Dimmadreki's Quest Chapter 01
A/N
Dimmadreki is fulfilling his destiny by freeing all the dragons from the tyrannical Monsters. He has the firepower of a Night Fury, the keen mind of Hiccup the ex-Viking, and the help of his mate. But all these things may not be enough to overcome the challenges he's about to face.
This story is a sequel to "Dimmadreki." It will get my usual T rating, just to be safe, and as usual, the language will be all K-rated. For those of you who are wondering whether Toothless (or Tannlaus, as he's named in this tale) will play a role in this story, the answer is, "Yes, he will play an absolutely vital and ongoing role in this story, but he won't appear right away." Now, let the tale begin!
o
"Die," the Night Fury said coldly. "And may no one mourn your useless corpse." The one he was talking to couldn't hear him; she was too far away. He circled in the air as he watched his huge adversary spiral helplessly downward, unable to stop her plunge that could end only one way. He hadn't been able to ignite this one's internal fires, the way he'd killed the first two, but the sheer force of impact with the ground from this height should do the job. He followed her in, keeping a safe distance in case she tried to roast him with her flames on the way down.
The Monster hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Her neck was broken; she'd be dead in seconds. He landed on a rocky outcrop nearby and glared at her. "This is your payback for all the dragons you enslaved, for all the dragons who died to feed you, for all the dragons you ate!" he roared. "Got any final words?"
"But... it was so artistically done," the huge beast gasped, just before the light in her eyes went out forever. Dimmadreki let out the breath he'd been holding, alert for any last-moment trickery, and allowed himself to relax. About a minute later, Myrkrid circled down and landed next to him. He wrapped a wing around her and silently leaned against her for a few seconds.
"It's not getting any easier, is it?" she asked sympathetically.
"You mean, fighting Monsters in mid-air?"
"No, I mean killing," she replied.
"No, it isn't," he sighed. "I wasn't born a killer, even though my father and my tribe did everything in their power to turn me into one. Now that I'm a dragon, I still don't feel that impulse to spill blood, even the blood of a Monster like this one. She deserved to die, and I knew I was the only one who could take her down... but it was no pleasure. It's just a dirty job that I have to do." He sighed again. "Thanks again for your help. You know I can't do this without you."
"You know I'll do anything for you," she smiled. Her toothy smile would terrify most humans, but Dimmadreki had learned to love that smile. Then she looked serious. "Where's the celebration? Why aren't all the dragons in her nest flying around, enjoying their newfound freedom?"
"They don't know what 'freedom' means," he said, and for just a moment, she saw a flash of pure hatred in his eyes. "This Monster was even worse than the first two we killed. I spoke to some of her enslaved dragons before the battle, and what they told me was not pretty, even though they wouldn't admit to knowing the whole story. This Monster would enslave dragons and add them to her nest. Then, as soon as they had mated and brought some young dragons to maturity, she'd enslave the young and she'd..." He shivered. "She'd eat the parents, even if they'd done nothing wrong. She created a nest full of dragons who have never known freedom, who have spent their entire lives under her control. Now they're free from that control for the first time in their lives, and they don't know what to do with themselves."
Myrkrid pressed her flank tightly against his. "No wonder you fought with so much rage this time! It was as if this battle was something personal."
"It was," he nodded. "I've grown to love the freedom I've found as a dragon, and I personally hate anyone who would take that freedom away, from me or from others." He glanced up toward the cave halfway up a nearby mountain; that cave was the main entrance to the local dragons' nest. "I suppose we owe it to them to help get their new lives sorted out."
"Can you start without me?" his mate asked earnestly. "I have to go find Næturvon before she gets herself into trouble. Again."
"Yeah, you'd better do that," he nodded. "You know where to find me." She rubbed noses with him quickly, then bounded into the air, headed for the copse of trees where they'd ordered Næturvon to stay. She was a yearling now, about half her adult size, swift in the air, clever in the head, but with no common sense at all when it came to avoiding trouble. She'd gain that mental maturity in her second year, but for now, she needed as much supervision as a hatchling. Perhaps more supervision, because she could find trouble faster now.
