AN: Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Fifth Book in my Rise of Wizardry Series! I hope you're all excited because things are going to be moving pretty fast from here on out! There are a lot of twists and turns ahead, so hold onto your hats, scarves, whatever, because it's going to be one heck of a Night Fury Ride! So, without further ado; Read, enjoy, and go ahead and drop a review if you're feeling up to it! :)
WARNINGS!: Please recognize the fact that this story is in fact rated T for a reason. There will be violence, blood, course language, sensitive topics, and possible suggestive themes. Most (probably all) will be minor, but be mindful that this story may be too intense for some readers. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
DISCLAIMER!: I do not own anything within this story except for the plot.
Music: "I Can Go The Distance" from Hercules
NOTES: The Greatest Challenge in Life is Discovering Who You Are.
Chapter 1: In The Distance
"They're coming from off the Port Bow!" A man shouted from somewhere on the ship.
Men rushed to the left side of the ship, bows poised with arrows and swords raised as dragons descended upon their ship. Sparks of fire burst and popped overhead as razor sharp talons sliced through cloth sails and ropes, leaving deep marks and gauges in the wood.
"This is the fifth time this week!" Another cry rose above all the commotion while dragons dipped and dived, coming from all angles.
A brilliant blue Nadder swooped low, it's tail swiping to the side and sending needle-like spikes deep into the wood of the ship, only narrowly missing two men as the dove out of the way. A net swung over the Nadder, catching it by surprise, and the dragon squawked angrily as it fell down onto the deck. Several men ran forward to secure the dragon before it could start breathing fire.
"Watch the tail, lads!" A man with dark hair and dark eyes leaped onto the side rail of the ship, grabbing hold of a rope and wrapping it around his wrist as he scanned the sky.
"Captain Eret what should we do?!" One of the men ran up to him, staying on the ship's floor below.
"Stand our ground! We won't be scared off this easily!" Eret ordered, squinting up into the fluffy white clouds above.
The Summer sun shone brightly overheard, warming the day, and the clouds were small and few. A glimpse of shadow behind the cotton-like globs of moisture was the only warning before a dark figure dive-bombed straight towards the ship faster than anything the pirates had ever seen. A familiar shriek split the air, and several shouts went up.
"Night Fury!" The man next to Eret screamed.
"Hit The Deck!" Another man cried as the crew dropped flat onto the deck of the ship or ducked behind crates or barrels.
Eret's brow furrowed with determination as he grinned, and then he leaped off the ledge of the ship, using the rope to swing himself up onto the top deck where the wheel was. He landed perfectly on his feet and straightened just in time to see a blast of blue fire catch a barrel on the ship's deck, splintering it into tiny pieces as the deck caught fire.
The Night Fury swooped over the deck, and a much smaller figure leaped from the dragon's back and over the wheel, rolling on the floor of the upper deck and landing in a crouch a few feet away from Eret. The dragon landed on the opposite railing, roaring and releasing another blast. This time the Night Fury hit the net that trapped the Nadder, effectively scaring off the men that had been securing the spiked dragon as well, and the Nadder chirped loudly as it shook itself and then jumped into the air to rejoin the other dragons. Eret refocused on the small figure in front of him and smirked. The boy was still crouched low, but he'd drawn his dagger, and he flashed a smile.
"Well, you certainly never disappoint," Eret grinned, drawing his sword and holding it at guard. "You never give up, do you? It's been nearly two months, and you're still trying to chase us off."
"I could say the same about you," The boy snorted, easing back onto his legs, his right hand poised with the dagger. The Night Fury fluttered up onto the upper deck, curling around the boy's back, and the boy stepped back into the beast's side instinctually. "Strange, hostile person whom I don't know."
"I wouldn't consider myself 'hostile', I just want to know who you are." Eret stated more then questioned, raising an eyebrow and his sword.
"You first." The boy returned quickly, making Eret pause a moment, his sword drooping downwards in his hand before he recollected himself.
"...I asked you first." Eret replied, the smirk reappearing on his face.
