Respite
Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, and Moonbeam had flown off across the Pelennor to eat and bring some food back for him and Wings-Of-Ice. Apparently, the very large four-legs with tusks were good for eating and several of them were dead. Their meat would still be good for eating for several more days.
Toothless tried to not think about everything that had happened the last few days. His memories and dreams were confused anyway.
He had awoken up on the top level of the city. Moonbeam, Gandalf, and Aragorn had been with him as they helped with some unknown hurt. Both of his parents had appeared shortly thereafter to lick his hurts and rest with him. Soothing rest had followed after they had tended to him and assured him that Hiccup was well.
Though now he knew why they, and Moonbeam especially, had appeared worried for Hiccup. His foot had gone rotted after being bitten when Moonbeam caught him.
He did not blame her at all. She had caught both of them and saved both of their lives. He would have done the same thing, catch Hiccup by grabbing one of his feet, if it was needed to save him.
He winced and whined that Hiccup had still been hurt. Hiccup had so easily forgiven him for not being there to save him, but he still felt some guilt from failing Hiccup.
He groaned, shifted in place, and hid his head under his tailfin. This was the time for more rest.
Hiccup eventually stirred and sat up in bed.
"Toothless?"
Toothless got up and padded over to him, eventually crouching down beside the bed and letting Hiccup hold his muzzle.
"How are you, brother?" Toothless asked.
Hiccup yawned and stretched his arms.
"Well, I'm awake and alive, so there's that!"
"A good place to start."
"Yeah. What about you? How is... that?" Hiccup waved a paw toward his neck.
The hurt where the Witch-King's arrow-dart had bit did not hurt anymore. All the rot had been taken out, but he still was very weak and tired. He had struggled to glide down from the top of the city to come out here, and he had not done any other flying since then.
"I am weak still, but I will be well with much rest."
"Same here," Hiccup sighed.
A long silence followed before Hiccup spoke again.
"Anything else happen while I was asleep?"
"Pippin came by earlier. He said that Theoden and Aragorn would visit us today."
"Good," Hiccup grumbled.
Hiccup went silent and looked away from him. His downcast eyes showed that he was troubled by something.
"What is biting your tail?"
Hiccup did not look up at him.
"I... I'm so sorry you keep getting hurt... it's all my fault..."
"What!"
"Yeah, my fault for shooting you down, for you being around the Ring at all, for my keeping you grounded, and for you always needing to save me. I did this..."
"No! We have talked about this! Why do you talk like this?"
"Because it's true."
Toothless growled.
"You are grabbing at only the bad that happened! I would never have found my family if not for you. Good and bad fly together."
Hiccup sighed.
"Maybe. I only feel the bad right now. And it's more than you getting hurt. Think about the whole pack..."
"What about them?"
"I got Growls killed and Wings-Of-Ice grounded..."
"No! You did not hurt them!"
Hiccup just shook his head.
"I... think I understand now why I was so obsessed with making peace between humans and dragons."
"Because it is good and is how life should be!"
"No... because I thought I could make everyone like you and me. I thought that I could make myself useful to the world by making it more like what I wanted it to be. It was... selfish of me all along..."
Again, Toothless growled freely at that. Hiccup words were very twisted and wrong, as if he was chilling his own soul-fire out of... guilt?
"Do you truly think it would be better if the pack had not flown here?"
"Maybe so. They would still be living in peace without seeing any of the war. None of them would be dead or hurt. I don't know anymore..." Hiccup weakly said.
"Well, I do! The five Mordor Night Furies would still have been here. They would still have attacked the city. How many humans would they have killed? What do you think all the humans of this world would think about my kind then? Very dangerous, kill on sight, probably! Tell me that I am wrong!"
Hiccup said nothing. Toothless snorted and nudged Hiccup's shoulder with a paw.
"I do not think it was wrong of us to bring the pack. If you blame yourself for getting the pack to come down here, then you are also blaming me, Gandalf, Elrond, Flame-In-The-Night, Snowfall, and all the pack! We agreed to the flight!"
Then he smirked, knowing that he had Hiccup pinned now in this fight of words.
"Moonbeam told me what you said to her at the food eating and bonding ceremony. What did you tell her?"
Hiccup warily gazed back at him.
"Not your fault!" Toothless again nudged Hiccup's shoulder.
Hiccup inhaled, froze, and stared into the distance without seeing anything. He said nothing for a very long time as tears appeared in his eyes. He then held his own head in his paws and started weeping as he let out the hurt. The tears dripped from Hiccup's paws and fell down onto the bed.
