Exodus and Return-us
Chapter 21
Hiccup's POV
It's been such a peaceful flight so far. We were lucky enough to catch a fair amount of updrafts, so it was easy flying and the heat from the rising air also balance out the freezing air. It's not often here in the far north that we get pleasant days, though, and if the weather isn't bad then something else will be.
Like our destination. That hold a high probability of ruining my day.
But I suppose it needs to happen. After this, we head south to start a whole next chapter for the Order, and I am extremely anxious to see it done. Even if Thor himself hadn't told me what needed to be done, I still would want to do this. Now I just have a divine reason to, and not even Cami has found a successful argument against that.
*…You've been quiet.*
^Wow, I wonder what that could mean? Let's be silent and think about it…^
*Okay, if you don't want to start a conversation, fine. Stop me when I hit on something good…*
You know, I don't think he wanted us to talk at all. If I know Toothless (which, seeing as he is carrying me over icy waters, I do) he has something he wants me to tell him, and he's about to ask about it.
*Let's start with, oh, say, the time you had a vision of Thor…sound good?*
I rolled my eyes. At least he didn't go for the whole talk about Astrid again, which would have been doubly painful considering she is about 30 feet below us, riding Nir smoothly as if she was born on dragonback.
^Fine. I had a vision with Thor. He told me some cool things. End of story…^
Toothless grunted at me. He clearly isn't in the mood for sarcasm, which is too bad considering that's all he's getting.
*Okay, I'll read between the lines. You had a 'special dream' about someone close to you and now you are inspired! Sound about right?*
^WHAT? NO! That's not at all what it was!^
*Huh. Well that's what I'm telling everyone unless I hear what I want…*
Blackmail, and a cunning plan. Whoever could have taught him that?
^Remind me to tell Cami to stop spending time with you…^
*So? What was it like, having a vision of Thor himself?*
Well, I guess there isn't any way out of this now. I guess I should tell him anyways; I am stuck with the guy until Ragnarok…
^Fine. The night I had the vision, I had gone to sleep late in a Thunderstorm because I was too preoccupied working on things…^
*Big shocker. Continue…*
^Anyways, the just as the storm reached its worst, I couldn't sleep at all. I was rolling over constantly trying to find the most comfortable spot, without any luck. I lay down on my left side, waited, and couldn't sleep. So when the next clap of thunder hit, I rolled over to the other side, except…I wasn't in the dark room anymore. Suddenly, I was in a bed in the middle of a small field of grass that was perfectly flat and uniformly green in all directions. Straight from overhead, the sun shone down evenly on everything, and the ground and sky mixed into one so close to me that it felt as if I was in a small bubble of a world. I got up, walked around, and then noticed something I hadn't before…my bed was gone, and in its place was a man in full armor, pointing a sword at me. The sword seemed to be alive, much like lightning, and I was fixed on it until the man spoke to me. "Draw," he said, and I felt my side to find my sword's hilt there. I didn't have it on when I slept. The man charged me, and I drew my sword in time to block his blow…the man's speed was amazing, faster than anyone I had ever seen. He was probably even quicker than I am, though I was lighter on my feet, if only marginally. The man pressed his advantages after taking me by surprise, and I was quickly giving ground. I was played perfectly, until in two moves I was disarmed and thrown backwards. I rolled backwards and got back to my feet, and where I had just landed had been shot by lightning from his sword. He must not have expected me to dodge his blast, and I found myself with a small window. Somehow I knew my shield was on me, and I used it to fling a shield of ice at him. It hit him in the chest, knocking him back, and allowed me time to summersault forward, rolling at the end to grab my sword and return upright with my weapon. Good thing, too, because as soon as he recovered he shot another lightning blast, but I blocked it with my sword; the amethyst and the small bond with Nir were enough to absorb the blow, but left me in a rigid position as the man charged me again. This time, I charged back, and we met in the middle with our swords crossed, pushing with all our might. It seemed as if we were evenly matched, and neither of us made any progress pushing, so we both had the same idea: we spun, keeping our blades locked behind our heads, and then disengaged to whip our swords around at each other. We both had clear body shots with fatal implications, and it seemed as if whoever was a split-second faster would be the only survivor…^
*Okay, that's cool, but where does Thor come into this?*
^If you would let me finish…anyways, before either of us landed a killing blow, everything went white, and then the man was gone, and so was the field and sun and sky. Now I was just in whiteness. I felt as if I was standing on something, but everything was white and there were no distinct features anywhere. "Very well fought, Hiccup…" a deep voice boomed from around me. I jumped about 18 feet in the air, and then tried to compose myself. "Who are you? Who was that man?" "Why, aren't those answers obvious? I am Thor, and that was Fin." Well, I took the 'Thor' part pretty well, but I was confused about Fin. "But I am Fin…right?" The voice waited a little, before answering my question with two of his own (just what I needed, by the way). "Are you Fin, or is Fin you?" A stupid question, but hey, it's Thor we are talking about.^
I paused a little bit to glance skyward, thankful to Odin that it was a very clear, very cloudless day. The kind of day that makes it really hard to be hit by lightning.
