Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

Chapter Three – Revelations

Toothless-Hiccup landed on the grass after executing a flawless twisting figure-of-eight, if they said so themselves (1). The watching students applauded, so it must have looked just as impressive from down here. "Thanks! Of course, that trick is more for showing off, but it could be used to keep your attacker from getting a clear shot. The downside is that you need a lot of energy do do it."

*I could do that trick ten times in a row and not get tired* Toothless boasted.

Hiccup was tempted to make a quip about how he didn't want to throw up, but then had a better idea. "Go on, then" he prompted, dismounting. "Impress us."

The dragon's ear-flaps went back as he realised he'd been caught out. *…I would, but I don't want to distract anyone* he declared, waving his tail at the now sniggering class of dragon-riders. Hiccup suppressed a grin and remarked, "It wouldn't be a distraction. It would be a learning opportunity. Besides, I'd like to see you do it. I never get to see you fly – y'know, cos usually I'm riding you."

Hiccup was stalking him without words. He had two choices; attempt to pull off the dizzying manoeuvre as many times as he could in a row, or admit that he couldn't do it. Toothless hesitated, but in the end he slumped and confessed *Fine. I lied. I couldn't really do that ten times in a row…happy now?* he grumbled at Hiccup, rather annoyed at being tricked and cornered like this.

His other half smiled and scratched him under the chin, which made up for a lot. "The moral of the story is to know your limits – or at least make sure you can back your bragging up." They laughed. "Now as I was saying, saving your dragons strength is the most important thing. Especially for aerial combat. First, let's go over some air-to-ground basics. How do you approach a target?"

One of them promptly answered "Keep changing angles so you're harder to hit and spend as little time as you can lining up for a shot. Oh, and work together if you have wingmen" she added quickly, "by watching each other's backs."

"Exactly. Teamwork is key; and so is altitude. It keeps you out of range of enemy fire, so if you get the chance, get higher. If you can't, use speed. Trade them for one another; you'll go faster if you dive to build up speed and level out, but you need to be careful not to make yourself a target. Different dragons have different capabilities; work with your partner to figure out what you can do."

*The teamwork is between dragon and rider, not just the others in your wing* Toothless added. *You've got to listen to each other. Trust us, we know.*

"Why do we need to know all this combat stuff anyway?" someone asked. "I mean if Berk gets attacked, can't Urchin just blast 'em all with his ice breath?"

Hiccup gave the speaker a disapproving look. "I'd prefer to avoid that outcome. Look, you might not ever have to use these moves for real – in fact, I hope you don't – but it's better to know the skills and not need them than to need them and not have them. We are Vikings, after all; the day we don't end up in a fight is the day after Ragnarok is over." There was a chorus of chuckles at that.

"Right, where were we? Aerial combat. Four rules to remember; one, altitude is your friend. Two, if you can't get higher, go faster. Three, make sure you have the advantage before you attack. Four, turn towards the threat. And remember, if you're out of their range, they're not a threat, but they might be a threat to anyone fighting alongside you. So watch each other's backs" Hiccup insisted.

One student questioned, "Wouldn't turning towards the enemy make you more of a target?"

"You'd be a target either way" he pointed out, "but less so when you keep an eye on their position, especially if they're in the air with you. That's why we drill you guys on covering for your dragons; so they can focus on watching where they're going, whilst you watch for the attacker. Speaking of which, Toothless and I are gonna demonstrate a problem you really don't wanna get into."

He swung into the saddle again and they flew up and out. When they'd gone far enough Toothless roared a signal and Shadow joined them. The two Swift-Wings started jockeying for position, cutting each other off, firing blasts aimed not to strike but to disorientate, and narrowly avoiding crashing into each other. Finally Toothless broke away and dived, just barely dodging another fireball.

