Wow! A huge thank you to my readers, new and returning, who took the time to write me a review! I cannot thank you enough! And to those of you who simply alerted/favourited this monster of mine, I would really love to hear from you! The future of my story always rests in your hands.

This is the first of many chapters where all of my research will really come into play - Norse mythology is something else, let's be honest. You'll also get a little taste of why this first arc is named Becoming Urðr, although I won't really get into it until a little later... :) And of course, we get a chance to return to Astrid's perspective, because she really isn't the heartless monster everyone seems to perceive her to be.

Finally, I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and I hope that you enjoy this next installment of Horizons! Please take a moment to review and let me know how you liked it and I promise I will reply with gracious thanks!

HORIZONS

Arc I : Becoming Urðr

Chapter II

Astrid was taken aback, "The end of the world? You mean Ragnarök? Why would you want to know—"

Hiccup cut her off, waving his hand in dismissal, "Not that kind of concept. I mean like…the end of the Earth, you know? Where does Midgard end and the other worlds begin?"

It was a question she never would have expected to come from the boy, let alone from any of the men or women in their quaint village – but she was beginning to realize that expecting the unexpected from the young rider was the only way to engage him without losing the rest of her precious sanity, "I don't really know to be honest with you Hiccup. Why do you ask?"

He let his eyes slip away for a moment and then took a few steps closer, using his bare arms to leap up onto the counter opposite of her so that they were sitting face to face, "Just curious. The question kind of hit me the other day while I was flying with Toothless and I figured you would be more familiar on the subject, considering your relation with the Elder."

"You'd be best to talk to her about it," Astrid replied, staring thoughtfully at the boy, "Besides the legend of Jörmungand I know pretty much next to nothing about it," she paused for a moment before smirking playfully, "Why? Just because you ride a Night Fury you think you can go have tea with the gods or something?"

Astrid tried to ignore the look of earnestness on the young blacksmith's face but her nervous laughter eventually got the best of her, until her giggles stopping entirely. The expressions on her features flickered from uneasy amusement to shock to downright horror all in about the span of a second.

"You can't seriously be thinking—"

Hiccup let out a bark of laughter, as forced as it may have sounded, "Of course not Astrid. I was just curious, that's all. I never got the chance to hear any of these legends as a kid you know, and I figured you would know a little more about it."

Astrid was relieved at the sound of his confession but she still couldn't quite suppress the bundle of anxious intuition churning in her gut. She swallowed the strange sensation and managed to force it into the back of her mind as best she could, "I was never much of a listener when I was a child to be honest. I would have rather been sparring with my father in the town square than listen to my great aunt ramble away about some nonsense when my mother would dump me there," she smiled for a moment, a little nostalgic, "The weirdest things would come out her mouth – you would think she was daft! Did you know that once she told me this silly little riddle and Frigg only knows if I could ever solve it. I asked her one time if she would tell me the answer and do you know what she said?"

Hiccup, his interest now fully immersed in her words, was eager to hear her answer, "What?"

"She had no idea! What's the point of asking someone a riddle if you don't even know the answer? What if the person you asked answered right? You wouldn't even know enough to tell them!"

Hiccup was pensive, "What did the riddle say exactly?"

"Well," Astrid huffed, planting her hands on her hips and making a show out of it, "It doesn't make any sense at all! I don't even know why it bothers me so much," she crossed her left leg over her right and schooled her expression as she began to recite.

"Two paths, one never taken,

On the road that never was,

Should you take to the horizons,

Where beginning meets the end.

Where is where?"

Hiccup smirked, his distinguishing humour finally finding semblance in his features, "Sounds like Gothi has lost her mind."

Astrid grinned widely, relieved to finally relish in his wit, "Hiccup!" she scolded playfully, swatting at him with her hand "You better watch it tonight! She'll stir up the spirits and get them to twist your toes in your sleep if you don't watch your tongue!"

Hiccup's expression was one of incredulousness, "Sounds like a pile of dragon muck to me."

"Hiccup!" she wagged her finger at him in mischievous reproach, "She's a soothsayer you know. I bet you she's heard every single word you've said!"

"And I believe you're the one who called her daft."

Astrid turned her nose up into the air, acting out her best standoffish pout, "There are no rules saying you can't make fun of your own family. That's just what people do!"

