Chap3 A new enemy

The sunrise shined over the Archipelago, drawing shadows of islands over the oceans. In a corner of it, a broken vessel sailed painfully between a row of small islands, still covered with the morning fog. After some erratic turns, a bigger one appeared from the mist in front of it. Surprisingly, it wasn't covered by fog, standing out in the morning light as its outlines were delimited by the dark rocks that covered the mountains.

At the base of it, where the edge connected smoothly with the water lied a complex structure. Rows and rows of wooden catwalks connected a plethora of huts and arena-like structures, recognizable by the metallic bars around it, where, from time to time, fireballs or lava blasts would emerge from. Near the water, many docks lied like teeth of the land sinking in the ocean, where vessels of all sizes come and go, some offloading man or caged dragon, some departing with empty cages and fresh crew.

A big, triangular watchtower was set back further up the mountain, overviewing the harbor. Its black base blended with the mountain, making its clear top seemed to be levitating. The captain swallowed thickly at the sight of the structure like it was a dragon dent, ready to eat him and his crew alive. However, for anyone that known this island well enough, this metaphor isn't very far from reality.

As soon as they docked and set foot on land, a group of fully armed Vikings surrounded them and removed their weapons, dropping them in a wooden chariot. Without a word, they marched towards the catwalks, two armed ones behind setting the pace. Dodging cages on wheels filled with all kind dragons, drugged into unconsciousness with the same blue liquid used on the ship, the small group progressed towards the watchtower.

Arrived at its base, the leading Viking pulled a rope and a swift bell sound resonated as the double door opened upward, sliding against the roof with a clipping gears sound. A set of stairs appeared behind it, leading towards the so dreaded top. The more they climbed, the more the atmosphere became filled with dread, and the silence from the guards didn't help to release the tension. A careful listener can hear the short, twitchy breathing of the crew. Even though they haven't been up there before they failed to protect the transport, the rumors around the man waiting for them were far, far enough.

When they arrived on the top floor, they were greeted with a dim hallway that ended with a rectangular opening, through which the morning sun painfully tried to lit up the hallway without much success. Submerged in the eerie lighting that let lose to imagination, one of the crew members couldn't sustain the silence much longer. Lowering his voice, he asked his captain

"What would happen to us? I heard rumors that the last members who lost a cargo were fed to the dragons."

Before the captain got to answer, one of the guards pulled out his axe and pushed it against his throat while another one just promptly smacked the one that just talked in the jaw with his fist. The victims quickly covered his mouth with his hand, caressing his jaw carefully, hoping that it wasn't broken. The leading Viking guard then stopped brutally, making everybody almost bumping on the person in front of them.

"Save your saliva, you will need it." He scoffed in a vicious chuckled.

He then knocked on the wooden frame, the sound echoed throughout the tower. The guards then turned around and before the vessel captain and his man realized it, they were already out of sight, leaving them alone with a fading echo. At first, nobody moved, bathed in awkward yet dreadful silence. No one knew what was waiting for them and no one wanted to find out. Finally, the captain said "Let's go, everyone comes in but makes yourself invisible, I'll explain everything." before entering.

They were greeted with a surprisingly empty place, on their left lied a couple of chairs around a small table with a wooden box on it, probably holding some sort of game. One of the pieces was left on the table, glowing in an unnatural shade of white. The smooth texture and weird color make it gloom with a scary aura, giving the impression that it was made out of bones. However, on their right resided a big, round table, covered with small wooden boats, models of the island standing out in three dimensions where many of them were tied together with different colored strings. A traveler could spot that it was a complete map of the Archipelago and all of the godforsaken lands around it, mapping as far as the edge of the world.

Behind the table, on the wall was attached a big piece of fabric with the same headless skeleton that was displayed on the sail of all ship docked around the island, just more vivid. Every element of the room was unique in his own way, each one of them contributing to the big picture. But it was the Viking standing behind the table, back to the wall, that completed the mysterious painting.

The ruler of this place, the man that funded countless rumors that would make a dragon shiver in fear, didn't look very dreadful. He wore a plain brown short-sleeved robe with silver piping that reached below its waist, a black leather belt, and his legs and arms covered in some kind of treated fabric like an animal hide. Whereas it doesn't appear thick, someone with enough knowledge about this man and his tribe would know that it was strong enough to block the heat of a Stormcutter fire or resist an arrow shot from 10 steps away.

