Cain

2010-02-28T22:49:52Z

76.170.74.233: /* Cain in Assassins Creed II */

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{{Character Infobox
|name = Cain
|image = Ghent Altarpiece A - Cain - Abel - murder.jpg
|imgdesc = Cain and Abel
|faction = Unknown (possibly the first [[Templar]])
|appear = [[Assassin's Creed II]] (Indirect)
|period = Ancient Era
}}

==Cain in the Bible==

'''Cain''' and [[Abel]], according to the Bible, were the first two sons of [[Adam and Eve]] (Cain being the eldest). According to the Bible, Abel had pleased God with his sacrificial offering while Cain had not. The bible than states a cursed mark was placed upon Cain, known as the "Mark of Cain". How long ago these events occurred is unknown, though if the Bible is to be believed, he and Abel were the sons of [[Adam and Eve]], placing the event of Abel's murder a generation after Adam and Eve.

==Cain in Assassins Creed II==

In Assassins Creed though, Cain's story is different. Instead of Cain killing Abel because God was pleased with Abel and not Cain, Cain actually killed Abel to steal his [[Piece of Eden]]. The mark Cain was given for killing Abel was then used to create the Templars and collect more Pieces of Eden. Subject 16 also references quotes the from the Mormon and Latter Day Saints movement's "Pearl of Great Price" scultpure. The semi hidden message "Templar texts adapted by Mr. Smith" written in Morse code in a glyph sequence, implying that the Mormon or LDS version of Cain and Abel is more accurate, or at the very least least, an accurate reflection of the Templars version of events. The relativly unique title of "Master Mahan" is mentioned as the title Cain gave himself. The meaning of the term is unclear, and it does not seem to occur in other versions of the story.
[[Category:Templars]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Characters]]
[[Category:Historical Characters]]

Isu

2010-02-28T22:43:05Z

76.170.74.233: /* Past Events */

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[[File:Zw-Minerva-3.png|thumb|250px|[[Minerva]] is the only known representative of "Those Who Came Before"]]

"''Those Who Came Before''," is the name of an ancient and incredibly advanced race of beings who created the [[Piece of Eden|Pieces of Eden]], as well as humanity itself. Exactly who they were, how long ago, or how they came to die out, is still, for the most part, largely unknown. It is believed that they were the gods worshiped by ancient human cultures; i.e. Greek, Roman, Mesopotamian, Egyptian gods, etc. The woman known as [[Minerva]], said that they were not gods, but, in fact, a race more advanced in time who "simply came before."

==Domination of Humans==

Minerva revealed that at some point; her kind created humanity, possibly as some sort of slave race as shown in [[The Truth]] video. In the recorded [[The Truth|memory]], [[Those Who Came Before]] appear to have enslaved humans into doing their bidding through the hypnotic power of the [[Piece of Eden|Pieces of Eden]]. Despite their attempts at mind control, [[The Truth]] video shows how [[Adam and Eve]] stole one of the mythical fruits of the tree of knowledge described in the Bible. It is possible that this was an attempt to free mankind from the oppression of their masters. Adam and Eve were most likely naturally immune to the Pieces of Eden, much like Altair and several other Assassins were, as seen in the first [[Assassins Creed]] when Al Mualim attempted to use it on Altair.

According to [[Minerva]], humans and her species had lived peacefully for some time, however, humans were not treated equally. Mankind is likely to have to been regarded as cattle or slaves, prompting some humans to rebel against their masters. Somehow [[Adam and Eve]] had a resistance to the [[Piece of Eden]], which most likely controlled them.

==Past Events==

[[File:Zw-eden-slave.png|thumb|350px|A frame from [[The Truth]] video, showing "Those Who Came Before" using a [[Piece of Eden]] to control humans]]

While the ancient race was more technologically advanced and powerful, humanity had the advantage of numbers. Minerva stated that both sides craved war, but they were so preoccupied with their fighting; an impending danger was approaching from the "heavens." [[Shaun Hastings]] and [[Lucy Stillman]] hypothesize that this "danger" could have been a massive solar flare which would have had a catastrophic impact on the Earth's weakening magnetic field, reversing the polarity, and making the planet geologically unstable. The geomagnetic reversal of Earth's poles is a possible cause of the destruction, however, it is a natural phenomenon which has occurred multiple times over Earth's history, the last of which was 780,000 years ago.

