PROLOGE: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (THE LAST DRACONIAN)
With Hiccup and Astrid broken up and things with the Berserkers and Outcasts getting tense, not just because they want to destroy Berk and steal their dragons but because both Dagar and Alvin believe that the Vikings of Berk are hunting down and killing their soldiers! But that's not true there is someone else out there doing this, someone that all of the tribes of the archipelago of Vikings thought they got rid of all those years ago and that someone's name is Connor the last remaining Draconian of his tribe.
Everyone thought that Hiccup was the first Dragon Rider but they couldn't be more wrong, the Draconian tribe were the first to befriend dragons and treat them as equals. They formed a bond that was like no other, the dragons were not considered as pets like they are today, no, they were a part of the Draconian tribe, they felt what the dragons felt, they could hear what they heard the dragons strength was their strength it was something that no one else had ever been able to do and it was considered forbidden to all the other tribes but the Draconian tribe did not care they loved their dragon companions and they were willing to do whatever was necessary to protect them, the dragons could feel their humans feelings and felt the same way. So the dragons gave them their strength a secret ability that allowed the dragons to pass a portion of their strength to their human partners but only under one condition, that the humans would pledge an oath to protect dragons from anyone wishing to do them harm and to protect the ones who could not protect themselves. Any man or women who made this oath was given a series of tattoos three in all to signify a level of training that was completed, the first was the rune of family three spirals that signified mother, father and child it was a symbol that was to worn proudly so that you never forgot the ones you were fighting to keep safe. The second was a fivefold knot that represented protection in battle, to heal from any wound no matter how sever and to be able to move with the speed of a dragon, the strength of a dragon, the sight of a dragon and finally the wisdom of a dragon. The final tattoo was the black dragon that covers the body a symbol that you have finished the training and your oath to your dragon was fulfilled.
There was peace for a while on Dracon, Connor was just a boy but he had already completed his first two levels of training and his parents were beaming with pride, his three year old sister admired him and wanted to be just like him, they spared but he always took it easy on her "not like he would ever admit it" but then there was Kira the girl Connor loved since he was five years old, it was paradise on the island and every time they were not training Connor and Kira would sneak off and just spend the day sitting by the lake under their favorite tree and talk about their future together. Connor would always look into her ocean blue eyes and feel totally at ease like nothing else mattered she was every bit as strong as he was, they were the top two fighters in their class both receiving their tattoos at the same time but strength never meant anything to them as long as they had each other.
They also had a way with dragons, Connor was never afraid of anything dragon or otherwise, he had incredible respect for them and the dragons could sense this so he had no problem riding them, and whenever he did it always looked like he had been doing it his entire life. And Kira was no different but somehow she made it look so easy it just took one look from her ocean blue eyes and in a matter of seconds she was in the air. The two looked so natural while flying doing all sorts of tricks with ease, they would do this for hours until it was time to head home. Connor and Kira landed outside her home they dismounted their dragons, Kira rode a Night Fury she had called Freya- she had golden eyes and her scales were dark blue, she was incredibly intelligent but could be moody at times too. Connor rode a Dracano he called StormCloud, he has icy blue eyes his scales a mixture of grey and black with black curved horns and spikes coming from his head all the way to his tail. Connor walked Kira to her front door they said good night and she kissed him on the cheek, his heart soared and he knew that she was the one, it was short but it meant more to him than anything, when she broke away they both blushed and she walked inside her home.
He walked home with StormCloud right behind, Connor was in Valhalla right now, his heart was beating so fast he thought it was going to break through his chest when he got home his parents had seen a dazed look in his eye and just smiled to each other and simply asked how his day was? The only thing he said was "Amazing" and headed off to his room with StormCloud right behind him, when he reached his room he fell on his bed put his hands behind his head and fell comfortably asleep. Tomorrow was a big day for Connor, it was his birthday and his parents told him that they had a big surprise for him! It was late and Connor was having the best dream ever when suddenly he was woken up by a horrible scream! It was his sister Kate she was standing at the front door of their house there was smoke and dancing lights forming around her when Connor finally reached the front door he was met with a surprise, he looked over her shoulder and what he saw would be burned into his memory for all time, his parents lying dead in a pool of their own blood, Kate dropped to her knees trying to come to terms with what was right in front of her own eyes, Connor eyes filled with horror as he looked from the corpses of his dead parents to the scene in front of him. The people of Dracon, his people, were being slaughtered by Vikings from neighboring villages. The reason he knew who they were was because of the crests they wore on their armor, they weren't trying to hide who they were they wanted them to know.
