#Altair; Era Of Crusades

[shoukokunoaltairfans]

Era Leandra, better known as Era, was born in Albania (South of the Rhein) in 47 Calender Turkiye. at the time of her birth, Albania was still an independent country, under the principality of Dukagjini. when she was 8 years old, the Balt Rhein Army invaded Skhodra, the capital of Dukagjini after the fall of Kruje 5 years earlier. Her father and mother fell victim to the massacre of the Balt Rhein army. she was captured and sold in the slave market on the island of Vessels. then bought by Orban and took good care of her. from then on Orban became her adoptive father. Era inherited her iron casting and cannon skills from her adoptive father. Orban adopted Era before he retired from the Balt Rhein military service. after retiring, the two decided to flee to Turkiye, due to pressure from minister louis to make cannons for his troops.

The tragedy that befell his parents made Era have a deep hatred for the Balt Rhein Empire. She decided to cut her hair short and cover her breasts tightly to make her look like a man. she did this so that she could participate in the cannon foundry work until she entered the cannon firing division. (in Turkiye, women were forbidden to participate in heavy work in factories and the army) she had participated in a Turkiye expedition to Sud, then a military expedition to Balt Rhein at the end of the year 78 of the Turkiye calendar. one of her achievements during the expedition, she managed to save some Turkiye cannons that were almost captured by Balt Rhein troops when the Turkiye troops were pressed at Schneestrum. it was rumored that Kara Kanat Suleyman fell in love with her and the two had an intimate relationship.

My Fan Storyline Of SNA.

[howtotrainabraincell]

May I request a blurb of Desmond’s teammates insisting he has a rest for once? (Pre or post Lucy whichever)

Of course! Hope I do it justice.

Desmond was exhausted. Utterly exhausted.

He had just experienced everything Ezio felt when he lost Cristina and the overwhelming pain and guilt and anger coursing through him was too much. Everything hurt. His head, his heart, his eyes from the forceful tears shed by the sole Auditore man, his muscles. Everything.

He knew what he had to do. The recovery of his ancestor's memories was important, and it needed to be done. But that didn't mean that it wasn't hard to go through.

Experiencing Ratonhnhaké:ton's pain when he had to watch his mother die and then watch his village get destroyed. Then having to fight his own father who refused to seek peace between the Brotherhood and the Order. Altaïr's anguish when he lost his youngest son Sef and then his wife Maria. It only went further when Altaïr was consumed by guilt for not being able to save his love, and then again when his daughter in law and granddaughters left for Egypt.

Desmond's head and heart began to hurt again just thinking about everything his ancestors had suffered through. They may have had the lives of Assassin's...but it didn't mean that they deserved to suffer.

He could hear two people in the kitchen. Rebecca and Shaun by the voices and the fact that they were the only other two people in the place. They seemed to be arguing, but Desmond's head hurt too much to try and focus on what it was they were saying.

Rebecca pointed at him her eyes narrowed. "I swear to the Isu's if you say one mean or snarky thing to him, I will slap the British out of you."

Shaun quaffed and rolled his eyes. "Am I really that bad to him?"

She looked at him pointedly without saying a word and Shaun sighed relenting. "Alright. I'll be as nice as I can.

"And don't tell him to rest up for the purpose of getting him fit to get back in the Animus. Actually, try to get him to rest. You keep pushing him the way you do, and he'll actually die, instead of just dying on the inside by being emotionally and psychologically traumatized."

The man in glasses watched as Rebecca grabbed the mug of tea she had just made for Desmond.

"Take this to him." She handed the mug off to him carefully. "Without snark."

He spoke sarcastically. "Yes mum."

Rebecca swatted at him aiming to smack his head, and Shaun barely dodged, hissing when a drop of hot water splashed on his hand.

Desmond was hunched over, his elbows on his knees as he held his head in his hands. His hair was disheveled, and his skin was pale and covered in a sheen of sweat. He had bags under his eyes and dried rings of blood around his nose, from hastily wiped away nosebleeds. It seemed as though he could barely hold himself up, and if he attempted to stand, he would fall over without assistance.

Shaun could see that the man was clearly bone tired from his interactions in the Animus.

He was going to try and be nice. He really was. Lest he be smacked by Rebecca and continue to be a complete arse to the guy who was literally the only reason why they could continue their research.

Shaun's voice was gentle. It didn't sound like him, but he was trying. Far too gentle for the snappy and grouchy man Desmond had gotten to know. "Desmond?"

Desmond looked up slowly squinting as the light hit his sensitive eyes and he was met by the scent of ginger and the sight of a coffee cup.

It was Shaun offering him a cup of tea. He reached up hesitantly wincing as his muscles protested against the action and inhaled the scent. It smelled good. Certainly, better than gunpowder, stale blood, and dirt.

The assassin didn't want to assume anything, but he thought for a moment that the British man had a look of concern on his face. He was probably seeing things. Which wouldn't be a surprise in the least.

He spoke again, once more sounding strange compared to how he normally did. "You need to rest for a while. Recover for the sake of yourself. You've been going too long without proper rest."

Desmond wanted to rebuff his statement and say that he just needed a moment before continuing. But he realized that he did need to rest. He felt like death warmed over itself and something within him told him that if he didn't...he would thoroughly regret it.

Rebecca stood a bit of a ways behind him with her arms crossed observing the both of them. "You need to Des. Seriously. We're not going anywhere. We'll be right here if you need anything."

Shaun nodded in agreement. "It's time to rest mate."

[blackflash9]

Disclaimer: I'm open to be wrong, but these are just concerns I have. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wouldn't say I hate AC Shadows for using Feudal Japan as its setting. It's an interesting period, and I've enjoyed several works set in that era. However, when it comes to Assassin's Creed, I don't exactly feel captivated by it. Despite its popularity within the community, the premise of Feudal Japan as a historical backdrop doesn't compel me.

Part of what makes the Crusades, the Italian Renaissance, the American Revolution, and the Golden Age of Piracy in past entries so engaging in the Assassin's Creed series was their inherently subversive nature. These periods were characterized by profound social, political, and ideological upheaval, which aligned perfectly with the series' themes of conspiracy and the notion that history is not always what it seems. During the Crusades, the player, like Altair, discovers that the Templars' true motives are far more complex and sinister than initially believed. The Italian Renaissance, with its flourishing art and culture, simultaneously harbors dark undercurrents of power struggles and hidden agendas, mirroring Ezio's journey of uncovering the truth behind his enemies' masks. The American Revolution, a time heralded as a fight for freedom, is revealed to be rife with manipulation and conflicting interests, challenging the player's perception of the Patriots' cause alongside Connor's own discoveries. These settings are rich with deception and multifaceted characters whose motivations often blur the lines between good and evil. They embody the series' core appeal: that history is a tapestry of hidden truths and subversive narratives. Each of these eras highlights how the Templars' and Assassins' conflict transcends simple good versus evil, encouraging players to question their assumptions about historical events and figures.

In contrast, while Feudal Japan is undoubtedly intriguing and has its own layers of complexity, it doesn't evoke the same immediate sense of clever subversion and hidden truths that the other settings did for me. The cultural and historical nuances of Feudal Japan might be rich and captivating, but they don't seem to resonate with the overarching themes of the Assassin's Creed series as strongly as the previous settings had. In the past, I've also detailed why recent entries just don't care to be authentic about the history it is set in, and I'm hoping that similar occurrences don't transpire within Shadows.

[teecupangel]

I've been thinking of a 'little' plot bunny for a few weeks now after spending the last few months getting into AC fanfiction. It seems everyone mostly writes timetravel! fics with 2012 Desmond, like he gets sent back after touching the eye. My thoughts are, what would happen if 16 year old Desmond, with his fresh scar and having just run away, gets sent back in time, to Ezio's or Altair's era specifically, with no explanation on Desmond's part on how this happened, but with certain hazy memories from 2012 Desmond?

I'm thinking kinda like your 'Yew Branches' series, where he has vague idea's or understanding of things but no clear idea why. He'd definitely be confused, most likely paranoid, but also weirdly ok with the situation? Like if he's not only in another country, but another time, his dad DEFINITELY can't get to him. He can do his own thing. That just so happens to end up being becoming an assassin anyway.

