Right! Before starting, my sincere apologies for me being away for a week! I had to take a break and get my stuff together as life was kinda getting down on my shoulders, so the past week had been me working on School and etc. (There will also be two, but not big time jumps this chapter.)
Secondly, to those who question the tolerance for Toothless from Berk from here on out, to clear things up; Toothless aided Hiccup, and saved Magnus and Eira, and as a whole, he helped Berk. So because of that, you can expect some heavy tolerance from Stoick.
Now, I say we finally continue on from where we left off. Let's begin, shall we?
A day passed without much reaction from Hiccup or the others. The dead of Berk's warriors and its allies had once filled the streets of the town, and in less than a day's time the bodies were given proper Viking funerals, either buried with their belongings or burnt in longships in the dark of the night.
Were it not for the Outcasts, Meatheads, or Bog-Burglars that came to their aid, Berk would have perished, for the enemy's remnants would have the news to Ivar, leading to second invasion...
But now, there was a moment of respite. After the siege ended with a victory, Hiccup and Stoick had a talk with one another, alone in their hut, sitting together side by side like father and like son. At that moment, the lad told him everything that happened between him and Toothless, as well as what he thought then about dragons.
Afterwards, Hiccup found himself at the edge of the cliff, gazing off into the distance with the Night Fury sitting to his left, and his father standing to his right.
"...I trust what you say about dragons." Stoick sighed, relating back to the conversation as he looked at his son without disappointment. "I spared your friend because it- ...he, helped you, and he saved Magnus and Eira from drowning."
Hiccup's brow arched a bit. "You saw that?"
"Aye. I saw it from afar." he replied, nodding his head. "I saw the whole thing. I saw how he covered you when you were in the thick of it, and how he supported you. I saw how he bravely lunged into the ocean with you and Astrid riding on his back..."
He then gave out a slow chuckle. "Hehe… reminds me of your mother and I when we were younger. We were both always up to no good, and we fought a lot against our enemies. Ah… those were one of the good days."
The thought of Hiccup's mother was soon to make the young lad question in his mind about her. What was she like? What was her name? Where she did go off to? And is she truly dead as the villagers said about her?
...He had to know eventually. He would know.
As Stoick finished speaking, he let out a deep sigh and once more patted Hiccup on the shoulder.
"I'll see to it that the other tribes that assisted us are settled in. Even if they didn't do much, they still did Berk and the Archipelago a favor. This is a victory we will surely celebrate tonight. I'd also recommend that you tread carefully with… Toothless. Some of the folk are still uncomfortable of having a Dragon in our midst. Hopefully, their opinions will change in due time."
"Hmm… maybe I should go talk Astrid and the others about what's to come next?" asked Hiccup.
"If you want." Stoick responded to his son. "Though go easy on Magnus and Eira when speaking to them. Those two have had a rough sleep last night after the battle, and they need to rest from their injuries... especially Eira. The young has been unconscious ever since."
"I can only assume Magnus is watching over her?"
Stoick nodded. "Aye… Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other duties to attend to."
To that, the chieftain turned his back to Hiccup and Toothless, and began walking off into the other direction, towards the Great Hall.
As he walked however, he loudly said to himself; "Those two have been getting closer ever since they got here... Hmph, they're almost like a couple…"
The chieftain's words made the young Viking and Dragon eye each other with curious glances, for in a way, it was true. Strange behavior had begun taking root between both Magnus and Eira, and as such, Hiccup wondered if perhaps their friendship was being taken beyond friendship...
"Gah… alright." Hiccup said, shaking the thought from his head as he glanced back at Toothless.
"Right. First we'll need to find Astrid and the others, along with Snotlout and Heather. I'm sure they're in the Arena…"
Toothless crooned in agreement, turning his side to face the lad as he lowered his wings and warbled, gesturing with his head towards his back, as if telling him; "Get on."
…
Astrid leaned against the stone walls of the Arena, with her back arched and her foot lifted up against it, arms crossed. "So… was that a fight or what?" she asked Hiccup, grinning.
