Genre (s): Fanfiction/Fantasy

Written When? Junior Year of College

 

Chapter 7

A Struggle to Bear Arms

 

        When dusk on the island of Berk came, the Sun cloaked the whole village in a mesmerizing, orange light.

        Dusk was also a sign it was time for dinner. Just the thought of it excited the villagers. They made their way towards the dining hall, but someone was missing in the crowd–Hiccup Horrendous Haddock.

        Instead of enjoying a nice, hot meal, he locked himself up in his hut with Toothless. Besides, he wasn’t that hungry, anyway.

        Hiccup was in his room, sitting at his desk. Next to him was the Dragon Eye, the artifact that he hoped would give him answers about the Light Dragon. When he made it to his hut, he quickly fixed the leg he swiped from Toothless, so now, he finally had something on his stump to help him walk.

        The young man wasn’t making much progress with his research. He was under a lot of stress. It was at the point he felt like crying. He rested his aching head on his arms and stared into outer space.

        Toothless stood next to him. He tried to play with his friend, by nudging his shoulder, but Hiccup didn’t look at him.

        He thought about the argument he had with his father in Gothi’s hut, what he and Astrid said that morning at breakfast, and what they told him in the secret chamber:

 

“I did want you to help me with a few things around the island today, Hiccup, to start your chief training.”

“Oh, my gods, Hiccup! You’re going to become chief soon!”

“Stock is right! You cannot even survive one simple task without relying on Toothless or me!”

And…

“A chief does not lie to his subjects.”

 

        Hiccup struggled to bear arms. He didn’t know what to do. Anything he tried, Astrid and his father spat it right back in his face. Sure, he had Toothless, but that wasn’t enough. Astrid was right. He relied too much on her and his dragon, and he had to change that.

        Once again, Toothless nudged his friend, but Hiccup told him, “Not now, Toothless. Can’t you see I’m depressed?”

        Toothless gave him a funny look and grumbled. His eyes landed on the Dragon Eye. Wanting to play, he scooped it up in his powerful jaw. The dragon put the artifact on the ground and batted it like a cat chasing after a laser light.

        However, the strangest thing happened. Something in Toothless’s saddle bag shimmered, and a single light yellow dot appeared in front of him.

        He went crazy. As the dot moved around the room, Toothless pounced and unsheathed his claws. He ran in circles and ended up knocking over a few barrels, chairs, and another desk.

        “Toothless!” Hiccup yelled from where he sat. He leaped to his feet.

        There was Toothless. Half his body was under his friend’s bed. It jiggled with his movement.

        “What are you doing?” Hiccup asked. He scooped up the Dragon Eye from the floor and came within reach of his dragon.

        Unfortunately, his voice startled the Night Fury so much that he jumped, and the bed flipped over. It slid to the other end of the room and bounced against the wall.

        “Toothless!” Hiccup snapped, but he quickly lost his glare when he saw the guilt in Toothless’s face.

        He didn’t mean to flip Hiccup’s bed over, but that yellow dot fascinated him.

        From where he stood, the young man sighed and apologized: “I’m sorry, bud. I didn’t mean to snap. There’s just too much going on in my head right now.” Returning to his desk, he plopped back down and tossed Toothless the Dragon Eye. He knew he liked to play with it.

        As the dragon chewed on the artifact, he used his forehead to flip Hiccup’s bed back over. Next, he slid it back to where it belonged and used his tail to flick the pillow and covers on. Afterwards, he started to play with the Dragon Eye again. That time, the dragon fell onto his back and used his tongue to shoot it into the air like a catapult, but when it came back down, something again shimmered in his saddlebag. The shimmer hit the Dragon Eye. As soon as it did, it gave off a flash of light.

        The light hit Hiccup square in the face, and he yelled, “Whoa!” He was so startled that he toppled out of his chair and landed with a ka-plop on the dirt ground.

        Not only did the light hit Hiccup in the face, it also hit Toothless. As soon as it did, he flattened his ears and growled at the Dragon Eye, which now rested in front of him.

        “What was that?” Hiccup asked from where he rested. Slowly and carefully, he approached his dragon. “You okay?”

        Toothless nodded, but he continued to growl at the Dragon Eye.

        When he saw what he was looking at, a question mark appeared above Hiccup’s head. “The Dragon Eye? Did it cause that flash of light?”

        Toothless bobbed his head up and down for his answer.

