Chapter 19: In A Little Village Up North
The outside world, outside the archipelago, Hiccup had always dreamed of what it would be like. It was a world that vikings have not interacted with for centuries. There was only a few books on what the outside world was like. It was a new world with civilizations and places to explore. Hiccup had dreamed that he would one day explore or at least see the new world. Hiccup would have never imagined that this would be the first thing that he would be doing in the new world.
"I want answers and you're going to tell me them," Hiccup ordered. The viking chief of Berk was sitting on top Toothless. The alpha dragon was hanging precariously off a mountain cliff, hovering above another viking who was clinging on top of the cliffside for his life.
After days of tracking down the mystery of the missing dragons, Hiccup's instincts lead him outside the archipelago. Excited for a new adventure never seen before, Hiccup and Toothless eagerly flew through the mist that separated the archipelago and the new world. But the only thing they found was death and destruction. Hiccup had come across three villages so far or at least what's left of them. Nearly everything was burnt to a crisp and everything else that wasn't, was hacked and slashed beyond recognition.
Days after Hiccup found a camp filled with Lava Louts and among them were the missing dragons. In the darkness of the night Toothless and Hiccup snuck into the camp and whisked away the viking in charge of the camp. The other dragons had noticed but being the Guardian of Fire had it perks as Hiccup commanded them to do nothing. The power and the responsibilities were granted by Ragnarok the God of dragons and time. Along with stewardship over the dragons, Hiccup was tasked to guard the gems of Fire and Ice. The gems were the keys that created portals to and from Asgard, the home of the Norse Gods.
"Hah! What's there to say?" the viking said laughing off his dire situations. The Viking swung his leg wildly in an attempt to climb up but stopped halfway through the motion. On the one hand he could fall to his death but on the other hand he could climb up to an angry dragon that was ready to burn him down until he was mere ashes.
"What happened to Chief Scoria?" Hiccup asked, " He was chief months ago but now he is gone and with his brother taking over as chief."
"He was killed because he was weak. We have dragons now! We should be ruling the world, and yet our chief would have us stay in the archipelago doing nothing!"
"The trade for dragons was peace!" Hiccup dangerously whispered.
"Words of a naive child. Dragons are power and power will always be used. Chief Basaltin realizes this. He tried to convince his brother but he refused. In the end Chief Basaltin had no choice but to kill his own brother."
"Why must there be blood shed? The only future that it leads to is death." Hiccup said.
"You are asking why water is wet, why fire must burn. War for Vikings is in are nature. It is in our past, it will be our future, and it is now.
"People can change," Hiccup said. Stoick the Vast, Hiccup's father was the prime example, granted it took something quite spectacular for Stoick to change his mind but Hiccup managed to do it.
"Hah! That's rich and what about the Bogs Burglar what about their nature?"
"What are you talking about?" Hiccup said, surprised by the pivot.
"The Bog Burglars have been awfully quiet since your little treaty was signed. One of our scout spotted the wench and her kin one day and followed her. The Bog burglars broke the treaty first. Instead of raiding other Vikings, they have taken it upon themselves to raiding the outside world. Why should they be allowed to have all the fun?"
"Why didn't the Lava Louts come to me about the Bog's?" Hiccup asked
"And again what would the fun be in that?" The Viking asked.
Hiccup couldn't believe how unmoving these Vikings were. It would seems Hiccup would have to think of a more proactive way to watch over the Vikings. But first Hiccup needed to stop the bleeding.
"By command of Chief Hiccup, keeper of "The Dragon and Viking treaty" I order you to take the Lava Louts back home and I will deal with the Bogs Burglars."
"Hah, it's too for that now little chief. Chief Basaltin is in charge now and neither he nor the Lava Louts will ever bow down to someone so weak ever again!"
With no more words to trade, Hiccup mounted Toothless and took off leaving the Viking helpless on top of the mountain.
OoOoO
Chop* chop* chop*.
Elewynn with great reluctance lifted the axe above her head and swung downwards, splitting the piece of wood in half. Pushing the two pieces aside the daughter of the village chief picked up another firewood and repeated the process.
Her father's great idea for punishing her for running off into the woods by herself to fight trees was to take away her sword, give her an axe and make her cut wood.
Wiping the sweat off the top of her brows, Elewynn picked up the scattered chopped wood and placed them in the wood shed. Having completed the task, Elewynn ran to the front of the house eager to see the dragon fighting stranger once more.
