- Eivor: Sigurd, take great care. We should not tinker with the tools of the gods.
- Sigurd: You speak for yourself, Eivor. For I am no mortal. I see that now. I know it.
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A Brother's Keeper
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| This article is about Eivor Varinsdottir's memory. You may be looking for an Alamut Hidden One's memory. |
A Brother's Keeper was a virtual representation of one of Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan in 2020 through the Portable Animus HR-8.5.[1]
Description[edit | edit source]
After arriving at the fjord, north of Hordafylke, Eivor and Sigurd walked to through the storm to their destiny.
Memory Animus Feedback System[edit | edit source]
- Follow Sigurd
- Reach the central platform
- Defeat Odin
- Confront Basim
- Chase Basim
- Defeat Basim
- Join Sigurd
Dialogue[edit | edit source]
The crew arrived at the shore of the northeastern-most fjord of the region.
- Sigurd: Yes. Yes, this feels familiar. Eivor, we will press on. The rest of you, wait here!
Deboarding the longship Sea-Chariot, Eivor and Sigurd walked northwards through the snowstorm at the fjord.
- Sigurd: Follow me! Into this kingdom of snow!
- Eivor: Sigurd, can we not wait for this to pass?
- Sigurd: Ah, the sting of ice on skin! Revel in this, Eivor. We walk the footpath of the gods!
- Eivor: To where? More glaciers and deserts of snow?
- Sigurd: To glory!
- Eivor: Could we not wait until this tempest quiets down? With the ship, where we have mead and food to warm us?
- Sigurd: No! We must confront the omens and honor the gods. They will not seek or find you. We must go to them.
- Eivor: We would be poor company with frozen bones and ice pellets for eyes.
- Sigurd: You need not fear the cold, Eivor. Where we are going the winds and snows cannot touch!
Both siblings kept walking through the snowstorm. Eivor began to shiver.
- Eivor: Ah. It is bitter cold. As wind from Nifelheim!
- Sigurd: Keep steady! It should not be far now!
Eivor kept following Sigurd through a large passageway between two cliffs.
- Sigurd: It must be near. I know the shape of these rocks! Yes, we are close.
- Eivor: For the sake of frozen fingers, I hope so.
Sigurd saw a cave in the hillside of the mountain in front of them.
- Sigurd: There, that frozen lake. This must be it. And ahead lies a cavern.
- Eivor: Will you not say where this leads?
- Sigurd: You will see soon enough.
- Eivor: And too late to turn back, I fear.
- Sigurd: There! The cave! Within hides the sacred gate.
Both warriors stepped on the frozen lake, running to the cavern thereafter. Inside Goinnhellir, they encountered an icy blockage.
- Sigurd: The ice looks fragile. Can you clear it?
Eivor broke the ice and revealed the passage littered with several debris of unusual architecture behind it, discovering a large door. As Sigurd approached the closed entrance and stood before it, Eivor turned around and travelled down a side passage, caughting sight of a shiny spear embedded in a deactivated door, emiting various rays of blue light.
- Eivor: A strange find... a spear like Odin's.
She went up a broken bridge of ancient rubble in order to reach it, finding it strangely familiar.
- Eivor: Gungnir... is it you?
Eivor pulled the spear free, claiming it as her own, and experimentally slammed it on the ground as she had seen Odin do in her vision during Kjotve the Cruel's death five years before. She then retraced her steps and returned to Sigurd.
- Sigurd: My heart races. This is it!
- Eivor: Gods, this door. Have you seen this before?
They both stood in front of the big doorway that Sigurd had envisioned. Eivor recalled what had happened in Oxenefordscire, years prior.
- Eivor: The space above. The Saga Stone sat there, did it not?
- Sigurd: Long, long ago, yes. Now stand clear. zrhwachày nàgkwat nsmæ br trrhwndi kwardæ, I sorhwlàs vras chnàkodi de, nsm huchràs réyzdéràæ chaz zàwomsi. (When the destruction and death threatens before us, and the solar flare is reaching, to the calculator of futures we run.)
The gate immediately opened, uncovering a spacious room, full of ice and wreckage.
- Eivor: How did you do this? Where did you learn these words?
- Sigurd: I told you, Eivor. My visions are memories. Of a life once lived. Come.
- Eivor: Gods! What is this place?
Eivor and Sigurd walked to a large, square platform made of a strange material, suspended over an abyss.
- Sigurd: Over here, this plate will lead us onward.
Both siblings stood on the plate as Sigurd pronounced the password to activate it.
- Sigurd: Hoærhàsi! (Activate!)
Eivor lost her balance as the platform started to lower gradually.
- Eivor: Sigurd, I... I don't know what to say. This is all so strange.
- Sigurd: Trust this place, Eivor. This old and sacred place.
- Eivor: Where does it lead?
- Sigurd: To the hall of the slain and the golden fields. To Valhalla.
Eivor looked around her.
- Eivor: This vessel. Was it crafted by dwarves?
- Sigurd: It is finely made, that much is true. I doubt Gunnar could hammer a piece any finer.
- Eivor: And this cavern... so deep, and humming with magic.
The platform continued to go down, eventually unveiling a massive chamber. Eivor and Sigurd saw the glowing mechanical tree Yggdrasil, standing prominently in the cavern.
