Chapter 166

Hiccups POV:

For a few moments all I could see was darkness but I knew I was alive somehow before my view burst into multiple colors that shone like Avondale's fire. They circled around me as I watched and noticed shapes forming in the light with them taking different forms of silhouette that looked human in some cases but different in others. It was then a womans voice that seemed to send a wave through the lights said.

"Hello Hiccup Haddock."

"Hello, I'm guessing you're the ones who sent the message to me using the lights in the sky." The silhouettes heads moved as if they were nodding before a males voice said.

"Indeed Hiccup Haddock for we are the spirits who rule these lands of ice and are worshipped by those who call it home." I raised an eyebrow.

"There are people living among the ice?"

"Indeed there is with their own way of life that you may find interesting."

"I'll have to try and find them when I get back to my world but in the meantime could you tell me why you've brought me here." They all chuckled causing ripples in the light before a males voice said.

"You just saved not only our land but all the realms and expect to walk away unrewarded."

"So I'm here to be given rewards for saving the land." A female voice said.

"For saving our realm, destroying those horrible weapons the fire giants created and of course destroying the beasts who created that horrible weapon to begin with." The silhouettes nodded in agreement before a male voice said.

"And with them gone we may begin making repairs to the damage they have done to our land by restoring the ice that has melted, bringing back the fish who've fled looking for cooler waters or a way to escape the vibrations caused by the stake, return the animals who ran in fear or looking for a way to cool off and of course fill in the hole that stake was used to create." I nodded while smiling and saying.

"You clearly have a lot of work ahead of you." The voices chuckled before a males voice said.

"That we do so I believe it best we bestow upon him the gifts so we may get to work." There were murmurs of agreement. "Then let us begin." The silhouette seemed to grow as it moved forward but I saw this silhouette had a large nose. "I am Ek Chua the spirit god of merchants and cacao growers." I nodded. "This land of ours is icy and hard to traverse on foot as are most icy places so my gift for you is something that shall make exploring them easier." The lights shone before a sleigh was pushed out. "This sleigh has multiple abilities but they are things you shall have to figure out for yourself." Before I could reply or examine the sleigh another silhouette came forwards and said in a woman's voice.

"I am Sedna, spirit goddess of the sea and the creatures of the sea." I nodded. "I have spoken with Ek Chua about his gift and how it requires something to pull it which is where my gift comes in." A large creature walked out of the light, which looked to be a killer whale, but it had four strong legs. "This creature is an akhlut, a fierce and powerful creature of both land and sea." I nodded as the Akhlut circled around me. "This one however has been tamed and trained to act as not only your sled dog but also a loyal companion." It was then the akhlut walked up to my left side and nuzzled my side making me smile and raise my prosthetic before placing it on its head gently rubbing it making it let out a satisfied sound and lean into my touch as the spirits chuckled while another silhouette came forward.

"I am Tekkeitsertok spirit god of the Earth and for your remaining gifts, they can be found in this final gift I present to you." A crystal piece floated out of the light and saw that the piece was a light blue that was so light it was almost white in color. "This new piece for your island holds more gifts for you Hiccup but also a home for your Winters wing and that Crimson Fire dragon as we all feel it better that this beast be under your command and out of our land." I chuckled at that last bit. "Also in the time you have been unconscious with aid of the dwarves we were able to construct something that now rests on your wolfs collar absorbing the excess power from him but rest assured it is not harming him." I nodded. "And now as a final gift we bestow upon you our blessing followed by you returning home."

The lights closed in on me and then my vision before it cleared and I found myself standing back in the middle of the crater with all my gifts from the gods while my prosthetic had a new marking under the other blessing. I looked around and saw my dragons were all sleeping around Adal who was also asleep while my winter's wing and the Crimson Fire dragon were curled up around the edges of the crater. I smiled and knew I shouldn't wake them since it seemed to be late and chose this time to examine some of the gifts I was given but first I needed to take care of the akhlut who was staring at me expectantly. I smiled and walked up to him before petting his head as I whispered.

"Make yourself comfortable big guy but try to keep quiet since the last thing we need is to wake any sleeping dragons since I can tell you that it leads to a not so pleasant experience." The akhlut nodded before lying down on the snow bank before I turned to the other gifts I received. "Time for a better look."