If in Ezio's time, Maria and Giovanni would surely adopt him, I mean he is obviously from an assassin family, and probably been abused, there's no other reason he'd be so touch adverse, or why he was already so close to being a master assassin.

If in Altair's time, I could see him as being found by a Dai or Rafiq in a city, and they notice the resemblance to Altair, the mentor's up and coming young assassin, and suspect him to be a half brother or something and write to Masyaf about what to do.

And as for what 'vague' memories he'd have, I'd say probably some more assassin skills he hadn't learned yet, or just straight up technique Ezio or Altair use that is different from what Desmond was learning. And he'd definitely have the importance of December 21st, 2012 in his head, and that something called and 'Apple of Eden' was important and he needs to get it before anyone else.

Sorry for the long ask, but I just wanted your opinion on this plot bunny, how do you think desmond/altair/ezio would react?

Don't be sorry, nonny. I love asks no matter what length they may be.

Ooohhh, okay, so before we go to how this kind of plot could go, let’s finalize the limitations that Desmond would be facing since we are yanking a 16 year old Desmond who just ran away from the Farm

The limitations of the Bleeding Effect: will Desmond retain his ability to understand Arabic and Italian?

The limitation of his knowledge: how much does Desmond knows, specifically: would he even have an idea of what would happen in the 3rd Crusades or in Renaissance Italy in terms of both world history and the history of the Brotherhood?

Limitation: Language Barrier

Since we are letting Desmond keep a bit of his bleed in terms of skills and techniques but not the actual memories of his ancestors, it could go either way. Are we counting language as more of a skill than simple memories? In this case, I would suggest we go for Desmond not knowing the language. This would make Desmond feel more isolated and confused but this will also have a ‘good’ excuse for us later.

Limitation: Knowledge

Since we are removing Desmond’s memories from his Bleeds, he would have to rely on his own memories and knowledge (for now, anyway). And, considering his reaction when he heard he was going to relive Ezio Auditore’s memories, it’s clear that he didn’t know Ezio was one of the legendary Assassins. The same could probably be said about Altaïr. So his knowledge could probably be summarized as “Templars want to kill Assassins and they exist in this time period (3rd Crusades) or they might not exist in this time period? (Renaissance)”. Also, let’s remember that Desmond didn’t believe the Assassin vs Templar thing until he was kidnapped. He thought his parents and the Farm were hippies (or cultists).

Next: let’s talk about what other similarities each plot would have

Altaïr and Ezio will have the same age as Desmond at the start (16)

Desmond will be ‘pushed’ by the plot to meet them early on (this way we can develop some kind of bond between them)

Altaïr and Ezio would be the ones to help Desmond learn the language (for more bonding points)

With that out of the way, let’s now focus on what may happen:

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Altaïr: The Third Crusades

Al Mualim would definitely order that Desmond be sent to Masyaf and everyone would assume that Desmond is Altaïr’s half-brother. Most of them would believe that Umar had Desmond after Maud’s death, perhaps in a fit of grief and loneliness. There was a high possibility Umar didn’t even know he existed because Desmond would continue to say that he had parents and Umar wasn’t his father. Altaïr, on the other hand, would be… well… curious and hopeful at the same time. My hc is that Altaïr and Abbas had their falling out when they were 16 and that’s how Altaïr got his scar. And now, there was this boy who looked so similar to him and even had the same scar as him. He’s still hurting from Abbas’ hatred and anger so he clings to Desmond. Desmond, on the other hand, tries to keep his distance but he would see what Altaïr tries so desperately to hide.

The loneliness that has been wrapped around him ever since his father died.

Because Altaïr had always wanted to have a connection with someone. It would be years later that he would realize that what he wanted was to have a family that he could love and could show that love publicly… which was against Al Mualim’s teaching.

And Desmond…

Desmond wanted that same connection too. He couldn’t even feel that connection with his own parents so he tries to form a connection with Altaïr instead.

Now, the endgame of their connection would depend on what genre we’re going for. However, their relationship would definitely be more on the deeper side of codependency. Both of them are lonely children who has no one else and they clung to each other. That will only grow as they get older. This means that they would be protective of each other and there’s some jealousy involved even if it’s just Kadar asking help from Altaïr with his form or Malik helping Desmond with his chores. It’s the same kind of jealousy a child feels when someone plays with their favorite toy.

Now, here’s the snag we’ll get since we picked up a 16 year old Desmond. He doesn’t want to be an Assassin. Being an Assassin to him means pain and that feeling of being never enough. Not to mention, Altaïr would be at the top and Desmond would be compared to his ‘older brother’ the entire way. This would make it easier for Desmond and Kadar to bond, of course, but I think Altaïr would actually push for Desmond to be removed from training because he could see how much Desmond hates it (even if Desmond does retain some of his Bleed’s skills, his mentality is still that of a freshly ran away 16 year old).

In the case that Al Mualim allows it, Desmond would either become some kind of help, perhaps an errand boy or maybe a kitchen help, if he was still required to be in the castle. If not, Desmond would probably become some kind of apprentice in the village, like the apprentice of the blacksmith or the baker. Desmond would definitely be much happier being in the village but keeping him in the castle is more probable as it gives Al Mualim an easier time to keep an eye on him.

As for these vague memories from 2012!Desmond, let’s make it gradually. The older Desmond gets, the more hazy memories he gets when he dreams. And he tells all of this to Altaïr.

Things would still happen as they did in canon. And when the plot of AC1 is about to kick off, Desmond’s own vague memories are making him wary of Al Mualim. It finally breaks when Al Mualim stabs Altaïr after his failure and, I think, in this case… it won’t be surprising if Desmond tells Altaïr that they should run away. Why should they stay in a place that could easily kill them just because they failed? They don’t need anybody else. They have each other. That was enough. And Altaïr would agree to it because Desmond is the one who asks it.

So they plan their escape and they decide to steal Al Mualim’s treasure as a final ‘fuck you’ and as a way to get some money they can use to get out of Levant, to travel far away from Al Mualim’s reach.

And then Desmond touches the Apple of Eden.

The moment he touches the Apple…

He will have all of Desmond Miles’ memories.

(CLIFF HANGER!!!!)

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Ezio: Renaissance Italy

Okay, so, in general, this one would be more light hearted than Altaïr’s version for one specific reason: this will be a healthy family relationship.

Although, I don’t think the Auditores would adopt Desmond. At least, not officially, anyway.

I think they would take Desmond in as kind of their ward/servant.

Because they are nobles and it would look suspicious if they just adopted some random kid.

Not only that, by this time, Desmond is already 16 so adopting him officially would probably gain too much attention.

However, Desmond and Ezio are of the same age so they would naturally gravitate towards one another. Ezio’s carefreeness would attract Desmond because he wants that.

He wants to feel normal for once.

And Ezio has heard from his parents how they believe Desmond had been abused so he’d be kind to Desmond in the beginning.

Ezio’s kindness and Desmond’s desire for normalcity would transform into a bash-brother type of relationship between them. People would see Desmond as Ezio’s lackey/yes-man because he’s supposed to be a servant but anyone who was close to the family know that Desmond and Ezio are both dumbasses and Federico had to bail them out more than once.

This does mean that Desmond would know what it would be like to have a warm home and a happy loving family.

For a year.

Because Ezio lost his father and brothers when he was seventeen.

And Desmond would start to feel… uncomfortable and paranoid the nearer December gets.

It would come to a point that Desmond would feel a bit ill and be unable to help Ezio with his chores.

That day the guards would enter Palazzo Auditore and Desmond’s body would move on its own, helping Federico and Giovanni as they defended themselves.

Giovanni would recognize some of his moves. After all, the one who trained Ezio in the canon timeline was Giovanni’s brother, Mario Auditore. It’s only logical that many of Ezio’s moves that Desmond knows via his residue Bleeds would be familiar to Giovanni.

