Took longer than I anticipated to get this posted, but no worries! In this chapter, the siege finally begins!

As is per usual with battles, I heavily recommend for you guys to listen to some music of your choice to help settle into the mood and improve your reading experience! But if you only want to read, then feel free to read on!

I hope you all enjoy!

Hiccup slowly awoke to an unexpecting chill that filled the room, of which he felt blowing against his naked back. Even with his arms wrapped around Astrid, who slept comfortably beneath the furred blanket, he could still feel bitterness in the air. Her warmth did not delude it.

The young lad curiously looked over his shoulder, staring back at the opening that led onto the balcony. To his surprise, there was no sun. Instead, his gaze was met with cloudy skies, illuminated by the pre-dawn light of the early morning

'...Is it supposed to be like this?' he thought to himself.

Now fully awake, he gently flipped the furred blanket off of his legs before sitting up at the edge of the bed. Despite the warm trousers that he still wore, he could now feel the freezing air in its entirety against his naked chest. It felt very uneasing.

Something was wrong...

"Astrid," he said softly as he spun back to face her, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Astrid, wake up!"

The lass let out a muffled sigh as her eyes slowly began to open, and upon coming to her senses, she too quickly noticed the bittered cold feeling in the air.

"What the-?" she gasped, immediately setting aside the blanket as she slid to the opposite edge of the bed and stood to her feet, making her way to Hiccup's side. Unlike him, she was still clothed, save for her shoes.

Astrid rose her brows, gazing out at the cloudy sky. "W- Why is it so cold? It's like winter."

"I don't know," replied Hiccup. "Elendar said the season never changes in Nordell, and yet… those look more like snow-clouds than rain-clouds."

"...Something's not right."

Before either of them could say anything else, the sudden sound of a distant boom caught their attention, and as such, both Toothless and Stormfly, who slept nearby, awoke to it almost instantly.

The two riders turned to their dragons, both of whom were gazing out into the blue - and yet it appeared as if they were trying to focus...

"T- Toothless?" said Hiccup. "Is everything alright?"

There was a pause. For a brief moment the two dragons did not look up at their riders, but they nonetheless stood to their feet as they made their way to their sides.

"Hiccup," finally spoke Toothless. "You heard that boom as well, right? ...Something's wrong. We're in grave danger."

The lad gave a questioning look. "W- What-?"

Before he could respond further however, a sudden shake in the floor caught them all off-guard, and before they knew it, a fiery projectile came flying into the balcony, bursting into flames as both Hiccup and Astrid fell forward on their stomachs from the earth-shattering impact.

Burning rocks flew across the room, one of which nearly hit Toothless. With their hearts racing, the two vikings were quick to stand to their feet as they made their way onto the balcony; or rather, what remained of it.

Half of the structure had been completely blown off, all whilst the other before them was left in ruin. Yet as they inspected the damage, their eyes suddenly fell towards the valley down below…

"They're here," said Hiccup.

Thousands upon thousands of orcs and other felled troops stood before the city of Nordell; their roars and taunting cheers boomed loudly like thunder. To make matters worse, dozens of trolls were among the Dark Legion ranks, armored in giant sets of black plating as they held aloft large weapons that could smash aside several men at once. To the two vikings, they had never seen such a large army before. Not ever in their lives.

It was a nightmare to behold.

Hiccup felt a sense of dread grip him as the orcs blew their hellish horns of war, all whilst they continuingly fired dozens of flaming boulders onto the city. It was either flee or fight, and the lad knew which to choose.

"Wh- What do we do now?" questioned Astrid.

"We must gather the group," answered Hiccup, turning around as he rushed for his weapon and gear underneath the bed. "Prepare to fly out! Once we're rallied, we'll meet at the main gates!"

"The gates? Are you sure?" she asked.

"Just do it!" he replied. "...Now, where's that damned hand-cannon?"

…

Elendar gritted his teeth as he ducked behind cover, dodging oncoming arrows whilst the walls shook from the exploding rounds of catapult fire.

The elven king, along with a few of his royal guards, stood atop the ramparts of the outer gate, looking over the battle that took place outside the walls.

And it was a mess.

The area that laid outside the main gates of Nordell was a grassy field that stretched out quite a distance, enough for an army of two thousand to cover. In the center of the field, an elven watchtower stood overlooking the area, guarded by more than a dozen elven rangers who were shooting down any orcs that came into range or dared to climb up.

But that was not the worst of the situation.

Beyond the tower stood the hilly woods that led down and eastwards towards the valley, now burning in bright flames, and from them, scores upon scores of orcs swarmed in and onto the battlefield, charging either towards the main gate or for the tower in the center.

