For some reason this chapter was really hard to write. I blame the migraine and sleep deprivation. Regardless, here it is! Whoo!
Chapter 2: The Ceremony
Many days' journey from Berk's shore was an island rich and plentiful. The locals called their home Odin's Rest. According to folklore Odin himself took rest on the island many years ago. Because of this it is said that the island yielded more than enough food for the island's inhabitants.
However they were not keen to share their home with strangers. Outsiders were not greeted with friendliness. The traders who stopped by were kept at the docks. Very few outsiders were let onto their shores and even fewer into their village. Two such outsiders came to their shores on the back of a dragon not too long ago.
It could have been their strange arrival that allowed the villagers to let them in. The young couple told them their story. They had both turned away from their home for the sake of a relationship. They had run away and had no home to return to. It was this lack of home that lead the villagers to welcome them into their home.
He, a strong and able-bodied youth who called himself Chuck, was given work with the local fishermen. He had spent many years of his life on the water of his birth home and had plenty of experience. She, a delightful lady named Esol, was taken in by the women of the village. She was soon offered work in the temple as a maiden. It was an honorable position in the village available only to unmarried women.
Between the two of them they held more knowledge with dragons than the entire village. They never had problems with the beasts. It was another blessing of Odin, they would say. However a nearby island had a sizable population of sly dragons Chuck identified as changewings.
"They're aren't savage beasts." Chuck had explained. He lured a few changewings out with fish. They had taken the bait and lost a bit of their unfriendly demeanor. "They're just overgrown kids."
Slowly the fishermen had made a friendship with the dragons and no longer feared their island. They would even sometimes help them catch fish, for a cut of the profit, that is.
While Chuck was out fishing and learning about dragons Esol spent much of her time in the temple. Being a maiden meant that Esol lived in the temple along with the other maids. When she was married she could leave the temple and move into a house in the village. A maiden's job was to take care of the temple and its many ceremonies and rituals. One such was the daily opening and closing of the temple doors.
The five maidens had just opened the temple doors for the day. Many villagers were waiting outside and the maids greeted them with silent and dutiful head bows.
"It is always nice to see you girls." said an elderly woman that people called Old Pearl. She prayed at the temple every morning and most evenings. She padded slowly inside with her old knees barely moving. She paused and smiled kindly at Esol. "It won't be much longer and you won't be a maid anymore. Just make sure you marry that man of yours while I'm still kicking."
Esol smiled in return. Maidens were taught not to speak. She gave Old Pearl a grateful bow of her head instead. Her maiden's headdress jingled a bit with the movement. As she lifted her head up she caught the sly glances of the other maidens. Alva winked quickly at her. They had been teasing her for months about getting married, expect for Rory. Alva said it was because she was jealous.
The maidens all wore ancient ceremonial robes. They were heavy and smelt of temple dust. Esol was used to its weight now but the first day she wore them left her sore and exhausted.
With the temple doors open the maidens began the routine of daily rituals. They watered plants and harvested the herbs from the garden. They carried the herbs into the drying room. They paid tribute to the statue of Odin in the temple with the villagers. The morning went by and soon the sun was directly overhead.
Today was a special day on Odin's Rest. It was the annual ceremony to renew the protections of the gods. It was the ritual that kept the island healthy and plentiful. It was the most important and the most sacred ceremony. It took place underneath the temple in a place only the high priest and maidens were allowed.
At noon the maidens went into the temple's hall to eat. The high priest would meet them there to begin the protection ceremony.
"I am ready to get this over with." Rory said. She had been a maiden the longest and knew all of the rituals by heart.
"I'm still nervous." Esol said. She'd never performed this ceremony before and didn't know what to expect.
Alva nodded in agreement. She didn't share Rory's confidence either.
"It's really not that bad. I mean, they make it out to be this huge ordeal but it's not." Rory shrugged.
"Oh, but it is a huge ordeal." said the crumbling voice of the ancient high priest. He came into the hall in his robes that were as old as he.
