Chapter 7 The find, the fight, the fall

Hiccup couldn't help himself to be in awe of the sight in front of him. The island he was approaching shone in the orange light of twilight, its grey-black watchtower stood over the harbor omnipotently. From the deck, the young Viking could grasp the modernity of this place: its complex yet efficient architecture, the genius in the pulley and rails systems. The modern Berk looked paled in comparisons, even if they were roughly equivalent in size.

The massive ships docked and immediately, a group of Vikings in well-ordered fashion secured it by tying the ropes to the poles before vanishing into the docks, resuming their duty. Looking across, he saw a couple of ships in different states of reparations, each with a dozen men or women scattered all around it, hammering planks. Twisting his head, he saw a ship, well actually, two halves of a single ship that were barely holding together by some agonizing planks being pushed out of the harbor. When he recognized the blast pattern, a small spark of satisfaction lit up his battered mind. It was one of the ships that he blasted with Toothless, and it looked like it was beyond salvation.

The explosion took him by surprise as his vision suddenly lit up from the fire that emerged from the ship, the wind tickling his face. The wooden beast let out a final cry before being consummated by fire and water.

"Tightly enclosed Nightmare gel" A voice emerged next to him. Turning around, it was Tyrad. "when lit up, the sudden fire generates a big enough blast that is equivalent to a Night Fury blast. It did the same during the numerous skirmishes you friends had with our fleet?" the Headless continued while gesturing the black beast next to Hiccup. Toothless bearded his teeth and growl at the Viking, but a hand of Hiccup on his muzzle backed him down.

"It has a name, and yes, it was one single shot from Toothless." Hiccup replied harshly.

"Impressive" Tyrad whistled, "But now, it won't happen again."

The words were like dagger in his heart, acid in his throat. Yes, it won't happen again.

"Anyway, keep up, we are docked."

Hiccup followed Tyrad off the ship and onto the complex systems of catwalks. Sometimes, they have to dodged cages filled with dragons, drugged into a lethargic state with that same blue liquid, but most of the time, it was the small groups of Vikings, guards, or not, that moved out of their way. At first, he thought that Tyrad was so dreaded amongst the captives that it was a reaction of fear, after all, the Viking was a master strategist, ruthless and fearless. But when he concentrated on the whispers, he realized that it was actually talking about him.

"Who is that?"

"Is that a Night Fury?"

"The unholy offspring of lightning and death? How is that possible?"

"He has to be one of the Headless."

Hiccup was dumbed founded about what he heard. They thought he was one of the Headless warriors? How in Odin's world can that happen? Under the cover of his mask, he began studying the reactions of the passing Vikings. He found out that they were indeed backing off because of fear, but the source of it was actually him and Toothless, not Tyrad. In fact, they didn't even seem to know who he was.

Questions racing through his mind, Hiccup didn't realize until he bumped into Tyrad's back. Immediately, he felt a leg behind his knee, swiping him off his balance, and a solid forearm to the side of his skull, making him dizzy.

He heard Toothless growl, and a voice ordering "Easy, dragon, Toothless isn't it? Your master would not like what would happen if you attack me."

"Easy, bud" Hiccup managed to mutter out as his head cleared up. Opening his eyes, he saw the faces above his head. Tyrad with the one corner of his mouth flattened in a mix of disappointment and mischief, while Eir just stood there looming, every single one of his muscles immobilized, the white skin on his face perfectly smooth, not a single ripple from his emotions. If he was feeling certain things towards the current situation, he wasn't showing it.

"Lesson one," Tyrad said "always be aware of your surroundings. And your skills, far too low." Tyrad squatted down and laid his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "So, you will train, with us. Eir, I will put him in your and Magnus class, with the best." The other Headless nodded slowly. "But don't let any of this temper with your task" Tyrad continued while standing back up again. "which is teaching us how to ride a dragon, dragon master." He then looked at Eir again. "Settle him down." The blond Viking nodded again. The exact same, calculated, effortless motion though Hiccup as he sat up.

Eir held out a hand, which Hiccup grabbed not so happily, and in a swift motion, pulled the one-legged Viking up, before saying "Follow me, let me present the accommodations."

