Life with the Night Furies Chapter 28
A/N
Happy New Year 2020!
o
Lunch at the Mead Hall was a raucous affair, almost a celebration, with Warhamster the Wise's men spending time ashore there. The Law-Speaker's sailors were feeling much better after a bath and some time on dry land. They happily mingled with Berk's Vikings, swapping stories and toasting each other's health with ale and mead as they devoured their food. As for the local Vikings, they were always happy to see new faces and hear new stories from people who weren't on a voyage of conquest. Warhamster didn't eat as much as the younger men who manned his oars, so he finished before the others and met with Chief-night-fury and Rangi just outside the Hall. Rangi was still somewhat standoffish toward his chief after their confrontation earlier that day.
"I have to thank you again for that fine ale," the Law-Speaker began. "It was unfortunate when Stoick left this world, but if his famous brew had departed as well, that would have been a double tragedy."
Grunt-growl, croon gurgle glug-glug. "The ale is the work of our master brewer, old Frothingslosh the Foam-Bottomed," Rangi translated. "His recipe and his technique are closely-guarded family secrets. They've been our number-one ale makers for as long as Vikings have been on Berk, and he's passed his secrets to two of his sons, so the next generation of ale brewers is already getting trained. There's no danger of our famous ale falling off the edge of the world." After a few seconds of silence, Rangi added, "Speaking of occupations, do you mind if I ask you a question? I'm just curious. How did you become a Law-Speaker?"
Warhamster leaned against the wall of the Mead Hall and relaxed. "The law is actually a second career for me. I started my life as a house-husband."
Both Hiccup and Rangi looked puzzled for a moment; then their jaws dropped in unison. "You mean... you're a Bog-Burglar?" Rangi blurted out.
"I used to be," the older man nodded. "I was married to a beautiful warrior woman named Gadot the Gal, and I raised two strong, strapping daughters and two beautiful sons, while my wife made trading voyages and went on raids to support the family. But once my children were grown up, I realized that I wanted more out of life than sweeping the floor and cooking supper every night. Some of my neighbors mentioned that they envied how I used principles of the law to solve arguments at home. I never thought much about it, but when the previous Law-Speaker, Spongebob the Square, visited us and mentioned that he needed an apprentice, I offered myself on a whim, and he took me up on it. The law and I are good friends now. I could never go back to being a house-husband."
"Wow," Rangi said. It was around that time that Toothless overflew the island to check up on his friend. He spiraled down and landed just behind Chief-night-fury. This sudden concentration of Night Furies made Warhamster slightly nervous, but he mastered it with an effort. At the same time, Anya wandered out of the Mead Hall, saw her husband, and drifted over to join the group. That made Hiccup think of something.
Snap-snarl, growl. "Law-Speaker, the chief wants to know what your wife thinks of this career change."
Warhamster sighed. "My wife is in Valhalla now. She went on a raid eleven years ago, and crossed spears with the wrong Berserker. But she said she was proud of me, and she never gave me any problems about being away from home so much, even though it meant she had to cook her own meals most of the time." He paused and winked conspiratorially. "She never admitted to this, but I think she usually visited our children's homes when I was away, and ate their cooking. She was no cook; I think she had trouble defrosting a block of ice." Hiccup snorted. If Toothless hadn't turned him and Astrid into Night Furies, then he might well have ended up marrying Astrid and enduring her cooking skills, or her rumored lack thereof.
"That reminds me," Warhamster went on. "It's time I took an apprentice or two of my own. One of my reasons for this trip is to look for likely candidates. Chief-night-fury, you continue to surprise me with your understanding of Viking law. If you became my apprentice, your training would be halfway done as soon as you started, because you already know the basics. It would be very odd, having a dragon as an apprentice, but dealing with oddities is part of my job. Would you consider my offer to take you as a Law-Speaker trainee?"
Hiccup hesitated for just a moment. Being a tribal chief was a prestigious position, but being the Law-Speaker for the entire Archipelago would be even more prestigious. It would also be an additional safeguard against the Vikings; a few brave ones might try to kill a dragon chief, but no one would dare lay hands on a Law-Speaker, dragon or otherwise. But he knew that most of the tribes would never accept his authority over them, no matter what he or Warhamster might say. Besides, he already had a better idea.
