Firstly, wow! Over 250 faves and 300 followers, as well as over 66,000 views. Thank you so much to all of you for your time and support. A HUGE thank you to everyone that reviewed/left comments for me. I read and respond to every one of them, and I love them all; the good and the bad. Thankfully there has been substantially more good responses than bad ones. I will keep reading and responding to them even after I move on to the next story, so to any newcomers, thank you as well. Some of the commments were so amazingly kind that they honestly brightened my entire week. There are reviews that I go back and read over again, just because they make even the most frustrating days of writing worth while.

There are others that I look forward to every single time that I upload a new chapter. Those faithful reviewers that I know I can count on, and I refresh my email until it begs for mercy, just so that I don't miss your take on the most recent update. Realizing that there are people out there waiting impatiently to read my work is more than I could have ever hoped for or imagined when I decided to publish this story. So, once again, thank you all so, so much.

As for the name of the Trilogy, I have decided to go with Dance of Power. I really like it, and it got the most votes. I was going to name every book 'something' of Power, but I just couldn't make it fit with the direction of the series. Still, Dance of Power will work just fine, even without every title matching it perfectly. Thank you to everyone that voted in this, whether your favourite won or not. Your input is greatly appreciated :D

*I would like to give a special shoutout to DeathKyle for his absolutely fantastic suggestion of 'The Ascension of the Mortal Gods'. Such a good name and I'm kind of sad that I'm not using it.

CB73: Ruff did almost blow a gasket, poor girl. Sparing can most certainly be foreplay, as long as no one suffers a life threatening injury due to severe distraction. Lol. Now the ladies are going to have to survive without their eye candy, as the Riders are leaving Midgard. Hopefully our vikings remember what they have witnessed, as the world is so, so much bigger, and far more dangerous, than they had ever imagined. Secrets will be revealed in due time, and I guess we will see how Astrid reacts. She is still yet to confront him about his night fury nature, after all...

Draconic king: Thank you so much for that. I have to admit, there are a fair amount of visually powerful scenes that I would love to see turned into a movie or graphic novel. If only I could draw better...lol

Guest 1: Thanks :) I'm glad you liked it. The answers will be explained soon enough. Patience young grasshopper. Lol. As for Hiccup and Astrid, I guess you will have to wait and see. Angst is kind of my thing, but am I really mean enough to do that to you... we'll see...

CheeseMuffinChizzit: Thanks for the vote, and I was actually going to do that. Unfortunately it is going to be Dance of Power, but not correlating titles for each book :(

Hiilikepie69: I loved Dance of Gods too. Hopefully you aren't too disappointed with Dance of Power instead.

OechsnerC: Thanks :)

Guest 2: Hi Star Trek idea guest! Your idea is still in my notebook of rough drafts! Lol. Dance of Power wins by popular demand, so thanks for your vote :)

CommanderGreya: Thanks for your vote. Dance of Power it is :)

Angryhenry: Thanks. It is similar to HTTK, but I really tried to make it my own. The initial idea is somewhat the same, but everything after that... I really wanted to make it so that fans of HttK would find a friend in this one, but still have the events and characters different enough that readers would have no idea just where this world is going to take them ;) Also, I promise I'll finish this one. All 3 of them. Lol

Guest 3: Sh4MEN17: Thank you so much. I'm glad you are enjoying it. Also, thank you for casting your vote towards the title of the series :)

Rainnnn: You're absolutely right. 'Ascension' fits perfectly with the first book. I really liked the idea of 'Ascension' for the fact that there are no book series with that name yet. Still, as the world progresses, I'm sure that you will find 'Dance of Power' makes just as much, if not more, sense. As for the fight scene, I loved it too. I just had to include something of the sort, but I did put my own spin on it. I happen to agree with Ilweran. How many of the vikings would really want to try and attack Hiccup after witnessing his little tantrum at the nest...lol. I'm sure Astrid will get her shots in on him one day too ;P

_

Their bags were packed and their dragons were ready. Toothless in particular was impatient to get back to the warm weather of Alfheim. Hiccup waited quietly as Astrid said a tearful goodbye to her family. Then he heard his father and Gobber approaching and went over to greet them. After embracing them both, he reminded them to use the feathers if they really needed to talk to him.

