I neither own nor claim any rights to How To Train Your Dragon

Well folks, here I am again, starting another story while I still have other stories that have gone unfinished. A little news on that front. I am cancelling the remainder of Ripple in Time. I started it far enough in advance of HTTYD3 that it was realistic to assume that I would finish before we got an official answer to the question of "Why are there no dragons on Earth?" But unfortunately, Real life happened, and I found myself with less and less time to write fan fiction, though I have tossed in a few items like "Valka's Journal," and "Jarin and Tarina." Valka's Journal is a topic-centric contribution more than an actual story. I first wanted to deal with Valka getting acquainted with Hiccup's friends, and a dragon-friendly Berk. If I get ideas for other topics, I'll add to the collection. Jarin And Tarina is the continuation of my original character's story arc from his point of view as he helps his wife run their village by leading its new dragon academy. There are a lot of potential stories to be told within that continuity, but aside from the multi-chapter intro, I will likely give them each a single chapter that has a beginning and ending.

But Ripple in Time is going to be canceled. I will make a final addition to it at some point, so at least anyone with any interest in it will know how I had planned to end it.

So what is this new story I am starting? It begins right after the big goodbye in "The Hidden World." Hiccup and the citizens of New Berk face the challenge of building their settlement and re-adapting to a dragonless lifestyle, and the challenge of persuading their allies to do the same. And at the same time, Toothless and his draconian subjects from Old Berk begin making The Hidden World their home. But the arrival of so many dragons that smell so strongly of human, loyalties among the pre-existing population quickly become divided. Just who is this Night Fury newcomer, really? And by what right does he presume to lead them all? Dragon-kind has its own societal challenges.

Vikings and Dragons may now be separated from each other, but neither of their stories are over.

So, let's get to it, shall we?

WORLDS APART
A Story of Vikings and Dragons

Chapter One

Hiccup, supported by his beloved Astrid, stood gazing at the horizon long after the last of Berk's dragons had become nothing but unidentifiable dots in the sky, far beyond his, and hopefully any other Viking's reach. He knew he had made the right decision, and yet he could not remember ever having felt as empty as he did in this very moment. Toothless was gone. The first person, Yes, he thought, Person, because he is so much more than some dumb animal, to give him any semblance of hope for his future or sense of purpose, was gone. Unbidden, the tears came as his Soul-bound dragon companion's absence washed over him in truth, like an unending flood of hopelessness and despair. It was a lucky thing that he had no prosthetic leg on, because in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to run straight for the cliff and leap to what he hoped was a quick watery death.

"What now," he cried. "Where do we go from here? And how do we get there?"

Astrid eased him down to a sitting position in the grass and then sat down as well, facing him. She reached out and gently rested her hand on his cheek. "We go forward," she said, voice heavy with emotion, and tears flowing from her eyes as well, "And we will get there as we have always ever gotten anywhere else." She looked directly into Hiccup's eyes. "Together."

Hiccup shook his head and reached out to pull Astrid into a tender embrace. And holding each other close, they both mourned the absence of their dragons.

Vikings did not typically shed tears openly for all the world to see, but at this moment, nobody gathered in the field overlooking the cliffs of New Berk cared. If their chief and his betrothed were willing to let fall their tears, that was good enough for them. There was not a dry eye among the gathered citizens of what they were determined would become New Berk, and just as Hiccup and Astrid did, they all mourned the absence of friends they thought would be with them for life.

Most of them remained there until there were no more tears to fall, and the stars were all sparkling like diamonds in the night. As time would pass, this day would become known in their society as "The Day of Tears," though their descendants would eventually forget the reason why. But for as long as anyone from this gathering remained alive, it would become a yearly tradition to gather on this spot, gaze into the horrizon, and mourn anew for the absence of dragons, as well as for the loss of any among their number whom the Valkyries would have taken to Valhalla during that year. Ultimately, the latter remembrance would become the tradition.

Eventually, hunger and cold began drawing the people away from the field and back to the collection of tents and supply stands that was the basis of the settlement that would grow around it. Among the first to leave the field were several of the village women, and they had done so for two purposes. The first being that they needed to see to it that the people would be fed, and the second being that they needed to do something to get their grief under control. By the time the rest of the people returned, the torches had already been lit, and food had very nearly been completely cooked. And just a short while later, everyone was enjoying a bowl of hot vegetable stew, seasoned with wild onions that had been discovered growing almost everywhere on this new island. While the food was delicious and filling, everyone ate in silence, not wanting to say anything for fear that it would open the emotional floodgates anew.

