Chapter 37: Tragedy

by Code Musica

Hail to the King

Hiccup and Hel snapped their heads up the moment they heard a strange sound. It was like a wingbeat, except it sounded like four beats instead of two. They had only a moment to look into the maw of a giant dragon before they were nearly knocked from the saddle. Toothless cried out in pain as two giant clawed feet clamped around his abdomen and hind quarters.

"Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed at the sight of his dragon being hurt. Rage coursed through his veins as he turned on the dragon and emerald green lightning crackled through his right arm. A loud, echoing boom resounded through the skies as Hiccup unleashed the bolt of lightning on the rust colored dragon.

Hiccup saw the wards surrounding the dragon flare to life. He grinned as he saw them struggle to block his attack. Hiccup put a little more power into his spell and the wards fell. His grin grew cruel as he heard the dragon roar in pain as his bolt of lightning tore through the flesh of its underbelly, spilling boiling hot blood over Toothless' back. Hel conjured a shield to prevent them from being burned by the scalding liquid.

"Go, Toothless!" Hiccup yelled, and Toothless darted off faster than the eye could follow. Whoever had attacked them made a fatal mistake. Challenging a Night Fury, the king of all dragons, to an aerial duel was a fatal error. Hiccup glanced back towards where they had been attacked and saw a large, four winged dragon giving chase. On its back was a rider wearing a strange green colored tribal armor and twirling a staff in the air.

"Mother," Hiccup spat. "Toothless, circle around and hit them with a fire blast," he commanded.

"With pleasure," Toothless replied, eager to get revenge for his wounds. Toothless pivoted on the spot, turning around completely in the span of less than a second. The motion caused Hiccup and Hel to feel a little sick, but they held their bile down. Toothless screeched as he charged a violet colored blast of fire, putting enough power into the attack to incinerate the both of them instantly.

Toothless barely caught the glimmer of purple hide out of the corner of his eye. The next thing he saw was a flash of purple lightning thundering towards them. Toothless redirected his attack, causing the lightning to cancel out. Hiccup looked over. Thor was raising his hammer, Mjolnir, in challenge atop his Skrill, Duna. In front of him was Valka on Cloudjumper. Behind the two of them, Astrid approached on Stormfly with Sigrid on Hlif following close behind. They were surrounded by four riders. And, even worse, they brought reinforcements in the form of Auriel and Agni. Six against two and four against one were bad odds, even for the best of warriors.

"Well, this is a surprise. I didn't think you would all come after me," Hiccup yelled over the roar of the wind.

"Don't fight us, Hiccup!" Astrid yelled. "Just surrender!"

Hiccup's eyes flickered to each person in turn. The odds were against him, but it was possible. And if he won… he could take Astrid back to the isle on Jotunheim, where she would be safe from the war and out of the way.

"Hel," Hiccup whispered. "We're going to dive. There's a small crag just below us where we can fight. I want you to stay and help Toothless while I fight the other riders."

"Right," Hel affirmed, her voice gravely as her dark side spoke.

Hiccup grinned. "Now, Toothless!" he yelled.

Astrid saw the grin and knew what was coming. "Hiccup, no!" she exclaimed.

She was too late. Nothing was faster than a Night Fury. Toothless was landing on the crags below them in less than a second. Astrid dived after him, followed shortly by the rest of the group.

Hiccup dismounted Toothless and stood at the far end of the crag. "Be careful, little brother," Hel whispered before moving up in the saddle and getting more comfortable.

"You too, the both of you," Hiccup said, giving Toothless a quick once over to make sure he was okay. The bleeding had already stopped, as the punctures were shallow on account of his strong hide. Toothless barked in affirmation and took to the skies, causing gusts of wind to buffet the crags. Hiccup straightened his posture and glared at the approaching riders.

Valka saw Hiccup dismount and Toothless take flight. "Dragons go after Toothless, riders stay on the ground to capture Hiccup," she commanded. Each of the four dragons landed briefly, allowing their riders to dismount, before taking off after Toothless.

Toothless led the four dragons away from the crags, so that their own battle would not interfere with Hiccup's own. Of the two fights, his was undoubtedly the most difficult. He had more opponents, and he cared for each of them. Toothless had only four opponents, and no such weaknesses, not to mention he had the help of Hel.

Hiccup cast quick glances at the six approaching warriors. Astrid, an angry scowl on her face, which was kind of cute in Hiccup's opinion, wielding Allr'bani. Valka, idly twirling her staff weapon with a sad look on her face. Thor had a broad grin, as he always did when he fought. Lightning arced across the head of Mjolnir. Sigrid had swapped her large two-handed warhammer for a one-handed warhammer and a mithril round shield. Auriel had a blank, emotionless stare. She wielded nothing, but her bow was strapped to her back. Agni had a conflicted feeling plastered on his face, flames licking his fists. He was nervous.

"So, who was it?" Hiccup asked conversationally, as if he wasn't cornered.

"Who was who?" Valka asked.

"Who brought this little band of vigilantes together?" Hiccup clarified sarcastically, rolling his shoulders. Astrid tried to ignore the habit, as it reminded her of their time on Berk before he left.

Valka frowned. "The Allfather wanted you captured, dead or alive. I managed to convince him that I could capture you, but only if he revoked the dead part," she said.

"Ah, well, you'll have to excuse me if I'm not thrilled. You don't know what the Allfather does to those in his dungeons, do you? I'd rather be dead," Hiccup stated.

"Enough talk, let's just capture him!" Thor exclaimed, stepping forward and readying his hammer.

Hiccup took a step back and got into a stance for casting spells. He didn't want to use Tyrfing until he absolutely had to. There was a tension in the air for a few moments before the battle erupted. Astrid, Sigrid, Thor, and Valka all charged Hiccup at the same time, brandishing their weapons. Behind them, Auriel and Agni prepared to cast magic.

