If you see the name Leo mentioned early in this chapter, please don't get confused. I've made an historical error, and I intend to correct it. There's a full explanation at the bottom of the page.

Prodigal Son 20

"Hiccup. Hiccup, wait! Hiccup, stop!"

Artemisia chased him around the tiled courtyard of her villa and out the front door, into the garden where Toothless was waiting with round eyes and a wagging tail.

"Battle ready!" the young man barked. The dragon dropped to all fours, teeth bared, and body taut, ready to take off. Hiccup knelt beside his friend and began to run through his pre-flight equipment checks.

Artemisia caught up with him there. "Hiccup, you need to listen to me."

"I'm going back out there." He said curtly, tugging on the saddle's wire-reinforced straps and checking them for tears. It was a very real danger at Toothless' top speeds. Even the smallest tear could result in the entire assembly disintegrating. It had nearly happened once already a year before. The Wingsuit had saved his life, but if Hiccup had been a fraction of a second slower locking Toothless' prosthetic open, the dragon would have dropped out of the sky like a stone. Even with his anger and his rush to leave, it was a risk Hiccup was unwilling to take.

"I know Shahira betrayed us, but there is a larger picture."

"I'm not going after her." He paused, chewing his lip. "At least not yet."

She frowned. "Then where-?"

"Neptune's Pride found them the same time I did." He explained, concentrating on his checks so that he didn't have to look at her. "I killed two of them and Toothless burned their sails and blew a massive hole in their boat. I thought-" he swallowed. "I thought I was rescuing her."

"Oh, Hiccup…" She sighed sadly.

"I'm going to find them, and bring them home."

"You can't."

"You're the one who lectured me on fixing mistakes!" he snapped angrily, finally looking up at her, "Or was that a bunch of hot air? I screwed this up. I have to fix it. I owe it to them."

"There are bigger issues here. How long would it take a ship to get to Byzantium from Alexandria?"

"A few days." Hiccup checked the adjustment pedal, and pulled Toothless' emergency lever to make sure the fail-safes were in place.

"And how long will it take you?"

"A few hours."

"Hiccup, you have to warn Emperor Leo. It will take him time to marshal his forces and put a fleet in the water to help us. We don't know how long we have until the Moorish pirates get here, so we need to give him as much time as possible."

"Those men are stranded out there because of me!"

"How many were on that boat? Two or three dozen? Because there are several thousand people living in this city."

"And they aren't stranded in hostile waters."

"Martius' men knew the risks."

"Oh, I bet they did!" Hiccup shot back bitterly, "I bet the first question they asked when they set out was: How can we make this boat dragon proof?"

"Hiccup, look at me!" He glanced up just long enough for her to say, "Do not sacrifice this city, which has stood for twelve hundred years, for the sake of cleaning your guilty conscience."

Hiccup moved down to Toothless' tail, checking the mechanisms. Toothless himself was watching both of them with a curious and uneasy gaze. The dragon could sense their distress and the hostility in their argument, and he was thoroughly confused. Hiccup said, "Because there are bigger things at stake?"

"Because it wouldn't work. You're trading the crew of a ship for the residents and history of an entire city. If the Saracens sack Alexandria, the first people murdered will be myself and your classmates."

Hiccup stopped moving in mid-check. He sat back on his heels and took a long breath, finally giving her his full attention.

" 'There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is His messenger.' That is the flag they fly, Hiccup. These people do not have room in their ideology for the sorts of questions Plato asked, or the sorts of questions I ask. They don't search for greater truths, or seek compromise. They may keep the purely mathematical advances, but the Greek plays; Prometheus, The Iliad, the Odyssey, Lysistrata… they'll all go. All the philosophical works by Plato, Aristotle, and all who followed them will be deemed heretical and burned. All the Roman historians from Cato to Tacitus, all of their works will be destroyed. They will not tolerate the existence of the Library, or the Museo, or my classroom in the Agora."

"It sounds to me like you're just as scared for your life as I bet those sailors are." Hiccup told her, his voice sour.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise, and then her eyes narrowed. A day ago, he would have apologized, but that was before he left a boatload of loyal Alexandrian guardsmen stranded in Saracen waters. Not to mention helping two traitors escape. He got to his feet and crossed his arms, standing by the statement, and daring her to respond.

She glared at him. "I'm scared of everything Alexander and the Ptolemies created being torn apart by zealots. I'm scared of losing Alexander's legacy. The only 'Truth' left will be what's in the Koran. The human race will stop asking questions and seeking enlightenment. It'll halt progress for hundreds of years to come. A lot of what we lose, we cannot get back. We cannot let that happen. You need to warn the Emperor, and give him time to get a fleet down here to protect this city, and its library."