"I asked you second." The boy also smirked, looking smug and devious. Eret chuckled in amused disbelief, and then lowered his sword to the side as he leaned forward.
"Very well," Eret said, bowing slightly to the boy. "I am Eret, Son of Eret. Captain of the BlueBlazer, finest Navigator alive... And you are?"
"...Uh..." The boy hesitated, his eyes darting to his dragon and then back to Eret. "C- Cat... Yeah. Cat."
"Really? Cat? Is that really the best you could come up with?" Eret scoffed, grinning widely at the scrawny boy in front of him.
"Give me a break, it's not the worst, and it's not like I've had a lot of practice." Cat told him, and Eret chuckled again but nodded in agreement. This kid was definitely strange, to say the least.
"You're not like some of the other... Dragon Enthusiasts I've crossed paths with, and you're obviously not like anyone from the Northern Kingdoms... So where does a kid like you come from?" Eret asked, slowly walking around Cat and his dragon, the pair shifting to keep their eyes on him.
"Nowhere important." Cat answered, his expression closed off and guarded. Not that it was ever particularly welcoming, but Eret liked to think they'd accumulated some sort of tolerance for each other over the past seven weeks of banter and duels. "Why are you still on my island?"
"Well, our original intentions for coming to shore here was to rest and repair the ship. Possibly replenish part of our food supply." Eret said honestly, glancing up at the crow's nest where two of his men had readied a net, aimed directly at Cat and his Night Fury.
"And then...?" Cat pressed as he and the Night Fury looked at Eret with rather dry expressions.
"Then you tried to chase us off the island." Eret shrugged as if it were obvious, and the twin dry expressions shifted into annoyance.
"So you decided to stay... why?" Cat asked again, and the Night Fury grumbled angrily behind him.
"Stubborn Curiosity! We are Pirates, after all." Eret grinned wickedly, and the Night Fury snorted at him before grumbling towards Cat.
"Oh, don't you start!" Cat told the dragon. "At least I'm smart enough to not get caught."
"You sure about that?" Eret inquired smugly as his men threw the net.
"Yep!" Cat smirked, holding onto the Night Fury as it leaped into the air, jumping over the net as it rushed passed them.
Eret yelled out at his men as the net hit him directly, knocking him to the deck, and Cat's chuckle brought the Captain's gaze upwards to see him on the back of the Night Fury on the lower mast. Three of Eret's men ran up to free him from the net, and Cat and his dragon leaped into the air, leaving the ship behind as Eret got to his feet. All of the other dragons gave various roars and squawks before following after the Night Fury, and Eret and his men simply stood and watched as the flock of dragons flew up towards the clouds.
"Where do you think he came from?" One of the crewmen that stood on the upper deck with Eret wondered.
"I have no idea." Eret murmured, grinning as he watched the boy fly away on the back of his Night Fury.
Toothless roared happily into the wind as they swooped down towards the clearing with the rest of their flock close behind them. Hiccup stretched forward in the saddle, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair. He took a deep breath of the cool air, catching the scent of Autumn in the distance as the warm sun hung low on the horizon, painting the sky and ocean with magnificent colors.
It had been roughly two months since Hiccup first came to the island, about two months since everything Changed. Summer was quickly drawing to a close, making way for cooler winds and colder nights. No doubt that Hogwarts would be receiving tuition soon, and his friends would start preparing for their fifth year in the weeks to come. He wondered if his friends had already forgotten him, or if they were angry about everything that had happened. He often found himself unable to sleep at nights, plagued by thoughts and questions of the place he once called home. So, during the day, Hiccup kept himself distracted with the nest and the island itself, not wanting to dwell on dangerous thoughts. He had learned quite a lot from the dragons, and he felt at peace among the nest and it's inhabitants. He could understand it.
