The Hidden World

Dragon Riders

Vikings tripped over to the big entrance of their great Hall. Bulky muscular bodies shoved aside, everyone fighting for a better place in the overly large building, since it was founded in the mountain itself.
Cautious eyes followed their every move. Their gigantic dragon bodies rested on abandoned roofs next the way that lead to the Great Hall.
Some Vikings eyed their new neighbors with distrust, some even disgusted. The children looked upon the gigantic animals in awe, their mothers all in one worried. They were a few who smiled gratefully at their saviours.
In the dark Great Hall, almost every Berkian had gathered. If not, they were still outside, following the lead inside.
Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, was unsettled. He nervously switched from one foot to another, observing the hall getting filled by every second.
To his left were the new dragon trainees, their heads shameful glued to the ground.
To his right, his one and only son, nervously stroking the place behind his dragon's ears. The Night Fury had insisted not to leave Hiccup's side and no one really dared to forbid the wishes of the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself.
At some time, no one seemed to get into the hall. They all discussed nervously over the big news. Hiccup fidgeting every time his name was dropped. It was obvious that he wasn't one to enjoy the spotlight.
Gobber, Stoick's best friend blew into the majestic horn to gather everyone's attention. Stoick took a deep breath, feeling instantly stronger and more confident, while Hiccup shrunk down to a smaller shape.
The crowd silenced. Big eyes filled with expctance focused on the man with the monstrous red beard.
"Vikings! You may all be questioning what the Hel is going on!" He bellowed and earned the agreement of his people. A few days ago they had been invaded by Dragon Hunters. Too focused on bringing down harmless dragons, they didn't notice the human enemy and were easily conquered. Suddenly dragons had shown up and helped them defeat the hunters. After their sudden disappearance, they turned up with the new people who came from another tribe. Their Chief crying for his traitor son he had just disowned hours ago. For days they were left in the dark, until the announcement spread through Berk.
The heir had recovered and they were about to find out the truth and the consequences.
"Well! We are about to find out!" Stoick motioned to Hiccup. The skinny man lifted his body up, Toothless observing him with confusion in his forest green eyes. Hiccup opened his mouth, but at the same time was clueless what to say. So in the end his mouth fell shut again. He flinched shocked, unaware these little actions could cause a forceful rant to be started.
"Traitor!"
"I knew he's with the dragons!" Random Vikings threw at the young man. Toothless shrieked shocked and confused. He searched for a passage to Hiccup's eyes, but the emeralds where locked to the crowd in disbelief, as he swallowed insults like Ship this lunatic out into the deep ocean!
Hiccup was clueless on what to do and react so he glanced with plead in his eyes at his father.
"Silence!" He roared, but they really quieted down after Gobber used the loud horn another time.
Stoick attempted to take the first word, but it seemed like Hiccup's tongue finally woke up.
"It's really complicated. I don't actually know where to begin with." He looked sorrowful at his friends and instantly knew where to start.
"First things first. We-" He pointed to the five other teens.
"-Come from somewhere else."
"Well these aren't big news, ey?" Gobber chuckled. Hiccup persistently shook his head.
"No seriously. We come from very very far. Another world to be honest." Confusion was planted on every Vikings face. All but Gothi's.
The old woman had her mouth wide open and she slowly pushed herself to the top. Since there was no dirt to write with her staff on, she fished out a dirty chalk.
Gobber peaked over to the strange drawings no one was able to read. Hiccup had already tried, but all his guesses went in the wrong way.
"That ol' hag's as crazy, babbling about a new world or som-Ow!" Gobber whined when he earned a smack on the head. Hiccup's interest was quickly triggered.
"New world?" He repeated with a high voice. The town's healer smiled and nodded, enjoying that someone appreciated her information.
She took a cloth and wiped away her first drawings and immediately producing new ones.
"What is she saying?" Hiccup asked with burning interest. Stoick shrugged his shoulders calmly.
"Gobber! Translate!" He demanded as he shook the muscly arm of his mentor.
The blacksmith sighed, sensing a new bump on his head by the end of the day.
"She's sayin' that... Oh! That there's an old legend!"
Every Viking gazed interested, since old legends were the grown up's fairy tales.
Gobber's eyes darted over the drawings without translating them. Hiccup grew unsettled and nervous.
"Gobber!" He protested, when he thought the silence to be long enough. Gobber looked at the fidgety teen and released a long sigh.