Elewynn's home was a quaint little village. Wooden houses of freshly cut and clean wooden houses, the village had only been settled in less than a century which was only beat by its population of slightly over a hundred. Houses were scatted generously around the area with little consideration for a larger population. In spite of this everyone knew everyone. As she ran around the perimeter of the house Elewynn could see her fellow villagers carry on with their day. With each person Elewynn could easily name them and describe the type of person that they were.
At the wooden house next door, Elewynn could see Jack and John arguing once more. Jack was the local lumber jack who Elewynn always called the scuffled man for his large beard and clothes that would always be covered in wooden shedding. Jack the scuffled would always be working or arguing and in this case, it was arguing with the local elder John.
John being the oldest man in the village, lived out his days with nothing to do. He would always pursue little projects to keep himself busy. Unfortunately these little projects would be too much for him and would always end in him bothering and involving other people.
Elewynn couldn't hear what they were arguing about but she already knew that it was about getting more wood to build a new shed for John's home. Everyone knew. This little village was certainly a settlement of peace and no secrets.
Running up to the front door, Elewynn stopped short as a large man was blocking her path to the front door.
"Ah Elewynn, finished with you punishment already?" the man said while laughing.
"Yes uncle but I do not see why you are laughing."
"Well I do always say that you have developed your mother's sense of humor. Ah no matter, how is the cut on your arm? Has it been healing properly? Have you been getting clean bandages?" her uncle asked.
"Better, yes and yes, are you here to see our guest? Is he getting better?" Elewynn asked eager to meet and talk to her dragon fighting saviour and their new guest.
"Yes and remarkably yes," the uncle replied as he opened the door and let Elewynn enter first,
"His armour protected him very well from fire and weapons. When the man saved you in the forest he must have collapsed from exhaustion and not from any fatal wounds. All I had to do was clean his wounds and slap on a few bandages. He should waking up in a few days.
"If you say so uncle!" Elewynn said cheerily as she closed the door behind them.
The house was cozy and the largest building in the village. As the chief's house it would naturally be large in order to accommodate any gatherings. At the centre of the building was the largest room for when people gathered. The back and upstairs was where the private living areas and rooms were held.
Heading towards the back, Elewynn followed her uncle to where their guest was placed in the guest room. The room without a window was lit by a single candle. The bed was pushed to the very back of the wall where a brown haired man laid still just as he was the day before and the day before that.
"He's still sleeping," Elewynn said pouting and disappointed.
"Patience little one, the healing process takes time and should not be rushed," Elewynn's uncle explained.
Elewynn watched as the young man's chest raised and lowered. His armour was removed in order for her uncle to properly treat his wounds. The sound of his breath was weak but audible. Two pretty gems sparkled as it laid on top of his chest, one a radiant red and one a brilliant azure blue.
"Uncle, how come you didn't take off the pretty necklaces uncle?" Elewynn asked.
"I'm sure they are very important to this young man. The last thing we need is for him to have a heart attack right after waking up to find them missing. Im sure he will be very surprised as it is when he wakes up," the uncle said with a sigh, "I argued with your father that this was no way to treat a guest and a rescuer of his own daughter but he is a cautious man and he is the chief of the village so there was no arguing with him.
"Run along now little niece. I need to change his bandages and your father would kill me if i were to blemish your innocence. The gathering should be starting up soon so you should go attend that," the uncle said. Before Elewynn could argue the uncle gently pushed the little girl out the door and closed the door behind her.
Pouting Elewynn stomped off back to the front of the house.
A few minutes ago the gathering room was empty but now was a different story as a few people have already made themselves comfortable in their seats. Slowly more and more people entered the chief's home. It was time another meeting.
Feeling a soft hand on her shoulder, Elewynn swivelled her head to see her mother grab onto her hand. Being lead to their spot next to her father's seat, Elewynn sat at her spot next to her mother. Taking a few slow breaths, Elewynn's mind was completely focused on reigning down her youthful energy and mustering her self control.
As the chief's daughter Elewynn was given the privilege of observing the meeting provided that she acted like an an adult. It would seem unfair to Elewynn as occasionally the adults would get into childish shouting matches but Elewynn was not given that luxury. One mistake and she would be barred from the meeting until she was an actual adult.
