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Summary: Finding out the only child you will ever have is gifted by the gods but will curse their mother is not the news Asmund the Great wanted to hear. It wasn't going to be hard enough to raise the child of the two most stubborn Vikings on Berk now he had to raise and child of a prophecy. Things just never work out for the Eld family. They always seem to get sucked into the crazy things in life. The older they get the harder it is to protect them and when the village might just try to kill them if they knew the truth it's quite difficult to raise a child.

"How to Raise a Viking"

Chapter 1 "Child of Night of Dragons,"

Eld was a powerful name on Berk. Everyone knew them or at least of them. Ingrid and Asmund were the fiercest dragon slayers of their generations that hadn't lost a single limb. Asmund and Ingrid starting slaying young and made quite a life for themselves. No one ever thought the two most stubborn Vikings on Berk would get married or have a child. One thing everyone expect was for them to produce the most powerful dragon slaying heroes Berk had ever seen.

For Ingrid even having a child has seemed like a dream. Ever since she was born she had been told her she could not have children. She was the happiest pregnant woman around. No one understood what the Elder one had meant by Ingrid being infertile. As she got farther along the more difficult it was. She got bigger than a full-grown yack but no one dared say a word. She got to the point where she was bedridden, which was no easy task for any Viking let along a dragon killing one.

Being bedridden was also very dangerous on Berk. If you can't leave bed you are good as dragon meat. That was a threat that worried Asmund. He couldn't be killing dragons and keeping his wife safe. But he had a duty to Berk not that Ingrid would have let him disobey Stoick anyways. But that didn't make leaving her that night any easier but he had a duty that had to do, no matter the fact he was tired of killing dragons. He would never admit it but Asmund wasn't too sure dragons were as bad as they seemed. Sometimes he could see fear in their eyes. But he killed dragons for a living, he couldn't afford such thinking.

Ingrid could hear the roar of dragons. She yearned to be out there fighting them but she also yearned to be a mother. She had a lot of time to think these days. She wasn't sure what she was going to do when she had her baby. She knew if it wasn't a boy she would have to go through this again. That is just the way it is. She hated that thought. As she laid thinking as a pain shot through Ingrid. The first time she didn't think anything of it. She had been stuck in bed for weeks probably just a cramp. Then it happened again. That seemed odd. But then it happened a third time and she knew she was going into labor. There was no one to help. Panic was threatening to rise in her. It seemed like a lifetime of agony. She yelled out in pain. No one had told her it hurt this much. She screamed out aid to Frigg. Her prayer was answered when it just happened two Vikings walked near the house and heard the yells of panic. Expected to find Ingrid without a limb or nearly dead they darted inside. Instead they walked into Ingrid in mid-labor. The two Vikings were Valka, the chief's wife, and Spitelout, the chief's half-brother. Valka had recently just had her son but she had never witness labor from a third person view. Spitelout knew nothing, his wife had given birth two months ago but he still didn't have any clue. Valka had to take the lead. Ingrid's screaming was bound to attract dragons. Besides Ingrid's screaming getting louder there was no sign before the tiny little baby flew out. Spitelout caught the tiny slimy pink baby before it hit the floor. It squirmed and wailed. Valka wrapped the baby in a raccoon skin. The screaming baby wiggled in Valka's arms until she gave the baby to Ingrid. The tiny little baby stopped screaming instantly. Ingrid looked at the little baby in her arms. So small and innocent. She lifted the raccoon skin to see it was a little girl. The cries of the baby had eventually drawn the unwanted attention from dragons. A few seconds later the roof of the house was torn wide open by an Timberjack. Despite the pain Ingrid grabbed her axe. She hid the baby under the bed. Ingrid swung her axe at the dragon. Ingrid, Valka and Spitelout danced around the fire trying to keep it away from the bed. The tail whacked the bed. The bed flew across the room. The newborn baby was now exposed to the dragon. Everyone froze as the dragon sniffed the baby. The baby cried when it snorted into her face. The dragon became distressed by the crying baby and shot out lighting randomly. Spitelout managed to do a flying somersault to grab the baby. The baby stopped crying and stared at Spitelout. Spitelout hid the baby behind an extra shield that was lying around. Before Spitelout even got back to fighting the dragon was dead. Ingrid was groaning in pain. It was clear to see that her left leg was gone. Asmund arrived home to find his home ripped wide open. He ran inside. People had already gathered around. He found his wife in a severe amount of pain as her left leg was gone and she had just given birth after all. His first thoughts was of the baby, which the one and only Spitelout of all the Vikings was hold. Spitelout handed Asmund the tiny raccoon bundle. Everything melted away when Asmund looked down at the tiny baby in his arms. He looked under the raccoon wrap, it was a little girl. The most beautiful thing he had ever seen next to his wife. The little red curls peaking out of the wrap and the one open emerald green eye glaring at him. This was his daughter, Kari Ase Eld. This was his pride and joy. There was not a single ounce of anger left in him; not at the dragons, himself, or Spitelout and Valka for not finding him. His life changed. Little did he know how much more it would change.