He and Hiccup glided down and landed back on the sea stacks. Wiping his brow, Hiccup explained "The more evenly matched you are with your attacker, the more likely that is to happen. It's tiring for your dragon, and the first one to break away will be vulnerable to an attack from behind. The good news is that there are ways to disengage without putting yourself at even more risk.

"You can either spiral upwards until they break off, if they can't climb as well – Singetails are good example of this. Or better yet, spiral downwards to build up speed. I'm sure I don't need to point out why you need to spiral, right?"

"To keep the enemy from getting a clear shot."

"Exactly. So, we need two teams; Team A will be on the offence, and Team B on defence. You'll have a 'target' on the other team to tag with the red paint…and by the way, thank you for not splattering it all over yourselves already like the last lot did" Hiccup added. The riders and dragons alike sniggered. Once they'd established who was chasing who, Toothless roared and they took to the air.

It was a good chasing game, and competitive enough that the teenage riders did not easily get bored. The only rule was to not cause direct harm to your fellow students. Pursuer and pursued changed whenever the opportunity arose. Getting a rest meant hiding; after all, in a real battle on the wing ones enemy wouldn't let up, hence why saving ones strength for flight was so important.

Eventually they returned to the stacks, covered in paint, some more than others. "Well done, all of you" Hiccup praised. He picked out the three dragons who were least tired, and the least paint-soaked. "Hegri, Mette, Valdar, I've got another challenge for you, if you're up for it" he told them. Of course they were

…then he casually said "We'll give you a five second head start. Five, four…"

Firethorn, Rain Dancer and Whiptail scrambled to get back in the air. Hiccup grinned, and Toothless lashed his tail in excitement. They were good at this.

"Three, two…one!" They leapt off the cliff and plummeted to gather speed. With thoughtless movements, Hiccup flicked the tail-fin open to keep them from striking the ocean. They surged across the waves, wanting to scream in delight at the rush of it but holding back. It would not be good hunting to warn their quarry they were coming, and then the game would end too quickly.

*What d'you think, bud; you wanna go easy on 'em?* asked Hiccup, as they climbed up to be level with the fleeing dragons. Toothless glanced back at him, eye glinting with mischief. *Yeah, me neither. Let's see what they've got!*

The Fire-Scale and two Spike-Tails suddenly split up, darting away so Toothless could not catch all of them at once. Hiccup was pleased to see the riders had remembered those lessons about evasion. He and Toothless went after Firethorn first; the larger dragon was not as fast. They soon caught up with him and Hegri, who yelled at the sight of them and urged his dragon to go faster.

But rather than dive or jink away, Firethorn panicked and burst into flames, trying to intimidate them. Unfortunately they were used to Hookfang, so Toothless simply overtook them, flipped round and glided back the other way upside down, as Hiccup reached down and tagged Hegri. "You're out!"

Mette and Valdar gave more of a challenge, guiding their dragons into the maze of sea stacks and rocky columns. Rather than waste energy catching up, Toothless-Hiccup took shortcuts to where they knew the others would emerge and tagged them there. Then Mette caught on and started trying to chase then instead; they let her and Rain Dancer get close before finishing off with them.

At last the four dragons landed once more on solid ground. "Good work, guys – argh!" Hiccup yelled, throwing his arms up over his face as they pelted him with the last of their paint. Toothless' wing was soon covered in the stuff. "Okay, yeah, we probably deserved that. Seriously, though, you've all done well. Now let's wash this paint off, go back to Berk, and get something to eat, okay?"

When Hiccup and Toothless got home, they found Astrid outside the Great Hall talking to Isak. Whilst his dragon went to greet Frelsari, Hiccup walked over to his wife. "Good afternoon, milady" he smiled, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Hello, Isak. I didn't know you were coming to Berk" he remarked curiously.

"It wasn't planned. I was sent to warn you that several villages along the coast had been raided this spring just gone, but it seems you've already got things well in hand" Isak explained. His brow furrowed as he admitted "I still can't believe Adulfr told you what his tribe was doing, of his own free will at that."

