(song above is dedicated to The Arbiter)

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(track: "Unbroken Road" by Jeremy Soule)

They traveled through the clouds and over the oceans.

Hiccup sat there holding onto his saddle as Toothless flew towards the area they needed to be. He was determined to stop them... he had to somehow.

Valka rode up beside him. "Now... under no circumstances are we to be seen and we cannot be in range of the ships. The Imperials have dragon killing ballistas like we had, mounted on every vessel, even the transport ones. They can kill a dragon with one blow," she said, shouting over the sound of the wind.

He looked over at his mother. "I know. We land far enough away to where they can't see us. I'll go in closer leaving Toothless with you guys so I can listen in," he said and put a hand up. "And do not protest because I am not changing my mind," he added as they continued to fly.

"I'm not the one you'll need to convince," she said in regard to Astrid. "But you know they are here for the caverns. In there is your best bet to see what they're up to..."

"I know." He gave a nod. He then moved so Toothless got closer to Astrid and Stormfly. "Astrid, you're staying with my mom and the dragons. I am going to go in and investigating," he told his wife. "And no following and no telling me otherwise. This is a chief's duty."

"What?!" She said over the wind, not hearing him at all.

He sighed running a hand through his hair. "Just stay where we land got it?" He shouted

"Stay in the sand! Got it!" She gave him a thumb's up.

He sighed giving up and they soon landed near bushes and trees. Hiccup unclipped his prosthetic and got off toothless. He then grabbed his sword.

Valka dismounted. "Hiccup's right. We would do best split up. A lone wolf is more easily hidden than a pack."

"I guess so but..." Astrid hesitated, uncomfortable, "we should have each other's backs..." she wrestled with this because on one hand, splitting up meant they wouldn't likely be seen, but if one was caught, it would be certain and instant death.

Hiccup watched them and was a little relieved his mother agreed with him. He set a hand on Toothless's head as Astrid spoke. "I know it can have its ups and downs. But Astrid this is the best option. If more than one of us go in, we will get caught too easily," he said, setting a hand on her arm gently. "You and mom stay here and keep an eye out. And keep the dragons hidden."

She hooked her fingers around the belt at his hips and kept him close. "But what if he's in there? What if..." she looked down, worried about him from what happened last time.

"Hey, Astrid, look at me," he said, lifting her head slightly. "It'll be okay. I know now what we are up against. I'm more prepared," he told her. "I have to do this."

She looked into his eyes and wished they were just back home in their small house together... She had a bad feeling about this. She raised one hand to stroke his cheek and brush the hair away from his face. "Just promise me you'll stay hidden... no matter what," she pleaded with her eyes full of warning. "Promise me."

He looked at her, slightly down at her since they had a small height difference. "It'll be alright, I promise," he said and kissed her cheek.

He patted Toothless and grabbed his stealth armor. He went around to an area and changed quickly. He then came back with his helmet down.

"The entrance to the cavern is that way," his mother directed. "And remember, be like a panther who stalks in the darkness... unseen by both prey and predator," she said slowly to him.

He followed Valka and nodded with his helmet still down. "I will. Don't worry. If you guys get into trouble, get out of here." He said and took a deep breath before he climbed down through the entrance, his world going dark as soon as he left the light behind...

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(track: "No One Walks Away from Me" by Ramin Djawadi)

It was said that long ago the inside of the mountain was home to a whole tribe. But they've been long forgotten since.

The cave was incredibly vast and dark. He remembered hearing stories about how explorers were able to get lost inside...

And getting through here without a torch... would be challenging... but his best bet was forward and into the inner sanctum at the center. Whatever the Empire was here for, it would be there...

He knew it would be challenging going in without using a torch, but he didn't have much choice. Luckily he could see the light of the torches ahead.

He crouched and followed slowly and stealthy making sure he was hidden and not seen. He needed to find out what they were looking for.

It was a straining trek to the center of the mountain and there wasn't a sound inside the halls that indicated anyone else was there, or had been there for centuries.

He took the steps that led deeper inside, his feet making the slightest of echoes in the cavern, the only other sound being the distant drip every so often...

He could hardly see and the further he got, the hotter and damper it got inside. It made him want to take off his armor but he couldn't, he needed it. He had to put his hand along the cold stone to feel where he was going most times, unable to properly see in front of him. And when his foot hit against something that shifted from impact, he looked down to see it was an ancient bone... but of human or animal, that he didn't know...

He didn't really react because he couldn't really. He had to keep going. So he continued on along the stone wall keeping quiet as possible.

Deeper and deeper he traveled, beginning to wonder if he would end up getting lost like so many others. The direction to go wasn't clear to him, arriving at forks in his path and rooms that all went different ways into the caves in which he had to follow his gut on where to go.

The gods were on his side, he thought to himself... because even though he went through a complex route, he eventually saw a dim light ahead.

Following it... he got to the large opening that revealed a massive sanctum lit in a similar way the Empire's dragon dungeon was; rows of fire that brought them vision of the room that was carved from the mountain. Pillars of stone stretched through the cavern and areas that looked devoted to sacrifices rested in the center, as if the room was a temple of sorts. Despite the darkness and how ancient it all was... it was truly a mesmerizing sight. Not to mention the wall straight ahead down in the room that appeared to be made of millions of complex carvings, like a story was written there.

