Assassin’s Creed is an action-adventure stealth video game franchise created by Patrice DÊsilets, Jade Raymond and Corey May, developed and published by Ubisoft using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. It depicts a centuries-old struggle, now and then, between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The series features historical fiction, science fiction and characters, intertwined with real-world historical events and figures. For the majority of time players would control an Assassin in the past history, while they also play as Desmond Miles or an Assassin Initiate in the present day, who hunt down their Templar targets.
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Contents The Assassin’s Creed
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Memory of Altaïr
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Synopsis.................................................................................................................... 4 Desmond Miles......................................................................................................5 Pieces of Eden........................................................................................................5 Animus .......................................................................................................................5 Code of an assassin........................................................................................... 6 The Bleeding Effect.......................................................................................... 8 Escape from Abstergo...................................................................................... 9
Memory of Ezio
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The Assassin’s Brotherhood
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The Revelation
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Memory of the Kenways
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Vengeance..............................................................................................................10 Strange Memory................................................................................................12 Infiltrate the Vatican City........................................................................13 On the move.........................................................................................................14 Siege of Monteriggioni................................................................................ 15 Return to the Sanctuary.............................................................................16 Building a Brotherhood............................................................................. 17 The Borgia.............................................................................................................18 The Siege of Viana ............................................................................................19 Recovering the Apple..................................................................................... 20 The Assassins’ Vault..........................................................................................21 The Assassins’ Vault..........................................................................................21
The Animus Island........................................................................................... 22 Search for the Past......................................................................................... 23 Set sail to Cappadocia................................................................................... 24 Altaïr’s keys........................................................................................................... 25 Prince Ahmet’s Encounter......................................................................... 26 Niccolò Polo’s Codex.................................................................................... 26 Enzo’s Message.................................................................................................... 28 Final Revelation............................................................................................... 29 Haytham Kenway.............................................................................................. 30 Connorw Kenway............................................................................................. 31 Way of an Assassin........................................................................................... 32 Not the only one............................................................................................ 34 Last Fight, New Beginning......................................................................... 34
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The Assassin’s Creed Synopsis The story of the Assassin’s Creed primarily revolve around the rivalry between two ancient secret societies — the Assassins and the Knights Templar — and their indirect relation to an ancient species pre-dating humanity, referred to as “those who came before”, whose society, along with much of Earth’s biosphere, was destroyed by a massive solar storm thousands of years. The Abstergo Industries is a mega-corporation conglomerate with multiple branches, secretly run by modern Knights Templar. Abstergo is seeking to discover the location of several historical artifacts, known as the “Pieces of Eden”. Abstergo seeks to use them to remove free will and bring humanity into one single unified group, while the Assassins oppose them. In order to find the Pieces of Eden, Abstergo is abducting people whose ancestors are suspected to have had historically confirmed or suspected interactions with such devices, forcing the kidnapped person into the Animus and searching for clues on their ancestors’ memories within the Animus.
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Desmond Miles Desmond Miles, a bartender, is kidnapped by the company Abstergo Industries for use as a test subject in the “Animus,” a device that can simulate genetic memory. Abstergo intends to put Desmond in the device to recall the memories of his ancestor, Altaïr IbnLa’Ahad, a member of the Assassin Brotherhood in the year 1191, who lived during the Third Crusade in the Holy Land. Initially, Desmond has trouble entering Altaïr’s memory, but eventually relives Altaïr’s exploits over the next several days. On this, Lucy Stillman and Warren Vidic’s argued over Desmond’s safety within the Animus. After experiencing a few problems, Desmond enters the closest synchronizable memory of Altaïr; Lucy adds that Desmond has to relive key moments of Altaïr’s life to increase his synchronization, before reaching the final memory which holds the information that Abstergo is seeking..
Pieces of Eden A sophisticated devices crafted by the Isu in order to react with the network of neurotransmitters implanted in humans’ brains. They hold great power, and are capable of controlling free will.
Animus The Animus is a device that allows its users to “re-live” and experience the memories of their genetic ancestors within their bloodline through a virtual simulation. Overexposure to the animus causes the “bleeding effect”, which results in giving the user skills and abilities of his ancestors, but also damage user’s mind.
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Memory of Altaïr Code of an assassin The memory first shown Altaïr attempting to retrieve one of the “Pieces of Eden” from Solomon’s Temple with the help of Malik Al-Sayf, and his brother Kadar, but they are stopped by Robert de Sablé, Grand Master of the Knights Templar and sworn enemy of the Assassins. While retrieving the treasure, Altaïr breaks all three tenets of the Assassins’ Creed in an attempt to kill Robert, but he ultimately fails. In the following commotion, Malik’s brother is killed, and Malik’s left arm is crippled and later amputated. When Altaïr returns to the Assassins’ stronghold at Masyaf with apologies, Malik, who survived de Sablé, comes back with the artifact and disparages Altaïr because of his arrogance.
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After narrowly defeating a retaliatory attack by the Templars, Al Mualim, leader of the Assassins, demotes Altaïr to a novice but gives him another chance to rise through the ranks of the Brotherhood. Al Mualim assigns Altaïr the task of assassinating nine key figures across the Holy Land in Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus, aiming to bring peace between the Crusader and Saracen forces. Each target is based on an actual historical figure from the Third Crusade, including Majd Addin, Garnier de Naplouse, Jubair al Hakim, Abu’l Nuqoud, Sibrand, William of Montferrat, and Robert de Sablé. Altaïr completes each task, learning how each target is connected to Robert and the Templars and how together they aim to end the Crusades and place the Holy Land under their own control. With men on both sides killed, he discovers that Robert’s last plot is to attempt to unite the Christian and Muslim forces against their new common enemy, the Assassins themselves. Altaïr defeats de Sablé before Richard the Lionheart, failing to convince the King that an end to the war would be welcome to both sides, but ending Robert’s plot. From de Sablé, Altaïr discovers that
Al Mualim was himself a member of the Templars and used the Assassin to kill the other members who held the secret to the treasure’s power, so that he could selfishly keep the artifact for himself. Altaïr quickly returns to Masyaf and approaches his master, who reveals the truth to him: the Piece of Eden, which he had recovered through the help of Altaïr directly before his transgression, creates illusions. He denounces religion and other seemingly supernatural events (e.g. the Ten Plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the presence of the Greek Gods in the Trojan War) as illusions caused by the Piece, and then states his intention to use the artifact to compel mankind into a brainwashed state, and in doing so, bringing an end to all conflict; Altaïr is eventually able to see through the deceptions created by the artifact to kill Al Mualim. When Altaïr recovers the artifact, the Piece of Eden activates, showing a holographic view Al Mualim of the world with numerous locations of other Pieces of Eden marked across the globe.
