Coming Home
A How to Train Your Dragon Fanfiction.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to How to Train Your Dragon or any of its characters.
This story takes place some generations after How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World. It is based on what would have happened if the Vikings of Berk had joined their dragons in the Hidden World and lived alongside them, waiting for humanity to learn to live in peace.
Author's Note: Oh boy, here we are, Chapter Ten! I hope you guys are as excited about this one as I am. I've been building up to this chapter for a while. Please leave a review if you enjoy and tell me what else you would like to see in the upcoming chapters. Thank you all for supporting me and enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 10: All is Fair in Love and War
Morek walked through the village, contemplating his next move. Usurper would be coming back to take his father's throne soon, and as the village was currently, they didn't have anything that could stand up to him in that state of power.
As Morek wandered, he began thinking about all the people in the village and how much he cared for them. His father Hagrish, working so hard to make sure that his people were safe. His mother Taralin, who helps in the kitchens of the Great Hall and who supported Morek through all his decisions. His cousin Kadil, the tactical genius that was taking it upon himself to protect his fellow Vikings.
Morek's thoughts of Kadil brought him to thinking about his uncle. Sven had been a sickly man in the months before he died, leaving Kadil, at the time just an eight-year-old boy, without parents or siblings to care for him. He spent time in almost every household in Berk, seeming to become a member of every family in the village.
Morek's thoughts then drifted to his friends. Helia, who had shown him how to get along with people and dragons alike, and Even, who had been his friend for years. The two of them had been at his side ever since they formed the Exploration Squad. Morek found himself smiling at the thought of going on more adventures with his friends, but first he needed to solve the problem of how to keep them safe.
Shadestar was the key. The young night fury had recently started eating more food, and Morek could tell that he was thinking about fighting because he kept finding the night fury shooting plasma blasts into the air. Morek knew, however, that Shadestar wouldn't be a match for Usurper unless he could gain the same power as his older brother.
That's where Erik comes in. He had told Morek that he might know where Shadestar can unlock this hidden power, but it would require that Morek and Shadestar go alone, without telling anyone where they are going.
The place in question is the old night fury burial grounds, located far within the darkest reaches of the Caverns Beyond. Erik hadn't been there, but he had observed old night furies flying into the Caverns, never to be seen again.
After some more walking, Morek stopped and took a deep breath. It was late, the people of Berk were asleep, and it was the perfect time to leave without being noticed by anyone. He whistled softly, knowing that Shadestar would pick it up with his sensitive ears.
Sure enough, the young night fury quickly arrived at the scene, appearing before Morek with a calm gaze. He knew what Morek had called him for, and he was ready to go.
Silently, Morek climbed onto Shadestar's saddle and patted his back, signaling that he was ready to go. The two took off, flying higher before turning towards the Fireworm Caverns and the Alpha's Court. They flew silently, neither of them making a sound as they passed the Court. Morek checked his armor, making sure all the straps were secure before placing his helmet on his head.
The Caverns Beyond opened before them, like the maw of a giant dragon awaiting its next meal. Morek took a deep, steadying breath to calm his nerves before they continued into the caverns. As they did, Shadestar's scales lit up with blue patterns reminiscent of lightning bolts. After a few minutes of flying in pitch darkness, Morek saw a dim light up ahead.
They entered a large cavern that was lit by a dim grey glow emanating from dark crystals located at the edges of the cavern. Within the center of the cavern lay a giant black dragon, almost the size of a full grown bewilderbeast. It remained curled up, its body rising and falling rhythmically as it slept. Morek gazed in wonder at the huge beast.
Its tail was similar in shape to a mace, and the head had six eyes. Six eyes! Morek had seen a dragon like this before in the book of dragons. It was a member of the Red Death species, and the fact that it was this close to his home scared him. A dragon like this could lay waste to Berk in moments, just by flying through the stalagmites that the buildings were built upon.
