Editing Seismic Temple

{{Era|Locations|Isu}}
{{Quote|We haven't found an apple, but... a tree. These Temples hold the earth together like roots. Disturb them, and Haiti falls or... Lisbon. Or any other place the Manuscript shows.|Shay Cormac explaining his theory of the structures to Haytham Kenway, 1758|Assassin's Creed: Rogue|Men o' War}}
[[File:ACRG Lisbon Temple Front.png|thumb|right|250px|A Seismic Temple]]
The '''Seismic Temples'''<ref name="The Essential Guide">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]''</ref>, known to some as '''"Trees"'''<ref name="Men o' War">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' - [[Men o' War]]</ref>, are subterranean complexes built by the [[Isu]] which comprises a vast underground network beneath [[Earth]]'s crust. 

Each holds within them a [[Seismic Pieces of Eden|core component]] vital for its structural integrity, which, if removed, triggers a violent seismic reaction. Although their original function is lost to [[humans]], Seismic Temples may have been erected to stabilize the planet's crust or otherwise as a monumental defense system.<ref name="The Essential Guide" />

==Characteristics==
[[File:Kyrie Eleison 14.png|thumb|right|250px|A core component, being handled.]]
The Seismic Temples are vast underground structures, located across the globe, that serve a purpose unknown to humans. They are typically built within large, cavernous spaces with protective walkways leading to a central [[Vault pedestal|pedestal]] residing at the base of a singular, large pyramid. Atop the pedestal sits a '''core component''' that appear to control or stabilise the Earth's crust within a localised area; any disturbance of the component risk disrupting the entire region above ground.

During the 18th century, when a number of the Seismic Temples were discovered by the [[Assassins]] and [[Templars]], it was erroneously believed that the core components were [[Pieces of Eden]] in and of themselves, and so were sought out by both parties, often with cataclysmic results.<ref name="The Essential Guide" />

==History==
A number fo Seismis Temples were discovered by the [[Assassins]] and [[Templars]] in the middle of the 18th century via a [[Precursor boxes|Precursor box]] and the [[Voynich manuscript]]. Owing to their historical experience with Isu [[Vault]]s, the two factions initially mistook the sites revealed by the manuscript to be more Vaults and assumed that [[Pieces of Eden]] could be found there. Tragic consequences ensued from this error, beginning with Assassin [[Vendredi]] causing a [[1751 Port-au-Prince earthquake|massive earthquake]] in [[Port-au-Prince]], [[Haiti]] in 1751 that killed untold thousands.<ref name="Lessons and Revelations">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Lessons and Revelations]]</ref> As Vendredi died at the hands of Templar [[Lawrence Washington]] before he could escape the site,<ref name="War Letters">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[War letters|War Letters]]</ref> he failed to report back with details of how the disaster was linked with the [[Port-au-Prince Temple]].<ref name="Lessons and Revelations" /><ref name="War Letters" />

[[File:Kyrie Eleison 25.png|thumb|left|250px|[[Lisbon]] destroyed following the [[1755 Lisbon earthquake|1755 earthquake]].]]
Oblivious to the destructive nature of the Seismic Temples, the Templars and Assassins continued vying for these locations, and in late 1755, the Assassin Shay Cormac was sent to [[Lisbon]], [[Portugal]] to uncover the relic supposedly hidden within the Isu complex below. Upon reaching the Seismic Temple, Shay removed its core device which promptly disintegrated in his hands. The entire complex summarily collapsed, taking the entire city of Lisbon down with it in a [[1755 Lisbon earthquake|colossal earthquake]] exceeding magnitude 8.5. While Shay narrowly escaped with his life, hundreds of thousands perished,<ref name="Kyrie Eleison">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]''</ref> and the Assassin returned to the [[American Brotherhood of Assassins|Colonial Brotherhood]] grief-stricken and furious, blaming their reckless pursuit of power for the catastrophe.<ref name="Freewill">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Freewill]]</ref>

Miscommunication between Shay and the Colonial Brotherhood ultimately led to the former's defection to the Templars with the Voynich manuscript in hand.<ref name="Freewill" /><ref name="Scars">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Scars]]</ref> For the next few years, with the Precursor box still in the possession of the Assassins, and the manuscript now with the Templars, both factions strove to unlock each pieces' secrets without the other.<ref name="Honour and Loyalty">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Honour and Loyalty]]</ref><ref name="The Heist">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[The Heist]]</ref> In June 1758, Shay presented his theory of the actual nature and function of the Seismic Temples to [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] [[Haytham Kenway]] of the [[American Rite of the Templar Order|Colonial Rite]], analogizing them to underground "roots" that maintained the planet's integrity. Thereafter, the Colonial Rite redirected their objective to preventing the Assassins from tampering with more Temples rather than uncovering its secrets themselves.<ref name="Men o' War"/>

In October 1759, the Assassins managed to power the Precursor box once more even without aid of the manuscript and embarked on an expedition to a [[Arctic Temple|Seismic Temple]] in the Arctic. [[Achilles Davenport]], [[Mentor]] of the Colonial Brotherhood, and his lieutenant, [[Liam O'Brien]], arrived at the site in March 1760. Upon witnessing the Temple's core device for himself, Achilles recognized the validity of Shay's account years prior and quickly stopped Liam from touching it. It was at this point that they were confronted by Haytham and Shay who had tracked them from [[New York City|New York]]. In the altercation that followed, the device was accidentally knocked off its pedestal, unleashing yet another earthquake as the complex tore itself apart.<ref name="Non Nobis Domine">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Non Nobis Domine]]</ref>

==Trivia==
*The name "Seismic Temple" was originally coined by the ''Assassin's Creed'' Wiki shortly after the release of ''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' (2014) as a conjectural name for the Precursor sites in the game. It was eventually adopted by authors of ''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]'' (2016), thereby canonizing it.

==Appearance==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Isu locations]]