Five days later…

"Is Arn really singing that song again?" sighed Snotlout.

"Have you heard of the one whose name is Brann?"

"He who saved the innocent as fast as a ram!"

"He walked on mountains and he walked through valleys,"

"He marched through battle where his foe would rally!"

"A smile to the good and fair is all he gave,"

"Never sad nor flaming mad, but always brave!"

"But when the foul and evil would cross his path,"

"He would unleash the Allfather's wrath!"

Arn was indeed singing that same tune again. During their flight to Valnr, the Alsworn heir had been singing song after song, but one kept occasionally repeating. It was the song Hiccup heard the night of the feast when his father was still around, and coincidentally, the same night he received the vision from the runestone.

And as they flew through the cloudy blue sky with the cold wind against their faces, the riders all looked back at the lad while he rode atop Infernus's back.

"You really do like that song, huh?" laughed Hiccup heartily. "I never asked by the way, but where did you learn to sing it?"

"Eh… my father taught me it," replied Arn chuckling. "We were at a feast with the votun and their chief, Ragnar, and he began singing it aloud in the great hall along with everyone at the table. It was a great time."

"Eugh, what is it with you and your tribe?" asked Ruffnut. "You guys might as well be minstrels rather than warriors."

"Singing is a tradition in Valnr," laughed the fire guardian Infernus. "Many of its people from across the land - humans, votun, dwarves, and elves alike, sing tales and sagas of heroes and warriors of old. To them, it is very much enjoyable. Fun, as you would call it."

"Oh yes indeed, it is viewed as extremely exciting, enchanting, and enthralling!" spoke Voltraxion, once again speaking with 'complex' words. "Many of the sung sagas may suggest the pre-dated history behind the continent's long forgotten past. Of course, these are just speculations."

"I still have no idea what you are saying…" groaned Tuffnut.

"You're never going to understand a thing if you don't get your brain working, muttonhead," sighed Snotlout. "For Thor's sake…"

"Well look on the bright side," smiled Arn. "I can tell you for a fact that we're almost there! I can feel the air in the wind changing. I'm certain of it."

"I don't know... All I feel is the cold..." replied Fishlegs with a light shiver. "It's as if the goddess Skadi let out a breath of winter or something!"

"Nonsense," said Glacien, her voice not even shaking. "I may be an ice dragon, but it should not be that cold... well, even though I cannot feel it."

"Fishlegs is a bit sensitive when it comes to the cold," replied Astrid with a shrug. "But truth be told, it feels colder than the arctic where we first fought Drago, and at least it's… not too cold."

Toothless let out a light warble of laughter. "I bet she's lying," he said in Dragonese.

"I wouldn't say that too loudly, bud," Hiccup replied softly. "Imagine how Astrid would respond to you if she understood-"

"LAND HO!"

Arn's voice rose up as he pointed his finger out into the distance towards a noticeable large chunk of rock from afar. At first it looked like an island, but they continued their flight, it slowly began to grow noticeably larger with each moment as they flew closer and closer, and after about a few more minutes of flight, it became clear what they were staring at.

They had finally arrived.

Arn gave a smile. "Before us lies the land Valnr, and far in the distance directly in front of us is the region of Votunheim - a large flat valley with small mountains and hills around it, home to it's bright green fields, tall trees, and of course - the votun."

"Wow…" grinned Hiccup. "I can imagine it in my head right now… must be a pretty place. You know, I can even feel myself getting a little bit warmer."

"Indeed, many have the same feeling when they gaze their eyes upon the votun's homeland," nodded Infernus. "But unfortunately, the other guardians and I cannot accompany you into Votunheim."

"What?" Hiccup immediately responded as he made Toothless slow to a halt, followed by the other riders as they all looked back at the Three Guardians. "...Are you saying you won't follow us any further?"

Infernus nodded his head. "Yes. It is here where we must part ways for now. We were tasked only to safely guide you to Valnr, and now here we are. We three guardians have a more important duty to fulfill, thus we cannot follow you."

"Will we at least see you again?" asked Fishlegs.

"Most likely, yes," Infernus assured him. "But for now, we must go…"

"...Alright then," said Hiccup as he looked down at Toothless. "Bud, help Arn off of Infernus, will you?"

The Night Fury gave a nod, flying closer to Infernus until he flew parallel from him. Arn, who slowly stood to both his feet, jumped from the fire guardian and onto Toothless's back, riding along behind Hiccup.

Infernus bowed his head in approval and said, "May Odin be with you, Wings of Midgard," before swiftly flying off with the other dragon guardians into the northwest, leaving the seven young vikings alone with their dragons, and as they flew, the riders could hear Voltraxion blattering further complicated nonsense until they were out of sight to be heard or seen...

"Looks like it's just us for now, until we meet the votun chieftain. We should continue on," said Hiccup.

