Darkness reigns over and threatens the very rays of the sun itself as years ago when Drayko was an dream in the mind of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Snorre the Vast and the Thunderbay Vikings Tribe had constructed an weapon built into a colossal statue; using the steaming and scalding water of the enslaved Scauldrons that they could use to attack both Berk and Owl Gut Island. As the Champion of the Owl Gut upon running away from Berk, Hiccup and his ally before Toothless known as Dreadfulstryke set forth with their army of warriors and destroyed the Infernal Colossus of the Thunderbay Tribe. Since then they had planned to see the downfall of Berk but now with that chance taken away as they had to sue for peace at the end of the Valhalla Wars, their main focus was on Drayko Ryder as he and the Knights of the Dragon Riders return now as a father to three beloved sons and a daughter he loved more than ever. With the powers of Skuld the Sorceress, they are ready to seek out the downfall of Drayko for taking away their revenge while the Knights are ready to set forth on a journey to stop the Sorceress of the Endless Night from blocking out the sun and purging the Archipelago into eternal night. But while they are faced with the threat of what powers she possesses upon the knowledge of the Norse Pantheon, an second threat emerges in no one other than Astrid Hofferson who seeks vengeance against the man who had taken away her honor and left both her Tribe and her former home in ruins...
(A/N: As if you do not know who owns this shit already because this time, it's going to be some Maximo and Akuji the Heartless references here; first one had two games named Ghosts to Glory and V.S The Army of Zin, while the second one is a PS1 game involving an voodoo priest named Akuji being murdered on his wedding day by having his heart ripped out by his brother Orad as he now must traverse through the Underworld to return back to life and stop his beloved wife Kesho from being sacrificed as their families are preparing for war. If you have read the previous story then you know that Frost and Blizzard are no longer apart of the Knights, as the former had died while the Snow Wraith had moved on from the death of his master. Mikekolt has taken upon himself to fill in the role that was left behind, but he will not hesitate to go separately on his own at times for the greater advantage of what lies ahead of them. Until then I hope you enjoy the next installment of the Trilogy, Enjoy!)
This... was Berk, it was twelve days north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It was located solidly on the meridian of misery among the series of isles that made up the Barbaric Archipelago. It snowed nine months and year and hailed the other three, any food that grew here was tough, tasteless and raw. The inhabitants that grew here were even more so. The most of these people on Berk were willing to take the good with the bad, but there were those who would never learn to accept the life of an runt, and would do anything; even illegal things to drive them out of their way for good. The remains of the Old Hooligans Tribe rested here on the once soft and breezing grass of the cold winds as Berk was said to be so close to the heavens above, none of the activities here could live up to the once charming sunsets that came with each of the long and hard days. It was here that the story began within an grey stormy where the sun had only begun to shine it's rays and beams of sunlight down onto the ruins of what was once the site of an great and terrible battle. The years have not been so kind to these Vikings who fought on this Island, it was meant to fall
For over the many months that became many years within 300 Years of centuries, the once great and powerful Hairy Hooligans Tribe that thrived has faced trials greater than among the Dragons that they have fought. Houses littered with holes, scorch marks burned into embers from many different spots as some houses were nothing more than heaps, burning wood and hay. The Great Hall was destroyed as the doors lied facing down and the building was no more as ruins of the Island have fallen into the seas of the Archipelago, the rain turned into cascading waterfalls of sorrow and not even the Forest that stood with the Village was safe from within as it had burned to ashes and the Cove where an young boy who would become the downfall of this Tribe remained untouched as it was this sacred site that became an meeting between man and Night Fury alike. The statues of Thor that stood with the seastacks were eroded with moss and the entire Island was dilapidated, consumed by fear and the ruins of what has survived; but was brought forth a lifetime of despair that clouded all who remained here, the bloodied and smoking bodies of more than 31 Hooligan Vikings were scattered about in the Village and nothing much was left standing
Life here was nothing more to being horrible and just so disgusting to how they have treated that same young boy who has become the downfall of the Old Hooligans Tribe. What remains here are the ashes and smoke that were rising into the horizon beyond the shadow of the sun, the red dawn within the distance rises as the only sound in the once boisterous streets that were filled with Vikings have been reduced to the sound of dust being blown away into the afterlife of the Underworld where the soul of Stoick the Vast; the once great and powerful Chieftain of Berk was left to be forever cursed to roam the very foundations of the Underworld below the earth that he once walked upon, for who could ever forget the terrible sins that he has committed? Rather to live on and survive with a desperate dying wish, that brought all into the ruin and despair. A lone Shield Maiden known no other than the fearless Astrid Hofferson, Captain of the Berk Guard walked along this road and had sat down on the cliffside to think of all that has transpired
