It's been about a week since the kidnapping. I've put a few dozen protection spells on my hut. Thankfully he didn't rough me up too much, just a few marks on my wrists where the rope pressed in too hard.

I sigh, rubbing them. It's still sore, though I wouldn't've expected it to be. The last time I'd ever felt anything like this on my wrists was in Prison Freya, on the Berserker islands when they raided our (my old)island and captured most of us. Using magic to get out of that situation was just one of the reasons that I had had to leave my old home in the Peaceable Islands.

Anyways, there's going to be a treaty signing today with the Meathead tribe. As it turns out I'm not just avoiding my mother, she's been avoiding me too, I know this because Helga, her right hand, has been collecting all of her orders as of late. I asked her why one day, and she just shrugged, because apparently she hadn't been told.

I am walking home right now. I feel a storm coming. How does one feel a storm coming? I don't know, it's just something I've always been good at. My grandma told me I'd been doing it since I was a kid, that I would get grumpy or cry really violently before a storm hit. I speed my walk up a bit. I need to get home before it hits.

When I am only a few hundred feet away from the location of my house I feel a presence. It doesn't necessarily feel threatening, but considering the fact that I didn't even know that that evil sorcerer guy was behind me last time, I'm not ready to take a chance.

Immediately in my head I have way over a hundred combat spells memorized. I clear the last bit of land before there are no obstacles between me and my hypothesized assailant. I have my arms raised, ready for this to turn as bloody as it likely will. But the person waiting by my house isn't an assailant.

It's Valka. Chieffess. Mom.

I look at her, and clearly I seem to be confused because she starts walking towards me.

"Hiccup?" she asks, "You-you're my son?"

.

Today we are sailing for Tomorrow, and you'll never guess what! My dad let me man the steering wheel. This is only a bit of a challenge. The waves are a little wild, and I'm not going to lie, a bit of their violence may be from my influence. But the skies are clear and overall it's a great day to be sailing. I swerve to avoid a rock that my sorcerer's senses detected.

I'd always wondered if my father ever suspected me of sorcery, in addition to, of course, what happened to those who practiced it. Last night I'd gotten my answer from Chucklehad. Apparently there was a way to remove magic from someone. It was this stone, Chucklehead called it the Purification Stone. It could suck the magic right out of someone. Once he'd removed the magic from anyone he threw the stone away or got rid of it or something, Chucklehead had said he wasn't sure where it was, only that it was gone. This all had happened before I was born. When the first batch of non-magic babies popped in, it was realized that my father's sorcery solution affected the blood of the families, because none of them had magic.

Of course, father hadn't been a fool, he'd obviously robbed the magic of his enemies before robbing magic from his people. Rob? Well, I'm a sorcerer, I love magic, why do you think that's the word I associate with the removal of it?

I look ahead, looks like clear skies and easy sailing, time to kick it up a notch.

^Shaefwewq^

The sails fill up with wind and we accelerate even more, hitting like, 50 nautical miles per hour or something… yeah, clearly I'm no sailor. I swerve to the right, there was a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus about to rear its ugly head at us. Suddenly a huge wall of fire crashes upwards into the sky, only it's a little too far to the left to hit us. Ha. Silly Sea Dragon.

Tomorrow is supposed to take more than one day's sailing, but I hate camping with the village, and I'm not all that keen to be out in the open while my brother is out there, when he can just kidnap me whenever and wherever he pleases. So no, I'd rather get back to Tomorrow today, please.

Tomorrow is an island right in the heart of the Archipelago which was the land the Wilderwest was founded on by our ancestors. It is where the King (my father) is, historically, supposed to live, however he has a tribe to look after on Berk, so we spend nine months of the year there and three on Berk.

At least on Tomorrow I have a bigger, nicer room, full of all types of artifacts and trophies from quests I've gone on. Yep, I've been on quests… well, OK, some quests, and I suppose they were all pretty minor.

For instance, this one time I got kidnapped by some Visithugs, but I used a bit of magic to get out of that one… yeah, please don't tell dad.

Oh look, there's Tomorrow!

.

I've made my mind up about what to do… I think.

As soon as my boat hits the sandy beach I hop off, purpose in my stride. I walk through the village, people stop and stare at me, the ghosts of this long forgotten village seemingly hopeful.

I walk into Court. Queen Mielle looks up at me and smiles, and in that moment I know that I've made the right choice.

I reach into my vest-pocket and slit the palm of my hand, watching as her smile turns into a confused frown and finally into full-blown panic as she realizes what I'm about to do. As soon as my bloody hand touches the gem it glows and begins to fizzle.

"Guards, arrest him!" I hear her yell.

I don't know what comes over me but for some reason I chant the words, ^Gibbhretto^.

Now, these past couple of days have done a lot to strengthen- or, well, initiate- my belief in magic, but nothing could've ever prepared me for what happened next. Flames leapt from their holders where they previously were in charge of illuminating the room and set the guards that were coming for me on fire. The great goons fell to the floor, screaming, and clutching their faces.

I turned to the queen. I do not know magic. Up until a few days ago, I thought it was something that only fools believe in- and yet I held up the gem, absolutely positive that I was glowing and spoke in a tongue that was unfamiliar to me.

^shacearetto^ the air around her picked her screaming self up into the air and dismantled her. She was dead.

This was all over, I was relieved. Time to put the stone back- I blink. What? Wait, no. I'm not putting it back. This was the first time in my life that I felt powerful. This stone was mine, and anyone who disagreed was welcome to try and fight me for it.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

huh… does the gem have dangerous powers that can influence its holder and turn them into a power-hungry maniac? Does an inanimate object really seem as though it could have such power considering that it has the blood of over a dozen ancient and powerful wizards, and the one currently wielding it is a sickly-looking, young, inexperienced sorcerer-to-be? And more importantly, is it going to turn that young child evil? Nah, probably not, right guys? Um… guys?

Now, I wonder what Hiccup 3's gonna tell Valka, see you guys next chapter!

-httyd4eva

peace out yo;P