Chapter 11

Winter's Onset

Two days after the battle, everything began to melt back home, and I was stuck ferrying Holly to school every day (lucky for both of us she only had a couple weeks before break), but in Berk, the dead of winter finally took hold, with temperatures dropping well below freezing for days at a time and the snow piling up far beyond what I'd had at home. Thanks to this, I began spending more and more time around my house where, when I wasn't busy with college stuff or raising the plants, I could practice and train in the back yard. Naturally, the few who could take advantage of this, like the teens, often showed up to spar almost daily.

Ember, on the other hand, never ventured further than the cove, always giving some excuse as to why she wouldn't join us at least occasionally. At first, it didn't concern me, as I was too busy with my own home life and the village issues stemming from our expected upcoming war. But, as the days wore on and mid-January approached, I plowed through the first parts of my college semester and ended up way ahead of my classmates, leaving me with a little extra time because of it, and finally began noticing her unexplained reluctance.

I came home one evening to find my mother with a note for me. "Hiccup came by earlier with this," she explained, holding it out to me. "He says it's important." I took the piece of parchment and unfolded it, reading it over.

Hawken,

I took Ember up to my room to work on her bow, which if you recall had been damaged by the serpents, and while I was smoothing out the details she noticed the projects you've been working on with the dragon scales, and passed out. I haven't been able to wake her, nor even really move her as she began heating up like that time before. I thought you might have an idea what might be going on here, what with having direct experience with the "unexplainable" more than the rest of us, so we need your help here. Please come as soon as you get this,

~Hiccup

I sighed and placed the note on the table, thinking it over for a moment. Honestly I had as much of a clue here as Hiccup did. Then, I folded it back up and put it in my pocket, and grabbed my quartet sword, just in case.

"Where are you headed?" my mom queried. "The note said there's a problem concerning Ember, and nobody has a clue what's going on," I explained. "I need to get over there immediately." My mom sighed in response, closing her eyes for a moment, before nodding. "Alright, just be back before dinner is done for once, will you? And I saw what the weather's been like over there, so don't catch cold either." I laughed as I slipped out the back door. "Oh, come now, you know dragons don't catch colds!" I exclaimed, before morphing Night Fury and slipping through the portal.

Just my luck, Berk was caught in yet another blizzard, and it had only just started, so flying was nigh impossible as a normal dragon. I changed instead to Blizzard, and began weaving through the storm toward the village. As soon as I reached Hiccup's house I landed, walking up to the porch but not demorphing yet as I knocked on the door; too much snow to get covered by as just me. After a few seconds Stoick cracked it open and peeked outside.

"Oh, Hawken, good te see ye came." He opened the door wide enough to slip in, then shut it before the snow could get in. I shrank back to my normal self now as he gestured to the stairs leading up to Hiccup's room.

"We managed te get her onto Toothless' rock before she burnt the floor too badly," Stoick explained as I started walking over, "but unfortunately not without a price." He held up a pair of blistered hands. My eyes widened, and I reached out for them. "We need to take care of that before it gets infected," I said, "and it would be best not to wander through the village to Sigrid's right now." He nodded and let me take his hands, focusing for just a moment and restoring the reddened skin back to normal. "There, that's more like it," I said, nodding in satisfaction, before turning to head up the stairway.

As I entered the room, I was immediately hit by a wave of unexpected thermal energy, and grew a layer of scales over my face and arms to shield from the heat. Hiccup, standing nearby, had taken to donning what little we had made of the scale armor for a similar purpose.

"Hawken, I don't have a clue what's wrong with her," he said, sliding off his bed and looking back over at the rock slab on the other side of the room, where Ember currently lay. Toothless sat at the back by my desk, looking on with concern as well. Ember herself was almost glowing, and her hair had turned a fiery golden color. I walked over and knelt by her, the waves of heat forcing me to adapt to an even higher tolerance. I was somewhat surprised the granite slab wasn't melting yet, or at least glowing.

"And you said this happened right after she saw the scale armor I had been making?" I asked, glancing over toward Hiccup and, by extension, one of the nearly finished projects I had: a pair of Night Fury arm braces. Hiccup nodded in response. "She took one look at them, whispered something I didn't catch, and slumped to the floor."

