Ok this chapter was not done as soon as I wanted, but it's still ready far sooner than usual. So be grateful! And review!
Chapter 20
Unknown
A shadow drifted across the sky. The nest was quiet. Unusually so. This was not a good sign. The calm felt, oppressive somehow. Something was about to happen. The winds were calm and cool among the clouds. It was the most comfortable thing in the world to float here against the stars. Utterly invisible. Why did Skuru have to get his wing broken? He did it on purpose. Anything to get out of real work. No that's stupid. Skuru Doesn't avoid work. He just hates it. But I would much rather be resting snug in Home Cave than living rough for two moons. At least it's been quiet.
There was a jolt. For a moment, wings locked into position on a heading straight for the nest, but after a moment, the shadow tossed its head and veered back to its arc around the enormous volcano. Me and my big mind. Wait what's that?
Far below, another shadow could be seen racing above the sea. It was headed directly into the cloud, straight for the nest. That wing shape, it couldn't possibly be... No one is supposed to be here for another half moon! But the shape was unmistakable. Maybe a wild one? No there had been no new arrivals in years! The shadow paused for a moment. Damn it all. Wings rolled forward, and the shadow dived for the mist.
XXX
Hiccup
For about half an hour, everything was perfect. The night was clear and fresh and the wind caressed each and every surface of our bodies. The scales that had appeared on my shoulders and face tingled and pricked. It felt a little like the skin was moving. But I was far too preoccupied to pay it much heed. Toothless was exuberant. Just after we took flight over the sea, Toothless let out a long joyful screech. We flipped our wings upward and pumped, clawing our way farther and farther into the heavens. Above us, the stars burned brightly and flickered. It was the most beautiful thing we had ever seen. We tilted our wings downward and dived for the sea. With a flick of our heel and a twitch of our tail, we are were corkscrewing. We spun off in a turn that bent our body into an arc and put strain on the saddle. That was when it all changed.
Just as we were leveling off, an enormous force impacted our mind. In an instant, our thoughts were scattered, out of line. We had ceased thinking together. Luckily, I was able to keep hold of Toothless' shoulders. I used that hold as a point to gather my thoughts back together. It was quicker than the first time we'd been separated. In just a moment, I was thinking again and looking for Toothless. Unfortunately, Toothless was not so lucky. His mind was a chaotic mess. Thoughts were spinning around and around in circles and emotions were rapidly disappearing. What the hell was going on?
Suddenly, the messy swamp of thoughts retracted all at once, into a single, cold point. I tried to push against it, to make Toothless aware of me, but it felt like knocking against a rock. Cold. Horribly cold. Toothless' ears shot into the air, and he flipped his wing to the side, changing course dramatically. I barely registered the change, when my heel automatically moved to keep the tailfin in a stable position. Toothless was silent.
"Toothless? Toothless!" The dragon did not even twitch. I lifted my hand and gave him a little thump on the shoulder. And I felt a growl rumble through his throat. I desisted immediately, suddenly extremely aware of how high above the sea I was flying. Toothless wasn't deviating in any way shape or form, there was no movement in his wings whatsoever. I was getting more and more worried than I ever had been. The one creature in the world that listened to me and treated me with respect, was cold and silent. The world tilted. For a moment, I thought I would be sick.
Then I saw exactly where we were going. A massive wall of sickly looking mist stretched far off to either side, and it reached high into the night sky. It glowed with a disturbing light as it reflected the light of the moon. I felt a shudder run down my spine. Before I could so much as take a breath, the mist enveloped us. The light from the moon dimmed, and tall, wide shadows appeared all around us. Most stayed indistinct and slid past our sides, but some sharpened and solidified into massive columns of rock reaching up out of the water. Toothless finally deviated his wing, and began to veer back and forth, narrowly dodging each shadow before us. Several times they passed to close that I almost grazed them. It was almost as if Toothless was utterly unaware of me.
