It was an hour after the betrothal had been made official and Nissa wasn't responding to any stimuli. She was listless and quiet, pretty much ignoring everything around her. In her mind her thoughts continued to cycle around and around making her more depressed by the minute. She couldn't marry Dagur. It wasn't because she didn't love him; she was starting to see him as a potential friend. The problem was that if she married him she be forced to stay forever here never to return to Xanadu. Her people needed her to help maintain their nature and to keep the island intact. It was her responsibility to carry on the traditions of Daypeaces keeping their legacy going. To her knowledge she couldn't reproduce with a human and the thought of being married to someone she hadn't even bonded to was cruel.
"Nissa? Nissa? NISSA!" the voice jerked the princess out of her thoughts and she looked up startled falling backwards. In an instant her surroundings came into focus. She was outside near the forge where Hiccup had been working on creating some new glassware. She had been dangerously close to the fire which is why Hiccup had alerted her to the danger. The guards had stood around doing nothing. Now they were rushing over to help her up and roughly examining her; checking to make sure she hadn't hurt herself.
The emotional Daypeace didn't like that one bit. She let out a roar and kicked them in the shins. Snatching a mace from the weapons table she swung it with all her might. The guards went down hard nearly being brained to death. The commotion brought more people hurrying over to the forge causing more stress. Nissa went on the offensive swinging her mace striking down the men in the arms, the chest, and even gave a few good kicks to the groin. Her eyes were wild, hair messy, and sweat was starting to trickle down from all over her body. She panted hard digging deep into the soil. Hearing footfalls behind her she raised her weapon ready to strike down her foe only to be tackled to the ground. "Get off me! Let me go!"
"Nissa calm down its me! Focus on me its going to be okay!" Hiccup shouted. He was on top of her pinning her to keep her from flailing around. He tried to keep calm reaching out with their bond pouring all his feelings of serenity and peace into her. He felt her starting to relax as she stopped struggling. "Take a few deep breaths. In and out, in and out. You'll be okay."
"What's going on here? Who did this to my men? Hiccup why are you on top of Nissa?!" Dagur growled a dangerous look in his eyes. His hands were itching towards his knives ready to carve up someone. Hiccup slowly backed off his best friend. She pushed herself to her feet dusting off her clothes. She picked up the mace she had used and handed it over to Dagur who was confused.
"Deranged One, your betrothed went crazy. We only tried to help her after she fell, but then she began to go wild on all of us! Look at what she did to us! I can't even feel my arms because of her!" one of the guards complained. It was true the guards had been disabled and the other men had open wounds with blood dripping. It looked like one guy had a broken arm.
Dagur appraised the situation a grin on his face liking what he was seeing. He knew that when backed into a corner Nissa could be quite dangerous, but he hadn't seen her rage before. "Looks like you caused quite a bit of damage to my men. Elder Inga is going to have her hands full for the time being dealing with their injuries. What could have possessed you to react this way?"
Nissa didn't want to talk about it instead looking away ashamed by what she had done. She didn't mean to hurt anyone she just wasn't herself. Hiccup gave her a hug letting her know it was okay. She tensed up, still a bit agitated, then relaxed knowing she was safe. A look of what could have been compassion was forming on Dagur's face. "You've been through a lot this morning with our betrothal becoming official and setting our wedding date. I think you need time to process it. Hiccup, take her home and make sure she takes a hot bath. That should calm her down a bit. I'll check in on you two later okay?"
Hiccup nodded gently taking her in his arms. He guided her back to her home making her sit on the bed while he got out the tub. He filled it with hot water making sure it wasn't boiling. He told her to get undressed and soak for awhile. After using a rug as a make shift curtain he pulled out his notebook going over their notes. They couldn't wait any longer for help to come, they needed to escape today. "I know your intentions weren't to hurt anybody, but its a good thing you disabled the guards and injured some the men. Our chances of escape just went up considerably. Elder Inga will be busy attending to the wounded meaning she won't be able to help prevent our escape. The other seiưkonur aren't nearly as powerful correct?"
"Their magic is weak I'll admit, but the problem is that they are still very organized and have that supernatural rage to boost their power. I can handle a few of them, but the more there are the harder it gets. Especially if we're going to be escaping after dark during the changing shifts," Nissa remarked from behind the curtain. Her energy levels were returning as the water seemed to revitalize her. She tried manifesting her hand to see if she had built up a tolerance to the galena. Her hand rippled for a few seconds as it started to turn scaly. Unfortunately she couldn't maintain it as a wave of dizziness came over her. She stopped what she was doing before she lost consciousness.
