Quite alot for this chapter, if I do say so myself! It took quite a bit of thinking for how I'd want to play out this chapter, but after a bit of timr I have finally been able to write it out!
Please note that the start of this chapter begins on Berk as a side-setting, as in it tells us what is going on back on Berk, but for the most-part this chapter will be a battle chapter which will continue from where we left off.
Anyways though. I hope I did not bore you too much, so let's move onto the next chapter!
The skies darkened with clouds around Berk as the occasional sound of thunder boomed over the island and the ocean surrounding it. The winds blew with cold-sweeped chills, and it was clear that times were uneasy.
But it was hard to say the same for Gothi as she sat in her hut, shaking in her chair as if she was shivering whilst her arms gripped to her staff. Her eyes showed exhaustion and concern. But most of all…
They showed fear.
The base of her staff kept moving in circles, drawing shapes and figures in the sandy dirt that laid near her. Over and over she kept repeating the same mysterious pattern, and it was almost as if she had seen a nightmare.
Whilst this was going on however, the sound of a pair of steps coming up the ramp soon became noticeable, but that was beyond the Elder's concerns. What she did know however was that Gobber came into view with a look of curiosity on his face.
He stared at Gothi with both his brows raised. "Gothi, are ya alright?"
The Elder only responded with a shake of her head, before slamming the base of her staff down into the sand next to her. Gobber likely assumed that it was to get his attention.
Upon looking down, his eyes widened with a shocked and surprised look, slowly translating out loud what Gothi wrote, but he only managed to pick up four words.
"I see only… death." he read aloud, and he did it for the first time without mistake. He then looked back at the Elder. "Gothi, wha' do ya mean by only death? Have yer visions shown ye something? ...What did ya see?"
Gothi responded by clearing the dirt of anything she wrote before she once again started to write with her staff. Gobber then stared down at the reply she gave, and read aloud what she wrote.
"I saw... a great fire." he translated. "A fire tha' no ordinary Dragon could ever light aflame. Tha fire of a monster with wings tha' flap with tha winds of storms, and a roar tha' booms with tha sound o' thunder."
Gobber arched one of his brows after reading it, but Gothi again continued writing on from what she wrote, completing her terrorizing description.
The Viking read aloud once more. "But before it… there's a shadow commandin' it. He, who nearly brought doom upon us all, would now bring us somethin' far worse... He brings death. Red death."
"He?" Gobber asked, lowering his brows with a confused expression. "Who's this he, Gothi?"
Only one name came to Gothi's mind as she immediately wrote it down, and upon reading it, Gobber's eyes expressed the realization, knowing now what was coming their way and who it was coming from.
But most of all, he knew who it was going for first.
"I- ...Tha council must be called for an' assembled immediately!" he stuttered, nearly losing his words. "Hiccup must be warned!"
…
Hiccup glared across the field as the enemy charged him from afar. Their weapons were raised, and their shields were lifted, ready to clash with the lad and his forces.
But even as the Dark Eye ran towards the young Viking and his allies, their numbers still kept being plucked by the dozens with every volley shot from Magnus' archers on the hills, and their army slowly weakened.
Eventually, the Dark Eye numbers dwindled down to equal the Tribes' numbers, and Hiccup knew then that both he and the enemy were now evenly matched.
He looked to his left and right, towards his friends, his father, and the dragons, before glaring back at Frode with a ferocious look upon his face.
His voice then rose up, shouting out one word;
"CHARGE!"
Hiccup was the first to run forward with his friends and Toothless by his side. The Vikings behind him replied with a large "HOO!" in unison, before their voices turned into hundreds of roars and battle-cries as they followed Hiccup into battle with a massive charge.
The two sides glanced at each other with anger and pissed looks, giving off the occasional taunt of a growl and guttural scream at one another until finally, both sides clashed.
Upon reaching the enemy ranks, Hiccup sliced his flaming blade downwards at the opponent he faced with all of his might and strength, instantly toppling them as he broke through their lines.
His friends and the Dragons did the same thing as well with their attacks, resulting in a very large gap in the first row which allowed the Hooligans, Berserkers, and Warsung to easily break through along with them.
The ranks on both sides did disperse however, and thus the fighting happened all over the valley-pass.
From there, the battle officially began.
As Hiccup battled the enemy, he fought alongside Toothless and the other Riders as one group in an attempt to get the most damage done to the Dark Eye Clan and their allies.
