Editing The Creed

{{Era|Culture|HiddenOnes|Assassins}}
{{Update|''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]''}}
{{Revamp}}
[[File:AssassinLogo.png|200px|thumb|The Assassin insignia]]
{{Quote|Nothing is true, everything is permitted.|The Creed's maxim.|Assassin's Creed}}
'''The Assassin's Creed''', often referred to as '''the Creed''', was a code and guiding philosophy of the [[Assassins|Assassin Order]] upheld from the High Middle Ages until the [[Modern times|modern era]]. It restricted unnecessary slaughter of innocents, preserved the reputation of oneself and of the Order, and was meant to create peace not only within the [[Earth|world]], but within the individual.

The Creed began to take shape in 38 BCE when the [[Medjay]] [[Bayek]] of [[Siwa]] and [[Amunet|Aya]] of [[Alexandria]], co-founders of the [[Hidden Ones]]–a predecessor to the Assassins Brotherhood–enforced a veil of secrecy over their order.<ref name="TheGreaterGood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]] – [[The Hidden Ones (DLC)|The Hidden Ones]]'' – [[The Greater Good]]</ref> The Assassins had been handing the Creed down orally from generation to generation, ensuring that its message was delivered to and upheld by every member of the Assassin Order. [[Al Mualim]], one of the [[Mentor]]s of the Order, once remarked that ''"[they] are nothing if [they] do not abide by the Assassin's Creed"''.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Glory]]</ref>

In the ancient [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex|Codex]] of [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], it was stated that the Creed cannot be killed, even if all of its followers were. He went on to explain that the Creed was an idea, and even if all records of it were destroyed, it could eventually be reinvented by another.

==The three tenets==
The Creed mainly emphasized three simple moral tenets that focused on ensuring a successful mission, mastery of emotions, and the safety of the Brotherhood.<ref name="MagasCodex">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[The Magas Codex]]</ref><ref name="AC">''Assassin's Creed'' – {{Cite|17 March 2021. Individual memories needed}}</ref>

===Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent===
{{Quote|I would not have drawn attention to us. I would not have taken the life of an innocent.|Malik Al-Sayf at Solomon's Temple.|Assassin's Creed|Acquisition}}
''The goal of the Assassins was to ensure peace in all things.'' The Assassins believed that political assassinations and the death of the corrupt would bring peace and a true sense of security to the common people. Slaying innocents and [[civilian]] bystanders who did not need to die could spread strife and discord, in addition to ruining the name of the Assassin Order itself.<ref name="AC" /> It also prevented them from achieving their higher purpose, as a precise killer instead of an indiscriminate butcher. This tenet was implemented by Bayek after [[Gamilat]], the leader of the {{Wiki|Nabataeans|Nabatean}} rebels in the [[Sinai|Sinai Peninsula]], used the slaughter of innocents as martyrs to recruit more people to the cause.

===Hide in plain sight===
{{Quote|Let the people mask you such that you become one with the crowd.|Al Mualim.|Assassin's Creed|Glory}}
[[File:AC1 Altair blending with Scholars.png|250px|thumb|Altaïr blending with a group of scholars]]
''Be unseen''. The Assassins' aim was to get close to their [[Assassination target|target]] stealthily and escape just as quickly. In more ancient times, Assassins aimed to perform ostentatious, awe-inspiring assassinations, usually in public.<ref name="AC" />

The greatest illusion from such an assassination was that the Assassin seemingly materialized from nowhere, killed a corrupt public figure, and vanished into the depths of the crowd or environment. If an Assassin was spotted while stalking their target, the supernatural effect would be diluted, and it became more difficult for the Assassin to reach his target.<ref name="AC" />

===Never compromise the Brotherhood===
{{Quote|Its meaning should be obvious. Your actions must never bring harm upon us—direct or indirect!|Al Mualim chastising Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, 1191|Assassin's Creed|Glory}}
''The actions of one must never bring harm to all.'' If an Assassin failed in their duty, and was captured or chased, they must never commit any action or say anything that could be tied back to the Brotherhood, or bring harm to any member of it.<ref name="AC" />

==The three ironies==
{{Quote|Do we bend the rules in service to a greater good? And if we do, what does it say of us?|Altaïr's Codex, page 4.|Assassin's Creed II}}
The three great ironies were observations that had been noted as early as the Roman Empire,<ref name="MagasCodex"/> and described the contradictions between the Creed and the actions of the Assassins who followed it. They were:
#The Assassins seek to promote peace, but commit murder.
#The Assassins seek to open the minds of men, but require obedience to rules.
#The Assassins seek to reveal the danger of blind faith, yet practice it themselves.