I started out by examining the sleigh and saw the shape of the sleigh looked like a small dinghy since it has the same shape design of a small rowboat and was almost the same size as one. It was also silverish white in color with golden trim on the edge of the walls and sides with golden skis with a wooden inside. At the front there was an opening on either side allowing me to enter the sleigh and at the front of these openings was a small bench that reached from one end to the other. Right behind the openings there was another bench seat and behind it right at the back of the sleigh was another bench with red cushions. (AN: I'll put the image I'm using on my pinterest page soon.) I then looked down at the new island piece that was still in my hand and knew that exploring it was definitely something I was going to look forward to. I then looked around the edges of the crater at the giant dragons and knew keeping them both in line was going to be a difficult task with their species being natural enemies. Honestly I still had trouble with Ships Bane and Tephra occasionally breaking out in fights that either the alphas or I had to break up and they'd been together for years. For now though I needed to tend to my gifts from the gods and check up on my dragons to make sure they weren't hurt in the battle.

Nine days later

It's been nine days since my meeting with the gods and in that time not much has happened since I'd spent one day of that time playing my calming flute in order to keep the two alpha class dragons from killing each other. I knew it would take a lot of training to just make it possible for them to be able to share the same island without fighting each other every day. After they were finally calmed down enough to listen to me I pointed out that they had quite a bit in common concerning their paths. I pointed out that they were both brought here against their own free wills, forced to be slaves for giants determined to use them to achieve their own goals, they'd both suffered at the hands of others and now they both wanted a place where they'd be able to live their lives safely and in peace. After that I was able to train the Crimson Fire dragon but it took two days of non-stop talking, showing him I wasn't an enemy, playing my flute and lots of neck scratches. Now he was tamed and had been given the name Volcanus since he had the power and heat of a volcano.

Besides that I'd also checked out the gift left for me on Adal's collar which took the form of a small palm sized talisman that looked like a circle shaped piece of dark blue ice with the side of a white wolfs head on it with the ice surrounded by a greenish blue metal. Pointing into the ice on the top and bottom were wolf claws tied down with brown leather while on top of it pointing were three ice blue blades with silver lining. Around the pendants top and sides was white fur like a cape or pelt and at the bottom were small light blue icicles around the wolf claws. Finally dangling between the icicles and teeth were three small pieces of wood that at the end had square shaped rings in the bottom and dangling from these rings were tufts of brown fur. (AN: Picture will be up soon.) As I turned the talisman around in my hand it began to glow surprising me but not as surprising as when my arm began to freeze and the ice spread up until it covered my entire body. For a second I couldn't move within the ice before it shattered and I found myself once again in the wolf armor I wore when I took on the fire giants. I then began trying out a few things like how to get it off and found it shattered like ice when I wanted it off leaving me in what I was originally wearing except the talisman was now below my sash, on my belt acting as a belt buckle. I knew I'd have to try this out when I got home with some of my spare armor to see if it would shatter to since if it did I'd have to save the armor for trips where I knew it'd be arctic cold.

After that I'd taken to wearing the armor full time knowing it was comfortable to wear in the colder regions and had the feeling I'd need it in the future. Now that I had time and didn't have to worry about anything I was able to run a few tests on the armor's capabilities and was impressed with a few of them. For starters the wolf head shaped hood would fold back exposing my face with a mere thought while the boots had spikes on the bottoms that extended when they hit the icy ground allowing me to get a better grip and avoid slipping. It also enhanced my hearing ability so I could hear things as well as a wolf which is something I knew would come in handy during blizzards. Along with this the cape could be removed and used as a blanket for those who need it in case I come across anyone lost in the snow. I learnt that like Adal I could let out a howl of my own that resembled that of a thunderdrum that was nowhere near as powerful as one from Adal but stronger than a thunderdrums so in between the two. Finally I also discovered by focusing I could actually control the ice making it take shapes, float and then be thrust, pushed or thrown forward against opponents. I knew this ability would be helpful in future battles that come in icy terrains and but I hoped the enemies I face in those times are human and not some form of mystical beast bent on destroying all life.

Then there's the akhlut who was now named Hubbard, which means mountain because of his strength, and abilities, had bonded well with my dragons and Adal even if things started out rough with Hubbardgrowling at them whenever they got close to him or me. I couldn't fault him for being so vicious since it was just him following his instincts to be aggressive and protective but after a few tunes on my calming flute and assuring him everything was alright he was able to calm down around the others and remain calm. After that I was comfortable taking out my sleigh for a trip to see it's capabilities and to say I was surprised with what it was able to do would be a major understatement considering this sleigh had abilities I couldn't even imagine.