Burning houses, people screaming, dead bodies both human and dragon alike littered the ground. All Connor could do was watch in horror as his people were being cut down because of their relationship with dragons, when the people of Dracon finally realized what was happening the invaders meet resistance, the men and women of Dracon started fighting back and winning. The invaders never faced such ferocious opponent's, sword met sword, spear with spear and hand to hand the Draconians seemed to be winning but that was until the invaders called for reinforcements and just like that the battle was won, the invaders managed to defeat the Draconians. Connor searched the remains of his burning village for any survivors and what he had found was worse than the site of his dead parents it was the site of his beloved Kira beaten and assaulted by the invading soldiers. It was in that very instant that he let his dragon training take full control he picked up the closest sword he could find and threw it at one of the soldiers, it planted itself in the man's back and in seconds he was dead.
The village is burning, dragons are being captured in nets forcing them to the ground a voice says " a downed dragon is a dead dragon" the man standing over a trapped Night Fury with golden eyes and dark blue scales it was Freya and just when the man was about to strike Freya caught his hand in her jaws and bit it clean off.
The other soldiers looked in shock and confusion as to what had just happened. Then they turned to see a small silhouette standing in front of a fire with knives that he used in training gripped in both of his hands staring at them with his dark blue eyes, those eyes burning with rage staring at the men huddled around the beaten and broken form of the girl who held his heart, the rage building inside of him the only thing he cared about was Kira nothing else. With his training and rage taking full control he charges at the men with his knives in his hands, it did not matter that the men were bigger than he was he had been through worse his scars and tattoos were proof of that. The men could only stare with confusion on their faces that was until Connor lunged at the man with his foot on Kira's chest and stabbed him straight in his chest, Connor placed both feet on the man's chest looked him straight in the eyes and kicked off sending the man flying back and him back flipping over Kira's body. When his feet connected with the ground again his eyes met with hers, she looked at him her eyes said what her lips could not they told him to be careful and to stop the invaders and then she mouthed the words "I Love You" and her eyes closed, her breathing stopped and she was gone! All Connor could do was stand there in disbelief, it could not be she is every bit as strong as I am, we were the top of our class how could she be gone? Connor stayed rooted to his spot looking down at the lifeless form of his love hoping to see her ocean blue eyes again, his mind lost in the past of those flights they shared, the words they said to each other by their favorite tree next to the lake and that is when in that very moment all he wanted was Revenge! The men looked at their comrade's lie dead on the ground and then to the boy who had killed them, anger spread through both of them, they drew their weapons Connor still lost in thought that was until he heard one of the men charging towards him yelling at the top of his lungs "DIE DRAGON LOVER!) Connor still standing their but now fully aware of what was coming so he waited for just the right moment to strike. The man brought the sword above his head prepared to cut the boy in two, that's when Connor made his move, he gripped his knife with the blade facing the floor his back still facing the man and in a split second Connor swung around with his right hand and slashed at the man's stomach.
Kate was standing over her parent's corpses when she heard someone behind her but she could not move she was in shock at the site in front of her, she heard the footsteps getting closer and closer when she finally did turn it was too late! Kate had turned around to see a huge man standing in front of her and that's when everything went cold, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach looking down she had seen the blade of a great sword in her, she looked back at the man he had a big brown beard some missing teeth and a helmet with crocked horns then she heard a booming voice yelling something at him "Alvin what in Thor's name are you doing she just a lass!" Alvin ripped the sword out of her and she fell to her knees still in shock at what just happened. She tried to figure out what had just happened but it was no use blood was pouring out of the wound and she was getting dizzy, the only thing she could do was turn around and crawl over to where her parents lay. Alvin turned to face the man who called his name and said to him "What's the matter Stoick this is we are here to do, getting rid of these traitors before they can use these devils against us" Stoick stopped running and walked over to Alvin, when he finally reached him he looked at him in disbelief at what he has just done "Alvin we do not kill children no matter what the crime their parents committed" Stoick now yelling, both watching the young girl crawl to her parents looking weak and helpless brought Stoick's mind to his own son Hiccup.
