One year had passed after destruction of Lava-Lout Island. Since there was no threat of war and destruction anymore, everyone at Berk had relaxed themselves from their paranoia. Other than the dragon raids, it was a peaceful time for them.
The 13-year-old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was reading and writing inside his room. There were stacks of papers on the table and floors. They were somewhat organised - placed at the corner of the room, and it was messy in its own rights. Those were his thoughts and theories of things that he had learned over the course of two years.
The boy had been studying throughout the year. From training with Alexander to reading scrolls and books, there was no shortage of things to do. Hiccup had gone through half and quarter of the whole chest library that they had bought two years ago.
He almost finished reading them all. Every book and scroll there were plethora of knowledge, and Hiccup loved every single one of them.
Some books were theoretical, while others were practical. It was rather mixed amongst the books and scrolls in the chest. Throughout the year, he implemented those practical things for the village. While mostly minor improvements, such as efficient forging techniques, some Vikings appreciated them.
Unfortunately, Hiccup could not really do much with practical things. There was simply not enough space for him to work. He had many different forging techniques he wanted to try, but without having access to bigger forge, he had to accommodate.
That left him focusing on theoretical and alchemical things.
Hiccup realised just how incredibly isolated they were with the outside world. There was a large-scale European war 17 years ago, and nobody knew about it. Most of the world had moved on to use gunpowder instead of sword and axe. Even Vikings no longer existed in mainland.
He wondered why it was the case. Outsiders - such as the Englishman few years ago - did come to their land. However, they never introduced gunpowder to the native population. Perhaps it was dragons that stopped them from coming; very few dared to brave the unknown lands full of dragons.
Considering there were other unknown lands to explore out there, it was hard to justify whether they should explore known dangerous ones first.
Regardless, Hiccup wanted to care for himself first. It was something he reluctantly come to terms with - his fifty or so attempts to help the village made him disliked by Vikings. He wanted to see the world outside; understand why things were the way they were. It would hopefully give him an insight into learning how to be a better Viking.
That did make him wonder. Most historians agreed that the Viking age ended roughly 800 years ago. It gave birth to three different Scandinavian kingdoms; Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Those were the places where Vikings came from. Those kingdoms rose from Vikings that settled, and they gained their own identity.
Hiccup wondered what it meant for Meridian of Misery. They still lived as a Viking, but less raiding and more trading. It made him wonder: what defined a Viking? What was Viking? If they no longer fit what defined a Viking, would that mean they were no longer a Viking?
Would that just make them... Nordic? Scandinavian?
While Hiccup was pondering all these things, the boy was busy writing his mental rants in his room.
Book chests wide open, stacks of papers everywhere, filled with gibberish in foreign languages. In addition to that, there were papers pinned on the walls, filled with various drawn imagery and text.
This was the state that Stoick found his son in when he came into his room.
Around the corner of the room, there were different contraptions he did not understand. The contraptions were small. They seemed pointless, but he was sure Hiccup knew what they were for. The boy did not even notice Stoick coming into his room through the door. Hiccup was too focused with what he was doing.
While Stoick was proud of Hiccup's knowledge and intelligence, he began to question his sanity. There were times when he was caught peeking into Gothi's house while she was working on her medicine. The given reason that he wanted to learn about medicine.
When he did learn how to make medicine from Gothi, he would later experiment with them.
There were times when Hiccup would mix liquids together. In one scenario, he mixed a tankard of milk together with mead at the Mead Hall. It caused quite a stir, since everyone was horrified of him wasting good mead like that.
Most Vikings, at least.
Had Stoick knew what would happen, he would have not bought those books. Or at least, put a limit on them.
He was glad that Alexander was there to do just that. While he encouraged his studies, his great grand uncle was able to prevent him from causing problem at the village. That left Stoick dealing with Vikings complaining about his strange behaviours.
However, of all his flaws, Hiccup was a bright kid. There were times when children would bully him, but that never seem to ebb his wonder and curiosity. That simply made him more cautious with things that he made, in fear of being taken away from him.
It was a shame that Hiccup stayed small like that. His growth sprout was not as dramatic as other children of his age.
Alexander had been mitigating that with constant training and feeding. While it did not make any apparent change, it did make him physically stronger. At least Hiccup could swing an axe now.
Stoick thought that bringing Alexander was the best decision he ever made. The man knew how to teach better than Gobber. Compared to last year, Hiccup was much better than before.
He learned plenty of things about self-defence and learned how to practice restraint. However, there were still more things that needed to change.
Hiccup was non-confrontational - those were Alexander's words. Stoick thought Hiccup was cowardly. He preferred to avoid confrontation whenever possible, especially relating to dragons. The father thought he was still traumatised by Monstrous Nightmares all those years ago.
In that case, he must deal with it in his own terms.
Regardless, Hiccup kept on his studies.
Recently, he was getting more inventive and experimental with his endeavours. There were complaints from Gobber about hiccup wasting precious metal by mixing them with different metal.
For example, there was that time when he dumped a bag of sand into the furnace. It created a mess in the furnace that they had to clean up. The forge was inoperable for some time.
Thankfully, Hiccup had a bit of tact; he bought metals himself instead of using the village metals. He was not sure where Hiccup got money to buy them from. Alexander only ever gave him equipment. He wondered if Toothless started bringing wealth and kept them a secret.
The thought of Toothless reminded him of what he heard from passing traders. The Night Fury sightings were significantly less this year. They were never seen in dragon raids anymore.
