Race to the Edge
Dragon Eye of the Beholder Pt.1
The little Isle of Berk sat in the middle of the ocean under bright sunlight. Vikings and dragons were bustling about putting up new additional updates to the village, making it more comfortable for both humans and dragons alike. One of the recent updates that was still being built; was a huge hanger for the dragons to sleep in at their leisure. Among the villagers were five of Berk's finest dragon riders. They had worked together when Berk was under attack by wild dragons and Berserkers. Berk was thriving in the aftermath of the war. They had a very healthy alliance with the king and queen of the dragons, who lived in the Dragons' homeland, Draconia. With such a powerful nation for an ally Berk couldn't be more safe.
Out over the ocean was Berk's very first dragon rider, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. He rode through the clouds on his Night Fury, Toothless. The dragon was Hiccup's very first friend, and one of his most loyal. They had so much in common, one thing in particular was that they were both missing limbs; Toothless was missing his left tail fin, and Hiccup was missing his left leg.
At the moment they were practicing new tricks. Hiccup steered Toothless higher into the sky, making him go as high as possible. They just cleared the cloud line, when suddenly Hiccup's safety straps unhooked themselves from the saddle. Hiccup slipped off the saddle and fell back towards the ocean. Toothless dived after him. They both fell for several feet before Toothless managed to get under his rider and catch him on is back.
"Thanks bud," Hiccup said as he strapped himself back in. "I definitely need to get my own pair of wings." Toothless looked at him confused. How was Hiccup supposed to get his own wings? He was human, and humans didn't have wings. Hiccup steered Toothless back towards the village.
As he flew over, he saw his fellow riders. With no Berserkers to fight and no new dragons to train, the Dragon Riders had found other things to keep them occupied. Snotlout was now working in the armory with Gobber, the twins: Ruffnut and Tuffnut spent most of their time pranking everyone, and Fishlegs was busy teaching the younger vikings about dragons. Hiccup was the only one with free time, and spent most of it exploring the Archipelago in search of new dragons. But recently Hiccup hadn't seen any new dragons, just the old ones. He refused to give up however, he knew there were more dragons out there somewhere.
He clicked the stirrup, which operated Toothless's red tail fin. The dragon sped up, leaving Berk far behind. Suddenly Astrid and her Deadly Nadder Stormfly pulled up along side. Hiccup was happy to see her as always.
"Hiccup, I've been following you since the armory," Astrid said. "I want to tell you something." But Hiccup was too excited to listen, he looked through his spyglass and scanned the horizon.
"Hey! I think I saw movement up ahead," he said.
"Hiccup can we talk?" Astrid asked. Hiccup ignored her and made Toothless go faster. He steered him towards the sea stack where he thought he spotted a new dragon. But as it turned out, it was only the Twins pulling off another prank.
Disappointed Hiccup flew off and landed on a different sea stack. He dismounted and sat on the edge. Toothless laid beside him, wormed his head under Hiccup's arm and purred. Moments later Astrid and Stormfly landed near them. Astrid dismounted and approached Hiccup. He looked pretty downhearted, and she could guess why.
"Hiccup you've explored the whole Archipelago twice," she said. "And we haven't seen a new dragon in years."
"That can't be all there is," Hiccup said.
"But what if it is?" said Astrid. "What if we're done? I've given this a lot of thought Hiccup, and Sromfly and I are joining the Berk guard." Hiccup looked at her a bit surprised.
"You're serious?" he said.
"It's time to think about what's next," said Astrid. "Maybe you should find out what's next for you." Hiccup got to his feet. They were about to mount their dragons, when they heard a loud familiar screech. They began looking around for the source of the sound.
"That sounded like a Night Fury," said Astrid. Toothless beamed up at this and let out his own calls. Then a fast, dark dragon shot passed the sea stack heading in the direction of Berk. Astrid and Hiccup quickly mounted their dragons and took off after it. Toothless let out another call, and it was answered. It seemed to be right ahead of them. Toothless sped up, Stormfly followed. They spotted the black dragon flying straight ahead. It wasn't flying very fast and they caught up to it easily, and could now see something on its back.
