Hello, everyone! Bio-Devil here with the first chapter of the Dragon Rider Tribe and I gotta say I could not believe how quickly it blew up in popularity! I must be getting good for you all to want the next chapter so much! :DDDDDD
Well I'll keep this short, enjoy!
Chapter 1
Hiccup let out an exhausted sigh as he processed what Silver had told him.
"So let me see if I get this straight," Hiccup said looking at Silver with a deadpanned expression. "You were stranded on Berk, and to get out of there you had to tell Stoick about me?"
"Pretty much," Silver replied with a shrug. Hiccup glared at him. "Hey, soon as they saw my hair and eyes they were gonna try and lynch me! Now, I knew you wouldn't approve if I started a island wide fight and "accidentally" killed everyone of them, and Ebony was nowhere to be found so I took the first opening I got."
"What exactly did you tell Stoick?"
"I told him we met on Summa while I was working as an assassin and you were just looking for a new home."
"Summa? That market island?"
"Yeah, and more importantly, when Stoick goes there for any sort of clue about you he'll be going in the opposite direction of us!" Silver gave a proud smile but Hiccup didn't return it. He was deep in thought about Berk, and about everyone he left behind there.
"How was Stoick?" Hiccup finally asked.
"He was a wreck," Silver answered truthfully. "Seriously, the man looked as if all reason for living was taken from him."
"Because it probably was…" Hiccup said with a hint of guilt.
"Oh, come on, Hiccup, you can't feel guilty about leaving. Don't forget how they treated you because you were different from everyone else, they don't deserve someone like you!" Hiccup let a small smile, Silver was no doubt his best friend and most loyal ally, other than Toothless, and he knew just how to cheer him up. But still, he felt something needed to be decided about Berk and the Hairy Hooligans.
"Silver, call a meeting, I need to discuss this with the rest of the council." Silver hesitated before nodding. They left Hiccup's large wood and stone house and made his way to the village's Great Hall. Outside of it was a large horn mounted to the ground and Silver blew into it, making a loud 'BLAR!" that echoed throughout the island. Hiccup and Silver walked into the Great Hall and waited for the Draco Isle Council to gather there as well.
Hiccup and Silver walked up to three thrones that were placed between two large holes that lead into an underground cavern. As they sat two very large dragons filled in the holes. One dragon was the great Bewilderbeast known as the Royal Blizzard, the Dragon King, and the other was the Red Death, Ruthless, the Dragon Queen. A third dragon flew into the hall, it was the mutated Whispering Death, the Screaming Death, he was named Bismuth, the Dragon Knight. He came to rest near Silver's throne and nodded towards the white haired boy. Those three dragons were known as the Dragon Titans, they were the three strongest Dragons around and they also had seats in the council as well.
After the Dragon Titans came in, the other members followed. First were the WInter Sisters, Anna and Elsa. The Princess and Queen of the Arendelle Kingdom, famous for their recent works in all things ice, due to Elsa having magic ice powers. They joined the tribe after Arendelle was attacked by Weselton in a surprise war. Anna and Elsa would've lost their kingdom if Hiccup and Silver had not joined their side, captured Weselton's Duke, and forced him to surrender; which for some reason lead to him renaming Weselton, Weaseltown.
Next came in Big Boobied Bertha and her daughter Camicazi, former chieftain and heir of the Bog Burglars. The Bog Burglar Tribe had gotten into a war with the Uglithugs and lost. Those who survived were enslaved for who knows what horrors. Hiccup and Silver had freed the surviving Bog Burglars and the rest of the Uglithugs slaves and took them into their group which led to the rapid growth of his tribe, which aided in the almost war with the Uglithugs. UG was furious with how they had destroyed his entire slave trade and was planning to enslave them all in retribution. But after a demonstration of the Dragon Rider Tribe's strength, and Silver beating UG half to death in front of his tribe, he agreed to cease all slave trading though Hiccup and Silver both knew that it wouldn't last long.