        It made Hiccup even more curious. Approaching the artifact, he picked it up and moved it back and forth to see if it flashed again. Wait a minute. Maybe it wasn’t the Dragon Eye that flashed but–

        “The crystals,” Hiccup mumbled.

        Toothless allowed him to open his saddlebag. His friend pulled out the cluster of crystals and single crystal they found in the underground cave and chamber.

        A small smile crept across the teen’s face. “Toothless,” he said, “I think we may be on to something.” With that, he started back towards his desk.

        Toothless followed. “Hiccup?” the dragon seemed to ask.

        When he made it to his desk, his friend put the crystals down, but he continued to hold the Dragon Eye. He set his backside down in the chair and held it up to his face. Hiccup curiously examined it up and down, from side to side, and gave Toothless an order. “Toothless, small flame.”

        Toothless nodded and opened his mouth. A small flame appeared in it. He used it like a flashlight. The light sliced through the lens at one side of the artifact and created an image on the wall from the other. The heart of the image showed a dragon. Surrounding it were ancient scriptures and other images.

        Hiccup examined the image and thought aloud. He recognized the dragon class it portrayed and identified it for Toothless. “That’s the Stoker class.” As he said that, he thought about the Light Dragon–the way his dreams portrayed it–and tried to figure out the class for which it belonged. He said no to the Stoker class and flipped the image.

        At the end of the Dragon Eye were seven buttons. Each button identified the seven dragon classes: Stoker, Boulder, Sharp, Tidal, Tracker, Mystery, and Strike.

        One of things that fascinated Hiccup about the Light Dragon was that it was bipedal. During all his adventures exploring the archipelago, he almost never saw a dragon that stood on two legs.

        The next class that came to mind, aside from the Stoker class, was the Mystery class, but then Hiccup remembered seeing spikes on the dragon’s tail and a mouth full of razor sharp fangs. Perhaps it belonged to the Sharp class, but just before he set the idea in stone, the terrifying roar Naga used to torment him came to mind. Maybe it wasn’t part of the Stoker, Mystery and Sharp classes, but the Tracker one, instead? Then again, the attack it launched at Hiccup and Toothless in the Chamber of Emptiness during his mirage looked like a Strike attack. Hiccup thought it maybe belonged in the Strike class, just like his dragon friend. He could not figure it out! Why was the Light Dragon so complicated?

        After a few minutes of intuitive thinking, Hiccup thought of something. Both his and Toothless’s eyes landed on the cluster of crystals. “Toothless, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” the young man asked his dragon.

        Toothless responded with a nod. He closed his mouth and pulled his head away from the Dragon Eye’s lens. As soon as he did, the image projected on the wall faded.

        Hiccup set everything up. He pulled the cluster of crystals closer to him, adjusted a few of the Dragon Eye’s rings, and set it down in front of his and Toothless’s faces. Once he was ready, he scratched the top of the Night Fury’s head and ordered, “All right, boy, give me another small flame.”

        Toothless nodded and obeyed.

        For that round of research, something fascinating happened–something the dragon and boy never expected. Not only did the light from Toothless’s flame refract, it also found its way through the Dragon Eye’s lens. As soon as it did, the whole room exploded into an array of shimmering, glowing images, dots, and figures. In the heart of it all was an image that showed a huge, bipedal dragon. The Light Dragon!

        Hiccup gasped, as did Toothless. A few of the dots shimmered on them.

        Hiccup slowly got up from his seat and approached the image of the bipedal beast. He reached his hand up to it and told his dragon friend, “This is it.” A small smile crept across his face. “We’ve found it. The Light Dragon!”

        Toothless was just as excited as him. His tail waved back and forth like crazy, but he accidentally knocked down a few barrels again.

        Hiccup did not care. He sauntered around the decorated room and examined the different images. He stopped in front of some writing and read it aloud: “‘The Light Dragon’s powers: physical and psychological damage. It lures its victims into its den by tormenting them psychologically. It gets its power from sunlight. When it feels endangered or drained of power, it uses the sunlight to give it strength’. Hold on. Psychological damage?”

        Right when Hiccup read that, an eerie pain found its way into his brain. “The Light Dragon tortures its victims psychologically?” No. He couldn’t believe that. Just, no. Today was just an off day for him. No way was there an extremely powerful dragon in his head.

        The thought haunted the young man. He distracted himself by saying he would be back to normal in the morning. He just needed to sleep the day off.

