Just as Snotlout had said, construction soon began in the middle of Berk, and the creation of an emergency shelter was formed. The dome acted like a horizontal version of the one on Dragon's Edge. Everything felt like it was falling into place. Life was peaceful, albeit a bit boring with no enemies to be constantly looking out for. No dragon trappers. No psychotic smugglers or traders. Not even word about Magnus Bloodsword. Or perhaps, that was wishful thinking.
One slightly sad and slightly comical problem had occurred a week after Snotlout and I had gone to Freya's Garden. Dagur had come back to Berk, bearing gifts he had received from a supposed witch doctor. One of which was a potion that was intended to make the user have immortal strength. Well, hearing this, Snotlout and Fishlegs both had to try it out. Snotlout wanted it to get the girls, and Fishlegs wanted it to prove he had both brains and brawn. To Heather's and my dismay, that was not what happened when the boys drank the potion. Instead, the elixir had some sort of effect on the male hormones, causing them to be "attracted" to the first person they saw upon drinking it. In some sense, I guess you could call it a temporary love potion. And of course, the first person that Snotlout and Fishlegs saw was none other than Ruffnut. Not understanding what had happened, Heather was quite angry when her boyfriend began chasing after his blonde friend. I also grew irritated, unsure if Snotlout was just playing a game. Thankfully, when Gothi examined the potion, she told me what had occurred, and I relayed the information to Heather. The boys would only act like this for a week or two, and Ruff could hold her own. It was quite humorous actually, watching her try to pry them away from her, and Tuff being unsure what to do in response to defend his sister.
A few days passed, until one afternoon when I was in the middle of sharpening my sword in the center of the village. Suddenly, Hiccup and Astrid had come rushing into town looking for Stoick. There seemed to be something wrong, but they wouldn't stop to tell anyone. Stormfly and Toothless were hot on their heels as they ran toward the shelter. Jumping to my feet, I ran after them, wanting to know what they had encountered that frightened them so. Everything had gone fine until then. We had the dragon races in the morning, and then people got to work as they usually did. The rest of the riders had the same idea, and soon the whole group of us in the area had followed the couple until they got to the chief, trying to hear what had happened.
Apparently, there were more dragon trappers in the area, and they were working for some guy named Drago Bludvist. That name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place where I had heard it. Stoick seemed to remember though, because a look of fear fell on his face, and he started to order everyone inside. Against his wishes, Hiccup and Astrid left, Hiccup wanting to try and reason with the man Stoick warned them about. I shook my head to clear it as my friends broke into loud conversation all around me. "We have to follow them!" Ruffnut declared. "But you heard Stoick! He said we have to stay here." Fishlegs replied. "Aw, is Fishface scared?" Snotlout asked in a baby voice. Fishleg grit his teeth. "No, I just don't want my lady love to get hurt." "Your lady love? Ha! Ruff is my girl!" Snotlout growled, stepping forward. "Come on guys! We're wasting time! Let's just go!" Tuffnut shouted, mounting Belch. Ruff followed him, getting up onto Barf's neck. "You coming, Brenna?" She called to me. "No thanks! Someone's gotta stay here and get ready to patch you guys up!" I laughed, crossing my arms. "Suit yourself! See you soon!" She replied, before she and her brother took to the air. The other riders followed close behind, leaving me in the dust.
A massive presence behind me caused me to turn around. "Hello, Chief." I greeted Stoick. He patted my arm, and it was only then that I realized how tired he looked. His once flaming hair and beard had wisps of grey and white in them, and he took shallow breaths as he stood there. But his emerald eyes held as much strength and mischief as Hiccup's did. "I'm glad that at least one of you still listens to your elders." He stated with an air of exhaustion. "Thank you, Stoick." I smiled at him. "No, thank you, Brenna. You will make an excellent healer one day." He complimented me. "Thank you, Chief. That truly means a lot to me." I whispered in return. He smiled back at me, then released my shoulder. "Now, to go rescue my son once again..." He rumbled, glancing over his shoulder. "Gobber!" He shouted. "Coming!" The blacksmith called back. With a look bidding me farewell, Stoick strode away to go find his dragon. I took a deep breath, heading into the medical hut inside the shelter, dodging dragons and people alike. With any luck, this would be a routine rescue mission. They'd be home soon.
Two days passed without incident on Berk, and so we all left the shelter to live in our homes until we got word from Hiccup and the rest of the riders. This decision was not the smartest one we made, however, as we would soon find out.
A loud banging sound awoke me in the early morning of the third day everyone was gone. The hut vibrated and my mom came down the stairs, wondering what was causing such horrendous tremors. I was shocked to see that the source of it all was Nightwing crashing into the door to my hut. "Nightwing? Girl?" I called softly, sliding out of bed. She continued to ram the wood, but in a strange way. She was making a weird chattering noise, and her eyes were narrowed to the point where I could only see a paper thin line of her pupil. As I stepped closer, she let out a hiss, releasing sparks. I jumped back, unsure of what was wrong and completely clueless as to how I could help her. Helpless, I leaned against the wall next to my bed, watching in horror as my dragon finally busted through the door and flew away into the darkness, leaving only wooden splinters behind her. I followed her outside, only to be met with a terrible scene. Huts being destroyed, demolished, and set on fire by a number of dragons. More than I'd ever seen, even when we had been attacked by the swarms of creatures years ago.
