"Is he going to be okay?"
"I hope so. That looked painful."
"What the… is that his wings? How come he still have wings?!"
"Dark Chaser healed him."
Cloudjumper groaned. Everything he felt was pain. It was something that he rarely experienced.
"Look, he's waking up!"
The Stormcutter slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and see that he was surrounded by dragons. He was back at the nest. He saw the Dark Chaser sitting close to him. He was wearing his backpack. Valka was standing next to the Dark Chaser. There was also a pile of something that he could not make out of behind them.
Cloudjumper tried to get up, but he collapsed at the exhaustion he felt. Valka came close to him and rattled her staff. She was telling him to stay down.
Cloudjumper did as he was told. He looked at Hiccup, who were looking at him with concerned expression. "W- What happened?" He asked.
"You tried to achieve my speed." Hiccup answered. "It was barely half of my top speed, and you ripped yourself."
"I ripped myself?" Cloudjumper whispered.
Hiccup moved aside, revealing the pile behind him. The Stormcutter gaped. Those were his limbs! He saw his wings, tail fins, a horn and one of his paws stacked there. There were even some sheets of scales. He looked around and noticed that everything was still there on his body. What happened?
"After you ripped yourself, I knew that I had to do something." Hiccup admitted. "So, I grabbed you after you fell, brought you here and healed you. I managed to save most of your uh… parts, so you could see what happened to you."
Cloudjumper recognised the gesture. Hiccup was showing his dominance. The Stormcutter never had a chance against him to begin with. He had challenged him, and he nearly lost his life because of it. If the Dark Chaser did not help, that would be pretty much it for him.
He was completely at his mercy from the start of the challenge.
Cloudjumper placed his head onto the ground. He showed submission to the Dark Chaser. "… I surrender." He spoke. "I lost… You can have the human for yourself."
Hiccup tilted his head. "Do you really think that it was all about Valka?"
"Was that not the reason why you came to her?" Cloudjumper responded. He closed his eyes, showing that he was at complete mercy of the Dark Chaser. "You came to impress her. You're taking her away from me. I challenged you and lost. It was only fair."
Hiccup snorted. "I never have any intention to take her away from you." He spoke, incredulous about the whole situation. "This place is where she belongs."
Cloudjumper opened his eyes. He was confused. "But then why did you…"
"Cloudjumper." Hiccup started. "I think you're forgetting why I was talking to her. In case you forget, she is my mother."
"I had no intention to impress her." Hiccup continued speaking. "I have no intention of taking her away from… wherever she was. I talked to her because I wanted to know her better. As someone who thought their mother died many world cycles ago, it would be reasonable for me wanting to learn more about her."
Cloudjumper could see the reasoning. He looked down. "… I'm sorry."
Hiccup waved him off. "I took no offense. It was just a misunderstanding." He spoke, smiling at him. "And besides, it was fun. Not many dragons could go as fast as I do. While you're nowhere near my speed, I'm impressed that you stayed that long."
Cloudjumper knew that getting a good impression from a Dark Chaser was outrageously hard to get. It was not something to be taken lightly. He felt proud that he had impressed the Dark Chaser. "Thank you."
Then, Cloudjumper realised something. "I guess I have to eat an eel, huh?"
"No. I want something else." Hiccup responded.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to lead me to Tree Hugger's nest." Hiccup answered. "The King told me you know the way."
Cloudjumper slowly nodded. "I know the way. I can bring you there."
"Alright." Hiccup chirped. "I'll come back in a few sun cycles. I'm going back home."
"Okay…"
Hiccup went and nuzzled Valka. He whispered. "I'm going back to Berk now. I'll see you in a few days."
Valka pat and scratched Hiccup. "Be careful, Hiccup."
"I will." Hiccup replied.
With those said, Hiccup flew up into the sky. The Night Fury flew out of the nest, heading back towards Berk.
"Hiccup!"
Hiccup looked up. It had been days since he visited the Dragon Sanctuary. He had gone back to Berk and rested there, in his human form. The boy was laying down in a forest clearing, basking in his own thoughts when someone called out for him.
There was his sword next to him and a leather scabbard on his hips. He had been practicing what Phlegma the Fierce had taught him. The woman herself was busy helping future farmers, so she could not be there to help him.
The boy saw the other kids approaching him. Hiccup stood from the ground. He picked up the sword and holstered it. He could see the arrogant expression of Snotlout, angry look from Astrid, devious looks from Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and finally, the timid expression from Fishlegs.
"Hey." Hiccup lazily greeted them. "What's up?"
"I heard about what you told Fishlegs." Astrid spoke, crossing her arms. Everyone stopped when they came somewhat close to him.
"Okay. And?"
"We still want to know." Snotlout remarked.
"About what?"
"About dragons." Snotlout answered.
"What do you want to know?"
"What about you start with the Night Fury?" Astrid questioned. "You told Fishlegs that you knew about it."
"And I can't tell him that because you have to ask my dad first." Hiccup explained to her.
"We asked the chief." Snotlout snidely remarked. "He said Hiccup should tell us. Right sweetheart?"
Astrid glared at him. "Don't call me that."
Hiccup raised his one eyebrow. He could smell that they were lying to his face. It reeked from their body. "And when did he say this?"
"He told us this morning." Ruffnut called out. Tuffnut snickered.
Hiccup pondered for some time. He shrugged. "Alright. I'll go ask him first."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Snotlout hurriedly spoke. "You're going to bother the chief for this?"
"What do you think Snotlout?" Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I have to know if what you said was true."
"Last time we saw him, he was busy preparing for another… expedition." Astrid flailed her arms around. Then, she crossed her arms. "It's best not to bother him."
