Below a cloudless sky where dragons as big as a house and as fierce as a winter storm splashed in the arctic waters stood a freshly built Viking outpost, the likes of which the world had never seen. Where the typical outpost had practical, wooden houses built the way their fathers and their fathers and their fathers had always done it, Dragon's Edge—or simply, The Edge, as the Berkians liked to call it—had colorful, flamboyant huts, embellished to reflect each inhabitant's interests. Where ordinary outposts had dirt paths to get from place to place, the Edge had ziplines to whisk you around. Where traditional outposts had armories to defend against dragons, the Edge had cozy stables to shelter them. It was Hiccup's idea from inception to execution, a haven for dragons and dragon lovers alike. While most days he enjoyed exploring the nearby uncharted islands with the other five teens, on this particular day he had holed himself in his hut.
He wasn't hiding. Ever since he saved his village from the dragon menace known as the Red Death, no one questioned his bravery; he just appreciated having all his bones intact more than the average Viking. If everyone could forget what today was for just a few more hours, he'd be in the clear for another year.
And so, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III continued to pace around his worktable, his lanky frame barely casting a shadow in the afternoon sunlight. Every other step was punctuated by the clicking of his prosthetic foot along the wooden floorboards. After he lost his lower leg to the Red Death, Gobber the smith had made him a pegleg, but it didn't take long for Hiccup to rig up his own version, one fitted with a spring perfectly calibrated to match his organic foot, or at least as perfect as a metal foot could be. It had taken months to get used to the new foot, and most days there was pain in the stump just below his knee or in his hips or low back, but he'd learned to live with it.
Running his fingers through his wild brown hair, he returned to the workbench and considered the mechanical piece in front of him. "What am I missing?" He'd been working on a way to automatically reset their zipline, staring at the dozens of iterations until his eyes crossed, but even after nearly three weeks, nothing worked. Hiccup plopped down in his seat and began going over the designs again, completely unperturbed by the dragon crouching mere feet behind him.
Though not as flashy as a Monstrous Nightmare with its iconic red spikes or as intimidating as a two-headed Zippleback, every Viking in the Archipelago recognized the sleek black body of a Night Fury. The Night Fury. The only one in existence. The legendary offspring of Lightning and Death itself.
The Night Fury's slitted, green eyes darted back and forth between the two fire-spitting dragons on the Green below and the three equally unpredictable humans. With Astrid and Fishlegs still away and Hiccup working on his secret project, that left the three more chaotic members of the group unsupervised, and their incendiary antics were creeping nearer the huts. The Night Fury narrowed its eyes, but its floppy ears perked up when Hiccup spoke.
"Wait a second." Hiccup held up one of the diagrams and cocked his head to one side. His eyes shifted from the mechanics of Design Five to the balancing rig on Design Twelve. A smile burst across his face. "Toothless, I got it!"
The Night Fury, curled like an onyx python on the porch of the hut, lazily lifted its flat head and gave Hiccup a sidelong glance.
Hiccup smirked and rolled his eyes. "Wow, contain your excitement there."
Toothless did a surprisingly good job imitating his human's sarcasm in his own growls, then stretched leisurely, and padded over to the desk. As Hiccup scribbled notes in the margins of Design Five, Toothless sat down and looked over his shoulder, following the frantic pencil with the tip of his wide nose.
"You think she'll—Ah!" Hiccup dropped the pencil and reached down to scratch his left ankle. Haha, very funny, Loki. Apparently, even after three years the god of mischief found it hilarious to trick him into thinking his real foot was still there. Hiccup rolled his eyes. Then the red fabric strapped to Toothless's tail caught his attention, and he wondered if the dragon had similar sensations from the missing tail fin.
Hiccup shook his head and held up the new design. "You think she'll like it?"
Toothless cooed encouragingly, and Hiccup grinned. Though all of them would benefit from the newly improved zipline, Astrid used it the most. It was hard to impress the perfect girl, but this was a decent attempt.
"I can't believe I missed it. It's so simple. It's—" Hiccup froze as his periphery caught the yellow and red tint racing toward them. He glanced to the open doorway, and his smile fled. "—FIRE!" Toothless's wings flew up in an instant and wrapped around the boy just as the flames swept through the hut.
In a moment it was over. Hiccup crawled out from under the jet-black wings and dusted himself off. "Whew, thanks, Bud. Now, where were we?" The room was relatively unscathed, the wooden walls only mildly scorched, but all that remained of Designs Five and Twelve were a pair of charred parchments. Fire nibbled at the edge of one of them. The rest was completely unrecognizable. Hiccup groaned and let his forehead hit the floor. Three weeks.
He rolled his eyes and glared across the Green to where the culprits stood frozen. There were the twins, who were identical in almost every way: same lithe build, same devious minds. The only difference was the hair. Ruffnut kept her blonde locks in braids that looked like they would die before letting a brush touch them, whereas her brother Tuffnut's had left the fight entirely and remained in stubborn dreadlocks. Next to them, looking at the sky and rubbing one foot behind the other was a stocky, black-haired boy with his shirt cut just low enough to showcase the few emerging chest hairs. Even without the body language, Hiccup knew who was responsible.
