Chapter 192

Hiccups POV:

It's been three weeks since we had to deal with the visiting chiefs and Vaatu's attempt to steal the egg and since then I am happy to say things have been calm. I've been mostly working on my projects, playing with my animals and enjoying some down time with Astrid and Blanca since I couldn't ride Toothless who refused to leave the egg after Vaatu tried to steal it. The main project I've been working on though is studying the two dragon eye lenses I found, and I had to say that the information that I found on them was incredible. The first lens contained information on night furies while the other contained information on a species of dragon known as death grippers that were nicknamed guardians of the flocks. To begin with the eye on the nightfury's had information I'd mostly already discovered on my own after being with Toothless for so many years so not much to learn. I was able to learn a few new things like night fury mating habits, how they mate for life, what their scales can be used, how many they prefer to have in the flocks and a few other things including things about their eggs. This lens also showed me that when nightfury's are nesting they often move to caves that are high up in the mountains to better protect their eggs and with a hot spring to help keep them warm if they fear something may happen to them. Sadly, the hot waters of the spring don't heat the eggs as well as the nightfury parents so although the eggs would be kept alive and healthy, they would take months to hatch which explains why the egg has lasted so long without hatching.

The information about the death grippers on the second lens showed they were quite an impressive species who looked incredibly powerful but intimidating and their abilities were nothing to laugh at. To begin with they have a flaming acid blast that could melt wood into nothing and slowly eat through stone over time, so it was definitely something to watch out for. Along with this they also have mantis like pincers instead of claws on their front legs and these pincers can easily smash through wood as if it were paper. They have tales that are telescopic like a razorwhips but are tipped with a stinger, similar to that of a scorpion and like the scorpion they use the stinger to inject their own venom into their prey. Along with their tail they also had retractable tusks in their mouths that they also have their venom inside them and are used to inject their venom or impale their prey from below by charging into them.

Their venom is no joke as one sting paralyzes the prey, a second sting ends them, and a third sting makes the carcass poisonous to the touch so anyone who touches it is left paralyzed. What makes this venom even worse is that it can be administered in small doses so it doesn't take immediate effect and slowly numbs them allowing the death grippers to make a meal out of them. The thing that makes this fate even worse than normal is that this venom does not numb the pain in the least so the victim can still feel every single bite of the death gripper. What makes it even worse though was that if those who are able to escape suffer from a rash that forms where the venom was placed that leaves the entire body feeling a pins and needles sensation. Then there's the way skilled hunters are able to use their venom as weapons and this method made me sick to my stomach considering how it's used. They use it in darts to knock out their prey but a smarter hunter is able to use it differently by injecting it into the head of the dragons they target. When injected with the venom this way the dragon is drugged into obedience and robbed of their free will and will do whatever they're told by the one who used it on them.

Despite their appearance and their abilities though they were guardians of flocks and only used their looks to scare off anyone who would threaten their flock and their powerful abilities to defend their flocks. The way it goes is when a death gripper reaches adult hood they leave their parents to find another dragon flock which accepts them and they then take on the role of that flocks protector. There are occurrences when they remain with their current flock but only in cases where the previous guardian is ready to retire and fly off to their burial grounds where they spend the remainder of their years resting after working so hard all their lives. They sounded like a species of dragon I'd love to have on my own island as guard dragons since with my life I always fear that one day one of my magic using enemies will come back to get revenge by attacking my island.

Besides that, I'd been working on some new designs for my automatons but hadn't been able to find the time to begin work on any of them. I've mainly been focusing on one specific project and that was the plan I was coming up with to ask Astrid to marry me since I truly had fallen in love with her the same way I had for Blanca who approved of it all. I'd already built a betrothal gift for her using the small bronze pendant my dad gave to my mom as her betrothal gift, but I didn't melt it down I just made some modifications to it. I began by making a deadly nadder curled into a ring out of pure gold with a single light blue diamond that matches Astrid's eyes in the center where the nadders head meets its tail.