The Headless and the Berkian traveled through the series of catwalks, only standing aside when there was a caged dragon passing. The other times, it was the groups of Vikings, patrols, or carrying all kinds of bag, that stepped aside and to let them pass. All bowed their heads respectfully, some greeted 'sir' quietly. Eir acknowledge all of them by a respectful nod.

As they walked, Eir extended his hand in an elegant motion to stop a Viking coming the other way. She wearing a simple tan green robe with a leather overshirt, and she was carrying an empty basket.

"Why this much haste, dear?" Eir said in an elegant tone, making the Viking matron giggling slightly.

"A trader just arrived with the newest spice. I hope you are not appetite less, mister Headless" she giggled in an equal, slightly sensual tone.

"My appetite is forever colossal to the concerns of your meals, dear."

"Then I shall not deceive it" the matron continued, putting a hand on the Eir's chest.

Hiccup could see the charming gesture that the blond Viking was putting up, making the cook blush slightly, but he also noticed the, although the charming gestures of the matron, the pale face of Eir remained perfectly still, as if all that is happening wasn't bothering him.

"Then I shall not delay you any further, just express a common announce that everyone, upon the exceptions of those bound to patrols duties, shall be present in the main arena by dawn."

"What?" the cook answered, blinking in confusion. Eir sighed, but again, only his lips moved. If he felt frustrated, he didn't show it. What confused Hiccup more is that he heard Eir cursed under his breath and muttering something like ", not enough. Why I still feel these kinds of base feelings?" before speaking aloud.

"Don't make me repeat myself one more time, as it is a waste of time and energy. For your sake, I will use a more common wording: Just make sure that every one that is not on patrol duty gathers in the main arena by dawn."

The cook nodded her head frantically, fear drawing on her face as she remembered that even though the man in front of her was acting friendly, it was still a Headless, ruler of this place. She quickly ran towards the dock, focused to complete her initial task.

When she disappeared around the corner, Eir said to Hiccup.

"My apology for the interruption, me behaving like the base was necessary for her to leave us in peace quickly. The structure in front of us is the canteen, where all three meals can be taken." He pointed to a large, rectangular construction in front of them, where pale trails of smoke are floating through the openings of the roof. "Let's now head towards your living quarters." He added before engaging in another set of catwalks.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow under his mask. It was obvious that matron was attracted to Eir, and somehow, he was replicating the action, but not the emotions. He said that he was acting. Maybe it had something to do with this mysterious 'base' that Tyrad, Magnus, and now Eir had all spoken off. But there was another question burning his lips.

"Why did Tyrad choose to hide his identity to the people here?" Hiccup asked.

"Because the base alters itself in the proximity of us, according to him and…" Eir replied

"Hold on" Hiccup interrupted. "What is this base that you three are talking about?"

"So, you noticed the recurrence?"

"The what?"

"The recurrence, its usage describes an event that happens regularly"

"Why do you talk like that, with all those fancy words?" questioned Hiccup

"Because the more complex the words are, the more precise they get. So, I don't have to waste time and effort to repeat and explain myself all over again." Eir replied, in that same, monotonous, perfectly rhythmed tone.

"Seems a bit counter-productive to me." Hiccup sassed.

"Only because you belong to the base, to primitive, not knowledgeable enough to understand it."

"What is this base then?" Hiccup asked.

"The base is weak, it is flawed, both biologically and psychologically, and it is upon what we, the Headless tribe, differentiate ourselves from to become better." Eir recited.

"Different, what?"

"Differentiate. All Headless warrior picks one attribute shared by every single being of the base to differentiate himself upon, meaning he has to go beyond the constraints of base regarding that attribute, something that would eventually, sets him apart from the base. For example, everyone belonging to the base blinks. Differentiate yourself upon this attribute is to train yourself to never blink again

. During the whole process, he also has to find a way to keep the chosen attribute secret." Eir explained.

"Oh," Hiccup said confused, not really understanding, to him, all of this seems delusional. "And what does this differ—whatever brings?" He continued to ask, trying to get as much information as possible.

"It makes us different. We become stronger, faster, more intelligent because of the process" Eir answered.

"And what happens if someone finds out the attribute?"

"Then whoever has not been able to protect this secret has to consume the Jorgmundir Berry. It liquifies your insides, killing you in less than two breaths." Eir responded, sending a cold shiver down Hiccup's spine. What in Thor's world is this Tribe? He though. The more he dove into the strange traditions of the Headless tribe, the more to him looked like a band of dangerous lunatics that somehow are fearsome fighters and dreadful strategists.

