Deep within Dragon Island inside a massive volcanic cavern. Small fountains of lava pouring down from the ceiling, filling the place with incredibly hot liquid. Despite this, the lava pool below never rise above the large cave path entrance.
There was a massive stone platform in the middle of the lava pool. At one side of the platform, 12 dragon generals were waiting for the greater alpha. It was rare for Furious to call in a meeting, but considering the rumours, that was to be expected.
Eventually, Furious arrived. He appeared at the other end of the platform. The greater alpha appeared as a pitch black flame with shape of a Night Fury. He was towering above them all. Given the rage in his yellow eyes, they knew what the meeting would be about.
"Someone is not doing their job." Furious whispered. His voice echoed throughout the cavern. They could hear the concealed fury. "Castinus."
A large green Monstrous Nightmare straightened himself. Given the appearance, he was a titan wing. "Yes, Alpha."
"Your army were scheduled to patrol the central Barbaric Archipelago." Furious slowly moved forward. The black flame licked the ground under him. "You have your responsibility."
The generals took a step back. They could feel the anger and malice radiating from the greater alpha. Castinus the green titan wing Monstrous Nightmare was afraid. "I- I do, Greater Alpha."
The greater alpha dragon stopped few metres from him. "Then why-" He hissed. "-is there an unhandled deviant incursion in your region?"
"I- I was coordinating dragons to attack human village, sir." Castinus stuttered the answer. "General Nemo put up a public request for any available flock to raid a Lava-Lout outpost. They were supplying mainland weapons to the humans."
"So, you abandoned your duty to earn some scales."
"I-"
SCHUNK!
A solid black flame suddenly lurched from behind. Castinus barely uttered a word when it stabbed right from his rear. The impaled Monstrous Nightmare stared with fear as it brought him right in front of the greater alpha.
"Two years ago, I made it clear that patrol duty is non-negotiable." Furious whispered at the green dragon. "Instead of continuing your duty, you opted to take requests meant for roaming flocks."
Castinus felt excruciating pain. He was suspended in silent scream. The black flame burned through his flesh, leaving the bones and scales intact. Within seconds, the black flame leaked through his mouth and eyes, burning the organs from within.
When the black flame vanished, all that left were bones, claws and scales. They clattered on the ground; the scales draped over remains of bones, teeth and claws. The eyes were hollow. It was obvious that the dragon was dead.
The spectating dragon generals straightened themselves. Try as they might, it was difficult to conceal their fear. They knew the consequence of disobeying critical orders.
They never thought the consequence was death.
Furious moved away to see the other generals. "I will remind you of this once." He hissed, making them flinch. "Handling deviant incursion is your highest priority. If one was ever reported, you will respond to the crisis."
Silence. The greater alpha narrowed his eyes. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, Greater Alpha." The generals chorused.
"Dismissed."
The dragon generals literally fled the place. They rushed out through the cave path, flying as fast as they could. Nobody wanted to face an angry greater alpha. After what they had just witnessed, they had no intention of staying too long.
After they left, Furious remained inside the chamber. He stared at the remains of the dragon.
When he heard that there was deviant incursion at Berk, Furious personally went there to check on the island. The size of that monstrous amalgamation made him wonder how Hiccup killed something that big.
The greater alpha dragon knew Hiccup killed it. He knew of the draconic cannon he made. Furious was proud to see him grow so much. However, he was uneasy with Berk Vikings in possession of such thing.
It had the potential to challenge alpha dragons.
'I need to seriously consider telling him about himself.' Furious mentally grumbled. 'He might leave to Hidden World. Considering what he could do, it would probably for the best.'
When the Vikings dumped the bodies into the ocean, he did the autopsy to understand what was going on. The first thing to note was the Vikings; they knew who that thing was. His name was Ascal, and he was apparently a Northern Alliance spy they killed last year.
The second thing to note was the dracophage residue. That explained what happened. He could not believe Hiccup could be so reckless. At least he was still alive.
However, the most alarming part was the Northern Alliance mark.
Northern Alliance was concentrated within northern Greater Archipelago. From what he remember, Merciless recently made significant breakthrough in his war. This led to a total collapse of their defences.
The war at the north was coming to a close. They were just cleaning up remnants of the crisis.
It made sense why Merciless announced his retirement two years ago. He knew the war was ending soon. The deviant incursion in Barbaric Archipelago meant that they were getting desperate. Furious had to think of something to protect his son.
'That future is shrouded. They know how to hide from foresight. They are planning something big.' Furious thought worryingly. 'They made too many attacks on Berk. I have to guess what they were planning.'
He wondered if it was connected to the deviant incursion at Berk few years ago. They also bear the mark of Northern Alliance. Everyone was there to watch; Ascal was most likely there as well.
Furious moved to stare at the flowing volcano. He pondered different cases involving Isle of Berk. Compared to other island, there were too many things happening for the last 15 years. It all happened since Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was born.
That was when Furious remembered something. 'There was that dragon raid at Berk 14 years ago.' He thought. 'Nobody was scheduled for that raid. It was a rogue flock.'
From there, the greater alpha dragon connected the dots. He froze as he came to realisation. Berk was a target because they have something incredibly valuable. Something that could change the tide of war if they succeed.
'... I'll need to do more research on this one.'
The generals continued their work after the meeting.
Armond was a yellow titan wing Deadly Nadder. He was a General of the Red Rage, 10th Dragon Army division. The tracker class dragon had finished his preparation for the day. He wanted to rest before the next dragon raid.
While roaming around Dragon Island, Armond saw someone familiar. Grosvenor the gluttonous titan wing Monstrous Nightmare was alone at an open corridor near a cliff. He was inspecting something at the wall.
Curious, the yellow Deadly Nadder moved to check on the general. He landed few metres behind him. "Grosvenor."
The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare glanced back. "Armond." He drawled his voice. "Another joint assignment?"
