Bjorn Eriksen was a Viking Assassin that lived from 894 to 961. He lived his life as mostly a Viking raider in Norway, but later became a member of the Assassins and raided Templar settlements for them. He was also the ancestor of Griffin Hynes on the Paternal line.
| Bjorn Eriksen | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical information | |
| Born |
894 Bergen, Norway |
| Died |
November 18, 962 (age 68) |
| Political information | |
| Affiliations |
Assassins (918-956) |
| Real-world information | |
| Appears in |
Assassin's Creed: Exploration Assassin's Creed: Templar (mentioned) |
Early Life[]
Bjorn was born in a city that would one day be known as Bergen, Norway. Bjorn's father, Ragnak began to train his son on how to fight while raiding, Ragnak was not easy on Bjorn during training, but Bjorn was able to take it and it allowed him to become stronger. When Bjorn turned twelve years old, Ragnak figured Bjorn was old enough to be part of a thing (Viking trial hearing) that was going on the next day, so the two packed for the journey to the local Jarl's town for the thing. While at the thing, Bjorn witnessed the beheading of a local shopkeeper who killed his neighbor after the two had a dispute over their land and later, Bjorn and another twelve year old named Erik swore their loyalty and promised to assist the Jarl in any crisis the kingdom may face, when that was done they were officially declared men and Bjorn had his very first drink with Ragnak.
First Raid[]
When Bjorn was 17 years old, Ragnak decided to take him on his very first raid on a monastery in eastern England. Bjorn was enthusiastic and felt that he was ready for anything. The boat ride to England took a few days and Bjorn had never spent more than 6 hours on a longboat, this, in turn, made Bjorn pretty nauseous at times but he didn't want to show weakness and he was able to get used to the longboat on the third day. After seven days at sea, the Vikings finally reached England, when they eventually landed, they walked for a few hours before they found a small town with enough soldiers that could definitely put up some resistance against the group, however the Vikings knew that every Sunday the townspeople would go into one building with a cross on top of it, so the group chose to rest up for the next day seeing as how the day was Saturday. Sunday came and the group infiltrated the gates, searched the houses for treasure, Bjorn himself picked up a golden cup, jewelry, and a few fancy looking plates. Eventually the group kicked down the door of the church, Bjorn and a few others killed a few of the townspeople who tried to kill them with daggers, as soon as his axe would strike the man down Bjorn felt some nausea but knew it was necessary for a Viking, the Vikings ordered the Priest to quiet the people and to not resist as they take anything that looked to be valuable. When all of the valuable looking goods were taken, the group went back to their longboats along with seven new slaves and sailed back to Norway.
Fighting a strange man[]
"He fights in a fashion I've never seen before, I decide I want to ask questions rather than kill him."
In 918, Bjorn now a 24-year-old man and respected warrior in his town continued to be sure to take part during the summer and fall raids. In August of 920, Bjorn and his fellow Vikings traveled to England for more raids and chose on a medium sized settlement with a few guards to stand up to them, so with a group of 40 warriors, the group waited until the guards began to switch positions to charge in the village. After killing three guards with his axe, Bjorn noticed a man wearing white robes kill several of the other warriors with relative ease, so in an attempt to make sure the raid was successful, Bjorn charged at him shield at the ready. Upon reaching him, Bjorn swung his axe at the man twice but his attempts were met with the man dodging them and pulling out his sword for a counter attack, Bjorn was able to block his sword strokes with his shield before eventually disarming the man. Just as Bjorn was about to ask him questions about who he is and what he does, Bjorn found that the town guard had been able to hold off the Vikings and sent them running back to their longboats leaving anyone who failed to reach it in time to survive on their own. With all the things going on around him, Bjorn failed to prevent being knocked out by the hooded man who had taken an interest in Bjorn's determination and felt that he would make a good ally and took Bjorn's unconscious body to the house he was staying at and waited for him to wake up.
Meeting the Assassins[]
"I promise that from now on, I'll only raid settlements under Templar influence."
