This chapter is shorter than the last one, but nonetheless, I hope you guys like this one!
Enjoy!
As Hiccup ran through the doors leading out of the great hall, the blue cloudy sky and the sun met his eyes. But upon gazing in the distance, he immediately caught sight of dwarven and light elven ships, docking both in and outside of Berk's harbor.
The dwarves' orange sails were lowered, as were the elves' white sails, displaying the white anvil of Khaz'ardul, and the silver bird of Lightwood.
...However, what both the elves and the dwarves brought were not just a mere few ships, but rather an entire fleet. The dwarves' large galley ships with their large metal rams were numbered fifty, whilst the elves and their swift war-sloops were numbered a hundred. Yet nonetheless, both factions brought the same amount of warriors; a thousand elves and a thousand dwarves.
Hiccup expressed a look of intrigue and shock, for he wondered why the elves and dwarves had brought an entire army to their doorstep.
"That's… a lot of elves and dwarves," stated Astrid in an astonished tone. "But why would Morgrim and Lornduil bring their armies here?"
"There must be a good reason for that," suggested Hiccup. "Whatever the case, both of those kings came here to talk to me, so it's best we get started with it... Gobber. Eret."
"Aye?" they both asked in unison.
"Mount up and fly over to the docks, and bring their kings to me. Tell them that I await them, and that I'm eager to hear them out."
"As you wish," nodded Eret.
"If you say so," Gobber quickly added on.
The two vikings swiftly mounted onto their dragons, Grump and Skullcrusher, and without rush they flew off towards the docks where both Lornduil and Morgrim had already docked, for their large flagships were the first ships that ported. Though a bit of a tight fit, they still managed to dock in.
After a short moment passed by, the group eventually spotted Gobber and Eret coming back into view atop their dragons. Behind the vikings rode two familiar figures; a red-bearded dwarf armored in black and gold plating, along with a brown furred cloak and a crown with red gems, and a tall elf with long silver hair, who wore golden and silver elven scale mail armor from shoulder to toe, along with a large red cloak that went down his back.
As the two dragons landed at the bottom of the great stairs, both Morgrim and Lornduil swiftly dismounted, and hastily began to make their way up the stairs to Hiccup, with the two dragon riders and their dragons following them in tow.
"They seem to be in a rush," Hiccup said to the others. "They're unarmed, but they look like they're armored for war. Why?"
Upon reaching Hiccup, the two kings presented themselves to him with a bow, which the young chieftain found surprising considering the last visit.
"Well…" breathed Gobber, gasping for air from running up the stairs. "Here we are, my kings. I would like present to you Chief-"
"We know," interrupted Morgrim with a nod. "Now will ye allow us tae speak with him or…?"
"I'm all ears," said Hiccup as he stepped forward. "Though… how do you already know that I am the chief?"
"Err... it's a long story, lad," Morgrim replied as he approached the young chieftain, and to his surprise, the dwarf rose an arm to give him a pat on the shoulder. "What say we talk about this inside, eh?"
"Indeed. We have much to talk about, young chief," Lornduil politely agreed.
Hiccup looked back at the others, and he gave them a nod. "Everyone, leave us… you too, Toothless."
The whole group gave objection as they turned their backs and made their way down the great stairs towards the plaza, leaving the kings and the young chieftain alone by themselves.
The lad then gestured them to follow. "Shall we?"
…
The three of them sat at the high table, ready for discussion, with Hiccup atop the throne of the chieftain, and the two kings sitting opposite from him.
"Right," began Hiccup, shifting and leaning forward in his seat. "Let's get down to the point. Why have you come to Berk with two armies armed for war?"
"...Well, firstly, we heard about what happened with your father, Stoick the Vast. We give our condolences," answered Lornduil, expressing a surprisingly respective manner. "But secondly, and more importantly, we came here to tell you that these... orcs, as those raiders are called, attacked us."
"What? ...Both of you?" asked Hiccup.
"Aye," replied Morgrim. "For us dwarves, they came before the gates of Khaz'ardul with a large army, and presented themselves tae us as the Dark Legions. They announced their demands tae us, and threatened tae slaughter us like they did with the chieftain of Berk if we refused tae stand with 'em. Tae that, we responded with a Hel load o' dwarven cannon fire, and blasted those damned orcs and their monsters tae ashes! Wasn't 'til we interrogated one of 'em that they told us what they were."