"You're not the only one. Still, I think he is trying to change. Maybe not for the best reasons, but it's better than nothing." Hiccup hesitated, tempted to ask something, but thought better of it. "How have things been at Smoking Bay?"

Isak's expression sobered. "Oh…I'm afraid I have some bad news. This last winter was particularly rough. Ormar stayed out in the cold too long and grew sick…he's passed away" he revealed. Hiccup was dismayed; he'd liked Ormar. Not for the first time he regretted trying to fake his death that one time; it had stopped him from visiting their allies more often. That needed to change.

"Oh…um, thanks for telling me" he nodded slowly. Astrid squeezed his shoulder, and Toothless nuzzled his hand comfortingly, returned to his side as always.

"It is a shame. Chief Ragnar was reminded of his own age; he's been making plans to pass the mantle onto his son, apparently, so that will be…interesting."

"….Well, Ormar was his father's right hand man. Maybe you could be the same for him" Astrid suggested. "Besides, he'll have Ingrid to keep him straight."

"Ah – that reminds me. Where did I put that thing?" Isak searched through his pockets, and then Frelsari's saddlebag, until he found a scroll. "An invitation" he said by way of explanation, handing it to Astrid. She unfurled it; it proved to be a letter inviting them to Mikel and Ingrid's wedding the following autumn.

"They're getting married? That's great news!" Astrid grinned. "Good for them!"

"We'll be there" Hiccup said promptly. Astrid looked at him closely and noticed his expression – guilt. She could guess what for. The second he noticed her eyeing him, it was replaced with faux-confusion. "What? It's a free feast!"

Shaking her head at him, Astrid told Isak "Tell them thank you for the invite, and we'll do our best to be there. As for you", she turned to her husband, "if the only reason you want to go is for the food, then I suggest you go get some. You must be starving. How did class go, anyway? Did anything blow up?" she asked.

"Not this time. But yeah, I'm starving. I'm gonna go find something to eat."

Soon Hiccup was sitting in the Hall with a plate of food, which in true Berkian fashion didn't look edible but somehow was, and Toothless was happily digging into a barrel of fish. He wondered how much fish they had stored and whether it would be enough to get through the winter, thought about his designs for a way to keep or even farm live fish like he was sure he'd heard about before…

"Mind if I join you?" Isak's voice cut into his reverie. Hiccup startled slightly and nodded. The older man climbed over the bench on the other side of the table and sat down. "Chief Astrid told me that you're allied with the king of Norway. And that the previous king is now dead" he explained, raising an eyebrow.

"That wasn't my fault."

"I never said it was."

"…Didn't Astrid tell you what happened?"

"I haven't been here that long. And she said you were there when it happened."

*We were in the sky when it happened* replied Toothless. *Not 'there'.*

Hiccup asked "Okay, wait, how much has Astrid told you?"

"Just that you were offered an alliance by King Harald, that turned out to be a ploy. He wanted to use your dragons to conquer England for some reason."

"I don't get that part" Hiccup sighed. "I mean, I disagree with conquering on principle, but what happened to doing it the old fashioned way?" he asked. Isak just kept looking at him expectantly, so he continued. "His herald, Hugo, turned to our side and Harald tried to kill him as a traitor…so his dragon killed Harald. There was nothing we could do. I'm just glad it didn't start another war."

"Hmm. And the English king?"

"Oh, he wanted help defending from Normandy. I managed to sort it out peacefully…mostly. The duke's daughter is marrying the king's son, now."

Isak raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, merely had a drink. "Turning enemies into allies" he mused. "You're like no man I've ever met, Hiccup Haddock."

"I'll just take that as a compliment" Hiccup responded dryly. He took a drink himself and debated for a few seconds whether he should bring the topic up…

He decided to risk. "Isak, can I ask a favour?"

"Perhaps. Depends what it is."