Bjorn woke up a few hours later in the morning feeling a little light headed but was instantly snapped back to reality by the image of the man in the white hooded robes. Bjorn asked the man who he was and why he didn't just kill him. The man revealed himself to be named Kit Zavier and said that Bjorn had the potential to be an Assassin. After initial confusion as to what an Assassin was, Kit explained what the Assassins were and what they strived for. Bjorn did think about joining the order but there was one major problem in his way, one of the three tenets of the Creed was to stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent, and killing people on the raids was part of being a Viking. Kit knew that some things can't change and offered Bjorn a compromise: only raid settlements across Europe that are under Templar influence to which Bjorn agreed. Kit then told Bjorn that becoming a full-fledged Assassin would require years of hard work, Bjorn understood and declared that he was ready for anything and promised that he would do work for the Assassins.
Fighting a new enemy[]
"He slashes at my head, I block it, but it's not good enough! I feel pain at my right eye, but this awakens my rage."
In the weeks following Bjorn's encounter with Kit, he kept his promise and only raided settlements that were under Templar influence and continued to take the treasure that the settlements had. Kit would write letters to Bjorn telling him the names of certain targets he would need to kill. In 919, Bjorn was contracted by Kit to kill a high ranking Templar named Payton Malachi, Baron of York. After Bjorn accepted the contract, he knew that an attack on the Manor house of a Baron of England would take many warriors and a carefully calculated plan that would come to this: Bjorn would take up to 70 warriors and the archers would use flaming arrows to burn down the outer walls, then the group would rush into the town while holding off the town guard, after infiltrating the Manor House, Bjorn would find Malachi and kill him and would throw his body out the window to signify victory. On April 13, 919, Bjorn set out with his 70 warriors and traveled to York for the attack. When they reached land, Bjorn told five warriors to stay with the ships just in case. The group then made their way to the outskirts of the Manor and the archers used their flaming arrows to burn down the outer walls just as planned. Bjorn led the charge into the town that ensued and killed two guards with his axe before they could blink their eyes. Savage fighting between the guards and Vikings started, Bjorn could hear the shrieking of his men and the guards as they would get stabbed or hacked, Bjorn defended himself against four guards and was able to kill them but lost his axe in the process. Bjorn drew his sword as he and his men made their way to the Manor house. The group infiltrated the house and searched for any valuable goods and materials to bring back to Norway. Bjorn walked upstairs and across a hallway of the Manor house and walked into an ornate room where the doors closed behind him and he was confronted by Malachi. Bjorn instantly drew his shield to deflect the strikes of Malachi's sword before making a little cut on his leg. Bjorn and Malachi fought each other for ten grueling minutes in which Malachi slashed at Bjorn's head, Bjorn was able to deflect it but not perfectly which cost him his right eye. The loss of his eye only awoke Bjorn's berserk rage and hacked at Malachi relentlessly and eventually succeeded in killing him with multiple cuts at Malachi's chest. Bjorn threw Malachi's body out the nearby window to show success and went outside before collapsing from a combination of exhaustion and his wounds.
Next Target[]
"I look into the bucket of water and notice something. Wait! My right eye is gone!"
Bjorn awoke, confused and groggy, at first he couldn't remember where he was or what had happened. Then he remembered, he had killed Malachi and then collapsed outside. He looked around and found himself in his home, He chose to clean himself up a little however after looking at his reflection in the water he collected outside, he saw that his right eye was gone, Bjorn then remembered that he had also lost an eye to Malachi. Bjorn at first was shocked, but dismissed it seeing as how as long as he still had his left eye, he could still see clearly so he wouldn't be completely blind. After a few hours, Bjorn got a visit from Zavier, who thanked Bjorn for doing his duty and congratulated him for still showing strength even after losing an eye. Zavier then had more news for Bjorn, another target needing to be taken out if Bjorn accepted: a Scottish-English Templar nobleman named Trafford Mervyn. Bjorn accepted the next mission but stated that he would need time to get used to life without his eye, to which Kit agreed. Bjorn spent the next three weeks training, sailing, and living life as normal as possible and eventually, he learned to accept life the way it was now and on May 12, 919 Bjorn set out for Scotland to take out Trafford Mervyn.
