A/N: Congrats if you're still with me! This first chapter will hopefully answer some of your questions. It takes place a few months before Race to the Edge, and it will take several chapters to actually get into the show. Once it does, I'll only include the stuff I feel is important like plot scenes and Snotlout episodes. If there is an episode you really want me to include, let me know and I'll see if I can work it in. Otherwise I'll try to include as much original content as possible.

Chapter 1: Princess Eira of Torvald

Princess Eira waved to the cheering crowd. The day had finally arrived. This was the day she left Torvald for Berk and began a new adventure. A new life. Everyone was here to see her off, and she saw a mixture of joy and sadness in the faces. Swiftwings stood beside her, basking in the attention.

Eira looked back at her family to see similar expressions on their faces. They had already said their goodbyes. She did not know when she would see them again, but they promised she would be there when her brother Haldor became king.

It was a bittersweet feeling. She loved her family and did not want to leave, but she knew it was what she had to do. It was her destiny. So, with her head held high, she started down the path laid out for her and Swiftwings. There was no turning back now.

Her retainer Asmund waited for her by the dock with his Changewing Ripplemist. Her father insisted she could not travel to Berk alone, so she agreed to journey with Asmund. She liked him. The 31-year-old was strong and protective but also quiet and willing to leave her alone when she asked for it.

"Ready to depart, princess?" Asmund said, his expression unreadable.

Eira offered him a small smile. "Yes, thank you. But you need to stop calling me things like 'princess' and 'my lady.' I'm not telling anyone on Berk I'm royalty, remember? It'll be better that way." It was honestly something she looked forward to. She could not wait to meet people who saw her for her and not her title.

Asmund dipped his head. "Of course, my lady - I mean, Eira."

She smiled again and then climbed onto Swiftwings' back. The vikings on the ship next to them waved. As a sign of goodwill, King Birger had sent a peace offering to Berk and a trade proposition. Plus, the ship carried the supplies and gold Eira and Asmund would need to start their new lives.

"Remember, we cannot fly too far ahead of the ship until the last day," Asmund said, now mounted on Ripplemist. "It's a long trip."

"I know, I know," she said. "Now let's go!"

Swiftwings and Ripplemist shot up into the air. Eira gave the cheering crowd one last wave before turning her dragon and starting off across the horizon.

One Week Later. Berk.

Dragon riders. Even as Hiccup spotted them in the distance, he could still hardly believe it. He and his friends had took to their air with their own dragons to investigate a report that two dragon riders not from Berk were flying their way. He could just make out the shapes of the riders: a young female and an older male. He did not recognize the species of the dragons.

Hiccup looked left and right at his friends. "We do not know if they're friend or foe. We're just going to surround them and find out what they want."

"I say we catch them by surprise and attack," Snotlout said. "We know there no other good guys with dragons."

"That we know of," Astrid said, shooting him a look. "We don't want to scare off any potential allies."'

"What if they're spies?" said Ruffnut.

"Yeah," said Tuffnut. "Or what if they're enslaving the dragons with their minds?"

"That's not possible," Fishlegs said. He shot Hiccup a nervous glance. "Is it?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Of course it's not."

"There are five of us and two of them," Hiccup said. "If worst comes to worst, we have the advantage."

"I just think we need to show them who's in charge here," said Snotlout.

Hiccup shook his head. "We're only surrounding them. Now."

Thankfully, there were no other complains as Toothless and Hiccup led the group forward. The foreign dragon riders seemed to notice them and remained in the same spot in the air. Hiccup noted that the girl had long, red hair and appeared around his own age. She rode a dragon he did not recognize. The man with black, scraggy hair and beard appeared too old to be her brother and too young to be her father. His dragon was clearly a Changewing. The girl smiled even as they surrounded them while the man remained stoic.

"Greetings from Berk," Hiccup said in his most authoritative voice. "I am Horrendous Haddock III, and this is my partner, Toothless." He meant to say more, but the girl gasped upon laying eyes on Toothless.

"A Night Fury?" she said with awe and admiration. "I haven't seen one of those in years!"

"You've seen another Night Fury?" Hiccup said. And she was not afraid?

The girl continued to stare at Toothless in wonder. "Once when I was a little girl. Yours is magnificent."

"Er, thank you. We need-"

"We need you to you to fess up!" Tuffnut said loudly as he and his sister flew Barf and Belch right in front of the girl. "You're using mind control on your dragons, aren't you?"

