"Oh boy," said Fishlegs, breathing quickly with excitement. "I wonder what they're both going to be like in person. I really hope that they'll be happy with our-"
"Fishlegs we get it, alright?" interrupted Astrid, turning her head back to the hyped Ingerman. "Though I doubt king Lornduil or Morgrim will have much time to greet us. From how I see it, those two ships look like they're in a rush."
"Then we'd better make a quick introduction of ourselves. My dad is probably in the great hall already, waiting for them," stated Hiccup.
By the time the ships made their presence known there were crowds of people gathered in the docks around Hiccup, Gobber and the others, watching as the two vessels from afar came closer and closer to port, and eventually docking in the harbor with ease.
The people spoke with excited tones, and from off the ships came a dozen dwarven and elven warriors; both races easy to distinguish.
The dwarves, though only four feet tall as they wielded axe, sword and shield, were indeed mighty warriors as well as crafty engineers. They wore grey dwarven plate and chainmail armor from head to toe, and carried forth their orange banners bearing the crest of a white anvil.
The elves, on the other hand, were completely different. They marched with more discipline, and stood taller and more elegant than their dwarven counter-parts. In addition to that, they wore golden-like scalemail with kilts of silvery cloth that hung from their waist, and with it, they flew forth white banners with the symbol of a silver bird.
If anything however, their blue glowing eyes made them all the more attractive to the folk, especially the women.
Gobber rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "Show off."
Eventually, from off the ships came both the dwarven and elven kings; Morgrim and Lornduil.
Lornduil's blue eyes and silver hair caught the attention of many, and his armor was without a doubt better crafted than his guards, thus everyone could easily tell that it was the elven king.
The same went for king Morgrim and his flaming red beard. The crown with red gems he wore, and his dwarven plated gear and brown fur cloak made it easy for people to know it was him.
With both kings now in their presence, it was time to address them.
"Gobber… do your thing," nodded Hiccup.
The blonde viking nodded back as he approached the two kings, giving them a respectful low bow.
"Greetings, mighty kings! Welcome to Berk! Please allow me to introduce myself-"
"Ah shut it will ye? The last thing we need is bootlickin' from people like ye!" exclaimed Morgrim. "Just lead us tae yer chieftain, and make it swift. We have little time fer yer pleasantries!"
"Indeed," Lornduil responded in agreement. "I too came here for a reason, and I want to get this over with. So if you would, bring us to the one you call Stoick the Vast."
It seemed as if Gobber was already about to blow out of anger, but a quick nudge from Hiccup caught his focus as the young viking shook his head. One wrong move and the whole event would be ruined.
"...Gobber. Please, do as they say."
The older viking sighed with irritation, turning back to the two kings. Though he did not show it in his expression, deep down he was frustrated and angered with the attitudes of both kings.
"Right, I will take you straight to him, King Morgrim and Lornduil… Erm- this way."
Gobber gave a motion with his hook, urging the two kings to follow him as they both began marching with their guards behind the old blonde viking, making their way up the ramparts and eventually into the town, focused on heading towards the great hall.
As soon as they were out of sight and the crowds of villagers started to disperse, Hiccup looked back to the riders and their dragons with a sigh. His face gave quite an unpleasant look.
"Well wasn't that quite an introduction? I already have a bad feeling about this."
"Hey, it could've been a lot worse," said Tuffnut. "Just like that one time when Dagur tried to drown you when we were-"
Astrid rose her hand, interrupting the chatty Thorston. "Alright Tuffnut, we don't need to hear that… Now, what should we do next? Hiccup?"
"I'm going to join my parents in the great hall with Toothless. I need to hear what they're going to say. The rest of you, stay back with your dragons and look after the ships. I have a feeling that they're both going to be in for a rude greetings…"
…
The elves and dwarves all sat in the great hall around the chieftain's table, with Hiccup, Stoick and Valka, the wife of the chieftain, at the head of it along with Gobber and Toothless standing nearby on guard.
As the two kings and their guards quietly chattered, Stoick soon stood to his feet and slammed his hand against the table three times to get their attention, silencing the hall of any voices.
With their attention drawn to the Berkian chieftain he then sat back down in his chair, clearing his throat as he began.
"King Morgrim of Khaz'ardul. King Lornduil of Lightwood. I am Stoick the Vast, Chieftain of the Berkian Tribe, and I have called you here for a reason. To discuss making relations between our factions."
Lornduil looked at Stoick in an almost ridiculed manner. "Making relations? You have to be joking if you really believe there will be any relationship between my kingdom and your tribe."
"Aye, can't disagree with the pointy elf," Morgrim nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Why d'ye want tae make these "relations" with us? We dwarves fight fer dwarves, not fer humans. So please, do make it quick, or I'll turn around and walk out..."
Stoick sat in silence at first, wondering how they would react once giving them his full reasoning. Looking back at Valka however, her face told him that they should proceed as planned as she gave him a nod. "Go ahead, Stoick..."
He then looked back at the two kings who sat impatiently, awaiting an answer.
"I want to create a potential alliance between our three factions."
Suddenly the great hall bursted into an uproar. The elves and dwarves looked at one another, giving off baffled expressions in response to Stoick's offer.
"Ye can't be serious!" laughed Morgrim. "Why would we ever make an alliance with ye?!"
Lornduil crossed his arms. "Your offer is most foolish, Stoick the Vast. You're really insisting that we should ally ourselves with you?"
"Yes," he replied as he sat up straight. "Please, think about what we could get out of this if we all allied up. We could reinforce one another from outside threats, keep our people under safer protection, secure trade routes, and even supply each other against any foe."