"Take care of yourself, son." His father's voice broke slightly with those words, but he held it together in front of the gathered crowd. Hiccup did feel sad about leaving them again, so soon after being reunited. There was nothing to be done for it though. Bríghid had been right. He had a great destiny ahead of him and he could not fulfill it from Berk. At least he was going to have Astrid with him from now on. This thought made him smile as he allowed his gaze to wander over to where she was still standing with her parents.

"I will be alright dad. I can clean up my own messes now and everything." This wrung a shaky chuckle out of Stoick as Gobber smiled at him with shining eyes. They clasped hands once more before Hiccup left to retrieve Astrid. "It is time to go," he said softly to her, placing one hand on her arm. She nodded and hugged everyone once more. Hiccup shook hands with her father and brothers before receiving a tight hug from her mother.

Astrid was still trying to stop the tears from flowing as they walked away. Hiccup placed one arm around her. Pulling her tight against his side as she looked up at him with a watery smile. A grateful sigh leaving her lips as she leaned into him. When they reached the dragons, it was to find Ilweran standing with Minden and Snotlout. Hiccup grinned menacingly at Snot as he allowed a hint of predatory darkness to shadow his eyes.

He took a moment to enjoy the way his cousin visibly flinched under his gaze, before delivering his warning. "You had better be good to her. Otherwise, I will personally hunt you down," he said, shooting a glance at Minden. The willowy blonde cackled wickedly and grinned up at him.

"I just love it when you get all protective of me, my delicious dark prince," she purred. Leaning up onto her toes to kiss him on the cheek as Hiccup wrapped his arms around her. Picking her up in a tight bear hug that she returned with a chuckle. All of them watching Snot turn a sickly sort of green. Gulping nervously as he looked back and forth between the two imposing Riders. Ilweran gave Snot a feral smile of his own that looked incredibly feline and dangerous. Hiccup could only assume that Ilweran had also just finished threatening the man.

After setting Minden back on her feet, Hiccup held his hand out to Snot with an easy grin. He gave a shaky nod as he took Hiccup's proffered hand in his own. Still, his handshake was firm and determined, and a small smile eventually tugged at the corner of his mouth as he met Hiccup's eyes again. "Take care cousin," he finally said.

"You too cousin," Hiccup nodded back, as Minden put a hand on Snot's shoulder. Astrid looked momentarily confused at this exchange, but then understanding sparked in her eyes. She looked at Minden with a knowing smile.

"You're not leaving with us, are you?" The other girl grinned slyly before replying.

"Nope. I feel that my vast and impressive skill set would be put to better use here. Someone needs to integrate all these unruly Vikings into this new dragon colony. Besides, I couldn't stand to leave Ruffnut all alone with these heathens." Astrid snorted loudly at this before hugging the girl tightly.

"I'm going to miss you so much, you crazy hot mess," she said with a laugh as they broke apart. "You're like the super awesome sister that I always wanted!"

Minden laughed again as she said, "aww, thanks hun! I feel exactly the same way about you girl and I'm so glad that we know each other! I'm going to miss you guys too! So much! Don't be strangers, okay? Come back and visit us as soon as you can; and I expect you to keep this one in line, or not. Personally I kind of prefer his dark side..." she chuckled as she gestured to Hiccup, who grinned wickedly back. Astrid agreed with a wink as the two girls hugged again. Just then, the rest of the gang made their way over. Cami positively launching herself at Ilweran.

Hiccup couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped him as Ilweran caught the petite blonde with a look of surprise on his face. Ignoring his discomfort, she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Nuzzling her face into the crook of his shoulder and mumbling that she would miss him. Ilweran's eyes strayed towards Hiccup's briefly, full of awkward confusion at what exactly he should do with the suddenly clingy female. When Hiccup simply shrugged and raised an eyebrow expectantly, Ilweran started laughing and finally hugged Cami back.

"I will miss you too, Tolipincë," he chuckled in his musical elvish. Spinning her around before placing her back on her feet and giving her a tender kiss on the cheek. Leaning back slightly and tugging on a loose strand of her hair as he purred, "that means 'my little doll', by the way." Cami's cheeks grew bright red as a huge smile split her full lips. Looking up into Ilweran's face as if she was about to jump him at any moment.