When I showed it to Blanca she smiled and told me Astrid would love it and knew that she loved me as much as she did when we fell in love and like the love we shared the love Astrid and I shared would grow with time. As for if her parent's approval I'd already asked them for their blessing to marry their daughter and they gave it to me without hesitation before we begun discussing the bridal price but we decided to talk about it after Astrid gave me her answer. After that they asked me where and when I intended to pop the question before I told them I intended to take her on a trip to a spot I knew in the African jungle. This spot was on top of a cliff overlooking the jungle and I intended to propose to her at sunset since that is when the view is one of the most beautiful scenes, I'd ever seen in all the lands I'd been to. Accompanying us on our trip to the African jungle were just the gills dragons as Toothless decided to stay behind to tend to the egg. I didn't hold it against him, and I could see the sadness in his eyes when he found out I was leaving for a few days but when I told him I intended to propose to Astrid he accepted it. I did have to make him his favorite meal before I left though and promise I'd make it for him again when I got back just to keep him from crooning in sadness. Other than that, I had to make a few preparations to ensure the island will be taken care of while I'm away and have a few snake guardians assigned to feed Toothless. all of this brings us to now with me and the girls making our way through the portal door room towards the door leading to the African jungle and as we stepped through, I smiled. I looked around at the dense jungle as Astrid said.

"It looks like the Mayan jungle but there's something different about it." I smiled and nodded.

"It's mostly the plant life and the smell of the air that's different but don't worry, you get used to it." She nodded.

"I'm still surprised you were able to convince my parents to let me come with you."

"I've talked my way through some difficult things Astrid most of which were worse than talking your parents into letting you come with us." She nodded. "Now we better get going since we need to get to the village before nightfall since the jungle can be dangerous at night when the predators choose to hunt." The girls nodded with their dragons.

Nightfall

It's been hours since we first arrived in the jungle and in that time, we were able to make our way to the village where Kwame and the others welcomed us with open arms. After I set up my tent, I was able to enjoy giving the girls a full tour of the village with Kwame at my side to point out the new things in the village. When I told Kwame Blanca was my wife and Astrid was my girlfriend, he was shocked at first but then laughed before he slapped me on the back telling me I had the hunting skills of a leopard when it comes to women. I just rolled my eyes before asking about Zane since I hadn't seen the shaman around the village to which Kwame told me that a few weeks ago the shaman had sensed a darkness in the jungle and went to investigate it but had yet to return. Despite this a few of the hunters had seen him on their trips so the people knew he was alright and nothing to worry about since he knew how to survive in the jungle.

As for how the girls were taking to this new land, they seemed to enjoy it as much as they had the Mayan civilization at first with how they were doing their best to take everything in. I couldn't blame them though as I was often the same way when I first came to a new land with things and cultures I'd never seen before in my life. We did have a few issues with the dragons though as the children took a great interest in them and thought it would be fun to play with them like they did with Toothless. Sadly, the two dragons weren't used to this kind of attention from children and were a little bit surprised by their attitude, fortunately the girls were with them and kept them calm until they were used to the children crowding around them.

Now we were sitting on the ground around the fire watching tribesmen dancing around the fire wearing ceremonial masks as they performed to celebrate my return. The girls were bouncing their heads to the beat of the drums that were being played as they watched the people dance around the fire before food was served. As I watched the dancing though my mind kept wondering to Zane and why he wasn't here as a darkness in the jungle was something I was going to encounter and take as it was to be expected with my luck. I looked at Astrid and mentally prayed that whatever this darkness was it wouldn't interfere with my plans to propose to Astrid and present her with my betrothal gift. I took a breath and turned back to the dancing knowing it would not do me any good to worry about something that might not happen but to be safe I'd keep my guard up.

5 days later

It's been five days since we arrived here in Africa and in that time, I've been holding back on taking Astrid to the spot where I'd propose to her but only because her and Blanca had been so busy taking everything in. It was easy to tell they were interested in the culture and all it had to offer with multiple questions for the people about everything they saw. Normally I'd pass the time alone by taking a flight on Toothless but with him gone I had to find other ways to pass the time and enjoy my time while I'm here in the African jungle. Thankfully my latest gifts from the gods made time fly a lot more quickly as the mask allowed me to track down some animals for study while the new prosthetic allowed me to examine them without being seen.

This made my life a lot easier and helped pass the time but whenever I was out, I kept getting the feeling that I was being watched by something. I just chalked it up to me just being paranoid thanks to the thoughts of Zane being out in the jungle out hunting some form of darkness he sensed. It was because of this knowledge that I couldn't help but get the feeling in my gut that there's something coming and it would mean big trouble for me. Whenever I felt this way though I just looked back at my past and remember all the foes I'd gone up against in my past and figure this evil will be no different.

