‘Vinland Saga’: Who Is Eivor & Is He Canon?

The diversity of modern-day manga and anime is something that is a well-known fact, but some titles manage to stand out even among such harsh competition. Vinland Saga is one such title, as it stands out among the lot for its accurate depiction of historical events, the authenticity of the content, as well as the fact that it is focused on European rather than Asian (Japanese or Chinese) history. But, back in 2020, Vinland Saga actually crossed the borders of realism and crossed over with another popular series, Assassin’s Creed, whose then-released installment, Valhalla, was a big hit. Yukimura and the guys at Ubisoft created a non-canon crossover manga story that featured a manga version of Eivor meeting Thorfinn, and we are going to tell you everything you need to know about it.

Eivor is a character from the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the principal protagonist of the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla video game; the game was also set in Viking times. In order to promote the game, Ubisoft teamed up with Vinland Saga author Yukimura for a crossover story in which the manga version of Eivor appears in the world of Vinland Saga and actually meets its protagonist, Thorfinn. The work is not considered to be part of the Vinland Saga canon.

The rest of this article will focus, as you’ve probably deduced for yourselves, on Assassin’s Creed‘s Eivor and his role in the Vinland Saga manga. Eivor is, as you know well by now, a character from a completely unrelated franchise, but the crossover opportunity that appeared back in 2020 was simply too good to pass down, which is how and why all of this came to be and we are now going to tell you everything you need to know about this epic crossover. Spoilers from the manga will be present, so be careful how you approach the article.

Eivor visited Thorfinn, but the story is sadly not canon

Those reading this article will certainly know about Vinland Saga, but they’ve probably heard of Assassin’s Creed, the famous video game franchise. Back in 2020, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, a new installment in the long-running franchise, was released, and much like Vinland Saga, it was set in the Norse region during Viking times. And while we won’t talk about the game too much, we have to tell you about Eivor.

Eivor is the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. In the game, the player has the possibility of impersonating Eivor by choosing between the male and female sex, and this does not affect the succession of events during the plot.

Eivor can be a Berserkr or a Skjaldmær. Nicknamed “Wolf’s Bite,” he is a Norse warrior of the Raven Clan who invades Britain to find a new home, establishing it at Ravensthorpe, built on the remains of another village. When Kjotve the Ruthless and his clan kill his parents, Eivor is adopted by King Styrbjorn and becomes Sigurd’s foster brother. He is Sigurd’s second in the clan, only to become a jarl through Sigurd’s abdication towards the end of the game.

This is just part of Eivor’s story, as the game has a larger storyline, but you’re probably wondering why we’re even talking about a video game character here? Well, back in 2020, Yukimura and Ubisoft teamed up for a crossover event in which Eivor, the male version of the character, came to the world of Vinland Saga and met with its protagonist, Thorfinn.

Yukimura wrote and illustrated a short manga story that detailed an adventure of Eivor and Thorfinn in the world of Vinland Saga, and we can only say that it was absolutely epic and that Eivor fit in perfectly in the world of Vinland Saga.

And while the story was short, it was a truly great opportunity that simply had to happen, given the popularity of the two franchises. Sadly, the events depicted in this story are not part of the Vinland Saga canon, or the Assassin’s Creed canon, as you might have assumed (although knowing the latter franchise, a canon wouldn’t really be that odd, but it wouldn’t work when the former is concerned).

The story is entertaining, but it was simply a promotional crossover between the two franchises that resulted in a great story, but it’s not part of the canon, so you don’t have to worry when and if you have to read it, as it is not connected to either of the two canon stories.

All of this means that Eivor is not based on an actual person, like we suspected

As fans of the series will know, many Vinland Saga characters are actually based on real, historical people. Some of them are direct adaptations, while others are more loosely based, but most characters contain a degree of historicity in them, despite Yukimura giving each of them their own treatment in the context of the original manga. This doesn’t mean there are no original characters in the series, so we are asking ourselves this about Eivor. So, is Eivor, an original person, or is he based on a real person?

Well, we know that Eivor is not based on an actual person, but we didn’t need Yukimura’s Vinland Saga to confirm that, as it was confirmed in the Assassin’s Creed game from which Eivor actually came. Sure, Yukimura tends to write historical characters, but since Eivor is neither part of the canon nor his own character (it’s all part of a promotional crossover event), there is really no point in mulling over his historical status, as it is clear that he is a work of fiction.

Now, he might be based on one or more historical people in some segments, but he is not actually a real person, as far as we know now, and since his story has already been established outside the pages of Vinland Saga, we don’t think that people wouldn’t have noticed existing similarities with real-life people.