May the fourth be with you. Yes I know it's a day too late, I really wanted it to be up yesterday but the chapter wasn't finished in time. Anyway the story progresses several years into the future and we see what has become of infant-Hiccup. Berk will not be featured for some time. Also a lot of elements have been inspired by Star Wars. See if you can find them. Trivia in the author's note below. So without further rambling here is…

Chapter 3: 18 years later

(18 years later)

Forests in Draconian south-west, Norn Frontline, Late morning, 266 ADF

The third legion moved silently through the forests of Draconia, they were on the front of the Draconian-Norn war. They were an accomplished unit with several major victories on their record. In truth for the last four years the wars started to turn in their favour thanks to all the new armour and equipment they were issued. And they had a lot of it thanks to their marshal-commander who helped in the development.

Though their commander might be young his authority was unquestioned. But then you wouldn't expect any different from a prophesized war hero raised by the emperor and empress.

Marshall-commander Hiccup moved along with his troops towards the Norn encampments several kilometres south. His faithful dragon companion never leaving his side. He was a dragon rider, a sub-group in the Draconian military. His armour was a customised third legion uniform. Essentially a brown body glove with standard trooper armour in the third legion's green camouflage decal. Heavy steel and leather boots reaching to just below the knee and an armour patch on the knee while the rest of his legs had the body glove exposed. It worked well with the camouflage. A utility belt containing his various tools and weapons, such as throwing knives, daggers, various explosives, spare crossbow bolts, ration supplies and on the back of his hips was his self-forged collapsible sword in its sheath. Complete with a kama to indicate his affiliation as a dragon rider and senior officer.

Further completed with a lightweight but durable dragon-steel chestplate protecting his front and back. On his shoulders and arm were the standard shoulder guards, upper arm protection and elbow guards of a third legion trooper. All in camouflage decal. His gauntlet however were a different story, being a blacksmith and inventor in his past time he made some special modifications to them. First would be the miniaturized crossbow on the left arm capable of shooting a single bolt at very fast speeds, but most importantly were the triple wrist claws on both his arms that could be extended or retracted with the flick of a wrist. A weapon made by trial and error that ended up cutting him in his hand multiple times. Another reason to wear armoured gloves. His helmet was standard issue brown-green metal and leather helmet that covered his entire head and face with a breathing filter, a rim above the eyes to protect against the sun and a green tinted glass visor underneath the rim. A durable helmet for ground and air operations.

The Norn encampment they were heading to was a few kilometres south, positioned in a clearing in the dense forest. They needed to clear this encampment out so they could push the Norn back out of the forest and link up the frontline with the fourth and fifth legions. However doing so was tricky, due to the dense foliage heavy artillery was rendered useless as careful aim was nearly impossible. A joined air assault between the riders an navy was also turned down as it would ruin the element of surprise for the ground troops. So the entire legion went on foot.

The third legion moved slowly south toward the camp, they still had to wait until the scouts came back from their patrol to maximize the efficiency of their attack.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound in the bushes nearby. Hiccup's fist immediately shot up to halt his troops, who immediately stopped an crouched down.

Out of the bushes came several raptor dragons with riders wearing similar armour on their backs. It were the scouts. Raptors were believed to be a cousin breed of the speedstinger, however they lacked the stinger on their tail. These wingless dragons were pack hunters with large claws on their hind legs and two small frontal arms to grab onto small objects. They used their tail for balance as they were among the fastest land runners known to man. Like almost all dragons they were able to be domesticated and were being used by the empire as mounts for battle and scouting missions.

Due to their unique physique amongst the dragons their rider earned their very own official nickname in the imperial ranks: Raptor-troopers.

Seeing that it were their brothers and sisters who mad the noise Hiccup and the rest of the legion visibly relaxed and began standing up again. The lead scout approached Hiccup.

"Commander, we've scouted the perimeter around the encampment. We've encountered no patrols, we have a straight shot into their base." The lead scout reported.

