Eivor Varinsdottir

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"I will not be captive to another man's gaudy design. My destiny is mine to weave."

―Eivor Varinsdottir, 870s

Eivor presenting Gull to Styrbjorn

Eivor listening to Gull and telling Tora to keep a secret

Eivor stabbed in the back by Gull

Days later, upon the mountain ledges of sex politics

Eivor tackling Bjarke

Eivor witnessed misleading advertising

She then turned to fight Erland, but in her weakened state, he pushed her to the ground. Looking upon a painting of Himinbjörg on the wall, Eivor recalled Gull's rambling and kicked in the wall. Behind the wall was Heimdall's treasure, a mountain of gold coins and other riches. Among these, a pedestal with an Apple of Eden. As Eivor reached for it, she was thrown to the ground again by Erland, claiming the treasure belonged to Kjotve. Eivor remarked that Kjotve was nowhere to be seen and kicked Erland off the treasure pile sending him and the other thugs through the weakened floorboards and to their death. Gull grabbed the apple and stood up, no longer the cowering slave. Calling out to her, Gull's response to Eivor was "That is not my name. And this is not my life." she tore off her slave collar to reveal a marking on her neck.

Eivor offering to save Gull

Eivor, still dazed and confused, had no idea what Gull was talking about. She demanded that Gull hand over the treasure that rightfully belonged to her father as she did. Gull refused to be owned by anyone, and Eivor was resigned to take it off her dead corpse and attacked. Gull commanded her to stop and with the power of the Apple, Eivor could not move. As the rest of the temple continued to crumble around them, Eivor pleaded Gull to release her from the stasis or they would both die.

Gull was unafraid to die, but accidentally dropped the Apple, cancelling the stasis. Eivor, now free, realized the power the Apple held and wanted it for her father. Gull warned Eivor that she did not understand that the world was not as it seemed as she scrambled to get back the Apple as the floor broke apart. Eivor held out her hand for the Apple promising to help, but Gull refused for the Apple to go into Styrbjorn's hands. Gull, no longer mind-addled, recalled what Bjarke had said about her village under attack and asked if Eivor would abandon the man who took her in and raised her. With the ledge as weak as it was, any attempt to take the Apple would definitely kill them both. Gull gave Eivor two choices; "Risk everything for glory, or save [her] people". Eivor chose the latter and left Gull to her fate.

Back in Fornburg, Eivor arrived too late to save her friend Tora but managed to avenge her and protect her father. Styrbjorn was proud of Eivor for not letting him down again. As Eivor fought against the warriors of the Wolf Clan, she called out to Dag to not let Tora's death be in vain. When questioned where she was all this time, her answer was that she made a choice; Stavanger.

Retaliation

In 872 Kjotve the Cruel attacked a village under the protection of King Styrbjorn. With Sigurd still on his voyages, Eivor was tasked with leading the counter-attack and driving their enemies back North. While Kjotve sacked another village, Eivor took a small band of warriors and launched a raid on Kjotve's back lines, cutting down the warriors manning three watchtowers, allowing them to move unnoticed. They made their way through the village, battling the Wolf Clan warriors, before Eivor joined the main body of the war-band, asking a small group of warriors to scale the rear face of the hill and draw fighters away from the front.They flanked the Meadhall, defeated one of Kjotve's sons, Hrolfr Kjotvesson, and recovered a chest full of gold, though Eivor noticed the scrolls it had contained were missing.

The ransacked village

Eivor captured by Kjotve

This game was trashed by politics for no reason and it's fan base are too scard and or stupid to do or say anything until it's too late.

Women are fine but thay don't feature much in this game only political propaganda on legs.