Hiccup was in awe as he stood on the ledge. He hid behind a rather big stone nearby to take a peak at what he saw. To see all the carvings on the walls and then to see the big pillars were just amazing.

No one was in there and he almost forgot about it but when he heard voices he hid. Coming down the steps from the opposite side of the room were only two men, the one at the back with a torch, and the one at the front with... a mask. It was him; the man Hiccup quarreled with before. His teeth clenched slightly when seeing him, and his hand went across where his current injuries were that he had caused him.

The man behind him was speaking. "Trapping dragons is our only hope to contain this. If we can control it—"

"It cannot be controlled," the Arbiter replied. "And they cannot help us. Don't you realize... that one soldier of our enemy can destroy the entire planet?"

"But our new dragons—"

"Will not be able to save us from them... we don't have much time, Alphaeus."

They stood before the massive wall of carvings.

"And this... will be our salvation?" Alphaeus asked.

"This... will save us all..." He took the torch and began to walk down the stone wall of ancient stories. "Domacius was the first dragon rider. His blood was the one to end this war before... and now...  his heir is our only hope."

Hiccup watched the two and listened carefully. There was an heir of that man Fishlegs spoke about? How did this Arbiter know that?

He crouched and moved a little towards another big rock and hid. This time he was closer and could see a little bit what was on the walls as they walked with the torch.

"And the Berkians?" Alphaeus questioned.

"What about them?" the Arbiter replied.

"They are beginning to become a problem."

"Berk is unaware of the growing threat and they will likely stay that way."

"Why did you not kill the boy when you had the chance? I've seen you cut down mountain sized men before."

"Because," he snapped. "We need every soldier we can get if this goes south. What good would it bring us if we're all dead when Amlethus spawns again?"

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(track: "Young Cal" by Jed Kurzel)

"Then we should warn them."

"Vikings? Warn Vikings? They wouldn't believe us. Their skulls are thicker than their armor. They will have to see it for themselves." He continued to walk again to the center of the wall. "Here is our clue to the descendants of Domacius Dreki. The great tale of victory against Amlethus the Terrible. The war that marked the centuries. Before the age of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob..." Hiccup could tell this man had great respect for the history of the world and especially of dragons. It's true their origins fascinated the Arbiter. He's always studied it.

Hiccup listened in a little more when the man known as Alphaeus questioned about Hiccup's people and himself. He raised an eyebrow when the Arbiter responded. They weren't unaware anymore, all thanks to him following hopefully. And he needed soldiers if things went south? Why would he even want their help if he wanted to kill them when they first had an encounter? Or was the Arbiter just toying with him, with no intention on actually ending the boy's life?

He continued to listen and watched the two men. He took note of the name the Arbiter gave: Amlethus. He was going to ask Fishlegs about that name later. Hopefully he had some info on it. He continued to remain crouched, watching them and listening to try and get as much info as he could.

"Our clue to his heir is here?" Alphaeus asked but as he did, the Arbiter noticed in the center, the shape of a dragon and rider... "Take this." He handed the torch to him and began to dust off the carving in order to see it clearly...

His companion lifted the torch closer as the two observed the image in the stone... Both of them held their breath when they realized what dragon it was.

Hiccup squinted to see it and then his eyes widened.

Alphaeus frowned. "Is that a...?"

"Night Fury," Hiccup whispered to himself.

The Arbiter was stunned in realization at the only other rider he'd seen tame a Night Fury. "...Haddock," he said just as quietly...

Hiccup watched him and when he said this his blood ran cold...

Him?

The heir... of Domacius?

That... can't be.

He needs to get out. Now.

He gulped and put his helmet back down before he turned and began to quietly but quickly try and leave the cavern to get to Astrid, his mother and the dragons. He had to get them out of there. His loved ones are just as valuable now as himself and he can't risk them being found. Not now.

Arbiter shushed his friend when he sensed someone in the room.

As Hiccup ran quietly. He had to tell everyone what had been discovered. He had to protect his people and Toothless. When he could see the exit to the cavern, he was relieved. But that's when something hit his neck right under his helmet that stung like a needle. It was a dart and his hand hit the stone when he felt it, trying to reach his sword as he attempted to keep himself conscious as long as possible but then his muscles died and he fell down, his helmet making a thud sound and he collapsed onto the ground, his vision going dark until he was out cold.

The sound of Hiccup's feet being dragged occurred in his ears and he felt his arms being carried by two men on either side to pull his body along. He was conscious but hadn't been that way for long. All he remembered was someone saying that he was awake and they discussed where to take him. He wondered how long that dart kept him out for.

When he opened his eyes he saw stone floors and a decorated red rug that trailed across it. He wasn't chained but he'd been stripped of any weaponry he had and was incredibly dizzy from the sedative he'd been given.

The men carrying him threw him down on the carpet at the foot of the large steps.

Sunlight came into the room through the stained glass windows and monks and religious leaders stood around in the massive temple of the Empire.

