A prophecy and a viking

by Cpt.Carnage

Taken by a dragon as a baby Hiccup is taken to a far away land where a prophecy tells about a child who will end a long war. Meanwhile things turn grim on Berk as the village is broken in two factions. Years later the lost heir return to his land of birth on a mission to uphold political stability. All while in service of the Draconian Empire.

16. Chapter 16: Trails and executions

Time for another chapter… I have no inspiration to write something here… screw it.

Chapter 16: Trials and executions

(The next morning)

Berk, morning, 266 ADF

Unlike the previous weeks Astrid did have a really good night's rest. All the problems of the last month had just vanished the instant Hiccup and his army landed on Berk the day before. When she woke up the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon and shining through the blinds of her room's window. One curious thing though, there were no birds singing.

Astrid got all silent and listened for any sounds coming from outside. She heard some faint screaming in the distance and the soft rhythm of metal boots hitting the ground. Looks like the Draconians were already busy. Then something suddenly blocked out the light of the sun through the cracks in her blinds for a moment. Something large.

Astrid got out of bed slowly and crept through her room to the window silently. She looked through one of the cracks but saw nothing.

Then all of a sudden the silhouette of a dragon flew by and an enormously loud roar was heard. Astrid jumped back in surprise and her instincts just took over. Eighteen years of being a Viking aren't easily overridden.

She quickly dressed herself, grabbed her axe and barrelled outside. Only when she came outside she wasn't met with a dragon raid but instead with one of the most mesmerising sights she'd ever seen.

Up in the sky were dozens of dragons flying around in V-shapes calmly gliding over the village and around the small mountain that was occupied by Gothi's hut. Nadders, Nightmares even a Timberjack were gliding up and down over the village. Each and every one of them carrying saddles and riders. Every once in a while a roar could be heard.

Meanwhile more Vikings had rushed out of their homes and were all but frozen by the sight, every single one of them was looking up to the sky where the dragons were casting large shadows on the ground. The riders were doing flight training and were showing of some complex moves, to great awe from the Vikings.

When Astrid looked away from the sky and towards the Draconian camp she was met by another peculiar sight. On the slope in front of the camp was a large group of troops jumping up and down while standing in a rectangular form. Meanwhile there was one soldier in front of them doing the same moves and shouting things to them. Probably another officer.

Her attention was then grabbed by a faint whistling sound getting louder and louder. Soon the sound had evolved into the ballistic moaning they all knew by heart. …the Nightfury. She looked up at the sound and saw him.

A jet-black blur came streaking down at high speeds, broke through the formations of the other Draconians and pulled up just above the ground. Due to going so fast he flew around Gothi's mountain and back towards the village to slow down. He hovered over the village for a moment and then landed on one of the statues at the base of the stairs. Where the Nightfury or Tootles tucked in his wings and Hiccup sat up straight and observed his legion.

Meanwhile Astrid was joined by Fishlegs and the twins. All four of them were looking at the spectacle with wide eyes.

"Wow… talk about being majestic." Ruffnut said.

"Well…flying on a dragon does do that for you." Fishlegs said.

"I'm still wondering how he trained him though." Astrid said.

"I believe we should ask him." Fishlegs said.

"Ooh, maybe he can train dragons for us!" Tuffnut said.

"Sweet destruction, even thinking about all the things we could do with our own dragon makes me excited." Ruffnut continued.

Fishlegs cringed at the thought and Astrid spoke. "Oh no! We're not giving you two a dragon! I can think of a thousand reasons that would go wrong."

"Aw… come on Astrid. Hicca got her own dragon, why can't we have one?" Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, she's just as destructive as us." Ruffnut said.

"But unlike you two she is responsible. I think." Astrid said.

"Speaking of Hicca, where is she?" Fishlegs asked.

The group looked around looking for the young Haddock girl but couldn't find her anywhere.

"Where is she?" Astrid asked.

Then another roar was heard. But this one was a little different from the other ones, it was one the teens didn't recognise. But some of the adults did.

"Is that…?" Valka asked.

"Aye, Skrill." Gobber said.

They looked for the source of the sound and found a black-purple Skrill flying back to the village alongside a couple Nadders and Changewing. The Skrill broke off from formation and flew towards Hiccup and Toothless on top of the statue. Right now the Vikings could more clearly see the white armour Hicca wore on the back of the lightning based Dragon. Hiccup extended his hand sideways and the Skrill banked vertically and Hicca slapped her brother's hand and flew a little bit further before landing on the slope in front of the Hall. Hiccup and Toothless followed her down not long after.

To this Stoick, Valka and the teens made their way towards both Haddock who seemed to be conversing about something as Hiccup was explaining something while gesturing with his hands.

"So remember, while flying into a battle keep your profile as small as possible and use Elysia's speed to your advantage." Hiccup commented.

"Understood, and always keep formation tight. There's safety in numbers." Hicca quoted.

"You have that part down very well. I suggest you debrief with sergeant Tora after breakfast. Get her opinion on your performance." Hiccup advised.

