Story [How To Train Your Dragon] Trial By Fire -- THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS HONOR!

In my experience, it's the summary that sparks interest in a story. I mean a good title can catch my eye but I usually make my choices, whether in books and fanfiction, based on the summary. I've probably passed up on a lot of good stories because the summary didn't capture my curiosity.

And, of course, if the story isn't good, no good title or summary helps, I just give up on it.

 

Just found this yesterday and just finished catching up just now... and I agree with Hazel about the title. Trial By Fire has a nice ring to it, and fits the story very well.

Also... Go Toothless! Go! Save your human!


Good story and I also request PMs.

 

Thank you! I am glad that you like it. You are now on the PM list.

 

Much appreciated! I hope you continue to enjoy it. The story is updated every Wednesday. On rare occasions, I might get it done early and post it on Tuesdays.

 

Chapter 8: The Shadow Lord

The young Vikings surrounded the massive dragon, which only had room to turn around by folding his tail. This natural growing trail was large, but this dragon made it feel much smaller. No one knew anything about the dragon that had attacked them, so everyone was hesitant to make the first move. Even Bitwolf seemed unnerved by this frightening beast.

While paying careful attention to the dragon?s movement, Hiccup began to think of ways to calm the dragon down and make peace with him. The dragon looked blood thirsty, but that could be just because he was starving. According to Ivar?s stories, the Shadow Lord was an evil dragon that would kill dragons and Vikings alike. The dragon?s actions go along with the stories, but Hiccup was not willing to just buy into the stories so quickly.

The dragon turned in circles, seemingly trying to choose who to go after first. If he did not know better, it looked like he was determining which one of them would make easier prey. They did not have much time before the dragon made a decision.

Bitwolf has slid over next to Astrid while the dragon?s back was towards them. ?I?m gonna see if this thing has any weak spots. While I have its attention, get everyone into the forest and hide behind the trees. The dragon is too big to follow you there.? He knew that their weapons would be useless against the Shadow Lord. He was more interested in impressing her. Helping to bring them all back home safely would go a long way to accomplishing that goal.

?Alright,? Astrid replied, clearly less than thrilled with the plan. ?Just be careful.? She quietly side stepped towards Snotlout.

Bitwolf waited for the right moment to attack. He needed an open shot at the neck to get the dragon?s attention. He cautiously stepped forward. In the corner of his eye, he could see that Astrid had successfully reached Snotlout and was in the process of whispering the plan.

?Get ready to make for the trees. The forest is too thick for the Dragon to follow.?

?Got it,? Snotlout gave her the thumbs up as he looked in Tuffnut's direction. ?Hey, head for the forest!? He shouted from the top of his lungs

Astrid was so furious; she nearly rendered him unconscious right there on the spot. His shout pulled the dragon?s attention towards them, sensing that something was happening.

As stupid as a move as it was, it was exactly what Bitwolf needed; he now had a clear shot for the neck. Raising his ax over his head, he took three running steps and threw his ax overhand. The ax spiraled all the way to its target, where the blade of the metal ax smacked into the creature?s neck. As suspected, the ax did not impale through its neck, but bounced harmless away as if the dragon was made of stone.

The Shadow Lord swung his head, violently towards him; he had gained the dragon?s full attention. It bared all of his teeth but did not turn and lunge for him. Fishlegs, who had been directly in the dragon?s sight, ran for the woods, taking advantage of the distraction.

Astrid was nearly in his sights, now, as well. Any sudden movements on her or Snotlout?s part could result in the dragon attacking them. She could not help but feel naked without her ax by her side. She had thrown it to save Hiccup from becoming lunch for the beast. She could see her weapon underneath his belly. She wanted to rush in and get it, but her limited knowledge of what they were up against kept her from doing something that suicidal.

The dragon had not moved at all towards Bitwolf. All it did was look at him and showed his teeth. He knew that the dragon, as angry towards him as it was, sensed what he was trying to do. The dragon was even more intelligent than he had heard. Before the dragon chose to lose interest in him, he took a slight step forwards and hollered towards the dragon. ?Come on, you stupid dragon, fight me!?

The Shadow Lord wrinkled its snout at him, but made no moves towards him. What was the deal with this dragon? What was it going to take to get it to attack him?

?Bitwolf, look out!? Astrid yelled.

Her warni

 

Great action sequence!

?I don?t know,? Hiccup admitted. ?He took a look at me on top of Toothless and vanished."

Strange and interesting...

 

Interesting that the Shadow Lord dragon got all confused like that...


Good chapter.

