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Category: <span>Character Introduction</span>

Category: Character Introduction

Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Ashoka

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Sanguen Vitae: Member (India)

 

Ashoka was born to the Mauryan emperor Bindusara and a relatively lower ranked wife of his, Dharma. He was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, founder of Mauryan dynasty. The Avadana texts mention that his mother was queen Subhadrangi. According to Ashokavadana, she was the daughter of a Brahmin from the city of Champa. Empress Subhadrangi was a Brahmin of the Ajivika sect, and was found to be a suitable match for Emperor Bindusara. Though a palace intrigue kept her away from the emperor, this eventually ended, and she bore a son. It is from her exclamation “I am now without sorrow”, that Ashoka got his name. The Divyavadana tells a similar story, but gives the name of the queen as Janapadakalyani.

Ashoka had several elder siblings, all of whom were his half-brothers from other wives of Bindusara. His fighting qualities were apparent from an early age and he was given royal military training. He was known as a fearsome hunter, and according to a legend, killed a lion with just a wooden rod. Because of his reputation as a frightening warrior and a heartless general, he was sent to curb the riots in the Avanti province of the Mauryan empire.

The Buddhist text “Divyavadana” describes Ashoka putting down a revolt due to activities of wicked ministers. This may have been an incident in Bindusara’s times. Taranatha’s account states that Achare Chanakya, Bindusara’s chief advisor, destroyed the nobles and kings of 16 towns and made himself the master of all territory between the eastern and the western seas. Some historians consider this as an indication of Bindusara’s conquest of the Deccan while others consider it as suppression of a revolt. Following this, Ashoka was stationed at Ujjayini as governor.

Bindusara’s death in 272 BCE led to a war over succession. According to Divyavandana, Bindusara wanted his son Sushim to succeed him but Ashoka was supported by his father’s ministers, who found Sushim to be arrogant and disrespectful towards them. A minister named Radhagupta seems to have played an important role in Ashoka’s rise to the throne. The Ashokavadana recounts Radhagupta’s offering of an old royal elephant to Ashoka for him to ride to the Garden of the Gold Pavilion where King Bindusara would determine his successor. Ashoka later got rid of the legitimate heir to the throne by tricking him into entering a pit filled with live coals. Radhagupta, according to the Ashokavadana, would later be appointed prime minister by Ashoka once he had gained the throne. The Dipavansa and Mahavansa refer to Ashoka’s killing 99 of his brothers, sparing only one, named Vitashoka or Tissa, although there is no clear proof about this incident (many such accounts are saturated with mythological elements). The coronation happened in 269 BCE, four years after his succession to the throne.

Buddhist legends state that Ashoka was bad-tempered and of a wicked nature. He built Ashoka’s Hell, an elaborate torture chamber described as a “Paradisal Hell” due to the contrast between its beautiful exterior and the acts carried out within by his appointed executioner, Girikaa. This earned him the name of Chanda Ashoka (Canda Asoka) meaning “Ashoka the Fierce” in Sanskrit. Professor Charles Drekmeier cautions that the Buddhist legends tend to dramatise the change that Buddhism brought in him, and therefore, exaggerate Ashoka’s past wickedness and his piousness after the conversion.

Ascending the throne, Ashoka expanded his empire over the next eight years, from the present-day boundaries Assam in the East to Balochistan in the West; from the Pamir Knot in Afghanistan in the north to the peninsula of southern India except for present day Tamil Nadu and Kerala which were ruled by the three ancient Tamil kingdoms.

While the early part of Ashoka’s reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty, he became a follower of the Buddha’s teachings after his conquest of Kalinga on the east coast of India in the present-day states of Odisha and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. Kalinga was a state that prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy. With its monarchical parliamentary democracy it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata where there existed the concept of Rajdharma. Rajdharma means the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery and dharma. The Kalinga War happened eight years after his coronation. From his 13th inscription, we come to know that the battle was a massive one and caused the deaths of more than 100,000 soldiers and many civilians who rose up in defence; over 150,000 were deported. When he was walking through the grounds of Kalinga after his conquest, rejoicing in his victory, he was moved by the number of bodies strewn there and the wails of the kith and kin of the dead.

His victories and ability to unit all of India, caught Alexander’s attention. He made his way back to India, to talk to Ashoka. He was there to witness Ashoka convert to Buddasm and changing his ways. Seeing the man grow and change, he offered him immortality.