By now, Toothless was silent, mesmerized with my tale.
^"Uh, both, actually. It's kind of a handle or a nickname…" Yea, so there I am talking to the God of Thunder and I'm smarting off to him. Surprised? "I think there can be only one. I guess we will have to wait and see. It is rare for any mortal to speak with me, but you are no ordinary mortal. In fact, you are not truly mortal anymore. You are here because you have chosen a path that pleases Asgard, and I wish to guide you in a direction that will decide your legacy." As you can understand, that was kinda overwhelming, in a 'holy Thor I'm talking to Holy Thor' kind of way. "When you awake, you will find a list written on a gold sheet of paper-" "Gold paper? How does that work, exactly?" "Never mind the paper, just know that once you read the paper, its contents will be stored in your head until they are fulfilled. After you read the paper, it will vanish, so don't even think of trying to reverse-engineer it…" and just like that I awoke, paper in hand and a lot to think about. I can't tell you all of the things on the paper, but I already customized all of the Council Rider's gear, which was one thing…^
*And our destination was another?*
^Bingo. Apparently, the gods do, in fact, love to watch me squirm. In one of my many follow-up visions, Thor told me as much. Apparently my awkward scenes are comedy gold up there…^
*Well, they are quite hilarious. I can't wait until you and Astrid start talking some more; that is bound to be funny…*
I know he can't see it, seeing as I am sitting in his blind spot and am wearing my mask, but I still gave him a look.
^It's not even just what I do, he even messes with me by where his voice comes from. Three nights ago I dreamt of communicating with the gods through a very old lady's butt crack…and Thor was quiet so I had to get close to hear…^
Now Toothless laughed at me. That's the last thing I need is Toothless and Thor teaming up to mess with me. I shot a glare towards the heavens just in case.
*Is that all? We are going south because you commune with wrinkled crack?*
^No, there's a lot more, but I don't think I can or should share it. There is a bunch of things to do that are vague, but at the very bottom is the vaguest of all: all it says is, in capital letters with bold and underlining,
MAKE A CHOICE.
And I have no clue what that means. "Make a choice?" Well, I chose cod over salmon for dinner last night, but did that count? No.^
*…I don't know. The gods obviously have their plans. I guess we will find out when they want us to…*
I began to nod in agreement as I squinted at the horizon. Great, were here. I gave an extremely loud whistle, one that perfectly mimics Toothless' ballistic moan, and signaled for Thuggory to come up to me. He did so, and I gave him instructions to fly down and find our target. I decided that the least amount of time that I have to spend here the better, and I'd rather circle above until I know I have an opportunity.
After a few minutes, Thuggory came back up with his report.
"They say that he lives high up the hill in the farthest house. It used to belong to this old unpleasant fellow, but he's moved on somewhere…I'm not certain if he kicked the bucket, or what but…"
"I know the place. What does he do nowadays?"
"Been stripped of rank, and lives in isolation for the most part. Supports just himself out there, and has no say or authority over anything anymore. He spends his time in solidarity."
