Happy New Year everyone!
Now, I would like to say before beginning that this chapter is a battle chapter, but it is change up a bit. It will take the point of view of only two of our protagonists going up against one of our antagonists, but I will say that did enjoy writing this one!
Also, you may possibly be mindblown once nearing the end of this chapter since something quite unique will happen which will change how things will go for one of our characters.
As usual for battles, I recommend listening to epic cinematic music for a better reading experience! Trust me, it will help.
Now then, let's begin!
Some time had passed since the battle began.
The skies above the battlefield appeared as if they were torn in two. From the East, the sun shone through the grey clouds onto the armies that fought as the Vikings and Slavic warriors clashed against each other, with the enemy being outnumbered and outmatched by the united force of the Vikings.
From the West, dark clouds flashing with lightning began to slowly close in - booming to the sound of thunder as if the Gods themselves were watching the battle. To them, it would have been amusing.
But the same could not be said for the Warlord of the Great Army.
Vlar grabbed ahold of rocky soil with his hand as he made his way out of battle after slaying a few dozen Vikings, climbing up a small hill to safety as he felt a light but cold breeze hit his face.
Snow began to fall.
As he eventually made it to the top he fell to his knees in exhaustion, looking back at the Iron Foundry which was burning in the distance, still crumbling down to bits.
All the meanwhile, he was able to see all around that his army was entirely surrounded - unable to make their way out as they were slowly being slaughtered. The battle on his side was a total disaster.
Vlar sighed, giving off a grim expression from his face. "Dammit all…" he said. "Why have the Gods forsaken me to die in this wasteland? Victory should have been mine!"
The Chieftain, although tired from battle, found the strength to stand to his feet as he felt his blood begin to heat up. He straightened himself out, turning his gaze to look out over the ruined battlefield. From where he stood, he could see almost everything.
He grunted, tightly gripping his warhammer with both hands as he looked up towards the skies. "HICCUP HADDOCK, SHOW YOURSELF! FACE ME YOURSELF YOU COWARDLY BOY!"
"VLAR!"
Hiccup's voice echoed through the air, catching the Warlord's attention with his gaze now turned East. He spotted the figures of both Hiccup and Toothless flying down towards him, landing more than a few feet in front of him.
The young Viking quickly dismounted off of his growling Night Fury, unsheathing his fiery sword as he pointed it towards Vlar.
The angered Chieftain grumbled. "You…" he said. "How could you have accomplished all of this!? You were not meant to win, Haddock! Ivar said that we would win! All of the Chieftains foresaw this! How could you still be fighting!?"
"It's because Ivar has blinded you from the truth!" replied Hiccup as his hand motioned towards the Iron Wolf's forces. "Look around you Vlar! You are surrounded! You are outmatched and outnumbered! You cannot win this one. If you surrender now, I will end this swiftly and painlessly!"
"NEVER!" Vlar roared. "Our Great Army will NEVER yield! ...You on the other hand have just signed your own death wish!"
As Vlar glared at Hiccup, the lad noticed that the Chieftain's warhammer slowly rose up above his head, looking as if it was ready for a pounding.
"You have a fine weapon, Haddock!" he taunted. "But that crummy piece of metal won't be able to help you! I too have made advancements to my own weapon!"
Suddenly, Vlar brought his hammer swinging down towards the rocky ground - hitting it with an impact so great that it caused sparks to go flying as a result of the metal head of the hammer and the rocks clashing.
Then something unexpected happened.
Almost immediately, the head of the warhammer lit up into flames in a similar fashion as Hiccup's blade. The metal heated up heavily to the point where it began to glow a bright orange.
Hiccup looked at Vlar with disbelief. "What? But how is that possible!?"
"My warhammer was coated with oil this morning before our fight even began!" he laughed. "Along with that, the metal of my weapon is flammable!"
Vlar rose his hammer to his shoulder, now smirking. "How grateful that you and your Dragon volunteered in being among the many to die by it! I will first smash your head to pieces Hiccup Haddock, and then I will carve the skin off of your Night Fury! Now... DIE!"
The Chieftain without warning quickly rushed towards Hiccup and Toothless, causing the lad to raise his blade up as he spun his head to his Dragon.
"Pounce back Bud! Get out of the way!"
Just in time Toothless quickly leaped away from the oncoming attack, dodging Vlar's large swing as his hammer instead clashed with Hiccup's sturdy blade.
Hiccup attempted to push back the hammer in an attempt to break the weapon lock, but it seemed that Vlar was too strong as he was able to push the Dragon's Blade close to Hiccup's face to the point where it was but a few inches away from his eye.