Astrid lied to him. Hiccup could sense it from kilometres away. "I want to ask him if what you guys said was true. This is about him, not me." He narrowed his eyes. "There should be no problem for me to ask him. Unless, of course, you're lying to me."
The group instantly became nervous. Hiccup had become different after that day when Snotlout called him Hiccup the Useless. The name did circulate for some time, but it faded away once Hiccup started socialising with the villagers. Hiccup was simply Hiccup.
He was more mature than any of his peers. Not only he was polite and respectful to the villagers, but he was also smart. He was more like his father, but with more brain than muscle, and listened to them from time to time.
That does not imply that he was weak, however. The villager thought he could keep up with his father once he became an adult. At 9-year-old, he could keep up with a fully grown Viking at one-to-one. They thought he would make a fine chief one day.
Hiccup placed his hand on the sword at his belt. It was done to intimidate them. That seemed to work. They looked more nervous than before.
"… Well?" He asked, looking amused.
"I think we should just go." Fishlegs urged Astrid.
"Y- You're right." Astrid nervously spoke.
"And where are you going?" Hiccup tilted his head. "You don't really need to go anywhere. It should take me few minutes to go back and forth."
"We changed our mind. We're taking your advice to not bother with it." Astrid waved him off. "Let's go guys. It's not worth it."
Hiccup almost smirked when he saw them walked away. He shook his head. The kids thought that they could fool him. They were very much wrong.
Hiccup was flying in the sky once again, in dragon form. He was flying up high, with Cloudjumper flying next to him. Valka was also there, riding Cloudjumper. Both were heading towards a certain destination.
The nest of Tree Hugger – or Foreverwing, as Valka called them – was not far from the Dragon Sanctuary. It would take a few hours of flight back and forth from there. Both Hiccup and Cloudjumper agreed to fly at moderate pace, considering that Valka was coming along with them.
While flying, Valka was asking Hiccup about things happening back at Berk. "How is Phlegma doing?"
"She's doing fine." Hiccup answered. "She taught me how to play with swords. While I'm not the greatest swordsman out there, she said I was acceptable."
"She did, huh." Valka mused.
"After I know all the basics, she kind of rarely spar with me." Hiccup added. "There's not much for her to teach me anymore, at least that's what she told me. She often went off to help farmers now."
"That sounded like Phlegma that I remembered." Valka smiled, reminiscing the memory. "She usually lost interest once she realised there was nothing else to do. She was named Phlegma the Fierce after destroying an Outcast ship all by herself. I remember Stoick coming to her and congratulating her."
"She is definitely fierce during raids." Hiccup nodded, agreeing with her.
"Speaking of raid." Valka started. "… have you participated in raids before?"
"I usually stayed at the forge and help Gobber during raids." Hiccup responded. "There were times when I came back to Berk when a raid happened. I usually just fly above and observe."
"Have you ever… helped?"
Hiccup was hesitant. "… Once." He finally answered. "I had to save my father."
Valka was concerned. "What happened?"
"Two Flame Skins and a Spiked Two-Legs came and attacked him. They were from Red Death nest." Hiccup explained. "Another Flame Skin and Spiked Two-Legs came to replace them after my dad killed two of them."
"Flame Skins?" Valka was confused.
"Monstrous Nightmare and Deadly Nadder." Hiccup supplied her.
"Oh." Valka looked down, somewhat embarrassed. "… It must be nice to really understand what dragons were saying."
Hiccup snorted. "It felt like a curse from time to time. Some dragons were not the brightest around."
"Careful there." Valka teased. "You're getting vain."
"I'm a dragon. I'm meant to be vain." Hiccup spoke with mirthful expression. "What kind of dragon would I be if I'm not slightly vain?"
Cloudjumper snorted. "I took a pride for being able to keep up with you."
"Barely." Hiccup helpfully added.
"Better than most dragons, at least." Cloudjumper looked smug.
Cloudjumper and Hiccup laughed at their banter. Valka seemed to know what they say. She let out a sigh. "You two…"
Hiccup calmed himself down. "… My dad didn't see them both coming." He continued the topic. "So, I had to jump in. Two Flame Skins died from my blast, and the Spiked Two-Legs thought I was friendly. I rammed him to the sky and blasted him to bits. I… killed three dragons that day."
It saddened Valka that Hiccup had to kill dragons. She reminded herself that Hiccup was a dragon, and he would behave as such. "I'm sorry, Hiccup."
"It's just nature." Hiccup shrugged. "At some point, as a dragon, I must kill another dragon, or be killed myself. It was for self-defence, and to protect those that I care about."
Valka was proud to hear it from her son. "I'm proud of you for protecting your father."
"… Thank you." Hiccup nodded at her. He focused back on the flight.
The rest of the flight was silent. After some time, they reached an island. Hiccup could see a gigantic dragon from there. It looked like a giant wood dragon, with large forest on its back. It looked to be resting there.
It was then Hiccup realised that the dragon was so big, it was part of the island. Only the head was visible for him, and even then, it was difficult to see. The Night Fury only noticed it after staring at the centre of the island.
"We're here." Cloudjumper spoke. "The Tree Hugger is resting. You might be able to talk to him alone. We'll meet back later when you're done."
"You're not coming?" Hiccup asked, surprised.
The Stormcutter laughed for a bit. "It's your quest. You deal with it. Welcome to Nepenthe."
Nepenthe. That was the name of the island. "You're not staying around then."
"Oh no, we're staying around. Just not with you." Cloudjumper corrected him. "We have something else to do in the island. There's a human settlement in the island. The human wanted to see us."
Hiccup could see some houses at the corner of the island. It was not a large settlement, but not small either. "Okay, well, good luck." Hiccup shrugged.
He broke off from the formation and headed down towards the Foreverwing.
Hiccup landed on a small clearing right in front of the Foreverwing. The gigantic tree dragon was silent there. There were several dragons wandering around, and most notable thing about them was the fact that all of them had red and green scales.
