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{{Era|Assassins}}
{{Era|Assassins}}
{{Revamp}}
{{Update|''[[Assassin's Creed Origins: Desert Oath]]''}}
{{Update|''[[Assassin's Creed Origins: Desert Oath]]'' and ''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''}}
{{Quote|Each feather is a victory; they must be collected and chronicled, not consigned to the heap of history.|Rayhan in a letter to Fuladh Al Haami, 862.|Assassin's Creed: Mirage|A New Beginning}}
[[File:Feather AC2.png|thumb|250px|An [[Eagles|eagle]]'s feather]]
[[File:Feather AC2.png|thumb|250px|An eagle's feather]]
'''Feathers''' were markers used by the [[Assassins]] to prove that they had successfully assassinated their targets. However, after the [[Decline of the Levantine Assassins|fall of the Levantine Brotherhood]], the feather mostly lost its importance.
'''Feathers''' are {{wiki|integumentary system|integumentary}} structures distinctive of certain archosaurs such as dinosaurs, particularly their [[Bird|avian]] descendants. Feathers provide insulation, waterproofing, flight aid, and can also be help in camouflage or communication. Throughout [[human]] history, feathers have been used for aesthetic, practical, and ritual purposes.<ref name="Wiki">{{WP|Feather}}</ref>


In the [[Renaissance]], [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]] collected feathers for his younger brother, [[Petruccio Auditore da Firenze|Petruccio]]; first as a request from him, and later, in his memory.
Among the [[Assassins|Assassin Brotherhood]], feathers were of particularly high importance and, at various points in their history, were used by the Brotherhood's members during their [[assassination]]s to mark the death of a target.


==History==
==Structure==
Feathers are typically composed of a center shaft with interlocked barbs branching out from the shaft to create a stiff vane. The barbs of downy feathers are not interlocked causing them to be much softer.<ref name="Wiki"/>


=== Ptolemaic Egypt ===
==Human usage==
The tradition derives itself from an ancient Siwan ritual, with the feather representing the Feather of Ma'at, that souls would weigh their hearts against in the Duat. In particular, [[Medjay]] [[Bayek]] and his wife [[Amunet|Aya]] used heron feathers in their rituals after killings their targets. After they killed their targets, they would dip the feather in their target's blood and leave them for [[Osiris]] to judge in accordance with [[Egyptian mythology]]. This tradition would continue after they established the Hidden Ones, which would eventually evolve into Assassin's Brotherhood.
===Classical Greece===
The Mysteries of [[Hedone]], a cult active in [[Greece]] during the [[Peloponnesian War]], used feather-collecting as part of their initiation ritual,<ref name="ACOD">''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]] – [[The Lost Tales of Greece]]'' – [[The Hedonistic Method]]</ref> though the historian [[Herodotos]] believed it a futile endeavor that no one should emulate.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' – [[Floating conversations]]</ref>
 
===Ptolemaic Egypt===
{{Quote|May the Hidden One walk beside you. The lord of the Duat awaits.|Bayek to Gennadios prior to sending him to the Duat, 48 BCE.|Assassin's Creed: Origins|Gennadios the Phylakitai}}
In Ancient [[Egypt]], feathers, particularly those of [[eagle]]s and [[heron]]s, were used in various rituals. The inhabitants of the [[Siwa|Siwa Oasis]] believed that the hearts of the dead would be weighed against the feather of [[Ma'at]] to determine the soul's fate in the afterlife. If the heart was equal to or lighter than the feather, the soul could pass on to the [[Aaru|Field of Reeds]]; otherwise, it would be devoured by {{Wiki|Ammit}}.<ref name="ACO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref>
 
[[File:GennadiosQuestScreenshot.png|thumb|250px|left|Bayek using a feather to send Gennadios to the Duat]]
During his hunt of the [[Order of the Ancients]], the [[Medjay]] [[Bayek]] of Siwa used feathers to send his targets to the [[Duat]] for [[Osiris]] to judge in accordance with [[Egyptian mythology]].<ref name="ACO" /> After Bayek founded the [[Assassins|Hidden Ones]] alongside his wife [[Amunet|Aya]], this practice was quickly adopted by the members of their organization.<ref name="THO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]] – [[The Hidden Ones (DLC)|The Hidden Ones]]''</ref> Although the practice's original purpose was lost over the centuries, it nonetheless remained an integral part of the Hidden Ones' identity.<ref name="A New Beginning">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' – [[A New Beginning]]</ref>
 