"I'm sorry, Father. I meant no disrespect." Rory said with a slight bow in her head.
"I believe you." said the high priest. His stone face lifted into a smile. But it vanished as quickly as it came. "I admire your confidence but I do warn you not to take this ceremony lightly. Without it our entire island could fall into darkness."
Esol was unsure if the high priest caught Rory roll her eyes. She didn't think so as he padded to stand in front of them. She wished he would tell them more about the ceremony. If it was so important then why couldn't he tell them about it? All they had been told was that it was to renew the island's protection and how to perform it. She wanted to know why.
"And now it is time." the high priest said with open hands. "Remember your training today. Rory, I'll ask you to lead the others down into the purification chamber. I will meet you there."
Rory nodded and stood up and the other girls followed her lead. Alva and Esol shared excited but nervous glances. She lead them through the hall and deeper into the temple. It grew darker as they went but Rory had lit a single torch.
"We only need one." Rory said a bit annoyed as one of the girls reached for a torch.
Alva clung to Esol's arm. She had never liked the dark. They were going deeper into the temple than they had ever gone. Soon they were descending downward along a spiral staircase. The wooden stairs became stone that had been carved from the dense rock beneath the island. The darkness was thicker and the torch seemed to only reach so far into it.
"We must be so far below the temple." Alva said quietly. Even her timid squeak echoed off the cold walls. She tightened her grip on Esol.
"How far does this go?" Esol asked.
"Far." Rory said.
"Rory, how many times have you done this ritual?" Alva asked.
"Too many." Rory said. She said in a bitter tone, "I've been here almost ten years. All the girls who started with me are gone and married and have kids half as old as me."
It was an old complaint. There were only two ways out of being a temple maiden. She either had to marry or die.
"You'll find someone soon enough, Rory." another one of the girls said with a wink. "You don't want to rush into the rest of your life like my parents. I'm glad to stay here so I don't have to listen to them scream at each other. As far as I'm concerned I'll gladly stay here until I'm as old as Old Pearl."
The others laughed but Rory was silent.
Further and further down they went until the stairs finally came to an end. The flickering of the torchlight the cavern before them opened up. Along the walls pale green vines had grown through cracks and along the jagged walls. On these vines grew blooming flowers with pedals that glowed iridescent as moonlight. Each flower was as bright as a star. The brightness of thousands of these flowers cast the tunnel before them in bright blue-white.
"It is beautiful." Alva said in awe.
"What are these?" Esol asked Rory as she doused her torch. Its light was obsolete next to the flowers.
"They're moon flowers." Rory said in the same awe as Alva. She was looking at the flowers in amazement. "They only bloom twice a year or so. But I've never seen them this bright before."
"What does that mean?" Esol asked. "I don't like it. It feels…off."
"I know what you mean." Alva nodded as she whispered. "It is beautiful but it looks haunted."
"Pff. Are you afraid of ghosts, Alva?" Rory taunted.
"No." Alva said quickly. "I just…I don't like dark places."
"Whatever. It doesn't matter." Rory shrugged. She took charge down the hallway. "Let's just get there before the high priest sneaks up behind us and tells us off."
The others followed close behind her. The flowers were bright but even though they could see clearly the girls hung close together. The tunnel opened up into a wide cavern. The flowers continued up the walls and onto the domed ceiling. The flowers were bright enough that the hundreds of candles that lined the room were left unlit.
"This is the purification chamber." Rory said calmly. "It's so bright. I've never seen it so bright. We've always had to light the candles."
The maidens did as they had practiced. They arranged themselves in a circle so that they stood equidistant from one another. They enclosed their hands and in practiced synchronization they exhaled. The first steps were to clear their thoughts. Anxiety caused rifts and could harm the ceremony's outcomes. Before the ceremony could begin they must detox of emotions.
The high priest stood from his daily devotion. The ceremony was upon them. He was met in the hall by his worried son.
"Father, I need to speak to you." his son said with urgency.
