Odin

Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. This article has been identified as being out of date. Please update the article to reflect recent releases and then remove this template once done.

Where are the paintings? This article is in need of more images and/or better quality pictures from official media in order to achieve a higher status. You can help the Assassin's Creed Wiki by uploading better images on this page.

"All your efforts to evade destiny will only fling you further along its course. If you're not careful, you may be the author of your own destruction."

―Loki, to Odin.

Odin, also called the All-Father by worshippers and Havi by the Æsir, was an Isu who became a widely revered god in both Norse and Germanic mythology.

The leader of a group of Scandinavian Isu called the Æsir, he was known in Norse mythology as the king of all gods, associated with wisdom, healing, death, knowledge, and war. Along with being the original owner of the spear Gungnir, he was also the father of Heimdall, Baldr, and Thor, the warrior god of lightning and thunder.

Names

Odin, also referred to as Havi in Old Norse, meaning "High One", has numerous appellations. Pagan Anglo-Saxons and Gaels referred to him as Woden or Wodin in Old English and Old Gaelic, respectively, while the ancient Fomorian being called Balor knew him as Fjölnir. Among his other epithets he is called The Hanged-God, Shield-Shaker, Graybeard, the Mad One, and Wanderer. Andhrímnir referred to him as Lore-Keeper.

Biography

Early Life

Odin was the son of Borr and the jötunn Bestla, and with the help of his brothers Vili and Vé, they killed the proto-being Ymir and gained control over Asgard. At a later date, Odin became the single leader of the Æsir, a group of Asgardian Isu towards the end of the First Civilization. He was married to the Vanir Freyja but, while the pair developed a great respect for each other, their union was largely a political move. They, at some point, fathered the Isu Heimdall, Thor, and Baldr, who they loved dearly.

Protecting Asgard

At some time before the Great Catastrophe, Odin was warned by the Nornir that the calculations predicted that Fenrir was to be the death of him at the onset of the cataclysm. Suddenly, the Greco-Roman Isu (with whom the Asgardian Isu were in war) breached through the walls of Asgard. Odin fought against them with his fellow Isu and closed the city's walls. There, he found Loki and the Builder, an Isu craftsman who said that he could help him protect Asgard, with the help of the mind methods of the Greco-Roman Isu. Distrustful with the Builder's presence and sense of opportunity but determined to protect his people from "Ragnarök" , Odin agreed to let him run a demonstration and sought to fetch the tools that he needed in the Well of Urdr.

Odin reached the entrance of the Well and, while directing some beam lights to proceed, started to explore its depths, encountering many suspicious letters along the way. When he reached the bottom of the tunnel, he encountered Tyr, sent by Loki. He advised him that the stranger's words were not to be trusted. After unlocking the door to the main chamber of the Well, Odin dove into the pool and to his surprise discovered a young Fenrir hidden inside. He tried immediately to kill him, but was quickly stopped by his counselor. Tyr argued with him, saying that they could not take a life on the sacred well, to which Odin answered that he was determined to survive to his doom and nothing would stop him.

Tyr locked up the Isu child at Odin's request, and Odin exited the Well to encounter a concerned Loki who was strangely worried with the fate of the boy. He ended up indicating the location of the Builder and Odin, now with the necessary tools, went to meet him. He encountered the craftsman and watched as the stranger proceeded to a pillar to activate a shield around the circling area. Although it temporarily failed, it proved efficient while keeping the Isu enemies out of reach. Odin found this very promising and asked him to make a shield to protect all of Asgard, but the Builder swiftly said that he would only do so if he married Freyja, Odin's wife. Odin immediately refused but still felt that shield was their strongest hope against the Catastrophe and their enemies, and so he headed to Freyja with the Builder's conditions.