Hiccup rose both his brows. "So that's how you knew about my father's death..."
"This was a similar case for us as well when they reached the walls of the Lightwood capital," responded Lornduil with a sigh. "But when the orcs tried to siege it, they stood no chance against our archers and mages. They were shot down and forced to retreat."
"...Much of our forest burned however, and so were many of our villages."
Hiccup was stunned. Never had he thought that the orcs would launch sieges on both the elves and the dwarves, let alone spread their presence across more of Midgard. He only assumed that the orcs would start with Berk, and then move onto the rest of the Archipelago…
But instead, they attacked the mighty kingdoms of the elves and dwarves, declaring an all-out total war.
"...So what happened next?" asked Hiccup, leaning more forward.
"Well…" began Morgrim. "A few days after the siege, I received a letter from Lornduil who explained his situation, and fer the next two weeks we sent letters back an' forth discussing what tae do."
"And eventually, we came to a conclusion," added on Lornduil.
The two kings sat silent for a moment as they glanced back at one another, before nodding after gathering their thoughts. They knew well that their words would shock the lad.
"...We want tae form an alliance with ye," said Morgrim.
Hiccup blinked confusingly at first upon hearing Morgrim's response, but as he looking back at Lornduil, he watched as the elf bowed his head in agreement.
"Are you two serious?"
"We are," responded Lornduil. "It has become clear to us that if we do not do something now about this new threat, we will never stand a chance against them in the future. It's time that we toss our old hatreds aside. I don't want to see Lightwood burn, nor my own kind."
"And I don't want tae see Khaz'ardul fall intae ruin," the dwarf king replied firmly. "Between both our races, we are the only kingdoms willing tae stand against 'em, but we must fight taegether..."
"...We are willing tae stop these orcs, and save our people... So, what say ye?"
And so it had come to this. The alliance which the elves and dwarves denied Berk nearly a month ago was now on the verge of forming. Hiccup knew that this would not be any regular alliance, like his father had planned, but rather something more.
"...I say yes," agreed Hiccup, standing from his throne. "But this will be no ordinary alliance. Whether it will be our first or last, the fact remains clear; it will be built upon the races of Midgard. Humans, dwarves, and light elves. Never in the history of the Nine Worlds has anyone managed to form a unity between our races... Each of us, from three different worlds."
"...Until now," Lornduil added on. "Either way, the vote is unanimous."
Morgrim stood from his seat. "Aye. So I suppose it's done then?"
"It's done," nodded Hiccup. "But we need everyone to know about this, including both the elves and dwarves."
"I see," responded Lornduil. "So what do you ask of us, Hiccup?"
"I want you two to tell my mother and the others to rally all of the Berkian Tribe in front of the great stairs, as well as both of your armies. I have a speech I have to make to everyone…"
…
"Wow... Look at them all," said Arn in surprise. "Kind of reminds me of when my father became chieftain of the Alsworn."
The town center was extremely crowded with Berkians, dragons, elves, and dwarves, and as well as the hill where Hiccup's hut was. But overall, every area around the stairs of the great hall was crowded.
At the top of the great stairs, Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, the Twins, Arn, and the rest of the group as well as their dragons and the two kings stood looking over the races of Midgard that stood quietly in wonder and anticipation.
Feeling ready, Hiccup looked to his right where Astrid and Arn stood, and they gave him a nod.
"It's time," spoke Astrid. "Tell us what you want to say."
"Alright… Toothless, come here."
The dragon huffed out air and nodded his head as Hiccup stepped a few paces forward with Toothless at his side so that everyone could see them. His own people were especially curious as they had not seen their chief in a while.
As soon as both he and his dragon were in position for all to see, he looked towards the crowds down below and around him, eyeing them for a moment in thought before he then began to speak to them.
"I- I know many of you are wondering what I have to say," he began. "Especially my people, since I have been gone for quite a while... but this is something all of you need to hear!"
