Apologies for the delay, guys! Unfortunately School has begun by this point, and for the past two weeks I have been very busy with it. But finally, I have been able to finish this chapter! So I hope you enjoy!
I'd also like to give a thanks to KorrieChan for the review last chapter! And for ignacio vivas (Guest)... sorry man, I only understand English.
Right then! Let's get back into it! (Also, the beginning of this chapter is inspired by one of my favorite movies!)
The following foggy morning came swiftly like a freezing breeze coming down from the North which blew all throughout the base of Dragon's Wake. The sun was hidden behind the wintry cloudy sky which to Hiccup, signified that a rough cold day laid ahead of him.
The young Viking stood in the woods outside Dragon's Wake with the sun barely showing as it slowly rose. His eyes were narrowed down as he felt his mind go elsewhere. He daydreamed, imagining himself back on Berk.
...And in his mind, there he was. He saw himself walking among the tall wheats and grassy plains of Berk whilst from above, the sun shone down onto him, bright and warm.
'Berk…' he thought to himself. 'How I miss it to bits. But is this real…?'
Though as he wandered across the plains, his hand ran across each meadow of grass and wheat that came into contact with it, and he felt them dance across his palm like dozens of small feet.
From a distance, he heard the chattering and laughter of hearty Berkians as if he remembered them from weeks ago, along with Dragons peacefully flying in the air with the wind flapping up and down across their wings.
But truth be told to Hiccup - the question was; how long had it really been since he left? Nearly two months maybe? One and a half?
Soon, there was a moment of interruption as the warm breeze from the wind was replaced with a cold howling chill in the air as his eyes opened and narrowed up.
The warm colors from Hiccup's mind were instantly replaced with blues and greys as he once again let his mind come back to reality. He saw himself standing back outside Dragon's Wake.
He sighed, looking up. "Well, clearly it was not… I wish it was." he said to himself.
The sky above him was turned back to a cold grey color whilst the fog surrounding him limited his vision. Only the distant torches and braziers provided the only source of light aside from the dimmed lit sun that laid behind the clouds.
He then heard the wind howl, this time sounding lighter and more fit to the feeling of winter compared to the warm spring which he saw in his mind.
He looked around, seeing that he was still standing in the middle of the woods outside the base.
He stood there, gazing around with his cloak hung tight on his back and shoulders as the grey and brown furs attached to it blew with the wind. His brown leather tunic and armor also helped in giving more heat to the young Viking, but the cold weather was the least of his worries.
It was the battles ahead that worried him the most.
But then Hiccup remembered that he was not alone. He looked to his left and noticed Toothless standing next to him, gazing at the eighteen year old with curious eyes and a concerned expression, though he was quick to shrug off his thoughts.
Hiccup sighed, motioning the Dragon with his head to follow. "Come on, Toothless. Let's go before we-"
Before he could finish however, something from the corner of his eye caught his attention.
From a distant log, he saw a white and red bird hopping across the wooden object, glancing around at the environment that surrounded it. To Hiccup, the bird reminded him that even in the coldest and dullest of lands, there would always be even a little color.
The bird was quick to then fly off with its wings flapping fast in the wind until it got too far away for it to even be heard. Hiccup smiled as he watched it go off in the distance, taking the reminder of the bird's tints to heart before a serious expression would return onto his face.
His brows lowered as he turned into other direction, tucking his cloak around him before walking off back towards Dragon's Wake.
"Right. Come on, Toothless." he said, nudging his head. "It's about time that we get our men assembled…"
…
In Dragon's Wake, horses were lined up and given out to the men as they galloped out the gates with warriors and maidens accompanying them by foot. By now the whole camp had woken up, and just about every Viking there was preparing to move out.
Hiccup, along with Magnus and Eira, Dagur, Astrid, and the group met near the Blacksmith with warriors all around them rushing from place to place to make final preparations. Plus, the Dragons were also there.
The Smithy by that point however had emptied itself out of weapons that were to be brought along on the long march, but that was despite that point on why Hiccup had summoned them.
"Right." he began, gazing at the others. "As you know, a long and cold day lays ahead of us. My father is somewhere out there fighting the Dark Eye Clan on his own and we need to find him. If we rally together then we can gather a great enough force to repel the enemy, and maybe even get the other Tribes back on our side."
Magnus crossed his arms, arching a brow. "But that would take a lot of time out of our hands." he spoke up. "We can't hope to find the others by wandering the entirety of the Grey Plains. It would just leave us exhausted."
"That's why I've made some plans ahead of time." Hiccup responded, followed by a light chuckle.
"As you guys know, there has been an increasing amount of Terrible Terrors showing up in Dragon's Wake, so knowing that they're good when it comes to tracking - I've decided to send a flock of them out to find them. About twelve or so."
