Chapter 116: Game, Set, Match

*A man of wisdom charts*

*through shoals of adversity*

*wracked by dark night waves*

*their motions unknown.*

*Tides rage, wind blows*

*rocks grasp and tear*

*sea foam and fog blind*

*hazards to good sailing.*

*But a course can be charted*

*the fears of the crew calmed*

*a steady hand at the rudder*

*and the foresight to go on.*

*Sailors unsteady themselves.*

*the face of the unknown, fear,*

*what is not understood, panic.*

*Snared beasts lashing out*

*Key is knowledge and insight*

*therein lies wisdom, direction.*

*A course plotted through danger*

*the final sinking forestalled.*

*Comprehend the battering waves,*

*learn of the scudding shoals,*

*watch the sky with a fair eye,*

*and consider their motions.*

*See the crew and know their fears.*

*The wise, the weak, the new, and the bleak.*

*Know your crew, know your course*

*And chart accordingly to never sink.*

*—Raðsnjallamal, The Words of The Wise Counsel, from the Saga of Forseti, Reformed Norse Canon*

## Major Events

* Fergus and Elinor meet Eret.
* Ruffnut rededicates herself to Loki.
* Sigurd and his tagma continue trying to court the dragons of the Black Sea nest to join the Byzantines.
* The Eirish play their iománaíocht tournament.
* A craftsman, Óengus, approaches Hiccup with pendants to remember Fearless by. Hiccup and Toothless agree to provide some of Toothless' scales to complete the pendants.
* Adhamh's welfare fraud is discovered and he is arrested pending trial with his documents confiscated as evidence.
* William bonds with the Skrill and names him Mjolnir.
* Fishlegs' and Heather's son, Oswald is born (actually a month earlier, but this is his first appearance).
* Jonna discovers Gregor and identifies him as a spy for Mac Bethad.

## Trivia

The Harā Bərəzaitī Nest, which the Romans visit, is named after a mountain in Persian mythology.

## Characters

### Humans

* Stoick the Vast
* Fergus Dunbroch
* Eret Eretsson
* Cami Berthasdóttir
* Merida Dunbroch
* Elinor Dunbroch
* Ruffnut Thicknutsdóttir
* Gothi Hiccupsdóttir
* Magnus the Good
* Heike Eretsson
* Thuggory Mogadonsson
* Jyette Markusdóttir
* Sigurd Trondsson
* Benjamin Axelsson
* Gudmund Hallvarsson
* Gunnar Bræsisson
* Hákon Mortensson
* Gunvor Dugaldsdóttir
* Hiccup clan Haddock
* Óengus, aire cerd of the Úi Duach (first appearance)
* Reidun Hemmingsdóttir
* William of Normandy
* Adhamh
* Fishlegs clan Ingerman
* Heather
* Oswald Fishlegsson (first appearance)
* Jonna Asgersdóttir
* Gregor

### Dragons

* Hookfang
* Harā Bərəzaitī nest-lord
* Toothless
* Crimson Goregutter
* Mjolnir (first appearance)
* Stormfly
* Mistletoe
* Thornado

## Analysis

### Epigraph Tie-In

* The epigraph is themed around knowing how the world and people actually work as opposed to how one thinks they work to chart a proper course. The chapter shows the following:
	+ Fergus, not realising how insensitive he was, unknowingly hurting Eret by saying "Look at what my lass found" as if Eret was an object.
	+ Hakon, knowing he doesn't want to be a person who rules by force over a restive populace that resents him, appeals to the Eirish by turning their traditional games into a grand competition and gifting them the equipment required to play it.
	+ The priest who was preaching against the pagan Hooligans suddenly losing most of his flock since he could not predict the Buffalord spit curing all manner of ailments causing a lot of Christians to change their minds.