In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Eivor will obtain a few ongoing quests that will take hours to complete. One of these quests is given by Hytham, a Hidden One who intends to preserve his group’s history. To do this, Eivor must collect six essential Codex Pages and return them to Hytham. As aforesaid, this single quest can take a while, but its ending is something truly special – one that any Assassin’s Creed Origins fan (especially those of the mysterious Hidden One) would not want to miss.
Hytham’s Quest and The Perseverance of History
By constructing huts for various Ravensthorpe members, Eivor can talk to Hytham who will give the Viking their quest. As a Hidden One, identically the extensive task is to locate and collect Codex Pages buried within abandoned Bureaus. These pages give Hytham the history that he wishes to maintain, while also keeping an eye out for the Order’s presence. In addition to the Pages, Hytham tasks Eivor with killing off members of the Order, yet this quest is separate.
While hunting down members of the Order is more of a roster, the Codex Pages act more like a checklist. As you continue to explore the deserted Hidden Ones’ Bureaus, you’ll get a few goodies out of it. Most notably, you’ll assemble the parts of the Hidden Ones’ armor set (which is six in total). But the entire completion of the quest is probably the most rewarding.
After collecting all six Codex Pages, Hytham will direct you to the on-sight antique collector, Reda. From there, Reda will share the letter with you upon inquiry. He claims it to be an “old scrap” from one Hidden One to another, but we know it is more essential than that. The letter, according to the seemingly immortal Reda, was written by one individual named The Hidden One. And I say “immortal” because Valhalla takes place in 873 A.D. while Origins takes place between 49-43 BC. So, you can be the judge of that.
The Letter from the Hidden One
The letter is ultimately a humble homage to Assassin’s Creed Origins. While the very knowledgeable Reda once tells an epic tale of two warrior lovers from past time, this one is more on the nose. Within in, The Hidden One himself composes a letter to a loved one, declaring his final intentions and motivations before succumbing to the finality of death. Part of the letter reads:
Take care, my love, my Iset, my Northern Star. Even in my waning years, I am ever your Osiris. Let our Horus live on beyond us. I think of you often, my jewel. At sunrise and twilight, at new moon and full, when the rain falls and the breath of Amun rides across my neck. I remember you kissing me just there, and I will take that soft feeling to my tomb.” – The Hidden One
Bayek of Siwa from Assassin’s Creed Origins
For those who don’t play Assassin’s Creed, this is Bayek of Siwa – The Hidden One – from Assassin’s Creed Origins. Additionally, the voice actor, Abubakar Salim, reprises his iconic role for this special appearance.
Bayek is the founder (or Father, considering his wife played a major role in the formation of the Hidden Ones, potentially making her the Mother) of the Assassin forerunner establishment. With his wife Aya claiming a couple of notorious assassinations, Bayek of Siwa chose to work in the shadows. As further explored in the letter, Bayek wished to have the Hidden Ones’ existence be kept quiet and destroyed, but his wife’s actions as a rebellious Assassin countered that desire. With that, Bayek continued his life as he did before – in the shadows of moral justice without recognition, while Aya lived to be a legend in the Creed.
He does live up to his name, though. As the original Hidden One, his history remains mostly enclosed. But, as I can assume, it’s his intention to remain…well, “hidden”. The whole philosophy established by Bayek was to serve the light while working in the shadows. And he succeeds in doing so because he is never mentioned throughout the other Assassin’s Creed titles. Perhaps it is a retcon, but it’s a brilliant one at that because it fulfills the character development of Bayek, a man who lost his child and chose to serve justice by killing injustice.
If you can recall from Assassin’s Creed II, our hero Ezio enters an Assassin hall where statues of revered members stand tall and still. One of the statues represents Aya, who later renames herself Amunet from the Origins installment. The other statues in attendance showcase essential members of the Creed – yet not one is displayed for Bayek.
Our Other Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Guides
That is because Bayek completed his mission being an Assassin in the dark, letting his deeds become known but not by whom. But with the intrusion of the intercepted letter mustered from Reda, the legend of the Hidden Ones is documented. Evidently, this will lead to the formation of the Brotherhood, but it’s imperative to acknowledge where the heart and intention derive from. And Assassin’s Creed Valhalla does a wonderful job in doing that with this humble nod to Origins and The Hidden One himself.
Bayek is easily one of Assassin’s Creed’s most beloved warriors, and to see him return with such character care and fashion makes the whole experience better altogether. It’s great to see him recognized to this level, despite it being against his will to remain “hidden”. Bayek’s wife is revered due to her well-known assassinations against Cleopatra and Julius Caesar (partially). So, in a very strange yet thought-provoking way, Bayek completed his mission by not being mentioned in other Assassin’s Creed installments. He is the Hidden One after all, and he remains to be so through the history of the Brotherhood.
Have you witnessed any other connections to members of the Brotherhood in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla? Obviously, this one took forever to find and complete, but the world of Assassin’s Creed and, of course, the Hidden One, is ever-growing. Let me know in the comments below!