Later that afternoon, everyone had gone to Berk.
Everyone was happy. The Dragon Riders invited tribes from their homes to attend. They had finally defeated their enemy. Things were looking up for them.
Humans and dragons were chattering with each other. The celebration was mostly concentrated in the Great Hall, but it became apparent that the place was too small to hold everyone. They went all over the streets. Everyone was celebrating!
Hiccup and Luna were resting at the cove. Hiccup was in his dragon form. It was the place back when Hiccup first started enjoying himself as a dragon. The two were resting against each other, happy together in their embrace.
"… Thank you."
Luna opened her eyes. She moved to nuzzle Hiccup. "Whatever for?"
"For being here with me."
The Light Fury rolled her eyes. "What wouldn't I do for my mate." She smiled at him.
"I'd do everything for you." Hiccup snuggled closer to her.
"Oh, now you're being dramatic." Luna giggled a bit. "But seriously. I just want you together with me."
Hiccup slowly moved away from her. He stared at her eyes. "I know. I'm afraid of you leaving me."
"Toothless, we're mates." Luna tilted her head. "Dark Chaser and Light Chaser mates for life. I will never leave you."
The Night Fury moved closer to her. He stared at her blue eyes. Luna was mesmerized by his shimmering, acidic green eyes. "Luna."Hiccup was hesitated. "That's not what I mean."
"I'm a god." Hiccup started. "You know, the whole god of dragon thing. I did rack my head around it and I realised that I am immortal."
Luna realised what he was implying. Hiccup was immortal. She was not. The Light Fury dropped her ears. She would die and Hiccup would keep on living. She would have to leave Hiccup behind.
Her eyes softened. "Oh, Toothless." She softly spoke. She leaned forward and nuzzled his nose. "I'm sorry. I'll do my best and spend all my life for you."
Hiccup sighed. He moved to hug her. Then, Luna got an idea. "Do you remember that time when you told me you want to make me a goddess?"
The Night Fury let go of her. "Do you want to spend an eternity with me?"
Luna buried her head onto his chest. "What wouldn't I do for you, Toothless?" She whispered. "Of course I want to spend an eternity with you. We're life mates, after all."
"Of course." Hiccup whispered. He pushed her down and rest on top of her. The two dragons stared at each other's eyes, gazing deep into them.
"Luna…" The Night Fury whispered. "Do you want to be my goddess?"
"… Yes." Luna whispered back.
That was all the consent that he needed. Hiccup leaned down onto her and reached for her soul. Luna widened her eyes as she felt Hiccup reached into her. The Light Fury suddenly felt stronger, as if she could beat thousands of dragons in a second. After some time, she felt herself bound to him. It was a familiar feeling of holding an alpha call, but much loose than actual call.
Once the process was done, Hiccup licked her forehead. "There." He whispered. "Luna, Goddess of Dragons. My consort and life mate."
"That's…" Luna breathed out. "This feeling…"
"Yes." Hiccup muttered as he rested his head onto hers. "Incredible, isn't it?"
Luna was about to respond when they heard someone shouted at them. "Alpha!"
The two looked at the source. It was Scorpion, Ghost, Obeah and Indigo. The four sector leaders landed at the cove in front of them. Hiccup noticed that all four of them were wild dragons. Noticing them there, Hiccup jumped off from Luna and stood to face them. Luna rolled up and came next to him.
They looked at them and gasped. Their mind was screaming at them, telling them not to underestimate both. If they were afraid of Hiccup before, they were even more afraid of him now. It was a new feeling to be afraid of Luna, however.
While Hiccup ruled with respect, fear was the secondary motivation for them to follow him. Luna was his mate, which did not really do much at all.
"Hey." Hiccup greeted them.
"Alpha, what happened?" Obeah asked. "Everyone suddenly lost their call."
Hiccup smiled at them. "Well, I've ascended again." He told them. He frowned. "I don't know why everyone lost their call. Nobody died from that, did they?"
"No." The Prickleboggle shook her head. "We did lose our dragon magic abilities."
"What are you now, alpha?" Indigo questioned, curious. "You felt far more powerful than before."
The Night Fury gave them a smug look. "I'm glad you asked!"
Hiccup spread his wings. "I am Toothless." He declared. "The Dragon God!"
The four sector leaders' eyes widened. Hiccup faltered a bit. "Or I think it's God of Dragons?" He wondered. "It's kind of both at this point."
"It's God of Dragons." Luna spoke as she stared at him. "You called me Goddess of Dragons after you claimed me to become one."
The dragons immediately showed their submission. "I- I'm apologise." Scorpion apologised. "Forgive us. We do not know we were at the presence of deities."
"Come on, you four." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "It's been years already. We're friends and comrades. It's not like I'm going to smite you for being disrespectful to me."
The four dragons relaxed themselves a bit. It took them a while to realise what the dragon- no, god – in front of them was still Hiccup that they know. They let out awkward chuckle as they stared at each other.
"Right." Hiccup spoke. "Sorry for the call. What happened to the nest when I was gone?"
"Majority of dragons grouped up and migrated to the Hidden World. The nest is too crowded for them to live." Indigo explained to him. "The some stayed behind to represent them. Everyone is waiting for you to return."
"The titan dragon species coordinated the others to follow the chain of command." Scorpion reported. "They were still at the nest as we speak."
"What about the all-consuming void?" Hiccup questioned. It was something that he had yet investigated. He did not feel anything about them after his ascension.
"They completely disappeared." The Changewing reported to him. He looked relieved when he reported it. "There were humans and dragons that was consumed. They seemed to be frozen in time. Some still believed that the First Dragon War was still happening."
Hiccup frowned. It was better than being consumed by them, at least. "What about alpha dragons?"
"There are no more alpha dragons." The Deathgripper reported. "At least, no more dragons that can control others. The Bewilderbeasts and Red Deaths lost their ability to mind control dragons. Everyone now served under leaders."
Hiccup stayed silent. The four titan wing dragons were waiting for his response. They wondered what the dragon god was thinking. "Alpha?"
"… I am no longer your alpha." Hiccup finally spoke. "Just like I am no longer your leader."
