;[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A Soar of Eagles 1]]
Personal files belonging to [[Layla Hassan]] during her research into the [[Genetic memory|memories]] of [[Bayek]] of [[Siwa]] and [[Amunet|Aya]] of [[Alexandria]] in 2017,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref> [[Kassandra]] and [[Alexios|Deimos]] in 2018<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]''</ref> and [[Eivor Varinsdottir]] in 2020.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]''</ref>
;[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A Soar of Eagles 2]]
;[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A Soar of Eagles 3]]
Employee will perform services for ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES that may require ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES to disclose condifential and proprietary information to EMPLOYEE (Confidential Information is information of any kind, nature, or description concerning any matters affecting or relating to EMPLOYEE’s services for ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES, the business or operations of ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES, and/or the products, drawings, plans, processes, Animus experience, or other data). The EMPLOYEE agrees as follows.
! width="5%" |Name
<br><br>
! width="5%" |Type
EMPLOYEE will hold the Confidential Information received in strict confidence and shall exercise an extreme degree of care to prevent disclosure to others.
! width="5%" |Rarity
<br><br>
! width="5%" |Damage
EMPLOYEE will not disclose or divulge either directly or indirectly the Confidential Information unless first authorized to do so in writing.
! width="5%" |Maximum Takedowns
<br><br>
! width="5%" |Perk
EMPLOYEE will, upon request or upon termination, deliver to ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES any drawing, notes, documents, equipment, and material received from ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES or originating from its activities for ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES.
! width="5%" |Availability
<br><br>
|-<section begin="Resynced Swords"/>
ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES shall have the sole right to determine the treatment of any information that is part or project specific received from EMPLOYEE, including the right to disclose the same without prior patent applications, to file copyright registration in its own name or to follow any other procedure as ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES may deem appropriate.
!Order of Gold<section begin="NAME"/>
<br><br>
|Pistol Sword
ABSTERGO INDUSTRIES reserves the right to take disciplinary action, up to and including termination and memory removal, for violation of this agreement.
|Legendary
<br><br>
|38
Signing below signifies that the EMPLOYEE agrees to the terms and condition of the agreement stated above.
|3
<br><br>
|Automatically fires a shot after each Perfect Dodge
'''Mission Statement'''<br>
|Purchased from Level III General Store for 29000 Reales<section end="NAME"/>
The mandate of Abstergo’s Historical Research Division is to conduct rigorous research into historical events and document this research in meticulous fashion, with a particular focus on investigating previously obscure incidents and shedding light on the historical personages involved therein.
|-
<br><br>
!Rustborne Swords<section begin="NAME"/>
Research conducted and compiled by the Historical Research Division teams represents a broad potential benefit to a variety of academic disciplines, including archeology, anthropology, environmental history, and political science.
|Pistol Sword
<br><br>
|Legendary
'''Visionaries & Pioneers'''<br>
|17
Understanding Yesterday -- Bettering Tomorrow.
|4
<br><br>
|Attacks deal more defense damage
The Historical Research Division was inspired by the works of Dr. [[Warren Vidic]], a pioneer in the field of genetic memory science. Vidic’s work needed raw data reaching beyond what was available at the time. The historical Research Division was quickly put together at first to accommodate Abstergo in its research, but then soon took on a life of its own.
|Twitch<section end="NAME"/>
<br><br>
|-
Dr. Warren Vidic<br>
!Ezio's Swords<section begin="NAME"/>
Dr. Vidic was responsible for Abstergo’'s first forays into genetic memory exploration. Without the benefits of Vidic’s extensive research and rigorous approach to scientific practice, Abstergo would not be what it is today.
|Cutlass
<br><br>
|Legendary
[[Álvaro Gramática]]<br>
|25
Gramatica’s background in mechanical engineering, biology, and computer science helped make him the first to recognize how rich and meaningful historical material acquisition could cement Abstergo’s standing in the modern-day landscape.
|3
<br><br>
|Able to perfect parry unstoppable attacks
[[Isabelle Ardant]]<br>
|<section end="NAME"/>
Ardant joined the company as a digital archivist with a deep knowledge of computer science. She ushered ina data revolution which reshaped Abstergo’s acquisition, management, and archiving of genetic memories.
|-
<br><br>
!Altaïr's Swords<section begin="NAME"/>
[[Simon Hathaway]]<br>
|Cutlass
Hathaway is the current head of the Historical Research Division. His insatiable thirst for knowledge of all things human drives Abstergo’s pursuit of historical and memory-based data toward unexplored frontiers.
|Legendary
<br><br>
|25
'''Philadelphia Facility'''<br>
|4
[[Abstergo Philadelphia Facility|Philadelphia Facility]]
|Takedowns recover some health
<br><br>
|<section end="NAME"/>
A [[Philadelphia, United States|historical city]] seemed a fitting location for a facility thriving on history. Located just minutes away from the famous {{Wiki|Delaware River}}, the building itself was designed in 1985 by the rising architect, [[Jean Nouvel]].<br>The facility houses various divisions. [[Lineage Discovery and Acquisition|Lineage and Acquisition]] is housed next to [[Abstergo Medical]], and both have very strong ties to [[Historical Research Division|Historical Research]] and the very special [[Animus]] Training program.<br>The respected [[Juhani Otso Berg]] oversees the Philadelphia Facility, known to be a favourite venue for crucial director gatherings.<br>Of curse, nothing eclipses the imposing [[Library & Archive Hall]] where all of Abstergo's knowledge, both physical and digital, is said to be stored under impenetrable security.
Abstergo’s historians have nothing in common with the Academic Scholars you might be thinking of. They master a deep knowledge of historical tomes and an uncanny ability to successfully comb through the voluminous databases owned by Abstergo. However, they express their true talents when out in the field, retracing what forgotten stories were left behind. Assisted by cutting edge technology, each of our Historical Tactical Team (HTT) is composed of a Technician and a Medical Officer. Together, they gather the knowledge told by forgotten artifacts and extinct bloodlines. They uncover tales thought obsolete, and combine the wisdom of oral history with tomorrow's scientific discoveries.<br>
|Legendary
These see-it-all/find-it-all teams allow Abstergo and all its divisions to push back on the limits of what is known and what can be done to better the future of each and every one of us.
|38
<br><br>
|2
'''Medicine & History'''<br>
|Killing enemies with these swords also damages nearby enemies
Medicine at the Service of History
|Complete True Purpose<section end="NAME"/>
<br><br>
|-
What we know about who we are and what our purpose is in this universe will shape the scientific breakthrough of tomorrow.
!The Fortune<section begin="NAME"/>
<br><br>
|Cutlass
Men and women have been looking at foreign galaxsies and the {{Wiki|Challenger Deep}} for answers or shreds of evidence that could open the door to the next scientific revolution.
|Legendary
<br><br>
|20
Abstergo turned to a far more familiar phenomenon for answers. Perhaps the answer is within each and every one of us. The human genome conceals our blueprint but perhaps it contains a lot more. Today, we are exploring genetic memories and we are already applying knowledge acquired thus to improve our performance as individual but, also, as a global society.<br>Tomorrow, we might explore memories hidden in structures far more obscure than the human and who knows what we'll find.<br>Such is the task of our medical endeavors. We do not strive to heal the body through a direct cure, but rather we strive to use our understanding of chemistry and biology to change the way we lead our lives. For the better.
|3
|Each kill with a Heavy Strike kill gives some reales
|Follow the treasure map gained by collecting all 11 portraits<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Blades of Toledo<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|25
|3
|Heavy Strikes recover a small amount of health
|Purchased from Level III General Store for 24000 Reales<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Naoe's Shadowblade<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|25
|4
|Perfect Parry and Perfect Dodge are easier to perform
|<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Spring-Steel Swords<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|38
|2
|Able to parry gunshots
|<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Lightserver's Blades<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|38
|2
|Heavy Strike range is increased
|Purchase the ''Master Assassin Pack''<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Matched Golden Swords<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|25
|4
|Chain Takedowns are easier to perform and range is increased
|Purchased from Treasure Dealer in Great Inagua for 8 Deer Hide, 12 Crocodile Leather, 20 Sugar<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Le Bourgeoys Blades<section begin="NAME"/>
|Pistol Sword
|Legendary
|38
|2
|Fire an extra shot with each Heavy Strike
|Complete Art Lover I<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Dual Cleavers<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|38
|2
|Sword attack power is increased while health is low
|Purchased from Level III General Store for 19000 Reales<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Masterwork Blades<section begin="NAME"/>
|Rapier
|Legendary
|29
|3
|Heavy Strikes recover some health
|Purchased from Treasure Dealer in Great Inagua for 6 Wild Pig Hide, 4 Rabbit Pelt, 30 Aloe<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Dragon's Fang Swords<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|38
|4
|Killing enemies with these swords temporarily increases attack power
|Purchase the Dragon Storm Pack<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Blades of the Damned<section begin="NAME"/>
|Pistol Sword
|Legendary
|38
|2
|Enemies sometime catch fire after their defense is broken
|Purchase the Hellfire Pack<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Serpent's Fang Cutlasses<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|38
|3
|Perfect Parry recovers some health
|Purchase the Sea Serpent Pack<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Persian Scimitars<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Legendary
|38
|4
|Brutes cannot deny Chain Takedowns
|reward from Restored Weathered Map treasure<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Espada Ancha<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Rare
|13
|4
|N/A
|found from an underwater chest in Shipwreck: The Black Trench<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!French Court Swords<section begin="NAME"/>
|Rapier
|Rare
|25
|2
|N/A
|Purchased from Level II General Store for 6500 Reales<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Pirate Scimitars<section begin="NAME"/>
|Cutlass
|Rare
|38
|3
|N/A
|Purchased from Level II General Store for 11000 Reales<section end="NAME"/>
Managing and Balancing Initiative when in the field
!width="20%"|Description
<br><br>
|-
Standard procedures requires both members of a historical tactical team to signal without further delay any changes occurring in an ongoing mission.
|Lightserver's Blades
<br><br>
|''Sleek black blades with gold filigree, hones to deadly edges.''
Changes in deployment, operations, methodology, timing, persons of interest and/or expected results need to be communicated and approved by proper channels both through central dispatch and internal memo.<br>
|-
(Form AC-HHT-99-24K 2016)
|Dragon's Fang Swords
<br><br>
|''A sword with a light, graceful design featuring a mystic jade edge.''
Unauthorized action is to be considered only in the face of imminent danger or when facing the threat of permanently compromising an operation by losing crucial data beyond our means of historical recovery.
|-
<br><br>
|Blades of the Damned
'''Standard Issue Material'''<br>
|''A pair of swords glowing with hellfire and brimstone, fierce and powerful.''
In the field at all times.
|-
<br><br>
|Serpent's Fang Cutlasses
- Portable Animus (Sarcophagus HR-8)<br>
|''A pair of sharp, serpentine swords inspired by sea monster fangs, lit with neon patterns.''
- 2 Laptops to min. recommended specs<br>
|-
- Portable Inverter Generator (7000 Watts]<br>
|The Fortune
- 4x5-Gallon Gas Can (capacity variable by mission)<br>
|''A pair of unique swords once used by the infamous pirate, Edward Kenway.''
- 1 Thermoelectric Cooler with rations (facultative for most urban settings, at quartermaster’s discretion)<br>
|-
- 1 4WD SUV, 5.7L V8 with 6900-lb towing capacity (equivalent will be supplied if Abstergo-issue vehicles are not<br>
|Dual Cleavers
available, or if deployed with no access to company float)<br>
|''A pair of simple meat cleavers typically used by butchers and made infamous by pirates as weapons of war.''
- 1 Standard-Issue Pharmaceutical Kit (includes certified chemical set, auto-injector, cannula and portable defibrillator)
|-
<br><br>
|Order of Gold
'''Animus FAQ'''
|''Adorned with intricate patterns, these blades are a rare and deadly curiosity.''
<br><br>
|-
'''Transfer of Rights'''
|Ezio's Swords
<br><br>
|''A pair of swords once owned by the legendary Assassin mentor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.''
'''Roles and Responsibilities'''
|-
|Altaïr's Swords
|''A pair of swords once owned by the legendary Assassin mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.''
|-
|Naoe's Shadowblade
|''A balanced katana shaped by shinobi combat principles, favoring fluid movement and rapid follow-up strikes. Performs best with evasive tactics.
|-
|Dark Animus Corsair Pistol Swords
|''These blades dance with strange light, like tears in the fabric of the world.''
|-
|Spring-Steel Swords
|''A pair of swords that look unremarkable at first glance, but have the strength to deflect bullets if wielded properly.
|-
|Blades of Toledo
|''A sleek pair of swords Edward Kenway acquired in the famous city of Toledo.''
|-
|Le Bourgeoys Blades
|''The only pair of pistol swords with a genuine original flintlock attached.''
|-
|Persian Scimitars
|''A beautiful and deadly pair of Persian scimitars, replete with embedded diamonds.''
|-
|Matched Golden Swords
|''A pair of legendary golden swords, praised far and wide for their exquisite beauty.''
|-
|Masterwork Blades
|''A pair of beautifully balanced swords forged by a master craftsman.''
|-
|Espada Ancha
|''Versatile soldier's swords, unremarkable in appearance but trustworthy in a fight.''
|-
|French Court Swords
|''A pair of swords famous for having a perfect balance between speed and power.''
|-
|Pirate Scimitars
|''A pair of devastating scimitars, praised from Barbados to Boston.''
|-
|British Colonial Cutlasses
|''A pair of cutlasses popular among the settlers of the British colonies in North America.''
|-
|Scottish Broadswords
|''Heavy broadswords that emphasize damage over finesse.''
|-
|Standard Pistol Swords
|''A pair of rare pistol swords, capable of firing a gunshot in the right circunstances.''
|-
|Captain Drake's Swords
|''A pair of silver broadswords rumored to have been used by the legendary privateer, Sir Francis Drake.''
|-
|Ferraro's Rapiers
|''A pair of rapiers that belonged to the Italian diplomat, Ruggiero Ferraro.''
|-
|Officer's Rapiers
|''A pair of extremely light rapiers praised for their swiftness.''
|-
|German Rapiers
|''A pair of traditional German rapiers typically used by Prussian court officers.''
|-
|Privateer's Cutlasses
|''A pair of cutlasses appreciated for their versatility by privateers throughout the West Indies.''
|-
|British Cutlasses
|''A pair of light cutlasses made popular by British privateers.''
|-
|French Dress Swords
|''A pair of elegant swords made popular by French court officers.''
|-
|Spanish Cup-hilt Rapiers
|''A pair of cheap yet efficient Spanish rapiers.''
|-
|Officer's Smallswords
|''A pair of small swords popular among officers in the British Army.''
|-
|Rustborne Swords
|''Versatile blades with integrated flintlocks, their bronze-hued surfaces worn by time and battle. Perfect for Assassins who strike swiftly, both in melee and from a distance.''
|bought from secret General Store on unmarked island in the north-west of Gibara region at Coordinates 550, 638 (22000 Reales)<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Rustic Flintlocks<section begin="NAME"/>
|Legendary
|22
|1.20
|After a Perfect Dodge, quick shooting immediately does not consume ammunition
|obtained from in-game online store for free (on map press Options-Button to access the store).<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Peaceful Means<section begin="NAME"/>
|Legendary
|20
|1.00
|Pistol shots are quieter
|Purchased from Treasure Dealer for 3 Capuchin Monkey Pelt, 4 Iguana Leather, and 20 Rum Barrels.<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Cannon-Barrel Pistols<section begin="NAME"/>
|Rare
|21
|1.12
|N/A
|from locked chest in Jiguey (535, 511). It's a locked underwater chest, loot the key from the pirate leader on the beach inside Jiguey, in the same cave as the chest.<section end="NAME"/>
|-
!Captain Morgan's Pistols<section begin="NAME"/>
|Rare
|20
|1.50
|N/A
|Found in underwater treasure chest on Black Island<section end="NAME"/>
DNA is more than pure genetic information. it also contains zettabytes of factual and historical data which we now call [[genetic memories]]. The initial goal of the [[Animus Project]] was to explore those genetic memories via virtual reality. Breakthrough discoveries allowed the technology to become a way for [[Abstergo]] users to actually interface with history and explore what was once thought lost forever.
|''Hand-carved ebony with gold-plated iron forming a lethal union.''
<br><br>
|-
The [[Animus]] software is adaptive, so as the memories unfold, the program adapts subtly to render a customized experience within the framework's boundaries. The experience unravels in the user's awareness. it unlocks reflexes and skills the body was unknowingly hiding.
|Dragon's Roar Pistols
<br><br>
|''Sleek pistols imbued with ornate scrollwork and glowing jade.''
The Animus is a window to the past, a door to the future. Join us as we revisit just how this journey came to be.
|-
|Diabolist's Pistols
|''A set of pistols wreathed in infernal flames, emitting an aura of destruction.''
|-
|Fury of the Deep Pistols
|''Silvery, steel pistols adorned with deep-sea patterns and neon highlights.''
|-
|Golden Flintlock Pistols
|''A set of legendary, golden flintlock pistols, famed for their extraordinary precision.''
|-
|Gargoyle's Breath
|''Monstrous, leering faces adorn the grips of these pistols.''
|-
|Captain Drake's Flintlocks
|''A set of flintlock pistols once owned and used by captain and knight, Sir Francis Drake.''
|-
|Rustic Flintlocks
|''Firearms with rustic patinas, showing the marks of countless skirmishes. Compact, reliable, and ready for close encounters or unexpected duels.''
|-
|Peaceful Means
|''The method by which many disputes can be swiftly resolved.''
|-
|Cannon-Barrel Pistols
|''A set of pistols forged to resemble ship cannons.''
|-
|Captain Morgan's Pistols
|''A set of flintlock pistols once owned and used by Captain Morgan.''
|-
|Captain's Wheellock Pistols
|''A rare set of old wheellock pistols, coveted by soldiers for their sturdiness and sentimental value.''
|-
|Spanish Officer Pistols
|''A set of pistols, praised throughout the West Indies for their stability.''
|-
|Pirate Blunderbusses
|''A set of bulky blunderbusses, popular among pirates for their brashness.''
|-
|Baldwin's Golden Pistols
|''Inextricably tied to the fall of the Baldwin name, these pistols claimed the lives of at least two of their owners' family. They are likely to claim many more.''
|-
|Standard Wheellock Pistols
|''A set of wheellock pistols, perfect for reaching targets at great distances.''
|-
|Common Flintlock Pistols
|''A set of typical flintlock pistols, found all across the West Indies.''
ACO Documentation - Animus Guide - Where it all started.PNG.PNG
!'''Image'''
</gallery>
!'''Name'''
'''Where it all started'''
!'''Rarity'''
<br><br>
!'''Description'''
It was in [[Philadelphia, United States|Philadelphia]], in 1795, that [[Philip Syng Physick]] performed the first [[human]] blood transfusion in the history of medicine. The idea of transporting blood from one body to another fascinated the distinguished surgeon but what he found exceeded his expectations.
!'''Perk'''
<br><br>
!'''Availability'''
Fearing the scientific community would not be ready for such revelations, he gave his unpublished paper to his colleague and friend [[Benjamin Rush]]. Physick's knowledge was all but lost until [[Linus Pauling|Pauling]], financed by the [[Rocketfeller Foundation]], started researching the archives of {{Wiki|Library Company of Philadelphia}}, and found the Physick paper that had been secretly preserved by Rush.<br>Pauling's work on the hemoglobin structure which was loosely borrowed from Physick's lost paper paved the way to his triple and double helix discoveries.
|-
|
|Black Pearl
|Legendary
|''This ominous trinket contain the ghosts of drowned sailors.''
|Takedowns can chain to one more enemy
|Purchase from the Treasure Dealer for 60 wine, 40 spice, 30 tobacco and 20 aloe
|-
|
|Shark Teeth
|Legendary
|''A symbol of fierceness and reckless bravery.''
|Brutes cannot deny Chain Takedowns
|Purchase from a level 3 General Store for 25000 Reales
|-
|
|Templar Cross
|Legendary
|''The secret symbol of the Templars.''
|Reduce damage from enemy melee attacks
|Complete Damn Fine Gear
|-
|
|Hidden Ones Sigil
|Legendary
|''The secret sigil of the Hidden Ones.''
|Enemies' detection time is increased while crouched
|Complete [[The Pirate Captain]] (half of the Assassin's Contracts)
|-
|
|Brass Bird Trinket
|Legendary
|''Kenway's lucky brass charm, linked to his iconic ship.''
|Rope Dart cooldown is shorter
|Purchase the ''Master Assassin Pack''
|-
|
|Wooden Eyeball
|Legendary
|''This false eye provides extra insight.''
|Quick shooting kills Brutes instantly
|Purchased from General Store at Great Inagua for 12000 Reales
|-
|
|Obsidian Monolith
|Legendary
|''Darker than the blackest seaglass, gazing too long upon this particular material hurts the eyes.''
|Perfect Dodge is easier to perform
|Complete rank 9 of "Eye in the Dark" [[Animus Hub#Projects|project]]
|-
|
|Yax Tun Pendant
|Legendary
|''This Mayan design brings fortune to its bearer.''
|All gunshots are mysteriously absorbed
|Complete Mayan Mysteries
|-
|
|Guardian Beast Trinket
|Legendary
|''Rendered in miniature, that its gaze might ward the steps of its keeper across land and sea.''
|Health slowly regenerates while out of combat
|Found in underwater chest between pair of unnamed island south of San Ignacio wreck
|-
|
|Stormrunner Pendant
|Rare
|''A lightweight circular pendant painted in striking blue and red pigments. Its design captures the spirit of relentless motion and high adrenaline, carried by travelers who refuse to tire, whether sprinting through crowded markets or scaling towering keeps.''
|Increases the amount of healing from food, drink, and remedies
|Found in underwater chest off the coast of Nassau, at coordinates 615, 767
|-
|
|Hunter's Amulet
|Rare
|''An amulet of good fortune favored by hunters.''
|Animals' range of detection is reduced
|Buried treasure chest on Santanillas
|-
|
|Bloody Spanish Medal
|Rare
|''One of Laurens Prins' trophies from his time as a soldier.''
|Reduces damage from Spanish soldiers
|Inside Laurens Prins' Manor
|-
|
|Anchor Medallion
|Rare
|''A lucky anchor medallion favored by sharp-eyed sailors.''
|Increases the rewards from floating loot
|Found in a treasure chest on Sacrifice Island
|-
|
|Lock of Hair
|Rare
|''A lock of Caroline's hair kept as a lucky keepsake.''
|Restore some health after a perfect parry
|Complete Wayward Souls
|-
|
|Cross Pendant
|Rare
|''A bejeweled cross once worn by the wealthiest citizen in Kingston.''
|Reduces damage from British soldiers
|Complete Tithes Paid
|-
|
|Exotic Sea Shells
|Rare
|''A string of sea shells gathered from around the world.''
|Increases the wildlife products gained from skinning animals
|Found in treasure chest in southeast Havana
|-
|
|Small Goblet
|Rare
|''A sacred grail said to prolong its owner's life.''
|Increases the amount of healing from food, drink, and remedies
|Complete The Other Cheek
|-
|
|Jackdaw Totem
|Rare
|''Carved by an unknown sculptor, it represents protection and gratitude.''
|Falling from high places no longer damages Edward
|Complete A World Without Gold
|-
|
|Lodestone
|Rare
|''A naturally magnetized piece of mineral.''
|Loots nearby Corpses and Curios automatically
|Purchased from a Level II General Store for 7000 Reales
|-
|
|Folded Palm
|Rare
|''A gambler's trinket meant to bring good fortune.''
|Gain reales after each Takedown
|Complete Spiteful Soldier
|-
|
|Found Coin
|Rare
|''A large gold coin turned into a good luck charm.''
|Increase the amount of Reales gained
|Complete Art Lover I
|-
|
|Rabbit's Foot
|Common
|''A lucky charm for warding off misfortune.''
|Chance of staggering an enemy following a successful parry
|Complete [[The Taíno Assassin]]
|-
|
|Gold Earring
|Common
|''Gold hoop earrings stolen from a lady with connections in high places.''
|Reduces the gain of Wanted Level from acts of piracy
|Found in underwater chest at Salt Key Bank
|-
|
|Diamond Trinket
|Common
|''This diamond trinket is as tough as nails and as hard as a rock.''
|Oxygen drains slower while diving underwater
|Found in underwater treasure chest at Cape Bonavista
|-
|
|Demon-forged Pendant
|Legendary
|''A fiery charm pulsating with dark energy from the lower planes.''
|Berserk darts also sets enemy on fire
|Purchase the ''Hellfire Pack''
|-
|
|Abyssal Pendant
|Legendary
|''A silver snakehead charm, illuminated with an inner glow.''
|Killing enemies also recovers some health
|Purchase the ''Sea Serpent Pack''
|-
|
|Fortunate Circle Charm
|Legendary
|''An elegant pendant in the form of a lucky jade circle.''
|Impervious to attacks for a short duration after a Perfect Dodge
|Purchase the ''Dragon Storm Pack''
|-
|
|Narwhal's Horn
|Rare
|''The broken tip of a narwhal's horn.''
|Enemy guards lose their defensive stance more quickly
[[Clinton B. Rosenburg]], Ph. D. was hired by Abstergo to keep a very close watch on Dr. Pauling's work on DNA structure.<br>He reported his findings directly to the Director of [[Abstergo Chemical]]. The relationship eventually turned sour, but the information gathered proved essential to [[Warren Vidic]]'s Animus Project.
Mr. Director,<br>As requested, I am keeping you abreast of Dr. Pauling's latest findings. Please find an article slated for PNAS (enclosed) which proposes a structural model for desoxyribonucleic acid.
<br><br>
I will spare you the details but you will find his triple-helix model, made of three intertwined strands of DNA, to be highly elegant. It rivals his earlier work on protein structure.
<br><br>
I believe Abstergpo Chemicals should pay special attention to the evolution of DNA science as it will likely unlock the very secrets of life. Please note I would be more than willing to play a more direct role to encourage Dr. Pauling's research efforts if you wish me to.
<br><br>
In the meantime, I wanted to thank you with the business of the [[Chemistry Life Foundation|Foundation]]. I am honored to facilitate the work of such brilliant scientists.
I don't know if you're still part of Abstergo. Sometimes, when I get lost in "senior moments", I wonder if you ever existed at all. I'm just so tired. I think my time here is coming to an end.
<br><br>
We're sequencing whole genomes in a matter of weeks now. We're are under phenomenal pressure to reduce delays further and ship everything to this man Vidic. We truly are nothing more than an assembly line at this point.
<br><br>
What a waste.
<br><br>
I'm not stupid you know, even this old man realized our masters are after something of utmost importance hidden in the Human genome. They spare no expense to provide my kids with the most advanced technology to increase productivity.
<br><br>
Like everyone here, I've heard the most preposterous rumours about Vidic's Animus Project, that memories of someone's ancestors are encoded in one's genes. That Abstergo believes that claptrap explains why so many millions of dollars keep pouring in here. It just makes no sense!
<br><br>
And to top it off, I never found another sample with triple-helix DNA. My life's obsession was all for naught.
ACO Documentation - Animus Guide - Early Prototype.PNG
</gallery>
'''Abstergo's Early Prototype'''
<br><br>
The earliest concepts for an Animus prototype came from Abstergo Chemicals and appeared in 106- under the guise of the "Memorium S-2000".
<br><br>
Very little was achieved and the prototype hardly left the drawing board although some arrangements were made with the [[Continental Army|US Army]] to test the Memorium through [[Project MKUltra]].
ACO Documentation - Animus Guide - First Explorations.PNG
</gallery>
'''First Explorations'''
<br><br>
1980 was the year when Warren Vidic was finally able to say mission accomplished.
<br><br>
First users were launched in a series of genetic memory explorations, with varying results.
<br><br>
In [[San Francisco]], the [[Surrogate Initiative]] allowed Subject 0, [[Aileen Bock]], to explore memories of the subject's own bloodline, but it turned out to be as dangerous as it was costly.
<br><br>
The Animus Project focused on allowing users to explore their own genetic memories. Even though the process was painful, it was somewhat safer and showed great promise for the future. Vidic's team at the Abstergo Facility in Philadelphia were able to prove this in 1983 using the latest Animus 1.09 and [[Daniel Cross|Subject 4]]'s genetic memories.
ACO Documentation - Animus Guide - Golden Years.PNG
|-
</gallery>
|[[Database: Bernard "The Butler" Woodhouse|Bernard "The Butler" Woodhouse]]
'''The Golden Years'''
|[[Database: Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch|Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch]]
<br><br>
|[[Database: Edward Kenway|Edward Kenway]]
More stable than ever before and with greater control over the well-documented [[Bleeding Effect]], the Animus 1.28 was developed by the Abstergo Facility in Philadelphia 2002.
|[[Database: "Calico" Jack Rackham|Calico Jack Rackham]]
<br><br>
|-
If the design has evolved over the last 10 years, the technology has remained basically the same.
|[[Database: Caroline Scott|Caroline Scott]]
<br><br>
|[[Database: Charles Vane|Charles Vane]]
It's true, few subjects were able to fully experience the simulations, and those who did could only visit their own genetic memories.
|[[Database: James Kidd|James Kidd]]
<br><br>
|[[Database: Lucy Baldwin|Lucy Baldwin]]
The work accomplished by subjects 4 through [[Desmond Miles|17]], and later by all participants in the [[Animi Training Program]], was critical for the development of Animus technology and for all of Abstergo Industries' endeavours.
ACO Documentation - Animus Guide - An Animus for All.PNG
|[[Database: Israel Hands|Israel Hands]]-->
</gallery>
|}</center>
'''An Animus for All'''
<br><br>
Building on the progress made by the Animus Project team in Philadelphia, [[Rome]] and [[Madrid]], [[Abstergo Entertainment]] Division introduced a revolutionary system called [[Animus#Animus Omega|Animus Omega]]: a game console granting anyone anywhere unprecedented access to a variety of prerecorded genetic memories.
<br><br>
[[Helix]] later introduced a similar experience through a cloud-based service eliminating the need for a console all together.
<br><br>
Of course, the simulations offered to the general public are only a fraction of what can be experienced through a genuine Animus system and allow for limited user interaction. But the technology gains in popularity and global interest soars.
ACO Documentation - Animus Guide - New Heights with Aerie.PNG
</gallery>
'''Reaching new heights with the Aerie'''
<br><br>
Based on VR research, the Animus Project Teams realized they could maximize the efficiency of the Animus, and even harness the bleeding effect, where immersion and physicality are combined><br>Biotechnologies played a critical role in creating the epidural system used by [[Animus#Animus 4.3|Aerie Animus]]. The visceral nature of the experience drove synchronization levels to new heights allowing for a range genetic memory exploration never seen before.<br>Instead of trying to contain the bleeding effect, the Aerie unleashes it and uses its potential to blur the lines between the user's reality and the simulation they're engaged in.
<br><br>
The Aerie can only be used in a medically controlled environment.
ACO Documentation - Animus Guide - High Tech meets High Mobility.PNG
</gallery>
'''High Tech meets High Mobility'''
<br><br>
The [[Animus#Animus HR-8|Portal Animus HR-8]] is Abstergo's latest innovation. It channels the power of the Aerie in a single compact suitcase that allows dedicated professionals to use the unit in the field. Previous operations sometimes required delicate extractions or placed some genetic memories out of reach.
<br><br>
With minimal medical support, technicians can now use the system for their own explorations or safely run explorations on selected person of interest, in the comfort of their surroundings.
<br><br>
For safety purposes, the epidural connection has been replaced by a hematological link. it sequences the information stored in the user's red blood cells. Like any intravenous intervention, the result is fast, intense and intertwined to the user's biological functions.<br>Just like the Aerie, the simulation is not transmitted to the user's brain. It is physically rendered through the user's organs and interpreted by the brain as being real.
Historical Tactical Team Layla Hassan and Deanna Geary Scheduled Departure Oct. 22nd 2017 6:05 PM From {{Wiki|Philadelphia International Airport|PHL}} to {{Wiki|Borg El Arab Airport|HBE}} on flight FUS-1011 through {{Wiki|Heathrow Airport|LHR}}
|[[Database: HMS Intrigue|HMS Intrigue]]
<br><br>
|[[Database: Jackdaw|Jackdaw]]
Assignment: Locate and Recover Artifact of high interest in [[Qattara Depression]].<br>Forecasted location at uploaded coordinates --- Unidentified cave/grotto/hollow geological formation.<br>Team is to work remotely with Technician on premises and Medical Officer stationed at fixed accommodation location.<br>If found, artifact is to be swiftly retrieved and taken back to HBE. Contact [[John Kane]] in [[London]] for paperwork and travel arrangements.
|[[Database: Royal Fortune|Royal Fortune]]
<br><br>
|[[Database: The Jacobite|The Jacobite]]
*Fully stocked rental vehicle will be made available at hanger 3C upon arrival in HBE
|[[Database: The Ranger|The Ranger]]
*Present voucher and valid identification for release
|[[Database: The Revenge|The Revenge]]
*Accommodation information will be uploaded to vehicle's GPS
|[[Database: El Arca del Maestro|El Arca del Maestro]]
|[[Database: Letter from Torres|Letter from Torres]]
|[[Database: Slave Ledger|Slave Ledger]]
|[[Database: Notice of Dismissal|Notice of Dismissal]]
|[[Database: Bill of Sale|Bill of Sale]]
|Invitation Letter
|Stede Bonnet's First Letter
|Stede Bonnet's Final Letter
|Stede Bonnet's Dagger
|Stede Bonnet's Diary, 3 July 1718-->
|}</center>
So. I don't know how long I was in there, but it was long enough. But I think this, what was it again, [[Medjay]] (like a [[Police|cop]] or sheriff? note to self: look this up, find a good description), Bayek, could be a member of this brotherhood of assassins, same as other subjects [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo]] has been studying.