Eventually, everyone began looking in Hiccup's direction, and he was doing his best to avoid eye contact. I did this, he thought to himself. I helped them discover the greatest gift they could possibly imagine, and then I took it away from them.

"You need to make a speech, Hiccup," Astrid said, resting her arm around his shoulders. "They need a little hope right now."

Hiccup reached up and took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Them and me both."

Astrid chuckled at his sarcasm, but the mirth was short-lived as the sadness washed over her again. I will not cry again, she scolded herself. I won't. And she didn't. Not because she wouldn't, but because she couldn't. There were simply no tears left for this day. But the days ahead, she was sure, would be filled with grief.

Hiccup stood to his feet and all eyes turned to him. He cleared his throat and spoke with a voice that was just as strained by grief as everyone else's. "People of Berk," he said. "Before I say anything else, I want to tell you all that I am so sorry." He looked around the room and saw pain in everyone's eyes, but not anger.

"When we left our home of more than three hundred years behind, we were headed to the Hidden World," stated the chief. "I had believed that it was to be a safe haven for all our dragons, and for those who loved them." He shook his head. "Astrid and I have seen it with our own eyes. We saw Toothless and his Light Fury mate standing in leadership of all dragons living there. Even Drago Bludvist's bewilderbeast bowed before him, and that gives you an idea of how truly vast the place is. I thought that surely there was more than enough room for dragons and humans to live down there in peace."

The people began to murmur at this. "Why couldn't we?" came Spitelout's grief-strained shout.

Hiccup nodded in acknowledgement of the question. "A dragon discovered us and attacked. Once our presence was revealed, the entire place went into an uproar, and many dragons immediately charged. Not with an intent to scare us off, but with a clear intent to kill us. In the face of that level of determination on there part, not a single one of my dragon-pacifying skills would have worked. If it were not for Toothless, we would be dead."

Spitelout bowed his head. He wanted to argue, but over the years he had seen the things Hiccup could do with wild dragons. But they were always done with single, or small groups of dragons. Never with a horde the size his chief seemed to imply.

"The Hidden World is their world," continued Hiccup. "We can never enter it. Our dragons are safe there now. That is the only comfort I can speak. No force of human kind can reach them. And from what I saw, thriving down there will not be difficult. So we accomplished at least part of what we set out to do. The most important part."

The people began murmuring agreements and nodding. The separation frm their dragons would be difficult, but for the first time since the end of the Dragon-Viking war, the dragons were truly safe and protected. They would never know cruelty or war again.

"And what of us?" This from Gobber who had been standing silently among the people. "Where do we go from here?"

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a knowing look.

"I recently asked Astrid the same thing." he took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles. "And the answer she gave me, I now give to you all. We go forward, and we will get there the same way as we have ever gotten anywhere." He paused and looked the crowd over. "TOGETHER" he shouted.

The crowd erupted in applause and cheers of "together." Their sorrow was not forgotten. But this was only a new beginning, one of many the people of Old Berk had embarked upon for over seven generations. And now the people of New Berk would embark upon their latest new beginning, unified, strong, stubborn and determined.

O O O

As the dragon flew, even the slowest among them, the journey to the Hidden World was measured in minutes rather than hours. There was something to be said about being able to travel in a straight line with no storms or other obstacles along the way. But even so, every dragon but two in the massive flock kept looking back the way they came with longing and a feeling of guilt at having abandoned their two-legged friends, or at least the humans who had welcomed them and had given them sanctuary. And yet. the Alpha said follow, so they followed. It was not their place to question why.

The two dragons who did not look back were the two all the others followed. The Alpha and his mate.

"Why do you not look back," asked Starfire, the one the humans called Light Fury, to her amusement.

Toothless said nothing, and if there was any reaction from him, it was to look even straighter ahead than he was before, which would not have seemed possible to any casual observer, human or dragon.

"Darkwing, please talk to me. I only want to understand what you are feel-"

"My name is Toothless," The black dragon interrupted curtly, but not coldly. "I gave up that other name when Hiccup saved me and gave me new hope."

