A/N: (featuring Artemis Hexley by @the-al-chemist) I don’t claim to know a lot about Norwegian Yuletide but I did some research so I hope it’s good! Also I used a song called Lifeblood by Wyndreth Berginsdottir in the chapter. I wanted a song that was really old but google failed me and this was all I could find. It’s a bit newer than I wanted as it’s 1993. And sorry it’s so long, I’m on Mobile and can’t put a read more cut oof. Merry Christmas!
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Southwest of Norway, The North Sea - December 24th, 1997, 3:14 PM
The Jormungandr raced unnaturally fast towards the growing landmass ahead of them, the sails blown by an enchantment. Aboard the vessel were two figures wrapped in fur cloaks. Kaari Arcano stood at the bow, his arm wrapped around the dragon figurehead and his eyes eagerly scanning the horizon for the familiar sight of his home. His passenger was huddled low, her small frame drowning in fur and hide to keep away the bitter wind. Her eyes were distant and her face was hallowed.
The winter sun was sinking below the ocean behind them, the sky painted with oranges and reds, when Kaari saw the small glimmers of light upon the dark shore and directed the craft towards it. As they got closer, the land started to reveal the mouth of a fjord and at the far end there were flickers of fire and columns of smoke rising high into the night sky.
Kaari gave a subtle nod and hand wave towards someone unseen upon the cliff on one side of the opening as the longship entered the fjord, mountains rising all around them.
A little girl with black hair that faded to white at the ends looked up from the small snowman she was trying to construct. She grinned happily at the silhouette of the ship coming in from the ocean and dashed across the worn stone and dirt streets littered with snow as fast as her little legs could take her.
The sight of his home was a relief to his eyes. Kaari has been gone for around five months, something he’s not used to. Even living and working in Fossan didn’t stop him from visiting home almost every day. The bustle of people on the docks and the sounds of cracking fire and livestock made him smile. There was nothing better than coming home for the holidays.
The Jormungandr slowed and hit the dock with a thunk as Kaari quickly affixed it with ropes to the pier. He turned and offered his hand to his companion but she was already halfway out of the boat.
“UNCLE KAARI!” Came a tiny shout as the little girl came running and jumped into his outstretched arms.
“Heya there, Da! Whoa, you’ve gotten bigger since I’ve seen you last! Think you can lift a sword yet?” He remarked with a wink.
“You give the four year old a sword and it will be the death of you, Kaari Arcano!” Chastised his sister who arrived with four other family members in tow behind her.
Kaari stood up and cleared his throat, suddenly aware of the guest he had with him. “Everybody, this is Artemis Hexley. She works with me.”
“Uh, Artemis, this is the family.” He gestured, suddenly aware of how they could make this incredibly embarrassing for him at any moment.
“My parents, Else and Alatar. My sisters, Annika and Juni. This is Annika’s husband, Tyr, and their oldest daughter, Dayamanti.” Kaari pointed in turn to the respective person.
Artemis raised her eyebrow at the last name given.
“Don’t call me that, Kaari! I’m Da!” She whined with a frown.
“Sorry. This is Da.” He corrected himself politely with a warm smile. “There’s still more family around here somewhere.” He chuckled but then stopped when he noticed Artemis.
He could tell she clearly didn’t want to talk to anyone and a horde of brazen Vikings in her face was the last thing she wanted right now after the week she had been through.
“I’d better get her settled. She’s had a long trip and I don’t want any of you bothering her. The war takes its toll on us all.”
“Kaari, dear. Before you rush off I should tell you that your other friends have already arrived. They should be in the longhouse or the market.” Kaari’s mother said as she grabbed his shoulder.
“Thanks, Mamma.” He sheepishly replied as Else rubbed some dirt off his cheek and then pulled him into a hug.
After escaping from the family, the two of them followed the dirt paths into town. Skalafell consisted of buildings made of rustic wood and hatched roofing. Fire pits and bonfires scattered about provided light and much needed respite from the cold winds. They passed pens of livestock and fields of crops.
