"How long are we going to be up here, Hiccup?" asked Toothless in Dragonese, pacing back and forth. "It was the afternoon when we began testing out the tail, and we're WAY past that now. First you wanted to rest when we got up here, then you wanted to 'study' the ruins, and now it's almost dusk- and you're… trying to focus on something?"

"I know, I know," sighed Hiccup sitting crisscrossed with his eyes closed. "But there's something strange about these ruins, Toothless. I think there's something here. Some kind of magical presence, maybe…"

From noon to twilight, Hiccup and Toothless remained in the elven ruins atop the cliffs. Following his rest, Hiccup spent much of his time in the ruins studying the remains that stood, from its broken statues, to its cracked arches, and its fading engravings.

However, something else eventually came to the lad's mind. Amidst his observations, he felt something suddenly hook his attention; it was an unnatural presence, and before Toothless knew it, his rider decided to settle down in the circular center of the ruins, so that he could 'focus.' However, it appeared more or less as if Hiccup was meditating, which to many would be seen as strange, as he had never once meditated in his life.

This of course bothered the black dragon, as by then, he was quite exhausted, and the sun was on the verge of setting. The clouds were a pink hue, illuminated by the sun's golden light, and the skies were a dark purple, with the stars above already beginning to show.

The Night Fury let out a huff of air. "There's nothing of importance around us! All I see are the broken remains of a long-gone structure that-"

"It's not what's around us," interrupted Hiccup, running a palm against the stone ground beside him. "...It's what's beneath us; here, under these ruins."

"Under the ruins...?" asked Toothless. "Like what? Some stupid almighty aura?"

"Oh come on, Toothless," sighed the lad. "...Well, truth be told, I'm not exactly sure what it is. However, what I can say is that it has a very similar presence to the font of power that Elendar showed us back in Nordell; the very same font that the others and I drank from to strengthen our powers."

"...The pool of mana?" questioned the dragon.

Hiccup nodded. "Precisely. Except… it feels much stronger than the font; many times stronger, as a matter of fact. It's almost as if there's an entire lake or river of arcane magic under this land, and my mind feels much clearer because of it. It's like I can cast all my magics with ease now, and even use spells that I've never known nor thought of before."

"I think you've lost it a bit, buddy…" warbled Toothless with a chuckle. "...But, if you're certain that this is the case, then maybe you should try and cast that arcane power you and the others have been talking about recently."

"Hmm… I don't know," answered Hiccup hesitantly. "Even though it's possible for us to use arcane, since we know all three elements, I don't know what I need to do to call upon it."

"Didn't Elendar say that arcane was all three of the elements combined into one...?" asked Toothless, to which Hiccup nodded.

"What are you getting at here?" he questioned.

"What if you tried combining all the techniques used for these elements into one?" he said, now settling down next to Hiccup. "Fire requires rage, storm requires thinking, and ice requires acceptance. Put all of those together, and maybe you'll get arcane."

"Put them all together," the lad sighed, opening his eyes to glance back at Toothless. "Are you serious?"

"Just give it a try," huffed the Night Fury. "The worst that could happen is that… nothing happens. I don't know."

"Or I blow my head off and get incinerated…" said Hiccup, shaking his head. "Very well. I'll give it a try. Just… try and be quiet."

"As you say," said Toothless, as he proceeded to lie down on his stomach. "Also, don't take too long…"

Hiccup let out a light huff of air. Once more he closed his eyes, and began to focus downwards in the earth beneath him, feeling the ever growing presence of magic that seemingly filled him. In his head, many things began going on at once; in the first corner of his mind, the raging element of fire burned with a searing anger. In the second, the power of storm and thunder crackled with ideas and thoughts. And in the third, he imagined feeling the icy winds of winter blowing against him, embracing its freezing sensation as it seemingly filled up to his finger-tips...