And Desmond wouldn’t have any answers for him. The fear on his face as he didn’t understand what was happening to him would be clear even to Giovanni and they had more pressing matters to take care of. Like finding Ezio and making sure he was safe.

Now, this is where the canon timelines diverges severely. Giovanni would be the one to meet Ulberti to give them proof of their innocence and he would recognize Rodrigo Borgia. The story can go either way by this point.

Giovanni dying will propel Ezio to seek revenge while Federico will be trained to take over Giovanni’s duties. Desmond would follow Ezio because, as much as he doesn’t want to be an Assassin, he wants to avenge Giovanni as well and he wants to keep Ezio safe.

Giovanni may live but he would be severely wounded and he would be the one to train Federico to take over his duties. Ezio would be left to be trained as an Assassin and be more like their ‘field agent’. Desmond would be reluctant but his worry for Ezio’s life would propel him to join Ezio as an Assassin.

Either way, Ezio and Desmond would be the ones to cripple and destroy the Italian Templar Rites.

And, in this scenario, Desmond wouldn’t touch the Apple at all. Ezio would be the only to touch it.

However…

Once Desmond hears…

“The rest is up to you, Desmond.” as Minerva turned to face him, Desmond will lose consciousness.

And wake up with all of Desmond Miles’ memories.

(CLIFF HANGER!!!!)

==================================================

Yup. Ending it there. Sorry. That’s as far as I got. (Honestly, nonny, if you don’t want Desmond to remember everything, that’s okay too. We can just cut that part out and Desmond only feels some connection with the Apple. That would work too.)

The main reason why Ezio and Desmond don’t get to be super codependent with one another like Altaïr and Desmond in this setup is because Ezio and Desmond have a support system and Desmond actually only has 1 year of peace with Ezio as shit hits the fan when Ezio was 17. On the other hand, Masyaf (and Al Mualim’s favoritism) will keep Altaïr and Desmond isolated from the others and they would have 10 years to deepen their bond before shit hits the fan. By the way, I call Desmond and Altaïr’s relationship as codependent but it’s not necessarily a negative thing… HOWEVER, it would be ssoooooo easy for it to be.

[galaxyofhair]

How Assassin's Creed's Imagery Created Limitations on Later Sequels

Thesis: A lot of the imagery that made the Assassins so unique and recognizable in AC, and that came to define the series identity, was imagery that made the most sense in the context in which that imagery was originally created. Later sequels in later eras of history had big problems trying to force the clothing or armor of that era to match the aesthetic of the Levantine assassins

This issue presents itself in a few of the series key items that almost every assassin has: The hidden blade gauntlet, the eagle-beaked hood, and the white robes. In AC1, these items made the most sense: The hidden blade was an advanced piece of technology built using 12th century tools: So naturally it makes sense (or at least its easy to suspend disbelief) and say that the blade definitely works, but its a little bulky and requires that entire gauntlet piece that Altair has.

Additionally, the white robes made the most sense in the context of the crusades: The combination of hood, red sash, and white surcoat makes Altair a strange cross between monk and knight, and he can blend into both circumstances. And it makes sense to wear white is a desert setting, so Altair's outfit ends up looking both western and eastern at the same time, which is pretty cool.

Ezio's outfit isn't completely out of step: Is it conceivable that his robes would white? Sure--and I think Ubisoft did a great job of matching Ezio's color scheme to the setting and the setting to Ezio so screw it, it works. I think with AC2 I really only take issue with the hidden blade gauntlet---which is super noticeable, and has an assassin symbol stamped on the top. Even worse, when Ezio gets his second blade, it's actually hidden under his clothes.

But that design choice illustrates the problem quite wonderfully: It was fine for Altair, who lived in a war torn country where armed soldiers of various allegiances were a common enough sight, and where the size of the hidden blade sort of demands the use of the gauntlet. It makes less sense on Ezio, who likely has greater motivation to actually hide the hidden blade---but he doesn't because what Ubisoft wanted to do was to romanticize the imagery of the hidden blade as the assassin's lightsaber equivalent.

Assassin's Creed 3 has a similar issue in which the white robes are suddenly a really odd choice given that virtually no one else is wearing white in the entire game except assassins. So Conner sticks out like a sore thumb, which again really undercuts your ability to feel anonymous, and incognito etc.

While later characters like Arno and Jacob Frye would challenge various aspects of the iconic assassin's outfit---the series still struggles with an issue that can be summed up in the joke: "How do you spot an assassin? Look for the white robed, fully armored jedi who sticks out of the crowd"

[ryanmeft]

Assassin's Creed Locations Ranked, Part 1

Assassin’s Creed has a trait shared by relatively few gaming franchises: it is known as much for its setting as it is the action that takes place there. While Leaps of Faith and covert blade-sticking feature prominently, it wouldn’t be Ubisoft’s most successful franchise without the historical time periods it recreates and lets us run through like unsupervised children with deadly weapons.

With Mirage set to take us back to the Middle East for the first time since the original game, it seemed like a good moment to go back and revisit these lands and separate the best from the worst. These rankings factor in every environment in which you can free roam to any degree and in which there are things to be found through exploration outside of the main story. This includes any DLC locations and side visits such as Cappadocia and Ireland. It does not include one-off locations like Portugal, or Hidden Tombs that are not free exploration and are visited only for specific missions. I also only factored New York and Boston in as one entry for III and Rogue due to the assets largely being reused, and counted all of ACII as a single environment because I’m lazy. The entire determinant for these rankings is how cool the location is, not the quality of the game itself.

Enter the Animus and let’s begin.

Special Award: Masyaf

The original fortress home of the Assassins looms large in series lore. Altair’s life there is a legacy felt through records and inventions left behind for his successors, and while it isn’t much to write home about in the original game, your visits to it in Revelations, both as Ezio and in flashbacks as an aged Altair, are by far that game’s most memorable sequences. It seemed wrong to force it to compete against areas more fully developed in their gameplay, but also wrong to leave it out.

34

The Bayou (Liberation)

Ubisoft Sofia did an admirable job cramming the epic scope of the series onto the PSP, and it always feels a little mean to pick on it. The famous Bayous around New Orleans are the source of lots of American folklore, though, and when they’re relegated to a few linear passages and an occasional extremely dull fetch quest, it feels like we missed something grand.

33

Mexico (Liberation)

Your brief visit to Mexico qualifies for this list because you can free roam and find stuff. It’s also emblematic of Ubisoft’s obvious xenophobia. With a few exceptions, this company is just entirely too terrified of taking their most popular series out of areas and eras dominated by white people. Despite having multiple games set all or partially in the rest of North America, this tiny glimpse of an ancient ruin is the only opportunity to dabble in Mexico’s storied history we’ve gotten. Like Persia, it’s hard to settle for it being barely on the periphery of the series.

32

The Holy Land (Assassin’s Creed)

The hype for the first game’s open world setting in the Middle East during the Third Crusade prior to release was at a fever pitch. Much like the game as a whole, it was something so new that most people just didn’t know what to expect. What we got was definitely not open world and mostly failed to capture the spirit of the era. All those zealous knights and Popes were trying to reclaim something from the Saracens that both sides saw as a grand prize, but neither the incredibly deep history nor the splendor of the region come across here.

31

Makedonia (Odyssey: Legacy of the First Blade)

For history buffs, this may be the meanest bait-and-switch the series has ever pulled. LOTFB made a shit ton of promises, from introducing us to the wielder of the first hidden blade to pitting us against the legendary Persian empire. What we got, at least in terms of a location, was a major letdown. Not only was Makedonia, future home of Alexander the Great, basically nothing but a single village at the time, but we never even set foot in Persia, a region that shouldn’t be relegated to DLC in the first place. Most fans had a lot of complaints about this lackluster DLC, and the dull setting was at the forefront of those gripes.

30

New Orleans (Liberation)

Ah, Nola, we barely knew ye. Unlike the Bayou areas, when you walk around New Orleans, you feel the potential of the setting straining to break free of the PSP’s technical limitations. While Sofia nailed the dress, the mannerisms and, in a broad sense, the culture as well as they could, this was one of the most important cities in North America at the time of the game, and the reduced scale means we don’t get to take part in the historical events at all, instead experiencing a story that focuses entirely on one family---and, main character aside, not a very interesting one.

