Chapter 28
The Preparations of War
Before I continue in on what happened, I feel it necessary to give a little background on these Crusaders. In the later part of the first millennium A.D. and continuing into the second, the first major Christian movement began, with the predecessors of Catholicism spreading through Europe and nearby areas and taking with them their new ideals and beliefs. Mind you, they were not as peaceful and all-forgiving as Christians are today. Crusaders were missionaries of sorts, sworn to make sure that if any people did not convert to their religion, they were killed when the missionaries returned from their "peaceful" trips with large armies. These were people of massive empires, ruled by powerful kings and under the command of the Holy Roman Empire. Now it might be a little clearer as to why a large fleet of these Crusaders off the shores of Berk were such bad news to us. Especially if they had made any trips here in the past.
I left a note on the table for my parents, explaining where I was going, and that I would likely be busy until late in the evening, and then Astrid and I headed out the back door, past my garden, and through the portal. As promised, Thorn was standing nearby, waiting for us, and Astrid hopped up and strapped herself into her saddle. I morphed into my typical dragon form, and we took off.
"So what did you mean when you said that the Crusaders have come back?" I asked as we glided toward the village. "Have they been here before?" "Sort of," Astrid replied. "A group of them came here a few years ago, back when we still fought the dragons. They told us that they could help us rid ourselves of the 'demons' we fought by converting to their religion. When we refused, naturally, they left only with an ignored warning that they would be back again someday. After that, we didn't hear anything about them until just a few months ago." I nodded. "Great, just great. if my guess is correct, then we may very well be in for one heck of a battle here."
We continued to fly in silence after that until the village came in sight. then, we landed near Hiccup's house and I melted back to my usual half-form.
"Hawken! Thank goodness yer here!" Stoick yelled as he stepped out of his front door. "I was just headin' over to the Mead Hall, and we could probably use yer help and knowledge." "Yeah, I heard," I muttered. "Astrid explained part of the situation to me. Now, what do we need to do?" Stoick motioned us to follow him. "Let's get down te the Hall first. I'll explain there."
We followed him down the path and to the Mead Hall, and went in. I shut the door behind me, then looked around. So far, only Hiccup and Toothless were there, near the central fireplace, Toothless with his riding gear on him already.
"All right," Stoick said, placing his hands on the stone, "the first thing we need te do is have a meeting on our course of action. I've already got the heads of the council coming down in a few minutes." he looked at me. "Hawken, since ye already probably know at least a little bit about how these people work, since this would have been past history fer ye, ye'll need to help us decide what to do when they get here. As ye pointed out when we fought the Clubswingers, they may still be here for peaceful discussion, or te do battle." I shifted where I stood. "Well, if I'm right about what I heard, they're probably here to use force anyway. Second time's not as friendly with these people." Stoick nodded. "Well, tomorrow mornin' before they get te the docks, Hiccup, you and Hawken will go out there to find out just what path they're plannin' on takin'. Astrid, you will follow as backup if needed te get Hiccup off the ships." Astrid nodded. "You got it, Chief."
Stoick looked down at the fire ring, then at the main doors. "It's almost time fer the council meeting. Let's get things set up properly." We arranged some chairs around the ring, and took our seats, waiting for the other Vikings to show up. As we did, I took another look around the Great Hall. It still fascinates me how they managed to carve it out of just a simple cavern in the side of the mountain.
The rest of the council and a number of other villagers started pouring in, and we waited until everyone had found a seat or a place to lean. "Alright, let's get this over with," Stoick bellowed, and the whole hall went silent enough to hear a pin drop. "We all know why I called ye here," Stoick continued as he took his place at the head of the ring. Hiccup, Astrid and I sat nearby. "The Crusaders have returned in force, and we need te figure out why, as well as how to react. We have heard the stories the traders have offered about conditions further south, so I don't doubt they're here te use force." A large group of Vikings voice their agreement on that. Stoick cleared his throat. "Now, Astrid has brought Hawken here te help lay out exactly what might happen, so that we may be best prepared." he turned and motioned toward me, signaling that I should stand up and start speaking.
I leaned against the stone ring, pressing both my hands down and looking around. "I'll start with the best case scenario first," I said. "From what I know of my own past history and what Astrid has told me, when Crusaders show up a second time they're going to try using force. I'll admit it isn't likely, but there is still the chance they are here on one of their so-called peaceful missions. If so, I would assume the best idea is to kindly explain to them that there will be no changing of the ways as of right now, unless by your own free will, and no joining of their empire." A number of people began to voice their disagreement with this idea, talking about what could go wrong, but I held up a hand to say I wasn't finished. They knew better than to get me impatient or irritated, so they quieted down. "Continuing on what I was saying, more than likely even with a through explanation, they're going to need some sort of show of power to convince them they won't win, and some sort of convincing that you are a good people, no matter what you believe. Hopefully they'll leave Berk alone after that.
"Now, I believe right now, a more likely situation is the worst case scenario, that they are here to use force and wage war, to get what they want," I continued darkly. "In that case, I can try to halt the fleet in order to give us some time to prepare for war. Even so, I would suggest everyone prepare anyway. If they attack straight off, we can use the catapults and dragons to destroy as many ships as possible, then carry out a plan I've started to come up with, and I'll get to in a minute. If they try to talk first, we may still have a chance to explain to them that we aren't going to back down, and hopefully try to ward them off, though if they've come this far I doubt we'll just get them to turn around and go home."
