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admelioraii · 2 years

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The Vikings Forest of Wilderness

Forest

The forest’s moss-covered hills bear witness of many historical events. Inside the dense, deep and old virgin woods, that were left to grow wild for centuries and centuries, we encounter both its old history as well as its enchanting beauty.

These old forests also bear testimony of many ferocious battles between Viking tribes, they have observed and homed outlaws and fugitives. The woods have been eyewitness to several tragic love affairs. Besides, they have lived through post-glacial times and seen the traces the ice-sheets left behind.

The tall dense innumerable army of trees almost completely impedes the sunlight from shining through, in this faint light, the boulders covered in green moss, scattered in the surroundings and the minute, mystical lakes with their dark, clear waters look bewildering as if entering into a fairytale.

The Vikings

After the last Ice-Age, when rising temperatures brought with them the first Swedish settlers, it was the beginning of the Vikings. From the dawn of the Viking civilization there were as many as a dozen tribes in Scandinavia but as time went by the number of tribes decreased and left were two main, rival tribes, the Swedes and the Geats.

This time period in Swedish history is referred to as “battles between Swedes and Geats” The stories of the Viking gods about Odín and his asar are just as old as the one of Swedes and Geats.

The Swedes Viking settlements were situated in and around Birka, Sweden's oldest town, located on the island of “björkö” in the lake Mälaren”(Sweden's third biggest lake).

Viking ship

This has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1993. The first mentioning of the Swedes in historical documentation comes from the Roman historian Tacticus (98 A.C) in his book “Germanía”(here they were called Suiones, Latin for Swedes).

The Geats, on the other hand, lived in more southern parts of the country and were one of the largest tribes in Scandinavia, they were definitely superior to the Swedes in numbers.

The first recorded mention of the Geats is in the manuscripts of Beowulf. The territories of the Swedes were in the surroundings of modern-day Stockholm and the Geats were located in the southern parts of the country, closer to Gothenburg. In between the two rival territories, in the heart of Sweden, there is an enormous area of impenetrable wood that formed a natural border between these adversaries.

In this vast,rugged, impassable region of old growth wood lies the notorious and feared forest kingdoms of Tylöskog, Kolmården and the most dreaded of them all Tiveden.

In this area, Sweden's southernmost wilderness of virgin forests, especially in Tiveden, the power of isolation and helplessness can clearly be felt. It is like no other place on earth, nobody knows it’s exact boundaries and if you dare enter you will probably never be able to get out, the wood will simply swallow you.

The geological history of the forest region

Stenkällan Tiveden

Tiveden forest rests on granite bedrock. When the earth’s crust ruptured, due to the heavy weight of the glacier ice (during the Ice-Age), it formed lake “Vättern’s” massive depression.

This enormous force also caused the rocks and mountains inside the forest area to break apart into the diamond shaped pattern that make up today’s main feature of the terrain. When the glacier’s ice- sheet melted, huge stone blocks and boulders broke loose and were thrown over hills and across the wooden landscape.

However, almost all the smaller materials were flushed away by the ice- stream. Enormous amounts of rocks remain in the valleys until today. The biggest loose rock in Tiveden ,forest is the “Junker Jägare” boulder, it is 15 metres high and with it comes a folk story.

The legend of “Junker Jägare” (The legend of the Nobleman hunter).

A Norwegian Junker fell in love with a beautiful maiden and asked for her hand in marriage. Her father, who belonged to the respected ancestry of Sverker, the Swedes, rejected the offer as the Junker was a Geat, besides he had already promised his daughter to a more suitable candidate.

But as the love was mutual the couple eloped the day prior to the maidens arranged marriage and they spent the night beside the huge boulder. Her father was infuriated and ordered his people to pursue the couple and to return his daughter, dead or alive.

When the couple woke up the next morning, Junker took off to hunt for something to eat, during his absence the father’s men found the maiden by the boulder.

