Yo! It's Dawnbreaker, bringing you an original story of mine this time. When I got this idea, I was so excited because it seemed like so much fun I just HAD to write it. It will be something different and I really hope I'll be able to finish it unlike my first two stories (And I don't even plan on finishing the very first one)
Anyways, ENJOY!
HICCUP HOORENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD! TOOTHLESS, THE SECOND SON OF THE KING! Since last week you have been prosecuted of the murder of the first son of the dragon king Shadowflare! How do you respond to this?
I have known him ever since I was little.
The chief's only son, disappointment of the village and the unwanted second son of a king. We were both failures of our own kind, both rejected by our race and despised by everyone. In fact, there was only one place for us in this cruel world, with each other. Only we could understand what the other felt. We were the two outcasts within the society.
I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a weak and scrawny son of the ever so mighty chief of Berk, Stoick the Vast. According to the viking traditions Hiccup is the name given to the weakest of the pack, the runt of the litter, the one that is not even believed to survive in the harsh conditions of Berk. The smallest and the most disappointing person on the island. And to tell you the truth, that IS a pretty good description of me.
I first believed only humans had this kind of policy of naming their children. That was until I met my best and only friend, a dragon called Toothless. One of the reasons he was given that name was because no matter what he did, he did it worse than his brother, the first son of the dragon king. Or... not only did he do things worse than him but worse than EVERY dragon!
The main reason though was a little different. You see, Night fury children learned to retract their teeth at a very young age and so did Toothless as well. The problem wasn't in pulling his teeth in, it was quite the opposite, he didn't learn how to bring his teeth back out. No matter what he was told and no matter what he tried, he couldn't reveal his teeth again. Even the village healer couldn't find anything wrong with him and the only reason that remained possible was his incapability to do it. His father had been extremely disappointed and hence he gave him the name Toothless. A name meant for nothing more than mockery. He was the disgrace of the ruler family, looked down upon by many and despised by even more.
Ever since his naming Toothless has learned how to bring his teeth back out but it was already too late. He had been cast out from the dragon society, an exile of sorts. He was officially still recognized as the king's second son but in the dragon ranking order he was easily placed on the bottom, just above the criminals and real exiles. Not that his situation was any better than mine.
Born to the Greatest Chief known to Berk and being the only son... the only CHILD to be precise. People had expected a lot from me before my birth, wondering how I'd look like and what I'd achieve. Would I be just as bulky as my father or would I inherit the bravery and decisiveness of a true viking?
They had all been disappointed when I was born. A small baby on the viking scale. A weak baby that was sure to suffer and meet death in a matter of days. It was no good even after I survived. I think it might have even made things worse. A burden to the village with a need for workers and a lack of livestock. A burden for my father, the chief.
The two unwanted. Yeah, the perfect duo.
The first time we met was in the annual second great meeting of leaders. The great hall was a good place to be left unnoticed and that was exactly the thing we were both trying to achieve. In the end that had been exactly the reason why we found each other. Only the invisible one can find the other. The first contact we ever made was when he sent me an telepathic message through a link called Dreskr, telling me to meet him later in a place he showed me in his mind.
The Dreskr is told to be a channel between the minds of dragons and us humans that originates from the agreement of our ancestors. Dreskr is used for communication between the races that otherwise would have no common language. Humans cannot use the Dreskr by themselves, only a dragon can activate and maintain it as long as they wish. There are also known cases of dragon permanently opening the link to a single human so they could communicate at any given time at a far greater distance than with a regular Dreskr. Those links are known as the Dreúgr. The Dreúgr are extremely rare because it can also cause a great amount of inconvenience to both who are linked. They may accidentally change thoughts between each other without knowing it themselves. It is told that the two who are linked will also automatically share even their deepest memories and feelings with each other. The link can never be closed but the two can only learn to control it.
The link was made even more unpopular by the dragon Greenstream who formed multiple of these links only to torture humans with them. Constantly sending pictures of pain and misery through it and causing the linked humans commit suicide. This was possible only because he tempted the humans by telling them that he'd show them the road to the hidden dragon treasure that he made up. In the end Greenstream was executed for his faulty use of the link by the united decision of men and Dragons though everyone thinks he didn't mind his execution as he was already extremely bored of life.
There is one another link that is used only for communicating between two dragons. That link was never given a name by the Vikings although it was sometimes clumsily called the 'The-channel-that-dragons-use-to-talk-to-each-other- Link'
Toothless and I have actually talked about forming the Dreúgr many times but we still haven't found the courage to do it. Through the link we would gain access to each other's lives like never before but at the same time that was also a thing which made it so scary. What if we had to watch the other die or get tortured and we had nothing we could do about it. What if the only thing we could share was be the pain we both felt in our hearts? Those were probably the main reasons why we never completed the link and agreed to only communicate through Toothless' normal Dreskr.
I was the only human to have formed even the normal Dreskr with Toothless. That was because he was hated and despised even among the humans as was I among the dragons. The cooperation between the two races is of course a good thing in many ways but it can also cause a lot of pain like in our case.
I picked up and threw a stick toward the closest tree of us and groaned in frustration, leaning against the warm, jet-black body of Toothless.
One of the few things Toothless was ever praised for was his color. No other Dragon could blend in the night like he could. On the other hand, we had made jokes about the color saying the color is only given to him to keep out of sight of everyone who didn't want to see him in their presence.