The pirates, however, came a day after Hiccup awoke. At first, Hiccup and the other dragons kept their distance, hoping the strange men would leave on their own, but after some time they were still camped on the shore on the opposite side of the island. When one of their nest-mates got brave and drifted closer, the humans were spooked and attacked. Hiccup was fairly certain their intentions had been to scare the Nightmare off, but things escalated too quickly on both sides. Two months later, Hiccup wasn't sure if they were ever going to get rid of the pirates. Their Captain was weird. But Hiccup couldn't really fault anyone for that considering his own... eccentricity.
After all, Hiccup had caused the storm that shipwrecked Captain Eret and his crew.
The small flock landed on the outer edge of the clearing, close to the cliff-face. Shaking themselves, stretching, and curling up on the rocks warmed by the evening sun. Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and climbed out onto a tree that was growing out of the rocks, sticking out over the ocean as land dropped straight down behind it.
Hiccup climbed to the outer branches, using one hand to hold on as he leaned out towards the sea, his chin lifted and chest open as he felt the steady breeze in his hair, the salty spray of the ocean on his face. Music whispered in his ears.
It was the same old itch. The Call.
"Be careful, Hatchling." The Nadder's pretty blue scales shimmered in the light as she preened herself, but she watched Hiccup closely out of the corner of her eye.
"I'll be fine, Stormfly. When am I not careful?" Hiccup called, and Toothless snorted somewhere behind him. Hiccup turned and smiled sheepishly at his dragon who was crouched at the base of the tree, watching him. Toothless gave him an exasperated, but fond, look.
"Every minute of every day! I mean, if you aren't getting into trouble, you're usually asleep!" A green Terrible Terror zipped up Hiccup's leg and torso to rest on his shoulder.
"Thanks, Sharpshot." Hiccup replied dryly, giving the Terror a light glare.
Stormfly and Sharpshot, along with the rest of the flock, had been two of the dragons held at Berk and then at Hogwarts before Hiccup released them. The five other dragons had become good friends to Toothless and Hiccup, and they stuck together, even among the nest.
"You all worry too much." Hiccup told them, climbing out of the tree and bounding over to Toothless. Hiccup nuzzled the top of his head against Toothless's chin, and then slid closer to wrap his arms around his dragon's neck. Toothless's purr rumbled deep in his chest, and one of his large paws rested on Hiccup's back.
"Maybe, but that just shows we care." Toothless said, nuzzling Hiccup's hair with his cheek.
A short call brought all of their attention to the other side of the clearing. The Chief of the nest, Skullcrusher, stood waiting outside of his cave. Hiccup winced, highly aware of the intent that was radiating off of the large dragon, even from the other side of the clearing.
"He wants to speak with you." Toothless stated the obvious, sounding entirely amused.
"Do you think it's about our trip to see the pirates today?" Hiccup asked, remembering Skullcrusher warning some of the younger dragons away from that side of the island.
"You won't know until you speak to him." Toothless replied and gave Hiccup a shove with his head. Hiccup stumbled to his feet from the momentum, and then pouted at Toothless before trudging off to speak with Skullcrusher.
The hefty, dark green dragon was lounging comfortably at the foot of the spiral mountain when Hiccup trotted up and bowed politely. Hiccup couldn't sense any anger or annoyance, so he figured Skullcrusher probably wasn't upset with him for anything.
"Come and sit, youngling. I'm not angry and I won't bite." Skullcrusher snorted with amusement, and Hiccup breathed a small sigh of relief as he sat down beside Skullcrusher and looked out over the field where all the other dragons were resting, playing, preening. It was peaceful. "How are you feeling? It has been some time since the Shadow Man came to our island."
"...I guess I'm okay." Hiccup said slowly, shrugging uncertainly. He couldn't say this surprised him. Skullcrusher and Toothless had been working together to watch over him. Toothless and the other dragons from Berk protected, encouraged, and taught him, but Skullcrusher was much wiser and offered Hiccup guidance. "I've gotten used to... most of it, I think..."
"You're still unsure of how to handle this Change?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"I just... I don't know who I am... I don't know what I am." Hiccup tried to explain. "I know I'm happy here, but something's still calling me... It's all so confusing, and I don't know what to do. I can't go back to Hogwarts or Berk, but where can I go from here?"
