It was a beautiful day on Berk. The sun was shining, terrible terrors were singing, and three dragons flew overhead, a deadly nadder, a monstrous nightmare, and a razorwhip. The three touched down outside the great hall, their riders dismounting and entering the hall.

Hiccup Haddock was chief of Berk. Things were very hard for him, because not only did he have to step into the difficult role of Chief, he also had to do so without his father there to guide him. But even though he was new to the whole "being chief" thing, he had help. Gobber, both his mentor and his father's friend, had helped him to move into his new responsibilities, as the man had assisted his father many times over the years. He would probably continue to help Hiccup in the years to come. Hiccup also had his friends' help… well, most of the time. Astrid and Fishlegs were always there for him, but Snotlout's helpfulness depended on his mood, and the twins generally caused more trouble than they fixed. Eret was a big help when it came to what remained of the Dragon hunters; because he was a trapper for many years, he was able to convince others to change sides, give up their evil ways, and learn to respect the dragons they had hurt for so many years.

Unfortunately, not all of the hunters were willing to change their ways. Most could be made to see reason, and with the fall of Bludvist's empire, the dragon industry had lost much of its profit. Some, however, were so stuck in their ways that nothing could be done. Many had been tracked down and imprisoned on Outcast Island, but rumor had it some of the hunters were trying to regroup.

Some of these enemies weren't simply dragon hunters, but criminals in other ways. Some of Draco's forces were assassins or pillagers who had amassed many enemies over the years. As chief, it was now Hiccup's responsibility to work with his allies to ensure the guilty parties were brought to justice. Particularly irksome was the existence of Draco's daughter. She'd killed several Berkians amongst her other victims, and even though she hadn't been spotted in several months, she was a dangerous adversary no doubt intent on avenging her father's death, which had been attributed to him (even though he had tried to spare Draco's life, and the Warlord had essentially caused his own demise).

Yesterday he had been contacted by Heather, sister of the Berserker Chief, saying she had an urgent message for him on Defenders of the Wing too sensitive to send by Terror Mail. He'd sent Snotlout, his cousin, and Astrid, his betrothed, to retrieve it.

Heather and her Razorwhip Windshear entered the great hall first, followed by Astrid and Snotlout and their dragons. Hiccup rose to greet them, having stayed up all night in the hall awaiting their return.

"Hiccup, long time no see."

"So what is this urgent message?"

She looked around the hall. They were alone. "Defenders of the Wing caught a hunter spy just off their coast. The spy ended his life before they could learn anything, but they found this." She pulled a small knife out of her satchel and handed it to the chief. On the handle was carved a pattern made of roses. "They found this on the spy. I've seen this kind of blade before, when I recovered a hunter ship last month. This isn't an ordinary knife. These were only made for Draco's top generals and assassins."

Hiccup held his chin in concern. "What about the spy, where was his ship headed?"

Astrid shrugged. "We don't know. But this may be proof that Draco's supporters are up to something."

This news concerned Hiccup greatly. After the meeting was over, he went for a flight over the woods of Berk.

"What do you think about all of this Toothless?" Toothless warbled in response. "I already defeated Draco, why do the hunters think they…" They suddenly flew over a patch of wood where the branches had been broken large enough for a dragon to fit down between the trees.

"Woah, Bud," He slowed Toothless down and they circled the broken spot. "Do you think we should check that out?" They carefully flew down between the branches and Hiccup peered through the darker patch of the wood. He quickly spotted a tree that had a large gash in its side. He walked forward and touched the large cut, when what was left of the wood gave way and the tree fell. Hiccup stepped back out of the way and glanced around; he realized he was at the sight of a fight. Several trees had had knives hit them, the underbrush had been torn up some, and on the grass he saw several drops of dried blood.

But how? He thought. This doesn't look like someone's training session, but how could a fight have taken place here? Who was in the fight? Why did no one know about this?

He took another step back and his boot brushed up against something hard. He leaned down and saw a few pieces of broken glass covered in blood and a strange purple liquid, both of which had dried onto the shards.