In a dangerous move, Hiccup brought his blade to the side, breaking the lock as he quickly but riskily rolled around the Warlord's left leg, successfully landing behind him as he ferociously sliced at the back of his ankle.
Vlar screamed in anger and pain as he felt the fiery sword pierce the back of his leg, but that gave him more fuel for his fire.
The Warlord in response swung his hammer back around in an attempt to bash his weapon into Hiccup, but his lack of leverage as a result of Hiccup's strike caused him to miss, and this once again gave Hiccup the advantage.
Knowing Vlar's moves were strong and quick, but also lazy, Hiccup took full advantage of it, knowing that it would be best to attack whenever he was opened whilst avoiding clashing his sword with the Warlord's weapon as he would be easily overwhelmed.
Hiccup swiftly ducked underneath Vlar's lazy swing, causing him to miss his attack which in turn also exposed his chest and limbs to the young Viking's blade. With two hasty and precise attacks, Hiccup sliced his sword across the vulnerable right side of Vlar's chest, causing him to let out a bellowing roar. Along with that, blood could also clearly be seen seeping out from the grievous wounds.
Vlar looked down at the side of his chest, growling. His gambeson was torn, and the weak side part of his chest plate had somehow been easily shattered. He even noticed that part of his inflicted wounds were cauterized, adding more pain to what he already had.
He looked back at Hiccup, now raging like an angry bull. "I WILL BURN YOU FROM SKIN TO BONE, HADDOCK! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR INSOLENCE!"
Vlar was once more ready to run at Hiccup, raising his warhammer angrily to his right shoulder as he grinded his boots into the rocky ground.
At the last second, Hiccup looked back at Toothless, giving him the signal.
"NOW BUD!"
Being too focused on Hiccup, Vlar had for the most-part forgotten about Toothless, because before the Warlord knew it - he felt a fiery sensation hit his chest directly.
A plasma blast from Toothless came hurling towards Vlar, causing him to fall straight onto his back as he groaned in pain. But even with all of the effort Hiccup gave in stopping him, it seemed like the Warlord still would not give up.
He quickly stood up, re-engaging Hiccup as he swung his hammer and once more began clashing with the lad's fiery blade. Hiccup unwillingly had no choice but strike back at the Warlord's weapon, seeing as how Vlar began to understand the Viking's tactics at how he struck him. Almost immediately, Hiccup's strategy became useless.
But then a new idea came to mind.
Rather than do something complex as he tried to do, he decided to go with the simpler yet effective and creative strategy - to parry his foe's attacks.
Knowing now how heavy Vlar's attacks were, Hiccup focused on making his parries quick enough to where he could easily strike the Iron Wolf without having to force himself into a weapon lock or have himself exposed and opened to the Warlord's attacks.
To do this, Hiccup used Vlar's own warhammer against him. Knowing that it was heavy, he parried the weapon away, causing the weight of the hammer to swing it into a completely different direction. This caused Vlar to swing himself where the hammer struck, which also left an opening for Hiccup to attack as he would slice and dice his Dragon's Blade at the Chieftain whenever he saw a vulnerable spot.
Hiccup struck first at his legs to slow his movement down, thus greatening the effects of the hammer's weight for Vlar. He then aimed towards Vlar's arms, causing him to weaken his grip and strength on his weapon as he felt it become heavier and heavier in hands, thus exhausting him further to where his face was exposed.
Seeing the moment dawn upon him, Hiccup tightened his right hand into a fist and with an effective and direct punch he brutally struck Vlar's face, particularly right in his nose.
The Warlord backed up a few steps, surprised as to what someone as scrawny as Hiccup just did. But before he could react, he felt his entire body drain almost entirely as he fell to his knees, still looking up at Hiccup with shock - and then hatred.
In an attempt to retaliate, Vlar slowly tried to stand up to his feet, but found himself back down on his knees as bent his back forward with exhaustion, coughing from the rough and brutal fight that had lasted thus far for many minutes.
He spat on the ground in a mocking manner, looking up at Hiccup with a glare. "Why do you still fight?" he asked. "How is it possible that a pup like you has managed strike me like this!? Why won't you just die already, or even consider surrendering!?"
"...It's because I believed in hope. I believed in not just myself, but as well as those who followed me." he said, taking few steps closer towards Vlar. "Unlike you and the other Chieftains who lacked thinking, I knew my boundaries. I knew my limits because my friends taught me to be who I really was. A Viking, a leader, and a son..."
Hiccup let out a sigh, thinking about all of the accomplishments that he had won over despite all odds.