It was then that Hiccup raised his right hand, with his open palm facing upwards, and began to gently wave his fingers around, like blades of grass in the breeze. At that moment, the lad was half-aware of what he was doing, but nonetheless continued focusing on bringing the three distant corners of his mind together, allowing his thoughts and emotions to guide him deeper and deeper into the center of it all…

...And then, something began to happen.

The veins in his hand and arm started to glow with a vibrant blue light, as did his finger-tips, and with a light flick of his hand and wrist, it suddenly came to life.

Arcane energy bursted from Hiccup's entire palm like a torch.

The bright blue magic appeared as an intense, luminous light, like a star in the night sky. In addition to that, the arcane energy had a circle of magical runes spinning around it, and it let out an unnatural yet soothing sound that warmed the hearts of anyone around it. This was no exception for Toothless, and his eyes were widened to their peaks.

"Hiccup, open your eyes!" said Toothless.

"Wha-?"

Hiccup proceeded to open his eyes, and as he looked down at his palm glowing with arcane magic, his face gave off a silent look of shock. For a brief second, the lad was at a loss of words and air, unable to form a sentence. But in that moment, he suddenly lost his focus, and before he could even make any movements, the arcane magic immediately dissipated from his palm in a flash, leaving the empty air in its place, along with the sound of the natural ambience.

But even then, that did not matter to him.

"I… I don't know what to say," he said, smiling. "I actually did it…"

"Looks like I was right," grinned Toothless. "You can thank me later."

...

"...A leyline?" asked Hiccup.

"Yup," nodded Astrid. "That's what lies deep beneath the ruins- or rather, beneath the earth. An entire lake of magical energy, created by Yggdrasil itself."

"And so the elves built that tower to shelter powerful spells and knowledge, while using the leyline?" questioned the lad.

"Exactly," replied Astrid.

The night had finally fallen onto Midgard. As of the moment, both Hiccup and Astrid stood near an isolated corner atop the ramparts, where the two of them could have a moment to themselves as they stared off at the starlit valley before them. It was a moment of peace and quiet.

To their luck, the rest of the riders, along with the vanguard and the dragons - including Toothless and Stormfly, had gone off to the mead hall to dine on fine food and drink. As such, this left them alone together… or rather, almost alone.

Near the center of ramparts, King Kharinz, along with Beldrak and the elven healers, stood in silence as they too gazed at the sight of Dalgard's valley, with the light breeze of the night blowing against them.

From where the two vikings stood, they could hear the mountain-king let out a heavy sigh as his white beard blew with the wind.

"Ahh… it's been ferever since I had a view of the outdoors," he said with a grin. "Ye were right tae bring me out here, Beldrak. I was a fool fer staying in the hold fer all those years. Out here, it feels… so much lighter."

The thane gave a nod. "I only did what I thought was right, yer majesty. Ye haven't had fresh air fer so long, so I thought it was about time ye got out."

"And ye were right," the white-bearded dwarf chuckled. "Ah! I could get used tae this feeling again…"

As the two dwarves continued on with their hearty talk, Hiccup and Astrid tossed glances at one another, before turning their attention back towards the valley.

"Either way," continued Astrid. "I can't believe you managed to conjure arcane magic. Though at the same time, I somewhat knew that you were going to be the first to do it."

"Well, the leyline helped me focus," said Hiccup. "It acted almost like an… aid, of some sort. It was as if it helped me pull the switch that allowed me to use arcane magic. However, were it not for Toothless, I wouldn't have figured out how to tap in and use the switch."

"And you said it was all of the techniques for the other elements combined into one," replied Astrid, to which Hiccup nodded. "That seems quite difficult, if you ask me."

"Anything is possible, if you just give yourself a little bit of patience," he assured her, wrapping his left arm around the back of her waist as he gently pulled her in. "Though I still wonder… could these rivers of energy be made up of the same mana we drank from the font back at Nordell?"

"Who knows… Though if you don't mind telling me, what makes you say that?" asked Astrid.

