A.D. 754, 5th MONTH, 15th DAY

1 YEAR LATER

Flashwing was flying with Bright on his back, while he beat his wings to gain speed. His son was clinging onto his back as he flew in the air above the ocean. Bright was old enough to sit on his back now, since he became two years old a few days prior.

He couldn't help but smile at his human hatchling. "Do you want more speed, son?" he asked, his voice loud from the howling wind in his face.

"Yes, Pa!" laughed Bright, before Flashwing beat his wings quicker and flew faster. Bright continued laughing until Flashwing noticed the small isle down where Arne was waiting for them.

"Okay, hang on, son. I'm landing now," said Flashwing. He began descending down onto the piece of land of the isle, then stepped onto the soft earthy soil, before folding his wings and allowed Bright to climb down from his head.

Flashwing looked at him. The boy had black woolen pants and a short sized, brown woolen tunic. The white tuft of hair was slightly longer.

"Well now, were you having fun with your father, Bright?" asked Arne with a smile.

Bright nodded. "Yes."

"That is all I need to hear, young one," said Arne. "Now," he cleared his throat. "Are we ready to continue the lesson from where we left off?"

Flashwing agreed with a rumbling noise. "I think it would be good for him to learn more words of Norse. Don't you think so, my son?" He looked down at him with a caring gaze.

Bright nodded once more. "Me would like that, Pa. More words sound good."

Arne clapped his hands together. "Well then. Shall we get going with teaching you some sentences in Norse?"

"Alright!" Bright's small hands threw fists in the air in excitement.

"You seem very thrilling about this, son," observed Flashwing. "Are you sure you would like me to be here? I can fetch some food for us while the both of you are alone for the moment."

"Certainly, Flashwing," said Arne. "You can stay here before you get us some lunch."

"Very well then," smiled Flashwing.

He noticed Arne motioning Bright to sit close beside him. The boy walked over to Arne and sat down, his small legs cross-positioned. "All right, Bright. Let me start by saying that forming sentences in Norse can be a tedious task, considering you are better in Dragonese. But if you were to encounter other humans, you need to learn how to speak normally with them, so they are not suspicious of your language."

"Me understand," said Bright with a nod. "Me ready to begin, Arne."

"Good." Arne looked pleased as he took out a coal pen. "Let us begin. I will first start drawing in the dirt by writing some runes in Dragonese." As he did write in the dirt, Flashwing saw Bright lean close in observation.

When he was finished, there were three words in the dirt that could be read. Arne pointed to the first letter. "Do you understand this?"

The rune was the word for 'dragon', which Flashwing noticed.

Bright nodded. "Word for dragon. 'Dovah'."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Arne. "You seem to understand that word well. What about the other three?"

"The second is 'drem yol lok' for 'peace fire sky'," replied Bright.

Arne nodded, albeit less surprised. "Your understanding of those two words are good. It means you can communicate with dragons easily. However, you need to know the words in Norse, too. So, I will be writing the same words, but this time, in our natural language." He started drawing in the dirt three letters in rune form.

Flashwing observed them. He noticed how easy the new runes were for his son when he pointed to each one of them.

"This one means 'hello', and the other two means 'my friend'," said Bright.

"How exciting!" exclaimed Arne in surprise. "You understand the meaning behind the words. Well done. But, those were easy ones. Let us continue by writing some harder words, shall we?"

Bright nodded.

Flashwing cleared his throat. "I shall be back in a moment. I need to catch some fish for us."

"Very well, Flashwing. Take care." Arne waved a hand.

Flashwing turned tail, spread his wings and flew off.

•••

Murtagh was riding on Razor's back as he stared out to the endless sea of the never ending ocean. He and the other members of the Draconids were making their way into the Barbaric Archipelago. Murtagh noticed something far into the sight ahead of them. "Where do we go first?" he called over the winds to his companions.

"We are going to meet up with someone who I've known for quite a while, ever since I abandoned the Berserkers in favor of joining the organization," replied Valor.

"Who would that be?" asked Murtagh curiously.

"You will find out soon enough, my dear friend," answered Valor before staring out to the island ahead of them.

Murtagh noticed the island. He blinked. He did not know they were going to the Lion Sword tribe's island, which he knew in scrolls he had read in his childhood. "What place is this?" he asked.