"Let me start from the beginning." he began. "Your King's puppet Olaf; he was arrogant in his ways. He relied too little on thinking, and more on being aggressive. His acts of rushing to the front like the warmonger he was led to his doom, showing that your Great Heathen Army was not unbeatable."
"Frode of the Dark Eye Clan - your proclaimed seer; he did not know his limits when it came to strategy. His belief that the Gods were guiding him quickly became his downfall. His underestimation was why he failed to understand the true victor, thus it's why he was taken down in the end."
"Karvein of the Bloody Berserkers. His greatest weakness was his feelings. He thought too much about the spoils of war, and as well as spilling blood whenever he could. As a result, he began to doubt himself, and that led to his end as he questioned Ivar's promise of victory."
"Hjalmar of the Broken Axe Clan. Your ally last battle fell to my blade after his bloodlust took over. His rage and his anger was what led to him becoming so vulnerable. He was blinded by a red frenzy that costed him his life. Even after all that he accomplished, in the end the handless Chieftain was unable to take us out."
Hiccup paused for a moment, taking a few more steps forward until he finally stood before Vlar and knelt down to his level.
"And then there's you, Iron Wolf. If anything, your ego and desire for conquest was your biggest weakness. You focused more on your machines of war and constructs rather than training and fighting alongside your own men. Even after what happened at Skyrsdok, I now realize that not even a single Devastator that you make is enough to break us. It is because of your greed and pride that you failed, and that your precious Foundry burns."
"Either way, enough is enough, and your reign ends today."
Vlar chuckled. "You talk too much, Haddock… But you know what? You are right. It does end today… WITH YOUR DEATH!"
Hiccup was instantly taken by surprise. Without hesitation, Vlar threw a punch at Hiccup, landing a blow against his chest which sent him hurling back almost a few feet. As Hiccup fell to the rocky ground, he felt surges of pain course through his chest in multiple places, almost as if he was bruised by multiple Vikings at once.
Unexpectedly to Hiccup's surprise, Vlar found the strength to lift himself back up to his feet as he slowly began to make his way towards Hiccup.
Before he could do much however, he soon found himself in the clutches of Toothless as the Night Fury managed to pounce onto him. Toothless growled and roared in his face, attempting to bite down on him and injure him. Once again however, Vlar would pull a trick up his sleeve.
The Warlord tightened his hand into a fist, and with a single punch to a sensitive spot on the side of Toothless' head he managed to knock the Dragon out unconscious, leaving Hiccup alone in the fight.
"NO!"
Hiccup screamed loudly as he watched Toothless easily get bested by the Warlord, and it wouldn't be long until Vlar's attention turned back onto him. He would begin limping towards him with what he could muster, and yet it seemed like his strength was starting to return.
"Looks like you were wrong Haddock!" he cackled as he continued limping towards Hiccup who laid there out of breath, completely helpless.
Surprisingly however, his situation would not go unnoticed as a voice bellowed loudly from the air above, catching Vlar's attention.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
And then after that, it happened. A flash of lightning brightened the skies, blinding everyone's vision on the battlefield for just a moment as if time itself had stopped. But when the blinding light cleared, Vlar widened his eyes as he saw young man and his lightning shocked Skrill who were not there a moment ago now stand before him.
It was Magnus.
Vlar gritted his teeth, making a mocking gesture with his hammer. "Well would you look at that!" he said. "Haddock has a guardian warrior to defend himself like the weakling he is! Tell me, who are you supposed to be again? His brother?"
"I wish I was..." he replied back. "But how about you take on someone your own size? Let's make this a fair fight Vlar. It's just you and me."
The Warlord chuckled, spinning his hammer with both hands as he and Magnus positioned themselves into a combat ready stance.
"Oh I'm so ready for round two! Come! Meet my hammer, Viking!"
Magnus quickly looked back at his Dragon. "Fly up Thorwind, and wait for my signal!"
Thorwind gladly obliged, swiftly taking off back into the air with electricity sparking through his entire body. After he took off, Magnus and Vlar ran at each other - throwing their weapons forward and colliding them with one another. As they clashed, bolts of lightning struck from the sky, thus came the lightning storm.
Being slightly taller and as well as somewhat stronger than Hiccup, Magnus had ability he needed to hold his sword Nördar against Vlar's hammer, especially since the hilt on his blade gave him a better grip in his leverage.
"Impressive!" Vlar cackled in the midst of the lightning flashes. "You carry a blessed runed blade into battle, but it won't be enough against real steel and iron! I will shatter your toy sword into splinters!"
