Riders Tale of Titans

I

I am Alia Stevenson. My uncle Hiccup probably mentioned you earlier...if you don't remember I was the teenager in the Great Hall sitting on one of the beams above the people. I've always wanted to leave New Berk, not forever, but, on like a vacation or something. Maybe visit the Hooligan island, where my people originated, on the Isle of Berk.

When Hiccup said something about my father, whom I have never even laid eyes on, haven't even really heard stories about him, my world changed. When he started talking about Dragon Riders, it was a whole lot different though. Not until I saw the StarWing sitting next to my uncle did I even know that dragons existed. I thought it was just, you know, folklore.

And now I'm on a ship, sailing to Thor knows where, to find my father. He was supposed to be dead, but as most of my relationship with him, I have no clue how that happened. Honestly it just felt like a whisper whenever someone said his name. It sounded kinda, I don't really have words for it, but out of the ordinary. As if there was something special about him.

My mother, Stella Stevenson is a hardworking viking widow, who worries about the wellbeing of others, before that of her own. I'm the only reason she's really, still here. My grandmother Valka, and aunt Astrid say that once there was a different woman inside her body. An energetic, smart, brave, independent teenager. I've never seen any of these traits, all I'd seen for the past fifteen years was just an empty sack really, who was dependant on her teenage daughter.

There aren't many other teenagers on New Berk, well, other girls really. It's just boys that want to...nevermind, you get what I mean. My aunt Astrid is really the closest thing I have to a best friend on the island. Me and her spend so much time together (when I'm not taking care of my mother, that is), we hunt, spar, fish. We even imagine what we'd make the world like if we were gods. She told me these words, "I want the gifts of my generation, to be yours. All of yours." I don't understand what she meant by this. I don't know if I ever will.

"We're approaching the Nine Island border!" I heard my uncle yell. He was at the bow, a map in his hands. My aunt walked up to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She wore her blonde hair back, showing her headband she always wore. Hiccup gently grabbed her head, and placed her forehead against his.

I looked away as they kissed, but it was a short one. Curiosity got the best of me, and I walked over to my other aunt, Hope. Her brown hair was also tied back, and I could see both her green eyes. She wore a pair of denim pants, and a shirt made of yak hide. She greeted me with a smile.

"I'm guessing Mom's downstairs," I said, and was answered with a slight nod. She drew a deep breath, and let it out lightly.

"We are all stressed out about this," she told me. "It's been near sixteen years since we last saw him. Everyone believed him to be dead. Your mother, is taking this worse than all of us. She was left pregnant, and alone after James left us. The dragon you saw, back on New Berk, that was Starfire...your father's dragon."

"Tell me about them," I whispered, and Hope flashed me a glance.

"What?"

"The dragons," I said again, "tell me about the dragons."

Once again, Hope drew in a breath. But it wasn't a stressful one. It was more like someone preparing to tell a tale, one from memory, not from tongue.

"No one knows were the first dragon was born," she began, "no one even knows how they came to be. All we do know is that they were here long before man, before even the gods maybe. Here in the Nine Island Archipelago, dragons once flourished. No one knows why, or when they started to disappear.

"As far as we know, an orc caused their near collapse," she continued, "Dragnier was consumed by darkness, he didn't have a reason to kill the dragons, he just seemed to enjoy it. Him and his dragon, Draer-serp obliterated dragons until only four still existed. They were extinct to most in the Nine Islands."

"My brother, your father, James kept hidden a dragon on Croise," she explained, "for four and a half years and no one knew about her until the village was attacked, and destroyed. Many people died that night, if it wasn't for James and Starfire we probably all would've. In the end James killed Dragnier, and Draer-serp fell. But his best friend, Elva was killed in the conflict as well. She was the Rider of Juniper, and I took her place when she parted."

"So you were a Dragon Rider as well?" I asked. She gave me a nod. I waited a couple of moments for the information to sink in, then asked one more question, "what about the dragons from where I was born?"

Hope looked me in the eyes, her expression looked almost dumbfounded. "I don't really know about them," she told me, "ask Hiccup or Astrid. Even Valka could help you." She got up, and retreated below decks, leaving me flabbergasted, and curious.

A noise suddenly entered my ears, ever so faint I thought that it was part of my imagination. But as it grew louder and louder I knew that we were approaching something huge. I ran to the bow of the ship where Hiccup and Astrid stood, and I waited until the sound was almost deafening.

"What is that," I heard someone ask. I was also asking it in my head, but after a moment I knew what it was. I looked up into the sky, and saw a thick blanket of clouds.

"Oh my gods," Hiccup gasped.

Hope suddenly emerged from beneath the ship, and walked up behind the three of us. She set her hand on Astrid and Hiccup's shoulders. "That, my brother and sister, is Heaven's Gate...the upside-down waterfall," she looked at me, and gave me a wink. "Only a dragon can reach the top."

"Really?" I heard Tuffnut cry.

His twin sister Ruffnut followed soon afterward, "shouldn't we have gone, and gotten our dragons before we came here?" she asked.

"For the first time, Ruff actually makes sense!" Snotlout yelled, "What's the point in starting a revolution to save our dragons, with our dragons, without our DRAGONS!"

"Oh my gods," Hiccup said, and put his hands over his face. He pointed at the sky, and as if on cue, Starfire landed on the ship. "We have a dragon with us. All we need is someone to go with her, to find James, or Darman, or someone who can help us."

"Can you hear yourself," Snotlout continued, "you sound the same way you did, when you first separated with Toothless. Desperate, D-E-S-perate."

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked.

"When you first separated with Toothless, you were desperate to get him back, no matter what it took," Snotlout said, "and now, your desperate to find a way to get up there, and find James-"

"Oh my gods Snotlout-"

"I'll go," I blurted, and everyone stopped and looked at me. I watched as my mother came above deck to see what was going on. I suddenly had the urge to jump off the boat, so what if I couldn't swim.

"You can't go," Hiccup told me, "I appreciate the offer, but you've never met James. He doesn't even know who you are-"

"Hey Hiccup-" Fishlegs tried, but Hiccup raised his hand.

"Not now Fishlegs," he said, and tried to continue, but Fishlegs interrupted once more.

"Hiccup, Starfire's gone," the big man told him, and Hiccup lost his focus on me, and looked around. Then his eyes fell on Hope, who was smiling.

"What is it?" he asked, confused.

"Oh nothing," she laughed, "you remember the main difference between our dragons, and your dragons, right?"

"No, why," Hiccup smacked himself in the forehead in realization, "the dragons can talk," he muttered.

As everyone laughed, and made fun of Hiccup, I couldn't help but stare up the waterfall. So many questions ran through my head, what is it like up there? Was of course one of them. But my main thought, was I finally going to meet my father.