Scrambling to his feet, he called, "Snotlout!"
"Why do you always assume it's me?" the dark-haired boy shouted back. "It could have been Barf and Belch."
"Oh sure," Tuffnut, the boy, grumbled. "Blame the two-headed dragon, will ya?"
"At least when Barf and Belch set something on fire," Ruffnut, the girl, added, "they do it on purpose."
Tuffnut noticed the faintest trail of smoke beginning to rise from the roof of the clubhouse. "Because, really, why wouldn't you want to set something on fire. Am I right, sister?"
"You are totally right, brother."
Hiccup rolled his eyes again. Why he put up with these mutton heads...
"Well, somebody has to clean that up," he asserted.
He was about to recreate his design from memory when two shadows passed overhead. Toothless gave a happy chortle. "Finally, they're back," Hiccup said. He jumped into Toothless's saddle, and the Night Fury glided down to the Green to meet the final two members of the Dragon Riders.
The Deadly Nadder had barely landed when her rider leapt out of the saddle, tossing her golden braid over her shoulder. Hiccup felt his heart thump a little faster. He had known Astrid his whole life, but the feeling never went away. She gave her dragon a scratch on the chin as Hiccup dismounted and approached.
"Thank Thor," he started. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take." He gestured as Ruffnut smashed a basket on Tuffnut's head and then was leg-swiped by Snotlout.
"Looks like business as usual," she said with a knowing smile. Then, elbowing him said, "How's the secret project coming."
"Oh!" he rubbed the back of his neck. "You know, it's not quite done yet. Had a few minor setbacks and—"
"Wait," she interrupted. "Why is there smoke coming from the—" She didn't even bother to finish her thought as she ran towards the taunting trail of smoke, dragging a protesting Snotlout with her.
"Yep, that would be one of the, umm...setbacks." Hiccup kicked the ground. You could just show her what you have so far, the optimistic side of him offered. Thankfully, Fishlegs was just sliding off his dragon—a rock-eating, lava-spewing, barrel-bellied Gronckle whom Fishlegs had trained to give hugs, a surprisingly effective battle tactic. The human and dragon were similar in every way, except for the rock-eating and lava-spewing parts.
"What took you so long?" Hiccup asked.
Tuffnut stumbled over, walking slightly less confidently due to the basket covering his eyes. "Yeah, we finished mapping our region hours ago," came the muffled voice.
Fishlegs's eyes sparkled. "Well, we stumbled upon only the greatest archeological site since the discovery of Lief the Lucky's tomb."
"History. Boring," said the basket. It began to wander away.
Fishlegs leaned toward Hiccup, cupping his mouth with his hand. "Loki's Triangle."
"WHAT? LOKI'S TRIANGLE!" The basket whirled around. "Sister! Do you hear that? The heart of our patron deity's escapades on earth!" Ruffnut ran up and, with some effort, managed to remove the basket from Tuffnut's head. "Dear Fishlegs," Tuffnut begged with folded hands, "you must take us there!"
Hiccup crossed his arms. "Loki's Triangle? How can you be sure? It's only a myth."
Fishlegs raised a finger authoritatively. "Yes, but a myth with surprisingly specific...specifics," he finished, his finger wilting ever so slightly. Hiccup cocked an eyebrow. The twins were enthralled.
"Like how no one who goes in ever returns?" said Tuffnut.
"Or if they do, they're raving mad?" chimed Ruffnut.
"Or that if you climb to the peak of the tallest mountain, there's a tiny yak that sings three whole verses of the Ballade of Ogar Ogreson?"
Ruffnut eyed her brother suspiciously. "Pretty sure you made up that last one."
"Guilty as charged," he admitted, throwing his hands in the air.
Fishlegs cleared his throat. "As I was saying." His voice dropped as if he were telling the story to children around a campfire. "According to tradition, marking the corners of the Triangle are sea stacks with mysterious runes marked on them. They aren't Viking, and no one knows where they came from." He let the words float into the ether.
"And..." Hiccup encouraged.
"Oh, that's all the myth says."
"That's not all!" Tuffnut interjected. "You left out the part where—" He raised a hand to the sky and spoke so loud the gods themselves would take notice. "—under the light of the full moon, the souls of those trapped within the Triangle return and—"
"All the relevant information," Fishlegs interrupted.
Tuffnut dropped his hand and the overdramatic tone. "Well, if you want to be Mr. Boring about it."
Astrid and Snotlout returned to the group still assembled on the Green. The smoke had turned from black to a harmless white.
Hiccup continued. "Fishlegs, that's great, but you still haven't explained why you think you found Loki's Triangle."
"Fishlegs!" Astrid yelled. "Not in front of the twins!"
Snotlout laughed. "You think you found the Doorway to Oblivion? Clearly you spent too much time in the sun today."
Ruffnut clenched her fists and towered over the small-minded Viking. "It's real, Snotlout."
