Chapter 10

Lessons of the Mesa

Kiefer sat back in the bench, pressing his steepled fingers against his lips. He studied Hiccup and Astrid in turn. Hiccup put her hands on the table, waiting nervously for Kiefer's reaction. She had admitted to trying to kill Toothless, and actually killing the Red Death. Surely a city of dragon trainers wouldn't like people who killed dragons. Would they accept her killing a Dragon Tyrant?

Finally he spoke.

"Thank you for the story, Hiccup. It was enlightening. I have heard similar tales. An injured dragon saved by a young human, brought as proof to their people, and their eventual acceptance. I consider this to be a promising start. There are worse ways to train a dragon."

He opened his palms. "Let me tell you a story about a woman by the name of Cairon the Kind. She wasn't a dragon trainer, or even a dragon slayer. She was an herbalist. She used plants to create salves to treat wounds and burns that soldiers received while defending the town from dragon raids. She really wanted nothing to do with dragons.

"But one day she was away from town, gathering herbs and seeds when she happened upon a grass with a curiously minty smell."

Hiccup sat forward. "Dragon nip?"

He nodded. "She didn't know it at the time, obviously. She thought it might make a good tonic, so she gathered as much as her pockets could hold."

Hiccup snorted. "Good way to attract dragons."

"Indeed it was. She had traveled maybe half an hour before a dragon set upon her. It came at her, jaws wide, like it was going to gobble her up. She stumbled back in fear, but its teeth merely grazed her, tearing at her coat and pulling it off. The dragon tore it apart as she ran away. But when she looked back, she saw the dragon rolling around in the tattered remains and the grass she'd collected.

"She thought it would make for a good distraction, so she returned later with a leather bag and collected more, making sure she got some seeds. When she got back, she set her herbology skills to work on the plant extracted the essence of nip."

"Oh, there's an idea," Hiccup said. "The extract must be more powerful than regular dragon nip."

"Quite. She put some of the extract into thin clay bottles, and she convinced the militia leader to try them during the next raid. She explained that they should be able to attract dragons into ambushes. But you know the properties of nip; not only did it attract them, it also put them into a haze. The stronger the extract, the more of an effect it has.

"After using it, the militia wanted more of the potion and she provided it. She was hailed as a hero, and her king awarded her a Ladyship. She asked that they capture some of the dragons so that she could study the effect of the extract. She kept them sedate and found that she could train them to be tame. Soon dragons became pets. They are beautiful, majestic creatures, but they were thought to be as animals, no better than cattle.

"Years later, she was working with a hyacaelum, one of those multi-colored, rather birdlike dragons that are wandering around, but she hadn't made him docile with the nip yet. She bonded with the dragon, as you did with Toothless. And with that bond, she came to see dragons in a different light. He was smarter and more loyal than any other hyacaela. More so than any other dragon they had tamed, even. He was able to think, plan, and act on his own.

"Dragons are more than animals. She couldn't see that when they were in a drug induced haze, but when they gave their loyalty freely? They are feeling, intelligent creatures that could be more than a decoration. They had a will all their own.

"When she realized that she'd been stealing that will from them, rendering them dull and dumb, she was horrified. She went to the king, explained everything. Of course, his first duty was to his citizens, but she had his ear. He gave her a chance to prove that dragons could be trained, and his son, Prince Santin, would become her apprentice.

"Santin was enthralled by the dragons. He quickly surpassed Cairon in bonding with and training dragons, and easily convinced his father to end the use of nip on dragons. The citizens of the town learned to train dragons, and as they became more comfortable, they accepted dragons.

"When Santin ascended the throne, he declared that we had to atone for our earlier treatment of dragons, and that it was now our duty to save lives, both human and dragon. We decided the best way to do that was to teach our neighbors on how to train dragons, and soon an alliance of these Dragon Riders banded together into Mesa del Cadre. Our reach expanded, and we continued to teach, to train, and to ride.

"But it didn't last. Some of those we taught twisted our methods. They terrorized hatchlings, intimidating them into accepting human dominance. They used a Tyrant's song to subvert dragons' wills. They didn't bond with dragons, they enslaved them.

"We protested, of course. Dragons are partners, not slaves." Hiccup sat up at that. "King Santin demanded they cease this perversion. They refused, but were not yet ready to attack us. They turned their dragons to raiding other villages, those that hadn't been taught to train yet. They were overrun easily; their methods to defend against warriors or wild dragons were worthless against riders.

"We had to act, and it was thus that the first Training War began. A long and bloody conflict that saw dozens of villages and nests destroyed in flame and steel. We had allies, but they had slaves. The war put such a strain on our alliance that we had to reform into an empire to hold strong against the Rogues.

