Crystal Skulls

"The priest pulls out another skull, crystal, and holds it high. The relic! I hear its hum in my own skull. Faint, but familiar!"

―Giovanni Borgia, upon first sighting a Crystal Skull, 1520.

A Crystal Skull with an inserted blood vial

The Crystal Skulls are Pieces of Eden that function as communication and observational devices. Created by the Isu, three distinct variations of Crystal Skulls have been discovered.

The first type function much like modern telephone devices, allowing communication between all who possess a device. The second type has a record-and-playback function, allowing a user to record and send audio-visual messages to others who possess a counterpart Crystal Skull. Finally, the third works as a monitoring device, projecting audio-visual surveillance through connection with a living being's blood in a vial.

While Crystal Skulls have been found in several different locations across the globe, a large number of them were held by the pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas, who regarded them as holy relics.

History

16th century

"I hear talking, but I cannot understand the words! I see a face within its cloudy core. No... in my mind. It has appeared in my mind!"

―Giovanni studying the Skull, 1542.

In 1520, the Italian Assassins assigned Giovanni Borgia to Hernán Cortés' crew to search for unknown Pieces of Eden in Mexico. Giovanni was able to locate a Crystal Skull in the possession of the Aztec civilization at Tenochtitlan, and retrieved it from an Aztec priest before it was to be utilized in a human sacrifice ritual, amidst the chaos caused by Cortés' attacking crew.

The Crystal Skull in use

Returning to Europe with the artifact, Giovanni took it to the scientist Bombastus, who was an expert in studying the Pieces of Eden. Though he subjected it to several tests, Bombastus was unable to discover its purpose, and the Brotherhood dismissed the Skull as little more than an ornate treasure. Despite this, Giovanni continued to study the Skull, gazing into it for at least an hour each day for about 22 years. Finally, in 1542, an unknown Chinese man, who had also acquired a Crystal Skull, used its communicative powers to contact Giovanni.

18th century

Rhona: "A manky looking thing. Is that what I think it is?"

Edward: "Aye. Watch. Through the blood of the governor, we can see through his eyes."

—Edward Kenway and Rhona Dinsmore preparing to use a Crystal Skull, 1722.

In 1719, the Sage Bartholomew Roberts agreed to take Edward Kenway to see the Observatory, an Isu complex used to monitor the lives of people whose blood had been collected in vials. Central to the Observatory was the viewing device: a large armillary sphere with a Crystal Skull fixed in its core, where the vials would be inserted. The device would then spin and project images onto the wall behind it.

Roberts holding a Crystal Skull with a blood vial slotted in

After leading Kenway to the center of the complex, Roberts activated the Crystal Skull that the Observatory housed to take a look through the eyes of Jack Rackham and Woodes Rogers. Betraying Kenway and leaving him locked in the Observatory, Roberts took the Crystal Skull and kept it with him while he sailed the West Indies and the West African coast for the next three years. Kenway eventually tracked Roberts to the island of Príncipe in February 1722, and pursued him along the coast before boarding his ship and killing him.

Having recovered the Crystal Skull, Kenway returned to Havana and inserted Grand Master Laureano Torres' blood vial into the artifact to discern his location. He then left the Crystal Skull in Rhona Dinsmore's care while he searched for his target, only to discover he assassinated a decoy, with Torres' vial having been purposely mislabeled, presumably to keep his fellow Templars from spying on him.

Soon afterwards, the Observatory was found by the Caribbean Templars, and Kenway hurried to stop their endeavor to take the complex for themselves. After killing Torres, Kenway and the Assassin Mentor Ah Tabai placed the Crystal Skull back in its original location and sealed the Observatory, hoping to keep it out of the wrong hands.

21st century

"The good news is that they work. As a result, we now have a safe and secure communication channel for use after the launch."

―Alan Rikkin reporting on the Skulls.

By 2012, a number of Crystal Skulls – the Mitchell-Hedges Communicators – had come into the possession of some high-ranking employees of Abstergo Industries, notably Warren Vidic, though their CEO Alan Rikkin noted they were extremely few in number. The Templars planned to use them as a completely secure means of communication, which the Assassins would be unable to trace. Due to their limited number, only the most essential facilities or members would have access to the Skulls.

Trivia

• A message that Clay Kaczmarek wrote stated that "Within Emperor Jiajing's sin and Quetzalcoatl's hunger lies the answers." The Chinese man who contacted Giovanni could presumably have been the Jiajing Emperor, a Templar-aided Chinese emperor who hunted the Chinese Assassins. Quetzalcoatl is a reference to the Mesoamerican deity, which would tie to the Mitchell-Hedges Skull.
• It was suggested by the author of an Abstergo memo on various Isu artifacts the device being shaped like a human skull was the result of a bizarre fashion trend.
• In Assassin's Creed: Rogue, a drawing of a Crystal Skull, alongside other Isu artifacts including an Apple of Eden and a blood vial, can be seen on a notice board inside the Davenport Homestead, implying that the Colonial Assassins were researching these artifacts during the 1750s.

Gallery

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  Render of a Crystal Skull with and without an inserted blood vial
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  Bombastus and Giovanni Borgia studying a Crystal Skull
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  A Crystal Skull making a projection
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  Ah Tabai returning a Crystal Skull to the Observatory
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  Bartholomew Roberts holding a Crystal Skull
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  A Crystal Skull among other Pieces of Eden
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  Diagram of a Crystal Skull among Achilles Davenport's notes
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  An Abstergo Industries depiction of a Crystal Skull

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
• Assassin's Creed: Black Flag
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (picture only)
• Le Secret de Camerone
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (flashback only)