The Gift Of Power | Wattys 2020 (Dance of Power Trilogy: Book 1)

The Viper In The Nest

Hey all, I know that I haven't done any author's notes up to this point. Honestly it is only because I am usually posting multiple chapters at a time and I'm not even sure if it is worth the effort of trying to type AN on each one. Do you guys even read them? Still, I feel the need to add a note on this one.

***This is a severe trigger warning! There is graphic sexual content of the non-consensual nature in this chapter. It is not glorified as a smut piece, trust me on that. It is done to immerse the reader in the story. Force them to experience the true emotional turmoil of the situation, and maybe a little to draw attention to how terrifying and awful such a thing really is... It has been separated from the rest of the text and italicized to make it stand out, and I have also now added disclaimers before and after to make it even easier to pick out. If you do not want to read it for any reason, just skip over it. The story will still make sense without it.***

PS: If you guys would like to see more author's notes, just leave a comment or send me a message. I would be happy to include them in the future chapters, and I will also go back and add them to the already uploaded ones. At the top of course, so you can quickly read them and move on. Just let me know if you want them. Thanks and enjoy :) (sorry for the emotional scars...)

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Final preparations were nearly complete. Once Fishlegs had returned with the dragon root, they had boiled it down to make a concentrated potion. Eret had been working tirelessly, spending almost every afternoon coating weapons. The arrows and bolt tips had to be covered with enough of the concentrated root to be effective. This meant that they had to be dipped several times, allowing for the solution to dry in between coats.

The riders had been training every day. It had been three weeks since Minden had arrived and the dragons were now comfortable enough with Toothless for Hiccup and Astrid to join in the training. Astrid had to admit that they were doing better. Not as good as true bonded riders of course, but they did function well as a team. Stormfly still thought they they looked like a bunch of uncoordinated infants, but she had very high standards. Much like her Rider, Astrid thought with a chuckle. Reminding Stormfly gently that not every rider could be a bonded one.

Hiccup had laughed at the display. "If you think this is bad Stormfly, you should try dragon training on Asgard. It is the worst kind of torture imaginable, and as apprentice Riders you two will have to instruct at least one round of it. You know, to prove that you are competent..." he trailed off with a chuckle at the disgusted look on Stormfly's face mixed with the surprise on Astrid's.

"Dragon training in Asgard? Really? What's that like?" Astrid asked him excitedly.

Ilweran and Tintallë must have heard her, because they swooped over at that exact moment. "Imagine the most exhausting and frustrating thing you have ever had to do. Now do that same thing every day for nearly a year. Then throw in some undisciplined, spoiled rotten brats with no previous battle training and a chip on their shoulders as big as a timberjack. Your job is to take the arrogant little bastards and turn them into viable soldiers. That is what it is like."

"Dear gods, that does sound wonderful," Astrid joked, grinning at him. "Thank you for building up the excitement for me. It's nice to be able to look forward to something with a healthy measure of the proper enthusiasm."

"Anytime, my dear," he grinned back. Tintallë rasping a chuckle at her before the two of them flew off again. Hiccup smirked after his friend for a moment as Toothless rolled his eyes dramatically. Hiccup turning back towards Astrid with a shrug.

"Sadly, that is a very accurate description. Before we came here, Ilweran and I got stuck with taking four groups of the little assholes through training. We were in Asgard for two and a half years."