"Then speak, child." the high priest said.
"Father, I have seen the signs. The moon will be dark tonight and the cavern flowers are blooming brightest. These events occurring on the same day as the protection ceremony mean-"
"They do not mean anything." the high priest said with a very stern tone.
"But, Father, the old ways-" his son argued.
"The old ways are obsolete." the high priest said. "Times have changed. The ritual will continue as planned."
"But," his son argued.
"I have heard enough of this." the high priest said. The ceremony was waiting below. He did have time to spare for such nonsense.
"I don't want to anger It." his son pleaded.
"It is not the same it as it once was." the high priest said with a stomp of his staff. "Now I must prepare for the ritual."
The high priest started to walk away but his son stopped him once again. "But, Father, what about the ceremonial staff?"
The high priest stopped and looked at the staff in his hands. True, it was not the staff for the ceremony. He turned around and grinned at his stone-faced son.
"Aha, you have saved the ceremony, son. I always walked away with the wrong staff." the high priest grinned. He walked passed his son and back into the high priest's room.
He did not see his son balled fists or his cold state.
"I am sorry, Father. I must do what I must. It is for the village." he said to the shadows.
The maidens stay in their circle until footsteps echo from the flowered tunnel. They broke their formation to greet the high priest. But it was not him, it was his son. In his hands was the ceremonial staff. He walked slowly to keep the bells silent.
"Where is the high priest?" Rory asked.
"He will not be joining you. I will take his place in this ceremony." the high priests' son said. "Before we begin I have a few changes."
"Changes?" Rory asked. "Why?"
"Do not worry about it." he said. "You will do nothing differently. "Let us begin. The time of appeasement is upon us."
He turned the staff upright and hit it hard on the floor. The bells rattled and jingled. The sound echoed off the stone walls and multiplied into a haunting clank. Alva grabbed hold of Esol's arm. She gave the worried girl a reassuring smile.
"Remember, no emotion." Esol whispered to her.
Alva nodded but didn't look at all reassured.
"Take a flower." the high priest's son said.
Rory reached forward to the wall and plucked a bright flower from a vine. The brightness dimmed as it was separated. The other girls followed her example. They tucked them into their headdresses. With the flowers in their crown they followed the stamping of the staff down a narrowing tunnel.
The flowers stopped growing and the tunnel grew dark. The only light came from the flowers they had picked. All around them the earth had ground still. Their timid footsteps and the bells were the only sounds. It was as if all life had ceased.
The walls opened up and vanished into darkness on either side. The ceiling rose and was swallowed. The thick darkness beyond was impenetrable. The flowers were dim in comparison.
"Begin." came the voice of the high priest's son.
They arranged themselves in a circle as they had practiced so many times. The high priest's son stood in the center of beat the belled staff on the hard stone floor. They danced in their circle, rotating around the center point, their motions perfectly coordinated and synchronized. The flowers' light was diminishing as the ceremony commenced.
Along with the bells he began to chant quiet words. From the deep within the cavern the darkness stirred. An unsettling shutter came from within the shadows. The stone came to life with shakes and rattling breaths.
Suddenly the high priest's son let out a terrible scream. In a fit he dropped the staff and it rattled on the cold floor and slid to a silent halt. He fell to the floor in a painful shout as he gripped his head.
"No!" he shouted over and over.
The flowers had lost their glow. The cavern was black. The high priest's son continued to scream as the ground began to shake. A thunderous gasp pulled on the darkness like a ravenous beast. The unbalancing ground shook Esol off her feet. She fell to the ground but she was not the only one.
"What is happening?" Alva asked in a panic.
"I don't know!" Rory shouted. She was as panicked as the others. "This isn't right!"
"Father, what do we do?" one of the girls shouted.
Through his screaming the high priest's son gasped out for breath. "Pacification!"
In the darkness Alva let out a frightful scream. Esol reached out for her but as she wrenched her arm out Alva's scream was cut disturbingly short. Esol felt the worst of sinking feelings in her stomach.
