"So, how long have you been marked?" Hiccup asked Heather as they flew towards Midnight Isle on their dragons.
"Windshear burned my upper left arm about two months after I left you guys. As it healed, it showed the mark. Since then, Windshear explained to me what a true Rider is." Heather explained. Hiccup nodded.
"So, your situation is similar to mine then." He stated. Heather nodded.
"Have you trained in magic?" Hiccup asked. Heather shook her head.
"No. I haven't been able to find any books or sorcerers, so my magic is limited to setting things on fire." Heather explained, somewhat deflated. Hiccup chuckled.
"I'll teach you what I know, and lend you my books." He said with a smile.
"You'd do that for me?" heather asked with wide eyes. Hiccup nodded.
"We're both true Riders; that makes you my kin and family. And I'd do anything for family." Hiccup explained with a smile. Heather smiled gratefully and thanked him.
The group was still another hour away from Midnight Isle, when Hiccup noticed a glint of light coming from a nearby island. It seemed to flash in and out of existence.
"Heather! I think someones trying to signal us!" Hiccup called out to his friend, pointing to the island. Heather nodded and the group adjusted their course. As they landed, Hiccup and Heather dismounted their dragons.
"Freya, I want you to stay here with Toothless and Nightling, OK?" Hiccup asked his daughter, who nodded in response. Hiccup smiled and kissed the girl on her forehead.
"Thank you Sweetie. I'll be back soon." He said. Freya smiled and nodded.
"Take care of her you two." Hiccup whispered to the Night Fury and Skrill, who nodded.
"Windshear, circle around us from above, just to keep an eye on things." Heather instructed her dragon.
"Understood." Windshear said and took off to do as instructed.
"Let's go Heather, keep your weapon ready though." Hiccup said as he drew Nightwing with his left hand. Heather nodded and pulled her axe off of her back.
The two carefully walked through the island's forest, ready to attack if necessary.
"Any idea of who would signal us like that?" Heather whispered. Hiccup shrugged his shoulders.
"It could be one of the people I taught to ride dragons, since they'd recognise Toothless anywhere, but it could also be a trap." Hiccup said. Heather let out a sigh.
"Well. That's reassuring." She remarked. Hiccup chuckled, but stopped stiff.
"Something wrong?" Heather asked in a whispered. Hiccup held his finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. She nodded and readied her weapon. Hiccup reached to his boot and unsheathed his dagger from it. Holding it by the blade, he threw it behind him, almost hitting the person tailing them.
"Hiccup! Was that necessary?" A male voice called out. Hiccup knew that voice and turned to face the owner of said voice.
"Eret? What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked in shock as the former Dragon Trapper approached him and handed him his knife.
"Well, I was flying around the entire archipelago to find you, but Skullcrusher all of a sudden turned and landed on this island, shaking me off his back. I've been here for a month. Imagine my surprise, and delight when I see you and another 2 dragons flying by." Eret explained with his hands on his hips. Hiccup nodded.
"OK, let me just get the others." Hiccup said. Eret nodded. Hiccup let out a loud whistle to call Nightling, Windshear and Toothless to him. Two minutes later, the three dragons landed, or ran towards in Toothless' case, by the group of Riders.
"Is that a child on Toothless?" Eret asked in surprise. Hiccup nodded.
"Eret, this is my adoptive daughter, Freya. Freya, this is Daddy's old friend, Eret." Hiccup introduced. Freya smiled brightly and waved at Eret.
"Hi!" She said cheerfully. Eret laughed and waved back.
"So, Hiccup, who is this?" Heather asked.
"Heather, this is Eret, Son of Eret. Eret, Heather." Hiccup introduced. Eret smiled and extended his hand. heather smiled back and shook it.
"So, where's Skullcrusher?" Hiccup asked. Eret groaned and gestured to them to follow. They followed him, and were confused what they found: Skullcrusher was taking a nap in front of a cave, completely blocking the entrance.
"He's been here the whole time we've been on this island. Only get's up to go get food. He refuses to let me on his back." Eret explained. Hiccup looked at the Rumblehorn with confusion.
"That is unusual. Toothless, will you go talk to him?" Hiccup asked. Toothless nodded. Hiccup smiled at his dragon and took Freya out of the saddle, just in case.
"Hiccup, I've been meaning to ask you about something." Eret said while Toothless conversed with Skullcrusher.
"What do you need?" Hiccup asked. Eret pulled up his sleeve and showed Hiccup his upper right arm. Hiccup, Freya and Heather gasped at what he saw: the Dreki Insignia.
"Skullcrusher did this to me a few days before we arrived here. What is it?" Eret asked, noticing their surprise.
"That's the Dreki Insignia." Hiccup said and pulled his left glove off, showing Eret his mark. Eret's eyes widened as the group all showed him their marks.
"You're a true Rider, like us." Hiccup said in shock. Eret tilted his head in confusion, and Hiccup went on to explain what a true Dragon Rider is.
"So, I can hear dragon's voices, use magic, I will develop the abilities of other dragons, and I have eternal life?" Eret asked in shock. Hiccup nodded.