"Has anyone fully complete the process of differentiation?" Hiccup asked one more time. Only this time, Eir remained silent, keeping his eyes forward.

At this moment, Hiccup realized that they were near an arena, similar to the one back on Berk, in which the memory made his heartthrob with pain. A sight that he will never see again. But the one in front of him was, at least, four times bigger.

"This" Eir gestured the structure, "is the main arena, where you shall be present by dawn."

The pair then engaged on a lonely path, that leads to a small hut. Constructed from stone and wood, it was large enough to fir one person comfortably.

"Your current residence." Said Eir as he opened the door. Inside was a bed that can be hidden behind curtains, a bathing area that was connected to the outhouse, and a fireplace by which a desk was placed. "As our first Dragon trainer, your job is to, as well, redact a book in order to perpetuate your knowledge." The blond Viking added, pointing to the squid ink bottle and the empty book that resided on the desk. Hiccup nodded heavily, already thinking about how to give them false tips without breaking his oath.

After a while. Eir spoke again.

"Dinner will be after the moon rise. Shall I bring your dragon to the stables?"

"NO!" Hiccup almost shouted, but regret immediately, fearing to have offended the Headless only to be confronted to that same face, void of any emotions of Eir. "He'll just need a flat piece of stone. Thank you."

"I'll make sure your wish will be noticed. But now, indulge me one question." Eir replied

"Ask away. "Hiccup answered

"Are you willing to join us? To differentiate yourself from the base?"

Under his mask, Hiccup swallowed heavily. He didn't want to, but it did have his curiosity picked.

"I'll think about it?" he said hesitantly.

"Very well, we shall meet at dinner," Eir replied and without a sound, walk out of the hut.

As soon as the footsteps faded, Hiccup let out a deep sigh.

"I don't know bud, whatever he said was pretty crazy," he said to dragon, who crooned. "from his behavior to that differentiation something, saying that they have to kill themselves if someone found it. Argh. And this stupid base, I still don't what it is" Hiccup added, pacing around the room frustrating. Toothless let out a soft growl before nudging the Viking. Hiccup automatically laid his hand on the reptile scale. "I know bud, guess I need to let that out." Hiccup whispered to the dragon.

His eyes then caught on the empty book with the ink bottle and wooden stick beside it. He quickly stood up and tore off a piece of parchment. Well, at least they are rich though him before grabbing a pen and starting writing down everything he knew about Eir. "Might as well give it a shot." Said Hiccup to himself while scrutinizing his information.

So, Eir, what is your so-called attribute. Something shared by everyone that belong to this base. But what it is? So, you talk funny, everything about you seems calculated. Every movement that you do is perfect, slow. And you put out an act toward a woman that clearly has intention towards you. Hiccup sat down and passed his hand in his messy hair. What sets you apart? His memories trailed back to one of the tales of trader Johan,

0—0

"Ah, master Hiccup. What a delight to see you. I can't wait to tell you the people that I encounter during my travel to the big land." Said the merchant while Hiccup was touching a strange kind of tissue. It was soft, very soft, and almost glistening in the sunlight. Hiccup found the texture enchanting.

"Johan, what is this kind of tissue?" Asked the young Viking. He was considering buying it and sewing it as the most inner layer of his flying armor.

"Ah, an excellent choice," said Johan joyfully. "It is some rare clothe named silk that I have acquired at a very expensive price. If I remember correctly, it is something that is worn by the princess of the tribe that I went to."

"A princess?"

"Ah yes. In the big land, they don't really have the same hierarchy as us." explained Johan "The ruling family, same as here, but the chief is called the king, and the princess is the Heiress. Strange people there are. They wore all kind of clothing and so many colors, all of them made out of this very expensive cloth. Besides, they all talk in a very pretty way, using far more words than necessary. I happened to learned a bit of their language, but the way they walked. Oh my, it felt like a totally different one. But they are all polite, and humble. When I asked why they have to talk like, meanwhile the rest of them just spoke normally. The princess explained that it was elegance. Another strange word."

But Hiccup wasn't listening already, raising the silk into the light to see it better.

