☽𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄☾
𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒

∽✍︎∽

"Two more trapper barges spotted in the strait." Eret says as hiccup stands up, exclaiming, "So we go after them!" hiccup then turns to Gobber, leering back judgmentally. "What?" he says, and gobber comes up to him, nudging him with his finger. "One day, you'll pick a fight you can't win." Hiccup grimaces back.

In another place, you can see the island through a flying pov. It soars over a congested harbor cluttered with warships. A reflection below the passing water reveals the source -- a bizarre, quad-armed airship flown by four red-bellieddragons. A pair of dragon scouts lead the way, speeding over a sprawling network of wooden docks toward a bustling military base. Smoke hangs in the air, billowing from blacksmith chimneys. Storehouses and barracks weave toward a hilltop arena built within the ruins of a Stonehenge-like druidic circle. The airship hovers to a landing atop the hill, scattering slack-jawed soldiers. The dragons hiss, commanding a wide berth. These Deayhgrippers are monstrous brutes, bulging with armored backplates and blood-red underbellies. In place of front legs, they scuttle on bulky, serrated pincers.

Grimmel, 55, descends from the cockpit, tall, slender, dressed head to toe in black, scaly leather. Grimmel enters a stone archway, flanked by his pair of Deathgripper scouts. Soldiers watch him keenly, hands gripping their sword hilts. Archers above follow his every move, bows drawn, as they whisper a warning to each other. "Deathgrippers." Grimmel and his pair of Deathgrippers disappear into the tunnel leading us into... an enormous arena. ... The size of the Colosseum. Sooty stone walls rise imposingly from a scorched dirt floor. A spiderweb-like dome of steel forms an impenetrable ceiling. A small collection of dragons lay stuffed into tiny cages along its walls, while an enormous dragon is tethered in place at the center of the arena. Soldiers brandishing shields and spears poke at the unruly beast. It roars through muzzled jaws and thrashes its club tail in retaliation, swiping soldiers off their feet.

The pair of Deathgrippers emerge from the tunnel into the arena. They hiss, eyeing the captive dragons—tusks extend from their heavy jaws. The training ring mayhem turns eerily quiet. The captive dragons shiver and shrink to the backs of their cages as the Deathgrippers pass. The unruly giant dragon at the center grows still, averting its eyes from the stalking predators. On a nearby Dats, A trio of warlords (two males, one female) in new, decorative armor hovers over a map. Ivar The Witless positions a small ship upon the table. "The dragon riders attacked us here, off the Eastern Strait," he says. Ragnar the rock drives another boat piece into it, mouthing a crash. The others glare at him. "Ragnar." one of them could, and the latter stifles his amusement. "Uh. Sorry." suddenly Grimmel's voice calls out, making the warlords turn to him. "My dear warlords." They part to reveal Grimmel behind them, grinning as he peelsback his hood, exposing a shock of white hair.

"How go your plans to conquer the world?" he says. Ragnar goes to embrace him with open arms. "Ha! Grimmel! My old friend! Thank you for coming--" A Deathgripper pins him to the ground. He yelps. Grimmel looks around casually. "A year since Drago's defeat and no further along with your dragon army, I see." the white-haired man says. Griselda The Grevious glares sourly. "You can thank the young chief ofBerk for that." she hisses. "Stoick's boy?" grimmel says, and Ragnar peeks out, still pinned under the Deathgripper. "He and his peace-loving Dragonriders continue to raid our ships and steal our dragons," he says. "Hmph. That does sound like a nuisance. But I'm in the business of killing dragons, not retrieving them." Grimmel says coldly.

He turns to leave, signaling the Deathgripper to follow. Ragnar sits up, catching his breath. "But, Grimmel..." he calls after the elder, but grimmel cuts him off. "The idiot boy has done all of the work for you, gathering the dragons in one place. So why bother me?" he snarls, but the man says something that makes the white-haired dragon killer stop in his tracks. "Because the flock is protected by aNight Fury." Grimmel's eyes widen a lite, but he bushes it off. "Not possible." then one of the other warlords mocks grimmel, saying, "It seems one slipped through your fingers." Grimmel glares at the man, but Ragnar gets between them, forcing a smile. "Look, Berk's dragons will follow their alpha, so we'll pay you to capture him and bring the flock to us," he says. Grimmel considers the proposition. In the background, his Deathgrippers antagonize the retrained Rumblehorn, nipping at it while it thrashes against its chains. "We even have your favorite bait." Ragnar singsong.

"The only dragon they left us from last night's raid." the Asian warlord explains—the gesture to a nearby cage. A sapphire blue dragon with feathery wings lies curled up by the back bars. Grimmel approaches. "A female? Hmmm," he mutters, and Ragnar speaks up, smiling. "So do we have a deal? Old friend?" Suddenly, the Rumblehorn breaks free and charges for the exit, directly in the path of Grimmel and the warlords. They scatter, but Grimmel stands his ground, effortlessly firing his crossbow and bringing it down. "When all is said and done, this young chief will bring me the NightFury," he says. Grimmel pulls his foot from under its snoring snout in the dust cloud. Grimmel turns with a smile. "They don't have a leader. Just a boy." He walks off.

∽♦︎∽

A wide-eyed boy, 5, with rosy cheeks and a scar on his chin. He stares ahead, wind buffeting his hair. "Hiccup. This is Berk, son. It's our home." a man says, gesturing to the island under them. Hiccup is in Stoick's arms; They're standing on a high lookout, taking in the village with its defense towers and catapults. "It was the home of your grandparents and their grandparents before them. It's my job as chief to protect us, Hiccup. And one day, when you're all grown up, that job will be passed onto you."

Stocik says and boops his son's nose. "Okay," the lite boy answers in an awed whisper. Stoick points to the setting sun on the open sea. "It's essential, son, because... out there, beyond the sunset, lies the home of the dragons," he says, and his son looks up at Stoick in awe. "Wow," he utters. his father agrees to communicate. "Aye. Legends tell of ships that sailed too close to it, only to drop off the edge of the world, never to be seen again," he says, pausing a little. "But those sailors who turned back told tales of a great waterfall and dragons guarding the entrance to a hidden world." Hiccup looks out on the horizon, saying softly, "Whoa."

"Not just a nest, Hiccup, but a land from which all dragons come," Stoick explains. "Even... Night Furies?" hiccup asks, and his father smiles. "Especially Night Furies," his son answers softly. "Those are scary."Hiccup turns back to the sunset, gawking in amazement. "Don't you worry? One day, I'll find the Hidden World and seal it up so that people and dragons will fight no more." his father says, also looking out at sunset.

Hiccup, staring into the sunset, brow furrowed, his hair buffeted in the wind. He remembered that day. Toothless shuffles up, whimpering. "What?" His rider says, and the dragon s responds with a cute, pleading stare. "Oh, all right." hiccup answers and reaches down and unbuckles his prosthetic leg. "You do know, it's not a chew toy, don't you?" he says, but Toothless gets into a dog-like play position -- crouched down on his forelegs with his rear in the air. He dances around excitedly. Hiccup holds up the leg, waving it tauntingly. "Is this what you want? Oh, do you want this leg? Do you want my leg?" Hiccup tease then tosses it over the cliff. "Go get it!" he calls, and Toothless bounds after it, leaping off the cliff and gliding wobbly after the leg as it plummets. Finally, he captures it in his jaws and throws open his wings, rising again. "Hiccup smiles, then removes his map, unfolding it as he bends to his knees. He studies the archipelago, biting his lip.

Suddenly, his prosthetic leg drops onto the map, bouncing and splattering slobber over the parchment. He glances up to Toothless, riding the updraft with a locked, flared mechanical tail. "Getting pretty good at gliding on your own, Bud." the boy praise, and Toothless lands, panting happily. He nudges the prosthetic leg closer as Hiccup tries to concentrate. Suddenly, Stormfly bursts into view, blotting out Hiccup's sunset view. She hovers above Hiccup, grinning. "Oh, so this is where you come to get away from Gobber?" Astrid says jokingly, and the boy chuckløes. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Astrid hops off of Stormfly, smiling knowingly. Toothless rushes to her with the slobbery prosthetic leg.

"Ewww," she whines, takes it, and lobs it over the cliff—toothless bounds. In passing, Astrid wipes her hands on Hiccup's shoulder and plops down at the cliff's edge, dangling her legs off of it. "Well, he's right, you know." in response, Hiccup lights up with a goofy smile. "Really? You think you and I should..." he trails off, and the blonde girl laughs nervously, exclaiming, "Oh, gods no. We're nowhere near ready for that." Hiccup grimaces, hiding his hurt. "No, that-that's crazy..." he stutters, trying to regain his posture. " I mean, he's right about all of this," Astrid says and gestures to the village below. Hiccup SIGHS. "It does seem like the whole world knows about us now," he admits. Astrid agrees with him and says, "Yup. And the more dragons we bring back here, the bigger a target we become." Toothless drops the prosthetic leg on her lap. She tosses it again, and he dives after it happily.

"I just wish there was some way to make them leave us alone," she mutters softly. "There might be." Hiccup voices, and Astrid twists around, meeting his eyes quizzically. "Dad used to talk about an old mariner's myth, of a secret land at the edge of the world where dragons live totally out of reach." the brown-haired boy explains. Astrid chuckles, dismissive. "Well, sailors are known for tall tales," she says. Hiccup nods and says, "True. But what if it's real? It could be the answer to all of our problems" Astrid looks at him, raising her eyebrow. "How? By moving the dragons there?" Hiccup shakes his head. "Uh uh. All of us," he says, and the girl stares, incredulous. "Seriously. And abandon our home of seven generations? The home your father left you to protect?" she says. Pregnant pause. Hiccup shrugs and stammers. "Yeah, I think we need a real solution, Hiccup," Astrid says in the end.

Toothless lands and begins gnawing on the leg. Stormflyhovers, eyeing it, jealous. "Well, we could take Gobber'sadvice and tie the knot. That should fix everything." hiccup says, trying to lift the mood. Astrid rolls her eyes at him. "But hey... if you have doubts about yours truly, I'm sure Snotlout's available." the auburn-haired boy continues playfully. "He only has eyes for your Mom." Astrid answers and Hiccup gasps in mock insult and pulls her into a bear hug. "Oh, you're playing dirty now, huh? " Astrid laughs saying, "You asked for it! It looks like there might be a wedding after all!" Hiccup grins and pulls her into his arms playfully. "How dare you! That is a low blow.No, you're not getting away..." but then the deadly nadder rider grabs his arm and twists it behind his back.

"Aghh! Okay, okay! You win! You win!You always win." he calls out, pained. Astrid giggles and settles into an embrace. "You knew what you were gettinginto." she says, and hiccups sighs, saying, "Uh-huh. Right." in the background, Toothless' ear plates perk up. He dropsthe prosthetic leg and raises his head, twitching his ears. He gets to his feet and shuffles to the cliff's edge,staring off into the forest below. Hiccup turns toward him. "Uh, Bud?" Hiccup calls, but toothless doesn't waste any time and s bounds suddenly off the cliff, gliding andbounding into the distance. Hiccup gets up and hops to the edge of the cliff. "Yeah, sure, don't bother to waitfor us!" Hiccup calls. Toothless continues into the distance without looking back.

∽✍︎∽