Book I, Chapter 26
Battle of the Sound of Berk
Date: 15-16 October, AD 1041
Location: Sound of Berk, ~56.8 N, ~6.3W
Result: Decisive Hooligan Victory
Belligerents
Hooligan Tribe of Berk
Kingdom of Norway
Personal Union of King Harthacnut
* Kingdom of Denmark
* Kingdom of England
Commanders and Leaders
Stoick Haddock I
Hiccup Haddock III
Astrid Haddock I
Magnus Fairhair I
Harthacnut of Denmark (POW)
Godwin of Wessex (POW)
Leofric of Mercia
Strength
124 dragon-rider cavalry, various types
~300 unmounted Monstrous Nightmares (Stoker-class dragon)
1 aerial gravity bomb platform, Gronckle-carried (Boulder-class)
146 longships
2,000 heavy Norse infantry, armed with bows
3,000 men-at-arms (mixed English and Danish), armed with bows
3,000 conscripts (mixed English and Danish)
Casualties and losses
19 human fatalities
23 dragon fatalities
24 humans wounded
35 dragons wounded
~2,200 dead or missing in action
~700 wounded
~40 longships destroyed
~15 longships captured
Capture of King Harthacnut
Capture of Earl Godwin of Wessex
Capture of Sweyn Godwinson
Capture of 15 lesser nobles (List)
691 other prisoners (List)
The Battle of the Sound of Berk was a naval/aerial battle in the waters of the Sound of Berk, between the forces of the combined Danish and English fleets and army under the leadership of King Harthacnut, and the Hooligan tribe of Berk, under the leadership of Dragonlord Stoick The Vast and then-Herald Hiccup Haddock.
This battle was the only engagement of the undeclared First Berkian-English War, and featured multiple firsts in the history of warfare, including the first deployment of dragons against naval targets, the first use of dragons in a military setting by humans, and the development of dragon-dropped gravity bombs. The results of the battle was a decisive Berkian victory, and heralded a new era of warfare.
— Battle of the Sound of Berk (n.d.) In Wikikenna. Retrieved September 26, 1847
Tropes That Appear In This Chapter:
- Both Sides Have a Point: Stoick admits that he was wrong that Snotlout was the reason why they were being invaded by an armada, while Spitelout admits that his son did not exactly help things and that Hiccup isn't so bad.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Adalwin decides not to fulfill his end of the deal in freeing Heather's parents and keeps them as hostages, citing Heather demanding to see them alive being enough reason to make sure that she "knows her place".
- Crippling Overspecialization: When the Hooligans ambush Adalwin's men, they are caught off guard as they were armed expecting to incapacitate dragons and not fully-armed men.
- Defrosting Ice King: Spitelout admits that he believed that Hiccup's new way of doing things would lead them to destruction, but he admits to Stoick that he was wrong after Hiccup's idea saved them from the invasion.
- Everyone Can See It: Apparently no one is bothered when they tell everybody that Fishlegs was able to land someone like Heather "on pure merit."
- Heroic BSoD: Hiccup drinks himself sick, feeling responsible not only for the deaths of the invaders, but that he turned his best friend into a Weapon of Mass Destruction. It's even worse for him since everyone is congratulating him for it.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Fishlegs' mother tells Heather if she ever hurts Fishlegs again, she is going to suffer.
- Karmic Jackpot: Stoick claims that the only reason why Heather was not executed immediately was because she turned herself in instead of trying to escape, and then goes on to explain how this also proves her sincerity in Defecting for Love.Fritjof: Don't tell me that you believe her!Stoick: I do. It explains much, and I can't fault her choice there. And here I was all set to demand her head on a pike. But now I'm imagining what your mother would be saying.Fritjof: But... but... she could be lying again!Stoick: To what end, Fritjof? She just admitted to having hostages held over her. She had her chance to escape cleanly in the day's chaos and didn't take it. She would never again have a chance like this one and she threw it away for... no, if this is part of some deeper laid plan, it's one that would need the hands of the gods in it. After all, who would she betray us to now? And what would she have?
- Kick the Dog: Heather says that the reason why Adalwin had Heather and her parents as personal house-slaves and cooks was because he thought it would be amusing for pagan royalty to be reduced to being his own personal slaves.
- Mythology Gag: Fishlegs's line "I'm really questioning your matchmaking methods, sir" is almost exactly the same as what he says in the first movie about Gobber's teaching methods.
- Named by the Adaptation: In canon Heather’s adopted parents were unnamed, here they are named Murray and Griselda.
- Oh, Crap!: Spitelout figures out why Heather betrayed them.Spitelout: That's all very nice and everything, but what does... oh, shite ...he, the king, he has them.
- Open-Minded Parent: Fishlegs' parents don't seem all that bothered by Heather moving in with them, his mom recognizing that even after she beat him bloody, she still risked herself to make sure he did not die.
- Sanity Ball: Stoick insists that they would have tried to free Heather's parents if she had just told them, but Heather puts in a rather convincing argument as to why she finds that unbelievable.Heather: Uh huh. That's easy to say, chief, but it's one thing for you to be so happy about freeing thralls when all you have to do is saw off some collars and dish out some boiled mutton! It's another thing for me to believe that you'd be willing to invade Vedrarfjord on my say-so! How would you know that I wasn't leading you into a trap!? How would I know that you wouldn't try to make me into a double agent? That would just get my parents killed!
- Skewed Priorities: Hiccup had just saved everyone's lives from genocide and/or enslavement from a paranoid king and all Magnhild cares about is the fact that he used her cooking pots to do it.
- Trojan Horse: The plan the Hooligans concocted was for Heather to bring a box supposedly full of dragon eggs, but were instead filled with Viking warriors and their dragons.
- Undercover as Lovers: In order to protect Heather from a potential second spy, Stoick proposes that she moves in with Fishlegs under the pretense of her being his concubine.