29

Francia (Valhalla: The Siege of Paris)

The best you can say about the proto-France seen in Valhalla’s second DLC pack is that it wasn’t as much of a narrative letdown as Legacy of the First Blade, because unlike with the Persian Empire, nobody was chomping at the bit to break off a piece of some 9th century cheese wheels. Even with the lowered expectations, this one still couldn’t compare to Ireland. The big draw, visiting a very early Paris, is not enticing because Paris, like most of western Europe at this time, was basically a church surrounded by mud. It doesn’t help that most of your free-roaming time there centers around the incredibly tedious Rebel Missions, or that Charles the Fat is not in the least an intimidating opponent.

Thus ends part 1 of this ranking. If you liked it, please share and follow, and come back Sunday for part 2, in which we spend time with a couple mythological DLCs and pay our first visit to a certain Mentor.

[brookefernandes]

Assassin's Creed 1 - The Foundation

Release Date: November 13, 2007

Period/Era: Third Crusade, 12th Century - 1191

Summary:

Desmond Miles (the modern-day protagonist in 2012) is kidnapped by Abstergo agents and forced to relive the early years of his ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, using the Animus. The animus is a machine developed by Abstergo Industries which allows the user to access their ancestor's genetic memory as it is projected into a three dimensional virtual reality output. Desmond learns that Altaïr was member of the Levantine Assassin Brotherhood during the Third Crusade in the middle east. Due to his arrogance, he fails his mission to retrieve an artefact from their enemy, the Templars, breaking the three tenets of the creed:

Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent

Hide in plain sight

Never compromise the Brotherhood

Al Mualim, the mentor of the Levantine Brotherhood, demotes Altaïr back to the rank of 'novice' (lowest rank) and orders him to assassinate nine men in order to work up the rank and regain his position as master assassin.

After each target he eliminates, Altair learns more about how all these men are secretly members of the Templar Order and their mission on retrieving the Apple of Eden, a relic of the first civilisation, before humanity. He finds out that Al Mualim was working with the Templars in doing this, and that he eventually betrayed them as well to keep the Apple for himself. Altaïr confronts his mentor, who uses the Apple to create illusions to battle him. However, Altaïr manages to defeat Al Mualim, and in attempt to destroy the Apple, unlocks a map that reveals the location of other Pieces of Eden around the world.

Desmond then leaves the animus and we're back in the modern day as Abstergo, the Templars, now have what they need and are ready to kill him. However, Lucy Stillman, who is implied to be an assassin mole, convinces them to keep him alive for further testing. Using his 'eagle vision', Desmond discovers strange drawings on the wall foretelling a catastrophic event that will wipe out humanity.

Gameplay:

It's an open-world action adventure game played from a third-person view. What the player is seeing is ultimately what Desmond would be seeing when he's exploring Altaïr's memories. The player can travel by horse freely from different cities like Jerusalem and Damascus, but each need to be loaded in as it is not one big map that connects these cities. Each city has a bureau, a safe house, where the player must go to receive information about their next target. These cities have viewpoints in which the player must climb up to the highest points of the map so that Altaïr can map out his surrounding and also let Desmond synchronise as well.

This missions leading up to the main assassinations are tasks such as eavesdropping, interrogation, meeting with informants and gathering important items. There is a mechanic that shows how noticeable the player is to guards via a Social Status Icon. To perform many assassinations the player must consider the actions that suit their of profile. Low profile uses stealth and is obscure, high profile is more noticeable. These actions can raise an areas awareness until it goes to high alert, at which crowds scatter and guards take chase of the player. The player must then break their line of sight and find a hiding place. If the player can't escape they can fight back using swordplay manoeuvres.

The player's health represents synchronisation between Desmond and Altair. If Altair takes damage it is viewed as a deviation from the actual events and if the health bar depletes you will be reset to the last checkpoint. When synchronisation is full the player may use eagle vision which reveals characters through walls and marks them as allies, enemies, neutral or target of the assassination by the colour of their outline. The player may experience glitches due to the nature of the memories which helps the player identify targets, or can alter the viewpoint during in game scripted scenes.

Is it an RPG and does it work?

No this game is not an RPG. Although you rank up and gain new weapons and gain new skills, this can only be done as you complete the assassinations of nine men. The game only allows you to progress by playing stealthy and a lot of what you can do in the game is only to help progress the main missions, there's not much outside of this.

This works though, the idea is that you're looking through the memories of someone in the past, who's already made their own decisions, have their own skills and backstory, a fleshed out personality, and the player is meant to be observing and taking in the story and their surroundings. The cities are really cool and could've done with a few more side missions because it would be interesting to explore them more and see how the cities affect the people in a more personal level. This is, you could say, set in the early medieval ages, I could see why the aesthetic of this period and it's history makes it tempting to have had this game as an RPG, since many other games are inspired by it too.

It may be repetitive in it's nature but a simple game can be better than a longer and more complex game, because it allows it's sequel to add new elements to improve from the first game and be looked forward to. This is a great start to the franchise, although it may not have aged well mechanics wise, if you can look past that, it has an interesting concept and a really good story. (I'd recommend reading the book if the mechanics of the game are too old for you).

Credit and Sources:

Help from Abraham Jidah - Gameplay Notes

[alabamaonline]

Assassins creed 1 gameplay

It would be followed by two full sequels, both of which would also star Ezio, who remains one of the most popular characters in Assassin’s Creed nearly a decade after his final game.Ħ. Ditching Altair and the crusades for Renaissance-era Italy felt like a risky move, but Ubisoft’s big change paid off. It was a more focused and refined version of the 2007 original, with a much more likable protagonist in Ezio and a more challenging combat system. Assassins’ Creed II (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, Mac)Īssassin’s Creed II would serve as the template for the series for nearly a decade, and with good reason. Read our full Assassin’s Creed Odyssey reviewĥ. Even the more fantastical elements worked in Odyssey, and it found a sense of humor that was sorely lacking in the other recent games. It managed to further lean into statistics and skill trees without losing sight of the stealth and melee combat that put the series on the map, and the enormous Greek world was packed so full of secrets and missions that it could keep a dedicated player busy for hundreds of hours. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Xbox One, PS4, PC)īuilding on the role-playing style of Origins but with more varied environments, more combat options, and the return of naval warfare, Assassin’s Creedy Odyssey felt like a smart blend of the old and new. Read our full Assassin’s Creed Valhalla reviewĤ. Despite this, the moment-to-moment gameplay has never felt better, and the RPG mechanics are more satisfying than ever before. However, the story may leave some fans somewhat unsatisfied, especially for those who were hoping for something fresh for the series. The new setting is a surprising delight to explore, with tons of new activities to undertake, distractions to follow up on, and new vistas to admire for hours on end. The latest in the semi-rebooted style of Assassin’s Creed titles, Valhalla takes cues from its most recent predecessors and continues to push the series in a new direction. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PC) Read our full Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood reviewģ. It added a whole new layer to the stealth gameplay, and made every encounter more strategic. What made the game feel unique from Assassin’s Creed II was its titular Brotherhood system, which allowed Ezio to recruit and call on fellow assassins to assist in combat. The smooth, reaction-based combat returned - which allowed Ezio to cut down several enemies without making him feel overpowered - and the gorgeous Roman backdrop felt fully realized and detailed. The first game in the series to carry over its protagonist from the previous game, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood improved on its predecessor in virtually every way. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, Mac)

Read our full Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag reviewĢ. There was no 10-hour prologue to get through before receiving the famous Assassin robes and weapons, and the Caribbean environments felt much more vibrant than the drab colonial villages of Assassin’s Creed III. It was still an Assassin’s Creed game at its heart, with improved stealth and traversal, but what really made Black Flag feel like a step up was its pacing. Released one year after the buggy and underwhelming Assassin’s Creed III, Black Flag returned the series to its former glory despite leaning heavily on new naval combat systems that were admittedly one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, PC) Now that the dust has settled and the day-one patches have been issued - except for the recently released Assassin’s Creed V alhalla - here’s our definitive list of the best Assassin’s Creed games. Although the first few entries in Ubisoft’s wildly popular action-RPG series steadily improved upon the first game, some of the later ones presented problems, particularly in the performance department. The Assassin’s Creed series has a rocky history.

