Dragon Rider: A How to Train Your Dragon Story (HTTYD)

Rune was sleeping soundly in the section that had been designated to the boys. He was enthralled in his dream, a tale of what their future holds, one where Berk celebrated them as heroes when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. His natural response was to think that it was Sandstorm bothering him and he responded accordingly as he had forgotten where he was.

"Not now Sandstorm. I'm trying to sleep" he replied with a drowsy voice.

The tap became more aggressive and drove Rune out of his dream. He was angry and was about to give Sandstorm the scolding of a lifetime. He sat up quickly and had a mean look on his face. Just as he was about to yell at his dragon, he was met by the face of Thora who looked unimpressed. Rune took quick look around and then it all came back to him, he was on Berserker island.

"Oh. Sorry Thora I thought you were my-"

"Save it kid. Dagur wants to meet you. It's important" she said cutting him off.

"This early in the morning?! What could it be for?" he questioned.

"Trust me, it's important. Now get dressed and follow me" Thora said not sparing him a glance as she made her way to the entrance.

Rune got out of his sleeping bag and put on his clothes as quickly as possible. He followed Thora silently through the hallways as they made it to a room that had its entrance covered by a thick wool curtain. She would hold up the curtain for him as she motioned for him to walk in. Rune would walk in to a long rectangular table with maps displayed all over the table.

Several wooden figurines were on top of the table and you didn't need to be a genius to understand that this was a war room.

"Rune" Dagur said sitting at the head of the table. "I'm glad you could make it. Have a seat" he said pointing to a seat on his right.

Rune would walk over to his seat and so would Thora. Bjorn, Heather and two others were also present in the room and judging from the mood of the room, things weren't all rainbows and sunshine.

"Forgive me but what is this meeting about?" Rune asked nervously.

"Our head scout Sander has some worrying news. I couldn't let this wait so asked Thora to bring you here. I do apologize for the inconvenience" Heather said with a formal tone.

"No worries" Rune answered now getting some understanding on the situation at hand.

Sander would then clear his throat as he prepared to speak. He had a stocky stature and was of average height. He had a long mustache and was bald. He wore chainmail and one large shoulder pad over his left hand. He had a brown belt that held his pants and chainmail to his body. Brown pants and black boots completed the look.

"My comrades, I wish the news I have was one of good report" he started.

"My team and I have just concluded scouting missions deep within the mountain and across our waters and our findings have been disturbing. Dane's men have pushed deeper and deeper into the mountain and I'm afraid our schemes won't be enough to stop them. On top of that, They have a large fleet of ships over a hundred strong heading this way. Most, if not all have dragons on them. He would have enough men to completely eradicate our forces and worse, reach the King of Dragons. If we do not act now, then I'm afraid that this war will be lost" Sander reported.

Silence fell over the room as each one pondered on what they could do to avert all this. The odds were not in their favor and the glaring solution was for them to retreat. That was the harsh reality they faced.

"Hmmm" Bjorn hummed. "This isn't the most favorable of circumstances. One wrong move and all that we've fought for would be gone"

"Any suggestions?" Dagur asked.

"Might I suggest a frontal assault?" Thora said.

"Other than ordering a retreat, this plan looks like the only thing that might work. A large attack on Dane and all his men to end things once and for all"

"That seems like the only choice we have" Heather said.

"Forget a frontal assault. Even with the new dragons that just arrived, we simply lack the fire power to go head on with Dane" Bjorn countered them.

"Then we should ask for help from our allies" Sander suggested.

"That would take too long. Before we can send envoys there and our allies rally troops to send to us, we would have been overrun by then" Dagur said.

As they continued to converse, Rune sat there silently as he began cooking up a plan. He had his hand placed on his chin as he began to think deeply, connecting the dots together and running several courses of action and what their outcomes might be. Dagur noticed Rune's silence and the look that he had on his face told him that the boy was in fact drawing up a plan.

Based on what he could remember from the episodes of Race to the Edge that he watched, there was only one dragon that could help them out at a time like this. That was the Beweilderbeast. From his fuzzy memory, he could recall the two episodes towards the grand finale of the series where they got close to the dragons nest and how it called on other dragons to come and help it when Krogan and his forces attacked.

If they could somehow reach the dragon and communicate with it, he was sure that it could help them in this crucial moment. Even from the second movie, it was shown that the alpha species were very intelligent, if the Beweilderbeast could see their case, it would be an easy win. But communicating with another species especially with this language barrier would not be easy but at least it's worth a shot.

As things were about to spiral out of control with Thora looking for the slightest provocation to take off Sander's head, Dagur calmed the situation.

"Before you two decide to take off each other's heads, how about we hear from one final mouth in the room" He said as all eyes fell on the Berkian.

"Well.." he said before clearing his throat. "While Thora and Sander were at it, I began to run different scenarios based on everyone's suggestions and I came up with a nifty plan. A head on assault is our only option" Rune said to everyone's surprise.

Thora had a smile on her face because at least someone saw things from her angle.

"But we can't do that without getting some help along the way"

"How do you intend to do that? We just said that it would take at least two to three days before help arrives" Bjorn said.