That confused the four of them. "What are you-"
"You are my friend and comrade." Hiccup continued speaking. "There will be no more alpha dragons. The age of alpha is over. The world is saved. My presence as the only surviving god in this world was slowly healing the world. I could not do this by myself, if not because four of you helping me."
The former nest leaders stayed silent. The Night Fury smiled at them. "We have done our job in this world." He declared. "Let the new generation of humans and dragons reap what we've sowed, in the age of peace between humans and dragons."
Obeah looked happy. Indigo and Ghost leaned onto each other. Scorpion was grinning like a madman. Hiccup was happy to see them happy. "it's time for us to retire."
"Finally!" Indigo exclaimed. "I never thought our job would be over."
"In the end, it was all worth it." Ghost whispered as he moved to nuzzle his mate.
"I guess we go on separate ways?" Scorpion questioned Hiccup.
"If you want." Hiccup acknowledged him. "Luna and I will be moving to Hidden World in a week or two. But before that, this will be my very last order to all of you, as your former leader and alpha."
The dragon god paused for dramatic effect. "Tell everyone of what happened here." He ordered them. "Tell them what we have done in this world. We have changed so much; they deserve to know how we came to this era. Tell them, so they do not make the same mistake that we did years ago."
The four former nest leaders straightened themselves. "Yes, Toothless!"
Hiccup gave them a wry smile. "At least you're using my name this time."
"It's complimentary." Obeah commented.
"Well, off you go now." Hiccup spoke as he motioned the others to leave them be. "I'll see you in a week, if you decide to come back, that is."
The four dragons bowed to them. After that, they flew away, leaving the two dragons alone at the cove.
Few days later, everyone was recovering from their celebration.
The visiting tribes had gone back home. Since everyone had dragons, there were not that many ships at the docks. The Huttsgalorians, Wingmaidens, Defenders of the Wings, Peaceables, Bog-Burglars – they all left with their own dragons and ships to their own islands. There were even travelling merchants that rode dragons with them.
Stoick was standing at the cliff, overseeing the docks. There were a lot of activities there. Vikings and dragons alike interacting with each other. It amazed him how much had changed in the span of few years. Even after years of having them, he never thought he could ever be at peace with the dragons.
'It was all because of language barrier.' He thought. Both humans and dragons used to think they were intelligent animals. However, things changed after Hiccup revealed to everyone that everyone was sentient; that peace was possible.
"Dad?"
Stoick glanced behind him. Hiccup and Luna were walking towards them. His son was in his dragon form. "Hiccup. Luna."
The two dragons stopped next to them. They looked at the docks to watch the visitors depart from their island. It was nice to see that everyone was peaceful for once. They wondered what it would look like, had they not been at peace with dragons. It was a shuddering thought.
"Dad." Hiccup started, getting his attention. "I want to tell you that we'll be leaving next week."
Stoick widened his eyes. He turned to look at his son. "Leaving?"
The Night Fury nodded. The chief was in disbelief. "Why?"
"After many years of leading dragons, the leaders and diplomats decided to retire." Hiccup explained to him. "We're old and we've done our job. We're leaving everything for the new generation of dragons to continue what we started."
Stoick understood. He would have to retire as a chief one day. However, there was no viable candidate at the time. Snotlout was not really a good chief candidate. "Where will you be?"
"The ancestral home of all dragons…" Hiccup ominously spoke.
"The Hidden World." Stoick breathed out.
"Yes." The Night Fury nodded. "It's the best place to raise our children. While there's nothing wrong with living here, I've promised Luna to come and live there with her years ago."
"We're expecting eggs in a few months." Luna added.
"Would you ever come back here?" The chief asked.
"… probably not." Hiccup admitted. "I uhh… when I said I became a dragon god, I really mean it. I really became one."
Stoick softened his eyes. Internally, he was proud that his son became what he was. However, he did not understand why he would not come to visit them.
The Night Fury sensed the unasked question. "Dragon god is immortal." He replied. "I don't want to watch you grow old while I'm forever young and healthy."
"I'm his goddess." Luna chimed in. She came closer to Hiccup. "He shared his immortality with me. I'm staying with him for eternity."
'At least he has someone to care for him.' Stoick bitterly thought. He felt terrible that he could not live to watch his son grow up. However, he understood his reasoning. He did not want to watch Hiccup distressed over him or Valka growing old, either.
Everyone fell silent. Hiccup sat on his hindlegs. "You know." He started. "When I met the King the first time, when I revealed to them that I can turn into human, he told me something interesting."
The Night Fury looked at them. "He told me about the end of Dragon Age. It was a prophecy." He explained to them. "When dragons began to walk amongst the humans, there would be those would benefit from them. A war we had never seen before would begin."
"The war would determine if we would retain our freedom or enslaved by the humans." Hiccup recited. "In which all would return to our origin, forevermore."
Stoick boomed with laughter. "Hah!" He exclaimed. "I guess it's done with good ending. Everyone is free from everything. It's peaceful now!"
The chief wiped the tear of laughter from his eyes. He let out a relieved sigh. "Have you told Valka about this? About you leaving, I mean."
"Not yet." Hiccup informed them. "We came to tell you first, since we still have time until next week."
"Then it's best that we prepare for your departure." Stoick rumbled. Then, he remembered something. "… before that. Hiccup, about yesterday…"
"Yes?"
"Were we really at Bifröst back then?" Stoick asked. He looked uncomfortable. "Are we really left behind during Ragnarök?"
Hiccup was uncomfortable to discuss the topic. "… Yes." He finally admitted.
"How did you know?"
"The ascension gave me knowledge about everything that's going on in this world." Hiccup answered him. "Because there's no more god in this world, everything was weighted upon the only surviving one. Me. I am probably the only god alive in this world, solely because I just became one."
The Night Fury pulled out several parchments from his backpack. Those were papers that he had brought along from Hamish Treasure. "The interesting part here is that; this is not the first time this ever happened. Hamish the Second became a dragon when he was a young adult; just like me. The only difference here is that he failed to become dragon god. He didn't even become an alpha dragon."
Stoick took the parchments and unrolled them. His eyes went wide as he looked at each parchment there. "The treasure was passed from father to son." He read. "I leave it to you, the next worthy one, for only a dragon could get this far."
He moved to the second parchment. It was a picture of Hamish the First and a strong-looking Skrill. They both looked happy with each other. Stoick chocked his breath. 'He was a dragon?' He thought in disbelief.