"The usual. War between humans and dragons, Gods are furious, yadeyadeyade, end of the world, humans get... banned... from this world?" He whispered the last part with a big question mark on his face. The hall turned from lively to dead quiet. Berkians exchanged worried glances. Stoick noticed the change of attitude and the vanishing confidence of his people. He bowed down to Gothi's eye level.
"What else can you tell us about that legend?"
If humans really were banned from this world, how come so many Vikings remained? Most importantly, how ended his son in the other world? How did they come back?
"Humans were banned by father Odin himself, to prevent any more conflicts between humans and dragon. Since after the escalation of the war the majority of Vikings... Died... It is said Odin spared those, certain that they would vanish by time. He created the New World, where he also created new humans, based on his former creation."
The six friends exchanged knowing glances, realizing they had found up to their roots. Stoick still wasn't satisfied, since his questions weren't answered.
"So this is true? Everything?"
Stoick reassured himself asking Gothi. She nodded to the six friends, quietly saying they would know it best.
"At first we doubted it. It all started rather crazy, with a guy trying to kidnap Hiccup and trapping us all. We barely escaped that gang and ended up here, unconscious so we thought it was them kidnapping us." Astrid carefully started explaining, only mentioning the relevant things.
"But then those scary beast with razersharp teeth attacking us, Vikings, who by the way don't exist in the new world anymore-"
"Yeah well, by then we figured out." Snotlout shrugged and rudely interrupted Fishlegs who glared daggers at his former roommate.
"The new world exists, father. We call it our home and it is very different compared to Berk." Hiccup concluded calmly and for everyone to understand.
"It's a lot more modern, with high technology and a lot more knowledge!" Snotlout bragged with a mean grin.
"Like you even care about knowledge." Fishlegs retorted annoyed as amused at the same time.
"Shut up, Fishface!" The boy hissed offended.
"Do we even need to understand?" Gobber questioned confused, Astrid shaking her head.
"I think this world is much cooler. It's okay to run around with a sword"
"With an axe", Ruffnut joined in the counting with her brother.
"Or a mace." Tuffnut yapped happily.
"We get it guys..." Hiccup lifted up his hands to calm down the twins.
"Or that rope thingy...?" Tuffnut stammered, until Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay... We get it."
Stoick shook his head.
"But how did you travel to this world in the first place?" He tried to understand the impossible.
"With the dragon eye of course." Astrid mentioned, as if this was the most logical answer.
"Dragon what?" Gobber repeated confused, like he just saw a dragon dancing with a sheep.
"That's the reason Toothless picked me up in the first place." Hiccup giggled, cupping the dragon at his cheeks. Toothless presented his famous gummy smile and suddenly everyone felt their heart melt away.
"Night Furys are the Guardians of the Dragon Eye, so it was his natural instinct to protect it." Hiccup explained.
"The eye was our only chance to get back home..." Astrid sighed sadly, but Hiccup shook his head.
"No. The eye is the only way to end this war in a peaceful way." Hiccup decided determined, his hands curling into tight fists.
"Where exactly is that dragon eye?" Stoick asked carefully. Disgust appeared on the teen's faces. Anger was shown in ugly grimaces as they remembered what Viggo had done to their best friend.
"Viggo has it." Astrid growled behind gritted teeth.
None of the teens could hide their rage. Hiccup with a smug look didn't need to.
"Think again..." He chirped and waved the least object to be expected in his right hand. Mouths fell open, eyes drying out as they couldn't afford to close them in fear of losing their ticket back home again.
"H-h-how?!" Astrid and Fishlegs stammered in unison.
"You little..." Snotlout huffed, but couldn't really hide his joy completely. The twins were just missing the point, as always living in their worryless world.
The green little Common or Garden flew over the crowd and landed on Hiccup's stretched out arm.
"Daydream has a pretty high stealth." Hiccup explained proudly and petted the purring dragon.
"Would be unfair if he was the only one to cheat, wouldn't it?" He chuckled, not even lifting his gaze from the little fella.
A loud roar and the whole village cried out. The dragons obviously had overheard the humans and were now out of their mind seeing the dragon eye in Hiccup's hands.
You sneaky little bastard!
Hookfang laughed as the other group members nuzzled the boy.
Toothless huffed jealously and tried to get the mass of dragons away. Meanwhile the Berkians had readied themselves for a harsh battle. The dragons couldn't even care less about the weapons pointing at them.
