WMG / A Thing of Vikings

The WMG Page for 'A Thing Of Vikings', one for guesses ranging from relatively simple and benign, to complex and mindscrewing.

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Open Theories

In the future, How to Train Your Dragon by Dreamworks Animation is a Future Imperfect Biopic film adaptation of Real Life events.

The World Serpent Will Appear(Courtesy of Mr. Croc on the ATOV Discord)

Since we know that a) dragons inspire mythical creatures in ATOV(with the greek dragons as examples) and b) see dragons get pretty huge, it makes sense that Jormungander (the world serpent) being the most famous dragon of Norse myth would actually be a real dragon in ATOV.

Hiccup will get chased by the Loch Ness Monster, aka a Greenland Shark

There are some theories that the so-called Loch Ness Monster was actually a Greenland shark and that said fish handle freshwater. It would just be Hiccup's luck that he gets on Big and Bitey's bad side and lead it on a dramatic water chase.

There will be a huge fight among the aristocracy in order to claim Snitwit's hand in marriage

In Chapter 99, it is established that nobles are willing to marry/concubine into the Hooligan Tribe, and Snitwit, being Hiccup's cousin in an era where kinship ties are treated seriously, would be a highly attractive target for a marriage alliance. The same thing will apply to Snotpout who is also Hiccup's cousin.

The Pechenegs will survive into the modern day as the Turkish empire

The Pechenegs are mentioned to be part of the overall Turkish people, and even some of the other Turks they conquered like the idea of a unified Turkish empire, and the Chapter 66 epigraph mentions that there was a Turkish empire.

In the future, Wulfhild will have plenty of titles like Astrid does

Such as:

• Queen Almoner like Astrid's Queen Marshall.
• Skadi's Arrow like Astrid's Sif's Blade.

Hiccup will find a safe way to transport large amounts of Dragon Dung

Someone has to so that Éire can grow as much food as possible, which they'll need to feed all the refugees mentioned in one of the epigraphs, especially since that same epigraph mentioned that most of them ended up staying permanently.

Sigurd's relationship with his father will be one of the most closely-examined parent-child relationships in the future

Sigurd is a huge world player now because he's the one that introduced tamed dragons to the Byzantines while breaking Berk's monopoly on tamed dragons and through him is the one that inspired Drago to try taming dragons, introducing tamed dragons to the Pechenegs. Sigurd had a major impact on history and his personality and motivations are because of his father. In the present, people have already called out Spitelout, multiple times, for his role in Sigurd leaving Berk.

The theatres Ruffnut sets up will be used to help spread Norse sagas in general and Berk sagas specifically.

Berk's Thawfest festival will become the equivalent of the Olympics

Merchants and other visitors are already going to Berk en masse in search of riches. With non-Berkians allowed to participate and even winning, more people will go in search of glory by playing in the games.

Berkians will be seen as a Proud Scholar Race by other cultures over time

• With all the massive technological advances, the Viking stereotype becomes less true and new stereotypes fill in the void.

Dagur didn't kill his father

• In chapter 119 'Dust to Dust', it is revealed that Savage had arranged for the pirates to attack Heather's village in hopes to kill her so any possible children Dagur has with Savage's daughter Rodhlaug would be head of their clan. Dagur has admitted that he has a gap in his memory around the time of his father's death meaning he doesn't remember shooting the arrow that killed his father. He assumes he did but during that period of time it's possible that Savage showed up on the hunting trip unannounced and murdered Dagur's father since Dagur's father wouldn't have approved of a marriage between Dagur and Rodhlaug.

The most mythologized figure to come from Berk taming dragons is Valka

The Chapter 10 epigraph mentions that the second-most mythologized figure is Stoick, and at the time, it was easy to assume first place went to Hiccup. However, the revelation of Valka being alive, fully understanding the language of dragons, and has the trust of a Thengill gives fertile ground for endless embellishments.

