Clang clang CLANG!
The sound of a hammer filled the night sky above The village smithy. Inside swinging the heavy 15 pound maul for all he was worth was a young scrawny boy with auburn hair. His trousers were torn and darned in several places he lacked a shirt or coat merely wearing a leather apron to cover his skin from the worst of the heat of his forge. His face normaly a tapestry of kindness was marred by thick rancid bruises. This boy, Hiccup Haddock, had just woken up a short while ago outside from being beaten unconscious by a group of kids from the village when he woke up he was covered in the snow that was almost always falling on this frigid island.
the young man straightened up and sighed looking In the direction where the glow of the torches and bonfires of the nearby village were visible in the dark night and the blowing icy wind. Stretching his back and looking at the battle ax he was forging for the cheif of the village, Stoick. Who was one of the young man's only customers, the rest of the village still used the old blacksmith gobber hiccups master. he understood why they refused tondonbuisness with him, but that didnt make it any easier to accept. It had been this way Ever Since he was disowned three years ago the village treated him like dirt and the new heir of the village treated him as a punching bag.
When he was at the appex of his stretching several things in his chest popped. And he collapsed to the ground.
Pain.
Insurmountable mind numbing earth shattering pain. Broken ribs or cracked ribs hiding their weakness untill hiccup had moved a certain way. Unable to move from the ground unable to breath properly, the young blacksmith passed out.
/ 3 years ago/
Gobber watched on with a teasing smile on his face but very concerned eyes, as hiccup struggled to hit the steel bar with the five Pound hammer gobber had given him hiccups face purple and green with bruises.
"lad if your gana insist on coming to work in your state and than your going to have to speed it along to your normal pace." Said gobber the belch hiccups master and mentor since the age of 5.
"I know gobber I know, I'm trying, snot decided my shoulder blade would make a good spring board for his mace."
This is how it was always been on berk. Atleast to hiccups Knowledge. Berk was a land of the strong. Where the weak simply were not tolerated and hiccup was about as weak as they came. Small and scrawny for his age,and a total opposite from his father, he wasn't Named hiccup for just any reason. It was a tradition on the island to name the runt of the litter hiccup.
"Well lad maybe you should defend your self you're the future chief, boy, you can't go letting your cousin beat on you all the time."
Hiccup got angry at that and spun to face the bald blonde hulking monolith that was his mentor.
"You know just as well as I do that I'll never be allowed to be cheif of this village. Every year snot and his cronies get more violent i cant exactly defend myself when im pinned to the ground, and thornforbid any adult help!" A sudden chill had filled the forge and for once gobber was silent. As much as gobber liked hiccup there was certain things about the boy that he knew better than to press.
"Right, Well, after you fix that sword take off for the rest if the day, and tomorrow as well your no good to me this beat up."
"Right".
And that was why hiccup found himself walking through the village at noon as everyone was out and returning to work from their mid day meals. It's also after a short but violent confrontation how hiccup had found himself in pain on the ground as snotlout, tuffnutt, and the rest of their band of bullies stood smirking over him; they just couldn't resist the opportunity to crack hiccup over the head with a mace. Blood sheeting down the Young smiths face to dizzy to do anything but sit there and try to regain his faculties, that's when a knee was planted into his back forcing him back down and the group of teens had started wailing on hiccup punches, kicks, stomps everything they could do to hurt the scrawny young man at their mercy.
"You're so pathetic, Useless! I dont know how your father deals with the shame of having you as son" Snotlout luaghed as he stomped hiccups head repeatedly into the mud.
Enough." Said hiccup to Def Ears as the teens continued to assualt him.
"Yea useless! You can't even run! what did you expect. Your such an easy target even fishlegs could hit you." Tuffnutt luaghed
EnouGH." repeated the beaten young man. As dogbreaths Hammer made contact with his left leg again And again filling the air with the crack of bone repeatedly.
EnOUGH!" shouted hiccup as snotlout raised his mace again to finally cave in the weaker teens skull and claim his "rightful" place as heir.
