Assassin’s Creed Valhallais one of the most expansive video games in recent memory. The open world is immersive, the characters are unique and interesting, and the game was finally able to nail the combination of the epic scale of the newerAssassin’s Creedgames while bringing back the stealth elements that everyone loved from earlier editions, if to a mixed reception. With everything there is to do, certain characters often go overlooked, such as Hytham, Eivor’s assassin companion who makes a home in Ravensthorpe inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla.
When Hytham is first introduced inValhalla, he is a young, yet bold acolyte who is eager to please his master and accomplish the Hidden Ones’ goals. As the game progresses, Hytham becomes a measured leader and powerful voice among the Hidden Ones. His alliance with the Raven Clan and commitment to his mission changed not only his and Eivor’s lives, but the course ofhistory in theAssassin’s Creeduniverse.
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Who is Hytham?
Hytham was an acolyte of the Hidden Ones who accompaniedMaster Basim Ibn Ishaqand the Raven Clan to England to destroy the Order of the Ancients. He was born in the Abbasid Caliphate in Syria, but very little else is known about his history prior to his encounters with the Raven Clan inAssassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Prior to venturing off to England, Hytham and Basim were operating out of theHidden Ones’ bureau in Constantinople. There they encountered Sigurd, Eivor’s adopted brother, and the leader of the Raven Clan. The Hidden Ones were able to persuade Sigurd to take his people and leave Norway to invade England. Sigurd had aspirations of conquering more land than just Norway, while the Hidden Ones wanted to purge the Order of the Ancients from the region, allowing their goals to align.
Before leaving for England, Hytham joined Eivor and Sigurd in Norway for their attack against Kjotve the Cruel. Hytham was seriously injured in this encounter. To Hytham’s shock, Kjotve caught Hytham in midair and threw him against the wall, incapacitating him. However, the distraction allowed Eivor to strike the killing blow. While Hytham didn’t die in the battle, he, unfortunately, was never able to make a full recovery. Constant pain in his chest made him unfit for battle for the remainder of his life.
As the game shifts to England and the Vikings' conquest of the land, Hytham joined the Raven Clan and established a new bureau for the Hidden Ones inRavensthorpe.Hytham encouraged Eivor to seek out other Hidden Ones throughout the British Isles and assist them. Despite some trepidation on both sides, Eivor and Hytham ultimately joined together in their goal to wipe evil from England and find allies for the Raven Clan in the process.
As Eivor hunted down other members of the Order of the Ancients, Hytham was able to use his intelligence network (with an assist fromdouble agent King Aelfred) to identify and eliminate other leaders within the Order and establish peace in the kingdoms, earning the Raven Clan support they would need in the battles to come.
In later years, when Basim revealed his true identity asa reincarnated version of Loki, Hytham, as much as anyone inValhalla, fell victim to Basim’s antics. Basim was supposed to be a guide and mentor to Hytham, but instead betrayed the organization that gave him his purpose. In a showing of true strength and leadership, Basim’s betrayal galvanized Hytham to complete his original mission. Despite his best efforts, Hytham was never able to convince Eivor to become a full-fledged Hidden One. However, his alliance and friendship with her ultimately paved the way for the Brotherhood to become a force in England once again, changing the land forever.
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Hytham’s Legacy in England
While Basim was the Hidden One master that lead Eivor, Sigurd, and Hytham to the British Isles, it was Hytham who reestablished the Order’s presence in the region. Basim’s priorities shifted once he met Sigurd and Eivor, leaving Hytham to complete their original mission. In theaftermath of Basim’s betrayal, Hytham received a letter from his Brotherhood’s mentor Rayhan stating that he was not surprised by Basim’s final turn, and inviting Hytham to their council’s next meeting to be promoted from his rank of acolyte, an honor that was well overdue.
Indeed, the Assassin’s historical documentation seems to credit Hytham for the Brotherhood’s resurgence in Britain. In Layla’s cabin, there is a document from Shaun Hastings who explains that he recalled old Assassin literature referring to someone named Hytham as one of the first assassins who returned to England after their exodus in 430 A.D. Shaun theorized that the Hidden One’s heroics in early England could have been the namesake forEdward Kenway’sson.
Edward Kenway, of course, is the first important member of the famous Kenway line in theAssassin’s Creedfranchise, and is the main protagonist ofAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. He, somewhat accidentally, became an Assassin in the Caribbean islands in the early 1700s, helping stop the Templars from taking over an important Observatory in the area. Edward would eventually move back to London and have a child who he named Haytham, presumably after learning about Hytham’s importance to the Brotherhood in Britain.
Haytham was the father to Ratonhnhake:ton, orConnor Kenway, the main protagonist inAssassin’s Creed 3.Through this line of ancestry, Edward and Haytham are also ancestors of William and Desmond Miles, with whomAssassin’s Creedfans are certainly familiar.
Assassin’s Creed Valhallais available on Luna, PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
