How to train your Wyvern

''Where do you reckon we'll end up this time bud?'' Hiccup asked his dragon Toothless as they soared high above the sky. Together they had set out many times before to map as much of the world as they could now that with a dragon he could travel much further than Vikings past.
''maybe we'll find a new species or two today.''

''Well you never know!'' Astrid replied as she flew alongside upon Stormfly. After 'the incident' when they found the first other dragon riders apart from the ones of Berk she had insisted she joined him when he went on these excursions.

…........

''Finally! Took a while this time!'' Hiccup exclaimed as land came into sight again. They had now flown for a good few hours with only the ocean below them but now another landmass finally appeared before them. It certainly looked an ideal place for dragons to live, maybe even some other people would be here as well.

''Hiccup look out!'' Astrid yelled as a fire ball hurtled towards them, Toothless quickly diving to avoid it just in time. Both the dragon riders quickly regained their composure and took a look at their assailant.

Or assailants in this case as 3 large green dragons were now flying towards them, fire gathering in their maws. It was not the fire that startled Hiccup though. It was the riders on their backs, armour clad and now pointing bows in their direction.

''We need to get out of here!'' Astrid shouted to Hiccup, him nodding in reply as the two guided their dragons into a dive, more fireballs hurtling towards them. The two now ducked and weaved through the trees keeping out of the range of the larger pursuers. It was only when Astrid yelled for help that Hiccup saw the other men that now held a large net in their path, wrapping around himself and Toothless, forcing them to crash into the ground below.

Soon the two dragon riders were surrounded by armoured men, weapons drawn and ready to attack if needs be. The 3 men who had pursued them on the larger dragons now landed nearby giving the two Vikings a better look at them.

Heavy green plating covered their body from head to tail, spikes growing from their tail and a crest of scales growing from their head. They certainly looked much more menacing than the dragons on Berk but there were similarities. Their body structure looked very similar to a deadly nadder only bigger. Maybe they were related?

''My my what have we here?'' one of the soldiers said as he dismounted one of the creatures and walked towards them. ''more rogue riders. It doesn't surprise me there are some of you this far out you dirty traitors. Well now-''

The man was cut short as a deep howl sounded from the forest, causing the soldiers to spin to its source. What emerged was yet another new creature Hiccup had never seen before. It looked almost lizard like but walked, or more accurately leapt, like some of the smaller dragons. It was soon joined by dozens more of its kind as they began to tear into the soldiers, the larger dragons trying to assist with their fire and tail swipes.

Hiccup's attention was soon taken from the action as their net was torn into by another creature, this time what seemed to be a much larger version of the little lizard like dragons, even sporting a frill around its neck. Upon its back was yet another armoured rider but this one offered his hand. ''Come on get up! If you want to live follow me'' he said and then disappeared into the woods. Hiccup looked to Astrid who simply shrugged and flew off after the mystery figure, Hiccup soon followed.

Behind them the last of the jaggi were quickly taken care of by the soldiers. One of them, the one who had taunted the two captured riders stood in front of them all as they scrambled to gather their weapons. ''Damn it all! You fools could have caught 3 riders and you all failed! Get back to camp the lot of you and hope you still have your head in the morning!''

…........

''Hey hold up!  Who were those people? Who are you? Answer us!'' Astrid yelled at the man leading them through the forest. He simply chuckled and rode on without any reply ''Hiccup why don't we just fly off and leave this guy?''

''Because the two of you wouldn't survive 5 minutes in these skies before being overwhelmed by Bruno's forces'' an answer from in front of them stated, their saviour now stopping in front of a cave and dismounting. ''We should be safe inside here for the night. I guess we can discuss where you came from and what happened back there once we're inside'' Not waiting for a reply he slipped inside, his mount following behind.

Hiccup wasn't sure on this new rider yet but his words made sense. They had barely flown over land before being swarmed by those riders. ''You can't seriously be following him?'' Astrid exclaimed, looking down at him. ''Well if you have a better idea. I'm all ears Astrid'' Hiccup replied nonchalantly before heading inside, soon followed by the cautious girl.

Inside it was quite roomy, the rider had built a fire and he was now sat before it warming himself. He had removed his helmet and put his hand upon the snout of his mount as it lay next to him. Now he could see his face Hiccup could see the man was quite young, only in his early twenties at most.