Unfortunately for him, I was also baffled as he was. I reached out, and carefully placed a hand on Ember's forehead, before reeling back as a jolt of energy ran through me and caused the air around to glow. Apparently her power included directing the heat to an extent. As I hit the floor though, an image passed through my mind as well, giving me at least a hint of what happened.

"Hawken!" Hiccup yelled, running over to help me up, and almost running into Toothless who did the same. I shook off the dizziness and looked over at Ember, a ghost of an understanding smile gracing my features.

"Well, she's fine, for now," I said. "She's put herself into a sort of trance. I'm guessing the braces reminded her of something and her body is reacting to the memory." I gestured to the armor again. "And, I probably need to get back to work making more of those."

"Why?" Hiccup asked, still somewhat lost concerning Ember too. "Ember is able to heat up or cool down like a Fireworm," I explained, slowly standing up and walking over to my desk, picking up a remnant scale and looking it over. "She's basically been born as a gifted, or guardian if you want to go by what the serpents kept saying. The marks that look like flames on her are the symbols she bears. But, to answer your question, the armor, at least Night Fury and Nadder forms, would be able to withstand her power, at least up to the point where they would melt." I held up the scale. "The armor won't melt until put under at least heat equal to Night Fury fire, so that gives a lot of room for her to work, and since I don't know if that healing issue I had when she arrived was a condition of her gift or a one-time thing, it's the perfect battle gear for her."

I picked up my sword, and stabbed at the brace on Hiccup's arm. He yelped in surprise, but calmed when the sword didn't even make a mark. "They're almost impenetrable in that state," I noted. "Honestly, it would be good for everyone to end up wearing it. But it's perfect for Ember. And once she wakes up, we can actually start working on a proper fit for her." I glanced at Ember again, before looking back at Hiccup. "The state she's in right now, I caught one image: a battle. She's, uh, I guess meditating on the implications of what's coming."

A groan behind us cut off my musing, as we turned to see Ember's hair begin to dim, and the heat radiating into the room began to die off, much to everyone's relief. Ember slowly rolled to her side, and her eyes flickered open.

"W-what's going on?" she groaned, trying to sit up. "Uh, nothing really," Hiccup replied. "Nothing but, uh, just wondering about how you collapsed on my floor and started burning a hole through it, that's all." Ember grimaced at that notion, and looked around, catching sight again of the arm brace I held in my hand, and then registering the armor Hiccup wore.

She started again, before groaning and putting her hand to her head. "Ugh…I've never had that happen. I… I had images, memories of my battles, and the armor we wore looked like that, sort of. And, I think I had a vision about something coming…and we were all wearing those. Except you, Hawken." She glanced around. "That must have been why I passed out." I nodded, not really understanding everything that had just happened, but knowing we weren't going to clear it up either anytime soon. "Well, this was all a little bit strange, even for me, but people getting thoughts and visions aren't unheard of. I think it means though, that I should get back to working on this armor, make at least a few new sets." I glanced at the other three in the room. "Care to join me?"

Hiccup walked over and peeked out the window in the side of his room (one of the few made of actual glass in the village). "Well, the storm's abated a little. We might be able to safely travel to the forge." He looked at Toothless, then Ember, as both nodded.

We spent a good portion of the evening in the forge, working on the armor and keeping warm against the storm that had picked up again and was raging just outside the front door. With not only Toothless and I but also Ember to help with controlling the temperature, melting the scales we had became a less troublesome chore, and we managed to actually begin molding new pieces. I only managed to get a couple chest plates done, however, before I realized I had promised my mother I would be home before nightfall. Though Hiccup, Ember and Toothless said they'd just continue working as they were (no point in them trying to fight through the snow again just yet), at least until it truly got too late, I had to slip out early. Stepping into the swirling snow and trying to ignore the frozen water blowing up my nose, I morphed into a Blizzard dragon once more and rushed home.

"I thought I said be back in time for dinner," my mom quipped from the dinner table as I stepped in through the back door. "And don't get all that snow on the floor either!" I sighed, looking down at the white powder that coated me, and heated up automatically, melting and then vaporizing the snow into a cloud of steam.