The concept and purpose of village meeting was simple. It was chance for people to bring their concerns and problems to the village chief. Whether it was to settle disputes or to discuss new projects and logistics, it was during this time every month when people gathered. Leading the process was the village chief Geiroor, his wife Idaluna and their daughter Elewynn as an observer.
More minutes past and more residents of their humble village past through the doors of her home. The center fire pit was ignited by his father a properly lit up the room. Taking his seat next to his family the village meeting began. The hot topic this month was dragons and vikings.
"Really? We are still talking about this fairy tale rubbish," an elderly man said.
"It's not a fairy tale anymore," Chief Geiroor said, "At the very least the viking threat is very real. Multiple villages and settlements don't randomly go up into smoke."
"That still does not mean they have dragons," the elderly man insisted.
"The dragons existence is no longer a mystery," the chief said, "I saw one with my very own eyes. The dragons are very real they really can fly and they are very dangerous,"
Rumblings swept through the rooms at the chief's declaration.
"So the rumors from yesterday were true then? Your daughter was attacked by a dragon and was rescued by a mysterious stranger?" A women asked.
"Yes the rumors are true. Currently the man who saved my daughter is recovering in a room at the back of the house
"He can't stay here. We know nothing about him," a scuffled man said.
"It's not like he can move on his own," Elewynn's uncle said, the doctor putting in his simple but expert opinion, "He is still unconscious, is missing a leg and is also tied up, he is harmless."
"Did you learn anything else about the man, while you were treating him?" Chief Geiroor asked
"His skin tone is quite light, a good indication that he does not see much sun. It could be that he is from an area that has a cold climate or perhaps very cloudy weather. His body quite well built, solid bones and muscle. Not too tall and has little fat, a very balanced body overall except for the missing leg of course " The doctor explained, "Nothing else that was telling of anything but his things however are quite interesting which I had sent to our resident blacksmith last night. Perhaps he can further enlighten us about this man," Elewynn's uncle explained.
Not missing his cue the blacksmith stood up and carried a sheep skinned bag to the front. Placing the bag on the table the blacksmith pulled out the first item, a long silver piece of metal. The pieces of metal that was put together to form some sort of contraptions,
"This contraption is the man's prosthetic leg. There is quite a bit of ingenuity put into leg. It has suspension and is quite flexible. The metal used is very durable and surprisingly very light, whatever metal he used it is certainly not steel or bronze," The blacksmith said in admiration, pausing in front of the gathered village to marvel at the work once more.
"If we could please move onto the next item," the chief said coughing into his hand in awkwardness. Breaking away from his thoughts the blacksmith pulled out the second item.
"Next we have the man's armour. Again the man is using a strange material. Although it looks and feels like leather, it is made out of something that is far superior. Lots of weird stuff in the nooks and crannies of the armour that I don't really know what it's for but something interesting is on his shoulder pad," the blacksmith said and pointed to the red dragon symbol.
"Maybe the Romans have finally sent help." Idaluna, wife of Geiroor said.
"He is no Roman soldier I have ever known and his insignia on his shoulder piece is nothing I have ever seen." the chief said.
"It looks like a red dragon, perhaps he is from Briton?" a man asked.
"Where is the rest of his unit? Britons would not have responded to this invasion viking this quickly." another responded.
"This far north away from Rome, it's not like we are experts on the geography of the empire. Perhaps the symbols is belongs to a special legion of romans soldiers," the doctor said.
"Perhaps he is some sort of scout?" Which would explain how he arrived quickly the blacksmith adding in his non occupational opinion, "his armor is nothing I have ever seen."
Where he is from does not matter. He is clearly not around these parts. You have thought about the south, east, and west but have you thought about the north? This man might be a viking and he might be the enemy," the scuffled man reiterated.
"He fought a dragon and lived to tell the tale, that's good enough in my books." Geiroor said.
"Aren't the vikings suppose to be a race of giant men, where even the women are larger than any Roman man?" the doctor said, "I would hardly describe our guest as big in any way shape or form."
"In my opinion he could be some sort of dragon hunter," the blacksmith said as he lifted up the armour once more, "The main problem of normal armor is that it cannot protect its user against a dragon. The armor may not melt to the heat of the flames, but the wearer will burn inside his own armor. However, we can see that the armour is clearly blackened from fire but the man is without a single burn mark.
"A quick demonstration for all to see," the blacksmith said as he took the tongs that was holding a plate of Hiccup's armor and hovered it over an open flame. Passing it over to his brother and urging him to touch it.