"Still can't manifest can you?" Hiccup called out sensing her attempts to change. He was frustrated hoping Nissa would have built up a tolerance by now. If she couldn't fly then that meant they would have to fly out on another dragon. "The plan was always to free the captives. Their still pretty wild not trusting anyone. You think one of them would give us a lift?" He listened as he heard sounds of Nissa getting out of the tub. She seemed to pondering his words as she dried herself off on the scratchy fur towel. She put her outfit back on and came out from behind the curtain. Without a word they both picked up the tub and tossed the water outside letting it soak into the ground causing a gurgle of sounds.
The sounds sort of reflected their situation as they sat down together by the fire. They both watched it flickering about crackling as if it were alive. Slumping forward on the bench the girl let out a sigh. "I'm not sure about the dragons. At this point I'm not sure of anything. I was certain I was getting through to Dagur. He seemed to slowly coming to terms with issues with his father. He wasn't keeping those emotions bottle up inside. He also seemed open to change."
"He was making a lot of effort to be a real friend," Hiccup commented recalling their play date yesterday. He had actually had some fun with Dagur seeing that he wasn't as crazy as he thought he was. He actually could be reasonable once and while, even open up to new ideas. "He was listening to my advice. Torch even let him touch him yesterday and I never though that would happen. So why the sudden rush to marry you or make me swear my allegiance?"
"Because as much as he is changing in part to our presences he still has to maintain his image. It goes against his nature to appear weak and coddling for to long. The tribe respects him and fears him, but their trust in his judgment was waning. The elders of the tribe were encroaching on his dominance. He couldn't handle the pressure so he decided to act to keep his control. He's posturing so to speak; letting everyone know that he's the big man." The analogy was accurate. Their attempts to get him to change had worked to an extent. They simply had run out of time to get him to let them go.
Hiccup lifted Nissa up by her chin seeing her downcast. He knew she felt like a failure, but she wasn't. She had managed to get Dagur to change a bit; something even Oswald the Agreeable couldn't do when he was alive. "You can't be weighed down by your feelings. The risks are to great to be worrying about how you let the deranged teen down. We have to escape tonight. I don't want to think about what could happen if we fail. Can I count on you? Good so let's go over our strategy."
On Berk everyone, human and dragon alike, had assembled in the Great Hall. In the past four days anxiety levels had grown exponentially. One would think with a partial code it would have been easier to figure out who got what information, but it hadn't. The code retrieved from Mildew's shattered mind was bits and pieces of an unknown alphabet. Trying to match up the new runes with the old ones when it was uncertain exactly which runes to use made decoding harder. Not to mention there were tons of notes to go through.
"I'm bored, how much longer do we have to do this?"
"Until we figure out who was asking about your cousin and Nissa dolt! Ugh, Vikings don't usually keep such meticulous notes. I can't believe Mildew was the exception to the rule."
"He was betraying us Astrid. If he was doing the same thing with all the other tribes then he needed to make sure he knew which lies he was telling."
"Fishlegs has a point as usual. Ugh that doesn't mean that this is any easier," Ruffnut grumbled. She looked down at her paper before tossing it away in disgust. She couldn't handle anymore reading at the moment. It was making her head hurt. Barf nuzzled her and she scratched his chin feeling a bit better. Next to her Tuffnut was doing the same with Belch's head. He had a frown on his face and was absentmindedly fingering his necklace.
"You don't think Hiccup and Nissa are you know..?" Ruffnut hit him hard in the head at the suggestion that their friends weren't alive. They had to hold out hope. But with almost two weeks passing since their disappearance hope was starting to fade.
At the main table Queen Rayna and Stoick were arguing with the Honor Guard about a translation error while Gobber and Skerry did their best to keep their leaders from doing something they would regret. "You need to calm down your Highness, remember your blood pressure."
"Don't tell me to calm down Skerry! If we don't find my niece soon I don't know what I'll do, but I promise something is going to be destroyed!"
"This is taking to long, can't we translate any faster? We know that it wasn't the Outcasts, Meatheads, or the Hysterics who requested information on my son. If we can just figure out if it was the Berserkers or Murderous then we can set sail!"
"Stoick, yelling at the men doesn't help solve the problem any faster. You need to calm down and take a few deep breaths. We need to approach this; what in the world is that sound?" Gobber interrupted himself. A strange roar was heard coming from outside. The two Nightfuries perked up their ears at the sound recognizing it as the cry of a Snaptrapper. Confused why a sentry would be on the island ,Toothless and Orli rushed to the doors pushing them open and jumping backwards, as a Snaptrapper flew in. Clutching onto one of the necks for dear life was a flushed and woozy Trader Johann.