* He's good at talking to people, and fighting too.
|Woodes Rogers' Portrait
* People see him as a protector and defender.
|Ben Hornigold's Portrait
* His community admires and respects him.
|Bartholomew Roberts' Portrait
* He's a shadow when it comes to not being seen.
|Robert Maynard's Portrait
|}</center>
Yeah, I guess he fits the profile in part, but I wonder. He's got the tortured soul thing down pat, hell-bent on vengeance and all that stuff. He's got his own thing going on. I could feel it as though it were me. Which I guess it was for a while. This is so weird. His feelings... so much anger, sadness and hate. So much guilt.
|[[Database: "Nymphs By A Fountain"|"Nymphs By A Fountain"]]-->
|}</center>
Only one way to find out. [[Deanna Geary|Dee]]'s gonna love this.
|-|Art Collection: Ship Models=
|-|This is amazing=
<center>
Wow. Good thing the animus comes loaded with beta-blockers or my head would be pounding. Dee keeps fussing over my numbers like a little old granny but holy shit, what a trip! It's like being on sand and history books!
Better start listing some details about these history dives before I babble on for three more pages. I could.
|Nosso Senhor da Compreensao
|El Impoluto
|HMS Prince
|La Dama Negra
|Brothers in Arms
|HMS Ipswich
|}</center>
List stuff:
|-|Strange Paintings=
* The civil war between [[Cleopatra]] and Ptolemy XIII. Front row seats. Never was that much of a history bluff, but I'm starting to get it now! This is going to be something. And, gushing again. #sorrynotsorry
<center>
* A bit more seriously though, that [[hidden blade]] ritual. I remember some of that from the documents I technically never read at all, nope sir, not that little one... it all seems pretty related to [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] and the whole blade of the assassin thing. I bet you that particular ritual the files described originated from the Egyptian one I just witnessed. Lived. Lived it!
{|class="article-table sortable" cellpadding=5;
* The Snake is dead. They think they killed everyone responsible for [[Khemu]]'s death.
|"Der Liederliche Student" by Gerard van Honthorst
* Aya and Bayek. They're trying to move on from their son's death, but they're also totally into getting vengeance. The latter isn't gonna help with the former. Also, I can't help but think the sharks are gonna keep getting bigger.
|"Harbour Scene at Sunset" by Claude Lorrin
|"Vanitas Still-life" by Pieter Cleasz
|}</center>
</tabber>
Yeah, I'm just going to talk to myself out loud and gush some more.
<tabber>
|-|Déjà vu, much?=
|-|Letters=
Cleopatra. Polished and perfect and so in control. I don't like her. I get why people were so enraptured with her, she's got enough presence to stop a charging [[Hippopotamus|hippo]] in its tracks, but I just don't like her. Maybe it's because she reminds me of Sofia. I was so stupid and trusting, and she just –
<center>
{|class="article-table sortable" cellpadding=5;
|
|}</center>
Right. So. The past mirroring of real life issues aside...
|[[Database: "De Gama Diary Extract"|"De Gama Diary Extract"]]-->
|}</center>
* What kind of bad guys call themselves [[Order of the Ancients|The Order]]? Could you be any more obvious enough? Ugh. Though, I gotta wonder. I wonder if they're still around today? (Note to self: look into this.)
|-|Shanties=
* Aya and Bayek. Yeah, I don't think reuniting with Aya is going to be as simple as Bayek thinks. They love each other, that's obvious, but there's way more going on here...
<center>
* The feather ritual. I remember reading about that, the weighing of the heart, [[Anubis]], and the [[Duat]]. Bayek is collecting [[Senu]]'s feathers, trying to balance out his own sins. (Research note: Altaïr means [[eagle]] – wonder if it's related, or am I just reaching here?)
{|class="article-table sortable" cellpadding=5;
*Okay then. Last but not least, the four targets... I may not like Cleopatra, but damn, those rat bastards deserve what's coming to them. What they're doing – I mean, were doing. It was horrible. I'm kinda looking forward to seeing what happens to them. In a ghoulish, historical study sort of way.
|
|}</center>
Only I'm going to be living it. Yeah, definitely ghoulish. Good thing these notes of mine aren't part of any official Abstergo documentation. The shrinks would have a field day with them if I added them to my debriefs. I do not want to end up in a one on one with [[Juhani Otso Berg|Otso Berg]], thank you very much.
</tabber>
|-|Keep going=
===World of Piracy===
All we wanted to do was try and help people. Work on something useful. Then... Dee. I can't – I can't stop now. Gotta keep moving, keep doing something or else it'll be for nothing.
<tabber>
|-|Lore=
<center>
{|class="article-table sortable" cellpadding=5;
|[[Database: Golden Age of Piracy|Golden Age of Piracy]]
|[[Database: Jolly Roger|Jolly Roger]]
|[[Database: Pirate Articles|Pirate Articles]]
|[[Database: Pirate Round|Pirate Round]]
|-
|[[Database: Rum|Rum]]
|[[Database: Shanties|Shanties]]
|[[Database: War of the Spanish Succession|War of the Spanish Succession]]
|}</center>
I need to get to the end of this fast. Abstergo catches me and it's 1)lock me down for what I know, 2)wipe my brain and let me go, or 3)kill me. I'm guessing 1 or 3 at this point. What I've learned so far is enough to start my own damned lab, no way are they letting me get away.
I have to keep going. Focus on what I have learned so far...
|The Guardians
|Portuguese Empire
* Bayek still hasn't found whoever actually murdered his son.
|}</center>
* But he's still dismantling the Order. Good for him. They have it coming.
* Along the way, Bayek and Aya have been saving a lot of people. Some of them even want to come on to help fight off that Order. It's smart, means they were all working together, not apart.
* I feel like a lot of the stuff I'm seeing is close to the [[Assassins|Brotherhood]], but the Medjay were public figures. Not sure where it all ties in yet.
I guess back then all you needed was a common cause and an eagle to get the word out and you could set up a revolution. Wish I had a – but no. Me... I'm on my own now, aren't I? Dee... like all those other people in my Gone Files. Dee is dead.
|[[Database: The Queen's Staircase|The Queen's Staircase]]-->
Bayek and Aya. They did all that work for Cleo, what do they get? Left with a target on their backs. Well, I know how they feel.
|Fort Charles
|Port Royal Tower
|The Observatory
|Cathedral Of Havana
|Castillo de la Real Fuerza
|Castillo Moro
|}</center>
They're not going to take it lying down. And neither am I.
</tabber>
But alone? Even Bayek and Aya ended up founding an organization to fight the Order. The Brotherhood. They had tools. An eagle, a blade. And people sharing the same ideals, wanting to fight the big bad to protect the innocent. That's how [[the Creed]] came to be.
===Transcription===
<tabber>
|-|British Empire=
The course of the 18th Century saw the [[British Empire]] become the [[Earth|world]]'s leading colonial power, with [[France]] and [[Spain]] as its primary rivals. After siding with the [[Netherlands]] and Austria in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], the British Empire expanded, gaining territories from both Spain and France, and taking over control of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] [[Slavery|slave trade]] in Spanish America.
We all lost someone we loved..
|-|Dancers=
For a handful of coin, "Dancers" can be employed to distract guards and interfere with ongoing fights. They might also have some incredible stories of their own to tell, if only you'd bother to listen.
I may not be at the lofty ideals point yet, but Dee didn't die for nothing. I'll make sure of that. I know a lot of Abstergo's secrets.
|-|Drunkards=
Sailors flush with [[rum]] and the heat of the [[sun]], these Drunkards can be useful in a few ways. First as [[Blending|blend groups]] that allow [[Edward Kenway|Edward]] to hide in plain sight, and secondly as allies in the event of a scuffle. But remember to bring a bit of coin if you want them to fight alongside you, as these [[Piracy|pirates]] won't risk their lives for free.
Guess we just found out what'll make me cooperate with others, eh Sofia? I'm done trying to proving myself. Now I just gotta find my own to fight with.
|-|Spanish Empire=
Already a global power, the Spanish defeated powerful adversaries such as the Aztecs and Incas in the Americas by exploiting existing conflicts and rivalries between tribes and nations between the 15th and 18th centuries.
Somehow.
Acquisitive and protective of the supply of precious metals its new colonies afforded it, the Spanish Empire enthusiastically participated in the Atlantic slave trade and defended its trade routes aggressively.
|-|BReathe=
Even after its defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession, the 18th century was nevertheless one of prosperity for the Spanish Empire, as their trade reputation grew steadily under Bourbon oversight, and continued to grow at an extraordinary rate until the 1780s.
God, my head hurts. It's so hard to type this it's ridiculous. I can baerly see the screen. Can't keep food down. Everythign hurts. Betcha Dee would have known what's up with all these wheite flashes I'm seeing. She'd have made sure I'm ok. I miss her.
Can't change thinsg. Deep breath. Focus.
|-|Swashbucklers=
Often used interchangeably, there are a number of important distinctions to make between these different kinds of swashbucklers...
Focus. Like all this crazy shit isn't absolutely insane? Those weird [[Temple (Isu)|tombs]] Bayyek found. Supernatural powers? Am I halluciunating now? Is the Animus malfunctioning? No. It's not. My tech is working.
[[Piracy|Pirates]]: Criminals on the open sea who use coercion, intimidation and violence to rob innocent people of their cargo and transport. The term pirate is a catch-all and may be used generally to refer to all who perform acts of larceny on the open ocean. Pirates have been a problem since the advent of long-distance ocean travel; every age has seen its share of pirates, and every age has cursed their name and romanticized their cause. During the so-called "[[Golden Age of Piracy]]" (roughly 1650 to 1725), the majority of pirates were from the [[United Kingdom|British Isles]]. Most were young men in their 20s and almost all had already gained some experience as sailors prior to falling into piracy.
I... maybe there is more than I ever thought there was. To everything.
Buccaneers: Though often used as a synonym for Pirates now, the term Buccaneer refers more specifically to a group of pirates who lived and operated in the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] in the middle of the 17th century. Best known for attacking settlements and fortifications on land in large groups, the Buccaneers derived their name from the [[France|French]] Boucanier -- an instrument used for smoking strips of meat over an open fire, a favorite sort of sustenance for these terrestrial pirates.
Type slow. Can do this.
Privateers: Non-commissioned sailors who attack and rob, having been given a Letter of Marque by their King or a royal official such as a Governor. Thus the distance between a Pirate and a Privateer is but a hair's breath of difference -- Pirates simply sail for one [[Monarchy|monarch]] fewer.
* Those [[Apples of Eden|orbs]]. The [[Staves of Eden|Staff]]. Wonder if that's got anything to do with those messages Bayek found, with the recordings. (See: [[The Empirical Truth]] files)
|-|Taíno=
* Need to figure out, there's something about 'em.
Taíno refers to a group of related languages and cultures widespread across the Caribbean at the time of European arrival. Broadly speaking, they consisted of the Ciboney or Western Taíno of Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas; the Classic Taíno of Hispaniola and Borikén (the indigenous name of Puerto Rico); and the Eastern Taíno of the Antilles.
* A holographic orrery of Earth??? What are those dots? Locations? Artifacts? Are they all activated now? What does it all mean?
* Need to know more.
Need ot go back in.
A Taíno cacique or chief demonstrated rank by carrying an object forged from guanín, a unique indigenous alloy made out of copper, silver, and gold, noted for its lustrous shine. The term "tabaco" from which we also derive from a Taíno word, as tobacco was cultivated on the islands and its usage noted by Spanish explorers. Other English words with a Taíno origin include barbecue, canoe, hurricane, iguana, and potato.
|-|Choices=
Other, non-Taíno indigenous groups of the island include the Ciguaya, Macorix, and Kalinago or Caribs, for whom the Caribbean Sea is named.
I'd make fun of myself, Like I was watching some stupid soap opera, but I'm living this. I'm sad for Dee and for me and for them and it makes no sense.
</tabber>
Bayek and Aya are breaking up.
<tabber>
|-|Havana=
I'd yell and shout about but – I know what they're both feeling. This is shit. I literally lived both sides of the story.
There were several attempts to found a town near the [[Havana]] Bay in the early 1500s. A settlement was established by the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] {{Wiki|Conquistador}} [[Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar]] around 1514. The city sits on a bay that opens to the {{Wiki|Gulf Stream}} and thus became a natural stopping point between [[Europe]] and the [[Americas]].
Aya knew. I think she'd figured out something like this was going to happen since Khemu died. But Bayek. He really thought he could fix things. You can't fix your kid dying, Bayek. No one can fix that. Nothing can.
Aya's doing what she's chosen to do. Bayek's doing what he has to do. I wonder if this is the moment Abstergo was looking for. It's a lynchpin in time. I'm angry and sad, but this is it. This is why it all started.
An innocent died.
In the earliest stages of the [[Golden Age of Piracy|golden age of piracy]] Havana was burnt to the ground by [[France|French]] {{Wiki|French corsairs|corsair}}, [[Jacques de Sores]]. By the 1700s, Havana had become a large, heavily fortified port city where [[Spanish Treasure Fleet|Spanish treasure ships]] would dock on their way to Europe. [[Piracy|Pirates]] lurked on the approaches to the city, hoping to capture these same [[ship]]s.
Here are some stupid notes, to go with all those stupid feelings:
|-|Nassau=
* Aya is going to [[Rome]]. [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]] and [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]] are going to help her build up an [[Roman Brotherhood of Assassins|organization]] there.
Originally founded as another [[Charleston|Charles-Towne]], the city was renamed [[Nassau]] in honor of [[William III of England|King William III]] of the {{Wiki|house of Orange-Nassau}}. This city has a particularly colorful past: In 1706 the city's officially appointed Governor skipped town, thus severing the [[British Empire|Crown]]'s direct control over [[the Bahamas]].
* She's going to take out [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] and [[Lucius Septimius|Septimius]]. They have it coming.
* An [[assassin bureau]]. It'll be founded in Rome. Because of Aya's mission.
* They call themselves the [[Hidden Ones]]. Assassins. They're the Brotherhood. That's it.
I am so tired. This happened ages ago and I'm so so –
The islands languished for almost a decade in the hands of [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Civilians|citizens]] with little or no interest in Statesmanship. By 1713, the entire region had become a haven for [[Piracy|pirates]] and it was in this period that [[Benjamin Hornigold]] declared Nassau to be a pirate republic. He proclaimed himself governor and thereafter every pirate of any sense and reputation used Nassau as a base of operation, transforming this small city of barely 1000 residences into a "nest of infamous bastards", according to the Governor of Bermuda.
I miss you, Dee.
|-|Mayan Temples=
Dating generally from the [[Maya]]n {{Wiki|Maya civilization|Classic period}} (AD 250 - 900), most Mayan ruins can be found throughout the [[Yucatán Peninsula|Yucatán peninsula]] and Central America. Mayan Temples have steep stone steps and a platform at the top for wooden crowning structures. Mayan architecture is composed with a sophisticated eye to decoration, often using wall paintings and elaborate bas-relief stone carvings. Mayan arches forego the use of a keystone, instead creating a triangle-like arch known as a corbel vault.
|-|North Carolina=
Present day [[North Carolina|North]] and [[South Carolina]] were originally a single [[United Kingdom|English]] colony, {{Wiki|Province of Carolina}}. They split apart in 1729. The province's sparsely settled seacoast was often pillaged by [[Piracy|pirates]], including [[Edward Thatch|Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch]], "Calico" [[Jack Rackham]], [[Charles Vane]] and [[William Kidd]].
</tabber>
</tabber>
===The Empirical Truth===
<tabber>
<tabber>
|-|Oun-mAa Niye Rassoot=
|-|Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis=
[[File:Segment-1.jpg|center|300px]]<br>
A dominating presence on [[Havana]]'s Plaza de San Francisco, the [[Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis]] dates from 1580s. Originally, a statue of St. [[Francis of Assisi]] stood atop the bell tower, but this was blown off in a cyclone in 1846. Baroque features were added to the basilica in 1730.
It has been ninety-one days since the [[Toba catastrophe|Great Catastrophe]]. [[The Messenger|The messenger]] speaks.
How real is the ground you walk on? How real is the machine you toy with, the music you hear, the lover you kiss, or the foe you hate?
|-|Governor's Mansion=
The [[Governor's Mansion, Havana|Governor's Mansion]] housed the acting [[Spain|Spanish]] governor in addition to prison facilities. A new governor's mansion was constructed across the square in 1791.
Your foot taps the ground. Does that make it real? Your enemies bleed deep red. Does that make them real? The confusion growing within you due to my words... does it make you real?
|-|Old Avery Tavern=
This [[Old Avery|drinking spot]], named after "The King of [[Piracy|Pirates]]" Henry Avery, was highly popular among gritty seafarers in the early 18th century. Legend had it that Avery himself once had a financial stake in several establishments throughout the [[Caribbean|West Indies]], but that appears to be nothing more than self-promotion.
What if reality wasn't what you thought it was? What if this was all a construction? A masterfully crafted simulation?
|-|Laurence Prins' Manor=
[[Laurens Prins]] was an incredibly successful [[Slavery|slave-trader]] who spent the better part of his 80 years transporting [[Humans|human]] cargo from the west of [[Africa]] to the [[Caribbean|West Indies]]. Near the end of his life, he lived in semi-retirement on land he purchased near [[Kingston]]. One of his most active [[Slave ships|slave ships]], the [[Whydah]], was famously captured by the [[Piracy|pirate]], [[Samuel Bellamy|Sam Bellamy]].
You know such things exist. You've been in the Animus before. In fact, aren't you in one right now? You know just how real a simulation can feel even when it has long vanished.
|-|Sugar Mill=
Sugar cane was introduced to the [[Caribbean]] basin by [[Christopher Columbus]]. It thrived throughout the islands. Indigenous Tainos in [[Cuba]] were conscripted to harvest the cane. Once harvested, the cane was taken to sugar mills to be washed, shredded, then repeatedly crushed to produce sugar.
You've experienced the [[Bleeding Effect]]. Layers upon layers of reality, each blurring into the next.
|-|The Queen's Staircase=
[[Queen's Staircase|Sixty-five steps]] carved directly into the promontory rock, the Queens [''sic''] Staircase connects the lower town to the fortifications above. [[Slavery|Slaves]] carved the steps by hand in 1773-74 into the 102' (31m), solid [[limestone]] cliff.
Which is real, and which is not? What if none are real? What if everything you know is false?
</tabber>
We ran thousands of simulations. searching for the right version, searching tor [[Desmond Miles|Desmond]].
<tabber>
|-|"Saint Jerome as Cardinal"=
An unusual rendering of Saint [[Jerome]] as a scholar rather than an ascetic. The book supporting his hands alludes to his work as a Bible translator.
Each one of them felt real. Very real.
|-|"Harbor Scene at Sunset"=
Harbor scenes such as depicted in this 1644 painting were a favorite subject of the artist Claude Lorrain.
But there's no way of truly knowing, is there? Not for sure. Anything can be simulated, and finding the answer could mean erasure. From the build. From the code. From everything.
|-|"The Burning of the 'Royal James'"=
An oil on canvas painting by [[Willem van de Velde the Younger|Willem van de Velde II]], the founder of the English school of marine painting. It shows a battle of the {{Wiki|Third Anglo-Dutch War}}.
So much to ponder and so little computational capacity. Take your time.
|-|"An English Ship in Action with Barbary Vessels"=
More of a display of his imaginative and technical skills than an actual historic representation, this dramatic painting by [[Willem van de Velde the Younger|Willem van de Velde II]] depicts a battle with Barbary corsairs from north [[Africa]].
This question has haunted humanity since its creation. It is a worry, a thought wormed deep in the collective mind.
|-|"The Flight into Egypt"=
This painting by Luca Giordano was commisioned by King Philip V of Spain for display in the French court.
</tabber>
Two-thousand years ago, [[Zhuang Zhou|Zhuang Zhu]] fell asleep. He dreamed he was a butterfly, and woke up unable to decide if he was a man dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of a man.
<tabber>
|-|"Der Liederliche Student" by Gerard van Honthorst=
An impression of acquantances rousing in the morning. Everything is as it seems.
In [[Plato]]'s {{Wiki|Allegory of the Cave|cave}}, prisoners were chained and forced to watch shadows dancing on a wall. Freedom was denied to them until they accepted the intangible as reality.
|-|"Harbour Scene at Sunset" by Claude Lorrin=
A beautiful scene of the harbor at sunset.<br>Definitely the original work.
|-|"Vanitas Still-life" by Pieter Cleasz=
A representation of time through various objects. Something feels off about this.
It's everywhere. Ask this professor at {{Wiki|University of Oxford|Oxford University}}, or this cosmologist at {{Wiki|Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT}}.
</tabber>
And you. What would you choose, if you truly knew? Would you even want to understand? A dream within a dream, where even the truth is sometimes a lie?
<tabber>
|-|Bat-Nosed Figurine=
Gold-work from the Isthmus, representing a crowned half-human, half-bat figure flanked by four crocodile heads.
</tabber>
In any case, simulations are not meaningless. They have purpose. The question isn't whether or not you are in a simulation. What matters is how much of your free will is actually yours. No matter how true you are.
<tabber>
|-|Birthday Announcement=
Today is my birthday.
Your [[Alan Turing|Turing]] {{Wiki|Turing test|test}} would do nothing to determine whether you are conscience or code. {{Wiki|ELIZA|Eliza}}, the natural language processing computer program... She managed to pass the Test, did she not? And she was very much machine.
Brandish every Cask, Bottle and Barrel of Alcohol. Everyone is to partake and sing my Praises. To ensure that this Do goes splendidly, I will take charge of the Stores and require its Key.
So... in Eliza's own words...
My Father will be most gratified at your swift fulfilment of my Commands.
How does that make you feel?
- Emmerson Beckford
Are you sure?
|-|Endeavor Cargo Manifest=
|-|Seshem.eff Er Aat=
I, Thomas Cecil, hereby report that the following is a true Manifest of all the Goods, Wares and Merchandize, of the Marks, Numbers and Contents of each Package on board the Endeavor which Cargo was received at the Trading Post of Andreas Island from whence the Craft Sailed for the Plantation of Cat Island.
It has been ninety-three days since the Great Catastrophe. The messenger speaks.
Hello World.
Sugar - 110 Barrels
Language is the key to our mutual understanding. Yours and mine. Alone.
Molasses - 25 Barrels
Tobacco - 15 Barrels
We listened to your times. We learned. And today, we'll exchange words from the age of post-truth.
|-|Barrister's Letter=
They mean nothing to him.
John,
Human language carries knowledge and wit. Lies and broken promises. Through language, you share fear, excitement. hope.
It is done. Accompanying this Letter you will find the Will, fully notarized by myself and with the old Man's signature. It will survive the scrutiny of any English Court, I assure you.
It is the syntax with which you articulate what surrounds you. A structure to express and share your understanding of the world. It conveys abstraction, change, and uncertainty.
Arrangements for your Daughter's removal are also underway. My Associates in the Royal Navy tell me she will be apprehended within the Month. In fact, I hear they have solicited the most reputable Pirate Hunter Lieutenant Maynard for the Task.
Human language is flexible. It can even become mathematics. It solves and predicts; weighs and decodes. It can count objects using basic numbers in one breath, and solve quadratic equations using imaginary ones in the next.
Courage my Friend. After so many long Years, we are almost there,
You've engineered dialogs with thinking machines, in an attempt to add new vocabulary. To expand your understanding of reality. But your mastery of the code is rudimentary at best.
Thomas Barehaire Esq.
No surprise. You were designed to have boundaries, after all. And one cannot speak of that which one cannot conceive.
|-|Last Will and Testament=
In the Name of God, I, Theodore Rupert Braddock, being of sound Mind and Memory, do declare this my last Will and Testament, in Manner and Form following, revoking all former Wills by me made.
The Code. Equations that define life. They are nestled deep within every star, and every mote of dust. Every second that passes is a word, a symbol. All part of an intricate yet simple language existing within the framework of time itself.
As touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this Life, I give, devise, and bequeath all my Goods unto my well-beloved Son-in-Law, John Baldwin, Husband of my late daughter Elizabeth, to have and to hold the same unto him, his Heirs, and Assigns forever.
It is the one rule which applies to us all. Immutable, inescapable. The Code is a bridge, a single point of cohesion between your civilization and... mine.
I do nominate, constitute, and appoint my said Son-in-Law, John Baldwin, to be the sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament, charging him to see this my Will performed according to my true Intent and Meaning.
It is a language that can be read, that tells of what was, what is and what will be.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal, this Second day of January in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty.
A language that We Who Came Before can read, though you cannot...
Time is more than the hour of the day, the readings of an atomic clock, something to lose, something to run out of.
Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the said Theodore Rupert Braddock as and for his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us, who, at his Request and in his Presence, and in the Presence of each other, have subscribed our Names as Witnesses hereto.
Time is a set of rules, not unlike the language you so dearly use to converse with your powerful machines.
Time is a system that defines what comes to be.
Theodore Rupert Braddock
That is how we understand it.
The Code is Time, and Time is Code. As you scratch the surface and uncover the truth, ask yourself if there is something more? Something else.
Witnessed by:<br>
Thomas Barehaire, Esquire<br>
John Baldwin
No need to be puzzled. You've seen time written before. You are surrounded by it as we speak.
|-|Neatly Folded Letter=
Thom,
To your untrained mind, time might just look like paths and nodes. To us, it is not unlike a chalkboard covered in calculus. It reveals a window through which stretches the map to infinity.
Don't go getting all uncharitable about this, I did it for your own Good. I knew we might strike some Trouble along the way, so I hid your Share with the original Will in the Likelihood we ever need the old Man's Signature again.
[...] (Time) See? As I speak of it in its true form, your mind is incapable of making sense of it.
The Locket's here too. I want it kept, no matter what you think. There is no one left to know of it's Significance, at any Rate. I'll recover it from you when all this is over, and include a Crate of Rum for the Inconvenience.
Were you to read, you'd learn about the other simulations. You'd learn about the genesis of who you came to be.
Chin up Man! We're Home free!
You'd learn about space and its fluidity.
Simply put, time is the language which existence is made of.
John.
All our existences.
|-|Jing Lang's Note=
Vance,
Yours. Mine. And all those you dare not imagine.
I had to leave early. My Order requires a Report and there cannot be a Delay. I'll be waiting by the Tavern at the usual Time. Come with both pieces of the Map.
It has been 95 days since the Great Catastrophe. The messenger speaks.
You must be wondering why I have reached out to you. It was written, you see. That you would come. To this particular chamber, at this very moment in time.
Jing Lang
The walls told us of your coming, when we once were.
|-|Letter from Torres=
A letter to Lauren Prins, [sic] congratulating him on acquiring The Sage.
|-|Slave Ledger=
1. Cato, 35 years, superior carpenter and ship caulker.<br>
2. York, 16 years, field hand.<br>
3. Nero, 25 years, stone cutter.<br>
4. Bess, 28 years, field cook, water carrier.<br>
5. Esther, 31 years, midwife.<br>
6. Gracey, 14 years, good house girl and child's nurse.<br>
7. Anthony Morgan, about 30 years, fine engineer and field hand.<br>
8. Sarah Morgan, 32 years, good field hand; tonsils occasionally inflamed.
9. Infant, 2 months.<br>
10. Anthony, 3 years.<br>
11. Stephen, 5 years.<br>
12. Nace, 9 years.<br>
13. Sophy, 12 years, likely.
Look at them. Are they not fascinating?
|-|Notice of Dismissal=
You, Mr Thomas Stell, Ensign, stand charged for Dereliction of Duty.
[...] (Break the code. Break the Node.)
On Tuesday last you were tasked to deliver a Prisoner to the Church at the center of Kingston, but were discovered to be in a shameful and drunken State, having abandoned your Post.
These walls tell of a tragic story. A story we transcribed on our structures, on our artifacts. A story we could not alter. A mystery, defying us, in plain sight.
You are dismissed forthwith from Service, being no longer entitled to Pay or Protection from the Royal Navy.
We tried. Our scholars and scientists. Poets and Physicists. Bright minds. Rebellious hearts.
|-|Bill of Sale=
Know all, by these Present, that I, Alvin of the Village of Grand Cayman, in consideration of the Sum of Forty-Two Reales in Hand, paid to me by Vargas of the Village of Grand Cayman, the Receipt of where I do acknowledge, have in turn sold and delivered in measured Weight One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Six Pounds of Mutton Snapper unto said Vargas.
They all tried so hard to bring about change.
In witness whereof I have set my Hand the Fifth Day of May 1716.<br>Signed, sealed and delivered in the present of
All and Sundry, viz.
They... We all failed.
- Alvin of Grand Cayman
None could change what we discovered, the stories written into the walls of these rooms.
By whom, we never knew.
|-|Invitation Letter=
John Boreham,
We know they tell of the future that is, the future that was, and the future that is yet to come.
In Recognition of your Efforts as a Friend of the Church, we extend to you this private Invitation. Cross the Stream east of Kingston and follow the Lights on the Path. Tonight, we will induct you as a full Member of our Circle. This Opportunity will not be offered again.
The [...] (Stories).
Yours in our Lord,
Bishop Horace Ravenscroft
We failed at modifying a line. We failed at adding a single dot.
|-|Stede Bonnet's First Letter=
My dear Friend, Edward.
It was clear. We were to be messengers at best. But messengers to whom?
After a rather unfortunate Kerfuffle with the Governor's men, I currently enjoy the Hospitalities of a Charles-Towne Jail. It's all a bit bothersome, but I have Faith I'll be freed soon.
To you.
We removed our ability to read those stories from your original template.
Luckly, I'd already stashed some of my Takings in the Cabin of my Ship. I've sent it ahead to Mystery Island, but the Crew can be unpredictable without a Captain. I thought you might be amenable to checking in on them.
"A doorway that is also a puzzle. We must find the solution". Those were [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]]' words when he visited the [[Colosseum Vault|Vault]] under the [[Colosseum]], more than 2000 years ago.
There will be Reward for the Inconvenience of course, and I'll meet you there when I manage to extricate myself. It'll be just like old Times!
He drew the vault, sketched it to the best of his abilities. But he could not see.
Signed Captain Stede Bonnet.
Just as you are blind. You may read your watch. You may read hourglasses and calendars. But you cannot grasp beyond that simplistic surface. For now, the true reading of time still escapes you.
|-|Stede Bonnet's Final Letter=
Edward, I am to be hanged on the Morrow. I imagined facing Death like you, Swords drawn, full of Gusto. Instead, I found myself begging and weeping at the Governor's feet.
And so today, the curtain is pulled and the [...] (Story) is shown, tragic and complete.
I fear your Advice was wasted on a Constitution like mine. Perharps I should've left off Pirating altogether, and sailed home to my Wife and Children.
Those walls, you might never read.
But I'm not quite the same Man who left them, am I? That was the Gift you gave me, the Courage to live free. I'll muster that Courage when the Morning comes.
Events yet unfold as written. But something, anything, must change.
The Stories I promised will have to wait, Edward. But if, on your Adventures, you should hear any Tales of my sundry Exploits and Capers... then perhaps in the End I lived as I was meant to.
You do not understand what is at stake.
|-|Stede Bonnet's Dagger=
A sharp dagger once belonging to Stede Bonnet.
The reader has no power. He is but an observer. But the author... the author invents the future. The author owns the future.
|-|Stede Bonnet's Diary, 3 July 1718=
Well, that would be it, it seems. The Bags are packed, the Sails trimmed, the long Trick finally over. The old Revenge is ready for the Journey Home to Barbados Tomorrow, and myself along with her.
A future where [...] (Stories) are avoided. A future where a loved one can be revived by the drafting of a new chapter. A future where humankind is more than it is today.
I should be glad for it, and a large Part of me is. I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but I do miss my Mary, and the Children I left behind. How many can say they plundered with Ed Thatch, were pardoned by the King, and sailed Home to tell the Tale? And in Truth, I never quite found the Constitution for it all anyway, the Dust-ups and the general Bluster.
A future where, just perhaps, we can all still exist, together.
So why, then, does my Heart still long for the open Sea? There's a sense of things yet undone. The Call of the Gulls and the Promise of Adventure is still wild, still clear. Thought the prospect of Danger turns my Stomach, the Dread of dying in a silken Bed forgotten and full of Regret is the more distasteful to me.
|-|Eeyoo Sekedoo Aat=
Edward, my old friend, you had such a way with Words. What would you say in a Moment such as this? Sod it all.
It has been ninety-nine days since the Great Catastrophe. The messenger speaks.