That was good. It meant they lost interest in raiding villages. It was most likely that Toothless pulled her partner from raiding villages, but that was pure speculation from him.
After standing on the doorway for some time, Stoick decided to call his son. "Hiccup?"
The boy looked up from his work. He turned to face his father. "Dad? What is it?"
"The Berserkers, Meatheads and Bog-Burglars would be visiting for their annual treaty signing." Stoick informed the boy. "Both chiefs and heirs are coming. They will arrive in a few days."
"Okay." Hiccup nodded. He tilted his head. "Why would their heirs be coming?"
Stoick grimaced. Hiccup had picked up the habit of tilting his head from Toothless. His son was more of a dragon than a Viking. "This is the 20th anniversary of our peace treaty with them. I uh... hoped that you might give the heirs gifts."
Hiccup blinked. His eyes widened a bit. "Is it time for pendant exchange?"
The pendant exchange was a Viking tradition. Those were intended for chief and chiefess heirs to make alliance pact before they take up the position themselves. It was simply matter of promise, and for most heirs, they typically meant friendship. It was meaningless without friendship and maintaining said friendship.
"Aye." Stoick nodded, staring at the boy with curious expression. "Remember to carry your pendant. They have your name on it."
The boy looked thoughtful. The man was suddenly wary. "Do you have an idea what to give them?"
"I have something in mind." Hiccup confirmed.
For some reason, Stoick did not like that voice. However, he wanted Hiccup to be creative. "Alright. Make sure it's safe for them."
"Okay, dad."
Later that afternoon, Hiccup went to the forge. The boy entered the forge through the back door. Inside the forge, Gobber was talking with Alexander. The large man was busy packing his things. The blacksmith seemed concerned.
Gobber was holding a large leather backpack. "Are ye sure?" He questioned. "It could be large Nadder darts."
"Nadder darts doesn't go that big. This one's the size of a man." Alexander replied, before grabbing the backpack from him. "I have a feeling something terrible's brewing up. That overgrown porcupine wouldn't show up otherwise."
Hiccup walked into view. "Hey, Gobber, Alex."
They turned their attention to him. Gobber was the first one to speak. "Ay, lad!" He cheerfully greeted back. "No order today. You've done everything yesterday."
The boy was curious. "What's going on?" He questioned, before focusing onto Alexander. "Are you leaving?"
"For couple weeks." The large man answered as he wore the backpack. "I want ye to finish something while I'm gone. Do ye have your bow?"
"Yeah?"
"I want ye to remake them. Use everything you've learned so far." Alexander explained. He moved close to the back door. "I want them done when I get back. We'll be hunting something later. We need to work on yer confidence."
"O- Okay." Hiccup lamely responded as he watched him left the place. The large man closed the door behind him. "... I guess I'll be working alone then."
Gobber moved closer. "Ye borrowing the forge for that?"
"Yeah, but for more than that."
"Ey?"
"The Berserkers, Meatheads and Bog-Burglars are coming in a few days. They're here for peace treaty." Hiccup explained the situation. "They're coming with the heirs. My dad wants me to give them gifts."
"Ah. Chief did tell everyone about it. We have things ready for 'em." Gobber stroked his beard. "Do ye have the time? Alex said he'd be back in few days."
Hiccup pondered his timeframe. "It's going to be close." The boy admitted. "But I already have things in mind."
"Alright. Good luck." The blacksmith shrugged. "Ye can use the forge. Don't burn it down, will ya?"
"Okay! Thanks, Gobber!" Hiccup smiled.
"Aye." Gobber waved his hand as he walked out from the forge through the back door.
The boy quickly went to work. He went into the room at the back. It was a small private room for him, where he could rest and sleep at the forge. It was also the place where he stockpiled his things. There was not much in that room, other than small contraptions, papers and bed.
Hiccup moved to grab a large rolled up paper and a charcoal pencil. He pulled it out from the room and expanded them onto the large table. It revealed empty large parchments and his study blueprints for reference. The boy thought for some time, before starting to draw onto it.
The boy had some plans on what to give them. Oswald the Agreeable had become a kind chief many years ago, it was best to have a decorative glass sculpture for him.
It would be something that symbolised their tribe; something to honour them. Hiccup could make something that would be remembered.
Dagur the Deranged was the son of Oswald. He clearly lived up to his name, considering Hiccup's experience with him. The boy pondered for something temporary - dangerous, but not useful outside its niche.
Hiccup had been experimenting with blast sticks; a gunpowder weapon. That would be fitting for the heir of Berserker.
Hiccup might need to make more for himself.
Bog-Burglar tribe was an interesting one. It was all-women Viking tribe, and most of them hated men. They were famous for their thievery and burglary skills, and they had a habit of surviving odds and ends. It meant that he needed to make something equally interesting for them.
Hiccup thought about using his knowledge and discoveries on minerals. He had some ores that was left over from his experiments.
He could make the strongest battle axe he could make for Big-Boobied Bertha - the chiefess of the tribe - using minerals he discovered. It would be sharp and heavy, which was perfect for her posture.
There was also Camicazi, the heir of Bog-Burglar; someone he was familiar with. She was known for causing all sorts of mischief, but Hiccup knew that she was good with swords. A strong, lightweight sword would be good for her. He had some tricks that would make them memorable - something almost impossible to normally get.
The Meatheads were strong, burly Vikings. There was a reason why they were called Meatheads. Majority of Meathead Vikings were physically strong, and they liked to solve disputes through arm-wrestling and sheep-rustling. They were not the brightest, but they were hard workers. They knew how to organise themselves.