"We call it the Lion Island," responded Aragon. "Although there are no official lions on the island, the humans living on it are known as vicious warriors among the Vikings. Be catuious with how you speak to them, Sir Murtagh. They can dislike you in the instant you say something wrong."

"I understand," said Murtagh with a nod.

"Well then, shall we land in the forest?" called Fardur.

"Why land in the forest?"

"Because then they wouldn't need to worry about seeing our dragons, of course!"

Murtagh blinked. He never considered that option as something better than show the people of Lion Island his dragon. "Very well. We land in the forest," he agreed.

"Excellent! We shall make haste before they spot us," added Saxon.

Murtagh nodded, patting Razor on the neck, while the Raincutter nodded and flew with the group to the right and, as soon as the forest was in sight, descended down from the sky and landed on the soft, earthy soil. Murtagh climbed down from Razor's back. "We will be back again," he promised.

Razor made a rumbling noise, as if understanding his words.

"Let us get going," said Valor, walking over. "We are going to be back here by tomorrow's sunrise."

Murtagh followed him through the forest, alongside the other members of the group. His mind was flowing with anxious thoughts. Thoughts such as: how would he talk to a Viking tribe? How well would he be able to respond to their reply? Would they even consider in joining the Draconids and let their organization grow into something much bigger? Many of these questions were in the back of his mind, while he continued walking beside Valor.

The forest was a quiet place. Only a few birdsongs filled the area. The leaves were green. Murtagh and his companions stopped by the top of a hill that overlooked a village near the shores of the island. The village's buildings were mostly of wood, which came in a few colors such as bright red and yellow. Above the doors were golden dragon heads that looked like they were a decoration.

The plaza of the village was crowded and everybody was out, walking and talking as their voices reached Murtagh's ears when they neared the bottom of the hill.

This place seems to be very lively, he thought while walking alongside Aragon and Valor through the plaza to a large building in the center of the village. Outside the building's door was a rather large man with a black beard and a golden horned helmet.

"Ah, Valor!" boomed the man as they reached him. "It is nice to see you."

"And I to you, old friend," Valor nodded. "How is the village? Everything seems to be on track."

"And they are in fact on track," the man stated. "Let us go inside. We have a lot to talk about."

Murtagh saw him motion them inside the building when he opened the door with a creak sound coming from it.

"Who is this?"

Murtagh realized he referred to him, after he moved inside.

"Oh, sorry, Atspiut." Valor cleared his throat. "This is Murtagh. He's a new member of our group."

Atspiut hummed, walking over to a chair and sat down with a thud. His arm leaned on the table. "And how did you meet? From the looks of his attire, I'd suspect he would be from the Arctic Scar tribe."

Murtagh stiffed on his legs.

"We met by chance," said Valor. "He was alone on an island, and we happened to be nearby."

"A small believable story," commented Atspiut. "Do you think of me as a fool, Valor? I know very well that you didn't meet him 'by chance'."

Murtagh's shoulders tensed, when Aragon placed a hand on his shoulder. He calmed down.

"Judging by your reaction," started Aspiut, "I would think you and your members have something hiding, Valor." He looked directly in Valor's eyes.

Valor sighed.

I was afraid he would not be taken easily for foolishness, Murtagh thought. Come on, Valor. Let us tell him the truth.

Valor looked at Aspiut deeply in his eyes. "We have come to negotiate with you, Aspiut."

Aspiut gave silence for a moment, before he burst out a laughter. "And what would you be thinking of negotiating with me? Do you have coins?"

"Believe me with what you wish, but I do not have any coins with us at the moment," replied Valor. "But we need for you to cooperate with us if we are to reach our goal."

"What goal?" asked Aspiut, his eyes staring now curiously at Valor. "Since last time, you didn't have anything to do witha goal. What changed, Valor?"

Murtagh looked between them in silence.

"We need to end the war between the humans and dragons," explained Valor. "And we'd do so in order to stop the violence between both sides."

"Even if it means your death?" asked Aspiut.

"Even if it means our death," Valor stated firmly with a nod.

Aspiut rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Murtagh was wondering if he were to accept their offer, or refuse and go into war with the Draconids. He hoped it would not be the latter.

Aspiut looked at each one of the members, including Murtagh. "You look so young," he spoke again, inspecting him. "Are you absolutely sure you're willing to go in their ways of ending this war?"

"If it means I might be able to find out where my cousin is, then yes," said Murtagh.

"How did you lose your cousin?"