When I first sat down on the front seat the floor opened with a palm sized ball that looked like it had a small blizzard in it floated out of the opening. I placed my hands on it my real hand got pricked before the inside turned red and sunk back into the sleigh and I felt a connection to the sleigh like the one I had to my travelling scorpion. After that Hubbardran up to the front of it before leather bridles shot out of the front of it and wrapped around Hubbardneck, front legs and torso forming a harness that were connected to stirrups that formed in my hand. After that we took off on a trip around the snow filled crater so I could test out what it could do and I was not disappointed with its abilities.

To begin with it was pretty fast but not as fast as Toothless at full speed when Hubbardran at full speed and knew when I was travelling cold terrain it would be helpful. For defense or attacking abilities two ice spears could thrust out of the side to stab anything trying to get at us from the sides so it would come in handy. Then there was much to my surprise the secret compartment built into the sleighs backside that would open up and drop one of two things which was either sharp ice crystals that would stab anything that steps on them or explosive crystal balls that could be used to destroy bridges. An attack feature I discovered that the sides on the back could open up pushing out a single crossbow from either side that would launch icicles at whatever I was attacking. One of the things I knew would be most useful was a storage space I found between the front and middle seat that was small on the outside but the inside was big as a catastrophic quaken. Finally like my travelling scorpion it could shrink down and be stored in my prosthetic along with the other things I normally carry in it.

Along with all of this I'd been doing a little excavation around the crater to make sure that every piece of those horrible weapons were destroyed. While searching for any remaining pieces I found a chunk of one of the rubies that was on Surtr's belt that was the size of my head and seemed to have a raging fire inside it. I put that piece in my sleigh's storage compartment so I could put it in the trophy room when I got back as a reminder of this battle. For shelter I'd been using tent for shelter and using my wedding ring to keep in contact with Blanca everyday since I missed being able to embrace her when I slept.

Now I was on my ship making my way back to the island in my sailing armor with my leather vest on top of it, beneath my grootslang coat. We'd been travelling for five days for home and would've been home sooner but my winters wing and Volcanushad to keep landing to rest since their wings were strong but their bodies were heavy even for them. Now after all this time that may have only been a few days for me but felt almost like an eternity to me my island was in sight and with it came the feeling of joy at seeing Blanca again. I know some people may call me a lovesick idiot but the truth is I just love my wife and was looking forward to holding her in my arms again.

As we got closer I felt my heart pumping harder as I willed my ship to go faster and faster knowing the sweet snake I called my wife was there waiting for me. When we approached the dock I smiled at the sight of Blanca standing there alongside some of my dragons and animals while my winters wing and Volcanusflew off and while my winters wing flew to his nest, Volcanusbegan circling the island most likely looking for a place to nest. I watched him begin circling and sighed while hoping the new island piece had a place for him to call his own so he'd be comfortable here on the island. I smiled as we docked and dropped the gangplank before walking down and embracing Blanca who was happy to return my embrace. When we pulled away I held onto her with my prosthetic arm and gently caressed her face with my real hand as I said.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you Blanca." She giggled.

"You've only been gone a few days and we talked everyday including this morning."

"I know but talking to you through our wedding rings is nothing compared to actually being able to embrace your physical form in my arms." I then leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on her lips, which she returned until I pulled away.

"I understand the feeling." She closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into my hand. "At night I still have trouble falling asleep without being able to cuddle you." I chuckled.

"You just miss having your favorite pillow around don't you?" She just giggled.

"Maybe."

"Well I better start unloading everything before setting up the new island piece."

"I forgot you were given a new section for the island." It was then Hubbard ran onto my ships deck and jumped over the railing and onto the dock before jumping off and into the water. "I take it that was your new akhult." I nodded.

"That's Hubbard, sorry about him but he's been getting a little stare crazy on the ship." She nodded as she smiled.

"Either way I'm looking forward to getting to know him." I smiled at her before turning to the volcano where the statue of Toothless was.

"Before you can do that Blanca, I believe it best we set up his new home first." I reached into my grootslang coat as my spider pack handed me the island piece. "And I have a funny feeling his new home is in this new island section." She gently turned my head back to her face to show me her gentle smile.

"Then let's not wait, let's go put the new piece in place and see what it gives the island." I smiled and nodded as Toothless ran onto the deck and nuzzled Blanca who giggled and rubbed his head. "I'm happy to see you to Toothless." I pulled him off Blanca.

