And now, for something completely different. For those that have read my main and other short lived secondary stories, this is a stark departure from my usual area. No tanks, jets, massive naval vessels, star ships, lasers, or such in this story. But I wanted to try something new. As to what brought this story on, I got hooked on a HTTYD story about a week and a half ago. So you could say this story was inspired by "I Hear Him Scream" by Rift-Raft. Truthfully… the name didn't make much sense to me, but I loved that story nonetheless. Finally, I will be trying first person writing for the first time and there will be multiple PoV. Time to bring this overly long author's note to and end and actually start this story. Enjoy!

EDIT (9-19-2017)

Okay, so I am going to be heavily rewriting parts of this story as I attempt to get back into writing it. Thankfully it is only three chapters long, so it will not take me too long, but expect some differences from when this was posted.

Taste of Eternity

Toothless

I hated my life… To put it bluntly, I was a slave. So were all the other dragons, but they didn't know it. I had the 'blessing' of retaining control over most of my actions and thoughts. The other dragons had fake ideas of happiness and service to the queen forced upon them without a difference in the world. Me on the other hand… I was stuck having most of my free will, but not enough to escape this hell hole I am forced to call a nest. I don't know the exact reason behind this, but I believe it is so I can be a better 'leader' and take better care of the fellow dragons during raids. As for what I am, I am a dragon if that wasn't obvious enough for you. What? I am allowed to try and make my miserable life enjoyable. Jokes aside, I am simply a species of dragon called Night Shadows. Yeah, I know it's simple but it comes from our uncanny ability to blend in and disappear into the night sky.

As for what I am doing right now, I have the 'honor' of leading a raid on a rather well defended Viking town. I hated this part of my life the most. Being forced to violate my beliefs so the queen could be fed for another week. What beliefs you ask? Contrary to popular belief, dragons don't like stealing food. It is dishonorable. I know right, dragons? With honor? Surely I'm joking. However, that honor has been buried beneath into the deep recesses of the other dragons' minds by the queen. Forced to forget who and what they are. We were once proud hunters, but now we have been lowered to simple thieves.

I wanted nothing more than to fly away right now and never come back. I would be abandoning the rest of the dragons, but this life was pure torture. I almost wished that one of those Vikings would actually end my suffering. But alas I could do neither. The queen kept me from being able to fly away and from doing the more dangerous jobs on the raids. I was stuck to knocking down their outer defenses in hit and run attacks. Truthfully I respected these Vikings in that manner. No matter how many times I was forced against my will to knock their towers down, they were always rebuilt by the next time we came back. That right there is determination. No wonder they managed to actually live in what to most would be an inhospitable collection of islands.

Anyways, back to the actual raid. The first wave of dragons had already descended onto the village. Several buildings were alight with fire. I could hear the bleating of sheep as they were scooped up off the ground. The Vikings were scrambling to man their defenses, which meant it was my turn. My first target was a tower with one of those deadly rock flinging devices on top. I tucked in my wings as I started my dive. There was a high pitched whine as I lost altitude and prepared a bolt of plasma.

"Night Fury!"

"Get down!"

Ah, yes. The traditional call of the Viking. They shout out those words every time I attack. Truthfully, I do actually kind of find it somewhat amusing. I have to get my joy from the little things in life… Viking calls aside, I shot out my attack. The heavy mechanism the humans used for throwing stones into the air burst into hundreds of smaller pieces and ignited the top of the tower. However, the tower itself was still standing. So I looped around and dove in for a second pass. This time the tower itself collapsed. The humans on it jumped off trying to escape the fire and crumbling timber.

I gained some more altitude and began circling above the village. I had a great view of the chaos below. A good chunk of the town was burning. The Vikings were split between fighting us and putting out the fires. I guess that was a good thing. The fewer of them trying to kill us the better. Someday I hoped to find a way to free all of them, along with myself of course.

Spotting my next target, I dove in. It was another tower with a rock flinger. This one didn't have anyone on it at the moment, but I figured that was about to change. I could already see some Vikings heading towards it. I am sure they will have a good time rebuilding this one as well. The high pitched whine of my immediate attack started as I dove in. This time the entire tower burst into flames as my attack hit. I pulled up out of my dive, exchanging my speed for altitude.