For More Information Contact the Vampire Council Library

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Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Sappho

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Sanguen Vitae: Member (India)

 

Sappho was a Greek lyric poet, born on the island of Lesbos. The Alexandrians included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Little is known for certain about her life. The bulk of her poetry, which was well-known and greatly admired through much of antiquity, has been lost; however, her immense reputation has endured through surviving fragments.

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Character Introduction / Sanguen Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Alexander

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Sanguen Vitae: Clan Leader

Alexander as a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful commanders.

Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip’s death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He had been awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father’s military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid empire, ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.

Seeking to reach the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea”, he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexander’s surviving generals and heirs.

Alexander’s legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander’s settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.

After Alexander traveled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulk of the Persian treasure, his closest friend and possible lover, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning. Hephaestion’s death devastated Alexander, and he ordered the preparation of an expensive funeral pyre in Babylon, as well as a decree for public mourning. Back in Babylon, Alexander planned a series of new campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia, but he would not have a chance to realize them, as he died shortly thereafter.

For more information contact the Vampire Council Library

Alexander had developed a fever and succumbed to his bed unable to even talk.

When he laid in bed he was visited by emissaries from Egypt, Ardeth Bey and Rick. It was Ahmet that told him he had too much to live for, and after a few hours of talking Turned him.

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Character Introduction / Serenity Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Dakota Moseley

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Serenity: Caretaker

 

Dakota and her sister Missouri will always tell you that they had a good loving family. Neither are surprised they both ended up taking care of Clans. it’s part of who they are.

Dakota had taken an opportunity to teach up in Sitka, Alaska, seeking a new adventure. It was a church social she met Derria Book. The two hit it off instantly. When he sat her down and told her the truth, not wanting to lie to her about who he was, she accepted it with an easy heart.

Derrida courted and married her, later she was Turned and they Bonded.

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Character Introduction / Serenity Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Robert Neville

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Serenity: Scientist

 

Robert Neville was born in New York, his parents always telling him that he could do whatever he wanted. Made sure he got a good education, to stand against prejudices and racism.

His ambition got him into the University of New York, where he earned a degree in biology and physics. He later was recruited into the US Army, moving up ranks while working in the labs to come up with new ways to defeat the Vietcong.

When he transferred to a secured location in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness he knew something was wrong. His new commanding officer, Colonel William Striker, made sure he understood that he worked for him now.

 

 

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Character Introduction / Serenity Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Connie O’Mara

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Serenity: Legal Advisor

 

Connie’s goals in life were to be a wife and mother. It’s all she wanted to be. She met John O’Mara while at Church. He was sweet, treated her with respect, and adored her. They were married a year later.

Her only disappointment was the fact she couldn’t get pregnant. They tried for many years, until John finally sat her down and told her that he loved her not that she could give him children.

They settled into their life. John promoted to Sergeant in the LAPD, and she helped with the local Catholic school, teaching young children.

Then they were blessed at the worst moment in time.

She became pregnant when John built the ‘Gangster Squad’ to go after Mickey Cohen. She loved her husband, but he wasn’t the most brilliant strategist. She helped him pick out his team, and when she met James Hickok and Noah Dixon, she instantly trusted them to take care of her husband. Part of it was because Jimmy looked so much like her husband when he was younger, just with longer hair.

It was Jimmy that had taken care of her. When John got to close to Cohen they called a hit on her. It was Jimmy who saved her. He got her out of the front rooms and into the bathroom. When she went into labor he didn’t panic but stayed with her, helping her give birth to her son.

They both knew something was wrong when she wouldn’t stop bleeding. Jimmy then confessed what he was, and how he knew her. That she in had taken him when he was a young hot headed kid and made him into the man he was today.

Connie wouldn’t deny her boy.

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Character Introduction / Serenity Clan1

Sylum Inspiration: Ben Wade

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Serenity: Lead Hunter

Ben doesn’t talk much about his childhood. He was nine years old when he was left behind on a dock in Plymouth England, by his mother. Ben realizing he’s been abandoned sneaks onto the next boat heading to the New World. He stays hidden for three months, only having the family bible to read.

When he arrives in New York, he sets out to find his mother, only to get swept up by officers and sent to an Orphanage. He plays the game and stay’s out of trouble.

Reading about a new opportunity in California, he sets out with other seeking a new life. He found some gold during the ‘Gold Rush’ enough to sustain himself.

Ben moved around the frontiers area, riding just above the law. It’s not until he finds himself in Boulder, Colorado. He found himself a saloon, settled in for a game of cards, flashed some gold around.

His only memory of that night is the green eyed girl.

