A New Revelation

Toothless was healed, and ready to leave when the time came. There was no excuse for hesitation. However, Hiccup watched the fire, hoping time would slow. Ragna's voice broke his trance;

"Food is ready, Hiccup."

Trying to seem lighthearted, Hiccup smiled;

"Thank the gods. I'm starving."

Ragna handed him his share, walking to her side of the fire.

"Gods." She murmured. "... And what do you know of gods, Hiccup?"

Hiccup stared at her, confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "They're gods. Odin, Thor, Loki, Tyr, Freya, Sif… The list goes on, but I'm sure you already know it."

"Oh, I know it." Ragna replied. "A list of wishful fantasies. Daydreams of an ancient fool, looking for some way to hide."

"Hide?" Hiccup asked with his mouth full. He tore off a piece for Toothless. Ragna sighed.

"You may be a great man in bringing Humans and Dragons together, but you know so very little. The gods we grew up knowing are myths. Shameful lies…"

Hiccup nearly choked in his offense.

"Wait a minute," He said, "First you tell me you're a Dragon Rider, next, your Dragon is not only a Night Fury, but you're a Night Fury breeder. Supposedly, you're my grandmother, who is dying, by the way, and now you're challenging gods? What kind of woman are you, anyway?"

Ragna looked hurt, but spoke with painful truth;

"A woman who has seen far more than you have, apparently."

Hiccup halted, realizing what he had just said.

"... I'm sorry…"

Ragna sighed.

"I don't blame you, Hiccup. This has been hard for me, too. But you must understand, there is more. Much more…"

She stared at the fire. Hiccup followed her gaze. The fire. Ever-burning, yet he had never seen Ragna put a splinter of wood on it. No trees grew around here, and not a pebble of coal to be found.

Then… how did it burn?

"This very fire…" Ragna's voice echoed, thought her words were softly spoken. "... Is fed by forces I myself do not understand. But I trust it, because it has given me warmth and light in a place of darkness and cold." She paused, looking back up at him. Her eyes reflected a strange light that Hiccup didn't see.

"... That is what He is like, Hiccup." She whispered. "He is Einn. The One. The All. There is nothing like Him, Hiccup. Don't you see? He is."

I Am.

The voice seemed to come from all around, deep like the Ocean and lovely like the stars. A voice of song and of weeping, grief and laughter.

Ragna smiled, then looked at Hiccup. She looked different, younger. Radiant.

I Am. The voice faded, but the feeling left Hiccup's chest swollen in ecstasy. Those two words, spoken by the lips of a creature beyond the realm of nature, beyond space, and time itself. Two words: I Am.

Einn. The One. The All.