The Prince of Dragons
Chapter 2: The Lava-louts
THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN
A Hooligan war party of no less than twenty of the tribes finest sat on a Viking long boat with cold determination. The boat was called the Lucky Thirteen, Gobber the Belch built the vessel in less than a day and it really showed. It wasn't exactly the most attractive sea fairing vessel, but it was a boat. But Chief Stoic didn't care about the look of the ship, he only wanted to know if it could at least get him to Rome. In which Gobber replied 'Oh, maybe, if you say a good prayer to Ãgir the Sea.' Though the hastily built ship was holding up surprising well despite its appearance. Stoic and company looked out at the quiet still waters. Nobody on board talked except for Stoic, it was almost dreadful.
"Steady helmsman."
Chief Stoic the Vast said as the Lucky Thirteen drifted into the muggy, foggy waters. They made a sharp turn, but then there was a 'Thump'. They had hit something in the water. The Hairy Hooligans instantly readied they're weapons. Several of the Veteran Vikings knew that the sound of that thumping meant nothing good. 'Thump', there it was again, that thumping. But many of the Hooligans quickly realized something, that dreadful sound was far to small to be a Scauldron, let alone a shark or the sharks' equally evil cousin, the Shark-worm. The Vikings then looked over the sides of the Lucky Thirteen to see the dead carcasses of Roman Soldiers floating in the water. They still wore there mischievous looks of terror on their frost bitten faces. This discouraged many of the Hairy Hooligans right of the bat. But not Stoic the Vast, he still clung onto the hope that is son was alive and well. But what made the matters even more discouraging were the remains of the Roman Fleet that had attacked Berk.
Ship remains still sat in the muggy waters drifting around the lifeless corpses of the Romans. Flames still burned from the dragon attack the other day. Some of the flames still tried to dance the ballad of life, while clinging to small pieces of dry wood. Other than that, the only other thing that stuck out of the water, were the Roman Soldiers, their bodies stiffer and colder than they had been when they were caught in that fierce blizzard. Stoic looked on in pure horror, he's wasn't sad no the Chief looked down right destroyed. He came to the horrible conclusion that his son had perished in an attack. Stoic quickly put to and to together when he really got a look at the charred remains of the Roman Vessels. Even some of the floating Romans looked like they were burned to a crisp. Stoic's brother Spitelout came by and put a hand on Stoic's shoulder.
"Brother, I'm so sorry, these Roman's will pay dearly for what they have done..."
Stoic grew a look of hatred; he knew who had killed his son.
"It wasn't the Romans, Spitelout; it was the Dragons, look around."
Stoic motioned to the various burned remains of Roman Galleons. Many of the Hooligans had to agree, this was a cut and dry dragon raid.
"Mark my words, for the death of my son, I will kill every dragon I come across, even if it kills me…"
The Hooligan Chief said with a combination of pride, sadness and just a hint of wrath. With great sorrow, the fellow Hooligans on board the Lucky Thirteen gave Stoic the Hooligan salute as a sign of respect. The Chief then sighed again, this time he only felt one emotion. Sadness, he rubbed tears out of his eyes when they tried to form. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, his only son was dead. With that the Hairy Hooligan's drifted back towards Berk, they're spirits zapped.
THE RED DEATH'S LAIR
7 YEARS LATER
Much had changed over the past seven years all around the Barbaric Archipelago. Practically in the Red Death's Dragon nest, years ago the dragons living there adopted a Viking Baby that somehow managed to get himself into a barrel of fish the dragons stole on a raid against some Romans. Years passed by and the young Viking grew into a surprisingly skinny boy. His hair was a chestnut brown and his eyes still a magnificent emerald green. The boy's face was almost entirely forgettable; the same could be said about the boy in general. He was just so ordinary. Hiccup didn't really have clothes or anything of that nature, so he often would ask the dragons to bring him back something to wear from one of their raids. Hiccup couldn't go with the pack just yet, he was still only eight years old and a human. Most dragons, even after getting to know Hiccup, were still a little weary around him. Humans weren't exactly the cuddliest of creatures in the ferocious eyes of the dragons. Though Hiccup was probably the only exception, he was surprising good company. Always in awe of his siblings, and in a pleasant mode.
Hiccup wore a very baggy grey distasteful shirt that had all kinds of stitches across it. He also wore yak fur pants that were two sizes too big and three sizes two wide. Dragons didn't exactly have ideas of what clothing fit and what didn't for well, obvious reasons. So, Hiccup was often left with clothes that were unbelievably baggy on him. But Hiccup didn't seem to mind so much. The young boy sat on a comfortable rock writing in his 'Dragonese Book' as he put it. It was made from old book pages and scattered cloth that used to be Hiccups old clothes. Anyway, Hiccup's Dragonese Book contained various sets of information on things, from all the different species of dragons to the language of Dragonese which the dragons had taught him. He also learned the language of the Vikings from this book which the Dragon's called Lumpkin tongue. It was a bizarre language punctuated by shrill shrieks and popping noises and sounded most spectacular, when spoke by a human. Anyway, as Hiccup continued to write in his Dragonese book, sure enough the pack came back from another successful hunt. Hiccup watched in anticipation as the various species of dragons began to throw half of their weekly catch into the large orange pit. Thankfully though, this week, no dragons were eaten alive by the Red Death. Hiccup smiled as the Night Fury descended next to him. The boy hugged the large dark blue dragon.
"Hey bud, how was the raid?"
Hiccup asked in surprisingly good Dragonese accent. The Night Fury sighed as he curled up in a ball.
"Fine, we raided some humans over in the North, the ones that are all female…Bog Burglars, they call themselves."
"Cool…"
Hiccup said in absolute amazement, as he always did when the Night Fury said something. He looked up to that dragon like an elder brother. The Night Fury nodded sleepily before shutting his eyes and trying to drift into sleep. Hiccup then asked.
"So…um, Bud, can I-
"No."
The Night Fury snorted in Dragonese with his eyes still shut.
"Awe C'mon! I didn't even get to ask the question-
"No."
"Please, I just want to go on one raid! I'll never ask for anything again!"
"For the last time no."
The Night Fury said aggravated but keeping his cool, Hiccup stormed off annoyed, he went over to some of the other dragons who were feasting on some freshly killed Yaks. They had lit a small fire over what used to be part of a Yak's rib cage and other fleshy bits. Around the fire were a couple of Nadder's, Zippleback's and Gronckle's, and even a bright red Monstrous Nightmare. Hiccup sat angrily next to one of the Gronckle's as he reached for a small piece of Yak leg. He began to eat it distastefully. A Gronckle looked over at Hiccup.
"The Night Fury said no again, didn't he?"
"Yep, again, I just don't understand it."
"I'm sorry about that human."
"Thanks."
Hiccup said trying to lighten up as he continued to bite into the roasted Yak. A Deadly Nadder looked over at the depressed boy as it groomed itself.
"It's okay human, he'll eventually take you on a raid with the rest of us."
"When?"
"When you're old enough."
