CHAPTER 49: Anthem of the First Tribe
It'd been one whole month since the handing over of Dragon Island to the Ancients, and also a month since that barbaric night on Ancient Island in which its own vikings faced systematic waves of violence in the name of an 'unviking conspiracy' as the tribe had claimed.
Over the past month, things had been a lot quieter on the archipelago. There'd been no further aggression at the hands of the Ancients, and so it seemed that the territorial claims and annexations made were truly the final ones, much to the relief and relaxation of the outside tribes.
The Wingmaidens hadn't made contact with any of the outside tribes since the peace conference on Ancient Island, and it wasn't particularly surprising given that they were forced to surrender their settlement and ultimately Dragon Island to Yurlin, without even being consulted on it themselves. The Wingmaidens had long cut themselves off from the likes of the Hooligans and Berserkers. Atali herself couldn't stand them.
Overall, the archipelago seemed to be in a much more stable position unlike the previous month. The Ancient Tribe was extended to two islands given their annexation of the Northern Markets, they were occupying Old Berk as a militarized island, and had now occupied Dragon Island as a sort of protectorate island. None of those were ideal to the outside tribes, who now had to contend with a tribe that was two islands the size, making them the biggest tribe geographically on the archipelago, and especially given the nature of the regime under Alfa Yurlin.
Nonetheless, it seemed like Hiccup had been proven right. There were no further territorial demands, and the conference meant that Yurlin had no legitimate excuses to invade anywhere else. And Yurlin was precisely holding a meeting in regards to that topic right now.
Within the central hall, where he was sat with Herrick Herald, the two vikings drafted up a treaty of sorts. It wasn't particularly clear what was being written on the treaty, but it looked like it had a LOT of writing on it. They were surrounded by multiple security delegations of vikings across the doors and room.
"When I look back at my triumph that day," said Yurlin, "I hadn't ever thought that they'd just hand over that island to me like it was on a plate. I never thought it."
"The power that strong leverage holds will make those follow us, leader."
Yurlin hadn't quite realized just how much he had Hiccup in his grasp. The Hooligan Chieftan had virtually handed Dragon Island to him like a present. He got to annex the Northern Markets without a crossbow being fired, and he boldly took a risk in sending his vikings onto Old Berk to turn it into a militarized island for the Ancients, and again, no response was received, either militarily or in any form of condemnation.
It'd been a month and Yurlin had tons of time to ponder this through, but it was only at this very moment that he started realizing that maybe, just maybe, he could virtually do anything he wanted and nothing would stop him. Pursuing his goal of an unviking-free world seemed within his grasp at this rate. Something else was catching onto the Ancient Chieftan's mind too; war.
"I actually feel it...disappointing, in hindsight, that it's become so easy for me to do this. I spoke to Hiccup Haddock face-to-face last month at our conference, and in front of me was a man who so dearly wanted to avoid the prospect of fighting us in a conflict."
Between Herald and Yurlin, the two of them were gradually beginning to see that conference as a sham. It'd dawned on Yurlin that Hiccup might not after all truly be in favour of an alliance against the Warlords. Some of the reactions the Hooligan Chieftan gave during their very first face to face meeting, which Yurlin recalled, were clear hints of that.
With great power came great hunger. Yurlin wanted to smash the Warlords into extinction, but he'd realized the circumstances which favoured him massively in today's world. The dragons were fully away in their hidden world, as they've been for the past ten years, all the other tribes had constantly cowed to his demands, as a result allowing him to expand Ancient Island territory unchecked.
"I happen to believe that war...in the end, will be the only thing that solidifies my legacy on this archipelago. I've had time to think about this and I think certain alliances which had potential, ought to be called off from happening."
Herrick Herald, upon hearing Yurlin's words, nodded entirely.
