Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd we're are back!
Hello everyone! How are you all today, cause I am feeling fantastic! Started up at University, which is going a lot better than I thought it would be. Heck, it's actually pretty sweet here. Better than High School was, definitely. And no, that is not because I am slacking off on all of my work.
Anyways, here is your chapter!
Enjoy!
Anyone who knew anything about Astrid Hofferson Haddock knew that when she was teaching, she was definitely one to push her students. If any of the riders in training were hoping for a smooth cruise through their training, they were sorely mistake. Even Aydrien, Astrid's own son, was not getting off easily. Indeed having your mother as your primary teacher was definitely an extra incentive not to screw up. Aydrien's mother wasn't the only teacher that they would have at the academy, but she was definitely the one who would be teaching them the most.
The six riders in training all arrived on time that morning, but the gates were closed so that Astrid could finish preparations. It was only a few minutes after they arrived that they were let inside, along with their dragons.
Aydrien was very familiar with this place. After all, when he was younger, he had often snuck around to the stands that surrounded the arena to watch his mom training the various dragons and riders that now inhabited the island. It wasn't always the most entertaining to watch. Sometimes, Astrid would go the whole day explaining how to care for a dragons claws and teeth, or she would take the riders out of the academy all together for flying, leaving Aydrien staring at an empty stone arena.
Whenever he saw his mother actually working with the dragons themselves, it was a whole different story. Aydrien had heard the tale of his mother growing up in the dragons sanctuary more times than he could count, but hearing that tale and seeing the living legend were two different stories. When Astrid interacted with dragons, it was more than just confidence that seemed to push her along the correct path. It was instinct built up over the years Astrid had lived almost exclusively among dragons. No one else on the island, save Aydrien's grandmother, Valka, could claim such a powerful connection. Not even Astrid's own husband.
They all entered the arena to find Astrid and Stormfly in the center of the arena, patiently wating for all the students and their dragons to file in. The dragons came in slowly, not particularly keen on the idea of training in an enclosed space, no matter how roomy it was. The chain link covering over the arena was planned at one time to be taken down, but once the academy started up, the trainers came to see the wisdom of keeping it in place.
"Welcome to the Berk Dragon Training Academy." Astrid said, once everyone had flittered in. Her intense, blue eyes swept over the gathered students. More than one of them froze momentarily in nervousness as that gaze passed over them, for though Astrid's eyes were warm and friendly, they were still the eyes of a living legend. Though she was not the first dragon rider, she was definitely the most famous, and along with her skills in hand-to-hand combat, she had once been feared throughout the Archipelago by trappers and pirates alike.
Not that she didn't still have those skills. More than one dragon trapper had been dismayed to find that the Valkyrie's legendary fighting skills had not diminished with age.
"As you all know" Astrid continued", you have come here to learn what I have to teach you about dragons. You have all discovered the beginnings of what you need to walk this path, but there is much still you must learn in order to fully comprehend what it means to be a dragon rider."
"I won't lie to you. This training will be hard. I don't want to teach people who think they are not up to this, for it is not the path for everyone. I will only ever ask for the best you can do, but if you cannot bring that with you everyday, then this is the time to say so. If you decide that you wish to be part of this class, there will be no turning back beyond this point. If someone thinks that they don't have what it takes, then step forwards now."
A long silence passed, but none of the six stepped forwards.
"Good" Astrid said. Then she smiled. "Let's begin."
When it came to teaching, Astrid definitely preferred hands on learning rather that reading out of a book. Showing student what they needed to know rather than simply telling them always seemed to make them remember things better. And it seemed to bring her closer to the people she was teaching.
And so, with most classes, Astrid would have brought in at least on dragon for the students to interact with, showing them how it behaved and reacted rather than telling them. Today, however was different. The first day of classes was not so much about teaching anything as it was to gauge each individual in the class. Astrid wanted to know exactly how ready each of them were, for though learning to be a dragon rider could be a wonderful, exciting experience, it also had the potential to be quite dangerous.
And so, today was all basic theory and learning from a book. Learning the different dragon classes, learning about the different species within those classes, and most importantly, how to avoid provoking a dragon.
Each of these was a big subject, and Astrid knew she wouldn't be able to cover all of them, or even one of them, in a single day. Not in their entirety, at least. But that wasn't the point. All day long, even as she talked and talked, she was monitoring each of the teens in turn. She even watched Aydrien closely, for even though Astrid knew her son very well, she didn't necessarily know how he would react to this kind of training. She had her expectations, but wondered exactly how accurate they would be.
Overall, it went relatively smoothly. All the students passed the first test that day, without even knowing they were being tested. And Astrid got a full assessment of each of them.
Aydrien, as Astrid expected went at the tasks of memorization with the same dedication as he did everything else that he loved doing, and Astrid couldn't help but feel a surge of motherly pride at his prowess. True, most of what she taught that day he probably already knew, due to his upbringing, but she was still proud.
The two girls, Aurora and Lana, also performed excellently, though in different ways. Outwardly, it seemed as if Aurora was the smarter of the two, but Astrid came to realize that it was because she was the more outgoing one, more ready to speak up, volunteer knowledge, and take chances with her words than Lana. Everywhere Aurora was confident, Lana was more shy, and a bit more closed off.
In Avrak and Hax, Astrid saw a pair of trouble-makers. There was no lack of willingness to learn in them, but both of them seemed to hardly be able to go five minutes without getting into some kind of mischief. One hand, there was Hax, who was easily distracted, less than mature at times, and most of all, seemed to have a lack of true appreciation for what Astrid was trying to teach him. He didn't seem to appreciate that there were some in the Archipelago that would kill to have the kind of information he was getting.
Whereas Hax's mischief came out of childish ignorance, Avrak seemed to cause mischief intentionally. He and his dragon, Ziza, seemed to find a way to get a laugh or joke out of everything, usually at some else's expense. There was no predicting what the boy and his wooly howl were thinking at any given time.
But, despite those two, the student Astird was most intrigued by (and therefore most suspicious of) was Balder. Out of everyone in the group, Balder was by far the most quite and reserved. When press, he proved to be adequately intelligent, and he was certainly willing to learn, but he never volunteered anything. He never spoke unless spoken to directly. And he never so much as asked a single question throughout the classes.
That made Astrid suspicious. The tribe Baldor came from was on White Stone island, a tribe that Berk was friendly with, though they hadn't heard from them in a long, long time, except what Balder told them. They were way to go and see for regular trips, even on dragon back, and so several months had passed since they had heard from their chief.
And Balder was little help with that. He always answered with as few words as possible when asked about his tribe, and always tried to evade when pinned down for an answer. Astrid hadn't really tried to pry any real information out of him yet, but she knew that he was hiding something.
All that remained was to figure out what.
Over all, Aydrien found that first day to be enjoyable, if a little bit tedious. While most of the stuff he was learning were things that he already knew, there were some interesting facts from training that he hadn't know, even though he had practically memorized the book of dragons. Not being much of a writing person, Astrid had not really done much updating on that book in a long, long while, even though she discovered new things about dragons and new species frequently. She said she would update it someday, but, in all likeliness, she would just assign someone else to do it and get them to write down what she told them.
Heck, that might even be Aydrien doing that updating for her. He wouldn't mind at all.
"So what do you think? First day, eh?" Avrak said to Aydrien as the gang walked out of the arena. "'Bit shorter than I expected. But hey, I'm not complaining."
"You talk a big talk for someone who spent half the class goofing off, Avrak" Aurora but in from behind the two boys. "Is it too much to ask to act like you're older than two years old while in class?"
"Hey, you gotta have a little bit of fun once in a while" Avrak replied, his voice full of bluster. "Besides, I'm not the two year old in class. That's Hax's job."
"Hey!" Hax called indignantly from the back of the group. "I am fifteen you know. And I can prove it!"
"Oh? How are you gonna do that?"
Hax opened his mouth to retort, but ended up just standing there thoughtfully. Awkwardly, if Aydrien was to guess. Lucky for him, Aurora saved him more embarrassment.