Fwap

Then I couldn't move. I could move somewhat, but the important things like… you know, my wings? Nope. There was something constrained around me. I knew that the Vikings had some sort of weapon that they threw that wrapped around a dragon, but there was no way a human could have hit me given how fast I was going when pulling out of that dive. Now I was hurtling towards the ground… I haven't crash landed since I was a mere pup. And I had never been going this fast before.

….

This is going to hurt… Well on the bright side, it seems I might be getting my wish after all…

Hiccup

"Oh my gods… Yes!" I shouted, throwing both my hands into the air. I couldn't believe my luck. I had actually hit it! The dreaded Night Fury, taken down by me, the village screw up. I could not wait to tell someone about this. However, the reality of the situation quickly caught up with me. I am the village screw up… No one is going to believe me anyways… I would probably just get laughed at. Well, more than usual. The other teenagers would probably bully me. Again, more than usual. I think I will keep this to myself for now actually. Once I go find that Night Fury and can prove that I actually brought that demon down out of the sky, I will show my dad. Maybe then he will finally accept me…

I was debating whether I should try and find the downed Night Furry now or wait till later. Turns out nature decided for me. And by nature I mean another less than pleased dragon. Well… back to being the village screw up and running for my life.

"Hiccup… How many times do I have to tell you not to go outside during the raids?" Stoic, the village chief and my dad, asked in his usual disappointed tone. He slammed the door to our house behind him.

"Usually once or twice a raid," I answered. Hey, at least I was honest.

"That wasn't a literal question…" Stoic said in a surprisingly even more disappointed tone. I didn't know that was possible. "What were you doing anyways?"

Be honest and have my dad think I am lying to him, or lie and have him think I am telling the truth. Middle ground it is.

"I was just trying to help," I pleaded. Hey, that technically wasn't a lie, honesty intact.

"Hiccup, every time you try and help, disaster strikes! I have enough to worry about right now. Winter is coming and dragons are stealing more food than we can afford to lose," Stoic started. "I don't have time to deal with…. This"

"You just gestured to all of me," I said. This was a typical argument between us if you will.

My dad just shook his head before making his way back outside. Probably to take care of the mess I had made. The morning sun made its way through our front door before my dad pulled it shut. Well, time to go find the dragon I had shot out of the sky. And not just any dragon, a Night Fury! When I get back, I will go from village screw up to village hero. Then finally, just maybe, my dad will accept me.

Toothless

Okay… I have had worse waking up calls. Actually, scratch that, this is the worst. This brought a whole new meaning to the term helpless. My body was wrapped up in a rather large set of… I don't know what the humans call it. It's kind of like vines with heavy stones on the end. Just as I had suspected when I first lost control when flying. All I knew is that it must have taken a massive and strong human to throw them and hit me given how far away I was and how fast I was going. That was when I became aware of someone moving around me. Perhaps the Viking who had brought me down was here to finish me off. At least I would die knowing I was taken down by a mighty warri-

Oh Dragoness of the Ocean you have got to be kidding me! This Viking was the one that took me down! He was… I don't even know how to start. I guess puny would begin to describe him. His arms and legs were like sticks! He didn't even have horns yet! That or maybe he just stumbled upon me. Yeah, that's it! He was just part of the gro-

"I don't believe it… I did it!" the Viking yelled.

Well so much for that theory. I let out a low growl to let the human know that I was actually awake. I had only barely been able to see him out of the corner of my eye that was not facing the ground. He stumbled backwards holding… really? That is his weapon? I could use that as a way to get food from my teeth… wait, I don't have that problem. Retractable teeth for the win! Well I am sure some other dragon could use it.

By know the Viking was mumbling about how he was going to kill me, blah, blah, blah, and make his father proud. Huh, was this human some sort of reject? Well, desperation is a wonderful motivator. I guess my death will at least benefit this young Viking. I glanced up at him as he raised the knife up above his head, sharp end pointing down at me. He seemed nervous. Probably his first time killing something. I let out a low groan before flopping my head on the grassy floor. Looks like I am about to be free of my slavery. Yep, any second now. Any moment… And now!

….

Okay what is this human doing? What is he waiting for?

"I did this…" I heard him mumble.

Of course he would be having second thoughts… back to a life… of. Wait a second. The queen's influence… it was gone. Okay human! Doubt! Lots of it! Second chance at life here I come! Assuming he doesn't leave me here to die… or find someone else to kill me… Okay, that is enough emotions for today. And tomorrow. Heck probably the next cycle of the moon.

