CHAPTER 32: Hawkon's fury
The young despot in Hawkon wasn't finished venting out his anger at Guddorn's death. He was concluding that his death was pretty much an inevitable occurrence from the moment the failure of the armada happened on the seas.
However, Hawkon knew Guddorn very well, and if there was one thing the Mentranian leader could've hoped for, it was that Guddorn hadn't told the Hooligans of the status of Astrid before they killed him. The Hooligans not knowing whether she was alive or not was crucial in the grand plan the Mentranians had in mind.
Upon the legendary mountain in the middle of the island that used to house the Great Hall before it was demolished by the Mentranians when they first arrived on the island a decade ago, there was a medium-sized hut used as a backup 'bunker' type of location, and much like the underground, secretive base that Hawkon had used to meet up with Guddorn, Fludgeon and Gustav, before Guddorn's death, it was an area used to discuss militaristic plans and war tactics.
It was often delegated to the overseers party of Mentra, as a headquarters for the Mentranian vikings affiliated with the party, to hold meetings and so on. But for now, Hawkon was situated inside it. He had sent Fludgeon and Gustav away after the conclusion of the summit back at the hall, to continue with the war effort.
Hawkon came up here for one particular reason; to vent off his feelings and intentions to the general Mentranian viking who had spoken back at him during the summit before. The one who threatened 'action' if more losses had been obtained under Hawkon's leadership.
The building had wooden supports situated beneath it because of the terrain of the legendary mountain. Whoever was inside it was able to get a bird's eye view of the island and its village, in its entirely brown colouration from above. You could very clearly see the entirety of the wooden borders all around the front part of Mentra.
A 'lift' like contraption was often used to come up here, operated with a wooden platform and rope, whereby a viking at the top had winded a lever forwards or backwards depending on whether someone needed to go back down or up. It was precisely like what Hiccup and the Hooligans used at New Berk.
On one end of the wooden table was Hawkon, as the Mentranian leader papers of notes in front of him as he adjusted his shiny shoulder pieces of his viking gear. On the other end was that very same general. And as always, Hawkon had his own 'advisers' by his side wherever he want, and that was no different now. They were stood still, looking like mannequins in their entire black gear, along with black face masks made by dragon scales, like robbers.
"General, you know as well as I do just how important it is for us to unify and work together...why is it that none of our men and women are able to do that?" Hawkon asked, talking in a surprisingly calm tone.
"Wars require long term planning. Currently, sir, the only area that has long term planning is Operation Catafly. Everything else? I struggle to see it." the general replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"It isn't just Catafly, general. Our long term outcome of this whole thing, when we defeat the Hooligans and eradicate them and their children, is to turn this whole archipelago into Mega Mentra, extending the living space of our sovereign vikings to the various other islands around. We may even be able to utilise the island that those warlords, responsible for Grimmel, used to hold. From what I can tell, they haven't been seen for years now, particularly, for ten years, and I think we all know why."
"What I will say, sir, is that I genuinely commend our victory in capturing the wife of Hiccup Haddock, only to then subsequently execute her. But as I can understand, you want the Hooligans to think the opposite way?"
"We need them to think that she's still alive. The final parts of our grand plan require that. And I made it clear to Guddorn that her status has to be kept on the low down, should any unfortunate capturing happen during a battle or a mission. Knowing the guy, I'm under the impression that he wouldn't of revealed it to them." Hawkon nodded, constantly looking back up at the general as if there was something to be asked.
"You see, sir, that's the long term planning, and the clever planning we need. I haven't, as I said during the summit between yourself, our ally Chieftan and our second-in-command father, seen such planning for any of the invasions."
"We occupy Outcast Island, we've taken back the prisoner bay, or the edge, Berserker Island is within our grasp too, and we're going to shortly be invading a couple more islands. Soon, we will occupy the majority of the archipelago, for us to utilise when we reign in victory."
"Those all feel like stroke of lucks, sir. Long-term planning with the defenders means we will be ready for whatever outcome. It hasn't all been that successful in the past for us, when we've done short term plans."
"I've got a short term plan right now, actually, but I'll hold off on letting you know about it." Hawkon said, his expression suddenly turning solemn, and his voice slowly emerging into a whisper as he said that.
"Right. But that's not good. Guddorn would've been a tremendous asset for us, but I suppose our second father in Larson-"
"You don't call him Larson. Refer to him by his title, general. I let you get away with calling me informally back at the hall, you won't start making a habit out of doing that with our other respected vikings."
That took the general by surprise. The young, 20 year old dictatorial Mentranian leader seemed to be setting his foot down now.
"The second in command, our second, dear father," the general said, "will definitely make up for that loss, as will our Chieftan ally."
"Very much so. I didn't come up here with you to discuss our future plans, though, or even Catafly." Hawkon revealed, slowly standing up from his chair.
"Oh?"
"Oh indeed. Tell me, general, are you somebody who likes to do unprecedented things?" Hawkon asked, the masked 'advisers' walking up besides the dictator as he stood up and spoke.
"I don't follow?"
"I'm not my father, general. You should know that by now. What I do with my free power is what goes, no questions asked."
"What are you thinking, sir?" the general asked.