Richard the Lionheart
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The Bleeding Effect When the process is complete, Desmond learns that Abstergo is a modern-day front of the Templars, and they are already seeking other artifacts at locations identified in Altaïr’s memories. Further, he learns that the modern-day Assassins had tried to rescue him before the memory had completed but had failed. Following this, Desmond was to be killed after an order from a highranking Templar, Alan Rikkin, but Lucy Stillman saves him from death and, at one point, tucks her ring finger into her palm, referring to the Assassins’ tradition of cutting off the finger. Though Desmond remains trapped in the Abstergo laboratory, his experience in the Animus has created a Bleeding Effect
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of Altaïr’s life in his own, allowing Desmond to use Altaïr’s Eagle Vision, which, in turn, allows him to see strange messages painted on the walls of his room and the floor of the lab. The messages all deal with various forms of the end of the world from different cultures, including several references to 21 December 2012, the date that Abstergo plans to launch a satellite that will “permanently end the war.” It is hinted that this method would be by the same method that Al Mualim hypnotized Masyaf, only on a larger scale. Finally, the story of Altaïr ends with Desmond wondering what the images all mean and who could have drawn them. Lucy Stillman
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Escape from Abstergo Few hours after experiencing the memories of Altaïr. Desmond Miles touches upon how he was held prisoner by the modern-day Knights Templar, Abstergo Industries, and was being forced to relive the genetic memories of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, in order to aid Abstergo in discovering the location of artifacts known collectively as the “Pieces of Eden”. Due to the “Bleeding Effect”, Desmond has gained “Eagle Vision”, enabling him to see a variety of messages and symbols written in blood on his bedroom wall by its former occupant, known only as “Subject 16”. While staring at the message, former employee and researcher of Abstergo, Lucy Stillman, arrives, covered in blood, and frees Desmond from the room. He then re-enters the Animus briefly and watches the birth of Ezio
Auditore da Firenze, as she makes a copy of the files located within the machine. The two then escape after a brief scuffle with the company’s security guards and arrive at a warehouse in which Lucy and two other modern-day Assassins, Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, have set up their own base of operations, complete with their own version of an Animus. Desmond is asked by Lucy to enter their version of the Animus and relive the genetic memory of his ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, in order to continue the search for the remaining Pieces of Eden before Abstergo locates them. Due to the number in the Assassin Order seriously dwindling, Lucy informs Desmond that she intends to train Desmond in the various skills needed to become an Assassin by exploiting the Bleeding Effect and having Desmond absorb Ezio’s abilities.
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Memory of Ezio Vengeance Ezio Auditore da Firenze, living in Italy during the Renaissance, is approximately 17 when he discovers that his family was betrayed by a close friend of his father’s in the midst of a political coup d’état. Ezio’s father’s final instructions lead him to a hidden room in the family home with a chest containing the clothing and weapons of an Assassin. Ezio is ultimately unable to save his two brothers and father from the betrayer and all three are falsely convicted of treason and hanged. After evacuating their home and sharing a brief accommodation with the family’s housemaid’s sister, who teaches Ezio some survival techniques, he brings his panicked sister and muted mother to the family’s countryside villa, where they are given shelter by Ezio’s uncle Mario, who begins training Ezio to become an Assassin. Mario also provides information and leads on the conspirators involved in his family’s betrayal, which becomes a trail stretching from Florence to San Gimignano, Forlì, Venice, and eventually the Vatican.
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During his travels, Ezio befriends several citizens of Italy who aid him in his pursuit for revenge, including a young Leonardo da Vinci, who translates and decodes pages of Altaïr’s Codex, enabling Ezio to gain new weapons and assassination skills. Ezio begins slowly locating and assassinating the conspirators involved, and is ultimately able to identify Rodrigo Borgia as the Grand Master of the Italian Templars, whose main goal is to take control of all of Italy. Ezio tracks Rodrigo to Venice and discovers that he has obtained a Piece of Eden known as “the Apple”, an artifact similar to the one that Altaïr possessed almost three centuries prior. Rodrigo has been researching the knowledge surrounding the Pieces of Eden extensively and believes himself to be a prophet named in the documentation of the artifacts, which would ultimately lead him and other Templars to a location known as “The Vault”, which is believed to contain powerful information and more Pieces of Eden.
Ezio and Rodrigo duel and when Ezio gains the upper hand, guards appear and begin to move the fight into the favor of Rodrigo. The allies that Ezio has made over the years arrive shortly after and they defeat Rodrigo, who flees for fear of his life, leaving the Apple behind. These allies and friends of Ezio finally reveal their common trait – that they are all members of the Assassins, including the great Niccolò Machiavelli. They induct Ezio into the Order, informing him that they believe him to be the actual prophet who will lead the Assassins, not the Templars, to the Vault.