Hiccup slipped easily from the counter he had been perched upon and rolled his eyes. He slid closer to the blonde warrior before him and carefully stayed just out of arms reach, wary of his own wellbeing around the beautiful albeit fierce woman. He leant over onto the splintered wood beside her and tried to look remotely suave, failing miserably all the while. Astrid couldn't help but be endeared though, having been quite aware that he was just trying to casually keep his weight off of his bad foot. Every ounce of bitterness she had felt for him earlier had all but disappeared and she couldn't help but let a goofy smile take over her lips as she stared at the boy, his laughter impeccably infectious. She joined in on the fun, barely aware of the absurdity of the thing, just glad that the ice had finally been broken.

"You know," he wheezed, clutching his abdomen as he tried to stop his laughter, "Toothless is probably starving. I should probably get going before he eats something he's not supposed to."

Astrid continued smiling and nodded, ignoring the sneaking suspicion that he was purposely trying to dismiss her, "Of course," she leapt off of the counter and landed nimbly on her feet, her face suddenly only a few inches away from the boy in front of her, "I best be off too."

Hiccup couldn't stop the raging blush that took over his cheeks, "Err…yeah…I…uhh…"

Astrid rolled her eyes and grabbed him by his shirt collar, extinguishing the space quickly between them. She pressed her lips to his for but a moment, devilishly aware that she was simply giving him a taste of what he would be missing. She pulled away and grinned deviously, sidestepping around the dazed boy and setting off towards the door.

"Hey Astrid, wait—oof!"

He had spun around to stop her and instead got a broken piece of barrel to the face for his troubles, knocking him backwards into the wooden counter. He cleared his blurry vision with his fists and stared back at the girl in the doorway with his mouth agape, unable to even formulate a proper response.

"That was for making a stupid weapon that will probably kill you."

Hiccup crossed his bare arms over his chest and glared indignantly at the girl, a bruise already forming where the wood had made contact with his brow, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Astrid frowned before exiting the forge entirely and with a sensation that felt more like defeat instead of victory, she set off towards her lodge. The sun was as high in the sky as it would get that afternoon and she took a moment to enjoy the warmth against her pale skin, knowing that those precious, tepid moments were fleeting. Soon they would be under half a league of snow with no chance of escaping and Thor only knew the things Hiccup would get himself into should he be left to his own devices for that long.

A thought struck her that perhaps she was thinking too little of the boy; 'Of course he'll be okay', she thought rather scathingly to herself, unsure now of what to think as she scurried through the village. She was caught up in a flurry of clashing emotions that were welling up within her, threatening to burst at any minute. She was no longer certain of the status of her relationship with the rider – had she been too forward with him that night when she had kissed the life out of Hiccup? Had she been too caught up in her own flood of emotions to think clearly? Had she been too bold when it was obvious that she was pushing way too hard? Did he even know what she had gone through during those seventeen terrible days? Her thoughts turned on him now, begrudging his obliviousness while she grieved all those days ago. It irritated her to no end that he hadn't been aware of her suffering and she just wanted to turn around and pound him silly for not remembering at all.

She ignored the fleeting feeling that she was being outrageously selfish and wrenched open the door to her lodge, stomping furiously through the wooden cabin towards the hearth. Listening to her loud footfalls against the sturdy hardwood was like music to her ears, a melody that easily complimented the raging drone pounding in her thoughts. She raided her cupboard angrily and settled on snatching the day old bread off the shelf, glaring at it reproachfully. She unwrapped it from the cheesecloth and ripped a crusty piece from the end, pushing the concept of Hiccup to the back of her mind. As far as she was concerned right now, he didn't exist. She focused instead on Ruffnut and her impudence – how dare she just march into the forge like she owned the place? And offer him bread; Astrid was seething. The nerve that impetuous little wench had! Astrid was overtaken with a murderous temper as she mulled over the things she would like to do to the girl should she ever have the chance to catch her alone.

She took the meagre remainder of her bread upstairs with her and slammed the bedroom door. She manoeuvred around the empty beds of her siblings and made her way to her own, collapsing upon the hard wooden frame. Her furious stint had become rather exhausting and she slumped her shoulders, staring absently at a knot of wood in the floorboards. She was suddenly tired and the displeasure running through her veins was entirely unwelcome. She didn't know why she was feeling so emotional after her visit with Hiccup; perhaps it was his effect on her that drove her mind into chaos. She hadn't felt this conflicted for as long as she could remember and it was wearying, her murderous thoughts thoroughly spent. She sighed and unstrapped the armour from her shoulders and her hips, letting the two articles of clothing fall to the floor with a clatter. She fished a sleeveless cloak from the woven drawers beneath her bed and threw the shawl over her body, revelling in the soft knitted fabric as it encased her cold skin. She leant back and rested her head against her pillow, wishing all of this uncertainty would just go away.

