Vikings of Berk: Defenders of the Skies
Prologue,
Two weeks had passed since the Vikings of Berk had forged their alliance with the Night- Furies of Toothless's long- thought- lost colony.
Two weeks since the entire colony of Night- Furies had relocated to the island of Berk; and settled- into their new system of caves, on the far side of the island.
Twelve days since Hiccup had entered 'The Dragon Trance', and forged his new armour and sword from the unique deposit of ore; that was a gift to him, from the Night- Furies.
The true affect of the new sense of security that had settled over the villagers; following their forming an alliance with the Night- Furies, was only now becoming apparent: Without having to worry about attackers striking under the cover of night, while their new allies kept watch, the Vikings were able to sleep long and deep at night.
Everyone was less irritable; quarrels became less frequent, less 'heated', and easier to resolve. It took Stoick several days to break his habit of bringing out a block of ice; to treat the headache he'd always seem to develop by the end of a 'normal' day, the habit was so deeply ingrained.
Berk was not without enemies, they all knew it; but the threat their foes posed didn't seem nearly as potent as it once had. Besides, even in times of peace, it was not in a Viking's nature to 'go soft'.
A New Training Exercise
In the Dragon Training Academy of Berk, five Viking teens were gathered, along with their dragons: Hiccup and his Night- Fury, Toothless; Astrid and her Deadly- Nadder, Stormfly; Fishlegs and his Gronkle, Meatlug; Snotlout and his Monstrous- Nightmare, Hookfang; and the twins: Ruff and Tuff, who shared the two- headed Zippleback, Barf and Belch.
As one might expect, though, Hiccup – the first Viking to ride a dragon; the one that, with 'some' help, forged the peace between the Vikings of Berk and the dragons; and the son and heir of Chief Stoick, was the official leader of the Riders of Berk.
"Ok, gang: Over here," Hiccup called, gesturing to the other Vikings to join him and Astrid; where they stood, in front of the wooden boards they used to pin maps and the like. When everyone had gathered, Hiccup continued, "Tomorrow's training- mission was actually Astrid's idea; so: I'll let her explain it."
As Astrid stepped forward, Snotlout and the twins groaned. "What?" Astrid's satisfied expression falling away, as she spoke.
"Your training missions are so hard," Fishlegs replied, holding up a bandaged hand, as he spoke. "I mean… 'Hand- to- claw combat'?" Meatlug licked her rider's bandaged hand, and Fishlegs hugged the dragon in return.
Astrid's heart fell, but Hiccup spoke- up before she could, "All of our training- missions give us a chance to test our limits without placing ourselves in actual danger." Fishlegs looked as though he was about to say more, but Hiccup held up a finger, "If you happened to come across a wild- dragon when you're alone, for example… Wouldn't it be better to know how to fight that species of dragon, or how to evade it if you can't; by practicing with one that isn't actually trying to kill you?"
Fishlegs was silent for a moment, "Huh… I never thought about it like that."
Snotlout snorted, "Ok, fine; but 'Spine- Dodging'?"
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at Snotlout, "Would you prefer it if they hit you?"
In a voice heavy with sarcasm, Astrid muttered, "Wouldn't that be a tragedy." Hiccup grinned, but showed no other sign that he'd heard. Snotlout blinked, understood, and scowled.
Hiccup continued, "Nadder- spines, crossbow- bolts; it's a good training- exercise… kind of wish I'd thought of it."
Two weeks ago, a few hours before Hiccup had entered the Dragon- Trance; he and Astrid had found a few minutes to themselves, to talk. It was then that Hiccup admitted that he'd 'put the pieces together', and had figured out 'what Astrid wasn't saying.'
That had marked the end of the awkwardness that had plagued Astrid, ever since she'd come to realize her true feelings towards Hiccup. Since then, the two of them were more casual and comfortable in their daily interactions; and they were pretty sure that the change had not gone unnoticed.
Snotlout continued to pester Astrid; he was either oblivious to, or deliberately ignoring, the fact that she had no interest in him.
Struggling not to blush at Hiccup's praise, indirect though it was; Astrid forced her mind back to the topic at hand. "And this mission is easy: 'Dragon Island," she said – gesturing to the map as she spoke, "You just need to go from this beach on the east side, to this cave on the west side." The others seemed to relax, moving forward to take a closer look at the map. "At night," Shocked exclamations from the others. "With no camping gear," Exclamations of disbelief from the others, "And no dragons." Astrid finished, trying not to laugh at the others' expressions.
"What? That's crazy: What's the point?" It was Snotlout, of course.
Astrid had expected the question, and had her answer ready, "To work on our stealth- skills, and our wild- dragon defense."
"Astrid's right," Hiccup said, picking- up where Astrid left- off. "We all know how strong we are with our dragons, but we have to be able to survive and defend ourselves if we ever get separated from them." Snotlout rolled his eyes; Ruff and Tuff grumbled, but no one argued.
"Trust me," Astrid finished, "It'll be fun!" More grumbling followed this; but, with Hiccup's support, it didn't faze her. There had been times when part of her wondered whether Hiccup was simply humoring her by introducing her ideas as training- missions, but the explanations he'd given made sense.
That night,
After only a few hours in the air, Dragon Island appeared, on the horizon. As instructed, none of them had brought any camping- gear. However, each of them carried a lit lantern, and Hiccup had brought his latest 'project': An ornate metal shield that didn't appear to be anything special, despite Hiccup's assurances that there was more to it than met the eye.
Once they'd landed, they set out along the beach; towards the spot where they would split- up, and begin to make their way towards the cave that was their goal.
When they reached the spot, Hiccup said, "Ok: One of us is going to have to skip the drill and take the dragons to the gave on the far side of the island. That way, they won't try to help us."
At that exact moment, a wild- dragon, a Deadly- Nadder, appeared out of nowhere. Before any of them could react, Toothless and Stormfly had driven it away.
"Just like that," Hiccup finished.
Seeing a way out, Fishlegs went for it, "I think the obvious choice is…"
"Me," Tuff interrupted, "Me; I volunteer!"
So, once the others had dismounted, Tuff and the dragons rose into the sky. A moment later, they were out of sight. With no reason to delay, the riders wished each other good- luck; and set off into the woods, each picking a different path to follow.
Astrid,
Mere minutes after the five of them had parted ways, Astrid encountered her first dragon: a Deadly- Nadder. Familiar as she was with this species of dragon, she avoided its attacks with ease. Before long, it lost interest in her, and went on its way.
Hiccup,
Hiccup's first dragon- encounter was with a pair of Gronkles. Without a second thought, he snatched up two chunks of medium- sized chunks of granite; which, he recalled, Fishlegs had said was "Mestlug's favorite".
The moment the rocks left his hand, the two Gronkles lost interest in Hiccup, and lumbered off after the unexpected- treat.
Hiccup was about to continue on his way, when he saw, "A campfire… Seriously? What part of 'stealth'skills is so hard to understand?" He sighed, and he set- off in the new direction.
Snotlout,
Meanwhile, Snotlout was making his way to the top of a cliff. When he reached the top; he spotted a log, which had fallen across a chasm, forming a reasonably sturdy- looking bridge.
Snotlout made his way to the log, set down the lantern and stretched- out on the log; complimenting himself on being "at- home in the wilderness".
The moment the words were out of his mouth, he lost his balance, fell off the log, and landed with a splash in a small, but, fortunately for him, deep pool.
Snotlout swam to the edge, and pulled himself out; more than a little relieved that no one had been there to see him.
Two hours later,
Hiccup,
After what must have been close to two hours, Hiccup was nearing the clearing where the campfire blazed. He entered the clearing, fully expecting to see Snotlout sitting by the fire. Much to his surprise, he saw that; aside from with a small- arsenal of weapons, the clearing was empty.
Convinced that Snotlout had to be near- by, Hiccup was about to call out, when something slammed into him from behind, and he went down!
A moment later, having regained his bearings, Hiccup looked up to see "Dagur!"
The Chief of the Berserkers' Tribe was just as surprised to see him, "Hiccup; old friend!" He exclaimed, 'helping' Hiccup to his feet. "You're alive!"