"Excellent," grinned Arn. "And I know just where we can land."


"Are you sure it's this way?" asked Hiccup.

Arn nodded back to him. "I'm certain of it. We're not too far now."

After nearly a few more minutes of flight, the riders and their dragons were finally closing in on Votunheim's shores. The majority of the region's coast consisted of small cliffs and large rocks, but there was one beach Arn knew of, located on the western part of Votunheim's coast. It was small and secluded, the perfect place for them to camp, and there was even a path that went uphill and led straight into the valley itself. This meant they could go by foot if their dragons were too exhausted.

"I must say, we're lucky to have you as a guide," admitted Astrid respectfully. "Otherwise this journey would be more difficult."

"Well we can always use the map," Fishlegs pointed out. "We didn't bring it along without a reason-"

"Uhh, guys," interrupted Snotlout. "I hate to be a bummer, but uh- what's that?"

The Jorgenson's finger pointed out towards a small beach in the distance, and everyone's eyes immediately locked onto it.

"That's it! We're almost there," nodded Arn.

"I know that," replied Snotlout. "But who are those people on the beach?"

Everyone rose a brow. Their eyes gazed closely on the beach, and though they could not see who the figures up ahead were, what was certain was that they were not ordinary, and as they flew closer and closer, it became clear to the group what they were seeing.

They were tall, muscular ten foot-twelve foot warriors, wearing either plate helmets with horns or no headgear at all. They as well wore fur on their shoulders, and leather and scalemail armor from shoulder to boot. They wielded axes, swords, spears, and shields in their grip, either with two hands or one hand. Hiccup was certain that they were armed for battle.

"Are those- votun?" called out Fishlegs.

"They are votun... At least a dozen of them, and they're armed," replied Arn. "But what are they doing lined up on the beach?"

"I think there's a reason for it," said Hiccup.

And indeed there was a reason. From the top of the small hill leading into Votunheim, the votun's enemy came marching down the path and lined up before them, outnumbering them at least four to one. But the votun's enemy was their enemy, and Hiccup instantly knew who they were.

"Orcsl" exclaimed Hiccup with a grunt. "Double speed, everyone! We have to reach them!"

Snotlout gave a glare upon his first glance on the brutes. "Huh, so that's what they look like... Disgusting."

Immediately the riders had their dragons pick up in their pace, flying as fast as they could towards the votun whose backs were turned to the sea and their weapons towards the orcs, ready to take them on.

The twelve large warriors, though up against nearly fifty orcs, were still larger than the orcs and stronger. They rallied closer, and formed into combat ready positions.

The leader of the votun, who wore a brown furred cloak, red scalemail armor, leather breeches and boots, a plate horned helmet, and wielded a two-handed axe, stepped forward to the front of his group with his weapon raised out.

"Shrug off your wounds, warriors! Another battle awaits us!" he spoke as his bassy nordic voice bellowed out to his warriors.

"Looks like it's just us, then," grinned one of the votun shieldmaidens. "This will be a worthy battle!"

But as prepared as they were to fight, so were the orcs.

"Come at us then, maggots!" laughed the orc captain, standing opposite from the votun as he swung his sword around provokingly. "Come die in Drago's name!"

The votun took a few steps forward, ready to engage the orcs as they roared and taunted the mighty warriors. But before they could make a move, a voice called out to them.

"WAIT!"

The votun turned their backs and looked up. From above, they saw seven figures flying in on dragon-back of whom they did not recognize, but immediately they had a strange feeling that the young riders were allies.

"Grr… what is the meaning of this?!" growled the orc captain.

As Hiccup and the riders were about to close in, the votun quickly spaced out and made way for them to land their dragons, and upon dismounting, the seven warriors swiftly unsheathed their weapons. The votun now had a closer look, and saw that they were vikings.

"Light it up, Toothless," Hiccup commanded as he held his sword out, and the Night Fury obliged, charging up a light plasma blast and aiming it at the blade of Hiccup's weapon. Then, with just a snap of a finger, the young chieftain's blade was lit in bright orange flames.

He was definitely eager to test it out in battle.

The votun awed as they watched in amazement. "Such a deadly weapon for someone so small!" complimented one of the votun warriors. "But... what are you vikings doing here in Votunheim, especially with dragons?"

"We're here to help you out," said Hiccup as he rose his sword up to his shoulders. "If you're willing to accept our aid, we'd be happy to help."

"Hmm… you seem a little bit short for this battle," chuckled the votun leader. "But you vikings do know what you're doing. Come, little friends, let us crush these orcs!"

"Gladly! Vikings, CHARGE!" shouted Hiccup.

The votun and the young riders along with their dragons roared as they ran at the orcs with their weapons raised, and the orcs in response quickly attempted to counter charge, yet as they did, Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch fired out a combined blast of fire at the ranks of orcs, causing an explosion that blew ten of them up in the air flames. Already, their numbers were dwindling.

