled over the mortal races and devoured them and to the east where those who believed in coexistence.

"You hear about the Western part of the continent?" said a soldier as he looked to his friend. "There was another."

"The dragons?"

They then heard massive footsteps behind and quickly turned and they saw a Buffalord Dragon standing before them.

"That doesn't surprise me," he said. "Dragons of the west are uncivilised."

"Lord Belserion!"

"Glad to see that you've returned unharmed, sir."

"The situation there was worse than I imagined, things are dire," he said and he looked down at them. "I need to see Irene."

"Right, her Majesty is here in the courtyard."


Within the courtyard, several dragons and humans and elves were playing with one another. All of them were flying around a statue representing the three mortal species, humans, elves and dwarfs, next to them was a statue of a dragon.

A young Irene was at the flowerbed rearrangements and flowers when Belserion approached her.

"Irene," he said.

"Belserion… so good to see you," she said turning to face him. She then noticed the troubled look on his face. "What's the matter? Are you ill?"

"I come bearing bad news, the dragons of the West so no signs of relenting," he said regretfully. "The Elven kingdom there will fall soon, no matter how much the elves wish to deny it. It will only be a matter of time before the dragons will consume all the mortals and then come to the east."

"How ghastly," she said. "But that would be a declaration of war, during the last conflict you agreed to share the continent between you."

"True, but I fear their appetite might cloud their minds," he said regretfully. "Just the thought of them eating you mortals is blasphemy. Here's a list of this country we see our relationship with mortals as invaluable."

"Likewise, I can't imagine where our society would without the dragons help. Our species can coexist, but one has to wonder… if the western dragons way of thinking reaches this land and begins to take root wouldn't that place are bonding jeopardy?"

"We will not allow it!" Belersrion bellowed. "On our honour, we will protect you!"


Back in the present, Astrid and Merrill just stared at her in disbelief.

"This marked the beginning of a new Dragon War, a second deadly conflict one where all records had been destroyed," said Irene. "The Second Dragon War would later be known as the Dragon King Festival and ironically was sparked by the kindness of dragons."

"1000 years ago?" Astrid stared. "But your human… how have you not aged?"

"I'll address that eventually, you should like this next part so listen well." Her eyes then turned towards Merrill. "I think your little Dragon Slayer friend will hang on to every word. My kingdom was a place of harmony, with humans and dragons living together in peace for generations. Back then several such kingdoms existed in the eastern part of Septem."


1000 years ago, Irene was demonstrating a new form of magic before her people. She was holding a large stick and had it hover over an iron sword. She then swung at the stake right down onto the sword and it shattered into two.

"She broke an iron sword with a wooden stick! Your Majesty, how did you do it?"

"Within Imbuement Magic, I call it Enchantment," she said. "To put it simply I enhanced the wooden stick, the enchantment made it harder than the iron."

"That's amazing! We can use this magic to make a dragon scales even tougher! This is our chance to win the war!"

It was this point that the eastern dragons had attacked the dragons to the West starting an all-out war. Even with the magical assistance of the mortal species, the eastern dragons were heavily outnumbered compared to those of the West.

'However, things did not go in our favour. The sheer number of dragons from the West are dwarfed those on our side. Plus there were those within our own territorial that joined the enemy to disrupt our peaceful way of existence.'


Belersrion returned from the front lines, he was rather battered and bruised and accompanying him was a young elf who was Hiccup Haddock. They met up with Irene within the courtyard.

"Irene," said Belesrion.

"Belesrion," said Irene as she turned to face him, but her eyes widened upon seen his injuries.

"We are losing," said Belesrion.

"And Elven Kingdom has now fallen," said Hiccup.

Irene looked at him. "Who is this?"

"This is Hiccup Haddock, hears from the Elven Kingdom and has brought some terrible news," said Belesrion regretfully.

