Hello all! Before starting this chapter there's something I'd like to say, though it's not much.

Firstly, if you've read the previous chapter - I'm going to say this now; yes, Drago Bludvist will be present in this story! But not for the majority of it.

Secondly, a thank you to everyone for helping this story reach another milestone! We stand right now at 30,000 views, and all I can say is "Holy Crap!"

Thirdly, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I'm glad you're all enjoying it so far!

Now, let's get right into the story without further delay!

Eira laid in bed, blinking her eyes as the light of the cold morning hit her vision. She felt herself slowly regaining strength, and as she looked up she saw a familiar figure sitting at one of the edges of the bed.

It was Magnus.

"Magnus?" she spoke, her voice groaning, and he nodded back at her.

She slowly sat up, leaned back against the pillow. "Magnus... what happened? All I remember during the battle was I was fighting. Then I felt myself fall and- agh!"

A small nerve of pain suddenly struck her right arm, and she grasped it with her left arm as she curled her legs up for a comfortable position. In response, Magnus leaned over and placed both his hands on her shoulders.

"Relax, Eira." he said. "You and I nearly drowned during the battle - and were it not for Hiccup and Toothless, we wouldn't be here. But your injuries require some tending, you are pretty bashed up with bruises."

The young lass sighed, shaking her head. "I was a fool to think ahead of my actions." she said to him. "I tried taking on more than I could chew, and in the end I was cornered at the edge of the ship by three Vikings… I not only nearly risked my life, but also yours. I shouldn't have fought without you by my side. I-"

"Eira." he interrupted, very lightly shaking her shoulders. "It's not your fault that the both of us drowned. I offered my life to save you, and you fought valiantly like how a true Viking should have been. We showed the enemy that we cannot easily be broken, and you applied to that."

"But when I was cornered…?"

"That was merely by the heathens' luck that they were able to corner such a great warrior like yourself. But I assure you that if it ever happens again, I'll be there to help you out."

With a sigh of relief, Eira placed one of her hands against Magnus' hand of which was laid resting on her right shoulder. She then looked up at him and smiled.

Magnus grinned as well with a light chuckle. "See? That's the Eira I know." he said with a confident tone.

Eira lightly chuckled as well, before her head gently lowered down to face her curled up legs as something came up on her mind. She looked up at Magnus and opened her mouth. "Did we win?" she asked him.

"Aye. And it was a Heroic Victory." he told her. "At the last moment, dozens of longships approached from the sea carrying ten warriors per ship. At first we didn't know who they were; but when their horns blew and their colors raised up, we knew right away that they were allies. They launched fire over our enemy, as well as at those who tried to flee for Kattegat, and as a result - not one of our foes came out of that battle alive."

"And what about Olaf?" she asked him.

"...He's dead." he responded in a more serious tone. "I killed him as payback for not just what he did to Hiccup, but as well for what he did to my father… but that is a story for another time."

"Mmm…" she nodded in agreement, resting her head against the pillow and laying back a bit more. However, as she stared back at Magnus, looking into his eyes, she couldn't bother taking her eyes of his as she wanted to tell him something.

And so, she straightened her back and head up and said; "Hey Magnus?"

"Yes, Eira?"

"Can… can you come closer?"

Magnus arched one of his brows, but did as she asked of him, sitting about three feet away from her. "Yes?" he asked once more.

She then asked, with a light sigh, "...Would you mind staying here for a while?"

…

"Alright gang, listen up!" announced Hiccup, pacing back and forth as he eyed his five friends. "Today you're going to take what I told you about Dragons, and apply it to the one you find! Today is the day that you do what I taught you and to finally train your Dragon."

"Sweet! I hope mine will be able to do huge explosions!" cheered Tuff, earning a light glare from Astrid.

"Tuffnut, this isn't about finding the Dragon who does the biggest explosion. It's about finding the Dragon that matches your style and can become you friend."

"And that's why I wrote down what Dragons you guys are going to go after and bond with." added on Hiccup. "First off starting with you, Astrid. Knowing you're an agile warrior and one who's more physical and smart in finding advantages, your Dragon will be the Deadly Nadder."

"Sounds great to me."

"Snotlout." he continued. "Knowing that you are one that likes to get in on the action while having strategy, strength, and momentum by your side which results in serious damage, your Dragon will be the Monstrous Nightmare."

"Sweet!" he said. "But let's hope it doesn't burn me alive."

Hiccup chuckled. "It won't as long as you approach it in a friendly manner. Now, Fishlegs. Being as intelligent as an elder and as strong and mighty as a Viking like Gobber, I think your Dragon will be the most fitting to you… You're going to tame a Gronckle."

"Interesting." nodded Fishlegs. "I'd be intrigued to see the amount of strength and intelligence that this boulder type Dragon has so I can fight as one with it. The firepower however, I know already."

"Alrighty..." he said softly. "Now! This leads me down to the last Dragon… Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you guys will get to share a Dragon. Specifically a Dragon with two heads - and that ought to be the Zippleback."