        With that in mind, Hiccup did not bother to study the other images. He told Toothless to stop lighting up the Dragon Eye and sauntered over to his now messy bed.

        The dragon watched him.

        Hiccup fell onto his bed and pulled off his metal leg. He pushed Toothless’s muzzle away from him and said, “Goodnight, Toothless.” Just like that, he fell onto his pillow and pulled his covers over his head.

        Poor Toothless was so bewildered. It wasn’t even dark out yet, and Hiccup was already ready for bed? What on Earth was going on with his best friend? Oh well, if Hiccup decided it was time for sleep, perhaps it was time for Toothless to sleep, too.

        Shaking out his head, he approached the hut’s fire pit and shot a Plasma Blast to light it up. Before long, a warm light washed over the whole room.

        Toothless pranced over to his rock mat. Like in the Chamber of Mystery, he scorched it. Lying down, he put his head on his front legs and peered over to Hiccup’s bed. He noticed the young man shuffled under his covers, but he kept his head covered.

        Toothless stayed awake for a good while, but eventually, his eyes drooped, and he yawned. Only a short time later, he fell into a deep sleep and dreamt about codfish raining from the sky.

        While the dragon may have been asleep, it did not mean Hiccup wasn’t. In fact, in just a few more hours, something even more fascinating than the Light Dragon’s image projected on the wall would happen, and he and Toothless would have to be ready for it.

***

        Hiccup had a very rough time falling asleep that night. He worried he would hear the metal-screeching roar again if he did. While Toothless slept warm and comfortable on his rock mat, Hiccup shuffled all over the place. He frustratingly punched his pillow and put it over his head. As he lied there, he thought about the images the crystals gave him and Toothless earlier. He felt like he missed something–something important–because all his attention was on the psychological torture message. What could he have missed, though?

        Hiccup stayed awake for he didn’t know how long. Finally, he could take no more. Sighing, he took the pillow off his head and climbed out of bed. After picking up the Dragon Eye, crystals, his notebook, and charcoal pencil, he exited his hut. He left Toothless behind so he could sleep.

        The young man went to the Great Hall and sat down at one of the tables. Since it was the middle of the night right now, there was nobody else in it.

        Hiccup set the Dragon Eye, crystals, notebook, and pencil down in front of him and rested his chin on the tabletop. He stared out to the empty room and thought about everything that was happening to him. Not only did he worry about the Light Dragon, he also worried about his relationship with Astrid and his father’s urge to make him chief soon.

        It wasn’t long until he heard a huff, and someone approached him from the side. Toothless. He woke up not too long ago and noticed his friend was missing, but he knew he liked to come to the Great Hall to think.

        Hiccup knew his dragon was next to him and said, “Hey, bud. I’m sorry, but I can’t sleep. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

        Toothless knew what was going on. Hiccup was at the stage in his life where he was old enough to become chief but still young enough to go on adventures. Something was in his head, too.

        “I don’t know what to do,” continued the young man. He propped up his head. “If I tell my dad, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout about the crystals, I could be putting them in terrible danger. I just... I can’t risk that.”

        While Toothless understood his friend’s concern, Hiccup had to realize he did not have to fight the battle alone. He wasn’t the only hero meant to save Berk and the world from eternal darkness. He had his dragon, his friends, and himself–Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.

        “You’re not alone, Hiccup,” a voice suddenly spoke behind him. Astrid. She, Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff, and Fishlegs followed Toothless to the Great Hall. He got them when he saw Hiccup was missing.

        Hiccup gasped at the sight of his friends. “Guys? What are you doing here?” He glanced at Toothless. “Toothless, don’t tell me–”

        “He did,” Astrid answered before he finished his question. She sat down next to her friend. “You have to realize you’re not the only one who is concerned about the future of our world.”

        “Well,” Tuffnut spoke, “I did hear from Toothless that our dear Hiccup found some crystals today.”

        “And he did!” Snotlout cheered. “Yes!” Excited, he scooped up the cluster of crystals and held it up to the ceiling. “Ho! Ho! We’re rich!”

        “Hey, Hiccster,” Ruffnut said, “make sure you share some of your wealth with all of us. I need something to help my baby brother here.”

        “Don’t feel guilty, kid,” Tuffnut added when he saw Hiccup’s upset face. “This day was bound to come. It’s not our fault you’re about to lose everything you love.”

        “Thanks, Tuff.” Hiccup narrowed his eyebrows. “That makes me feel so much better.”