Rodrigo Borgia
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Strange Memory Desmond takes short breaks from the Animus. During this break, Desmond suffers a strange hallucination which returns him to the body of Altaïr in Acre. During the memory, Altaïr makes love to Maria Thorpe, an ex-Templar, and Desmond is confused to find that after Altaïr leaves, the memory stays behind with Maria. Throughout the genetic memories as Ezio, Desmond discovers multiple glyphs placed on various landmarks that are only visible to someone using the Animus. The glyphs are found to be the same ones drawn on Desmond’s bedroom wall in Abstergo, and analysis reveals that they contain computer code, hidden within the Animus. It is ultimately discovered that Subject 16 hacked the Animus and placed the glyphs within the memories himself, which were carried over to the new Animus when Lucy loaded the information she had recovered at Abstergo. Each glyph contained a great number of historical artworks, photographs,
and messages, past and present, implicating a great number of prominent events and figures with the Templars and Pieces of Eden. Each also contained a puzzle of some sort which, when solved, contained clips of a larger video. The clips, however, are short and out of sequence. After locating and solving all twenty glyphs, a video is revealed. The video begins with the Abstergo logo shown above the title, “Subject 16, Session 12, Classified Date B.C.E.” The video follows a man and woman, who call each other by the names of “Adam” and “Eve”, running through a strangely modern and futuristic world, apparently being chased by someone or something. They pass through a complex where workers are busy building more Pieces of Eden and climb to the roof. Eve holds up the Apple and the video suddenly ends with a flash of binary code that translates to “Eden”.
Humans being controlled with an Apple of Eden in the Truth Memory
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Ezio Infiltrate the Vatican City to face Rodrigo Borgia
Infiltrate the Vatican City Desmond returns to the Animus and the team finds that many of the following memories are corrupted. They are able to begin again but only years after the fight between the Assassins and Rodrigo. The memories restart in 1499 and the team discovers that the latter gained influence and power in the Catholic Church, ultimately being elected Pope as Alexander VI. Ezio and his allies have searched long and hard and collected all thirty pages of the Codex, discovering through it that the Vault lies in Rome, specifically underneath the Vatican. They realize that the Papal Staff is another Piece of Eden and Rodrigo is hoping to use it to achieve access to the Vault. Ezio travels to the Vatican and attempts to assassinate Rodrigo, who uses the Staff against Ezio, who retaliates with the Apple. During the ensuing battle, Ezio is stabbed and Rodrigo escapes with both Pieces of Eden. Ezio then chases after him and finds Rodrigo trying to open the Vault in vain. The two fight once more and Rodrigo finally falls. However, Ezio refuses to kill him, insisting he has killed enough in his life and the continued deaths will not reverse the fate of his family.
Ezio proves himself to be the Prophet when in his hands, the Apple and Staff open the Vault. Inside the Vault, he finds not Pieces of Eden but an empty room and a holographic figure named Minerva. She claims that she brought Ezio to her so that almost six hundred years later, Desmond and his allies would hear her words through the Animus. Minerva explains that she and her race were part of an advanced society that settled on Earth before a celestial event destroyed most of the life on Earth. Before the disaster that befell them, the members of her species created humans and used them as a race for workforce. However, humanity rebelled against their creators and initiated a longspanning war. Ultimately, the humans seemingly won, but then the catastrophe occurred, wiping out many humans and the precursor race. Of those remaining, the two species worked to recreate the world, before the advanced race sealed themselves in temples around the world, hoping to prevent the same disaster that had destroyed most of their kind from happening once again. As Minerva finishes, she speaks to Desmond by name and informs him that she has done all she needs to and that the rest remains up to him and his allies.
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On the move The memory ends and Desmond awakens in the present to find that Abstergo has located and begun attacking the Assassins as Shaun and Rebecca pull him out of the Animus. Desmond is given a Hidden Blade by Lucy and the two run downstairs to stop the guards as Shaun and Rebecca pack up their equipment. With the skills he absorbed from Ezio, Desmond is able to dispatch the forces that have been sent against them and he discovers Warren Vidic standing in the back of a truck. He sarcastically tells Desmond to enjoy his temporary victory and the truck drives away. From there, Shaun and Rebecca finish gathering the equipment and Lucy assures Desmond that Vidic will get what he deserves. The group vacates the hideout and attempts to find a new safehouse, where, according to Lucy, they should be safe for some time. As they drive, Lucy prepares to review the tapes of Desmond’s latest session, noting how the situation has escalated dramatically and how Minerva’s words proved everything she was afraid of. She theorizes that Minerva was discussing the Earth’s geomagnetic reversal, which could have detrimental effects on the planet. Rebecca prepares the Animus for Desmond to re-enter as Lucy speculates there may be more to discover in his memories. Using the Animus 2.0, Desmond Miles attempted to relive one of the later memories of his ancestor, Ezio Auditore, hoping that it would reveal the location of his Apple of Eden, which could allow them to prevent the foretold disaster. However, instead of entering the memory set in 1506, he was forced into a different one, occurring during a battle in Viana. From there, as Ezio looked upon the besieged Viana Castle, he recalled the similar events of the Siege of Monteriggioni, subsequently forcing Desmond back further, into a memory from 1499.
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Siege of Monteriggioni As Ezio left the Vault beneath the Vatican after listening to Minerva’s message, he discovered that Rodrigo Borgia was gone. Noticing too that the Staff had been left behind, he attempted to extract it from where it had been impaled into the floor; however, it descended and was sealed away. Mario Auditore then called down to him from the entrance, and he and Ezio fought their way out of the Vatican. Ezio, unable to decide whether or not to cast the Apple into the Tiber River, gave it to Mario for safe keeping. The two then rode back to Monteriggioni on horseback. However, Ezio soon learned that the Templar threat had diminished little, when Cesare Borgia, son of Rodrigo Borgia, laid siege to Monteriggioni. Cesare’s army of soldiers, towers, and cannons attacked in full force, destroying much of the city and villa. The attack ended with Monteriggioni in ruins, Ezio wounded badly by arquebusiers, and Mario killed by Cesare himself. Though Ezio attempted to follow his uncle’s murderer on horseback, he passed out on the road to Rome from his injuries.
