Zyrah's heart-wrenching scream echoed into the woods, alerting the riders and their dragons. Something went wrong, horribly wrong.
Without hesitation, the gang flew to her aid, finding her cradled by Konall and Rurik with their dragons near the trees. Practically stumbling out of their saddles, the gang scrambled to understand what had happened.
"Rurik!" Hiccup called. The teenager was in a state of shock but still acknowledged the rider's presence.
"Rurik! What happened?" Rurik wordlessly pointed to the bloody sword that now rested on the grass next to Zyrah and Konall, the former being cradled tightly as he tried his best to soothe her. Blueheart had made her way to her rider, giving her a soft nudge, assuring her that she was there.
"Gods..." Ana breathed out.
"She's gone." Rurik finally said.
"What?"
"Ragnhild took her life..." He explained, and Hiccup was surprised by his lack of emotion. Then again, the boy had just witnessed something horrific, and he didn't blame him. Processing something like that wasn't easy.
"Oh... Zyrah..." Ana softly uttered, bringing her hands to her mouth.
"Is... she gonna be okay?" Ruffnut asked. But no answer came, as no one was sure.
Konall wanted to help Zyrah at least stand, but she was seemingly frozen in place. The shock of Ragnhild's death was too much for her to process.
"Zyrah..." He whispered to her, hoping his voice could break her out of it. She blinked slowly as if breaking free from a trance. She sniffed, raising a hand to wipe her eyes, squeezing more tears out. She said nothing but acknowledged Konall's comforting presence. She leaned into him, resting her head in the crook of his neck.
His eyes then scanned down to her hands, both of which were covered in now dry blood, and her right hand still clutched onto the talisman as if her life depended on it. It wasn't worth prying it from her, but she needed to be cleaned up.
"Blueheart, give me a hand here." He asked. Blueheart lowered her head, allowing Konall to place Zyrah on the saddle. The teen made her necessary adjustments but still said nothing, and her silence was eerie.
The flight back to camp was silent, too. No one dared say a word. And neither knew the right words to say. When they landed at camp, Konall got to work, lighting a fire, grabbing a blanket from his bag, and slinging it around Zyrah after he helped her down from Blueheart's saddle.
Astrid, Ana, and Ruffnut were impressed with Konall's commitment, not just to bringing Zyrah comfort in any way possible, but just to her overall. He was dedicated.
"They just started dating, but they make a wonderful match," Ana remarked quietly. Astrid and Ruff both agreed with her.
"He's marriage material, for sure!"
Off to the side, Rurik caught that last comment and smiled, mostly to himself. As he'd told Konall before, it'd been evident to Rurik for years at Konall and Zyrah's crushes on each other. He already approved well before they knew it themselves, and he was certain their brothers would as well. But for now, it was a matter of figuring out the next steps in confronting the troubles they faced on the island.
Blueheart's father was dead, Einar was most definitely dead, and now Ragnhild was as well. All in the span of a few hours.
It felt like an eternity as the riders regrouped, taking seats around the campfire. It was silent save for the sounds of the forest, crackling fire, and waves lapping on the shore.
Then-
"I won't see them in Valhalla..." Zyrah's broken voice finally uttered.
Eyes on her now.
"They didn't die that noble... warrior death we all hope for..."
"Helheim..." Rurik finished solemnly.
"Can't say Einar deserves to be called a warrior," Snotlout remarked.
"I bet there's a special place in Helheim for dragon hunters!" Came Tuffnut.
"Well... either way, the Norns held their fate in their hands. It's up to the gods now."
"Actually... from what I've learned about the Sámi, that's not the case." Fishlegs explained, gaining attention from his friends, "Their beliefs are very different from ours. There is no Nine Realms. There is an afterlife, but not the one we wait for. I've also learned they're very caring about their dead and treat their ancestors with high regard. They even have ceremonial burials for animals! It's really quite fascinating!"
Zyrah took in his words, and then a question occurred to her.
"And what about those that committed some kind of wrong? Do they get their own special burial?" Fishlegs shrugged with a frown.