Hiccup was their better, though. He worked faster than the speed of thought, instantly casting three spells simultaneously. The first, a broad illusion designed to ensnare the senses of everyone present and toss them into a nightmare featuring their fears. The second, he raised his left hand, conjuring a sphere of emerald energy. The air surrounding Hiccup was sucked in and compressed. The third, he lowered his right hand, sending tendrils of emerald energy into the stone below his feet.

It was a testament to his mastery over magic that he could work three spells of such power at the same time. At once, the sphere of compressed air exploded, and like a scythe reaping the grain, long blades of air sliced at the six of them, threatening to eviscerate them. From below, spears made from stone erupted, their points sharpened to a needle, easily capable of piercing armor and flesh.

Astrid recoiled only momentarily when Hiccup collapsed, bleeding and dead. She dashed away the illusion with a mere thought, having plenty of practice. Valka did much the same, only her illusion contained both Hiccup and Stoick. It took her a few moments longer than Astrid. Sigrid skidded to a stop as she felt her arms and legs being held down by thick leather straps. The image of a large helmet, crackling with electricity, descended upon her. It was a reminder of the horrors she suffered on Nidavellir to save Astrid. Thor, strangely enough, was confused when Hiccup turned into a giant golden throne, the very same that sat in the royal palace on Asgard. Auriel was greeted with the sight of her mother's corpse, or what she imagined it to be in her worst nightmares. A giant sea serpent, countless hundreds of feet in length, reared its head and roared at Agni.

Only Astrid and Valka managed to escape the illusions on their own, where they quickly moved to free their allies. Just in time, too, as Sigrid, Thor, Auriel, and Agni were forced to evade great scythes of compressed wind and long spears of stone erupting from the floor.

Thor jumped skyward, twirling Mjolnir, which elicited a strange humming noise. He charged a bolt of lightning and sent it thundering towards Hiccup. Hiccup responded by transfiguring a chunk of stone into sand, and then transmuting that sand into metal. The lightning hit the wall of sand, breaking against it harmlessly. Hiccup threw his arm out, causing the metal sand to transfigure into hundreds of small daggers, which he propelled towards all six of them.

Astrid used her enhancement magic to increase her speed, allowing her to knock each knife down with Allr'bani. Valka twirled her staff, deflecting everything aimed at her. Sigrid conjured a large stone wall from nothing with her earth magic, which shielded herself and Auriel. Agni danced gracefully between all the knives, while Thor simply flew out of the way with Mjolnir.

Everyone was breathing hard, not from effort, but from the adrenaline coursing through their veins. The only exception was, of course, Hiccup, who benefited from whatever side effects the blood ritual had on him.

"You are a worthy opponent, Hiccup!" Thor yelled from several tens of feet in the air. "Perhaps the strongest the enemy has to offer, aside from my brother himself! Let's see how you deal with this! Everyone move!"

Thor raised Mjolnir over his head, where great bolts of lightning crackled to life as he charged his hammer. Everyone sprinted out of the way of the attack, which came a moment later. A large bolt of lightning, easily fifteen feet in width, erupted from Mjolnir as Thor swung his hammer. The lightning thundered towards Hiccup hungrily, and Astrid saw flashbacks between the events now and when Thor had originally injured him when Hiccup first came to the realms.

Hiccup smirked, dropped to his knees, and placed both hands on the stone. A giant pillar of stone erupted, but was quickly transfigured to metal. The bolt of lightning veered towards the pillar of metal where it struck, harmless to Hiccup.

Hiccup danced around the pillar, placing his left hand on the metal and pointing with his index and middle finger of his right hand. The lightning from the pillar arced across his body to his right hand, where it erupted from his fingertips and shot back towards Thor. The counterattack carried the strength of Thor's own attack, combined with even more energy from Hiccup.

Thor grunted as the bolt struck him. He used Mjolnir to block the attack, but as Hiccup well knew, Mjolnir was good for generating lightning, not necessarily dissipating or deflecting it. Thor was sent flying bodily through the air as the bolt of lightning carried him off.

Agni leapt into action, being the closest person to Hiccup. He danced, flames coating his fists and feet as he punched, sending blasts of fire towards Hiccup. A kick sent a wave of fire surging across stone towards him. Hiccup raised his right hand and conjured a wave of water to extinguish the fire even as he turned to dodge a swing from Valka's staff. Hiccup, being the superior magician, easily cancelled out Agni's fire with his water. Valka's staff struck stone, missing Hiccup by nearly a foot.

Astrid was next, swinging the flat of Allr'bani's blade at Hiccup's head, intending to knock him unconscious. Sigrid was right behind her, swinging her one-handed warhammer. Hiccup dodged Allr'bani while continuing to extinguish Agni's flames. He checked Sigrid's strike with his greaves, finding that his armor held up to the blow. He deftly knelt, grabbed her round shield by the ends, and threw the dwarf across the crags. The shield, being lashed to Sigrid's arm, allow him to throw her. No doubt she would try to punch him in the groin again for his offense. Hiccup smirked at that thought.

His smirk fell as he caught, out of the corner of his eye, the familiar golden glow of light gathering at Auriel's fingertips. Hiccup's brain went to work immediately, calculating the trajectory of the beam of light would take. With the adrenaline coursing through him, it was near instantaneous. He deftly leaned back as the beam moved at the speed of light and zoomed past his shoulder, taking a chunk of armor with it. The beam collided with a stone cliff some ways away, causing a small explosion of energy.

As a result of dodging the beam of light, Valka caught Hiccup across the cheek with the club end of her staff. She winced as she heard, more than felt, her son's cheekbone shatter. Hiccup staggered back a few feet as the pain assailed him. In a few seconds, his newfound regeneration had knit the bone back together, and his face was as good as new. Those who had not seen his regeneration, only heard of it, stared for a few moments. It was an unnatural ability, even among magic users.