Hiccup took a deep breath and explained "You don't have to, but I was thinking…maybe if you talked to Adulfr, explained why you don't hate me anymore…you don't, right?" he asked half-jokingly, but it felt awkward.

"If I did, I'd be rather a fool to tell you" Isak pointed out.

Toothless snarled at him. *You'd better not* he warned, pupils slit.

"I was kidding. Is he always like this?" Isak inquired of Hiccup, who nodded.

*I don't trust you* the dragon said bluntly. *Maybe because you tried to sell us into slavery* he added with a scornful glare, lids hooded and fangs bared.

"What? Toothless, c'mon, that was four years ago; and he apologised already!"

"He's right" Isak cut in, "There's no excuse for what I did. I was angry and in pain, and I took it out on you because you were there. I don't blame you for not trusting me, Toothless. I probably wouldn't trust me either, given all that.*

Hiccup said firmly, "I've forgiven you. I don't hold grudges; and I wish you wouldn't, either" he informed Toothless, looking into the dragons eyes. "I know you're just trying to protect me, but we need to make friends, not enemies. Besides, if you hold a grudge against every single person I get on the nerves of, that's going to be a list longer than your tail" Hiccup pointed out with a smile.

That smile is in Toothless' eyes as he croons a soft apology. *You're right. I'm sorry, Isak. If Hiccup trusts you…I should try to trust you as well* he decided.

Isak inclined his head. "Apology accepted. Now, what were you saying?"

"Oh, err…I thought it might help if you told Adulfr why you changed your mind about me. And dragons. So he knows he's not the only one. But it's not a big deal" Hiccup said hastily. "I know you have good reason to dislike him."

There was a long pause…but at last Isak decided "It's worth a shot, I suppose. I'll try and be civil, so long as he does the same. I assume he'll be in the cells?"

"I think he might be with Fishlegs. We'll find him; oh, but first, let me get my plate cleared" said Hiccup. He placed it out of reach and whistled; straight away, several Biters descended and lapped up every last crumb and sliver, leaving only the bone that the chicken had been on. Then they landed on him purring gratitude, and wouldn't go away until he'd pet them and said they're welcome.

Adulfr was indeed on the cliffs with Fishlegs. "Hi Hiccup" the second man greeted politely. "Hi…Isak? What are you doing here?" he asked, puzzled.

"Well, I did come to warn you about the kidnappings but it appears that's all well in hand" Isak explained wryly. Fishlegs looked at Hiccup, questioning.

"Adulfr, you remember Isak, right?" Hiccup asked instead. The two men eyed each other warily, as Hiccup and Fishlegs waited nervously for either to speak.

Finally, Adulfr shrugged dismissively. "You look familiar" he commented.

"My brother and I joined your army the first time you tried to invade here" Isak explained, hands unconsciously clenching into fists. "He didn't come back."

An annoyed scoff. "If you're here to tell me that I'm a wretched person and that you'll never forgive me, you'd be wasting your breath. The blacksmith beat you to it" Adulfr revealed. He turned away from them and returned to staring out at the horizon, towards the west, towards home. Closed off and guarded as ever.

Hiccup winced and quickly explained "Isak…disliked me and dragons for sort of the same reasons as you, and he changed his mind, so I thought it might help if you could talk to someone who gets it….and isn't a Berkian" he added in a sudden burst of clarity. Adulfr had made it no secret how little he cared for Hiccup's people; they annoyed him, with all their strange little idiosyncrasies.

"That's a good idea" Fishlegs agreed. "We should give you some privacy…oh, Hiccup, can you help Aegir? He's been trying to think-speak, but it's not going so well" he explained, before confessing "Actually I'm not sure it's going at all."

"Sure" Hiccup agreed at once. "Um, so. Good luck" he said to Isak, "Sari, make sure they don't kill each other, please…" Fishlegs gave the key to Adulfr's cell to Isak for safekeeping; he and Hiccup mounted up and leapt off the cliff, winging their way down to the village. Frelsari looked from his human to the other, obediently watching to see if either leapt to the attack, purring curiously.

