AT LAST, IT IS HERE! It's been put on hold so many times due to other stories taking priority first, re-editing foundational chapters over and over AND OVER, and then summer courses starting, but they didn't slow me down too much. The story itself was actually completed over the summer, but the cover art took much longer to finish than expected, and I had to wait on that. It's still not quite finished, but I decided I couldn't wait any longer, so what we have right now is a place holder until further notice.
BUT, anyway, it's finally complete. Completely finished and completely edited. And unlike my other AUs, this is probably my most ambitious/intricate thus far. This alternate universe is truly alternate.
You can expect updates to come every Sunday. 9 chapters; 9 weeks.
Enjoy!
Embarking On A Journey:
Aric Hofferson woke to the sounds of a bustling village, people cheering, crying, and chattering. He knew the noise was coming from the docks, as today was the day a handful of Berkians, including himself, would embark on a journey to lands outside the Archipelago. The Great Beyond, they called it. It was said that the lands there held mountains of gold, and there was no way they could pass up a chance to find some for themselves. Aric had been on many expeditions there, but this time they would be going out further than any Viking of the Barbaric Archipelago had gone before.
Not everyone would be there to just mine either. Some wanted to go for the adventure, while others were coming to start Berk's first colony. Berk had been becoming a bit crowded since the dragons mysteriously stopped raiding years ago, so they needed the space and resources the Great Beyond could offer.
Aric made his way to the docks, passing as friends and families said their goodbyes. He quickly found his sister, their father's sword at her hip. She was talking with their friends just outside the sea of people, and he could already tell from where he stood, she wasn't happy.
"This isn't fair. Ruffnut gets to go with you because you're twins or something—", Astrid began to complain.
"Packaged deal", Tuffnut stated.
"Can't have one without the other", Ruffnut followed.
"But meanwhile, I'm stuck here while my brother gets to go on another 'magnificent' quest", Astrid finished.
"The Chief needs you here, Astrid", Aric said as he came up behind her. "We're two of the best warriors on the island. They need me to go in case we come across any dragons, and Stoick needs you to stay to help protect the village."
On some of Aric's previous expeditions to The Great Beyond, he'd come across dragons that none, or at least very few, had ever seen in the Barbaric Archipelago: Death Songs, Slither Wings, Razorwhips, Triplestrikes, and so many more. Out of everyone on Berk, he knew the creatures best. He knew their strengths, and he knew their weaknesses. He didn't know what types of dragons they would encounter on this journey, but he knew he'd be ready. There was a chance they could come across something new, as they were going out further than anyone had before, but if he could handle all those dragons, Aric knew he could handle pretty much any dragon.
"Yeah, but it's still unfair, little brother", Astrid teased.
"Just because I'm better than you in every way is no reason to be jealous", Aric teased back.
Astrid crossed her arms at it.
At that moment they spotted Alvin boarding the ship with his second, Savage. Stoick had charged him to lead the mission; Aric bristled at the thought. The man was unfit to lead a pot, let alone a whole crew. He supposed it had something to do with how Alvin and Stoick were close friends as children, but it still boggled most of the village's minds he was still on the council. Alvin wasn't a good listener whatsoever; he just did what he wanted when he wanted, and that often led to trouble. There was a reason he'd gained a reputation as Alvin the Treacherous. There were rumors, though, that Stoick would throw him off the council any day now, but with how long Stoick had let Alvin remain, Aric had his doubts.
"Come on guys! Before they leave without us", Snotlout beckoned the group.
"I'll be back soon", Aric told his sister first, giving her a hug.
"I know. You always do", Astrid told him, before she pulled back. "Just make sure to come back in one piece", she gave him a tilted smile.
"I always do", he said, and then Aric ran off to the flag ship where his friends were boarded. He'd made it just in time too.
"Nice of ya to join us, lad; thought we'd be shoving off without ya", Gobber said as they began sailing from the docks.
"Well, couldn't let you guys have all the fun, now could I", Aric replied.
The waves were calm, no dragons bothered them, for the past week the gods granted them a favorable journey, but then dark gray clouds began to fill the sky, and suddenly they were in dark waters, the waves crashing against the ships. As if in a flash, they were caught in a storm, buckets of rain, thunder, and lightning pouring down on them.