Hiccup spit a small amount of blood out of his mouth and twirled on his feet, sending a great wave of emerald fire racing towards the five of them. Agni met the fire head on, parting it with expert skill. The others handled the fire in their own ways. The fire gave Hiccup enough time to work his next spell. He extracted water from the atmosphere, causing the air to become dry. Four great spheres of liquid surrounding him, floating idly. Astrid and Sigrid charged, intending to attack him again. Two of the spheres of liquid sent out whips of water at great pressure towards them. Astrid blocked with Allr'bani, the magical sword breaking the whip. Sigrid raised her shield to block. The whip of water cut through the metal like a hot knife through butter, missing her arm by mere inches. Sigrid yelped and withdrew her hand quickly, jumping away as another whip targeted her.

Everyone backed away as the whips of pressurized water continued to attack them. They saw what happened to Sigrid's shield, and no one wanted to risk the same thing happening to their limbs. They needed a plan.

Hail to the King

Toothless and Duna roared in challenge as the two dragons collided in a whirlwind of wings, claws, and fangs. It was a battle between the two alpha predators of the sky, Night Fury versus Skrill. Duna unleashed a storm of lightning breath while Toothless attacked with blasts of violet fire. Stormfly tried to help wherever she could, but her poisoned spikes were useless because Hel used her magical threads to deflect them, and more often than not, redirect them at her allies. As a Nadder, her fire breath was slow and weak compared to the Night Fury, and she had no chance of hitting him, let alone damaging him.

Cloudjumper was recovering from the wound dealt to him by Hiccup. The lightning bolt had torn through his underbelly, cutting through magic and hide alike. Nothing vital was hit, but it left a gaping wound that oozed boiling hot blood. Every beat of his heart sent a little more of his life blood spilling to the ground far, far below.

Hlif was an older dragon and a Rumblehorn, heavily armored and slow moving. Its fire breath was even slower than a Nadder's, leaving Hlif with the best strategy of catching Toothless off guard and ramming him with his superior weight and horns. Needless to say, with Toothless' speed and Hel's help, he never hit his mark.

"The Mother of Us All foretold this day, dark one! When your kind would herald the end of days, and here you are!" Duna roared in the tongue of the dragons as he sunk his teeth into Toothless' shoulder. Hel leaned forward in the saddle and punched Duna's eye, causing the dragon to roar, more in anger than pain. She cackled as the Skrill's roars turned from anger to fury as he discovered that Hel had sewn his eye shut with her threads.

"The prophecy forgot to mention that we will be victorious!" Toothless roared in response, whipping his tail across Duna's neck and charging a blast of fire before shooting it at a charging Hlif. The Rumblehorn was consumed by violet fire and groaned in pain, even despite its thick natural armor.

Duna whimpered in pain as Toothless' tail struck its back like a whip. Stormfly descended upon Toothless and Hel, her claws open wide and molten fire dripping from her jaws. Toothless rolled out of the way while Hel cackled madly and leapt from Toothless, using her threads to float through the air easily. She managed to fly over to Hlif, where she climbed onto his back. A few hand movements later, the Rumblehorn was bound with countless millions of durable magical threads. Sigrid's dragon fell from the sky and landed roughly on a rocky outcrop some hundred feet down. Hel's dark side cackled again with renewed insanity.

Toothless blocked Stormfly's claws with his own, and unleashed a torrent of violet fire to counter Stormfly's own. The two fire breaths cancelled each other out for the most part, and the two dragons were forced to separate to keep their altitude.

Hel returned to her seat on Toothless' back as the battle resumed, and the thunderous clash of great dragons echoed for miles all around.

Hail to the King

Valka took a deep breath and sprinted forward, drawing her arm back for a vicious and powerful strike with her staff. As she approached the spheres of pressurized water, they launched their whips at her. The whips didn't even fully form before they froze and became solid ice, at which point, Valka turned the new element on its master with her own magic.

Hiccup leapt back, nimbly dodging as icicles rained down on him. Valka swung her staff back and forth, trying to catch a lucky strike on her son. "Just surrender, son. I promise I won't let any harm come to you," Valka uttered between swings.

Hiccup scowled. "I'm not your son!" he yelled, as he raised his hand and sent a bolt of magic streaking out of his palm. Valka jumped to the side, avoiding the spell. Behind her, Astrid and Sigrid did the same. The spell collided with a stone cliff where the rock turned to a sickly colored liquid.

Astrid and Sigrid rushed forward, overtaking Valka with their superior speed, now that they didn't have to worry about the water whips. Together, the three of them harried Hiccup with a shower of blows. Sword, warhammer, and staff mingled together, forming a storm of attacks. Hiccup dodged as best he could, refusing to draw Tyrfing— yet— but still came away with plenty of bruises and cuts. They healed in a matter of seconds.

Thor returned, flying in the air with Mjolnir. He was red in the face, half from effort, half from anger. While Mjolnir couldn't dissipate lightning as easily as it could generate it, it could still accomplish the task given enough time. Thor sent a storm of small lightning strikes towards Hiccup, easily covering fifty feet. Dozens of tiny holes marked the stone from the impact of the lightning. Valka, Astrid, and Sigrid jumped out of the way while Agni added his fire to the barrage, and Auriel shot beams of light at Hiccup like a well trained archer.

Hiccup hissed in pain as one such beam of light caught the exposed muscle of his shoulder, between his neck and the beginning of his breastplate. Luckily, it missed the artery. Hiccup ignored the wound, adrenaline coursing through his body and numbing the pain. His magic's power rose in response to his anger at being wounded. "Enough!" Hiccup yelled, stomping his foot. The ground shook and the stone split under the sheer pressure of his energy, if not his power.

Hiccup stooped, slightly bow legged. His arms crossed in front of him, his palms facing outward. A great influx of air rushed past the six of them, gathering around Hiccup like a bubble. They all gasped for breath at the sudden loss of air, before more rushed to fill the void. Astrid, having seen a similar attack during the Grand Magic Games, knew what was coming. "Hold on to something!" she cried.

