Book 4, Chapter 20: Legacy
First Shieldbearers
Active: July 1043 AD/March 1045 AD (see History)—present
Country: North Sea Empire
Type: Mounted bodyguard
Role: Imperial Body Guard
Size: 500 Thanes
Garrison/HQ: King Magnus' Palace, London
Motto:
* We Hold The Line (official)
* We Hold Back Our Boss (unofficial)
Colors: Black and Red
Commander: 4 Wing General Spitelout Clodgallsson Clan Jorgenson (Inception—Present)
Provisional Commanders:
* Astrid I Hákonsdóttir House Haddock (1043-1045)
* Folarin House Haddock (1045-1061)
* William I Robertsson House Haddock (1061-1065)
* Maor ben Dovid House Mordechai (1065-1076)
* Hamish Hiccupsson House Haddock (1076-1084)
Full List of Provisional Unit Commanders (1043-Present)
The First Shieldbearers of Berk and the Lands of the North Sea Empire, and Members of the Imperial Body Guard of High Thanes, popularly known as the Shieldbearers, is the unit of the North Sea Imperial Armed Forces charged with protecting the persons of the Imperial House. The oldest Imperial military corps still in existence, it was formally created by order of King Stoick I of Berk in response to the Caen Massacre…
—First Shieldbearers (n.d.) In Wikikenna. Retrieved August 10, 1876
Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Several of the Jews kill themselves rather than submit to the Christian baptism.
- Big Damn Heroes: Berk's forces arrive in Rouen to rescue the Jews from Henry's massacre.
- Content Warnings:Chapter Trigger Warnings: Description of a Mass Grave, Implied Mention of Past Child Abuse, Explicit Minor Character Suicides, Explicit Religious Violence
- Due to the Dead: Hiccup completes a runestone dedicated to Fearless, making sure that Toothless is the first person to see his work. He subsequently makes plans to show the runestone to Dauntless, Fearless's surviving offspring, even if he recognises that the infant Skrill won't be old enough to understand.
- Hiding Behind Religion: Henry presenting himself as a "Defender of Christ" is nothing but propaganda meant to justify a power grab. Berk sees through it, but so many Christians in France just eat it up.
- It Can Think: Hiccup learns for sure that Toothless can fully understand what he's saying, and seem to not only understand the idea of runes, but it's suggested that he could learn how to write.
- Named After Somebody Famous: One pair of Jewish parents who managed to escape to Berk's holdings named their son Dror after Dror ben Ezra in honour of how his actions a century past helped save them now.
- Spiteful Spit: When Sir Henry's forces (who slaughtered the rest of her people) are dragging Rivkah towards a forced baptism, she spits in the baptismal font.
- Surprise Pregnancy: Heidrun finds out she's pregnant in this chapter.
- Was It Really Worth It?: Serena silently asks Spitelout if Snotlout achieving the ambitions he wanted him to achieve was worth losing him. Spitelout silently answers no.
