Soul Of A Dragon

I got halfway through the first part of LP II ch 3…Yeah, I spent the weekend playing Balder’s Gate 3, and then had so many fantasy ideas. This…was not one of them. This is an old idea, revived thanks to the trailer YouTube’s algorithm reminded me exists. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own the rights to How To Train Your Dragon or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

SOADSOADSOADSOAD - Prologue - SOADSOADSOADSOAD

The Arctic Archipelago was a frozen land, a land that only the strongest could survive in. The human folk that inhabited the scattered islands called themselves Vikings, warrior tribes that spread tales of glory through battle. The weather claimed more lives their than any other factor, save one. Their greatest nemesis aside from their chosen home's freezing temperatures were the dragons they shared the area with. They were locked in a war that had thus far lasted hundreds of years and ravaged the numbers on both sides, more so in the dragons' favor than in the Vikings'.

Dragons were believed to be vicious, ruthless, carnivorous beasts spawned from the twisted minds of the gods themselves. They were selfish, greedy monsters that wanted nothing more than to obliterate the Vikings. The Vikings were too stubborn to just quit, to surrender their home. They would rather die first, or see all dragons die first.

A horrid truth, but a truth that was firm and unmoving. Vikings and dragons were enemies. Period. No exceptions.

Until now.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Heir of Berk was the son of Stoick The Vast, Chief of Berk. He was as close to a Viking prince as one could get, but closer still to a twig than he was a warrior. He was a smith's apprentice, a creator, and though he had not yet killed a dragon in his fourteen winters, he was a destroyer, too. His creations were well intended, but left devastation in their wake. Some of Berk claimed he did more damage to their tribe than the Dragons, and his title changed: Hiccup the Heir became Hiccup the Useless.

Hiccup didn't disagree.

Then life began to turn around when one of his inventions worked in his favor - a bola-launcher managed to knock the spawn of Lightning and Death from the sky. Hiccup the Useless shot down the most dangerous of dragons: The Night Fury. A dragon that couldn't miss, a dragon that was only heard and never seen!

A dragon, Hiccup discovered, that he couldn't - no, that he wouldn't kill.

Not out of immortality or magic, no, but Hiccup could not bring himself to deal the fatal blow upon his captured enemy with his dagger. He instead set the dragon free, and over time, whilst training (and doing poorly) to kill more dragons, Hiccup befriended it. He called the dragon 'Toothless', giving him a name to match the ridiculous Viking's own. He forged a bond, solidified by a prosthetic tail that replaced and repaired the damage he caused, with the most ferocious dragon. In befriending Toothless, Hiccup learned more about dragons than any other Viking before him. He learned they feared eels, loved long grass, chased shining lights, and were far more intelligent than what most Vikings gave them credit for.

Toothless, in turn, learned that Vikings could be kind as well as cruel. That the man-folk could be inventive and creative, and could give flight back when they could also take it away. He learned, from observing his friend, that Vikings had high expectations, higher than even the Queen or an Alpha. Each day after their first successful flight, Toothless tried to fly further away from the Vikings, away from the Queen, to show Hiccup that there was another option available to them. That they needn't be locked in battle, nor hidden away.

A stray thought, rare for even a Night Fury, convinced the drake that they could go to the Highest Peak, to the Ancients' Throat, and be free. They could be safe. They could be friends without judgement, without the fear or the sadness or the uncertainty that tainted the boy's scent so when he was near the other vikings.

Alas, Hiccup was a Viking, though he didn't look or act like it often. He was stubborn, determined to obtain the respect that Toothless felt he shouldn't want nor need. The boy would steer them back to their cove on that island called Berk, and Toothless would grumble and protest, but relent. He would do anything for the boy that first took his sky away, and graciously gave it back.

To say he was eager when Hiccup announced that they were leaving was an understatement. Toothless was impatient; he'd noticed an unfamiliar scent nearby, and that it was getting closer with each sentence that tumbled out of Hiccup's rambling mouth. He didn't want to risk any other obstacles or waste energy fighting for the freedom that they deserved. He didn't want his boy, his friend, to be on this island any longer.

Toothless all but threw Hiccup onto his back before the supplies were secured. Then, he climbed, raced even, to the clouds. By the time Hiccup was properly situated, in that his steering would adjust their flight path, Toothless was a good hour from Berk's shores.

"Thanks for the heads up, Toothless!" Hiccup's sarcasm was expected, but still exasperating. Toothless rolled his eyes as Hiccup yammered on about not knowing where they were or his impatience. He growled back at the boy, this was for his own good, and he could do to show some gratitude. Hiccup huffed. "Well, excuse me for wanting to know where I'm going! We have all of Midgard at our disposal and you chose to go, uh...Hm. Is it south? I can't tell. The air feels the same and I can barely see anything through the clouds."

Toothless warbled, attempting to communicate to his rider, to tell him about their destination. Sometimes, while they were on the ground, Hiccup appeared to breach the barrier of language. It was almost as if he was able to understand the Night Fury. So, one could appreciate Toothless' frustration when his clever rider misinterpreted his response.

"Yeah, I'm sure you can see through them, bud. I'd like to get my bearings, though," Hiccup said, adjusting the artificial tailfin. Toothless grumbled as they began to descend, which earned him a pat on the head. "C'mon, Toothless. It's only fair that I know what we're near, too."

