Prologue

'This is Berk.'

'Its twelve days north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery.'

'My village... in a word, Sturdy. It's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets.'

'The only problems are the pests.'

'You see most places have mice, or mosquitoes. We have...'

"Dragons"