Chapter 15

Not much later, they all sat together on a high, grassy ledge, gathered around in a circle to hear Hiccup's mother's story. 

"Alright," she sighed, curling up in her dragon form next to the fire, "I suppose we should start at the beginning. In my early days in the nest, I was not yet the second in command to the King-"

"You're the King's second in command?!" Toothless exclaimed abruptly, the look of astonishment on his face mirroring those of all the other dragons. 

Her eyebrows furrowed, "Did I not mention that?" 

"No!" they all exclaimed at once, except for Cloudjumper, who just gazed on amusedly.

"Oh," she said, "well, I am. When the previous second in command died at the hands of a human, the King appointed me, seeing as I was just starting to plot rescue missions from dragon hunters." 

Cloudjumper nodded, "It was a well earned position." 

"Anyways, back to the story," she said, settling everyone back down. "Like I said before, I was not yet the second in command to the King, and had never even considered saving dragons from the hands of dragon hunters. Until, that is, a dragon as black as night with eyes as blue as the sky stumbled into the nest, her broken wings barely able to fly, and her legs crushed into splinters.

"I had immediately moved forward to help her, as I was the only one in the nest who knew a little bit about healing. Over the next few weeks, I healed her in a small cave on the edge of the nest, listening to her story and offering her solace. Apparently, she and her family had been living alone on a small island for many years, before humans suddenly attacked them, killing her parents, her siblings, and her hatchmates. She only escaped out of pure luck, as she was the farthest away from the humans when they attacked. 

"She was only six Winters old when her family was all murdered, not even a Youngling, and spent the next few years of her life just barely scrounging up enough food to eat, and narrowly escaping dragon hunters along the way. Then, when she had just passed her fourteenth Winter, the dragon hunters had finally caught her. There were so many of them, there was no possible way for her to escape. 

"The dragons hunters snapped her wings in half, smashed her legs with hammers, and beaten her to near death. Once they were done torturing her, they were going to kill her. With the sword raised just above her head, her last bit of strength surged through her. She tore her body out of the straps holding her down, roaring with pain as her broken wings pulled her into the sky.

"I never knew how she managed to fly that day, but fly she did. She flew away from those dragon  hunters so fast that they couldn't catch her, and she continued to fly farther and farther away from them, letting her instincts take her in the right direction. After a full hour of flying on broken wings, she could go no farther, and dove down into the first cave she saw. Her luck was outstanding, as that cave lead her into our nest, where I found and helped nurse her back to health. 

"After that day, I understood how much of a danger to our species the dragon hunters could be. So, for the next few years, the young Moon Sweeper helped Cloudjumper and I begin our rescue missions. To keep the secret of Dragonborn safe, I rode in my human form on Cloudjumper's back, using my power to break dragons out of their cages. We saved dragon after dragon, building the King's nest bigger and bigger until it was full, and we had to expand the entire nest. 

"The King was incredibly thankful for our help, and began to assign other dragons to help us on our missions. In one of these missions, he assigned his second in command at that time to come with us, who was a Great Blaze Builder," she looked to Hiccup. "A Great dragon is what Vikings call titan wings." 

Hiccup nodded in understanding, before motioning for her to continue. 

"Now, we didn't often lose dragons on these missions-there had only been two or three in the past-but the dragon hunter base we attacked had far more hunters than we had anticipated. The Great Blaze Builder was lost, along with two other brave dragons. We held the usual memorial ceremony for the dragons, and after that, the King honored me with the role of second in command. 

"But soon after that tragic loss, the Moon Sweeper came to me, hard determination in her eyes. Apparently, the years of fighting had been starting to get to be too much for her, as everything about the dragon hunters reminded her of the family she had lost. She had gone to the King in search of guidance, and he told her a story about how long ago, the majority of the Sky and Sea Sweepers in the Archipelago had come together for a meeting. At that time, their species was not as rare as it is now, but they were still sought after by humans, and their numbers were starting to get too low for comfort. 

"They decided that they needed to move to a place where they would be stronger against humans. One of the largest problems they had was that during the winter, they lost great numbers due to the cold. As you surely know, Sky and Sea Sweepers are not adapted to live well in the cold, as the majority of the magic in their bodies is used to heighten their power and improve their flying ability, unlike other dragon species who's magic is used to keep them alive. 

