CHAPTER 23: Decree

It was now a couple of days after Hawkon's appointment as Chieftan of the Pacifist Tribe. And in turn it was a couple of days into the campaign of the next election Hawkon called in order to shore up his position with a sign of unity amongst the vikings.

With more violence erupting amongst a group of Pacifists who called themselves Hawkon supporters against fellow tribe members who had doubts or were openly denouncing Hawkon, there was a noticeable lack of opinion being voiced amongst the tribe. Many of them simply couldn't be bothered to get themselves hurt in what was clearly an orchestrated attempt to shut down dissenting opinions. Some of them didn't know if Hawkon personally had approved these tactics.

To those who dreaded Hawkon becoming Chieftan at the start this had only encouraged them to stay quiet for the safety of their kids, wives and husbands. They knew it'd come to this and they were still bewildered as to why their own fellow tribesmen and women would turn into thugs like that, long time friends they had come to know from fishing, carrying gear around the village, they were absolutely taken aback.

But on the flip side, the Pacifists who backed Hawkon were absolutely loving it - already they felt a sense of routine, purpose, and hope that the strength shown by Hawkon in subtly enforcing his rule on the tribe would foreshadow his strength with his archipelago wide agenda. These were the people who craved a drastic change after, in their eyes, being the tribe of the archipelago of sitting back and letting everyone have a hit at them.

It got old and alienating quickly for them to have been that way for generations, and so to undergo a drastic life changing overhaul because of a new Chieftan in Hawkon that'd give their every day lives a sense of purpose and order, and finally the ability to send a message to the likes of the Hooligans, Berserkers, the old Dragon Hunters, and the remaining wild dragons that were going all over the archipelago like a shower attacking the islands, they were absolutely delighted at being able to do so.

It was these group of Pacifists after all, the 20,000+ of them, who brought into Hawkon's view that the Hooligans took the archipelago for granted and they, alongside Drago and Grimmel's gang, were to blame for the resulting attacks of wild non-Hidden World beasts.

All of this became apparent as the third day following Hawkon's appointment came by. Pacifists were getting on with their jobs, carrying around equipment, including fishing rods and bait as well as battle axes alongside swords and general weaponry. Some were carrying big baskets which were to be used to store captured cod and salmon, and little Pacifist children were walking around playing together in some vicinities of the village.

The sun shone its bright yellow sparkle over the island as a day full of clear skies emerged. So far, aside from the hidden fear of some Pacifist vikings following the regular violence of opponents to Hawkon, it looked as if the appointment of Hawkon hadn't made a spark of difference to the every day lives of the Pacifists given they were carrying on with their hobbies and such.

New Pacifist flags were draped in even bigger numbers over the village. The material of the flag could be heard from practically every corner of the island as it waved with the wind the flags were that rife in numbers now. But it was truly the start of the 'New Pacifist' tribe. The flags were only a symbolic indication of that surely. There were at least five of them hung up on wooden poles above the central part of the village where the wooden palace was situated.

Inside the palace was the Founding Father and his newly appointed Chieftan in Hawkon. In keeping with his promise to keep Hawkon in check the Founding Father had already initiated his first meeting with the Chieftan of the Pacifists. The Father was sat in front of Hawkon in the throne looking room.

"How goes your first couple of days, Chieftan?" he asked Hawkon.

"Very much as anticipated sir," Hawkon replied, maintaining a level of respect in his responses, "I have already established a routine that I'll want to carry on with for the rest of my time in the role. It's an honour to finally be here."

"That sounds good."

The Founding Father still didn't like Hawkon on a personal level nor did he agree with the agenda that he represented, but on a constitutional basis he had to put that aside and work with him. He was still expecting Hawkon to collapse over the stress of the job so he could be booted right out, that was the hope anyways.

"I've been meaning to ask you about my decree which I want to put into practice after I win this contest, sir."

The Founding Father raised an eyebrow at Hawkon.

"After you win? this is a democratic contest, there is no guarantee you'll win this thing."

"Oh absolutely, forgive me. I guess I'm just throwing my optimism out in the open."

