After Assassin’s Creed made its debut back in 2007, the battle between The Templar and The Assassins went on to have 9 main series games before Ubisoft finally decided to slow things down a bit. Five years and four games after the completion of Assassin’s Creed III, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, later followed by Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, served as origin stories for the Brotherhood of Assassins.

While both games brought a lot to the table regarding the establishment of the Hidden Ones (the pre-Assassins Assassins), they also leave some big questions lingering in the air: how will the rumored Vikings-era Assassin’s Creed lead into the formation of the Assassins Brotherhood, and what does it mean for our modern-day heroes?

SPOILER WARNING!

This article contains spoilers for the Assassin's Creed franchise.

Layla and the Staff of Hermes

Origins introduced players to Layla Hassan, an employee of Abstergo Industries who’s on her first mission for the company. After (somewhat reluctantly) joining the Assassins at the end of Origins, she returns in Odyssey fully immersed in the Brotherhood with a longing to learn more about their history.

Loading

This time around, she finds herself exploring Greece through the eyes of Kassandra*, who ends up on a quest to secure missing Precursor artifacts and protect the underwater Isu city of Atlantis - which Layla eventually discovers for herself. Surprisingly, she finds Kassandra at its gate, kept alive by the Staff of Hermes. Kassandra urges Layla to maintain a balance between order and chaos and passes the Staff to her. But Layla is corrupted by the Staff, losing control of her newfound power and attacking her friend and colleague, Victoria, resulting in the Isu Aletheia deeming her not worthy of wielding it.

Loading

After this incident, though, she’d still probably be working with the Brotherhood, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if Layla’s historical research within the Animus in the next Assassin’s Creed took on a different purpose. Perhaps her corruption from the Staff was a moment of realization for her, of the ultimate power that Isu artifacts wield and how terrifying they would be in the wrong hands.

Looking ahead, Layla’s path could lead her to a place of wanting to find and destroy all of the artifacts rather than giving them to the Assassins or Templars. Considering Kassandra’s plea in Odyssey about maintaining a balance between order and chaos - which The Templars and Assassins mirror respectively - Layla could even end up working against both organizations in order to maintain that promise.

Loading

Of course, this all depends on how the Judgement of Atlantis DLC plays out - though how much light it will shed on Layla’s story remains to be seen.

Ragnarok and The End of The World

Norse mythology is considered a chronological set of tales, with Ragnarok being its grand apocalyptic finale. The word itself refers to the destruction of everything - the Great Wolf Fenrir swallows Odin, the Sun turns black and the world floods, to be born anew in the next life. Going back to Kassandra’s warning to Layla in Atlantis, an imbalance in order and chaos - perhaps the Templars having so much more power and influence than the Brotherhood - could be foreshadowing of a similar catastrophic event occurring during modern times, especially considering that Ragnarok means “Fate of the Gods” in Old Norse. Similar to how Odyssey made use of Greek Gods as Isu figures, Norse Gods would likely become Isu figures as well.

“ There’s no reason we couldn’t see Thor wielding his mighty hammer Mjolnir.

The Norse tale of Ragnarok even parallels the events in Assassin’s Creed that chronicled the Second Disaster and Juno in the modern-day timeline. The Gods of Asgard meeting on the battlefield of Vigrid to fight the forces rising up to fulfill the prophecy of Ragnarok, despite knowing that it was a lose-lose situation, is strikingly similar to Desmond and the Assassins entering the Grand Temple in the hopes of preventing the Second Disaster at the end of Assassin’s Creed III. Plus, they knew that even if they did, they would release the Isu known as Juno, who aimed to bring about the demise of mankind (just like Odin and his men knew that going into battle wouldn’t stop the prophecy’s destructive outcome). Even though Juno is dead now, perhaps there are other Isu with similar goals that could reappear to try and connect with Layla.

Loading

Even the name, “Fate of the Gods,” fits in with the Assassin-Templar conflict. The former’s mission has, for millennia, been to keep the Pieces of Eden left by the Isu out of Templar hands in order to prevent the end of the free world. As far as the modern-day timeline goes, a Nordic Animus adventure would be the perfect way to maintain the popular mythological action of Odyssey, while propelling Layla’s story forward with new "gods" and creatures from Norse lore.

