"The other I would consider is Dusty. He's this very large Nadder who was born with Unique colors and is the mate of Color, the Changewing that you met already. Right now he acts in a similar role as Care does and helps coordinate people. He also currently leads one of my hunting teams. So if he came here he'd be closer to his mate and could work with your people on hunting. Scouting ahead and things like that.
Maybe sending both would be best. Both of them can understand you so they could act as translators. Be able to help ease those coming over in the first wave coming to live on Berk. Make sure everyone is on their best behavior and all that."
"This may as well be a done deal with how your talking." Stoick joked.
"I, uh yeah, sorry. This is just working out way better than I ever thought it would. I'm really excited and I'm kinda trying to sell this to you as much as possible. While still being realistic about the challenges ahead with something like this. The first day our people meet officially is going to be the best and worst day. There's going to be so much back and forth. There's going to be like three groups of people and I think it'll be about age. The youngest people won't worry about the inherent danger of the dragons since they've never experienced what the older people have. Then there are going to be people curious enough to want to learn but worried that they'll be ostracized. People like you lot. If this wasn't the exact situation you ended up in, you'd likely be interested but couldn't for various reasons. Social standing and things like that. Then there are going to be those who are going to fight tooth and nail against the dragon's integration. And no matter how much help they provide, they'll only ever look at the mishaps and use that as their defense.
I mean if we're going to be real about this, people are going to die. On both sides. There are going to be accidents that get people on either side injured or killed. And there are going to be more deliberate deaths too. Dragons who feel threatened and do what they think is correct to save themselves. Humans who deliberately attack and agitate the dragons to get them to attack so they can claim it was self defense. Obviously we can't be naive about these things, but this is something that won't happen again. We've come together at the exact right moment to make it work and I doubt that if this doesn't happen that there will ever be a chance again."
"You're probably right about that." Stoick agreed. "But like I said, you have my full support. As much as that means nearly nothing right now. It'll be my actions that assure you of my stance."
"Dad, why have you flipped and what seems like much easier than it should have been?"
"There are a handful of reasons, some I'm more proud of now than I was back then and others that I should have thought through more."
"Like what?"
"Well first off, I should have known better than to come after you when I exiled you. It was a dumb waste of resources and ultimatly two people. Had we not gone after you Snotlout and Horrace would still be alive. I should have known better than to let anyone near you, even myself. Knowing what I know now, even I surely would have died that day. You may not be as big as a bear, or have any sort of formal training, but at the end of the day you're a Haddock. As gifted with a blade as any of us. And even back then you were probably stronger than me already. Even outside all that, you had something to fight for. You weren't going to let anyone near your dragon lest they kill you first. Though I doubt many of us would have gone home that day if we attacked you with our numbers. Or maybe you would have simply ran away like you had already planned to.
And now. No matter what happens with this plan to integrate, never will I go to battle with you. Not only do you have Berk by the balls with the tunnels you've made, I don't believe that I could out think you. I don't think that I could organize a fighting force like you can. I don't have the kind of resources that you have and by the time I had them it would be too late. You could easily put us in the same situation that the Berserkers are in. No way in or out. That kind of thing is a strangle hold on any one of the peoples in the archipelago. I'm surprised that the Berserkers haven't bled themselves dry at this point."
"They've slowed down quite a bit. From what I'm told they nearly deforested their whole island trying to create ships that can't be sunk." Hiccup said. "To be completely honest I'm sure their engineering of ships has become very interesting. From what I'm told they haven't put a ship in the water in a long time. But trees still get cut down. I'm actually curious about what their ship designs look like these days. Whether or not they're actually advancing their designs in any way or if they think adding more decks or hull layers is better for them. Once they deploy the ships they have made outside their harbor I'm sure we'll see what they think will withstand what they're up against."
"Are you going to bleed them dry? Let them die if they don't succeed? And what if they do? Will you let them go or crush them?" Stoick asked, concerned.