- Sigurd: There! The old tree! The tree of life!
- Eivor: What is this...?
- Sigurd: See how proudly she sits. How beautiful she gleams. Here, all the roots of life run together.
- Eivor: The skalds would cry to behold such a sight.
- Sigurd: And there's more to come. I swear by all the names of the All-Father, this is only a taste of what I have in store for you. For my visions go further. To Odin's great hall.
As the plate slowed down and slammed against the ground, the two left it and walked towards the enormous tree, crossing a wide bridge.
- Sigurd: There! Do you feel that? The sacred energies?
- Eivor: I have never seen something so grand.
- Sigurd: This shrine is ours. It will open for us. Watch and see for yourself.
- Eivor: How do you know these things? Was all this in your vision?
- Sigurd: All this and more.
The siblings reached the tree, and Sigurd stopped at a glowing sphere underneath the strange structure. As Eivor approached him, she noticed Svala hanging from one of Yggdrasil's arms.
- Eivor: Is that... Is that Svala? Valka's mother? How did she come to be here?
She then went up the stairs near the tree, joining Sigurd.
- Sigurd: Yes, it is returning to me now. This ancient shrine is set alight by this sphere of metal. And these shining arms, these branches. They will grant us access to the refuge of the Gods. To Valhalla. Are you ready?
They looked to the machine's inert hanging branches.
- Eivor: What lies beyond all this? Where does this lead?
Sigurd directed her to the center circle under the tree's arms.
- Sigurd: Take your place at the center there, and you will see.
Eivor slowly walked to the now lit central platform as Sigurd was suddenly taken by one of the branches.
- Eivor: Sigurd...!
She looked to her unconscious brother as another branch grew close to her.
- Eivor: Hail, you givers... a guest has come.
The mechanical arm came behind Eivor, attached itself to her back. She screamed when a small needle entered her cervical vertebrae, rendering her also unconscious. A while later, Eivor awoke in a bed of a bedroom similar to her own in Ravensthorpe.
- Eivor: What is this place?
She looked at her surroundings, hearing noises from outside a closed gateway. Eivor walked out and saw a great feast, filled with plenty of food and the Einherjar warriors having a good time all around.
- Norse Warrior 1: There you are!
- Norse Warrior 2: Hail, drengr (warrior)! Welcome!
- Norse Warrior 3: The Havi returns to lead us to victory!
Eivor kept walking forward while receiving compliments and salutations from the soldiers.
- Norse Warrior 4: Lead us to glory, Havi!
- Norse Warrior 5: We are proud to serve you, Havi!
- Norse Warrior 6: Whet my lips with another horn of mead, Brother!
- Norse Warrior 7: Drink for strength! Fight for glory!
- Norse Warrior 8: Yesterday is gone, tomorrow never comes!
In front of a great golden gate, she saw both Sigurd and a rejuvenated Svala having a conversation and stopped moving.
- Svala: Eivor. Týr said you would come. Welcome.
- Eivor: Are you... are you Valka's mother? Svala?
- Svala: You have a keen eye, Wolf-Kissed.
- Sigurd: After all this time, Eivor! We have arrived! Now raise a horn with Freyja here and sing a victory song!
- Eivor: Sigurd, what is all this? Your arm has returned... and your vigor as well.
Eivor and Sigurd embraced each other.
- Sigurd: Glory eternal, Eivor! Here we dine in the great hall of the slain. At long last! O, I want to scream with joy!
- Eivor: This is... this is all so beautiful.
Both looked at their fellow Vikings having a good time.
- Eivor: Your visions were... they were real.
A battle horn was blown and the grand door opened, showing vast golden fields, with Yggdrasil in the distance.
- Norse Warrior 9: The battle horn blows! Come, Týr!
- Norse Warrior 10: To the field! Fight with us!
Sigurd rushed to battle as Eivor looked and listened to Svala.
- Svala: Go, Eivor. Enjoy the fight. You have earned your place here.
She nodded and left, entering the fields to join the fight as soldiers chanted her name. The field was filled with the visages of the blue-clad warriors of the Raven Clan and the red-clad warriors of their old enemy, the Wolf Clan. As soon as Eivor started to fight, she would kill anyone in a single stroke. She was elated at the feeling of power that flowed through her.
- Eivor: The strength I have!
As the fight continued, Eivor dismembered a group of warriors with a single attack.
- Eivor: Ha!
You are finished!
Look at me, Sigurd!
Ah, the music of the battle-din!
(howl)
This is incredible!
She continued to slaughter any enemy her weapon could reach.
- Norse Warrior 11: All hail the endless battle!
- Norse Warrior 12: For Odin!
- Norse Warrior 13: Die, dung worm!
- Norse Warrior 14: (howl)
- Norse Warrior 15: Face me, drengr (warrior)! Show me what you are made of!
Sigurd called out to her from the top of a small cliff.
- Sigurd: Don't be a coward, Eivor! Come fight me!
Eivor! Over here!
Eivor, join me when you have tired of crushing mice!
Fight me!
Now the real dance, here! Come fight me!
Eivor went on to speak with him, who was happy to fight for the first time in a long while.
- Eivor: Sigurd, this place is incredible.
- Sigurd: Enough with those sword-flies. You and I must fight.
- Eivor: The battle we never had.
