This will be the last chapter for 2018 guys! It is hard to believe that it has been an entire year since I began this story, but I assure you that it will end soon! After that, I have a new idea in mind. But you will have to wait for that!
I would like to also thank everyone for the support so far. You guys inspired me to continue this story going, so I hope you guys will like this chapter!
Enjoy!
They cheered to their victory that night in Strongholm. While most of the warriors and the Chieftains retired to their tents and quarters, others were up and out, relieved from the long battle that they had endured that day.
Meanwhile in the Great Hall however, the group celebrated along with their Dragons, sitting around the long-table in the center of the large room while eating their fill and drinking mead with their Dragons hanging about.
Even Hiccup himself felt hearty about it. Though he knew the next battle would be soon, he didn't want the moment to be spoiled by his negative feelings and emotions.
No. This would be his night to celebrate with his friends, and with Toothless.
His mind would stop daydreaming however when he suddenly heard the sound of a hand banging loudly on the table.
All eyes from the group and the Dragons fell upon Ubba who sat at one end of the table with his brothers, and in their hands they held mugs of mead.
The Battleborn Jarl gave a hearty smile as his eyes gazed at the group.
"My friends." he said. "Tonight we celebrate our victory against a great common foe who we defeated despite all odds. Though we still have quite a way to go, what is certain is that my brother Ivar will find himself without anymore allies once he returns to Norway. Soon, it will just be him and us."
"But tonight is not about that. Tonight, we drink to our fallen, and to our new alliance!"
Ubba then rose his mug up in the air, before saying cheerfully with his brothers "Skál!"
"SKÁL!"
The voices of Hiccup, Astrid, Magnus, Eira, and the rest of the Riders bellowed throughout the Great Hall as they rose their drinks and drank happily to their victory and to their honored dead.
After that the Hall once more filled with their voices, with the loudest coming from the Twins, Fishlegs, and Snotlout who were rambling random things from their drunken mouths.
"Y- Y'know." giggled Tuffnut. "Thissh mead… ish like a giffft from thuh Gods. I'm tellin' ya, it'sh like Odin himshelf rained thishhh shtuff down onto the earth, if ya get whut I mean…"
What followed was a hysterical laugh from both of the Twins, Fishlegs, and Snotlout - though the rest of the group was not surprised seeing as it was expected from them being drunk.
Hiccup sighed, shaking his head as he turned to Astrid who sat next to him. "Well, here we go with Drunknut again. I swear, he never stops talking after three mugs. Last time he drank three he would not stop babbling about how Dragons could one day talk. Ridiculous."
"Well that's Tuffnut for you." shrugged Astrid. "He once boasted years ago in the Great Hall on Berk that Loki should have just Loki'd the Hel out of the Berserkers to keep them away. After all, our two Tribes at the time were not at all friendly."
"Loki'd?" asked Heather who sat across from both Hiccup and Astrid.
"Yeah… it's this thing that the Twins made up where they make ridiculous pranks on others. Some of their pranks however are just too much. I almost broke an arm because of them after they placed a salmon at the doorstep of my hut, making me slip and fall down the stairs."
"Ouch." both Hiccup and Heather said in unison.
"Were you at least fine afterwards?" asked Hiccup.
Astrid nodded. "Yep. And when I figured out that it was the Twins, I gave them what was coming to them and… well, I'd rather not explain."
"I'd rather not hear." Heather replied as the three of them gave out hearty laughs. "To be honest though, I can imagine how Ivar's life would be if he was pranked constantly by the Twins without knowing about them."
"He would probably find out eventually." Hiccup said softly. "Ivar is no one to be joked with. If he wants you dead, he'll have you dead, even after he told his people that he was a merciful Chieftain and that he loved them."
"That's… a bit unnerving." said Astrid. "What did he say?"
For moment Hiccup gagged as he slowly drank from his mead, before looking back at Astrid as he began imitating Ivar's voice in a Nordic accent.
"Hatred must never take the place of love." he imitated with a scoff. "That is also exactly what he said to the people of Kattegat after he ordered a public hanging of three rebels who tried to start an uprising in the town more than a year ago. It disgusts me to this day, but the way he said it just goes to show that there was something wrong with him from the start."
Heather shook her head with an uncomforting sensation. "I am glad the Berserkers never had a Chieftain like that. No one in the Archipelago would go as far as to doing something like that... though maybe the Murderous Tribe would."
"Huh… the Murderous Tribe?" asked Hiccup. "I know very little about them."
"Then it's best you don't know anything else about them." she replied. "Anyways… I think I will retire for tonight. I'm a little bit tired and unnerved right now."
Both Hiccup and Astrid nodded at Heather as she stood from her chair and began making her way towards the stairs leading up to the guest quarters, but as she left, Hiccup felt concerned as to the way she reacted.
"What was that?" he asked Astrid.