•—0—•

Elegance The word struck him like lightning.

Maybe he has been to the big lands and decided to mimic their attitude, because, well, it's not very Viking like. Hiccup though. But again, it was risky. According to what Eir said, anyone can at any time saying out loud what the attribute was, kind of like issuing a challenge. But the Headless didn't state the consequences when the attitude was wrong.

Growling inwardly, Hiccup looked down at the events again, trying to find anything else.

So, I don't have to waste time and effort to repeat and explain myself all over again. This is what Eir said when Hiccup asked him why he talked that way. He wears a silken outfit. Light, does not get easily frowned, very easy to wash. The way he walks, he talks, he acts, is like it was effortless.

A grin grew on his face as he slammed his hand onto the table.

"I found it."

•—0—•

The canteen was busy, and easy to get lost into. After Eir came and accompanied Hiccup inside, the blond Viking vanished into the crowd, leaving the latest arriving on his own. After settling down Toothless with some barrels of fish which Eir provided him, Hiccup grabbed a plate and lined up like the rest of the Viking. After grabbing sufficient foods, he looked around the hall and saw an almost empty table by the far-wall. Hiccup went and sit down, slightly oblique from an old looking Viking.

"Might as well get rid of the mask lad" Suddenly the other Viking spoke. "There is no shame of being here. And besides, your statues look different"

Hiccup looked at his interlocutor. He was sporting a loose tunic, a short, scruffy beard that already hinted grey. Hiccup shrugged his shoulder and removed his mask completely, settling it down on the table.

"Aren't all of you subdued under their rule? Isn't that enslaving?" Hiccup replied.

But the older Viking chuckled. "You know, I was one of the first to come to this island. It all started eight or nine winters ago. I watched this hall filling with people and I saw two very different things. Some came from wealthy islands and got a little more miserable at first, others came from miserable places. But now, everyone looks content where they belong."

Hiccup looked around the hall, and indeed, not one was really complaining about the regime they were serving under. Maybe they had gotten dull. Hiccup was still convinced that it just another form of slavery.

"But what about the islands that the Headless stripped people from? They are abducting peoples from their homes. Holding them hostage and their tribe vulnerable."

"From what I heard; they sometimes send supplies from here to the harsher place." Replied the other Viking.

Hiccup nodded, not wanting to argue on this subject. For him, it was still wrong, but since the Viking looked familiar with this place, he decided to ask some questions about what Eir just told him.

"Is it true that anyone can challenged them?"

"Ah, yes" the older Viking replied, taking a sip of mead "the strange with about their base and differentiation. It's true, but don't, because many have challenged, all have failed. It is very confusing, some tried speaking weird, others speaking with only strange words. One even tried treating women correctly." He sighed "didn't end well for this one. And no one has got it right yet."

But Hiccup was way too stubborn to listen to his advice. Glad that his hypothesis wasn't in the list, a small smile of confidence drew on his lisp. Glazing the crowd, he spotted Eir alongside Magnus a couple of tables further. He stood up and yelled.

"Eir, your point of differentiation or whatever, I know what it is!"

The room has fallen silent and immobile. Except for Eir that slowly turned his head towards Hiccup, his face void of any emotion.

"You don't like repeating yourself, your movement looked like there were practiced to be effortless, you said to me that you used all these weird words to be sure that only one meaning gets through, to prevent explanations. Your point of differentiation is laziness, that you hid through your elegance"

Whispers started to rise within the hall.

Laziness, what?

Him, lazy?

Maybe the lad is right, it's the least obvious thing.

In contrast, Eir said loudly, "Do you confirm your speculation"

"Yes," Hiccup greeted through his teeth.

As soon as his word fell. Eir stood up quickly and said, this time with no little anger. "Wrong!" Before ordering "To the nearest arena" and stormed out of the hall. The crowd quickly followed him, leaving only a dumbfounded Hiccup and the old Viking, who sigh before muttering through his bear "Good luck lad, you'll need it." Before getting up and leaving as well.

Hiccup stood still, not understanding what was going on. He didn't even realize Tyrad sneaked up on him and whispered into his ear.

"Follow them, obey, and don't die. Consider your oath broken if you don't do these." Before walking away.

