686Chapter 21: Timeless
Timeless
The Misty Mountains were easily the largest mountains either of them had ever seen before. They took the precaution of having Hiccup put on some extra layers before they flew up into the heights. The air they were forced up into felt thinner, and the wind cut like a shard of ice against his cheeks. It was even hard to breathe at such heights.
Between rocky, snowcapped peaks, over clouds of mist, and over summits and grey slopes devoid of green, they tracked the Misty Mountains into the south late into the afternoon.
They only stopped once, and it was to do battle.
Hiccup returned from a rest break on his own, and he saw a very peculiar sight. He and Toothless had touched down on a mostly flat plain with a gentle slope high up in the mountains. It was certainly cold, but it was practically a balmy, fun-in-the-sun day compared to what he grew up surviving on Berk.
But it was not the weather that was so odd. Nor was it that there were several feet of snow beneath him.
Toothless was lying on his back in the snow while furiously thrashing, tail swaying and pushing aside mounds of snow. He looked very silly.
"You okay over there, bud?"
Toothless paused and glanced over toward him. Then the Fury rolled his eyes and lay back down.
"Why would I not be?"
"Is it an itch?" Hiccup teased.
"No!"
"Cold?"
"No, a dragon's soul-fire keeps us warm. But it is also good to feel cold. This is fun!"
The thrashing resumed.
"That's what I wanted to hear!" Hiccup shouted.
"Why?"
"Because you are rubbing off on me, bud."
Toothless huffed and warbled softly to himself in confusion. He was rubbing off on Hiccup? What could that mean?
"What?"
"Yep, I never miss either."
Toothless blinked and stared up at the clouds.
True, I do not miss with my fire, but what do you mean you do not either?
He glanced over at Hiccup again and was hit in the face by a ball of snow. He sneezed and shook his head of all the snow.
Hiccup had a thoroughly innocent and absolutely false smile.
Hiccup, you are prey!
Toothless rolled onto his paws and crouched down in the snow, tail swaying and ears flattened to make himself look scarier.
His status as a Night Fury had been threatened.
"No... no, no, no, no, no..." Hiccup mumbled, stepping back in alarm.
Yes, Hiccup, fear me!
"You dare attack the great Night Fury!"
"Ah... fish!" Hiccup desperately shouted.
"Good try!"
He pounced and knocked Hiccup onto the snowy ground on his back where he could not escape. Then it was time to complete the defeat.
So he raised a paw and started gently beating at Hiccup while Hiccup punched away the paw with his own little ones.
"And, it's ugly!" Hiccup shouted in defiance.
"Give up!" the pawing continued.
"I'll never give up! Dragons and humans, enemies forever!"
The battle ended when he collapsed on Hiccup's front and pinned him into the snow. Hiccup groaned and exhaled with a sigh.
It was over.
So he licked Hiccup in the face to complete the defeat.
"Ugh. Was that really necessary?" Hiccup complained.
"Very," he hummed.
Yet again, his status as a Night Fury had been defended.
"Well, I'll admit that is awesome," Hiccup breathed in awe.
They were perched on a lower peak on the easternmost side of the Misty Mountains. The range of mountains fell away past a layer of clouds into a very verdant forest and a plain down below. A warm wind blew in their faces.
"Those are good skies to fly in," Toothless agreed.
Hiccup then pulled out and checked the map. There were apparently supposed to be roads leading through the forest of Lorien. However, the forest looked so thick that he probably couldn't see any roads down below.
"Pretty sure that's the place, somewhere in there. Wonder how we're going to find it though. Just keep flying?"
"Yes, we should," Toothless nodded.
They then dove down low above the treetops and through the cloudbank. Hiccup briefly thought about how much better this dive was compared to their first test flight together.
Their flight leveled off into an easy glide over the treetops as the light began to fade.
Evening was nearing.
On they continued, not noticing anything different until the appearance of the forest changed up ahead. The trees started growing far higher than the surrounding forest, as if there was a random hill ahead.
More than that, there was a feeling in the sky itself. The feeling was almost as though there was a presence with them or searching for them.
Toothless was grumbling softly to himself when he heard the whispering call.
'Never have any of your kind flown here, dragon of night...'
"What was that!" he barked in alarm and pulled up into a hover.
"Huh? What is it, bud?"
Toothless glanced back at Hiccup in worry. Hearing voices in his own thinking was not good at all!