Hiccup flexed every muscle in his body in effort at controlling the massive amount of air he was compressing into a shield. He felt his energy begin to wane, and he released his hold on the magic. The bubble of compressed air exploded, sending a wave of air so solid that it felt like stone crashing into the six of them. Thor nearly lost his grip on Mjolnir as he was sent flying through the air. Sigrid had conjured two thick pillars of stone for herself and Astrid to hand on to. Astrid sunk Allr'bani into one for a better grip. Valka kneeled and used her ice magic to root her legs from the knees down to the stone. Auriel and Agni were sent skidding across the stone, nearly falling off the crags. They didn't have enough time to find something to hang on to.

Valka looked up from where she was kneeling, out in the open, to see a flash of emerald energy. A beam of light, much like Auriel's own, shot forth. She didn't have time to undo her magic and dodge. So, she prayed, and tried something. She instantly conjured a wall of pure ice, nearly translucent, and angled it away from her body. The beam of emerald light hit the wall of ice an instant after its creation, and was refracted away from Valka's body. She celebrated only for a moment as she saw the beam melt through solid stone for several feet.

Hiccup gasped at the effort and energy summoning the beam of light costed him. He got carried away in the moment and let anger rule his actions, and it cost him dearly. Light magic was almost never used outside of those with a special talent for it, exactly for the reasons Hiccup was now suffering: it was terribly costly. Hiccup was now a little under halfway drained of his energy. He sighed in relief as his regeneration finished healing the wound on his neck, replacing the charred and blackened flesh with new, pink skin. The pain was still there, but it was lessened.

And, he had just learned something interested. Ice magic could be useful, extremely useful, against light magic. He really needed to figure out if his frost giant abilities included the use of ice magic. Auriel's magic hurt. A lot.

Hiccup's chest was still heaving as Astrid and Sigrid sprinted at him from behind their pillars of stone, weapons drawn. Still recovering from his earlier use of magic, Hiccup was too tired to do much of anything, especially dodge and dance between their blows.

So he drew Tyrfing from its crimson baldric. The all too familiar and eerie tattoo spread up Hiccup's sword arm, appearing as if veins. Hiccup stood his ground and raised Tyrfing, deflecting a strike from Allr'bani. Sigrid sent a barrage of swings with her warhammer at Hiccup's kneecaps, hoping to break one of them, or both if she was lucky. Hiccup quickly changed her mind with quick stabs and slashes of Tyrfing that were aimed to cut the tendons in her wrist.

"Kill, kill, kill," Tyrfing's demonic voice echoed in Hiccup's mind.

"No," Hiccup commanded, continuing their duel and ignoring the sword. Hiccup traded blows with Astrid, Sigrid, and Valka for several minutes. Thor, seeing that he was unable to use lightning magic anymore with close quarters melee combat, descended and joined the fray. Auriel and Agni stood on the sidelines, taking lucky shots with their magic whenever they could. There was just too many people for them all to fight at the same time.

And yet, Hiccup still, somehow, managed to hold them off. Not without cost, however, but his regeneration seemed to have no limit. Every shallow cut, every fractured bone, every bruise, all healed up. And his stamina continued to exhaust them. He simply wasn't tiring like a normal man would. He was breathing heavy from his own exertion with magic, not their duel, and was only covered with a thin sheen of sweat. If they wanted to win, they needed to inflict a serious wound on him.

And, to top everything off, he hadn't even used his connection to the Veil yet. The fight was far from over. Hiccup used Tyrfing to catch the business end of Mjolnir and grunted in effort as he struggled to hold Thor's superior strength off. Valka took advantage of the struggle and quickly cast a wave of still forming ice towards Hiccup. The ice took hold, spreading across his chest and up his arms, sealing him in a cold prison.

The ice continued to spread and harden, eliciting a small cracking noise. Hiccup struggled to break the magic with brute strength that he knew he had, thanks to his connection to Astrid's magic. It would tax him, especially if she fought him for control. He scowled at the thought of becoming even more tired than he already was. Instead, he focussed on the growing sensation of comfort he felt from his contact with the ice. Though no one else could see it, Hiccup could feel the strange blue tint spreading across his body. The scholar in him found his condition fascinating, and seeing as his would be captors thought him captured, he decided to see where his condition would take him.

His skin continued to turn blue, spreading across his chest and down his arms before heading south and moving to his legs. Finally, ever so slowly, it crawled up his neck and onto his face. Astrid gasped as she felt, more than saw, the change. Hiccup's skin was an icy blue color, like the water from a glacier. Hiccup felt an almost instinctual connection to the ice he was trapped in and knew that his condition did indeed expand to the ice magic that the frost giants were known for. With a smirk, Hiccup lashed out. Valka's ice turned on her, submitting to Hiccup's will. His prison became his armor as it transformed into large icicles that shot towards each of the six would be captors.

As they all dived out of the way, Hiccup swung his arm, conjuring forth a wave of still forming ice nearly twenty feet high. The wave broke upon them in seconds. Valka conjured a dome of her own ice, hoping it would hold. Sigrid, who had landed next to Auriel and Agni, conjured a dome of stone to protect the three of them. Astrid swung a powerful swing at the ice with Allr'bani essentially destroying the part of the attack that threatened her. Thor did much the same with Mjolnir and a healthy dose of lightning.

Hiccup had expected such a display of magic to cost him dearly, but, as he suspected, he barely felt the drain at all. His condition now allowed him the use of an elemental magic, a particularly useful one at that, at little to no cost to himself. Hiccup watched as the blue tint faded from his skin, leaving it a pale white color. Without the ice, it seemed as if his condition faded. He felt that he could no longer use his ice magic without great cost. He would have to work on that, later, so that he could use it at will.