"Not unless it shatters you first…" Magnus grunted as he pushed his blade forward with strong force, using his leverage to break the weapon lock, and surprisingly he was able to overpower Vlar's strength. Despite all the Warlord had to give, he was now equally matched.
Magnus spun his sword mockingly as he forced Vlar back a few steps, smirking. "I thought you were strong and mighty, Warlord! Then again, your lack of skill shows you are no better than Ivar's former puppet Olaf. If anything, you too are a puppet of his. Deep down, you know you are!"
"You fool!" spat Vlar. "I am the right hand of King Ivar the Boneless! He chose me to lead his armies for a reason, and I will gladly fight for him until my dying breath! Or until YOURS!"
After regathering his breath, Vlar once again angrily rushed towards Magnus, attempting to land an arcing swing on him with his fiery hammer as he aimed for the Warsung Viking's chest. But even with his brute speed, Magnus was able to dodge his attack, sliding underneath Vlar's warhammer before responding with a quick strike.
Noticing the wounds on Vlar's chest - Magnus landed a hit on them, and with success he struck with Nördar where Hiccup already attacked, causing more pain than there already was for the Iron Wolf Chieftain as he let out a loud agonizing groan.
Vlar turned his head back, gazing at Magnus who stood behind him - uninjured, and without taking any precaution he arrogantly charged the swift and skilled Viking, re-engaging him.
From there their fight began to play out.
Though Vlar thought he was equally matched, what he did not know was that Magnus now had the advantage. With his strength gathered up, the Warlord focused on attempting to make swift heavy attacks and dashes with his weapon, but the heaviness of his warhammer limited so much to what he could do. Most of the time his attacks would miss, and other times all he could do was land decent bashes and strike against the side of Magnus' chest, and as well as his upper limbs. As whole however, his attacks were not great.
For Magnus however, things were about to turn in his favor.
The young warrior knew that the best way to weaken Vlar was to attack where he had already been struck by Hiccup. Using the momentum to his advantage, he would constantly circle around Vlar to slow him down as he still struck - all whilst parrying his attacks and dodging any blows he attempted to make. When an opening was clear for Magnus, he would focus on striking his blade over the wounds Hiccup made, and with every successful attack he made them more grievous and painful for Vlar.
Most times, Magnus would even slice at Vlar's hands to make him weaken the grip on his hammer, and yet despite all the blows he took from the fiery weapon he would still not give in so easily.
If anything, it became obvious that victory was in Magnus' grasp.
After an intensive round of landing their attacks on one another, Vlar retreated a few paces back while Magnus ran near Hiccup's side. The two of them glared at each other as the lightning in the skies began to intensify. Every minute that passed, half a dozen bolts of lightning struck above them, signifying how tense the battle was getting.
Vlar spoke in a guttural but breathy tone. "Gah, why… why won't you just die already!? Why do you still fight dammit!?"
"Have you learned nothing from your many defeats, Iron Wolf?" Magnus sighed as he oddly pointed his sword, giving a nod at Thorwind who flew around the hill whilst striking lightning down on the enemy. "Even now your own body betrays you. We know you don't have the strength to fight on forever! Surrender, or I'll end this myself!"
"You're a fool, young warrior!" shouted Vlar as he prepared to charge Magnus. "Didn't anyone ever bother to tell you!? NEVER PLAY WITH FIRE! GRAAAGH!"
The moment Vlar charged, Magnus swiftly ran right in front of Hiccup to give him cover for what was about to happen. He then rose his voice up and shouted out towards Thorwind as loud as he could. "NOW!"
Thorwind heard his call, and the Skrill answered. The Dragon immediately stopped in place, beating his wings as he focused on Magnus' sword Nördar. Thorwind then opened his mouth up widely, revealing the bright blue light of electricity that was beginning to charge up, and at the very last second he let it all out.
Before Vlar could even reach Magnus, the powerful beam of electricity from Thorwind struck Magnus' sword, causing an exploding wave of lightning to burst outwards directly towards Vlar which hurled him back with a powerful force. At the same time, a blinding blue light flashed over everything and everyone around the battlefield - blinding their sight once again for merely a few seconds.
As the flash cleared, Vlar looked back at where his combatant stood, feeling severely weakened, and yet upon laying his eyes on Magnus and Hiccup he was surprised and shocked to his very core.
Both of them were completely unharmed.
What was more surprising however was that Magnus' sword Nördar was literally coursing with lightning itself. Long sparks of electricity ran up and down the blade of the sword constantly, and even the runes sparked. From his point of view it appeared as if the sword was glowing, and yet it was not magic.
