Hiccup and Toothless followed the dragon swarm through the fogbank, swerving through various stone archways and past several of those wooden, floaty things the humans built, now destroyed and upended in the cold water.
"What has happened here?" Hiccup asked a nearby Needle.
"The humans," the Needle replied. "They frequently try and find our nest, intending to destroy it. We all hope they find it and free us of our alpha's control, but it always commands us to destroy any ships that come this way. As a result, we are never freed, and countless Vikings are needlessly killed." Hiccup fell silent as they passed over the remnants of the human fleets. This was all that was left of the formidable human warriors capable of defeating the great alpha?
Eventually, the swarm reached an island hidden by the fog. It wasn't a particularly big island, but it could easily house a Red Death in its depths. In the island's center stood an uneven pillar of stone, with several cracks and crevices leading to its hollow center. Hiccup steeled his nerves as he and Toothless flew into the domain of the Red Death, his feral side feeling the call of the alpha species in his bones. They entered a hollow space in the middle of the pillar which reached deep down into the earth and was lit by the red light of the magma and fire the Red Deaths bathed in. Several of the dragons which had led them there flew above the chasm and dropped all they were carrying into the bottomless pit. Sheep, fish, and crates of food, all were dropped into the abyss. Hiccup and Toothless found an area to commune with this alpha, when it suddenly emerged from the pit and swallowed whole a poor Boulder whose offering was unsatisfactory. It began to retreat into the depths from which it emerged, before pausing.
"There is someone here," the queen rumbled. "Intruder, who are you and why are you here? Show yourself."
"My name is Hiccup," Hiccup cried out as Toothless launched himself into the open air. "My friend here is Toothless, and we have come to negotiate the freedom of these dragons on behalf of the great alpha Bewilderbeast."
The Red Death paused as it assessed the newcomers. It was surprised to see a human riding atop the back of a dragon but was even more surprised to see that the dragon in question was a Night Fury. To its knowledge, all of the Night Furys had been wiped out, so to see one in front of it was quite a shock. However, that did not overrule the anger it felt at the request the two had made.
"These dragons claim that they are held here against their will, that they are treated unfairly, and that they want to be free," Hiccup continued. "We have come to negotiate their release."
"There is nothing to negotiate, these dragons are mine to do with what I wish," the Red Death declared. "'The strong lead whilst the weak only follow'. That is the one rule all dragons live by. I am the strongest dragon here, so it is only natural that these weaker dragons follow my every command. So what if they feel that they are treated unfairly? Why should they not be treated as lesser beings by one that is superior?"
"Because an alpha is supposed to care for its subjects whilst leading them," Toothless declared. "To abuse, your status as an alpha would be to fail-"
"ARE YOU CHALLENGING ME?" the Red Death bellowed, the walls of the cavern shaking with instability.
"Oh no no no" Toothless hurriedly replied. "It's just that-"
"You believe that what I'm doing is wrong," the Red Death interrupted, "and that you could do it better!"
Toothless extended his wings in fear. "What?! No, I-"
YOU ARE READING
Tale of The Dragon Whisperer
AdventureWe all know that when Hiccup was young, his mother was kidnapped by the dragons. She lived among them for years but she never lost her caring spirit. But what would have happened if a young boy had been taken? A boy who hadn't even formed a personal...
