WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla introduces many new concepts, including a protagonist who never becomes an Assassin. However, despite that, Eivor still becomes an integral character in the series. While they don't become a full member of the Brotherhood, players learn that Eivor is actually a reincarnation of the Norse god, Odin. Through their past life, Valhalla also reveals perhaps the most surprising villain of the entire game.
As Eivor joins their brother Sigurd in finding the world tree Yggdrasil, players realize there is more to the mythical location than meets the eye. In fact, the "world tree" is a supercomputer from the Isu civilization that takes its users to a virtual reality environment. Once the siblings escape "Valhalla," Eivor is corned by their ally turned enemy, Basim. While his heel-turn comes as a surprise, his motivations are actually revealed through another storyline.
In the homestead, the seer Valka gives Eivor a potion that allows them to relive the stories of the Norse gods. In reality, they are reliving a past life and their final moments leading up to the Norse apocalypse, Ragnarok. During the side story, Odin tries to stop Ragnarok from happening after being told that a massive wolf would kill them and all of Asgard would be destroyed. Early in the story, Odin encounters this wolf, but instead of killing it, he imprisons it.
It's later revealed that the wolf, named Fenrir, is actually the son of Loki, the God of Mischief. Loki pleads with Odin to spare Fenrir from his fate, and while Odin doesn't kill him, he does treat the wolf poorly. As the story continues, Loki grows more bitter and begins to live up to his title, setting up traps against Odin and lying about his plan to the other gods.
What Loki and Odin don't realize is that each action leads them closer to Ragnarok. For example, Loki's growing rage leads him to kill Odin's son, Baldur, by poisoning his food with mistletoe. In the original Norse myth, Ragnarok begins with the death of Baldur at Loki's hands. While Asgard's story will continue in Valhalla's DLC, there's more than enough context to explain Basim's rage against Eivor. In reality, the Assassin is Loki reincarnated, and he's held onto his grudge against Odin for centuries.
Throughout Valhalla, Basim acts as an ally and mentor to Eivor, gifting them the hidden blade and showing them how to use it. He starts out seeming like a true friend who may even convince Eivor to join the Brotherhood. However, the game eventually reveals Basim's true colors as someone who has held a grudge for a long time remains unwilling to give it up.
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