Again, Hiccup couldn't help but sigh. He looked over at the other dragons surrounding the fire they were all doing various things. They didn't have names, why should they? They were animals and all different in various ways. They could easily distinguish one another through there scent or their color. Dragons had no concept of names, and as far as Hiccup was concerned nether did he. Every dragon species was doing their own thing. The Gronckle's were eating Yak bits like overstuffed pigs with bad skin problems. The Nadder's were grooming themselves carefully like how a cat would. The Zippleback's slumped around eating small chunks of whatever they could find. While the Monstrous Nightmare slumbered similarly to the Night Fury, Hiccup looked back and he smiled. In short, these dragons were his family in a way. They cared for him, they brought him food to eat, clothes to wear. Even books to read and write in every so often. But despite all this, Hiccup always felt like an outcast to the pack.
He was the odd little human boy that the Night Fury adopted, and in truth that's how Hiccup felt. Hiccup held his head down in depression; he got out his Dragonese Book. He flipped to the back and looked at the back page. In the back page was a drawing picture of Hiccup and his 'family'. From fattest Gronckle to Sleekest Monstrous Nightmare, they were all there, or as many as he could put into the small page. Even the Red Death, which in small Dragonese lettering read 'Mom'. To be honest Hiccup didn't really have any parental figures around the dragon pack. There was the Night Fury and countless other dragons, but they were more like big brothers or sisters than anything else. Even though the Red Death was a terrible, hideous, beast from Hel, oddly enough it was the closest thing Hiccup had to a mother. But even so, Hiccup had only seen her a few times in his life. That was usually when a dragon was eaten alive by the freakishly large Alpha Dragon. Swallowed whole, never to be seen again. They had never exchanged words, never even spoke, to one another. But she didn't eat Hiccup so as far as Hiccup was concerned that was a good sign. Hiccup closed the book, he sighed and muttered to himself in Dragonese.
"(Sighs) I'm never going to get out of this cave."
Hiccup had always wanted to see the world from the outside. He had read various things about it in the books the Dragons occasionally gave him. He read about men the size of yaks with these hairy things called beards that twisted and turned around there faces. Planks of wood that could walk on water and move as fast as a Scauldron. But what fascinated Hiccup the most was the Blacksmith book a Gronckle had gotten him. And by that I of course me that the acme covered dragon coughed the leather-bound book up after it got stuck in its three-foot fangs. Hiccup was instantly fascinated by all that the book had to offer. It talked of weapons called axes that could slice trees in two with a single blow. Swords that could be used to preciously gut an opponent, blocks of circle and square wood with metal casing called shields and various other things were mentioned in the book. The pack would often discourage Hiccup to read some of the books they had gotten him. That was entirely because obviously dragons and humans did not get along with each other very well. Now imagine you're a dragon listening to a small boy read about an ax that had killed so many of your brothers or sisters with the utmost enthusiasm. It was not exactly fun for the dragons to hear about weapons of cold steel and iron. In turn, Hiccup would often hear horrific stories about savage humans who slice the heads off of dragons for fun and then imprison the lively caught ones in claustrophobic prisons. That was so the younger generation could kill them. Those stories were sick as far as Hiccup was concerned. But Hiccup had never met any other humans, so he also thought some of the stories told where just huge over-exaggerations. But alas, none of these things from the outside were for Hiccup, he was the stay at home human. Kinda like how a dog greets its master when he returns home. The dragons looked over at Hiccup in sympathy.
"Ya know human, the Night Fury is just trying to protect you."
Hiccup looked up at the Monstrous Nightmare. Its voice purred out in a comforting fashion.
"Really? How come?"
"He probably sees himself when he looks at you."
This confused Hiccup.
"What? How?"
A few of the older looking dragons with various battle scars shared in a chuckle.
"Believe it or not, the Night Fury wasn't born here, nor the Caliban Caves, he was born in the far north where only the strongest survive. He was a loner, who fought claw and fang just to keep the wings on his back. Until he heard the Master's music, he came running here like the rest of us. Let's just say he didn't welcome us in with open claws. He was fierce and violent always trying to fly away, that is until Master called him back. But the Night Fury realized something he had a family, that cared for him that wanted to keep him safe and fight alongside him."
Hiccup looked back at the Night Fury; he saw that the magnificent dragon was now in a deep sleep. He couldn't believe that the pride and joy of the dragon pack was once an awkward loner. The young Viking then starred back at the Monstrous Nightmare.
"Boy, when you came to our little refuge, he saw a loner, someone who needed guidance, a purpose. He just wants to keep you see be safe, and for you to find your way."
Again Hiccup sighed.
"But that's the problem; I want to get out of this place for a change, I want to see the world, and I…I just wanta be like one of you guys."
Hiccup said with a frown before walking off and collecting his things. The Dragons sighed, they began to look at the situation from Hiccup's perspective, and then they all glanced at the slumbering Night Fury. A single thought crossed their minds as Hiccup found a nice cavern corner and sat there reading about the world.
BERK
Today was a gloomy day on the isle of Berk. Thor, the God of Storms, apparently thought it would be an excellent idea to send a storm over to the tiny Hooligan Island. A storm that had been going on for the past ten days, though rain was very common on Berk. In fact in the Hooligan Dialect there are over twenty eight different names for rain. But rain was the least of a certain Hooligan Chief's worries. It was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third's Birthday, around this time of year it was extremely depressing for Chief Stoic the Vast. He sat in his hut messing with a fire pit, trying to get bigger flames to burn. But then he stopped when he heard the sad tears of a depressed woman. Stoic looked up toward the upper level of the house. He got up and completely stopped what he was doing. Slowly Stoic walked up the stairs to Hiccup's room. Valka was weeping as she stood next to Hiccup's old crib. With an old toy that Hiccup used to have in her smooth Viking hands. It was a small stuffed toy dragon that she made for Hiccup a little while before he was born.
"Val?"
Stoic asked.
"What's the matter?"
Valka turned tears streaming gently down her face.
"It's his birthday he would have been eight years old today."
The Hooligan Shield Maiden said trying to force a sad smile but ultimately, she only shed more tears. Stoic walked over to her.
"I thought we agreed not to talk about 'him' anymore, Val it's been seven years-
Valka then angrily slapped Stoic across the face.
"How dare you! He was your son! OUR SON! Now he's gone! Probably dead!"
Valka screamed with misguided anger toward her husband. Stoic hugged her for comfort. She was right about one thing though. Hiccup was gone. It had been years and after countless attempts at trying to find Hiccup, the tribe just gave up. The Chief of the Hairy Hooligans efforts were fruitless. But Stoic had his chiefly duties to distract from the loss of his son. Chief Stoic was always busy always had something to do. He could bury his emotions under his work. But Valka, she mostly stayed at home, she did the cooking, fishing, cleaning, and other things that your typical Viking women would do. The loss of Hiccup hit her harder than anything else. Stoic sighed but then whispered into his wife's ear.
"Look, Val we need to move on, but I'm not saying we should forget about him completely. But he's gone forever…"
Valka looked into the sympathetic eyes of her husband. It was clear that he was just as torn about losing her son as she was. Slowly but surely, Valka unwrapped herself from Stoic's meaty arms and placed the stuffed dragon on Hiccup's crib. She then slowly walked away and down the steps to the down floor. Stoic looked at the room that used to be his sons. Again, he sighed but then followed Valka down the steps, dragging his feet miserably down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, Stoic rubbed something out of his eyes and then went back to poking the fire as Valka went into the kitchen to go make lunch. They did not say a word to each other for the rest of the day.
