100 reviews ! WOOooh ! Thank you so much you outstanding people for reading what I have to say and write...Some of you know how rewarding it feels when others appreciate what you dream and imagine, it makes you feel special, in a particularly wonderful way that's absolutely impossible to replicate. And for that : THANK YOU. Thank you so much.

Now, this is an important chapter, or rather one of the many turning points condensed into a chapter. It relays what could be considered as the 'official' start of Dreki as a faction ( yet to be known and recognised by the world), but also as one of Hiccup's radical changes gradually making him another person entirely.

Furthermore. Einarr's writing starts with a two line monologue from an excellent character from another very good animation movie. See if you can figure out which one.

Enjoy !

Rant Over.

Hiccup was in his forge, hammering away at a sword. The heat of the hearth scorched his face, sweat trickled down his cheek and pearled at his forehead.

He interrupted his furious hammering when a powerful knock shook his front door.

It was rather unusual for someone to knock. At least on Dreki. They all knew each other so well, so any front door was a place of free-flowing traffic. He put the hammer down by the anvil and wiped his face on a nearby rag before discarding it to a stool and walking over to the wooden door. He opened it, only to find WarBear's massive frame fill up his front porch. Behind him, Hiccup could barely distinguish Marsaili, Qwynel and Toothless.

" Good morning..." Started WarBear with a smile. "...We need to talk." He boomed.

" Uh...Of what ? " Frowned Hiccup.

His tone and expression suddenly turned to one of grim sobriety and determination." The future. And what we make of it."

Hiccup understood. He knew this moment would come eventually, after all, the current situation on Dreki was merely a temporary one. One made to last until a suitable plan of action was conceived. Hiccup removed his smithy's apron and hung it up on a hook on the door, and followed the quatrain outside.

" Les' walk." Suggested Marsaili, her voice decorated with her melodious accent.

They set off towards the forest in silence, distancing themselves from the houses for the important talk that was to come. The sky was grey, merely varying in gloomy colourless shades. But that was a normal sky in these parts, mornings were often grey. When they had walked for at least five minutes, the first question was fired :

" What did you have in mind ? " Asked Marsaili to Hiccup as they trod through the melting snow.

" Uh...Of what ? "

" All...This ! " She gestured back in the direction of the clearing.

" I Uh...Well, I figured most of you would like to return home to your families and kin, or make your own life out here so...So I figured we could take the boat, and sail you to Dànor, you can go anywhere from there."

" Very thoughtful of you...Thank you." Answered WarBear. " But I fear most of us have nowhere to go. And we would be going with this no less." He rubbed two fingers up to his brand on his temple. " Most of us here are criminals, who have been disowned by their families and sold as slaves by their own tribe, as it is custom in many cultures around the world..."

Hiccup couldn't help but feel a painful twinge of surprise in his gut. He knew selling criminals had always been a common practice. And although it was more than plausible that at least half of the guests were indeed criminals, he found it hard to believe that such gentle folk had committed crimes of such considerable gravity in their past. It just didn't seem like them. Whoever they were before being sold, these people were long gone. Only to be replaced by broken and traumatized characters, whose hearts have been softened by the blows and deprivations they suffered.

"...The rest of us have been taken in raids, during which our families and friends perished...It is kind of you to offer us a second chance. But out there is a world where you are cut down for being, speaking, or thinking differently..."

" Vikings aren't that open-minded towards other cultures that much is true..." Agreed Qwynel as she stepped over a log. "...Even less so with people with 'the mark'."

WarBear nodded slowly as he walked."...My point is : What with your skills in dragon-training, your mind, our strength, our determination, and our solidarity...Dreki is looking like a very attractive and pmausible possibility for a future. A more than viable solution..."

Hiccup stopped mid-stride, and stared with saucepan-sized eyes back at WarBear. The others stopped, and turned around to face him. They tried decrypting his expression, unsure of his thoughts about it all. A couple of seconds passed, the info sunk in, and Hiccup brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

" Well then...I guess we'll have to build more houses..."

All smiled. Even Toothless, with his typically gummy smile.

