I'm not sure what I expected after Hiccup had gathered all of these Chiefs and Chieftesses here; if I though everyone would immediately realize the problem and cooperate or what. What we got was quite the opposite shortly after Hiccup's opening remarks; it erupted. There is bad blood between some of the tribes at this summit, and they didn't seem keen on letting old matters rest in the face of new threats. Standing around the table, it became a shouting match between tribes; The Mongrel Tribe had wronged many, and were immediately at odds with the Defenders and Wingmaidens. The Hysterics had a problem with the Berserkers, and more specifically, Dagur for how he acted when he took over initially. Turns out Berk was not the only island he flexed on. The Hymir Tribe and Shivering Shores were relatively quiet with the Outcasts just sitting back and laughing. I wanted to scream at them, they were giving me a headache and I could hardly think. Glancing at Hiccup sitting next to me as they shouted, eventually even he lost his patience.

"Enough!" Hiccup shouts, standing and stepping to the table with Alvin following suit. "We are not here to reopen old wounds, we are here to build bridges, not burn them." Hiccup states as I glance around the room to the other seconds. Throk, Minden, Radburn, Jary and Birger were all relatively still, watching their respective leaders. Eir was staring daggers into everyone else around the room and Heather seemed to be casing them like I was. The one called White Fang, the silent female second, seemed like she was stalking prey; her wolf pelt over her head, covering much of her face as she silently gazed over the chaos.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think we were tryin' start a new fight 'ere! If I can get over ol' grudges, then so can the lot of you. Now then, sit down, shut up, and listen to Stoick's boy." Alvin comments in his usual sarcastically scary tone before looking at Hiccup. "Chief Hiccup, the floor is yers." Alvin says and looks back to everyone else. Apart of Silver Claw or Audun, Alvin was the most intimidating Chief there, and even those two seemed to nod in agreeance with Alvin when he said what he said.

"Thank you." Hiccup says simply and places his hands on the ring around the large map. "We've all been through hard times in recent years. Berk alone has been in combat with nearly half the Tribes in this summit yet now we are friends with most. We do not need to be enemies with each other. We already have enemies in our waters and they will run us out of our waters and islands to garner their profit if they can." Hiccup says confidently.

"And what exactly are you suggesting then, Haddock?" Nikora quips, crossing her arms as I shake my head slightly. I really didn't like their continued hostility.

"I am suggesting we meet them together; we unify as a coalition and combine our resources to expel them from our waters permanently. I am suggesting we come to an agreement between ourselves, establish a lasting peace between us, our neighbors and the dragons that coexist with us. We've proven that you can live side by side with dragons and neighbors even those who were once your allies. It just takes a little effort and compromise." Hiccup explains.

"This would be a declaration of war, would it not?" Audun asks, "Against those remnants of Drago's armies."

"Yes." Hiccup answers simply, glancing around the room as Audun continues.

"I admire your moxie, but for that to be effective, we would need to do more than act as a coalition; an declaration of war on this scale with so many chiefs is a recipe for internal struggle." Audun states, crossing his arms and speaking with a wisdom that I've not heard since Stoick, which was actually comforting. Audun was similar to Stoick and respectful, like Alvin but, cleaner?

"What we would need here…" Mala interjects, turning her head to look at me before smiling softly and glancing at Hiccup. "Is to declare one among us as the Chief of Chiefs, one who's command would not be questioned in the face of this threat." Mala finishes as several of the chiefs laugh.

"There's not been a Chief of Chiefs since Drago wiped out the last summit." Kira interjects, glancing down. I remember Hiccup mentioning that Kira had lost her father that day and assumed the role of leader far sooner than she should've needed too.

"Exactly why there must be one now, one who commands respect and leads with conviction, passion and integrity." Atali mentions and I can just feel Hiccup's heart sinking as my own smile widens. That is, until Nikora chose to speak up.

"Are you serious? You expect me to bow to one like some underkept leader? I did not rebuild and reclaim my home island to be anyone's pathetic runner of orders." Nikora snaps and for the first time this whole talk, I hear White Claw growl a low sigh as he turns to Nikora.

