Five days later…
"Is Arn really singing that song again?" sighed Snotlout.
"Have you heard of the one whose name is Brann?"
"He who saved the innocent as fast as a ram!"
"He walked on mountains and he walked through valleys,"
"He marched through battle where his foe would rally!"
"A smile to the good and fair is all he gave,"
"Never sad nor flaming mad, but always brave!"
"But when the foul and evil would cross his path,"
"He would unleash the Allfather's wrath!"
Arn was indeed singing that same tune again. During their flight to Valnr, the Alsworn heir had been singing song after song, but one kept occasionally repeating. It was the song Hiccup heard the night of the feast when his father was still around, and coincidentally, the same night he received the vision from the runestone.
And as they flew through the cloudy blue sky with the cold wind against their faces, the riders all looked back at the lad while he rode atop Infernus's back.
"You really do like that song, huh?" laughed Hiccup heartily. "I never asked by the way, but where did you learn it?"
"Eh… my father taught me it," replied Arn chuckling. "We were at a feast with the votun and their chief, Ragnar, and he began singing it aloud in the great hall along with everyone at the table. It was a great time."
"Eugh, what is it with you and your tribe?" asked Ruffnut. "You guys might as well be skálds rather than warriors."
"Singing is a tradition in Valnr," laughed the fire guardian Infernus. "Many of its peoples, humans, votun, dwarves, and elves alike, sing tales and sagas about the heroes and warriors of old. To them, it is very much enjoyable. Fun, as you would call it."
"Oh yes indeed, it is viewed as extremely exciting, enchanting, and enthralling!" spoke Voltraxion, once again speaking with long words. "Many of the sung sagas may suggest some of the pre-dated history behind the continent's long forgotten past. Of course, these are just speculations, and that is by the by."
"I still have no idea what you are saying…" groaned Tuffnut.
"You're never going to understand a thing if you don't get your brain working, Tuff," replied Snotlout.
"Hey. Look on the bright side," smiled Arn. "I can tell for a fact that we're almost there! I can feel a change in the wind. I'm certain of it."
"I don't know... All I feel is the cold..." replied Fishlegs with a light shiver. "It's as if the goddess Skadi let out a breath or something."
"Nonsense," said Glacien, her voice not even shaking. "It should not be that cold."
"Fishlegs is a bit sensitive when it comes to the cold," replied Astrid with a shrug. "But truth be told, it feels colder than the arctic where we first fought Drago. Though at least it's… not too cold."
Toothless let out a warble of laughter. "I bet she's lying," he said in Dragonese.
"I wouldn't say that too loudly, bud," Hiccup replied softly. "Imagine how Astrid would respond to you if she understood-"
"LAND HO!"
Arn's voice rose up as he pointed a finger towards a large chunk of rock rising in the far distance. At first, it looked like an island, but as they continued their flight, it slowly began to grow noticeably larger. With each moment as they flew closer and closer, it became bigger and bigger, and after a little more time passed by, it became clear as to what they were staring at.
They had finally arrived.
Arn gave a smile. "We've arrived at Valnr, my friends! In the distance before us stands Votunheim; a large valley circled by mountains, and a land of bright green fields and tall trees."
"Wow…" grinned Hiccup. "I can imagine it in my head even now… it must be a pretty place."
"You know, I can even feel myself getting a little bit warmer," said Astrid.
"Indeed, many have the same feeling when they gaze their eyes upon the votun's homeland, despite the fact that Valnr's weather changes constantly," nodded Infernus. "But unfortunately, the other guardians and I cannot accompany you into Votunheim."
"What?" responded Hiccup as he and the others slowed their dragons to a halt, before gazing back at the Three Guardians. "...Are you saying you won't follow us any further?"
Infernus nodded his head. "Yes. It is here where we must part ways for now. We were tasked only to guide you safely to Valnr, and now, here we are. We three guardians have a more important duty to fulfill, thus we cannot follow you."
"Will we at least see you again?" asked Fishlegs.
"Most likely, yes," Infernus assured him. "But that is for the fates to ultimately decide."
"...Alright then," said Hiccup as he looked down at Toothless. "Bud, help Arn off of Infernus, will you?"
The Night Fury gave a nod, flying closer to Infernus until their wings were close to touching. Arn, who slowly stood to both his feet, jumped from the fire guardian and onto Toothless's back, landing right behind Hiccup.
Infernus bowed his head in approval. "May Odin be with you, Wings of Midgard," he huffed.
To that, the Three Guardians began flying off into the northwest, leaving the seven young vikings alone with their dragons. As they flew off, the riders could hear Voltraxion blattering further complicated nonsense, before it finally faded off into the wind...
"Looks like it's just us for now, until we meet the votun chieftain. We should continue on," said Hiccup.
