Isu incarnation: Difference between revisions
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{{Era|Individuals|Isu}} | {{Era|Individuals|Isu}} | ||
{{Conjecture}} | {{Conjecture}} | ||
{{ | {{Quote|A human host? Do you mean... rebirth? As one of them?|Loki to Aletheia.|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla|Animus Anomalies}} | ||
An [[Isu]] can be '''incarnated''' in a [[human]] individual. While initially believed that this process only happened<ref name="AC4">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]''</ref> with [[Juno]]'s late husband [[Aita]],<ref name="AC3">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[21st century conversations|Modern day]]</ref> incarnations of whom are referred to as [[Sage]]s,<ref name="AC4"/> it has since been discovered that incarnations of nine [[Ásgarðr|Asgardian]] Isu surfaced around the 9th century, predominantly within [[Scandinavia]].<ref name="A Brother's Keeper">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[A Brother's Keeper]]</ref> | |||
''' | Where the Sages of Aita and [[Vejovis]], another Isu, have manifested in different individuals throughout human history, instances of the Asgardians' incarnations are only known to have occurred in one person each. Among that group were [[Eivor Varinsdottir]], the incarnation of [[Odin]]; her adoptive brother [[Sigurd Styrbjornsson]], [[Týr]]'s incarnation; [[Svala]], the incarnation of [[Freyja]]; and [[Basim ibn Ishaq]], [[Loki]]'s incarnation. | ||
==Sages== | ==Sages== | ||
{{Main|Sage}} | {{Main|Sage}} | ||
[[File:The Sage's Buried Secret 5.png|250px | [[File:The Sage's Buried Secret 5.png|thumb|250px|A Maya statue of a Sage's head]] | ||
The most prevalent Isu | The most prevalent Isu incarnations are those of the Isu [[Aita]], known as Sages. These Sages reappeared many times throughout history, bore a physical resemblance to Aita, and were recognizable by their {{wiki|anisocoria}} and {{wiki|heterochromia}}.<ref name="AC4"/> | ||
== | ==Incarnated Asgardian Isu== | ||
===Phenomenon=== | ===Phenomenon=== | ||
{{Quote|All that power! All that potential, locked away. A god trapped in a prison of bones! The pain was necessary to free him!|The | {{Quote|All that power! All that potential, locked away. A god trapped in a prison of bones! The pain was necessary to free him!|The Maegester Fulke on Sigurd's nature as a reborn Isu, 875 CE.|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla|Storming the Walls}} | ||
Odin, seven of his most trusted Isu followers, and Loki | Shortly before the [[Great Catastrophe]] that wiped out the Isu, [[Odin]], seven of his most trusted Isu followers, and [[Loki]] had their DNA, memories, and consciousnesses integrated into the human gene pool by using the [[Yggdrasil]] supercomputer,<ref name="Animus Anomalies">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Animus Anomalies]]</ref> paired with a [[Mead of poetry|catalyst]] stolen from the [[Capitoline Triad]],<ref name="A Feast to Remember"/> in hope of escaping the doom of their civilization and be incarnated in human bodies millennia later. More specially, they injected their blood into human fetuses,<ref name="Animus Anomalies"/> prompting their DNA to remain dormant in future human bloodlines as a recessive trait. Eventually, a trigger would take place under specific circumstances that would give the Isu's DNA a dominant trait, manipulating their physical characteristics to match the ones from the respective Isu and slowly forcing the resurgence of their past memories and consciousnesses.<ref name="AC4"/> Most notably, unlike Aita's many forms, these incarnated Isu were planned to only happen once.<ref name="Poor Fellow-Soldier">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Poor Fellow-Soldier]]</ref><ref>{{Twitter|KasaiKnight|status/1337725926717747201|Kasaix|quote=@DarbyMcDevitt Lore question: are the Mad One and his people reborn like Aita the Sage? Every so often, coming back and rediscovering their former lives?|image=File:ACV Darby McDevitt Sage and Isu incarnation difference.png}}<br>↑ {{Twitter|DarbyMcDevitt|status/1337737125677109248|Darby McDevitt|quote=@KasaiKnight Just once. Juno tweaked the technology further for her own use, as she hints in Jotunheim.|image=File:ACV Darby McDevitt Sage and Isu incarnation difference.png}}</ref> Another factor which complicated this plan was that, as with Sages, there was a risk the human could choose to not act on their Isu memories.<ref>{{Twitter|DarbyMcDevitt|status/1573407072850518016|Darby McDevitt|quote=I have always written Sages as if they were people with a severe amnesia that is slowly starting to lift. Someone who, one day, begins to remember that they were someone else for many years. And that someone else might be an entirely different person than they are today. (2/?)|image=File:ACV Darby McDevitt thread on Isu incarnations and Sages.png}}<br>↑ {{Twitter|DarbyMcDevitt|status/1573407510132068353|Darby McDevitt|quote=This, to me, makes it a more human story than a simple battle between a good and evil soul. It's more about someone being presented with a different way of being, and choosing to embrace or reject it.|image=File:ACV Darby McDevitt thread on Isu incarnations and Sages.png}}</ref> | ||
===Characteristics=== | ===Characteristics=== | ||
====Predecessor's | ====Predecessor's impulses==== | ||
In stark contrast to Sages who were | {{Quote|Will you keep me in the darkness until your end, resisting forever this side of yourself? Or could you learn from me?|Odin, to Eivor|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla|Last Goodbyes}} | ||
In stark contrast to Sages, who were plagued by Aita's memories, the Asgardians had aspects of their lives often partially or fully repeat themselves in the lives of their human incarnations. Like Odin, [[Eivor Varinsdottir|Eivor]] had a strong dislike of [[Wolf|wolves]],<ref name="Beyond Fear">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]] – [[Dawn of Ragnarök]]'' – [[Beyond Fear]]</ref> though her feelings were based on childhood trauma;<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Prologue (Valhalla)|Prologue]]</ref> had the [[raven]] [[Sýnin]] as her {{Wiki|familiar}}, echoing [[Huginn and Muninn]];<ref name="ACV">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]''</ref> and when connected to Yggdrasil, regularly lost an eye fighting alongside the ''[[einherjar]]'' in a simulation of [[Valhalla (afterlife)|Valhalla]].<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/> In similar fashion, [[Sigurd Styrbjornsson|Sigurd]] mediated disputes and delivered judgements as ''[[jarl]]''<ref name="Settling Down">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Settling Down]]</ref> and had his right arm severed at the elbow,<ref name="A Bloody Welcome">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[A Bloody Welcome]]</ref> echoing the tales in [[Norse mythology]] about how the god of justice Týr lost his right arm to the wolf [[Fenrir]].<ref name="Binding Fate">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Binding Fate]]</ref> | |||
[[Halfdan Ragnarsson]], the | [[Halfdan Ragnarsson]], the incarnation of [[Thor]], had a strong affinity for using his [[War hammer|hammer]] [[Orthstirr]] in battle,<ref name="War in the North">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[War in the North]]</ref> regularly threw it,<ref name="Lost Glory">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Lost Glory]]</ref> and was extremely paranoid about being [[poison|poisoned]],<ref name="War in the North"/> unknowingly copying Thor's use of [[Mjölnir]]<ref name="View Above All">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[View Above All]]</ref> and foreshadowing the thunder god's demise in [[Ragnarök]] from [[Jörmungandr]]'s venom.<ref>{{WP|Jörmungandr}}</ref> Even [[Rig Reidarasson]] was haunted with strong impulses to kill the [[Assassins|Hidden One]] [[Basim ibn Ishaq]], though he did not know his target's name and described him as a "man with the mark in the House of Shadows",<ref name="Rigsogur Page 9">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[Rigsogur]]'': IX. The Death of the One Who Heard Voices</ref> unknowingly following [[Heimdall]]'s initially fated role to kill [[Loki]] even as he was slain in turn.<ref>{{WP|Ragnarök}}</ref> | ||
