Sometimes we forget.
The fire and blood. The war and rage. All forgotten.
Vikings and Dragons are at peace; living side-by-side has been nothing short of extraordinary.
But there is something that even the toughest of Vikings will never forget. It lives in the dark pits of our memories, only surfacing occasionally, reminding us of things we wish we could forget.
The fear.
Everyone has been afraid of the wrath of a dragon once. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or hasn't witnessed a dragon thirsting for blood.
But there is one dragon that has terrified everyone. And continues to do so. A dragon that would have made Vikings shiver at the sheer mention of it.
Night Fury.
The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, as it was described. A dragon unlike any other. It's blood-curdling screech is spine-chilling. The shockwaves of its plasma-like blasts hurled Vikings to the ground. This dragon never steals food, never shows itself, and never misses. Do not engage this dragon. Hide and pray it does not find you.
The words echo in Stoick's head. He stares out the window of his house, watching his son saddle up his dragon, Toothless.
A Night Fury.
Seemingly harmless. Completely, in Hiccup's eyes.
Stoick turns around and shuffles over to his draw. He pulls out a worn leather book.
He opens it, revealing roughly drawn pictures in the shape of a Night Fury. Drawn from the memory of only a couple of Vikings in the entire archipelago, who survived after seeing shadows and flashes of the notorious dragon. Those drawings had been put together over the last 20 years. This was all they knew about what their most feared enemy looked like at the time.
Stoick flipped over to the next page. It contained a letter from the previous chief of the Berserker tribe, Oswald the Agreeable. This letter was sent to Stoick within the first couple of years of his chiefdom, when he was still a young man. He let his eyes flow along the faded words.
Chief Stoick,
I am writing this letter to you as a matter of urgency. As you know, dragons have been raiding our homes for hundreds of years now. We have been fighting back and continuing to survive. But I fear that may no longer be possible.
In our most recent dragon raid, we lost twenty-seven brave men and women. More than half of our village was destroyed. However, the dragons that we usually see did not cause this destruction. This was something far worse. It was the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. A Night Fury. Or should I say Night Furies? There were more than one of them, Stoick. And they rained down Helheim upon us. I heard my people scream and cry for mercy. Some were killed right in front of their loved ones. In my entire life, I have never seen or experienced anything like this. We can't stop them, and I am afraid they will come for Berk next. Prepare yourself. Because the devils will be the end of us all!
Stoick breathes in deeply and shudders as he closes the book. He places it back in the draw and shuts it.
He turns and glances back out the window. Hiccup and Toothless are about to take off into the sky to Thor knows where.
Stoick stares at the Night Fury intently, the words of the letter replaying in his mind.
Toothless feels someone watching him and turns his head towards Stoick. His acidic green eyes stare right through Stoick's soul.
Stoick tenses and takes a step back.
The ebony dragon holds the contact for a couple more seconds until he takes off with Hiccup into the clouds, wings beating powerfully.
Stoick watches as the pair do corkscrews and steep dives in the air. A purple-coloured inferno cuts through the sky and explodes. Toothless and Hiccup fly through the flames.
Stoick stares up at the fading fire. It reminds him of the death and destruction this dragon could cause. Memories he wishes he could forget.
He closes his eyes, sees faces of people he once knew. His people. The people he loved. He hears their screams of agony. Sees flashes of a black demonic dragon. The other-worldly screech of the Night Fury echoes in his mind.
Will this dragon really be the end of us all? Stoick wonders.
In the deep depths of his mind, he knows the answer.