The truth was, there was a mutual fear going on between both Grugg Hawkon and the Founding Father. Grugg Hawkon feared the father because at any point in time he could simply dismiss him from the role of Chieftan and his ambitions of the archipelago and his other intentions would be put to an end like that.

The Founding Father feared Hawkon and that was precisely why he appointed him as Chieftan - not only because of the pressure to do so, but for the fear of his own life in the hands of his tyrannical supporters. The Father felt like had he ignored Hawkon, his supporters would've stormed the palace or would've tried to cause a violent uprising that'd threaten his own life. That was why ideally he was just waiting for the moment Hawkon mentally collapsed from the stress to get rid of him.

He felt powerless deep down to dismiss him any other way. The tribe had clearly turned in his favour and that was another factor for the father. He couldn't ignore the voices of the tribe who clearly wanted a drastic change in Hawkon, but also he couldn't risk the possibility of being killed by his own tyrannical brutal supporters.

Nor did the Founding Father know about the violent attacks from Hawkon's own supporters in the campaign - that information was strictly kept hidden from the father.

"What decree are you talking about?" the father asked Hawkon.

"For the next couple of years as I guard the tribe, I want to put into practice measures that I feel will go a long way in combatting the threat we currently face-"

Both Hawkon and the Father looked up to the roof as a loud thud collided with the wood. Something on the other side of the roof of the palace had crash landed like an asteroid which made the entire room almost vibrate. Then, a bunch of Pacifist viking guards rushed into the room to not only protect the Chieftan and the Father but also to let them know on what was going on outside.

"SIR AND SIR," one of the rushing vikings yelled to Hawkon and the Father, "THEY'RE BACK FOR ANOTHER PHASE - THE DRAGONS ARE ATTACKING AGAIN!"

This was Hawkon's moment of leadership. The guards quickly assisted the Father up from his seat to take him to a protected vicinity. Grugg Hawkon followed the other viking guards to the outside to witness the commotion.

"You know why this is happening?! DO YOU KNOW WHY?!" Hawkon angrily yelled, "these dragons are by products of being left behind by the main pack who eventually left for the Hidden World. They came out of hiding AFTER staying away during the dreaded conflicts between Hiccup and his thugs versus Drago and Grimmel!"

"What are your orders? we have a panicking group of vikings out there Chief."

Grugg Hawkon sensed a massive opportunity here. He had his orders in mind to give to the guards but he also felt like this was the perfect opportunity to bring forward his first step of overhaul in his grip of power. The filthy beasts as he saw them would get their comeuppance but he would also take advantage of this as he saw fit.

The dragons flew all over the island like bullets. From red to blue, to orange to grey, their colours congregated and mixed because of how rapidly they were flying in the air. There was a group of about twenty of them this time, and they consisted of Nadders, Monstrous Nightmares, and an assorted group of other species. The Pacifists were panicking as screams could be heard in the air.

Ball of flames initially hit a couple of huts which sparked dangerously hot, engulfing flames eating huts whole as they burnt to a crisp. The skies were bright sunny but the dragons didn't care about that, they seemed to be hungry for humans this time, at least this particular group. The entire village continued to get levelled and attacked as the roars grew thicker and heavier from the wild dragons, and many Pacifists forcefully grabbed their children and ran into the forests as far as they could to escape the dangerous beasts.

Five minutes had passed and the dragons had resorted to on the ground attacks, where they stopped flying and launching down towards the island before breathing their flames to their target, and instead walking on the island with their brutal claws and paws with their wings firmly either sliding on the grass or on their backs. They were now expecting to come across vulnerable vikings to take away and gobble up for their mates to share.

"THIS IS AN ORDER FROM THE CHIEFTAN, THIS IS AN ORDER FROM THE CHIEFTAN, LISTEN CLOSELY AND WE WILL DEFEAT THEM!" a top level Pacifist yelled to a large group of Pacifists near his vicinity, within the forests as many of them evacuated from the village to escape the dragons as they roamed their huts and gravel paths.