After a long argument and fight, they killed her. The tragedy ends with Junker returning and getting heart broken. Many locals assure they sometimes see a young nobleman walking around the stone block searching for his betrothed. That is true love!

The ancestry of Sverker ruled the Swedes during the middle to end of 1100A.C

Junker Jägare's stone

The Trollkyrka rites

The intimidating forest of Tiveden has secret remnants of an eerie past, dating back to the times of the Vikings. The Vikings worshipped many gods and goddesses, each with their own personality and stories.

These gods were not immortal but they lived for a very long time and had superhuman powers. Yggdrasil or the world tree had branches that reached into the heavens and its roots made their way to the land of the dead.

Further, the Vikings believed that the world was flat, surrounded by a large ocean. If a ship sailed too close to the edge, it would fall off and disappear, never to return.

According to the Vikings , dying in battle was the most honourable way to depart life. The pegan Viking religion contained sagas*see end article, a kind of epic myths of war, magic, love, betrayal, triumph and ruin.

Eerie woods

In the outskirts of Tiveden forest on a rocky formation, now called Troll church mountain, we find a Viking sacrificial ground. This gruesome, remote place has a radical story with a blood history that dates back to the dark ages, a place for ritual senicide.

The rites are described in a folk poem documented by the folklorist Carlshult (1941).** see end article.

It was natural for the Vikings to get rid of the weak and old, as soon as they were unable to support themselves or to help provide for the family, thus senicide was common practice. For this purpose they had something called “Ätterstupa” (a precipice) ***see end article. where ritual senicides took place, the elderly or sick were simply thrown off a cliff to meet their deaths.

The Vikings travelled to far away places with their ships, they were in France, England, Ireland, Spain and the Mediterranean they even came as far as the Middle East and North America.

Most of the encounters were unfriendly involving battles,plundering and killings but they also traded and spread their traditions and habits, as an example most of the north European countries ,North America included, owe the names of the weekdays to the Vikings and their gods, at least most of them.* see end article

The legend of the red water lily

Red water Lilly

Tiveden forest got its name from:

Ti; Swedish for God

Ved; Old Swedish for wood

Thus, God’s wood. The reason is that the forest is so dense no human can walk through it.

Other people suggest that it comes from:

Twi; Old Swedish for two

Ved; Old Swedish for wood

Bisect or separate in two.

This meaning came along as the wood is impenetrable it automatically and naturally bisects the country into two.

Tiveden is a long, wide, densely forested rocky ridge. Throughout history notorious for its wilderness and dangers but there is also another side to this magic forest.

The pale, delicate light inside Tiveden forest inspires fairytales, myths and legends. The wood has many small lakes but one of them stands out “Fagertärn”, with its red water lilies.

Red water lilies are extremely rare, most water lilies in Sweden and the rest of Europe are white. The red water lilies are one of Europe’s largest and most beautiful wildflowers. The fascination with these unique, red water lilies has become the origin of a legend.

At the lake of Fagertärn there was once a poor man who had a very beautiful daughter. They lived in a small cottage. The man provided for his family by fishing and hunting.

His beautiful daughter had many admirers but one particular young man had won her heart. One day when they went to row in their little dugout of oak on the lake another admirer spotted the couple and got jealous.

He decided to end their romantic rendez-vous and swam up to the row boat with a knife that he later stabbed in the heart of the beautiful girl. She died instantly and her blood coloured the white water lilies red.

Since this day the water lilies in the lake turned red and the lake was named “Fagertärn”.

Fager; Old Swedish for beautiful

Tärna; Old Swedish for maiden

A slightly different version tells that the father of the beautiful maiden had difficulties providing for his family, thus he was offered by the Nix (a water spirit) great catches of fish in return for his daughter. The man desperately agreed.

When the maiden went down to the shore to meet the Nix, he requested from her to come with him to his abode, but the girl refused. Instead she took out a knife and said that he would never have her alive, then stuck the knife into her heart and fell down dead into the lake. The end is identical to the previous version.

