The Fire Tides Chapter 6 - Maelstrom Metamorphosis
Since I've been away for so long, it's only fair I get more chapters done hehe! Here's chapter 6, where Hiccup and Toothless get separated from everyone and the plot begins for The Fire Tides. This was quite a challenge to write, especially since it's filled with a lot of visuals of the maelstrom so I tried to give it my best shot! Hope you guys enjoy it!
“Are you cold?” Hiccup whispered to Astrid, shuffling closer to her.
“The winds are quite strong for some reason,” Astrid wrapped her arms around him, “It’s quite strange.”
“Astrid’s right,” Valka approached the two huddled up, “There’s something a bit peculiar about the wind levels right now.”
“Perhaps it’s the night’s calling? They do tend to get very strong in the evening hours,” said Hiccup.
“Maybe. Although, it would be best if we fly south-east for now. Just to steer clear of the gusts,” Valka walked to the Foreverwing’s head.
“Yeah, we can change our direction once the wind levels have calmed down a bit.”
Astrid glanced at the others all snoring, lying in a little coup. They really were worn out from all the mead; it was insane how easily they fell to their knees. She turned her head upwards; the stars seemed to not be as visible even though it was practically nightfall. With the shadows consuming them all, she felt the wind against her face, harshly and strongly, almost in a mocking manner. Astrid stiffened. Something just didn’t feel right. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it but there was definitely something up.
“For Thor’s sake,” Hiccup wrapped his arms tightly around her as the gusts grew stronger, “The gods seriously are rethinking whether to keep you with me!”
Astrid looked down in unease, holding onto him tightly.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t feel too good.”
“Oh,” Hiccup looked at her in concern, “Are you feeling really cold?”
He began rubbing her arms to try and warm her up; the last thing he wanted was for Astrid to end up with a fever once they arrived at Berk.
“No, I just feel like something’s not-”
A thunderous quaking arose. The lightning struck the waters with a sharp current, stealing any surviving glimmers of the stars and shaping it into a singular electrifying flash. Right beneath them, the tides began to spiral, sharply and intensely, coiling into a foaming and tumultuous pit of anguish - a crater in the seas mined by Njord himself. The quaking grew louder. And gradually, the strong winds that struck the riders from above began to, instead, intensify from below, with the prodigious hole releasing its fumes in a strong desire to absorb any forms of life like a blaring suction machine. “A maelstrom!” Valka instantly leapt onto Cloudjumper, “Everyone get up!” Hiccup stood up in an instant, jumping onto Toothless, “For Thor’s sake! Not now!” “Guys, wake up! On your dragons!” Astrid yelled, finally realising what her gut meant. The Foreverwing cried, feeling itself being pulled in by the gyrating waters. Harshly, the lawnlike dragon jostled itself with all its might in an attempt to avert the whirlpool. In doing so, it ended up jostling its passengers awake as well. Snotlout screamed as he went flying across the Foreverwing’s back, slamming into one of his high trees.
“Aarghh!” He yelled in pain, “Why is it that whenever I try to get some beauty sleep, I always end up opening my eyes up to a precarious situation?!“
“Hey! Snotlout, watch out!” yelped Fishlegs, as Meatlug nearly collided into him.
Hookfang caught his rider in an instant, speeding past the timber and bushes in irritation. The monstrous nightmare huffed loudly, heating up and covering himself in boisterous flames. Barf and Belch also managed to make a quick rescue of their riders too, sighing in defeat as they began to hear the exasperated mutters of the now awoken twins.
“Sister, are you seeing this or am I simply dreaming?”
“No Brother, this is reality.”
Ruffnut and Tuffnut widened their eyes in shock as their smiles grew. “A maelstrom!” They both cheered in ecstasy.
“This is of such a beauty that our eyes are not worthy to behold, do you see the speed at which those waves spin?! The foam that so effortlessly builds up right in the centre?!”
“You are not mistaken Brother! And that quaking noise! It sounds way better than the lava pit that Throk showed us back at Mala’s!”
“Oh Thor, please let it be! Let us be swooped in by those strong currents, let us feel the gusts slap our face and the tides mess up our hair!” cried Tuffnut in pure unaltered worship.
“No, let us not have to deal with any of that Thor!” called Hiccup, as he adjusted Toothless’ tail fin to give them more altitude.
“It’s too strong Hiccup!” Eret nudged Skullcrusher to push even harder against the current.
“We have to stay in the air! C’mon guys, push through!” The riders all thrusted against the engulfing winds, forcing past the suction of the pulsating seas. Their efforts were, however, dying in vain. Much more vigorously, the waves convulsed and pounded against its own body of water, swinging and thrashing like a bloody diseased merchant gasping for air. Astrid felt her grip on the saddle loosen by the sheer velocity of the wind. The tight coldness slammed against her wrists and she felt her body being shoved off by the sudden squall of wind shooting right at her waist.
“Aah!”
Hiccup noticed the agitated squawking of Stormfly. His eyes widened as he saw Astrid plummeting from her dragon, nearing closer to the maelstrom.
“Astrid!” He cried, pushing Toothless towards the whirlpool, “I know bud. But we can’t let her get dragged in!”
“Hiccup! Don’t-” Astrid struggled to get her words out with how powerful the winds were.
The Night Fury and the Deadly Nadder were both at a very perilous spot. The eye of the maelstrom glared at the two in envy, wishing to split them up like the flying debris that it was currently slicing in half. Desperately, Hiccup and Toothless dove towards Astrid.
“Hiccup!” Valka cried, seeing how close he was to the spiralling hole.
Hiccup gasped as the wind tugged at his lungs and twisted his stomach. Shakily extending his arm out, he stretched his hand down towards her, challenging the gravitational gale that was pushing Astrid to her descent. With tear-induced eyes, she slowly held her hand up in response, thrusting her arm against the burning current that was ramming her down to the depths of hell.
They both held each other’s gaze, tightening their eyes in solemnity. He couldn’t see the glow of the stars in her pupils any longer. Toothless’ tail was sliding off. The thunder became deafening. And by nature’s will, the spiritual strings connecting their fingertips within that monumental gap was sliced by a final gush of wind, incontestably severing the remaining fusion between the two. Like a drill in the ocean splicing the central unit, the whirlwind spun its threads to close off any remaining gaps and released a powerful striking blow that propelled each of the riders to their own solitary ends. Their screams were overpowered by the thunderous roars and, slowly yet softly, clusters of raindrops began to fall - a dire attempt to calm the fiery tides.
So, things have turned completely upside down now! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, this is where things start to go haywire and we'll see a lot of Hiccup development, as well as the development of the other characters in the upcoming chapters. I'm really hooked in writing this and I thank you guys for being patient and appreciating my work, it really means a lot as someone who's planning to release her own novel in the future! I'll continue to make this project the best that I can and continue to improve my writing! :)
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