- Sigurd: And hold nothing back. For here we need not fear a thing.
The warriors formed a circle, creating a space in which Eivor and Sigurd could fight each other without interruption.
- Sigurd: Spill the eternal blood of Valhalla.
- Eivor: At last, I share the din of infinite battle with a true... Troll-arse!
- Sigurd: You will taste a meal of iron before the day is out!
Sigurd advanced on Eivor and they continued to trade barbs with their blows.
- Sigurd: Come on, Wolf-Kissed! Let me cut you a new scar!
- Eivor: You will beg for Fulke when I have done with you.
Sigurd laughed.
- Sigurd: Swine!
- Eivor: Cur! Honor-drunk fool!
- Sigurd: (howl)
Eivor eventually broke through Sigurd's guard and cut his right arm clean off.
- Eivor: Brother!
- Sigurd: Worry not, Eivor. For we earn no scars here. Only battle wisdom.
The battle horn was blown again.
- Sigurd: The day is done!
Suddenly, everything disappeared and Eivor awoke again the following day, on the same bed.
- Eivor: What just happened?
Eivor walked out of the longhouse again, hearing the same comments from the soldiers like in the last time.
- Norse Warrior 3: The Havi returns to lead us to victory!
- Norse Warrior 4: Lead us to glory, Havi!
- Norse Warrior 5: We are proud to serve you, Havi!
- Norse Warrior 6: Whet my lips with another horn of mead, Brother!
- Norse Warrior 7: Drink for strength! Fight for glory!
- Norse Warrior 8: Yesterday is gone, tomorrow never comes!
She found and spoke with Sigurd.
- Eivor: Sigurd... your arm has grown back.
- Sigurd: It was never gone, Eivor. Not truly. Nothing is permanent here, I told you. Nothing save the courage and the reputation of its warriors.
- Eivor: Are we immortal in this place?
Sigurd chuckled.
- Sigurd: Let us discover that together!
The grand door opened like before.
- Eivor: A new day?
Eivor joined the field of endless battle once more and heard the same exact war cries from the other warriors. She drew her weapon and slew every opponent she faced with ease once again.
Eivor soon tired of the slaughter, lacking the enthusiasm of the previous day's battle. She went to search for her brother, who sat in the middle of the battlefield, having lost his right arm again.
- Sigurd: Ha! Bit to the marrow's bed!
- Eivor: Again you've lost your arm.
- Sigurd: And again it will return!
Over Sigurd's shoulder, she spotted a warrior who looked like her late father, Varin.
- Eivor: Father.... Is that you?
Before she could confirm the man's identity, Eivor awoke again for the third time in her room.
- Eivor: That cannot have been my father...
Eivor walked out again to see Svala and Sigurd celebrating among the other warriors near the first big table.
- Sigurd: Skal! (Cheers!)
Svala noticed that she had awoken.
- Svala: Take your horn. Join the battle cheer.
- Sigurd: Dearest skald of war and verse, how do you like this frenzy so far?
Eivor answered his question, despondent.
- Eivor: It is... it is quite something.
- Svala: Raise your horn, Eivor. What stops you?
- Eivor: My father... Varin. Have you seen him in this hall?
- Svala: I have not. Should he be here?
- Eivor: No, he died a coward. Yet by Odin's eye, I swear I have seen him.
- Sigurd: Cast aside your cares in Valhalla. Let seeking go, we have earned our joy. The journey is complete!
Determined to find her father, she went to search the hall.
- Eivor: I saw you, Father. Where are you? Show yourself.
- Norse Warrior 3: The Havi returns to lead us to victory!
- Norse Warrior 4: Lead us to glory, Havi!
- Norse Warrior 5: We are proud to serve you, Havi!
- Norse Warrior 6: Whet my lips with another horn of mead, Brother!
- Norse Warrior 7: Drink for strength! Fight for glory!
- Norse Warrior 8: Yesterday is gone, tomorrow never comes!
Eivor asked the warriors around her about his whereabouts.
- Eivor: Great warriors, have you seen Varin?
- Norse Warrior 16: Who?
- Eivor: Varin. My father.
She finally caught sight of the soldier she had seen on the day before, talking with other warriors.
- Eivor: Varin? Father?
Before Eivor could go close enough and get a response, the soldier ran into battle through the gate. She quickly followed to the fields but lost sight of him.
- Eivor: Blast! Where is he?
The warriors on the field of endless battle repeated their cries from the previous battles. Eivor saw Sigurd sitting in the grass, who had lost his arm for a third time.
- Sigurd: Ha! Next time I lose this fucking arm, I'll beat a man to death with it!
- Eivor: Do you not tire of these injuries?
- Sigurd: Never!
Eivor smiled and rolled her eyes, immediately noticing the soldier killing a man the same way as the previous day, as a hail of arrows struck the ground. She ran to him.
- Eivor: Wait... Father!
The soldier turned around and Eivor realized he was not her father. At that moment, a volley of arrows were loosed at the warriors. Caught off guard, Eivor was suddenly shot in the left eye.
- Eivor: Ah!
She pulled the arrow out with difficulty as the battle horn was blown again. Eivor looked to an aurora in the skies, doubting Valhalla's true nature. In the next day, a completely healed Eivor woke up for the fourth time. She seated in the bed, withdrawing a throwing knife from her pocket and holding it on her hands. Sigurd then walked in to greet her.