THE RED DEATH'S LAIR
Night descended onto the world again. Hiccup rested on a soft patch of dirt, just thinking about life outside the cave. All his life he had been inside this dark mostly damp cave, he just wanted to get out. All the other dragons were still alive and awake. Snarling and shrieking dragon insults at each other while fitting over space or a stray mackerel or two. The Red Death's lair was alive with energy. Most dragons didn't need much to entertain themselves, nor much sleep, that is until winter when they would hibernate for the coming freeze. But in the far regions of the cave, the elder dragons watched Hiccup. The Night Fury and a few of the elder dragons looked at the boy from a far, speaking in quiet barely hear able Dragonese just watching him as they're eyes flickered like ominous candles in the darkness.
"I'm not letting him go out there…"
"Why not? You can't protect him forever Night Fury, he's going to get out there eventually, and besides, it's best he sees what his kind is capable of now rather than later."
A dark silver Monstrous Nightmare spoke with reason. The Night Fury only grunted at this response. The brilliant red Monstrous Nightmare from earlier then said.
"You should let him go, just this once, he'll love it. It'll do that pale crabstick some good."
The Night Fury turned to the red Monstrous Nightmare, pure anger was in its pitch grass green eyes.
"No, he'll get himself killed, besides when he sees what his kind is like he'll immediately abandon us and go live with them. He'll be turned into another mindless killer."
"You know he won't do that...""
A Nadder said with a soothing voice, the Night Fury then responded.
"No I don't know, but I do see your points, one raid, that's all he gets. If he does good maybe another one, if I think he's good enough for it."
The dragons nodded happily and even some of them smiled their odd smiles filled with rows of sharp fangs. The next day was clear and perfect as could possibly be, the sun shone with a brilliant gold tinge. Not a single storm cloud for miles, the birds were singing as well as the Terrible Terrors and there was a crisp warm feeling in the air. Though Hiccup couldn't enjoy it, the caverns that housed the dragon pack were so hidden from the world that not a single shred of sunlight made it through the pitch blackness. In fact Hiccup had never even seen the sun his entire life, he had spent most of his life in the caves so he was a little on the pale side. Hiccup remember the sun vaguely along with his parents, every now and then he would see glimpses of them. Glimpse of two happy people, Hiccup always wanted to meet his parents, just as much as he wanted to visit the outside world. Though the young boy figured he'd probably never see the outside world...but that was all about to change soon. Hiccup laid against a rock that and began to slowly doodle whatever came to his mind. The Night Fury walked over to the small brown hair boy.
"Morning Bud..."
Hiccup said trying not to sound sad, he was still depressed about not being allowed into the outside world. The Night Fury sighed a bit under his breathe but then said.
"Human, the pack and I have been talking. We think it's time you've gotten out of these caverns and went on a hunt with us."
The brown-haired boy looked at the Night Fury in a combination of excitement and pure joy. He leaped into the air and said enthusiastically.
"Oh my goodness!? Are you for real! You're not messing with me, are you?"
"No, C'mon were leaving soon."
"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
The Night Fury smiled a grin that bore no teeth at the hyper little eight-year-old. (The Teeth of a Night Fury were retractable). But Hiccup then quickly calmed himself down, he respectfully bowed to the Night Fury while still holding a smile. Hiccup then took a deep breathe in and held out his right hand. The Night Fury then put his head against Hiccup's hand. This was a sign of trust among dragons. If Hiccup showed fear, then he wouldn't be ready to do what no human has ever done before. He wouldn't be able to ride a dragon. The Night Fury backed away and stretched out its back. Hiccup then carefully and cautiously got onto the back of the Night Fury. The Night Fury then stretched out its jet-black bat-like wings and readied for flight. Hiccup looked around to see a massive barrage of dragons above him in a swarm-like formation, all of them getting ready for the hunt. The eight-year-old boy grabbed onto to the Night Fury's horns and held on for dear life.
The Night Fury then raised its wings and burst through the air of the dark caverns at lightning speed. Hiccup was stunned by the insane sped the dragon flew at, some much so he was barely able to even hold on to the Night Fury. The Night Fury like many of the other dragons navigated through the caves with ease and eventually made it to the exit of the Red Death's Lair. Then Hiccup saw it for the time in years. The glorious yellow ball in the sky known as the sun, Hiccup put one of his hands in front of his face as he gripped the horn of the Night Fury tighter with the other. He was astonished by the view; the sights of the crystal blue sea the rocky sea stacks that went on for miles. The majesty of nature in general, Hiccup smiled a great big smile for he was truly seeing the world for the first time in his life, and what a way to see the world for the first time. Hiccup had grown up in darkness his whole life, the most colorful things he saw where the dragons. But the world now to the eight-year-old was like a massive explosion of colors. It was truly a spectacular amazing sight to behold. Hiccup watched as the pack began to dive into Ãgir's mighty sea in gigantic dive bombs. The various dragons would come out with fish half the size of fully grown yaks. Hiccup looked around some more, and lifted his hands off the Night Fury, raising them happily in the air and shooting out a triumphant.
"YEAH! THIS IS AMAZING!"
The Night Fury smiled a vague smile as the young barbarian continued to enjoy the feeling of soaring through the air.
LAVA-LOUT ISLE
Eventually after a few hours of soaring through the beautiful clear blue skies above had turned black and smoggy. The army of dragons eventually landed on the rocky shores of a small island in the Barbaric Archipelago. This isle belonged to one of the Six Grand Tribes. The Six Grand Tribes included the Hairy Hooligans, the Bog Burglars, the Berserkers, the Lava-louts, the Hysterics and the Meatheads. There were other tribes like the Ugly Thug's, but the Ugly Thug's whose territory stretched from the mainland to as far as the east, were a bit crude to say the least. The Ugly Thug's where like the Roman's where a little to bossy and organized to be a Barbarian Tribe. Most of the Six Grand Tribes while allies, did frequently raid, pillage and plunder from one another out of spite and pure ignorance. Vikings were a weird merry lot around this time period, to this day nobody really understands the rhythm or reason why they acted like this. But anyway, this island was Lava-Lout island. Lava-Lout isle was named for the obvious massive volcano that loomed above the Lava-Lout village. It was a land of mostly rock and not much else. Truth be told it was a series of three small islands that where narrowly connected by a few tiny bridge-like rock formations. The pack landed an island away from the Lava-lout village, as not to be seen by the Lava-louts. Hiccup gave a confused look, as he slowly and respectfully got off the Night Fury as a few of the tougher and wiser dragons loomed over him.
"What are we doing here? I thought we were gonna raid a village."
Hiccup asked in Dragonese, a dark green Zippleback responded.
"Oh, we are."
"Just not yet."
"It's too early."
"Far too early."
The Night Fury looked into the eyes of the young Hiccup.
"What the Zippleback is trying to say is that we're going to raid until night fall."
A Monstrous Nightmare interrupted the conversation.
"When we have the advantage, but for now we need you to do something human."
Hiccup swelled up with pride, he was overjoyed, for years he was that human who lived amongst the dragons and was just there. But now, the dragons were entrusting him with an important task. The young barbarian, wanting to prove himself, smiled happily as he then said.
"Yes, of course, anything."
"We need you to mingle amongst the humans, learn were everything is, and free any of our cold-blooded prisoners of war... then we strike."
A vicious looking Nadder said as it groomed itself.
"Why?"
