Alright, so after a little soul searching and an in depth look into where this story is going, I have decided to try and limit the number of horrible cliffhangers to a minimum. (However, the other types of cliffhangers are another story.) I didn't realize how connected some of you readers were with Angnir. I have a hard time doing so with OC characters, so I didn't think that you'd be as invested in him as apparently you guys were. So before I get started, a quick shout out to my form of inspiration this chapter and amazing person! I don't care if your writing skills are -1 or not, your power of inspiration is enough to topple even the most stubborn writer's block! P.S. You're awesome! That being said, please enjoy this chapter everyone!
Chaos. That was the best word to describe immediately after the attack began. Stoick reacted like he would any raid and started barking orders to coordinate a defense. "Get those catapults ready! Swing around to the docks! We've got to buy time!" Stoick took the time to cast one sorrowful glance at his son and Astrid before he made for the docks himself.
The sight of Astrid reaching out helplessly after her father and Hiccup holding her to him in desperation caused a smoldering rage to build within his chest. Angnir fought in many battles with him and did the Hofferson clan proud with his prowess. But more than that, he was a friend and fellow Viking under Stoick's leadership. The berserker tribe would pay dearly for taking him from them.
Seeing Toothless roaring in rage next to Hiccup and using his tail to help move the couple from out in the open, Stoick got an idea. Berk had dragons now, so why didn't they use them? The Berserkers surely wouldn't expect Vikings riding dragons to attack them before they even made it to the shore! Shoving his way down toward the docks, where most of his people had gathered, he shouted for all to hear. "Get on your dragons! We'll take the fight to them! Let none of their boots walk on Berk! Drown them in the ocean with their ships! Fly!" Stoick moved to the catapults and watched the people of Berk call out to their respective dragons.
Sure enough, flying reptiles filled the sky and descended into the docks, ready to be mounted. In only a few more seconds, his people were airborne and ready to fight. It was so smooth of a maneuver that Stoick beamed in pride. This was his village. These Vikings fought with him and they were very good at it as well. Those berserkers wouldn't know what hit them!
Stoick moved to help the catapults with firing at the ships. A few of them had been hit with the same weapon that carried Angnir away and it had almost crippled a fair size of their defenses. However, after taking only a few steps, he was stopped abruptly by a long wooden staff from the elder. Gothi stood a fair deal shorter than Stoick did, but she commanded the same presence as he did at times. This was one of them.
Gothi motioned at the boats and then motioned at Astrid and Hiccup, who had finally made their way to the forge. Stoick didn't understand the meaning she was trying to convey to him, so Gothi pointed at Toothless specifically, then back towards the boats and then shook her head. "You don't want the dragons fighting the ships? In case you haven't noticed, our defenses are being crippled as we speak. If we don't want a lot of Vikings getting hurt in combat, then we have to use the dragons." Stoick tried to explain his reasoning, but Gothi didn't budge, she shook her head again and put her staff down as if ending the conversation.
The ground lurched as if to punctuate her warning. A bastilla bolt had hit the ground near them and it was starting to make the chief nervous with how accurate the berserkers were being with them. He spared a quick glance at the incoming ships and the Berkians riding out to face them. His spirits rose as he saw the dragons begin to close in on the boats.
Stoick almost made a comment about how everything would be fine now that the dragons were helping, but his voice died in his throat as he saw a distant gleam being unraveled on each ship. "What the-?" He was suddenly interrupted with a deep and reverberating blast shook the air. Soon after, another followed. The loud sound confused Stoick for a moment, but dread soon crept into his spine as he realized what it was for.
The dragons and the Vikings riding atop them were all falling from the sky…
Hiccup was fighting a losing battle. Astrid was a mess and it was extremely hard to stop her from riding out to get her father back, especially when Hiccup wanted to do it himself. However, he had seen too many Vikings rush out in the heat of battle without a plan and get roasted alive before taking ten steps. After finally getting the girl of his dreams, he really didn't want to lose her to half-baked plans and berserkers.
Her furious punches into his stomach and sides made it difficult to restrain her and her angry and accusing words battered at his mind. The only saving grace that he could attribute his endurance to was the one thing that he finally appreciated getting from his father, stubbornness. Luckily, Toothless helped out and curled the both of them together with his tail.
