Chapter 55: And Who We Make Ourselves To Be

*…with all due respect to my esteemed colleagues, the specific metaphor they used to describe the pull that Berk had upon merchant traffic is inaccurate and inadequate, as a magnet will only attract iron filings within a certain short distance, and the pull rapidly drops off from there. In contrast, it appears that the seagoing merchants across all of Europa in the era attempted and typically succeeded in making their way to Berk for trade within two years of the domestication of dragons.*

*According to the bills of sale, lading, and customs declarations recorded by Ingerman's archives, merchants from across the Mediterranean were flocking to Berk by April of 1042, hearing of the riches of the tamed dragons. Previously, Berk had been a hazard port, where only those who were willing to risk being attacked by wild dragons went—although the demand for dragon-derived materials was such that some still made the journey, especially due to the near-total depopulation of dragons from the Mediterranean region over the previous two thousand years. In the aftermath of the demise of the Green Death, the danger had evaporated, and this new opportunity for profit without major risk caused a significant draw to head to Berk with all possible haste. Over the course of 1042, over a hundred merchant ships from as far away as the Fatimid capital of Cairo visited Berk—and, two years earlier, there had been only two such visits.*

*As such, magnetic seems to be inadequate as a metaphor to communicate the depth of the impact upon the commercial traffic of the era, as the draw became even more intense as the distance grew. While I acknowledge that Historians Paulson, bat Rivka, and Larson prefer to focus on the religious aspects of the subsequent conflicts, their consistent downplaying of the economic factors does them a disservice…*

*—Dr. Dame Karolina Haddock, PhD, Professor of Norse History, Vedrarfjord University, Debate during the 89th Annual Symposium on Imperial History*

## Major Events

* In Nidaros, Marte helps Tuffnut practice walking with crutches. He politely turns down a romantic relationship with her.
* In Constantinople, Sigurd learns from a street urchin that many citizens dislike the emperor.
* Hákon and Gunvor meet with the abbot of a monastery now in their territory.
* Heather and Fishlegs meet Fearghas mac Flann, a glassmaker.
* Sigurd is ordered to tell the Roman commanders about Berk, and tells them that there are over ten thousand dragons there.
* Hiccup unveils his newest invention, a laundry system using hot water. He also invents the wheelbarrow.
* Wulfhild and Astrid tell Hiccup that they're pregnant. He tells Stoick, who tells the whole tribe.
* News of tamed dragons and riders reaches the Pechenegs and the mysterious dragon hunter.
* Fintan and the other Eirish chosen to go to Berk arrive.
* Many hundreds more people show up for Thawfest, including several Mormaers of Alba, among their numbers Fergus Dunbroch and Dagur mac Oswald, Heather's murderous brother.

## Characters

### Humans

* Tuffnut Thicknutsson
* Marte
* Snotlout clan Jorgenson
* Gudmund Hallvarsson
* Gunnar Bræsisson
* Benjamin Axelsson
* Unnamed Greek boy
* Gunvor Dugaldsdóttir
* Hákon Mortensson
* Unnamed monk
* Abbot Berach
* Heather
* Fishlegs clan Ingerman
* Tynni Órgíslsdóttir
* Gobber the Belch
* Fearghas mac Flann
* Katakalon Kekaumenos
* Jorn Eriksson
* Kristoffer
* Unnamed Roman officer
* Hiccup clan Haddock
* Stoick the Vast
* Gobber the Belch
* Fishlegs clan Ingerman
* Aodh clan Thorston
* Astrid Hákonsdóttir clan Haddock
* Wulfhild of Norway
* Unnamed dragon hunter (first appearance)
* Unnamed Pecheneg messenger
* Unnamed Pecheneg elder
* Fintan mac Ionatan
* Hensteeth Axwitsson
* Hammeredge Frodesson
* Mormaer Fergus of Dunbroch (first appearance)
* Elinor Dunbroch (first appearance)
* Merida Dunbroch (first appearance)
* Harris, Hubert, and Hamish Dunbroch
* Mormaer Macintosh (first appearance)
* Mormaer MacGuffin (first appearance)
* Mormaer Dagur mac Oswald clan Murchadh (first appearance)

### Dragons

* Toothless
* Meatlug
* Stormfly
* Mistletoe

## Analysis

### Foreshadowing

<spoiler> This is the first mention by name of Dror ben Ezra, Fishlegs's great-grandfather. </spoiler>

### Epigraph Tie-In

* The epigraph mentions hundreds of ships from even far-away places visiting Berk. The chapter shows Berk being informed of their incoming visitors and later all those visitors arriving.