"I will." Hicca said. Then she turned her head towards the approaching Vikings. "Looks like we have company."

"It seems our morning exercises woke up some people." Hiccup chuckled while dismounting Toothless.

The group of Vikings stopped about six metres off the two sibling. Subconsciously Stoick stood in front of his wife to protect her although both his children were or are still on the dragon's backs. Hiccup noticed the slightly tense situation and stepped forward motioning Toothless to stay in place.

"Morning mom, dad. I hope we weren't too loud?" Hiccup said.

"Well…uh…" Stoick began.

"It's just a little new to us." Valka said. She looked at both strike-class dragons in wonder. "Are those…?"

"Ah yes! Mom, meet Toothless and Elysia." Hiccup said while gesturing at Toothless and Elysia respectively.

Toothless nodded his head while Elysia, still new to all this growled at the newcomers making them back off a bit.

"Elysia! Please don't scare them, they're friends!" Hicca said while still on top of her.

Elysia looked up at Hicca and huffed, like she was talking to her. To the surprise of the Vikings Hicca answered.

"Yes, I know you want to protect me but its fine. They're my parents." Hicca said.

To this not Elysia seemed to calm down a bit but she was still eying the group wearily.

Hiccup motioned to his mother to come close. "Come on… they won't hurt you. I promise." He said while extending a hand as an invitation.

Valka slowly came out behind Stoick and inched towards Hiccup, drawing some protests from Stoick.

Hiccup took his mother's hand and motioned for Hicca to dismount and come closer. "Alright,…just stay calm mom. She won't hurt you." Hiccup said.

Hicca and Elysia came closer as well. Calmly so they wouldn't freak out Valka or any of the Vikings.

Hiccup and Valka were right in front of Hicca and Elysia now. "Alright mom, now raise your arm and open your palm." Hiccup said.

Valka hesitated and looked her son in the eyes through his helmet's visor. She was afraid.

"Trust us mom, you don't have to fear her." Hiccup encouraged.

Valka decided to follow Hiccup's instruction and extended her arm. Subconsciously she turned her head away as if not wanting to see her arm being ripped off. Fortunately it never came to that.

Elysia was eying Valka's hand hesitantly and looked at Hicca for support. Hicca nodded to her saying it was ok to trust her. Elysia turned back to Valka, released a breath through her nose and pushed her nose in Valka's palm.

Valka gasped at the sudden contact of warm scales. She opened her eyes and saw she was touching the Skrill on the nose. The dragon had closed the gap. Elysia opened her eyes and Valka could see her eyes been fully dilated. Instantly she thought back at that moment eighteen years ago with the Stormcutter. But now she definitely knew the truth.

"Everything we know about them…is wrong." Valka whispered.

Valka began petting Elysia to great joy of the dragon and the two siblings were watching with a sense of accomplishment.

The rest of the group was awed by the sight. They began thinking if maybe things could be very different.

Hiccup stepped towards the rest of the group after a while and turned to his father. "You see, a little change of perspective can do wonders." He said.

"I guess so…" Stoick said still amazed by what happened.

"Uh Hiccup? What are you all doing so early?" Astrid asked.

"We're doing our standard morning warmup as well as flying all our dragons as part of their daily care. I hope we didn't cause any panic." Hiccup said.

"No…no not at all." Astrid said a little quickly.

"Hmm, okay." Hiccup said not buying it but playing along. "Dad? When do you plan to have the Trial?" He asked.

"I was thinking to hold it after breakfast. I assume you will be there?" Stoick said.

"I'll have to. I want to support Hicca there and as a representative of Draconia." Hiccup said.

"Representative?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup signed. "Basically due to Spitelout's coup attempt not only Berk was threatened but the security of the empire was as well. If he succeeded the Archipelago would surely threaten security on the northern border, causing a war on two fronts and eventually a likely Draconian defeat. I would say that is an offence worth prosecuting." Hiccup explained.

"Oh…" Tuffnut said.

"Then it is decided. Will you be joining us for breakfast?" Stoick asked.

"I'm afraid not. We'll be out here with the rest of our troops." Hiccup said. Then he turned to the teens. "You four are welcome to join us however."

Astrid was stunned. "R…really? You would let us have breakfast amongst you?" She asked.

Hiccup chuckled. "As I said. A little change of perspective could do wonders."

"I'm in!" Tuffnut yelled.

"So am I!" Ruffnut yelled as well.

"Uh yeah I'll come. And guys stop yelling" Fishlegs said.

"What about you Astrid?" Hiccup asked.

"Uh…sure we'll be there." Astrid said hesitantly while looking at Toothless.

"Great, we'll see you guys very soon. Just ask for me when you arrive." Hiccup said while walking back to Toothless. "Oh by the way, I advise not bringing any weapons. So you don't make any dragons nervous." He called back.

Hicca chuckled. "Yeah, we wouldn't want them to go on a mauling." She joked making the Vikings pale.

"She's joking guys…" Hiccup said. "Come on sis. Let's do a quick lap around the island."