Of course I was aware of where we were. It had been described by the old Viking veterans around the dinner hearth for years upon years. A twisted rock maze shrouded in mist, and swarming with dragons. The border of the Nest. Wind rushed over my head, blowing my hair past my eyes. For a moment I couldn't see. Then I brushed the hair away and looked up. There hovering directly above us, was the silhouette of a Monstrous Nightmare, floating eerily in the gloom. I whipped my head around. In ever direction, everywhere I looked, the shapes of Dragon's were materializing. I could see the outlines of almost every single one from the Dragon Manual. There were even a few that seemed totally alien. But there was something strange. Each shadow was larger and bulbous at the bottom. The Nightmare above us swung lower, towards us, to avoid a rocky overhang. And as it got closer, it became slightly more visible. I was able to make out a sheep, neck twisted and dripping with blood, dangling from the dragon's talons.
Wonderful. The dragons were dragging in their kill. And I was all that Toothless had to offer. What was wrong with him? That was when I spotted the colors. Before us, the mist was losing its pale, sickly glow, and instead acquiring a deep, angry red color. Around us, the columns of stone were dropping away, leaving a storm of dragons traveling over open sea. Before us, another shadow appeared. But this one was different. As we drew close to it, it grew, and grew, and kept growing. This was no column. This was a mountain. And it was from the peak of this mountain that the angry red aura emanated. My jaw dropped. This could only be one thing. The nest.
The dragons around us were starting to call with low screeches and snarls. Toothless however remained silent. I hugged Toothless' neck, trying to make myself flat and blend into his back. Dragons would most certainly not be pleased to find a human flying in their midst. The mountain was still getting larger, and for a moment, I thought that the entire flock would smash directly into its rocky slope. But I managed to pick out the opening that we were headed for. A small gash in the mountainside, near the base that was utterly black and lightless.
Even with my better than average night sight, I could not penetrate the shadows. And with a rushing of wind and the snap of leathery wings, blackness engulfed me. The only feeling was the rushing in my ears. The tunnel's confines reflected the sound back at a much higher volume. But the sound coming from some directions gradually became louder and softer, as I felt Toothless moving beneath me. I closed my eyes. As the sounds around me fluctuated, I began to see movements in the patterns that danced around my closed eyes. A vague tunnel shape was formed, shifting from side to side with the changes in the sound. Then, I saw the shape of the tunnel end, and stretch out into a vast space. I opened my eyes.
Before me, a massive chamber widened out around us. The center was occupied by an enormous hole which emitted a dull orange glow. Poisonous vapors of a dozen different colors swirled above it. Around the pit, shelves of stone lead up and out to the edges of the cavern. The entirety of these ledges, were covered by hundreds, possibly thousands of dragons. The swarm we were currently part of was veering and circling over the hole. As I watched, incredulous, each dragon dropped its burden of food straight down into the pit. This made no sense. Why would the dragons go to such lengths to collect so much food, and not eat any of it? Eventually, the swarm had dropped every bit of meat it carried, and made its way to the only open space on the shelves, just beneath the opening they had flown in through.
The landing was rough. Once again Toothless showed no recognition of the fact that I was on his back. He came in fast and landed heavily. I was sent flying off to the side where I impacted a rock column, and slid to the ground. For a moment, my vision swam. I closed my eyes and let my head throb for a moment. Then tried to push myself into a sitting position. I heard my back crack a few times. Then I opened my eyes. Toothless lay before me crouched, with his belly to the ground and his eyes closed, his back rising slowly with even breathing. This was not a natural position for him to sleep in. It didn't look comfortable at all. But with a glance around, I saw that every single dragon around us, of all species, was crouched in the exact same position, eyes closed. What the hell was this? The cavern had become silent aside from the sound of breathing.
The telltale drone of a Gronkle's wings broke that silence. I looked up to the opening. A smallish Gronkle wobbled through wearing a slightly dazed expression. It flew in an uneven path, until it hovered directly above the hole. It then proceeded to spit out a fish, which fell downwards into the pit. For a moment, the Gronkle turned and made it's way towards the rest of the group that we had flown in with. But before it could clear the pit, I rumble vibrated through the stone beneath me. As I looked on in horror, I massive scaly head lifted from the pit and closed it's titanic jaws around the unsuspecting Gronkle. Without another sound, it fell away and disappeared back into the depths.