"Excellent," grinned Arn. "And I know just where we can land."
…
"Are you sure it's this way?" asked Hiccup.
Arn nodded back to him. "I'm certain of it. We're not too far now."
After a few minutes of flight, the riders and their dragons were finally closing in on Votunheim's shores. The majority of the region's coast consisted of small cliffs and large rocks, but there was one beach Arn knew of, located on the western part of Votunheim's coast. It was small and secluded, the perfect place for them to camp, and there was even a path that went uphill which led straight into the valley itself. This meant they could go by foot if their dragons were too exhausted.
"I must say, we're lucky to have you as a guide," admitted Astrid respectfully. "Otherwise this journey would be more difficult."
"Well we can always use the map," Fishlegs pointed out. "We didn't bring it along without a reason-"
"Uhh, guys," interrupted Snotlout. "I hate to be a bummer, but uh- what's that?"
The Jorgenson's finger pointed out towards a small beach in the distance, and everyone's eyes immediately locked onto it.
"That's it! We're almost there," nodded Arn.
"I know that," replied Snotlout. "But who are those people on the beach?"
Everyone rose a brow. Their eyes were focused closely on the beach, and yet they were unable to make out who the figures up ahead were. But as they flew closer and closer, it became clear to the group what they were seeing.
They were tall, muscular warriors, of which they wore either plate horned helmets or no headgear at all. They also wore fur on their shoulders, along with leather and scalemail armor that extended down from their chests to their boots. They wielded axes, swords, spears, and shields in their grip, either with one hand, or with both.
It became clear that they were armed for battle.
"Are those- votun?" called out Fishlegs.
"They are votun... At least a dozen of them, and they're armed," replied Arn. "But what are they doing lined up on the beach?"
"I think there's a reason for it," said Hiccup.
And indeed there was. From the top of the small hill leading into Votunheim, the votun's enemy came marching down the path and swiftly lined up before them. They outnumbered them at least four to one.
But the votun's enemy was their enemy, and Hiccup instantly knew who they were.
"Orcs!" he exclaimed. "Double speed, everyone! We have to reach them!"
Snotlout gave a glare upon his first glance on the brutes. "Huh, so that's what they look like..."
Immediately the dragons picked up the pace, flying as fast as they could towards the votun, whose backs were turned to the sea and their weapons towards the orcs, ready to take them on.
The twelve large warriors, though up against nearly fifty orcs, were still larger and stronger. They rallied closer, and made a tighter formation.
The leader of the votun, who wore scalemail armor with marks of red dye, leather breeches and boots, a horned helmet, and a brown furred cloak, stepped forward to the front of his group, raising out his large, two-handed axe.
"Shrug off your wounds, my warriors! Another battle awaits us!" he spoke, as his bassy nordic voice bellowed out to his warriors.
"Looks like it's just us, then," grinned one of the votun shieldmaidens. "This will be a worthy battle!"
But as prepared as they were to fight, so were the orcs.
"Come at us, maggots!" laughed the orc captain, standing opposite from the votun as he swung his sword around provokingly. "Come die in Drago's name!"
The votun took a few steps forward, ready to engage the orcs who kept roaring and taunting the mighty warriors. But before they could make a move, a voice called out to them.
"WAIT!"
The votun turned their backs, and looked up.
From above, they saw seven figures flying in on dragon-back of whom they did not recognize, and yet strangely enough, they felt as if help had come.
"Grr… what is the meaning of this?!" growled the orc captain.
As Hiccup and the riders closed in, the votun quickly spaced themselves out and made way for them to land their dragons, and upon dismounting, the seven warriors swiftly unsheathed their weapons, gazing back at the orcs.
The votun now had a closer look, and saw that they were vikings.
"Light it up, Toothless," Hiccup commanded as he held his sword out, and the Night Fury obliged, charging up a light plasma blast and aiming it at the blade of Hiccup's weapon. Like a simple snap of a finger, the young chieftain's blade was lit in bright orange flames.
The votun awed as they watched in amazement. "Such a deadly weapon for someone so small!" complimented one of the votun warriors. "But what are you vikings doing here in Votunheim? Why do you bring dragons?"
"We're here to help you out," said Hiccup as he rose his sword up to his shoulders. "If you're willing to accept our aid, we'd be happy to help."
"Hmm… you seem a little bit small for this battle," chuckled the votun leader. "But you vikings do know what you're doing. Come, little friends, let us crush these orcs!"
"Lead on!" nodded Hiccup.
As such, the votun and the young riders, along with their dragons, roared as they ran at the orcs with their weapons raised, and the orcs in response quickly attempted to counter charge, yet as they did, Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch let out a combined blast of fire towards their ranks, causing an explosion that hurled ten up into the air, burning. Already, their numbers were dwindling.