"And Frigga she spun, she spun neverending,

To speak of the future, she never would do,

And yet I have seen it, her silk threads a spinning,

Her blanket of stars over my Midgard skies…"

The weathered voice of Gothi was hard to miss on the ruthless gusts of autumn wind coming from the east, their breezes buffering the song that swam amongst the draught. Hiccup picked up the familiar tune right away and was unable to keep himself from humming along, his uneven strides matching the folkloric beat.

The melody was one he had often heard in his youth; as a boy, he had been frequently dumped on his aunt when his father would leave for months and months in search of food or alliances. Noyha was the eldest sister of Valhallarama and had been the only one of their clan that remained at the time of his childhood. Her other family members had either passed on to Valhalla in the raids or because of illness, leaving her as the only one left. It was unfortunate that presently she too rested beside them in her watery grave, her lonely warrior's heart at long last triumphing over her will to survive. She had always been a gentle woman despite her ever present grief, having never gotten over the loss of her husband and family so many years ago. Alongside her father and Hiccup's mother in the raids, the loss of her three children to the virus that had nearly wiped out every one of the younglings on the island had taken its tormenting toll. The young heir to the chieftain's role, only a sickly toddler then, had always enjoyed his slight aunt's company; she never looked upon him with disdain as his father had. Instead she always had a smile, however sad, and this gentle pleasure towards a motherless child was the only illumination he had.

The young Viking swallowed uncomfortably as the memories of his past washed over him and he chose to focus his mind on the present, shuffling around the bend. At once the arched form of the elder came into view, the woman clearly aware of his presence as she supervised her aid sweep the dead leaves off the porch. Gothi had seen him long before he had come into view and made sure that he noticed, staring at long length at the boy as if she were trying to intimidate the living daylights out of him. Hiccup gulped nervously and continued on towards the cabin despite her glower, pausing at the threshold of the elder's wooden steps.

"Boy," she acknowledged, one of her grey eyes squinting as she examined him, "It seems I was expecting you."

Hiccup tried to quell the dangerous palpitations in his chest as the elder seemed to stare right through him, her smirk absolutely terrifying every logical notion from his thoughts.

"Err…really? That's uh…that's good then….err…"

"Come," she commanded, cutting off his ramblings. A gust of wind stirred from the heavens as she spoke and Hiccup shivered unconsciously, the whispers of a thousand seers running unheard from the skies. Gothi perked visibly as the draught swept her windswept clothes and smiled eerily, beckoning the young Viking before her with a movement of her hand. Hiccup cautiously made his way up the stairs and walked past the elder's diligent assistant who continued working like he wasn't even there. This unnerved him more than he would have cared to admit and with a final breath of ocean air he stepped through the entrance and closed the door behind him.

Hiccup was forced to contain his surprise as he scanned the interior of the lodge with his eyes, having expected something of nightmares from the old seer's home. He had never entered the elder's domain save when he had been a babe but he had always imagined it to be crawling with cobwebs and vehicles of magic. He scolded himself inwardly as he followed the elderly woman past the hearth, feeling just a little ridiculous. All of his prior apprehension had been in vain and Hiccup felt like a moron more than anything, acknowledging just how foolish his imagination had led him to become.

"My old bones are not as they used to," the elder peered over her shoulder as she came to a stop in front of a great wooden door. She rapped the old lumber lightly with her hardwood cane and took a step backwards, beckoning Hiccup to come and use his youthful strength, however feeble. Hiccup swallowed his misgivings and hobbled over to the barrier, grasping the rusted metal handle with his hands. He gave the large door a rough tug and thankfully it came loose from its dusty frame; he propped his good foot against the wall and used it to keep himself off of the ground, and his bad foot, opening it up at least half way with the muscles in his thighs. He leapt off of the wall and simultaneously kept the door open, bracing his body on the inside of the wooden barrier as he landed back onto the ground, only jarring himself lightly in the process. He wasn't entirely aware of the half mad stare the elder was giving him, her smirk unlike anything he had been privy to before. He huffed and gave one sharp nod of triumph before propping it open even more.