Its brown, almost black hair was cut short on the front but some strays were reaching his shoulder. Two brown eyes completed his hair, contrasting with his face. His scrawny frame, at first look, didn't seem to pose much threat. But in his statue-like stance emanated the impression the perfect hunter, immobile, but ready strike with precision and deadliness as showcased by the dagger in his hand, expertly manipulated by his long and slim fingers.

He looked like he hasn't yet realized that he had guest, staring thoughtfully into the map, bathing the room in uncomfortable silence. Not long before the captain took a deep breath and approached the table carefully and said:

"Captain of transport Einar, back to report."

His interlocutor raised his eyes on him with a thoughtful look and went back down again, still joggling the dagger. Einar swallowed thickly before continuing.

"We have been infiltrated when we were on course back to this island sir. At first, we heard some rattling below, and I thought it was the Titanwing, I then send one man to go check it out. Not long after the first shock happened, and my mistake was that I thought it was coming on the outside, therefore I lead the rest of the crew on deck, before realizing that it came from below. But it was too late. I have failed the mission."

Stopping a bit to catch his breath, Einar realized that he hadn't told the most important part, the location of the attack. Too scared to directly look at the man when he spoke, Einar didn't notice the glimmer of approval that lit his brown eyes when he heard the words 'my mistake'. The captain examined the model of the Archipelago more closely, identifying the island they were on, symbolled by a skull. After some positioning and calculation in his head, Einar pointed with his finger a spot on it.

"This is where we were attacked, at least when they break out of the deck. As I said, I messed up by not realizing that the assailants sneaked in"

" Fingers," said the other Viking bluntly.

The abrupt word surprised Einar, without lifting his hand, he responded with an interrogative look.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't understand?"

"Fingers," the other one said again, only this time accompanied by a swift motion of his wrist.

Einar had just enough time to retrieve his hand before a dagger was planted on the table, right where his fingers were. A blink too late and his index would have been chopped clean off. Rubbing it between his left thumb and index fingers, Einar watch ruler of the island took out some black rope, tied on extremity to the handle of the knife, and placing it around the island where the vessel departed. He then tied some knot at various lengths of the rope and started positioning across the different islands near the point of attack.

"What was the dragon that sneaked in," asked him

"It was not any dragon; it was a someone riding a Night Fury"

The name the legendary dragon made the other one froze. He turned his head and stared directly into Einar's eyes.

"Are you sure? "said him in a lower and menacing tone.

"Yes, I am, entirely back, plasmablasts, unknown shape"

"Well, I believe you, come with me"

This sentence was like a pure stream of relief for Einar.

"Thank, thank you, sir," He said gratefully before following him to the door.

"But what about my crew? "added him.

As a good captain, he wasn't selfish, caring about his crew. Facing his back, Einar cannot see the corner smile that the so dreaded Viking had.

"They can go and repair their ship," said him peacefully before heading downstairs.

"You heard him" yelled Einar at his so relieved man

"Go fix that ship" before heading quickly downstairs.

He managed to catch up on the wooden planks just outside the door of the tower. Walking on the intricate maze of catwalks at the side of the ruler of this place, Einar realized that rumors lived to their names: they are usually not true.

"Thank you, sir, for" choosing his word carefully, Einar wanted to say 'not killing us' but he thought that it would come out wrong.

Not killing you? " reading into his thoughts, the other Viking said with a smirk " and please, call me Tyrad"

" Well yes sir... euh Tyrad" Einar wasn't used to that much affection from this man, not when rumors portraited the almost complete opposite.

"You seem uncomfortable, surprised by the fact that I'm not a bloodthirsty, crazy, senseless killer that doesn't tolerate mistake?"

That was it, Einar was scared how easily this man read into him. Before he can add anything, Tyrad continued

"Yes, I do not tolerate failure and mistake, especially the loss of a Titanwing. But I also know how to distinguish quality in someone. You were honest to me by admitting your mistake, you are brave by entering and coming to talk to me willingly despite the image you had of me. Most importantly, you are loyal to your man, not leaving them behind. I hope that you will persist the same loyalty toward me"

"Yes Tyrad, I swear upon the gods that I will always remain faithful to you," Einar said seriously

"Now, tell me more about that Night Fury and his mysterious rider" Before Einar got to answer, a random Viking approached them said carefully

" Sir, I thought I heard about someone riding a Night Fury"

Tyrad raised his eyebrow at the sound of the intruder

" You know him? "

"Well, is the rider a male, young Viking, that looks like malnourished, has fishbones for arms, a twig for neck and a metal leg?" "

"Yes, Yes" answered an excited Einar, maybe this man would know the rider better than him.