Cesare Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia
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The Assassin’s Brotherhood
Return to the Sanctuary Desmond, Lucy, Shaun and Rebecca then headed for the Villa, seeking the safety of the underground Sanctuary, which would keep them hidden from Abstergo’s cell towers. However, as the door was locked, Desmond and Lucy left to discover another way in. After making their way through the secret passage that Ezio and the citizens had used to flee the Borgia attack, they opened the way for Shaun and Rebecca. Inside the Sanctuary, Desmond saw an aged Ezio due to the bleeding effect, and deduced that he must have returned to the villa many years after the attack, though for an unknown purpose. He also found a symbol that Ezio had drawn on the wall and, using Eagle Vision, saw a series of numbers hidden underneath. The four of them then set up the Animus 2.0, and Desmond returned to Ezio’s memories, with Lucy believing that improving his synchronization with Ezio would allow Desmond to access the memory revealing the location of the Apple.
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Building a Brotherhood Ezio regained consciousness in a small house in Rome, where the woman who had been tending to him told him that a man had brought him there and had supplied him with new armor and clothing. After leaving the house and receiving medicine from a doctor, Ezio left to meet with Niccolò Machiavelli. Through Machiavelli, he discovered that Rome was in disrepair, and that the citizens were being oppressed by the Borgia. Later, he would also stumble across the Followers of Romulus, and explore one of their lairs, Nero’s Golden Palace. Basing himself on Tiber Island in the center of the city, Ezio began his mission to rid the city of the influence of Cesare and his generals. To do so, Ezio reestablished relationships between his Assassins Guild and the other guilds in the city, namely that of the Courtesans (led by madonna Solari, and later Claudia Auditore), the Thieves (led by La Volpe) and the Mercenaries (led by Bartolomeo d’Alviano). Ezio then began to rebuild the Brotherhood by recruiting Apprentices, who were made up of both distressed citizens who wished to liberate their city, and young novice Assassins, such as Francesco Vecellio. After the recruits had completed their training, he placed them in teams and sent them on missions across Europe.
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The Borgia Ezio then began to break down the Borgia influence in Rome by destroying several Borgia towers and their captains. He also sabotaged Cesare’s forces by striking at their arsenal, their military funding, and their support from the French forces. To do so, he destroyed the war machines of Leonardo da Vinci, and assassinated two of Cesare’s key generals, his Banker, Juan Borgia, and the French general, Octavian de Valois. Afterwards, he was informed that Pietro Rossi, an actor and Lucrezia Borgia’s plaything, possessed a key to the Castel Sant’Angelo. Knowing that he would need it in order to assassinate Cesare and Rodrigo successfully, Ezio tailed after Micheletto Corella, Cesare’s personal assassin, who had been sent to kill Pietro. After Ezio had rescued him, both from being stabbed with a spear during his play, and from the ailments of poison, Pietro handed the Assassin the key to the Castello. Upon completion of these tasks, Ezio inducted Claudia into the Assassin Order, and was also elected by Machiavelli to be the new Mentor of the Italian Assassins.
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The Siege of Viana Soon afterwards, Ezio infiltrated the Castel, where he witnessed the murder of Rodrigo by his son, Cesare. Cesare forced the location of the Apple of Eden from Lucrezia, and hurried to retrieve it from Basilica di San Pietro. However, Ezio successfully reached the Apple before Cesare, and subsequently used it to demilitarize the remnants of Cesare’s army. In one last battle, Ezio and his fellow Assassins fought Cesare and his surviving men at the gates of Rome. Cesare was arrested by Fabio Orsini by the order of the new Pope, though not before commenting that he would not be in chains for long and that he would never be killed by any man. Sometime later, Ezio, troubled by Cesare’s comments, discussed them with Leonardo, who suggested using the Apple to find out if what he said was true. Ezio was hesitant, but decided to take his advice, and discovered that Cesare would indeed free himself from prison. Ezio declared that he needed to leave at once, reassuring Leonardo’s concerns for the Assassin Guild he was leaving behind by saying, “I built this Brotherhood to last, with or without me.” In 1507, Ezio finally tracked Cesare down at the Siege of Viana, Spain. Ezio fought through the infantry, and finally managed to corner Cesare on the castle wall. There, in a climactic battle, Ezio managed to destroy Cesare’s armor and ultimately defeat him. Though Cesare insisted that he would not die in the hands of man, Ezio then left him to the “hands of fate,” and threw him from the battlements to his death. Afterwards, Ezio took the Apple of Eden into a Vault under the Santa Maria Aracoeli, within the Temple of Juno.
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Recovering the Apple Desmond emerged from the Animus shortly after reliving this memory, listening to his teammates deducing a way to get into the Vault. Just as Rebecca mentioned that they needed a spoken password to enter it, a blackout occurred, cutting them off from using the Animus to find out. However, Desmond realized that the symbol he had seen on the door of the Vault was the same one he had seen drawn on the villa wall. Shaun discovered that the sequence of numbers hidden behind the symbol referred to the seventy-two names of God, setting the password to be 72. The Assassins then drove to the Colosseo in Rome, and Desmond separated from the others to find a way into the Vault. As he traveled the underground passageway, he encountered another of Those Who Came Before, Juno, who spoke at length of the downfall of humankind. Arriving inside the Santa Maria Aracoeli, Desmond unlocked the door for his teammates and, shortly afterwards, witnessed a memory of Ezio free-running through the church. He followed him and activated a system of bars and levers, finally causing a small pedestal to emerge from the floor. Placing his hand on it, Desmond activated the floor, lowering the four of them down to the door of the Vault. Desmond spoke the password, and the door opened to reveal a large empty chamber, with a tall platform raised in the middle, upon which the Apple awaited. Desmond activated the staircase up to it by jumping across a series of pillars; while Juno’s voice echoed through the cavern as she spoke cryptically of humans, the Pieces of Eden and a “sixth sense.� However, Desmond was apparently the only one who could hear her.
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The Assassins’ Vault Once the Assassins had access to the platform, Desmond touched the Apple, and a series of holographic symbols appeared. Shaun mentioned that two of the most distinct ones, the Phrygian Cap and the Masonic Eye, only came together in one place; however, when Desmond picked up the Apple, time seemed to stop and he found himself controlled by Juno. Though he struggled, she forced him to draw his Hidden Blade and stab Lucy in the abdomen. The two then fell to the ground unconscious, with blood pooling around Lucy. Later, William Miles and Harlan T. Cunningham could be heard speaking, saying that Desmond had gone into shock. William ordered Harlan to put Desmond back into the Animus, despite Harlan’s protests on how badly the Animus had affected Desmond already. Desmond had entered a coma, though William claimed that Desmond would live through it.