====Convenience of the | ====Convenience of the incarnations==== | ||
In the particular case of the | In the particular case of the incarnated Asgardians, the specific time period and the bloodline where they would be born were specially planned to happen at the same year span and region of the globe. As such, with the exception of Loki, all the incarnations grew up between the end of the 8th century and beginning of the 9th century in bloodlines native to Northern [[Europe]].<ref name="ACV"/> | ||
For unclear reasons, however, Heimdall's | For unclear reasons, however, Heimdall's incarnation Rig was born near Scandinavia but approximately 20 years before the other incarnations,<ref name="Rigsogur Page 1">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]] – [[Rigsogur]]'': I. The King of Soft Reeds</ref> despite Heimdall having done his blood transfusion at the same time as his counterparts.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files]]: "AA_Complete"</ref> After Rig tried to kill Loki's incarnation Basim ibn Ishaq in [[Constantinople]], he returned to his crew stating that he "was born too early and [was] alone" after concluding that Basim had not been born yet.<ref name="Rigsogur Page 9"/> | ||
In addition to this, | In addition to this, although Loki injected himself with the serum after the Æsir had left the chamber, his incarnation was born around the same time as the other incarnations but far away in the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]'s capital city of [[Samarra]].<ref name="Ubisoft">{{Ubisoft|url=/en-us/game/assassins-creed/mirage|text=Assassin's Creed Mirage|archivedate=20220912044806}}</ref> | ||
====Physical features and similarities==== | ====Physical features and similarities==== | ||
{{Quote|Show me your neck!|Basim | {{Quote|Show me your neck!|Basim ibn Ishaq to Eivor Varinsdottir, 877 CE.|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla|A Brother's Keeper}} | ||
Incarnated Isu could be identified by a mass of dark veins on their necks.<ref name="DarbySages">{{Twitter|AC_ISDA|status/1354767258015428611|Il Salotto degli Assassini|quote=@DarbyMcDevitt this is our bet! [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Es0Zo-qW4AYgvsE.jpg pic.twitter.com/qZ8tRqQZMj]|image=File:ACV - Darby McDevitt on the Isu Reincarnations.png}}<br>↑ {{Twitter|DarbyMcDevitt|status/1354773470756954116|Darby McDevitt|quote=@AC_ISDA @69guacamole69 @KurdishOnes I think you got it!|image=File:ACV - Darby McDevitt on the Isu Reincarnations.png}}</ref> Additionally, at least two incarnations, Eivor Varinsdottir and Basim ibn Ishaq, possessed the rare ability of [[Eagle Vision]], indicating a high concentration of Isu DNA.<ref name="ACV"/><ref name="ACMir">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]''</ref> | |||
===History=== | |||
====Isu Era==== | |||
{{Dialogue2|Aletheia|Have you heard? The High Council has stripped the Mother of her title. For gifting our tormentor her seventh method of salvation.|Loki|The seventh method? Is it viable? Why were we not told?|I've heard whispers and rumors. It seems the seventh requires a human host.|Aletheia and Loki.|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla|Animus Anomalies}} | |||
Desperate to save the life of her husband Aita, who had been left in a catatonic state after being used as subject test to the fifth method of salvation,<ref name="AC3"/> [[Juno]] embarked on a quest to acquire the "Mead", a serum designed by the [[Capitoline Triad]] and kept under the guard of [[Jupiter]] and [[Minerva]] that would activate the latest solution to limit the Great Catastrophe's effects on the Isu.<ref name="Price of Wisdom"/> This particular innovation, if used correctly, could reincarnate some members of the Isu as humans in the distant future, but Jupiter and Minerva deemed it dangerous to use, believing it would damage the human genome in the process and eventually influence human history in an uncontrollable way.<ref name="A Feast to Remember">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[A Feast to Remember]]</ref> | |||
Desperate for the Mead, Juno investigated their research sites and found the [[Mímisbrunnr]], which was meant to receive the Mead when ready.{{Cite}} Soon after, she began to inquire and plot out multiple ways to take it in order to save her beloved, actions that eventually exiled her from the city guarding the Temple.<ref name="Price of Wisdom"/> When Odin visited [[Jötunheimr]] to meet [[Aletheia]], she discovered that he also sought the seventh method and so decided to wait until she and her lover Loki dealt with him before deciding to collaborate with Odin to steal the serum.<ref name="Mistress of the Iron Wood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Mistress of the Iron Wood]]</ref> | |||
Odin managed to steal the Mead from the city of [[Útgarðar]], but not without deceiving Minerva and battling Jupiter himself.<ref name="A Feast to Remember"/> Juno told him to come to the experimental well in order to make the serum work. After Odin sacrificed his left eye in order to use it as catalyst, the machine{{Cite}} [[Mímir]] accepted his sacrifice and the serum was finally synthesized, much to Juno's delight. With both Isu taking samples of the fluid, she cautioned him to use the serum moments before his death in order for it to work, as only the memories from before consuming the concoction would be preserved within the new body. With the Mead now in-hand,<ref name="Price of Wisdom">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Price of Wisdom]]</ref> Juno was able to insert her late husband's essence into a human bloodline, tweaking the solution's functions to indefinitely reincarnate her beloved for the following millennia.<ref name="AC4"/> | |||
[[File:ACV The Hidden Truth 9.png|thumb|250px|left|The Æsir using the "Mead" through the Yggdrasil device]] | |||
Odin eventually finished the construction of the abandoned{{Cite}} project in Scandinavia, near the Æsir's territory, naming it Yggdrasil.<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/> In the midst of the Great Catastrophe, a group of Asgardian Isu comprised of Odin, Freyja, Týr, Thor, [[Sif]], Heimdall, [[Idun|Iðunn]], and [[Freyr]] managed to upload their essences into the supercomputer before heading off to face their end in battle, gambling that Yggdrasil would successfully save them through a incarnation in human bodies in the upcoming ages.<ref name="Animus Anomalies"/> | |||
Unbeknownst to them, Loki also snuck into the room and uploaded his essence as part of his two-step plan to first take revenge on Odin in the future for imprisoning his son [[Fenrir]], and also to reunite with his lover [[Aletheia]], who had her consciousness preserved in the [[Staff of Hermes Trismegistus]].<ref name="Animus Anomalies">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Animus Anomalies]]</ref> | |||
====Viking Age==== | |||
{{Quote|I have come before my time. I was born too early and I am alone, without my father, without my friends.|Rig Reidarasson, c. 850s CE.|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla|Rigsogur}} | |||
During the [[Viking expansion|Viking Age]], the Æsir's incarnations finally appeared. The first was Rig Reidarasson, a Viking born in the late 8th century who was Heimdall incarnate. During his life, Rig was plagued by Heimdall's memories, believing them to be visions of the gods. His life, adventures, and struggles to seize the hallucinations were immortalized in the ''[[Rigsogur]]'', a {{Wiki|saga}} written by the monk [[Brissy the Elder]].<ref name="Rigsogur">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[Rigsogur]]''</ref> | |||
In the 9th century, Thor and Sif were reincarnated respectively in the Vikings Halfdan Ragnarsson and his friend Faravid, though they were unaware of this link. In 865 CE, when King [[Ælla of Northumbria]] executed Halfdan's father [[Ragnar Lothbrok]] by throwing him into a [[Ælla's snake pit|pit]] of [[snake]]s,<ref name="The Lost Drengir">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Lost Drengir of Ragnar Lothbrok]]</ref> Halfdan and Faravid conquered his kingdom and executed Ælla in return in 867 CE.<ref name="Faravid DB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Database: Faravid]]</ref> | |||