Hiccup peered around, his eyes wide and filled with awe at the sheer amount of water that surrounded them. At the edge of the horizon, no matter where he looked, there was nothing but deep blue sea. Ahead, to their sides, and behind them. No sign of land. Not even a small peak of a submerged mountain or iceberg. It was just miles and miles of ocean.

"Toothless, where are we going?" Hiccup asked. He sighed when he got another warble. The communication barrier during flight really had to be addressed. The Night Fury's wings made a large flap and Hiccup released a startled yelp before they ascended. He repositioned the tailfin prosthetic, allowing for a smoother rise than the jarred and forced movement.

"Okay, okay, you seem to know where we're going! So, uh, there more dragons there? Or is this more a viking location?" He asked. Toothless warbled again, prompting Hiccup to groan and pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Right, right. Here, let's try this then: Growl once for 'yes', twice for 'no'? Got it?"

Toothless growled once.

"Perfect! Alright, so question one. Are there more Dragons?"

The Night Fury growled twice, a bit harsher than intended, but the ancient ones' demise were partly why the dwindling members of the dragon race fled as far north as they did.

"I see. Sorry, bud, didn't mean to make you mad. How about Vikings?"

Toothless started a growl then stopped, before he warbled out something that was beyond Hiccup's understanding.

"I don't think we've established that in our communications, bud." The rider rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow, trying to decipher the meaning. "Okay, better question: Are there more humans?"

Toothless let out a solitary confidant growl. After a pause, he growled twice more.

"Yes? No? ...How can it be both?" Hiccup wondered, more to himself than to his friend. His brows furrowed. "There are humans and...something else?"

Toothless pondered the question before he growled once.

"Do they look like humans?"

Toothless growled twice.

"So there's humans, and these other creatures." Hiccup's fingers began to tingle from the cold. He shuddered. He hadn't properly dressed for colder weather, seeing as it was nearing the end of the cool time before the harsh winter at Berk. Then again, he hadn't anticipated being kidnapped on the runaway flight by his dragon. "One more question, are we almost there?"

Toothless let out a single growl before he started to warble again. His ear-flaps flattened against his head and he pumped his wings. Hiccup lowered himself to the saddle and ducked his head to protect himself from the nip of the air as Toothless' speed increased. His prone position was almost lost, as Hiccup nearly jumped right out of his saddle when a roar broke through the sky, as though Thor himself was striking at Hiccup's eardrums with Mjölnir.

"MALVEDAH!"

The Night Fury let out a shriek in response, but Hiccup's pounding heart had gotten to him.

"What was that?! Some kind of mutated Night Fury?!" He gave Toothless a nervous look. "Please tell me this is as big as you get and that's not your Mom calling."

Toothless didn't reply. To Hiccup, that is. The Night Fury let out another shriek that was far too excited for Hiccup's liking and his wings pumped harder. The acceleration of wind against his face had him closing his eyes and molding himself as best he could with Toothless' back.

"Whoa, whoa! Toothless!" The young Viking cried out as he held on, quickly adjusting the false fin when needed as the Night Fury was living up to his namesake. They broke through the clouds and, as he hung on for dear life, Hiccup realized he needed a much better saddle. Maybe even something that wouldn't flap against his skin like his fur vest and tunic were.

Gonna need more leather, but it needs to be insulated. And maybe streamlined. Hiccup's overactive mind almost got the best of him, he almost forgot about the situation, but then he was promptly reminded of it when there was yet another roar, this one much closer and much louder than the last.

"LOK-VAH-KOOR!"

The clouds vanished around them. Hiccup felt the warm sunlight rain down on him. Steeling his nerves as best he could, he weakly jerked on the handles of his saddle.

"Toothless, we have to turn around! I do not want to mess with something that can roar so loud it parts the sky!" Toothless warbled in protest and held his course. To Hiccup's horror, they began to descend and slow. He let out a woeful groan, he was pretty sure his Dad would turn tail and run if he met the dragon that could do that!

In moments after the roar, Toothless' claws touched down on a snow-covered mountaintop. The rider clung to the harness, and only moved when Toothless' earflap gave a light bat to his head. Hiccup practically ripped the harness off and scrambled away from his dragon. Toothless' large green eyes followed him, the Night Fury's head tilted as he crooned.

"This was a mistake, oh this was a big, big, big mistake!" Hiccup muttered to himself as he continued his fumbling retreat. "Ride a dragon, what was I thinking? Why would I think I could just fly wherever I wanted? I should've just played sick, maybe just-"

His words caught in his throat when his back pressed against a rough and warm wall. Hiccup tilted his head back and his eyes grew wide as the wall's shadow encased his being. Peering down at him over a scaled snout were a pair of eyes attached to a horned head that was as large as his father was tall. Teeth weren't hidden by the mouth, not entirely, and a low rumble shook the ground.

When the largest dragon he'd ever seen snorted down at him, Hiccup wanted to say he reacted like a brave Viking, that he stared up in wonder and awe... but that would have been an utter lie.

In reality, Hiccup screamed like a little girl and passed out.

And that's what I have so far in this little thought experiment of mine…tell me what you think? Should I post this or let it sit for another few years?