"Prove it!"
It looked like they were about to brawl again when Fishlegs held up a piece of parchment. "Here! I made these notes while we were scouting."
The twins snatched the paper like it was the last sweet cake on Snoggletog morning, their faces so close it looked like they would actually eat it.
Hiccup gingerly plucked the parchment from the confounded twins. "Might I have a look?"
Toothless sat up on his hind legs to get a better view over Hiccup's shoulder. Aside from Hiccup, Fishlegs was the only one in the group with artistic skill and, therefore, reliable with maps. The sea stack he drew was distinct, to be sure. There were hundreds of sea stacks dotting the Archipelago, but Hiccup was certain he'd never seen one like that before. Next to the drawing were notes on the strange runes. Hiccup's mouth involuntarily curled into a smile. If there was one thing this group loved more than dragons, it was a mystery to solve, and this one might just be tantalizing enough to make everyone forget what day it was for good.
Half an hour later in the clubhouse, the teens had nearly finished scouring all the available reference materials.
Astrid closed a thick tome with a thud. "Nothing in The Book of Dragons."
"Or Bork's notes," Fishlegs added, straightening out the mess of leaflets.
"That's because you're looking in the wrong place," echoed a low voice from above. Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Astrid peered into the darkness. Even Snotlout paused from munching his apple to look up. A low squawk echoed.
In a blur of feathers and dreadlocks, a hen and a human tumbled from the ceiling. The other four teens looked on unimpressed as Tuffnut brushed himself off, smiled sheepishly, and placed a large leather book on the table as gently as if it were a baby bird. Cracks ran along the spine, and stains streaked the front of the otherwise featureless cover. Tuffnut flipped through the pages without even looking and slid it toward the others.
"This is what you're looking for."
The four leaned in.
Astrid was the first to break the silence. "We're looking for your journal?"
"Is that your mom getting you unstuck from the chimney?" Fishlegs said.
"What?!" Tuffnut spun the book around.
Ruffnut sauntered into the clubhouse, snickering. "No. That's me getting him stuck in the chimney. Hold your yaks. I've got the real book." Tuffnut huffed as his sister brought in another large leather book. "This is the first edition of The Complete Guide to Loki and His Numerous Illustrious Exploits," she explained, thumbing through the pages. "The Triangle should be right...there!" Everyone leaned in...and gasped. Hiccup placed Fishlegs's drawing next to the book. Under Ruffnut's finger was a drawing of the exact same sea stack.
"Okay, that's weird," Hiccup conceded.
"Yeah! We're going to Loki's Triangle!" The twins began dancing in a circle, chanting various things about triangles and Loki and awesomeness.
Astrid stood up. "No one is going to the Triangle."
"Even though it's real?" Ruffnut begged.
"Even though it's not real," Snotlout mumbled, taking another bite of apple.
"Real or not," Astrid continued, "it's way too dangerous. There was a lot of fog around the sea stack, the perfect place for Dragon Hunters to hide." The teens had only been exploring for a few weeks, but their dragon-loving ways had already made a few enemies. This new crew—the Dragon Hunters—weren't the smartest, but they had it out for the Riders. Even so, a find like Loki's Triangle was too exciting to pass up.
Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut all clasped their hands and looked pleadingly at Hiccup.
He sighed. "Astrid's right. We need to get a lay of the land—"
"Ocean," Snotlout corrected.
"Ocean, land, whatever, before looking into dangerous, mythological sites."
Tuffnut crossed his arms. "Whatever. I think you're just chicken." The hen clucked and ruffled her feathers. "Not like you," Tuffnut said, scooping her into his arms. "You know there's only one chicken for me."
Snotlout's eyes rolled, then narrowed. A devilish smile spread across his wide face like butter in a hot pan. "But that does remind me..."
Hiccup groaned, realizing the trap too late, and dropped his head into his hand. He had just passed up the perfect excuse to get everyone off Dragon's Edge and forget what today was. They didn't even have to have gone to the sea stack; he could have just let them fly around for a few hours. Drat his practicality!
Snotlout jumped up, threw his half-eaten apple on the ground, and pointed. "Hiccup Haddock! I challenge you to a duel!"
Hiccup raised one eye. "Seriously? We're still doing this?"
"What?" Tuffnut said. "Just because we live on an island by ourselves without our parents or the societal expectations that come therein DOES NOT excuse you from generations of tradition."
Fishlegs gasped and began wringing his hands. "The tradition where all the warriors in the tribe fight the chief in waiting in single combat?"
"Is there any other tradition Snotlout would be so excited about?" Hiccup grumbled under his breath.
"Come on, future chief," Snotlout goaded. "Let's see what you got!" The twins were already on their feet. Fishlegs shifted his gaze between the challenger and the challenged.
Astrid put her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You don't have to do this," she said quietly.
"If I don't do it now, they'll keep badgering me till I do," he said, dropping his hand. "Let's just get it over with."
The twins gave a triumphant shout. "To the boar pit!"