The lion's soft fur persuaded Hiccup to continue in drifting within his dreams, even after the first light of dawn arose. Astrid smiled when her husband's gentle snores seeped into her ears and chose to be the first to yawn and stretch for the morning. Her blurred vision slowly clarified and enlightened her with the sight of her friends snuggling together with their animals. She silently chuckled when the leopard purred and asked for morning head rubs while lying down at her side. However, Astrid knew that a new day in Oros always meant new surprises for her, her friends, and the Wenja village. This day was no exception.
A rather distant yet terrible scream startled everyone in the cave to spring from his or her resting place. The animals let out growls of concern to the entrance of the cave as the six friends rose onto their feet.
"What in the blazes was that shriek?"
Although everyone was wondering the same thing, Snotlout's question did not gain a verbal answer. Astrid led Hiccup and the others out from the cave before pinpointing the ongoing scream that originated from Tensay's hut. Many in the village had their eyes locked onto the shaman's domain, hoping that the Beast Masters could make something of it.
Upon entering the hut, the Beast Masters were incredibly horrified to see that the entity that produced the screams was a Wenja whose skin was completely burned and blackened as Tensay struggled to soothe his searing pain.
"Astrid! Hiccup! Hold him down!"
The pair immediately followed Tensay's command with the others not far behind in grasping the Wenja's charred body. The shaman grabbed a plant root for a pot and intended to have his patient ingest it.
"Eat! The root will kill the pain!"
The Wenja heeded to the order and chewed the root in his mouth. Although the medicine began to take effect, Astrid was more fixed on the root of the problem.
"What did this to him?"
"Izila," answered Tensay with a hiss in his voice. Izila. None of the Beast Masters understood what that word means, but they knew that the shaman would elaborate as the latter grabbed a branch of smoking leaves and fanned it gently around the burned Wenja. "They attacked Wenja hunters not far from here. This one ran here, but the others were taken to the East. The Izila enslave Wenja and use them as tools. A fate worse than death."
Despite the root he ate, the burned Wenja was still gasping and gurgling in agony. Tensay took a deep breath as he gradually placed both of his hands on the scorched head.
Snap!
It happened so sudden and quick that the shock forced all six Beast Masters to watch with mouths hanging open. Life departed from the dead Wenja as the heat from his body was supplanted with growing cold.
"His spirit walks free, but there is still time for the others," Tensay spoke with a mix of concern and anger. Astrid could see the emotions' fire blazing in the shaman's eyes. "Find the Izila, Beast Masters. Free the taken Wenja."
No words were spoken when Tensay positioned the burned Wenja's arms onto his chest. When Astrid locked eyes with her husband and friends, they knew that they must make haste and exited the hut. They hurried into their cave to grab their preferred weapon and whistled their animal companions to follow them. Hiccup chuckled and politely shook his head when the lion offered a ride on his back.
"I want to be at the same speed as the others for this rescue mission, bud."
The lion nuzzled his master's hand and purred with understanding, which also made Astrid smile with benevolence. As the villagers waved farewells and good lucks, the Beast Masters marched East in the direction of the rising sun.
Ruffnut picked several berries from a bush before passing them on to her brother, her husband, and her friends. After gaining his share, Tuffnut grabbed adequately sized pieces of meat from his bag and allowed the animals to feast on their breakfast on foot. The group then found their path blocked by a herd of woolly rhinoceroses grazing in a field, with the large ungulates still oblivious to their looming presence.
"Time for some fiery action," Snotlout murmured as he prepared to set his club alight.
"Not this time, Snotlout," argued Fishlegs. Snotlout blinked in confusion while he witnessed his friend whispered something to the Ruffnut's ears. Ruffnut then whispered something Tuffnut's ears, and Tuffnut did the same thing to the ears of the wolverine and the badger. When he was done, the Twins, the wolverine, and the badger began to yell and run straight for the startled rhinoceroses. Snarls and growls of the wolverine and the badger combined with the humans' shouts were more than enough to send the herd running south, spooking every other animal in their vicinity.
"Problem solved," Tuffnut proclaimed before he high-fived his sister and petted both the wolverine and the badger. Fishlegs giggled with delight as Snotlout, Astrid, Hiccup, and the other animals stared with astonishment.
"Well then, time to move on." Hiccup's announcement broke the silence and made the group continue their journey in finding and bringing the captured Wenja back to the village.