"Did you hear that?" he warbled.
"No. What did..."
'Dragon-friend, I am the Lady of Lothlorien...'
Hiccup gasped as eyes that sparkled with the twilight flashed in his thoughts.
"What!" Hiccup exclaimed in shock.
'Please join us. I much desire to meet with you both...'
The voice was gone, and they remained staring at each other in shock.
"Did you hear that? The Lady of Lothlorien thing..." Hiccup nervously asked.
"No, a voice called me dragon of night."
"I heard that something wants to meet us."
Toothless vigorously nodded.
"Yes, it much wants to meet with both of us."
Hiccup closed his eyes in thought and took several very deep breaths to calm himself.
"Okay, we are both hearing a voice at the same time. That must have been Galadriel. Elrond said that she could talk to us... from afar, somehow..."
Then he considered the large grove of trees ahead.
"You know what?"
"What?" Toothless asked.
"That up there looks like what we were supposed to find: the heart of Elvendom in Middle-earth or a place like that. At least, I think that's what Elrond called it."
Wordlessly, they agreed to investigate, and then dove down for the massive trees they had been circling. They found large enough gaps in the trees' crowns to pass through, wove between them, and emerged in the world below.
Toothless pulled up and hovered while Hiccup stared breathlessly for the second time that day.
The largest trees' trunks were wider across than Viking longboats were long. There were walkways, stairs, platforms, and dwellings built into the sides and the crowns of the trees. The buildings were connected with rope bridges hung through the air and between the structures. The walkways were lit by lamps that glowed with a pure, soft, white light.
The place was filled with an ethereal aura.
Awed, they pitched forward and began flying through the alien sky which was hidden from the world above.
Elves were visible all around them on the buildings. Many of the Elves had bows and other weapons in hand, but none of the Elves were drawing their bows or aiming at them even though the Elves were definitely aware of him and Toothless.
"They knew we were coming," Hiccup whispered.
"As long as they do not shoot..." Toothless grumbled.
They flew between two large trunks and out into a clearing. This Elven city stretched out as far as they could see in all directions in the dim light.
"Yes, I did not see any of this from above," Toothless mused.
"I know. It's a hidden Elven world!" Hiccup breathed in awe.
"Where should we go?"
Hiccup was pondering that very question when a faint tugging pulled at him. A beckoning wish and summons.
They both glanced together to one of the highest and brightest of buildings in the tallest crown. There was enough space on it for them to land even as several Elves began assembling on it.
"Let's try up there!" he pointed.
Toothless adjusted his flight, flew higher, and gently touched down in what was almost a courtyard.
Graceful Elven architecture abounded around two flowing thrones. The Elves gathered around the corners of the courtyard were definitely guards from how they were armed with bows and arrows.
At least none of their weapons were pointed their direction.
A lone Elf eventually came forward from the assembly. He had the typical long locks of hair that hung down below his chest. He was also clad in golden or bronze armor while being clad in a green cloak.
All the Elves were staring at Toothless, but they were also calm, clearly aware of what was happening.
Hiccup dismounted and stood at Toothless's side as the Elf cautiously approached and stood before them.
"You are most fortunate that the Lady of Light wishes to meet you... both. I am Haldir."
"My name is Haddock."
"And mine is Toothless."
Haldir frowned.
"A curious name for an uruloke."
"It is my name. I did not know that the Elves greeted guests in this cold way..." Toothless grumbled.
"You are no normal guest. Further, we have been hidden here long. You must understand my reluctance when meeting an apparently benevolent dragon."
"I am a dragon and therefore I am bad?"
Hiccup, frustrated at this reception but not wanting Toothless to get upset, put a hand on Toothless's shoulder.
"Bud, maybe we should let it be. Not everyone can trust others..."
Haldir did not react with any further frustration.
"We were asked to come visit Galadriel. Where is she?" Hiccup asked.
"She will be with you shortly."
"We will wait," Hiccup answered.
Haldir then seemed to notice the bow slung on Hiccup's back.
"That is a Mallorn bow, no make of Man. Did you know that these are Mallorn trees around us."
Woah, no wonder those are special trees...
"I heard about that. And yes, Lord Elrond gave me this bow as a gift."
"Have you named it?"
"No. Should I have?"
"It is customary to give a weapon a name, especially when said weapon changes owners."
"I will think about it."
Haldir must have noticed motion because he stepped away and stood at attention without any prompting.