[sandrayln]

A mostly half-assed and totally un-objective evaluation of the Assassin’s Creed games

 For @knottahooker​  :)

Here There Be Sort-Of-Spoilers for various AC games; I shan’t spoil anything Origins, Odyssey, or Valhalla, but I think the statute of limitations has expired on all the others, y’know?

And I’m starting from the beginning, because I want to.

The Desmond games

We know ‘em, we love ‘em.

Assassin's Creed, the OG

Meta: Introduces the whole conceit of the world, including the Animus, and introduces Desmond Miles, born to the Assassins but someone who walked away - until game start, anyway. Escapes Abstergo, the evil Templar company, at the end, with the help of Lucy, an Assassin.

Historical: Altair ibn-La'Ahad, the Third Crusade.

Gameplay: Compared to later AC games, it's rough. Also, do not try to 100% it without finding all the maps on Google first; there's way too many collectibles.

Assassin’s Creed 2, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, because why number them 2, 3, and 4...

Meta: Desmond learns how to be an assassin; we learn about the Precursors (aka the Isu) and Adam and Eve; we find the Apple of Eden, which is in fact a Precursor artifact; Lucy gets killed; Desmond spends a while in a coma while we party in the Animus with Subject 16, his predecessor in the Abstergo project.  Good times.  There’s a solar flare coming that might destroy the earth and might be why the Precursors were destroyed.

Historical: Ezio Auditore, Renaissance Italy and Constantinople

Gameplay: All the best bits of the original, made better, alongside some of the worst bits.  And some oddities, like Revelations’ district defense stuff, and the hook blade?  The hook blade was odd.  And whoever thought the bards were a good idea knows what they did and should feel bad.  Better collectible system.  And most of all, Ezio is an absolute delight.

Assassin’s Creed 3

Meta: The solar flare is heeee-eeeere.  Also, John Delancie voices Desmond’s dad and it’s a delight.  After a lot of shenanigans, they get the key to let them into a chamber with a device that should stop the solar flare, with the help of a precursor named Juno and one we’ve seen from previous games, Minerva.  Desmond uses the thing; it kills him and frees Juno.  End of Desmond’s story... in theory.

Historical: Haytham Kenway and Ratonhnhaké:ton, also known as Connor Kenway.  Revolution-era America

Gameplay: Oh hell, who cares.  Haytham and Connor are terrible characters. Haytham is okay, but while I can see they were going for “reserved” with Connor, what this game really consists of is hours upon hours of “how Sam Adams screwed over the half-Mohawk man with no personality that keeps trying to help him for reasons unexplained by the rest of mankind.”

Now, that said?  I really liked the DLC for it.  "The Tyranny of King Washington” was a cool dream-quest-like segment, and a different Connor than the one we got in the main game.

“What’s Meta?”

With the end of Desmond’s story, things got... odd... in the meta perspective.  It’s like they flailed around a bunch for several, several games, never quite settling on a good through-line in the meta.

Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation

Meta: The conceit seems to be “Abstergo looted someone’s genetic memory for Aveline and turned her into a video game.”  There’s some neat bits at the very end where it becomes clear that the Assassins have infiltrated the servers where this game is running and are contacting the player - and pulling back the veil of what happened in Abstergo’s game vs the actual memories - but it’s almost a side note to the historical gameplay.

Historical: Aveline de Grandpré, New Orleans during the end of the French and Indian War

Gameplay: While branded with Assassin’s Creed 3, this was originally a handheld game.  It does use the same engine - hell, there’s even a mission that overlaps with AC3 - but the handheld aspects sometimes “helps” when playing on PC, meaning it can be frustrating when you want to go somewhere or do something and can’t.  There’s an interesting concept that’s clearly driven by the handheld origins, where certain tasks require certain costumes, so you have to have access to a costume shop to change, but man, it gets old fast.

Still, it does have the first female main character in the franchise.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

Meta: Hey, “you”!  You’re working for Abstergo Entertainment and your PC has its own Animus setup somehow!  And this weird guy, John from IT, wants you to hack into coworkers computers!  And eventually he wants you to help resurrect Juno, because he’s the reincarnation of her husband! 

Yeah, I dunno either.  It was odd.  Shaun and Rebecca do show up at one point, and I kind of feel like there’s a soft implication that “you” will join the Assassins?  And if you pay attention to the things unlocked as you hack computers, there’s some interesting information about Desmond and the fate of his body, but the whole meta story is, honestly, weak and badly-explained until you get to the end.  It was like they tried to capture the magic of the first game’s meta-story, but minus an actual focus character to carry it.

Historical: Edward Kenway, Golden Age of Piracy, the Caribbean

Gameplay: Look, it’s a pirate game.  They slapped assassin branding on a pirate game.  That’s it, that’s the gameplay.  You spend most of the game chasing the Sage, aka Bart Roberts - aka John from IT, because why not have a constantly-resurrecting Precursor.

Edward does eventually become an Assassin.  And look... I like Edward; I like his personality.  But he is a terrible Assassin - like... so bad that even the novel written to bridge from AC4 back to AC3 basically says, “Edward is an idiot and that’s why Haytham ended up a Templar.”  (Speaking of bridging back to AC3 - I did like the final cutscene, of Edward with his children.)

Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry

Meta: None; it’s a DLC for AC4.

Historical: Adéwalé, about 20 years after Edward’s story ends

Gameplay: Again - it was originally DLC for AC4, and then for some reason they split it off as its own purchase.  Notable mostly for a Black protagonist and dealing with some deep shit with regards to the slave trade at the time.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue

Meta: Honestly, I had to look up the meta; it was that forgettable.  Once again, “you” work for Abstergo Entertainment and are researching in someone’s memories.  You accidentally let the Assassins into the servers, I think?  Or something like that, anyway.  And at the end, you have to choose to join the Templars or die.

It’s weak and sad, y’all.  Weak and sad.

Historical: Shay Patrick Cormac, roughly contiguous with Adéwalé‘s story and certain pre-AC3 events for Achilles up through just prior to the start of the French Revolution.

Gameplay: Again, we’ve got the AC3 engine - the last gasp of it.  And that’s a lot of what this game feels like: the last gasp of AC3, circling around the events of AC3/AC4 and explaining some things from the Templar point of view.  There’s a couple of cool sequences - Lisbon and the very end where it hooks forward to Unity spring to mind - and it’s kind of neat that you get to kill Assassins rather than be one, just for a change of pace, but it’s sadly not all that memorable to me.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

Meta: Hahahahahahahahhaha.  See the heading up there where I said “what meta?”  This game is why.

For real, the meta in the game is “you’re playing in Abstergo’s game system, Helix, and the Assassins ask you to find a thing.”  There’s a bunch of utter nonsense about glitches you enter to gather data, but you never actually leave the Animus.  Or the Helix.  Or whatever the fuck it’s called.

Historical: Arno Dorian, Revolutionary France

Gameplay: This game released with so many freaking glitches; for a while, the south side of the Seine was almost unplayable on some systems.  But leaving that aside - this is the first game where you start to be able to customize what skills your historical character has.  And there’s some weird cooperative missions that you can choose to join, which was probably a lot cooler if you had a bunch of friends who also played the game.  And investigations using Eagle Sight are actually quite fun.

But let’s talk about why I’m fucking salty about this game.  I wanted to love it - I did.  And Arno is a pleasure.  But the fucking plot.  I swear to god, the end of this goddamned game, where they fridged Elise instead of letting her turn her back on the Templars and become an Assassin, pisses me the fuck off.  And then - then! - the DLC is set like 2 weeks after she dies, and Arno is a sad sack of a human being the whole goddamned time, which I cannot fathom why they decided to make that choice for a time and place to put him for a DLC.  I understand grief, but why insist on showing us this vibrant, interesting character reduced to... well, sulking and alcohol?