And soon, both sides clashed as the fighting began on the beach.
The votun, being the battle born warriors they were, had very little trouble with the orcs. The brutes were only as large as Stoick - who in life was like a giant in the eyes of many, but the half-giant warriors almost dwarfed them.
They swung their weapons violently at the orcs, stabbing and hacking them to bits as they proceeded to beat the foul creatures to death. They were relentless, and showed no mercy to the orcs.
The same went for the dragons. With their heads and tails, they brutally bashed the orcs around as if they were toys, sending them hurling into each other like tree logs falling against one another, whilst also using their breath attacks to burn them into crisps.
Meanwhile, the young vikings were cutting down the orcs as if they were cattle. Hiccup and Astrid swung and lobbed their weapons at the orcs, and at the same time, they used their magic to summon up balls of flame, which proved to be stronger than before. However, much to Hiccup's anticipation, his flame-lit weapon was stronger than he had expected, for it cut through the orcs' armor with better ease than before.
"Wow... I've never made myself a better weapon!" said Hiccup in astonishment.
At one point, the two Wings of Midgard spotted an orc rushing towards them, and as they both rose their hands out and shouted, "FÚRE!", they conjured two fireballs that unexpectedly merged into one spell, which was strong enough to kill the orc in an instant.
Hiccup and Astrid looked back at each other, smirking.
"Nice one, milady!" complimented Hiccup.
"Why thanks, chief!" she grinned. "Now, let's get back to the fight!"
Meanwhile, Arn, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the Twins were doing a fine effort in outmatching the orcs with their skill and intelligence. As was with the case of the orcs, they were stronger, so the four of them had to be smarter.
Though he knew no magic, Arn was excellent when it came to fighting the orcs, especially since he fought them for years. The young Alsworn viking struck at the orcs' limbs to slow them down. If the brutes dared to attack however, Arn would dodge and strike back, and one by one, the orcs who came before him were cut down.
For Snotlout, the buff viking was making a tremendous yet easy effort against the brutal raiders. Although he was unable to cast magic like his fellow riders, he still made up for it with his amazing sword-fighting skills, as well as his muscle and acrobatics, swiftly striking the orcs down when they least expected it. Indeed, all of those years of working out had truly begun to pay off for him as a viking.
"Snotlout! Snotlout! OI-OI-OI!"
Fishlegs, being the more knowledgeable one, relied more on his magic than the others. He kept his shield close as his hammer glowed menacingly with fire magic, and with every attack he made against the orcs, their armor seared and dented as if the Ingerman was bashing through them like crushing an apple with a rock. On occasion, he also shot out fireballs from his hands, burning the orcs before him to a crisp.
The Twins meanwhile, though not as excellent as the others, were still doing better than before. With their rage, they finally learned how to set their weapons on fire, and the two stuck with fighting back to back to cover their guard around them. Of course, being the violent duo they were, the orcs that attacked the two vikings were slashed and stabbed over and over again by the Twins until the brutes fell to their knees in defeat, before being quickly slain.
At this rate, the orcs could not handle the intensity that these new dragon riders, who had come out of nowhere, were putting onto them - especially since they knew magic, and it was then that the orc captain took a horn from the side of his belt…
And blew it loudly, calling for the retreat.
"RETREAT!" the orc captain roared. "Grr… we will come back, Dragonskarn!"
The fight quickly ended, and the dozen remaining orcs began to retreat back up the hill into the valley, though to the young vikings, it was unknown exactly where they were going.
At first, Hiccup was tempted to chase after the commander, but before he could move more than a few steps, a large figure blocked his way.
The votun leader shook his head as he held his arm out in front of Hiccup. "Don't risk it, young one," he said warningly. "If you try to follow them back to their camp, their trackers on the road will spot you and kill you. Trust me, the east isn't safe."
The young chieftain found it a bit surprising that the votun called him a hero, but nevertheless, he sighed and gave a nod as he proceeded to put his sword back in its sheath, immediately extinguishing it of its flames as the other riders did the same and sheathed their weapons away.
The young vikings and their dragons grouped up with the votun, eyeing them curiously. Arn was not joking when he previously told them that they were half-giants. They were large. More than twice Hiccup's height.
"So then," continued the votun leader. "Who are you? You don't look like you're from around here."
"We're not... Well- most of us. My name is Hiccup Haddock, Chieftain of the Berkian Tribe," said Hiccup, before pointing out the others. "My friends here are Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Arn of the Alsworn. We've come to-"
"Arn?" asked the half-giant, gazing back at the blonde viking. "You mean… Arn Lotharsson of the Alsworn?"