''Come, sit. You have many questions and the night will be long.'' he said, motioning for the two riders of Berk to sit by his fire. It was Astrid who began with the questions, making sure stormfly was nearby. ''First off who are you and why did you save us?''

''My name is Zorath. As to why I saved you? You obviously work as equals with your wyverns so you must be some part of the Rebel force.''
''Wait wait. Rebel force? Wyverns? What are you talking about?'' Hiccup interrupted, confused as to what Zorath meant.
''well are your creatures not wyverns?'' he replied, seemingly just as confused.
''Toothless and Stormfly are dragons! You know scales, claws wings and generally breathe fire?''

Zorath then began to chuckle slightly ''seems your from further out than I thought! They are dragons to you but in this land we would class at least the blue one as a wyvern. Not sure about your black one. Toothless did you say?'' He moved to get up, walking calmly over to the dragon.
''Y-yeah... I'm Hiccup and this is Astrid. We're from Berk.'' Hiccup replied as the man finally got close enough to toothless, the night fury backing up slightly before the stranger tapped his snout and gently stroked it.
''what a well trained dragon you are! Never heard of no Berk before. Though I will be the first to welcome you to the Primeval Forest, one of the most beautiful areas of our land.'' A grumble interrupted them as Zorath's beast sat up. ''Oh and that’s Patch, one of our great jaggis we've been training.''

''We?'' Astrid questioned. ''what do you mean we?''
Zorath took that question to sit back down in front of the fire. ''Well if I’m going to answer that I might as well tell you my full story and how I got here in the first place.''

….............

It was nearly 2 years ago now that it all began. Back then I was just another hunter, one of many employed by the hunting guild to protect the human settlements across the land from monsters. I had been trained from a young age to hunt and it soon allowed me to rise through the ranks to be one of the best.

One thing I always taught anyone who asked for any mentoring was to respect your hunt. I had seen many a hunter wildly charge into battle, hurling insults at the beast and thinking of them as dirt to be trodden under their boot. Many of these people I had met and watch get wheeled beck into town under a sheet.

I myself always fought hard but respected my opponent. Even the smallest beast could tear you apart if you were careless. I learned to observe and strike when the timing was right, looking for any opening to counter attack.

That day had been like any other. I had gathered a group of 3 newer hunters and we had set out to take care of a pair of styrigan zinogre that were roaming the nearby tundra. Needless to say I soon found myself alone with the 2 beasts, my team mates all either recovering from lightening blasts or fleeing back to the city. No big deal.

We fought for over an hour, blows being received on both sides but eventually one beast fell and the other limped off. I quickly set to work carving off the most useful parts off my kill before pursuing the other beast.

It was at this point a massive explosion reached my ears, making me cover them as I turned to the source. Far off in the distance, roughly in the direction of the ancient tower, a great plume of smoke billowed into the sky, a wave of energy flying out in all directions. The blast wave soon passed over me, causing a stumble but not much else. I would probably hear what happened once I got back.

As I walked on my head started to feel woozy.  It turns out that fight had taken more out of me than I thought. I finally looked down at my armour noticing the chunk missing from the left side of my stomach and the gash there that was still bleeding. This wasn’t good. I fell over into one of the drifts of snow as my strength began to fail me. This was it. The snow began to fall much heavier than before as my eyes shut and I fell asleep.



A warm smell wafted across my nose. It smelt like steak, and a nice juicy one at that. It caused me to awaken, opening my eyes to see the roof of a cave. Wait wasn't I lying in a snow drift when I fell asleep? I quickly moved to get up. Bad idea. I groaned in pain clutching my side before realising it felt... furry?

I looked down to see what seemed to be a sheet of zinogre fur covering that side of my body. A quick look to my side found a pile of the stuff, mostly stained red with blood. Someone must have found me out there and saved me! I took a look around the cave I was in to find my saviour only to see...

''no..'' I whispered as the very creature I had been hunting before now noticed my movements and casually walked over to me. Seems my so called saviour hadn't noticed the dangerous beast in this cave. I glanced around quickly to find my weapons but they were nowhere to be found. My only chance was to run for it but outside the cave I could see the snowstorm was in full swing. I wouldn’t survive 5 minutes out there.

Fearing for my life all I could do was sit there and wait for the end. I closed my eyes as the creature drew closer. Any moment now. Any second..