Second Assassination[]
Bjorn and his warriors set out on the longboats to a Scottish city called Aberdeen to take down Trafford. The Vikings arrived on May 25, 919 and planned out the attack. They chose that Bjorn would need a distraction so he could sneak into town silently and kill Trafford quickly, then the plan was completed: Most of the warriors would cause trouble outside the city walls, this would distract the guards thus allowing Bjorn to sneak in and make his way to the main castle, move his way to Trafford and kill him, then Bjorn would sneak back out the city and go back to Norway. Then on May 26, Bjorn and the crew set out to the city to do the plan which started out greatly with the men keeping the guards distracted, giving Bjorn time to sneak into the city. When Bjorn entered the castle of Trafford, he was immediately attacked by a large man armed with a spear, Bjorn blocked the attacks with his shield or deflected them with his sword. During the fighting between the two, Bjorn noticed something familiar about his opponent, then he remembered the man was Erik, the same person that Bjorn had stood alongside when they swore fealty to the jarl all those years ago. The two warriors stood still for a little bit as Bjorn asked why Erik was doing this, to which Erik replied that Trafford had paid him hundreds of pounds of silver in exchange for protection and giving information, including that of the attack. Bjorn cursed him, saying that he was a traitor to his people and charged at him with his axe and shield at the ready, this paid off as Bjorn's shield had shattered but it was the perfect distraction for Bjorn to put his axe into Erik's head. When that was done Bjorn continued inside the castle where he found Trafford surrounded by his guards, Bjorn killed the guards with ease with his sword then moved to Trafford who begged for mercy. Bjorn however, did his duty as an assassin and killed Trafford with the same sword he used to kill the guards then snuck back outside the city and took the remaining warriors with him back to Norway.
Pursuing Final Target[]
"I unmask his helmet, hoping to look into his face as he dies. But the face is a woman's, another Norseman by the looks of it!"
After the assassination of Trafford Mervyn, Bjorn waited for Kit to tell him about his final Templar target for now. Eventually June 13, 919 Kit visited Bjorn at his farming home and informed him about his next and final target for now: British nobleman named Gerard Bletcher. And before Kit bid Bjorn good luck on his next mission, he told Bjorn that he was ready and worthy of a new weapon called the hidden blade, Bjorn thanked his friend and wished him best of wishes on his duties. Bjorn once again planned his assassination, he knew that Gerard was living like a king in Durham, and his birthday was close so Bjorn decided that he would sneak into Gerard's party where he would be making a speech, when that was done Bjorn would walk up to him and kill him with the hidden blade. On June 26, 919 Bjorn and his warriors set sail to Durham where they arrived a week later. Bjorn chose not to use his warriors as a distraction as doing so would ruin hid chance to kill Gerard. After a few minutes, Bjorn climbed the castle walls and infiltrated a window and continued to sneak his way in, he learned that the speech was completed and looked for Gerard. Forty minutes passed until Bjorn caught sight of Gerard wearing his knight armor, Bjorn walked up and stabbed Gerard with his hidden blade before he could do something about it. Bjorn chose to unmask Gerard to make sure it was Gerard, and was surprised to see a woman who looked to from Scandinavia wearing the armor, Bjorn asked what was happening and the woman replied her name was Frida, a Swede who had been paid to impersonate Gerard to buy him time to escape to Ireland. Before Bjorn left, he asked Frida if she would want to go home to which she said yes and accompanied him on his journey to kill Gerard.