Valka's shield of ice held and she used her own powers over the element to create a small tunnel out of the glacier Hiccup had trapped them in. Sigrid, Auriel, and Agni were less fortunate. Sigrid brought down her dome of stone and found the three of them trapped inside the middle of a thick glacier. Agni tried melting the ice while Auriel directed her beams of light. Their progress was slow, and the ice resisted their attempts to melt it. Sigrid swung at the ice with her warhammer to no effect.

With his number of opponents down from six to three, Hiccup could feel the battle nearing its end. Two warriors and a mage of hardly any note against the son of Loki, who still had a little under half his strength left. Not to mention, he had yet to reveal his true power. Tyrfing continued to whisper sweet nothings of death and slaughter in his ear. Hiccup ignored them and reached for his connection to the Veil, letting it fill himself with its power.

Valka, Astrid, and Thor saw the air surrounding Hiccup distort, and then his image flickered like a candle in the wind. An eerie chill crept up their three spines as they sensed the otherworldly energy from the realm between realms. Of the three, only Astrid knew what this power was. Hiccup cast a glance over to the glacier and saw that Auriel and Agni were slowly but surely working their way out. He had but minutes to defeat the three of them.

"So it was you, that day on the island," Valka suddenly said, recognizing the chill.

Hiccup inclined his head ever so slightly, as if in appreciation for the recognition. Valka frowned. Thor was not one to mince words with his enemies. He raised his hammer high and charged, roaring a war cry. Hiccup was hesitant at testing his powers against Mjolnir, but quickly banished his fear. Since returning to his father, after nearly two decades of absence, he had resumed his training and his connection to the Veil and the control over his power was never stronger.

Before, his connection to the Veil was weak and lacking finesse. The energy spilled forth, unable to be contained. It gave him a monstrous, inhuman appearance as the energy of the Veil appeared to be nothing more than smoke made from the essence of darkness itself. Now, however, it was fully under his control. No energy was wasted, it was all contained within his body. As a result, he retained his normal appearance and instead appeared to be almost like a mirage. He could also hold the transformation for longer, and it didn't tire him so.

Thor swung Mjolnir down at Hiccup's shoulder, intending to destroy his sword arm. He didn't even move. Hiccup's heart raced as the hammer came closer and closer, until it struck flesh, and then passed through him harmlessly. He released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. As Mjolnir exited his shoulder, a black mist clung to the hammer for a few moments before dissipating. Thor looked down at his weapon, dumbstruck.

Hiccup backhanded him, allowing his arm to phase back into existence. Thor tumbled across the stone for nearly a hundred feet before colliding with a large boulder and groaning. Hiccup couldn't help but smirk at his longtime rival's pain. He had wanted to hit him for a long, long time, for what he had done to him when he first arrived in the nine realms.

Valka and Astrid attacked next, but Astrid knew it would be futile. Agvior had lectured both her and Sigrid at length on everything he knew about the Veil. From what he knew, and from what Astrid knew, there was no counter to the power the Veil provided its wielders. She had yet to develop her countermeasure, and most likely wouldn't for some time. This was now a battle of attrition, to see who tires first. Them, or Hiccup. When he could no longer sustain the connection, they could capture him.

Valka twirled her staff, coating it with long icy blades at both ends. She was a whirlwind of slashes and strikes as she tried, and failed, to wound Hiccup. Astrid dueled him masterfully with Allr'bani. Hiccup, while trusting in his power to keep him safe from anything, did not allow the blade of Allr'bani to touch him. His sword was a danger, a great equalizer, capable of devouring anything. Even the power of the Veil.

Such was its name, after all. All slaying. If Astrid figured out the secrets of the enchantments on the sword, she could kill him by accident. Not only would that be bad for Hiccup and his plans, but it would pain Astrid as well. His death would be merciful compared to the suffering she would endure, he imagined. The death of one part of one's soul while the rest lingered one would be a tortuous existence.

Hiccup saw a flaw in Valka's guard and extended a foot, allowing it to phase back into existence. Valka tripped as she moved to attack with her staff, stumbling to her knees. Hiccup swung Tyrfing at her dominant arm, intending to incapacitate her. Astrid blocked the swing with Allr'bani. She strained to parry the attack, as Hiccup's strength while in his Veilform was not based on his body, but his will. One of the many benefits of the realm between realms, Agvior had informed her. Will was everything. If you willed to move, you moved. If you willed to be strong, you were strong. If you willed for water, or food, then you had it. And Hiccup was willful, if nothing else.

Thor recovered and entered the fray once more, and Hiccup's lips turned upwards in a cruel smirk. Of all the people sent to capture him, Thor was, perhaps, the only want he would willingly see harmed. He ignored Valka entirely, walking across the stone without a care. He only deigned to block the swings of Allr'bani, which he did so with ease. Thor met him in battle, as he was trained to do. It was the downfall of many a warrior, his father had told him. They all had so much honor, so much faith in their own strength. They never fought their battles with wit.

Thor was in such a rage that lightning crackled from his hammer, creating a storm that engulfed both him and Hiccup, effectively preventing his allies from helping him. Valka and Astrid could only watch as Thor dueled Hiccup.

Hiccup swung Tyrfing with casual ease, his will ensuring each strike was mighty. Thor struggled to block, using both hands on his hammer to parry them. In punishment for his defiance, Hiccup countered with vicious punches and kicks, each one so strong that a dragon could feel them. When Thor grew weary of the melee, he would attempt to dodge after his parries, and Hiccup would bestow upon him small cuts with Tyrfing. The demon sword's laughter rung in Hiccup's ears as it urged him on and on, hungry for more blood. Its thirst was not yet slaked.

And still the storm raged. Thor couldn't even hear Valka's and Astrid's voices over the rush of blood in his ears. After taking a particularly strong backhand to the cheek, Thor was stunned. With a thought, Hiccup stepped fully into the Veil. There, he willed himself to appear behind Thor. And so it was, instantly. Thor whirled around to face Hiccup, and Tyrfing sunk into his belly. Valka and Astrid screamed. Thor staggered backwards as Hiccup withdrew the blade. His hands flying to his wound. Blood trickled out from between his fingers as he stared at Hiccup with disbelief. Thor fell to his knees, dropping Mjolnir, before collapsing and falling into blissful unconsciousness.