Reluctantly, Hiccup walked out of the hall. The nearest arena wasn't hard to locate, as it was surrounded by Vikings. Hiccup walked down the ramp, the dragon on his tail and entered the arena through the raised metal gate. Inside, he saw Eir on the opposite side, Magnus in the middle and a big log near the wall. Magnus voiced boomed through the air

"The challenger has arrived. Perfect. Since he is a newcomer, the challenge goes as follows. For you, it's simple, one word: survive. Of course, if you managed to kill him, you will walk away. Otherwise, everything is allowed. And since it is a one on one challenge, we should get rid of the dragon." As Magnus finished his sentence, he unsheathed a crossbow from his back on shoot Toothless with the syringe filled with the same blue liquid. The Night Fury let out a roar and managed to fire a small plasma blast, which Magnus dodged before falling dead to the ground. Hiccup yelled at Toothless and rushed to the dragon's side, but stopped mid-track as he spotted Tyrad amidst the crowd. Clenching his fists, he watches Magnus and another Vikings drag his dragon through the gate he entered. As Magnus passed the gate, the headless warrior took out some flint and lit the log, or candle, before slamming the gate down.

Hiccup turned to his opponent, having not moved a single step and unsheathed his sword, the fire blade lightning up the fighting ground. He heard gasps of surprise and admiration from the crowd but nothing from the Eir. Determination tainted with hatred settled in his eyes as he stared at the blond Headless. He was going to kill him. Hiccup lowered his stance and focus on his opponent, trying to find a weakness. The problem his, Eir, by standing straight up, arms resting at his side, everything was an opening but none of them was really one.

The two Viking stared at each other for some time, Eir being as immobile as before, Hiccup, trying to focus his breathing, slowly approached his opponent. A quick glance toward the burning piece of wood made his eyes widen. A good quarter was already gone, and the glutenous flame continued its way down. Not wanting to find out what will happen if the candle burned out, Hiccup pushed on his legs and charged at Eir. He was closing fast, the distance between them shrinking, but something made the hair on his neck bristled, a gut feeling telling him to dodge.

As fast as he can, Hiccup pushed with his good leg and lunged on the right side, his balance set off by the motion, collided with the ground on his side. Breath short, he looked back where he was, where his ankle was. Embedded into the ground was a thin, metal-like needle. Razorwing scale. But Hiccup has more pressing matters. Rolling onto his feet, he didn't have the time to dodge, nor block the incoming hits. He received a punch to the jaw, another blow in the stomach, and Eir's right foot in his hip. He tried to riposte by kicking his prosthetic leg from the side, but the blond Viking steps forward and drove his right knee on the inside to Hiccup's raised thigh, parrying the kick, before slamming his shoulder into the auburn Viking chest. And Hiccup was on the ground again, breath short, the urge to cough but no able to. Trying his best to takin a large gulp of air, a surge of relief came when his airway cleared, but was quickly washed away by the blood he coughed out. He looked up and saw the face of Eir, crouched down. Blond hair, blue eyes. The man fiercely said: "Get up and fight back."

For a moment, Hiccup saw Astrid, during one of their many sparring sessions when at first, she completely dominated him, when he wanted to give up, crouched down, and said these words. But the face in front of him was emotionless -He saw his father show more emotions than Eir—and lacked the familiar scowled that was her signature. What I am thinking. He thought, stop. Guess I'm really this Useless, not even able to stand a fight against him. For one very brief moment, Hiccup's mind went back to his to the beginning of his fighting lessons with Astrid, where he constantly asked her to not go easy on him, saying that it was to protect Berk. But what he didn't tell her is that it was mostly to protect her, and to be more independent of Toothless. Winning a fight was easy when one had the unholy offspring and lightning and death by his side. Many times, he fell down hard, many times he wanted to give up. Claiming that he overestimated himself. But every time she was there, a scowl on her beautiful face, but reaching out a helping hand to help him back out.

It was only later that he realized that her scowl was not because he fell, but was because he was giving up, believing that he was the village screw up once again, not being able to fight properly. And then he had promised her, well, she made him, in a very convincing way, promise to never feel this way again. Well, guess I failed her one more time, I'm really useless without Toothless. Might as well die, would save everyone the trouble. But his mind quickly went back to what Tyrad said, remembering that if he died, all Berk will be at peril, a new wave of adrenaline pumped through his veins. He saw something grow in his vision, reached out his hand, grabbed it, and twisted.

