BERSERK'S BRAND OF SACRIFICE
OFTEN LABELLED ONLINE AS A VIKING BERSERKR RUNE. THIS IS, OF COURSE, BULLSHIT.
NO, THIS ISNT A VIKING OR NORDIC RUNE
It has absolutely nothing to with either the Vikings or Norse Mythology. It is really cool though...
Lets start with some context
Much like with the Vegvísir, people will happily sell you any sort of lie online if it makes them a profit. I'm not sure if that's 100% the case with the Brand of Sacrifice, but for whatever reason it's become very popular online as a symbol related to the Berserkers of Norse lore.
The symbol does of course appear runic, and the author of the manga may very well have taken inspiration from the Norse Runes. that being said, if you see this online labelled as anything Nordic or Viking, you can know with 100% certainty that whoever posted that is bullshitting you.
THERE IS NOR WAS A SYMBOL FOR THE BERSERKERS
As much as we would want there to be, there just isn't and there wasn't a symbol related to them. If I had to take a guess, I'd say someone has seen this symbol from Berserk, made the mistake of posting it as a Berserkr symbol and from there it's just spread like wildfire.
So what is the Brand of Sacrifice?
In the manga and anime series "Berserk," the Brand of Sacrifice is a cursed mark bestowed upon individuals marked for sacrifice by demonic entities known as the God Hand. The brand resembles a series of intersecting lines, often located on the back of the neck or another visible part of the body.
Those marked with the Brand of Sacrifice are targeted by malevolent spirits called Apostles and are destined to be offered as sacrifices in the dark rituals of the God Hand. The brand also attracts restless and malevolent spirits, causing constant torment and danger to the branded individual.
BERSERK is fucking incredible
Now I haven't yet read through the manga, but I've watched enough lore videos and cosplayed as Guts in my Dark souls & Elden Ring playthroughs more times than I could count. I am wholly captivated by the series. It is iconic, brutal and the go to example of peak dark fantasy.
Lukyan & I have even taken inspiration from this series in our Norse mythology art, specifically our depiction of Ragnarok which itself is dark and brutal.