The Great Beyond

Chapter 77: King of Dragons, Pt. 1 (Hiccup)

              A tense anticipation hung heavy in the air as I set the Dragon Eye down on its stand and slid the last lens into place, filling up all the slots for the first time. None of us knew what the images on all the lenses would create, but whatever it led us to, we had to be ready to leave on a moment's notice. If there were any of our specific dragons that would unlock the secret, like with some of the other lenses, there wasn't really a way to tell, so I figured it would probably just be best to have Toothless try it out first, and then we could work our way along the line from there.

"Well, this should be it." Practically all of my energy was going into not completely exploding with excitement. "The last remaining lens for the Dragon Eye. This should tell us everything there is to know about the King of Dragons."

"Come on, now, T, fire that magical plasma blast up and let a beacon of knowledge shine down upon us and light our merry way," Tuffnut encouraged, his arms shooting out with joy.

"Wow. That was kind of poetic, Tuff," Reign smiled.

"Thank you, Reign. You know, in some societies, entire conversations are spoken in verse. I'd like to visit one of those places."

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" Nearly everyone flinched at the harsh edge in Fishlegs' tone. "If you don't tell Toothless to light that Dragon Eye and let us see what's on that lens, I will no longer be held responsible for my actions."

Reign stuck her hands up in mock-surrender, eyes wide as she turned back to the Dragon Eye again.

"Toothless, you heard the crazy, screaming Viking."

I adjusted the position of the Dragon Eye so that Toothless' fire would be able to travel through the channel with ease, and once it was secured and ready to go, he opened his mouth, allowing the purple flame to gently illuminate the lenses. I watched as the light traveled through the center, striking each individual lens, then finally, it shot out the other side, projecting a brilliant image. Pinks, purples, and yellows all faded into each other in a circular formation, all leading to the blue dragon in the middle of it all. Even if the drawing was simplistic, the dragon species was quite obvious.

"Is that..."

"A Dramillion," Fishlegs confirmed, crossing the room to pick apart the image.

"The King of Dragons is a Dramillion?" Astrid scoffed, clearly not so impressed with the species.

"No, it's a Titanwing Dramillion. Look at the Titanwing in relation to the other dragons. It's bigger than this Monstrous Nightmare right next to it. This must mean the giant skeletal remains on Vanaheim belong to another Titanwing Dramillion!"

Reign was carefully studying the image, her mouth twisted down into a confused frown as she looked over the Titanwing Dramillion over and over again. I tried to ask her what was on her mind, but she just dismissed it, assuring me that it wasn't important at the moment.

"Okay, okay, sounds great. But what can it do?" Tuff pushed.

"How does it kill its enemy? Fire?"

"Spines"

"Liquid hot magma?"

"Actually, legend has it that the King of Dragons uses its mind," Reign informed them.

"What, like as I bludgeon?" Thinking fast, Reign leaned backwards when Tuff shoved his head forward, demonstrating the motion.

"No, Tuff, it uses its mind to control other dragons," she groaned, pushing his head away," and make them do whatever it tells them to do."