So he lay down next to Hiccup's bed while purring in comfort. Hiccup eventually stopped weeping and sniffling.
"Brother, are you better now?"
"Maybe... it will take... a long time..." Hiccup eventually whispered, looking very weak and tired.
"We have a lot of that now..."
Hiccup eventually fell back asleep, which let Toothless step away and consider him. His ears fell as he recalled how chilled Hiccup's soul-fire felt by all that happened.
It was bad that Wings-Of-Ice had been grounded and Growls-At-His-Shadow had been killed; they were part of the pack with him. But at the same time, they were not his closest kin. Hiccup was a little different from him in that he felt more for the entire pack. Hiccup almost thought of himself as if he were an Alpha or a leader who was responsible for the entire pack.
I would probably feel that chilled if Far-Flight or Sky-Dancer had died...
Further, Hiccup was wrong in what he thought about his own motivations. Even if changing the world was a mission that gave Hiccup a place in the world and kept him useful to others, that did not change the truth that it was good to make peace, true peace, be between their kinds.
The lack of fighting from choosing to be apart was not true peace; separating themselves by their kinds and living apart would not make for more trusting. Rather, that isolation would only make each side more suspicious of the other, if they remembered each other at all.
It can itch to shed scales, but you must if you are to grow.
He stayed there in the tent with Hiccup until the rest of their kin returned. Sky-Dancer and Moonbeam touched down outside the tent while Far-Flight flew on toward Wings-Of-Ice, probably taking a mouthful of meat to him. Sky-Dancer had a large haunch of meat hanging from her jaws. He gladly ate what she had brought for him.
Moonbeam then stepped up to him and nuzzled his neck after he walked outside to greet them.
"How are you, my dear mate?" she nipped one of his ears.
"I am well. Hiccup is not," he whispered.
"No? Why not?" she barked in alarm.
"He blames himself for the hurts to the pack."
Sky-Dancer and Moonbeam blinked in surprise and shock.
"What? Why..." Moonbeam warbled.
"What is wrong with my cub? Why does he blame himself?" Sky-Dancer whined.
"Because he wanted to bring the pack to live in peace with humans. He wonders if that was good to do after all the hurts we had..."
They grumbled and stared into the tent along with him.
"But that is twisted of him. It would be worse if we did not fly here..." Moonbeam grumbled.
He knew that was true. At the very least, the other five Mordor Night Furies that had attacked the city would still have done so and would have killed far more. The fellbeasts and Nazgul out over the Pelennor could also have caused much more pain and death.
"That is what I told him. I think he knows that truth also, but he needs time for his soul-fire to heal and be warm again."
"Can I help?" Moonbeam warbled.
"Yes, we all can by being there for him."
"We will!" Sky-Dancer hummed and immediately strode into the tent.
He watched as she went over and lay down by Hiccup's bed. Her warmth as a dam greatly touched his soul-fire as it usually did. As did Moonbeam's soft nuzzling on his neck, though she avoided his small hurt.
Hiccup's adoptive parents, Toothless, and Moonbeam were away when a guest came to meet him.
"Master Haddock, may I enter?" King Theoden asked from outside the tent.
"Yes, King Theoden. Please..." Hiccup sat up.
The King respectfully entered and knelt at his bedside. Theoden was clad in dark red robes with long sleeves and fine inlay at the neck. He also looked very weary, and his golden hair was unkempt and dirty. A new wound streaked down his cheek.
Well, he got a scar from it... at least he survived.
"Westu hál, Master Haddock," the King inclined his head.
"King Theoden, I am glad to see you," Hiccup greeted him.
"And I for you. I hear that you have been greatly wounded."
"I lost a foot. It could have been worse, much worse."
Theoden grimly nodded.
"I know of the pain the pack feels now and the loss suffered. I know it too well. Many of my people fell upon the Pelennor."
Hiccup winced, not wanting to imagine how many had fallen, but he also had to know the truth.
"How bad is it?"
"Eleven thousand rode to war. Just over two thousand fell. Four thousand are wounded and unable to fight. Aragorn and Faramir would know better how fares Gondor. It was not so grievous for them, though much of the city lies in ruins."
Hiccup nodded idly, numb at the numbers being used for how many dead and wounded there were.
"How is Eowyn?"