Before Hiccup, stood three men in white cloaks that were decorated and adorned, faces covered with silver masks and hoods over their heads. The Arbiter stood beside them but on a lower step, as well as guards around them who would be able to snap Hiccup's neck if he even moved the wrong way.

Hiccup groaned quietly as he had slowly gained consciousness and he rubbed his neck where the sedative had been. He then looked around him seeing everyone that was there. Including the Arbiter. He gave a slight glare at him and slowly stood up. "What do you want? I'm not helping you in what you're after," he said to the men ahead of him.

The first masked man stepped forward. "This is him?" he spoke in an old and wise voice. "The heir of Domacius Dreki?"

"It is," the Arbiter replied.

"Then my dreams were correct..."

"He is just a boy," another prophet at his side commented in surprise.

"It matters not. He will save us. He must. It is his destiny," the first replied.

Hiccup tensed his brows more at their words and his eyes slightly widened in alarm. "Save you from what? Why would I even if you are trying to trap dragons and kill my friends?" he questioned, getting upset.

"You speak simply of war, a war in which both parties have had equal fault at participating. If you wish to save your friends, boy, then your sacrifice is necessary," the prophet told him. "The evidence my arbiter found, proves that you are the heir to the first dragon rider, as the prophecy foretold. And you will shed your blood to fulfill it. Because the enemy that your ancestor fought back has returned, as the prophecy said. The shed of your blood, in the ritual of the Great Cleansing, will save us from the wrath of Amlethus. Without this, he cannot be stopped, and all life on this planet will be taken."

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(track: "The Execution" by Jed Kurzel)

"Wait what?! I'm not shedding any blood. I am leaving here fully fine with all my blood with me," he told them as he looked at them all. They all just sounded crazy to him. He had to shed blood just to stop this Amlethus? Why him? How was he an heir or descendant to the guy that was mentioned in the scrolls? Why did all this seem to happen to him?

"You cannot escape fate, boy. It is up to the God of our forefathers to set the path we follow," he said.

"It isn't fate, you guys are crazy—" Hiccup started.

A sound occurred in the distance like thunder, though the sun shone.

It was faint, but as it happened, a scout rushed in and talked to one of the guards at the door, far behind Hiccup and all the others in the temple.

"Tell me... do you know why we capture dragons? To torture them? To enslave them? To use them for mere siege weapons?" The other prophet to his left asked.

"You do capture them to torture them. To turn them into those creatures," he stated meaning the one he had encountered and was almost killed by.

The Arbiter tilted his head to the side slightly at what Hiccup said... his expression unnoticed behind the mask but it was indeed a frown of much skepticism.

"And you call us mad? For these are ramblings of a blind man!" the prophet said.

"Ramblings of a blind man? What are you even talking about?" he questioned him becoming frustrated. "You're reading an old scroll, that's centuries old. There is no guarantee anything like that will happen—"

"Wait a minute," Alphaeus said. "I thought Vikings believed in gods. Does this heretic think prophets just read from pieces of paper to prophesy?"

"I am not a heretic," Hiccup said, trying to take a breath to stay calm and rational. "You just never know if something will actually happen. Things change, they don't always follow what is said to happen."

"You see only with your eyes and hear only with your ears," the Prophet spoke. "This is what makes you blind. The word of our Lord is iron. And you who question that, are indeed a heretic."

"He is a boy with a boyish brain, rash and stuck up on his simple ways," Alphaeus said.

The sound occurred again but louder.

"The reason..." Alphaeus said and approached Hiccup, "that we are capturing dragons is to contain the enemy..."

Hiccup glared at each person who spoke. But he tried to reason with Alphaeus. "The dragons are not our enemies. They are companions; friends. You just treat them horribly—"

"We treat them horribly? From where do you get this information—?!"

One of the guards looks to the window when he hears flapping wings.

"You said you capture them to contain them—!"

"You foolish child! Do you think it is normal dragons we speak of?!" he said in Hiccup's face.

"What else would you be speaking of?!"

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(track: "Fire Battle" by Junkie XL)

But before anything else could happen, something burst through the stained glass window to the left of the three prophets and everyone began to shout and run from it; a cursed Skrill with the same appearance as the one that attacked the sheep, was perched on the window sill with electricity cracking around its body. It let out a piercing roar that sounded metallic and morphed but it sent fear into everyone in the temple.

The prophets and others had leapt out of the way as the panic began.

Hiccup's heart skipped several beats and his eyes were as wide as they could be, stumbling backwards. He didn't have his sword. But he needed one. Now. "Where is the sword you took from me?!" he questioned, hoping someone had it.

"Are you mad?! We don't arm prisoners—!" Alphaeus said but grabbed his arm and pulled him back when the Skrill shot a bolt of lighting into the floor that ran across the stone to where they were, breaking it to pieces as the monks and others found safe places. But the guards were armed and ready to fight this thing off. In fact, by the way they were handling it, Hiccup realized they fought these things often.

"Apollos! Get back!" Arbiter said and pulled out his sword as lighting struck the inside of the temple. He charged with all his strength and leapt into the air, landing on the dragon's neck before he sliced its head clean off with his sword. The head of the beast fell to the floor and as it did, shattered into dust, leaving the man standing there instead where it had been.