 

Very strange indeed....

The way I learned to write action scenes is by reading my favorite author, Brad Thor, and see how he writes his thrillers. I try to emulate his writing style. I don't necessarily try to sound like him.

The dragon does seem to be very intelligent. How long the dragon remains confused, who's to say.

 

Chapter 9: The Little White Lie

Bitwolf was now presented with a serious dilemma. Telling Ivar that the dragon was here could seriously jeopardize his father?s plan, but not telling him would raise suspicion with his ?friends?. Besides, one of them was no doubt going to brag about surviving an encounter with the mythical beast, so keeping this quiet was not an option.

The problem, now, was what to tell Ivar. Bitwolf had no doubt that they had survived because of Hiccup?s ability to control or communicate with dragons, but there was no way Ivar would accept that, and all the blame would shift onto him. That would make Hiccup a bigger threat to discover what his father was up to.

What was needed was a way to make Hiccup look bad in all of this, even in the eyes of Astrid and the others. So on the journey back, he inquired about what happened while he was unconscious. Whatever lie she told him, would have to be the lie he agreed with. At the very least, if the lie turned out to be poorly conceived, then all the blame would come crashing down on Berk?s young Vikings.

After hearing the explanation, he could not see anything that would hinder his father?s plans any more than what has already been done. Of course, his father would have to be the ultimate judge of how damaged the situation, actually, was; he had a better understanding of the plan that he had set forth, and he would be the one to be able to make any adjustments necessary. Being able to tell his father before going public with this would help limit any damage that Bitwolf could not see. When they arrived back to the village, however, that opportunity never came.

One of the very first Vikings they saw were Ivar and Wolfbane together as they entered the village. Seeing all of them soaked, muddy, and bruised, Ivar could instantly tell that something had happened. He ordered all of them into the dining hall to get out of the rain and to inform him what had happened. On the way to the dining hall, Bitwolf only had the opportunity to use his eyes to tell his father to embrace himself for some devastating news.

Now, inside the dining hall, Bitwolf?s nerves were even more on edge as the young Vikings were sat around a table and given a mug full of warm goat?s milk. Standing at the end of the table were Ivar, Wolfbane, Stoick, and Gobber. ?By the looks of it, you had quite an adventure this morning. Who wants to tell me what happened?? Ivar asked.

This was the moment he dreaded. If he did not tread carefully, his father would skin him alive. He looked over at the others, and he could see a smile of excitement on the faces of most of the gang. Astrid was the only one who remained solemn. She was always the one with the cool head. ?We were attacked by a dragon, sir. I'm fairly sure that it was a Shadow Lord.?

All the adult Vikings were shocked. Bitwolf could see a fire ignite in Ivar?s eyes. ?Are you certain of it, boy??

?Fairly certain; the dragon could turn itself invisible, and it fits the description down to the littlest detail.?

?Wow, they do exist! Just like those pesky trolls that keep stealing my left socks!? Gobber exclaimed.

?And how did you all survive??

Bitwolf grimaced in embarrassment. ?I think it will be better for Astrid to answer that. The dragon fooled me, and knocked me out with his tail.?

All the eyes pointed towards Astrid. ?We?re not quite sure what happened,? she replied. ?It could've been the thunder,? She admitted. Bitwolf gazed towards her, hoping and praying that she did not change her story to that. He prayed that she would keep to her original story. ?It also could've been Hiccup?s strange invention that scared it off. Either way, something spooked it, and it flew away.?

A wave of relief washed over Bitwolf, who looked over to see what his father?s reaction would be. He remained in character perfectly. He then looked over to Ivar to see him agitated by Astrid?s report. The Viking Chief then looked at him. ?Is this report correct? Did Hiccup have a strange looking weapon with him when you left here??

He could feel the pleadi

 

Why do I have a bad feeling about that hunting party?

I hope Toothless will be ok.

 

?I am fully aware of that. That girl that you like is a terrible liar. Someone will get word to the boy about the lie to cover his actions, forcing him to build a real device. What I need from you is to sabotage that weapon once it?s built. I will make sure that the expedition fails.?

Hmm... is young Bitwolf trying to get a girl? "that girl you like"? (Okay, maybe not, but this paragraph here is both when I started wincing and also started to chuckle. Stoick and this guy basically have the same plan, from different angles, and Hiccup is in the middle of it... oy.)


Good chapter.

 

Yeah, things are not looking so good for our heroes

Butler is a great actor; he can fit into almost any genre of film, and be great at it.

Yeah, he kind of is trying to get the girl, but only to get her away from Hiccup.


