Kjotve the Cruel

"I fought as I did, as hard as I did, to survive. For I know what awaits us in the end. Only darkness."

―Kjotve's dying words to Eivor Varinsdottir, 872.

Kjotve the Cruel (died 872), also known as Kjotve the Rich, was a Viking jarl who reigned as a petty king of Agder in Norway during the 9th century. He was the father of Hrolfr and Gorm Kjotvesson. Kjotve also had a brother, Alrek, who married Thora, sister to Kiarr Rawbone.

In addition to being a ruthless Viking leader, Kjotve was also one of the first Norse members of the Order of the Ancients, operating under the cryptonym of The Axe and holding the rank of Palatinus in the Wardens of War sect.

Biography

Rivalry with the Raven Clan

Kjotve: "Now it's my turn to offer you a deal, slave-whore. Accept your fate and die a coward, here before your people... and I will spare the rest."

Varin: "If I give my life, will you spare my clan?"

Kjotve: "You have my word."

—Kjotve offering Varin a compromise prior to executing him, 855.

Kjotve offering Varin a compromise

In 855, Kjotve led his Wolf Clan on a raid on the settlement of Heillboer in Rygjafylke, leading to a confrontation with Varin and Rosta, the parents of Eivor Varinsdottir. Kjotve offered to spare the town further bloodshed if Varin surrendered and defied Viking tradition to die in battle. Varin agreed and allowed Kjotve to execute him, only for Kjotve to go back on his word and order the entire town massacred, including Rosta, although Eivor managed to escape.

It was also around this time that Kjotve caught the attention of a traveling member of the Order of the Ancients, who was impressed with both his skill and his ferocity in battle. He was recruited into the organization shortly thereafter, becoming its first Norse member. For the following seventeen years, Kjotve and his clan were harassed by Eivor and the Raven Clan, despite King Styrbjorn's reluctance to engage in open battle.

By 870, Kjotve had come into possession of a thrall named Gull, who cryptically informed him of a treasure in the Feiknstafir mountains. Although Kjotve dismissed Gull's stories and believed her to be mad, he still considered the thrall extremely valuable and was angered by the news of her capture at Eivor's hands during one of the Wolf Clan's failed raids in Rygjafylke.

After executing one of the warriors who delivered the news, Roscoe, Kjotve ordered his men to launch an assault on Stavanger and recover Gull. Although the Wolf Clan was ultimately defeated due to Eivor's intervention and never found Gull, they would later succeed in driving the Raven Clan out of Stavanger, occupying the town.

In 872, Kjotve was accompanied by his sons to the southern mountains of Rygjafylke in search of treasure. Eivor and Vikings from her clan pursued Kjotve and tracked him and Gorm to an abandoned hunting meadhall on the mountain summit, where they caught up with them. Hoping to recover important scrolls after killing both men, the Vikings attacked the pair but were soon defeated, allowing Kjotve and Gorm to escape with the scrolls. Although incensed at their defeat, Eivor advised to wait for another chance to meet Kjotve. Kjotve's youngest son, Hrolfr, was not as fortunate and perished during the raid.

Hunted by Eivor and death

"How long have you been chasing me, Wolf-Kissed? Seventeen winters? Eighteen? Do I now haunt your dreams? Do I warm your loins?"

―Kjotve to Eivor following her capture, 872.

Kjotve taunting Eivor after her capture

Later that same year, Kjotve's men captured Eivor and presented her to him. Kjotve mocked Eivor for pursuing him for seventeen years, before showing off Varin's axe. He kept mocking her, going so far as saying he would be pleased to kill her with her father's axe, before claiming he envisioned her end in humiliation, as a slave. He then left his men to deal with her and gave permission to his lieutenant Rikiwulf to use Eivor's crew for a blood sacrifice. Eivor, however, escaped their grasp and killed Rikiwulf in Avaldsnes.

Eventually, Eivor and her brother Sigurd Styrbjornson, aided by the Hidden Ones Basim Ibn Ishaq and Hytham and King Harald's men, led an assault on Kjotve's Fortress. There, Eivor challenged Kjotve to a holmgang to avenge for her parents' deaths, which Kjotve readily accepted, brandishing his two axes.

Kjotve dueling Eivor

During the duel, Hytham attempted to assassinate Kjotve but was intercepted and thrown aside, severely injuring the Hidden One. Despite the interruption, Eivor continued their fight, and eventually managed to slay Kjotve. With their jarl's death, the remaining Wolf Clan forces, led by Gorm, fled the battle and were later banished from Norway by King Harald.

After Kjotve's death, Eivor took a silver medallion bearing the insignia of an ash tree from his body. Basim later explained that this signified Kjotve as a member of the secret organization known as the Order of the Ancients, which he and his fellow Hidden Ones had been fighting for centuries.

Personality and traits

"I will make you beg as your father begged, Wolf-Kissed! Squeal as your mother squealed!"

―Kjotve to Eivor prior to their holmgang, 872.

Kjotve ordering the massacre of Heillboer's population

Despite being a Viking and strictly upholding the Viking traditions, Kjotve had no sense of honor and would break his own treaties if they benefited him. He would even go as far as to murder unarmed people in cold blood and actually see "beauty" in the carnage he caused. His willingness to engage Eivor in a one-on-one duel indicates that he enjoyed the thrill of battle and would not turn down the opportunity to face a worthy opponent, even in his old age.

As revealed to Eivor during his final moments, Kjotve strongly adhered to the "survival of the fittest" philosophy, which was the driving principle behind all of his actions in life, be they noble or cruel. Despite his Viking upbringing, he did not believe in Valhalla or any other afterlife, which motivated him to try and accomplish as much as possible during his short time on Earth.

Skills and equipment

A physically imposing man, Kjotve possessed incredible physical might, strength, reflexes and endurance for a man of his build and advanced age. He was also battle hardened and overconfident and did not hesitate to mock his opponents mid-battle to amuse himself during combat.

Kjotve dodging Hytham's attack and throwing him aside

Despite his advanced age, Kjotve was still more than a match for a much younger and more experienced Viking like Eivor. Kjotve was so confident in his battle prowess and physical might that he first chose to engage Eivor using his fists alone. His reflexes were seen when he took down Hytham mid-air, blocking his assassination attempt, and continued fighting Eivor without any sense of mental shock or physical exhaustion.

Behind the scenes

Kjotve is a character in the 2020 video game Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. He is voiced by the Swedish actor Björn Bengtsson, who also voiced Finnr in the game.

Kjotve is a historically attested character, a petty king of Agder, south of Rygjafylke. He fought at the Battle of Hafrsfjord against Harald Fairhair where his only known son Thor Haklang (Tore Kjotvesson) was killed while he fled. After this he faded from the historical record and his fate is unknown.

Kjotve first appeared in a flashback in the first issue of the prequel comic series Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory, where his depiction is based on Yelim Kim's concept art of the character, with dark hair, a braided beard and mostly shaved head, rather than his finalized look in Valhalla with a full head of light-colored hair and a clean-shaven face. His execution of Varin also differs between the comic and the game, with Kjotve stabbing Varin through the chest with a sword in the former and beheading him with his own axe in the latter.

Gallery

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  Concept art of Kjotve
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  Concept model of Kjotve in Rebellion
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  Kjotve as he appears in Rebellion
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  Kjotve killing Varin, as depicted in Song of Glory
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  Hytham attempting to assassinate Kjotve
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  Kjotve impaled by a tree in the Memory Corridor

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion – The Ravens' Wound
• Discovery Tour: Viking Age (mentioned only)
• The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (mentioned only)