"Pacification!" he screamed as the rumbling was bubbling with a horrible thickness that lapped at their feet. It was as thick as water but it felt as free flowing as dense fog.
Suddenly his words were muffled as if something was shoved into his open mouth. Esol scooted herself away from the horrible sound when his voice was removed from the darkness all together.
On the surface Odin's Rest was as peaceful as it had ever been. The day of the protection ceremony was filled with festivals and feasts. With the setting of the sun a parade would celebrate through the streets. It was the time to celebrate another year's passing and welcoming another.
Above the island was a house perched on a small mountain. On its porch children were learning about herbs and medicinal plants from one of the island's respected elders.
"This one here with the curved leaves helps with sores." the woman was telling them.
This woman was born and raised on the island and had travel much in her years. She knew much of its history and its people. Many people sought out her wisdom of natural medicine and her large knowledge of the unnatural. Strangers look upon her with weary eyes but the villagers loved her.
There came a strange feeling on the island. The children did not notice but the woman did. She stood and halted her lesson. She looked toward the island's center where the temple stood. Something was amiss.
"Is something wrong?" a small girl asked her with large brown eyes.
The entire island shook. Thunder shuttered from underneath the earth.
"What is that?" another child asked.
The woman put up her tanned hand toward the child and looked toward the temple. She could see its doors. People were being pushed out by temple leaders. The doors were being pulled close in a hurry.
"Lydia, what is happening?" one of the older girls asked. The younger girl clung to her skirt.
"Go inside. Now. All of you." the woman said. She waved toward her house.
A shutter came from deep within the earth. It shook the entire island and the woman clutched onto her house to steady herself.
A heavy darkness began to seep from the temple's doors. It poured out of every crack and into the streets where it pushed and swallowed people whole. It flowed as poison through water and rose to swallow entire houses inside it.
"Inside!" the woman said urgently. She picked up the small girl and pushed the others inside her house.
She put the girl down and slammed the door behind them. She searched a cabinet for a jar which she used to paint a hasty red symbol on her door. No sooner had she lifted her wet fingers from the door than a terrible force pushed against it. The children clamored together and the small girl began to cry. But the woman wasted no time. She repeated the symbol on each wall.
Outside it sounded like nothing she had heard before. It sounded like a thousand blood thirsty beast crawling at the walls.
"What is happening?" a boy asked her.
"The malice has escaped." she said darkly. "The price for our island paradise has not been paid. It will spread and swallow us all."
Hiccup and Astrid sat on the edge of the cavern's platform. Their legs dangled off the edge while Toothless and Stormfly played on the mountain's rocky side.
"Thanks for this." Astrid said as she ate.
"You're welcome. Ingrid mentioned that you'd left before breakfast this morning and considering you missed lunch too, I thought you might be hungry." Hiccup shrugged. He'd eaten his fill but he hadn't been that hungry to begin with. He was trying to think of a way to ask her about the engagement. There didn't seem to be an artful way of doing it.
"So what does the letter say?" Astrid said with her mouth full.
"Oh!" Hiccup had forgotten about it. He reached into his shirt to get it.
Hiccup,
Hope all is well on Berk! Chuck and I have finally started to settle down here. He's fishing now and I'm spend most of my time in the temple. I finally got some time to sit down and write to you. I've become good friends with a girl that became a temple maid at the same time as me. Her name is Alva. Learning together makes it less daunting.
Hopefully by this time next year Chuck and I'll be married and I'll be taking care of a house instead of the temple. It's exciting to think about! What about you and Astrid? Do you have wedding plans yet? I bet it'll be a huge party because the chief is your father. I'd love to be there! When you do finally tie the knot you have to write me in length about it. I want to know everything!
Time's up, back to work! Write soon!
Chuck and Esol
"I'm glad they're settling." Astrid said.
"Me too." Hiccup said. He saw the chance to talk about marriage. He inhaled and took it. "You know, Astrid…speaking of marriage…"
"Has your dad been nagging you about it, too?" Astrid half sighed.