"Oh boy that was a rush. Remind me never to ride on fear class dragon again bleahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"What's going on? Why is Johann here? Shouldn't he be traveling closer to the other tribes shores now?" Orli asked looking at the Snaptrapper for an explanation. The four-headed dragon appeared exhausted with all heads drooping. The scales were extremely dry and its stomach rumbled loudly indicating it hadn't eaten at all that day. Toothless dragged over a basket of fish and Meatlug nudged a bowl of water over so the dragon could recover. The other dragons sat on their haunches awaiting an explanation while the humans tended to the trader.
"Thanks, the Terror twins told us it was urgent that the human reach Berk as quickly as possible so we flew at top speeds. They found something in the early morning hours floating in the ocean. According to them its a clue to where the missing teens are." All the dragons let out a roar of surprise upon hearing that. Toothless rushed over knocking Johann off his feet searching for the clue only to have Orli pull him back gently. Stoick helped the man up and to sit down at table.
"You'll have to forgive him we've been worried for nearly a fortnight about the fate of Hiccup and Nissa. You found something that might tell us where they are?"
Johann nodded pulling out the bottle handing it to Queen Rayna. "My traveling companions fished that out of the water around dawn. I was going to trade it when I notice the note. I knew I had seen that symbol on the bottle before when the teens rescued me a few weeks back. Nissa had it on one of her necklaces. The note is written in a strange language and there were drops of blood on it. I figured that the kids had thrown in a long shot effort to call attention to themselves."
"Where did you find it?"
"About five miles from Dagur's Atoll, that's the new name for Berserker Island." Upon hearing that everyone in the room grew pale. They recalled Dagur's visit to the island vividly remembering how he nearly killed Barf and Belch. He had mentioned he'd been in contact with someone about the dragons on Berk. Steinar and Ula shivered as they thought back to how the deranged teen had looked at their princess with lustful eyes. The riders had seen how impressed Dagur had been by the new Hiccup. Reviewing the month or so of stalking the Berserkers did fit the model of who could have done everything and not be caught. It only took a few minutes to confirm with Mildew's notes that the Berserker chief had switched from demanding knowledge about Berk before focusing squarely on Hiccup and Nissa.
"This is bad, beyond bad actually. Berserkers play for keeps and if Dagur has become obsessed with two of them he's not going to hand them back without a fight. By Odin he might kill the both of them if he thinks he can't keep them. Oh how did we end up in this mess?" Gobber asked out loud.
"Your Highness, what does the note say?" Davan asked. Rayna was gripping it so tightly her Honor Guard feared she tear it in half. Gently Isak took the note from her hands as Kariat and Ywla helped her sit. Rikard got her some fresh juice urging her to drink it. The Honor Guard studied the note frowning as they read it. "It appears that they didn't have time to write a complete note. This only has the barest of facts."
"It appears that Dagur took them because he desires Hiccup as his new right hand man, possibly his best friend. The Princess was taken to become his eventual wife," Fia said. When the shouting started she snapped her fingers loudly getting everyone's attention once more. "Thank you. For the rest of the note it says they're guarded constantly and that there's galena all over the island, Nissa's forced to wear a galena armband. Worse, it seems Dagur has dragons."
"That deranged wild teen chief has the guts to not only break the treaty by kidnapping our heirs, he believes he can assemble a dragon army without us retaliating? This is unacceptable! I refuse to stand here and do nothing. We're going to Dagur's Atoll and getting our children back!" Stoick bellowed slamming his fist down on the table breaking it in half. Snotlout and the Twins were already talking about how much fun a real air battle would be. Rayna was muttering under her breath as she described the tortures she put Dagur through including disemboweling him or burying him alive.
A loud piercing whistle followed by a serious of fireballs forced the rage in the room to go down a bit. Astrid, Gobber, along with the dragons and Gothi had a firm expression on their faces and were holding their arms folded up. Gobber, who wasn't known for using his brains, tried to be the voice of reason. "Stoick, Rayna, I understand that your feeling a rage unlike any other. I also want to skin those Berserkers alive for what they've done, but now is not the time to rush in foolhardy without a plan. The Berserkers have a whole armada and highly skilled bloodthirsty warriors who can use that unnatural rage to fight beyond normal limitations."
Gothi wrote something in the sand her face displaying a small bit of jealousy. Lumina translated the squiggles. "Gothi says that the women in the Berserker tribe are unusually gifted in magic. Her counterpart Elder Inga has enough power to kill a man with a single spell. "
"From what we know of the village they have a nearly impenetrable fortress with a multitude of weapons and traps. Fishlegs told us how weak the Daypeaces get if there near galena. Forget about revealing your secrets to the Berserkers what if you get stuck in one form? If we're fighting dragons in the air and the Honor Guard needs to revert to human form and can't then what do we do?" Astrid questioned them.