"You're 23 right now, correct?" Hiccup asked. Eret nodded.
"You'll stop aging when you reach 24." Hiccup explained.
"Hiccup." Toothless called out to his Rider as he approached.
"So, what's up with Skullcrusher?" Hiccup asked. Toothless let out a small chuckle.
"It's mating season for his kind, and he has to stay here with his mate until the eggs hatch." Toothless explained with a grin.
"I can hear him." Eret said in shock.
"Skullcrusher must not have talked whilst you've been here." Hiccup mused.
"So, how long until the eggs hatch?" Heather asked. Toothless shrugged.
"There's no way to tell for certain, but I would wager another 3 days or so." Toothless said. Eret let out a sigh of relief.
"So I can leave then? With Skullcrusher?" Eret asked. Hiccup nodded.
"Or sooner, with us. Toothless, tell Skullcrusher that The Night Rider is offering him, his mate, and his hatchlings a home on Midnight Isle." Hiccup said. Toothless nodded and relayed the message.
"He accepts the offer, and he and his mate would like to leave today, with the eggs, so that they can hatch in a safe environment." Toothless explained.
"That makes sense. There are a lot of wolves and snakes here. I sometimes wonder how I survived." Eret said with a shudder. Hiccup chuckled and Skullcrusher approached, looking regretful at his Rider.
"I'm sorry Eret, the pheromones from female Rumblehorns have an effect on the males' minds." Skullcrusher said as he placed his head against Eret's chest in apology.
"Don't worry about it. It's nice to able to talk to you now though." Eret said with a chuckle. Skullcrusher returned the chuckle.
"OK, firstly, nice to see you again Skullcrusher. Second, how many eggs do you have?" Hiccup asked the large dragon. The Rumblehorn gave Hiccup a smile.
"Nice to see you too Hiccup. My mate and I have 3 eggs." The Rumblehorn explained. Hiccup nodded.
"Eret, Heather and I will each carry one. Is that acceptable with you and your mate?" Hiccup asked.
"It is." A female voice said. The group all turned their heads to the cave, seeing a female Rumblehorn with mostly blue scales and some purple emerging.
"Hello there. I am the Night Rider, Hiccup Ryder." Hiccup introduced himself.
"I am Stormbreaker. Nice to meet you, I have heard a lot about the Night Rider." Stormbreaker said as she allowed Hiccup to touch her snout.
"This whole 'dragon voices' thing is going to take some getting used to." Eret said with shake of his head. Hiccup and Heather chuckled.
"Not as much as you would think. Shall we go?" Hiccup asked the group, who all agreed.
Hiccup and Freya mounted Toothless, Eret mounted Skullcrusher, and Heather mounted Windshear, each of the adult humans holding an egg,
"Midnight Isle is about an hour and a half away." Hiccup said to the group, who nodded in understanding and all took off, following Hiccup to the island.
"So Eret, how do you and Hiccup know each other?" Heather asked.
"I used to be a Dragon Trapper for Drago Bludvist, but he was quite an abusive boss. So, I helped Hiccup escaped, and asked him to take me with him. He agreed and taught me to ride Skullcrusher." Eret explained, patting Skullcrusher's head with a smile. Skullcrusher cooed happily in response.
"Wait, you gave me the key?!" hiccup asked in shock. Eret nodded.
"Didn't I mention it?" Eret asked. Hiccup shook his head. Eret smiled sheepishly and apologised.
"Anyway, now we have 4 true Riders. The Order should be up and running in few years." Hiccup said with a smile.
"Order?" Eret asked. Hiccup gave Eret a short explanation about the prophecy and the The Order of Dragon Riders.
"Wow…" Eret muttered. Hiccup nodded.
"I know. Anyway, I'm planning on having the 6 initial Riders be some kind of a council to The Order, or a group of leaders. Not sure what to call it yet. Do you two and your dragons accept?" Hiccup asked. They all nodded with a smile. Hiccup smiled back gratefully.
"This is amazing!" Eret exclaimed as they all landed on Midnight Isle.
"Welcome to Midnight Isle!" Hiccup welcomed his friends to his home, and now theirs.
"Wow!" Freya whispered in awe at all the dragons flying around.
"Don't worry about any dragons hurting you. They should sense tht you are true Riders, and leave you alone, or maybe say hi." Hiccup explained. As was about to show them around, when a sudden tremor hit the island. It was quick, but big.
"What was that?" Heather asked in concern.
"Oh the Gods hate me…" Hiccup muttered as he facepalmed. Out of nowhere, a dragon burst from the ground. It had the build of a Whispering Death, but it was completely white and had a longer head, with bright red eyes that could bore a whole right into your very soul. Not to mention, it was HUGE. The dragon let out a scream and charged towards Hiccup, teeth bared. Hiccup cringed his whole body as he heard Freya scream. The dragon suddenly stopped, inches away from Hiccup, who laughed nervously.
"Hehe… Hi Moonfang…" he muttered, fearing for his life. The dragon narrowed its eyes and whacked Hiccup with the tip of its tail.
"WHERE. HAVE. YOU. BEEN!?" The dragon screamed. Its voice suggested it was a female.
