In The Deep
The moaning wind came down from the mountains cold, and like a tide it roared and rolled. Wispy snow blew, whipping with every gust on the frozen ground.
Hiccup wrapped himself even tighter in his furs, and faced away from the wind as he returned to the pack.
Gods, is this Niflheim? Haven't seen any frost giants yet. Did Morgoth have giants?
He wasn't sure about it, but Gandalf or Elrond could easily answer that question about Middle-earth's past. But that required that he go to them... wherever they were in Middle-earth. Gandalf had not shared the details about where he intended to lead the Fellowship.
He returned to the pack, found Toothless and family, and fell in under the offered wing. Having Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, and Breath-Of-Sky packed in around them helped greatly with the cold.
"Staying warm?" Toothless smugly purred.
"Very funny. Just wait until I start breathing fire too!"
Toothless snorted a puff of smoke.
"You are not a dragon."
"I'll... figure it out one of these days, bud! I will have fire and wings!"
"And I will be there to save you when you fall."
"Who said anything about falling?"
"You just did."
"Only because you did."
Sky-Dancer chuffed, getting their attention.
"What are you cubs talking about?"
Toothless faced his mother and purred to her.
"I was twisting Hiccup's tail... the one he does not have."
"Why?" she chuckled.
"Because he was thinking he should be a dragon."
Breath-Of-Sky barked in amusement.
"That is twisted! He should be a human!"
"I agree. He is good as he is!" she purred.
Hiccup wistfully smiled at her words, and then he snuggled under Toothless's wing for warmth as they always did at night. Whenever Toothless was not away to think on his own, anyway.
He looked around at everyone else he could see. They were settling down for rest on what was already one of the coldest nights yet. He even saw Jumps-At-Fire resting with the pack tonight; that apparently was something she did not do much because she preferred to be on her own. At least, that is how Toothless explained it to him. She had also been being around the pack more recently.
That's good of her to want to spend more time with the pack. I wonder what changed. Maybe she just knows how cold this night is going to...
"Pack! We must speak together!" Snowfall cried into the silence.
The entire pack gathered closely around her in answer. Hiccup yawned as he followed at Toothless's side; they were both curious what the cause was for this sudden pack gathering. The pack did not have such formal meetings and announcements often, especially not at night.
Must be something important...
"Hunts-In-Deep-Waters was hunting in the cold waters. He saw a very cold storm with snow and much wind. The storm is flying for us!" Snowfall cried while her ears were swept back.
All the adults groaned or hissed in displeasure while the cubs and fledglings hopped to their paws with eager cries.
"To the cave!" "Warmth!" "Hide!" "Bad snow!" "Good snow!" "Very cold!" "Fun!" "Hide and hunt!"
Everyone started moving, getting to their paws and stretching their legs and wings. Some of the families even went aloft without further instruction.
Hiccup thought he understood what was happening, but he wanted to make sure.
"Bud, let's go ask your parents what's going on."
"Yes, we should," Toothless agreed.
They ran over to Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, and Breath-Of-Sky, all of whom it appeared had also been looking for them.
"What's going on?" Hiccup asked.
"The pack is flying into the big cave for more warmth. We will wait there for the cold storm to fly past us," Far-Flight answered.
"Then we can roll in the snow afterwards!" Breath-Of-Sky joyfully cried.
Hiccup nodded in understanding. The mountains helped to shelter these woods from the worst of the wind and the cold, but the ground, at least away from the hot springs, was still covered in frost and snow even now. A true blizzard coming through here could apparently be dangerous even to the dragons, at the very least to the cubs and fledglings. And himself.
Definitely would be for me anyway. The whiteout storms on Berk were dangerous to everyone. Alright, time to plan...
"How long will we hide there?" he asked.
"Until the very cold storm passes us. That is usually no more than two days," Sky-Dancer purred.
"Two days in the dark? That doesn't sound fun at all," he grumbled.
"It is not all dark. Some of the deeper caves have melted rock and sleeping fire," she answered.
Melted rock and fire... this area is volcanic...
"Those deeper caves are also where the dead were put, right?"
"True. That is where their bodies were dropped. Their soul-fires are in the stars now," she hummed.
Hiccup briefly thought about the whole mythology that he had known nothing about. The Furies had ideas and stories about what where they came from and happened to them after death, but he still had so much to learn about them.
