Årsgång
A/N: Hej, welcome to Årsgång. This story is based on the adventure/horror game known as "Year Walk". Year Walk is set in 19th Century Sweden, and is based on Scandinavian (and, by extension, English) Folklore and the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian idea of Year Walking. The first paragraph is a direct quote from the start of the game, and the chapters are all named after the songs in the game. They are by Daniel Olsén, apart from "Oh the Joy", which is by Jonathan Eng. As the chapters are named after the songs, there will be approximately 19 in total. "Year Walk" belongs to Simogo entertainment, "Hetalia: Axis Powers" belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya, Studio Deen and FUNimation Entertainment. The idea to create this story is mine. Welcome to your Årsgång.
Quick Note – The pairings can be ignored, whilst they romance itself is quite important to the story, those involved in it aren't that much.
Berwald Oxenstierna is Sweden.
Berwald is a German, Danish and Swedish last name meaning "Bear forest". (As far as I can tell, it's not a first name.) Oxenstierna, an ancientSwedishnoble family, the origin of which can be traced up to the middle of the 14th century, which had vast estates inSödermanlandandUppland, and began to adopt its armorial designation of Oxenstierna ("Ox-forehead";stierna, in modern spelling "stjärna", has the double meaning of "star") as a personal name towards the end of the 16th century.
Nidhug Dahl is Denmark.
Nidhug is the Danish form of the Old Norse name Níðhöggr, which means "cruel biter". In Norse Mythology, Níðhöggr is a dragon that gnaws at the foot of Yggdrasil; the World Tree. Its name might refer to its role as a horrific monster or in its action of chewing the corpses of the inhabitants of Náströnd: those guilty of murder, adultery, and oath-breaking (which the Norsemen considered among the worst possible crimes). Dahl is a Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish last name meaning "valley". Its most famous bearer was Roald Dahl, a famous author with Norwegian parentage born in Llandaff, Wales.
Arthur Alvey is England (Kirkland is a Scottish name.)
Arthur is a Celtic name of obscure meaning, suggestions include "bear-man", "king", "war leader", "emperor" or "warrior". Alvey is an English name derived from the Anglo-Saxon "Ælfwig", meaning "Elf battle".
Hrafn is Iceland
Hrafn is an Icelandic name meaning "Raven". In most cultures, Ravens are bringers of death, however, in English folklore, there is a legend that is there are less than 6 Ravens at the Tower of London, England shall fall to hard times, but if there are none, our country will fall and exist no longer.
Sorry for so much information, I love this game and researching for it is very fun!
Rörliga Bilder
In the old days, man tried to catch a glimpse of the future in the strangest of ways. They locked themselves in dark rooms, not partaking of food and drink. At the stroke of midnight, they ventured out into the night, through the dark woods where strange creatures roamed. To see if they would be wealthy, to see if they would be happy, to see if they would live, to see if they would be loved. This was known as Årsgång, or Year Walking.
Jag antar att detta var en prolog...
Berwald Oxenstierna tried to stay away from conflict. A great many people found this fact about the Swede confusing, when taking into account his rich Viking heritage – a trait shared by many of the Scandinavian peoples – the truth was he just didn't really see the point.
However, there was one man with whom he would almost always start a quarrel, and that man's name was Nidhug Dahl, a Dane that his lover had promised to marry.
Oh...his lover, Arthur Alvey, originally from Lancaster, he'd taken a ship to Denmark when he was 19, and had met Berwald's long-time rival, Nidhug. They'd moved to Vedtorp the year before, where Arthur had agreed to marry the Dane.
Nidhug worked in Stockholm from Monday to Friday, returning on Friday and going back to work on Sunday. This left Berwald quite a bit of time to sneak visits to Arthur, and today was one such day.
Silently, the native of Sweden left his cottage in the woods, and began the 20 Minute trek to the mill in the village where Arthur worked. It was getting dark, and Berwald felt the need to hurry, in case any Mylingen sprang at him, or the Bäckahästen appeared out of the stream he needed to cross.
Berwald soon reached the outskirts of the forest, and saw the village Kvarn in his direct line of sight. Looking around, he dashed towards the door, and quickly entered, smoothly and quietly closing the door behind him.
There were only two windows in the Kvarn, and the evening light shone through them, lighting up the dust in the air. The smell was slightly stale, but welcoming. He could hear Arthur softly singing somewhere.
"Black clouds are behind me,
I know can see ahead,
Often I wonder why I try,
Hoping for an end,
Sorrow weighs my shoulders down,
And trouble haunts my mind,
But I know the present will not last,
And tomorrow will be kinder.
Tomorrow will be kinder,
It's true I've seen it before,
A brighter day is coming my way,
Yes, tomorrow will be kinder."
"Vacker, som alltid, min kärlek," Berwald smiled, and Arthur walked into his view, his mid-length blond hair in a pony tail, and a sweet smile on his face.
"There you are! I've been waiting for you all day!"
Jag tror att historien kommer att bli läskigt...