- Sigurd: Eivor, you have a guest!
- Eivor: You should have knocked first...
- Sigurd: Nonsense. I brought you someone. Look!
Varin, her father, walked in the room. Eivor's expression remained unchanged.
- Varin: My Eivor! There you are! What a warrior you have made of yourself. I am overfilled with pride!
She angrily answered.
- Eivor: How did you find your way here?
- Varin: You remember our great battle? You remember how we fought, side by side, with your mother and Sigurd and our clans united?
- Eivor: We fought, Father. But you did not. You died a coward.
- Sigurd: Eivor, enjoy this! Your father has returned.
Outraged, Eivor threw the blade at Varin's head, killing him instantly.
- Sigurd: Have you lost all your love for life?
- Eivor: That was not my father. That was a lie.
- Sigurd: That was not a lie, that was my gift to you. I have power here. And I can do as I please. You wished to see your father. I made it happen. As easy as breathing.
The simulated Varin's corpse turned to dust.
- Eivor: By Odin's laws, my father is not allowed in this place. I do not wish to see him where he should not be.
- Sigurd: Your father died doing what he hoped would save you. He died to protect you. And his clan.
Eivor was doubtful.
- Eivor: No, he...
- Sigurd: This is the end of our road, Eivor. This is Valhalla, the eternal golden field. Now come... battle beckons!
Sigurd left the longhouse for the battle, followed by Eivor who traversed the emptied halls and went to the giant door, where Svala was waiting.
- Eivor: How is all this possible?
She then went to speak with her, deciding to convince Svala of the falseness of the hall.
- Eivor: How are the slain brought here?
- Svala: The Valkyries know this, only them.
- Eivor: No, that cannot be true. None of this feels right.
- Svala: Do not despair, Eivor. Look. Your friends are here. Everyone you could ever want is here beside you.
Trying to deceive her, Svala showed Eivor all of Ravensthorpe's inhabitants, her family and friends, celebrating at a table. The group included the deceased, like Svend, as well as those still very much alive, like Randvi, Gunnar, Hytham, and Hunwald. She looked to them, fondly and tempted, but quickly looked away.
- Eivor: No. They are not real.
Eivor gained control of herself and her position in the illusion. At her words, all of them rapidly turned to dust like Varin had.
- Eivor: This place is a lie.
- Svala: This place can be whatever you wish it to be, Eivor.
Eivor turned back to Svala.
- Eivor: I do not want it. Not like this.
- Svala: You would resign yourself to an empty death?
- Eivor: The ecstasy I feel here is an illusion. I'd sooner caw like a Raven than sing a false song.
The woman disappeared behind Eivor, suddenly appearing beside her one second after.
- Svala: Illusion or not, here there is no death, no pain, no loss... no betrayal. Not like out there.
- Eivor: You want this? To live inside a lie?
- Svala: I am an old woman with a broken body. What life I had left was brief. So I bid farewell to my dear Valka and came here.
- Eivor: I wish you well, Svala. But this is not for me.
She went through the golden door once more, heading to the battlefield.
- Eivor: I must find Sigurd.
Venturing into the fight, she found all of the fighters replaced with the red-clad warriors. After slaying a number of them, Sigurd appeared sitting in the grass, once again missing his arm. She strode towards him, determined to bring him to his senses.
- Sigurd: The arm! The arm! Always the fucking arm!
- Eivor: Sigurd, this is an illusion... a trick. Leave with me now and return to England. Our people need us.
- Sigurd: No. I am no one in that world. I am somebody here. Powerful, capable, a god. Here I may live forever. Here I cannot die.
Eivor stepped behind, closing her eyes, and took control of the illusion once more, killing every soldier in the vicinity.
- Eivor: Cows die, family die, you must die. The only thing that never dies is the reputation of the one who's died. in here, you have no reputation. But out there, it's not too late.
She turned her back to him.
- Eivor: Every day the same empty war, the same hollow victory. Spilling blood that tastes of water and smells of grass. You have known real battle, real glory. But this is not it. You know this, I know you do.
As the truth sank upon Sigurd, Eivor embraced him while looking him in his eyes.
- Eivor: Brother... it is time to leave.
- Sigurd: Am I destined to follow you everywhere? 'Til the end of my life?
Eivor looked wounded at his remark, and he acquiesed.
- Sigurd: All right. We go.
All of a sudden, a voice rang out.
- Odin: No! You stay!
Eivor turned to see Odin standing beside her.
- Odin: I do not give you leave to go!
His words in her mind made her fell unconscious to the ground.
A while later, Eivor awoke in a familiar dark space, filled with fog. She heard Odin whispering, his words echoing around her.
- Odin: Why leave this place? A glory you fought so hard to find?
She looked at her surrondings, confused. Odin appeared in front of her, shaking his head in disappointment.
- Odin: Walk with me.
Eivor walked behind him as he drew Gungnir from his back and carried it in his hands.
- Odin: I am humbled to walk with you, Eivor. Your reputation is a song warriors will sing forever.
Odin pointed his spear and conjured images of Eivor's memories, starting with her memory of surviving the wolf attack as a child.
- Odin: You are the Wolf-Kissed one, who lingered at the edge of death, yet fought back.