"Hey Night Fury!" Stormfly called. The dragon looked over his wing, and they suddenly recognized him.
"Tenor!" Hiccup called.
Tenor was a hybrid dragon, the rarest hybrid dragon in the world. He was half Night Fury and half Blackfang dragon. He was as tall as an Arabian stallion; with the glossy black scales, body, wings, fins, sonar flaps and eyes of a Night Fury. In addition he had a narrow head, squarish forehead, long wolf-shaped legs, sharp talons, a long muscular neck, and in his mouth was a set of razor sharp teeth that were so poisonous they were solid black. His teeth could be retracted, yet another Night Fury characteristic. He wore black armor, with a head plate that doubled as his crown. On the head plate was his personal crest, a silver crescent moon surrounded by silver stars. Tenor was fast, powerful, stealthy, young, noble, cocky, and very clever. He worked with the Dragon King and Queen to run the Dragons' homeland. The other dragons knew him as the Prime Minister. He listened to the many problems of the dragons and passed them along to the King and Queen, and helped them come up with a solution.
Tenor beamed as he slowed and the other two dragons pulled alongside him.
"I thought I recognized you two lovebirds," Tenor said. "Out for a romantic flight?"
"Not really," Hiccup said. "We're looking for new species of dragons. But we haven't found any in years."
"Exactly how hard have you been looking?" Tenor asked. "There are many different dragons out there."
"What are you doing out here Tenor?" Astrid asked.
"We're just traveling," Tenor said.
"We?" asked Hiccup, looking around for his two comrades. Tenor looked over his wing at the thing on his back. Now they could see that the young Dragon Healer, Serenity, was laid on her back fast asleep, her head resting on her trusted her trusted medical and her black cowboy hat was pulled over her eyes. Toothless and Stormfly both beamed.
Serenity was a beautiful young woman that lived with dragons. She had been cast out of her family when she was five years old. She was raised by a red and orange dragon named Ruby, who was more a father to her than a friend. She had a beautiful round face, emerald green eyes, and light golden brown hair. On her right cheek was a thin, almost invisible scar where she had been struck with a shovel when she was cast out. She wore a green shirt, blue leather jacket and trousers, black leather fingerless gloves, brown leather boots with blue and green embroidery around the top. Her cowboy hat was covered in black dragon scales. Serenity was a woman of many talents. In addition to being an excellent dragon healer; she could cook, garden, sew, knit, and sing. She was the only human in the entire world who could actually talk to dragons, speaking in their tongue. As a result every dragon she met had no trouble trusting her. The dragons she lived with treasured her more than all the gold in the world, she was practically a daughter to them.
Tenor smiled and nudged her. She stirred and sat up.
"What is it Tenor?" she yawned. She straightened her hat and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"We have company," Tenor said. When Serenity saw what he was talking about, she smiled.
"Hi Serenity," said Astrid. "Sorry to wake you."
"That's ok," Serenity said. "I probably was about to wake up anyway."
"How long have you been traveling?" asked Hiccup.
"We've lost count," Tenor said. "Must have been weeks. We just arrived here."
"Where are you staying?" asked Astrid. Serenity stretched her arms and legs.
"I have many friends up here," she said.
"You can stay on Berk and resupply," Hiccup suggested. Serenity leaned forward and patted Tenor's neck.
"What do you say Tenor?" she asked. "You want to visit Berk?"
"Ah, sure," Tenor said. "I could use a few days rest."
"Follow us," said Hiccup. He opened Toothless's tail fin and he sped up. Serenity clicked the reins and Tenor followed.
Soon they landed in the plaza and the three riders dismounted. Toothless nuzzled Serenity's shoulder, happy to see her again. Then he licked her face. She laughed.
"Hello handsome," she said. "It's nice to see you too." Toothless purred at the complement. She scratched him behind his ears, and he purred louder. The other dragons soon joined them.
