Author's Note:

Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one largely focuses on Asger and we learn a bit more of his history and background. Thank you for your reviews and I'm glad you're enjoying the little hints and mysteries I've been scattering through this fic. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.


A Rider's Thoughts

Alister sat with Icebolt pensively staring at the horizon from one of the exits of the Sanctuary.

He'd noticed how the kids had started to grow colder to him and were now mostly avoiding him entirely and it was bothering him, he'd wondered if he'd been to overconfident and if maybe there was something he was missing when it came to dragons. He'd spent so long with Icebolt he was certain he knew everything there was to know which had bolstered his natural confidence, when he'd been born his father had immediately trained him to be the best and from an early age he'd known that he was very skilled. By five he knew how to wield a sword perfectly and he was almost as good with an axe or mace, when he met Icebolt at seven he'd seen a similar thing in the Skrill and he was certain that was why they bonded so well. Since then they'd both encountered many dragons in the wild and had even bonded with a loose group of dragons that occasionally met and teamed up together for hunts, the leader of this group was a dragon he'd called Shadow and he'd really shown Asger the wild, pure thrill of the hunt.

Shadow was the most powerful and skilful of the group and Alister and Icebolt had learned a lot from watching, copying and hunting alongside him. To Alister, Shadow represented everything a dragon was, strong, powerful, the ultimate of all animals and surpassed only by humans. The dragons Alister knew were all hunters at heart, while they did socialise, help and hunt with each other they often preferred to travel and hunt on their own. They had no set nest and they rarely spent more than a couple of days together as each dragon went its own path, if they met one another they would always stop and spend some time together and maybe go on a hunt or two but it was never long before they separated again. Icebolt and Alister were the only ones that remained together constantly and the boy had thought that all dragons were like the ones he knew.

That had been completely turned on its head when he'd ended up in the Sanctuary, the dragons here were not the lone hunters he'd encountered before. They were gentler, more sociable and didn't seem that eager for the thrill of the hunt, they raised families and they spent more time with other dragons than alone as their young played freely all over the Sanctuary. The kids he'd met also played freely and spent most of their time playing games or doing fun races and challenges as they didn't have to work hard to track down and catch their next meal, they just headed out with the Bewilderbeast on fishing trips or Valka or one of the dragons brought food back for them.

Alister wondered if it was this that had caused him to be so critical of them, from an early age he'd learned that life could be hard and survival could mean so much work. Before Icebolt he'd always worked hard, it wasn't that his father mistreated him (in fact it was quite the opposite) it was just that if they hoped to survive everyone had to do their bit. When he'd lost his father and met Icebolt they both had to hunt to survive so there hadn't been a time where Alister hadn't had to work to get food as far back as he remembered and he wondered if he was jealous of the kids here who didn't know the hardship he did.

He heard soft footsteps behind him and Valka came and sat down beside him. They sat quietly for a bit before she spoke, "You've been spending a lot of time here."

Alister shrugged, "I don't think the others want to be around me much, I guess they're fed up with my attitude."

Valka sighed, "I understand why they are but I think I also understand why you've been the way you have." He looked up at her and she gave him a small smile, "You've obviously been with Icebolt a very long time but you haven't had the chance to fully understand dragons. You've not let go of the idea that they're animals and that's why the other kids don't understand where you're coming from. They grew up here so they've never seen dragons as just animals but I have."

Alister looked surprised, "Really?"

Valka nodded, "Before coming here I lived in a village called Berk, we were in a constant war with dragons as they raided us for food. I believed there was a better way than simply killing them but in my mind they were still just animals but one night changed that." She stared out to the horizon as she spoke, "It was roughly ten years ago and my son Hiccup was a few months old. It was during a dragon raid and I was just outside our hut trying to get people to stop fightning, suddenly I heard a dragon break inside and I rushed in to protect Hiccup but I saw something that changed everything I thought. Instead of attacking Hiccup the dragon was gently playing with him, he was as fascinated with Hiccup as Hiccup was with him and I saw such gentleness and compassion in his eyes. When he noticed me there he simply turned and looked at me and I saw that he hated the constant fighting as much as I did and he was far more than some animal. He was a sentient being with as much capacity for intelligence and love as a human and I knew then that I could never harm him." She closed her eyes sadly, "Then my husband Stoick charged in, he thought he was protecting us and went to kill the dragon. The dragon went to defend himself but I intervened and stopped him, before I knew it he'd grabbed me and carried me away from Berk and my family and he brought me back here. He must have seen the same thing in me I saw in him and he thought I belonged here away from the endless fighting and constant bloodshed."

She gave another sigh then turned back to Alister and smiled, "Dragons are far more than you think and like humans there is so much you can learn about them, they love, fight, play, argue and live just like humans and they are as intelligent as we are. It was the dragons that led me back to Berk so I could save Hiccup and the others when it was destroyed and they've reared them like their own young ever since. They know they're not dragons yet they've still loved and cared for them as if they were to the point that the kids love them like they were their real parents and siblings. They don't know dragons as anything but their family and I think you will see what they truly are for yourself." Valka stood and placed a gentle hand on Alister's shoulder, "Just watch how they interact with each other and the children and you'll see what I've learned and the others have always known."

She quietly left and Alister returned his gaze to the horizon thinking about everything Valka had said.


Away from the Sanctuary, Savage was also deep in thought as he sat beside the fire one of his scouting team had created.

They'd been searching hard for the hideout of the dragon riding kids but had yet to find its location. Though he'd remained focused on his missions his thoughts had often wandered back to his encounter with Alister several days earlier. He'd managed to keep his feelings under control at the time but the boy's sudden appearance had surprised him greatly, he'd been certain the boy had died when he'd betrayed Alvin to the King's forces and seeing him again had been a huge shock.

Outcast Island had been one of the first places to fall to the King's army but many survivors had banded together under Alvin's command and hidden from the King's forces by continuingly moving between islands. Alister had been the only child amongst them and they grew fiercely protective of him, he'd been trained how to fight and hunt and many times Savage had sparred against him and was often beaten by the boy's uncannily good combat skills. Alvin's men kept up this guerrilla style of resistance for several years but Savage was certain that the King would find and destroy them eventually and he wanted to follow the strongest side. As such he managed to contact the King's forces and offered to betray Alvin and all his men in return for a place in the King's army, Saphia had been the one he'd contacted and she agreed to his bargain and thus he betrayed his chief to their enemy to serve the one that had forced them to hide in the first place.

Alvin fought hard against the mighty force that came for him but in the end he was captured and his resistance was crushed with his men either being killed or captured. Alister had been there and had fought alongside them against the King's forces and when the battle was over he wasn't anywhere to be found, many had been burned to a crisp by the King's armoured, battle dragons so it was assumed he'd been destroyed along with them. Savage was granted a place in the King's forces for handing Alvin over and quickly rose through the ranks to Captain, the last he saw of Alvin was the former Outcast chief being dragged off to slavery swearing that he'd live to see the King and his whole empire crumble down and if he ever got the chance he would make sure he paid them back in full for everything they'd taken from him.

Years had passed since that day and Savage hadn't seen Alvin since and he'd been convinced that Alister was no more. But now he'd found Alister alive and stronger than he had been when Alvin had been defeated, on top of that he'd somehow learnt to fly a Skrill and Savage was not eager to meet the boy again. The boy knew how he'd betrayed Alvin and he was certain Alister would seek vengeance upon him and would not rest until he had it.

After all Alvin had once been the same with Berk and the Alister he remembered had definitely been his father's son.


PS-So what do you think of that little revelation and where do you think it's going to go? Please let me know what you thought and I hope to update soon.