"WE HAVE BEEN SUPPLIED WITH NEWLY CRAFTED SWORDS AND BATTLEAXES. THIS EMERGENCY ORDER IS COMPULSORY. YOU ARE TO TAKE YOUR WEAPONS AND THROW EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT AT THE BEASTS. MAKE THEM WISH THEY HAD NEVER ENCOUNTERED OUR GREAT TRIBE! WHEN WE SAID 'NEW PACIFISTS', WE MEANT IT."

That was the order Grugg Hawkon had given to one of his trusted members of his team. He didn't need to ask for permission for it from the Founding Father because this was an emergency that threatened the tribe in its entirety.

Another ten minutes had passed following that order, and the dragons in their massive groups continued to roam the village as it remained evacuated and abandoned almost like a ghost town. They crooned and growled as it became clear that no food was in the vicinity. None of them had paid attention to which direction the vikings had evacuated and ran. But they'd soon know which way they ran, because they were on their way back in one big wave.

Almost as if the ground started vibrating, a huge thunderous collection of boots could be heard in the distance approaching almost like a tornado had legs and was charging towards the village. Manly yells and cries that sounded like war were mixed in with the approaching thunderous running boots.

The reptiles in the village were unable to acknowledge the source of the incoming charge because of how many huts were around them. But that was of great benefit for the source of the approaching thunderous sounds. And they finally broke into the village.

Catching the dragons on the ground by surprise, thousands and thousands of Pacifists re-emerged as they cried and yelled from the top of their lungs lunging towards the dragons with sharpened metal swords and battle axes, and the congregation of the vikings together as one giant ball of a group made their appearance a tad intimidating to the reptiles. But because the dragons couldn't see them approaching from a distance earlier due to the numerous huts blocking the view of the forests, it was too late for them.

Some of the dragons roared back and tried to fire flames again, but their scales by that point had already been butchered by battle axes and the swords wielded by the re-motivated and high morale Pacifists.

"KILL THEM!" one Pacifist yelled as they congregated the village and surrounded the bodies of the dragons they had managed to fight successfully.

A smaller sized Monstrous Nightmare was viciously grabbed upon by its tail, it looked almost like a baby Monstrous Nightmare, and it was simply lunged from the left to the right by its tail, getting smacked into the bare ground back and forth by the Pacifist holding it who gritted his teeth as sweat raced down his forehead. Showing no mercy, the Pacifist quickly sprinted with the little Monstrous Nightmare in his hand and finished it off by slamming it head first into the side of a hut.

Something like this, Pacifists committing violence and fighting, had never ever happened before. That was why the order was so significant, the order from Hawkon. Historically it was unheard of for the Pacifist tribe to commit to acts like this. But these were the New Pacifists and it was the foreshadowing of Grugg Hawkon's utopia he wanted to create.

Not every Pacifist took part in the fight back against the dragons just now, who at this point had long flew away and basically surrendered to the tribe by doing so - the dragons who were able to escape simply took off and rapidly charged like rabbits in headlights from the sheer violence shown by the vikings. But the dragons who were stopped and attacked with weapons remained firmly on the island.

The Pacifists who took part in the fight back just now were mainly Hawkon supporters but there were also a fair few who didn't support him. The ones who point blank refused to fight back might've sounded dumb for not wanting to protect themselves, but it was out of respect for what their tribe had traditionally stood for, and these were the Pacifists who point blank dreaded and hated Hawkon.

Unfortunately for them they had no choice, and with the dragon attack firmly won this was only going to shore up his support.

A couple of hours had passed and Hawkon was once again at a wooden podium, this time in front of the wooden palace in the central village that had been targeted by the dragons just now. He was set to address not all of the tribe but a good chunk of it, and he expected his announcement to be spread amongst everyone.

The Pacifist vikings, having just survived another dragon attack and this time defending themselves for the first time ever, were completely high in sweat and energy, but they felt like they were in a blanket of security with Hawkon now.

"It has once again been a sign of the times, a sign of the despicable Hooligans and their willingness to have just abandoned this archipelago, leaving the rest of us to deal with their mess, that we have suffered yet another attack," Hawkon said, beginning his speech with rhetoric that he genuinely believed.