"Most of my people attempted a last-ditch attempt to end this war, but it backfired," said Hiccup. "And they attempted to create a form of magic that would turn those with evil thoughts to good and it worked, unfortunately, change those with good to evil and everything fell into chaos. What's left of my people have now scattered into nomadic tribes."

"I see," said Irene.

"My wish for peace remains steadfast, I won't give up," Belesrion promised. "No this no matter how many brethren I lose I will still fight."

"I don't understand, why make such a sacrifice?" Irene asked.

"Especially considering it's a losing battle," Hiccup added.

"Why?" he said looking at the two of them and then looked down at Irene. "I told you how your predecessors saved me, this is my debt to pay."

"I knew that, but surely that debt has been long since repaid," said Irene. "You've devoted your life not only to serve me, but all the other mortal races and yet you're willing to give more?"

"Listen my death will not be repaid until you are forever safe, to that end I will pledge my life."

Irene then clenched her fist. "Belesrion… let me join you and fight by your side."

"You can't be serious?" Belesrion stared. "We're up against dragons, not people!"

"Even my kingdom with all of its magic stood no chance against them," Hiccup reminded her.

Belesrion nodded. "You won't survive! Not even with an army, they'll destroy you!"

"I found a way we can win… a new technique," said Irene. "But it is only possible if I imbued myself with your power, will you allow it?"

"The power of a dragon within a human?" Belesrion stared.

Hiccup looked at her in shock. "This sounds utterly experimental, we have no idea whether this magic will come with any kind of side effects."

"Consequences be damned, we will create a new class of Vikings able to fight dragons called Dragon Slayers," said Irene steadfast.


Back in the present, Astrid and Merrill just stared at Irene.

"Are you saying that you are the one that created that kind of magic?" Astrid asked in disbelief.

"I am saying it, you can consider me to be the mother of all Dragon Slayers," said Irene.


Hiccup was still in his deep trance and Ruby and the others were doing everything they could to keep them warm.

"He's not waking up," said Ruby.

"Please Hiccup, wake up!" Toothless pleaded.

"Come on, I know you're still in there somewhere."


Hiccup was wandering through the wilderness and then suddenly appearing directly in front of him was Merrill.

"Do you remember the story that arm enters taught us about the origins of Dragon Slayers Magic?" Merrill asked. "It was someone named Irene."

"I would be starting to get a headache if it wasn't for the fact inside my head," Hiccup groaned.

Eret then suddenly appeared. "Yeah, can't imagine what that is like?"

"You're not helping," said Hiccup rubbing his forehead. "Now I don't suppose even if you can explain how I can free myself of Dragrach?"

"Don't blame us, all we're supposed to do is guide you using the information your brain," said Eret.

"Don't worry we're almost to the end, Hiccup," Merrill assured him.

Hiccup merely sighed and followed them to who knows where.


At the same time, Merrill was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was standing with the original creator Dragon Slaying Magic.

'Your Guild Master had his reservations, but he too joined us and once we had numerous amount of Dragon Slayers, we were able to gain the upper hand in the war. Victory seemed to be within reach and with that victory came to our very survival, however, the great potential that had been unlocked began to take its toll the bodies wielding it. Those unable to suppress this wellspring of power went mad and what is more…'

Irene had returned to her kingdom and was currently in the courtyard, the flowers had not been attended to and were now laying dying around the statue. So will her guards looked at her with concerned looks.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty… you're face what's wrong?"

'Inside those that gained new power grew dragon seeds. Those seeds will turn people into dragons, spelling doom for any Dragon Slayer.'

Irene failed her face cracking and slowly her skin was been replaced by dragon scales.

'To complicate things further, at that time I was carrying a child in my womb… you Astrid. I'm sure you're curious about your father, he was a general of a neighbouring country. Our marriage was political, a solution to a territorial dispute.'

The war continued for quite some time and Irene was always in the front lines and beside her was her husband.

"Can you make it?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

A Timberjack was flying down towards them, but Irene unleashed a powerful burst of magic and it collapsed.