"She will be well, I pray. The black breath lies heavy on her now, but a deed greater than hers I know not of. That she, a Hobbit, and a dragon could stand against the black foe when men could not..."
Theoden showed a phantom smile for the first time in this brief meeting.
"She is well-tended to even now. Snowflame, Lord Faramir, and Eomer are there with her. Yes, she will be well. Are all of your family safe?"
"Yes, Burning-Star is slightly hurt, but he'll be fine."
"I am glad to hear it. I have heard from others what happened to two of the pack. It has been painful to attend the mass-funerals and see the many pyres. I will even need some new leadership after that great battle."
A terrible thought struck him after he heard the King mention needing new leadership.
"Sir, is Gamling alright?"
"He is. Grimbold fell, but I lost no others of my commanders."
Hiccup felt relieved on behalf of someone else who was dear to him.
Theoden then stood and sighed heavily.
"Would that I could stay longer, but there are many whom I must see to. A King must be seen by his people and comfort them in their time of need."
"I understand," Hiccup answered.
Theoden paused at the curtains at the front of the tent.
"Despair not. If you think that burdens weigh heavily on you, try to imagine what others feel right now. We did what was necessary, though it is no less grievous."
Theoden nodded at him one more time and then was gone.
The way the King said that suggested that he might know something he didn't let on. The more Hiccup thought about his words, the deeper they touched him.
King Theoden led almost all the men in his people to war. Over two thousand of the Rohirrim had died in the battle of the Pelennor Fields. Despite that, Theoden was maintaining himself and being calm despite the deaths under his leadership. The King knew that he had done the right thing even though it would have a terrible cost. He even rode into battle and risked his own life to be there with his people in the charge.
How does anyone become that great, brave, and selfless? I guess one can only try.
"And here I am feeling sorry for myself because..."
Why? Why do I feel so guilty for... for surviving?
That is what it was. He felt guilty that he had survived when others didn't. His father had told him stories about how one man gets snatched up and carried off in a raid when the man standing next to that one was untouched. Part of being a leader was dealing with the aftermath of the battles and helping those who survived to move on.
Sometimes the survivors even blamed themselves for not going to Valhalla with their friends and those they loved.
He still had so much: Toothless, Moonbeam, Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, Breath-Of-Sky, and so many others. The situation with Gondor having suffered from the Mordor Furies was uncertain and definitely not good, but when had he been one to give up when the situation was difficult or even hopeless?
He held his head in his hands and closed his eyes, though doing so did not completely restrain the few tears.
His father kept going after Valka was lost. Theoden didn't give up after he lost his son.
If they could endure, so he could he. He had stubbornness issues too.
Toothless was carrying Hiccup back from relieving himself, which was hard for Hiccup to get around to be able to do without walking. Far-Flight, Sky-Dancer, and Moonbeam were with Wings-Of-Ice.
There was someone familiar waiting for them when they got back to the tent.
"Strider!" "Aragorn!"
The very weary man, his head-hair and face-fur beard very dirty and unwashed, strode up to them. There was a cold and sadness in his gaze, though he warmly greeted them.
"Masters Haddock, Burning-Star. I am glad that you are both up and about."
"Well, Toothless is up. I'm getting a little help from him," Hiccup said.
"More than a little, you twisted human brother..." Toothless cheerfully grumbled.
"Alright, a lot of help. Anyway, good to see that you didn't get hurt."
Aragorn frowned and looked back toward the city.
"I was not harmed, no, but much has been lost."
Hiccup thought he knew well what was bothering him. Minas Tirith was supposed to be Aragorn's city, his birthright, once he retook his place as King. However, that city was so ruined now that it would need to be abandoned until it could be repaired after the war.
Assuming that there was an after the war.
"I know it's not at all the same thing, but my old tribe always had houses burn down in the dragon raids. We just kept rebuilding every time. We had stubbornness issues."
Aragorn looked back at him and grimly nodded.
"Indeed. I have already had council with Prince Imrahil, and I will abide in Dol Amroth until Minas Tirith is restored."
"Where is that Dol Amroth?" Hiccup asked.
"It is on a headland on the western coast of Belfalas. It is a beautiful city, much like Minas Tirith for it was built by similar artisans, though it is not upon a mountainside. Elven and Numenorian blood are strong among the people of the city."
"It sounds amazing. I hope I get to see it," Hiccup sighed.
"I hope that you will. For now, there is another matter I must discuss with you both," Aragorn answered.
"What is it?" Toothless asked.