"Where did you find this?"
"Hamish Treasure." Hiccup answered.
Stoick looked up to him. "You found them?" he asked, disbelief.
"It took me two years because the map was coded." Hiccup answered his question. "Before you ask, I found the map behind the painting of Hamish the First and his son."
The chief cursed under his breath. He had told Gobber to destroy them. He was fortunate that it was finally solved. That explained all the wealth Hiccup had accumulated inside the Secret nest. They were Hamish's treasures.
Stoick moved to the next parchment. 'Your presence meant the world would be ending soon. Do not be afraid, as your burden are lighter than mine. I had done what I had to do, for the sake of our existence. Defeat the King of All Dragons, as it was the only way to save their souls. It was your destiny to save them all.' He mentally read them.
The chief looked up to his son. "The world, destroyed?"
"Look on the next parchment."
Stoick did as he was told. The next one was the painting of a horizon. It had a pitch-black wall that seemed to be absorbing everything at the distance. There were massive, equally black tendrils coming out of the ocean. It looked to be destroying everything on its path. "The all-consuming void."
"Yes."
'I have done my part. You must do yours.' Stoick thought. 'What does it mean?'
"Hamish the Second believed that becoming the King of All Dragons would solve the problem." Hiccup spoke, getting his attention. "In his journal, he believed that Ragnarök had come to pass, and we were left behind. The void will only appear when there was no more god or goddess in the world."
"We have dragons checking the edge of the world to see how far the void had gotten." Luna added. "After Hiccup became a dragon god, it completely disappeared. As long we lived in this world, the void will never appear ever again."
Stoick slumped his shoulder. The world was ending, and nobody knew about it. "I see." He muttered. "But what happened to the things consumed by the void?"
"They were simply frozen in time." Hiccup explained to him. "Everything inside the void just… stopped moving. When they disappeared, everyone came back as normal. We have dragons that thinks the first dragon war was still happening there. Everyone that was consumed were forced to adapt."
Stoick grimaced. Valka had explained to him about history of dragons years ago. His mind was still reeling by the fact that dragons were intelligent like them. "The void is gone for good?"
"As long we're alive, the void will never appear ever again." Hiccup nodded. "Since we're immortal, yes. They're gone for good."
Stoick nodded. "Good." It was something positive about their immortality, at least.
'But still…' He thought, before speaking. "What did Hamish the Second do?"
"He sacrificed his soul to revert the progress of the void." Hiccup explained to him. "He died, so I can do what he failed to do."
"How did he fail?"
"He was betrayed." The Night Fury responded. "The alpha dragons keep delaying what they had to do, even when they know what was happening. Eventually, they attacked him. However, one day, the King of All dragons was consumed by the void. All was lost. He later sacrificed himself to bring everyone back. That reverted everything, including memories of what happened."
Stoick hardened his expression. "It's good that they were dead, then."
"The things they've done to satisfy themselves." Hiccup commented. "They were unethical. However, most of them were done during times of war. While I understand why they did it, that did not make it right for me, no matter the outcome."
Stoick stroked his beard. He stayed silent for some time. "… I'm glad it was over."
"So am I." The Night Fury nodded.
A Rumblehorn came to Stoick. He had saddle on his back. The large dragon looked at the chief. "Stoick." He greeted him. "The twins are causing problems again."
The chief let out a groan. "My work never ends."
"It should be all over when you have a successor." Hiccup pointed out.
The man gave him a dirty look. "I wish it was that simple." He spoke as he mounted onto the Rumblehorn. After that, he looked down to the dragon. "Let's go, Skullcrusher."
The Rumblehorn – now known as Skullcrusher – took off into the air. Hiccup and Luna watched them fly away. After they disappeared into the air, the Light Fury looked at her mate. "What do you say about sunbathing on the cliff over there?"
Hiccup thought that was a good idea. It was something that he found relaxing. "Alright, let's go."
The Night Fury and Light Fury took off into the air, heading off to relax themselves.
Few days later, everything at Berk went back to normal.
The Vikings of Berk had accepted the fact that dragons were to live in peace together with them. It was interesting when everyone learned that dragons were more literate than your average Vikings. That was something that Hiccup had made all his dragons learned during his reign, as it was important for everyone to be able to write and read.
Hiccup and Luna were still staying at Isle of Berk. They were both resting next to the forge, relaxing themselves. The two dragons were watching Gobber working; that is, fixing dragon teeth and whatnot. There were other dragons and Vikings there, lined up and waiting for their turn.
The blacksmith leaned close at the mouth of a Gronckle. "Ehh…" He hummed as he looked for a rotten tooth. After some time, he found it. "Ah! There you are!"
The man grabbed the tooth with his pincher tool and pulled it out. It popped out from the gum. Right after it did so, the dragon let out a relieved sigh. It closed its mouth and gave Gobber an adoring look.
Gobber chuckled at the happy Gronckle. "All done!" He declared. "Off you go, now. There's more lined up behind ya."
"Thanks, Gobber!" The Gronckle thanked him, before walking off elsewhere. Another dragon came in – a Monstrous Nightmare, and Gobber went to work with them.
"Hiccup?"
Hiccup and Luna looked to the side. Valka was walking towards them. Cloudjumper was there as well. The two dragon gods stood from the ground and turned to face them. Upon reaching them, Hiccup greeted the two. "Valka. Cloudjumper."
"We heard you're leaving soon." Cloudjumper spoke to them.
"We are."
Valka softened her expression. "Stoick told me about it. I'm going to miss you."
Hiccup leaned forward. He let out a croon and nudged his mother. Valka gave him a sad smile and pat his head. The Night Fury stared at her. "I'll miss you too." He whispered.
Hiccup spotted Stoick walking towards them. The dragon pulled back and stood next to Luna. The chief greeted them. "Hiccup. Luna."
"Dad." The Night Fury nodded.
Stoick let out a long breath. "… is it today?"
"Tomorrow." Hiccup informed him. "I just need to sort things out before leaving. There are some things that I'm wondering about."
"What are you thinking about?" Stoick questioned.
"Who's going to be the next chief of Berk after you?"
The chief gave him pained expression. He noted that humans and dragons alike were listening in. "Snotlout was meant to be the next one, as it was his birth right."