In the ocean, staring straight at the village, was the largest dragon I had ever seen. A whitish grey color with large red barbs covering its body, and horns like a boar protruding from its jaws. Its eyes were easily as large as a hut each, and a bright teal color. With every breath, ice formed in its wake, causing glaciers to build up all over the island. I didn't know what to do. That was when I saw him. A cloaked figure, holding a staff and donning a black cape that looked like the skin of....a Night Fury. My heart was in my throat, especially when I noticed that this man was riding Toothless. "No...no...this can't be..." I whispered, covering my mouth in horror as I watched the village being destroyed. And to make it worse, it was as if our dragons were all being controlled, joining in on the destruction and turning on their riders. My mother came up behind me, gripping my shoulders as she trembled in fear as well. A jet of flame came spiraling toward us, and it took me shoving her out of the way for us to miss the searing fire.
Out of nowhere, a small horde of hatchlings came fluttering around the corner and headed straight for the huge dragon that was currently laying waste to Berk. Atop each baby was Hiccup, the other riders, Gobber, and two more people I couldn't recognize. However, Stoick was missing. I glanced at my mom. "It can't be...is Stoick....?" I murmured to her. She bowed her head. "I don't know...but I assume that is probably the case...and that's what the man said..." She whispered, heartbreak etched in her voice as she gestured to the man riding Toothless. We all loved the great Stoick the Vast. If he was dead....then Berk would be lost.
Turning my attention back to the fight, I saw Snotlout, the Twins, Gobber, Astrid, and a tall dark haired man loading the sheep launcher. Sheep were flying in front of the massive dragon every two seconds. Fishlegs headed over to the town horn, blowing into it as another diversion. Hiccup and the unknown woman headed toward Toothless, trying to get his attention. After a moment that greatly resembled a staring contest, Toothless bucked the strange man out of his saddle. Without a rider, the Night Fury began to fall, and Hiccup leaped from his baby dragon's back to follow Toothless down. Rider and dragon joined together as one, and shot right back up into the air. The battle could truly begin...
There was nothing I, or anyone else for that matter, could do except look on in shock as Hiccup and Toothless engaged in a battle of wits with this massive beast of a dragon and the man who controlled it. I could only assume that monstrous man was none other than Drago Bludvist. Night Fury and rider circled Berk once as the massive white dragon destroyed even more homes with its glacier forming breath. Hiccup and Toothless reappeared, flying around the enemy, before Hiccup released himself from his dragon's saddle, using his flying suit for its purpose. The winged boy extended an arm, spraying a bunch of Hideous Zippleback gas from the opening of his sword, before igniting it with a spark that came from the other end of the weapon. The dark haired viking fell from the side of his dragon, landing heavily on the land at the edge of the cliff. Meanwhile, Toothless had to catch Hiccup before the chief's son went face first into the rising tail of the much larger dragon. Again, the pair propelled upward, flailed for a brief moment, then spiraled back down to the ground. Hiccup jumped off of Toothless, confronting Drago. However, as the smoke cleared we all let out a collective gasp, watching in horror as the white dragon appeared behind Hiccup. His jaws opened, and a icy blue frost erupted outward, sending glaciers forming all around the boy. Toothless leaped in front of his best friend, to no avail. In the next moment, both were encased within the frozen shards.
You could feel the soul of the village completely disappear, heartbreak and shock filled the space, with no one knowing quite what to do. We had lost the Chief and his son in less than twenty four hours of one another. We hung our heads, all hope lost. Drago laughed victoriously, having succeeded in whatever plan he had come up with to overthrow Berk.
But perhaps he had laughed too soon, because a bright glow began to emanate from within the ice. The massive shards suddenly exploded, flying in every direction as they splintered apart. In the very center of it all, stood Hiccup and Toothless, the latter of the two glowing blue along his scales and across his head. The whole of the village watched in awe as the Night Fury challenged the giant white dragon, sending plasma blast after plasma blast into the creature's face. Slowly, the rest of the dragons began to come to Toothless' aid against the enemy. Eventually, the fight became a standoff between Hiccup and Toothless and Drago and this other dragon, but Hiccup and Toothless were winning, with the help of the rest of the dragon horde. Finally, one of the tusks that decorated the white dragon's snout cracked and fell off, and the large creature accepted defeat, sinking back into the sea and taking Drago Bloodfist with him.
Our people fell into a disarray as everyone began to hug one another, realizing we had been victorious after all. Despite our losses, we had won. Our dragons began to land, finding their respective riders amongst the chaos. I searched the sky for my dragon, her glistening aqua scales nowhere to be found, and to my worry, I couldn't find any of the babies either. Hookfang had already found and embraced Snotlout though. Where are they? I turned to ask my mother if she had seen them, but instead I saw her holding the nose of her own dragon, a scarlet and onyx Deadly Nadder named Emberclaw.