The man stood blinking at Connor, the sword fell from his hands and dropped behind him, he could hear something dripping on the floor at his feet, when he finally looked to see what the noise was blood was pouring out from a gash in his stomach, a pool of blood was at his feet and at the very sight of that he dropped to his knees right in front of the boy. When his knees hit the pool of blood it splashed up at Connor but he did not flinch all he did was stare at the last remaining soldier, hate burning in his dark blue eyes. When Connor finally decided to move the man he had just cut open was still kneeling in front of him, Connor simply pushed the man out of his way and started walking towards the remaining soldier, gripping both knives in his hands, rage burning in his heart and the memory of Kira's voice playing over and over in his head. The last soldier's eyes went wide with fear as Connor slowly made his way towards him, he shouted at the boy telling him to stay back, threatening to bludgeon the boy to death with his mace but the boy just kept coming. Connor now covered in the blood of the other soldier gripped his knives even tighter, Kira's house now burning around them (the fire had spread and most of the village was now in ruins, houses burning bodies everywhere, screams of both human and dragon filled the midnight sky.) the soldier took off running he open the door and ran for his life. The soldier and made it about thirty feet before he felt an unbearable pain between his shoulder blades, he turned his head and found a black knife is his back, his breath became shallow and he could feel blood running down his back as turned to see where the knife had come from another came and lodged itself right between his eyes and he dropped to the floor dead.
The soldiers last sight was Connor, his arm extended looking as if he had just thrown something and that was when the soldier's life ended. Connor turns and walks back into the house, he walks over to Kira's body and kneels down to pick her up and walks out. He walks down the road with his love in his arms, houses all burned to the ground, people screams have stopped dragon corpses are everywhere under thick nets or chains the sight would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life, but he just keeps walking right up to the lifeless body of the soldier he had just killed takes his knives back attaches them to his belt and just keeps walking. With no destination in mind he finds his way back to his home, he rounds the corner to his house and can hear voices of two men yelling but he just keeps walking. His house was nearly destroyed with the walls looking like they were going to give way at any minute the only thing on Connor's mind was seeing his parents one last time.
Out of the corner of his eye Alvin spotted Connor walking into the remains of his burning home and said to Stoick "look like we missed one Eh Stoick? He looks like he's in pain maybe we should put him out of his misery". Stoick turned to see the boy carrying a young girl in his arms and he could only feel a sense of pity for the boy and the image of Hiccup had bringing flowers to his mother's grave the look on Connor's face was exactly the same look that Hiccup had that day. Alvin was about to charge at the boy when Stoick had stepped in front of him giving him a fierce stare "I will not let you kill that boy Alvin, we have done enough here his people are dead and the dragons are gone, his village is burning around him and we have lost most of our men we need to leave now let the fire finish him…" Stoick said with a look of both determination and sorrow, Alvin stayed silent for a moment to think about what Stoick just said to him, Stoick growing impatient said "Alvin!" and he snapped out of it "Ok Stoick but if we missed anyone else and they retaliate it's all on you." Alvin said Stoick just shook his head in response and they started to walk away. Connor reached the spot where he had found his parents inly to find his sister Kate there with them, she was lying in a pool of her own blood her eyes were closed and her mouth agape. Connor looked at her then to his parents and finally to Kira that was still in his arms, tears stinging at his eyes finally fell from his cheeks onto Kira's lifeless face and his rage finally broke free he let out a loud scream that sounded like a dragons roar it was long and loud causing Stoick and Alvin to turn around their eyes wide and the words that said to Stoick replaying in his head "If they retaliate it's all on you!" The sound of his roar shook the very foundation of his home causing the walls to crumble, smoke starts to rise and the flames get higher, the two men turn their backs and head back to their ships.