Hiccup looked back down at Toothless' prosthetic. The dragon warbled and curled around him, sniffing him, searching for the source of his distress.

Artemisia said, "I know it's not what you want to do, but part of being a leader is making difficult cho-"

"Stop! Just… stop. Stop lecturing me." Hiccup shook his head. "Gods… not everything can be learned from a book, Artemisia! I'm sure it's easy for some old philosopher writing in his study to tell me to let go of guilt and act for the greater good, but Plato is not here right now!"

"Hiccup-"

"I'm not done! I know what this city means to you. I know what saving it will protect: You. Your job, your hobbies, and your values. Those are perfectly good reasons on their own. Just stop telling me it's about higher ideals. I'm not you. I have my own values, and one of them is not letting good people die. Not if I can help it. It's long past time I started living up to that." He threw a leg over Toothless' saddle and the dragon reared up. Hiccup stared down at the dumbstruck teacher and said, "And that's exactly what I'm going to do." He patted Toothless' snout. "Let's go, bud."

There was a fleet on the horizon. No, not a fleet, it was a fleet of fleets. Hundreds of masts, thousands of sailors and soldiers, armor glinting in the moonlight, swarming like ants across the decks of each vessel. The ships stretched away towards Crete in a long line, and they bore down on Neptune's Pride; a vast wooden wall, stretching north and south for half a kilometer.

The damaged Alexandrian vessel was listing to one side. Its sail was half-burned, but still had enough meat to pick up some wind. Most of the men aboard were rowing furiously to keep up speed. Three Saracen scouting ships had been dispatched from the main fleet to investigate, and were coming up quickly on Neptune's Pride.

Hiccup dealt with them first. He and Toothless circled to the south until they were viewing the ships' broadsides. Then his dragon opened fire with three rapid shots, hitting each ship at the waterline. Wood splintered, men screamed, and all three vessels halted immediately as the pirate crews turned their efforts towards preventing each ship from taking on water.

Man and dragon did a pirouette and glided over to Neptune's Pride. The crew had thought their number was up when they heard the whistling. They watched Hiccup's activities with some amount of confusion, but it turned to panic when the big black dragon landed on their deck. The sailors threw themselves away from him, picking up any weapons they could find. Hiccup leapt off of Toothless' back before they could get themselves organized and raised his hands. "I want to talk to your captain!"

One sailor ran forward, brandishing a trident.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Martius sent me!" Hiccup threw up his hands, "Martius sent me!"

"Hold!" a voice cried out. A dark-skinned man in a brown tunic stepped forward. He was carrying an enormous sabre in his bare arms. "I'm the captain. Naviid Khader."

The aggressive sailor moved back, obeying his captain.

"My name is Hiccup. Martius sent me to help you."

"Well, Hiccup, explain to me why my men and I shouldn't chop you and your demon to pieces." The man unslung his sword. Behind Hiccup, Toothless began to growl. A low, primeval noise which made the other sailors back away.

"Look, I screwed up, alright. I made a mistake, I attacked the wrong ship. I can go on my knees and apologize, or I can help you fix the problem. You can hate me all you like, I won't blame you, but I can help you. Please let me help."

Captain Khader gave him a stern examination. He nodded to the black eagle crest on Hiccup's shoulder. "Varangian?"

"Uuh…formerly. I'm kinda… freelance now. But I'm with you guys. Three Saracen ships are sinking back there. If that isn't proof I don't know what else I can do…"

"You can get me a god-damned sail to replace the one your beast burned!" the man snapped.

"Done." Hiccup said cheerfully. The captain stepped back, startled. Hiccup climbed onto Toothless and took off without another word. The Saracen vessels were sinking rapidly. The closest of them had already capsized. The second was tilting dangerously, taking on water. A third was in flames, tongues of fire already licking at the canvas.

Hiccup directed Toothless to the middle boat. Several Saracen sailors were already in the water. The rest were trying to climb to the high side to escape the cold ocean. Toothless landed on the saxboard, causing the sinking vessel to shudder. The Saracen pirates, a dozen in total, sitting on it froze, staring at the beast in shock and fear. A few clambered away. Four more let go of their handholds and slid into the water.

The closest man, however, shouted a prayer to his god and drew his heavy, ornate, straight-bladed sword with a blunt end. It was called a khanda. The swords originated somewhere in the orient. The blade of a blunt butcher. Hiccup had encountered them before on the battlefields of Bulgaria.

Toothless had reared up, roaring at the open threat. Hiccup leapt off his dragon's back and landed on the tilting deck. He reached for his gladius, and then remembered too late that he had left it with Shahira and her father.

The khanda's heavy blade came whipping across at neck height, and he ducked, hearing Toothless' enraged roars. From his crouched position, he grabbed the nameless pirate's foot and pulled as hard as he could. The Saracen lost his footing on the sloped deck and spilled downwards, but not before Hiccup ripped the khanda from his grasp and kicked him in the throat. He climbed forward, the boat rocking as behind him Toothless bore down on the unfortunate pirate. There was the ugly noise of chewing teeth and cracking bone. The man let out a scream which was cut mercifully short. The rest of the Saracens promptly leapt into the water, leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone on the tilted, bloody deck.

He immediately set about climbing the mast, using the edge of the khanda to bite into the hard wood so that he could pull himself up. He reached the swaying crossbeam, to which their pristine canvas sail was bound, and sliced through the rigging, letting the loose canvas flutter to the deck. He tossed the sword away and called out, "Toothless!" Below him, the dragon leapt upwards. Hiccup dropped back down onto his saddle. "Grab the sail, bud!"

The dragon did, digging in with all four of his paws before spreading his massive black wings and taking off. The ship shrank as they rose high into the air and headed back to Neptune's Pride.

They dropped the sail first, and it landed on the deck with a whumph. Hiccup heard captain Khader's voice, "Spread it out! Start cutting it to size!"

The Alexandrian sailors worked quickly, four of them kneeling on the blank canvas with knives and thread while another two brought their sail down. The rest of the crew was manning the oars, trying to keep ahead of the steadily advancing pirate fleet.

"Hiccup!" the captain waved him down. They landed on the deck. This time the crew ignored them, entirely focused as they were on repairs and escape.

Khader pulled him aside. "This ship is losing too much ground. Even if we repair the sail, the Moors will be upon us before we can make it back to Alexandria."

"Don't go back to Alexandria, that's where this fleet is going." Hiccup advised. "Head north. They'll let you alone. They have bigger fish to catch."

Khader's expression darkened. "I have a wife and child in Alexandria. So do most of my men. We will go back and we will defend our homes."

Hiccup let out a long breath, staring at the captain's grim face. He said, "Toothless and I will do what we can to keep those ships off of you. How long do you need?"

Khader glanced at the hurried repairs. "Twenty minutes?"

"We'll give you thirty." Hiccup promised, equally as determined.

"The wind is heading due south. Don't let that fleet circle north of us." The captain advised. "If they do, all those Saracen sails will steal our wind, and we'll be done for. Our oars can't outrun them."

They both turned to look at the pirate fleet. Already a small contingent of Moorish ships had broken away, and was circling north, rapidly gaining ground as they caught the strong breeze.

"Toothless!" The dragon bounded over. His gummy smile was somewhat offset by the fact that his jaws were still wet with Saracen blood. Hiccup climbed onto his back. "We've still got a night of fighting left, bud."

The dragon growled, and his eyes narrowed on the Saracen fleet.

"Hiccup," Khader called out. "Thanks for the help."

"Just doing what I had to." Hiccup replied, "Let's go, bud!"

They shot upwards first, far above the southern air currents which the ships relied upon. The Saracen fleet, which had provided such a wide, strong front from sea-level, was revealed to be a long, wide column. Hiccup could see lights stretching all the way to the Horizon. Another fleet was zig-zagging its way north from Barqah, another two-dozen ships to join the massive armada.

The front of the line was a group of large vessels, teeming with heavily armoured soldiers. The ships behind them had siege equipment and long bulks of timber for construction. This was an army created not only to take, but to keep. The ships in front were moving slowly, heavy-laden as they were. It was slowing down the entire fleet, but that clearly didn't matter much to the Saracen commanders. It wasn't an army built for speed, or stealth. They intended to bludgeon Alexandria into submission. To take the docks and pour troops in until the city was swamped.

"We gotta slow'em down, bud." Hiccup said. On the northern edge of the fleet's front line, a half-dozen faster frigates were breaking ranks and circling around to catch up with Neptune's pride. Hiccup could see the strategy; steal the Alexandrian vessel's wind, then let the larger warships catch up and crush it.

The real threat was the larger warships. Hiccup eyed them up, choosing carefully. There was one near the center, laden with thinner lengths of lumber. No doubt for boarding and offloading troops. He leaned forward, prompting the dragon to circle lower and lower until he knew Toothless wouldn't miss.