Finally, Astrid paused to get her breath after yelling at him and that's when he struck. "You don't think I want to go after him too? He's my father now to!" Astrid stopped fully at that. Not wanting to stop, Hiccup continued. "Every fiber of my being wants to get him back! And we will! But we can't go flying in there without a plan! I don't want to-" Hiccup stopped as a huge noise rang out across the skies. Toothless whined and covered his ears.
Hiccup swung his head around to see where the noise was coming from when his heart fell to his feet. There, in the skies, was practically the whole village of berk. They were all on top of dragons and under any other circumstance, would fill his heart with glee. But not this time. This time, they were falling out of the sky, spinning violently out of control. So loud was the sound, it not only deafened and disoriented the dragons, but their riders as well. He could only watch as his people, his neighbors fell into the cold and unforgiving ocean below.
Astrid sucked in a sharp breath beside him, letting him know that she just saw it too. Wracking his brain, Hiccup tried to think of a way to save them, something to keep his friends safe. The ocean itself wouldn't kill them, but the boats sailing on top of it surely could. Glancing at Toothless, he crossed out the thought of using dragons, but upon further inspection, Toothless started getting angry, not disoriented. He could clearly tell where the noise was coming from and wanted to get rid of it. Hiccup wondered briefly why his friend wasn't affected by the noise, but then thought of all the times that Toothless himself shrieked just as loud when diving down for a well-placed plasma blast.
Not wasting time, Hiccup squeezed himself out of Toothless's tail and got into the saddle, clicking himself in. It was in the process of leaning forward for takeoff that he felt two arms encircle his waist. He looked behind him and saw Astrid behind him.
"Let's go." They were the only two words she gave him. They were simple and said with hardly any emotion. But he didn't have time to think about it, he had to act. His people were in danger. So, after nodding to her, he patted Toothless. "Come on, bud. Let's stop those ships." With a low rumble, Toothless pushed off the ground and leapt into the air as quick as he could.
Finally in the air, Hiccup saw that the periodic blasts of sound were coming from giant bells hung on the berserker's ships. "That's our target, bud. Let's take them out first!" Hiccup and Toothless worked flawlessly together. Whatever one wanted to do, the other would already know. Every other Viking needed to be trained to know when to respond to certain movements of their dragons while in the sky, but not Hiccup. It was instinctual. His body felt like it needed to move, so Hiccup just let it do so. That's just what he did now.
Cutting through the air, Toothless tightened up his muscles after a particularly harsh reverberation, then unleashed a plasma blast that silenced the particular bell that made him flinch forever. Smoke billowed off of the now flaming berserker ship and a new sound pierced the skies instead. Toothless shrieked and flew over the remaining ships, catching the last one with another blast at the bells.
Hiccup saw the terrified berserkers as they ran aboard the ship, grabbing crossbows and bolts, while swinging the bastilla around to target them. An idea hit Hiccup and he urged Toothless to fly lower to the ocean and turn back to the ships. "Keep your head down! I'm going to try something!" Hiccup yelled over his shoulder to Astrid, who tightened her hold around his stomach in response. When her head rested against his back, Hiccup went to work.
He saw all the bastilla swiveled at him and the berserkers lining the ships with crossbows, all trying to take him out. A small voice in the back of his head told him that he really needed to be the one behind Astrid, but he pushed that thought out of his head and urged Toothless to move faster. Sure enough, he blazed in between the lines of ships and watched as the berserkers shot at him in a panic, not realizing their mistake until it was too late.
Bastilla flew from one ship to another, crossbow bolts soared onto the deck of the ships, carrying destruction and mayhem with them. If the crews were panicking before, they were hysterical now. Unfortunately, in their panic, the ships that still had a perfectly functioning bell continuously rang out now. There were no periods of waiting and a silent preparation for the intensity of its volume. Toothless was slowing down and that could kill them. So Hiccup did his best to move him into the skies above.