"One of the Mordor dragons was captured alive."
Toothless growled, remembering how he had fought up in the Citadel. He had killed one of the attacking Furies and left the other unconscious.
"What about it?" he growled.
"I was hoping that you both could bring Flame-In-The-Night and meet the prisoner. Gandalf will be up there to join you shortly. We wish to see if it can be reasoned with now."
"We will. What if it cannot be peaceful?" Toothless asked.
"Then I will leave that up to Flame-In-The-Night, Snowfall, and the pack. There are many from the city who are dead because of it and its kin," Aragorn answered.
Being reminded about the dead dragons, especially the one he had killed and the one that he had seen killed after it ravaged several Gondorian soldiers, got Hiccup thinking about something that might have happened.
"What happened to them, the dead dragons?" Hiccup asked.
Aragorn frowned before answering.
"The dragons of the pack took the bodies somewhere else. I know not where. Some of the soldiers wanted to keep the carcasses as trophies, but we agreed not to allow that."
Hiccup felt sick at the thought of Night Fury skulls adorning a house or great hall, even if the Furies had been killed justly in war. It was another reminder of just how wrong everything had gone, for people of Gondor to think of the Furies as beasts to be trophies of battle.
Toothless grumbled and nodded.
"Yes, Moonbeam told me that the dead ones were taken away. I do not know where either. If I did, I would go relieve myself on them."
Hiccup patted Toothless's neck and then numbly nodded.
"Alright, we will talk to the Alphas. Where is the prisoner?"
"Up on the top level in the stockades. The Citadel guards know to await you, and they are not as hostile as the rest of the people," Aragorn answered.
"Has it said anything?"
"No, and it has tried to kill those who brought it food. I doubt that you can speak with it, but you might."
Aragorn briefly paused before continuing.
"I have also heard that many are grieved after the battle, so I thought I would share with you some words of hope. They are meant to refer to me, but they are not only appropriate to my... situation."
Aragorn then fingered his ring that had a green jewel. He spoke mildly several verses with his eyes closed.
"All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost. The old that is strong does not wither. Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken. A light from the shadows shall spring. Renewed shall be blade that was broken. The... crownless... again shall be king."
Aragorn then silently glanced at them, nodded once, and then left them. Toothless turned to Hiccup as soon as Aragorn left.
"I like his words. They have hope and warmth in them."
"Yeah, they do. I like them too," Hiccup whispered.
"Are you ready to go now?"
"Sure, are you sure you can fly me?"
Toothless crouched down and offered a foreleg to help him up.
"Yes, it would be far for you to walk on one paw."
"Thanks. Let's go find Flame-In-The-Night and let him know what we should do."
Flame-In-The-Night did not look very eager to meet this surviving Night Fury. Instead, he stared off into the distance with his tail tapping on the ground.
It was not difficult for Hiccup to guess why he might be so reluctant. The lone surviving Fury was almost certainly known to him from before.
"Is there anything we should know about the other dark wings?" Hiccup asked.
"Nothing important."
"Nothing? Knowing about them would have mattered a lot. We could have saved many lives if we knew about them!"
Flame-In-The-Night snarled and growled while clawing up the dirt underpaw.
"There is nothing to say about them! They are... were packless."
"What did they do that was so wrong?"
"They left the pack to fly with the false-dragon and its shadow-rider. They turned tail on us, so we named them not of the pack!"
Hiccup frowned. The custom of the pack sounded very familiar to another that he knew of.
So they were basically Outcasts because they broke the pack's rules and were disloyal. Makes sense.
Toothless shuffled on his paws.
"There is more than that. Who were they? We must know before we talk to the last one here."
"And," Hiccup added, "there was one more that flew away. It is still out there somewhere. How many are there? Was it only the five that we saw?"
Flame-In-The-Night grumbled to himself for a while before answering.
"That I know of... there were two pairs of mates who were in the pack, two males who were not in the pack, and one other who was of the pack. The three dead ones were one of the pairs and one of the packless males," he reluctantly said.
"Who was the other?" Hiccup prodded.
Flame-In-The-Night calmly stared back at him; the Alpha was definitely unsettled by the question. That was even more obvious when his ears fell and tail stilled.
"My brother."
Hiccup and Toothless gasped in shock.
"Your brother?" Toothless whispered.
"My younger brother. His name is... was Dark-Fire," Flame-In-The-Night whispered.
"What happened to him? Why did he leave?" Hiccup asked.
Flame-In-The-Night winced.