"That one, bud. Right in the center. Turn it to splinters."

Toothless huffed an affirmation. He opened his mouth and Hiccup heard that strange whistling noise which always occurred when Toothless was charging one of his shots. The blast plunged into the vessel at high speed, and then detonated. The entire ship shuddered and expanded outwards, a blossom of red and yellow fire flowering in its belly, bending the planks and timber until suddenly it exploded. Men and flaming bulks of timber rained down on the ships all around it, setting sails and rigging alight, and sending the Saracen sailors diving for cover. A blue ring of heated plasma expanded outwards from the center of the explosion, scorching sails and rigging in a wide swath of the fleet.

A hail of arrows rose in response, but Toothless batted his wings a few times and took both of them safely out of range. Most of the arrows cleared the burning ships and peppered the ocean's surface. Some landed on the flaming vessels, and a few of those hit some unfortunate sailors.

The Saracen fleet was in chaos. The flames were easily overtaking nearby ships, which were full of dry wood. Hiccup could hear faint orders being passed backwards along the column. The massive fleet began to disperse, each ship altering course to avoid the firestorm. But there wasn't much room to maneuver without hitting other ships. More and more vessels, unable to alter course, entered the firestorm. The sea was alive with men, swimming desperately to escape the fire. Many of them were dragged under, weighed down by their own armor. Flaming vessels crashed into one another, creating a giant floating island, roaring with fire. Toothless and Hiccup circled, rising on the thermals. Black smoke billowed out, rising south towards Barqah.

"Good job, bud." Hiccup said, feeling slightly nauseated. The dragon crooned happily and Hiccup patted him on the snout. Toothless was so friendly to him. It was difficult, sometimes, to remember just why Night Furies were as feared as they were. He remembered moments from his childhood, running for cover the moment anyone heard that signature whistling noise. After this, it would be feared across the Mediterranean as well. Hiccup did not exactly see this as cause to celebrate.

He looked back towards Neptune's Pride. The other three frigates were nearly upon them, a mere hundred meters or so behind. He leaned forward, pushing Toothless into a steep dive. They caught the downdraft column the thermals were causing, and picked up even more speed as they raced towards the frothing whitecaps. Hiccup let out a holler and Toothless followed suit, emitting a long, primal, bellowing roar which echoed across the Mediterranean. Thirty meters from the waves, Hiccup pulled them out of their dive, grinning as g-forces sucked at him. "Hit'em with warning, bud. Just a little one."

Toothless let out a single, weaker shot. It hit the mast of the leading frigate. Wood splintered, and the timber tilted slowly over and fell into the ocean. It dragged the rigging with it, causing the ship to list over to one side. Unable to steer, the wind hit its broadside and pushed it south, out of the way. The other two boats turned south on a broad run and fled towards the Egyptian coastline, leaving Neptune's Pride free and clear, with Hiccup and Toothless hovering protectively between them and the Saracen fleet.

Hiccup circled the Alexandrian vessel. They had the Saracen sail spread out on their deck, and were busy cutting it to size and fitting it to their rigging. As he buzzed by, the sailors cheered and applauded. He could see Captain Khader Giving him a salute with that enormous scimitar. Hiccup waved back, and then pulled backwards, prompting the dragon upwards. They spent some time there, keeping watch and circling on the thermals. The pillar of smoke was enormous, filling the southern sky with a thick haze.

Another ten minutes passed before he saw the Saracen sail rise on Neptune's Pride. The pirate fleet had halted. Many ships had dropped anchor. They had no choice but to wait. The flaming jumble of debris was slowly moving south, pushed by the wind and tide. Boats weren't ramming into it anymore, but the entire fleet was stuck waiting for it to pass. They couldn't go around it; that would involve sailing into the wind. Ships had to zig-zag back and forth, moving slowly north before they could once again resume their course east. Easy enough for one ship, but an entire fleet would have to break formation, and it was too much to risk more collisions and disorganization. Hiccup kept Toothless in sight, circling; a constant threat of more damage and destruction.

The crew of Neptune's Pride set their new sail and began to pick up speed, heading east towards Alexandria. Hiccup made sure they were off the horizon before he and Toothless soared away themselves.

Emperor Leo V sat at a large and exquisitely decorated table in his chambers. Silver plates and chalices had been set down carefully all around the table, every place set, despite the fact he was dining alone. The cooks were on form that night; two dozen dishes of fresh fish, beef, and poultry seasoned with spices all the way from kingdoms in China and India lay carefully arranged across the table. His taste tester had already checked for poisons, and now Leo was looking forward to tasting all the dishes himself. He would eat what he desired and send the rest of the feast be thrown away.