My heart was racing. I could feel the adrenaline burning in my veins. What the hell was that thing! We were in trouble. Deep, deep trouble. I had to wake Toothless. I had to snap him out of whatever was wrong with him. But before I could even move, there was a rushing sound and a soft thud. I saw a shadow drop from the sky and land next to Toothless. For a moment, it looked like a shapeless shadow. Then it turned, and I saw it in profile. It seemed totally impossible. But there could be no mistaking it. A Night Fury!
For a moment, the unknown dragon stared down at Toothless' face. Then it lifted a claw and placed it against Toothless' forehead. Blue light flared from the place where the two connected. Slowly, the dragon moved its claw downwards, then to the side, curving up and around. Where the claw passed, a shimmering blue line was left burning against Toothless' scales. The dragon had traced a three quarter circle around the first line, when it made a diagonal slash down through both lines, then made a straight line back, to connect with the base. It then stepped back and with a single bound launched itself into the air. A voice thundered through my head. "FLY!"
In my mind, the tiny, cold, hard sphere that was Toothless' mind suddenly warmed. Then it exploded outwards. "HICCUP!" A vibration ran through the floor, and a rumbling sound emanated from the pit. I mustered my strength and pushed off from the ground, staggering forward towards Toothless. He was uncurling from his unnatural position and stretching slightly. As he did, the glowing blue symbol on his forehead faded and dissolved into the black of his ground gave an exceptionally violent jerk and I fell against Toothless' side. He looked up at me and I saw something in his eyes that I'd never think to see before. Fear.
I lept into the saddle despite my unsteadiness and flipped the tailfin to a slightly open position in preparation for a climb. Toothless leapt into the air, his mind buzzing frantically. He was confused. He had no memory of how we had come here.
"That can wait! Let's just get out!"
Toothless ceased all other thoughts and veered for the opening. I heard the sound of two huge objects meeting just barely behind us. I turned to see the retreating jaws of the enormous dragon, as it slid backwards into the pit. There was a whisper of rustling wings below. The dragons were no longer sleeping. Toothless' mind was still muggy and fogged, he was barely even flying properly! I pulled as many of Toothless' thoughts to my mind as possible. I took it all. The fear, the confusion, and the doubt. I left nothing but his instincts for flight.
Toothless steadied. His flight path became straighter, and his wings beat with renewed ferocity. I chanced a glance behind us. The boiling cloud of dragon wings that followed us into the tunnel, obscured any light that escaped from the pit. Pitch blackness descended on us. For a moment, I almost panicked. Holding all of Toothless' emotions in check was no easy task. For a moment, my hold on them almost slipped. That was when Toothless' wingtip grazed the cave wall. I realized at once that I had been preventing Toothless' vision and hearing! Slowly, very slowly, I released them from the tight packet of thought which I was barely keeping together. Toothless immediately rolled to the right. Gravity almost wrenched me from the saddle. I couldn't keep this up.
Moonlight exploded before us. We rocketed out over the ocean amongst the rock columns. Thoughts were escaping from me. I could not hold them. As Toothless climbed into the misty night, darkness fell over my sight.
XXX
Toothless
Feeling returned in mid air. I was so startled that I almost stopped beating my wings. Where the hell were we? Mist swirled around us filled with immense shadows. No. It could not be. Why were we here! "Hiccup! What just happened?" No response. In fact, I felt nothing from my mate. I craned my neck around. The scrawny form of a viking human, was slumped over on my back. "Hiccup!" As distressing as it was to see him unconscious, what I saw behind him was almost just as bad. A torrent of dragons poured from the mountain's tunnel.
I faced front again, and narrowly dodged a massive column of rock. My tail was not responding. Hiccup had placed it in full spread, best for gliding. We didn't need to glide. We needed speed! I angled upwards slightly, trying to gain what little altitude was possible. This was looking bad. I glanced over my shoulder again. The dragons were gaining. They had no restrictions, and by their calls, it sounded as though they were out for blood. I was just climbing above the tops of the taller columns, when there was a flash. The mist around me lit up in a violent burst of blue. I looked around again. Dragons were falling from the head of the swarm. Several had veered off to the sides, and several more collided with stone spires. Another blue flash exploded to the right, with similar effects. The dragons had ceased moving forward and now were milling about in a single spot, looking for the source of their difficulty. Unfortunately for them, this made them much better targets. There was a high pitched scream and a third flash of blue.