"Alright bud, we can get the nuzzles out of the way later since for now we better get the new island piece in place before Volcanus gets dizzy from flying laps around the island."

He crooned and tilted his head but I just chuckled and helped Blanca onto his saddle before I joined her and we were off to the volcano. Getting to the volcano only took a minute and when we arrived I smiled at the sight of the volcano with the statue of Toothless on top of it. We came to land a few feet away from the statue before I dismounted Toothless and helped Blanca dismount him but never letting go of her hand as we walked up to the statue. I pulled out the piece and watched as the crystal model of the island rose up from the ground before the new island piece was pulled out of my hand and slid into place where my winters wing had set up his nest. Soon as the piece sunk in we felt the familiar shaking of the ground and walked to the volcanoes edge to watch the new island section rise out. From where we stood it looked as if the land was pure white with a small green patch in it along with a small mountain but using my eagle eye with the eye of the dragon I saw it was covered in ice and snow but the green part was a small grove of trees. I turned to Blanca who smiled at me as I said.

"I believe I now have a place for my cold loving dragons to call their own which is not my winters wings ice nest that gets destroyed once a week."

"Well then why don't we go explore this new piece of the island?" I smiled at her.

"With you my dear, I can't think of a better way to spend my day." She giggled before we mounted Toothless and took off.

Nightfall

Today had been a pretty interesting one with the exploration of the new island section with Blanca using the sleigh pulled by Hubbard who was happy to join us on our exploration, as were my dragons that thrived in the cold. The first place we traveled to was the grove where we discovered pine trees with a small clearing in the middle of the grove but it was what was in the center of the grove that caught our attention. In the center of the grave was a giant clear crystal the size of my father surrounded by smaller crystals that were my size forming a circle around it on the edge of the grove. What surprised me though was when I walked into the circle the crystals circling the big one lit up before shining light into the giant crystal in the center. For a second the crystal just glowed before multiple lights burst from the top of the crystal and into the sky giving Blanca and I an amazing show that looked like arvendales fire but in multiple colors making a magnificent thing to watch. Seeing that image in the sky we just laid down in the grass and enjoyed the show for an hour since it was relaxing and felt good to just enjoy the silence with the woman I'm happy to call wife.

After that we went to check out the small mountain and discovered a cave in the side facing away from the volcano and facing the ocean. When we went in we discovered it to actually be a tunnel entrance, which lead to a huge underground cavern with a mote of lava surrounding a giant stone platform. Surrounding this platform against the sides of the cavern were multiple large platforms with caves behind some giving it the feeling of a dragons nest. What surprised me more was there a large tunnel on the opposite side of the cavern that I'm not sure went where until we explored it. When we reached the end we found ourselves looking out at the ocean and it was at that moment I realized what this place was. It was a nest for Volcanus and after showing it to him I knew he liked it if how he immediately flying in and curling up on the platform was anything to go by. After that we left him to rest and settle into his new home knowing he'd need some time to get comfortable as Midgard was nothing like his original realm. We went on about our day after that letting the rest of the islands inhabitants know I was back with them all welcoming me back and asking me about my trip. I did take some time to put the ruby in the trophy room on a pedestal as a reminder of my latest adventure and how close I was to being destroyed along with all the other realms.

Now I was in bed with no clothes while holding Blanca who was equally as undressed as me due to our recent bedroom activity that my wife began to welcome me back and let me know she was happy to have me back. As I lay there holding my sweet Blanca I couldn't help but wonder what the future holds since I was hoping for some peace and quiet so I could actually enjoy some down time on my island. Honestly all I wanted now was to just settle into my normal routine and help out my islands new residents settle in while also mastering my new armors abilities. Some how I doubt it would be that simple though since as I've learnt from past experience things are never that simple for me. I looked down at Blanca's sleeping form and smiled knowing for now I could at least enjoy some peace here in bed with my wife. With these thoughts in mind I closed my eyes and drifted off into slumber.

Morning

My morning so far had been pretty nice with it starting off with my regular morning stretches followed by a warm bath to help my body wake up. My morning then continued with a delicious breakfast prepared by Blanca and enjoyed by the both of us along with my sister-in-law Verta who was curious about what happened to me on my latest expedition. Now I was mounted on Toothless wearing my regular armor with my leather chest plate, grootslang coat, third arm sash, ox flame boots and wolf armor belt buckle. Blanca was behind me holding onto my back as we flew across the sky towards the island of Berk where I'd once again need to face my parents and the people who'd no doubt want to know what's been going on with my latest trip.