"Alright, Burning-Star, we should probably pack up our stuff and take it with us. The storm might bury everything or even blow it away."
"Good thinking," Toothless agreed.
They ran across the clearing to where Hiccup had been storing his stuff behind a series of boulders. Hiccup quickly packed everything into Toothless's saddlebag. Finally, he found a branch that could be a torch, if there were to be need for sustained lighting down below. Unless...
We'll get to test Toothless's pendant and see if it gives light down there. That would be amazing if it did...
"Bud, want to test your pendant and see if it makes any light down there?"
Toothless purred and nodded.
"We should. I want to see more of its light."
Hiccup took the pendant out of storage and tightened it around Toothless's neck. The pendant already had its usual faint night glow. Then, with the last of the preparations finished and the last supplies secured in the saddlebag, Hiccup put the last of his winter gear and strapped himself in on Toothless's back.
"Alright, let's go! Can't wait to get out of this cold!"
Toothless roared aloud and followed his parents and little brother into the sky as the pack gradually turned for the east. Over snowcapped, windswept hills and rocks they flew in silence while the wind continued to pick up.
Toothless glanced to his left, to the dark northern emptiness. Even in the darkness a mass of swirling clouds was visible in the distance. The ground before the storm was being whipped up in spinning ground-clouds as snow blew across the ground.
That looks very bad! Flying in that would be bad!
So he flew a little faster as he followed the flight.
They shortly arrived at the large cave and flew into the entrance, leaving the cold entirely behind. The cries of his kin seeing with sound echoed from the beckoning darkness up ahead as he wove through the icicles and spires.
"All you now, bud..." Hiccup shouted.
Onward they flew into the total darkness, but Toothless could see clearly. With so many voices crying out from ahead and bouncing off the walls of the cave, he could see almost all the shapes even with his eyes closed. He knew how to see in the dark. The sound of all his kin flying and crying aloud bounced so many times off the walls that he could see far ahead into the passages and could make out a couple pawfuls of his kin.
They flew deeper, just as before with Flame-In-The-Night, until the air completely lost its chill. Then, with a long stretch of open air, he slowed to a glide.
"Hope you know where you're going..." Hiccup sighed, unable to even see a hand before his face.
"Of course I do. Am I a Night Fury?"
"I don't know... I can't see anything. You could be a Gronkle for all I know..."
"Gronkle? Those are the rock-eating dragons with very small wings, true?"
"Yeah, that's them."
Toothless huffed and stuck out his tongue at Hiccup, even though he knew that Hiccup could not see him do so.
"How do they fly with those short wings?" Hiccup added.
"That is a good question. I do not know the answer."
Dragons lived in all different shapes and sizes, some of which did not look like they should be able to fly at all. Rock-belly-Gronkles were definitely one of those. Maybe they weighed far less than they looked like they did.
My kind is the best!
He kept following the flight deeper into the darkness, over deep crevasses that had no bottom he could see and around spires from the ground and from the ceiling. Then he barked in surprise when he saw the faintest outlines of green eyes in the sky at his side.
Wait, what?
That was when he realized that there must be some light for their eyes to be able to shine. He glanced down at his chest and purred when he saw the gem was faintly glowing. It was just bright enough that he could see his outstretched paw that he held out as a test.
"Hiccup! My pendant does give light!" he cried in joy.
"Amazing! Good thing we figured that out!"
Hiccup still wondered to himself how it was possible that a gemstone could capture light and glow like Toothless's pendant did.
I mean, I suppose that magic is always an explanation... but that feels so... lazy. Ugh, what is magic, anyway?
His thoughts drifted to the most magical place he could remember: Lothlorien.
Is magic just a word for an explanation we don't understand in engineering, forging, or making stuff normally? On the other hand, if that is common, like in Lothlorien, then it isn't abnormal at all. Oh well...
Toothless followed the rest of the pack down to the ground, not too far away from the place Flame-In-The-Night had shown him and Hiccup several weeks ago. He touched down and pranced to a stop on the warm ground by a running stream. Several other landing Furies next to him were definitely his parents and little brother, from the green hue of their shining eyes.
Even more surprising was that his pendant was bright enough that he could see with his eyes the ground where he stood. The rock was smooth as if it had been flowing long ago.
