Dag Nithisson

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Dag Nithisson (died c. 875) was a Viking from the Raven Clan who lived during the 9th century. He was a childhood friend of Sigurd Styrbjornsson and, while extremely loyal to him, over time he developed a rivalry with Sigurd's adoptive sister Eivor Varinsdottir.

He was known among his crewmates for telling ship stories, a fact for which they mocked him, saying he had too vivid an imagination for the tales to be real.

Biography

Early life and raid on Rygjafylke

A childhood friend of Sigurd, the son of jarl Styrbjorn Sigvaldisson of Fornburg, Dag was considered toughest and strongest amongst Sigurd's group of playmates, and it was believed that if Sigurd were to become the future jarl of the Raven Clan, Dag would be chosen to be his right-hand man. However, this changed when jarl Styrbjorn adopted Eivor Varinsdottir, whose parents Varin and Rosta were killed during a raid on Heillboer by Kjotve the Cruel and the Wolf Clan. Eivor became Sigurd's adopted sister and thus his closest companion. This invoked Dag's jealousy, who believed that Eivor stole his destiny and would-be glory. Despite this, Dag kept these thoughts to himself and never told Sigurd, remaining loyal to him throughout their years together.

In 870, Sigurd left Norway and embarked on a two-year voyage across Europe, leaving Dag to accompany Eivor in his stead. That year, Dag accompanied Eivor and clan-mates Tora Auzoux to the outskirts of Rygjafylke to watch as a village was raided by Kjotve's clan. Before they could formulate a proper plan, Eivor charged into battle. Dag and Tora later followed after her. After attacking the raiders, Dag was injured receiving a spear through his shoulder. When Eivor's attempt to sway the village leader to pledge allegiance to King Styrbjorn ended in his death, Eivor had Tora make sure Dag's wound was treated by the village healer. Traveling back to Stavanger with Eivor's captured slave, Gull, Dag stood by as Styrbjorn chastised Eivor for dooming them all.

Migrating to England

Dag reunited with Eivor following their escape

In 872, Dag once again joined Eivor and her crew in a botched attempt to hunt down Kjotve. The crew were captured, with Eivor to be sent to slavery in Ireland, while Dag and the rest of the crew were to be brought to Avaldsnes and sacrificed in a blood ritual. En-route, Dag was able to free himself and eliminate his captors, and was soon joined by Eivor who freed herself as well. Dag was left to seize the beaches of Avaldsnes to recover their longship while Eivor rescued the crew within the settlement.

Following the unification of Norway under Harald Fairhair, Dag was one of many Raven Clan members who emigrated to England to escape the new king's rule. Once the clan had settled in one of Halfdan Ragnarsson's old camps in Leicestershire after clearing it of bandits, Dag accompanied Eivor in raiding the nearby Alcestre Monastery to gather resources to build a new forge for the clan's blacksmith, Gunnar. Following their return, Sigurd revealed that he would be traveling northwest to forge new alliances for the clan, and left Eivor in charge of the settlement, which was given the name Ravensthorpe. Before he left, Sigurd specifically ordered Dag to follow Eivor's commands during his absence, much to his annoyance.

As Sigurd spent most of his time in England away from Ravensthorpe, Dag found himself forced to obey Eivor and grew increasingly frustrated with his current situation. Dag believed that Eivor only sought glory for herself rather than for their jarl, and was therefore very vocal about his disapproval of her rule. On a few occassions, he even tried to insinuate that Eivor sought to take Sigurd's place, such as during a feast prior to an attack on Ravensthorpe by a rival Viking clan, or when he caught Eivor sitting in Sigurd's throne while trying to settle a dispute between Holger and Rowan.

Tensions between Dag and Eivor escalated after Sigurd was taken captive by Fulke in 874 and Eivor's efforts to find and rescue her brother proved unsuccessful. After more than a year had passed since his jarl's capture, Dag could not handle the situation anymore and decided to finally take action against Eivor's rule over Ravensthorpe.

Death and post-mortem

DAg challenging Eivor to a holmgang for the clan's leadership

Dag woke Eivor in the middle of the night and challenged her to a holmgang for leadership of the clan, accusing Eivor of chasing personal glory and not focusing on finding Sigurd. The resulting fight was Dag's last, as he refused an offer of exile and fought to his last breath. After being mortally wounded, Dag made a final reach for his axe in the hopes of being allowed entry into Valhalla. Eivor either granted him this dying wish and gave him the axe, or denied it by tossing the axe away.

Despite their rivalry, Eivor still regarded Dag as a friend after his death, as she later layed him to rest and expressed remorse regarding the way things had ended between them. Once Sigurd was eventually rescued by Eivor with the help of her allies and returned to Ravensthorpe, he learned of Dag's fate and was initially furious with Eivor, but forgave her after understanding the circumstances that had led to his friend's death. Sigurd later reflected on Dag's fate once again during his conversation with Eivor in the Yggdrasil Chamber, specifically on Eivor's decision to grant or deny him entry into Valhalla, which contributed to Sigurd's ultimate decision of whether or not he wanted to accompany his sister back to England.

Behind the scenes

Dag is a character in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, first introduced introduced in its prequel comic Song of Glory. In the game, he is voiced by Norwegian actor David Menkin.

If players started the free Oskoreia Season event before completing the memory "A Brewing Storm", Eivor can find Dag's name and read a one-line memorial carved into Gudmund's decorated longship in Ravensthorpe commemorating the deceased, as his death is unavoidable in the main storyline.

Gallery

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  Dag as he appears in Song of Glory
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  Dag's tomb outside the village

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
  • Dawn of Ragnarök (simulation only)