Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series has had no shortage of memorable protagonists, from the charismatic Ezio Auditore de Firenze to the stoic Bayek of Siwa, or even the pirate-turned-assassin Edward Kenway. For the majority of the franchise's life, Assassin's Creed players portrayed well-defined characters set on a specific path, typically learning about themselves while attempting to stop a major villain associated with the Templar faction.
However, that pattern broke with Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which let players pick between the male hero Alexios and the female hero Kassandra. While Assassin's Creed Syndicate attempted a similar dual protagonist approach with the Frye twins, Odyssey instead forced the player to select one of them at the start, which would carry through the rest of the game. Interestingly enough, Ubisoft would go on to confirm that Kassandra's story was meant to be the canon version, which would later be confirmed by her appearances in expansion content for Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
To that extent, Ubisoft continued to give players an option with its next game, the previously mentioned Assassin's Creed Valhalla. This time around, players could pick from a female or male version of Eivor, as well as a third option that let the game's fictional animus technology select the appropriate version of the character during specific events. While Ubisoft remained cagey on which version was canon, things became more clear once the game launched in full.
Please note that the following contains spoilers for people and events in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Female Eivor
After being teased by narrative director Darby McDevitt, players could opt to let the Animus select Evior's gender at the start of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which ultimately leads to the perspective of the female version of the character being the primary protagonist. This isn't a coincidence as Eivor Varinsdottir is technically the canon version of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, with her male counterpart being someone else entirely.
Eivor Varinsdottir was born to Rosta and Varin, a noble family under Styrbjorn Sigvaldisson of the Raven Clan based in Norway. Her father's name in this instance is important as Varinsdottir literally translates to "Varin's Daughter," which provides plenty of insight into how important her character is as well as teasing her being the canon version of Eivor. Assassin's Creed Valhalla players experience her entire story from losing her parents in a Wolf Clan attack, becoming a Viking shieldmaiden and sailing to the new world with her step-brother Sigurd, eventually becoming a jarlskona (female chieftain) at the Ravensthorpe settlement, and overcoming the Order of the Ancients embedded within England.
It's also worth noting that in supplemental works like the comic Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory, and tie-in novel Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Geirmund's Saga, the main protagonist is a female Eivor. For as important as female Eivor is to the main game, the male version is also important in a completely different way.
Male Eivor
Although players could pick the Magnus Bruun-voiced male Eivor for their entire experience, those who let the Animus pick Eivor's gender discovered this version wasn't actually real. The canon version of Eivor is the female version, as the male version of Eivor was only playable during the Asgard and Jotunheim story arcs that take place at specific times in the story. As players discovered, Eivor Varinsdottir was actually the reincarnation of the Asgardian Isu Odin/Havi, and she's able to experience his history through visions by the Ravensthorpe mystic Valka.
Playing as Odin/Havi, players witness and partake in major Norse mythological events as the game slowly pushes the Asgardians toward the world-ending event known as Ragnarok. During these segments, players will battle with the Jotnar giants who attempt to invade Asgard, the discovery and imprisonment of the wolf Fenrir, dealing with a mysterious Builder, the journey to Jotunheim, as well as the betrayal by Loki. Not only that, the most recent expansion for Assassin's Creed Valhalla called Dawn of Ragnarok focused on Odin traversing the nine realms to find his kidnapped son, Baldr.
While mostly true to the actual Norse god Odin, Ubisoft has managed to tie its version into the overarching Assassin's Creed Isu storyline, which has included other mythological gods like Minerva, Juno, Jupiter/Zeus, and others. This isn't the first time players have gotten a hint of Isu Odin, as he was made part of some Glyph puzzles seen in Assassin's Creed 2. Valhalla even includes a few nods to this connection between Varinsdottir and Odin, as both have a fear of wolves, have a Raven pet, and shared memories. When coming across Odin's spear Gungnir after discovering it in a Norwegian Isu Cave called Goinnhellir, Eivor seemingly recognizes the weapon as if it was hers.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