His eyes stumbled upon Gothi as she passed through the doorway he was holding open, that unnerving smile doing all sorts of horrible things to his intelligence. He had a good idea on where they were headed but that didn't help him much as he followed her down the worn subterranean passage, the only place where things of worth could not be touched by the flames of dragon fire or the blood of their enemies during raids. It lead through the side of the cliff the elder's house had been built against and went somewhere deep beneath the rocks, the basalt providing a protective sphere for all of the village's goods below. Hiccup steeled himself as he was led to the epicentre of everything culturally and historically valuable to their tribe, assembled diligently during the past six hundred years, and when the libraries finally came into view Hiccup couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.

The elder continued to lead the young Viking towards the middle of the vast cavern, its walls lit with flaming torches that peppered the rocky face. The smoke from the fires spiralled upwards like serpents, whisked away towards a smoke hole so far up that Hiccup couldn't even see it. What he had once imagined to be a grotto was actually a cathedral of igneous stone, as tall and as wide as the Great Hall itself. Weapons and masks lined the walls to his left and the door to the vault stood out like a beacon to his right, their depths locked away with a metal key that only the chief possessed. But the rest of the treasures passed by unnoticed once Hiccup's eyes finally fell upon the bookshelves upon bookshelves in the far corner. He barely managed to restrain himself from taking off in their direction, deciding it was better to wait, however impatiently, for the elder's permission.

Gothi acknowledged the boy's antsy motions but didn't indulge him, "I imagine this is what you came for?" She motioned towards the volumes in the back corner, their yellow pages rich with their ancestors' substantial histories, "Something told me you would be coming my way."

Hiccup's excitement melted away at the elder's perceptive glare, her vision once again passing right through him, "Err…really?"

"I had Hildr light the torches for me earlier today. You'll find a lantern on the stand over there should you need it," Gothi nodded sharply and began making her way back from where they had come. She paused at the brink of the passageway before disappearing behind the bend, peering over her shoulder at the immobile boy, "Take as much time as you wish."

He watched as she finally left the mouth of the yawning cavern, leaving him alone in the dim firelight. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his pounding heart, the thrill of a breakthrough yet to be discovered coursing through his veins. He took a few steps backwards, keeping the exit of the cave in view, and nearly leapt with joy as he spun around towards the looming bookcases lining the walls. They towered over him like huge statues of stone as he reached the base of their mighty heights, filled to the brim with leather bound volumes and manuscripts and sagas. He lunged for the first book within his reach and nearly fell over as he caught it in his grasp, the script weighing far more than he had anticipated. He hobbled over to the wooden stand and dropped the book onto its surface, a cloud of dust billowing in its wake.

He opened the leather and began scrolling through the ancient pages, quickly learning that what he had chosen from the shelves was a record of the village of Berk. The first few hundred pages were barely legible as the ink had faded from the parchment – Hiccup scrolled further, unexpectedly realizing the magnitude of his bloodline. The Haddocks had been the chieftains of Berk for over three hundred years if his eyes were reading the runes correctly, something he had always known but never really appreciated. That meant nearly six direct ancestors, not including his father, who would be watching from Valhalla when he would be granted the privileges of the chieftain of Berk.

He shivered, a rush of cold air coiling through the treasury.

His father had mentioned it once or twice since he had recovered from the battle of the Red Death and Hiccup thought it better to keep his silence. For the majority of his life it was expected that the rights of chieftain would be given to his older cousin and he wasn't sure what to make of the sudden change of heart. He had only spoken to Snotlout a few times since he had convinced them all to take to the skies in order to save their tribe and his cousin had made no mention of it at all. This left Hiccup with the conclusion that Snotlout either had yet to be told, or was simply too bull-headed to comprehend it. The young Viking wanted to give his burly, overbearing cousin the benefit of the doubt but his logic told him that the latter was probably the reality of the situation.

He ran his fingers over the records of his birth, closely followed by the death of his mother. From the few illustrations he had borne witness to, Valhallerama had been a stout and fierce woman, green eyes mischievous and lips always grinning. But despite all of her ferocity, she had not been able to bear the aftermath of childbirth and the infection soon took her past the hands of even the most skilled healers, leading to her death during the raids. It was no wonder that he was so sickly and lean, considering the time of his birth. None of the other women on the island were with child at the time, and with no source of maternal nourishment it was a wonder he even made it to the first thaw at all.