The invaders sail away watching from their ships as Dracon burns in the distance. Stoick looks at what he has done, the glowing of the burning village in the distance the faces of the people he killed and that boy, there was something about him that scared him he was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder, he turned to his best friend Gobber with a bloody rag wrapped around his wrist. "Gobber what happened to your hand?" Stoick asked with a look of concern on his face Gobber merely shrugged "One of the beasts took it but I took its head in the end" Gobber said with a triumphant look on his face. "When we get back to Berk we will get you to a healer and get it cleaned up before it gets infected" Stoick said with a distant look in his eye Gobber noticed this look it was the same look he had when he found out his wife had died, Gobber had squeezed his friends shoulder and looked him straight in the eye "What is wrong lad? I know that look so do not try and lie to me Stoick", he remained silent for a few moments and cleared his throat "It's just a feeling that's all that just happened tonight might have serious repercussions later down the line." Stoick said with a serious tone which made Gobber look at his friend with worry "What do ya mean Stoick we did the right thing they through their lot in with those devils and you better than anyone know that we cannot have that, if they managed to tame them it could mean the end for all of us every man, women and child would be in danger" what Gobber just said filled Stoick's heart with anger because he knew his friend was right and image of Hiccup popped into his head being ripped apart by a dragon the other children meeting the same fate and right then all doubt left his mind and he turned to his friend, put a hand on his shoulder and smiled "Your right Gobber, I just hope we got them all" Stoick said looking back they were now far away to see the burning island "Why do you think we missed any?" Gobber asked with a quizzical look on his face Stoick turned back to his one armed friend and said "I pray to Odin we did not" Gobber just looked at him with a smug look on his face "We beat them once we can do it again" they both laughed and made their way back home. The last thing that was heard was Gobber's voice asking Stoick "Do you think Hiccup has caught a Troll yet or did he get lost again?" Stoick just sighed at the memory of Hiccup's past exploits and shook his head.
Back on Dracon fires were still burning most of the houses were in rubble on the ground, corpses of all the people of Dracon had been thrown in a pile and set a blaze the smell of burning flesh was sickening. What dragons that had remained were the ones that were lucky enough to escape the raid and to collect their dead and left in search for a new home, the place they once called home was tainted a burning reminder that humans could not be trusted. The streets of the village were covered in blood some bodies could still found of both villager and invader alike, Kira's home had burnt to the ground and Connor's was in ruins but then the rubble started to move and a grey and black dragon slowly risen from the pile of rock and wood, underneath the dragon was Connor still holding Kira tightly in his arms his parents and sister lost under the rubble his eyes were closed but StormCloud could hear his riders shallow breaths and nudged him with his nose trying to wake him making whimpering and gurgling sounds in the process, after a few moments of doing this Connor's dark blue eyes finally opened. StormCloud gave his friend a look of relief and in return Connor gave his only friend a halfhearted smile, the dragon could tell from the look in his eyes that he was not the same boy anymore, he gave Connor a low whimper the boy patted his head "I am okay StormCloud I promise, could you help us out of here there's something I need to take care of?" StormCloud used his head to clear a path to the street, he turned back to see his friend not following him so he walked over to Connor, he was still staring at Kira's body brushing some hair out of her face he still thought she looked beautiful he tried to convince himself that she was only sleeping but reality struck him when he felt something grab him by the back of his tunic.
Here StormCloud was carrying him from the rubble of his home like he was a new born dragon and StormCloud was his father, Connor protested at first still holding on to Kira with dear life when they finally reached the street StormCloud put Connor down he was about to yell at his dragon when Connor seen the look in his friends eyes, it was the look of concern and worry StormCloud was only looking out for him just like he had always done. Just then all his anger for the dragon was forgotten and put a free hand on his dragons head and said thank you, StormCloud just snorted in response with a toothy grin on his scaly face. Connor jumped on StormCloud's back with Kira still in his arms and asked his friend to take him to the lake and StormCloud knew exactly where he was talking about it had been his riders favorite place to go with the girl and her Night Fury Freya, StormCloud took to the sky and just ten minutes they were at the lake, a small smile grew on Connor's face the lake was untouched by the invading scum.
The water still looked blue and clear, the moonlight dancing across the surface, the waves gently lapping the shore of the lake, on the other side of the lake was a forest where the two would go for walks and climb the tall trees when they reached the top they could see the beautiful mountain range they loved to just sit up on top of the massive trees and watch the sun set the way the sky would change colors always amazed them how anything could be so beautiful, the pinks, yellows, reds and the oranges. When the sun finally disappeared behind the mountains they would climb back down the mighty tree and go sit by the lake under their favorite tree and just look up at the stars, it was always Kira's favorite thing to do, she had told Connor once that she could just stay here forever and watch the starlit sky with him this made Connor blush a dark shade of red, he was thanking the gods in Valhalla that it was dark out so she probably could not see his face, when just then he felt her hand in his and he looked over to her she was staring at him and smiling, he gazed into her ocean blue eyes and she gazed back into his dark blue ones and they knew that they were meant to be together. So then did the gods have to take her from him? Why did they allow this to happen to her? An angry tear rolled down the side of his cheek, he was filled with so many different emotions it was driving him mad, his heart was broken he'd just lost everything in a matter of hours. Connor's eyes filled with tears he had begun to sob pulling Kira's body to him, falling to his knees he put his head on hers and cried tears of sorrow, he was alone now his family had been killed, his people cut down by invaders and the dragons he had sworn to protect were either dead or had moved on never to return or trust humans ever again. He did not know how long he had stayed like that but he finally stopped crying when he felt warm breaths coming from behind him and a tail wrap around him, Connor looked up and seen StormCloud looking down at him his icy blue eyes filled with understanding and hope, he licked the boy's face causing Connor to smile a bit as the dragon smiled back at him.
