I loved Mirage, but part of me can't stop thinking about what we might have gotten if it had remained a DLC for Valhalla. OR if a DLC for Valhalla followed it.
I imagine when Hytham was called back to Alamut to report on Basim, he asked the one person who knows exactly what happened to his mentor to join him. Eivor - his friend.
Eivor, of course, accepts. She'll do anything Hytham asks.
They go, together, to Alamut.
While the two get tangled up in the politics of the Hidden Ones and solve whatever intrigue or mystery awaits them in the Arab world, they could have a chance to work together, side by side. While Hytham might be limited by his injuries, he's still a capable assassin, scholar, and warrior. I believe Eivor wholeheartedly respects his capabilities. She might even have to lean on him, let him take charge. It's a strange feeling, but not unwelcome. It might be nice for her to have someone to truly rely on, for once.
Imagine them getting a chance to walk in Basim's footsteps. Visiting the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, that Basim was so fond of. Seeing the great Mosque of Samarra, wondering what man his father was. Hytham would get a chance to handle his grief. Eivor might mourn the loss of a friend with him.
Imagine if Eivor could learn who Basim was. If she finally learnt of Loki. Would she forgive Basim his momentary lapse of madness? Would she understand it, knowing what Odin had done to Loki and Fenrir? This knowledge, would she share it with Hytham? Would he think her mad?
The friendship - or relationship - between Eivor and Hytham that could evolve, their connection deepen. What if this, these events, could be what made Eivor accept Hytham's offer to join the Hidden Ones? What if she, in part, inspired the changes Hytham would implement in the organisation?
It just frustrates me how much potential was lost here...
It frustrates me that they cut Eivor's journey short - and poorly, at that.
I just want to see more Hytham qwq
And I want Eivor and Hytham going to Alamut together. qwq
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Hytham headcanons
Hytham (AC Valhalla) x GN!reader
Word count: 1078
A/N's note: I've been meaning to write about Hytham these past few weeks! Have some headcanons while I finish reading The Golden City :) (it got a bit angsty at the end)
Hytham’s love languages are gift giving and quality time. Hear me out.
He's pretty quiet (compared to the rowdy Vikings, at least), but true to his creed, he watches everything and everyone like a hawk. This applies to you too.
Hytham is willing to wait when he starts to grow interested in someone. He’d much rather approach them only once he feels like he’s gotten to know them both from the inside and the outside. I don’t see him seeking his crush out from the very beginning – he prefers bonding with them over time and seeing where things go.
Do not be fooled by his acting. Whether he’s cackling at a joke, dining at the longhouse or target practicing, Hytham is sure to be eavesdropping on your conversation. If you’re nearby, that is. This doesn’t mean that he’s spying on you specifically – he tends to strain his ears (like all Hidden Ones do, really), and sometimes, if he’s lucky, he might just hear your voice.
When he does, he smiles to himself.
You’re good friends with Eivor, and often accompany her on her errands around the village. This has led you to the bureau multiple times, and Hytham is always caught off guard by the unexpected visit.
“🧍🏾♂️Oh. Good evening.”
You like the place, it’s cozy and the man isn’t bad company either. So you stay, and even if there’s other parchments he needs to finish before sunset, Hytham perks up at the chance to answer any question you might have (grinning and kicking his feet when you show interest in the creed).
So that’s where you spend time together. Celebrations in Ravensthorpe are also guaranteed to lure him out of his cove – you’ll be sure to find him letting loose and coming out of his shell more. His favorite game is apple bobbing, and he’s determined to win everytime – but despite his competitive streak, he might pretend to lose if he’s going up against you.
As for gift giving, it doesn’t evolve into actual physical gifts until later on (he thinks that’d be way too obvious). Instead, his first ‘gifts’ are things you might need.
Whether you have experience in fighting/self-defense or not, Hytham hints at the training yard he and Basim use. He invites you to use it whenever you please (you can pummel the dummies for a bit, as long as you put them back in their place); and if you have no experience whatsoever, he’ll gladly teach you some things.
You don’t get to have your own hidden blade though. Sorry (ask Basim for one)
But you can try his! Just don’t die.