"Both the mana and the leyline had an extremely similar presence," he replied. "Like you said, when the elves built that tower, they built it as a place of knowledge. When we drank from Elendar's font, the mana gave us knowledge. Ideas and thoughts were just given to us in the blink of an eye, like words from a book."

Astrid's face suddenly lit up with a surprised gaze. "What are you saying?"

"Think about all we just learned today, Astrid," said Hiccup smiling. "As well as the many more discoveries and possibilities that await us. There's so much more knowledge out there! Knowledge that is waiting to be uncovered. Knowledge that could tell of Midgard's beginnings, and perhaps even the birth of the dragons themselves…"

"...And it's all under our feet. We could-"

"Hiccup…" interrupted Astrid, turning her eyes to the lad. "...As exciting as all of this may sound, you may be getting a little bit ahead of yourself. You must remember that we're here for a reason, and we still have a duty to fulfill. As long as our business remains unfinished, we cannot shrug it aside, nor let our guard down. You know this."

"...Hmph," nodded Hiccup. "I... guess I did get a bit ahead of myself there."

Astrid smiled, and gave a light giggle. "It's all fine, babe. Let's just… wait until there's an opening for us; a calm in the storm. Once that happens, then we can see what new discoveries await from the leyline down below."

"Well in that case, I'll need to preoccupy myself from it," chuckled Hiccup, spinning his eyes back to meet Astrid's gaze. "...You want to get something to eat?"

"Sure," she grinned with a nod. "My stomach feels a little bit empty right now. I could use a bite."

"It's off to the mead hall, then!" smiled Hiccup. "Ladies first."

...

The mead hall of the dwarves could only be described as loud, cheerful, and yet less crowded than usual, as it was now the evening. The large chamber looked similar to that of a viking great hall, but made of stone, and fashioned by dwarves. If anything, it was very reminiscent of Berk's great hall.

A grand fire-pit ran through the center of the hall, with a group of fifty half-drunken dwarves standing around it as they fed their fill solely with mead. Beyond that however, dozens of long-tables were scattered about the hall, filled to the brim with food and drink; especially mead.

In a quieter spot near the back of the hall, the riders and the dragons, along with the captains, sat at a table with meats, stews, cheeses, cakes, mushrooms, bread, milk, wine, and mead in plentiful amounts. In the tables around them, the vanguard feasted happily on such foods, all while conversing as cheerfully as the dwarves within the hall.

As the vikings, elves, and dwarves ate as they desired, the dragons stared at their large bowls of food atop the table - of which were prepared specifically for them - with unamused looks.

"Really?" asked Toothless. "This is our first time in this hall, and they expect us to eat… this? Chicken? Boar? Where's all the fish!?"

"Tell me about it," responded Meatlug, sniffing her food. "Although rocks and minerals are my main source of food, any human food besides fish is an absolute no for me…"

"And what's this on the side?" asked Hookfang, gesturing to another bowl next to his main course, filled with a warm, creamy liquid. "Is this… milk? YUCK!"

"Honestly, we probably should've expected this," huffed Windshear with a frown. "The barrels of salmon that Brann supplied us back in the Frel Mountains weren't going to last forever, and from what I recall, we emptied the last barrel yesterday evening."

"That barrel had a great round of fish," gargled Barf.

"Indeed," nodded Belch with a grumpy croon. "It's a shame we ate it all in a matter of seconds. I'd have salmon any day over this… junk."

"By my wings, what are you all complaining about?" asked Stormfly, munching like a wolf on chicken legs and chicken breasts. "You bicker about there being no fish, and yet there is an entire DAY'S worth of food in front of you!"

"Speak for yourself. Astrid was the one who got you into eating chicken, and she fed it to you by the pounds back then," said Barf.

"And now, I happily eat it by my own consent, whenever I want," the Nadder replied, lifting her gaze from her food. "Also, you do realize that we've all eaten other foods before, right? You just haven't tried foods like chicken or boar yet, or even milk as a matter of fact."

