Elpenor

"I love theater. All of the arts, really. A great general throws his own children off a cliff on the say-so of the Oracle... It is a tragedy for the ages."

―Elpenor to Kassandra, 431 BCE.

Elpenor of Kirrha (died 431 BCE) was a member of the Eyes of Kosmos branch of the Cult of Kosmos in the years leading up to the Peloponnesian War.

Biography

Early life

Elpenor made his living as a merchant, and this granted him many opportunities to serve the Sage of his chosen branch well. When the war between Athens and Sparta became apparent, Elpenor had already been supplying both sides with weapons.

When the Cult deemed it of utmost importance to find the members of King Leonidas I's bloodline, Elpenor sent out his informants to find both Myrrine and Kassandra. Two of these, Krethos and Antonide, were successful, finding Kassandra on the island of Kephallonia.

Dealing with Kassandra

"I normally have someone else do the field work. I don't suppose you know how to get this stain out."

―Elpenor upon meeting Kassandra, 431 BCE.

Elpenor proposing a deal with Kassandra

Having discovered Kassandra's location, Elpenor travelled to the island, docking in Sami and taking shelter in an abandoned house in 431 BCE. After witnessing Kassandra slaughtering his men first-hand, Elpenor introduced himself to her, not before personally killing the last man under his employment. Afterwards, Elpenor enlisted the help of the misthios to retrieve Penelope's prized shroud, which had been stolen by bandits. He directed her to Odysseus' Palace on Ithaka to start her search. When Kassandra was successful in the task, Elpenor allowed her to keep it as a reward.

Elpenor then proposed a new task to Kassandra: to hunt down and eliminate a Spartan general known as "the Wolf" who, unbeknownst to Kassandra, was her step-father, Nikolaos. The misthios later met Elpenor at his residence in Phokis and presented Nikolaos' helmet to him, whereupon he revealed he had known all along of Kassandra's relation to the Wolf. Upon confirming that Kassandra's mother Myrrine was alive, the cultist attempted to enlist the misthios to assassinate her as well but this only angered Kassandra, forcing him to summon his guards to delay the misthios while he fled.

Kassandra later learned of Elpenor's allegiance to the Cult of Kosmos from the Oracle of Delphi and resolved to track him down. Subsequently, Elpenor devised a trap by placing a decoy at Pharsalos Fort in the Valley of the Nymph but Kassandra killed the decoy, finding a letter revealing Elpenor's hiding place.

Death

"I'm the reason you left that island alive. The Cult wanted you dead."

―Elpenor to Kassandra before his death, 431 BCE.

Elpenor's death

The letter from Elpenor detailed his orders to the decoy: kill the "so-called messenger of the gods" and meet him afterwards at the cave near the Snake Ruins within Valley of the Snake. When confronted once more by the misthios, Elpenor admitted that Myrrine was the Cult's only concern, and given that they already had Deimos, Kassandra might as well be dead. He fought Kassandra, but ultimately lost and was fatally wounded.

With his dying breath, Elpenor declared that Kassandra had made a mistake in killing him, to which she retorted that trusting him in the first place had been her mistake. He countered by telling her that he was the only reason she had ever left Kephallonia alive, given that the Cult wanted her death and his actions had spared her so far. As she tried to interrogate him about the Cult and their location, Elpenor merely chuckled before expiring.

Kassandra found on Elpenor a curious looking shard, as well as a symbol on his cloak: a single eye. Kassandra also found a set of robes and a white mask marked with red. All of these things she took, believing they would "come in handy".

Simulation

Elpenor and Kassandra "reunited"

In a simulation created by the Isu Aletheia, Elpenor's soul resided in the Underworld ruled by Hades. Elpenor worked for him numerous times, helping him combat any prisoners of Tartaros who attempted to escape. On one occasion, Elpenor was deployed to eliminate a large group of prisoners in Hades' Palace. There, he came across Kassandra, who had managed to find her way to Tartaros and was helping Hades with his prisoners. Elpenor and Kassandra then interrogated an escaped prisoner of Tartaros on the location of the Monger, to which he revealed his location at the Lost Temple of Nyx.

Afterwards, since Kassandra required help obtaining the Gauntlets of the Fallen, which were said to be lost, Elpenor offered to assist her and told her to meet him at Kronos' Treasury. There, the pair searched the place together for the fabled gauntlets. Thanks to Elpenor's knowledge of the Underworld, Kassandra was ultimately able to find them.

Once Kassandra had retrieved the remaining pieces of the Armor of the Fallen, Elpenor told her that it was time to send the Monger back to Tartaros. The two former enemies met at the Lost Temple of Nyx and launched their attack, defeating the Monger. Afterwards, however, Kassandra still had conflicting feelings about allying with Elpenor, and she confronted him with Hades in attendance.

Legacy

"Elpenor is dead! One of you is a traitor! The Artifact will expose them."

―Deimos to the Cultists during their meeting, 431 BCE.

Deimos holding Elpenor's decapitated head

Elpenor's death was eventually discovered by Deimos, who then decapitated Elpenor and brought his head to the Cult's meeting in Delphi as proof of his death, which indirectly resulted in the grandchildren of Leonidas being reunited.

Some time later, Kassandra met a politician who claimed to be Elpenor's brother. Bemoaning Elpenor's murder, saying that Elpenor was a "kind and wealthy man" who had enabled him to join politics and even protected him, the statesman was afraid of losing what status he had gained after bandits targeted him. Unaware of Kassandra's part in Elpenor's death, the man hired Kassandra to deal with the bandits.

Behind the scenes

In Greek mythology, Elpenor is the name of one of Odysseus' comrades in Homer's Odyssey. While in Aeaea, Elpenor got drunk, spent the night on the roof, and died as he fell off it in the morning.

If the player visits the Snake Temple after completing "The Serpent's Lair", Elpenor's body will still be there, with his head attached to his body, despite Deimos decapitating him and bringing his head to the Sanctuary of Kosmos.

Gallery

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  Elpenor close up
• 
  Head models of Elpenor

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (first appearance)
  • The Fate of Atlantis: Torment of Hades (simulation only)
  • The Fate of Atlantis: Judgment of Atlantis (mentioned only)