If you do somehow get injured, you can have the medicine he’s made. It’s all yours.
Interested in a particular topic? He probably has a book about it at the bureau (or he’ll find it somehow, don’t ask) and will gladly let you take it.
Teaches you how to do the leap of faith. If you pull his leg just like Eivor did and don’t leave the haystack, I think he’d have a similar reaction.
“Very funny. You can come out now.”
“We are so not doing this rn.”
“Please.”
“Please, Basim will kill me.”
Things start to shift when you see the signs. You crack a joke with your friends and notice Hytham’s already looking at you with a soft smile. You tell him your pouch is broken, and remember the beautiful purse you’d once seen at a market in Lunden. Days later, coincidentally, Eivor brings you a beautiful leather pouch from the same city (hint: it wasn’t Eivor’s idea). You also find him playing hide and seek with the Norse children outside, and he urges you to join.
You start testing out your theories. When spring comes, you comment on the beauty of the blooming flowers and he’s immediately crouched down, going through every plant in your vicinity to tell you everything he knows about them. By the end, you have a large bouquet of flowers in your hands.
Eivor sees this, and jokingly tells Hytham he should get some purple ones and smack you in the face with them (a courting tradition amongst Vikings). Needless to say he’s mortified.
Random secret: he knows how to make flower crowns – his mother taught him when he was younger.
He’s giving you instructions as you weave the stems together, and you can’t help but feel his eyes glancing repeatedly between your hands and face.
It’s not until Ravensthorpe is attacked that you’re forced to face your feelings. The ambush is bad – there is no escape as the docks are on fire, and arrows are whizzing past you no matter where you run. Whether you’re a villager, a sage, or a warrior doesn’t really matter. It’s the kind of attack where you’re certain your next stop is going to be Valhalla.
But then the clashing of swords stop. The last enemy falls to their knees, and through the smoke and the ringing in your ears, you hear the roaring victory of your people.
Sigurd and Basim are looting the bodies. Eivor is opening the longhouse where the villagers have barricaded themselves. But you don’t catch sight of Hytham, not until you see him emerge from the woods along with the other Drengr. His white robes are flapping in the wind, his sword dripping with blood, and he’s holding his side as he grimaces. So you run to him.
He sheathes his weapon when he sees you alive and well, eyes darting all over your face as if scanning for injuries; and before you can say anything, he cups your face and locks his lips with yours.
Congrats! You’re now dating.
Basim tells you and Eivor something enigmatic months before his sudden betrayal. Hytham’s happiness is clearly reason for his gratitude, and no matter how much you insist that Ravensthrope is Basim’s home too, you’re only rewarded with a wry smile from the assassin.
It’s months later, when you’re sitting in the empty bureau with Hytham, that you reason Basim must have known. You watch as Hytham grips the table and rakes his hands through his hair, how he paces the room when he’s not squeezing your hand. He questions everything when you realize Basim must have known all this time – must have known that he wasn’t going to stay, that his apprentice would be alright. That Hytham would be happy in Ravensthorpe. And thus, you make sure it stays that way.
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What is btalhm ? You have the authorisation to make that answer a wall of text, tell me everything!
HELLO YES! I love you for jumping on this one and asking me!!
"Better Than A Living History Museum" is BTALHM, my Assassin's Creed Valhalla fic I've been working on properly since 2022, but has been in my writing journal since 2020 when AC Valhalla came out!
It centres on a medieval historian reader who is isekai'd into 9th century England!
Because I'm a giant nerd as well, and 10th century textiles and domestic history is my Thing, the historian reader has skills in weaving, and recently we have had a cheeky development hinting to the Actual plot of AC Valhalla, with the reader being Skuld, one of the Norns (weavers of fate).
I've put literal days of research into this fic, and used a lot of my first hand knowledge of Viking reenactment and camping into use, and where I have no idea, I've actually turned to experimental archaeology instead of guesswork! I'm just really proud of this story, and how it's progressed.
Eventually it'll turn into romance and history, but right now it's focused on a lot of animal husbandry and fabric processing instead of the drama of it all!
If you ever feel like picking it up, knowing it pops in and out of hiatus due to my crazy schedule, it can be found HERE
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