Hello fellow readers,

This is my first time uploading my work on Fanfiction. I hope you enjoyed the prologue and will continue to read the story.

Sadly, as I am neither Dreamworks or Cressida Cowell, I do not own How To Train You Dragon.

Without further adieu, let us continue.

CHAPTER 1

The small, lithe dragon slunk through the trees, carefully placing her black paws softly so as not to startle her prey. Her dark green eyes narrow as she neared its target, her heart beating in anticipation. She peered through the brush and, with a roar, she pounced, landing on her target who let out a startled squeal.

The little black dragon grinned in triumph as her brother struggled to get away. "You're it, Toothless!"

"That's not fair, Nira. I wasn't ready!" Toothless argued, swatting at his sister, who happily trotted out of the way. "And I was 'it' last time!"

Nira shook herself and unfurled her wings. "Well I'm the oldest so what I say goes." She shot into the air, laughing.

"By ten minutes!" Toothless exclaimed as he followed her into the grey sky. They raced through the air together, tumbling through the clouds, laughing. Toothless grinned as he caught up, narrowly missing his sister as she dived under him. They laughed in exhilaration, dipping and gliding on the wind currents when suddenly, a wall of fog rose up before them.

The two dragons billowed their wings in fright as they came to the Fog Border, the only thing between the two hostile tribes. They hovered meters away, hearts pounding. To go across the border meant almost certain death and they had almost passed it without knowing.

"Th-that was close," Toothless breathed. A cold shiver going down his spine. "We almost died!"

Nira nodded, solemnly before turning back the way they came. "Let's get back, Toothless. The hunting party's probably returned and Uncle will be worried if we're late."

They flew in silence, their spirits dampened by the Fog Border. Many of their clan had gone passed it and never returned and those who had died from injuries not long after. The Viking tribe on the other side killed at every chance they got.

They were almost home when a large black shape rose from the clouds. A large Night Fury hovered in front of them, a stern expression etched on his scarred face. He glanced them over and his expression changed to that of relief. "Where have you been? The hunting party arrived ages ago."

"We were racing, Uncle," Toothless said and Nira nodded. "We lost track of time. Sorry."

"Well," their uncle huffed. "Come and eat before the others eat it all." With that, the three of them glided down to where the rest of the clan rested.

The clan was small, barely two dozen Night Furies dotted the clearing. The Fog Border had taken its toll over the last decade, cutting their already small numbers in half. They were the last clan in the Barbaric Archipelago, the others had moved on, and food was scarce enough without having to share it.

Some looked up in greeting as they landed near the small pile of fish and dug in hungrily. After finishing his last fish, Toothless set about cleaning his face with a scaled paw. Nira gave him a mischievous look and flicked a fish tail at him.

"Catch."

Toothless battered it away and she nipped at him playfully.

Toothless bared his white teeth in good sport. He was proud of his teeth. They had come a little over a year ago, two years after his sibling, hence his name, and in his opinion, they were whiter and shinier than any of them. The other dragons didn't think so, but none of them said anything. Chasing his sister, and laughing, the six-year-old dragon felt content.

Toothless stood in a small clearing, blearily blinking the remnants of sleep out of his eyes. The clearing was unfamiliar, as it always was and he glanced around, taking the small space in. He was surrounded by trees, not the spindly trees of his home, but the lush kind that grew further in the Archipelago. The grass beneath his paws was soft and he shifted from foot to foot, feeling the moisture of the damp earth. His father had always taught him to take in the small details that may help you later. From his surroundings, Toothless deduced that he was far from home.

A slight noise arose from behind him and the little Night Fury spun around. Behind him was a peculiar sight: a small boy stood, watching him from behind one of the trees, his emerald eyes sparkling with happiness. Toothless tilted his head slightly as the small boy came closer. He had never seen a human hatchling up close, for this is what the boy seemed to be. He was hardly the size for a Viking, his skinny figure nothing like the Vikings Toothless had seen. His dark red hair stuck up in all directions as if he'd just awoken from a nap and he giggled as he dashed towards the startled dragon. But as he neared, his small boot caught on a stone and he careened towards the ground with a startled gasp. Toothless closed the distance between them with a haphazard leap and caught the boy with his scaly head before he hit the ground.