"Then Go, Little One. You waste our time, leave now, and by seasons end your tribe will be no more." White Claw says in a low tone not unlike a growl as he stands straight up, challenging even Alvin in size and presence. "I came not to hear the pathetic ramblings of a child with dreams of grandeur, silence your weak attempts to seem strong or leave." White Claw finishes, his voice barely above a guttural whisper but so clear as everyone in the room stood in silence. The Hysterics were every bit as potent in their presence as we had been led to believe and their Chief was no slouch. Even Nikora looked frozen, and glancing to Silver Fang, I saw her head had shifted and was locked on Eir. Both Hysterics were ready to pounce, and everyone in the room felt it.

"That isn't necessary." Hiccup says, breaking the silence and drawing the eyes of the others. "We don't need to hold contempt for each other. If we need a Chief of Chiefs, they need not sit higher than the others; they need only to serve as the final say after the council of those Chiefs that are with them." Hiccup says and I sigh slightly, smiling.

"I nominate you." White Claw says lowly, pointing to Hiccup and surprising literally everyone, even me.

"Uh- what?" Hiccup stutters as Dagur speaks up finally, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"So do I." Dagur says, standing tall next to Hiccup.

"Aye, Me as well!" Alvin says, putting his large hands on his hips and nodding astutely.

"As do I." Mala adds, standing next to Dagur. I glance around and can see the growing smiles on Heather's, Throk's and Minden's faces. We had been through so much together, we all saw Hiccup for the leader he was then, but to see others see it and stand by it in front of others now was inspiring.

"Wait a minute.." Hiccup says, glancing around.

"No, Chief Hiccup, I agree. Since the death of your father and assumption of the role as Chief, and before to your time of war against the Hunters and Flyers of Viggo and Johann; you are my choice as well." Atali says warmly to Hiccup as she too glances my way with a light smile. We exchange a nod together amid the surprise vote initiated by the Hysterics.

"I've been impressed by you so far, boy, so I'll back you too. Stoick always did right by me." Audun adds, nodding.

"You had my vote since you invited us, the Hymir Tribe supports you as Chief of Chiefs." Kira adds, her eyes find mine and we exchange a nod and smile as well. I liked her. There was a noticeable silence as the only one to not endorse Hiccup remained to be the Mongrels and all eyes fell on them.

"The vote doesn't need to be unanimous, but it'd be in all of our best interests if it was." Dagur says, glancing to Nikora who narrows her eyes and scowls.

"I request a recess before I do or do not offer my support to confer with my council." Nikora says curtly and steps back and towards Eir, with the pair stepping outside.

"Let's take a moment, everyone. Drink and food." Hiccup says in a breaking voice as he then turns directly to me as I stand, and no sooner did I stand did I feel his arms around me in a hug. "This is nerve wracking." He whispers into my ear as I smile and tighten my grip and nod.

"Really, I couldn't tell, you're handling it so well." I whisper back as his grip squeezes again. I can feel his heart racing until he pulls away and looks me in the eye. I can tell he wanted nothing more than to kiss me, and I wanted to feel his lips too; but we had to be professional, at least, mostly. We then sat together with food and drink while the others huddled with their own seconds. I hadn't noticed until now, but Silver Fang had vanished in the time of Hiccup and I's hug; she was like a ghost. I was almost worried that the Mongrel's would abandon the Summit or worse, blood would be spilt but that was put to rest as Nikora and Eir stepped back into the hut together with all eyes falling on them. I can see Nikora clench her fist and shake her head slightly as she sighs.

"We endorse Hiccup." She says through gritted teeth, and I can tell she didn't want too but logic had won over feelings. Still, I'd be keeping an eye on her as we moved forward. Though, with that single admission, the vote was unanimous that Hiccup be named Chief of Chiefs. Was it a mere title or a point of respect. To Hiccup, I'm sure a weight he had to bear to see this world to peace. I'd be by his side, helping him bear this weight no matter the route it took us.


And there it was, with one final admission through strained tongue and gritted teeth, I was named Chief of Chiefs for the Barbaric Archipelago. Now, all eyes were on me and it was not exactly what I expected. I don't know what I really thought would happen, to be fair. I expected bad blood to resurface, I didn't expect a couple hours' worth of shouting. I expected to be named Chief of Chiefs, after hearing so many of my allies support me for it, but I didn't expect the Hysterics of all tribes to Initiate it. Now, it went from bad blood staining the bridge we were building to me being the one connecting the dots. With skeptics like the Mongrels and stalwart allies like the Berserkers, Outcasts, Defenders and Wingmaidens; I had a lot to do to keep leveled and focused. Fortunately, Astrid was here with me, this would've been so much worse if I had to do it without her here.