"So the Sky and Sea Sweepers decided that in order for their species to thrive, they needed to move out of the Archipelago and to warmer lands in the South. With this information in mind, the Moon Sweeper said goodbye to us all, and set off on a journey to find the rest of her species." Her face grew melancholic, "Even now, all of these years later, I do not know if she ever found her tribe, or if she even survived." 

A silence overtook the group, and Hiccup noticed the extreme sadness on Toothless's face. 

"Why haven't you ever gone looking for her?" Stormfly asked after a moment of quiet. 

Hiccup's mother shook her head, "I have no reason to look. If she is dead, then she is dead. If she found the rest of the Sky and Sea Sweepers, then she is safe and happy." 

Toothless spoke up after a moment, his voice breaking, "Did the King give her any directions on where they could have settled?" 

"I don't know," she responded, "I never asked." 

Toothless looked at Hiccup, a silent plea in his eyes. 

"Toothless," Hiccup said sadly. 

"Please? Don't you even feel a little bit of need to find others like us?" 

Hiccup winced, "Toothless, I wasn't born a Moon Sweeper. I never had to face the troubles of being the only one of your kind. I was shunned from others for different reasons." Toothless's face crumbled, "If you want to go out and find them, I will support you. But I have responsibilities to our Flight, and I can't just uproot them from our island to find something that only you and I could benefit from." 

After a moment of Toothless giving Hiccup the most heartbroken eyes he had ever seen, he nodded slowly, "Okay, Hiccup." Toothless stood up on his paws, moving over to the far side of the ledge to curl up for sleep. 

Hiccup was torn between leaving Toothless alone to think or following after him so they could talk it through a bit more. 

"Let him be for a while, son," his mother said. "He just found out that the only others of his kind might still be out there, but is unable to go searching for them." 

"But he can go searching for them," Hiccup reasoned desperately, "I just wouldn't be able to come with him." 

She gave him a sad smile, "Do you really believe that he would look for other Sky Sweepers without you?" 

Hiccup's gaze fell towards the ground. He remembered how devoted Toothless seemed to be towards Hiccup when he first restored his flight. Toothless said that he would follow Hiccup wherever he went, no matter what. But what about what Toothless wanted? He had spent his entire life without dragons of his own kind, not having any family to take care of him. Was Hiccup being selfish for not wanting to find other Moon Sweepers? He had just found his own mother, another person of his kind, and depriving Toothless of that would be downright cruel. 

So, that night he made a decision. 

* * * 

"Toothless," Hiccup said tentatively as he approached Toothless the next morning, who was still curled up on the ledge, looking over all of the happy dragons soaring through the nest. 

Toothless hummed in response, turning to look at Hiccup. 

"After a little bit of reflecting last night, I realized that it would be selfish to not want to go looking for others of our kind," Hiccup began, Toothless's eyes lighting up with hope. "I just found my mother, probably the only other Dragonborn in the archipelago, so I would be heartless if I didn't allow you to do the same. But I can't just leave the mission I gave myself behind. I need to take down the Queen. I can't allow both Vikings and dragons to suffer any longer. But after the Queen has been overthrown, I swear that I will help you find other Moon Sweepers, Sun Sweepers, Sea Sweepers and every other kind of Sweeper that lives on this world, so long as you wish it." 

Toothless gave Hiccup a smile of gratitude, softly bumping his head against Hiccup's, "Thank you, brother. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that the Queen is taken out of power." 

Hiccup smiled back, "Thanks, Toothless. Now, help me wake Stormfly and Meatlug. My mom told us to meat her on the same iceberg we were at yesterday. I think she wants to teach me some Dragonborn stuff." 

"Oh, this is going to be interesting," Toothless said, smiling mischievously. 

* * * 

"Good, you're here," his mother said when they landed on the iceberg. "We need to get started right away." 

Hiccup frowned, "Why?" 

