Assassin's Creed: Perception of a Master

The Prophet: Ezio Auditore da Firenze
 

 

Assassin's Creed: Renaissance is the chronological sequel to Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade and follows Ezio Auditore, a young Italian nobleman who seeks vengeance against those who ordered the execution of his father and brothers. Being trained by his uncle Mario and fellow Assassins, his journey will take him from the catacombs of Florence to the rooftops of Venice. So begins an epic story of power, revenge, and conspiracy. TRUTH WILL BE WRITTEN IN BLOOD.

As I am reading this book, one thing is apparent to me, the dialogue. For some reason Oliver Bowden has taken great lines of dialogue and changed them; because of this, the character interaction is very dumbed-down.

Lets Compare: Avenged

Assassin's Creed Renaissance: "Yes! What you see is see real! What you see is vengeance! The Auditore family still lives. I am still here! Ezio Auditore!"

Assassin's Creed II: "The Auditore are not dead! I'm still here! Me! Ezio! Ezio Auditore!"

The game's dialogue is superior in every way. The emotion that was in that scene is torn asunder by the "re-mastered" scene that Bowden has written. If Oliver can't copy and paste that dialogue, then he shouldn't be writing the novel series at all.

Also one minor detail; Ezio will obtain a hidden blade on his right arm, as he already had one on his left. It is tradition that Assassins would have there signature hidden blade on the left arm, and in the game Ezio is no exception. Oliver decided that when Ezio had only one hidden blade, he put it on his right arm. This is inconsistent and ruins the experience for me, knowing this tradition is easily broken.

"He shook himself, and in the moment when Vieri poised himself to deliver the fatal blow on his supposedly unarmed opponent, Ezio flexed his right hand, spreading his fingers up and open. Instantaneously, the mechanism of his father's concealed dagger clicked, the blade shooting out from under his fingers, extending to its full and lethal length, the dull metal belying the vicious edge. Vieri's arm was raised. His flank was open. Ezio plunged the dagger into his side-- the blade slipping in without the least resistance."

At the rate this novel is going, I would give this a rating of 2 stars out of 5. Oliver's writing is deprived of all emotion and the inconsistencies are too apparent. The game rates about 4.5 out of 5, because you can appreciate the emotion that is clearly there and the writing is superb.

Assassin's Creed: The Mentor's Legacy

Rashid Din Sinan as a young Assassin

* WARNING: This section will reveal an important plot twist in Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade. Turn away now if you do not wish to spoil the story.

The novel and game is set during the Third Crusade, Crusaders versus the Saracens, and follows Altair Ibn-La'Ahad on a redemption quest and afterwards. However, I believe that the story started with a different protagonist, in a different setting. The story should have started with the man who would later become Al Mualim(the Mentor), Rashid Din Sinan. His character is a good foil for Altair, Rashid is old and wise, where as Altair is young, brash, arrogant, and ignorant, however what Rashid needed was more development as a character and can give more context to why he betrayed the Assassin's Creed in order to control the Holy Land.

Altair himself should also show his support of the Assassins, by betraying them as well. What I mean by that is that Altair should take the Apple of Eden for himself and study what it has to show him. The Apple will show him Rashid's betrayal and will allow Altair to do what needs to be done. Though he would be an exile and traitor, he will show the Assassins and the rest of Masyaf  what truly had transpired, and he would be welcomed back with open arms and he himself become... Al Mualim Ibn-La'Ahad.

Altair Ibn-La'Ahad: Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed: Redemption

With the upcoming Assassin's Creed Unity, will Arno Victor Dorian have some of the best lines spoken by a fictional individual? We'll find out on November 11th.

