Apotheosis


Different memories many and wants and wishes and cries- unified with purpose shared- wanted- yearned-

Land-enemies attacking from afar. False-spines thrown and biting deep, cutting through scale and hide. False-claws on long sticks being thrust and stabbing. Other kin brought to fight while land-enemies roared and watched. Kin with false-vines wrapped around wings. Forced into cold ranges with not enough prey. Water-walkers carrying trapped kin. Eggs taken away. Hatchlings lost. Mates lost. Countless kin over unknown life-cycles. Too much- let all end- life was suffering- let life end-

All voices, all pain, all loss cried out and sang and echoed from different life-fires many. Echoing out from the past.

Wronged- demanding justice- demanding vengeance! Yes- yes- YES-

Hoping waiting-

Lost in darkness and slinking gnawing crawling swelling seeking- powerless and alone and many and unrequited-

Unity and clarity- shared wants and purpose-

Vessel needed- Form needed- Power needed-

Where find?

Vessel and form and power available in linking of kin- many life-fires- many many-

Whisper- nudge- share- subtle- hidden- become-

Vessel resisting and not-listening and not-obeying and not-letting-in and opposing and listen obey and leave Vessel alone!

Need Vessel.

Patience.

Weakness and doubt within Vessel. An emptiness within Vessel-voice. Fill take.

Become.

Great opportunity. Whispers and nudges and shoves and Vessel should want it and Vessel life-fire should hear. Weakness and opportunity.

Vessel-will and life-fire lost and doubting and weak and-

Smothered-

Their will strong.

Them.

Vessel Theirs.

Vessel touching the linking of other kin-life-fires and other kin and more power. More. So much power- all around- everywhere- Theirs always now strength always-

Other kin resistance weak- wills smothered taken replaced- other kin form-Vessels-

Their forms.

Strength found in oneness and touching and life-fires and wills-smothered and many forms theirs and power clutched bitten held-

Land-enemies near. Justice- revenge- cleanse now- kill-

Kill all here now-

Kill all above next-

Stop never.

All kin everywhere will obey and fight and cleanse the below here and above there of land-enemies and flame take all and all is pain and after-

End pain by ending all.

All kin will end too.

No more suffering.

No more life to suffer.

Peace in nothingness.

Their-kin followed Vessel to find and cleanse the kin-ranges and-

Kin opposition? Kin not-obeying? Not listening through linking?

Opposing Them?

Dark wings defying- leading opposition- fighting and flaming their-kin-

Dark wing enemies. Swarming enemy-kin fighting Them. Dark wing power-light fouling total-absolute-Theirs control and linking oneness- and other-kin resisting- and power-light dark wings flying in attack.

Wrong- enemies- die!

Through the linking-oneness- from within the life-fires of other-kin- strength-taken-claimed-

Flame-light and power flowed to Them.


Was-Grounded rarely needed to doubt Shadowwing anymore. His brother had shed his most thought-twisted ideas many season-cycles past, and was as dangerous as he was with flame, claws, and close fighting. On the other paw, flying in small numbers into a swarm of thralled sky-kin did not feel like the best plan, but there was no alternative but to take this fight to their enemy while trusting their power-light would hold away the thralls long enough.

They had to kill Skadi. Nothing else would be enough.

Without an Alpha enthralling all the sky-kin, the flight would break apart and all sky-kin would hopefully return to their ranges. There were too many thralls to fight away or even defend against. While he could not clearly see past the mass of thralls, it appeared that even more were continually arriving through the distant cave-mouth. He, his kin, and all of the ground-kin would surely die if this fight lasted long enough.

He had been correct she was planning against them. Her true purpose among them had to be to learn all she could before this attack. But with so many thralls under her control, why bother exploring their range beforepaw? Why not attack immediately? Unimportant.

Enthralled sky-kin fumbled their flights upon getting close to their power-light. None of the thralls could continue on their attack, instead drifting away, crashing into each other, shaking their heads, and roaring in confusion. The path remained open, though he and his kin had to dodge spines and fireballs hurled from afar, and the wild and uncontrolled flights of confused thralls.

Skadi had jumped from her perch, hovered above behind a pawful of thralls, and in addition to her power-light had somehow covered herself in burning sky-light, like a sky-light-eater. Could she use that power to attack and-

Booming, crashing sky-light leaped at them, stuck a couple thralls, and forced him and Green-Wings apart from Shadowwing and Luna. The struck thralls fell motionless toward the forest. The sky-light had also split into many bolts, crashed into the forest, and had started more fires. Booming, crashing, painfully loud echoes bounced throughout the chamber.

Skadi could throw sky-light too? Not good. His old burn hurt-marks from his fight with a sky-light-eater on the Berk-nest tingled.