Belch warbled in an irritated manner. "But it's not the same as-!"

"Enough," huffed Stormfly. "This is all the dwarves have to offer here, so this is all you'll get. Now eat."

Without another word or complaint from their mouths, the dragons relented, and thus began taking small, nibbling bites from the food in their bowls. Upon doing so however, something quickly changed. Before they even knew it, their small bites started to turn into regular bites, and then, their regular bites became bigger bites. Soon enough, the dragons were finally eating away…

While the dragons only just began feasting, the riders and the captains on the other hand were already on their second rounds. Their plates were refilled, and dishes of fresh food had now arrived at their table.

Snotlout ah'd in satisfaction. "Out of all of the nights we've eaten here, this is by far the best night. I could really get used to this," he said as he grabbed a hold of a boneless chicken breast, before dropping it down into his mouth and eating it nearly whole.

"Yeah, but most of those nights were too loud to my liking," said Fishlegs. "It's like- you can't relax."

"Aye," said Olof, as he spoke with half a mouthful of boar meat and cheese. "Back in Aesilgard, I didn't always feast in the hall of warriors, despite the fact that I live there. At times, I would go to one of the taverns down at the first level, as they proved to be a little more peaceful."

"Pfft. So what if it's loud?" asked Snotlout, taking a quick sip of his mead. "In a place like this, what matters is the perk having fine food, while also having the time of your life."

"I don't know about you," said Heather, right after swallowing a spoonful of stew. "But in these times of war, I find it hard to have the time of my life. You might wanna reword that a little better."

Snotlout shook his head. "Bah!" he merely replied, before taking a bite out of a large chicken leg as he focused on his meal.

"Hmm… on a side note, I wonder how Hiccup and Astrid are doing," said Fishlegs. "I kind of wish they could've joined us."

"Well, they are lovers, are they not?" asked Valara, as she drank a small sip of wine from her mug. "Those two hardly get the chance to be alone. If anything, it is a good thing that they're allowed to take this night to spend quality time with each other."

"Well, Hiccup is Hiccup, and Astrid and Astrid," said Ruffnut. "Might as well refer to them as Hiccstrid, as Tuffnut once called them."

"Hey! I never called 'em Hiccstrid!" responded Tuffnut.

"Uh- yeah you did," replied the lads. "It was after we discovered their relationship, remember?"

"Did not!" said Tuffnut.

"Did too," said Ruffnut.

"Did not!"

"Did too,"

"Did not!"

"Did too-! ...y'know what, forget it," sighed Ruffnut, before taking a somewhat large sip from her stew.

"That's perhaps the first time I've seen you back down from starting an argument," said Heather with slight amusement.

"Eh, there's no point in starting one," replied the twin. "I'd rather take this moment to focus on my food, and have as good of a time as I can."

"And you would have it without us?"

The familiar voice of Hiccup was quick to catch the table's attention. As the group turned their heads, they spotted both him and Astrid striding towards them, and to that, they grinned and began waving at the two… save for Snotlout, who focused more on his food, and less on what was going on around him.

"So, ya guys finally came!" said Ruffnut cheerfully.

"We saved some spots for you," added Tuffnut. "Right next to your dragons!*

Toothless gave a nod, and gestured towards an empty chair next to him. "Right here, big man!" he called out excitedly.

Hiccup smirked as both he and Astrid made their way around the table, and towards the chairs that sat next to their dragons. "Much obliged, guys. We really appreciate it."

"Hah. Don't mention it, lad!" chuckled Olof. "For now, just grab yourselves some food for your plates, fill your mugs with drinks, and dig in! Take this moment to feed your fills!"

"Will do," said Astrid cheerfully. "And when we're done, Hiccup and I would like to share something with you guys… if of course you would all be willing to listen."

"Ugh. This better not be more battle-talk," said Tuffnut. "I wanna sleep peacefully tonight while counting yaks."

"Actually, it's something else," said Hiccup with a grin "It's a new discovery."