"I don't know yet." Hiccup sighed. "The Berserkers have been a pain on all fronts from the very beginning. But they're still people in the end. I want them to succeed and if they do I'll let them migrate to a new island to restart. Those who are on the ship will be permanently separated from their original home and given a chance to flourish and start over." Hiccup squeezed his arm. "I know it's cold hearted or even evil. To make them suffer like that. But for them it's unfortunately what I must do. There are innocent people living there I understand, they have nothing to do with what's forcing my hand. Right now I'm likely the only person among my peers that is preventing the Berserkers from being choked out completely. While I may be one of the alphas and what I say goes. As you surely know, you have to be realistic. The Berserkers were a fine people before Dagur took over. But the reason they've been locked up is because all they want to do is destroy. I don't want to be the bad guy. But when everyone thinks you are it's hard not to play the part.
Though it's all part of a plan. I've been allowed one chance to redeem them. When the time comes I will personally send a letter to Dagur that tells him that if he sends a ship out that is unarmed, that it'll be let out of his harbor. He will be escorted to the neutral zone where you all sign the peace treaty each year. If he signs it he will be allowed to leave his island and commender the nearest unpopulated island as his own so that he can use it to replenish things like wood.
But if he fails to comply…" Hiccup bowed his head. "If they fail to comply it's out of my hands. They're considered too dangerous to be left around. Even if Dagur is killed the dragons don't care and Berserker Island will be nothing but ash."
"You're serious? How can you even say that. What gives you the power of life or death over them?" One of the others asked. "What if Berk were to be like that? Would we be taken out like that?"
"Of course we would." Stoick answered for Hiccup. "This isn't a case of being fair. It's about the safety of others and the resources being put in. I believe Hiccup when he says that he's the only one preventing their death at this very moment.
Dagur is dangerous because he can't be reasoned with. But Hiccup hopes that pushing them to their limits will break them. Doing that to someone like Dagur would be near impossible normally. But to starve him out, bleed his resources and potentially even turn his own people against him, while barbaric in nature, will be the only way to show Dagur that he cannot be who he is without someone stepping in to stop him.
It's obvious that Hiccup stands alone, even against his own mate will he not budge when it comes to trying to let people redeem themselves. He gives them the best chance he can but they have to do it themselves.
Berk would be no different. Without Hiccup we would be gone. Sunk into the sea from the tunnels under Berk. Without Hiccup all the dragons see are humans who want them dead. There is no descrimination since to them all humans are the same. Much like us who simply think that they're all the same. But with Hiccup there, able to show them the difference, groups can assure that they are left alone or monitored less. But those who are perceived as threats no matter what get contingency plans put in place. Tunnels board under you so that at a moment's notice an entire village will disappear. Blocked off from everything so that you're forced to submit lest it be a fiery death for you. Though luckily for us Hiccup has a council of sorts that he listens to and they listen to him. While he and Toothless get the final say they take what everyone's thinking and feeling and come up with impossible answers to appease as many people as possible. And then Toothless backs down and let's Hiccup have the final say as to what's going to happen. That dragon has seen enough that he knows that allowing Hiccup that chance to let someone redeem themselves is not only important to Hiccup but to the image that dragons put off. Like Hiccup said, dragons are considered the bad guys. That will likely never change. But at least we know that the bad guys are led by two people who take their job very seriously. And we know that you are given ample chances to change if it is deemed that you must.
From what I gather Berk and Berserker Island are considered similarly dangerous, but Berk was never under any sort of restrictions to what we can and can't do. Even if we weren't sitting here right now Berk would be perfectly safe because while we're considered dangerous, we're also not a threat to those around us. We aren't trying to hurt others for our own gain, at least on purpose.
Those two show a level of restraint that anyone else in their position would abuse. Ask yourself and be realistic. If you were able to decide if the Berserkers live or die, would live even be an option? I have to admit I don't think I would have given them a way out and I doubt that any of you would either."
