Assassin’s Creed Valhalla finds itself in a unique crossroads of the franchise. Mechanically, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla bridges the old action-adventure titles with the newer RPG approach to the franchise, while also telling a story with a lot of forward momentum (and still respecting the past).
That’s impressive enough alone, but it doesn’t seem this particular entry in the franchise is done there. The Wrath of the Druids DLC releases Spring 2021 and will see Eivor travel to Ireland. Outside of that, very little is known other than its official synopsis: “Explore the haunted wilds and beautiful landscapes of Ireland as you battle a druidic cult known as the Children of Danu. Conquer ring forts, master the art of smuggling, and gain the favor of Gaelic kings in a new open-world adventure.”
Immediately, it’s a safe assumption that the Children of Danu will be another Cult of Kosmos/Order of the Ancients section with new takedowns for Eivor. She doesn’t commit to the Hidden Ones, though, and it’ll be interesting to see how her journey to Ireland is explained. But, just as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla retroactively connects the game to Assassin’s Creed 3, this DLC could do the same for Assassin’s Creed Rogue.
First, it’s worth discussing how AC Valhalla serves as a franchise bridge outside the mechanics. After completing the Lunden Arc of the storyline and eliminating the remaining Order of the Ancients associated with that tree, players unlock the ability to travel to Vinland. While there, Eivor meets the tribe that serves as the ancestors to Connor Kenway.
Assassin’s Creed 3 reveals that his particular tribe remained partial because they had a sworn oath to protect the Crystal Ball of Eden. As it turns out, Eivor takes that Crystal Ball away from the Order of Ancients and, not knowing its power, and gives it to Connor’s tribe. This means that Templar Order‘s interest in the area and the resulting events of Assassin’s Creed 3 can easily be traced back to Eivor, tying the latest game all the way back to the 2012 game.
Interestingly enough, prior to the release of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, it’s Assassin’s Creed Rogue that seemed likely to play a big part in Valhalla, not AC3. The character who has gone MIA after the events of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey‘s DLC, Otso Berg had Viking ancestors, while also wearing an outfit that was incredibly reminiscent of Shay Cormac. This goes much deeper, though, as Shay was born to Irish immigrants who came to colonial America, but he literally wore his Norse and Irish inspirations on his sleeve.
Cormac’s Templar outfit is covered in Celtic Knots, symbols of Yggdrasil, and triquetras, all of which connect to either his Viking or Irish inspirations. Celtic Knots are directly connected to Ireland, Yggdrasil is an important mythological figure in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and triquetras are a symbol of three. In Norse Mythology, triquetras are often associated with Mjolnir, but can be used for a variety of things in Irish culture. It may be used to connect to the Cult of Danu, but the bottom line is, it first appeared in Assassin’s Creed Rogue.
As a result, it wouldn’t make much sense to feature Ireland in a DLC without there being some connection to Assassin’s Creed Rogue, or more namely, Shay Cormac at the very least. How that’s done exactly remains to be seen, but there’s a few avenues that the franchise could explore.
Perhaps the first, easiest, but least likely is to make Eivor an ancestor of Shay Cormac. This would go a long way in establishing another familial chain in the franchise. After all, Aya is a direct descendant of Alexios and Kassandra, yet the leap to Eivor isn’t explained. This DLC could connect the familial chain from Alexios/Kassandra all the way through Eivor to Shay Cormac (who isn’t related to Desmond in any form). It would be an interesting connection to draw and could have plenty of implications for the franchise, although it’s unlikely for one reason: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Having Alexios or Kassandra “settle down” and have a child wasn’t a popular move, one that placed the familial chain and narrative over player choice, and it’s hard to see how this could be done with Eivor having a child.
Another option is to take the Assassin’s Creed 3 route again, as it could be that the Children of Danu here have something to do with the Isu elements of Assassin’s Creed Rogue. This could either tie into the Precursor Box or the Seismic Temples, finally explaining the purpose of the latter (Danu is associated with the land after all). Exploring the Seismic Temples seem more likely than the Precursor Box, only if because there are a likely several boxes much like there are Apples or Staves. The Precursor Box went from Ezio’s to Shao Jun’s hands to the British Templars by one account; others suggest that the box of Ezio and Shao Jun was not the same as the box in colonial America. Of course, this DLC could explain that further, but it’s more likely that going this route would focus on the Seismic Temples.
The only option to come to mind, although there are likely several, is something explaining and/or foreshadowing Shay Cormac or Otso Berg themselves. It would be interesting to see Otso Berg come face to face with Basim/Loki and have some interesting lore stuff come that (it’s not necessarily far-fetched if Otso was the reincarnation of one of Basim’s children), but it’s possible that the cult involves the Cormac or Berg names. Obviously, with a 700 year or so difference between Eivor and Shay’s appearances, it’s not that Shay’s parents will be involved, but an ancestor could be.
Regardless of how it is done, traveling to Ireland without connecting to Shay Cormac‘s relations there would be a missed opportunity if Assassin’s Creed Valhalla didn’t explore that just a little further.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s Wrath of the Druids DLC releases Spring 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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