"We're not saying we won't attack them. We just need the perfect plan so that we get Hiccup and Nissa out safely. This is going to be a war and its best keep the causalities to a minimum. So, what's the plan?" Toothless asked as they all sat down to discuss strategy. One thing was certain by tomorrow night they would be at war no matter what.
It was shortly after dinner time when the best friends decided to implement their escape plan. Dinner had been marinated elk combined with fresh mead so the Berserkers would be lethargic and slow. When asked for his opinion Hiccup had advised Dagur against stationing guards near the Kill Ring to show the dragons he was trusting them not to break out. It would also be the first night they weren't constantly under guard. Hopefully it would be enough to help them get out.
The moon was a pale sliver in the air and a gentle breeze blew out a few of the torches plunging the village further into darkness. The patrols that night passed through the village at a slower pace. Some of them weren't even carrying weapons as they made way through the village. Not one of them noticed as two figures crawled up through the skylight onto the roof. Hugging the roof they jumped across the house tops careful not to make too much noise. When they reached the end of the row of houses they slid down the side crouching in the bushes as they waited for the patrols to pass by.
"Okay, we have a small window to get to the ring and free all the dragons. To ensure our success we need to cause a distraction. Can you do a small spell with the moonlight?"
"Its going to be tough with only a sliver. I'll try, but I'll make no guarantees about this." Nissa closed her eyes and focused her inner power. She reached out with her magic feeling the pale moonbeams power connecting with it. With one hand on her gem necklace and the other outstretched she increased the power of the moonbeams. The shafts of lights scattered across the village in a weird dance. The light show startled several villages as they cried out about monsters or the displeasure of the gods. "That should keep them busy for a bit. Hopefully Elder Inga can't undo my spell. Let's go!"
They rushed out from their hiding place skirting around the moonbeams dancing. Hearing sounds of footsteps they pressed themselves against a nearby wall. After hearing them pass by they hurried down the path only to come to a halt midway down. Their were guards in front of them about to raise the alarm. Taking the initiative they struck first. Hiccup caught the guard on the left by surprise knocking him off balance. He did a sweeping kick causing the big man to fall on his back. The guard angered took thrusting his sword in a wide arc which he jumped out of the way. Drawing his dagger out he moved in plunging it into the guy's shoulder twisting it. Blood started squirting out as the man dropped his sword. Hiccup kicked him hard in the face knocking him out.
Nissa, who had used her tai chi to disable her guard, looked at Hiccup with a new found respect. "A bit blood thirsty aren't you? Guess spending all that time with Dagur must have paid off."
"Yeah well we need to hurry. These guys will be missed and there's no time to drag them off to the side," Hiccup told her. He grabbed her hand and they continued down the pathway towards the Kill Ring. Thankfully the place was still unguarded as they slipped into the ring hurrying over to the cages. Finding the keys hanging on a hook they hurried to release the dragons. "Okay settle down don't make so much noise! We'll get you all out of here soon enough, but you have to stay quiet!"
"I knew you wouldn't let us down Hiccup! You're so brave and amazing! See some humans are nice," Torch told his siblings. His mother hushed him as the teen started to undo their chains freeing her legs. With one last tug they were off. Torch and his siblings let out a cheer only to be hushed by his mother. She bent down so her babies could get on her back. Once they were on she gave Hiccup an affectionate nuzzle before escaping. Hearing her spinning firecracker sounds the friends knew they didn't have much time left.
"Get out of here all of you! The Berserkers will be here any minute. Wait, can one of you give us a ride?" The Scaldrun was the only one who stayed behind. The giant sea dragon bent down to let the two climb on his back when he let out a roar of pain. A battle axe was embedded in his wing. There were shouts of anger and the sharp zing as arrows from crossbows were fired at them. Seeing a shield nearby Hiccup grabbed it positioning himself between the crossfire and his friends. "Not good, not good at all. Can he still fly?"
"His wings are bleeding, but I think he can manage." Nissa grabbed her friend hand helping him onto the dragon. The Scaldrun let loose a blast of superheated water he had stored up. The men were knocked over scattered like pansies. The Scaldrun flapped his wings blasting the metal bars to pieces. he gained some altitude and was about to fly off when all three of them were hit by bolas sending them crashing to the Kill Ring floor. The three of them struggled trying to break free when a green mist settled over them. Their eyelids grew heavy, their heartbeats slowing down. Unable to resist they fell asleep on the floor.