Final Target Killed[]
Bjorn and Frida made their way to Ireland where Norwegian Vikings like Bjorn had raided for many years, so there weren't a lot suspicion on why they were there. Bjorn asked the leader of a newfound town named Olaf if he or his warriors had seen an English pass through, to which Olaf said that one had passed by a few hours prior and it was thought that it had landed 10 miles west of where they were, so Bjorn took his crew to the west. After 50 minutes, Bjorn and the crew ran into Gerard and his soldiers, immediately Gerard ordered his archers to fire, Bjorn instantly called for a shield wall to be formed and they were able to form one before any could be killed. The soldiers then charged at the Vikings, Bjorn ordered the shield wall to hold for the initial crash. After two minutes of the two sides pushing each other back and forth, Bjorn finally noticed that the soldiers were starting to get a little tired, so he called for his warriors to attack. Whiled Bjorn was fighting two soldiers, he noticed that Frida was holding her own very well, clearly she knew how to handle herself in a fight. Bjorn made his way to Gerard, who dodged Bjorn's axe coming down on his head, and responded with a quick punch to the face. Bjorn shook off his daze and hacked and slashed at Gerard, and was met with deflects and parries from Gerard's sword. The two leaders fought each other brutally for several grueling minutes, Bjorn at one point finally saw an opening and buried his axe into Gerard's side. Gerard fell to his knees, then just as Bjorn was going to stab him with his hidden blade, pulled out a circular, golden object that instantly stopped Bjorn's movements and sent him flying. Bjorn was shocked at what had happened and twice he ran up to Gerard, only to be brought back to where he was, thinking quickly Bjorn shouted for the archers he had to fire on Gerard for a distraction. The men did their job well, Gerard was so focused on blocking the arrows with the artifact that he failed to notice Bjorn's mad dash towards him. As Bjorn tackled Gerard to the ground, he inserted his hidden blade in Gerard's chest, killing him instantly. Bjorn gave Gerard his last rights, picked up the artifact and ordered the surviving soldiers to run or die. When that was done, Bjorn, Frida, and the warriors set sail back to Norway, upon arriving back at Norway, Bjorn offered Frida a place in his home, to which she accepted. A week passed before Kit visited Bjorn to congratulate him on his victories, and officially indicted him into the Assassin order. When that was done, Bjorn showed Kit the artifact that Gerard had used, complete shock took over Kit's face and explained that it was an ancient artifact known as the Apple of Eden, Kit informed Bjorn that he must keep the Apple out of wrong hands and bid him farewell.
New Family[]
"I hold him in my arms after he is delivered, I know he will do great as a viking warrior, we decide to name him Brynjar."
Ten years passed before Bjorn would need to be called up for his Assassin work, in the meantime, he continued to raid settlements that were under Templar influence. Another thing that happened in those years, was that Bjorn and Frida began to love one another and on February 18, 921 Bjorn and Frida had wed and swore to the Gods that they truly loved and wanted each other in marriage. The two couple lived the typical family, both farming their land, caring for their animals, and enjoying each other's company Then after a night of passion, Frida became pregnant and nine months later their first son, Brynjar was born then three years later, a daughter Hulda was born. Bjorn looked after and loved his family very much whiled continuing raiding in preparation for eventually training his children.
Friend in need and new threat[]
"Kit points me to the right, I see two men part of the Jarl's personal guard killing one of the Assassins. Where's my family? There! Tied up and gagged, I must help them!"
On April 12, 932, a now 38-year-old Bjorn was in the middle of training with Brynjar in the ways of Viking combat when Frida came to them informing them that they had visitors. The visitor was Kit, whom Bjorn hadn't seen for five years and was happy to see again. However, Kit informed Bjorn that the Templars had traced the British Assassins to their hideout and destroyed it with only Kit and four other members surviving, the survivors traveled to Norway to ask Bjorn for both assistance and a temporary place to stay. Bjorn allowed the Assassins to stay at an old farm house near the house, but needed to speak with the Jarl about the situation. Bjorn then traveled with Kit to the Jarl's home and informed him about the Assassins situation, although extremely hostile to the idea, the Jarl named Halvar allowed the Assassins to stay for only no more than six months. Bjorn tried to reason to Halvar that they would need more time than that, but Halvar would not budge, so Bjorn and Kit immediately left to think what their next move would be. The two Assassins split up to do their tasks, Bjorn would gather his fellow warriors while Kit would ready the ship. When the tasks were done, the two Assassins and Vikings sailed their way to England in an attempt to help the English Assassins get a new hideout. On March 16, 932 Bjorn, Kit, and the crew raided a medium sized monastery that could serve as a potential home for the Assassins. The attack started with Bjorn and Kit leading the charge in the monastery with 20 warriors, the group eventually reached the gates and while some men provided cover with shields, another group was focused on breaking down the main gate with their axes. When the gate was eventually destroyed, the crew immediately were charged by the town guard, Bjorn called for a shield wall which defended well against the attack. After three minutes of the two groups pushing, stabbing, and thrusting their weapons at each other, the rest of Bjorn's crew came in for back up and proceeded with the attack. Bjorn killed 7 guards while Kit killed 9 during the attack, that ended in victory for the Assassins. When the guards surrendered, Kit told them they were free to go wherever they pleased and said that the townsfolk could stay if desired, as long as they accepted the Assassins as part of their community, to which the people said yes. With the mission over, Bjorn and Kit went back to Norway to bring the surviving Assassins to their new home, however after a week of sailing and arriving back home, Bjorn that smoke was rising up in the area where his home was located. Bjorn and Kit walked to Bjorn's home and Bjorn's stomach was wrapped in a tight knot when they found that his home was on fire and his family was nowhere to be found. Kit pointed to Bjorn to the right of the home, where they found the jarl's personal guard killing two of the Assassins and saw Frida, Brynjar, and Hulda tied up and gagged. Bjorn charged to the two guards and killed them ruthlessly, then untied his family. Though shaken, Frida, Brynjar, and Hulda were mostly unscathed and they along with Bjorn, Kit, and one surviving Assassin made their way to the docks to get their rowboat. Just as the last rope connecting the boat to the docks, five guards made their way to the group, but thanks to the large crowd always gathering in the docks the group were able to row their way to safety. Bjorn had no idea where to go in the meantime, but Frida spoke of an abandoned hunting shack on a nearby island, so the group chose to go there while they planned how to kill the new Jarl.