Hiccup asked politely in Dragonese. The Night Fury answered.
"We haven't raided these humans in years and us fire-breathers aren't exactly known for our sharp keen memories, so we need you to go forward, learn what you can then report back later, if you're not back by sundown you'll see us in the raid, good luck human."
Hiccup nodded quickly before turning around and setting off toward the village. As the dragons just sort of lounged about, playfully fighting with each other, or diving into the nearby waterfront looking for fish to eat and sharping their talons against durable rocks. The Night Fury and elder dragons watched as Hiccup departed. The Silver Monstrous Nightmare looked at the young Night Fury oddly.
"You're testing him, why; the boy's never met any other humans in his life, he'll think they're strange and odd, what's the point?"
"It's simple, if the boy wants to live with the humans, he'll stay with them and fight if them. If he wants to live with us, he'll fight with us then he'll truly be one of us."
A few of the elder dragons admired the Night Fury's bold move. He was basically letting Hiccup decide whether he wanted to stay with the dragons or the humans, while at the same time not forcing him to do anything. The Night Fury wasn't forcing Hiccup to decide; he was simply letting him choose his own path.
"You might wanna get some rest, t'll be a tough battle ahead."
With that the Night Fury breathed a deep blue flame against the cold shifting sands and laid down in it while curling up into a ball. Many of the elder dragons followed suit as they rested up for the inevitable bloodshed to come. After walking at a brisk pace for a few short miles, Hiccup eventually made it to the rocky bridge that connected the island he was currently on to the mainland. The rock formation was very much like an arched bridge without the nice finish. Also, it was narrow and jagged, much like a steep rock formation should be. Hiccup with a sweaty nervous face, grabbed onto a stolid looking rock and began to climb to the thin top of the formation. Within the span of about a minute, the young Viking had already reached the top of the rock bridge. Unfortunately, Hiccup took this inopportune moment to strike a small glance downwards. The sheer height was terrifying, it's one thing when you're on the back of a dragon that would do everything it's power not to let you fall. It's another thing when you're a svelte boy that only stood four feet tall looking downward upon death. Hiccup swallowed nervously as he carefully stepped and balanced on the rocky structure. Hiccup inched forward very slowly and steadily, taking huge breathes of air in each and every painstaking step. What made it worse was the singing of the Terrible Terrors that circled the bridge. Terrible Terrors where like seagulls in that regard, always laughing and mocking those less fortunate with their shrill cackles. They sang.
"Oh, Human who serves the lofty mountain queen, may your step be solid and true. For you're as thin as a crab stick and have a face-like a haddock. Keep walking human, walk to the uncivilized brutes that kill all of the great cold blooded one's, keep walking...keep walking...keep walking."
Hiccup gulped as he happily obliged to the Terrible Terrors. But after much perseverance, Hiccup finally managed to make it to the end of the bridge. He breathed a sigh of relief as Hiccup then strolled over to the Lava-lout village. It was a very odd village, but somehow breathe taking. Everything was made from steel and shining iron or some other metal object. Some of the huts had a dull rusty tinge to them from being out in the elements. It was a lively town filled with men and women dressed in uncomfortable black sleek suits. These suits were actually flame retardant because they were made from a very specific cloth that didn't burn. The Lava-louts had developed these suits, so they could live easier in the tough conditions of the volcanic island. The young boy was fascinated by all the goings on of the town. His head was practically turning in each direction as he watched everything he could. Children played games like Bashi-ball and Smash Sticks on Land. Adults did they're daily routines and duties. Shepherds lead livestock to their proper fences. Traders sold various goods and foreign objects. All of it just brought a happy grin to the young boy's face, they didn't have anything like this in the Red Death's Lair. Hiccup gazed every direction in awe, he had never seen anything like this. Most of the Lava-lout villagers ignored Hiccup, so the young brown-haired boy went rather unnoticed. But then Hiccup remembered why he was here, his pack had sent him in an important task. The young boy sighed, he would of loved to have just stayed and go around meeting people, getting to know the culture. But Hiccup sucked it up, his family was waiting for him. Hiccup sneaked around, and ease dropped on some of the barbarians. He quickly found out where everything is even if he could only understand every third word. As stated earlier, Norse is not exactly Hiccup's strong suit. He also strolled around finding out where everything was just by wandering the village. But then Hiccup saw something that caught his eye. It was a blacksmith's shop; the shop was nothing more than a workshop that had a small window. But behind the Blacksmith's workshop was a pile of odd weapons. A sign a few feet across the pile apparently read 'unusable'. The pile was practically a mountain of daggers, swords, spears, axes, crossbows, maces and other weapons. You name it was there. But there was something off about these metals. They were in what many might say perfect condition. The Lava-louts prided themselves with having skilled crafts men and blacksmiths. If even a sword was just one centimeter longer than it should be, the Lava-louts would see it as worthless and simply toss it. Anyway, Hiccup wandered over to the large pile of metals and began to scavenge through the pile. He was hypnotized by the metals; it was just mesmerizing to him after reading about many of these in his blacksmith's book. Eventually as Hiccup continued to dig through the metals, he heard a loud thunderous voice say.
"What in the name of Thor and Odin are you doing rummaging through my scraps!"
Hiccup was paralyzed for a moment; he shivered with fear, while slowly turning to face a Lava-lout blacksmith. He stood out of the shop's backdoor with a well-polished sword in his hands. This man was covered in layers of sot that oddly gave a black tinge to the Viking who unlike the rest of his tribe didn't wear a flame suit. The man was you're typical six-and-a-half-foot Viking covered from head to toe with clothes that barely fit him. Hiccup scanned the man with his eyes, not daring to utter a word. That is until the blacksmith boomed out.
"Well go on! Explain yourself!"
Hiccup took a deep breathe in as sweat poured from his face. His swallow hard and then said.
"I-I'm so-rr-ry, Sir…I w-was just-t l-ooking-g for a-a-a weapon."
The young boy stammered out in surprising good Norse, well good considering it was his second language. The Blacksmith then said.
"Oh! You were, were you? Well even though these weapons are completely and utterly useless, that doesn't give you the right to take what isn't yours!"
The Blacksmith said as raw red rage began to shimmer through the black sot. He was very critical with his craftsmanship it seemed. Hiccup then said a little more confidently.
"But sir, I think you're being just a whee bit hard on yourself."
Hiccup said before grabbed a beautifully decorated sword out of the pile.
"See...it works fine."
It was a long flashpoint heart slicer that had a blade which was long and narrow. The sword had an image of a Monstrous Nightmare carved into it, the symbol of the tribe. (Lava-louts were once known for being able to tame wild Monstrous Nightmares and us them to attack their enemies, similar to the Beserkers with the Skrill). The Blacksmith grew pale under the sot.
"What did you say about that sword, boy?"
The Blacksmith said with his voice shockingly calm. Hiccup then made a few good swings with the blade.
"See, it still works fine."
"WHAT!? YOU NOVICE, YOU WOULDN'T KNOW QUALITY IF IT BIT YOU IN THE ARSE!"
"I don't see what's wrong with it."
"IT'S TO FLIMSY!"
The Lava-lout Blacksmith said in a voice so loud the dragons back on the beach could have heard it. He then walked up to the skinny Viking and snatched the sword out his frail little hands. Then with his bare hands, the Lava-lout broke the sword in two. This caused to large deep blood cuts to appear on the Blacksmith's hands. Hiccup stepped back in horror as the Blacksmith then said.