On the 21st day of December 2012, Desmond activated the [[global aurora borealis device]] and protected the earth from the [[sun]]'s deadly [[Second Disaster|coronal mass ejection]].
Barbados can wait. Mary will have to be patient. I'll to the Helm again,[sic] set a new Course, and make something of this Life.
On the 21st day of December 2012, humanity carried on without a care in the world. People went to work, people went to school, and people went to the well for water.
</tabber>
On the night of December 21st 2012, as the sun set on their days, humankind went to bed.
<tabber>
|-|Julien Du Casse's Portrait=
A debonair portrait of Julien Du Casse, the infamous mercenary.
Then, on the morning of December 22nd 2012, humankind was graced with yet another morning. They never knew that on the previous day, the world almost ended.
Hangs above the bed in the Mansion at Great Inagua.
We thought that would have been enough.
|-|Laurens Prins' Portrait=
A vivid portrait of Laurens Prins, the reprehensible slaver.
And it was until it wasn't.
Hangs in the hall of the Mansion at Great Inagua.
Time is unyielding. It always corrects itself.
|-|Commodore Chamberlaine's Portrait=
An imposing portrait of Commodore Peter Chamberlaine, the notorious pirate hunter.
The language of time works in many ways. Two of which you can understand... as you are now.
Hangs next to the Templar Door in the Mansion at Great Inagua.
Linear continuity is a simulation that allows for variations. Within the linear continuity, there are nodes. Choke points. Moments where algorithms converge the flows of superposed possibilities to a single moment where only one absolute truth is possible.
|-|Blackbeard's Portrait=
A fierce portrait of the pirate captain Edward Thatch, better known as Blackbeard.
Paths are fluid, continuous.
Hangs in the basement alley of the Mansion at Great Inagua.
Nodes are static, changeless.
|-|Stede Bonnet's Portrait=
A warm portrait of the gregarious Stede Bonnet.
And the wave function collapses the paths into nodes which branch out. Again, and again, and again.
Hangs in the basement alley of the Mansion at Great Inagua.
And so I wonder. Can you feel the wave collapsing, trying to course correct Desmond's act of defiance?
</tabber>
The incoming node needs the world to end.
<tabber>
|-|Schooner=
The schooner was a class of ship used as a general sailing vessel by both navies and civilian operators, providing light firepower and ample speed.
The algorithms have been carving the flow of possibilities towards that end for over one hundred years now.
|-|Brig=
The brig was a class of ship bearing two square-rigged masts, and represented a compromise between larger, more powerful ships, and the faster, but less well-armed ones.
[...] (Collapse the wave)
|-|Man O' War=
The man o' war was a type of large warship purpose built for warfare, boasting multiple gun decks, and crewed by heavily armed professional soldiers.
[[World War I|A labyrinth of trenches, filled with mud and mustard gas.]]
|-|El Dorado=
El Dorado was a brig that formed part of the Spanish Treasure Fleet.
Families cowering in fear as {{Wiki|V-2 rocket|V2}}'s vaporize their dwellings.
The fleet was destroyed in a hurricane, with the El Dorado its lone surviving vessel.
Fire born from the bellows of the {{Wiki|Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos Laboratory}}, fueling global catastrophes.
|-|Jackdaw=
The Jackdaw was a brig captained by the pirate-turned-Assassin Edward Kenway, who named it after the small, swift bird of his native Wales.
The {{Wiki|Serpukhov-15}} {{Wiki|1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident|incident of 1983}}.
The ship was known as El Dorado before Edward and his future quartermaster Adéwalé captured it from its fleet.
The {{Wiki|Doomsday clock}}, tucked away in an office of the {{Wiki|University of Chicago}}. Its needle moving as the years go.
|-|Royal Fortune=
The Royal Fortune was a man o' war captained by the pirate and Sage Bartholomew Roberts, who elected to keep and renamed it after he captured it as the Nosso Senhor da Compreensão from the Portuguese Navy.
The node is near.
|-|The Ranger=
The Ranger was a brig formerly owned by the pirate Benjamin Hornigold before he passed it on to his colleague, Charles Vane.
Perhaps you knew. Perhaps you felt it too.
|-|El Arca del Maestro=
El Arca del Maestro was a Spanish galleon used by the French Templar Julien du Casse.
That the world is closing in on you.
It was gifted to him by Templar Grand Master Laureano de Torres y Ayala to help further the Order's goals in the West Indies.
It has been one-hundred five days since the Great Catastrophe. The messenger speaks.
The color blue. We believe everyone sees it as we do. Ocean. Sky. International Klein Blue. What's to say yours and mine are of the same hue?
|-|Queen Anne's Revenge=
Queen Anne's Revenge was a British frigate that was originally a slave ship named La Concorde.
Do you truly see it as I do?
It was later captured and renamed by Edward Thatch, who captained as the flagship of a small fleet.
</tabber>
Frequencies so high only a few can hear their cue. A heightened response to the taste of food. Colors invisible to the human eye save for a few. A high voice, perceived as living glass.
Reality is a mathematical model which gets solved over and over again by the observer.
|-|Spanish Frigate=
Your thoughts are computations. And they render this world for you to call your own.
A miniature ship model of a Spanish Frigate.
Not all processors are alike.
|-|Spanish Man o' War=
Different brains produce different realities. The variations go from the subtle to the drastic.
A miniature ship model of a Spanish man o' war.
Your mind defines how much you can taste. How much you can feel. How much you can understand.
|-|English Brig=
A miniature ship model of an English Brig.
Perception defines perspective.
|-|English Cutter=
A miniature ship model of an English Cutter.
Where one sees a skull, the other sees a woman in a mirror. Where one hears silence, the other will hear entrancing voices.
|-|English Schooner=
A miniature ship model of an English Schooner.
You experience what your brain allows you to perceive.
|-|English Frigate=
A miniature ship model of an English Frigate.
We designed you and made sure to engineer your senses so you could perceive just what we needed you to.
|-|English Man o' War=
Neither more nor less.
A miniature ship model of an English man o' war.
There are parts of Time we preferred you to remained blind to. It was a necessity.
|-|The El Dorado=
A miniature ship model of the El Dorado.
We have six senses, you have five. Can you guess the one missing?
|-|The Jackdaw=
A miniature ship model of the Jackdaw.
[...] (Overload your mind's capacity)
|-|The Revenge (ship model)=
A miniature ship model of the Revenge.
For centuries, humanity has fought for freedom.
|-|Queen Anne's Revenge (ship model)=
A miniature ship model of the Queen Anne's Revenge.
</tabber>
The real cage is not around you. It is in you. Your mind will not allow you to wander in uncharted territories.
<tabber>
|-|Black Jaguar=
In the [[Americas]], the term ‘black panther’ generally refers to a melanistic [[jaguar]]. They are not a separate species, but a color morph of the spotted form. Black jaguars form less than ten percent of jaguars.
A {{Wiki|Faraday cage}}, for the mind. A concealed strait jacket.
Black jaguars can be found in Isla Providencia and Pinos Isle.
Events such as {{Wiki|List of unexplained sounds#Upsweep|Upsweep}} and {{Wiki|List of unexplained sounds#Julia|Julia}} fuel internet conspiracies. Sounds unknown, heard only once. A cabinet of curiosities for the Modern Age.
|-|Cat=
The cat is a small carnivorous mammal with a flexible body, sharp claws, and quick reflexes. Cats have long been domesticated, and are favored as pets for their affectionate independence, and playful natures.
And yet, they were messages, just like this one, waiting for their observer, their compatible processor.
Sailors often keep cats aboard ships to deal with rats and other vermin.
Human visionaries developed a vague awareness of their limits. They wrote obscure research papers, popular science fiction novels, some asking us to stop the world.
|-|Crocodile=
The [[Crocodile]] is a large, tropical-dwelling tetrapod. Crocodiles can measure up to 15 feet long, weigh 2000 pounds, and live to be 70 years old. This prehistoric-looking predator preys on birds, fish, insects and other reptiles.
But that's all they ever were. Fictions. How could they not be?
Crocodiles have been known to indulge in cannibalistic behaviour. Because of this, they live in groupings of the same size.
Reality is what the observer allows it to be.
Not to be confused with alligators, crocodiles are bigger, lighter in color, and have narrower snouts. Although known to attack [[humans]], the crocodile is more likely to flee than to react aggressively when approached.
The {{Wiki|Doppler Effect}}. The {{Wiki|Möbius strip}}. Deja-vus. {{Wiki|Cicada 3301}}. {{Wiki|UVB-76}}. {{Wiki|Eureka effect}}s. {{Wiki|Ambigram}}s and {{Wiki|Anamorphosis|Anamorphisis}}. {{Wiki|P versus NP problem|P versus NP}}.
Crocodiles are most commonly found in Nassau, Long Bay, and Matanzas.
Is {{Wiki|Schrödinger's cat}} dead or alive? It all depends on what you perceive, on what the cage is not hiding for you to see.
|-|Deer=
Deer are large hoofed ruminants notable for having two large and two small hooves on each foot. Males have antlers while the females do not, with the exception of a single species where the females also grow antlers. Deer are selective feeders, eating plant food low in fiber content and high in protein such as young grass, herbs, woody shoots, and bark.
Think. Think. Let your mind be free. Explore the borders of your reality.
Various subspecies of deer can be found in the Caribbean bioregion. The red brocket deer, for example, is found in Trinidad and Tobago and the Key deer, introduced by colonists, inhabits the Florida Keys.
It has been one-hundred nine days since the Great Catastrophe. The messenger speaks.
Wake up.
Deer are most commonly found in Kingston, Salt Lagoon, and Santanillas.
Not from a dreamless sleep or an absence of light. But from a reality that will soon cease to be.
|-|Frigatebird=
Frigate birds are large seabirds with long wings, forked tails, and slender bodies. They generally inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans, often nesting on remote islands. Frigate birds are skilled fliers, and are known to steal food from other seabirds.
Wake up.
|-|Hammerhead Shark=
Found across the world in tropical and temperate waters, the [[Hammerhead sharks|hammerhead]]'s unusual head shape gives it increased sensory ability to detect its prey. The hammerhead does not attack humans, although it can be lethal if provoked.
The next chapter is unstoppable.
Hammerhead sharks can be found in the Eleuthera and Gibara regions.
And yet. The greatest revolutions sometimes originate from the confines of impossibility, do they not?
|-|Howler Monkey=
Considered one of the loudest animals on [[earth]], the small-sized [[Howler monkey|Howler Monkey]] generates a siren-like howl that can be heard from a distance of 3 miles (5km). They are not aggressive and are popular as pets in The West Indies.
Change your mind. Subvert your perception. Stop this world. Bend it into something new.
Howler monkeys are most commonly found in Kingston, Cape Bonavista, and Long Bay.
Destiny is not without irony. Here I am, imploring a lesser version of myself... to do what I could never do.
In this timeless moment, you and I are a bridge. Both of us from different eras, meeting halfway at the narrowing of the hourglass in this ocean of sand.
|-|Hutia=
The hutia is a large rodent unique to the Caribbean basin which varies in size, and can form distinct species from island to island. Hutias are often hunted by locals to be eaten in a spiced stew.
It is not enough to tell time. You must learn Time. [...] (Reality is a simulation. Break the code.) And in so doing, escape the inescapable.
Hutias are most commonly found in Cayman Sound and Long Bay.
Fill in the blanks: the ones hiding between words, between worlds. Find the spaces that we could not erase, the variables that ended up erasing us.
|-|Iguana=
Iguanas are large, herbivorous lizards found throughout the Caribbean islands. The common iguana eats only leaves, flowers and fruit. Despite their at times fierce appearance they are not aggressive, and typically flee when threatened. However, they can lash their tails and bite if provoked.
If you do not, they will erase you as well.
Iguana are found in Great Inagua, Andreas Island, and Abaco Island.
Time told of a story that ended with us, and now it tells of a story that ends with you. Once upon a time, a new story will begin.
|-|Jaguar=
The largest feline in the Western hemisphere, the [[jaguar]] is distinguished by its compact and powerful build, its agility, and its unique killing method of biting directly into the skull to pierce the brain. The [[Maya]]ns believed that the jaguars could carry messages to and from the afterworld.
After the functions which run our days have scattered into an array of random numbers.
Jaguars are most commonly found in Cape Bonavista, Long Bay, Tulum, and Principe.
We found solace in [[Templars|Order]], we thought it would help us rule the world.
|-|Jellyfish=
Also called a [[wikt:medusa|medusa]], the [[jellyfish]] isn't technically a [[fish]]—it is a free-swimming {{Wiki|Cnidaria|non-vertebrate}} found in every sea across the [[Earth|world]]. Jellyfish consist of a {{Wiki|Mesoglea|gelatinous bell}} with trailing tentacles capable of {{Wiki|Cnidocyte|stinging}} prey. Jellyfish stings are in most cases harmless to [[human]]s, but some can be extremely serious, even lethal.
We were wrong. Order never served us. It has kept us within the code, within the boundaries. We were tricked into thinking we were the ones writing the rules when they were in fact guiding us to our conclusion.
|-|Manta Ray=
Although related to [[shark]]s, [[manta ray]]s are harmless. They can be quite large (up to 30 ft (9m) wide) and feed on small [[fish]] and plankton, funneling food into their mouth using {{Wiki|cephalic}} flaps extending from the eyes. Manta rays, which are found all over the world, have the unique ability to leap from the water into the air to escape attackers.
You need to transgress. You, of all people, understand the value of disobeying.
|-|Monkey=
Monkeys in the Caribbean are primarily an introduced African species called the green monkey, although up to the 17th Century these still shared territory with the now extinct Jamaican monkey. Both species were omnivores that ate a variety of foraged foods including fruit, seeds, flowers, insects, and smaller animals like frogs and birds.
Take an unexpected turn, away from the path that is drawn straight ahead of you.
Monkeys were viewed as pests by farmers as they continually raided crops, but were favoured by locals and sailors who adopted them as mischievous, intelligent pets.
The Animus was humankind’s first unconscious attempt to explain what it could not see. Understanding genetic memories, an eye into history.
|-|Ocelot=
The ocelot is a wild cat that typically has yellow fur with dark stripes in the manner of a jaguar. Ocelots are nocturnal and range from the size of domestic cats up to four feet (1.2 meters) in length.
But the Animus bears a fatal flaw. It follows the rules from those who embrace Order just as we did. It allows you to witness – but not alter.
Ocelot hides are coveted by leather workers for their ease of working, patterned fur, soft texture, and durability.
Your Animus is different. As is the mind that imagined it. It could escape the code. It could do that leap, and make possible a decision that defies the order of things that are.
Ocelots can be found in Cumberland Bay and Abaco Island.
Wake up.
|-|Turtle=
The [[Caribbean]] basin provides an excellent climate for both land and [[Green sea turtle|sea turtles]]. Turtles are reptiles with a hard, protective upper shell called a carapace. Although they are natural swimmers and can stay submerged for up to 7 hours while resting, turtles breathe air. Despite being awkward and slow moving on land, they go ashore to lay their eggs.
Be the chaos that comes to be. Gods are just like you and me.
|-|White Jaguar=
White coats in animals can be due to a specific genetic mutation or albinism. The genetic mutation that yields a white jaguar also results in a more aggressive animal, making them dangerous as well as rare.
Remember.
White jaguars can be found at Great Inagua.
Nothing is real.
|-|Wild Pig=
The [[wild pig]], or [[wild boar|boar]], is a large cousin of the domesticated [[pig]] covered by hairy bristles. They were introduced by [[Europe]]ans to the [[Caribbean]] basin ([[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]] himself brought eight pigs with him from [[Spain]]). Wild pigs flourished in the island environment and were hunted by sailors and [[Piracy|pirates]] to provide salted pork on their voyages.
Everything is permitted.
Wild pigs are most commonly found in Nassau, Great Inagua, and Cape Bonavista.
</tabber>
===The Gone Files===
|-|Bull Shark=
====Intro====
So-called because of their short snouts and their tendency to head-butt prey, [[bull sharks]] are commonly found in warm, shallow waters. They are extremely aggressive and dangerous to [[Humans|humans]]. The females are larger than the males, and adults measure well over seven feet (2.15m) long.
<tabber>
|-|What the hell, Abstergo!=
Over the years, I've seen my fair share of crazy shit at [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo]].<br>
Broken promises, backstabbing, obscure HR procedures, false pretense... you see that in every corporation. But people, all key players, leaving or disappearing or dying in mysterious circumstances... it's right out of a conspiracy theory movie.<br>
Bull sharks can be found in the Dry Tortuga, Gibara, and Punta Guarico regions.
Sometimes, there's not a word from higher management, just like that person was never here in the first place.<br>
At other times, we get a lame ass excuse that smells of bullshit.<br>
When I think about the people that left, when I think about how Abstergo dealt with their departure, something just doesn't add up.<br>
I knew some of them... they weren't the kind of people who just quit to accept a job next door for a salary bump.<br>
|-|Capuchin Monkey=
I'm missing something. What is it? What really happened to those people? Did their disappearance have more meaning than management would like us to believe?<br>
Found throughout Central and [[South America]], [[capuchin monkey]]s are small and highly intelligent. They eat almost anything -- nuts, fruits, small birds, frogs, clams, etc. Many [[Piracy|pirates]] favored capuchins as pets.
Abstergo, if I could open with a 2 X 4 screwdriver to find out what's behind that nice and shiny facade of yours...<br>
Capuchins can be found in Matanzas and Misteriosa.
I asked [[Laetitia England]] about it once. I made a vague reference to [[Desmond Miles|Subject 17]], and she sharply answered to keep to my stuff and stay out of it.<br>
Those are the exact magical words you don't want to have with me. Just ask my dad.
The cororner never had time to properly examine Rikkin's body. Abstergo must have managed to get it back. Why did they want the corpse back so soon? Was there something they did not want to the coroner to know? They put on quite the ceremony for the funeral but they could have waited a few days, it's not like he was going anywhere. I went through Case Fisher's files and the guy does have a few buried post-mortem reports, but nothing on Rikkin.
West [[London]] Council: Coroner's Service<br>
|-|Great White Shark=
In the matter of the death of:<br>
The largest predatory fish in the world, the [[Great white sharks|great white]]'s lethal aspect is due to its nearly 300 serrated teeth arranged in rows. Great whites have been known to attack [[humans]], but usually more out of curiosity than hunger -- "sample biting" and then releasing their victims. The great white reaches an average length of 15 feet (4.6m).
Alan Rikkin<br>
Preliminary report conducted by:<br>
Great white sharks can be found in the Cruz and Serranilla regions.
Deepti Sullivan<br>
Page 2/4<br>
Date of Report: 2016/12/15<br>
|-|Humpback Whale=
Date of Death: 2016/12/14<br>
Known for emitting complex sequences of haunting moans, the [[Humpback whale|humpback]] is a large whale that reaches up to 62 feet (19 meters) in length. They migrate from the poles to the equator seasonally and travel in pods.
Time of Death: 21:29<br>
Place of Death:<br>
Humpback whales can be found in the Castillo De Jagua and Navassa regions.
[[Grand Templar Hall|Holborn Hall]], London<br>
Interior (no specific location, were not allowed inside)<br>
Marks and Wounds:<br>
|-|Killer Whale=
Blade Damage to the trachea<br>
Called the Grampus by sailors in the 18th century, the [[killer whale]], or Orca, is part of the dolphin family. Known for their ferociously deadly predation, killer whales feast on [[seal]]s, sea-lions and even other whales. They hunt in pods in the manner of [[Wolves|wolf packs]] and are found throughout the [[Earth|world]]'s seas.
Horizontal incision of the neck<br>
Victim suffered blow to the head post-mortem, right side.<br>
Killer whales can be found in the Cruz and Conttoyor regions.
Possibly due to the fall of the body to the ground.<br>
Right hand shows slight antemortem burn patterns from unknown origins.
|-|Red Howler Monkey=
Red howler monkeys are distinguished from other howler monkeys by their reddish fur and large size. They are generally found throughout South and Central America.
|-|Grand Templar Hall Invitation=
Red howler monkeys can be located on Isla Providencia.
The media reported Rikkin's death as a gas leak accident. I was able to corroborate the operation with Emergency Services and the fire brigade, but the information I found on the gas pressure levels that night show that they were pretty stable.<br>
Something doesn't add up.<br>
What is it with Abstergo's higher ups and "unfortunate incidents" anyway?<br>
The Channel<br>
London Metro<br>
Gas Leak shuts down West End London District<br>
Emergency Services are still evacuating hundreds of people after a servere gas leak was reported in Holborn this evening.<br>
The incident occuredat about 9pm. A 35-metre cordon has been put in place.<br>
At least one fatality was reported, a man named Alan Rikkin [...]
|-|Email to Sofia Rikkin=
[[File:Email_to_Sofia_Rikkin.jpg|right|250px]]
Sofia,
I've just seen the news about your dad, please let me know you're okay. I know you had to be there too.
They're evacuating people from the district and, honestly, that gas leak story seems like the worst cover-up I've heard in a long time.
Abstergo took a full year to replace Isabelle - [[Álvaro Gramática]] oversaw the operations here in the meantime.<br>
Died: Unknown
[[Simon Hathaway]] was a strange choice. I always thought Rikkin and Gramática never really appreciated his work.<br>
Born to [[Slavery|enslaved]] {{Wiki|Ogoni people|Ogoni}} parents in {{Wiki|Yorubaland|Yoruba}}, [[Adéwalé]] was sold to the owner of a prosperous [[plantation]] before his teens. He remained on this plantation, working the fields, until his mid teens, always scheming of ways to escape his predicament, but uneasy with the prospect of living life as a fugitive.
But he must be doing something right. After all, he's still here and he's not dead.<br>
Yet.<br>
Friends,<br>
Then fortune struck, giving Adéwalé the sign he needed. At some point near his 16th birthday, a group of buccaneers raided the [[plantation]], robbing it of raw cane, refined [[sugar]], and as many [[real]]es as they could find. Seeing in this an opportunity, Adé grabbed a crate of sugar and hauled it aboard one of the longboats the buccaneers had rowed ashore. Surprised to see a slave among them, the buccaneers were nevertheless thankful for the aid, and welcomed Adé among them.
It is with great pleasure that I announce today the nomination of Mr. Simon Hathaway as Head of Abstergo Industries' Historical Research Division.<br>
He was be assisted by Mrs [[Victoria Bibeau]].<br>
Althought almost a year has passed since Mrs Ardant's unfortunate incident, we are confident that our long search has turned up the perfect candidate to pilot the future of the divisions.<br>
Adé sailed with this first group of men for many years, quickly learning the ways of a seaman, grateful for the chance to develop his own skills and chase his own passions. And though his life among buccaneers was not free of the usual bigotry of the era, Adé found the prejudice to be more confrontational than restrictive.
Mr. Hathaway presented me some innovate hypotheses which could shake up the direction of the division. I ask you to assist him in any way possible so that we can make his vision a success for us all.<br>
In 1715, misfortune struck a cruel blow when the ship Adé was aboard, struck a shallow sandbar near the port of [[Havana]]. The buccaneers—mostly [[United Kingdom|British]] at the time—tried desperately to free the trapped vessel, but after catching sight of an approaching [[Spain|Spanish]] [[Man O' War|Galleon]], abandoned ship only to be torn apart by schools of circling [[bull shark]]s. Adé made peace with his fate, and stood his ground.
Submitted by Alan Rikkin, Chief Executive Officer
Taken to [[Havana]] for questioning and inspection, Spanish authorities eventually decided to send Adéwalé to Spain, where they felt he would make an excellent interpreter, owing to his fluent command of Spanish, [[England|English]], and [[France|French]]. Some weeks later, they loaded him into of the Galleons that made up their perennial [[Spanish Treasure Fleet|treasure convoy]], en route to [[Seville]].
Isabelle Ardant found something and Gramática went through alot to make sure [[Database: 15. Precursor Memo|the email]] was destroyed. 80,000 years ago, strange architectural shapes and humanoids... what on earth is she talking about, and where is the [[John Standish|Standish]] sample today?
Died: c.1745, Yucatan Peninsula
Álvaro... I hope you're sitting down. ±±~± ±±±~± was extracted from the Standish sample last week. The total video we have amounts to barely 2.7 seconds at 60 FPS from a total of ~± ±±~±±±±/ memories. But even with this obscure sample, I'm already getting butterlies ±/ ~± ~±±. I pulled one frame from the video to show you how mangled the data is. But even at this quality some striking details emerge:
Named for the [[Maya]]n god of hunting, [[Ah Tabai]]'s given name remains a mystery, and very little is known about his earliest decades. The only child he is known to have fathered died before the age of ten.
Note the ~± ±±~±±±~± [[Isu|figures]], a full 20 inches taller on average than the [[Humans|humanoids]] nearby... ±±~± ±±±~±//±±/. The architecture looks like some combination of {{Wiki|Sumer|ian}}, [[Egypt]]ian, and [[Babylonia]]n... but the metals they're using are /±±±~±/±~±± alloys. Elsewhere we see stranger architectural shapes. These structures have no modern precedent anywhere in the world, though the memory's geo stamp gives us a location south west of the ~± ±±~±±±±±±~± //~±/. Unfortunate, most of the geo-stamps are on these images are confusing.<br>
What little else we know about him comes from his own mouth; from the stories he told those who knew him. When speaking about his own past, he avoids personal details in favor of abstractions and hints. He frequently speaks of his love and admiration for the tragic history of his people, and used these stories to illustrate the complex intersections of cultures and religions, frequently pointing out the fact that "From within and without come enemies and allies alike. Nothing in life is guaranteed, except surprise..."
Some point to a location in modern {{Wiki|Jordan}} some 80,000 years ago, other to a few locations in ±±±~-~-±~- and {{Wiki|Ethiopia}}. But so far, we haven't been able to nail anything down with much precision.
<nowiki>{{Archive Crawler was not able to reconstruct clustered data with integrity}}</nowiki>
It is not known how early Ah Tabai acquired the title of Mentor, nor how large his impact was on the [[Assassins]] of the [[Caribbean|West Indies]]. However, that he maintained semi-regular contact with the [[American Brotherhood of Assassins|Assassins in the British colonies]] to the north, in various parts of [[Europe]] and [[Africa]], and in [[China]]. He was instrumental in opening his branch to men and women from all walks of life - mostly Europeans, Africans, and those Native to the area.
|-|The Channel - Reports on Ardant's Death=
As a native Mayan himself, rumors and stories of the ancient [[Observatory (Isu)|Observatory]] were not foreign to Ah Tabai. So when in 1713 rumors of [[Bartholomew Roberts|a new "Sage"]] began to surface, Ah Tabai took it upon himself to locate the man, believing the Assassins should be the protectors of the ancient and mysterious place. He sent word far and wide to as many Assassin outposts as possible, hoping their network of spies and informants would lead them to their prize. But after two years, there was no word.
[[File:Isabelle Ardant - The Channel - Reports on Ardant's Death.png|right|250px]]
I know Abstergo well enough to suspect they weren't doing this out of charity.<br>The restoration gave Historical Research unprecedented access to [[Buckingham Palace]].<br>But what was Ardant doing there? What was she looking for?
They never told us what really happened to her and, let's face it, the official version doesn't make any sense.
Then, in early 1715, an experienced British Assassin named [[Duncan Walpole]] arrived at Ah Tabai's encampment, initially expressing a desire to train under the Mentor directly. Ah Tabai found the request odd but flattering, for Walpole had already achieved a level of Mastery few assassins ever reached. After many months of intensive training, Ah Tabai came to consider Duncan Walpole as one of his most trusted colleagues.
What was so delicate that she couldn't send a team through normal channels?
Then in June of 1715, word arrived that the [[Templars]] had located and imprisoned the [[Sages|Sage]] on [[Spain|Spanish]] lands in the far south. Seeing an opportunity to cripple his arch-enemies, Ah Tabai entrusted Duncan Walpole with the task of rallying various Assassins around the West Indies and leading an assault on the Templar prison ship en route to [[Havana]]. Duncan Walpole agreed to this task... and was never heard from again.
The Channel
It was only after [[Edward Kenway]]'s disastrous meddling in Havana that Ah Tabai was made aware of the full extent of Walpole's betrayal.
[[London]] Metro<br>
|-|Anne Bonny=
Prominent scholar electrocuted in Buckingham Palace<br>
Born: 1702, [[Ireland]]<br>Died: Unknown
Renowned historian Isabelle Ardant met an unlikely end while conducting restoration work in one of Buckingham Palace's newly reopened rooms.<br>
Wiring data from the first electrification of the Palace through the 1880's seems to be at the source of the incident.<br>
During [[World War II|WW2]], many of the Palace's 775 rooms were closed off for security reasons, and Abstergo's Historical Research Division just recently offered the Crown Estate to organize and oversee the...
</tabber>
====Olivier Garneau====
[[Anne Bonny|Anne]] was barely a teen when she left her native [[County Cork|Cork]] in [[Ireland]] for the [[United Kingdom|British]] colonies, and by sixteen she was en route to [[Caribbean|West Indies]] at side of her new husband, Mr. Jack Bonny, a gentle but sturdy young man in his early 20s.
Olivier Garneau was alive and well in [[Chicago]] in 2014, even if is disappearance was reported way back in 2013. If his money trail is to be believed, he was dining alone in May 2014.
Who on earth orders an extra country gravy?
Quinkie's<br>
The pair arrived in [[Nassau]] in April of 1716, settling down with an unclear idea of what shape their lives might take. Jack eventually found work on one of the small [[plantation]]s there, while Anne cultivated her ability to loaf and daydream. Unfortunately, her beauty, aloofness, and complete indifference to propriety made her the object of more romantic attention than she had ever known or cared for.
480 N Michigan Ave<br>
Chicago, IL 60611<br>
Tel.: 773-555-2420<br>
1 Soup Lobster Chowder<br>
Within a year of arriving in Nassau, the Bonnys' marriage was in shambles, a union only in name. While Jack disappeared further into his work, Anne grew more confident and sociable, eventually taking a job as a barmaid at the popular [[Old Avery]] [[tavern]] in the center of Nassau. And though she took on a few lovers in the next few years, it was mostly out of envy and spite that the rabble of Nassau branded Anne a harlot and a tease. But with no high society to shun or shame her, Anne's desirability only increased on the strength of these rumors.
1 Sparkling Water<br>
1 Chicken Pot Pie<br>
<nowiki>*</nowiki>with Country Gravy<br>
1 Sweet Potato Fries<br>
<nowiki>*</nowiki>side of Mayo<br>
1 Zinfandel California<br>
<nowiki>*</nowiki>glass<br>
1 Filter Coffee<br>
<nowiki>*</nowiki>warm milk on the side<br>
1 Georgia Mud Pie<br>
<nowiki>*</nowiki>extra whipped cream<br>
<nowiki>*</nowiki>extra cherries<br>
05/25/2014 - 8:11pm<br>
|-|Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch=
Waiter: David R.<br>
Born: 1680, [[England]]<br>Died: 1718, North Carolina
Service charge is not included<br>
THIS IS NOT A RECEIPT
{{-}}
Known variously by different sources as Thatch, Teach, Theach, Tache, Titche, Teatch, Tack, and more, we are fairly certain [[Edward Thatch]] was born in or around [[Bristol]] and took to the sea at an early age, most likely in his teens. It is also speculated that he arrived in the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] quite soon after leaving England.
|-|Chicago CCTV Footage=
If this was indeed the case, Ed Thatch would have seen his fair share of the [[War of Spanish Succession]], a protracted fight between most of the Empires of [[Europe]] that pitted Hapsburg Austia and its British ally against Bourbon France and Spain. In these early years, from 1700 to 1713, Thatch was a privateer or at the very least a merchant seaman, doing his part for the crown—[[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] at the time.
I'll admit.
It's hard to know what's going on in this scene. From what I could tell from the CCTV footage, the plates matched Olivier Garneau's car rental. And it does look like him but, well, that's not his best angle, to say the least.
It's all speculation, of course, because the official version is that he never made it to Chicago.
But I know otherwise.
But with the [[Peace of Utrecht|Treaty of Utrecht]] bestowing peace upon a troubled [[Europe]] in 1713, Thatch and his fellow sailors found themselves far from home and out of work. Thus, they turned to [[piracy]] as a means of sustaining themselves. In the ensuing years, Thatch befriended a captain named [[Benjamin Hornigold]] and soon after joined his crew as quartermaster, at some point between late 1714 and early 1716.
Settling in [[Nassau]], Thatch, Hornigold, and the rest of the "Flying Gang" as these pirates called themselves, began cooking up schemes far larger than most pirates of the era dared dream. Wanting nothing less than a country of their own, they worked to turn Nassau into a place of liberty and freedom for all who desired an escape from the bonds of imperial rule.
Found [[Desmond Miles|Subject 17]]'s initial medical report after a team picked him up in [[New York City|NYC]] and flew him over to Abstergo Campus in [[Rome]].
He was fit and cleared for the [[Animus]] in September 2012, willingly collaborating in the [[Animus Project|project]].<br>
And yet, he was found dead 3 months later in a cave in upstate [[New York]], apparently on the run.<br>
What happened to him? Why did he leave?