Comeback from exile[]
"You have fought greatly with bravery. The Gods will enter you into Valhalla."
Bjorn and the group lived in the hunting shack for two months, all the while they hunted, trained, and planned. One day, while Brynjar was collecting wood for tonight's supper, a strange man approached him, asking if the warrior Assassin Bjorn was there. Brynjar brought the man to Bjorn, the man introduced himself as Olof, an Assassin from Svitjod (Sweden) who had heard of Bjorn's raids on Templar temples in England and had traveled to Norway to assist him in taking back the city. Bjorn and Kit thanked Olof for his willingness to help. The group planned out, they knew that Bjorn would need to be the one to kill Halvar, and in doing so he would become the new Jarl. Bjorn took some time to think if he was ready for a life as a Jarl, deciding people's fates at Things, doing politics, planning where the people would raid and when, however the upside was that he would have more money than he ever had in his life and he would still be allowed to raid. Bjorn finally decided that he would be willing to live life as the Jarl and planned to confront Halvar the next week. Bjorn spent the next week training tirelessly for the hardest fight he'd get into, all the while hunting with his family and his friends. Then on June 27, 932 Bjorn along with his family, Olaf, and Kit boated back to Bergen for the duel between Bjorn and Halvar. Once they arrived, they were immediately confronted by the guards who brought them to Halvar. After arriving, Bjorn challenged Halvar to a duel for title of Jarl to which Halvar accepted, the two met on the docks as a crowd gathered around them, then the battle began. The battle that ensued was chaos with Halvar continuing to strike, hack, and slash at Bjorn effortlessly and quickly. Bjorn defended with his shield with the best of his ability but was already suffered some cuts, then Bjorn noticed a place on Halvar's foot that he could use to his advantgage and took it. Bjorn stomped on Halvar's foot, then headbutted him and continued to swing his sword at Halvar and eventually making a long cut on his leg, Halvar recovered almost immediately and went back to swinging his sword at Bjorn before disarming him. With his sword out of his hand, Bjorn raised his shield to block Halvar's swings and bash at him. Halvar eventually broke Bjorn's shield and raised his sword preparing to bring it down on Bjorn's head, Bjorn however dodged the attack and grabbed Halvar's wrist hard until the sword was dropped. Bjorn picked up Halvar's sword and swung it at Halvar relentlessly until dodging a shield attack from Halvar and slashing his back. Halvar dropped to the ground on his back, Bjorn went up to him and told him that he had fought well and the Gods would accept him to Valhalla. Bjorn took out a dagger, put Halvar's sword in his hand and stabbed Halvar in the chest, killing him. With Halvar dead, a woman recognized Bjorn as the new Jarl and dropped to one knee, and soon everyone present including Kit dropped on one knee to signify Bjorn as the new Jarl.