Eivor is conflicted by Valka's prophecy

Wanting to make sense of her strange vision, Eivor consulted the local seer Valka. Upon entering her hut, Eivor saw Svala, Valka's mother, in a near-vegetative state. When questioning Valka about her mother's wellbeing, Valka feared it was her last winter. Valka then brewed an elixir for Eivor to drink, it would induce the dream state again. After Eivor consumed the concoction, she collapsed. Waking up on Valka's floor, Eivor thought the elixir did not work. As she exited the hut she saw the silhouette of her brother. She called out to him but he moved further up the mountain, the voices of the Nornir Skuld and Urðr filled the air, they called her "Havi". Following the path her brother took, Eivor spotted the wolf from her previous vision. She then saw the Nornir weaving fate, Eivor continued up the mountain, meeting a wolf guarding a doorway. She entered and heard Sigurd scream in pain. Walking through a blizzard, Eivor followed her brother's voice, when the storm partially cleared it revealed an armless Sigurd. Eivor reached out to Sigurd only for him to be yanked backwards by an invisible force, then the wolf Fenrir emerged from the fog, hungry and ready to strike. Eivor then awoke from the induced vision, explaining what happened in her dream to Valka, the seeress deduced that the meaning behind them was Eivor's future betrayal of her brother. Eivor, shocked and conflicted at this answer, left with more questions than she had answers.

Eivor is gifted the Hidden Blade

When Sigurd returned from his long voyage to Constantinople, he introduced Eivor to the Hidden Ones Basim Ibn Ishaq and Hytham before gifting Eivor the Hidden Blade he had taken from the corpse of the Hidden One Ammon during his travels. Keen that the traditionally stealth-based weaponry should be visible to her enemies, Eivor wore the blade over her forearm, much to Hytham's disagreement. The four of them then made their way outside and Eivor tried out her new weapon, making short work of dummies. After her practice, Basim and Hytham left leaving her and Sigurd. Eivor listened to her brother's ambitious plan to subjugate either England, Ireland, or Francia. He then suggested taking the fight straight to Kjotve's doorstep, to which Eivor agreed.

Eivor and Sigurd form a temporary alliance with Harald Fairhair

Following her brief training with the Hidden Blade and her talk with Sigurd, Eivor went to sleep and dreamed about the prophecies told by Valka. After a restless sleep, she woke up, having been disturbed by a sound outside her hamlet. She went outside, finding one of Kjotve's spies running off. Eivor chased after the spy and killed him before he could escape, she then tracked down and killed his two associates. She then returned to Fornburg, arriving at the harbor to find Sigurd arguing with their father about the need to attack Kjotve's fortress. Eivor informed them that his spies had already infiltrated their camp. Eivor and her allies then boarded her longship ready to raid a Wolf Clan encampment in Nottfall. Before leaving, her father stopped her and pleaded with her to not lead Sigurd into the same storm that followed her. After successfully raiding and burning Nottfall, they allied with King Harald Fairhair's uncle Guthorm the Wise to confront Kjotve at his stronghold.

Settlement in England

After three weeks at sea, in January 873, Eivor and her clan of Norsemen, under the direction of Sigurd, fled from Norway in the face of its unification at the hands of Harald Fairhair. They arrived in the southern part of Great Britain, in what used to be an encampment made by the Sons of Ragnar. Finding it overtaken by Saxon bandits, Eivor, Sigurd, and Dag made short work of them. They then settled in the abandoned encampment, henceforth known as Ravensthorpe, the home of the Raven Clan. Eivor was tasked by Sigurd to grow the settlement. After getting a map from Gunnar, she raided either Meldeburne in Grantebridgescire or Alcestre Monastery in Ledecestrescire. After raiding either monastery, Eivor returned to the settlement and had a forge built for Gunnar. Afterwards, she met Randvi at the alliance map and decided to pledge to Grantebridgescire to help Soma and her Great Summer Army there.

Aiding Grantebridgescire

Meeting Soma

Eivor travelled to Duroliponte to the northwest of Grantebridge to meet some of the Great Summer Army's leaders. There, she met one of its commanders named Magni, who informed her that Grantebridge had been overrun from within by Saxons and informed her Soma was with her army in Grantebridgescire's swamps in the northeast of the shire. Travelling by longship, Eivor located her in the town of Middletun tending to her wounded troops. Soma told Eivor the ambush on Grantebridge was led by a Saxon member of the Order of the Ancients named Wigmund.