Elder Inga walked in frowning as she clutched her fir staff firmly in her hand. She had known when that light show had started the princess had something to do with it. She had sensed earlier that day the overwhelming fear and panic in the girl during the hanbal. Up until that point both the princess and the boy seemed willing to try to became part of the tribe. Something worse than the fate of marriage must have provoked them into this wild escape attempt. "I'll have to make sure that our deranged chief doesn't slice you up before you get a chance to explain yourselves. You idiots get the Scaldrun back into its cage now! You two help me get these teens back to the Great Hall. Dagur would like to speak to them as soon as possible."
The best friends awoke to a world of pain. Someone was shouting angrily and they could feel blood dripping from shallow cuts to their arms. Someone roughly grabbed their heads forcing them to look up. They both cringed as they saw the expression of fury on Dagur's face. His eyes were wild and his hair was sticking out in all directions because he forgot his helmet in the rush to get here. His knife was in his right hand ready to cut them again. With a snarl he used his the back of his left hand to slap them both. "I thought we were friends! You two were finally settling into your lives on the island. We even arranged for you two to become official members of the tribe. I trusted you two, gave you freedoms, I did what you asked. This how you betray me? By trying to escape? I should kill you both where you stand right now, but Elder Inga believes I should hear you out before doing so. You better have a good explanation for this or we're going to be planning your execution!"
The deranged chief tapped his foot waiting for them to explain. Inside he didn't know if he could actually go through with executing them. He was extremely conflicted over this. On the one hand he felt betrayed and made a fool of because of them nearly getting away. On the other he still felt a bond of friendship with them and was still a bit obsessed with them. When they still didn't speak up he pressed his blade against Hiccup's throat causing it to trickle blood. "You have five seconds to start speaking Princess or your best friend loses his voice for good. One, two, three."
"I had to escape for the good of my people!" Nissa wailed loudly. Dagur removed his blade from Hiccup's throat grabbing her by chin yanking her face over. "Stop please, you're hurting me."
"I'll hurt you worse if that's your only explanation. You didn't have to leave for any reason. You chose to stay here because of your people so your explanation doesn't make sense. Maybe you'll start telling me the truth or I'll cut some of that hair of yours." Dagur was about to hack her hair off when he was hit upside the head by Elder Inga's fir staff. She grabbed the deranged teen by the ear painfully pulling him away from her.
"That's enough Dagur, if you give her a chance I'm sure she'll explain. Now sit down and open your ears up. You might learn a thing or two. Child, explain what you meant."
Nissa had tears in her eyes. She looked at Dagur sadly as if she was truly sorry for hurting him. "You want the truth then here it is. My people have a dual nature, the Dragon Heart is part of larger ability to change shape. My other form has more powers, but that's beside the point. I'm of royal blood, the heir to the throne of Xanadu. While all of my people have certain abilities the royals are stronger. We alone can manipulate the magic of light to do what we command, to call forth help from dragons with our voices. You must understand that I share a bond with Hiccup. Its more than just a psychic link; it's almost tangible. I can read his heart, mind, and spirit and vice versa. The people of Xanadu needs the bonds to stay alive, but more importantly is the bond of the royals. We alone are connected to the island of Xanadu and its people, its our mind alone that keeps our dual nature under control. Without a royal leading us my people face extinction."
"Is there no other heirs to the throne? You aunt is queen correct? What about her child taking the throne? If that's child dead can't she just remarry and have another?"
Hiccup answered that one. "No, it doesn't work like that. The bonds between lovers is so strong their lives literally become intertwined. When Queen Rayna's husband and son were killed she nearly died as well. She was kept only alive by their advance medical skills. My new look and abilities are because they attempted to transfuse the blood of their late prince into me so I could carry out the succession. That plan didn't work out exactly, but an alliance was formed between Berk and Xanadu because of that incident. Nissa is on Berk as part of her diplomatic training to take the throne and why she's constantly under guard. They can't afford to lose her. If she marries you and stays here, then her people would be doomed without a proper heir to the throne."
"Is that true? Does this dual nature you speak of mean you can't have children with me or form a bond at all?" Nissa shrugged her shoulders uncertain of the statement. Indicating her galena armband once more she emphasized why she hadn't been able to form a mental bond with him. Ignoring her for now he rounded back to Hiccup jerking his face until they were seeing eye to eye. "So she has a reason for her attempting to escape, what about you? Is life so bad here that you would be willing to risk war?"
"Dagur please try to understand," Hiccup pleaded. He twisted until his face was free and took a deep breath before continuing in a shaky voice. "The peace between dragons and humans is new on Berk. They need me there to ensure it doesn't fall apart. A week before your visit my friends and I had finished a quest where we managed to make friends with different dragon packs. The friendships only last because of how they saw rider and dragon working together; especially me and Toothless. I need to be there to be there so the packs don't feel threatened."
"Not good enough Hiccup, you could have easily rebuilt those relationships here on this island. I need a better explanation."
