The Berserker War Chapter 15
It took quite a while, and quite a bit of ale, before the Berserker delegation began to relax and enjoy the party that was presented in their honor. Their main worry was that Berk might hold a grudge against them; Vikings take to grudges like a dragon takes to the air. Things might have gone badly if any of Berk's human citizens had been killed or wounded in the war. But that wasn't the case. The closest anyone came was Stoick, whose grandson had taken a spear in the chest, but came back fighting, a fact that brought the chief great pleasure and pride. But Stoick's grandson was a dragon, and Berk's chief wasn't about to admit that in front of the Berserkers.
The treaty had been signed and the hostilities ended. The party had been a success. Pugpoodle and his associates had gotten back in their ships and sent on their way with a parting gift – a dozen sacks of dried fish, which would be appreciated by the homeless, hungry Berserker refugees. Peace returned to Berk.
There were still a few loose ends to tie up, though.
The next day, Stoick climbed to the second floor of the Nest and looked out on the dozens of dragons who called his village home. Hiccup stood beside him, ready to translate his Norse into dragon language, with Astrid, Toothless, and Guana close behind him. Night-fury-smallest-girl was perched on her mother's back so she could see everything.
"Dragons of Berk!" Stoick began. "I speak for all the Vikings of Berk when I say, 'thank you.' You have won a victory for us, the likes of which no Viking has ever seen or heard of.
"Your Night Furies are to be praised for their superb strategy, tactics, and battlefield leadership. Every one of you is to be praised for your courage and determination. Berk is in your debt.
"I know that some of you have lost friends in this war. I know how that feels. Some of you are recovering from wounds, and I know how that feels as well. You have all sacrificed to win this war, and I do not take that lightly.
"I want to show my thankfulness in two ways.
"One: we will erect a standing stone in the center of the town, with the names of all of you engraved on it, along with the names of the dragons who did not come back. Future generations of Berk Vikings will see that stone and remember what you did for us." That was more for the Vikings than for the dragons, he knew, but it was the kind of gesture that chiefs are supposed to make.
"Two: tomorrow's fish catch will belong entirely to you. We won't sort them, keep the best ones for ourselves, and give you the leftovers. Tomorrow, you will feast like the conquering heroes that you are!" That had been Hiccup's suggestion, and it meant a lot more to the dragons than a standing stone. They roared their approval, with a few puffs and streaks of flame thrown in. Stoick waited until they finished before he concluded.
"If the day ever comes when men and dragons live together all over the Northland, then the saga of what you did here will be told and sung from Gaul to the frozen lands. I am proud to have known warriors like you." He glanced at the Night Furies as he said that last part. The dragons cheered again, and the crowd broke up. Some of them were already planning an epic round of gluttony tomorrow.
Hiccup wrote just two words in his sand table.
THANKS, DAD
o
The Night Fury twins didn't take part in this ceremony. They were engaged in a very different mission. They were flying north, side by side. Each of them was ridden by one of the Berserker smith twins. Between them, they carried a net, and the net contained a bound, gagged Dagur the Deranged. Night-fury-makes-one-heck-of-a-bang and Night-fury-six-shooter were taking him into exile, and Agnarr and Agmundr had begged for the chance to go along. After all, someone who spoke Norse had to tell Dagur what was going on, and who better to tell him than two of his most disgruntled ex-subjects?
The dragons glided toward a rocky, lifeless shoreline and set down their burden (none too gently). The human twins cut away Dagur's bonds with their belt knives, and stepped back before he could lash out at them. The former chief of the Berserkers struggled to his feet, rubbed the circulation back into his hands, and looked around him. His surroundings looked familiar.
"This is Dragon Island!" he exclaimed.
"Welcome to your new home," Agnarr smirked.
"You call this punishment?" Dagur exclaimed with an evil grin. "This is like Valhalla to me! I can hunt dragons all day long!"