"Amlethus is here!" one of the Prophets shouted.

The dragon's body fell off the side of the building to the ground but they could hear thousands of them out there. Hiccup wondered what was going on. Where were they coming from?

"Get to your stations and sound the alarm! The enemy is here!" Alphaeus said. Then he drew his crossbow and stopped a guard running by, grasping his arm. "Keep the kid from escaping but keep him safe! We only have one chance at salvation and we will not let that slip through our grasp!" he let him go and ran.

The guard grabbed Hiccup by the arm and began to pull him from the temple.

"You can't keep me here as a prisoner!" Hiccup stated and then tried to get his arm free. He felt like he should fight but not for them, for himself so he could get home.

"Watch me, boy!" the guard replied and yanked him outside with a strong grip, the man was huge so there was little chance of being able to fight him off without a weapon. When he heard a whistle he glanced over his shoulder to see the Arbiter mount his own armored Skrill (one that wasn't cursed) that landed beside the window for him.

But then he was pulled from the temple and into the main city of the Empire called High Charity.

There he saw the men fire those large dragon-killing weapons from their walk towards the cursed reptile army of Amlethus. He saw Imperial riders on their dragons weave between the evil ones to fight them off, some losing horribly and falling to their death. Citizens were already gathered underground but every able bodied man was grabbing what weaponry they could find and fighting to protect their women and children.

As the soldier with Hiccup pulled him towards the guard tower, a huge cursed Monstrous Nightmare landed there and bit the guard's head off before he could even see what happened.

He gasped a little when this happened, his heart skipping several beats. He quickly took steps back and pulled a sword from the guards side before he charged at the cursed dragon. He wasn't going to die, nor let this curse dragon live. It was too dangerous for anyone.

The beast roared and blasted Hiccup mercilessly with blue fire.

Hiccup moved back quickly, glad he had his fireproof armor. It kept him from getting harmed and burned but he still felt the heat. He moved around and tried to run and jump at the creature to hit it with the sword.

The blade was lodged into the base of the dragon's horn and the fire breath stopped, the Nightmare screeching out in pain as his head dipped down on impact. But the dragon whipped his tail around and knocked Hiccup over, the weapon stuck in the monster's skull as it limped forward with a growl to him lying on the stone road. But to his left he saw a spear on the ground.

It pained Hiccup on the inside knowing he was hurting a dragon. It was probably once an innocent one that was then put to this torture to be cursed. But how?

He cringed and grabbed the spear. "I'm sorry," he whispered after he got up and chucked it to give it a final blow.

The merciless beast roared right at him, the spear impaling the monster through its mouth as the roaring died out in a mangled way. The dragon fell into dust into the ground, the wind blowing the ashes.

Hiccup closed his eyes and sighed as he stood there. He then slowly picked up the spear that was on the ground, ash falling off of it. He needed to begin to find a way out of the area he was in. But at the same time he felt like he should help...

He looked over when he saw someone chuck a spear into the sky and it hit a beast flying above, an incredible shot. But that's when the soldier was tackled by another fire breathing beast, being knocked right out of Hiccup's view in a flash and killed.

When he saw another man ahead struggling to fight off an undead Zippleback, he ran to help but his path was cut off when a dragon and rider crashed onto the stone street in front of him, a wicked bite mark in the dragon's neck. The rider cringed, both his legs crushed. But the dragon twitched and stretched on the ground, its flesh morphing around the bright blue bite and spreading until the creature became one of those nightmares, its mentality switching into a crazy bloodthirsty beast and it killed his rider right after, then looked at Hiccup.

Hiccups eyes widened as he saw what was happening in front of him. He backed up slightly, just shocked. He then threw the spear that missed and his eyes got wider, the creature running at him with agility. He quickly grabbed a sword to defend himself.

He fought with skill but this dragon was unlike any he'd ever quarreled with and it was hard to keep up. The dragon snapped at him, grabbing his sword in its teeth as the flames inside the monster's mouth consumed the blade. It got so hot it burned Hiccup's hand and he had to let it go, but the moment he did the dragon lunged onto him and his back hit the ground. The demon growling into his face right before he finished him, but then a wicked looking spear was thrown and it stuck halfway through the side of the dragon's head before it cried out so loud it hurt the boy's ears. But it fell into ash and the spear landed on Hiccup's chest just as he looked to see who threw it. It was the Arbiter on his dragon that let lightning cover the Skrill's body before it blasted the Zippleback ahead with a huge bolt of electricity, blowing it to oblivion.

The Arbiter got down and put a hand to Hiccup to help him up.

Hiccup was ready for any kind of thing that would come his way, except not ready to see that the Arbiter essentially saved him.

He slowly got up with his help. "Uh Thanks," he said hesitantly.

"You are the difference between a world of life and a world of death, Haddock," he said to him calmly. Then he took the sword from the ground that Hiccup had wielded before and handed it to him, putting it sternly against the boy's chest. "My allegiance is to the living," he finished and let go, facing the demonic beasts that surrounded them with his own dragon standing with them and ready for a fight.