"That's impossible." replied Astrid, shaking her head. "Hiccup, those plains are vast and the Terrible Terrors aren't even Tracker Classes. How can small Dragons scale an entire region on their own? That would take days if not a few weeks."
Although Astrid in a sense was right, she was also wrong as a small smirk appeared on the front of Hiccup's face. It seemed like the young man carefully planned his decision. And, obviously in this case; he did.
"Like I said, I made plans ahead of time." he said, before pulling out a scroll from one of the pocket-satchels attached to his belt. "For days I had been testing out a new system of sorts that allows me to send out messages through small periods of time. Fishlegs also tested it out for a bit with me, and after a while, we've decided to call it…"
"Terror mail." Fishlegs finished, bowing his head.
"Terror mail, eh?" Dagur asked, rubbing his hand against his chin curiously. "Well, I guess the name seems fair enough. But I still wonder- how will the Terrors recognize friend from foe even if they do go out and find them? For all we know, they could deliver the letters straight our enemies!"
"It's simple, really." answered Fishlegs, gazing up to the sky. "The Terrible Terrors, like us, are not native to Norway or Scandinavia. They've been all around the Archipelago from the furthest reaches of the North and South - to its East and West, and to its most outer part beyond the Fogbank. If anything, they will recognize our allies and enemies like prey. I'm certain of it."
Magnus slowly nodded his head at the idea, leaning against a nearby barrel. "I think it could work… but we'll have to wait and see. For now, we must get ready to depart from Dragon's Wake. I reckon that the men are set and ready to go-"
"Wait wait wait," interrupted Ruffnut. "If we take all of our warriors with us, don't you reckon that the Scandinavians will just come in and retake the base while we are away?"
Eira who stood nearby shook her head. "They do not know that Dragon's Wake is under our control, but rather they still believe that it is under theirs. If anything, the enemy won't bother to come unless they grow suspicious- but right now we shouldn't waste anymore time with this. We have to get going."
"Then we will waste no further time." Hiccup said, tilting his head to the Blacksmith. "You guys go and make sure our ranks are in order- I need to quickly get something before we begin our march. Oh and, make sure to bring something warm for the journey... now go."
The group nodded at Hiccup before they began to head out with their Dragons following them. All except for Toothless who was motioned by Hiccup to follow him into the Smithy.
Upon heading inside, Hiccup's eyes fell onto his work-desk as he began rummaging through of what he left on it. Mostly, it was a stack of books and parchment all grouped up together.
"Now where did I put it?" he asked himself. "It's got to be around here somewhere. I'm sure that- ah! Here it is!"
Toothless watched him with curiosity, tilting his head as he gave off a noticeable croon, questioning to himself on what exactly Hiccup was trying to bring along... especially since the Viking now had what seemed to be a large sewn out piece of red leather attached to a long metal rod of some sorts, all sheathed to his back like a weapon.
Hiccup turned back to Toothless who was still giving the same look at his Rider, but the lad just grinned.
"All set." he said as he tightened his leather grips. "Now then… are you ready for another challenge, Bud?"
…
Three hours later...
The snow blew lightly in their faces as they all marched along the road in formation. From behind, the Hooligans, Berserkers, and Warsung followed with their eyes peeled despite the cold wind blowing towards them.
From above the treeline, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins flew atop their Dragons - keeping watch of the area around them while keeping close to the others down below.
Hiccup marched at the very front of the allied forces, mounted atop Toothless with Astrid, Magnus, Eira, Heather, and Dagur on his flanks protecting him. But ever since they left Dragon's Wake, it almost seemed as if Hiccup did not need protection. Especially since Toothless was gazing around on the lookout.
Astrid, who was walking on foot with Stormfly near her, spun her head to the left towards Hiccup, giving off a questioning look.
She tucked her furred cloak around her like a blanket. "You haven't said anything ever since we left Dragon's Wake. Is there something on your mind? ...Is it Stoick?"
"It's not just my father that I am thinking about, Astrid." he said, looking around. "Right now, I am concerned about the Dark Eye Clan. So far, we have marched for three hours without end, and I don't see a single sign of the enemy. Wouldn't they have scouts this far out?"
Astrid shrugged. "I don't know. I am not as familiar with the lands of Norway as you are. You grew up here after all, didn't you?"
"I wouldn't say that. After all, I was pretty much held as a thrall in Kattegat for nearly my entire life. The only time I got to go out was when Magnus' father went hunting, and he would always give an excuse to Olaf to let me go with him - saying he needed someone to pull the cart which we would put our hunted meat in."
Astrid continued gazing at Hiccup, intrigued in the lad's story. "I see… and was hunting a pain for you as well?"
"Not at all." he replied, looking back at the shield maiden with a small grin on his face. "In fact, I actually quite liked it. Magnus' father was a great man. He was after all one who easily knew friend from foe, and prey from predator. If anything, he just wanted to bring me along so that I could experience what a normal life was like."