"Now that that has been dealt with, we have to address how we tackle the problem." Audun states as I nod along.

"To that end, I have ideas. Combined, the nine tribes in this room represent the greatest powers that be; our combined fleets match the remnants of Drago's armies, possibly even slightly outnumber them." I state as Nikora cuts in.

"Then let's wipe them out and be done with it." Nikora states as I shake my head.

"This isn't a conventional war; it never has been. In the past, it was us versus each other by boat and land or versus the dragons. Now, we have an edge that can dramatically alter the way wars are fought and won. What good would it do to dedicate our entire fleet to a cause only to leave our own shores without protection." I state.

"Quite the military mind, brother." Dagur adds, laughing briefly before shrugging. "There's a reason he usually beat me even though I always outnumbered him." Dagur adds. "He's creative, and he's got dragons."

"We've got dragons." I add with a smile. "Between Berk and Berserker Island, we have a large wing of Dragon Riders that have been trained by the best. Heather of the Berserkers and Astrid of the Hooligan Tribe have painstakingly seen to the training of most of our riders, and together we've bested nearly all we've had to fight." I explain. "Still going, we've successfully raided several trapper ports and bases in recent months with just us. But we've avoided their fleet as a whole, as we still aren't sure where their main base is." I add.

"And let's not forget; Hiccup is the one who ended the reign of Krogan, the Hunter." Dagur adds, clasping my shoulder again as I wince slightly in a smile. Several around the table didn't know that yet, though knew of Krogan and it even gave Nikora pause.

"You killed Krogan?" Nikora asked simply as I nod softly.

"We needn't dwell on that, what's important is strategy." I say as Nikora shakes her head.

"Krogan eluded us for years and you killed him?" Nikora reinforces with a slight shake of her head as she sighs. "So, strategy?" She asks simply and I nod.

"Starting with Strengths and Weaknesses. Hooligans has the highest number of Riders with the Berserkers coming in second. Atali and the Wingmaidens have fast moving, light and small flyers. Berk has a fair number of ships, but less to crew them with the number of riders. The Berserkers, Outcasts, Mongrels and Shivering Shores have the largest combined fleets and crew, which the Hooligan fleet could supplement. Defenders, Hymir and Hysterics have the strongest ground forces without more ships than is needed for hunting or trade." I explain after opening up my notebook and glancing around the room.

"What I suggest is twofold. Supplementing our immediate waters, those around each of our individual islands with a quarter of the combined fleet. Enough to give any Trapper convoy pause. Each smaller fleet would be made up of each of our fighters and crew. The remaining Fleet would be staged and ready to act together to raid a given target with the majority of the riders poised with them. Each home island would be left with a pair of riders that could quickly send out air mails to us." I explain, sighing. "I expect it to get dicey as we start hitting them harder, they'll start pushing back harder." I add.

"Let them try." Dagur states

"And what will you be doing?" Nikora asks.

"I will be leading the Riders of Berk on reconnaissance missions and continuing marking targets and trying to pin down their main fleet. We'll send air mails to make sure everyone is aware of what we're hitting." I explain as Nikora seems to nod along, suddenly seemingly okay with the idea. Maybe it was finding out about Krogan that did it, no telling with her.

"And how will this all be handled, by you alone?" Audun asks simply and I shake my head swiftly.

"Gods, no. I'd like to say that I can task, or rather, ask my fellow Chiefs in this room for their leadership in certain roles." I begin as they nod around me, giving me course to continue. "Audun, Alvin and Nikora, I'd like to task you with coordinating the fleets efforts. That is, ensuring they are manned and poised, ready to engage. Ensuring each island has a viable wave around them. Those islands with their own established fleets can use some of their own. For those without, mix the ships up so it is an allied force." I state, glancing between the three.

"Aye, I can do that. I've been leading ships for thirty years!" Alvin exclaims as Audun nods.

"So be it." Audun says with a smile and nod as they turn to Nikora who shrugs.

"Whatever, as you say, your chiefliness." She answers curtly as I nod and move along.

"Kira, Mala and White Claw; I would charge you with keeping stock in our ground force that occupies the ships, ready to engage the trappers. Impress upon them that we are not going for the kill unless absolutely required to save your own life. Our goal is to take their ships, free their dragons and cage the trappers." I state.