"Uh… Last time I checked," Hiccup replied, while his mind raced. "Dagur… Uh; how long has it been since…?"
"Since you saved me from that dragon- attack, back on Berk!" Dagur's sentence drifted off, "Speaking of which: what happened to that Night- Fury that attacked you?"
"Oh, uh… It got away." Hiccup managed, grateful, for once, that he and Toothless weren't traveling together.
But Dagur didn't seem to be listening, and he had a strange look in his eyes, "Come to think of it; just what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here…?" Hiccup repeated; as he raced to come up with an answer that Dagur would buy.
"Don't answer that!" Dagur broke- in, "I know exactly why you're here! You're here for the same reason I am: You're here… to hunt dragons!"
'Well that's as good an answer as any; since he's obviously willing to buy it,' Hiccup decided. Aloud he said, "Ok; you got me: That's … why I'm here; All by myself." Hiccup spoke the last three words he said 'slightly' louder than was necessary; on the off chance that one of his friends happened to have spotted the fire, as he has, and was near- by.
Once they'd caught- up, nothing would do but for Dagur to show- off all of the hunting- trophies from his current visit to the island. Finally, Hiccup had to ask, "Just… how long have you been here, Dagur?"
"What? Oh, uh… A couple of days; weeks, maybe… Hard to tell: It's all a blur when I'm on the hunt!" He shot to his feet, then, "But what are we doing sitting around here for? There're more than enough dragons here for both of us!" Dagur turned set- off, into the forest. Reluctantly, Hiccup followed: What other choice was there?
An hour later,
One hour after Hiccup had, unintentionally, teamed- up with Dagur; they heard a rustling in the underbrush. Dagur had his crossbow up and ready to fire; and he would have, if Snotlout hadn't burst out into the open – mere seconds before Dagur could launch a bolt.
The moment Snotlout saw Hiccup, he said, "Hiccup; oh, am I glad to see you! You would not believe what I've been up to; this place is crawling with dragons!"
Hiccup rolled his eyes; "It's called 'Dragon Island' for a reason, Snotlout."
Then Snotlout saw Dagur, "Dagur! What are you doing here?"
Dagur also rolled his eyes; "Snot… hat; is it?" Snotlout corrected him, but Dagur had turned his attention to Hiccup. "I thought you said you were here alone."
Fortunately, Hiccup had anticipated just such an encounter, and he had his answer ready, "Well… I was; but then I found you, and now we found Snotlout."
Even as he spoke, he shot Snotlout a look that – 'Thank Thor' – Snotlout seemed to understand, "Well; what are we standing around here for? These dragons aren't going to hunt themselves … Well, some might; but that's not the point: Am I right?"
This seemed to satisfy, or at least distract, Dagur; and they continued on their way.
By the end of the second hour, they'd also found Fishlegs; and Hiccup was sure he'd caught the briefest glimpse of Astrid. Just before Snotlout almost gave- away her presence: He was about to call her by name, of all the simple- minded things to do!
As they walked, Dagur said, "You know; we're a lot alike, Hiccup."
This surprised Hiccup, "Really? How… How's that?"
"Well; we're both born- leaders, sons of chiefs," Fishlegs voiced his agreement with Dagur on both of those points, and Hiccup also had to agree. Dagur continued, "Who then had to be eliminated; so that we could gain control!"
"Yeah… Wait – What?" For a moment, Hiccup was sure he'd misheard. "No, no: My dad hasn't been … 'eliminated' from anything!"
"But he could be; easily… Just say the word, and," Without warning, Dagur thumbed the release on his crossbow. In less time than it took to breathe, the point of the crossbow- bolt had punched into the trunk of a tree, the shaft of the bolt still quivering.
There was a moment of silence, then; which ended when Hiccup said, "Yeah… That's… Something to think about." Even though Hiccup was facing away from them, the others could tell from his tone that the mere idea was deeply troubling to Hiccup.
A sudden noise caught Dagur's attention, and he rushed off to investigate it. The moment he was gone, Astrid stepped out of hiding, "Did Dagur say that he was hunting a Night- Fury? Hiccup; it must be Toothless!"