I nodded, and planned out what would happen in my head. Or at least, I began to think about forming a true plan; my mind was occupied with other thoughts.
"Good. We'll fly down to his field and dismount. He's all we're here for…"
Thug nodded and went to relay the orders to the others, and Toothless and I angled towards the house that once belonged to Mildew. It took a few minutes to get there, but it felt like a few seconds. It's funny how they say time flies when you're having fun, but they never tell you it also flies when you are dreading something imminent. And then the last few seconds seem to go slow-motion, as if to accentuate your impending doom.
I landed in the field, which I noted was empty of our target, and turned around to find my companions had all done the same, and every one of them was behind me. No one was even close to the front, as if they had all planned to wait and see who I would call forward.
I motioned to Thug, Astrid, and Valka to come with me, and for the rest to stay for the time being. Thug I wanted simply because he seems to get along with our target, and that would be useful to break the ice; after that, I expect he would be silent. I picked Astrid because I feel like she's too afraid of disappointing me to do anything wrong, almost to the point where I have a lapdog. I don't really feel good taking advantage of that, but it assuredly makes her an ally I can count on in any sort of tight situation that might arise. And I brought in Valka in case something should happen with plan #1, because she is a major player in plan #2 and she knows it.
We walked up to the door, and Thuggory gave the strong knocks, before a deep and obviously bitter voice beckoned us to open it ourselves.
Thug lead the way, then stepped aside once the door was opened. I stepped front and center into the long, thin house (and I suspect that the other two filled in beside me). There, sitting at the end of the corridor that comprises this house was our target. As such a large man, he looked almost as if he would get stuck should be stand sideways in such a small house.
"Stoic, it's Thuggory. I have someone who would speak to you…"
*This is it. Are you ready for this?*
^I sure as hell am not, but Thor seems to think I am…let's get this over with…^
Stoic turned around to face use quickly, with the slightest gleam of hope and anxiousness in his eye. I could tell that he expected Thuggory to have brought his son for a visit, and he seemed to contain a genuine joy to see his son.
Until he saw me, in my mask, instead. His face turned sour, and his eyes took on a bitterness that I don't know if I have ever seen anywhere else. At first, I was confused and startled at such a change, until I remembered that he saw 'Fin' and not me.
"You…what have you come to take from me now?! Is it not enough that you turned my allies against me!? Or my tribe, or my own son!?"
"Sir, sir, calm down. I am only here to settle our dispute. I had hoped that we could act like civilized gentlemen and I could show you something you need to see…"
"What, are you going to materialize my grave from that belt of yours, or have you come to display the severed head of my son to me?"
Of course, he tries the 'sarcasm' things and dips straight into a morbid 'sardonic' mode instead.
"Well, both of those ideas are quite on interesting stretch. You must have some twisted view of me, to be sure…"
"Oh, and I don't have reason? I absolutely detest everything you stand for, you abomination to Odin's realms!"
Okay, now he is pushing it.
"I'm not certain that you would phrase it like that if you knew the guy…"
"Yea? Well, when I send you straight to Hel's realm, you can ask her how Odin likes his name used. I'm certain that she will let you know, seeing as you ride her own offspring you vile plague!"
Well, I'm not supposed to die, so good luck with that.
"I don't really think you've planned out the logistics there. If you would just calm down, I'm certain that I can show you something of interest…"
Stoic had no intention of listening, and instead raised his hammer towards me.
"You think that I am going to make the mistake of trusting you? I would rather dine with Loki himself!"
This is really starting to get on my nerves, and it is also escalating very rapidly. If something doesn't change soon, I'm going to have to knock some sense into him. I get that I may not be his favorite person, but am I really worth all of this hate he aims towards me?
"I would rather be eaten by your black, slimy eel!"
Thank the heavens that Thug grabbed my shoulder, because I was about to stab him then and there. NO ONE is allowed to call Toothless that, save for me, and that's a right that I am very much prepared to fight for. Now I'm pissed, and there is not any chance of saving this talk.
