The sail had been smooth so far. A week passing aboard the ship and almost halfway there. You'd had to fend off some wild dragons a few times, but with Toothless and cloud jumper by your side, it was easy. The weather was notably a bit warmer too, nothing scorching but warm enough you'd had to take off a few layers as you approached warmer land.

Every morning and night the riders would take the dragons out for a fly to stretch their wings, keeping close to the ship so they wouldn't get lost out in the endless blue sea. And said dragons would sun bake aboard the ship during the middle of the day, Toothless often ending up on his back with all his legs sticking up and tongue sticking out. The Kemetic traders were very amused to find out night furies were actually very goofy when they weren't in protector mode.

As for the humans (and half human) aboard, the days were spent mostly tending to the ship. Making sure the sails were catching the wind in the right direction, checking the navigation to ensure the right path, taking turns napping so everyone could be rested but the ship wouldn't be left to natures devices. You'd done this before, with the first trader ship you'd hitched a ride with. So this was nothing new to you, and the Berkians were a seafaring tribe before the dragons got involved anyway, so they knew how to tend to a boat as well.

Things were going smoothly, if things stayed this smooth, you'd be nearby land within just over a week. Since the Kemetic traders were heading to their own land, they'd be passing by many lands in the Mediterranean, and after some discussion you'd decided you'd get off the ship in Roma, staying on the ship as you passed by the very top of Africa would safe you some travel time and having to cross the sea again. From there, you'd continue your dragon and on foot up the coast and then cross the sea in a much shorter only day long trip from the mainland to your isle. If things went well, maybe you could even visit Hellas and Kemet while you were in the area before heading back to the archipelago.

But right now, you were sat on the deck of the boat with Hiccup and the captain of the boat, Anet. Exchanging stories of each other's lands and cultures. And of course, the dragons.

There was a legend in Kemet of a a dragon called the Apep, who resembled a snake and guarded the underworld, or Duat to them. The description was oddly similar to a screaming death, which had Hiccup wondering if there was an offshoot of the screaming death species that lived under the sands of Kemet. He also noted at all three of your lands had underworld myths. Only the Norse was a bit different since they also had an over-world type place in the form of Valhalla, where all the fallen warriors go.

But to both you and the Kemetic, all souls went to the underworld, the differences came from where in the underworld you ended up. For Hellenic beliefs it was separated into sections, and you'd end up in either Asphodel if you lived a normal average life, and Elysium if you were a warrior or king. Tartarus was where all the killers and bad people went. In Kemetic belief, your heart was weighed against the feather of truth, if it was lighter and your heart was pure you'd enter the afterlife as a deity like being. If it was heavier, you'd be eaten by ma'at the devourer.

It seemed like no matter where in the world you came from, everyone agreed on there being some kind of moral system. Good people are rewarded in death, the bad are punished. So no matter your background, being a good person was something everyone could strive for so they'd be free from the burdens of life when they entered the underworld, or Valhalla. Hiccup found this all particularly interesting because well- he'd never left the archipelago. He knew the world was massive and there were millions of people and dragons out there who all looked, sounded, acted, believed differently. But he'd never had the chance to see it for himself until now. Berk was just that isolated.

"I'm noticing a lot of dragons from your land are very snake like" you said, curious at Anet's descriptions.

"Many are, that body is suited for the land. So much of it is desert" he replied.

"And there's a noticeable difference between the dragons in the desert and in the lush near the river?"

"Yes, the ones by the river are more crocodile like, semi aquatic"

It made sense that dragons would adapt to their environments, the dragons in the archipelago seemed to be mostly thick skinned with hot fires fit for the cold.

"Hiccup you know dragons, any of those sounds familiar?" You asked.

Hiccup snapped from his daze, pondering on just how little he truly knew of the world now he was seeing it all for himself.

"Oh- right, dragons. The underworld one sounds a bit like a screaming death... they have a snake like body and burrow underground. There very rare, the smaller whispering death are more common" he explained.

"Interesting... underground dragons would definitely play into underworld myths..." you muttered.

"Doesn't your lands have multi headed beings?" Anet asked.

Berk had Zipplebacks, a common dragon breed. But in your land the only multi headed being was more a myth than a known thing. The hydra, and one could debate if it counted as a dragon.

"Yeah kind of, although I'd say there's a big difference between a Zippleback and a hydra" you replied.

"There's a few multi headed species, they're not common though. The Zippleback is the most common if them. I'd imagine it's because any more than two heads would be hard to develop" Hiccup said.

"It's pretty wild that they even exist though, exist and survive for so long. Most other animals born in a conjoined way don't make it that far into life because their bodies just can't support them"

Dragons seemed to defy the laws of nature sometimes, and it often had Hiccup wondering on the validity of magic. Surely some of these dragons couldn't realistically survive without some gift from the gods right?

Surely you couldn't have survived, but you did. And so did all your people. You yourself were an anomaly of nature, and yet, you didn't seem to proses any kind of witchcraft or magic. You were simply a regular person... with dragon wings.

But it was that allure you had, the call of the unknown and yearn for knowledge, that kept Hiccup so hooked on you. You were an anomaly, a beautiful, beautiful anomaly.