"Uh- yeah. That it was." he replied calmly. "Though I doubt that is the last we'll see of Ivar and his Great Army. Even with Olaf dead and a chunk of his forces slain, I don't think it's over."
"And thus I must ask; how can that be?" asked Snotlout, sheathing his sword after testing out his abilities in the air. "We've defeated Ivar's quote on quote "greatest" general. We've shown him that the might of Berk and the other Tribes cannot so easily be broken. I don't think he'll ever know of what transpired here. All of his ships sunk after all."
A small smile then began to spread across his face, knowing he was testing the son of the Chief. "Or is there is something on your mind, Hiccup?"
Hiccup nodded. "What I'm saying is that though Olaf is defeated, being too passive and calming after the storm will not do us any good. Eventually Ivar will become curious and will send out his entire army to wash over us. Even with the reinforcements that came at the very last moment, we still wouldn't stand a chance in this condition."
Snotlout lightly chuckled. "Now you're thinking like an Heir."
"Heh. C'mon, not even with your Dragon?" asked Tuffnut as he carefully approached the Night Fury that was eyeing him. "I mean, he killed hundreds of those Heathen raiders. I mean, he looks so…"
Tuffnut stared at the Black Dragon for a long moment, with Toothless looking down at the strange Viking who eyed him. He showed no aggression to the Human, but his eyes were widened with an expression that showed he questioned Tuff's behavior.
"I mean, just look at him. He's so…" He paused for a moment, looking down at Toothless' paws. With a test he lifted one of them up and examined it. And just as he was able to say something, Ruffnut came from behind and began dragging on his helmet.
"OUCH! OWOWOWOWOW!" he freaked out, overreacting.
"Oh calm down, will you? You're being a creep, Tuff!" she gestured at him, all the meanwhile Toothless kept his paw lifted as he looked at it. 'What the heck?' was what he thought in his head.
Astrid sighed, shaking her head. "Vikings aren't all that we're going to go against, Tuff." she responded, taking a few steps forward. "When Hiccup and I fought, we encountered more than several Tribes and Clans that were not of Vikings. If I stand correct, this relates to the list that Magnus gave to Stoick on who Ivar wanted to recruit."
"Yes…" agreed Hiccup. "And if all twenty of those Clans and Tribes were to come at us, then their full might would be our end."
"Exactly… So then," began Snotlout, walking closer towards Hiccup. "Now that you have been able to identify furtherly on what kind of force we are dealing with aside with what we've just faced, what would you think as an Heir would be the best course of action?"
Hiccup thought about this for a moment, rubbing his hand against the small stubbles that were across his chin. He knew a proper defense would do no good, even with just one or five Dragons. Over three thousand of their enemies were slain, and yet thousands more still remained across the ocean. So, if he and the others were to do a proper response to the enemy…
"Then a proper response would be a good offense as our defense."
All eyes except for Snotlout's widened. They stared at him with surprised looks on what the Hel he was thinking. "Are you implying that we should go straight into the heart of Ivar's kingdom and INVADE him?" asked Fishlegs, receiving a nod from Hiccup.
"We can't sit around forever while Ivar builds up more forces." he told Fishlegs. "Those Devastators especially - they are a work of deadly force and are beyond what we could have ever managed to build. If Ivar could mass-produce them and go beyond that to making more vile creations, what chance would we have?"
Astrid then asked Hiccup, somewhat hestantly; "...Are you suggesting we give them the art of surprise?" Once more, Hiccup gave another 'yes.'
"If they don't see us coming whilst they're marshalling and getting ready to conquer just like they did with England, we can deal a heavy blow against them and have an advantage. We need to strike them where it hurts."
"Uh, and how do you suppose we do that?" asked Ruffnut. "You're the one with the Dragon, we don't have any other Dragons-"
"Actually we do." he interrupted, crossing his arms with a smirk. "When Toothless' roar attracted those four Dragons to come to our aid, they helped destroy the enemy armada before they flew into a single direction."
His finger then pointed up towards the air before his hand spun in a circle as his arm rotated towards the forests of Berk. "And if they're still out there, you guys are going to need them."
"Us?" asked Astrid.