"Hello." Hiccup gave a slight bow.
"Dark Chaser." The Foreverwing rumbled. "The King had informed me of your quest."
"I would like to learn more." Hiccup replied. He sat down on his hindlegs.
"… Very well." The Foreverwing answered. "Welcome to my nest. The Forever Forest."
"The Forever Forest exists as a final resting place for dragons." The Foreverwing lectured. "Those who were old, and sick would be moved away to another place by Still Rocks. This place was for those who wished to spend their lives in peace."
"It's a place for old dragons?" Hiccup asked.
"… most of the time." The Foreverwing admitted. "Battle-scarred, traumatised and longing dragons often stay here for comfort and protection. We helped them in their rest, and if they wished, we move them to the graveyard to spend their final days."
Hiccup knew the graveyard from his dragon memories. It was a place guarded by dragons called Still Rock – a dragon made of rocks. It was a place for dragons to spend their final days, where they would later be buried by the Still Rocks residing there. Dragons were allowed to enter, but nobody could leave the place.
Hiccup looked around, before looking back at the Foreverwing. "How do you lead your subjects?" He asked.
"They are not my subjects." The Foreverwing answered. "They are my Seedlings."
"My Seedlings served me to help dragons in need." The Foreverwing continued his lecture. "They volunteered to help other dragons in my nest. In turn, I provided them with my blessing. I would produce water that would heal them when they were injured, and in turn, they help other dragons to accommodate themselves here to rest."
Hiccup could see why that might be beneficial for the dragons there. However, something was not adding up for him. "… Why do you help those dragons?" He asked.
The Foreverwing looked amused. "Because it was the right thing to do." He spoke. "For you see, as dragons, we must take care of each other. One kindness would reflect to one another, and eventually, peace would spread amongst them."
"But there are dragons that simply can't be reasoned with." Hiccup pointed out.
"You are correct." The Foreverwing sounded amused. "Which comes to the next subject. Tolerance. It was known in our history that intolerant opinions had been the primary cause of war amongst dragons. It what sparked two wars so great, it brought us out from the old age of dragons."
"In the Dragon Age of Old, there was a war amongst dragons. The Great Dragon War." The Foreverwing lectured. "The war happened because one alpha could not tolerate another alpha. It began with mere insults and politics. Then, tension grew. The war broke out once an alpha was poisoned and killed by a small dragon."
Hiccup did not know of this story. He had never heard of it. "The Great Dragon War?"
"Yes." The Foreverwing spoke. "Hundreds of thousands of dragons killed. It was the darkest day of the Dragon Age. It signalled the end of the Old Dragon Age. It was supposed to be the end of all war amongst dragons. Alas, nobody learned of their lessons. Intolerance became a cause for another war. After world cycles of peace, the Second Dragon War happened."
"Once upon a time, Red Death and Green Death were one of the biggest nests in the world." The Foreverwing lectured. "However, something happened to Red Death. She grew distant and began showing intolerance. No longer a gentle alpha that grew care for her subjects. She became biased, prejudiced against certain dragons."
"She promised her dragons to rise against the sea dragons." The Foreverwing continued his lecture. "She promised them influence, power, heroism. Her dragons became drunk of her soothing words, as they fell into her clutch under the banner of nationalism."
"To go against sea dragons were to go against the Great King." The Foreverwing explained. "We have all served under him under the banner of peace and prosperity. After the Great Dragon War, we wished to be united, to ensure that we do not fight against each other. It would be more beneficial for us to cooperate, but alas, not all dragons agreed."
Hiccup never knew that there was ever a war happened before. It was something that he never knew before. "How did she managed to convince her dragons to fight?" He questioned. "The call from Red Death and Green Death were not absolute. They can break from the call."
"Ah. You were too young to understand the evil of dragons." The Foreverwing chuckled. "It is the leaders of the nest to determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the dragons along."
"In a nest without alpha dragons, the dragons would form a… parliament to lead and represent separate group of dragons in the nest." The Foreverwing lectured. "It worked the same for Red Death and Green Death. They do not have the true alpha call, unlike the King of All Dragons."
"However, call or no call, dragons can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders." The Foreverwing sounded sombre. "That is easy. All they have to do is tell them they are being attacked, denounce the pacifists for lack of loyalty, and expose the nest to danger."
Hiccup reared at that phrase. He could see the logic behind it. Dragons were often loyal to their nest. However, there would be dragons that would not want to do what their leader tell them to do. By exposing the nest to danger, the subjects would willingly – and eagerly – defend their nest. They would turn to their leader and follow them throughout.
"But a parliament of dragons were smart." Hiccup whispered. His voice was tiny, as he tried to understand what the Foreverwing was saying. "It was not just one leader. There were other dragons under them."
"Yes. But it did not matter." The Foreverwing answered. "Those at the very top determines what their subjects should do. Those subjects usually have no choice but to follow."
"In a nest, it was their nature to find where they belong." The Foreverwing lectured. "Hatchlings grew up in a nest and find a place where they belong. The same goes for migrating dragons. Once they do find them, they would do everything to stay where they belonged."
"And so, they obeyed and followed the order of their leaders." The Foreverwing continued his lecture. "Even when ordered to commit the worst atrocity, they still showed obedience and loyalty. They knew exactly what they did and how they did it, but they showed no remorse or regret. Do you know why?"
Hiccup meekly shook his head.
"Because they were simply following orders." The Foreverwing finished.
Hiccup could see where it was going. He remembered dragons in Red Death's nest showing no remorse for throwing away other dragons into her maw. There were dragons that followed her because of her threats, but most of those threats were delivered by dragons that were loyal to her.