"No. I just want to talk." Armond answered. He approached to see what he was looking at. "We need someone to replace the 4th division general."
"Grrk." Grosvenor snorted. He looked back at the wall. "Castinus was never competent. It would take a week to replace him with someone better."
The yellow Deadly Nadder did not respond. He was staring at what the gluttonous dragon was looking.
It was a crude symbol of something. Armond could not make out what it was. Given the appearance, the symbol was most likely made using a chalk. The yellow Deadly Nadder frowned. "Did you made this?"
"No." Grosvenor answered. "I am investigating it."
"What's the case?"
The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare simply hummed. "Where were you during the deviant incursion?"
"I was leading my army to patrol the eastern border." Armond answered. He understood what Grosvenor was implying. "Did you suspect I was not doing my job?"
"Worse." Grosvenor glanced at him. "A heretic."
They fell silent. It was another word for deviant spy and traitor. The yellow Deadly Nadder stared at the gluttonous dragon. "That's..." Armond did not know what to say. "Quite an accusation."
"No one noticed an hours long deviant incursion in the middle of central Barbaric Archipelago." Grosvenor looked back at the wall. He was deep in thought. "Even if Castinus neglected his duty, roaming dragons are bound to notice. And yet, there was no report, until that light appeared."
Armond widened his eyes. It meant someone had evacuated the area prior to the attack. There was no witness of the event. "A deviant general?"
"Grmm..." Grosvenor hummed in confirmation. "Nemo is the heretic."
Nemo was considered an honest dragon general. He was one of the few generals that was popular amongst their army. The dragon was considered honest and honourable, which was a rare trait for a Dragon Rebellion general.
Of course, this made him disliked by other generals.
The yellow Deadly Nadder deadpanned. He knew the rivalry between Grosvenor and Nemo. He got himself worked out for nothing. "Grosvenor, accusing Nemo of treachery is low, even for you." Armond commented. "He was dealing with immigration flock at the border. I saw him myself."
The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare scowled. "I wasn't asking your opinion." He retorted, before frowning. "Was he with his whole army?"
"Yes. He split his army to handle different parts of the border."
Grosvenor glanced at him. "Did you saw all his army?"
"No. He said half of them were at the northern border."
The gluttonous dragon looked back at the wall. "Then he is a suspect."
"Grosvenor, we know you have something against Nemo." Armond reasoned. "Unless you have proof that he's a spy, you're using this opportunity to have him replaced."
"Replaced." Grosvenor sneered at that word. He turned to face the yellow Deadly Nadder. "He is suspicious."
The yellow Deadly Nadder exhaled his breath. "How is he suspicious?"
"Nemo is too clean for a dragon general." The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare pointed out. "No one is innocent in Dragon Rebellion. Including you."
"I haven't done anything wrong-"
"You smuggle dragons to Hidden World for Amethyst Scales." Grosvenor interrupted. Seeing his surprised expression, the gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare smirked. "You extort dragons you meant to draft. You are not free from sin."
Armond was surprised he knew about them. Then again, Grosvenor was known to be smart compared to other generals, albeit materialistic and cruel. It was why Furious kept him around. "What about Charcoal?"
"Irrelevant. He's only a general for 2 months. He barely experienced what we do." The Monstrous Nightmare dismissed, before speaking with serious tone. "Nemo have been a general for 50 years."
"That hardly matters. There are honourable generals out there."
"Not in Dragon Rebellion." Grosvenor leaned closer. He stared at the yellow Deadly Nadder with serious expression. "There is no honour to be found here."
Armond did not back down. "You haven't looked close enough." He challenged. "Nemo was last seen at the church of sky. He brought his mate and hatchlings there. I think that's a clue to his character."
"Grmph." The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare harrumphed. He rested himself on the ground. "By the word of religion, I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of sky."
The yellow Deadly Nadder remained silent. Grosvenor continued to speak. "I have seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Believing poisonous words from venomous zealots, whose tainted the pond with Deathgripper venom."
"Grosvenor, where are you going with this?"
"Nemo is not religious." The gluttonous Monstrous Nightmare darkly answered. "He arrived precisely to be seen by certain dragons. He was there to be witnessed."
Armond exhaled his breath. He did not want to argue his logic. "Just bring this up to Greater Alpha when you're done." He remarked, before turning around to leave. "I have better things to do."
Grosvenor did not answer. The yellow Deadly Nadder took off into the sky, leaving the gluttonous dragon alone.
The next morning, Hiccup woke up in his room. He was feeling tired from last night. After safely storing his book, the boy had gone straight to bed. However, the boy had some difficulty sleeping because he failed to inform his father.
'I wonder if I should leave without telling him.' The boy grimaced at that thought. 'Best write him a note when it comes to that.'
Hiccup sat up on the bed. He moved to grab his mechanical sling when he noticed something interesting. At his left gauntlet, there was some sort of mechanical block shaped like folded wing. It was sealing the Kinship Stone within, meaning that it was stuck inside.
"What the..." The boy mumbled as he inspected them. The straps were gone; the stone had somehow embedded itself into the armour. "How did it-"
Suddenly, the mechanical wing unfold itself, and the crystal began to shimmer. Hiccup widened his eyes as he felt another sense opened to him. He could feel creatures half a mile away around him. Few moments later, the mechanical wing folded on its own, and the sense disappeared.
"... whoa." Hiccup shook his head, recovering from whatever that was. It felt like some sort of mana sense. Given that it was now part of his armour, somehow, he needed to check on that later.
Suddenly, the boy heard someone shouting outside the window. "Hiccup!"
Hiccup looked out through the window. Looking down, he noticed that Gobber was standing in front of the door entrance. "Gobber? What is it?"
"Dragon training, lad!" The blacksmith called out. "You're the teacher! Did your dad told ya about this?"
"He did." Hiccup replied. "I'll come down in a second!"
