Back at the Bewilderbeast's nest, the day had finally arrived. The compound on Viggo's island was fully constructed, and Viggo and Thunderstorm had managed to earn the respect and trust of all the dragons who would be living there from now on. So Valka and Viggo had returned to bring the most important member of the new flock to their new home.
Viggo and Valka were waiting with their dragons in front of the Alpha. He had just called for Bewilderbreath to bring the egg, and they would soon be on their way back to the compound. The Alpha had agreed to allow Valka and Cloudjumper to stay with Viggo until the egg hatched, but they were expected to return home by the next day, and from what they could gather from Cloudjumper, the egg was only a few days away from hatching.
Down from the sky, Bewilderbreath came down for a soft landing, holding the egg gently in her talons just as softly as if she were a human mother with her baby. She handed the egg over to Valka who, along with Viggo walked close to the Alpha so he could see it one last time.
"Here it is Alpha, your heir. I know you have chosen well for who his protectors and his teachers will be." Valka said, she then placed the egg into the same leather bag she had taken from the Wingmaidens and then handed it over to Viggo.
"You really want me to take it now?"
"Of course Viggo, it's your responsibility from now on, and I know you won't let me or the Alpha down."
With some hesitation, Viggo took the bag and carefully slung it over his shoulder. He then bowed low to the Alpha standing before him. "Once again, I want to thank you for everything you have done for me by allowing me to stay in your nest and learn from you and your subjects, Great Alpha. I swear on my life, no harm shall ever come to this egg, or to the hatchling growing inside for as long as I still draw breath, and even more as long as I have Thunderstorm by my side. I will protect it to the end of my days if that is the case, and I will raise it up into a successor you can be proud of, oh Great King of Dragons."
The Alpha moved his head closer to the cliffside they were standing on, he made a slight humming sound, and Thunderstorm stepped up beside Viggo as well, lowering his head in a respectful stance, and he began growling low, Viggo could only guess that his partner was making a similar oath to protect and lead the egg just like he was.
The Alpha then took a deep breath in and then exhaled a cloud of white frost over them, so that both Thunderstorm's scales and Viggo's armor were matching shades of black and purple highlighted with frost.
The Alpha then roared loud enough to echo throughout the entire nest, Viggo and Thunderstorm both stood up slowly as all around them, all the dragons of the nest opened a clear path towards the main tunnel outside, and whether they were standing or flying all of them bowed their heads in a sign of deepest respect, even Cloudjumper and Valka had joined in.
"Thank you all. I know this may very well be the last time I am able to be in your presence, but my only goal from now is to make you proud and protect the heir until he is ready to rule as wisely and benevolently as you do." Viggo then placed his helmet on his head, and mounted Thunderstorm's saddle.
Thunderstorm began walking forward, taking in the respect all the other dragons were sending them, he raised his head high, in Viggo's eyes looking like the noblest of creatures he had ever laid eyes on. All the dragons were silent except for the flapping of wings until Thunderstorm passed, after which, almost every dragon they passed would raise their head to let out a roar and a plume of fire into the air above them.
Both of them basked in the glow of respect and happiness all the other dragons were feeling, for Viggo at least, it helped to mask the melancholy of thinking about leaving what he had long ago decided was the most magnificent place on Earth. He promised himself he could see it again, once the egg on his back was ready, Viggo was sure his nest would be even more grand.
Behind Thunderstorm a procession began of the handful of final dragons that would be accompanying them, Firestorm and Cloudjumper had both been loaded with some final supplies for the new nest, plus of course Bewilderbreath the Groncicle, and a few other last-minute additions that would be joining the new flock, including about a quarter of the Night Terrors that lived in the nest, Viggo and Valka intended on the island being as heavily guarded as Dragon's Edge was, and the terrors will be the heart of that security system.