The scrawny Viking, despite his weak arms, focused more on using his strength and speed as a result of the frenzy that he built up from waiting for the fight. With both of these traits, Hiccup was able to attack in nearly all directions without being caught off-guard. He would slam and slice down his blade at an opponent and their defense, pinning them down and getting them off balanced before attacking from another side, killing them with a clean strike.
One by one, without keeping count, Hiccup struck out at his foes like they were not even real opponents, but rather practice dummies, and to this he somewhat chuckled.
However, that was despite the point, for the situation had quickly started to turn. But it was not for the best.
He glanced around, looking towards his friends and the Dragons as they slowly but surely began to close in facing back-to-back. On all sides, the enemy started to surround them.
Astrid, whilst fighting with Stormfly, looked back at Hiccup with a serious look as she too began to notice the change.
"Hiccup, we can't hold like this for much longer!" she called out as she chopped her axe into the chest of a Dark Eye warrior. "They're going to surround us if we continue like this! We need to get out!"
"I'll think of something!" he replied back, still focusing back on the battle.
But before he knew it, a series of roars and shouting caught his attention which from his left flank, and from a distance he saw a small group of a dozen Vikings quickly rushing him with their weapons raised.
Hiccup's eyes widened in shock at the surprise attack, and immediately his eyes fell on Toothless who stood near him in a combat-ready position.
He gave a sharp whistle to the Black Dragon, catching his attention as he pointed towards the charging ranks of Dark Eye Vikings.
"PLASMA BLAST, BUD!"
The Night Fury quickly obliged to his command, firing forth a blast of purple fire towards the charging warriors, and upon landing the fiery blow, every single one of them fell to the ground in flames as they burnt to death.
Hiccup nodded his head in approval, giving off a smirk. "Thanks, Bud!" he called out before his attention fell back onto the others of whom he fought with.
He slightly tilted his head to the side, glancing his eyes towards the Dragon Riders of whom he now faced back-to-back with.
"Right, we are not going to get anywhere with this." he said as he sliced the Dragon's Blade across the stomach of an oncoming Viking. "If we're to clear our way out of this, we'll need to attack the whole army head-on without letting them attack us."
Ruffnut sighed with grunt. "And how are we supposed to do that!? Hellooo, we are surrounded!"
"Not entirely!" Hiccup replied back. "Why do you think we have flying Dragons for a reason?"
A small moment of silence among the group followed, but then, Snotlout laughed out in amusement and astonishment at Hiccup's response. Immediately he knew what the Viking was trying to propose, and immediately he agreed with it.
"It would have been better if we did this at the start of the battle… but you know what; I am so in! Let's do this!"
He then gave out a sharp whistle to Hookfang, calling him closer to his side as he mounted atop the Monstrous Nightmare.
"Fly Hookfang! Let's set this army ablaze!"
The Dragon gave out a bellowing roar, setting part of his body aflame in intimidation before ascending up into the air with Snotlout on his back and saddle, and what followed was a rain of fire falling from the sky onto the enemy.
But even the Twins and Fishlegs were eager to go along with him.
"You know what." said Ruffnut. "If we're to defeat these fellas today, we will do it with style! Come brother, let's give them a lil' taste of Barf and Belch!"
Tuffnut chuckled in laughter. "Haha! Thought you wouldn't ask, sister!"
And just like that, the Twins were off into the air from atop their Dragon - with Fishlegs being quick to follow as the three airborne Dragon Riders along with Snotlout were quick to clear the area around Hiccup and Astrid.
Now it was just the two of them being the only Riders on the ground alongside their Dragons. But with their friends up in the sky, they were unbreakable.
But it was then however that Hiccup saw an opening, and he knew that it was their chance to move since from afar - he saw Frode, the Dark Eye Chieftain, fighting from atop his horse.
He glanced at Astrid, motioning to her to follow. "This is our only chance! Let's take down their Chieftain and make a quick end of this battle!"
The shield maiden nodded, proceeding to follow Hiccup through the fight with Toothless and Stormfly accompanying them as they blasted and fought their way through rank upon rank of Scandinavian Vikings until eventually, they made their way into a clearing where they could fight Frode.
The two of them stopped in their tracks, and from a short distance, they saw the enemy Chieftain swinging his blade from atop his black steed, cutting down any Hooligan, Berserker, or Warsung warriors that got in his way.
Hiccup gritted his teeth, watching in anger as the Chieftain rode closer to him. "It'll take more than his blunt blade to take us all out. Toothless, dismount him!"