He proceeded to walk again, stopping near a memory of her striking down a powerful opponent twice her size.
- Odin: You spilled the raven-wine of battle to paint whole kingdoms red.
Odin then showcased how Eivor toppled the hostile leaders and monarchs of England, installing her own and establishing alliances with them.
- Odin: You have killed kings and crowned them as you desired, bowing to none.
After moving further, he recalled the moment when Eivor saved Sigurd from Fulke in Portcestre.
- Odin: You stood tall where your brother stumbled, yet you still came to his aid.
Odin finished by showcasing Eivor over a defeated opponent.
- Odin: You have felled many great foes in your brief time.
The archway of rock that he had shown her before, which resembled the door to the Yggdrasil, rose from the ground.
- Odin: You have earned your place here, Eivor. Seize it!
As Odin stopped in its doorstep, Eivor demanded him to clear the way.
- Eivor: Stand aside! My people need me!
- Odin: I have given you everything you wanted. Everything you needed!
- Eivor: You gave me nothing! It was all me!
- Odin: Yet I cleared your path. I guided your axe!
- Eivor: You were a fly, buzzing in my ear!
- Odin: How dare you deny me!
Lightning crackled around the golden spear and Odin slammed it into the ground, knocking Eivor over and pushing her back.
- Odin: Everything you believe in stirs before you! Yet you question all! You question the very gods!
As the images of her past faded and the doorway disappeared, Eivor stood up and readied to fight the High One. Eivor wielded her father's axe while Odin used lightning to vanish and teleport around her. Through it all, Odin remained unscathed while Eivor was quickly beaten to the ground.
- Odin: Fight me! Do not diminish yoursef!
Refusing to stay down, Eivor stood and resumed the fight.
- Eivor: Your corpse hall is nothing but a dream!
- Odin: Nothing but a dream? A dream is as real as anything in this world! Do dreams not inspire? Do dreams not make us fearful? Do they not push men to their greatest glories?
- Eivor: Then I am done with dreaming!
Eivor continued to dodge his attacks and strike him with her axe but to no avail, as she constantly fell to his spear. Following this, a large gateway that reminisced the ones from her visions of Ásgarðr appeared far behind them. Light emerged as it was opened onto a gleaming staircase, and Sigurd entered the space, urging her to stand.
- Sigurd: Eivor! Stand!
Mortal and Æsir continued to battle each other, with Odin always prevailing. Every time Eivor fell a distorted image formed near her, depicting a hooded figure dropping their axe, and one of her allies appeared near the great door.
- Randvi: Join us. We are here for you.
- Gunnar: Back on your feet!
- Valka: Rise up, warrior.
- Randvi: Up, Eivor! Up!
- Soma: Rise, drengr. This is not your end.
- Sigurd: This way.
No matter how many times Odin dragged Eivor back and struck her down, Sigurd stood fast, encouraging her to abandon the fight.
- Sigurd: Put your weapon away. There is no need to fight.
Understanding that the door was her means to escape the illusion, she ran to Sigurd. However, before Eivor could reach him, Odin channeled his power through Gungnir to pull Eivor back by attracting the axe to his location.
- Odin: You are mine! Do not turn away!
Why do you flee from the truth!
Your place is here! With me!
Come back!
Do not flee your destiny!
You are a leader of Einherjar! Fight upon my command!
She tried again and again to reach the door but ended up always being pulled back to the High One. However, every time she was struck down, she rose again and continued to escape.
In time, Eivor realized that Odin controlled her axe itself. To free herself, Eivor released her grip on her treasured heirloom and ran from him once again.
- Odin: What are you doing? Take up your axe! Wield it like a true warrior!
Sigurd awaited at the door with even more of her loved ones and allies, including Hytham. Eivor grabbed hold of Sigurd as an angry Odin kicked the axe toward her.
- Odin: Take up your axe!
He invested against them to stop Eivor, but she brandished her Hidden Blade and spun to slash his face.
- Odin: (scream)
As the distance between the two widened, Odin slammed Gungnir into the ground again, summoning a lightning blast to scatter the visages of her allies.
- Odin: Coward of cowards!
The visages of Hytham and Sigurd helped Eivor up as the figures of her other loved ones rallied around her.
- Odin: Beggar's bastard!
He summoned a second lightning bolt, tossing Valka to the ground.
- Odin: Stand and face me, you feeble-armed thrall!
Eivor looked back and saw Odin weakened as the connection between them fragmented, then looked at her late parents, Rosta and Varin, in the doorstep holding their hands out for her. She embraced her lost parents and began walking them up the set of stairs on the door's other side. Odin stood, picked up the axe, and ran to grab her hand in desperation.
- Odin: Leave me now and you are nothing! With me you have wisdom! Glory! Power! What more do you need!
The lightning grew more intense as Eivor looked to her friends, who now stretched out their hands to her, and looked back to Odin.
- Eivor: Everything else.
His grip on Eivor slipped away, with a pained expression on his face. With a desperate scream, he was cast back into the darkness alone and disappeared almost immediately. Eivor left with her loved ones and climbed the stairs as the golden door closed.
Escaping from Yggdrasil's illusion, Eivor awoke in its branches, gasping for air as it let her go and dropped her to the ground.
- Eivor: S-Sigurd... are you... are you with me?
