Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long to update, but I had to review some evaluations. They are all over now, so I have time again!
Guest: You can't enjoy something too much xD but I still appreciate that you like it. If I will introduce Drago, you'll have to wait and see.
Chapter 12
One hundred dragons were flying in the cool night skies, led by a black dragon and a rider. Behind the leader, five different dragons followed in a smaller formation, carrying people in their claws. These people were Vikings from the Jokulsa Tribe, destroyed hours before. One of those Vikings broke the silence by daring to speak, "Where are you taking us, devil!?" However, the rider didn't even glance at him. As he was about to speak again, they saw an island appear before them. The Jokulsas knew this island was not inhabitable, so they never named it. Seeing that the flock of dragons began to descend, they knew this was their destination. The five passengers were dropped unceremonial on the ground while the rider and the dragons surrounded them.
Hiccup dismounted Toothless before turning to him and whispering, "Brother, I need you to tell the other dragons that these people are our new slaves. That means they will always be watched and not harmed, except one of us says otherwise." The Nightfury nodded before walking away but not without a reply, "Be careful and call when you need help, brother."
When the dragon vanished in the vegetation, Hiccup looked at their prisoners. Walking closer, he could practically feel their fear and couldn't help but smirk under his mask. That's what he wanted, to make the people fear him. Standing before them, he began to speak, "Welcome to Death's Lair, your new home! You will do as I say or experience pain you could never imagine. Understood?" The Vikings in front of him nodded.
Satisfied, he began again, "Good. Now to the rules. One, whatever I say, you will do without question or hesitation. Two, the dragons will not be harmed; if they attack you, they have the right to do so. Three, before you do anything, you will ask for permission. Four, before you speak to me, you will bow down. Five, you will only address me with 'My Lord', 'Death', and 'Lord Shadow'. Six, if you disobey any of these rules, you will be punished through me or one of my dragons as I see fit. I will torture or kill you, depending on my mood. Am I clear?"
Not seeing any choice, they bowed down and replied in unison, "Yes, my lord." Nodding, Hiccup ordered them to look at him again. "Excellent. Your first duty will be to build yourselves a hut. You'll need a place to sleep anyway. After that, you will make more houses as I need them for my army. Some stables are required, too. Ask a dragon to get me if you need me, and it will come looking for me. Now get to work."
Turning around, Hiccup began to walk away but stopped when one of the five people asked, "My Lord. We will need tools to carry out our work." Looking over his shoulders, he replied, "The dragons will bring you everything you need." With that, he vanished into the night, leaving the Vikings in the forest surrounded by dragons.
Reaching his home, Hiccup pulled off his mask and saw Toothless waiting for him. "The dragons know how to handle our prisoners. I told them that a minimum of ten dragons must always watch over them.", Toothless told him.
Hiccup smiled and patted the dragon's head, "Good, now I just need to get them some tools, and they can start their work. When they have about 15 huts finished, we begin with our 'recruiting' phase." The dragon purred, "Perfect. Now, can we go for a flight?" "Alright, bud!" Hiccup jumped onto Toothless, and they both vanished into the night sky.
(Two weeks later)
The Vikings had about 14 huts finished since they arrived, and they already learned that they couldn't sneak up on their captor. Hiccup and Toothless were asleep when they tried for the first and only time. One of the Vikings, Sven, managed to slip away from the guarding dragons and walk into their cave. Since Hiccup had advanced senses thanks to the bond with his brother, he noticed Sven the moment he entered his room but decided to surprise him. Toothless also saw him, but he, too, waited. Having an axe in his hand, Sven brought it up and prepared to bring it down, mumbling, "For all the lost souls you have taken."
Bringing the axe down, he smiled when the weapon hit its target. Only that his target was replaced with a bed, and the person in it was now standing in front of him. Turning around to run, he stopped and noticed the black dragon blocking the only way out. Hiccup spoke up, "You know, that was quite foolish of you. My friend over there sees me more like a brother, and you just tried to kill me. So it's punishment you have to go through."