"I'm not talking about that type of help. There's another one that has been there, right under your feet"

He had everyone looking confused, everyone but Dagur who was keen to hear what the kid was driving at.

"You all believe that you need help from outsiders to win this war but your greatest ally has been on this island the entire time"

"And that might be?" Heather questioned

"Who else but the King of Dragons?"

"The King of Dragons? Did you smoke something kid?" said Sander.

"The very thing you're preventing Dane from reaching is the key to winning this battle. Hiccup told me of a story of how the King of Dragons rallied a swarm of dragons to aid you in battle when Krogan and his men wanted to take over the island. If we can somehow get through all the ice and meet the King of Dragons, he can help us in this battle. I am certain that if he's on our side, we will win this thing" Rune stated as his words slowly started to get through to them.

"And how do you intend we pull that off?' Dagur asked.

"Well we all can't go in and say we're going to look for the dragon so I have devised that we split up into two groups. A bigger group would go out there and cause trouble for Dane and his men and draw all their attention that way. That allows the second group of handpicked individuals venture into the cave to find the King. We find the King and rendezvous with the others and then we can give them a fight" Rune explained.

Dagur locked his fingers and placed it over his mouth as he began to think deeply. He put each and every plan under consideration, weighing which one would work and what wouldn't. All the while considering the fate of those who weren't here and what might happen if they fail.

"I have made my decision" Dagur said after ten minutes of silence.

"Considering all odds and what is at stake. I believe Rune's plan is worth a shot. It's go big or go home right now and will not go down without exploring all options available. Thora, you will be in charge of leading the frontal assault against Dane and his men. Myself and Rune as well as handpicked candidates would go look for the King of Dragons. It's time we end this once and for all" he spoke with authority.

"Any objections?" he asked.

No one objected.

"Good. We proceed as planned. Rally everyone to the common room, it's time for battle"

With those words, their meeting was adjourned. Everyone knew what they had to do and how high the stakes were, there was no room for error now. Thora raced over to the sleeping section of the girls and woke everyone up, as did Bjorn for the guys. Everyone put on their full battle gear and was ready to fight for their lives, this was going to be their last stand. Even the dragons could sense what was about to happen and readied themselves for the fight ahead.

Now that everyone was gathered in the common room, Dagur stood in front of everyone ready to address them all. Heather, Bjorn, Thora, Sander, Rune and two men stood behind him already in their full combat gear.

"Men, Women, I have assembled you all here because we have a matter of upmost importance on our hands" Dagur said with a rousing voice.

"Each passing day, Dane's men get closer and closer to the nest of the King of Dragon's that dwells within our mountain and I fear we may not be able to stop them from reaching the nest. If that was the only situation, maybe things might be different but as we speak Dane has a fleet of over a hundred ships full of dragons heading this way. If those ships arrive along with those dragons and the men on that ship, I fear that we may be eradicated from our own home"

"I have rallied you all here in response to these developments because today we will make our last stand against Dane and his forces. After hours of deliberating within myself and the leadership, we have finally come up with a plan. A select few will be chosen shortly who will join me and Rune on our quest to find the King of Dragons. At this time, no options are left of the table, and with the timeframe of us getting reinforcements from our allies, this will be our best bet. While that happens, Thora will lead a frontal assault against Dane's troops to draw their attention away from us while we search for the King"

There was a wave of uneasiness across the room. The plan sounded like utter madness and some murmured that there were better ways to go about things.

"I know you all have questions and some of you may not even trust this plan but I ask you. If you were in our shoes, what would you do? Will you not give of yourselves to fight for our home of over a hundred generations? Will you not stop at nothing until you can live in your houses with your families as free individuals once again? Do you not yearn for an end to all this madness?" Dagur said as he caught their attention, his words beginning to stir their hearts.

"I don't know about you but today I want to put an end to all this fighting. Today I will reclaim my home. Today, I will lay my head on my pillow in my home. Today in the name of freedom, we take the battle to them! Let this be known throughout Berserkian history, that when our grandchildren are recalling the account of the ages, that each and every one of us in this room will have our names written. Let it be known throughout our history that every man and woman in this room gave their all to fight for their home. Let today be recorded as our finest hour! So will you ride with me to battle?!!" He said with a captivating voice.

"Yeah!!!!!" they all screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Will you fight for me?!!"

"Yes!!" they all chorused.

"For our homes?!!"

"Yes!!"

"For our children?!!"

"Yes!!"

"For our land?!!!"

"Yes!!!!!"

"Now follow me to victory!!!!"

The people gave a thunderous shout after getting pumped up by his speech. Rune stood there in awe. That was a leader he aspired to be. One who could inspire the hearts of his followers on the spot and could make them lay down their lives for their cause.

With everyone prepared to battle, Rune and Dagur picked their little squad to search for the King. Heather, Bjorn, Forde and Vyra were all chosen to accompany Rune and Dagur on their quest while the others would follow Thora to battle. All their hopes, dreams and aspirations rested on this moment. The moment had come to prove themselves and everyone wrong, to show that they could handle the real world on their own, or it could all come crashing down. The outcome of this battle rested in their palms.