Basim Ibn Ishaq

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"But a man you trust with anything... can take everything."

―Basim recalling Odin's betrayal to Eivor Varinsdottir, c. 875 CE.

Basim Ibn Ishaq
Biographical information
Species	Human (Sage)
Database entries	Basim Ibn Ishaq (Valhalla) Basim Ibn Ishaq (Rebellion)
Political information
Affiliations	Hidden Ones (until 877) Raven Clan (870 - 877) Aletheia (since 2021)

Basim Ibn Ishaq is a Sage, a human reincarnation of the Isu Loki who used Yggdrasil to permit his consciousness to survive to the Great Catastrophe millennia ago.

Born in the Abbasid Caliphate during the 9th century, Basim became a Hidden Ones working primarily in foreign nations on their behalf, even becoming the leader of the Bureau of Constantinople. The fellow Hidden One Hytham became his apprentice and followed him in his travels.

At some point, Basim became aware of his true nature, remembering that Loki's lover, Aletheia, had her consciousness trapped in the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus. He also remembered that their children were imprisoned by the Isu Odin. Basim searched for a way to reunite his family while taking revenge on Odin, who also used Yggdrasil to survive.

In 870, Basim met the Viking Sigurd Styrbjornsson, the Sage of the Isu Týr. Seeing a way to reach his plan, Basim followed the Viking to Norway while also tracking the Order of the Ancients in the region for the Hidden Ones. In Fornburg, Basim became acquainted with Sigurd's foster-sister Eivor Varinsdottir, the Sage of Odin, and gave her a Hidden Blade.

When Sigurd and Eivor settled the colony of Ravensthorpe in England, Basim and Hytham installed a bureau there to rebuild a brotherhood in the island. While his apprentice helped Eivor hunt the Ancients, Basim searched the Saga Stone with Sigurd to awaken his Sage's nature. In 877, Basim confronted Eivor and Sigurd in Yggdrasil's chamber to take his revenge. Though he had the upper hand, Basim was defeated when the Vikings used Yggdrasil to trap him in The Grey.

For almost twelve centuries, Basim used Yggdrasil's functions to find a way to escape from the Grey. In 2020, he contacted the Assassin Layla Hassan who was the wielder of the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus. Basim guided her to Yggdrasil and tricked her into freeing him. He used the power of the Staff to regenerate his body, and was reunited with Aletheia. After offering his help to the Assassins, Basim used their Animus to explore Eivor's genetic memories, hoping to find proof his children survived the Great Catastrophe.

Biography

Early life

Basim was born in the Abbasid Caliphate as the son of an architect, who was responsible for the construction of the Great Mosque of Samarra but was exiled and died in poverty after someone else took credit for his work. Growing up in Baghdad, Basim was a a frequent visitor of Baghdad's House of Wisdom; during one such visit, he met the renowned astronomer al-Khwarizmi, whom he described as kind and openhearted, and left him a lasting impression.

Basim was also the inheritor of the memories of the Isu Loki, who had seeded his genetic code into humanity's gene pool to circumvent the Great Catastrophe that would destroy the First Civilization and be reunited with his lover Aletheia, whose consciousness was preserved within the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus.

At a young age, Basim joined the Hidden Ones and eventually trained to become a Master Assassin. Years later, Loki's consciousness began manifesting in him, causing him to suffer from episodes of mania before Loki's consciousness was fully reborn in Basim. This led to Basim to becoming fixated on finding other Sages, resulting in him being described by his allies as a person of danger and intrigue.

Acitivities in North Europe and encounter with Sigurd

By 870, Basim was dispatched to combat against the Order of the Ancients in Northern Europe, with the acolyte Hytham assigned by Mentor Rayhan as his apprentice. During this period, they were stationed in the Byzantine capital of Constantinople with Basim serving as the bureau leader. ^{[citation needed]}

Basim learning of Ammon's failure

During his tenure, Basim traveled to Antioch with Hytham to fight the Snake-Eaters, a new faction of the Order of the Ancients taking control of the city. However, the Antioch Bureau was decimated by this conflict and Basim sent letters to his brothers asking for reinforcements. His old friend Mahaut from Francia sent two of her acolytes, Matthias and Oisel, while the Alexandrian bureau sent four Hidden Ones led by Jessamyn. Eventually, Basim and the Hidden Ones successfully drove the Snake-Eaters away from Antioch. As he had matters to attend back in Constantinople, Basim left with his apprentice and sent the six other Assassins after the Snake-Eaters' leadership on the Silk Road.

Later on, a fellow Hidden One informed him of Ammon's mission in Bulgar and his death. Disappointed in his acolyte's death, his interest was piqued when the Hidden One told Basim of a Norseman with a mark on his neck. He then set out to meet the Norse, learning of his identity as Sigurd Styrbjornsson as the son of a jarl in Norway. Both Basim and Hytham befriended Sigurd, and agreed to join him in his return to Norway.

Settlement in England

Basim and Hytham introduced to Sigurd's family, Eivor and Randvi

Two years later, Basim and Hytham arrived in Fornburg with Sigurd, where they were introduced to Sigurd's wife Randvi and his adopted sister Eivor. Later at night during a feast held to commemorate Sigurd's return, Basim and Hytham were present as Sigurd presented Ammon's Hidden Blade to Eivor as a gift. While Hytham opposed this, Basim stepped in and allowed Eivor to wield the weapon. Despite Basim's attempt to reason, Eivor insisted to wear and display the Hidden Blade openly on the outside. The group then stepped out of the longhouse onto a training ground to train Eivor in the use of the weapon. Along the way, Basim provided more introduction of the Hidden Ones' creed and values to Eivor. At the training ground, Basim taught Eivor the various ways of assassinating a target with a Hidden Blade which she tested on the straw dummies. Afterwards, Basim and Hytham left Eivor by herself such that she could continue to train and speak with her brother.

While in Norway, he was present to watch certain members of Raven Clan decide to move to England and escape the rule of Harald Fairhair under a unified Norway. In time, he indirectly told Eivor of a greater conspiracy by a hidden enemy to control the Norse as well as all of England.

Imprisonment

In 877, Eivor and Sigurd traveled to a fjord in the north of Hordafylke. There they found an ancient Isu ruin containing Yggdrasil, an Animus-like supercomputer. Consumed by Loki's memories, Basim attacked them. Eivor, herself the reincarnation of Odin, won the fight and Basim was trapped within the device.

Awakening

Basim meeting Layla within the simulation

By 2020, as the Earth's magnetic field began to strengthen beyond normal, Basim managed to send an audio message to the present-day Assassins, directing them to Eivor's remains in New England. Through use of the Animus, Layla Hassan synchronized with Eivor's memories and discovered the location of Yggdrasil. Venturing in with the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus for protection against the lethal radiation in the chamber, she discovered Basim's body still connected to the machine. She connected to the device and discovered that Basim's consciousness had been retained inside the shared simulation. Layla sacrificed her corporeal form to enter the Grey with The Reader but Basim was freed and managed to grasp the Staff to rejuvenate his body. Communicating with Aletheia's consciousness within the Staff, he confirmed that the Odin was long dead and that Layla had fulfilled her purpose.

Basim meeting Shaun and Rebecca, requesting to meet Miles face-to-face

Traveling to Layla's safehouse, Basim met with Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings, members of Layla's Assassin cell in New England, where Eivor had been buried. After enduring the couple's anger at Layla's fate, he then remarked how his brotherhood of the Hidden Ones had renamed themselves as the Assassins, and requested a face-to-face meeting with their Mentor, William Miles, to discuss action against the Templars, the successors to the Order of the Ancients. After the couple had departed the cabin, Basim visited Eivor's grave, remarking how he managed to outlive his adversary before accessing the Animus to take advantage of the Bleeding Effect in the hopes of finding his missing children.

After a prolonged time in the Animus, Eivor appeared to Basim sitting by the fire as a Bleeding Effect-induced apparition, where she smiled and nodded at him, a gesture he returned.

Personality and characteristics

Little is known about Basim prior to him fully transforming into a reincarnation of Loki. Even before he became a proper Sage of Loki, he still had all of Loki's inner desires. He shared in Loki's deep commitment to the pursuit of scholarly activities and hungered for uncovering more knowledge and wisdom. During his time being trapped inside Yggdrasil, he spent his time studying the calculations over and over again to determine the best paths to take for his next plots. By the time of the 21st century, his repeated studies of calculations and Loki's memories had made him capable of understanding how to modern human societies functioned and how their equipment functioned, particularly the Animus.

Like his original predecessor, Basim valued loyalty and kindness towards his kin. He was loyal to Sigurd's clan, despite knowing his true status, and showed them his kindness and loyalty throughout their time together in England. He only became antagonistic towards the Raven Clan after realizing that Eivor is actually Odin's reincarnation. Basim even displayed a vengeful and determined side which he inherited from Loki. Upon discovering Eivor's true status, he goes into a manic state, rambling on about his family's pain caused by Eivor, much to Eivor's confusion. He fought with great ferocity and tried to play every dirty trick to gain the upper hand on her.

Basim wore the standard attire of the Hidden Ones in the Middle East of that time. His red sash signified his rank as a master assassin. Even his weaponry, combat stances and prowess as well as his personal sword was a mirror image of the same equipment and combat skills possessed by his original self, Loki, back in the Isu era. Upon emerging from Yggdrasil in the 21st century, Basim wore a grey hoodie, a black t-shirt with a wolf and moon design on the front, brown cargo pants and brown shoes with red laces.

Behind the scenes

Basim Ibn Ishaq is a character that appears in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. He is voiced by Canadian actor Carlo Rota. He also makes an appearance in the third issue of the comic mini-series Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory.

Basim's robes can be obtained for for free from Ubisoft Connect as an outfit for Eivor to wear in-game. While wearing the outfit, Eivor's Hidden Blade is repositioned under her forearm as opposed to on top of it. As a result of this, she will have her left hand open as opposed to clenching it into a fist when assassinating enemies with the Hidden Blade. The repositioned Hidden Blade however, can result in some animation errors in which the blade would clip through Eivor's hand while extended during certain attack animations and cutscenes.

Etymology

Basim is an Arabic name meaning "one who smiles", derived from بَسَمَ (basama) meaning "to smile". His nasab ibn Ishaq means "son of Ishaq" with Ishaq, the Arabic form of Isaac, meaning "laughing".

• His nasab could be a reference to Hunayn ibn Ishaq, an Arab scholar living in Baghdad during the 9th century CE.

Gallery

Concept model of Basim in Rebellion

Promotional art of Basim

Promotional art of Basim

Database image of Basim

Basim as he appears in Rebellion

Basim's avatar in Rebellion's character menu

Basim as he appears in Song of Glory

Basim reawakening with the Staff in 2020

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Song of Glory
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road
• Discovery Tour: Viking Age
• Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? (non-canonical appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Forgotten Myths