Now I was sitting down in a tree that was placed on a mountain that overlooked the jungle with my betrothal gift to Astrid in the palm of my real hand as I examined it. Today is the day I intend to propose to Astrid in this very spot at sun set but for now I needed to just wait and enjoy my day since there's still a lot of light in the day. I sighed and put the pendant into my grootslang coat that was now in its jacket form and allowed my spiderpack to take it and put it away. I jumped off the branch and off the cliff allowing me to free fall for a few seconds before I spread my wings out allowing me to glide over the jungle and just enjoy the wind in my hair.

Somewhere in the jungle

Nobodies POV:

Astrid was taking a walk through the jungle alone with her axe in hand and ready knowing the jungle had many dangers and if she let her guard down it would not end well for her. She would've brought Stormfly, Blanca or Hiccup but Stormfly was taking a solo flight over the jungle, Blanca was playing with the kids and Hiccup was off somewhere doing his own thing as far as she knew. As she walked through the jungle though her mind kept wondering back to Hiccup who had been acting stranger than he usually did around her. Blanca had also been acting strange as well, constantly giggling and smiling at her whenever she talked to her about Hiccups strange behavior and just told her to be patient and she would find out soon enough. It was then the sound of an animal moaning caught her attention and made her turn to the bush where it came from and gently pushed it aside to see an animal she recognized as a bongo lying on the ground while moaning in pain. Hiccup had shown her and Blanca a small herd of them in the clearing when they were flying above the forest and knew it was a gentle herbivore. Not liking the sight of the poor animal in pain she slowly walked up to it after stabbing her axe into the ground and slowly approaching it as she said.

"Easy now, I just want to help you."

Surprisingly the bongo laid back down allowing Astrid to place her hand on it making her smile until she saw the pupils of the bongo's eyes glow red. Astrid leaned back as red smoke seemed to form around her as a human shaped form appeared before her made from the smoke looking down at Astrid. Astrid leaned back in shock right before the figure flew right into Astrid's body throwing her back against the ground unconscious for a few seconds. When her eyes opened, they shone red before returning to normal as she stood up and glared at the bongo and pointed away from it as she said.

"Leave beast, you are no longer of use to me." The bongo immediately stood up and ran away in fear as Astrid looked down at her hands. "Not exactly what I was expecting but beggars can't be choosers and it'll serve its purpose." With that said she began heading out into the jungle.

1 hour later

Hiccup was taking a stroll through the jungle and spotted Astrid climbing up a small mountain side and his eyes widened in shock seeing the mountain wall wasn't the least bit stable. He ran up to the bottom and yelled up at Astrid to come back down but she just continued climbing up making Hiccup worry and slowly followed her up. When Astrid got to the top she looked back down at Hiccup who was following her up the cliff and begun using his spiderpack to speed things up a bit. She frowned in anger at the sight of Hiccup before she slammed her foot onto the edge knocking down some small stones that were able to knock down some bigger stones until a small rock avalanche formed. Hiccup looked up and his eyes widened at the sight before forcing the legs of his pack in and then push him off the wall and allowed himself to fall back to the ground.

He quickly backed away from the wall avoiding the falling boulders but sadly he never saw Astrid looking down at him before she picked up a large stone and threw it down at him. Hiccup looked up just in time to see the stone come right at his head but before he could react the stone hit his head, and everything went black for him. As he blacked out his last thoughts were that there was something wrong with Astrid and then everything went black for him as Astrid smirked down at his unconscious form. She turned away from the cliff and continued making her way into the dense jungle with a goal in mind and determination that drove her to where she was going.

Half an hour later

Astrid walked into the ruins of the city that was once known as 'The Heart of the Leopard' and growled as she closed her hands into fists looking around at the ruins. She closed her eyes and began spinning around with her hands held out as if she were trying to sense something before, she smiled as she opened her eyes. Astrid walked over to a small pile of rubble and began pushing it all aside until she found the top of queen Shara's staff with the jewel faintly glowing in the sunlight. She picked it up smiling while spinning it around her hand as she giggled and smiled before she said.

