This is Xadia. A land filled with magic and magical beings and creatures alike.
Long ago, Xadia was one land rich in magic and wonder. In the old times, there were only the six Primal Sources of magic. The Sun. The Moon. The Stars. The Earth. The Sky. And the Ocean. But a thousand years ago, a human mage discovered new magic – the seventh source.
Dark Magic. It used the essence within magical creatures themselves to unleash dark power.
Horrified by what they saw, the elves and the dragons put a stop to the madness. They drove every last human to the west. And so, the continent was divided in two. In the east, the magical lands of Xadia. And in the west, the human kingdoms.
For centuries, the King of the Dragons himself defended the border. The humans called him Thunder, for when he spoke, his voice shook the earth and the sky.
But this is not where our story begins. Our story begins in the human kingdom known as Katolis, with a young prince. But not just any prince. A dragon prince by the name of Callum, who has yet to discover his true nature.
~~~TDPMS~~~
Cozied up within the confines of the library in the castle of Katolis was a young boy, a prince. His appearance was different compared to the king and queen, however.
While King Harrow was dark skinned with deep brown dreadlocks and brown eyes, and his wife Queen Sarai was fair skinned with brown hair and brown eyes, the prince looked completely different.
The boy had slightly messy auburn locks, fair skin that was a lighter shade than the queen's, and forest green eyes. But there was also something else that made him stand out, his scales. You see, the prince wasn't just your ordinary human prince. He had pure black scales that were concealed under his clothes that covered his chest and his nether regions to protect him, but he hadn't the faintest clue as to why they were there.
"Prince Callum?" The boy heard, his attention being torn away from the book on the tales of the Dragon Riders, a group of people who rode on the backs of dragons in another part of the world known as the Barbaric Archipelago, he had decided to read.
The eight year old looked over at who called to him and saw that it was a woman, who he recognized as the advisor of his step-father, King Harrow, Opeli.
"C-coming!" The boy stuttered, still not quite used to the title he was bestowed when his mother married the king, closing the book and holding it to his chest as he stood and made his way over to the advisor.
"Your mother wants to speak with you in her and King Harrow's chambers. It sounded rather important." Opeli explained, which made the boy's mind fill with worry at what it could possibly be about.
Callum nodded slightly and followed as she began to lead him out of the library and to the king and queen's quarters. The walk was silent as the prince glanced around the halls they passed through, his grip on his book tight as worst case scenarios ran through his little mind on what his mother wanted to talk to him about, a trait he's had since as long as he could remember.
When they arrived, the guards that were posted at the door uncrossed their spears and allowed the prince and advisor entry. Opeli nodded in thanks to the guards and pushed the doors open, ushering Callum in before following behind.
"I have brought Prince Callum as requested your majesty." Opeli said as she bowed to Queen Sarai.
The queen smiled and nodded in thanks, then Opeli left the quarters and closed the door behind her. Callum looked at his mother with worry filled eyes as she knelt before him.
"I-is everything okay Mom?" He asked, the book in hand held to his chest in a vice grip.
Sarai smiled softly. "Everything is perfectly fine sweetheart. What book did you get your hands on this time?" She asked, wanting to coax her son into a conversation before she revealed why she asked him there.
Callum glanced down at the book in his arms and back up at his mother, holding it out to her and flipping it to have the cover facing her. "Tales of the Dragon Riders..it's about this group of people from a tribe called the Hairy Hooligans that tamed dragons and rode them..there's seven members..the leaders are Hiccup and Kala Haddock, then there's Snotlout Jorgenson, Fishlegs Ingerman, the Twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, and Nanna Lykke.. There was another member before Nanna, though, named Astrid Hofferson, but she was banished from the team for trying to hurt Kala.. And then there's an honorary member named Heather Lykke.."
Sarai smiled as she took the book gently from her son's little hands and looked at the cover as he explained the contents. The cover was an image of a group of several people on an island, dragons she had never seen before standing behind their riders with saddles adorning their backs. But one thing stood out to her, her eyes growing wide when she spotted the two people in the front of the group.
