Thorvald Hjaltason

Þórvaldr Hjaltason (English: Thorvald Hjaltason), was an Icelandic skald and Hidden One active during the 10th century.

Biography

At some point in his life, Thorvald joined the Hidden Ones before the reign of king Olof Björnsson. When the Hidden Ones allied themselves with king Eric, Thorvald formed part of his royal court, becoming a royal "skald" (a poet).

In 985, alongside his old Mentor, the blind Torgny, Thorvald fought against Styrbjörn the Strong as the Brotherhood suspected that the fearsome prince and his ally, Harald Bluetooth, were affiliated with the Templar Order. While having a meeting with Eric about blocking the flow of a river to prevent Styrbjörn's allies from further advancing, Thorvald started to seek reliable men for such a task. It was at that point that he met Östen Jorundsson, a farmer who joined Eric's army and that Thorvald would select to be his helper.

As Styrbjörn's man where passing the stake wall they had built, Thorvald ordered Östen and his men to lay poison traps and snares to stop Styrbjörn’s advance. With sneak attacks on their camps at night, they aimed to terrify their enemy. At night, while attacking an enemy camp, Thorvald used the trees to hide and bid his time, managing to slay several of Styrbjörn’s key men stationed there. Eventually, Thorvald fought alongside Östen against Styrbjörn's forces during the Battle of Fýrisvellir. One night before the battle though, Thorvald managed to infiltrate Styrbjörn’s camp, leaving poisoned silver as a deceit for enemy troops to pick up. While he was placing the silver on the camp, Thorvald witnessed the hiding of the dagger inside the boulder. He claimed the dagger for a short time later, before gifting it to Eric directly.

When Östen was named the champion of Eric and after witnessing his victory against Styrbjörn himself, Thorvald entrusted Östen with the Devotion Prong that his enemy wielded. Afterwards, king Eric offered great reward to whoever could compose a poem about the victory at Fýrisvellir. Thorvald immediately composed a poem about the victory, for which the king rewarded him with a golden bracelet.

Legacy

Thorvald fathered at least one child at some point after the Battle of Fýrisvellir, through whom he became the ancestor of Javier Mondragón, a 21st-century teenager who relived his ancestor's memories in order to collect intel about the Devotion Prong owned by Harald Bluetooth.

Personality and traits

Equipment and skills

Thorvald, like some other Assassins had mastered Freerunning, owned a Hidden Blade and possessed the ability of Eagle Vision, though he referred to it as "Odin-sight". Thorvald also owned a horse named Gyllir. While being known as a skald, Thorvald was in fact a skilled warrior and when provoked by five men, noted to himself that he could easily kill three of them before the two others could even draw their weapons. He also dueled and killed Palnatoke, who as the leader of the Jomsvikings was considered to be one the deadliest Viking warriors of his time.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods