(written from August 15th to August 18th, 2019)
Dragons: The Greater Beyond
Part Two
The loud snoring shook the shack. The first time on the night shift was brutal. His three other colleagues on the other sides of the island were veterans in comparison. He thought if he took off his boots and stuck his feet outside the cold wind would agitate him enough, but it wasn't enough to hold his eyelids. However, after he became relaxed and had his hands crossed behind his head, something caused him to open his eyes at the speed of light. A fireball out of nowhere streaked along the shack's facade, passing the opening where the guy on watch had his feet. His arches burned, and he fell out of his chair, but he surprisingly wasn't so bothered by it. Something seemed familiar, but one thing that was a little unusual was the constant screaming that accompanied the fire. Something odd was happening. He tip-toed to the other end of the shack and blew into a giant metal horn that protruded from the wall.
The blare awakened the village. A few minutes later more and more people gathered in the squares and watched in awe at the episode that was unfolding in the atmosphere. The villagers on the younger side were especially excited.
"It's a dragon! It's a dragon!" they all cried.
"And there's a rider!" another shouted. "What do we do?" The older Vikings exchanged expressions of confusion.
Then, without warning, a piece of netting was shot. It entangled the small dragon and the rider, causing them to freefall and land in the adjacent forest. The boy continued screaming as he dangled off a branch. He was trapped beside a dangerous fire-breather.
"Ugh! Quit your whining, you big baby!" said one of the Vikings who approached him with a knife.
"Please! Please don't kill me!"
A villager with long moldy blonde hair climbed up the tree and sliced away the netting underneath him. He plummeted into another Viking's arms who then dropped him to the ground. The blonde one, in one jump, made it back down, looking annoyed. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've shot a spear!"
"Oh. Thank you, thank you, sir!" The boy was on his knees. The Viking with the knife was not amused.
"It's ma'am! Geez, ya think the whole world would know by now!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Hey, kid! What were you doing on that Terrible Terror?" the other Viking asked.
"Terrible what?"
"Oh, boy... Ruffnut, this kid knows nothing about dragons."
"You uncultured swine!" the blonde one yelled. "I swear, Snotlout. Kids these days are missing out on life's essentials."
"I'll say! Ever since Hiccup... you know... took all our dragons away, everything has just been normal and boring!"
"Hiccup? You know Hiccup?" said the boy.
"Zip it, Beserker. The adults are talking," the one named Snotlout replied.
"How do you know I'm a Beserker?"
"Duh! You have a Skrill dragon insignia on your belt's emblem. C'mon kid. Get with the program." The boy was baffled. He thought all this time it was nothing but a mythical spikey fish. His parents never told him what the emblem meant. But if the spikey fish was a dragon, then what other symbols out there did he misinterpret? How many dragons were there, and what happened to them?
"Wait, what are you guys going to do with my dragon?"
"Your dragon?" Snotlout was ready to laugh. "No, kid, that dragon owned you. If you can't handle a Terror, you've never seen a dragon before."
"Well, I did never see a dragon until a few hours ago... But you didn't answer my question!"
"Look, Hiccup, will take care of the Terror," Ruffnut assured.
"He's going to kill it?!"
"Kill it? Are you nuts? I mean I'm Ruffnuts but... to think Hiccup would kill a dragon... you must be nuttier than squirrel poo!"
"Well, he must be the Horrendous, for a reason," the boy whispered out of earshot.
A few seconds later, a crowd of Vikings from the village carrying torches surrounded him, but none were interested in the Berserker; their eyes were fixated on the dances of light and heat above. Each of them was awestruck. One Viking though, by far, stood out among the rest. He was brawny yet lean and had a thick cloak made of bear fur whose color matched his thick beard. He was flanked on both sides by the elders who had helmets with long sharp horns. The chief had arrived!
Hiccup! The name screamed in the boy's head.
"Ladies and gentlemen, a Terrible Terror," he informed. "Never thought I'd see one again."
"I thought they hunted them all to extinction," said a feminine character near the chief.
"They did... in our world. I believe this one is an escapee from Asvildor."
"How do you know that?" asked Snotlout.
"Just look at him," said another person who was also near the chief. "That Terrible Terror is in the best health he could possibly be. Such nourishment for dragons is only known to be at Asvildor. Also, Terrible Terrors are pack dragons. They're really vulnerable by themselves. It would be highly unlikely he would be in this good health by himself in our world."
"Yes, Fishlegs. True," Hiccup replied. "I know what we must do." He pulled out his short knife from the sheath atop his left forearm and approached the branch covered in netting. The dragon began panicking and spitting fire in every direction.
"No! I can't let you do this!" the boy yelled as he stepped in front of the chief. Hiccup was perplexed.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Agmund, and I'm not going to let you kill that dragon!"
"Kill that dragon? What? Where did you come from?"
"Hiccup, he was that screaming baby riding the Terror," said Ruffnut. "He's some Berserker doofus."
"You brought the Terror here?" he asked Agmund.
"Not exactly, sir. I found it and tried to ride it, but it freaked out and took me here."
"Oh, I see... Ruffnut, would you mind?"
The female Viking threw an axe at the tree and disconnected the branch. The dragon fell to the ground and subsequently shook off the netting. Hiccup then displayed his knife which shined a reflection of moonlight to the ground. The Terrible Terror tilted its head before slowly following the ray of light. It seemed less stressed and more curious. Hiccup extended his left arm and angled the knife towards it, causing the dragon to lift off the ground and fly a short distance. Agmund was in shock as it perched on Hiccup's arm. The beast was instantly docile. "One of the old-school tricks, eh Fishlegs?"
"Indeed, chief!" Fishlegs responded.
Hiccup began scratching the area below the dragon's mouth, inducing it to purr in satisfaction.
"Heh. You like that, bud? Oh, I know you do. Feels good, doesn't it?"
"You didn't kill it," said Agmund. "I don't understand."
"Slay this intelligent creature? No, siree. All dragons are our friends."
"But you're Hiccup, the Horrendous!"
"Oh, Gods. Is that what they call me now?"
"Hm. I like Hiccup, the Heartthrob."
"Ha, ha! Oh, shush, Astrid!"
"Well, what are we going to do with the Terror?" the one named Astrid asked.
"I'm going to return it to Asvildor!"
"What's Asvildor?" Agmund questioned.
"That's on a need-to-know basis, kid," said Snotlout. "Somebody needs to take you home."
"Well, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "Since you seem to be volunteering, would you mind taking the Berserker back to his island first thing tomorrow?"
"Ha, ha! You opened your mouth!" Fishlegs taunted.
"Shut up, Fishface," Snotlout snapped.
"Wait! Wait just a minute!" said Agmund. "I found the dragon; should I at least say goodbye to him?" The chief came closer to the boy and kneeled.
"Sorry, Agmund. I can't risk anyone knowing Asvildor's location. All I can tell you is that it's a sacred place where no one should be at. If you love the dragon as much as I do, you stay here. Understand?"
"Yes, sir..."
"Thank you. And welcome to New Berk." The boy sighed with disappointment. The chief stood back up and turned to his fisherman nearby. "Ready a ship by dawn!" he ordered. Soon, Hiccup and the villagers gradually left the scene. Agmund sat in the grass seemingly all alone underneath the singed aspen. He proceeded to bury his face between his legs.
"You're Agmund, right?" asked a voice similar to his. The Berserker lifted his head and saw a Viking around his age.
"Yeah. Who are you?"
"I'm Nuffink. Please, I know everything's all weird. Let me show you around the island."