Though seemingly hypocritical, the ironies did not undermine the Assassins' cause. Rather, they demonstrated the way in which they embraced contradiction, ''"that one may be two things – opposite in every way – simultaneously."''<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref> Another core part of the Creed is the importance of knowledge, which allows one to learn and advance. This was reflected on by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad when about to kill a target who was ordering a mass burning of books.

==The Maxim==
{{Quote|Our Creed does not command us to be free. It commands us to be wise.|Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.|Assassin's Creed}}[[File:Initiation Rome 1.png|thumb|left|250px|The Initiation ceremony in Rome]]
"'''Nothing is true; everything is permitted'''" was the Creed's maxim and primary guideline.<ref name="AC" /> The phrase was created during the 11th century by [[Hassan-i Sabbāh]], the first recorded [[Assassin leader|leader]] of the Assassin Order.

Al Mualim taught Altaïr that the maxim commanded the Assassins not to be free, but to be wise. Altaïr later explained that for a person to abide by the maxim, they had to transcend the illusion which was the world, and to ''"recognize that [...] laws do not arise from divinity, but reason"''.<ref>''Assassin's Creed'' – [[Assassination (Sibrand)]]</ref>

[[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]] once spoke of the maxim at length with [[Sofia Sartor]], who found it rather cynical. However, he told her that the maxim was not a doctrine to be followed, but merely an observation of the world, explaining thusly:<blockquote>''"To say that nothing is true, is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile, and that we must be the shepherds of our own civilization. To say that everything is permitted, is to understand that we are the architects of our actions, and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic"''<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[A Homecoming]]</ref></blockquote>


This maxim was spoken by all Assassins present at every new Assassin's [[Initiation into the Assassin Order|induction into the Order]],<ref>''Assassin's Creed II'' – [[Play Along]]</ref> and in its original Arabic by Ezio as he presided over each ceremony when in Rome.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'' – [[Ascension]]</ref>

[[Arno Dorian]], a member of the [[France|French]] [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|Brotherhood]], ruminated that the maxim merely served as a guide and a warning, rather than as a principle meant for an individual to follow, having witnessed directly how ideals led to dangerous extremism, elaborating that:<blockquote>''"Ideals too easily give way to dogma. Dogma becomes fanaticism. Only we can decide whether the road we walk carries too high a toll. All that we do, all that we are, begins and ends with ourselves."''<ref name="TheTemple">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[The Temple]]</ref></blockquote>

==Penalty for disobedience==
===Middle Ages===
{{Quote|Your selfish act beneath Jerusalem placed us all in danger! Worse still, you brought the enemy to our home! Every man we lost today was lost because of you!|Al Mualim reprimanding Altaïr, 1191.|Assassin's Creed|Glory}}
[[File:AC 2.png|thumb|250px|Al Mualim forcefully reminding Altaïr of the Creed]]
On most occasions, the breaking of one or more of the tenets of the Creed led to the execution of the involved Assassin, though there have been exceptions.<ref name="AC" /> Before the restructuring of the Order, Levantine Assassins were known to take their own life if necessary rather than compromise the Brotherhood.{{Cite|17 March 2021. Where in AC is this said/mentioned?}}

During the [[Siege of Masyaf|Siege]] of [[Masyaf]] in 1176, Ahmad Sofian was captured and interrogated by the Saracens about the identity of the Assassin who infiltrated the camp. Ahmad broke and gave the name of Umar Ibn-La'Ahad. This resulted in him breaking the third tenet of the Creed, as Umar was executed for this, and though he was spared Ahmad could not bear the shame and guilt and took his own life, but not before begging the young Altaïr for forgiveness. Umar himself also technically broke the first and third tenets as well by killing a Saracen nobleman, who was not his target and which resulted in the Saracens electing to continue the siege unless the killer surrendered himself, which would have resulted in many Assassin deaths. Umar elected to give himself up for execution to save his fellow Assassins.