Red Death did not care for her dragons, yet there were dragons that still followed her. Hiccup often wondered why they would still follow Red Death. Her call was not that strong to begin with. He had seen dragons break out of her call before. Why would they still follow her?
Could the answer be that simple, that they were simply following orders?
"Good or evil were relative to those who hear them." The Foreverwing continued lecturing, snapping Hiccup from his thoughts. "An eel would be good for few dragons, but evil to most. It would make sense for them to see them as it is, no?"
That made sense with Hiccup. But something was missing. "Do they even know what they're doing was evil?"
"Most do." The Foreverwing answered. "After all, it was the reasoning within their mind. They showed no remorse or regret, no matter how cruel it was, simply because they reasoned that they were not responsible for all those atrocities that they had done to their fellow dragons. After all, they were simply following orders."
It went back to that phrase. They were following orders.
"So, dragons that followed Red Death was not necessarily evil." Hiccup started. He was trying to make sense of the logic. "They followed because it was simply something they must do. If they tried to rebel, other dragons would jump them."
"That was the reasoning they had given themselves." The Foreverwing lectured. "It led many dragons to follow Red Death and commit those horrible atrocities. After all, how could you regret or showed remorse when you reasoned yourself to accept them as is?"
Hiccup was silent. He remembered speaking to some of the Vikings back at Berk. Most of them were following his father simply because they know he would lead them to prosperity. However, there was some that was there simply because they knew they belonged. They followed Stoick march and go to expeditions, even knowing that they would die there.
They were simply following orders.
"Know this, Dark Chaser." The Foreverwing spoke, snapping him from his thoughts. "Our history was long and gruesome. As the oldest alpha dragon to ever lived, I understood far more things about our history. It is why I exercise generosity and kindness, as it was what dragons deserve in my nest."
"Kindness, generosity, gentleness and leniency could break them from that mindset." The Foreverwing lectured. "If you could make them see what they did was wrong, they would feel remorse of their actions. After all, what would they feel, when they realised they could stop those atrocities from happening themselves?"
Hiccup was silent. His mind was thinking about what the Tree Hugger had said. The Foreverwing was staring at him with expectant look.
"What happened in the Second Dragon War?" Hiccup asked with small voice.
"It began when Red Death revolted against Green Death." The Foreverwing lectured. "It was a war fought for several world cycles. She succeeded and gained significant following among dragon-kind. And then, she began invading nearby nests and took over their dragons."
"We intervened and bare our claws against her." The Foreverwing continued telling the tale. "It was a slow process. For several world cycles, we waged war against her, and eventually we managed to push her back. Green Death led a revolution in the nest, and she, along with her dragons, gained their nest back."
"At the cost of millions of dragons, Red Death was defeated." The Foreverwing lectured. "However, our Great King was too kind. He spared her and banished her away, declaring that they would end her life if she ever set paws on their place ever again. She promised vengeance against them. And so, it was the story of the Condemned Queen."
"… you put her dragons in a trial." Hiccup whispered. It was a statement.
"Yes." Foreverwing nodded. "From there, we learned of her tricks. We put measures to ensure that such thing could be prevented, if it were ever to happen again."
Hiccup thought about what he had just learned. It was far more than what he had learned from Green Death and the Bewilderbeast. It was a history lesson, being told through perspective of an ancient dragon. Hiccup was not the one to know about minds of humans or dragons, but he knew the basics.
Hiccup bowed to him. It was relatively deeper than usual. "Thank you for your wisdom."
"It was my pleasure." The Foreverwing rumbled. "Remember those tales that I told you, and make sure you do not repeat the same mistake that dragons did in the past."
"I- I will." Hiccup spoke. He stood up from the ground. "Thank you… for everything."
With that note, Hiccup flapped his wings and took off into the sky. The Foreverwing closed his eyes, as he went to sleep.
Hiccup had been suppressing questions in his mind. There were a lot of things that he wanted to think about. However, whenever he tried to bring it up to his thought, it was often interrupted by the fact that he could not find Valka or Cloudjumper.
The Night Fury had turned himself invisible in the sky. It was evening outside. He flew around the village, trying to find any sign of them. He noted that the village was completely different than Viking villages. For one, most of them wore tunics. The guards preferred to hold spears and typically bare-chested, with only some cloth covering their junks.
It was a strange village. Hiccup was not sure why Valka and Cloudjumper went there. The Night Fury spread his senses once more, trying to make sense of where they were. Hiccup wondered if they went back to the King's nest without him.
Suddenly, Hiccup caught a glimpse of a cage. Inside a cage was a familiar looking dragon. It was Cloudjumper! The cage was half-submerged in a hot pool, and there were guards there standing around.
Hiccup pondered on how to tackle the situation. There was no non-lethal option for him to take them down, as some of them were holding and carrying horns with them. If they were alerted, they would sound the horn.
The Night Fury silently landed close to them. One was close to the cage, two were right next to a tree, talking with each other. There was also a guard standing in a watchtower not far from there, that looked to have a clear angle to view them.
Hiccup waited until the guard in the watchtower looked away. Right as he did, the Night Fury sprang into action. He dashed and slashed the guard near the cage with his claws, tearing his throat. He did not wait and slammed his tail into the two guards, who were immediately crushed to a tree.
Hiccup fired a weak plasma blast towards the guard in the watchtower. The guard had just turned around to get hit by a face full of plasma blast. The attack did not explode, but it melted their body. It instantly killed him, leaving nothing but a half skeleton resting on the floor.
Hiccup gulped back a bile from his throat. He never killed a human before. His human side reviled it. While his dragon side had killed humans before, he was a dragon with mind of a human.
Deciding to tackle the more pressing matter, Hiccup approached the caged Cloudjumper. He turned himself visible as he inspected him. It looked like he was unconscious. "Hey. Cloudjumper."