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The Revelation The Animus Island After the events in the Colosseum Vault which resulted in Lucy Stillman’s death, Desmond Miles entered a comatose state and awoke in the Animus’ Black Room, following being placed back in the machine by his father, William Miles, and Harlan T. Cunningham. While Shaun Hastings stayed behind in Rome to attend Lucy’s funeral, William and Rebecca Crane monitored Desmond’s condition while they headed for the city of New York. Within the Black Room, Desmond met the virtual construct of Abstergo’s sixteenth test subject, Clay Kaczmarek, who explained that in order for Desmond to regain his consciousness, he must relive the remaining memories of his ancestor – Ezio Auditore da Firenze – until a Synch Nexus triggered. Entering a digital portal within the Black Room, Desmond began reliving the later life of Ezio, who was now in his early 50s and on his way to Masyaf.
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Search for the Past In March of 1511, Ezio traveled to Masyaf after he discovered a letter by his late father regarding the secret library of the Assassin Mentor Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad – that was rumored to contain his invaluable knowledge – hidden beneath the old Assassin fortress. There, he was greeted by a battalion of Templars led by Leandros, whose forces managed to overwhelm Ezio in a fight; in the midst of his execution, Ezio escaped and made his way back into the fortress. He later found the entrance to the library, but learned that it needed special keys in order for it to be unlocked. The hired worker that was present in the antechamber to the library mentioned to Ezio that the Templars found one of the keys beneath the Ottoman Sultan’s palace, while speculating that the book held by Leandros would lead them to the others. With this in mind, Ezio set out of the fortress to take the book from Leandros, and eventually killed the Templar captain at Atlas Village after a long chase. After obtaining the book, Ezio set out for Constantinople, where the rest of the keys were hidden. By May, Ezio had arrived at Constantinople, where he met a young man before docking, and was greeted by the leader of the local guild, Yusuf Tazim, right after his arrival. Yusuf gave Ezio a tour of the city, introducing him to the guild and showing what was left of the Byzantine empire within the city. Ezio also received a Hookblade and was taught how to use it. In return, Ezio later assisted with defending and retaking some of the city’s Assassin Dens from the Templars.
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Set sail to Cappadocia After helping the guild recruit a few new initiates and being taught how to use bombs, Ezio went to the first location of the keys: the old trading post of Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, now a bookshop owned by Sofia Sartor, a woman whom Ezio first saw during his ferry to the city. After an introduction, Ezio found an entrance into the Yerebatan Cistern, where he found the first key along with a tome and an encrypted map that led to rare books which held the location of the other keys. Striking up a mutual agreement, Ezio made a promise with Sofia: if she helped decipher the map, he would let her borrow and print a few copies of the books. In the midst of his search, Ezio helped Yusuf save the Ottoman prince from a planned assassination. Dressed as a minstrel, Ezio managed to stop the assassination, which earned him the favor of the prince; the same young man whom he met on his way to the city, Suleiman I. Following this, Ezio later met with Suleiman in order to learn of the perpetrator behind the attack, whom they suspected was the Janissary captain, Tarik Barleti. Tailing Tarik, Ezio soon found out that the man had dealings with Manuel Palaiologos, the former heir of the Byzantine throne; with this knowledge, Suleiman requested that Ezio assassinate Tarik. However, in his dying moment, Tarik revealed that his forces were to ambush Manuel after gaining his favor. Before dying, Tarik entrusted Ezio to continue his plan, and set sail for Cappadocia.
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Altaïr’s keys In between his tasks for Suleiman, Ezio continually searched for the books with Sofia’s help, all the while gaining her favor and assisting her with some errands. Ezio grew fond of Sofia’s company, but he could not reveal his affiliations or occupation to her, for he feared that it would endanger her. She and Ezio eventually had to part ways for the time being, as Sofia sailed for Adrianopoli; before leaving, Ezio left Sofia to Yusuf’s care during his absence. With each book, he was able to retrieve one of the keys from one of the many secret locations, and with each one, he was able to relive some key moments of Altaïr’s life. The first key showed his heroic efforts in 1190, where Altaïr saved Masyaf from an attack by the traitor Haras. The second key detailed his Mentor Al Mualim’s pyre and Abbas Sofian’s failed rebellion through utilizing an Apple of Eden, which Altaïr later retrieved. The third memory detailed Altaïr’s fall from power in 1228; after defeating Genghis Khan’s army with his son Darim and wife Maria, Altaïr found out that Abbas had usurped command from Altaïr’s appointed proxy Malik Al-Sayf, and that his son Sef was murdered by Swami, Abbas’ right-hand man. Altaïr confronted Abbas and his loyalists, but was overcome with rage and used the Apple for revenge, which ultimately caused the death of both Swami and Maria. In the wake of this incident, Altaïr left Masyaf with Darim before Abbas could apprehend them. The fourth key showed Altaïr’s return to power in 1247, with the help of several Assassins who grew tired of Abbas’ rule; he achieved this through Abbas’ death at his hands, where Altaïr used his newly crafted Hidden Gun. All the while reliving Ezio’s last memories, Desmond had several encounters with Clay in the Animus Island, also overhearing conversations between his father, Rebecca, and Shaun. Desmond also relived his own memories in a very different simulation, wherein he reached the core of the Animus. There, a recollection of his life was told; Desmond grew up in a small community called “The Farm,” but soon fled due to his parents’ strict rule. There he drifted from place to place, eventually settling in New York, and found a job as a bartender at a venue named Bad Weather. His recollection lasted up until his capture by Abstergo, and his time in their facility.
The Masyaf Keys, also referred to as the seals or keys of Altaïr, were a collection of five Isu Memory Seals containing information and memories from the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins, Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad.