 

"Malik... Before I go, there's something I should say."
"Be out with it."
"I've been a fool."
"Normally I'd make no argument, but what is this? What are you talking about?"
"All this time... I never told you I was sorry. Too damned proud. You lost your arm because of me. lost Kadar. You have every right to be angry."
"I do not accept your apology."
"I understand."
"No. You don't. I do not accept your apology, because you are not the same man who went with me into Solomon's Temple. And so you have nothing to apologize for."
"Malik..."
"Perhaps if I had not been so envious of you, I would not have been so careless myself. I am just as much to blame."
" Don't say such things."
"We are one. As we share the glory of our victories, so, too, should we share the pain of our defeat. In this way we grow closer. We grow stronger."
"Thank you. Brother."

Malik lost his arm and his brother, Kadar, due to Altair's actions in Solomon's Temple. I find it comforting that Altair has redeemed himself to his brothers by oath. But a grave tragedy will befall the Assassins in time...

Assassin's Creed: Altercation

"When I was very young, I was foolish enough to believe that our Creed would bring an end to all these conflicts. If only I had possessed the humility to say to myself, I have seen enough for one life, I've done my part. Then again, there is no greater glory than fighting to find the truth."

―Altaïr to his son Darim during the Mongol attack on Masyaf, 1257.

The dialogue in Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade is some of the best I've ever read(or in my case heard). Chapter twenty-one is by far the most inspiring and revealing dialogue in a novel. The chapter details an encounter with Al Mualim after assassinating Abu'l Nuqoud, the Merchant King of Damas.

"Come, Altair. I would have news of your progress,"

"I've done as you've asked,"

"Good. Good. I sense your thoughts are elsewhere. Speak your mind."

"Each man I'm sent to kill speaks cryptic words to me. Each time I come to you and ask for answers. Each time you give only riddles in exchange. But no more."

"Who are you to say 'no more'?"

"I'm the one who does the killing. If you want it to continue, you'll speak straight with me for once."

"Tread carefully, Altair. I do not like your tone."

"And I do not like your deception."

"I have offered you a chance to restore your lost honor--"

"Not lost, taken. By you. And then you sent me to fetch it again like some damned dog."

"It seems I'll need to find another. A shame. You showed great potential."

" I think if you had another, you'd have sent him long ago. You said the answer to my question would arise when I no longer needed to ask it. So I will not ask. I demand you tell me what binds these men."

With that, Altair got his answer, and his life spared. Altair has evolved over the story; he was arrogant and selfish, now he is wise and will fight for his creed, but not without knowing what he is fighting for, or against.

 

Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, Master Assassin and future Mentor of the Assassin's Brotherhood.

Assassin's Creed: Unholy Land

Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade takes place in 1191-January 1, 1258 during the Third Crusades and the Mongol Invasion. We follow Altair Ibn-La' Ahad, the arrogant and young Master Assassin who defies the tenets of the Assassin's Creed and finds himself at the mercy of Rashid ad-Din Sinan, or Al Mualim, the Mentor of the Brotherhood. Altair's journey takes him to the streets of Damascus, the rooftops of Acre, and the holy city of Jerusalem. The setting is placed during a time of death and destruction, and the Assassins are the pinnacle of the death and chaos during this time period. Innocents are murdered left and right, Muslims being slaughtered for simply what the believe in, and the Christian army pressing the attack against the Muslims. All sides are at fault, but there are heroes and villains on both sides of the conflict.

Templar's Order:Knight's Flag

If Edward Kenway had cooperated with the Templars on the hunt for the Observatory, he would likely become a Templar privateer instead of being the pirate trained by Assassins. This would mean the Assassins of the West-Indies would be eradicated and the Templars one step closer to their new world. Kenway probably would've been the one who killed Blackbeard and ordered the execution of his former pirate comrades. It raises other questions: would Edward have lived past 42? Would his son Haytham still become Templar Grandmaster? Would Ratonhnhke:ton still become an Assassin and destroy the Templar colonial rite? Alas it doesn't really matter in the end.

Assassin-Templar War: The Knights Templar

"Even when your kind appears to triumph ... Still we rise again. And do you know why? It is because the Order is born of a realization. We require no creed. No indoctrination by desperate old men. All we need is that the world be as it is. And this is why the Templars will never be destroyed."

