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Description

The Assassins sure are great, aren't they? I mean, by this point in history, Altaïr had taken the reigns and he led the Brotherhood to greatness. They expanded far beyond the Middle East and enhanced their ranks throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa. With their help, freedom and justice thrived, and any tyrannical threats were put down for the most part. The Assassins sure are awesome. Nothing can stop the Assassin Brotherhood!

...Unless you are… wait for it... the Mongols.

Yeah… the Mongols kinda ruined everything didn't they? The Mongols were a group of nomadic peoples who grew to conquer most of the Asian continent under the reign of Genghis Khan, a feared leader who used a Sword of Eden to expand his conquest. Though the Mongols did often inspire a bit of tolerance and trade, they also had a well-deserved reputation of being relentless conquerors whose death tolls reached the millions. In fact, to outline this bloodshed, here's a quote from Genghis Khan explaining his definition of happiness: “The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.” I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd invite this guy to a party.

And so the Mongols became one of the biggest threats to the people, and to the Assassins, since the Crusades. And so in 1227, Altaïr set out from Masyaf with his wife, Maria, and their son, Darim. They journeyed to Xingging, in the heart of the Mongol Empire. There, they met with the Mongolian Assassin, Qulan Gal, who helped them lead a stealth attack on the Mongol camp. Their cover was blown however, when a young Assassin apprentice named Nergüi was captured and tortured. Genghis Khan tried to flee the camp, but his horse was shot down with a blow from Qulan Gal’s arrow. Darim then finished off Khan with a crossbow bolt, ending his reign.

Even though their conquest was now slowed, the Mongols kept on going. After the fight, Altaïr and his family were forced to retreat back to Masyaf. But all was not well their either. Altaïr’s corrupted ex-friend, Abbas Sofian, had seized power over the Assassins in Altaïr’s absence. Abbas had either imprisoned or murdered anyone that stood in his way, including Altaïr’s youngest son, Sef. When Altaïr and Maria went to confront Abbas, Abbas demanded that Altaïr hand over the Apple of Eden in his possession. Altaïr, enraged about his son, used the Apple to try and kill Abbas’s guards. Maria tried to stop him, and she was stabbed to death by Abbas’s men in the process. Altaïr, horrified by what he had attempted, and by what Abbas had done, was forced to run away. He and Darim were chased out of Masyaf, and forced into banishment. They spent the next few decades in Alexandria with Sef’s wife and daughters. Altaïr, in his grief, drove his family away, leaving him completely alone with his Apple.

However, all those years alone gave him time to ponder over life, and over himself. He realized that he couldn't let himself be beaten down like this, and so he eventually recovered himself, and started planning to take back his home. He used his Apple to gain knowledge of various weapons from the future, such as the hidden gun, which he had built soon after. He traveled abroad, and went to the Assassin stronghold in Alamut. There, he found a first civilization temple containing Isu Memory Seals. He implanted a few of his old memories onto five of them, recording a message for some unknown receiver that the Apple had told him about. He then finally arrived in Masyaf in 1247, and saw the horrible corruption that Abbas had brought upon the Assassins. Innocents were oppressed, freedoms were destroyed, it was awful. But a few Assassins realized this, and when Altaïr returned, they stood at his side. They took back the city honorably, by helping the civilians and killing only those who had killed innocents. By the end of it all, almost all of Abbas’s supporters were either dead, or had come over to Altaïr’s side. And so Altaïr stood against his old friend, and ended this all with his hidden gun. Abbas fell, Altaïr returned to his title as mentor, and the Assassins returned to their former glory.

However, it wouldn't last long thanks to the Mongols. By 1257, their conquest had reached Masyaf. As they laid siege to the city, Altaïr, Darim, and two Italian Assassins named Niccolo and Maffeo Polo did what they could to fight them off and protect the fleeing civilians. When they reached the city exit, Altaïr handed his five memory seals to Niccolo, as well as his famous Codex. He tasked Niccolo to hide them throughout the Mediterranean, where only future Assassins could find them. When the two explorers left, Altaïr returned to the castle with Darim. They went down into Altaïr’s hidden library. There, Altaïr said his last goodbye to his son, who left to go flee the city with the others. Altaïr stayed behind with his Apple, locking himself and the artifact away forever. He sat down in the single chair in his tomb, and passed away right before putting his last memories onto his sixth memory seal. The Mongols took over the city, and all but crushed the Levantine Assassins.

After that, the Assassins were forced to leave the public eye and became a secret organization once again. They worked in the shadows to try and fight off the Mongols, like in 1265, when Nergüi killed Genghis Khan’s grandson, Hülegü Khan. In 1271, the Assassin, Marco Polo, son of Niccolo, traveled to Asia with his father and uncle to reclaim the lost pages of Altaïr’s Codex which the Mongols had stolen. In 1275, they infiltrated the palace of Kublai Khan and stole back the pages. Marco later took these pages back to Venice and scattered them throughout Italy, hiding them away for future generations. The Mongol Empire officially collapsed in 1368 due to inheritance desputes between Mongol leaders. The Assassins, despite their efforts, would take a while to recover from their beating. But they stayed strong and worked hard. They knew if they were going to face their future enemies, they had to stay strong, and their hearts had to be brave.