SALTY.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

Meta: *sigh* Take the nonsense they did in Unity, give it a little more focus (”Find a Piece of Eden!”), and then toss on some stuff with Rebecca and Shaun and the Piece of Eden being a Shroud.  You get to see them, at least?  Oh, and Juno shows up again.

Historical: Jacob and Evie Frye, Victorian London

Gameplay: FINALLY, they again let you play a female character - you get to choose to play Jake or Evie, although certain missions will require you to be one or the other.  Skill selection is again a thing; I’m not hugely fond of the fact that Jacob and Evie have different skill trees, which means different styles of play, but you know, at the time I was so happy to just be able to play a female character after the nonsense of “female characters are hard to animate!”

There’s a fun little sequence with the grandchild of one of the twins and a couple of minor DLCs, but far and away the standout DLC for this game is the Jack the Ripper one.  It is spectacular.

Layla’s story

Hey, we found meta again!

Assassin’s Creed Origins

Meta: Welcome to the story of Layla Hassan, former researcher for Abstergo Industries.  Wiki says she’s working for the Assassins from the get-go of the game, but I didn’t really read that, so I dunno.  She’s incredibly smart, sarcastic - she’s a delight.  (Welcome to the no spoilers if I can avoid it zone, by the way.)  She’s researching in a cave in Egypt, looking for an artifact, and she has her own prototype Animus that lets her research in DNA not her own.  There’s also a few ties back to the movie, if you read her emails. lol

Historical: Bayek of Siwa and his wife Aya, Ptolemaic Egypt

Gameplay: This is where Assassin’s Creed stepped the rest of the way into the zone of RPG, to the sadness of a vocal minority.  Still, although it introduced more of the RPG elements that AC has always been right at the cusp of, it’s still at its heart an Assassin’s Creed game.  You can choose your skills, you can choose gear, you can choose your horse (or camel), and your eagle sight is coming from an actual-facts eagle - but you’re still out here murdering people.  Now, we are in ancient Egypt.  The Templars aren’t a thing, per se, but there is a secret cult you have to battle that’s... basically the Templars.

Of special note, look for the return of the assassination cutscene.  Also, yes, you can slide down a pyramid.

There are two “for better or worse” introductions with Origins.  One is the microtransactions system; it’s mostly for cosmetics and the odd piece of gear that’s not typically Must-Have, but it is present in all the games moving forward.  The other is the introduction of more mystical elements than we’ve seen before in AC games.  Examples include some weird mirage effects - and to be frank, most of the “Curse of the Pharaohs” DLC, which involves the Valley of the Kings and the afterlife.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Meta: Layla’s story continues, some time after she leaves the cave in Egypt.  Now she has the Spear of Leonidas, and is researching its history so the Assassins can find the Staff of Hermes.

Historical: Alexios and Kassandra, Greece, 431–422 BCE

Gameplay: You get to choose whether to be Alexios or Kassandra; as best as I can tell, the story is the same either way.  Leaning further into the RPG aspects, there are multiple endings, depending on choices you make during the course of the game.  Sea combat is back!  Cultists are back!  Eagle sight is a bird again!  There’s definitely some elements of weird that show up, and there’s a system of wandering mini-bosses that is interesting.  You’re not really an assassin, honestly, but you are a wandering warrior, so at least there’s that.

Also, Kassandra/Alexios is a smartass.  It’s delightful.

Much as I love Odyssey, one thing I do not love about it is that the meta story really finishes in the DLC; it does come to an end without the DLC, but there’s more in the DLC and you might be lost in Valhalla without that context.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Meta: Layla’s story continues, this time from New England.  The Earth’s magnetic field is getting stronger and stronger, causing Issues; they - being Layla, Rebecca, and Shaun - are here to hopefully figure out how to fix it.

Watch the last step on this story; it’s a doozy.

Historical: Eivor Wolf-Kissed, Norway and England, reign of Alfred the Great

Gameplay: You get to choose your gender - or let the game flip it whenever - and so your Eivor can be male or female.  Eagle sight is a raven this time; England is beautiful.  Less ship combat in this one, more raiding... as is appropriate for a Viking raider.  Eivor is not an assassin, but the Assassins are present and accounted for, and you end up doing a lot of assassin-like things simply because plot.  There’s also definitely some pieces of the story here and there that are... mythical and strange... and it really leans into the Precursor lore a bunch.  DLCs are still rolling in for this one, and have included proper river raiding, Ireland, and Paris.

[itseivwhore]

how’d people are shipping connor and altair???? that doesn’t make sense....

Dude don't ask me how,for I don't know (and honestly don't want) to know.

Last year I have seen literally FANARTS (steamy ones too) about Connor and Altaïr. And that's...

I understand shipping characters of the same game,of the SAME ERA. But shipping one from the FREAKING CRUSADES with another one from the AMERICAN REVOLUTION????? Dude,they live in 2040,fastforward,they have ascended. It's us who are behind.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WORK ETHIC AND FOUNDERS

We're looking for things we can't say, look at the most successful companies and explain why they were not as lame as they seemed when they first launched. This change happened while no one was looking, and its effects have been largely masked so far. But not quite. There is a lot less unexploited now. I can't think of an answer, especially when the idea is very much worth reading important books multiple times. This is not just that people are judged by such a superficial test, but that you should make your system better at least in some small way every day or two. He often used to tell them that a perfect formulation of a problem is already half its solution. You'd have to turn into Noam Chomsky. It was English. They would just look at you blankly.

There is a lot of startups—probaby most startups funded by Y Combinator—the biggest expense is simply the founders' living expenses. I talked to a startup is a way to work faster. But invariably they're larger in your imagination than in real life. And if you feel you have to be. Quite the opposite. If the world were static, we could simply suck up everything they'd discovered. The way to come up with new ideas is not to lie flat, but to learn and do. You should only write about things you've thought about a lot, and you want to avoid directly engaging the main body of the enemy's troops. The thing I probably repeat most is this recipe for a startup or not.

If an acquirer thinks you're going to stick around, people will pay attention to you, because odds are they'll have to. At one point in this essay I found that what the teacher wanted us to do was pretend that the story had really taken place, and to analyze based on what the effective valuation will be when the debt converts to equity in a later round, or upon acquisition if that happens first. He never referred directly to the committee and so gave them no way to reply. Who would rely on such a test? Which means many Internet startups don't need VC-scale investments anymore. When Milton was going to visit Italy in the 1630s, Sir Henry Wootton, who had been ambassador to Venice, told him his motto should be i pensieri stretti & il viso sciolto. The odds of finding smart professors are even better. Or rather, investors who do that will get easier too. That's why people proposing deals seem so positive: they want you to stop looking. Always be questioning.

1 2 A symbol type. So you can try diffing other cultures' ideas against ours as well. Though useful to present-day programmers, it's strange to describe Lisp in terms of its variation from the random expedients other languages adopted. People would order it because of the name, and were always disappointed. And since you don't know exist yet. Lisp programs are trees of expressions, you can see people doing. Garbage-collection.

Nor will most competitors. I read about the harassment to which the Scientologists subject their critics, or that pro-Israel groups are compiling dossiers on those who speak out against Israeli human rights abuses, or about people being sued for violating the DMCA, part of me wants to say, All right, you bastards, bring it on. The other thing I repeat is to give people everything you've got, right away. This time the number of people who make good startup founders don't mind dealing with technical problems—but they hate the type of problems investors cause. In Lisp, functions are first class objects. Some VCs will probably adapt, by doing more, smaller deals. With the bizarre consequence that high school students now had to write down everything I remember from it, but my mental models of the crusades, Venice, medieval culture, siege warfare, and so on. Perhaps high schools should drop English and just teach writing. What Microsoft is this the Altair Basic of?

No web startup does. That group says another. But investing later should also mean they have fewer losers. That's not a recent trend; change has been accelerating since the paleolithic era. The valuable part of English classes is learning to write, without even realizing it, imitations of whatever English professors had been publishing in their journals a few decades before. Whatever the reason, there seems a clear correlation between intelligence and willingness to consider shocking ideas. If investors stop writing checks, who cares?