There were groans from surrounding Vikings and dragons alike. They did not like the attitude of Snotlout. He was one of the Vikings that struggled to learn Dragonese, mostly because of stubbornness. Hookfang – a Monstrous Nightmare – had been helping him on that regard. They commended his patience on trying to teach him that.
"If I may suggest." Hiccup spoke, getting their attention. "There is another candidate. Astrid Hofferson."
"A Hofferson." Stoick stroked his beard. "… why?"
"She's friends with Camicazi; heir of Bog-Burglar Tribe." Hiccup explained to him. "As well as plenty of other chief heirs, such as Dak and Leyla from Huttsgalor at the Viking Empire. She just needs to think more and less swinging her axe around. She has potential."
"… I see." The chief hummed. "I'll bring this up to the Berk Council."
They were silent for some time. Cloudjumper decided to take step forward. "Toothless?"
Hiccup looked at him. "Yeah?"
"I just want to say… thank you." The Stormcutter softly spoke. "And… I'm sorry for all the teasing and-"
"Don't be." The Night Fury spoke, interrupting him. His tail swayed lazily behind him. "Back then, I was young and inexperienced. I admit, I was quite pretentious back then."
"You still are." Luna chimed in, bumping his shoulder. "Just not as much as before."
"It's much less than before." Hiccup admitted. "But I'm just tired at this point. That sort of attitude is not good for anyone. I should be the one that's apologising to you, Cloud. Not the other way around."
Cloudjumper shifted on his feet. He smiled when he heard that nickname. "I guess we're moving on from that?"
"We're moving on from that." Hiccup nodded.
Suddenly, four dragons came swooping down onto them. Those were the former sector leaders. Indigo, Scorpion, Obeah and Ghost came close to Hiccup. They bowed down to him. "Toothless."
"You don't need to bow anymore." Hiccup blandly informed them. "I am no longer your alpha or leader."
"It is disrespectful to not regard you with highest esteem." Scorpion rumbled, voicing everyone's thoughts. "You have done so much for us. It is only just."
"We have informed the others of your new status." Ghost informed the Night Fury. "They were celebrating, but they wanted to know who will be leading the Secret nest."
"We need an alpha to lead the nest." Obeah added. "Currently, the nest is divided. It was big enough to become a world of its own."
"Just like Hidden World." Indigo muttered under her breath.
"Just like Hidden World." The Prickleboggle nodded at her, before looking back to the two dragon gods. "What do you want us to do?"
Hiccup stayed silent for some time. He grimaced, before letting out a sigh. "I think it's best to keep them divided."
The former sector leaders were confused. "What?"
"The power of alpha is too powerful." Hiccup explained to them. "The ability of dragons to impose their will into someone's mind is not something to be toyed with. By taking away their ability to think, you are taking away their ability to consent. This is what set us apart with humans."
"Humans are free to do whatever they want." Hiccup continued lecturing them. "Dragons don't, solely because alpha dragons exist. I've taught dragons how to live their life and understand human language. Human themselves have learned our language to be at peace with us. I will not have this peace be broken by some autocratic diplomat who thinks that humans are bad."
"But then, there would be chaos." Indigo argued. "After we informed them of your message, the Secret nest dragons are forming their own leaders and councils. There could be war between them."
"Or." Hiccup added. "They could form pacts together. They could cooperate with each other for better future instead of fighting for it."
The former sector leaders stayed silent. The Night Fury continued speaking. "This is what humans do." He explained to them. "And dragons had been doing this for thousands of years before alpha came to be. The existence of alpha dragons corrupted and destroyed the opportunity to grow our own thoughts and ideology. Without being able to think for ourselves, nobody knows if there were different things out there that works better for them."
"I will admit. I did not plan any of this." Hiccup confessed to them, surprising them. "However, this is an opportunity for me to create trust. A man and a dragon would never be separated again, because there's no alpha dragon to force them. They would have to do it the old way, if they ever wanted to make them submit to them."
The former sector leaders finally understood. Ghost and Scorpion nodded in understanding; trust was very important. Indigo and Obeah also understood, but they were keener on the fact that everyone was free to do whatever they wanted.
Freedom was a foreign concept for dragons. It had been like that for a very long time. Without alpha dragons to force their will into them, they were completely free from everything. It would be interesting to see how humans and dragons would go together in a hundred years or so. Dragons finally get to taste the feeling of true freedom.
"And so, here we are." Hiccup spoke, getting their attention. "Now, it's up to new generation of dragons to lead their nest; their dragons."
"You don't want to lead anymore?" Obeah questioned.
Hiccup gave her a wry smile. "Managing the Secret nest is the most miserable experience I've ever had." He confessed to them. "But it's also the best experience out there. I get to see dragons happy for the first time in their life, hatchlings grow up in a place without conflict – we never had anyone starving or sick in the nest, thanks to our technology and medical prowess. It was our greatest accomplishment."
Suddenly, Cloudjumper spoke up, getting their attention. "There will never be a leader like you, Toothless."
"Maybe." The Night Fury replied. "But you never know what the new generations have in mind. You called me the perfect leader because I brought the new age of dragons for everyone. I have taught them everything. Now, it's up to them to continue where we left off."
The dragons nodded, understand what Hiccup had told them. Stoick decided to speak up. "Who's going to lead the dragons here?"
Hiccup looked at the chief. "Whoever become the chief needs to have a dragon partner." He explained to him. "They will lead the village together. Now that humans and dragons can communicate with each other, things should be easy for everyone."
The humans and dragons nodded, understanding what he had just said.
"So." Valka suddenly spoke, getting their attention. "Who's going to tell Astrid?"
"We'll tell her tomorrow." Luna informed her. "Last time I check, she's flying around with Stormfly."
"We need to continue on preparing for our travel." Hiccup spoke as he stood from the ground. "We'll be leaving Berk tomorrow and head off to Secret Island. After that, we'll head off to Hidden World."
"Alright, son." Stoick softly spoke to him. "Be careful."
Hiccup nodded. "Thanks dad. I will."
With that, the Night Fury and Light Fury took off into the air, leaving the crowd of people and dragons there.
"Do you have everything, Eret?"
"Yeah, I think."