The girl's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Pardon me?"

"Hey, leave her alone!" Snotlout said, flying Hookfang right up next to the Hideous Zippleback. "Stop talking nonsense."

Ruffnut glared at him. "What happened to showing them who's boss?"

"Clearly she's not a threat."

Hiccup had been wondering about the sudden change of attitude as well, but he understood when the girl smiled gratefully at Snotlout and he grinned back at her. He decided it was not worth delving into. He finally focused on the male dragon rider and caught his eyes.

"May we explain why we have made this visit?" he said in a calm on controlled manner.

"Yes, please," said Hiccup.

"My name is Asmund, and my companion is Eira. We hail from the land of Torvald."

"Torvald?" said Astrid. "I've never heard of it."

"Neither have I," said Fishlegs.

"We have traveled east for one week," continued Asmund. "We are here to make peace. As you can see, both of our homelands care for dragons, which means we have a lot in common."

Hiccup had to admit the two dragons did look well cared for. Still, that did not mean they could automatically trust them. "That does not explain why you have traveled from so far away."

"We do have a good reason," said Eira. "May we speak to your chief so we don't have to repeat ourselves?"

Hiccup nod. "My dad's the chief. I'll go get him." He turned to Astrid. "Find a safe place to land, and we'll catch up to you."

Astrid nodded. "Got it."

Hiccup's thoughts whirled as he flew back to Berk. Were there really other vikings who had made peace with dragons? If so, why show themselves now? Were they really allies? He thought it too soon to entertain the hope of what he wanted to be true.

As soon as Toothless landed in front of the Great Hall, Hiccup jumped off his back and ran inside. Stoic had been talking animatedly with Gobber about something, but he turned to address his son when he entered.

"We have visitors," Hiccup said. "Asmund and Eira from Torvald."

Stoic's jaw dropped. "Torvald? I thought that place was a myth!"

"May I ask what type of dragons those are?" Fishlegs said, looking at Eira.

The group had landed on the beach, and the dragon riders of Berk stood in a semi-circle facing the two newcomers. Each had a dragon at their side.

"Swiftwings is a Windwalker," Eira said with a smile, rubbing the neck of the pale red dragon. "Tidal class."

Fishlegs' eyebrows rose. "Really? She looks like she'd be more agile in the air than water."

"She is, but she can channel electricity through her body like other tidal class dragons. And she produces blasts of water."

"What good does that do?" Snotlout scoffed. "Fire is way more powerful than water." He gestured to Hookfang for emphasis.

Eira shrugged. "In terms of destructiveness, sure. But that power can be as much a liability as an asset. Plus, going head to head, water beats fire." She crossed her arms and smirked.

"She's got you pegged," Astrid teased.

Snotlout ignored her and focused on Eira. He liked the way she had looked him straight on and answered without backing down. He was curious to see how well she could fight and work with her dragon.

"Your Monstrous Nightmare is very impressive, by the way," Eira said as she walked up to Hookfang and stared into his eyes. "What's his name?"

"Hookfang," Snotlout said proudly. Then he felt stupid when he realized he had failed to introduce himself. "And I'm Snotlout."

Eira smiled but kept her eyes on the dragon. "It's nice to meet both of you." She reached out her hand.

Snotlout's eyes widened when he realized her intent. "I wouldn't-"

But he had no need to worry. Eira rubbed under Hookfang's chin, and he relaxed into her hand like a cat. It looked like she really did know what she was doing when it came to dragons.

"Hey, Snotlout!" Ruffnut said loudly. "I think your dragon likes her more than he likes you."

Snotlout frowned. "That's not true!" He shot Hookfang a look to tell him to act up, but he ignored him as usual.

Eira chuckled. "I just know dragons. I've been around them my whole life. But a Monstrous Nightmare won't tolerate anyone it doesn't like, and to win its loyalty is very impressive." She smiled at Snotlout.

He smiled right back at her. He was surprised she actually defended him, but it felt good. "Beautiful and smart."

She blushed and looked down. Astrid rolled her eyes. That go Asmund didn't look too happy either.

Before Snotlout had a chance to say anything else, Hiccup and Toothless returned with Chief Stoick, who immediately introduced himself to Eira and Asmund.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with us, Chief," Eira said as she bowed. "I am Eira, and I was sent here by my people. Asmund here is my caretaker. We hail from the land of Torvald."

