Chapter 1: Introduction

Twenty years.

Twenty years have passed since the dragons left.

Ten years since he last saw his best friend.

Hiccup stood at the place where the dragons had departed to the Hidden World, lost in his thoughts. He appreciated having this much free time. The last two weeks have been filled with so many things that he barely had time to rest. There was the peace treaty signing with the Berserkers and the Outcasts, and by some coincidence both tribes decided to visit Berk within the same week. Each signing took up three days of his time, and each day was very draining for him. Dagur had brought Mala with him for the first day, and they had spent that day on a tour of Berk. In the wee hours of the morning on the second day however, a ship from Berserker Island had arrived. The messenger on the ship told Dagur that there was some urgent issue on Berserker Island, and Dagur had sent their new chieftess Mala back on that ship, leaving Dagur alone on New Berk with the Berserker elders. Dagur was obviously unhappy and stressed about the whole situation since he had to remain on Berk, and so he had called Hiccup to join him in hunting some wild animals in the forests, which took up the entire day and all of his energy. The third day required Hiccup to wake up early to negotiate the terms of the treaty and sign it, and then the Berserkers had left late in the night. Immediately the next day the Outcasts arrived. Unlike the Berserkers who visited often, this was the first time that the Outcasts visited, and so Hiccup had given them a tour of New Berk for the first two days, while the third was spent negotiating and signing the treaty. Once the Outcasts left however, there was an outbreak of eel pox, and Hiccup's 18-year-old daughter, Zephyr, was one of those affected, and Hiccup and Astrid had taken care of her day and night until the Berkians sent to fetch the ingredients for the cure returned. This left him with a huge backlog of work, which he spent every day doing to complete. Settling disputes, dealing with numerous contracts, signing papers…

This train of thought reminded Hiccup of the new tribe that wanted to sign a treaty.

Hiccup let out a sigh. He had to leave tomorrow if he wanted to reach the tribe by the stipulated date. This was the only time that he had to enjoy and he had allowed himself to think of all his work in the last two weeks.

The cool wind continued to blow through his auburn hair. He closed his eyes. Trying to distract himself from all his commitments, he let his mind wander back to the day that the dragons left New Berk on this very spot. He had realised that peace between humans and dragons was not possible at the moment, and he had made the painful decision to allow his best friend to leave to the Hidden World with his mate. He recalled the sadness in his heart as he removed Toothless' saddle for the last time. The pain visible in both his eyes and Toothless' eyes, but despite this they both understood why this had to be done. The Berkians had followed suit, removing the saddles from their respective dragons and allowing them to fly away freely. Hiccup recalled looking around at his tribe, all with sadness in their eyes as they said their final farewells, before Toothless and the Light Fury led the dragons away to the Hidden World.

Secretly though, he hoped that that was not the end, that one day all humans will be able to live in peace with the dragons, and when that time comes, he will return to the Hidden World to call Toothless and the dragons to return to Berk, or rather New Berk. His people will then be able to live their lives like how it was for six years, and their children will finally be able to know the dragons and enjoy their lives with the dragons by their side.

Hiccup's thoughts returned to the present. The dragons had left twenty years ago. Time has really flown by since then. He has been preoccupied with building New Berk, and tending to the needs of the villagers. After that, he had been preoccupied with his chiefing duties to think about the dragons returning. Away from his chiefing duties, his personal life has been great. He had married Astrid a few months later, and had Zephyr about a year and a half later. Just two years later, Nuffink was born. Six years after that, they went to visit Toothless and the dragons at the Hidden World. The thrill of being back on Toothless' back came back to his memories, and he smiled at the recollection. The feeling of the wind blowing through his hair, with his kids in front of him smiling and laughing along with him helped to calm him down and made him happy.

All this felt like yesterday, yet it has already been ten years since then. Zephyr is already 18 years old, and is betrothed to Smitelout, the 18-year-old son of Snotlout and Minden, who married about a year after Hiccup and Astrid. With the dragons gone, the Wingmaidens had settled in Berk, and Snotlout and Minden had married shortly after Hiccup and Astrid. Nuffink is turning 16, and has yet to get together with someone. Hiccup did notice that he did seem to take a liking to Erica, the daughter of Fishlegs and Heather. Fishlegs and Heather married about two years after Hiccup and Astrid. Heather moved to Berk, while Dagur had stayed on Berserker Island. With their Great Protector gone, the Defenders of the Wing had moved to Berserker Island as well. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were still their typical, prank-loving selves. Ruff was dating Eret for a while, but eventually Ruff chose to stick by Tuff's side for the rest of their lives, and Eret had accepted her decision. They remained as close friends, and to this day they still hang out and chat as though they were still together.

Hiccup looked up at the sky, trying to estimate the time. He guessed that he has been sitting here for about two hours lost in his thoughts. With a smile, he let out a contented sigh. He really needed this moment. 'But all good things come to an early end,' he thought to himself. He had to wake up early tomorrow to leave for the peace treaty signing. With this, he rose to leave for home.