"Really?" Agmundr wondered. "What will you use for weapons? Your teeth?" Dagur looked around, and saw absolutely nothing that might be useful against a dragon. He couldn't even throw rocks at them – the Gronckles had eaten all the decent-sized rocks years ago.
"There are no living things on this island except dragons," Agnarr began. "They will take turns bringing you fish and firewood, and they'll light a cooking fire for you, if you behave like a civilized Viking. If you make the dragons angry, they'll bring you nothing, and you'll get very hungry. The choice is up to you."
"You mean..." Dagur's knees began to shake. "...I have to be nice to dragons if I want to eat?"
"For the rest of your life," Agmundr grinned. "The dragons think the punishment should fit the crime. And don't even think of trying to escape on a boat or a raft or anything like that. The dragons will catch you before you've gone half a mile, bring you right back here, and burn the boat. They're really good at fighting against ships, you know."
"I can't bear this!" Dagur screamed. "What cruel, heartless sadist thought up this inhuman punishment?"
The two sets of twins shared a good laugh at that.
"You think this is funny?" the former chief demanded.
"No, we just think your question is funny, because we know the answer," Agnarr smiled. He glanced at his brother, and they said in perfect unison, "It was Hiccup!"
"Hiccup?" Dagur was incredulous. "That scrawny little worm never even showed his face in battle! Who gave him the right to pass judgment on me?" The twin Night Furies and the twin humans had another good laugh at that. Dagur fumed. He looked like he was ready to leap at the twins and strangle them, one hand around each neck, but each of them had a vigilant, dangerous-looking Night Fury bodyguard.
"Maybe you'll figure it out some day," Agnarr said affably, "but probably not. We'll leave you to your meditation. Have a nice, quiet, peaceful life!" They bounded onto the backs of the Night Furies, one of the dragons grabbed the net, and they winged away to the south, leaving Dagur the Deposed screaming in helpless fury, alone on the rocky beach.
Up in the air, the twin smith's apprentices were exulting in the joys of flight. Agmundr, in particular, was thrilled with the sensations of whipping through the air half a mile above the earth.
"Are you still thinking about becoming one of these guys?" Agnarr called.
"Yes, but thinking is all I'm doing," Agmundr nodded. If he could do it on a trial basis, he'd try it in a heartbeat, but the permanence of it made him hesitate. He still had one question that was begging to be answered, and this seemed like the perfect time to ask.
He leaned down, got a good grip around Night-fury-six-shooter's neck, and quietly said, "How fast can you guys go when you really want to move?"
He found out. So did Agnarr, half a moment later.
o
Back in the nest, the Night Furies were trying to unwind. They had been on a war footing for so long, it was hard to relax. Night-fury-smallest-girl helped by literally walking all over them; she'd been on her own for much of this war, and she wanted some attention.
Hiccup gazed at Toothless. "Once again, you've come to help us fight a battle that wasn't yours. Thank you."
Toothless grinned back. "Once again, you've shown that transforming you was the smartest thing I ever did. The way you led us, and kept outsmarting those Berserkers... I'm going to have to come up with a higher compliment than 'awesome fighting dragon.' You've maxed that one out. Maybe you need a new name, like Night-fury-sky-general."
"Only if all the other dragons like it," Hiccup replied. "I'm used to them calling me New-night-fury. It reminds me of where I came from and where I've been."
"You've got to admit," Night-fury-six-shooter said after a few moments, "that was a pretty cool war."
"No," both Hiccup and Guana said at once. She paused, and he went on. "You wouldn't think that if there hadn't been a dragon with his Power available to heal your brother. There are no good wars; any war is bad. But sometimes there are worse things than fighting. The best that can happen in war is to fight for a good reason, and we did that. We all have every reason to be proud of what we accomplished."
"But...?" wondered Astrid, who expected him to say more.
Hiccup waved his wing around at all the other dragons of Berk. "Look at them! All they want to do is eat, sleep, and raise their young in safety. Give them those things, and they're perfectly happy.
"If only humans could be more like dragons, maybe there wouldn't be any more wars."
The End