The Dark Crystal: Dragon Riders of Thra

Chapter 1: the Gelfling and the Dragon

Stone-in-the-Wood, two days later…

It had been sometime following Hiccup's 'mishap', the mess was cleared up afterwards, now the Stonewood Gelfling were busy with repairs and continuing on harvesting for food.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was busy working in the forge, as he was working on several swords and axes to be grind for next time if any dragons were to attack.

Soon, Hiccup was greeted by Dogsbreath, who had just came by to check on him.

"Hey, Hiccup." he said.

"Hi, Dogsbreath," Hiccup replied, "how goes things for you?"

"Very nice, thanks Hiccup," Dogsbreath replied back, "in fact, I even taught a new trick with Fizzy."

Dogsbreath whistled to Fizzy, as the Fizzgig rolled over and approached his master, as the Gelfling bent down and brought out his right hand.

Fizzy got onto Dogsbreath's hand, as the Gelfling soon stood up straight, then Fizzy started to roll on Dogsbreath's arm, onto his shoulder, around his head, then onto the left shoulder, down the left arm and onto the left hand, soon Fizzy started going back to the right then back to the left, almost like a seesaw.

Hiccup chuckled as he saw this, "That's very clever, Dogsbreath."

"Thanks, Hiccup," Dogsbreath replied, as he put Fizzy back down on the ground, then gave a small sad smile as he said, "sorry again about how you got into trouble… again."

"It's alright, Dogsbreath," said Hiccup, "at least I can be able to see if I can get the kinks out of most of my shield, when I get the chance."

"Hey, Hiccup!"

Hiccup and Dogsbreath groaned and frowned upon hearing that voice, as they turned to see a smug, muscular teen Gelfling in his 20s, wearing an odd helmet with spiral horns, a green-blue tunic that was tucked into his pants and a fur vest that he wore over his tunic, followed by a few followers who were young teen Gelflings like him.

"Oh great…" Hiccup muttered, before speaking up as he looked to the Gelfling, "Hey there, Snotlout, how are things?"

"Have you done my axe yet?" Snotlout asked, ignoring the question.

Hiccup sighed before pulling out the said axe, "Yep, been working on it around the clock. Nice and sharp."

"Well it better be sharp," Snotlout said, as he smirked, "for great news has come our way."

"Oh, great, you're finally being banished from Stone-in-the-Wood." Dogsbreath snarky said with a grin, Hiccup chuckled lightly.

"No, you muttonheads!" Snotlout stated, "The Skeksis are calling out to clans for new recruits to fight the dragons and take position for the Castle Guards, and I'm one of the top picks!"

Snotlout's friends cheered for him as he said that, wishing him luck and the very best, much to Hiccup and Dogsbreath's annoyance.

"Thra help us if you weren't picked." Hiccup sarcastically said.

"Thank you for that support," Snotlout smiled, not knowing that Hiccup was sarcastic, as he gestured to himself, "what can I say, some of us have the knack," he then looked to Hiccup, "and some of us just don't."

Hiccup was not happy upon hearing that, as Snotlout's friends chuckled harshly.

"Hey, leave Hiccup alone." Dogsbreath defended Hiccup, Fizzy snarled at Snotlout, "Hiccup would be a much better soldier than you'd ever be. Not to mention he is next in line of being Captain!"

"If he can try and take down a dragon, we'll see…" Snotlout said, before blurting out, "NOT!"

Snotlout and his left the two, as the former chuckled and cried out, "Snotlout!"

Hiccup then let out a sad sigh, as Dogsbreath looked to him, "Don't listen to those idiots, Hiccup. I bet you're going to be part of the recruitment program soon when the Skeksis come to collect the recruits."

"Easy for you," Hiccup doubted, "you were one of them to be recruited, and no one had never even thought of me to join too."

Dogsbreath then place his hand on Hiccup's shoulder, as he said, "Keep your chin up, Hiccup. Remember what I said, and what you'll do next will make you the most important Gelfling known to Thra, you'll see."