Mogadon the Meathead was the chief of the tribe, and Thuggory was his son and heir. Since they were similar, it was a good idea to make the same weapon for them. He could make strong warhammers for them both. However, he had a different idea he wanted to try.
Spear was a popular weapon in Europe. They were the most common weapons used in the past because of their versatility. They could be used by mounted cavalries, or those hiding behind large shield. There were many types of spears, but Hiccup was more interested in thrusting variant.
It could be a symbolic gift for Thuggory, and Hiccup liked symbolic gifts. With that in mind, he decided to make a spear and a shield for him. Just like the broadsword, he had some tricks to make them memorable. They would become something precious.
After concluding his plan, the boy looked at his work in the large parchments.
It would be six gifts for respective chiefs and heirs of their tribes. Given the materials, it would take some time to make them. Hiccup only had few days, not to mention the project Alexander asked. He might need to work on that first. It meant he needed to be quick.
"What are you going to give them?"
Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut and Ruffnut were gathering at one of the catapults. It was the place where they usually spend together, when not doing anything else. the five 13-year-old boys and girls were sitting at the base of unmanned catapults, as they discussed things related to the recent news they heard.
"My dad already dropped some coins to the box for us." Ruffnut nonchalantly spoke.
"You mean our dad." Tuffnut pointed out.
"Hehe- yeah." Ruffnut giggled. The twins moved and banged their heads together. "Ow..."
"We can give them coins, but we can give them something else." Fishlegs pointed out. "My dad gave me some coins for the box."
"My dad gave me some too." Astrid confirmed.
"Same for us both."
"Me too."
"It's my money." Snotlout whined. "I don't want to use them! My dad said it's my allowance for the year."
The others seemed uncomfortable. "It's coming from my pocket too." Astrid grumbled.
"Hah!" Tuffnut laughed. "We don't have to spend our money!"
Ruffnut leaned close to her brother. "Didn't mom told us we're not getting allowance this month?" She whispered.
That ruined Tuffnut's mood. "Oh." He grumbled.
Snotlout suddenly grinned. He leaned closer to them. "I got an idea."
The others paid attention to him. The burly boy began speaking. "Hiccup should have some coins with him. We can take them for the box!"
"Hiccup don't really carry money with him." Tuffnut pointed out. "He usually brings a list with him whenever he went to buy from Johann."
"Hiccup isn't giving his money to the box?" Snotlout asked, incredulous. "That's not fair! I don't want to give my money!"
"He's not giving money. He's giving things to them." The male twin corrected the burly boy. "I heard him borrowing the whole forge for few days. He's making something big for them."
The others brightened. Ruffnut rubbed her hands together. Snotlout slowly nodded with a smile on his face. Fishlegs was nervous about it but did not disagree with what was being implied. Astrid slowly spread a smile as she formulated an idea.
"We'll take them and use that instead of giving our money." Astrid proposed her idea. "We wait for him to finish, take it, and then give it to them."
"Ooh, stealing." Ruffnut smirked as she rubbed her hands together.
Tuffnut leaned to his sister. "I like the sound of that."
"Good idea!" Snotlout smirked as well. "You're the best, Astrid."
Astrid smirked alongside the others. Fishlegs was simply nervous at the idea but did not go against it. The young shieldmaiden began to wonder what Hiccup was making. She decided it did not matter, as long they had them when it was ready.
"You know, if you want, we can spy on Hiccup together."
Astrid groaned. "I'm not spying on him until it's done. Even if I do, I'm not going with you."
Toothless was glaring at something outside her nest.
It was a small pile of massive spikes the size of her forelegs. They looked like signs of certain dragon, which was why the dragoness was glaring at them. Toothless knew what dragon that come from. It seemed her father decided to pay attention to her.
Suddenly, Toothless sensed someone approaching. "Toothless!" She heard a familiar, feminine voice.
'Amber.' The dragoness thought as she looked up to the newcomer. The certain white dragoness flew down and landed right in front of her.
It was obvious that Amber the Light Fury had grown. She was bigger than before, and her features were sharper. However, she was obviously smaller than the Night Fury in front of her.
Toothless had gotten a massive growth sprout. While this was common for dragons of her age, the growth rate was unusual. She was roughly a quarter bigger than before. Amber was surprised to see her dramatic change in appearance.
Her scales were bigger, and she had gotten herself small fin-like appendages behind her legs - a sign of a strong Night Fury. Her features were sharper, showing more of her feminine side. Her green acidic eyes were vibrant as well.
"Hey, Amber!" Toothless greeted her, happy to see her finally arrived at her nest. "Glad you came here unscratched."
The white dragoness blinked as she looked at the black dragoness in front of her. "You look... different." She commented as she began circling around her best friend. "You sure is bigger and stronger now."
Toothless shrugged her wings. "I've been training."
Amber gave her knowing look. "Oh, sure." She humoured. "How's your retirement going? I heard you got honourable discharge from Dragon Rebellion."
"You knew?" The black-scaled dragoness was surprised. Then, she remembered that some of her colleagues had migrated to Hidden World. "Of course, you knew."
"Yup! It's all been the talks back at home." The Light Fury further explained. "I got your message. I'm here for you and your mate's mind healer session."
"Good." Toothless exhaled her breath. She sat on her hindlegs. "I have Nature Shards inside. It should be enough to pay you."