The boy jumped off from his bed. He strapped his long sword and mechanical sling. Once he was ready, Hiccup took a deep breath, before walking out from the place.
"Welcome to Dragon Training!"
The Dragon Training Arena was located at a large, rocky cliff clearing not far from the village. The corners were expanded with wooden balcony that edges to the ocean down below.
The entrance were long wooden bridge paths that connected to the village. The location was isolated from the whole village, most likely in case one of the dragons broke out.
The arena itself took most part of the clearing. It was sunken down from the surface, and the top was covered with metal cages. The entrance had a metal gate that prevented anyone from moving in and out.
Inside the arena, there were shields and weapons near the entrance. Surrounding half of the arena were five dragon pens. Each of them was closed with metal reinforced gates. Those gates had levers next to them.
Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Gobber were there. Hiccup was following not far behind. They were all inside the arena, observing the place. The five of them had just recovered from the Night Fury attack.
"No turning back." Astrid whispered. She noticed that Gobber was checking the dragon pens.
"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut boasted, elbowing his sister.
"I'm hoping for some mauling." Ruffnut boasted, looking at her brother. "Like on my shoulder or lower back."
"Yeah, it's only fun when you get a scar out of it." Astrid nonchalantly spoke to them.
"Yeah, no kidding, right?" Hiccup spoke with sarcastic tone, getting their attention. "Pain. Love it."
Tuffnut groaned. "Oh, great. Who let him in?"
Before anyone could say anything, Gobber spoke aloud. "Let's get started!" He shouted, getting their attention. He was standing near the stacks of shields and weapons. "The recruit who does the best will win the honour of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."
"Five of us faced a deviant and lived." Snotlout smirked as he jerked his thumb at the brawny boy. "Does that disqualify him, or...?"
"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Tuffnut whined.
Hiccup rolled his eyes. Gobber walked up to him. "He's not here for dragon training." He announced as he pushed him to stand aside. "Hiccup is here to train ye how to fight deviants."
That got their attention. The Viking teens groaned and scowled at that. "I want out." Tuffnut decided, before turning around to leave the place.
"No one leaves the dragon ring until I say so!" Gobber barked, making them stop. "Or else I'll tell yer father it was you who burned his beard."
"Oooh!" Ruffnut elbowed her outraged brother. "He got you there, Tuff."
Tuffnut simply pouted. "Whatever."
"Seriously?" Astrid was incredulous. "Him?"
"He knows how to fight dragons. Especially deviants." The blacksmith raised his brows. "I thought you already know that."
Snotlout huffed and crossed his arms. "Anyone with dragon weapons can kill them." He sneered. "He just won't share them."
"That's enough of that!" Gobber raised his voice, shutting them up. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ye won't be facing any of that today."
The young Vikings fell silent. Gobber began his speech. "If you want to survive against a deviant, you must survive against the common dragons." He declared, before gesturing at the doors. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight!"
The man began walking around the dragon pens. "The Deadly Nadder!"
"Speed: eight." Fishlegs seemed to whisper. "Armour: sixteen."
Gobber gestured to one of the dragon pens. "The Hideous Zippleback!"
"Plus eleven stealth times two." The large boy muttered.
"The Monstrous Nightmare!"
"Firepower: fifteen."
"The Terrible Terror!"
"Attack: eight." Fishlegs seemed to get louder. "Venom: twelve!"
"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber snapped at the boy.
Fishlegs shrunk under his glare. The blacksmith rolled his eyes. He reached for the lever at one of the dragon pens. "And... the Gronckle."
"Jaw strength: eight." Fishlegs whispered.
It was then everyone realised what Gobber was about to do. "Whoa, whoa, wait!" Snotlout tried to stop him. "Aren't you gonna teach us first?!"
Gobber chuckled. He grabbed the lever. "I believe in learning on the job." He spoke, before turning the lever.
The gate flew open, revealing a female Gronckle charging towards them. "FREEDOM!"
The teen Vikings took off running, while Hiccup simply walked to the weapon rack. The rock dragon flew to the corner and began eating rocks. Just as she did that, Gobber shouted. "Today is about survival!"
Hiccup rested himself at the wall. He heard the blacksmith shout. "If you get blasted, you're dead!"
'How am I supposed to teach these Vikings how to fight deviants?' Hiccup pondered as he watched them go. He was leaning against the wall. 'They're not ready for any kind of fight against those things.'
"Quick!" Gobber shouted. "What's the first thing you're going to need?"
"A doctor?!" Snotlout panicked.
"Plus five speed?!" Fishlegs shouted.
Astrid had more sense than the others. "A shield!"
"Shields! Go!" Gobber shouted. He watched as the teenagers ran to the shield rack. "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield!"
Hiccup glanced at the Gronckle, who had finished eating the rocks. She was looking around for target. 'Snotlout is right for once.' He thought. 'They'll need a doctor by the end of this.'
The teen Vikings rushed to grab their shields. Everyone heard Gobber speaking. "If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield!"
"COME ON, LADS!" The Gronckle roared. She was speaking an accent that Hiccup did not recognise. "Ah'll rip yer baws aff 'n' feed thaim tae th' Deathgrippers!"
Hiccup wondered where they got the Gronckle. He never heard that kind of accent from a dragon before. 'Hidden World dweller, maybe?' The brawny boy wondered. 'I wonder what layer she's from.'
"Get your hands off my shield!"
The brawny boy blinked when he heard them. Looking at the weapon rack next to him, the twins were fighting over a shield. "There's like a million shields!" Ruffnut scoffed.
"Take that one, it has a flower on it." Tuffnut suggested as he gestured the rack with his head. "Girls like flowers."
Ruffnut ripped the shield off from his hand. She swung the object and hit him in the head. "OW!"
"Oops." Ruffnut shrugged mockingly. "Now this one has blood in it!"
