One year ago, the Hysteric tribe attacked the Hidden World and forced the dragons from the safety of their home. Despite the assistance of the Hooligan and Berserker tribes, many dragons were captured or injured during the assault. With the Hidden World no longer hidden, many dragons left in search of a new home. Some have returned to New Berk, while others have settled on other islands throughout the archipelago. With the number of dragons throughout the archipelago rising, more and more Dragon Hunters have taken to the seas to hunt them. It's up to a new generation of Dragon Riders to rescue the captured dragons and protect the archipelago.

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It's been 16 years since Toothless and the other dragons said goodbye to their human companions to live in the Hidden World. In the years since, Hiccup and the other members of the Hooligan tribe have built New Berk into a proper village, complete with a blacksmith forge, a Great Hall, docks, and other shops and houses. With the dragons safe, the old Dragon Riders settled into their new lives and raised families of their own. Life on New Berk was peaceful.

However, across the archipelago, a new threat was rising. Unbeknownst to the Hooligans, not all dragons followed Toothless and the other dragons to the Hidden World. Any dragon left within the archipelago was being hunted by the Hysteric tribe: a tribe known for their insanity and creativity... and for being truly barbaric. When word of these new Dragon Hunters reached New Berk, the old Dragon Riders took it upon themselves to do what they do best: rescue dragons; but without dragons, taking on the Dragon Hunters was going to be a lot more difficult.

The team sailed across the archipelago in a small ship for a stealth rescue mission. They arrived at one of the Dragon Hunter outposts in the dead of night and set to work on freeing the dragons from their cages. Once the last dragon was free, they returned to New Berk for some food and rest before leading the rescued dragons to the Hidden World. Knowing that there were still dragons being hunted, the team decided that their work would not be done until all dragons were safe in the Hidden World.

For months the Hooligans fought a losing battle as they attempted to rescue the captured dragons. But without the help of their dragon companions, they were severely outgunned and outnumbered. In desperate need of backup, Hiccup enlisted the help of his old friends: Dagur the Deranged of the Berserker Tribe and his Chieftess, Queen Mala of the Defenders of the Wing. With their help, the tides began to turn and the Berkians and Berserkers successfully rescued more and more dragons together.

Meanwhile, after learning that the rescued dragons were not being sent to New Berk or their allies, the leader of the Hysteric tribe ordered a search of the entire archipelago for his stolen dragons. They searched every island around New Berk and Berserker Island, but only found wild dragons. The search continued for almost two years before a Dragon Hunter ship discovered a small Berk ship escorting a group of dragons away from New Berk toward the horizon.

With this new information, a small team of Hysterian Dragon Hunters, along with Borgar Skallagrim himself, began searching the sea in the direction the Berk ship was seen heading in. They were sure that the dragons were being hidden somewhere beyond the archipelago, and they were determined to find them. They split up and searched every island along the way, but came up empty-handed. As they reached the edge of the world, the team began to lose hope of finding the dragons; that is until a crewmate spotted something on the rocks atop a thundering waterfall. It was a dragon.

As soon as the ships neared the rocks, the dragon stirred from its lounging and leaped onto the deck of the nearest ship. The crew backed away cautiously as the Night Fury watched them with narrowed eyes and a rumbling growl. Borgar met the gaze of the dragon for a moment before signaling the other ships to turn around and return home. They had found what they were looking for. As the ships turned, the dragon leaped into the air and hovered over them before shooing them off with a roar. Although they returned to Hysteria empty-handed, they had found the location of the home of the dragons.

With the knowledge of the location of the dragons, the Hysterians had to figure out a way to get inside. No ship could get too close to the entrance without risking falling off the edge of the world. The Night Fury guarding the entrance also posed an issue, especially if this was the same Night Fury that is said to be the Alpha and king of dragons. The Alpha's ability to control dragons meant that using dragons to gain entry would be impossible. They would have to find a new way to enter the Hidden World. The greatest inventors of Hysteria set to work on creating a new means of transportation.

After many months and multiple prototypes and trials, the first dragon-less flight machine was invented: the Sky-Ship. Large pieces of leather were coated with dragon scales and sewn together in the shape of a huge bag, then attached to a ship with chains and ropes. Below deck, dragon-proof metal cages line the walls, and there is a furnace with metal pipes running up to the leather canvas that provides heat and fills the leather bag with hot air. The airbag and ship are reinforced with strips of Gronckle Iron, and the deck of the ship includes net casters, mounted crossbows, and harpoons designed to take down and capture dragons.

Armed with a small fleet of Sky-Ships, the Hysterians took to the skies and made their way to the Hidden World. They were met by an armada of Berkian and Berserker ships together with dragons and Dragon Riders. The edge of the world became a warzone as arrows, nets, fireballs, and the sound of clashing steel filled the air. The battle waged on for hours, resulting in many dragon, Berkian, Berserker, and Hysterian injuries, as well as some unlucky dragons being captured. The combined forces of the two tribes and dragons were proving to be too much for the Hysterian Sky-Ships, and they were forced to retreat back to Hysteria and lick their wounds.

Infuriated by his defeat and determined to gain access to the dragon's nest, Borgar ordered the construction of more Sky-Ships for a second onslaught. They returned to the edge of the world weeks later with more Sky-Ships, warships, and soldiers, but this time, Borgar Skallagrim joined his army in the attack. After seeing the combined forces of Viking and dragon, he knew the only way he would get what he wanted would be to force them to surrender. As the battle raged on around him, Borgar scanned the enemy forces for any kind of weakness he could exploit. That's when he saw three young black and white Night Fury-like dragons fighting beside the Alpha. On his signal, the Sky-Ships descended upon the group of dragons, sending nets and Dragon Root-tipped arrows flying through the air. A plasma shot tore through one of the ship's airbags, sending it crashing into a warship below. Another wave of arrows and nets whizzed through the air, and one arrow hit its mark.

Borgar commanded his army to cease fire and addressed Hiccup and Toothless directly. He ordered them to stand down or he would take the life of the black and white dragon, who was now locked in a cage on the deck of one of the Hysterian warships. Toothless responded with an enraged roar. On Borgar's signal, the soldiers surrounded the cage and readied their weapons. His gaze never wavered as he watched dragon and rider carefully. Before he could signal the order, Hiccup conceded and ordered the Berkians and Berserkers to stand down, and begged Toothless to do the same, promising they would get Ruffrunner back.

With the Hooligan and Berserker tribes no longer standing in his way, Borgar's army raided the Hidden World, capturing as many dragons as their Sky-Ships could carry. Hiccup, Toothless, and the other Vikings had no choice but to return home and find a way to rescue Ruffrunner and the other dragons and defeat the Hysterians.

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Timeline:

• How to Train Your Dragon, Dragons: Riders of Berk, Dragons: Defenders of Berk
  (22 Years Ago)
• Dragons: Race to the Edge
  (19 Years Ago)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2
  (17 Years Ago)
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
  (16 Years Ago)
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Epilogue)
  (7 Years Ago)
• The Hooligan tribe finds out that dragons are still being hunted
  (6 Years Ago)
• The Hooligan tribe and the Berserker tribe team up to rescue dragons
  (5 Years Ago)
• The Hysterians start searching for their "stolen" dragons
  (5 Years Ago)
• The Hidden World is discovered by Hysterian Dragon Hunters
  (3 Years Ago)
• The Hidden World is attacked and many dragons are captured
  (1 Year Ago)
• Toothless and the other dragons return to New Berk
  (1 Year Ago)