Ever since Charcoal found out about Nature Shard from his father, he had been searching for them at nearby island. Toothless had been the one to explain him that 'where dragons usually die' meant places where dragon fossils were commonly found.
It was a difficult task, since most islands they found were full of human traps.
Ironically, islands with fossils typically had no human settlement. They occasionally found fossilised dragon skeletons tangled up in those ancient traps.
After almost getting maimed and killed by spikes, they managed to return with couple Nature Shards. It was enough to last for years, depending how much they use them.
They were rare in Hidden World, and some dragons used them as currency. It was not as widespread in its use as currency, but they were valuable for those working at demanding environment, such as medical professionals. As such, they usually accept them for payment.
"You don't need to pay me, actually."
The Night Fury narrowed her eyes. "Did my father sent you?"
Amber became nervous. "Yes and no." She admitted. "The messenger dragon you sent blabbed after I got the message. Yes, your dad approved my visit. His delegate tried to pay me for your session, but I told him that you have veteran benefits that covers them. And yes, you're eligible. I've checked."
Toothless was aware of such benefits. Her father set them up to encourage dragons to return to Hidden World after they finished taking part in the war. The benefits were technically already there before he took the position, but her father expanded them to encourage their return.
Regardless, the black-scaled dragoness was curious. "What was my father's reaction?"
"I don't know. I never met your dad; just his delegate." The Light Fury answered. She looked deep in thought. "But delegate did describe me his reaction. Your dad doesn't look happy, but he does look proud. Not many fathers have that kind of emotion running the same time."
"Yeah, well, he's not happy that I got into the war. I wasn't even planning to get in one." Toothless explained her reasoning. "He's probably proud I made it out with honourable discharge."
"Like I said, not many fathers do things like that." Amber indirectly pressed further. "We were half expecting him to disown you, but he looks largely neutral about it."
"He's... more of a face-your-consequence father." The Night Fury admitted. "I don't know the word for them. Whenever he made me do something, he's always there to catch me. But when I did something myself, he just left. He made me take consequence of my own action."
"See? Even you admitted it!" The Light Fury looked happy. "You have a good father!"
Toothless let out a groan. "Amber..."
"So why did you move out?" Amber questioned. "What made you dislike him?"
"Amber, you know I can't say. It's too personal." The black-scaled dragoness responded, before narrowing her eyes. "And besides, you lied to me!"
"About what?"
Toothless growled. "About the male Night Fury."
Amber nervously chuckled. "That got you a mate, didn't it?"
"Oh yeah, sure." Toothless rolled her eyes. "Like I didn't almost die back there."
"What."
"You'll see what I mean." Toothless vaguely told her. "First things first. Which part did you lied to me?"
"Well..." Amber sat on her hindlegs. She tapped her chin with her claws, thinking. "I kind of exaggerated his description. I didn't lie when I say that my tribe was considering sending a Light Fury for him."
"Ambeeeer, you know he's courting me!" Toothless whined.
"Relax! No one is sending anyone!" The white dragoness defended herself. "They just considered it. Nothing ever came out of it since the rumours faded away."
"What else did you lied to me about him?"
"I lied about the Night Fury having a lot of human knowledge." Amber confessed.
Toothless blinked. "That was a lie?"
"Yeah."
"But he does have a lot of human knowledge." The black dragoness explained, surprising her. "I thought you're truthful about that."
"... huh." Amber responded, surprised with herself. "That's just my wild guess."
"What else have you lied about him?"
"I lied about the part where Furious recruiting him. I don't know if he's part of Dragon Rebellion or not." Amber listed off. "Then, there's the sending Light Fury part. They never sent any. And... that's about it."
Amber noticed that Toothless was staring at her with unreadable expression. She wondered what her best friend was thinking about. The white dragoness was about to speak when they heard someone landing not far from them.
Charcoal had finally arrived at Toothless' nest. The said dragoness had to gawk at his appearance.
Charcoal was slightly bigger than Toothless. He was definitely a strong male dragon. His musculature features were prominent, showcasing his strength and prowess. His scales were bigger, meaning he shed his scales recently.
There was a lot of scale scars on his body, meaning he had many dragon fights before.
Upon landing, the male dragon stretched his body. He flexed his wings, revealing his much bigger wings and musculature on said appendages. The stretch revealed his fin-like appendages on his legs, spines and forehead. His nub-shaped appendages were longer and sharper as well. On his paws were sharp talons instead of claws.
The male dragon looked at the gawking female white dragoness. Toothless was standing next to her, and she looked amused. Charcoallet out a bright smile. "I'm back."
Toothless stared at the vibrant forest green eyes of the male dragon. "Welcome back." She greeted as she came forward to him. The dragoness purred as she moved and snuggled under his wings. "Did you catch the culprit?"
Charcoal let out a sigh as he leaned closer to her. "Unfortunately, no." He admitted, staring at the large spikes in front of the nest. "I caught the scent in some island, but no signs of them. I don't know any dragons that sheds like that."
"It's one of my father's dragons." Toothless exhaled her breath, before moving away from him. "They decided to check on us without telling us."
That concerned the male Night Fury. "Should we be worried?"
"Nope. Thankfully not." Toothless chirped her answer, before hopping over to stand next to Amber. "Charcoal, this is Amber. We grew up together back at Caldera. She's a mind healer, and my best friend."
"Nice to meet you." Charcoal greeted her.