"...Heather and Dagur with many other Tribes have a history with the Murderous Tribe. The only reason Berk ever became allies with the Berserkers is because the Murderous Tribe interfered with the war between us - and forced both our Tribes to ally against them. We beat them in the end. After that however, Dagur decided to surrender to us rather than propose a truce. I guess something hit him that made him change for the better."
"Hmm, I guess so." Hiccup said as he clutched his hands up into a ball. "But for the Murderous Tribe, it's best we don't ever go near them in the future. From what I've heard from Snotlout, he says it's the biggest Tribe in the Archipelago because it is made up of mongrels, thieves, and warmongers… and of course, murderers."
Astrid nodded her head in agreement. "Then let's hope we don't start a war with them after this one ends. Ivar has been a bigger threat to us for months now, and I say that it's about time that we put him down."
"Aye. I'll be glad to see the day when he falls beneath my blade. Though who knows, maybe Toothless could get the final blow, wouldn't you agree Bud?"
The Night Fury replied with a nod of his head as he crooned in an almost sleepy manner. By then it was late, so it was understandable for Toothless to be exhausted.
Hiccup sighed as he stood from his seat. "It's getting late." he said. "We should get some rest for tomorrow. It's going to be a fast and tiring flight to the Iron Foundry. After we're done there, we'll fly back to Dragon's Wake and-"
As he was about to finish speaking, the suspicious but strange-looking sight of Magnus and Eira caught his attention as he saw the two stand up while holding hands. Both of them were almost laughing.
He watched as Eira, who was drunk, whispered quietly into Magnus' ears before she then jumped up into his arms as their lips roughly met, all before the two of them then quickly stormed towards the doors leading up to the chambers they slept in, still holding hands the entire way.
Hiccup's jaw slightly dropped. "Oh my…"
Astrid arched a brow. "Something wrong Hiccup? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."
"N- No Astrid." he replied, shaking his head. "It's Magnus and Eira. I think they are both drunk, Astrid. Not just that, but I think they're about to…"
His voice came to a stop on the last two words, but rather than continue, he decided to forget about it.
"What?" asked Astrid, only to see his head shake again.
"It's- it's nothing, Astrid. Let's just allow them have the night to their own."
"Night to their own? What are you-? ...Oh."
…
The next morning…
The night quickly went by as the morning came silently and swiftly. Many felt unsettled and impatient for what was about to go down that day, especially the Riders.
As they prepared their Dragons to fly out and got ready for what was to come, Magnus sat on his bed with Eira standing in front of him - strapping on his equipment with a determined look on his face.
He then looked up at Eira who gently grabbed his hands as she helped him to his feet.
"That was... quite the night, my dear." he said, teasing her.
She responded jokingly by lightly fisting his shoulder. "Oh stop it." she giggled. "It was just one night to ourselves. It was nothing that special. You're acting as if I was Freya herself!"
"What if you were?" he asked her.
"Oh stop it!" she replied with a lively chuckle. "You're going to make me blush."
Magnus gave a hearty chuckle. "I'm only teasing you. If anything, I'm thinking more about you right now rather than the battle ahead. Though- I will say…"
The room went dead silent. Almost instantly his smile vanished as he let out a light sigh, turning his eyes towards the nearby opened window. To this, Eira immediately felt concerned.
"What's wrong Magnus?" she asked, grasping his left hand with both of her hands.
He shrugged, shaking his head. "Look- Eira…" he said as he looked back at her. "Maybe it's for the best that you don't come with me into this next battle... I want you to stay here."
"What?" she asked. "But why?"
"...It's a reason that is too much for you to take in." he answered. "After what you and I did, I feel like something extraordinary may happen soon."
"What are you talking about? Magnus, we both promised that we would stick with each other wherever we went, until the end - no matter the risks-"
"I don't want to risk you in this one, Eira." he said, placing his other hand onto hers. "Look, you and I are well aware what we did last night. If what I think will happen does become a reality, then I want to ensure that neither you nor what may be in you gets hurt."
"But- but what if you get hurt?" Eira blinked, stuttering in her words. "I don't want you to be-"
"I would rather be on the brink of death rather than risk our future bloodline, Eira!" he let out, but not before his voice quickly dropped to a hush tone.
"Eira, please understand that you and I are family now, but it was several battles ago that you nearly lost your life, even when we had the upper hand. I don't want that to happen again. If you were ever carrying a babe in you, you would be risking both yourself and our child. You know that..."
"I do, Magnus, it's just that I- ...I understand. If you have to go alone to protect me, then I'll stay here until you return."
Eira let out a sigh, lowering her head just before Magnus laid the tip of his fingers under her chin, lifting her face up to meet his.
"I promise I'll be back with Thorwind before tonight, healthy and well." he said, smiling. "The Battleborn guards will keep you safe, I promise-"
The sudden knock on their door caught their attention as Hiccup's voice muffled loudly through. "It's time, Magnus. We're ready."
"I'll be on my way in a moment." he replied.