"Bud, is it safe for me?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes, the ground is not very hot here."
Hiccup hopped down from his back and stood at his shoulder while looking at the pendant.
"Yeah, look at that. Who'd have thought that it could glow this far underground?" Hiccup wondered.
Sky-Dancer pranced up before them both, and she purred softly as she stared at the glowing jewel. Then she stepped closer and gently nosed at it before she stepped back and nodded once.
"It is very soul-fire warming. I still like that light."
"What happens now?" Hiccup asked her as more wings passed overhead.
"Now we wait for all the pack to get here. Some of us will stay up in the cave to watch for when the storm passes."
"Is there anything dangerous down here?" he wondered.
"Dangerous?"
"Like other dragons or things that might hunt me?"
Sky-Dancer growled softly.
"No. These deep caves have no life other than us and the fire."
"Good to know. Is this water good to drink?" he gestured toward the stream.
"Yes, it does not taste very good, but you can drink it."
With that reassurance, he and Toothless ambled over to the stream. The water, while slowly flowing, was steaming around the edges of the stream.
"Looks kinda hot. You want to try first, bud?"
Toothless drank first after smelling the water. It smelled and tasted like the water that flowed in the Monster's nest.
"Try some. It does not taste good, but it is warm."
Hiccup tested the water, which was very warm but not scalding, and then drank a little.
Ugh, oily and smells like sulfur. But at least it is warm water. Haven't had that in weeks...
"Can't say it's my favorite, but I won't complain. It's better than melted snow..."
Toothless then grinned and nudged Hiccup's shoulder.
"Speaking of complaining, you should take a bath."
"Uh, why?"
"Because you smell like a human! You have worn the same furs for many weeks."
"Nope! I am not taking a bath while the entire pack can see me!"
"Why do you care? We do not wear clothing-furs..."
"Yeah, but you don't need to... hide anything!"
Toothless huffed and sat down.
"You did not answer my question. Why do you care? I have seen you without your furs on."
Hiccup gasped in shock and glared at him.
"What! You! How could you do that!"
"You were having a bath while I was asleep. I woke up and saw you."
Hiccup crossed his arms on his chest and scowled.
"You could have... not looked... or something!"
"Brother, we are both males. Why do you care?"
"I just... do..."
"Would you feel better if I said that you have not much to hide either?"
"No!"
Toothless huffed.
"I do not know what other human males look like, but..."
Sky-Dancer bounded over to them, making them jump in alarm as she appeared through the darkness.
"What are you two talking about?" she asked.
"Nothing!" "Nothing!"
"Nothing? You are being loud, talking about nothing."
"We're just being... annoying brothers..." Hiccup grumbled.
"That is easy for him to do," Toothless chuckled.
Sky-Dancer also chuckled at that.
"The pack will sleep now. We are all here," she said.
"Okay, we will be right there!" Hiccup answered.
She spun around and vanished into the darkness.
"Not a word..." Hiccup grumbled once she was gone.
"What about lots of words?" Toothless grinned.
"You just don't stop, do you?"
"No, what else is there to do here but tease you?"
"Ugh, good thing I'm not stuck underground with you forever. Not sure how I'd survive that..."
Toothless hummed in thought as they listened to the flowing water and the distant, echoing voices of the pack. Then he saw the obvious answer.
"Having mates and cubs of our own would help. We could tease them also instead of only each other."
"Yeah, I guess so," Hiccup frowned, "but living underground would still be very strange for everyone. What would we do for food and light?"
"I do not know. Those are problems not for us to think about. Maybe we should ask the Dwarves at Erebor what they do."
"Yes, good plan. They'd be best to ask since they basically live underground all the time."
Toothless then yawned, "We should go rest."
Together, they walked back to the pack and found where their kin were resting. Toothless lay down at his dam's side; Hiccup took off his supplies and then lay down between him and Sky-Dancer.
There were many conversations echoing in the dark as well as happy growls and yipping from cubs at play.
Toothless sighed, content.
The pack probably does not fly down here much.
Then he closed his eyes to get some rest. The darkness and purring around him made that very easy to do.
"Dam, where do we go to relieve ourselves?"
They could barely see Sky-Dancer point with her tail toward a passage on the other side of the river.