====Abbasid Caliphate==== | |||
{{Quote|I have faced my past. My pain. Embraced it. I shed my skin once, in another time, another place. But I am whole again. I remember.|Basim ibn Ishaq, upon regaining his memories as Loki, 860s CE.|Assassin's Creed: Mirage|In Pursuit of Truth}} | |||
{{Quote| | [[File:ACMirage The Master Thief of Anbar 1.png|thumb|250px|Basim experiencing one of his recurring visions of the djinn]] | ||
Around 844 CE, Loki's incarnation Basim ibn Ishaq was born in the [[Middle East]], specifically in the Abbasid Caliphate's capital city of Samarra.<ref name="Ubisoft"/> For most of his early life, Basim was unaware of his true nature, though he still experienced Loki's memories in the form of haunting visions of a [[djinn]], which represented the torture Loki had been made to endure during his imprisonment in the [[Alamut Temple]].<ref name="In Pursuit of Truth">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' – [[In Pursuit of Truth]]</ref> Meanwhile, Loki's consciousness took the form of [[Nehal]], Basim's alleged childhood best friend, who accompanied him at every step and encouraged him to pursue his own self-interests while trying to remind Basim of "who he truly was."<ref name="Master Thief">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' – [[The Master Thief of Anbar]]</ref> | |||
Originally a simple street [[thief]], Basim eventually joined the [[Assassins|Hidden Ones]] in 861, after being rescued by the [[Master Assassin]] [[Roshan]] following his accidental murder of the [[caliph]] [[Al-Mutawakkil]].<ref name="Master Thief"/> While helping the Hidden Ones hunt down their enemies, the [[Order of the Ancients]], in [[Baghdad]], Basim learned about the latter's research of Isu [[Piece of Eden|artifacts]] and was encouraged by Nehal to seek the Order's knowledge to better understand his own nature.<ref name="Head of the Snake">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' – [[The Head of the Snake]]</ref> | |||
After the Order's [[Ra's Al-Af'a|leader]] [[Qabiha]] informed him of the Alamut Temple prior to being slain by Roshan, Basim decided to investigate the site.<ref name="The Serpent's Nest">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' – [[The Serpent's Nest]]</ref> Although Roshan, who had deduced her apprentice's true nature by herself, tried to stop him, fearing what the temple might awaken inside Basim, she was ultimately defeated by him. Inside the temple, Basim discovered several [[Memory Seals]], one of which contained the recorded memories of Loki from the time he had been imprisoned there millennia prior.<ref name="In Pursuit of Truth"/> | |||
[[File:ACMir In Pursuit of Truth 67.png|thumb|250px|left|Basim understanding his and Nehal's true nature]] | |||
Upon realizing what both Nehal and the djinn that had been tormenting him represented, Basim decided to embrace his nature as Loki's incarnation and regained all the memories of his past life. He then began seeking out the other incarnated Isu to exact retribution for the suffering inflicted upon his past self, all the while continuing to further the Hidden Ones' [[Assassin-Templar War|cause]].<ref name="In Pursuit of Truth"/> | |||
{{-}} | |||
====Viking expansion==== | |||
{{Dialogue|Odin|Leave me now and you are nothing! With me you have wisdom! Glory! Power! What more do you need!|Eivor|Everything else.|Eivor Varinsdottir rejecting her Isu self, Odin, 877 CE.|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla|A Brother's Keeper}} | |||
In the mid-9th century in [[Rogaland|Rygjafylke]], [[Norway]], the [[Raven Clan]] who resided in the small settlement of [[Fornburg]] counted three Æsir incarnations among their members: the ''volva'' [[Svala]] for Freyja,<ref name="A Seer's Solace">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[A Seer's Solace]]</ref> the prince Sigurd Styrbojnsson for Týr,<ref name="The Prodigal Prince">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Prodigal Prince]]</ref> and his foster sister Eivor Varinsdottir for Odin.<ref name="Honor Bound">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Honor Bound]]</ref> | |||
In 870 CE, during a [[raid]] on one of [[Kjotve the Cruel]]'s territories, Eivor captured his slave [[Gull]], the incarnation of Iðunn.<ref name="Song of Glory 1">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory 1|Issue #1]]</ref> Together, they went up the [[Feiknstafir mountains]] to the [[Temple of Heimdall]],<ref name="Song of Glory 2">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory 2|Issue #2]]</ref> where they found an [[Apples of Eden|Apple of Eden]] that had been [[Gull's Apple of Eden|locked away]]. When Gull touched the artifact, she recovered Iðunn's memories, and armed with the knowledge necessary to control it, used the artifact to restrain Eivor. As the Temple began to collapse from the damage sustained in Eivor's fight with Kjotve's men who also sought the treasure, Gull was left to her fate on a precarious ledge with the Apple while Eivor decided to help her clan, who was being attacked by Kjotve's [[Wolf Clan]].<ref name="Song of Glory 3">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory 3|Issue #3]]</ref> | |||
[[ | |||
That same year in [[Constantinople]], Sigurd met Basim, who served as [[Assassin leader|leader]] of the local Hidden Ones [[Assassin bureau|bureau]], and his [[acolyte]] [[Hytham]].<ref name="Basim DB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Database: Basim Ibn Ishaq]]</ref> Recognizing the mark on Sigurd's neck,<ref name="Song of Glory 3"/> Basim pondered the possibility of him being Odin incarnate,<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/> and as such followed the [[Vikings|Viking]] on a trip to his hometown to investigate further.<ref name="The Prodigal Prince"/> | |||
[[File:ACV The Prodigal Prince 3.png|thumb|250px|Sigurd introducing Eivor to Basim]] | |||
In 872, Basim became acquainted with Eivor on his arrival, granting her a [[Hidden Blade]]<ref name="The Prodigal Prince"/> that had belonged to the late Hidden One [[Ammon]].<ref name="Song of Glory 3"/> Together, the three Æsir incarnations fought Kjotve the Cruel, [[Assault on Kjotve's Fortress|assaulting]] his [[Kjotve's Fortress|fortress]] and killing him.<ref name="A Cruel Destiny">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[A Cruel Destiny]]</ref> This act permitted [[Harald Fairhair]], Freyr's incarnation, to [[Unification of Norway|unite]] Norway under his crown.<ref name="Birthrights">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Birthrights]]</ref> As Harald became the lord of Fornburg, Sigurd, Eivor, and Basim went to England in order to establish a new colony,<ref name="The Seas of Fate">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Seas of Fate]]</ref> while Svala returned to the Yggdrasil Chamber, guided by Freyja's memories,<ref name="A Wise Friend">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[A Wise Friend]]</ref> to enter a simulation of [[Valhalla (afterlife)|Valhalla]].<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/> | |||
Establishing the colony of [[Ravensthorpe]] in [[Mercia]] in 873,<ref name="Unwelcome">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Unwelcome]]</ref><ref name="Settling Down"/> Sigurd became the ''jarl'' of the village, working with Eivor to form an alliance with the [[Sons of Ragnar]].<ref name="Heavy is the Head">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Heavy is the Head]]</ref> After that, Sigurd attributed to his sister the task of continuing to gain friends throughout England in order to expand the settlement while he and Basim adventured through the new lands.<ref name="Reporting on Ledecestrescire">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Reporting on Ledecestrescire]]</ref> | |||
