Chapter Text
“Time…is a funny thing really….”
Cloudy eyes snapped open, with Jack’s entire body wracked with unimaginable pain. A hoarse gasp was ripped from his lips, nearly burning his throat as he rolled onto his side, shards of ice sliding to the ground with crystalline plinks against the stone. His hand clutched at his side, coughing hard enough to paint the slush with droplets of crimson. His prized staff lay discarded beside him, the dragon bone material knocked and covered in scorch marks, while evidence of an intense skirmish littered the cave around him, accompanied by the copper tang of blood and the potent smell of singed leather.
“So often we preach about the precious nature of it. How finite and fleeting it can be. We yearn for it to stretch moments into ages, despite our fragile, mortal lives, and the insignificant presence we have in the grand tapestry of the realms.”
Hiccup staggered down the cave’s dark path, the faint drip…drip of life falling to the cold stone below, melding with melted ice and seeping into the very earth itself. The Viking’s hand gripped Inferno tight, hard enough that the leather wrappings dug into his palm, leaving imprints on his skin. His breathing was haggard, exhales conjuring up thick clouds of fog. The vapors faded into the ether, melding with the lasting stench of death and decay. It clung to every inch of the place, and yet still managed to crawl inside the Chief’s very heart, miring it in darkness and disgust.
“Ironically enough….it’s in these moments that when it finally slips through our fingers, we realize it was never ours to command…”
Jack’s nerveless fingers trembled as they curled around the staff, the crystal humming to life within the twisted brambles at its head. A bolt of pain shot up from his left leg, drawing out a hiss from the mage. A pale hand clutched at the wound, as soft whispers of arcane language flowed from his lips. The palm of his hand glowed a bright blue, encasing the wound in thick sheets of ice. A step forward made him momentarily buckle, with Jack leaning heavily on the staff for support, his tired, hazy eyes still burning with a fire that he had never known before. A grunt turned into a limp…which became a step…which became a gentle levitation into the air, various pebbles and shards rising alongside him.
His eyes fixated ahead of him, teeth grinding together in a growl as his eyes focused on the shadowy figure looming ahead. A blade extended from one hand, the sharp clang echoing along the cave and deep into the tunnels.
Hiccup himself raised Inferno, clicking at the handle to set the weapon ablaze. Warm reds and oranges bathed the Chief in its fiery glow, as he gripped the weapon in both hands. His shoulders trembled with anguish…with confusion…but above all else…they trembled with rage.
With a cry that interwove with one another, Chief and Mage launched themselves at the dark figure, swinging their weapons with righteous fury.
“...only ours to witness.”
Six….Months…..Earlier
There was a strange stillness in the air this night, and all the men could feel it. The fleet of Dragon Trapper Ships, filled to the brim with species of reptile all around the Archipelago, had just finished a raid in the northeastern cluster of islands. The haul was good, surprisingly so, with variations that Drago had lacked in his original fighting force. But even as the guards made their rounds across the decks, the whispers persisted.
Ever since the defeat of Drago Bludvist at the hands of Berk’s Chief and Sorcerer, the 2 factions had been in a series of back-and-forth skirmishes and battles across the islands for the past 8 months. With Dragons taking to the skies in this war, traditional battle lines seemed to always lie in flux. Eggs and Fire criss crossed one another in the dark of the night, the sea littered with burning debris from shattered longboats. And with the aftermath came the tales and rumors of strange sights. Things that, had the men said this not 5 years ago, would have had them tied to the mast and shipped off, for fear of having gone mad.
“I heard their dragons vanish into thin air…” one would hiss to his fellow as their boots thumped against the deck.
“Erik swears he saw one of em walk through fire!” another said wildly, prompting another rush of muttering about the fleet.
“Come on, that’s impossible,” another barked, even as the ship crested another small wave, seeping into the morning fog, “Fools, all of ye. Speaking of Impish Sorcerers and witchcraft. I don’t believe it! Falling for every rumor on this side of the Archipelago ... but it won’t work on me!”