"Dragons," spat Murtagh. "They took him from me. I will do whatever it takes to get him back."

"A suitable goal," said Aspiut with a pleased nod. "Retrieving lost family is something I'd expect from young people like you, Murtagh." He looked at Valor. "May I ask how you arrived here on Lion Island, Valor?"

"I'm sorry, but that's a secret."

Aspiut frowned. "If I were to accept your offer, be honest with me."

"I am honest."

Aspiut huffed, crossing his arms. "No. You are not being honest. You are hiding something from me."

Valor sighed. "Very well. Seeing as there is no other way around this…"

Murtagh looked at him, silently cursing him.

"We rode on our dragons to Lion Island," Valor told Aspiut.

•••

A gust of wind blew in Flashwing's face as he beat his wings, while the laughter of Bright reaching his ears from the back of his head. The human was clinging onto him so he wouldn't fall into the ocean below.

As he passed through the connecting tunnels to the Night Fury cave at their established nest in the isolated cave area, Flashwing landed down on the earthy ground, letting Bright crawl down from his head to touch the earth on his toes.

Penumbra was there to greet them. "So, you are finally back from your trip."

"Indeed we are," Flashwing nodded. He walked over to nuzzle her. Flashwing noticed Bright looking around. "Who are you searching for, son?"

"Sister," he replied.

"Luna is with her friends as of right now," Penumbra said. "She will be home by dinner time."

"Is that so?" Flashwing chuckled. "I guess it was about time she would be happy with being around her friends again."

"Indeed."

Flashwing felt Bright's touch on his paw. "Yes, son?" He glanced down to the hatchling.

"Can I come and play with sister and her friends, too?" Bright asked.

Flashwing looked at Penumbra, who hummed in response. "Would it hurt for them to be around him?" he asked her.

"I am sure that it wouldn't hurt in the slightest to allow him to play with them," replied Penumbra. "Just be sure to watch out for any rough-play, alright, son?"

"I will, Mom." Bright nodded.

Penumbra smiled. "Then, it is settled. Flashwing, dear. Would you show him over to them?"

"Of course, I can do that," said Flashwing with a nod. "I am sure Luna would be thrilled to have you interact with them, Bright."

"Yay!" Bright cheered, prompting chuckles from both of his parents.

Flashwing turned tail, then looked at Bright. "Come with me, son." He began to walk away from the nest, with Bright following closely beside him. Soon, they were out of the Night Fury cave, with the light blinding Bright for a moment before he followed Flashwing down the path.

•••

Murtagh scowled at Valor, while the knight paid him no attention, with his focus on Aspiut, whose eyes had widened in surprise.

"Are you saying that you made a pact with those…beasts?" asked Aspiut after a while in silence. "Have you not realized what they have caused for us in the Archipelago?"

"I have," said Valor. "But I am going to be honest with you that these so-called beasts are our mounts, and we would be happy if you would keep your voice down, Chief Aspiut. We wouldn't want any bloodshed happen to your village, would we?"

Aspiut blinked. "Have the rest of you Draconid people agreed to this?" He looked from Aragon, Fardur, Saxon and Kaladin, to Galex and Saxa, and finally, Murtagh.

Each one of them nodded silently.

Aspiut looked at Valor once more. "If I would be accepting your negotiation offer, then I must see these beasts for myself."

"They have names."

Aspiut and Valor looked at Murtagh, who was glaring at Valor. "What was that?" Aspiut wondered.

"These dragons we have," Murtagh told him. "They have names, and they are sensitive to what you call them."

"And how would you know that, kid?" Aspiut crossed his arms.

"I know it, because I was the one who was taken from them."

"Murtagh…" warned Valor.

Aspiut looked surprised. "Are you…Chief Magnus's son?"

Murtagh nodded. "And I would prefer it being that way with you, Chief Aspiut."

Silence. After a moment, laughter burst from Aspiut. His eyes fell into tears before he wiped them with a finger. "How foolish of me not recognizing you, Murtagh, son of Magnus. I am friends with your father, but the realization of you being together with these people made me not think otherwise."

"Well, would you look at that…" muttered Saxa behind Murtagh. "Someone's famous."

Murtagh glared over his shoulder, prompting Saxa to shut his mouth. He looked back at Aspiut. "Now that we've being familiar with each other, would you accept our offer of joining the Draconids?"

