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Westman (or Vestmann) received his name from the Irish who were captured into slavery by the Norse Gaels. "Vestmenn" is an Old Norse name which translates to "Westmen", applying to the Irish (since prior to Iceland's discovery, Ireland was considered the westernmost part of Europe). After Ingólfur Arnarson arrived in Iceland (Westman was still a child at this time), his brother Hjörleifur was murdered by the Irish slaves that he had brought with him. Ingolfur was able to track them down all the way to Vestmannaeyjar and killed them all as revenge. The Landnámabók recounts of this story. Technically, the name "Vestmannaeyjar" translates to "Islands of the Western Men". Also, there are places in Vestmannaeyjar that are named after the slaves that were killed on that spot.

As centuries passed, the islands became a favorite for many marauders. The English were fond of looting especially Heimaey all throughout the 15th century. One particular man who went by the name of "Gentleman John" was known to have arrived in Vestmannaeyjar and stole the valuables of the church, and then set it on fire. He was later hung and the church rebuilt after the islanders took the valuables back. The new church however, didn't last long as it was again destroyed at a later time period.

For a long time, Westman lived in poverty and constant isolation. Communication between him and Iceland wasn't very big because of the usual stormy sea which seperated Westman from the rest of Iceland. He communicated with Denmark through the few letters that arrived from Reykjavík. Even then, mail took a while to get across to the islands. Iceland at the time wasn't very fond of Westman, describing the islanders as being "sluggards" and "drunkards".

Plagues during this time period have hit his area more than once, reducing the population a number of times. The issue was resolved thanks to Denmark sending over someone to investigate the causes of the diseases and deaths among children of a very young age.

During the Turkish Abductions in Iceland (known as Tyrkjaránið in Icelandic), Vestmannaeyjar suffered greatly as Ottoman pirates murdered 36 islanders and kidnapped 242 more (almost three-quarters of the population at the time). The people who were caught hiding were kidnapped and taken away as slaves to north Africa. Only the young and fit were taken. The old and those who seemed unable to work were locked up and burned alive inside homes. As years passed, stories tell that about 27 islanders out of the 242 were freed with help from the Danish King, and made their way back to Iceland. Since then, Westman has had a large scar on his back from the damage the pirates caused. Despite centuries passing, Westman was continously paranoid over foreign sailors coming around his islands. Because of this, Denmark sent over Andreas August von Kohl (dubbed Captain Kohl) in order to raise an army in the Westman Islands. The base of the army was located at Skansinn, which was originally built by the English and restored for later use. The army of the Westman Islands is known to have been the first and last Icelandic standing army.

Worldwide attention was drawn to him in 1973 when the volcano, Eldfell, erupted unexpectedly and forced everyone to evacuate to mainland Iceland, where they would stay for a few months. This event shakened Westman, as it seemed that everything was normal that day. There were a few mild shocks during the night, at which he decided to ignore. A short while before the eruption took place, the largest earthquake was felt throughout the island. At around 2 a.m., police had received a phone call and immediately drove east of Kirkjubær (known as "the church farm") where they were presented with a large fissure that had split the ground on the eastern side of the island and was spurting out lava. The fissure had opened up all the way to the sea towards the north. With this, the fire alarms sounded and forced everyone out of their houses in order to evacuate. Due to the gale from the previous day, around 60-70 boats were in the harbor, letting enough people to get on board. Westman himself had stayed behind, despite his fever, in order to help the remaining islanders pump sea water onto the lava and protect the harbor. Without the harbor, he would have almost no source of income. Ash continually fell from the sky and buried the town. By the end of the eruption, around 417 buildings were destroyed and the remainder of the town was covered in tephra. Some houses collapsed from the weight of the ash piled on the roofs, while others burned to the ground. On his left arm, he has a mild burn scar from the Eldfell eruption.

This eruption almost led to the permanent evacuation of Vestmannaeyjar, and is considered the worst natural disaster in Iceland in recent history. Although a long time has passed, houses are still being uncovered. During Westman's spare time, he goes over to the "Pompei of the North" working area and helps dig out the remains of the town which were lost during the eruption. On a more comical note though, a joke was made towards the Icelanders living in Vestmannaeyjar, saying that they "had the ability to walk through lava".

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--Extra--

He also has a festival called Þjóðhátíð where he makes bonfires, celebrates, has musical performances, have firework displays, and even have people line up on the hillsides to display a long chain of fire... It seems that only this time of the year people get to see his more outgoing side. When the festival ends, he's back to his regular self.

Westman also is known to have the biggest puffin population, and because of this, the puffin is usually used in a lot of Westman's designs. Yet, in recent years, they have been disappearing and concerning the islanders. Research is still going on as to why the puffins are leaving.

The volcanoes which formed his main island, Heimaey, were in times very close to destroying the entire island. Another eruption which took place in 1963 created the island of Surtsey (his ahoge), meaning that Westman pretty much didn't have that ahoge on the top of his head up until 1963...so no, he wasn't born with it.

Westman's pretty dependant on fishing and sometimes tourism. Farming used to be practiced on a small scale for both dairy and sheep raising. After the eruption in 1973 however, dairy farming was discontinued. When the evacuation began, animals that couldn't be brought back to mainland Iceland were slaughtered. It didn't really effect much though, since raising animals on the islands is a pretty difficult job, although people continue to do it anyway as a hobby.

Despite being an Icelandic territory, Westman acted seperately from the mainland for much of his past. This is due to the islands being so seperated and isolated for a very long time.

More on Westman headcanons: nordic-vestmann.deviantart.com…

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--Other Character Profiles--

Elliðaey

nordic-vestmann.deviantart.com…

Bjarnarey

[WIP]