The vikings of Berk made port on an unfamiliar, yet inhabited island. At first, they were all relieved; finally, after two weeks of nothing but open water and scraps of food, the chance to eat and drink heartily was upon them. Then they noticed the state of the place. Most of the village surrounding the large tower was a ruin. What little of it wasn't was mostly under construction. Whatever it was, it seemed to be a relatively new village being built over an old one.

Among the first to depart from the vessels was Stoick. As chief, he had to represent his people, speak on their behalf. While he hated begging for anything, he had little to no alternative. This made things even worse when he noticed that humans weren't the only villagers in town. Stoick, and a good portion of Berk's people ducked in panic as a Deadly Nadder shot overhead. Stoick could hear Spitelout grouching about the beast nearly knocking off his helmet. While the chief wanted to agree and start cussing the overgrown reptiles out, he noticed a young woman around Astrid's age walking casually towards the Berkians.

Stoick knew she was a warrior just by noting the confidence in her gait. She was a woman, but no less deadly than the dragons she lived with if that armour was anything to go by. Stoick could tell she was not someone to be trifled with. In every way that mattered, she was a mirror image of Astrid. The young woman stopped just a few feet short of Stoick, placed a hand over her left breast and bowed respectfully.

"Welcome to Sanctuary, Stoick the vast. We've been expecting you." the young woman said. Stoick was about to show respect himself when he heard the latter part of her greeting. The warrioress chuckled at his evident confusion and answered the question he'd yet to ask. "We've been aware of your situation regarding the evacuation of Berk for… quite some time. My friend wasn't sure you'd leave. He was quite surprised to find out you had. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Heather. I've been asked by my friend to help get you settled into Sanctuary, should you decide to stay." she continued, smiling as she paused to let Stoick respond.

Suffice it to say, Stoick was speechless. So many questions filled his mind, now that this Heather had introduced herself. How did they know about Berk's troubles? How did they know they were coming? And who is her friend?

Unsurprisingly, Spitelout was the first to break the silence. "Well, that's all well and good, lass. But just how do you expect us to deal with your dragons? We're not exactly on good terms with them at the moment." the burly viking explained. A chorus of agreeing voices sounded from behind as the rest of Berk gathered around behind their chief.

"I understand your situation, sir. I once lived in a village that was under similar conditions. I won't bore you with the details, but that village has learned to work with dragons, as opposed to needlessly killing them." Heather said, addressing Spitelout as she spoke. Most of the vikings weren't convinced. "Still, there is a rule on this island, if you feel you can't get along with dragons. Simply put; neither dragon, nor man can be hurt by the other so long as they live on this island. It is the one absolute law that must be followed. Those who break this law are punished based upon the circumstances behind why it was broken. So if you're feeling particularly masochistic, I dare you to try and harm a dragon and get off this island alive." Heather adopted a sinister glare and trained it towards Spitelout who flinched under her gaze before stepping down.

"Of course, we're not unreasonable. Dragons must also follow this law. Essentially, if you live on this island, you can't be attacked. But we won't stop you from defending yourselves against dragons not associated with this island."

"So, what happens if this law is broken?" asked Fishlegs, stepping forward to stand just a step behind Stoick. Heather could tell the young man wasn't challenging this law, but simply asking the question at face value. She dropped her scowl and smiled sweetly at the stout young viking.

"Well, it depends on the situation. Sometimes, certain events can trigger a dragon's survival instinct and a human will get hurt as a result. In those instances, the attack was beyond anybody's control and no punishment is warranted. As for Humans, very little can truly affect a person's mentality, so it can't be written off as an accident unless it's for training purposes. In that case, like before, no punishment is given. For new arrivals like yourselves, you're let off with warnings within the first month of your stay here. After that, if you attack a dragon again, you'll be viewed as a potential enemy and you'll either be exiled or executed. The same goes for dragons. Incidentally, the dragons you left in the pens back on Berk have been brought here for rehabilitation and are given a limited amount of time to adjust." Fishlegs, as well as the rest of berk took in the information as best they could. They were all dangerously aware that breaking the law could result in their untimely death, one way or another.