Locating Soma's Advisors

Eivor lit Middletun's beacon and assisted Soma in locating her advisors—Birna, Galinn and Lif—who were scattered around the marsh. Birna was found in a bandit camp; Galinn was found high up surrounded by wolves; Lif was found, cuffed, in the Lowlands Camp. After finding the three advisors, Eivor travelled to Soma's camp in Middletun. Soma promised her an alliance if they retook Grantebridge from Wigmund.

Taking Back Grantebridge

Eivor regrouped with Soma's clan at the foot of Grantebridge's western fortifications. After Wigmund declined talks with Soma, Eivor destroyed one of Grantebridge's gates and began taking back the city. Claiming victory, Eivor and Soma travelled to the city's longhouse to search for Wigmund. Wigmund's elite soldiers told them Wigmund had fled before engaging in combat. Eivor sounded the horn, which officially announced that Grantebridge had been taken. Eivor and Soma's clan went into the longhouse to celebrate.

Waking up to find her drunk clan asleep, Soma informed Eivor that an underground tunnel had been the entry point for Wigmund's ambush. She told her only she and her advisors knew about the tunnel, so it must have been one of them that betrayed her. Soma tasked Eivor with finding out who had betrayed her by finding clues and interrogating Birna, Galinn and Lif.

Finding Clues

Eivor travelled to Earnningstone, a town west of Grantebridge supportive of Wigmund, to speak with Galinn. Eivor asked Galinn how he had come to join Soma's clan—his answer was a vision of Soma aiding him against various predators and how Soma found him in ruins. Eivor then asked him what he though of Birna and Lif. Galinn told her that Birna was reckless, amd Lif enthusiastic. Eivor, Galinn and his group then want to pillage and burn down Earnningstone.

Afterwards, Eivor travelled to Walden, a town to the south-east of Grantebridgescire to meet Lif. Lif planned to sneak into the town and assassinate a Wigmund-supporting priest. Eivor asked him how he joined Soma's clan—he had joined her as a part of the Great Summer Army. Lif wanted to be jarl after Guthrum left for Wessex, but Soma ended up becoming jarlskona instead.

Death in Vinland

At some point, Eivor traveled back to Vinland, otherwise known as Saint Brendan's Island, near the modern city of Concord, where she would ultimately be buried at Tsoka'wa'kowáhne.

Legacy

In August 2020, Eivor's memories were relived by Layla Hassan through her Animus HR-8.5. Due to the high level of Isu DNA belonging to Odin embedded in Eivor's remains, the Animus would, at times, represent Eivor as a male based on Odin's real appearance.

Personality and characteristics

Eivor was a devoted and confident Viking clan leader, who was not afraid of dying to protect her people. Despite her deep love for her clan, she was a lone wolf. Indeed, driven by her dream to prove her courage, she preferred to take on all tasks and risks herself. On top of being a fierce warrior, Eivor was cunning and was a great strategist, as shown by her alliances with other territorial leaders. A skilled warrior and strategist, Eivor was also considered stubbornly independent.

Eivor also had a poetic side, speaking with eloquence and often describing events in a manner that resembles skaldic verse. Although Eivor held Hytham and by extension the Hidden Ones in high regard, Eivor kindly declined to join them as it meant keeping her victories and glory quiet, something which went against her culture's nature.

Eivor seems to possess some fragments of Odin's persona and memories. As is evident by their shared disdain for wolves, and how she recognised Odin's spear Gungnir when she discovered it within Goinnhellir.

Equipment and skills

Eivor fighting with a flail and light shield

Growing up alongside Sigurd, Eivor learnt to fight as a drengr and became Sigurd's berserkr. By her twenties, Eivor was capable of wielding a variety of weapons including; swords, bows, spears, bearded and Dane axes, hammers and flails. Her usual armor was the Raven Clan's armor and could also use both light and heavy shields. Using her combat prowess she could easily overwhelm multiple opponents. She could also effectively dual wield, and was strong enough to dual wield two heavy weapons, and even unconventionally two shields. She had sharp reflexes and could dodge, parry, and block incoming attacks. Eivor was also extremely skills in hand-to-hand combat, and could easily break the necks of Goliath-sized enemies with a chokehold.

