A chilly breeze filled the air around the valley. The afternoon sun flew high in the sky as Hiccup and Toothless, now reunited, stood atop the wrecked ramparts of Dalgard's gates, and stared upon the aftermath of the battle as they spoke of the fight that had raged atop the ruins.
Much of the once green, beautiful fields of Khaz'dalgard were now smoldered in brown and grey. The tens of thousands of corpses that littered the grounds, humanoid and monster alike, were rounded up in large piles, and were either burned, buried, or carried off and rolled away in long lines of carts. Only those that were among the defenders were given a proper, respective burial, yet as horrid as the sight was, seeing the races of Midgard making an effort to clean up the mess gave Hiccup a sense of satisfaction.
At long last, they were together; humans, elves, dwarves, votun, and dragons.
Toothless huffed warm air from his nostrils, his head rotating slightly towards Hiccup. "Well... All I can say is, I'm glad you're alive," he warbled. "Every second that passed by whilst you fought Drago had me worried to my stomach. I heard the booms in the air, and saw the colors of magic burst from the ruins. I thought you were going to die."
"I did too," sighed Hiccup, crossing his arms. "Drago managed to break my sword as if it was nothing, and he had us all pinned to the ground; but then Arn came along, and before we knew it, we managed to finally defeat him... However, I don't think he wanted to accept who he was. It seemed that the discovery stressed him out so much, it made him fall unconscious. Thank the gods that Elendar brought more healers with him. I can only hope that they will give him a swift recovery."
"...I'm certain that Arn will be fine," the Night Fury puffed in assurance. "Still though, to know that he is a Wing of Midgard changes everything. Unfortunately, even though he managed to help destroy Drago, that does not change the fact that this conflict is far from over. The tide of the war has turned, and with it, only 'he' remains..."
"The Dark Master," answered Hiccup. "And even though he is still imprisoned, he is not done yet. When the others and I started shutting the gateway that Drago used to try and summon him, he... spoke to us. His terrible voice was unlike anything I ever heard before, and with three words, he vowed that he would return..."
"...And if he does, I don't know how we'll be able to stop him."
"Hm. Don't worry about that right now," said Toothless, bumping his head lightly against the lad's left arm. "Rejoice at what you have achieved so far; look around you. The Alliance of Midgard has come together, and these men and women need to be addressed on your behalf."
"My behalf?" asked Hiccup scoffingly. "Toothless, I am not the reason they came here. It was because of the enemy, and that's that-"
"Well, at least take the moment to come say hello to us, lad!" spoke another voice.
Hiccup slightly jumped at the sound of the booming yet familiar voice. Upon turning his head to the right, he spotted a large, belchy figure walking towards him, garbed in a yellow tunic and a pair of striped trousers, with a mantle of brown fur resting atop his shoulders; his left hand, a prosthetic hammer, and his right leg, a wooden peg.
"Looks like he's finally shown up," chuckled Toothless.
"Gobber," said Hiccup, to which the blonde viking nodded.
"Aye..." he answered, landing a heavy yet hearty pat on the lad's shoulder. "Glad to see that you're alive in one piece, chieftain."
Hiccup smirked, his eyes turning from Gobber's as he looked back out at the valley. "I... didn't think you were actually going to come, if I'm honest... How did you find us?"
"You have your talking dragon friends to thank for that. Those 'Three Guardians' of yours found us in the middle of our march," replied the belch as he walked to the lad's side, and stared down upon the fields as well. "We also ran into your votun allies when we first landed on Valnr. By Thor's hammer, I nearly wet my trousers seeing 'em."
"What did you think of them?" asked the lad.
"Mmm... They were friendlier than I expected," answered Gobber. "Their crimson colors were definitely fancy, though I prefer Berk's bright red and green."
"At least it isn't Dalgard's maroon red," joked Hiccup with a chuckle, to which Gobber lightly laughed as well. "But hey, it's better than blue. I've seen too much of it already."
"Hmph. I can tell," nodded Gobber. "...Regardless of all of that though, if you're willing, I'd like you to come address yourselves to our friends and allies. They are all gathered together in the mead hall, waiting for you and Toothless."
Hiccup's brows arched, his eyes turning to Toothless. "You hear that, bud? Looks like they're waiting on us."
