CHAPTER 2
The first night of the clansmeet was always Tengan's favorite. Her people prepared food using recipes collected from their neighboring tribes in the hopes of impressing the guests with flavors from home. After the feast, the gifts of knowledge or skill were presented around the glowing embers of the large fire pit in the center of the village. Each gift came with an accompanying story from those presenting it. This year she was lucky enough to avoid scribe duty. Those that had been chosen would meticulously record the gits and stories as they were told. Unburdened, she would be free to lose herself in the fantastic tales without worrying she had misquoted a phrase.
The following day, the visiting tribes would pursue their ever growing library and place requests for copies. Those copies would be crafted over the course of three to five days while short seminars and discussions would be held all over the village. Everything from fishing techniques to weapons demonstrations would occur. Anything new would be recorded and stored. Once the copies were completed the Feast of Farewell would be held before all departed. But tonight was for stories. Tonight was for dreaming. Tonight was for dragons.
Tengan sat straight backed next to her mother. Hiccup waved sheepishly at her across the firepit. She gave him a small wave back as her eyes traced to Toothless and Thorndo, who sat behind their riders with all the polite focus one would expect of a chief. In the dark, the Thunderdrum's hide glowed a deep sapphire, ivory teeth flashing with each spark. Toothless, on the other hand, all but disappeared in the gloom. His silhouette barely viable and green eyes seemed to hover a couple feet above the viking teens head. Every few moments or so they would blink out of existence before returning. Tengan had to admit to herself that the species name Night Fury seemed perfectly appropriate. As gentle as she knew the dragon to be after one day in his company, those eyes promised nothing short of death for those that threatened him or the boy sitting at his feet.
Tengan's wrenched her attention back to the ceremony as her mother stood and peered around at the gathered group. All whispers immediately ceased.
"Here we are again," Makra began, a wide warm smile tugging at her lips. " Another year, another clansmeet. I am thrilled to see you all on our shores. Each year we delight in hearing about all of your adventures. I can tell this year will reveal a few truly extraordinary chapters to add to our ever unrolling scroll known as history." She inclined her head to Stoick, who mirrored the gesture in return. "Now!" She continued, arms swept upwards towards the full moon. "Enough of my voice. Let the tales commence!"
A cheer accompanied by a collaboration of earthenware mugs, wineskins, tankards, and ale horns punched into the air. The two dragons arched their necks towards the sky, adding their roars to the din. A bolt of pure energy left Toothless' maw and fractured into a thousand points of light overhead. Several people sitting near the dragons flinced before the hurrahs reached a deafening level. Tengan could have sworn she saw Hiccup mouth something suspiciously close to "showoff".
The night danced by as tribe after tribe presented their gift and tale. The steadily growing pile of offerings included lists of recently discovered plants, hides of far off beats, journals of well traveled nomads, samples of preserved meats and fruits, improved farming equipment, and, Tengan found this particularly interesting, a collection of several glittering gemstones with a comprehensive list of the soil composition and geographical location of each one.
Each presenter made quite a show of their item before placing it gingerly before Makra and beginning their tale. While it was always an unspoken competition as to who could weave the most exciting yarn, it seemed this year everyone seemed desperate to capture the attention of those around them. Tengan couldn't blame them. It seemed everyone's eyes kept flicking to the dragons resting at the edge of the circle every few seconds. She even caught a few of the scribes hurriedly placing their quills back to their parchment after a short lapse in concentration. Her emotions sea-sawed between feeling bad for the presenters desperately trying to keep the attention of the crowd from slipping through their fingers like water, and growing impatience that the Berkians had not taken the stage yet. She was sure it was her mother's doing. To be fair, it would be rather cruel to have someone try to follow up on the tale of the newly formed Dragon Riders.
Finally, blessedly, it was time. Stoick stood smoothly with Hiccup scrambling to his feet moments later. For a moment, no one moved, no one blinked. The only audible sounds were the rumbling breaths of the dragons and the gentle crackling of the fire. In unison, almost as if they had practiced, the two pulled two items from their saddlebags. In Stoick's arm sat cradled a long, curved saber protected in a yakhide sheath. In Hiccup's an oiled tube of sealskin. Stoick took the lead, pointendly ignoring the rapt stares as he crossed the circle and pulled the blade free. The metal almost glowed in the light of the fire. Kneeling, the chief of berk presented the blade to Makara. "This sword has been tempered by the magnesium flames of a Deadly Nadder. It is of the hardest and sharpest blades ever crafted by my people."
Makara nodded and accepted the blade, taking a moment to peer at her reflection in the metal. Her dark brown skin glowed almost orange in its depths. "Thank you Stoick. I have yet to see its equal. It will be tested and all attributes recorded for all who wish to learn from it."
Stoick stood and took a step back before clapping Hiccup on the shoulder. The boy surged forward under the force of his father's blow and cleared his throat. "In this tube," he began, uncorking it "are the original schematics I invented to create Toothless' prosthetic tail fin." He unrolled the papers to show a collection of sketches accompanied by rows of figures and final measurements.
Makara's eyebrows rose ever so slightly. "A truly wonderful addition of knowledge. A unique invention. Thank you, Hiccup. I am sure I can speak for my people when I say these plans will be one of our more treasured additions."
Hiccup bowed his head slightly as he handed over the plans. He spared Tengan a shy smile, who sent back a subtle wink and thumbs up as he backed away.