Connor scratched behind his dragon's horn and stood up "I need to take care of something Storm and I would like to be alone" Connor told his dragon a halfhearted smile was on his face and he was looking down to the girl still in his arms, StormCloud knew exactly what his friend wanted to do he gave a low whimper but obeyed his friends wishes and walked away, when Connor felt he was alone he walked over to their favorite tree "his and Kira's" he gently placed her down under it and looked around to find something to dig with, a couple of minutes later he came back with a rock and began to dig.
As Connor dug he looked over to see Kira laying there lifeless and all of the past events of how she ended up this way came rushing back and he was filled with a burning rage again, he started digging faster and harder slamming the pointed edge of the rock deep into the dirt over and over again until the rock began to crumble in his hands, he looks at the pieces of the shattered rock in his hands his rage taking control of his limbs he throws the shards of rock out of the grave and starts clawing at the soft, moist earth, Connor cleared out the grave within a matter of minutes. When he was finished he walked over to where Kira was laying, Connor picked her up slowly he was covered in mud, his hands were bleeding from the intense digging but he did not take any notice to them the adrenaline still pumping through his veins he carried her back to the grave he gently placed her inside Connor gave his love one last sorrowful look and began to pour the dirt back into the grave. With each handful of dirt he put into Kira's grave his heart broke a little bit more, when the last of dirt had been patted down he went to the shore of the lake and started to gather stones to place around the grave.
He came back and started placing the stones around Kira's grave until it was surrounded by them, the last thing Connor did for his love was at the top of the grave he traced the three spiraled rune that symbolized family and kissed it. He stood up and closed his eyes "Odin watch over her and keep her safe until the day we meet again" Connor prayed and then opened his dark blue eyes and made a new oath that night "I swear on your grave and the graves of our families to all the people of Dracon that the people responsible for this will pay, they will know what true fear is they will know the pain you felt my love and I will keep the Draconian traditions alive, to protect the dragon's and those who are pure of heart…This I Swear as the last Draconian!" Connor stared at his loves grave for what seemed like hours when he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him, he gripped one of his knives from behind his back and turned to face the source of the noise only to see his friend StormCloud standing there watching him, when he spotted his friend and removed his hand from the knife handle he walked over to StormCloud "Hey Storm how long have you been standing there?" Connor said looking at the dragon with a puzzled look on his face. StormCloud looked down at his friend a long black box hanging out of his mouth "What do you have there Storm? " Connor asked with a curious look on his face, StormCloud placed the box down on the ground and looked up at his rider and smiled. Connor looked at the long black box and then back to his dragon and then back to the box it had the twin dragon crest on it, it was a symbol of pride and strength, given to one who had completed all three levels of training. When Connor opened it there was a piece of parchment inside "Connor we are so proud of all that you have accomplished and we know you are going to do great things more when you get older we love you so much. Happy Birthday Love Mom, Dad and Kate." Tears fell on the parchment staining it, Connor dropped to his knees yelling and screaming, pounding the earth with his fists, there were the images of his parents faces smiling at him, his sister hugging his waist when he had come back from the training arena after completing his second level of training they were all so proud of him, then it was all taken away from him in just one night, his parents lying dead on the floor in a pool of their own blood, his sister just two feet away the only question that was burning through his mind was "Why?", "Why them?, "Why us?" "What did we do to deserve this?" Connor started to tremble every ounce of his body was filled with rage, anger and hate.
The boy screaming at the ground "Why?!" still beating at the red stained dirt his knuckles were cut open. When he went to hit the ground Connor felt something stop him this time, the boy looked up to see what had hold of his arm when he had seen StormCloud tail wrapped around his wrist giving him low whines and a look that told him that it was enough, that beating the ground was not going to bring them back. Connor just stared at his dragon he was still very angry but not at him Connor knew that his friend was only trying to help, so he regained control of himself and settled down.