Finally, they reached the edge of the cliff, after which it would only be a short flight into the tunnel that led to the outside. Viggo glanced over his shoulder one last time, he could have sworn the Alpha was smiling at him from over the heads of all the celebrating dragons. Viggo took in as much of the scene as he could, doing his best to record it in his memories. This was a sight he never wanted to forget. He paused for a few moments longer and then shared a smile with Valka who was standing tall on Cloudjumper's back right behind him.
He turned back to face forward and bent himself low so he could whisper to Thunderstorm beneath the din of all the celebrating dragons. "OK Thunderstorm, let's lead them to our new home."
Thunderstorm roared in response and took straight to the air. He hovered for a few moments, giving the dragons traveling with them the same order and then he led the way into the tunnel and out into the brisk, sunny day. All the dragons followed them out, and Viggo raised his sword alight with flames, spinning it in the air in one of the newly practiced motions he had recently memorized, all the dragons quickly arranged themselves in a V-formation in the sky, except for the night terrors, who arranged themselves to look like a giant skrill following behind the rest of the flock.
Viggo shrugged his shoulders and chuckled to himself, like many things in his life the past few months, he still didn't understand what he or Thunderstorm had done to earn their current situation, but he knew in his heart that this was the right one for him.
Thunderstorm led the way straight and true to the island, they only stopped once for the dragons to fish and rest their wings for about an hour and then they were off again, and thankfully the only signs of humanity they saw were a few fishing boats in the distance, nothing to really be worried about, although they were careful to veer away from them when they caught Viggo's eye.
But in the end, they made it without any difficulties, there had been a few times Thunderstorm had to encourage some of the dragons to keep flying, but that was all and they set down on the island just before dusk.
The dragons already there greeted all the new arrivals with open wings and all the dragons ran or flew towards the compound to find their caves.
Thunderstorm, Cloudjumper, Firestorm, and Bewilderbreath though, moved along at a more sedate pace. When they reached the compound the first thing they did was relieve Cloudjumper and Firestorm of their burdens, stacking all the supplies within Viggo's cave and then they walked over to the cave that would become the hatchling's nursery.
After studying the space for a few moments, Bewilderbreath got straight to work. She started breathing her frost breath over every available surface until the walls and floor bared a surprising resemblance to the caves within the Alpha's nest, and icicles hung from the ceiling, in addition to the air inside quickly dropping in temperature until Viggo could see the clouds of breath rising from both himself, Valka, and the other dragons.
After everything was cooled down to her liking, Bewilderbreath walked over to Viggo, making a low, rumbling sound in her throat and Viggo got the message loud and clear.
He carefully took the egg out of the bag and handed it over to the dragon. She inspected it herself for a moment, pressing her snout against it as if checking its temperature before she breathed out a small plume of blue flames over it until a sparkling layer of frost dusted the shell's surface as well.
She then made her way over to the small hollow that was perfectly sized for her and curled up with her tail surrounding the egg protectively.
"Thank you Bewilderbreath. Remember that a sentinel will always be outside the entrance if you ever need anything. Just let him know, and he'll come and get us. Sweet dreams tonight." Viggo said to her, carefully patting her snout with his gloves on. He had previously learned the hard way that it wasn't a good idea to pet a groncicle without gloves unless he wanted frostbite that is.
Bewilderbreath purred beneath his palm while Thunderstorm walked over from one of the two troughs sitting against the wall and laid a mouthful of fish, and a mouthful of granite right in front of her.
Bewilderbreath's icy blue eyes seemed to light up and she happily dug into the delicious snacks.
"Don't worry, as long as you have such an important task, we will take care of anything you need," Viggo promised her, giving her one more scratch beneath her chin and then he led the way back out the door, he waved to the sentinel perched above, but he was standing as still and silent as a statue, in the same position he spent 90% of his time in, but Viggo knew he would always be alert and ready for action, perhaps more than any other dragon here. He would protect the egg until his last breath, it was just his nature, as much as it was Viggo's responsibility now to protect him, and all the other dragons.