        Tuff nodded and gave him a thumb’s up.

        “I hate to admit it,” said Fishlegs, “but Tuff has a point, Hiccup. Why didn’t you tell us about the crystals?”

        “I have a point?” Tuffnut’s eyes widened. “Did I actually get something right for once?” He gasped. “Oh, Thor! Is this accomplishment I feel?”

        “Don’t get used to it,” said Astrid. She met Hiccup’s eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us, Hiccup?”

        “Sorry, guys. This is something I must keep to myself,” was Hiccup’s answer.

        “I like this guy,” Ruffnut chuckled. She took Hiccup’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about those barbarians, kid. You can talk to little old Ruffnut here.”

        “I already told you,” said Hiccup, “This is something I must keep to myself.” He removed Ruffnut’s hand from his shoulder, and she dropped it to her side.

        Tuffnut, though, fought back. “I’ll give you the chicken when we get back to Dragon’s Edge. The chicken has always been interested in you. I can almost say that you could marry the chicken.”

        Before long, everyone else took the twins’ side.

        Snotlout punched his palm and cracked his shoulders. “I’ll let you fight my father head on, table boy. He’ll show you how a real man fights.”

        “What are you doing?” Astrid mouthed at her friends, but they ignored her.

        Fishlegs jumped into the mix next. “Yeah, and you can walk Meatlug every morning. She likes you quite a lot, too.”

        “No!” Tuffnut stomped his foot. “The chicken belongs to him, not your overgrown sausage, Fishlegs!”

        “Fight all you want, Tuffnut, but I still think Meatlug truly belongs with Hiccup.”

        “No! It’s the chicken!”

        “Meatlug.”

        “The chicken!”

        “Meatlug!”

        “The chicken!”

        Both Tuffnut and Fishlegs slammed their Viking hats together, as they continued to fight.

        That got on Hiccup’s nerves. “Everybody, shut up!” he snapped when he couldn’t hold his anger any longer. He leaped to his feet. “This isn’t making me feel better!”

        His friends cringed and lost their smiles when they saw how angry he was.

        Even Astrid was nervous, and she was Astrid.

        “Do you want to know the real reason behind all this?” Hiccup annoyingly asked, “Well, here you go! The Light Dragon! The Light Dragon is torturing me! I can’t even go five minutes without hearing its metal-screeching roar in my head, and you guys aren’t making it any better!”

        Hiccup clenched his fist and punched the top of the table he just sat at. A searing pain engulfed his fist, but Hiccup ignored it. “Give me a reason why the Light Dragon chose me to torture. Give me a reason why out of all of us here, I’m the one who had to lose a leg. Give me a reason why Toothless got you when this is something I must figure out myself. Give me a reason!” He glared at his shivering dragon. “Thanks to you, Toothless, you only made this worse! This is not your problem, and it’s not theirs. It’s mine!”

        Terrified, Toothless crouched down and put his head on his paws. Hiccup never snapped at him.

        “I’ve had enough of all this!” he continued. “If you’re just going to cause problems, then go somewhere else!” With that, he stormed to another table and plopped down on a bench, facing away from his friends. Hiccup clutched his head with both hands and lowered it.

        Ruffnut only said one word: “Whoa.”

        Astrid, on the other hand, glanced at the guilt-stricken Toothless and sighed. She gestured for him and the others to wait while she tried to knock some sense into the stressed-out son of Chief Stoick.

        Astrid slowly approached him and sat down on the bench as well. She took his shoulder. “Hiccup, listen to me. You are much more than what you make yourself out to be. You are not Hiccup because of Toothless, Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs, Snotlout, your father, and I. You’re Hiccup because you are you. You’re heroic, as any chief should be, inventive, creative, cognitive, understanding, and pure-hearted. You have the makings of a great chief one day, but keep in mind that even a chief asks for help when things get rocky. When they do, he looks to his people. His people are always willing to help fight the battle that seems impossible. That is what we have to do with this Light Dragon. We need to work together.”

        Hiccup carefully listened to her words and repeated them in his brain:

 

“Heroic

Inventive

Creative

Cognitive

Understanding

Pure-hearted…”

 

Which, all together, spelled “Hiccup”.

 

        Astrid was right. Hiccup was not her or his father, Toothless, Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout, and Fishlegs. He was Hiccup, the next heir of Berk. He was a boy who had seven amazing friends who would risk life and limb to help him through Berk’s most stressful times.