Starfire scoffed. "You mean when he knocked you out of the sky, robbed you of your flight, and tamed you," she admonished.

Toothless didn't give into the anger that was beginning to well up within him at her words. She had not had the same experiences with humans as he had. She had only know cruelty from them, while he had experienced sympathy, and had even witness a society change from hatred to trust and compassion towards dragons. All because of one young Viking who decided to seek a different path. "No, Starfire," he replied calmly. "I mean when he took responsibility for what he did, and then proceeded to do everything in his power to fix it. Did you know that the price for what he was doing for me was to be disowned by his own kind with the strong likelihood of being cast out? A dragon would rather die than face isolation like that, and yet he embraced the risk for the sake of what he had never known before: Friendship."

Starfire's eyes widened at this. Up until this very moment, all she had was a very condensed version of what had brought a Night Fury to allow a human to ride him. She had assumed that the scrawny Viking leader had claimed him as some sort of prized pet. "So that is why he let go of me after telling me to save you." her voice was tight. "He was willing to die if it meant you could live. I guess he didn't realize that I could save both of you."

Toothless chuckled. "If our roles were reversed, and they have been before, I would do the same for him."

"You make him sound like a dragon in a way," she said.

Toothless smiled. "His mother said on more than one occasion that he has the heart of a Viking chief, and the soul of a dragon. So in the most important way, he is a dragon."

Starfire was silent for a moment. "So then, why don't you look back like the others?"

Toothless' ear plates dropped, and he sighed. "Because if I did, I know that there woule be no force in this world that would stop me from turning around and flying back to him."

Starfire's eyes narrowed. "Not even me?"

Toothless didn't reply.

Starfire grunted, spit out a plasma blast which she flew into and vanished. She needed time to process what she had just learned, and nothing helped her think better than an unseen flight.

Toothless watched her disappear and sighed. He wished he could explain how strong the bond between a dragon and his or her human was. But words fall drastically short, concerning matters of the soul. He was still soul-bound to Hiccup, and he always would be. That was how the Creator Of All had made it, and there was no going against His infinite wisdom. The bond was so strong that even if he were blind, he could fly straight back to his human and land right in front of him. In fact, it pulled at him, urging him to do exactly that.

But he couldn't. He was the Alpha of this entire flock, and quite possibly the entire population of the Hidden World. He didn't ask for it. But the Creator Of All had granted him immeasurable power when he and Hiccup had been encased in the ice from Drago's bewilderbeast. Enough to shatter that ice and unleash a fiery attack against the massive creature. All dragons had a shot limit. It wasn't a matter of will, but rather a physical, biological fact. Only one thing in the living world could override that limit. Eating an eel. Something about the nasty creatures hyper-stimulated a dragon's ability to make fire while at the same time twisting their mind into uncontrollable chaos. But what had happened to Toothless was nothing like that. The only thing inside him was the light of glorious truth, and there was no chaos. But he had surrendered the power once the threat was dealt with.

He was changed forever after that. The dragons of Berk and Itchy Armpit saw that he had become a vessel for the Creator's justice, and a tool of their salvation from an evil being. By defeating an Alpha, he undeniably had become one himself. Word of him had spread among dragons far and wide. And while many mistrusted the human who rode him, when he showed up, they were willing to follow him anywhere. And they learned first hand about the wonders that he and his human had accomplished together. But the dragons saw Toothless as the chosen one of the Creator to lead them to peace and safety. Hiccup was just an afterthought. But Toothless understood that the Creator had chosen them both. There would have been no peace and safety had the war between dragons and Vikings not ended.

He needed Starfire to understand all of this. Everything had been happening too fast for him to sit down with here and fully explain the great journey he had been on for the past six years. He would even allow her to look into his mind, which was forbidden because at that level of connection, it was so simple to plant commands. The Red Death had forced her will upon her nest. Drago's Bewilderbeast had done the same. That one's mind was so strong that no dragon could resist its will, without an anchor. The bond between he and Hiccup was his anchor and allowed him to break free. All dragons of good conscience chose to never attempt that level of contact with another's mind. And yet Toothless was willing to invite Starfire to do so, so that she would know and comprehend the depths of the truths he had come to know.

As the flock approached the Waterfall in the Sea, he knew there would be time enough ahead of them all to come to terms with everything. The Hidden World, their new home, awaited.