"N- Nice to meet you." Amber nervously greeted back. She realised Toothless had gotten herself a good catch. From appearance alone, she knew Charcoal was a strong dragon.
Toothless knew that Amber was nervous and surprised. It would be her revenge for her deception. "Charcoal, why don't you introduce yourself to her, with your former title and heritage?"
Charcoal was confused. He was not sure why he should do that, but he assumed it was a formal thing, of sort. "Okay." The male dragon responded, before turning to face the white dragoness. "Hello."
"Hi..." Amber hesitantly greeted back.
"My name is Charcoal." The male dragon introduced himself. "Former General of the 12th Red Rage Dragon Army, Third Dragon Rebellion under Greater Alpha Furious. Son of Furious."
Amber slumped her wings in shock. "... oh." She whispered, looking back and forth between the two black dragons. "... ooooh."
Toothless solemnly nodded. "Yeah."
"You..." The Light Fury then realised the situation they were in. "... does he...?"
"Yes. He knows." The black dragoness nodded.
Amber was incredulous. It took her some time to process that information. "... Toothless, I know we've heard plenty of forbidden love stories when we were young." She sounded accusing. "I never thought you wanted to live through it."
"I know." Toothless grumbled.
"You do realise how much danger you'll be in if dragons found out?"
"I know!" The black dragoness whined.
Charcoal became more confused. "Toothless, what's going on?"
"My father just learned about my participation in Dragon Rebellion." The black dragoness explained the situation. "He's not doing anything about it yet, but he has his dragons watching us."
The male dragon widened his eyes. "Is that why my dad's been nervous all year?" Charcoal questioned. "He's been incredibly cautious with everything ever since he saw a red comet."
That interested Toothless. "Red comet?"
"Yeah. I saw it fly around the night sky from time to time." Charcoal confirmed as he tried to remember. "I don't know what it was all about. I know my father isn't the superstitious type. There was an influx of agitated dragons, so that might be a sign."
Amber widened her eyes. "Toothless." She whispered to her best friend. "That's-"
"Yup." The black dragoness felt headache brewing. "That's him."
The male dragon heard that. "You know that red comet?"
Toothless took a deep breath. "The red comet you saw is one of my father's dragons. Valstrax." She explained the situation. "He's his personal messenger dragon, delegate and arch alpha representative."
"Valstrax." Charcoal pondered for some time. "Never heard of him."
"That's not his name. That's his species. His name is Aymar." The black dragoness further explained. "He's the only one of his kind, as far as I know. He was known for being the fastest and highest flyer that ever exists - much faster than us. It was said that he can reach beyond the skies in seconds."
The male dragon widened his eyes. "And that dragon was here?"
"No. Aymar would never show himself if we're not here." Toothless shook her head, before pointing her claws at the large spikes. "These came from a different dragon. I've seen them before. They serve my father as part of his army."
Charcoal looked deep in thought. "But why here?" He wondered. "What was the point?"
"Well, my father usually just sends Aymar whenever I was in trouble - most of the time." The black dragoness looked deep in thought. "He never brought the army out to the surface since the Oppressive War."
The male dragon was vaguely aware of that event. It was the first human-dragon war, which lasted over ten thousand years. "That's well over two million years ago, is it?" Charcoal questioned. "I doubt they have any experience in current war, unless they fought wars in Hidden World."
"They did fought wars in Hidden World." Toothless confirmed. "My father fought over fifty wars that lasted over centuries. From what I remember, he's currently at war with Mongolian serpent dragons."
The male dragon simply stared. "I'm not familiar with it."
The black dragoness rolled her eyes. "Hidden World politics. I wouldn't worry about it." She assured her partner. "You should worry more about your father."
"Why?"
"Because my father has some of his soldiers, and his delegate, here in Barbaric Archipelago." Toothless answered the question. She looked annoyed. "How do you think your father would react?"
"Hrr..." Charcoal shrugged his wings. "He'll be fine."
Furious was anything but fine.
In fact, the greater alpha dragon had been a nervous wreck.
When he heard reports of red flying comet in the sky, Furious was expecting some form of communication with Wodensfang.
Despite his reputation, greater alpha dragons respected him enough to give him reports. While it typically ended in boasting accomplishments, those were still reports for him to hear.
However, the problem began when dragons saw some of Wodensfang's soldiers within territory. Furious had heard of them - heralds of destruction; extinction dragon army - the latter came from Hidden World legend, where they won the War of Desperation.
It was a thousand-year war that saw destruction of deeper parts of Hidden World, as well as sudden extinction of some dragon species.
Everyone feared and admired them; Furious was no exception. Regardless of internal politics, Wodensfang did protect the region from foreign adversaries, such as Mongolian serpent dragons and wyverns of Africa. He and his army did their job protecting against invading arch alpha dragons.
When his army was stationed around Barbaric Archipelago for no reason, it meant that there might be a huge war.
Furious feared a large-scale dragon war at the surface - his dragons were not trained or prepared for such thing. It would be disastrous for them if outsiders were to invade. They had no way to defend themselves.
'I need to prepare my dragons.' The greater alpha dragon finally decided. 'My generals could train them more, but something else needs to be done.'
That thought reminded him of Charcoal. He had plenty of knowledge about human things. Furious could include him into the pile.
It was not possible for him to take part in the war after honourable discharge, but there was no law against one becoming instructor of sort. He could help training dragons to fight against possible foreign human-dragon invasion.
It was a win for them; Charcoal stayed out of danger while also contributing to the war. His dragons would be prepared for foreign invasion, thus stopping whatever threat that would happen.
