Smoke and sea mist tangled together above the churning water as the dragon hunters’ ships cracked and burned, their heavy nets sinking uselessly into the dark waves below. Hiccup guided Toothless in a sharp arc over the battlefield, the wind roaring past as firelight flickered across shattered masts and scrambling figures. Below them, hunters shouted in panic, harpoons clattering across decks that were already half-collapsed, the raid unraveling into chaos.

That was when a streak of unfamiliar color tore through the haze. A dragon unlike any they had seen before folded its wings and dove with startling speed, its scales catching the light as the rider leaned forward in perfect sync. The stranger moved with clean, deliberate motions, slicing through thrown bolas, knocking harpoons aside, and freeing trapped dragons with an efficiency that spoke of long, dangerous experience. Astrid swung Stormfly closer, axe resting in her palm, eyes narrowed and alert. Fishlegs stared openly, breathless, already muttering about wing span ratios and unknown subspecies, while Ruffnut loudly announced that she liked the rider’s dramatic entrance and Tuffnut immediately claimed it as his idea.

The unfamiliar dragon pulled up at the edge of the smoke, hovering just long enough for the rider to turn. A polished mask caught the firelight, hiding their face but not the steady confidence in their posture. For a brief, charged moment, their gaze met Hiccup’s across the open sky, curiosity meeting caution, ally or enemy still undecided. Then, with a powerful beat of wings, the stranger shot upward into the clouds and vanished, leaving the battlefield eerily quiet and the riders of Berk with far more questions than answers.