―Haytham Kenway, regarding the nature of the Templar Order, 1781.

According to the Assassin's Creed Wiki:

The Templar Order, also known as the Order of the Knights Templar, is a monastic military order-turned-corporate giant, which was formed during the prehistoric era. The Templars seek to create a perfect world, although their interpretation thereof - emphasizing purpose, order and control, over the freedom of individuals - directly contrasts the ideals of their sworn enemies, the Assassin Order.
Because of this difference in ideology, the Templars became involved in a covert war against the Assassins, spanning millennia and continuing into the modern era.

"Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam"
"(Not to us God, not to us, but to Your Name Give Glory)"

―The motto of the monastic Templar Order.

In 1937, the Templars founded Abstergo Industries, a secret company aiming to control capitalists and workers and neutralize communism. The Templars, who had previously created the capitalistic economic system as a façade for their activities, hoped to control the people through owning corporations, as opposed to having people own the companies. The company would go on to control many corporations and organizations around the world, including the Ford Motor Company, NASA, the CIA, the US Federal Reserve, Kraft, Coca-Cola, and BP.

Assassin-Templar War: The Assassin's Creed

"We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins."

―Niccolò Machiavelli.

According to the Assassin's Creed Wiki: The Assassin Order, also known as the Assassin Brotherhood, Liberalis Circulum (Circle of Liberals) during the time of the Roman Empire, or Hashshashin during the Middle Ages, was an organized order of assassins and sworn enemies of the Templars, against whom they fought a continuous, recondite war throughout the entirety of recorded human history. Whereas the Templars sought to save humanity from itself by controlling free will, the Assassin Order fought to ensure the survival of freedom, as it allowed for the progression of new ideas and the growth of individuality.
The Assassins, if not the Order itself, have existed since at least 456 BCE, throughout the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution and into the Modern era.

"Laa shay'a waqi'un mutlaq bale kouloun moumkin.
("Nothing is true, everything is permitted" in Arabic.)"

―The Assassins' Creed.

The Order believes in a strong set of values that strictly govern their way of life, referred to as "the Creed". This Creed consists of three tenets:

1. "Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent."
2. "Hide in plain sight, be one with the crowd."
3. "Never compromise the Brotherhood."

These tenets permeated every aspect of the Assassins' daily life, as well as their fight for "peace in all things". The Assassins carry out their duties through political, strategic assassination, in the hope that killing one individual will lead to the salvation of thousands. They also believe that they fight on the behalf of those who do not possess the abilities, resources, or knowledge to speak out against those who abuse their power.

Assassin-Templar War

The Assassin–Templar War was a covert war of devastating proportions between the Assassin Order and their enemies, the Templars.Said to have started with the killing of Abel by his brother Cain, the "first Templar", for his Apple of Eden; the Assassin-Templar War was fought in shadows of history. The conflict was largely fought by proxy through the manipulation of governments and organizations in order to achieve each Order's various aims. It was rare for the conflict to ever become particularly conspicuous, although there were occasions, such as the Third Crusade, where the Assassins and Templars openly fought alongside those they were manipulating.

The Assassin, Adewale versus the Templar, Shay Patrick Cormac during the Seven Years War.
 

Assassin's Creed Black Flag: Evolved Origin

Edward Kenway's origin is not one I appreciate(given the fact that I've been told that I don't appreciate anything). In the game and the novel, Edward knows not of the Assassins or Templars, their ideologies, or their motivations. He was simply naive of the conflict he was embroiled in, I would have taken a different approach. To start with, I would have had him be an Assassin from the beginning, simply because it would be a nice twist to see and would provide an interesting transition from Assassin to Templar. Although he becomes a pirate, which I don't mind and is perfect, this change will ensure that he is a renegade or rebel of the crown, the Assassins, and the Knight's Templar, which fits his pirate trained by Assassins theme. Ultimately, the story becomes a redemption story, a man was greedy, and in the end, he found something to live for, something real, something beyond himself.