He let out a soft sigh. "We've all faced the atrocities of a new enemy that attacked each of our homes! They call themselves the Dark Legions! They seek to destroy all of Midgard, and to see us fall one by one! At Khaz'ardul and Lightwood, they were pushed back after they tried to burn the elves and dwarves out! But even if they're defeated, they will always come back! None of us can defeat them alone..."
Hiccup paused for a moment. His eyes slightly narrowed down to the ground. "...My father, Stoick the Vast, was slain in battle by a warlord who we thought was dead. He tried to defeat the Dark Legions alone, but it nearly led my tribe to ruin. I was there, and what I saw that day horrified me."
The lad's eyes rose back to the crowds. "However, when it felt as if the end was near, my father made the ultimate sacrifice! He saved us so that we could escape. So that we could fight another day! He was that type of chieftain, and ever since that dark day, I always thought that his death weakened the Berkian Tribe…"
"...But I say no!" stated Hiccup. "The Dark Legions' warlord expects us to back down, but he is gravely mistaken! He works to bring back a monster that he calls his master, yet he forgets who stands in his way to stop him. Us! So why should we have to deal with them coming back to attack us again and again!? It doesn't have to be this way!"
The crowds spoke up in agreement, exchanging looks with one another. Though Midgard stood on the brink of possible destruction, the races knew well that this new dark threat was not entirely unstoppable. The dwarves and the elves had won their victories against the Dark Legions at the gates of their cities, and the Berkian Tribe, despite their recent defeat, had triumphed over them many times before.
Once more, Hiccup silenced them and thus continued. "And so, I ask you this; Berkians and dragons, would you let the sacrifice of your old chieftain be in vain?"
"NO!" the people of Berk bellowed in response, with the dragons roaring in reply as well. Knowing Dragonese, Hiccup heard a single word from them;
"NO!"
With a determined look, Hiccup's eyes turned to the light elves. "Elves of Lightwood, would you allow the orcs to return to burn your forests and slaughter your innocent? Your whole race!?"
"Never!"
"No!"
"Not in a thousand years!" one called out.
Like the vikings, the elves' response was loud and straight forward. And to that, Hiccup spun his attention to the dwarves.
"Dwarves of Khaz'ardul! Would you see your mighty and ancient city of old fall to dust!? Would you let the orcs return!? To break open your halls of stone and butcher your people!?"
"No!"
"Nay!"
"Argh! Those damned orcs can kiss meh buttocks!" exclaimed a dwarf, causing nearly all of the other dwarves to laugh.
"You all see now that not a single one of us is alone in this!" he announced loudly. "And thus, I would like to announce the decision that has been made between myself, and the other kings! Our three factions, with the help of dragons, will be united into the first Midgardian alliance! Never before have our three races come together to fight in unison!"
"And so I ask you, people of Midgard; What say you!?"
It took a moment for the vikings, elves, and dwarves to reply, but their responses came as just.
"We'll avenge Stoick, chieftain!" called out a Berkian, earning many ayes from the other vikings.
"Let us kick their behinds all the way back tae the Hel that spawned 'em!" roared a dwarf, earning cheers from a large group of his dwarven brothers.
Finally, an elf yelled aloud, "We'll fight for our gods! Odin owns them all!"
The name Odin was enough to set the crowds off in a chant. In that moment, many voices began shouting the Allfather's name, and they came not just from the Berkians, but from every race present, save for the dragons.
"ODIN! ODIN! ODIN! ODIN!"
Hiccup let out a light exhale as a wind of relief blew in his face. He turned his head back to the others standing behind him, and with that, they looked upon him with pride.
"Show 'em who's boss, H," smirked Tuffnut.
Hiccup grinned, turning his head back around to the chanting crowds as he took a single step forward, firmly raising a fist up into the air. The crowds boomed in applause, and the dragons roared loudly along with their alpha Night Fury.
"WE WILL STAND TOGETHER, AS THE ALLIANCE OF MIDGARD!"
For this last scene, I was kind of inspired by the Last Alliance from Tolkien lore, but this was nonetheless planned from the start of the story.
Along with that, the scene's inspiration came from the ending of the Warcraft movie. Now, it's not exactly my cup of tea, as I'm more of a Tolkien fan, but personally, I thought it was an epic moment from the movie.
Anyways, thank you for reading!