Yet no matter how many orcs were shot down, it seemed as if they were not slowing their assault.

"Send them back to the abyss, rangers!" bellowed Elendar, yelling out orders in elvish to the archers atop the walls. "LEITHAR IL' FHIR!"

By his command, more than a hundred elven archers drew their bows, and in unison, more than a hundred arrows went flying through the air towards the oncoming orcs that charged the gate. Despite the black plated armor that cladded them, they fell by the dozens to the hail of arrows. The precision and accuracy of the light elves was not to be underestimated, for their hundreds of years of training had served them well...

As the rangers atop the walls continued firing, Elendar took the moment to gaze back towards the courtyard behind him, where two hundred of his best elven warriors stood at the ready.

"Grr… where are they!?" he muttered to himself, referring to Hiccup and his group, along with the Alsworn and the Ironbeards.

However, his answer would immediately be given.

The sound of two horns blasting through the air caught his ear as the dwarves and vikings swarmed into the courtyard from the inner gate, lining up behind the outer as swiftly as they could alongside the elves.

"Finally…" the elven king sighed.

As soon as the vikings and dwarves were lined up, Hiccup and the rest of the group, along with Beldrak and their dragons, rushed in as well, gathering in the center of the courtyard with their weapons in-hand… all except for Astrid, who was unarmed and without armor.

"Ahhh! A worthy battle tae fight!" cheered Beldrak. "I was startin' tae get impatient!"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, thane!" replied Hiccup. "This fight's going to get messy!"

"It already is a mess!"

The voice of Elendar caught everyone's attention as the group gazed up towards the ramparts, spotting the figure of the elven king looking down at them.

"Elendar! What's going on out there!?" called out Hiccup.

"The orcs are swarming in by the multitudes" he replied. "There are hundreds of them out there, and they're trying to overwhelm the watchtower! I'm uncertain how long the rangers there will be able to hold!"

"We should sally-out and help them!" responded Astrid. "We can't just leave them to die while the orcs continue flooding in! We should-"

"Not you, Astrid!" interrupted Elendar. "You cannot go onto the field unarmed, nor unarmored! Your dragon alone won't be enough, and even then, you'd be exposed!"

"So then what am I supposed to do?" questioned the shieldmaiden. "Bar myself up while my friends go out there and fight without me!? I won't let them die either!"

"Nor would I! That is why I want you to head to the forge! Your axe and your new gear are waiting for you there! Once you're equipped, you and your dragon may join the fight!"

Astrid raised a brow as she looked back at Hiccup and the others with a questioning stare, but they merely gave her shrugs.

"Uhh- don't look at us," said Ruffnut. "We didn't tell him anything."

"Doesn't matter," sighed Astrid, turning her attention towards Stormfly as she made her way towards the dragon, before swiftly mounting up.

"Give the enemy all you've got. I'll join the fight once I'm geared up."

"Don't spend too long," said Hiccup. "If we lose this battle, then we'll lose the war. We'll be routed entirely."

"We won't lose this war," responded the lass, determined. "When I charge in, the orcs will face a viking maiden unlike any they've faced before. I'll see to it that we win this fight."

"Heh. If you say so, milady," chuckled Hiccup, to which Astrid gave a smirk.

"Good luck, Hiccup."

To that, both she and Stormfly flew off, leaving Hiccup the group one viking and dragon short. But even then, the others were still eager to get out there and fight it out against the orcs. It was now or never.

Hiccup's gaze fell back onto Elendar, who ordered his royal guards to move. "What now!?"

"Get into positions, and prepare to sally-out!" the elven king replied. "I must join with the main army on the eastern wall to push back the orcs scaling the cliffs! You will be in command of this charge, Hiccup! Good luck!"

Without another word, Elendar rushed out of there, and as such, Hiccup was left in command of the elves that were present.

"Sir?"

From the corner of his eye, the voice of an elven warrior called out to Hiccup, and as he approached the young viking, he gave off a salute with his sword and shield.

"What are your orders?"

"...You heard your king. Prepare to sally-out," the lad responded. "Everyone, get into position! Arn, Beldrak, gather on the flanks with your forces! The rest of you, with me!"

The elven soldier nodded as he fell back in line, and by Hiccup's command, the riders and their dragons swiftly marched to the front of the elven ranks in the center, while Arn and Beldrak rallied up with their own warriors, all of whom were ready to charge.

With everyone in position, the gate before them slowly began to raise, and as it did, Hiccup exhaled deeply and anxiously as the earth beneath his feet shook intensely from the enemy's catapult-fire, battering against the walls.