Makara's smile softened. "Now Hiccup. I'm sure we all would love to hear the story of the Dragon Riders."
"Wha- me?!" Hiccup blanched and looked around quickly. Every pair of eyes were trained on him. Each quill poised to write, their owners quivering with anticipation. Hiccup spared a silent plea for help over his shoulder towards his father. Stoick sat cross-legged in his previous spot in front of Thornado. "Uh, Dad. Wouldn't you rather-"
"Go on, son." Stoick gestured lazily towards his son. "It's your tale, or tail as it were." He chuckled at his own pun.
Hiccup's eyes roamed over his traitorous father and back to Makara and Tengan. Both mother and daughter smiled and nodded ever so slightly. A silent bid to continue.
With a weary sigh Hiccup began his tale and everything in the present melted away before Tengan's eyes. Breathlessly she listened as Hiccup spoke, first haltingly, then with growing confidence, of the growing relationship he formed with Toothless. She could hear the guilt in his voice when he mentioned shooting Toothless down and discovering the importance of his tail. She could feel the anxiety that must have run through him as he told of how he hid his excursions to the cove and the triumph he must have felt as they successfully flew for the first time. She felt tears sting her eyes as Hiccup's voice dropped to barely above a whisper when they were found out and Toothless was torn from him, muzzled, and forced to lead the Berkians to the nest of the Red Death, the tyrant queen. Her voice joined the others in cheer as Hiccup recounted, quite humbly, as he convinced the other teens of the village to befriend and ride the remaining captive dragons to the lair to challenge the Red Death for their freedom. Hiccup seemed to avoid eye contact as he described the defeat of the Queen, emphasizing Toothless' prowess while diminishing his own role. He barely mentioned the loss of his leg in battle, something Tengan had heard warriors boast about for years after.
"And now everyone on Berk lives alongside the dragons now. We've even repurposed the arena into our Dragon Training Academy where we focus on learning as much as we can from them. It's been difficult but I couldn't imagine life without Toothless." As if on cue, the Night Fury stalked into the center of the circle, the black shape of his body detaching from the shadows of the night and into the firelight. His hard snout bumped up under the boy's arm, neck arching into the contact.
Makara inclined her head in a deep bow. "Thank you Hiccup. A copy of your tale will be recorded, illustrated, and given to you before your departure. You should have a copy of the historic moment you helped create." She brought her hands together in applause, breaking the tense silence that permeated the circle of bodies. Within moments the group erupted into cheers, many breaking to their feet to crowd around Hiccup and Stoick. Toothless and Thornado offered their voices to the din once more, seemingly pleased with the never ending stream of praises being sung in their direction.
Makara sank back into her seat next to Tengan and slung her arm over her daughter's shoulders. "Are you quite alright Little Scribe? You look at those dragons as a Custodian stares at their charges." she chucked.
Tengan stared unblinkingly at Hiccup and Toothless. Something had sparked within her the moment those two dragons descended to the shore that morning. Hiccup's tale had only fanned it into a burning flame, hotter than the one that lit the gathering. "Mother, a whole group of teenagers. Flying on dragonback. Learning about them. Bonding with them."
"What a wonderful time to be coming of age." Makara rubbed her daughter's shoulder, drawing her in for a one-armed embrace. "Even though it's only two years, I am going to miss you while you're on Berk."
Tengan's head whipped around so fast, she would have smashed into her mother's face if the older woman hadn't flinched back. "What?! You mean-"
"Why do you think Stoick and I spent so long parlaying in our tent today? I knew the moment I saw them over the horizon this morning you would want to go. Stoick knows of our traditions and is willing to let you complete your studies on Berk." Makara could not hide her grin, although Tengan noticed a glimmer of unshed tears in her mother's eyes.
"Mother…" the younger woman began. "That sounds wonderful. But, I can't leave now. Not so soon after Father."
"You can and you will." Makara stated with the authoritative tone usually reserved for chieftess duties. "I am not a spring foal who cannot untangle her legs. Of course I miss having your father here, as much as I will miss you, but he was always drawn to collecting obscure, far off bits of knowledge. If he returns to find you passed up this opportunity he'd never forgive either of us. In fact, I think he'd disown you. No offspring of his would forego a chance to learn the tools of dragon training."
Tengan sniffled slightly, her heart trying to figure out if it felt prematurely homesick or overwhelmingly excited. Unable to decide, she flung her arms around her mother's neck, allowing her mixed emotions to fall freely in her tears. "T-Thank you mother. I'll make you proud."
"You already do. Every day." Makara embraced her child tightly, fighting off the hovering knowledge of just how long two years is. Pulling away she first swiped her child's tears away with her thumb then her own. "Enough of this foolishness. We still have several days of preparation and festivities until you leave. Now why don't you go tell Hiccup you'll be joining them on the return journey. I believe Stoick was waiting for you to officially accept before filling him in."
Tengan swallowed and nodded, her lips stretching into a broad gin. Scrambling to her feet she bounded towards the throng, weaving and diving through the mass of her people and visiting vikings. "Hey, hey Hiccup! GUESS WHAT!?" Her heart soared as high as the embers leaping from the flames to join the stars in the night sky. She couldn't believe it. In a few days time she would be winging her way to Berk to learn the ways of the Dragon Riders!