Laughing at the display, Hiccup drawled, "you know, I was originally kidding when I mentioned Astrid and I giving you tips, but now I think it probably should have been a serious offer, brother. How long has it been, exactly, since you last got laid? Honestly, if I did not already know better, I would think that you were a virgin." Astrid and Minden both burst out laughing at that.

"Oh, go fuck yourself Haddock," Ilweran chuckled lightly. Flipping his middle finger at his friend as Cami cackled beside him. Her face still slightly flushed as she clung to his arm. "Just because you are a dirty scoundrel with an insatiable thirst for physical release does not mean that we all are."

"I'm pretty sure that we are all just a bunch of dirty scoundrels," Minden laughed at her father. "At least we are still beautiful on the outside, my delicious hunk of man," she shot at Hiccup with a dark smirk.

"You got that right! Beautiful on the outside, filthy as they come on the inside," he quipped back with a wink of his own. Reaching out to bump his fist against Minden's as they both chuckled, Hiccup pulled Astrid tight against him. Looking down at her with a wicked grin. Wringing a slightly embarrassed chuckle out of her as she gazed up into his face with a dazed expression. He met her beautiful blue eyes for a moment before looking back at Ilweran and Cami.

Allowing his voice to drop into a sultry purr again, he teased, "you can play the gentleman all you want brother, but I am quite sure that you are just as filthy and thirsty as the rest of us. Maybe you should finally jump in. After all, it has been a long time, and the water is mighty fine..." With a devilish smirk, he winked at Cami. Making her blush even brighter scarlet as Minden snorted another laugh.

"As gross as it is to think about, I would have to agree with him. It has been eight years since mom died, and I'm not a kid anymore. You don't have to look after me and worry about me all the time. I can look after myself now, you know," the willowy blonde grinned at Ilweran. Cleverly making him sound like her overly-protective older brother, instead of her father. Ilweran just smiled gently back at her.

"They've got a point, brother. I'm with Hiccup on this. When a beautiful woman literally throws herself at you, you bloody well take the plunge. Don't make us give you 'the birds and the bees' talk right here and now," Eret joked as he punched Ilweran in the shoulder. Everyone dissolving into laughter again, including Ilweran, who just shrugged as he admitted defeat. Leaning down again, he pressed his lips to Cami's in a hungry kiss that left her eyes slightly crossed when he pulled away.

"There," he said with a joking scowl. "Are you perverts all happy now?" There was a chorus of "Hel yes!" from the group as everyone cheered.

Glancing around at the rest of their friends, Hiccup smirked widely when he saw that Eret and Heather were, finally, openly holding hands. "Speaking of the birds and the bees, I am going to assume that you do not need me to give you a ride home," he stated with a grin.

Eret grinned back widely and raised their joined hands to his lips. After placing a soft kiss on Heather's fingers, he said, "Funny, Haddock, and that is a hard no. Someone has to hang around to make sure that the Snotman is being good to our little sister here," he joked as he nudged Minden in the ribs, causing Snotlout to turn a delicate shade of green again as he warily eyed up the huge celt. "Once Windshear is all healed up, Heather and I are going to make a trip back home so she can meet the family. I'm going to try not to puke on her dragon the whole way there," he finished with a grimace.

Astrid perked up at this. "Where are you going to stay in the meantime? I thought men weren't allowed on Bog." Heather smiled at her happily.

"They aren't. I'm moving here. Fish and Ruff have offered us room in their lodge. Minden too. The Bog's only took me in after my parents died, so I don't really have a family tying me to any one place. Might as well start one here, and it seems we've got a pretty solid foundation already," she finished with a shrug. Her eyes positively glowing with happiness as she looked around at their group of friends. Hiccup was exceptionally glad for her. Having everyone around her would certainly help her work through the all-too-recent trauma, and she would come out better and stronger on the other side...

Ruff piped up then, intruding on his thoughts. "Ya, her and Minden are going to help ease my suffering heart, since you're ditching me for a boy and the great beyond," the female twin pouted at Astrid. Then her face split into a grin. "You can't seriously expect me to just spend all my time with my husband and my stupid brother!"