The arrival of spring

Wood anemones

When day becomes longer, lighter and warmer the dark wilderness starts to wake up from its winter slumber. The sombre atmosphere disappears and the forest starts to thrive.

Tiveden forest has a generous amount of wildlife, amongst the most famous species are: the moose, the wolf, the brown bear, the lynx and the wolverine. As the forest rejoices on its own, the animals too have a reason to celebrate, most of them have got cubs or babies by now.

The birds on the other hand, openly show their satisfaction by singing in chorus, their twittering and chirping fill the entire wilderness with optimism. An old-growth or virgin forest like Tiveden is ecologically significant as it is much more efficient at sequestering carbon than newly planted forests.

Wild forests contain rare species of flora and fauna and being so biologically diverse make them essential to us. As the trees in Tiveden are numerous and big they require lots of water and nutrients. Furthermore, due to their size they block the sunlight from reaching down through their branches and leaves. This makes it difficult for other smaller plants and flowers to survive, thus the diversity of plants is limited in this dense forest.

However, in spring when everything in the forest is reborn, the welcoming arrival of two very special spring flowers rejoices the forest and everyone in it.

It is the charming wood anemone and the hepatica that fill the brownish colourless wood with a colourful and vivid carpet of white and blue, bringing new hope and promise of brighter days and a jubilant future.

Hipatica

...

* Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday have their roots in Viking mythology;

Tuesday- Tyr or Tir = god of justice and war.

Wednesday- Odín ( meaning: wood) =the most powerful god married to Frigg.

Thursday-Thor = the god of thunder and weather.

Friday- Frigg = wife of Odín and goddess of love and marriage.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday originate from the Hellenistic astrology.

** Further Readings:

*** Several places in the Nordic countries are alleged to be former suicide precipices:

Keillers Park in Göteborg has a precipice called Ättestupan.

A part of the village Åby outside of Norrköping was called Ättetorp, and in the nearby forest there is a precipice called Ättestupan.

Precipices at Vargön and close to the lake Vristulven in Västergötland.

Ättestupeberget at Långared (Alingsås kommun, Västergötland)

Ättestupan in Västra Tunhem (Vänersborgs kommun, Västergötland)

Kullberget in Hällefors (Örebro län) is locally called "ättestupan".

Olofströms kommun between Olofström - Gaslunda, by the lake Orlunden.

The western cliff faces of Omberg in Östergötland are said to be an ättestupa.

Virsehatt nature reserve in Halland is said to be an ättestupa.

(Source)

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beaniewritess · 4 years

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( EMILIA CLARKE, SHE/HER, FEMALE ) HEAR YE, HEAR YE! Allow me to introduce DEMETRIA SVERKER of NORWAY. The 26 year old PRINCESS is known to be INTELLIGENT and COMPASSIONATE, but rumors about court claim SHE can be IMPULSIVE and HEADSTRONG when crossed. Only time will tell where their interests belong. Penned by JILL ( EST + 25 + SHE/HER ).

THE BASICS

Name: Demetria Sverker

Age: 26

General physical description: Striking long white blonde hair, small stature at only just over 5 feet tall, green eyes, stunningly beautiful

Hometown: Oslo, Norway

Relationship status: Unmarried

Current family: Olav Sverker; father, stepped down from the throne, King Hadven Sverker older brother, Jonas Sverker; older brother, Duke of Bavaria

Friends: Demi considers her handmaiden a close friend, even though she waits and helps her. She respects her like family.

Other close relationships: Her older brother, middle, and her have an establishing pen pal relationship but with him living in a different country was harder for them to be close.

Relationship with men: Having been born in royalty, Demi knows it’s only a matter of time before she is sent off to marry for political gain. However, she has always dreamed of finding love.

Relationship with women: Demetria tends to get along with other women because she is nurturing but isn’t weak. There aren’t many she’s close to but she relates to them and wants to have more women around her, being raised in a male dominated environment.