"I knew you would want the answers to those questions eventually." Skullcrusher sighed, his eyes tired and shining with a sad kind of smile.
"I'm not going to find them here, am I?" Hiccup inquired, already knowing the reply.
"The answers you seek will not be easy to find. You have no one to take your hand and guide you, like most Hatchlings do. You will have to trust your own heart." Skullcrusher told him. "The journey will be long, and hard, but at the end you will have the answers to your questions, and you will know where you belong."
"It's all so terribly funny." Hiccup grumbled bitterly. "I've always dreamed of traveling the world, but now that I have every reason to do it, I'm terrified of what I'll find."
Skullcrusher chuckled heartily at that. "What you find may surprise you, youngling. But remember that your past does not define your future, and your present can change into something better."
"So if I don't like what fate has planned, I can change it? My friend Merida did that once. I got turned into a bear, but I guess everything worked out in the end." Hiccup smiled, remembering his third year of school fondly.
"That which defines you, and your Fate, are two very different things." Skullcrusher informed him. "But both can be altered."
"So I guess I have to leave then?" Hiccup asked, wondering what exactly he should be doing.
"Only if you wish to, and this nest on this island will always welcome you as one of our own." Skullcrusher promised, gently pressing his nose against Hiccup's forehead. Hiccup returned the pressure and then pulled back.
"Thank you, Skullcrusher." Hiccup bowed his head low, respectfully.
Hiccup returned to the open space by the cliff-face once he finished speaking with Skullcrusher, but he drifted away from the other dragons. He walked towards the other side of the clearing where open grass met the treeline and an overhang of earth reached out over the ocean. The sun was low, the sea stained a crimson red, and the sky darkening with maroons and dark, dark blue.
Hiccup sighed, his thoughts clouded and jumbled. He had so often dreamed of a place where a great, warm welcome would always be waiting for him. He'd come so close to it when he was young, and then at Hogwarts with his friends, and then when his village thought he was one of them. He'd gotten just a taste of it with his friends caring for him, with his village cheering for him, and with Toothless because a small voice inside him kept saying 'this is where you're meant to be'.
He looked up as the last of the sun's rays disappeared behind the horizon and stars began to appear across the night sky. The light was dimmed, but the Music stayed the same. It still Called to him, and he needed to know why. He could do it, he would find his way and travel off into the distance wherever the Music Called him. It was just like Skullcrusher said, if he stayed strong, someday he'd know the answers to all of his questions and he wouldn't have to wonder anymore. Every mile would be worth it.
He'd go most anywhere to feel like he belonged.
A twig snapped somewhere behind him, and Hiccup turned to find Toothless. The Night Fury trotted forward, as calm and steady as always, and he gently nuzzled his cheek against Hiccup's.
"You're upset." Toothless said, sitting and wrapping his tail around Hiccup's feet comfortingly.
"Skullcrusher says I can't find the answers to my questions here. He says I have to go find them for myself." Hiccup confided, turning and flopping down onto the grass with a huff. Toothless snickered and laid down with him, Hiccup leaning back into his side.
"Skullcrusher told me this would happen." Toothless admitted with a shrug. "But you already know that I will follow you wherever you go."
"So that's it? We're just going to go without a second thought?" Hiccup asked, locking gazes with the Night Fury. Toothless nodded.
"Not tonight." He added a moment later, nudging Hiccup to standing. "I wanna sleep. We'll go in the morning."
Hiccup laughed at that. "Tomorrow, then." He agreed, and then hugged Toothless's neck tightly. "Thanks, bud."
Toothless purred lightly and then nudged Hiccup towards the saddle. Within a minute, they took to the air, gliding across the starlit night with ease. Toothless angled towards their cave on the hillside, but Hiccup looked out at the horizon, silhouetted in the moonlight, and smiled.
He was on his way to something great, and he knew he could do it because Toothless would be beside him. Together they'd stay strong, no matter how far they had to go. All of their trials and tribulations, past and future, would be worth it once they found where they belonged.