Viggo and Thunderstorm then walked around the entire compound to make sure everyone else was settling in for the night just as happily as Bewilderbreath had, and that appeared to be the case, other than one argument over sleeping spots between a rumblehorn and a thunderclaw, everyone else was pleased, and Thunderstorm was able to end the fight and settle the dispute rather easily.
Once all the other dragons were settled, Thunderstorm and Viggo flew up to check on the night terrors, and all the perches were filled with alert terrors watching from their posts. The leader of the flock, whom Viggo decided to name Twilight after her silvery-gray color that contrasted with the black scales of all her followers, appeared to give Thunderstorm a report consisting mostly of squawks and growls, but Thunderstorm seemed satisfied and so they finally retired for the night.
Firestorm, Cloudjumper, and Valka were already waiting outside of Viggo's cave. Viggo and Valka headed inside to talk, while the three dragons circled up to have a discussion of their own. Viggo liked to think that was going to be Cloudjumper sharing last-minute advice on leadership with both of his dragons.
Viggo and Valka meanwhile each took a seat at his table, and once he sat down, Viggo finally admitted to himself how tired he was after the long day of flying and then moving everyone else in. He was definitely ready for a rest, but he knew there were some things he and Valka still needed to discuss.
"So Viggo, what's on your mind?" Valka asked, surprising him with a glass of cool refreshing water, which Viggo gulped down and already felt much better.
"Oh, everything I suppose. How do you think I've been doing so far?"
Valka smiled at him, "Wonderful. You and Thunderstorm are both clearly natural leaders even if this specific situation is novel for you, and I don't think it's just your sword or lightning."
"What do you mean?"
"Well look at earlier tonight when you settled the dispute between that thunderclaw and rumblehorn. Thunderstorm is indeed a very powerful dragon, but for groups of interspecies dragons to work together, or follow orders from a leader to a follower, a dragon needs more than brute strength. Most dragons aren't natural alphas who can enforce their will upon other dragons. There is nothing stopping any of your flock from just flying away, or even launching a mutiny against you two, or should I say three including Firestorm and driving you off the island. Thunderstorm has also earned their respect just as much as you have."
"And how have we done that? Is it just the Alpha's orders?"
"No, while that is part of it, that is not all. The Alpha gave them all a choice to come here with you; he can't control them from this far away. They are all choosing to stay here."
"And you aren't worried that's just because of you and Cloudjumper?"
"No, I know that we're obviously still present, but like that fight, we didn't intervene, Thunderstorm did, and they accepted his verdict. I know the same will happen when we go back home. But don't be so surprised, Thunderstorm has been part of the flock for months and he assists you with helping the injured dragons in the nest, you've both been assisting me with anything I ask you. Dragons pay attention to Viggo, they have long memories. And they don't forget the good or the bad. They will challenge you, of that I have no doubt, you will have to earn your right to lead the flock every day both through outright challenges to your leadership, and also tested by your ability to lead through the day-to-day, or larger conflicts that arise. Trust me, Viggo, I hope you know by now that dragons are just as complex and amazing, but also as difficult as humans are."
"I know you are right on that Valka. I will do my best to remember that."
"And don't worry we'll still be here for a few more days at least, I wouldn't want to miss the hatching of an Alpha for the world."
"Neither do I, I'm sure it will be a sight to behold." Viggo agreed with a nod of his head and then grinned when he remembered what was in the corner of the table. "Say Valka, how tired are you?"
"Me, not very but I'll probably call it a night soon. Why?"
"What would you say to a game of Maces and Talons? We still haven't played and I don't want potentially my last opponent ever to leave before a game or two."
Valka smiled, "I would be happy to play you, although my skills are quite a bit rusty. I don't know how long I'll last."
"On the contrary, I have a feeling you can surprise me. But just to warn you, I never underestimate an opponent, and I think that would be an even more grievous mistake against you than usual."
Viggo quickly brought his Maces and Talons board over to the table and gestured to Valka to choose her side.
Valka smiled, "I'll take the Viking chief, and you can be the outcast chief."
"Naturally, I don't think you would make a very good outcast, even if they are on good terms right now."
"Thanks, Viggo, are you sure you don't know how that happened? I can't imagine Stoick ever trusting Alvin again."
"Unfortunately I don't, although I think it's a pretty safe bet that Hiccup had something to do with it, but on to more important matters. You have the first move."
"Gladly," Valka said, she studied the board for a few moments and moved her first piece, a warrior into the center of the board.
Viggo did his best to keep his face neutral for now. He'd lay his trap carefully, but he could be patient, he wanted to learn what Valka's skill level was before he went in for the kill.
The game went on for a while, neither were playing very aggressively, it took at least a dozen moves for each of them to take their first piece from their opponent. Viggo tried to analyze and predict what she was going to do, but whatever her strategy was, it was nothing Viggo had ever seen before, at times it seemed like she was trying to trap his pieces to take them all in one fell swoop but then just a few turns later, it seemed like she would retreat to keep herself from concentrating her forces in any one section of the board.
Viggo did his best to try to predict her moves, but all his guesses seemed to be failing, either she'd expertly avoided sending her own pieces into a direct trap and may have even been predicting his next moves with enough accuracy to even force his pieces into a few corners and he had to make some difficult decisions on which to save, and which to sacrifice.
But the sacrifices did give him a glimpse of Valka's endgame strategy, and Viggo came up with his own, it would be risky, but what was the fun of a game without a little risk involved?
Viggo was very careful now, some of his more powerful pieces, he intentionally left vulnerable, and Valka took the bait, thankfully without noticing the lynchpin to his strategy slowly getting into the perfect position.
Valka was being lulled into a false sense of security, gradually becoming more confident in her moves, but unbeknown to her, she was also steadily walking right into Viggo's trap.
"Ha ha, what do you say now, Viggo?" Valka asked him, as she took one of his two remaining berserker warriors. They both knew that in her next move, she could easily trap his outcast chief in check and win the game.
"I will simply say…" Viggo said slowly as he made his final move, shifting one out of two remaining berserker warriors into position. "Check and mate."
Valka's smug glow vanished in an instant as she scanned the board, quickly realizing she was indeed trapped…and with no escape. "This can't be, I was going to win on the next move."
"Oh yes, I agree, if I hadn't made my move, you would have indeed won…I counted on that, when it comes to Maces and Talons, and life, in the end, most of the pieces don't really matter, all that matters are the final pieces necessary to lead to success. But also, you should never let the specter of victory blind you until after the fact. Otherwise, your victory will remain only fantasy."
"OK, I see your point. Good game Viggo, I yield."
Viggo reached out and tipped her Chief piece on its side. "Thank you for the wonderful game, it took me a while to see your plan. You wanted to trap me with the dragon's teeth maneuver didn't you?"
"Yes indeed. I should have known you would recognize it."
"On the contrary, I don't think I've seen that strategy since the days I played my grandfather. Not very many people use it, much less recognize it."
"Well, sounds like you probably understand the gist is to slowly surround and trap the opposing chief so there's no escape, just like a dragon's bite."
"Indeed." Viggo nodded.
"So what do you call your little strategy?"
"Simple, False Victory. Once I finally managed to predict your strategy and knew you were committed, and studying you took longer than most opponents, I'll freely admit. I allowed myself to be trapped, while carefully sending out the 1-2 pieces I needed to take out the chief before you could trap me in checkmate. It's risky, as you can see, if I was one turn off my prediction you could have walked away with an easy victory."
"I should have known, I made the mistake of underestimating you." Valka smiled, "You probably think I'm a fool."
"Well, I say there are two ways to be fooled, one is to believe what isn't true, and the other is to refuse to believe what is. I almost didn't believe you had a strategy at all at first until I managed to recognize your endgame moves, and in the end, you were the one caught in my trap."
"I know. Well, good game Viggo, and I think after such a loss, it's time for me to call it a night."
"I suppose I can live with that. Good game." Viggo reached out his hand and they shook good-naturedly. "Are you sure you don't want to use my bed? I'm fine with a bedroll on the floor, and I think I can finally say that you're my guest."