"Boy! You're obvious not from around here, where ye be from?"
"Um…uhhh."
Hiccup hesitated for a great deal of time that is until he looked down at the weapon pile he stood atop. There was a sword dedicated to 'The Great Heir to the Bog Burglars.' Hiccup smiled shakily and said.
"I'm from the isle of the Bog Burglars."
The Blacksmith was about to yell another ear bleeding scream but then when Hiccup said those words with a straight face. He took a moment to collect himself. Then the Blacksmith finally said.
"Oh, boy you do realize the Bog Burglars are a tribe of all 'women', so tell the truth!"
Hiccup hesitated again, but then rapidly nodded his head up and down. The young Viking smiled nervously as he then awkwardly explained.
"Yes, yes, but you see I was born a boy and they didn't love me enough, so they kicked me out… ya know tribe of women-
"So they kicked ya out, huh… I get it. You're a nomad, a drifter."
"Yes. That's me, Nameless the Drifter, at your service."
Hiccup said while lying through his smiling teeth. The Blacksmith calmed down a bit now; he seemed to of understood Hiccup's supposed, true story and life problems. Symphony was in his milky eyes, the Tribes of the Barbaric Archipelago often felt sorry for loners and nomads, or people who generally didn't have a home.
"Ya must be a duffer head if ya came to Lava-lout territory wearing that."
The Blacksmith said gesturing to Hiccup's baggy clothes. Hiccup was about to ask why, when the island experienced a slight tremor. Hiccup stumbled a bit before he fell to the ground. An earthquake shook the very foundations of the island and then a small mini-eruption happened within the volcano. Almost as if the mountain was a sleeping giant who just coughed a bit, small chunks of magma landed here and there, but it didn't really seem to affect the Lava-louts. Some of the magma even managed to get on one of the blacksmith's shoulders, but he just brushed it off as if it was nothing. Hiccup looked on awe struck as the boy got back to his feet.
"Forsaken Angry Mountain will be the death of this tribe; I can feel in my gut. Anyway, unless ya wanta get burned to bits I suggest ya either leave or get a fire suit."
Hiccup nodded but then looked down; he didn't have the money for a fire suit.
"Um...I don't think I have the...the...what's it called..."
Hiccup asked confused, he was trying to remember the word for currency.
"Money?"
"Yes...so I'll just be going."
If anything, he should have just left and returned to the pack. But oddly enough, the Blacksmith patted Hiccup on the back with one of his clammy hands. With a pained and sorrowful voice, he said.
"Tell ya what…I have some new clothes in back you could wear. They won't fit the best especially on a skinny fruit like you, but they'll get the job down."
He then removed his sot covered hand from Hiccup's thin shoulder; the Viking Boy followed him into his quaint little shop. Hiccup looked around in awe at the tiny forge that held all kinds of amazing metals and other things. The weapons and metal works in this shop made the one's in the pile look like complete garbage they were so skillfully crafted. The Blacksmith then opened a tiny cabinet to reveal some Lava-lout fire suits intended for the younger Lava-louts. He tossed the outfit over to Hiccup and asked him to go to the back of the shop and put it on. Hiccup did so and after a few minutes came out looking like a full member of the Lava-lout tribe. Like all the other members of the tribe, Hiccup wore a Black Helmet with a black full-body suit, black boots, and gloves. The young Viking in a muffled said.
"I think it's a little too big!"
The Blacksmith then tossed him a yak skin belt, it landed on Hiccup's head.
"There ya go."
"…"
Hiccup said nothing in reply as he tried to figure out how to put the belt on; needless to say it took longer than it would an average person. The young barbarian tried to tie it around his wrist, but this only cut off circulation for a few seconds. He then tried to wrap it around his head, which made him look foolish. Then after about seven or eight more tries, Hiccup finally managed to find the correct place to put the belt on, around the waist. The Blacksmith clapped his hands prematurely.
"Bravo Clueless!"
"Thank you."
Hiccup said gleaming under the black mask, taking that insult as a compliment, his knowledge of Norse was limited, and he still didn't know a majority of Norse or sarcasm in the language for that matter either. The Blacksmith then smirked a bit under his dark sot covered face. He walked up to the boy.
"Now boy, don't go stealing things from people, especially garbage like those disgraces out there…"
Hiccup stopped for a moment as he starred the blacksmith straight in the eyes.
"But, why are they disgraces. If you ever become a blacksmith, accept nothing but perfection."
The Blacksmith lightheartedly chuckled a bit, but then patted young Hiccup on the back.
"Because they weren't perfect, perfection is everything in life, my boy, if I don't get every single detail right then what's the point of even making something as beautiful as the sword."
The Blacksmith said with pride as he starred at some of his finer works that littered his tiny shop. Hiccup looked inspired at how beautiful crafted the metal works were. After that the Blacksmith sent Hiccup on his way, as he showed him out the door.
"Now, run along now, and don't cause any more trouble…"
Hiccup nodded under his black mask. He smiled under it as the young Viking waved goodbye to the Blacksmith. The Blacksmith sighed he had given a trademarked fire-suit to a nomad, but admittedly a nice boy. Hiccup then wandered through the village even more unnoticed; quickly he learned where everything was except for the food storage area. By the end of the day he was giving up hope, while darkness encompassed the land and began to break the spirit of the day, so too did it break apart of Hiccup's spirits. He had one job, find where the Lava-louts kept the food, and possibly free any dragon prisoners and he couldn't even do that right. Well to be honest Hiccup was half-expecting a wooden sign in the dirt that said, 'Food Storage', but he had no such luck. The young Viking sighed for a moment as he rested up against a wooden sign post, which was around the center of town He sighed, and Hiccup thought to himself.
"What am I doing? These people don't seem like the killers my pack makes them out to be maybe I should just stay here for a while, yeah I was never cut out to be like them anyway…"
But then a rather large Lava-lout walked up the center of the town with a large blow hour in his hand. Hiccup watched as the Viking blew into the horn causing a loud noise that would have sent an alarming sense of fear down your spine. The Lava-louts froze, then they all stopped their evening routines and stormed off to the largest structure in the village. A temple that was carved into the side of the island's Volcano. Within a few seconds, all of Lava-lout village was completely and utterly deserted, even Hiccup tagged along mostly because he was just curious about what was going on. Until Hiccup saw a massive hut connected to the temple, the hut over stocked with fish, rabbits, and other tasty animals. The young boy tried to leave the area but a crowd of people forced him inside the temple. Hiccup was forced into the temple along with everyone else, though he was smiling under his mask. He had done his job, after this gathering of sorts was finished, he would go back and re-join his pack and return a bit more accepted by the dragons. Maybe Hiccup wasn't as bad at this as he thought. Anyway, two large Lava-lout soldiers opened the gigantic rock like doors to reveal a beautiful hallway with random tables set all around in various locations. Magma dripped from the sides, warming up the Temple into a moderately warm temperate. There was such lighthearted excitement from the Lava-lout tribe. As the great horn of Magma, the Lava-lout, the founder of the tribe, was only blown in times of great peril. Everyone sat down at one of the tables provided, Hiccup followed suit. There was a great happy shouting from every member of the tribe. The large barbarian, who had blown the war horn earlier, huffed on his bugle again as another ear bleeding blow came out again. The Hall fell silent. As another large barbarian stepped forward, he had seven guards at his sides. This barbarian was enormous standing a mighty seven feet tall wearing a pitch black fire suit laced with crimson armor. He didn't where the traditional mask though, this showed off his scarred face with dark blue eyes and a beard like a scrambled patch of thorn bushes. With a great big yell he shouted out the Lava-lout salute which consisted of screaming like a deranged bull while doing a very specific hand motion. The whole tribe in unison of screams, sung it back to the larger Viking. All except for Hiccup who didn't really understand what was going on now. The larger barbarian then spoke.