Once Hiccup was well out of earshot, Adulfr remarked "I have no idea what good he expects to come of this. Not every problem can be solved with talking."

Isak was somewhat inclined to agree, but he didn't want to admit it, so he stayed silent. Adulfr went on, "Still, I suppose it would be nice to talk to someone who isn't one of them – I swear, everyone on this island is insane."

It was too easy. Isak couldn't resist. "Does that include you?" he asked. Just as he thought, Adulfr scowled indignantly at him. Don't take him too personally Hiccup had warned. He's always in a bad mood. Not that I can blame him…

The scowl quickly reduced to a mere frown, as Adulfr sulked. "It must do."

Isak was starting to regret agreeing to help; he just didn't know what to say. First he needed some answers. "Hiccup wants me to tell you why I changed my mind about him. But what I want to know is, why did you change yours?"

Adulfr tensed. His frown deepened, as if it might become permanent. "Because. If I killed him, or his precious dragon, these people would kill me" he replied.

"Ah. So you're afraid" Isak noted. Adulfr glared at him, but there was no real heat in it.

"I'm not afraid. It's just not worth it, alright? If there was something to gain…"

"Like freedom? The chief told me you nearly had your tribesmen kill Toothless and smuggle you off Berk, and yet instead you warned him about it. Why?"

"That's none of your business."

Isak shrugged. "If you say so. Come on, Frelsari, we know when we're" –

"Wait!" Adulfr blurted out. He cursed under his breath at himself, and reluctantly admitted, "I've been working all my life to be worthy." Of what, he didn't say. "Hiccup Haddock does the right thing, and the gods, or fate, whatever you want to call it – it favours him. He has been given the respect and power that I had to take by force, so easily, even if it is mostly going to waste."

"So I told myself…if he proved that he was truly not the man I thought, if he kept his word…then I would tell him the truth. I am trying to do the right thing, even if I hardly know what the right thing is anymore, because if it's the only way I can be worthy of respect, of…love" Adulfr said in a strangled voice. "Then I'm willing to try whatever it takes." He glared at the man, challenging. "Well?"

Nodding slowly, Isak revealed "There's no great secret to why I changed my mind. I believed your lies about the Dragon Whisperer…and then I discovered I was wrong. I had forgotten the old saying – 'holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to choke on it' (2)." He looked Adulfr straight in the eye and declared, "That's why I changed. Because I was wrong."

Adulfr glared at him. Put on edge by the aggressive staring, Frelsari snarled a warning. At that, the younger man turned away, grimaced in frustration. He kicked at a pebble, sent it tumbling over the cliff. "It's not that easy for me."

Or perhaps you make it hard thought Isak. Before he could voice this retort, Adulfr said "Why…." And gestured at Frelsari. "You went from wanting nothing to do with dragons to riding one" he summed up. "What happened?"

What, indeed? "Hiccup proved to me, in a way even I could not dismiss, that dragons are no mere beasts. They are intelligent as us. Besides, Frelsari and I saved each other's lives. That sort of thing does tend to form a bond, as I understand it" he quipped, raising a hand to the Fire-Scale, who pressed his scaly snout against bare skin with as much gentleness as one of his hounds.

There was more than that, which Isak wouldn't say. When he'd returned to Smoking Bay with Frelsari, trying to figure out where to put the dragon, some of his fellow former soldiers had approached him. They told him that this dragon was the one that killed Hafni. He'd confronted Frelsari, and learned it was true. He'd seen red, snatching up the nearest weapon and raising it above his head…

What stayed his hand was Frel's reaction. Instead of snarling, or flaming up, or swatting Isak aside with a claw, the Fire-Scale had flattened himself to the ground at Isak's feet. He'd whimpered, saying he was sorry and a bad dragon and if it made Isak feel better then go ahead and kill him…He couldn't do it. Not something so dishonourable. He'd tossed the axe aside and just asked, "Why?"