"I know; and if he's loose, that means that all of our dragons are! The rest of you have got to go find Ruff and Tuff: Find your dragons and…"
The sound of footsteps announced Dagur's return. A moment later, he reappeared, making his way back to where they waited.
Unfortunately, Dagur caught sight of Astrid before she could leap out of sight… Looking first at Astrid, and than at Hiccup, Dagur said, "Another one? Did you leave anyone back on Berk?"
Hiccup thought fast; turned to the others, and said, "I can't hunt with an entourage: Go back to Berk; leave us to our business!" He saw the concern in Astrid's expression, and shot her a look that said, 'Don't worry; I'll be fine!'
Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout hurried off; to do as Hiccup had asked: They had to find their dragons, and they didn't have time to waste.
Soon after the others had left,
It was, perhaps, five minutes after the others had left that Dagur caught his first glimpse of Toothless. With a shout of "THERE!" he charged after the jet- black dragon.
Hiccup had known roughly where his dragon was from the moment that he and Toothless were within a half- mile of each- other. When that distance had shrunk to a quarter- mile, Hiccup drew on the bond that connected the two of them, and used it to relay everything he knew about where they were; and of Dagur's hunt, across to Toothless.
He could tell when Toothless received the information: He could feel both Toothless's anger, and his determination; now he was here.
By the time Hiccup caught- up with Dagur, he'd backed Toothless up to the edge of the edge of the cliff. The black- dragon was using a rocky shelf, which rose up above them, for cover.
Before Hiccup could ask, projected his voice into Hiccup's mind, 'Dagur's fleet is in just off the coast: If I try to fly, I will be an easy target… There is only one option left to us.'
He didn't have to tell Hiccup what it was.
"Dagur: I'm not going to let you kill that dragon," Hiccup said, while Dagur was still trying to find a clear shot.
Dagur sighed, "Fine: You saw it first! You can take home… a wing, or something."
"Actually, I plan on taking the whole thing." Hiccup took a deep breath, and let out a flawless Night- Fury call. Before Hiccup's call had faded to silence, Toothless had leapt to the top of the rocky outcropping; answered Hiccup's call, with his own.
Then, in a single leap, Toothless launched himself from the top of the outcropping, landing next to Hiccup.
For a moment, Dagur was in shock: his mind struggling to process the most recent turn of events. Finally, he managed to say, "Is that a…"
"Saddle," Hiccup finished. "Yes, Dagur: That's exactly what it is."
The shock in Dagur's eyes quickly turned into anger, "So I was…"
"Right, all along," Hiccup confirmed, climbing into Toothless's saddle as he spoke. "We do not kill dragons on Berk; we ride them."
"Your father lied to me; you lied to me!"
"We were trying to keep the peace between our tribes," Hiccup corrected.
"By making a fool of me?"
"You… don't really need a lot of help with that," Hiccup commented.
"You could have been my brother, Hiccup," Dagur began; then his eyes narrowed, "But now, you're my enemy!"
"Have it your way," Hiccup shrugged. "But remember this, Dagur: We have the dragons, and we're not afraid to use them." Toothless punctuated the end of Hiccup's sentence with a deep, echoing growl. Then Toothless took off, and began to rise into the sky.
Glancing back, Hiccup saw Dagur pluck something from his belt, in preparation to hurl it at them. In the distance, but drawing closer by the second, he saw Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins… all of them sitting on their respective dragons!
Knowing he had only seconds, Hiccup yanked his shield off his arm; and pressed one of the small levers, concealed inside.
Immediately, the shield split along the center; from top to bottom, and the mechanism of a crossbow clicked into place! Plucking several arrows from his quiver, he shot them; one after another; at Dagur, forcing him to take cover. When Dagur again got to his feet, Hiccup and Toothless were out of range.
By the time Dagur's enraged bellow had faded to silence, Hiccup and Toothless had re-joined their friends; who were busy complimenting the new 'toy', Hiccup had developed.
Once Hiccup told them about the Berserker fleet, however, they decided that now would be a good time to go.
They dragons turned in the direction of Berk: They were going home.
To be continued…