This dragon was slightly different though. If it had been this close, why hadn't it challenged Thunderheart for the role of Alpha? Surely it felt the alpha's presence nearby. Morek took a closer look at the dragon before realizing that it was indeed black, but not all the way. Its scales were faded and dull, like a person's hair when they age.
This dragon had been around for a long time, and from the looks of the moss covering its wings, it hadn't moved from that spot in months. Morek tilted his head and motioned for Shadestar to dive down. They should be taking one of the side tunnels from the cavern to try and find the burial ground, but this dragon was too fascinating to pass up.
As they approached, the Black Death's nostrils flared. It could smell them approaching. The dragon started moving and shifting its body. Morek thought that it might uncurl and try to attack them, but instead it curled up tighter, almost a perfect ball.
When Shadestar landed in front of the Black Death, its nostrils flared, and its eyes opened. Morek was shocked to find that they were grey. The old dragon was blind. It reached its head forward and sniffed the air around Shadestar before growling and opening its mouth, gas filling its throat and waiting to be ignited.
Shadestar growled and roared, opening his wings as he contested the black dragon. The dragon stopped and closed its mouth, leaning down and sniffing Shadestar again. It growled and laid its head down, seeming to be waiting for something.
Shadestar hesitantly walked forward, Morek remaining quiet and motionless in the saddle. The Black Death remained still, but when Shadestar rested his head on the dragon's nose, it nodded and started to roll over.
Morek watched in wonder as the dragon moved to reveal the cavern entrance that it had been guarding. The entrance glowed with blue light and gave off an electric feeling. Shadestar warbled at the Black Death, and it returned his warble with a grunt, as if to say, "Get going."
Without any further hesitation, Shadestar dove into the tunnel, Morek staying low in the saddle. They navigated through twists and turns that no dragon, other than a night fury, would be able to navigate. Even though most of the tunnel was dark, they occasionally passed clusters of blue crystals that reacted to Shadestar's presence, arcing bolts of electricity between themselves and the night fury.
The tunnel began widening out, before they flew out of the ground and into a large cavern filled with the blue glow of the crystals. Morek looked around and found that the cavern was similar in shape to a coliseum, like the Alpha's court. The only difference was that where the dragons would normally pay their respects, large outcroppings of blue crystals took their place. In the center of the coliseum was the largest crystal of them all, arcing electricity between itself and the other, smaller crystals.
Upon closer inspection, Morek noticed that some of the crystals had black centers while some of them had white centers. The crystal in the middle, however, was unique in that it had a black and white center.
Shadestar and Morek flew down to the crystals, landing in a safe space where the electricity would not reach them. Morek hopped off the saddle, his boots landing on the grey rock. He was shocked by what he was seeing.
Within each of the crystals, laying at their epicenter, was a fury. The crystals with black centers had night furies and the crystals with white centers had light furies. Some of the crystals with night furies and light furies within them were closer together than the others, and Morek could only guess that the crystals like this were mated pairs who had come here to pass away together.
Morek's eyes were drawn towards the crystal in the center of the room. Its epicenter held two furies, a night fury and a light fury. He and Shadestar walked forward, ignoring the electricity as they neared the crystal. Morek couldn't believe his eyes.
Toothless, the first Berkian Alpha, was laying within a crystal beside the light fury that had brought him to the Hidden World. Morek stared in wonder, Toothless, the Blue Alpha, Shadestar's ancestor, was sitting only ten feet away from him within a crystal. Morek turned to Shadestar and pointed at Toothless.
"Say hello to your grandfather and mother." He said, gesturing for Shadestar to move closer. Shadestar did so, not needing an invitation as he watched electricity arc between himself and the crystal. The closer Shadestar got to the crystal, the more electricity began to arc.
Morek, sensing that something was about to happen, took a step backwards. Shadestar closed the gap between himself and the crystal, stretching out his nose towards it. Just before Shadestar's head made contact with the crystal, Morek ducked, sensing a buildup of power within the crystal.