"There's no need for that. I know there is nowhere I sleep better in than wrapped up in Cloudjumper's wings." Valka stepped outside the doorway. "Goodnight Viggo, should I send Thunderstorm inside?"
"If he's ready to join me, of course. Goodnight Valka." Viggo replied and moments later, Thunderstorm indeed walked into the cave, and after greeting Viggo, both Rider and Dragon settled down to sleep on their beds. Viggo had to shield his eyes for a few moments as Thunderstorm heated up the stone with his lighting and then circled around it three times, and then they both soon drifted off to sleep at nearly the same moment.
The next few days were both long, but also short. Viggo and Thunderstorm, along with Firestorm as their third in command did their best to get all the dragons settled in their new home, they did face a few challenges, mostly from dragons refusing their orders or trying to fight back, but Viggo and Thunderstorm were slowly earning the respect of the last few holdouts. For one, Viggo and his dragons always took responsibility for feeding the dragons that couldn't join in their fishing trips, such as the night terrors on duty and Bewilderbreath. That seemed to help their image and help the holdouts begin to follow their orders.
Viggo was under no illusion, he knew that even if he could lead these dragons, it wouldn't be the same as leading men. The social rules of dragons that he had spent the last few months learning were in some ways simple, and in some ways more complex than he could ever hope to understand. One thing he was certain of though, acts of service, no matter how small were a sure way to a dragon's heart.
Valka and Cloudjumper tried to stay out of the way, they knew that getting their wings for leadership had to be done without their intervention, although both were pools of advice before they went to sleep at night, instead, they often kept Bewilderbreath and the egg company, more than content to just watch and wait for it to hatch.
But on the morning of their seventh day, since they arrived at the compound with the egg, Viggo and Thunderstorm had just returned from a morning fishing trip to find nearly every dragon roaring and flying around in a frenzy.
Thunderstorm sped up ahead of the rest of their fishing party to see what the problem was, but thankfully when they got close, both of them let out sighs of relief that no one looked like they were fighting, in fact, Viggo thought it looked similar to how the nest acted when the Alpha returned.
Thunderstorm roared loudly over the din, drawing all the dragon's attention to himself, he then roared again, and a thunderclaw roared something back at him. Thunderstorm stiffened up for a moment beneath Viggo's seat, and then he roared even louder before taking off to glide across the compound and landing in front of the nursery.
"What is it Thunderstorm?" Viggo asked, he quickly dismounted, and the second his boots hit the ground Valka ran out the door.
"Oh Viggo, thank Thor you're here!"
"What is it Valka?" Viggo asked he was still confused, but he couldn't ignore the smile that was so bright he almost wondered if Valka's cheeks were hurting. "Is it…what I think this is?"
"It is," She nodded, "the egg is hatching!"
"It is? Well, let's go!" Viggo was about to sprint inside himself, but he could the cacophony starting up behind him once more.
"Thunderstorm? Can you try to calm everyone down, and also tell them that other than us and Firestorm, no one else should enter unless it's an emergency."
Thunderstorm nodded his head, and hovered in the air for a few moments, roaring loudly to make an announcement and all the dragons once again calmed down a bit more, most of them heading to perch around the walls and all facing the nursery expectantly.
"Thank you Thunderstorm, let's meet our new king." Viggo gave him a scratch beneath the chin. "You're invited too Firestorm," Viggo added to the nightmare, and then they all walked inside, after which the sentinel flew down from his post to guard the entrance himself.
When they entered Viggo slowly took in the scene. Cloudjumper was sitting tall and proud in one corner where Viggo's dragons lined up beside him, straightening their necks and raising their spines and wings like they were on display, only their bright eyes betrayed their excitement. Viggo shrugged his shoulders, it was probably a dragon thing.
Valka was standing a short distance away and Viggo joined by her side as they both looked on.
Bewilderbreath was circling around her nesting hollow, also looking excited, but Viggo knew it was best to keep his distance and trust her to keep being the great mother she had been.