"Who's in charge here?" Stoick asked. He tried to sound as non-threatening and calm as possible, but he was nervous and stressed. Needless to say, it didn't help to get his passive words across. Fortunately, Heather seemed to pick up what he was putting down and smiled just as sweetly as before to him.

"You'll meet him in a little bit. He wants to surprise you. I'm just here to give you an orientation. Afterwards, I'll be taking you and your council to meet him." Heather replied. Stoick knew he wouldn't get any more out of her. She wasn't a fool. Despite his hatred of dragons, he knew that his people wouldn't survive another venture out to sea so soon. Holding in an annoyed grunt, he motioned for Heather to continue.

While Berk's people were given a guided tour through what little of the village was functional, Astrid was keeping a close eye on Snotlout and the twins. Like Stoick, she understood the gravity of their situation; if they didn't play along, Berk's people could be in serious trouble. What bothered her the most was the fact that her charges didn't seem to be acting like themselves. The twins were orderly, and Snotlout was quiet. This was strangely unnerving. One might have chalked it up to fatigue, but Astrid knew better. The twins were planning something, and Snotlout was waiting for the opportunity to point out a flaw. Yes, that had to be it.

Suddenly and without warning, a zippleback flew overhead and perched nearby. The sudden distraction caused Astrid to forget about her friends in favor of protecting herself if need be. That's when it happened.

"Yeah! Alright, Zippleback!" said Tuffnut. "Woohoo!" he added, with Ruffnut screaming just as excitedly beside her brother. Their arms were flailing excitedly in the air, and they ran towards the new dragon without a care in the world.

"No, you muttonheads!" Astrid screamed after them. But it was too late, the twins weren't listening. They were already halfway to the Zippleback who seemed to be taking quite an interest in the pair.

Surprisingly, Heather just laughed. "That zippleback was the second dragon from Berk to be rehabilitated. He doesn't hold a grudge, that one." she said, watching with a grin as the zippleback allowed Ruffnut and Tuffnut to climb onto his necks.

"Yeah! Dragonriders! We're unstoppable!" Tuff cried out, one arm in the air.

"Preach, brother!" Ruff coaxed.

While Berk's people looked on in shock, awe and in some cases, disgust; Heather just continued to laugh. Finally, she clapped her hands together and sighed. "Excellent, we were hoping for something like this to happen." she said, drawing the attention of Astrid, Stoick and the council members. Heather could tell that they wanted an explanation. She resumed chuckling as she turned around and continued the tour. With a few angry murmurs, the people followed, as did the twins on their new Zippleback.

The tour went without any further hitches. The villagers of Berk were silent for the most part, mainly due to fatigue. Stoick asked most of the relevant questions while Snotlout and the gang were being stupid with the zippleback. Astrid kept a watchful eye out. She was very uncomfortable in this strange new place. The outermost part of the village was little more than ruins, indicating that the Dragonriders must have settled on the island within the past few years. The further in they went, the newer things seemed. Heather had showed the villagers the market, filled with merchants and fresh goods. Then they saw the housing; more houses than villagers, it seemed. Then they were led to the smithy. There were a few master blacksmiths working together. Needless to say, Gobber was pleased with their work, and the interesting new designs. There were items Gobber had never seen before. Among those items, there was a familiarity in their design that he couldn't quite place. He made a mental note to return later.

"There seem to be a lot of houses and very few villagers. What's the deal with that?" Astrid asked, eyeing Heather suspiciously. The raven haired girl turned around and continued walking backwards as she answered.

"Those houses were built in anticipation for people like you who have sought refuge from war-torn lands. Essentially, those houses are yours now." she said. There was a mixture of confused and pleased murmurs coming from the crown of Berkians.

Stoick spoke up this time. "And what if people from different villages and towns got into an argument? Who's responsible for regulating this? Your friend?" Heather knew Stoick wanted to know who her friend was, but she wasn't going to be baited.

"No, not us. Our job is to enforce the law. The individuals who make it however… I'll let my friend tell you who's in charge." she said, a cheeky smile on her face that only served to unnerve Astrid even more.