Aspiut looked at the rest of the group. "I would like some time with Murtagh and Valor. Please, leave us alone for the time being."

Aragon bowed, turning around and left the house with the others.

Now alone, Aspiut looked back at Murtagh. "Alright, now that we're alone, I'm all ears to what you have got to say about our…contract."

Murtagh nodded. "Good. I think we would all agree that we should be making ourselves stronger by uniting as one. If we are to win any battle in the future, or attack by enemy forces, we need to combine our own forces."

"Are you suggesting we Lion Islanders should go into war?" asked Aspiut.

"I'm not suggesting, I'm requesting that we join forces," corrected Murtagh. "If anyone else with an army should cross our paths, we need to think strategically about our next move."

"If I may say something?" Valor spoke up.

Murtagh looked at him. "Sure."

"Thank you," said Valor at first, before turning his attention to Aspiut, who crossed his arms thoughtfully. "What we really want you to consider in our offer is that we would like to extend our territory with our dragons, and by doing that, we're making sure no one else will get hurt."

"You two think differently enough," commented Aspiut.

"Indeed. Murtagh is more on the warrior side, while I am more on negotiating with a peaceful approach," said Valor.

Aspiut hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I will need time to think about this. If you two would not mind letting me get some moments alone for the time being?"

"Of course," said Valor with a nod. "We'll leave you alone in the house for a while. Come, Murtagh." He turned and left the building.

Murtagh turned and left as well. "Do you think he'll agree to our contract?" he asked Valor, walking by his side.

"I am sure he will," replied Valor. "But, with the way you spoke, it seems like you need to learn how to approach peacefully to another tribe leader."

Murtagh lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came into me."

"It's fine. You'll learn it eventually."

Murtagh walked with him into the plaza, where the others were waiting.

•••

A.D. 734, 2nd MONTH, 11th DAY

20 YEARS AGO

It was a late noon, when Scales was flying with his colony across the body of water. The endless sea had made them fly for a couple of hours now, and with his wings getting tiring from the flight, Scales needed to find an island—and quick.

The wind blew in the dragons' faces as they continued through until early afternoon, and Scales spotted a small, but empty island a few yards away from them. "I have found an island," he announced loudly. "We're going to land and get some rest there."

His colony gave simultaneously sighs of relief, and as soon as they landed on the island, Scales folded his wings before walking away from the other dragons. Lying by himself near a tall tree with green leaves, Scales closed his eyes before hearing pawsteps coming toward him. He opened an eye and noticed Aquawing, who lay down beside him.

"Is there something you need, Aquawing?" he asked without looking at her. "Because if there is nothing, then I would like to be by myself for the time being. I need time to relieve myself from the flight."

Aquawing hummed. "If you believe that you need to be by yourself, then why are you being distant with us?"

"I'm not being distant," he retorted. "I just need time to myself."

"I've noticed your recent behavior," she said. "You need someone to help you heal the wounds in your heart, because you lost—"

"I won't talk about it," he interrupted with a raised paw. "I will not have you speak of them in my presence anymore. Do you understand that, Aquawing? The past is in the past."

"But…you cannot just ignore the pain you suffered," Aquawing protested. "You need to reconcile with what had taken them away from you."

Scales sighed. "Look, Aquawing. I don't want to talk about it, because I don't want to feel any more aching in my heart, alright? Just by the thought of my hatchling makes it even worse."

Aquawing blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry if I said anything wrong. I just want you to be happy, that's all I'm asking for my Alpha."

Scales gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Aquawing. For being here with me."

"Anytime, Alpha."

As she spoke no more, Scales noticed a Monstrous Nightmare walk toward him. "What is it?"

"Alpha, there is something you need to hear about," the Nightmare spoke. "I've heard that there is a nest of Night Furies who are on the verge of extinction."

Scales bared his teeth, a small noticeable growl escaping his throat. Those cursed horned humans! "Who is in charge of this Night Fury family?" he asked in a more relaxed posture.

"A Night Fury called Nightwing, who I've been heard had trouble with horned humans lately."

Scales looked at Aquawing, who stared back in worry. He looked back at the Nightmare. "Let us see if we can rescue his family and take them in the colony. You may leave. And thank you for informing me."

The Nightmare bowed his head. "You are welcome, Alpha." He turned and left the two dragons alone.

Aquawing looked at Scales. "A family of Night Furies…on the verge of death…"

"I know," growled Scales. "Those bastard humans have gone too far now. We need to find this family before it's too late."