"The Dragon Slayers power is incredible, it borders on supernatural," said her husband.

They then heard a crash on the opposite side of the hill.

"No!" Irene cried.

They rushed up towards the hill and found Belesrion laying on the ground fatally wounded.

"I'm done, this is the end of my journey," he said tiredly.

"Belesrion!" Irene yelled.

"Irene…" he said looking at her weakly. "I filled my duty to protect you, I failed to preserve our peaceful coexistence."

It soon began to rain and Irene stayed by Belesrion side until he finally passed away and then burst into tears. Her husband placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

'Your father fought by my side on many battlefields, and was there to comfort me while I watched Belesrion die. When Acnologia rose the war ended with neither side coming away as the clear victor, as if ridiculing the countless lives that lost Acnologia alone stood victorious. It was during this Dragon War that Drago attempted to use them to rule over the land, but your Guild Master stopped him trapping him in place on Cove Island.

'Then just one week after the fighting start…'


Irene had made her way to her husband's castle, but she didn't exactly get the warm welcome she had expected. She had expected him to be rather repulsed by her new appearance, the right side of her face now resemble dragons scales.

"You monster! I'll kill you!" he yelled in front of his men as he reached for his sword. "Stay back!"

"It's me, Irene!" Irene yelled. "Be patient, I know I can fix this."

However, he didn't believe her. "Be careful, she'll end up just like Acnologia!"

Upon hearing the name Acnologia, all the guards were overcome by fear. Acnologia's destruction had caused mass panic and cause everyone to become afraid of Dragon Slayers, fearing they may end up just like him.

"No, I won't!" Irene pleaded. "He would never choose to harm the dragons!"

"That means you're an enemy of all the mortal races!" her husband spat. "Seize her men, we must lock up this dragon woman for our safety!"

"Stop, listen to me! I'm carrying your child!"

Everyone's eyes widened as they look to the general.

"What did she say?"

"If that's true, then that must mean…"

"The child is cursed."

"I would never father a child with a monster like you!" the general snarled.

To that end the guards grabbed her and tossed her into a prison cell, forcing her to only wear rags. Her hands were bound and she was given very little food and water.

'After that, my life became a living hell, filled only with misery. Torture… Beatings… Dehumanisation… and then…'


Years had passed and Irene's body was now covered in dragon scales, she had given birth to her child as she didn't want to raise her in this dirty prison cell. To that end, she used magic to keep the child within her womb, but there was nothing she could do to stop her husband from beating her.

"Don't worry, I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe from harm," she said as she placed a hand over her stomach.

She looked up and saw her ex-husband looking down at her.

"Dragon woman, the day of your execution has been decided," he said.

"That's fine, but please spare my child!" Irene pleaded.

"I've had enough of this foolishness! No child takes three years to be born!"

"That's because I cast a spell on it, I can't have it here! Not in this hellish place!"

The general and drew his sword. "There is no child! To prove it is split open your belly myself!"

Irene's eyes widened in horror. "No, please don't! I'm begging you!"

The general than swung his sword down upon her striking the right side of her hip, creating a deep scar. However, his actions had only sealed his fate as Irene had now grown dragon wings. Overcome by fear he dropped his sword and fell to the ground and looked at her terrifyingly.

"See you just like Acnologia," he said quivering. "A blight on everyone!"

Anger seared right through Irene and then she slowly began to transform into a dragon.

"No, you monster!" the general yelled waving his sword about.

However, Irene's nearly slammed her massive claw down on top of him killing him instantly and demolishing the dungeon. This caused the entire castle to shock and every single guard felt it.

"Wait, what was that?"

"It's coming from the dungeon!"

"Let's move! We need to save the general!"

"Hurry!"

They rushed down into the dungeons which were completely demolished and the only thing they found was Irene, who had transformed into a Buffalord and looked quite angry.

"A dragon?"

"It must be that dragon woman!"