Bringing Historical Timelines Together

If Precursor tech could be responsible for creating Medusa or the Minotaur, there’s no reason we couldn’t see Thor wielding his mighty hammer Mjolnir, or Fafnir transform from dwarf to dragon. Odyssey and Origins proved that the “magic” of mythos could work within the AC framing, as well as provide important context for how the conflict between the Hidden Ones and the Order of Ancients(the proto-Templars to the Assassins Hidden Ones) evolved after Bayek and Aya’s journey in Egypt.

Origins ends in 43BCE, with Bayek and Aya defeating the Order of Ancients who wielded Pieces of Eden in Egypt and early Rome. From there, they cement the foundation for the Brotherhood, with their aim being to protect the free will of the world from the shadows. It’s not until 1191, more than a thousand years later, that we pick up their story, in the original Assassins Creed.

The Viking era lasted (approximately) from 793 CE to 1066, so its timeline would be the perfect bridge between Origins and Altair’s adventure in the original. More specifically, the tail end of the Vikings age could be an exceptionally interesting place for the in-Animus story to explore next. The disappearance of the Vikings was gradual and due to a number of things; mainly, their way of life just couldn’t keep up with the changes occurring in Europe.

Assassin’s Creed has always focused on this dynamic, from the spread of Christianity in the Middle East during the Crusades to the introduction of new technologies during the Rennaisance to the advent of democracy and politics in Ancient Greece. The world is always changing, and the end of the Viking age would be a natural extension of the conflict between "tradition" and societal advancement.

Every IGN Assassin's Creed Review 31 IMAGES

Being a raider, or “Viking,” was considered a desirable occupation for younger Norse men, whereas older folk were expected to settle down on their farms and raise a family. At the beginning of the Viking age, raids were extremely common, and almost always led to fame and wealth for those participating. Over time, European societies began evolving their way of life and assembling well-trained, effective armies that could easily defend themselves from raids. In turn, this made raiding less profitable, which led to a smaller number of wealthy Norse men and a large number of unemployed men who were forced to work their land in order to earn a decent wage.

Also at this time, the Christian Church had arrived in Northern Europe and had frowned upon the act of raiding because it didn’t stand with their belief system. Because of this, and mainly the fact that raiding was no longer profitable, the Vikings stopped the raids and instead started working to match the civilized standards that the rest of Europe was beginning to set.

Knowing this history, a Viking raider would make for an ideal Assassin, while European society, with fortified armies that the Vikings are unable to keep up with, is a natural extension of the Order of the Ancients (to later become the Templars at the start of the Crusades). Watching Norse society begin to evolve and change in the face of defeat could serve as an interesting lens to explore the balance of order and chaos.

Loading

Considering a part of the Viking’s demise was also due to the spread of Christianity throughout Europe, which led into The Crusades brought on by the Latin Church, this would provide the perfect link to Altaïr’s story in the first game. It wouldn’t have to, by any means, but it would certainly be interesting to see the series revisit a character it sidelined more than a decade ago. It isn’t until 1050 CE, in the Levantine sect, where The Hidden Ones officially become the publicly named Assassins Brotherhood, and if Ubisoft does want to explore those early years again, a Vikings-era game would be the perfect way to bring all of the franchise’s narratives full circle.

Allowing Layla to explore the Viking period could be the perfect way to bring her Assassin narrative to a close. Not only is this era ideal for uncovering more Isu artifacts, but Norse prophecies, such as Ragnarok, would serve as a great parallel for the modern-day timeline, hopefully unfolding into a fresh and riveting storyline.

Ultimately, where the next installment of Assassin’s Creed takes us remains a mystery (for now). Regardless, it will be interesting to see whether it leans into Odyssey’s focus on RPG elements, reverts back to its action-stealth roots, or embraces an all-new style of gameplay — where or whenever that may be.

Where do you want to see Assassin’s Creed 2020 take place? Let us know in the comments!

*According to Ubisoft, Kassandra is the “canon” protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer, you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @hannah_hoolihan.