Usually keen for up front confrontations, Eivor was also highly adept at stealth and was able to silently assassinate her targets undetected in addition to being able to remain hidden from her enemies in shrubbery and haystacks. After gaining the Hidden Blade, Eivor was taught how to use it by Basim and quickly mastered it. Eivor was also able to emulate the Hidden Ones' ability to hide in plain sight. High-diving was another of Eivor's skills, and under Hytham's tutelage she learnt the Leap of Faith.

A skilled freerunner, Eivor was able to scale Saint Peter's Church as well as natural elements with relative ease. She also proved to be a strong swimmer whilst searching underwater ruins and was capable of holding her breath for a relatively long period of time. A heavy drinker, Eivor could hold her liquor and would occasionally participate in drinking competitions.

Eivor shared a symbiotic relationship with her raven, Sýnin, which aided her in reconnaissance thanks to her Eagle Vision. Unlike later generations who possessed the skill, her Eagle Vision was far more literal in the sense that activating the ability allowed her to see through the eyes of Sýnin. Eivor also possessed the ability known as 'Odin's Sight' which was more akin to later iterations of Eagle Vision in which it allowed her to release a brief pulse that would locate and tag nearby enemies and points or objects of interest, even through walls and floorboards. Eivor could also tame wolves and taught them to fight with her.

Behind the scenes

Early concept art by Even Amundsen

Eivor is the main protagonist of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, a main installment of the Assassin's Creed series. First revealed in the reveal stream as male, according to Ubisoft, their gender is customizable, a feature carried over from Valhalla's immediate predecessor, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (2018). However, lead writer Darby McDevitt affirmed that both gender options were considered canon in a way that made logical sense. McDevitt later affirmed that the canon playthrough method is choosing "Let the Animus Decide", With female Eivor being present for the majority of the game, except when playing the Asgard and Jotunheim arcs, in which male Eivor is the playable character.

Conversely, the comic book Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory and prequel novel Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Geirmund's Saga featured Eivor as female exclusively. Eivor's appearance, including clothing, hair, and war paint, is also customizable. Eivor's male voice is provided by Magnus Bruun, who also voices Varin and Odin, while the female voice actor is Cecilie Stenspil, who also voices Rosta. The voice of young Eivor was provided by Idun Mealor Olsen, who also voices Asta, Kaija, and Ratatosk in Valhalla.

The many concept artists behind Eivor's design, drew upon many pop culture references. Yelim Kim recalled that former-Creative Director Ashraf Ismail gave her the idea of using the tank fight scene from the 1995 anime film Ghost in the Shell as inspiration and comparing Eivor to the film's protagonist, Maj. Motoko Kusanagi, as both of them fight fiercely for their allies even if the consequences are self-destructive.

Name etymology

The name Eivor, Eivør or Øyvor is a female given name derived from either proto-Norse auja, believed to mean 'good luck', or *warjaʀ, meaning 'defender'. It may also come from the combination of Old Norse words ey- or øy- (meaning 'island') and -varr (meaning 'careful').

When he tweeted how the name is meant to be pronounced, Valhalla's then-Creative Director Ashraf Ismail transcribed it phonetically as "Ay-vor".

Varinsdottir means "Varin's daughter" (Varins + dottir). In Scandinavia, surnames were still used together with primary patronyms—the father's name and an affix denoting relationship—which were used by all social classes. This meant that most families until modern times did not have surnames. Scandinavian patronyms were generally derived from the father's given name with the addition of a suffix meaning 'son' or 'daughter'. Patronyms and matronyms are still in use in some countries, most notably Iceland.

Appearances

• 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

References

An image gallery is available for Eivor Varinsdottir