"Happy now? I steam-cleaned the sliding door as well," I retorted, before walking over and grabbing a bowl for the soup on the stove. "Careful with your tone," my mom warned. "I still own the house you live in." As I walked back to the table I tried not to react any further, and sat down quietly.

"So what happened?" my sister asked, already at the table and halfway through her soup. I shrugged. "Oh, I just got distracted while I was there and started working on the scale armor we've been designing. It's not a project that goes quickly, unfortunately." Holly shook her head. "No, no, I mean what happened with your friend Ember?" she reiterated. I smirked. "Yes, I know what you meant. And, uh, she had a vision of sorts, caused her to pass out." I took a mouthful of soup before continuing, smirking at the cringe both my mom and Holly made when I hadn't even waited for it to cool. "That's why I got distracted by the armor, actually: it's really perfect for her, since it take a lot to melt it, the scales are extremely strong, and flexible. Or, at least the Night Fury version of it is."

"So you've been making a set for her?" Holly continued. I nodded. "Or at least started to. I'm actually working on a set for her, Hiccup, and Astrid so far, but yes. I've been also thinking about making one for Camicazi too, since I will also be seeing her before the month is out. The only problem is finding enough scales, and the right kind, to work with."

I was right too. Dragons don't shed scales terribly often, as such a complex structure takes a lot to grow, and with only the one Night Fury around constantly (me in my Fury form doesn't count, since I never ended up losing more than a scale or two every couple months), the best scales were scarce. By the time Cami and the rest of the Bog Burglars showed up, our little team on Berk had gotten a lot better at our fighting skills, but almost nowhere with the scale armor.

Cami actually ended up showing up on the day I finally managed to convince Ember to come to my house (turns out the portal itself is what freaked her out, but once she went through safely the first time, she calmed down a lot over the issue. It was also the day my whole family was gone due to one of Holly's weekend outings, so there were no other issues of concern), and it took the young warrior forever to finally track Hiccup, Astrid and I down.

"Down! Now spin, block, bring your sword up. Good! Now block, parry, thrust, slash!" "Okay, okay, I get it! You don't have to tell me every single move! Besides, the best way to learn is through trial and error!" Ember yelled at me as we squared off on the back deck. I grinned and shrugged in reply as I brought my sword to my side.

"Very well, then. Just don't say I didn't warn you!" I spun and lashed out in a fast arc with my own blunted practice sword, bringing it just down past her outstretched arm and around to the side of her neck. Before she could properly react, I brought the dull blade in a rocking motion across the side and front of her neck, ending with my arm across her chest and my sword at her throat. "I win."

I let up and stepped back, while Ember slumped to the deck in exhaustion and defeat. "Oh, well, I'm better with a bow and arrow anyway, or a spear. Why can't I just deal with those?" she complained. I sheathed the sword in my hand and took a seat on one of the benches at the end of the deck. "Because no matter how fast you are at reloading, sooner or later your enemy will end up at close range," I explained. "And it's really hard to accurately hit a guy who's within arm's length of you, and kill him, before he does the same to you. That's why you need to learn how to fight with handheld blades."

Ember groaned again and looked at the blunt sword in her hand. "Then what's your explanation for Hiccup?" I shrugged. "Well, for one his bow doesn't need to be reloaded and it's also capable of taking out a dozen targets at once. Second, he's got a dragon famous for being the most agile and, in terms of fire, most powerful in the world, and one that doesn't miss easily. Third, for all his fame for clumsiness and bad luck he's managed to have only two real close brushes with death, both unrelated to hand-to-hand combat, and still managed to pull through."

"You should be glad he's at the cove right now instead of here to hear you," Ember quipped. I turned and looked her straight in the eye. "Well, that aside, Hiccup is also getting training from Astrid and Stoick on top of the time he's spent with her and me over the past year or two. That's one reason why he's not here working with us right at this moment too, as he's also still learning the tricks of the trade when it comes to swords and knives."