"Didn't learn of anything like that, unfortunately. They seem to acknowledge all their people, regardless of their life and what they did. A fair burial for all."
Konall turned to Zyrah, having an idea of what she was likely thinking.
"Zyrah... do you want to give them a proper burial?" She pursed her lips in thought.
"I... I think so." Hiccup shifted his attention to his friend, eyes widening in slight surprise.
"You do?" She tentatively nodded, gripping the blanket tighter around her.
"Ragnhild..." Came her answer. Then her face warped into one of anger, "Einar doesn't deserve one. Let the forest consume him. I don't think the colony will want to touch him." The conviction in her voice left the others stunned at her statement. It was harsh and surprisingly unforgiving. Any sympathy left in her remained only for Ragnhild; in a way, it could be understood why.
"So... what should we do? How should we do it?" Ana asked. There was a pause as Zyrah considered her options. Could she be kind enough to give a considerate burial?
"Move her to the ship." She finally said, eyes cast down to the fire.
***
Hookfang was chosen to be the dragon to take Ragnhild's body to the deck of hers and Einar's ship, laying her on top of a pile of logs and branches.
While Zyrah still had much to learn about Sámi burial practices, she decided to give Ragnhild a burial in the only way she knew.
A funeral pyre.
Growing up, she and Rurik had seen the funeral of their great-grandfather on their father's side when they were about seven years old. The old man was the patriarch of the family and had left their grandparents as the new patriarch and matriarch of both families. Eðla's parents and grandparents had died well before Zyrah and Rurik were born.
"I hope you'll accept this," Zyrah mumbled to no one in particular.
She was not very well versed in archery, only learning the basics of it as a kid, so she was uncertain of how well she'd be able to fire a flaming arrow at the ship. But Ana stepped in, assuring her there was no need to stress about accuracy.
"It's just the first flame," she assured.
Behind the riders, the dragons stood near the treeline of the forest. As the ship was pushed out into the sea, flaming arrows setting it ablaze, and a funeral prayer was said aloud, they watched in silence.
Blueheart's heart felt heavy for her rider, and she was still processing her grief over losing her father. As the ship finally caught, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning, her mother and siblings emerged from the forest to watch the spectacle. And just behind them, Toothless's mother and sisters also followed.
They were all grieving the loss of their Alpha but expressed curiosity about how humans treated their dead.
Vorri noticed her daughter's demeanor and gave her a loving nudge, taking a seat beside her.
What're you going to do now? Blueheart began. Vorri sighed, her head hanging.
I... don't know yet, Myrai.
Are you going to step up? Came Toothless from Blueheart's left side.
I will... but, from the years of being by your father's side, I'm not used to leading alone.
You won't be alone, Mom. Blueheart's brother, Kivar, said.
You have us.
And us as well. Ayry offered with a smile.
Vorri and Ayry had coincidentally struck up a friendship when Ayry and her two daughters arrived on the island over ten years ago. It'd been not too long after Ayry's third daughter, Erleth, had been killed. She was a desperate mother with no mate, who hunters had also killed.
Ayry had poured her heart into her new friend, giving a timeline of the tragic events that had befallen her. She lost her mate after laying her last two eggs, with two growing hatchlings to look after; Irmessa and Ryvir, the latter who was about three at the time. Then roughly two years after the eggs hatched, birthing Erleth and Vekyss, Ryvir, then five, was kidnapped by dragons and assumed dead.
And to top it off, Erleth was kidnapped as well, but this time by dragon hunters, leaving Ayry with two surviving hatchlings. Irmessa had to step up and help her mother care for Vekyss, who was, thankfully, too little to remember her sister being killed.
Dainom and Vorri had happily taken her in, offering protection and helping her raise Vekyss. Blueheart was about five years old and had very vague memories of meeting Ayry, Irmessa, and Vekyss, but not enough to remember names.
After Ayry and her daughters settled in, Blueheart saw little of them as she tried focusing on following her father around, learning the life of an Alpha.
It had been a lot to deal with.
But now Ayry was here to support her friend, coming back around from receiving Vorri's support all those years ago.