Afterwards came the three representatives from the Meathead Tribe, the Hairy Scary Librarian, their chief Mogadon, and their heir Thuggory. They joined the Dragon Riders after the Meathead's Island was destroyed by a very large and very angry sea dragon. Hiccup was more than happy to share his island with them as long as they followed their rules involving dragons. Mogadon agreed, even if the Meatheads didn't like it at first, but over time the accepted the co-existence with dragons.
Soon a barefooted boy with snow white hair walked in carrying a wooden staff. Jack Frost was his name and like Elsa he had the power over ice and snow, except he also had the power to fly. Jack was a lone man wandering around the Meridian with no memory of his past, Hiccup and Silver found him and the three became friends. Hiccup had managed to track down his family and reunite Jack with his little sister Wendy Frost. Jack didn't do much around the island, yet he knew how to lift everyone's spirits and that gave him a lot influence, earning him a seat on the council.
A red headed scottish girl wearing leather armor and carrying a bladed bow followed after him. She was Merida DunBroch, Princess, and Ambassador, of the DunBroch kingdom. She joined the tribe after she and her family sailed into the Meridian only to end up getting shipwrecked. Silver found Merida and with Hiccup's help they reunited her with her parents leading to a young, but strong, standing friendship between the two lands.
Right behind Merida was the girl with the longest braided hair in history, Rapunzel Fitzherbert. She is the princess of the Kingdom of Corona and the most recent addition of council. Elsa had introduced them after the Dragon Riders had a good strong tribe formed and was the first arrangement they've made with another kingdom without resolving some life threatening conflict.
The final member of the council had arrived and it was none other than Valka Haddock, Hiccup's long lost mother. She was technically the first dragon rider but Hiccup was the first one to teach others. She met Hiccup and Silver when they flew towards Draco Isle for the first time. It took some convincing for her to aid them in sharing their dragon with others, because she didn't believe that vikings could co-exist with dragons. But eventually she agreed and she watched as the Dragon Rider Tribe slowly grew, she was very happy to be wrong.
Valka took the third throne on the right side of Hiccup and Silver sat on the left. The three thrones signified the importance the three of them held in the tribe. While Hiccup did his best to make this a democracy but everyone knew that he was the main leader along with Valka and Silver as his right and left hands. It wasn't just because each of them had tamed on of the three Titans, but also because they were the best at what they did. Valka was an expert on all things dragon earning her the title of Dragon Priestess. Hiccup realised he was a natural leader when he left Berk and managed all of the negotiations and relationships with the other tribes and the kingdoms beyond the Meridian, as the technical chieftain, he's called the Dragon Prince. But not all tribes were willing to accept peace with dragons, or when some saw that they could be controlled they tried to take advantage of their teachings. That's where Silver came in, when it came to war he was a master tactician and doesn't hesitate to frighten a threat to his home. His tactics work so well his enemies call him the Silver Death.
"What's the occasion Hic?" Jack asked as he and the council members took their seat around a round table that faced the three thrones.
"Hello to you too, Jack," Hiccup replied. "And everyone else. I've called this meaning to discuss with all you about future interactions...with Berk."
"Berk?!" Valka repeated in shock and disgust. After Hiccup met Valka, he told her all about how he was mistreated on Berk and Valka quickly grew to resent her old tribe and former husband.
"Your old stomping grounds?" Jack asked.
"Why should we trade with them after how horribly they treated you?!" Merida asked aloud making Silver smile.
"I'm not talking about trading with them," Hiccup replied quickly. Hiccup was a very forgiving man and a lot of times the council didn't agree with his mercy but because of it they a have dozens of friends for every enemy they have. But he wasn't going to forgive Berk so easily. "I'm talking about what we'll do when they eventually find out about us."
"What do you mean by that?" Camicazi asked.
"By now we are well known throughout the Meridian. Whether people love, hate, or fear us, the Dragon Riders are more than just some crazy myth."
"We're the most powerful tribe out there!" Thuggery exclaimed proudly gaining a few cheers from the more immature council members.