"After today useless you won't be anyone's problem anymore and I'll take my place as your father's heir. The fact he even named you his heir at all is an insult to me, the jorgenson family, and this entire village!" Snarled his brutish Cousin.
ENOUGH!!" Yelled the heir to the hooligan tribe as the mace was brought down to smash his skull. But at that same time. Ice appeared around hiccup jetting desolate spires and spikes of hardened ice surounding hiccups prone form in a spiked cocoon of glass like ice
blocking all incoming strikes, impaling tuffnuts entire arm from knuckle to elbow and shattering his cousins mace in his grip as if the heavy metal weapon where made of dry clay.
I.SAID. ENOUGH!" as hiccup stood in the center of his abusers and raised his arms to the heaven as if determined to rip down the very sky. And the spikes of ice shot out impaling his attackers in various spots on their body and killing Dogsbreath instantly with a rod of ice through his eye socket and out of the rear of his skull.
It had been instant pandemonium: a miniature blizzard had surounded hiccup in a circle of swirling razorblades that cut anyone who tried to pass through to apprehend hiccup. Who was no longer conscious or in control of his newly found powers. The villagers of berk ran around collecting the injured teens and rushing them to the Gothi's house for healing. And the villagers who could ran and barricaded themselves in their houses or the great hall. Magic was not understood on the small island of berk, so it was dangerous, and dangerous things were evil. It was stoic hiccups father and the village chief who finally with the help of 3 shields to block the cutting icy wind was able to reach hiccup. He picked up his son and wrapped his unconscious form in a bear hug whispering things a father can only say to a son in a moment of weakness or dire need. And it was stoic who delivered his own son to the holding cells to await trial. The use of magic on another person was a death sentence. And the possession of magic was call for banishment From the village at least.
And stoic knew which he would be arguing for.
The next few days hiccup didn't remember much he had a massive concussion and after his leg was amutated under the knee due to the damage that dogsbreath had dow he was in so much pain that even if he didnt have a concussion he would not have been coherent.
After a short trial he had been cleared of wrong doing in injuring his attackers and killing dogs breath becuase he hadn't started the "fight" as the tribunal had called it. But he had been cast out of the village and his father had been forced to disown him. No magic user could be chief. But stoic had succeeded in arguing that the situation did not warrant a total outcasting or execution so he was given the same punishment another villager mildew had been given some 30 years prior. allowed to buy and sell goods in the village but not allowed to live there nor seek.shelter there during storms. Nor live within 2 miles of the village. He had also been made to submit to being branded, the words "magi udyr" burned into the skin of his cheek
Gobber had made him a peg leg with "hiccup flair" thrown in. And that was the last free assistance He had ever received from the village.
And thus, three years later, Hiccup found himself exactly two miles away from anyone who could help him. Injured in a way that prevented his breathing normally, moving normally, or doing things like eating, drinking, or doing anything needed to sustain life. He would have already died of hypothermia, but since that day, the cold had ceased to harm him at all. It saved on firewood atleast.
'Ooooh, the gods hate me.' Hiccup thought and groaned, unable to move because of the pain.
"I can't keep living like this," he continued to himself, even without the constant beatings he wasn't allowed to defend himself from. He was barely scraping by. Even if he could move around to cook, he didn't have any food to eat. He had spent the last of his money buying the materials for the axe his father had ordered. It would be the payment from his father for the axe that would buy him his first meal in a week.
When Hiccup had first moved out of the village and to the large plot of land he had staked his claim to, he had traded most of his coin for a few sheep, two yaks, and a handful of pigs, as well as an entire house of chickens, so that he would have food, leather, and wool for his own use. But not two days after the animals arrived did Hiccup wake up one morning to find all of his livestock dead. He had cleaned and processed everything so it wasn't a total waste, but that stock had dried up a long time ago, especially when someone came and burned his storehouse down.
He had tried to seek arbitration for it after tracking the people responsible to the Jorgenson Family Hall, but the banished were denied that right, and thus he was simply told to shut up and get over it.