In 1191, Altaïr broke all three tenets during an important mission at [[Solomon]]'s [[Solomon's Temple|Temple]]. By murdering an innocent, an old man whom he thought could have alerted the [[Soldier|guards]], and revealing himself to [[Robert de Sablé]], Altaïr inevitably led the [[Templars]] back to Masyaf, jeopardizing not only his own safety, but the livelihood of the entire Brotherhood in the resulting [[Defense of Masyaf|attack]].<ref name="AC" />

Upon his return to Masyaf, Altaïr was publicly chastised and "executed" via stabbing as punishment by his Master. However, the execution was only an illusion, as Al Mualim wished to grant him a second chance. Instead, Altaïr was merely stripped of all his weapons and equipment, and demoted to the lowest [[rank]] of [[novice]], forced to re-earn his rank through the [[Hunt for the Nine]].<ref name="AC" />

Following his return from exile, Altaïr decided to eliminate those of [[Abbas Sofian]]'s followers who had compromised the Brotherhood by harming civilians, while leaving alive those that still lived by the Creed.<ref name="Revelations">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref>

===Renaissance===
{{Quote|Our tenets are clear. One of our brothers has decided to disobey them and must pay with his life.|An Assassin of Jerusalem.|Assassin's Creed: Revelations}}In 1498, [[Perotto Calderon]] also broke the tenets of the Creed out of his love for the Templar [[Lucrezia Borgia]] and [[Giovanni Borgia|their newborn son]]. He broke his cover as a spy amongst the [[House of Borgia|Borgia]], compromising the Brotherhood in the process, and killed several of his fellow Assassins in an effort to steal the [[Shroud of Eden 1|Shroud]] of [[Eden]] they protected, which he thought could cure his child's deformities.<ref name="Project Legacy">''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]''</ref>

Though he was successful, a team of Assassins later tracked Perotto down, and executed him as punishment.<ref name="Project Legacy" />

Around 1511, one of Ezio's [[Ottoman Brotherhood of Assassins|Ottoman]] [[Assassin apprentice|apprentices]] broke the first tenet after mistaking a cleric for the Templar [[Cyril of Rhodes]] and rashly assassinating him. Instead of punishing him, Ezio ordered him to reflect on his mistake and gave him the chance to redeem himself when they confronted Cyril again. Ironically, Ezio himself broke the first tenet indirectly during his visit to [[Derinkuyu]], when he ignited the Templars' cache of gunpowder to destroy it, resulting in a firestorm that engulfed the underground city and killed many of its civilians.<ref name="Revelations" />

During this time, an Assassin of [[Jerusalem]] broke the Creed, and the [[Ottoman Brotherhood of Assassins|Ottoman Assassins]] were asked to intervene. Despite his treachery, the other Assassins of his guild asked that he be executed covertly with a [[crossbow]].<ref name="Revelations" />

===Haitian Revolution===
In 1791, [[Eseosa]] sentenced fellow Assassin [[Jeannot Bullet]] to death for breaking the first tenet of the Creed.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]'' – [[Eseosa's Codex]] – Entry 7: "Our First Setback: Acul, Saint-Domingue, 1791-11"</ref>

===French Revolution===
In 1793, the French [[Assassin Council]] expelled Arno Dorian from the Brotherhood for repeatedly assassinating targets without consulting them. He was accused of compromising the Brotherhood and pursuing a personal vendetta.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Unity'' – [[Bottom of the Barrel]]</ref> However the expulsion was temporary as the Council decided to reinstate the young Assassin years later,<ref name="TheTemple"/> after he had matured and demonstrated true fidelity to the Creed.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Unity – [[Dead Kings]]'' – [[A Crown of Thorns]]</ref>

==History==
===Ancient Egypt===
====Early Creed====
{{Quote|Egypt has fallen, Greece also, and Rome will fall too. All will fall to the creed, yet no one will know.|Bayek to Aya, referring to their compromise in enforcing a veil of secrecy over their actions.|Assassin's Creed Origins}}After hunting the members of the [[Order of the Ancients|order]] responsible for his [[Khemu|son's]] death, Bayek found Aya on the shore, looking out at the horizon. There, both of them faced the truth of what their relationship had suffered. When Bayek tries to convince her to let the gods decide their fate, she pushes him away claiming that the gods were dead and their bond wasn't one to last. With a little more of contemplation, he agrees to the separation, as they sacrifice their personal life for the greater good.

Together, they developed a creed emphasizing two simple tenets: to work in the shadows and to kill only those who deserve it.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Origins - [[Last of the Medjay]]''</ref>
====The First Tenet====
{{Quote|From this day, no Hidden One will raise a sword against an innocent. So it shall be written.|Bayek to Gamilat|Assassin's Creed: Origins}}The first tenet was formulated after an ally of the Hidden Ones, Gamilat, provoked Romans to kill villagers with the purpose of inspiring the people to fight back against them. After Bayek killed him, Gamilat realized what he had done and said he deserved his death. Bayek assured him from now on, all Hidden Ones will stay their blades from the flesh of the innocent.<ref name="TheGreaterGood" />