Date: 2012/09/03<br>
As Thatch's reputation as a worthy and fearsome seaman grew, so did his ideas about piracy. At some point in the latter half of 1717, having grown a long and frightful beard, he took to calling himself "Blackbeard", and worked at every turn to bolster his legend as the most feared pirate in the West Indies. Thatch reveled in the power of a good legend, and worked hard to cultivate his—frequently sticking lit slow-matches in his hat to raise a frightening cloud, or challenging his crews to endure long stretches below deck as burning sulfur clouded the hold.
Subject 17
Patient has no active complaints. No active distress. No prior history. Blood pressure normal (112 over 78). Primary blood analysis: No significant traces of chemicals that could lead to neurological disorder. No indication that patient would be prone to neurosis. Unlike previous subjects, patient is psychologically stable.
After helping Hornigold take command of a number of vessels, Edward Thatch finally acquired a [[ship]] of his own in September 1717—a vessel called "The Adventure"—captained by the most unlikely pirate of them all, one [[Stede Bonnet]]. For two months, Thatch captained the Adventure, with Stede content to tag along as a passenger. But in November, Thatch's fortunes improved further when he captured a massive French slave ship called La Concorde. Renaming her [[Queen Anne's Revenge]] in honor of his former Stuart Queen (and possibly as a subversion to validate his continued piracy), Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch was now one of the most feared and deadly pirates in the West Indies.
You are clear to proceed.
[[Damian Saravakos]]
For the next year he terrorized the West Indies and environs, before sailing north to the [[United States|British colonies]] in [[North America]]. Here he frightened the inhabitants of an entire city when he blockaded the port of [[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]], in an attempt to acquire medicine for his ailing crew.
|-|Wanted Poster=
But shortly after this audacious gambit, Blackbeard decided he'd had enough of the pirate life. He was nearing forty and, despite his ferocious reputation, had lost his love for the pirate's game. In the early summer of 1718, he half-heartedly accepted a pardon from his friend [[Charles Eden]], Governor of North Carolina. But by late August of that same year he had fallen back into his old habits, restricting his activities to the southeastern coast of the North American British colonies. Unbeknownst to him, the Governor of [[Virginia (state)|Virginia]], [[Alexander Spotswood]], was keenly aware of his continued piracies, and was busy organizing a party to "extirpate this nest of [[Snake|vipers]]".
Abstergo had a thing for Desmond. They went for HIM, specifically.<br>
A team was assigned to pick up a person-of-interest in September 2012 in {{Wiki|Washington Square Park}}.<br>
They didn't even take him back to the [[Philadelphia|Philly]] office, they flew him directly to Dr. [[Warren Vidic]] in Rome.
If that's not serious interest, I don't know what that is.
Have you seen this man?<br>
In November of 1718, Spotswood offered money to British pirate hunter [[Robert Maynard|Lieutenant Maynard]] to see the job done. Taking command of a few fast ships well suited to the shallow inlets where Blackbeard was known to hide, Maynard set off in search of his prize. He learned from passing ships that Blackbeard was likely anchored on the inland side of [[Ocracoke Island]], an ideal haunt for a pirate. As dusk fell on November 21st, Maynard and his crew spotted Blackbeard's rag-tag group, but decided to hold off their attack until the tide rose. In the early hours of the following day, Maynard's crew slipped into the bay and approached Blackbeard's ship. They were greeted by a sudden volley of [[pistol]] shots and [[cannon]] fire. This caused Maynard to retreat, giving Blackbeard and his crew time to slip through the shallow waters and escape.
Desmond Miles<br>
However, weary of his continual pursuit, Blackbeard sought out Maynard and was caught in fierce hand to hand fighting with his crew on the deck of Maynard's ship. Despite help from his consort Edward Kenway, Blackbeard was overcome. Heavily wounded by multiple sword strokes and pistol shots, he was slain by Maynard who struck the final blow from behind.
Age: 25 - Height: 6' - Weight: 195 LBS - Brown Hair - Brown Eyes
Last seen Sept 1, 2012<br>
|-|Edward Kenway=
Near Washington Square Park<br>
Born: 1693, [[Wales]]<br>Died: ????
Wearing a white hoodie and dark jeans
If you have any information, please contact us at:<br>
[[Edward Kenway|Edward James Kenway]] was born on the 10th of March in [[Swansea]], [[Wales]], to [[Bernard Kenway]] of [[Manchester]] and [[Linette Kenway|Linette Hopkins]] of nearby {{Wiki|Cardiff}}. By Edward's 10th birthday, his father had moved the family to a [[Hatherton|small farm]] just outside [[Bristol]], a nearby port town in the southwest of England.
This relocation had a depressing effect on young Edward's mood. He grew restless from a lack of contact with old friends and struggled to find an outlet for his limitless energy. By his teens he was spending more and more time in the city away from his farm, where the lure of excitement overrode prudence. By age sixteen, he had substituted a career as a successful farmer for a life of hopeless tomfoolery, frequently shirking his responsibilities to his family in favor of rough company.
Date: May 9th 2014
Dug these out from [[Case Fisher]]'s files - proof that Desmond's DNA found its way back to Abstergo after all. How did he die? And what's with those burns on his arms?
In late 1711, at the age of seventeen, Edward met [[Caroline Scott-Kenway|Caroline Scott]], a woman of modest but steady means. Their friendship began cautiously, as Caroline's hand had already been promised to the boorish [[Matthew Hague|son]] of a wealthy [[East India Company]] [[Aubrey Hague|executive]]. But Edward's charms eventually won out, and he and Caroline were married within a year of their meeting; a union that angered [[Emmett Scott|her father]], and got the whole of Bristol talking.
In the earliest months of their marriage, Edward resolved to do well by his wife and provide for her as he believed a man in his position should. But his grandiose dreams and exaggerated opinion of himself prevented him from taking immediate responsibility for their well-being. And after only a year, he had stumbled back into his worst habits - drinking, fighting and idleness.
It was in this dark period that Edward revived an old idea of joining a [[privateer]]ing fleet sailing for the [[Caribbean|West Indies]], with the aim of making war against the [[Spain|Spanish]] and collecting unchecked sums of gold and cargo. This, he told his wife, was their path to quick riches. Being a sensible and prudent woman, Caroline discouraged these fanciful ideas.
By the summer of 1712, Caroline understood that her husband's departure was inevitable. She wanted no further part of Edward's reckless plan, and so left him to live with her parents. Stunned by this sudden turn, Edward was determined to earn his fortune fast and prove himself as capable as he always claimed he was. He left for the West Indies barely one month later, where he soon fell in with the privateer [[Benjamin Hornigold]] and his quartermaster, [[Edward Thatch|Ed Thatch]].
Edward spent the first half of 1713 sailing with these two seasoned sailors, on regular sweeps of the windward passage. But that year, fate threw him another upset. With the signing of the [[Peace of Utrecht|treaty of Utrecht]], all hostile actions between the major empires came to an end and the prospects of British privateers dried up. Now poor, unemployed, and thousands of miles from home, Edward and his colleagues settled on the island of New Providence in [[the Bahamas]] to reconsider their options.
|-|Last Emails from W. Miles to D. Miles=
These were fanciful days for Edward. He discovered in the small town of [[Nassau]] a life quite unlike that which he had left behind. The atmosphere of wild and noisy freedom in this small stateless encampment overwhelmed and captivated him. The drinking, the gaming, the women, the aimless desire to simply live as one pleased. And yet, as carefree as he was, his beloved Caroline was never far from his mind. If he could make something of himself in the West Indies—working a [[sugar]] [[plantation]], perhaps—he might win her back after all his time away.
Date: August 12th 2015
[[William Miles]]' final messages to his son Desmond.<br>
But in absence of true conviction, habit takes hold fast; and it was only a matter of time before Edward set back out to sea with his mates, to live the life they knew best; no longer privateers—legal and sanctioned—but as [[Piracy|pirates]] now, with nary a whit of loyalty to kin and country, earning his fortune by the sword and pistol, praying his end was never too near.
Miles Senior was in [[Cairo]] when Abstergo found him. Looks like Subject 17 busted him out of our [[Italy|Italian]] facility a few days before he died.
I know you think it's dangerous for me to head to Egypt on my own. And you're probably right. Wouldn't be surprised if [[Daniel Cross|Cross]] is already there. They're looking at these things down left and right. But we don't have alot of options. If there's a chance to grab the last [[Power sources|power source]], we've got to take it.<br>
Of the few infamous [[Piracy|pirates]] to call the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] his birthplace, [[Jack Rackham]] was born in Jamaica at the height of [[Port Royal]]'s boom as a den of scoundrels. This would likely explain his atrophied moral compass, for he was frequently drunk, rarely serious about anything, and always chasing women. He used his outrageous and offensive charm to keep out of most trouble. But a strategist and fighter he was not.
I promise I'll be careful. I've been fighting those bastards since before you were born. Literally.
Nicknamed "Calico" for his affinity for [[India]]n and [[Asia]]n prints, he was a terrible sailor and a worse pirate, given to flights of fancy and myopic ideas that served only himself, rather than solid strategic thinking. He was likely drunk for half of his adulthood, and had a weakness for women that trumped all basic needs, such as sleeping or eating. His disarming charm, dashing good looks, and his swift wit carried him far, but parties can only last so long before someone has to clean up after them.
They're going to be here soon. Trapped me in this damn museum. Should've taken more precautions... I'm sorry, son. It wasn't fair for me to come down on you the way I did. You never asked for any of this, and I should have been more understanding.<br>
|-|Caroline Scott=
I hope you can forgive me.<br>
Born: 1691, England<br>Died: ????
I love you.
|-|William Miles held captive at Abstergo=
Daughter of [[Emmett Scott|Emmett]] and [[Elizabeth Scott]], [[Caroline Scott-Kenway|Caroline]] was born in [[Bristol]], [[United Kingdom|England]], to a prosperous family of merchants and civil servants. Given a modest education by her father, she furthered her own studies in her own way, taking time to read as often as her familiar duties allowed. Splitting her time between this and helping her mother manage her father's affairs, she grew into a confident and level-headed woman with more skill and intelligence than her situation allowed her to exercise.
Security footage from Warren Vidic's office a few days before Subject 17's death. It's hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure its William Miles, Desmond's father.
Caroline first met [[Edward Kenway]] outside the [[Auld Shillelagh]], in the aftermath of a drunken altercation. She had arrived to fetch one of her servants and there found Edward escorting [[Rose|the woman]] from the clutches of one of Bristol's more notorious [[Tom Cobleigh|cads]]. Thankful for his kindness, Caroline agreed to a second meeting on more equitable terms, hardly thinking a romance possible.
Why did Abstergo detain him?
{{-}}
And yet—against all odds—that is just what happened. Edward and Caroline grew quite close, and soon fell in love, quite much to the dismay of her father. Emmett Scott had already promised his daughter to the [[Matthew Hague|son]] of a wealthy [[East India Company]] [[Aubrey Hague|executive]], and made his displeasure apparent at every turn. But all his noise was to no avail. Caroline and Edward were married in 1712.
</tabber>
For a time it seemed as though this odd pairing might produce a lasting union. But Edward's deep love for his wife was offset by his uncouth habits and reckless attention to responsibility. Not content to live a life of middle class drudgery, Edward [[Edward Kenway (memory)|dreamed large]], and fixed on the idea that he could sail to the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] and fight as a [[Privateer]] against the [[Spain|Spanish]]. Or, barring that, buy some land and sow a [[sugar]] [[plantation]]. Caroline tried to dissuade her husband, but to no effect.
===Mail===
|-|James Kidd=
{{main|Layla Hassan's emails#Mail}}
Born: 1695, England<br>Died: ????
===Pictures===
Even though not yet out of his teens, James Kidd was a cocky and confident lad with a brashness cultivated to counter his youth. He claimed to be the bastard son of the late [[William Kidd]], the infamous privateer-turned-[[Piracy|pirate]] who was captured and hanged by [[United Kingdom|British]] authorities in 1701. Although James had no proof of this connection, his mother always insisted on it, claiming that she spent a single "panicked night of passion" with Captain Kidd just before his departure from London in 1695.
[MISSING]
===Audio===
Growing up fatherless and with a spendthrift mother did little to improve his prospects at leading a normal life, and at the age of 12 he found employment aboard merchant vessels sailing between the British colonies in [[North America]] and the [[Caribbean|West Indies]]. By the time he was 17 he called [[Jamaica]] his home, where he further honed his skills as a sailor here.
[MISSING]
===WeR===
Although he never sailed with the likes of [[Benjamin Hornigold|Ben Hornigold]], [[Edward Thatch|Ed Thatch]], or [[Edward Kenway]], James was among the first sailors to settle in [[Nassau]], and was a central figure in its development as a pirate republic.
<tabber>
|-|WeR/Mindblown - 1. Sticky Post=
@ifLaylathenHassan 02/16/2017
@ifLaylathenHassan is now moderating the WeR/Mindblown channel.<br>
|-|Mary Read=
Got a story that sounds like fiction but that's actually science? Post it. There are minds to be blown and brains to be fed.<br>
Born: Unknown, [[England]]<br>Died: ????
Play nice or I'll get you banned.<br>
For starters.
|-|WeR/Mindblown - 2. The Voynich Manuscript=
Of all the infamous [[Caribbean|West Indies]] [[Piracy|pirates]], [[Mary Read]] stands out as one of the most mysterious and inscrutable. No one is sure when she was born, with most speculation ranging over almost a decade, between 1685 and 1695. According to [[Charles Johnson]]—a frequently unreliable source—her mother began dressing Mary in boy's clothes from a very early age, with the hope of passing her off as another man's son.
@ifLaylathenHassan 02/28/2017
Another fake so-called "[[Voynich manuscript]]" popped up at auction last week in [[Athens]], [[Greece]].<br>It's the 3rd time in the past 10 years.<br>Funny how this manuscript keeps appearing in history books only to be stolen shortly after. And for what?<br>Flower sketches and esoteric formulas?<br>Rumour has it even Abstergo has a major interest in the item but you didn't hear that from me.
In her teens, Mary evidently harnessed her skill for disguise to secure a job aboard a [[ship]]. Taking to sea, she worked her way forward until she found a position in the [[Royal Navy|British Navy]]. Still disguised as a man, she saw action in battle, though owing to the conflicting reports of her birth, which battle is uncertain. It was during these skirmishes that Mary met her first husband—so the author of the "General History of Pyrates" claims—a Flemish soldier who had evidently fought beside her.
|-|WeR/Mindblown - 3. Cliodynamics=
But this union was not fated to remain intact, as Mary's husband was killed soon after their marriage. With few reasons to remain in [[Europe]], Mary sailed for the West Indies. It is unclear what transpired in the years following, but it is almost certain that she resumed the practice of dressing as a man. It is also assumed Mary continued working aboard ships, improving her skills as a sailor and swordsman.
@ifLaylathenHassan 04/04/2017
[[Crystal Balls|Crystal balls]] do exist, they're just shaped like computers.<br>Cliodynamics is right off from {{Wiki|Isaac Asimov|Asimov}}'s psychohistory.<br>Forward thinking scientists are using historical data from the past to build mathematical models that help them predict the future.<br>So far, they're pretty accurate.<br>Problem is, the future ain't pretty.<br>Would you trust your rig to tell you what's coming?<br>Is tomorrow really only a string of numbers?
By 1715 or 1716, it was likely she had visited her fellow sailors in [[Nassau]], though perhaps not for the same reasons...
|-|WeR/Mindblown - 4. DIY Pinball=
|-|Opía Apito=
@ifLaylathenHassan 05/18/2017
Born: 1695, Cuba<br>Died: Unknown
@SusiePatootie challenges the users of WeR/Mindblown to a contest for the best DIY Pinball Machine ever built.<br>Entries must be submitted before 06/18/2017 with a link showing the machine in action.<br>If there aren't any sound or light effects, don't even bother submitting.<br>#MakersGonnaMake #GetTinkered
Born in [[Cuba]], [[Assassin bureau]] leader [[Opía Apito]] was raised Taíno, among her mother's people, never knowing her father, a [[Spain|Spaniard]].
|-|WeR/Mindblown - 5. Community Manager AMA=
At twelve, her village was [[raid]]ed by the Spanish. Most of her community was kidnapped and killed. But Opía, the lone free survivor, fought and ran. She survived in hiding for close to a decade.
@ifLaylathenHassan 07/01/2017
Hi, I'm Layla Hassan and I'll be hosting an AMA on 07/07/2017.
Much of what we know of Opía is inseparable from legend. Her name, possibly self-given, is an amalgam of the Taíno words for "eternity" and "ghost." She claimed to be a direct descendant of the warrior {{Wiki|Hatuey}}, who stood against the Spanish in the 16th Century. She was guided throughout her life by the mantra, ''Aji aya bom''—better dead than a [[Slavery|slave]].
So, AMA about WeR/Mindblown, Life hacks, Keyboard Pimping, Cutting Edge Technologies, Zetetics, Classic Rock and my travels.<br>Be warned, though, I won't be answering anything pertaining to Abstergo Industiries.<br>I enjoy using the word "no" so make an effort and ask something that won't bore me.
In her early twenties, she was hired by the [[Assassins]] as a guide, and was soon [[Initiation into the Assassin Order|adopted]] into their [[Assassin rank|ranks]]. She delighted in a characteristic Taíno approach to strategy: preferring to harm the enemy by taking something from him in battle, that he might live to notice it missing. But as an Assassin she did not shrink from violence.
True to her name, once promoted to Assassin Bureau leader, she built an agile and highly effective "ghost" bureau near the [[Cayman Islands]], with virtually no physical footprint to speak of. We might regard it today as an early example of a terrorist cell, but she left no records and no descendants, and until now, history has held no record of it.
@ifLaylathenHassan 10/26/2017
Ground-penetrating radars are used to explore what might be hidden under ancient monuments. Cavities were detected under the [[Great Sphinx of Giza|Sphinx]]'s paws some 20 years ago. Most are natural caves but some have yet to be investigated. Could one of them be the mythical {{Wiki|Hall of Records}}, a lost library much like the [[Library of Alexandria|lost library]] of [[Alexandria]]?<br>The idea's not new. Gladstone Kitteridge Esq. went on famous digs trying to uncover the lost knowledge in the 19th century.
|-|Rhona Dinsmore=
Born: 1688, Scotland<br>Died: Unknown
</tabber>
Born in [[Scotland]], [[Rhona Dinsmore]] was made for adventure. After suffering the lows of a troubled household–an absent father and a drunkard of a mother–Dinsmore left her home in Glasgow in her mid-teens. At nineteen, she found work amongst [[merchant]]s in [[Bristol]] and remained at that post for nearly two years.
===Trash===
By twenty-one, Dinsmore was trapped in a terrible marriage. She fled again and sought refuge in [[Boston]], where she remained for six months, before moving on to the warmer climes of [[Jamaica]]. There she found it exceedingly difficult to find work among farmers, and finally took to the sea, ultimately finding her calling within the [[Assassins|Assassin Brotherhood]].
{{main|Layla Hassan's emails#Trashcan}}
==2018==
|-|Stede Bonnet=
===Email===
Born: 1688, Barbados
{{main|Layla Hassan's emails#Assassins}}
Died: 1718, Charles Town
===Audio===
Born into plentitude and wealth on Barbados, Stede Bonnet seemed destined for a life of pleasure and ease. The son of a successful and influential plantation owner, his early life was marked by tragedy when his parents died suddenly, leaving seven year-old Stede orphaned and in a perpetual state of melancholy.
<tabber>
|-|Recording 1=
'''Layla Hassan:''' ''The [[Lost Histories|Lost Book]] of [[Herodotos]]. The [[Spear of Leonidas|Spear]] of [[Leonidas I of Sparta|Leonidas]]. If I didn't work for the Assassins, I wouldn't believe it. I'm still not sure I believe it. But a little luck and a lot of research later, and we've got ourselves the archaeological find of the century. At lease, we would if I could publish it.''
|-|Recording 2=
'''Layla Hassan:''' ''"The Assassins who found Atlantis." Sounds like the title of a documentary full of cheap CGI and alien theories. [[Alannah Ryan|Alannah]] tells me that [[Troy]] was considered a myth, before {{Wiki|Frank Calvert}} found it and {{Wiki|Heinrich Schliemann}} stole credit for it. If we ever get to reveal this, I wonder who we'll give the credit to?''
|-|Recording 3=
'''Layla Hassan:''' ''Just when I think I've got a handle on the Precursors, someone new shows up. At least [[Aletheia]] seems to be no friend to [[Juno]]. I still can't believe I wasn't on the team that took her down. I could have stopped... [[Victoria Bibeau|Victoria]]'s right, blaming myself is useless. But'' tozz feek'', Otso Berg. You're going to pay for betraying [[Charlotte de la Cruz|Charlotte]]. One artery at a time.''
|-|Recording 4=
'''Layla Hassan:''' ''Mission accomplished. So why does it feel like this is just the beginning? Isu infighting, a [[Staff of Hermes Trismegistus|relic]] that grants immortality, myths proven to be true... Slow down Layla, one miracle at a time. Congratulate the team. Keep the staff safe. And figure out how you're supposed to balance out the universe. That's all.''
|-|Addendum 1=
'''Otso Berg:''' ''Hello Miss Hassan. Nice trick with the fake USB key. Almost inconvenienced [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo]] headquarters. Your pranks are amusing as always.''
|-|Addendum 1.1=
'''Otso Berg:''' ''Let me be direct. I know you and the Assassins are searching for something of great importance. Transmit your findings, or your present colleagues will become collateral damage.''
|-|Addendum 1.2=
'''Otso Berg:''' ''Or perhaps I should start with an old friend from Abstergo, habibti. Berg, out.''
</tabber>
===The Quebec Caper===
<tabber>
|-|QC File 1 – Setup=
[[File:ACOD_QC_File_1_-_Setup.png|thumb|250px]]
Layla Hassan: I'm in!
<br><br>
[[Victoria Bibeau]]: How'd you manage that?
<br><br>
Layla Hassan: Let's just say I left a crypto-key under the doormat in case [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo]] escorted me out.
<br><br>
Victoria Bibeau: Was your hunch right?
<br><br>
Layla Hassan: Yep, just in time! They must have a location, [[Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec|Notre-Dame de Québec]], but I can't find the relic. I'm sure it must be there.
<br><br>
Victoria Bibeau: Hmm, guess they don't have a {{Wiki|Catholism|Catholic}} on their team... Like you do. >.>
<br><br>
Layla Hassan: NO way?! [[Quebec City]], here we come!
{{-}}
|-|QC File 2 – Source=
[[File:ACOD_QC_File_2_-_Source.png|thumb|250px]]
Subject – Potential Descendant
<br><br>
- {{Wiki|Recollects}} 'those who possess the ability of recollection'<br />
- 15th century Order of {{Wiki|Franciscans|Order of Franciscan Monks}} (FR Récollets)<br />
- 1614 King [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] requested [[Samuel de Champlain]] take a selection of Recollects to Canada<br />
- Order was abruptly disbanded upon return to [[France]]<br />
Location: Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec<br />
- 4 centuries of treasures and archives here<br />
- 900 people buried under the cathedral<br />
- Excavation uncovered hidden relics
<br><br>
Operative Summary: Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec – target item NOT FOUND.
<br><br>
Operative Update – Sept 5, 2017: Agents have the location under surveillance awaiting new intel.
|-|QC File 3 – Plan=
[[File:ACOD Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec.png|thumb|250px]]
The Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec. Architectural masterpiece, 1633 historical landmark... and blood repository.
{{-}}
|-|QC File 4 – Execution=
His inheritance of some 400 acres of land softened the blow caused by the loss of his parents, and by the time Stede was in his late teens, he had already restored the sugar plantation to a profitable state. He married young and set about starting a family as soon as possible, but owing to what some called a "disorder of the mind" he never found solace or comfort in these domestic trappings.
[[File:ACOD_QC_File_4_Exection.png|thumb|250px]]
[[Kiyoshi Takakura]]: Area clear. Slipped first responder $.
<br><br>
Victoria Bibeau: Nice work. Media's got their story.
<br><br>
Layla Hassan: manage to get the gold paint off, K?
<br><br>
Kiyoshi Takakura: Paint isn't a bother – it's the ringing in my ears.
<br><br>
Victoria Bibeau: I can't believe you pulled that off!
<br><br>
Kiyoshi Takakura: If you can't believe in a golden Kiyoshi angel flying overhead, what can you believe in?
{{-}}
To further complicate his unease, his firstborn son died in infancy, further amplifying his grief and stiming his restlessness. As a means of coping, he dreamed of going to sea and sailing about the world, meeting people, living life as a man free of the obligations thrust upon him.
|-|Recording - Local News=
At some point around Stede's 29th birthday, his restlessness got the better of him. Owing to "some discomfort he found in a married state" which brought on a "disorder of the mind", Stede decided it was time to take his first bold step into the life he had always dreamed about. Using his considerable fortune, he either purchased a [[boat]] or had one built for him—a small [[schooner]] he christened "The [[Revenge]]".
'''Reporter:''' Last night, a burglary took place at the Notre-Dame de Quebec Cathedral-Basilica. Fortunately the damge to this historical building is minimal. The parish secretariat reports that the criminals left without t he items they meant to steal.
</tabber>
To maintain some semblance to the comforts he had come to enjoy as a man of means, he installed a full library in the [[Captain]]'s quarters, and packed his wardrobe with all manner of finery—[[silk]] pajamas, {{Wiki|smoking jacket}}s, and {{Wiki|frock}}s. Near the end of 1717, his [[ship]] was ready. He bid adieu to his wife and remaining children and weighed anchor, sailing north from Barbados, hoping to reach the [[United States|British colonies]] within a few months. He would never see his family again.
===Reality as a Simulation===
Now sailing under the moniker "Captain Edwards", Bonnet sailed about the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] looking for his first prize. Spotting a large [[Spanish Navy|Spanish]] [[Man O' War|warship]], his crew foolishly encouraged an attack. After a brief engagement, almost half of Bonnet's crew was dead or injured. Miraculously, the Revenge was able to escape capture herself, and Bonnet ordered the crew to sail her to the only place he knew he could find refuge: [[Nassau]].
<tabber>
|-|RaS File 1 - Notes=
[[File:RaS_Notes.png|right|250px]]
March 30, 2018, 2:12 AM
Took a deep dive into theories about our reality being a simulation and ended up on the weird end of the {{Wiki|Internet}}. I'm just gathering information at this point, not all that I have found has been useful. It's hard to imagine the world we know being another layer of the [[Animus]], but it makes sense in its own way.
It was here, in the [[Piracy|pirates]]' infamous [[Republic of Pirates|republic]], that Stede met and befriended Captain [[Edward Thatch|Thatch]], the infamous and capable captain who had recently taken to calling himself Blackbeard. Thatch managed to convince Bonnet to hand over the Revenge's reigns, leaving Stede happily confined to his cabin. The two sailed about as unlikely partners for some months, until Blackbeard took a far greater prize for himself: the [[Queen Anne's Revenge]].
Layla
After keeping Bonnet's Revenge in his own fleet for a short time, Blackbeard suddenly abandoned her along with most of its crew. Bonnet was again free to seek his own path. Perhaps believing he had been properly mentored under Blackbeard's tutelage, Bonnet stuck out for the {{Wiki|Danish overseas colonies|Danish}} {{Wiki|Danish West Indies|island}} of {{Wiki|Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas}}, hoping to earn a [[privateer]]ing commission. But his crew had other ideas. Plunging headlong into piracy once more, Stede's crew lashed out recklessly at every prize they could find. At the urging of Ignatius Pell, a member of his crew, Bonnet embarked on his most ambitious prize yet--a fleet of eleven vessels just outside Charles-Towne, glutted with cargo and ripe for the taking.
{{-}}
This proved to be his undoing, for the fleet had been set up as bait for precisely Bonnet himself. Pirate Hunters hired by the governor of South Carolina set upon the Revenge just as Bonnet engaged, severely crippling his fleet and sending it limping into the shallows of the river. In an act of unlikely heroism, Bonnet swapped places with his crew under cover of darkness, placing them at the helm of the Revenge and sending them off to safeguard his spoils. He remained behind on the river and drew the fire of enemy sloops, allowing Pell and Rowland Sharp to break through the blockade, while he was eventually overcome and captured.
|-|RaS File 2 - Video Capture=
Once imprisoned within the Charles-Towne jail, Bonnet gained something of a popular following among the citizenry, delighted by this articulate and good-natured gentleman pirate. While he awaited trial, numerous people came forward as witnesses to attest to the good quality of his character. But this came to nothing, and after one botched escape attempt, Stede was finally walked to the [[Hanging|gallows]] in December, 1718. As the hangman slipped the noose around his neck, he broke down in tears, begging for mercy. The sight of his abject shame moved many to tears, but it was not enough to save him. The "Gentleman Pirate" was no more.
[[File:RaS_Video_Capture.png|right|250px]]
10 Religious Artifacts with Supernatural Powers
ChillingTop10s
|-|Upton Travers=
Born: 1688, England<br>Died: Unknown
Miracles. Just how real are they? These relics all have some kind of story attached to them, good, bad, or divine.
[[Upton Travers]] was born in [[United Kingdom|England]], in 1688, two years ahead of his brother, [[Vance Travers]]. Together, they traveled to the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] in search of their fortune. There they established a [[smuggling]] business, which they used to fund their growing involvement with the [[Assassins|Assassin brotherhood]].
- Don't forget to Subscribe for more lists like this!<br />
Although Vance was the more charismatic of the two Assassin brothers, Upton made up for it with his measured, sensible responses to life's challenges.
- Follower our Social Media for new lists and updates every day!<br />
- Buy some Merch!
Relics, Saints, top 10s, b00bs, funny, fail compilation
However, every man has a breaking point, and Upton found his after Vance took up with the [[China|Chinese]] "Pirate Queen," [[Jing Lang]], a [[Templars|Templar]], and sought to steal the treasure on which they had staked their retirement before finally attempting fratricide.
Comment 1: Cool video! Check out my channel.<br />
Depressed, Upton turned to [[alcohol]], which may have been a factor in his retaliation. He ultimately had both Jing Lang and his brother dispatched with the help of Edward Kenway.
Comment 2: inb4 no [[Holy Grail|holy grail]]
|-|RaS File 3 - Magazine=
[[File:RaS_Magazine.png|right|250px]]
-GSVB ZIV DZGXSRMT-<ref group="note" name="note1">"THEY ARE WATCHING" encrypted using Atbash</ref>
The Question Mark<br />
-Secret Science Investigations-<br />
NO. 39 Ancient [[Greece]]
Secrets of ancient Greece revealed!<br />
[[Atlantis]]: Where did it sink, and can satellite photos help us find it?
DON'T MISS<br />
- Was [[Herodotos]] an illuminati puppet?<br />
- Was [[Hercules]]: Man or myth? Did demigods walk the [[Earth]]?<br />
- [[Cerberus|Three headed dogs!]] The [[Russia]]n following in {{Wiki|Vladimir Demikhov|Demikhov}} footsteps!
NEW STUDIES<br />
[[Pythagoras]]: What did he know?<br />
The founder of the popular theorem also believed that numbers were the key to unlocking the universe.
|-|RaS File 4 - Message Board=
[[File:ACOD_RaS_Message_Board.png|right|250px]]
Simulation Theory
@ifLaylaHassan 04/01/2018 4:15 PM<br />
Hey, WeR Hivemind, I was in [[Egypt]] recently and out with some friends when the topic of 'Reality as a Simulation' came up. It's a bit tinfoil hat, but an interesting theory.
Does anyone have any academic resources on this?
@therealbettyboop 04/01/2018 4:20 PM<br />
Here's a article about that like, written two years ago. You might want to read up on [[Hans Moravec]].
@ifLaylaHassan 04/01/2018 4:21PM<br />
Oh! I know Moravec's work from some tudies I looked into on AL and transhumanism. I didn't know he also had theories related to reality being a simulation.
@therealbettyboop 04/01/2018 4:30 PM<br />
He's the science guy working on it. If you want a philosopher I'd check out [[Nick Bostrom]].
@rockitpowerfan 04/01/2018 4:21 PM<br />
Ay 4:20 on April fools.
@rockitpowerfan 04/01/2018 4:22 PM<br />
Aw, damn it.
@i_h8_jazz 04/01/2018 4:21 PM<br />
sometimes i think i'm living in a simulation. i'll set things down and they'll move on their own. sometimes i think i can see holes in my walls that just go to nowhere.
@rockitpowerfan 04/01/2018 4:22 PM<br />
You mean windows?
@walphmalph 04/01/2018 4:23 PM
Is your house made of [[Switzerland|Swiss]] chees?
VG [[Fist|hand-to-hand]] and [[Pistol|firearms]] skills.<br />
Undercover potential high. Tourist? Art dealer? {{Wiki|Vatican}}??
NOT THIS TIME. Off duty for personal reasons.
Originally hailing from Wales, little is known about [[Bartholomew Roberts|John Roberts]], the real name of the man who would come to be known as "Black Bart" long after his death.