===Abbasid Caliphate===
{{Quote|Our tradition of the feather comes from Egypt. They represent the feathers of Ma'at. The feathers of the heron were dipped in the blood of the targets. These would be left for the Lord of the Duat to judge. It is important we remain humble and know our place in the process. We are messengers of justice and not the final judges.|Fuladh Al Haami, 862.|Assassin's Creed: Mirage|A New Beginning}}
In 862, [[Fuladh Al Haami]], a member of the [[Hidden Ones of Alamut|Alamut Hidden Ones]], explained the origins of their practice of dipping feathers in their targets' blood to a new initiate, [[Basim Ibn Ishaq]]. Fuladh claimed that, although the tradition had lost its original meaning, it nonetheless served as an important reminder that the Hidden Ones were only messengers of justice, and not the final judges.<ref name="A New Beginning" />
 
[[File:ACMir Gilded Butterflies 27.png|thumb|250px|Basim dipping a feather in Ning's blood]]
During his hunt of the Order of the Ancients in [[Baghdad]], Basim was given a heron's feather ahead of each major assassination, which he would stain with his target's blood and return to the Hidden Ones [[Assassin bureau|bureau]] as proof of the target's death.<ref name="ACMir">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]''</ref> All the feathers would then be collected and sent back to [[Alamut]] to be chronicled and preserved; as the [[Mentor]] [[Rayhan]] once remarked, this was because each bloodied feather symbolized a victory for the Hidden Ones.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' – [[Notes from Basim's travels]]: "Don't Forget the Feathers"</ref>


===Third Crusade===
===Third Crusade===
{{Quote|I have heard a feather is lying on top of Abu'l Nuqoud's head. Maybe I could help you, but I have a mission myself.|An Assassin informant to Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, 1191.|Assassin's Creed|Stealth Assassination (Abu'l Nuqoud)}}
For the [[Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins|Levantine Assassins]] during the [[Middle Ages|High Middle Ages]], similarly to the Alamut Hidden Ones, feathers were used to either grant an Assassin permission to kill a target or prove that the assignment had been completed.<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref> They could also be used to warn potential targets about how vulnerable they were, as was the case when [[Umar Ibn-La'Ahad]] infiltrated [[Saladin]]'s camp and laid a feather on the Sultan's pillow.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade]]'' – Chapter 3</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]'' – [[Database: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (ACI)|Database: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]]: "Saracen Siege of Masyaf"</ref>
[[File:DBL feather.png|thumb|left|250px|Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad receiving a feather at the Damascus Bureau]]
[[File:DBL feather.png|thumb|left|250px|Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad receiving a feather at the Damascus Bureau]]
For the [[Levantine Assassins]] in the High Middle Ages, feathers were used to both grant an Assassin permission to kill a target, as well as for them to prove that the assignment had been completed.<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref>
After [[investigation]]s on the target had been completed, Assassin bureau leaders would give the chosen Assassin a feather, allowing them to proceed with the actual mission. Upon killing his target, the Assassin would stain the feather with the blood of the slain, and present it to the Bureau leader.<ref name="AC" /> Among Assassins, the phrase "having a feather on one's head" meant a mark of death. For example, an [[informer]] in [[Damascus]] once commented that "a feather laid on top of [[Abu'l Nuqoud]]'s head", implying that the Merchant King was marked for assassination.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Stealth Assassination (Abu'l Nuqoud)]]</ref>
 
After [[investigation]]s on the target had been completed, [[Assassin bureau]] leaders would give the chosen Assassin a feather, allowing them to proceed with the actual mission. Upon killing his target, the Assassin would stain the feather with the blood of the slain, and present it to the Bureau leader.<ref name="AC" />
 
Among Assassins, the phrase "having a feather on one's head" meant a mark of death. For example, an [[Informants|informant]] in [[Damascus]] once commented that "a feather laid on top of [[Abu'l Nuqoud]]'s head," implying that the Merchant King was marked for assassination.<ref name="AC" />


===Renaissance===
===Renaissance===
{{Quote|Ezio, look at her. I still can't get her to talk! She spends all day and night in front of those feathers Petruccio used to collect. She can't let him go.|Claudia Auditore, regarding her mother.|Assassin's Creed II|Practice Makes Perfect}}
{{Quote|Ezio, look at her. I still can't get her to talk! She spends all day and night in front of those feathers Petruccio used to collect. She can't let him go.|Claudia Auditore to her brother, regarding their mother, 1478.|Assassin's Creed II|Practice Makes Perfect}}
[[File:Petruccio's secret v (1).png|thumb|250px|right|Ezio giving Petruccio a bundle of feathers]]
As he was sickly and often confined to bed, [[Petruccio Auditore da Firenze|Petruccio Auditore]] once asked his brother [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio]] to collect feathers for him. Though Ezio asked him what they were for, he only said it was a secret to be revealed in time,<ref name="Petuccio's Secret">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Petruccio's Secret]]</ref> but obliquely suggested that they were meant as a present for their mother [[Maria Auditore da Firenze|Maria]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance]] ''</ref>
As he was sickly and often confined to bed, Petruccio Auditore once asked his brother Ezio to collect feathers for him. Though Ezio asked him what they were for, he only said that it was a secret, which he would reveal in time.