Hiccup looked at him and grabbed the handle of the weapon that was put to his chest. He looked around seeing the dragons that were now just demonic. "Don't let them get near your dragon. They may do the same thing to it that whatever is causing this is doing to others... I'm not sure which ones can."

"Each one has the capability to corrupt any dragon. Just one could bring a civilization to ruins," he replied and pulled out a double sided halberd.

Hiccup looked at him and nodded. Now he understood why they were capturing the dragons. They must have been trying to keep this thing from spreading. And the one they were studying was probably an attempt to find a cure.

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(track: "The Last War" by Ramin Djawadi)

What if a dragon like this made it to Berk? That would mean the death of all... Especially since there was Toothless who was the alpha and a Night Fury.

Hiccup dove to meet a dragon head on, not deciphering which type it was due to only focusing on his movements but it was a quick beast, snapping and thrashing almost too fast for him to counter. If Hiccup hadn't had so much training with all sorts of dragons, he knows he'd be dead by now.

Arbiter had lunged forward when Hiccup did, whirling his weapon with skill and cutting down a Speedstinger running at him when he dodged it and ran down its side. He got out of the way when his dragon brought lightning from above around its body and then let a huge beam of electricity shoot from its mouth, smiting the army of dragons in a cluster of blue streaks as bright as the sun.

Arbiter ran and stabbed his weapon onto the ground, using that to throw his body into the air and over a Stormcutter chasing after him. He instead slid down it, slicing down the spine until it evaporated into dust and landed with a tumble roll. He got up as his dragon fought with him like they did this every day. The beast clubbed a smaller demon dragon that was heading right for his rider, smashing the body against the stone as the Arbiter slid under the head of a Nightmare about to eat him whole, sticking his weapon up through its jaw and brain, giving it no time to even cry out before it disintegrated.

He then took his weapon apart in two pieces before he chucked one hard, it flying through the air and stabbing a demon Gronkle through the mouth that was attacking Hiccup. He turned and lopped off the head of a Zippleback that was spraying gas. But the other head lit it and he took cover behind the wing of his dragon before he was smote with flames.

His dragon turned and chomped down on the unsuspecting Zipple head to kill it at last and Hiccup looked above him when he saw a fireball, watching it hit the wall on the edge of the city and destroy one of their turrets, killing their man who was using it, as pieces of fiery wood and chunks of rubble fell from the blue explosion.

He then heard a grunt and looked to see the Arbiter get hit pretty hard as he tried to take on three of these dragon's at once, and he fell against the ground. But he wasn't down for long. He tumbled and jumped back up with swift movements and used his two blades as he ran forward and slid under the neck of a Timberjack that had snapped at him but missed. He jumped up to the Grim Gnasher beside it and lodged his knife in the monster's skull. It became ash as he ran by and dodge the fire blast from another dragon, knowing exactly when the dragon ran out of breath so he stood up and threw one of his blades forward, it slinging through the air and sticking into the beast right between the eyes.

But they were beginning to be overrun. In fact, it was like all the dragons had centered around them. Even the Arbiter's dragon, Tempestus, was having trouble keeping up, though it fought just as viciously as Toothless did when he defended Hiccup.

This was crazy, more and more just kept coming. Where were they all coming from? It didn't seem like this place had many dragons. As Hiccup looked around, he could tell they weren't going to stop. Part of him wished he had Toothless. He would be able to end this all. At least, he believed he could.

Hiccup could see out the corner of his eye how the Arbiter was fighting. He was a very skilled fighter it seemed, he appeared to know what he was doing.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(track: "End Credits" by Junkie XL)

But he continued to fight off dragons around him. Ducking, he was able evade a shot from a Divewing; poisonous water that looked like liquid fire except blue to match the color of every one of these things' breath of course. He wished he had his sword but regardless, he threw his weapon through the air and it flipped and impaled the beast in the face. Killing dragons didn't seem natural to him, yet he fought to stay alive, knowing these weren't dragons anymore; only ghosts.

He was unarmed but when he watched a Gronkle about to fire a boulder from its mouth at him, he made a quick decision to run for a nearby Changewing that was about to attack as well, missing its acid breath just barely as he slid and then leapt over the creature, forcing the fireball that the Gronkle shot to hit the Changewing instead, shattering it completely on impact. Normally dragons are immune to fire and other dragons' breaths. But since this was a projectile so dense, the weight and force of it would be enough to kill another weaker beast.

He grabbed his sword from the ground when he did a combat roll, not slowing down as he ran back to where the Arbiter was and spun the handle of his weapon, spinning to slice upwards and lop off the tail of a boulder class dragon that was about to swing the warhammer worthy tail end at the man while his weapon was stuck in the teeth of a Nadder. Arbiter yanked his blade free to stab the other dragon in the head and that gave Tempestus a chance to tackle the Nadder and break its body with lightning breath, standing back up with his backside to the two men as he continued to fight them off.

"We need to leave. They're just going to keep coming. And unless you want to die, we need to go now. The people should be safe underground until these cursed dragons either die or give up on the siege," Hiccup told the Arbiter as they stood ready for more. He wiped the blood from his brow.