My eyes snapped open upon hearing the noise of the human's tiny weapon cutting through my constraints. Once I felt the last one fall off my hind legs…. Let's just say instincts kicked in. In the blink of an eye, I had the little Viking pinned against a moss covered boulder with my forepaw. It was then that is frail size was easily apparent as my claws easily fitting around his neck. Honestly I was surprised a Viking this small was capable of existing. He looked scared out of his mind. I wasn't going to kill him. Killing an unarmed, since he has dropped his weapon, opponent was against the Code of the Night Shadows. That didn't mean I was letting him off without instilling the fear of the Dragon of the Sky into him. I let out one of the most powerful roars I had ever let out right into his face.

I turned and took a few quick steps before launching myself into the air. Freedom at last! I quickly used some of the magika in my body to form a barrier around my mind. I was not going back to a life of slavery. She only snapped me the first time because she surprised me. Now I get to… fall… Yep, definitely falling. Hello cliff face!

I heard the Viking collapse to the ground. Good, he could probably use the rest. That and I won't be the only one face planting into rock. I made a mental note that he hit first before my own muzzle impacted the wall. I tried to readjust my flight, but something was missing… I felt off balance. Yep, something was wrong. Oh joy… another wall of rocks. I wasn't sure if today was the best day of my life or the worst… Eh, I'm just going to go with both.

Hiccup

When I came to, the sun was low in the sky. Had I really been out all afternoon? The last thing I remember was the Night Fury roaring in my face. That… was definitely the most terrifying experience of my life. I mean, when dad gets angry it isn't that bad, he isn't scary. As much as I disappoint him, I am still his son. Still, I was likely to get another stern talking to when I got back home after this little expedition.

On the bright side, I now had done something no other Viking had done. Hiccup the Useless had seen a Night Fury and lived. Now if only someone would believe me if I told them that. I think I would rather face the Night Fury again than the ridicule that would follow that story. I pushed myself off the ground and looked around for my dagger. It had slipped out of my hands when I fainted. Thankfully it was lying in the grass a few feet behind me. Bending down, I picked back up and put it back on my belt.

Considering all things, today was probably one of the better days of my life. The only problem was that it didn't make a difference to anyone other than myself. Well… I am used to that by now. I started back for the village and it was dark outside by the time I entered my house. My dad was asleep on his chair. I didn't mind as that would allow me to sneak upstairs without getting an earful about how I am the worst Viking Berk as ever seen and a disgrace to Norse culture.

If there was one thing I learned today it was that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with killing dragons. Ironic right? I spend my entire life trying to kill a dragon, to get noticed, and to please my father. To be a Viking! I finally get the chance to kill a dragon. To kill the demon that was plagued our village for years… and I bug out. It was just that dragon looked so human when I was about to kill it. The expression in its eyes was not that of a mindless beast. There was fear, recognition, acceptance…

And speaking about killing… why didn't it kill me? One does not grow up in Berk without the constant lessons about surviving against dragons. Most of it had to do with extremely dangerous, kill on sight, and how dragons always… always, go for the kill. And yet the Night Fury didn't. I don't know if it was because I had spared its life. If that were the case, that raised many more questions that it answered. Maybe answers would come tomorrow. For now, sleep.

Toothless

Okay, I changed my mind. Definitely the worst day of my life…. Why this sudden change of heart you ask? Small detail about my tail. I was missing one of my tail fins! No tail fin, no flying. No flying, no escape from this stupid cove I managed to crash land in. It didn't matter how much magika I had stored up over the years. Bringing back a completely missing tail fin was not possible for one dragon to do. It would take a good group of dragons to accomplish such a task. And the only group of dragons around was controlled by power hungry queen. I wouldn't get help from them unless I submitted to the queen again, and there was no way that was ever going to happen.

So I was stuck here… on the ground. That part was what hit me the hardest. That I would never again soar through the sky. Never again feel the wind against my face. As I said, worst day of my life.

Now I was trying to sleep under the open sky. That part I didn't mind. It was nice to be away from that devil of a queen and the nest she calls home. I honestly cannot stress enough how good it feels to be free. And wet… okay open sky isn't so nice when the Dragon of the Sky decides it is time for a downpour. I scrambled to my feet and searched for some cover. Of course luck would have it, there was no obvious place to take shelter. So I went with the less obvious. I prepared a rather nice plasma blast, threw in a little bit of magika, and let it out. The explosion was quite nice. Pieces of rock now mixed in with the rain. Thankfully my tough scales protected me as they flew out from the center of the blast. When the dust cleared, there was now there was a nice little cave for me to hide in. I ran forward to get out of the rain and into shelter.

