That coming Snoggletog, Hiccup and I were once more in his study, this time with Toothless. For the last two decades, I had truly gotten to know the Night Fury, being sure to spend time with him, his mate Blueheart, and their three children. In the time bonding with Toothless, I also spent time with the dragons of the other riders; Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Dusk, Blueheart, and many others.
It was especially sweet at how emotional Zyrah would become when Blueheart came to her. Getting to feel her scales under her fingers, feeling new nicks and scars the female Night Fury got as the second Alpha of the Hidden World. And of course, Eyarr and I were elated to see Cliffire and Riptide also join the Berkian dragon flock. Both of them had gotten mates of their own and were delighted to show off their respective clutches.
Eyarr had mentioned how curious he was as to whether Cliffire would choose a Skrill or Monstrous Nightmare mate before the hybrid began joining us for the holidays, as neither of us was sure. But he eventually chose a Nightmare as his mate. And she was beautiful; a deep burnt umber with bright golden patterns about her scales, with equally brilliant, warm gold eyes. Eyarr had named her Goldenwing, for the patterns on her scales. Ana had remarked that Eyarr was better at naming dragons, though she was sure to say so out of Hiccup's earshot, and we all shared a laugh.
In Hiccup's study, he unveiled the Eye of the Ocean, which now bore a completed exterior, bearing a silver body, the head and tail made of polished gold. The silver body was decorated with crisscrossing lines which I couldn't determine the meaning of. Interrupting the crisscrossing lines, were several gold rings engraved with incomprehensibly organized runes.
Hiccup and I sat down, with Toothless also lounging next to me, a deep rumble coming from within his chest as he nuzzled my leg, and I happily gave him an affectionate scratch near the small spines on his head.
"Alright, you ready Laeli?" I gave an eager nod. Hiccup set the Eye of the Ocean on his desk facing the blank wall and blew out the candle, darkening the room. Hiccup nodded to Toothless who opened his maw and emitted a brilliant purple glow from within his throat, casting the room in a eerie light, shadows dancing about the wall. Hiccup then positioned the Eye carefully, twisting it open with an audible click, and the wall lit up with a circle of purplish-blue light, revealing my map of the stars.
Tears began to fill my eyes as I took in the map, seeing all of my hard work brought to life.
Even Hiccup couldn't help but be a little emotional himself. He looked at me, his eyes glimmering with tears, he then reached for the Eye once more, shifting it, and with another click, another layer of the map was revealed, connecting the constellations, with their names in runes listed next to them.
Each of the crucial constellations were in the perfect positions, from Man's Chariot and Woman's Chariot due north, and the Asar Battlefield as well. The Guiding Star at the bottom of Woman's Chariot was perfectly visible, as it was one of the most crucial stars to guide at sea.
"Hiccup, you genius. It's perfect."
"You are to thank for this, you know. If it wasn't for you watching the sky, we wouldn't have been able to do this." He replied with a broad grin, "Your parents and ancestors would be so proud of you." I knew he was right, and I smiled back, a tear slipping down my cheek.
The stars had never failed me, and I knew they would never fail those who would come after.
Hiccup and I chatted a bit more, detailing further plans on what to do with the Eye. Then came the important question of how it would be kept safe from falling into the wrong hands.
Although it was a grim idea, I suggested he could always be buried with it, but he shook his head.
"Once people get wind that I created the Eye and figure out it contains the location of the Hidden World, they will seek out my grave, no matter where I am laid to rest. It's too risky. No, we need something else."
"Okay, to play Loki's advocate, say it is buried with you and someone gets ahold of it. How are the lenses inside protected?" He handed me the Eye, allowing me to finally get a clear view of it, observing all the details. It had a good weight to it, feeling solid in my hands. The metal was cool to the touch, having not been overheated due to Toothless's fire.
Hiccup explained that he designed the outer and inner cylinders with a mechanism that could only be unlocked by twisting the engraved gold rings to form a word.
"How will those in the future know the word to use?" Hiccup glanced up at me, and I couldn't quite read the emotions in his eyes.
"They will know." That was all he said. It was the first time he'd been vague about a part of the project, and I wanted to understand. But I soon realized that only someone whose mind worked the way Hiccup's did would be able to unlock the Eye and be able to read the stars
They had to think like Hiccup.
It struck me that it wasn't just intelligence and sheer determination. Whoever was meant to unlock the Eye that wasn't Hiccup had to understand the history of the Archipelago, and understand why the dragons were vital to the culture, but… they also had to know who they were, who came before them, and why they were meant for something greater.
They had to be a Dragon Rider themselves. That was the only way.
With a mutual understanding between us, Hiccup wordlessly put the Eye away for the time being, with both of us knowing that the time would come eventually. But we had families to return to and to celebrate with; and with Toothless in tow, we rejoined our families and friends to continue the party and have fun.