He closed the book of records and returned it to the shelf, swallowing back the uncomfortable feeling churning deep within his core. He trailed his fingers against the worn spines of the volumes along the rest of the shelf, watching with a sense of awe as he swept away the decades of dust and earth due to idle use. He grasped another one of the large volumes and tugged it from its ancient dwelling, his eyes widening when he read the runes upon the threadbare cover.

CREATION

Hiccup hobbled over to the dais with the huge saga in his palms, placing it on the surface of the table with a kind of gravity that made him want to hold his breath. He paused for a moment and ran the pads of his fingers gently across its surface, the texture of the worn leather beneath his skin giving him goose bumps. He opened the cover and began reading the runic letters hungrily, his thoughts thirsty for the fading script on the parchment before him. Beautiful coloured drawings of gods and goddesses accompanied the recitation of the words, the detailed lines of the illustrations almost leaping off the pages. Hiccup took his lower lip between his teeth and read on, enthralled by the runes before his eyes.

At the beginning, there was nothing but the endless abyss called Ginnungagap. To the north lay Niflheim, a world of ice so cold that none could ever there dwell. And to the south lay Muspellheim, a place of molten fire like the volcanoes of the mainland, their spewing guts dark and deadly.

From this abyss came the first meeting of fire and ice, and thus sprung the first being into Creation. Ymir, the first jötunn, was borned.

The first God was made from stone, shaped by the seas and the skies into the contour of Man. His name was Buri. He bore a son named Bor, who then wed to the giantess Bestla. From her womb sprung the first of the Æsir gods. Thus Óðinn the first, Hoenir thereafter and Ve came to be.

Ymir, the father of the frost giants, befell and was evil. His malevolence could be felt across all of Ginnungagap and was thence killed by Óðinn the first and his brothers. With his great body, they created the universe.

Óðinn the first and his brothers used the blood of Ymir to create vast oceans, and used his flesh for the earth. From his skull they created the heavens, ivory bone held proudly by dwarfs Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri. Using the brows of Ymir they built a wall to keep the jötunn away, and used the other to separate Miðgarðr, the dwellings of Man, from the heavens.

From the sparks of Muspellheim they created the sun, and from Niflheim they created the moon. They set upon them wolves to keep them from ever idle.

The great tree Yggdrasill was planted to support the nine worlds of the universe. Ásgarðr, the dwellings of the gods and Vanaheim, the lands of dwarfs. Álfheim and Svartalfheim, the dwelling of the elves of light and dark. Niflheim, the world of ice and Muspellheim, the world of fire. Jötunheim, the dwellings of giants and Helheim, the land of the dead. Finally Miðgarðr, the dwellings of Man.

Beside the three roots of Yggdrasill were three wells, guarded by the Norns.

Every morning Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld take water from Urdarbrunnr, the sacred well, and pour it onto the root nearest to them so that it may never rot. The Norns weave tapestries of the fates, every thread bringing with it the destiny of Man. Only the greatest of Man become one with the tapestries of fortune, their legacies stitched entwined.

The second well, Mímisbrunnr, is guarded by the gods of knowledge.

The third well, Hvergelmir, is the dwelling of the great serpent Nidhogg whom forever gnaws upon the root of Yggdrasill where Niflheim resides. When Nidhogg finally chews through the world of ice it will be the sign of Ragnarök.

The offspring of Loki and cousin to Nidhogg is Jörmungandr, the serpent of Miðgarðr. Jörmungandr is the very evil of the Middle Earth, his venom so deadly it could slay an Æsir god with one bead. Óðinn the first condemned him to the seas only for the snake to grow so large that his entire body encircled Miðgarðr itself. He lurks at the end of the world of Man, crushing wayward ships with his body and jaws. It is said that no entity, Man nor god, can defeat Jörmungandr.

Hiccup slammed the book shut, his chest heaving. His eyes were wide with the thrill of it and something akin to adrenaline and fear was coursing through his veins. He gripped the leather bindings of the volume desperately with his fingernails, his mind a flurry of possibilities endlessly awaiting him. Jörmungandr, Miðgarðr, the end of the world…the runes of the saga soared from the parchment and hissed tauntingly in his ears. He tried to catch his breath but couldn't; his heart was racing too wildly in his chest, his lips parted as he fought to get control.

'What am I waiting for?'

So...did I bore you with my history lesson? Haha!

Please review and let me know if wrote up to your expectations. I will be so happy if you do! :)

Love and fluff,

Brontë