"what would you have me do then? Nothing?" the crimson lord shook his head. "no. even now my spell traps the force. As for what we will do; Xeziner…" in response to his words the shadows writhed and warped, and slowly rose from the floor into the rough shape of the upper part of a human. "what is your biding master?" "go the village. Find this new force, convert it if possible." "and if no conversion is possible?" "then kill it."

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CHAPTER 23

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Hiccup watched as outside the storm continued to rage on. Aria had said the storm was being powered by magic. And that would certainly explain why this storm was so powerful. Sighing Hiccup looked up as Aria stepped out of his room; now dressed in some of his older clothing. Smiling Hiccup spoke. "so what now? The storm is still raging, and we can't leave until it goes away. and if magic is powering the storm then it could last for a while. " Aria nodded. "yes. but storm magic can't make a storm last longer, it can only use the power that the storm already had. If anything the storm will end sooner because it's using more of its power, so it can be this powerful." Hiccup nodded. "ok, I think I understand. So it's like a burning candle. If it burns brighter then it won't burn for as long, because it's using more of its fuel." Aria nodded too. "yes. magic can't rewrite the rules of the universe, it can only tweak them." Hiccup nodded again.

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"ok, but what do we do now?" Aria shrugged. "well, I need to do some meditation. There is a ton of electrical energy around me, I'd be foolish not to try and absorb some of it." Hiccup cocked his head at her. "ok, that you'll have to explain to me." Aria smiled, and sat down on the floor. Crossing her legs Aria set he hands on the floor before speaking. "there are 2 kinds of magic. Natural magic, and forced magic. Right now there is a lightning storm outside, That means there is a ton of electrical energy moving through the air. By opening my body to this energy, I'll absorb a bit of its power. That was when I use electrical magic my body will have some already stored away; and I won't have to use so much of my own energy. When you use magic to effect the air, or water, or the earth, you're not the one actually do it. Your body sends out it's own form of energy and that energy interacts with the world and produces the effect you want."

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Aria broke off as another bolt of lightning split the sky. Hiccup shivered as he felt he hairs on his arms stand on end. "by absorbing some of natures energies I can cast spells with more power than normal because I already have some of its power. So my energy will react with it sooner. Understand?" Hiccup nodded slowly. "I think so…..maybe?" Aria chuckled. "don't worry. Most people don't know the fine points of how magic works. And that's not a bad thing. Just know that your body can only produce so much magic. Once you deplete that limit, you will have to rest until it builds back up." Hiccup sat down in a chair. "and how long would that take?" Aria shrugged. "Depends on the person, some regenerate magic very quickly, others it can take some time. I'm curious though, what affinity did you choose in the overworld, lightning or wood?" Hiccup smiled, "I chose wood. It seemed more versatile." Aria smiled. "wood is a tricky element to use. Even in my time not many could use it to it's fullest." Again Hiccup cocked his head.

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"why was that?" Aria shook her head. "I don't know exactly. Something about wood being truly alive and having a mind of its own." Hiccup nodded. "that's what the guy from the overworld was saying. It's the only living element." Aria shrugged again. "I don't know about that. But enough, I need to focus on absorbing magic." Hiccup fell silent as he watch Aria focus. But after several minutes Aria opened her eyes again. "it's no use. Whoever is using the storm magic is reabsorbing all of the storm's lost energy. There's not enough for me to absorb." Sighing Aria looked at Hiccup would tossed a few twigs on the fire. "so…..how are you holding up to all this?" Hiccup looked at Aria. "what?" Aria shrugged. "when new members of the dragon knights were brought in most of them were having trouble understanding and even coping with what was happening to them. and that was with the help of teachers and scholars. But you don't have any of that. So…..how are you holding up?"

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Hiccup tossed another twig onto the fire before staring into the flaming cauldron. "how am I supposed to act?" Aria shook her head. "I don't understand." Hiccup sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I have all these powers, but I have no idea how to use them. but there is no point being sad or mad about it. I've got them, now I need to learn how to use them." Aria smiled and stood up. Channeling her magic Aria made a grand sweeping motion with one of her hand. At once all the furniture except the fire pit, rose a few inches off the ground and pushed itself against the walls, clearing a large space in the middle of the room. "stand up Hiccup. I'm going to give you a lesson." Doing as he was told Hiccup watched as Aria closed her eyes for a moment. Bandages seemed to appear out of nowhere, and began wrapping up Aria's arms and legs, while at the same time, a skintight leather chestplate seemed to be growing over Aria's chest. The final bit was a set of bandages wrapping around Aria's face and mouth leaving only small holes for her eyes, and mouth.

