Honestly surprised I haven't written a review on any of your works until now. I greatly enjoy your stories, they are always
riddled with details and connections in a way that is subtle and natural; sometimes I dont even catch them all until my second readthrough. Your approach to writing character development and character interaction is something I can only aspire to do. As writing characters to be complex and real while applying development in a way that flows consistently & naturally is what I struggle with most when writing.

I know its not Viggo, he would not be so foolish as to leave his stronghold when Drago was clearly not part of his invading army. It either has to be Valka or Ryker. Valka who was probably sent to investigate why Drago sent a bewilderbeast her way and to investigate/strike back against Viggo who was weakened by the attack. But this assumption is only likely if a suitable amount of time has passed and I'm not too good at keeping track of time passage in your stories. It's more likely that its Ryker, who is on one of the ships at his brother's orders to watch over their fleet.

If it is Valka then its going to be an awkward reunion to find out her son, tainted by dark magic and currently on a quest for revenge, which she might not like how it has warped and broken him regardless if its against one of her sworn enemies. And given Ember's current state of mind he might not be so forgiving toward her upon finding out she was alive for the past sixteen years and essentially abandoned her tribe, and him and Stoick. At most he'll agree to work with her to take down Viggo and Ryker before going back to killing himself. By the way I still don't get why he just lets himself waste away and starve to death rather then just slitting his throat, stabbing his heart or drinking something poisonous. The only reason I could come up with is that he wants his death to slow and painful as penance for what he did.

In this AU Ember has to find out about Grimmel in some way, otherwise whether or not his kills himself the nightfury hunter will prey on the remaining furies and cause a lot more death before he is ultimately taken down. Their biggest advantage would be to use Valka's bewilderbeast to fight Grimmel's alliance. That has to be the reason that your story has the benevolent king living so as to fight against Grimmel later on. Even if Ember went against his rule of taking bodies he'd be hard pressed to kill the man. Even more so in this AU divergence from the main tale as he has less furies to help him; Pearl, Storm and Second can only do so much.

I am glad that Second and Storm are being friendly to each other. Though it was uncalled for someone needed to tell that to Storm as she was taking out all her anger on everyone else, and that's just not cool or fair.

Also I hate the fact that they are calling him Second. They should give him a new name of his own choosing, I think it will help him break free of his horrible old life under Drago if he casts it aside. I mean name sort of implies servitude in being under someone. Please have him get a new name before this side story is done with, don't give it to him at the very end.

Well, interesting shift of Second's eventual turn against Drago. So now they'll be stuck with him for a few weeks/months until he is flightworthy again. Storm is not happy.
Taking out Viggo's organization will probably take a lot longer than a mere infiltration. Not having a rampaging Bewilderbeast will change any eventual battle sequence, though I wonder if there will be one at all. Ember once mentioned that he could probably take out an entire island on his own if he focused only on that. Maybe he will get a chance after all.

I suppose it is a relief that this didn't go the 'Drago is special and lingers on in Ember's mind' route.
Hmm, I'm not sure why it matters that Ember didn't order new Second to destroy the fleet and kill all the men. The reason he didn't order that attack was practical. Sending them to destroy as much of Viggo's forces as possible has obvious utilitarian value, since doing that softens up the remaining force in the world. I guess I don't see the moral difference between ordering them to death in combat with Viggo compared to wiping them out then and there. Drago's men obeyed, so they are guilty, but he gave the order which was obeyed, so he also shares the guilt. Ostensibly it is for the greater good by taking out that other power in the world, but... wasn't 'the greater good which she knew better than everyone else' one of Vithvarandi's justifications?
How to deal with Second/Third? He is loyalish, so maybe a testing of his loyalty? Drago already tried to cross him and Storm, which he had always refused for some reason. That's another detail I don't get about him. Why, of all matters to be defiant over, did he care about that? Maybe that was explored somewhere I've forgotten.

Well, this is going to be a very dismal mini-series, given that Beryl, Spark, Herb, and Thorn are all gone. What might happen... Drago might be unnatural enough that he could have 'taken over' even in death, Second is still an unknown force, the Bewilderbeast is out there (and I forget if it has any power over human forms), and Viggo needs to be neutralized. Oh, Valka is still an unknown who doesn't get identified this way, as far as I can recall. Beyond taking out Viggo... really not sure where they would go then. The Light Fury pack and the Sanctuary nest seem like the most likely places.

It was kind of a no brainer not to give Storm any authority over Second. I wouldn't trust her with any kind of authority all given her personality and the fact that she is still using her anger to avoid accepting the fact that she is to blame for the family's death, not Ember. Well a little of the blame goes to Ember for thinking they could hide near Viggo's island and not get caught after seeing Viggo's defenses. Storm does seem less spiteful and angry at Ember but only because they are both a little happy to be getting revenge.

Personally I prefer in getting justice rather vengeance. Normally that would mean locking them up and throwing away the key but Drago, Viggo and Ryker are too dangerous to be kept alive. So I think justice is this case is taking them out to protect dragons and keep them from taking over the world. Ember does consider that in his thoughts, but it has always been second to the first priority of getting revenge. Also in regards to the deserve or not deserve issues Embers been forced to face I like to follow Wonder Woman's idealogy, that it isn't about deserve, it's about what one believes. And I for one like to believe in love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness...if it can be helped.