That night changed a lot of things in Berk. Ingrid the Intelligent was no longer able to hunt. With a missing left leg and barely capable of caring for herself. That also left Asmund the Ambitious only able to do hunting some of the time. That left a huge problem. The two best dragon hunters were missing. It weakened Berk during dragon attacks, which lead to the dragon attack that took Valka. Things were tense among the Elds and the chief. And nothing was looking about for Berk. Until the day the Elder visited the Elds. The news that was delivered could be taken in many different ways.

Gothi tells a prophecy in the dirt to Asmund. A child of the night of the dragons will be gifted by the gods but cursed the one that brought her into the world. Privately she tells Asmund more then she told Stoic for the sake of the toddler. She tells Asmund that Kari will be the rise of a new age and the fall of the current age and that she will develop gifts that no one can imagine, but she must be taught to control it or she could destroy not only Berk but all the islands nearby. In most cases Asmund would say kill the child but this was his daughter. The only child he was ever going to have. He would protect and teach her. He didn't know how long he had left with Ingrid so he had to do what she would want him to do for Kari.

Ingrid didn't get sick like Gothi said nor did she get worse. She actually got better. She was speaking and moving again. She wasn't fighting dragons but Asmund was back into the business, which made everyone happy. But Ingrid wasn't happy with her husband killing dragons. Ingrid had changed. She could see they were not dangerous beats but scared animals.

Asmund and Ingrid did things different with Kari. After all that had happened Ingrid was unable to have any more children due to what the dragon did to her left leg. So Kari meant the world to both of them but they were still Vikings and Gothi was clear they had to teach Kari everything they could. Ingrid never gave in when Kari cried after being changed and fed. It annoyed the rest of the village but Ingrid ignored people's pleas. She was going to raise her child the way she wanted to. Besides their parenting style Ingrid and Asmund were still a married couple that loved each other. Many Vikings didn't know how to express themselves in words but Ingrid and Asmund did.

"Asmund, there is something different about her. Have you noticed that our house has been untouched by the dragons when they attack? The night she was born that Timberjack could have killed her but didn't," said Ingrid her voice soft and gentle. The mothering soothing sound that no one besides Kari and Asmund would ever hear.

"I know love but we can only suspect about the gifts Gothi spoke of. We can only hope that it is something we can teach her to control and hide it," said Asmund softly so no one could hear.

"She's going to need us when she is small but something tells me that we won't always be able to protect her. There will come a day where she'll have to use her gifts she's been born with. We just have to give her the tools to take care of herself," said Ingrid.

"Do you think we may be wrong about the dragons? Is there any reason that Timberjack didn't kill her? Why would the gods bless her and curse you?" asked Asmund only saying what he is thinking.