Astrid and Eret were both at the docks, accompanied by their dragons. It was mostly empty, but there were other people there as well. Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs were standing not far from them. They had their dragons with them as well.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut had Hideous Zippleback behind them, and Fishlegs had a Gronckle next to him. Snotlout had a Monstrous Nightmare next to him. They were watching Astrid and Eret interacting with each other.
"Do you have your food and supplies?" Stormfly reminded them.
"Yeah, Chiller got them." Eret spoke, gesturing to the Snow Wraith behind him. The dragon had a saddle with bags attached to them.
"We have enough supplies for few days until we reached the Bog-Burglars." Chiller commented.
Astrid crossed her arms. "I guess that means goodbye now, huh."
"Well." The man nervously chuckled. He rubbed his shoulder. "I never really got to see the world out there. I think it's best that I retire early from my job. See what the world has to offer for me and Skrill Chiller here."
"Different dragons to see, different people to meet, different places to gawk at…" Chiller listed off. "I'd be lying if I don't want to see them."
The female smiled. "Glad to know you have the same attitude as Eret here."
"Eret!"
Everyone looked up. Hiccup, Luna, Stoick and Valka were flying down towards them. In case of Stoick and Valka, they were riding their dragons. The four of them landed at the docks close to them. The chief and his wife jumped off their dragons.
"Hey, chief. Hiccup." Eret greeted them. "Here to see me leaving?"
"Yes." Hiccup nodded. He softened his eyes. "It's been a pleasure to work with you, Eret."
The man chuckled. "It's nice to work with you too." He pompously spoke. "Finest Dragon Trapper alive! It's former now. I'm retiring to travel around the world."
"I heard everyone is retiring as well." Chiller added, getting their attention. "Your sector leaders told us about it."
"Yes." Hiccup nodded. "We're retiring."
"Secret Island will never be the same without you, Toothless." Stormfly informed him.
"I know." Hiccup nodded as he began rummaging something in his backpack. "And before I forget… here."
He pulled out a large, thick bag from his backpack and offered it to Eret. The man took the pouch. He was surprised to feel how heavy it was. The bag was larger than his chest. Eret opened the bag, revealing a huge amount of gold coins. Everyone was shocked to see it. That looked enough to buy a whole kingdom along with its island.
"Consider it your retirement money." Hiccup informed him.
"This is…" Eret breathed out. "A lot of money." The man let out a chuckle. "I guess I need to find a place to hide this first before going out to travel."
They stayed silent for some time. Eret closed the bag and mounted it onto Chiller. After it was secured in place, he mounted on top of the Snow Wraith. "Thanks for everything. I'll be going now!"
"Take care!" Hiccup called out.
Eret nodded. With that, the Snow Wraith took off into the air. Hiccup, Luna, Stoick, Valka and others watched as they flew off into the distance.
After they disappeared, Hiccup turned to face Astrid. "Hey Astrid."
"Hey." Astrid spoke, somewhat nervous at his presence. "So, uh… you're a dragon."
"Yes."
"… I guess that whole 'marriage contract' thing really triggered it, huh?" Astrid mused.
Luna narrowed her eyes. Hiccup nervously rubbed his chest. "Well, I was already together with Luna when my dad told me about it."
"I've called them off when I learned of this." Stoick rumbled after seeing the expression of the Light Fury. That seemed to calm her down.
"Now." Hiccup spoke to them. "Stormfly. Astrid Hofferson. I have something for you."
Astrid and Stormfly straightened themselves. Hiccup continued speaking. "The Hairy Hooligan Tribe needs a successor for their chief." He informed them. "I nominated you and your dragon as the next chief of the tribe and leader of the Hooligan dragon nest."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Snotlout shouted as he suddenly came to them. He moved to glare at the black dragon. "Her? What about me?"
"You're still a candidate for the next chief of the tribe." Hiccup informed him. "This simply mean that there are two candidates instead of one. That means, if Astrid successfully proved herself to the village, she would become the chiefess of the tribe instead of you, and her dragon will become the leader of this nest."
"You need to prove yourself as well." Stoick informed them. "The Berk Council have decided yesterday."
"Oh. I'll prove myself to become the chief!" Snotlout boasted. "I can do a lot of things already!"
"Let's save that for the village." Hiccup dryly spoke to them. "I wasn't done explaining."
"Go on."
"Because we have dragons living together with humans, the chief will need to have a dragon to lead the dragons." Hiccup explained to them. "Astrid, you have Stormfly. You have a strong bond with your dragon. You're strong and smart as a Viking. You have potential to become the chief of the village."
"Stormfly and I are inseparable." Astrid admitted as she placed her hand onto Stormfly's side. "All my life, I was taught to kill a dragon. But now… she's the one that I never thought I ever needed in my life. She's very important to me."
"I feel the same." Stormfly purred. "I wish we would've met sooner. But I'm grateful enough to meet an amazing human like her."
Hiccup nodded, approving their interaction. "That's why I nominated you. You have potential."
Snotlout came forward. "What about me?" He angrily asked.
The others turned to look at him. Hiccup was not quite sure on what to say. "You… have the potential." He admitted. "You just need to change your attitude. Maybe treat others right and treat Hookfang right. Err… you should probably ask my mom instead of asking your dad about this."
"What's wrong with my dad?"
"He's a bad influence for you." Hiccup advised him. "As much as I love you, cousin, you've been a pain in the rear for me for the past few years."
Everyone stayed silent. The Night Fury continued speaking. "Monsters are not born. They are made." He explained to them. "No one is evil by birth. Your terrible attitude had to come from somewhere. Who's the closest person you have?"
"… my dad." Snotlout quietly muttered.
"There you go." Hiccup gestured to him. "That's the problem. I'm not exactly an expert in this, and attitude is not something that Gothi can fix. You have to ask Valka."
Snotlout fell silent. They wondered what he was thinking. "… Okay." He finally gave his answer.
"Good." Hiccup nodded. He was glad that Snotlout was at least willing to change. "Now, it's time for us to depart."
Hiccup and Luna walked somewhat further from the group, closer to the docks. The others simply watched them move. After reaching some distance, the Night Fury spoke. "Mom, dad, thank you… for everything."
Stoick and Valka smiled at him. Their eyes glistened with tears. "We're going to miss you, son." The man whispered.