The Night Fury once again lit up his mouth with flames, shooting out a plasma blast in front of the ongoing Chieftain and his black horse.
The Viking felt the shockwave of the Dragon's blast launch him off his horse, rendering him mountless as a result and leaving him without his steed as he watched it ride off in fright.
Frode growled in anger, standing to face Hiccup and Astrid who both had their blades out, pointing towards him.
"DAMN YOU!" he shouted. "I should have known that you would do something as stupid as this to slowly weaken my army! You have hindered my forces down as if they were parchment, and now you render me without my war steed!"
Frode's brows lowered more than ever, pointing his sword back at the two young Vikings as the three of them began to pace in a circle. The Chief was clearly done with keeping his temper, and now all he could think about was killing Hiccup.
"I will proudly present your head to King Ivar when I am through with you." he growled. "Then, I will take the broken bodies of your friends, and make a bonfire bigger than-"
"Shut up and fight already you whiny bastard!" Astrid interrupted, spinning her sword in a taunting manner.
Frode arched a brow, raising his sword up to his side with both hands. "Hm. Eager to fight I see? Very well then. Let's see who will come out on top! ODIN GUIDE MY STRIKES!"
The one eyed Chieftain began as he charged mainly for Hiccup, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly as he tried clashing with him, but Astrid was quick to intervene as both of the young Vikings blocked Frode's first attack, placing themselves in a weapon-lock which overpowered the enemy Chieftain.
"Push him back, Astrid! Together!"
In unison, the both of them heaved their weapons forward onto Frode's sword, pushing him back and off of Hiccup, though the Chieftain was quick to recover as he was hastily back on his feet, still locking his eyes on both of the Vikings.
"So, that's how you want to play then!?" he growled, spinning his sword in circles. "Then what say we even the odds?"
From around his waist, Frode pulled out a rallying horn, and with a sudden blow he sounded the horn - calling his men for aid which in turn alerted Toothless and Stormfly.
The two Dragons spun to face behind them, and from afar they saw mobs of Vikings rushing towards their location, all armed with weapons in both their hands.
Upon noticing this, both Hiccup and Astrid immediately gave the motion to Toothless and Stormfly to have them hold them off, and the two Dragons were off without delay, blasting their way through any enemy they came in contact with.
"Sorry." Hiccup said, smirking. "But this fight is going to go out fair and square! And we will win it out!"
Frode made a pissed-off expression, watching as both Toothless and Stormfly blasted away his men from the distance.
He then swung his sword in an arc, stomping his way towards Hiccup. "So be it, then. Prepare to die!"
The Chieftain once again engaged the two young Vikings, giving all he had at Hiccup and Astrid as he swung his blade quickly and precisely at both of them. To make the fight 'even' for himself, Frode lashed out at either of them to get them off balanced, or to damage them significantly before moving on to the other.
But they were just too even for him however, as even without their Dragons, they could still match up with the Viking Chieftain.
To counter Frode's attacks, they both focused on dodging and parrying his strikes before they in turn struck out at where he was most vulnerable. Astrid would use her sword with quick skill to slice across his limbs whenever she parried an attack, and if the opportunity presented itself, she would roll around him using her acrobatics, before attacking him from behind.
As for Hiccup, his strategy was different. Rather than relying more on his strength and speed as he did when the battle started, he relied more on his precision as Frode did in an attempt to even up the fight, and counter his attacks.
He focused on dodging and blocking the Chieftain's attacks in an attempt to leave him opened to strike. With every successful counter, Hiccup would make Frode go off-balance before slicing his weapon out towards the man's chest, mostly near the shoulders and ribs, and the attacks were mostly effective, for the Dragon's Blade provided Hiccup a huge advantage - with it's flames and steel cutting through Frode's armor.
However, despite all the effort, the Dark Eye Chief eventually had enough of it.
He pulled back, making his way to a safer position as he stood his ground panting. He looked all over his body, noticing the various bloody cuts Hiccup and Astrid afflicted onto him, and evermore did his glare get broader.
"I've had enough of this damn cowardly brawl!" he shouted, pointing his sword at Hiccup. "If I can't defeat you by myself…"
His blade then made its way pointing towards Astrid. "Then I'll have to get rid of her."
The shield maiden widened her eyes in shock. "Wait, what-!?"