"That cave leads to a deep fall down into water. Go there."
Toothless purred in acknowledgment, left Hiccup with her, and went off to do what he needed.
"Hiccup, you can rest with me," Sky-Dancer purred and stepped to Hiccup's side.
"Thanks, I'd like that," he put a hand on her neck.
She led them both through the darkness, which was total since Toothless had gone off on his own. He stumbled on a slope he didn't know about.
"Do you want some light?" she asked.
"Please. A little would help until we get there."
She then held a small flame in her maw. That light illuminated the ground several fathoms in every direction until he could see the rest of the pack gathered together around the stream. Then they arrived at Far-Flight's and Breath-Of-Sky's side, she let her flame die, and she lay down while offering him a wing to rest under.
It was such a strange feeling, knowing that he was deep underground in a total pitch blackness within this hidden world. But the purring of the pack around him was very comforting.
"I hope we don't have to stay down here a long time..." he grumbled.
"We should not. Snowfall said that the storm might pass after only one day," Far-Flight answered.
Only one day. I can probably survive that...
Toothless walked back the long cave to where the pack was resting. The size of these chambers and caves was amazing; he had never seen anything like this place before. Erebor was much more welcoming because of the light and the life inside it.
He just reached the opening into the larger chamber when he heard a shuffling sound ahead. A shape also appeared in the dim light from his pendant.
"Is that you, Burning-Star?" Jumps-At-Fire asked.
He started in surprise, wondering why she had sought him out.
Great skies, I hope she is not going to... ask about doing that now...
"Yes, it is me. How are you?"
She warily warbled as she stepped closer. Her eyes glowed in the faint light.
"I do not like being underground, even though it is needed now. I feel... trapped in here."
He entirely understood that.
"I agree. Seeing the horizon and the clouds is much better. Have you explored these caves?"
"No, I did not want to. Flame-In-The-Night has explored more of these caves."
"Good to know. I did not know that any of us explored more here, other than wherever the dead ones were left to rest."
She sighed and closed her eyes.
"The old ones who died were mates for many winters. When one died, the other wanted to follow and died in... peace," she whispered.
Then she stared at his pendant.
"That thing is... soul-fire warming. Do you know how it makes light?"
"No, I do not know. Did you... want to talk about anything, Jumps?"
"Yes," she hummed, "I was thinking about your advice that I should be with the pack more. I have tried to do that some."
"I know you have. That is good for you."
"Yes, they do not feel as cold to me as they did before."
"None of them say anything bad about you, as I said," he explained.
"Maybe they do not say anything, but they still think it."
She huffed and rubbed against his shoulder as she stepped past him. Her tailfins brushed his neck.
Then she dashed down the cave. He sighed softly as he listened to her departing pawsteps.
She still thinks we can keep doing what we were doing. That will not be a warming talk to have with her...
Resigned to that happening eventually, he continued on to the pack, silently found his way by the light of his pendant so that he did not wake anyone who was sleeping, and lay down at his dam's side.
The constant purring of almost the entire pack and the flowing stream nearby were a calming song that helped him fall asleep.
Toothless suddenly woke up. His thoughts were confused in the moments after he awoke.
A flickering shadow danced in the total darkness.
A faint roar, so silent that he was not even sure he heard it, echoed from a far cavern pass.
A warmth like a flame flowed in the ground itself.
Something was stalking closer to his soul-fire. A whispering, beckoning call to serve and fulfill his purpose.
Then he blinked, saw the light from his pendant shining on the ground before him, and that strange feeling was gone like a storm that passed and left nothing behind.
He was not even sure what it had felt like.
Or if it was only a dream.
Hiccup woke up in the nearly total darkness to several voices nearby. He recognized them as the Alpha pair, Wings-Of-Ice, and Eyes-That-Shimmer. He crept out from under Sky-Dancer's wing and stood to stretch. It was still a very strange feeling to hold his hand directly before his nose and see nothing at all. Toothless, sound asleep, had curled up under a wing, which completely hid his Lorien pendant's light.
"When do you think they will be back?" Wings-Of-Ice asked.
"Whenever they want to come back to us. They are old enough that they can explore on their own," Snowfall answered.