Job: Princess

Dress style: Flowy dresses like a princess should wear, but she wears pants and shoes underneath that are sensible and sometimes pushes the envelope on acceptable princess outfits.

Favorite pastimes: Reading history books and scrolls, riding horses

PERSONALITY

Strongest positive personality trait: Intelligence. She is far more intelligent than most her age let alone females in royalty. Her ability to learn and eagerness to become the best potential ruler she could be helped her get to where she is. Part of her intelligence is due to her incredible intuition. It has helped her learn on the fly.

Strongest negative personality trait: Unforgiving. Demetria is a Sverker and by nature she is unforgiving. That doesn’t mean she is ruthless and brutal, it just means that if someone crosses her or betrays her she has no reason to show mercy. It is not a gray area.

Sense of humor: In the right setting, Demi can be smiley and silly but because of their family she has chosen to surpress that and only let a select few see it.

Temper: Demi is level headed compared to her eldest brother but that is because she is very calculated. While she might have a temper, she surpasses it with a calm deamanor which can be twice as lethal.

Consideration for others: Unlike the sterotype of her family, Demetria is extremely compassionate. Her father always saw this as a weakness however, Demi sees it as a strength. With compassion comes insight into things you never would have known without the help of other people. While she can be harsh and unforgiving, she is first and foremost compassionate.

How other people see her: Because she is compared to the King often, most people assume she is just as brutal and cruel as him. But as soon as they see and meet her, they see she is level headed, compassionate, and loyal.

Opinion of herself: Demetria is confident and thinks she could be a great ruler one day. She doesn’t think she will ever get the chance because her brother is currently King and will be King until he dies. And even then she is woman, not “fit” to rule alone. But she believes she can do the best for her people and wants to show that.

Other traits, especially those to be brought out in story: Demetria doesn’t always agree with her family’s ruthlessness. She understands it in battle and to enemies, but to have that merciless attitude at all times? Demi believes it will be the downfall of her brother.

AN ENDING

Ambitions: Become a ruler, without marrying a King and do the best thing for her people.

#gphq.intro #this is subject to vary slightly once I plot with the other family members #but this is the general gist

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hail-halvdan · 4 years

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( HENRY CAVILL, HE/HIM, CISMALE ) HEAR YE, HEAR YE! Allow me to introduce HALVDAN SVERKER of NORWAY. The THIRTY-FIVE year old KING is known to be INTUITIVE and AMBITIOUS , but rumors about court claim HE can be SPITEFUL and CRUEL when crossed. Only time will tell where their interests belong. Penned by Alexis( est + 25 + she/her )

THE BASICS

Name: Halvdan Sverker

Age: 35

General physical description:

Hometown: 6′1, muscular build, strikingly white snow white hiar

Type of home: Castle

Relationship status: Single, but actively looking. Interested in an equal

Current family: King’s brother, Duke of Brandt , Princess: Demetria Sverker

Family background (parents, previous marriages, etc.): Royal Family of Norway

Friends: TBA

Other close relationships: TBA

Relationship with men: Always looking to get ahead and stay on top.

Relationship with women: Looking to stay ahead and be on top, but is interested in equal

Job: King of norway

Dress style: Always in fighting attire.

A BRIEF LOOK

Religion: None

Attitude to religion: Hal thinks he is God himself.

Favorite pastimes: Practice fighting, horse riding, hunting,

Hobbies: Archery

Favorite foods: Pickled Herring

PERSONALITY

Strongest positive personality trait: Intuitive, Adaptive, Ambitious

Strongest negative personality trait: Spiteful, Cruel,

Sense of humor: Rare

Temper: Short

Consideration for others: Not much

How other people see him/her: AS a monster but he is okay with that

Opinion of him/herself: He is almighty.

Other traits, especially those to be brought out in story: Although his methods are unorthodox, he believes the kingdoms need a true leader, they need him to restore the balance.

