Lunar reflections, Picts and a funeral. Night photography in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

The theme of the weekly community contest is one of my favorites, because being about night photos, I can take full advantage of the ambient lighting of the game Assassin's Creed Valhalla to hunt the moon and its reflections. As I previously participated in this topic with photos of the forest, now I'm about to move to a different terrain.

Today I'll show you my best night captures, while I'll advance a bit in the game's story. As you can see, I am currently in a mostly snowy region, which is called Nottingham and yes, it is the same as you can imagine.

Here the sky is mostly cloudy at night, but when it clears it gives us a spectacle of lights reflecting on the snow, while the whole environment becomes pale and sad. In my case, I only had one moonlight opportunity and I used it with the raven. So, to wait for the sky to clear, I focused on eliminating a Pictish settlement in the middle of the night.

Below you'll see some images that show explicit violence and, although I'm not one to share this kind of screenshots, I dare say that you've never seen a man kicking another man in the balls under the moonlight 😅. And we can't underestimate either that the game's head-splitting effect is very well achieved. Look at the contrast it creates with the moon in the background.

Once the Pictish camp was liberated, I went through it to look for treasures and I found this peculiar statue, which had become an altar of worship. And when I was about to leave the place, I meet Vili, a companion and childhood friend of Eivor. This Viking invites me to know a hidden place behind some waterfalls.

I followed it at full speed and along the way I came across a small hunters' camp next to a small ravine. When I saw that campfire with tripod, I knew right away that I could get a beautiful capture and, well, this is it.

Further on I also found an allied settlement, burned by the Picts. I noticed the contrast of the color of the moon with the fire. It was a beautiful detail, although the destruction that remained after the flames were extinguished was not.

When we finally arrived at the falls, I discovered that their secret hideout was really more of a bachelor's hideout, which in itself had nothing wrong with it, except for the beautiful view. There, Vili told Eivor that he really wanted to inherit his father's position, as he wanted to have adventures. As fate would have it, a messenger appeared informing that Vili's father was very ill and might die.

Faced with such news, I had to travel to the Vili clan settlement in a hurry, but making a few stops to take pictures in the dark. At every step I found a new pose, a new angle or even a different moon position. I said it at the beginning, but the ambient lighting in this game is breathtaking.

Upon arriving at the settlement, I found Vili's father in his bed, who, with his last words, left me in charge of choosing the next Jarl. To make this decision, I went to the seer's hut to help me make my decision. And in itself, this is the only capture I have of an inner place at night.

The seer suggested that I climb to the top of the mountain by the path of the spirits and reflect on the decision I had to make and its repercussions. Heeding her words, I walked the path to the top and, after much meditation, I made my decision, but it will be postponed for another time, as right now the priority is to return to the settlement to attend the funeral of the late Jarl.

I hope you liked this way of telling the story of the journey I made to bring you these night captures. Without further ado, I bid you farewell until next time.