So for this chapter I decided to make it shorter so that moving onto the next one won't take much, though I will tell you that near the end of this chapter we will once again go to Ivar's POV along with someone else who was shown and mentioned in earlier chapters. So to make up for the lack of size, I decided to add an interesting bit.

Also, as for the reviews, thanks to KorrieChan, Valkyrie, and for reviewing last chapter!

And to answer your question Valkyrie, yes, Hiccup and Astrid are a couple now. It's just that I haven't shown much Hiccstrid due to the events in the story that are happening thus far. But I assure you, it will intensify as we move on.

Now, with that out of the way, let's begin!

Back in the Mead Hall, the group rallied around and sat around the center table, with Hiccup on one end and with Dagur on the other. Aside that, Magnus and Eira were the only ones standing up, gazing at the conversation that began to unfold.

Hiccup cleared his throat, staring at Dagur. "I will admit, after all this time I never expected that you would return on such a shorter notice than I anticipated. It's good to see you again, Dagur."

"Well, I wasn't alone." he replied, clasping both his hands as he placed them on the table.

"...Nearly a third of the Berserker army was killed in battle that day, but I managed to rally up the majority of what remained and press on - though that's aside the fact that a dozen of them were captured by the enemy. However, you did manage to save them, as well as Heather. Thus I am in your debt, Hiccup."

The young lad lightly nodded his head. "I did what I could so that we could fight another day, along with the battles that are yet to come. There's still much work left to do, and I have questions that are left unanswered-"

"They will be answered in time, Hiccup." Magnus said as he leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed. "But what is more important right now is figuring out how Dagur was able to find us, and how he learnt about our success here."

"It's a long story short." replied Dagur. "When I sent my scouts out the night you took this base, they saw from afar what seemed to be two of your warriors hanging some man to a tree by a rope. They said he looked dead. But the moment your warriors left, my scouts got a closer look at the corpse, and from the description they gave I could only say that it was that bastard commander."

Astrid let out a "hm" with a curious look on her face. "So you ran into Brynjar as well?"

The Berserker Chief nodded. "I encountered him the morning after we lost the battle. It was when I was scouting out this region alone, looking for food. He marched with a small war party along one of the roads from the West, and I decided to ambush them."

"And you succeeded?" asked Heather who sat right next to him.

"Aye. Nearly all ten of them were killed. But at the last second, the coward fled with two warriors at his side, and as he fled, I was able to pick up on how he looked. Afterwards, I rallied back with my men, and for the time being, we waited in our camp so that we could heal. We still scouted out the region here and there, even using a horse we stole from a patrol."

"...That explains a lot." Hiccup said, speaking up.

"About what?" asked Dagur.

"When Magnus, Eira, and I went to scout out the region, we came upon a small group of warriors who somehow suspected that we were here. I thought they referred to us since we also stole a horse, but it seems they were referring to you."

"Quite a strange twist." commented Eira who stood nearby.

Hiccup shrugged. "Besides that however, they were in a rush as well. I can only imagine that they were alerted by then."

"It's possible." the Berserker said, crossing his arms. "Either way though, my scouts said that the two warriors who hung Brynjar looked like Hooligan Tribesmen, so we assumed that you were alive. After six days, I then ordered the Berserkers to begin the march. Of course, it was after our ally parted ways from-"

"Ally?" Hiccup questioned, interrupting the Chieftain.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention that part to you." nodded Dagur. "On the fifth day before the Berserkers and I prepared our march, we were approached by an army of thirty dozen Vikings."

Hiccup arched a brow, now extremely concerned. "And you immediately knew who they were?"

Dagur nodded. "Aye. This will be a shocker to you however, because… well, these Vikings were from your tribe, Hiccup. And your father Stoick was the one who-"

"Stoick!?"

Everyone's voices spoke up in unison upon hearing the name, as well as Hiccup's as he jumped from his seat. Small amounts of chattering then filled the room.

"M- My father is alive?" he asked, stuttering in his words.

Dagur nodded his head, though without much expression. "Aye. He told me that he was searching everywhere for you, and I assure you that he is fine and well, Hiccup. But- the thing is..."

The Chieftain's eyes wandered off in the distance, sighing as he considered how to choose his next words, and in what way to put them.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked, grabbing back Dagur's attention.

"He also told me that he was hunting one of Ivar's main Clans. He wants to fight them, Hiccup..."

"What...?" asked the lad.

"There's more." added Dagur. "Before he left, he told me that he was on the march to the Northeast with his men. He's preparing to move against the enemy, but I don't think he'll be able to hold for long on his own."

Astrid's eyes widened as he glanced between Hiccup and Dagur. "What!? But why would he move against them alone? He could get-"

"I don't know." he replied. "All I know now is that he is moving against the Dark Eye Clan to the Northeast, and as such, I knew I had to come to find you. If we don't help Stoick now, then the entire army of the Berkian Tribe will be wiped out."

Hiccup stood from his chair as he walked over to Dagur with a serious look now on his face. "Where exactly to the Northeast did he say he'd march to?"

"I'll show you."

Dagur snapped his fingers towards one of his men as they came over with a map in hand, and quickly it was unrolled on the table in front of the Chieftain. Upon revealing its contents, Hiccup could easily tell that it was a map of Norway... or rather, part of it, for the region they were in was near Southern Norway.

"This map shows everything we need..." he said, gazing at it. "The Shattered Shore, the Iron Mountains, the Blackwood Forest, the Arid Highlands… even Kattegat! Dagur, where in Midgard did you get this?"