"Yes." Hiccup exhaled. "Did he said something to you?"
"It's not just your dad. My aunt has mentioned it a few times…a lot. She keeps saying that when she got married she was my age. And she always tries to sneak it in over breakfast." Astrid sighed.
"My dad's been the same way. It's gotten to be a daily thing with him." Hiccup said in relief. At least he wasn't alone in his problem. There was a pause and Hiccup was hoping that she was thinking the same thing he was. "So…what do you think about finally telling them?"
"I don't know." Astrid said. She'd stopped eating. "It's probably for the best. It'll give them something to think about for a awhile."
"…but?" Hiccup asked. She'd had that tone.
"But I don't want them rushing us into anything." Astrid said. "You know that as soon as the word is out all they're going to be talking about is the wedding."
"My dad is always trying to rush me into something. It's just how he is." Hiccup said. He was thinking of his father's comment about becoming chief but he didn't want Astrid to worry about that. "At least if we were married we'd live together and get to share a house and bed."
Astrid glanced at him with a sly grin on her face and it took Hiccup a few seconds to realize what he'd said. He turned away as the embarrassment settled into his cheeks.
"So, uh, how's your morning?" Hiccup coughed.
Astrid let out that genuine chuckle. It was the same small laugh that she made whenever he was embarrassed. He slumped a bit. At least his self-consciousness made her smile.
"It's been alright." Astrid said. She took another bite. "Although, when I left I was trying to explain to a little kid about crossing over."
"A little kid?" Hiccup asked. He was glad to talk about something else.
Astrid nodded. "He was around five, I'd say. I felt horrible because I didn't know how to tell him that he was dead. I've learned that if you tell spirits that they're dead straight away they can go into a panic. I don't know how a child would react."
"You could try to just be honest." Hiccup said.
"But how? I don't know how to cross over. But usually spirits have some kind of concept of what that means. To a child…they don't know what being dead means. They don't get it. And I don't know how to explain it to them." Astrid sighed.
Astrid looked deflated. Hiccup didn't know what to say about it. The spirit world was one place where Astrid was on her own. It bothered Hiccup that when she was there he couldn't help her. But that's how it was and he didn't know what to do about it.
Astrid ate the last bite and sighed. "You're right. It's about time people knew. But don't tell you dad without me. I want to be there. I want to see his face."
Hiccup felt relieved but terrified at the same time. "Okay. What about tonight at dinner? You and Ingrid could come over."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's not a red flag at all." Astrid laughed.
Hiccup shrugged. It probably was.
"At least Snotlout will finally leave me alone." Astrid laughed. But Hiccup didn't think it was that funny.
"Alright." Hiccup got up. "I'll leave you to it then."
"See you for dinner." Astrid nodded. She stood up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading back into the cavern.
"Toothless!" Hiccup whistled to his dragon who was digging out a small dirt patch between rocks. He jerked his head toward Hiccup's call and bounded back across the mountain's steep rocks to the platform.
As Toothless landed on the platform her twisted his head back toward Astrid's cave. He growled and gritted his teeth.
"What is it?" Hiccup asked. There shouldn't be anything in there to cause such a reaction. He looked toward the cavern and back at Toothless. He was readying a blue plasma blast in the back of his throat. He was poised to attack.
"Toothless?" Hiccup asked.
Stormfly returned and her sudden and violent reaction mirrored Toothless's. Her tail was poised at a dangerous angle and her tail spikes were lifted. She lowered her head and spread her wings and called out a shrill chirp into the cavern.
I'm not really sure how to make it more obvious that the woman from the island who was teaching the kids about herbs is the same "mysterious woman" from the first one who helped Hiccup bring Astrid back. I know some of you wanted to know more about her and I didn't tell you because I knew she was going to reappear later. Yay!
So there is it – chapter 2. Leave a review so I know what you think! See you in chapter 3!