"Thank you for that, Thuggery. But that is exactly why Berk will find out about us, it's only a matter of time, and we need to be prepared for that."
"Do you think they would start a war with us?" Elsa asked concerned.
"I honestly have no idea…"
"Bah!" Ruthless roared in Dragonese. "We shouldn't even bother with those weaklings! If they even have the foolish nerve to attack us, and I know they do, then we'll just wipe every single one of them of the face of the…!" Ruthless stopped her rant when she noticed Hiccup's unamused glare, she instantly went silent and crumbled in shame. Hiccup was the only living being on this island that she would listen to, and other than Royal Blizzard on occasion but she would always be as defiant as possible.
"Thank you for your opinion, Ruthless, but let's try to avoid war as much as possible."
"That may not be an option," Mogadon stated. "After you disa...left, Stoick was throwing all his anger into the invading dragons and that made him completely despise dragons and anything to do with them that doesn't involve wearing their bones as trophies. If he hears about this he'll probably have the entire tribe loaded up in boats to knock down our ice walls."
"Let him try!" Silver began.
"Silver!" Hiccup warned causing the Silver Death to groan loudly.
"Can't we try reasoning with them?" Anna suggested getting a nod from Rapunzel and her sister.
"Reason?" Silver repeated in disbelief. "With a Viking? Might as well try and reason with a boulder!"
"Hey!" Yelled all the former Vikings except Hiccup and Valka.
"Oh, tell me I'm wrong!" He dared. "Look I don't mean to offend any of you but the only reason you guys listened to us in the first place was because you had no other choice!" No one argued with him so Silver continued. "And since the Hooligans don't have to listen to us then they don't have to care about our way of life!"
"So what do you suggest we do, Silver?" The Hairy Scary Librarian asked.
"I'm actually with Ruthless on this one, why should we do anything?"
"Because they'll find out about us sooner or later!" Bertha shouted back.
"Doesn't mean we have to seek them out and invite them to a tea party!"
"So what do we do if they try and start a war with us?" Bismuth asked.
"We fight back, and I'm not talking about a Hairy Hooligan genocide, we just show them who they're messing with until they finally quit or get to exhausted to attack anymore."
"You don't know Stoick, Silver," Valka said.
"But I do know how a Viking leader thinks. Sure, they're stubborn as a headstrong mule but even they know when it's time to call it quits. And if he doesn't then I'm sure his people will."
"What do you think we should do, Hiccup?" Ruthless asked.
"...I think if we show our faces to Berk it could end in a number of disastrous ways…" Hiccup replied.
"From what I've heard there are only two options ahead of us," Royal Blizzard spoke out. "We either hide from Berk, only delaying our inevitable encounter; or we seek them out and risk a one-sided and unnecessary war. A very difficult decision."
"Isn't there some sort of middle ground?" Rapunzel asked.
"Like what?" Merida replied making the golden haired princess silent.
"Actually," Hiccup said gaining everyone's attention. "I think there may be one."
"Well don't keep us out of the loop, what is it?" Jack asked.
"We don't seek out Berk, but we won't hide from them. Maybe it's inevitable that Berk finds out about us, but we'll let the gods be the judge of that, and if that leads to war or peace, then so be it. Either way we'll be ready for them. Any objections?"
There were none.
Summa was an island with an eye catching forest and beach. The market town was made of stores, pubs, and inns with no sign of any sort of leadership or organization. A Berkian boat sailed into view carrying only four vikings. Stoick and Gobber were on the ship for obvious reasons, but Astrid and Fishlegs went along for different ones. Fishlegs says he wanted to see what Summa could offer him in the ways of books and knowledge, but really, he feels a little guilty for his mistreatment of Hiccup. Fishlegs never bullied him but he wasn't innocent either. They used to friends, he and Hiccup. But after the first few screw ups he had to distance himself from him in order to avoid the bullies, and abandoning a friend is unforgivable in his book.