During this time, Basim tried to reveal to Sigurd his true nature, but when this failed, he decided to prompt the man to search for the [[Saga Stone]], a door fragment from Yggdrasil's chamber with engraved [[Isu script]] that he hoped would spark Sigurd's memory.<ref name="Brewing Rebellion">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Brewing Rebellion]]</ref><ref name="The Saga Stone">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Saga Stone]]</ref> Some time after, Eivor assisted her brother with his search in [[Oxfordshire|Oxenefordscire]], where the three Æsir incarnations allied themselves with [[Fulke]],<ref name="Pilgrimage to St. Albanes">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Pilgrimage to St. Albanes]]</ref> an Order of the Ancients member who possessed the Stone and studied both it and the incarnated Isu.<ref name="Blood from a Stone">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Blood from a Stone]]</ref> Together, they fought Lady [[Eadwyn]],<ref name="The Saga Stone"/> who had previously imprisoned Fulke, reclaiming the Stone from her.<ref name="Pilgrimage to St. Albanes"/> After they recovered the relic, Basim let Fulke betray the group and take Sigurd as a hostage,<ref name="Blood from a Stone"/> suspecting that her research with a live subject would awaken his true nature.<ref name="A Bloody Welcome"/> | |||
[[File:ACV Storming the Walls 18.png|thumb|250px|left|Eivor and Basim rescuing Sigurd]] | |||
[[ | In 874, Eivor and Basim traveled to [[Kent|Cent]] in search of Fulke.<ref name="The Abbot's Gambit">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Abbot's Gambit]]</ref> They ended up being tricked by the Ancient, who fled with Sigurd. The Hidden One and the Viking then found her sanctuary in [[Canterbury]], discovering that Fulke had cut off Sigurd's arm and that she had taken him to the fortress of [[Portcestre]], in [[Sussex|Suthsexe]].<ref name="A Bloody Welcome"/> The next year, the two incarnations and their allies [[Siege of Portcestre|besieged]] the castle, with Eivor saving her brother and finally killing Fulke.<ref name="Storming the Walls">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Storming the Walls]]</ref> Nevertheless, the torture that Sigurd had endured greatly altered his personality after being exposed to Týr's memories, and he now saw himself as a god.<ref name="Of All That Has Passed">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Of All That Has Passed...]] </ref><ref name="Blame and Sail">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Blame and Sail]]</ref> | ||
During one of her adventures in early 876, Eivor allied with Halfdan and Faravid to fight the rebelling King [[Ricsige of Northumbria|Ricsige]] and his [[Picts|Pict]] allies.<ref name="Honor's Hubris">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Honor's Hubris]]</ref> After Halfdan became the new king of [[Northumbria]], an argument arose between Faravid and the new king, the latter accusing his friend of poisoning him. This greatly affected Halfdan, who rapidly became depressed, though Eivor helped him recover his morals.<ref name="Lost Glory"/> | |||
During | |||
During her journey in England, Eivor experienced several hallucinations of Odin, manifestations of his memories trying to emerge in her mind that sometimes spoke directly to her,<ref name="Honor Bound"/><ref name="A Cruel Destiny"/> constantly trying to direct her to the location of Yggdrasil's chamber.<ref name="The Saga Stone"/> After Svala accepted Freyja's past as her own, her daughter, the seer [[Valka]], moved to Ravensthorpe.<ref name="A Wise Friend"/> There, she helped Eivor understand the meaning of the visions by creating potions that permitted her to witness altered memories of Odin's time in Asgard,<ref name="In Dreams">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[In Dreams...]]</ref><ref name="Bound to Fate">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Bound to Fate]]</ref> [[Jötunheimr]],<ref name="Going Deeper">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Going Deeper...]]</ref> [[Svartálfaheimr]],<ref name="Restless Dreams">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[Dawn of Ragnarök]]'' – [[Restless Dreams]]</ref> and [[Niflheimr]].<ref name="A Gift from the Otherworld">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Forgotten Saga]]'' – [[A Gift from the Otherworld]]</ref> | |||
[[File:ACV A Brother's Keeper 49.png|thumb|250px|Eivor renouncing Odin]] | |||
In 877, Sigurd and Eivor returned to Norway,<ref name="The Road to Valhalla">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Road to Valhalla]]</ref><ref name="Where Legends are Born">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Where Legends Are Born]]</ref> entering the Yggdrasil vault by pronouncing the words carved on the Saga Stone. Inside, they encountered the supercomputer and used it to enter the simulation of Valhalla, encountering Svala as Freyja, who had been there for the past four years. Despite initially enjoying the simulation, Eivor realized that everything was fake and convinced her brother to leave, while Svala stayed. However, Odin's consciousness tried to force Eivor to stay in the simulation, leading to a fight that ended in Eivor repressing her Isu side and ejecting herself from the machine.<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/> | |||
Basim, who had tailed the siblings to the Yggdrasil vault, understood that Eivor was indeed the host of Odin's mind instead of Sigurd. He then took Sigurd hostage but quickly released him as Eivor went to attack him. During the fight, Basim blamed the imprisonment of his son Fenrir on a clueless Eivor, who in turn believed her former friend had lost his mind.<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/> | |||
[[File:ACV A Brother's Keeper 64.png|thumb|250px|left|Basim pinning Eivor down during their fight]] | |||
As the Hidden One was overpowered by Eivor, he decided to kill Sigurd instead, but Eivor arrived in time to save her brother. The Viking then proceeded to distract Basim in a last confrontation while Sigurd powered up Yggdrasil to trap his consciousness inside [[the Grey]]. After this, Sigurd reflected on recent events and conceded his role of Ravensthorpe's ''jarl'' to his sister,<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/> who returned to England to take her rightful place as the Raven Clan's new leader.<ref name="A Quiet Homecoming">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[A Quiet Homecoming]]</ref> | |||
The following year, Eivor led the assault that resulted in the [[Battle of Chippenham|Battle of Cippenham]].<ref name="Kingdom's End">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Kingdom's End]]</ref> Although the Vikings won the fight, conquering England in its totality, the confrontation resulted on several casualties on their side, including [[Soma]], [[Hjorr Halfsson]], and [[Hunwald]]. After giving the warriors their last rites, Eivor had a discussion about possible afterlives with [[Guthrum]], venting to him that she would now seize her time among her friends and family rather than wish and strive for Valhalla after having witnessed its emptiness while in Yggdrasil's chamber.<ref name="Holy Day">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Holy Day]]</ref> | |||
True to her word, Eivor spent the following decade trying to help the Raven Clan as its ''jarlskona'' to the best of her abilities, even traveling to [[Ireland]] and [[Francia]] to establish new alliances and stop possible threats.<ref name="Irish Adventure">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[Wrath of the Druids]]'' – [[Irish Adventure]]</ref><ref name="To Francia">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Siege of Paris]]'' – [[To Francia]]</ref> Eventually, around 889, an older and more mature Eivor realized that she could not suppress her Isu self, Odin, forever and rather than reject his influence entirely, she decided to learn from his memories. However, believing her clan would not be able to understand, she chose to do so away from them.<ref name="Last Goodbyes">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Last Chapter]]'' – [[Last Goodbyes]]</ref> | |||
Prior to her departure, Eivor went to bid farewell to all of her friends and allies in England and Norway, including Sigurd, who had since settled in [[Alrekstad]], and Harald Fairhair, who by this point had become aware of his own nature as Freyr's incarnation. Staying in Alrekstad for three weeks, Eivor, Sigurd, and Harald reminisced about their past lives together,<ref name="Fare Thee Well King Fairhair">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Last Chapter]]'' – [[Fare Thee Well, King Fair-Hair]]</ref> before Eivor eventually left for [[Vinland]] in [[North America]].<ref name="Fare Thee Well My Ravens>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Last Chapter]]'' – [[Fare Thee Well, My Ravens]]</ref> There, she would spend her final years conversing with Odin, who helped her understand the Isu's history.<ref name="TLC MD">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – ''[[The Last Chapter]]'' – [[21st century conversations|Modern day]]</ref> After her death, Eivor was buried near modern-day [[Concord]].<ref name="ACV MD">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[21st century conversations|Modern day]]</ref> | |||
====Modern times==== | |||
{{Quote|You bested me. I don't know how, but you did. Yet I'm the one left standing. And now I can take from you anything I want... your memories, your skills, your secrets. They're all mine. And when I have them, I will put them to good use. To find my children. And bring my family back together.|Basim addressing Eivor's remains, 2020.|Assassin's Creed: Valhalla|21st century conversations}} | |||
[[File:ACV Basim meeting Layla in the Grey.png|thumb|250px|Basim meeting Layla inside the Grey]] | |||
In 2020, the Assassin [[Layla Hassan]], who had discovered Eivor's grave and relived the Viking's memories in the [[Animus]], found and accessed the Yggdrasil chamber and connected herself to the supercomputer, hoping to find a solution to a series of anomalies affecting the Earth,<ref name="ACV MD"/> caused by the activation of the [[global aurora borealis device]] in 2012.<ref name="AC3"/> Inside the Grey, she met the consciousness of Basim, who revealed that he had sent Layla the message leading her to Eivor's remains and told her how to save the planet.<ref name="ACV MD"/> | |||
Basim, | However, after Layla followed Basim's instructions, she inadvertently freed the Hidden One from his imprisonment inside the Grey. Thanks to the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, which Layla had dropped, Basim rejuvenated his physical body and was reunited with the consciousness of Loki's lover Aletheia. He then met with Layla's fellow Assassins [[Shaun Hastings]] and [[Rebecca Crane]], who were angry to learn that Basim had abandoned Layla inside the Grey, but nonetheless agreed to grant him an audience with their [[Mentor]], [[William Miles]].<ref name="ACV MD"/> | ||
[[File:ACV Basim Visits Eivor's Grave.png|thumb|250px|left|Basim visiting Eivor's grave]] | |||
While Shaun and Rebecca were away, Basim used the Animus they left behind to relive Eivor's memories in the hopes of finding any clues to lead him to his children: Fenrir, [[Hel]], and [[Jörmungandr]].<ref name="ACV MD"/> While he did not find any, witnessing Eivor reject Odin's influence made him realize that the Viking's relationship with her Isu self was different from his own relationship with Loki, and that he had been mistaken to try and exact revenge on Eivor for Odin's transgression.<ref name="TLC MD"/> When he later began to experience the [[Bleeding Effect]], Basim saw a vision of Eivor smiling and nodding at him, a gesture he returned to symbolize their mutual respect.<ref name="ACV MD"/> | |||
Eventually, a hologram of William met Basim during an Animus session and questioned his motives. After the former Hidden One claimed that he still cherished [[the Creed]] and wished to help the Assassins in their [[Assassin-Templar War|fight]] against the [[Templars]], William agreed to work with him, but first requested a sample of his blood, to allow the Assassins to relive his genetic memories.<ref name="TLC MD"/> | |||
== | ==Known incarnated Isu== | ||
<gallery widths="180" position="center" captionalign="center"> | <gallery widths="180" position="center" captionalign="center"> | ||
Wiki noimage.jpg|[[Rig Reidarasson]]<br> | Wiki noimage.jpg|[[Rig Reidarasson]]<br>incarnation of [[Heimdall]]<ref name="Rigsogur Page 1"/><br>(c. 770s – c. 860s CE) | ||
ACV Svala.png|[[Svala]]<br> | ACV Svala.png|[[Svala]]<br>incarnation of [[Freyja]]<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/><br>(died 873 CE) | ||
ACV DB Halfdan.png|[[Halfdan Ragnarsson]]<br> | ACV DB Halfdan.png|[[Halfdan Ragnarsson]]<br>incarnation of [[Thor]]<ref name="DarbySages"/><br>(c. 790 – 877 CE) | ||
ACV DB Faravid.png|[[Faravid]]<br> | ACV DB Faravid.png|[[Faravid]]<br>incarnation of [[Sif]]<ref name="DarbySages"/> | ||
ACV | ACV Sigurd Styrbjornson.png|[[Sigurd Styrbjornsson]]<br>incarnation of [[Týr]]<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/><br>(born 842 CE) | ||
ACV | ACV Basim render.png|[[Basim ibn Ishaq]]<br>incarnation of [[Loki]]<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/><br>(born c. 844 CE) | ||
ACV Female Eivor render.png|[[Eivor Varinsdottir]]<br> | ACV Female Eivor render.png|[[Eivor Varinsdottir]]<br>incarnation of [[Odin]]<ref name="A Brother's Keeper"/><br>(born 847 CE) | ||
ACVSoG - Gull 2.png|[[Gull]]<ref name=" | ACVSoG - Gull 2.png|[[Gull]]<ref name="Song of Glory 3"/><br>incarnation of [[Idun]]<ref name="DarbySages"/> | ||
ACV Harald.png|[[Harald Fairhair]]<br> | ACV Harald.png|[[Harald Fairhair]]<br>incarnation of [[Freyr]]<ref name="DarbySages"/><br>(c. 850 – c. 930 CE) | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
| Line 113: | Line 142: | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rebellion]] – [[The Ravens' Wound]]'' | *''[[Assassin's Creed: Rebellion]] – [[The Ravens' Wound]]'' | ||
*[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (webcomic)|''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' webcomic]] | *[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (webcomic)|''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' webcomic]] | ||
*''[[Little Miss Eivor]]'' | *''[[Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin?]]'' {{C|non-canon}} | ||
*''[[Little Miss Eivor]]'' {{C|non-canon}} | |||
*''[[Discovery Tour: Viking Age]]'' | *''[[Discovery Tour: Viking Age]]'' | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Forgotten Myths]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Sword of the White Horse]]'' | *''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Sword of the White Horse]]'' | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book]]'' | *''[[Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book]]'' | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Golden City]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' | |||
**''[[The Forty Thieves]]'' | |||
**''[[Valley of Memory]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]]'' | *''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]]'' | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist|2}} | {{Scroll box|content={{Reflist|2}}}} | ||
{{Isu}} | {{Isu}} | ||
[[Category:Isu]] | [[Category:Isu]] | ||
[[Category:Humans]] | [[Category:Humans]] | ||
[[Category:DNA]] | [[Category:DNA]] | ||
Latest revision as of 04:39, 25 May 2026
|
I wanted to ask you something. Which is... what's your name? This article title is conjecture. Although the article subject is canon, no official name for it has been given. |
An Isu can be incarnated in a human individual. While initially believed that this process only happened[1] with Juno's late husband Aita,[2] incarnations of whom are referred to as Sages,[1] it has since been discovered that incarnations of nine Asgardian Isu surfaced around the 9th century, predominantly within Scandinavia.[3]
Where the Sages of Aita and Vejovis, another Isu, have manifested in different individuals throughout human history, instances of the Asgardians' incarnations are only known to have occurred in one person each. Among that group were Eivor Varinsdottir, the incarnation of Odin; her adoptive brother Sigurd Styrbjornsson, Týr's incarnation; Svala, the incarnation of Freyja; and Basim ibn Ishaq, Loki's incarnation.