When he finally managed to calm down enough Connor looked over at the box from his parents he reached out a hand grabbed it and pulled it towards him, it was a little heavy which made the young boy curious. When he took the lid off the box he had found a black coat inside, Connor reached inside and removed the coat and began to examine it, it was a little big but he would grow into it, another thing he had noticed was it was made entirely out of dragon scales, the scales were tough and durable he also remembered from training that dragon scales are flame resistant and he immediately knew that this would come in handy. Connor turned his attention back to the box and found a whole new wardrobe made of the same material as the coat, all except a black tunic but the pants and even a black pair of boots. He quickly set out and put them on when he came back and looked at StormCloud "Well how do I look Storm?" he asked his friend hoping that he did not look ridiculous in it. The dragon just gave him a growl of agreement and Connor smiled back at him, the box then walked back over to collect the box and had seen that there was still something else inside, Connor reached inside the box and pulled out a board sword. Connor looked the sword over with amazement, he had never seen a board sword like this one, it was different in so many ways, and the handle was made from the wood of a Rowen tree one of the oldest and strongest trees on Dracon.
The guard was made from black iron it was thin but Connor could tell it was made to with stand anything at the base of the handle there was more black iron in the shape of a claw, but to Connor's surprise it was not sharp it was simply there to ensure that the sword did not slip from the users hand while in battle, the blade was beautiful it was four and a half feet in length razor sharp but with one difference. Were normal board swords their tip is straight, Connor's was curved up wards. Connor examined every last inch of the sword marveling in its beauty, it was unique and it felt right in his hand like it was a part of him. Connor then decided to test it out, he began practicing some of the moves he had learned during his training. Connor took a stance with his sword, the blade facing up towards the star lite sky behind his back, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath when he exhaled and opened his eyes his face had no expression on it, his breathing was steady and his heart beat was slow, he did not show any emotions.
StormCloud was watching him intently, the dragon was lying beside the grave of the boy's fallen love Kira. Connor trying to get his emotions under control, struggling desperately his mind was being filled with horrific images of Kira, his family and the rest of the inhabitants of Dracon, his breathing began to get rough and his heart beat started to quicken. StormCloud could sense that there was something wrong with Connor but the dragon did not move he had complete faith that his rider would overcome whatever he was going through, Connor still in his stance, he was more focused than before, his breathing evened out and his mind began to clear, images of his family and Kira start replacing all the others. The words that were written in the parchment the fact that his family loved him and were proud of him gave him strength, memories of him and Kira sitting together in the moon light, they light dancing on the surface of the water, the stars shining brightly above while Kira snuggled close to Connor, the words they shared will always be in his heart. Connor let those memories fill his head but he did not forget anything that happened tonight. He closed his eyes once more took another deep breath holding it for a moment letting his memories merge and Connor had finally found a sense of balance.
StormCloud sensed something different about his friend nut it was not until Connor opened his eyes for a second time was the dragon sure that Connor had changed, the boy had begun to practicing swinging the sword with ease, moving through his stances like he had been doing it his entire life, slashing, punching, kicking every move had deadly accuracy. StormCloud could tell his boy was getting stronger but he could not shake the feeling of one thing? Connor's eyes, he could have sworn that the boy's eyes were darker, StormCloud had grown up with Connor his eyes were dark blue. Connor still practicing sensed that someone was watching him.
Connor performs a front flip sword slash with perfect form, when he looks around and finds StormCloud staring at him curiously. Connor walks over to his dragon with a worried look on his face "What's wrong Storm?" the boy asks his friend, StormCloud tilts his head and looks Connor straight in the eyes and they were in fact different. StormCloud gives a low whine, he starts to get restless and jumps at the boy licking his face causing his hair to stand straight up, Connor stands up with an annoyed look on his face "What's got into you Storm?" Connor walks over to the lake to wash off the dragon saliva from his face when he notices something different. StormCloud walks up behind his friend and nudges his shoulder with his nose, the boy turns to face his dragon with a surprised look on his face "Storm what happened to my eyes, there the color of the sky?" the boy looked scared at first but the turned back to look at his reflection in the water, the color of his eyes brought memories back of him and Kira flying through the skies and his mind was at peace once more.
He turned his sky blue eyes over to her grave his mind filling with all the memories he had of her and shed a slight tear "I swear to the gods that I will make things right and to the people responsible for all this will pay, I won't stop until each one of those bastards know what true pain is. I love you Kira I promise we will be together again." Connor said while whipping the tears from his new sky blue eyes, he gripped his sword and pull it back into its leather sheath.