''OOF!'' I spluttered as a heavy weight landed on my legs. Reopening my eyes I could now see the zinogre was stood in front of me, looking expectantly and a massive hunk of cooked popo meat was sat in my lap. My brain was yelling at me to get out of there and run but my stomach had other ideas. I quickly dived in, munching the meat happily as I regained my energy. Seemingly satisfied with my reaction the zinogre made its way back towards the entrance of the cave, leaving me to eat.

As I finished my meal many thoughts were flying through my head. Why did this creature save me? Why did it help me out when I had just killed its friend? Why hadn't it attacked me? In all my time as a hunter not one creature had ever hesitated to attack me or one of my team mates. They might limp away when weak but otherwise they would always try to fight no matter what and now? One was seemingly serving me steak and trying to patch up my wounds using some of its shedded fur.

It seemed to notice I was done eating, moving back over to me before gesturing up with its head. I decided it was best to keep on the zinogres good side at least for now so I tried to stand. I was back on my feet if a little shaky. The zinogre motioned for me to follow and then began to head further into the cave.

We travelled for a good while deeper into the caves and soon enough the cave began to look like less of a cave. I could clearly see man made parts now, supports and old brickwork like those in the ruins. Was this another place where ancient people used to live? My attention was returned to my host as the thunder wolf growled and tapped its muzzle against an old book on the floor. Taking the hint I looked inside.

The book seemed to show the old civilisation at work;farming, building and more but unlike today the monsters were shown as well, helping the people with their tasks and living peacefully. On the next page was an image of a black dragon, one I recognised as a fatalis, only recently discovered by the guild and yet to be killed. It seemed to be roaring to the heavens and on the next page there was two faces of a rathian. On the left it looked quite friendly, eyes full of life but on the right its eyes were slit and menacing, the ones I would always see when hunting. The rest of the book seemed to show the monsters attacking the humans and then the humans fighting back.

I closed the book and thought what this all meant. From what I could see this fatalis dragon had appeared and made all the monsters into the beasts I hunted which was good and all but why had the zinogre had me look at this?

Standing right in front of me the creature was, looking directly at me. I gasped finally seeing it. His eyes were full of life! They were full and shone with kindness. Whatever spell the other beasts were under this zinogre was completely free of it.

Sensing my realisation the Zinogre gently nipped my armour just enough to get a hold and lift me up. I panicked a little at first, especially when he tossed me backwards but once I landed on his back and he looked back I could see what he was thinking. For the first time in hundreds of years man and beast were working together!

We travelled back up the cave much faster than we'd descended and soon we were back at the entrance again. My new found friend lowered himself to the ground and let me easily slide off. Outside the snow had stopped falling and I could leave! At first I thought about bringing my new friend with me but decided against it, instead saying goodbye for now and making sure to return later.

When I finally returned to town I found that my experience with the creatures wasnt much different than the majority of hunters that had returned. I explained to them about the ruins and the book I had found, most agreeing with my hypothesis.

''I bring news of victory over the dark beast!'' came a roar from the entrance to the tavern. There he was Bruno Nightslayer, one of the greatest hunters the world had seen, a massive fang held high. ''I have slain the mighty fatalis! No longer shall the people around the tower area be plagued by its dark magics!''

cheers arose and there was much celebration to be had. Over the next few days many hunters disappeared off into the wilds as did I, searching for our new friends. Tales of new bonds being formed and men riding rathians began to circulate the tavern each night. Soon enough the guild announced that due to the lack of monster attacks their focus was changing. Sure enough now many former hunters had become riders and the guild recognised this, organising them to assist the cities and towns of the surrounding area.

This continued for a while until that day when Bruno stood atop the guild's roof. Held in his hand was a jet black staff decorated with runes and filled with some sort of shadowy gem.
''People of Tanzia port!'' he announced ''It is time! Without the great hunts of old I have found a new purpose of ruling you all!'' many looked on at this seemingly crazed man with bewilderment. ''those who do not kneel before me will be made to do so from the creatures you so readily have let into your lives!'' Bruno then demonstrated this by pointing at one of the rathalos currently resting in the town centre, shaking his staff. Whatever was in that staff had some sort of serious effect on the creature as it rose to its feet and swung around to attack those gathered in the square. Whatever that fatalis had used to control the monsters Bruno now seem to have a part of it.