I wasted no more time. I pumped the muscles in my back as fast as they could possibly move, and limped away from the mist fields of the Dragon Nest.
XXX
The landing, was not soft. Nor was it even a proper landing. Upon reaching the closest possible beach, I dropped. My wings felt as though the next stroke would tear them from my body. The sea washed over me, cool and relaxing. But I could not relax. I whirled and saw Hiccup floating a few feet away. Swiftly, but as gently as I could, I dived, then rose, lifting the small body out of the water with my head. My legs were shaking as well, though they had not been used in our flight. It seemed that I was just completely out of energy. By the time the water became shallow enough for us to leave the water, I could barely support our weight. I managed to get halfway over the beach, heading for the treeline, before I fell. The rocky shore was not kind to my stomach. I felt a groan escape my throat. Hiccup still had not moved, but I could feel his tiny chest rising and falling on top of my head. His mind was a dim flickering in my thoughts.
I knew for a fact that I was fine. I had eaten heartily this past week and I had no open wounds. I would be ready to get up again in a few hours. Hiccup on the other hand... I had no idea what a human needed in this situation. I smelt no blood on him, but his second skin, that was wrapped around his legs, was soaked utterly. Humans did not retain heat very well. Hiccup had been far more resistant to cold these past days, but who knew to what degree he was immune! I swept through Hiccup's foggy thoughts looking for anything helpful. He was definitely feeling cold. That was not good. If he was feeling it, then it was too cold. I searched now for what he needed to warm up.
A blurry, furry face swam to the surface. It spoke. "You daft kids, if you keep those wet clothes on you'll be frozen and dead by mornin! Off with you! Go get dry!" The face dissolved. Dry! Hiccup needed to dry off! A rough, rocky seashore was hardly the place for it though. I forced my body upwards. For a moment, I swayed and almost fell on my face. But I steadied somehow and managed to stagger forwards. After a brief struggle with gravity, I managed to make the treeline. New growing grass was underpaw, this was good. I placed Hiccup as gently as I possibly could in a patch of the softer grass at the base of a tree. Taking a deep breath, I allowed the flap of skin that sealed the passage to my inner furnace to slide away, and I exhaled.
Blue flame washed over Hiccup, bathing his skinny body in a glow of warmth. The fire slid over his skin as if it were stone, while the grass around him withered swiftly and collapsed into ash. Unfortunately, Hiccup's second skin was not as fireproof as he was. In a burst of steam, the garment ignited and swiftly as reduced to the same ash as the grass. I closed my mouth. Hiccup now lay in a bed of glowing embers that hissed and spat. He was already regaining color. I wrapped myself tightly around him, and let my weariness take me.
XXX
Unknown
It was a chaotic rabble. The shadow was easily able to stay running and flying along and between the rock spires fast enough to keep them confused. They could not see any better than a normal dragon. And the shadow's kind had exceptionally good low light vision. It played a little longer, confusing them all the more, untill it was sure that the Shade had escaped. Then it simply took wing into the night, leaving a milling mass of confusion writhing above the waves. The Shade could not have possibly gone far. He would still be wearing after breaking free of the control like that. It veered and flew for the nearest island.
XXX
The landing sight was not hard to find. I trench had been scored into the pebbles of the beach where care weary paws had dragged as it hauled itself out of the ocean. It's nose told it the rest. The Shade lay curled beneath a large tree, in a freshly made bed of hot ash. Surprising that it had had enough energy left to create so much fire. A hill lay nearby. The shadow selected a tree in which it would have a clear view of the Shade, and hung itself from the branch, wrapping itself in its wings and keeping one eye open, and fixed on the strange dragon below.
XXX
Astrid
The village was quiet. There was no shouting emanating from the mead hall, and there were no sounds discernible in the houses. All was still. It felt as though her mind had become still as well. She had no thoughts running in her mind. The silence, was absolute. That was when, an explosion ripped the night house on her right erupted in flames. Her neck snapped back. The stars were obscured as writhing forms whipped passed her in the sky. She felt a tear gather in the corner of her eye. This was absurd. She did not cry. She never cried. And yet, somehow, she found herself wishing, that Hiccup was here right now.
