Leaving the village limits, Hiccup wandered into the woods, perfectly aware of two things: he had lost the elder vikings but was still followed by his dragon. Turning back, he called out into the mist, "Toothless, I know you're there. It's alright."
Slowly a dark shape came out of the mist and walked up to Hiccup, who was now sitting down on a log. Both could hear the crashing sounds of the wave, and the sound of advancing lightning, neither uncommon for Berk. But as Hiccup looked up, the lightning was not segmented, it was a single beam, a single stream of blue light moving towards them before it crashed directly into the ocean. And only then did they hear a scream of pain.
Both rushed towards the beach. Lightning flashed, revealing a man in the water, his back submerged, but fortunately still able to breath. As the pulled him out, Hiccup got a clear look at his face, his skin a color unlike any he had ever seen, not tanned nor pale but somewhere in between. As they dragged him out of the water, he sputtered into consciousness for a moment, barely able to get out in a garbled voice, "Domo," before sinking into unconsciousness once more. Bringing him up to Berk's defensive wall, Hiccup looked around. Today was surely strange.
Several hours later the village healer came out of the strangers room, a small place with only a bed and a chest, the best place they could get him on short notice. She turned to Hiccup, who was propped up against the wall outside the door, and spoke, "He's awake. I'll warn you though, god luck understanding what he says."
Hiccup gave her a nod, "I'll give it a try," and with that he walked into the room.
The stranger was propped up, a bandage wrapped around his chest, the crimson liquid soaking through. His skin was adorned with markings, black ink that stood out against his skin. His hair was black, and his eyes were brown. Beside his wound, he was in perfect condition, better than any viking would have ever been in. His clothing was also strange, not made of fur, or even of cloth. Hiccup looked at it, held it, and examined it. Certainly not made of cloth, it was far too light, and was also dry already.
"Sore wa, nairon to keburā no kumiawasedesu." Hiccup looked over at the stranger, who was now in a cross legged pose.
"Could you say that again?" Hiccup asked, walking up to the man.
"Sorry, I not had to speak English in very long time. I not good at it. My clothing are made of a..." He waved his hands in the air, "a part of-"
"A combination?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes, a combination of what we call "nylon" and "kevlar", a suit made of clothes from a long ago age. My name," He reached out with his hand to Hiccup, who took it and shook it, "is Inzuma, which in my tongue means Lightning. Thanks you for rescuing me from the water."
"Not a problem," Hiccup replied, "And that goes straight to my next questions. How did you get here, where are you from, and why were you around this area."
"I am from a place called Nippon-koku. I had heard of your methods for taming and training dragons, and I wanted to know how, and to bring this back to my people. In exchange, I was to offer you an alliance. We are far away, across the largest land on the world, but we will make it worth your effort. My ship crashed on the way here." He looked over to the pile of clothing, and gingerly walked over to it. Shuffling through his clothes, he retrieved a necklace, a black string with a purple jewel set into it, and drew it around his neck, sighing in relief. "I'm sorry. I didn't know if this had survived. Now, would you agree to my proposal?"
Hiccup looked at him for a moment, before giving the man his hand in a firm shake.