Sven didn't notice the black tail flying toward him, knocking him into the wall. Sven dropped down unconscious. Toothless looked at Hiccup, "Can I kill him? I want to make him suffer for trying to kill you while sleeping.", he growled out. Hiccup smiled, "Patience, Toothless, we will bring him out and let the others watch as a warning."
Putting on his armor, Hiccup left with Toothless, who dragged the unconscious Sven. Reaching the huts of the other Vikings, he could see them all awake, quietly talking with each other. Getting closer, they noticed him and Toothless. Terrified looks made their way on their faces as they knew that Sven failed. "As you can see, one friend of yours tried to kill me. So, I will let my brother carry out his punishment, and you will watch as a reminder never to try it again."
With that, Hiccup threw a bucket of water, standing nearby at Sven, waking him up. Looking around, Sven became confused, which turned to fear and panic when he saw the enraged Nightfury looking at him. "E-Easy there... can't we just t-talk about this?" Sven asked, his voice full of fear. Without warning, the dragon leaped at him and bit down on his right arm, sinking his teeth deep into the limb. Without wasting a second, Toothless tore off the arm and threw it to the side, blood dripping down his mouth.
The night air was filled with the pained screams of the Vikings as the dragon kept mauling him. A junk of flesh bitten out there, another limb ripped off there. It lasted for another five minutes before Toothless prepared the Viking's end. Charging a blast, he let it loose, hitting the man in the head. The head exploded, silencing the night. Hiccup stood at the dragon's side the entire time, not caring about the plea for mercy.
The rest of the captive people looked with fear at him as Hiccup walked away with one last sentence, "Don't be the next." Since then, no one has spoken against him. That was two weeks ago, and now, Hiccup and Toothless are about to head to their next target. They only took forty dragons with them, so there would still be enough to watch their captives. As for some dragons, they were given the task of gathering more dragons to build up their army. Looking behind them, they can see their army ready to go.
"Alright, Bud, let's head to Hellishraun. Once there, we will have the others circling above while we tell them their options." Hiccup said while scratching Toothless's head.
Toothless purred, "I will tell them on the way." Hiccup smiled, "Let's move!"
In the blink of an eye, the forty dragons followed their leader.
(Village of Hellishraun)
It was just after noon when the raiding horn was blown. At first, everything stopped since there had never been a raid in broad daylight before. After a few seconds, though, everyone began to grab their weapons and started looking at the sky. They saw about forty dragons coming with a black dot in front of them all. What was odd was that they seemed to fly in formation. When the dragons reached the island, the expected rain of fire did not happen. Instead, they all just circled above. The only dragon coming toward them was the black one who went in for a landing in front of their great hall. More shock came when a person dismounted the dragon. They all knew who he was since they heard from survivors what he was capable of.
Before they could do anything, the person spoke, "I mean you no harm. I want to talk with your chief and his council. Should you try anything, my army will burn this place down."
There were murmurs in the crowd. Is the man capable of destroying villages really here to talk? They didn't believe him. After about two minutes, a few people walked through the crowd to the front. It was the chief and his council consisting of five villagers.
The chief stood with broad shoulders and addressed Hiccup, "We will talk in the great hall, but your beast must stay out."
Toothless was first to respond, "Not gonna happen! I'm not letting you go alone with these people!"
"Don't worry, brother. I need you to make sure no one disturbs us. Also, if any of them tries anything, they will meet my blade.", Hiccup said with an evil smirk.
"I still don't like it, but I trust you. If you need me, call.", the Nightfury agreed reluctantly.
Hiccup spoke to the chief and council, saying, "I agree with your terms. Let's head inside and get to business."
Without waiting for an answer, Hiccup walked into the hall, followed by the council, which walked carefully by the dragon who snarled at them. Once inside, one of the council closed the door, and everyone sat at a round table in the middle of the hall. The hall was pretty similar to the one on Berk but smaller.
The council members are sitting on one side while Hiccup is on the other. In the middle of the board stood the chief.
Clearing his throat, the Chief begins, "I guess introductions are necessary. I am Chief Helge Solfrid of the Aris Tribe. The council members are to my right: Reidung Agnar, Embla Aadny, and Iduun Gunhild. To my left are Sindri Gunhild and Elof Holgar. May I ask what your name and intentions are?"