"They already go hunting on their own, true. Still, they are our first cubs, and I feel like I want to watch over them," Eyes-That-Shimmer sighed.
"Even for that?" Flame-In-The-Night chuckled.
"No, not for that," Wings-Of-Ice snorted.
"For hunting, yes, we know that they are both good hunters. They both bring back catches for all, even he does despite not having his flame yet," Snowfall chuffed.
"We taught our young the life-rules, and we trust them. But part of me will always think of him as my first little one..." Eyes-That-Shimmer softly added.
Oh, they're talking about Windripper and Snowflame. But what about with them?
"True, but they would have flown the nest already in the old way. They are the first pair that has been made from our young born in this range. They are old enough to make their own choices and watch each other's flights," Flame-In-The-Night answered.
"And hold tails..." Wings-Of-Ice interjected.
The four adults snickered at that.
"Huh?" Hiccup wondered.
Gasps of surprise echoed in the darkness.
"Hiccup! You are awake!" Snowfall cried out.
"Yep, I'd say rise and shine, but it's only dark..."
His answering them apparently woke Toothless up also as he stirred. The Fury's doing so made a faint light appear from his pendant.
"Morning, bud!"
"Morning?" Toothless wondered.
"Just go with it..."
"Fine..."
The sound of paws padding closer came to them through the darkness. Eyes of various colors also appeared and neared.
"We were talking about our first cubs becoming a pair," Snowfall declared.
"Becoming?" Eyes-That-Shimmer chuckled.
Someone snorted.
"Excuse me. I don't understand," Hiccup said.
Snowfall purred as she answered.
"Snowflame and Windripper flew away to be alone together. We know why."
"Why would they... oh... but wait, they aren't... mates yet..."
"In a way they are," Flame-In-The-Night answered.
Hiccup groaned, confused by the situation.
"Maybe you could explain dark wing customs on... taking mates. I don't understand them..."
Toothless stepped up beside him and lay down.
"Yes, it would be good for him to hear. He is very thought-twisted on this part of life."
"Thank you for saying that," Hiccup sighed.
The two pairs of adults chuckled and glanced between themselves before answering. Snowfall answered for them all.
"Our customs were different in the past before we made this pack. The old way was that both would fly to search for available mates, and the male would need to impress the female; he must prove that she should accept him if she wants him. That would be done by showing how strong he is, proving that he can provide, and then ending with the sky dance chase. The new way we live is not very different: a pair of adults who want to become mates are free to do what they both want, no forcing by either. A male who tries to force a female would be thrown out of the pack."
"Understandable," Hiccup agreed.
She hummed and continued.
"There is no need to fly from the pack to find mates now though. The life-way is different for our fledglings who are not adults yet. Those who are old enough to hunt but cannot yet make cubs together can still be like mates if both sires and dams agree and if the fledglings want to join. The sires and dams would only agree if their fledglings have good thinking and have shown that they care for the one who will be their true future mate."
"I see. So, they are just like any other pair and... do everything the rest of you do... but they can't make any cubs yet," Hiccup explained.
"Yes."
"What if you or other parents found out that your kids were... doing that together... without your permission?"
Flame-In-The-Night huffed.
"That has not happened; they are the only pair that we have done this with. But... if it were to happen in the future, then both pairs of sires and dams would decide if that was only a mistake by their fledglings or if the fledglings truly want to fly life together. If so, then they would be named as mates like Snowflame and Windripper. If not, then the sires and dams would talk to us about what to do."
Hiccup thought about the custom which made more sense as he thought about it. Even back on Berk, marriages were commonly arranged by the parents and could involve children who were in their mid-teens. At least this way took what the children wanted into consideration also while letting the parents make sure that intentions were honorable.
Toothless interjected into the silence.
"Other dragons in the nest I lived in had more than one mate. The strongest males would take more mates and make many eggs if they could. Did any in the pack want that?"
Wary hums followed that for a moment until Flame-In-The-Night answered while nuzzling Snowfall.
"The adults talked about it. We did not want way of life because it makes jealousy and more fighting and hidden hating. It is also hard enough to give much time to one mate after doing all the hunting and cub-tending. Trying to give enough time to multiple mates would not have lift. Having mate-pairs and that other way does not work together in one pack."
Hiccup thought about it and agreed with all of that.