"The first half of my staff is once more in its proper place and as soon as the other piece is back where it belongs my city shall rise again." She then though about Hiccup and chuckled evilly. "I wonder when he'll realize that the girl who once lived in this body is no more and now there is only me, Shara queen of the jungles hidden treasure 'The Heart of the Leopard'." It was then the woman now revealed to be Queen Shara in Astrid's body saw something shine in the grass. "And what do we have here?" She walked up to the grass and reached in before pulling out the pole of her staff and smiled. "Time to reclaim my power and rebuild my kingdom."

She slammed the two pieces of her staff together before it glowed brightly as she held it up in the air as wind spiraled around her, picking up the dust. Slowly the light engulfed her entirely and when it cleared Astrid's had gone through a few changes in both attire and form, that made it clear she had changed. Her attire was now that of queen Shara's while her hair free from her usual braid and now flowing down her back while her figure had become slimmer with her chest becoming slightly larger. Shara lowered her staff and examined her new body before nodding in approval and said.

"Not completely me but it'll do." She then looked around. "Now to restore my kingdom." She slammed the bottom of her staff into the ground and a shockwave through the rubble right before the rubble quickly pulled together, flew around, lifted up and reformed into buildings until it all turned back into the city 'The Heart of the Leopard'. "My beautiful kingdom is once again completed." She then rubbed her chin. "I will need to reform my ranks though but instead of just recruiting leopards into my ranks incase another troublemaker like Hiccup shows up." It was then a snorting sound came from behind her to see two rhinos glaring at her making her smile. "Perfect!"

The rhinos charged at her as she pointed her staff at them before a green beam shot out of the eyes hitting both rhinos stopping them in their track as their bodies slowly changed. They slowly stood up onto their back legs as their torsos turned more human, so they resembled strong male torsos with large guts. The ends of their front hooves slowly turned into three fingered hands while their necks bent slightly allowing them to bend a bit more. It was then black loincloths formed around their waists black armbands formed around their wrists and black rings formed around the bottoms of their horns. Shara then hit them with another green blast forcing them to drop to their knees forcing them each into a bow as she smiled and said.

"You two may not fully refresh my ranks but you're a start." She then looked around her city. "Time to get to work." With that she set out.

2 hours later

Hiccups POV:

I groaned as I felt something being rubbed onto my forehead and opened my eyes to see Zane with an arrow quiver and a bow on his back, looking down at me rubbing some form of green paste onto my head as I groaned in pain when the paste began to sting before Zane said.

"It stings bad my friend, but it heals well and after the blow to the head you took, you need it." I groaned out.

"It's nice to see you to Zane." I slowly sat up. "What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me my friend."

"The last thing I remember was my girlfriend Astrid climbing the hill with me warning her not to and when I she reached the top she caused an avalanche I was barely able to avoid before she threw a large stone at me knocking me out." I groaned and rubbed my forehead. "There's something wrong with her." He nodded.

"I believe I possess the answer to your question." I turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Queen Shara!" My eyes widened.

"But I saw her turn to dust when I defeated her last time I was here in Africa." (AN: Chapter 131 guys.)

"I'm afraid things are not that simple my friend." I nodded at him to continue. "You may have destroyed her body and temporarily broken her staff, but you did not defeat her permanently." I raised an eyebrow. "Years ago when she was still a member of the tribe she used forbidden magic to anchor her spirit to this world so it would never part and she'd be capable of possessing other beings which I believe is what has been done to your Astrid." I felt my eyes widen.

"So Shara is possessing Astrid?" He nodded. "What do we need to do?"

"We must be quick." He helped me up. "With her leopard men free, her staff broken and her city in ruins Shara is vulnerable and we must strike her now before she is able to regain her power." I released my hook.

"Let's go!" I shot my hook up to the mountain top and let it fly higher until it fell and I felt it grapple onto something before I gave it a few tugs and nodded when I found it to be solid before I turned to Zane. "I never thought I'd say this to an elder but hop on." He slowly climbed onto my back and wrapped his arms around my neck before I slowly began pulling us up and our journey began to 'Heart of the leopard'.

Half an hour later

We were looking down at the city of 'Heart of the leopard' that was now fully restored with a few leopard men once more walking the streets but nowhere near as many as before. I turned to Zane, who was looking down at the city with a frown before he sighed and turned to me and he said.

"We are too late." I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Not all is lost, Shara is still replenishing her ranks and she doesn't know we're here, so the element of surprise is ours." He smiled. "Plus, it's been a long time since I was last here and, in that time, I've gotten a few new things that can help us out with the attack."