Another Elf appeared from a side chamber. She wore long, flowing robes of pure white and bore a diadem on her brow. Her stride was slow and purposeful, and her blue eyes sparkled as if with starlight. Her golden hair hung in curls down her back and front.
Just like with Elrond, she felt ancient without being old and also powerful with some hidden strength behind her beauty and grace.
Neither of them could speak as she came and stood before them, her robes slowly swaying in the faint wind.
Toothless averted his eyes and shuffled on his paws under her penetrating gaze. Hiccup similarly stared at his shoes.
Her silence was imposing and powerful.
"L.. Lady Galadriel," Hiccup nervously bowed and only hesitantly looked up at her.
She looked away from Toothless and to him. Her eyes almost reminded him of Gothi's in that it felt like she was looking through him and could see all his fears.
Then she spoke in a slow, musical, and deliberate voice.
"Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo. Welcome to Lothlorien."
Her melodious voice echoed and flowed in the air and their memory while her robes fluttered in the faint wind.
"This place is very... beautiful... my Lady," Hiccup whispered, feeling overcome with her presence.
"Caras Galadhon, this place is named. My Lord Celeborn and I have protected it through the ages, keeping it hidden from the Enemy and all his servants. No creatures of evil are allowed to pass the borders of this land."
She turned to stare again at Toothless. The powerful silence stretched out.
"What do you think I am?" Toothless whispered back to her.
"That is no easy question to answer, one who lives in the shadows."
She started slowly pacing in front of them while staring unblinking at Toothless. She neither smiled nor frowned.
"You have Fea just as do the many races of Men, Elves, and Dwarves."
"Fea? What do you mean by that?" Toothless questioned.
"Soul. The breath of life, the Flame Imperishable, which only Eru can bestow. The Great Enemy could not create new life; he could only mock and twist what was already in being. None now know what life he tortured and twisted to bring about dragons, but he did so, long ago. And now a dragon stands before me, peacefully speaking with me and seemingly different from all others that were before him..."
Hiccup stepped over to Toothless and put a hand on his shoulder to reassure both of them.
"That pretty much sums it up..." he whispered.
"Lord Elrond of Rivendell spoke to me about you two. He shared everything which you have told him. I know of your story. I know that you spared each other's lives when you could have taken them instead. However, I suspect that there is more which you have not shared yet..." Galadriel cryptically added.
"What do you mean?" Hiccup wondered.
Galadriel turned aside to greet a small company of arriving Elves, one of whom strode up to her and took her hand in his own. That was certainly Celeborn, her husband and fellow Lord. Incredibly, he did not appear at all worried for her meeting with Toothless on her own.
"I mean that you must be weary after a long journey here from Rivendell. We have guest rooms, and you are welcome to one of them. We will also provide food and drink for you," she explained.
'I will speak with you both later...'
Her lips did not move, and she gave no indication of speaking, but they heard her voice anyway.
Hiccup then realized or better appreciated the obvious that she must have magic, the same as Gandalf. It would explain much of her strangeness. Then he remembered a request that was made of him.
"Gandalf the Grey wished me to give you his regards, Lady Galadriel."
She smiled freely at that for the first time in this meeting, and then Celeborn gestured to an attendant.
"You are both welcome here. As incredible as it is that we are now hosting a dragon," he formally stated.
"I am not like the dragons that you know," Toothless firmly answered.
Celeborn inclined his head slightly while Galadriel gave a faint, yet solemn, smile.
"That is an amazing view," Hiccup sat on the ledge with his feet dangling over a several-hundred foot drop.
Toothless lay with his head on his front paws next to him. Together, they stared out at the pale light from the lanterns high up in the crowns of the massive trees and the buildings built in them.
"Yes, it is. I did not know that any two-legs, Elves, build up in trees like this."
"Or that trees could grow this tall," Hiccup added.
"How long do you think the Elves have been living here?"
"No idea. Thousands of years, maybe. Who knows what worlds are in hiding somewhere? The dragon nest was almost like a hidden world that the Vikings never could find."
A purr and peaceful silence followed that. It was impossible to tell the passing of time with almost nothing changing around them.
Then the singing started.
It was a slow Elven song that floated through the air from an unclear direction. Almost as though all the Elves were singing it across all the unknown expanse of Lothlorien.
Hiccup could not understand the words, but the impression he got from the song was that of timeless mourning at the passing of ages.