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Character Introduction / Knight Clan2

Sylum Inspiration: Lilith Sternin

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Knight: Psychologist

 

Lilith’s father was a Psychologist, he was very strict and made sure the family followed his rules perfectly. When her mother killed him, Lilith knew fate was a bitch.

She grew up in the orphanage, while her other siblings were adopted. She refused to talk about what happened to her family, and kept her father’s strict rules.

She left the orphanage, went to school, and got a degree in Psychology, even after being told she couldn’t cause she was a woman.

She married, though it only lasted a few years.

She became very successful in her private practice, never babying her patients and telling them like it is.

When she ended up with a patient who thought she was Macbeth, she only blinked and asked about her relationship with her father.

Years later, Gruoch Macbeth offered her a lifetime of learning. The only condition was she would need to work with her Clan.

Lilith, humoring her, met her at her home, only to realize the castle was filled with delusional and crazy people.

She took the job.

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Character Introduction / Knight Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Roy Hicks

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Knight: Hunter

 

Roy Hicks grew up out on the Western Frontier. All he knew was his father died at the Battle of Shiloh, and his mother took him out West seeking a job as a nanny for a wealthy land owner.

Roy grew up running around the deserts, learning to live on the land from his patron’s cattle ranchers. He learned to shoot, herd cattle, speak Spanish, and a few native languages from the local Priests at the Mission that settled in the area.

He ended up the small town’s Sheriff.

Roy was prepared to ask Thomas Pace for his daughter’s hand in marriage, when everything went to shit.

Rogues rode into the town, destroying and killing everyone. Roy was able to grab Lucy and escape to the Mission, hoping to hide her so he could go get help.

Only to have the monster follow him.

Roy held Lucy as they watched the Priest fight off the Rogues, one by one they each went down. Until the last one stood, a man in a black hat.

Hicks doesn’t talk about what happened after that.

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Character Introduction / Knight Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Lucy Pace

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Lucy grew up in a small western town. Her father was a local rancher, who had good standing in the territory. Her mother made sure she had an education, which was provided by the Nuns that worked at the Mission just outside the town.

She was always happy to talk with the Priest who ran the Mission. He always seemed quiet and soft spoken. Took the time of the day to talk to her about many things: religion, philosophy, theology, and even world politics. He told her many times that she could be more than just a wife.

She was never sure about that, as all she saw in front of her was to get married and have children. He advised her to marry for love not duty and with that in mind she set out to court Roy Hicks, the local sheriff.

It was then all hell broke loose. Roy grabbed her from her home when Rogues entered the town and started killing anything that moved. He got her up to the Mission for protection.

They both stared in fascination as Priest set into battle taking out Rogues where they stood. Until the one with a black hat walked in.

They don’t talk about what happened afterwards

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Character Introduction / Knight Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: William ‘Billy the Kid’ Bonney

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Knight: Hunter

 

William Bonney was born to Irish immigrants, it is uncertain who his biological father was. Some researchers have theorized that his name was Patrick McCarty, Michael McCarty, William McCarty, or Edward McCarty. His mother’s name was Catherine McCarty, although there have been continuing debates about whether McCarty was her maiden or married name. She is believed to have emigrated to New York during the time of the Great Famine.

In 1868, Catherine McCarty had moved with her two young sons, William and Joseph, to Indianapolis, Indiana. There she met William Antrim, who was 12 years her junior. In 1873, after several years of moving around the country, the two were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and settled further south in Silver City. Antrim found work as a bartender and carpenter, but then became involved in prospecting and gambling as a way to make a living, and during that period spent very little time at home with his wife and stepsons.

McCarty’s mother reportedly washed clothes, baked pies, and took in boarders in order to provide for herself and her sons. Boarders and neighbors remembered her as a jolly Irish lady, full of life and mischief, but she was already in the final stages of tuberculosis when the family reached Silver City. On September 16, 1874, Catherine McCarty died.

At the age of 14, McCarty was taken in by a neighboring family who operated a hotel. He worked there to pay for his keep. The manager was impressed by the youth, contending that he was the only young man who ever worked for him who did not steal anything.

In 1877, McCarty (now widely known as William Bonney) moved to Lincoln County, New Mexico. Bonney, along with Brewer, Bowdre, Scurlock, the Coes and Saunders, was hired as a cattle guard by John Tunstall, an English cattle rancher, banker and merchant, and his partner, Alexander McSween, a prominent lawyer.

It’s here the story gets legendary.