"I am here to thank you all for your ruthlessness and your bravery. Never before in our tribe have we fought back like that. And what reward do we reap? the sight of dead dragons that we will take extreme pleasure in using as monuments and as a message. Next time we will not only fight back, we will make sure the beasts suffer a long, painful, slow race to the pitch blackness of death itself!"

A huge applause grew amongst the Pacifists as Hawkon concluded the first part of his speech, where there seemed to be universal support in his words.

"I have only been Chieftan for three days but I am thoroughly impressed by how much we have come together and already have done more in three days than we managed to achieve in the last couple of years. But as much as I want to celebrate this, I have come to the conclusion that we need to create an iron fist of sorts. After negotiating with our Founding Father and getting his approval, I have decided to proceed onwards with a decree for all of you."

"In wanting to protect all of you, this decree will have an everlasting effect on the way we operate on our island for the next couple of years that I am your Chieftan. The goal of these measures is to starve off the dragons and to make them fear us, and this decree has been specifically titled 'protecting our tribe', and the measures in it truly live up to that. I was appointed Chieftan to protect you all and that is what I intend on doing. As such, our upcoming election has neither been delayed nor postponed, but it will go ahead as planned at the end of the week! this decree will simply come into effect tomorrow whereby we will intend on safeguarding our tribe!"

The Pacifists in the crowd once again clapped in line with each other - this 'emergency decree' that the Chieftan was proposing sounded like genuine action, and given his order earlier to break with historical tradition and fight back, of which the results of doing so had massively satisfied the Pacifists, they were inclined to trust Hawkon with his word on it.

"Our palace has been shattered...our village has been hit, and our vikings were once again targeted by these vile repulsive things. This decree will ensure we have a shield and a mindset in place to once again shatter them down. We will rebuild, we will take back what was ours, and most importantly, we will take our revenge against not just these reptiles, but the tribes who enabled the conditions for these situations to take place on this archipelago!" Hawkon yelled, roaring with authenticity, pulling out his sword from his belt, "SWOOOORDDD!"

The Pacifists held out their own swords in the air, some held battle axes, in line with their Chieftan as they chanted a show of unity with no dissent.

"SWOOOORDDSSSS!" they all roared, moving their weapons back down before once again lifting them upright into the air for another chant, "SWOOORDDSSS!".

The decree in question was not just a proposal to protect the tribe from another dragon attack. It was Grugg Hawkon's first genuine step to creating a dictatorship of the tribe which he wanted in order to enact his main goal of revenge against Hiccup, and his other goal of a free world of dragons and a return to the past where the true viking era resided. Hawkon did care about the safety of the tribe but the latter was his ultimate aim, and he intended on taking advantage of this new dragon attack to further his power. The Pacifists were keen on a Chieftan who'd actually protect them, their children and their lives, and Hawkon intended on doing that.

But secretly he also wanted to use that to springboard his ultimate goal. He wasn't going to miss that chance to initiate the baby steps of that now.

The treaty in which the decree was on was laid out as such, written in the viking symbols. This was what it said in normal English:

EMERGENCY DECREE FOR THE SAFETY OF THE NEW PACIFISTS VIKINGS

Chieftan Grugg Hawkon, with the permission of the Founding Father, has set out an emergency state whereby the tribe will be submitted to a temporary change of lifestyle, routine and functions, all in the intent of facing down the dragon attacks and showing we do not fear them. They are listed in no particular order as the Chieftan believes these are all equally as important as each other. The length of these measures will conclude upon the end of the Chieftan's time in his position.

In overhauling the tribe for its own protection, there will be no dissent against the idea of fighting dragons. Every viking in our tribe will be expected to fight for the benefit of our survival if need be, whether that be against the dragons or anything else. Any opinions of the contrary will be noted and will be taken from there.

Every single member of the tribe will be required to come down to the palace once it is rebuilt and to hand over their name, their children's names and relatives. In protecting ourselves we need to make sure that everyone is counted for and their services, depending on their physical capabilities, can be called upon in times of need. There is no alternative to this as we believe it's important for everyone to play a part. Everyone should contribute equally.