Gathering reeds, dust, wood, and stones were among the side activities that the Beast Masters completed along their way. They also managed to swiftly capture another bonfire by allowing their animals to kill every Udam they see and liberate the Wenja who were being held captive. The soil they were walking on was becoming moister and the air was slightly more humid than that in the West or the North. Astrid's nose eventually caught a sharp scent and her eyes widened when she saw a thin pall of smoke rising between the trees. She led the others to discover the origins of the smoke: a charred ground impaled with singed arrows and spears.
"It's still quite warm," Astrid deduced when she touched the blackened soil.
"So whatever happened here was not that long ago," added Ruffnut.
"More like whatever happened over there and there."
Everybody gazed at the directions where Tuffnut was pointing his finger. More thin palls of smoke drifted from the East, which meant that there could be a trail. They eventually walked into a clearing divided by a stream where more charred spears and arrows were also found.
"We're getting close."
Astrid scoured her surroundings to find more clues, and her ears found one in the form of a distant scream from within a chasm where the stream's water flow originated. The watery passage was quite narrow but could still fit humans who would swim through them. Hiccup and his friends knew what needed to be done and knelt to pet their four-legged companions.
"We need you guys to guard this passage until we've returned from it or when we give the signal for you to help, okay?"
The lion licked Hiccup's face before the owl mimicked his tender nuzzle. The dhole and wolves panted and whined when Snotlout and Tuffnut pet their heads. The wolverine and the badger licked the palms of Fishlegs and Ruffnut's hands. The leopard purred and gently rubbed her body with Astrid's, which gave the chieftess the courage she needed to lead the rescue.
"Alright, guys. Let's take a little swim."
Hiccup and the others followed the chieftess in treading the water-filled chasm. The moderate depth of the stream allowed every one of them to dive down and stand without the need to remain buoyant constantly. However, they had to keep noise to a minimum upon listening to distant noises of people talking to each other. Judging from their accents, it was not a conversation between Wenja.
"Izila," Astrid whispered to the others.
"Oh yeah, and they sound very arrogant," added Snotlout.
"Look there!"
Ruffnut was swift in spotting the cave hidden behind a waterfall ahead. Astrid led the Beast Masters in plunging and swimming into the secret underwater tunnel. It would have been completely dark for them to navigate if not for the faint sunlight that shone down on the exit of the cave. One by one, the Beast Masters climbed out from the water and quickly dried themselves so they could prepare their weapons in confronting hostiles. The passage ahead of them led to a larger cave, which then provided a view of the Izila's settlement.
It was a small crater of sort decorated with wooden fences, lookout towers, cages, and even a pit filled with burnt Wenja corpses. From behind the cave's walls, the Beast Masters could also gain a proper view of the Izila. These new enemies braided their hair and adorned their bodies with blue paint that contrasted the Udam's red. Some of them patrolled the settlement while others used the time to rest and eat their lunch of the day.
"Something tells me that these Izila are going to be more challenging than the Udam," Tuffnut proclaimed.
"Those cages within the caves must be where the captured Wenja are being kept," added Hiccup.
"Will we go and rescue them now?" Fishlegs asked with some anxiety.
"It's too risky in the middle of the day," answered Astrid sternly. "After the sun goes down, that's when we make our move."
Hiccup's confident nod made the others comply with what their chieftess was suggesting. Their current location was very inconspicuous and was perfect for them to initiate a stakeout.
Hours went by and the Beast Masters took turns in looking out on the Izila's settlement, allowing the others to take a nap or formulate an effective rescue plan. They would hear the Izila calling both the Udam and the Wenja 'pests', and while the reference for the latter sparked flames of anger, the Beast Masters refused to let such insult make them raze the entire place to the ground, for now.
As darkness took hold of Oros, the Izila began to ignite their torches and illuminate the settlement. The warmth of the flames and the shadows around them were catalysts to trigger their fatigue. When one of the Izila opened her mouth to release a yawn, a loud whistle alerted them to keep their guard up. Soon enough, the owl swooped in and used her talons to slice one Izila's throat open and created a fountain of blood. An assortment of predatory animals ran through the settlement's gates, causing the place to burst with roars, barks, growls, and shrieks of dying Izila. The distraction allowed Astrid to lead the Beast Masters in running towards the cages and smashed them open to liberate their captured Wenja brothers and sisters.
"Thank you, Beast Masters!" said one of the freed Wenja.
"We're not finished yet," Astrid replied before she ignited her arrow and let it loose on an unwary Izila's back, setting him ablaze with shouts of terror.