His footsteps echoed over the water, wind whistling ever so gently as a dark shape made its way up the side.
For his part, Jack floated above the ship, trailing a cold wind behind him as he touched down lightly on the mast. The wooden beam creaked slightly, making the young Mage momentarily freeze as he looked about, but no guards seemed to be aware of his presence yet. Glancing over to the side of the ship, Jack gently waved a hand in a graceful circle. Pale fingers seemed to bend the fog, and wisps of energy drifted down toward the hull of the ship. Wherever the energy hit the ship’s hull, icy constructs seemed to form on the wooden planks. Even through the fog, Jack could just barely make out the pair of figures scaling the side of the ship. These new vessels had been far larger than he had originally suspected, lending a bit more evidence to the reports of the Trappers getting desperate. Sending some of their biggest, slowest vessels out…this wasn't a strategy. This was desperation.
Heather clambered up the hull of the massive trapper ship, taking care to softly place her feet on a few choice handholds Jack managed to conjure up for them. The soft crackling of his ice forming was hidden by the sloshing of waves beneath her, and its proximity did little to quell her anxiety. Mounds of ice formed along the smooth exterior, allowing another humanoid shape to leap from their dragons and onto the side, hands clinging onto the ice with muffled thumps. For a moment, the pair froze, straining their ears for any sign of a commotion on deck. Save for the rhythmic thumping of the patrol’s footfalls, the ship and its crew remained unaware of their new passengers. Jack raised a hand, pale fingers curling as he slowly hooked a wisp of fog and mist. The mage exhaled softly as the fog seemed to thicken around the ship, even going so far as to seep up on deck. Heather turned to the masked Rider on her right, the Bewilderbeast adornments making Valka unmistakable even when all but her silhouette was hidden. A single nod later, and the pair resumed their ascent, easily slipping on board. Jack exhaled softly, before a gentle voice seemed to slide into his mind, ‘Holding your breath, brother? Very unlike you…’
Jack fought his urge to chuckle, a free hand running through his hair as he glanced up, only catching the faintest shimmer of scales as a familiar shape darted into the fog, ‘It’s called being cautious. Not easy when we can’t turn invisible like you, Luna.’
A small chuckle echoed in his head, leaving a calmness in the depths of his mind that seemed to quell his heartbeat, “You are hardly the champion of stealth, Jackson. But do try not to get yourself killed down there.”
‘Hm.’ Jack thought with a smile, the wind gently picking him up as he began to float downward, and deprive you of my company and wit? Rest assured, sister. I will be fine.’
By the time Jack’s feet touched down behind a few barrels, Valka had already dragged a guard out from his patrol path, using her staff to choke the man into unconsciousness. His body was unceremoniously dumped to one side, the Den Mother giving a small spin of her staff as she peered around the corner, “I count….ten..maybe twelve on deck.”
“Likely half a dozen below.” Heather whispered back, “Probably in case of trouble, or you.”
“Doubt it. They’re stretched thin enough as is. More likely trying to cast as wide a net as possible .” Jack replied with a shrug, “Not that it would make a difference.”
A hand grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back into cover as Valka squeezed him, “Have a care, Jack. Strong as you are, we aren’t in a position to act rashly.”
“You worry too much, Valka,” he smiled as Heather shook her head.
“Valka’s right,” Heather insisted. “You can’t be too careful. Hunters are always getting smarter.”
“Smarter than a Yak doesn’t exactly leave me shaking in my boots.” Jack chuckled before darting out to cover, slipping out of Valka’s grip! Even as she tried to make a grab for his cloak, it seemed to all but slip through her fingers, “Jack…Jackson!!!”
“Well, he seems confident,” Heather remarked, clicking her double axe into place while Jack continued his advance.
“It’ll hardly matter if he gets himself killed.” Valka groaned before beckoning her forward, “Come on.”