When he didn't answer, she scanned the area looking for him.
- Eivor: Sigurd?
Basim revealed himself across the bridge, holding a knife to Sigurd's throat.
- Basim: Ah! The hanged-one awakes! Feet upon the ground once more!
- Sigurd: Eivor! Be careful!
- Eivor: Basim? What is this?
- Basim: Come closer, Eivor. Let me get a better look at you!
Eivor started carefully down the stairs and approached him.
- Eivor: Leave him be, Basim!
- Basim: For too long, I stared at the sun! It blinded me to the truth. That it was you. It was you I wanted all along.
She reached the end of the staircase, slowly moving to his location.
- Eivor: Did you track us here? Like a cowardly fox, concealed in the brush?
He pointed his blade at her.
- Basim: You widowed my destiny, Wolf-Kissed! You broke all my hopes!
- Sigurd: He's mad, Eivor! Silence him.
- Basim: Come, Eivor! Come save your crippled prince of dead ravens!
Basim threw Sigurd down and then walked into the walled chamber behind him. Eivor quickly went to her brother's aid.
- Eivor: Are you hurt?
- Sigurd: It is nothing, go! Kill that bacraut (asshole)!
She walked up the steps into the chamber, confronting Basim. The two began fighting, with Basim wielding his sword.
- Basim: You must suffer. A thousand times what I suffered.
- Eivor: What is this about?
- Basim: My son, Eivor. This is about my son!
- Eivor: You speak nonsense, Basim!
The Hidden One would toss throwing knives to stun her, in order to attack from above and plunge down at her with his blade. When Eivor dodged these strikes, he threw smoke bombs to cover his retreat back to higher ground.
- Basim: Forgiveness is impossible.
- Eivor: We shared so much in England. Fought and bled together.
- Basim: Dig, Eivor. Into the wellspring of your memory!
After battling for some time, Basim threw a smoke bomb, vanishing from Eivor's sight.
- Eivor: Speak your grievance! Show yourself! I do not wish to fight with you.
Eivor dodged and parried Basim's charges, striking at him swiftly.
- Eivor: What does battle serve? Let us speak!
- Basim: I have waited countless ages for this moment. No more talk! I hunger for this kill.
Eivor began to get the rhythm for Basim's attacks and struck him several times.
- Basim: (laugh)
After trading blows, Basim climbed back the upper level of the chamber and leapt onto her from above, pinning her against the stone floor.
- Basim: Show me your neck! Show me!
Basim grabbed Eivor's head to look at her neck, only to find it scarred by a decades-old wolf bite. He laughed incredulously.
- Basim: The kiss of the wolf takes my prize! Of course!
Eivor freed her left arm and swung at him.
- Eivor: Yah!
Basim leapt off her to dodge the swing and Eivor stood up, enraged.
- Basim: Rise!
Responding to his call, the floor began ascending like the plate that carried her and Sigurd into the depths earlier, and she and Basim continued fighting.
- Basim: My son will not have suffered in vain!
- Eivor: You spout nonsense. Like an alehouse drunk!
Basim began incorporating his rope harpoon into his attacks, which Eivor countered. He used swift moves to dodge Eivor's strikes and counter immediately, and used his sword to block Eivor's arrows. This forced Eivor to close the distance and even use her own variants of the Hidden One's abilities.
- Eivor: If you are resigned to this, so be it.
As Basim struck with his rope harpoon, he taunted her.
- Basim: You will not die in peace. You will never see your home or your people again!
- If he snared Eivor again, he merely laughed maniacally.
- Basim: (laugh)
Eivor struck back.
- Eivor: Is this what you wanted?
- Basim: I want you to suffer!
Eivor continued to endure the fight as the plate stopped rising, reaching the top of Yggdrasil. Eivor knocked him to his knees, but he recovered.
- Basim: When I have finished, you will be a sack of blood and shattered bones. And my conscience will be clear.
She stunned Basim once again and closed in for the finishing blow. She slashed his left forearm with her Hidden Blade, drawing blood.
- Basim: Ah, damn!
Basim looked at his bloodied wrist, then planned an escape.
- Basim: Let us make this more interesting. We'll drag Sigurd into the fray!
Basim threw another smoke bomb at his feet and retreated, freerunning through the temple's foundations back to Sigurd.
- Eivor: Coward! Face me! Fight me here!
Eivor chased him along the same path. She performed a Leap of Faith and fell into an accumulated pile of snow and moss, noticing that Basim was getting closer to her brother.
- Eivor: Be on your guard, Sigurd!
- Basim: (laugh)
Eivor continued to run over the beams in a hurry and finally reached the chamber, after sliding down a wall that protected the Yggdrasil.
- Eivor: Sigurd! Be careful! He's coming for you!
As she reached them, Basim disarmed Sigurd.
- Sigurd: Oath-breaker! You'll die here!
- Basim: This brings me no joy, Justice-Bringer. You were always so kind, but you chose the wrong side.
Just as he swung his sword to kill Sigurd, Eivor grabbed her brother's axe and threw it at Basim, intercepting the blade.
- Eivor: I am your prize, Basim. Come.
- Basim: You are, indeed.
Eivor started fighting Basim once again as Sigurd ran towards the metal sphere.
- Basim: Will you not die?
- Eivor: Not here. Not by your hand.