Dogsbreath soon started to leave, as he and Fizzy hurried back to his house to pack, leaving Hiccup back at the forge.

Hiccup soon began to think of what Dogsbreath said a bit, then decided that his friend had a bit of a point, what he'll do next will make him the most important Gelfling Thra has ever seen.

And to do that… he was going to have to kill a dragon.

To make sure no one was looking, Hiccup grabbed his shield and headed out to the endless forest to try and find a dragon.

Maudra Florana's Citadel/The Great Hall

As most of the homes were made from stone, rock and even within the ground, as well as some built in the trees, the Maudra of Stone-in-the-Wood was no exception, as the citadel of the Stonewood Maudra was made within a giant hill and tree.

Inside upon entering stood the Great Hall, where soldiers and residences of the Stonewood Clan would gather, mingle or form strategies for upcoming battles.

At the moment, the hall was packed with Gelfling, as Captain Stoick and Maudra Florana had assembled a meeting to prepare for another hunt for the Dragon's Hidden World.

"Either we finish them, or they'll finish us!" Stoick explained, "It's the only way we'll be rid of them! If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave. They'll find another home! One more search before the next freeze."

"But captain," one Gelfling spoke up, "we've been searching for quite a long time, even in some of the same places. Nothing but deadends and small dragon nests, most of our troops never come back during these things."

"They're right, you know," a grumpy old Gelfling elder said, who looked tall and lanky hair, wrinkly skin, as well as wearing a sleeveless brown tunic, brown trousers and boots and had white armbands with leather strings going across them, "the more Gelflings that we send out, the more get sent back to Thra through this chase!"

"Do not forget, Mildew, we are Stonewood, we are bold, brave and fierce." Maudra Florana spoke.

"The Maudra is right," Stoick spoke up, "I know that there are many risks for this, but remember that it is an occupational hazard. Now, who's with me?"

Not many Gelfling raised any hands upon hearing this, and all remained quiet.

"Alright," said Stoick, "those who wish to stay can look after Hiccup…"

The Gelfling instantly raised their hands and cried out to join in.

"Onward!"

"For the Lords of the Crystal!"

"I'm with you, Stoick!" cried one Gelfling who looked alot like an older Snotlout, who was, actually, his father, Spitelout, who was second in command of the Crystal Guards, and was a good friend to Stoick, though they did butt heads from time to time.

"Ah, that's more like it." Stoick said happily.

As the Gelfling were starting to leave, Maudra Florana spoke, "Stoick, I would like to speak with you and the others in private."

Stoick did as he was told, as he, Gobber, Mildew and Spitelout stayed, along with a Gelfling named Mazar, who was about Stoick or Spitelout's age, with grey hair and had a stubble, and he was also Dogsbreath's father.

"Sure you need us for a moment?" Gobber asked, as he was having a drink with his mug attachment during the meeting, "I need to get back and pack me undies."

"Actually, I need you to stay with the new recruits and train them with the Lords." Florana stated, then turned to Spitelout, "And for you, Spitelout, the tithing ceremonies are almost upon us, and as by law, the Vapra will first."

"I know about that," Spitelout pointed out, "so…?"

"So, you and Mazar will be needed to escort the Lords to Ha'rar in time for the Vapra's Tithing Ceremony." Florana explained.

"Very well, my Maudra." Mazar bowed in respect.

"What?!" Spitelout asked, a little annoyed, "Why do I have to help with this Tithing?"

"Because the Tithing is a way to pay respect and generosity to the Skeksis in exchange for their continued protection." Mazar said, eyeing Spitelout, "Besides, someone has to keep an eye on you to avoid any trouble."

Spitelout grumbled before replying, "Fine…"

"Well, with you guys sorting out the Tithing, Stoick hunting for the Hidden World and me at training, Hiccup can cover the forge," Gobber spoke, "molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to himself… what could possibly go wrong?"

"That is something I wished to talk about, Stoick…" Florana said, as she sternly looked to Stoick, who sighed as he knew he was in trouble, for if any trouble that Hiccup may have done, Stoick would be in trouble as well.

