Chapter 7

Evil Plot

"So, you seek to enter the shrine?" The Aloceenian ruler asked out loud to the group seated at the large wooden table. Hiccup, Astrid, their closest friends, Ivan, the captain of their escort, and Aria were seated at the table with him. Having finished a nice meal that somewhat reminded the Vikings of home, they were discussing the reason for the Vikings' visit.

"We don't have much to go on," Hiccup told their host, "but it's our only clue."

The Lost Continent native looked down at the table before looking back to his guests. "Only those chosen by Bahamut himself can enter the shrine. There isn't a being alive who has seen it happen. But it never hurts to try. We'll perform the ritual tonight and see if one of you is chosen."

"What ritual?" Fishlegs asked.

"It's how we request to enter the shrine," Aria answered.

And so it was that Akal gathered the villagers together in the town square. The travelers stood back and watched as for two hours they stacked large planks of wood in the middle of the large space. As night fell, several men approached the pile with torches. Several others began pound on drums as the men marched toward the wood. In unison they reached the tall stack of wood and set it alight. The flames quickly scoured all across the dry wood and shot high into the air.

The drums picked up their pace as others began dancing and chanting around the massive bonfire. The large flames crackled, sending small specks of bright ash into the air. A large column of smoke rose high above the village while the Vikings watched this spectacle.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the village, carrying upon it what sounded like a dragon's roar. The flames spat as the smoke at the top formed a massive dragon. Bizarre above all, Hiccup's face suddenly appeared in the flames. The Aloceenians turned to stare at him in awe. The village elder, an old and decrepit man, leaned heavily upon his large cane as he pointed to the young man.

"The great Bahamut has spoken. He has chosen you, Hiccup, and you alone to enter his presence. Hurry, you must go. One must not keep the Dragon King waiting!"

Hiccup was led to the edge of the village. From there, they could see all across a lush, green valley to the large, castle-like shrine set into the mountain side. Hiccup gave Astrid a squeeze of the hand and a quick kiss before starting on the trail down the mountain.

His trip was quiet and uneventful. He walked the whole night through, giving him much time to think upon a wide variety of things. This forest seemed almost like a whole other world when compared to what they'd traveled through to get here. When at last he saw the shrine through a break in the trees, the sky was already lighting up. He emerged from the forest and started up the wide steps up to the tall stone doors beneath the large dragon head that jutted from the face of the shrine's outer wall. Just as he reached the doors, the sun peaked over the mountains, blinding him with its light.

When his eyes finally adjusted to the sudden light, a voice came from the shrine itself, "Welcome, Chosen of Bahamut. Enter the hall of the Dragon King."

The stone shook and rumbled as the doors slowly swung inward. Hiccup stepped into a very large room that contained a stone staircase in the center leading to a second floor. Two sets of stone doors were on the main floor on either side of the room, and light flooded in on either side of the staircase from openings to another room on the main floor. Unsure of exactly how he knew where to go, Hiccup ascended the staircase, approaching another set of stone doors at the top.

The doors opened to reveal a catwalk that crossed a large empty room to more doors on the other side. Above the next set of doors was a large, circular window from which the light flooded the chamber and out into the entry hall through the openings on the ground floor. Hiccup walked across the cobblestone bridge to the doors, noting the beautifully crafted silver knockers made to look like dragon heads. Once again, the doors slid open of their own accord.

Hiccup entered the largest chamber yet. It was round, with two dark corners behind dragon statues on either side near the doors. High in the far wall was another massive circle of light, though this one contained a design of a dragon in its center.

The room's main feature was a massive statue of a dragon standing on its hind legs. The statue was extremely tall, reaching to just below the window. Surprisingly, Nordic symbols that Hiccup could easily read were carved into the base of the statue on which the dragon stood. They read, "Bahamut the Dragon King."

"Welcome, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III," the deep, majestic voice seemed to reverberate from the very walls themselves, thoroughly startling Hiccup. The Viking jumped back, looking about for the source of the voice, his heart suddenly pounding.

"Who's there?" Hiccup asked.

This time the voice came from the massive statue, "Do not worry, young Viking. I am Bahamut, the King of the Dragons."

"But, you're a statue!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Yes," the powerful voice was not phased, "My body was petrified to protect it from the evil I guard. Now I speak to you as a spirit. A great evil has come to this world, young Viking. It seeks an ancient power to rival that of the Gods. I have called you here to remove it from this place, for it is no longer safe here."

A sword appeared in the air between Hiccup and the statue. Its blade and handle were ash-black. It looked like bright red cracks ran up and down the blade, from which an eerie red glow was emitted. Each end of the handle had a horned skull carved into it, with another one on set in the base of the hilt. The sword's mere presence made Hiccup's stomach churn.

"Why me? What would I do with it?" The young Viking asked the dragon.

"Only the pure in heart can open the doors to this shrine. This is a requirement, as only the pure in heart can resist the evil affects of this sword. Hiccup, it must never be allowed to fall into evil's hands."

Hiccup walked forward and grabbed the hilt of the sword. It was surprisingly heavy, far too heavy to be effective in combat. Hiccup looked down at the thing in disgust. Its evil filled the air like a thick steam.