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Prince Ahmet’s Encounter Ezio arrived at Cappadocia by March 1512 with Piri Reis, after destroying Constantinople’s Great Chain. There, he met with Tarik’s informant Dilara at the city of Derinkuyu. Dilara was eventually captured after she and Ezio parted ways, and was being held by Shahkulu, Palaiologos’ partner. With haste, Ezio rescued Dilara, though she departed to save what was left of her men from Shahkulu. In the city, they learned that Shahkulu planned to beat one of Dilara’s men, Janos, to death; Ezio stopped the public beating and killed Shahkulu after a tough fight. Afterwards, Ezio planned to burn the fake artillery given to Manuel by Tarik, which will cause the artillery’s authentic gunpowder to explode. Ezio was successful in infiltrating the city’s armory, and managed to cause an explosion that ensued enough chaos to draw out Manuel Palaiologos. The Assassin then managed to corner
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Manuel after a long chase, and killed him before he could escape by the city’s inner harbor. As a result, Ezio managed to obtain the last key from Manuel. Just then, Ezio saw Prince Ahmet – uncle of Suleiman and whom Ezio had encountered on several occasions – on a ship with the Byzantines. Ahmet revealed his true role as the Byzantine Templars’ leader. There, he threatened Ezio into handing over the key, and after the Assassin’s refusal, Ahmet threatened to hold Sofia Sartor captive. Despite Ezio’s warnings, Ahmet went ahead and set sail back to Constantinople. Hurriedly, Ezio escaped the burning city and made his way back to his boat, and on the way back, he relived the fifth key’s memory of Altaïr’s life.
Niccolò Polo’s Codex The fifth key revealed Altaïr’s twilight years in 1257; Niccolò and Maffeo Polo were preparing to leave for Constantinople, to establish a guild, after their stay in Masyaf. At the time, the invading Mongols drew near the city. Altaïr gave the brothers his Codex as a parting gift, and escorted them out of the city with Darim, defeating any
Mongol who drew near by using his Apple of Eden. As the brothers left on their horses, Altaïr gave him the keys, which he asked to be hidden from others, so that the one who was meant to know the message could seek it out. Ezio later returned to Constantinople, hurriedly making his way to Sofia’s book shop. There, he found a platoon of Assassins dead, as well as Yusuf, who had a message for Ezio attached to his corpse via a dagger to the back. Filled with rage at the slaughter, Ezio made his way to the Harbor of Theodosius and stormed the area with the guild’s many apprentices. There he found Ahmet, and threatened him for Sofia’s location. However, he only agreed to release her on the condition that Ezio meet him by the Galata Tower with all of the Masyaf keys. As Ahmet left, Suleiman revealed himself to Ezio, who asked him to stop his uncle’s ambitions, without killing him if possible. Ezio later met with Ahmet after appointing a new leader for the Turkish guild. During the meeting, Ahmet had one of his men hold Sofia by the edge of the Galata Tower. Pressured into a decision, Ezio gave the keys to Ahmet and went to Sofia’s rescue. However, the woman was only a
decoy, and the real Sofia was about to be hanged somewhere else. Ezio hurriedly made his way to her, managing to save her in time. As Sofia recovered, Ezio watched as Ahmet’s carriage left the city, before he spurred himself and Sofia onto one of their own to give chase. Fortunately, Ezio managed to catch up to Ahmet by the city’s countryside, eventually causing his carriage to fall, along with Ahmet and himself. As they fought while falling, Ezio utilized his parachute to save himself and Ahmet, managing to land safely. The Assassin then retrieved the keys while contemplating what to do with Ahmet. As he did however, Ahmet’s brother – Selim I – arrived with a platoon of Ottoman guards and Janissaries. Surprised, Ahmet ordered the troops to stand down in the name of the sultan, Bayezid II, though unbeknownst to him, Selim had been named the new Sultan of the Ottoman Empire; Selim then murdered his brother by pushing him off of a nearby cliff. Meeting with Ezio, Selim went on to threaten that Ezio be killed if he returned to Constantinople, sparing him only due to Suleiman’s good word. As tensions grew between the two men, Ezio’s rage was only quelled by Sofia, and as Selim left, so too did Ezio and Sofia, heading for Masyaf.
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Enzo’s Message After returning to Animus Island one last time, Desmond became witness to the Animus’ scheduled deletion, seeing everything dissolve in front of him. Clay, knowing full well what was going on, embraced Desmond one last time and then pushed him back into the digital portal, saving him from being deleted by sacrificing himself. Desmond hesitantly left Clay and the Island, and relived the last of Ezio’s memories. Ezio and Sofia arrived at Masyaf, with Ezio explaining the history of the Assassins and its creed along the way. There, Ezio reflected upon his life and decided to retire after learning the contents of the library, to spend the rest of his time with Sofia. Arriving at the library’s door, Ezio utilized the five keys and managed to solve the puzzle etched into it, before he made his way inside and soon found the library; void of books, except for the seated remains of Altaïr. His corpse held one last key, where his last major memory was imprinted.
Ezio within Altaïr’s library
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By the end of 1257, Altaïr had emptied the fortress and had all of his Assassins dispersed. Meeting with Darim one last time, Altaïr ordered him to leave so that the fortress would be empty when the Mongols returned, him staying within the library along with the Apple. Embracing his son one last time, Altaïr locked himself in the library, and then placed the Apple on a pedestal. The Assassin then sat on one of the chairs, holding his last key and imprinted his memory before dying at the age of 92. After reliving Altaïr’s final memory, Ezio went to inspect the Mentor’s Apple of Eden by the pedestal, though he decided it best for the Piece of Eden to stay where it was, before finally laying down his arms as a sign of his retirement. There, the Apple activated, as Ezio called out to Desmond. The Assassin admitted and accepted his existence as a conduit for a message not meant for him, asking Desmond to make the bloodshed in his life mean something. As an apparition of Desmond appeared, Ezio reached out for him, triggering the Synch Nexus.