"He saw our sire killed by a pack of humans, and his seeing that chilled his soul-fire. He was much closer to my sire than I was. I told him that it would be better for us and the rest of the pack to fly on our own away from any humans, that revenge-flights would only get more of us killed, but he wanted to avenge our sire."
Flame-In-The-Night sighed and lay his head on his paws.
"I wonder if this trapped one is him. He was not... among the dead ones."
"And if it is..." Hiccup asked.
"I... do not know what I will do, or if I want to meet him again..."
Hiccup frowned, appreciating how emotionally difficult it could be to meet under such circumstances, but he also knew that avoiding the issue forever wouldn't work either.
"It won't help you to ignore it. Maybe you and he cannot reconcile, but maybe you can. If... this one is... him."
"And even if it is not," Toothless interjected, "we still need to learn what to do with it."
He was then interrupted by the approach of wings.
Moonbeam gently touched down and bounded up to him, so he stepped over to her and nuzzled her nose.
"My dear mate, we will fly to meet the living dark wing. Will you fly with us?"
She growled and hummed in agreement.
Flying over the ruined city was so terrible. There was such a contrast between the upper levels, which were mostly undamaged, and the bottom levels, which were little more than rubble with narrow paths where a few people walked between the piles of debris. The massive stone towers, barracks, and homes had collapsed all through the bottom of the city.
So much had been destroyed.
But, even in its ruin, the city retained a splendor and greatness that may still come again.
Hiccup glanced to his side at the two other Furies flying with him and Toothless. It felt good to have them there also for reassurance at what would certainly be an upsetting meeting. While Vorunturth had been a very unpleasant, true Middle-earth dragon, at least he had cared for his hoard over ongoing cruelty through open warfare.
This would be the first time he met a dragon who had embraced cruelty and acted on it by attacking humans. Well, not exactly the first such dragon. Growls-At-His-Shadow was like that once... but he stopped that once he found Dreamcatcher and had Tail-Hunter. He changed because he had something more important than revenge...
Hiccup closed his eyes.
I will protect your daughter and do anything I can to help her.
The three Furies touched down on the top level of the city. Hiccup and Toothless couldn't help but notice the remaining base of the tower that was gone now; only about ten fathoms remained of the glorious but now shattered tower.
A small group of guards was visible at the side of the Citadel where stood an undamaged building. Gandalf also stood before the doors of this guard house, so they walked over there.
"Are you ready to meet it?" Gandalf inquired.
"Yes, no better time than now..." Hiccup answered.
"I hope it is not who I think it is," Flame-In-The-Night grumbled.
Gandalf expectantly looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
"The captured dark wing might be... my kin, my brother..."
Gandalf grumbled at that.
"That would complicate this, but there is only one way to find out."
The guards stood aside to let them enter. Gandalf walked first with Toothless, Moonbeam, and finally Flame-In-The-Night behind him. A couple other guards entered with them.
The captured Fury glared back at them from where it lay in chains. Thick chains wove around its back and held its wings to its side. A muzzle and ropes were wrapped around its head to hold its jaws almost completely closed. It was completely bound and unable to do anything violent except snarl and growl, which it immediately did.
Hiccup stared straight back into the narrowed, blue eyes that glared at him with open hate. These eyes were the same shade as another dragon behind him.
That can't be coincidence...
His suspicion was confirmed when Flame-In-The-Night silently strode ahead toward the muzzled, captive Fury. His tail twitched as his ears were swept back. The chained Fury lifted its head and stared back at the Alpha while the guards carefully undid the muzzle and then stepped away.
No one said anything for a long time.
"Dark-Fire..." Flame-In-The-Night growled.
The other Fury said nothing while it glared and snarled.
"You never were one for words..."
"I am not Dark-Fire!"
"No, little brother, who are you now?"
"I am Burzghash!"
The growled words darkened the room and filled the air with a chill. It should not have been surprising that the Mordor Night Fury had started using Black Speech.
Gandalf then laughed aloud, breaking the tension as he gently tapped his staff on the stone floor. Everyone else gathered there stared at him in a mix of surprise, confusion, and anger.
"I will not repeat those fell words myself, but this dragon's Black Speech name translates as Dark-Fire in the Common Speech."
Flame-In-The-Night then chuckled.
"Well, will you take back what you said last time?"
"Never! You relieved yourself on our sire's corpse when you refused to follow me! When you rejected the offer of freedom and justice!" Burzghash snarled.