"I'm in!" Hicca called. She then turned back to Elysia who was being spoiled by Valka. "Can I have my dragon back mom?"

Valka released Elysia from her hold and turned to her daughter who was grinning underneath her helmet. "Amazing feeling isn't it?" Hicca asked.

Valka nodded happily. "I never knew they could be like this. You both really opened my eyes." She said.

Hicca chuckled and mounted Elysia again. "I knew you'd agree." She said. "Ready to go bro?" she asked while turning to Hiccup who was now on Toothless' back.

"I'll give you a head start." Hiccup joked.

"Your mistake!" Hicca shot back and she and Elysia shot into the sky.

Hiccup chuckled. "We'll see about that pipsqueak."

With one mighty flap of his wings Toothless flew after the pair and out of the Vikings visual range.

The rest of the Vikings just stood there flabbergasted. The exchange between Valka and the Skrill had been a sight to behold but the apparent sibling relation between Hiccup and Hicca even rivalled the twins'.

"You know, they really are onto something." Valka said looking up into the still dragon filled sky.

Stoick and the rest stayed silent.

"You all should try it. They convinced me, they certainly can convince you." Valka said. "Come Stoick, we have preparations to oversee."

"Yes love…" Stoick said while following his wife.

Astrid and the rest of the gang remained behind. Pondering over the most recent events.

"I don't know about you guys but I believe she has a point." Fishlegs said.

"Whether she's right or not. Thing will drastically change from this point on." Astrid.

The rest of the group nodded, agreeing with Astrid's statement.

Draconian encampment, morning, 266 AFD

Astrid and the gang were walking amongst the many tents and emplacements present in the camp. They crossed multiple troopers sitting or standing about everywhere eating breakfast. Many offered a word or a nod in greeting but otherwise didn't bother them. However none could be identified as Hiccup or his sister.

"Uhg, where are they?" Tuffnut asked.

"Tuff, there are over two-hundred people in this camp. It stands to reason we wouldn't find them immediately." Fishlegs said.

"Can't we just ask for them? He did say we had to ask for them when we arrived." Tuffnut said.

"That is actually true." Fishlegs said remembering Hiccup's words.

Astrid then walked to one group of soldiers sitting on the ground. They were normal ones, not dragon riders and talked to them.

"Excuse me… where can we find Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

The troops looked at each other for a moment and one motioned his head in a certain direction. Then one of them answered. "The Commander is over there. Behind the big tent." He said while pointing to the west.

"Thank you. Enjoy your meal." Astrid said getting several nods from the men and women seated.

She went back to her friends and told them they needed to go behind the big tent. They walked around it and indeed found Hiccup and his sister sitting on the ground eating. But the thing was that they weren't alone. Hiccup was seated on the ground leaning against a snoozing Toothless and Hicca was placed against Elysia who was munching on a few fishes. Next to her was a women with short red hair talking to her about something.

Now the group was a bit more hesitant about approaching them. Seeing that they were still a bit reserved about being so close to two of the most dangerous dragons they know. Hiccup had noticed them however and waved for them to come closer.

They inched closer and hoped they really didn't need to sit against one of the dragons who didn't give them a lot of attention however. Toothless just kept on snoozing and Elysia stopped munching for a second to look at them but continued on soon after. Luckily for the group there were some crates nearby which they could use as back support, so they didn't need to come closer to Toothless and Elysia.

"Welcome guys, hope it wasn't too hard to find." Hiccup said casually.

"No… not really…" Astrid said while staring wearily at Toothless.

Hiccup signed. "You're still afraid of him aren't you?" He asked.

Astrid nodded while eying Toothless.

Hiccup hummed and prodded Toothless to wake him up. The black dragon opened his eyes and looked at Hiccup who motioned Astrid to come closer.

Astrid hesitated. "Don't be afraid Astrid." Hiccup encouraged while holding his hand on Toothless nose.

Astrid came closer. "Hold out your hand." Hiccup said.

Astrid nervously did what she was told and held out her hand in front of her. Toothless sniffed her hand for a few second and then began nuzzling and licking her hand. Ridding Astrid from any doubts that dragons were hostile creatures.

"Heh… he's kind of cute." Astrid said.

"He is isn't he?" Hiccup confirmed. Then he patted the spot to the left of him, away from Toothless' head. "Come sit down with us."

Astrid accepted Hiccup's invitation and sat down next to him. The others used the nearby crates as a back support and sat down around the small campfire in the middle of the group.

"Either way, welcome guys. Grab a fish and a piece of bread, its good." Hiccup said.

"Indeed, the fish was caught this morning in the waters around the island. There's a lot more fat in these fish then back home." The woman with the short red hair said.

"Okay…and who are you?" Astrid asked. "I've seen you before."

"Astrid, this is Sergeant Tora. She's one of my most thrusted officers." Hiccup introduced.

"Ow ok, nice to meet you." Astrid said to Tora.