Astrid saw red. Thor might not have been a close friend to her, and she had yet to forgive him for hurting Hiccup so, but he was still a comrade. An ally. She charged, swinging Allr'bani with renewed vigor. Valka skidded to her knees as she ran to Thor's aid. She turned the Aesir over to get a better look at him. He was alive, but he would bleed to death if nothing was done. Valka removed Thor's breastplate and tunic before setting to her work. She pulled out a few herbs which she kept on her at all times for the dragons she worked with and studied. They promoted healing in them, but she didn't know if they would help a man. She crushed them to a paste with magic and applied them generously to Thor's wounds.

He was still bleeding, and he was growing pale. With a curse, Valka realized she would have to heal him. She lowered her hands and they were coated with an aura of frosty white energy, like a cloud. She didn't have the energy to heal him, but she could keep him alive until he could get proper treatment. She stemmed the flow of blood and knit flesh back together. It took only moments, but it drained her immensely. A proper healer would have to see to his intestines.

Not a moment sooner did Valka finished her emergency treatment, Duna swept down upon her rider. The Skrill was clearly in a rage, but also frightened in a way that only dragon and rider can be. She scooped him up in her claws and took to the skies, thundering back towards the World Gate.

Valka returned her attention to the fight. Astrid had resumed her duel with Hiccup and was matching him blow for blow. Valka's chest heaved from exertion. Healing Thor had taken a lot out of her. She realized, then, how useful her son's new ability was. To heal wounds as he did without tiring put him in a class of his own, unmatched by mere men. They had yet to wound him as greatly as Thor had been, but Valka had a suspicion that Hiccup could have healed the wound her delt Thor.

Valka jumped in to aid Astrid in her duel. She was acutely aware that Auriel, Agni, and Sigrid would be free any moment. When they did, the battle would turn in their favor once more.

Tyrfing's whisperings became louder and louder in Hiccup's mind, until he could no longer hear the clash of steel against steel. "Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill," Tyrfing repeated over and over and over. It was getting so loud that Hiccup could barely hear the sound of his own thoughts.

Hiccup did hear his own screams, however. The pain brought him back to reality. Auriel stood, just outside a small hole in the glacier, her bow drawn. An arrow of light had been fired, no doubt. Hiccup felt his sword arm go limp. Looking down, he saw that his entire right shoulder was gone. His arm held to his body by a few scraps of flesh and ligaments. He grit his teeth and pain even as his condition went to work, slowly forming new tissue and bone.

"How!" Hiccup screamed through his pain. Nothing could touch him while his connection to the Veil was strong. And yet, the light burned through him with ease. If anything, it felt worse than before, and not just because his injury was more severe.

Astrid was equally shocked. Light magic can affect him, she thought. Hiccup held his left hand to Tyrfing's hilt. The demon sword, as if sensing its master's plight, released its hold on his right arm and allowed itself to be transferred to the left, where the tattoo re-manifested itself.

Hiccup recoiled, sinking back further into the Veil until he appeared as if an apparition. Auriel raised her bow, an arrow of pure light gathering again. Hiccup was ready this time, he moved by sheer will alone, dodging the arrow. He appeared behind the trio of them. Sigrid, her senses honed by decades of battle, turned as she sensed him coming. She tried to block Tyrfing with her warhammer, but the sword easily cut through the more mundane weapon. Defenseless, Hiccup kicked her. Hard. Sigrid flew through the air, never touching the ground, and crashed into a stone cliff a few dozen yards away. She dropped to the ground, unconscious. Hiccup didn't want to kill her, or hurt her even, but he couldn't afford to lose here.

Agni was next, dancing and weaving a storm of fire in an attempt to incinerate Hiccup. Hiccup appeared behind him instantly, kicking the back of his knees and forcing Agni to the ground. He then used the pommel of Tyrfing to knock him unconscious by striking the back of his head. Auriel fired three arrows of light in rapid succession. Hiccup's presence flickered, and suddenly, there appeared three ghosts of Hiccup as the arrows passed through where he had been standing only an instant ago.

Hiccup swung Tyrfing in a wide arc as he appeared directly in front of Auriel. His crimson sword cut her bow clean in half. Auriel was caught off guard, and she tried to cast magic to defend herself. Hiccup struck her with an open palm in the chest, causing her to skid across the stone and fall off the crags. She tumbled down and caught herself on a ledge. She looked up in time to see a rock that had been dislodged from her fall strike her in the forehead. She too joined her comrades in blissful sleep.

And now there were only two left. Astrid and Valka. Once he beat Valka, he could convince Astrid to return to the isle with him. Or, and much less pleasant, take her. She would be safe there, and would eventually come to see things his way. Hiccup's skin crawled with the unpleasant sensation of his regeneration as his shoulder fully healed. It was unbearably itchy.

Astrid and Valka circled him like a pack of wolves circling a fresh kill. Hiccup chuckled, his voice coming out as an eerie echo due to his connection to the Veil. Valka faltered.

"Why, son?" Valka called out as she stopped her circling. Astrid did the same, listening intently.

"I am not your son!" Hiccup spat angrily, his temper flaring and giving his echoing voice a menacing tone.

Valka frowned sadly. "I know I have no right to call you that, but it does not change what we are. I have been a poor mother, that much is true," she said, her voice quivering. "But why this? Why turn to Loki to fill that void I left?"

Hiccup shook his head, honestly amazed that people couldn't understand. They always asked why. And the answer was so simple. Valka was wiser than most, it seemed, for she reasoned his thoughts out from his reaction.