The group reached the foot of the large tower that stood out from the rest of the village. It was huge, cylindrical and the top couldn't be seen from the ground. To the left of the tower was a large pit, not unlike Berk's training arena, but it was much larger. Astrid noticed a group of young villagers wielding only shields within the arena. They seemed to be subduing a particularly aggressive Nadded. She wasn't the only one to notice; most of Berk's villagers had stopped to look at the comotion. Heather stood beside Astrid and looked down at the scene below.

The Nadder spewed fire at one of the young humans who just managed to get his shield up in time to block it. Failing to kill the human, the Nadder instead opted to use its tail. Extending the barbs, she swung her tail towards the nearest individual and struck shield once again. With her barbs stuck to the shield, she ripped it from the man's arm. Unable to defend himself, the man chose to retreat, never turning his back to the Nadder.

After seeing the dragon's moves, Astrid recognised this dragon immediately. "That's the Nadder from Berk's training arena." she pointed out. Some of the villagers took a second to double check her claim.

"Indeed. Unlike the Zippleback, her rehabilitation hasn't gone very smoothly. She refuses to let anyone but me or my friend near her. I worry about her future here." Heather said, turning away from the arena.

"What's so special about you and your friend?" Snotlout asked. Heather just chuckled at him.

"All in good time, folks." she replied. With the rest of the villagers, Heather led them to the entrance of the tower. Standing there was a tall figure with a tusked mask. Heather knew Valka would take the opportunity to see Stoick, just not this soon. She waited for the masked rider to speak. Stoick could feel a tension in the air, but he couldn't understand why. This new being seemed to have Heather on edge. He decided to break the ever growing awkward silence.

"And who might this be?" he asked. The masked rider noticeably looked from Heather over to him. As brave and strong as he was, that mask was quite unnerving. Even Stoick had to back up a step once its gaze found him. The rider cautiously walked up to the hefty Viking and stopped short of a meter in front of him. Surprisingly, the rider's posture did not match the fear the mask inspired in him. In truth, the individual in front of him seemed almost afraid of him.

"Stoick." the rider said. It was a simple single word, his name. But the voice the rider used was one that caused the Viking to stumble. He knew that voice. His body began to shake as he slowly lifted his hand, afraid that what he thought he heard wasn't true. His shaking hand touched the surface of the mask and the rider leaned into it, like a dragon would. Stoick mustered the strength to lift the mask up, seeing first the rider's chin.

As Stoick slowly lifted the mask, he recognised the parts of the face that belonged to the rider; from her narrow chin, to her strong female jawline, to her well pronounced cheeks. Then the mask gave way to her forest green eyes. Virtually her entire face was now visible to Stoick and his voice caught in his throat. All that came out was a surprised and pained gasp.

Valka; the masked rider was Valka. The memory of her being stolen away by that Stormcutter flooded his mind as he tried to make sense of this. Valka was there, right in front of him. Her eyes were focused on him; she could see him as clearly as he saw her. She wasn't an illusion.

"I don't believe it." Spitelout said, just as shocked as the rest of Berk. "Val? How in Odin's name did you wind up here? Alive?!" he asked. Everyone wanted to know, none more than Stoick.

Valka answered, never taking her eyes off of Stoick. "Before the dragon took me, I saw it near Hiccup's crib. At first, I thought it was going to kill my son, but as I watched, I saw that it wasn't preying on him. It was checking up on him, curious about him. That moment proved what I'd been trying to tell everyone all along; that there was more to dragons than just mindless slaughter. When it saw me, it didn't attack, not until Stoick came in. In the confusion, the dragon took me. It was trying to protect me."

As Valka told everyone about what had happened to her, Stoick's mind locked onto something that made him very afraid: Hiccup. How would he explain losing their son to her?

When the tale of Valka's life with dragons was over, the villagers of Berk were quite confused. Everything they thought they knew about dragons was wrong, and what little of it was right was just the tip of the iceberg. Everyone was relatively silent, only murmuring to each other to come to some kind of opinion on the matter.