Cloudjumper did not respond. Hiccup looked down at the water and smelled it. He reared. It looked to have something in it that tried to calm him down. It was something that most likely subdued Cloudjumper.
Hiccup looked over the corpse of the nearest guard. The guard had painfully died when he cut his throat. He winced. Looking over his body, he grabbed the key from his loincloth and used it to open the cage. He carefully opened it, pulled Cloudjumper out of the cage – while making sure that he did not touch the water – and dropped him on the floor.
Hiccup took a breath and focused on his dragon magic. He casted healing upon Cloudjumper, who immediately opened his eyes, stood up and looked around the place. His eyes rested upon the dragon that had healed him.
"Hiccup!"
"SSH!" Hiccup hissed, making him pause. "Not so loud!" He hissed. "There are still guards around."
"Hiccup, we need to save Valka." Cloudjumper pleaded.
"I know. You're the first one that I found." Hiccup explained. "I can't find her anywhere. What happened to you?"
"The water has something in it that calmed me down and put me to sleep." Cloudjumper answered, observing his surroundings. "It also affected Valka. I don't know what happened after that."
Hiccup made note of that discovery. "Okay. Two dragons are better than one. Could you track where she is?"
"I think I know where they kept her, but I need to check from the sky." Cloudjumper replied.
"Right. Follow me. Give me the run down when we search for her." Hiccup spoke.
With that, the two dragons took off into the sky. Nobody noticed that some of their guards were dead, and the dragon had escaped.
It was almost night-time in the sky. Hiccup and Cloudjumper were flying somewhat high, trying to avoid much detection from the villagers down below. Both were glad that they were blessed with acute senses. They could clearly see what happened down below, even when they were high above.
While looking for the place, Cloudjumper was telling Hiccup what happened. "-introduced himself as Mikkel." The Stormcutter spoke. "Mikkel the Munificent. He thinks I don't understand him but spending a lot of time with Valka made me learn Norse."
"Okay, so, Mikkel the Munificent." Hiccup spoke. "He was the king of this place?"
"Yes." Cloudjumper nodded. "He introduced himself to Valka near the beach."
Hiccup frowned. "That's… unusual way to greet someone as a king."
"I don't know!" Cloudjumper was exasperated. "I'm not that smart when it comes to human culture."
"Okay. Sorry." Hiccup apologised, surprising Cloudjumper. "Back to the topic. Did you hear or see something before knocked unconscious?"
"I-" Cloudjumper stuttered. "… you just apologised to me."
Hiccup scowled. "Just answer the question!"
"Okay! Okay." Cloudjumper relented. "I was not fully asleep. They bathed me in this pool of water that knocked me out. There was this human named Calder that wanted to become a dragon."
"Become a dragon?" Hiccup asked, incredulous.
"He ranted something about evolution to Valka." Cloudjumper explained. "It was a trap he made for us. He wanted her to find a Night Fury."
"What is it with people trying to find me?" Hiccup cursed.
"You are an exotic dragon, Dark Chaser." Cloudjumper teased.
"Right. So, we have a crazy human who was hellbent on becoming a dragon." Hiccup stated. "Did you know why he wanted to find me?"
"He wanted your wings." The Stormcutter answered.
Hiccup paused. He stared at Cloudjumper. "… My wings?"
"Yes." The Stormcutter nodded. "I don't know why, but apparently he wanted to attach it to his contraption outfit…" Suddenly, he saw something down below. "There! That's her!"
Hiccup looked at where he was looking at. It was a large, armoured house. "I don't see…" He caught a glimpse of Valka through the window. She was caged there. "Oh. There she is."
"Let's go." Cloudjumper spoke.
"Whoa, wait a moment." Hiccup stopped him.
"What are you doing?"
"Look around it."
Cloudjumper did as he was told. There were a lot of guards around, and most of them were carrying bows. That did not seem to worry him. "So what? We can take them."
"The building is made of concrete." Hiccup explained. "It looks reinforced. Fire is not going to do much to it."
"So, what do we do?" Cloudjumper asked, exasperated.
"I have something that could blast the whole place to bits." Hiccup explained his plan. "Armour piercing plasma blast, with internal payload to explode after going through armour. I came up with it myself."
Cloudjumper stared. "… I don't think I've ever seen dragons that can do that. I don't even know what those things mean."
"I'll be your first one." Hiccup smirked. Then, he turned serious. "I saw a wall bordering between Valka and the entrance. It looks to be underground. I'll blast the front, and it'll break the wall. You come and save her, while I attack the humans. Sounds good?"
"Sounds good."
"Alright. I'll go first." Hiccup spoke. With that note, he dove down right towards the armoured, concrete house.
The guards looked around upon seeing a loud piercing shriek in the sky. They looked up and scrambled away upon seeing him.
"NIGHT FURY!"
"GET DOWN!"
Hiccup fired a plasma blast to the front side of the building and flew back up. The plasma blast exploded on the wall upon contact. It did not do any damage, but it created a small hole there. Not long after that, the whole front section of the house exploded. It sent concrete flying all over the place. It looked as if the building exploded from the inside.
Cloudjumper swooped in and reached for the partially destroyed building. Concrete debris littered all over the place. He looked around and saw some dead guards there. It was a long tunnel that goes underground. Entering the tunnel, he reached a dead end.
Valka was at the end of the tunnel, with her hands tied up in a steel cuff. She was kept behind bars. She looked very relieved to see Cloudjumper there.
"Valka!" Cloudjumper shouted. He destroyed the cage that was between them and rushed towards her. He swiped the chain, releasing her from there.
"Cloudjumper…" Valka whispered. She was weak from being held like that.
Cloudjumper grabbed her. He rushed outside but found several guards rushing towards him. "There! The dragon is in here!"