"You'll pay for killing the general!"

Irene was overcome by rage and immediately unleashed her dragon breath down upon them, she then took off with such force that it demolished the rest of the castle. She then flew off towards the mountains.

"This can't be happening," she said horrified. "I know I'm still a human, I don't want this! I want to be a person again! Somebody, please help me!"

'Centuries past and during all that time, I carried you inside me, Astrid… my child. I lived deep within the mountains far away from human civilisation searching for a way to lift this curse. Then one day…'


1000 years had passed and Irene lived in isolation within the mountains and in all that time she hadn't found a way to lift her curse. One day she just stood there looking down at her reflection in and cried out in anguish.

Then suddenly stepping out of the trees was none other than Drago, or at least a projection of him as at the time his real body was trapped.

"Do my eyes deceive me? It's been ages since I have last seen a dragon," he said.

"Who are you?" Irene asked.

"No, you're a human aren't you?" he said looking intrigued.

'On that day I met his Majesty, his magic ability was unparalleled and at the time he was only at half strength. In a blink of an eye, he cured the infliction that had plagued me for centuries.'

Drago raised two fingers and they began to glow and then suddenly Irene found herself human once more. She looked down at her human hands and her joy was beyond comprehension.

"Human…" she said hardly believe in her eyes. "I can hardly believe it… I'm back. I'm human!"

"This is merely an appearance, you'll never truly returned to who you once were," said Drago.

"It's okay, I can live with that," she said as she bent down and looked at her reflection in the pond. "I'm so happy just looking at my old self after all this time feels my heart with joy."

Drago merely smiled.


Irene then ran to the nearest town and the townspeople were more than happy to provide you with some decent clothing in a hot meal.

'Soon I discovered the shortcomings of my new condition.'

Irene ate the hot meal that had been given to her, but there was no taste.

"There's no flavour," she said.

She then began eating everything she could, hoping to at least get the sensation of flavour.

'I gorged myself sick, but I couldn't taste anything.'


Unfortunately, that was only one of her many problems as she discovered later that night she found herself unable to fall asleep.

"So tired," she said shivering. "By the gods, all I want is to fall asleep."

She also felt this aggravating itch and she was freezing although it was a warm summer night.

"This pain… I'm so itchy and so cold," she said hugging herself. "What's happening to me? Why won't it stop? I just want to live like a normal human."

She then remembered Drago's warnings that she only appeared to be human from the outside, but remained a dragon on the inside. She felt an incredible amount of rage, the likes of which he hadn't felt when her husband tried to murder her.

"I am not a monster! I'm human! I'm human!" she roared.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times she said it, the fact remains that she was still technically a dragon. She also can forget that she was holding another life inside of her, she had been carrying that baby for nearly 1000 years.

"I can't have my baby suffered as I have, I wanted to be human," she said.

Her eyes then let up as an idea formed in her mind. "Human? Growing inside of me is a human… I'm carrying a human life with a human body. Could be a new beginning, I can enchant myself into this child and then I would have a human body, it would be just like before. I would be in you being in a new body, I would have a new chance at life. I will beat you and you will be me, can my child letters join and become one."


Back in the present, both Astrid's face was completely emotionless and Merrill just looked at her in horror.

"Alas, it didn't work," said Irene regretfully. "Enchanting myself into the child was an impossible dream. Since I have no use for you, I throw you away so you will way me down. I simply left you in some backwater hamlet."

"And that was Rosemary village?" Astrid asked.

"I didn't care to remember the name."

Merrill looked at Astrid. "Astrid…"

Merrill merely raised her hand to stop her. "It's all right, guess I should thank you if only to give me the gift of life."

"A waste of breath, your life was no gift I promise," said Irene.

"What's wrong with you? She's your child!" Merrill yelled.

"You may be right, leaving me behind was the true gift," said Astrid as she replaced her armour with her Night Fury armour. "If you hadn't thrown me away, I may never have met my real family."