"Maybe all that stuff we heard about Elves is true," he whispered.
"What did we hear?"
Hiccup waved a hand at the entire visible world before them. The walkways between trees, the homes set among the trees, and the elegance of all that was built.
"That they grow tired of living forever."
"I was born before the First Age," Galadriel whispered from behind them.
They both started in surprise and gasped as they spun around. She stood in the same white dress and robes she had worn upon their first meeting. Her appearance was very sudden.
"How did you get there!" Toothless barked.
"I can be hidden when I wish. Please follow me," she cryptically answered.
"Excuse me, but where are we going?" Hiccup got to his feet.
"To a mirror."
"A mirror?"
"I will meet you at the base of this tree."
Galadriel then spun around and left the guesthouse for the stairs.
"Shall we, bud?"
Toothless yawned but got to his feet, perching on the ledge as Hiccup climbed on his back. They silently glided down to the ground, and then Hiccup hopped down from him.
The ground was mossy, moist, and a mix of wild and maintained. There were babbling streams and dirt paths running between the massive trees' trunks. Mushrooms grew freely in the shadows and flowering plants glowed with light. Crickets and other night creatures were singing their songs.
"Please follow me," Galadriel whispered as she stepped up next to them.
They both jumped in surprise, again, as Galadriel started down one of the paths. Both of their gazes went up the several hundred feet toward their guesthouse, now only visible from the pure white lamps glowing within. Then they glanced back at each other, jaws hanging open in shock.
"How did she just..."
"By the skies..."
"That's definitely not natural, probably because she's a Wizard or something like one..."
Regardless of how she covered the distance so quickly, they followed after her. It was not hard to do since she almost radiated white light, or maybe that was only the intensity of her dress.
None of them said anything on the journey as thought itself failed them.
Walking in the peaceful night.
Hearing the flowing water and whisper of the wind.
Smelling the clear air and fragrant flowers, some of which even shed light of their own.
They passed a small and grassy hill with two circles of trees growing on it. The outer circle of trees had white bark and the inner circle was Mallorns. Two different types of flowers appeared to bloom on the hill.
Hiccup paused in awe and confusion when he heard how the faint wind blowing through the branches impossibly carried the echo of sea-birds and the crash of the sea.
He wiped away a tear that he did not know he had wept, and then he resumed walking at Toothless's side.
"This place is amazing..." Hiccup whispered.
"I know. I have never seen anything like this..." Toothless hummed.
Galadriel led them to a grassy grove with a stone dias in its center. A babbling stream flowed among the nearby roots of the largest tree.
For some odd reason, she retrieved a pitcher and filled it with the water from the stream. Then she took the pitcher and filled the basin in the stone dias.
"What is this place?" Hiccup whispered.
Galadriel turned back to the basin, and she lowered her voice as she set the pitcher on the dias.
"The mirror shows many things. Things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet happened. When you are ready you may look and see what you must. But first I would speak to you both. Lord Elrond told me that you are not of this world. He said that you were summoned here by a great power and for an unknown reason."
Toothless hummed softly and nodded.
"All I know is that we flew through strange skies. It was like all the skies were tight around me."
Galadriel closed her eyes and went silent, very deep in thought.
"Do you know about that?" Hiccup asked.
"There are few powers great enough to work such a deed. Though why Eru would allow it... unless there was a reason... and not truly lost..."
"Excuse me?" Hiccup whispered.
He felt very awkward interrupting her, but this directly concerned him and Toothless.
Her gaze was still very powerful even though she was relaxed and calm as she spoke.
"To reach across time and space and tear open such a path is an act which no normal power in Middle-earth could do. Sauron, or his Master, could perhaps do it if either were restored to their full power. He would gather all evil to him. But no, he is weak still, lacking much of his strength, and cannot do so except perhaps through another."
She looked down into the mirror. Its surface remained as black as ever, save for the faint light from above.
"I don't understand," Hiccup sighed.
"Me neither," Toothless grumbled.
Galadriel gave them both a kind, sympathetic smile.
"There is much history which you do not know, Hiccup Haddock. Much that once was is lost, for few now live who remember. All creation was sung into being by the great powers. But the first and highest of the created ones, Morgoth, sang discordant notes. He sang his own song born of pride during the Great Music, and thus he corrupted the whole created world and became the Great Enemy. He was defeated long ago and cast beyond the Door of Night, but his influence remains in Middle-earth and will mar all of Arda until the new Song is sung after the breaking of the world."