I will let you all know now, that next week there is a very good chance for two updates, One on Sunday or Monday and one on the normal Wednesday. This week, my creative juices have been on a role, so I've been able to do two chapters on my other story this week, and still have time to get one for this story by the end of the week. Since I did two chapters of my other story this week, next week will be this story's turn.

 

Chapter 10: Sabotage

Hiccup and Gobber stood there at Hiccup?s drawing board staring at a blank piece of paper. They have been there for at least an hour, as hiccup sought inspiration from his wild imagination. This device had to be something that was small enough for him to carry, but violent enough to ward off any predator, without actually killing them. That was one condition he had for this device. It had to look violent without actually being so. If something went awry with his father?s plan, he did not want any other Viking taking the device and using it to kill a dragon. If they were talking about the Shadow Lord, he did not have much to worry about in that aspect, but what if they encountered a smaller dragon? He could not take the chance of an innocent dragon ending up dead to cover up their lies.

?I don?t know about you, but I?m scared just looking it! Perhaps the Shadow Lord will be scared by looking at this, here, sheet of paper, as well,? Gobber said, using his dry humor to tell Hiccup that they need to get going on something.

Hiccup frowned. ?This isn?t as easy it looks? I?ve never had to come up with an idea?and build it?all on one night, you know? I need something inspiring? something to get the creative juices flowing.?

?How?s this for inspiring?if you don?t get this blasted contraption started, then Ivar is going to skin you alive.?

?Not helping!? Hiccup glowered.

The rainstorm, outside, was finally calming down, and a gentle breeze was left behind. A small gust of wind entered the shop, which caused the sheet of paper to flap. If He had not had it pinned down with a few rocks, it would have flown away. ?Ah, look, it moved.? Gobber said dryly as he pointed to the paper. ?Perhaps that?s inspiration for you.?

Hiccup gave him a look of frustration.

* * * *

Hiccup finished drawing out plans onto the sheet of paper. An idea had come to him like a bolt of lightning. The woods were scorched where they encountered the Shadow Lord, so perhaps he could use that to his advantage. ?Here it is,? Hiccup announced confidently.

?Wow, will you look at that! What is it??

?It?s kind of like a miniature catapult, but it will launch burning ammunition and should scare the dragon away.?
?I see,? Gobber replied. ?How do you plan on setting the ammunition on fire if your little doohickey is made of wood??

?Um?? Hiccup did not think about that.

?Otherwise, the concept seems flawless?if you don?t take into account that fire does not scare dragons. The beast breaths this stuff, for Odin?s sake.?

?Oh, yeah,? Hiccup mumbled. He took the plans that he drew out and crumbled it up. After throwing the crumpled paper onto the floor, he took out another blank piece of paper and re-commenced contemplating for ideas.

* * * *

Hiccup sketched out another idea that came to his mind. He drew out plans for a miniature version of his bola launcher. He estimated that it would end up being half the size of the original model. ?How about this!?

Gobber scratched his bearded chin with his finger tips as he looked at the great details that the boy had put into the sketch. ?Your full scale model is less than reliable; not to mention that you?re?all that!? He used his good hand to gesture to all of him. He was right, this was still going to be too heavy to carry along for long distance, and it invited his tendency to be clumsy to make another appearance at an inopportune time.

With that idea scratched, he drew out more plans for consideration. One by one, Gobber kept out pointing flaw after flaw with each of his ideas. The floor quickly began to be flooded with crumpled paper. With each plan that he scrapped, Hiccup became more and more frustrated. Most of the flaws usually had something to do with his lack of strength. "Oh, why did the gods curse me with such a pathetic body?"

"Cause they have a sense of humor," His dry humor once again reared its ugly head.

"Thank you, so very much for that!"

* * * *

Finally, an idea had come to Hiccup. He remembered that he and toothless had scratched the dragon during battle. So the we

 

?It?s kind of like a miniature catapult, but it will launch burning ammunition and should scare the dragon away.?
?I see,? Gobber replied. ?How do you plan on setting the ammunition on fire if your little doohickey is made of wood??



?Otherwise, the concept seems flawless?if you don?t take into account that fire does not scare dragons. The beast breaths this stuff, for Odin?s sake.?



This isn't going so well.


?They are more like pets, but none of that matters, right now; what does matter, is your job. I want you to hide out here overnight, and pick out one of the least intelligent dragons you find. Tomorrow morning, I want you to lure that dragon over to the other side of the village where we will be heading. This will make a perfect opportunity for Hiccup to test his weapon.?