"Sweet!" chuckled Ruffnut. "Two heads-"

"-Twice the explosion!" added on Tuffnut.

"You've just read my mind, brother." smirked Ruffnut as the two of them gave each other a high five.

"Aye. But just remember that one of them will release the gas, and the other will ignite it into fire. So pick your head wisely, or else it might lead into some disagreement between you two."

"Alright." the two twins said in agreement.

"Well then… if there's nothing else for me to say, I'd say that you guys ought to be on your way. Now remember, search as much of the forest as you can, and use your brain to think about where a proper habitat of where your Dragon lingers would be at. And remember! Stay calm and all will be fine, alright?"

The group gave nods and gestures of understanding Hiccup's words to him, and they all left without a word - no weapons, traps, or anything in their hands. Only satchels filled with what they needed for the Dragons.

As Astrid was leaving however, Hiccup walked forward and placed his hand on her right shoulder from behind, immediately stopping her as she tilted her head towards him. Hiccup then responded with:

"Be safe, Astrid."

The young Hofferson smiled, nodding her head at Hiccup. "I will." she replied, grasping onto his hand for a short moment before she continued on her way. And as she left, Hiccup couldn't take his eyes off her.

As everyone soon left the Arena however, leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone, another figure came into place from the distance. It was a familiar figure wearing furred and mail-metal Viking armor with a large white wolf's hide as his cloak, and underneath the chest plate was a visible sky-blue shirt. Obviously to Hiccup, it was Magnus.

Hiccup's eyes however, widened. "Where did you get all of that gear? You look a lot like the Scandinavian Vikings, only…"

"Only I'm wearing less armor than they wore and I am wearing Berkian clothing underneath my chest plate and legging plate. How do I look?" he asked.

"You look like a real warrior, I must admit. Especially with the cloak." replied Hiccup, earning a chuckle from the older Viking.

"Well, it was thanks to a tailor that I was able to obtain this cloak. The wolf hide was looted off some of the corpses of our enemies and it was sewed into one good sizeable cloak, only without the head of the wolf."

"I see… and are you going to wear a helmet?"

"Maybe. Though I don't want to be confused for a Scandinavian. However, that's not the point of why I came here."

Hiccup immediately arched a brow and looked at Magnus with confusion. "Then why are you here?"

Magnus cleared his throat. "I've been sent by your father to come and get you. The Council and him, along with I and the other Chieftains, have made a decision after you requested Snotlout to give the idea about invading Norway. And we've finally come to an agreement."

"So then," started Hiccup. "What did you guys all say?"

…

"When the hour soon comes, we will go and sail to war." Stoick announced to both Hiccup and Magnus, as well as to the others that sat near him and around him at the large round table. "We've all endured enough damage by the massive enemy invading force, and our islands as a result lay in ruin, battered and nearly lifeless. But now together, as one alliance, we have a better chance to stand up against Ivar and his Great Viking Army. We WILL invade Norway!"

The members around the table cheered to Stoick, but another voice spoke up. "Don' be so confident, Stoick." said Gobber. "Ya remembered what Magnus told ye. Ivar an' his numbers are far great'ar than what we faced 'ere, o' what we faced b'fore. 'E still 'as thousands at his command."

"Tens of thousands." corrected Magnus. "Each Tribe and Clan Ivar called to his side carry a thousand warriors with them, whilst the main Clans, the Iron Wolf, the Bloody Berserkers, the Dark Eye, and the Broken Axe - will likely call for reinforcements of a thousand more. Each of them will."

"Those five Clans will fully replenish their numbers from those we killed here days ago, plus giving them a boost of a couple thousand more men."

Spitelout slammed his hand on the table. "Then that means we're heavily outnumbered thirty to one! We only have about over eight hundred warriors with us, yet still that bastard Ivar will have over twenty two thousand under his command!"

"Heavily? ...Not necessarily." responded Magnus, shaking his head. "There's something more that we must remember: Olaf when he was alive had kept multitudes of slaves imprisoned of whom had come from all across the islands of the Archipelago to work on powering Ivar's mighty war machine. Letters that I found off one of the corpses of the overseers show that even other Tribes outside the fogbank have been enslaved under Ivar's will as well."

"There's more outside the Fogbank then?" asked Stoick.

"Indeed, Chieftain." answered Magnus. "Moving on however. The letters give details that Olaf held up all of the enslaved Tribes of the Archipelago which he could find on an island that is found towards the South, miles and miles away near a fjord that goes Southeast. They call it Black Rock Isle. This island is a prison fortress which holds a large stronghold, a fortified barracks, an iron mine, and a fighting arena. HOWEVER: Nearly ONE thousand thralls and several hundred prisoners are held up there. And the thralls consist of all warriors, the letters say- and if this is true…"

"We may have enough men to forge a fighting force that can stand their ground strategically and outsmart Ivar." answered Sven, earning a nod from Magnus.

"Exactly… but there's a problem about getting to this island, or even getting onto shore."

