Author's Note: I do not own the "How to Train Your Dragon" Movie, Animated Series or Book series. Those characters belong to DreamWorks Animation and Cressida Cowell. My original characters are mine and if you wish to use him please ask me first.
So I'm back for a while. My beta has done an exceptional job with helping the story greatly. Seriously, I don't know how she does it, but it is amazing work that she does. Please give praise to Deer Flower for her work as Beta. I'm going to update very slowly, once every two weeks so that she can finish her beta work and then I can finish this story as well.
I'll get back to review answers and such come next chapter folks.
New Night Fury name pronunciations and meaning:
Sigurd - See- Grr- De - From the Old Norse name Sigurðr, which was derived from the elements sigr "victory" and varðr "guardian". Sigurd was the hero of the Norse legend the 'Volsungasaga', which tells how his foster-father Regin sent him to recover a hoard of gold guarded by the dragon Fafnir. After slaying the dragon Sigurd tasted some of its blood, enabling him to understand the language of birds. By listening to the birds Sigurd learned that Regin was planning to betray him. The stories of the German hero Siegfried were in part based on him.
Njörðr - Ne- Your- Ga - From the Old Norse Njörðr, which was possibly derived from the Indo-European root *ner meaning "strong, vigourous". Njord was the Norse god of sailing and fertility. In some myths he is the father of Freyr and Freya.
Hjálmarr - Hel- mar - From the Old Norse name Hjálmarr meaning "helmeted warrior" from the element hjalmr "helmet" combined with arr "warrior".
Ívarr - IE- vawr - From the Old Norse name Ívarr, which was derived from the elements yr "yew, bow" and arr "warrior". During the Middle Ages it was brought to Britain by Scandinavian settlers and invaders, and it was adopted in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Notes on how my writing style will be below:
Words typed like this are thoughts in their head
Words like this are scenes/locations where it is occurring
Words typed like this is Dragonese
Earthen Search – Prologue
Hidden Night Fury Colony
Three Night Furies, a group consisting of two males and one female, moved through a cave system inside an island. "I hate being on patrol duty. Why are we are pulling a double, Sigurd?" one of the males asked, annoyed at the situation.
"You know why Hjálmarr. You caused problems last week during one of the patrols and Ívarr ordered us to go out on patrol for another week as punishment," Sigurd angrily answered his friend.
Larger than most common Night Furies and second in command under the colony Alpha, Ívarr, Sigurd never lacked in authority whether by his strength or merit. With that, however, he could never tolerate petty complaints or issues the island residents brought to him. If they wanted his sympathy, then it had to be either life threatening or something not even he could fix. Despite his attitude though, a dragon could never find a more loyal companion than him once they gained his respect. It was why the other two silently allowed him to become the leader of their small group consisting of Hjálmarr, Njörðr, and himself.
Hjálmarr's build was a bit smaller than Sigurd's and he lacked the self-control to curb his hot flashes of extreme temper. When he hatched from his egg, there was probably a bit of puzzlement when they saw how the scales on his head were colored differently than the rest of his body in what resembled the helmets human warriors wore. It didn't take long for everyone to make that connection and thus he was named accordingly. As he grew, he seemed to take that name to heart for he possessed a hot headed nature which pitted him into fights against colony members and other dragons in the wild. The scars decorating his body spoke of those battles and even if he lost, he still showed those marks proudly. Sigurd constantly chastised him for causing such fights, mostly because it was always him who would have to deal with the complaints from the opposing dragons. He often threatened that he would cease helping Hjálmarr the next time he found trouble. Anytime that opportunity presented itself though, Sigurd defended his smaller friend and willingly faced the lecture from his superiors for Hjálmarr, only to snap at him worse once the two were alone. Despite their quarrels however, the pair were best friends and would do anything to ensure the other's safety.
Annoyed with his friend's response, Hjálmarr growled and snapped back, "Well sorry if my methods are not up to par withwhat Ívarr wants. Don't know why it matters though, I did my job."
"Yes, you did and you also completely screwed up," Sigurd countered. "As usual, you have nothing to blame for this situation than your own hot-shot attitude. Why is it hard for you to stop and think before doing something so half-baked?"
"As usual you place all the blame on me. Like none of you never wanted to show off like that either. I could practically see your wings twitching to go down there and show those bugs something to fear."
"That 'wing twitching' was me trying not to rip off your head and throw it into the nearest hole and leave. Quit making up signs you know for sure are not there."
"Please, you really think you could have stopped me." Hjálmarr stopped their pace and turned to face the larger dragon, the challenge clear in his eyes.
Sigurd stood to his full height and scoffed. "Do you really think I'll succumb to your hatchling antics? We both know I could throw you down with both of my wings and three legs tied up."
"What? You scared I'm gonna-"
"Will both of you just shut up," Njörðr interrupted loudly, slamming her tail fins across both of their faces. "Let's just get this over with so we can get back inside and relax."
Completing the group was Njörðr, Sigurd's mate and the most level headed of the trio. Whenever the males found themselves butting heads and refusing to relent to the other's suggestions, she would calmly provide a completely different and way more practical solution to their dilemmas. They sometimes went against that advice, and paid the price when it was revealed that her suggestions were always the best way to go, a fact she had no restrictions against rubbing in their faces. Normally they would get mad at being belittled in that manner, but her insults cut so sharply that they had no hope of defending themselves.