Final Revelation Within the Nexus, Desmond met Jupiter. There, the ultimate fate of the First Civilization was revealed: their people had several temples built to study ways on how to save themselves from the coming of a great calamity about to occur. Each temple tried different methods in stopping the event, and had their data subsequently transmitted to the Grand Temple. Despite their efforts, their methods proved to be ineffective, which eventually caused the downfall of their civilization, bringing them to near extinction, as well as humanity. Jupiter then showed the location of the Grand Temple to Desmond, which was in New York. Jupiter, along with Minerva and Juno, entrusted Desmond to stop the coming of the second catastrophe.
After the first phase of Abstergo’s training program, Warren Vidic had Juhani Otso Berg and other recruits enter the second stage of the program. As Berg continued to rise through the ranks, Vidic gave him a glimpse of the life Abstergo had to offer. In return, Berg impressed Vidic, enough to gain access into the Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order. Upon meeting Laetitia England, Berg was injected with a tracking device by Daniel Cross. Later, Berg and other Abstergo agents were informed of the whereabouts of William Miles and subsequently instructed to retrieve him.
Desmond meet Juno & Jupiter
After hearing the words of Jupiter, Desmond awoke from his coma, and was greeted by his father, Rebecca, and Shaun. As he stood up, Desmond assured the team of what he needed to do; the team then exited the van and make their way to the Grand Temple.
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Memory of the Kenways Haytham Kenway Desmond, his father William, Rebecca Crane, and Shaun Hastings finding the Grand Temple in a cave in Turin, New York. Using an Ezio’s Apple of Eden to access the structure, Desmond activates a large portion of the equipment, as well as a timer indicating when the Second Disaster is predicted to occur, on December 21, 2012. His mind then falls into a fugue state, in which he relives some significant memories of his ancestor, Haytham Kenway. During a production at the London Theatre Royal, Haytham murders a man named Miko and steals a medallion which he and his associates believe allows access to a storehouse for “those who came before”. After Haytham returns with the medallion, he is dispatched to the British American colonies to find the storehouse. After preventing an attempt by crewman Louis Mills to turn him over to a trailing ship while on board the Providence, Haytham arrives in Boston. There, he is tasked with gathering together five men faithful to his cause: Charles Lee, William Johnson, Thomas Hickey, Benjamin Church and Jonathan Pitcairn. In the process, he kills a slave trader named Silas Thatcher and frees a large group of Kanien’kehá:ka tribespeople, believing it will make then amicable to his cause. One of these Kanien’kehá:ka, Kaniehtí:io, agrees to help Haytham find the storehouse on the condition that he kill General Edward Braddock, the man responsible for enslaving her people. After tracking his movements, Haytham slays Braddock as he retreats from the battle at Fort Duquesne. Haytham and Kaniehtí:io then travel to the entrance of the Grand Temple, only to find the medallion Haytham possesses cannot open it. At that moment, the pair reveals their romantic feelings for each other, beginning a relationship that will continue for some time. Shortly after, Charles Lee is formally recruited into Haytham’s organization, the Templar Order. This event surprises Desmond and he ejects himself from the Animus, attempting to absorb this new information. He then engages in a brief fight with his father, saying he is being treated as a pawn, and William strikes him out of anger. Once the tension had eased, Shaun gives Desmond a choice: explore the Grand Temple or return to the Animus.
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Connorw Kenway The story then switches to the point of view of Ratonhnhaké:ton, Kaniehtí:io’s son by Haytham. After playing hide and seek with his childhood friends in the forest near his village, he encounters Charles Lee and associates, who forcibly inform Ratonhnhaké:ton that they wish to speak with the village elders. Ratonhnhaké:ton is then knocked unconscious, and on his return to the village, he discovers it has been set ablaze. Though he is able to find his mother and attempts to free her from a collapsed structure, he is ultimately unable to save her, and she dies before his eyes. Some years later, a teenage Ratonhnhaké:ton is told by a village elder that the reason no one is allowed to leave the nearby valley is that their purpose is to protect the Grand Temple. She then shows him a crystal-like sphere, which activates at his touch and allows him to communicate with Juno. Juno informs him that he and his village are guardians of the Grand Temple, and current probabilities indicate that unless he leaves, his village will be destroyed and his people slaughtered. After showing the Kanien’kehá:ka teenager the symbol of the Assassins, she tells him to leave the valley, find Achilles Davenport – an Assassin – and convince the elder, embittered fighter to train him. After accomplishing this by protecting the Davenport manor from bandits, Ratonhnhaké:ton adopts the name “Connor” on Achilles’ suggestion, and the pair set off to collect supplies from Boston. There Haytham attempts to frame his son for the events of the Boston Massacre, leaving Connor notorious in the city. He then meets Samuel Adams, who gives Connor advice on how to decrease his notoriety. On his return, Achilles presents Connor with the Aquila, a ship he can use to patrol the Eastern American seaboard. As Connor learns the art of being an Assassin, he is brought into the cities of Boston and New York, as well as a large open area, called the Frontier.