Eventually they came into a large open area of cobblestone. Around the edges were wooden stands filled with an assortment of goods. One lady was selling vegetables of all kinds. Tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, and corn were piled high in crates.
At another stall, a very large man had fish and meat hung on racks, some fresh and some dried. A third stall sold various wood carvings and small furniture. There were even stalls filled with magical items like broomsticks and cauldrons.
The most noticeable thing in the market, however, was a huge pine tree towering over them. It was decorated in ornaments made from wood, metal, and even some in the form of straw goats. The whole thing was lit up by gently twinkling lights. Looking closer, Artemis realized each light was a magical orb that was floating just above the branches and slowly moving.
“Sometimes even I forget Skalafell is an all wizard town.” Kaari remarked, staring up at the enchanted Christmas tree.
They continued on, only stopping when they passed by the blacksmith. The loud sounds of a hammer hitting an anvil pierced the night air and echoed off the surrounding mountains. Artemis recognized the man at the forge to be Kaari’s father Alatar.
“Uh, wait here for a moment. I need to run an errand.” Kaari murmured as he approached the blacksmith.
Artemis watched as the two exchanged words for a bit before Alatar rushed inside. He came back out only moments later and handed Kaari a bundle wrapped in hide. The two men hugged and then Kaari dashed back to Artemis’s side, the package tucked into his fur coat.
“If you are done here, we can continue on. You’ll be staying at the Arcano house instead of the longhouse. It’s more private but you will still be sharing a room. We Vikings sure like to get into each other’s business.” He joked apologetically.
The evening went on, the air becoming colder and the sky darkening, letting loose a gentle sprinkle of snow that whirled and danced in the wind. A few hours later the storm relented, the sky opening up to a dark inky starscape. Ribbons of bright color stretched overhead as the Northern Lights made their appearance. By supper time, most of the village was quiet and abandoned. All attention was drawn to the longhouse near the market. The doors were thrown open and a barrage of light and music flooded out onto the snow. A huge bonfire raged outside and a similar one burned low in the hearth inside, right in the middle of the building. The feast had started.
The Longhouse, Skalafell, Norway - December 24th, 1997, 8:56 PM
Artemis sat at a quiet bench in the corner as far away as she could get, an impressive feat for the sheer number of Vikings that now milled about inside. The tables were piled high with meats, cheeses, bread, vegetables and fruits. She had never seen such a gathering of food, it rivaled even the feasts at Hogwarts. There were barrels and casks filled with mead and mulled wine, the scent of orange and cinnamon mixing with the smoke warmed her small form.
Artemis had eaten her fill as soon as she had entered the longhouse and now sat contented. Nobody batted an eye at how ravenous she was, they all ate just as much as her, some even more. She could enjoy it here, she thought, though the cold was shocking to her small frame.
Looking around, Artemis’s eyes were drawn to a figure slumped in a familiar manner to herself in an opposite corner. The girl's hair was platinum, contrasting with the sea of mainly black and brown.
Eleanor’s face was less gaunt, something Artemis assumed was the result of eating a feast like this for the last week. She was also piled high in furs, mirroring Artemis. Her hair wasn’t dirty and disheveled anymore, instead it was bright as snow and pulled back into a sleek braid.
Eleanor scanned the room intently, as if expecting danger. Suddenly, their gazes met and Artemis knew that the dead eyed expression she saw was the same one she returned back. She wondered if either of them would recover from what they had experienced in Azkaban.
The wail of a baby across the room startled Artemis and she wheeled her head around to see an infant, no older than a year old, sitting on the packed dirt floor. It didn’t take long for Artemis to notice the baby's hair was completely silver, except for a tuft above the forehead that was completely white. The woman who was introduced to her as Annika bent down and gave the baby a wooden toy, quieting the cries. It was interesting that both of Annika’s children had white in their hair. She would have to ask Kaari about it sometime.
The residents of Skalafell dipped intricately carved goat horns into the barrels of mead, singing drinking songs in ancient and modern tongues to the sound of deep resonating drum beats and the strum of lyre strings.
Drink, for the wind blows cold and
Drink for The Wolf runs free.