The chief thought it would be better to start politely while he wasn't on this Death Angels' bad side. Maybe he will know who he truly is, and then they can reason with him.
Hiccup stood up, looking directly at the chief, who shivered from the look he received, "You know very well who I am. Those who stand against me call me Death Angel as I am the bringer of death. Those who follow me call me 'My Lord', 'Death', or 'Lord Shadow'. As for my intentions, that depends on what you will call me."
"I... I'm not sure we follow?" the chief asked with uncertainty, not following what this man wanted from him.
Hiccup sighed, 'Why do I always have to repeat everything?!' he thought before addressing the council, "I'm giving you a choice. It's as simple as that. Your first choice is to stand against me and perish like the rest did or bow down to me. Follow me, and I will ensure you and your people are looked after. And make your decision quick; I'll give you two minutes to decide."
When he finished, Hiccup walked into a darker corner, practically vanishing in the shadows while waiting for an answer. The chief turned to his council, "I want everyone's opinion on this."
Embla was the first to speak up, "I say that we do as he says and bow down. I don't want my son to die from someone like him. Maybe we can have peace and not worry about raids anymore."
The chief nodded, showing he listened and considered it. Trust Embla to always speak in the children's interest and their future.
"You can't be serious, can you?! Why should we bow to someone like him?! He needs to get wiped off of Midgard! The sooner, the better! I say we kill him here and now!", Elof said in a harsh whisper, drawing everyone's attention at him. However, Elof could see that only Reidung seemed to agree with him.
Iduun was the next, "My husband and I agree with Embla. It would be better to live safely under his command than to go against this madman."
Hiccup appeared again, this time behind them, startling them before speaking, "Your time is up. What will it be?"
Helge walked forward, dropping to one knee and bowing down, a motion the rest of the council followed, except for Elof, and declared, "The Tribe of the Aris bow down to you, my lord."
Smirking, Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm glad you chose wisely. Although I can see that not all of you agree, the chief has the last say.", he added when he saw Elof still standing, "Some of you will just have to learn to play by my rules. Now get your people in here, but my dragon comes in this time, too. You will make the announcement, and I will take over."
"As you wish, my lord." the chief said as he stood up and began to walk to the doors. Opening them, he could see the black dragon still sitting in the same place as before; the other dragons were still circling above, and his tribe still wanted to know what was happening. Sighing, he cleared his throat and got everyone's attention, "People of Hellishraun! I have urgent news for you! I will need everyone in the hall without their weapons! Now!"
The people paced into the hall since they didn't have their weapons, but they trusted their chief. Slowly, the hall filled as the tribe entered. When everyone was seated, the doors were closed, and the leader stood before them while Hiccup stood a bit to his left and behind him.
"My fellow tribe members, I will tell you what happened in the meeting and what decision was chosen. You all know who this person standing beside me is, and I tell you that we mustn't fight him. He gave us an ultimatum: die or follow his lead. Since we all know what he's capable of, the council surrendered." With that, the chief stepped back as Hiccup stepped forward.
When their chief finished, shouts of protest came from a few Vikings, mostly the older ones. Elof took this as his chance and climbed on one of the tables, "I will say that I have never agreed to this! I say we kill this bastard and his devils!"
Some shouted in agreement while most of the tribe shifted uncomfortably, knowing what would await them when they went against the Death Angel. Elof was about to pull out his axe when blood splattered across the table, and he began to choke. Within seconds, the man dropped to the ground, dead. Standing out of his neck was a small black metal tube. Looking toward Hiccup, they could see his outstretched arm and something similar to a bow on top of his arm but smaller.
"Anyone else wants to step up?" Hiccup asked. His voice was cold and void of any emotion.
Seeing no one complaining, Hiccup let his arm fall back at his side while the crossbow folded back in on itself, "Your chief already surrendered, so you will do as I say. Those who won't follow will fall. As I proved, I will follow through with what I said. Now, you will listen to me."
The people nodded, not daring to provoke him. Satisfied, Hiccup scratched Toothless on the head before addressing him, "Tell the dragons to land and wait for orders."