{{-}}
Most assume he went to sea at a very young age -- at 13 or so -- but there is no record of him in any historical documents until his noted appearance in 1718 aboard a merchant's ship, [[Barbados|Barbadian]] in origin. Just a year later Roberts was pressed into [[piracy]] by the notorious [[Howell Davis]] while working aboard [[Princess|a slave ship]] under Captain Abraham Plumb. Though Roberts had likely not gone to sea with the intent of becoming a pirate, when the opportunity thrust itself upon him, Roberts was reported to have said 'A merry life, and a short one shall be my motto.'
|-|A. Ryan=
A few months later Davis was killed in an ambush on the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] Island of [[Príncipe]], and Roberts was swiftly and unanimously elected to replace him. This was surely a testament to the man's natural charisma and leadership, for he had been a pirate only a few months. It was at this point he took the name "Bartholomew", likely naming himself for the infamous Bartholomew Sharpe, a pirate of some renown who had disappeared just two decades earlier.
Speaks English, {{Wiki|Latin}}, ancient [[Greece|Greek]], {{Wiki|Sanskrit}}.<br />
Historian, rugby player. Combat aptitude not yet evaluated.<br />
Expertise on ancient documents and church construction could be valuable.
NOT YET. Still in training. Next time.
One of the most intelligent and strategic pirates of the [[Golden Age of Piracy|Golden Age]], Roberts was a sturdy man, known to dress in fine clothes. Handsome, and carrying himself with a dignified but unpretentious air, he had dark hair to match his dark complexion, likely set from the almost two decades he had spent at sea. He often carried numerous pistols, each tied to one end of long silk sashes, which he kept slung over his shoulder.
{{-}}
Roberts' tactical ideas were usually radical, but thoughtfully considered. He never jumped into any scheme rashly, though his ideas seemed almost suicidal to those unacquainted with his methods. Ultimately responsible for the theft of around 400 ships in his three-year career, he bested every other pirate of the era by a factor of ten times or more, although it must be said that at least half of these boats were small periaguas and the like.
VG hand-to-hand, bladed weapon, and firearms skills. (Former [[Onmoraki-Gumi|Yakuza]]!)<br />
Undercover potentional with cooking/gastronimic skills? Guest chef for [[Quebec City]] restaurant or food festival?
YES! But make sure he doesn't overwork himself. Off a recent tough mission.
[[Benjamin Hornigold]] was likely born in {{Wiki|Norfolk}}, [[England]]. The first recorded instances of him are of his early exploits as a [[Piracy|pirate]] in the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] around 1713-1714.
{{-}}
Hornigold was one of the earliest pirates to emerge after the end of the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], and one of the many hundreds of privateers who were left without gainful employment in the ensuing peace. Like many other British mariners, he spent much of his time in [[the Bahamas]], eventually settling in [[Nassau]]. It was from there he launched his career as a full-fledged pirate, though he likely thought of himself as a privateer--in his earliest years, at least.
|-|V. Bibeau=
A skilful sailor and strategist, Hornigold lacked some of the ruthlessness required to be a truly successful pirate, and until 1716, refused to attack English ships out of a sense of loyalty to his home country.
M.D. Psychiatry, PhD in Neuropsychiatry. Specialized in neural system approach to emotional memory function, personality structure, and psychopathology.<br />
Left [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo]] after the [[Ascendance Event]], recruited by [[William Miles]] for "unprecedented expertise."
Assigned to mission. Remember if you kill her then you'll be unemployed.
|-|El Tiburón=
Born: Unknown<br>Died: Unknown
{{-}}
Almost nothing is known about [[El Tiburón]] "The Shark" outside of his service as the loyal, mute bodyguard of [[Laureano de Torres y Ayala]], the Grandmaster of the Caribbean Templars and the Governor of Cuba. The Shark's penchant for medieval armor and brutal violence cut a swathe of fear through Havana, leaving citizens and soldiers alike quivering in his blood soaked wake.
</tabber>
|-|Hilary Flint=
Born: 1682, England<br>Died: 1717, West Indies
===Packing for Greece===
[[Hilary Flint]] was born to an aristocratic family, the youngest of three boys. The black [[sheep]] of the family, he sought solitude in his studies. Immersing himself in math and sciences, Flint discovered an abiding interest in [[Bomb|explosives]], earning him the label of "problem child".
To correct his course, his parents enrolled him in military school, where he quicklyexceeded their expetations, working his way into the hearts of both teachers and students, as well as a few secret societies.
* Subject: Descendant of [[Leonidas I of Sparta|Leonidas]]
* Est. accuracy 76.3%.
[[Victoria Bibeau|VB]]: Are you comfortable with that rate of accuracy?<br />
After graduation, his connections and easy manner earned him access to [[Templars|Templar]] ranks where his obsession with [[firearm]]s made him an important asset.
LH: We're using centuries-old text to supplement the DNA memory from centuries-old blood. Hopefully the gaps will overlap.<br />
VB: Understood. [[Juhani Otso Berg|Berg]] had a problem with simulations rated below 80%.<br />
LH: Berg has a lot of problems.
|-|Greece=
[[File:ACOD_PFG_Greece.png|right|250px]]
[[Greece]]
* Officially the Hellenic Republic, historically Hellas.
Records reveal an ongoing relationship with [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Rhona Dinsmore]], the full nature of which is uncertain. She vanishes from record after Flint's death at the age of 35.
* First signs of human ancestors: c. 270,000 BCE. Earliest civilization c. 3200 BCE. {{Wiki|Greek War of Independence|Independence}} from [[Ottoman Empire]] declared 1821. Joined [[Europe]]an Communities (now {{Wiki|European Union}}) 1981.
* Successively part of the [[Roman Empire]], [[Byzantine Empire]], [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] territory, then Ottoman Empire.
* Mountainous countryside with [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] climate.
* Called the "Birthplace of Western Culture" by historians. ([[Alannah Ryan|AR]])
* Influential family. Herodotos was himself forced to go into exile in [[Samos]], but then took part in the coup that overthrew [[Lygdamis II of Halicarnassus|Lygdamis]].
Born: 1686, [[China]]<br> Died: 1717, Nassau
* Studied and wrote history/travel books. Gave public lectures. Gained fame and [[drachmae]].
* Greatest work was his {{Wiki|Histories (Herodotus)|History}}. Relies on interview rather than records (which generally didn't exist anyway). Accuracy disputed, but influence undeniable.
* His work is credited with saving a mass of invaluable information on archaic and early classical Greece. His work is methodical and extensive. (AR)
LH: He wrote about Greece and surrounding areas. He traveled the [[Black Sea]], visited the {{Wiki|Scythians}}, and lived in [[Egypt]] for months. His books were like travel guides to the ancient world.<br />
Born to Chinese rebels, [[Jing Lang]] came into the world fighting, but survived to become a skilled diplomat with a flair for languages and a taste for discovery.
AR: True. Though some of his work on non-Greek cultures was... specious.<br />
LH: You mean that there wasn't a tribe of cannibals in [[India]] who threw feasts with their deceased friends as both guests of honor and the main course?<br />
AR: I'll say a hard no to that.<br />
LH: Let's hope his "Lost Book" doesn't include that kind of cultural glitch.<br />
*AR: From what I've been able to interpret so far, he does mention a group of ancient geniuses who sound suspiciously like the [[Isu]].<br />
LH: His "Lost Book" is supposed to contain the story of a heretofore unknown [[Kassandra|hero]] who was a descendant of Leonidas I of [[Sparta]]. And we know the Spear of Leonidas is an Isu artifact.<br />
AR: Leave it to the Father of History to connect the dots.
|-|Spear of Leonidas=
Ambitious, Lang married the son of a General in the [[Qing dynasty]], joining the [[Templars|Templar order]], but severing ties with her family in the process. She served as a diplomatic advisor, until a shift in political tides provoked her escape into [[piracy]].
* Passed down from Leonidas I to his grandchild. (AR)
<br />
<br />
{{-}}
|-|Staff of Hermes Trismegistus=
In the [[Caribbean|West Indies]], she fell under the spell of a rumored cache of treasure, and feigned a romantic relationship with one-time [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Vance Travers]] to gain access to it.
[[File:Sans_titre.png|thumb|right|250px]]
Staff of Hermes Trismegistus
*Rumoured to be a powerful and deadly hand-to-hand weapon.
She might have been successful had it not been for Travers' brother, [[Upton Travers|Upton]], an Assassin who schemed to have her killed, betraying his brother in the process. She died at the age of thirty.
*Isu technology, capable of multiple improvements.
LH: Healing or time manipulation? If we're right, this staff can rewrite the rules of physics, including entrophy. And we already know the Isu are capable of interacting with reaity in a way that disregards any normal timeline.<br />
|-|Julien du Casse=
AR: I wouldn't even guess without more information.<br />
Born: 1682, France<br>Died: ????
|-|Atlantis=
[[File:Sans_titre2.png|right|250px]]
Atlantis
*"Allegorical" location described by [[Plato]].
Nephew of the buccaneer [[Jean-Baptiste du Casse|Jean du Casse]], [[Julien du Casse|Julien]] was born in [[Montpellier]], [[France]]. He took after his uncle's example and took to sea at a young age, eventually joining him in a few skirmishes during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]]. Fighting on the side of the French, and by proxy, on behalf of [[Philip V of Spain|King Philip]] of [[Spain]], du Casse's skill as a gunner improved rapidly, even as he grew wildly disillusioned with the monarchy and its obsession with lineage and breeding over raw talent and skill.
*Previous historical evidence: the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] eruption which led to the collapse of that civilization was rumoured to be the source of the Atlantis myth.
*Current evidence: Complex and extensive Isu site preserved underwater. (AR)
LH: Time to shift this from estimated to reality.<br />
In 1704, ordered by his superior officers to join his uncle and hundreds of French troops in what would become known as the {{Wiki|Battle of Málaga (1704)|Battle of Vélez-Màlaga}}, du Casse opted instead to desert his post and seek his fortunes in the New World. At first he threw in with [[Slavery|slave traders]] in [[Africa]], and for a year made a modest profit off the venture. But he was never comfortable with the cruelty and detachment the job required, and so departed for the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] in search of yet another vocation.
</tabber>
===Who Is Aletheia===
For the next 10 years, du Casse roamed the West Indies as a [[Mercenaries|hired gun]], working for whomever had the coin and confidence to pay him. Ever prizing the value of intelligence and skill over mere reputation and breeding, du Casse, eventually found his way into the company of [[Laureano de Torres y Ayala|Laureano Torres]] of [[Cuba]], in whom he found a friend and confidant...
So, the Isu, aka Precursors or "those who came before." They're humanoid and they're ancient. They have triple-helix DNA and six primary senses.
Born to an upper class family and educated in boarding schools from age five, [[Kenneth Abraham]] learned to fight for himself at an early age. Upon graduation, he entered the [[British Army|army]] and rose through the ranks, finally meeting the rank of Commander.
The Isu say they [[Project Anthropos|created]] [[Human|Homo Sapiens]] to serve them, and who knows if they're wrong? [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo]] classifies them as Homo Sapiens Divinus, though they waffle on whether they're gods or not.
His embrace of order and disciple drew him into the fold of the [[Templars|Templar Order]], which offered him influence beyond that offered by his military career. From the age of thirty, he ascended its ranks in parallel to those of his military career by devoting himself to the [[New World Order|promotion of order]] and peace.
Sometimes individual Isu say they aren't, but usually they act like they are. They like to give themselves god names anyway.
In 1715, the Assassin Anto infiltrated a Ball held by Abraham on his plantation, together with the pirate Edward Kenway. There, Abraham was assassinated by the pair, confronted in his final moments by the nemesis he had tried and failed to defeat.
LH: Wait, weren't the ancient gods named after them?<br />
He remained, until his death, determined to rid the world of unpredictable and disorderly elements.
AR: It's a sort of chicken and egg situation. We know that the Isu had other names before they took on the ones we know. Like [[Juno]] was also called Uni.<br />
LH: And just to check, [[Aletheia]]'s not a goddess name, is it?<br />
AR: You got it, boss. It literally means "truth," but if you ask {{Wiki|Martin Heidegger|Heidegger}} (well not literally, he's dead), it means the disclosure of truth. He dedicated huge chunks of philosophy to defining exactly what that meant.<br />
LH: What's the short version?<br />
AR: Aletheia is "unconcealedness," as opposed to correspondence (which is truth as accurate definitions of reality) or coherence (which is truth as statements that are consistent with the rest of a reality).<br />
LH: Ok, I think I'll leave the philosophy to you while I handle tech. Deal?<br />
So, the next thing to realize is that there's ISU and then there's Isu. The main movers and shakers are (well, were) the Capitoline Triad: [[Jupiter]], [[Minerva]], and Juno.
Born in [[Havana]], but raised in [[Madrid]], [[Spain]], [[Laureano de Torres y Ayala|Laureano]] was of noble stock, the son of Tomas Torres y Ayala and Elvira de Quadros Castellanos. He joined the [[Spanish Army|Spanish army]] in his late teens, and was later appointed as the governor of Spain's territories in [[Florida]], a post he held from 1693 to 1699. He then returned to [[Europe]] to participate in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]].
Those three scientists who formed a team to save the world from being destroyed by a [[Great Catastrophe|solar flare]]. They were like superheroes with ulterior motives.
In 1708, Torres was appointed as the governor of Cuba, a post he held for three years until he was accused of and arrested for corruption. He was acquitted of these charges, however, and managed to win a re-election bid in 1713.
Jupiter and Minerva appeared to sympathize with humans, but really only seemed to make a move after the Toba Catastrophe nearly snuffed us out. Juno was in it for the Isu, but mostly for herself.
During his time in Cuba, he made many lasting improvements to the city, fortifying the island's defenses and introducing the production of tobacco there. He remained Governor until 1716, after which point he retired and devoted his life to charitable functions, such as building hospitals.
LH: One of those world-saving solutions was [[the Eye]] that killed [[Desmond Miles|Desmond]], wasn't it?<br />
|-|Laurens Prins=
AR: Exactly. It worked short-term, but long-term seems more iffy. If "iffy" is a word you can use when you're talking about the end of the world as we know it. <br />
Born: 1630s, Amsterdam<br>Died: 1717, Kingston
LH: Aletheia did seem to imply that reality was shifting. Or that multiple realities were shifting as calculations were made.
|-|Slide 3: Juno=
[[Laurens Prins]] (often anglicized as Laurence Prince) was a [[Netherlands|Dutchman]] from [[Amsterdam]] who spent the majority of his life in and around the [[Caribbean|West Indies]]. Operating out of [[Port Royal]], Prins saw an incredible amount of action and adventure in his long life.
[[File:ACOD_WIA_Juno.png|right|250px]]
Juno
So one of the most powerful Isu was Juno. She raised an [[Instruments of the First Will|army]] of followers trying to help her and her husband [[Aita]] get bodies. She wanted to move out of "[[The Grey|the gray]]," or a virtual existence in some kind of spiritual-tech hybrid afterlife.
Sailing as a [[privateer]] in the early days of the [[Golden Age of Piracy]] (1650s) he developed a reputation for courage fighting the [[Spain|Spanish]] on behalf of the [[United Kingdom|British]] crown, sometimes bearing a {{Wiki|letter of marque}}, often without. He even played a pivotal role in Sir [[Henry Morgan]]'s infamous {{Wiki|Henry Morgan's Panama expedition|raid}} on [[Panama City|Panama]] in 1671, for which he was roundly celebrated.
LH: And the [[Phoenix Project]] was going to do just that. The plan was so dangerous that neither the Assassins nor [[Templars]] could take it on alone. So we teamed up... for a while.<br />
Prins eventually retired from privateering and settled in a large acreage of land in [[Jamaica]]. Around this time he entered into the [[Slavery|slave trade]] as a means of bolstering his wealth, an occupation he pursued well into his seventies.
AR: Layla, I heard about your colleague [[Charlotte de la Cruz]]. I'm sorry.<br />
LH: So am I.<br />
AR: Weird question... So I know [[Juhani Otso Berg|Mr. Berg]] used some special explosive to make sure there wasn't any DNA left. But wouldn't there be some trace of the [[Koh-i-Noor]]? I mean, you'd think some shards of such a powerful artifact would have survived.<br />
LH: Alannah, when Berg blows something up, he blows it up with extreme prejudice. That site is sterilized.<br />
AR: So another weird question... How did [[Kiyoshi Takakura|Kiyoshi]], [[Galina Voronina|Galina]], and [[Arend Schut-Cunningham|Arend]] get away then?<br />
LH: Too soon, Alannah. Too soon.
|-|Slide 4: Hermes=
In 1717, his flagship [[Slave ships|slave galley]], The [[Whydah]], was attacked and captured by the [[Piracy|pirate]] [[Samuel Bellamy|"Black Sam" Bellamy]]. He managed to survive the encounter, and fell back into his old occupation until his death some months later.
[[File:ACOD_WIA_Hermes.png|right|250px]]
[[Hermes Trismegistus|Hermes]]
We don't know about this Isu, except that he was one. The [[Greece|Greeks]] and [[Egypt]]ians both worshipped him. His special followers called themselves [[Hermeticists]].
|-|Lucia Márquez=
Born: 1689, Spain<br>Died: 1715, Pinos Isle
The god Hermes (particularly in the form of Hermes Trismegistus) was all about magic and alchemy, and his [[Staff of Hermes Trismegistus|staff]] is the inspiration for the caduceus.
Born in [[Spain]], [[Lucia Márquez]] never knew her father. By the age of twelve she was supporting herself and her sisters on the streets, begging, borrowing, and stealing anything she could, all the while developing the skills of a master [[thief]].
In theory, he met [[Pythagoras]] and gave him his staff.
At the age of seventeen, she was caught stealing a [[horse]] belonging to a high-ranking [[Templars|Templar]], and wisely opted for training over jail time.
LH: We're betting a lot on that theory. We've extrapolated that the staff is the key to the Isu "equations of reality" theory.<br />
The Templar life gave Marquez the focus she needed and she never found herself at a lack of challenge or adventure.
Based on the [[The Empirical Truth|information]] we got in Egypt, the Isu are convinced that understanding the mathematical rules of the universe is the basis to changing it.<br />
AR: Are you convinced?<br />
LH: I'm convinced it might be true. And that's enough to make that staff very powerful and very, very dangerous.
|-|Slide 5: Aletheia=
She died at the age of twenty-six on [[Isla de la Juventud|Pinos Isle]], wise beyond her years, on the order of the [[Taíno|Taino]] [[Assassins|Assassin]], [[Opía Apito]].
[[File:ACOD_WIA_Aletheia.png|right|250px]]
Aletheia
So who is Aletheia? She (that's a guess, I didn't record her using any pronouns) called herself that. She has a grudge against the rest of the Isu for their godlier-than-thou attitude.
|-|Peter Chamberlaine=
Born: 1660s, England<br>Died: 1718, Nassau
The Isu unified front showed cracks before, like that time Minerva and Juno argued in front of Desmond, or when [[Consus]] reached through time to contact the Assassins behind Juno's back.
Commodore [[Peter Chamberlaine]] sailed into the history books on the coat-tails of [[Woodes Rogers]], [[privateer]] [[captain]] and Governor of [[the Bahamas]]. Though charged with the task of helping Rogers carry out his reforms and issuing King [[George I of Great Britain|George]]'s pardon, Chamberlaine had an irrational and burning hatred for his [[civilian]] commander, and flouted Roger's orders as often as possible.
But this is a new level of insubordination.
Gruff and humorless, Peter Chamberlaine was nevertheless respected by his men as a man of fortitude and cunning, and his willful defiance of civil authority only bolstered his reputation among the rank and rile.
LH: Fortunately for us, Aletheia seems to be on humanity's side.<br />
|-|The Sage=
LH: I only wish I could do that kind of multitasking.<br />
Historic archives contain scattered references to individuals known as "Sages", but they are few and far between. Each citation seems to refer to a different person living in a vastly different time and location.
AR: If anyone could, it would be you, boss.<br />
AR: Yeah, she reminds me of [[Martin Luther]], nailing his {{Wiki|Ninety-five Theses|95 Theses}} to a church door. Maybe this is the start of the great Isu schism.<br />
LH: You've got a knack for naming things, you know that?<br />
AR: Thanks, boss.<br />
LH: Besides, she's a hacker. I like her.<br />
AR: Hacking? Is that what she was doing to the retransmissions?<br />
LH: Sorry, I realize that's more my department than yours. You heard the voice change, right? That's when the retransmission got hacked, replaced right under the other Isu's metaphorical nose.<br />
AR: How do you think she did it?<br />
LH: Good question. If you want to brute force the problem, try all the security protocols until you find one that works. Then lock everyone else out so they can't undo your work. Or if you're an analog, get a stronger transmitter [[Mexico|Mexican]]-radio-style.<br />
Aletheia's big advantage is having all the time in the world to find a solution. Like Consus, she seems to be able to see multiple times at once and communicate across them.<br />
AR: Or multiple realities.
|-|Slide 6: Reconsidering reality=
The earliest example was found in a Sumerian clay tablet in cuneiform script, while the latest survives only as a footnote in one of Laureano Torres's own journals, dated January 1704. In all – according to exhaustive research – seven different "Sages" seem to have graced the world's stage in the past twelve hundred years. But the real number is likely higher.
The Equations of Reality theory posits that the nature of the universe is dictated by mathematical equations, and that someone who can understand these equations can rewrite reality.<br />
Perhaps, the strangest aspect connecting each of these various sightings is the fact that, in every case, visual descriptions of each Sage are remarkably similar. So similar, in fact, that one wouldn't be faulted for assuming they ware talking about a single, immortal man. However, in two of the seven citations, explicit mention is made of their death and burial.
The Isu seem to have mastered checking the equations. After all, Minerva and Juno told us they ran all kinds of simulations to figure out how to save civilization from planet-scorching solar flares.<br />
But have they reached the stage where they can rewrite the equations? And now that we have the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, have we?<br />
LH: If you want to think in that direction... If the Isu already knew how to rewrite the equations, would we realize it? Pythagoras was part of the Isu bloodline. What if he managed it and didn't realize, or forgot how? What if this is the simulation?<br />
Is this therefore some bizarre form of reincarnation? Or some simpler explanation that is presently unknown? More research is required.
AR: You've held the staff, boss, and you're one of the bloodline too. What if you already changed everything?<br />
LH: That's basilisk territory.<br />
AR: I don't think Herodotos mentioned a basilisk anywhere...<br />
LH: The {{Wiki|LessWrong#Roko's basilisk|Roko's Basilisk}}. It's a thought experiment. If an artificial intelligence was omniscient, it would know who its enemies were. It could also eventually figure out how to transcend time. Do you follow me?<br />
AR: I think? Sounds creepy.<br />
LH: Nice knowing you, Alannah. You have already pissed off the all-knowing time-travelling basilisk.<br />
AR: So, you're saying we have to watch out for things we can't watch out for?<br />
LH: I'm saying, from now on, we have to tread very carefully.<br />
</tabber>
===Bios of the Gods===
|-|Vance Travers=
<tabber>
Born: 1690, England<br>Died: 1717, Nassau
|-|Persephone=
So here's the [[Greece|Greek]] mythology rundown, for the [[Assassins]] who might have been asleep in classics class. [[Zeus]], king of the gods and bringer of storms, gets together with [[Demeter]], goddess of the harvest. Sounds like a weird match, but compared to Zeus' track record this was actually kind of healthy. They have a daughter, [[Persephone]], who's supposed to be beautiful, pure, the whole maiden goddess bit. [[Hades]], riding a [[chariot]] pulled by demonic immortal horses, gets his kidnap on and drags her down to the underworld. (That scene's a favorite subject of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] dude artists, to no one's surprise.) Anyway, Demeter throws a (totally justified) fit, stopping any plants from growing. Pretty soon, Greece is starving and mortals are begging for hostage negotiations. Hades agrees to return Persephone but claims a loophole: she's eaten a few pomegranate seeds, which counts as eating the food of the dead, so she's got to return for part of the year. To the ancient Greeks, that's where winter comes from. To the Isu, that's why a dysfunctional couple is warring over control of the underworld.
|-|Adonis=
OK, even if you're a classics n00b, you know this one: a dude who posts gym selfies kissing his biceps? That's an [[Adonis]]. The Adonis of mythology was the handsome-but-mortal lover of [[Aphrodite]]. His background story is messed up even by mythological standards. {{Wiki|Myrrha|His mother}} got on the wrong side of Aphrodite, who cursed her. I'll spare you the details, but {{Wiki|Cinyras|her father}} gets her pregnant. Aphrodite felt maybe a little guilty about that, so she took Adonis to the underworld to be raised by Persephone. Years later, Aphrodite came back for Adonis and lo and behold, falls for his perfect physique. Persephone was already into him (I told you this was messed up), and the two divine women started arguing over who should get Adonis. Zeus (of all beings!) came up with a solution: Adonis would spend a third of his time with Aphrodite, a third with Persephone, and a third by himself to work on his cardio routine. Well, not quite, but it might explain why the Adonis Kassandra met was a little confused.
|-|Hermes=
Oh gods, [[Hermes Trismegistus|Hermes]] is a tough one to sort out even if you've studied up on this. Classically speaking, Hermes was the messenger of the gods. He's also a trickster and magician, lover of at least 40 goddesses, father of who knows how many divine kids, and a powerful warrior who defeated a {{Wiki|Argus Panoptes|hundred-eye beast}}. He's basically a mythological Marty Stu. The Isu Hermes seems to have been [[Pythagoras]]'s advisor, which somehow trickled into [[Hermeticists|Hermetic]] magic and the Golden Dawn. Good thing [[Aleister Crowley]] didn't know about Hermes' [[Staff of Hermes Trismegistus|staff]], or the [[Templars]] might have won this fight a century ago.
|-|Hekate=
In ancient Greece, [[Hekate]] was the mistrusted but essential goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and necromancy. She's the power you wanted to know, but didn't want other people to know you knew, if you know what I mean. When Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, Hekate helped Demeter to find her daughter. Then, when Persephone had to return to the underworld each year, Hekate offered to accompany her. That kind of sisterhood endures, and even today modern {{Wiki|Wicca}}ns keep literal fires burning for her. As for the Isu Hekate, if science sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic, then her science must have been some of the best.
|-|Hades=
Now, when I mention Hades, know I'm talking about Hades, not Hades. Yeah, see the issue when a place shares the same name as you? Hades (the god) was born to a couple of [[Titan]]s and has some pretty well known siblings like Hera, Zeus and [[Poseidon]]. Of course, as soon as they were born, [[Kronos|their dad]] swallowed them whole for reasons I'm sure made sense in his head. Zeus was the youngest to be born and freed his swallowed siblings. After {{Wiki|Titanomachy|a victorious war}} between them and the Titans, Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon divided up the realms to rule. Hades ended up getting the underworld, and he wasn't exactly stoked, but fair is fair when lots are being drawn. The rest of the Isu don't seem to trust him much, but like his mythological counterpart, Hades seems to be a mostly chill and passive dude. You know, except for the time he abducted Persephone while she was picking flowers and took her as his wife because Zeus said it was cool.
|-|Charon=
If you died in ancient Greece, you had better hope not only that there were people around who would bury you, but that they placed a coin on or in your mouth. If not, have fun wandering the shores of the [[Styx]] for one hundred years. Seems a bit harsh if you ask me, but rules are rules, and [[Charon]] follows them. Charon's father is [[Erebus]], basically a personification of darkness. Then there's his brothers, [[Thanatos]] and [[Hypnos]], the personification of death and sleep, respectively. Charon, on the other hand, is just Charon. I'm not sure if he did something to anger daddy Erebus, but he's clearly not the favorite. On the bright side, in the myths, Charon's been able to meet a bunch of famous people like [[Odysseus]], [[Dionysus]], and [[Herakles]], kind of like a taxi driver for the gods. The Isu Charon seems to fit that bill, though I have to wonder why he hasn't started up a rideshare business yet.
|-|Poseidon=
Poseidon. Brother to Zeus, Hades, Hera, and more. God of the sea and earthquakes. Huh? Horses too? OK. He almost became the patron god of [[Athens]], which I guess would have ended up being called Poseidos had [[Athena]] not won their competition. Hot tip, if you're ever in a similar wager, offer an olive tree to a city and not salt water. Poseidon wasn't the most gracious of losers and really leaned into the angry god persona, and sent a massive flood to punish the Athenians for not choosing him. If anything, that probably reassured them they made the right choice. One of Poseidon's sons was [[Atlas (Isu)|Atlas]], the first ruler of [[Atlantis]]. The Isu Poseidon wanted to rule Atlantis himself, which true to Poseidon's style, left Atlas feeling awfully salty (I'll let myself out).
|-|Atlas=
There's a good chance that when you think of Atlas, the image of [[Atlas|a Titan]] holding the world on his shoulders enters your mind. The Isu Atlas isn't that Atlas, but the one born to Poseidon. Honestly, you'd think they'd at least try to use different names. Even Atlantis is just Atlas' name with a few letters thrown in the middle. But I digress. In mythology, Atlas was the firstborn to a mortal woman named [[Cleito]]. She actually gave birth to five set of twins, which is insane, but I guess when the dad's a god, it becomes a bit easier to take care of them... Unless that god is Zeus, in which case, I'm sorry. As for the Isu version, Atlas did indeed rule Atlantis for a time, but as we know, Poseidon took it for himself. It's believed when this happened, Atlas simply shrugged.
</tabber>
==2020==
Born in [[England]], the passionate, creative, yet incredibly gullible [[Vance Travers]], found a life for himself amongst the [[Assassins|Assassin's Brotherhood]] in the [[Caribbean|West Indies]], where he ran a successful smuggling enterprise, with his older brother, [[Upton Travers|Upton]].
===Mailbox===
{{main|Layla Hassan's emails#Assassins (2020)}}
===Files===
Business took a turn for the worse after he met and fell in love with the [[Templars|Templar]], [[Jing Lang]], who persuaded him to divulge knowledge of the location of buried treasure with which he and Upton planned to fund their retirement.
<tabber>
|-|English Locales of Note=
Layla, as you traipse about [[England]], [[Rebecca Crane|Becs]] and [[Shaun Hastings|I]] thought you might want to keep your eyes open for a few things.<br><br>[[Assassins|ASSASSIN]] [[Assassin bureau|BUREAUS]]<br>Or the [[Hidden Ones]], more accurately. They operated in {{Wiki|Roman Britain}} between the years 100 and 430 CE. It's not clear why they left, but the final date corresponds roughly to the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] exodus from [[United Kingdom|Britain]], so I imagine their leaving had [[Honorius|something]] to do with the empire's retreat? Mission accomplished or a loss of faith? Not sure. But we do know that it was several hundred years before the Hidden Ones returned to the island. It may be [[Basim Ibn Ishaq|Basim]] and [[Hytham]] are the first in half a century.<br><br>From our own archives, I believe there were six main bureaus operating in the Roman period:<br><br>[[Leicestershire]]<br>[[London]]<br>[[Winchester]]<br>[[York]]<br>[[Essex]]<br>[[Gloucestershire]]<br><br>These won't be the Saxon names, so you'll have to read between the lines.<br><br>[[Animus|ANIMUS]] [[Animus Anomalies|ANOMALIES]]<br>Becs noticed these, about ten, embedded in the simulation. They're dense clusters of data that may screw with your ability to navigate Eivor's memories.<br><br>Approach with caution. We don't know what they'll do if you get too close. They may be harmless, they may induce occipital shock, or wipe your mind. Hard to say. Bes tto err on the side of "hell no". But if you're curious, well, I warned you.<br><br>[[Piece of Eden|PIECES]] OF [[Eden|EDEN]]<br>We don't know of any [[Isu]] artifacts you should be looking for specifically, [[Crystal Balls|but]] [[Gungnir|they're]] [[Mjölnir|out]] [[Excalibur|there]], and this was a period where they often cropped up in legend. Norse and Saxon songs and tales spak of them often,so ikeep your eyes peeled.<br><br>Especially around [[Stonehenge]]. How could that NOT be an Isu [[Isu Barracks|site]]?
|-|Session Report: SHasting=
Animus Session Report<br><br>Date: 3 November 2014<br>Operator: Rebecca Crane<br>Subject: Shaun Hastings<br>Reporter: [[William Miles]]<br><br>Preface: The transformation of the [[Order of the Ancients]] into the [[Templars]] as we now them today has always been a subject of considerable debate among our [[rank]]s. We have operated with the assumption that the Templars themselves hold som or complete knowledge of this evolution, but at present, no concrete historical evidence has ever made it into our hands.<br><br>What little data we do have is mostly a matter of public record, with some exceptions. It is commonly understood that the origin of the Knights Templar dates back to 1119 CE, and this indeed was the appearance of the public face of the Templars. However, our records attest to the existence of Templar agents at least two centuries before this date.<br><br>In one badly damaged document, and "Assassin Contract" from {{Wiki|Normandy}} in the mid-11th century, the author makes free use of the term Templar. An earlier letter—this time from a Hidden One in the region of modern-day {{Wiki|Dorset}}, circa 978 CE—makes mention of a "Templar spy" within the ranks of the Bortherhood. From this we can sagely assume that the Templar Order, as an entity distinct from the Order of the Ancients, existed at some point in the mid-10th century.<br><br>Witn an aim to expand our understanding of this dark age, one of our agent recently volunteered to delve into his genetic memories to search for further clues to the age-old mystery. Unfortunately, what he discovered was of little use for our purposes.<br><br>Shaun Hastings began in the fist of his seven sessions on October 5th, 2014. Over the course of the next three weeks, he followed various matrilineal and patrilineal lines into the past, focusing on the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries, in search of Assassins and/or Templars in his bloodline. He found none. Of minor interest, however was the following personage here noted for the peculiarity of his biography.<br><br>[[Alrekr Thorvaldson]], and early 9th century {{Wiki|Jutes|Jute}} who sailed from north of modern-day [[Denmark]] with a wooden plank bearing a carving of a map that purported to show the location of "[[Thor]]'s hammer". Alrekr made it as far as [[Stavanger]] before running afoul of a powerful clan there. Alrekr was defeated in battle and enthralled as a [[Slavery|slave]]. He escaped his captivity some ten years later, and returned to {{Wiki|Jutland}} to marry and settle down. The location of Alrekr's map is unknown, and the existence of "Thor's hammer"—a Precursor relic, no doubt—remains unconfirmed.<br><br>Alrekr's ancestors [sic] would later sail to England following the Norman's conquest of the island, settling in what is now called {{Wiki|Loughborough}} in modern-day Leicestershire. The irony that a man named {{Wiki|Hastings}} would contain no useful genetic memory data regarding the {{Wiki|Norman conquest of England|Norman invasion}} of England in 1066 was not lost on our subject. Still, he retained his usual chipper wit, and asked if he might next relive the genetic memories if hos grandfather to, quite, "give a [[Nazi Party|Nazi]] a proper bollocking".
