Book I, Chapter 2
In the popular imagination, the end of the Viking Era is inevitably tied together with the Hero of Berk, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Despite the hagiographic efforts of both contemporary and subsequent biographers, according to both his own accounts and those of his associates, he was an extremely humble individual throughout his entire life, his journals revealing a man honestly bewildered and disturbed by the adulation. However, his accomplishments do speak for themselves, as a polymath and inventor whose name has become synonymous with both genius and altruism in the subsequent centuries...
— The Second Flowering Of Yggdrasil: An Analysis Of The Norse Resurgence, 1710
Tropes That Appear In This Chapter:
- I Hate Past Me: During her talk with Hiccup, Astrid admits that she is not fond of how she treated him in the pastAstrid: Sure, I didn't taunt you like Snotlout and the others did, but I never tried to stop them either. Not once. And then… I showed up to bully the secret of how you were doing so well out of you. Because I knew that that would work. That I could just scare and beat it out of you and then I'd be 'better' than you, that you were somehow cheating. And now… I'm really angry with myself about that.
- I Have Nothing to Say to That: Chestnut tries to counter Ruffnut's claim that she is the only available girl Snotlout's age, but realises he can't.
- "The Hero Sucks" Song: When Snotlout requests a saga from Ruffnut, she gives him one mocking him.Little pup with little paws, lout yap from loud jaws,
Look at me, look at me! The pup slobbers snot— - Like Father, Like Son: According to Chestnut, a young Stoick had similair bouts of Imposter Syndrome as what Hiccup is currently going through.
- Mundane Utility: Ever since making peace with the dragons, Hiccup has since taken many of his ideas for war machines and reworked them for less harmful purposes, including the idea of a dragon rookery.
- Shrinking Violet: Hiccup is very clearly uncomfortable with all of the praise and sagas being told in his honor, having gone so long with the opposite.