"That makes sense. Very practical, anyway. Your customs are a little different from how humans... do that."
The two pairs stepped closer and lay down before him.
"Will you tell us about human customs for this? We do not know them," Snowfall asked.
"Sure," Hiccup answered, "It differs from pack to pack, but in most packs the parents decide who their children marry... which means take as a life-mate. The marriages are usually arranged to make families stronger or make two packs into allies. There are other packs that let a pair be made entirely on their own. Some packs... where I'm from... would have the Alpha male have many females, but that is not a common way. It was not for my old pack. Almost all packs agree that the pair should be for life."
"That is good. What do humans do with the dead?" Flame-In-The-Night asked..
"The most common ceremonies are to bury them or burn them. The remaining packmates gather together to remember the one who is gone, and then they have a feast to celebrate the dead person's life."
"Gone? Gone where? Do humans know where your soul-fires go?" Snowfall softly asked.
Hiccup leaned against Toothless's neck.
"There are different stories about that. The one my pack told is about a place where the fighters go to a place where they can fight for fun, drink a lot of mead, a drink they like a lot of, and eat as much food as they want. The bad humans, the ones who turned on the pack and... did cruel things, are sent down into Helheim or Niflheim; those are basically hot and cold places where they are punished forever. The humans and other peoples like them in this world tell a different story; they say that all people will be judged in a very big hall, Mandos or something like that, and that one god would judge them and decide if they lived well. I'm not sure what happens after that."
The gathered Furies hummed in thought. Their eyes were very wide in curiosity.
"What about for you? What do you say happens to your souls?" Hiccup asked.
Flame-In-The-Night purred and spoke.
"The soul-fires of all dead dragons fly up into the sky. Those that loved their mates, raised their young well, or did good for others join one of the stars, wherever their kin also flew into. The soul-fires of the bad dragons or of monster dragons fly up into the sky and fade into the darkness between the stars. Just as their lives made nothing and became nothing, so their soul-fires fade into nothing. Their soul-fires go as cold as the dark skies."
Hmm, that's interesting. If they fade away and cease to be, then the bad ones do not suffer; they would have to be to feel suffering. Definitely still incentive to not be cruel and vengeful!
"Speaking of cold and skies," Toothless interjected, "do we know when the storm will fly past?"
"Hunts-In-Deep-Waters flew to us as the watcher. He said that the storm is very bad and cold, but it is flying fast and will be past us soon, maybe by the end of the day," Flame-In-The-Night answered.
"End of the day... is there anything else to do down here?" Toothless wondered.
The other Furies hummed in thought until Flame-In-The-Night barked with an idea.
"I could show you the deeper cave: the one that has the fire in it!"
"A cave with a fire? Is it safe for Hiccup?" Toothless wondered.
"If he stays away from the sleeping fire, yes. We will not wake it up. We will fly quietly when we see the light."
Hiccup frowned, confused what he meant.
Wake up a fire? Huh? I guess we'll find out. Anything is better than just sitting here in the dark all... day.
"Sounds good."
Flame-In-The-Night stepped over to his side and nudged his shoulder.
"Hiccup, you should leave your outer furs here. This place where we will fly to is very warm."
How warm can it be? Oh well, haven't had a chance to take these off in a while.
He took off his coat and outer layers until he only wore his simple undershirt and shorts. Then he hopped on Toothless's back.
"One more good thing about this flight," Toothless hummed, "is that you can have a bath when we get back!"
"I will twist your ears!"
"Either you clean yourself, or I will lick you clean!"
Toothless smugly purred to himself that the threat effectively silenced Hiccup. He was of course not going to lick Hiccup clean in a bath; doing that would be something that a sire or dam would do to a cub. But Hiccup did not need to know that if his not knowing got him to clean himself.
Toothless hummed in reassurance to Hiccup as they continued on. It was a long flight through the darkness. There were no other packmates flying with him except for Flame-In-The-Night. The Alpha was leading their flight through the long cave.
The temperature alternately warmed and then fell slightly. The air felt stuffier and heavier the deeper they went.
They dropped down off a large ledge that opened into a wide open chamber. He could see all that with his sound-sight. It was totally dark otherwise. Even his pendant gave off so little light that nothing of the ground was visible.
Flame-In-The-Night winged closer to him and started gliding.