Croon, grunt-growl. "The chief says he can't accept your kind offer. He is needed too badly here; no one else can keep this rowdy bunch of Vikings in line and still keep the peace with the dragons. But he does know another member of this tribe who is familiar with Viking law, and that person could make you a fine apprentice. It's the person he's pointing at." Rangi glanced at his chief. All four of the dragon's legs were on the ground; he wasn't pointing at anyone. Then he realized that Chief-night-fury's tail was curled around to point at...
"Me?" he squeaked. That was all he could manage to say.
Anya was also stunned, in a good way. "You... a Law-Speaker? Rangi, what a step up! You'd have class! You'd be a contender! You'd be somebody!"
"Can... can I do that?" Rangi stammered.
"If your chief recommends you, then you've passed the first step in being approved," Warhamster said kindly. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions about the law, to see how much you know?"
"I guess it's okay," Rangi said, still struggling with the idea.
"A few questions" wound up taking nearly an hour. Warhamster started with simple laws about trade and property, then moved into weightier matters of family law and inter-tribal relations. Rangi answered every question, easily and quickly at first, more thoughtfully as the interview went on. Finally, when Warhamster asked a specific question about a contested family inheritance, Rangi had to admit, "I don't know."
"I'm glad you don't know," the Law-Speaker smiled. "That last one was a trick question. I made up that law myself to test you; it's not a part of the Viking code. I'm impressed, young Rangi. You know quite a bit about our laws, especially for one so young."
"Most of it is just common sense," Rangi said dismissively.
Warhamster nodded. "Still, you know more about Viking law than many adults. Are you interested in becoming my apprentice?"
He didn't answer right away, so Anya asked, "What does an apprentice Law-Speaker do?"
"Mostly, he rides around in my ship with me as I go from tribe to tribe, watching me in action and learning to solve problems diplomatically. He learns everything I can teach him about the law, which is mostly about memorizing things. Applying the law to real-life situations is the hard part. It usually takes four or five years to become fully qualified as a Law-Speaker, but he couldn't actually take on my position until I depart from this life. There can be only one senior Law-Speaker at a time. If there were two or more, we might disagree, and that would undermine people's confidence in us. Until then, he would be my understudy, covering for me if I'm ill and doubling the legal coverage at the annual Thing."
Croon-gurgle, grunt-grunt. "The chief says that some tribes have their own Law-Speakers for internal problems. He wants to know if I could become Berk's own Law-Speaker once I'm qualified."
Warhamster looked thoughtful. "Yes, I suppose you could. But Berk isn't a very big tribe, and you don't seem to have many legal problems, especially while you have a legally-minded dragon in charge. Do you need a Law-Speaker of your own?"
Growl-snap-growl. "He says he has his own reasons for wanting to do things that way." Rangi turned to Hiccup. "Chief, could I ask what those reasons are? I don't want to step out of line or anything, but seeing how this involves me..."
Hiccup grinned and wrote on the ground, so Warhamster could also understand him:
CAN A LAW-SPEAKER BECOME A CHIEF?
"No," Rangi said firmly. "A chief has to be partial toward his own tribe, and a Law-Speaker has to be impartial to everyone. That's why the senior Law-Speaker lives like a nomad instead of staying with the people he was born with. He has to break all ties to..." Rangi paused, and broke into a huge smile. "Oh, I get it!"
"What do you get?" Anya asked, puzzled.
"I don't get it, either," Warhamster admitted.
"The chief wants to take me out of the chain of command!" Rangi explained. He seemed a lot happier about it than most men who were being denied a shot at leadership. Chief-night-fury nodded and grinned as the young man went on, "We've been having some misunderstandings about my role as the chief's translator. If I became the tribe's Law-Speaker, then I could still translate for him, and I could still help sort out legal problems when he's not around, but there would never be any confusion about me and his position, because I'd be ineligible for it."
"That's true," Warhamster nodded. "I didn't even think to question you about that part of the law. It's so rare that problems arise in that area."
"It would also mean that you could still live here, instead of wandering all over the Archipelago," Anya continued. "I like that idea!"