"These things won't stop until they've consumed us all," he replied then leapt out of the way before he was blasted by a fireball. He did a roll in the other direction and got up to mount atop a huge demon Stormcutter. He held on so that it wouldn't throw him off as he took out a dagger. But then he leapt up and came back down upon the dragon's head, stabbing his weapon into the creature's skull. When it fell into ash he hit the ground and blocked another bite from a Dramillion with his dagger, but it's tooth got his arm. He pulled back after the blow crippled the demon and instead slung it like a throwing blade, letting it kill the dragon. But he was unarmed and more pressed in on them from every direction. He dodged fire breath from a Nadder just as Hiccup got hit and knocked over by the sweep of something's tail. The Arbiter backed up to his dragon that began channeling lighting all around it again. "Here, boy!" He said urgently and held out his arm for him to come there quickly.

Hiccup cringed and then stood up, charging for him.

As soon as he reached the man, Arbiter yanked Hiccup under the wing of his dragon just in time. The beast let out a shockwave of electricity that smote every demon around them, blowing them to ash in a sea of lightning that even caught the ones in the air high above them. Bolts struck everything until the dragon was weak but he lifted his wing and they emerged to see ash and dust all around them...

...it was quiet as they caught their breath and tried to regain their strength, relieved for a  moment.

Hiccup was always amazed with the power that a Skrill could have. And even now in this circumstance, he couldn't help but marvel and also feel lucky they had one on their side that hadn't been bitten. He heaved and his hands rested on his knees as he tried to regain his strength and get oxygen back into his lungs, his bones aching from fighting that he's not used to doing every day. After all, he's only used to fighting other people. Not dragons.  

The Arbiter was also catching his breath even though it was hard for Hiccup to tell. He was also about to pick up his weapon but he stopped when all of them looked to see Thunderdrum behind them. Behind his mask his eyes widened and he and Hiccup ran from it as fast as they could in sudden panic before it cried out in a sonic screech that shattered their ears and made them both fall to the ground. Their ears rang as Tempestus fought back the Thunderdrum and bit its tail right off.

The two men were weak and dizzy, the scream of a Thunderdrum able to kill those who stood too close. Their vision blurred and their hands felt the ash beneath them as they tried to stand again, their world spinning.

Hiccup clutched the ground and tried to focus on... well on anything. His head was pounding and his ears felt like they were bleeding on the inside. He didn't know why he wasn't dead already, staying on the ground for so long any of the enemy dragons could pluck him from the ground and kill him in seconds.

The Arbiter tried to stand but both his legs were failing him. He heard shouting from Alphaeus but it was muffled and quiet to him. He looked up and watched his dragon burn a hole through the mouth of the Thunderdrum and before he knew it, Tempestus grabbed both he and Hiccup in his claws and darted into a guard tower on their left.

Alphaeus shut the door quickly, dropping their metal barrier as an extra defense as all of them caught their breath.

As they panted, they slowly began to be able to stand again, Hiccup holding the wall for support as the Arbiter leaned on his dragon.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(track: "You're Not Alone" by Jed Kurzel)

"I've never seen a swarm this bad before," Alphaeus said as he reloaded his weapon.

"Amlethus is after something..." the Arbiter replied.

He stopped with the bolt in his hand and crossbow and looked up at his friend. "Does he know who we've found?" he asked hesitantly.

They both then glanced at Hiccup.

Hiccup looked at them, seeing they were speaking. But it was muffled for the most part. "What? What are you looking at me for?" he asked.

They then looked back at each other. "He's after him," the Arbiter said.

"Which means he knows what we're up to," Alphaeus replied...

That's when the pounding happened at the door, the dragons trying to get through desperately, and made everyone in there jump.

"Get the boy to the temple, now!" the masked man said when he pulled out a sword from the holder they were kept in against the wall.

Alphaeus nodded. "Ego veni in pace," he spoke to him, a phrase that Hiccup had only heard the Empire use with each other and he didn't know its significance to them.

Arbiter repeated this phrase back and ran from the room.

Hiccup watched as he disappeared from them. "What is going on? Who's after me?!" he asked Alphaeus as his hearing slowly came back, running with him..

"Amlethus knows we found you!" he said and finished loading his crossbow with a bolt. "Which means he won't stop until you're dead. Now hurry! We must reach the temple for the ritual to stop him before they break through!"

"What?! No way am I—"

"You understand the circumstance we face! Surely you know now that the enemy is clearly yours as well! Since Amlethus' return his army has been poisoning innocent dragons and murdering the human race by the thousands! If we don't stop it now, we and your precious dragons will all perish equally!

Hiccup's brows were tensed like the rest of him as he thought over the man's words. How could he not believe him? It would explain everything up until now. He remembered what the Arbiter said to him the night they met. About how the Empire wasn't Berk's real enemy. Shouldn't they now work together for the good of the earth? And not quarrel?

But there was still something troubling him as he looked up at the man. "What is this ritual then?" Hiccup asked with slight concern in his voice.

"The Great Cleansing. The Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret will perform it. We need your blood to complete it. But not much. Only a drop at the most. If we don't, everything will fall to ruin and the earth will become a new outer circle of Hell."