The Gronckle flew towards them and fired a fireball. It blasted the shield, knocking them away from the place. "UP YER ERSE WI' IT!" She roared.
"Tuffnut! Ruffnut!" Gobber called out. "You're out!"
The twins were still dazed from the blast. "What?"
Gobber looked over the others, who were running around dodging the rock dragon. "All dragons have limited number of shots!" He called out. "How many does a Gronckle have?"
"Five?" Snotlout guessed, before dodging a charge from the dragon.
"No!" Fishlegs shouted. "Six!"
"Correct, six!" Gobber exclaimed, smiling at them. "That's one for each of you and an extra!"
The Gronckle noticed that Fishlegs trying to sneak up on her. Upon realising that he had been spotted, the large teen raised his shield over his head. "Dozy cunt." She spoke, before sending a fireball at Fishlegs. It hit the shield, shattering it into pieces.
Fishlegs took off running to the entrance, screaming. "AAAAHHH!"
"Fishlegs, out!" Gobber called out. He noticed that the Gronckle was doing something. "Hiccup, look out!"
"COME AT IT!" The boulder dragon roared as she charged at the brawny boy. She grinned when her target remained still-
Ka-POW!
-until her target struck an uppercut on her jaw, sending her back several metres away. "OW! Ya bloomin' plum!"
"Awa' n bile your head!" Hiccup shouted at the dragon. He emphasized his accent. "Ya fud!"
"HAUD YER WEESHT!" The Gronckle roared, before realising who she was screaming to. The attire indicated deviant dragon hunter. She also saw the Kinship Stone in his gauntlet. "Yer maw's git balls n yer da' loves it!"
"You look like you've went ten rounds with a tea bag!"
"Tea ba-" The boulder dragon was outraged. It was an insult to her scale colour. "You've got an arse like two weans fighting under a duvet!"
"Away an' take yer face fer a shite!"
While Hiccup and Gronckle were insulting back and forth, Astrid and Snotlout were sneaking behind the dragon. The two of them were standing right behind the Gronckle.
Snotlout quickly straightened himself. "So, anyway." He started with suggestive tone. "I'm moving into my parents' basement."
"Come at me, ye eel!" The Gronckle roared at Hiccup, challenging him for a fight. "Fight me!"
"Git rid o' th' ithers, then we'll ram!"
"You should come by sometime to work out." Snotlout suggested. He was getting louder. "You look like you work out!"
The Gronckle turned around to face the two young Vikings. "There!" She shouted, before sending a fireball towards them. Astrid rolled away and the fireball went straight to Snotlout. It hit his shield, which shattered upon impact.
"Snotlout, you're out!" Gobber called out.
Astrid rolled and stood right in front of Hiccup. The boy realised what she had done. "Not bad." He complimented. "But no."
Hiccup turned around and leapt up to the cage above. Astrid could only stare as the boy literally climbed out from the arena. Unfortunately, this was enough distraction for the Gronckle, who fired a fireball right onto her.
BOOM!
Fortunate for her, the fireball hit her shield. She survived the impact, but she lost her grip on the shield. The petite girl panicked and ran off to grab her shield.
Gobber was alarmed to see this. "Two shot left!" He called out, before looking at the brawny boy on the railings. He gestured to come and help.
Astrid managed to grab the shield, but its momentum pulled her hands. The shield rolled elsewhere, while the petite girl crashed onto the wall. The Gronckle behind her charged ahead. After she was cornered, the boulder dragon charged up her shot.
BOOM!
The fireball hit right above her as something suddenly pulled the Gronckle away. "OOOSHEEE!" She roared as lasso rope appeared around her neck and dragged her away. Hiccup managed to get her on time.
Once she was far enough, the brawny boy rushed to tie down the Gronckle. He wrestled her legs and tied that down, before wrapping around to tie down her maw and wings.
When that was done, Hiccup jumped off the dragon and threw the other end of the rope atop the cage. It crossed over the metal pieces, before going back down. The boy grabbed the rope and pulled.
The hogtied Gronckle was lifted off the ground. Hiccup kept pulling until he reached the end of the ring. After he was there, the brawny boy tied the rope to the nearest pole. "There. All done."
Gobber and the young Vikings stared at the hanging Gronckle. She was hanging upside down, immobile from the thick rope. The boulder dragon slowly spin around, glaring at everything it could see.
"Good work, Hiccup." Gobber complimented.
"Glad that sorted out." The brawny boy expressed his relief. "I thought you had it."
The blacksmith helped the petite girl up. "Sometimes, ye need to trust someone you hate the most." Gobber advised, ignoring the glares. He moved to face the brawny boy. "Hiccup, what ye think so far?"
"I don't know what you want me to say." Hiccup admitted.
"They lived to survive another day!" Gobber exclaimed, before crossing his arms. "But what if that was a deviant?"
The brawny boy exhaled his breath. "It depends. Most deviants varies, but there are something common with them." He began. "For one, deviant Gronckle don't need to eat rocks to use their fire."
"Second, they can be faster and more aggressive than normal Gronckle." Hiccup listed the differences. "And lastly, their scales are much thicker than normal ones."
The blacksmith raised his brows. "Would they survive against one?"
The brawny boy glanced at the teen Vikings, before looking back at him. "No." Hiccup answered. "They won't survive."
"And that's why ye train." Gobber moved on from the topic. "Go take some rest. Hiccup, I'll see ye at the Mead Hall."
After the debacle at the dragon ring, Hiccup went straight to the Mead Hall.
Considering most Vikings were heading for expedition, there was not that many people inside. The boy was sitting around the corner, reading his book and drinking a tankard of mead. He was studying to prepare for his latest discovery.
The problem with studying bacteriology was the lack of equipment. From what he knew, most of the good ones were in the German states; it was simply not possible to import them.
The next path for import was from London, the capital of Great Britain. However, it would take months to get them there.
It meant that he was in another dead end.