"Only one man in the Archipelago has a Night Fury, Hiccup Haddock"

"Stoick's son? The acting chief of Berk? Interesting, and ironic." Tyrad laughed. The news of the death of the chief of Berk had spread through the Archipelago like wildfire.

"Actually, sir, the whole island of Berk had made peace with the dragons" the Viking informed.

"And how do you know that? And who are you ?" asked Tyrad suspiciously.

"I fought against him a couple of years ago, under the command of the Grimmborn brothers, as for my name, Ulric, dragon hunter" Ulric stated.

"Viggo and Ryker? It's a shame that they both died" Tyrad replied pensively, with a touch a nostalgia in his voice.

"You know them, sir?"

"Especially Viggo, we've met in a tournament of Mace and Talon, back in the days, I was the youngest, but he was the only one that managed to put out a challenge. He said that one day, he would have his revenge. Well, I guess that's happening in Valhalla." The mention of his old game partner rose a nostalgic smile on Tyrad's face. "So, tell me more about how Hiccup manages to ride one Night Fury"

"The rumors were that he can trained dragon, establishing some sort of bond with them."

"Wait, you are saying that this dragon is willingly letting Haddock ride it" Tyrad was unusually surprised by this fact. Training dragons and riding them, that would make his army even stronger, and finally, complete the conquest of his tribe. "I need his skill, when we will learn how to ride dragons, my tribe would be unstoppable"

"Well sir, capturing him alive is not easy, many have failed..."

"I'll worry about that. Tell me everything you know about, I want to know how he fights, how he rides, even how often he changes his metal leg." Interrupted Tyrad brutally.

"He has a small group of friends that also acts as his teammates. Haddock is, officially their leader, but he treated them far better than he treats himself. One relevant example is that he always led the assault, first one to charge, last one to retreat." Ulric said.

"Interesting, Anything more about the composition of his team? " The last fact about Hiccup's fighting style let Tyrad pensive, analyzing the young chief of Berk, dissecting every aspect of the provided information to figure out who Hiccup is.

"Hum... "the Viking hesitated trying to recall distant memories. "I don't know their names, but apart from him, his team is composed of a blond girl that rides a Deadly Nadder. Ooh, she is one fearsome, and beautiful warrior, if Valkyries had an incarnation on this land, it will be not so far from her. She is like the Hiccup's right arm, and she is a good flyer; an overly massive one that rides a Gronckle, but he and his dragon doesn't pose much of a threat. The one ridding the monstrous nightmare is your typical Viking with an ego way too big for his size. And the last one, the crazy twins that share a Zippleback. Scattered, they are vulnerable and fairly easy target but working as a team, they are a force to be reckoned with, and "

"And Hiccup is the binding agent between these lose elements" Tyrad smiled while he finished the sentence. "And let me guess, Haddock cares a lot about his team, putting his life at risk for them. And especially for the Nadder girl. I wonder why."

The previous dragon hunter was surprised by the intelligence of his superior, guessing the whole fighting style of the six dragon riders without even seeing them personally.

"Yes, from what I have seen, Hiccup cares a lot more about her, always the first one to rescue her, no matter what. And he always stays by her sides when the situation is dangerous"

"That's what I thought, big mistake, Haddock, big mistake, I'm sure Viggo would have said the same" mumbled Tyrad.

"I almost forgot, sir, but his major weakness is the fact that he just simply refuses to hurt dragon, or let dragons be hurt. So, I suggest we take one of them down by baiting it with a wounded dragon, and once we have a hostage in our hand, the rest of them would fall easily." The ex dragon hunter proposed.