It was a man and a woman. The man had messy auburn hair that had small braids hidden within, familiar forest green eyes, sunkissed skin that was covered in freckles, attire that looked nothing like any she had seen in her lifetime, and a prosthetic leg made of metal. The woman beside him had messy midnight hair that was braided into a long side braid, bright toxic green eyes, familiar fair skin, and attire very similar to the man standing next to her.
Hiccup and Kala Haddock, she deduced as she took a deep breath and set the book to the side on a bench near them.
"Callum, there's something I've been keeping from you.." Sarai started, which got Callum's attention as the look of worry returned to his face. "And it has to do with those people in that book.."
"W-what..?" The boy asked in confusion.
"Callum…I'm not your actual mother…" Sarai said, deciding to get it over with like ripping off an old bandage.
Callum froze in place with wide eyes as tears formed within his forest pools. "Y-you…you're not…my mother..?"
Sarai shook her head sadly. "No…Damian and I found you when you were a baby. You had washed up on the beach close to our house. Damian was set on raising you as our own, but I knew your family would be looking for you when I saw the scales on your body. I did research into where you may have come from and got in contact with a tribe that resides on an island called New Berk."
"W-wait…d-does that mean..?" Callum asked as his eyes widened further and Sarai nodded.
"Yes..you're from New Berk Callum. You got caught in a strong current one afternoon when you were being watched by your father's cousin, having been curious of the waves as a storm rolled in. They looked for you for months, but could never find you. That is until I contacted them. Your parents tried to make the voyage to come and get you, but irony has its way of appearing at the most inconvenient of times…"
She didn't have to finish that sentence for Callum to know what happened. He knew from the sound of her voice that his parents got caught in a terrible storm like he had and drowned. It made his knees buckle as tears blurred his vision and he clutched his pants as he stared at the floor, some tears dripping onto the stone.
Seeing her son falling apart silently like this broke Sarai's heart and she scooped him up into her lap and held him close. Callum clung to her and let the tears flow, yet he was as silent as could be, wanting her to continue.
"You know how you've always wondered why you have those black scales..? Well it's because you're a dragon Callum..a very rare one in fact.. Are you familiar with the types of dragons that are in the Barbaric Archipelago..?"
Callum nodded as he thought back to the dragons that were mentioned in 'The Tales of the Dragon Riders' and 'The Book of Dragons' he had read multiple times throughout his time living in the castle.
"Do you remember which dragon has pure black scales..?" Sarai asked, already knowing he would have the answer and wanting to see him put it all together himself.
"A…a Night Fury…t-they're pure black dragons that are close to extinction… The Vikings called them the…the unholy offspring of l-lightning and d-death themselves…" As he thought over everything he had read about Night Furies, the pieces seemed to fall into place for him, his eyes widening once again as more tears flowed down his face. "I-I…I'm a Night Fury…aren't I..?"
Sarai nodded as she ran her fingers through Callum's auburn locks to comfort him. "Yes…you're a Night Fury Callum… And who do you remember are Night Furies in those stories you read..?"
"H-Hiccup and…and Kala…and they…they had triplets…t-two boys…and one girl…" Callum slowly said as more and more of the pieces fell into place.
"Yes…in the stories they just have two boys and a girl..right..?"
"Y-yeah…Dart…the oldest of the three…and their only daughter…t-then Stoick…the middle…named after his grandfather from their dad's side…Stoick the Vast…and then their youngest…Lief…n-named after his grandfather on their mother's side…"
"But there's something those stories never mentioned…they also had you…you're the youngest out of all of them Callum… Your true name is Callum Numinex Haddock…son of Chief Hiccup and Chieftess Kala…"
"H-Haddock..?" Callum asked quietly as all the information sunk in. "I-I'm…a Haddock..? The…the son of the two greatest Dragon Masters to ever live..?"
Sarai nodded as she held Callum closer to her, tears beginning to well up in her own eyes the further into the conversation they got.
"You are…and I am…so so sorry that I never told you…"
Callum stayed silent for a couple minutes as he processed all of this, then anger set in and he started to squirm to get out of Sarai's grasp. Sarai's eyes widened in shock, not having expected this type of reaction out of the boy. She let go of him as his squirms became harsh and he quickly got out of her lap and stood a good few feet away from her as he held himself, tears flowing down his cheeks as a sharp glare was directed towards the queen.
"W-why would you keep something like this from me..?!" The boy asked, struggling to not full on sob right then and there.
