Hello, my fellow Dragonmarkers! While we're on the subject of Heather NOT being a Mary Sue, there still the question of why Heather doesn't look like the other Vikings and why her name isn't a Viking or Barbaric-Archipelago-ian like the others. (I promise this will be a short one; not as long as the previous chapter.)

My Theory and Headcanon:

Their Physical Appearance:

Here's MY theory and headcanon for this question:

Heather -- and possibly Dagur -- have Anglo-Saxon blood!

If this is the first time you've heard of this, or if this sounds a bit "out there," then please hear me out!

Now, you're probably wondering, "Noctus, why do you think that Heather -- and possibly Dagur -- have Anglo-Saxon blood? They're BERSERKERS!" 

AH! Well, I didn't say that they were FULL-BLOODED Anglo-Saxons, now, did I?

What I mean is that they're half Anglo-Saxon and half Viking. The Viking half from their father, and the Anglo-Saxon half from their mother. Or even a quarter Anglo-Saxon from their father's side (or mother's side), maybe?

Now, why do I think that?

Because we literally know nothing about their mother -- and very little on Oswald the Agreeable. We don't know what they looked like, we don't know how they met before Dagur and Heather were born, we don't know if maybe the mom died and Oswald remarried -- WE. KNOW. NOTHING!

Yes, Heather looks nothing like a Viking; that we can agree with. Neither does her name. My headcanon is that she takes it after their mother, or even grandmother, who's quite possibly Anglo-Saxon by blood. The reason why is probably the hair-color and Heather's physical appearance. It's very common in Anglo-Saxon women. Anglo-Saxons were well-known to have a lot of brunettes (though they did have blondes, too). Black-haired people as well. Even a few redheads, but those weren't as common as the Celtic and even Nordic peoples.

Now, we don't know what she looked like, nor what Oswald looked like. Oswald could've had red hair and green eyes, while the mother had black hair and whatever-colored eyes she had (let's say, blue, for argument's sake). So Dagur looks like Oswald and Heather looks like the mother. Or Oswald could've had different eyes while the mother had the green eyes, so both kids have their mother's eyes, but Heather also has her mother's looks and hair. 

If Oswald had black hair and green eyes (which I doubt because Vikings don't really have that combination usually) and the mother had red hair and blue eyes, then Heather would have the form of her mother yet the hair and eyes of her father, and Dagur would have the form and eyes of his father, but the hair of his mother. 

If Oswald had black hair and blue (or brown) eyes, and the mother had red hair and green eyes, then Dagur would've had his mother's hair and eyes and the build and personality of his father while Heather had the form and eyes of her mother and the hair of her father. Actually, the OC that I made to be Dagur and Heather's mother has this combo (though, I'm not sure if I'm going to be keeping that look).

The problem with this though is that I doubt that Oswald has black hair and whatever-colored-eyes-that-aren't-green because look at this:

And this:

These are concept artwork of Oswald the Agreeable. The problem though is that none of these look like Oswald in the Race to the Edge series in this shot:

Look at this guy! Oswald in RTTE looks taller and, while buff-looking, isn't a rounded square block. Also, I really wouldn't be surprised if he has red hair and green eyes. Or red hair and blue eyes.

If any of you are experts in genetics, please clear this up for me. 

Please?

Anyway, comment on these two questions:

1) What do you think Oswald looks like?

2) What do you think Oswald's wife looks like?

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Heather's Name:

Okay, back to Heather and Dagur -- but mostly Heather.

Another possible proof to my headcanon as to why Heather may be half (or quarter) Anglo-Saxon is. . . well, her name. Heather is a Middle-English name used between the 1100s-1400s -- though that's most likely it's peak period. It wouldn't be that surprising if it was used as early as the Anglo-Saxon period. It was used by the Anglo-Saxons (though probably their own equivalent of the name), the Norman-English, and the Scottish later on in the medieval period. So if her mother gave her daughter the name Heather, then she (or Heather's grandmother) would probably most likely be Anglo-Saxon, as Heather is an Anglo-Saxon name, more or less. Keep in mind that Heather is merely an Anglicized version of the name. Her mother, if she was Anglo-Saxon, would've said the name in her Anglo-Saxon language, but when she named her, her mother would've used the Norse language, so it could easily be Lynga or Lyngja or Lynghild or Lyngrid -- Lyng meaning "heather" in Old Norse; another possibility is Erika, which can translate into "heather" in some languages. Quite possibly Middle-English as well.

Another possibility -- but less likely -- is that Heather might've inherited the name from her mother or her grandmother (depending on who was full-blooded Anglo-Saxon). It may have been that her grandmother was the Anglo-Saxon and not her mother. Honestly, we don't know. Dagur says himself that Heather and he are the only family each other's got, which means that everyone in the Berserk family has . . . retired! We know almost nothing of their family and we don't know what any of them look like.

Heck, Dagur and Heather could've been half-siblings for all we know -- Oswald's first wife having Dagur and the Anglo-Saxon gal having Heather. We simply don't know.

Ugh! The possibilities are ENDLESS!!! X(

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Conclusion:

So regardless whether Dagur and Heather's mother was red-haired and green-eyed, or red-haired and blue-eyed, or black-haired and green-eyed, or black-haired and blue-eyed, or whatever hair/eye combo you want to give her, it can literally be any of these combos because we don't know what Oswald and his wife look like. If she has red hair and blue or green eyes, she may be Scottish or Irish (or maybe one of those few Anglo-Saxon ladies that's a red-head). Or she may be Anglo-Saxon. Or she may just be 100% Norse and Heather is simply an Anglicized version of her Viking name that means "heather". After all, Hiksti means "hiccup" in Icelandic, which is the closest form of Old Norse that we can sadly get.

If anyone can correct me on this, please let me know. I'd be interested to know if there's an Old Norse word for "hiccup". 

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this article. Thank you for your time.

So, in conclusion, my theory and headcanon is that Heather and Dagur's mother is Anglo-Saxon and that they're half-bloods -- which can explain her appearance and name. It doesn't go against the canon, but it also can't be confirmed either. Though you can't confirm anything concerning Heather, Dagur, and their family because their family is practically "retired" in Valhalla having a grand ole time partying and feasting and fighting people every day for eternity. lol XD

Regardless if she's half Anglo-Saxon, half Irish, half Scottish, or just 100% Norse with an Anglicized version of what would've been her Nordic name, this is just my nest egg on the matter. I hope you enjoyed it.

So please tell me your thoughts, my fellow Dragonmarkers! Who do you think Heather is? Do you agree with my headcanon that she's part Anglo-Saxon? Or do you think that she's Irish? Scottish? Or just 100% Norse?

Also, what do you think their parents looked like, and what did Dagur and Heather inherit genetically from them? 

I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you've enjoyed picking apart this question as much as I have. 

Farewell and happy flying to you all, my fellow Dragonmarkers!

Long live the Night!

- Noctus Fury

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Post-Script: This is partly in honor of xElsa_Arendellex , with whom I had just had a great conversation with concerning this topic just yesterday and today (August 8-9). She gave me a few thoughts I didn't even think about, and some of them are in this article. She even thought that my headcanon was plausible, which is exciting because that doesn't often happen with my headcanons -- not that I make any to begin with. lol XD

So thanks a bunch, Elsa! 

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Word Count: 1,510 words. (See? I told you that it'd be shorter. lol XD)

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Date Published: 08/10/18