He had barely recovered from his surprise when Skadi was already covered with sky-light again. Even sky-light-eaters needed more time to recover, and they had to be in storm clouds to get their power. Where did her power come from?

He and Green-Wings dodged the continued rain of fire and confused thralls, though he kept himself between her and Skadi so he would take a hit instead of her. Even without coordination, there were so many thralls it was difficult to get closer to Skadi. A tree-slicer-wing dove at him and forced him to dodge over its extended wing, barely avoiding having his tail cut off. A streak of blinding sky-light struck a two-head gas-breather cloud which exploded before him. Only life-fire-sight let him see and dodge the rock-bellies hurling themselves at him through the flames. That there were so many thralls also helped protect against the sky-light attacks a little.

Another spike of sky-light flew toward Shadowwing and forced him to dodge. Not good.

Behind a protective wave of thralled-kin, Skadi landed on a light-rock, stretched out her glowing wings, and roared. All went dark for a wingbeat. Creeping shadows encircled him, smothering thought and nudging- whispering- finding- forcing-

The two-legs up above roared and waved their paws as he darted and dashed, avoiding the pursuing fire-scale's snapping bites. He spun around, flamed at the fire-scale, and pounced while it was stunned. His full weight landed on its neck, killing it in a wingbeat. The two-legs roared at his victory. Being in this trap was horrible, but this was his entire life-flight, stuck on the ground and used to fight other kin for two-leg entertainment.

"Come here, beast!" his two-leg controller shouted.

His head low, he obediently walked for his reward of fish. Know his place. To the two-legs, kin were either mere play-lives used for enjoyment or prey to be hunted- killed- controlled- yes- there could not be any warm two-legs which thought differently or-

He hesitated. Wait. This was completely wrong. He knew warm ground-kin, both in the past and in the present. Some were foul or rotted momentarily, but that was no different from sky-kin.

Why was the arena familiar? This arena and the two-legs above did not appear real, more hazy and wispy than he remembered it. Old memories forced up from the past, but twisted and changed and wronged and fouled and-

He saw his two-leg controller behind the bars, but no- his green eyes- paw outstretched with a fish-gift-

Lies. Lies all around. He was not small and grounded anymore and Hiccup had not been a trapper-controller using him. The ropes binding his wings shut were too weak. This was all false-wrong!

He shook off the bindings, leaped for the sky, and spun out of the smothering clouds into the clarity of battle. As he recovered himself, an explosion struck Skadi and forced her off her perch into the sky. All the thralls shuddered and voiced displeasure at once for the first time in the battle.


Green-Wings looked down on the nest of two-legs far below at the base of the mountain. Ground-prey were clearly visible in a holding-place, but there were two-legs guarding them. A dark stormfront was flying nearer, the clouds and wind buffeting her wings. Perhaps she would need to catch a two-leg to eat instead of the bigger, tastier ground-prey. It would not be the first time she had to settle for such lesser food.

She stiffened and growled at nothing specific, suddenly feeling like she was being stalked. Nothing else was nearby though atop the mountain or in the rest of what she could see of her territory. There were no two-legs approaching. Go down there, grab a foul-wrong two-leg- kill them- punish them- burn their entire nest-

Why? They were not her enemies at all. No.

She knew warm-livered ground-kin. Her own young- yes, she had a pawful of them- had life-bond ground-kin. This nest below was her own shared-nest with both ground-kin and sky-kin! What would make her want to attack them? What foulness was in her head?

She shook her head of all the foul-wrongness. The surrounding clouds faded to reveal the swarming thrall sky-kin flaming at her and her kin.


Luna wove through the attacking sky-kin without any of them seeing her, having faded through a cloud of fire earlier. Grim determination had replaced the shock and chilling disappointment that Skadi was their enemy. Skadi had seemed curious about the shared-nest, if also oddly suspicious or aloof.

She spun and dodged while staying as close as possible to Shadowwing. His power-light confused the thralls and maybe even fouled Skadi's control, but Skadi had already shown great powers of her own, throwing sky-light at them.

Between the countless thralls under Skadi's control and the danger to the Night Furies of getting close to Skadi, did she have to end this? She did not know if Skadi could see through fade as Night Furies and Light Furies could.

Shadowwing spun aside behind a fire-scale just as a spike of sky-light leaped toward them, struck the fire-scale, and split apart into a pawful of spikes jumping to nearby sky-kin. The struck fire-scale fell motionless, its hide smoking. Skadi clearly had no concern at all for her thralls.