- Basim: I will leave you here to die! Like a rotting fruit on a dying tree! You died once, you will again! (scream)
- During their brawl, Eivor may stunned Basim outside the glowing center circle.
- Basim: (scream)
- Sigurd: Stun him within the circle!
After a while, Eivor managed to stun Basim within the circle delineated by the tree's branches. She grabbed him by the throat, immobilizing him.
- Eivor: Ah!
By that time, Sigurd had commanded one of the mechanical arms to lower itself. Trying to free himself from her, Basim stabbed Eivor in the stomach with his Hidden Blade, but she endured the pain and head-butted him in response. Strangling him, Eivor lifted him as the branch took ahold of him and inserted the needle in his neck, leaving him in suspended animation.
- Basim: Ah!
To make sure that he couldn't escape from the World Tree's grasp, she shouted to Sigurd.
- Eivor: Sigurd! Stop this thing! Douse its fire!
He hurried to put his hand on the sphere and screamed with some pain. The sphere shined brighter as the light emitted by the structure itself grew dimmer. Basim had been sealed within the darkness of Yggdrasil's illusions.
- Eivor: Sigurd?
Sigurd walked to her by the circle.
- Eivor: Does he still live?
- Sigurd: He does. But in darkness.
- Eivor: Good. The bastard...
An injured Eivor followed Sigurd as he sat down in a piece of ancient rubble.
- Eivor: For how long has Basim been planning this treachery?
- Sigurd: I dare not guess.
He vented in frustration.
- Sigurd: Gods! Am I to be hounded by a parade of blood-minded traitors the whole of my life? There is no end to this.
- Eivor: You have something you want to say? Then say it.
- Sigurd: I... I need some time to breathe. Let me sit a moment.
She sat down next to Sigurd, clutching the wound.
- Sigurd: That man's anger. His rage. It had a familiar sting that I... I cannot place.
- Eivor: He was raving, Sigurd. Without sense or reason. Pay it no mind.
- Sigurd: I am not mad, Eivor. These things I see and feel... I know they are true.
- Eivor: I know, Brother. Now more than ever. You always spoke true. We should cast our eyes towards home. It's a long journey and I am... not well.
- Sigurd: Home. Eivor. On our journey here, I had much time to think. On the ecstasies and agonies of our friendship.
- Sigurd: I cannot return to England with you. That is not my home... not now.
- Eivor: What are you saying?
The two slipped into the darkness of the Memory Corridor. Sigurd explained his decision, recalling the moments of Eivor's decisions, as visions of those moments throughout England began appearing beside them.
A vision of Eivor and Randvi discussing tactics beside the Alliance Map appeared.
- Sigurd: Randvi told me of your bravery, your courage, your wisdom. In my absence, you were a pillar of stone. She admires you.
- Eivor: And I her. But that cannot be the only reason.
A vision of Eivor and Randvi kissing each other at Besuncen Tor appeared.
- Sigurd: I know about you and Randvi. A lover's tryst, in spite of me. I should challenge you for such a betrayal, but I'm... I'm not fit for such a fight.
Ashamed of her actions, Eivor looked down.
- Eivor: I... I understand. Is that all?
A vision of a deceased Dag with an axe at his chest appeared.
- Sigurd: When Dag called you out and challenged you to a duel, you let him die with honor... in spite of his betrayal.
- Eivor: He did what he felt was right. And I honored that.
A vision of Eivor kicking an axe in front of a fatally injured Dag appeared.
- Sigurd: When Dag called you out, as he felt he must... you refused him honor, did you not? A cowardly act, one I abhor. Dag acted out of love for this clan. That is not worth the shame you inflicted on his name.
- Eivor: I saw things differently then.
A vision of the two siblings embrancing in agreement appeared.
- Sigurd: I recall our days in Oxenefordscire, our search for the Saga Stone. You disagreed with my orders. But you followed them. You questioned my methods, my aims... but you did not disobey.
Eivor nodded and smiled.
A vision of Eivor punching Sigurd in the face with Basim standing by appeared.
- Sigurd: Do you recall the day we stood before Eadwyn, searching for the Saga Stone? You struck Basim, you lashed out at me, you made a fool of us all. That is not a leader I wish to follow into death and glory.
- Eivor: You were being secretive then. Foolish, I thought.
A vision of Holger's trial in Ravensthorpe's longhouse appeared.
- Sigurd: And when I passed judgment on Holger, you let my sentence lie, though I knew you disagreed. The look on your face said all.
A vision of Eivor and Sigurd arguing in Ravensthorpe's longhouse appeared.
- Sigurd: And when I returned to the settlement, your pattern of disobedience continued. I made a judgment... and you openly defied me!
- Eivor: I believed you were wrong then. I still do.
A vision of Sigurd and Eivor on her longship appeared.
A vision of Eivor overseeing the load of the stolen supplies appeared.
- Sigurd: And my grievances go back further still. You stole my father's riches. In my haste to leave, I should have stopped you then... A true leader would have stopped that thought before it took form. You were selfish.
Sigurd spoke only of the moments that aligned with his decision, ignoring all others.
- Sigurd: In all my days away, in my fog of confusion, you have shown great wisdom and strength and leadership. Where you go, Eivor, I will follow. Our clan is yours to lead.