"You love him, don't you?" Valka stated. Hiccup's brows furrowed. "It was not hate, or anger, or revenge that bound you to him. It was love. He was the first person to treat you kindly, to accept you. And for that, you loved him. That is why your loyalty to him is so strong," she said, lowering her staff and stepping towards him.

"Love is the strongest bond of all, and that is why we can't convince you to return to us. Only love can battle love," Valka said, a tear rolling down her cheek as she glanced at Astrid, who listened to their conversation with hope in her eyes.

"I love you Hiccup, I do. Even if you don't see it, even if I never showed it, I do," Valka said, her voice trembling as tears fell down her face freely. She took another few steps towards Hiccup, her hand outstretched to caress his cheek.

Hiccup's temper erupted. "How dare you! How dare you stand here and say that to my face! After everything you've done to me! You had so many years to think, to decide if I was worth coming back for. And in the end, you chose your dragons over me! Your son!" Hiccup spat, a furious sneer marring his features.

"Do you know how many nights I lay awake in my bed, praying, wishing I had a mother?" Hiccup questioned hotly, his voice growing demonic as he took a threatening step forward. Astrid flinched away from their soul bond at his scalding, cataclysmic anger. "How many times I cried myself to sleep after the beatings? How many times I wished my father wasn't a broken, worthless husk of a man because he lost his wife? How many times I, just once, wanted to feel wanted? Loved?" Hiccup questioned. Valka seemed lost, more tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Do you!" Hiccup roared, taking another step forward. Astrid felt her inside turn to fire as Hiccup's rage threatened to consume her through their soul bond. It was tearing him apart, burning him away from the inside out. The fire that burned inside was raging and all-consuming.

Hiccup's gaze burned into her very soul as he searched for his answer. Valka trembled, a look of supreme pain on her face. And then the strangest thing happened. A small rivulet of red liquid dribbled down her chin from her lips. Hiccup's temper subsided, momentarily, to examine the oddity. He felt his arm twisted at an unnatural angle. He looked down.

His arm was held forward. In his hand, the crimson blade of Tyrfing extended forward, entering through Valka's belly and angled so that it was plunged into her chest. The world seemed to fade away for Hiccup as everything began to rush back to him. The first thing he noticed, however, was the roaring voice in his head. "Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!" Tyrfing was screaming, demanding blood.

He didn't hear the voice of the sword in his anger. He didn't feel it take control of his arm during his tirade. The tattoo forcing him to wield the demon sword faded. Hiccup immediately dropped the sword, where it fell to the ground and clanged loudly. "No, no, no, no," Hiccup uttered as he caught his mother when she fell. Valka no longer had the strength to stand.

Unbidden, tears began to stream down Hiccup's face. He didn't even realize he was crying. His entire body was wracked with tremors as he held his hands to her wound, desperately trying to stem the flow of blood. In some deep, dark part of him, however, he knew. He knew his mother was going to die. Tyrfing had pierced her heart when it took control of his body. She was already dead, she just didn't know it yet.

Valka released a shuddering breath. "Hiccup… my son," she said quietly, in a loving whisper. "Don't blame yourself, I love you."

And then she was gone.

Astrid couldn't believe what she had just seen. Her own emotions were in a state of chaos, let alone the emotions she felt coming from Hiccup through their soul bond. She felt her heart break twice, once for the loss of her mother-in-law, and once as Hiccup's heart broke. She blinked as the ground began to quake.

She looked to Hiccup. He held his mother's lifeless body in his arms, crying, his head turned skyward and soundless roar of pain so profound left his maw, that it was silent. The sheer power of his grief manifested itself in his magic, as the very foundations of Nidavellir trembled in awe and fear.

Astrid watched, numb, as Hiccup's roar subsided. He gently laid his mother on the ground and closed her eyes with trembling hands. He stood, his legs weak and his footing shaky, as he stumbled towards her. Hiccup didn't even look at Astrid.

He kneeled, and Astrid followed his movement with his eyes. She saw him pick up Allr'bani from where she had dropped it, grasping the sword's hilt so hard his blood dripped from the pommel. Hiccup walked with a calm, almost collected gait as he returned to Valka's side.

And then, Astrid beheld Power. True Power. The things that were recorded in legend, the things that men remembered not in their minds, not in their bodies, but in their very souls. Power so overwhelming, so absolute, that there was no word to describe it. If there was a God, Astrid imagined it to be similar to what she saw and felt now.

Hiccup tapped into the great, endless expanse of energy within Allr'bani. A pillar of raw magic erupted, stretching upwards for eternity. It was oppressing, all-consuming, and suffocating. It surrounded Astrid, seeping into the very core of her being. The air was gone, and in its place, was nothing but magic. Astrid couldn't breath. Her vision was gone, the blinding light scorching her eyes and rendering her blind. She saw, not with her eyes, but with her very magic. It was an otherworldly experience, seeing without seeing. Almost a sixth sense that one never used, never knew existed.

She gazed upon Hiccup. He appeared little more than a specter of pure emerald energy that shone as brilliantly as the stars in the night sky. His eyes, however, stood out the most. They were piercing, and Astrid could feel his gaze pierce everything in creation, as if he could see the very nature of things. She felt the ground begin to give way. Around her, the stone began to become undone. Not simply be destroyed, or turned to dust, but be undone. Under the immense burden of Hiccup's power, they reverted to pure magical energy. It defied the laws of nature, the laws of magic.

Hiccup extended an outstretched palm, and his Power flared. Valka's body flickered, turning into a brilliant specter of pure white energy, before solidifying again. Every scar, every blemish, every imperfection, every malady, was gone. Valka's body was transformed to the very peak of human health, an unnatural condition that no man achieved in nature. It was a perfect body.

And then the Power was gone. Hiccup knelt, tears continuing to fall down his face, as he extended a shaky hand towards Valka. "Mother," he whispered, his voice hopeful and filled with regret. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind his mother's ear. "Mother," he whispered again, a shuddering sob wracking his body.