"I know what you're gonna say, Florana…" Stoick said.

"'Maudra', to you, Captain…" Florana sternly said, as Stoick sighed.

"My Maudra, I understand that things didn;t go so well after what happened with Hiccup…" Stoick said.

"Oh, I know what happened," Florana said, feeling very disappointed, "your son caused a bit of property damage, resulting in several homes to be repaired, most of our food to be stolen and almost got himself taken or killed… all in an attempt to bring down a Monstrous Nightmare."

"I know, my Maudra," Stoick said, very disappointed as well, "he's trying his best, really, even if it's trying to be something that he might be."

"Any more trouble like this, and he would be sent to behave in the Order of Lesser Service."

"Well I say have him join the Order of Lesser Service," Mildew agreed, "that would fix him up propper."

"Careful, or Stoick might fix you up himself." Mazar gritted his teeth to Mildew.

Stoick then sighed, "I don't know what I'm going to do with him…"

Gobber had a small thought, and then said, "Put him in training with the others."

"What?" Florana asked.

"That could work," Mazar stated, "that way, my son will be there to help him out a little, even, perhaps, keep him out of trouble."

"No, I'm serious, you two." Stoick stated.

"So are we," Mazar said, "put him in dragon training and that'll get him into shape, show that he's finally ready to be next in line."

"That's ridiculous!" Spitelout butted in, "Stoick's son would screw something up and get someone killed, heck, it might even get him killed. Everything he does is a disaster! Besides, my boy Snotlout, now there's a Gelfling ready to lead."

"Spitelout's half right, you two," Stoick stated, though as Spitelout nodded, he doubletaked upon hearing that he was half right, "Hiccup could end up being killed before you let the first dragon out of its cage."

"Oh, you don't know that." said Gobber.

"I do know that, actually." Stoick countered.

"No, you don't." Mazar stepped in.

"No, actually, I really do."

"No, you don't!" Gobber countered back.

"Look, you all know what he's like." Stoick tried to explain, "From the time he can crawl he's been… different. He doesn't listen, he has the attention span of a Fizzgig."

"I understand if you have parenting troubles, Stoick…" Mazar tried to comfort Stoick.

"It's more than that…" Stoick stated, "when I was a young Gelfling…"

"Oh boy, here we go…" Gobber muttered, before taking another sip of his drink.

"My father told me to bang my head on a rock, and did it," Stoick explained, "I thought it was crazy, but I never questioned him, and do you know what happened?"

"You got a headache…" said Gobber, unamused, as he tried to fish out his fake tooth that fell into his mug.

"That rock split in two." Stoick finished, "It taught me what a Gelfling could do what the Skeksis could. Crush mountains, level forests and tame seas!"

He then sat down beside the others as he said, "Even at a young age, I knew what was, what I had to become. Hiccup is not that boy."

Gobber then sighed, as he looked to Stoick, "You can't stop him, Stoick, you can only prepare him."

Stoick looked at him and Mazar as the latter said, "We it might seem hopeless, but the truth is, you won't always be around to protect him. He's going to go out there again. Heck, he's probably out there right now."

Stoick had a small bit of thought about what Gobber and Mazar said, until finally he stood up and spoke to the Maudra.

"Maudra Florana," he said, "with your permission, I would like to have Hiccup take part of the dragon training recruitment."

Maudra Florana looked to Stoick, "Captain Stoick. Do you really wish to have what's left of your family to take part in this training?"

"I do," Stoick replied, "Hiccup will become a Gelfling worthy to fight the dragons."

"The last time you trained someone to fight dragons, I lost my sister," Florana said coldly to Stoick, "do you really wish to go through this again?"

Stoick looked to Florana, had a small thought, then replied, "I will."

Florana looked to Stoick, then sighed, with a small bit of annoyance, "Fine… go ahead."

"Thank you, my Maudra." Stoick bowed, before beginning to leave with the others.

As they left, Stoick let out a sad sigh.

"She's still mad about what happened, huh?" Gobber asked.

