"It helps that we aren't being constantly attacked anymore." Stoick said. "Most if not all the old wounds have healed up since the last attack, and our people don't feel like they're constantly under attack. It's nice that we don't have to watch our backs all the time. At least not from the sky." Stoick paused. "May I ask something?"
"Of course."
"How does it work?"
"How does what work?"
"I guess I want to know how territory works. Are there hard lines, are there fights over territory, how do you expand." You also told me that you had information on every other village. How do you have that territory? Surely your reach isn't that far."
"Well, I don't know how long I have to explain but my reach is probably much larger than you think. Toothless help me out here if I forget something. Firstly we have the most territory out of all the other flocks. We have Berk and the forest near it, all the sea in between Berk and us. We're responsible for protecting dragon island, so when it's not mating season we control that area most of the year, which then it becomes neutral territory. And then." Hiccup turned around and pointed. "Since we're already the furthest out, because we're the only clan to not live on the mainland, everything in that direction is ours. Every island, every sea stack, all way to an island we call The Edge. That is the last island before open ocean. To get there from here takes two days of straight flying. And only a few of us have actually been there. When things settle down here I'm thinking of creating a base there and stationing a new group there. Just to spot people coming into our waters from other lands. Be a gatekeeper of so sorts. So we have a lot of area.
The way we are able to keep eyes on the villages is by simply working with the other groups. If there is a village we want to keep eyes on, we go to the alpha that leads in that area and work out a deal of some kind. Our current deals are all basically the same. We send people there to watch and deter that village from growing too large, or at least slow them down as much as possible so that they can't push into the where the bulk of that clan lives. Lowering the amount of their people that must risk themselves keeping their people safe. In return we're allowed to use a little bit of their hunting area and the waters around the village to hunt and fish so that the group I station there can eat.
This of course has the ulterior motive of being able to trade information for goods, or peace if needed. Along with simply helping the other dragon groups with the amount of people I have. Unfortunately as it stands right now some of those groups are getting pushed out and will likely have to move. Peace really isn't an option for any of us. The attacks on the villages from the old us spread outward that basically every village. So even the groups that had nothing to do with those attacks can't work out a way to coincide with the humans near them. And when that group gets pushed out, I'm the one likely to take them in.
All these beautiful creatures want, is to be safe and to be left alone, and due to how the world works they can't just do that. So they fight back, and attack villages, to try to stop them from running them out. And the difference between that and what the queen did to Berk, is that we attack defensively. When villages get attacked it's because whoever's living there feels threatened and is hoping that an attack with at least make it so that they'll think twice about expanding in that direction."
The other dragons that would be joining them began to stream in and the small group was ready to go.
"We should head out, Hiccup." Color whispered. "The attack has surely already started."
"I have to go, dad. If you want to talk more after we come back I'd be glad to answer." Hiccup jumped onto Toothless Back. "Alright bud let's go." Toothless and the other dragons ran and leapt off the side of the mountain, and dove into the fog. Stoick ran after them and the other humans soon piled around but by the time they'd gotten to the edge the group has completely disappeared. The dragons quickly weaved through the jagged rock spires that protected their home.
As the group arrived the attack had seemingly just begun. As the fog thinned out the group split up a little and took hiding places amongst the stones. Toothless and few others clinged to one of the stone spires. Allowing Hiccup to peek his out enough to get a hazy image as to what was happening with attack.
Hiccup could see figures running around on the deck and the yelling of the people on the ship could be heard, bouncing off the stones. They could hear what was likely the captain attempting to give orders but the screams of dying men would drown him out. Hiccup could tell that the ship was beginning to sink. In a matter of minutes the area was silent. The ship giving its last breaths before going completely under.
"It's over." Hiccup said. He pat Toothless' side. "Let's go check it out. Make sure everything is fine. Everyone else stay here." He ordered. Toothless dislodged himself and slowly flew out from the fog. The ship was indeed gone and there wasn't even a body floating to mark it's location. The only marker that something was there was the red stained water, quickly dissipating back to its natural blue. Suddenly a dragon breached the water, gasping for air. Toothless shot over to them. A Nightmare was struggling to keep its head above the water.
"We need some help over here!" Hiccup shouted. The other dragons poured out from the rocks. He pointed at three of the group. "You three help them out of the water and bring them back inside. Get the Fireworm Princess to warm them up, now!" Hiccup barked. Another set of heads broke the surface of the water. This time though, it was Black and Blue, and few others from the attack squad, and they had more gasping dragons with them.
"Sir there's still on more down there." the right head yelled. "The cage they're in is being crushed why another one, we can't get at them." The left head continued. Hiccup jumped into the water. "Bring me to them." Hiccup said while climbing onto the Sea Shockers back.
"Hiccup." Toothless yelled. Hiccup looked up at him determined. "If you don't come back, I'll kill you." Toothless sighed.
"Let's go" Hiccup ordered as he took a giant breath. In a flash they were gone, rushing to the bottom of the sea. With Hiccup gone, Toothless began to start barking orders, getting the rest of the dragons out of the water and back to Helheim.