"She has been beside me for a long time. I think we met in boot camp didn't we Tora?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, we were in the same garrison remember Hiccup… we've been doing this together since the beginning." Tora said.

Astrid felt something spike in her chest. A hint of…jealousy, why wouldn't she? After all this woman had been closer to him for a much longer time than she has. Unbeknownst to her her visage showed a little bit of that jealousy. Luckily only one person saw this.

Hiccup squeezed her hand lightly so she would look at him. "Don't worry, she's engaged to someone else." He whispered.

Astrid silently signed in relief. Not that she would ever tell that to anyone.

After a while everyone was eating breakfast while chatting with one another. Hicca and Tora were mostly conversing about flight manoeuvres while Fishlegs tried to follow their conversation and Hiccup and Astrid were in a discussion about weapons.

"You know Hiccup, I've been wondering what it's like to be a soldier out there?" Tuffnut asked.

"Let me tell you Tuff, it isn't the most fun thing out there." Hiccup answered.

"Come on…it must be awesome. Fighting giant armies for honour and glory!" Tuff said.

Hiccup and Tora cringed. "You really have no idea have you? It seems like you have a very glorified view of war." Hiccup said.

"It's not like that? I thought all the stories from Viking battles…" Tuffnut asked.

"No Tuff… it really isn't. You know the saying: History is made by the victors?" Hiccup asked.

"Of course, it means that the strongest decide the course of history." Tuffnut proudly proclaimed.

"No…no it isn't. When a war is fought the ones victorious write their version of history afterwards. The story you then hear is often very biased." Hiccup explained.

"Indeed, war isn't just black and white young man. Just a lot of shades of grey." Tora added.

"So…there are things you don't want to remember?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup signed and hung his head. "There are way too many thinks I wish I could forget. The many horrors and nightmares I have that won't just go away." He said.

"Would you want to talk about it?" Astrid asked.

"There is one memory in particular I think you all should know. Though it haunts me to this day, something I swore I'd never do again." Hiccup said.

Now Astrid was worried. What could be so bad that even Hiccup had nightmares about it? Sergeant Tora knew what he meant however, seeing as she was there.

"The battle with the Red Death…" Tora said.

"The what?!" The four Vikings asked.

"Do you know why the dragons raided your village all those years and why they suddenly just stopped?" Hiccup asked.

"Uh… no actually." Fishlegs said.

"That was because of the Red Death." Tora said. "An alpha class dragon the size of a mountain. It could destroy your village just by sitting on it."

"It was held up inside a volcano to the North-East of here. I believe you would call it the nest, the one Vikings had been looking for all those years." Hiccup explained.

"You've been at the nest?!" Astrid asked.

"Three years ago I was there…" Hiccup said solemnly.

"So was I, and most of the veterans here." Tora continued.

"Wait… such a dragon exists?!" Fishlegs asked frightfully

"I think the right word would be existed." Hiccup said. "But yes it did. It was holed up in the volcanic island and forced the dragon population to raid nearby islands to feed herself."

"So they were forced to do it?" Astrid asked while looking at the dragons present.

"Yes…dragons are normally peaceful creatures and have a main diet in fish. Raiding villages would be very counterproductive for them." Hiccup said.

"So what happened there…?" Fishlegs asked.

"The Red Death or the queen got more greedy as time passed, so the range of the raids extended gradually. Eventually the raids began targeting the few trade routes we had in the north. As we were understanding of the dragons we realized this wasn't normal behaviour, also we couldn't afford to lose valuable trade routes during a war." Hiccup explained.

"So you set out to find the problem?" Astrid guessed.

"Indeed we did Astrid, back then I wasn't a Commander yet, it was still in the beginning of my career. We set out with the Third legion as an expeditionary force to find the reason why dragons would mindlessly raid villages and ships. We feared another Drago situation since back then that was only a year ago. We found the island and quickly learned of the presence of the queen, she had spotted us however seeing that we flew into the nest and provoked her enough to come out." Hiccup said.

The Vikings were on the edge of their seats. "And what happened then?" Fishlegs asked.

"You fought didn't you?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yes Tuffnut we did. With no other choice we engaged the slightly enraged queen, first we tried to subdue her but that turned out not to be an option seeing that the dragon was highly aggressive. The battle stretched for hours and many of us were killed, even one of our airships was blown out of the sky." Hiccup said while gesturing at the titanic transports resting nearby. "In the end we succeeded to get the queen airborne, but the catch was that she was now following us and after a while…me…"

"And what did you do then?" Fishlegs asked.

"Me and Toothless came up with a plan to vanish into the clouds and when we did we started to blow holes in her wings. She retaliated by spraying fire everywhere, forcing us to dive down. She followed us in blind rage and prepared to roast us alive on the trip down." Hiccup said.

The Vikings held their breaths in anticipation. "And…?" Astrid asked.

"Right at the moment the queen was building up gas in her throat to fire me and Toothless turned around and shot a plasma blast in her mouth, igniting the gas and making it all explode in her throat. Afterwards she crashed into the ground because her wings were ripped and she couldn't pull up. The resulting explosion killed her, me and Toothless on the other hand glided down and crashed into the ground a little later. I passed out not long after." Hiccup explained.

