━━ 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐀
❝ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴅʀᴀɢᴏɴꜱ ᴡʜᴇɴ
valkyrie frode was a girl
where they went? 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 ❞
in which a young woman
has become one of the best
dragon riders there is...
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chapter thirty-four once, there were dragons
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HE WAS NERVOUS.
He was very nervous.
Hott found it ridiculous. He has fought warriors, flown mighty winged creatures and battled Gobber the Belch into a bathtub each week. He had his braids and he wielded his weapons━he manned the masts of plenty ships and helped build this villages foundations ... and yet, today, he's never been more nervous (more scared) than ever before in his life.
The wind was a little chilly━as it always was here, in New Berk. An island located close to the ends of the earth, standing tall above rock fortresses and hidden in the mists of Valhalla━where frostbite, hard bread and metal limbs were all the rave in the present fashions. But it was home. It was a close village where everyone knew everyone. They all knew the wild stories of how Gobber nearly lost his second hand after nearly being pushed by the Twins off the edge of his forge, or how Erik Frode once pushed his brother, Mak into a bucket of freshly caught cod just yesterday. They had fishing, tug-a-wars, hunting and beautiful views of the sunsets ... it was a haven of Viking wonders.
The only problem he was yet to discuss that might just change your mind in visiting ... well, perhaps there were none.
Hott Frode took a deep breath, his boots he polished just for today twisting in the shallow capped snow in the square. He fiddled with his rings and dusted off the sleeve of his fine tunic. He shook out his shoulders, a little weighed underneath the fur cloak his father had clasped onto him specifically for this momentous occasion. He fixed his grip around the hilt of his family's ancestral sword, grasping it tight at his hip to stop his hand from shaking.
The entire square had been decorated for the event. Amongst all the Snoggletog celebrations━colourful shields hammered all around the square, over doors and fixed to the wooden leaves of their celebratory tree that towered from the centre━there were hanging vines of winter ferns, seasonal flowers of pure white were set out perfectly with pretty stones down the aisle and around the raised cobblestone he stood on. The mighty statue of Stoick the Vast witnessed today just paces from Hott; a set, protective scowl chiselled onto his face.
All around, every Viking of New Berk had gathered to watch. They stood in rows, huddled and bundled in winter furs and their best clothes. Children were sat on top of their parents' shoulders, the elderly grasped their walking sticks and some who hadn't arrived early enough to get a spot within the crowd, watched from the many walkways and household balconies.
At the very front, not far from him, Hott found his little niece giving him an excited wave, her flower crown dipping low over her auburn hair. He smiled and waved back to Linnea and she grinned, looking very much like a grown little girl in her furs and her pretty tunic. Though, she still needed to be held in her father's arms in order to see━and to make sure she didn't run off at the slightest distraction. Hott's sister gave him a gentle look that told him to breathe and so he did━though he was sure he didn't need to breathe in that much cold air. He shivered it all out, a little sheepish.