"Freedom and justice? Is that what you think this is?"
Burzghash stared in Hiccup's direction and flashed his teeth at him.
"Yes, Sauron is our true ally! We fly in his lands without having to fear any humans! We even have power over the humans who serve Sauron."
Toothless stepped forward with a growl.
"Sauron is our enemy! He has tried to rot and corrupt my soul-fire, and he caused all the fighting and death!"
"He tried to free you. We are not meant to be slaves that carry around humans on our backs!" Burzghash snarled while glaring at Hiccup.
"Humans do not make us slaves! We do not live for them!" Toothless growled back.
"No? You carry a shara on your back now!"
"Hiccup is kin to me as a brother. He is not my master."
Burzghash froze and glanced at Hiccup once before turning his gaze back to Toothless.
"That you call a shara your kin shows how far you have fallen, dark wing. You now fly for our enemy. Only one of us, humans or dragons, can fill the lands and be many. Us or them!"
Hiccup gently patted Toothless's neck and whispered to him.
"Bro, can you let me down?"
Toothless lay down to help Hiccup climb off his back and brace himself against his neck. Hiccup then stared defiantly back at Burzghash without feeling any fear, though the Fury's words were very disturbing so far.
"Why do you think that? Why must we be enemies?" Hiccup asked.
Burzghash snarled and refused to answer for such a long time that Hiccup thought he wouldn't answer at all. However, the Fury's claws scratched at the stone floor.
"We heard about you, the human who wants... peace. You are why the five of us flew here to this city and why we flamed it!"
Hiccup gasped in shock and confusion at this strange and terrible news.
"But why?"
"Because you are the truest enemy of all dragons! You would have all dragons be pets and mounts: mere things that you use to protect you, fight for you, and be your wings! Do not bother denying it!"
Hiccup almost shouted back in defiance, except that the accusation leveled against him struck very close to his own previous motivations. Was any of what Burzghash said true? Would humans as a rule only want peace with dragons so as to use and control them for work, flight, and war?
"Yes," Burzghash continued, "you would have us forget what we are and become weak!"
Toothless stomped a paw on the floor.
"These humans here never hurt dragons! We were showing them that we can live in peace before you flew here and flamed them! You are a monster."
Burzghash flashed his teeth and purred.
"Yes, I am a monster to them, and I am glad to be one! We are meant to hunt and kill humans, even if you three have forgotten that purpose. I am strong."
Hiccup slumped in place while holding onto Toothless's neck.
"You would really have our kinds be killing each other forever, even if it means that you all die?" Hiccup incredulously asked.
Burzghash rolled his head to the side and stretched his limbs, all of which shook the heavy chains wrapped around him.
"It is better to die free than live in chains or as your mounts! I hope that we destroyed everything you love!"
Toothless, Moonbeam, and Flame-In-The-Night snarled and growled as one.
"You might have," Hiccup weakly whispered, "I love the pack, and I wanted this world to accept them. Not as mounts, slaves, or things to use, but as people."
"Lies..."
Hiccup shrugged.
"You might only hear what you want to hear. I've been with the pack for only a couple months now, and I did more for them in that time than any of you who flew away from them. I, a mere human, am more loyal to the pack than you were."
Flame-In-The-Night purred and nudged Hiccup's side.
"It is true! He showed us new ranges where we have warmth, more food, and humans who live in peace with us."
Moonbeam huffed, stepped forward to stand beside Hiccup, and spoke for the first time in this meeting.
"I thought much like you did. I thought that Hiccup was false in his soul-fire, and that he would make us be thralls. Humans are not perfect life, and they have twisted-thinking that we must watch for and stop when we see it, but we are not perfect either. Humans can change and learn if we help them and if they see a reason to change. Your thinking is rotted if you think true peace is a bad thing."
"That peace is false! Humans cannot learn or change!" Burzghash snarled.
She snorted in his direction.
"You do not know that. I also know that you are hurting yourself. You tell yourself that life must be humans against dragons, you act to drive our kinds apart by hurting the humans, and then, after the humans attack, you tell yourself that you were correct in suspecting them. You are thinking in a trap that you made for yourself. You are not free!" Moonbeam huffed.
Burzghash lunged at her but could not do anything. The heavy chains and muzzle completely restrained him.
Flame-In-The-Night swatted at Burzghash with a paw and struck the side of his muzzle.
"What did sire say about snapping at females? Think about the other one Burning-Star killed."