"Be quiet when you see the light!"
We must be getting close...
He grunted in agreement and followed the Alpha down another large passageway. This passageway looked different from the ones they had flown down before. It had a flat ground that looked too consistent to be natural; it was almost like this was a road or a path.
Then there was a very faint red glare up ahead.
"Do you see that?"
"Yes, there's a little light. Let's go check it out."
"Quietly now."
"Agreed."
They flew on silently, following Flame-In-The-Night as the Alpha led them down the pass. The light grew brighter until they could see the ground and the walls of the cave. The ground was definitely not just the ground of a cave. Something had been building here or had flattened a path long ago.
"Oh my gods, who could build something like this?" Hiccup whispered.
"I do not know," Toothless grumbled while staring ahead at the light.
They turned around a corner which was brightly-lit, and they were immediately hit by a wall of very hot air.
Hiccup winced at the rush of hot, dry air they glided into. He started sweating almost immediately as they glided out into a very bright red chamber. It was hard for him to breathe well because of how hot it was.
Toothless glared around the chamber, not liking the look of it at all. Everything he could see, the red glare and the shapes of the rocks, almost reminded him of the Monster's nest, even though this place was very empty with no other dragons there. But the heat alone did not explain why he suddenly felt like... like prey.
Something is not good...
Flame-In-The-Night silently glided down onto a ledge by the entrance and landed there, so they did the same. Toothless settled down and caught his breath while Hiccup wiped his brow of sweat in the baking air.
"Look!" Flame-In-The-Night nodded down at the bottom of the very red chamber.
They both looked.
Hiccup stared, speechless and numbed.
A small pool of lava bubbled in the middle of the chamber and seemed to twist the air itself. But that was not the only strange thing in the chamber.
Beside the pool of lava there was a very large shape reclining on the glowing ground. The shape was much larger than Toothless and was that of a great shadow with an uncertain form. All he could see was that darkness flowed from it like two vast wings, and the shadowy figure appeared to have a mane of flame. Several flickering tongues of fire rose from out of the shadows, though there was no great, roaring inferno.
The shadows hid something that was definitely alive, and Hiccup almost fainted when he realized what this might be.
Oh... my... gods... we just flew deep underground... into a hidden fire world, probably into Muspelheim itself,... and I'm looking at a fire-demon... is that Surtr?
He had not believed all the old Viking myths, but there was no denying what he saw before him.
If we wake him up and cause Ragnarok... We should get out of here now!
Toothless snarled softly as he glared down at the shadowed thing. A creeping fear had been stalking closer to his thoughts and soul-fire the closer he got to the red light and the warmth. Deep memories that were not his sparked to life in his soul-fire as he stared at the living fire down below.
'A wave of flame that flowed over dozens of enemies, and a massive sword of fire tore through dozens more enemies with every strike.'
This thing of shadow and flame felt extremely dangerous, even though it was asleep and not reacting at all to their being there.
'A commanding presence issuing the Master's orders and leading battles with thought itself.'
Just like their meeting with Vorunturth, this creature was far more powerful and dangerous than him.
Then he noticed that the light from his pendant was slightly brighter. In that calming light, his thoughts were clearer as he knew the terrible truth.
He had no idea what that creature of shadow and flame was; all he knew was that it was not a dragon. But if it were to wake up, it would wrap its will around his soul-fire and tear his thoughts apart in the same way the Monster could. This thing could enthrall him if it only noticed him.
"We should leave now..." he hissed and stepped back several paces.
"Yes... please..." Hiccup whispered.
Toothless waited not a wingbeat more and took to the air, putting his tail to that chamber of fire. Flame-In-The-Night similarly followed his flight out from the lighted chamber. Hiccup immediately found it easier to breathe in the cooler air.
Toothless glanced back over his tail and thankfully heard and saw nothing to suggest that they were being followed. The more distance that he put between himself and that... living fire... the better.
They flew in silence until the skies became dark enough that he had to see with sound. Then he let Flame-In-The-Night take the lead of the flight since the Alpha knew the way back to the pack. They flew long without saying anything, partially out of practicality and also because of the remaining dread from that encounter.
Then, when they had flown perhaps half the way back to the pack, he flew ahead and cried out to Flame-In-The-Night.
"We should talk!"
