Berwald’s Theories
Berwald was, and still is, a bit odd. Despite his village’s ideas and traditions, Berwald always had a different idea on the world.
Take the sun and the moon, for example. The sun, according to Berwald, was the gods smiling down on earth, telling the world to wake up and get going. So that’s what he did. From the moment the sun was up, so was Berwald. But in winter, when the sun is shy and hides away, Berwald would copy by hiding in bed. This would annoy the others in his village as they would have to wait to commission him. Soon they realised to ask for Berwald’s services so they could let their local Bear-wald hibernate.
Berwald did like the moon, well, partially. He liked how sometimes the moon would shine through his window, as if to say “Good night Ber! I’ll keep an eye out whilst you sleep.” But Berwald was especially superstitious about nights with no moon. Whilst his neighbours told stories of scary happenings under the full moon, Berwald was wary of those moonless nights. He made extra sure that his house was locked up, that everything was in its place, and often hid in his bed before the sun could leave the sky.
It got to the point that the village elder, a man believed to know the cycle of the moon perfectly as he was a devout follower of Lord Christian, would write to Berwald the morning before a moonless night to make sure Berwald was prepared.
Berwald’s village, and the neighbouring villages that often came to his to trade, didn’t mind Berwald’s eccentricities at all. His weird theories had no maliciousness behind them, and his unusualness didn’t outweigh how helpful he was in the community. He devoted himself to Lord Ludwig so that he could work harder, and neighbours smiled whenever they saw their favourite carpenter speed walking by.
