Dimension Splash Chronicles
Event: A Lost Father, A Lost Son
Pov: Skari, Fenriss, Link
Time: Year 10.51 of Hiccup and Link’s existence in the game
Skari flew across the bay of Berk, his wings nicking across the water with each downstroke. He let out a guttural roar, and the swarm of dragons behind him broke into a cacophony of screeches and bellows. So far things were going far better than he had hoped. Many of the dragons on Dragon Island and the surrounding areas were insecure and afraid, and because of that they knew they needed a leader. It had been dozens of years since a Skrill of Skari’s size had stood up and claimed dominance. Skari had once been a raid leader on the island of Herkja, much like Toothless had been a raid leader on the island of Berk. However, Skari was becoming something far greater than he had ever been. The slaying of the tyrannical Red Death had left the islands around Berk with no queen. At first the dragons had been perfectly alright with this, but when Berk became hostile towards them again, and when their worlds filled with war, infighting, and hunger, the prospect of a new queen became very desirable. Skari was now leading over fifty fully grown dragons back to the island of Berk. This was only the beginning. With a start like this, Link and Skari could soon unite both men and dragons into a force that perhaps even the Gemnodes would fear to challenge.
Link glanced over his shoulder at the herd of dragons eagerly following Skari. Link was buckled beneath Skari’s stomach, for he was still using his rather unusual saddle design that allowed him to fly the Skrill without risk of lightning strike. The sea was only a few feet beneath Link’s face, rushing beneath him with darting glints of light and swirls of shadow. He looked up and smiled. Skari was clearly enjoying himself. The same could not be said for Fenriss.
The young Skrill was trailing along with the pack of dragons. They were chattering back and forth, excited by the prospect of unity and safety. Some of these dragons remembered Hiccup and Toothless and how they had so valiantly defeated the monster that once held them captive. Fenriss breathed heavily, cold air coming out of his mouth in a fog. His heart hurt, right down to the core. Seeing his father with a human strapped to him burned the youthful dragon’s conscience in a way he could not vent. He wanted to lash out at the dragons around him. They were so giddily going off to ally themselves with humans who just a week before would happily have mounted their heads on walls and worn their skins as clothing. Fenriss felt betrayed. Everything Skari had taught him as a child had turned out to be true. Ing’s bond with the human girl had lead to his sister’s death. The people of Berk had quickly regressed back into war with dragons, and the man who had ruled the world had hunted them for sport. Humanity could not be trusted.
Fenriss snorted again, tossing his head from side to side as the herd of dragons banked and prepared to fly up the steep cliff of Berk. Fenriss hated this island. Ever since his youth he had heard legends about how it was the hunting ground of Dagr, the Night Fury who was responsible for the death of Fenriss’s grandparents and many other Skrills during the blood feud. Why had Skari been so willing to forgive that monster? He had even changed how he referred to him, calling him a stupid, pet-like name. Fenriss had tried already to convince his father to turn on Toothless, to remember the pride of the Skrill species that he had once taught his two children. Skari had refused, and worse than that he had tried to convince Fenriss that he was wrong. The memory of the conversation seethed in Fenriss’s mind as he turned himself upwards and scaled the cliffs. Skari would not fight the Night Fury, and he would not allow Fenriss to either. Everything was wrong. Everything Skari had left Fenriss with, the worldview he had placed deep within the little Skrill’s heart, now was treated as a lie by Skari. Fenriss turned the facts over in his mind again and again, trying to think of what to do with the situation. Every time he looked at his own father it hurt him, and he could not go on living with such pain.
Skari hovered above a grassy spot right outside of the village of Berk. The sun was shining brightly, and already Berk was starting to look more hopeful. Mulch was the stand in leader under Link, and though he had suffered much, he showed a degree of optimism that left Link deeply impressed. This man was doing everything he could to put things back the way they were, even after these people had stood by and let them fall apart. Link detached himself from his harness and dropped to the ground, rolling out of the way as quickly as possible so that Skari could land right after him. The dragon’s feet fell to the ground with a dusty thud, and his followers circled around, looking for places where they could touch down. Link turned and looked at Skari, smiling slightly to see the pride swelling in the dragon’s heart. Skari had always loved leading others. Skari looked to see Link smiling at him and nodded his head slightly. “You’ve done great.” Link said. “I can’t believe we pulled it off. I’m going to go and find Mulch…” Link glanced around and noticed some rather nervous looking Vikings. “Yeah, better safe than sorry. We don’t need anymore conflicts.” Link began to pace away. “Enjoy your rest, Skari. You’ve earned it.”
Skari watched after Link for a moment. It was strange. The young warrior was much less affectionate than Hiccup was with Toothless, at least he was less outgoing in his way of presenting it, but Skari could still feel that Link truly cared for him. It was the strangest emotion. Amongst all the darkness of the impending war, amongst all the brewing hatred that blackened Skari’s past, there was this small glimmer of light and hope. The sound of a dragon landing behind him brought Skari out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Fenriss. The young Skrill was emotionless and grave, his head held level with Skari’s. “I need to tell you something.” Fenriss clacked.
Skari cocked his head, unsure of what his son wanted. In past conversations, Fenriss had been heated and antagonistic, but now his emotions were concealed. “Go on, Fenriss.”
“I am leaving. I will not stay with you, nor will I consider you my father.” Fenriss’s spines notably drooped in remorse as he communicated this. Skari stepped back slightly, only beginning to feel the sting of what his son was saying. “You have betrayed everything you have taught me to believe. Skari, you have lost your way. You are a slave to human kind, the very species that murdered your own daughter. You consort with the dragon who murdered your parents. Whether you hold your old beliefs or not doesn’t matter. What you taught me about the world is true, and you are now blindly ignoring reality.”
“Fenris, you don’t understand.”
“Yes, I do. And maybe one day you will too. When this human you’ve trusted finally breaks you, when he makes your soul melt, when he makes your heart crumble, then you can come and find me, and I will be your son. But I will not stand by and watch as my father lives in lies. Goodbye, Skari.”
Skari watched in silent heartbreak as Fenriss turned, unfurled his wings, and set off out towards the Island of Herkja. That young dragon was all Skari had left of his old life, and would he lose him now? Skari’s heart surged, unwilling to chose between Link and his son. Then he glanced up, seeing the tiny speck of Fenriss quickly vanishing into the distance, and Skari screeched out in anger an unbelief.
The surge of anger and sadness triggered something in Skari, something he had never felt before. His memories flashed before his mind, dark memories. These were memories of endless pain and constant torment. He saw the laughing form of Sardilic that he had awoken to time and time again. The visions stopped as quickly as they had come, and Skari looked around himself in confusion. One thing was clear, he could not follow his son. The Gemnodes had to be stopped. There was no other option. If Hiccup did not succeed, then those monsters would soon rule his world, and if that ever happened all hope would be utterly lost. Skari looked off into the sky; Fenriss was far out of sight. The old Skrill hissed at the blankness before him. He was not the one living in lies. The only ones who were deceiving themselves were those who believed that the Gemwar would not come.
Skari turned back towards the village. He did not know whether to seek Link out or not. He wanted someone to console him, but then it was so tempting for Skari to blame Link for the loss of Fenriss. No. He would not allow that. Fenriss had made his own choices, and Link was perfectly innocent. It was Skari who had submitted to working with the hylian, and he refused to be ashamed of what he had done. Skari was a dragon with many negative qualities, but self depreciation was not one of them. He had made the right choice, and Link would not let him down.
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