The last problem would be his generals; they needed to be briefed about the arrangement.
'They could organise themselves to train their dragons.' Furious thought. He was deep in thought. 'Charcoal could train some of them, and they could teach others about it. That should make things easier without overwhelming everyone involved.'
With that in mind, the greater alpha dragon mentally summoned his generals. It would be a very long week for them.
After the conversation, the three dragons entered Toothless' roost for privacy. There was a burning ice at the centre illuminating the nest. Near the fire were two nature shards, which were dimly pulsing.
Charcoal rested himself close to the burning ice. Toothless laid down at the opposite side. Amber the Light Fury sat in front of the burning ice between them. "Let's start with the procedure."
Toothless and Charcoal were prepared. Amber took a deep breath. "My name is Elisabeth Amber. I graduated from Sacred Heart Medical School in 1827 at Lomia region in Hidden World." She introduced herself. "I became an IVR doctor after I graduate. I swore the Secrecy Oath to protect my client's confidentiality."
The male dragon raised his brows. "IVR?"
"International Veteran Rehabilitation." The Light Fury answered. Seeing his confusion, she clarified. "It's an organisation founded by eight different arch alphas to help war veterans adjust with civilian life. It was formed days after the end of Desperation War."
Charcoal felt like he was missing some information. He might look that up later when he had the time. The male dragon slowly nodded as he processed that knowledge. "Okay." He began. "My name is Charcoal. Former General of the 12th Red Rage Dragon Army, Third Dragon Rebellion under Greater Alpha Furious."
"How long have you served?"
"I served for 7 years under Merciless, and 2 years under Furious." Charcoal answered. "I was 3 when I moved to Greater Archipelago."
"Okay..." Amber slowly nodded. "When did you move here?"
"I moved here when I was 10. That was 3 years ago."
"What made you move?"
"I want less pressure in my line of work." The male dragon answered. "I told Merciless this, and he offered me retirement. I chose to move here instead of retiring to Hidden World."
The white dragoness raised one of her paws. The tip of her claw was shimmering teal. "Do you want to tell why?"
"Depends." Charcoal sounded confused. "What spell are you casting?"
"Privacy spell. It muffles our voice as long my claw is glowing."
"Oh." The male dragon seemed to blush. He decided to answer the question. "I told Toothless about this before. I felt..."
There was a pause. Amber patiently waited as Charcoal pondered his words. "... I felt bad for my dad." He admitted. "I left him to join the war."
"Why?"
"Because I want revenge against humans." The male dragon answered. "They killed my mother."
Amber tilted her head. "Do you still feel this emotion?"
That question made him pause. Charcoal slumped his wings a bit. "... I don't know." He confessed. "I used to get angry when I think about it. But over time, it gets duller the more I work. Now, I... it's just dull. It's not as strong as before."
"When do you stop feeling angry?"
The male dragon thought the estimate. "About... 6 years ago."
The Light Fury slowly nodded. She thought of another question. "When you were given the option to retire by Merciless, you said you choose here because you feel bad about your father." Amber made her statement. "Retirement won't stop you from going out to visit your father. Do you know this?"
"Yes."
That interested Amber. "Then, why do you keep going?"
Charcoal opened his mouth to answer, before pausing. He had a quick answer to that. He did it because it was against humans. He did it because he was protecting their land against humans. However, when he thought more about it, the more he thought about his former army.
Those dragons were fighting for their freedom. Most were forced into the army to serve and fight against humans. There was also the fact that everyone was doing just fine with his absence. Charcoal realised just how selfless he had been during his tenure as soldier.
The question was about himself. He pondered the answer. "It's hard to describe, but retirement just feels a bit off." Charcoal admitted. "When I did retire, I felt this... feeling of restlessness, like I always have to be ready for anything. I can't stop training every day. If I missed just a day, I'd get anxious."
"Hrr..." Amber slowly nodded. "And you've been feeling like this since your retirement?"
"I've always been like this since I joined the war."
The Light Fury understood. "It's common for long-serving veterans to feel anxious about retirement." She explained. "You were regimented to always be ready. It's hard to adapt yourself to live in normal environment after so long."
"I think I'm doing well in adapting." Charcoal commented.
"Do you feel anxious around crowded space?"
"No."
"Are you okay with flight tunnel?"
"Yes."
"Do you feel tense whenever you see a human?"
"... Yes."
"What do you do if you see a human?"
Charcoal straightened himself. "Assess the threat and eliminate."
"What if the human submitted herself to you?"
The male dragon paused at that question. That was a first. "I... don't know." He confessed. "Is she a combatant? A child? Disarmed human?"
"No." Amber leaned forward. "A human the same of your age. No weapon or smell of violence. She submitted herself to you. What do you do?"
Charcoal did not know what to say. "I guess I just leave." He gave his answer. "It's a weird human. I don't want anything to do with her."
The white dragoness visibly relaxed. She smiled as she lowered her paw. The glow on her claw tip disappeared, ending the Privacy spell. "Well! I'd say you're mentally stable compared to most veterans we've dealt with."
Toothless, who had been waiting for them to finish, decided to ask. "How was it?"
"Now that would be telling." Amber smirked at her, before focusing on the male dragon. "Your mind is still adjusting after years in military. I recommend taking things slow to maintain your mental stability."
Charcoal nodded. "I will."