As a Chieftan who wielded unlimited power and a cult of personality among his vikings, he had a hunger to resort back to his unreasonable demands in order to get what he wanted - he felt like he could genuinely take over the world and impose his ideology on the whole archipelago and beyond at this rate, given how scared the other tribes were to stop him.
Yurlin was genuine when he wanted an alliance with the Hooligans, but over the past month it'd dawned on him that Hiccup was just as hesitant about his goals as the other tribes were, and in a way Yurlin was irritated that Dragon Island was such an easy take without any response. The truth was, Yurlin was building to war, and he wanted to see this war happen in his lifetime. He was still relatively young, but he didn't want to push the war off any longer.
His power that he held and all the annexations he'd done so far without a crossbow being fired made him want to try and...conquer the entire archipelago, to make himself the worshiped leader of the archipelago, whilst imposing what he thought was an ideology which genuinely protected the world from the likes of Drago and Grimmel arising again. He knew Hiccup's values were ultimately different to his.
"Those Wingmaidens still exist on their own island. I cannot sit back after a whole month and let them run laps around me. They MUST be dealt with."
Yurlin's out of nowhere desire to see off the Wingmaidens for good, if put into action, would completely go against the promise he made at the conference last month. But he no longer cared. The grasp of an archipelago wide Ancient Tribe was within his grasp, and the dictatorial tyrant was no longer going to play nice, especially since acknowledging that Hiccup doesn't support the values the Ancients held in regards to their leadership style, the desire to see off the unvikings, and just how they perceived women and men vikings, etc. Yurlin hated Drago and the Warlords much MUCH more, but in order to get his war which he so desperately wanted, he realized that he'd probably have to once again reach beyond what he was allowed.
And that was set to be the case with Wingmaiden Island. Despite saying at the conference that he wanted no Wingmaidens, Yurlin was going to sign off on plans for the eventual attack on Wingmaiden Island. No longer was he going to play around. Knowing he could probably get away with anything whilst building towards his wanted war against the Warlords, Yurlin eagerly started preparations for such an invasion.
"You know something, my leader?" Herald asked Yurlin, "we have some slippery slimy eels around us. These outsiders."
"I know we do, our enemies can be classed as such eels. I saw them at the conference."
The Ancient Tribe today was set to orchestrate its own anthem of sorts. A chant of a song that ALL of the vikings across the island had to sing, and they had a whole week to memorize it. The damage from the night of the burnt huts from last month had more or less been repaired - the forests were still as scorched as ever, but as tens of thousands of Ancient vikings stood outside their huts all across the island, and also those vikings under the annexed new land of Northern Markets, you'd be forgiven for thinking nothing of the sort happened just one month ago.
Alfa Yurlin was stood on a big cliff edge within the central hill of Ancient Island, surrounded by heaps of his soldiers. In front of him on the open plains were thousands more of his conscripted soldiers, all of them stood in a big formation shaped like a square.
After Hiss' assassination all of the soldiers, including the ones here today in front of Yurlin, underwent strict re-education and had background checks conducted in the form of their families.
Krugg Kalvicious' wife and two boys had all been taken away to an unknown fate ever since he committed the assassination, council members rushed in during the night of the burning huts and swiftly grabbed Krugg's wife and she was never heard from again, and that was the same sort of threat imposed upon all of the soldiers - the council cracked down SIGNIFICANTLY on any internal dissent following the assassination, showing that although Hiss' death was a wobbly moment for the council's grip on power, they were still extremely powerful nonetheless with full authority as a dictatorial council.
Many more colourful cult of personality posters stressing Yurlin's brilliance as the savior against the Warlords and unvikings were planted across the village on the back of wooden boards. These sorts of measures prompted the soldiers, standing in a vertical stance like statues in front of their Chieftan, to be 100% committed to Yurlin. And that commitment was to be shown in the form of the synchronized singing of the incoming anthem.
"FELLOW VIKINGS," yelled Yurlin, his voice echoing across the air like a bullet, "I STAND BEFORE YOU AS MY PEOPLE'S RESCUER, SERVING YOU TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. THE FIRST TRIBE IS SECOND TO NONE!"
