Assassin's Creed
Desmond Miles, a bartender, is
kidnapped by the Abstergo Corporation. There, Desmond is forced to lie in the
Animus, a device that is able to replay the genetic memories of the user's
ancestors. In Desmond's case, they seek information about his ancestor Altaïr
ibn La-Ahad, an assassin during the time of the Third Crusade. Within the
Animus, Altaïr's memories reveal that he was attempting to stop Robert de Sable
from taking an artifact from a temple, but broke all three of the Assassins'
Brotherhood's tenets. The Brotherhood leader, Al Mualim, demotes Altaïr, and
assigns him the task of assassinating nine people to regain his former status.
As
Altaïr completes the assassinations, he finds that each was a member of the
Templars searching the area for "Pieces of Eden", artifacts similar
to the one de Sable attempted to steal. Altaïr eventually faces de Sable in
front of King Richard, and kills him; with his dying breath, de Sable reveals
the existence of a tenth Templar: Al Mualim. Returning to the Brotherhood,
Altaïr finds Al Mualim in possession of a Piece of Eden that is able to control
people's minds. Altaïr is forced to fight his way through innocents to reach Al
Mualim, and engages him in battle. Altaïr eventually sees through Al Mualim's
tricks using the artifact, and kills him. Upon approaching the artifact, Altaïr
is surprised to find it displays a projection of the Earth marking several
spots around the globe.
At this point,
Desmond is brought out of the Animus, his purpose served. He comes to learn
that Abstergo is a front for the modern-day Templars. Abstergo is now set to
use the locations on the map seen by Altaïr to find more Pieces of Eden,
believing that they must collect the artifacts to control the world's population
in order to stave off the projected end of the world in 2012. Desmond's life is
spared by Lucy Stillman, one of the Abstergo scientists who is actually an
Assassin mole. Left alone in his locked room, Desmond discovers (through a
"bleeding effect" from his time spent as Altaïr) that he can observe
numerous messages in blood on the walls and floor left by a previous test
subject (Subject 16) that foretell the end of the world.Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's
Creed II's plot includes the fictional depictions of historical characters
including Niccolò Machiavelli and Rodrigo Borgia, later known as Pope Alexander
VI.
Ezio's
memories begin during the Renaissance in the 15th century, where his family is
ensnared in a political plot, and his father and brothers are hanged. Ezio,
following his father's last advice, finds his father's Assassin tools, and
flees the city with his mother and sister to the safety of his uncle Mario's
villa in the countryside. Mario assists Ezio in discovering the people behind
the conspiracy, the search leading Ezio from Florence, to San Gimignano, Forlì,
Venice and eventually to Rome. As he identifies and assassinates more and more
political figures, Ezio also gains several allies, including Niccolò
Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci, the latter of whom helps Ezio improve his
equipment using schematics found in Altaïr's Codex pages. Ezio eventually
identifies the mastermind of the plot: the Spaniard Rodrigo Borgia, who
ultimately sought to bring down the Medici family in Florence with the help of
the Pazzi family and the Doge of Venice. Ezio finds Borgia in possession of the
Apple-- the same Piece of Eden that Altaïr had recovered centuries ago-- and
learns that Borgia believes himself to be "The Prophet" that will
lead the Templars to a fabled "Vault". Ezio is able to confront
Borgia with the help of his allies and recover the Apple, and Borgia flees
before he can be killed. Ezio's allies reveal they are all Assassins, and see
Ezio as their Prophet, allowing him to join their ranks.
Several
years of Ezio's memories are inaccessible from the Animus, and Desmond can only
revisit those starting in 1499, where Ezio and the Assassins plan to attack
Borgia (now Pope Alexander VI) at Vatican City. Ezio corners Borgia and strikes
him down, but cannot come to kill him, as he knows that will not bring back his
family. Ezio uses the Apple and the Papal cross (which is also a Piece of
Eden), and discovers the entrance to the Vault. Inside, he is confused when a
holographic figure, calling herself Minerva, appears. Speaking directly to
Desmond and those monitoring him in 2012, she explains that she was part of a
far more advanced society that initially co-existed along with the early humans
on Earth before they faced each other in war. A global catastrophe occurred
that nearly wiped out both sides, and the survivors joined together to
construct temples across the Earth to allow humans to prevent a similar
catastrophe in the future. Before the hologram disappears, she warns Desmond,
by name, that "the rest is up to you".