And soon, both sides clashed as the fighting began on the beach.

The votun, being the battle born warriors they were, had very little trouble with the orcs. The brutes were only as large as Stoick - who in life was like a giant in the eyes of many, but the half-giant warriors almost dwarfed them.

They swung their weapons violently at the orcs, stabbing and hacking them to bits as they proceeded to beat the foul creatures to death. They were relentless, and showed no mercy to the orcs.

The same went for the dragons. With their heads and tails, they brutally bashed the orcs around as if they were toys, sending them hurling into each other like tree logs falling against one another, whilst also using their breath attacks to burn them into crisps.

Meanwhile, the young vikings were cutting down the orcs as if they were cattle. Hiccup and Astrid swung and lobbed their weapons at the orcs, and at the same time they used their magic to summon up fireballs which proved to be stronger than before. However, much to Hiccup's anticipation, his weapon was stronger than he had expected as his flame-lit and imbued sword cut through the orcs' armor, almost like a knife through butter.

"I've never made myself a better weapon," said Hiccup in astonishment.

At one point, the two Wings of Midgard spotted an orc rushing towards them, and as they both rose their hands out and shouted, "FÚRE!", conjuring forth two fireballs, they unexpectedly merged into one spell, powerful enough to kill the orc in an instant as it was blasted back with great force.

Hiccup and Astrid looked back at each other, smirking.

"Nice one, milady!" complimented Hiccup.

"Why thanks, chief!" she grinned. "Now, let's get back to the fight!"

Meanwhile, Arn, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the Twins were doing a fine effort in outmatching the orcs with their skill and intelligence. As was with the case of the orcs, they were stronger, so the four of them had to be smarter.

Though he knew no magic, Arn was excellent when it came to fighting the orcs, especially since he fought them for years. The young Alsworn viking struck at the orcs' limbs to slow them down. If the brutes dared to attack however, Arn would dodge and strike back, and one by one, the orcs who came before him were cut down.

For Snotlout, the buff viking was making a tremendous yet easy effort against the brutal raiders. Although he was unable to cast magic like his fellow riders, he still made up for it with his amazing sword-fighting skills, as well as his muscle and acrobatics, swiftly striking the orcs down when they least expected it. Indeed, all of those years of working out had truly begun to pay off for him as a viking.

"Snotlout! Snotlout! OI-OI-OI!"

Fishlegs, being the more knowledgeable one, relied more on his magic than the others. He kept his shield close as his hammer glowed menacingly with fire magic, and with every attack he made against the orcs, their armor seared and dented as if the Ingerman was bashing through them like crushing an apple with a rock. On occasion, he also shot out fireballs from his hands, burning the orcs before him to a crisp.

The Twins meanwhile, though not as excellent as the others, were still doing better than before. With their rage, they finally learned how to set their weapons on fire, and the two stuck with fighting back to back to cover their guard around them. Of course, being the violent duo they were, the orcs that attacked the two vikings were slashed and stabbed over and over again by the Twins until the brutes fell to their knees in defeat, before being quickly slain.

At this rate, the orcs could not handle the intensity that these new dragon riders, who had come out of nowhere, were putting onto them - especially since they knew magic, and it was then that the orc captain took a horn from the side of his belt…

And blew it loudly, calling for the retreat.

"RETREAT!" the orc captain roared. "Grr… we will come back, Dragonskarn!"

The fight quickly ended, and the dozen remaining orcs began to retreat back up the hill into the valley, though to the young vikings, it was unknown exactly where they were going.

At first, Hiccup was tempted to chase after the commander, but before he could move more than a few steps, a large figure blocked his way.

The votun leader shook his head as he held his arm out in front of Hiccup. "Don't risk it, little hero," he said warningly. "If you try to follow them back to their camp, their trackers on the road will spot you and kill you. Trust me, the east isn't safe."

The young chieftain found it a bit surprising that the votun called him a hero, but nevertheless, he sighed and gave a nod as he proceeded to put his sword back in its sheath, immediately extinguishing it of its flames as the other riders did the same and sheathed their weapons away.

The young vikings and their dragons grouped up with the votun, eyeing them curiously. Arn was not joking when he previously told them that they were half-giants. They were large. More than twice Hiccup's height.

"So then," continued the votun leader. "Who are you? You don't look like you're from around here."

"We're not... Well- most of us. My name is Hiccup Haddock, chief of the Berkian Tribe," said Hiccup, before pointing out the others. "My friends here are Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Arn of the Alsworn. We've come to-"

"Arn?" asked the half-giant, gazing back at the blonde viking. "You mean… Arn Lotharson of the Alsworn?"

The Alsworn heir gave a nod. "I guess you know me, then?"