After three days, the day Stoick had agreed to come and pick up his new ax, the large chief came in without bothering to knock and almost stepped right on Hiccup where he had been lying for three days.
"Hiccup! Son, what's wrong?" The chief knelt down to fuss over Hiccup.
"Snotlout and his crew happened," wheezed Hiccup after being startled awake.by his fathers booming voice.
"I'll have his head for this!"
"No, you won't, Dad. I am an outcast. Amd a magic user. I don't have rights. It's not against any law to do any of this stuff to me. If he does it again, though, you'll need a new heir."
"Son-" stoik said apprehensivly. "I've been sitting on something for a while. Something that will help you. I've not wanted to go through with this because chances are I'd rarely if ever see you again-" stoik puased seeming to not to want to continue. "Did I ever tell you why the council agreed to let you stay on the island?" said Stoick, full of trepidation.
"No?" replied Hiccup still wheezing butnfar more alert now, and just as unwillimg to move more than his chin.
"They let you stay because you are a Haddock. I've always been unwilling to take another wife. Your mother was the love of my life, hiccup, and I've never wanted her replaced. They agreed that you could stay so that when you had children, I could adopt them, name them heir, and continue the Haddock line of chiefs.
But lately, I've been in talks with Bertha from the Bog-Burger tribe, and she has agreed to send over a woman for me to marry and bear new Haddock children with. And that will leave you free to go and get away from Berk, where you can thrive and be happy." Stoick explained, looking glum.
"I never named snotlout my heir either I would never name him my heir he's as stupid as he is cruel and I'll not leave him to be my legacy. I just never corrected his boasting.
So I'll have a new family" at this stoic fell silent and sighed heavily. "and you will be able to leave this island. I have found something for you Though,
Far away on the continent there is a kingdom Hadraddan or something like that. They have sent messages far and wide looking to attract skilled blacksmiths that can help them construct their kings new capital. It's supposed to be a city unlike any other ever made. planned out down to the brick."
"so 'I'll get to leave. Will I ever see you again?"
"I plan on heading there myself to secure trade relations. It's a coastal city, see, so I might be able to make a trip here and there, but yes, son, you'll have to leave. At this point, it's for your own safety. But I'll also offer you, and the council agreed here, for you to be our official envoy to this kingdom. It shouldn't keep you too busy, but it should grant you certain diplomatic privileges," explained Stoick.
"How magnanimous of the council," Hiccup said flatly. "Still, anything's better than this. I can't even raise a chicken without Snotlout coming out in the night and stomping it to death. So I'll do it. When do we ship out?"
"In 2 weeks. It's a little more than a week-long voyage there, eight or nine days, six or seven if we keep a favorable wind."
"And can I bring anything?"
"Oh, I suspect you'll need all your tools and supplies. I'll send, errr, Mulch and Bucket to help you pack up and haul everything to the ship we'll be taking."
No!..ehh no please. No need to do that chief, a blacksmith packing up his forge. Even one so seldom used as mine. It needs to be done by the Smith and the apprentice If he has one. I spent my childhood making these tools I'll not let someone come in and probably damage or lose them."
"Alright then, if your sure I'll keep snotlout and his goons buisy yea?"
"Please that will help more than mulch And bucket would."
"and I'll send gothi and Heather down with some bandages and herbs for your injuries. My last gift to you. Do you need help geting up son?"
"No, I'll just lay here till they show up I don't want to recheck my ribs. But can ypu fill up my wanterskin?"
Stoik sighed after a minute "it's got a hole in it. I'm going to make that mongrel run around the entire village for three days he obviously has to much time on his hands." and after another hour of the chief making sure hiccup had water he was off. It was close to 9 at night when Heather and the gothi, the village elder and healer showed up. Without speaking to hiccup, Heather, a girl about 2 or 3 years his senior took in hiccups house and went about starting a large and hot fire filling the large cauldron over his fireplace with fresh water and dumping in a canvas bag mostlijely filled with a blend of herbs. Gothi at the same time was poking and proving hiccup in various places either nodding or shaking her head at his reactions and signing things to Heather as she went around his home and gathered the largest wash tub, towels, candles and various other items that they'd need to work. At the same time dumping long rolls of guase bandages into the now steaming cauldron.