Sages[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Sage
The most prevalent Isu incarnations are those of the Isu Aita, known as Sages. These Sages reappeared many times throughout history, bore a physical resemblance to Aita, and were recognizable by their anisocoria and heterochromia.[1]
Incarnated Asgardian Isu[edit | edit source]
Phenomenon[edit | edit source]
Shortly before the Great Catastrophe that wiped out the Isu, Odin, seven of his most trusted Isu followers, and Loki had their DNA, memories, and consciousnesses integrated into the human gene pool by using the Yggdrasil supercomputer,[4] paired with a catalyst stolen from the Capitoline Triad,[5] in hope of escaping the doom of their civilization and be incarnated in human bodies millennia later. More specially, they injected their blood into human fetuses,[4] prompting their DNA to remain dormant in future human bloodlines as a recessive trait. Eventually, a trigger would take place under specific circumstances that would give the Isu's DNA a dominant trait, manipulating their physical characteristics to match the ones from the respective Isu and slowly forcing the resurgence of their past memories and consciousnesses.[1] Most notably, unlike Aita's many forms, these incarnated Isu were planned to only happen once.[6][7] Another factor which complicated this plan was that, as with Sages, there was a risk the human could choose to not act on their Isu memories.[8]
Characteristics[edit | edit source]
Predecessor's impulses[edit | edit source]
In stark contrast to Sages, who were plagued by Aita's memories, the Asgardians had aspects of their lives often partially or fully repeat themselves in the lives of their human incarnations. Like Odin, Eivor had a strong dislike of wolves,[9] though her feelings were based on childhood trauma;[10] had the raven Sýnin as her familiar, echoing Huginn and Muninn;[11] and when connected to Yggdrasil, regularly lost an eye fighting alongside the einherjar in a simulation of Valhalla.[3] In similar fashion, Sigurd mediated disputes and delivered judgements as jarl[12] and had his right arm severed at the elbow,[13] echoing the tales in Norse mythology about how the god of justice Týr lost his right arm to the wolf Fenrir.[14]
Halfdan Ragnarsson, the incarnation of Thor, had a strong affinity for using his hammer Orthstirr in battle,[15] regularly threw it,[16] and was extremely paranoid about being poisoned,[15] unknowingly copying Thor's use of Mjölnir[17] and foreshadowing the thunder god's demise in Ragnarök from Jörmungandr's venom.[18] Even Rig Reidarasson was haunted with strong impulses to kill the Hidden One Basim ibn Ishaq, though he did not know his target's name and described him as a "man with the mark in the House of Shadows",[19] unknowingly following Heimdall's initially fated role to kill Loki even as he was slain in turn.[20]
Convenience of the incarnations[edit | edit source]
In the particular case of the incarnated Asgardians, the specific time period and the bloodline where they would be born were specially planned to happen at the same year span and region of the globe. As such, with the exception of Loki, all the incarnations grew up between the end of the 8th century and beginning of the 9th century in bloodlines native to Northern Europe.[11]
For unclear reasons, however, Heimdall's incarnation Rig was born near Scandinavia but approximately 20 years before the other incarnations,[21] despite Heimdall having done his blood transfusion at the same time as his counterparts.[22] After Rig tried to kill Loki's incarnation Basim ibn Ishaq in Constantinople, he returned to his crew stating that he "was born too early and [was] alone" after concluding that Basim had not been born yet.[19]
In addition to this, although Loki injected himself with the serum after the Æsir had left the chamber, his incarnation was born around the same time as the other incarnations but far away in the Abbasid Caliphate's capital city of Samarra.[23]
Physical features and similarities[edit | edit source]
Incarnated Isu could be identified by a mass of dark veins on their necks.[24] Additionally, at least two incarnations, Eivor Varinsdottir and Basim ibn Ishaq, possessed the rare ability of Eagle Vision, indicating a high concentration of Isu DNA.[11][25]
History[edit | edit source]
Isu Era[edit | edit source]
- Aletheia: "Have you heard? The High Council has stripped the Mother of her title. For gifting our tormentor her seventh method of salvation."
- Loki: "The seventh method? Is it viable? Why were we not told?"
- Aletheia: "I've heard whispers and rumors. It seems the seventh requires a human host."