===Middle Ages===
{{Quote|Though I ask my brothers now to abandon their rituals, I do not ask that they abandon the Creed. ''This'' is what makes us Assassins. Not the removal of a finger. Not a false promise of paradise. Not the prohibition of poison. Our duty is to the people, not to custom.|Altaïr's Codex, page 6.|Assassin's Creed II}}After the shame of his demotion, Altaïr more closely followed the Creed by never killing anyone other than guards or his assigned assassination targets, and remaining discreet as he performed his [[investigation]]s. He was also careful to never compromise the Brotherhood, by avoiding [[Assassin bureau]]s when under pursuit.<ref name="AC" />
[[File:BoA 8.png|thumb|250px|Altaïr confronting Richard and Robert]]
Nevertheless, Altaïr unknowingly broke the third tenet after dispatching eight, highly-ranked Templars. Upon deducing his mission, Robert de Sable hoped to trick Altaïr into inadvertently allying two opposing forces.

Since the targets were of both [[Saracens|Saracen]] and [[Crusaders|Crusader]] origins, their respective leaders, [[Saladin]] and [[Richard I of England]], would likely have been more willing to join together in order to combat a considerable, new threat: the Assassins.<ref name="AC" />

Robert attempted to convince Richard to join forces with Saladin in an attack against Masyaf; wherein he planned to recover the [[Pieces of Eden|Piece of Eden]] that he had lost to Al Mualim at Solomon's Temple. However, Altaïr's subduing of Robert in front of Richard convinced him not to attack the Assassins, and Altaïr went unpunished for this transgression.<ref name="AC" />

After becoming the leader of the Assassins, Altaïr began bringing the Order underground in extension of the second tenet, believing their obligation was to hide and shape the world in secret. His Assassins disagreed, but Altaïr countered that having them become a public organization had led them to be simply branded as madmen.<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>

===Renaissance===
{{Quote|You are not Vieri, do not become him.|Mario Auditore to Ezio Auditore da Firenze.|Assassin's Creed II}}[[File:WGA 17 v.png|thumb|250px|left|Mario reprimanding Ezio for dishonoring Vieri's corpse]]
When Ezio Auditore killed [[Vieri de' Pazzi]] during one of his early assassinations, he showed disrespect to his corpse, cursing him and calling for his everlasting suffering. Seeing this as a violation of the Creed, his uncle [[Mario Auditore|Mario]] intervened, chastising the young man for his vengeance, which prevented both the victim and the Assassin from finding the peace that the Order wished each assassination to achieve.<ref>''Assassin's Creed II''  – [[What Goes Around]]</ref>

Throughout the remaining course of his life, Ezio followed his uncle's example, showing respect for the dead by closing their eyes and saying ''"Requiescat in pace"'' ("Rest in peace").<ref name="AC2" />

Ezio unwittingly violated the Creed twice during his later years, killing [[Tarik Barleti]] after a case of mistaken suspicion, and then killing many civilians when he started a fire in [[Derinkuyu]] to draw out [[Manuel Palaiologos]]. Regardless, he espoused the virtues of the Creed to his apprentices, advising them to be patient in planning their assassinations so as to not compromise the Brotherhood.<ref name="Revelations" />

===Golden Age of Piracy===
{{Quote|For if nothing is true, then why believe anything? And if everything is permitted... why not chase every desire?|Edward Kenway to the Mentor Ah Tabai, 1722|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag|...Everything Is Permitted}}During the 18th century in the [[Caribbean|West Indies]], the [[Piracy|pirate]] [[Edward Kenway]], upon first hearing of the Creed, used it to justify his selfish pursuit of gold and glory—in his words, ''"thinking what I like and acting how I please"''<ref name="TheSagesBuriedSecret">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[The Sage's Buried Secret]]</ref>—even though the Assassins he came into contact with advised that he was misinterpreting its meaning. When Kenway informally joined the Brotherhood in 1720, he expressed his new belief in the Creed to the Mentor [[Ah Tabai]]; that it was only a first step to understanding, and not its final form.<ref>''Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag'' – [[...Everything Is Permitted]]</ref>

Edward's ally and fellow Assassin [[Mary Read]], when telling Edward of the Creed, said that it did not call for the Assassins to act or submit, but to be wise and to choose for themselves when and how to act.<ref name="TheSagesBuriedSecret"/>

The Assassin [[Adéwalé]] was another who followed the Creed's words, particularly in regards to innocents as he freed many hundreds of [[slave]]s from plantations and ships, where they endured cruel and often short lives. After a slave ship was scuttled deliberately to prevent the liberation of its cargo, Adéwalé furiously vowed revenge on the man responsible, the Marquis de Fayet of [[Port-au-Prince]], stating that the Creed demanded his death as retribution. When he assassinated the governor, he technically violated the Creed's peace accord by stating that he wanted De Fayet to suffer and beg for his life before tearing his stomach with a machete, ensuring the man's painful death.