What happened next should have been among the most painful experiences of experiences of his life as the Two women works to make sure all of his ribs were in the right position to be healed. Unfortunately hiccup had been awake when they amputated his leg. And that was a pain far beyond anything the two healers were doing.
It was 2 days later that they Left him. Gothi leaving at once but heather lingered on a pretence of making sure theynforgot nothing. The old wizened healer stoped at hisndoor amd silently rolled her eyes at her apprentices actions.
"Hiccup-" the young woman started sounding unsure of herself. "I just wanted you to know that im sorry. For everything for not stepping forward ad helping. For. abandoning you to snotlout." she looked at his silent shocked face and turned.arpund left in a hurry hiccup heard a queit sob before his door shut.
Hiccup sat stunned, he had been the one to find her on Thors beach amid the wreckage of a merchant vessel the washed ashore after a storm, from the time she opened her eyes they had been friends and for two years until hiccup was eight they were best friends, but when snotlout started terrorizing him he had threatened the young castaway to abandon him, physically assaulted her broke her arm, threaten to have you put put to sea again. He stiped openly tormenting her when she became the adopted daughter of the Gothi, but by then the damage had been done. Those words were the first.time she spoke to him in 5 years.
Hiccup spent the next 4 days following the healing regimen that they outlined and by the start of the second week he felt he could begin packing up his newly minted forge for transport.And so hiccup when about the process to begin dismantling his forge. Wich began with a full inventory and list of his stock of tools and raw materials.
Hiccup had at his small young forge.
15 hammers of various forms functions and weights.
35 chisels.
47 rasps/files/honers
3 anvil 1. 20 pound 1. 45 pound and 1. 160 pound
14 different Sharpening wheels and the frame in which they are used on.
13 iron ingots
10 brass Ingots
12 hides of various size and conditions
A barrel full of leather straps and cords
15 sealed barrels of charcoal
8 differant bellows
5 crucibles of varying size.
And his forge was made of twenty specially made fire bricks.
And one plate made of the same material with holes put in every inch to allow heat to pass through unmitigated but still support the weight of the items he was forging and support the structure of the forge.
Now he just needed to make boxes but after 3 full days of inventory and organizing hiccup woke up on the fourth morning after the he started packing, to find 30 wooden crates already packed tight with straw and to his surprise he could hear humming coming from his forge. Someone humming a tune he hadn't heard in 3 years now.
Gobber had come to see him off.
The creek of his prophetic leg gave him away as he gazed Upon his former master.
"Ey lad, thought Ole gobber would help see you off."
"Yea? And what prevented old gobber from seeing me for the last 3 years."
Gobber looked at his old apprentice in the eyes. No smirk or teasing smile lighting the old smiths face. Just a weathered old man butnfor once he had shame in the eyes and no cheerful inflection in his voice. "Shame lad, shame that ide not done enough to protect you. But I'm here to help now to give you what I couldn't those years ago. A brighter future."
Hiccup heaved a deep sigh" Thanks for your help with the crates" and with that the two smiths went about packing away hiccups forge. For hours the working packing cataloging and marking every hammer, chisel, and blueprint. It was during a break where the two were eating some food that the Smith had brought with him that hiccup spoke.
"You used to travel when you were younger right gobber?" at the smiths nod hiccup continued. "What do you know of this kingdom I'm going to?"
"Hadraddan? Precious little I'm afraid. It was founded after a war of succession tore a larger empire apart I forget it's name the hark empire or some such. I know they are the largest kingdom in there area and unlike their neighbors the royal family chose to embrace magic and not fear it. Consequently there Are magical positions in their government. Court wizard and such you know. And they are the only kingdom I know of where it's legal to trade in magical knowledge and items."
"Magical items?"