"I hope you go crawl in a hole and die! I-" Stoic abruptly stopped when I ripped my mask off. I could see him process what he saw: he was shocked, abhorred, and disgusted all at once, with different amounts of each emotions flashing in his features.
But why? His son, what he's wanted for so long, is finally standing here staring him in the eye, and he's not releasing the spark of joy I saw earlier? What has changed!?
It hit me. Hard. He hoped for the son he remembered, the one with promise and a future fighting dragons. The son who showed an upside and could even have carried on the mantle of Chief. He missed "the hope and heir of Berk," the "pride of the village," the kid with the "way with the beasts." Now, the cold hard truth was exposed: I was none of those things, and I was the sum of all he despises. That truth hit him hard, and he was mortified by the ramifications.
And now I am mortified by the ramifications. I should have seen this coming. I was foolish not to foresee this, and now I have to end our relationship on a sour note.
"…that's right, it's me. Long-lost son turned out to be the bane of your existence, but we knew that long before I left, right? Back when you tried to shut me inside to prevent anything from happening? Oh, if only mom were there, what she would have said…"
I didn't need to glance to my side to know that I had caught Valka's attention. She didn't do anything wrong, but I still felt the need to through that out there; hopefully it will make it sting more for Stoic.
"I see you haven't found your words. That's okay, because you'll have a lot of time to think on this. I'm leaving, heading south, and I don't look forward to ever coming back here. I figured I would come for a bitter-sweet reveal before I left, but it appears that was out of the question. I'm done with you, dad. I just…hope you can appreciate all I had to suffer on this island. It looks like you're gonna have you own version…"
I waited a few seconds, but Stoic seemed to be reeling from everything that had just gone down, so I turned to slowly walk out, mask still in hand. Valka was the only person who hadn't moved, and I could tell this was hard for her, especially since she didn't know most of what had happened between Stoic and me.
She glanced at Stoic and back at me, silently asking if she were going to reveal herself too. That was plan B, but it doesn't matter now.
"No. This went so poorly…that he doesn't even deserve to even see you, even if only for a second. He hasn't even earned that…"
Valka still seemed lost, and took one more glance back to Stoic before slumping slightly in defeat and walking out in front of me. As I walked out, I turned to grab the door behind me, and took one last, fleeting glance at my defeated father: he had slouched down, pure confusion seeming to radiate about him to compliment the lost, absent look on his face.
I shut the door on the last unresolved tie to my troubling past. From here on in, I was baggage-free, and completely ready for my newest challenge…or so I hoped.
I left Berk with the intention of coming back someday, and I tried. My Return didn't go well, so now it's time for my true Exodus. And this time I'm not coming back.
END PART ONE
Author's Note: well, I end this [part of the] story on a bitter note, which was planned originally, though I planned for it to be a bitter break between Hiccup and Astrid. Things have changed, reviews have given me new ideas and goals and ultimately altered my story. As of right now, I plan to write Part Two in this story by just adding new chapters, but I plan on doing a few maintenance things first. I'm going to go back and create chapter titles at some point, and may even go back to clean up the chapters. I am even thinking about changing the name of this story, but I won't do so unless I know you all support a name change. This is my completed 21st chapter, and to date me have not Beta read or even checked over my work once: I write how I feel motivated to, and don't look back. It is a lazy and typically bad system, but I like to think that I didn't hurt myself too much. Comment on whether or not you can tell that I have never reread anything to revise it.
But yea, this is it for part one. I plan on one more part for certain (I already have a very key, very crucial, very controversial pivoting-point for the plot) and after that I will play by ear. This has been really fun, and I definitely look forward to cracking 100k words soon. Leave comments, tell me anything and everything you think about it, because now is the best time for your ideas to sink into the story; I'm at a crucial plotting point where I'm going to take my best freethinking times (driving, showers, bored in class, etc.) to think of how the next part will go, and reviews have non-subtle ways of influencing the story. Twice so far I made a big mistake, my reviewers called it out, and I fixed it in the next chapter as if I had planned it all along! :D (Can you guess which two times?)
You guys have been awesome, and I look forward to Exodus: Reconciliation (or whatever I call the next part)!