There will be new roles submitted to various groups of the tribe. Wives and those too without husbands or boyfriends, we see every one of those as vital in maintaining our supplies in this desperate time of emergency against the wild dragons. Wives and women vikings of our tribe will be expected to stay put in the huts and to ensure that our tribe doesn't go hungry whilst we deal with this emergency. This will be the society in which we build upon over the next couple of years. A tribe intent on defending itself needs food and water.

It would be unhelpful for anyone to make jokes or bad faith comments about the Chieftan in these serious times. In keeping with our goal for unity, it would be wholly inappropriate for anyone to diminish the scale of the emergency and to undermine the tribe's desire to see the end of the dragon crisis by picking fun at the Chieftan and or his goals. His goal is to protect us, and the unity will be expected, not requested. He is truly the saviour of our times and it is important that he is recognised as such.

The upcoming election will still have candidates standing in it, and whoever wins the election will have all of this decree in place for them to enact and to keep in place. After the election, however, all political movements will be banned temporarily until the emergency and crisis is ended and we are truly freed from these dragon attacks. It would be unhelpful, as already stated above in the treaty, to have disunity, especially on a political scale. Any political movements spotted and noticed after the election, the flags if they have any and any material will be strictly confiscated and advised to break apart. We advise you vote for the incumbent Chieftan in the election.

All outsider vikings, any refugees that we have taken on at this point, will be banned and swiftly banished from our island provided they don't leave on their own accord. It is not helpful for us to have a mixture of vikings from other tribes on our island when they too are suffering dragon attacks on the archipelago due to the fallout of the wars between the Hooligans and Grimmel and Drago those years ago. We will no longer take on any abandoned vikings we find on the archipelago as we have done in the past, in keeping with our goal to protect our integrity and our desire to focus on ourselves.

Any talk of trying to befriend the dragons, which has been mentioned in the past before like how the Hooligans did it with the Night Fury back in the day, will be swiftly shut down and dealt with, as such words provoke anger and sadness from those who've lost friends or family to the dragons in their attacks on our island, again as a result of the fallout of the Hooligan's war with Drago and Grimmel. There can be no compromise on this.

Lastly but most importantly, Grugg Hawkon has declared that the Pacifist Tribe will, in a civil manner, let the other tribes know that we are pulling ourselves out of the Docile Dragon Alliance agreed upon by his predecessors. The DDA has been nothing more than a wet silk that has only been used, in our view, to direct the dragons to our island so the others could avoid dealing with the problem. We do not believe the dragons can be befriended nor do we believe that it is appropriate to even normalise the notion of doing such a thing. Again, this is out of respect and for our benefit.

This decree will be for the benefit of the New Pacifists, and in a couple of years time when we are out of this mess and these temporary measures are no longer needed, history will look back on this period of our tribe and consider it to be the golden age and the moment in which we seized common sense to end the crisis!

That was the treaty on which the decree was written, and it was completely obvious at this point what Grugg Hawkon wanted. The only thing he couldn't do was seize control of the Pacifist tribe's viking fighters, because of the Founding Father. He knew getting this decree to be approved by the Founding Father was a massive gamble but he was relieved that he agreed to it, especially since Hawkon deep down had no intention of any of this being temporary.

This was the foundation that Hawkon intended on building his future on. He wasn't in this temporarily as the decree stated. He was going to be in it for the rest of his life. The only obstacle in his way of that was the Founding Father.

But as of now he had begun the baby steps to building a fully fledged dictatorship viking tribe of which he intended on utilising to get revenge on Hiccup, amongst other things.

Some of the proposals in the decree was Hawkon's genuine view of how a viking world should truly be, and how the past was, and that was one of his goals after all; returning to the past where life as a viking was truly normal.

The biggest irony in the decree came from banning the tribe taking in abandoned vikings/vikings seeking refuge, because Hawkon himself started off on the island as a refuge after being abandoned by Hiccup and left on Old Berk. The irony didn't even bother him at this point, it was the least of his concerns.