The Night Fury rolled his eyes. "I'd honestly rather rest my head than attend some gathering. But... I guess a bit of company won't do any harm."
The lad smirked. "Well, in that case. We'd better get going. Did you bring Grump along, Gobber?"
"Nay," said the blonde viking. "That lazy reptile fell on his stomach the moment we entered the hall; fell asleep near the large fire-pit, and as such, I had to walk here... Would you mind if I rode along with you?"
Hiccup shook his head. "Not a problem at all. Toothless?"
The black dragon gave a nod, and quickly began his way down the stairs of the ramparts in a hopping manner, as if he were dog who was happily ready to go out. Yet as Hiccup began to followed, the belch suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder, and cleared his throat for his attention.
"Erm... Before we go, there's something I must know," he began. "...Why didn't you tell me that you and your friends were the Wings of Midgard?"
The lad's eyes widened in a flabbergasted gaze. Looking over his shoulder, he asked the older viking, "H- How long did you know? When-?"
"Heh. Your guardian friends told me," smirked Gobber. "I guess we know now why so many look up to you lads and lasses..."
...
Walking into the mead hall felt like a strange experience to Hiccup. Though he had been there many times before, seeing so many old yet familiar faces made his heart skip a beat, and as he quietly made his way forward to the central fire-pit, he gazed back at those who were present.
To his right, the lad caught sight of Olof and Valara sitting together, talking amongst two large yet familiar figures; Torstein, cladded in scalemail along with a long red cloak, and Helgan, who bore similar armor to the Jarl of Lakestead, save for her leather hood.
To his left, Elendar, Kharinz, Morgrim, and Lornduil all stood together, conversing with one another in a way that was alien to their usual manners. From what he saw, the elven and dwarven kings expressed glee and content, as if they were relieved to see another of their kind.
Hiccup smiled at the thought of it, yet as his eyes wandered up ahead towards the great fire-pit of the hall, he saw more friendly faces. In one group there stood Astrid and the riders, standing and sitting against the stone edge of the pit with their dragons beside them, gladdened that they were alive; yet the sight that caught Hiccup's eyes the most were Fishlegs and Heather, who held hands as they sat together, their heads resting against one another's.
In another group, Alvin, Dagur, Eret, and Ragnar exchanged a conversation, with the three men's attention diverted towards the votun chieftain, who spoke with a loud, passionate voice as if he were sharing a saga or story to them; even Skullcrusher and Sleuther, Dagur and Eret's dragons, were present among them.
But then nearby, Hiccup and Toothless caught sight of four dwarven figures.
There before them, Beldrak Ironbeard stood amongst the other thanes of Dalgard, and from the distance they stood at, the two of them could now clearly make out their appearances...
The first thane, of whom rode the armored ram during the battle, was a female dwarf, with red fiery hair and blue piercing eyes that could make a goblin run for the hills. The second thane, the hooded runecaster, was an elderly dwarf with a beard as white as the moonlight, and an expression full of wisdom and experience. The third thane, a dwarven engineer, was a beardless, blacked-haired dwarf who bore the most amount of armor; from what Hiccup saw, it appeared that he was the youngest among the quad of thanes.
"This is going to be interesting..." he said to himself, yet his words were not unheard.
Beldrak, with ears as sharp as a wolf, rose his eyes from his fellow thanes and immediately spotted the young chieftain. With a grin, he walked past the three and spread his arms out in a welcoming manner. "Hiccup!"
His name echoed across the hall, and to that, everyone present within turned their heads towards the lad, and slowly yet eagerly began to gather around him. For Toothless, the same went for him as the dragons started to swarm him, rallying around their alpha before they proceeded to simmer down as the Night Fury gave off a roar of command. "Calm down!"
Hiccup gazed back at Beldrak with a somewhat embarassed look upon his face. "Is it really necessary to announce my arrival?"
"Of course it is," said Astrid from nearby, grabbing the lad's eyes as she began towards him. "You're the, High Chieftain, after all."
"Don't call me that," sighed Hiccup, only for Astrid to let out a hearty chuckle as she landed a punch against his left shoulder, causing him to jump.
"I'm only joking, babe," she grinned, reaching her arms out towards the lad as she stopped in front of him, embracing him in a warm, welcoming hug. "But hey, at least we're alive, right?"