They had the dragon eye!
They could still win this thing!
"It's ok, they won't harm you!" Hiccup calmed down the crowd. Surprisingly his words really spread trust, since he was the only one to have his way with the beasts.
"So what does it do? You know, besides magically travelling through worlds?" Gobber asked with his golden tooth shining out. Hiccup glanced at the godly device in his hand, shifting it, pulling it, turning it around.
"Erm... It does... a lot of things actually..." Hiccup stammered. Gobber's face dropped.
"You don't know."
"I don't know." Hiccup admitted embarrassed scratching the back of his head.
"Just what I thought." The blacksmith stated dryly. Stoick stepped forward, Hiccup glancing up to the big body with respect in his eyes.
"So what's your next move?" He asked emotionless, but Hiccup could sense the fear of losing his son. He also felt the stares his friends gave him. They were homesick and missed their families and normal lives.
Hiccup looked at the dragons, knowing very well what he would choose.
"I will fight." He decided determined and a smile appeared on every dragon's head. He looked sorrowful at his friends.
"I can't speak for my friends and I'll do anything to get you back home. But I can't leave. I promised to do everything in my power to end this war."
"So whose side will you be on?" Stoick asked, but it could also be understood as a threat. Some haters shouted how obvious it was that he was gonna choose the dragon's side. Hiccup strongly shook his head, the dragons tilting their heads.
"I won't be fighting for the dragons."
A sigh travelled through the Berkians.
"Neither will I fight with the humans."
Dead silence.
"I'll fight with peace." He smiled and laid a hand on Toothless snout, who leaned into the touch. He never doubted Hiccup would let him down.
"I'll fight with whoever choins my team." Hiccup declared pridefully. The other dangerous dragons nuzzled him, carefully throwing a glance at the teens they had allowed to ride their backs. They kind of felt pity towards them, that their best friend chose against them. But at the same time, promise is promise. Hiccup would never get away with tricking them.
Astrid sighed heavily. She exchanged looks with her friends and on the other side Hiccup with determination planted on his face. That boy was so stubborn, it was unbelievable.
Suddenly her eyes locked with the yellow ones of the blue Deadly Nadder. She had already fought her. Multiple times, in dragon training. Unlike other Berkians, upon looking at that creature she didn't feel fear or hatred anymore. The dragon appeared more like a gigantic parrot, peacefully minding it's on business. The dragon didn't seem mindless. She saw it listen to Hiccup's orders, following it flawless as communicating with the other dragons. Still it was able to follow it's own decision when they saved Hiccup together.
This wasn't their world. Neither was it their fight. But upon seeing Hiccup and the pitch black dragon, they understood very well it was his.
His destiny maybe even.
She sighed as she walked forward, Hiccup's head tilting in unison with the dragon's.
"Well, then count me in." She decided suddenly, placing her hands on her hips.
"What?!"
Her friends cried out surprised, or rather even shocked. Hiccup's mouth fell open, but he couldn't really hide his joy, since he was a very bad actor.
"But what about home?!" Snotlout whined dramatically. Astrid rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"We can't leave Hiccup alone."
"Sure we can!" Snotlout winked his hand with a nasty grin. Hiccup narrowed his eyes and gave a low grumble. Even when he didn't expect his friends to stay for him, he was quite offended.
"Hiccup is a living magnet for trouble." Fishlegs threw in to Astrid's favour. The twins immediately lightened up.
"Yeah! That's right!" Tuffnut smiled.
"That's why it never gets boring with him." Ruffnut chuckled.
"And that's why we can't leave him alone." Astrid added and placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup blushed.
"I guess that is kinda nice..." He giggled behind red cheeks. Astrid tried to hide her embarrassment.
"Oh please, you guys saved us! It's natural, just... paying... repaying...?"
"Oh just admit you can be nice!" Hiccup laughed, Astrid even getting redder. Now the rest of the audience couldn't hold back as they burst into laughter. Even Stoick laughed loudly seeing the young couple.
"Well son!" He bellowed as his prank unconsciously smashed Hiccup's frail shoulder.
"You can certainly count on us, too!"
If you thought Hiccup's mouth couldn't get wider, you were very wrong. Hiccup certainly wouldn't have expected his father to break in so easily. Sure, Stoick had already apologized a thousand times for his actions. Not to mention how often he whined to regret disowning his one and only son.