Warrily with the tip of his finger, Geiroor touched the plate of armor and to his surprise the armor was merely warm. Had this been a regular metal plate of armor the plate would be scorching red hot.
"Amazing," Idaluna commented completely enchanted by the fire impervious armour.
"The armour is not the only thing that is amazing," chief Geiroor said. "The man used a sword that was on fire to fight off the black dragon and protected my daughter ,"
Reaching into the bag once more, the blacksmith pulled out a silvery cylinder. Murmurs of confusion flowed across the crowd as they had expect a fancy sword. Their disappointment was short lived when the blacksmith pressed the button at the center of the middle cylinder. Mechanisms from within the cylinder activated with springing from within the depths and the high pitch sound of metal sliding against metal.
A couple of people jumped in their seats in surprise as the hallowed blade sprung out. From the hilt to the tip, blue fire engulfed the blade. The light radiated from the blue flames and easily overpowered the light from the pit fire and filled the entire room with a blue hue.
"He must be some kind of wizard or warlock," whispers and muttering circled the room.
"We are drifting away from the real issues," the chief said as he raised his hands and settled the villagers down, "Who or what he is, none of that is important right now. We need to talk about the coming viking threat."
"I've just returned from my trip of the northern coast," A man with a feathered tip hat said as he stood up to draw attention to himself to give his report. "The vikings and dragons had initially attacked Wishmore, a village quite far east from us. After a few days it seems the Vikings have gotten brave enough and started raiding villages further inland. People are abandoning their villages to avoid the vikings," the man reported.
"We should do the smart thing and abandon our village as well and head inland like the others villages. We are far away from the initial viking attack. That should indicate that moving inland would be a safe trip without running the risk of seeing vikings." a woman added with the quiet agreement of others.
To the abhorrence of Elewynn, the mutterings of agreements of the villagers grew louder as they began to discuss their plans to leave. "The vikings are riding dragons, we can't outrun them. These are our ancestral lands we have to fight!" Elewynn wanted to say but it would not be her place to say. Elewynn placed her hands together tightly, nails digging deeper into her skin and frustrated at her inability to say anything as the chief's daughter. Elewynn prayed for anyone brave enough to fight for what was theirs, for anyone to be brave enough to stand against the crowd.
Her prayers seemingly answered as a rough knock on wood echoed within the room. The room fell silent. The villagers all knew to simply enter if one were to be late to the meeting. So who could it be?
Making a simply wave of his hand to everyone, the chief went for the the door. A few seconds later that agonizingly felt like long minutes, Elewynn's father returned to his place at the center of the meeting. Trailing closely behind the chief was a large man dressed in bronze and red. Unlike their mysterious guest from yesterday, the clear symbol of a lion on the chest of his cuirass made it very clear who this man was. This is what a real roman legionnaire looked like.
"My name is legate Blandus," the man introduced himself. Taking off his red striped helmet the roman revealed a handsome but rugged face. I am the advance scout for my legion that will be arriving some time tonight,"
"Why is a legion coming here? There is nothing of interest here" a woman asked, her voice consisting of some parts nervousness and some parts fear.
"The Roman Legion has driven the vikings and their dragons back and they have retreated to the northerns hells from whence they came," the legate replied, "No doubt that they will be returning and will most likely attack easy targets such as villages closer to the coast."
Voices echoed the room as the people processed this new information. Some were excited that the dragons were not unstoppable and have been driven back by the Roman army. Others were horrified of the prospects that the dragons and vikings might appear here.
"With all due respect legate Blandus. My people and I were just talking about our future action. We were planning on moving closer inland. We certainly don't have the resources to host an entire legion." Chief Geiroor reasoned.
"The legion will have their own supplies," Legate Blandus responded.
Warily the chief of the village turned to his villagers. From the way the other villagers mutely stared back him Geiroor could tell that they were unsure what to do. On the one hand, his people prefer to live without ever seeing a dragon and see their village possibly become a battle ground. But on the other hand, the certainly could not say no to the Romans.
"Than it would be our honor to warm the fires and shelter the fires our home," the chief said and shook the hand of the legate. Death by dragons was a possibility but in the end the chief had to answer to the most immediate threat.
OoOoO
With a sudden jerk of movement Hiccup's eyelids twitched and his breathing hitched as he awoke. The sound of air was sucked into Hiccup through his mouth and his lungs filled with air as his chest rose.