Drink to the ships with sails like wings and
Drink to the storm-tossed seas.
Drink to the lasting nights
and those who warm our beds.
Drink to the mead that warms our hearts
and the cold that clears our head.
Drink to the Allfather's Eye
for Odin's sons are we.
Drink to the World-Tree where he hung
and the Runes of Mystery.
Drink to the truth of steel
and blood that falls like rain.
Drink to Valhalla's golden walls
and to our kinsmen, slain.
Drink to the Glory-field
where a man embraces death, and
thank the gods that we live at all
with our joyous dying breath!
Drink for the wind blows cold and
Drink for the Wolf runs free
Drink to the ships with the sails like wings
for Odin's sons are we!
Kaari slid across the bench next to Artemis and handed her a drinking horn. “Here. You’ll need this for the toast. We will drink three times. The first is for Odin.”
Artemis frowned, “Odin?”
“King of the Norse Gods.”
“I know who he is.” She replied, looking around the room with her dead eyes. “You all still believe in him then?”
“Yes.” Kaari said.
Artemis made a small humming noise and Kaari tilted his head at her. “Do you not believe in anything beyond what you can see?”
“I dunno. I might have once. I don’t think I believe in anything anymore.” Artemis sighed. “At least, not a god. After this last year, the war and the fighting. All that hate, pain, and suffering. I don’t see how anyone could believe in a god after that.”
“Yes, but I think people just need something to believe in. Now more than ever.” He said. “You know, the Norse gods weren’t actually real gods anyway..”
Artemis tilted her head to listen to his story, her interest peaked.
“Odin and Thor and Loki were real people. They weren’t Gods though, they were just wizards from Norway.” Kaari chuckled heartily.
“A lot of the Muggles' stories about Norse Mythology are partially incorrect. In their stories they think Valhalla is the afterlife but, in my fathers stories, it was actually an ancient lost wizard city. They saw their magic and assumed they were Gods.”
“Huh. So Odin was probably their Merlin equivalent?”
“I guess so. But I doubt Odin would walk around in slippers and bedclothes.” Kaari winked.
“Merlin would break his arms off if he tried to lift a sword. That man was ancient.” Artemis joked back, her face curling into a small smile for the first time in over a week.
“I’ll toast to that!” He replied and they clinked their horns and drank.
“Anyways. The second is for the harvest and new light. Our Christmas is called Yuletide or Jul and it starts on the winter solstice and lasts until January, about twelve days. We have feasts like this every night as we celebrate Odin, the coming of the new light, and the Wild Hunt. Of course, some of us celebrate Christmas also, hence the giant fucking tree in the Market.”
“You do this every night for twelve days? How do you have so much food for this? This is more food than I’ve eaten this entire war.”
“Well we grow some of it especially for Yuletide but most of it we get from the Trading Company. My sister and her husband have a ship and they sail the waters trading at other ports in the world. Our family owns and runs the company. I used to unload the ships as an adolescent but it’s not really my style. I prefer the sky.” Kaari smiled and glanced out the doorway.
At that very moment, Ryoko poked his head inside and sniffed the air, clearly wanting to jump on all the food. A nearby Viking shouted, as if reprimanding a dog, and Ryoko slinked back and sat on his hind legs politely. The Viking grabbed a nearby leg of roast and chucked it before going back to his conversation, unphased by a very hungry dragon at the door. Ryoko caught it from the air and happily chewed, his long tail thumping up and down into the snow.
Artemis gave a skeptical eyebrow. “I can’t believe everyone is ok with this pet dragon. They aren’t even worried.”
“He’s not a pet.” Kaari sharply interrupted. “He can leave me at any moment he chooses. Ryoko often goes and hunts for himself in the forest or the ocean so he’s not completely domesticated.”
“In fact, I’m more like his mother than his owner. I raised him from an egg because he was abandoned. Didn’t even know if he would hatch..” He trailed off, swirling his drink in his hand.