"No" Tyrad shook his head, "this isn't Hiccup's biggest weakness, it's their biggest weakness, and by now, I'm pretty sure they founded some kind of countermeasures to this type of plan, like being more strategic, or even be more ruthless." Tyrad paused and glared intensively at the Viking. "Battles shape you, so you can shape your future ones. And the strategy of using dragons as a shield and capturing one of them as a hostage is to easy, where is the fun in that." The leader chuckled. "And before you say it, I would not underestimate them" as he pointed a finger toward the ex-dragon hunter, choking his sentence in his throat.

"Come with me, both of you, we have a plan to construct, I have figured him out" added Tyrad as he walked down to the docks. Einar, put aside for the majority of the conversation about Hiccup, couldn't resist asking

"But Tyrad, how are you going to capture Hiccup?"

" Just do as I say. We will break him, responded Tyrad with a grin stretching his face, by breaking his friend" The look of a hunter savoring the desperation of his prey on Tyrad's face ran shimmers upon Einar and the other Viking's back.

\/—•—\/

Meanwhile, not too far from them, Hiccup is still fighting against the excruciating pain. The arrow was covered with some kind of poison, but for the sake of identifying it, Hiccup didn't dare to pull it out. It is only when his homeland, Berk, was in sight that finally closes his eyes, leaving Toothless glide down dangerously on the island, before crashing on the main square of the village. The rough bump of the landing and a blond shadow yelling "Hiccup! "were his last senses before embracing darkness.

0—0

Tuffnut was messing around the island, pulling prank and others with his sister like he usually does when, Astrid, followed by Fishleg asked him

" Have you seen Hiccup, he isn't in his hut"

"No, maybe he went on a morning flight, you know, to release some of his chief pressure. Good old H has been working way too hard these days" The male twin's word woke Astrid's memories from last night. Have they really been so insensible? Only expecting the chief side from Hiccup?

"Maybe, but his flight suit is still in his hut," said she.

It was at this moment that they heard Toothless crashing on the group. Fishleg, the closer one yelled "Hiccup" when he saw a limp body fell off the saddle, landing on his side. Fishleg ran towards his best friend, but he was forestalled by Astrid.

She held her Chief and boyfriend in her arms, trying to figure out what's wrong. When she flipped him over, she saw the arrow and before she could pull it out, Fishleg yelled:

"Astrid don't, you don't know what the arrow hit, let's bring him to Gothie".

The twins had brought their dragon, carrying Hiccup on his back towards Gothie's hut. A Nadder and a Gronckle landed soon after, bending down to let two worried Viking touch the ground.

"How is he Gothie? "Asked Fishleg.

His response was a swing of her stick to the head, promptly shutting him up. The elder than pull out a small knife to cut the clothes around the entry point of the arrow. What it revealed drawn a gasp from Astrid and Fishleg, and even Gothie, who has seen a fair lot of infected bruised, stood there silently, surprise written across her face.

Hiccup's wound was bright red, with purple tentacles like patterns that spread around the tip of the arrows, reaching the extremity of his shoulder. After scrutinizing the wound for a bit, Gothie decided to pull the arrow out. Immediately, a dark purple liquid started running out of this injury, mix with a bright, almost transparent yellow one, following the curvature of Hiccup's shoulder before being collected by the old Viking in a bowl.

As soon as it reached the wooden bowl, the yellow liquid started to brown, making the mixture as dark as a moonless night. A look of déjà vue, surprised, shock distorted Gothie's face, reaching in haste into her hut, she came back with a blue flower and dropped it into the bowl. This time, a sizzling sound appeared as the purple liquid started to bubble. " Klunc" as the wooden can felled on the ground.

"Gothie, what's wrong," asked Astrid in a distressed voice.

She had never seen the healer of Berk like this, and by her expression, it was not good. The old woman picked up her stick and started scribbling on the ground. If Hiccup was awake, he would barely recognize the headless skeleton among the vast mess of symbols and runes. Fishleg stood up and said

"Gothie, I know that you have something to tell, but neither I or Astrid can understand your language " The old lady hit the ground with her stick in frustration, before going back in her hut. She emerged soon after with arms full of old papers and various combinations of colorful herbs. She handed the notes to Fishleg before taking out a stone recipient in which she started grinding the herbs. Seeing Fiseleg struggling with his notes: he had to hold them but was also trying to read them, Astrid took the grinder from Gothie's hand and continued the motion.

When Fishleg finally got to read the notes, all he could say was "oh", "ah", "interesting."