Dimmadreki flapped up to the cave entrance and glided into the nest. He found a scene of complete bedlam inside. Over a hundred and fifty dragons were flying in circles, running in circles, talking to each other, arguing with each other, or standing there looking lost. He fired three quick firebolts in three directions so they all burst at the same time. That brought a moment's silence to the confusion, and he took advantage of it.
"Welcome to freedom!" he shouted. "I think you'll like it."
"Who are you?" a battle-scarred Nightmare demanded.
"What are you?" an egg-heavy Gronckle added.
"Are you the one who killed the Titan?" a red-and-blue Hobblegrunt wanted to know.
"My name is Dimmadreki, I am a Night Fury, and yes, I'm the one who fought for your freedom. We – "
"A tiny dragon like you took down the Titan?" The Nightmare wasn't ready to believe it.
"I guess you don't know much about Night Furies," he replied with a toothy grin.
"We thought you were extinct," a reddish Hotburple growled.
"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Dimmadreki smiled. "There are a lot of things you've believed all your lives that aren't as true as you thought they were. Starting with that Monster's lie that you couldn't live without her."
"Monster? You mean the Titan?" a greenish Nadder asked.
"No, I mean the Monster," the Night Fury replied firmly. "That's the only word I'll ever use for a dragon that enslaves other dragons, forces them to feed her, and eats the ones who don't provide enough. Once you've thought it over with free minds for a while, I think you'll agree."
For a few seconds, there was absolute silence in the nest.
Then the Gronckle plaintively asked, "But if we don't have to feed the Ti – I mean the Monster anymore, then what are we supposed to do?" Heads were nodding in agreement all over the nest.
"I'll tell you," Dimmadreki answered. "You're supposed to live like free dragons! You can catch and eat your own food. You can raise your young in safety. You can fly around for the fun of it. You can take a nap without worrying if you'll be eaten before you wake up. You can fly away and join another nest if you want to. You can do anything you please! You're free now!"
The word sounded unfamiliar as they learned to say it. "Free." "Free?" "We're free!" It began to build to a chorus, but an olive-green Rumblehorn suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute!" The chorus ended as he went on, "You're telling us all what to do, Dimmadreki! Are you taking over our nest? Did we just trade one overlord for another one?"
"No!" came the voice of another Night Fury. Myrkrid had just flown into the nest, with Næturvon right behind her. All eyes were on them as they quickly circled the nest, then landed neatly next to Dimmadreki.
"My mate is not your overlord," she said firmly. "He might be the most unselfish dragon I've ever known. If you all decide you'd like us to stay and help you organize your new lives, we'll stay. But if you don't, then we'll leave. We both risked a lot to give you your freedom; we're not going to be hypocrites and take away what we just gave you."
"This is Myrkrid, my mate, and Næturvon, my first-hatched," Dimmadreki explained. "Myrkrid helped me take down the Monster."
"Why did you do it?" the Gronckle asked, honestly perplexed. "Yes, it was very unselfish, and we're thankful, but that's now how we dragons deal with life. 'Look out for Number One' is how we usually do things, unless it's to protect our families. You have a mate and a yearling that you should be protecting; why would you risk your life against a... a Monster, to save a bunch of dragons you don't even know?"
"That's kind of a long story," Dimmadreki replied.
The Nightmare stepped up next to him; he towered over the smaller black dragon, but his air was not domineering. "I think I speak for all of us when I ask if you'd stay with us tonight and tell us that long story," he said respectfully. "After what you just did for us, a nesting place for the night is the very least we can offer you in return."
"We accept," both adult Night Furies said at once. Dimmadreki was about to go on when he noticed his daughter trying to get his attention. "Yes, Næturvon?" he asked.
"Can I go play with the other yearlings, Father?" she asked plaintively.
"Sure," he nodded. "You know the rules – don't leave the nest without telling us, and don't show off unless you're ready to be put in your place."