Leo had served as a military commander early in his life, serving under Bardanes Tourkos, a high-profile general who had rebelled against Byzantium's previous emperor. Tourkos' coup had failed, and Leo had been exiled, only to be recalled eight years later by his predecessor Michael I Rhangabe. Indeed, he had been awarded with several extensive properties for his military accomplishments. From there Leo had bided his time, and eventually used his heavy political clout to force Rhangabe to abdicate.

And then he had been crowned Emperor. He had immediately ordered the castration of Rhangabe's sons, in order to prevent any children or grandchildren from challenging his claim to the throne. After that, he had waged extensive campaigns against Khan Krum of Bulgaria, who was blockading supplies to Byzantium. Krum had defeated previous emperors in battle, even going so far as line the skull of Emperor Nikephoros with gold, turning it into a drinking goblet.

Leo had driven Krum back into the mountains, where the old Khan had finally died. His son Omurtag had taken over control of the Bulgarian Khanate. With the help of his Varangian fighters, Leo had defeated Omurtag immediately at Nessebar. He used the defeat to engineer a thirty-year peace with the Bulgarians, and lent the majority of his Varangians to the Carolingian Empire so that Charlemagne and Louis the Pious could continue battering Omurtag's exhausted forces. Charlemagne put the mercenaries to use in the west in his Iberian wars against the Umayyad Caliphate. This served double duty. It solidified the alliance between the eastern and western roman empires, and kept the Frankish kingdom in a weakened state, preventing any potential aggression against Byzantium.

With his borders and trade routes secure, Leo consolidated his power. He jailed one of his generals on suspicion of conspiracy, and began several internal projects to help the Byzantine economy recover. His aggressive foreign policy had left the Empire in a precarious financial position, and so he reinstituted the Iconoclasm, seizing church property in the name of piety when in actuality the gold and silver helped him to pay his military bills.

It also helped him outfit his palace. The Great Palace of Constantinople had stood for nearly five hundred years. The Palace was an enormous complex of buildings covering nearly two square kilometers of ground. Situated right beside the public sports arena, it housed a barracks for the Emperor's Varangian Guards, a church, baths, and the Imperial Residence.

Leo had just put stained glass in his dining hall. So it really annoyed him when a fearsome black dragon crashed through the glass and landed on his table. He reflexively covered his face to protect it from the shards of glass, and fell from his chair, crying out for his guards. Doors slammed open, and he was dragged backwards behind stalwart shield wall. Viking guardsmen closed in around him in a protective cluster, bristling with spears, pikes, axes and swords.

The dragon towered over them, light rippling across its scales like black velvet. The beast possessed a sleek shape. Streamlined with a broad head and soulless, slitted green eyes. Tiny trails of smoke curled from its nostrils as it breathed.

It was wearing a saddle. Leather straps criss-crossed under its belly, and metal stirrups had been carefully placed at its flanks. The rider was a tall figure, appearing as streamlined as his ferocious steed. He was dressed in brown and black form-fitting leathers with sturdy boots and a sturdy, leather-clad helmet. A pair of piercing green eyes gazed at him through the slits.

"Please nobody move!" the figure said in muffled tones. The following silence was punctuated by the black beast's growling.

One of the Imperial guardsmen charged forward, thrusting with his spear. The black beast opened its mouth and coughed an electric blue ball of light and fire. The guard vanished, leaving the acrid smell of burnt flesh and a pair of smoking boots behind.

"Well that was just a brilliant tactical maneuver." The masked rider said, swinging a leg over and sliding to the table, where he stood with one arm over the monster's neck. "What part of 'please nobody move!' didn't he get? I thought I'd spoken clearly." He turned to the beast and ran a hand along its broad, black snout. "And bud, we've talked about this! Be civilized. You can't just blow people away every time someone shakes a stick at you!"

The nightmare warbled a protest.

"I don't care if the stick was pointy or not! We're standing in front of the Emperor of Byzantium. Now's not the time to be firing off plasma blasts willy nilly!"

It warbled again, ears quivering as it fixed its rider with a pointed look. The young man sighed. "Alright. Not willy nilly. It was a very deliberate and precise plasma blast."

To the amazement of its audience, the creature sat back on its haunches and preened like a regal lion.

"…which you still shouldn't have fired." The visitor added.