"What about the fact that if I swear my allegiance to you I can't go back to Berk ever? I know we have a lot in common when it comes to disappointing our fathers, but my relationship with my dad has changed. We're closer then ever and it would devastate him if I joined another tribe or died. The death of my mother nearly destroyed him, I don't want to think of what my betrayal will do to him."
Hiccup's words echoed in Dagur's mind as flashes of memories with his own father played in his mind. He could hear his father's voice inside his head pleading for him to be compassionate, to understand the people around him. Wanting to block out the voice the deranged teen hit his head against a wall until it was silenced. He paced back and forth unsure what to do. The guards assembled seem to be waiting for him to gut the two prisoners to serve their blood up, but Elder Inga was giving in him the stink eye as if daring him to hurt the two. His own obsession was causing his blood to surge through him begging him not to let go of his possessions yet. Tossing a few knives into the wall above his prisoners heads he rebounded on them looking at them in the eye. "While I find your explanations touching you must understand I can't let them sway me. You tried to escape and hurt my guards, not to mention, freeing all my dragons your promised to train. I should kill you both where you kneel. Is there any reason I shouldn't?"
Nissa cleared her throat and whispering faintly," If you allow us to live, if you won't harm our people for our foolish mistake, then I'll marry you tomorrow. I'll reveal all my secrets and use my abilities to make the Berserkers the most dangerous people in the world."
"I'll swear my allegiance to you Dagur. I'll train you an entire army of dragons and build whatever weapons you desire. I'll use all my intelligence to your advantage and I'll even fight by your side. We promise never to try to escape again and do whatever you ask of us. We'll even swear a blood oath to it."
Dagur drummed his fingers over his chin as he thought about their offer. He did want to make them suffer for their escape attempt and waging war on Berk would be a lot of fun. Still, the chance to finally learn all Nissa secrets combined with Hiccup's way with the dragons, was tempting. He could force them to do what he wanted of course, but if they were willing then that solved the problem of any more escape attempts. He gave them a cruel smirk. "You've betrayed me and broken my trust. Still, I'm willing to give you two another chance, to regain my trust and eventually your privileges. Your deal is accepted. Tomorrow we'll have both a wedding and oath swearing. Take them back to their houses and keep them separated. After first light I'll allow a few people to help prepare them for tomorrow's ceremonies. The rest of the village can help set up the shindig. You're all dismissed."
The men saluted Dagur dragging the two teens away. The Great Hall was silent except for the crackling of the fire. Dagur was about to retire when a coughing alerted him that he wasn't alone. He looked behind him frowning as he saw Elder Inga holding her staff tightly with a weird expression on her face. "What are you still doing here? I told you I dismissed you."
"Deranged Chief Dagur, we have to talk about something."
"Can't it wait until morning Elder Inga? I'm tired from all this excitement and I need to get ready for my wedding. If you have any complaints about how I handled the situation I don't want to hear them. I'm chief of the Berserkers so if I want to keep Hiccup and Nissa as my prizes I'm going..."
"Would you shut your trap and listen for a few minutes to your elder?" Elder Inga interrupted him waking him on the head. "Honestly, your worse than your grandfather sometimes. Olaf never knew when to shut up and listen. Its trait your father thankfully had. Don't give me that look I know how you feel about talking about your family, but I they're part of the reason I wanted to talk with you."
"I'm nothing like my father or grandfather! I didn't show them mercy because I'm weak I did it because they have their uses. The glory of our tribe is all I'm concerned about not their feelings. I can do without their friendship it doesn't bother me at all. If my father could see me now conquering the heirs of two tribes his jaw would drop in astonishment."
"More like disappointment. Dagur do you understand the sacrifices Hiccup and Nissa made just now? Do you know what the term sacrifice originally means?" Elder Inga pressed him. The teen shook his head not sure where this was going. " It means the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim. A few moments ago those two demonstrated the highest quality of a leader by showing how much they love their homes and their people. Nissa knows staying here could doom her tribe, Hiccup realizes his father might die of a broken heart, and both know they've lost their freedom, but that's not what's important to them. They are willing to give themselves up if it means the survival and continuation of their tribe. Your grandfather Olaf sacrificed bloodshed to keep the Berserker tribe from being wiped out. Your mother gave her life in battle for the chance of improving your life just as your father sacrificed our reputation so we could regain our numbers. They all knew what it meant to sacrifice something for those you love."
"Love is for the weak. Friendships hold you back. Peace is not the Berserker way! I'm proof of what we can be if we follow our traditions!"