Final Mission[]
By 956, Bjorn now a 62 year old man had been Jarl for twenty years, he had been a great leader by planning raids to places with valuable goods that weren't well defended. He continued to provide, love, and care for his family, Brynjar and Hulda had also become Assassins who carried out raids together on Templar influenced monasteries and Frida had also gone on raids with Bjorn. Around this time Bjorn's health began to dwindle as he had a cough that wouldn't go away, he also spent some time studying the Apple for anything. Bjorn knew that when his death came, the Apple would be in danger of being stolen or falling into the wrong hands, so he needed to find a place to hide it until the time was right. Bjorn sent a message to Kit asking him where he could hide the Apple, two weeks later a messenger came to Bjorn telling him about a temple in Alesund, a temple that could hide the Apple well. With this information, Bjorn planned to set out to the temple that lay near Alesund. Bjorn chose to take Brynjar with him in case of confrontation and the two got horses and started the journey to Alesund, The journey took a month to complete, but they eventually arrived at the temple, a large temple with no occupants, at least none that the duo knew of. Bjorn and Brynjar entered the temple and made their way to the downer levels of the templar and came across a group of bandits who charged at them immediately, Brynjar charged to face them and killed four of them and continued to fight the others. While Brynjar was fighting, two bandits faced against Bjorn who drew his sword and killed one of them before going face to face with the other. Bjorn had difficulty fighting the bandit due to old age and failing health, just before the bandit was going to kill Bjorn after disarming him, Brynjar killed the bandit and helped his father up then the two continued to the temple doors. Fifteen minutes later, the two Assassins reached the doors that wouldn't open, initially confused as how to open it Bjorn then realized that they had the key: the Apple of Eden. Bjorn took out the Apple and used it's power to open the door, as it opened Bjorn tolled Brynjar to wait outside as he entered the temple. Bjorn entered the temple with intrigue and wonder and heard whispers of his past and of the First Civilization. Eventually, Bjorn made his way to a big room with little light, but was able to see a piece of the wall protruding out showing that he needed to press it. After he did, an empty hole that was fitted for the apple opened up and Bjorn put the apple in it, the room then lit up and Bjorn started to get a vision from the Apple, showing someone who identified herself as Minerva, Bjorn had so many questions for her but she simply told Bjorn that his part was done and they had a message for another. Minerva looked passed Bjorn, speaking to a someone not there, telling them that they would live a life full of sacrifice and hardship, but would be well if he learns from the mistakes he makes, and that he was the key to the brotherhood's future of fighting. She closed off the message by stating that someone named Griffin had many things ahead of him, Bjorn was very confused, but accepted that he was simply the conduit for a message. Before Bjorn left the temple, he took off his hidden blades to signify the end of his life as an Assassin, and chose not to tell his son or anyone what happened, and the two started the journey back home.
Later life and death[]
"Sitting on the bench leads to more coughing. I look at my hand and am shocked to find drops of blood on it. I know my end is soon, I tell this to family as they return to me and I can't get up."
For the next six years, Bjorn continued to lead his people as the Jarl and care for his family and Brynjar and Hulda had become full fledged Assassins and regularly completed contracts and raids on Templer settlements across Europe. On one day in 958, Bjorn received a message from someone saying that Kit Zavier, Bjorn's lifelong friend and partner as an Assassin had passed away due to a plague outbreak in his village. Bjorn's health also continued to deteriorate eventually leaving him bedridden. On November 18, 962 Bjorn and Frida along with their children who had come back from a mission in France, went to the markets for groceries and other items, as they neared a few stands Bjorn started to cough and chose to sit on a bench. Frida told him he should've stayed home, to which he implied he was home, as he sat there Bjorn's cough only got worse as he then noticed some blood on his hands. When his family came back to check on him, Bjorn tried to get up, but was unable to, he then said that he might die soon and told them he loved them all as they each hugged him. Bjorn then looked up at the sky with wonder and fear, and with one last exhale Bjorn passed away with his family embracing him.
Personality and Characteristics[]
Bjorn was committed, determined, ill tempered at times, and compassionate. Bjorn had always had a temper that formed from years of raiding, this resulted in him becoming a complete beserker if triggered. After becoming an Assassin, Bjorn became more and more inquisitive and determined to complete missions. After getting married to Frida and starting a family, Bjorn became devoted to his family and did whatever it took to protect them while preparing to train them for raids and being Assassins.
Trivia[]
- "Bjorn" is actually spelled "BJØRN" which is the Norwegian and Danish version of "BJÖRN" which is Old Norse for "Bear"
- "Eriksen" is Danish and Norwegian which means "Son of Erik"