"Wait, I've seen this symbol" He yelled "Gothie, can I take these with me?"

Upon the agreement of the old lady, Fishleg jumped on Meatlug and took off before Astrid got to say "Can I see it? " Sighting deeply, she showed the mixture to Gothie, who scooped a bit with one finger, checking the texture. Seeing it was thick enough, she took the mixture and spread it around the wound on Hiccup's shoulder. She then mimicked that she has done everything she could, and the remedy needed time to act.

When Hiccup regained consciousness, he blinked a little, seeing a blurry yet beautiful face in front of him, at its side a black one with green eyes. "Astrid?" Said Hiccup in a sore voice "How long was I out? "

The young girl was so relieved that her lover was awake, a bright smile tugged her lips before she spoke.

"You have been unconscious all day."

Hiccup turned around to check the sky by the dragon hole on his roof, the sky was fading orange, nightfall was near. He grunted when trying to sit up, and with the help of Toothless, managed to reach the first floor.

"Hiccup, you're awake," said Fishleg "If you don't mind that I went through your father's books, I found something very interesting about the arrow that hit you."

The tone of his voice was tainted with notes of seriousness and excitement. Hiccup gestured him to continue, as he and Astrid lean over the paper stack that Fishleg was shuffling through.

"There it is," said him when he found the right one "Okay, according to Gothie's notes, the arrow was coated with two different kind poison. The purple one is extracted from a fish named the Rock crawler, and the yellow one that turned brown is the juice of the Stillbay, extracted from the bark of the tree and it is so powerful that a single drop can put an adult Rumblehorn to sleep, but somehow it doesn't activate until it's in contact with air"

"So, what does this mean?" Said Astrid unhappily, not appreciating the fact that Fishleg was so excited about something that almost killed Hiccup.

"But there is more," added Fishleg, "the combination of both makes a powerful dragon hunting tool. The layer of Rock crawler poison protects the juice on the arrow from activating early and causes excruciating pain."

"And let me guess", interrupted Hiccup while rubbing his wound, still hurting a little " The pain is so intense that the dragon cannot resist to pull out the arrow, and the contact of air activates the Stillbay juice, putting it into a deep sleep."

Exactly, Hiccup, how genius is that" Fishleg cannot control himself now

"Yes, that's pretty ingenious, I have to admit that. But now who can think of that. "Continued Hiccup with his thinking face

"A question of which I indeed have the answer", responded Fishleg with a grin " This symbol right here" while pointing at Gothie's note "I remember seeing it when I was learning about the Archipelago's history, it's the so-called 'Headless' tribe."

"The Headless tribe? "asked Hiccup and Astrid at the same time

"Yes, and I dug a bit into Stoick's archives and found some interesting things. Around eighty winters ago, this tribe appeared out of nowhere. Legend said that they came from the far, far west, they weren't very much in numbers, but the saying was they wore some kind of dragon hide that made them almost invulnerable and they were formidable warriors. The Headless tribe took the Archipelago like a storm, conquering Island after Island, tribes after tribes from west to east. Every island they conquered, they used the people or dragons to strengthen their armies. "

"And the link between them and the arrow?" Asked Hiccup.

"Oh, the reason that they managed to conquer everyone is the fact that they knew which plant can react with which, making able to take down large groups of Vikings with the smoke of burned plant and capturing dragons with ease, stuff like that. According to the notes, they even managed to capture several kings of dragons"

"Then how are they defeated? And why is no one talking about it "questioned Astrid, memories still fresh about what one Bewilder beast caused. She couldn't imagine what damages several can do.

"Well, it said that the whole Archipelago, well what remained of it allied together and a truce with dragons, well, none killing orders, and the raid stopped during that time. By the text, it appears that on the dragons' side, a dragon, something more powerful than the king of dragons, took control of the dragons in the Headless' army, and as soon as they lost their dragons, the conquered Vikings betrayed them. However, the fight between almost the entire population of the Archipelago against one Headless tribe didn't end proudly. Stepping aside from the fact that it was heavily unbalanced in numbers, it almost ends up in a draw, when the Headless retreated. That's why no one talks about it." Both Hiccup and Astrid shivered at this fact.

Clearing his though, Hiccup asked "Anything about the dragon that surpassed the Bewilder beast? "

"No, it was only mentioned one time. But on the positive side, it's a good thing that they never returned"

"Then if they are gone for good, then who crafted the arrow?" Asked Astrid?

"I don't know, maybe someone dug through the notes of their healer? "

"Can I see their crest? "Inquired Hiccup, something about the nickname was perturbing him. Hasn't ship he sneaked up on decorated with a headless skeleton?

"Yeah, sure, this is what their crest looked like, pointed Fishleg to a more detailed drawing of a headless skeleton wielding a sword "Very unique crest, I concede" added the husky Viking, but Hiccup gasped, before saying:

"I don't want to be the harbinger of doom but we have a bigger problem on our hands, something much, much bigger."

"Why so?"

"Because Hiccup took out the piece of sail that he ripped off from the boat "They are back. eighty winters later. "said him heavily.

"Oh Thor" what the only words Fishleg managed to say, his breath panting. However, Astrid took a closer look at the crest and when she realized it was something suspiciously familiar to her, she immediately froze. Could it be? Her mind raced at full speed, dashing back towards childhood memories.

"You're alright Astrid?" Said Hiccup, waking her from her torpor.

"Yes, I uh, should get going," said her hesitantly before heading toward the door. Before she got through, Hiccup held her arm

"Astrid, are you okay?" said him softly.

"Yeah" she answered hesitantly, not daring to look back.

"I just wanted to say thank you, to be here with me". His word warmed her heart, making her belly fluff, just like always.

"Have I never been "she tried to smile heartily, but failed "I should get going" as she stepped out of the chief's hut under Hiccup's smile.

Behind her, the young Viking didn't saw the concerned look on her face when she faded into the night. Arrived at her hut, her mother, wary of expression on her daughter's face, asked: "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, where's dad "answered the young Viking maiden.

"I'm right here lass, why? "a blond Viking appeared out of the kitchen.

"Can you get me the family history book"

"Sure, why though, you weren't so interested in the Hofferson's great adventures before," said Astrid's father with a light chuckle as he handed her the leather cased book.

She went into her room with a lit candle from Stormfly; placing the leather cased book on her bed, she scoured through the pages, starting from the back, like she was looking for a specific event. Traveling back through time with paper as her mode transportation, her breaths intensified as she turned the pages, hovering seasons backwardly. The more she turned, the more her feelings of fear was replaced with relief. Once the date at the top of the pages read a hundred winters before now, she sighed with relief "Thank Thor that my memories were tricking me".

But, when she put the book down, a gust of wind peered a couple of pages forward. "Huh? "said she when she noticed something was off.

One page was thicker than the others like it was two pages glued together. She took out her dagger and slid the blade in, separating them. The date of the left page referenced seventy winters ago. What was on it left her breathless.

"No, no, No! This can't be" cried her desperately as her legs, turning to jelly, couldn't support her anymore. Falling to her knee, she buried her face in her hand. "Please, Odin, Thor, Freya, Loki whatever, please, tell me this isn't it, please tell me they have forgotten it." Her voice broke, her cries and prayers muffled against her hand. For one moment, all the Fearless Astrid Hofferson was gone, replaced by something totally strange to her. "I can't tell him, he would just go on a suicide mission" she sobbed.

On the page was sewed a leather parchment, ornated like a treaty. On it was two symbols, one above the other, drawn in a brown substance. Dried Blood. That was why the pages were stuck together. The one below was easily recognizable: the Hofferson's family crest, an H mimicked as an axe, with two arrows cross behind.

However, it was upside down. Above it lied a straight vertical line with dashes of ink coming slightly out of it. Evenly spaced across it were two other lines, extending out to the left. The upper one was straight, while the lower one was bent down at a right angle and finished slimmer and the rest of it. The symbol was to worn out by time to be identified with certainty, but it was, for sure, another clan crest, one that looked like a thin humanoid figure. Beneath both symbols were written a line in almost dried up runes. The shield-maiden traced a trembling finger across it, trying to figure out what she was reading.

'Grace to … Blood...' was the firsts words of it. She slammed the book close, refusing to read it furthermore as if it would make it disappear. She knew too well what followed, and her expressions looked like the mere words awoken the nightmares of the pasts.


And know, their enemy is unveiled. Or is it?

To guest: a genuine thank you for the review, is this chapter edited better?