"Tenor, my father's in our house if you want to let him know you're here," Hiccup said.
"Ok, thank you," Tenor said. "Serenity, you think you'll be ok out here?"
"Yes sir," Serenity said.
"You don't have to worry Prime Minister," Stormfly said. "No harm will come to her here." Tenor nodded once then headed up to the big house on the hill.
When he and Hiccup got there, Hiccup opened the door and Tenor followed him inside. Chief Stoic the Vast was sitting at his table picking at his food. He looked up when the door opened.
"Ah, hello Tenor," he said. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Hello Stoic," Tenor said, he sat on his haunches. "Serenity and I are out traveling. We were passing this way, and decided to stop by for a few days to rest and resupply."
"Oh, please be my gusts," Stoic said. "It's always a pleasure to have our esteemed allies visit us." Tenor gave a grateful nod. He turned to go when the door opened again, and in came the Twins supporting a half-conscious Trader Johann. Tenor immediately leaped aside. Stoic jumped up.
"Johann are you alright?" he asked. "What happened?" Johann took a few moments to catch his breath before he spoke.
"Dagur," he finally managed to say. They all became alert.
"What about Dagur?" asked Hiccup.
"He's out," Johann said. "He escaped, and you're high on his list of people to take revenge on."
"Sit down tell us as much as you can," said Stoic. The Twins all but dragged Johann to a nearby chair. Johann told them all what happened.
Apparently Dagur had commandeered Johann's ship and left him for dead. He was stranded in the middle of the ocean until the Twins picked him up. Shortly after he said all this, Johann passed out. Stoic turned to his son.
"We need to get Dagur back into jail," he said.
"I am right on it Dad," Hiccup assured him, then he turned to Tenor. "Will you help us Tenor." Tenor snorted slightly.
"Gladly," he said without a second thought. "Provided I can find a safe place for Serenity. You know she's no fighter, and I don't want her to get hurt."
"What about your comrades?" asked Stoic.
"My king is preoccupied by a wall he's building around our waters," Tenor explained. "He and Aurora don't want to go anywhere until it's finished. But you've still got me, and all I have to do is keep Serenity safe."
"Well, she'll be safe here," Stoic said. "You won't have to worry about her."
"Very well," Tenor said. "Let's get started."
Hiccup gathered up his fellow riders and went to the arena. He pulled out a map of the whole Archipelago. Tenor was among them. He left Serenity under the Golden Apple Tree she grew in her early years on Berk. Hiccup brought everyone up to speed.
"Johann said his ship was commandeered by Dagur here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map. "We need to find him and get him back behind bars. Tenor has graciously agreed to help us." Fishlegs seemed to like this news.
"Yeah! we have the rarest, most dangerous dragon in the world on our side," he exclaimed, throwing his arms around Tenor's neck. Tenor snorted disgustedly.
"Get off me fishy fingers!" he snapped, shoving Fishlegs off him. Tenor looked at the map. He saw a ring of clouds drawn around the Archipelago.
"What's this for?" he asked.
"That's the edge of the Archipelago," Hiccup said. "No one's ventured passed it."
"Really why?" Tenor asked. But at that moment Johann came up to them.
"Johann! Are you alright?" asked Hiccup.
"Yes Master Hiccup," said Johann. "Dagur stole my ship and he has access to a rare map that leads to a graveyard of ships just beyond the fog. I store all my treasures there."
"If we go there we have a chance to catch Dagur," Hiccup said.
"I must warn you Hiccup," Johann said. "There is a ship there you must avoid. It's loaded with booby traps, it's called the Reaper."
"Tenor will you come?" asked Hiccup.
"Yes," said Tenor. "But first I must tell Serenity where I'm going. I don't want her to find me missing and think I've abandoned her. I'll be right with you." He turned and cantered out of the arena. He spread his wings and flew up to the apple tree. Serenity was sitting in the shade of the apple tree with all the dragons around her. She looked up when he landed.