"She's always been mad at me," Stoick replied, "I felt so happy that I not only gained a wife, but a sister to support. But when I lost Valka, Florana has always blamed me for everything that happened… even refuses to have her only nephew take part in anything, something I keep failing to do…"

"Don't worry, Stoick," Gobber said, giving him comfort, "I'm sure that during this training, Hiccup will finally find a way to patch things through with you and your sister-in-law."

"I hope so," said Stoick, "I hope so…"

Depths of the Endless Forest, not far from the Castle of the Crystal

After a few good minutes or even hours of walking, Hiccup still couldn't see a dragon anywhere.

As he walked, he soon came up to a nearby ledge, and had a good look of the valleys ahead, hoping to catch perhaps a small glimpse of a dragon flying by or even nearing where he was.

Then, during his observation, he saw it.

The Castle of the Crystal.

The very castle that was home to the Skeksis, and to the Heart of Thra itself, the Crystal of Truth.

As he looked, he remembered coming to this ledge with his father, when he was very young.

Remembering about when Stoick told about the world they lived in and what layed out for them and the rest of Gelfling kind.

Many trine ago…

"Hiccup," Stoick said to a very young Hiccup, who was being carried by his father with one arm as he looked out to the valleys and fields across the land, "this is Thra. Our home, full of wonder and magic. It was the home of your grandparents, and their grandparents before them. It is our job, along with the other Gelfling and Maudras of each clan: the Vapra, us Stonewood, Spriton, Sifa, Grotten, Drenchen and Dousan, to protect our home, and one day, when you're older, that job will be passed on to you too."

"Okay." young Hiccup nodded.

"It's a big responsibility and it's very important," Stoick continued, as he pointed to the castle, "because, there, within the Skeksis' Castle, lies the Crystal of Truth. The very Heart of Thra itself."

"Wow!" Hiccup whisperdly said aloud, as he listened to his father.

"Aye," Stoick nodded, "that's right. Long ago, Mother Aughra watched over and protected the Crystal, for it is the source of all life of Thra, from the small Fizzgig, the optimistic and kind Podling…"

"Even the dragons, dad?" Hiccup asked.

"Even the dragons, Hiccup." Stoick replied, "Soon, during the time of peace, the Skeksis came to help Aughra and the Gelfling, soon, Mother Aughra entrusted the Skeksis to continue her job of protecting the Crystal, and over time, in exchange it became our job to protect the Lords."

Hiccup was amazed as he listened to his father as he continued.

"And Lords have been needing much protection to help in protecting the Crystal of Truth, as dragons wish to take it, and the power it contains, as their own." he said, young Hiccup looking a little nervous as he talked about the dragons. "For all we know, out there, beyond the barrier of our home, even as far beyond the Crystal Desert, lies the legendary home of the dragons. Only few Gelfling have ever found their way there, and told tales of dragons guarding the entrance to a hidden world."

Hiccup gasped a little of hearing this.

"Not just a nest, Hiccup, but a land where all dragons come."

"Even… Night Furies?" Hiccup nervously asked.

"Especially Night Furies." Stoick gave a small smile.

"Those are scary…" a shy Hiccup nervously chuckled.

"Don't you worry, son, one day I'll find the Hidden World, and seal it up," Stoick sadly sighed, "so that Gelfling and Dragons will fight no more…"

Present Day…

Hiccup remembered the proud words his father said as he looked onward at the fields and valleys he and his father did long ago.

Soon, he let out a small, sad sigh, as he headed downward to a different part of the forests, however, as he continued trekking, he couldn't seem to find any dragons anywhere.

Soon, after a good bit of walking, Hiccup soon came up to a clearing by a lake, where he put down his shield and then let out an annoyed sigh.

"'Some of us have the knack and some of us just don't'." Hiccup imitated Snotlout before impersonating his father, "'I know you want to prove yourself you're ready to take my mantle as captain, but now is not the time. And if not then when? Maybe next week? Month? Or another trine?'"