They are going to have a tough time taking down Viggo and Ryker. Even though Ember sent an army his way it was lacking the bewilderbeast, meaning casualties are going to be one sided on Drago's forces. Viggo is a brilliant tactician who knows how to mitigate losses while causing damage to his enemies. The four of them are going to need a lot of dumb luck to pull it off without someone dying. Second might still die in this story so I'm not getting too attached to him. There is also the dark possiblity that in order to take down Viggo Ember might have to sacrifice his own life to do so, which he might consider in the moment as his revenge would be complete and he'd get to pass on at the same time.

Well I think at the end there Ember upon shifting through Drago's memories learned of the bewilderbeast and knocked out Pearl so she wouldn't be brainwashed. Storm, thanks to her recklessness and underestimation of Drago already got herself knocked out. Most likely in the next chapter he'll try to use Drago's form to order his men to take them out of the mountain and to his ship, planning to sail away before the Bewilderbeast realizes his deception. As for Second Ember may very well just be forced to leave him there. His whole plan was to get in, kill Drago, and get out and his newly acquired memories prove that is what they need to do right away. Delaying to go and kill Second is an unnecessary risk in this situation.

Things are never easy in your stories of this universe or go the way the characters plan. And this run in and kill plan of Ember's was only possible thanks in part to his dark powers which have let him live through like half a dozen situations where he should have died. It's actually beginning to become quite irksome, but I will bear with it throughout this divergence.

Well, I wasn’t expecting that we’d get to see this side of things, but I can’t say I’m disappointed! It will be interesting to see how (or even if) the trio manages to pull the hot mess that is Ember’s emotional state back together. Given our foreknowledge of how things play out in When Nothing Remains, a lot of creative solutions will be required to fill in the gaps left by our absent characters, and I’m looking forward to seeing that play out.

And as for the ending of this chapter… there are a lot of possible explanations. An optimistic reader might infer by his strange behavior that Ember picked up either a memory or some information indicating that he needed to play the role of Drago for the time being. He seemed to be listening to something at the end there…

A more cynical reader, however, would suspect that Drago had somehow gained a foothold within Ember’s unique psyche. There isn’t really a precedent for a form taken beyond the first one gaining any real influence over the host, but Drago has demonstrated a special flavor of willfulness, so who knows. There is also the possibility that the ‘new’ second is somehow involved.

Whatever the case, I’m greatly looking forward to seeing where this version of events will lead us!

I like that Ivy lives and both Lily and Root are uninjured as well as Root being alpha and not Lily (those of you who have read the latest two chapters of UotD will understand my dislike of Lily as alpha).

I do not like that Ember broke his promise to stop using his power to masquerade as others for personal gain and manipulation, even if he did do it for a better reason than the last time. But the reason that infuriates me beyond the ones he gave Beryl when he made it is that my oc and a few of his followers have the ability to shapeshift. While they enjoy turning into others to walk in their shoes from time to time they have an unspoken rule about never using it to assume that person's identity. They do not think such manipulation is at all right. If they were aware of this AU in the multiverse my OC would have send one of his four followers to confront Ember and take away his ability to steal bodies, but in light of his good intentions leave him with the power to switch between his human and night fury form. Also so Pearl could still be mates with him.

Gotta say, u fooled me Till the big reveal. And yes i think most we're Just as confused as Lily was. Yes this is an ending i would have preferred over how its written originally, but, i guess i should Just wait how the real UotD plays Out. Definetly my favourite of the 6

Man this chapter is incredibly sad, at least to me. In my opinion it would have been a good idea to put this at the end of book 1 as a deleted scene, because it expands Pyre's character, even though it's not cannon. But i could be wrong.

I got tears in my eyes at the end of this.

Za naše padlé!

This was certainly more lighthearted than the other two shorts. Man i should have started reviewing your works sooner. But i probably won't in the future, too, because i have the memory card of a goldfish inside me. Anyways, i absolutely love your stories and it brightens my day whenever you update any of your stories!

i've wondered what happened to Storms promise, this is a really good explanation!

Man i really wish Second could have been saved somehow. But there can't be good endings for everyone. Now that i think about, Second had it worse than Lily. But wait, why calling him second feels so wrong? I have to find a better name for him.

Ooh, this is a nice surprise. An interesting challenge you've given yourself with a minor plot and characterisation, this should be interesting. It'll be good to "see" everyone again too.

It's interesting the age thing came up, I had actually been thinking that Ember is Pearl's senior by some fifty five years, which probably isn't far off how long his human body has left in it, conveniently aligning his lifespan with that of his mate. It's so convenient, I assume it's intentional.

Hmmm, slightly different proportions that the casual observer wouldn't notice... Intriguing...

Pearl has the right idea. "If you want me to be still for an indeterminate amount of time, I'm getting comfortable" lmao

Oh, wow, and you caught me totally off-guard at the end of her bit xD Ember's reaction was priceless. Well played.

Ah, nothing like children to pack the weight on xP which is odd, given how much energy they consume just by being in the room... Poor Storm x3 all of the responsibility with only half the benefits.

A glimpse at the light wing fledglings, very sweet. I'm really appreciating that this isn't just listing their features, even when it's doing exactly that.

Got a kick out of Ember giving his old maner, dragona boost to his dignity xD and remembering his dam so reverently, a great touch.

I can imagine Storm being simultaneously proud and disgusted with her work on Pearl xD

Speaking of images, I'm getting another kick out of thinking of Ember drawing while a comparatively huge light wing leans over his shoulder.

Wow, this has to be the most engaging and interesting character bio sheet I've ever read. Well, that I've ever started readingI think it's the first I've ever finished, so thank you for a new experience there.