"And what comes with free power is ensuring that it isn't threatened. In this war effort, I need to maintain my influence over those vikings down there, and those defenders. You aren't going to threaten me and threaten to topple me because of me supposedly leading to our significant loss in Guddorn, and because I might potentially lead to those losses, both of which are absurd, outrageous claims."
It caught on with the general Mentranian. He slowly stood up, acknowledging he was in an isolated vicinity with the Mentranian leader, as those masked Mentranian vikings moved closer. They unveiled crossbows from under the table as Hawkon stared with blank eyes towards him.
"You can't do this to me, Hawkon?" the general suggested, as he raised his arms up in defence, "your father gave us these positions, you should be following in his footsteps, not purging your own top men. You really are a threat to Mentra's stability, aren't you?"
The gloves were now off as far as the general was concerned, in light of realising that he's going to be purged. He continued to move backwards with raised arms, as his eyes widened. Oddly enough, he wasn't begging for mercy.
"You will, all by yourself, lead to the collapsing of The Viking's Mentra sovereignty, the whole ideology will cease to exist, and when it does, the Hooligans will come back and take this land." the general stressed.
"Newsflash. I'm not my father, my father's dead, I'm the leader now. I refuse to be held to account for wanting to win by all means necessary. I will alone kill the Hooligans, we will conquer their island and cement our victory, I will turn Mentra into a whole archipelago subsequently, rather than keep it as just one single island, and nobody will tell me otherwise. And to the contrary, it's division-bringing vikings like YOU, not me, that lead to significant losses, like our loss of Guddorn to the Hooligans. Goodbye, general."
The masked Mentranian vikings besides Hawkon flung plenty of arrows from their crossbows, causing them to automatically step back a arrows flew with great precision towards the general, whereby the helpless 'ally' of the Mentranian leadership was impaled with numerous amounts of them, causing him to collapse and fall down back-first.
Every dictator purges their inner circle should that inner circle threaten his power, and Hawkon was no different. But purging your own side can lead to a bigger risk of splits and subsequent instability in regimes, and Mentra was now at the forefront of internal instability; the dictator has willingly purged one of his own generals, and if those purges become apparent to the overseers party and or the other leadership figures, the instability has the potential to grow and grow, until it's too much, before the regime and the cult of personality collapses.
The paranoia of Hawkon, because of him wanting to retain his power, especially during the war, has now led to the first of what could be many purges.
Hawkon's implication that his father being dead means he doesn't have to follow in his footsteps was also significant. When vikings across the archipelago say Hawkon is much more militaristic and extremist than his father, they're more than right, and that's what Hiccup & co are dealing with.
A young dictatorial despot viking who doesn't even think highly of his dead father anymore, who initially groomed Hawkon himself for the leadership during his time leading Mentra. By all means necessary, Hawkon said, and by all means necessary he truly means.
Hundreds and hundreds of regular Mentranian vikings, from the children, to the women, to the men, were all gathered in front of the statue of their old leader in Hawkon's father, because in front of that statue was their current leader in Hawkon. Some were 'crying' tears of joy at seeing Hawkon, some were cheering, and some were literally fighting with each other to get as close as possible to Hawkon.
All of this, of course, because of the cult of personality enforced. Hawkon was here to make a speech not only to reinforce his status following the purge he had undertaken some time ago, but also to reinforce his overall power and authority. The regular Mentranian vikings shaking with joy and jumping, screaming, and cheering, were precisely what was expected of them for their leader.
"AND LET ME TELL YOU ALL...OUR GREAT SOVEREIGN ISLAND WILL GO ON TO CRUSH OUR ENEMIES. ENEMIES THAT SEEK TO DIVIDE US, THAT SEEK TO DESTROY US, AND SEEK TO PUT US BACK INTO IMPRISONMENT." Hawkon yelled, as he was surrounded by a bunch of advisers, guarding him, as he stood directly in front of the statue of his father, on an elevated bit of terrain, where there was a distance between himself and the cheering crowds of Mentranians.
The regular Mentranians were either cheering, screaming, or chanting for their leader, all the while sweating, and subtly starving for food, due to the regime undergoing food shortages to feed its defenders. But the regulars here had no choice. They'd instantly be sent to the isolation camps if they were doing anything other than praising, cheering, or screaming for their leader, regardless of how hungry they were.
"THE HOOLIGANS WILL BE CRUSHED! THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR ISLAND, AND WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, OUR SOVEREIGNTY WILL EXTEND BEYOND THESE WATERS, WHEREBY YOUR LIVING SPACE WILL EXPAND! LET OUR GREAT ISLAND REIGN IN VICTORY, AGAINST THE HOOLIGANS, AND ALL OUR ENEMIES!" Hawkon cried, sounding like a determined patriot in his manly, strong, yelling voice.
"AGAINST OUR ENEMIESS!" the regular Mentranians cried out subsequently.
They were all 'crying', cheering, or screaming as they struggled in the sweat-producing, shoulder-to-shoulder crowd they were all in. Some of them were pretending, just for their lives, and some were genuinely doing it as a means of every-day life under the Mentranian regime, even including the hunger they had; it's all been normalised for the group of Mentranian regular vikings who think like that.
Regardless, they had no choice just now, all down to the cult of personality and the regime's strict policies that needed to be followed by the regular vikings.
