Merry Christmas, everyone! Now, though this chapter isn't Christmas related, I decided to wait until this particular day for it to be released since for our protagonists, you could consider that this will be one of their positive turning points.

Also, a thanks to SkyTalon for reviewing on the previous chapter!

Anyways, let us begin chapter 13!

The sound of the loud horn coming from the longship grabbed much of the village's attention, including Stoick and the Council who came rushing out of the Great Hall with haste. From atop the stairs Stoick could see the distant ship coming towards Berk.

"Hmm…" he mumbled to himself. He then turned his head towards Spitelout. "Have you ever seen that kind of longship before, Spitelout?" he asked him.

The Viking shook his head. "Not at all, Stoick. Whoever built that must've had a lot of time on their hands - not to mention that this boat looks kind of… edgy."

Gobber stepped forward. "I think I know what kinda longship tha' is. I've seen it b'fore."

Stoick arched a brow. "Gobber, don't tell me that this ship-"

"Came frum Scandinavia? I can't say no, Stoick." he answered to the Chieftain. "Tho' there's only one way ta find out who's on tha' ship."

The large blonde Viking continued his way down the great stairs and proceeded to make his way towards the docks, with the other Council members following him. Well, almost all of them. Stoick stood there and shook his head at the sight as nearly half the entire Village too made their way near the docks.

"There's no such place." he said to himself.

Meanwhile down by the docks, Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout and the others stood there atop a pier staring at the ship, watching as it sailed closer and closer. The villagers stood at the upper levels of the docks, glancing down upon them. "Are you sure you know who is aboard that ship?" asked Snotlout.

"I am certain. It has to be one of Ivar's guards." he said with a grin and his brows lowered. "We've got them now. Hopefully we can get some information out of them."

"If you say so." nodded Snotlout as he looked to his left and right flanks at the four guards on each side that was guarding him. "Men, get into guarding position!" he ordered, and immediately they stuck their spears out and raised their shields forward. "Prepare for anything that comes off that ship…"

Soon enough the longship made it's landing and it ported on the pier where Hiccup and the others stood. However, as it made port the sail immediately raised itself up, followed by a large plank of wood hitting against the pier from the ship.

The guards immediately became confused from this. Usually the first thing an enemy would do would be that they'd jump off their ships, not caring about anything else and then they'd begin to fight their enemy. So what kind of foe raises their sails and takes their time to set up their landing?

The answer would be given as a hooded manly figure would appear before Hiccup and the group - with the nearly limp body of a female in his arms. She on the other hand was not hooded, but she was kept warm with a giant furred fabric that was wrapped around her.

"Wait!" the man called out, slowly making his way off the ship. "Please, don't attack! I don't come here as an enemy. My friend, she- she's sick. I need help, please."

Hiccup's face lit up and his eyes widened. That voice was very familiar, and already he felt bolts of excitement and happiness of relief coursing through his veins and brain as if Thor had struck him.

"Stand down, men!" ordered Snotlout, and instantly the guards placed their spears back into a staff position and rested their shields to the sides. Astrid then reacted as she ran towards the hooded man and helped him lay down the young woman against a nearby sack of grain. "Give her some space!" she said with a loud voice, and everyone immediately backed up.

As Hiccup looked and changed his glance between the man and young woman, he opened his mouth and said; "Do I know you, stranger?" he asked.

The young man froze and turned his head to face Hiccup, giving off a gasp upon sighting the scrawny Viking. He stood up straight on his feet and walked towards him with quick haste before stopping a few feet away from him. Then, he removed his hood and his face was revealed.

"And who might you be?" the man asked.

Hiccup was beyond wordless. He didn't know how to express his feelings to the friend that had now returned to him after nearly a week or more of torture from the barbarous Ivar. He opened his mouth and choked out the words; "I- I'm your friend, Mag-"

Magnus immediately rushed forward and gave Hiccup a brotherly hug, and Hiccup wrapped his arms around the older Viking. "Magnus…" he said with a sigh.

"I knew somewhere in my mind that I would find you here, my friend." Magnus said with a smile, patting Hiccup on the shoulder as he backed up.

"The gods were able to guide me here, Magnus. I used my instincts, as well as my mind and heart."

The older Viking gave a chuckle. "You did as I told you to do, Hiccup. You've done well." he said. "And judging by the way you are, I assume the people of Berk have fed you well and kept you healthy… well, I can say the very least for Eira."

He looked down towards Eira who laid against the sack of grain. Her eyes shut and her skin pale. "What happened to her?" asked Hiccup.

"She fell ill in the midst of our travels. I tried what I could to keep her well, but- ...Odin help us. She might die if I don't do something soon. She needs to be tended to."