"This has changed my views. I see much more than I could before. You will one day see too. She's going to be able to always see what I see now. We haven't seen such curse yet. We must not question the gods not no matter how much what they do hurts," said Ingrid. She didn't doubt the curse. She had gone against the Elder and had a child. She would feel the wrath of the gods for her disobedience but until then she had to raise her daughter.

The problem came when Asmund only started to kill to defend and Ingrid gave up dragon fighting. No one thought the day the Eld family would give up dragon fighting would come but it did. The loss was a factor into what happened the night Valka was taken. Asmund nearly left the island after that but he refused to give into himself and most of the village. He was an Eld, and Elds never give up. Asmund and Ingrid held their own for a long time without any help for anyone until things cooled down.

But eventually conflict started to occur. Stoic and Spitelout were always fighting over what they should be doing. Then one day Asmund knocked both of them off their high a mighty pestle they both had made for themselves. Berk was defenseless with their chief and second in command fighting. Asmund's popularity returned as he took control of his own fate. This was a job that would keep him alive and do well for Berk. Asmund became third in command. Mostly it meant managing the docks and ships.

Meanwhile, Ingrid became the village healer learning from the Elder herself. Keeping an infant around sick and dying people was not an option leaving Kari down at the docks. Which led to a lot of near drowning situations but she was the first to learn to swim or at least float. No one believed in Gothi's prophecy since Ingrid was still alive and well.

Most parents keep their toddlers away from sharp things and dangerous waters with eels and many other things that may kill a human. But Asmund did things different. Stoic never wanted to leave Hiccup with Asmund afraid of what would happen. Asmund let Kari learn from consequence as long as she wasn't trying to maim herself. This turned out not to be a bad idea once the horde of toddlers running around started to find new exciting ways to try to kill themselves because by then Kari would think about the pain she may suffer. However the time she ate poisonous berries was a teaching moment for Asmund as a parent, when fishing never let your two-year-old eat berries when you don't know where they found them. It passed right through Kari's system thanks to Gothi and Ingrid.

Ingrid found that she was not the best mother. She was never able to teach Kari. She only screamed at her, which does nothing with a two-year-old besides make her throw things or scream back. She did not know how to be a gentle caring mother. She only knew the Viking way. Even at two it was clear the Kari didn't respond to the Viking way. Sure she threw toys and was a pain in the ass but she was no dragon killer. Kari preferred Asmund over her and that broke Ingrid's heart. Maybe she was cursed after all. Maybe her curse was that she'd never be a mother to her daughter only a thorn in her side.

Kari's gifts didn't really show their selves the first three years of her life, only a few strange things. The first time Asmund ever discovered anything about Kari's gifts was when she was three-years-old and he had been fishing. A Terrible Terror jumped out of the bush. Asmund was ready to spear the creature when it tackled Kari and started to lick and purr. Kari talked to the dragon in a gibberish that pleased the dragon. Asmund was astounded. He had figured out why the dragons left them alone. Kari was able to speak to them. This was very much a dangerous gift. If any villagers knew they'd kill her. If Stoic knew he'd use her to kill every single dragon.

Ingrid became very bitter. She sat mostly with herself. Kari was more a nuisance than a gift. She never paid much attention to the little girl. That didn't stop Kari's love. Ingrid couldn't see the love her daughter had for her. Asmund could do nothing to show Ingrid because when you are married to the second most stubborn person on the island there is nothing you can do make them listen even if you are the most stubborn person on the island. He could only hope Ingrid would see the truth as Kari got older. Love was powerful. It could bring down a while fleet. Asmund had seen it happen again and again. It can bring together a village or destroy it. He didn't know much about the future but he did know one thing no matter what he would love both of the women in his life no matter what the future holds.

Author's Note;

I know there isn't much dialogue and a lot of description but the next chapter will be evenly balanced. Please leave a review, all comments are welcome. Everyone give thanks to RedDragonforce 1 for beta-reading my story and catching my grammar mistakes. Trust me it gets much better. Please leave a review, it is coffee for the soul.