The Kraken Lords

Prologue (3 months after the events of "Vikings of Berk: The Alpha Dragons".)

Evening, in the Great Hall of The Kraken Lords,

The Hall was loud, and full of activity; not that you could hear much of what was being done, or said. The high- table was the most 'controlled' part of the cavernous room; each man seated there bore the title Kraken Lord. There were thirteen, in total; six seated to each side of the High Kraken.

The rest of the hall was 'chaotic' at best: Long benches of men, all of them taking turns tormenting the serving women – who ranged in age from their mid-teens to mid-twenties. None of them dared to fight back too vigorously, and the only rule was that no harm – beyond the occasional scrape or bruise, could be inflicted on them.

The 'serving women' were prisoners; hostages; held on the most heavily- fortified of the Iron Islands to ensure their fathers' "good behavior", after each of their tribes had been first conquered, and than subjugated by the Krakens' Armada.

With every conquest, their numbers would grow – at least: the numbers they controlled would grow. None of the 'new recruits' were anywhere close to being 'willing' recruits.
"The Kraken can never have too many arms," the conquering Kraken Lord would always say, after a fresh victory, "Serve us, and they live."
'They' always meant the hostages The Kraken Lords took; wives, daughters… anyone too young, or too old, to fight for The Kraken Lords.

Even the notorious Drago Bludvist hadn't been able to overthrow The Kraken Lords. He'd tried, of course; but once he learned that the Kraken Lords elected their leader from among themselves whenever the old one died, and would abandon the current leader the moment he showed weakness; by subjugating himself to a foreign 'overlord', for instance; he would quickly be abandoned by his former- subjects.

Finally, Drago and the Kraken Lords had come to a 'deal', of sorts: The Kraken Lords would support Drago's conquests; providing ships, and 'loyal men', to help him keep his other 'followers' in line.
Drago, meanwhile, would be declared an 'honorary' Kraken- Lord: He could command the men they 'gave' him, but no more; he could sit- in on The Council, but he couldn't vote on the matters discussed unless they related directly to him.
Drago hadn't been 'overly pleased' with their initial agreement; but it had been forged during the 'early days' of his 'career', and he had little bargaining power – at the time.

Drago had accepted on the sole condition that he could "renegotiate their agreement" as his position grew stronger, and – if his strength became sufficient, one day become a full- member of The Kraken's Council.

That night's feast began as it always had. About an hour in, however, something unusual happened: Two men hurried into the hall, talking in low voices, than falling silent, as they reached the benches furthest from the head of the hall.

That, by itself, was unusual: If they brought news of another victory, they would have shouted for silence, and bellowed their news for all to hear. It was not uncommon for such a thing to happen, and three of the seats at the High- Table were empty.

By the time the two new- arrivals reached the head of the hall, most of the noise in the hall had diminished, leaving the hall unnaturally quiet. The two men bowed in unison, then the one on the left, the elder of the two, said, "My Lords; we bring word of Drago."

One of the Lords, the one to the High- Lord's right, snorted. "Humph; Wants to 'renegotiate' our agreement again, does he?"

The Lord two seats down rolled his eyes, "If it'll stop his going on about 'the Archipelagos this, and the Archipelagos that' let him! How long till he gets here?"

The two men exchanged a nervous look, than the man on the right said, "My… My Lords; Drago… Drago did not return."
The Lord who'd asked the question froze, a chicken leg halfway to his mouth; The Lord who'd spoken first, and was about to stab another piece of meat on his dagger, looked up so fast his blade veered off course, and embedded itself in the table… The silence in the hall became absolute.

The High- Lord's expression was unreadable, "What is the source of this information; and what, exactly, did they say happened?"

The man on the left spoke first, "Thirty of Drago's ships returned south; claiming to be all that remains of the fleet Drago took north… They say they found the nest of the Northern- Alpha; Drago's beast killed it, and seized control of the Northern Dragons."

While the first man paused to draw breath, the second man continued, "They say that they encountered a group of dragon- riders… That there's an entire island of them in the north; humans and dragons living together!"

"When Drago found out, he ordered his fleet to set course for Berk – the island these… these… dragon- riders came from." The first man said, when the other paused. "Drago ordered the fleet to rendezvous with him there; but, when they tried to approach the island, they were besieged by a battalion of Night- Furies!"

"It was a total rout; they were no match!" The second man said, in a rush. "Then there's the boy…"

The High- Lord frowned, "Boy? What boy?"

The two men began speaking at the same moment, stopped to let the other speak, than resumed again – both at the same time.

"Stop!" The High- Lord pointed at the man on the left, the older of the two. "You speak; what boy?"

Both men bowed, and the man the High- Lord had indicated said, "The son of Berks' Chief; Drago's men said his name's Hiccup…"
A gale of laughter filled the hall at this piece of news, but one look from the High- Lord quickly stifled it. He gestured to the man before him to continue.

The man bowed again; and resumed his account, "One of the other riders called him 'Dragon- Master'; Drago's men say they saw Drago's monster- dragon fleeing from Berk… And the boy, Hiccup; W-Witnesses say he … he rides a Night- Fury!"

For the next ten minutes, the High- Lord asked pointed questions until the men said that they had relayed all that they knew. Once they had, the High- Lord dismissed them, and the two messengers hurried away.
Then the assembled Kraken- Lords conferred amongst themselves for close to five minutes, while the hall filled with low mutters.

When the High- Lord rose to his feet, however, the hall again fell silent. "These… dragon- riders are a threat, and they must be dealt with: We move North in-force! These northerners would not expect another attack from the south so soon after Drago's – and our… 'Method' has always served us well; it shall again!"

Everyone in the hall immediately leapt to their feet; rushing to fulfill the High- Lord's orders. Off to one side, several of the serving- girls were talking amongst themselves. Their expressions were a combination of awe, uncertainty, and sympathy; they knew, all too well, about the Kraken Lords' "method".

To Be Continued…