"He would have to accompany me on several trips a year, for as long as he remains an apprentice," the Law-Speaker cautioned her. "He would be away from here about half the time. I would need him more than that, except he already knows all the basics and many of the intermediate-level laws. And there is one other special condition that I will have to insist on."
"What would that be?" Anya asked. She saw no problem with speaking for her husband while he was still dazed at this sudden turn of events.
"As he noted, a Law-Speaker has to be impartial, and that's hard when you're dealing with your own tribe. My special condition is that, as soon as he is qualified, he would take over all legal responsibility for problems involving my former tribe, the Bog-Burglars. If they have a problem with contracts, or alliances, or border disputes, I would inform Rangi, and he would oversee the solution to the problem."
"That's not asking much," Anya noted.
"You'd be surprised how often the other tribes make up excuses to start trouble with the Bog-Burglars," Warhamster warned her. Hiccup jumped on that statement -
OTHER TRIBES RESENT THEM BECAUSE
WOMEN ARE IN CHARGE. THOSE TRIBES
RESENT US BECAUSE DRAGONS ARE
IN CHARGE. BERK UNDERSTANDS HOW
THE BOG-BURGLARS FEEL
"I hadn't thought about it that way," Warhamster nodded slowly, "but that does make sense. At the last Thing, it seemed as though your two tribes were more rejected and cast-out than the Outcasts were."
"Still, I'm sure that Rangi could handle it," Anya decided. "Unless Spitelout is acting up, and then I'm pretty sure my husband would enjoy putting him in his place. This would also give Rangi an official position and high standing in the tribe, instead of being seen as nothing but the chief's helper. Rangi, are you okay with this?"
Rangi fumbled with his words. "Are... are you okay with me being away from home that much?"
"As long as it's temporary, then yes," she nodded. "Just think! You'd eventually outrank my uncle, the Berserker chief! You'd outrank everybody!"
Warhamster had a warning for her. "Once I depart this world, then Rangi would take my place, and then he would have to wander among the many tribes instead of staying here." At her dismayed expression, he added, "But you could go with him if you wished to do so."
Anya looked away at nothing; she was thinking out loud. "We'd need a special kind of longship, with a permanent shelter for us to live in. And it would need a flat deck so Thing One could land there and ride around with us. It would have to be big. Where would you get a crew of oarsmen?"
Grumble-grunt, gurgle. "The chief says not to worry about that," Rangi said; it was easier to get the words out when those words were not his own. "There are always Vikings who love to travel, and who don't want to see the same sights every day. Those Vikings would be natural crewmen for a wandering Law-Speaker's ship. All the tribes help pay for a Law-Speaker's wages, and part of that money is so he can hire enough men to move him around." He paused. "Chief-night-fury, is this how you pay me back for stepping on your toes this morning?"
NO, THIS IS HOW I KEEP YOU FROM
EVER STEPPING ON MY TAIL AGAIN.
WE WON'T COLLIDE ANYMORE BECAUSE
WE'LL BE ON SEPARATE PATHS
ALSO, NOW I CAN LET YOU SOLVE
LEGAL PROBLEMS ON YOUR OWN.
YOU'LL HAVE THE RANK TO DO IT
WITHOUT RELYING ON MY AUTHORITY
Warhamster nodded approvingly. "Chief-night-fury, you are quite the schemer! But unlike most schemers, everyone in this scheme wins, and it's all being done legally."
THE LAW CAN BE MY FRIEND, TOO
Rangi turned to his chief. "One more question. Who's going to translate for you while I'm away on my training voyages?"
For an answer, Hiccup pivoted so he was looking straight at Anya.
"Me?" she squeaked, very much like Rangi had done earlier.
YOU KNOW SOME FORGE, AND YOU
HAVE A DRAGON FRIEND. ALSO,
BECAUSE YOU'RE RANGI'S WIFE,
NO ONE WILL THINK YOU'RE TAKING
YOUR HUSBAND'S PLACE FOR KEEPS
"That makes sense," Rangi said. "But what will happen when I become the senior Law-Speaker and take up a travelling life? Who will translate for you then?"
I HAVE YEARS TO THINK ABOUT THAT.