Snotlout stepped forward. "I can take her to Gothi's. She's the best healer on the island, and she's helped plenty of the ill'd-folk. Your friend will be healed up in no time."

Magnus nodded. "Thank you… err."

"Snotlout." he said. "Heir of the Hooligans. Though please, just call me Snotlout. Alright?"

"Alright." replied Magnus.

Snotlout bowed his head at the older Viking and then turned his head to the two guards nearest to me. "You, carry her. You, accompany us as we take her to the healer." he said, and the guards obeyed as one of them carefully picked up Eira and carried her in a comfortable position, while the other assisted him and Snotlout as they quickly began rushing up the ramparts towards the village.

"Right." began Magnus, patting Hiccup on the shoulder. "Where's Gobber-?"

"Magnus!?" a voice called out, and as Hiccup and Magnus turned to face the source of the voice - there stood Gobber with his eyes widened and his mouth dropped.

"Yer- yer alive, lad!"

Magnus grinned. "That I am, old friend." he said to the blacksmith. "Though do not celebrate too soon, Gobber. I have something important that I need to share with you, Hiccup, and your Chieftain. You may not like what you're about to hear…"

…

Magnus had been talking to Stoick for nearly an hour straight. The Chieftain welcomed the stranger, and soon enough they had both gotten into a discussion on the topic of Ivar. Hiccup, Astrid, Gobber, and the others were there as well - including Snotlout. But with Magnus there to tell Stoick every bit of detail, everyone in the room knew that the tables were about to flip.

He paced back and forth, with his hands behind his back. "Ivar kept me locked up for days which nearly last to a week." he said. "He gouged me with daggers, he brutalized me where I was the most vulnerable, and he gave me very little water and food knowing that I would be weak and useless. But eventually, he began to plot out his plan right in front of me, which was to send his army to invade the Archipelago."

Stoick leaned in. "What proof do you have that this 'Boneless' did this to you? What proof do you even have that he exists?"

Magnus gave a smirk. "It's about time you see for yourself, Chieftain. The ship I sailed aboard to get me here is one thing…" He then placed one of his hands out in front of him with an item in grasp, and he threw the metallic and leathery object to the stone floor in front of Stoick. A helmet rolled until it stopped at least three feet away from the Chief.

"This, is another thing."

The older Viking squinted his eyes at the helmet, inspecting the specific layout of it. It had a large opening around the facial area to reveal the mouth and beard, and it had two eye sockets for the wearer to look through out of. He didn't recognize it.

"What kind helmet is this?" the Chief asked.

"This is a Viking helmet. One of Ivar's men wore this before I killed one of them and threw them overboard." answered Magnus

Stoick splurted out a chuckle. "Bah, don't be ridiculous!" he said. "We all know that Viking helmets have horns! They aren't complicated to make at this level! A real Viking doesn't wear a helmet that covers their entire head like a coward!"

Magnus shook his head. "Maybe not for you." he replied. "But this helmet was specifically made in Scandinavia. And if that isn't enough proof for you - if the ship isn't enough proof, then maybe this will be if that's what it'll take for you to listen!"

"Then by all means, please show me more, stranger!" he said with a slight mocking tone.

From his vest he took out a folded piece of parchment paper and he tossed it to the ground in front of Stoick next to the helmet, and then he crossed his arms. "Open it, Chief. Tell me that's not enough to convince you."

Stoick's brows arched downwards as he gave a small grunt to the younger Viking. He then stood from his seat and walked over to pick up the folded parchment. Picking it up he quickly unfolded it and it's contents were immediately revealed to him. His face lit up.

Before him he saw a map of Scandinavia, specifically Norway. It was labeled with the many towns, villages and farms found in the chilly war-torn lands. There were even estates that were owned by Jarls and Earls labeled on there as well. But what caught his eye the most was the capital city written in big letters down near the bottom of the map, located at the end of the strait.

Kattegat.

Then, something else caught his attention in the upper left corner. There was a large circular-like cloud drawn onto the map which had islands drawn inside of it - as well as Dragons of whom were flying around breathing out fire from their mouths and nostrils. What he was looking at was the Archipelago which had a red X labeled onto it.

Stoick leaned back in his throne, letting the map fall freely from his hands. And the first words he said out loud to everyone was; "What have I done?" he replied, his palm covering his face. "I- I... How could this be... By Odin, why didn't I listen to the warnings? I- it is apparent to me now... all I have done is sit back with arrogance trying to prove a point that the people were wrong, and that I was right; ...and I have payed the price with... Oh gods, Odin help us."

"Ivar coming for us isn't the worst thing." said Magnus. "It's his army."

Hiccup stepped forward. "We all figured from the start that he'd send his army to invade the Archipelago and conquer it, Magnus. Though I'm sort of surprised that we were right-"

"Ivar is no longer sending just his Völsung after us, Hiccup." he interrupted. "His Clan is no longer just the case."

A long silence then followed, and all eyes fell upon Magnus as they quickly widened. Hiccup's face began to light up as well, with tension boiling in his stomach and guts. 'It couldn't be, could it?' he asked himself. 'Or is it what I think it is…'

Hiccup opened his mouth, "Are you saying that…" but he quickly lost his words as Magnus nodded.

"Yes." he said. "The Great Heathen Army is returning, and it's bigger than ever. From a letter that I read which Eira looted off from one of the horse riders, Ivar had listed over TWENTY Clans for each rider to visit - not just Viking Clans, but also the numerous Germanic Tribes whom are led by Barbarians, and some of the large technological Slavic Tribes led by the Rus', Vikings who migrated from Sweden and adapted to being Slavic. Their armies number in a size that the Archipelago alone cannot face."

"How many?" asked Snotlout.

"Thousands." replied Magnus. "High up in their thousands."

Multiple gasps spreaded throughout the Great Hall. From the Council, Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, the group, Gobber, and even Stoick. By this point, many did not know what to do, and it seemed as if Fishlegs and the Twins were about to have a nervous breakdown.

"But." began Magnus. "Let me assure you that I will help Berk find a way through this upcoming conflict. If Ivar so desperately wants his prize then we'll let him come - for all that he will meet will be rage and fury from our weapons as one of our Vikings will strike down a hundred of theirs before we fall. This I vow to you."

From those words of inspiration, Hiccup gave off a smile with his brows loweres. He nodded in assurance to the others that sat next to him before turning and bowing his head in agreement at Magnus. He knew that the older Viking was right. Magnus was the one who helped him get through all those rough years back in Kattegat whenever he was threatened, and now he was about to do the same to a people and defend them.

It was then however that Stoick rose from his seat and looked over at those who stood and sat before him, seeing the now renewed confidence built up in their eyes. He cleared his throat and gave a grunting sigh. "You're... You're right. Let them come." he said. "They will feel the might of Berk once we meet them in battle, for I now believe as all of you do. If we don't stand together against the Heathen Tide, then we will all fall. But now the opportunity lays opened for us. On this day, May war be declared on Ivar the Boneless, and his Great Heathen Army... May Odin watch over us!"

…

Ivar sat on a hill at the top of a cliff over viewing Kattegat. He wrapped himself in his black robes as cold and light rain fell upon him, with the addition of the wind making more of it hit his face. Next to him stood the Slavemaster Olaf who was as well looking down at the large Viking city.

"You've done well for me, Olaf." he told him. "You have served me with loyalty and have shown brute force to any enemy that had dared to threaten the Völsung in the past. There isn't anymore I can say aside the fact that the Völsung is in your favor."

Olaf nodded. "Thank you, Chieftain." he said. "Though I tell you this; I promise you that I will find that runt Hiccup and kill him, and then I will conquer the Archipelago with all of the Clans and Tribes by our side."

Ivar gave a muffled chuckle. "Well then…" he began. "If you're to help in invading the Archipelago, you will need a position that is more fit for you. The Slaves after all, they are a liability to you and can't be overlooked on all of your life. You need something more for you to show your representation of power. Wouldn't you agree… General Olaf?"

The large Viking's expression immediately showed a state of shock and surprise. His mouth dropped from his Chieftain's words, and he started to stutter as he tried to let out the words he wanted to give to him.

"Surprised?" asked Ivar. "I mostly expected that. But think of this as a great honor, Olaf. The Slaves are no longer yours to command, but rather an army at your side willing to take an order without question."

"I- If that is what you wish, Chieftain." began Olaf. "I will gladly carry out your command, and I will lead the legions of the Great Viking Army by your will."

Ivar smiled. "Excellent. Then I guess we can throw all of the Slaves in the cells and feed them little as they suffer. Their torture will surely make Odin happy while we-"

Before he could finish, a loud horn suddenly interrupted him that came from down below. But it wasn't coming from Kattegat, it was coming from ships that were sailing towards the Viking city from further down the channel of the river.

"Ah… excellent." the young Viking said as a laugh escaped his mouth. "Our allies have finally arrived in full force... I believe it is time to give them a proper greetings to our city. It will take a while, but once they've ported, we will send out the first wave of ships. The Völsung will make the first move against the Archipelago, and soon all will follow."

Ivar was right however when he meant that it would take a while, as hundreds of ships came sailing through the channel of the massive river, with each carrying twenty five warriors.

"At least four hundred ships." said Ivar as he giggled in an evil-like tone. "Hahahaha… this is going to be written in blood once we meet our enemies. They will not stand for long…"