"Because I vowed to raise you as my own when I learned of your parents' passing..! I didn't want you to have a haunted childhood..!"
"H-how is that b-better..?! My whole l-life has been a l-lie..!"
"Callum, that is not true..!"
"Yes it is..! I-I didn't even know t-that I was a dragon..! A dragon..! H-how could you…you t-think that wouldn't be l-living a lie..?!"
"Cal–" Sarai tried as she reached out to him, but he just backed away further while he tightened his self hug, scales beginning to appear around his eyes as his pupils morphed into slitted dragon eyes.
"No..! D-don't touch me..! Y-you kept me from my family..!" The boy exclaimed as his nails grew into little claws that dug into his shirt.
"I was only trying to protect you..!"
"By keeping me from my home..?! H-how is that protecting me..?!" Callum growled out as more tears fell from his eyes, a pair of pure black wings and a pure black tail coming into existence on the boy's back, his clothes tearing from the new appendages making themselves known, but they went unnoticed by the little prince.
"Callum, I was just trying–" Sarai tried to explain, but she was cut off by the furious hatchling.
"I HATE YOU!" He shouted, then he turned on his heel and dashed to the balcony, climbing onto the ledge and jumping.
"Callum!!" Sarai yelled in fear and she rushed over to the ledge and looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be found.
~~~TDPMS~~~
Unbeknownst to the queen, Callum had used his wings to clumsily glide to the wall of the castle and clinged to it with his claws as he let himself cry. After a couple of minutes of that, he finally put together that his appearance had changed into that of a hybrid and he grew scared, knowing that if he was spotted, chaos would ensue.
The boy took a deep breath to calm himself down enough to figure out how to get to his and his little brother Ezran's chambers without being spotted. Once he saw the coast was clear, he carefully climbed his way across the castle in the shadows of the building to keep himself as hidden as he could. After a good ten minutes of carefully making his way across the walls, he reached the window to his half of the chambers.
He smiled in relief when he saw it was opened slightly, remembering that he had propped it open that morning to let some fresh air in. Mentally patting himself on the back for that, he clambered his way into the room, stumbling as he perched on the window seal and letting out a yelp as he fell face first into his room, stuff from his desk nearby being knocked to the ground by his tail as he fell.
Callum groaned and sat up slowly while rubbing his head with a whine. "Owwww…"
He stayed on the floor for a while, trying to soothe the pain in his head from the fall. When he was sure the pain was bearable enough, he stood and cautiously went over to his mirror, terrified of what he would see, covering his eyes as he approached. Once he was right in front of the mirror, he slowly uncovered his eyes and took in his appearance, his eyes slowly widening.
Staring back at him was a boy with scales scattered around his eyes, dragon pupils that changed in size as his curiosity replaced his fear, big black bat-like wings that were folded against his back, sharp black claws that replaced his nails, scales covering the top of his hands, and a big black tail that had two tailfins at the end that swayed slightly back and forth behind him. His clothes were looser than they were earlier that day thanks to the holes that were created by the wings and tail.
"Whoa…is this…my hybrid form..?" Callum whispered to himself as he ghosted a clawed hand over the scales on his cheek.
His little trance was broken when he heard little knocks on his door and jumped as he snapped his head in that direction.
"Callum? Are you otay?" A little voice called from the other side, Ezran.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine! Just tripped over my chair!" Callum fibbed, frantically looking around the room for something to use to hide his wings and tail with.
As the dragon prince was looking, Ezran's glow toad companion Bait pushed the little door connected to Callum's regular sized one open with his head and waddled his way over to the frazzled prince, croaking to get his attention.
Callum jumped at the croak and looked down at Bait with wide eyes, which only grew in size when he saw Ezran crawl through the little door after the glow toad.
Ezran looked a lot like King Harrow, same hair color and skin color, but what was different from both his parents was his eyes, which were a light blue. His hair was also a fluffy mess and he had freckles scattered across his cheeks.
As the three year old stood and locked eyes with his older brother, Callum was as frozen as a statue in fear of how his little brother would react to his appearance, but what happened wasn't what he expected.
"Did you sneak frough da window?" Ezran asked as he noticed the window was wide open and the area around it was a mess.