...And then, the gate was finally opened, revealing a mass of hundreds of orcs swarming forward.

"VICTORY OR VALHALLA!" screamed Heather, unhatching her double-sided axe.

The vikings, dwarves, and light elves raised their weapons up in unison as they roared and cheered, and with a flurry of his blade, Hiccup pointed Inferno forward.

"CHARGE!"

The riders and their dragons were the first to charge out of the gates, with the rest of their army following. The elven rangers atop the ramparts ceased their fire, and like wolves, Hiccup and his allies ran towards the orcs with violent speed.

Seeing their foe sally-out, the orcs began rushing towards them like rampant animals hunting for their prey, for they cared not of the risk.

Upon closing in, Toothless, Meatlug, Hookfang, Windshear, and Barf and Belch all let out their fiery attacks onto the mass of orcs, obliterating their front-lines as dozens of them were blasted back in flames.

"GRAAAGH!"

Hiccup let out a bellowing roar as he threw himself into the enemy, jumping as high as his legs could allow him before lighting Inferno aflame with his fiery magic, and as such, he sliced it down onto the head of a helmless orc.

The flaming blade cut through the top of the brute's skull like butter, and before any of the orcs could react, the ranks of elves, dwarves, and vikings finally crashed into them, along with the dragons, who cut a swath through their lines as if they were meadows of grass.

The real fight had now begun...

After both sides engaged, the conflict was quick to spread out across the battlefield, but Hiccup and the riders stuck together with their dragons, fighting directly down the center as they began an offensive push against the orcs.

Hiccup fought with his knowledge of magic, as well as with his precision and speed of the sword. With every orc that approached him, he would fight them out with his best weapon; his mind. They were stronger, as well as quick, and as such, he had to be quicker and smarter.

His blade found its mark again and again as he cut down the orcs where their armor was weak, and if more than one attempted to group up on him, he would use different forms of spells to swiftly take care of them, whether it be casting fireballs, channeling out flames, unleashing bolts of storm magic, or even summoning blasts of lightning that would hurl several orcs back at once.

Hiccup was not a viking underestimate.

Next to the lad was Snotlout. Though he was more of a warrior than Hiccup, he too relied on the abilities given to him as a Wing of Midgard, but he applied its uses more to his sword rather than his hands. As such, he used more of his strength than his intelligence to best his foes.

With heavy swings of his weapon, bursts of fire would combust outwards in the form of conal explosions, followed by arcs of strong storm magic that would be enough to severely injure, if not kill, a normal warrior. Together, the two elements were able to annihilate many of the orcs that stood in Snotlout's path, save for the strongest.

But even then, they still kept on coming, for no matter how many orcs he slew, more would take their place.

Then there was Fishlegs and Heather, who fought back-to-back. Though the Berserker was no Wing of Midgard, she had learned much over the years as a fighter. Her cunningness had not left her, and her skill and strength made her all the more dangerous as she sliced and diced the orcs with her double-sided axe as if they were trees ready to be cut down.

Fishlegs on the other hand fought more aggressively than usual. He cleverly applied a stormy enchantment to his hammer, and yet he attacked heavily. With every successful strike he made against an orc, the hammer would let out a burst of lightning that would send two or three more orcs hurling back.

To this, Heather was astonished. It reminded her of Thor, the god of thunder and lightning, fighting with his legendary hammer Mjölnir in-hand.

"Since when did you learn to fight like this!?" called out Heather as she swiftly deflected the axe of an orc, before quickly cutting him down.

"Since the orcs burned down my hut!" replied Fishlegs as he let a guttural roar, slamming his hammer down into the ground with one heavy strike. From his weapon, a conal explosion of stormy magic bursted outwards as it sent seven orcs in front of him flying backwards.

Heather, who noticed this from over her shoulder, was shockened. It had become quite apparent to her that the Fishlegs she saw before her was not the viking she knew years ago. Now, he was a warrior.

"I've got more where that came from, you brutes!" the Ingerman bellowed loudly. "If it's a fight you want, I'll give it to you! SO C'MON! LET'S HAVE IT!"

Aside from Fishlegs and Heather who fought back-to-back however, there was also Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were for the first time applying a sense of proper strategy, rather than just grouping up on one foe at a time. The Twins had sought it best to use their magics more than their weapons, and as such, they fought from a distance, but still struck down any orcs who came too close.

Ruffnut, who was the more cunning of the two, casted forth powerful bolts of lightning like an angry storm cloud, picking out orcs one at a time. Meanwhile, Tuffnut, who was more aggressive, channeled out a raging firestorm onto multitudes of orcs. His flames came out of his hand like a raging dragon, and as he continued at it, he could not stop laughing.