Shortly
after recovering this memory, Desmond and the others are forced to flee with
the Animus from their location as Abstergo troops surround it. As they head
toward a new safehouse, Lucy explains that there are newly-discovered
weaknesses in the Earth's magnetic field; a solar flare striking this weakness
would cause a similar level of global destruction as described by Minerva.
Desmond resolves to help the Assassins find these temples, and prepares to
reenter the Animus…
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
The continuing story is set in 2012. After
escaping the Templars' attack at the end of Assassin's Creed II, Desmond Miles
and other modern-day Assassins flee to Monteriggioni, establishing a new
hideout in the ruins of the Villa Auditore. After restoring the electricity in
the old tunnels under the villa, the player once again takes control of Ezio
Auditore through the genetic memory of Desmond Miles using the Animus 2.0
(which is the game's memory interface).[7]
Ezio's
story continues in 1499, Where he exits the vault, still confused by what he
saw inside. He escapes Rome with his uncle Mario Auditore and arrives at
Monteriggioni. Once home, Ezio is comforted by the prospect that his personal
vendetta is over and that his days as an Assassin are done. Machiavelli
challenges Ezio's decision to leave Rodrigo Borgia, the Pope, alive. The
following morning Monteriggioni is besieged by Cesare Borgia, son of Rodrigo
Borgia. The Assassins are overpowered by this attack and retreat, leaving the
entire city in ruins. Mario is killed in the attack, after being shot by
Cesare, and the Apple of Eden, the mysterious artifact of great power, is lost
to Cesare and the Templars. Ezio escapes with his family and travels to Rome,
the center of the Templar Order in Italy, once again seeking vengeance against
the Borgias. There, he discovers that the Assassins are failing in the fight
against corruption. Determined to redeem the Guild, Ezio convinces the current
head of the Assassins, Machiavelli, that he has what it takes to lead, while
assembling a Brotherhood powerful enough to destroy the Templars and Ezio's new
arch-nemesis, Cesare Borgia.
During
the attack on the Villa, Ezio's ally Caterina Sforza is taken away by Cesare's
army. While trying to rescue Caterina from the Castel Sant Angelo, Ezio
witnesses Cesare passionately kissing his sister, Lucrezia Borgia. Once Cesare
has left, Ezio sneaks into the Castel, holding Lucrezia hostage, and uses her
to free Caterina from her cell. Ezio reintroduces the mysterious thief, La
Volpe, the condottiere Bartolomeo d'Alviano and his sister, Claudia into the
guild, recruiting the city's underground of thieves, courtesans and mercenaries
to his cause. He then attacks each of Cesare's resources. He kills Cesare's
Banker, withdrawing Cesare's battle funds. He kills the leader of the French
troops helping Cesare, the Baron de Valois, leaving the troops in disarray. He
also obtains a key to a secret door to the Castello, from Lucrezia's secret
lover whilst stopping an attempt on his life. After proving to all that he can
lead, Ezio is made head of the Assassin's guild, and promoted to the rank of Il
Mentore.
During
all of the previous missions, as in Assassin's Creed II, Subject 16 has placed
hidden file fragments inside the Animus landscape in Brotherhood. Once all of
the fragments have been found and deciphered, the consolidated file loads a
framework-like level in the Animus. Desmond makes his way through it and at the
end encounters a virtual copy of Subject 16, whose body is made up of code. His
speech is scattered and vague, but he tries to warn Desmond that there is
little time left. He says that "it is too late to save them" and that
"she is not who you think she is." He tells Desmond to find Eve in
Eden and that her DNA is the key. He then suddenly says, "The sun. Your
son," and trails off. Desmond tells him not to go, to which 16 replies, "I
am with you till the end. Find me in the darkness." He then disappears and
the framework world collapses.
Towards
the end of the game, Rodrigo becomes suspicious of his son's activities. Cesare
returns to Rome to ask his father for more money and the use of the Apple of
Eden artifact after Ezio cuts his funding. His father refuses to give him more
funds and, instead, attempts to murder him using a poisoned apple. Cesare,
saved from death by his sister's warning, turns the tables on his father by
shoving the poisoned apple in his mouth when Rodrigo refuses to reveal the
location of the Apple of Eden. When Cesare storms off to look for the artifact
- destroying his relationship with his sister in the process - Ezio races ahead
and uses the Apple to destroy Cesare's army and to make his supporters withdraw
their backing from his campaign to become King of Italy. When all of his
"friends" have abandoned him, Cesare is arrested by Pope Julius II's
Papal Army for murder and incest, finally leaving Rome in peace.