"Aye," nodded the votun. "And though I would gladly like to talk with you, we cannot stay here as it's not safe. We can talk at our camp to the north, if of course you and your dragons are willing to come with us..."

"Our group need rest anyways. We'll gladly go with you to your camp - just lead the way," agreed Hiccup, receiving a grin from the votun leader.

"Very well, but we will have to move fast. Let us go!" the half-giant said cheerfully.

The votun leader ran first with Hiccup and Toothless at his side, and quickly the rest of the large group followed as they ran along the path leading up the hill and into the large valley of Votunheim, and upon first sight, Hiccup was stunned…


Time passed, and the riders got more of a glimpse of the region of Votunheim as they continued running their way to the northwest along the dirt road, all while passing by a few stone fences here and there.

"Wow!" gargled Meatlug. "I wonder if I could snuggle around in the grass? This place is amazing!"

"Tell me about it," huffed Hookfang with a dragon-like grin."I would love to hang around in the trees. Hmm... I wonder if they feel nice?"

For Hiccup however, the valley was simply beautiful, just as he imagined. Bright green grass, tall pine trees, hills and small mountains surrounding the region, and a warm sun shining down with clouds overhead - yet as they continued running down the path, Hiccup saw more and more of Votunheim.

"This place looks really pretty," Hiccup complimented as they all continued running along the road. "You votun chose a nice place to live in."

"Aye," replied the votun leader in his bassy and heavy nordic voice. "For centuries we have thrived here in peace, all while hunting the monsters that dwell here and threaten us. Wolves, trolls, mammoths, and even a few giants."

"Like I told you, they are monster hunters," Arn nodded.

The votun leader from beneath his helmet rose a brow. "You told these strangers about us, young Arn?"

"I told them quite a lot about you, actually. But since they're my friends, you have nothing to worry about," he assured the half-giant. "But I must ask, who are you?"

"I'll tell you when we reach the camp," the votun replied. "We're almost there. Not too far now!"

The riders and the votun continued running as fast as their feet could allow them as the long run had left them slightly tired, but after another few minutes of running, they had finally reached the camp which was stationed at the top of a small flat hill, with tall grass, and a few pine trees around it. The perfect place to camp while staying out of sight.

As they came to a stop, Hiccup looked around and got a better glance of the site. There was a large leather tent built in the center of the camp with four other slightly smaller tents surrounding it; very comfortable to sleep under, and near each tent was a campfire.

But over all, it was not bad. Not bad at all.

Now able to catch their breaths, the votun made way towards their tents to either rest their heads, or eat and drink to feed their stomachs. The campfires lit up, and soon they sat around the cozy pyres, heartily talking with one another. To this, the young vikings were a bit surprised. Even after fighting a battle, they reacted almost as if little to nothing happened?

Then again, the orcs in comparison to the half-giants were nothing.

"Come, friends," said the votun leader from nearby, motioning with his hand towards his tent in the center of the camp, to which the vikings and their dragons gladly followed.

Before them, they were greeted to a large campfire which the half-giant quickly lit up by grinding two stones against each other, causing sparks to fly at the wood which then turned into flames.

He then motioned with his hands towards the votun-sized logs around the fire. "Please, sit."

The young vikings grinned as they welcomingly sat down around the fire with the votun chief whilst their dragons sat near them - allowing themselves to finally rest.

"Ah…" sighed Snotlout. "I can finally rest my back. After nearly half a day of traveling, and a battle, this, is, worth it."

The others mumbled in agreement, allowing themselves to relax a little bit. This was indeed worth it, especially for the dragons whose wings felt beyond exhausted.

While settling in, Arn's eyes fell on the votun leader who began placing boar meat and fish on a spit over the fire. "So, mind telling me who you are? You clearly know who I am, but I don't recognize you."

For a moment, the votun leader looked up at Arn, and from beneath his helmet he grinned. "Has it really been that long, young Arn? I remembered both you and your father Lothar when you two last came here, and it was when you were in my great hall singing tunes with the votun..."

"Does that not sound familiar?"

For a moment, everyone looked back at Arn in a swift motion after hearing what they just heard from the cheerful votun. The votun's words matched with the story Arn told them during their flight to Valnr, and soon the realization hit them.

"Hold on a moment," said Hiccup, looking back at the half-giant. "What are you trying to say? Who are you?"

The votun responded not in words, but by slowly removing his horned helmet, revealing his hearty and cheerful face. Upon first glance, he appeared somewhat stoic. He had red flaming long hair that went down to his shoulders in braids, and as well as down to his upper back. Along with that, he also he a beard. A large bushy beard with more braids.

Arn's eyes were widened in surprise, but also with a bit of bewilderment. He certainly did not expect this.

"...Chief Ragnar? What are- I thought you-"

As the lad stuttered, Ragnar gave a hearty laugh. "Aye! It is good to see you too, Arn Lotharson!"