- —Aletheia and Loki.[src]-[m]
Desperate to save the life of her husband Aita, who had been left in a catatonic state after being used as subject test to the fifth method of salvation,[2] Juno embarked on a quest to acquire the "Mead", a serum designed by the Capitoline Triad and kept under the guard of Jupiter and Minerva that would activate the latest solution to limit the Great Catastrophe's effects on the Isu.[26] This particular innovation, if used correctly, could reincarnate some members of the Isu as humans in the distant future, but Jupiter and Minerva deemed it dangerous to use, believing it would damage the human genome in the process and eventually influence human history in an uncontrollable way.[5]
Desperate for the Mead, Juno investigated their research sites and found the Mímisbrunnr, which was meant to receive the Mead when ready. [citation needed] Soon after, she began to inquire and plot out multiple ways to take it in order to save her beloved, actions that eventually exiled her from the city guarding the Temple.[26] When Odin visited Jötunheimr to meet Aletheia, she discovered that he also sought the seventh method and so decided to wait until she and her lover Loki dealt with him before deciding to collaborate with Odin to steal the serum.[27]
Odin managed to steal the Mead from the city of Útgarðar, but not without deceiving Minerva and battling Jupiter himself.[5] Juno told him to come to the experimental well in order to make the serum work. After Odin sacrificed his left eye in order to use it as catalyst, the machine [citation needed] Mímir accepted his sacrifice and the serum was finally synthesized, much to Juno's delight. With both Isu taking samples of the fluid, she cautioned him to use the serum moments before his death in order for it to work, as only the memories from before consuming the concoction would be preserved within the new body. With the Mead now in-hand,[26] Juno was able to insert her late husband's essence into a human bloodline, tweaking the solution's functions to indefinitely reincarnate her beloved for the following millennia.[1]
Odin eventually finished the construction of the abandoned [citation needed] project in Scandinavia, near the Æsir's territory, naming it Yggdrasil.[3] In the midst of the Great Catastrophe, a group of Asgardian Isu comprised of Odin, Freyja, Týr, Thor, Sif, Heimdall, Iðunn, and Freyr managed to upload their essences into the supercomputer before heading off to face their end in battle, gambling that Yggdrasil would successfully save them through a incarnation in human bodies in the upcoming ages.[4]
Unbeknownst to them, Loki also snuck into the room and uploaded his essence as part of his two-step plan to first take revenge on Odin in the future for imprisoning his son Fenrir, and also to reunite with his lover Aletheia, who had her consciousness preserved in the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus.[4]
Viking Age[edit | edit source]
During the Viking Age, the Æsir's incarnations finally appeared. The first was Rig Reidarasson, a Viking born in the late 8th century who was Heimdall incarnate. During his life, Rig was plagued by Heimdall's memories, believing them to be visions of the gods. His life, adventures, and struggles to seize the hallucinations were immortalized in the Rigsogur, a saga written by the monk Brissy the Elder.[28]
In the 9th century, Thor and Sif were reincarnated respectively in the Vikings Halfdan Ragnarsson and his friend Faravid, though they were unaware of this link. In 865 CE, when King Ælla of Northumbria executed Halfdan's father Ragnar Lothbrok by throwing him into a pit of snakes,[29] Halfdan and Faravid conquered his kingdom and executed Ælla in return in 867 CE.[30]
Abbasid Caliphate[edit | edit source]
Around 844 CE, Loki's incarnation Basim ibn Ishaq was born in the Middle East, specifically in the Abbasid Caliphate's capital city of Samarra.[23] For most of his early life, Basim was unaware of his true nature, though he still experienced Loki's memories in the form of haunting visions of a djinn, which represented the torture Loki had been made to endure during his imprisonment in the Alamut Temple.[31] Meanwhile, Loki's consciousness took the form of Nehal, Basim's alleged childhood best friend, who accompanied him at every step and encouraged him to pursue his own self-interests while trying to remind Basim of "who he truly was."[32]
Originally a simple street thief, Basim eventually joined the Hidden Ones in 861, after being rescued by the Master Assassin Roshan following his accidental murder of the caliph Al-Mutawakkil.[32] While helping the Hidden Ones hunt down their enemies, the Order of the Ancients, in Baghdad, Basim learned about the latter's research of Isu artifacts and was encouraged by Nehal to seek the Order's knowledge to better understand his own nature.[33]
After the Order's leader Qabiha informed him of the Alamut Temple prior to being slain by Roshan, Basim decided to investigate the site.[34] Although Roshan, who had deduced her apprentice's true nature by herself, tried to stop him, fearing what the temple might awaken inside Basim, she was ultimately defeated by him. Inside the temple, Basim discovered several Memory Seals, one of which contained the recorded memories of Loki from the time he had been imprisoned there millennia prior.[31]
Upon realizing what both Nehal and the djinn that had been tormenting him represented, Basim decided to embrace his nature as Loki's incarnation and regained all the memories of his past life. He then began seeking out the other incarnated Isu to exact retribution for the suffering inflicted upon his past self, all the while continuing to further the Hidden Ones' cause.[31]
Viking expansion[edit | edit source]
In the mid-9th century in Rygjafylke, Norway, the Raven Clan who resided in the small settlement of Fornburg counted three Æsir incarnations among their members: the volva Svala for Freyja,[35] the prince Sigurd Styrbojnsson for Týr,[36] and his foster sister Eivor Varinsdottir for Odin.[37]
In 870 CE, during a raid on one of Kjotve the Cruel's territories, Eivor captured his slave Gull, the incarnation of Iðunn.[38] Together, they went up the Feiknstafir mountains to the Temple of Heimdall,[39] where they found an Apple of Eden that had been locked away. When Gull touched the artifact, she recovered Iðunn's memories, and armed with the knowledge necessary to control it, used the artifact to restrain Eivor. As the Temple began to collapse from the damage sustained in Eivor's fight with Kjotve's men who also sought the treasure, Gull was left to her fate on a precarious ledge with the Apple while Eivor decided to help her clan, who was being attacked by Kjotve's Wolf Clan.[40]
That same year in Constantinople, Sigurd met Basim, who served as leader of the local Hidden Ones bureau, and his acolyte Hytham.[41] Recognizing the mark on Sigurd's neck,[40] Basim pondered the possibility of him being Odin incarnate,[3] and as such followed the Viking on a trip to his hometown to investigate further.[36]
In 872, Basim became acquainted with Eivor on his arrival, granting her a Hidden Blade[36] that had belonged to the late Hidden One Ammon.[40] Together, the three Æsir incarnations fought Kjotve the Cruel, assaulting his fortress and killing him.[42] This act permitted Harald Fairhair, Freyr's incarnation, to unite Norway under his crown.[43] As Harald became the lord of Fornburg, Sigurd, Eivor, and Basim went to England in order to establish a new colony,[44] while Svala returned to the Yggdrasil Chamber, guided by Freyja's memories,[45] to enter a simulation of Valhalla.[3]
Establishing the colony of Ravensthorpe in Mercia in 873,[46][12] Sigurd became the jarl of the village, working with Eivor to form an alliance with the Sons of Ragnar.[47] After that, Sigurd attributed to his sister the task of continuing to gain friends throughout England in order to expand the settlement while he and Basim adventured through the new lands.[48]
During this time, Basim tried to reveal to Sigurd his true nature, but when this failed, he decided to prompt the man to search for the Saga Stone, a door fragment from Yggdrasil's chamber with engraved Isu script that he hoped would spark Sigurd's memory.[49][50] Some time after, Eivor assisted her brother with his search in Oxenefordscire, where the three Æsir incarnations allied themselves with Fulke,[51] an Order of the Ancients member who possessed the Stone and studied both it and the incarnated Isu.[52] Together, they fought Lady Eadwyn,[50] who had previously imprisoned Fulke, reclaiming the Stone from her.[51] After they recovered the relic, Basim let Fulke betray the group and take Sigurd as a hostage,[52] suspecting that her research with a live subject would awaken his true nature.[13]
