CHAPTER 15: Militarization

Yurlin's goal of living space for the Ancient vikings was to be achieved through taking territories he deemed to be infested with unvikings in them. And the Ancient Chieftan was ready to initiate that particular area of his agenda. He's achieved his goal domestically of bringing the true viking lifestyle back - the ancient tribe LOVED him for bringing prosperity and purpose to their lives. Entirely under a forced cult of personality, but for some of the vikings their love of Yurlin was authentic.

The punishment camps across Ancient Island weren't in the minds of the vikings - they were just in love with Yurlin for being the first Chieftan to actually keep to his promises. They didn't care that marriages were banned between them and unvikings - many of them agreed with that. They didn't care the women of the tribe were forced to stay at home and make food and bring up children for the future of the tribe - they loved the sense of purpose.

They loved that he had taken a strong stand against the Warlords and delivered a message that nobody would stand in his way, with the Ancients finally feeling like their tribe was being given a hearing.

On that basis, Yurlin had consolidated his power within the tribe domestically and he had full authority as Chieftan. He had the backing of the newly conscripted 30,000+ army, his mostly symbolic council, and the majority of the Ancient vikings.

Now, it was time to begin the expansion. Yurlin ideally wanted to begin this at a later date, but given Drago and the Warlords, he was more than ready to begin his foreign expansion earlier.

Pondering inside the wooden palace in the middle of the night, Yurlin paced back and forth inside the empty meeting room. The Ancient Chieftan, in looking to carry out his foreign plans, was figuring out the best geographical place to begin them.

He crossed his arms and simply looked at the bottom half of the wall, blankly staring as he mulled his options. Ultimately, his word was the final command, and nobody could defy him. He had scrapped council meetings so all of the big decisions now were taken by him. He didn't need to be in a packed meeting with his council members for this.

Yurlin walked over to the table and grabbed ahold of a wooden cup which contained pure water in it. Taking a drink, basking in the atmosphere of solitude, Yurlin continued mulling his options. He was completely willing to take a big risk if needed and he was also thinking strategically about this.

Because when, not if, he launches his war against the Warlords on an ideological and personal hatred of Drago, he needed to secure lands and territory that'd make such a war even more difficult for the Warlords to get an upper hand in. And at the same time, these lands had to be viable for living space for the Ancient vikings. The tribe, in Yurlin's perspective, needed to expand beyond just one island.

He was interested in the notion of turning a decent chunk of the archipelago into a central Ancient Tribe 'continent', taking lands which contained unvikings to then be dealt with, and for the Ancient Vikings to then move onto and populate those lands.

Yurlin suddenly had an idea. Placing the wooden cup back onto the table, he looked across the hall and started walking around with his hands held together behind his lower back, wandering slowly. He couldn't believe how quickly and how clever this idea of his was and how soon he thought of it.

"Of course...it is, after all, a genuine attempt to guard our vicinity!" Yurlin spoke to himself.

His idea? to militarize Berk.

The way this would be conducted would be to send a small number of Ancient army vikings to Berk, and to occupy it with said men. On a defensive basis and on a strategic basis, it made the most sense to Yurlin. He didn't for once think Hiccup or the other tribes like the Berserkers would do anything about it. Not least, because he had just given Hiccup a charm offensive and a genuine offer to be allied against the Warlords.

Yurlin could quite authentically justify such an occupation and militarization on the basis of the unvikings and the Warlords arising, the need to prevent such lands from coming into their hands and breeding unvikings.

Yurlin sipped the last of his water and placed the cup down. Feeling pretty happy with his decision, he made his way towards the open doors of the hall where Herrick Herald and Krimm Hiss were situated, alongside a bunch of Ancient guards. He was to share his decision to militarize and occupy Old Berk with them and for the plan to go ahead promptly tomorrow morning, at the dawn of sunrise.

"You...want to send vikings onto the Hooligan's old island?" Herrick Herald questioned, being the only viking arguably within the tribe who was able to question Yurlin's decisions and choices given his position.

"For me, gentlemen, there's nothing to lose. We have to do this. That island has been lifeless for ten years, no viking has been on it for ten years. It must be occupied and militarized for the protection of the Ancient vikings, to counter the Warlords and to stop them potentially taking it."

Herald and a couple of the top members of the Ancient army were in the room with Yurlin, around the wooden table with a giant map of the archipelago on it.