The dragons Viggo will encounter on the dragon nest he discovered will be based on what he had in the canon of the tv series

Among other things, that means there's a 50/50 chance that the Thengill of the nest is a Shellfire or a Submaripper.

The two human terms used to refer to the dragon leaders of a nest, Thengill and Alphadraconis, will be in competition with each other

The Byzantines want to remain the top dog in Europe and will push for the use of Alphadraconis as part of their imperialism. The Hooligans will unwittingly get sucked into the competition and do surprisingly well without putting in much effort on their part.

Munia will be the first of many Muslim citizens in the North Sea Empire

The chapter 67 epigraph mentions Islamic Law was one of many set of laws being used in the empire. For that to happen, there has to be a lot of Muslims living in the North Sea Empire. These Muslims could become citizens by either moving there or their homes getting annexed.

Kurya will regret thinking the worst of Drago in the aftermath of the New-Year's Fire Rout

Kurya will meet Drago again and Drago will be so happy that Kurya will realise he was wrong to think Drago usurped power. Sprinkle in a lot of Oblivious Guilt Slinging on Drago's part for flavour.

The conflict with the Pechenegs will be ended relatively peacefully

Astrid at some point manage to hear that by Drago's own admission, he saw the Song Dynasty's laws as a barrier to getting dragons. How would she have heard of that? Drago telling her? Under what circumstances? Kurya telling his people that Kudret saved him and encouraging them to treat dragons better can also make peace an easier option.

A lot of members of the allied clans are being used by 'clanless' people just to get dragons.

Given the law restricts dragon ownership to members of the allied clans, a lot of 'clanless' people are becoming the concubine of a member of an allied clan just to get a dragon. Any feelings of love or friendship between them and the one they are becoming the concubine of is just an act and as soon as their concubinage comes up for renewal, they'll leave Berk with their dragon.

Thengill's in general are going to be viewed by humans and other dragons in the future as power hungry, abusive and uncaring towards their subjects because of the war they declared against humans.

In responce to what happened in Iceland, the thengills of the north had a meeting with each other and decided to declare war on humans with the goal of enslaving humans and freeing any dragons they have. Given the child like minds that most dragons have and how Valka appears to be the only human fluent in Dragonese as of 1042, the motivations for the declaration of war could easily be misinterpreted in the 1040s and end up be viewed by future generations as the thengills not wanting to loose their power over other dragons who would view humans made dragon shelters and brooderies as superior to the naturally occurring ones the thengills live in. Not helping things any are human eye witness reports of how Fire Hunger (aka Green Death) and Screaming White (aka The Screaming Death) treated their subjects.

Emperor Henry the Black will supply troops for the Crusades

An epigraph penned by Astrid drew attention to him in the context of warfare, and the troops have to come from somewhere. As for why in spite of him being friendly with Hiccup when they met, well, Henry was trying to get Hiccup to reconsider not converting to Christianity and the Pope declaring a crusade against the North Sea Empire is likely not something Henry is willing to oppose.

The Crusades against the Norse will cause the first split in Christianity

In real life, the first major split in Christianity was a west/east split of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. In this story, the first major split will be a north/south split with the Christians in the "North Sea Empire" breaking of from the Roman Catholic Church out of protest of the Crusades. Yngvarr would possibly be the leader of this new church.

After Stoick and Valka reunite and the whole thing with Furious is sorted out, Stoick will re-propose to Valka with the Dancing and the Dreaming song

It would be the perfect Mythology Gag.

Viggo will be known as a fair and beloved king, in spite of himself, and be a dark mirror to Hiccup.

Harboring Alvin and trying to secretly take a dragon’s nest aside, Viggo has been shown to be pragmatic about things, copying Berk and treating people fairly to ensure his grip on power is secure. Because of this, it seems to reason he’ll either be a Villain with Good Publicity, or he’ll run into a situation where the right thing to do is not necessarily the most pragmatic, and reveal his true colors.