He knew better than most, that there was no way to bring back the dead. The body was simply a housing for the soul, and his mother's soul had departed for the Realm Eternal the moment she had died. But he couldn't give up. He couldn't accept that she was gone. Not like this.

Not like this.

Astrid blinked as her physical vision returned. She heard the furious beating of wings and looked up to see four dragons approaching. Toothless, Hlif, Stormfly, and… Cloudjumper. Astrid's heart broke again, for the third time. The four dragons immediately retreated to their riders, fearful for their safety.

And then Hiccup stood. Astrid felt immense sorrow fade to an anger the likes of which she had not felt before, nor since, nor would she ever again in all her years. It was a fire that burned so hot that one could not even see the color of the flames. Hiccup stalked forward towards an empty piece of stone, Allr'bani in his grasp. Astrid followed his gaze. He was advancing on Tyrfing. Then, she heard the strangest thing. A whispering, demonic voice touched her mind, and the minds of all present.

"M-master, please, mercy," the demonic voice begged. "I-I apologize. Never again," the voice swore. Still, Hiccup advanced. "Please! Master, mercy!"

Hiccup sunk the blade of Allr'bani into the crossguard of Tyrfing. "Devour," he commanded of his sword. Emerald flames erupted from Allr'bani as Tyrfing was consumed. The demon sword screeched in pain as its long, accursed life came to an end. For a moment, all was silent. Hiccup stood, his back straight, his head turned skyward, as tears streamed down his face.

Then the roars came. Cloudjumper flailed about, roaring in pain and anger. The crags began to crumble under the massive dragon's throes. "Toothless, hold him," Hiccup commanded in a dead, emotionless voice. Toothless, very reluctantly, obeyed. He pounced and pinned the larger dragon with ease, Cloudjumper forgetting his surroundings in the pain of his loss.

Hiccup walked towards the pinned dragon with a look of profound sadness etched onto his face. "I'm sorry, truly I am. I do this out of mercy, for I know the pain that could come from the loss of our partner," he intoned, and then stabbed Cloudjumper with Allr'bani. Again, emerald flames consumed. The dragon didn't even notice, or suffer, so great was his pain. It was a mercy killing.

Hiccup then began to walk with shaky steps back to his mother's side. Very carefully, ever so gently, almost reverently, he cut her forearm with the blade of Allr'bani. "I will keep you close, mother, always," he swore. And then emerald flames consumed Valka's body, the funeral rites of a true Viking.

Toothless came to Hiccup, nuzzling and cooing in an attempt to lessen his rider's grief. Hel floated down to the ground, having been blown out of Toothless' saddle by Hiccup's earlier immense display of Power. She could taste the sorrow in the air. She gathered Hiccup in her arms and hugged him tight. Hiccup fainted, no longer able to bear the grief, so his consciousness left him.

Hel, with the help of Toothless, maneuvered his body onto the saddle, mindful of the ever sharp blade of Allr'bani, which Hiccup held fast in his hands and refused to let go of, even in his sleep. Together, the three of them fled.

Astrid finally left the daze that had overcome her in the wakes of the last few minute's events. As the unbearable grief transferred to her from Hiccup through their soul bond, she too joined him in blissful sleep, all too eager to dream away her pain.

There were no words for what had happened.

It was a tragedy.

Hail to the King

A/N:

Update (9-21-2015): I've updated the chapter for clarity, most notably, some mistakes where Tyrfing and Allr'bani were mixed up, as well as making it clear that Hiccup picked up his sword from where Astrid dropped it during Valka's death. Also, correcting that Duna was not among the dragons that appeared afterwards, as she took Thor to safety.

And here we have Tragedy. I feel like this was my most well written chapter yet, and it conveyed a lot of emotion. We see the first big fight between Hiccup and the A-team, a small taste of the power within Hiccup's sword, and then, of course, we have the first big character death. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter in some small way, even if you don't agree with the killing of Valka. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.

For the one, singular person who guessed my intentions with Tyrfing, major props to you sir/madam. Tyrfing's curse was twofold, that it was destined to take a life every time it was drawn, _and_ that it was to bring about three great evils. Valka's death was the last of its evils.

Anonymous — Yes! The human riders make up a small battalion of their own in Loki's army. I haven't decided exactly on their number, but they will appear. Perhaps in the next 15 or so chapters. I've got quite a few ideas on who these human riders could be, since they do come from Midgard. Arthur, Merlin, Morgan le Fay, Medea, Gwydion, "gods" from other mythologies, etc. Really I could go in any direction with this. What are your guys' thoughts on this?

Sophhascoconuts — I like to think that for every chapter I write, I could write another chapter of just lore explaining the backgrounds of the concepts used in the chapter. The dragon/rider bond, the history of the Night Furies, the intricacies of magic and each of the schools as well as their subcategories, histories of various important figures (Loki, Galmann, etc.), the Veil and the nature of reality and the parallel realities, even things like potions and herbalism. Too many ideas floating around in my head, I can't put them all on paper.

Guest — That quote was indeed from Mass Effect! I loved those games, and that quote stuck with me the most. There's a couple other video game quotes as well that I've used so far.

Guest — A Screaming Death will most likely be the dragon of one of the human riders that sided with Loki. There's not really room in the story for the breed to play a large role in the story, has they are a fairly unimportant dragon in the grand scale of things.

Due to the support, I think I'll slowly start working on that alternate reality spin-off. It won't be my main focus, and it will probably just be updated whenever I have time to work on it. It will also be short. I'm thinking maybe 10 chapters or so, give or take. So, by my standards, 100-125k words in length. A good tale, yeah? Anyone have title ideas? I'm thinking something about being lost or adrift.

Speaking of length, I've been reassessing where I think Hail to the King will end. I'm thinking around 550k-600k words. I'm not sure if that makes my story the longest, but I hope that you guys will enjoy the ride.

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. A special thanks to all my reviewers.

- Musica