'The Swedes are still busy licking their wound after the Finnish War. Most of the scientific advancements are further down in central Europe.' Hiccup mentally grumbled as he flipped the page. 'I could probably fly there and back, but at that point, I might as well migrate to Hidden World with my family. I could get something better there.'
It was possible to reach London faster if he rode Gryphon the Valstrax. However, she was not fast or strong enough to endure prolonged flight. The young Valstrax was roughly as fast as them. She needed to be older to achieve the same speed as Aymar.
'Maybe I was expecting too much from her.' Hiccup mused. 'My book doesn't have anything on Valstrax. It's very much possible that she's still a fledgling.'
The boy saw a group entering the Mead Hall. Glancing at them, those were Astrid and her friends, along with Gobber. The young Vikings did not look happy; they briefly glared at him as they enter. The blacksmith, however, was approaching him. He sat on the opposite side of Hiccup.
Hiccup simply nodded. "Gobber."
"Hiccup." Gobber rested his arms on the table. He leaned to the boy. "About the dragon training."
The boy closed the book. "I don't want to train them."
"I knew ye'd say that." The blacksmith grumbled.
"The feeling's mutual, Gobber. They hate me too." Hiccup expressed his complaint. "I'd rather teach a boulder how to hunt."
"Look. I know ye don't like 'em. " Gobber stared directly at his eyes. He was serious. "I don't hate or dislike them, but I got my fair share of horrible dragon training students back then. You should consider this yer first experience dealing with this."
"And I'd rather teach a boulder how to hunt." The boy was serious as well. "I'll make 'em move around and swing blades like a proper deviant hunter. It's much easier doing that than teaching them."
The blacksmith shook his head. He was exasperated at the sarcasm. "Did ye told your dad about this?"
"He forced me to do it. I don't know what else to tell you." Hiccup shrugged. He gulped down the tankard, before continued speaking. "'could've been easy for him to ask me something else, but he wanted me as a teacher. It's not like I have a choice."
"You'll get them done. Don't worry." Gobber assured him. "What's the first thing you think is important for 'em?"
The boy stared at his book as he pondered that question. When Alexander Haddock began training him, he was not really starting off from scratch. Hiccup was dragonsmith first; deviant hunter second. It could be argued that most of his works were serving deviant hunters.
His former mentor occasionally put orders through messenger.
"Sensing deviants." Hiccup decided. He looked back at the blacksmith. "They need to learn how to tell dragons apart from deviants."
"How long does it take?"
"About an hour for me. It might be longer for them."
"Then we'll start from there." Gobber agreed. "Ye alright with after-training schedule?"
"I'm fine with it." Hiccup nodded.
"Good!" The blacksmith stood from the chair. "That's it then."
"Wait, Gobber." The boy stopped him. "I have something to ask."
"What is it lad?"
"Have you ever gone to Prussia before?" Hiccup questioned. "Delitzsch in Saxony, specifically."
"Hmm..." Gobber frowned as he stroked his beard. "One of those German city place?"
"That one. Yes."
"Only heard of Prussia. That's too far mainland." The blacksmith shrugged. He sat back on the chair. "Why?"
"I've been trying to get equipment to study diseases. The Germans have the stuff I need." Hiccup explained his problem. "I've checked the British catalogue from Johann, but it would take months to get them here."
Gobber raised his brows. "What kind of disease are ye studying for?"
"Lycanwing."
There was a pause. The blacksmith looked deep in thought. "... If this is about the tale before, I heard them from folks in southern Sweden." Gobber explained, before remembering something else. "Come to think of it. They got same stories about wolves too. Werewolves, they called them."
"Okay, Gobber. I get it." Hiccup stopped the man from telling the tale. While the conversation proved fruitless, at least he had a lead on where Lycanwing might originate from. "I'll come and visit when I have the time. Maybe after my dad went back home."
"Hahah!" Gobber laughed as he stood from the chair. "Good choice! Yer gonna love it."
"I'm sure I will." The boy nodded. "Thanks, Gobber."
"Anytime, lad."
Later that day, Hiccup went to the cove. The boy carried four baskets of fishes with him, along with the red dragon-scaled book he had obtained.
Considering Gryphon, Toothless and their hatchlings were still at the nest, Hiccup went to work on studying the Lycanwing disease. He wanted to get them done as soon as possible.
However, given the alchemic nature of the study, most of his time ended up waiting for his work to finish brewing. Considering he had to go through trial and error on Lycanwing, it meant that there was a lot of waiting.
As a result, Hiccup ended up reading and studying Life-Force instead of focusing on his alchemy study.
It was the state that Gryphon and Toothless found him in. When they arrived at the cove, Hiccup had his head engrossed at a large red dragon-scaled book. He was resting at a tree trunk near the open cave. Toothless simply walked to him, before shadowing the boy from sunlight.
Hiccup looked up to see the newcomer. He smiled upon seeing the black dragon. "Gryphon! Toothless! You're here!"
"Yeah. It's been a day." The mother dragon exhaled her breath, before lowering her head. The Night Fury hatchlings jumped off from her head. "I have a plan to get to Caldera."
The boy closed his book. "Did you plan this with Gryphon?"
"Yes." Toothless nodded. "She has an idea to get us there."
Hiccup grabbed the fish baskets, before placing them right at the tree trunk. "Here you go." The boy opened them, revealing baskets full of cods. "I got your favourites."
"Oh yes, cods!" Toothless licked her lips, before moving in to gulp down some food.
Gryphon sniffed the pile of fishes. She pushed the cods away, revealing a bluefin tuna. "Tuna!" The Valstrax chirped, before taking a bite.
The hatchlings quickly rushed to the boy. They nudged Hiccup's leg, asking him for food. "Daaad." Calian whined. "I want food."