"And I am looking forward to seeing what they are and their capabilities." I smiled at him and had my grootslang coat turn into a tight body ninja suit.

"Let's go." With that said we took off.

5 minutes later

Nobodies POV:

Hiccup and Zane were now deep in the city thanks to the lack of guards wondering around as Shara had yet to rebuild her lost forces and they were able to see she wasn't stopping at leopards this time as she had added rhino's to her forces. On their way towards the throne room they had seen at least fifteen of them roaming the city while they snuck around and made their way towards the throne room. When they got there, they found queen Shara in Astrid's body, lounging on her throne, staff in hand while two rhino men each holding large African clubs stood on either side of her. They watched her smile and heard her say.

"It's amazing how with a little magic my 'Heart of the leopard' is returned to once again be the jungles hidden treasure." She then looked at one of the rhino men. "My forces may need to be rebuilt but that should only take a few days."

Hiccup stared at Shara in Astrid's body shocked finding out Astrid was possessed, how she changed and how attractive Astrid looked in that attire. He was brought out of his examination when he noticed Zane readying an arrow and had it pointed right at Astrid making his eyes widen in shock. Hiccup quickly swatted the bow to the side making the arrow fly to the side hitting the wall instead of its intended target while also alerting Shara of their presence while Hiccup glared at Zane who looked up at him while Shara asked.

"Who dares?" Zane looked at Hiccup and asked.

"What have you done."

"You're crazy if you think I'll let you harm a single hair on Astrid's head." Hiccup was brought out of his thoughts when Shara spoke to them saying.

"Didn't you tell him Zane?" She stood up from her throne. "This bodies previous owner no longer exists, there is only me, Queen Shara and now that that's established." She pointed her staff at them. "SIEZE THEM!" The rhino men charged at them as Hiccup turned to Zane who said.

"There are always times when it is better to stand and fight rather than run away." He then turned to the charging rhino men. "This is not one of those times." I nodded.

"Let's get out of here."

Hiccup quickly raised his arm while releasing the disc launcher and fires two bola discs at the rhino guards legs quickly tangling them up and making them fall to the ground. Hiccup smirked at them while mentally thinking about the old saying 'the bigger they are the harder they fall' and how they seemed pretty stupid for rhino. He then quickly picked Zane up and activated his ox flame boots speed mode before running out of the room at high speeds and hid behind some pillars before any of Shara's forces. Once they were sure none of the beasts were nearby Hiccup turned to Zane and slapped him in the back of his head while glaring at him as he said.

"That's for trying to kill Astrid and I swear if you try to harm her again then I will shove that arrow where the sun doesn't shine." He stared at Hiccup for a few moments before shaking his head as he looked down.

"I am sorry my friend, but it has to be this way."

"No there has to be another way."

"Hiccup, Astrid is gone, there's no saving her as Shara will never let her go so the only thing we can offer her is a quick death." Hiccup glared at him.

"No, Astrid is still in there and I will get her back and Shara out of her body."

"I am afraid that is not possible my friend."

"Just give me a chance to try." He nodded.

"Very well my friend but I am afraid there might be no choice but to end her to free her."

"Alright but I swear if you try to kill her before I get the chance then I will use every single torture I've learnt on my travels on you and make sure you live through each one." He just stared at Hiccup in shock before he nodded, and they took off back to the throne room.

10 minutes later

Hiccup and Zane were now hiding behind the railing of one of the balconies in the throne room and looking down at queen Shara who was pacing in front of her throne while two of her rhino men and three of her leopard men kneeled before her. She then stopped pacing as she growled and turned to her minions before she yelled.

"HOW COULD YOU LET THEM ESCAPE?" She pointed her staff at one of the rhino men and blasted it with two green beams launched from the eyes of her staff turning the rhino into smoke leaving only its attire as the others stared in shock and horror. "SPREAD OUT AND FIND THEM AND TELL THE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME OR YOU'LL BE THE SAME AS THAT BEAST!" Her minions quickly fled the room as she sat back down in her throne sighing. "Why is it so hard to find good minions." Hiccup jumped down from the balcony and onto the ground below spreading his wings to slow his descent landing before queen Shara.

"I know the feeling." She turned to face him and smile.

"Hiccup, it's been a while."

"Not long enough if you ask me and I do not like you possessing my girlfriend." She smirked.

"Oh, don't you like what I've done with her body?"