"True, you are the ideal Berserker, something to strive for. Don't dismiss the changes you've made though. The tribe doesn't see your compassion or kindness as weakness Dagur, but a new strength that will help protect them. I'm not saying you should give up everything about yourself child only that you don't forget the lessons you have learned from your friends. They are your friends and will continue to be so if you give them a chance. I shall leave you now. I urge you think over my words though. Are you so different then your father that you wouldn't sacrifice something for the good of your tribe and friends? Is being deranged, bloodthirsty, and cruel more important to you then the man you've become? I'll see you tomorrow at the ceremonies. Goodnight." With that Elder Inga strolled out of the room leaving the chief alone with his thoughts.
The night passed without any further incidents. The two friends had fitful night of nightmares and lack of sleep. The sun had just risen when there was a pounding at the door. Nissa was groggily getting out of bed when she heard shouting from the main room. "Dagur told us not to leave the girl alone for a minute! We're not going to leave because..."
"Use your brains if you have them idiot. Men like you know nothing of preparing a girl for her wedding day. Stay outside the house if you must, but you will not infringe on a woman's basic dignity. Now get out!" Elder Inga cackled, there a was a fizzle and snap followed by a howl and the door slamming. "Ah the joys of using magic never get old. You can come out child the idiots are gone. I've gathered a few trusted women along with a few girls to help you prepare for today. Come on out we won't bite."
"I'm surprised that you aren't attacking me with a spell or at the very least punishing me for my actions last night," Nissa said as she sat down at the table. Katrina and Holly put down a few trays of food in front of her. There were eggs, fresh fish and surprisingly some berries. She nibbled at the food gesturing for the other ladies to join in with her. Three little girls from the magic class eagerly began eating the food whispering excitedly. It wasn't every day that the chief and foreign princess got married. Hearing their giggles saddened her for a moment, but she pushed that down as she looked at her attendants. "I'm unsure of the customs for Viking weddings. What is our first step?"
"Traditionally we need to strip you of your old cloths and put away your kransen, a gilt circlet that is worn by non married girls, except you've already been stripped so to speak of your identity," Katrina remarked.
"So instead we'll take you to the bath house for your ceremonial cleansing. Girls, run ahead and make sure that the steam bath is prepared. Remember, we need to have birch branches to cause perspiration. Oh and don't forget to make sure they've stocked up on oils and flowers!" Holly told the girls who bobbed their heads.
"Once your done with that children you have the special task of gathering the heiman fylgia from the village women. Make sure that you go to every house and be careful not to break anything! This dowry has to support Princess Nissa for the rest of her life!" Elder Inga imposed on the girls. The little ones, now quite frightened, hurried off to do their tasks.
A few minutes later the ladies guided Nissa, who was wearing a simple white shift dress, to the bath house. The water was heated to just the right temperature causing a small amount of steam to fill the room. Katrina and Holly began the task of scrubbing the princess clean from top to bottom. As they did their duty they gave her some healthy advice.
"Remember to always have meals prepared after a hard day of chiefing. The best way to avoid arguments is if his mouth is stuffed with food," Holly told her.
"Keep the weapons clean and sharpened. You never know when he'll need to use a sword instead of a knife," Katrina reminded her.
"Above all child its important to know when to stand your ground instead of giving into Dagur's childish antics," Elder Inga added. She poured a cold bucket of water over Nissa and anointed her with oil finishing the cleansing ceremony.
After the bath they returned to the house where the girls had just finished bringing in the last of the heiman fylgia. Clothing, blankets, some furniture and treasure were all part of the lot. Nodding gratefully Nissa allowed her attendants to help comb her and putting on a nice dress. A bridal crown woven from straw and wheat, then garlanded with flowers was placed on her head. Seeing herself in the mirror she did look pretty.
While this had been going on for the last two hours Hiccup was also being prepared for his oath ceremony. First he'd been ritually cleansed in his house and his hair trimmed. New clothes had been laid out for him to wear. Sturdy brown leather armor with spiked gauntlets and metal shoulder pads made up his new outfit. Attached to his belt was a new dagger with the finest grip. Tugging on his new boots he gazed at himself. He looked like a warrior, not the rider he knew. "This is for Berk. I'm sorry dad, but this is the only way to keep you safe." There was a knock on the door. "Yes?"
"Its time Hiccup, your needed for the official exchange of Princess Nissa's heiman fylgia. Do you have something that can be used for the mundr?" his guard asked entering the room. The boy nodded holding out a single glass item he forged yesterday. It would have to do in a pinch. The guard nodded motioning for the boy to follow him.
Both friends were marched silently side by side to the village square where most of the villagers had assembled. It was decorated with symbols for Freya, flowers, and of course lots Berserker weapons. A banner hung over a small altar proclaiming Dagur and Nissa's names. Dagur himself was waiting at the altar. He had also been ritually cleansed, wearing brand new armor and carrying his father's sword. It was custom for him to wear a forebears sword that he recovered from a ritual mound. He looked nervous and his eye kept twitching. On the altar rested the usual symbols of the gods as well as a small bottle of ink to be used in the oath swearing ceremony.