Breaking free of the madness they had ensued below, Hiccup took in how many ships were left and what all was happening. Below him, 12 ships remained and they were getting incredibly close to Berk. There would be no way to stop all of them. Of the 12 ships, one was on fire and another was starting to sink as it was being pulled under the water by another ship that hit it with a bastilla bolt. The Berkians were all making their way to the shore, but most had forsaken their weapons and metal limbs in order to swim to safety. Even if they made it back to land before the berserkers did, they would be weaponless. Their dragons floated on the waters, still dazed and twitching in sync to the bells.
Hiccup had to save the people before the berserkers got to them on the shore, but he had no clue how. If he could get the dragons to get back into action, then Berk might still have a shot. But there was no way he could do that before they reached Berk. Astrid jerked him hard to the right, making him turn to see her. "Fly us over one of the boats! I've got an idea." Astrid urged him.
Well, he needed an idea. He wasn't coming up with one by himself, so he opted to trust her. He flew over one of the ships, then turned to her. "Now what?"
Astrid smiled and drew the sword that Hiccup had given her. "This!" After that, she swung her leg off of Toothless and dropped down towards the ship. Hiccup felt his heart jump in fear as he was caught totally off guard. He was flying just above the reach of a crossbow! She was going to get hurt! Toothless snapped into a dive and made to go after Astrid when both saw what she was doing. Once she had gotten close to the main sails, she used the sword to slow her descent.
Berserkers are supposed to be the fiercest and meanest tribe in the archipelago. But Astrid moved in between them like the wind. Getting to the platform near the back of the boat, she used one berserker's helmet as a stepping stone to leap onto the bell and cut it loose. Once it fell, Hiccup saw her land on top of it and wait for the berserkers to start charging after her. Once shock had passed from their minds, rage seemed to take over and they almost fought each other to see who could get to her first. Then, all she did was tip the bell over and let it roll down the deck at them.
The bell did its job and scattered the berserkers, but it did it a little too well. After falling off the platform and down the stairs, it crashed through the deck of the ship and out the bottom of the hull. Hiccup just sat there in total awe as Astrid took off running across the ship and grabbed a rope from the rigging before jumping across open water and swinging to the next ship. At that moment, Hiccup felt that marrying her was the bravest thing he had ever done.
Hiccup moved to go after her, but stopped. He had to trust her. If he didn't go to take out the bells now, then Berk didn't stand a chance. So, with a quick prayer to all the gods, Hiccup turned and flew to the front of the fleet.
Gothi shook like a sapling in a windstorm. Her small frame staggered to and fro as the world around her focused in and out. Her visions from the fire replaying in her mind, she saw all the signs of Berk's demise unravel in front of her.
The marriage ceremony had happened and then creatures came to swallow the two up. If not for the special prayers and charms that Gothi had placed on them during the ceremony, she was sure that it would have been the newly wedded couple that would have been taken off instead of the bride's father. Then, the townspeople were swallowed by the sea as in the visions.
Hiccup was doing his best to take out the bells that tolled at the coming of the berserkers. It was easy to see why Gothi saw shadow monsters earlier in her visions. Every berserker had black war paint all over their faces. Their eyes glowed with a hatred that was only surpassed by their love of battle. At the very front of the armada, a great ship carried the leader of the berserkers ever nearer to the vulnerable children of Berk. Dagur the Deranged stood a bit shorter than the rest of his kindred, but his hatred and bloodlust was more than enough to make up for his slightly shorter stature. Atop his head was a great helm with long horns rising into the air. It was no doubt that his coming was what Gothi had seen earlier.
Shaking her staff in one hand, she threw some of her herbs into the fire that was supposed to have roasted the boar for the wedded couple's feast. Instead, it called upon the gods to help her people in their time of need. Slowly, but with building force, the waves began to rock the ships to and fro, batting at their sides. Lighting rang out in the distance at the invocation started by Gothi. Her power had been sufficient for all these long decades, it would not fail her now. She did not know what power the gods had seen fit to grant her this time, but she had no doubt that it would be enough to stop the coming doom.
Gothi slowly calmed and steadied herself for what she was about to do. If she could make her way down to the docks before they landed, maybe she could stop the coming omen. It would surely mean her life, but what Viking would not gladly sacrifice themselves for their people? She called upon the gods and their miracles, so it would be an insult not to meet them when her time came. Her bones may very well litter the ground, but if it was just hers and her enemies, she would gladly go to sit in Valhalla and meet her old friends.