"Well, guys, how bout we all go flying. Bet Nightsound and I can beat anyone of you in a race!" She exclaimed.
After spending the whole day cloistered up in the arena, the riders were all too. And so where their dragons.
All but one rider jumped on their dragons, ready to shoot off into the sky.
"Baldor?" said Lana "You not coming?"
"I'll pass." Balder replied shortly "See you all later."
The other riders thought nothing of it, and so they simply took off, asking Aydrien where would be a good place to have a race on Berk.
Balder watched them all go, a slight longing in his eyes. Behind him, his rumblehorn Krotr grumbled unhappily, and Balder dropped a hand on his dragon's head as he moved so tstand beside his rider.
"I know, pal. But we didn't come here to make friends. We have a job to do, a duty to our people. We aren't here to make friends."
Still, Krotr seemed unhappy, and that made Balder unhappy, seeing his dragon so distressed.
"It'll all pay off in the end. You'll see." Balder said
In those words, Balder was speaking as much to himself as his dragon.
"You'll see."
"So, what kind of species is your… dragon?" Aydrien asked Aurora later that day. The two of them, plus Arvak, Lana, and Hax had all finished their race together, and now lounged on one of the cliffs of the mountain overlooking the village of Berk. Well, most of them were lounging at least. Avrak was trying futilely to catch dragon, for she had stolen his goggles and was now prancing around as he tore after her, trying to get them back.
"Why don't you tell me, dragon boy. After all, you're the guy who grew up living with dragons. Wouldn't you already know?"
"Not exactly" Aydrien replied "I mean, I know some dragons, but I'm not exactly the super dragon expert everyone expects me to be. Common assumption people make."
"Oh, sorry." Aurora apologized, though there was nothing contrite sounding in her voice. She did, however, answer his question.
"Nightsound here, is what we call Grey Stalker, back where I come from. Looks like a big wolf, unless you know what to really be looking for. You see, where I come from, there are plenty of wolves around, and so people just assume Grey Stalker's are more of those same wolves. It's hard to get a good look at them, after all, because they aren't exactly social when it comes to people. So then, what about your dragon? What is he?"
Aydrien was a little bit surprised a that question, though he refrained from pointing out that his dragon was not all that rare. It might even be considered common, in some parts of the world. But since he had just asked a similar question to her, he didn't try and make any sarcastic comments.
"This guy here" Aydrien said, patting Titan's wing as he dozed "is a Shield Glider. Kinda like a Razorwhip, but not exactly the same."
"What's the difference?"
"Well for one, your not going to cut yourself just by poking him." Aydrien expelained. "And also, Titan here is a little more… defensive, than your average razorwhip. Come here andfeel his wing."
Aurora scooted over and tentatively touched Titan's wing, but quickly pulled back as soon as her hand made contact, though Titan hadn't moved at all. Aydrien understood why she pulled away though.
"Cold, isn't it?"
"Ya" Aurora said, "Is it always like that?"
"Most of the time, yes" Aydrien replied "You see, his wings aren't just used for flying. They are, like metal, very tough, and Shield Glider's can use them as… well, shields. The wings are enough that they can wrap themselves in them completely, and stronger enough to deflect swords and axes."
"No way!" Aurora exclaimed in a little bit of awe. " Well, your dragon is tough, but he is never going to be as sneaky or fast as mine. You're a bit out-"
Whatever she was going to say next, Aydrien never knew, for at that moment, Ziza came charging in between them, nearly trampling them both. She would have, if Aydrien and Aurora hadn't been quick enough to dive in opposite directions to get out of the way. Avrak came running after her a moment later, still trying to get his goggles back.
Off to the side, Lana laughed.
"Don't get too distracted with each other, lovebirds. Or the next time, she will run you over for sure."
Aurora sent a glare Lana's way, and she only giggled some more. Aydrien only flushed.
"We're not, lovebirds, Lana. If you tell that to anyone, I will personally-"
"Oh, calm down. I'm just teasing. Although." Lana said "I bet your teacher might want to know might want to have a word with you if you keep trying to flirt with her son."