"Bah! Why would ye ever consider such an offer, viking?! Ye expect us tae make an alliance with ye, all without even considerin' the fact that ye'll be making more problems fer my people! We can't help yer tribe out while my kingdom has its own conflict with the blacksteel dwarves; those mercenary gits who make machines o' war fer bootlickin' viking tribes like yers!"
"The blacksteel dwarves? Th- They are no surprise to us. We've dealt with them before," announced Hiccup, standing from his seat.
Morgrim glanced at Hiccup, raising a curious brow. "Really now? Please, do enlighten us, human."
"...Over a year ago, a warlord by the name of Drago Bludvist tried to conquer the Archipelago... as well as Midgard. Aside from the gigantic fort-sized dragon he commanded, alongside him were thousands of vikings and hundreds of dragons, who fought beneath his banners... and among their ranks were the blacksteel dwarves, of whom made and brought forth great war machines for Drago... And yet, we were the ones who dismantled his army. We were the ones who defeated Drago, right here on Berk, so if anything, you should be grateful that we stopped him from-"
"We too could have dealt with him as easily," interrupted Lornduil, standing from his seat. "The Lightland realms have been guarded by thousands of elven warriors for nearly a millennia, and for a millennia, none of our foes could penetrate through them. This Drago Bludvist seems like nothing but an amateur..."
"...As are the dwarves who fought with him, just like any dwarf is."
Lornduil's words weee loud enough for Morgrim to hear, and at that, the dwarven king slammed his hand against the table, infuriated.
"What did ye just say about my kind ye POINTY-EARRED PRINCESS?! ARE YE LOOKIN' FER A FIGHT?"
The elven king chuckled in amusement. "Just like every dwarf. Arrogant and stupid."
"We'll see who laughs last when I crush yer skull in with my hammer!" threatened Morgrim, furiously standing to his feet as he unsheathed his large runic warhammer, clutching both of his hands against the long hilt. "I'd rather fight than work with an elf!"
Lornduil laughed as he reached for his staff, slamming the base of it against the stone floor, which in turn caused the crystal at the head to glow violently with a mix of fire and light magic.
"Don't try me, dwarf. You would not be able to reach me with those stubby little legs of yours," growled the light elf.
By this point, both kings were shouting insults at each other while their guards sat there with dreadened looks upon their faces. By history, both races hated each other, but at that moment, neither side wanted a fight... and nor would there be one, for in that moment, Stoick curled his right hand into a fist and slammed it hard against the table, interrupting both of the kings.
"ENOUGH!"
Lornduil and Morgrim suddenly looked back at Stoick, still irritated with one another. It became clear that their moods had spiraled completely downhill.
But the large viking sighed, looking at the kings with disgust.
"Look at you two! All you ever do is fight each other, just because of your history with one another! Because of your damned old hatreds! Can't you for once set aside your hate, and have the DECENCY to at least listen to what we have to say!? Put away your weapons, and sit down!"
Although the two kings were about to go at each other's throats, they persisted and did as Stoick asked of them, settling back down in their seats without question as they resheathed their weapons.
"So, what d'ye have tae say tae us then? Hm?" grunted Morgrim. "I still want tae know what makes ye think that we would ever ally with ye and elven scum like-"
"It's not about if we want to or not," spoke Hiccup, making his say in the conversation. "And like Morgrim, we too have our problems here on Berk... But they are getting out of hand, and we need dire help."
Lornduil arched a brow. "Hmph. Is that so? And what kind of 'problems' do you speak of, human?"
"I speak of Berk's overall state. The island is on the verge of falling apart. The people are split because we stand against ourselves, divided into two factions... And then there are the raiders who are a whole nother story."
"Raiders? Pfft," responded Morgrim.
Hiccup nodded. "Yes... and they are the reason why our island is the way it is now. It all started months ago when they came small in number and commenced a surprise attack, and since then, their numbers have grown with every raid."
"Well what d'ye expect from vikings, human?" asked Morgrim, crossing his arms. "Vikings are raiders! They'll always raid anyone they see as an enemy so they can-"
"Who said that they were vikings? As a matter of fact, they aren't even humans, or of any race we know!"
Hiccup's words silenced both the elven and dwarven king as they sat there in wonder and slight shock. It was indeed quite curious. If they were not humans, not elves, and not dwarves, then who?
Lornduil leaned in, his undivided attention place upon the young man. "And what are these raiders you speak of? Who are they?"
The lad shrugged with a sigh. "We don't know. But all I can say is that out of all the races and creatures I have seen on Midgard in both books and in person, they are something I have never seen before. "
"Aye," said Valka. "Still, they are the reason life on Berk has become difficult. We can't keep up like this if they continue damaging the village time and again, and thus continue forcing us to use up more of our resources."
"Our problems with Berk becoming divided are one thing, but this- this is something else…"
Lornduil and Morgrim looked at each other with grim faces. Despite their dislikinh for one another, they were curious as to if the situation with the raiders was as legitimate as it sounded.
However, just as they were about to speak they then heard a growl, and from the corner of their eyes they spotted Toothless flexing his teeth out and looking towards the doors of the great hall with an aggressive look.
To Hiccup, he immediately knew that something was wrong.
"Toothless?"
Suddenly the great hall shook. Small grains of rocks from the ceiling began falling on top of them as the sound of banging outside turned everyone's attention towards the great doors.
"By the gods, what is that?" gasped Stoick.
But before they knew it, a runner came rushing swiftly into the great hall, almost breathless.
"We're being attacked! The raiders are besieging the harbor! They came out of nowhere with twenty longships, heavily armed!"
Hiccup's eyes widened as a chill ran down his spine. "The harbor?! But if they're attacking the docks then that means- Oh no…"
"...What is it, Hiccup?" asked Valka, noticing the worry in Hiccup's tone.
"Astrid and the others! I left them behind to guard the ships! ...Mom, we have to get out there, NOW."