And before she even saw it coming, she felt the sudden slash of the Chieftain's blade slice across her ankle, and instantly she fell to the ground - screaming in pain whilst holding onto the wound as blood slowly bled out of it. Along with that, she could not stand to her feet.
"Gods… DAMMIT!" she grunted, holding in her pain.
Hiccup let out a gasp, glancing at the wound that now rendered her almost useless in that moment, and immediately he felt an urge to rush to her side in an attempt to help her up, but he knew that it would just slow him down and allow Frode to get away.
He did however rush in front of Astrid to protect her, and then his eyes turned onto Frode with a dark glare. His face now filled with the look of anger and hate.
Frode laughed at Hiccup, making a tauntful posture. "Looks like you weren't quick enough, Haddock! What a shame to see your loved one cry in the muddy dirt as she bleeds out of a simple cut."
"A simple cut...? Now you REALLY want a piece of me, don't you?" he asked, now gripping the hilt of his fiery sword with both hands tightly. "If that is the case... THEN I'LL GIVE YOU SOME!"
The young Viking rushed forward with his arms raised above his head, and as he engaged Frode, he gave it all he had onto the Chieftain.
Hiccup swung with brutal speed and force onto the man, no longer focusing much on his precision now that he was in another frenzy.
But still, he would block and counter any attack that the Viking made, and he would strike back with attacks that were more painful and searing than the last ones he inflicted. His fiery blade struck true, and to his surprise, he struck more true than he could have imagined.
With four lucky moves, Hiccup managed to stab Frode below both shoulders, near one of his kidneys, and near the right side of his chest which resulted in the Dark Eye Chieftain to take a step back in pain from the grievous wounds he received.
At first, Hiccup thought he had done it since it appeared as if Frode was about to fall to his knees in defeat. After all, the many wounds that both he and Astrid made hindered him down to almost nothing.
...Or so he thought.
Frode suddenly rose up, straightening out his back as he responded quickly and efficiently with a direct punch to Hiccup's diaphragm - along with another punch to his face, sending him falling down on his back with his breath knocked out of him.
Hiccup gasped, breathless with his sword hurled out of his hand. He stared in fear as Frode approached him slowly with intimidation, carrying his blade with a tight grip until the tip of it found its way to Hiccup's neck, ready to stab through him and finish him.
Frode placed a foot on Hiccup's right hand, crushing it with heavy force as the young man screamed in pain.
"Looks like you were wrong." he said in a hushed tone. "I win."
The Dark Eye Chieftain slowly raised his blade up, levitating it over Hiccup's neck as he prepared to decapitate him with a clean cut. In his mind, Frode thought that the day had belonged to him, and that today, he would be the one to crush Ivar's greatest threat.
From behind, Astrid had witnessed Hiccup falling before Frode's mighty blow, and she gazed towards the scrawny Viking with terror in her eyes as the Chieftain was ready to finish him off.
But then, something snapped in her. Hate suddenly beamed in her eyes, and the pain to her surprise began to subside. It seemed as if her adrenaline was beginning to rush, and the mixture of her emotions gave her the courage to bolster what strength she had left to stand.
Slowly but surely, she stood to her feet with her blade now in hand, and as Frode was ready to chop Hiccup's head off, she rushed towards him.
"NO!" she screamed, raising her weapon up upon closing in, and with a mighty slice towards Frode's wrist, Astrid chopped off his right hand, hurling it across the field with his blade still gripping ahold of it.
The Dark Eye Chieftain, upon seeing his hand get cut off, screamed in horror, taking a few steps back before falling to his knees at the gruesome and bloody sight of his handless wrist. And before he knew it, he felt as if he was about to pass out.
His skin began to go pale, and he was bleeding out slowly from not just the blow that Astrid made, but from all of the wounds that were inflicted onto him from all across his body.
His head dangled down, unable to look up… and then he suddenly felt it.
Astrid stabbed her blade directly through Frode's heart, causing him to moan in pain as she twisted and turned the sharp sword around in circles, making him groan louder.
She then knelt down to his level, pulling out the sword and whispering; "Any last words before you leave for Helheim?"
The man gasped, mustering up all the air he could get before replying weakly; "Ivar… I have… failed you…"
And with that, the life quickly drained out from his body as he fell to the ground face first.
Frode, the Dark Eye Chieftain, was dead.
Astrid upon seeing his corpse sighed in relief before turning her attention upon Hiccup, and she helped him up to his feet. Although they both limped, they could at least still stand.