Astrid came along mostly to getaway from Snotlout. Ever since Astrid became of marrying age, Spitelout has been relentlessly trying to get her father, Ari, to sign a marriage agreement and his flirting has been getting even worse. So far her training to be shieldmaiden has warded them off and it helped that her father couldn't stand the Jorgensons, but they may have to take it anyway. The Hofferson's have come down on hard times and they may have to take the payment Spitelout is offering in order to get by. The other reason she came along, she has to find Hiccup so she can marry him instead of Snotlout. All her life she's been told that she'll have to marry Hiccup and give him an heir for the good of the tribe and that's why she resented him, she couldn't stand the fact that she was being given to someone without her consent. But now she was going to have to deal with marriage one way or another, and being married to Hiccup was less awful than marrying Snotlout. Astrid could care less for the reasons he had to run away, he was coming back, no matter what she had to do to make sure of it.
The four vikings docked their ship and walked into the market island. They barely walked two steps before vendors started shouting at them to buy their goods. Stoick ignored them all, he had a mission and he wasn't here to shop for bed sheets.
"Stoick?" he heard a familiar voice call to him. "Stoick the Vast?" Stoick turned and saw none other than Trader Johann walking up to him. "It's been too long!"
"Hello, Johann," Stoick replied.
"How has everything been going? I never see you anymore even when I dock at Berk."
"My only son ran away because of me," Stoick replied coldly. "And the only sensible things I could take my rage out on have disappeared. So naturally, everything has been going horrible."
"I'm...sorry I asked…"
"Johann," Gobber spoke up coming in between the two. "Can you tell us where the pub called "Drifter's Pinte" is?"
"Take the next left and you should find it. But why would you want to go to that awful place."
"Someone told us he met Hiccup there," Gobber replied. "We're going there to see if we could find anything that would lead us to him." Johann looked at them a tad nervously before saying;
"I don't mean to bring down your spirits, especially you Stoick, but that place sees hundreds of different people all the time. I doubt anyone would have focused on just one."
"I know," Stoick replied. "I still have to try…" Stoick led the way with the other three in tow leaving Johann behind with conflict stitched to his face. I think I have an idea who told them that, Johann thought with a sigh. Silver… I know you'll do anything to protect your home...but I don't think toying with a destroyed parent's heart is a very justifiable one…
"So what do you think we should do if we find him?" Fishlegs asked Astrid as Stoick and Gobber were out of earshot.
"Whatever we have to," Astrid replied.
"W-what do yo mean by that?"
"I mean, he's coming back with us one way or another."
"So if he doesn't want to be anywhere near us, you're just going to force him to come home?"
"In a nutshell, yes."
"Astrid!"
"What?"
"You just can't force him to come back! After everything we've done to him…"
"Save the sympathy speeches, Legs. I'm going to tell you right now, I don't care why he ran away, no matter what reason he had, you don't run away from your tribe. And no matter how he hated his "treatment" on the island, he's just lucky we didn't drown him when he was born."
"How can you say that?"
"Because it's the viking way. Hiccup was a runt and a screw-up. If he didn't wanted to be picked on he should've bulked up and stop starting fires. Running away only proved that he was as much as a non-viking as we thought." Fishlegs was flabbergasted. He thought that if Astrid was coming she had felt some sort of remorse for Hiccup's treatment but she didn't care. In fact, she clearly hated him more for leaving.
"Then why are you here?" he asked in a hostile tone, his respect for Astrid rapidly dropping. Astrid was a little surprised at the glare Fishlegs was shooting at her but she replied calmly.
"Because if I find Hiccup, I can marry him instead of Snotlout." Now he was really confused.
"You want to marry Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked puzzled. Is she in love with him? He thought. Because that would explain and even justify why she was angry with him "abandoning" us.
"Hel no!" Astrid replied; the disgust clear in his voice. "I'd marry a dragon before I'd marry Snotlout! But since he's so popular now, the only other option is Hiccup. I was always going to be stuck marrying that fishbone, but now that he's gone I'm stuck with Snotlout. Marrying Hiccup is just the lesser of two evils." And Fishlegs was back to despising her. How Astrid could be so heartless toward Hiccup was baffling. If she was like this when they were kids Fishlegs wondered why Hiccup hadn't left sooner.