"Get everyone back to the village now!"
No one protested Astrid's command and proceeded to guide the Wenja and the animals away from the settlement while also slaying any Izila that tried to stop them. Astrid, however, stayed behind and continued to use her arrows in setting every Izila structure on fire. She sighed with relief when everyone she cared about was able to escape from the inferno and chose to burn the Izila's pit as her final act of heroic arson when she felt a massive thud to the forehead that made everything turn black.
The conflagration's muffled noise and blurry sights were the first things Astrid sensed in her awakening, but everything became instantly clear when two Izila hoisted her arms up and held her crudely.
"Let me go you brutes!"
From the smoke ahead of her emerged several Izila archers, all females with their bows aimed for the Wenja chieftess.
"So this is one of the famous Beast Masters."
The dominant voice of a woman heralded the appearance of the Izila leader. Much of her torso was painted blue like those of her subordinates, though her necklaces and her circular wooden headdress gave her a taller stature, physically and socially. She had some scarifications on her arms and face, which were also marked with blue paint. Her brown eyes gleamed with the light of the surrounding fire.
"She fights with fire like us Izila, almost as if she dreams to be like us."
Astrid grimaced at the Izila leader's jeering assertion, silently glaring with anger even when her chin was grasped by the enemy's hand.
"You are strong, Wenja. You have the potential to rule all of Oros."
The Izila leader then walked past her prisoner and gazed at the burning pit. When she turned around, her silhouette created quite an intimidating imagery.
"I can make you stronger, if you promise to serve me," was her offer while she approached Astrid with opportunity in her voice and eyes. "Serve only Batari."
"I serve no one," Astrid replied with a hiss of antipathy. Refusal impelled Batari's smile to shrink into a scowl.
"She fights like an Izila," Batari grabbed Astrid by the neck and briskly seized her from her captors so she could hold and corner her at the edge of the scorching pit. "And she will burn like a Wenja!"
Astrid's scream resonated between her release and her landing on the floor of the blistering pit.
Batari's laugh faded while Astrid tried to save her skin from being burned and her lungs from being asphyxiated by the ever-growing smoke. Astrid's resilient nature proved to be her salvation, for her keen eyes spotted a pool of deep water hidden within the inferno. Without hesitation, she dove in and immediately swam through the cavernous tunnel. The Wenja chieftess was able to hold her breath long enough until she found herself back in the stream and the chasm that she and the other Beast Masters used to sneak into the Izila settlement. She swam with all of her remaining strength and would have exhausted herself if Hiccup had not come to her rescue and helped her in swimming out from the stream where the leopard and others were waiting. Soaked and out of breath, she could only give her friends and her husband a heartwarming smile, knowing that they were too stubborn to leave her behind.
With the morning sun ascending behind them, the Beast Masters, their animal companions, and the rescued Wenja hunters were greeted with cheers upon returning to the village. Tensay strode from his hut to welcome them with exhilaration.
"I knew you could rescue the Wenja from the Izila," said the shaman with confidence. "Our fallen brother's spirit can finally rest."
"Things would have turned out a lot better if the Izila leader did not push me into a flaming pit."
Astrid's testament startled some of the Wenja and she could view the glow of fear and spite in Tensay's eyes. Even Hiccup was perplexed by the shaman's reaction.
"Batari. She is also known as the 'Sun Daughter', a name she uses with pride. Her heart burns with the heat of fire from the day she was born. She views Wenja and Udam as beneath her and makes them build her temple in the southern marshes. Anyone who opposes her will be turned to ashes."
"That is one scorned woman," stated Ruffnut.
"As if people could not turn the heat up even more," Tuffnut added.
Silence filled Astrid's mind and clenched her fists. It had been confirmed that the Izila could become a foe even greater than the Udam. With Batari leading them, most could only imagine the horrors she could inflict on Oros.
"If Batari wants to subjugate all of Oros, she will have to go through us."
The Wenja, the other Beast Masters, and their animals howled with agreement. All of the talks about fighting back were starting to make Snotlout yawn.
"It has been some time since I had some good shuteye. We can talk about kicking Udam and Izila butt when we are not sleeping."
"Yes. You should rest and regain your strength, Beast Masters. When the time comes, use everything you have when you meet Batari again."
None of the Beast Masters chose to object and returned to their cave for a well-earned rest. Their experience with Batari was just the beginning and the embers of war were already ignited.