"Are you alright?" she asked, receiving a nod in response from him.
"Aye, I'm alright." he groaned. "But what about the battle? Are we winning?"
The two of them glanced around, gazing at the situation of the fight. But it seemed that by that point, the battle was now in their total favor as their foes one by one began to retreat.
Although they were able to count up a few dozen of their dead with a mere glance, Hiccup and Astrid knew that there were more dead on the opposite side, especially since they were able to spot Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins still on their Dragons - burning the enemy to a crisp.
But then, the sound of cheering took over as a series of familiar horns blew from behind, and almost instantly, every single Dark Eye Viking that was still fighting began to run for their lives towards the opposite direction in terror.
Hiccup arched a brow in concern. What was going on?
The answer would be given to him as he spun his head around in the opposite direction, and from afar he saw the colors of multiple tribes come into view.
The Outcasts, the Meatheads, the Bog Burglars, the Thunderheads, the Northlanders, the Dragon Trappers, and the Defenders of the Wing; they all finally managed to rally back together to continue the fight along with the Hooligans, Berserkers, and Warsung Tribes. From above, it looked like a tidal wave of warriors.
At the front of the massive lines pouring through, Alvin, Eret, Bertha, Mogadon, Mala, Arngrim, and Snorre charged alongside their forces, cutting down any fleeing opponent they spotted until there was no one left.
Soon, the remaining few Dark Eye Vikings, along with their allies, began fleeing from the sight of the two thousand Archipelago warriors, and out into the Grey Plains in the low dozens, battered and wounded.
And with that, the victorious tribes cheered in unison at the sight of the defeated and fleeing Vikings.
Hiccup smiled with a returned look of hope on his face, for he too cheered in relief, knowing that a great blow had been dealt today, and it would be one that Ivar would never recover from.
They had taken a big step forward.
From above, the Dragon Riders flew down towards the two Vikings with distant cheers, landing next to them as they met Hiccup and Astrid with firm hugs and pats on the shoulders.
"We did it!" Tuffnut chuckled. "We actually defeated 'em!"
Snotlout nodded with a smirk. "Aye, and if it weren't for Hiccup, we wouldn't have been able to win this! Honestly, just well done!"
"What we did today was for the best." replied Hiccup, resting a hand on Astrid's shoulder. "Today, Ivar has lost one of his major Chieftains and Clans, leaving only three of them to go. If we keep this up, we may be able to win this war faster than we could have thought. We could-"
"HICCUP!"
A familiar voice rose up from afar as it suddenly alarmed Hiccup, and from the distance, he noticed Toothless and Stormfly running with Magnus and Sigurd alongside them. But as they came closer, Hiccup noticed Magnus holding someone in his hands.
But it was not just anyone...
Eira laid in Magnus' arms, groaning in pain from the arrow embedded through the upper-right side of her chest, near her shoulder.
The Riders, upon seeing this, gasped as Magnus laid her down on the ground.
A tear ran down his face. "I- I was fighting back-to-back with her and Sigurd." he stuttered. "But as we were about to push, a volley of arrows came flying down onto us. I- I tried to take cover and protect Eira, but she was grievously hit! I..."
"You came just in time." he said, picking his fiery sword from up off the ground. "Fishlegs, you're the expert here. What do we do?"
"We'll have to return to Dragon's Wake to remove the arrow, and we'll have to get there fast. We don't have the tools needed to properly remove it. I assure you Magnus, she'll be fine; just as long as we get this arrow out safely without-"
"I get it!" nodded Magnus, sighing with a light sob. "I- I must fly her there, but I can't do it on Toothless. He is flightless without his tailfin."
"Take Stormfly." Astrid said, whistling the winged reptile over. "She is the second fastest dragon we have with us, and she can get you to Dragon's Wake in an hour."
"Then it's settled." responded Hiccup. "But you can't ride there alone. Fishlegs, Snotlout, I want you two to accompany them to Dragon's Wake. Make sure they arrive safely, understand?"
The two Vikings nodded at Hiccup's command, and soon enough, the three made their way off to Dragon's Wake, with Eira safely in their hands.
Yet as Hiccup watched them fly off into the distance, something else came to his mind. He looked back at the battlefield, and shuddered at the sight of the aftermath.
"I... I hope we can end this war as soon as possible." he said, sheathing his blade back into its hilt. "I still have lots of things to consider before we can move on, but until then, take this time to rest up. Today may belong to us, but I doubt the days ahead will get easier."