"I don't like that you're using her as a puppet to house your spirit." Hiccup stepped forward. "I also highly doubt she's happy about it." She chuckled.

"Please, your Astrid no longer exists."

"Yes, she does, and I know she can still hear me."

"You're just fooling yourself believing such nonsense."

"I know I'm not fooling myself because I know Astrid is still in there and I know she's stronger than you." She just chuckled but Hiccup continued. "Come on Astrid show her I'm right; I know you're in there and I know you can fight her." I saw a glimmer in her eyes, the same glimmer I saw in Astrid's eyes. "Fight it Astrid, you're stronger than her and I need you in my life as much as I need Blanca in my life." I could see the same shine in her eyes and heard Shara growl. "Fight it Astrid." She grabbed her head and looked at him.

"Hiccup?" She then growled and grabbed her head before opening her eyes that glowed red again. "Nice try!"

"Astrid, I know you can do it and I know this because your strength is one of the many things that made me fall in love you." He reached into his coat. "Please Astrid, I love you." He pulled out her betrothal gift. "And I want to have the honor of calling you my wife." She growled and grabbed her head as she dropped her staff and yelled.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" She began thrashing around.

"That's it Astrid, show Shara who's stronger." She fell to the ground gripping her head and writhing in pain while she screamed and growled. "You've got this Astrid; I know you can do it."

She let out one last scream as red smoke burst from her body the real form of queen Shara that floated around as Astrid slowly opened her eyes and growled in anger. She quickly grabbed the staff and stood back up before slamming the staffs bottom into the ground making the jewel in the mouth of the head shine brightly. The smoke figure of queen Shara tried to fly away as it was quickly pulled into the jewel before Astrid slammed the staff into the ground once more turning it into dust leaving only the jewel right before Astrid collapsed to the ground unconscious. Hiccup quickly rushed over to her to make sure she was alright, but the temple began to crumble and collapse around them, so he quickly grabbed the jewel and put it into his grootslang coat.

He felt his spiderpack use one of the legs to put it in the spiderpack before he picked Astrid up bridal style and ran out of the crumbling building using his ox flame boots speed mode. When they got outside Hiccup looked around and watched as the animals took their real forms as the city crumbled around them before they all ran away in fear. Hiccup breathed heavily as he gently lay Astrid onto the ground to examine her and make sure she was alright since he didn't fully understand what had happened to her. It was then he heard footsteps and turned to see Zane running up to him with his bow back on his back and a look of shock and amazement on his face as I asked.

"What happened?"

"Let me examine her." Hiccup stepped back before Zane kneeled down next to Astrid and waved his hands over her body while chanting before he gasped and pulled away in shock and looked back at Hiccup.

"What is it?" He looked up at Hiccup.

"Do you have the gem from her staff?" Hiccup nodded and brought it out before Zane swiped it and began examining it for a few moments and smiled as he chuckled.

"What's going on?" He turned to Hiccup.

"I don't know how she did it, but your girl was able to throw Shara out of her body and imprison her within the jewel of her staff." He then patted Hiccups shoulder. "You have quite a woman here Hiccup." Hiccup smiled and looked down at her.

"I know." He then noticed her body was still different. "When will she return to normal?" He frowned.

"That is not something I can answer but for now it's best we get her back to the village so I can give her a full examination." I nodded as he held out the jewel. "In the meantime, keep this safe for me please." Hiccup nodded and put the jewel into his coat allowing his spiderpack to put it in the pack before he gently picked Astrid up bridal style and they began making their way back to the village while Hiccup prayed to every god he knew that Astrid would be alright.

AN: Yeah, I know it was short and not very exciting but this was the best I can come up with all that's happening here in South Africa but I am happy to say things have calmed down a bit but in SA you never know how long the peace will last. Also I did have plans for this chapter to make it even longer but I figured it best I save that for the next chapter since it would help speed up the next chapter. Anyway, if any of you are wondering what will happen to Astrid like if she'll be able to do magic in the future the answer is no, she will not. She will however have a small sliver of Shara's power that affects more than just her appearance and she will be given a magic gift from the gods for all the trouble. By the way yes I know I altered the Death grippers but I have a reason for that, which will come in at a later time closer to HTTYD 3 so until then please be patient.. Anyway I hope you all have a nice day and will review kindly despite the lack of excitement and length in this chapter so see you all later.