"Well, there's an awful lot that I have to teach you, and I have to tell you about some unexpected changes that I suspect will be happening soon," she said. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Sit, sit," she said insistingly, having him shift into his half dragon form and sit across from her. "There's a lot that I need to fill you in on. First of all, I must teach the importance of how powerful Dragonborn magic can be. The King has already informed me of how powerful your magic is, being a Moon Sweeper, a Dragonborn, and Leader of your own Flight. All of that combined most likely puts you at having a higher amount of magic than I do. That means that the powers the Moon Goddess has blessed you with are undoubtedly going to be large and destructive. Now, I assume that you have not found out these powers yet?" 

"No. I've never really been quite sure about what exactly 'Dragonborn powers' are. Toothless mention them once when I first became Dragonborn, but he never explained it thoroughly," Hiccup responded. 

"I don't know what they are either," Toothless humphed. "Everything I taught you was based on the legends that were passed around the Queen's nest." 

"Well, they are far more complicated than you most likely presume," Hiccup's mother said. "Every dragon is born with a specific capacity for magic, magic that can be used up, and then restored. Dragonborn magic works a little bit differently. Yes, we still have a height at which the amount of magic we use can be reached, but because we use large amounts of magic on a daily basis, that magic capacity is far higher than that of normal dragons, and is restored much faster than normal dragons as well. 

"Normal dragons use their magic when shooting their fire, the abilities the gods blessed upon their dragon species, and while flying. Though, I believe that the magic that keeps us in the air is different than the magic that keeps us safe. Dragonborn use their magic for those things as well, but we also need to have extra magic to shift from our normal form to our fully dragon form, and continuously have enough magic to keep us in said dragon form." 

"Wait, I'm using up magic whenever I'm in my dragon form?" Hiccup asked, surprised. 

"Yes, which is why-in rare cases-if you use up too much magic while in your dragon form, your body may automatically shift into your natural half dragon form, to keep you from losing all of your magic completely," she explained. 

"What happens when you use up all of your magic?" 

"You die," Toothless said, making Hiccup's eyes go wide, and look towards his mother for confirmation.

She nodded sadly, "Of course, Toothless is right. Dragon magic can easily be used and restored, but if you use all of your magic, the magic that helps you fly, the kind that lets you breathe fire, and any other type of magic you may possess, your body will turn into ash. That is why I cannot stress to you enough that you need to be careful about the amount of magic you use. Being a Dragonborn, your magic preserves will fall far higher than normal dragons, which means that it's often hard to tell when you're reaching your limits. I'm not quite sure what your Dragonborn powers could turn out to be, but when you find what they are, I need you to promise me that you will use them wisely."

Hiccup quickly nodded, "Of course I will. I promise that unless I am in a life or death situation, I will not push them beyond their limits."

His mother gave him a quick, stern nod, "Good." 

"If you don't mind me asking, what are your powers?" Stormfly asked. 

"Oh yeah, could I see them?" Hiccup asked, his eyes alight with curiosity. 

She gave him a warm smile, "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt." 

She stood up to her feet, motioning for every one to take a step back. After a moment, she spread out her four large wings wide, and lifted her arms so that they were parallel to her wings. Her eyes began to glow that familiar blue color, and Hiccup gasped when the air around her visibly began to swirl, lifting the snow up and off of the ground. A small whirlwind appeared at her feet, and the wind began to catch her wings and lift her above the ground, until she was hovering in the air with her arms spread wide, her wings not even flapping one beat. 

Hiccup and the dragons all gaped up at her, except for Cloudjumper, who just smirked at all of them amusedly. 

His mom laughed at the awe on their faces, before she slowly lowered her arms, the wind lowering her softly back onto the ground. 

"Y-You can control air?!" Hiccup sputtered. 

"I can," she laughed. "But it's important to know that we can only use our powers in our half dragon form. You can either use your Dragonborn magic to control your powers, or to keep you in your dragon form. I remember that it was quite the experience when I accidentally used the power for the first time." 

"I bet it was," Hiccup said. 

"But that is a story for another day," she said, sitting down on the snow again. "There's still a couple more things that I need to teach you about being Dragonborn." 

Hiccup nodded, sitting down across from her again, and all of the other dragons moving back to their previous positions. 