MAYBE YOUR NEPHEW DAGNUT WILL
TAKE THE JOB. HE COMES FROM
A FAMILY OF DRAGON-LOVERS
"Dagnut? He's still a child!"
"He won't be so childish in five or six years," Anya reminded him.
Warhamster nodded. "It sounds like you've got it all figured out, Chief-night-fury."
"As usual," Rangi added, trying to sound bored. A moment later, the sweep of a Night Fury tail knocked his feet out from under him. "Ow!"
YOU STILL HAVE TO LEARN RESPECT!
"You won't be able to do that to me once I'm a Law-Speaker!" Rangi protested as he stood up and dusted off his pants. "Neither will Night-fury-mother-of-twins! You'll have to respect me!"
"But your chief is right," Warhamster cautioned him. "Snide remarks are a luxury that a young Law-Speaker trainee can't afford. I will sometimes tell the chiefs how I really feel, but I can get away with it because I'm older than most of the chiefs around me. I've earned their respect. You won't have that advantage for many years, my young apprentice."
"So... it's official?" Rangi felt like his whole life was suddenly being swept out from under him, not just his feet.
"I have officially accepted you as my apprentice," Warhamster the Wise said formally. "I have to make some arrangements for training you, like dusting off the basic legal scrolls that I rarely use anymore. I'll be back for you in about six weeks. At that time, I'll take you away on your first training cruise, which will last about two months, give or take a week or two here and there. We won't be on a fixed schedule; when my journeys take me near Berk, I'll pick you up, and the next time we're near Berk, I'll drop you off. I may pick up a second apprentice during that time, but that's not a sign that I lack confidence in you. You see, I happen to know that the Visithug tribe's Law-Speaker is going to retire in a few years, and he'll need a replacement. I'd like to start training that replacement as soon as possible." The older man stopped to collect his thoughts.
"You will definitely go with me to the Thing next year. Any of the chiefs who have not already met you will meet you there. They, too, will have to learn respect; someday you will be calling the shots at the Thing, and they will have to obey, even though you're still a young man now. You can make the process go faster if you act respectable."
"Sometimes that's hard," Rangi admitted. Hiccup grinned and wrote,
WOULD YOU RATHER WORK ON
A FISHING BOAT ALL NIGHT FOR
A LIVING, LIKE MANY VIKINGS?
"When you put it that way, then I'll find a way to do it," the young man decided. "I guess I'm going to be a Law-Speaker."
Anya threw her arms around her husband. "I can't believe this! I knew you were destined for great things, but I never even dreamed that you'd someday have authority over all the tribes!"
Rangi had to smile. "Hey, if I can keep you in line, then keeping all the Viking tribes in line should be easy!" She stuck her tongue out at him, then hugged him again.
Toothless had been listening in silence to the entire discussion, trying to make sense of it all with his limited knowledge of Old Norse. Now he turned to his friend, who summed up what had just happened. Toothless looked confused. "Why is this such a big deal? I understand the concepts of leadership and authority, of course, but why are the Vikings so determined to be in charge of each other?"
"It's a human thing, I think," Chief-night-fury said. "We dragons pick our Alphas from the tiny minority who are capable of doing the job. With the humans, just about anybody can be the boss if they work at it, so they compete for the privilege."
The elder Night Fury shook his head. "I still don't get it. I've been leading my nest for years, and one thing I know for sure is that being in charge is a lot of work and responsibility. I don't get that much in return. It's no privilege! I do it because the dragons need a leader, not because it's such a good deal for me."
"It's the same among the humans," Hiccup agreed, "but the small amount that you do get in return is like a drug to some of them. They aren't satisfied unless they get more, and more, and more. I don't think Rangi will be like that. He's too interested in having fun; dominating people isn't in his nature. Even if he does get hungry for power, he'll be in a good place because he's got a near-guarantee of becoming the most important man in the Archipelago. If he wants more than that, he's out of luck; he can't go any higher than that."
"What about you, Hiccup? Do you ever want to go higher?"
"All the time!" he smiled. "But I don't have to dominate anybody to go higher. I just flap my wings. Like this!" He leaped straight up, and Toothless eagerly followed him. They raced each other to the clouds, bound only by the laws of aerodynamics, leaving all human law far behind them.
o
A/N
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