"He woke up when we were on our way back. Suffering heavy losses but being victorious." Tora finished.

The rest of the teens were stunned silent. Truly they had only scratched the surface of all the thing Hiccup and the rest did.

Time passes quickly and before they knew it breakfast had passed and Hiccup needed to get moving again.

"Tora, gather a troop escort for the prisoners. I'll go check if they're ready in the great hall." Hiccup said while standing up.

"Yes sir." Tora answered.

"Hiccup? Where are you going?" Astrid asked.

"I'm going to check if my father is ready to hold a Trial." Hiccup answered before he strode off.

"You guys should probably go as well." Tora advised.

"Yeah, right." they answered.

Berk prisons, late morning, 266 ADF

Spitelout sat on the ground in one of the dark cells of Berk, he wondered how it could all go wrong. His plan was perfect, make Hicca disappear and subtly undermine Stoick from there to grab power. It almost worked as well. Until suddenly Hicca turned up again with no less than an army backing her up and the mysterious stranger that had arrived on Berk just over a week before Hicca's abduction. And by some stroke of luck or divine intervention he turned out to be her long lost older brother and the first heir to Stoick.

He looked around to his fellow cellmates. The people who had conspired with him to overthrow Stoick, they were in bad shape. Each one of them sported multiple cuts and bruises all over their bodies, they had severely underestimated the capabilities of the army backing Hicca. Spitelout at first thought they wouldn't dare to mix in the situation but he had been proven dead wrong when Hicca indirectly ordered them to arrest him and his fellow conspirators. His second mistake was underestimating their capacity for war. He thought his group of mighty, wide-shouldered Vikings could take them but he started to grow doubt when his son mindlessly charged in and was subsequently smashed into the ground by the leader in two seconds. And then there was the dragon reinforcements issue.

Over the course of the morning he had been woken by the multitude of dragon-calls that sounded through the air. At first he thought it to be a dragon-raid but when he rushed to the small barred window he saw all of them flying over the village in formation, only then did he understand the magnitude of his opponent. His fellow cellmates learned soon after that these "Draconians" were in fact a large and organised group of dragon-riders and highly trained soldiers. Many signed in recognition that they could never win this and sat down fearing what they might do to them now that they had control over the village.

It was Snotlout who nasally broke the silence. "Dad?... what are they going to do with us?" He asked.

Spitelout signed. "I don't know son. Now that Hicca betrayed our village and handed us all over to those monsters there's no telling what they'll do to us. But I know it won't be pleasant." He said.

"But can't we try to rally the village behind us? They can't just accept this blasphemy to continue?!" Snotlout argued.

"I fear that might be our only chance son." Spitelout said.

At that moment they heard the outside door being opened and several voices through the hall. Spitelout recognised the voices from several Vikings including Angus but there were some foreign, muffled voices as well. When they all stepped into the room Spitelout saw his suspicions confirmed as Angus Hofferson and a couple Vikings entered accompanied by what looked like a squad of those Draconian soldiers.

Angus looked at Spitelout with eyes burning with hate, a look which Spitelout and some of the prisoners gladly returned. At least the ones who weren't intimidated enough by the sight of the Draconians. One of them stepped forwards to Angus and asked him a question.

"Sir? What are Berkian regulations for transporting prisoners?" the soldier asked.

"Uh, we chain them up and walk them to the Great-Hall. Would that be adequate?" Angus asked while pulling out several handcuffs and chains.

The soldier who asked the question turned his head to the prisoners and nodded. "That will do fine sir Hofferson. I assume you have the keys?"

Angus gestured to the keys on his belt. "Have them right here. Shall we begin?" He asked with a smile.

"Gladly." The soldier answered. "Alright men, drag them out and chain them up!" He ordered.

Angus opened the door and the Draconians strode inside grabbing prisoner after prisoner and chained them up while Angus and the other Vikings held them still and organised them in a line. Snotlout and some others tried to resist but were only answered by a punch and a bark to get moving. Not long after only Spitelout remained unchained, though he was surrounded by the Draconian squad.

"Now it's you turn Spitelout. We reserved a nice spot here at the front of the line for you." Angus said.

"You traitor…" Spitelout seethed.

Angus laughed. "Me? A traitor? Do you even heart yourself Spitelout?! Unlike you I would never turn my back on Stoick nor the Village!" He shouted.

"Then why are you cooperating with these monsters?! They shouldn't be allowed to live with their blasphemous ways!" Spitelout growled.

The Draconian troops just picked him up effortlessly paying no mind to the string of insults and curses he was throwing around. When he was chained up tight Angus spoke again.

"A little change of perspective is sometimes all it takes to see the truth Spitelout. And honestly, I like the truth better." Angus said.