One of the Trappers had just begun his rounds on deck, just beginning to pass Jack, when the mage playfully stuck his staff out! The wooden mesh at the end hooked the leg, making the Trapper stumble right over the side! Before the man even had a chance to cry out, a pearlescent shape shot out from the fog, snagging him from midair and pulling him deep into the mist. Even his cries were suddenly silenced, as his fellows turned to the starboard side.
“Ivan?” One of the men called, his feet shifting nervously as he made his way forward to the railing. A soft tsk drew his gaze sideways, as Jack was casually leaning on the railing right next to him, “Shame really. Poor sea legs, dragons in the fog. Looks like Ivan never had a chance.”
“H-Hey! Who’re-” the raider began, turning to face him, when a boot slammed into his skull. The force of Heather’s kick threw the man clean overboard. The Berserker ran a hand through her hair, looking over at the mage with a raised eyebrow, “Are you always this cocky?”
Jack’s face screwed up in thought for a moment, “Depends… What day is it again?”
Heather gave a roll of her eyes in response, “Unbelievable,” she muttered, even as more men rushed to their position. The pair turned to face them, even as a hook stuck out to yank one of them out of their pathway. Valka delivered a flurry of blows, the reinforced dragon bone of her weapon smacking hard against the leather armor and thick clothing covering his chest. The impact of so many strikes dropped the man within seconds, before the trio was caught up in the chaotic melee.
Steel flashed and clanged as Trappers barreled toward them, boots pounding across slick planks. One man lunged for Jack, only to skid as frost spiderwebbed beneath his feet. He went down hard, the breath blasting from his lungs as Jack skated past him in a blur of motion.
Valka moved like a storm at the center of it all, with Heather and Jack forming an orbit around her, seemingly filtering the majority of the men and lessening her own load to bear. Her hook lashed out again, catching a Trapper by the shoulder and yanking him close. She drove the butt of her staff into his throat, spun, and brought the reinforced dragon bone down across his skull. The man crumpled without a sound. Another rushed her from behind—Heather intercepted him, axe flashing as she slammed her shoulder into his chest and sent him crashing into a stack of cages.
Wood splintered. Iron bars shrieked.
From below deck came a low, rolling roar.
Jack froze mid-slide, head snapping toward the sound. “That’s… not good.”
“Then stop listening and start moving,” Valka snapped, already sprinting for the hatch. She wrenched it open and was hit with a wave of heat and smoke, “The longer this goes on, the more panicked they get!”
Chains rattled violently below, metal groaning as something massive shifted in its restraints. A Trapper leapt between them and the stairs, making a charge for Jack. But the mage held his staff back, feeling a reassuring tug before he pulled hard on his weapon, flinging Heather to meet him head-on. Though surprised, the trapper swung his own weapon at Heather, aiming right for her throat!
The berserker took the blow on her bracers, teeth gritting as steel rang against steel. She roared and drove forward, forcing the man back step by step toward the stairs—until Jack flicked his wrist. Ice shot up the Trapper’s legs from where he stepped on the patch of frost, locking him in place mid-stride. Heather didn’t hesitate. She smashed the frozen man aside and barreled past him.
“Go go!” Jack called, generating an orb of cold in his palm as three more Trappers tried to intercept him. Ancient words slipped from his lips as Jack thrust his palm forward! The arcane energy blasted the three back, ice coating their weapons and faces as bodies thudded painfully against cages and woodwork with sickening crunches and deafening clangs.
“Valka?” he yelled, watching her weave effortlessly through the men in her path. No matter how many times he saw it, Valka in battle always left the mage amazed at her fluidity and ferocity. The death of the Alpha weighed as heavily on her as it did on Jack, and battle was the only way to vent this deep-rooted rage. Men fell before her, littering the deck as weapons flashed in the dim light of the moon. Every so often, locks were smashed, be it through Valka’s clever aim or the incompetence of the Trappers.