===American Revolution===
{{Quote|Assassins are meant to be quiet. Precise. We do not go announcing conspiracies from the rooftops to all who pass by!|Achilles Davenport to Connor.|Assassin's Creed III|Missing Supplies}}During the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[Ratonhnhaké:ton|Connor]] allied himself with the [[Continental Army]] and became close friends with [[George Washington]].<ref name="AC3">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''</ref> However, his mentor Achilles deplored the idea of telling Washington of the Assassins and Templars, as he felt the Assassins should be a secretive group.<ref>''Assassin's Creed III'' – [[Missing Supplies]]</ref>

On the other hand, Connor's [[Kanien'kehá:ka]] upbringing, which taught him compassion and respect for all living things, led him to extend the first tenet of the Creed to trying to spare the Templars, including [[William Johnson]] and his father [[Haytham Kenway]]. Achilles had to repeatedly remind his protégé that the Assassins deemed it necessary for people like them to die.<ref name="AC3" />

Achilles warned against Connor's hope to reconcile with his father Haytham, [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]] of the [[American Rite of the Templar Order|Colonial Templars]].<ref name="AC3" /> After killing his father, Connor chose to compromise in a small way by acknowledging Haytham was right about human nature, but would hope for a better future instead of lapsing into following Templar logic.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref>

===Modern times===
Though an Assassin in his own right, [[Desmond Miles]] mostly adhered to the Creed in order to maintain [[synchronization]] with his ancestors, whose lives he observed through the [[Animus]].<ref name="AC" />

He did, however, follow the second tenet to a certain extent before his incarceration at [[Abstergo Industries]], and was careful about hiding his identity. For years, he was able to bypass Templar detection by avoiding the use of his real name or of credit cards, and was only caught after giving fingerprints when applying for a driver's license for his motorcycle.<ref>''Assassin's Creed'' – [[21st century conversations|Modern day]]</ref>

During the search for the second prong of the [[Trident of Eden]], the Assassin [[Yanmei]] enlightened [[Natalya Aliyev]], who disagreed with Assassins' absolute obedience to the Creed, on the ironies of the Creed and how it truly commands them to be wise.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants - Tomb of the Khan]]''</ref>

==Trivia==
*In ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', Altaïr can break the third tenet without suffering [[Synchronization|desynchronization]], by killing the Masyaf guards.
**Similarly, after completing the main storyline of ''Assassin's Creed'', civilians can be killed without losing synchronization.
*The exact phrase "Nothing is true; everything is permitted" was taken from the 1938 novel ''{{Wiki|Alamut (1938 novel)|Alamut}}'' by Vladimir Bartol, a book that served as a primary inspiration for ''Assassin's Creed''. In it, the maxim was the highest truth of the Ismaili, the sect of {{Wiki|Islam}} that gave rise to the historical Hashashin. The phrase in the novel is ''"Nothing is an absolute reality; all is permitted"''.
*The maxim of the Creed was translated and used in both ''Assassin's Creed'' and ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' in the words exchanged with the final target. ''"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine"'' was spoken by Altaïr to Al Mualim, and ''"Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito"'' was spoken by Ezio to [[Rodrigo Borgia]].
*The Arabic translation of the maxim was still used in induction ceremonies during the Renaissance; by Mario Auditore during the induction of Ezio Auditore, as well as by Ezio for the apprentices in Rome.
*In ''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'', the doors to the [[library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] were engraved with the following lines in Arabic: ''"إتق دم البريء  •  لآ شيء مطلق بل الكل ممكن •  إختبئ وسط الزحام •  إختبئ وسط الزحام •  نحن من ائتمنك •  لأ تخن من ائتمنك "''. When translated, they read: ''"Revere the blood of the innocent <s>/</s> Nothing is absolute, everything is possible / Hide in the midst of the crowds / Hide in the midst of the crowds / We are the ones who have entrusted you / Do not betray our trust"'', paraphrasing the tenets of the Creed and its maxim.
*In ''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'', in the [[Eesfet Oon-m'Aa Poo]] tomb, [[The Messenger|the Messenger]] says a slight variation of the maxim at the ending of his message: "Nothing is real. Everything is permitted".

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