All of the soldiers firmly planted their field of vision onto Yurlin as they stood on the open grassy plains where they could hear his powerful voice echoing from the side of the cliff.
"ACROSS OUR ISLAND AND OUR LAND STRETCHING ACROSS THE FORMERLY NORTHERN MARKETS, BOTH US AND OUR REGULAR FOLK WILL SING TO MARK THE COMMEMORATION OF THE FIRST TRIBE'S FORMATION!"
At that, silence had completely broken out within the air, none of the soldiers spoke or moved, neither did the others.
A huge group of vikings standing next to the cliff with huge trumpets had gathered. Many of them were older looking vikings. One of them had stood in front of the group, being the 'conductor', and turned to face them. He was to direct the vikings playing the instruments.
Across Ancient Island itself, pretty much ALL of the vikings had stood outside their huts, shoulder to shoulder with their relatives and families, as well as the young boys in the camping programs - wherever vikings were on the island, they'd all been ordered to stop together, with the bulk of the remaining army standing right in front of Yurlin.
This anthem was set to become the crying call for the Ancient Tribe, and the council had specifically produced it in their acknowledgement that the war they sought was now around the corner - they felt ready for it, and when victory was achieved, the anthem would become the new crying call for all of those liberated islands across the archipelago.
The conductor viking, the one leading the orchestra for the anthem, raised his arms up into the air. Alfa Yurlin planted his two palms together on his lower body as he watched with a solemn expression the army as the orchestra initiated. After the powerful roar of the orchestra in which it sounded like a thick, extended, lower pitched horn crashing through the air, the brief second of silence that followed it was quickly broken by the singing voices, sounding like a choir.
One thousand years from now
Our tribe will retain a vow
That the Barbaric Archipelago will see
What true vikings ought to be!
Their collective voices smashed the air as the whole island broke for the chorus after.
The First Tribe stands tall!
Our great Chieftan Yurlin
The new eternal Chieftan of the seas
Unifying our vikings as far as he sees.
The thousands of voices continued singing as the whole of the central village kept synchronized with the orchestra.
The dragons in the Hidden World
Permanently secluded from vikings
Our chance to crush the unvikings
At the first hint of their sightings!
From young kids to old men, to women, their faces as red as tomatoes as they sung passionately, the anthem reached its second verse of the chorus.
The First Tribe stands tall!
Our great Chieftan Yurlin
The new eternal Chieftan of the seas
Unifying our vikings as far as he sees.
The anthem started wrapping up, but the voices singing it with the upmost energy of their lungs weren't wrapping up. All the birds in the forests swiftly flew away at the sheer strength of the collective voices as the anthem reached its final verse.
Our women growing crops, our children training, our men on the battlefields
True vikings live no other way, as a result well fed with many meals!
The great Yurlin, Chieftan for all, to live in the memory of other tribes
Fighting for his vikings, no matter the outside diatribes!
The final chorus verse was coming, set to conclude the anthem.
The First Tribe stands tall!
Our great Chieftan Yurlin
The new eternal Chieftan of the seas
Unifying our vikings as far as he sees.
The whole orchestra fell silent, as did the many powerful voices echoing with cries the words that carried the anthem. Upon which a massive wave of cheering and applause broke out across the tribe. Yurlin saluted his army in front of him, looking down at them with a subtle smile.
After hearing that just now, he knew he was onto something. This tribe was fully under his authority - for them to have sung an anthem so synchronized and united with the passion they'd shown meant that his power was secure for the rest of his life. The wobble he suffered with Hiss' assassination seemed to have been curbed, especially with the night of the burning huts that his council had systematically sponsored.
Overall, this tribe wasn't going anywhere. It was here to stay, and as far as Yurlin was concerned, it was here to stay beyond its natural boundaries, to which he was already undertaking.