It growled and whipped him in the back of the head with its tail, producing a surprising clang noise as alien mechanisms on its tail collided with his helmet.

"Oh, get over it, bud!" The stranger turned to the Emperor and his huddled guards. The helmet was removed to reveal a young man's face with a pointed chin, thoughtful brows and a wild mane of feathery auburn hair.

"Heeey guuys." The figure waved awkwardly. "Leo! Can I call you Leo? How's your day been?"

"Don't answer it, my lord!" A guard warned, "It rides ride a demon!"

The youth sighed and exchanged a tired look with his beast. "Never gets old, does it, bud?"

His creature crooned mournfully and shook its head. It bent over and began to sniff at the plates of food.

"Toothless! How can you eat at a time like this? Also, don't swallow any glass please."

The demon hissed at him, and then downed an entire chicken in one bite. Leo groaned; he'd been looking forward to that bird. It had been baked in seven different Lebanese spices.

"Okay, here's the thing…" the rider explained, "I've had a really trying week. First I got told that I had to leave my school, then there was this girl who I thought was into me but it turns out she wasn't and -twist ending! There's a giant Saracen fleet about to attack Alexandria and they could really use your help! So if you could see your way through to summoning up the old army and giving those bastards the ol' one-two punch I think we'd all very much appreciate it. Thank you for your cooperation."

This declaration was met with stunned silence. Then Leo said, "Young man, don't you know there is a proper way to bring your complaints to the court's attention?"

"I was in a bit of a hurry."

"You broke through my window and ruined my dinner!"

"Wow. When you say it like that, it does sound almost as terrible as being burned and hacked to pieces by Saracen pirates." The man said, deadpanned. "I'm sure the citizens of Alexandria would sympathize with you."

"You're riding a demon!"

"It's just a dragon!"

"The Devil's Beast!" one of the guards declared.

"That is really not helping."

"Here, he's wearing our colors!" An angry guardsmen explained. The boy was indeed wearing Varangian colors. A black eagle crest adorned the thick leather pauldron on his right shoulder.

"You're one of mine?" Leo asked.

"Kinda." The man rubbed the back of his neck in an awkward and strangely human gesture. "I quit after you ordered me to steal from churches."

"Are you a Christian?"

"I worship Thor and Odin. But that doesn't make stealing right."

Leo studied the lean, gangly youth. The man was young. In his early twenties. Practically a child.

"You're a Norsemen?" A guard asked.

"Far north. You?"

"Normandy. Came with the first settlers."

"Berk."

"Never heard of it."

"Small island twelve days north of Hopeless, and a few degrees south of Freezing-To-Death."

The guards glanced at one another, all of them looking equally as flummoxed. The visitor addressed Leo. "I served with the Franks in the Iberian Peninsula, and fought the Bulgarians with you at Nessebar. Took an axe to the chest, actually."

"Nessebar was a number of years ago." Leo said. "Where's your proof?"

"I don't wear this symbol lightly, sir." The boy said politely, gesturing at his shoulder.

"I don't recall a dragon being mentioned on my equipment and personnel lists. I feel sure I would have remembered."

"He umm… he tagged along."

"Even if you're a liar, I doubt many would argue with your beast." One of the guards observed.

"He can be a stubborn one." The visitor agreed. "Look, Leo-"

"Emperor."

"Emperor. I'm not here to hurt you, and my dragon won't either. Not unless anyone charges at me again." He ran an intelligent eye along the shield wall. The half-dozen soldiers tensed.

"Well then what are you doing here?"

"Told you before, sir. Alexandria is under attack."

"Why should I care about Alexandria? It's just one city on the wrong side of the Mediterranean. My empire has a hard time enough trying to support Louis' efforts in Spain."

The visitor's brow furrowed. "Alexandria's a part of your empire and they need help!"

"If they are worthy then God will see their cause is just, and He will save them from the Heathens."

"Oookay. You know what? You suck. You just suck. You're a terrible king. This is why I left the Varangians. The other soldiers were alright, but the leadership just sucked. You can't use God to excuse laziness!"

"Don't speak to my Emperor in that tone!" one of the guardsmen warned.

"I've got a loaded dragon." The youth snapped back. "I'll speak to him how I like."

The guard looked as though he were about to offer a rebuke, but then Leo laid a hand on his shoulder. "Leave us."

Helmeted heads turned. Leo fixed them with a glare of his own. "Do you really think the six of you could stop this beast? This man wants to talk business with me, and I will allow it."