Valka came forward to him. She spread her arms and hugged the Night Fury. The dragon let out a purr, happy at the embrace. The female looked up to look at her son. "Stay safe."
"I will."
Valka let go of him. She walked back to Stoick's side.
Hiccup looked at Luna, before taking off into the air. The Light Fury quickly followed. They flew up high into the sky, heading off towards the Secret Island.
Hiccup and Luna reached the Secret Island. There were a lot of dragons flying around. The two dragons swooped in through the top entrance. They entered the old living sector and went down into the terminal. The pair of dragons continued their way down and moved to enter the throne room.
The place was empty. That was expected. There were pile of golds there, still. As a dragon god, Hiccup had no use of them, as he could create anything and everything out of thin air, including living creatures. However, it would be a waste to leave that wealth there without any purpose.
"They should probably make a bank here." Hiccup muttered, looking around the place. "Some sort of place for everyone to keep and borrow money."
"We can always give them to the humans." Luna purred as she moved under his wings. "Dragons have no use for them."
Hiccup absentmindedly wrapped his wings around her. "They don't, for now."
"Alpha!"
Hiccup and Luna turned around. Multiple dragons swooped into the throne room. There were various species, ranging from Gronckle to Skrill. Notably, they were all titan wing dragons. Everyone landed right in front of them. After they were settled, they deeply bowed to them.
"You don't need to bow anymore." Hiccup reminded them. "I am no longer your alpha."
"You are the God and Goddess of Dragons." One of the dragons spoke up. "We are honoured to have you back here." The others agreed to them. They were staring up to Hiccup and Luna with admiration.
"I'm just checking in to see if everyone is okay." Hiccup informed them. "Have the former sector leaders told you everything?"
"Yes." Several dragons chorused, while the rest nodded.
"Good." The Night Fury replied. "Remember; the Secret nest was built upon foundation of cooperation and helping those in need. While the nest is now fractured, do not forget what it was once build upon. Remember what I've taught you and remember well. Do not forget them. Treat others right, and you will find prosperity and happiness."
"What about alpha dragons?" One of them asked. The others were nervous when it was brought up.
"There will be no more alpha dragons!" Hiccup declared. He spread his wings on that declaration. "There are only dragons and leader of the flock. Be free! Think for yourself! Be who you want to be! There's no more alpha dragon that would control how you think, or how you act. I made sure of it."
The dragons seemed happy at that declaration. Some looked nervous, as they were not quite sure what to do when there were no alpha dragons around. They were used to have a leader acting on their behalf. For once in their lives, they were free to do as they please.
And they were nervous.
"Now." Hiccup started, getting more of their attention. He folded his wings. "Since the nest is fractured, this throne room should serve as a meeting room. This place should serve as a neutral place for everyone to discuss and speak on behalf of their nest. It should serve as a reminder that our job was never done. It was simply passed to the newer generation, where they will lead their own flock to peace and prosperity. This should be the place where they could freely represent their flock in politics."
The dragons nodded, agreeing with that sentiment. Hiccup continued speaking. "Secret Island had served us well during the age of alpha. Now that we are divided, with how big the underground place had become, we need a new name."
"… from now on, this is no longer the Secret Island." Hiccup declared. "It will be… the Secret World!"
The dragons murmured with each other. The Night Fury gave them a wry smile. "It mirrors the Hidden World. The difference is that this whole place-" He spoke as he spread his wings. "-was originally created to be a secret. A place where I could heal dragons in peace without any interference. It was not a sanctuary, nor it was a place to live. But that all changed when dragons decided to join the nest."
"… but enough history lesson." Hiccup decided. "I came here to inform you that we're both retiring to the Hidden World. Today is the last day for us here. If you have anything else to say, please say it now, because you won't be seeing any of us anywhere tomorrow."
Several dragons came forward. The Night Fury smiled. 'At least they are willing to speak up.'
The next day, Hiccup and Luna were flying towards the Hidden World. The Light Fury was the only one that know the way. The pair of dragons were flying alone there, hoping to reach the place in a day. Thankfully, they were blessed with infinite stamina, thanks to their status, meaning they could fly extremely far without any rest.
Luna squinted her eyes. Then, she saw it. "There it is."
The entrance to Hidden World was a caldera in the middle of the ocean. There was a massive hole at the centre, leading down into the hidden world below. Hiccup was amazed to see it. It was the first time he ever saw something like that.
"It definitely looks better than what they described." Hiccup commented.
"Come!" Luna urged him to fly faster. "I'll show you my nest."
The two dragons swooped down into the Hidden World. Hiccup was nervous to see the place, while Luna was happy to be finally back home. After some time flying, they finally entered the place.
The main entrance was full of giant, towering stacks of mushrooms. The ground was covered with water, meaning that there was no way to land there. Hiccup was fascinated to see them. He had never seen them before, nor anyone had ever described them to him.
Hiccup and Luna flew deeper into the place. They went past the giant mushroom swamp and entered another section of the Hidden World. The lights from the entrance dimmed behind them, replaced by amber-coloured crystals that was brimming with light. The place was beautiful. There were a lot of dragons there as well, roaming around without any care in the world.
"Words can't do justice of how beautiful this place is." Hiccup breathed out, admiring the place.
"You've done well mirroring Secret World after this place." Luna complemented him. "… except the mushroom part. You forgot the mushrooms."
"Nobody told me about the mushrooms." The Night Fury muttered, still looking around the place.
Then, they came to a massive glowing crystal. It was in a separate place than everyone else. The place was so big, they could fit more than ten Bewilderbeasts. However, there was nobody there. It looked like a throne place for someone. "What is that?"
Luna glanced for a moment. "It's meant to be a place for King or Queen of All Dragons." She explained to him. "Legend says that it was the place where alpha ruled the Hidden World, before we came to the surface. Dragons were meant to return to Hidden World in the future at some point."
"The prophecy that Great King spoke about…" Hiccup muttered, remembering the time from before.
"It's true." Luna nodded. "But, since there's no more alpha, that place would never be filled. Everyone is a free dragon now."
"You're right." The Night Fury nodded. "It's for the best."