The pounding returned on the door and made them both shocked back into reality. "Come on!" Alphaeus insisted and Hiccup hesitated before grabbing a sword from the stash and following him down the torch lined hall through the wall of the city, the Skrill bringing up the rear behind them. "We must reach the temple before they kill us all!"

Hiccup had to admit it was a relief that they only needed a drop of his blood. He could hear the Skrill behind them as they rushed towards their destination. "How far is it?" he asked.

"Not far!" They kept running down the corridor as fast as they could to get to the next guard tower but suddenly a sound like thunder occurred and they stumbled back when the walls were blown to pieces in front of them by dragon fire, sending chunks of debris everywhere that almost hit them, Hiccup blocking his face with his arms. The rubble completely collapsed the interior of the wall where they were headed.

A Nightmare perched there at the top of the wall as sunlight was let in from the gaping hole, and growled at them, its body consumed in blue flames.

"Or we can take a detour," Alphaeus said and aimed his weapon, firing his bolt to take out the dragon through the eye, the body turning to ash after a wicked screech.

He then whistled and ran forward, running up the mound of rubble before a dragon came by, a Grim Gnasher with saddle and bridle on, some pieces of armor as well. It grabbed Alphaes and he swung onto its back.

Just when that happened, Tempestus, who was behind Hiccup, grabbed the Berkian chief in his claws and leapt into the air following the other two with speed.

Hiccup was shocked and surprised to be picked up by the Skrill that belonged to the Arbiter. As it flew he grabbed two long leather straps that he could reach and pulled himself up onto the saddle.

Fireballs and massive arrows from the huge ballistas shot by them as their dragons flew through the air to dodge them.

Tempestus ducked to avoid a demon that collided with one of their riders in the air, tackling it out of Hiccup's sight in a flash. The dragon then breathed in as its scales laced with electricity, and blasted an upcoming  Rumblehorn, a shot so powerful it sent the beast in pieces like stone, the dragon not even slowing down as he copied the flight path of Alphaes ahead of them.

Alphaeus took out his crossbow, with no hands holding his dragon, and shot a bolt to an unsuspecting Speedstinger that flew through the air as it died, right past Hiccup who had to dodge it slightly while he rode, the body of the thing becoming a trail of ash as it went by.

A dragon came to Hiccup's path right in his way and threw fire right for them, but he put his face down and used his fireproof wings attached to his left arm to shield him as he held tight to Tempestus who rocketed straight through the flames and grabbed the beast with his claws. Roaring like a monster, the Skrill shot a bolt of lightning from his mouth that went right through the demon, shattering its body to dust.

Hiccup held tight to the dragon he rode, knowing that if he didn't, he may fall off. It wasn't like riding Toothless no handed, he could do that easily and stay on.

They went for Alphaeus again and Hiccup watched as he shot down another beast from the sky, dragon's coming at them from all directions.

The Skrill did a roll in the air and dipped down to avoid a demon Nadder heading their way to collide for them.

One of the soldiers on the wall looked up and lifted his face guard to watch as all of the possessed dragons in a massive hoard went straight for two riders who flew towards the temple, the army behind them growing larger as they flew like a great wave of the ocean ready to crash upon them.

Alphaeus looked behind him and saw that and when he did, his eyes widened and he sped up his dragon, whom he called Reaper. Both Reaper and Tempestus picked up their pace.

Hiccup wished toothless was there because he was sure he could do a big enough blast to get the army off their tail. But he clenched his teeth and held on tight, doing his best to keep ahold as the dragon he rode flew as fast as possible. He could see the destination in the near distance. He hoped that they would make it in time, without any further complications.

Their general, Leviticus, directed the men to turn and begin to fire their huge weapons in the direction of the massive hoard, as well as wall archers and riding archers.

The bodies of the demon army began to be infiltrated when lots of them evaporated from the heavy fire and they had to split again, turning on the archers and turret men to eat them alive when their armor appeared to be flame-proof.

Alphaeus put his crossbow on his back and spun around the backside of the temple where the hole in the window was and leapt off his dragon, landing on the one that was perched there as he stabbed it with a dagger and tumble rolled inside.

The Skrill led Hiccup down in there as well and folded its wings to enter through the small space, landing on the temple floor where the Prophets now were. When he leapt off the dragon the Arbiter shot by his ear, the arrow flying and piercing another demon in the heart that flew to the window, killing it, before he shouted, "Into the crypts!" with urgency in his deep voice.

They rushed everyone down the steps and into their underground crypt as they put up the last defenses they had left and shut the doors to lock them down there but also lock the demons out.

It was upsetting that innocent dragons were being forced into what they were then killed. Hiccup had to fix it, and he hoped this was the way how and that they had enough time for it. But they also had no other options.

Once it was locked up, Hiccup took a few deep breaths, being in pain and just taking in everything. So how do they do this? How do they fully stop that ancient dragon or whatever monster is causing this? Hiccup questioned himself and whatever he had to do. All he knew so far is that they needed his blood.

The Arbiter looked at the Prophets after a moment of silence hung in the air. "Let's begin," he said.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(track: "Not Today" by Ramin Djawadi)

They exchanged some glances from behind their silver masks and then began when they were all ready. The hooded figures behind them started to sing as a choir, very quietly; a psalm of praise; a chant of righteousness and cleansing. Their words were "exitium omnium" spoken in repeat but the words were sung so slowly that most wouldn't be able to tell what it was they were saying.