Toothless growled at me silently without even messaging me through the link. He actually didn't need to. I could tell what he was thinking even without it just like he knew what I was thinking based on my groan.
This is the spot where we always meet and spend our time whenever it's possible. A large, deep and round ridge that was far enough from both of our villages so that no one knew of it's existence. Our homes are just on the far reaches of the Dreskr- link's range so whenever he has time, which is almost always, he messages me and we meet here. Our common policy was to tell each other about the changes in both of our societies. Even though the two races are connected, we still have our own territories so that there would be no accidental conflict between the two and the peace would be easily kept. It is also good for defensive purposes because that way there is less to guard for each territory and the other can help the other quickly if needed.
The only exception for that "Two separate territories and races" policy is the Human-Dragon council that consists of the wisest of both races. They decide about the laws, take care of the trials for the criminals that occasionally appear and do their best to maintain the well-being of both races. The council room is located on the border of both lands on a small island. Everyone knows the place but only the counselors are allowed in. I have been there once but that was only an exception because of my position as the chief's son, although an unwanted one.
The Dragons are in a clear advantage in the council due to their ability to communicate without saying anything. That freedom has been limited to an extent but there is no one to watch over it so it is thought among the humans that the dragons still discuss things without the humans knowing about it.
Not that I really care about diplomacy, laws or agreements. I'm living a peaceful life with Toothless and that's all that matters. One good thing that comes out from being unpopular is that no one demands anything from you and no one is there to force you work. Of course I still occasionally help out at the village forge with a sturdy and humorous man named Gobber who has lost his left arm and his right leg. I think Gobber understands me the second best of everyone I've ever met, including my father, Stoick. To be honest, my father is actually one of those people who understands me the least.
Whenever I have trouble I can't explain to Toothless, I tell them to Gobber. He never really gives me straight answers to my worries but instead puts a hammer in my hand and tells me to start pounding on some chunks of hot iron. I guess it's his way of telling me how even worrying can be productive. I don't know his deepest meaning but so far that has always helped me with the troubles I've had. The rhythmic pounding of the hammer is almost forcing me to think things out and find the answers myself.
He has always been kind to me like no other. Of course he is harsh when it comes to work but otherwise it feels like he truly cares about me.
Oh why couldn't I be born as a sturdy boy who would excel at everything he did. That would be the true son of a chief such as my father. But no, I was born a "fishbone" that no one liked. I have no other friends among my own age although I admire them all greatly. Especially the girl called Astrid is the sole target of my utmost respect. A daughter of one of the most higher-ranking counselors. She has managed to hold on to her position as a highly popular and respected and brought honor to her father's name by just being who she is, a strong and independent young woman.
There other teens' names are Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut. My respect for them is not as great as for Astrid but in a way I still feel certain power floating from them, a power I've never had. Snotlout is a selfish and strong warrior-type whom I've never seen afraid of anything. Fishlegs might be a little chubby but he is still stronger than what he looks. He is also probably the smartest under 20 year old in the entire village and thought to become the youngest counselor ever. The twins aren't smart or strong. In fact, they mostly just argue and fight with each other but the bond between them is quite inseparable and that is what I admire in them.
I never had any siblings and my mother was supposedly eaten by a wild dragon. Yeah.. Wild dragons. Although most of the dragons are in an alliance with men, there are still those who either went completely mad or were raised far away from civilization and were taken over by their instincts. Those dragons now seek nothing but their next meal. They are even known to have eaten other dragons to satisfy their hunger. They were also the ones that took Gobber's limbs from him in an attack many years ago.
Because of those wild dragons vikings are still trained to fight dragons in case of them attacking the village. The dragons' side of the council was against it at first because they thought it might encurage a riot against the dragons when the vikings learned how to fight against them.
In the end the men stood strong on their case and got their opinion through and a law was made in case of any attempts of riots. The law goes something like this: "If any man would attempt to rise against dragons other than the wild ones, they are free to be slain by any other dragon or man as the situation occurs"
The law is harsh but it has been effective and humans are fed only positive information about the dragons and the alliance so that no negative thoughts such as a riot would blossom. There are cases in which there will be an investigation before the punishment for a crime but if the act is obvious, you could literally kill the person where they stood.
I sighed again and stood up, rubbing my head in thought. I glanced over the familiar ridge and listened to the waves of the small pond in the middle. This was so peaceful, I just hope it will last.
I turned my head and looked at my best friend. "Come on bud, let's go back" I said to him, too lazy to focus on messaging him through the link he was maintaining for such a small deal. He nodded and I got on his back, not too eager to go back to the village but also feeling refreshed from being with Toothless and being able to think peacefully.
After all, life as an outsider wasn't that bad after all, if I could say so myself.
Yo! As I mentioned this is my first non- community style! fic in a long time and I think it'll be quite nice. It does and will have references to the movie but it is NOT a retelling what-so-ever and you could probably already tell that by just looking at this chapter.
Dreskr is a combination of old Norse words Dreki and Menskr which mean Dragon and Human so basically the link is a Dragon-Human-link.
Dreúgr also uses the word Dreki (dragon) and also the word drjúgr which means lasting, emphasizing that it is an eternal link created by a dragon.
So, review if you liked it, didn't like it or just have something to tell me :D
-Dawnbreaker