Cloudjumper growled. However, before he could do anything, there was a shriek, and a large explosion blew up the place. The Stormcutter had to use his wings to cover themselves, as rubbles and concrete went flying everywhere.
When the smoke cleared up, Cloudjumper had to gape at the destruction. The whole underground section was gone! There was a massive hole that goes up to the sky. The guards were obviously dead from impact.
There was another chilling shriek, and more explosions shook the place. Cloudjumper let Valka mount onto his back. After she was set, the Stormcutter flew out through the hole.
Going up into the sky, Stormcutter was awed to see Hiccup in combat.
Hiccup was going fast. Extremely fast. Bows and arrows could not reach him when he was flying around. He would fly up high in the sky, dive down onto them, fire several plasma blasts down below, and flew back up. The whole village was on fire, and there was nothing that they could do about it.
Valka and Cloudjumper watched as barrage of explosions blew up the whole place. Most of them created large craters, while others blew through hidden underground bunkers. The whole place was in ruins, and villagers were running around in panic.
"Hiccup did this?" Valka gasped. She had never seen a dragon so powerful before.
Suddenly, Valka was knocked off from Cloudjumper. The Stormcutter screeched as he saw Valka fighting with a man wearing dragon outfit. They fell through a valley and began rolling around downhill on the rocks.
They crashed down onto the beach. Valka immediately got off from him and gave herself some space. Cloudjumper landed behind her and hissed at him.
The man wore green armoured outfit, wooden wings and claws on his arms. He got up from the ground and shouted something at Valka. "Change is the way of all things!" He shouted. "And with change comes devastation!"
"Calder, look around you!" Valka shouted. "Your island is in shambles!"
"And whose fault is that?!" The man – now known as Calder, shouted.
"You kidnapped me!" Valka shouted back. "Just so you can capture a dragon! I will never let you do that!"
"The arrival of the Night Fury was a sign!" Calder declared. Explosion were heard rocking the village not far from there. "And with devastation, opportunity. Growth. Evolution. The offspring of lightning and death knew this."
"You're crazy." Valka shook her head. She came close to Cloudjumper behind her. "This is insane!"
"It was not-" Calder shouted as he raised his claw. "INSANE!" He brought down the claw to slash her.
Suddenly, Hiccup landed right behind him. Wings open, teeth bared and eyes slitted. Sand particles went flying, as they drifted from the ground under his weight. Everything felt slow for him. Nobody had the time to react.
Using the momentum, Hiccup spun and slammed Calder with his tail. It sent Calder flying up high into the sky. Hiccup took off into the sky, rushing towards him.
Reaching him, Hiccup slashed and tore his wings apart. Then, he rapidly slashed his armour, taking him apart pieces by pieces. The claws were first, then followed by his mask and armours. All that was left was his loincloth.
Calder tried to retaliate. Hiccup dodged a punch from him and slammed him with his tail once more. It sent him flying back down, and he hit the sea water below. Thankfully, it was not the deepest part of the shore.
Calder panicked as he swam out to the shore. He let out terrified gasps as he tried to run back to the village. He was obviously injured, with scrapes and scratches all over his body. However, right when he got close to the stairs, he heard a screech. Plasma blast flew to the stairs, and it exploded into pieces. All that was left was the rubbles.
Hiccup landed behind him. Calder turned around and let out a girlish shriek. He backed off and immediately cornered at the crater. The Night Fury growled, as his mouth was glowing blue with plasma.
The Night Fury heard Valka running to them. "Wait."
Hiccup stopped but did not let go of his stance. Valka arrived along with Cloudjumper. "Calder, I know you mean well with the dragons." She started. "But you need help. All this talk about turning to dragon, it's…"
"It was my destiny to become a dragon!" Calder shouted. "It was my destiny! All this destruction and chaos was the start of my transformation! It was an evolution! I will have it, starting with that Night Fury." Calder pointed his finger at Hiccup, who were glaring at him.
"Was all the destruction worth it at the end?" Valka reasoned. "He came here not because of you. He came because you kidnapped me!"
Calder looked like he had come to a realisation. "Of course." He whispered. Then, he smirked. "You're the dragon lady. You control the dragons. If I kill you, I will have control!"
The man lunged towards Valka. However, before he could get any further. Hiccup fired the plasma blast. The man did not even scream when his upper body instantly burned into ash. There was no explosion. All that was left was the feet of his body.
Valka shuddered at the sight in front of her. She just witnessed what happened when a man was hit by plasma. The feet bent to its knee, and then collapsed to the ground. Hiccup lowered his stance, as he stared at the dead body of the madman that kidnapped Valka.
"May you rot in Hel." Hiccup growled. He turned around and walked towards the beach. "Cloudjumper, let's go before any guards come by."
Cloudjumper nudged Valka. The woman slowly recovered and jumped onto the Stormcutter. The dragon ran towards where Hiccup was waiting. After some silence, they both flew up into the sky, leaving the burning village on its wake.
Hiccup and Cloudjumper arrived back at the Dragon Sanctuary. It was night-time already. The two landed right into Valka's cavern. The woman jumped off Cloudjumper and began changing her clothes.
"That human was insane." Cloudjumper commented. "Turning into a dragon. What a joke."
"Need I remind you that I was a human before." Hiccup pointed out.
"But you're different." The Stormcutter reasoned. "You're not this madman who were so dedicated on turning into a dragon. You're just- just a human hatchling that became a dragon."
Hiccup shook his head. "Whatever. Are you injured?"
"I might've… caught an arrow on the way back." Cloudjumper admitted. He showed his paw to him, revealing an arrow embedded to it. "I didn't feel a thing until we came back."
"Alright. Hold still." Hiccup warned. He approached him and grabbed the arrow with his maw. Then, he pulled the arrow from him. Stormcutter growled in pain, getting Valka's attention.