The pair of dragons went past them. They entered a dark, colourful place, filled with towering rock pillars covered in colourful, glowing mushrooms. It was fascinating for Hiccup. The glow reflected under their scales, giving them colourful appearance as they went through them.
Seeing his expression, Luna giggled. "Glowing mushroom forest." She informed him. "My nest is not that far from here. This is where I usually roam."
"It's beautiful." Hiccup complimented.
After some time, they found a cave wall. However, somewhere above them, there was a cave entrance with a small balcony. The two dragons flew up and landed at the balcony. Luna turned to look at her mate. "Here we are!"
"This is your nest?" Hiccup questioned.
"Well, it's our nest now." Luna explained to him. "My parents are, well… not here anymore. This is where I grow up."
Hiccup and Luna entered the cave entrance. It led to a large cave clearing. The place was illuminated with glowing crystals and mushrooms. The Night Fury could smell the scent of Luna and her parents in the nest. Other than that, the place was warm and comfortable. It looked like a nice place to live.
"It's nice." Hiccup complimented, looking around. "I guess this is our nest now. We can raise our hatchlings here."
Luna purred as she rubbed herself against him. "The perfect place for our family." She whispered to him. "… sorry, I never thought that we'd be…"
"If we ever come here?"
Luna nodded.
"Well." Hiccup paused. "This is our retirement. We can finally have our time together, raise our hatchlings, and see them grow up. It would be a good time for us."
"But still." The Light Fury looked hesitant. "Even after you said it, I felt like this place is not… worthy for us."
"And you call me the pretentious one." Hiccup teased, amused by her statement.
Luna nudged his head. "We're gods, Toothless." She exasperatedly reminded him. "I felt like we're supposed to live somewhere that's more… beautiful."
Hiccup wrapped his wings around her. "I don't care. I'm fine with modesty. With you around, this place has never been more beautiful."
Luna hitched her breath. The Night Fury pushed her down and lay on top of her. The two dragons stared at each other. They rested there as they breathed their scents together. "… I'm sorry for not spending more time with you." Hiccup admitted.
"I may not be the best male around." The Night Fury spoke to her. "I was too busy with my duty at the time. I want to make it all up for you. Everything, down to the last second. I'll always be there for you forever and ever." He smiled. "Even after you're sick of seeing my face."
"Is that a challenge?" Luna purred as she pulled him into a hug. The two dragons wrapped their tails together.
Their breath deepened. Hiccup let out a purr. "I'm going to breed you until you're sick of it. We'll make a lot of godlings together."
'Godlings?' Luna hitched her breath. She could imagine seeing their children as dragon gods; running around and playing with each other. She could see them strong and powerful – immortal, just like them.
"Oh yes." Hiccup purred, as if reading her mind. His voice was getting huskier. "They'll be gods, just like us. New generation of humans and dragons need new generation of gods and goddesses roaming the world. What better way than procreating them from us?"
That does it for Luna. She grabbed his head and pulled him into a kiss. Their tongue danced together for some time, before she finally let go. Once she did, however, she looked pleading. "Breed me." She demanded.
"Yes, my goddess." Hiccup muttered as he leaned closer onto her. The Night Fury smiled. It was a good day for them. All was well in the world. They had achieved what they had to do. It was time for them to enjoy themselves.
They had flown the long way there, and he would never trade it with anything else.
Story Excerpt
Journal Entry 1-A
Toothless
My name is Toothless, formerly Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. This is a new journal for me. I somehow lost the old one somewhere in the water while flying. Never try to write anything while you're flying. You'd crash into a wall. I learned this the hard way. Thankfully, I managed to recover it and rewrite them into a book. This means that I need a new journal, and so, here we are.
Anyway, new journal. Here we go. I am a 22-year-old Dark Chaser, former leader and alpha of the Secret nest. I lived together in the Hidden World with my beautiful mate, Luna the Light Chaser. She's the same age as me.
It has been months since we migrated together to our new nest. Life here has never been better. Everything is simple and peaceful – there's nothing more that I could ask for. It was perfect. I guess that should be expected, given what we are.
We are known as dragon gods. Specifically, God and Goddess of Dragons. I ascended to godhood after claiming my rights to become King of All Dragons. Apparently, I had to be special and ascended into godhood instead. Luna became goddess later after she consented herself to become my life mate. I could never ask for a better companion than her. She was perfect for me.
In the Hidden World, we lived together at the Glowing Mushroom Forest, somewhere north side from the entrance. If you see a pillar full of odd mushrooms, go to the left and you'll see a cave entrance. That's our nest. It may seem strange to have a nest so modest, but after years of pretentiousness, flamboyant and extravagant visual back during my reign in Secret nest, we got sick of it. This nest is perfect for us.
There are no humans anywhere, that's to be expected. It is the ancestral home of dragons, after all. Dragons come and go around the Hidden World, with some coming up to the surface. Those at the surface would tell all sorts of tales, ranging from how beautiful it was and how peaceful everyone is. I guess I should be happy too, since everyone is doing their best to keep the peace.
I have four friends. Indigo the Spiked Two-Legs; Scorpion the Sharp Striker; Obeah the Mist Healer; and Ghost the Hidden Scale. They used to be my comrades back when I was leading the Secret nest. Now, they're my friends and fellow retirees. Indigo and Ghost live up at the surface. Scorpion always travel around the world, while Obeah stayed at Berk to continue her medical pursuit to heal humans and dragons alike.
They would come and visit us from time to time. We're grateful that we have actual visitors coming here to see us. Sometimes, we would visit them back. It's a quarterly thing, where we would visit each other at least once every three months or so. It helps us to keep up with what's going on around us.
Indigo became an 'advocate'. I don't know what that is, since she didn't say anything specific. Is she political advocate? I don't know. Ghost – that's her mate – is somewhat secretive about it, as usual. Fortunately, Scorpion did tell me about it. She became advocate of peace between humans and dragons. She somehow learned how to speak human language to communicate with those that don't know Dragonese. I'm happy and proud of her. She would go far, I'm sure of it!
Scorpion became a traveller. He brought us various things from all around the world, like fruits and vegetables. Apparently, there's the world beyond the horizon. There's the mainland, which has the remnants of the Roman Empire. He saw kingdoms of various ethnicity and learned many different languages.