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Haytham inducting Lee into the Templar Order
Way of an Assassin After being made a full-fledged member of the Assassin Brotherhood by Achilles, Connor sets out to eliminate the Colonial Templars. William Johnson is assassinated first after he attempts to purchase the land on which Connor’s people reside. Next, Connor targets John Pitcairn, the leader of the British forces at Bunker and Breed’s Hills. Connor then pursues Thomas Hickey, whom he discovers is plotting to assassinate George Washington. Connor finds Hickey, and after a brief scuffle, both are thrown into prison. However,
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Hickey isn’t detained for long and is freed through Haytham and Lee’s influence, while Connor is framed for the plot against Washington and is sentenced to death by hanging. Luckily, Achilles and his fellow Assassins manage to free Connor at the execution. Connor then charges after Hickey and manages to assassinate him before the Templar can kill Washington. With Haytham, Lee, and Benjamin Church still at large, Connor fears they still plot to eliminate Washington. Connor meets with Washington, who informs him that Church has stolen goods vital to the Continental Army and has fled. Connor agrees to pursue him, and in the process meets his father, Haytham. Haytham reveals his own pursuit of Church, who
has betrayed the Templars as well, and the two agree to set aside their differences and find Church together. Upon traveling to the Caribbean via the Aquila and pursuing Church’s ship, Haytham and Connor locate Church and kill him, then return to the colonies to meet with Washington. Here, Haytham discovers a letter from Washington ordering the removal of all the indigenous tribes from the land, as a number of them support the British. One of the tribes to be removed is the Kanien’kehá:ka, despite their neutrality, and Connor severs his ties with Haytham and Washington as a result. He then takes off to protect his tribe’s village from encroaching Patriot forces. On arriving, Connor finds his people to be safe but also discovers that the Clan Mother has dispatched
tribesmen to turn back the Continental troops sent to purge the village. Connor stopped his fellows from attacking the troops but is forced to kill his closest childhood friend, Kanen’tó:kon, who had been influenced by Charles Lee. Connor becomes torn in his mission to eliminate the Templars, believing he can turn his father to the Assassin way of thinking. He then sets off to pursue Lee, who has been disgraced by Washington and taken refuge in Fort George. With the assistance of Lafayette, Connor has New York harbor shelled to create a distraction and infiltrates the fort. However, he is ambushed by Haytham, who reveals that Lee has escaped with the medallion, and the pair engages in battle. Now accepting that his father will not be convinced, Connor kills Haytham.
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Not the only one As Desmond plays these events out in the Animus, he is occasionally taken out in order to recover power cells crucial to exploring the Grand Temple, found in locations such as Manhattan and Brazil. During these trips, he encounters Daniel Cross, a Templar mole responsible for killing the modern day Mentor and initiating a widespread purge of the Assassin Order. While exploring the Temple, Desmond occasionally encounters Juno, who reveals the events that led up to the first cataclysm that scarred the Earth. During one of these lectures, Desmond reveals that Lucy’s death by his hand was no accident and that he chose to kill her after the Apple of Eden revealed she intended to take the Apple to Abstergo Industries. When a third power cell is located in Cairo, Egypt, William offers to recover it while Desmond continues to search Connor’s memories for the key to the Grand Temple’s inner barrier. However, William is captured by Abstergo and held in their Roman facility, the location where Desmond was kept when he was captured and forced to relive Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad’s genetic memories. Through a video message, Warren Vidic demands Desmond bring the Apple of Eden to him in exchange for William. In response, Desmond infiltrates the laboratories, where he encounters
Daniel again. As Daniel corners Desmond, the Templar begins to suffer from the Bleeding Effect, as a result of being “raised” in an Animus and reliving the memories of his ancestors, Nikolai and Innokenti Orelov, for extended periods of time. Daniel then flees from the room in a panic, with Desmond in pursuit. After a short chase, Desmond assassinates Daniel and confronts Vidic in his office, where he uses the Apple to kill the Templar and his guards. Desmond then rescues William and uses the Apple to lead them safely from the facility.
Last Fight, New Beginning Once he returned to the Animus, Desmond observes as Connor pursues Lee once more. After eavesdropping on a ship’s captain to ascertain Lee’s location, Connor chases Lee through a vessel under construction that has been set ablaze. The two come to a stalemate after falling through a section of the ship, and Connor is impaled at the waist by a broken piece of wood. Lee asks Connor why he continues to persist, even though the Templar Order follows a cycle of their power waxing and waning. Connor replies “Because no one else will,” and Charles Lee
Connor kill Charles Lee
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“You played your part well, Desmond. But now… now it’s time that I play mine.”
shoots Lee in the chest, preventing the Templar from finishing him off. A badly wounded Lee then escapes across a nearby lake via a ferry, with an injured Connor in pursuit. Finally, Connor finds Lee in a pub, and the pair shares a last drink before Connor stabs Lee lethally in the chest. Connor takes the medallion from Lee’s body, and several months later, he returns to his tribe’s village only to find they have moved elsewhere. He then locates the crystal sphere, presumably left behind for him to find. In the vision that it shows him, Juno reappears and instructs him to hide the medallion where no one else will find it. Connor does so, burying the medallion in the grave of Connor Davenport, Achilles’ deceased son and his namesake. Connor takes down the Templar portraits in the Davenport Manor’s basement and burns them, signifying the end of his journey. In addition, his return to his village is detailed further, showing he spoke to a hunter there, who revealed that the land had been sold to settlers in order to settle the new United States government’s war debts. Connor also travels to the pier in New York, where he witnesses the last of the British Regulars leave America for good. However, he also sees evidence of the slave trade present in the newly formed nation, right next to the pier of citizens cheering at the departure of the British.
Now with the knowledge of the medallion’s location, Desmond retrieves it and uses it to access the confines of the Temple. Here, he and the others find Juno’s apparition, who instructs Desmond to activate a pedestal which will save the world from the ongoing solar flares. However, Minerva’s apparition suddenly appears and reveals that by doing as Juno says, Desmond will die and free Juno from captivity, allowing her to begin her conquest of the world. She explains that Juno was sealed long ago during the war between the First Civilization and humanity when she plotted to use the machines designed to save the world against it. Minerva, prodded by Juno, then shows Desmond that if the Sun were to unleash its power on the world, he and a small collective of humans would survive to repopulate the world. He would become a religious icon in this new world, but his words would be mistranslated and lead the world to continue a perpetual cycle of destruction. Believing the world would stand a better chance fighting against Juno, Desmond instructs the others to leave and prepare for the oncoming struggle. Desmond then activates the pedestal, taking his life and saving the world. From there, Juno appears and tells Desmond that his part has ended and that her time has come.
- End 35
This is a Graphic Design project using the content of the Assassin’s Creed video game as content. This booklet is designed by Ming Chit (Benson) Tam’s, and it is part of a art and design portfolio. The booklet is not for sale, and it is use for demonstration purpose. Images used in this booklet is collected from opensource website and modified using Ubisoft official image. The written content are source from “assassinscreed. fandom.com”. All rights reserve.