As Magnus' eyes then looked back towards Eira, he noticed she had a tear building up in her left eye. He quickly reached his finger to her eye and wiped it away before moving his head forward to hers, kissing her on the lips for what seemed like half a minute.
He then gently separated from her, pulling back as he made his way to the door, looking back and saying "I love you, Eira." before finally heading down to make his leave.
Eira sighed as she stood there all alone in the room, giving an almost emotionless expression.
"I love you too, Magnus…"
…
"What do you mean there isn't going to be any reinforcements, commander?! Did I not give you a direct order to travel to the Forgework Harbor before the battle even began to prepare our fleet? You come back empty handed without a response, so I will ask again; WHAT THE HEL HAPPENED!?"
Vlar paced back and forth, glaring at his commander. He and the remains of his Clan - now numbering two thousand - positioned themselves in the opening a couple of miles away from the Iron Foundry, with the Fortress in plain sight from the far distance. Too exhausted to continue on after the long march, they all camped for a quick rest but remained close.
The same however could not be said for the Chieftain of the Iron Wolf Clan as he intimidated his commander.
The warrior stuttered in his words. "I'm telling you Chief, I did all I could! When I arrived at the Forgework Harbor, there was almost nothing left of it! In a flash, the whole place just blew up into flames! I-"
"Blew up?" Vlar interrupted. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT JUST BLEW UP!? Unless one of the Devastators were sabotaged or one of the ships with oil and tar supplies were set aflame, nothing could have gone in and destroyed the Harbor! I ordered it to be fortified to the extreme-"
"It was destroyed by Dragon Riders, Chieftain!" the commander answered. "They all came in by the hundreds atop their Dragons, wearing Berkian colors, but I never once saw any of them on the battlefield!"
"Impossible." the Chief growled. "First I learn that the Forgework Harbor was destroyed, and now I learn that Haddock's Tribe has somehow mustered a Dragon army!? Do you know what this means, commander!? We're doomed dammit! If it wasn't for your slow pacing we could have received reinforcements from Kattegat! You have failed me!"
"But Chieftain, King Ivar would have never allowed us to take any of his forces from Kattegat. He specifically mentioned that-"
Vlar slammed the head of his warhammer down to the ground, once more interrupting the warrior. "Not unless it was an emergency, commander. We could have won this battle if-!"
His words immediately ceased as the sound of something big and large caught him, his commander, and all of his warriors by surprise.
An explosion bursted out from the Iron Foundry in the distance. Vlar could see a few chimneys from afar quickly fall apart into bricks of stone rubble as another explosion followed. Then another followed, and then another.
His Fortress was now in flames, and the fire was quickly spreading.
He took a step forward, still facing the burning Foundry which was slowly beginning to crumble and come down, yet as he squinted his eyes he was able to spot the distant silhouettes of six flying Dragons coming towards them.
One them he was able to recognize due to the familiar figure of a Night Fury.
"Hiccup you fool…" he grunted in a deep voice. "How could he have known from the start that my Fortress was emptied out and unguarded!? How did he…"
"Warlord!" a voice called out.
Vlar's attention quickly turned to the South, spotting a scout from atop a horse riding towards him with haste, not bothering to dismount as she stopped before the Warlord.
"Warlord Vlar!" she said, addressing him. "We've spotted enemy forces marching hastily towards our position. It's an entire army!"
"How many?" he asked.
"Too many! We're outnumbered more than two to one! Our foe could be here at any moment and-!"
Before they knew it, the sounding of horns from the South caught them off guard as they could hear the distant marching of boots coming towards them.
And then they saw it. Up ahead, Vlar could see the figures of thousands of Vikings marching towards him, all armed and well-equipped to take him and his warriors on. Yet even as he still heard the explosions bursting from his Foundry, he knew there and then that he was in a doomed position.
From Hiccup's point of view however, he knew that things were about to get heated up.
As he soared through the air atop Toothless, he looked to his left and right flanks at the Riders that flew with him, giving them a nod.
"Alright, gang!" he said. "We've made it this far, so let's make this count! Attack them where they are weak and vulnerable!"
Magnus gave a nod. "We're ready for anything!"
"Let's do this!" Tuffnut cheered.
"Alright!" chuckled Snotlout. "Time to kick some butt!"
As the Riders continued to close in, Vlar glared down Hiccup and the Dragon Riders with hate, all whilst ignoring his men who were running around the camp without order in an attempt to arm themselves for the unexpected ambush.
Toothless then lit his mouth up with purple flames, and then it happened…
"Toothless, plasma blast!"
Just as a quick A/N before ending this chapter off, I want to say that next chapter will be a battle chapter, but it will only last one chapter because since we know Vlar is outnumbered and outmatched, so you may probably already assume that he is screwed!
Also, yes - Magnus and Eira did get it on since they had a bit too much mead. But hey, that's Vikings for ya. :D
Thanks for reading! (Also goodbye 2018, and hello 2019!)