Tuffnut yelled "HEY!" and everyone started laughing. "I have other friends too," Tuff exclaimed as he crossed his arm huffily.

"Sure you do, stud muffin," Cami shot at Tuff with a grin. Then she looked over at Ruff. "I hope you have extra rooms in that hut of yours. I have a dragon now and I do not plan to spend the rest of my days without seeing you lot!"

Ruff grinned at her and said, "you know it!" Heather and Cami high-fiving at this as everyone laughed harder.

Then Heather sobered as she met the eyes of both Hiccup and Astrid in turn. "I just wanted to thank you both for all you did for me. It means a lot."

"Anytime" Hiccup said gently as Astrid hugged Heather again. Eret pulled Hiccup into a one armed hug, thumping him once on the back before letting him go. Then he pulled Ilweran in for a hug too.

"Gods, I'm going to miss you two. Take care brothers," Eret told Hiccup and Ilweran with a smile.

"You too brother," both of them replied at the same time, making Minden smirk at them.

"You guys are absolutely adorable," she joked. The whole group erupting into another round of laughter. Hiccup vaguely wondering how sore his ribs would be right now if he was still human. This is certainly a much more pleasant experience than when I left Midgard the first time, he thought to himself as he hugged Ruff and Fishlegs, before shaking hands with Tuff. Well, except for those nights with Astrid...

The male twin pulled him in close. Looking around conspiratorially as he whispered, "Uh, H? When you do come back, do you think you could bring me a cool mask like yours?" Ruff nodding her head in agreement beside them.

Rolling his eyes at the twins, Hiccup answered with a chuckle. "If you can manage to not destroy anything too overly important before I get back, then I will make you both one."

With a giddy squeal, Tuff cried, "bring it in for the real thing Hiccup!" Wrapping his arms around Hiccup's waist in a tight hug as Ruff pumped a gleeful fist in the air. Hiccup laughed and patted the top of Tuff's helmet. Then he added sternly, as he met two pairs of identical grey-blue eyes with his own green ones, "and believe me, I will know if you try to lie to me."

"Yes Master Lokison," they both said with a bow. Astrid shooting him a confused look at the display, as Hiccup just grinned and shrugged in response. After one more round of hugs, everyone stepped back to watch the bonded Riders mount their dragons. Hiccup and Ilweran bounding up with their unnatural grace while Astrid swung herself onto Stormfly with practiced skill.

Ilweran glanced down at Snotlout and Minden once more. Meeting Snot's gaze and stating quietly, "do not make me change my mind about killing you, young man." Tintallë turning her own bright yellow eyes on the stocky Viking with a low growl. Snot turned a startling shade of whitish-grey as Minden laughed and grinned at her father. Then, with one last wave, they took off into the sky. Toothless gliding in close to Stormfly so that Hiccup could talk to Astrid. Ilweran and Tintallë swooping in on the other side.

"Now I know that we are supposed to take you straight to Asgard and present you to the Council. You are supposed to be approved for training by them before you can visit the other realms. I am not going to do that, though. We are going to be making a stop in Alfheim first so that you can rest for a few days before you have to face the Order. I would prefer if you did not mention it to the Council, though I will not stop you from doing so. They cannot really punish me anyways."

Astrid looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean, they can't punish you. Aren't you technically a soldier that is breaking rank by taking me to Alfheim first?"

Hiccup just shrugged at her. "I have never sworn an oath of fealty to the Order and am therefore not really required to follow all of their silly little rules to the letter." When she gaped at him in shock, he explained. "First bonded night fury rider in existence with nearly unlimited powers. You think they were going to pass that up just because I did not want to officially join their party? Not a chance. Technically I am a mercenary employed by the Order." At this, Astrid turned in her saddle to peer at Ilweran.

He offered her a small shrug too. "I am also technically a mercenary, as I too never swore the fealty oath." It was Hiccup's turn to gape in shock. Ilweran laughed. "I never mentioned it because I did not know that you were not sworn in either. Us mercenaries tend to keep our true positions in the ranks quiet, do we not? As the only bonded rider for many years that could travel between all the realms, I felt that my advantages were too numerous to hand over control to someone else. Much like you it would seem. The Order just had to deal with it, and mom backed me up."