Astrid Hofferson remained unchanged in most places but now wore an dark pacific sea teal ribbed sleeveless shirt with the same blunt spike shoulder guards that now featured the symbol of the Berk Guard and had an very small V-shape in front of her neck that was lined with mocha brown, having the same ring that kept her shoulder guards on her at all times. On her face was two diagonally smeared and faded apricot orange lines as war paint, although her blonde hair went down below her shoulders as the color of the ribbed lines on her shirt was an extremely faded adriact mist turquoise blue. Finally, her thick furry edged hood rested along her shoulders and down to her back as she was armed with her Gronckle Iron Axe and Shield
She stood from the ground and looked up at her reflection from within her Axe that too was forged by Hiccup, although now revealed to be Drayko Ryder as an flash of determination shined in her eyes just as the sound of ashes cracked and snapped. She looked forward on ahead and moved towards that direction, stopping one last time as she looked back at the ruined remains of what was once her home before leaving on her Ship; sailing off to her new place with her surviving Vikings of the Hairy Hooligans Tribe, for this was not the end for her. Drayko Ryder proved to be too powerful for her Tribe to take him down, but decided in the end that she would let him go for now and continue on as there was nothing more of Hiccup that remained as his family was broken and forsaken in favor for the Dragons he fought side by side with. Her main mission to hunt down the Hofferson's Bane remained with her and it was her only focus in order to restore the family name and regain her honor. What she planned next afterwards however, was a mystery even to her as she was not too sure on what to do next
To say the least for her she'll just say that for now she has nothing more to hide, as her life's mission had been completed; however this loss of her home meant very little to the young girl who had sworn to restore her family's honor. As there was nothing left in the ruins of the home that was destroyed for as much of the Isle of Berk had collapsed into the seas, just as the Outcast Tribe attempted to do years before on the day that Hiccup has had enough of being their champion. Where the surviving Vikings of the Hairy Hooligans Tribe had fled to, there was only one direction that they had to go off and live on but now in fear of the man who has come to be known as the Unspeakable Phantom of Plasma and Death Sentences; the same man that they have created and the same man who has laid ruin to the remains of their former settlement
It was to the far east of where they once lived and located outside of the Barbaric Archipelago, here it was when she was approaching her new home and it was here that the foundations of the Isle of Berk were being rebuild but now without an Chief to lead them on; for Snotlout Jorgenson was declared an rogue Viking of even his own family clan. It was his way of treatment towards the downfall of their Tribe, that had made the living hell they suffered come true; but this time they would not ignore their part in helping him forge what his rival would become in the future, from this point forward they had declared that they would help the runt of the Village become what a true Viking would be as Drayko once called them out for not doing the same to him
It was nine degrees east to the edge of the world and a few degrees north of permanent frostbite, the eyesight and the awe of what was to behold was not a illusion to fool the onlookers who would witness such an place. This here was declared and known as New Berk, for it was far elevated from the level of the sea as they had created an lift onto it's surface for anyone who has come to provide them with what they needed to survive as well as get down onto the ships that were docked down below. It had everything from the fields to waterfalls, thick jungle type of forests and beaches as it was considerably larger than he original; overcrowding was no issue as they arrived here. Northeast beyond the borders of where they lived as it's plant life was very diverse featuring tropical vines and thick foilage, with contrast featuring plants bearing the strong resemblance to pine trees. It's climate was much warmer compared to other places as it could be seen in the plant life, but it was still cold enough for those who prefer a colder environment
Astrid walked off the ramp of the ship and onto the docks, climbing off board as she stepped aboard the lift with it ascending high onto the literal higher ground; her thoughts trailing back to the moment when she was tortured by Drayko for hurting his future wife, Maria Krofter. All of those words that he had venomously shot out against her, all of those ways that he acted against her actions that she had committed without reason to do so; but most importantly his final words that have come to haunt her before being stabbed in the thigh, as the wound was healing but not the pain she felt from what Drayko had spoken to her: "NO! You have no Honor and you will never restore the name of fearlessness to your family, because you are living in a lie as your honor bullshit is fake; it always has been because you continue to dishonor me behind my back, you are no Captain of the Berk Guard and neither are you an loving daughter to your parents: YOU ARE A BITCH WHO DESERVES TO DIE!"
