Bonfire of the Vanities (DLC)

This article is about the downloadable content. You may be looking for the event.

The Bonfire of the Vanities is the second of two downloadable content (DLC) packs available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Assassin's Creed II, released on 18 February 2010. The DLC is automatically included in the Windows version of Assassin's Creed II, released in March 2010, as well as all subsequent re-releases of the game.

The DLC features the second of the two "corrupted sequences" of Ezio Auditore's memories, and comprises twelve main memories and a new region available to explore in Florence: the Oltrarno District. Taking place before Sequence 14, the final memory sequence of Assassin's Creed II, the storyline revolves around Ezio's return to his hometown of Florence during the titular Bonfire of the Vanities to put an end to Girolamo Savonarola's reign and recover the Apple of Eden in his possession.

Plot

Main article: Bonfire of the Vanities

In 1497, nine years after the events of the Battle of Forlì, Ezio returns to Florence to find that his hometown has fallen under the rule of the monk Girolamo Savonarola, who has used the Apple of Eden stolen from Ezio to remove the Medici family from power and take control of the masses. Meeting with Niccolò Machiavelli, the two Assassins travel to the Oltrarno District where they discuss how to retrieve the Apple. Ezio decides to sabotage Savonarola's rule by assassinating his nine lieutenants, tasked to keep the population in line.

Ezio assassinating one of Savonarola's lieutenants

Over the following months, Ezio systematically eliminates the lieutenants, finding that some were also being controlled by the Apple while others willingly followed Savonarola. With each lieutenant's demise, Savonarola's control over Florence dwindles, allowing La Volpe and Paola to incite a rebellion among the people.

Eventually, once all lieutenants have been assassinated, the entire population of Florence rises up in defiance of Savonarola's rule. In desperation, the monk emerges from the Palazzo Pitti to confront the mob and tries to use the Apple, but Ezio knocks it out of his hand with a throwing knife. As the angry mob takes Savonarola away, a Templar courier picks up the Apple during the confusion, but Ezio chases and kills him, recovering the artifact.

At the Piazza della Signoria, Savonarola is set to be burned at the stake. As the Assassins watch from the crowd, Ezio believes no one deserves to die in such pain and jumps onto the stage, quickly ending Savonarola's life with his Hidden Blade.

Ezio addressing the crowd

With the confused crowd staring at him, Ezio proceeds to deliver a speech, explaining how his family members were executed in the very same place over two decades prior and how his mentors have helped him overcome his desire for revenge, not by preaching answers, but by guiding him to learn for himself. He then declares that everyone has the ability to choose for themselves and should follow their own path, and not that of anyone else.

Content

Memories

1. Florentine Fiasco
2. Still Life
3. Climbing the Ranks
4. Upward Mobility
5. Last Rites
6. Port Authority
7. Surgical Strike
8. Hitting the Hay
9. Arch Nemesis
10. Doomsday
11. Power to the People
12. Mob Justice

Templar Lairs

• Palazzo Medici
• Arsenale di Venezia
• Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

Trivia

• The conversations Ezio heard in the beginning of the Bonfire of the Vanities sequence referred to Piero de' Medici, the son of Lorenzo de' Medici.
• Returning to the Palazzo Auditore during the Bonfire of the Vanities would trigger a vision, in which Ezio reminisced on an old memory of his family.
• The Bonfire of the Vanities DLC also brought a new freerunning feature to the game, the Sprint Jump; though it was only available in the Oltrarno District of Florence.
• Even after finishing the Bonfire of the Vanities sequence, there would still be civilians in the Oltrarno District burning books and paintings.
• For the duration of the entire Bonfire of the Vanities memory sequence, the sky over Florence is dark and cloudy.
• The events of the Bonfire of the Vanities sequence also occurred in the novel Assassin's Creed: Renaissance.

Gallery

• File:Assassin's Creed II Bonfires of the Vanities Trailer
• 
  Ezio overlooking the Palazzo Pitti

References

• Assassin's Creed II