She briefly paused.
"Sauron, Morgoth's servant, is similar and has given much of his power to others while he has been formless. Sauron's greatest servant, the Witch-king of Angmar, the first of the Nazgul and a mighty sorcerer, might have been the one who summoned you here at his master's bidding. The Witch-king is one of the few that might remember the Forgotten Words of Power."
"But why am I... are we here?" Toothless grumbled.
Galadriel's eyes flashed as she stared at him.
"Why? Why would Sauron summon a powerful dragon and possible ally to Middle-earth? He wants you to join his cause."
Toothless hung his head and whined softly.
"He brought creatures of evil to this world, and that brought me?"
Galadriel strode to him and lifted his chin with a finger.
"Speak to me. Do you think you are above temptation? Do you believe that the sickness of gold has no power over you?"
"I..."
He gave a groan of resignation and acceptance as he wearily closed his eyes.
"I do feel... twisted... around gold. I do not want to feel it, and I know that it is not good, but..."
She stepped back from him.
"You are aware of it, and you know that it is not good even though it is part of you now. Maybe you are originally descended from Morgoth's corruption, but that is not all that you are. A creature of evil cannot comprehend true good. Mercy is not possible for such corrupt beings, nor even for a mere beast that lacks soul and choice. They cannot understand it. But you showed your friend mercy when you spared him. You trusted him even before you learned that he could help you fly again."
"True..." Toothless whispered.
"But why do you resist now? It would be easier for you to give in to those temptations," she asked.
Toothless glanced at Hiccup.
"I... I should resist them for Hiccup. He would want me to fight."
"For him? No. You need a better reason than that. What if he was not here? Then what reason would you have for resisting?"
"It would not be right or good for me to give in..."
"A dragon naturally from Middle-earth would not agree. They would say it is bad for you not to take a hoard and to not kill whoever you want. To not want to hoard and kill is to make yourself smaller and weaker, so they would say," she countered.
Toothless considered it again, all his reasons for resisting that part of his soul-fire that whispered in the Barrow, whenever he was around gold, and whenever he was around the Ring.
"Gold has control over me. It makes me not free. Not truly me. I want to be free of it, even if part of me does not..."
She solemnly nodded to him.
"You are complex just like any human, Elf, or Dwarf. You have a free will because you know what would be natural or wrong and you can choose to resist it. So I ask you, what is greater? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"
Toothless was left speechless, silently considering all she had said. It was all he could do to purr softly to her.
Then she turned to Hiccup.
"And you, son of the chief, your heart is very troubled. But why?"
"Because I'm so far from home and in a new world," Hiccup answered.
"That may be part of it. We Elves are far from home as long as we live in Middle-earth. We all long for our true home in Valinor. The call of the sea is most powerful for Elves of the woodland realms. Once we hear the white gulls calling, our hearts will never be at peace here. This realm is one where we can feel the timelessness of Valinor, so long as we endure here."
"Lorien is very, very beautiful, my Lady," Hiccup whispered.
"But there is far more to your unease than only being far from home."
How easily she saw through his excuses, reluctance, and uncertainty.
"You're right. I don't belong in this world."
"You do not belong here? Why do you think that?"
"With all due respect, my Lady, look at me. I am not a fighter or brave or..."
"Hiccup, we have talked about this..." Toothless growled softly, interrupting him.
"I know, bud. But I cannot really do anything that matters. The only thing I did that mattered to anyone was sparing you..."
Galadriel interjected.
"And is that not enough for you? Whoever saves one life saves an entire world. You have not yet found your purpose in this world, though I think you know what it is."
"I really don't."
She looked away into the distance.
"I understand that four Hobbits are among the Fellowship now escorting the Ring to its doom. Do you think that anyone could have imagined that a halfling would be best to carry the Ring? Why not a great Captain of Gondor, a Wizard of the Istari, an Elven prince, a stubborn Dwarf, or the Heir of Isildur? Would they not be greater and better to carry the Ring?"
Then she paused and closed her eyes.
"What about me? What if I were given a chance to bear the One? How could I change the world if I am great enough to claim the One, master it, and use it only for good?"
She clasped her hands together while staring up at the surrounding trees. A very faint blue glow, just barely visible, appeared around her as the wind picked up.
"You mean Sauron's Ring?" Toothless asked.
"Yes," she breathed.