Stunned and confused, they filed out. The door closed, and Leo was left alone with the visitor and his living shadow of a dragon. The youth was surveying the curtains and fine silver. "This is quite a place you've set up here."

"As an Emperor responsible for land and people across the Mediterranean, I can afford certain privileges."

"Uh-huh."

Leo considered his strange guest. "You have some nerve, calling me a poor ruler in front of my men."

"You have some nerve, saying you're responsible for people across the Mediterranean, and then ignoring them when trouble strikes. Crete is attacking with a fleet. I've seen it. And they're backed up by ships and men from the Umayyad Caliphate."

Leo nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his bearded chin. He strode forward and grabbed a small jar from the table, ignoring the growling monster. He held it up, revealing the translucent amber crumbs within. "Do you know what this is, boy?"

"No."

"It is Myrrh. A spice from the Orient. One gram of this is worth an Ingot of gold. A sack of Myrrh will buy you a small village. Ten boats, a kingdom. Alexandria is a single city sitting on the wrong side of the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded on all sides by Caliphates. Gaining that ground and owning the south side of the Mediterranean Sea would be a great symbolic victory for the Saracen Khalifs to show their people. They hold control over many routes of the Silk Road, and recently they've been cutting off trade. I give them Alexandria, and in return they keep the spices and the silk flowing into the Byzantine Empire."

"So they bought you with spices…"

"Bought me?" Leo spat, "Don't be absurd."

"What do you call it then?" the rider snapped.

"Alexandria is one city of a few thousand people. I hold dominion over a vast expanse of Europe. Byzantium is recovering from Krum's Bulgarian invasion, and we're supporting Louis' war with a Caliphate in the Iberian Peninsula-"

"That's still going, huh?" the stranger asked bitterly, "I guess neither side is really trying all that hard."

"You fought in my army."

"I quit your army. And the more I learn about you the more I'm glad I did."

"I give them a few thousand souls in Alexandria, and in return they bring wealth to millions of my people and financial security to my empire's war-time economy. They did not buy me. It was a trade of the sort rulers make all the time."

"Why would a Caliphate in the east pay for you to fight a war with a Caliphate in the west?"

"Because Caliphates are separate nations of their own. Some are Shia, others are Sunni and they fight each other. I don't much care about their internal struggles so much as it benefits my empire. Byzantium no longer cares about Alexandria. There will be no reinforcements. If you have family or friends there, I suggest you fly back on your dragon beast and help them escape."

"But… there are things in Alexandria worth protecting! What about the Library? What about enlightenment and the search for truth?"

"The loss of knowledge is regrettable." Leo agreed. "But… books have always been written and books will continue to be written. What value is there in such ancient texts? We have the Bible, the word of God Himself. That is enough to guide us through. The Bible is the only truth we need."

"There's more in those texts! Roman history and Greek philosophy! We have a responsibility to spread knowledge and understanding! Even if you don't care about the people, at least save the books."

Leo chuckled. "For whom? The people of this Holy Roman Empire are illiterate. Would you like to know the benefits of an Illiterate population? The people only hear what my town criers are paid to tell them. The only believe what the priests say. They don't think too much. It makes my job a lot easier."

The young man gawked helplessly. Leo side and retook his seat and, with an expression of boredom, stared up at the dragon. He gave his mysterious visitor a pitying smile. "You poor fool."

"Hey!"

"Someone has been filling your mind with the most worthless drivel, young man. Alexandria, whatever past glories it may represent, is a mere shell. An empty drain on Byzantium's finances. One I do not feel is necessary for my empire to flourish. Most of Byzantium's trade occurs over land routes. That is why I waged a war against Khan Krum and his Bulgarian hordes. I was securing my Empire's economic strength. As was Alexander when he founded that city. Alexandria was not created out of high-minded philosophical ideals. It was created it as a center of business which has since moved elsewhere, and he named it after himself for the same reason he put his face on temples and statues and coins. A smart ruler makes himself the face of the nation, and ensures that no matter where people look, they see his face incorporated into symbols of strength, guidance, and security. He makes himself a fixture of their daily lives. And what is more necessary to survival than coin?"

"Alexander was a great man!"

"He was a brilliant tactician, and a brutal tyrant." Leo leaned forward and popped a grape into his mouth. "A good ruler must be nothing less."

"But… but the Library…"

"Was built by the Ptolemies, descended from one of Alexander's Generals. There was no high-minded idealism there either. The ruling Greek class felt that too many foreigners were gaining too much power in the city and they set about Hellenizing Alexandria to assert the superiority of Greek culture. That Library and the Museo were created to dominate and subjugate their rowdy citizens. It also gave the aristocracy something else to be snobbish about. You mentioned you dislike stealing? Well most of the books in that Godforsaken, rotting mausoleum were stolen from incoming trading vessels, private citizens, and the libraries of other nations."