"Until he gets kidnapped by sneaky, crazy, short little blonde princesses," a loud, somewhat nasally and recognizable voice echoed across the yard. Ember and I both jumped in surprise and whipped around to face the portal, me extending a Nadder's barbed tail instinctively and just in case. However, Hiccup was not in as much danger as I had first expected, so I sighed and started laughing as I took in the sight before us and retracted the appendage.

Hiccup was tied up from head to toe, and was being somewhat unceremoniously carried like a sack of flour on none other than Camicazi's shoulders. At seeing the look starting to surface underneath my mirth, the young heir gave me a defiant one of her own. "Hey, he refused to tell me where you were, so I took care of the roadblock," she explained defensively. She walked over to Ember and I and dropped her "cargo," cutting the ropes at the same time.

"So Toothless didn't have any issues with your tying up and carrying off his rider?" I asked still somewhat amusedly. Cami grinned. "Oh, he helped. Hey Astrid," she greeted as the other blonde warrior stepped out of my house. Then, her attention focused on Ember, and she put on a suspicious expression.

"So who's this? The new flame girl I heard my mom and Stoick talking about earlier?" Ember crossed her arms as her hair began glowing faintly. "Something wrong with that?" she returned measuredly. Cami shrugged almost tauntingly. "Maybe, depends. Were you the one who made me drag myself and my tribe all the way over to Berk to help with some war against a crazy witch queen?" A moment of tense silence passed before Ember gave a terse nod, her hands beginning to glow as well now.

Camicazi then grinned and extended her hand in friendly greeting. "Well congratulations then! Not often I manage to find someone capable of causing as much chaos as me, Hiccup and Hawken notwithstanding." At this, Ember lost her glow and donned a look of pure confusion instead.

I chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ember, I'd like you to officially meet Camicazi," I began, "one of the greatest masterminds there is when it comes to getting under people's skin." Cami made an exaggerated bow. "And always in the thick of all forms of mischief and mockery. Cami the Stealthy makes your acquaintance."

Ember finally grinned and took Cami's still outstretched hand. "Very well then, I guess I'll have to get used to another one of the motley crew Hawken and Hiccup call friends here," she replied, smiling. "I am Ember." They shook hands properly, before Cami turned to me.

"Anyway, we got the message from Stoick about the upcoming fight, but there wasn't too much detail. How bad is it?" I sighed and looked around, before motioning for them to follow me through the portal. Once on the other side, I motioned to sit down.

"Ember is hunted by an ancient queen hell-bent on basically destroying the world," I said flatly. There was a moment of awkward silence as Cami stared almost blankly at me.

"So," she finally said, "pretty bad then, huh?" We all nodded. "Her name is Jezebel," Ember explained. "She wants to end anything and everything that has even a remote tie to my homeland, Israel, and that includes me and, quite possibly now, Hawken."

Cami looked at me again. "So that's why us and the Meatheads got the 'invitation' you guys sent. At least it's going to be an interesting couple of months."

At this point Toothless and Stormfly emerged from the cove nearby. I nodded to both of them, and faced Cami again. "We called you guys here because we trust you the most," I said. "Plus, and don't take this too much to your head, but you, specifically, are one of the best fighters I know, and we're going to need the best of the best. For probably the month we have left, too, we need the best training we can possibly get as well. Jezebel has been around for I don't know how long, so we'll need everything we can get to bring her down."

Cami looked at Stormfly, who simply nodded with a slight sigh. "So, I guess then that this would be a really bad time to let you know that Stoick sent me out here for a reason too," she said. "He wants all of you, now, to discuss what to do with the Berserkers that are visiting in three days to discuss their treaty."

Hiccup's groan could be heard across the island, and the glower I put on could have fried anything in my line of sight.

A/N-Yes, we will be having a quick run-in with Dagur shortly, before we start the big war. So, what do you think, and what are your predictions? What's Dagur here for? What will happen? How big a fight do you think is coming up?

Also, somewhat unrelated but: who here has seen the new Jurassic World movie? What did you think of it? I ask partly because I quite enjoyed it and, for those of you who are dinosaur fans, make sure you stick around to Book 6; there are a couple big surprises to be found when we get there :)