Before anyone could say anything more on the subject, Heather stepped in. "I think it's about time for the council to meet him. Valka, would you take Stoick and the others on up, please?" Heather asked. Valka smiled and took one more look at Stoick before turning around and heading into the tower.

Stoick followed with Spitelout, Gobber and a few others trailing behind him.

It was a long climb up. Clearly, the tower was designed to house dragons; though why the creatures needed such things were beyond Stoick. Frankly, he didn't care. All his attention was on the woman guiding him to this mysterious leader.

He'd yet to say a word to her, and this pained him. She was his wife. Long lost, yes. Estranged? Maybe, but hopefully not for much longer. He knew this woman, and she was worth having an open mind for. So he would put away his hatred for dragons, his desire and instinct to kill them on sight and listen to his wife.

"Eh, Val… I hate to ask, but; the dragon that took you. Is it still around?" Gobber asked, breaking the silence. Truthfully, Stoick had forgotten about the dragon, too focused on the fact that she was alive and well. He didn't want to risk getting angry. Valka was a strong-minded woman. She was also mysterious when it came to her reactions. This made her impossible to fight and win against. It was also what drew him to her in the first place.

"Yes, Cloudjumper has become my best friend over the years. He's shown me wonders and scenes the likes of which I thought I'd only ever see in Valhalla." as if his name had summoned him, Cloudjumper was waiting around the bend. When he made eye contact, he remained still so as not to aggravate the Vikings who jumped at his sudden presence.

Valka skipped up to the skycutter and hugged him. The large dragon leaned his head down and rubbed it against Valka's in an affectionate hug. It took every ounce of willpower Stoick had not to rush over and wrench Valka away from the beast. He tried to force himself to adopt the mentality that so long as it wasn't harming anyone, especially Valka, it didn't need to die.

"I take it this is Cloudjumper?" Gobber asked, once again breaking the awkward silence. It was one of the few times where the fact that Gobber didn't know when to shut up came in handy.

Valka turned to the group and smiled. "Yes, this is he." she replied. Her eyes turned to Stoick who was visibly trying to remain calm. She knew this must have been hard for him. And she was grateful for the effort. It also told her that he was willing to give their marriage another chance.

Valka motioned for the group to keep following. With the addition of Cloudjumper, they all made their way further up. It was a good half hour before they reached near the top. The floor they found themselves on was open and lacked any walls, just support pillars. A couple of dragons of various shapes and sizes were grazing throughout, but Valka ignored them and led the group to one dragon in the distance.

The Vikings couldn't make the dragon out at first. It wasn't like anything they'd seen before. Even as they got closer, its black colour clouded its general shape. The dragon was curled up and appeared to be asleep. A clearing of the throat from Valka broke this illusion as the dragon's head whipped around and its grass green eyes sharpened on the guests.

Every Viking stumbled backwards and fell on their backsides as they realised what the dragon was. While there were no pictures of the creature, there was no mistaking that the dragon before them was the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself: A Night Fury.

In the confusion and the panicked cries of the Vikings, a tall slender figure rose from behind the Night Fury's form. Stoick was the first to notice. His features were hidden behind an oversized black hood, connected to a black sleeveless tunic. Stoick noticed that the man, although skinny, was deceptively strong. He could tell from the confident stance he held in front of everyone. His arms were crossed behind his back instead of in front, meaning he wasn't afraid of the larger men in front of him. This individual was strong and smart. Stoick had encountered many enemies with this mentality and in all honesty, he was thankful to have been strong enough to survive them.

"Don't worry about her. She knows when to attack and when not to." the man said, chuckling as he made his way casually around the Night Fury. He stopped in between the Vikings and his dragon, looking to Valka with apparent interest. "I wasn't expecting you to reveal yourself so soon." he said.

Valka nodded. "Neither was I. But I just knew I couldn't wait any longer. It's been twenty years since we last saw each other." she explained. The hooded rider brought one of his hands out from behind his back and gestured for Valka to relax.

"I know. Believe me, I know." he said, returning his arm behind his back. He then looked to the Vikings who were suitable confused. "Welcome to Sanctuary, Vikings of Berk. I trust you're all thoroughly exhausted and vexed from the last two weeks?"