Shadestar's head touched the crystal, just inches away from touching Toothless himself, and the energy within the crystal channeled itself into the young night fury. Shadestar roared in surprise as he felt the energy from his ancestors' crystals flow through him. However, he was unable to pull his head away from the crystal as power was siphoned into him.
The electric blue crystals all dimmed as their energy was moved into the center crystal, which in turn was draining into Shadestar, whose body markings were beginning to glow with power. The air hummed and Morek's hair stood on end. An explosion shook the cavern, blowing dust up as the crystals lost their light and the cavern darkened to nothing.
Morek was thrown backwards by the force of the explosion, hitting the ground and rolling to minimize damage. The dark cavern and the dust blocked his vision of Shadestar, but he could see a faint blue glow where Shadestar had been standing.
"Shadestar, are you alright buddy?" Morek asked, standing and carefully making his way towards the glow. As he passed through a dust cloud, Morek found his friend standing and staring at himself in awe.
Shadestar had been given the power of his ancestors, and that had triggered a transformation in him. His spines had split and were giving off a bright electric glow, his eyes, normally a bright green, were glowing blue and the pupils were glowing white, like Usurper's. Unlike Usurper, however, lightning was arcing between Shadestar and the area around him, giving him an aura like a skrill's.
"Woah, looking sharp Shadestar. I think we found your brother's secret." Morek said, smiling under the helmet. Shadestar warbled and looked down at his glowing body. His lightning markings were glowing brighter than ever, and he seemed to be overflowing with electricity.
Shadestar looked up at the ceiling and began charging a plasma blast. Morek watched in awe as he blasted a plasma shot that exploded with enough power to shake the cavern again. Morek smiled as Shadestar warbled happily, bounding over to Morek. Morek smiled and thanked the gods that he was wearing night fury armor, otherwise he may have been shocked when Shadestar bumped his head into him.
Shadestar bounded around Morek, warbling happily as his blue glow faded back within him, before activating it again and shooting another plasma blast, testing his newfound power. As they laughed together, Morek noticed that the cavern was lighting up again. He turned and found that the center crystal was glowing again, and electricity was starting to arc between the crystals once more. Satisfied that they hadn't done any lasting damage, turned back to find Shadestar yawning.
"Tired bud?" Morek asked, and Shadestar responded by curling up by his side. Morek smiled and sat down beside him.
"Good idea Shadestar, you should get some rest, that must have taken a lot out of you." Morek said, not realizing himself how tired he was too. Within seconds of each other, Morek and Shadestar passed out, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
*Transition*
Helia awoke to the sound of a horn being blown. She shot out of her bed and began getting dressed. That was the horn signaling an attack. She looked out her window to see that many of the dragons were flying in the direction of the Alpha's Court.
Helia ran out of her house and whistled, Heartbreaker falling down from atop her house and landing beside her. She mounted the big stormcutter and flew to the Great Hall, where many Vikings were filtering inside. She scanned the crowd to find Morek's mother, Taralin, guiding everyone inside.
"Taralin, what's happening?" Helia said, landing beside her. Taralin turned and took a deep breath, she had been woken from her slumber as well.
"Even came back from a scouting mission and saw a flock of dragons attacking the Alpha's Court, the wild dragons are all flying to the aid of their alpha, but we can't go help yet. Morek has disappeared and we can't hope to fight off that other night fury without Shadestar." She said, looking out to the Court. "I just hope he comes back soon."
Helia nodded in agreement. If anyone could help Berk right now, it was Morek. She went inside the Great Hall with the rest of the Vikings, finding Even sitting at a table and looking terrified.
"Even, what did you see?" She asked, walking over to him. Even looked up at her and shuddered.
"There was a bewilderbeast, but that night fury that Morek mentioned was riding on top of it. They didn't attack the Court yet; they look like they're waiting for something." He said. He gave Helia a stern gaze as he said his next words. "Thunderheart can't win this one, not against a bewilderbeast and another night fury."