Billy along with Scurlock, Chavez and the rest of Tunstell’s crew set out to bring justice to the man who murdered their employer, and became known as the ‘Regulators’.

For More Information contact the Vampire Council Library

Billy the Kid became more legend than man over the next few years, leading to confrontation with Garrett in Mexico. When Pat dragged him away from the area and told him about Vampires, and that he should ask Doc about it, Billy attacked him, for insulting his friend.

He didn’t call many friend, but Doc was one of them.

Garrett took him to see Scurlock, who was tending to Chavez, who had been Turned after the shootout with Garrett. Doc went after Pat’s throat, only to be pulled back by his Mate. Billy sat down with him and asked a lot of questions.

In the end he walked back into the desert and demanded Pat do what needed to be done.

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Character Introduction / Mod Kin Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Lucius Malfoy

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Mod: Legal Advisor/Spy Liaison

 

Lucius Turned his Mate instantly.

The two easily settled with Mod, though the uncouthness sometimes drove them both to long vacations in civilized society.

Lucius has been a good lawyer to Builwyf. His sneakiness has saved their Clan’s lands a variety of times, and his outright manipulation of Nazis during World War II had saved many lives.

When he had learned of Tavington, he was curious about a family line, but when his feud with Timothy Quinn popped up, Lucius always made sure that Timothy understood he was the handsome one with long hair, not that other one.

When his wife took the idea to go to school to get her own degree, he supported it 100%, and when the schools refused to take a woman, he made them cry and question their life choices.

Lucius has worked hand in hand with many of Kin Clans’ lawyers to make sure to protect Clan assets and members.

 

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Character Introduction / Mod Kin Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Gran

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Mod: Advisor

Gran will tell you she is as old as dirt. She probably is. She has a way about her that makes anyone see the world differently.

She had an arranged marriage, and though she didn’t love him they got a long. So despite the fact she didn’t like Hägar that much, she saw he loved her daughter and she loved him in return.

And she would never admit she admired his protective streak.

She outlived her husband, and all but one of her kids, and that was before she was Turned.

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Character Introduction / Mod Kin Clan0

Sylum Inspiration: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

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Mod: Lead Hunter

The island of Berk is a remote Viking village, from which dragons periodically steal livestock. Hiccup, the awkward son of village chieftain, Stoick the Vast, is too small to fight the dragons and instead fashions mechanical devices under his apprenticeship with Gobber the blacksmith. During one attack, Hiccup believes he has shot down a Night Fury, an extremely rare and dangerous dragon. Hiccup later finds it trapped in his bolas but finds that he can’t bring himself to kill the dragon and instead sets it free. Stoick assembles a fleet to find the dragons’ nest, leaving Hiccup in a dragon-fighting class taught by Gobber. Hiccup realizes that the Night Fury cannot fly properly because of its crippled caudal fin. Hiccup gradually domesticates the dragon and gives it the name “Toothless”, for its retractable teeth. Hiccup makes a harness and prosthetic fin that allows him to guide the dragon in free flight. By studying Toothless’ behavior, Hiccup becomes proficient in subduing the captive dragons kept for training. Stoick’s fleet arrives home unsuccessful, but he is cheered by Hiccup’s success.

Astrid, a tough Viking girl who Hiccup has a crush on, discovers Hiccup is training Toothless but before she can tell the village, Hiccup takes her for a ride to demonstrate his relationship with the dragon. Toothless unexpectedly takes the pair to the dragons’ nest where they discover a gigantic dragon named the Red Death that eats the smaller dragons unless they bring it stolen livestock.

Back at the village, Hiccup trains a captive dragon instead of subduing it in front of his father but Stoick mistakenly angers the dragon. Toothless attempts to protect Hiccup in the ensuing panic but is instead captured by the Vikings. Hiccup accidentally reveals to Stoick that Toothless is capable of locating the dragons’ nest. Stoick disowns his son and sets off for the nest with Toothless as a guide. The Vikings expel most of the dragons but are overwhelmed by the Red Death until Hiccup, Astrid and their fellow pupils fly in riding the training dragons from the academy and provide cover fire. Hiccup almost drowns trying to break Toothless free from a sinking ship but Stoick saves them both and then reconciles with his son. Toothless and Hiccup destroy the Red Death but Hiccup’s left foot is torn off in the fight. Hiccup regains consciousness on Berk where his foot has been replaced by a prosthesis.

Five years after the Viking village of Berk made peace with the dragons, they now live among the villagers as helpful companions. Hiccup goes on adventures with his dragon, Toothless, as they discover and map unexplored lands. Now 20 years old, he is being pressed by his father, Stoick the Vast, to succeed him as chieftain, although Hiccup remains unsure if he is ready for this responsibility.