"Alright, so I assume that you have been taught about the Celebrations of the Gods?" Hiccup nodded, "Good. Well, as I also assume that you know, dragons age a bit differently than humans. From when they hatch to when they become an adult, they grow about a third times as fast as humans. That means that when they're nine Winters old, they're twelve in human years, and when they become an adult at fourteen Winters, they're actually about eighteen."

"Dragons aren't considered adults until they're eighteen?!" Hiccup exclaimed; Vikings considered their boys to be men at sixteen, and girls even younger than that. 

"Well, we're considered mature by the time we're Younglings, which is when our parents don't have to take care of us as much. But when we become adults, that's when we're considered wise enough to Mate," Toothless explained. 

Hiccup frowned, "So Younglings basically are adults." 

"No," his mother said, "Younglings are the dragon version of teenagers. They are technically capable of taking care of themselves, but they still live with their parents because they're not quite considered wise enough to make good decisions on their own."

"Weird," Hiccup observed. 

"What's stranger is what I assume happens when a Dragonborn who is not born with their magic at their first Celebration of the Gods," she said. "When a dragon triggers our Dragonborn magic, our dragon form automatically becomes the same physical age as it would if you were born a dragon. For example, your dragon form is physically fifteen Winters old, which means that in human years, your dragon form is about nineteen years old. Because of this, your human and dragon forms are off balance, which is most likely why your Dragonborn magic has not shown itself yet. Now, this did not happen to me, as I was twenty when I attended my first Sun God Celebration. But my Dragonborn magic did not show itself until after my first Sun God Celebration, which is why I am assuming that your human form will catch up to your dragon form after your first Moon Goddess Celebration." 

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked slowly, starting to get nervous. 

"It takes an incredible amount of magic to physically change your human form, an amount of magic that can only be obtained during a Celebration of a God," his mother explained. "As long as you partake in a Celebration with enough dragons in it to fuel your change, I'm almost certain that your human body will change from being fifteen years old to nineteen years old."

Hiccup blinked, "What?"   

His mother sighed, "Yes, it is a theory that I've been working on since you arrived here. I'm not quite sure if I am correct, but the King tells me that the theory is most likely correct." 

"How can you not know if you're right?" Hiccup asked incredulously, "Why didn't it happen to you?" 

"Because I just so happened to be the perfect age when I became Dragonborn for my human form to not change at all," she explained. "Because after a dragon becomes an adult, they age at a third of the speed that humans do. So every three Winters for a dragon, is one year of growth for a human. At twenty years old, I had already passed those first fourteen Winters for a dragon, meaning that I was already past eighteen. And when you find a third of those last six years that have to be accounted for, which is two, you find that twenty years old in human years is the same as twenty Winters in dragon years." 

Hiccup sighed, "Of course you were at the perfect age to not go through any changes in your human form, and I have to change from fifteen to nineteen." 

"Who knows, maybe you'll like being nineteen," Toothless offered. 

"I doubt human me is any better at nineteen than it is at fifteen," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. 

"It will certainly be a big change," his mother said, "but I believe that you will be able to get through it. Now, there's one last thing that we need to talk about." 

"What?" Hiccup asked. 

She sighed, her eyes looking pained, "As far as I am aware, Dragonborn are not able to become Mates with dragons, and I know that we are unable to become Mates with humans-at least, humans that are not magically Bonded with a dragon. So, unless you find another Dragonborn that you are able to connect with, or you somehow find a human that is Bonded to a dragon, you will never be able to become Mated." 

A silence fell over the group, Toothless and the other dragons wearing matching horrified expressions, and Hiccup's mother unable to look him in the eyes. 

"So," Hiccup said after a moment, "you're saying that I'm destined to die alone." 

His mother wiped away a tear that was falling down her face, "Most likely. Unless you find other Dragonborn. Or a human that is Bonded. But there's also a very good chance that if you do find either of those, you would not be able to connect with them on a high enough level to become Mates."

"Okay," Hiccup said after a moment, "I guess I'm just going to have to live with it. I've already spent most of my life alone anyways. I'm used to it." 

"I'm sorry, son," his mother said. 

"I'm sorry, too," he responded. 

She gave a sad smile, before standing and shifting into her dragon form, "Come. I told the King about your goal to take down the Queen. He would like to speak with you."