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"the armor you earned in the overworld is still with you. It can't be taken away. but while you're here in the physical world you'll need to summon it. To do this; just recreate the armor in your mind. It helps if you close your eyes." doing as he was instructed Hiccup recreated the armor he had worn before. instantly his skin began to itch and burn. Opening his eyes Hiccup watched as his skin warped and grew, as the armor he had worn simply 'grew' out from his body. looking up Hiccup watched as Aria pulled to small daggers from her belt. In her right hand the dagger, was simple, but with a curved kind of hook at the end of both of hilt and the blade. While in her left hand the dagger had a wavy kind of blade that almost resembled the flow of a river. "now Hiccup. If you're going to be a dragon knight you'll need to know how to switch from blade, to magic, and then back to blade seamlessly. Are you ready?" Hiccup nodded and raised his sword arm. a moment later his sword and shield materialized from thin air. Narrowing his eyes Hiccup watched as Aria lunged at him, her draggers drawn.

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BERK'S EASTERN WATCHTOWER

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Eric sighed as another bolt of lightning split the sky. How had he drawn this crappy job? While everyone else was safe and warm in their houses. He was stuck here, alone in the eastern watchtower. And for what? Who would be stupid enough to be out in this storm?! sighing gain eric tossed some more dried leaves on the fire he'd managed to start. At least the fire was warm. He had been about to look in a nearby cupboard for some dried fruit when a noise made his grab his sword. "hello?" holding the sword with both hands Eric reached down and after a moment lit his torch. "is someone there?" stepping away from the fire Eric moved towards a doorway that led to a hallway that led through the town wall and out into the town. "who's there?" Eric felt his eyes widen as a women's voice spoke from behind him. "I'm here." Spinning around Eric felt his eyes widen even more at the sight in front of him.

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A gourgous women stood in front of him. her pale skin illuminated by the fire; her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes were a deep deep green. But he was to busy to notice that. He was to busy looking at her body, for she wore not a single article of clothing. After a moment of gawking Eric managed to speak. "miss…what are you doing here?" the women took a step forward. "I was looking for you." Eric took a step backwards. Despite everything the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. "and why were you looking for me?" the women took another step forward. As she did so she moved her hands and gave her breasts a squeeze. "because I need your help, brave and noble guard." Eric took another step backwards. 'need my help with what?" the women stopped moving. "I need your body.

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Before Eric could even comprehend what the women had said she lunged at him. no lunged was not the right word, the women flew towards him, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the stone wall behind him. Eric tried to shout but the women's hand was pressing so firmly against he throat that he could barely draw breath. He felt the women's other hand grab his sword and force it from his hand. A second later that same hand crashed into his stomach making him cough as the wind was knocked from him. but the coughing soon turned to gagging as the women forced her hand into his mouth and held it so that he could not close the bottom of his jaw.

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Eric watched horrified as the women's sides seem to shudder. His blood was ice cold as he watched the women's eyes turn jet black. He finally did manage to scream as black smoke began to billow from the women's mouth and force it ways into his own mouth. It was like drinking ice shards that sliced at every part of his innards. His head felt like it was in a fog and he was barely even aware that the women had let him go and had collapsed on the ground in front of him. planting his back against the wall Eric slid down it until he was in a sitting possession. Opening his eyes Eric looked down into a small puddle of rainwater. His eyes had changed; they had gone from brown, to jet black. In front of him h heard the women move. Grabing her by her shoulder Eric lifted her off the ground and held her in the air. "your use fullness is up wench. Be gone." Letting her drop to the ground Eric laughed as he watched the women stumble and run away from him in fear. If she had been smart she would have tried to get some clothing before heading out into the storm. If the storm didn't kill her the wilds certainly would.

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Turning around Eric looked out one of the windows in the tower that overlooked the town. He had work to do.

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HICCUP'S POV

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The storm was beginning to let up hiccup could make out patches of the night sky; between the rapidly fading storm clouds. Next to him Aria yawned. "it's late. I think that's enough practice for today." Waving her hand again Aria put all the furniture back where it had been. "we should rest." Hiccup nodded. "why don't you take my room. I can sleep in dad's bed tonight. Aria smiled. "thank you. Goodnight." Hiccup watched as Aria climbed the ladder before vanishing behind the curtain to his room. Sighing Hiccup extinguished the fire before making his way into his father's room, and climbing into his bed. Burying himself in the blankets Hiccup, closed his eyes; only to open them again as he felt someone pull the covers off of him. Aria's voice spoke from the darkness, as Hiccup felt the bed sink slightly lower. "I don't wanna be alone tonight. For the first time in a long time I'm with someone I care about. I don't wanna be alone." Hiccup bit his lip but nonetheless still wrapped his arms around Aria's waist as he felt her back press against his chest.

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"Good night Aria." "Goodnight Hiccup."

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AN: WELL FOLKS, CHA[TER 23 IS UP AND DONE. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE FINALL CHAPTER FOR 'A DRAGON GLYPH.'

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THEN YOU'LL ALL HAVE TO WAIT WHILE I START UP THE NEXT STORY WHICH WILL BE CALLED 'A DRAGONS OATH'

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HOPE TO GET AT LEAST A FEW REVIEWS ON THIS.