"And he would always be the one pulling the cart." said Magnus as he rode closer to the two Vikings from atop his horse, walking along with them. "My father, unlike Ivar or his puppet Olaf, knew mercy. Even when Ivar and the first Great Viking Army was away in Britannia-England raging war, Hiccup still was treated miserably and labeled as a slave by the rest of Kattegat."
"And yet Ivar was still King at the time?" Astrid asked, getting furtherly interested.
Magnus shook his head. "Well, he wasn't King… yet. Even though he was sixteen at the time and was the one leading the army, Ivar argued with his brothers that came along with him since he was paranoid that they'd replace him despite their respected loyalty to him, though he was the youngest at the time. If anything, one of the brothers stood out to me- and I think he would have made a far greater King than Ivar."
"Hm, I didn't know Ivar had brothers. But the one you mentioned in particular… what was his name?"
"His name was Ubba Lothbrök, son of Ragnar Lothbrök." he answered, sighing at the thought. "Believe it or not, Ubba was one who knew the meaning of mercy among his own. He would always think deeply on the decisions he made, and would treat his men with respect as if they were his own kin…"
Magnus' words came to a halt as his eyes narrowed down, letting out a grunting exhale. "But Ivar was different. He would take the opportunity to raid, pillage, and kill whenever it came upon him, and he cared not for the feelings or health of his men. He is a warmonger and an immature ruler... but I'll drink to see the day when the Boy-King is removed from his precious throne."
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. And as for Ivar's brothers, we don't know what happened to Ubba or the others. If anything, Ivar probably tore his brotherhood apart. All we know is that he came back from England alone, and he announced his "valiant defeat." After all, Ivar didn't just invade Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria for conquest."
"I see…" mumbled Astrid, rubbing her chin. "So then what did he want? Was there a bigger purpose to all of this?"
"The meaning behind the invasion was to also avenge his father Ragnar who was killed by the hands of the English-Saxon King; King Ælla." said Magnus. "At the Battle of York, the young Viking captured the cowardly pig and ordered to have the most gruesome of all Viking executions be performed on Ælla. You've seen me do it before on Mildew, remember?"
The young lass gulped at the thought of it as a shiver went down her spine. "The Blood Eagle."
"Aye. But even after Ælla's death, it wasn't long before Ivar decided to-"
Before Magnus could finish, the sudden sound of boots hitting the ground from up ahead caught his attention as him and other warriors around him began to become suspicious.
"Wait… are we not alone?" asked Eira.
But they would figure out soon enough as a voice bellowed from the sky. Snotlout began yelling down to them loudly, with his tone and voice giving off an alerting expression.
"There are figures moving quickly up ahead!" he shouted, peering in the distance. "They're- they're Dark Eye colors! THEY'RE COMING OUR WAY!"
Hiccup's eyes widened with near panic, realizing that the Dark Eye Clan had now someway somehow found them... or perhaps that they had found them. "EVERYONE, TO ME!" he shouted. "IT IS TIME TO PREPARE FOR A FIGHT!"
The march immediately came to halt with chatters among the ranks, and every warrior and maiden down the line unsheathed their weapons and shields, running into position to guard Hiccup's flanks as even the Riders from the air were forced to come down.
Snotlout and Hookfang were quick to land at the front of the line on Hiccup's left, with the Nightmare lighting himself aflame like a large bonfire.
Hiccup's eyes gazed towards him. "How many are there, Snotlout?"
"At least a couple hundred or so, maybe more! They've must have heard us from afar, Hiccup. They just came out of nowhere. We may have to-"
"THERE THEY ARE!" a voice called out from up ahead.
From the distance, the Vikings of the Dark Eye Clan along with a couple of minor Tribes ran into view of the group, and upon a closer look they were able to see how many exactly they were dealing with. But Hiccup by that point was ready for a fight.
The lad dismounted from Toothless, unsheathing his sword and lighting it aflame.
"SHIELD WALL!" he called out.
From his flanks and his behind, the Viking warriors held their shields outwards as a sturdy wall of wood was quickly made since by then, the Dark Eye Vikings were already quickening their pace.
Up ahead, they too began to make their battle line with swordsmen, axemen, archers, and spearmen sprinting into formation - with the spearmen at the front of the ranks - all centering around their war captain who had his polearm out and pointed.
"Oh Thor." Hiccup sighed. "This position seems all too familiar. But here we go again."
Without wasting a single word or moment, the captain swept his polearm down vertically, roaring out "ÁKÆRA! (CHARGE)", and the Dark Eye warriors immediately ran forward with their weapons raised and out.
Hiccup raised his weapon up, ready to brace for impact from the enemy as they made their charge towards him. But even as they were prepared for the enemy, something happened that he nor the enemy was expecting.