The little boy opened his eyes, probably wondering why the ground felt so scaly, grinned and giggled in delight when he saw that Toothless had come to his rescue. The little dragon huffed and nudged the boy to his feet, an odd feeling of compassion for the boy washing over him. The boy squealed happily as he tried to catch the Night Fury's flicking tail. Toothless sat in the grass watching the red headed boy dance happily around the grass speaking him his strange language.

All of a sudden, the sky went dark and the boy stopped, looking fearfully towards the forest. Toothless made to call him over, but as he opened his mouth, a green vine shot out of the forest, curling itself around the little boy's arm. The boy yelled in fright and tried to run to the dragon, but more vines shot out, restricting his movement. The boy let out a flurry of words in his strange language as the vines began to drag him towards the dark and foreboding forest.
Toothless roared and tried to help him but he was rooted to the spot and no matter how hard he thrashed his small body, he could not get free.

The little boy cried out and Toothless watched helplessly as he was dragged into the forest and, as his eyes met his, the boy opened his mouth and screamed one last word,
"TOOTHLESS!"

Toothless jolted awoke, his heart in his throat. He leapt to his feet and found that he was still in his cave. Nira still snored loudly next to him and he carefully shuffled past, not wanting to wake her. He padded out of the cave and towards the entrance where he knew his uncle would be sitting. His uncle looked up as he saw him.

"Couldn't sleep again, Toothless?" Toothless shook his head and sat next to him, looking at the faint moon hidden behind the fog. "This is the fourth night. Is something wrong?"

Toothless shrugged. How could he explain what he had dreamed? He felt his uncle curl his finned tail around him comfortingly. He looked up at his face. It was so like his father's, who had disappeared across the Fog Border two years ago, leaving his brother to lead the clan in his place. He thought back to the boy in his dream, unafraid of what he was. What could it mean?

"Uncle," he hesitated. "Have humans and dragons ever got along?"

His uncle blinked at the strange question and Toothless worried that he had said something wrong. But after a minute, his uncle spoke. "There are stories of a great warrior who befriended a dragon many centuries ago. They said that he would unite both worlds and live in peace."

"What happened in the end?"

His uncle shook his head. "Some say that the dragons of old refused to become slaves to the humans and started an uprising, others say he and his dragon left the Archipelago. But others believe that he never left, that he settled down and started a family. But they're only stories, so there's no way to know for sure." He regarded the fog ponderingly. "When I was your age, I fanaticized that we could make peace with these Vikings, even after we left the center. But now I'm not so sure. I've lived here for so long with no change." He looked down at his nephew. "But something in my bones tells me that there will be change. Maybe in your lifetime."

They sat silently, Toothless thinking about his uncle's words. Change? Was it possible?

He stared up at the black sky, before standing and shaking out his wings before tucking them back against his sides. "I'm going to go for a walk, I think I have too much energy."

His uncle nodded, his pale yellow eyes glinting in the dark. "Don't go too far."

Toothless padded through the spindly trees, thinking. His head whipped around at a noise and he peered fearfully into the darkness. Nothing. He shook his head furiously. That dream had shaken him more than he had thought. He thought back. Who was that boy? He'd never seen him before and wondered why he felt a connection.

After a while, Toothless grew weary and made his way back, slowly picking his way through the trees. But as he reached the treeline, he instantly knew something was wrong. He took a deep breath and his heart lurched as he smelt human, a scent that he had grown to fear. He looked towards his uncle, who lay at the cave entrance, asleep.

He's okay, Toothless thought, relieved. But that relief was torn away as the moon peeked out from behind the fog and Toothless got a closer look. Green blood pooled around him, glowing turquoise in the silver light.

All at once, there was a heart-wrenching roar from the cave, followed by cries of pain. Toothless tried to move as armour clad figures ran out of the cave, sticks of fire in their hands and shouting in their language. Fires began to spread, engulfing the clearing and wails emanated from the cave. Toothless heard a familiar scream echo from inside, and a small figure dashed out.

Nira!

She looked around frantically, catching sight of him. "RUN, TOOTHLESS! GET AWAY BEFORE THEY CATCH YOU!" She spun around and rammed into two of the Vikings, who brandished their swords.