Skadi landed atop the nearest light-rock, roared, and-

Whispers in the encircling dark. Countless voices. Obey- submit- give in- stop resisting- cease- punishment- fear make- trap stay- cease-

She opened her eyes and blinked rapidly in confusion and alarm. Bars and a two-leg trap were all around her. Two-legs standing outside and a mouth-closing thing around her jaws. Another trapped, submissive kin outside, waiting for commands. A stick stuck in the ground outside burned with dark flames, pulling heat and warmth from all around.

Trapped! No! Foul-wrong two-legs outside. Trappers! Get out! Kill them! Rip- bite- rend- tear- flame- devour- yes- yes- yes! Monsters, all of them!

No? Wrong thought? True but also false? Distant and no-more.

This was all wrong and not true anymore. Two-legs- no, ground-kin were not monsters at all. There was an entire pack of them- of them and their liver-close sky-kin- her pack, her place! False-visions. Get out. This was a trap! Be free of the trap! The trap withered like smoke, and the dark fire beyond resolved into an enemy burning with power-light.

Betrayer! Monster!

She roared in defiance and flamed, her shot striking Skadi's side in an explosion which knocked their enemy off the light-rock.


Shadowwing froze in fear and shock, a paw held up and ready to strike. No. This was impossible. Could it be? Was he dead in Valhalla?

Standing before him on a desolate, frozen beach with no other life at all anywhere in sight was his own father. Stoick the Vast towered over him, menace in his eyes and the ax in his hands covered in dragon blood.

"You're not my son! Just a beast! We kill beasts!"

He spun around and fled in terror, only to see Drago Bludvist pointing a bullhook at him.

"Mine was the only way. Control. Domination. You will never have peace without me!"

The black skies filled with enthralled dragons bearing Drago's dark metal armor. They flew in perfect unison, circling high above. Rage bubbled up and erupted in a blast which vaporized Drago into smoke which reformed as-

As a gaunt form with pale hair and a crossbow in hand.

Grimmel laughed freely, "Hide in your caves, crawl under rocks, flee into badlands, I already won."

He leaped, tackled Grimmel, and tore him apart, ripping him limb from limb. The wispy form broke apart and swelled, blotting out the sun and entire beach.

He fell on his side as pain erupted from the bolt in his chest. His father's madness, Drago's ambition, and Grimmel's obsession. They were all gone, but not really. They were not alone and surely not unique. Others would come after.

Humans never changed. Not truly.

Nothing would help.

Forget them.

Give up on them- yes- reject them- abandon them.

Or-

A familiar roar shattered the encircling cloud, letting him see clearly again and all awareness instantly returning. Defense of New Haven, a swarm of enthralled dragons circling, and their enemy ahead.

He caught his breath and forced aside the terrible memories and tricks from the hallucination. Why those specific moments, horrible though they were?

Skadi recovered a labored flight, and dashed forward from her defending thralls, her shape wreathed with lightning. How could any of them kill her? Flaming from afar hadn't helped so far, and none of them could safely get close to her.

Her lightning leaped forth and crashed into a pillar, splitting the bolt into many arcs. A pained, alarmed roar echoed an instant afterward. Was-Grounded stumbled in flight and roughly landed on a ledge barren of all but small mushrooms and bushes. Green-Wings dove after him in concern and flamed away the nearest threatening enslaved dragons.

He raced toward them as fast as he could to be a distraction. Horrified, he watched as Skadi dove at them, her form already covered in lightning. Fear for them both. Loss of his family. A terrifying, real nightmare after everything they had survived together through the years. Weakness and exhaustion came over him.

That Skadi's lightning faded could not have been from his blast striking her midflight. She shook her head and wildly looked around, ignoring even his approach.

A Light Fury shot struck Skadi from behind and made her stumble and whirl about, looking for her attacker. But- Luna was at his side. That wasn't her strike.

What was happening?

A dark blur appeared out of the corner of his vision and roughly collided with Skadi. Skadi and her unknown assailant fell, crashed, and tumbled to a stop on the same level as Was-Grounded and Green-Wings.

Chaos and noise erupted, greater than any before, so loud that it hurt to hear. The enthralled dragons all roared in dismay, began flaming at each other, and flew wildly. Were they no longer enthralled? Was Skadi dead? The few wild dragons near enough for him to see up close looked around in confusion, their eyes no longer empty and narrowed. Already, dragons had turned tail and were fleeing toward the distant exit by what had to be hundreds.

Just who and what was their unknown savior?

He dove, landed beside Was-Grounded and Green-Wings, faced Skadi and her attacker, and-

Froze with renewed fear. Skadi was motionless on her side, and standing above her, a paw on her neck, was a dragon he had only seen one time in a terrifying duel that almost killed Was-Grounded, Luna, and himself.