"Y- Yeah," stuttered Hiccup with blushed cheeks, returning the embrace as he too wrapped his arms around her. To that, Astrid gave a smile, before eventually pulling back.
"...So then," she said, her eyes narrowing down to Beldrak. "I believe you had a few friends that you wanted to introduce to us, master dwarf?"
"Aye," nodded the blonde dwarf as he gestured the other thanes to his side, and with that, the three dwarves came forward, presenting themselves. "Hiccup, I present tae ye the thanes of Khaz'dalgard; Guninn Steelhorn, the grand ram-rider, Thurgrir Whitebeard, the great runekeeper, and Angunn Fireanvil, the master engineer."
Guninn rose her brows with eager surprise. "So. Ye're Hiccup, eh? The strongest of the Wings of Midgard? Heh, looks like Beldrak wasn't lying tae us when he said ye were scrawny."
"At least we can finally meet him, face-tae-face," grinned Angunn, whilst fidgeting with his helmet that he carried in-hand. "Ye have no idea how badly I wanted tae meet ye; Beldrak said that ye're a genius with engineering... Agh, I never had time tae get away from my work."
"As neither did the rest of us, young Angunn," nodded Thurgrir.
Hiccup's eyes jumped between the thanes. "It's... nice to meet you all as well. Though I would like to say- I wouldn't call myself the "strongest" Wing of Midgard. Mayhaps the most experienced, but..."
"Ogh, it ain't matter, lad!" said Beldrak. "I am certain ye have other reasons fer comin' here than tae just meet the thanes, aye?"
"We've been waiting fer ye tae address yerself," added Angunn. "Speak tae us; all of us."
Hiccup arched a brow, exchanging a brief, questioning glance with Astrid from nearby. He then asked the dwarves, "You want me to give a speech?"
"Aye!" the four dwarven thanes said near unison.
Though the occasion to Hiccup appeared more or less unfit and awkward, the lad sighed and nonetheless gestured for the dwarves to make room. As they stepped aside, the lad's eyes fell upon the stone-like table that surrounded the grand fire-pit, and with a few steps and a large, mighty leap, Hiccup made his way up before turning back around, slowly spinning his head to face his friends and allies.
Gazing back at all those who looked up at him, the lad found it hard to believe as to how far he had come. Though it was but two months since it all began, to him, it felt much longer than that. And now, here they were; humans, elves, dwarves, votun, and dragons, all gathered in one hall.
He let out a sigh...
"...I will admit, I was not exactly... prepared, to give a speech upon walking in here," began Hiccup. "As... embarassing as it may be though, I must say, I would like to commend you all for your combined efforts today. Although the Wings of Midgard and I were the ones who landed the finishing blow on Drago, it was you and our Alliance who cleared the path towards him. All of those men and women who fought today did so not with the wrath of the gods, but with the strengths and skills of their race... and those few who died on the battlefield have earned themselves a seat in Valhalla and Fólkvangr. They will not be forgotten."
"Here here!" shouted more than a dozen voices, with the loudest coming from Ragnar.
"Besides that however," continued Hiccup, "there is still one large matter at hand that must be dealt with."
To that, Hiccup's eyes suddenly jumped to King Kharinz, and with a motion of his hand, he beckoned the dwarven king to come forward. With a nod, the grey-bearded dwarf stepped forth, making his way into the center of the group where all could see him.
"King Kharinz of Dalgard," said Hiccup.
"Chief Hiccup of Berk," responded Kharinz grinningly.
The young chieftain smirked back. "You have done everyone here a great favor by aiding us in the battle. With you and your thanes fighting together, you made many of the orcs and their wicked allies run for their hills, yet denied their escape. To that, I owe you my utter gratitude a thousand times over... But, now that you are cured from your sickness, I must ask of you one last thing."
"Aye?" asked the dwarf.
"...I want you to join the Alliance of Midgard," answered Hiccup, with the blazing flames of the lit-up hall reflecting the eagered expression in his eyes. "Khaz'dalgard is the only remaining faction on Valnr that has yet to join us in our great fight against the darkness; against the evil that would see the realm of Midgard reduced to nothing. If you agree here and now to join us, not only do I promise you a seat among the leaders, but I can assure you, your people will be safe. Never again will the Dark Legions siege your city."
"...So, what say you?"