Spitelout had no time to reply as they were lead outside and met a lot more troops, outside the prison stood an entire battalion ready to escort them complete with Raptors and unlike the previous day, other dragons as well. Safe to say the entire group of prisoners was intimidated enough to shut up and walk silently.

They were marched through the village towards the Great-Hall. Along the way they could see more troops watching them from the side or they could just see them in the distance doing exercises, marching around or doing patrols. They could see the titanic transport machines all resting in their camp and a Draconian flag here and there. Spitelout began fearing the worst, thinking that the village had been conquered.

At the doors of the Great-Hall were four guards, two Vikings and again two Draconians. They opened the door of them and the prisoners were led inside where the rest of Berk was waiting. Amongst the crowd Snotlout could see the people he had known his entire life scowling down on him. He saw Astrid and Fishlegs standing on the side giving him the cold shoulder and surprisingly the Twins, who were standing with Fishlegs as well. He had heard they weren't arrested yesterday but he wasn't sure, but now the rumour was confirmed and the Twins didn't look to happy with him.

Spitelout however didn't look at the crowd but looked straight to the centre of the Hall were as expected a judges table was set up in the form of half a circle. Perfect to interrogate prisoners,…in this case them. He could see Stoick, Valka, Gobber and Gothi already present in their seats. Gobber was sitting on the left side of the table flanked by Valka then Stoick and then Goth. There were two seats still open next to the latter. Spitelout scowled, normally he should be at that table as well.

Near the table he caught the glimpse of white armour and long auburn hair,…Hicca. She was talking to some other girl with bright red hair wearing the same armour as every Draconian did. When he looked up above the table he saw the flags bearing the various crests of the jury. In the centre was the Berk and Hairy µHooligan crest Flanked by the Haddock symbol as well as Gobber's and Gothi's. What surprised him was that alongside all that was another bright red and black flag depicting the Stormcutter with spread wings. The Draconian Imperial flag.

Spitelout and the prisoners were led to the middle, right in front of the judges' table and chained down to the ground by metal rings embedded into the stone. Stoick turned around for a second and called something Spitelout couldn't understand. Not long after Hicca came up the podium and sat in the far right chair, leaving the one between her and Gothi open.

Spitelout wondered who they were still missing, though his answer came into the form of Ryder or rather Hiccup who strode onto the platform helmet in hand. He plopped it down on the table and sat down. Meanwhile the murmuring in the Great-Hall had ceased.

Stoick then stood and spoke. "Attention please, today we hold the Trial against Spitelout Jorgenson and his fellow conspirators for their failed coup attempt on Berk. The…" he said before being interrupted.

"That's a load of crap! I did what was best for the village unlike you who just surrendered it to these monsters! He shouldn't even be sitting there!" Spitelout roared while pointing at Hiccup.

"SILENCE! I never surrendered the village Spitelout, they are our allies and Hiccup has all the right to be on this council!" Stoick shouted back

"And why is that?!" Spitelout shouted back hoping to drive Stoick in a corner.

To his surprise Stoick only smiled and turned to Hiccup. "He's all yours Hiccup." Stoick said.

Hiccup nodded and stood up to speak. "Spitelout Jorgenson, due to your actions not only was Berk gravely endangered but the Draconian Empire felt your actions as well as a successful coup would have let to a threat in Imperial security at the Northern border. Imperial command has ordered for your Trial to be overseen by a senior officer of the Draconian military with experience in government affairs. Due to my presence here I was appointed the Imperial representative during this Trial and will oversee your punishment is adequate for imperial standards." He droned with little emotion in his voice, scaring the crap out of the prisoners and some of the villagers who hadn't really seen the officer side of Hiccup.

"Thank you Hiccup." Stoick said as Hiccup sat back down.

"Now let's begin with the pressed charges." Stoick continued. "Charges are: organised kidnapping, attempted murder of the heir, an attempted coup on the Hairy Hooligans tribe, treachery, selling information to hostile tribes, endangering Draconian border security, attempted murder of imperial military personnel, open hostility to the crown and empire." He summed up. "How do you plead?" Stoick asked.

"I don't have to explain myself! Not to you nor to your blasphemous son! I did what was best for the village, to make it stronger!" Spitelout shouted.

"Noted…" Hiccup said icily

Spitelout was taken aback. He though Stoick and the rest would argue back to him and he would find a way to drive them into a corner. But Hiccup just shrugged off his insults like they meant nothing, and honestly the look in the boy's eyes scared him a little. Not that he would ever show it.

"Alright, statement aside let's begin to hear out everyone who wishes to speak." Stoick said.

For hours and hours the judges listened to everyone who wished to speak their mind over the matter. Angus recalled his meeting with Spitelout the morning after Hiccup was taken and told the story of his and his group's efforts to keep Stoick's rule in place. Multiple Vikings were heard, even the prisoners. Some of them defiantly claimed that what they did was the best for the village while others expressed their doubts and indirectly were almost begging for their lives to be spared. The story that got the most attention though was the one from Hicca where she recalled her experiences from the night when she was kidnapped and how she woke up on the Norn ship to the moment Hiccup rescued her. Hiccup meanwhile remained silent throughout it all, never speaking once and only occasionally nodding when he listened.