Description

The Assassins sure are great, aren't they? I mean, by this point in history, Altaïr had taken the reigns and he led the Brotherhood to greatness. They expanded far beyond the Middle East and enhanced their ranks throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa. With their help, freedom and justice thrived, and any tyrannical threats were put down for the most part. The Assassins sure are awesome. Nothing can stop the Assassin Brotherhood!

...Unless you are… wait for it... the Mongols.

Yeah… the Mongols kinda ruined everything didn't they? The Mongols were a group of nomadic peoples who grew to conquer most of the Asian continent under the reign of Genghis Khan, a feared leader who used a Sword of Eden to expand his conquest. Though the Mongols did often inspire a bit of tolerance and trade, they also had a well-deserved reputation of being relentless conquerors whose death tolls reached the millions. In fact, to outline this bloodshed, here's a quote from Genghis Khan explaining his definition of happiness: “The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.” I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd invite this guy to a party.

And so the Mongols became one of the biggest threats to the people, and to the Assassins, since the Crusades. And so in 1227, Altaïr set out from Masyaf with his wife, Maria, and their son, Darim. They journeyed to Xingging, in the heart of the Mongol Empire. There, they met with the Mongolian Assassin, Qulan Gal, who helped them lead a stealth attack on the Mongol camp. Their cover was blown however, when a young Assassin apprentice named Nergüi was captured and tortured. Genghis Khan tried to flee the camp, but his horse was shot down with a blow from Qulan Gal’s arrow. Darim then finished off Khan with a crossbow bolt, ending his reign.

Even though their conquest was now slowed, the Mongols kept on going. After the fight, Altaïr and his family were forced to retreat back to Masyaf. But all was not well their either. Altaïr’s corrupted ex-friend, Abbas Sofian, had seized power over the Assassins in Altaïr’s absence. Abbas had either imprisoned or murdered anyone that stood in his way, including Altaïr’s youngest son, Sef. When Altaïr and Maria went to confront Abbas, Abbas demanded that Altaïr hand over the Apple of Eden in his possession. Altaïr, enraged about his son, used the Apple to try and kill Abbas’s guards. Maria tried to stop him, and she was stabbed to death by Abbas’s men in the process. Altaïr, horrified by what he had attempted, and by what Abbas had done, was forced to run away. He and Darim were chased out of Masyaf, and forced into banishment. They spent the next few decades in Alexandria with Sef’s wife and daughters. Altaïr, in his grief, drove his family away, leaving him completely alone with his Apple.

However, all those years alone gave him time to ponder over life, and over himself. He realized that he couldn't let himself be beaten down like this, and so he eventually recovered himself, and started planning to take back his home. He used his Apple to gain knowledge of various weapons from the future, such as the hidden gun, which he had built soon after. He traveled abroad, and went to the Assassin stronghold in Alamut. There, he found a first civilization temple containing Isu Memory Seals. He implanted a few of his old memories onto five of them, recording a message for some unknown receiver that the Apple had told him about. He then finally arrived in Masyaf in 1247, and saw the horrible corruption that Abbas had brought upon the Assassins. Innocents were oppressed, freedoms were destroyed, it was awful. But a few Assassins realized this, and when Altaïr returned, they stood at his side. They took back the city honorably, by helping the civilians and killing only those who had killed innocents. By the end of it all, almost all of Abbas’s supporters were either dead, or had come over to Altaïr’s side. And so Altaïr stood against his old friend, and ended this all with his hidden gun. Abbas fell, Altaïr returned to his title as mentor, and the Assassins returned to their former glory.

However, it wouldn't last long thanks to the Mongols. By 1257, their conquest had reached Masyaf. As they laid siege to the city, Altaïr, Darim, and two Italian Assassins named Niccolo and Maffeo Polo did what they could to fight them off and protect the fleeing civilians. When they reached the city exit, Altaïr handed his five memory seals to Niccolo, as well as his famous Codex. He tasked Niccolo to hide them throughout the Mediterranean, where only future Assassins could find them. When the two explorers left, Altaïr returned to the castle with Darim. They went down into Altaïr’s hidden library. There, Altaïr said his last goodbye to his son, who left to go flee the city with the others. Altaïr stayed behind with his Apple, locking himself and the artifact away forever. He sat down in the single chair in his tomb, and passed away right before putting his last memories onto his sixth memory seal. The Mongols took over the city, and all but crushed the Levantine Assassins.

After that, the Assassins were forced to leave the public eye and became a secret organization once again. They worked in the shadows to try and fight off the Mongols, like in 1265, when Nergüi killed Genghis Khan’s grandson, Hülegü Khan. In 1271, the Assassin, Marco Polo, son of Niccolo, traveled to Asia with his father and uncle to reclaim the lost pages of Altaïr’s Codex which the Mongols had stolen. In 1275, they infiltrated the palace of Kublai Khan and stole back the pages. Marco later took these pages back to Venice and scattered them throughout Italy, hiding them away for future generations. The Mongol Empire officially collapsed in 1368 due to inheritance desputes between Mongol leaders. The Assassins, despite their efforts, would take a while to recover from their beating. But they stayed strong and worked hard. They knew if they were going to face their future enemies, they had to stay strong, and their hearts had to be brave.