Book 3, Chapter 38: Rally
Wild dragon hatchlings would typically spend their first two to five years being heavily dependent on their parents and extended family for food and care, despite being able to fly on their own after a period of only a few months. This childhood stage would typically involve the education of the young dragon in language and culture, with a strong focus on practical hunter-gatherer skills. This education would continue into pre-adolescence, during which time the young dragon would venture further and further from their home nest, gaining more and more independence from their parents. Upon reaching adolescence, most dragons would leave their home nest, searching for potential mates. Some would stay together as a small flock for mutual support while others would travel alone. Both strategies had their advantages and disadvantages: going as a group would lessen their chances of acceptance at a nesting site, but would increase their chances of finding sufficient food, and as such it was common among young dragons with close or extended relatives; traveling singularly lessened their dependence on others and increased their chances of finding a place, but also increased their risk of starvation.
Finding a nest willing to accept new members was usually a matter of luck; such nests would broadcast a call in ultra-low-frequency infra-sound that triggers an instinctual homing response in dragons, useful for helping both newcomers and established residents find their way home even under adverse conditions. These nest calls would also have the unfortunate side effect of possibly causing feelings of fear in humans in its radius, and are thus rarely used anymore.
—An Introduction To Dragon Biology, 17th Edition, Oxford University Press, 1793
Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- Big Damn Heroes: Hiccup and Toothless escape being tortured by Mildew when the female Night Fury distracts Mildew long enough for Toothless to help Hiccup break free.
- Content Warnings:Chapter Trigger Warnings: Explicit Act of War Crimes, Implied Threat of Torture, Implied Threat of Dismemberment, Mention of Past Torture, Explicit Discussion Of Mental Illness
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Subverted. The Pechenegs attack the Dragon Pavilion, Bianjing, Northern Zhōngguó expecting another easy victory. Instead, one woman manages to get the people handling the fireworks to fire them at the dragon riders. The fireworks succeed in killing several dragons and riders, forcing all of the remaining ones to flee.
- Enemy Mine: Briefly invoked; Eret briefly wonders if choosing to help Astrid's forces attack Mildew is a good idea, but when he compares Mildew to an unpleasant frying-pan and the new party a potential fire, the fact that the new arrivals know and dislike Mildew is a good sign for him.
- Fatal Fireworks: Fireworks turn out to be a good Improvised Weapon against Dragon Riders since they can travel far and fast before exploding. It forces the Pechenegs to flee after suffering their first real loss since they got tamed dragons.
- Fingore: When Mildew tortures Hiccup, he starts by ripping out at least one of Hiccup's fingernails.
- Hope Bringer: Sigvatr brings hope to Mildew's imprisoned thralls when he informs them that Harthacnut is dead and that Hiccup the Hero of Berk is on his way.
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: Mildew doesn't believe that Hiccup and the others came to his territory to find a Buffalord for their healing spit because he doesn't believe any dragon has such an ability.
- It Can Think: The dragons continue to demonstrate their ability to understand humans; Stormfly literally falls over laughing when Hiccup initially assumes that the new Night Fury is Toothless's new girlfriend rather than his long-lost sister, Toothless uses Tuffnut and Ruffnut to explain his relationship with the new arrival, and Eret later observes the Night Furies talking to the extent that the female clearly gestures towards him at one point.
- It's All My Fault: Hiccup starts blaming himself for Mildew's dragon-hunting success when he realizes that Mildew copied the Mangler prototype he used to shoot down Toothless in the first place.
- Just One Man: Played With. Hiccup might be just one man, but given his past battle record, Sigvatr deeply enjoys responding to an incredulous thrall wondering what Hiccup can do against all of Mildew's forces, as he's "just one man", with a comment about said battle record.Jyette: But… but he's one man. What can he do against all of Mildew's forces?
Sigvatr: Ask your father about what one man could do against an entire fleet eight thousand men strong. You'll be seeing him and your home again soon, I promise. - Long-Lost Relative: The 'Nightscreamer' that has been attacking Mildew's new village is actually Toothless's sister.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Eret's reaction when he learns that Buffalords have healing spit, as he immediately wonders how many people who have died of illness since he killed the last Buffalord he caught could have been saved if he'd left it alive.
- Relative Error: When Hiccup sees the way Toothless interacts with the Night Fury that has been attacking Mildew's village, he initially assumes that she is Toothless's new girlfriend, before Toothless uses Tuffnut and Ruffnut to 'explain' that the new Night Fury is his sister.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Terrified by the fireworks and with men and dragons dying, the Pechenegs retreat.
- Wham Episode: The Night Fury that's been attacking Mildew's camp is revealed to be Toothless's long-lost sister.