"We could very well antagonize the Hooligans over this, Chieftan," one of the top vikings of the army said, "ideologically we wholeheartedly support the notion behind it...but it could prove to be rather risky, no?"

"As I said, Berk has been lifeless for ten years. It is no doubt a strategic piece of land for the taking by Drago Bludvist should he want it. Not only do we need to militarize it, we need to defend our own front yards. Berk is geographically close to us. If the Warlords occupy it, they're at our front door," Yurlin insisted.

"The Hooligans might very well become antagonized by this course of action, sir?"

"They won't do a thing. Because I have offered them an alliance where we would be the defenders of this whole archipelago against Warlodism, by avenging his father, the great Stoick the Vast. He won't do a thing because I am the key to defeating and ending Drago, Stoick the Vast is a patriotic symbolism of the era of vikingism I want the world to return to, our two tribes were built to be an alliance together."

Yurlin seriously thought that the Hooligans wouldn't take any action should he push ahead his decision, his bold decision, to potentially send a couple thousand vikings onto Berk to militarize it. He gathered a sense at this point that the Hooligans wanted no war, not least because he addressed that potential concern in his letter he gave to Eret and Gobber to give to Hiccup.

There was really only one way for that to be tested - for the decision to go ahead and to send the vikings to Berk.

Whilst Alfa Yurlin was confident in his decision, clearly his upper members of the council were more cautious - and in particular the two Ancients who were at the top of the army. They had plenty of ships, weapons, and morale and numbers, but they were fairly confident, given what they've heard about the Hooligans, that they wouldn't quite be able to fight back in the event they decided to take action.

They lacked that doubt when it came to the Warlords - they felt more than capable of taking the battle to them. But the Hooligans had proven themselves to be quite the formidable tribe, everyone except Yurlin wasn't sure if they'd be able to fend them off.

"There appears to be concern. Ultimately we are going to march onto Berk either way, but to address this concern you gentlemen have, here's an order - in the event there's any sort of attack, the men are to swiftly retreat and return home. They will be under such orders for the duration of the militarization," Yurlin declared.

Herrick Herald seemed to nod. With Yurlin officially putting the few thousand vikings who were going to be sent to Berk under orders to retreat if attacked, he felt less cautious about the decision.

"Sir Yurlin, I feel like we are now moving towards a comprehensible position on this. Forget my initial hesitations, this is the right course of action to take. We must take a stand and make our tribe heard to our enemies, the unvikings and Warlords!" he said.

The two Ancient army vikings in the room nodded as well, but a hint of caution was still at the back of their heads. There finally seemed to be a consesus, albeit with a bit of subtle caution, in regards to Yurlin's bold decision and gamble to send vikings onto Berk.

Standing near the shores of Ancient Island surrounded by heaps of guards, Yurlin saluted at his barges of ships housing a couple thousand vikings who were set to sail to Berk - it was the morning after the symbolic meeting yesterday in which Yurlin made the decision to do this.

"OUR YURLIN!" yelled the soldiers on the wooden barges, as they looked back to their Chieftan standing near a couple of boulders with his guards.

The weather was calm, and in the distance the dark skies were starting to be consumed by the vibrant oranges of dawn. Most of the Ancient Tribe were still asleep except for these soldiers of course, and Yurlin intended on making a speech to the entire tribe about his decision later on.

For now, he continued saluting and waving at his soldiers on their wooden ships from the barges. They were cut loose from the barges and they were now starting to swiftly sail, slowly albeit, on the choppier than expected waters. Yurlin gulped and felt his heart ache for a split second as he watched his decision be put into action.

He knew this was a bold gamble - the next 24 or even 48 hours were going to be the most nerve wracking of his life. If anyone attacks his soldiers, they were under orders from him to retreat, at which point his whole leadership could be destroyed and discredited, leading to him suffering a coup from dissatisfied council members.

But he knew this was inevitable, taking risks like this - he wanted to test how the other tribes would respond to this sort of action, because ultimately one of his goals was to expand the Ancient Tribe's living space - this is more like a prelude to that.

He was also doing it because he genuinely thought it'd be good for the Ancient Tribe's defence, and ideologically, to stop the Warlords and unvikings taking Berk for themselves.

It was going to be his make or break and Yurlin knew it. Time would only tell. It was to call out the bluff of the other tribes but also out of a genuine authentic ideological and strategic basis.