"Hrrk!" Toothless suddenly choked, getting their attention. The mother dragon was regurgitating the fishes she just ate. "Krrk!" She belched tenderised fishes on the ground. "Here you go."
"Yaaay!" The hatchlings cheered, before rushing to eat their food.
Hiccup felt relief. He did not have to transform to feed his children. "Thanks, Toothless."
"We just ran out of fishes at the nest. We thought about bringing you along to search for food." The mother dragon explained the situation. "I didn't expect you to bring fish from your village."
"That's because most Vikings at the village are gone for few weeks. Those fishes will rot if not eaten now." The boy sat down on the trunk, resting the book on his lap. He looked at the Valstrax. "You said you have a plan?"
"Yes." Gryphon nodded. "It's very simple. We fly as high as we can, then fly across the border all the way to Caldera. Most dragons can't reach over 2 kilometres height. We can go much higher than that. I can carry my siblings in my pockets, and they can sleep inside."
"It is a sound idea." Hiccup nodded. "But you're forgetting something."
"What?"
"I'm currently wanted for capture by Merciless." The boy answered. "He want me to become his alchemist. The moment we crossed the border, Merciless will hunt us down."
"Oh yeah..." The Valstrax faltered. "Merciless is a Night Fury greater alpha."
"It's not a bad idea." Hiccup clarified. "It could probably work if we cross over Europe to Arabian Peninsula instead, but I don't think anyone can fly over 6,000 kilometres distance without stopping."
"We can sleep while flying." Toothless suggested. "We can store fish in Storage Crystals."
"Yes, but I can't sleep while flying." The boy reminded them. "Of all dragons that can't sleep-fly, I'm the only one that can't do it. I don't even know how Gryphon did it."
"It was instinct for me." Gryphon helpfully explained. "You can stay as human and ride on our back. You can sleep and help us navigate. When we get there, you can turn into dragon to pass the entrance."
Hiccup paused at that. "That could work." He agreed. "The next problem would be doing this without anyone knowing. The moment we leave for Europe, Merciless will have free reign to hunt me down."
The Valstrax was curious. "Does he really want you that bad?"
"Yes." "Yes." Both Hiccup and Toothless answered.
The mother dragon was the one who explained. "Most dragons know Charcoal as a former general, but some know him as an alchemist." Toothless began the tale. "It's extremely rare to find an alchemist, even in Hidden World. Remember the Dramillion that came to visit?"
"You mean Harald the Dramillion?" Gryphon tilted her head.
Hiccup was confused. "Harald came to visit?"
"Yes. He was looking for you." Toothless nodded as she looked at her mate. "He wanted alchemy training from you."
"I can't teach him alchemy. It took me years to learn by myself, and I barely scratched the surface." The boy gave his answer. He scratched his head. "If he want an alchemist, he need to find one in Hidden World."
"But you were his general once." The mother dragon pointed out. "He doesn't seem to trust anyone else to teach him."
"And I am currently wanted in Greater Archipelago." The boy retorted.
There was a pause. Toothless shrugged her wings. "That's fair."
"We'll figure out how to flee without Merciless knowing later. For now, I have something to play around with." Hiccup smirked as he showed the red dragon-scaled book. "Look what I found."
Toothless immediately recognised it. "Is that...!"
"Mana: Principles, Techniques and Tools, written by Marduk, also known as Hiccup the First." Hiccup answered her curiosity. He was pleased with himself. "The original dragon book."
The mother dragon took a sharp breath. "Does it say what volume that is?"
"It does." The boy opened the book. The first page explained what Life-Force was about, but the one at the cover had more information about the book. "This is the second volume. It talks about advanced Life-Force spells and techniques."
"There are twelve volumes of that book. There is only ever one book for every volume." The mother dragon recited the history. "The original first volume book is held by my father, and copies of them were made for public education. They said the rest were lost in time, but you found the second volume."
"More like given to me. My dad has one this whole time." Hiccup flipped to the page he left off. "I think the books are still around. This thing is a draconic book; they are mostly indestructible."
"I never knew you can forge a literal dragon book." Toothless leaned to read the content. She raised her brows when she realised the language. "It's written in really old Greek... this is definitely an original."
"It has many interesting things." The boy moved to show her. He pointed at something on the book. "Here. Look at this spell. They called it Ironwire."
The mother dragon stared with deadpan expression. "Charcoal, I don't know how to read old Greek."
"Oh." Hiccup blinked at that, before showing his hands to her. "Here. I'll demonstrate."
The boy clenched his hands and placed them together. He concentrated as he slowly moved his fists to opposite sides. Toothless widened her eyes when a blue wire appeared from his hands. They were shimmering with light; she realised that it was a pure manifestation of mana.
Hiccup moved his fists around, controlling the blue wire. It moved and formed circular shape with it. He threw them over to the basket of fish, before pulling it up. A cod fish went flying into the air. The boy moved the wire to catch the fish. The blue wire caught them just in time and held it in a circle.
The boy raised the fish at eye level. The fish was suddenly sliced by the blue wire just as it disappeared. Hiccup grabbed the chopped fish as they fell. When that was done, he stared at the shocked expression of the mother dragon. "What do you think?"
Toothless blinked as she processed what happened. "That-"
"WHOA!"
The Night Fury hatchlings immediately crowded around Hiccup. They were talking at the same time, excited and awed by the display their father put up. Hamish was rapidly speaking to his father. "What was that? Are those wires? Why are they blue?"
"I want to learn them!" Calian exclaimed, staring at his father with pleading expression. "Please?"
"Daaad." Iris whined. "I want to know too."
Hiccup quickly dropped the chopped fish. "Slow down! Calm down." He exclaimed, but that did not stop them. "One by one. Kids, please!"
Amelia and Helena were standing on top of the book. The two hatchlings were nudging their father. "I want to learn too."
Helena roughly pushed her sister off. "Me first!"
"Hrrk!" The spring-green eyed hatchling fell to the ground.