Hiccup then sighed and looked around one last time.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself, as he was about to walk over to get his shield and head home.

Then he heard it.

A dragon cry.

In an instant, Hiccup quickly grabbed his shield and hid behind several rocks.

As he took a good peak, he could see a dragon jump out from a bundle of trees, growling to see if anyone was there.

Hiccup looked and couldn't believe what he saw.

There, standing proudly but viciously, was a Night Fury, as it soon stopped glaring around and headed to the small lake for a drink.

"A Night Fury…" Hiccup quietly said in amazement, "Snotlout would go crazy. So would my dad. And Dogsbreath. And the Skeksis. And everyone."

Seeing this chance, Hiccup moved stealthy towards the Night Fury, hiding behind the rocks so it couldn't see him, until he finally reached behind the dragon.

Hiccup slowly walked to the dragon, and prepared to fire the bola net from his shield…

Until he stepped on a twig.

The dragon instantly and saw him, before letting out a small growl.

Hiccup locked onto the dragon and fired the bola net, unfortunately, the dragon pounced up, causing the net to miss, luckily, Hiccup ran out of the way and to grab hold of the net as the dragon landed where Hiccup originally was.

Hiccup then tossed the net… and it missed again.

"Oh c'mon!" Hiccup groaned.

The dragon growled again and chased Hiccup around the lake, until, just as it pounced again to pin down the Gelfling, the dragon stumbled over the net, getting itself caught.

Hiccup looked as he saw the dragon struggling to get out.

As the dragon continued, still stunned after what had happened, Hiccup quickly got out a dagger, and nervously pointed to the trapped beast.

The dragon continued to struggle to get out, until it gave up and slumped, seeing that it was caught.

Hiccup nervously stepped close to the dragon and looked at it.

"I… I did it…" he said, as a nervous, but proud smile came to him, "I actually did it! Yes!"

Hiccup then proudly stood on top of the dragon as he proud said, "I have brought down this mighty beas-"

His words were caught off guard, as the dragon shoved him away, making Hiccup realize that the dragon was still alive.

Hiccup looked to the dragon… as it then looked to him.

Nervous, Hiccup slowly brought the dagger into a position with the pointy tip in position to where the dragon's chest was.

"I… I'm gonna kill you, dragon…" Hiccup said, "I gonna… I'm going to cut out your heart and take it to my father…"

Hiccup whispered, "I'm a Stonewood warrior…" he then looked to the dragon as he yelled to it, "I'm a Stonewood Warrior!"

The dragon just looked at him, showing a small sign of fear, as Hiccup breathed, then raised his dagger for the kill, but as he did, he looked again to the frightened dragon, as he slowly began to hesitate.

"I can do this…" he muttered, trying to make the kill, "I can do this…"

The dragon, meanwhile, knowing it's fate was sealed, closed it's eyes and awaited it's end.

Hiccup tried to bring down the dagger, struggling… and struggling… until he gave in.

Hiccup then looked at the dragon, but soon, as he had a closer look, he seemed to see the dragon was not only frightened, but it felt like the dragon had it bad, small bruises on some parts of it's body.

"I did this…" Hiccup sadly said, feeling guilty that he trapped a frightened and hurt dragon, as he slowly began to walk away, but looked back… and decided to do the right thing.

The dragon meanwhile, still having it's eyes closed, waiting to meet Thra, suddenly heard rope getting cut, causing it's eyes as it stirred.

It looked to see Hiccup cutting the ropes, and as he finished cutting the last one, the Night Fury instantly got up and pinned the Gelfling at a nearby rock, as the Gelfling looked up, nervous and scared, as it looked at him with stern eyes.

It then opened its mouth, Hiccup fearing it was going to eat him… and the dragon instantly roared at him, before releasing him and rushed off to who knows where.

Hiccup remained on the ground for a bit, before getting up to see the dragon disappear, the Gelfling was downright stunned, nervous and scared of what had happened, and decided to head back home… only for him to faint after a few steps.

Much later, Hiccup regained consciousness as he looked around, then remembered what had happened with the dragon.