Toothless ran. Away from the fire, away from the clan, away from the death. Away from his sister's last piercing roar. He ran for what seemed like hours until, finally, his legs gave out on him and he tumbled down a hill, crashing into the undergrowth. He lay there, tangled in the vines, whimpering in fear and shock. Eventually, he drifted into a fitful sleep.

It was morning when Toothless heard a sound, snapping him out of his nightmares. He cracked open his eyelids to peer about and his heart lurched. In front of him stood a human! He scrambled back in fright, but his wings were so tangled in the undergrowth that he only managed a few feet before he couldn't move. The human watched him sadly and reached out and put a hand on his head. Immediately, calmness washed over Toothless and he stopped struggling. The human drew back his hand and untangled him and, for the first time, Toothless got a good look at him.

He was old, unlike the other Vikings he had seen the night before. He wore a long fur cloak and had a basket over his shoulder. His face was kind under the long white beard and his eyes shone with wisdom and gentleness. Slowly, the old human lowered the basket and opened it. Toothless' mouth watered at the smell of fish. He brought out a large fish and placed it on the ground in front of the little dragon.

Toothless' stomach grumbled loudly and, without taking his eyes off the human, he gulped it up hungrily, smacking his lips. He sniffed the ground sadly and the old human chuckled and gave him another fish. While he ate, the wizened human sat on a log, watching him. He spoke lowly in his human tongue and pulled out a small bundle. Putting it on the log, he pulled out a small box. Toothless, now finished his meal, watched him curiously, his head cocked to one side. He shuffled closer to the human and sniffed the bundle which smelt like furs. He gave the old human a strange look and the human smiled at him.

Odd human, Toothless decided. And turned his attention to the box in his hands. The human caught his eye and opened it, speaking again in his strange way. Inside was a strange object, something of which Toothless had never seen in his six years. It was a stone on a long cord, and it smelt very strange to Toothless. He snorted.

The old human lifted the stone out of the box and drew it nearer to the little dragon. Toothless shied away from him and he froze on the spot, the stone hanging in the air. Slowly, Toothless came closer, unable to contain curiosity. He trusted this human, though he didn't know why. He felt oddly calm as the human looped the cord over his head and let go.

Suddenly, the stone grew hot and heat washed through Toothless, and he let out an alarmed screech. He felt as if his bones were shrinking and his scales melting and everything around him felt and sounded weird. He jumped as something soft brushed the scales on his back and wings. Except that didn't have wings anymore, or scales for that matter.

The old human had draped the furs over the little dragon and stepped back. For in front of him now was not a dragon, but a young boy with pitch black hair and large round eyes. The boy blinked and looked down at what used to be paws, flexing his fingers with an unreadable expression. The old man smiled. "Now, young Nraseri, can you tell me your name?"

The boy's green eyes widened in astonishment at the realization that he could understand him and he thought for a minute, forming the words on his tongue. "T…Toothless."

"It is nice to meet you, young Toothless. I am an old Sage and I have been waiting for you for many years. I need you to listen carefully," the old man said. Toothless looked up from examining his hands. "That amulet I have given you lets you shift between human and dragon. It is yours and in time you will learn to master it. You are the last of your kind, I am afraid, but in time, you will find a new family," Toothless looked sad as he remembered what he had just lost, but he listened carefully. The man leaned close and put a hand on his shoulder.

"The stars have told me that you are very important, young Nraseri, that you will be a protector to the one who will unite our worlds. Listen very closely to my next words, all right?" The boy nodded and he continued. "One year after you discover what you are looking for, you will find it only to watch from a distance and on the year of reckoning, you will, at last, be reunited. But be warned, young dragon, a great evil looms. Protect the amulet or it will take the one thing you love most."

Toothless, confused by the events of the past few minutes, nodded. This was important, he knew. His own uncle had said that he felt change was coming. Maybe this was it. But thinking about his uncle made him remember the tragedy that had taken place not hours ago. He pushed the image of his uncle's body out of his mind and suddenly, he felt unbearably weary.

The Sage noticed this and helped him stand. "Come, young Nraseri, my boat is not far from here. You shall have a new home and I shall teach you what you need to know about the amulet and the Viking world." Taking the boy's free hand (the other was holding the neck of the fur tightly around him), he led him down to the beach and into a new world.