"I would, but how am I supposed to open the door? I don't have hands like you." Toothless said, unsure what to do.
Hiccup rolled his eyes, "You're a dragon. You have fire. And here I thought you were smart."
The dragon grumbled, "Hey! I wanted to make sure that I don't ruin your plan.", before walking off.
The people watched as the dragon walked toward the doors. Standing before them, Toothless let out a small blast that tore the doors from its hinges. He walked out and roared at the dragons above, not glancing back at the startled people. After they all began to land, Toothless stood beside Hiccup.
"Now that that's out of the way. Let's begin.", Hiccup said, "I will tell you the rules ONCE! Don't make me repeat myself. One, whatever I say, you will do without question or hesitation. Two, the dragons will not be harmed; if they attack you, they have the right to do so. Three, before you do anything, you will ask for permission. Four, before you speak to me, you will bow down. Five, you will only address me with 'My Lord', 'Death', and 'Lord Shadow'. Six, if you disobey any of these rules, you will be punished through me or one of my dragons as I see fit. I will torture or kill you, depending on my mood. I advise you all to follow them as the last person who disobeyed is now a pile of rotten pieces of flesh."
The Tribe replied in unison, "Yes, Lord Shadow."
Nodding, Hiccup began again," The next point will be your relocation. You need to live on my island. There are already some houses; the rest will have to be built by you. Pack only what you need and head to your docks. I will stay on the lead and guide you. And yes, you can bring your weapons as you need them to fight against those who stand against us."
With everything said, the people began to pile out and began to pack their things. The chief walked toward Hiccup before bowing down, "My lord?"
Looking at Helge, he motioned for him to continue.
"May I ask why we need to relocate?" the chief asked, fear evident in his voice.
"Yes, it is. You must move to my base if I want to succeed with my plans. From there on, we can carry out attacks and gather more people until we have an army strong enough that nothing can stop us.", the rider replied.
After about two hours, every villager boarded the ships and sailed toward Death's Lair. Hiccup and Toothless stood on the leadership while the rest of the dragons flew above them. With the people from this tribe, he now had about 250 warriors and hundreds of dragons.
Looking sternly into the distance, only one thing was in Hiccup's mind, 'This is only the beginning.'
(Berk)
It has been a few weeks since their last dragon raid. At first the berkians stayed on alert, thinking that a more significant attack would come. But after a few weeks, they started to drop their guard. There was also no new news about the Death Angel and no sightings. So now the village was in preparations for a visiting tribe. It was one of their allies, a tribe called 'The Bog Burglars'. Only females were in it, and men were only allowed to reproduce. Standing in the village square was Stoick and Gobber overseeing it all.
"Ah, it's good to see the village without any burned or destroyed places." Stoick said blissfully.
"Aye, it is something I thought I never see." Gobber agreed.
Their peaceful moment was disrupted when one of the guards came running up to them. Standing before them, the man took a second to regain his breath and spoke up.
"Chief... ship... spotted..." the guard panted.
Looking at Gobber, Stoick spoke, "It's too early to be the Bogs."
Gobber nodded, and they both ran toward the nearest watch tower. Reaching the top, the smith handed a spyglass to the chief. Looking through it, he saw a lone ship with a destroyed sail drifting toward them. He also noticed that the boat was heavily damaged.
Turning to his friend, he said, "Go get Gothi and the healers. I will take a few men, and then we will meet at the docks."
"Right'y ho, Stoick!" the smith yelled as he hobbled away.
Thirty minutes later, Stoick had five warriors with him, while Gobber brought Gothi and three healers. The ship slowly reached the docks, but they couldn't make out any movement on deck. As the boat bumped against the wooden ramp, one of the berkians took a rope and tied it to a wooden pole.
"Alright, we will go first; you will come when we call," Stoick told the healers and Gothi.
The first on board was the chief, followed by Gobber. The other five waited a bit to see if there was any danger. Seeing that there was none, they joined them. On the deck, lying around in a mess, were weapons and shields. Some were destroyed, and others just abandoned. Nearing the hatch that led to the lower part, they noticed a foul smell. Steeling their nerves, Gobber opened the hatch, and they all recoiled as the smell worsened. Two of the warriors following them even had to throw up. Looking inside, they were horrified. The entire ship was filled with dead bodies. What caught their attention was movement in the back of the room.