"Heroes and Halfwits of the Lava-lout tribe! I Chief Calvin the Combustible, have called you here today because of a grave threat on our shores."
Boomed the Lava-lout Chief with a mad look in his fiendish eyes. The barbarians erupted in exuberant cheer of joy, Lava-louts like most barbarians, loved danger. Hiccup slummed a bit in his seat; he already knew what the chief was talking about. Chief Calvin the Combustible slammed a massive fist onto the side of a nearby table as he stroked his beard.
"Dragons! On our humble shores! They've come to steal from us, to kill us! Are we just gonna roll over like a bunch of weary sniveling bunny rabbits, relinquish all of our food and die!?"
The crowd turned bitter. They screamed body war cries, Hiccup watched as the crowd yelled for the heads of the dragons.
"NO SIR!"
"NOT LIKELY GOVERNOR!"
He wanted to make his way out of the Great Hall as Chief Calvin was hyping up the tribe.
"What are we gonna do?!"
"Kill the Dragons!"
"When are we gonna do it!"
"Now!"
"TO ARMS, MEN AND WOMEN OF THE LAVA-LOUT TRIBE! TO ARMS!"
Hiccup hesitated for a moment as he said under his breathe.
"Yeah, let's kill those dragons. Oh gods."
Then Calvin the Combustible just went on after that about how unacceptable the dragons were as Hiccup sat there rather appealed by this whole situation. He was beginning to see what the dragons meant when they said that 'most humans are bastards'. It was then Hiccup saw a smaller more rancid looking door, Hiccup quickly ducked out of the Great Hall and into the other room, not caring were it went. But the young Viking boy didn't care were it went; he just wanted to get out of this uncomfortable meeting. But when he turned into the hallway, he came to regret entering this new hallway a horrifying sight. He turned around to see dragons, dead dragons, all hosted up in a smelly big pile. The sight was horrific; it was like genocide or a mass murder to Hiccup. He had been raised by dragons his whole life and to see this act of carnage before his eyes really disturbed him. What made it worse was the smell that seemed to work its way into Hiccup's fire suit. Hiccup couldn't believe it, the stories the dragons told where true. Hiccup seemed to tense up, he was angry. How could they do this, to the dragons, they were his family and they were killed like animals. Covering his nose, and trying not to look directly at the pile, Hiccup walked timidly past the pile of bodies. Then he heard something, a sort of ravage snarl. Hiccup turned around to see several varied species of dragons all caged and waiting to be executed. The cages were just that, metal cages with chains keeping the doors together. The imprisoned dragon all shrieked Dragonese insults at Hiccup calling him a coward or a weakling. But he knew they were terrified inside those cages, just begging to get out.
"WEAK HUMAN."
"COWARD!"
"MURDERER!"
Hiccup took in a deep breath as he inhaled the horrifying bad stench of rioting dragon corpses.
"No, no, no you have me all wrong I'm not a Lava-lout. See?"
The young Viking boy said with a muffled voice, he took off his helmet, so he could speak more clearly. But this also meant he would get a better whiff of the horrifying stench of the dragon carcasses. The dragons looked at Hiccup confused and surprised.
"Well, what do know, it speaks our language."
"Interesting."
The dragons said observing Hiccup from their cages, Hiccup then noticed something. A small weapons armory in the corner, Hiccup ran over and reached out and grabbed a flashpoint swift cutter, with a long blade. He then dashed over to the dragon's cages. The Dragons hissed and snarled as some of them backed as far away from the ever-approaching Hiccup as they could. Others began to insult and beg Hiccup to toss his sword away and fight like a dragon. Then the young Viking boy, did something that really confused the large reptilian beasts. He cut their chains from their cages and set them free; Hiccup cut open the chained barred doors to the dragon's cages. One of the dragons, a very wrathful Monstrous Nightmare snatched Hiccup and forced him to the ground. A large talon over his body, ready to slice him. The other dragons starred angrily and even hungrily at Hiccup.
"Kill it before he kills us."
"Burn him to a crisp."
"Tear his horns off."
Hiccup was terrified by these wild, agitated dragons. His breathing became uneasy as the Monstrous Nightmare extended its claws over Hiccup's chest. With cunning quick thinking, Hiccup managed to blurt out.
"I'm here to rescue you guys, I'm not like the other humans, I don't kill dragons."
Again, the surrounding dragons hesitated; even the Monstrous Nightmare retracted its extra extendable claws a tad letting the young boy go. Now free from the Nightmare's grasp, Hiccup stood up as the dragons circled him menacingly like a pack of hungry wolves. The Monstrous Nightmare then said.
"How could a human help us, look at him he's pathetic."
"He does speak our language though, so he's not entirely useless."
A Gronckle blurted out, the Monstrous Nightmare then eyed Hiccup as, the Nightmare then asked fiercely.
"If that's true, and you do serve dragons, then you must be part of a pack...tell me…Human who do you serve but if you lie...I will claw your eyes out."
Hiccup hesitated for a moment, some of the stray members of the surrounding pack began to sharpen their talons and claws like steak knives as they drummed them on the stone walls. The boy then replied.
"The Red Death"
Silence erupted amongst the dragons; they all snarled and growled dragon insults again. Thankfully the Lava-louts were too busy screaming and prepping for a grand battle with the dragons over on the long beach to notice the cackles of the now freed dragons.
"Why should we go with you human, you could be lying to us?"
"Even so...why would we severe the Red Death, she's an Alpha, all Alpha's are bastards..."
Hiccup thought for a moment, and then a slight devilish smirk appeared on his face.
"Alright, I see how it is, well I'll just be on my way, I need to help out my pack anyway. Good luck to you getting out of this prison."
With that, Hiccup began to walk away slyly, a Nadder cautiously leapt in front of Hiccup.
"And where is this pack of yours human?"
A Deadly Nadder asked as it starred Hiccup in the eyes, and he made sure to get in the dragon's blind spot. Hiccup only smiled again.
"Why should I tell you that? You obviously don't need my help besides, you don't even trust me. Even so you said it yourself, the Red Death is a horrible lord, you all would much rather be trapped in this room, I can see now. Sorry I wasted your time."
Many of the dragons sighed and cursed under their breath. Servitude under an Alpha may be bad but left to die in a cage was even force. Hiccup smiled happily, he appeared to have won over the dragons. The Monstrous Nightmare stepped forward starring at Hiccup with its candle like eyes.
"Alright fine, we trust you, but if you're lying boy we will burn you alive and eat your corpse."
Hiccup nodded nonchalantly. He then pointed to the door leading back to the Great Hall.
"Yes, yes, now would you kindly blow up that door right there?"