"Y-you're not freaking out?" Callum asked in confusion.
"Why would I freak out?" Ezran asked back.
"B-because I'm a dragon! How are you not freaking out right now Ez?"
"Uh..because I knew? Wasn't dat hard to figure out." Ezran said with a shrug, as if it was obvious.
"H-how did you..?" Callum stuttered out, his mind beginning to spin as he stumbled back and plopped heavily onto his bed as he held his head.
"Are you otay Callum?" Ezran asked worriedly as he dashed to his brother's side and clung to his pant leg.
"I…I didn't even know I was a dragon until a little bit ago…and you knew..? H-how long have you known..?"
"Forever. I fought everyone knew..so I never brought it up." Ezran explained. "What happen?"
"I…" Callum tried, but tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled the conversation that turned his world upside down not even twenty minutes ago, getting choked up as the tears began to escape once more.
Ezran frowned and clambered his way onto his brother's bed then he crawled into Callum's lap and hugged him tightly, knowing all his brother needed right now was comfort. Callum hugged his little brother back just as tight and buried his face in his shoulder, letting the tears flow as everything that he just learned crashed down upon him like an archdragon. As the brothers embraced, Bait made his way onto the bed as well and curled up by Callum's side, resting his head on the boy's leg to add his own comfort.
~~~TDPMS~~~
Down in the throne room, Sarai was pacing as she rambled to her husband Harrow, the king having requested for the room to be cleared when the queen rushed in looking frazzled.
"W-what have I done Harrow? He hates me now!" Sarai exclaimed as she clutched her head, pacing back and forth in front of their thrones.
Harrow smiled softly and approached his wife, grasping her shoulders to stop her pacing and lifting her head slightly to make eye contact with her.
"You did the right thing. He deserved to know the truth my dear. Just give him some time, I'm sure he just needs time to wrap his head around it all. He'll come back around." He said calmly.
"But what if he doesn't? What then? W-what if he runs away?!"
Harrow cupped Sarai's face to ground her. "We'll figure it out. It's Callum's choice what he does now. All we can do is be here for him if and when he needs us."
Sarai took a shuddering breath then nodded in defeat as she leaned into Harrow's hand. "Yes..yes I suppose you are right. He just needs time."
~~~TDPMS~~~
Back with the princes, Callum had finally calmed down enough to explain to Ezran what had happened. The three year old felt devastated for his older brother at the news. Just the thought of him being in that kind of situation brought tears to his bright blue eyes.
Now, however, Callum was struggling to figure out how to hide his draconic features. He stood before his mirror glaring at his reflection as he concentrated on his wings and tail disappearing, but nothing seemed to happen.
The hatchling growled in frustration and tried concentrating harder, but his attempts were yet again fruitless. Ezran and Bait watched from Callum's bed, sharing concerned looks as Callum screeched in anger and scratched his mirror.
"Why won't it work?!" He groaned as he sank to the floor and let his wings and tail wrap around him as he held his legs to his chest. "If I'm seen like this, it's game over…"
Ezran frowned as his heart broke at seeing his brother look so defeated, then an idea came to him and his face lit up. "Da secret passages!"
Callum peeked out of his little cocoon at Ezran with a raised brow of confusion. "Secret passages?"
"Yeah!" The toddler exclaimed as he hopped down from the bed. "Da castle is chock full of secret passages to all sorts of places! Dere's even ones that lead to the library and bakery! We could go frough da secret passages to keep you out of sight!"
Callum's eyes widened in realization as a smile grew on his lips as he stood. "Ez you're a genius!"
Ezran smiled, then laughed as his brother scooped him up into a hug and nuzzled his cheek, the toddler nuzzling back happily before he was set back down gently.
"C'mon, lead the way to the library. Maybe there's a book in there on Night Furies that'll help me figure out how to transform back into a human." Callum said as he offered his hand to his little brother, who took it and led him out of his half of their bedroom to a switch in the other half, Bait hopping down from the bed and hopping after them to keep up.
Ezran pushed the switch and the bricks parted to reveal a hidden tunnel that led to another section of the castle. Callum's eyes widened in awe as the tunnel was revealed, the torches lighting up as the bricks settled into place.
"Whoa…"
"Come on!" Ezran exclaimed as he tugged on Callum's hand as he began to head through the tunnel with Bait by his side.