Thankfully, Gryphon was there to catch her. "Careful." She warned as she put her back onto the book. "Don't push your sister."
The dark-acidic eyed hatchling looked embarrassed. "Sorry, sister."
"Let's eat the tuna!" Hamish exclaimed, before rushing to the fish pile.
Others were quick to follow. They rushed for the tuna. "Yaay!"
"Wait!" Gryphon alarmedly followed.
Hiccup raised his brows. He glanced at Toothless, who shrugged her wings. After the hatchlings were busy enough, the boy closed the book. "I also found something else."
"What is it?" Toothless asked.
"Something interesting I learned today." Hiccup stood from the ground, before heading to the open cave. Unlike before, there were chairs, tables, books and all sorts of alchemical things. He placed the book on the table. "My father had a dragon friend."
The mother dragon followed him inside. "Dragon friend?"
"My father, Stoick the Vast, befriended a Night Fury." Hiccup answered as he continued his work. He turned off the burners and inspected the fluids. "She was kidnapped by a dragon, probably before I was born."
It took a moment for her to process that statement. "... what?"
"I know. I was surprised too." Hiccup admitted. "He told me himself."
Toothless was surprised and confused. "What did he say, exactly?"
Hiccup reached for their circuit bond. He mentally showed the memory last night for her to see. "Check my memory."
Toothless paused as she processed the memory. After watching them, she realised something. "Your ancestor was best friend with my dad. And then one of your ancestors was best friend with Furious." The mother dragon summarised. "And then, you have me as your mate. It looks like destiny. The history checks out."
"I'm not exactly the superstitious type." The boy slowly responded. "But if I'm destined to have interesting life, then this might just be the beginning."
"It does make sense. Your ancestor is Hiccup the First, and my father is Wodensfang, his best friend." Toothless recognised the pattern. "It explains why you smelled like a dragon. Your ancestor is a dragon turned human. It makes sense if you're a dragon, but that doesn't explain why your dad smells almost human instead of full dragon."
"He told me his Night Fury friend was taken by a hostile dragon." Hiccup pondered. "A Night Fury couldn't just be... taken like that without a big fight, especially female dragon. No offence, Toothless."
"None taken."
"And there's no way for him to know if she was abducted, unless they were together when that happened." The boy pondered that thought. "It also means that they're always together."
"I don't think she would stay in the village with your father. Your village is not friendly with dragons at all!" Toothless assumed. Then, her eyes widened with realisation. "Unless... the Night Fury was not really a Night Fury. The dragon might be a human, just like you."
Hiccup thought it made sense. If his ancestor was a dragon turned into human, then it was not far off. His father's dragon could be turned into human the same way. "If that's the case, there should be some news about someone taken away by a dragon in the village." He concluded. "But last time I check, in the past 20 years, the only one ever taken by a dragon was..."
Toothless simply stared at Hiccup. She saw his expression dramatically changed into shock. That made her concerned. "Charcoal?" She asked. "Are you okay?"
"The only person that was ever taken by a dragon-" Hiccup spoke as he stared at her. "-was my mom. Valka Haddock."
"Wait." Toothless started, eyes wide. "Your mom is the dragon?"
Hiccup was a bit hysteric upon coming to that conclusion. "My dad bred his Night Fury! And I'm their offspring!" He exclaimed. "It crazy, but it made sense! That's why he told me that! That's why I smelled like a dragon! All my life, I'm a dragon in form of a human!"
"Wait, Charcoal, hold on, stop." Toothless tried to calm him down.
"Skies above, this is insane!" Hiccup scratched his head.
"Charcoal, hold on there. We need to get some proof." The dragoness started, getting his attention. "If your dad is his Night Fury's mate, he must've had some of her stuff in his roost. You said he's off to find Dragon Island at Helheim's Gate, right?"
"Yes."
"You should search his place. Don't take that conclusion seriously." Toothless nudged him. "Also, that doesn't answer why you smell like a dragon, but he barely smells like one."
"Yeah, I can search his room tonight." Hiccup mumbled, still in shock by his own assumption. "Gods, I can't believe how plausible that was."
"Hey, it's okay." The mother dragon softly spoke to him. "We're making progress. Sometimes, the craziest fact makes the most sense."
The boy took a deep breath. "... I guess you're right." He admitted, before smiling at her. "Thanks for being here, Toothless."
"Dad?" Gryphon called out as she entered the place. The Night Fury hatchlings were in her pockets. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just figuring something out." Hiccup exhaled his breath, before focusing on the group. "So, it's going to take some time to prepare. What do you want to do while we wait?"
"How about teaching me the ironwire spell?" Toothless tilted her head. She was excited to learn new mana technique. "It looks useful."
"It does look useful." Gryphon agreed.
"They have a lot of uses. I used them to cut the tree trunk outside." The boy moved to grab the red dragon-scaled book. "That's just one of the many things in this book."
"Hrr..." The mother dragon stared for some time. She seemed to have gotten a different idea. "Actually, do you think our hatchlings are ready to learn about mana?"
Hearing that, the Night Fury hatchlings looked at their parents with pleading look. Hiccup exhaled his breath. "They can start after they learn how to use their fire."
It was Hamish that spoke up. "Mom taught us how to use fire."
"Yeah!" Winter exclaimed, nodding at his brother. "Mom taught us how to hunt!"
Toothless stared at the boy with knowing look. Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Alright then." He relented, before walking out from the open cave. "Mana lesson it is."
The hatchlings cheered. "Yaaay!"
"Alright. Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?"
Later that night, Gobber, Astrid, Snotlout and others were at the Mead Hall. It was night-time, and the place was dark. There was only a lantern illuminating their place. Hiccup walked to sit next to Gobber.
"I mistimed my somersault dive." Astrid spoke, focused on the blacksmith. "It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble."
"Yeah, we noticed." Ruffnut spoke in sarcastic tone.