The dragons glared at Hiccup knowing what was on the other side. But when they investigated Hiccup's honest eyes, all sense of doubt was removed. Every dragon breathed their variations of fire at the door that Hiccup came in then. A massive explosion occurred that shocked the gathering of Lava-louts in the Great Hall.
"Oi! What's all this then?!"
"Chief Calvin, the Dragons are escaping!"
" I can see that! Kill those unholy abominations!"
Yelled a furious Calvin the Combustible as to his confusion and shock, the dragons he had captured came rushing out of their cages. All Hel broke loose as the dragons breathed there uncontrollable fire down upon the helpless Lava-louts. While they weren't burned to a crisp, a flame suit could only do so much against a continuous stream of dragon fire. What made it worse was when their fire reached the barrels of fine wine and mead. This only made the fires spread even faster. Hiccup watched as the dragons hovering above his head quickly burned down the giant doors of the Great Hall. The Young Viking ran out after them as the Lava-louts where so disoriented and confused as to what just occurred that they were still trying to comprehend the whole situation. The dragons flew out singing shrieks of joy and freedom. Hiccup got out side and then snapped his fingers together, trying to recall something.
"Ugh...think, think, think, what's the call of a Night Fury?"
The answer hit Hiccup when the Night Fury came swooping down with a loud furious war cry. Hiccup looked up at the skies above and saw that there in there shining glory was Hiccup's pack. The young Viking watched as the dragons he just freed joined the pack. He smiled for a moment; Hiccup felt a sense of accomplishment. But that moment was soon squandered when a Lava-lout soldier grabbed him around the waist and hurried him over to a safer location.
"Boy? What do ya think you're doing? This is war! War is no place for a child."
The Lava-lout screamed in Hiccup's ear, but Hiccup didn't hear him. Hiccup was watching in anger and fear as the Lava-louts began to toss homemade bombs and shot flaming arrows from crossbows. Brutally injuring some of the dragons on the spot. The pack began to dive bomb the barbarians scratching and biting at them. But as mighty as each dragon was, there were casualties, Hel; there were casualties on both sides of this ordeal. Lava-lout soldiers dying from having bombs blown up in their faces, and dragons dying of various stab wounds as well bombs blowing their heads straight to Valhalla, it was truly terrifying. Especially for Hiccup, keep in mind he wasn't you're typical Viking child raised to love the smell of blood. No Hiccup had never even really seen anything like this; he was raised in a cave with very easy going dragons that mostly just seemed to lounge about. Hiccup wanted to scream as he watched dragon after dragon fall down and get slaughtered by stab wounds. But his mind was so traumatized by this experience that he couldn't even muster up a scream. Hiccup was set down next to a bunch of the other Lava-lout children. As the soldier who set him down pulled out a sword and rushed into battle. Hiccup and the other Lava-lout's where inside a small metal bunker which was basically three metal walls and a wooden door with a few large windows to watch the fight. A young Viking around Hiccup's age turned to the young Viking boy.
"Dragons, they do these things, these horrible reptiles just to get to our hard-earned food. It's okay though friend, my father will slay them all. He's the chief of this great tribe."
Hiccup looked at the boy in disbelief, he wanted to turn to the Viking Boy and tear his head off. That boy was okay with watching Hiccup's family die. Hiccup tried to take his eyes off the carnage, but he couldn't. With growing wrath, he looked toward the pile of weapons outside the blacksmith's shop. He narrowed his gaze determinedly. Meanwhile, The Night Fury was leading the charge against the Lava-louts. It was a spectacle to watch the Night Fury command the other dragons, for the Night Fury was one of the most deadly and intelligent dragons out there. He had the Deadly Nadder's line up in a somewhat straight line firing their tail spines. He had the Gronckle's split up into two separate groups; half with the Nadder's laying down covering fire, while the other half raided the food storage huts. Meanwhile the Monstrous Nightmares and Zippleback's fought sword to claw on the ground.
"TEAR AND MUTILATE!"
Some of the more ravenous and aggressive dragons of the pack cried as they clawed and burned many of the Lava-louts. But the Lava-louts fire suits resisted this fiery carnage and the barbarians only fired right back with crossbows and bola's. Chief Calvin watched annoyed from a far, he had a hundred men wielding bolas at his side. He himself swung two bolas in his massive hands. He waited for the right moment to strike. But then with a mini-supernova exposition half of Calvin the Combustibles men were knocked out cold, there fire suits where no much for a Night Fury's plasma blast. Calvin watched the skies as a great dark blue blur zigzagged through the skies. He looked at his men, most of them where down. He concentrated on the Night Fury as the dark blue dragon came in for another strike against the Lava-louts. But then Calvin threw his bola at the Night Fury, the weapon soared through the air. It then slammed into the Night Fury and wrapped itself around the dragon. With a shriek of pain, the Night Fury descended to the ground with a massive thud. The Lava-louts cheered as Calvin the Combustible and a few of his men ran over to the downed dragon. They found that he downed Night Fury had crashed just outside some of the two houses. The Lava-louts ignored all the chaos happening around them, they wanted to see the Night Fury. Night Fury's where rare often thought extinct, so to see one would have been rare, and to kill one even rarer. Calvin the Combustible approached the terrified Night Fury cautiously, he smiled maliciously as one of his soldiers handed him a long heart slicer sword.
"Oh ho…what do we have here?"
The Night Fury starred at the Viking Chief evilly as it tried to squirm its way out of the bola. Calvin the Combustible went on.
"A Night Fury, oh, I can't wait to mount you on my wall."
Then Calvin the Combustible went in for the kill but then a miracle happened. An arrow from a crossbow hit Calvin the Combustible in his shaggy beard, then the arrow pined the Lava-lout chief against a nearby wall. The Lava-lout's turned to where the arrow was fired from and found a shaking eight year old boy dressed in a fire suit with an encased sword at his side and a crossbow in his hands. It was Hiccup, he looked angry but at the same time sad. He aimed the crossbow around at the Lava-louts who weren't exactly sure what to think. The Night Fury looked on just as shocked to find the boy he had helped raise standing his ground. The Blacksmith from earlier was there, he starred confused at the boy.
"Boy? What do think you're doing-
The Blacksmith fell silent as Hiccup pointed the crossbow at him.
"Stay back, just stay back!"
Hiccup yelled with uncertainty. He then motioned to the Lava-louts.
"Cut him free!"
The Lava-louts hesitated and acted like they didn't hear the question.
"I said cut the Night Fury free!"
The Lava-louts then walked carefully over to the Night Fury and began to cut off the bola's that encompassed the dragon. As this was happening, Chief Calvin the Combustible was growing ever more purple in the face. For what Hiccup had done was an even more of an insult to Vikings then death itself. You see when you even touch the beard of another Viking it's nine times out of ten considered an act of aggression. But to pin a Viking down with his own beard was just horribly offensive.
"DON'T LISTEN TO THAT COWERING LITTLE CUDDLE FISH! KILL HIM!"
But the order to his men came too late as the Lava-louts had freed the Night Fury from his bindings. The Night Fury sprang into action as it hurled its body onto the Lava-louts biting and pushing the soldiers out of commission. In Dragonese, the Night Fury said.
"Human, C'mon we're leaving."