Hiccup allowed this with a chuckle. No wonder he and Ilweran got along so well. Two rebels, choosing to control their own destinies. "No wonder Odin hates us human Riders so much. Apparently we really are just a couple of rogue misfits with trust issues," he laughed, and Ilweran grinned back. "That settles it then. Are you up for a stop in Alfheim first, Astrid?"

She pretended to ponder this for a moment before grinning widely at them. "Of course I'm up for it! Let's go meet some elves!"

"Technically, you already have," Ilweran deadpanned.

"Yep, and poor Cami will never be the same again," Astrid quipped back at him. Ilweran flashed her a smug smirk as they all laughed.

"I am sure she will get over me, my dear. I am not THAT good of a kisser," he chuckled easily as Astrid laughed even harder. Making their way south towards the gate to Bifröst, Hiccup smiled inwardly at just how much his world had changed for the better in such a short time. Berk had accepted the dragons. He had reconnected with his mate and she had become a bonded Rider. They had destroyed the Red Death. Then Ilweran had revealed himself to be a fellow mercenary, which meant that Hiccup didn't need to lie to him anymore. Ilweran did not owe any loyalty to the Order or Odin.

Still with a stupid grin on his face and a surprisingly positive outlook for the future, he ran his thoughts by Toothless. "It seems that I will now have some time to figure out a way to keep Astrid from swearing the fealty oath too. Perhaps Ilweran may even be of some help in this matter. I could use both of their help in our plans, really." Huffing out a sigh, Hiccup tried to envision bringing up all of the things he would have to say. Admittedly, he was not looking forward to explaining his oddities to either of them, but they would find out eventually anyways.

"I guess this means that I will have to sit down and have a rather uncomfortable talk with Ilweran. He has been a good friend, and he deserves the truth about some things, after all. He trusts me, and it's about time that I start returning some of that trust. Mainly though, he deserves to finally know just what the heck I really am. I don't want to keep lying to him now that I know there's no need to."

"Indeed brother, you should tell him. He really is like family to us, both him and Minden, and I trust Ilweran completely. Not to mention that it would be nice to not have to pretend to be normal around him all the time. Although I'm quite sure that he already has a pretty good idea just how weird you are," came Toothless' cackled reply.

"Thanks bud. I love you too," Hiccup drawled back with a chuckle.

Toothless warbled at him, before rasping a chuckle of his own. "Speaking of uncomfortable conversations, I can't wait until Astrid finds out about Cuithanna..."

"Don't remind me, bud! At least there's absolutely no possibility of them meeting before Samhain, so that buys me a little time. Let's just get her settled in Alfheim and approved by the Council before she murders me; and it's not funny!" Hiccup groaned as his blood brother kept laughing at him. It seemed the only real certainty was that his life was about to get much more exciting, and much more complicated. Gods help him...

The End

For Now...

_

Short and sweet end to the story. Minden, Eret, and Heather are all staying on Berk. Hiccup and Ilweran have now recognized each other as what they are... rebel mercenaries, and Astrid is about to get her first taste of the bigger world. Do you think Ilweran will be able to help with Hiccup's hopes of keeping Astrid from swearing an oath to Odin or the Order? How do you think Astrid is going to react when she finds out about Cuithanna?

I know that it is over now, but there are still two more books in this trilogy. I am already 8/9 chapters into the second one, and it is starting off fast. Reading over what I have already completely written, as well as the point form notes for the rest of it, I have come to 2 conclusions.

Firstly: The second book gets substantially grittier, faster, and darker. As we delve more into Hiccup's past, navigate the twisted politics of the realms, and our characters begin to fulfill their destinies, there is only one certainty. The lines are getting far more blurred...

Second: I may need therapy for some issues... lol. This story is starting to feel like the graphic imagery from a dark rock playlist, and I am not entirely certain what that says about me :P Oh well. When you are at the off-leash dog park, sometimes you just have to set your inner monster loose and let it run free...

After this trilogy is complete, I will likely be joining Minden at Sadists Anonymous to deal with my demons... lmao

I am not going to change the status of this story to complete right away, as I will be posting a sneak peak into book 2 at some point here. So I guess you all will just have to stay tuned. I won't tell you when it will be posted. I'll just surprise you with it one day ;P