"Good, spread yourselves among the line and follow silently. We're going in." Hiccup ordered with a voice that was further deepened by his helmet's air filters.

The army got moving again and soon reached the edge of the clearing without further incident. Because of their camouflaged armour they were nearly invisible in this environment so the guard posts placed around the camp were unaware of their presence.

"Counting seven guards, the rest of the Norn must be in the tents for lunch." Hiccup deducted. "Scouts, take them out simultaneously with your crossbows." He ordered to the nearby scouts.

The crossbows they were using had come a long way as well. They had a sturdy stock, precise aiming sights and an intricate loading system. They had two loading slots which counted for two shots in rapid succession. The slots could click upwards for easy loading when the crossbow's cables were primed. The bolts had also seen some improvement as they had gone from wooden bolt with metal tips to fully metal forged bolts designed to fly straight and fast. The weapon was effective it could pierce a Norn's armour from 80 meters away in a single shot. Or make a very serious dent in their metal helmets.

"Affirmative commander." The scouts nodded as they grabbed their crossbows from the back of their seats on their raptors, who stayed completely still.

"Ready, Aim,…" The scouts whispered to each other as they took aim to their designated target. "Fire…"

Seven crossbow bolts flew out of the treeline whizzing silently to their targets. Each of them hit their mark in the guard's lightly armoured neck or throat. They all fell to the ground with a light thump.

Then Hiccup signalled his troops to move inside the camp silently. The legion of 250 active troops moved out of the treeline towards the various tents were Norn forces were eating and drinking. Never aware of the draconian troops sneaking around several meters away.

Every trooper was briefed on the plan of attack and knew exactly what they had to do. They positioned themselves around the various tent entrances and waited for their commander to give the order to attack.

Once Hiccup was satisfied with the placement of his troops he nodded, giving his troops the order to start and positioned himself among his soldiers to fight along.

The troops around the tents then unhooked a cylindrical device with several gears and buttons from their belts. A handheld explosive made from an explosive chemical mixture and pressurised zippleback gas. They pressed the priming button and several light clicking sounds could be heard followed by quiet ticking. Like a clockwork.

They threw the bombs inside the tents resulting is several surprised shouts from the Norn inside.

But it was already too late.

"Boom." One of the troopers joked.

KABOOOM!

Several tents were blown to pieces by fiery blasts. Killing several Norn instantly and severely injuring others. Next the encampment erupted into chaos.

The Norn who survived the blasts and weren't too injured took up their arms and charged the draconian troopers. Fights broke out everywhere, but the third legion had a distinct advantage possessing the element of surprise and the help of the airborne dragon rider who had now joined the fray just as planned.

Hiccup drew his collapsible sword and extended it with a press of a button causing the built in springs and wires to extend the sword in a battle ready position. He then charged one of the Norn warriors who tried to double team one of his troopers. He blocked the warrior's giant battle axe and quickly kicked him in the chest forcing him back and away from his trooper.

Meanwhile Hiccups loyal dragon companion Toothless was wreaking havoc amongst the enemy forces and structures. Proving worthy of his legendary name the sleek black dragon was repetitively dive-bombing the camp shattering key structures like the armoury or encampment forge or destroying groups of enemies who threatened his friend and allies with his powerful plasma-blasts. Whilst terrifying enemy warriors into fleeing with his distinct screech.

Hiccup himself wasn't any different, he could be compared by a whirlwind on the battlefield. Spinning his sword at his enemies, ducking under their attacks and then immediately slicing their throats, turning around to punch another warrior in the gut with his extended wrist-claws and even finding the time to shoot a crossbow bolt from his arm in another warrior's eye.

The remaining Norn warriors realised they couldn't win this battle and turned tail, trying to get away from the third legion's assault. They fled south into the forests hoping to re-join with their brethren further back on the front line. They didn't care for lost territory as the believed it would be reconquered in the next attack.