"She wasn't flirting with-" Aydrien began to say, but neither girl was listening. Now, it wasn't only Avrak chasing his dragon, but Aurora was chasing after Lana, yelling curses and threats every step of the way.
Hax was bored.
If you were to ask anyone from his tribe, they would say that there was not more dangerous creature in the world that Hax when he was bored, either to people around him, or to himself. They said it half-jokingly, but also half serious.
Deadly serious.
After their race, everyone simply wanted to lounge around on the mountainside, talking and talking and talking some more. There was the occasional bit of scuffle and chasing people chasing each other around but that soon quieted down, and everyone back to more talking. And while Hax wasn't opposed to talking, he wished there was something he could do that would be more… fun.
So he quietly set off with his gronkle Sunflower to go find something to do.
It was late then, that time when it didn't quite feel like afternoon anymore, but not quite evening either, and Hax made a point to fly away from the descending sun so it wouldn't get into his eyes. Of course, that meant the sun would be in his eyes on the way back, but Hax wasn't thinking about that right now.
He was going to explore Berk.
He landed in a small clearing, and leapt off of his dragon, whistling a cheerful toon as he leapt off of Sunflower's back. He strolled a little bit around the clearing. He looked around, wondering if he could find some hidden path leading out through which he might explore the vast forest.
He stopped a few minutes later when Sunflower nudged his shoulder, growling out a warning.
"Hey, girl, what's wrong?" Hax asked, but even as he stopped his whistling, he noticed that the forest was deathly quiet.
There was not call of birds, no rustling of movement from small animals running through the underbrush. Not even a rasp of wind through the trees, as if it, too, was holding it's breath.
Everything was deathly quiet. And much too still.
Hax was not particularly intelligent by anyone's, but he felt there was something wrong. The silence was that of a predator waiting to pounce. The hush of all nature, each tiny animal hoping that the predator would not notice them, and would look for some other prey.
In the bushes off to one side of the clearing, the bushes rustled, shaken by something huge.
That was enough for Hax. He jumped onto Sunflower's back, faster than he thought he could possibly move. Still, his dragon, in her haste, almost took off without him, her normally lazy attitude suspended in the face of sheer fright. They shot up into the air, with Hax expecting something to burst out of the undergrowth any moment.
And then, all of the sudden….
Nothing. There was nothing. No sudden form bursting from the bushes. No sudden roar or shriek or call. Nothing, nothing at all, changed.
Hax wondered, later, if he had imagined the whole thing. He wondered if he was just getting a bit jumpy, nervous at being away from home. He mulled it over for a little while, then decided that he was probably right. He was just jumpy.
He told himself that, but he didn't go back to the clearing. Nor had he seen the big, yellow eyes staring at him as he had flown away.
It was silent and cold that night. There was a new moon, and so only the stars provided any light, and a cold, distant light that was. Not enough to see by, for most, let alone see well enough to avoid crashing into things. A few torches were lit throughout the village, specs of light amidst the dark, but overall, there was nothing to see.
Unless one knew where to look.
The figure moved through the shadows swiftly, passing just close enough to the torches that they might see the route, but not close enough so that they might be seen in that torchlight. Men and women assigned to night watch crisscrossed over the figures path, and each time, the figure ducked in between a pair of buildings, or behind a bush.
They did not wish to be seen. Or followed.
Slowly, steadily, the figure made its way to the edge of the village, and then out into the black forest covering the island. When they were a good distance away, the dark figure reached beneath their cloak ad pulled out a tiny, tiny candle, lit it, and carried on through the darkness.
The figure moved on towards it's destination.
It did not notice its equally silent follower, gliding along the forest floor with much greater grace and stealth.
Again, more of an intro chapter here, setting up for several different plot lines in the future. It's going to be fun, seeing how it will all play out.
Review, follow, and favorite, and as always, HAVE A GOOD ONE!
And hold onto your hats, folks. Because school is in session!
Next Chapter - Unhappy Camper