"Anyone alive down there." Stoick called, not expecting an answer.
A quiet groan was heard, and they all looked toward the source of the sound. There, sticking out of the pile of dead bodies, was a hand slowly moving.
"Quick, get him out of there.", Stoick ordered his men.
They hesitated only briefly before going down and freeing the man. Getting him out, they saw that he was in bad shape. His body was covered in cuts, his left arm bent backward, and you could see his ribs through his chest, indicating that he hadn't eaten anything for days.
Gobber called to Gothi, "Gothi! Get to your hut and take the healers with you! You'll get a patient in minutes!"
The elder nodded and led the others to her hut. For a woman her age, she could still move very fast if needed. Shortly after they reached her hut, Stoick and his men came through the door, carrying the man from the boat. Pointing at a bed to the left side of her hut, the wounded man was put in it. Ushering Stoick and his men out, the healers and Gothi set to work.
While the healers worked, the village prepared a mass pyre for the fallen Vikings. Pushing it out into the sea, ten Berkians, including the chief, fired flaming arrows at the boat, setting it ablaze. The chief and the people wanted answers but had to wait for now.
(A week later)
The man had been unconscious since they got him off the boat, and now the Bog Burglars were arriving. Stoick stood at the docks, waiting for the small fleet to dock. When the first boat arrived, ropes were thrown on deck so the sailors could tie their boats. The gangplank lowered, and a tall woman walked over it. Fist like sledgehammers, ears like cauliflowers, she had once stunned a stag with one blow of her mighty bosoms, and many a smaller animal had suffocated in their stern depths. She was as tall as Stoick and had blonde hair, which was braided into two braids, one on the right and one on the left. Walking up to Stoick, they shook hands.
"Stoick, my old friend! It's good to see you again!", Bertha said.
Stoick replied, "Likewise. How have you been, Bertha?"
Bertha chuckled, "You know, the usual. Some raiding here, a dragon attack there. Although, in the last weeks, we haven't seen a single dragon."
Before they could continue their conversation, Gobber approached them, panting. "Stoick, our man woke up. And you won't like what he has to say."
Looking back at Bertha, Stoick told her, "Since we're allies, you have a right to know what's happening. Last week, a single ship came unguided into our port. On board, we found a lot of dead bodies, but one was still alive. We brought him to our healers, but he hasn't woken up till now. You're welcome to follow."
Bertha nodded and followed the chief after telling her tribe to unload the ships. Reaching Gothi's hut, they could see the man sitting in the bed holding a jar, which most likely held medicine. Approaching him, Stoick cleared his throat to get the man's attention.
Looking at the man before him, the man asks, "Where am I?"
"You're on, Berk, after your ship drifted into our ports. I am Chief Stoick the Vast, and this is Chieftess Big Boobied Bertha of the Bog Burglars and our ally. May I ask what happened out there?", the chief answered.
Closing his eyes, the man shuddered before speaking, "Our chieftess sent us, Eldrid Skuld, of the Bairn tribe. Our mission was to bring supplies to one of our allies who needed medical aid due to spreading sickness. On our fourth day, we saw fleet ships on the horizon. Above those ships were dragons, so we thought they were being attacked. Wanting to help them, we made our way toward them. Upon reaching them, we saw that they were not attacked. Calling out to them, a man in black armor appeared on the deck, followed by a beast black as the night."
The man closed his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn't want to remember what happened next.
"The next thing we knew was that Vikings and the armored man and dragon boarded us. They started slaughtering us individually, not showing mercy to those who surrendered. When I was the only one left alive, the masked man came forward. He only said one thing to me. 'Tell everyone their time is up, and I'm coming for them.' He turned around while the others beat me until I was knocked out. The next thing I remembered was waking up here.", the man finished.
Everyone in the room was silent. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Everyone knew who he meant and knew it wasn't good that people started following him.
Phew. Done with my longest chapter yet. I hope you like it. Also, the following chapters will probably be the same or longer. That means it will take longer to update; I hope you can forgive me.