Home-Bound: The Beginnings (HTTYD)

16 - Sparks and Bolts

"Jay!" Luneah called, entering the small room in the back of the smithy that they had dedicated to their tinkering projects. "I brought Hiccup! Figured some extra minds would be beneficial."

"Sounds great! What have you come up with, so far, Luna?" Jeysannia asked, laying out a large sheet of paper over the table.

"Nothing much," Luneah took a pencil and began doodling in one of the corners. "I was thinking of some way to harness the sun's energy and use it at night, but I haven't figured it out yet."

Jeysannia nodded. "I haven't thought of anything yet, either. What about you, guys?"

Allen and Elise both shook their heads.

"I think my idea is pretty great," Hiccup shrugged. 

"What? What is it?"

Hiccup looked around the small room. "Do you have any copper wires here?"

"Yeah— just—" Jeysannia stood up and opened one of the drawers against the wall. "Here," she held out a large coil of thin wires. "Should this be enough?"

"Perfect," Hiccup took the wire and uncoiled a small bit of it. "I'll show you something that Trader Johann showed me— he's uh... this one guy that would come to my island a few times a year."

Hiccup then took a small piece of iron and moved it in a circle around the metal coil. "This iron is called a magnet. Electricity is attracted to the magnet. Look." He pointed to the end of the coil, which was now heating up and glowing a yellowish color. The light slowly ate away at the coil. "The electricity flows all the way through the coil, and burns in the places where the copper is really thin like the cut end of the wire."

"If we take... a glass jar, the fire won't be able to burn but the light will stay," he demonstrated by placing the jar over the end of the coil and pressing the top of the jar tightly against the desk, creating an airtight seal. "And if we just make a contraption to find more of this 'electricity', and something to keep the magnet moving, we'll be able to spread this all around the place."

Luneah watched the small yellow light intently, a smile growing on her face. "Hiccup... you're a genius!"

"I have to hand it to you, Hiccup," Allen nodded his head in approval, "This is almost as good as Jeysannia's sewer system last year. It just needs a few improvements. I'll start practicing my glassblowing so I can make custom bulbs for you. I think we have something good here."

Elise smiled and drew a detailed contraption on the piece of paper. "Look! We could use something like the mill to keep the magnet moving. We'll use water to turn a wheel and the wheel will be connected to the magnet, which will follow the path of the coil. If we have a few of these spread evenly throughout the city, we'll be able to provide light to all major roads and squares during the night. And soon, with a few more improvements, all the households will have access to light."

Jeysannia took the magnet from Hiccup, holding it in her hand. "Magnet, huh?" She then tossed it at the tool wall, and the stone attached itself to one of the swords that hung on the wall.

"Hold on! I was taught how to make this a few years ago! We called them 'magic rocks'. I can make you a more powerful version of this, Hiccup."

"Great," Luneah shot up from her seat, going to the corner and pulling a large roll of paper from a large collection. She opened the scroll, laying it out on the table over their sketches. It was a map of the entire island. "There are two major rivers here and here," she traced two lines down the island with her finger. "A lot of the major markets and squares run along these rivers. We'll be able to use certain locations to our advantage."

Allen used a pencil and circled one area on the map. "This is an abandoned leather tanning factory. They were right on the river. We could take the old structure down and then build the mill in its place."

"We could also try and use the sea to our advantage..." Elise bit on her lip as she thought. "The tides are powerful at Dana's Cove... maybe if we set one up there, the training area will be lit. We'll have to wire it up a steep cliff, but it's worth it. The amount of fire the arena needs every day is kind of overwhelming."

"Sounds good," Jeysannia marked that spot on the map, too. "The rocks there are sturdy, too. I don't think we'll be at too big of a risk for any erosion."

"We could do the same up on the mountains, but with the wind...?" Luneah suggested.

"Good idea!" Hiccup exclaimed. "The winds are pretty much constantly blowing from the northwest. The mountains filter the wind up and to the peaks. If we could harness that the same way we do with water, we'll be set!"

Jeysannia put a large X on the highest peak of Isunder. "Guys..."

All the teens in the room turned to her.

"I think we have a really good plan."

"Hiccup! You made this?" Jeysannia gaped, staring up at the contraption.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I used over a thousand feet of rope and a couple wooden boards that were salvaged from the old steps."

She touched the rope, careful not to get rope burn. "But how did you get it to move?"

"I used a water mill, and the water in the wood moves it. The mill is attached to pillars that are holding up the ropes."

Luneah added, "And he figured it all out in less than a week!"

"Hiccup! This is a technological feat I've never even thought of!" Jeysannia gasped.

"D-do you wanna try the elevator out?"

She turned around, looking hopeful. "Can I?"

"Of course!"

She stepped on the next board, and held tightly onto the rope. Hiccup and Luneah stepped on the one right below her, and stared at the hollow interior.

They rode to the top floor in a matter of minutes, and stepped off right as the last level came into view.

"That was amazing!" They heard Jay call from inside Luneah's room... Er, corner...

"Thanks!" They walked around the center to the opposite side where Jay was. They caught her documenting the trip in a diary of her inventions, briefly describing how everything worked. The book shut with a snap, and Jeysannia stood up from her seat at Luna's bed.

Jay started pacing the floor in front of Hiccup and Luneah. "This is amazing! Hiccup, your mind is coming up with things Roman Engineers couldn't even dream of!"

"Roman?"

"Yes! They tried to create a machine like yours that would pull people up in a vertical line! They never succeeded!"

"So, you're telling me that this treehouse is more technologically advanced than the Romans?"

Jay snorted. "I never said that."

A/N: The electricity-maker is a simplified version of an actual generator that uses copper coils and magnets. Any inaccuracies were just because I was too lazy to explain how it actually works...