“Get below…free the others!” she barked, reaching out to wrench a man by his hair and easily hurl him overboard. With a swift nod, Jack hopped down into the cargo hold after Heather, landing lightly in the dark confines of the ship. Heather held up a hand, straining her ears to make out any presence over the din up on deck. Jack gave a small signal to her, one pale hand pointing to the nearby cages, where a Snow Wraith was tied down. Its blue eye seemed to shine in the dim light that filtered through the cracks in the deck, to the point Jack could see his own reflection. Soft notes of calm slipped from his lips, barely a whisper as he extended his mind toward the animal, ‘Shhhhh…it’s all right. I’m here to get you home.’
His hand gently grasped the lock, spreading intricate frost patterns along the rough iron. The Snow Wraith grunted in surprise, its pupil dilating as it sniffed at his hand. Something about this Wingless One seemed strange to his senses. A scent that seemed both ancient and alien all at once. The Wraith could only watch as the lock crackled and snapped into frozen metal shards, the pieces cascading to the floor with small plinks. It took some effort to wrench the cage door open, but within moments, the Dragon was carefully stumbling out of the cage, shaking its head to rid itself of the leather restraints. Jack was at its side in an instant, carefully unstrapping the creature as a few thuds reached his ear. Looking over his shoulder, he caught sight of Heather utterly decimating the men who foolishly thought they could take a Berserker. The sight of her casually stepping over their groaning bodies even managed to draw out a chuckle from him, “Three? Hm…almost feel bad for them. Anything else here?”
Heather rested her axe on one shoulder, wiping sweat off her brow as she looked around, “A few Snow Wraiths, but…that’s not what’s strange about this.”
Brow furrowed, Jack rose to his feet, making his way along the narrow pathway to see what she was talking about, “What? What did you find?”
She jutted her chin forward at a stack of strange crates and sacks piled together, shrouded by the darkness. A few muttered words, and the end of Jack’s staff glowed dimly, enough for him to make out various herbs and supplies. But none of this seemed like the normal cargo that the Trappers were carrying.
“These don’t even grow in the archipelago,” Jack murmured, as Heather reached into the bag to pull a few dried herbs from an open sack. A small sniff made her nose wrinkle, turning away in disgust, “Ugh…stuff smells awful, whatever it is.”
“Dragon Root over here.” Jack tossed back, shining his light along another stack, “This isn’t weapon shipments.”
“But why would the warlords want herbs?” Heather asked, resting a hand on her hip, “Make more sense to just fill the hold with dragons, so why the junk?”
“I don’t know.” Jack replied quietly, after a moment of silence, “Not that it matters. They won’t have any dragons to use the stuff on.”
With a thrust of his hand, the mage let loose a blast of ice, shattering the crates and dropping the temperature in the cargo hold to below freezing. Even Heather couldn’t help but shiver as her breath escaped her in an almost ethereal-like fog, “Yeah, still not used to that, by the way.”
Jack looked over at her, his blue irises glowing slightly as he gave his staff a spin, “What? Thought you Berserkers were built for the cold?” he chuckled, patting her shoulder as he strode past her. Heather only watched as he trailed the staff along the remaining cages. With every soft clink of his weapon on the metal, ice spread thick and spiderwebbed along the iron confines. Each Snow Wraith found the bars far easier to smash, letting out small roars of satisfaction as the small group of four followed their rescuer up to the top deck.
“Not the cold that’s bothering me,” she whispered, sheathing her weapon before following him above deck.
The Trappers littered the floorboards of the ship, with Valka panting heavily as she took a moment to remove her helmet. Sweat coated her brow, the fierceness in her eyes only beginning to dim when she saw Jack and Heather emerge, with 4 Snow Wraiths in tow, “That’s all there was below decks? Awfully small for a ship this size.”
