Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Key Locations from Viking History That Could Appear
The main story of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes place between Scandinavia and Britain, starting in the year 873 AD. The game will follow Eivor and the Raven Clan of Norsemen as they leave their home in Norway and settle in England, battling a precursor organization to the Templars along the way.
There have been some major locations already confirmed for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Lincoln, Canterbury, York, London, and Winchester among other settlements will all make appearances in the game’s open-world. When it comes to which locations will be prioritized on the world map, however, fans can look to Viking history at the time to make some predictions.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla's story begins in 873, and assuming that the game will take place over the course of the next five to twenty years, there are a few locations that are likely to appear. Around the 871 a major Viking force known as the Great Summer Army arrived in Britain and joined with the Great Danish Army that had already been active on the island since 865. These combined forces were able to overrun Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia.
Edington in modern-day Wiltshire is likely to make an appearance in the game as the site of the Battle of Edington in 878. It was during this battle that this “Great Heathen Army” of the Norse was defeated by Alfred the Great, leading to the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum which was signed around 880. The inclusion of a character with an Arabic name, Valhalla's Basim, also implies that Constantinople and the significant amount of Viking traders there could also make an appearance, at least in the backstory.
The River Stour could also make an appearance. The site was the location of another battle in 885 when Anglo-Saxon forces met and fought over ten Viking ships in the river. Alfred the Great’s forces defeated these ships and took a their spoils before being ambushed by more Norse forces when trying to pass through the mouth of the river. London has already been established to make an appearance in Eivor's story, but could feature most prominently around 886 when Alfred the Great’s forces retook the city.
Aside from battles, there are some key locations that the Vikings took quarters at during this time. The village of Repton in modern-day Derbyshire was used by the Great Heathen Army as a winter camp over the course of 873-874, though if this when the story begins Eivor may still be in Norway at this time. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s map could also include Lindisfarne, an island off of Northumberland that was key to Viking’s history in Great Britain.
Lindisfarne was the site of a monastery that was victim to one of the earliest recorded Viking attacks on Britain, which took place in 793. Though this is far before the main events of the game, the Viking defeat of the Northumbrian kingdoms over the coming decades would eventually lead the monks to finally abandon the site in 875, taking the bones of Saint Cuthbert with them. This event and any holy relics the monks try to escape with – especially if they are related to the Isu and the First Civilization – could feature in the game.
Players can also expect Danelaw – the area of Britain given to the Vikings under Alfred the Great – to make an appearance as the main site for AC Valhalla's settlements. There were 15 shires under Danelaw: Bedford, Buckingham, Cambridge, Derby, Essex, Hertford, Huntingdon, Leicester, Lincoln, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northampton, Nottingham, Suffolk, and York. Though it’s unlikely that all of these places will be included, they are among the locations most likely to appear in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s open world. If the Isu and the First Civilization feature as leaked images from AC Valhalla suggest, Valhalla itself could even make an appearance as an advanced, ancient city, or possibly even a virtual reality.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla launches on November 10th for PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It will release for PlayStation 5 on November 12th.
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