Cami will earn the epithet The Divine Wind, as a nod to her name from the books.

In the in-universe version of the present day, the North Sea Empire no longer exists.

So far there haven't been any epigraphs dated to after the 1800s, so while we know that the NSE is still around for all or most of that century, we don't know what happens afterwards. It's possible that sometime in the 1900s or early 2000s, the North Sea Empire is replaced by one or more successor states, or joins some sort of larger state.

Valka will have a Heroic Sacrifice at some point in the story.

The epigraph for Chapter 141 has Snitlout and Astrid VII both reference living up to the family name. For Snitlout, this was clearly Foreshadowing for Spitelout's Heroic Sacrifice in the same chapter, so it's possible that for Astrid VII, it was hinting at a Heroic Sacrifice by a Haddock. Maybe Valka dies trying to stop Furious?

Which countries will take part in the Crusades.

• Chapter 19's epigraph mentions that the pagan temple at Uppsala will be razed by Christian Crusaders in 1044, and there's tension in Sweden between the mostly Christian Geats and the mostly pagan Svear, so it's a safe guess that the Geats will take part in the Crusades while the Svear will not.
• As one of the WMG's above mentions, Astrid references Henry the Black in the context of warfare so it's possible that the HRE would be involved as well.
• Francia is another likely candidate, considering how Henry of the Capets feels about Berk.
• If there's Crusades happening, the Papal States will probably be involved.
• One of the epigraphs says that Berk's piecemeal annexation of Eire took place in the 'early 1040s' so it's possible that the remaining Eirish kingdoms will be annexed as a result of their participation in the Crusades.

Valka and Godwif will meet at some point.

When Godwif left the Bog-Burglars, she mentioned Vinland and Greenland as possible destinations.

Spitelout will be this story's version of the phrase Warts and All

The circumstances that led to Warts and All being coined have been butterflied, while Spitelout, who is acknowledged as a flawed man, died an incredible death and is given the greatest honour Berk could give him.

The name "Henry" will come to mean Hospitality Breaker in the future

With Henry the Sinister alone, the credibility of Dogsbreath's and Inga's claims that they were betrayed under hospitality were in doubt even though Berk knows Dogsbreath and Inga are telling the truth, but with Henry of the Capets actions in attacking Stoick, suddenly, their claims become a lot more credible to both Normandy and Brittany.

Stoick will adopt Hawiz and Conan

Stoick already adopted their distant kin William, and he has the legal right to just bring people in to his House. So why not?

Orrusti and Hani will turn traitor against Berk

Cami comments that they were Thuggory's biggest thorns before the Meatheads were annexed, and after they were annexed, they have caused trouble due to not treating dragons right and have acted entitled to another chance with Thuggory. After Stoick was attacked by Henry of the Capets, Orrusti attempted to muster a force to attack Henry in retaliation in spite of Astrid's desires to the contrary. Orrusti and Hani would likely chaff under Berk's refusal to let them be the warmongering and brutal warriors they want to be, and turn traitor in favour of a power that will let them go raiding while on dragon-back.

Crusader Propaganda against Berk will include

One epigraph mentions that the Crusaders used propaganda against Berk and one of them was by exaggerating the sexual deviancies of Berk's youth. Other pieces will be:

• Taking full advantage of Kagan Berk being a warmonger and deliberately confusing him for the Hiccup's Berk.
• Using the fact that a lot of the Old Tribe of Berk are descended from a Jew and with the bigotry against Jews in this era, that by itself would be considered a point against Berk.
• Claiming they kidnapped Octavianus' servants, conveniently ignoring they were his sex-slaves and Berk freed them.

Harald will raise arms against Magnus to seize Norway and the North Sea Empire for himself

The story has been building up Harald being an antagonist against his nephew due to pure selfishness and entitlement, and in real life, he did seize Norway through force of arms and tried to reforge the North Sea Empire.