Helia's eyes widened as she heard these words. The rival flock must be powerful to have such an effect on the dragons in the Stalagmite Forest and surrounding areas. She quickly turned and started to scan the crowd.
"Where's the chief?" She asked Even, but he just shrugged and started looking around the Hall. The crowd of Vikings were mulling about, seemingly lost without a leader.
"Where's Morek?" Helia heard someone ask, turning to find Morek's grandfather Erik standing behind her. She turned and gave him a concerned look.
"I don't know sir, he disappeared." She said, earning widened eyes and a concerned look from Erik.
"I sent him out there…" Erik said, dropping to sit beside Even.
*Transition*
Morek startled out of his slumber when he felt the ground shaking beneath him. He stood up and looked around. Something was going on in the caverns around them.
"Shadestar, wake up, something's happening." He said, bending down to shake Shadestar awake. The night fury huffed and opened his eyes, revealing that they were now an electric blue color.
They both stood and looked at the walls around them, shaking as something large moved through the neighboring caverns.
"Come on Shadestar, we need to get going." Morek said, climbing into Shadestar's saddle. The two took to the air, diving back down the tunnel that they had originally entered from. They continued through the winding tunnels as fast as they could, eventually entering the same cavern they had met the Black Death in.
Morek was surprised to see that the dragon wasn't guarding the tunnel, but as he looked around, he discovered why. Over in the corner of the cavern slumped the Black Death, laying motionless on the ground. Morek and Shadestar flew over, landing in front of the dragon.
Morek was disgusted by what he found. The Black Death was battered and scarred, its wing bent at an odd angle and two large holes dug into its chest.
"They killed it." Morek said, walking forward and laying a hand on the Black Death's snout, which was cold and hard. He clenched his fist and turned to look at Shadestar, who himself was starting to look angry.
"Usurper must pay for this." Morek said, hopping into the saddle. "Let him know that we're coming for him bud."
Shadestar shook his head and growled, rearing back and roaring with all his might. The deafening sound echoed throughout the cavern and beyond, telling the Hidden World that a new Alpha would soon rise.
They took to the air, rocketing towards the Alpha's Court and Usurper's flock. When they exited the entrance to the Caverns Beyond, they saw a terrifying sight.
Usurper stood atop a blood red bewilderbeast, a large flock surrounding them. They stood on one side of the Alpha's Court, while on the other side of the court stood Thunderheart and his much smaller flock.
Morek looked around the cavern and saw that it was devoid of life. All the dragons that weren't fighting had left the caverns by now, leaving it a battlefield for the two rival flocks of dragons.
Morek and Shadestar growled in unison before flying over in between the two flocks and landing on the crystal there. Shadestar turned towards the bewilderbeast and Usurper and glared at his brother.
Usurper seemed amused as he lazily flew over to the crystal, landing in front of his slightly smaller brother. The two night furies exchanged heated stares as Morek continued to try and stall for time. He knew that even with Shadestar's new power, he couldn't take out a bewilderbeast and his brother. Their only hope was that more reinforcements arrived to help out Thunderheart's flock.
After a minute, neither of the night furies had backed down, and Usurper huffed and roared, his flock advancing. Shadestar roared back over his shoulder at the same time, before both night furies took to the air.
Morek's heart seemed to be beating at a thousand beats per minute as Shadestar and Usurper began circling each other in the air. Looking down, Morek saw the two flocks closing in on each other, the bewilderbeast roaring as Thunderheart led his flock into the conflict. The first wave of dragons clashed in the air, flames billowing, talons slashing, and teeth gnashing.
Morek could hardly make sense of it all, the fight down below was utter chaos, but the sheer numbers of Usurper's flock seemed to be overwhelming the more experienced dragons of Thunderheart's flock. Morek turned his attention away from the battle below and looked towards Usurper.
Shadestar and Usurper began charging their plasma blasts, readying to begin their own fight. They charged for a moment, before two plasma shots exploded in the air between them, sending a shockwave throughout the cavern.