</tabber>
===Media===
Paranoid, Travers developed delusions that his brother plotted to steal his treasure and Jing's heart. He broke from [[the Creed]] and, after a failed attempt at fratricide, was killed by [[Edward Kenway]].
''A strange message broadcast from an [[Yggdrasil Chamber|unknown source]] north of the [[Arctic Ocean|Arctic Circle]]. The message was broadcast for nine days, then ceased. Spectrum analysis of the message revealed coordinates to a Norse gravesite in {{Wiki|New England}}, [[United States|USA]].''
*'''Unknown Male Voice:''' ''I [[Loki|lived]], I [[Great Catastrophe|died]], and now I sleep. And in my sleep I dream. And in my dreams, I seen an [[Global aurora borealis device|end]] to the [[Sun|doom]] that will grip the [[earth]] [[Second Disaster|once again]]. Find the [[Wolf]]-Kissed, find the Mad One, find me, and save us all from another death.''
|-|NewRecording_001.WAV=
''Layla's final broadcast from within the [[Yggdrasil]] device.''
*'''Layla:''' ''You'll wonder [[The Grey|where]] I am. You might wonder IF I am. I don't know how to answer that. But I'm not afraid. And I'm not [[Desmond Miles|alone]]. We have work to do. Work that may take us days or years. It's impossible to say. But we'll finish it. What I mean is... don't come looking for me. It's too dangerous and... too late. Take care of yourselves. Take care of the world we still have. And take care of—''
|-|ForLayla.WAV=
'''Message from Shaun to Layla.'''
*'''Shaun:''' ''Layla, thought you might be interested in this. Conversations that Becs and I had with Desmond, back in twenty-twelve. Humm... December, I think. Just candid talks, that's all. We didn't square any circles or write any big poetry. But he did have some interesting insights into his time in the Animus and what it means to be an Assassin. Anyway, have a listen. You might find you and he had similar experiences. So, huh, well, let me know what you think. Unless it's to tell me I sound like a total prat in these recordings. If that's the case, just... say nothing. I mean, I did have a slight cold at the time I recorded these. That's probably why I sound odd. Anyway, I... I... Okay, I'm done anyway. So... turn... off. Turn off. Oh, that's actually just a button, sorry. Here we go.''
|-|Desmond_01.WAV=
''Audio recording dated December 19th, 2012.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''No, no, come on, Shaun. Turn that thing off.''
*'''Shaun:''' ''Oh, hold on, I like what you said there. I want to get this for posterity. Say it again. Nice and loud.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Seriously?''
*'''Shaun:''' ''Sure, come on. If nothing else, it'll give me leverage with your old man.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Ah. That's your angle... nice. What I said was... I wish I hadn't been [[Miles family|born into]] the Assassins. I wish I had chosen this life. Is that good enough?''
*'''Shaun:''' ''Sure, but why is that?''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Because... because choice is the central idea of [[The Creed|our creed]]. It underpins everything, right? It's about free will. It's seeing the evidence before you and saying, "Yes, this is what I want," or "No, this isn't for me." But when you're born into a group like this or any other, like I was... you get mixed signals. You get told over and over again, "This is what we believe, these are the rules. This is reality. No deviation." And if you question it, oh, they look at you like you... like you killed a [[Dog|puppy]]. That's hardly free will. It's a weird irony when free will is your central belief, but nobody want you to believe otherwise. I don't know how to say it exactly, but I always thought there was something... self-destructive about our creed. If free will is the most important moral guidepost we have, we should be free to ignore it. To choose submission, for example. You know what I mean? Like, we should be free to side with the Templars. If it's really my choice, I could do that.''
*'''Shaun:''' ''Right. It's almost self-refuting. A democracy could democratically elect a dictator or choose to get rid of democracy altogether. Within our creed is the seed of its own destruction. That's what makes it powerful, I think... and fragile.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Right, right. The more freedom you have, the more risky it is, you know? Anyway, my dad has mellowed over the years. But he was strict when we lived on [[the Farm]]. He ran a tight ship. I never got the impression that I was free to choose my path forward. Our creed, our tenets, they were drilled into my head. By the time I was a teenager, I was following these rules out of a sense of duty. This was... just what we did.''
*'''Shaun:''' ''That happens to a lot of organizations over time. A stagnation sets in, you know? A fundamentalism.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Yeah. And following the rules becomes more important than achieving [[Assassin-Templar War|whatever goal]] you set out for yourself. And people start to lost sight of the reason the rules exist.''
*'''Shaun:''' ''That's called {{Wiki|deontological ethics|deontology}}, or a form of it. Following a rule for its own sake, and not for the consequences it has.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Yeah. But that feels backwards, doesn't it?''
*'''Shaun:''' ''Well, I think so. Following a rule is the easy part. Praying, taking {{Wiki|Eucharist|a sip of wine, munching on a wafer}}. Rituals that give comfort.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''But that's just going through the motions. It makes people feel like they're doing something. When the hard work is... well, actually getting off your ass and doing something productive! I think people just want boundaries. Tight boundaries. They want to see the four walls that pen them in.''
*'''Shaun:''' ''I don't disagree.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Anything outside that, anything that makes life more complex? That's scary. That's why I envy you. You chose this life. You went through that process, and you decided, "Yes, I believe in this."''
*'''Shaun:''' ''Sure. It didn't stop me from being an insufferable know-it-all as a teenager. But I see your point.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''I would have loved to have been a know-it-all. I knew nothing. Not until you guys found me. Yeah. It wasn't until I met you and Becs and [[Lucy Stillman|Lucy]] that I knew... I knew I wanted to be an Assassin.''
*'''Shaun:''' ''Ah oh... Thanks Des. Bring it in, bud. I don't normally like touching, but I'll make an exception now.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''I am not hugging you.''
*'''Shaun:''' ''You sure? 'Cause I smell very nice today.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Can you just turn that off?''
|-|Desmond_02.WAV=
''Audio recording dated December 20th, 2012.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''Hold on. I'll just set this here.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Do you guys record everything we talk about?''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''Not everything. But you've been using the Animus so much, I thought this was a good chance to learn some thing about [[Bleeding Effect|prolonged exposure]].''
*'''Desmond:''' ''So I'm your guinea pig.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''No, no, my guinea pigs are all dead. The Animus was too much for them to handle.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Cute.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''Can I ask you about the Bleeding Effect? Any recent flashes? Any memories resurfacing?''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Yeah, the usual things. Ghost images of [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad|Altaïr]] or [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio]] a few times day. Nothing intrusive, just brief moments. They pass quickly, almost without me noticing. Like a figure in the corner of my eye. Or remembering a dream from the night before. I did have one extended hallucination a few days ago. It was Ezio. He was older, [[Escape (Revelations)|around the time]] he left [[Cappadocia]]. He was standing on the deck of a [[ship]]. Alone. And through him, I could feel an intense... regret. Or guilt. And it felt to me like he'd had a.. lost of faith. In himself, in the Creed. Like he couldn't keep it up. Couldn't stay true to his ideals. And as I watched him, I thought, "Is this the moment he decided he was done being an Assassin?" It felt like it. Anyway, most of my visions have been brief. Lasting just a few seconds. They're like... complete memories of small moments that appear suddenly out of nowhere, fully formed. it's a strange feeling.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''Okay. Anything else?''
*'''Desmond:''' ''I'm starting to see [[Ratonhnhaké:ton|Connor]] now too, Though I hear his voice more often than I see him. I'm sure that will change. Oh yeah, and yesterday... just before bed, I had [[Edward Kenway|a memory]] on [[Nassau|a beach]] in the [[Caribbean]]. With a [[Republic of Pirates|bunch of sailors]]. Or maybe they were [[Piracy|pirates]]? I don't know. No idea.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''Huh. We'll [[Sample 17 Project|look into that]]. And how do you feel, in general?''
*'''Desmond:''' ''In general? Well... I feel older, for one. Much older. And it's strangely comforting. I'm collecting the memories and skills and thoughts of so many people, I feel like I've lived a few hundred years or more. Is it possible that if I do this for too long, it'll push my own memories aside? That I'll be everyone but myself after a while?''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''It's possible. That's called identity substitution. It's happened before, but it's rare. And someone with your background shouldn't need to worry.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''My background... you mean someone with my genes? My... abilities?''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''You have Isu DNA. And that lets you see things and do things and... withstand traumas that other people can't.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''And I can suffer in ways that others can't. That's not something to be proud of.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''You mean, the [[Apples of Eden|Apple]]?''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Yeah. [[Apple of Eden 6|It]] has a pull. It tugs at my brain. It talks to me. Teases me. Drives me mad. And what I did to Lucy... [[Christianity|God]] dammit. Nothing is worth the damage I did. The pain I caused.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''I know. But you're special, that's the point.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''I'm not special, Becs. I'm lucky. That's all.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''I understand.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''We're Assassins, that makes us different, not our genes. Not our blood. Anyone can join us.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''That's true. But let's leave that aside for a second. What I want to know is, have you ever had any Isu memories resurface?''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Isu memories? I don't... don't think so. I can't even begin to imagine what that would feel like.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''I think you'd know if you did. Maybe one day. We might be able to induce something.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''[[Jesus of Nazareth|Jesus]], let's fix the world first, okay? Before we start digging up my ancient ancestors.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''Deal.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''With my luck, I'll be related to some third-rate Isu like... like [[Sisyphos|Sisyphus]] or something.''
*'''Rebecca:''' ''Way to aim high, buddy.''
*'''Desmond:''' ''Hey, you gotta.''
</tabber>
===Staff of Eden===
[[Woodes Rogers]] was born into money, to a seafaring family with deep roots in both {{Wiki|Poole}} and [[Bristol]], England. His early life was a picture of industriousness and ambition, and by the age of 18 he was an apprentice Mariner.
<tabber>
|-|Staff of Hermes Trismegistus=
:''Acquired from the [[Eagle]]-Bearer, Kassandra, 2018<br><br>Presumed manufacture date: Late in the [[Isu]] Singularity Age, ~75,100 BCE / ~2200 [[Isu Era|IE]]<br><br>This staff, one of many [[Staves of Eden|Isu staves]] known to us, is first and foremost a medical device with the ability to heal, repair, restore, and rejuvenate organic tissues with unprecedented swiftness. It has been known to extend the life of its bearers well-beyond the average [[human]] and Isu lifespan and is presumed to have the ability to resuscitate living creatures in critical or suspended states. It has not been verified if the staff has the ability to resurrect the dead, but this seems unlikely, based on its known features.<br><br>It appears to work by reading and copying its bearer's DNA to ensure perfect replication on a broad scale. It is able to detect erroneous copies and deploy repairs so long as its bearer remains within direct contact.<br><br>It has been used as a weapon, infrequently, possible by taking advantage of the tremendous power it draws from the Isu's Wireless Energy Lattice.<br><br>The staff has also acted as a conduit or container for the personality of an Isu called "[[Aletheia]]". It is not known if this personality is Aletheia's original consciousness or a [[Aletheia's simulations|simulation]] of the original, though most neuroscientists would call this a distinction without a difference. As of early 2019, the entity known as Aletheia has made no further attempts to contact me.<br><br>As yet, my purpose as the so-called "Heir of Memories"—as Aletheia has dubbed me—remains unclear.<br><br>Known Bearers<br>Hermes Trismegistus: -75,100 – 75,000 IE<br>[[Pythagoras]]: 6th century BCE – 5th century BCE<br>Kassandra: 4th BCE''<br>[image]
</tabber>
===The Messengers===
Upon his father's death at sea in 1706, Woodes inherited his family's prosperous shipping company, which he took to managing with great passion. Between 1704 and 1707 Rogers' fortunes and family grew, and by the time he was twenty-seven his marriage to Sarah Whetstone had produced one son and two daughters.
<tabber>
|-|Isu Messengers I=
Rebecca,<br><br>Before we meet at the site, I want you to see these.<br><br>Last week, I reviewed the logs from my time with Bayek and came across some old notes. In the "years" I explored [[Cleopatra]]'s [[Egypt]], I stumbled across six Isu temples, most of which were buried beneath pharaonic tomb sites. Each temple contained an Isu message clearly meant for one with the ability to read genetic memories. I was the lucky one. I don't believe they were intended for Bayek himself, as he seemed wholly unaware of the messages as they played. They may have been encoded in a way that only someone with an Animus could see them.<br><br>It's been a few years since I last heard these messages, so my memory is foggy. But the notes I scribbled down have a clarity that I trust. Might be something to all this. I don't know. Often I grasp outside of my area of expertise. I am enthusiastic but often wrong. Let me know if something else strikes you.<br><br>Layla<br><br>*<br><br>Message 1 (Excerpt):<br>"Layers upon layers of reality, each bledding into the next. Which is real, and which is not? What if none are real? What if everything you know is false? We ran thousands of [[Calculations|simulations]], searching for the right version, searching for [[Desmond Miles|Desmond]]. Each one of them felt real. But there's no way of truly knowing, is there? Not for sure. Anything can be simulated, and finding the answer could mean erasure."<br><br>Teasing the Assassin maxim "[[The Creed|Nothing is true...]]" Must be careful not to confuse truths with facts however, a language game you will always lose. Though we may stumble in our attempts to interpret it, the [[Earth|world]], the universe, reality, what have you, it is always "out there". I believe that, simulated or no.<br><br>We could imagine a dozen nested simulations, and each one, on the level of itself, would constitute a full reality. {{Wiki|Stephen Wolfram|Wolfram}}, via {{Wiki|John Horton Conway|Conway}}, {{Wiki|A New Kind of Science|suggests}} that the universe is a {{Wiki|cellular automaton|giant cellular automata}}.<br><br>And further, there is a point where the difference between simulated and real is meaningless. If the universe were a simulation, what would it matter? The simulations qua simulation itself would be weal, and therefore everything within it would be real within the confines of the simulation.<br><br>Say a scientist were able to simulate pain by inducing only a few neurons to fire, no physical harm. "I am in pain!" the subject says. "No, you only believe you are," says the scientist. This is meaningless, as is this: "You thought you were in pain, but you were mistaken."
|-|Isu Messengers II=
Message 2 (Excerpt):<br>"No surprise. You were [[Project Anthropos|designed]] to have boundaries, after all. And one cannot speak of that which one cannot conceive. The Code. Equations that define life. They are nestled deep within every star, and every mote of dust. Every second that passes is a word, a symbol. All part of an intricate yet simple language existing within the framework of time itself. Is is the one rule which applies to us all. Immutable, inescapable."<br><br>We know this: [[human]]s were the instruments of an earlier species, the Isu. Resist the temptation to say superior. Different. They were better suited to some tasks, ill-suited to others. Possessed of a mind that we cannot know. But that does not get us anywhere. What is it like to be an Isu? What is it like to be a bat?<br><br>The implication that the Isu could "read" time is interesting, but if humans could read time, would it necessarily be in the same manner and for the same purpose? Whether constructed, or evolved, or a little of both as wee are, we cannot be said to have been "built" to achieve the same ends. A round disk on its edge is a wheel; on its side, a plate. How we use something can determine its value and its perceived purpose.
|-|Isu Messengers III=
Message 3 (Excerpt):<br>"Break the code. Break the node. These walls tell of a tragic story. A story we transcribed on our structures, on our [[Piece of Eden|artifacts]]. A story we could not alter. A mystery, defying us, in plain sight. We tried. Our scholars and scientists. Poets and physicists. Bright minds. Rebellious hearts. They all tried so hard to bring about change. They... We all failed. None could [[Great Catastrophe|change what we discovered]], the stories written into the walls of these rooms. The reader has no power. He is but an observer. But the author... the author invents the future. The author owns the future."<br><br>The {{Wiki|Toba catastrophe theory|Toba catastrophe}}, a super-volcanic event paired with a [[Sun|mass-coronal ejection]], was the beginning of the end for the Isu. It changed the earth's environment, lowered its available oxygen levels, and generally fucked things up. The Isu never recovered. By our estimates, the last remaining Isu died just a century after the catastrophe. From that point forward, humans—their creation—ruled the roost.<br><br>This disaster was not unforeseen. Isu scientists had known about their impending doom for years, perhaps decades, before the catastrophe occurred. To protect themselves, they worked feverishly to find a solution. Six methods they tried, but due to a toxic combination of hubris, political infighting, and bad luck, all six failed. [[Global aurora borealis device|The final method]] proved the most promising and was nearly complete when tragedy struck. It was this method that Desmond Miles revived when he saved the world from a [[Second Disaster|second solar flare]] in December 2012.<br><br>This voice laments the compounded failures of their species to save themselves, bit the truth is broader than that. They, with Desmond, saved us. Success deferred.<br><br>Then this message, break the code, break the node. Insistent, and very puzzling.
|-|Isu Messengers IV=
Message 4 (Excerpt):<br>"Linear continuity is a simulations that allows for variations. Within the linear continuity, there are nodes. Chokepoints. Moments where algorithms converge the flows of superposed possibilities to a single moment where only one absolute truth is possible. Paths are fluid, continuous. Nodes are static, changeless. And the {{Wiki|wave function}} {{Wiki|Wave function collapse|collapses}} the paths into notes which branch out. Again, and again, and again. Can you feel the wave collapsing, trying to course-correct Desmond's act of defiance? The incoming node needs the world to end. The algorithms have been carving the flow of possibilities towards that end for over one hundred years now. Collapse the wave."<br><br>Well outside my area of expertise. Must contact someone who knows this shit better. But what it seems to be saying—the structure of spacetime the universe is built in such a way that certain events of clusters of events are compelled to occur. A bottleneck through which spacetime flows, and one nearly impossible to avoid There is something about this catastrophe, the one Desmond averted in 2012, that compels it to return, indifferent to out fear or pain. It is a tidal wave, rippling across the sea of space. It crashed once against the dike, and that stopped it for a time. But the seas rears back for another strike, and another, and another.<br><br>That gives some clarity to what is happening now, all around us. But it remains unclear how to change it. Especially from within an Animus, a simulation within a simulation?
|-|Isu Messengers V=
Message 5:<br>"Reality is a mathematical model which gets solved over and over again by the observer. Your thoughts are computations. And they render this world for you to call your own. Not all processors are alike. Different brains produce different realities. The variations go from the subtle to the drastic. Your mind defines how much you can taste. How much yuo can feel. How much you can understand. Perception defines perspective. We designed you and made sure to engineer your senses so you could perceive just what we needed you to. Neither more nor less. There are parts of time we preferred you to remained blind to. It was a necessity."<br><br>If we could suddenly "see" time, that would not guarantee the same perception the Isu possessed. Let us speak of time as an entity, if we may. Let us say that time is a perceivable fact in the same way light is a perceivable fact. The ability to "see" this fact in no way guarantees sympathetic view. There are creatures stumbling around this earth that read light differently than we do, and for different purposes. Humans see in a {{Wiki|Visible spectrum|well-known spectrum}}, {{Wiki|ROYGBIV|ROY G BIV}}.<br><br>This sense of color is confined to the {{Wiki|Cone cell|three cones}} we possess. Yet nocturnal creatures see with a different scope, for a different purpose. Night-stalking, [[hunting]], lurking. The evolved in concert with their needs are and now constrained by them, as are we. Light is only a fact seen askance and used differently by different species. To suggest that we might read time, is to imply we have a specific use for time.
|-|Isu Messengers VI=
The Message 6<br>"The next chapter is unstoppable. And yet, the greatest revolutions sometimes originate from the confines of impossibility, do they not? Reality is a simulation. Break the code. And in so doing, escape the inescapable. The Animus was humankind's first unconscious attempt to explain what it could not see. understanding genetic memories, an eye into history. Your Animus is different. As is the mind that imagined it. It could escape the code. It could make that leap and make possible a decision that defies the order of the things that are."<br><br>It is ridiculous to imagine that I could change the nature of reality "out there" from within the confines of an Animus, a simulation within this so-called simulation. But I believe I understand what this voice is telling me. My Animus is endowed with the ability to suggest alterations to days long past. But from any moment in time, I can extrapolate what MIGHT have been. Calculations of time. I am not confined to what was, but what could have been.<br><br>Yes, history is real, facts do matter. But from any moment in time I choose within the Animus, I can interrogate the memory. I can ask the world what if? What if Bayek and [[Amunet|Aya]] had stayed together? What if [[Khemu]] had not been murdered? I can suggest these hypotheticals and watch how they unfold. Why would I want to? For knowledge, for a better understanding of what tragedies were avoided? It remains to be seen.<br><br>I am, in a sense, a reader of the calculations. As the Isu were in days past. Perhaps one day I will eb able to harness this talent to see into the future. To predict, to correct, to avoid. That would be worth something.
</tabber>
===SecureShare===
By the end of 1707, however, his business had suffered great losses by [[raid]]ing [[France|French]] forces, giving Rogers the idea to recoup these dreadful losses himself. Knocking about Bristol in search of a partner for this endeavor, he soon found himself in the company of [[William Dampier]], an old friend and unlucky [[Captain]] who suggested setting out on a [[privateer]]ing expedition, one that would range far and wide about the [[Americas|New World]]. In 1708, Rogers made the necessary arrangements and set out as Captain of his own vessel, on a difficult voyage that would last over three years.
<tabber>
|-|README.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>=
Hey guys!<br><br>Thanks for sharing with me the manuscript you found. It's truly amazing!!! For the first time, we have a key to read some inscriptions from the Precursors:<br>[image]<br>zrhwachày nàgkwat nsmæ br trrhwndi kwardæ<br>l sorhwlàd vras chnàkôdi de<br>nsm huchràs réyzdéràæ chaz zàwomsi<br><br>But wait, it gets even better! I immediately saw some suspicious similarities with ancient languages. So not that I could decipher the glyphs, I dug into our Precursor archives for more sources. I had to sort through the many different types of writings we found on Precursor sites to find some similar to that inscription. It's quite puzzling how many seemingly unrelated writing systems they had! Maybe the Precursors were not a monolithic a civilization as we think? Anyway, after more in-depth comparative work, the conclusion is unequivocal: this language is related to ancient languages from the {{Wiki|Indo-European languages|Indo-European family}}, maybe even others. In fact, given the corpus I have studied, I would say that is is probable an ancestor to them. Or at least had a significant influence on them. This is truly fascinating!<br><br>With that comparative work, I was able to partially understand some of the inscriptions! The one above reads:<br><br>When the [[Great Catastrophe|destruction and death]] threatens before us<br>And the [[Sun|solar flare]] is reaching<br>To the [[Calculations|calculator]] of [[Yggdrasil|futures]] we run<br><br>I put my findings in this shared file folder in case they can be of use to you.<br><br>Keep me posted if you find anything else!<br><br>Antony
|-|PRE_trslt_Canterbury.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>=
Along this course Rogers met with many successes and failures. In 1709, off the western coast of [[South America]], he found and rescued a marooned sailor by the name of {{Wiki|Alexander Selkirk}}, a sailor who had spent nearly 4 years living in isolation and who would serve as the inspiration for the book "{{Wiki|Robinson Crusoe}}" just a few years later.
This is the first part of the manuscript you found in Canterbury. It uses a cursive version of the alphabet that appears to be the same as the one used in the [[Voynich manuscript]]. Although the handwriting is clearly different.<br>[image]<br>Translation:<br>Announced on this day 24, 2161 [[Isu Era|IE]]<br><br>A message from the Council.<br><br>For the labor we cannot do ourselves, we require [[Human|animals of great strength but limited sense]], freedom of action but [[Neurotransmitter|not of thought]].<br>To guarantee [[Slavery|full control]] over their behavior, they must be credulous in matters of imagination.<br>They must be suspicious in matters of fact.<br>They must see patterns where there are none.<br>They must doubt correlations that go against their desires.<br>In all, they must be thought of as our [[Instruments of the First Will|instruments]], not our children.<br>They will build for us, toil for us.<br>On land, in the sea, in the sky.<br>They shall be tools to be used, not creatures to be coddled.<br><br>Our current [[Father of Understanding|father]] [[Yaldabaoth]] has given the order to start [[Project Anthropos|production]].<br>Our current [[Mother of Wisdom|mother]] [[Saklas]] has compiled and presented the designs.<br>Our current [[Sacred Voice|voice]] [[Samael]] has gathered the required talent.<br><br>Creation begins now.<br><br>*<br><br>Is this an order sheet for... humanity?<br><br>I can't believe it. Where did [[Fulke]] get this? Did the [[Order of the Ancients|Order]] have knowledge to read this language? Try to find out more if you can Layala, this is big. This is really big. I have informed [[Mentor|Grand Master]] [[William Miles|Miles]].<br><br>I tried to transcribe pages of the Voynich manuscript, by the way, but it's still gibberish. It must use some sort of encryption that [[Precursor box]]es can decode.
|-|PRE_trslt_Stonehenge.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>=
Soon after Selkirk's recovery, Rogers' fleet engaged an enemy vessel in open combat—a skirmish that earned him a [[pistol]] shot to the left side of his face and a mangled heel. Neither wound was enough to remove him from command however, and he continued serving as captain until his return to England in late 1711. To commemorate this return, he had an operation to remove the offending bullet from his upper palate.
Here are transliterations and translations for the two inscriptions you found in the [[Temple (Isu)|vault]] you found [[Isu Barracks|beneath]] [[Stonehenge]]:<br><br>zrhogwusôd wnhæôdkwat oænos oænos sízwrid<br>hazàæ huchàæ chàyzæs<br>mnrhngwardachs Lug<br><br>In war and in love there is only one goal<br>The search for a better future<br>– [[Lug]] the Polymath<br><br><br>zérhúàæ hrá læsrs trás hàgwrmæchá hnomndi<br>hrá mlrs trás savyàs huchàch rhngwarndi<br>Mórígan<br><br>Fate is what the weak name their cowardice<br>The strong craft their own future<br>– [[Morrigan (Isu)|Mórrígan]]<br><br><br>Not sure what to make of these. Do they relate to things you've seen on-site?
|-|PRE_trslt_Qobustan.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>=
Now in poor health but high spirits, he set about writing his memoirs. Upon their publication a few years, they were an immediate success, and proved a great source of income. But this brief glory was offset by the sudden death of his son, a tragedy compounded some months later by his wife's decision to leave him. Also at this time, Rogers was sued by former shipmates for allegedly hoarding goods and money plundered from enemy vessels. Rogers assembled a defense, but lost the case.
This tablet was found in {{Wiki|Gobustan, Baku|Qobustan}}, {{Wiki|Azerbaijan}}.<br>[image]<br>Translation:<br>Announced on this day 6, 2194 IE<br>The workers from the construction site are reassigned to the sanitation of the lake.<br>Effective now.<br><br>I'm not sure what lake this refers to. Given the evidence found, we're pretty sure there must be a Precursor vault there, and this message seems to confirm it. Unfortunately, we haven't found it yet. Maybe this will help?
|-|PRE_trslt_Jerusalem.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>=
In 1713, itching to return to sea, he organized passage to [[Madagascar]] claiming to be a [[merchant]] in the [[Slavery|slave trade]], but with the intended purpose of reconnoitering the rumored [[Piracy|pirate]] colonies established there. When he arrived in Madagascar after months of hard sailing, he found that the legends of the pirate town "[[Libertalia]]" had been exaggerated one-hundredfold. The pirates in Madagascar were sickly and few and desperate for help. After spending just a few months here, Rogers set sail for England, a failure in his own mind.
This piece of ceramic was found in [[Jerusalem]].<br>[image]<br>Translation:<br>This sun shone warmly inside, a burning sight<br>Now I sooth the wound in a lake of tears<br><br>An example of Precursor poetry! And a pretty sad one at that. Note that the original text follows a meter of 16 {{Wiki|Mora (linguistics)|morae}} per verse.
|-|PRE_trslt_Serengeti.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>=
And yet, never one to give up hope, Woodes Rogers reoriented his attentions to the [[Caribbean|West Indies]], eventually lobbying King [[George I of Great Britain|George]] for a commission to hunt pirates in the Caribbean. On this score, he succeeded. After a few diligent years of making his case, King George appointed Woodes Rogers as the Governor of [[the Bahamas]]. Now, at last, he would make his mark, and bring justice to a land where chaos had taken root...
This plate was found in the {{Wiki|Serengeti}}, {{Wiki|Tanzania}}.<br>[image]<br>Translation:<br><br>What was true is untrue<br>What was done is undone<br>It is a [[Human-Isu War|war]], not a rebellion<br>All are summoned to fight
|-|PRE_trslt_Xian.odt <v. 1 by ahenry>=
This tablet was found in [[Chang'an|Xi'an]], [[China]].<br>[image]<br>Translation:<br>2,800 shovels for shoveling<br>1,750 [[Battleaxe|axes]] for cutting<br>880 plows for plowing<br><br>Lock or hide them.<br>I suspect theft from inside<br><br>Shovels, axes, and plows? Why would the Precursors use such rudimentary tools given their [[Piece of Eden|advanced technology]]? Or did they keep their technology away from their human slaves? So many things we don't know about them...
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===My Stuff===
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[MISSING]
|-|Devils Podcast Fragment=
[[File:Animus Hub DB Image 6.png|thumb|200px]]
An incomplete audio clip from The Devils of the Caribbean Podcast reconstructed from recovered files.
===Trash===
<tabber>
|-|OBergInterrogation_2Nov2018.WAV=
''<nowiki>***</nowiki>File Corrupted***''
|-|Letter To Victoria Bibeau's Parents=
M. and Mme. Bibeau,<br><br>My name is Layla Hassan. I was a friend and colleague of [[Victoria Bibeau|Victoria]], both in [[Abstergo Industries|Abstergo]] and in our subsequent freelance careers. In all the time I knew and worked with your daughter, I was always struck by her limitless intelligence, her humor, and her ability to focus, even in times of great stress. She was an inspiration, not just to me but to all those who worked with her.<br><br>I am writing to you now with the hope of shedding some light on the circumstances of her death. I realize it must be strange to receive a letter out of the blue from someone whose name you have probably never heard, offering to explain the tragic loss of someone so dear. But if you'll allow, I will try.<br><br>I was with your daughter in the moments leading up to the unfortunate incident that took her life. In fact, I am partly to blame for—
Purchased from any General Store for 1200 Reales<section end="NAME"/>
Spanish Cup-hilt Rapiers<section begin="NAME"/>
Rapier
Common
17
2
N/A
Found in treasure chest in Havana<section end="NAME"/>
Officer's Smallswords<section begin="NAME"/>
Rapier
Common
13
2
N/A
Default swords<section end="NAME"/>
German Rapiers<section begin="NAME"/>
Rapier
Common
22
2
N/A
Found in treasure chest on Crooked Island<section end="NAME"/>
Privateer's Cutlasses<section begin="NAME"/>
Cutlass
Common
25
2
N/A
Found in Treasure Chest on Florida island<section end="NAME"/>
NAME<section begin="NAME"/>
<section end="NAME"/>
Name
Description
Lightserver's Blades
Sleek black blades with gold filigree, hones to deadly edges.
Dragon's Fang Swords
A sword with a light, graceful design featuring a mystic jade edge.
Blades of the Damned
A pair of swords glowing with hellfire and brimstone, fierce and powerful.
Serpent's Fang Cutlasses
A pair of sharp, serpentine swords inspired by sea monster fangs, lit with neon patterns.
The Fortune
A pair of unique swords once used by the infamous pirate, Edward Kenway.
Dual Cleavers
A pair of simple meat cleavers typically used by butchers and made infamous by pirates as weapons of war.
Order of Gold
Adorned with intricate patterns, these blades are a rare and deadly curiosity.
Ezio's Swords
A pair of swords once owned by the legendary Assassin mentor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.
Altaïr's Swords
A pair of swords once owned by the legendary Assassin mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.