William will be seen as an attractive target for marriage alliances

Both Hiccup and Stoick are not options, but with William's adoption in House Haddock, suddenly, there is another male in the Royal Clan of Berk that is of marriageable age. The complicated political situation William was in, with disloyal subordinate nobles and his functional dual citizenship, has also been resolved.

One of the epigraphs will be revealed to have a dragon author (or at least co-author)

As of chapter 152, Toothless is learning how to read and write, so it's entirely possible for other dragons to do the same in the future and possibly even contribute to various types of writing projects.

Closed Theories

The name Hiccup will have a completely different connotation in the future.

In real life Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was nicknamed "Caligula'' after the caliga (soldier's boots) Gaius wore as a child. So young Gaius was given the cutesy nickname Caligula (Little Boots) after the miniature soldier's boots he wore. Which is now associated with a bloody, decadent and insane tyrant. Considering Hiccup's many deeds as the Hero of Berk, many game-changing inventions and stratagems and accomplishments, Hiccup will probably have different connotation in the future. Hiccup will probably be a shorthand name for a really smart person like "Einstein" with the fun fact that it once meant air bubble that got trapped in diaphragm.

• Confirmed. An epigraph confirms that "Hiccup" will become synonymous with "Genius" and "Altruistic".

Valka is alive and out there somewhere.

People have been guessing that any mention of wild dragons out of Berk will be where Valka is. So far, none have been correct, with Iceland being the current favorite, mainly because it is the only place we know of that has wild dragons at the moment.

• Confirmed. Chapter 108, Valka is alive and living in a dragon nest somewhere in the Arctic Ocean.

The Night Fury at the end of chapter 83 is female.

Given that this chapter was written some time after the author saw The Hidden World, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that they/she would end up playing a similar role as the Light Fury.

• Gender confirmed to be female in Chapter 92.
• Her potential role as love interest jossed in Chapter 106. She's actually Toothless's long-lost sister.

The Bog Burglars will succeed in joining Berk as a special clans with specific statuses so that they will always be a refuge for runaway women, but it will take a war with Alba to do it

War with Harthacnut was what it took to get the Joms accepted and the creation of new clans in general out of the Old Tribe's clanless, and it'll take more war for the Bog Burglars to be all be able to have dragons and yet keep their special status as a refuge for runaway women.

• Jossed. The Bog Burglars joined Berk with sanctuary being available for runaway women without any major issues.

After the wedding for Hiccup, Astrid and Wulfhild, Hiccup will give Wulfhild a morning gift that matches what he gave Astrid's in incredibility

Possibilities:

• A large assortment of standard weapons for the era like what Astrid got, but made out of steel.
  • Some were made with steel while others were not.
• Full legal authority over the Dragon Mail the way Astrid has full legal authority over the Haddock Flock of Dragons.
  • She got the same legal authority over the dragons as Astrid.
• The best bow Hiccup could forge to match the flaming axe he gave Astrid.
  • Confirmed though he gave her two, one that was beautifully decorated as well an experimental one made using steel.
    • Her other morning gifts included jewellery and musical instruments.

The Allied Clans of Berk will officially become nobles within the course of the story, perhaps after Stoick admits he is a King

For all practical intents and purposes, they are already nobles in all but name, being wealthier and more powerful than nearly every noble from everywhere else, and we know from the epigraphs that they eventually become official noble houses. Already in the current story, several nobles have married/concubined in, wanting family ties to the rising power of the current time.

• Confirmed. The Allied Clans are officially classified as nobles as part of the Citizenship Conclave after Stoick declares himself King.

Spitelout's letter was intercepted by Kormak or whoever he works for

In Chapter 96, Sigurd gets upset at his father for seemingly trying to cut him out of his life, but attentive readers noted that Spitelout is trying to reach out to him. Fishwings told Spitelout in Chapter 94 that she delivered her packages to the Byzantine post offices, so what happened to the letter after that? The only explanation is that it was intercepted and Kormak and his patron make good suspects.