The sun was beginning to rise Connor could see the tips of the mountain tops start to glow, he put his hand on StormCloud's head, scratched him behind one of his horns and made his way towards the tree that he and his love once sat under and talked about their future together. Connor sat down laying his sword and knives to his right and StormCloud laying down to his left as they both fell asleep.
The night before had been too much for the boy, by the time he woke up the sun was already starting to set behind them. The boy stood up stretching out his sore limbs and looked over to see StormCloud still sleeping "Storm wake up we slept through the whole day, the sun is setting, come on bud we have things to do." The dragon simply opened one of his ice blue eyes, blew out a puff of smoke right at Connor smiled and closed his eye again. Connor looked at StormCloud with an annoyed expression on his face "Come on Storm it's time to go" Connor said while trying to get his dragon to move but he would not budge. After twenty minutes of trying to get the large reptile to wake up he tried a new tactic "Okay fine if you will not get up I will just go eat breakfast by myself" Connor said with a playful grin on his face, the dragon instantly looked at his rider and jumped up looking fully awake now, "Oh now your awake" Connor said rolling his eyes.
Connor and StormCloud made their way back to the remains of the village to find something to eat, buildings still smoldering, there are bodies around of both his fellow Draconians and the invaders. He goes from house to house looking for something to eat when without realizing it Connor ended up in front of Kira's house. He froze outside what was left of her door just staring at it, memories of the night before filling his head. Images of her lying lifeless on the floor the soldiers standing over her, Connor's heart beat started to speed up rage filling his veins when StormCloud comes up behind him and nudges his hand giving him a low whine. Connor snapped out of his tormented thoughts, patting StormCloud's head he walked inside there was not much left, the walls had all crumbled, all the furniture was burned to ashes the two soldiers that Connor had killed were still in the same place as when he left, the bodies of the soldiers were badly burned but their armor remained mostly intact.
When Connor searched the house for food he walked to the kitchen when he passed the body of one of the soldiers. He looked down at the corps in complete and utter disgust, as he passed the body he noticed the crest on the armor of the corps it looked very familiar but he could not remember where he had seen it before. After a few minutes he had finally remembered where he had seen the crest before, his father had shown it to him while he was training it was on a list of tribes that were the top dragon killers in all the islands.
They were called Outcasts: a group of exiled Vikings led by Alvin the Treacherous. Alvin was formerly a member of Berk but he tried to take over control from Stoick the Vast the leader of Berk, he stood no chance against the people of Berk and for his crimes Alvin and the rest of his men were banished to Outcast Island. But Connor also remembered that Berk was on that listed as well, they held record for dragon killing and that they were at the top of that list and they were more than proud of that. And finally the last tribe on the list of notorious dragon killers was the Berserker tribe, they were fierce fighters almost as good as the Draconians but they were still not to be taken lightly. Connor knew without a doubt that the Outcasts, Berserkers and the Berkians were responsible for the destruction of Dracon and matter how long it took he would make them all pay for what they had done.
Connor searched the kitchen and found a loaf of bread and a couple of fish, he felt bad for taking Kira's food but if he was going to track down the people who had destroyed their home he needed his strength, and that was another thing that hit him, he was strong and could handle fighting three or four guys at once but this was different he was going after three of the strongest tribes in the whole archipelago, if he wanted to do this he needed to get stronger and finish the last level of his training. So he walked outside to StormCloud napping right outside the door he looked at his friend and smiled "Storm wake up I have breakfast" Connor said trying to looked annoyed as his dragon's head popped up licking his lips, eyes wide with hunger. Connor tossed the dragon the fish and they were gone in a flash "Guess you really were hungry huh?" the boy looked at StormCloud with a smirk on his face the dragon returned a toothy grin and watched his boy finished his bread.
After they had finished their meal they walked around the remains of Dracon to try and confirm his suspicions, they walked around for a while looking for others soldiers and checking their crests and so far all they found were Outcast crests, Connor could not, No! Would not believe that this was just Outcasts that destroyed his home. They searched for another hour and he finally found his proof. Connor and StormCloud ended up down at the beach and found a Berk ship wreaked on the shore, the pair jumped on deck there was not much left but what they did find confirmed his theory along with the ship being from Berk there were also signs of Berserkers on board as well.