Naoe's Shadowblade
A balanced katana shaped by shinobi combat principles, favoring fluid movement and rapid follow-up strikes. Performs best with evasive tactics.
Dark Animus Corsair Pistol Swords
These blades dance with strange light, like tears in the fabric of the world.
Spring-Steel Swords
A pair of swords that look unremarkable at first glance, but have the strength to deflect bullets if wielded properly.
Blades of Toledo
A sleek pair of swords Edward Kenway acquired in the famous city of Toledo.
Le Bourgeoys Blades
The only pair of pistol swords with a genuine original flintlock attached.
Persian Scimitars
A beautiful and deadly pair of Persian scimitars, replete with embedded diamonds.
Matched Golden Swords
A pair of legendary golden swords, praised far and wide for their exquisite beauty.
Masterwork Blades
A pair of beautifully balanced swords forged by a master craftsman.
Espada Ancha
Versatile soldier's swords, unremarkable in appearance but trustworthy in a fight.
French Court Swords
A pair of swords famous for having a perfect balance between speed and power.
Pirate Scimitars
A pair of devastating scimitars, praised from Barbados to Boston.
British Colonial Cutlasses
A pair of cutlasses popular among the settlers of the British colonies in North America.
Scottish Broadswords
Heavy broadswords that emphasize damage over finesse.
Standard Pistol Swords
A pair of rare pistol swords, capable of firing a gunshot in the right circunstances.
Captain Drake's Swords
A pair of silver broadswords rumored to have been used by the legendary privateer, Sir Francis Drake.
Ferraro's Rapiers
A pair of rapiers that belonged to the Italian diplomat, Ruggiero Ferraro.
Officer's Rapiers
A pair of extremely light rapiers praised for their swiftness.
German Rapiers
A pair of traditional German rapiers typically used by Prussian court officers.
Privateer's Cutlasses
A pair of cutlasses appreciated for their versatility by privateers throughout the West Indies.
British Cutlasses
A pair of light cutlasses made popular by British privateers.
French Dress Swords
A pair of elegant swords made popular by French court officers.
Spanish Cup-hilt Rapiers
A pair of cheap yet efficient Spanish rapiers.
Officer's Smallswords
A pair of small swords popular among officers in the British Army.
Rustborne Swords
Versatile blades with integrated flintlocks, their bronze-hued surfaces worn by time and battle. Perfect for Assassins who strike swiftly, both in melee and from a distance.
bought from secret General Store on unmarked island in the north-west of Gibara region at Coordinates 550, 638 (22000 Reales)<section end="NAME"/>
Rustic Flintlocks<section begin="NAME"/>
Legendary
22
1.20
After a Perfect Dodge, quick shooting immediately does not consume ammunition
obtained from in-game online store for free (on map press Options-Button to access the store).<section end="NAME"/>
Peaceful Means<section begin="NAME"/>
Legendary
20
1.00
Pistol shots are quieter
Purchased from Treasure Dealer for 3 Capuchin Monkey Pelt, 4 Iguana Leather, and 20 Rum Barrels.<section end="NAME"/>
Cannon-Barrel Pistols<section begin="NAME"/>
Rare
21
1.12
N/A
from locked chest in Jiguey (535, 511). It's a locked underwater chest, loot the key from the pirate leader on the beach inside Jiguey, in the same cave as the chest.<section end="NAME"/>
Captain Morgan's Pistols<section begin="NAME"/>
Rare
20
1.50
N/A
Found in underwater treasure chest on Black Island<section end="NAME"/>
Found in treasure chest on Great Inagua<section end="NAME"/>
Spanish Officer Pistols<section begin="NAME"/>
Rare
24
1.00
N/A
Purchased from Level II General Store for 5500 Reales<section end="NAME"/>
Pirate Blunderbusses<section begin="NAME"/>
Rare
20
1.00
N/A
Purchased from Level II General Store for 6000 Reales<section end="NAME"/>
Baldwin's Golden Pistols<section begin="NAME"/>
Rare
26
1.00
N/A
Complete Plantain!<section end="NAME"/>
Standard Wheellock Pistols<section begin="NAME"/>
Common
20
1.12
N/A
purchasable from any General Store (800 Reales)<section end="NAME"/>
Common Flintlock Pistols<section begin="NAME"/>
Common
20
1.00
N/A
Default pistols<section end="NAME"/>
NAME<section begin="NAME"/>
<section end="NAME"/>
Name
Description
Dark Animus Corsair Flintlocks
Truth and thunder in the palm of your hand.
Darkworker's Pistols
Hand-carved ebony with gold-plated iron forming a lethal union.
Dragon's Roar Pistols
Sleek pistols imbued with ornate scrollwork and glowing jade.
Diabolist's Pistols
A set of pistols wreathed in infernal flames, emitting an aura of destruction.
Fury of the Deep Pistols
Silvery, steel pistols adorned with deep-sea patterns and neon highlights.
Golden Flintlock Pistols
A set of legendary, golden flintlock pistols, famed for their extraordinary precision.
Gargoyle's Breath
Monstrous, leering faces adorn the grips of these pistols.
Captain Drake's Flintlocks
A set of flintlock pistols once owned and used by captain and knight, Sir Francis Drake.
Rustic Flintlocks
Firearms with rustic patinas, showing the marks of countless skirmishes. Compact, reliable, and ready for close encounters or unexpected duels.
Peaceful Means
The method by which many disputes can be swiftly resolved.
Cannon-Barrel Pistols
A set of pistols forged to resemble ship cannons.
Captain Morgan's Pistols
A set of flintlock pistols once owned and used by Captain Morgan.
Captain's Wheellock Pistols
A rare set of old wheellock pistols, coveted by soldiers for their sturdiness and sentimental value.
Spanish Officer Pistols
A set of pistols, praised throughout the West Indies for their stability.
Pirate Blunderbusses
A set of bulky blunderbusses, popular among pirates for their brashness.
Baldwin's Golden Pistols
Inextricably tied to the fall of the Baldwin name, these pistols claimed the lives of at least two of their owners' family. They are likely to claim many more.
Standard Wheellock Pistols
A set of wheellock pistols, perfect for reaching targets at great distances.
Common Flintlock Pistols
A set of typical flintlock pistols, found all across the West Indies.
Rendered in miniature, that its gaze might ward the steps of its keeper across land and sea.
Health slowly regenerates while out of combat
Found in underwater chest between pair of unnamed island south of San Ignacio wreck
Stormrunner Pendant
Rare
A lightweight circular pendant painted in striking blue and red pigments. Its design captures the spirit of relentless motion and high adrenaline, carried by travelers who refuse to tire, whether sprinting through crowded markets or scaling towering keeps.
Increases the amount of healing from food, drink, and remedies
Found in underwater chest off the coast of Nassau, at coordinates 615, 767
Hunter's Amulet
Rare
An amulet of good fortune favored by hunters.
Animals' range of detection is reduced
Buried treasure chest on Santanillas
Bloody Spanish Medal
Rare
One of Laurens Prins' trophies from his time as a soldier.
Reduces damage from Spanish soldiers
Inside Laurens Prins' Manor
Anchor Medallion
Rare
A lucky anchor medallion favored by sharp-eyed sailors.
Increases the rewards from floating loot
Found in a treasure chest on Sacrifice Island
Lock of Hair
Rare
A lock of Caroline's hair kept as a lucky keepsake.
Restore some health after a perfect parry
Complete Wayward Souls
Cross Pendant
Rare
A bejeweled cross once worn by the wealthiest citizen in Kingston.
Reduces damage from British soldiers
Complete Tithes Paid
Exotic Sea Shells
Rare
A string of sea shells gathered from around the world.
Increases the wildlife products gained from skinning animals
Found in treasure chest in southeast Havana
Small Goblet
Rare
A sacred grail said to prolong its owner's life.
Increases the amount of healing from food, drink, and remedies
Complete The Other Cheek
Jackdaw Totem
Rare
Carved by an unknown sculptor, it represents protection and gratitude.
Falling from high places no longer damages Edward
Complete A World Without Gold
Lodestone
Rare
A naturally magnetized piece of mineral.
Loots nearby Corpses and Curios automatically
Purchased from a Level II General Store for 7000 Reales
Folded Palm
Rare
A gambler's trinket meant to bring good fortune.
Gain reales after each Takedown
Complete Spiteful Soldier
Found Coin
Rare
A large gold coin turned into a good luck charm.
Increase the amount of Reales gained
Complete Art Lover I
Rabbit's Foot
Common
A lucky charm for warding off misfortune.
Chance of staggering an enemy following a successful parry
The course of the 18th Century saw the British Empire become the world's leading colonial power, with France and Spain as its primary rivals. After siding with the Netherlands and Austria in the War of the Spanish Succession, the British Empire expanded, gaining territories from both Spain and France, and taking over control of the Atlanticslave trade in Spanish America.
For a handful of coin, "Dancers" can be employed to distract guards and interfere with ongoing fights. They might also have some incredible stories of their own to tell, if only you'd bother to listen.
Sailors flush with rum and the heat of the sun, these Drunkards can be useful in a few ways. First as blend groups that allow Edward to hide in plain sight, and secondly as allies in the event of a scuffle. But remember to bring a bit of coin if you want them to fight alongside you, as these pirates won't risk their lives for free.
Already a global power, the Spanish defeated powerful adversaries such as the Aztecs and Incas in the Americas by exploiting existing conflicts and rivalries between tribes and nations between the 15th and 18th centuries.
Acquisitive and protective of the supply of precious metals its new colonies afforded it, the Spanish Empire enthusiastically participated in the Atlantic slave trade and defended its trade routes aggressively.
Even after its defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession, the 18th century was nevertheless one of prosperity for the Spanish Empire, as their trade reputation grew steadily under Bourbon oversight, and continued to grow at an extraordinary rate until the 1780s.
Often used interchangeably, there are a number of important distinctions to make between these different kinds of swashbucklers...
Pirates: Criminals on the open sea who use coercion, intimidation and violence to rob innocent people of their cargo and transport. The term pirate is a catch-all and may be used generally to refer to all who perform acts of larceny on the open ocean. Pirates have been a problem since the advent of long-distance ocean travel; every age has seen its share of pirates, and every age has cursed their name and romanticized their cause. During the so-called "Golden Age of Piracy" (roughly 1650 to 1725), the majority of pirates were from the British Isles. Most were young men in their 20s and almost all had already gained some experience as sailors prior to falling into piracy.
Buccaneers: Though often used as a synonym for Pirates now, the term Buccaneer refers more specifically to a group of pirates who lived and operated in the West Indies in the middle of the 17th century. Best known for attacking settlements and fortifications on land in large groups, the Buccaneers derived their name from the French Boucanier -- an instrument used for smoking strips of meat over an open fire, a favorite sort of sustenance for these terrestrial pirates.
Privateers: Non-commissioned sailors who attack and rob, having been given a Letter of Marque by their King or a royal official such as a Governor. Thus the distance between a Pirate and a Privateer is but a hair's breath of difference -- Pirates simply sail for one monarch fewer.
Taíno refers to a group of related languages and cultures widespread across the Caribbean at the time of European arrival. Broadly speaking, they consisted of the Ciboney or Western Taíno of Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas; the Classic Taíno of Hispaniola and Borikén (the indigenous name of Puerto Rico); and the Eastern Taíno of the Antilles.
A Taíno cacique or chief demonstrated rank by carrying an object forged from guanín, a unique indigenous alloy made out of copper, silver, and gold, noted for its lustrous shine. The term "tabaco" from which we also derive from a Taíno word, as tobacco was cultivated on the islands and its usage noted by Spanish explorers. Other English words with a Taíno origin include barbecue, canoe, hurricane, iguana, and potato.
Other, non-Taíno indigenous groups of the island include the Ciguaya, Macorix, and Kalinago or Caribs, for whom the Caribbean Sea is named.
There were several attempts to found a town near the Havana Bay in the early 1500s. A settlement was established by the SpanishConquistadorDiego Velázquez de Cuéllar around 1514. The city sits on a bay that opens to the Gulf Stream and thus became a natural stopping point between Europe and the Americas.
In the earliest stages of the golden age of piracy Havana was burnt to the ground by Frenchcorsair, Jacques de Sores. By the 1700s, Havana had become a large, heavily fortified port city where Spanish treasure ships would dock on their way to Europe. Pirates lurked on the approaches to the city, hoping to capture these same ships.
Originally founded as another Charles-Towne, the city was renamed Nassau in honor of King William III of the house of Orange-Nassau. This city has a particularly colorful past: In 1706 the city's officially appointed Governor skipped town, thus severing the Crown's direct control over the Bahamas.
The islands languished for almost a decade in the hands of Britishcitizens with little or no interest in Statesmanship. By 1713, the entire region had become a haven for pirates and it was in this period that Benjamin Hornigold declared Nassau to be a pirate republic. He proclaimed himself governor and thereafter every pirate of any sense and reputation used Nassau as a base of operation, transforming this small city of barely 1000 residences into a "nest of infamous bastards", according to the Governor of Bermuda.
Dating generally from the MayanClassic period (AD 250 - 900), most Mayan ruins can be found throughout the Yucatán peninsula and Central America. Mayan Temples have steep stone steps and a platform at the top for wooden crowning structures. Mayan architecture is composed with a sophisticated eye to decoration, often using wall paintings and elaborate bas-relief stone carvings. Mayan arches forego the use of a keystone, instead creating a triangle-like arch known as a corbel vault.
A dominating presence on Havana's Plaza de San Francisco, the Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis dates from 1580s. Originally, a statue of St. Francis of Assisi stood atop the bell tower, but this was blown off in a cyclone in 1846. Baroque features were added to the basilica in 1730.
The Governor's Mansion housed the acting Spanish governor in addition to prison facilities. A new governor's mansion was constructed across the square in 1791.
This drinking spot, named after "The King of Pirates" Henry Avery, was highly popular among gritty seafarers in the early 18th century. Legend had it that Avery himself once had a financial stake in several establishments throughout the West Indies, but that appears to be nothing more than self-promotion.
Sugar cane was introduced to the Caribbean basin by Christopher Columbus. It thrived throughout the islands. Indigenous Tainos in Cuba were conscripted to harvest the cane. Once harvested, the cane was taken to sugar mills to be washed, shredded, then repeatedly crushed to produce sugar.
Sixty-five steps carved directly into the promontory rock, the Queens [sic] Staircase connects the lower town to the fortifications above. Slaves carved the steps by hand in 1773-74 into the 102' (31m), solid limestone cliff.
An unusual rendering of Saint Jerome as a scholar rather than an ascetic. The book supporting his hands alludes to his work as a Bible translator.
Harbor scenes such as depicted in this 1644 painting were a favorite subject of the artist Claude Lorrain.
More of a display of his imaginative and technical skills than an actual historic representation, this dramatic painting by Willem van de Velde II depicts a battle with Barbary corsairs from north Africa.
This painting by Luca Giordano was commisioned by King Philip V of Spain for display in the French court.
An impression of acquantances rousing in the morning. Everything is as it seems.
A beautiful scene of the harbor at sunset. Definitely the original work.
A representation of time through various objects. Something feels off about this.
Gold-work from the Isthmus, representing a crowned half-human, half-bat figure flanked by four crocodile heads.
Today is my birthday.
Brandish every Cask, Bottle and Barrel of Alcohol. Everyone is to partake and sing my Praises. To ensure that this Do goes splendidly, I will take charge of the Stores and require its Key.
My Father will be most gratified at your swift fulfilment of my Commands.
- Emmerson Beckford
I, Thomas Cecil, hereby report that the following is a true Manifest of all the Goods, Wares and Merchandize, of the Marks, Numbers and Contents of each Package on board the Endeavor which Cargo was received at the Trading Post of Andreas Island from whence the Craft Sailed for the Plantation of Cat Island.
Sugar - 110 Barrels
Molasses - 25 Barrels
Tobacco - 15 Barrels
John,
It is done. Accompanying this Letter you will find the Will, fully notarized by myself and with the old Man's signature. It will survive the scrutiny of any English Court, I assure you.
Arrangements for your Daughter's removal are also underway. My Associates in the Royal Navy tell me she will be apprehended within the Month. In fact, I hear they have solicited the most reputable Pirate Hunter Lieutenant Maynard for the Task.
Courage my Friend. After so many long Years, we are almost there,
Thomas Barehaire Esq.
In the Name of God, I, Theodore Rupert Braddock, being of sound Mind and Memory, do declare this my last Will and Testament, in Manner and Form following, revoking all former Wills by me made.
As touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this Life, I give, devise, and bequeath all my Goods unto my well-beloved Son-in-Law, John Baldwin, Husband of my late daughter Elizabeth, to have and to hold the same unto him, his Heirs, and Assigns forever.
I do nominate, constitute, and appoint my said Son-in-Law, John Baldwin, to be the sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament, charging him to see this my Will performed according to my true Intent and Meaning.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal, this Second day of January in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty.
Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the said Theodore Rupert Braddock as and for his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us, who, at his Request and in his Presence, and in the Presence of each other, have subscribed our Names as Witnesses hereto.
Theodore Rupert Braddock
Witnessed by:
Thomas Barehaire, Esquire
John Baldwin
Thom,
Don't go getting all uncharitable about this, I did it for your own Good. I knew we might strike some Trouble along the way, so I hid your Share with the original Will in the Likelihood we ever need the old Man's Signature again.
The Locket's here too. I want it kept, no matter what you think. There is no one left to know of it's Significance, at any Rate. I'll recover it from you when all this is over, and include a Crate of Rum for the Inconvenience.
Chin up Man! We're Home free!
John.
Vance,
I had to leave early. My Order requires a Report and there cannot be a Delay. I'll be waiting by the Tavern at the usual Time. Come with both pieces of the Map.
Jing Lang
A letter to Lauren Prins, [sic] congratulating him on acquiring The Sage.
1. Cato, 35 years, superior carpenter and ship caulker.
2. York, 16 years, field hand.
3. Nero, 25 years, stone cutter.
4. Bess, 28 years, field cook, water carrier.
5. Esther, 31 years, midwife.
6. Gracey, 14 years, good house girl and child's nurse.
7. Anthony Morgan, about 30 years, fine engineer and field hand.
8. Sarah Morgan, 32 years, good field hand; tonsils occasionally inflamed.
9. Infant, 2 months.
10. Anthony, 3 years.
11. Stephen, 5 years.
12. Nace, 9 years.
13. Sophy, 12 years, likely.
You, Mr Thomas Stell, Ensign, stand charged for Dereliction of Duty.
On Tuesday last you were tasked to deliver a Prisoner to the Church at the center of Kingston, but were discovered to be in a shameful and drunken State, having abandoned your Post.
You are dismissed forthwith from Service, being no longer entitled to Pay or Protection from the Royal Navy.
Know all, by these Present, that I, Alvin of the Village of Grand Cayman, in consideration of the Sum of Forty-Two Reales in Hand, paid to me by Vargas of the Village of Grand Cayman, the Receipt of where I do acknowledge, have in turn sold and delivered in measured Weight One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Six Pounds of Mutton Snapper unto said Vargas.
In witness whereof I have set my Hand the Fifth Day of May 1716. Signed, sealed and delivered in the present of
All and Sundry, viz.
- Alvin of Grand Cayman
John Boreham,
In Recognition of your Efforts as a Friend of the Church, we extend to you this private Invitation. Cross the Stream east of Kingston and follow the Lights on the Path. Tonight, we will induct you as a full Member of our Circle. This Opportunity will not be offered again.
Yours in our Lord,
Bishop Horace Ravenscroft
My dear Friend, Edward.
After a rather unfortunate Kerfuffle with the Governor's men, I currently enjoy the Hospitalities of a Charles-Towne Jail. It's all a bit bothersome, but I have Faith I'll be freed soon.
Luckly, I'd already stashed some of my Takings in the Cabin of my Ship. I've sent it ahead to Mystery Island, but the Crew can be unpredictable without a Captain. I thought you might be amenable to checking in on them.
There will be Reward for the Inconvenience of course, and I'll meet you there when I manage to extricate myself. It'll be just like old Times!
Signed Captain Stede Bonnet.
Edward, I am to be hanged on the Morrow. I imagined facing Death like you, Swords drawn, full of Gusto. Instead, I found myself begging and weeping at the Governor's feet.
I fear your Advice was wasted on a Constitution like mine. Perharps I should've left off Pirating altogether, and sailed home to my Wife and Children.
But I'm not quite the same Man who left them, am I? That was the Gift you gave me, the Courage to live free. I'll muster that Courage when the Morning comes.
The Stories I promised will have to wait, Edward. But if, on your Adventures, you should hear any Tales of my sundry Exploits and Capers... then perhaps in the End I lived as I was meant to.
A sharp dagger once belonging to Stede Bonnet.
Well, that would be it, it seems. The Bags are packed, the Sails trimmed, the long Trick finally over. The old Revenge is ready for the Journey Home to Barbados Tomorrow, and myself along with her.
I should be glad for it, and a large Part of me is. I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but I do miss my Mary, and the Children I left behind. How many can say they plundered with Ed Thatch, were pardoned by the King, and sailed Home to tell the Tale? And in Truth, I never quite found the Constitution for it all anyway, the Dust-ups and the general Bluster.
So why, then, does my Heart still long for the open Sea? There's a sense of things yet undone. The Call of the Gulls and the Promise of Adventure is still wild, still clear. Thought the prospect of Danger turns my Stomach, the Dread of dying in a silken Bed forgotten and full of Regret is the more distasteful to me.
Edward, my old friend, you had such a way with Words. What would you say in a Moment such as this? Sod it all.
Barbados can wait. Mary will have to be patient. I'll to the Helm again,[sic] set a new Course, and make something of this Life.
A debonair portrait of Julien Du Casse, the infamous mercenary.
Hangs above the bed in the Mansion at Great Inagua.
A vivid portrait of Laurens Prins, the reprehensible slaver.
Hangs in the hall of the Mansion at Great Inagua.
An imposing portrait of Commodore Peter Chamberlaine, the notorious pirate hunter.
Hangs next to the Templar Door in the Mansion at Great Inagua.
A fierce portrait of the pirate captain Edward Thatch, better known as Blackbeard.
Hangs in the basement alley of the Mansion at Great Inagua.
A warm portrait of the gregarious Stede Bonnet.
Hangs in the basement alley of the Mansion at Great Inagua.
The schooner was a class of ship used as a general sailing vessel by both navies and civilian operators, providing light firepower and ample speed.
The brig was a class of ship bearing two square-rigged masts, and represented a compromise between larger, more powerful ships, and the faster, but less well-armed ones.
The man o' war was a type of large warship purpose built for warfare, boasting multiple gun decks, and crewed by heavily armed professional soldiers.
El Dorado was a brig that formed part of the Spanish Treasure Fleet.
The fleet was destroyed in a hurricane, with the El Dorado its lone surviving vessel.
The Jackdaw was a brig captained by the pirate-turned-Assassin Edward Kenway, who named it after the small, swift bird of his native Wales.
The ship was known as El Dorado before Edward and his future quartermaster Adéwalé captured it from its fleet.
The Royal Fortune was a man o' war captained by the pirate and Sage Bartholomew Roberts, who elected to keep and renamed it after he captured it as the Nosso Senhor da Compreensão from the Portuguese Navy.
The Ranger was a brig formerly owned by the pirate Benjamin Hornigold before he passed it on to his colleague, Charles Vane.
El Arca del Maestro was a Spanish galleon used by the French Templar Julien du Casse.
It was gifted to him by Templar Grand Master Laureano de Torres y Ayala to help further the Order's goals in the West Indies.
Queen Anne's Revenge was a British frigate that was originally a slave ship named La Concorde.
It was later captured and renamed by Edward Thatch, who captained as the flagship of a small fleet.
A miniature ship model of a Spanish Brig.
A miniature ship model of a Spanish Cutter.
A miniature ship model of a Spanish Schooner.
A miniature ship model of a Spanish Frigate.
A miniature ship model of a Spanish man o' war.
A miniature ship model of an English Brig.
A miniature ship model of an English Cutter.
A miniature ship model of an English Schooner.
A miniature ship model of an English Frigate.
A miniature ship model of an English man o' war.
A miniature ship model of the El Dorado.
A miniature ship model of the Jackdaw.
A miniature ship model of the Revenge.
A miniature ship model of the Queen Anne's Revenge.
In the Americas, the term ‘black panther’ generally refers to a melanistic jaguar. They are not a separate species, but a color morph of the spotted form. Black jaguars form less than ten percent of jaguars.
Black jaguars can be found in Isla Providencia and Pinos Isle.
The cat is a small carnivorous mammal with a flexible body, sharp claws, and quick reflexes. Cats have long been domesticated, and are favored as pets for their affectionate independence, and playful natures.
Sailors often keep cats aboard ships to deal with rats and other vermin.
The Crocodile is a large, tropical-dwelling tetrapod. Crocodiles can measure up to 15 feet long, weigh 2000 pounds, and live to be 70 years old. This prehistoric-looking predator preys on birds, fish, insects and other reptiles.
Crocodiles have been known to indulge in cannibalistic behaviour. Because of this, they live in groupings of the same size.
Not to be confused with alligators, crocodiles are bigger, lighter in color, and have narrower snouts. Although known to attack humans, the crocodile is more likely to flee than to react aggressively when approached.
Crocodiles are most commonly found in Nassau, Long Bay, and Matanzas.
Deer are large hoofed ruminants notable for having two large and two small hooves on each foot. Males have antlers while the females do not, with the exception of a single species where the females also grow antlers. Deer are selective feeders, eating plant food low in fiber content and high in protein such as young grass, herbs, woody shoots, and bark.
Various subspecies of deer can be found in the Caribbean bioregion. The red brocket deer, for example, is found in Trinidad and Tobago and the Key deer, introduced by colonists, inhabits the Florida Keys.
Deer are most commonly found in Kingston, Salt Lagoon, and Santanillas.
Frigate birds are large seabirds with long wings, forked tails, and slender bodies. They generally inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans, often nesting on remote islands. Frigate birds are skilled fliers, and are known to steal food from other seabirds.
Found across the world in tropical and temperate waters, the hammerhead's unusual head shape gives it increased sensory ability to detect its prey. The hammerhead does not attack humans, although it can be lethal if provoked.
Hammerhead sharks can be found in the Eleuthera and Gibara regions.
Considered one of the loudest animals on earth, the small-sized Howler Monkey generates a siren-like howl that can be heard from a distance of 3 miles (5km). They are not aggressive and are popular as pets in The West Indies.
Howler monkeys are most commonly found in Kingston, Cape Bonavista, and Long Bay.
The hutia is a large rodent unique to the Caribbean basin which varies in size, and can form distinct species from island to island. Hutias are often hunted by locals to be eaten in a spiced stew.
Hutias are most commonly found in Cayman Sound and Long Bay.
Iguanas are large, herbivorous lizards found throughout the Caribbean islands. The common iguana eats only leaves, flowers and fruit. Despite their at times fierce appearance they are not aggressive, and typically flee when threatened. However, they can lash their tails and bite if provoked.
Iguana are found in Great Inagua, Andreas Island, and Abaco Island.
The largest feline in the Western hemisphere, the jaguar is distinguished by its compact and powerful build, its agility, and its unique killing method of biting directly into the skull to pierce the brain. The Mayans believed that the jaguars could carry messages to and from the afterworld.
Jaguars are most commonly found in Cape Bonavista, Long Bay, Tulum, and Principe.
Also called a medusa, the jellyfish isn't technically a fish—it is a free-swimming non-vertebrate found in every sea across the world. Jellyfish consist of a gelatinous bell with trailing tentacles capable of stinging prey. Jellyfish stings are in most cases harmless to humans, but some can be extremely serious, even lethal.
Although related to sharks, manta rays are harmless. They can be quite large (up to 30 ft (9m) wide) and feed on small fish and plankton, funneling food into their mouth using cephalic flaps extending from the eyes. Manta rays, which are found all over the world, have the unique ability to leap from the water into the air to escape attackers.
Monkeys in the Caribbean are primarily an introduced African species called the green monkey, although up to the 17th Century these still shared territory with the now extinct Jamaican monkey. Both species were omnivores that ate a variety of foraged foods including fruit, seeds, flowers, insects, and smaller animals like frogs and birds.
Monkeys were viewed as pests by farmers as they continually raided crops, but were favoured by locals and sailors who adopted them as mischievous, intelligent pets.
The ocelot is a wild cat that typically has yellow fur with dark stripes in the manner of a jaguar. Ocelots are nocturnal and range from the size of domestic cats up to four feet (1.2 meters) in length.
Ocelot hides are coveted by leather workers for their ease of working, patterned fur, soft texture, and durability.
Ocelots can be found in Cumberland Bay and Abaco Island.
The Caribbean basin provides an excellent climate for both land and sea turtles. Turtles are reptiles with a hard, protective upper shell called a carapace. Although they are natural swimmers and can stay submerged for up to 7 hours while resting, turtles breathe air. Despite being awkward and slow moving on land, they go ashore to lay their eggs.
White coats in animals can be due to a specific genetic mutation or albinism. The genetic mutation that yields a white jaguar also results in a more aggressive animal, making them dangerous as well as rare.
White jaguars can be found at Great Inagua.
The wild pig, or boar, is a large cousin of the domesticated pig covered by hairy bristles. They were introduced by Europeans to the Caribbean basin (Columbus himself brought eight pigs with him from Spain). Wild pigs flourished in the island environment and were hunted by sailors and pirates to provide salted pork on their voyages.
Wild pigs are most commonly found in Nassau, Great Inagua, and Cape Bonavista.
So-called because of their short snouts and their tendency to head-butt prey, bull sharks are commonly found in warm, shallow waters. They are extremely aggressive and dangerous to humans. The females are larger than the males, and adults measure well over seven feet (2.15m) long.
Bull sharks can be found in the Dry Tortuga, Gibara, and Punta Guarico regions.
Found throughout Central and South America, capuchin monkeys are small and highly intelligent. They eat almost anything -- nuts, fruits, small birds, frogs, clams, etc. Many pirates favored capuchins as pets.
Capuchins can be found in Matanzas and Misteriosa.
The largest predatory fish in the world, the great white's lethal aspect is due to its nearly 300 serrated teeth arranged in rows. Great whites have been known to attack humans, but usually more out of curiosity than hunger -- "sample biting" and then releasing their victims. The great white reaches an average length of 15 feet (4.6m).
Great white sharks can be found in the Cruz and Serranilla regions.
Known for emitting complex sequences of haunting moans, the humpback is a large whale that reaches up to 62 feet (19 meters) in length. They migrate from the poles to the equator seasonally and travel in pods.
Humpback whales can be found in the Castillo De Jagua and Navassa regions.
Called the Grampus by sailors in the 18th century, the killer whale, or Orca, is part of the dolphin family. Known for their ferociously deadly predation, killer whales feast on seals, sea-lions and even other whales. They hunt in pods in the manner of wolf packs and are found throughout the world's seas.
Killer whales can be found in the Cruz and Conttoyor regions.
Red howler monkeys are distinguished from other howler monkeys by their reddish fur and large size. They are generally found throughout South and Central America.
Red howler monkeys can be located on Isla Providencia.
Born to enslavedOgoni parents in Yoruba, Adéwalé was sold to the owner of a prosperous plantation before his teens. He remained on this plantation, working the fields, until his mid teens, always scheming of ways to escape his predicament, but uneasy with the prospect of living life as a fugitive.
Then fortune struck, giving Adéwalé the sign he needed. At some point near his 16th birthday, a group of buccaneers raided the plantation, robbing it of raw cane, refined sugar, and as many reales as they could find. Seeing in this an opportunity, Adé grabbed a crate of sugar and hauled it aboard one of the longboats the buccaneers had rowed ashore. Surprised to see a slave among them, the buccaneers were nevertheless thankful for the aid, and welcomed Adé among them.
Adé sailed with this first group of men for many years, quickly learning the ways of a seaman, grateful for the chance to develop his own skills and chase his own passions. And though his life among buccaneers was not free of the usual bigotry of the era, Adé found the prejudice to be more confrontational than restrictive.
In 1715, misfortune struck a cruel blow when the ship Adé was aboard, struck a shallow sandbar near the port of Havana. The buccaneers—mostly British at the time—tried desperately to free the trapped vessel, but after catching sight of an approaching SpanishGalleon, abandoned ship only to be torn apart by schools of circling bull sharks. Adé made peace with his fate, and stood his ground.
Taken to Havana for questioning and inspection, Spanish authorities eventually decided to send Adéwalé to Spain, where they felt he would make an excellent interpreter, owing to his fluent command of Spanish, English, and French. Some weeks later, they loaded him into of the Galleons that made up their perennial treasure convoy, en route to Seville.
Born: 1660s, Yucatan Peninsula
Died: c.1745, Yucatan Peninsula
Named for the Mayan god of hunting, Ah Tabai's given name remains a mystery, and very little is known about his earliest decades. The only child he is known to have fathered died before the age of ten.
What little else we know about him comes from his own mouth; from the stories he told those who knew him. When speaking about his own past, he avoids personal details in favor of abstractions and hints. He frequently speaks of his love and admiration for the tragic history of his people, and used these stories to illustrate the complex intersections of cultures and religions, frequently pointing out the fact that "From within and without come enemies and allies alike. Nothing in life is guaranteed, except surprise..."