"Serenity, Hiccup has asked me to join him and his riders on a manhunt for Dagur," Tenor explained. "He's loose and I wish to help catch him."
"What? No," Serenity said, jumping to her feet. "Please don't go." Tenor lowered his head to her level.
"Hey, I'll come back," he said softly. "It'll be okay." He gently nuzzled her cheek. Serenity hugged his head. Then Tenor turned to the other dragons.
"You should meet your riders in the plaza," he said. Toothless led the way down to the plaza. Tenor turned back to his rider.
"You can come see us off," he said. Serenity mounted him and rode him down to the plaza. Hiccup was just getting through telling Stoic his plan. Tenor joined them and Serenity dismounted.
"You going with them?" Stoic asked Tenor. The dragon gave a quick nod.
"They'll need cover fire, doesn't matter how much they deny it," he said. The riders mounted their dragons.
"Take me with you," Serenity all but begged.
"No," Tenor said sternly. "It's too dangerous. You stay here where it's safe. I'm coming back I assure you." Serenity thew her arms around his neck, burying her face in his scaly chest.
"You better come back," she said. "I can't bare to lose another friend."
"I understand," Tenor said, gently. He pulled back, gave her cheek a quick lick, and followed the other riders out over the ocean.
It took all day to reach the location. Hiccup followed a map provided by Johann. Tenor flew slightly above their formation. It had been a while since the riders all flew together. Hiccup killed time by testing their memory. Tenor was quite impressed. Soon they reached the ship graveyard. It was night fall and both Tenor and Toothless were nearly invisible. Everyone kept their eyes open for Dagur. They landed on a floating ship.
"No sign of Dagur," said Astrid.
"Looks like we got here first," said Hiccup.
"Now what do we do?" asked Snotlout.
"We wait here for Dagur to show up," said Hiccup.
"How long do we have to wait here?" Fishlegs wanted to know. "It could take a long time for Dagur to get here."
"He's got a point," said Astrid."We can't wait here forever."
"Well we can't let Dagur get his hands on Johann's treasures," said Hiccup.
"Or he'll use the profit to build a new armada," said Astrid. Hiccup considered.
"Say Tenor, how big is Re's armada?" he asked.
"Re doesn't have armadas," Tenor said. "He has squadrons, and they are very big."
"How about we just get Johann's stuff and take it back to Berk?" Ruffnut suggested. Hiccup felt the torch light up in his head.
"I like it," he said. "We'll split up and gather up all we can find. And we have to keep our eyes out for Dagur, he could show up at anytime." Suddenly they heard slithering sounds coming from the water and huge eels leaped out of the water, letting out loud screams. The dragons became afraid.
"Stay close to your dragons, so they don't get spooked and fly off," Hiccup called. But no sooner had he said this than all the dragons bolted to the sky, except for Toothless and Tenor. Then the eels wrapped themselves around the ship and began pulling it into the water. The deck tilted causing everyone to fall towards the vicious eels. Tenor took off, and Hiccup followed on Toothless. Snotlout managed to snag the mast. Fishlegs snagged his foot, Ruff and Tuff snagged his foot, and Astrid tried to grab Tuff's foot but she slipped and fell into the water. Hiccup immediately dove Toothless in after her, while Tenor fought off the eels. Toothless swam through the water and Hiccup grabbed Astrid. They flew her to safety while Tenor got the others. They landed on a different ship nearby.
"We have no time to loose," Hiccup said. "We need to get Johann's stuff." Then he looked at a ship nearby that looked very different from the others. It was bigger, and had three separate hauls. Hiccup read the name on the side of the ship; The Reaper.
"Hiccup why are you looking at that ship?" Astrid asked, a bit worried.
"I was thinking about what Johann said," Hiccup replied. "That ship is heavily booby trapped. There must be something in there that they don't want people to find, and I'm going to find out. Will you come too Tenor?"
"Why not," Tenor said causally, with a shrug.
So while the other riders and dragons went to the various ships; Hiccup, Toothless, and Tenor landed on the deck of the Reaper. Both dragons grew tense. They made their way over to the hatch.