"Did he know?" Fishlegs asked suddenly.
"Probably, why?"
"Then he had another reason to run away."
"Excuse me?" Astrid said threateningly standing in front of Fishlegs. She glared hard at Fishlegs in order to break him like all the other times she did years ago. But Astrid was shocked when she didn't see fear in Fishlegs' eyes. She only saw hate in his own glare that made Astrid's falter easily.
"Did I stutter?" he asked sternly. "If you were like this when Hiccup was still around then I wouldn't blame him if he ran away just to get out of marrying you. You think marrying a dragon is better than Snotlout, well poor Hiccup would've been stuck marrying an actual dragon if he stayed here." Fishlegs left Astrid dumbfounded and mouth agape as he joined Stoick and Gobber. Astrid had half a mind to tear him apart with her axe but she was just so shocked. When did Fishlegs have a backbone?
When Astrid caught up with the others, she did her best to ignore her urge to maul Fishlegs out of a begrudged respect, they were in front of a large shack that seemed to be thrown together with mixed pieces of wood and rope. As sign hung above the front. They had a bunch of scribbles on them and one she could read; saying "Drifter's Pinte".
"I'm guessing those other scribbles are supposed to be in different languages," FIshlegs said aloud scanning the sign. Stoick walked in, the interior was just as bad as the outside. It reminded him of the inside of a barn. There were a number of people in the bar. Many kept their heads down and hid their faces. The bartender was a man in odd cotton clothes and wore some kind of wide brimmed hat that covered his face.
"What can I get you?" he asked as he was cleaning a glass.
"I'm not here for drinks," Stoick replied.
"We're not that kind of place," the man replied without looking up from his glass.
"You sure 'bout that?" a patron asked as he clumsily walked towards Astrid. "'Cause I think I found a real pertty "friend" righ' here." He slung his arm around Astrid's waist and his other hand made a move for her chest but Astrid quickly punched the man in the face. As the drunk fell down Astrid took out her axe and readied to chop the man to bits. When she was about to swing down someone stopped her, Astrid turned around to see a thin yet muscular man dressed in black leather armor with his own wide brimmed hat and a sword that reminded her of Silver's "Rapiers".
"There's no need for that," he said with a kind smile and a weird accent that almost sounded like trader Johann's but more exotic. "All he did was get too close, he didn't do anything else." Astrid rolled his eyes at the man and jerked her axe away from him. He spat on the the unconscious drunk and walked over to Stoick. The man in black leather dragged the man outside while Stoick talked to the bartender.
"Like I said before," he continued ignoring the attempted murder scene. "We're not that kind of place, so you and the other gents are looking for "pleasurable company" I'd talk to the immodest girls that are outside."
"We're not here for that either!" Stoick barked at the man, beginning to shake with anger but the bartender still didn't look at him.
"If it's not drinks that you want then I'm afraid I can't help you."
"What can you tell me about a thin young man with auburn hair and green eyes?" Stoick asked anyway trying to not throttle the calm bartender as he began storing the clean glasses under the counter.
"Which one? I see about twelve young men like that in here twice a week."
"This one ate here a few years ago…"
"I'm going to stop you right there, 'cause now I know I definitely can't help you."
"Why not!" Stoick screamed but fell silent when the bartender pulled out a curved metal stick and pointed the straight end at his face. A firearm… Stoick thought. He knew those "weapons" have the power to tear a hole through two sturdy wooden floor. Stoick honestly didn't want to know what it could do to a human's skull.
"Now, I'm trying to be civil about this whole ordeal, but if you keep screaming in my face, then this will get complicated." Astrid and Fishlegs looked at the two men confused. All the bartender has is a metal stick, why isn't the chief attacking him. Astrid was about to rush the man when Gobber quickly stopped her. "Now let me explain. I definitely can't help you because I bought this place not even a year ago, so I've probably never seen this person you're looking for."