Sensing this as a good chance to get out of there I rushed out of there, looking back as men and women alike were forced to bow before their new tyrannical ruler. Something had to be done but not now. I needed to get stronger to take that madman on.

…...

''And so I founded a group of rebels. Word spread as fast as Brunos new army marched, warning the towns in his way of what was coming. Across the continent small pockets of rebel forces now hide from the beasts that once again roam our lands.'' Zorath finished, the fire starting to die down.

''thats quite a tale you have.'' Astrid remarked stroking stormfly's now sleeping head. '' but if this staff controls all the creatures everywhere how come your jaggi here isn’t affected? And where’s that Zinogre you first met with?''

''the first question is simple to answer. Creatures with a strong enough will can resist the staffs influence. The only reason the fatalis had total control in the first place was because it had the entirety of the power while bruno only has a portion of it. The second one I can't really answer... he was captured a few weeks ago after saving me from Bruno's hunters. Who knows what they've done to him...'' Zorath replied, poking the fire with a stick as it finally went out.

''Well we should go rescue him!'' hiccup announced, Astrid trying to stop him only to be stopped. ''its allright. If someone took toothless i'd do anything to get him back''

''thats a nice gesture but at the moment its futile. The most likely place he'll be is the main port which is heavily guarded. Our best chance of saving him is to find a creature with a strong enough will to overpower Bruno's staff.'' Zorath replied.

''and where would we find something like that?'' Astrid asked.

''The sacred lands. If you want to help me we will travel there and seek the creature known as Alatreon''

…..

it took a few days for the group to travel to the sacred lands. The 3 humans had bonded well, discussing stories from this land and berk. Zorath was most impressed by hiccups flying skills and congratulated him on the various alphas he had defeated. ''You know what? The fatalis might have been an alpha dragon too. Maybe that’s why bruno can control them all with a piece of its body inside his staff'' zorath mused as they crossed a stream at the foot of a volcano.

''Well were nearly there. Patch you’ve been a great help but now its time for you to head home. I’m not getting you killed in this heat'' he said to the great jaggi, seeing it frown before walking slowly back the way they came ''jaggis are not really heat resistant. He wouldn’t last too long up here'' zorath explained as they climbed higher. Besides he hopefully would have a new partner very soon.

A screech stopped the dragons and humans alike as a shadow descended towards them. The group stood strong as the creature made its presence known, landing before them and roaring.
''great and mighty Alatreon! We come to you in our time of need! A wicked man leads an army of men and beasts across the land destroying everything in their wake. Your unstable powers are the only thing that can stand against him! Will you lend me your aid?''

the mighty elder dragon seemed to consider the proposition for a moment before shreiking loudly, Toothless and Stormfly roaring in retaliation. ''He seems to be challenging you'' Hiccup whispered to Zorath.
''Well if thats the case I wll prove my worth.'' Zorath replied, drawing his hunting knife. ''lets do this''

the two riders of Berk watched on as man and dragon lunged and sliced at each other, neither giving any ground. Alatreon kept launching fireballs, lightening bolts and icicle spires at Zorath but the man ducked and rolled out of harms way each time. It was truly a sight to behold and looked to end in a stalemate until Zorath hooked his blade into the dragons leg and used it to propel himself up and onto the beasts back.

As soon as he landed the elder dragon stopped moving, gently lowering its head and conceding to the human. Zorath looked like a child at Christmas with the smile he now wore.''I did it! The Alatreon will work besides us! We finally have a chance!'' he exclaimed, both hiccup and Astrid looking on happily. Now they could take on the tyrant.

…...........

For Bruno its was just another day of watching his kingdom grow. Below him he could see the people of Tanzia port pulling up a stature of himself in the centre of town. Any time now he would receive word of his world conquest and another shipment of fresh slaves would come in to honour his power and authority. Now he certainly would be remembered. It was only when a cheer broke through the groaning did he look out to the outskirts of the port city.

Out there a wave of riders were rushing in but these were not riding his precious beasts that had won him the throne! They were a wide selection of beasts and the leaders of this group rode beasts he had never seen before.