They drank a second time and then Kaari spoke again, suddenly serious and solemn. “The third and last toast is for those we’ve lost. As a boy, I would always think of my old ancestors I’ve never known but heard stories about from my father because I haven’t personally known many people who’ve died.”
“Lucky you,” muttered Artemis.
“Guess it finally means something to me this year. There’s almost too many names to list.” He said with a wry smile, looking off into the fire for a few moments before draining the rest of his drink.
Artemis did the same, her thoughts drifting to a certain old schoolmate from years past, a sharp pang in her chest.
“Oh, by the way. I have something for you.” Kaari murmured, pulling the hide package out of his coat and presenting it to her.
Artemis furrowed her brow in confusion. She unfolded the hide and a small dagger in a leather sheath fell into her hands. As she unsheathed it, Artemis marveled at the craftsmanship. The hilt was shaped like a dragon head and was made of what looked like a beige and brown marbled goat horn, matching the drinking horns sitting beside them. The blade was sharp and the edges were engraved with runes and filigree.
“I hope you like it. I’m not much of a blacksmith so I got Alatar to make it for me. Maybe now you will have a small chance of beating me in battle.” He nudged Artemis with a cocky grin.
“Why’d you give me this?” She said with a serious face.
“Uh - It’s Christmas?” Kaari replied sarcastically but then switched to serious. “ We’ve been friends for a while so I thought I’d give you something special.”
“Right. Thanks.”
“You're welcome. You deserve it after what you’ve done for people.”
Artemis said nothing, just tilted the knife, watching the way the flickering firelight reflected on the blade.
“If this ones not good enough we can go to the smithy tomorrow and pick out one that’s more to your liking.”
“Sorry.” Artemis sheathed the blade and looked at Kaari properly. “No. No, this one’s fine. It’s beautiful.”
“Are you sure? I know a bread knife is your weapon of choice..” Kaari smirked.
Artemis rolled her eyes at him before shaking her head. “I mean it. Seriously. Thank you.”
“Ah shit.” Kaari suddenly exclaimed, looking across the room and then opening his coat to check his pocket.
Cursing under his breath Kaari quickly murmured an apology and dashed off towards a table. Artemis instantly understood when her eyes found a tiny blue dragon. Nym had escaped Kaari’s pocket and was in the middle of stuffing his head into a giant turkey, other Vikings trying to shoo him away unsuccessfully.
Artemis got up from her pile of blankets and wandered closer to the fire, wrapping her coat tight around herself. Staring into the dancing flames she couldn’t help but to think about that cold dark cell in Azkaban and how grateful she was to be here for Christmas. No matter how close she got to the fire however, the coldness she felt inside of her wouldn’t melt away.
To commemorate a recent trip to Iceland (so close to Greenland! - but that will have to wait for another time...), I’m providing a little parallel prose piece in two equally beautiful and fascinating languages, punctuated with some pictures from the trip, although the pictures don’t match the text! (For those who are interested, the pictures are mainly from Skaftafellsjökull, Skálafellsjökull and Jökulsárlón)
There’s no vocab list this time, but if anybody would like any particular word or phrase explained (about either language), I’d be happy to do so. Enjoy!
Bonus marks if you can identify where the text is from.
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Sikut siorna Issittup imartaani pilersitaapput.
Ísbreiðan myndaðist á síðasta ári í Íshafinu.
The ice cover was formed last year in the Arctic Ocean.
aron was born between 1940-1950 on skalafell but spent his childhood travelling with his family. years later, he suddenly returns as an adult but he is alone. no one knows what happened to his family and all kinds of rumours circulate. the children of skalafell avoid him and he has the reputation of the town pariah.
@kathrynalicemc thank you for letting me create this man to your universe and thank you to my man @gaygryffindorgal for helping me write his introduction 💙
i feel like as a person aron is very blue and green toned very much the colours of the sea and night but then when he's around his friend embry he gets all warm and morning... so i just made this little edit about this.
This is my Masterpost for everything Skalafell! It will be updated regularly so it’s kinda permanently a WIP. Everyone is welcome to create their own content for Skalafell and I’ll add it! Hyperlinks are coming soon