Hjálmarr definitely received a great earful after the incident that instigated their added patrol. On their last patrol, they saw humans in the forest a few miles from the nest. They lacked the deadly weapons they usually carried when dragon hunting and seemed to just admire the scenery. Hjálmarr, however, felt they needed a lesson in fear, especially against creatures as powerful and deadly as Night Furies. Njörðr thought he was being recklessly foolish and had told him so in plain, harsh terms. Had he listened to her then, not only would they have avoided the extra patrol, but the colony also wouldn't have been found out.
Needless to say, none of the colony residents were at all pleased with Hjálmarr at the moment.
Sigurd looked at his mate after getting hit and smirked a bit, one ear plate sticking up and the other pressed against his head. She offered him a glare for that, but it softly melted into a smirk as well, leaving Hjálmarr to roll his eyes at the pair. Tension averted, the three continued walking until they arrived to their destination: the cave system opening that led inside their colony. Covering the entryway was a large boulder, but it was easily pushed aside as they exited and replaced after they were through the exit.
"Alright Njörðr, you watch the seas for dragons and humans. Hjálmarr, you watch the skies for dragons that maybe flying by. I'll watch the islands for humans. Remember, don't engage until we find out what kind of dragon they are and leave humans alone," Sigurd stated, turning and giving his friend a stern look. "That goes triple for you. Unless you want to deal with Ívarr yourself, curb your brashness."
"Fine, I won't scare any humans, but I can't say the same for dragons," Hjálmarr stated. His response earned him another tail slap from Njörðr, this time across his wings. He grunted at the pain, but brushed it off, managing to keep a sharp barb from exiting his mouth.
The three took off and kept to gliding, not wanting to make too much noise during the daytime. Staying close to each other, they patrolled around the nearby islands, but kept their distance from the southeastern region.
In that direction resided a creature that not even Hjálmarr with all of his temper wanted to face: the Elemental Fury of Earth. The Earth Fury's birth was very chaotic and it had forced the colony's elders to flee from their original homes. All was well one moment and the next, their entire home was being destroyed and numerous dragons did not escape the Elemental's path of chaos. The survivors had fled as soon as they could, regretfully leaving behind loved ones, and started a new colony in seclusion, far away from the Earth Fury's territory. Of the old colony, only Ívarr and a few others survived both the retreat and the founding of their new home. All of the Night Furies in the new colony were raised with this story, Elemental Furies dominating their nightmares and instilling fear at the destruction they could cause.
Rumors and tales did circulate that an Elemental Fury could be calmed with a specific thing, a Soother being its official title. Whether that was true or not and if other Elemental Furies possessed their Soother, though, mattered little to the dragons who were still haunted by that day and would never be able to trust such a being again. Normally the younger generation would pass those concerns off, but even from a distance, they could sense the immense power that resided in such an unstable being. For all of their protections, Ívarr ordered that any Elemental Fury spotted should be considered extremely dangerous and killed on sight and, if possible for the defender's safety, from a distance.
Those thoughts racing through their minds, the three started off their morning towards the eastern most boundaries. By mid-day, they had moved around towards the northern and western areas, nothing unusual crossing their paths. As they headed another way Hjálmarr noticed a dragon flying in the distance, nearing an island northwest of the colony, but couldn't make out its details very well. He took in the scent of air and immediately noticed something strange yet familiar about the dragon: it almost smelled like a Night Fury.
"Hey Sigurd, I think we have another Night Fury coming into the territory from above," he cautiously reported to his friend. Sigurd turned his eyes upward and caught sight the dragon's figure flying above and northwest of them. He took in the scent that blew in from that direction and nodded to his friend.
"It is another Night Fury, though it's very strange one. It definitely smells like a Night Fury, but… it's red in color." Sure enough, the Night Fury figure was definitely red, not black, in coloring. Adding to the confusion at the observation, Sigurd added, "I also smell a human as well. Let's investigate this dragon quickly and scare them off if necessary." Hjálmarr and Njörðr nodded in agreement with Sigurd's plan and they flew toward the weird source.
Without words, all three thought about what Ívarr had said about the Earth Fury and the other Elemental Furies. In his tales, the dragon's color would change significantly when it was reborn, often times representing the element they represented. When the hatchlings came of age, Ívarr described the Earth Fury has having a green hue over most of its body, with brown and grey tones around the wings and its underside. If this creature was a Night Fury, then its coloring only pointed to one conclusion: another Elemental Fury was near their territory.
While the other two tried their best to reign in their uneasiness, Hjálmarr quickly found himself becoming enraged and protective. Although he knew he should approach an Elemental Fury with extreme caution, his blood was boiling too much to keep his hot temper in check. Not saying a word, he changed directions and flew upwards towards the unknown dragon, firing off three shots at it once he sighted his target.
The intruder managed to dodge the blasts but only just barely. They looked up and when they saw what had attacked them, they flew past Hjálmarr toward one of the islands. Still blind with battle lust, the dragon followed them, his whole body tensed up and ready for battle.
Njörðr and Sigurd screamed at him to try and stop him from following the pair, but they knew it would be a hopeless cause. Knowing their friend would not stand a chance by himself, the mates followed after them with one question flowing between both of their minds. What had we gotten ourselves into?
Chapter Length: 1877 Words
Preview of next Chapter (Beta Approved): In mid-attack, Hjálmarr froze in shock at the sudden movement, disbelieve clear across his face. Never had he seen a Night Fury, not even Sigurd, move so quickly before. During this moment, Hjálmarr didn't notice the Elemental Fury's attack until he felt something bite his back leg and drag him out of the air.