"Oh aiii, you can enchant items you know it's not done here in the barbaric archipelago becuase of our laws against magic. And no I don't know how it works But you can embue magic into an item as its being created very expensive you know. Something to look up when you get there. There might even be A school for magic by now. It's been years since we've had news from that side of the world." Explained the old Smith.
"What language do they speak? Will I be able to communicate with people?"asked hiccup realizing This very important question.
"Oh ai, yes Haddradan is, well, not a viking kingdom. But definitely norse. We should speak the same language. There might be a slight difference but nothing you won't pick up."
"Hmmm" hiccup said looking around at the pile of boxes that were now filled with his equipment. I need a cart or wagon. I can't lug those two miles to the village and then all the way down to the dock."
The island of berk a medium sized spit of land far into the northsea had 3 beaches. And the village of berk was built overtop exactly none of them. Instead the entire village was build so that it was suroundeed on three sides by sheer if not vertical cliffs almost 500 feet tall. On the southern cliff a winding pathway had been built and sometimes carved down to sea level. The gradual grade of the ramp and the back of forth winding path adds almost two extra miles of walking to get down to the dock. There were pullies and winches and cranes to aid in loading and unloading cargo and bringing it up the cliff quickly but hiccup had zero doubt he would be denied their use.
The idea of lugging his entire shop down the entire expanse of the path down tonthe dock was not something hiccup wanted to think about.
"And you won't have to! The chief is loading up and shoving off from here" gobber said while pointing to "thors" beach a few hundred feet from hiccups house. Hiccup stood up.and looked over the steep burm of dirt to veiw the beach. Where three of berks biggest longships were sitting drug up on the beach by the people who sailed there. Hiccup recognized a few figures his father being paramount among them. But there was also mulch a short and stock man who primarily spent his days as a farmer amd looking after bucket.
Who was standing next to mulch, bucket is aptly named for he wore a.bucket on his.head after surviving a kick to head from on ox left him with a permanent soft spot and simple disposition.
There was also Ack and his son uck.
There was also fishlegs a fisherman by trade but a scholar by hobby. He was a large rotund boy hiccups age that due to a bad accident that broke both his legs. His legs were small and childlike. Gothi said they'd not grow anymore.
Beside him were the twin terrors ruffnut and tuffnut. Two deceptively scrawny teens the enjoying pranks and practical jokes. They openly prayed to loki the god of mischief. Tuffnut was very adamant about this after the "incident" with the discovery of hiccups magic and his arm being impaled by a spike of enchanted ice, tuffnut saw it as a message from loki himself chastising him for going against the ways of pranks and into the realm of harming others for the sake of it. He turned himself around and stoped hanging around snotlout much after that. Although hiccup thought he was merely glad that his arm wasn't amputated and.decided to steer clear of angering hiccup after that day.
Ruffnutt his twin sister was just as much a wild.card as she always had been she played the idiot well. But hiccup could tell there was a cold and calculated intelligence behind the female twins dunce act.
A smattering of other villagers including 5 members ofnthe village council were around as well. but what surprised him most of all was the presence of snotlout himself, standing on the aft end of a Longshot staring out into the sea.
"Ahh so- hiccup! Good your here does that mean your all packed up?" Stoik called out upon seeing hiccup peak over the burm. Amd getting everyone's attention. quickly Correcting his speech, he was no longer alowed to call hiccup son.
"Err, yea? just about all done." Said hiccup he looked at snotlout who had jumped down from his.veiwpoint and strode over tonstand next to stoik the look of hatred spoke volumes. But what spoke louder what the thick black eyes from a clearly broken nose amid other bruises covering his overly square face.
"Good, snotlout, ruff, tuff, fishlegs, and uck. Go and start moving hiccups boxes to the third ship" he caught snotlouts shoulder as he went to move. "If any of that cargo gets damaged I'll make sure you don't sleep tonight either." Stoik said in a quiet and menacing tone. Snottlout gulped audibly and rushed off to work. "gobber supervise that lot the council and I have business with hiccup here."