Hiccup stabbed another Norn warrior and looked up to see another one get send flying by his best friends plasma-blast. Then he noticed that the remaining Norn had turned tail and retreated.

"Riders, they're retreating! After them, drive them out of the forests!" He yelled to his brothers and sisters in the sky. They reacted immediately to this order and shot after the stragglers.

Meanwhile the battle at the encampment died down as the last Norn were defeated. The camp itself was in ruins due to the bombs and strafing runs from the dragon riders of the legion.

The troopers began assembling the wounded and treating them while Hiccup and a couple of other assessed the casualties.

"At least twelve dead and twenty-one wounded commander." A lieutenant reported. True the fighting didn't go without cost, both in manpower and dragon as at least one raptor ant its rider were killed in the skirmish.

"Collect the bodies and prepare enough funeral pyres." Hiccup said slightly sad. He had seen his fair share of death among his troopers but it never stopped making him sad. "Tell the troops to have some rest, we move out tomorrow morning to link up with the fourth and fifth."

"Affirmative sir." The lieutenant said. He then walked away to execute his orders.

Toothless landed near Hiccup and came bounding to him with a worried expression.

"Don't worry bud, I'm fine" Hiccup reassured his reptile friend whilst taking his helmet off.

Underneath the helmet was a young man with shaggy auburn hair that went in every direction. He had a long and thin braid of hair hanging behind his right ear. There was a hint of stubble on his face and a small scar on his chin. The scar that was made by Cloudjumper and Hiccup's first meeting. He had vibrant green eyes that spoke kindness, loyalty and most of all leadership. Though he would never say that of himself.

"I appreciate the care Toothless, but you know I can care for myself." Hiccup said to his companion. Toothless snorted and looked at him with an expression that said: "you keep telling yourself that Hiccup, before I have to drag you out of the mud again."

Hiccup laughed at this. His dragon friend could always cheer him up. Their bond was one of the strongest in the empire as they had known each other since they were five. It also helped that he could understand dragon language from a very young age. He couldn't speak it but he understood.

This was one of the reasons Cloudjumper took him. But Hiccup understood why he did it. He knew he wasn't the emperor and empress's son. He knew he was adopted. He knew he had a Viking heritage. But he had no hard feelings. When the war was over he promised to set out and find his biological parents if they were alive. If not then so be it, he only wanted to know who they were, but he wasn't planning to leave the empire for good.

Pushing those thoughts aside he turned to his friend. "Come on bud lets go check on the wounded. See what we can do." He said whilst turning and walking towards the improvised infirmary. Toothless happily followed.

Forest clearing, destroyed Norn encampment, evening, 266 ADF

Hiccup and a large group of troopers were standing in front of twelve funeral pyres. The twelve soldiers they lost today in the attack on the very encampment they were standing in. All had their heads bowed in respect for the fallen. This ceremony was a tradition in the draconian military for years prior, a tradition still kept intact by the current generation.

Many were showing their respect while others were comforting those who were close to the casualties. Also out of respect everyone had removed their helmets, showing that they were all different yet wearing the same uniform standing together as brothers and sisters.

Hiccup took a step forward to the pyres to speak the final words for the fallen. Tradition says that the commanding officer should be the one to honour their troops.

"They say we are all made of the same dust, that every man and animal is family. Today we say goodbye to twelve brave men and women stood beside us during the years, as friends and family. From dust we were created and to dust we shall return. May you all find peace in the next world." Hiccup spoke.

Hiccup then stepped back into the row of troopers and gave a silent nod to the several dragon riders and their dragons around the pyres. They all nodded back in acknowledgment of the order and gave their dragons the order to light the pyres.

The dragonfire lit the pyres in a controlled manner and basked the clearing in an orange light.

Hiccup remained standing for a few moments before the group began to disperse and thin out. He then walked to Toothless who was sitting several meters away. He greeted his friend with a light scratch under the chin and proceeded to grab his blanked and bedroll.