Callum smiled and followed, his tail swaying happily behind him as they made their way through the tunnel, the entrance closing behind them as Bait began to glow to give them more light. The two princes spent the next couple minutes trekking through the secret passages of Katolis castle with Ezran leading the way towards a hidden nook that was linked to the library.
When they reached their destination, Callum looked around the nook in awe. It was filled with cushions and stacks of old books, a little candle holder with a very used candlestick tucked away on an end table in the corner and a door on the far wall that Callum assumed was a disguised entrance to the library.
"Stay here, I'll grab da books." Ezran said as he pushed on the door to crack it open just enough for him and Bait to hop through.
The little prince checked to see that the coast was clear then smiled at Callum before hopping through the door with Bait and closing it behind him. Callum smiled back right before the door closed and sunk into the cushions to get comfortable as he waited for Ezran to return, looking at his hands to familiarize himself with the scale designs.
Ezran dashed his way over to the librarian and tugged on her skirt. "Miss?"
The woman looked down and smiled at the prince, turning her full attention to him as she knelt down to be eye level with the toddler.
"Why hello Prince Ezran. I didn't hear you come in. What can I do for you dear?"
"Can you help me find all da books on da Barbac Achilpelagoo?" Ezran asked, struggling on saying the name.
The woman smiled and nodded. "Of course I can. Interested in learning about the Vikings of the area?" She asked as she stood and offered her hand to the prince to lead him to the right section.
"Uh huh." Ezran fibbed as he took her hand and followed her as she took him to the proper area.
"Well let's see." The librarian said as she released Ezran's hand once they reached the proper section and rubbed her chin as she scanned the shelves. "Which books in particular are you wanting your highness?"
"All of dem." Ezran said calmly and the woman's eyes widened.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"Whatever for?"
"To learn about other countries. One of my tutors said dat a prince must be aware of all kinds of countries and be prepared for any situation." Ezran explained, not necessarily lying but also not telling the truth either.
The librarian considered his explanation and nodded in acceptance as she began to pull down all the books that she knew they had on the Barbaric Archipelago and its inhabitants, then she made a pile of them on a table nearby, assuming the prince would sit down and read them all there. Once all the books were piled onto the table she left to go tidy up another area of the library, leaving Ezran to his own devices under the assumption he would be engrossed in his reading.
Ezran smiled and waved at her as she left, then glanced around to make sure no one else was around and gathered as many of the books from the pile his little arms could possibly carry and scurried his way back to the secret entrance, making a pile by the door for him to take through once every book was there. It took him a couple of trips with the amount of books there were, but he didn't mind. Anything that would help out his older brother was worth it in his eyes.
On the last trip, he was stopped by a boy with short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. Soren, the eldest child of High Mage Viren.
"Whoa there, little prince. Where ya goin' with all them books?" The eleven year old asked as he looked at the big pile of books in Ezran's hands and atop Bait's back.
Ezran froze with wide eyes, then glanced down at the books in his arms and at the books on Bait's back before looking back up at the tween.
"Umm..nowhere?" Ezran fibbed, but it was clear as day it was a lie.
"Uh huh." Soren said as he crossed his arms, then he raised a brow as he took notice of the title of the book on the top of Ezran's stack. "Wait. Are those all on the Barbaric Archipelago? Isn't your brother reading about that place?"
"Yesss?" Ezran said, but it was more like a question than an answer to the tween's questions. "He asked me to grab some more for him. Yeah."
"Sureee he did. He's not one to do that little prince, you of all people should know that. What's really going on?" Soren asked as he leaned closer to the toddler with a scrutinizing look.
Ezran groaned and looked around to make sure no one else would hear them. "Otay, if I tell you, will you pinkie promise dat you won tell anyone?"
Soren held out his pinkie finger and interlocked it with Ezran's with a firm nod. "Pinkie promise."
"Otay. Callum had a talk with Mommy earwier today dat turned his whole world on its head." Ezran began to explain as Soren took the books from him when he noticed the toddler was beginning to struggle with them, the tween's eyes widening slightly.
"What?" He asked as Ezran began to lead him and Bait to the secret entrance where the pile of the rest of the books lay to the side.
