My apologies. My job lost two people within the last week, leaving the store I work at with just four employees. I got shifted to a day shift and thus could not post like I normally do on Wednesday. Please, enjoy the chapter.

"My-"

Hiccup's voice trailed off. He cleared his throat. Trying to speak again he had to force his words through a mind too slow to conceive anything and lips too dead to work at all.

"My an-ancestor bon-bonded with a Tusked-king?"

He made sure to use the dragon name for the Bewilderbeast. His mind worked enough to realize the problem in letting the visiting Vikings know the female was the same species of the dragon the Foreverwing spoke of. The Red Death was gone. She paid for her crimes. Hiccup knew his visitors were smart enough to realize the events the Foreverwing spoke of allowed the war with the Red Death to happen. Vikings were not above revenge killings and would gladly take their vengeance upon the female Bewilderbeast. Hiccup knew he would also move to defend her, even if the Vikings held treaty with Berk. She was a queen of her own nest and under Hiccup's welcome and protection while she rested within his waters. He was honor bound to respond if the visitors turned aggressive towards her.

Hiccup also desperately wanted to know how his clan started. They got to speak the night he stayed over, but Old Wrinkly did not know where the Haddock clan actually came from. Clan history had been improved upon by the time he was born, at least according to him. Hiccup realized that meant the history had been fixed to reflect the will of the one who fixed it. It seemed as if this dragon held the information Hiccup desired and while he could, he would ask. The visitors would interrupt him being able to learn if they knew just who Link's brother really was.

{No,} the Foreverwing answered. {Haddock was not your direct ancestor.}

Hiccup's brow furrowed. "I don't understand. My people used to give their children a surname that included the father's given name. They added 'son' or 'dottir' depending on if the child was male or female. The practice wanned here during the war and only a few still use it. Back then it should have been the way of things."

{Haddock was killed before he could enter a mate-hood and successfully sire any hatchlings.}

Hiccup blinked and resisted the urge to glance towards his father. Stoick had long wanted to know the full extent of the Haddock clan even before the war ended. Hiccup often heard his father speak of such things in rare moments when the man had no reason to dwell on the disappointment his son was at the time.

"So how did my clan, er, flock gain the surname Haddock?"

The Foreverwing closed his eyes. {Haddock was not abandoned, nor was he without a human flock. Apparently, his being left on that small island had been a human test.}

Hiccup's eyes narrowed as he realized what the Foreverwing meant. He was forever grateful Old Wrinkly outlawed such practices and that all who followed after him kept the practices out of tribe use. It had been bad hearing Mildew spew his belief while growing up, but Hiccup knew deep down no one in the tribe would have really used such methods. It sickened Hiccup to think of the babies left out in the stupid and insane belief the gods demanded such tests to validate a child's existence.

{I see you understand. Please tell me humans do not still use such against their hatchlings.}

Hiccup sighed. "My nest does not, and never will. I cannot speak for the other nest leaders who are visiting my territory."

Hiccup shifted to glance over the shoulder Sharpshot did not sit upon. The various tribe leaders stared back at him with varying degrees of disgust upon their faces. As one they all shook their heads but said nothing, not even Mogadon. Hiccup turned back to the Foreverwing. The dragon tipped his massive head.

{Good,} he said. {No flock should think such ways are acceptable. Flock is one of the most important things a human or dragon can have. Which is why Haddock's brother so hated the actions of his father and uncles. Once he was able, he was the first to return to where they left Haddock. When he found the hatchling gone, he declared he would find his brother and both would form a flock were such practices were never used again.}

"Did he find Haddock?"

{Many seasons later, long after Link and the other Tusked-kings had raised the hatchling into a youngling. I was told it took much convincing for Haddock to accept the human as a brother and it was only because the human knew of a mark Haddock had upon his body. A mark that had been there since Haddock was hatched.}

"What happened to the brother after Haddock was killed?"

{He avenged Haddock by slaying the male. Sadly, it seemed to start a feud between the two flocks. Tell me, do humans still duel like us dragons do? The brother's actions after the duel seemed to be against a rule the humans had about such events.}

"Holmgang," Hiccup whispered, his mind replaying his own duel against Ogmundr. "If death happens, the duelist's family isn't supposed to seek vengeance."