Upon reaching the main ground, everyone was melancholic as they mirthlessly shambled along with no sense of urgency as small grunts of greetings were exchanged. Snotlout Jorgenson was no longer apart of their village as in truth he had faked his death, going off to Odin fuckin' knows where the hell they knew where exactly; but if she had to guess then it would have to be the Dragon Hunters since he will never rest peacefully until he had gotten what he rightfully deserves. What he needed to be doing was to leave her be to her own vices and stop being so lustfully persistant, he would not stop until he had her but who is she to be blamed for; there was no one who would love an false macho bravado like him, but Snotlout did not want to lose at all
He scornfully informed those who did not address him by his full title and even threw two who decided not to greet him with proper respect, but at least Stoick did not need to be properly respected by his people at times. His arrogance had led him to believe that being Chief meant people waiting upon his hand and foot to get what he rightfully did not deserve, blatantly forgetting the decisions he makes had horribly lasting consequences as well as unfairly imprisoning those who did not respect him even in the slightest. It was truly the end of an golden age of the Hairy Hooligans as peace and prosperity they sought from the defeat of the Dragons, were no more
Drayko as Hiccup was declared dead upped and left but now there were specific members of the Tribe who wanted to defend him, which Snotlout has had enough of especially Fishlegs' disrespect to him that in truth should've started doing long ago. He did get into a fight with him once but it had the same difficulty in attempting to ground-tackle an Bullrougher, calling him an damn fatass ox born from the evils of diabetes; which was just baby fat as he had no such traces as even the medics had confirmed so, but that was merely an derogatory name for someone who was muscly built with intelligence in place of brawn
It was today that marked the fifth anniversary in the eight years since the Fall of Old Berk was everyone believed he had emerged victorious over them, since this time the survivors had begun to admire some of the lesser known traits about Drayko as the saying one does not know what one has until it was gone had rung true. From the Nadder to the Zippleback, from the Gronckle to the Terror; Snotlout's attempts to impress his beloved who did not love him back had fallen on blind eyes with several angry glares and occasional throw of expired food, that was smelly enough to make the flies avoid it and the smell of rotting fish contaminating his scent
HTTYD
For the remains of Stoick the Vast that had been taken with them and surfaced from the seas, it was here on the lagoon of dusk that the new members of the Tribe who had decided to fill in the number of losses they had suffered from both death and betrayal; had held an funeral for not only the Chief of Berk, but for the loss of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III that they have come to accept as now Drayko took his place in memory of the former boy they never given an chance to him. An Hooligan Longship was on the shoreline as it was battered from the attack and pushed to the glowing horizon of the sunset
"May the Valkyries offer gentle hands to guide your lost soul to Odin's great golden Halls of Valhalla, sing your name with love and tenderness so that we might hear it carried upon it's light from above; know that you've come home to caring arms and know that we seek only for your forgiveness and guidance on how we set forth on a journey for atonement. It is here we now stand to forgive a life that we have taken before it had even begun: That of an friend. An heir we drove away, an son we have disowned and an true Viking who now symbolizes to one who might think twice to scorn a young and inexperienced youth like you..."