"And I will be there with you until we find them," said Aquawing determinedly.

Scales nodded, before he arose onto his paws and walked toward the colony to announce their next flight.

•••

A.D. 754

PRESENT DAY

Scales opened his eyes as he looked down at his paws. Why am I receiving these memories? Is there something I need to know to set the pieces together? An image of Flashwing flashed before his eyes. It was a good thing we managed to rescue his family from certain death back then, he thought with a small smile appearing on his lips.

He arose from the plateau and stepped down to the earthy soil, his claws sinking into the dirt while he walked forward to the play ground, where he had seen Flashwing take his hatchlings.

The path to the play grounds was a short one, since Scales knew the way fairly well within Dragon Mountain. As he arrived to the play grounds, he stopped a short distance away from Flashwing, who was sitting on his haunches while watching the hatchlings play with each other. Scales walked over beside the adult Night Fury, who was startled by his presence.

"Oh, Alpha. I did not see you there," said Flashwing in surprise. "Is there something you need?"

"No," replied Scales. "I came to check up on you and the hatchlings. And I see they are enjoying themselves."

Flashwing nodded. "They are. Bright and Luna are happy being together with the other dragonlings in the Mountain."

Scales hummed lightly. "And I see you have been appreciative of that," he spoke.

"Yes," said Flashwing. "It's been a couple of good months for my daughter, since she was feeling lonely with just me, Penumbra and Bright, along with Antumbra and Umbra without being able to have contact with her friends."

Scales looked at Bright, who had grown slightly longer white fur on his head. "And I am seeing your son is growing up into a well-behaved young human," he remarked.

"He is," agreed Flashwing. "Penumbra's making sure he doesn't do anything rash or to get himself into trouble."

"And what do you do?"

"Oh…" Flashwing paused, looking down at his paws. "I've been going out with a couple of father-son flights lately."

Scales looked at him. "It's a good thing he's coming out a lot. Hatchlings do need to get the feeling of the wind every once in a while, especially if they are to grow comfortable with flying," he added.

"Yeah…"

Scales stood. "It was nice talking with you, Flashwing. I hope you have a good time with the hatchlings." He turned tail and walked away from Flashwing.

•••

Murtagh was sitting with Valor on a bench while they were waiting for Aspiut to walk out of the building. Murtagh was growing impatient, he clenched his palm. "How much longer does he need to make us wait?" he asked, breaking the silence between the two.

"Patience, Murtagh," said Valor. "It's tough to make a decision. We shouldn't rush in and demand he join us. After all, we need to approach each and every one of the villages with a friendly tone."

Murtagh sighed, lowering his gaze. He hated waiting. If only he was able to convince Aspiut to cooperate with him, then it would be much more effective to do the same with the other settlements on the other islands of the Archipelago. As of this moment, it had been a half hour since they spoke with Aspiut on a peaceful term, according to Valor.

The sound of an opening door caught Murtagh's attention toward Aspiut's house. The man stepped out and looked at them with an expression Murtagh had recognized from his previous meetings with him.

Aspiut walked over to them. "I have decided. I am going to accept your offer about letting my tribe into joining your organization."

Valor smiled, rising from the bench and walked up to shake his hand with Aspiut. "I am glad you had taken your time in considering our help."

Aspiut nodded. "It was a lot to take in. At first, I hesitated, but knowing I could entrust my life's safety in Murtagh's hands, I would be more than willing to stand side by side with him."

Murtagh looked with his lips curling into a grin. I knew I could count on you, chief Aspiut.

"That is good news, chief Aspiut," said Valor, pleased. "I will be sure to inform the other members of the Draconids about this."

"Please do. I am sure they are as thankful to this as you two are."

Murtagh saw Valor bowing to him. "If you will excuse us, we shall be on our way."

"Do you need an escort?"

"No." Valor shook his head. "We know the way from the hill, of which we came from."

Aspiut nodded. "Very well. I hope you continue in your search for other islanders to join you. And Murtagh?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful," said Aspiut. "I will not trust in all of the island settlements. The Berserkers, for example. They have a lust for battle and blood. Do not cross them on your journey."

"We will be careful," promised Murtagh. "Thank you for the warning, chief."

Aspiut looked pleased, then glanced at Valor. "Have a safe journey ahead of you. Knátta heill eilífu nenna skenkja ér."