"Is there something bad about the one you have now?" Toothless added.
The strange moment passed as her eyes narrowed on him, and she spoke in a deliberate, warning tone.
"Speak not of that again, Toothless. I know that you are aware of Gandalf's ring, but speak no more of this or it. Neither you, Haddock."
There was a power in her voice that was irresistible, so they both nodded in agreement.
Toothless then answered her.
"I understand. If I could answer your question for Hiccup, Frodo is best to carry the Ring because he does not want it and because he is not... great. It is harder for the Ring to twist those who do not want power."
"Very true. Even the smallest people can change the course of the future. You, Hiccup, feel lost here, as if you do not have a place or a way to make the world better."
"Yes."
"The Enemy wanted to bring Toothless here to use as a weapon, but Sauron did not think it possible that Toothless would not want to be a monster. He also did not plan on you coming with your friend. Even the Ring did not intend to be found as it was long ago. Many things happen differently from how the powers intend them to happen."
She looked very thoughtful.
"And there is more, even Morgoth or Sauron could not intervene, break the rules, and bring you two here without Eru's permission. It is curious that you both arrived now of all times in history. You were meant to come here, both of you together, and there must be a reason for that. There must be something that you are meant to do here."
"I wish I knew what that was," Hiccup frowned.
"Even the very wise cannot see all ends. That should be an encouraging thought."
"I... suppose so," Hiccup whispered.
Then she gestured them both toward the mirror. Its dark surface was as smooth as glass. Something looked strangely ominous about its appearance.
"What do we do?" Hiccup warily asked.
"Look into the mirror, and you will see what you need to see..."
Hiccup took a breath to steady himself and then stepped up onto the dias. The water's dark surface was still and calm and moving and flowing and...
Astrid was showing Stoick around the cove, pointing at the various shed scales on the ground while Stoick looked around in shock.
Berk was in a raid with dragons flying every direction, flaming at Vikings, and picking up sheep to carry off.
Stoick tallied the losses in the Great Hall and then gave a gruff growl that so few were lost. It was a good raid in that it was not as bad as the ones in previous years. Everyone had learned a lot in the last few years.
Gobber trained the next class in the Kill Ring. New techniques involving spearing eels, using dragon-nip, and exploiting certain vulnerable places that could pacify some dragons had become commonplace and very effective.
Astrid ran to rescue a child from a burning building and then grabbed buckets of water to put out the fire afterwards. All the training was being put to good use, and she was rising in status within the tribe.
Snotlout flexed his muscles and kissed his massive arms; he felt very pleased with his progress at becoming irresistible.
Fishlegs was scribbling at a new dragon manual and furiously adding recently obtained knowledge and statistics to an updated version.
The Twins were somewhere within a pile of wreckage after failed, or maybe successful, attempts at pranking each other at the same time.
A six-eyed, massive creature hid in its mountain as its thralls obediently fed it catches and themselves when they did not bring food back. But it was getting old and slow. Already its total control over its thralls was fading.
Toothless reared back from him in alarm and betrayal. The Fury hesitated on the ledge, turned tail on him, and flew off toward the twilight horizon.
Wings were disappearing, were passing into the orange sunset.
Hiccup stepped back from the placid mirror in total shock at what he saw. He spun away from the mirror while gasping for breath and then stared out into the peace of the woods at night.
It was an odd mix of Berk being the same and also having changed in crucial ways. They must have learned some of his dragon-wrangling tricks somehow, though he was not sure how they could have done so. He had brought his journal with him, so it wasn't from that.
Maybe Astrid figured it out after thinking about what she saw in the ring. Maybe I should have gone after her.
'The mirror shows many things. Things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet happened.'
Maybe they learned another way after all. That part about Toothless though... gods...
'I know what you saw...'
He warily looked up into Galadriel's starlight eyes. She had been speaking to him again without speaking aloud.
"How do you do that?"
"Do what?" she whispered.
"Talk with... thought."
"It is osanwe. I wish for you to hear me and you hear me."
He doubted that he would get a better explanation than that. It was magic.
"Is it true? What I saw."
"You have to discern that for yourself. Maybe the paths that you each shall tread are already laid before your feet, though you do not see them. Could it happen, or is it only what you would wish would happen or not happen?"
Leaving him to ponder that, she then turned to Toothless and gestured him up to the mirror.
"Me?" he warbled in surprise.
"Yes, you should look also."