There was no bodies found but there were shields and some armor with their crests on them. He looked around more trying to find anything that would help them track down the people responsible for what happened, Connor searched around below deck there was not much left, probably due to it being raided by the other invaders. Connor searched around for a few minutes before he came across a scroll lying on the floor, he opened it and looked it over and it was a map of the entire archipelago, on it were markings indicating locations to Berserker camps and to their island its self, it also gave the location of Berk but not of the Outcasts. As Connor looked the map over studying each point on the map that where the best places to start looking for Berserker soldiers making his way slowly to their island. Berk was next after he finished with the Berserker but he had to think this through, Berk like the Berserkers were known for their fighting skills but that was not what bothered Connor, he needed information about the Outcasts. If Outcast Island was their only strong hold, if not and there were more he needed to know where they were. As Connor was trying to come up with a strategy and then he felt the boat beginning to rock and roars coming from outside, he shook his head and smiled "Alright, alright I'm coming you big baby" Connor said walking on deck seeing his friend rocking the boat by jumping up and down like a little kid.
"What's the matter a big dragon like you afraid to be by himself?" the boy said with a cheesy grin on his face, the dragon simply looked at his friend with an annoyed look on his scaly and blew a puff of smoke in his face "Oh real mature you over grown gecko" Connor said while coughing StormCloud just gave him a dragon like laugh. Connor jumped off the deck of the boat and landed on the beach, StormCloud followed right behind him the dragon nudged his hand and Connor patted his head "I know where they are Storm, now all we have to do is train" Connor said with a serious look on his face, StormCloud merely stomped at the sand with his large paws and gave a approving growl.
Connor looked at his friend and smiled at the determination because it was not just Connor that wanted revenge StormCloud did as well. The boy looked his friend in the eye and seen that StormCloud wanted the same thing he did "Storm I know you think that we are ready but we are not" the dragon gave another growl but of disagreement this time trying to ask him what about what happened with the guards?
Connor shook his head knowing exactly what StormCloud was trying to say "Storm that was three guards, what we are about to do is not going to be that simple, we are taking on three tribes with well-known reputations in killing, we have to finish our training that is the only way this is going to work" Connor said trying to convince StormCloud but the stubborn dragon still was not convinced.
StormCloud turned his face away angry that they could not go after the human, No! The monsters responsible for the murder of both his dragon brethren and the humans he had come to love and trust, StormCloud suddenly felt warm hands on his cold scales and turned to see the cause. It was Connor with a sad expression on his face that made the dragons heart ache, he hated seeing his friend like this so he calmed down and listened to the boy "Do remember how strong dad and Thor (his father's Skrill) were when they finished their training, they were the best, they could take on a hundred soldiers together and another fifty more by themselves, and that's just three years of training imagine how strong we would be after five years?"
StormCloud looked at his rider as if he had gone mad, he could not really be serious about training for five years straight could he? Connor had seen the look of worry and reassured his friend "Do not worry Storm I did not mean we would train nonstop without any rest, we are not gods" the boy laughed at StormCloud, the dragon gave a sigh of relief until he heard what Connor said next "But that does not mean we will not push ourselves harder than dad and Thor did, we are going to find the harshest islands the archipelago has to offer stay there for a year and move on to the next" Connor said with a look of determination on his face, StormCloud simply looked at him and sighed in defeat he knew he could not get Connor to change his mind so he agreed.
It was dark out now the sun had completely disappeared from the sky and the moon and stars had taken its place. Connor had placed the map of the enemies camps in his dragon scaled coat and walked over to StormCloud "It is time to go Storm the faster we start training the stronger we will get and we will have our revenge on the people who killed the one's we loved and destroyed our home" StormCloud nodded and crouched down so Connor could get on his back, the boy leaving his home with nothing but the dragon scaled cloths his mother had made for him and the unique board sword his father had forged for him, the two knives he had used to take down the scum that took the life of his Kira and his best friend and only companion StormCloud.
They took off into the sky, looking back at their home and saying a silent prayer to the gods for everyone on Dracon for safe passage into Valhalla and promising to return. Connor then turned away from his home looked at the stars lite horizon patted his friends on his scaly neck and said "You ready Storm?" still looking out into the horizon the dragon roared loud into the darkness telling his rider that he was more than ready "Okay then let's get started, I promise Storm these next five years are going to go by quick" Connor said smiling. He yelled and just like that the two last survivors of Dracon took off like a bat out of Hel to prepare for their fight with the three tribes that took everything away from them.