All who were young and old, both men and women as many Hooligans stared in sorrow for their fallen chief and his fallen son; offering rites as the other young adults looked on with tears in their eyes, flaming arrows drawn as they fired to burn away the vessel that sailed to the horizon. Some had fallen to their knees but one had screamed against the sky, the sight of an Viking whose life was over had reduced everyone else to tears. Children cried themselves to sleep every night for the following months while the adults could not rest, tossing and turning while the memory of every foul word spoken against Hiccup had haunted their nightmares and caused their feet to be burning with each irritation caused by the young boy's defiance
He really needed friends and compassion more than anything, when that chance came for them to give the kindness he deserved; they had thrown it away like the children who did not get their favorite gifts on Snoggletog, but how could one expect the years to be kind to a Tribe of fear consumed cowards? While they looked on with sorrow in their hearts the new Dragon Hunter known as Snotlout did not as he kept an look of indifference, rightfully angry to himself that Useless the Unwanted continued to live on
He had taken away his father and he had taken away his uncle who was proud of his achievements no matter what, for he had proven himself an real Viking worthy to be remembered for his skills in slaying the Devils that roam the Archipelago; although he wondered that if his cousin did plan to change the minds of his Tribe about the way they thought about them, he wondered what might have transpired. He knew that he was not allowed to set foot near them for he was an exiled heir, to them he had tormented their late Chief's son for the last time. But being that arrogant former heir to the throne of Berk, he had no need for his people who didn't care about him; he had an new family to lead in the form of the Dragon Hunters as his cousin will not stand against them, he will fall very soon but for now it was time for him to leave as he spent enough time here at his former home. He left afterwards by jumping off from the edge of the island, having no need to linger about here
Drayko did not want to forgive Berk and he did not want to forgive those who have wronged him in the past like his father among them, he did not want to give them the chance that they were stupid enough to not give him the same. For why did not forgiving them hurt so much, because they had let themselves do this all on purpose and without warning; for every one who was like Hiccup, they would treat them with respect because they now knew what had happened
Astrid's Mother was downstairs finished with the laundry that because of the cloudy weather for them, was not getting dry enough and had resorted to using the heat of an fireplace to warm them; closing the tight seal gate to prevent embers being spat onto their clothing that she was trying to dry. She and the Hairy Hooligans have taken upon themselves to begin an new life without Stoick, as a new Chief was put in place after Snotlout was exiled and considered an rogue viking; it was during this time of the morning that she could only look down at her breakfast which was really delicious but took an few bites, it was just that her hunger wasn't feeling very good and she could not feel it wanting energy to provide her with for the day. Her mother took notice upon this behavior of sorts and knew what was happening, it would not matter if she had to pass this stupid and so called test where their conversation she was going to have with her daughter had to not have a man involved; to him Drayko knew what he did was wrong but in truth he was serving out an lesson to not treat the runt of the Tribe like whore shit, one that shall be learned by everyone who comes from any Tribe like theirs
She was an stout woman with an round face, thick and separate pigtails from her blonde hair hung over her shoulders. Her clothing of choice was simply an short sleeve brown tunic with an long green underskirt, having an studded belt with an fervent brass belt buckle with dark brown boots. Bracers covered her forearms with an brown fir shrug as her helmet simply appeared to be an smaller version of Stoick's helmet, although it was smooth rather than vertically ribbed up to the sharp point. Astrid's father wore an sleeveless beige tunic with an dark grey vest, having an matching undecorated belt to go with it; as there were two medallions on the upper side of his vest, his helmet had shorter horns of course and wore brown boots with some seemingly black arm bracers. His hair was an auburn color that flowed to the back but his full beard wasn't too long, but now he wore some gloves to protect his fists since punching Drayko was enough to break a hand