"What was the plan ye were talkin' about a minute ago?" Spitelout, Snotlout's father, asked. I cleared my throat and continued. "Try to get as many of the soldiers as possible into the Great Hall here. The best way to do that is to drop hints about valuables and important historical artifacts being stored somewhere in here. These people will seek to destroy such artifacts to try and weaken our defense, break us. I will then take care of anyone you manage to get in here. The rest of them, well, I'll leave that up to you, since you're more adept at open battle." I looked around, seeing the mix of faces bearing grim looks and anticipation. "Oh, and try to incapacitate those you fight, and whoever you don't kill, we can put them into the arena to deal with them. Dead warriors don't learn lessons, and we want to send them home with a big lesson to share with their kings."
"Ye mentioned earlier we may stand a chance of convincing them to just leave," Stoick said. "How would ye suggest goin' about that without any bloodshed?" I smiled slightly. "Supposedly I believe in the same god that they do," I said, "and I might stand a chance at using that common ground to get us off our backs. I have pretty good knowledge of their general beliefs and what they will use to back it up, and if they are anything at all like the Christian sects I have in my world today, I may be able to use their own evidence against them. Of course if that fails, even after the battle, I will leave them all to you. I have no interests in real torture or interrogation, so if I can't use their own beliefs to get them to leave Viking customs alone for at least a little while, then I will gladly step right out of the way."
Stoick nodded and looked around the room. "We have this one suggestion up for debate," he said, "and I say it sounds pretty well thought through. Does anyone else have any suggestions as to what plan of action we should take?" There was some discussion for a few minutes, but eventually no one could seem to come up with anything to top mine, at least in terms of areas where we had room to adapt.
"Very well, are we in agreement to go forth with this decision?" Stoick asked. There was a near-unanimous "Aye!" as the council and other villagers voiced their approval, only a few nay-sayers in the back voicing dissent (not surprisingly the local grouch Mildew among them). Most of the village knew how powerful I could be when it came to necessity, as well as the fact that I could be just as argumentative, stubborn, or persuasive as any of them when given enough information to go off of.
After the meeting adjourned, it was hustle and bustle all over the place to get weapons sharpened and calibrated, properly weighted, or whatever else was needed, the houses fortified and all valuables stored away and hidden, and whatever else might be needed for war preparation. As all the Vikings prepared for the upcoming events, I gathered the village dragons together and explained to them what was likely to happen.
::All of you are going to be the main targets,:: I explained curtly. ::These people see dragons as evil creatures sent by the devil to plague man, though we all know how wrong that is. Anything that you can think of to use to protect yourself, any weak points at all, use to cover yourself somehow. If we battle and you get the chance, incapacitate the enemy in any way possible, though I would prefer they are not killed. Dead men do not learn. However, they will not hesitate to kill you, so remember: you before them.:: The dragons were set on edge, but they all agreed to the conditions set before them. Not like they had a choice really, plus they were all ticked by the thought that the Crusaders saw them as evil. And of course if there's one thing you don't want, it's a po'ed dragon after you.
By nightfall, the entire village was brimming with sharp objects and implements for battle and protection. Nearly every dragon had armor of some sort on even, and ammunition was everywhere for use as well. Berk's important sources of information and history were all stored away safely in a secret underground room far beneath Elder Gothi's house, which was in and of itself a good distance away from the rest of the village, and everything in the Mead Hall was removed if it had importance, or was redecorated to look like it may have hid something important.
Unfortunately even by nightfall, the first of the Crusader ships could be seen on the horizon, and with my enhanced vision I could clearly see the famous cross symbols adorning the sails. In order to keep them at bay for a little while longer, all lights in Berk were doused or hidden from ocean view, and the watch towers were darkened as well. It helped too that Berk was famous for cloudy weather, and that night was no exception, so no moon or stars shone to guide the way either. If the Crusaders came too close that night, the sea stacks and pillars surrounding the shores of the island would prevent any successful landing until morning.
"Alright, ye three sure ye now what ye have te do tomorrow mornin', right?" Stoick asked. Hiccup, Astrid, and I were in his house, with Toothless volunteering as a temporary backrest. "Right," we voiced unanimously. Hiccup was to ride Toothless down to the lead ship and determine whether the Crusaders were here peacefully or for war. I would follow underwater and listen to what was happening on board. If something went wrong, I would be the distraction so that Hiccup and Toothless could get away and hook back up with Astrid and Thorn, the latter pair protecting the duo as they headed back to the village to report. Then, I would stall the fleet if needed in the same manner as I had the Clubswingers, and head back myself. In the few hours we would have afterward, we would set up the last few preparations and gather on the docks. from there, the plan I had laid out in the meeting earlier that afternoon would be enacted.
Stoick looked at me. "Ye sure yer able te sty over tonight?" I nodded. "I made a trip back home earlier to sort things out. Both my parents know where I am and what to possibly expect. They're not happy with the situation, but it's important enough." He nodded. "Very well. Astrid, ye best be gettin' home yerself. All three of you need yer sleep tonight." With that, he headed upstairs.
Astrid turned and gave Hiccup a kiss. "See you tomorrow," she said, smiling, then headed out the door and down the path to her own house. Hiccup helped me lay out a sleeping place in his room, and Toothless curled up around his bed and my mat, watching both of us and making sure nothing happened. "Overprotective reptile," I muttered, smirking. I laid down and looked up at the ceiling. "Lord, we're heading into a dangerous situation tomorrow," I whispered, "so I pray for your help. We're going to need it."
The three of us slowly fell into fitful slumber, anxiety of what was to come playing through our minds. We knew not what was about to unfold, nor just how life-changing some events would turn out to be.