A modern AU which I should really write, because I haven't written any yet, but which I also decided to post here.
Strongly based on '
The Falcon Chronicles ' book series (Tiger Wars, Ghosts of the Forest, Wilds of the Wolf, and soon-to-come, Shark Seas), by
Steve Backshall (a British author, and also the presenter of also British TV show Deadly 60
). Those of you who've read, or heard of these books (like me; they're awesome, by the way
) might also be suited to writing this fanfic, if I don't.
Drago creates a group of half-dragon, half-human (I know, fanfic cliché
) boys (who are basically his version of the Clan, in said series of books), using modern science, who are trained to be murderers, thieves, and assassins. They don't share the appearence of dragons, though- they can't fly, they don't have scales- they only have the
characteristics of a dragon, just like the Clan only have the characteristics of an animal.
This could also be changed from a modern AU to a in-time period, in-universe fanfic (sorry, I don't know the official term
)- when modern science wasn't around, and so the boys weren't half-dragon, half-human from birth- with the introduction of a rite of passage the boys go through when they are babies, stolen from their villages and their families, which is:
They are put into a den with an Alpha-controlled mother dragon and her babies (but the mother dragon will not hurt them), and from then on, are given no human interaction or contact.
The babies' memories haven't developed yet, so they can't remember Drago, or their parents. It develops as they grow up in the den, so they think that the female dragon has always been their mother.
But their memory is not the only thing that develops during their time with their 'mother'. Their feralness also develops, too. They become less human, and more dragon; when they are angry, they growl, when they are sad, they whimper, they try to fly, by flapping their arms.
When they're completely 'dragonified'
, usually by their middle-teens, they're removed from the den, and from their 'mother', and 'brothers and sisters', and return to the outside world again.
Upon returning, they're given a name- depending on which dragon they were raised by, and therefore developed the characteristics of, translated into dragon-language (Dovahzul, I believe it's called, although it's not to do with HTTYD)- and a tattoo (which, as well as the naming, was based on the rite of passage that members of the Clan go through- but being put into a animal den-- not a dragon den, as the Clan are trained to develop the characteristics of the animals their DNA is mixed with; e.g., bear, wolf, owl, polecat, etc-- isn't part of the rite; that was actually based on what Torak--- the protagonist in British author
Michelle Paver's book, Wolf Brother; book one of the '
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness' series (Wolf Brother, Spirit Walker, Soul Eater, Outcast, Oath Breaker, Ghost Hunter) ; the rest of which, I'm getting for Christmas, hopefully--- 's father did; he put his son in a wolf den when he was small, which gave Torak the ability to sort of speak to wolves; he can read their body language.), known as the Dragonmark (book-verse fans should get the reference
), which symbolises their loyalty to both dragons and humans.
Then, they're trained to be Drago's- who is their "father"- personal bodyguards, assassins, thieves, and murderers- but in such a way that doesn't make them turn human again.
But they're trained together, so they develop a friendship, even a brotherhood, with each other, and form their own nest, of sorts.
Another idea I had, to do with this story, was, what if a hiccup was accidentally stolen from a village, and became half-human, half-dragon (Hiccup, or another hiccup, becoming half-dragon is probably another fanfic cliché, but I think that this is a fresh way of doing it)?
I think a really cool name for this story could be '
Mutation', if it's a modern AU, but '
Feral', if it's a in-time period, in-universe fic.
You guys can decide.
'
Mutation'/'
Feral' could possibly be a crossover of The Falcon Chronicles...?