"No, no, you were great!" Snotlout praised her. "That was so 'Astrid'."
Gobber shrugged. "She's right." He responded. "You have to be tough on yourself. Hiccup, what do you think?"
The others immediately glared at him. Hiccup wanted to snap but held himself back. "It's their first day." He commented. "The fact they survived is all that matters."
"Thank you, Hiccup." Gobber praised him. "You need to live and breathe this stuff."
The blacksmith pulled out a book and dropped them onto the table. Hiccup recognised it. "The Dragon Manual." Gobber introduced. "Everything we know about every dragon we know of."
Suddenly, there was a thunder outside. The blacksmith looked up, before speaking. "No attacks tonight. Study up." Then, he left the place, leaving the teens alone inside the Mead Hall.
"Wait, you mean, read?" Tuffnut asked, incredulous.
"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut questioned.
"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Snotlout questioned.
"Oh!" Fishlegs piped in. "I've read it like, seven times."
Everyone turned to look at him. The large teen continued speaking. "There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face."
'Scauldron.' Hiccup thought.
"And- And there's this one that buries itself for like a week-"
"Yeah, that sounds great." Tuffnut interrupted. "See, there was a chance I was going to read that..."
"But now..." Ruffnut trailed off, before walking away. Her twin went to follow from behind.
"You guys read." Snotlout spoke as he stood from the seat. "I'll go kill stuff." The burly boy left the place.
Fishlegs moved to follow them. "Oh, and there's this one that has these spines that look like trees..."
Hiccup looked down at the Dragon Manual. It reminded him of the books that he had. Looking up, he saw Astrid leaving the place. Just as she was about to leave, they looked at each other. Upon seeing him, the petite girl glared at him, before turning away and left the place.
The boy grimaced at that. He exhaled his breath, before standing up from the seat. It was time to go home and find out more about his himself.
Later that night, Hiccup went back home. The fireplace was off, but that was to be expected. The boy carefully walked towards his father's room. He slowly opened the door and entered it. The room was surprisingly unlocked. Upon entering the place, he closed the door behind him.
Hiccup noted that the room was larger than his own. There was a bed around the corner. On the opposite side, however, there was a large flat rock. He looked there and inspected the rock. The centre part was charred in circular pattern.
There was only one dragon that scorch their bed: Night Fury.
It confirmed what his father told him before.
There was a table at the middle end of the room. Hiccup moved to reach it. There was a wooden box with a latch on the table. The boy was curious. He slowly opened the latch. The small box opened by itself.
The box was filled with pitch black dragon scales. Those were in oval shapes of varying sizes. Hiccup picked up the biggest scale, touching it with his hand. It felt rather old. They were most likely scales of his father's Night Fury friend.
He placed them back and closed it shut. He did not need to steal it.
The boy moved to the exit door. He paused as he noticed something. Somewhere at the rock bed, there was a hidden lever behind it. He could see them from the doorway. The boy moved to reach for the hidden lever. He grabbed and pulled the lever.
Clack!
Right after turning them, the whole bed rock suddenly flipped around. Hiccup was completely unprepared for it. He was standing on top of the bed rock to reach it. He fell underground and hit the surface below. The rock bed above him turned back up, leaving nothing amiss.
Wham!
"Ow..." Hiccup whined when he landed on the ground. He did not expect that to happen. Standing up from the ground, he looked around to check. It looked like an underground cave clearing. There was a pond and a cave entrance. The place was large enough to fit a large dragon.
The boy began moving forward. "Where does this lead to-"
Suddenly, Hiccup stepped on something. He raised his foot and realised that he was standing on top of something made of leather. The boy grabbed the object to see more of them. It was a saddle, and there was a name on them.
Valka
'That's my mother's name.' Hiccup realised.
The boy moved to check if there was anything else on the saddle. There was a small pocket on the side. He opened it and pulled something out.
It was a journal. He placed the saddle aside and opened the journal. It was almost destroyed, mostly due to age. It looked like it had never been opened for a long time. There were some entries that was still intact.
The dragon raids are getting worse. I fear for my husband's life, because I could not protect him anymore. I have done my best to protect him from the dead witch that tried to kill him. But as a result, I have become a human. I have made my choice and sacrificed my life a dragon. May the skies forgive my sins, because I cannot stand this anymore.
'This is his dragon's journal.' Hiccup thought, horrified. He flipped some pages and read the next readable entry.
-so happy that it's finally here! We finally have a son together. We named him Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Old Wrinkly told me that he have a [...]. Stoick doesn't want to believe it. I think he's afraid. He said the [...] of us.
He said our son would be a [...] Night Fury. The [...] Whatever it was, I believe in our son. He will do great things in-
Part of the entries were destroyed by decay. The ink was blurry, and some did not make any sense to him. However, that was everything Hiccup needed to know. The boy dropped the book, terrified. "I..." he whispered. "My mother is a Night Fury..."
The boy felt mixture of emotions. Anger that his father had kept it from him. Sadness for the demise of his mother. Confusion because he was unaware of the context of his mother and father relationship. Fear for not knowing anything about himself.
Everyone kept secrets from him, and they were bigger than anything else he had ever experienced.
Hiccup pushed that emotion away. It was not the time to think about it. Walking deeper into the clearing, he noticed a cave way just around the corner.
The path was heading around the corner. The boy carefully entered the cave way. Heading around the corner, he paused when he saw a glowing pure white crystal.
Given that his mother was a dragon, it was most likely that she had some crystals with her. Those looked like Cog Stone - artificial crystal used to rotate physical objects
Hiccup remembered using them for sea scooters with the help of Henry the Woolly Howl. However, he did not remember them glowing or shaped like that.
Regardless, given the placement, it might be a 'lever' to open a door. Hiccup placed his hand on the glowing white crystal and pulsed his mana.
Suddenly, there was a flash, and the boy disappeared.