I internally groaned knowing I was going to have to deal with a lot of back slaps, praise and congratulations since I did just save all the nine realms. I always had to deal with this kind of praise whenever I got back from a long trip in which I had to deal with some mighty beast or enemy. It's not that I don't appreciate the praise for it since when I was a kid it was all I wanted for my work but only got a simple nod of thanks and that was if I was lucky and the person was in a good mood so it rarely happened. The problem is I could always see the ulterior motives to their praise which was often them hoping to get into get into my good books and with it gain some perks such as access to my island and its resources, being able to strike better deals in the bazaar, be able to come with me to places I've been and other such things. I knew the main thing the majority wanted was access to my dragons' nest so they could find and train their own dragons to help them out on their daily lives. I couldn't blame them though since I had been seen using them around the village to help out with various jobs for a while now and they saw how much easier life was with them.

I was brought out of my thoughts when we began to fly over the village and let out a sigh knowing that this latest adventure was without a doubt going to gain me a mess of attention. The fire giants alone were one of the most feared races in the nine realms and Surtr was known to be one of the most powerful beings around. When everyone finds out how I not only saved Midgard but the entire world tree it was going to be a nightmare but the people whose reaction I feared most is my parents. My parents didn't like the thought of me going up against normal bandits or small fry monsters, I can only imagine their reaction when they found out I went up against not just the fire giants but their leader, Surtr who was considered the Odin of the fire giants by some. Hopefully my mom won't try to squeeze the life out of me with one of her hugs again like she often did when I return from fighting a dangerous foe.

We came to land in front of the steps of the great hall and I took a breath as I closed my eyes and looked down to try and calm my nerves but was brought out of my thoughts when I felt a familiar hand caress my face. I turned to face Blanca who looked at me in concerned look as she asked.

"Nervous about the reaction of your people." I nodded.

"I am but not as much as how humiliating my parents reaction will be." She giggled.

"I know but don't worry, they'll calm down eventually."

"I have the feeling it won't be that easy this time Blanca, since growing up some kids are told that if they don't behave Surtr will come for them." I let out a sigh. "Vikings have been raised to believe him to be one of the most fearsome beings in the nine realms and when my parents found out I not only got captured by him but faced him they'll-" She put a finger to my lips.

"Be proud to find out how you didn't let fear control you and that you were able to rid the nine realms of him." She lowered the finger and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Things will be fine Hiccup, just try to keep your usual level head and endure your parents complaints." I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"You always know exactly what I need to hear Blanca." She giggled.

"I'm your wife, it's my job to know how to calm you." She then leaned in. "And of course to do this." She leaned in fully as I leaned in and shared a deep yet gentle kiss and at that moment I felt like nothing could go wrong but sadly our moment was ended when a familiar voice said.

"Oy, can't ya smooch your wife on your own island in your house lad." We pulled away and turned to see Gobber looking at us as Blanca blushed while looking down in embarrassment as I glared.

"Thanks for killing the mood Gobber."

"Well what do you expect when you're busy kissing your wife at the bottom of the Great Halls steps when people are going up for lunch." I sighed in annoyance.

"Well forgive me for wanting to enjoy a little time with my wife and my wish to be calm before I tell the village about me going up against the fire giants including their leader Surtr." He stared at me as if he'd been slapped as all color left his face.

"Did you just say Surtr, king of the fire giants?" I nodded before he grabbed me and pulled me close to his face to the point I could feel his breath as he looked into my eyes including the covered one. "LAD WHAT IN THE NAME OF ODIN DID YOU DO ON YOUR TRIP?" I pushed him off me.

"Let's get to the great hall and I'll show you with everybody else Gobber." I then walked back to Blanca's side and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Now let's head up and get this madness over with." They both nodded and headed up.

AN: Hey all I know this chapter wasn't so exciting but I was running low on ideas and needed to get the gifts out of the way. Now as you all know Valentines Day is coming up and so getting into the spirit of things I'm going to make the next chapters involve some romance. Among them I'm thinkingone of them being the one where Hiccup finally starts his relationship with Astrid. I'm not sure though but if you want to see it finally happen send me a PM or write it in your review but please remember to review kindly. With all this said have a great week, remember to review and above all, STAY SAFE during these times.