IDIOTS!


Lying on the table next to the plans, was the actual weapon. There it was! He was more certain than ever that this was the weapon he was going to use tomorrow morning. This was going to work better than he or his father had planned.

Oh no!

 

Yeah, what do they know!

Yeah, this chapter was fun. I was waiting for the opportunity to put Gobber and Hiccup into a funny scene together.

You have to love his dry humor!

I have to give thanks to Mythbusters for the idea of the weapon, though they actually built an automatic machine arrow gun. I just shrunk it down.

 

I'm a little tardy because Mondays at work can be a madhouse...

?Yes, the dragon belongs to the boy. Stay clear from that beast, or it will, more than likely, try to protect the dragons with violence.?

So... smart idiot, but still an idiot...

Liked update, want more.

 

Another update coming by Midnight tomorrow!

 

Chapter 11: Dragon Hunt

The sun was starting to rise, which meant it was time for Wolfbane?s friends, Bonetoss and Snakewhisp, to start luring a dragon towards the other side of the Island. Bonetoss sneaked through the surrounding forest until he could reach a part of the stream without being seen by the dragons. Bringing only a spear with him, he waited at the bank until he could see a large trout swimming through his strike zone. Using his superb fishing skills, he jabbed his spear through the fish and pulled his catch out of the water.

Now that the bait had been caught, they were ready to look for a dragon. The dragons were just starting to wake up, and the first thing they were going to look for was food. They took a minute to watch the behaviors of all the dragons to determine which one was the least intelligent. They came to a decision to set the bait for a Gronckle.

The unsuspecting dragon snorted and grunted as it sniffed through the grass. His small wings flapped similarly to a hummingbird, which allowed his over-sized body to hover over the grass. The morning dew dampened his nose as he sniffed around, which occasionally resulted with a sneeze. The tantalizing smell of fish grabbed his attention, and he began to follow the smell to what he hoped would be his morning meal.

He found the fish right on the edge of the forest, just laying there, enticing the chubby dragon to eat it. Letting out an excited snarl, he flew awkwardly towards the fish. Just as he was about to gobble the fish up, it moved closer to the forest. Thinking nothing of it, he was willing to fly the few extra feet to his breakfast. The fish moved once again, and this time into the forest.

Bonetoss and Snakewhisp chuckled at the humorous sight. ?Hehehe, stupid dragon!? Bonetoss whispered to his pal who was behind him.

When he looked back around, the fish was gone. The two dumbfounded Vikings looked up to see the Gronckle finish off his free meal and then look straight at the two of them. ?Wh-wh-what are the dragon?s weaknesses? I forgot!?

?I don?t remember!? Snakewhisp snapped.

The two petrified Vikings stood still as the Gronckle sniffed them. After a few seconds of sniffing, the dragon let out a playful groan; and if the Vikings did not know better, the dragon was also smiling.

?Uh, come this way! We?ll take you to some more food!? The two Vikings cautiously stepped backwards, encouraging the dragon to follow.

The dragon was more than willing to follow. After having a nice sized fish digesting in his belly, he was all for some playing with these nice Vikings. He followed the Vikings into the forest. Most dragons would not be able to maneuver through the thickness of the forest, but luckily, the Gronckle was known for its maneuverability.

Further in the field, Toothless let out a giant yawn, waking up from a very restful sleep. His leg was a little tender, but it would not affect his walking. He looked around to make sure everything was at peace. Most of the dragons were just waking up as well, but over by the edge of the forest, he noticed a Gronckle playfully following after two Vikings into the forest. He let out a curious moan and tilted his head, wondering what was going on.

Stranding and stretching his legs and back, he decided to follow them to see what was going on. Perhaps, the time had come for them to return to the village. If that was where they were going, he decided that he would give Hiccup a big surprise. The only problem was that he could not follow directly behind them; the trees were too close together for him to fit through. He decided to take another path; one where he would be able to walk through and keep an eye out on the Vikings and the Gronckle without being seen himself.

* * * *

Hiccup?s heart was racing in his chest. Every nerve in his body was on edge as he dragged his feet towards the edge of the village, where he was to meet with Ivar and the hunting party. He began to question this whole plan, and doubt began to creep into his soul, whether or not this weapon was going to work. It felt like h

 

There's a sort of hilarious irony to Wolfsbane ending up with a bloody nose due to crossbow malfunction...


Good update.

 

They came to a decision to set the bait for a Gronckle.

Hey, I like Gronckle.

Yeah, that was funny!

Of course, it would probably mean that Hiccup will be in trouble.