• Jossed. The letter(s) were intercepted on Empresses Theodora's orders because she believed that Sigurd didn't want to talk with he father again.

Spitelout's letter was intercepted by the bureau of barbarians

As pointed out in the above “Spitelout's letter was intercepted by Kormak” theory Spitelout has sent letters to Sigurd but he hasn’t gotten them, so it is likely that someone is preventing those letters from reaching Sigurd. But instead of it being Kormak or his backer I propose that it’s the bureau of barbarians. As shown in the chapter 71 epigraph the empire has a history of manipulating the mail of others to manipulate them:

A noted exemplar of such divide-and-conquer tactics was Emperor Heraclius, who once intercepted a note from the Persian king ordering the execution of a general and his staff. The emperor added 400 names to the execution list and sent the note on its way, and watched as the Persian empire fought itself to put down the rebellion that ensued.

Also shown from the aforementioned epigraph is that the bureau has some as of yet unknown schemes in regards to Sigurd.

Another example of such manipulation occurred when it came to light that Sigurd Trondsson (see Chapter 21: The Dragon Riders) was actually Snotlout clan Jorgenson, effectively next in line to inherit the chiefdom of Berk after Hiccup clan Haddock and his issue. The Bureau…

So it is possible that the bureau is confiscating Spitelout's letters possibly to help sever any ties Sigurd has to Berk so that he would be more likely to go along with whatever schemes the bureau has in store for Berk.

• Confirmed. And they did it on Empress Theodora's orders in a misguided attempt to help Sigurd.

The rest of France will attack Normandy

The epigraph on the Normans state that Normandy was originally a duchy of France, and two other epigraphs indicate relations with the French are incredibly sour. Britany is also trying to undermine Duke William while King Henry doesn't trust Berk. With all of these factors together, it's likely the powder-keg will blow up and the rest of France will attack Normandy for their ties to Berk and Berk will defend Normandy and annex it.

• One epigraph refers to Astrid fighting in a 'Second Battle of the Seine River' which does confirm that a war will be fought in France.
• Partly confirmed. It wasn't the entire rest of France, only a fraction led by Henry the Sinister and Count Guy. The Chapter 150 epigraph does confirm Normandy formally splits from the Kingdom of France and joins Berk.

Brittany will become a province of the North Sea Empire

Brittany, or Breizh as its people call it, are populated by a group with a separate ethnic identity from the Franks, and the young Duke's sister knows that the Hooligans were framed for murdering their aristocracy when it was all actually engineered by Henry, who is French. This ties in well with one epigraph having Hiccup mention that people have told him that the French are untrustworthy. Hawiz also idolises Astrid for chopping off one of Henry's hands, setting the stage for smooth relations between Brittany and Berk should Henry be exposed as a liar.

• Confirmed by the the Chapter 150 epigraph, which says that Brittany formally splits from France in outrage over what King Henry did and joins Berk.

Clodgall is going to die sometime in Book 4.

The epigraph for chapter 38 said that by 1050 Berk's social structure when from 4 large clans plus one small one to one with several medium sized clans and that the Jorgenson Clan was the first clan to break up in response to the death of someone. Its only logical to conclude it broke up because Clodgall died. A shift to medium sized clans wouldn't be something that happened overnight since the clanheads aren't all the same age and won't die all at once so Clodgall will have to die soon for this shift to get well underway.

• Jossed. Book 4 ended without Clodgall dying, and the split is due to Spitelout's death.

Macarius and Florian plotline.

By the The Law of Conservation of Detail, this has to be going somewhere. Possibilities:

• They will meet Mulan's expedition.
• Their actions will show the Byzantines that the dragons have utility outside of military-related uses.
• The answer turns out to be to help the Greek Orthodoxy Christian Church solve a religious question.

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