"Astrid, are you not feeling any better about what happened these past few days? You haven't touched your food much at all" Her mother asked her as she wearingly looked up to face her
"What kind of ill-faded man would tame a Night Fury of all Dragons? That thing is a monster and here he was treating it like an puppy, he said that we've abandoned him but he's the one who did it to us; he never accepts his faults that he purposely committed, he never wants to honor his family for once in his life and he just doesn't want to be a Viking. That's no excuse to be friends with an monster that has killed hundreds of us in the past" Astrid responded, still too stubborn to accept her role in making his life a living hell
"But we've killed thousands of them Astrid, he has a point but I'm not saying that I side with him; he may have killed our Chief but his reason for doing so was that he was tired of suffering, he was tired of his pain and he wanted us to start over. That's not to say we have our own issues outside of tormenting him like our enslaved prisoner" Her mother came over
"I trained myself to fight him, I did everything to avenge my fearless Uncle; and he still continues to take away my chances of hunting down that Flightmare when Aurvandil's Fire came. All I ever ask for is to take down the Hofferson's Bane and restore honor to my family, but the Gods clearly think I'm not punished enough and they're still angry with us" Astrid placed her fingers into her eyes, breathing one out as her mother told her this
"If it's closure you seek then there's no reason to continue staying here at New Berk, when the Berserkers once attacked due to a misunderstanding and you saw our house destroyed; you wanted to stay here to make sure things like these didn't happen again in your absence. I don't want you to end up like how he's become thanks to our Chief being afraid of the loss of his wife, but I don't want you to go down that same road with whatever children you wish to have with the man you truly love. We were all wrong as for 300 Years, we've been living in the same past and thought that we were all the same strong Tribe that we were, but we were just fooling ourselves and trying to stay away from change; what Drayko did was vital for us to learn just how far what kind of Viking could go to exact revenge on those who hurt him, our Chief feared what the Birthmark of his could do and believed that it was a curse by the Gods so that our children wouldn't end up like him. If you want to see that Flightmare gone, then I will not stop you; but I ask you to not hunt for Drayko because while he has brought ruin onto more Tribes than one while making allies with others, it doesn't do well to live for revenge and forget what you really mean to do in your mission. Gothi would've told you the same had it not been for him killing her, but that was on accident and when she revealed that all of us wouldn't let him carry out his task; we've further fueled his rage and doomed ourselves, do you understand now?" She asked her
"If killing Drayko won't bring things back to the way they once were, then there's something that's not adding up to me; I want to bring down that Flightmare but I'm certain that he said something to the Chief, what exactly were their last words to each other? That's what I want to know from him, even if I have to stop him for good" Astrid got up from the table as she headed to the stairs
"Where are you going?" Her mother asked
"I know it's not right for me to go after him, but there's too many things that haven't been cleared up for me; I want to know what he said to the Chief, even if I have to seek vengeance against him. You were right about not wanting me to go hunting him for revenge, but I need my answers..." She explained as he went upstairs
Upstairs in her bedroom she went over to her bed and brought out her axe underneath, along with her shield that she used in Dragon Training; bringing out some new clothes to wear as well as some armor to use in case she encounters Drayko again. She hasn't forgotten what he told her and that was just one of the reasons why she has to go against her mother's wishes, it all started out when they were kids as Hiccup was without a mother and he couldn't stand up for himself; now all that has changed and he's become a real fighter as well as a worthy ally for anyone whose opinions on Dragons are changed because of him. Once she got changed into her previous outfit that she once wore when the Fall of Berk began, she got her warpaint on which was an blue and orange sharp winged butterfly on her face; as her friends and formally Fishlegs all had their facepaint:
Snotlout's facepaint consisted of red and yellow, with red in between his eyes above his nose; red and yellow lines together on both sides of his cheek, with an red barb on his chin
Tuffnut's facepaint was just creepy to them as he decided to go with an skull looking like the logo to the Misfits, his colors were black and yellow of course; he'd better off looking like a bumblebee to other children