He told me about these places called Kingdom of England and Holy Roman Empire. These were one of the new and promising kingdoms that managed to survive the outcome of the Fall of Rome. There's also a region called Gaul; they're currently at war, probably trying to establish an empire of their own. It was interesting to see how these kingdoms rise from the ashes of the Roman Empire.
Going to the west, there's this land called America. It was full of these humans with feathers. They were natives there, living the best of their lives. Scorpion described them to me as "tree hugging humans" with how much they try to keep the nature preserved as much as possible. It was so different when compared to the humans on the mainland. It was interesting to see.
He brought us this vegetable called Potato. It tastes awful, but he told me it's a cure for Venomous Vorpent dragon poison. I've never seen that dragon before, but he told me it was small and native in the mainland. I guess it's nice to know the cure for a poison from a dragon that we've never seen before.
There's also this land on the east side of the mainland. There are two kingdoms there: Japan and China. Those two kingdoms are fascinating because they have dragons. But it's not like many other dragons we have here; they're snake like serpent dragons, without wings! I didn't know it was possible to fly without wings!
Apparently, they have dragon magic on their side. That's how they fly. The humans there were best friends with dragons, and it had been like that for thousands of years. I can't believe it! We thought we were the first one. Apparently, the Chinese and Japanese had done it first. They even went far and gave Scorpion books about dragon magic after they told them about me.
I've been reading their books in my free time. They have this magic that can grant wishes. The serpent dragons can't really cast that, but one that's extremely old and powerful can; barely. I managed to do it just fine without trouble. Luna wished for fish, and I granted it. I guess it's just one of those perks of being a dragon god. We're limitless on everything, including magic.
Those serpent dragons have their own ancestral homes. It's also underground in the Hidden World, but on the other side of the world. Apparently, Hidden World is a massive, massive cave network that stretched all over the world! I can just get up from my nest and fly myself there without ever going to the surface, and I'll appear on the other side of their Hidden World entrance in China.
Strange enough, they're on the process of slowly migrating there. That means they are leaving the surface. I don't know why they do that, considering they're at peace with everyone. Why are dragons leaving the surface? I guess we'll never know.
Obeah became good at what she was doing; that is, healing others. There's nothing that she could not heal, and she was willing to service anyone for free. I've never seen her so dedicated in the art of medicine before, since that day when she learned how to do it. She didn't travel much, but she does travel around Barbaric Archipelago to heal others there.
I remember her telling me about some of her clients. Kings and queens from various kingdoms all around the world would come to her; asking to be healed. Obeah would do it, no matter how terrible they were, she did it without hesitation. There were times where she came to our meeting feeling tired and distressed. We're worried for her, since it seemed to be taking most of her life away.
Since she was so dedicated, I personally blessed her with dragon magic. Dragons normally can't use them, unless they're born with it. Secret nest dragons lost their ability to use them when they lost my call few months ago. Now that she can use dragon magic, there's nothing she could not heal. She can even do it in a few seconds; growing limbs and curing diseases.
She was happier after I blessed her with that. I am kind of worried of her, since that sort of power can make anyone go insane if left unchecked. However, I trust Obeah. If there's anyone that knows how to treat others and should be treating others, it's her.
Ghost stayed around with Indigo. They got themselves a lot of hatchlings together. I'm happy for them. They were interesting hybrid of Spiked Two-Legs and Hidden Scale; they did bring their kids at our gatherings from time to time. They're thinking about the name for their hatchlings' species.
They have the body of Hidden Scale; with four legs, ability cloak and all that. But they also have spine shots on their tail. Their head is like a sleeker Spiked Two-Legs. I did suggest Hidden Spike, but I don't think they liked that name. That's fine. I'm terrible at naming things anyway.
It makes me wonder what our own children would look like. Luna is a Light Chaser. I'm a Dark Chaser. What would they look like? A mix of our scale colours? What sort of name I should give to their species? Night Light? Dawn Chaser? But what sort of power will they get? I guess we'll get there when we get there.
There were times when I feel concerned for Vikings back at Berk. My mom and dad are there. Who would become the chief of Berk? Did Astrid become the chief? Did Snotlout got his act together and worthy to become one? Whatever happened there, I hope mom and dad are fine.
I can always peek with my power, and maybe see their future, but I'm kind of afraid of what I'll see there. I can do everything as a dragon god, including bringing back the dead, but I'm kind of afraid to use them. What if it corrupted me and made me behave worse than when I was younger? What if I became like the Dark Chaser that I merged with? The fact that I'm all-powerful made me nervous.
Luna was tempted, but she's also scared. We're putting restraints on ourselves, since there's nothing that this world needs us to do. Everything is running as is, and there's no need for us to mucker around with it.
Our children wouldn't inherit all of that, thankfully. They'd have speciality over certain elements and aspects of the world. I don't want to see them worrying about using their power to do things they wanted to do.
There was a dragon from Berk that migrated to Hidden World the other day. They told me how there's whispers of insurrection from the Vikings. I hope that's not true. We worked so hard on bringing peace together, I don't know what to feel if that peace is broken. But then, I felt like this is something that I should've foreseen when I made that decision to make peace with the humans.
Unlike Japan and China, in Meridian of Misery, the hate between humans and dragons had run deep for many generations. It would take something more than just getting rid of the old men and bringing forth the new generations. This is something that takes time. Now that humans and dragons are on equal footing; in terms of intelligence and communication, that is, they could finally sort themselves out.
I don't like humans. There are exceptions to that. I was willing to let my prejudice aside for the sake of those that accepted us for who we are. Now that everything is over, I think it was best that we left the surface. I don't want any more conflict. I just want to be left alone, with Luna here on my side. That's why we moved here to Hidden World; to be away from humans and the world above.
If dragons wanted to stay at the surface and be friends with Vikings, who am I to judge? That's their decision. Dragons now have freewill, like humans. If they're happy living with humans, then so be it.
Anyway, Luna is ready to have her first batch of eggs! We're expecting 3 eggs for our first clutch. It would be our first hatchlings to raise. They'd technically be godlings, but that sort of thing should be thought about later. I'm just happy that we'll have children of our own at this time of peace. I wonder what we should name them.
Dart? Pouncer? Ruffrunner? Those sounds like good names for them. Silly names are great, much better than Hiccup at least. Luna's going to love it.