After the murder of Ezio's father, [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze]], and his two brothers, [[Federico Auditore da Firenze|Federico]] and Petruccio, his mother [[Maria Auditore da Firenze|Maria]] was struck to silence for years. She would only remain praying over Petruccio's feathers in [[Villa Auditore#Maria's room|her room]] in the [[Villa Auditore]], in mourning for her lost child.
[[File:Petruccio's secret v (1).png|thumb|250px|Ezio giving Petruccio a bundle of feathers]]
Unfortunately, Petruccio never had a chance to tell Ezio what the secret was, as he was murdered alongside their elder brother [[Federico Auditore da Firenze|Federico]] and father [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze|Giovanni]] the immediate next day. Maria was struck particularly hard by his loss and she remained silent for years,<ref name="Last Mand Standing">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Last Man Standing]]</ref> only breaking it to quietly pray over Petruccio's feather box that she kept in her room in [[Monteriggioni]]'s [[Villa Auditore]], in mourning for her lost child.<ref name="Practice Makes Perfect">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Practice Makes Perfect]]</ref>


In an effort to resolve this, Ezio sought to collect feathers, both in memory of his brother and to coax his mother into speaking again. As he traveled across [[Italy]], he gathered and placed any feathers he found into a box in his mother's room.
In an effort to resolve this, Ezio sought to collect feathers, both in memory of his brother and to coax his mother into speaking again. As he traveled across [[Italy]], he gathered and placed any feathers he found into a box in his mother's room.<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>


[[File:AC2-featherbox.png|thumb|250px|left|Maria's box of feathers]]
[[File:AC2-featherbox.png|thumb|250px|left|Maria's box of feathers]]
After Ezio had collected fifty feathers, [[Mario Auditore]] spoke with him about what he was doing, suggesting that he should give up in what he believed to be a wasted effort. In an attempt to have Ezio turn his attention to other matters, Mario also let him know that a new weapon, the [[Condottiero War Hammer]], was waiting for him at the [[Monteriggioni]] [[Blacksmiths|blacksmith]].
After Ezio had collected 50 feathers, his uncle [[Mario Auditore|Mario]] spoke with him about what he was doing, suggesting that he should give up in what he believed to be a wasted effort. After collecting 100 feathers, however, Ezio's efforts were rewarded. Maria spoke again for the first time in years, thanking Ezio for not giving up on her and presenting him with a [[cape]] that bore the [[House of Auditore]] crest.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Floating conversations]]: "A Mother's Grief"</ref>
 
After collecting one hundred feathers, Ezio's efforts were rewarded. Maria spoke again for the first time in years, thanking Ezio for not giving up on her, and presenting him with the [[Assassin's Creed II Outfits#Auditore Cape|Auditore Cape]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>


In later years, even after the [[Siege of Monteriggioni|fall of Monteriggioni]], Ezio would continue to collect feathers in [[Rome]]; particularly those found on landmarks throughout the city. He placed these feathers in a chest at the [[Tiber Island headquarters]], which resembled the feather box that had once been kept in Maria's room.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>
In his later years, even after the [[siege of Monteriggioni]], Ezio continued to collect feathers in [[Rome]], particularly those found on landmarks throughout the city. He placed these feathers in a chest at the [[Tiber Island headquarters]], which resembled the box that had once been kept in Maria's room.<ref name="ACB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>


===American Revolutionary War===
===American Revolutionary War===
[[File:Legacy 7.png|thumb|250px|right|Connor laying a feather on Achilles' coffin]]
{{Quote|The Clan Mother has asked us to gather materials for tonight. We'll start with the feathers. We can scout the area for bird nests from up there.|Ratonhnhaké:ton to Kanen'tó:kon, 1769.|Assassin's Creed III|Feathers and Trees}}
During one instance in 1769, [[Ratonhnhaké:ton]] and [[Kanen'tó:kon]] gathered feathers from nests nearby [[Kanatahséton]] at the request of the [[Oiá:ner|Clan Mother]] of their village. During the course of the [[American Revolutionary War]], Ratonhnhaké:ton could also collect other feathers in memory of his village.
[[File:Legacy 7.png|thumb|250px|Connor laying a feather on Achilles' coffin]]
In 1769, [[Ratonhnhaké:ton]] and [[Kanen'tó:kon]] gathered three eagle feathers from nests near [[Kanatahséton]] at the request of their village's [[Oiá:ner|Clan Mother]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Feathers and Trees]]</ref> During the course of the [[American Revolutionary War]], Ratonhnhaké:ton could also collect other feathers across the [[Frontier]] in memory of his village.<ref name="AC3">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''</ref>