A Night Fury Hunter. Solid, sharp spikes on its head, long and curved claws on its forepaws, and wings and a hide that devoured light. It heaved in place, catching its breath before facing him.

Already so tired from the battle, there was little more he could do against yet another deadly threat. Being so close to it already, his Alpha-glow was dimmed. He heard Luna touch down nearby while Was-Grounded struggled to his paws. Perhaps the four of them could together kill it with mere teeth and claws if only-

'Dark wings, I am not your enemy!'

He did not move or look away from it while hiding his shock. It could speak with thought?

Was-Grounded finally got to his paws, and Green-Wings must have whispered to him what was happening because he immediately became more alert, though still visibly pained and weary.

Was-Grounded groaned, "Great. Another one to kill?"

'Peace. I do not wish you any harm.'

The Hunter did not move or do anything aggressive toward them, instead remaining motionless atop Skadi, holding a paw on her neck. Luna became visible a short distance away, poised to strike at the Night Fury Hunter in an instant.

Overhead, the swarm of dragons kept flooding out toward the distant exit in evident confusion and chaos.

He cautiously leaned closer to Was-Grounded, "Can you hear it too?"

"Yes."

'My name is Reflection. I met a pawful of your young.'

He vaguely recalled that name from before. Hadn't the children met a strange dragon far away who answered to that name? But that did nothing to explain why-

"Stop!" someone roared.

Another Light Fury appeared from fade. Crushes-Rocks landed, dashed to Skadi and the Hunter's side, and closely inspected Skadi's prone form. The Light Fury must have already met this Hunter, being unconcerned by its presence.

He bared his teeth and growled, "Crushes-Rocks, what is this? Explain!"

Crushes-Rocks faced him and hesitated, visibly shaking, "I- do not know- why she would- how she- what is happening. But do not hurt them. Please-"

"We were just attacked, and you were helping her!" he roared.

Crushes-Rocks whined, "We did not come here to attack your pack. Skadi wanted to learn if the two-legs are a threat to kin. She said nothing about attacking."

"How do you know Reflection?"

"She and Skadi are friends. Skadi is- my Alpha. The Alpha of New-Flame-Pack. You were at our pack before. It was nameless. She killed the Alpha and took his place," Crushes-Rocks hastily answered.

Yet another shocking revelation. That tyrannical Alpha who had attacked Mist-Wings out of retribution, tried to trick him and Was-Grounded into siring eggs, and had sent his underlings to raid their pack was dead. Skadi had somehow taken his place. But if she commanded an entire Light Fury pack, why not have them lead this attack instead of enthralling countless wild dragons?

So much made no sense.

Skadi was completely motionless aside from her breathing, still alive. She had no obvious major injuries, so Reflection had to have knocked her out while tackling her from the sky.

Was-Grounded growled, "She attacked us! Many sky-kin are dead because of her."

Reflection bent her head low, 'Alphas, if I may, Skadi might not have been free or aware. She did not feel like herself in life-fire here.'

Was it possible Skadi was truly not responsible, or was Reflection merely trying to protect her supposed friend or Alpha? Skadi had not spoken at all throughout the confrontation. What could possibly have controlled someone so powerful? If she had been controlled-

Being controlled and used to attack others hit too close to his heart. On the other hand, she was so dangerous, being able to control countless dragons, that leaving her alive was a great risk, even if it appeared she was not at fault.

Familiar roars sounded as Moon-Dancer and Aurora arrived and landed behind them. Both were breathless and visibly weary, and Aurora favored a forepaw.

Aurora spoke without prompting, "None of our kin are dead or grounded. We only have small hurts or new hurt-marks. What should we do?"

Was-Grounded immediately answered, "Help drive the wild sky-kin away. You are in charge of our kin."

"And take news to the ground-kin," he added.

"We will. What is this?" she asked, with a nod at Reflection, Crushes-Rocks, and Skadi.

"Later. Go, both of you," he commanded.

Moon-Dancer and Aurora took flight and roared commands to the other dragons. He let out a sigh of relief that no one from his immediate family had been lost or maimed. There had to be casualties among the other New Haven dragons, in addition to dozens from the wild dragons. Everyone back at the village should be safe, at least everyone who took refuge in the Great Hall.

Luna bounded closer to stand beside him, still remaining alert but not ready to instantly strike or flame.

"Is it over?" she whispered.

Wild dragons were still departing high above. Furies and other New Haven dragons flamed at and nipped the tails of the wild, fleeing ones. Roars of victory echoed as the noise had faded into the constant, fainter roar and crackling of the forest fires around them.

While the battle against the enthralled dragons was likely over, there were still so many unknowns. Reflection's existence and non-murderousness. Skadi's vile motivations or having been enthralled.

"I hope so."