        As the message sunk in, one-by-one, his friends approached him.

        Fishlegs smiled and said, “I’m in.”

        “So am I.” Astrid also smiled.

        “Well,” Snotlout chuckled, “I’d rather not die, but if it will make both you and my father proud, I might as well help, too.”

        The twins were next in line to approach the young man. “Besides,” Ruffnut joked, “you may need some advice from expert Dragon Riders like us.”

        “That’s right.” Tuffnut stood tall and placed his hands on his hips. “I will whip up a huge pot of yak dung tea and dump it on the Light Dragon. That will tell it not to mess around with Tuffnut and his chicken.”

        Toothless was the last one to join Hiccup. He set his chin down on the tabletop, grumbling.

        The two met eyes.

        “So, you see, Hiccup,” finished Astrid, “you’re not alone. Working together as a team, we will take on the Light Dragon and restore peace, serenity, and prosperity to the world in which we live. You just have to believe.”

 

Chapter 8

The Map to Telemik

 

        Only a short time later, Hiccup announced, “All right, Riders! Feast your eyes on all the information Toothless and I have of the Light Dragon right now.” He and his dragon moved one of the Great Hall’s tables over near the wall.

        Their friends sat in wooden chairs in front of them.

        On the table, the Dragon Eye sat propped up against a wooden block that looked like a miniature platform.

        Hiccup and Toothless lined up the cluster of crystals with the artifact’s lens. Once everything was set up and ready to go, Hiccup put his hands behind his back and glanced at his dragon. “Now, Toothless.”

        Toothless nodded and opened his mouth. Flash!

        Once again, the whole room exploded into a huge array of shimmering dots, images, writing, etc.

        “Whoa!” the remaining teens yelled. They hopped up from their seats.

        “It’s like a million suns found their way into our planet,” Astrid observed. Her face brightened at the sight of the beautiful images.

        “Uh, guys,” the friends heard Fishlegs say from off to the side, “you may want to take a look at this.” He stood in front of the huge image of Naga that Hiccup and Toothless observed earlier.

        “Is that the dragon of the hour?” Tuffnut asked as he, Ruffnut, Astrid, Snotlout, Hiccup and Toothless joined Fishlegs. “The one destined to destroy everything and everyone our dear Hiccup loves?”

        Hiccup laughed and placed his hands on his hips. “We’ll see about that. Yes. That’s the dragon of the hour.”

        “And–” Astrid shivered, “the beast that’s torturing you, Hiccup?”

        “What dragon class is it?” Fishlegs questioned. He glanced at Hiccup, who sketched a picture of the Light Dragon in his notebook.

        “I was hoping you’d know,” was his answer. “I went through all the classes in my hut earlier, but there wasn’t one I could set in stone.”

        “You know what class I think it is?” Ruffnut asked, giggling. “The Thorstonton class. From this point on, the Light Dragon shall become Thorstonton II’s mascot.”

        “It shall join the chicken!” Tuffnut added. He pointed his finger up towards the room’s ceiling and stood up straight.

        “Sure,” Snotlout said while tapping his chin, “but don’t you two muttonheads realize what this dragon is capable of?”

        “Being awesome?” Ruffnut questioned,

        “Charming?” added Tuffnut. “Because I have to say that Light Dragon is almost as handsome as me.”

        “No!” Snotlout frustratingly yelled. “It’s going to doom all of us to eternal darkness!”

        “Oh yeah,” the twins spoke at the same time. They pointed at him. “That, too.”

        “Well, peace out, bros.” Slowly and carefully, Snotlout started to back away from the meeting. “It’s time to abandon the island. I’m going somewhere warm.”

        “We’re not abandoning Berk,” Hiccup told him. “Berk is our home. Even if we did abandon it, we would not be much safer in the other parts of the world. After all, this is the Light Dragon we’re talking about.”                  

        “That’s right,” Astrid agreed. “It can steal the Sun, and the Sun is crucial for every living thing on the planet.”

        Snotlout sighed and dropped his arms. “You might have a point. Remind me again why I agreed to sign up for this?”

        From where he stood, Hiccup gave him an unamused stare.

***

        After about a minute or two, the teens broke apart into separate directions. They examined the different images the Dragon Eye gave them.

        Hiccup had his notebook and pencil with him to take notes. He jotted down the Light Dragon’s powers, as well as its connection with the Sun. Only a few minutes into his research, he noticed something quite interesting.