Odin returned to see the other Isu on a platform, surrounded by humans, next to the encaged teenage Fenrir. Odin asked himself how he had grown so fast and noticed how he was not from their kin. As he joined Loki, who commented his physical appearance, and Tyr, the crowd was amazed with the Knowledge the kid possessed. Odin yelled to them that he if continued to gather it, he would become a great danger. Tyr stated to him that the young Isu was not his enemy and that his presence there showed no signs of the incoming disgrace. Odin presented to Freyja the Builder's bargain and, after a brief argument with the other Isu, Loki suggested giving him an impossible deadline to build the shield tower, nine days. Freyja did not like the proposal, but it was their shot. Odin asked Loki to deliver the offer to the bold stranger.

The other Isu walked away, leaving Odin and Tyr with the crowd. Suddenly, Fenrir broke his bounds and ran. Odin hurried to follow him and quickly chased him through the scared Asgardians. They jumped from a ledge and, down there, the two Isu started fighting. Fueled by his rage on destiny, Odin knocked him down. Right before striking the killing blow, Loki intervened. At that moment, the Earth's magnetic shield failed and an aurora borealis appeared in the sky. In disbelief, Odin discerned that the boy was a sign of the Great Catastrophe. Loki quickly embraced Fenrir, crying, declaring that he was his son. Horrified, Odin realized further that Loki had had an affair with one of their enemies and had betrayed Sigyn. Enraged, Odin ordered the teenager to be arrested and decided to talk to Ivaldi, their blacksmith, in order to find a more permanent solution; this eventually resulted in Fenrir being imprisoned for life.

Outraged at the treatment of his child, Loki secretly murdered Baldr by poisoning his food with mistletoe berries. Odin stood over his son and grieved while Loki watched from afar. After learning who was responsible, Odin ordered Loki be apprehended to answer for his crimes. Afterwards, Odin met with Aletheia and Juno, the Mother of Wisdom among the Capitoline Triad, who revealed to him that she, Jupiter, and Minerva were working on the supercomputer Yggdrasil as a seventh method of salvation to avoid the cataclysm, similar to an earlier attempt where their species' DNA would be uploaded into humanity's genome. However, Minerva was concerned that it would alter humanity's genome, so she and Jupiter and Minerva abandoned the method. Odin then resumed searching for a way to resurrect Baldr.

At some point in his life, Odin met and fought Balor, though the old god was not killed in the ensuing battle.

Odin observing the Great Catastrophe along with other Æsir Isu.

When the Great Catastrophe came, Odin summoned his trusted eight to his secret chamber and uploaded themselves. He stated that none could follow them, especially Loki. He broke his mask and led the eight to face their end. Millennia later, Odin was reincarnated as the Viking shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan.

Mythology

According to the mythology, Odin was accompanied by the ravens Huginn and Muninn, who kept him informed of the goings-on in the worlds.

Odin was also in charge of the sword-maidens, who were thought to visit battlefields.

At some point, Odin disguised himself as a beggar and plunged a sword into a tree called Barnstokkr, stating that whoever was able to pull it free would receive it as a gift. Only the warrior Sigmund proved able to do so, and subsequently claimed the Sword as his own.

It is said that Odin will be killed by Loki's son, Fenrir, the giant wolf during the final battle Ragnarök.

Legacy and influence

During the 9th century, the Vikings made offerings and sacrifices to Odin and prayed for strength in battle. A statue of him was a key feature of Viking settlements.

Odin had a totem named after him in the popular dice game Orlog, played in the 9th century. The piece "Odin's Sacrifice" would allow players to sacrifice a number of health tokens in order to gain more God Favor. An Anglo-Saxon man in Crawleah, Suthsexe possessed the piece, which he gave to Eivor after being defeated.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Odin
• 
  Alternative image of Odin in the database
• 
  Odin and other Isu leaving the Yggdrasil chamber to meet their fate
• 
  Statue of Odin
• 
  An engraving of Odin revealing the sword to Sigmund
• 
  Odin's Sacrifice piece for Orlog
• 
  Eivor Varinsdottir, the reincarnation of Odin and the Animus render of Odin's DNA conflicting with Eivor's (From right to left)

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (appears in Glyphs only)
• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first appearance)
  • Wrath of the Druids (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion – The Ravens' Wound (appears as statue only)
• Discovery Tour: Viking Age