"Yes, you guys." he repeated. "One Dragon and his rider alone cannot best Ivar. But maybe more than one can."
Silencing took over the Arena as the gang eyed Hiccup with expressions of; 'Is he insane, or what?' And, of course, the young lad indeed was.
"So what are you suggesting?" asked Fishlegs.
Hiccup walked closer to the group, making his way towards Toothless as he stood right by the mighty beast. "Bring nothing but yourselves, guys, and get ready in a several days." he said. "Soon, you're going to learn from me; How to train your Dragon."
"Now that, is a plan." complemented Snotlout.
…
4 days later…
Ivar eyed the stranger that stood before him and the four other High Chieftains with disbelief. Though the man had visited him days before, he was not in the best mood after hearing the news that was just handed over to him.
"What do you mean my invasion force was defeated? How!?" the young Chieftain demanded.
"My scouts and I saw the whole thing from afar, Ivar." the stranger replied. "It seemed that your enemies are in the possession of Dragons as well, just as we are."
"Impossible!" he replied. "You assured me that only you and your master can control the Dragons."
The hooded strange nodded. "He can, but only if a Dragon comes into contact with him. Only then will the beast submit to it's true master."
Ivar gave out a sigh. "...So then, there was more than one of these... riders?" he asked.
The brown cloaked and hooded stranger shook his head. "There was only one Dragon rider that we were able to spot from the distance, but the other Dragons seemed to have been assisting the Black Dragon that they circled around, along with its rider. It seems that whoever this rider was though, they are a potential threat to both you and my master… especially my master."
Ivar's brows arched in intriguement. "You think one simple rider can be a threat to you and your army? Of those from the lands beyond?"
"Indeed." the hooded man replied. "Though let's be reasonable. If you and him were to fight against each other, you'd both come out without a victor, and this is why my master is interested in looking towards friendly terms with you."
The young son of Lothbrök remained silent for a moment, fisting his lower chin as he laid his elbow upon the arm of his throne. He thought for a moment, thinking slowly and deeply on the matter. Afterwards, he then looked and turned towards the Chieftains that were standing right by him and he waved his hand in a motion. "Leave us."
The four Chieftains of the Iron Wolf, Bloody Berserkers, Dark Eye, and Broken Axe then saluted Ivar as they marched out of the Great Hall, with their loyal bodyguards assisting them at their sides. Once he and the stranger were alone, Ivar gave a nod at the man.
He leaned forward. "What's this all about?" he asked. "Why does he want to ally with a force beyond his reckoning?"
The stranger gave a smile across his face. "Your invasion force has shown much beyond his expectations. The Dragon Trappers who served under him manned a large fortress near an island-fjord to the Northwest of Norway, which was destroyed by your army. As a result, they were exiled from his army, or executed. Along with that, you released all of the Dragons."
Ivar scoffed. "And why is it that you and your master don't just bring your full force upon me if I attacked and destroyed something that belonged to him and his faction?"
"Because that is not his intention." he replied. "As I told you before. If you were to go to war with us, and he were to go to war with you, then neither of us would win and we would end up destroying each other."
"So then what does your master see me as? Someone inferior who he thinks he can control as well, or an equal?"
He shook his head at Ivar. "My master sees you as an equal who is worthy enough of teaching you his secrets. He believes that if you - and his faction, our army, were to ally together, nothing would stand in our way… not even the Dragons or their renegade riders."
"I see… and what would your master teach me?" questioned Ivar, leaning in closer in interest.
"Well," the cloaked man chuckled. "That is for you to find out between you and him. Already he is waiting outside these doors, ready to give you an audience. Give the command, and I will tell him that you are ready to see him."
Ivar let out a sigh, bobbing his head side to side on the thought which led to him nodding his head. "Very well then. Let him enter, Krogan."
The man nodded his head back, walking towards the two double doors of the hall as he swung them opened wide and swift, and in came a black-cloaked man, whose stqture was larger than that of Krogan's, though not intimidating to Ivar.
The young Ragnarsson gave a nod to the buff and scarred man as he gazed back at Ivar, greeting the young and powerful King with a calm and soft voice, bowing his head.
"Greetings, Ivar…"