Ezio,
however, is not convinced, and so uses the Apple to locate Cesare. He discovers
that the Borgia Captain General escaped from
his
prison and launched an attack on a small city in Navarre, Spain. Ezio arrives
and corners Cesare on the battlements of a crumbling castle. Ezio and Cesare
engage in a sword fight, but Ezio overpowers his enemy. Cesare, however, claims
he cannot be killed by the hand of man, and so Ezio decides to "let fate
decide". He drops Cesare off the castle battlements, therefore not
directly killing him. Ezio then takes the Apple and hides it in a place in
which no one will find it - another temple, this one built underneath Santa
Maria in Aracoeli, within The Temple of Juno.
Using
the co-ordinates taken from Ezio's memories, Desmond, Lucy, Shaun and Rebecca
open the temple, intending to use the Apple to locate the remaining temples in
order to keep the other Pieces of Eden out of the Templars' hands. As Desmond
makes his way into the temple, he is confronted with holographic apparitions of
a being called Juno, who appears to be of the same race as Minerva in
Assassin's Creed II; however, she is neither audible nor visible to Lucy,
Shaun, or Rebecca. Most of her comments center around humanity's lack of
knowledge. She states that humanity is "innocent and ignorant": that
people were not built to be wise, having been given only five of the six
senses, sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing, but lacking knowledge.
However, Juno says that when the initial disaster that wiped out the first
people came to pass, they tried to "pass it on through the blood"; it
is implied that this sense is Desmond's "eagle vision", which is
passed on through the Assassin bloodlines. Her careful cadence then drops as she
suddenly becomes angry, yelling "We should have left you as you
were!"
A
staircase leading to the Apple is activated and Desmond and the others ascend
it. Desmond approaches the Apple and glowing symbols begin to appear in the
air. As Shaun starts to explain what they are, Desmond touches the Apple. His
DNA activates it and suddenly they are all frozen, although Desmond can still
speak. Juno cryptically says that Desmond is descended from her race and their
enemy. She then says that there is a woman who is supposed to accompany him
through "the gate", but she is not with him. She says, "The
cross darkens the horizon," a possible reference to the Templars, and
takes control of Desmond's body, forcing him to draw his hidden blade saying,
"The Path must be opened," and that "the scales must be
balanced". She then begins to force Desmond to walk towards Lucy. Desmond
pleads with Juno to stop, but she replies, "You know so very little. We
must guide you!" and he is forced to stab Lucy in the abdomen. Both fall
to the ground unconscious, with Desmond going into a coma (resulting from the
shock of stabbing Lucy) and Lucy's fate left uncertain.[20] Then, as the
credits roll Juno can be heard saying "It is done". 'William M.' (a
high-ranking Assassin who emails both Lucy and Shaun during the game) is heard
during the credits, ordering another Assassin to put Desmond back into the
Animus.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
The game will feature all three of the series' major
characters so far: Altaïr ibn La-Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Desmond
Miles. It will take Ezio to Ottoman Constantinople in 1511 AD, consisting of four
districts: Constantin, Beyazid, Imperial, and Galata; Cappadocia at the peak of
the Ottoman Empire, part of which will be a completely underground city
populated solely by Templars and Masyaf, which holds the old Assassins'
stronghold (featured in the first Assassin's Creed game) to which Ezio travels
at the beginning of the game. He discovers Altaïr has sealed within the
fortress an ancient artifact that is said to be a powerful weapon which could
end the Templar and Assassin war forever, and has hidden the keys in
Constantinople. Ezio uses relics of the first civilization that hold memories
of Altaïr to relive Altaïr's experiences, during which players will control
Altaïr.
The
game will also continue Desmond's story in the modern day, following the events
of Brotherhood, where he will be trapped in the Animus, in comatose state,[10]
in which he has found a safe mode known as the Black Room. In the Black Room,
Desmond must find a key memory that links him with Altaïr and Ezio to
reintegrate his splintered subconscious and regain consciousness.[7] While in
game Ezio will meet a variety of historical characters, including Manuel
Palaiologos, a heir to the now lost Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Templars who
will be lurking in the shadows of Constantinople,[11] Prince Suleiman, a man
who will one day become one of the Ottoman Empire's greatest Sultans and his
uncle, Prince Ahmet…
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