"I got it off one of the patrols I ambushed during the time with my men. The captain who carried it seemed to have been of some valuable importance however as the men surrounding him were going all out on me. But thankfully, they stood no chance."

His finger then fell on the map as it hovered. "But this map shows literally every stronghold that our enemy holds. The Dark Eyes are located in the Northern reaches of the Grey Plains. The Bloody Berserkers are near the central portion of the Blackwood Forest. The Broken Axes are in the South of the Arid Highlands. And the Iron Wolves are set up near the base of the Iron Mountains, which is in the far North of this region of Norway."

"And then there's Völsung; Ivar's Clan." said Hiccup, his finger pointing at Kattegat near the bottom of the map. 'Regardless, what I need to know is where exactly my father will be when he reaches the Grey Plains."

"He never gave an exact location." Dagur replied, shaking his head. "But if anything, it's likely that Stoick will be on the border between these woods and the Grey Plains. The plains are a hilly region, so I doubt he'd go wandering off without having first to scout it out."

"Then it seems we will have to come up with a plan of our own." Magnus said, leaning off from against the wall. "Hiccup, it's your call. How do you wish to take on the Dark Eye Clan and their Chieftain?"

For a moment the young Viking thought about it, rubbing the bristles of hair on his chin whilst gazing off in the distance to gather his thoughts. Soon, an idea sparked into his head as he glanced back at the others.

"In a large region like this, we can only fight them if we manage to thin their ranks out before we commit to charging head-on." he said as he walked back towards his end of the table.

"...Right now, we simply don't have the numbers to take them on. We have over three hundred, but the Dark Eye has over two thousand Vikings at their command, along with a thousand more from the five tribes that serve them, making it three thousand total. That army alone rivals the invasion force Ivar sent at us."

Heather nodded, but spoke up with assuring words. "And yet we destroyed them, outnumbered around six to one. We have Dragons. What makes you think that we will be defeated and-"

"Heather, this isn't Berk." the lad replied, shaking his head. "We won back on Berk because we knew the island better than them, and now we're going to fight in the opened field. I myself don't even know the layout of this land. Hel, who knows if they'll have Dragons with them."

"I'm afraid he's right, sis." Dagur responded, standing from his chair as he began to pace. "Sometimes, the best way to beat the enemy is to know the enemy, and yet we only know so much… Heh, it's the same reason we won against the Murderous Tribe."

Heather sighed. "Makes sense." she replied back.

"So then, what do we do from here?" Astrid asked, with his eyes gazing at Hiccup.

"We'll just plan out a temporary strategy for the campaign that is to come against the Dark Eye. Though for me, I have other things on my mind."

Without saying another word, Hiccup stepped away from the table and chair he sat in, and shortly started making his way towards the doors with Toothless following behind. Astrid all the meanwhile however kept eyeing him, concerned for the way he was now acting.

"You guys continue on without me." he said, not looking back. "I'll be in my hut if you need me. I need to ponder about Ivar…"

…

Ivar sat at the edge of the longship he sailed on, looking out into the foggy distance whilst being guarded by a few warriors, and while being accompanied by Drago whose bull-hook was out and lowered.

The younger Viking Chieftain smirked as he sniffed the air. "Are you sure you know where we are going?"

"Indeed." Drago replied, staring off into a separate direction.

"For years my spies and allies have scouted out the Archipelago of it's islands and people. During all of this time I have learned to better understand the Dragons with the use of the Alpha that I command. If you wish to control your own Dragons, you will need an Alpha of your own."

"But that would require having to break the opponent Alpha if I want it to bend to my will, would it not?" asked Ivar, turning his gaze to Drago.

"Yes, it would." he replied. "Fortunately with the aid of the Alpha I command, the time it would take for the Dragon's will to be broken will be less. Even now it swims underneath us as protection under my will, and it will do everything that I make it do."

"I see… And I will be able to control a Bewilderbeast as well? Get one into my possession?"

Drago chuckled lightly, giving off a dark tone. "There are very few Alphas left in this world." he said, spinning to face Ivar.

"However, there is one Dragon that I know of. Although it is arrogant, it's fiery breath will incinerate the armies of your enemies, and its size will dwarf them like critters. It will be like a moving mountain. An unstoppable moving mountain."

Ivar grinned wickedly. His brows lowered as an evil giggle escaped from his mouth. "The combination of my machines of war and Dragon Will shall make the Archipelago tremble before my might, and after I am finished with them I will get revenge on the Christians who drove me out and defeated me years ago. No opponent will see what is coming to them, and soon after, the Fall of Dragons will come."

His back then turned to face Drago as he once more stared into the foggy distance. "But first, I still have much work that needs to be done back in Norway. No doubt that Hiccup will attempt to mobilize his warriors and continue his failure of an invasion against me. I will see to it that the runt dies by my axe."

"You seem ambitious in your mission." said Drago as he too turned to face back towards the ocean. "Don't let that get ahead of you though. After all, there is still so much to be done. But in the end, I think it will be worth it…"

An unnoticing yet suspicious smirk appeared on his face as his mind flew off. It seemed that he had other plans of his own of which he had patiently worked out over the years. Plans that not even Ivar knew about...

Just a quick note to those who are concerned; the Fall of Dragons likely isn't what you guys think it is. But when I reveal it later on in the story during a special event, you guys may or may not be shocked. But you'll just have to wait and see! :P

Either way, thank you for reading this chapter!