        One of the light rays refracted against the crystals pointed at a dark hallway. A faded light came from it.

        At the sight of it, Hiccup raised his eyebrow and slipped his notebook and pencil behind his tunic belt. Seeming to fall under a trance, he carefully made his way towards the interesting hallway.

        Behind, his friends continued to examine the images in the Great Hall. They did not realize Hiccup was missing.

        Before stepping into the hallway, he drew Inferno, his fire sword, and prepared to light it up. He followed the light ray and soon found himself in a dark, creepy corridor. Almost no Berkian went in this hallway, because of rumors that ghosts lived in it. Other rumors said it was the gate to Niflheim, but Niflheim or not, Hiccup had to figure out where the light ray was taking him. Therefore, he took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway.

        Back in the Great Hall, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff, and Fishlegs met up with each other in the heart of it.

        “Find anything?” Astrid wanted to know.

        Fishlegs shook his head. “No. What about you, Snotlout?”

        “Only my greatest fear,” was Snotlout’s reply. “Reading.” Sniffing, he blew his nose in his hands, causing Astrid to cringe.

        “Why should we read when we can just hop on our fire-breathing beasts and spit in the Light Dragon’s face?” Ruffnut asked. “I personally like that idea much better.”

        “Or cause another avalanche?” Tuffnut questioned.

        “Yeah,” agreed his sister. “Who’s all in favor?” Only she and Tuff raised their hands.

        The others merely stared.

        “Wait a minute,” Astrid said after a bit. She searched the area. “Where’s Hiccup?”

        Hiccup continued to follow the ray of light. He tried not to cause too much noise, in case someone or something was ready to ambush him at the end of the hall. Inferno stayed in his hand. Hiccup did not take his finger off the switch that would turn it on. The deeper he traversed in the tunnel, the brighter the light he saw in the Great Hall.

        Finally, he reached the end, and a bright light flashed in his face. However, he managed to open his eyes against it. The light did not glow as brightly as the Light Dragon, but it was still mysterious.

        Hiccup found himself standing in an empty stone room. All it had in it were a few barrels and a trap door. However, there was something more.

        Hiccup gasped and dropped Inferno. Sitting on a barrel, in front of him, was another cluster of light yellow crystals! There were only three in that bunch.

        The light ray Hiccup followed sliced through the cluster and created another mirage like the one in the Great Hall and his hut. Except, this mirage was different.

        Hiccup made his way to the most interesting image in the bunch and peered up to it. Light yellow dots shimmered all over his body, but none got in his eyes.

        What Hiccup was looking at was an image that showed a piece of land surrounded by water. A waterfall poured out from the side of it, and there were huge cliffs that stabbed the sky. Lined up in a perfect straight line above it was the sun and moon.

        Hiccup remembered the story Gobber and his father told him and his friends in the Chamber of Mystery. An island filled with waterfalls, where the sun and moon meet their highest peak. Grass as green as a seasick man’s face, and a natural beauty that washed down from the heavens above.

        Hiccup could not believe what he was looking at. It was a map, but not just any map.

        It was a map to Telemik.

 

Chapter 9

Secret of the Crystals

 

        Hiccup had no words for his discovery. He tried to speak, but he was so lost for words. “Uh, uh,” he stammered. He brought his fingers to his lips. “Wha-what did I just find?” He knew it was a map to Telemik, but he had a hard time believing that literally everything he needed to know about the Light Dragon was in the crystals.

        Only about a minute or two later, the images projected on the wall faded. Toothless needed a break from lighting up the Dragon Eye. No longer did the ray of light shine through the new cluster of crystals, and no longer did the map shine in Hiccup’s face.

        He stood in complete utter silence in the dark. The only light came from a dying torch in the room.

        Eventually, thanks to Toothless’s sniffer, his friends found him.

        Ruff and Tuff, who were terrified of the creepy hallway before, glued themselves to Fishlegs’s shoulders.

        Snotlout tried to hold onto Astrid, but she slapped his hand away. For his comeback, Snotlout glued himself to Toothless instead.

        The dragon rolled his eyes, but he marched on.

        The seven friends stopped over Inferno and glanced at Hiccup, who stared at the now blank wall.

        “Hiccup?” Astrid asked. “What did you find?”

        Hiccup did not move from where he stood. He looked like a statue. Without looking back at her, he told Astrid, “Bring me the Dragon Eye.”