- Eivor: Thank you, Brother. I... I won't let you down.
- Sigurd: This is not a decision I make lightly, Eivor. You are family. You were my drengr (warrior). But here our paths must diverge.
- Eivor: Brother, please stay. Your place is with us. In England. Our home is your home. My road forward has been a muddy one, slick with blood and tears. But we can reach its end together. Let us face new foes and greater glories together.
Sigurd lowered his head, thoughtful, as his sister's kind words touched his heart.
- Sigurd: Since my captivity, I felt you were cold and distant. But here your words glow with heart-fire and kindness. All right... all right... I will come. But only if I may counsel you from time to time, to be better than you are.
- Eivor: I expect nothing less.
- Eivor: I understand your anger. I would be too if I had suffered these insults. But there is no need to abandon what you have worked so hard to achieve. Return with me, and show me how best to lead.
- Eivor: Fate has drawn you here, Brother. Back home. Where you belong. Have no worry for what you leave behind.
Having unburdened their hearts, Sigurd's decision was final.
Eivor looked down for a few seconds.
- Sigurd: You have a stormy look.
- Eivor: Years ago, before we left for England, I saw a vision. A vision that foretold of betrayal. That I would betray you. I refused to believe it. I would never do such a thing, I told myself. But in the years since... I have robbed you of your dreams. Of England, of Valhalla... If you feel I have wronged you, Brother, I will make it right.
- Sigurd: We cannot unweave our fates, Eivor. All is laid before us, from the day we are born. To be angry at this would be like... like wrestling the ocean. A pointless struggle.
The two siblings stood up, looking back on their journey. She gave an affectionate pat on her brother's shoulder.
- Eivor: We two ragged ravens... what a saga we have inscribed together.
- Sigurd: A tale for the ages.
- Sigurd: England is too infected with ugly memories. I will stay here, in the land that gave me life and strength.
- Eivor: Just as the prophecy warned me.
- Sigurd: Prophecy?
- Eivor: Years ago, before we left England, I had a vision. A prophecy that I would... that foretold the course of my life, up to this moment.
- Sigurd: You never told me this. And has your prophecy come to pass?
- Eivor: I... I do not know. I think it has... but not because I chased it.
- Sigurd: Well... I hope for your sake, that you grow well into the role you have earned today. That hope is all I have left.
- Eivor: I will try. I promise.
Outcome[edit | edit source]
Eivor and Sigurd managed to leave the simulation generated by Yggdrasil and survived Basim's betrayal as Sigurd decided on his own path.
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
As befitting Eivor's nature as Odin's incarnation, the opening sentence of her speech to stop the fighting in Valhalla paraphrases the first stanza of the Gestaþáttr (Guest's Chapter/Section) from the Poetic Edda text Hávamál (Words of the High One), a collection of poems attributed to Odin that share his wisdom and guidance. In addition, her comment upon being grasped by the Yggdrasil arm to enter the simulation is almost verbatim from the second stanza.
Eivor's power in the Valhalla simulation is such that she is able to defeat any enemy in one hit, regardless of weapon or difficulty setting. This extends to her taking virtually no damage from any strike, so even the brief duel with Sigurd is easy to complete, even on Aesir difficulty. Further, the easily-defeated units count towards Weekly Challenges that require a high number of kills—usually from poison, fire, or a specific type of weapon. Thus, players interested in obtaining extra opal for Reda and his shop from these objectives will benefit from making an extra save file in the simulation, simply to quickly fulfill these objectives.
Some of Basim's remarks may not trigger if the player quickly inflicts enough damage to trigger the phase transitions. The first phase ends only by inflicting enough damage that he will simply spam smoke bombs and attempt air dives onto Eivor. If he merely laughs when the player damages him, they have inflicted more than enough. In addition, some of his taunts while the plate rises may not play under normal circumstances, requiring a reload of the autosave, deliberately allowing Eivor to be snared by his rope harpoon, or allowing him to recover after stunning him but before using the stun attack to trigger the next phase.
Out of all five major plot decisions that affect Sigurd's decision at the end of this memory, only the option to romance Randvi can be outright skipped, by simply not starting the memory "Taken for Granted" until after the pledge to Hordafylke is made—thus removing the need for Randvi to be at the Alliance Map—and not completing that memory until after this one. However, if the player follows that memory through to the end, using either of the two options atop the Besuncen Tor that does not begin the romance right then and there will keep this decision check in good standing. Neither choice prevents starting a romance with her later back at the Alliance Map room, but activating the romance at any point, for any period of time before breaking it off, will put this decision check in negative standing.
If Eivor consumes any rations during the battle with Basim, it will be possible for players to pick the winter chanterelle from around the Yggdrasil chamber while controlling Layla Hassan upon conclusion of her investigation of Eivor's genetic memories, when she reaches the Yggdrasil's main platform. She can collect mushrooms up to what would be the maximum ration capacity, however none of it will actually be added to the inventory once players resume control of Eivor.
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ In "Where Legends Are Born", the Animus interface sets its events in 877. Given that Hordafylke is covered in snow, which indicates that the events of the memory take place in winter, and the following memory arc depicts the Battle of Chippenham, which occured in January 878, it can be inferred that the events of the Hordafylke arc took place in December 877.
References[edit | edit source]
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An image gallery is available for A Brother's Keeper