Slowly Hiccup's wits returned to him as he remembered what happened. The cold draft that caressed his skin, Hiccup realized he was unclothed. Instinctually Hiccup jerked up and tried reaching for the gems that should be resting on his chest. The bed shook violently as Hiccup realized he was tied down securely to the bed.
"Relax son, I know when something is too precious to be touched by others, such as those pretty gems that you have on your chest," A voice said on the other side of the room.
Straining his head to look at his chest, Hiccup could see that the gem's resting on his chest. His head falling back onto the pillow with a relaxed sigh.
"Sorry about having you tied up but we can never be too safe. These are some scary time at the moment." the voice said.
From the depths of Hiccup's mind reached out to Toothless. Through their connect granted by the being a Guardian of Fire, Hiccup was able to feel that Toothless was safe, was resting and recovering in the depths of the forest. Knowing that his best friend was safe he turned his attention back to the man. "How long have I've been unconscious," Hiccup asked.
"It has only been a few days," the man replied, " Which is quite surprising as I would have expected you to be out for a weeks " Since you're up now, I suppose we can get those ropes off of you," the doctor said as he moved closer to remove the ropes.
"I promise I won't be any trouble," Hiccup mumbled out, still not completely together with his senses.
"Nothing worth stealing anyways," the doctor chuckled, "You have found yourself in a very small village. Any gold that we do have around has already been used up for supplies and resources that the village needs,"
"So, where are you from son? You look like you are from so far away land." the doctor asked.
A moment's pause as Hiccup stared blankly upwards, clearly weighing his options on how best to answer the doctor's question.
"I'm sorry but I do not want to answer that question." Hiccup finally replied shifting his head back towards the doctor.
"A man who hides the truth with honesty. Interesting but it does not make you any more trustworthy." the doctor commented.
"There's no need to worry because I will be leaving as soon as I can," Hiccup said. Pushing against the bed with his foreman, Hiccup pushed himself up with grunted effort and slowly turned his body to sit on the side of the bed, and prepared himself to stand up.
"Take it easy there, no need to rush. You hold important secrets and that makes you less trustworthy. However, you saved my niece and that makes you alright in my eyes." the doctor said and paused before continuing.
"All that being said, I would like to thank you for saving my niece and on behalf of my brother as well whos home you are currently residing in." the doctor said.
Hiccup was about to return his own set of thanks when all of a sudden the door swung violently open, and a child with wild hair came barging into the room.
'"You're awake!" Elewynn shouted as her eyes twinkled in excitement at seeing her mysterious dragon fighting hero.
Recognizing the girl he saved from Toothless, Hiccup let out a smile as he introduced himself.
"Hello my name is Hiccup,"
"Elewynn," the energetic girl chirped back as she ran up to the edge of the bed and clasped the frames of the wooden bed.
"Are you some sort of dragon hunter?" Elewynn asked.
"What's makes you think that?" Hiccup asked.
"You were able to fight off a dragon with your sword." Elewynn said, "You must be very strong."
"Can you teach me to be as strong as you?" Elewynn asked.
"I'm not sure I would be the best teacher," Hiccup said hesitating, "And I should be leaving as soon as possible."
"Please Hiccup," Elewynn begged, "I want to be strong just like you and I won't stop asking until you give in!"
Amused by Elewynn's persistence and childlike enthusiasm Hiccup couldn't help but want to help this new little girl, even if it was for a little bit. But before he could respond, a wave of lightheadedness passed through him and everything slowly faded to black.
"Hiccup?" Elewynn asked in surprised as she saw Hiccup's head fall back down onto the pillow. Leaning in closer, Elewynn shook his shoulder, worried about Hiccup's condition.
"Come now, Elewynn," her uncle said as he placed on her shoulder and got Elewynn to stop her hand on Hiccup, "we should let the man rest."
Frowning, the daughter of the village chief stared down at the unconscious hero known as Hiccup. "Will he be alright?" Elewynn asked, worried that she was the reason for his fallen's state.
"As I said before, given the extent of his injuries, it is very surprising that he woke up this early. We should let him rest now." her uncle said as he opened the door for her niece..
"Okay," Travelling around the room, Elewynn blew out the candles before exiting the room. Taking one last look at the sleeping Hiccup, Elewynn closed the door.
A simple introductory chapter before we go full throttle next week.
As always reviews and comments appreciated.