“Heather found more supplies than dragons down there. Probably a supply ship that got lucky during the voyage,” the mage ventured, staff slung across both shoulders as the Wraiths nudged up against his side, as if drawn to the cold. Jack chuckled to the closest one, giving the animal a small scritch to the top of its skull. Valka frowned, giving a Trapper a swift kick when she caught him reaching for a sword out of the corner of her eye. Even Jack winced as the blow cracked the man in the skull, knocking him out cold, “Ouch. Think they’d learn by now.”
“They didn’t when Drago fell, so I doubt they will now,” she sighed, “No sign of Griselda or the others either. As long as they are out there, this war won’t end.”
Jack’s expression morphed into a small frown, a free hand absently moving to his shoulder, where the prominent scar from her blade still rested under his clothes, “We’ll find her, Valka… I promise.”
She rested a hand on her hip, taking a breath as Cloudjumper descended from the fog, his weight making the ship rock from side to side. A small grumble slipped from his maw as he huffed at the pair of them.
“Oh, don’t you start!” Jack admonished, rolling his eyes, “We told you this was a stealth mission.”
Cloudjumper gave a small roar back, frills quivering as he towered above the humans, forcing an amused laugh from the mage. Valka looked between the pair, her expression almost envious as Heather moved in, “What did he say?”
“Says he’ll be seeing grandchildren before we let him have his fun,” he replied, amused at his Scale-Brother, before he felt a sharp bump at his side, almost knocking him over. The air shimmered briefly, with Luna’s unamused expression looking right back at him, ‘Careful, brother. You know he is your elder, as am I. Proper respect must be shown.’
Jack gave a small, dramatic bow to them both, “Ah, forgive me, my lord and lady-AH!”
His retort was cut off by a sharp bap to the back of the head by Cloudjumper’s wing, nearly knocking him face-first to the deck. Valka could hardly hide her own amusement, her hand reaching out to ruffle his hair, “Behave, children. Now….these Snow Wraiths need proper homes.”
“Nnngh…right.” Jack grumbled, trying to fix his messy mop of snow white hair, “Hiccup’s taking his to Berk, right? Uh…maybe we can try and get the Sanctuary back up in the meantime. Cold enough up there, plus the fish are plentiful this winter.”
Valka paused, looking over his expression as she saw the subtle change in his eyes. Almost like a heaviness shrouded the light that was so commonplace for him. Ah…now she remembered, “Been a year, hasn’t it?” she asked gently, gently moving her hand to his back, rubbing in soft, comforting circles.
It was as if the words were capable of physical damage, as Jack winced, turning away from her to look out at the thinning fog, “Yeah. Just thought he’d want me to keep the place viable for them. Even if it’s for a little bit.”
Valka hesitated, but didn’t wish to press further. She knew the loss of Iskrystall wounded them both, but while to her he was simply the Alpha… to Jack he was so much more. His reason for still walking this realm, his teacher, and in many ways, his father. It was a pain he and Hiccup had to shoulder throughout this war. After a long moment of silence, Valka gave a small nod, “Right, Heather and I will divvy up the last of the dragons and take them to the island clusters. Give them a while to rest and restore themselves before moving on to a more permanent home.”
“By then maybe this madness will be over.” Jack mumbled, idly brushing Luna’s head with his hand. After a moment, the young mage slung himself onto Luna’s back, sheathing his staff and whistling to the group of Snow Wraiths, “I’ll get them to Sanctuary, then meet you all back at Berk.”
“Hiccup will wonder where you’ve gone.” Valka replied, moving closer to his side, but Jack couldn’t look her in the eyes, “Just tell him I’ll be back by sundown. This is just…something I need to take care of.”
Before Valka or Heather could respond, Luna kicked off from the ship, shooting up into the clouds with the Snow Wraiths trailing behind him. The women had to steady themselves as the ship rocked back and forth, forcing Heather to grab hold of Windshear with a yelp, “Whoa! Where’s he off in such a rush?”
Valka’s face remained forlorn and solemn, “He’s gone to pay respects to a mentor….and a father.”