"How about we see what's down there bud?" he said. Toothless growled. Hiccup just shrugged.
"Alright, looks like I'm going alone," he said. He took one step towards the hatch, when a rope tightened around his metal leg and yanked him towards the side. Toothless shot a plasma blast and the rope broke. Hiccup got to his feet and looked over the side.
"Ok, no one goes through that much trouble unless they're hiding something," he said. He went back to the hatch and opened it. He descended the ladder very carefully. Tenor and Toothless watched and waited. When Hiccup got to the bottom and set foot on the ground, a snare trap snapped shut on his metal leg. Toothless and Tenor jumped down to join him.
"One of the benefits of having a metal leg," Hiccup said, as he pried his leg free. Then the three of them made their way through the ship, treading lightly. They entered a wide corridor with cages on either side of it. Inside the cages were dragon skeletons. Toothless moaned sadly, disturbed by what he saw.
"I'm sorry you had to see that bud," Hiccup said sympathetically. "Whoever owned this ship was no friend of dragons."
"Well that narrows it down," Tenor said sarcastically. They made their way down the corridor. Suddenly Hiccup stepped on a spot on the floor, which caused several crossbows on the wall to start shooting at them. Hiccup blocked them with his special shield, and Tenor was protected by his armor. They ran down the corridor and round a corner. The firing soon subsided. The three of them took a second to catch their breath. Then Hiccup spotted a door, with fancy gold dragon embroidery all over it.
"Commander's quarters," Hiccup said, reading a plaque on the door. They slowly approached the door. Hiccup turned to the two dragons.
"Okay, here's the plan," he said, but before he could finish Toothless blasted the door to splinters.
"I like yours better," Hiccup said. They went through the doorway and into the office. It was very quiet. Sitting in the middle of the room was a desk and a chair. A suit of armor was sitting in the chair, with a Monstrous Nightmare skull hooked onto the back. More dragon skulls lined the top of the wall. Sitting on the desk was a curious cylinder, made of wood, stone, and metal. Hiccup walked up to it, and removed the skeletal hand off it. He got a better look at the thing. It had markings in the shapes of dragons on the side. Hiccup suspected it was a spyglass of some sort.
"I don't know what this is," he said. "But if it's on this ship it's no good for dragons, which means we're not leaving it here for Dagur." Hiccup carefully grabbed the cylinder and removed it from the desk. He waited for something to happen. Then suddenly a big ax landed blade down in the deck.
"Giant ax" he said startled. "Run!" He and the dragons bolted for the exit, triggering more booby traps. They reached the hatch in no time. Tenor flew out first and took right to the sky. Up in the air he saw that Dagur and his followers had arrived and had captured the other riders. Hiccup and Toothless emerged. Tenor watched and listened to Dagur gloat nonstop. He demanded the cylinder. Tenor stayed at a safe place, choosing his next moves carefully. Then he went off to get the other dragons.
"You're choice Hiccup," Dagur taunted. "Hand over that thing, and I'll spare your friends." Hiccup considered. Toothless opened his mouth to shoot Dagur.
"Whoa, easy Toothless," Hiccup said. "Not yet." Toothless closed his mouth obediently. Hiccup handed over the cylinder. Dagur snatched it and his cronies escaped over the side of The Reaper. They boarded the stolen ship they got from Johann and pushed it out to sea. Hiccup ran to the cage that held his friends.
"Forget us," Astrid said. "Go get Dagur." Hiccup looked at her, confused. He hesitated for a moment. Then he reluctantly left the cage and mounted Toothless. They took off and went after Dagur. They launched a boulder at them, but Toothless dodged it easily.
"You missed," Hiccup shouted.
"Hiccup, you should know by now that I never miss," Dagur sneered. Then Hiccup realized with horror that the boulder was aimed at The Reaper. It smashed through the deck and the ship began to sink. Hiccup looked between Dagur and The Reaper. He had to chose between catching Dagur, or saving his friends.