After Charcoal had been assessed, Amber did the same process with Toothless. Charcoal could not hear anything through the Privacy spell. However, given Amber constantly look annoyed, as well as how short the interview was, Charcoal assumed it did not go well. They did not say anything when their session ended.
The next part was more intrusive. The Light Fury analysed their mana and circuits, checking for possible mutations or alterations. The basics were something every medical professional capable of doing. She wanted to check for possible mind-affecting mutation.
As expected, there was a major mutation. The signs pointed to their mana circuit. Thankfully, the mutation was beneficial, meaning that luck was on their side that day. It had no effect to their mind.
However, she also found something else.
"You have two sets of Mana Circuit."
Toothless and Charcoal were still at the same position. Amber was busy inspecting the male dragon; her blue eyes were shimmering. The white dragoness looked confused.
Charcoal raised his brows. "Two sets of Mana Circuit?"
"I don't know how else to put it." Amber admitted, confused by what she was seeing. "But you have two different mana circuit inside you."
Toothless blinked at that. "Wait." She started. "Two sets... are they connected?"
"They are indirectly connected through body." The Light Fury was focused on the male dragon. There was confusion in her voice. "Same species, but different age. It's like a dragon hiding inside a dragon."
Charcoal was concerned. "Is it dangerous?"
"No, it's not dangerous. Quite the opposite. They are supporting each other." Amber muttered as she mentally inspected his mana circuit. Her blue eyes were still glowing. "They're both together and separate at the same time, as if you're two different dragons as one."
The male dragon was confused. "But that's..."
"Impossible." Toothless whispered in shock.
Having two sets of circuits was impossible. Every creature that existed either have one or none at all. The main circuits of mana were ones connected to the brain - if they were ever destroyed, the rest of the circuit would die. There could be only one set of circuits attached to the brain.
It meant that Charcoal was an anomaly.
"Your partner's the living proof of it." Amber responded as she sat on her hindlegs. "The first one is very young - roughly the same as you, Toothless. The second one is ancient."
The black dragoness narrowed her eyes. "How ancient?"
"Probably around centuries old. I can't give you specific estimate." The white dragoness was deep in thought. Her eyes had stopped glowing. "Given the condition, I almost thought he was born with it. You said he's 13-year-old, right?"
"That's right."
"That's the exact age for the first one." Amber gave her opinion. "I'm not sure if this is correct, but I think you might be a reincarnation of an ancient Night Fury."
"If he was a reincarnation, it would just be one set of centuries old circuits." Toothless retorted. Seeing their stares, the dragoness snorted. "Trust me. I know when I see one."
Amber was surprised. "You've seen one?"
"Yes! I don't know how, but there was this dragon that reincarnated himself into an egg." The black-scaled dragoness answered as she tried to remember. "My teacher brought me there to observe the process."
The white dragoness balked at that. "What kind of teacher brought you to something like that?"
"I don't know!" Toothless was frustrated. "She made me learn how to identify anomalies."
While the two female dragons were talking, Charcoal was deep in thought. He could not believe that he was unusual this whole time. The male dragon pondered what he had missed.
It did not take him long to realise. "Furious."
That stopped the two female dragons from arguing. Toothless looked at the male dragon. "You think your father did this?"
"He has a Recovery Crystal Chamber. Remember; that's where we got major mutation." Charcoal gave his reasoning. "I think he's responsible for what's happening to me."
"Recovery Crystal Chamber can be used to record and diagnose diseases, but that's about it for anything outside what it was made for." Amber explained its functions. "It heals creatures by absorbing and filtering mana around them. It's from nature."
"Unless it was deprived of raw mana." The black dragoness gave her theory. She sat up from the ground, staring at them. "Two creatures in one block could get mana poisoning if there's not enough mana around them. It usually results in death. That's why they're always in cavern full of crystals."
The dragons fell silent once more. Toothless and Amber were pondering on how it could have happened. Charcoal stood from the ground, before moving to sat near the burning ice. He stared at the fire as he pondered what they had just discovered.
After some time, the male dragon decided to speak. "Is it possible to know who the mana circuits belonged to?"
"You can, but whoever that was, they're most likely dead." Amber answered the question. "I can't guarantee that we'll find who it was."
"Why not?"
"Over thousands of dragons died every hour; only a fraction ever had their mana signature recorded in Hidden World." The white dragoness explained her answer. "Every one of them are notable dragons. I don't think I can find who it was."
"Mana signature?"
"Every mana that passed over your circuit leaves a signature. That's how it gets its colour." Amber elaborated. "We use them to find different dragons with same looks and name. It's also used to identify the dead."
Toothless decided to return the topic. "Amber, there are only four Night Furies that exists in this world." She patiently explained. "Me, my father, Charcoal and his father. Night Fury population number has always been low. I like to think that they kept historical archives about our species, in case we actually gone extinct."
"Fair. I also want to know more." Amber finally decided, before focusing on the male dragon. "I'm going to need your mana sample."
"Err- sure." Charcoal fumbled a bit. He turned around to face the white dragoness. "But how are you going to do that?"
"Just lay down, don't resist and let me do the work."
The male dragon rested himself close to the open flame. Amber moved closer, before pressing one of her paws onto his stomach. There was a bit of silence as Charcoal felt something pinching him. Suddenly, he felt a sharp, painful sting right where she touched. "Kar!"
Charcoal was quick to jump away. He heard something clattering on the ground. There were three separate crystal shard pieces close to him. They were blue, green and yellow respectively. The Light Fury went to grab the crystals with her paws.