In 874, Eivor and Basim traveled to Cent in search of Fulke.[53] They ended up being tricked by the Ancient, who fled with Sigurd. The Hidden One and the Viking then found her sanctuary in Canterbury, discovering that Fulke had cut off Sigurd's arm and that she had taken him to the fortress of Portcestre, in Suthsexe.[13] The next year, the two incarnations and their allies besieged the castle, with Eivor saving her brother and finally killing Fulke.[54] Nevertheless, the torture that Sigurd had endured greatly altered his personality after being exposed to Týr's memories, and he now saw himself as a god.[55][56]
During one of her adventures in early 876, Eivor allied with Halfdan and Faravid to fight the rebelling King Ricsige and his Pict allies.[57] After Halfdan became the new king of Northumbria, an argument arose between Faravid and the new king, the latter accusing his friend of poisoning him. This greatly affected Halfdan, who rapidly became depressed, though Eivor helped him recover his morals.[16]
During her journey in England, Eivor experienced several hallucinations of Odin, manifestations of his memories trying to emerge in her mind that sometimes spoke directly to her,[37][42] constantly trying to direct her to the location of Yggdrasil's chamber.[50] After Svala accepted Freyja's past as her own, her daughter, the seer Valka, moved to Ravensthorpe.[45] There, she helped Eivor understand the meaning of the visions by creating potions that permitted her to witness altered memories of Odin's time in Asgard,[58][59] Jötunheimr,[60] Svartálfaheimr,[61] and Niflheimr.[62]
In 877, Sigurd and Eivor returned to Norway,[63][64] entering the Yggdrasil vault by pronouncing the words carved on the Saga Stone. Inside, they encountered the supercomputer and used it to enter the simulation of Valhalla, encountering Svala as Freyja, who had been there for the past four years. Despite initially enjoying the simulation, Eivor realized that everything was fake and convinced her brother to leave, while Svala stayed. However, Odin's consciousness tried to force Eivor to stay in the simulation, leading to a fight that ended in Eivor repressing her Isu side and ejecting herself from the machine.[3]
Basim, who had tailed the siblings to the Yggdrasil vault, understood that Eivor was indeed the host of Odin's mind instead of Sigurd. He then took Sigurd hostage but quickly released him as Eivor went to attack him. During the fight, Basim blamed the imprisonment of his son Fenrir on a clueless Eivor, who in turn believed her former friend had lost his mind.[3]
As the Hidden One was overpowered by Eivor, he decided to kill Sigurd instead, but Eivor arrived in time to save her brother. The Viking then proceeded to distract Basim in a last confrontation while Sigurd powered up Yggdrasil to trap his consciousness inside the Grey. After this, Sigurd reflected on recent events and conceded his role of Ravensthorpe's jarl to his sister,[3] who returned to England to take her rightful place as the Raven Clan's new leader.[65]
The following year, Eivor led the assault that resulted in the Battle of Cippenham.[66] Although the Vikings won the fight, conquering England in its totality, the confrontation resulted on several casualties on their side, including Soma, Hjorr Halfsson, and Hunwald. After giving the warriors their last rites, Eivor had a discussion about possible afterlives with Guthrum, venting to him that she would now seize her time among her friends and family rather than wish and strive for Valhalla after having witnessed its emptiness while in Yggdrasil's chamber.[67]
True to her word, Eivor spent the following decade trying to help the Raven Clan as its jarlskona to the best of her abilities, even traveling to Ireland and Francia to establish new alliances and stop possible threats.[68][69] Eventually, around 889, an older and more mature Eivor realized that she could not suppress her Isu self, Odin, forever and rather than reject his influence entirely, she decided to learn from his memories. However, believing her clan would not be able to understand, she chose to do so away from them.[70]
Prior to her departure, Eivor went to bid farewell to all of her friends and allies in England and Norway, including Sigurd, who had since settled in Alrekstad, and Harald Fairhair, who by this point had become aware of his own nature as Freyr's incarnation. Staying in Alrekstad for three weeks, Eivor, Sigurd, and Harald reminisced about their past lives together,[71] before Eivor eventually left for Vinland in North America.[72] There, she would spend her final years conversing with Odin, who helped her understand the Isu's history.[73] After her death, Eivor was buried near modern-day Concord.[74]
Modern times[edit | edit source]
- "You bested me. I don't know how, but you did. Yet I'm the one left standing. And now I can take from you anything I want... your memories, your skills, your secrets. They're all mine. And when I have them, I will put them to good use. To find my children. And bring my family back together."
- ―Basim addressing Eivor's remains, 2020.[src]-[m]
In 2020, the Assassin Layla Hassan, who had discovered Eivor's grave and relived the Viking's memories in the Animus, found and accessed the Yggdrasil chamber and connected herself to the supercomputer, hoping to find a solution to a series of anomalies affecting the Earth,[74] caused by the activation of the global aurora borealis device in 2012.[2] Inside the Grey, she met the consciousness of Basim, who revealed that he had sent Layla the message leading her to Eivor's remains and told her how to save the planet.[74]
However, after Layla followed Basim's instructions, she inadvertently freed the Hidden One from his imprisonment inside the Grey. Thanks to the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, which Layla had dropped, Basim rejuvenated his physical body and was reunited with the consciousness of Loki's lover Aletheia. He then met with Layla's fellow Assassins Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, who were angry to learn that Basim had abandoned Layla inside the Grey, but nonetheless agreed to grant him an audience with their Mentor, William Miles.[74]
While Shaun and Rebecca were away, Basim used the Animus they left behind to relive Eivor's memories in the hopes of finding any clues to lead him to his children: Fenrir, Hel, and Jörmungandr.[74] While he did not find any, witnessing Eivor reject Odin's influence made him realize that the Viking's relationship with her Isu self was different from his own relationship with Loki, and that he had been mistaken to try and exact revenge on Eivor for Odin's transgression.[73] When he later began to experience the Bleeding Effect, Basim saw a vision of Eivor smiling and nodding at him, a gesture he returned to symbolize their mutual respect.[74]
Eventually, a hologram of William met Basim during an Animus session and questioned his motives. After the former Hidden One claimed that he still cherished the Creed and wished to help the Assassins in their fight against the Templars, William agreed to work with him, but first requested a sample of his blood, to allow the Assassins to relive his genetic memories.[73]
Known incarnated Isu[edit | edit source]
![Rig Reidarasson incarnation of Heimdall[21] (c. 770s – c. 860s CE)](/wiki/File:Wiki_noimage.jpg)
![Svala incarnation of Freyja[3] (died 873 CE)](/wiki/File:ACV_Svala.png)
![Halfdan Ragnarsson incarnation of Thor[24] (c. 790 – 877 CE)](/wiki/File:ACV_DB_Halfdan.png)
![Faravid incarnation of Sif[24]](/wiki/File:ACV_DB_Faravid.png){kind=small}
![Sigurd Styrbjornsson incarnation of Týr[3] (born 842 CE)](/wiki/File:ACV_Sigurd_Styrbjornson.png)
![Basim ibn Ishaq incarnation of Loki[3] (born c. 844 CE)](/wiki/File:ACV_Basim_render.png){kind=small}
![Eivor Varinsdottir incarnation of Odin[3] (born 847 CE)](/wiki/File:ACV_Female_Eivor_render.png){kind=small}
![Gull[40] incarnation of Idun[24]](/wiki/File:ACVSoG_-_Gull_2.png)
![Harald Fairhair incarnation of Freyr[24] (c. 850 – c. 930 CE)](/wiki/File:ACV_Harald.png){kind=small}
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion – The Ravens' Wound
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla webcomic
- Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? (non-canon)
- Little Miss Eivor (non-canon)
- Discovery Tour: Viking Age
- Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Forgotten Myths
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Sword of the White Horse
- Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book
- Assassin's Creed: The Golden City
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage
- Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game
References[edit | edit source]