Marsaili came up to him and put a friendly hand on his bony shoulder." I'm glad to hear it ! So, we've talked about this for a while with the others ya' see...And tha' more we blabbered an' yapped, tha' more we realized that even though we'd all be takin' tha' decisions together. We'd need somebody to keep it all runnin' ! Otherwise it'd never work."

" Indeed." Continued WarBear, leaning against a tree and crossing his arms. " And the more we discussed it..."

Marsaili picked up the thread again. "...tha' more we thought of you."

There was a moment of silence. A pause. Toothless' eyes widened in realization, but Hiccup's remained lost and pensive. His thoughts died one after the other, like waves crashing one by one other the jagged rocks of the coast. He wasn't quite sure what they were suggesting. Or rather, he couldn't believe it. It seemed surreal, impossible.

Qwynel realized what she needed to do, and turned to Marsaili and WarBear : " *Ahem*, could you excuse us ?"

" 'Course."

" By all means."

They turned and left, before heading back towards the clearing. Toothless, stayed, standing by Hiccup.

Qwynel turned to the teen, with a determined look on her face.

" Do you realize what they're asking ? "

" I...I'm not sure."

" They're asking you, to represent our future community, and organize it."

" I..."

" I've talked with them...They're looking for someone to follow."" Don't let this pass." She said with a harsh

" Not me-..."

" Don't let this pass." She said with a harsh voice, as if she was calmly telling him off.

Hiccup rubbed both hands into his face, this was too much." No...I-I can't do that...I...I'm only sixteen ! I...No one would follow me...I'm not ready for that level of responsa-..."

Qwynel took a menacing step forward. A threatening finger poised like a dagger." Now you listen to me young man !..." She took a deep breath. " ...I have seen too many people your age already have a path already laid down for them, and believe me, most of 'em weren't made for that path. Take it from me, I was one of 'em ! This, is an opportunity. You are made for this !"

" N-No-..." Said Hiccup shaking his head weakly.

" YES ! I can think of no other person that would be more fit to get the job done, and neither can they ! " She pointed determinedly back at the clearing.

" B-But...WarBear, he'd be much better than me ! I mean he's tall, impressive, smart and good at fighting ! I...I'm..."

" You're smart, a better negotiator and pacifier than WarBear, good with a crossbow, and the first and only dragon trainer ever to have existed ! " Hiccup found himself taking a step back, despite himself. "You impressed them, not only did you befriend all the dragons here. But you also approached the most lost and confused boy in the world and are the only one to ever have done so..."

" I still think-..."

" -You owe it to yourself ! You owe it to us all ! Without you, this grand project of ours won't work..."

" This conversation is feeling very one-sided..."

" And we all know how that went when you said that to your father."

Hiccup directed his gaze downwards and tensed up. His heart turned to iron and sunk into his furry boots. She had struck a chord. Toothless came up besides him and leaned slightly against his standing frame. A reassuring touch, always there when most desperately needed.

Qwynel sighed. " Look, the point is : All of us are on Dreki because we sought or were given a second chance... Personally, I would love nothing more than spend what little time I have left in this world doing my part for a community that I'm made for, in which I fit. The others want the same...And I know you want the same. There's nothing out there for any of us... So it's up to every single one of us to do our part in making our own future. But it only works if we all play the game."

" I...I don't know what to say..."

" Then don't say anything..."

" I need to... " He looked down to Toothless besides him, who looked straight up with big eyes. He placed a palm on his dark, scaly skull. Warm to the touch. " No, we need to think about this."

Qwynel nodded." Don't come back until sundown, you can't possibly have made up your mind by then..." Said the old lady. With that, Hiccup gave a single downward nod, and leaped onto Toothless. He fit his foot in the saddle's pedals, and three powerful wingbeats later, they were up above the forest and gaining altitude.

They climbed up into the greyish sky. The cold air blew his auburn hair back and flowed down his tunic, exposing his lower belly to the cold northern winds. They flew higher and higher, before eventually levelling off and commencing a wide circle around Dreki's white solitary peak.

the layer of clouds was below them, like a grey sea in the sky. Above them, were a couple more, less dense clouds. They flew a long time, in silence. Painting long and lazy patterns in the sky, slowly banking left or right, neither of the pair really directing them.