The waves thrashed against their ships, Thor's mighty storm threatening to capsize them all. Men scrambled to pull up the sails and steer through it the best they could. A giant wave came crashing onto the lead ship and Vikings held onto whatever they could get their hands on as to not be swept away. Aric and Fishlegs were helping to pull up the sails, but Fishlegs' grip on the rope wasn't enough to save him. He got swept by the wave and tossed overboard.
"Fishlegs!" Aric exclaimed.
"Man overboard!" someone else shouted.
"Stay on course! He's lost!" another followed, but Aric didn't agree.
Letting go of his hold, he grabbed a bundle of rope laying on a barrel. "Snotlout, hold this!" he exclaimed, and threw the bundle at the man with one end still in his own hand.
"Wait what—" Snotlout scrambled to catch it, and before he could finish his thought, Aric had already jumped off the ship. "Are you crazy?!"
"Yeah he is!" Tuffnut cheered at Snotlout's side.
"Don't die!" Ruffnut added.
Aric swam as fast as he could to Fishlegs, the man bobbing up and down as he tried to stay above water, nearly at the point of going under and drowning.
"Don't worry Fishlegs, I got ya!" Aric shouted, and got a hold of his friend.
"He's got him! Help me pull them in!" Snotlout called, and Gobber, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut went to help pull the two boys in. Then a wave came crashing down on the two, forcing them under.
"Come on, pull! Put your backs into it!" Gobber shouted in haste.
They pulled the rope in as fast as they could until Aric and Fishlegs resurfaced, and then until they were finally back on deck. "Eh, the lucky lad", a man in the distance scoffed. At that moment, the storm was finally letting up, and it seemed as though Thor was granting them passage.
"Well, that was refreshing", Aric decided to lighten the mood from where he sat on the deck.
"Well done, Aric", Gobber helped the young man up, the others helping Fishlegs.
"Of course. You'd all do the same for me."
Silence followed that statement, until his friends all started talking at once.
"Oh sure." "Yeah." "Course we would." "Absolutely." Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut all said at the same time, and Aric was getting the feeling they wouldn't have. Then again, who else would have been crazy enough to jump overboard in a storm to save one man?
"Trouble on deck?" Alvin's voice rang. He stood on deck before them like a Changewing that stood camouflaged moments before.
"Alvin!" Fishlegs squeaked and straightened himself.
"Fishlegs fell overboard, sir", Aric reported respectfully, despite the loathing he felt at how Alvin had kept himself cozy below in his chambers while they were left scrambling up top.
"Well, then thank Thor he's been successfully retrieved. Well done, son", Alvin replied.
"Thank you, sir", Aric tried to suppress a glare.
"Don't lose heart, men", Alvin started in a speech. The rest of their company were just behind, one out of five ships lost. "It won't be long before we reach the far reaches of the Great Beyond. And remember what awaits us there. Gold, knowledge, the adventure of our lives! You're the finest crew that Berk has to offer, and nothing, not wind, nor rain, nor a hundred blood thirsty dragons shall stand in our way!"
The men cheered, Alvin walked off with Savage, and Aric and Fishlegs went to secure the sails.
"What do you think we'll find on this island?" Fishlegs asked as he tied a knot. "New flora? Fauna? Dragons?" Fishlegs gulped at the last one.
"You just worry about your flora, Fishlegs. Leave the dragons to me", Aric reassured with a pat on his friend's broad shoulder.
"How many do you think we'll find?" Snotlout asked as he leaned against a barrel. "You think they'll give us as much trouble as they did on Berk?"
"Not as much trouble as Aric'll give 'em!" Gobber proudly stated, a mop in hand. "We'll kill ourselves a dragon", he sung and waved it around like it was one.
"Or maybe two or three!" Aric followed, chopping the mop-dragon in half with his ax.
"Hay!" Gobber exclaimed.
The crew just simply bawled into laughter, before Aric and Fishlegs stepped away. Once they reached the front of the ship, they just looked out to the horizon. "What do you think this new island will look like?" Fishlegs then asked.
"Like all the others I guess", Aric shrugged. "I've seen dozens of islands within the Great Beyond, Fishlegs. What could possibly be different about this one?"
Cover art, version 0.5, by Nicolas Pardo(matterofobservation on Instagram)