Chapter I

Autumn Night

Rattled by a quick succession of flashes from his window and series of thunderclaps, Hiccup awoke gasping from a deep sleep. As a Viking and Dragon Rider, sleeping soundly was dangerous, and rare. Yawning off the grogginess weighing him down, Hiccup called out softly.

"Toothless? You awake too?"

A purr of lazy alertness greeted his ears as two piercing green eyes and a great shadow rose up across his room. Hiccup smiled happily, it had been three years since he'd shot the night fury from the sky, befriended the dragon, and began exploring and training other dragons on the archipelago along with his fellow riders. Often of late, they'd embarked on rescue missions; saving dragons from hunters or others seeking to profit from dragons' unique powers.

Thunder rattled Hiccup's teeth, then a series of blue flashes flittered from his window. Hiccup started counting the seconds for the answering thunder in order to judge how many miles away the lighting had struck. However, only silence ensued. Toothless' eyes widened and Hiccup's heart skipped a beat. It felt wrong.

"Come on bud, let's check this out quick."

Slipping into his armor within minutes and tossing his satchel over his back, Hiccup slipped his prosthetic foot into the stirrup meant to control his dragon's prosthetic wing. Toothless shot through his window and straight into the brisk autumn night.

"Huh, no rain… or wind for that matter. Let's take a spin around Berk."

Toothless floated around the village, swooping back and forth between houses and over fields. Only a quiet and peaceful landscape greeted them as a pink dawn broke across the horizon. Hiccup squinted into the distance, up on the hillside two figures stood silhouetted next to a two-headed dragon.

"Good Morning Ruffnut, Tuffnut… and Barf and Belch" Hiccup greeted the twins and their dragon as he slid off Toothless to join them in watching the dawn.

"This morning is not a good morning, Hiccup. It is a travesty. It is a nightmare. And woe be to those who caused it" Tuffnut declared defiantly and dropped to his knees.

"Ugh… alright. What's wrong?" Hiccup inquired.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut, his fellow riders and friends who had decided a couple years back to devote themselves to Loki and consequently caused general mayhem ever since were either the most ridiculous or most genius people he knew. Hiccup was expecting one of Tuffnut's usual over-dramatic responses. Instead, Tuffnut just looked at Hiccup with tears welling up in his eyes.

"Chicken is gone. We spent the past couple hours trying to track her down, but no luck" Ruffnut offered with due severity.

Chicken, Tuffnut's beloved pet, rarely left his side and often provided sage advice. How that was done, only Thor knows.

"Gone?!" Tuffnut gawked, "Taken! She was taken, Hiccup. And not only my dear chicken, but we didn't spot as single sheep or cattle on the island either."

"It could finally be that the desire for a tasty sheep and yak were too great" Ruffnut pondered, "however, this morning has something sinister painted all over it."

"What?" Hiccup sputtered, his brain racing and piecing the news into place. His night watch had been eerie and quiet – too quiet and too calm. The usual chorus of dragon snores, bleating sheep, and crowing roosters hadn't greeted the dawn.

"How? The dragons would never steal the sheep – or choose to leave the humans they've bonded with" Hiccup declared.

"We found this," Ruffnut slid a cloth out of her pocket, "it was snagged on the door of the great hall."

"It's plaid" Hiccup muttered studying the complex lines of blue and red, outlined in green, "it's a Scottish plaid."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Tuffnut interjected, "lets ready the ships – let's go to war!"

"Hiccup!" a distance shout tinged with worry came from the down the hillside from the fiercest and most remarkable woman he knew, Astrid.

"I can't find her" Astrid gasped, "I can't find Stormfly… and I'm not the only one out looking for my dragon. All the dragons who tend to sleep outdoors have completely disappeared!"

Hiccup's gut dropped and the crisp air rippled goosebumps across his skin. He laid his hand on Astrid's shoulder, clutched the plaid tight in his other hand, and looked her straight in the eye, "I believe Berk's dragons and livestock were taken. We're going to get them back. We're going to get Stormfly and Chicken back. Let's get ready for battle."