"I'm sorry! Didn't Nightling tell you I'd be gone for a while when she dropped off Isebane?" Hiccup asked Moonfang, who narrowed her eyes at him.
"When you say 'a while,' it's usually only a week at most!" The dragon hissed. Hiccup facepalmed at his idiocy. He should have told Nightling to elaborate on how long he'd be on Berk.
"You're right, I'm sorry Moonfang." Hiccup said as he extended his hand. Moonfang narrowed her eyes and looked at Hiccup for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she pressed her massive snout against his hand.
"I'll forgive you, just this once though. There will be repercussions next time." Moonfang growled. Hiccup swallowed and nodded.
"Uuh, Hiccup? You mind introducing us to your friend?" Heather asked nervously. Hiccup snapped back to reality and faced his friends.
"Riders, this is Moonfang. She is a rare sub-species of the Whispering Deaths. I call her a 'Screaming Death,' because she releases a scream that disorients dragons and messes with their flight." Hiccup explained. The gang nodded, still somewhat frightened by the massive white beast.
"Moonfang, these are my friends, Eret and Heather. They are true Riders, like me. Their dragons are a Rumblehorn named Skullcrusher, and a Razorwhip named Windshear, respectively" Hiccup introduced. Moonfang bowed her head in respect to the Riders.
"And the hatchling?" She asked curiously, eying Freya.
"That is my adoptive daughter, Freya. She is also a true Rider." Hiccup explained. Moonfang nodded and flew back into the tunnel she came out of.
"So, shall we get you settled in your homes?" Hiccup asked the group, who all nodded, still completely bewildered at what they witnessed.
The next day, everybody had settled into a cave of their choice with the basic needs, Freya was staying with Hiccup. The group was sitting across from Hiccup, on the beach, each in a meditative position.
"To use magic requires concentration, willpower, and determination. When you speak the words of power, they resonate with the magical energy within your body, allowing you to manipulate it." Hiccup explained. The group nodded in understanding, even Freya who, though very young, was a very clever girl.
"For now, I will show you a few very basic spells, first of which: to set an object on fire." Hiccup said as he opened a chest next to him and pulled out four candles. Since it wasn't a windy day, candles would work fine on a beach. He set one candle in front of each Rider, himself included.
"You must concentrate of the candle wick, and when you speak the word of power, focus the energy into the wick." Hiccup explained and demonstrated.
"Incendia." He chanted, loud enough for the group to hear clearly. His eyes flashed yellow and the candle in front of him set alight with a purple flame, which faded into orange in a few seconds.
"Wow…" Eret muttered. The group nodded in agreement.
"Now, give it a try." Hiccup instructed.
"Take a deep breath first though, it helps with the concentration. And take your time." He added. The group nodded and did as he said. After half a minute, Heather decided to try the word of power.
"Incendia." She chanted. Her eyes flashed orange and her candle set alight in bright sky blue flames, which faded to orange.
"Very well done Heather." Hiccup praised with a smile. Heather smiled giddily at what she could do.
"Incendia." Freya whispered. Her eyes flashed white and the candle set alight in a dark blue flame that faded to orange. Eret followed suit, and his eyes flashed blue and the candle set alight in a dark orange flame, that faded into a lighter shade. Hiccup noticed Eret's change in appearance: his brown eyes were now moss green, and his hair was DARK maroon at the tips.
"Well done everybody, well done." Hiccup said with a smile. The group smiled back gratefully.
"I have a question?" Eret asked. Hiccup nodded.
"Shoot." He said.
"Why did the flames start as one colour, and fade into another?" Eret asked. Hiccup grinned and held up his left hand. A ball of purple fire erupted about a centimetre above his palm. The gang gasped at the flames.
"Every true Rider has his/her own flame. Since you have dragon blood in your veins, you will have dragon flames. The colour depends on what dragon you ride. I have purple flames because Toothless is a Night Fury, and his plasma blasts are purple." Hiccup explained.
"So, my flames will be sky blue, like Windshear's?" Heather asked. Hiccup nodded.
"Freya, your flames will be dark blue, like Nightling's lightning, and Eret, your flames will be dark orange, like Skullcrusher's." Hiccup explained. The group nodded in understanding.
"And your claws will match your dragon's scales." Hiccup added. They all looked at him in confusion. Hiccup smirked at them and drew his claws from his left hand. The group looked at the one-inch black claws that grew from Hiccup's fingertips with wonder and shock.
"The flames and claws take time to master. I only know as much as I do from an old book I found, written by the true Riders." Hiccup explained. After another hour of teaching the Rider's a few basic spells, the group went their separate ways, but Freya stayed with Hiccup.
"Do you wanna go see some of the dragons?" Hiccup asked his daughter, who nodded eagerly. Hiccup smiled and picked her up. He placed her on Toothless' saddle, and then sat on it behind her, holding her with his arms.
"Once Nightling grows to a decent size, I'll make a saddle for her so that you can ride her." Hiccup said as they took. Freya smiled gratefully and snuggled up to her father, happy with her new life.
A/N: Who thought that Eret would be the fourth Rider?