The youth had gone pale, eyes wide with anger and confusion. But Leo noted the way his hands were balling into fists. The Emperor laughed. "Go ahead. Do me harm, boy. You've already given my guards the name of your little island. Berk, was it? These men have vowed on their honor to protect me, and they take failure very seriously. You or your beast hurt me, and the entire Norse world will descend upon your island and sink it back into the sea."

The youth was wide-eyed and shaking, and he looked so forlorn that Leo was moved to offer him a glass of wine. "Have a drink, and then get back on your beast and go home, young man. Save those you care about and learn how to silence your conscience. It'll only do you harm."

The dragon's eyes had grown wide, and Leo was surprised at how much less threatening it appeared as it watched its rider the way a concerned young child would watch an angry mother.

The visitor's lips thinned into a pale, grim line. "Enjoy your meal, sir. I'm going to go fight for Alexandria."

"I wish you the best of luck." Leo raised his glass in salute. "Just know there will be no reinforcements."

The youth replaced his helmet, mounted his dragon, and threw the Emperor a vitriolic salute. "Sorry about your window, sir."

"Don't fret." Leo replied, sipping his wine. "That little bottle of Myrrh will more than pay for it."

The dragon took off with a whoosh, and the strange visitor vanished into the night.

So… Dragons existed then, Leo mused. Such beasts might offer a distinct tactical advantage, if used properly. He had thought them legend, but he also understood that even as Emperor of the most powerful nation on God's earth, even he didn't know everything.

He sat down and carefully composed a letter to Louis the Pious. Clearly Danes from Berk were a disloyal lot with strange ideas. A watch would have to be kept. Especially if the Vikings had learned to fly deadly mythical creatures. After a time a young servant came in to remove the dinner, and what little remained of the burnt guard. A pity, that was.

Still, it was one less salary to pay.

I've made a mistake.

You see, at this period in history (815-825AD), there were two "Roman" empires. The Byzantine Empire, which possessed extensive territory around the Mediterranean, and the Carolingian Empire (Holy Roman Empire), which was most of northern and western Europe.

These facts don't really change much in the story until this very chapter, because it's all background information in a larger picture. Just some minor conversations between characters in early chapters. Still, after I post this chapter, I'm going to be slowly going back over previous chapters to correct my mistake where necessary. Every time I mentioned Charlemagne and Louis the Pious as Emperors of Byzantium, I should have been talking about Emperor Leo V. It was *his* wars against the Umayyad Caliphate and the Bulgarians in which Hiccup fought, and it was *his* Iconoclast which caused Hiccup to desert the Varangian Guard.

I also want to reiterate that I've introduced the Varangian Guard a little earlier than they actually appeared historically. According to Wikipedia (Always a reliable source of information :/ ) the earliest evidence of Vikings being brought over to conduct warfare on behalf of a European ruler was in 874AD, around fifty-five to sixty years after this story takes place. A more reliable number, for which there is evidence, is 988AD, over a hundred years later.

Another thing I've used was the idea of the Varangian Guard having a crest to identify them. I don't think this is unreasonable; armies need uniforms and symbols to tell them apart from other armies, and give them something to be proud of and fight for. In this case I've stolen the idea of a black eagle crest which was used quite often in the military of the Roman Empire.

Perhaps as Vikings, they would have chosen Thor's Hammer or a Norse symbol, but they would also be fighting on behalf of the Byzantine Empire- a nation descended from the Roman Empire. In the eleventh century, Byzantium adopted a double-headed golden eagle as its crest. Its soldiers would likely have worn such a symbol, or at least carried its standard into battle. However our story takes place in the ninth century- two hundred years earlier- and according to what little research I've done, they were still using the Roman Imperial Eagle. So I've chosen to adopt it as the standard this Varangian Guard which didn't exist yet would have marched under. I hope that wasn't too confusing.

I do, however, want to point out that there is no historical evidence that the Varangians marched under such a crest. It is, however, a convenient plot device. A way for people to quickly identify Hiccup's affiliations. No doubt when he gets back to Berk he'll replace it with a black Night Fury like he wore in Dawn of the Dragon Racers, or perhaps the red Hairy Hooligan Crest he has in HTTYD2.

I can also confirm, finally and definitively, that we have only one more Hiccup chapter left before he ships off back to Berk.