CHAPTER 52: Yurlin's prophecy
The seizure of Wingmaiden Island by the Ancients sent utter shockwaves across the archipelago, and it led to many vikings realizing that war was now inevitable. Not least because the Ancients seemed undeterred by the words of Hiccup yesterday, of which his message was spread across with rumors, leading all the way back up to the top of the Ancients.
So much so that Yurlin had decided to convene the hall on Ancient Island, with a selected group of Ancients to listen to his speech. These Ancient vikings who were set to listen to his reply to Hiccup were viciously loyal to the tribe and the cult of personality around Yurlin. Making speeches in this style meant that equally, like Hiccup's words, his own would spread across the archipelago.
Having broken the conference agreement and seized yet another island, the Hooligans no longer had any interest in working diplomatically with the Ancients, making the words of these speeches between Yurlin and Hiccup all the more significant - especially for one man who was listening in the background of all of this, Drago Bludvist.
In an open wooden platform in front of the hall, where over 200 loyal Ancients were gathered, some of them council members, Yurlin was surrounded near his back with his closer circle of vikings. Herrick Herald stood with his palms hooked together near his lower chest behind Yurlin, watching his leader.
Yurlin started talking as his movements subsequently began, walking slowly and pacing to the left and right as he spoke, in front of the hundreds of Ancients in the dimly lit hall.
"I've decided to convoke those of you into this very hall for the purpose of my reply to one Hiccup Haddock. Some may consider this format of making a speech rather dull and tiresome, but if we look beyond our shores it is quite evident that so-called Chieftans use it to make themselves feel like the second coming of a charismatic god from the skies, standing boldly in front of his own vikings trying to be a man when your own vikings secretly perceive you as an actor trying to walk in the Chieftan's boots. In this case, maybe just one boot."
There were chuckles among the hall at Yurlin's opening remarks at the end. It was pretty clear who he was aiming that at. Yurlin crossed his arms and slowly paced up and down as he carried on with the beginnings of his speech. His voice gripped the whole hall.
"Ten years ago, the vikings of this world put down their arms for good. They waved goodbye to their dragons. The world as we knew it was entering a new era. A new era of peace where the dragons were no longer to be disturbed. I am wholeheartedly indifferent to the dragons, as I've said many times. Whether they're in their world or ours, my instincts have no relevance to them. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that they are truly away for eternity now, considering what needs to be done. But I have no qualms with them, unlike the overweight dotard still alive in Drago Bludvist and the rightly deceased Grimmel the Grisly."
Yurlin continued talking, in a remarkably calm tone, and he didn't even need to talk that loudly. The hall was echoing his voice loud enough without him having to roar it all out.
"As I was saying, ten years ago the vikings laid down their arms after the dragons all vanished. But the day after that happened, and those dragons were sent off for good, my anger had only grew and grew. I was disgusted in the state this archipelago was left in, run to the ground with unvikings and the aftermath of two conflicts that never needed to happen. Would our ancestors have allowed that? if our world was once again a truly viking world, would any of that have happened? it wouldn't have. Why am I giving you all a history lesson? because I'm needing to put all of this in the context of the action we have thus far taken."
"Five years ago, shortly before I became your leader, we had the blood curling revelation that Drago Bludvist was discovered to have still been alive. He and his unvikings hiding in disguise around us at the time tried to stop me in my tracks with that fire. Some doubt me that they actually started the fire, there's even a conspiracy theory, peddled by the unvikings themselves, that I'd orchestrated that fire for my own personal gain. Such notions are filled with complete ridicule and diatribe that they need not even addressing."
"When I'd been appointed subsequently following that, your Chieftan and your leader, look at what we have achieved over the past five years leading up to now. Our vikings are actually conducting viking lifestyles, our children are training to use battleaxes and maces, and there is a general sense of unity and dignity in the notion that the outside tribes look to us as a formidable tribe."
"So in the context of all of that, the outrage that's pouring across from the outside tribes over our latest act is complete hyperbole. The world needs to go back to how vikings truly used to live if we're to avoid the unvikings ever arising again, such as Grimmel and Drago. I have taken every action I have in the belief that the payoff would be, in particular, a grand alliance between ourselves and the Hooligans, against the Warlord animal that needs to be crushed."
"Yet the Hooligans themselves, boasting about their values and their openness and freedoms, and especially the reported words from one Hiccup Haddock himself over our liberation actions on Wingmaiden Island, has given me sufficient doubts about the prospect of such an alliance. It'd already crossed my mind that the other tribes were too feeble and too scared to join us in our goal, but given we know Hiccup's father was lost precisely because of Drago Bludvist, I'd have thought he'd have, rather than condemned us, welcomed our moves thus far."
"There are no territories present in the First Tribe which have not been historically Ancient aligned. In fact, the geographical layout now of the First Tribe, which we can proudly say makes us the biggest tribe in history across the archipelago, has existed long before the very first boy born within the Haddock bloodline."