Then, Hiccup heard a low cackle and the sound of clapping from the shadowed corner to his left. Slowly, a figure in a black hood stepped into the light, the hood hiding his face. He continued to clap as he stepped between the Viking and Bahamut.

"You!" Bahamut's voice was filled with surprise.

"Silence dragon!" The hooded figure snapped, He waved his palm towards the statue, and there was an odd sound, followed by silence. The figure then turned back to Hiccup, "You know, Hiccup, I was starting to think you weren't going to show up. But you did, so thank you. I could've blasted down the doors, but I would have been incapable of making the sword appear. I'll have that now if you don't mind." He reached out his hand for Hiccup to hand the accursed weapon to him. His voice was deep, and seemed to echo. It was a voice that Hiccup found to be vaguely familiar, like something that lurked in his deepest nightmares.

The Viking took a step back, "Who are you? And where are my children?" His face was hard, showing that he was not going to give up the sword willingly.

"You wound me, Hiccup," the man mocked as he slowly reached up and pulled his hood down. Hiccup took another step back and gasped, his blood running cold. Aries stood before him, his red eyes piercing Hiccup to his very soul. His skin was bleached white, and his face looked slightly thinner than Hiccup remembered, but there was no mistaking him. Aries smiled as he continued, "Don't you remember me?"

"You're supposed to be dead," Hiccup replied through gritted teeth.

"Ah, yes," Aries appeared to be very nonchalant about the whole thing, "You see, not even all the power of Hel can keep me bound. In fact, Hel's residents now obey my command. Now," he reached his black gloved hand again, "how about that sword."

Hiccup brought the sword behind him, "I'll never give it to you."

"Hmm," the pale man pretended to be thoughtful as he took a couple steps around the Viking, "I know! How about we make a trade? The sword for," he snapped his fingers, causing a shadowy image like a window to appear in the air, "your children."

Hiccup stared at his children as they looked about from behind the bars of some sort of cage. They did not seem to see him, as they never once looked in his direction. His heart almost felt frozen when he turned back to his nemesis, "How do I know you'll let them go?"

"Oh please," Aries rolled his eyes, "as soon as you hand me the sword I'll release them to their mother. I've had enough of the little rotten headaches. But, if you don't give that to me I'll simply kill you, take the sword, and then kill them."

Hiccup was torn, but his love for his children and his parental instincts as a father won out. Very slowly, he offered the hilt of the sword to his enemy. Aries ripped it from his hand, twirling it around like it was weightless. He made a few practice swings with it before holding it out in front of him. The undead villain smiled and closed his eyes as black and red smoke flowed out of the blade, down around his arm, and disappeared into his chest.

"What about my children?" Hiccup demanded.

Aries appeared slightly shocked at first, like he'd forgotten Hiccup was there, "Oh yes, that's right." He snapped his fingers and the window vanished. Hiccup saw the air in front of him distort for half a second before his head was suddenly rocked with pain so great it brought him to his knees.

Aries laughed as he twirled the sword about, walking in a circle around the crippled Viking. "Tell me, do you know what this sword is Hiccup?" Hiccup just made a painful groan as his head continued to throb. "No? Well, let me tell you then. You see, this sword is the best kept secret of the gods. Long ago, shortly after Odin created man, the gods were attacked by a powerful demon. Their battle was fierce, and the gods were forced to retreat. They regrouped here, on this continent, and made their last stand. Their fight turned this place into a barren wasteland. Finally, the gods defeated the demon, but couldn't kill him. Instead, they imprisoned his soul in this sword, and place it here, for Bahamut to guard. Then, to further hide it from the world, they concealed the continent. The Nightmares are the spawn of this sword's evil. When one can control its power, they become a power to rival the gods. However, if the power is too great, the wielder will go insane and die. That is why it was actually a part of my plan for you to kill me. My powers increased and now that I'm technically already dead, I can control the sword's power."

Hiccup groaned in pain again, getting his foe's attention, "Hey, are you even listening?" Aries kicked Hiccup in the chest, hard. He flipped onto his back, the new pain in his chest telling him at least a couple of his ribs were cracked. Aries grabbed him by the hair, lifting him back onto his knees. The pained Viking eyed the black blade as Aries waved it in front of him.

"With this blade, I will overthrow Odin and rule the entire universe. Too bad you won't live to see the new world I'll create." He threw Hiccup back on his chest, breaking one of the cracked ribs. "Don't worry, I won't kill you right now. You deserve a death far worse than that, but what is more fitting?" The evil warlord thought for a moment before a thought occurred to him. Hiccup could hear the sadistic excitement in his voice as he grabbed the brunette Viking by the hair again so that he was looking into the paler man's face, "I know a death that will be perfect. How about death by overwhelming guilt; the guilt of knowing that the people most important to you were murdered by your very own hand?"

Hiccup's aching head suddenly burned like it was on fire. His suffering was so great he felt delusional. The last thing his brain computed was Aries' cold, maniacal laugh before everything went black.

And cliffhanger! Thanks for being so patient, I had some problems and didn't spend a whole lot of time on the computer. The next chapter will be up next week. Please review!

Dark Guymelef