Vlar gasped, almost frightened. "H- how? How are you not dead!? How is this possible!?"
"It's called ingenuity, Vlar." calmly spoke Magnus. "Something you failed to master or even understand. You could have never come up with anything like this, nor could it have been better. Even now there is a place Helheim waiting just for you."
"GRAAAH!" Vlar screamed. "JUST DIE ALREADY!"
The Warlord let out a bellowing roar as he lunged towards Magnus, jumping as high as he could into the air with what strength he had left. Magnus too responded by leaping up into the air, raising his sword above his head as he was about to collide with Vlar. As they jumped at each other, lightning crackled the sky and thunder boomed as loud as Thor beating his hammer.
...And then the two combatants clashed, with Vlar screaming in misery and agony he was pushed down towards the ground, feeling what felt like a thousand bolts of lightning run through his body and weapon as Nördar met with the metallic head of his hammer, electrocuting him.
It was then however that the electricity began to overcharge as a result of the metal from his armor, weapon, and from Magnus' sword Nördar colliding, and before he knew it, he was once again blasted back more than a few feet by a smaller but more powerful explosion of lightning. The burst let out a light but sudden flash that caused both of them to flinch.
As Vlar landed on his back, he immediately felt his body become severely weakened as if his body was drained completely of all its strength. His skin was burnt heavily, and slowly he felt his heart beginning to fail him.
His life began to drain from him.
Magnus took some steps towards Vlar, before placing his foot on top of the broken Warlord's chest as he inspected the damage that was done to his foe. He knew there was no need to make a finishing blow.
"May you rest in Helheim, scum." Magnus said with a deeper voice, only to receive no response from Vlar. He noticed that the Chieftain's chest was no longer pumping air, and that his skin had gone completely pale with no trace of breath left in him.
Vlar, the Warlord of the Great Army, laid lifeless. He was no more.
As Magnus stepped off the corpse of the dead Iron Wolf Chieftain, he let out a sigh relief, turning his gaze to the North where he could see the Iron Foundry come crumbling down on itself, collapsing into rubble and brimstone until it was completely destroyed.
From all around, the cheers of Vikings could also be heard as their weapons were raised to the sky that now began to shine the light of day onto them. After the intense carnage of the battle, they were finally victorious.
Magnus smiled, but then noticed Hiccup attempting to slowly stand to his feet to which he rushed over to help him up, placing his arm around the lad's shoulders until he was straightened out.
"...We did it Magnus." groaned Hiccup as he grinned. "We actually beat them. Though I will say for the record; that thing you did with the lightning was… unique and amazing."
"Aye, it was." replied Magnus, placing both of his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "But it's not over yet, lad. Even with Vlar's death, we still have one more opponent in our way who we have to beat."
Hiccup nodded his head. "Ivar." he said, speaking weakly, though he was about to continue talking - the sound of a familiar warble interrupted him and caught his attention as his eyes glanced to the right.
Toothless stood on all fours, gazing back at Hiccup with an expression of pride in his eyes after noticing the corpse of Vlar. However, he was also a little bit confused.
"Toothless!" Hiccup called out, smiling.
The Dragon in response made his way over to his Rider, and for a moment both he and Hiccup laid their heads against each other with relief that they were alive. In that moment, the two felt a warm breeze hit their faces for the first time in months. To Hiccup, it was like a calling from home.
"Oh Bud, I thought I had lost you there." he said, smiling. "Now that this battle is over though, I can tell you that soon we will be going home. At least, after we've dealt with Ivar."
Toothless let out a light huff of air, before narrowing his head towards the corpse of Vlar, pointing out the Warlord's corpse as it was all burnt and pale.
Hiccup shook his head, shrugging. "Oh, that wasn't me, Bud..." he said, before looking back at Magnus.
The older Viking was smiling, staring at Thorwind who still was flying around up above, breathing out shocks of lightning in victory.
"Um, Magnus… about the lightning that struck your sword... How exactly were able to make it...?"
"It's a long story Hiccup." Magnus answered, looking back at Hiccup. "I'll tell you all you need to know about it once we get back to Dragon's Wake. For now though, let's rally our forces and return to Strongholm. It's been a long day, and we deserve this victory…"
Just a quick A/N in case you are confused. If you are basically wondering what in the name of Thor happened with Magnus' sword Nördar, all I can tell you without spoilers is that the reason Magnus was able to wield lightning in his blade is because of something that is in it, or rather on it (and it is not the runes!). And I will admit, that went quickly from zero to one hundred!
Anyways, if you guys enjoyed this, I am glad you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading!