#Aelfred of Wessex

[revolutionaryjackelving]

THANK YOU FOR THE DAYS: Steven Attewell, In Memoriam.

My tribute to @racefortheironthrone, aka Steven Attewell. Thank you for the days.

[hikaruchen]

Guidance.

Ughhhhh art block is killing me. It took me WEEKS to finish this one, 16 hours in total. Not the one I worked on for the longest hours but there are so many times I was just basically gawking at my canva and went Ok, I can’t draw shit and then turned procreate off. I’ve never been into situations like this before and it is, really, PAINFUL. And in the end I still don’t find me feel content with the result :( nevertheless it’s not good enough but I hope people who see this would like it tho!!

And here are some rants from a history geek:

Though it might not be very visible, but the color palette of this piece is actually a lowkey tribute to the Alfred jewel :)

This is a commission from Alfred to a goldsmith - we can see that through the texts on the side which wrote “AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN (Alfred ordered me to be made)” Alfred, as a man who loved wisdom, ordered to translate many books from latin into old english, and those manuscripts were distributed throughout Wessex and accompanied by pointers, and archeologists suggest this is probably one of them.

-

Below is a short piece I wrote but I don’t feel I am capable of turning it into a fic that has full plots so I just decided to put it here. Enjoy :)

[jikanet-tanaka]

My dumb ass keeps thinking about an ACV longfic idea (kind of a sequel taking place around 899 while Edward the Elder is king of Wessex)...

Here how it would goes:

Main characters:

Eivor Oswaldsdóttir: The daughter of King Oswald of East Anglia and Queen Valdis. She is short like her father (has his thick eyebrows too!) with green eyes and dark curly hair tied in a messy ponytail. She isn’t the talkative or sociable sort, and she spends most of her time hunting and living on the fringe of society. She loves her family, but since her elder brother Eohric is the king of East Anglia, she doesn’t enjoy visiting home much (too many people sticking around the royal court for her taste). The death of her father in her youth in a battle against Wessex insurgents is a wound that has not quite healed. Like her brother, she carries a grudge against West Saxons for that reason.

Sigrún Gullveigsdóttir: The bastard daughter of Sigurd, conceived when he was fighting alongside the Ragnarssons in Ledecestre. Her mother was a shieldmaiden under Ubba’s banner. Not long after the Danelaw was established, Gullveig, now dying, brought her daughter to Ravensthorpe. However, Sigurd had already left England by that point. The girl was thus raised by Eivor and Randvi as if she was their own daughter.

Sigrún was injured in her youth, and she needs a cane to walk. She is sweet-tempered and sharp-witted, though deep down she has some insecurities, especially since she feels she can’t quite measure up to her legendary mothers, who were both prodigious warriors. She has also abandonment issues caused by Sigurd’s absence in her life. Sigrún is of average height, with blond hair tied in a plait behind her back. She wears her birth mother’s kransen, the only memento she has left of the woman.

Aethelflaed of Mercia: The oldest child of Aelfred of Wessex. She married the much older Aethelred of Mercia in 885 to unite the two kingdoms; together, they have one daughter, Aelfwynn. Aethelflaed is her father’s daughter in every way, blessed with a strategic mind and a courageous heart. She dislikes her family’s link to the Order of Ancients and the nascent group that will one day become the Templars. For this reason, she does not trust in her brother Edward’s intentions, nor does she wants to support her cousin Aethelwold in his rebellion. She is nearing thirty of age, and she has brown hair gathered in a neat bun.

Edward of Wessex: The king of Wessex following Aelfred’s death in 889, and Aethelflaed’s younger brother. He is more militant than his father, both in his desire to conquer the whole of England to purge it of pagans, and in his new position as Grand Maegester of the Order of the Ancients.

Aethelwold of Wessex: Aelfred’s nephew, who is challenging Edward’s claim to the throne since his father was Aelfred’s older brother. He is a schemer who wishes to restore the Order of the Ancients to its old glory (his father Aethelred was King of Wessex and Grand Maegester before Aelfred got the position).

Eohric of East Anglia: King of East Anglia, and Eivor’s older brother. He is a charismatic and well-liked figure, though he tends to ask rashly in the absence of wise counsel.

Among the characters from the game, you’d have cameos from people like Hytham and Valka. I haven’t decided who else is still around. Maybe it would be funny to have like, old Birna and/or old Vili still kicking around and making nuisances of themselves?

 Story elements:

- Eivor and Randvi left Ravensthorpe together (again this is a way for me to say eff you to that last DLC).

- There is a civil war going on between King Edward of Wessex and his cousin Aethelwold; the latter has the support of the Danelaw, including King Eohric of East Anglia.

- Meanwhile, in the shadows, the two are battling for their own vision of the future form of the Order of the Ancients. They both seek an Isu relic of great power to achieve said vision.

- Aethelflaed is aware of this and wants to find this relic to keep it out of their hands. Through a strange set of circumstances, she enlists the help of Sigrún of Ravensthorpe (who has knowledge of Hidden Ones stuff thanks to Hytham and Eivor) and Eivor of East Anglia (who is a lot like her namesake when it comes to being sneaky and killing stuff). The latter two both want the relic in order to protect their respective people from Wessex’s might.

[septimaseverina]

Been tagged by dear and lovely @letthefairyinyoufly thank you so much for tagging me! 😊💖💗💝❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🤍

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters

List ten favorite characters from 10 different fandoms and tag 10 people

Okay...so...here they are:

(Not in order)

Star Wars - Cassian Andor

The Lord of the Rings : The Rings of Power - Elrond Peredhel

Game of Thrones - Oberyn Martell

House of the Dragon - Rhaenicent Rhaenyra Targaryen

Doctor Who - 10th/14th Doctor

MCU - Tom Hiddleston's Loki

Assassin's Creed - King Aelfred of Wessex & Altaïr Ibn-La'ahad sorry for cheating here🤣

Dishonored - The Outsider

Hulu's The Great - Peter III

Jane Austenverse - Elizabeth Bennet

Tagging (No pressure!): @sigelfire @aaronsaxon and everyone who wanna do this! 😊

[deathswcrn]

@wolfkcst asked: “Let’s go on a raid. I’ve been itching to go on one.”

Eivor's suggestion brightened up the wolf-cloaked warrior, who had, at the time, been slouched by a fire sharpening her axe, bored and restless. But then they said the word 'raid', and she perked right up, like a hound hearing the word 'walk'.

"Are we gonna go make trouble for Aelfred? Frigg's mercy, please. Let's go up the Tames an' stick our seaxes into Wessex's ankles. There's gotta be an unsacked monastry or two for us to plunder."

[alethiometry]

WAIT can i also get alfred for that character breakdown. please

lmao i was wondering when you’d ask. simp.

How I feel about this character

god....if there’s any character that could be described as “oozing charisma”... it’s our goth king aelfred. from the very beginning of the game he looms over england as not-quite a villain in the conventional sense, but just as a very powerful and very compelling antagonist. i was surprised at how little screentime he got — we don’t see him until oxenefordscire, almost halfway through the game — and then we don’t see him again until the game is almost over. but he’s always lurking... always watching...

i think what i’m getting at is, aelfred of wessex is about as iconic and intrinsic in acv as the t-rex in jurassic world or the shark in jaws. just perfectly threatening, perfectly compelling, and used minimally but perfectly.

i think i would have liked the grand maegester reveal a little more if odyssey hasn’t done the same thing with leader-of-shady-org-manipulates-protag-into-dismantling-it-for-them-because-they’re-not-happy-with-the-way-the-org-is-going-and-can-outsource-the-labor-bc-they’re-rich. YES aelfred makes more sense than aspasia, and YES it was written better in every way, and YES it was a predictable outcome that doesn’t diminish the impact of the revelation... but also... idk. maybe the issue is with odyssey and not valhalla.

i love seeing his interactions with the common people: the little girl in wincestre, and the baker in...whatever village that is. he treats everyone (or... at least christians) with respect and dignity!

finally, while i hate that ubba died offscreen, i love that aelfred was such a petty bitch about it that he didn’t even bother to get ubba’s name right. literally the only instance in the game where i thought, “i want this man to die” ... but that’s just good writing lmao

All the people I ship romantically with this character

you

My non-romantic OTP for this character

i really love his dynamic with eivor! i don’t ship them romantically/sexually but i’m obsessed with their chemistry. they speak to each other as equals and are both held in high regard by their peers, and that makes for a very interesting relationship. they’re the type of people i’d want to see in like a buddy cop or roadtrip movie lmao

i would also have loved to see more of his interactions with fulke, since she was such a prominent villain and worked directly under him. like, how much of her “research” into sigurd’s state of mind did he hear about? or does he just give her leave to do whatever tf she wants as long as it’s like... In The Name Of Christianity or whatever the fuck

My unpopular opinion about this character

i want a 100k+ coffeeshop college au where aelfred is kicked out of school and has to work at a coffeeshop/bakery to pay off his loans but can’t bake a damn pastry to save his life. no plot, no shipping, just aelfred’s daily diary/blog page that gets like 3 views max (one of them is goodwin) where he just muses over his life in the food service industry. it’s wildly out-of-touch the way any rich fancy boy would be, but it’s also... oddly zen.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

i hesitate to say that i want more screentime with aelfred, because i think his presence in the game was actually executed perfectly. that being said, i would love to have seen more of him, just because i like him so much! i guess we’ll leave that for discovery mode, because unfotunately there’s no way i have the attention span to watch the last kingdom.

character ask thingos

[caernua]

Look around you. God’s works are wondrous. They cannot be ignored, nor resisted. In time, all those who accept God will flourish. And all those who defy Him will fall away.

[author-morgan]

Aelfred the Great

King of Wessex

[jurakan]

So...Guthrum.

In the main game of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, there’s foreshadowing for Guthrum’s conversion to Christianity in his vocal doubts about the Norse belief systems and the idea of Valhalla, and his pointing out the uselessness of the continued cycles of violence their religion encourages. That, and he seems honestly curious about Christianity.

Except in Discovery Tour, his interest in Christianity is implied to be because the player monk character expresses Divine Right of Kings (seeming to think that this means no one would ever plot against Aelfred of Wessex) and Guthrum thinks the idea of being an unquestioned king sounds pretty cool. In short: he wants power.

Also the game’s like, “Aelfred gives Guthrum the Kingdom of East Anglia, but it wasn’t his to give.” Really? It also wasn’t the Vikings’ to take, which they already had!!! Alfred the Great was letting them keep the territory they’d already (forcefully) conquered!

The lengths this game goes to in order to be like, “Vikings = Good, Saxon Christians = Bad” at times is downright bizarre.

[kyndaris]

A Vikingr Saga for the Ages

Ever since the first game in the franchise, I was enraptured by the idea of stalking my prey on the rooftops of Renaissance Italy and then leaping down - slaying them with a flourish. I didn’t know it yet but the marriage between history and stealthy parkour had me hooked from the very first trailer for Assassin’s Creed. When the series pivoted towards mythology and set further in history than ever before, I eagerly followed. From Ptolemaic Egypt to Ancient Greece. It should come as no surprise that I devoured, then, that I devoured as much of the world that I could in the latest entry: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. And after clocking in just under 150 hours, there is much for me to unpack in Ubisoft’s latest entry into the Assassin’s Creed franchise. That, and a fierce desire to finally start watching Vikings. 

When I initially booted up Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (AC:V), I will admit that I was a little disappointed with the control scheme. Once again, Ubisoft had made it a confusing mess with trigger buttons instead of face buttons used to attack. Since I had just come from Spider-Man: Miles Morales, it took a good long while for me to adjust. Several hours later, after fumbling through my first battle with a lost drengr (I actually dumbed down the difficulty a litte), I finally managed to find my footing and was on my way to England to scrape out a place for the Raven Clan.

As for stealth...well, the less said about it the better. I never found it effective. It was much easier to smash my way through, axe in hand (or greatsword) and lay waste to their paltry resistance with a mixture of heavy attacks and parrying. I also, hardly used the bow (one of my favourite weapons to being stealthy in Origins and Odyssey). 

The story in AC: V is a little messy. Most of it is done through a separate arcs for each territory Eivor ventures through: from East Anglia to Snotinghamscire, with little to link it all together except the main character. Were it not for the very loose story threat surrounding Sigurd and the conquering of Mercia to establish a firm foothold in this new land of England, many of the storylines could be regarded as standalone adventures in Eivor’s epic saga of conquest.

That doesn’t, of course, mean it’s bad. Merely disjointed. Particularly when I went from Jorvik and its Yule Tide celebrations to Glowecestrescire that was right in the midst of Samhain right after each other. Did I go back in time? Or did almost an entire year fly past Eivor with none the wiser?

Still, even though they were mostly standalone storylines, I still very much liked all the characters I met along the way. My favourites were the earnest Hunwald, noble Ceolbert (his death was almost as bad as all the horse deaths I’ve encountered in video games) and fun-loving Twydwr (particularly when he and Eivor were drunk, and messing with the local chickens) On the Norse side, I very much enjoyed the banter between Eivor and her childhood friend Vili. But the one that I admisted most was Soma. She was the jarlskona of Grantebridgescire - the first place I explored after landing in England. And one, I hoped I could romance to some degree. Alas, my hopes were dashed on that end.

What I did find a little intriguing were how Sigurd and Eivor were sages for the Isus: Odin and Tyr. And in their little Raven Clan, revealed much later, was also Freyr. It seemed strange that so many of the reincarnated Isu were all incredibly close at hand.

In this title, Ubisoft was able to focus again a little more on their complex lore that was seeded throughout the first few games. And while some questions were answered, it still left plenty of mysteries of where the games go from here - particularly from a modern-day standpoint. Though I am reluctant to see the franchise go, it does feel like Ubisoft is finally coming to a close on the grand story that they are trying to tell. What the end result turns out to be is still to be determined, but more emphasis needs to be focused on the central conflict.

For a game that still has Assassin’s Creed in the title, Eivor’s connection with the order and their enemies seemed very tangential. While I killed many Order of the Ancient members, there was no sense of personal investiture, like, say with Ezio’s quest. The only ones that I felt motivated to put an end to were Fulke and Kjotve the Cruel. Unfortunately, all the build-up in the first scenes with Eivor were quickly resolves within the first two to three hours of the game, and Fulke’s arc was all but over in the half-way point.

I suppose the main reason for my discontent with the narrative of AC: V is the fact that there is no Big Bad for Eivor and her Raven Clan. Yes, Aelfred of Wessex is a ‘villain’ that hinders our protagonist, but he never felt like an oppressive threat. 

Basim’s reveal, somewhat late in the game, was also a little underwhelming. Yes, he did look an awful lot like Loki, but how did he manage to get to Norway? He hadn’t accompanied Sigurd and Eivor. Did he travel with a third party? How did he know that Sigurd and Eivor would be in the ruins of an Isu temple? So many questions, so little time.

Then there was the whole ‘Heir of Memories’ and the fact that Layla seemed so worn. After finishing Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, my last impression of her was receiving the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus from Kassandra and being hopeful for the future. Fast forward to AC: V and Layla is tired. The world is on the edge of destruction once again and she’s now paired up with married couple: Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings (the two last appearing undercover in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag). 

On a side note, why are their adventures all done in the comics or some other media? AND WHY DO I NOT HAVE ACCESS TO ANY OF THIS?

And because I didn’t play the expansions for Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, I knew too little regarding the modern-day struggles with Layla. In fact, I basically resorted to the Assassin’s Creed wiki to bring me up to date. Honestly, DLC should never be story-related. Or, if it is, should be more tangential rather than major. It’s a terrible practice that quite a few publishers do, and which leaves players such as myself playing catch-up.

The only one that landed with any oomph (at least for me) were the Asgard and Jotunheim arcs. These were connected and told the story of Havi as he struggled to find a way to avert his fate. The final battle also proved challenging and climactic. A far cry from the ‘endings’ that the main story provided. In all honesty, I probably should have left that to last while completing everything else first. But the temptation was too great and I was vastly overlevelled.

I also enjoyed the play on the Norse myths. The only downside with the Builder was that there was no horse to help him. And so, there was no sexy mare Loki to tempt away the Builder’s horse - giving birth to Sleipnir. The other stuff, though, was clever. And I liked the references made to other myths, such as fighting against ‘old age’ and Thrym’s disastrous marriage to ‘Thor dressed as Freyr.’

What was also a little odd, at least for me, was that there was no definitive part where the credits rolled. Much like in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Assassin’s Creedy: Origins. Personally, I hate it. Credits give closure and tell gamers that the narrative that they were pursuing has come to an end. It lets me reflect on everything that I experienced and is an indication that I can finally set the controller down.

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla also came with its fair share of bugs and glitches. Many, after reading up on them, made me frightened to continue. One, in particular, took me a while to figure out an alternative to: entering Lunden. I didn’t help that the more I read, the more I worried about encountering a game-breaking bug. Thankfully, most were simply treasure hoards not loading, late texture pop-ins that were a little frightening, and the drunk Eivor every time I loaded up the game. 

Despite its many faults, I still very much enjoyed my time roaming around England, Vinland and Norway as I worked to build up Eivor’s reputation and to ensure her name would be sung for ages to come. Like a true Vikingr, I played copious amounts of orlog, drank mead and tore up the battlefield to create a home for my people.

Even better, at Gunnar’s wedding, I managed to finally woo Randvi (who I abstained from bedding down with earlier on in the game)! That, perhaps, elevated the game for me and I can be happy knowing that all my hard work paid off.

(As an additional aside, I also love how many of the side quests or ‘mysteries’ in AC: Valhalla made references to popular culture. From Winnie the Pooh to Alice in Wonderland. AND ROBIN HOOD! THE NPC CALLED LITTLE JOHN HAD ME GUFFAWING!)

[kelenloth]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Eivor/Randvi (Assassin's Creed) Characters: Eivor (Assassin's Creed), Randvi (Assassin's Creed), Sigurd Styrbjornson, Guthrum, King Aelfred of Wessex Additional Tags: Additional Tags to Be Added, historical fiction - Freeform, graphic depictions of injury, Philosophical ramblings, Nightmares, Fever, historical treaties, discussions of the christian faith, Norse Mythology - Freeform, Ragnarok, the battle of ethandun, are you having fun yet?, not ship-centric, but it's there i promise, Sigurd isn't evil, Neither is Aelfred, Ravensthorpe, musings on the afterlife, Family, Established Relationship, let my poor drengr rest, danelaw, the siege of chippenham Summary:

AD 878. The battle of Ethandun is lost. Guthrum Jarl submits to Aelfred Rex, and Eivor Varinsdottir is caught in the crossfire, in more ways than one. As the treaty is signed and the Danelaw established, life changes forever in Ravensthorpe, but Eivor would rather be here than anywhere else, even Valhalla itself.

This work is inspired by the true story of what happened to Aelfred, Guthrum, and the Danes after the end of the game, and how Eivor must find her place in an ever changing world, especially after Odin has taken one last revenge, marking her forever as his own. Can Eivor stand by her defiance of the gods and live in peace? And as Mercia is split in half, what will it take to remain? Contains graphic depictions of injury and violence, but also a lot of thoughts on love and family.

[camdentown-library]

Hello Esther! I hope you are doing well! I had noticed you had answered an ask about possibly writing for Aelfred from AC valhalla 👀. Hes such a charming lad and i love him so so much but there is z e r o content on him and it kills me. So if you choose to write for him, I've a small request or possible idea to throw your way!

Viking/Drengr!ReaderxAelfred. I know this is a very unlikely pairing in reality but i cant shake the thought of the king of wessex falling for a drengr! What can i say. I enjoy some unlikely pairings! Im unsure if youre open to requests as of now so forgive me. Regardless i wish you the best of days! 💛

Hello anon! i know, right? i mean, there is very little or nothing about Aelfred and I can't understand why. Sure it won't be a prominent antagonist like others from AC, but still it was built quite well (definitely better than aspasia *coughs*)

This request seems like a pretty interesting challenge, but I will gladly do it, my dear! Have a nice day 💛 

- Esther the Librarian

[militant-holy-knight]

Assasins Creed Valhalla "Villain"

>We see the king of one of those Kingdoms, Aelfred, in the new trailer. Who exactly is King Aelfred? >TN: King Aelfred is a very important character in England’s history. When the Vikings started to invade and settle England, all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms fell, one after another. The only one that survived was Wessex, which was the kingdom ruled by Aelfred. It not only survived, but he managed to repel the Viking invasion, and even managed to rebuild modern England. He’s a very important character for us. He doesn't sound like a bad guy from how developers potray him. >defends his homeland >everyone fails and he is left alone >still managed to win and rebuild his land In fact, it sounds more like vikings are the bad guys here.

[wolfkcst-archive1]

Knives Out Sentences -Accepting!! @killerfied​

         ❝You are a long way from home, Aelfred. Perhaps          you should have stayed there if you are so afraid of          coming with me in secret.❞     The dane retorts, arms crossed over chest with her hood pulled up over her head. Eivor didn’t want to attract unwanted attention, but she’s sure she will alongside this King of Wessex.                ❝Make up your mind. I am not a patient person.❞ 

[caernua]

eivor x alfred i have a point i need to make or a point i need to defend depends what happens

catboy of wessex pic provided by no. 1 (now disputed thanks to alli) aelfred simp, autumn mariathorpe!

to be honest, i don’t really ship it, but i live for every scene they’re in, they did a wonderful job in making aelfred interesting and him trying to convert eivor is lowkey really funny and i love that she starts to respect his leadership abilties!!

[english-history-trip]

When I considered all this I remembered how I had seen, before the land had been ravaged and burnt, how its churches stood filled with treasures and books, and with a multitude of His servants, but they had very little knowledge of the books, and could not understand them, for they were not written in their own language. As who should say: ‘Our forefathers who before us held these places, loved wisdom, and through it they obtained wisdom, and left it to us. Here may we still see their footprints, but we cannot follow them up and therefore have we lost both wealth and wisdom, since we would not incline our hearts to their example.’

– King Alfred the Great, in the preface to his English translation of Pope Gregory’s Pastoral Care

Let’s talk Alfred Jewel! 

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford bills this treasure as “perhaps the most significant archaeological artefact discovered in Britain,” and it may well be. It is about the size of a walnut, and is made of intricately crafted gold with an cloisonné enamel inlay, covered over with a single polished rock crystal. Around the edge are the words ‘AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN’, or “Alfred ordered me to be made”, connecting it to the 9th century King of Wessex. 

It was discovered in a field in Somerset in 1693, and has been the subject of much debate over its intended purpose. It was variously thought to be some sort of brooch, pendant, or other ornament, but is now believed to be the handle of an aestel, a pointer to follow the lines of a book without having to touch and sully it. A surviving example of this is the Jewish yad (literally "hand"), still used to read from the handwritten Torah scrolls:

Alfred translated multiple religious texts into English as part of a movement to encourage literacy in a land ravaged by the Danes, in which many Latin-reading priests had been lost. His works are some of the very first examples of written English. He sent copies of these texts out to his bishops, along with aestels to read them. The Alfred Jewel is a physical representation of the king’s commitment to making written wisdom the jewel of his kingdom.