"Do you know anyone that would?" Gobber asked when the bartender placed the firearm down.
"No, and I doubt you'll find anyone that would. This is a literal island of drifters. No one pays attention to who comes and goes here. I'm afraid you're out of luck." Stoick was experiencing heartbreak and overwhelming fury. He slammed his fist down hard on the bar counter, breaking it in half, and storming out.
"Sorry about that…" Fishlegs began to the now fuming bartender.
"Just get out!" he barked and the other three vikings left as well. On her way out Astrid passed the bouncer in black leather. He smiled at her which only earned an annoyed glare. When the vikings were gone the bouncer rushed over to the bartender.
"David," he began. "Do you think…"
"Yeah," David replied. "They were definitely from Berk, Elias."
"Do you think we should tell Hiccup, when we return to the Isle?"
"Probably, but if I know Hiccup, and I do. He already knows…"
Stoick stormed over to his boat, knocking everyone that was in his way out of it. The other three were trying to keep up with their own inner conflicts swirling inside them. Gobber was saddened that they had no chance of finding Hiccup on this island but he was worried about Stoick. His anger was returning quickly and with his son still nowhere in sight he was worried whether if he'd either bottle in his anger, which definitely wasn't healthy for a viking, or take it out on the villagers. Fishlegs was sad he's probably not going to apologise to Hiccup at all, and Astrid was holding in sheer terror that she would be stuck marrying Snotlout.
"Maybe we can try…" Gobber began as they reached the boat.
"What, Gobber? WHAT CAN WE TRY?!" Stoick roared making the smithy and the young adults step back. "This was a long shot as it is! It was supposed to have a tiny chance of finding Hiccup. But instead it had absolutely none! So, tell me, Gobber, WHAT CAN WE TRY?!"
"Excuse me…?" A quiet voice began somehow gaining the vikings' attention. "Did you say "Hiccup"?" An old man wrapped in a yellow cloak walked over to them hunched over and walking on a cane.
"Yes," Stoick began foolishly hopeful, he'll admit. "Do you know him?"
"I think I heard some Dragon Riders talking about a boy named Hiccup…"
"What?"
"Oh, you know...the dragon riders…"
"No, I don't! What are "Dragon Riders"?"
"You don't know about the Dragon Riders? The name says it all, they're a tribe that Ride Dragons!" The mere thought of it sickened Sotick. Men and women riding monstrous killing machines like mounts? As far as he was concerned even thinking about the act was the worst crime against nature, and according to the elderly man there was an entire tribe that rode dragons. And they have something to do with Hiccup.
"Where are these, "Dragon Riders"?" Stoick asked darkly giving a shiver towards his companions.
"They live on an island called Draco Isle, it's a few day's worth of sailing, north of Berk. But docking there isn't that simple I'm afraid."
"Why not?!"
"Because the island is in the middle of thick blanket of fog that hides a maze of sharp rocks and spires. But even if you make it past that, there island is protected by an colossal wall of ice that is said to be completely unbreakable."
"So how can we get in?!"
"You'd need a dragon to fly over it, or know someone on the inside to let you in somehow." That's all Stoick needed to hear. He forced the other three onto the boat and set sail back home. Stoick was already forming a plan to get around the walls and find Hiccup. No matter he was doing there, whether he was prisoner of some kind, or, gods forbid, one of them he will take him back, no matter what. And after he returned home with his son he'll worry about exterminating that abomination of a tribe.
The elderly man watched as the boat sailed out of his field of vision. A wicked smile grew on his face as he thought of the events he helped set into motion. Still hiding from your father Hiccup? he thought. Now, what will you do when he finally finds you and your tribe of Dragon Lovers?
And there you have it, the first installment of the Dragon Rider Tribe. Hope you liked it. And in case you don't know how tamed the Dragon Titans:
Hiccup-Ruthless (The Red Death)
Valka-Royal Blizzard (Bewilderbeast)
Silver-Bismuth (The Screaming Death)
Now same as always fanfictions, original work, and look for me on FictionPress for some of those original works.
See ya around!