After saying the words, Eir stood up and waited, the time to glance at the candle. It was already halfway through. Turning his gaze down to the figure lying at his feet. He armed a kick, directed at the younger Viking's face. But he felt a strong grip onto his feet, followed by a twisting motion, and another impact on his other calf, right below the knee. The blond Viking fell to the ground but reacted quickly by putting his hand out the brace the shock. Using the momentum of the fall to roll over his shoulder, Eir quickly stood back up. The Headless felt something rise inside him, taking it source from his heart, clogging his brain. Anger? A flash of a scowl appeared on his face. Not enough, not different enough yet, still weak. thought Eir before shaking his head, and his face went back to its initial state: as still as marble.

However, this short motion allowed Hiccup scrambled back upon his legs again, this time a stone-cold determination written on it. Once again, he charged first, slamming himself almost in the embrace of Eir.

He remembered one lesson with Astrid There are two ways to prevent someone from kicking you, being outside of his reach, or being inside of it. Now knowing how fast Eir was, Hiccup opted for the latter. The Headless reacted quickly, his arms up to parry anything.

Hiccup delivered punches after punches, varying from all directions, each one delivering as much strength he can draw from his already battered body. In the midst of fury, it was only he was feeling agonizing pain in his arms that he realized what was truly happening. Eir was blocking and countering every single one of his punches. A right punch? Dodge by him tilting his head, followed by a swift, short punch in the elbow articulation. A left swing? Grabbed by one hand as the other slashed down the wrist. The following punch from the other arm? Promptly deflected by the blond Viking bending his forearm up. The uppercut? Smoothly block by Eir placing his palm underneath his chin, before twisting on himself and drove an elbow in Hiccup's temple. For a brief moment, the fight stopped, as the auburn Viking saw stars in front of him instead of above him. Piercing through the phantom white dots, another fist connected with his chin. And now, the role was reversed. Only this time, each blow Eir delivered was carefully planned, calculated, and Hiccup was having a difficult time blocking all of them, yet placing one of his own.

Block, dodge, block again, grab and twist to counter-attack. Twisted again to free his arm.

The two Viking traded move after move, but as Hiccup felt his strength being depleted, Eir's speed only became faster and faster.

Block,

Block,

Hit in the chin.

Dodge,

Twist and parry

Creak, and Hiccup felt a string of warm liquid pouring out of his nose.

Block

Thun, Eir rose higher, made a circular motion with his elbow, slamming it down on Hiccup's skull. Slightly dazed, he took a couple of steps back. Seeing Eir continuing his movement by twisting on his foot, at the same time jumped into the air to sidekick his head, Hiccup raised his arm and closed his eyes to block the incoming, powerful blow. Only, it never came.

Time seemed to have frozen to him, Hiccup opened his eyes and saw Eir standing in front of him, while he had his hand raised to the side of his head, like interrupted in some kind of obscure dance movement. The thought of how screwed he was just crossed his mind before he felt a sharpening pain on his left chest, just below where the shoulder connected. The sheer force of the punch sent him to the ground. Laying there, the was nothing that he could do against the incoming feet that were closing to his face. Suddenly, a small explosion resonated in the arena and the foot stopped, before disappearing. The next thing he sensed is that he was being hauled up by an iron grip. Looking to see Magnus at his side, Hiccup's gaze turned back to Eir.

"How do I know you didn't lie?" Hiccup gritted through his teeth.

"Classic base behavior. When encountering failure, the first step is always trying to find the reason somewhere else. The answer? You don't." Eir answered, "but if you think, you will find that the error in your tentative is fairly obvious. And why would I lie?"

"Because you will die if I said the correct one."

Eir chuckled slightly. "When you start the process of differentiation, you will soon stop to rely on those basic, pitiful ways of maintaining your own survival, because your death was solely dictated by your own actions and incompetence. Hence our tradition of consuming the Jorgumdir berry is someone ever find out. And why would I lie on something that is the very source of my strength?" He replied before gesturing Magnus to continue.

The last thing he saw and heard is the voice an Eir, back to its monotonous tone of before, saying Put him by the rule while the blond Viking tapped his left chest before darkness covered his sight and hearing.


Apologies, been busy in the past month and a half because I'm moving out of my country