"Cloudjumper!" Valka rushed towards her. She looked at the arrow in Hiccup's mouth. "He was injured?"
Hiccup nodded. He dropped the arrow and pressed his paw towards Cloudjumper. Moments later, the wound closed by itself. The Stormcutter let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Dark Chaser."
"Don't get yourself hurt next time." Hiccup grunted. He began walking away to the cave mouth.
"Says the dragon who ripped his own wing." Cloudjumper teased.
Hiccup stopped and turned his head. He stared at Cloudjumper for a moment, before turning his head forward and continued walking. The Stormcutter was confused. He was expecting some sort of remark from the Dark Chaser.
Did something happen?
Cloudjumper and Valka found Hiccup sitting on top of the nest outside, in his dragon form. He was staring out to the open horizon, with longing expression on his face. The Stormcutter landed not far behind him. Valka jumped off him and carefully approached Hiccup.
"Hiccup?" Valka started.
Hiccup turned his head. He noticed Valka behind him. "Hey mom." He greeted.
The woman walked and stood next to him. "… beautiful, huh."
"It was." Hiccup nodded, staring at the horizon.
They were silent for some time. Cloudjumper came close to them and sat next to Valka. Three of them were enjoying the moment of silence there.
"So, umm…" Valka started. "… I saw you not doing well after you… you know." She paused. "It was probably your first raid. Do you want to talk about it?"
"I'm not disturbed by the fact that I raided a village." Hiccup answered, not looking away from the horizon. "I'm thinking about what I learned from the Tree Hugger."
"Oh." Valka looked down. "… So, you're exploring the place to learn more about alpha dragons?"
"Yes." Hiccup nodded. "That was my quest."
"Each and every alpha dragon I met; they gave me something to think about." Hiccup explained. "Green Death taught me about passion and loyalty amongst the dragons. She told me about the importance of cooperation between dragons, how leaders inspired their subjects, how she reigned without even using her call."
"She was a great example when talking about a leader." Hiccup finished. "She ruled through fear, but also awe and respect. She was inspiring and loyal to her own subjects, just like how her subjects was loyal to her. I could see them knowingly and fearlessly marching to their own death, and that day I understand… what it really meant to be a leader."
Valka and Cloudjumper looked at each other. That was deeper than they thought it would be.
However, Hiccup was not finished. "The Great King was the wisest one." He spoke. "He talked about what it felt like to be a leader. It was a very difficult responsibility."
"As the King, he wished for peace and prosperity amongst all dragon-kind." Hiccup softly spoke. "He told me how hard it was. Hard decision after hard decision. No matter what decision he picked for his dragons, there would always be someone that got hurt."
"A leader should not be consumed by emotion." The Night Fury continued speaking. "There would be time for someone to move on from them. I'm not a leader, but for me, I learned to move on from my dilemma and accept myself for who I am. I moved on from the loss of my humanity. I accepted myself as a dragon."
"But it also reminded me of something back at Berk." Hiccup softly spoke. He turned to look at Valka. "Did you know that dad was still grieving for you?"
"He did, did he?" Valka sadly spoke, looking away.
"He throws himself to expedition after expedition, trying to find Red Death nest to avenge you." Hiccup replied. "He was consumed by grief. He rarely cares for me, and I had to fend things off by myself. He often busied himself with chiefly duty, and I was just… there under his shadow."
Hiccup fell silent. Cloudjumper stared at him for some time.
"… I think you're a leader." Cloudjumper suddenly spoke.
"What?" Hiccup blinked, looking at him.
"You stopped me from rushing in to save Valka." The Stormcutter explained. "I saw what you did to the house. I didn't know fire would not be able to destroy it. If you didn't stop me there, I would probably be full of arrows from those humans."
"Instead of rushing in, you strategized." Cloudjumper continued explaining. "You became a distraction for the humans, while I come in and save her. You have all this… power and speed and you want to be the one dealing with the humans, while I come and saved Valka from that place."
"If you weren't there, I would probably be dead with my wings ripped apart for that madman." Cloudjumper shuddered. "And Valka would probably die in that place."
"So yes." Cloudjumper finished. "You led me through a battle and won. You're a leader."
Hiccup looked back to the horizon. He still held that longing expression on his face. Cloudjumper was not sure what he was thinking after he said that to him.
"What about… the Foreverwing?" Valka asked. "What did you learn from them?"
"The Tree Hugger is wise. He was an old war veteran." Hiccup softly spoke.
"War veteran?"
"A long time ago, there was a war." Hiccup explained. "It was a war amongst dragons. They called it the Great Dragon War. It happened because an alpha was intolerant of another alpha's presence in the sky. The Tree Hugger described that the war was so terrible, it ended the old dragon age."
"A dragon war." Valka gasped.
Hiccup slowly nodded, not looking away from the horizon. "Over hundreds of thousands of dragons died. They thought it was the end of all war for dragons." He chuckled. "… they never learned from their mistakes."
"Years after it ended, another war broke out." Hiccup softly spoke. "It was the Second Dragon War. An alpha dragon called Red Death became spiteful for the Great King. With her words and promises, she led her dragons to revolt against Green Death. She warred against the Great King and his allies."
"The Great King won, and Red Death was banished." Hiccup finished. "But the cost was too much. Millions of dragons died. It was the most horrible thing that ever happened in dragon history."
"I-" Valka shuddered a breath. "… I'm sorry to hear that, Hiccup."
"You should not be sorry for it." Hiccup replied. "You should be sorry for the dragons that followed Red Death. They know exactly what they did and how they did it. They know what happened, but they did nothing to it. Do you know why?"
"… they were following orders." Valka whispered.