Ruffnut's was cyan and yellow as it went across her cheeks and pointed up her nose, but never touched her eyes as it went up her chin on the bottom; it resembled more of an eagle gliding overhead
Fishlegs was an shamrock green and pumpkin orange half circle as both ends stopped diagonally facing towards his eyes, with an orange barb underneath his chin; this facepaint was criticized by Tuffnut because when he explained his, he said that at least his doesn't look like a target. To be fair these are the colors of the Ingerman's crest, so there's no bitching in that at all
She hasn't seen Mikekolt too much during her time but let's say that she has: given the fact that he would've been a silent but easily cold blooded, remorseless and a brutal psychopath; his facepaint would be even worse than Tuffnut's. She could imagine that his would be a rather evil and malevolent version of her's as it would be a tailless bat with black and green colors, having some sharp tiger stripes on his cheeks and eh... yeah that is just creepier altogether
Once she walked downstairs and saw her parents at the door waiting for her, she decided to bid them a farewell as her mother wasn't going to stop her from trying to get answers from the same man who destroyed their home. Her father knew what she was doing and decided to side with his wife, but never kept his idea of sending help to her when she needs it the most should she have some issues in her little journey. As soon as they separated from each other, they watched her daughter exited through the door
"Good luck, dear..." Her mother told her under her breath
"I will not hesitate to send help wherever you go Astrid, we will be there for you" Her father watched on as she vanished from their sight
As she walked through the village where the Hooligans were starting to like this new beautiful place that the Old Berk couldn't live up to, she stepped onto the lift and was lowered down to the sea level where she walked among the docks; walking by some Vikings including the likes of Bucket and Mulch who have learned and even grew curious to learn more about what Drayko has done to become who he was today. She stepped onboard the ship before hoisting the sails, looking up one last time as her parents watched her from above
Astrid set sail off to the seas as her journey for answers would be perilous, but she is determined to know what the exchange was between Drayko and his deceased father; she continued to state that no matter who he was, he was always the son and heir to the throne of Berk. He would always be the son of Stoick, no matter his claims that he was not his son
But she knew better than to go out there and hunt Drayko down, as the teens have moved on to both bigger and better things now; it was just not worth the effort at all as Drayko was now a father to his three children and his daughter. He had an family nowadays and it seemed that Astrid had grown to harbor some secret feelings for him during his absence, an shame it all must come down to this in the very end. Truly, it was the end of the golden age...
Unlike the previous story the events in my dreams that have not been playing out the structure too often as I didn't think I would write an next installment in the trilogy, but now that his vengeance was complete I think I'm going to have some issues in writing down how the events are taken. Once again I'm going to have to use an story bridge structure to help me how to write what happens here, the next chapter however is going to be showing what has become of their new home named: "New Draconia" as I've got some new ideas for the next one, I wouldn't expect a few more chapters just yet because there's Mikekolt's own story to be completed first beforehand. That alone will not stop me from writing down the other chapters, but not post a few of them on the site until they're completed; that right there is my strategy and it should be yours too. Remember this suggestion: Don't like it, don't read it; otherwise, Feel free to Review and Until we meet again as I will return...
TheLegendaryBlackDragonKnight
P.S: While I mentioned that the Thunderbay Vikings Tribe appear to be the main villain, they're really just an army for the real main antagonist; Skuld the Sorceress. She may not appear as good as she is like Drago Bludvist to say, but she's still a threat since in the Endless Night comic: she practically caused other Hooligans to vanish and have them enchained for slavery, all for the tribe and for their grudge after the end of the Valhalla Wars. If you do not understand why they want Drayko dead, see the story: "Chains of Hooligans, Betrayal and Pride of Berk" the latter will tell you as it depicts the battle between him and them. For now, there's a whole more to be seen beyond the trilogy...