He had the chance to kill the dragon… yet he didn't.

The dragon had the chance to kill him… yet it didn't either.

As those thoughts rattled around his head, Hiccup headed back home.

Haddock Residence, a little later…

Hiccup returned home to see his father looking at the fire he had.

He looked a little nervous, worried he would get in trouble for being out when he wasn't, as he started to carefully head upstairs.

"Hiccup…"

His father's voice caught his attention.

"Dad," a little stunned Hiccup looked at his father, "Um… I need to talk to you, dad…"

"I need to speak with you too, son." Stoick also stated.

Both Haddocks took a deep breath as they said, simultaneously, "I decided I don't want to/I think it's time for you to/fight dragons."

"What?" they both said simultaneously as they looked at each other.

"You go first." Stoick gestured.

"No, no, you go first." Hiccup insisted.

Stoick took a deep breath as he looked to Hiccup, who looked a little nervous, "Alright. You get your wish. Dragon Training. You'll be heading to the Castle to start your lessons first thing tomorrow."

"Oh, man, I should've gone first!" Hiccup panicked a little, before saying to sugarcoat the situation, "Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know, we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Gelfling, but do we have enough... bread-making Gelfling, or small home repair Gelfling-?"

"You're going to need this." Stoick said, as he gave Hiccup a sword.

Hiccup stuttered a little before speaking out, "The truth is… I don't want to fight dragons."

"Come on. Yes, you do." Stoick chuckled.

Hiccup sighed as he tried to make it clear to his dad, "Rephrase: Dad, I can't kill dragons."

"But you will kill dragons." Stoick insisted.

"No, I'm really very extra sure that I won't." Hiccup continued to defend his choice.

"It's time, Hiccup." Stoick insisted in a serious tone, ignoring his son's words.

"Can you not hear me?!" Hiccup cried, only to look as his father calmly yet sternly look at him.

"This is serious, son," he said, "you said you wanted to prove you are ready to wield my mantle, this is your chance. Just know that when you carry this sword, you carry all of us with you. When you protect the Lords, you're helping them protect the Crystal of Truth. Meaning you would learn to walk, talk and think like us." he then gestured all of Hiccup, just as Gobber did before, "No more of… this."

"You just gestured to all of me…" Hiccup said, a little annoyed.

"Deal?" Stoick asked.

"This conversation is beginning to feel very one-sided." Hiccup argued, not liking how this was going.

"DEAL?" Stoick raised his voice to emphasize his point.

Hiccup just sighed in annoyance, as he looked to his dad and replied in a weak voice, "Deal."

"Good." Stoick said, as he then got his bag of supplies for his journey ahead, "Dogsbreath, his father and Gobber will help you out a little."

As he prepared to leave, he looked back at Hiccup and said, "Train hard. I'll be back. Probably."

"And I'll be here. Maybe." Hiccup replied, feeling unsure what he was going to do now, as well as wondering if his dad was going to come back when he saw his father leave through the door.

After he left, Hiccup headed back up to his room.

When he got to his desk, which was filled with design ideas and various other blueprints, as well as maps of Thra and even books, he began to do a bit of drawing.

After he finished, he looked at what he drew, showing the drawing to be of the Night Fury he had encountered.

He put it up on his desk and had a strong good look at the drawing of the dragon.

"I hope to see you again soon." he muttered hopefully.

Farout Cove, not far from the Deep Forest and not far from the Castle of the Crystal…

After leaving behind the young Gelfling it encountered, the Night Fury found a nice place to rest: a cove where it would be safe, with a lake that had plenty for it to drink some water and eat fish.

The Night Fury instantly approached the lake, and took a good drink of water.

Before looking up to the night sky, thinking about that Gelfling that let it go.

And began to wonder if it would see that Gelfling again…

Author's Note:

Another chapter done for this crossover no expected to see. Next time, we'll be seeing Astrid of the Vapra, along with a few other Gelfling, and then onward to Dragon Training at the Castle of the Crystal!

Until next time, True Believers!

Excelsior!