"HAHAHA! Isn't this fun!?" he asked, cackling louder than a crow.

"Hel yeah!" Ruffnut replied as she struck down an orc with a charged bolt of lightning. "It's like the gods want them to run to their deaths! I feel ALIVE again!"

"And what about Barf and Belch? How d'ya think they're doing?"

Ruffnut glanced back at her brother for a moment with a pause, but merely responded with a shrug of her shoulders. "I dunno! Why don't ya see for yourself? I'm too busy having too much fun over here!"

As Tuffnut glanced to his right to the sounds of their dragons fighting, his eyes widened in magnificence upon seeing the damage that the fiery winged reptiles were making upon the orcish ranks, including Barf and Belch.

And it was a slaughter.

Dozens of orcs were smashed aside as the dragons went into a frenzy, tossing them around like sticks, all whilst scorching them wildly like an uncontrollable inferno. Not a single orc could pass through them, but even then, more kept on entering the battlefield from the forests.

As such, Hiccup and the other riders grouped closer together, finding themselves amidst an increasing struggle as the orcs began to put more pressure on them.

"There's… so many of them!" shouted Heather as she swiftly hacked her axe into the exposed neck of an orc. "How can anything stand against such a force!?"

"I don't know," replied Hiccup, casting a bolt of lightning towards an oncoming orc that quickly fell. "But that's besides the point! We need to make a push towards the watchtower, or else we're going to be overwhelmed!"

"Then you'd better make it quick!"

Out of the corner of the Hiccup's eyes, the sudden voice of Arn calling out caught his attention, and as he glanced to the west, he spotted the young viking running towards him, exhausted, as well as with a bloody sword in hand.

As the blonde viking came to a stop before Hiccup, he began breathing intensely as he stabbed his sword into the dirt, allowing himself to recover.

Hiccup stepped out of his position, making his way closer to the lad. "Arn? What's going on over there? Are you okay!?"

"The left flank is being met with an increasing amount of orcs!" he replied. "We thought they were thinning out, but we were wrong! The orcs have multiplied their efforts!"

"Damn," muttered Hiccup. "What about Beldrak? Have you seen him?"

"He's over there!" responded Arn, pointing him out with a nod of his head.

Immediately Hiccup spun his head around, facing towards the east, and in the distance, he could see Beldrak and his dwarves fighting it out.

Beldrak fought with a two-handed runic axe in-hand, with runes glowing as bright as the sun. The fiery enchantment on his axe, combined with his muscular strength, allowed him to pierce through the orcs' black armor, but only enough to strike at their flesh. Any exposed parts however resulted in the dwarf lopping off their limbs and heads like sport.

"HAHA! This is what I call a fight! KHAZÂR-ÄDIN!" he shouted, jumping at the orcs like a madman.

As for the dwarven warriors themselves, although they were not as swift or precise as the elves, their cunningness and strength made up for it, allowing them to hold their ground against the enemy as they continued bashing them into the dirt.

At one point, a group of dwarves lined up in front of an oncoming band of orcs, and from their belts, they grabbed ahold of satchels, filled with explosive powder, and upon throwing them, the satchels bursted into fiery blasts that decimated the line of orcs.

"They're insane!" said Hiccup with shock. "No wonder they've held their ground against the orcs for so long!"

"Maybe we'd have more success if he had arrived by now…" Arn quietly said to himself, his eyes now gazing up towards the cloudy skies.

"Come on… where is he!?" he finally shouted.

Hiccup rose a brow as he turned to face Arn, now noticing the lad staring up at the sky. "Who- Who are you talking about? Why are you staring at the-?"

"An old friend of mine was supposed to arrive with the Alsworn yesterday!" he replied. "The vikings were one warrior short- or rather, one beast short. I didn't think it would take him this long to come!"

"What beast!?" asked Hiccup.

His answer would suddenly be given as a loud screech pierced the air, filling his ears. To Hiccup, it sounded like the call of a bird, but as he squinted his eyes and looked up towards where Arn was looking, he spotted the silhouette of a large bird diving towards them.

Except it was no mere bird.

It would not take long until it finally began to close in, and before Hiccup knew it, the beast crashed straight into the center of the orcish ranks that were continously charging the young vikings, taking out more than a dozen of the brutes.

Hiccup's eyes widened as the magnificent creature stood up straight to reveal itself, and as it let out a loud screech, the orcs nearby slowly began backing up in fear.

Lo and behold, it was an armored gryphon...