Hafni had killed his brother; had stunned Leysan with a dragon root arrow and slain him without the chance to fight back. So Frelsari had not given the human a chance to fight back either. The two of them had grieved together, finding camaraderie in shared mourning, and agreed that if they'd failed to save their brothers then they should protect each other in Hafni and Leysan's stead.

Isak wouldn't reveal something so personal to Adulfr, however. Still, it did make him wonder… "Haven't the riders tried to prove to you that their dragons are sentient?" he questioned. It seemed like the first thing they should have done.

Adulfr turned away. "It's been offered" he shrugged, "but I…that would just make them worse, if you ask me."

"How so?"

"Because…well, think about it!" he snapped, annoyed. "When wolves prey on sheep, that's bad, of course, but it's not like they know any better. If dragons can think like us, and they destroy anyway – that makes them less than beasts, it, it makes them…"

"Monsters?" Isak cut in. "The same could be said for us. Perhaps you just don't want to admit that all the dragons you and yours have hunted were innocent people."

The younger man scowled at him, petulant. Before Adulfr could make some retort, however, a purple Terror landed on his shoulder. "Agh! Gettoff!" he yelled, swatting the little creature away. It screeched and flew in circles, fluttering back and forth like a demented, overgrown butterfly. "Stupid pest keeps coming over…he used to belong to – to someone I hired once."

The Terror appeared to forget Adulfr had struck it and perched on his other shoulder. The sight of him flailing to dislodge his unwanted passenger was quite amusing, and Isak chuckled. That earned him a glare. "You could help, you know!"

"Does he have a name?"

"His last owner called him Leo. Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Adulfr said in quick succession, trying in vain to prise Leo's claws off his arm. "Shoo! Get off!"

Isak whistled sharply. "Leo, here boy!" he called, rubbing his fingers together as if he might have a treat. The Terror promptly flew over to investigate. Isak didn't really have any food, and for a moment it looked like Leo would return to pestering Adulfr. To help, Frelsari hacked up a gob of half-eaten fish from his crop, and the miniature dragon seemed happy enough to devour that instead.

"Thanks, Frelsari" Isak said gratefully, even if he was a bit disgusted. Adulfr, meanwhile, was glaring at Leo and his unpleasant choice of meal as if both personally offended him. "I've heard that a dragon chooses you as much as you choose them. Perhaps that is what had happened here" Isak suggested.

"I don't want this dragon" Adulfr insisted, waving a hand at Leo. Then his own words caught up with him. "What am I saying? I don't want any dragon!"

"Well, too bad, because this dragon seems to want you" Isak remarked, as Leo finished eating the fish and promptly went back to trying to cuddle up to a man who wanted nothing to do with him. It was odd behaviour, even for a Terror. They weren't the smartest of dragons, but they could usually tell when they weren't welcome. Unless Leo knew, and was just ignoring that fact entirely.

Frustrated, Adulfr snapped "Leo, leave me alone!" That, at last, the Terror responded to. Briefly he crouched whimpering, eyes big and pleading. When this failed to move Adulfr, the tiny reptile made an aggrieved noise and flounced away in midair. "Good riddance" Adulfr grumbled. "I never thought I'd say this, but can you please lock me back in my cell before he comes back?" he asked.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was trying to teach Aegir to think-speak. Not such an easy task, when no one had really taught him. Even when he let Aegir hear thought-speak, Toothless hadn't been able to give any better advice than to decide what you want to say and then will it to be heard. *I'm sorry, alright?* he grumbled, flicking an ear-flap in irritation. *Hiccup, maybe you're the only human who-*

"No" Hiccup denied, "I can't be the only human who can think-speak, Toothless. It doesn't make sense. If other people can hear thought-speak, then surely they can do it themselves." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You must have some idea. You're used to talking without having to open your mouth…uh, no offence" he winced apologetically. Aegir just shrugged, taking it in stride.