{I didn't understand then, young alpha. We dragons fought for many reasons during that time and a flock member's death in a duel was just another one. I understand it now though and I see both why Haddock's brother was angered and why the male's flock was furious.} The Foreverwing sighed again. {Link's brother did not care about the human laws. He loved Haddock. As much as dragon could love back then. He joined Haddock's human brother and defended him against the attacks from the other flock.}

"I sense a but in there," Hiccup said, recalling something Gyda said to Frostfire when the Ice Terror was explaining how he knew of the attack on Astrid and Stormfly.

It still annoyed and thrilled Hiccup to know Loki decided Astrid was worth protecting. He just wished the god would allow Shadow and Frost to speak. Hiccup knew the secrets they held would be intriguing, but he would not dishonor either by demanding they break their oaths. He trusted them to tell him when Loki said they could.

The Foreverwing chuckled. {But Haddock's brother grew tired of the fights and grew tired of the war he seemed to have started. He also grew to love a female from the flock he was fighting. He defended the flock from the next attack Link's brother sent against them.}

"I can't see Link's brother taking that well."

{No, he did not. He declared all humans worse than worms and declared he would become the Alpha of all dragons and once he commanded every dragon he would teach humans the meaning of honor and flock. Many nest leaders ignored him until he began calling dragons who had never bowed to a nest leader and then sending them out to attack those who ignored him.}

Hiccup's nose crinkled. He could understand being angry over a loved one dying. He could understand that Link's brother saw Haddock's brother's actions as another betrayal. He could not understand that the male thought his anger justified him in declaring war upon the humans. He could not abide that Link's brother chose to use his alpha call to try to dominate the souls of the dragons around him and force them to fight his war. It infuriated him that his mother was in the nest of a dragon who was one step from being just like the Red Death, at least in Hiccup's eyes.

Hiccup's brow furrowed as another thought raced through his mind. "Wait, why now?" he asked, staring up at the Foreverwing. "Why not explain all of this to the ones who stopped the Days of Chaos?"

{He and his dragon brother were never the ones to unite the dragons and humans, young alpha. They were never supposed to heal the break between our species. They were merely to pause the fighting long enough both sides did not die out. I could not tell them this tale. Their souls would never withstand it and it would disrupt the mission entrusted to them.}

"So why tell it now?" Hiccup asked, resisting the urge to look towards Nuffink and Zephyr.

While he wanted to know what their reactions to the Foreverwing's statement, he would not draw attention to them. The visitors were still in awe over everything. He did not want to disrupt their listening. He did not have enough time, or patience, to do so.

The Foreverwing chuckled again. {Do you not see, young alpha?}

"See? See what?"

Astrid jerked and Hiccup spun towards her. She stared at him, a look of awe crossing her face. Hiccup frowned.

"What?" he asked.

"You," she whispered.

"Me? Me what?"

{Young mage,} the Foreverwing said, pulling Hiccup's attention. {Please speak your words.}

Hiccup followed the Foreverwing's gaze, finding Gyda staring at Shadowfire and both looking as if someone had just informed them of a secret both had desired to know. Gyda slowly turned away from her son, her gaze finding Hiccup's.

{Young alpha, please give her permission to speak.}

Hiccup glanced between Gyda and the Foreverwing before turning back to Gyda. He found her staring at him with a lifted eyebrow. Hiccup grunted, annoyed even now that his friends acted as if he had to tell them when to blink. He knew they did not actually believe he held that much power and deferring to him in this situation was a sign of respect. It still bothered him greatly. He still saw it as slavery. He held his hand out, palm facing the sky. Gyda stepped away from the crowd, coming closer to Hiccup and those with him.

"You have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon," Gyda whispered, holding Hiccup's gaze. "Only you can bring our worlds together. That is who you are."

Hiccup frowned. She had said the first part back in her cave when the gods had moved them, but the second had never been said and it seemed as if she was reciting it, not realizing the statement in that moment. Before he could question her, a loud roar sounded from the harbor side of the island. Every dragon around, including the Foreverwing and the Bewilderbeast, snarled. Toothless lifted his head and roared back.

"What?" Hiccup demanded. "What's wrong?"

{Invaders.}