Yurlin continued pacing back and forth as he spoke.
"The pre-liberation world is not coming back, and we will not be cowered into giving it back. What we've been trying to do for so long...during the past five years, is to return our archipelago to the same era our ancestors lived in, for the sake of avoiding wars directly instigated by unviking masters in Drago and Grimmel. So why are the Hooligans...why are they pulling out all their stops and condemning us and threatening to fight us?"
"I have long respected Hiccup Haddock, and I have done my best to ensure diplomacy thrives between us, and at one point I thought an alliance was inevitable. But surely even Hiccup Haddock must know that he alone wouldn't have the recognition, the fame, the legitimacy he has among his own people...if his dad hadn't been a formidable Chieftan. My words are harsh, but what's even harsher is threatening to fight us just because we're trying to restore sovereignty to the Ancient vikings, to save this world from the unviking menace. My words are indeed uneasy about Hiccup but I'm simply returning the favour given his reaction to our liberation of Wingmaiden Island."
Yurlin carried on uttering his speech - he wasn't going to play nice with Hiccup anymore following his threat to go to war.
"Even still, Hiccup himself will know the consequences of war. His dad being the biggest example of a consequence of war. Thousands of vikings across these islands don't want a war. They don't want to lose relatives, they don't want their mothers and children to perish. Which makes me even more struck that the Hooligan Chieftan would still threaten war our way. He evidently has his anger turned to the wrong vikings. An Ancient-Hooligan alliance can only be conceived on mutual regard, and I quite simply cannot see this from their side."
"It is quite clear that the conviction within the forests of New Berk isn't shared for an alliance. The opinion that seems to have prevailed on their island now is that no matter what conflict may arise, stupidly and naively, the Hairy Hooligans will always take the side against the First Tribe. I do regret this completely because there's only one individual who'll be happy to see our fellow tribes be on hostile grounds - Drago Bludvist."
"Equally, however, I will not be cowered from doing what I'm doing. If Hiccup Haddock wants to put his helmet into that basket, then he has every right to do so. The First Tribe, despite our promises and our guarantees of protection and sovereignty against the Warlords, will treat anyone who steps in our way as our enemy. I made a definite offer to Hiccup that could give him cast iron assurances that his tribe will be solely protected. But the basis of such an offer has been smashed into pieces following his conversion."
"Any treaties I'd signed with Hiccup at that conference I now consider to be null and void. It matters nill to me that I'd potentially have no choice but to fight the tribe of Stoick the Vast, the tribe that made history by making peace with those dragons. I have no hesitancy in the slightest - if anyone will have the hesitancy, it'll be Hiccup. My door is still open as a conflict between ourselves and them wouldn't be desirable."
The truth was, secretly, Yurlin was more than ready to fight any of the tribes, including the Hairy Hooligans, if he was forced to. His primary target was Drago's Warlords, but if he had to fight the tribes that were closer to him in terms of their shared hatred of Drago, then he'd have no problem doing so.
"We know for sure that the Hooligans are too weak and cowardly to get in our way. And as I put these words out, it dawns on me second by second that...in contrast to Stoick the Vast's dignified leadership, the Hooligans now have the most rotten leadership imaginable. And if they for whatever reason think we're their main enemy, when in reality they should be directing such anger towards Drago Bludvist, we're going to see things play out not in their favour, but in the way that'd expose their naivety and the consequences of their naivety."
Yurlin had now laid down the gauntlet - any peaceful diplomacy between him and Hiccup had firmly been burnt to the ground. The two Chieftans were openly attacking each other verbally for all of the archipelago to hear and spread. But Yurlin had one last thing to say.
"Now now, before I conclude, I have one final thing to say. I've often considered myself to have been a prophet of sorts. The old traitorous leadership of this tribe before me derided me and thought I'd cower to the pressures of being the head of a tribe. I've said numerous times that the fate of this world can only be restored if its returned to a period in which vikings truly lived the viking lifestyle. The unvikings laughed at me and called me names such as an archaic brute, among other things."
"The outside tribes thought that I was joking when I said I wanted to liberate this archipelago. The hollow laughter of the unvikings, alongside the outside tribes, at all of these words have rung hollow in particular. The unvikingism still rampant on these islands and within our tribe need not laugh any longer. The unvikings, whether they be women, children, men, unborn vikings, are a race that can only laugh when their instigated folks in Grimmel and Drago are brought up, for the disastrous, horrific actions they brought upon innocent vikings."
"I want today to be a prophet once more, seeing as how the unvikings laugh at that last one, perhaps they'll laugh at this and once again deride me, as I'm sure the outside tribes equally will: if overseas unvikingism, in and beyond this archipelago, should achieve victory in sending us all into a conflict, the result will not be an unvikingization of this world and the victory of their irk, but the annihilation of the unvikings."
"From men, to women, to children, no matter what form the unvikings may take, their annihilation will be brought about should they plunge us into an archipelago wide war."