"Rest," Gyda said.
Astrid stared at her, eyebrow lifted. Gyda, still kneeling, smiled.
"Don't move from this spot until I say you can," Gyda said.
Hiccup, in response, pulled her closer to him. Toothless and Moondust also shifted closer. The boys, curled up to either side of Hiccup and Astrid's legs, scooted closer. Sharpshot and Sneaky stretched out, covering both teens legs. Stormfly chittered and lowered her head until her chin gently rested upon Hiccup's. The rest of the dragons and humans gathered round settled in their places, each looking as if nothing would make them move. Even the two guards, a Night Fury as black as Toothless and a Woolly Howl that looked like walking ice, who jumped into the chamber seemed ready and willing to remain and ensure Astrid did not move.
Astrid, to her credit, only gave Gyda a half-heated glare. Gyda chuckled.
"I know. You dislike sitting still for longer than six heartbeats at a time. Your core is stable, but you have to let it settle. You have to let your body recover from the magic's awakening. Hiccup was asleep for this part. You are not. You are in a greater danger of the magic overwhelming you and cracking your core. Just sit here, in Hiccup's arms, with your flock and your flock's allies surrounding you until I can sense everything is well."
Gyda stood. She turned, finding Toothless' father and mother sitting right behind her. Onyx, Sunburn, and Silent sat behind them. Gyda's eyes narrowed. She stepped around Toothless' father, tipping her head in his direction out of respect. She then moved to stand in front of Sunburn.
"We need to talk. Corridor. Now."
Shadowfire hissed and then chittered.
[Elder Gyda?] Toothless' father asked. [Your son says you are furious.]
Gyda looked over her shoulder. "A mage is supposed to see when another mage's magic awakens. To be there and keep the new mage's core from killing them." Gyda's gaze swung back to Sunburn. "Someone who has to be a mage of great power has blanketed my sight and two of my nest and flock have almost died because of it. I want answers."
[Answers to a lot of things would be grand,] Toothless' father stated, shifted so he could look at the three dragons over his wing. [Speak,] he ordered and though his voice did not seem to hold the depth Hiccup's did, Gyda could hear the weight of command there.
Sunburn took a deep breath. [Both my rider and Onyx' rider set the barrier that keeps your sight from seeing.]
"They did what?" Hiccup growled.
Gyda looked over her shoulder again. Hiccup's alpha side held his words in a full grip. His eyes narrowed until little green actually showed. Gyda noted that every dragon and human also had narrowed eyes, even the guards.
Onyxwing sighing caused Gyda to turn back. She blinked. Silent and Sunburn were staring at him. Gyda did not either to speak the Common Tongue to understand those looks. Onyxwing shook himself.
[The details I will not go into,] he began, slowly and his tone soft. [That is for my rider to fully explain.] He paused, looking towards the cavern wall. [My rider said he had a vision. All of this was to prevent that vision from occurring. Sadly, doing one thing to prevent something will always causes a backlash. The barrier, why Hiccup is as he is, and many more are things put into place to stem that backlash.]
[Can we at least know what the vision was?] Meatlug asked.
Onyxwing took another deep breath. [Death for all,] he said, his tone barely above a whisper. [Humans killing dragons. Dragons killing humans. Humans killing humans. Dragons killing dragons. All far worse than those Days of Chaos. All ending with every living thing being nothing more than skeletons on ashes.]
Gyda closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, a habit she saw her grandmother and then her father do often when something overwhelmed them.
"Why put that barrier in place?" she asked.
Sunburn sighed. [To save those humans. Some mages did not agree with Onyx' rider. Some also decided to use their magic to gain things they were never supposed to have. Both flocks would actively seek any who had magical potential. Onyx's rider did not want either flock to harm those humans. My rider did not want that either. Both set the barrier, weakening themselves in the process.]
Gyda eyes snapped open and then narrowed. "They toyed with the lives of those whose cores awoke and none was around to aid them."
Onyxwing shook his head. [They were not left unaided. The humans have always been watched over by a flock of loyal mages. Their entire bloodline held the mission to keep any whose core awoke alive.] He paused. [They were to help keep the barrier going as well, until a point they felt it was not needed anymore and then they could let the barrier begin to fade. Since their line had been around since the beginning of everything, they were trusted with this entire task and the entire truth. The last of the direct line of that flock remains with the humans even now.]
Gyda felt a shiver of cold rush up her spine.
"Gothi," Fishlegs said, softly. "It's the only thing that make sense. She never once seemed bothered by Gyda's ability to use magic and she wrote down that it was the gods' will for Gyda to remain. I know many wanted to run Gyda off because of her magic. I heard them. They stopped after Gothi wrote that and the dragons all started aiding the village. If that barrier kept mages from being seen by other mages, then the fact that magic was all but gone meant it wasn't needed anymore. When Gyda came to live with us, Gothi must have known that with Gyda here the barrier could be lifted. That Gyda could aid any who were found to have magical abilities."
"Wait, so our voice of the gods lied when she wrote that about the gods allowing Gyda in?" Snotlout asked. "Does that mean Gyda is not supposed to be a part of the tribe at all?"
"Whoa, Gothi just got instantly cooler," Ruff stated. "To defy the gods like that. That's worthy of Loki right there."
"We must seek her counsel and teaching immediately upon our return," Tuff said.
"You are wise, dear brother."
"Enough!" Hiccup snapped.
"Shutting up now, boss man." Ruff and Tuff chorused together.
Gyda looked over her shoulder at Hiccup. His alpha side still coated his words. He still looked ready to leap from the floor and lay into Onyx and Sunburn. Gyda knew it was only because Astrid had to keep still that he did not.
"What happened to those who cores awoke before Gyda became a part of the tribe?" Hiccup asked.
[They were taken,] Sunburn said. [To be trained.]
"Where?" Hiccup demanded.
Onyxwing hissed softly. [The nest my rider created when we realized living here would endanger the lives of the dragons who also lived here. When we had to defeat a flock of humans who sought to hunt every dragon in existence. A flock whose leader personally desired the death of all Wind-shriekers.]
Literally Nobody: Aw, come on. Everyone has a life. I'm glad my story has given you something to do. Yep, Shadowfire will probably have to have an intervention or the female spelling it out for him to get it. No, it's not the Elder. Astrid's magic just awoke and Hiccup was terrified because of what happened to him. The green was her using healing to aid in easing Hiccup's pain. Gyda didn't make a comment about it because she knows action must be taken to stabilize a mage's awaking core or death is the result. That and she had to keep Hiccup calm cause his magic will flare while he's upset. He's still too much of a novice for that to just happen and it not cause a grave issue with his health. Have a good day/night as well.