*I'm sorry…it's just hard to explain* Toothless said apologetically. *It comes more naturally to us; it's not that we're used to talk with our jaws closed. I can gape and still think-speak* he pointed out, doing just that. *Humans don't know how to project their thoughts with just their minds; they need to say things out loud with their voices. It's different for you, Aegir, because you can't speak.*

That did give Hiccup an idea, though. "Okay, how about this. Try mouthing the words you want to project; we'll look away, so we can't cheat and lip read" he suggested to Aegir. The little boy nodded. When their backs were turned, he mouthed 'hello' over and over, trying to make it audible. He didn't have his own voice, so he imagined his dad saying it. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this!

Alas, despite his best efforts, it was still for naught. Aegir felt tears prick at his eyes, frustrated by the lack of progress. It wasn't fair! He really wanted to be able to think-speak. To not be ignored, to get his friends attention without having to whistle first…to be almost normal. "Oh no, don't cry" Hiccup murmured, rubbing his back. "You'll get it. This sort of thing just isn't easy."

Sulking, he grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled, 'It is for you'. He felt bad for it when Hiccup looked hurt, and wrote 'sorry'. "It's okay. I'm not being a very good teacher…" Hiccup trailed off, and stared at the runes. Slowly his eyes widened. Most people thought in their own voice, but Aegir was born mute, he didn't have a voice to think in… "Aegir, how do you think?" he asked randomly.

Dragon and boy looked at each other in confusion. *No, I have no idea what he means either* Toothless informed Aegir, shrugging.

"What I mean is, when you're thinking, do you…hear someone else's voice, or see words, or…what does it look like, in your head?" he tried to explain better.

Aegir realised what Hiccup was asking. He wrote 'I think of what people say in their voice. Or I see runes like this'. Then he looked at the man questioningly.

"Okay" Hiccup nodded, "okay, we'll try one more thing, and if it doesn't work we'll have a break" he decided. Aegir nodded and gave a thumbs up. "Great. Okay, imagine writing your thought on a piece of parchment, and holding it up to show me. Just shove it right in my face…metaphorically speaking" he added.

It sort of made sense, so Aegir pictured writing 'HELLO' in the biggest runes he could and holding it up to show Hiccup. He intended for Hiccup to see the word.

*HELLO.*

Hiccup gasped. Toothless' ear-flaps pricked up. Aegir stared at them both.

"You did it…" A smile slowly grew on Hiccup's lips. "Aegir, you did it! You thought-spoke…it was 'hello', wasn't it?" he checked, just to be sure. The little boy nodded, eyes wide. "I could see it in my minds eye, like you really had shoved parchment in my face" Hiccup chuckled. "Oh, but this is incredible. I knew you could do it" he grinned. "Just wait till your dad finds out about this!"

Aegir beamed, practically bouncing in his seat. *Thank you* he managed to project. Hiccup replied *You're welcome* and winked at him. Aegir rushed off to find his adoptive father, rushed back to grab the parchment and pencil just in case, and scampered off again. Hiccup was pleased; after all the battles and subterfuge he'd been dealing with, it was nice to have things go right for once.

The ship rocked in the swell, buffeted by the waves he'd ordered two of the wretched creatures to pull it through. He wished he didn't need them; the dragons were mere tools, but accursed ones. As he worked, Grimmel prayed for forgiveness and understanding from the Lord. He knew well that it was a sin to associate with the hellbeasts, but he only did it to prevent a greater evil still.

He'd been a young man – it seemed a lifetime ago – when he'd first encountered the Demoneaters. He'd been in Syria, accompanying a battalion of Roman soldiers fighting against the Muslims (3). Grimmel was there only to help drive away the dragons in those lands; even at the tender age of twenty, he'd gained a reputation for being a ruthless, efficient, and skilful hunter.