"Then, we met a new tribe of riders. People we hadn't taught, who had learned to train on their own. We became allies, learned from them, and they provided us with new species of dragons. Combined with Cadrian experience, this alliance brought the wind to our backs, and we managed to push the Rogues out and eventually defeat them.

"But we had been taught an expensive lesson: People cannot be given the answer, they must earn it. Now we only make contact with those who have discovered dragon training on their own. How you did so has become our most important gauge into your potential as a friend and ally. You," he looked at Hiccup, "have that potential. To us, at least."

"Well, I can't speak for the village, but a new ally would be nice," Hiccup said with a glance at her dad, but he didn't try to stop her. "We haven't really made it a secret that we train dragons and some of our neighbors have tried to steal our knowledge. Some have gone so far as to kidnap Snotlout and me for our knowledge."

Kiefer's eyebrows scrunched. "Isn't that the cousin with delusions of grandeur?"

"Well, they thought he was me," Hiccup said. "Apparently they were under the impression that the Dragon Master had the strength of a dozen men."

She flexed her arms pathetically and laughed. "I really don't. They realized their mistake once he opened his mouth, though."

Kiefer laughed but then his face fell into a frown. "Do you have any delivery dragons that I could dispatch to my camp?"

She cocked her head. "We don't have delivery dragons."

"You should look into training those small ones that I saw on people's shoulders." He twisted around and called out over the crowd, "Wran!"

The weasely looking man quickly approached, his pencil at the ready.

"Go tell Sergeant Seylie I want semi-hourly patrols of the island. We may have a Chester. Report only."

He wrote in his notebook as Kiefer spoke, then nodded and left the Great Hall in a rush. Kiefer turned back around, stopping to look at Stoick.

"Apologies, Chief Stoick. I should have checked with you first. The patrol is to ensure the safety of my camp. I will of course send a runner if we see anyone approach."

"Well, if you don't attack them . . ." Stoick stroked his beard and then nodded. "I suppose it'll be fine."

"What's a Chester?"

Keifer looked back at Hiccup.

"Chester the Cunning. A couple generations after the Training War, we had become a bit more lax, people began to realize we had the ability to tame dragons. Chester snuck into one of our outlying dragon conservatories and stole our knowledge. With just a few bonded dragons he conquered his own village and attacked one of our allied trainers. The Cadrian military stepped in and put a swift end to his little bandit gang. He taught us to take such threats seriously."

"And if you spot someone?" Astrid said.

"That depends on your chief." He looked at Stoick. "We would be happy to advise you should you request it. I don't have enough guards to help in a more military capacity, except perhaps for a few key strikes."

"I appreciate the offer. We'll discuss it with my advisors."

Kiefer nodded.

"Would have been nice to have you around when the armory exploded," Hiccup whispered to herself.

"I'm honored by your trust." Kiefer put a hand on his chest. "But I would hope you would be more careful of who to depend on, as you hardly know me. The knowledge you possess is a potent weapon. If you trust too freely, you may be arming your enemy."

"It's a good lesson." Stoick stroked his chest-length beard. "One you should learn as a leader, Hiccup. Though I'm surprised you would ask us to be skeptical of you."

"I can handle skepticism, Chief. I want us to form a partnership that will last. Failing that, my mission will be a success if you learn to keep dragon training safe. I expect to have to earn your trust."

Astrid snorted and shot a glare at Hiccup. "Remember Heather, Hiccup?"

Hiccup groaned and laid her head on the table with a thump. "Yes, that memory exists."

"I take it Heather couldn't be trusted?" She heard Kiefer say.

"She was sent to spy on us. I tried to tell Hiccup that something seemed off about her, but she didn't listen."

"She was very convincing," Hiccup moaned into the table.

A warm hand gently pat her shoulder from across the table. She looked up at Kiefer giving her a reassuring smile. "Learn from it. Mistakes happen to teach us. You now understand that a moment of carelessness can spell disaster. Take what you learn and teach your riders. They need to understand as well as you do."

She nodded with half a smile as she sat up. "I will." She shot a look at Astrid. "And Snotlout was even more convinced that I was."

"Heather was pretty and Snotlout is . . . Snotlout. He was thinking with his —"

"Alright, alright!" Her face warmed. "I got it, thanks."

Kiefer finished his Yak meat and pushed himself back. "Well, thank you for the meal and the discussion. I need to return to my camp and log the day's events. Chief Stoick, I would like to meet with you again tomorrow morning, if that's acceptable."

"Of course. I will assemble my advisors and the elder, and send Gobber to retrieve you."

Kiefer agreed and stood. Hiccup watched as he met his guard and left the Great Hall.