        While Astrid was confused, she followed through with her friend’s request.

        As the friends waited for her to return, Fishlegs snapped Hiccup out of his trance.

        The young man resigned to sitting down with Toothless, and he pressed his back against him.

        Snotlout laughed and picked up the new cluster of crystals he found. “Ho! Ho!” he laughed. “I can buy my own island with this.”

        “Snotlout, we’re not buying anything,” Hiccup sternly told him. “We’re going to add those crystals to our collection and start constructing the Crystal Crown.”

        “I was afraid you’d say that,” Snotlout grumbled, dropping his arms.

        “Believe me,” Hiccup told him. “It’s not about who’s rich and who’s poor. It’s about saving the world.”

        “Here you go, Hiccup,” a voice spoke behind him. Astrid returned to the room with the Dragon Eye.

        “Thank you, Astrid.” Hiccup took the artifact out her hand and told Toothless. “Hang in there, bud. Just one more small flame.”

        Toothless obeyed and opened his mouth.

        As the map of Telemik displayed itself back on the wall, Hiccup told his friends, “Look what I just found, guys.”

        Curious, his friends approached him on either side and studied the magnificent view.

        Snotlout’s eyes widened. “No way.”

        “Is that–?” Fishlegs started, but Astrid went ahead and nodded.

        “Yes.”

        “It’s a map to Telemik,” Hiccup explained.

        “Telemik?” asked Ruffnut.

        Tuffnut spoke right after her. It was a twin thing. “Yeah, sis. Telemik is the place where our dear Hiccup is going to have everything stolen from him. No problem, Hiccster. I will make a wonderful new leader of the Dragon Riders.”

        “Ha!” Hiccup sarcastically laughed. “You’re funny, Tuff!”

        From off to the side, Astrid said, “Uh, guys? This isn’t just a map to Telemik.”

        Curious, Hiccup asked, “What is it?” He came within reach of her.

        Astrid stood at the next wall down. On that one, instead of showing Telemik, the image was a circle of seven islands. In the heart of it was a crown. Just behind it and the seven islands was the Light Dragon’s heterochromatic eyes.

        “The Crystal Crown,” Hiccup said under his breath. As quick as a flash, he pulled out his notebook and pencil and sketched Astrid’s find.

        She pointed at it and questioned, “Do you know what this mirage is showing us?”

        Suddenly, Snotlout cheered and raised his hands. “New islands! Now we know where to go when we abandon Berk!”

        “Snotlout, we’re not abandoning Berk!” Hiccup repeated. “You are way off.” He slipped his pencil between his notebook’s pages and pointed it at the mirage. “This image is showing us where we will find the crystals in order to construct the crown. The seven islands represent the seven dragon classes. If you look closely, you see the Light Dragon behind it all.”

        His friends squinted their eyes to see what he was looking at.

        “I see it!” Astrid said, after a bit.

        “Same here,” Fishlegs agreed. He hopped up and down with excitement.

        “Uh, not to be a burden,–” Snotlout crossed his arms and tapped his foot, “but what is this telling us about the Light Dragon?”

        “Yeah, I thought we were just going to attack it head-on,” Ruffnut argued. “My bro and I will happily cause another avalanche.”

        “I see your point, Ruff,–” Hiccup explained. He plopped down on a barrel in front of the wall, “but what is the point of causing an avalanche when we don’t know what we’re going up against?”

        “What are you saying, Hiccup?” Astrid wanted to know.

        “Don’t you see?” he asked. He glanced at each of his friends, even Toothless. “The Light Dragon is not just one dragon class. It is multiple.”

        “Multiple?” confusingly questioned Fishlegs.

        Hiccup nodded. “Yes. His eyes behind the seven islands say it all.” He lifted his hand and pointed to each of the seven islands. “Naga is a bipedal dragon who draws his power from sunlight. When I see him in my dreams, he is always hiding behind a mass of light. He is very stealthy and sneaky, like a dragon from the Mystery class, and last I checked,–” Hiccup glanced at the twins, “aren’t Barf and Belch a Hideous Zippleback?”

        “Hm, although I hate to admit it, you may have a point,” Tuffnut thoughtfully said.

        At the same time, he and Ruffnut curiously tapped their chins and said, “The Mystery class defines Barf and Belch.”