They began rocketing through the air, blasting plasma shot after plasma shot at each other. After a few exchanges, it was clear that the two furies were on equal grounds with each other. Morek could only watch from Shadestar's back as they continued to battle ferociously. Judging from the sounds coming from below, the battle wasn't going well.
Suddenly, a loud roar could be heard over on the other side of the cavern, coming from the Fireworm Caverns. Morek turned his head to see another flock of dragons, the Berkian dragons and their riders, flying towards the conflict. At the head of the flock was a large purple stormcutter, ridden by a woman in purple armor that resembled her dragon.
Morek smiled under his helmet. Helia had pulled through, the people of Berk had rallied together with their dragons to come and help Thunderheart. Sitting behind Helia on Heartbreaker's back was Kadil, seeming to shout instructions to the other riders and forming a formation.
Kadil arranged the flock so that the rumblehorns would be up front, acting as battering rams. Behind them were the nadders, acting as the rumblehorns' cleanup crew to grab any dragons the rumblehorns hadn't hit. Behind them were the nightmares and other stoker class dragons.
The flock of Berkian dragons slammed into the rival flock, evening the odds of the battle. With that out of the way, Morek and Shadestar could focus on their fight.
Shadestar and Usurper had begun hovering in midair, and the air started to crackle with electricity as Shadestar and Usurper began their transformations to their Alpha states.
The two black dragons began glowing, Shadestar an electric blue and Usurper a sinister green, their eyes glowing and their bodies arcing electricity. The dragons took a moment to get used to their power before they began flying. Faster and faster they flew, becoming glowing black and green and blue blurs as they rocketed through the air fast enough to cause Morek to start slipping.
Shadestar and Usurper knew that they wouldn't be able to finish this fight with plasma blasts alone, so they began to close the distance. They slammed into each other, attempting to knock the other off balance. At this speed, even the slightest mistake could spell death for the night furies as they would start to careen out of control and slam into the ground.
On one of the exchanges, Usurper slammed into Shadestar's back, throwing Morek into the air. He panicked as he continued to spin in the air. He frantically looked for a place to land and found the furies' nest. He deployed his wings and glided down, landing on the same outcropping he had landed on during his first trip here.
Morek frantically looked around, making sure that there wasn't an enemy dragon nearby. Instead, he found Kadil standing on the opposite part of the nest, watching the two flocks battle. Kadil turned and looked over his shoulder at his cousin.
"Morek, how are the Alpha's doing?" He asked, walking over and looking at the blurs slam into each other. Morek shook his head.
"Not good, Shadestar isn't beg enough to properly knock Usurper off course." Morek said, watching as Shadestar was slammed into again.
"His name isn't Usurper, by the way." Morek heard Kadil say. Morek frowned and turned to look at his cousin. "What did you say?" He asked.
Kadil smiled and unsheathed his saber, inspecting its gleam. "His name is Skywake, young cousin." Kadil said, staring at Morek and lowering his saber. Morek took a step back.
"What do you mean?" He asked, looking between Kadil and the battling night furies. Kadil laughed and shook his head.
"I mean, he's my dragon. Isn't that obvious? I knew I chose wisely. He looked like the only one that could take on Thunderheart, and from the looks of it, he's going to kill your night fury too." He said, watching the battle take place. Morek was stunned by his cousin's words, staring at him.
"I can relate to him, you see." Kadil said, beginning to pace. "I was the first-born son of the first-born son, and yet you are taking my rightful place as chief. My father wasn't strong enough to rule Berk, but that doesn't mean I can't. Yet here we are, you about to ascend to the throne and me being put to the side again, like every family in Berk did. They all saw me as my father's son, but I'm not my father's son. I'm me, Kadil, and I will show them all exactly how much stronger I am than my father." Kadil said, turning and lowering his saber at Morek, who raised his hands. "And I'll start with getting rid of you."
Kadil advanced towards Morek, raising his saber in the air. Morek stepped to the side as Kadil swung his saber down at him, punching Kadil in the face and causing him to stagger. "You've been masterminding all of this, haven't you?" Morek asked, stepping away from his cousin.