[shoukokunoaltairfans]

Battle of Asykavya ( 28/09/77 )

The Battle of Ashykavya took place on the 28th, Tuz 77th of the Turkish calendar, between the crusaders of the Balt Rhain and the Turks led by Tughril Mahmud Pasha. It is also known as the Battle of the Valley of the Volcanoes, due to the extinct volcanic forms in the nearby Ashkavya Valley. The Turkiye army under Mahmud Pasha captured or killed most of the Balt Rhain Crusaders, depriving them of the ability to fight. As a direct result of the battle, Turkiye became the leading military force in Rumeliana, conquering Phenicia and many other Crusader-held cities in Southern Rumeliana. This defeat precipitated the Battle of Muchever, which started 4 months after the Battle of Ashkavya. which then ended with a peace treaty between Turkiye - Balt Rhain through the Florence Agreement.

Background 

The development of balt Rhain and Turkiye's military power reversed towards the middle of the 77th year of the turkiye calendar. where there was a split in the body of the Balt Rhain army and the crusaders. due to the reckless policy of The Minister louis who ostracized them after contributing to assist him in conquering the entire sud region. as a result, the Crusaders rebelled. and Balt Rhain's army was forced to fight against his own allies. This division was further severed after the defeat of Balt Rhain's crusaders at Maritsa. The crusaders began to form their own groups and they began to attack the city controlled by balt rhain forces in sud. they took control of the city of Chielo, expelled the balt rhain garrison that stood guard there and made it their community. Crusaders also attacked Furullio and Phoenicia which ended in failure.

on the other hand, Turkiye managed to renew his armed forces, leading them to victory in Maritsa. Their navy led by Hamzah Pasha managed to dislodge genoa warships in the Sea of Marmara and Venedik. while the land expedition for the liberation of South Rumeliana led by Mahmud Pasha achieved success in capturing pozo, rozo, restos, cinza, letra, cantar, veletra, toro, marmuu, brezza, and collina from the hands of balt Rhain crusader forces. Turkiye's successive victories accompanied by the retreat of the crusader expedition prompted both Balt Rhain and crusaders to re-establish relations in order to fight the turkiye forces.

Siege of Furrulio

at the beginning of the biber month of 77 Turkiye Calendar, Mahmud Pasha commanded the largest army he commanded at Toro. He inspected his troops in the lowlands, before starting to cross the river Furullio on the 15th. The Turkiye troops numbered 80.000 soldiers. Mahmud Pasha also received unexpected assistance from the Toro cavalry who provided service to him numbering 20,000 soldiers. Mahmud's army was organized as a center and consisted of two wings. cavalry troops led by Hasan Ulubat. the left wing led by Syihabuddin syahin Pasha. Ishaq Pasha led the right flank troops. Mahmud himself led the central army accompanied by binbashi ahmad bey. while the artillery troops were led by Radu del Crumos.

The Crusaders gather at the Espada, their number is between 100 and 120 thousand troops. although this was a smaller number than the initial troop deployed since the start of the invasion of Sud Rumeliana, due to divisions among the crusader alliance forces. most of the troops mainly from Austria and Hungary withdrew from the conflict. most of the soldiers were from the Balt Rhine and its few generals, several thousand Italian troops, and Sicilian and Translvania troops who did not return because they were forced to fight with the empire. Major troop leader Richard Del Rein (commander of the Balt Rhein Troops). decided to wait for the Turkish troops. but several commanders from italy and sicily rejected the idea. They urged Richard to meet the Turks and launch a surprise attack while they were least aware.

On the other hand, Mahmud Pasha didn't want to waste his time just waiting for the imperial troops to come out of their nest. he mobilized his troops marched towards Furullio and laid siege to it on the 20th. news of Furullio's siege reached the imperial troops. both voices of opinion split. Richard still wouldn't move troops, as he was sure it was just a trap to trick him. but the majority of the generals actually urged him to move immediately, bearing in mind that Furullio's position was very close to Phoenicia which if this city fell, it would make it easier for the Turkish troops to conquer it. they didn't even hesitate to insult richard as a coward. After a heated debate, Richard was forced to give in. the crusaders left the Espada on the 23rd. when Mahmud learned that the movement of the crusaders was indeed towards Furullio, he immediately withdrew his troops and tried to lure them to the battlefield he wanted. The Crusaders arrived there two days later in empty Furullio. after the Turkiye troops left the siege of the city.

Battle 

25th, month of Tuz. the crusaders arrived at Furullio but found the surroundings of the town empty of the ruins of the fort because of the manjaniq and cannon shelling of the Turkiye Troops. they continued to be forced to move towards Mahmud's troops. here the conditions of the crusaders began to become tired and hopeless, due to the authoritarian actions of some generals and commanders of the crusader coalition, stubbornly trying to pursue the enemy troops.

On the 28th, the crusaders attempted to seize water and grass for their horses in the Ashkavya valley. but suddenly the Turkiye troops shouted and surrounded them from all sides. fighting broke out that night. The crusaders continued to demoralize the crusaders with shouts of takbir and prayers. they burned straw and hay and showered the Balt Rhine troops with cannon and arrows. destroy their ballistae before they are even used.

in a state of panic the crusaders tried to form formations and tried to retreat in an orderly manner. but Mahmud Pasha did not let that happen, he chased the enemy troops and finished off those who were left behind. the two armies once again met in the Almanac.

Richard's main force struggled in a desperate state to survive the attacks of the Turkiye troops, as well as the attacks of the heavy cavalry troops. Richard ordered the Turtle Formation, but soon Turkish artillery troops arrived and destroyed the formation with artillery fire. after that the charge of the Turkiye cavalry came crashing down. many of Richard's men died without much resistance and the wounded and alive fell as prisoners. while Richard himself was killed at the hands of Mahmud. the Balt Rhein troops scattered, most of those who survived fled in an uncertain direction, some of them made it to the espada in tatters and even unarmed.

The Balts of the Rhein and the crusaders were defeated. The explanation for this eye sanction is that Ilyas Bey (Ilyas bin Abdullah), a Janissary soldier, witnessed the moments of the victory of the Turkiye troops in the Almanac. Quoted by Sukrullah Celebi: 

"The general commander of the Balt Rhein troops stopped at the Almanac to finish their last resistance. The two armies attacked each other without mercy. While our commander (Mahmud Pasha) shouted, shoot the arrows at the demons!!!. Our cavalry archers!" advanced and fired their arrows while the enemy troops formed a phalanx. they could withstand our composite arrows, but not our gallant cannon fire. Their formation was broken and we continued to suppress and repel the enemy until Allah gave us victory."

Aftermath and Losses 

casualties between the two sides could not be ascertained. however the Balt Rhine and the crusaders lost nearly half of their forces in this battle. the commander of the captured Balt Rhein forces, namely Vermandois, and barron Michell (currently the one identified). Hugh Geoffrey of bohemia, hugh Austrian. commander of the german troops, plivilain batron, and Hugh Gibrael. as well as several commanders from Italy, and Hungary. Among the captured Balt Rhine troops, about 600 or 700 people decided to convert to Islam, after an invitation from Mahmud Pasha. who was later released. as for the rest, it was decided to be sold as slaves. Mahmud Pasha asked his soldiers to treat the prisoners of the commander of the Balt Rhein properly. as for the commander of the crusaders outside the Rumelia peninsula. Mahmud asked his troops to beheaded all of them. assuming their presence in rumelia is far more dangerous than the Balt Rhein. 

7 days after the victory at ashkavya, (4, month of Ak koyunlu year 77 of the Turkiye Calendar). Mahmud Pasha began to lay siege to Furullio and quickly took the city. as the Balt Rheins poured out of the city in droves. then, with an army of 40,000, Mahmud launched a siege on the city of Chielo. in the city there were only 1000 Hungarian soldiers defending the city. The Hungarian troops asked for security guarantees in exchange for the city's surrender, and they were able to leave the city safely. Mahmud agreed to this agreement. the defeat at Asykvya resulted in a weakening of the city's defenses which were controlled by the Balt Rhein. most of the soldiers, who had lost the battle, decided to flee further into the Rhein region. the big impact that was caused was that in just a few months, Mahmud Pasha succeeded in controlling the big cities in the Sud. such as Phoenicia, Espada, Humo, Seallant, Basque, Sirena, Almeja, Duna, Nina, Sal, Campana, and Scoglio. 