He laid himself down next to Toothless and removed his boots and pieces of armour in preparation for a night's sleep. They would move out in the morning to link up with the fourth and fifth legion. The riders he had sent after the retreating Norn had returned a few hours prior and reported they had fled out of the forest. For Hiccup and his troops the road was open, they were close to completing their mission.

With that Hiccup fell asleep underneath Toothless's wings.

(The next morning)

Southern forest edge, Draconian frontline, late morning, 266 ADF

Moving through the rest of the forest to the south edge proved to be easy, there was no resistance at all and the atmosphere among the troops was relaxed. And why wouldn't it be, they knew once they linked up they got to go on shore leave for some time. And they needed it.

When they came out of the forest edge they were greeted by their brothers and sisters of the fourth legion who had set up a small base there in preparation for the third legions arrival. They had heard of the Norn defeat in the forests and closed the line. Making it safe for the transports to land.

The transports were another innovation in the military. They were giant airships with two fish-like balloons keeping it floating with a large cabin underneath capable of holding about 80 troops and several dragons. They were armed with cannons but were rarely used in a full frontal assault. Their purpose was more that of a transport. The entire thing was driven by propellers and steam engines powered by its own fireworm colony.

Then several fourth legion troopers approached Hiccup and his men. Their armour was kind of similar except theirs was white with yellow lines, they had pauldrons on their shoulders and their helmets didn't have the rim above the eyes and their visor was more T-shaped.

"Hiccup! Great to see you again, I presume you had a good hunt?" Hiccup was greeted by the fourth legion's marshal-commander Valentine, a good friend of Hiccup.

"Valentine, good to see you're still alive." Hiccup greeted back. "And yes we've had a pretty good campaign."

"Glad to hear it mate. Hey Toothless how're you doing?" Valentine said to which the dragon gave a toothless smile as an answer.

"I'll take that as great. Anyway ready for your shore leave Hiccup?" Valentine asked his fellow commander.

"Yeah I guess, the troops really need it. Plus it 'll be nice to see mom, dad and Mae again." Hiccup chuckled at that last comment.

"Yes we both know how fond your adoptive-sister is of you. She almost never left your side when you were younger." Valentine recalled. Hiccup and princess Maery or Mae as Hiccup called her might not have been true brother and sister but they did consider each other as family.

"Yes she is, although I know another man who is very fond of her don't I?" Hiccup smirked at Valentine teasing his with his feelings for the royal princess.

"Shut up Hiccup." Valentine said nervously. Luckily he was still wearing his helmet so no-one saw him blush, but Hiccup knew he was.

"Don't worry Valentine, I'll tell her you said hi." Hiccup teased before turning around to enter one the transports in which his troops have already been shipping in. "Try to stay alive Valentine." He shot back before walking up the boarding ramp with Toothless.

"No promises!" Valentine shouted back.

Half an hour later the four giant transports carrying the third legion took off and started heading towards the Draconian capitol. Leaving the frontline far behind them.

And that's it, chapter 3 has been finished. From now on Updates might come a little slower as the last three were more or less written before the first and second were published. And now a little trivia.

Most of the draconian armour was inspired by the clone trooper armours from star wars. The third legion was inspired by the 41st elite corps kashyyyk troopers. They look almost exactly the same and the fourth legion was inspired by the 327th sky corps.

A kama is also from star wars which is the protective skirt around the legs. The pauldron is a coloured piece of padded armour worn above the shoulder. Look in up if you don't know what it is.

The Norn were an idea from a friend of mine when I asked him I needed an enemy. He suggested the Norn from guildwars. I never played it myself and know nothing of the lore. So don't shoot me if I get anything wrong. Also they have a stature of a normal Viking. They are not h-the 7ft tall giant I've heard about.

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed it, I do not own HTTYD, Star Wars or Guildwars. Review are gracefully accepted because I want to hear ideas and opinions. I've been , dismissed.