Fearing the worst he summoned his soldiers, hundreds of riders now rising from the barracks that had been set up in recent months. The king himself descended onto the main floor of his palace, finding his prized mount still feasting on the few hunters who had decided to rebel this week. The deviljho had once been the bane of all hunters but now it was just the ban of anyone who defied king Bruno.

….......

''Charge!'' Zorath yelled as he dove into the cloud of riders that now covered the skies. Alatreon did his best, thunder launching left and right as he descended towards the castle. Behind him he watched as his new friends fought on, thinning the enemy’s numbers with relative ease.  Down below he could see his target now approaching. ''Of course it would be you Zorath, the first one to run off. Guess its finally time to feed you to my pet'' Bruno chuckled, the deviljho beneath him bellowing as it rushed forward.

Alatron simply flew around the lumbering dinosaur before shooting a bolt of lightning at it, being rewarded with a yelp of pain. ''Today Bruno it ends.'' Zorath said coldly, getting Alatreon ready to to shoot again. This time he was interrupted though a s a massive beam of draconic energy shot from the deviljho below, knocking the two from the sky. The poor creature was injured but not out yet. Another bolt of energy shot forth from the glittering black monster and hit the dinosaurs rider.

Bruno skated towards the steps of his palace, burnt from the electricity that had surged through his body. Using his staff to right himself he decided now would be the time to use his secret weapon. A quick shake of the staff was all it took and a mammoth creature began to emerge from the sea. ''A dire miralis...'' Zorath gasped as Alatreon collapsed beneath him from exaustion. The mad man was now rushing for his final beast and Zorath knew he had to stop him of that beast would burn the entire city down.

Leaving the Alatron to rest he ran for the palace. If he was lucky maybe  he would find where Bruno locked up any creatures that he couldnt control.

…..

In the air above the battle raged on. Hiccup and Toothless were now toppling a ninth rider and sending fire at everything they could. Astrid had taken a few blows but was otherwise still going strong. Both had glanced down at their friends battle but hadn’t paid much attention due to the war they were facing up in the clouds.

Now though their opponents were thinning in number, and soon enough the rest of the riders had either fled or had asked to join the rebels. Now the sky was clear the two riders of berk could see the magma like beast emerging from the ocean. Zorath was nowhere to be seen but Bruno was climbing atop the horrible creature.

…..

It might have come down to the fire but Bruno had the rebels right where he wanted them, directly in front of his greatest pet. He commanded the beast to begin its onslaught and laughed as civilians ran below him like little ants before being crushed by his monster.

His enjoyment was short lived though as a cacophony of roars interrupted him. Looking to find the source Bruno's confidence began to falter. There at his palace gates a wave of creatures he had locked up were now pouring out towards him. Soon that cloud of rebels above him also cheered out and dived for his dragon.

….......

Zorath had been delighted when he found the dungeon but now he was over the moon. After releasing a large collection of beasts he had reached the final cage only to discover his lost friend. Seeing the human it had saved all those moths ago the Zinogre leapt out as soon as the cage opened, licking his friend in gratitude and happiness.

With his best buddy now by his side Zorath walked out of the castle and towards bruno. He had hoped to take him down himself but his rebels and newly freed beasts had already dealt with his massive beast, its slow but powerful self standing no chance against the overwhelming numbers. Bruno now lay there on the ground, beaten and bloody with staff still in hand.

Zorath took the demonic piece away from the crazed man, tossing it towards the Alatreon who had seemingly recovered its strength. The mighty beast let out a mighty roar and blasted it with a massive strike of lightning, burning the staff into nothing more than ashes. The injured and confused creatures of Bruno’s army suddenly found themselves freed once again.

''Its all over'' Zorath anounced to the cheers of the many who now stood before him. It had been hard but now things were looking for the better.

….....

''Well it was an honour to have your help'' Zorath said as Astrid and Hiccup stood on the cliff overlooking the port. ''Make sure to visit every so often.''
''Oh we will don't you worry!'' Astrid replied, climbing onto Stormfly. ''Good luck with the rebuilding!'' Hiccup added, getting a chuckle from all three of them.
''We'll be fine. Keep an eye on your skies for some of our wyverns. You can bet we'll be sending you a few when we finish the rebuilding'' And with a quick wave the newly appointed leader of Tanzia port said goodbye to Hiccup and Astrid as they flew away.

''Come on Zin. We've got work to do'' He said to his Zinogre and the two of them headed back down into town.