He carefully stepped up next to the stone, put his paws on the basin, and looked down into the water.
The calm water was glowing with starlight and moonlight and...
The nest was loud.
The dragons were flying in chaos until the largest of all calmed them.
A tiny black shape bounded and stumbled unsteadily on the rocks.
It watched and cried out as a pair of shadows vanished from sight and never returned.
It was alone.
Years passing in which it was provided for by other dams.
Slowly growing larger and stronger.
The only one of its special kind.
A leader on the necessary attacks.
Protecting dragons from the humans who they had to fight.
It was the way of nature, the way of the wild, the struggle for life.
If only there was another way.
Then there was another way.
Mercy shown by a human and given to a human.
Trust given by a human and shown to a human.
Flight and hope restored.
A new world of peril and possibility.
Green warmth and acceptance.
Danger, peace, and a long flight.
A massive skull staring back at him.
The cold reaches of ice and snow.
Reclusive shadows just out of sight.
Dark silhouettes with haunting cries under a rainy night and thick clouds.
Fire and smoke above a field of white.
A lightning-crowned shadow towered into the heavens and reached out...
He stepped back from the mirror and hopped onto the dirt ground while giving a soft whimper and heaving for breath.
'Yours has been a painful path, dark one.'
Her thought voice was twisting, but it was also comforting at the same time. Hers did not feel anything like the nest monster's thought-whispering that wiggled into his own thoughts and tried to grow. Hers felt more like a warm wind that brushed against his soul-fire with a very different strength.
"It has," he sighed and sat down with his tail stilled, "I wish that so much of this had not happened as it did. My sire and dam disappearing. Being the only one of my kind. Being grounded."
"You are not grounded while you have Hiccup with you," she rightly observed.
'But you want more?'
He warily hummed and looked up at her after deciding that it could not hurt to ask.
"Yes, I can fly while I have Hiccup with me. You have... powers, true?"
"Whatever you wish to call them, I do."
"Can you heal my tail?"
Hiccup froze at that simple question asked for the second time now. He knew that if anyone could, Galadriel would probably be able to. She was a Wizard... or something like that.
What was Toothless trying to do? Replace him? Make them not need each other?
"No, Toothless," she solemnly answered, "I know of no power in Middle-earth that can do such a thing. Not with magic. My strength is in concealment and resisting temptation, not in healing what is broken. Elrond is more skilled at such than I am."
Toothless nodded and hung his head in reluctant acceptance.
"Do not let your heart be troubled, dark one."
"That is easy to think when you are not the one who is tempted to be bad," he grumbled.
"Do not be so sure of that. I have made mistakes of my own, choices that I wish I had not made. Even so, we all need encouragement and assistance when the light fades. You might say that no one flies alone in life..."
Galadriel then stepped away from the mirror and gestured to them.
"I have kept you both from rest for too long. Go now and rest, for you are weary with toil and council. I will meet again with you before you depart on your journey..."
Then she started down the path, her white garments trailing behind her. She did not look back.
'Hiccup Haddock, you must learn to trust yourself and him...'
He blinked, and she was gone, likely vanished behind a tree.
I do trust him. What does she mean by that?
"Hiccup, what did you see in the water?" Toothless turned to him and asked.
Hiccup shrugged.
"Nothing really important... I saw Berk again. It looked like things got better without me there. They might have learned some new... ways."
"That is good. You can stop being so twisted and wanting to go back there," Toothless hummed.
"Yeah, that's one way to look at it," he shrugged.
The other is that they didn't really need me for anything...
"What about you, bud? What did you see?"
Toothless briefly paused before he shrugged his shoulders.
"I did not understand much of it except seeing my sire and dam fly away when I was very small. I barely remembered any of that. There were other small things I saw also."
A pair of yawns escaped from them at the same time.
"Agreed. We really should get some rest. That was a full day of farewells, flying, playing, and meeting with someone who is probably a Wizard or something like one..." Hiccup returned to Toothless's side as he crouched down.
Toothless chuckled softly as Hiccup strapped himself in.
"One good thing about this flight we will fly is that it will be more like what we are used to: sleeping under the stars, you under my wing, us on an adventure together."
"Yep, and I'm looking forward to it, even if it will be cold!"
They glanced back at the mirror one more time, and then they took to the bounded sky. Their flight gradually ascended between the massive Mallorns while the Elf-song echoed in the air. Neither of them said anything else that night.