Despite the unknown cause of destruction, humanity and the ancient race survived. As Minerva said, "We built you in our image, we built you to survive," she confirms that Those Who Came Before altered the skeletal structure of the hominid form they found on Earth to match their own, as seen in one of the [[Glyph|glyph puzzles]]. While both races still existed, they suffered dwindling numbers, and had to rebuild their lives. As the Earth and mankind worked to recover, the race "endeavored to ensure that this tragedy would not be repeated." This led to the creation of the temples, such as [[The Vault]] in [[Rome]], which were built by "those who learned to turn away from war."

==Characteristics==

Those Who Came Before appear in the mythologies of many of Earth's religions (especially religions that feature pantheons) as gods. As seen with the [[Monteriggioni]] statues, Minerva is associated with the Roman gods. Her kind is very similar to the Sumerian gods, who were believed to have created mankind to serve the gods. Furthermore, Minerva also showed an ancient Egyptian picture of the people rebelling against the Egyptian gods, but still labels the Egyptian gods as "us." It can at least be established that by Ezio's time, the race was effectively extinct - [[Minerva]] states that she is the last of her kind.

"Those Who Came Before" seems to posses some form of precognition, or ability to predict future events. This is shown when [[Minerva]] told a confused [[Ezio]] within the [[The Vault]] that he was simply a conduit, and she spoke directly to the invisible [[Desmond]], showing she knew that he would receive the message over 500 years into the future by viewing it through [[Ezio]] in the [[Animus]].

Interestingly, [[Minerva]] is one of the 8 statuettes you can collect in [[Monteriggioni]]. As Minerva is one of "Those Who Came Before', the other statuettes could be as well. The figures depicted by the statuettes are Neptune and Pluto, Jupiter and Minerva, Dianna and Apollo, and Mars and Venus. It is also worth noting that they are all Roman mythological Gods - perhaps this means that they are remnants of "Those Who Came Before" and survivors of the cataclysmic event described by Minerva, or that they were the ones that helped humans build the temples that she mentioned.

Of further interest, is that Minverva mentions her former name and those of her compatriots; Mera, Uni and Tinia (Minerva, Juno and Jupiter respectively). The former names mentioned by Minerva correspond to the Etruscan supreme Triad of Dieties, who were later modelled by the Roman Dieties, in the Capitoline Triad. (Jupiter, his daughter Minerva and wife Juno). From the ''Assassin's Creed II'' perspective, this may explain why and how understandings of'' Those who Came Before ''bled into one another across different cultures. Most pantheons tend to have strong analogues in different cultural lore; i.e. Zeus, Jupiter, Thor, etc.

==Genetic History==

Also in [[the Truth]] file, "Bloodlines," the player must highlight all of the paintings of gods who have had children with humans, with the heading, "Behold the Assassins, the children of two worlds!" This could mean that at some point in time, the 'gods' (''Those Who Came Before'') had children with humans. The Assassins who posses special abilities (such as [[Eagle Vision]]) are evidence of this relationship, thus explaining why [[Subject 16]] says: "Why do we have these gifts? Because it's in our blood!" However, Eagle vision might not be the only 'power.' It could be hypothosized that most, if not all demigods, such as Heracles and Odysseus, were the offspring of a mortal and ''Those Who Came Before'', and were possibly assassins as well.  

Since Desmond and Subject 16 are both born assassins and that Altaïr, Ezio and Desmond have [[Eagle Vision]] this may prove that they are related to Those Who Came Before, and that the Eagle vision was passed on through their bloodline. This heritage could also explain the resistance to [[Piece of Eden|Pieces of Eden]], and how [[The Vault|the Vault]] recognized [[Ezio]] as the prophet, and not [[Rodrigo Borgia]].

==Trivia==

In the first Assassin's Creed title, at the beginning of Memory Block 4 before Desmond enters the Animus, Doctor Vidic enters to wake him. A conversation ensues where Vidic explains that Abstergo, or its descendants, are basically responsible for every major historical invention or medical breakthrough for the past thousand years. When Desmond questions how they discovered all these things, Vidic replies "They were gifts, Mr. Miles! Gifts from those who came before". Although unbeknownst to players at the time, Vidic is citing that Abstergo has accomplished all that it has so far with the Pieces of Eden belonging to Minerva's race.

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Cain

Isu