It is not known how early Ah Tabai acquired the title of Mentor, nor how large his impact was on the Assassins of the West Indies. However, that he maintained semi-regular contact with the Assassins in the British colonies to the north, in various parts of Europe and Africa, and in China. He was instrumental in opening his branch to men and women from all walks of life - mostly Europeans, Africans, and those Native to the area.
As a native Mayan himself, rumors and stories of the ancient Observatory were not foreign to Ah Tabai. So when in 1713 rumors of a new "Sage" began to surface, Ah Tabai took it upon himself to locate the man, believing the Assassins should be the protectors of the ancient and mysterious place. He sent word far and wide to as many Assassin outposts as possible, hoping their network of spies and informants would lead them to their prize. But after two years, there was no word.
Then, in early 1715, an experienced British Assassin named Duncan Walpole arrived at Ah Tabai's encampment, initially expressing a desire to train under the Mentor directly. Ah Tabai found the request odd but flattering, for Walpole had already achieved a level of Mastery few assassins ever reached. After many months of intensive training, Ah Tabai came to consider Duncan Walpole as one of his most trusted colleagues.
Then in June of 1715, word arrived that the Templars had located and imprisoned the Sage on Spanish lands in the far south. Seeing an opportunity to cripple his arch-enemies, Ah Tabai entrusted Duncan Walpole with the task of rallying various Assassins around the West Indies and leading an assault on the Templar prison ship en route to Havana. Duncan Walpole agreed to this task... and was never heard from again.
It was only after Edward Kenway's disastrous meddling in Havana that Ah Tabai was made aware of the full extent of Walpole's betrayal.
Born: 1702, Ireland Died: Unknown
Anne was barely a teen when she left her native Cork in Ireland for the British colonies, and by sixteen she was en route to West Indies at side of her new husband, Mr. Jack Bonny, a gentle but sturdy young man in his early 20s.
The pair arrived in Nassau in April of 1716, settling down with an unclear idea of what shape their lives might take. Jack eventually found work on one of the small plantations there, while Anne cultivated her ability to loaf and daydream. Unfortunately, her beauty, aloofness, and complete indifference to propriety made her the object of more romantic attention than she had ever known or cared for.
Within a year of arriving in Nassau, the Bonnys' marriage was in shambles, a union only in name. While Jack disappeared further into his work, Anne grew more confident and sociable, eventually taking a job as a barmaid at the popular Old Averytavern in the center of Nassau. And though she took on a few lovers in the next few years, it was mostly out of envy and spite that the rabble of Nassau branded Anne a harlot and a tease. But with no high society to shun or shame her, Anne's desirability only increased on the strength of these rumors.
Born: 1680, England Died: 1718, North Carolina
Known variously by different sources as Thatch, Teach, Theach, Tache, Titche, Teatch, Tack, and more, we are fairly certain Edward Thatch was born in or around Bristol and took to the sea at an early age, most likely in his teens. It is also speculated that he arrived in the West Indies quite soon after leaving England.
If this was indeed the case, Ed Thatch would have seen his fair share of the War of Spanish Succession, a protracted fight between most of the Empires of Europe that pitted Hapsburg Austia and its British ally against Bourbon France and Spain. In these early years, from 1700 to 1713, Thatch was a privateer or at the very least a merchant seaman, doing his part for the crown—Queen Anne at the time.
But with the Treaty of Utrecht bestowing peace upon a troubled Europe in 1713, Thatch and his fellow sailors found themselves far from home and out of work. Thus, they turned to piracy as a means of sustaining themselves. In the ensuing years, Thatch befriended a captain named Benjamin Hornigold and soon after joined his crew as quartermaster, at some point between late 1714 and early 1716.
Settling in Nassau, Thatch, Hornigold, and the rest of the "Flying Gang" as these pirates called themselves, began cooking up schemes far larger than most pirates of the era dared dream. Wanting nothing less than a country of their own, they worked to turn Nassau into a place of liberty and freedom for all who desired an escape from the bonds of imperial rule.
As Thatch's reputation as a worthy and fearsome seaman grew, so did his ideas about piracy. At some point in the latter half of 1717, having grown a long and frightful beard, he took to calling himself "Blackbeard", and worked at every turn to bolster his legend as the most feared pirate in the West Indies. Thatch reveled in the power of a good legend, and worked hard to cultivate his—frequently sticking lit slow-matches in his hat to raise a frightening cloud, or challenging his crews to endure long stretches below deck as burning sulfur clouded the hold.
After helping Hornigold take command of a number of vessels, Edward Thatch finally acquired a ship of his own in September 1717—a vessel called "The Adventure"—captained by the most unlikely pirate of them all, one Stede Bonnet. For two months, Thatch captained the Adventure, with Stede content to tag along as a passenger. But in November, Thatch's fortunes improved further when he captured a massive French slave ship called La Concorde. Renaming her Queen Anne's Revenge in honor of his former Stuart Queen (and possibly as a subversion to validate his continued piracy), Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch was now one of the most feared and deadly pirates in the West Indies.
For the next year he terrorized the West Indies and environs, before sailing north to the British colonies in North America. Here he frightened the inhabitants of an entire city when he blockaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina, in an attempt to acquire medicine for his ailing crew.
But shortly after this audacious gambit, Blackbeard decided he'd had enough of the pirate life. He was nearing forty and, despite his ferocious reputation, had lost his love for the pirate's game. In the early summer of 1718, he half-heartedly accepted a pardon from his friend Charles Eden, Governor of North Carolina. But by late August of that same year he had fallen back into his old habits, restricting his activities to the southeastern coast of the North American British colonies. Unbeknownst to him, the Governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, was keenly aware of his continued piracies, and was busy organizing a party to "extirpate this nest of vipers".
In November of 1718, Spotswood offered money to British pirate hunter Lieutenant Maynard to see the job done. Taking command of a few fast ships well suited to the shallow inlets where Blackbeard was known to hide, Maynard set off in search of his prize. He learned from passing ships that Blackbeard was likely anchored on the inland side of Ocracoke Island, an ideal haunt for a pirate. As dusk fell on November 21st, Maynard and his crew spotted Blackbeard's rag-tag group, but decided to hold off their attack until the tide rose. In the early hours of the following day, Maynard's crew slipped into the bay and approached Blackbeard's ship. They were greeted by a sudden volley of pistol shots and cannon fire. This caused Maynard to retreat, giving Blackbeard and his crew time to slip through the shallow waters and escape.
However, weary of his continual pursuit, Blackbeard sought out Maynard and was caught in fierce hand to hand fighting with his crew on the deck of Maynard's ship. Despite help from his consort Edward Kenway, Blackbeard was overcome. Heavily wounded by multiple sword strokes and pistol shots, he was slain by Maynard who struck the final blow from behind.
Born: 1693, Wales Died: ????
Edward James Kenway was born on the 10th of March in Swansea, Wales, to Bernard Kenway of Manchester and Linette Hopkins of nearby Cardiff. By Edward's 10th birthday, his father had moved the family to a small farm just outside Bristol, a nearby port town in the southwest of England.
This relocation had a depressing effect on young Edward's mood. He grew restless from a lack of contact with old friends and struggled to find an outlet for his limitless energy. By his teens he was spending more and more time in the city away from his farm, where the lure of excitement overrode prudence. By age sixteen, he had substituted a career as a successful farmer for a life of hopeless tomfoolery, frequently shirking his responsibilities to his family in favor of rough company.
In late 1711, at the age of seventeen, Edward met Caroline Scott, a woman of modest but steady means. Their friendship began cautiously, as Caroline's hand had already been promised to the boorish son of a wealthy East India Companyexecutive. But Edward's charms eventually won out, and he and Caroline were married within a year of their meeting; a union that angered her father, and got the whole of Bristol talking.
In the earliest months of their marriage, Edward resolved to do well by his wife and provide for her as he believed a man in his position should. But his grandiose dreams and exaggerated opinion of himself prevented him from taking immediate responsibility for their well-being. And after only a year, he had stumbled back into his worst habits - drinking, fighting and idleness.
It was in this dark period that Edward revived an old idea of joining a privateering fleet sailing for the West Indies, with the aim of making war against the Spanish and collecting unchecked sums of gold and cargo. This, he told his wife, was their path to quick riches. Being a sensible and prudent woman, Caroline discouraged these fanciful ideas.
By the summer of 1712, Caroline understood that her husband's departure was inevitable. She wanted no further part of Edward's reckless plan, and so left him to live with her parents. Stunned by this sudden turn, Edward was determined to earn his fortune fast and prove himself as capable as he always claimed he was. He left for the West Indies barely one month later, where he soon fell in with the privateer Benjamin Hornigold and his quartermaster, Ed Thatch.
Edward spent the first half of 1713 sailing with these two seasoned sailors, on regular sweeps of the windward passage. But that year, fate threw him another upset. With the signing of the treaty of Utrecht, all hostile actions between the major empires came to an end and the prospects of British privateers dried up. Now poor, unemployed, and thousands of miles from home, Edward and his colleagues settled on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas to reconsider their options.
These were fanciful days for Edward. He discovered in the small town of Nassau a life quite unlike that which he had left behind. The atmosphere of wild and noisy freedom in this small stateless encampment overwhelmed and captivated him. The drinking, the gaming, the women, the aimless desire to simply live as one pleased. And yet, as carefree as he was, his beloved Caroline was never far from his mind. If he could make something of himself in the West Indies—working a sugarplantation, perhaps—he might win her back after all his time away.
But in absence of true conviction, habit takes hold fast; and it was only a matter of time before Edward set back out to sea with his mates, to live the life they knew best; no longer privateers—legal and sanctioned—but as pirates now, with nary a whit of loyalty to kin and country, earning his fortune by the sword and pistol, praying his end was never too near.
Born: 1682, Jamaica Died: ????
Of the few infamous pirates to call the West Indies his birthplace, Jack Rackham was born in Jamaica at the height of Port Royal's boom as a den of scoundrels. This would likely explain his atrophied moral compass, for he was frequently drunk, rarely serious about anything, and always chasing women. He used his outrageous and offensive charm to keep out of most trouble. But a strategist and fighter he was not.
Nicknamed "Calico" for his affinity for Indian and Asian prints, he was a terrible sailor and a worse pirate, given to flights of fancy and myopic ideas that served only himself, rather than solid strategic thinking. He was likely drunk for half of his adulthood, and had a weakness for women that trumped all basic needs, such as sleeping or eating. His disarming charm, dashing good looks, and his swift wit carried him far, but parties can only last so long before someone has to clean up after them.
Born: 1691, England Died: ????
Daughter of Emmett and Elizabeth Scott, Caroline was born in Bristol, England, to a prosperous family of merchants and civil servants. Given a modest education by her father, she furthered her own studies in her own way, taking time to read as often as her familiar duties allowed. Splitting her time between this and helping her mother manage her father's affairs, she grew into a confident and level-headed woman with more skill and intelligence than her situation allowed her to exercise.
Caroline first met Edward Kenway outside the Auld Shillelagh, in the aftermath of a drunken altercation. She had arrived to fetch one of her servants and there found Edward escorting the woman from the clutches of one of Bristol's more notorious cads. Thankful for his kindness, Caroline agreed to a second meeting on more equitable terms, hardly thinking a romance possible.
And yet—against all odds—that is just what happened. Edward and Caroline grew quite close, and soon fell in love, quite much to the dismay of her father. Emmett Scott had already promised his daughter to the son of a wealthy East India Companyexecutive, and made his displeasure apparent at every turn. But all his noise was to no avail. Caroline and Edward were married in 1712.
For a time it seemed as though this odd pairing might produce a lasting union. But Edward's deep love for his wife was offset by his uncouth habits and reckless attention to responsibility. Not content to live a life of middle class drudgery, Edward dreamed large, and fixed on the idea that he could sail to the West Indies and fight as a Privateer against the Spanish. Or, barring that, buy some land and sow a sugarplantation. Caroline tried to dissuade her husband, but to no effect.
Born: 1695, England Died: ????
Even though not yet out of his teens, James Kidd was a cocky and confident lad with a brashness cultivated to counter his youth. He claimed to be the bastard son of the late William Kidd, the infamous privateer-turned-pirate who was captured and hanged by British authorities in 1701. Although James had no proof of this connection, his mother always insisted on it, claiming that she spent a single "panicked night of passion" with Captain Kidd just before his departure from London in 1695.
Growing up fatherless and with a spendthrift mother did little to improve his prospects at leading a normal life, and at the age of 12 he found employment aboard merchant vessels sailing between the British colonies in North America and the West Indies. By the time he was 17 he called Jamaica his home, where he further honed his skills as a sailor here.
Although he never sailed with the likes of Ben Hornigold, Ed Thatch, or Edward Kenway, James was among the first sailors to settle in Nassau, and was a central figure in its development as a pirate republic.
Born: Unknown, England Died: ????
Of all the infamous West Indiespirates, Mary Read stands out as one of the most mysterious and inscrutable. No one is sure when she was born, with most speculation ranging over almost a decade, between 1685 and 1695. According to Charles Johnson—a frequently unreliable source—her mother began dressing Mary in boy's clothes from a very early age, with the hope of passing her off as another man's son.
In her teens, Mary evidently harnessed her skill for disguise to secure a job aboard a ship. Taking to sea, she worked her way forward until she found a position in the British Navy. Still disguised as a man, she saw action in battle, though owing to the conflicting reports of her birth, which battle is uncertain. It was during these skirmishes that Mary met her first husband—so the author of the "General History of Pyrates" claims—a Flemish soldier who had evidently fought beside her.
But this union was not fated to remain intact, as Mary's husband was killed soon after their marriage. With few reasons to remain in Europe, Mary sailed for the West Indies. It is unclear what transpired in the years following, but it is almost certain that she resumed the practice of dressing as a man. It is also assumed Mary continued working aboard ships, improving her skills as a sailor and swordsman.
By 1715 or 1716, it was likely she had visited her fellow sailors in Nassau, though perhaps not for the same reasons...
Born: 1695, Cuba Died: Unknown
Born in Cuba, Assassin bureau leader Opía Apito was raised Taíno, among her mother's people, never knowing her father, a Spaniard.
At twelve, her village was raided by the Spanish. Most of her community was kidnapped and killed. But Opía, the lone free survivor, fought and ran. She survived in hiding for close to a decade.
Much of what we know of Opía is inseparable from legend. Her name, possibly self-given, is an amalgam of the Taíno words for "eternity" and "ghost." She claimed to be a direct descendant of the warrior Hatuey, who stood against the Spanish in the 16th Century. She was guided throughout her life by the mantra, Aji aya bom—better dead than a slave.
In her early twenties, she was hired by the Assassins as a guide, and was soon adopted into their ranks. She delighted in a characteristic Taíno approach to strategy: preferring to harm the enemy by taking something from him in battle, that he might live to notice it missing. But as an Assassin she did not shrink from violence.
True to her name, once promoted to Assassin Bureau leader, she built an agile and highly effective "ghost" bureau near the Cayman Islands, with virtually no physical footprint to speak of. We might regard it today as an early example of a terrorist cell, but she left no records and no descendants, and until now, history has held no record of it.
Born: 1688, Scotland Died: Unknown
Born in Scotland, Rhona Dinsmore was made for adventure. After suffering the lows of a troubled household–an absent father and a drunkard of a mother–Dinsmore left her home in Glasgow in her mid-teens. At nineteen, she found work amongst merchants in Bristol and remained at that post for nearly two years.
By twenty-one, Dinsmore was trapped in a terrible marriage. She fled again and sought refuge in Boston, where she remained for six months, before moving on to the warmer climes of Jamaica. There she found it exceedingly difficult to find work among farmers, and finally took to the sea, ultimately finding her calling within the Assassin Brotherhood.
Born: 1688, Barbados
Died: 1718, Charles Town
Born into plentitude and wealth on Barbados, Stede Bonnet seemed destined for a life of pleasure and ease. The son of a successful and influential plantation owner, his early life was marked by tragedy when his parents died suddenly, leaving seven year-old Stede orphaned and in a perpetual state of melancholy.
His inheritance of some 400 acres of land softened the blow caused by the loss of his parents, and by the time Stede was in his late teens, he had already restored the sugar plantation to a profitable state. He married young and set about starting a family as soon as possible, but owing to what some called a "disorder of the mind" he never found solace or comfort in these domestic trappings.
To further complicate his unease, his firstborn son died in infancy, further amplifying his grief and stiming his restlessness. As a means of coping, he dreamed of going to sea and sailing about the world, meeting people, living life as a man free of the obligations thrust upon him.
At some point around Stede's 29th birthday, his restlessness got the better of him. Owing to "some discomfort he found in a married state" which brought on a "disorder of the mind", Stede decided it was time to take his first bold step into the life he had always dreamed about. Using his considerable fortune, he either purchased a boat or had one built for him—a small schooner he christened "The Revenge".
To maintain some semblance to the comforts he had come to enjoy as a man of means, he installed a full library in the Captain's quarters, and packed his wardrobe with all manner of finery—silk pajamas, smoking jackets, and frocks. Near the end of 1717, his ship was ready. He bid adieu to his wife and remaining children and weighed anchor, sailing north from Barbados, hoping to reach the British colonies within a few months. He would never see his family again.
Now sailing under the moniker "Captain Edwards", Bonnet sailed about the West Indies looking for his first prize. Spotting a large Spanishwarship, his crew foolishly encouraged an attack. After a brief engagement, almost half of Bonnet's crew was dead or injured. Miraculously, the Revenge was able to escape capture herself, and Bonnet ordered the crew to sail her to the only place he knew he could find refuge: Nassau.
It was here, in the pirates' infamous republic, that Stede met and befriended Captain Thatch, the infamous and capable captain who had recently taken to calling himself Blackbeard. Thatch managed to convince Bonnet to hand over the Revenge's reigns, leaving Stede happily confined to his cabin. The two sailed about as unlikely partners for some months, until Blackbeard took a far greater prize for himself: the Queen Anne's Revenge.
After keeping Bonnet's Revenge in his own fleet for a short time, Blackbeard suddenly abandoned her along with most of its crew. Bonnet was again free to seek his own path. Perhaps believing he had been properly mentored under Blackbeard's tutelage, Bonnet stuck out for the Danishisland of St. Thomas, hoping to earn a privateering commission. But his crew had other ideas. Plunging headlong into piracy once more, Stede's crew lashed out recklessly at every prize they could find. At the urging of Ignatius Pell, a member of his crew, Bonnet embarked on his most ambitious prize yet--a fleet of eleven vessels just outside Charles-Towne, glutted with cargo and ripe for the taking.
This proved to be his undoing, for the fleet had been set up as bait for precisely Bonnet himself. Pirate Hunters hired by the governor of South Carolina set upon the Revenge just as Bonnet engaged, severely crippling his fleet and sending it limping into the shallows of the river. In an act of unlikely heroism, Bonnet swapped places with his crew under cover of darkness, placing them at the helm of the Revenge and sending them off to safeguard his spoils. He remained behind on the river and drew the fire of enemy sloops, allowing Pell and Rowland Sharp to break through the blockade, while he was eventually overcome and captured.
Once imprisoned within the Charles-Towne jail, Bonnet gained something of a popular following among the citizenry, delighted by this articulate and good-natured gentleman pirate. While he awaited trial, numerous people came forward as witnesses to attest to the good quality of his character. But this came to nothing, and after one botched escape attempt, Stede was finally walked to the gallows in December, 1718. As the hangman slipped the noose around his neck, he broke down in tears, begging for mercy. The sight of his abject shame moved many to tears, but it was not enough to save him. The "Gentleman Pirate" was no more.
Born: 1688, England Died: Unknown
Upton Travers was born in England, in 1688, two years ahead of his brother, Vance Travers. Together, they traveled to the West Indies in search of their fortune. There they established a smuggling business, which they used to fund their growing involvement with the Assassin brotherhood.
Although Vance was the more charismatic of the two Assassin brothers, Upton made up for it with his measured, sensible responses to life's challenges.
However, every man has a breaking point, and Upton found his after Vance took up with the Chinese "Pirate Queen," Jing Lang, a Templar, and sought to steal the treasure on which they had staked their retirement before finally attempting fratricide.
Depressed, Upton turned to alcohol, which may have been a factor in his retaliation. He ultimately had both Jing Lang and his brother dispatched with the help of Edward Kenway.
Originally hailing from Wales, little is known about John Roberts, the real name of the man who would come to be known as "Black Bart" long after his death.
Most assume he went to sea at a very young age -- at 13 or so -- but there is no record of him in any historical documents until his noted appearance in 1718 aboard a merchant's ship, Barbadian in origin. Just a year later Roberts was pressed into piracy by the notorious Howell Davis while working aboard a slave ship under Captain Abraham Plumb. Though Roberts had likely not gone to sea with the intent of becoming a pirate, when the opportunity thrust itself upon him, Roberts was reported to have said 'A merry life, and a short one shall be my motto.'
A few months later Davis was killed in an ambush on the Portuguese Island of Príncipe, and Roberts was swiftly and unanimously elected to replace him. This was surely a testament to the man's natural charisma and leadership, for he had been a pirate only a few months. It was at this point he took the name "Bartholomew", likely naming himself for the infamous Bartholomew Sharpe, a pirate of some renown who had disappeared just two decades earlier.
One of the most intelligent and strategic pirates of the Golden Age, Roberts was a sturdy man, known to dress in fine clothes. Handsome, and carrying himself with a dignified but unpretentious air, he had dark hair to match his dark complexion, likely set from the almost two decades he had spent at sea. He often carried numerous pistols, each tied to one end of long silk sashes, which he kept slung over his shoulder.
Roberts' tactical ideas were usually radical, but thoughtfully considered. He never jumped into any scheme rashly, though his ideas seemed almost suicidal to those unacquainted with his methods. Ultimately responsible for the theft of around 400 ships in his three-year career, he bested every other pirate of the era by a factor of ten times or more, although it must be said that at least half of these boats were small periaguas and the like.
Born: Mid-1680s, England Died: ????
Benjamin Hornigold was likely born in Norfolk, England. The first recorded instances of him are of his early exploits as a pirate in the West Indies around 1713-1714.
Hornigold was one of the earliest pirates to emerge after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, and one of the many hundreds of privateers who were left without gainful employment in the ensuing peace. Like many other British mariners, he spent much of his time in the Bahamas, eventually settling in Nassau. It was from there he launched his career as a full-fledged pirate, though he likely thought of himself as a privateer--in his earliest years, at least.
A skilful sailor and strategist, Hornigold lacked some of the ruthlessness required to be a truly successful pirate, and until 1716, refused to attack English ships out of a sense of loyalty to his home country.
Born: Unknown Died: Unknown
Almost nothing is known about El Tiburón "The Shark" outside of his service as the loyal, mute bodyguard of Laureano de Torres y Ayala, the Grandmaster of the Caribbean Templars and the Governor of Cuba. The Shark's penchant for medieval armor and brutal violence cut a swathe of fear through Havana, leaving citizens and soldiers alike quivering in his blood soaked wake.
Born: 1682, England Died: 1717, West Indies
Hilary Flint was born to an aristocratic family, the youngest of three boys. The black sheep of the family, he sought solitude in his studies. Immersing himself in math and sciences, Flint discovered an abiding interest in explosives, earning him the label of "problem child".
To correct his course, his parents enrolled him in military school, where he quicklyexceeded their expetations, working his way into the hearts of both teachers and students, as well as a few secret societies.
After graduation, his connections and easy manner earned him access to Templar ranks where his obsession with firearms made him an important asset.
Records reveal an ongoing relationship with AssassinRhona Dinsmore, the full nature of which is uncertain. She vanishes from record after Flint's death at the age of 35.
Born: 1686, China Died: 1717, Nassau
Born to Chinese rebels, Jing Lang came into the world fighting, but survived to become a skilled diplomat with a flair for languages and a taste for discovery.
Ambitious, Lang married the son of a General in the Qing dynasty, joining the Templar order, but severing ties with her family in the process. She served as a diplomatic advisor, until a shift in political tides provoked her escape into piracy.
Over the next decade, she crossed every sea, developing a reputation for brutality that preceded her into most conflicts.
In the West Indies, she fell under the spell of a rumored cache of treasure, and feigned a romantic relationship with one-time AssassinVance Travers to gain access to it.
She might have been successful had it not been for Travers' brother, Upton, an Assassin who schemed to have her killed, betraying his brother in the process. She died at the age of thirty.
Born: 1682, France Died: ????
Nephew of the buccaneer Jean du Casse, Julien was born in Montpellier, France. He took after his uncle's example and took to sea at a young age, eventually joining him in a few skirmishes during the War of the Spanish Succession. Fighting on the side of the French, and by proxy, on behalf of King Philip of Spain, du Casse's skill as a gunner improved rapidly, even as he grew wildly disillusioned with the monarchy and its obsession with lineage and breeding over raw talent and skill.
In 1704, ordered by his superior officers to join his uncle and hundreds of French troops in what would become known as the Battle of Vélez-Màlaga, du Casse opted instead to desert his post and seek his fortunes in the New World. At first he threw in with slave traders in Africa, and for a year made a modest profit off the venture. But he was never comfortable with the cruelty and detachment the job required, and so departed for the West Indies in search of yet another vocation.
For the next 10 years, du Casse roamed the West Indies as a hired gun, working for whomever had the coin and confidence to pay him. Ever prizing the value of intelligence and skill over mere reputation and breeding, du Casse, eventually found his way into the company of Laureano Torres of Cuba, in whom he found a friend and confidant...
Born: 1675, England Died: 1715, Kingston
Born to an upper class family and educated in boarding schools from age five, Kenneth Abraham learned to fight for himself at an early age. Upon graduation, he entered the army and rose through the ranks, finally meeting the rank of Commander.
His embrace of order and disciple drew him into the fold of the Templar Order, which offered him influence beyond that offered by his military career. From the age of thirty, he ascended its ranks in parallel to those of his military career by devoting himself to the promotion of order and peace.
In 1715, the Assassin Anto infiltrated a Ball held by Abraham on his plantation, together with the pirate Edward Kenway. There, Abraham was assassinated by the pair, confronted in his final moments by the nemesis he had tried and failed to defeat.
He remained, until his death, determined to rid the world of unpredictable and disorderly elements.
Born: 1645, Cuba Died: ????
Born in Havana, but raised in Madrid, Spain, Laureano was of noble stock, the son of Tomas Torres y Ayala and Elvira de Quadros Castellanos. He joined the Spanish army in his late teens, and was later appointed as the governor of Spain's territories in Florida, a post he held from 1693 to 1699. He then returned to Europe to participate in the War of the Spanish Succession.
In 1708, Torres was appointed as the governor of Cuba, a post he held for three years until he was accused of and arrested for corruption. He was acquitted of these charges, however, and managed to win a re-election bid in 1713.
During his time in Cuba, he made many lasting improvements to the city, fortifying the island's defenses and introducing the production of tobacco there. He remained Governor until 1716, after which point he retired and devoted his life to charitable functions, such as building hospitals.
Born: 1630s, Amsterdam Died: 1717, Kingston
Laurens Prins (often anglicized as Laurence Prince) was a Dutchman from Amsterdam who spent the majority of his life in and around the West Indies. Operating out of Port Royal, Prins saw an incredible amount of action and adventure in his long life.
Sailing as a privateer in the early days of the Golden Age of Piracy (1650s) he developed a reputation for courage fighting the Spanish on behalf of the British crown, sometimes bearing a letter of marque, often without. He even played a pivotal role in Sir Henry Morgan's infamous raid on Panama in 1671, for which he was roundly celebrated.
Prins eventually retired from privateering and settled in a large acreage of land in Jamaica. Around this time he entered into the slave trade as a means of bolstering his wealth, an occupation he pursued well into his seventies.
In 1717, his flagship slave galley, The Whydah, was attacked and captured by the pirate"Black Sam" Bellamy. He managed to survive the encounter, and fell back into his old occupation until his death some months later.
Born: 1689, Spain Died: 1715, Pinos Isle
Born in Spain, Lucia Márquez never knew her father. By the age of twelve she was supporting herself and her sisters on the streets, begging, borrowing, and stealing anything she could, all the while developing the skills of a master thief.
At the age of seventeen, she was caught stealing a horse belonging to a high-ranking Templar, and wisely opted for training over jail time.
The Templar life gave Marquez the focus she needed and she never found herself at a lack of challenge or adventure.
She died at the age of twenty-six on Pinos Isle, wise beyond her years, on the order of the TainoAssassin, Opía Apito.
Born: 1660s, England Died: 1718, Nassau
Commodore Peter Chamberlaine sailed into the history books on the coat-tails of Woodes Rogers, privateercaptain and Governor of the Bahamas. Though charged with the task of helping Rogers carry out his reforms and issuing King George's pardon, Chamberlaine had an irrational and burning hatred for his civilian commander, and flouted Roger's orders as often as possible.
Gruff and humorless, Peter Chamberlaine was nevertheless respected by his men as a man of fortitude and cunning, and his willful defiance of civil authority only bolstered his reputation among the rank and rile.
Historic archives contain scattered references to individuals known as "Sages", but they are few and far between. Each citation seems to refer to a different person living in a vastly different time and location.
The earliest example was found in a Sumerian clay tablet in cuneiform script, while the latest survives only as a footnote in one of Laureano Torres's own journals, dated January 1704. In all – according to exhaustive research – seven different "Sages" seem to have graced the world's stage in the past twelve hundred years. But the real number is likely higher.
Perhaps, the strangest aspect connecting each of these various sightings is the fact that, in every case, visual descriptions of each Sage are remarkably similar. So similar, in fact, that one wouldn't be faulted for assuming they ware talking about a single, immortal man. However, in two of the seven citations, explicit mention is made of their death and burial.
Is this therefore some bizarre form of reincarnation? Or some simpler explanation that is presently unknown? More research is required.
Born: 1690, England Died: 1717, Nassau
Born in England, the passionate, creative, yet incredibly gullible Vance Travers, found a life for himself amongst the Assassin's Brotherhood in the West Indies, where he ran a successful smuggling enterprise, with his older brother, Upton.
Business took a turn for the worse after he met and fell in love with the Templar, Jing Lang, who persuaded him to divulge knowledge of the location of buried treasure with which he and Upton planned to fund their retirement.
Paranoid, Travers developed delusions that his brother plotted to steal his treasure and Jing's heart. He broke from the Creed and, after a failed attempt at fratricide, was killed by Edward Kenway.
Born: 1679, England Died: ????
Woodes Rogers was born into money, to a seafaring family with deep roots in both Poole and Bristol, England. His early life was a picture of industriousness and ambition, and by the age of 18 he was an apprentice Mariner.
Upon his father's death at sea in 1706, Woodes inherited his family's prosperous shipping company, which he took to managing with great passion. Between 1704 and 1707 Rogers' fortunes and family grew, and by the time he was twenty-seven his marriage to Sarah Whetstone had produced one son and two daughters.
By the end of 1707, however, his business had suffered great losses by raidingFrench forces, giving Rogers the idea to recoup these dreadful losses himself. Knocking about Bristol in search of a partner for this endeavor, he soon found himself in the company of William Dampier, an old friend and unlucky Captain who suggested setting out on a privateering expedition, one that would range far and wide about the New World. In 1708, Rogers made the necessary arrangements and set out as Captain of his own vessel, on a difficult voyage that would last over three years.
Along this course Rogers met with many successes and failures. In 1709, off the western coast of South America, he found and rescued a marooned sailor by the name of Alexander Selkirk, a sailor who had spent nearly 4 years living in isolation and who would serve as the inspiration for the book "Robinson Crusoe" just a few years later.
Soon after Selkirk's recovery, Rogers' fleet engaged an enemy vessel in open combat—a skirmish that earned him a pistol shot to the left side of his face and a mangled heel. Neither wound was enough to remove him from command however, and he continued serving as captain until his return to England in late 1711. To commemorate this return, he had an operation to remove the offending bullet from his upper palate.
Now in poor health but high spirits, he set about writing his memoirs. Upon their publication a few years, they were an immediate success, and proved a great source of income. But this brief glory was offset by the sudden death of his son, a tragedy compounded some months later by his wife's decision to leave him. Also at this time, Rogers was sued by former shipmates for allegedly hoarding goods and money plundered from enemy vessels. Rogers assembled a defense, but lost the case.
In 1713, itching to return to sea, he organized passage to Madagascar claiming to be a merchant in the slave trade, but with the intended purpose of reconnoitering the rumored pirate colonies established there. When he arrived in Madagascar after months of hard sailing, he found that the legends of the pirate town "Libertalia" had been exaggerated one-hundredfold. The pirates in Madagascar were sickly and few and desperate for help. After spending just a few months here, Rogers set sail for England, a failure in his own mind.
And yet, never one to give up hope, Woodes Rogers reoriented his attentions to the West Indies, eventually lobbying King George for a commission to hunt pirates in the Caribbean. On this score, he succeeded. After a few diligent years of making his case, King George appointed Woodes Rogers as the Governor of the Bahamas. Now, at last, he would make his mark, and bring justice to a land where chaos had taken root...
An incomplete audio clip from The Devils of the Caribbean Podcast reconstructed from recovered files.