Hiccup nodded. "Yes." He softly spoke. "It was… the banality of evil. Those dragons followed because they reasoned themselves that they were simply following orders. They never thought that what they did was wrong, because they reasoned that they were simply following orders from their leader."
They fell silent. Valka were thinking about what he had told her. To think that dragons were that smart to have such reasoning. Cloudjumper was saddened to hear the story. He had heard of it from his parents, but never from the perspective of the Tree Hugger.
"Before I became a dragon…" Hiccup started, snapping them out of their thoughts. "… the Night Fury. I have his memories. He used to serve Red Death. Years ago."
Valka and Cloudjumper deeply gasped. Hiccup continued. "He was promised safety and comfort, and to find another Night Fury like him. In turn, he served under him and fell into her call. He had been… trying to break through the call, but every time he tried, he would reason himself that he would find someone else like him."
"It was not until I became one with him that I snapped myself from the call." Hiccup spoke. "… I'm immune to alpha call now. So that doesn't matter."
"Your past life didn't really affect your new life." Cloudjumper simply spoke.
"I know, but things that I saw there…" Hiccup shuddered. "I saw dragons willingly feed their friends into Red Death's maw. There were others, begging another dragon for food to serve Red Death, or be eaten themselves. It was horrible."
They fell silent once more. Hiccup looked down, before moving himself to face Valka. The human turned to look at him. They both gave each other their fullest attention.
"… I have a dilemma." Hiccup started. "Ever since I became one with the dragon, I've been having a crisis, of sort. I don't know if I'm really Hiccup or just another Night Fury that could think for themselves."
"I've admitted myself as Hiccup." Hiccup continued speaking. "But I did not consider myself a human anymore. I've acknowledged myself as a dragon with a human mind. I'm still Hiccup, but the dragon side of me had changed me of who I am."
"So, I want to know." Hiccup spoke. "What do you see in me? Do you see me as your son, or do you see me as a dragon that could speak and turn into human?"
Valka was conflicted. Hiccup stared at her with pleading look. He could see the thoughts running in her mind. He had admitted to himself that he was a dragon. However, he needed validation. He needed someone to tell him that he was truly who he was.
"… When I met you the first time." Valka started. "You showed me that doll. When I learned that it was you, I…" She shuddered. "… I was afraid."
"I was afraid that I had lost my son." Valka admitted. "But then you proved to me that you're still… Hiccup. I may not be the best mother for you, or there for you, but…"
Valka firmed herself. "I know when I see my son." She was determined. "No matter what he is or who he become, I know. You're Hiccup. You're my son. You may have a body of a dragon, but you're still my son that I held and care for nine years ago."
Hiccup was touched. Tear slipped from his eyes. He moved and instantly hugged Valka, who returned the hug. "… Thank you." He whispered.
For once in a very long time, Hiccup felt heavy mental weight lifted off his shoulder. He felt relief that someone had validated his existence. It was liberating.
He was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Hiccup the Night Fury. Nothing would change that.
Story Excerpt 1
Journal Entry
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
I don't know how to explain it. A lot of things about alpha dragons doesn't really make any sense.
Alpha Dragons were dragons that can command other dragons. That's much that I understand. They have this thing called Alpha Call that dragons can hold to communicate with them at a distance. It usually indicates that the dragon was owned by the alpha.
A dragon must consent themselves to hold the call. That was kind of comforting, knowing that they're not exactly serving them against their will. Most dragons hold their call because they get something out of it, but there are dragons who stayed because they become loyal to the alpha.
It was a form of 'pact', so to speak. It's not complete control over dragons. Green Death could whisper things into her dragons' ears through the call, and maybe command them to do something.
Dragons can break through them. The hard part was reasoning yourself to break through them. Alpha dragons can whisper through the call, so that part was hard to do, simply because you'll have conflicting thoughts on it.
However, there was one dragon that stood above all alpha dragons. The King of All Dragons.
It was a title, but not really a title. For some reason, the King's call is different than the other alpha dragons. They have absolute control over dragons. They can even read their minds through their call. It was powerful than Green Death, Red Death or Tree Hugger. At least, that's what being described to me.
Sure, they can break through that alpha call, but most dragons doesn't, simply because they're fond of the King. From what I've gathered, the only reason why they would break through the King's call was when they wanted to migrate to the Forever Forest. That's usually where they wanted to spend the rest of their lives peacefully.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I don't understand the purpose of alpha dragons. They said they appeared when there was a demand for peace amongst dragons. I don't believe them.
For centuries, dragons had been fighting each other. They created nests to organise themselves under their leader. They could achieve the same thing that alpha dragons did, simply by talking their way there. Tree Hugger did explain to me how Red Death managed to get her followers to stay loyal to her. It worked the same way, just with mysterious power of Alpha Call sprinkled in.
The whole idea of Alpha Dragon is ridiculous. Dragons are not mindless creature. They are more like uncivilized, barbaric and ancient society of humans. Except, they're dragons. It was so strange to think of it that way, but it makes sense when I compare them like that.
They can organise themselves just fine. I've seen them do that before. Nests don't need an alpha to live – just a leader or a parliament. Sometimes, a nest is just a family of four dragons living together in one cave.
So how exactly did alpha dragons came to be? I don't know. They could've been made by humans to control dragons for themselves. But that's just conspiracy. I've never seen humans creating dragons before. I don't think that's possible.
However, after that trip in Nepenthe, I can see some humans wanting to control us.
There was no answer to all of this. There was no 'how' or 'why' all of this exist. It just happened. Just like the time when I become one with a Dark Chaser. The more I think about it, the more it's driving me insane.
I'm so glad that I'm immune to alpha call. I don't like being controlled by other dragons. That's the most outrageous thing that could ever happen to me. Hopefully, I can uncover this mystery. Let's hope this doesn't lead to more questions.