"So what?"
"What would sire have said about a dark wing that tries to hit or force-mate a female?" he snarled.
Burzghash started and stepped back in surprise, instantly losing his wrath.
"Do not say it..." Burzghash then gasped.
"You know what happened to dam..." Flame-In-The-Night whispered.
Burzghash's mouth worked though he said nothing.
Hiccup, with one hand each on Toothless's and Moonbeam's necks, stared in shock at Flame-In-The-Night and Burzghash while reflecting on what he just heard. The Alpha had never volunteered any personal details about life in the past, and he had never asked because it was not his business to know.
But it sounded like these estranged brothers came from a troubled family background. He had no idea that Flame-In-The-Night had been so hurt in the past.
"You could have stayed with the pack and lived with us, but instead you turned your tail on us. You turned on your own brother..." Flame-In-The-Night groaned.
"Leave me..." Burzghash whispered.
Flame-In-The-Night turned away from Burzghash and nodded toward the door. Hiccup agreed, seeing the discouraging truth that talking with Burzghash seemed pointless. Moonbeam followed Toothless to the door as Gandalf left. Flame-In-The-Night was the last still inside the building, and he turned to sadly stare at Burzghash.
"What would sire have said about about losing your life for revenge?"
Burzghash lay his head on his paws.
"How about you... go ask him," Burzghash snorted.
Flame-In-The-Night then growled, facing Toothless, Hiccup, and Moonbeam.
"Please leave me with him. My lost brother and I must speak."
"Alright," Hiccup agreed.
Toothless and Moonbeam strode outside with Gandalf and closed the door behind them. Then they all kept walking away from the stockades until they stood on the grass.
"So, that all happened..." Hiccup sighed.
"Indeed. That dragon's life has been very tragic," Gandalf muttered while leaning on his staff.
Toothless grumbled.
"I want to hate him, but I almost understand it. He wants to blame and hate others so he feels stronger and has an enemy to fight," Toothless said.
"That is indeed a vicious trap of thought. It even has the ring of justice to the one so enthralled by its own mind and pride," Gandalf agreed.
"Can you free him?" Hiccup wondered.
"Free him?"
"Like what you did for Theoden."
Gandalf frowned.
"This dragon is not controlled like Theoden was. It freely hates and chooses to be angry, at least as much as we can say it is free at all."
"But they flew to Mordor, right? They saw Sauron or... something."
"Yes, and that may have sparked greater malice in them. However, they were fully aware of their actions; they chose this. Even before they met Sauron, they were already in his service."
Hiccup winced, realizing again the difficult truth which hurt. Dragons could be truly malicious and were not only victims of circumstance, even though they had suffered terrible things also.
Gandalf then stepped over to Toothless's side and put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
"Think not of his words to you. Whenever someone tries to build something good, there will be those who would seek to tear it down. That is not reason to stop building."
Hiccup took a deep breath, feeling a peace and reassurance from Gandalf's words and Toothless's and Moonbeam's purring at his side.
"I know."
They waited outside in the cool breeze, none of them saying anything as they were lost to their thoughts. Hiccup still saw something that was disturbing, or at least would be to everyone in Gondor.
The White Tree was gone now. The soil where it had stood was churned as though there had been digging there recently, which there almost certainly had been.
"What happened to the tree? I know it was... burning..."
Gandalf frowned.
"What was left of it was gathered and taken into the Kings' tombs."
They stood together and stared out into the distance toward the dark clouds and the faint glow beyond the horizon. The glow alternatively waxed and waned.
"You said that we would need to do more soon, yes?" Toothless asked.
Gandalf nodded.
"Indeed. Tomorrow we will talk about what we must do. The Enemy is strong still behind the walls of Mordor, and we must force his hand, probably with a final throw in this perilous game."
They waited in silence until Flame-In-The-Night silently stalked out of the building. His tail dragged as he walked over to them and sat down, his head hung.
"Alpha?" Toothless whispered.
Flame-In-The-Night looked up from his paws. It looked like he had been crying or otherwise distraught.
"Burzghash... might not be such a problem always. He has... problems, but my brother might still be there... under the pain and anger."
Gandalf turned to him.
"Did he say anything about where he and the others were being kept? Where were they living?"
"He said they were roosting in a Morgul: a city where the living-shadow Nazgul are."
Gandalf nodded.
"Minas Morgul was their lair. That makes sense given that the Witch-king was the power who brought you all to Arda."