A moment of silence filled the air in the hall. As all eyes fell upon King Kharinz, the grey-bearded dwarf exchanged gazes not just with Hiccup, but Ragnar and Elendar... After all, he had known the elf and the votun for as long as he could remember - ever since he met them, which, by then, was a very long time ago. With that being said, after what seemed to have been a long minute or so, Kharinz glanced back up at Hiccup, his eyes staring deep into the lad's...
...And thus gave a nod.
"We're in," said Kharinz. "From here on out, the Kingdom of Khaz'dalgard shall be a part o' the Alliance of Midgard, and with it, we will fight alongside our brothers and sisters of Valnr."
"But what about our losses, my king?" asked Guninn. "Surely we'll need tae wait and-"
"We have enough tae replace those of whom we lost, lass," answered the king. "Besides, I have no doubt that our victory has revigorated and inspired our people tae take up arms and fight. Either way, this battle is now our battle."
"So be it," said Hiccup. "In that case, let it be known that the Alliance of Midgard is now united. I promise you all that we will see this through till the bitter end, even if it means-"
"Wait!"
From the corner of his eyes, Toothless let out a light, warbling roar to catch his rider's attention. This caused everyone to turn their heads to the Night Fury, who appeared to be speaking random guttural nonsense. But to Hiccup, he clearly understood.
"What is it, Toothless?" asked the young viking.
"When are we going to eat?" asked Toothless. "I mean- shouldn't we celebrate our victory?"
For a moment, everyone's eyes glanced back at one another in confusion. However, aside from Hiccup's, only one other pair of eyes was seemingly focused on the dragon, and before the lad could answer back, another voice spoke up; one that no one expected.
"...Maybe after we've helped our allies clean up the mess outside, young dragon," said Elendar.
Though some were baffled by the light elf's response, Hiccup and his friends in particular, save for Snotlout, expressed astonishment as their eyes suddenly lit up. Jaw-dropped, they could not believe what they had just heard.
"What...? You understand Dragonese!?" asked Fishlegs.
The King of Nordell chuckled. "Who do you think taught the Alsworn how to speak with dragons all of those centuries ago?"
"...Well in that case," began Hiccup, "We'd better not waste a moment. All of you, meet me outside the gates!"
...
By the late afternoon, the valley of Dalgard had been cleared of the rubble and mess that made up the battle's aftermath, yet despite the scorched earth becoming more revealed, the sight was nonetheless an improvement. As of that moment, the Alliance's supply carts came hauling down the hill in long trains, and as the host of vikings, elves, dwarves, and votun began setting up a great camp within the valley, Hiccup in particular had his attention drawn elsewhere.
Although the corpses and wrecked weapons of the Dark Legions had been cleared out, the ruins of the war machine which he and Toothless had sundered still remained. To that, the lad watched from afar as Angunn and his engineers mined away at the great cannon's remains, salvaging its parts whilst also studying it to its foundations.
Near the lad's side stood Beldrak and Toothless, who gazed on with similar curiosity.
"I will say," began Beldrak. "Never had I thought that the Dark Legions could create a maniacal weapon like this. All it took was one blast tae wipe out an entire two companies o' dwarves."
"And one blast from me to wreck it like I did the Red Death," warbled Toothless in Dragonese, as if it were a laugh.
Hiccup sighed, gesturing in agreement to the dwarf. "It's obviously a cannon. But it's also like some kind of... moving fortress. The dwarves that created this weapon were malicious and cunning, and even with this hunk of metal, they were armed to the teeth with other weapons that were beyond any capability that I've ever seen."
"...Dwarves?" asked the thane, his face now looking directly up at Hiccup's. "By Odin's bloody beard... Is there nothin' that the Dark Legions won't recruit!? Outta all the races, DWARVES!?"
"This wasn't the first time I saw them," said Hiccup. "The first time was when my tribe first confronted Drago on the Island of Tomorrow. They were fully armored, with beards as dark as night, and eyes like that of the orcs; seems like you forgot about that part when I shared my story back in Nordell..."
"...Still, seeing them here, and understanding what they're capable of, frightens me. After all, what's not to say that this evil contraption was just one of the smaller war machines, and that instead of carrying dozens, one of them could carry hundreds?"