Down in her hollow, Viggo could see the egg slowly rocking back and forth, but there didn't appear to be any cracks in the shell yet.
"What has happened so far?" Viggo whispered to Valka.
"Just the shaking and Bewilderbreath quickly gave us all the news. Obviously, I have no idea how long this is going to take, but Bewilderbreath looks like she knows what she's doing."
"How long ago was this?"
"About an hour. I'm surprised there aren't any cracks yet. Most dragon eggs, once they start shaking like that, the parent has about ten minutes max before they hatch, usually explosively. So I can only assume a bewilderbeast is supposed to take this long."
Viggo and Valka continued watching in silence for a while, Viggo couldn't keep track of time, his brain was racing in a hundred different directions while his eyes remained locked on every minuscule movement. Waiting for the moment of truth, and all of his companions, both human and dragon, seemed to be in the same frame of mind that he was in.
He was watching it so intensely that, at one point he had to remind himself to blink. At one of these moments, he closed his eyes to give them a reprieve, and right as he did, he heard Valka gasp, so his eyes snapped open once more.
"What is it?" Viggo asked, but he quickly realized, along one side of the eggshell, a crack had appeared and suddenly the cave was lit by a minuscule, yet powerful teal glow from within.
That seemed to be the moment Bewilderbreath was waiting for, because she picked the egg up in her forepaws, and hurriedly carried it over to the pool and dropped it in. She then backed up quickly and joined the rest of the dragons against the far wall.
"You know Valka, I think I just realized something. I know dragon eggs explode when hatching…but what happens when a King of Dragons hatches?"
"You know Viggo, I think you're right." Valka and Viggo shared a look with each other and then ran to their dragons. Cloudjumper extended his lower wings to wrap around both of them, but each still peeked out over the edges.
They didn't move a moment too soon, because suddenly a large crack like the snap of a falling tree rang out moments before a blinding blue-white light lit up the entire cave and then a freezing shockwave followed just as quickly that took Viggo's breath away as he covered his eyes.
Moments later, Viggo had to rub the dark spots out of his eyes, and thankfully he wasn't blinded this time. Cloudjumper slowly raised his wings to let them go and Viggo's eyes widened in wonder.
All four dragons' scales had been turned snow-white by a layer of frost, and Viggo was pretty sure he could see ice crystals slowly falling in the air like snow. While all the walls, floors, and ceiling were noticeably coated in a fresh layer of ice, shimmering a vibrant teal over the slightly bluish ice that bewilderbeath had previously created, it looked just like the ice back in the nest.
But the most significant change in the room was the pool. Where liquid water had stood moments earlier, it was now a massive nest of icy spikes at least the size of a gronckle. But climbing out of the center of the spikes…was a hatchling.
It was taking a few tumbling steps as it navigated the spikes and finally made its escape to the solid ground below, falling onto its belly as it did so. But moments later it stood up once more and seemed to be taking in its surroundings for the first time, and simultaneously Viggo's eyes were drinking in the sight.
It was about the size of a full-grown terrible terror. Snow white scales from head to tail, no sign of any black tips yet. Viggo also noticed that he couldn't see the blue coloration on the neck either, it was only white. Its mane of spikes around its neck seemed thinner than its father's, nor did it have a complete forest of spikes on the back yet. The wings/fins weren't extended, still pressed tight against its ribs.
His face appeared smooth, devoid of the many spikes along the Alpha's face, and with his eyes looking a bit larger, and dare Viggo say cuter in comparison. And they were the most magnificent blue, the color of the sky on the clearest day. The most striking difference though was its tusks, he had them, but they were merely the tiniest of nubs extending out from its face for only a few inches.
Viggo finally broke out of his trance when the hatchling opened its mouth and let out a small squawk of happiness and curiosity.
Behind Valka and Viggo, all four dragons lowered themselves into matching bows of respect, and following their lead Viggo and Valka both did the same. Viggo knew in his heart, that this changes everything.