"Oh?" responded Stoick.

"You see, Chief, though this island has only two hundred Scandinavian Vikings guarding it and operating it, it is also guarded by large and well-defended towers made out of iron and wood that are armed with a long-ranged catapults, and those materials are what every structure on this isle are made out of. Plus, two major iron cog ships guard around the island... apparently armed with Devastators?"

"Ah great! They made more o' those buggers!" sighed Gobber.

Magnus too sighed with an exhale. "That's not the worst part." he said to Gobber. "Apparently it says here in this note that Ivar was also able to transport a new deadly weapon created by the Iron Wolf Clan, the same Clan that made the Devastators. This letter describes them as an arrow killing machine, and a dozen are armed along the walls of the prison fortress…"

"...And if that's the case, we'll need to plan out a strategy." replied Stoick as he stood from his seat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I request that you all take a recess for the rest of the day. The War Council and I along with Magnus have much discussing to do, and we need to be left alone for concentration…"

"As ye wish, Stoick." nodded Alvin, Chieftain of the Outcasts.

"Right, I'd betta get my men settled, then." agreed Bertha, the Chieftain of the Bog Burglars.

Stoick bowed his head. "Right then. Dismissed!"

...

"And you are sure that is all I need to make Dragons my own? A King of Dragons?" asked Ivar as he used his iron plate supports for his leg and his staff to walk over to a nearby long table. He sat down patiently, looking back at Drago who was staring at one of the walls.

"Indeed." he replied softly, turning back to the young Ivar. "As I tell my men time and time again. 'He who controls the alpha controls, them all.' And that is a fact."

"And… your men fear you because of this I assume?" asked Ivar, pointing with his hand.

"My men are loyal to me because of this. They will follow me anywhere I go if I tell them to, and will do what I command them to do." he stated, though his voice remained soft. "And if there are any acts of unloyalty…"

Drago then raised his hand up, making a slicing motion horizontally across the neck. "That will happen."

Ivar nodded his head up and down. "Hm… but do you ever question the loyalty of your men?" he asked the warlord. "Consider the fact that you have mercenaries among your army who betrayed their peoples. Mongolians, Sami, and even Slavs. Not to mention they do not believe in the one true religion or in the true gods."

"You are correct on that." Drago nodded his head back at Ivar, now sitting across from him. "And yet the same goes for you. Despite the fact that your entire army worships the same gods, many of them are mercenaries as well, are they not?"

"They are." responded Ivar. "The only difference is that my men seek the same goals as I do, and as such, my trust will remain in them."

"...Still, there is much for me to do against the 'Vikings' of the Archipelago, whom to me wear ridiculous clothing. Who in the Hel wears helmets with horns anyways? It's as if they think it's a children's story."

"I don't know, King Ivar." shrugged Drago. "But what I can tell you is that if they think that they can control the Dragons, then they are terribly mistaken. But for you however- ...you may just have the potential to do so. I can sense it."

Ivar gave a face of slight confusion as he shrugged as well, raising his hands in a motion. "Maybe they just think that they can-"

As he was about to continue the doors to the Great Hall suddenly bursted opened with a familiar buff figure wearing black plate and furred armor along with a dark beard. It was the Iron Wolf Chieftain, Vlar.

"My King." he said, making his way forward despite being uninvited. Though to Ivar, it sounded almost important as the Rus' Chieftain moved with haste. Giving off a sigh, he turned to Drago and waved his hand back. "Leave us."

Drago bowed his head, even though he was not under Ivar's servitude, and he began making his way out of the hall, wrapping his cloak around him for protection from the cold wintry snow that fell from outside before closing the hall's doors behind him.

When both Ivar and Vlar were alone, the High Chieftain nodded at the Rus' Viking. "Speak. What news have you come to bring me?" he asked.

"I bring good news from both of my high overseers - with the letters coming from the two locations you named; the Shattered Shore and the Iron Mountains." he began. "I have been informed that the constructions of both the Iron Foundry and the Forgework Harbor is progressing with maximum effort... Soon we will be able to make weapons, siege equipment, and armor at much faster pace. Plus, our siege weapons will advance into more great creations."

"Creations forged from great metals that will be worthy of Odin's dwarves. Indeed." grinned Ivar, nodding in approval. "And what about the Forgework Harbor? What of our fleet?"

"Our ships will be created at a quicker rate, and the metals will become tougher and lighter for our vessels, though all our ships will consist mostly of wood. The production of larger longships will also increase as we will be able to carry more men out in a smaller span of time. With this technology, no one will oppose you."

Ivar, satisfied and fully amused, clapped his hands slowly. "Excellent work, Vlar." he said, followed by a chuckle. "I knew you would come out as my best Chieftain out of the others; but like you - they are great as well."

"Indeed." nodded the Iron Wolf. "But what would you have me do now that I've brought this news to you?"

Ivar gave a smile, spreading wide across his face. "How would you like it if I gave you a second role in my Great Army aside from being just a Chieftain?"