"I fink it would be better if Callum explained. Just promise you won fweak out once we're frough da door?" Ezran asked as he gripped the side of the disguised entrance to the nook.
"Why would I freak out, exactly?" Soren asked with a raised brow of skepticism.
"Just promise!" Ezran said with some sternness in his voice that Soren didn't think the toddler was even capable of, which made the tween purse his lips and nod in understanding.
"Promise."
"Good." The little prince said with a nod then he checked to make sure the coast was clear and cracked open the door, letting Bait hop through before he peeked in. "Hey Callum, I got da books. And, uh, Soren's here too."
Callum's eyes widened in fear as he stood, his pupils shrinking down to slits. "Wait, what?! Ez! No one can see me like this! Especially Soren! Are you nuts?!"
"He pinkie promised to keep quiet. Come on, he could help us." Ezran reassured the hatchling as he saw his brother's eyes slit and noticed the dragon's tail was flicking frantically from nerves.
Hearing the fear in the step-prince's voice Soren cleared his throat and walked a little closer, but was mindful to stay away from the cracked entrance. "I swear on my life that whatever I'm about to see and hear will not be shared with anyone else, Callum. You have my word."
Callum bit his lip and held his arm as he considered, then sighed and nodded. "Okay."
Ezran smiled and nodded as he grabbed some of the books beside the door and motioned with his head to Soren to follow as he hopped through. Callum stiffened up significantly and fought with himself to hide as he saw Soren come into view. When Soren entered, the boy froze in place as he locked eyes with the eldest prince, the books in his arms falling to the cushioned floor as he took in the scales, the wings, the tail, and the draconic eyes that were slitted from fear.
"Holy…what happened Cal?"
Not hearing any fear in the boy's voice made the hatchling in question relax. "I-it's a long story. C-could you help Ez get the rest of the books in here before I explain?"
Soren shook out of his little trance and nodded, heading back out of the nook and helping Ezran grab the rest of the books, the toddler closing the entrance behind him once back inside and the both dumped the books into the pile on the cushions. Once all the books were deposited, Ezran cuddled into the cushions and high fived Bait at a successful book heist.
"Uh…you may wanna sit down for this…" Callum said as he too sunk into the cushions, gesturing for Soren to do the same.
~~~TDPMS~~~
"So let me get this straight." Soren said once Callum was finished explaining what had happened. "You're the son of the late chief and chieftess of New Berk? And you got caught in a strong current during a storm, ending up washed up on the shores of Katolis and found by Queen Sarai? Being raised as her own when news of your parents' drowning reached her? And she kept that and the fact you're a dragon from you this whole time?"
"Yeah, that about sums it up." Callum said with a small nod.
"And because you got so angry with her, you're stuck in hybrid form now and don't know how to change back?" Soren asked just to make sure he was on the same page as the princes.
Callum nodded again and sighed heavily. "Yup. Hence the secret passages."
"Okay, then what about needing all the books on the Barbaric Archipelago?"
"I need to know about my homeland. And..possibly see if there's a book that explains how I can change back into my human form.." Callum explained as his tail flicked nervously behind him.
Soren nodded in understanding then rubbed his chin in thought as he crossed his arms. "So…what will you do after all this research? I mean, you just learned that you're not even from here. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I just stayed put if I were in this kind of situation.."
Callum looked away with a sad look, which made Soren and Ezran exchange worried ones.
"I..I don't know..not yet at least..I need more time.." Callum confessed, then he looked between his brother and friend with determination. "But there is something you guys can do for me while I figure it out. Keep people from looking for me. I need time to think and figure out the whole hybrid situation. I can't have anyone besides you guys knowing where I am."
Soren and Ezran glanced at each other in determination as they came to a silent agreement then looked back at Callum with even more determination as they nodded.
"You can count on us step-prince. We'll keep the rest of the castle, and even the kingdom from finding out where you are." Soren said confidently as he put his fist to his chest.
"Yeah, you'll have all da time you need to learn about your family, Callum. We'll make sure of it." Ezran added with an adorable smile.
Callum smiled with tears in his eyes and pulled the others into a tight group hug. "Thank you.."
Soren and Ezran hugged the hatchling back just as tight, letting him cling to them as he buried his face into their shoulders.
~~~TDPMS~~~