Eventually, after a little over two hours, they descended. They dived and pummeled through the cloud sea until they reemerged into the clear world, under the giant fluffy blanket. They landed, on the far west side of the island. There, they found a calm clearing, they settled down against a tree, and curled up against each other. They slept, each resting their minds and bodies, forgetting their worries, losing them in the vast bliss of sleep.

Hiccup fell asleep to the slow rhythm of Toothless' heartbeat. Setting the tempo of his dreams.

He dreamt of he and Toothless, both flying above a grand city. A city, in which at least five thousand souls would live. A city with grand walls of gray stone, encircling a forest of tall towers. These towers, rose higher than it even seemed possible. One hundred, maybe two hundred meters ?

Pairs of humans and dragons flew above the city. Each more varied in their shapes, sizes and colours. They took off and landed from the top of these tall towers, some carrying loads, some armour, some nothing. Below, people and dragons walked the busy streets. Young dragons and their equally young and irresponsible humans raced between buildings, flying and skimming just above people's heads as they zigzagged through the streets. Behind them, was a rather infuriated adult on his equally infuriated nadder brother racing after the 'little blighters ! '.

In the distance, were white and red sails. Floating above just above the watery the horizon, that glittered in the sun's light.

Hiccup felt at peace, as did Toothless, both soared, high above it all, and no one took notice. They circled and circled, both fascinated by what they saw before them. A sense of awe overcame them, lifting their hopes and ambitions like the wind lifted them high in the air.

Meanwhile, Einarr sat in Hiccup's forge, staring at a blank piece of paper set before him. He fiddled with the charcoal pencil, twirling it nervously in his fingers.

Hiccup had taught him so much about writing, not just how to spell, but how to truly write. He said he'd made incredible progress, and learnt faster than most, that he could be a natural. So the teen had ripped out a page from his notebook, and given it to Einarr. He said that he should keep it, and that whenever he wanted to write, he'd be able to.

Now Einarr wanted to write. But he couldn't. Or rather, he wouldn't. It scared him. The blank piece of paper paper stared back at him like a void below his feet. Like a sharp drop without end. He wanted to write, and he wanted to be good at it. But he wouldn't.

Even if he did, he'd never show it to anyone. But he wanted to put it down on paper. He didn't know why, he just did.

He'd never written alone. There had always been Hiccup to suggest, guide, encourage. Now, he was alone with a pencil, a piece of paper, and his own mind. He had learnt so much, how to write elegantly, how to make the idea expressed as beautiful as the form and language.

But he was scared of putting his mind to paper. After all, it was all he had : His mind, and no little amount of determination to become more than what he was. And he'd do so by writing.

He knew what he wanted to say. It was an idea, that hit him a long time ago. When he still slept in a cell. So, he swallowed his fear, creased his brow and put his pencil to the paper.

Some say our destiny is tied to the land, as much a part of us as we are of it. Others say, that fate is woven together like a cloth, so that one's destiny intertwines with many others'. It's the one thing we search for, or fight to change. Some never find it. But there are some...Who are led.

I find it easier to believe I was led to Dreki. That I was led to meet Hiccup. At the time I'm writing this, things are changing. For the better, I hope, but I can't help but notice that for all the unfortunate souls here on this island, we all have something in common.

We were led.

We are each a piece of thread, intertwined and woven together to form a cloth or a canvas. And when the canvas is complete, I believe it'll be an image of Dreki. This word, for me, designates more than just an island. It designates the fact that things changed for the better, despite them being beyond my control, as usual. And this means the start of something new. I have a name now, to replace the one long forgotten. It's a name I chose, it's the only thing I ever chose in my life. It's the start of a long series of choices, whether fate likes it or not. Because it's had its fun, and I shall be a piece of thread that is no longer going to be led.

That, for me, is what 'Dreki' means.

From now on, I chose where I fit In the canvas and how. Intertwined with whomever I want. And for now, It shall be Hiccup.

Tell me what you think ! Leave a review. I'd love to know what you think of it all.