After everyone was heard the six judges retreated themselves to make a decision, though everyone knew this Trial was just to decide on a punishment since everyone knew they were guilty. It took about half an hour before they emerged again and took their places. When everyone was quiet again Hiccup stood up and took word.

"Attention everyone, the jury had decided. In face of overwhelming evidence the prisoners are declared guilty." He said which surprised no-one. Spitelout wanted to interrupt him but Hiccup just blatantly ignored him. "Spitelout Jorgenson and associates, by the authority invested in me by the crown and empire and Chief Stoick Haddock of Berk. I sentence you all to be branded as traitors to both Berk and the Draconian Empire, you will be stripped of your status and possessions and be banished from the island. Never to set foot here or in any Draconian controlled territories." Hiccup declared.

Some of the prisoners signed in relief, in truth many of them thought they would be executed. Some of them held their breath though as they feared something else might be coming.

"However, due to the nature of his actions one person's sentence will be slightly altered." Hiccup continued. The prisoners gasped and several eyes found Spitelout who was sweating. "Spitelout Jorgenson!" He said centring himself on the offended. "Because of being the leader of this betrayal your sentence has been altered. For the highest form of treason you will be executed by the traditional Viking method of the Blood Eagle as an example. The sentence will be executed tonight."

Immediately the Hall exploded in shouting, mostly curses and screaming from Spitelout and his family. Hiccup didn't bat an eye though and turned to his troops.

"LEAD THEM AWAY AT ONCE! THIS TRIAL IS OVER!" He ordered.

Spitelout and the rest were grabbed and dragged out of the hall and back to the prisons. Where some of them would be spending their final hours while others sentence would be partially executed.

Hiccup just remained stoically on the judge's platform, watching as Spitelout and his crew were dragged away. After a few moments he grabbed his helmet and walked away, no-one stopping him. Astrid looked on as he walked away but she couldn't bring herself to go after him. She knew this can't be easy to do but she also knew Hiccup needed a little time to himself.

Berk prisons, late afternoon, 266 ADF

Spitelout and his fellow conspirators spend the remainder of the day back in the prison cells. Every now and again one of them would be taken out for a while for the branding and they would be put back later with their wounds treated but with a lasting reminder of their failure and banishment etched on their back. The only person who wasn't branded was Spitelout himself as he was left to his devices in a dark corner of the prison cell while he had to hear the faint screams of his fellow Vikings including his own son. As the cycle went on for hours and hours the point came where every single one of his fellow Vikings had been taken away and returned again. Now he just waited for the end.

Snotlout tried to talk to his father but he just wouldn't talk. For hours he remained silent until the moment where the prison doors were opened and a group of Vikings and Draconians strode in. It was time.

Every single prisoner was taken out of his cell, chained up and led outside. The village was largely abandoned safe for a few of the younger children and a few Draconian patrols, all the rest had already gone to the cliffs where the execution would take place.

When they got closer to the spiky cliffs Spitelout could see the crowd gathered around a block of stone with metal rings embedded to hold him in pace. He knew how a blood eagle was supposed to go, the victim was placed prone and then… well you get the picture.

Tora came walking up to the group and stopped them for a moment.

"Leave Spitelout and his family here for a moment and put the rest in their places to watch. Give him a moment to say goodbye to his family." Tora said.

The Vikings escorting the group blinked for a second but the troops obeyed immediately. "Yes ma'am. Come along." They said as they pulled everyone but Spitelout, his wife and Snotlout with them. Tora took some steps back as well to give them some privacy.

When all were far enough away Spitelout turned to his son. "Snotlout, listen to me. You must never forget what they did here today. NEVER!" he said.

Snotlout nodded trying not to cry as he knew his father was about to die.

"Promise…no swear that you'll avenge me! On your life!" Spitelout said.

"I will father." Snotlout answered.

The three talked for a minute or so before they were broken up again and Spitelout was separated from his family and brought to the centre-stone and chained up while Snotlout and his wife were placed in the line of watching prisoners. Then Stoick and Hiccup approached him.

"This is the end Jorgenson, have you got anything left to say?" Stoick asked sternly.

As an answer Spitelout only spat at Stoick's feet.

Stoick looked at his former second in command in disgust. "I guess not." He said while he walked away leaving Hiccup standing in front of Spitelout.

Spitelout looked up to Hiccup. "What… afraid to start Haddock…?" he spat.

"I am not your executioner today Spitelout, though I hate you enough to do it myself." Hiccup said, voice deepened through his helmet. "I'd say this is what you deserve, for all your crimes. And yet some part of me wants to thank you."

"What…?" Spitelout asked.

"You know without you I might have never known." Hiccup said while turning around and walking away. Leaving a flabbergasted Spitelout behind.