Gathering her staff in one hand, she nodded once before attempting to take one step. It was then that her world froze with an eerie chill. Something pressed against her shoulder and held her back from her martyrdom. The chilling freeze that seeped into her shoulder and erased all thought in her head threatened to freeze her solid. So complete was this chill that even her breathe seemed to freeze in the air. Finally, as if shattering the entire world around her and causing everything to move again, the pressure on her shoulder left and an equally cold voice spoke from behind her.
"Let a few old bones take that walk instead of you, elder." A single bone was dropped in the grass at her feet, with a small portion of blood coating the point.
Being a berserker is both the easiest and toughest type of warrior to be. Angnir found it extremely hard to force himself to go above and beyond the bloodlust that each and every Viking feels in battle. Earlier in life, it was easy to do. Go into a battle, get angry, get even angrier, and eventually you white out and wake up later that day surrounded by your fallen enemies. However, since then, it had changed.
The first time that Angnir accidentally killed a shield-brother in battle, it had nearly destroyed him with guilt. Ever since that day, he did his best to stop himself from getting that angry near his friends again. It had worked pretty well with only a few episodes when he was left alone and outnumbered did he actually cut loose and go berserk. He was the reason the Hofferson name was spoken with such reverence in the mead hall. It was due to his berserk battle prowess that he caught the eye of his wife. Shortly after, he had his daughter and he vowed not to go berserk again in fear that he would somehow hurt his family.
He broke that vow the day that his wife was killed in battle.
The raid had went horribly wrong and an ambush signaled with warning bells led to the entire group's death. Even with and arrow in his knee, seeing the pale and empty eyes of his wife had sent him into a rage that lasted for days. He didn't remember anything but holding her one moment in his arms, crying over her. Then the next thing he awoke to was a burning village around him with dead Vikings littering the ground. All around him, warriors, the elderly, women, and children all looked at him through dead eyes, as if asking him why. Why did he kill them? He had screamed and ran away from them in both horror and desolation.
He shut down after that. Trying to shield what little remained of his sanity, he did not feel anything. Whether it was the cold, the rain, or the raging sea, nothing fazed him. He was numb. After a week of travelling, he made it back to Berk and it was on the docks of his beloved home that he finally felt something. A small body collided with his legs, stopping his mechanical gait up the docks. Two spindly arms wrapped themselves around his legs and hot tears cascaded down his pants. His heart lurched once, then twice before he could not stop his knees from buckling and his arms from engulfing his daughter in a tight embrace. The sound of his child's cries brought him back from his pit of despair and healed his mind as his own tears mingled with hers that day.
From that moment on, he dedicated his life to her and only her. She had saved him from a fate worse than death and not even known it. So he buckled down and tried his best to be as good a father as she deserved. Teaching her everything he knew, except how to go berserk. If he could spare her that torture, he would gladly do so.
His thoughts were interrupted with the haunting sound of warning bells going off all around him that he awoke aboard a ship. His mind still in a fog of pain, both mental and physical, brought him back to the day he lost one of his most important people. Yelling filled the air, from all around him, men ran to and fro in a frenzy. Then, a guttural and pained roar filled the air and silenced everything else. It wasn't until all movement stopped that Angnir realized that the one screaming was him. Angnir Hofferson, the bloody berserker of Berk, was back…
This chapter was actually split into two parts, so this is a little shorter than I had hoped, but certain events had to be built up. Next chapter is going to get…hectic. I hope I answered a couple questions this time around. Someone asked me if Angnir came from the berserker tribe and about how he was so different from Astrid and I attempted to answer those in particular while giving a little insight to Angnir. I'll admit, I'm having trouble writing these recent chapters because of what I'm doing to him and Berk. I understand that a good storyline needs both ups and downs, but it is harder for me to write the downs than the ups. I guess I'll just have to work harder as a writer to provide you guys a better story, though. I am extremely appreciative of all the support that each and every one of you have given me and your thoughts really get me going. This chapter in particular was formed from a couple of your questions. I still have another chapter to go to finish out this particular sequence in the storyline, but bear with me a bit longer. So thanks again everyone, you're awesome!