The first part of the ceremony got underway. The heiman fylgia and mundr were presented to Dagur who accepted them. His bodyguards took possession of the items for now. They'd been taken to his home after the wedding. Dagur stood up straight as his bride stood next to him and Hiccup on his left. Elder Inga took her place in front of the altar as the two ceremonies began.
"Berserkers, we've gathered here today to celebrate not only the union between Dagur the Deranged and Princess Nissa of Xanadu, but to also make Hiccup Horrendous Haddock part of our tribe. He comes to us on his own volition wishing to add to our strength. He offers us his brain, his courage, and most importantly his knowledge of dragons to our tribe. Do we accept his offer?"
Cheers were heard all over the square. Elder Inga dipped her head and turned to Hiccup. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock; do you swear your loyalties to the Berserker tribe? To protect your new home and tribe with your very flesh and blood? Aid your new chief with no qualms at all? To renounce your old tribe forever more?"
A single tear fell from Hiccup's left eye as he repeated her words. His heart was breaking as Dagur accepted him into the fold. Holding out his hand he tried not to break down as the Berserker crest was written on it binding him to this new tribe. Not even Nissa love was enough to ease his betrayal of his tribe.
"The oath swearing portion of this day is complete. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock is now a Berserker. The wedding ceremony will now commence."
"I've been looking forward to this for awhile haven't you?" Dagur whispered to his bride. She merely nodded keeping her lips tightly shut. Her eyes were glued to Elder Inga who was invoking the gods to bless this union. A struggling sow was brought to the altar where it was ceremonially sacrificed to Freya to ensure fertility. The blood was collected into a bowl as the sow's body was taken away to be prepared for the feast. A hlaut-teinn, (bundle of fir twigs) was dipped into the blood. She then sprinkled the blood over the couple and then the crowd blessing them. The two of them then exchanged their swords signifying the traditions of the family and the continuation of the bloodline, while the sword given to the groom by the bride symbolized the transfer of the father's power of guardianship and protection over the bride to her new husband.
As they prepared to carry out the final part of the ceremony, the ring exchange, a commotion was heard coming from the harbor. An explosion was heard as spouts of water surged high into the air. The entire ceremony was halted as shouts of surprise and fear could be heard. "What's going on? I demand an explanation!" Dagur shouted holding out his sword.
"We're under attack! The Berkians and their dragons are attacking the armada!" someone called out as shock appeared on the village faces.
In the bay under a thick steamy cloud the armada found themselves surrounded by the Berkian ships. The Berserkers were looking around trying to pinpoint the location of the enemy ships. Surprisingly, the men remember some of their lessons with Hiccup about listening and anticipating where your enemy was going to be. Hearing the lapping of the water the captain of one the ships commanded them to launch their catapults slightly to the left.
There was a hard crunch and shouts of surprise as one of the Berkian ships sank. The Berserker's had no chance to celebrate as their ship was rammed so hard it split into two. The men abandoned that ship treading water as they watched the battle unfold around them. It was frenzy as the two enemies launched continued attacks on another or rammed them so hard they sunk. The armada was slowly losing it strength and power.
That's when the second wave began. The sound of angered dragon roars filled the air causing hair to stand on its end. In a v formation came the Whispering Death trio who descended into the ground. The two Timberjacks joined into the battle fly close to the perimeter of the compound. The guards on top were firing their crossbows and long-range catapults managing to injure them, but the dragons also managed to slice up some of the weapons. It would be a battle of wills as they faced off with one another.
By now everyone in the village was over their shock. The men gathered their weapons and the women started to prepare the spells. Even the children were grabbing items to the defend their village. Dagur snatched Nissa's weapon from her. He could tell by the expression on her face she hadn't expect this and neither did Hiccup. "If you think this changes anything you can forget about it. Remember I have the right to defend my home from an attack and there is nothing you two can do to stop it!"
Before they could protest the altar behind them was shattered by a sonic boom. Hiccup felt his heart surge with hope. Nissa's eyes were widening as they saw just on the edge of the horizon their final hope. Flying in doing battle with the enraged Berserkers were the riders and Draconia Daypeaces staying above the island and the allochthonous galena. Stoick's voice amplified by Queen Rayna's power echoed across the compound. "Dagur you dare break our treaty and kidnap my son and his friend? You wanted a bloody war and now your going to get one!"
"Prepare for your ultimate destruction!" Queen Rayna thundered. The war between the three tribes had just begun.