"He's all yours executioner." Hiccup said, afterwards he waved his hand in the air signalling his troops that their work was done. They all left the scene at his command. When he walked away he did hear the screams of the prisoners and some of the Viking population at the same time he heard a gurgling and splattering noise reminiscent of a Norn berserker being splattered between a wall and a Quaken dragon. He signed and made his way to the camp.

Draconian camp, evening, 266 ADF

Hiccup and Tora had returned to the camp a while ago, the rest of the village was back in their homes as well after Spitelout's execution. If one would look to the cliffs where it happened you could see the ravens flying in circles over the spot, cleaning up the remains. Hiccup didn't focus on it though. He had other things to do.

"Alright Tora, have any unnecessary equipment and supplies loaded into the ships. I'd like to leave here tomorrow morning after breakfast." Hiccup said.

"Will be done sir." She answered. "You should take some time off sir. Spend some time with family before we leave again." Tora advised.

Hiccup chuckled. "Thank you sergeant, I think I will."

Hiccup gave a look at Toothless and motioned for him to follow, which the dragon gladly did. Together they left the camp and made their way into the village. The first thing he saw was Valka, his mother standing alone to the side of her house looking at something.

As he got closer he saw that she was looking at a small grey stone with some writing etched I it, like a grave or a memorial stone.

Valka heard her son and Toothless approaching and glanced to them. Hiccup had taken his helmet of some time ago and it was now resting on his belt. He came standing next to her while Toothless kept at a distance of about two meters. Hiccup looked more closely at the stone and saw what was written on it.

"In loving memory of our son, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, taken away too soon. Yet never forgotten." Hiccup read out loud, afterwards he looked to his mother who kept looking at the gravestone.

"We never found your body, but we wanted you to have a memory in the village. This stone was placed about two month after you were taken." Valka said solemnly.

"But I didn't die… but of course you wouldn't know that…" Hiccup answered.

"Yes." Valka signed. "I'm grateful my son is still alive but I do regret not being able to see him grow up to the man he is now. When you were born I thought you might not make it, but Stoick… he never doubted. He always said you would become the strongest of them all." She said while looking at Hiccup and putting her hand on his cheek. "And he was right. Thanks to you our village and the entire Archipelago is safe."

Hiccup leaned into her touch. "Thanks mom. I'm happy I finally found you guys."

Valka smiled but frowned afterwards. "But you can't stay…" She said sadly.

"Unfortunately I can't mom. No matter how much I would like to, I still have a duty and a war to finish." Hiccup said.

Valka signed in recognition. "Just promise you will be safe and come back in one piece. Both of you." She said.

"No promises, you know I can't." Hiccup said. "But I will try my hardest." He said before chuckling.

Valka chuckled along. "Then I guess that has to be good enough for me." She said before spotting the teens a couple houses further chatting with her little girl and the Skrill that would never leave her side like Toothless and Hiccup.

Hiccup noticed them too but before he could say anything Valka spoke.

"Go on son, go have some fun with your friends." She said.

"Okay, bye mom!" Hiccup said while making a beeline for the group and more specifically the blonde Valkyrie while Toothless followed enthusiastically.

Valka chuckled and shook her head. 'They would make a good couple.' She thought while reminiscing how she and Stoick were. 'I hope they make the most of the time he is still here.' Valka thought while walking away to the Great-Hall to find Stoick.

It is finally done! And I must say it took a long time too (sorry everyone). So now we know what happened to Spitelout and his crew in the end. We'll never be seeing him again. As for those who were wondering why I didn't describe the scene more, I still have a T-rating and thrust me if I described a blood eagle I would be going way over M-rating. I did do some research on the topic and thrust me, it is gruesome. Basically a ritualised torture and execution method which would be unfit for the eyes and minds of my younger readers. Though some of the details of the method might have been lost in the translation.

So I guess most of you have realised the story is kind of coming to its end. As of now I plan only doing a few more chapters, but I won't tell how many yet. *Evil laughter! Anyhow next chapter will be a little shorter than this one. There are only a few things that need to happen on Berk, so I believe the next one will come a little faster. I hope.

Reviews:

orca3553: wow wow, not too fast there. I'm actually not planning to give the Vikings their dragons yet. Except Valka maybe… though I do want to give the gang (except Snot) their dragons eventually.

5: the wait is over and I think I was creative enough. And setting the stage for the next antagonist maybe, still thinking about it. As for the war, we'll get back to that very soon.

Stormfly1124: Thanks, and good luck to you too. Though it isn't so bad down here, I have some fun courses. Like haematology.

dracologistmaster: the teens won't be getting their dragons yet. That would happen after both Haddock siblings are back. And they won't be joining the war effort as they are needed on Berk.

thearizona: again thanks for correcting me in the last chapter, I looked it up the second I saw it and changed it right away. And I hope the punishment was glorious, with some angry commander Hiccup mixed in it as well. Until next time!

CartoonLoverBecky: you ask and I shall provide by the best of my abilities. I hope you liked it. Until next time.

Grima: he will come back eventually, just you wait.

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed, let me know what you think and see you all next time.

Dismissed