The Alsworn heir gave a nod. "I guess you know me, then?"
"Aye..." nodded the votun. "And though I would gladly like to talk with you, we cannot stay here, as it's not safe. We can talk at our camp to the north, if of course you and your dragons are willing to come with us..."
"Our group need rest anyways. We'll gladly go with you to your camp - just lead the way," agreed Hiccup, receiving a grin from the votun leader.
"Very well, but we will have to move fast. Let us go!" the half-giant said cheerfully.
The votun leader ran first with Hiccup and Toothless at his side, and quickly the rest of the large group followed as they ran along the path leading up the hill and into the large valley of Votunheim, and upon first sight, Hiccup was stunned…
…
Time passed by. The riders had a great sight of the region of Votunheim as they continued northwest along the dirt road, occasionally passing by a few stone fences and trees.
"Wow!" gargled Meatlug. "I wonder if I could snuggle around in the grass? This place is amazing!"
"Tell me about it," huffed Hookfang with a dragon-like grin."I would love to hang around in the trees. I wonder if they feel nice?"
Though the dragons were intrigued by specific details, for Hiccup, the valley as a whole was beautiful. It was just as he imagined; bright green grass, tall pine trees, hills and small mountains, and a warm sun shining down with clouds overhead. The further they continued down the path, the more and more they saw of Votunheim.
"This place looks amazing," complimented Hiccup. "You votun chose a nice place to stay."
"Aye," replied the votun leader. "For centuries we have thrived here in peace, whilst hunting the monsters that dwelled here. Wolves, trolls, mammoths, and even a few giants."
Arn glanced back at Hiccup. "Like I told you, they are monster hunters," he nodded.
The votun leader rose a brow from beneath his helmet. "You told these strangers about us, young Arn?"
"I told them quite a lot about you, actually. But since they're my friends, you have nothing to worry about," he assured the half-giant. "But I must ask, who are you?"
"I'll tell you when we reach the camp," the votun replied. "We're almost there. Not too far now!"
The riders and the votun continued running as fast as their feet could allow them, for the long run had left them slightly fatigued. But after a little more time, they finally managed to reach the camp; stationed at the top of a small flat hill, with tall grass and a few pine trees around it. It was the perfect place to camp, all while staying out of sight.
As they came to a stop, Hiccup briefly looked around, giving himself a better glance at the site. There was a large leather tent built in the center of the camp, with four other smaller tents surrounding it. They were very comfortable to sleep under, and they were made all the more cozier with the campfires that stood near them.
Hiccup grinned in approval.
Now able to catch their breaths, the votun made way towards their tents to either rest their heads, or to feed their stomachs. With that, the campfires were lit up, and they began sitting around the cozy pyres, heartily talking with one another. To this, the young vikings were a bit surprised. Even after fighting a battle, they reacted almost as if little to nothing had happened.
"Come, friends," said the votun leader from nearby, motioning towards his tent in the center of the camp, and as such, the vikings and their dragons gladly followed.
Upon entering the tent, they were greeted to a large campfire, which the half-giant quickly lit up by grinding two stones. As soon as sparks flew at the wood, they turned into flames.
He then motioned with his hands towards the votun-sized logs around the fire. "Please, sit."
The young vikings nodded as they welcomingly sat down around the fire with the votun, and to that, their dragons followed suit, lying down around it.
"Ah…" sighed Snotlout. "I can finally rest my back. After nearly half a day of traveling, and a battle, this, feels, worth it."
The others mumbled in agreement. This was indeed worth it, especially for the dragons, whose wings were beyond exhaustion.
While settling in, Arn's eyes fell on the votun leader, who began placing boar meat and fish atop the spit over the fire.
"So, mind telling me who you are? You clearly know who I am, but I don't recognize you."
For a moment, the votun leader looked up at Arn, and from beneath his helmet, he grinned. "Has it really been that long, young Arn? I remembered when both you and your father last came here, and it was when you two were in my great hall, singing tunes with the other votun..."
"Does that not sound familiar?"
In that moment, the eyes of the young vikings suddenly gazed back at Arn. The votun's words matched with the story Arn told them during their flight, and as if being met with a wake-up call, the realization soon hit them.
"Hold on a moment," said Arn. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
The votun responded not in words, but by slowly removing his horned helmet, revealing his face. Upon first glance, he appeared somewhat stoic. He had flaming red long hair that went down to his shoulders in braids, and as well as down to his upper back. Along with that, he also bore a beard; a large, bushy and braided beard.
Arn's eyes widened in surprise, but also with slight bewilderment. "...Chief Ragnar? What are- I thought you-"
As the lad stuttered, Ragnar gave a hearty laugh. "Aye! It is good to see you too, Arn Lotharson!"