"Err... I'd rather not think about that, lad," responded Beldrak, almost shiveringly. "Let's save the assumptions 'till we see it all with our very own eyes... or better yet- let's not assume. Either way, it angers me knowin' that our own kind would serve themselves up to the enemy like this. Why would-"
"OI!"
Beldrak's voice came to a halt. As the viking, dwarf, and dragon turned their attention up ahead, they immediately saw Angunn walking towards them in a fast march. In the engineer's hands, he carried a large pair of steel tonsils, and within the grasp of those tonsils was something that glowed green with chaotic magic. From the serious look that the young thane expressed, the three of them felt their stomachs slightly grind.
"Angunn!" began Beldrak. "What did ye find, lad?"
The Fireanvil came to a halt before them, giving no response, and with that, he released the grip of the tonsils and allowed the strange object to fall to the ashen ground. Looking down at it up-close, Hiccup, Beldrak, and Toothless shivered with greater unease than before.
One thing was for certain; it was not natural. The object before them looked like a rock made of obsidian, with cracks of chaos magic surging through it like the veins of a humanoid... but it also moved, thumping like a living, breathing heart as it gave off a slow yet menacing beat, causing Hiccup's own to suddenly quicken. The longer he continuously stared at it, the more uncomforting the atmosphere around him began to feel.
"W- What is this?" asked Beldrak.
"...I found it deep within the wreck," said the engineer, his eyes fixated on the eerie-looking sight. "I've never seen anything like it before, but from what I can assume, this... thing might have possibly been the source that powered that war machine ye destroyed."
Toothless, with constricted pupils, eyed back his rider. "Hiccup, I don't know about you, but something about this object isn't right. My draconic senses are going off like crazy right now; this thing feels less like a magical rock, and more like an actual living entity."
Hiccup's eyes widened at this phenomenon. "You mean to tell me that you think this object is alive, Toothless?"
"It is?" questioned the two thanes nearby, their eyes falling unto Toothless.
The Night Fury nodded. "In any case, it needs to be destroyed. We're better off safe than sorry."
"Then let's not waste another moment," replied Hiccup.
With that being said, and without another word, the young viking aimed his right hand down at the beating object, and through his intense focused gaze and thinned out pupils, his eyes and palm started to glow blue with arcane energy. With a sudden jerk of his wrist, a bright bolt of magic zapped out of the tips of his fingers as fast as lightning, and as it struck the thumping entity, a small but violent wave of energy erupted outwards from it, causing it to let out a brief yet eerie screech that startled the four of them...
...And then, the thing died out, cracking open like a shell as the chaos magic that resided within quickly dissipated.
Beldrak stared down in disbelief. "What, was, that?"
"I- I don't know," stuttered Hiccup, as his eyes then fell onto Angunn. "...Share this with no one. Take it to your private labs and study it. It should be safe, now that the chaos magic within it is gone."
The thane gave a huffing nod, and thus picked up the dead object with his tonsils. "I guess that'll be all with the minin', then," he said, before turning his gaze back to his engineers as he quickly began towards them.
"Alright, lads! Let's pack it up!"
Beldrak trilled his lips. "Well, I guess that's one way to resolve that matter. If there's nothing more here, I think we'd better get back tae the city."
"Mmm," responded Hiccup, spinning to Toothless. "We might as well, since there really isn't. Toothless, are you ready to-?"
"Hiccup!"
From the direction of the mountain, Hiccup, Beldrak, and Toothless heard the familiar sound of Astrid's voice calling out to them, and as they jerked their heads around, they immediately spotted the blonde viking flying towards them with haste atop Stormfly.
Upon closing in on them, the Nadder came to a swift stop, and thus slowly glided downwards to the ground, landing directly in front of Hiccup as she gave off a squawk.
"Astrid?" asked Hiccup. "What's with the urgency? Did you find something in the fields?"
The lass shook her head. "Actually, one of the elven healers who were tending to Arn came by to the gates; he had two bits of news he wanted you in particular to hear."
"Me?" questioned the lad. "Go on then..."
"First and foremost," she began, "Arn managed to make a full recovery. He's awake now, albeit, a little shakened up. And secondly, a few individuals have shown up, and they are waiting on you. They're in the chamber where the healers brought him."
Hiccup arched a brow. "Was there any mention of who they were?"
"No," she replied. "Only that they were three in number."