A familiar purr came from my other side, and as I turned to greet my friend, I was bowled over onto my back by the trio of adolescent dragons, their mother close behind. "Hey kids!" I laughed as each licked my face a few times, covering me in dragon spit, and then got off and moved away. Nightwing stepped forward, pressing her snout against my stomach and letting out a soft hiss. "I missed you too girl. I was so scared I would never see you again. I love you." I told her, rubbing her scales carefully. She rumbled deeply, signifying that she agreed with my earlier statement. I will never lose you again... I thought, holding her closer.
A few minutes later, I glanced over my shoulder, watching as my aunt approached Hiccup and he kneeled down to her. Both nodded at one another, and Gothi drew something upon the crown of his head. Because I was a good distance away, I could only assume it was the symbol of the chieftain, declaring Hiccup as the new leader of Berk, while the dragons bowed to Toothless, accepting him as the new alpha. This was it. The beginning of a new era. A time of change.
The following weeks went slowly, as Berk came to grips with Stoick's death. We held another funeral ceremony for the village, as Hiccup and the others had been the ones to send the former chief to the afterlife on a funeral pyre. There were many tears shed, but we all knew that our leader had taken his place alongside the gods, in the great golden hall of Valhalla. He would continue to watch over us until the end of days.
In spite of the loss we had endured with Stoick's death, there was somewhat of a silver lining. Valka, Hiccup's long lost mother had returned to us, and had brought her years of experience with dragons home with her. When she wasn't helping Hiccup get used to his new position in the tribe, she was working with Gothi and I on a new project. A book, documenting ailments we had found in our dragons, and how to fix them. It was a collection purely based on dragon health. Gobber of course gave his own adages and tips, but most of it came from my own experience as well as Valka's. A new age was on the horizon, and it was best we prepared our future generations for whatever came their way. I only hoped that, like my friends, I would do something that could be remembered for years to come, something that would help all who needed it. Only time would tell.
Soon the seasons began to shift once again, and with it the rest of us began to take on new responsibilities. Hiccup was settling into his new role as Chief of Berk, while Astrid became his lead advisor, helping him learn how to adjust to the responsibilities suddenly bestowed upon him. Fishlegs had continued with his job as a youth educator, teaching them all about the dragons, and working with Valka because there was still a lot even he had left to learn. Dagur became Chief of the Berserker Tribe, officially, with Helle as his betrothed. Heather became Ambassador for the tribes, keeping a foot in both of her homes. Soon the Berkians and Beserkers may end up becoming one village, but that would be a story for another time.
Ruff and Tuff continued their prankster ways, but decided to open their own shop full of collectibles and weapons, fabrics and food. They called it a "flea market," a place to sell goods of all kinds for any willing customer. Most of these goods came from their respective significant others, Eris and Eret. Eret had come to our village the day we had defeated Drago, and although we were at first skeptical, the former pirate had proved himself to be a good man with a heart of gold. He still had connections throughout the archipelago, where he was able to obtain valuable artifacts and weapons for Ruff to sell in her and her brother's shop. Eret and Ruff were very different people, but eventually he warmed up to her, and it was a match made in Valhalla. On the other hand, Tuff and Eris were one of those couples that kept everyone on their toes, their combined humor bringing both relief and chaos to the village some days. Eris contributed fish and grain to the shop, being a skilled huntress and fisherman, but she had a wild side that only Tuff was able to match. They were good for each other, and their relationship was one Ruff could actually approve of. The Thorston siblings had a lot to be proud of, for themselves and each other.
Snotlout had become the leader of the dragon riders and one of Hiccup's closest advisors, besides Astrid and Valka. The Jorgenson had worked hard and proved himself a truly dependable viking over the years. He deserved his place alongside the chief, and whenever Hiccup needed anything, Snotlout was there to help him take care of it. I was so proud of him.
As for me, well, I already had my healer responsibilities, although for now my aunt focused more on the viking people, while I catered to the dragons, even the wild ones that used to reside in the nest where Valka had lived all these years. It was nice, combining my love of medicine and my love for the beautiful creatures so close to my heart. Even still, I knew I could not neglect my duties to my human patients, and continued to study every day and night. Gothi kept hinting that it would soon be time for my completion ceremony, signifying that I was a true healer. Inwardly, I pretended I didn't catch the hints, content to just stay the way I was for now. Too much had changed too soon, and as much as I knew change was necessary, I needed time to wrap my head around it all.
Thankfully, Snotlout and my friendship was as close as it ever been, and when we weren't meeting ourselves coming and going, we hung out just as we always used to. It was nice, familiar, one of the only things that hadn't changed as drastically as everything else.
Spring soon rolled around, Berk preparing for its first summer with a new chief in place. Crops were stockpiled, medicinal herbs were placed in weather proof jars, and animal shelters were fortified against the elements. To say we were busy was an understatement, though the gods had some plans of their own, because little did we know that this chaotic mess was actually the calm before the storm.