"Yes, Father," she said absently. She'd spotted a cluster of young Nadders perched on a spire near the back of the cave, and she'd learned that Nadders were the best dragons to play with. No dragon could keep up with a Night Fury in terms of speed, endurance, or intelligence, but a Nadder came close, so the Nadders were Næturvon's first choice of playmates whenever she visited a new nest. She'd done a lot of that in her short life so far.
The two adult Night Furies found a fairly central location in the nest and began telling their story. It went the same way it always went when they visited a new nest. Myrkrid did most of the talking. They all sympathized with her when she described finding a male Night Fury in the wilderness, starving, flightless, and suffering from amnesia and delusions of humanity. That always turned into stark disbelief when they learned that he really used to be a human named Hiccup, the son of a Viking Alpha who had been turned into a dragon by some means as yet unknown. That disbelief endured until she told them how he had faced down a Monster without becoming enslaved to her, a feat that no dragon could hope to achieve. But he'd done it, and followed that achievement by killing the Monster with his mate's help. As of today, he'd done it to three of them. No one could argue with results like those.
The dragons had many questions, of course. They were unfamiliar with Night Furies, they had never met an ex-Viking before, and a slayer of Monsters was unheard-of. Dimmadreki wasn't allowed to stay in the background or be low-key; he was the only one who could give them the answers they wanted.
For their part, the Night Furies had one big question they needed answered: "Do any of you know of other dragons' nests that aren't too far away?" They couldn't kill all the Monsters unless they could find them, and finding them by searching at random could take centuries – the world was a big place, and even a speedy Night Fury could cover only so much ground in a day. Most dragons had friends or relatives in other nests, and Dimmadreki and his family were following the chain of known nests, one at a time, until his mission was complete. The majority of the nests were led by one strong-willed dragon, usually a big one like a Monstrous Nightmare, or by a team of leaders chosen by popular acclaim. Nests that held Monsters were hard to find, but if the Night Furies persisted, they'd eventually locate their enormous enemies, and rid the world of them.
"I used to belong to a nest to the north-northeast of here," a purple Raincutter answered. "I left because it was getting too crowded for me, but it was a fine place for a dragon to live. I can give you directions if you want to go there."
"We'd like that," Myrkrid replied. "Does a Monster rule that nest?"
"Oh, no – I couldn't have left if a Monster was in charge there," the Raincutter said. "That nest is ruled by a Bewilderbeast."
"A Bewilderbeast?" both Night Furies chorused. Dimmadreki added, "Does he rule like the Monster did?"
"Not even a little! He's even bigger than the Monster, but he's wise and kind. You aren't going to try to kill him, are you?"
"No, not if he's as kind as you say he is," Myrkrid said. "We'll go there to try and find dragons who know of still other nests. We're taking out dragons who enslave other dragons, and no one else."
The Night Furies spent the next two weeks in that nest. It was no vacation – they were constantly busy helping the dragons adjust to freedom, solving disputes, breaking up fights, and helping the local dragons choose a leader for themselves. Ironically, that leader turned out to be the olive-green Rumblehorn who had initially accused Dimmadreki of taking over. He had a forthright, no-nonsense manner that the other dragons respected, mixed with a sincere desire to benefit the entire nest. No one else wanted the job, so he became the Alpha, amidst many roars and puffs of flame.
"I guess our work here is done," Myrkrid said.
"Yup," her mate nodded. "It's time to move on."
"Where are we going, Father?" Næturvon asked.
Before he could reply, her mother said, "Our next destination is going to be the island where we lay our eggs. It's getting close to that time of year, and I don't want to get too far from there. Once I've laid you a baby brother or a baby sister, then we'll figure out where we're going next."
Næturvon rolled her eyes; Dimmadreki realized that she'd probably learned that gesture from him. "An egg is more important than freeing the dragons, Mother? Really?"
Dimmadreki gave a draconic shrug. "My quest might be the most important thing to happen to the dragons since Tannin left, but even that quest takes a back seat to motherhood. That's just the way it is, and there's nothing you or I can do about it." He gave his mate's tail a quick flutter with his tail fins, so she'd know he didn't resent that fact at all.