Hiccup nodded as climbed onto the back of the Night Fury. The Night Fury then flew into the air. As soon as the Night Fury gracefully flew into the sky, the other dragons got the message. To the dismay of the Lava-louts, they got away with every last ounce of food. The dragons in an organized swarm flew off in a slew of colors. All shrieking happy cries of victory in Dragonese, even the Night Fury's spirits were high.
"Nice job out there human, you've proved your worth. You are now part of our pack."
Hiccup smiled for a moment, and then his smile turned into a sad frown. Then strangely enough he began to cry.
"They killed them, all of those dragons. YOU DIDN'T EVEN ATTACK THEM FIRST, THEY JUST STARTED KILLING YOU! For no reason...just no reason..."
The young Viking boy said as he trembled over the back of the Night Fury. His tears streaming onto the back of the Night Fury.
"Why did they do it? Why do humans do such horrible things?"
The Night Fury purred sympathetically.
"That's just the way they are, they kill and slaughter, it's in their nature. It's the one thing they do right. "
This only damped Hiccup's spirits even more than they already were.
"Am I like them, am I... am I murderer Night Fury?"
A couple of the dragons Hiccup freed earlier overheard the conversation, they all then said.
"You're not a murderer."
"You're a liberator."
"You may look like a human, but you have the heart of a dragon."
This made a soft smile form on Hiccup's face, he then looked over to the pack of dragons tailing behind the Night Fury. He looked at not his pack, but his family. Then Hiccup hugged the back the Night Fury.
"You're one of us human not one of those murderers."
The Night Fury whispered softly, Hiccup then said with determination in his eyes.
"I will never let a single member of my family fall ever again."
With those final words, the dragons flew off into the darkness, back to their Master the Red Death.
A WEEK LATER
BERK
A week had passed since Hiccup's successful raid on the Lava-lout tribe, the news quickly spread to all the Archipelago. This was a big blow to the Lava-louts pride; Chief Calvin the Combustible was sedulously annoyed. It would take years for him to get his beard back the exact way the chief liked it. So annoyed that his precious beard had been used to pin him against a wall made him ever so angry. Also having your tribe raided and humiliated by dragons was also not really a happy moment for the chief either. He sent out a few ships to the fellow barbaric tribes, promising a reward for the head of this foolish boy who dared to cross the Lava-louts. One of those ships was busy sailing toward Berk. Bucket and Mulch watched as it approached Berk, through their view finders.
"Oh…I think I see an enemy ship this time, Mulch."
Mulch looked through his view finder.
"Lava-louts, wonder what they're doing here?"
"Should we sound the alarm, Mulch?"
Bucket said as he banged on his bucket head. Mulch shocks his head in response.
"No, let's see what they want first."
The Lava-louts docked on to Hooligan Harbor, a messenger and a few Lava-lout warriors came off the boat. They were greeted in town square by Chief Stoic the Vast, Oh Hear His Name and Tremble Ugh Ugg. Most of the town was in that general area around town square, even some of the Hairy Hooligan children. There were six boys and two girls who were all around the same ripe age of eight. There was Snotface Snotlout, a delightful boy with black hair and a face like his father Spitelout. Also, when I say he was delightful, I meant to say crude, ignorant and generally a pain in the arse of a boy. Then there Snotlout's lackeys including, Dogsbreath the Duhbrain, Speedyfist and Wartihog, who were pretty much all just the typical dumb Vikings with no skills outside of violence. They were busy bullying Fishlegs. A husky boy with blonde hair, Fishlegs was making a fool of himself yet again as Snotlout's gang played monkey in the middle with his helmet.
"Ummm, Snotlout, could ya please give me back my helmet."
"Oh, what this helmet?"
Snotlout said mockingly as he tossed it over to Dogsbreath, Fishlegs painstakingly ran over to Dogsbreath only to watch him threw it over to Wartihog. Fishlegs sighed; he had been running from person to person for the last five minutes.
"Oh, suffering scallops."
Meanwhile from a far, the terrible twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut watched jeering on Snotlout and Fishlegs The twins looked almost exactly the same, if it wasn't for their helmets and the way the wore there hair you could almost mistake one for the other . In a word the twins were, energetic, the Hairy Hooligans often thought they had been blessed by Loki the patron God of Mischief because that's what the twins were, mischief makers. Energetic mischief makers, always tipping over yaks or blowing stuff up and they talked constantly.
"Keep trying Fishlegs!"
"Punch him in the gut!"
"Kick his arse!"
"Yeah!"
Meanwhile a blonde girl with hair braids like two sideways traffic cones watched from a far a she sharpened her ax while she sat on a rock.
"(Tsk) Mutton Heads."
She said with extreme annoyance. Her name was Astrid, she was a Hofferson, and Hofferson's where the second wealthiest family in all of Berk, right next to the chief of course. That was because Astrid's great-grandfather spent a lifetime raiding Romans and other rich tribes. So the Hofferson family was pretty much set financially for a few generations. Astrid was usually very quiet and always trained to be as good as some of the best Viking Heroes in current History. The young half-wits of the tribe all turned their heads to the center of town when a very loud obnoxious bugle was blown. This also got the attention of the warriors and shield maidens of the tribe. A Lava-lout messenger then spoke.
"Here ye, Here ye, Proud and Mighty Hooligans, Chief Calvin the Combustible has placed a bounty on a young barbarian who serves the dragons!"
Many people gasped, even Stoic who was standing right next to the man looked a whee bit confused. What right minded Viking would coincide with dragons? Dragons for Thor's sake, the nightmare killing machines that could slice your heart out with the flick of a talon. The young gang of half-wits looked on with some disgust and somewhat curiosity. The Lava-lout messenger carried on.
"A thousand pounds of Lava-lout gold will be rewarded to the person who kills this wretched unholy bastard. You will know it's this so called 'Dragon Prince' when you see him disembark from a Night Fury…That is all."
The Lava-lout messenger turned to Chief Stoic the Vast and shock his hand.
"Thank you for your time, Chief Stoic"
"With pleasure, oh yes and tell Chief Calvin that I'm sorry 'bout his beard."
"Yeah, just don't say anything to the general public; he's still very embarrassed about this whole incident."
Stoic nodded his head as the messenger left, but not before some of the Lava-lout soldiers hung up some posters of 'The Prince of Dragons'. He was hung next to posters of Alvin the Treacherous, Madguts the Murderous, Drago Bludvist, even Humongously Hotshot (He's evil in this version, if i ever make a sequel you will see why). This eight-year-old boy was being seen as one of the worst men to ever plaque the Archipelago. After one poster was hung up next to the side of a house, instantly the impressionable young Hooligans strolled up to it. What they saw shocked them; it was a picture of an eight-year-old boy with a thousand gold pounds on his head. Snotlout looked on annoyed.
"Who's this guy think he is, what kind of maniac would serve the dragons?"
The terrible twins smiled again as they looked onward at the poster.
"Only a bad arse."
"Yeah, I mean he flies on the back of a Night Fury it's."
"One-word bad arse."
Fishlegs interjected.
"Actually, that's two words."
The twins went wide eyed; they never realized that up until now. Then Snotlout and his gang went back to terrorizing Fishlegs some more as the twins went on screaming and yelling. Astrid only looked at the picture of the smiling young Viking with disgust. Her face grew bitter, and then she stabbed at the wanted poster with her freshly sharpened ax. The picture snapped in two. Then she went back to sharpening her ax blade again.