The soldiers that stood around the far outer ring, unsheathed their swords and laid them at their feet, positioning down on one knee with heads bowed. The Prophets stood at the inner ring spread apart as if leaving room for one more person in the formation; a path cleared for Hiccup to walk to the center where the gemstone was.

Those who wielded spears or weapons of that liking (Alphaeus and Arbiter included) took them in hand, and began to stomp them against the ground every couple seconds on rhythm. This was what their people had been waiting centuries for. This one moment. And now in this fight, they will finally be able to banish this evil back to oblivion from which it came.

Some of them had fought for their lives and lived only to see this day—this ritual—fulfilled. It was what drove them, what for them through their pains and sufferings.

This was the hour everything changed.

Hiccup looked around as he stood there watching this spiritual event take place, feeling a heavy presence on his shoulders when he did so. He took a deep breath and began to walk towards the gemstone.

He hoped to the gods that this would work; that this would end what was causing the dragons to change and die just to bring harm to humans and kill without mercy. Evil was a strange thing to him...

When he arrived at the center, a hooded figure approached him from the side with a ceremonial knife laid on a decorated cloth for him to use.

Hiccup looked at the knife. He assumed it was specifically for this ceremony considering its delicate appearance and how unused it looked. He slowly picked it up and his eyes met the hooded figure's face, noticing he too was wearing a mask, plain black with two white circles for eyes.

His eyes then fell back down to the knife as he stood above the stone at his feet. It was weird how he knew what to do, but something inside him was gnawing at his heart, making him nervous for this as the pounding of the spears rang in his ears around him.

He swallowed and clutched the handle of the clean blade... clenching his teeth as he pressed the sharp edge against his palm, shutting his eyes when he felt the pain when it was sliced.

The boy surrounded by prophets, reopened his eyes to see the cut, his hand stinging with pain as he held it in a fist over the center of the circle... Hiccup watched, as did all others, as his blood traveled from his palm, dangling and ready to drip down... They seemed to hold their breath.

They could hear the dragons above them fighting to get down to where they were with a desperation they'd never witnessed before.

Hiccup's heart pounded. He hoped this would work; that it all would end; that no more dragons nor people had to die without reason. He wanted this all to be over so he could go home to his family, to his friends, to his home.

Behind his mask, the Arbiter couldn't tear his eyes away from Hiccup; from the moment he'd been waiting for his whole life for; what he felt he was born to see through...

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(track: "Bastard" by Ramin Djawadi)

But just as Hiccup's blood fell from his hand, the ground beneath them was broken open, the floors cracked, and everyone fell back when a massive dragon burst through the ground of the crypt; a huge Eruptodon held together with electric blue lava between the cracks of its scales that appeared as black rocks.

Hiccup immediately stumbled back when this beast came through, managing to not fall down as he backed up to the wall with eyes wider than ever and fear struck through him in shock.

The dragon gripped the stone and roared like booming thunder as everyone ran and the soldiers grabbed their weapons in a panic.

The Arbiter ran to pull the Prophets out of the way before they were blasted with piping hot lava that spewed from the monster's mouth and covered the pillars and several crypts behind them.

Hiccup went to grab his sword that he had at his belt but when he did his hand stung and he cringed, remembering that it was sliced. "What do we do?!" he asked when he looked at the door that was barred.

Alphaeus who was in ear shot of Hiccup, didn't have time to answer before the dragon swung his massive tail that smashed through two pillars they were behind, both of them moving quickly to avoid being hit by rocks.

"Arbiter!" Alphaeus called as rubbled began to crash down, crushing some of the hooded figures before the dragon blasted more lava. He couldn't see his friend anywhere and Hiccup wondered as well where he was. Alphaeus instead grabbed one of the swords and ran to stab the beast, the blade lodging into the scales just barely before he was flung off the dragon's body by its wings, the sword still stuck there leaving the monster unharmed.

It roared again as soldiers tried to fight it off but its hide was too thick and the beast continued to collapse the crypt.

"Get the Prophets out of here! Go!" Alphaeus shouted to his men as one of them was burned alive in a blast of blue lava.

Hiccup pulled out his sword with his other hand and made a face of determination. He knew that it would be dangerous for him to even try and fight. But that was who he was; a man who would put himself in harm's way to give others time to escape. "I'll distract it! Get them out of here!" he shouted, wanting to protect them all with anything he had in him.

Alphaeus's eyes widened. He knew if anything happened to Hiccup, they would all be doomed. "Haddock no!" he said from where he landed as Hiccup ran to the dragon.

But it was too late. The Eruptodon saw the boy and shot a mouthful of lava right for him.

He dodged the blow and felt his armor catch some drops of it as he protected his face with his arm and stumbled aside. But when he looked back up the tail of the beast hit him like a boulder, knocking him to the wall, his back hitting the stone hard.

The roars of the monster was the last thing he heard when the whole crypt came down on top of them, the falling bricks getting closer before he covered himself but it didn't matter because with one bang, he was unconscious.