While investigating a burnt forest, Hiccup and Astrid discover the remains of a fort encased in ice and encounter a group of dragon trappers led by Eret, who blames them for his fort’s destruction and attempts to capture their dragons for an insane conqueror named Drago Bludvist. The two dragon riders escape and return to Berk to warn Stoick about the dragon army that Drago is amassing. Stoick orders the villagers to fortify the island and prepare for battle. Hiccup, however, refuses to believe that war is inevitable. After Stoick interrupts Hiccup’s plan to get Eret to take him to Drago, Stoick explains that he once met Drago at a gathering of chiefs, where Drago, mocked after offering the chiefs his service in return for their servitude, murdered them all, with Stoick as the only survivor. Undeterred, Hiccup flies off with Toothless in search of Drago to try to reason with him.

They are captured by a dragon rider named Valka, who is revealed to be Hiccup’s long-lost mother. She explains that she, like her son, was unable to kill dragons. After being carried off during a dragon raid, she spent twenty years rescuing dragons from Drago’s traps and bringing them to an island nest created out of ice by a gigantic Alpha dragon called a “Bewilderbeast”, which controls smaller dragons. Stoick tracks Hiccup to the nest, where he discovers that his wife is still alive. Simultaneously, Astrid and the other riders kidnap Eret to find Drago, but Drago captures them and learns of Berk’s dragons.

Drago and his army lay siege to the nest, where he reveals that he has his own Bewilderbeast to challenge the Alpha. A battle ensues between the two colossal dragons, which ends with Drago’s Bewilderbeast killing the nest’s Bewilderbeast and becoming the new Alpha. Drago’s Bewilderbeast then seizes control of all the adult dragons, who hypnotically obey. Hiccup tries to persuade Drago to end the violence, but Drago orders him killed. Toothless, under the Bewilderbeast’s influence, approaches Hiccup and launches a blast, but Stoick pushes Hiccup out of the way and is hit instead, killing him. The Bewilderbeast momentarily relinquishes control of Toothless, but Hiccup drives him away in a fit of despair. Drago maroons Hiccup and the others on the island and rides Toothless, again under the control of the Bewilderbeast, to lead his army to conquer Berk. Stoick is given a Viking funeral and Hiccup, now having lost both his father and dragon, is unsure what to do. Valka encourages him by telling him that he alone can unite humans and dragons, and inspired by her words and his father’s, Hiccup decides to return to Berk to stop Drago.

The dragon riders fly baby dragons back to Berk, as they are immune to the Bewilderbeast’s control. They find that Drago has already attacked the village and taken control of its dragons. Hiccup confronts Drago and a brainwashed Toothless while the other riders work to distract the Bewilderbeast. Hiccup succeeds in freeing Toothless from the Bewilderbeast’s control, much to Drago’s surprise. Hiccup and Toothless briefly separate Drago from the Bewilderbeast and confront Drago on the ground, but the Bewilderbeast attacks them, encasing them in ice. However,
Toothless blasts away the ice, revealing that both he and Hiccup are unharmed. He then challenges the Bewilderbeast, firing at it repeatedly, which breaks its control over the other dragons, who now side with Toothless as the new Alpha dragon. All the dragons repeatedly fire at the Bewilderbeast until Toothless fires a final massive blast, breaking its left tusk. Defeated, the Bewilderbeast retreats under the sea with Drago on its back. The Vikings and dragons celebrate their victory and Hiccup is made chieftain of Berk.

(Dilios Note: He sat down one day to tell me the story – it’s not well known – if it is it’s a children’s story)

The fight with Drago did not end. A few years later Drago returned, attacking the village. Astrid, who Hiccup had married, was giving birth to their first born. Toothless had stayed, protecting mother and child.

Tragically they had lost Astrid.

Hiccup, in his rage, destroyed Drago and his army, giving the island its freedom. Through the battle they had lost most of the dragons they had protected. The only survivors had been Hookfang, Stormfly and Toothless.

Stormfly was found later curled up next to Astrid’s grave, giving up her own life to follow her human to Valhalla.

Hiccup raised his son Stoick Hiccup the IV to be a proud dragon warrior.

The death of Drago had brought Berk to Builwyf’s attention. He sought out the Great Chief, surprised to see such a young man, with a baby strapped to his chest. The two had a long sit down conversation and when the time came he offered to Turn him.

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