"We can see to that." Mala says through a professional smile and nod.

"Work for me." Kira adds as they glance to White Claw who nods.

"As you say, Chief. True justice will only fall by the blade, but we will stay ours until they force it. We will avoid the kill; Silver Claw will see that is known throughout our warriors. White Claw says, turning to look at me completely. "Silver Fang will be my eyes with the fleet." He says and I nod.

Turning to Dagur and Atali, I nod to each of them. "Dagur, I'll want you to organize the rider teams that are sent to different islands and make sure we have clear means of communication; between you and Heather, organize the riders as a whole to engage. Atali, your Wingmaidens are fast and light and could island hop between us in the lull before battle to make sure no trappers conduct surprise attacks. When the time comes, you'll be with our ground forces on the ships until we make contact."

"You got it, brother." Dagur says with a smile.

"I will do my part, Hiccup." Atali adds.

"Thank you, all of you." I say with a smile. "We will stay in constant communication, and once the trapper threat is handled, we'll address other issues we may have but this must take precedence. I'd like to reiterate one key thing here." I say, glancing around. "Our war with the trappers is a war to save both ourselves and the dragons that live with us. For this coalition to work, we must accept dragons as members of our society. They are not tools of war, things to be caught, killed and traded. The fact that we use them for war now is only because they allow us too, and we strive to keep them from harm. We do not enslave or kill them, nor each other. Is that understood?" I say strongly, in the sternest voice I can muster and to a most pleasant surprise, they all nod. "Good." I say simply. "With that, unless anyone has any other business to bring up for now, we will close this summit down and put these plans into motion."

"Does anyone have any other business?" Mala reiterates and everyone shakes their heads collectively as she nods to me.

"I then conclude the Summit of the Chiefs. Unless something drastic happens, we'll not need another one like this until after the trappers are dealt with. Go by the grace of Odin." I say confidently as they all nod and step back, each of us returning to our respective seconds. I didn't realize until then my hands had been sweating and my heart racing. Feeling Astrid's arms around me almost immediately after we broke we enough to make my muscles relax from the tension and I felt like I could close my eyes and sleep in her arms right there.

"You did really good." She whispers softly and I just sigh and keep my grip tight. Eventually I feel a hand on my shoulder as I pull back from Astrid and feel Dagur embrace me in a rib-shattering hug.

"Good job, brother! I knew you were an excellent leader! And O-o-ooooh, did you feel the tension with the wolf man, White Claw! Oh, he is so intense, I love it!" Dagur exclaims as I just chuckle as Heather walks up with Throk and Minden close in tow.

"You did us all proud, Hiccup, really." Heather says softly with a smile as I nod, smiling.

"Indeed, I was saddened that my queen did not attempt to lay claim to that title, but I accept that you are the best to lead us in this campaign, Hiccup." Throk says in his usual overly formal tone. "Ah, tell me, what of the fragrant and beautiful Ruffnut?" He asks as Heather shoots both Astrid and I a gaze

"Oh, yeah, he had a thing for her awhile ago, it, uh, didn't really work out." I say sheepishly and turn to him. "She's good, maybe send her an air mail or stop by on Berk someday." I suggest as Astrid narrows her eyes.

"And don't try to kidnap her." She says sternly as Throk nods, putting his hands up.

"Of course!" He exclaims as Minden taps Astrid on the shoulder.

"And, uh, what of Snotlout?" Minden asks meekly as Astrid rolls her eyes but smiles anyways.

"Still as annoying as ever, but I'm sure he'd love to see you too." Astrid says, clasping arms with her.

"I might like that too." Minden mutters and nods. Astrid and I make eye contact and share a smile as our bodies drift ever closer with our friends nearby. For the first time in months, I feel like we actually have a plan, like there is light at the end of this tunnel and peace can actually be achieved. It was a fool's hope, to be sure, but one I had none the less. I'd fight and die for peace if I had too, it was within our power as a race to be peaceful, I know it is. It is within our power to accept each other's differences and grow together; to coexist with those peoples who view things differently and those animals that share the world with us. All it took was there being more good people than bad, and that the good people did not stand with indifference but instead acting with good intentions. Bad people can only act at the behest of indifferent good people, for it takes the support of those around you to be truly evil for most.

All that was left now was seeing everyone off this island and returning home, I think Astrid and I were both due for a well-deserved rest together.