Goober just saluted and ambled off back throught the sand following the teens.
"What happened to snotlout?" asked hiccup.
A member of the council names sled spoke up then instead of the chief. "cheif stoik has seen fit tomtry to reign in the younger jorgensons more… energetic nature by having him run around the village carrying as much weight as the boy can handle. On top of doubling his usuall daily duties around the village."
"And what happened to his face?" Hiccup asked.
This time it was stoik who answered. "when he asked i told him the reasons he was being worked so hard. I told him ide been round your property and his allies around the village couldn't deny hiccups right to see me amd explain. If ide seen for myself. He said he'd broken no laws by doing Any of it that you had no rights as an outcast. And he was right of course but I told him if he didn't s
Listen ide find another heir. He went along with it for another day or two but then I found him lazing around during his daily duties and getting others to do his work for him. After a brief argument he challenged me to duel in the village square for the cheifdom. He had an axe I used my fists if I lost he'd be cheif if he lost he'd except Any punishment and task ide set him for the remaining duration of my cheifdom. So anyway for the past three days I've had him doing every demeaning job I can think of and every night he is to run with weights equating one hundred pounds amd I instructed the guards to beat him if he is seem to stop for longer than a minute. I havnt ket him sleep in two days and I told him if he worked.hard and well loading up these ships ide let him sleep on first day of the voyage to haddradan. But enough of that the council has words for you hiccup." amd.ending his story he disturbed for sled to speak.
"hiccup, outcast, magi, we of the council of the cheif have decided to gift you a place in our village. You are once again a citizen of berk. And thus are given the rights stripped from you 3 years ago. We also offer you the position of envoy and ambassador to the kingdom of Hadraddan. This position Comes with the payment of 5 gold coins A year. If our relationship with the kingdom increases and demand on your time increases we can discuss further compensation. Is this exceptable?" Said sled in an overly official voice.
Hiccup took a large intake of breath. "It is exceptable and I take my place as citizen and ambassador with glea. I look forward to working for the betterment of my village inside the kingdom of Hadraddan. The small group stood around watching the other teens work to load the heavy boxes amd signing verious scrolls of parchment offiating hiccups new role as ambassador.
every one luaghed when, snotlout, attempting To show how strong and show off for ruffnut, tried to carry the box containing hiccups largest anvil by himself all 180 pounds. He subsequently fell droping the crate, shattering it and had to spend an extra 2 hours rebuilding the crate to gobbers specifications. It was early evening when the ship was loaded down with everything and ack and mulch came back, having gone off.to hunt dinner for the sailing group, carrying a large boar between them it was subsequently skinned and butchered for roasting. After everyone especially hiccup had eaten their fill the cheif bade them to sleep except for snotlout who smarted off to gobber and the cheif about hiccup eating with the villagers was shown a rocky portion on the beach.
"now snotlout" said the cheif. "you see those rocks on the beach? they look a bit sunburnt to me so you are going to spend the night flipping all of them so that they can get a ten on they're underside."
"What? but that's stupid, rocks can't even get a sunburn!" complained snotlout.
"I don't care you will spend the night skipping those.rocks or ill fill your hands with them and toss you into the sea so you can swim back tonthe village." seethed the cheif.
"I don't care I'm not doing that I havmt slept in 3 days an-" the cheif punched snotlout down with a definite crunch of bone.
"fill his pockets and pants with stones and watch him as he goes about his appointed task. If he stands still to long. Well…. You can get creative in how you get him moving. Snotlout if those rocks aren't flipped over come morning you'll be pulling the ships out to sea from the back end of them.
And with that everyone settled down to sleep hiccup sleeping in his bed and the cheif and gobber sleeping under his roof. Hiccup sleep well for the first time in months. Ready for the morning.
A/n: if anyone thinks that little event with hiccups broken ribs is unrealistic then you've most likely never Broken your ribs before as That is taken from my own experience after a car crash broke 4 of my ribs and I didn't know about them being broken until the doctors had me take a deep breaths and twist a certain way.