"But... The dragons!" Some villagers argued, mostly the ones who weren't impressed by the whole show and still didn't trust the dragons.
"Oooh, what about the dragons!" Stoick mocked annoyed.
"Hel, the dragons saved us! They brought back the kids and helped us all defend against the enemies."
"Who says they didn't fight for themselves? The hunters are trying to capture dragons, not humans!" An old man spat hatefully. He looked ugly and boney. He was the scary, grumpy, cranky neighbor everyone feared to experience. Hiccup felt a chain of critical events the old man would bring along in the future.
"Well, they could've flown away. The hunters were too occupied holding Berk captive, the dragons you imprisoned didn't need to save you!" Hiccup accused Berk angrily, but glared daggers into the old man specifically.
"As you did with me! You threw me in there, calling me names... Dragon whore!" Hiccup remembered disgusted. Everyone who couldn't hold any grudge against the reptiles anymore glanced ashamed to the ground. The rest kept their gaze with proud.
"Wasn't it your fault in the first place?" Smirked the old man maliciously. Other Vikings joined in.
"Yeah!"
"With that stupid thingy!"
Hiccup felt his braveness shrink, his body composure falling down into crumbles. Astrid reacted quickly and shielded her boyfriend from the accusations.
"You're wrong!" She bellowed powerful.
"It's Viggo's fault!" She took the blame and threw it at the dragon hunter. Berk listened patiently.
"It's Viggo's fault we lost our home! It's Viggo's fault we were attacked and hold captive! Viggo almost killed Hiccup!"
Gasps echoed through the Hall. Hiccup silently thanked Astrid for having his back.
"Viggo is the real enemy!"
Carefully Hiccup took Astrid's wrist. The girl threw doubting glances at her boyfriend. Hiccup held her hand stretches out to the blue Nadder. He released a comforting coo at the Deadly dragon who looked confused and overcharged. It observed the open palm with curiosity. It revealed no bad or vicious intentions when it closed it's eyes and pressed it's scaly snout on Astrid's palm.
At the unfamiliar touch Astrid gasped with a big smile in her face. The rest released a breath they didn't even knew they were holding.
"The dragons are our new companions against the new enemy." Hiccup explained with a warm smile. The crowd relaxed at the sight. It proved that Hiccup wasn't the only one to be accepted by the dragons. This time officially!
The Nadder shook her head and squawked happily at her new friend. The damm broke and the Berkians cheered. They had finally gained trust and calmed down. The old grandpa had to swallow his bile as it went unheard and so he disappeared in the background.
Hiccup smiled down to Toothless, his smile saying We did it!
Toothless spinned happily, a cute gummy smile throwing every hard and rough Viking in a state of awe.
Stoick stepped up, each of his hands placing down on Hiccup and the Night Fury, who didn't even flinch.
"So I claim the war between dragons and humans on Berk" He bellowed over the crowd.
"Finally to be over!"
Cheers travelled through, whistles screaming out their joy. Some Vikings danced, women kissing their men, children jumping up and down. Only one man remained dissatisfied.
"And what about that Viggo?" The old man hissed over the happiness. Hiccup felt braveness overflow him until he was exploding with pride.
"I will fight him!" He claimed with his chest out. A soft hand grabbed his left. He looked into the beautiful eyes of his girlfriend, a determined smile on her lips. His right hand was lifted on by a scaly surface. Toothless warbled reassuring at him. A hand on his shoulder told him his best human friend was joining in with a strangely confident smile. The twins shrugged their shoulders and joined Fishlegs behind Hiccup. If there was trouble, the twins wouldn't stay out of it. Astrid glanced over to the stubborn diva.
"So?" She asked with a smug grin. Snotlout groaned and threw his hands up in defeat.
"Ugh! Fine..." He gave up and joined in the row.
"But if I die I deserve a proper hero's funeral." He demanded and poked Hiccup into the back. Hiccup squirmed uncomfortably, but couldn't hide his smile.
"Thanks Snot." He admitted truthfully.
"Don't get too emotional." His friend smirked and Hiccup gladly took that advice. The rest of the dragons exchanged looks, clearly discussing their move. The Nadder walked to the left of Astrid. Even the Gronckle and the Zippleback marched behind the group. Eventually the Nightmare gave in as well.
Hiccup squeezed Astrid's hand, exploding with happiness.
"We will fight Viggo!"
He declared powerfully.
"We are, the Dragon riders!"