Gandalf subtly glanced to Hiccup and Toothless.
"The Witch-king's demise also makes it certain that none of you could be sent back to that other world; none of us have the knowledge of what words of power he used to bring you here."
Hiccup shrugged, feeling no loss from that news. He was long since beyond feeling anything for Berk.
Flame-In-The-Night continued speaking.
"He also said that there are more dark wings that did not fight and are still at that place."
"How many?" Hiccup exclaimed.
"Two pairs of mates, two cubs, and two fledglings. One of the fledglings has no sire or dam now, since they... flew on the attack and died."
"Did they stay out of the fighting to keep the young safe?" Toothless asked.
Flame-In-The-Night nodded.
"That and they were ordered to stay there to guard the place."
Gandalf sighed and frowned.
"That explains much. The dragons were likely being kept to breed what would eventually be a dragon army. But the Witch-king became hasty and thought he had to use many of them to secure the attack."
"We should go save them. We can rescue the dragons that are trapped, right?" Hiccup proposed.
Flame-In-The-Night grumbled and flicked an ear.
"Do we know where they are? Do we know where this lair is?"
"Yes," Hiccup answered, "I know where it is."
Gandalf stared off toward the distant mountains far across the Pelennor and still under the thick layer of clouds.
"Haddock, if you will take my council on this matter, I would greatly advise you not to go yourself to that dread city. Being a place where the Nazgul have dwelled for many years, you could not abide it for long. No human can."
"But we must do something for them!" Hiccup exclaimed.
Gandalf nodded.
"I did not say that nothing would be done. It is likely that the Nazgul will all be abroad now. The city may be mostly empty if most of its Orc forces were sent on the attack. It would be possible for a few dragons to sneak unnoticed into the city, especially if one of those dragons can move entirely unseen."
Everyone started in surprise and glanced at Moonbeam.
"I can hide from eyes as can the other dark wings, but not Burning-Star. He cannot hide because of his human-made tailfin. It would be best... if he not need to fly this flight," she answered.
Toothless grumbled and paced, not liking being told it would be best for him to stay behind. He ceased his grumbling when she rubbed against his neck.
"My dear mate," she hummed, "did my clever-thinking pin you this time?"
He huffed and reluctantly rolled his eyes; she was correct in what she said.
"So, you, Flame-In-The-Night, and my sire and dam will fly there and search for the other dark wings, yes? You will free them if you can," Toothless explained.
"Yes, we will!" Flame-In-The-Night answered.
Toothless still warbled warily as another concern struck him.
"I was hit by a small rot-arrow. That is also what made Growls-At-His-Shadow... fall. Are there more of those?"
Gandalf shook his head.
"There should not be. The eight remaining Nazgul do not have those weapons; those were only a foul craft of the Witch-king. Further, dragons appearing in Minas Morgul would not be a surprise to any Orcs still there. You might be able to fly in freely without the Orcs thinking anything strange was happening."
"What if the other dragons are in chains too thick to break?" Hiccup asked.
"Burzgash said that they are not. Fear keeps them there in a thought-trap. I am an Alpha, and I can help break the teeth of fear that is holding them!" Flame-In-The-Night snarled, his back slightly glowing.
"When should we fly?" Moonbeam asked.
"I would advise you fly tonight in the greatest darkness. Do try to keep your presence there unnoticed or at least inconspicuous. We do not want to draw the Enemy's attention that direction," Gandalf cryptically added.
Shadowfax whinnied from afar and, heedless of the dragons present, galloped over to Gandalf. Gandalf hopped on his back.
"The Fellowship will hold council with the King and Steward tomorrow morning."
Hiccup and Toothless nodded to him, and the Wizard then rode off, leaving Hiccup and the three Furies alone in the courtyard.
"Well, what do you all want to do now?" Hiccup asked.
Toothless shrugged and ruffled his wings.
"More rest. I feel weak still."
"Yeah, same here, bro. A few days of eating nothing will do that..."
Moonbeam cautiously stepped closer and gently nosed his left knee.
"When will you get your new foot-paw?" she warbled.
"I'm not sure. The leg needs to scar over before I can get anything attached. I have no idea when that will be. Soon, I hope, so that I won't be a bother for this guy here..." Hiccup patted Toothless's neck.
"You are no bother," Toothless purred.
"No?"
"Well, sometimes you are... but not in this. I will carry you as long as you need it and more."
Hiccup softly smiled, though with a wistful twinge in his heart.