The Alpha dove for the ground, and he touched down alongside him. They could see each other in the faint light from his pendant.
"What was that... thing?"
"The living fire?" Flame-In-The-Night asked.
"Yes, that is a very bad thing!"
"Why is it a very bad thing? It has never hurt any of us."
"Has it met any of you?"
"Yes, I met it long ago when we first found it."
Toothless gasped in shock.
"And it did not do anything to you?"
"No. It saw me and then went back to sleeping as it is now."
Hmm, very twisted... why did it not control him? Maybe it had no reason to control him... he was not an enemy to it?
"I still do not trust it. It could... twist my thinking if it tried... it is like the Monster in my old nest."
Flame-In-The-Night hummed and considered his words.
"Yes, it is dangerous; I know that. But it has always been sleeping there and never comes out of the caves. Let it stay there and sleep."
"I won't argue with that," Hiccup agreed.
They took to the sky after that and continued on toward the pack. Toothless frequently glanced over his tail to make sure that they were not being followed. They were not.
"Bud, what was that?" Hiccup whispered.
"I do not know, and I do not want to know," he purred in sympathy.
"Maybe we'll find out someday. I'll be happy if it stays there and sleeps forever..."
Toothless growled in ready agreement.
The entire pack was gathered except for the watchers high up near the entrance. The cubs frolicked and played together while several adults watched over them in the darkness.
Toothless even heard Snowflame and Windripper purring to each other as they rested together; they had returned from wherever they had flown off to so they could be together.
He had Hiccup pack up everything so that they could fly very quickly if there was a need. His thoughts had been disturbed ever since his return from seeing that living fire and shadow.
But everything was peaceful and quiet. No deeply rumbling growl appeared in the darkness. No whispering stalked closer to him in the shadows.
The pack gathered together after the playing, and Snowfall told another story to everyone. Hers was a story about a wild cub that tried to break the rules in a game and got its tail trapped in a tree, which then made it lose the game and need to be rescued.
It was just after that story was finished that a joyful roar echoed in the darkness.
"The storm has flown away! We can fly now!" Hunts-In-Deep-Waters roared again.
The dark sky was then filled with a rush of wings and sound-sight cries as the entire pack began flying.
Toothless waited with his parents and little brother as Hiccup strapped the last of the supplies to the saddle and put on his thick furs. Then they took to the sky and followed the pack's flight through the dark cavern. It was easy to lose awareness of how much time was passing.
Finally, with no disturbances at all beyond Breath-Of-Sky playfully nipping at his tail, he arrived at the massive cave-mouth. There was a lot more snow on the ground inside now.
Out they flew into the open air that smelled so clean and good!
And cold, but he did not care about that! He was out of the ground and away from things that should be hidden and forgotten forever.
The ground was covered in snow as far as he could see in all directions. Then they flew out above the mountains, which then let them see the clouds out in the distance. The sky was calm, very clear, and filled with wispy clouds in the storm's passing.
The entire pack eventually arrived back at the range where they lived. He knew that place well because it had the hot springs and the warm ground that even now was bare of snow after melting everything that had fallen.
A tail-nibbling idea then bothered him. What if this place where the pack rested was warm because it was over or close to that chamber of fire?
What if that creature of living fire was directly below them even now?
Then he snorted and put such thoughts out of mind. That thing, whatever it was, was sleeping, hidden in a deep place of the world and far out in the wilderness where no one else would ever find it.
Though, now that he thought about it that way, the pack was not very different; it was also lost to the rest of the world.
Those thoughts reminded him of the first reason they had flown to search for other dragons. He and Hiccup had flown this good flight in the hope that other good dragons might want to join the fight against the Enemy and then be welcomed to live in peace among the humans and others of Middle-earth.
We should talk about that soon. I forgot that purpose after I found my kin and started being with Jumps-At-Fire.
"Brother, we should play in the snow!" Breath-Of-Sky bellowed and dove for the ground.
"Bud, did I hear a challenge?" Hiccup shouted.
Okay, we will talk about bringing the pack back later!
"Yes, we did!" he dashed forward into a dive while planning his attack.
The perfect idea came to him as he remembered a fight he and Hiccup had in the Misty Mountains.
I will teach Breath-Of-Sky how to have a snowball fight!