"Torvald?" said Tuffnut. "What's a Torvald?"

"My father told me stories about Torvald," Stoick said, scratching his beard. "According to legend, the people of Torvald were one with Berk 250 years ago, but they rebelled and broke off, settling far away."

Eira gave him a cryptic smile. "That's not exactly how we tell the story." She paused as she looked around at the group. "Did you know there was a time when vikings and dragons were at peace with each other?"

Everyone stared at her in shock. "Vikings and dragons have always been at war," said Hiccup. "Until recently."

"Our histories say nothing about peace with dragons," Stoick agreed.

"History is often written by the victors of a war," said Asmund. "In this case - the vikings of Berk."

Eira nodded. "Even before the settlement of Berk, it was more common to work with dragons than against them. There were even dragon riders. But hunters rose in numbers, causing dragons to react defensively and become distrustful of humans. Vikings sensed the change and became defensive and hostile in return."

"A vicious cycle," Asmund muttered.

"Then what happened?" asked Hiccup.

"Our ancestors disagreed on how to deal with the dragons," Eira said. "Yours wanted to wage an all out war, but mine sought peace. Instead of creating a civil war, my ancestors decided to break off and find their own land. And they did."

"Torvald," said Stoick.

"Right. Along the way, they gathered vikings from other villages who loved dragons. Now Torvald is comprised of four villages that have their own chiefs and a monarchy that holds them together."

"Do all of you ride dragons?" Astrid asked.

"Some of us do. All of us grew up knowing dragons and interact peacefully with wild ones."

"That doesn't explain why you're here," Ruffnut said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah," said Tuffnut. "It sounds like your ancestors just ran away."

"They did what they thought was best," Eira said in a steady voice. "Whether it was right or wrong is irrelevant now. I am here because we never forgot where we came from. It has long been foretold that there would come a time when vikings would once again accept dragons. We were taught to wait for the sign that at least one other land has begun riding dragons and then send someone who could forge an alliance and spread peace throughout the world."

"That's a very big goal," Stoick said.

"But it sounds wonderful!" said Fishlegs.

Eira smiled slightly. "It's not something that will be achieved right away. It may take a lifetime. But I am here to exchange information and help you take on those who threaten dragons - and perhaps win them over."

"But we haven't dealt with dragon hunters or any other type of danger for a long time," Hiccup said.

Eira's smile faded. "Believe me, they will come. For years Torvald lived in isolation, but attacks by hunters have increased. Once it is widely known you train dragons, they will come for you. Let me work with you and help you. Together, we can make the world a better place for dragons and vikings."

"I'll work with you," Snotlout said. He paused and looked at the other dragon riders. "We are going to accept her, aren't we?"

"Whether you accept her as a dragon rider I will leave to Hiccup," said Stoick. "As for me, I see no reason to deny your request to stay on Berk - after I speak with Asmund in private."

Asmund dipped his head. "Of course, sir."

Hiccup nodded at his father and then turned to Eira. "We can discuss specifics later. For now, let's find a place for you and Swiftwings to rest. You must be tired after your journey."

Eira smiled. "Yes, thank you."

"Thank you for letting me stay here," Eira said later that evening. Hiccup had offered to let her sleep in his bedroom while he and Asmund took the room downstairs along with Swiftwings and Ripplemist.

"It's no problem," Hiccup said. "You're our guest, and we're happy to have you here."

Eira smiled. She liked the amiable way he presented himself. He did not fit the stereotypical image of the chief's son, and that knowledge made her feel a little less alone. "I'm happy to be here. You don't know how much it means to me that Berk has finally accepted dragons again."

"And it means a lot to us that there are other dragon riders out there." He offered her a small smile. "We thought we were alone."

"We don't have to be alone anymore. It only gets better from here."

Hiccup nodded. "I hope so. You'll like the other dragon riders once you get to know them. I'm sorry if some of them came off a little... abrasive."

"No, it's fine. I like them and their dragons." And she meant it. She was used to everyone treating her with friendliness and politeness. It was refreshing to be treated like a normal person. She looked forward to making friends the regular way.

"Good. Well, I'll let you get some sleep. Good night, Eira. We'll talk in the morning."

"Good night, Hiccup."

The young princess lay on the bed but did not immediately sleep. She stared up at the ceiling as she daydreamed about what was to come. Everything had fallen into place, and now she could begin to live her destiny!