AN ENDING

Ambitions: To rule all the countries

Philosophy of life: Some people may have to die for purpose

Most important thing to know about this character: Do not cross him

HEADCANONS

Write anything you like about your character (background, personality, etc)

Ill add to this later

#Vanity #gphq.intro #archiv

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coco-chip · 7 years

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Song Recs meme! DJ Okawari - Flower Dance / Daughter - Numbers / Nier OST - Kainé:Escape / Night Tempo センパイ - Night Cruising / Mud Flow - The Sense Of Me / Stromae - Tous les mêmes / IA - Planisphere / Corvus Corax - Sverker / The Chieftains - Away We Go Again / Yes - Roundabout / Stuck In The Sound - Let's Go / REOL - ちるちる (ChiruChiru) / David Bowie - Little Wonder / Imagine Dragons - Believer / Coldplay - Hymn For The Weekend (I hope it's not too much ^^)

Furaill im tearing up im so happy i got all these song recs! Its not too much at all!! Sorry for the late response i wanted to go through each song and give it a proper review. since theres so many im not gonna use the meme format cause itd get too long just write a little a sentence or two about it

DJ Okawari - Flower Dance: woah what a jam! I’ve never heard a chillstep mix using piano like that its so nice! its such a pretty song too i can just sit back and relax with it as bg noise. going into my likes right away :)Daughter - Numbers: oh i heard this song in the lis trailer! It’s a little too soft and melancholy for me to listen to on a regular basis but its still a nice song for white noise.Nier OST - Kainé:Escape: I have not watched or listened to anything from nier before this so i was not expecting such a song! The strings and percussion was great! It’s so nice! feels like a movie track or an anime ed very smooth and nice to listen to! Adding this to my likes right awayNight Tempo センパイ - Night Cruising: I’m a huge fan of future funk so im glad to see something like this recommended to me even tho i havent mentioned it before. This is a nice jam very soft but enjoyable quite like a late night drive haha. Added to my likes!

Mud Flow - The Sense Of Me: Another lis song! I really like the guitar in this one. not something id listen to on a regular basis but still niceStromae - Tous les mêmes: Loved this from the first note. Im a huge fan of electroswing and i really should listen to more foreign music cause its always so good! Especially french songs theres alot of french songs i like. I dont knowa lick of french so i need to search up the meanings behind the song but just from listening its a good bopIA - Planisphere: IA!! Maybe im not looking in the right places but i dont see enoug good songs using her voice bank i think she sounds really ncie and should be used more. Very futuristic and funky makes me feel like im playing a scifi game. It’s v nice even tho its p long. makes for great bg noise

Corvus Corax - Sverker: now this really sounds like a movie track. the pipes are real nice and i like the drums. not a song id listen to regularly but its coolThe Chieftains - Away We Go Again: Oh shit!! Irish tapdance! this kind of music is so cool makes me want to dance along lol its so interesting to hear how the song changes in the middle into a more melodic tune i can imagine a fairy tale being told with this in the bgYes - Roundabout: you should know my jojo ass owns this song. that being said i dont actually like the song that much i keep it more for the memes dontkillmejojofans

Stuck In The Sound - Let’s Go: I’ve heard this song before not really my jam but its by no means a bad song its just not my kind of genreREOL - ちるちる (ChiruChiru): Woa this song is sick! A real headbopper! I have to search to understand the words but its a nice song adding to my likes right away David Bowie - Little Wonder: I’m a fan of david bowie but this isnt my kind of song. the instrumental and vocals just clash too much for meImagine Dragons - Believer: I’ve listened to this song before. not my thing despite me usually liking imagine dragons songs Coldplay - Hymn For The Weekend: another song ive listened to this song i got mixed feelings about cause i will listen to this song on the radio but i dont really want it in my phone or anything. its catchy but not something id listen to regularly

#thank you!!#sorry for ramblin on #tumblr memes #long post #dont be afraid to send me even more song recs i love discovering new jamz #thank you for sending in all these songs even the ones i didnt like! I really appreciate it #furaill #asks

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