        Hiccup pulled his attention away from them and focused on Astrid. “Astrid, Stormfly is a Deadly Nadder, right? She uses her acute sense of smell to track down enemies. That puts her in the Tracker class. Now, Naga is a bit different, but he tracks his victims down by psychologically torturing them. Trust me. I know. So, no doubt about it, Naga has a little bit of Tracker in him.”

        “Hm.” Astrid also lifted her hand and tapped her chin.

        “And, Fishlegs,” Hiccup continued. His eyes moved over to the curious Fishlegs. “A Boulder class dragon, like Meatlug, is associated with the earth. What we heard in the Chamber of Mystery is that Naga lives on Telemik Island, where he feeds off the high cliffs. Sure, his body consists of mostly prisms, but it is very tough and not easily broken. Doesn’t that sound like Meatlug to you?”

        “It does,” Fishlegs agreed. “Oh, Meatlug, I miss you already, girl.”

        Snotlout was the next friend Hiccup called out. “All right, Snotlout. Your dragon is Hookfang, a Monstrous Nightmare who belongs to the Stoker class. Stokers have the nickname ‘hot-headed fire breathers’. When the Monstrous Nightmare feels threatened, it sets itself on fire. As I mentioned before, Naga draws his power from sunlight. According to my astronomical studies, the Sun is a ball of fire floating in outer space. Therefore, when Naga feeds off it, that fire builds up inside his body, which causes devastating attacks.”

        “And here I thought Hookfang was just a dragon,” Snotlout grumbled.

        “Now, let’s think about Heather.” Hiccup met eyes with all his friends. “Heather’s dragon is Windshear, a Razorwhip who belongs to the Sharp class of dragons. All Sharp class dragons have sharp body parts, such as spikes, that they are able to launch at their enemies. I noticed in my dreams that Naga also has sharp body parts. The majority of his body is prisms, and he has spikes on his tail, as well as a mouth filled with razor-sharp fangs. I am sure that whenever he has the chance, he launches spikes at his enemies, just like Windshear and Stormfly.

        Curiously, we do not have any Tidal class dragons in our group, but I can go ahead and tell you that Naga is also part Tidal Dragon. Do you remember when we were in the Chamber of Mystery, Dad said the Vikings found him in a huge lake in the heart of the island? Tidal Dragons thrive in or near water, so why was Naga in that lake if he never adapted to watery conditions? Finally, Toothless.”

        As soon as Hiccup said his dragon’s name, Toothless stopped lighting up the Dragon Eye and approached his friend’s side.

        Hiccup scratched him under the chin. “Toothless is a Night Fury, a Strike dragon. Strike dragons are very powerful, which already sounds like Naga. They can navigate whatever environment they face without much difficulty and launch incredible attacks. Most of these attacks are pinpoint with accuracy. Strike dragons also have very powerful jaws. When I saw Naga in the Chamber of Emptiness, he launched a Strike-like attack at Toothless and me. It looked like a lighter version of Toothless’s Plasma Blast. Therefore, with all this said, I think it’s safe to say that Naga is a little bit of everything.”

        Tuffnut looked a little bit jealous about Hiccup’s fabulous explanation. He even crossed his arms and asked, “How do you know this, Hiccup?” His eyes moved over to Fishlegs. “I thought Fishlegs was supposed to be the most knowledgeable about the dragon classes here.”

        Hiccup rubbed his nose and told him, “For your information, Tuff, I’ve seen Naga more than you think. I also paid attention to the story my dad and Gobber told us in the chamber. Since this morning, my mind has just been on Naga.”

        “I’m with him,” Astrid quickly said before the two could argue further. Approaching Hiccup, she rested her hand on his shoulder. “I’ve also seen the Light Dragon, and I agree that it is a little bit of everything. After all, Hiccup and I each had a dream about it.”

        For comfort, Hiccup put his hand on Astrid’s. “So, this is the plan. We all need to travel to these seven islands and find the missing crystals of Naga. I’m sure each crystal holds a little bit of his multiple dragon classes. Think about it. Seven islands, seven dragon classes, and Naga is in the heart of it all. The mirage proved that.”

        “Where should we start?” Astrid wanted to know.

        Hiccup’s mind returned to the Chamber of Mystery, where he saw the sparkle in the pillar. That was a good place to start. That sparkle had to be important in some way, and he was eager to figure out what. With that in mind, the young man hopped to his feet and faced his friends. “Mount up, Riders. We’re going to the Chamber of Mystery.”