Walking in a few tight circles, I breathed out some low intensity plasma to create a bed of hot coals for me to sleep on. Sleep came quickly to me that night as I unceremoniously plopped down onto the coals.

Fish.

I smell fish. And a human, maybe the human from yesterday. But who cares, I want the fish. I slowly exited my humble hole in the wall to a new day and looked around for where the scent was coming from. The human was walking around the rim of the canyon walls above me. I don't know why he had the fish but I did not care. It was probably food for him to snack on. Maybe he will share. What? I can be hopeful. Besides, he didn't kill me. That and I am stuck in here. And for some reason I had a feeling that boy was my only hope of escape. Though I didn't know how he could get me out of here. If there was one thing that humans were other than determined, it was inventive.

I heard him give a short gasp when he saw me. I let out a low growl. I also could smell iron. He was armed. Maybe he had regrets about not killing me and was here to finish the job. The fish was a mere lure to get me close to him.

That was when I noticed something wrong. The heavy rainstorm from the previous night had softened the dirt wall above where the Viking stood. I could see if giving way underneath him as he stood there looking down at me. It didn't help that there were some pretty big boulders mixed into the dirt there. I gave a sort of warning bark, hoping to get the boy to realize the danger he was in. Trying to kill me or not, I am not letting him die before I find out. I believe the human saying is giving them the benefit of the doubt.

However, my warning bark had the opposite effect of what I had hoped. Apparently this boy is startled rather easily. While he did try and back up, he tripped and landed on the ground. The cliff gave way under the impact of his fall. Even with his frail form, the ground was too soft from the downpour of the previous night. I watched in horror as the boy plummeted down among some good sized rocks. I could hear him screaming as he fell, both in terror and in pain. The wall to this canyon were not small. I cringed when he hit the ground, rocks landing all around him.

I let out a startled yelp before rushing forward. I used my strong forepaws to push a boulder off of the injured Viking. He was badly bruised and… I am pretty sure human arms don't bend that way. But I could still hear him breathing. It was very faint and I could tell it was getting weaker. This boy was going to die… unless I did something. Chances are that something would be dangerous and reckless. Still, the Viking boy was still intact, well minus his left wrist was bent at quite a weird angle.

"I cannot believe I am doing this," I said to myself. This was beyond risky. The type of magika I was about to use had not been used in centuries to my knowledge. I knew I could heal the boy, but it would come at a cost. No he wasn't going to outright turn into a dragon or something like-

Okay maybe it was something like that, but no immediate dragon transformation. I could force my magika into his broken wrist. Use that point of his body as an access port. There would be a side effect to having that much magika in one spot though. The boy's hand would become that of the Night Shadow. The other side effect would be all the magika would remain in his body. Once it was done healing the boy, it wouldn't have an easy way out.

I didn't know exactly what to expect from having that much magika in a human. Magika was inherently dragon in nature. Forcing it into a human had never been done before, again, to my knowledge. Hopefully it wouldn't cause too many unforeseen problems. For all I know I could accidently turn the poor Viking completely into a Night Shadow. Eh, not that would be the worst thing that could happen. But I am running out of time, the boy is dying. Back to business. I can work out the details later.

I gently pulled the boy out of the rocks, dragging him in the dirt to give myself some room. I carefully put my right forepaw on the Viking's damaged wrist before putting my left paw over my right.

"Here goes nothing…" I mumbled to myself quietly. I forced as much magika in the boy as I could, commanding it to heal his broken body. I kept this up for nearly ten minutes before collapsing to the ground. The sudden drain of energy from my body left me all but exhausted. And the worst part was the human would probably wake up before me. The last thing I did before passing out was to make sure that it had worked. I could barely connect with my magika inside him as it was quickly assimilated to become his own. A small smile made its way onto my muzzle as I fainted.

It had worked.

Alright, remaster chapter one is finished. Not all that much is different, but I did make a few changes here and there. Made certain things flow better and all that. I will finish up the rest of the chapters here as soon as I can. I hope that you enjoyed it. It certainly has been too long since I paid any attention to this story. I will try to focus on it more here in the future.

Thanks again for reading and have a great day!