Kadil wiped the blood off his cheek and smiled. "Yes, it's been very interesting seeing all the pieces fall in place. It's self-indulgent, I admit, but I do love seeing my symphony play itself out." He said as he turned back to Morek. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, dear cousin, but it's the only way the people of Berk will truly accept me as chief. If there had been another way, I would have gladly taken it."
Kadil advanced towards Morek, cautiously this time. "It'll be so sad, the chief and his son died heroically in combat, protecting their home and people from the dragons who sought to take it from them. Fortunately, I am there to take the mantle of responsibility. The hero that tamed the savage alpha from the Caverns Beyond. I will go down in history as a legend." Kadil said, pushing Morek towards the edge of the nest.
Down below, the battle was still raging. "You can't be sure that my father will die." Morek said, earning a laugh from Kadil. "Cousin, you know me, do you really think I don't have a plan for that? Let's just say I had a little help from sympathizers." He said. Morek's eyes widened as he looked down at the battle, but that was a fatal error.
Kadil lunged forward, slashing Morek's shoulder pad open, but he seemingly missed Morek, who ducked out of the way. "Your swordsmanship is sloppy Kadil. You didn't even hit me while my back was turned." Morek said, trying to taunt his cousin. If he could somehow grab Kadil and throw him from the nest, there might still be a chance.
Kadil laughed and shook his head. "I wasn't aiming for you cousin. Like I said, I planned everything, even clipping your wings." He said with a victorious smirk.
Morek looked on his back and found that Kadil's saber had slashed through his wings, effectively crippling his ability to escape. Kadil started to whistle, and Morek gave him a confused look before hearing a sharper whistling sound behind him. Turning sharply, Morek was greeted with the sight of Usurper, or Skywake as Kadil called him, firing a plasma blast at him.
Time seemed to slow, Morek raised his arms to protect himself, Kadil jumped out of the radius of the blast, and Usurper began charging another shot. Morek expected to be killed by the plasma blast, but he was suddenly swept off his feet. In a matter of seconds, Shadestar had out flown Skywake and managed to grab Morek before he was hit. The two continued flying, but Skywake was right behind them.
Kadil smiled. At least this little game would be a little more interesting, but he had prepared for this. Skywake would drive them towards the Breeding Caverns and to the Bottomless pit, where an ambush had been set up. There, they would collect Morek's battered helmet and bring it back for proof that he had died.
Morek and Shadestar continued flying, heading towards the only other cavern that the knew of. The Breeding Caverns were just ahead, and through there was the Bottomless pit, where they could hide from Skywake. Shadestar pumped his wings as hard as he could, but Morek could tell that he was spent. The young night fury was losing speed, and Skywake was gaining on them.
They entered the Breeding Caverns, but there were no dragons in sight, they had all evacuated. They sped past the caverns and entered the large cavern with the Bottomless pit, Morek saw the dark hole as his salvation, but then he saw a flicker out of the corner of his eye.
He turned just in time to see a large monstrous nightmare slam into them, throwing them away from the pit. As Shadestar made his way towards the pit, another dragon attacked from behind. As they were getting crowded, Shadestar made one last ditch effort to save them. He gathered all the remaining energy his ancestors had given him and charged one final plasma blast. He fired it at the cavern's ceiling, rocking the catacombs.
The assaulting dragons quickly dove out of the way, avoiding falling rocks and boulders. One of the boulders slammed into Shadestar, sending dragon and rider careening towards the ground and sending Morek's helmet flying off his head. They slammed into the ground and were in imminent danger of being crushed. As Morek looked around for a solution, he was met with a tunnel that he hadn't seen before, covered by the foliage.
He ushered the weakened Shadestar inside, but just as he was about to enter the cavern, a falling boulder slammed down on his head, knocking him out. The last thing Morek saw before his world went dark were the talons of Shadestar's paw, reaching out to pull him into the tunnel.