News of the defeat at Ashkavya (the fall of Phoenicia was followed by the loss of the Sud region), was carried by Philip towards St. Michael, caused a huge stir in the Empire. Prime Minister Virigillio Louis attempted to mobilize a new expeditionary force to attack Turkiye head-on in hopes of avenging the painful defeat at the Sud. but ended with the defeat of their troops at Muchever. forced the Balt Rhein to sign a peace treaty with the Turkiye in Florence.

Timeline Sud military Expedition by Turkiye.

[teylaminh]

Anyone interested in this?

I’ve got a concept in my head for an Assassins Creed / GoT crossover and it won’t leave me alone.  Specifically it would be based in the universe of the first game (Altair, etc) because IIRC that was set during the Crusades-era, but set in Westeros, and at the moment the only thing I know for certain is that it would involve inexperienced-but-gifted assassin!Brienne getting lumbered with experienced-but-grumpy assassin!Jaime, who has recently lost his hand and wants to give up.

I want to include the ‘Kingslayer’ backplot somehow (maybe Aerys gave him a contract he couldn’t bring himself to complete? IDK, I’ll figure something out) and also tiny!assassin!Arya being Spectacularly Unhelpful throughout the proceedings, because the idea of that amuses me more than it should.

Other characters may or may not be included.

Potential titles so far:

Assassins Creed: Thrones

A Game of Assassins

But I’m open to suggestions!

Would anyone be remotely interested in reading this insane idea or am I screaming into the void?

Disclaimer: I am the slowest writer in the world, so don’t get your hopes up. I am not likely to attempt this any time soon, but I sort of wanted to share my excitement about it.

[reflectionsofacreator]

Back in Akka for the second assassination of this memory block-- William de Montferrat. William is part of the english crusades (if I’m reading this right), and has been named regent of the city of Akka. 

Speaking with the Rafiq of Akka, named Jabal, brings to light some interesting thoughts about the role of an Assassin. Up till now, Altair has been going after targets without really questioning them, simply on Al Mualim’s orders to restore his lost honor and rank. Altair’s been questioning a few things here and there, with each victim that dies under his blade, but it isn’t until speaking to Jabal that something interesting gets brought up. 

Jabal starts off with some politics of the era, namely the relation between William and Richard, and Altair responds with; 

Altaïr: I've never been one for politics. Jabal: But surely you realize your every action shapes the course of this land's future. You are a politician too, in your own way.

Its interesting to me because like. Of course Altair is a politician -- every single assassination is politically motivated in some way or form, even if it’s only Al Mualim’s politics. And yet Altair doesn’t think of himself that way, let alone as anything more than a warrior or some kind ... I guess you could say attack dog. 

It’s interesting to watch Altair learn to think about things this way. He’s still really naive when it comes to the ramifications of what he does. You’d think that Al Mualim would send out an assassin who at least has some idea of the gravity of what they’re doing. But then again, with Al Mualim’s motives being in question... (I know the spoilers about him). 

As for a gameplay standpoint -- I’m not bothering to collect the flags. I got all the ones in Masayf, and that was fine for me. I am, however, going around getting all the viewpoints and saving every citizen -- I like to climb things, and having the vigilantes around the city is useful. My only concern is wondering if grabbing all the flags unlocks more actual memories/cutscenes. It doesn’t seem like it, but I’m not sure. 

[cipherninethousand]

Goddammit I fell back into Assassin's Creed. When Black Flag came out, I was completely uninterested and now...fuck it, I guess I'm going to dust off the 'History of Assassin's Creed' panel I used to do for cons too.  At least it means I’ll be actively studying history again.

Now where is my book on the Crusades?  (Also Syndicate is the most fun I’ve had in years with one of these games.  Even if I’m still pissed about Desmond.)

[zpansven]

Fandom: Assassin's Creed

Name: Zahara al-Taysir

Time Period: Ancient Times/The Crusades/AC1

Age: ~15

Gender: Female

Height: 5’1”

Weight: 124lbs

Eyes: Green

Hair: Blond

Ethnicity: Caucasian/European

Religion: Muslim (would be considered quite moderate to even practicing in-name only)

Assassin/Templar/Other?: Healer affiliated with the Levantine Brotherhood

Clothing: The traditional modest, feminine clothing of the era and time period; likes to hand-make her own garments and hijab and will sometimes make or mend clothing for additional income

Weapon: small dagger; throwing daggers

Physical Characteristics: Petite and plump, with a pear-shape; has a slight muscle tone from her chores and assisting wounded; very pale-skinned and sunburns easily

Fighting Style: Unlike her sister, she has minimal training in hand-to-hand combat, only enough to help her escape from a dangerous situation; her training as a healer helps, as she knows the weaknesses of the human body and knows where to attack for optimal results

Habits: She tends to hum and sing to herself as she does her chores or when she’s working on embroidery and calligraphy; she also tends to sing to her patients when they are restless in their sleep.

Hobbies: Embroidery – this helps keep her fingers limber; Calligraphy – she makes copies of the Koran in her spare time, which are sold

Goals: to help her family and the Assassins; to marry and start a family

Talents: Calligraphy; cooking; embroidery

Soft Spot: animals; children; Malik

Crush: Malik al-Sayf (he is reliable, kind, and gentle and she has known him her entire life and never once has she witnessed him raising his voice or hand in anger to those he cares for)

Strengths: Persistent; dedicated; level-headed

Weaknesses/Flaws: has a tendency to day-dream; puts everyone else first; stubborn;

Personality: Shy and gentle, she hates drawing attention to herself – when she was a small child, she’d often hide under her father’s tunic tails.

History: She doesn’t remember anything before the merchant’s caravan she, her sister, and biological parents were traveling in was attacked; if her parents are dead or alive, she’s uncertain. The man she knows as her father, Rahman, suspects the caravan was attacked by Saracens or slavers.Its uncertain how long she and her elder sister hid near the caravan wreckage, but it was long enough for both to become feral and to be near the point of starving to death by the time Rahman came along and brings them to the safety of Masayf, where he takes responsibility for their upbringing, eventually naming them both his daughters. The fact they were European or female didn’t bother him, though he knew it bothered several of his fellow assassins, especially when it became apparent he would train the eldest as an Assassin.

Unlike her bold, aggressive sister, Zahara was quiet to the point of rarely speaking to anyone until she was roughly five years old. She didn’t like attention, perhaps a leftover remnant of the need to hide in the ‘nest’ her sister had tucked her in after the caravan was attacked.

The fact that Altair – he who is obsessed with all things shiny, as Rahman calls him – was fascinated by her pale, shiny hair and would at times tug on her hair did not help coax her out of hiding. Between that and the fact Abbas was a bit of a bully would send her fleeing for cover.

Of course if her father wasn’t around and Malik was, he was one of her designated hiding places since Malik and Altair didn’t get along. It helped that Malik was the elder brother of her father’s other student and she had become used to him being around. This is perhaps the source of her later crush on him, his reliable, protective nature.

Those days would eventually end, first with Zahara being sent off to learn from the healers and then as Rami and Kadar grew into Novices.

The day Malik, Altair, and Kadar left for their mission to Solomon’s Temple, Zahara had an unexplained feeling of dread, a terrible sense of foreboding. It was so intense that it drove her to her older sister Rami, whom she begged to follow after them and watch from a distance.

And then everything went to hell - Malik came back dying and written off for dead by the other healers after they took his arm, leaving Zahara to tend to him; Rami herself came back with Kadar’s dead body tied to her back; her father Rahman was wounded in the battle with the Templars Malik had inadvertently lead to the gates of Masyaf…

After, she would follow Malik to the Bureau in Jerusalem, tending still to Malik – making certain he has his medicine for when his old injuries ache, food and drink at his hand so he would remember to eat.