From the woods, a large tree immediately came crashing down in the middle of the wide dirt-path, separating the Dark Eye Vikings from their opponent and causing heavy confusion among them.
The captain gritted his teeth as he looked around, swinging his polearm out of frustration. "What is this foolishness!?" he barked, glancing from left to right. "Show yourself! Or else I'll force you to come out, you cowardly son of a-!"
His words instantly came to a stop as an axe came hurling out of nowhere, and into the Viking's head as if he was nothing but a practice-dummy, for not even his helmet protected him.
He fell to the ground, now lifeless with blood bleeding out of his wound - causing immediate and utter panic among the Dark Eye ranks.
"What's going on here!?" one of them called out.
An answer would be given. This time, an arrow came flying out, once again from the woods, and it would impact directly into the man's neck, causing him to fall down in pain as the air and life in him slowly left him.
All of the Dark Eye warriors fell their eyes upon the two corpses that now laid at their feet, and immediately another arrow would soon follow - getting another direct hit before multitudes of arrows would begin firing from both sides of the dirt road.
One of them spoke up in horror as they attempted to defend themselves, "What is going on here!? What is this trickery-!?", but would quickly be shot down along with those that were being impaled by the volleys of arrows.
By that point, Hiccup saw the opportunity become opened to him, and he tilted his look to Toothless, nudging his head to the side.
"Plasma blast, Toothless!"
The Dragon inhaled a quick mouthful of air, and with a thrust of his head a speeding ball of purple flames flew out and hit a cluster of Dark Eye warriors, setting them aflame, and by that point - they were on the run as their numbers were simply annihilated.
But their escape would not prove to be as simple.
"WARSUNG, PURSUE THEM!"
A voice rose up from the woods as multitudes of Vikings came rushing out with their axes, spears, bows, and swords in-hand. They lashed out at the fleeing Dark Eye warriors of whom were trying to escape, lobbing out their weapons, slicing with their swords, shooting with their arrows, and hacking with their axes. Before Hiccup or the others knew it, no one from the enemy warband remained. It was a battle over before it even begun.
As the large force of Vikings rallied up, Hiccup stared at the hundreds of warriors and maidens that now stood before him at attention. He knew just by simply looking at their colors that they were Warsung Vikings, which could have only meant one thing.
"Magnus." he said in shock, sheathing his weapon. "I think we may have found the rest of the Warsung warriors. The rest of your Tribe!"
"Quite the opposite way around, actually!" a familiar voice replied from the distance. "We were the ones who actually found you, and were it not for us, you would have likely suffered numerable losses."
A blonde-haired figure from the center of the Warsung force stepped forth. Both axes were gripped in his hands with his face slightly dirty from past battles, and the armor he wore - the blue tunic, brown gambeson, and leather leggings and boots were all too familiar to Hiccup. Especially to Magnus who smirked from atop his horse.
"We have traveled these woods far and wide- looking for you, Chieftain." the young man said. "And yet by the Gods, after all of these days of searching, we finally managed to find you! ...I hope you aren't too shocked, Magnus."
The Warsung Chief shook his head with a chuckle. "Not at all, old friend!" he said with a smile. "It is an honor to have you once again by my side, Sigurd."
Magnus dismounted from his horse, approaching Sigurd with his hand out as the two young men both exchanged handshakes that led into a brotherly hug, giving off grinned expressions.
"It's good to see you again too, Magnus." said Sigurd as the two of them both separated, though his expression then changed back into a serious manner. "Unfortunately right now however, there are more important things at hand. Despite the days I spent searching for you, I now bring urgent news that you'll want to hear."
"If you have news to bring, you'll want to tell Hiccup." His hand motioned towards the young lad as he stepped forward, willing to hear out the older Viking.
"What news do you bring, then?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"We've found out where your father Stoick and the rest of the Hooligan Tribe are hiding out." he began. The tone in his voice sounded grim. "Now, that may not sound bad, but things may have gotten from bad to worse for your Tribe's situation."
"Worse?" Hiccup questioned, dropping his arms to his sides. "Tell me everything you know, Sigurd."
"Your father and the rest of the Berkian army is on the brink of desolation, Hiccup. The Dark Eye Clan has been harassing them for days on end, and so far their strategy is working. They have been tiring Stoick and his warriors out, and so far their casualties are very, very few. But if something isn't done now soon then it will get worse, and we may possibly lose nearly the entire Tribe."
Sigurd's words deeply affected Hiccup. The grip on his sheathed blade tightened eversomore as his brows lowered in anger. "Those bastards will get what is coming to them." he swore in a deep voice that sounded different than to what he usually sounded like. "Where are they based?"
Sigurd pointed into the distance down the path. "On the border of these woods to the East, near the Grey Plains where the Dark Eye Clan are based. But we better hurry. I am afraid we don't have long."