A second explosion flared in the distance. I raw bellow escaped from her throat, and she ran for the chiefs house, drawing her knife as she went. Vikings were pouring out of the dwellings on all sides. Each of them carried their favorite weapons and through their rage into the sky with wild battle cries. Astrid glanced above her once again. She almost couldn't see the sky for scales. Fires were springing up all over the newly built village. "Damn it all" she muttered, "I just rebuilt that house." A Zippleback had already landed and was breathing it's flame all over the place, bathing the house fronts with light. With one slash as she ran past, Astrid removed the head that breathed the gas. There was a scream and the other head whipped around trying to catch her leg. She spun around, kicking out and slashing downwards at the same time. The headless lump of meat collapsed. She ran on.
All around her blood was falling. There were too many dragons. They had never fought against this kind of number before. She ran into the main square and stopped dead. The Chief's house, was already ablaze. Yet she had not seen him anywhere in the fight. She ran to the door and shouldered her way through. An inferno leapt forward to embrace her. With her eyes squinted, she could see a hulking figure, sitting in a chair. She ran straight through the flames. The smell of burning hair whipped past her nose. She was moving so quickly, that she ran into the large shape before she could stop.
"Stoic!" No response. "Stoic! Dammit the village needs you!" There was a voice. Feint. She could barely hear it over the raging flames around them.
"He's gone." What? Who?
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"My son. My son is gone. My only son."
"Dammit Stoic if we don't get out of this house you'll be gone as well! Permanently!"
Stoic's head turned slightly.
"Leave me."
Oh for Odin's sake! Astrid threw her shoulder into the massive Viking's side. The chair he sat in was relatively small. It tipped. Stoic fell limply to the floor, making no movement whatsoever to stop his fall. He lay utterly still amidst the flames. Astrid grabbed one massive, meaty arm and started dragging. It took the better part of three minutes to reach the door. Stoic was burning now. His clothing was no longer able to resist the heat. Astrid's eyes were watering, she couldn't see. She could barely breath. Then a strong arm reached passed her and grabbed the other arm of the chieftain. Astrid tumbled backwards and through the door, into the relatively clean air outside. Gobber stood over her and Stoic. The faces of the twins appeared, and cold water rushed over the both of them. Gobber continued to drag Stoic away from the house.
Astrid, struggled to her feet, wiping the water, ash, and tears away from her eyes. She looked around. From all over the village, the Vikings were falling back to here at the village center. It seemed that everyone was preparing for a last stand. This would not do. Astrid gave a shout, her voice ragged, but it retained it's volume.
"To the mead hall dammit! Fall back to the mead hall! It's made of solid stone! We can best defend ourselves in there!" Every Viking turned and glanced first at the still form of Stoic, being dragged by Gobber, then to Astrid, standing beside them. They all turned at once and began running up the hill towards the cliff side. Another Viking ran forward and helped Gobber with Stoic. Astrid grabbed a sword from a nearby Viking corpse and ran to the end of the line. Several Vikings were carrying or assisting wounded comrades. She helped the defenders keep the dragons off the wounded.
A Nadder leapt down from the roof of a burning house, as it landed, Astrid drove the point of her sword deep into its chest, twisted, and pulled back. The dragon collapsed. A pair of Gronkles came buzzing in from the side. One of her fellow defenders managed to plant a spear in the ground and let the left dragon impale itself, while Astrid made a kick into its lower jaw, and brought her sword down in a stab to the center of its head. Both dragons fell.
A series of combats ensued as the dragons tried to pick at the line of Vikings that were trying desperately to reach the cover of the mead hall. Halfway there, Astrid's defending companion was ripped in two by a Monstrous Nightmare, before Astrid was able to slit its throat. Finally, the last of the line was staggering through the doors, Astrid stood at the end watching the village burn before her. She thought that it had been bad when Hiccup was here. His leaving, seemed to have triggered the untold wrath of the enemy. She stepped backwards into the shelter of the doors. As the doors swung shut, a Terror tried to leap at her face through the gap. She swung her sword in an upward arc before her. Blood splattered her front and face, and the two halves of the dragon landed behind her, as the doors were sealed with a boom.