"Hrr..." Amber inspected the crystal pieces. "Three mana samples... there must be a third unidentified circuit somewhere there." She remarked. "This medical anomaly is getting stranger."
The male dragon was scratching the spot that stung him. There was no injury, but he felt some sort of lingering phantom pain. "How long will it take to know who it was?" He questioned.
"In a few months at best. It's usually much faster, but the medical sector in Hidden World is understaffed right now." The Light Fury admitted. "I'll send a messenger dragon when I found out."
"Wait, no." Toothless stopped her. "Let's not use messenger dragon. This needs to be a secret. When are you going to come back?"
"Well, I don't have any client back home at the moment." Amber pondered for some time. "You know what - I know someone that specialise in mana studies. I'll come back when I found them. What do you think?"
"Can they keep a secret?" Charcoal expressed his concern.
"They're part of IVR. We're bound for life to keep this a secret." The Light Fury reassured. "You are the first dragon ever recorded to have something like this. It's a good idea to keep this a secret, in case this comes from something sinister."
Toothless snorted, getting their attention. "It's definitely something sinister." She commented, before focusing onto the Light Fury. "I bet you a shard one of the mana signatures is classified."
"I'm not making that bet." Amber warily replied. "I have a feeling I'm going to lose that one."
The black dragoness shrugged her wings. "Your loss."
Charcoal decided to speak. "I guess it's time for you to return."
"Yup!" The Light Fury chirped. She clutched firmly onto the crystals. "I'll see you next year."
"Wait, Amber." Toothless stopped her. "Can you bring me my stuff? I need something to entertain myself."
Amber gave her knowing look. "Why, I thought you enjoyed your partner." She commented. "For a second, I thought Charcoal's been tending you. Has he bred you yet?"
The black dragoness was embarrassed. "Fuck off! You know what I'm talking about!"
"Harr... karr..."
"Wait." Charcoal remembered something. "Can you bring someone when you get back? A Lutheran dragon?"
"Lutheran dragon?" Amber was confused. "Why do you want one here?"
"I want to learn about divine spells." The male dragon answered. Seeing her confusion, he clarified. "I've been thinking about taking different occupation. I want to know more about deviant dragon hunter."
Toothless moved to stand next to him. "He's been trying to do different jobs after honourable discharge." She explained the context. "His dad told him about the Legend of Bahamut. He's interested."
"Well, I know some Lutherans that works under Arch Alpha Bahamut." Amber frowned at that. "But learning means dedicating yourself to Christianity. I assume you know what that means."
"I know." Charcoal nodded. "I have no intention dedicating myself to that religion. I just wanted to know what it's like to be a deviant dragon hunter."
"Okay. I'll bring one along when going back to you..."
After that, Amber the Light Fury left the nest with the crystals. Toothless went to rest next to her partner. Charcoal was laying down next to the fire, staring at the open flame of burning ice. The male dragon looked rather depressed, which was fair considering what they had just discovered.
"Harr..." Toothless rested her head on top of him. "If only things are so simple."
There was no response. The dragoness stared at her counterpart. "Hey, Charcoal."
The male dragon stared back. "Hrr?"
Toothless paused for a moment. Charcoal looked sad, most likely because of their recent discovery. The dragoness softened her expression. "How are you feeling?"
"... I don't know." The male dragon admitted. He moved to stare back at the fire. "I'm just... confused. About the double circuits. Did my father do this? Who is the ancient dragon?"
The dragoness did not know how to answer that. It was a shocking discovery; something they had never seen before.
They were thankful that the anomaly was not harmful, or things might become complicated. Toothless wondered if they would ever find out what was going on. She was too curious to let that knowledge slide.
Charcoal was the opposite. She could feel his fear and anxiety, despite not openly expressing them. Toothless did not like that; it reminded her when she made him sad. For a war dragon, Charcoal was surprisingly sensitive. The dragoness needed to fix that, somehow.
"Let's not think about that." Toothless decided, before crawling closer onto her partner. "We'll find out, eventually."
The male dragon pulled her onto his chest. He rested his head on top of hers. "I'm just afraid of losing myself."
"You'll be fine. I believe in you." Toothless muttered as she pressed herself onto him. "... I think it's time for us to have some fun."
"Do you want to go out and fly?"
The dragoness paused for a moment. "Well, you keep talking about having someone inside you." She whispered, staring at the male black dragon. "I'm thinking about someone that's going to be inside me."
That confused Charcoal. "What are you talking about?"
Toothless almost bristled. "Charcoal." She demanded. "Breed me."
Suddenly, Charcoal leaped forward. Toothless gasped as he suddenly moved and pinned her onto the ground. The two dragons looked at each other. Acidic eyes met the forest green ones. The male dragon looked rather playful. "I was just playing with you."
"Oh, thank the skies you're not actually dense." The dragoness looked rather relieved. "Please don't do that. I tried my best to flirt."
"I... will do my best not to do that again." Charcoal gave her a toothless smile. He was nervous. "Promise."
That was when Toothless realised that he was actually unaware that she was flirting. "Well! You sure know how to recover." She responded, impressed by his response. "How long are you going to last, I wonder..."
The male dragon was a bit nervous. "I guess we'll find out."
Charcoal moved to claim the female dragon he had been courting for three years. It was the longest night that they ever had, and it was the best time of their life. While that was happening, something snapped in place. The two loving dragons did not notice. They were busy enjoying themselves.
It was time to advance their relationship, after all.