When he saw the heavy-set, devilish red and black monsters hunt and devour one of those burrowing Sand Wraiths, Grimmel felt as if God had sent him a vision. The best way to eradicate dragons was with other dragons, so long as those other dragons were under the control of men. He'd heard there was someone from Africa doing the same thing, but their paths had not crossed.

It had taken a long time to find a way to make the beasts placid and easy to command. Grimmel did not have the patience to train their aggressiveness out of them – besides, he needed that ferocity for when he set them loose on their own kind. So he'd turned to alchemy. At last he devised a potion made of dragon root and dragon nip, that dulled dragons and made them compliant. (4)

He'd still needed to teach them to obey even the simplest of orders, like 'Stay' and 'Pull', and most importantly, 'Attack'. Grimmel knew in his bones that all of it – all the self-loathing, all the curses from those who thought him cursed by the Devil as well – would be worth it. If he spent his days, however many the Lord might grant him, ridding the world of Satan's taint, it would not be in vain.

Grimmel's thoughts were only on Constantinople, and thus Syria, because he'd worked briefly with Harald Hardrada. The commander of the Varangian Guard was now the king of Norway, and Grimmel might be able to curry favour with him. Surely, a man like Hardrada would want nothing to do with the demons infesting his country, and would welcome Grimmel's aid in ridding it of them.

"Your majesty, please, be reasonable." So implored one of Magnus' advisors, for what felt like the thousandth instance. It was becoming quite tiresome, really.

Closing his eyes briefly as if to pray for patience, Magnus turned to the speaker and remarked "I don't see how I'm being unreasonable. Can you elaborate?"

The old man spoke with patronising obsequiousness. "Your majesty, with all due respect, you have only taken the throne recently after the tragic death of your father. The ruling of a kingdom is a heavy burden on your young shoulders; we merely want to ensure your reign is smooth and unchallenged, but I'm afraid you are making it rather….difficult, with all these 'reforms' you wish to have."

These men had been his father's advisors before him; Magnus secretly doubted that they truly had his best interests at heart, never mind the kingdom. "That's not what I asked" he retorted impatiently. "I asked you in what way am I being unreasonable? All I did was insist on the freeing of every thrall across Norway, and to have more dragon mail outposts built. Both of which are possible."

Leinhart, another of his so-called 'advisors', protested "Your majesty, please try to understand, it is not that simple. Who would work the fields and quarry stone, if the thralls are freed, and what could we pay them with? You wish to uproot centuries of tradition; and as for the dragons, having more of them around would be a disaster. Your vassals would never accept the demons in" –

Magnus lost patience. "If my vassals want to complain, they can come and tell me that themselves" he declared firmly. "There's work to be done regardless of who does it; and we don't need silver, dragon-scales will suffice. A single one of Black Fire's scutes would be worth as much as two merkes of gold" he said.

They argued further, but Magnus' mind was decided. "I'm going to visit every single province if I have to, and persuade each jarl of this idea. We can't keep doing the same things as before. The world is changing, and we must be willing to change alongside it. Now, if none of you have useful things to suggest, then I suggest you retire to your chambers and rest" he declared imperiously.

Displeased, but respectful, they bowed and left his presence. Magnus sighed. Suddenly he wanted to escape the fort and his duties for a while, and just fly.

(1) The manoeuvre is a Cuban Eight but I changed the name since I'm pretty sure the Vikings never went to Cuba. America, yes. Cuba, not so much.

(2) This exact phrase might not have been around at the time, but variants of it have probably always existed since humans have been holding grudges.

(3) This refers to the Byzantine-Syrian war in 1030-1032; aka the Eastern Roman Empire. Grimmel is from Ukraine, and Drago from North Africa.

(4) The effects of the root and nip cancel each other out; instead of getting completely relaxed or completely aggressive, the dragon is left in a haze.