During the funeral of the [[Mentor]] [[Achilles Davenport]], Ratonhnhaké:ton laid a feather on his coffin.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''</ref>
Over a decade later, during the funeral of his Mentor [[Achilles Davenport]] in 1781, Ratonhnhaké:ton laid a feather on his coffin.<ref name="Legacy">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Legacy]]</ref>


{{-}}
===Modern times===
===Modern times===
Before the [[Great Purge|fall of the Assassin Order]], an Assassin safehouse disguised as a dry-cleaners used photographs of feathers, coupled with the codeword "[[Rafiq]]", as proof of identity. However, the Templars, with the help of [[Daniel Cross]], used this information to identify the safehouse and launched an assault.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: The Fall]] epilogue''</ref>
Before the [[Great Purge]], an Assassin safehouse disguised as a dry-cleaners used photographs of feathers, coupled with the codeword "[[Rafiq]]", as proof of identity. However, the Templars, with the help of [[Daniel Cross]], used this information to identify and [[raid]] the safehouse.<ref>[[Assassin's Creed: The Fall (TPB)|''Assassin's Creed: The Fall'' (TPB)]]</ref>


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Proximity to a feather was signaled by a 'shimmering' sound effect identical to the ones heard near [[treasure chests]], [[glyphs]] and [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex|Codex pages]], as well as the [[decipher fragments]] in ''[[The Lost Archive]]''.
*Proximity to a feather was signaled by a 'shimmering' sound effect identical to the ones heard near [[treasure chest]]s, [[glyphs]], and [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex|Codex pages]], as well as the [[decipher fragments]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''{{'}} [[Assassin's Creed: Revelations downloadable content|downloadable]] expansion ''[[The Lost Archive]]''.
;''Assassin's Creed II''
;''Assassin's Creed II''
*Due to his death, it was never revealed why Petruccio collected the feathers in the first place; although a line from the [[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance|novelization]] suggested that they were meant to be a present for his mother.
*Collecting all 100 feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed II achievements|achievement]] "'''In Memory of Petruccio'''".
*Collecting all 100 feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed II achievements|achievement]] "'''In Memory of Petruccio'''".
*If Ezio placed all 100 feathers at once in Maria's feather chest, the cutscene with Maria occurred before the one with Mario.
*If Ezio placed all 100 feathers at once in Maria's feather chest, the cutscene with Maria occurred before the one with Mario.
Line 55: Line 67:
;''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood''
;''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood''
*Collecting all 10 feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood achievements|achievement]] "'''In Memoriam'''".
*Collecting all 10 feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood achievements|achievement]] "'''In Memoriam'''".
*After Sequence 4, a map detailing the locations of all the remaining feathers could be bought from any [[Art merchants|art merchant]].
*After Sequence 4, a map detailing the locations of all the remaining feathers could be bought from any [[art merchant]].
*Maria's feather chest was an [[Monteriggioni artifacts|artifact]] that could be found in modern Monteriggioni by [[Desmond Miles]].
*In 2012, [[Desmond Miles]] could explore [[Monteriggioni]] and find Maria's feather chest, which counted as one of the [[Monteriggioni artifacts]].
;''Assassin's Creed III''
;''Assassin's Creed III''
*All feathers were found in the [[Frontier]], and a map detailing their locations could also be bought from [[general stores]].
*All feathers were found in the Frontier, and a map detailing their locations could also be bought from [[general store]]s.
*Collecting all feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed III outfits#Kanien'kehá:ka Outfit|outfit]] Ratonhnhaké:ton wore before becoming an Assassin.
*Collecting all feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed III outfits#Kanien'kehá:ka Outfit|outfit]] Ratonhnhaké:ton wore before becoming an Assassin.
;''Assassin's Creed: Syndicate''
;''Assassin's Creed: Syndicate''
*[[Jacob Frye|Jacob]] and [[Evie Frye]] used handkerchiefs to mark successful assassinations rather than using feathers.
*[[Jacob Frye|Jacob]] and [[Evie Frye]] used handkerchiefs to mark successful assassinations rather than using feathers.
;''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey''
*The [[Hedone|Hedonists]] also had a ritual of collecting feathers. [[Herodotos]] believed it a futile endeavor that no one should emulate.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" widths="180">
ACISaracenSiege.png|A feather left in [[Saladin|Salāḥ ad-Dīn]]'s tent
ACISaracenSiege.png|A feather left in Saladin's tent
ACTF Feather.jpg|A Templar holds a picture of a Feather
ACB Villa Artifact Feather Chest.png|Maria's feather chest
ACTF Feather.jpg|A Templar holding a picture of a feather
</gallery>
</gallery>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Scroll box|content={{Reflist}}}}
{{AC}}
{{AC}}
{{AC2}}
{{AC2}}
 
{{ACS4}}
[[pt-br:Pena]]
[[pt-br:Pena]]
[[zh:羽毛]]
[[zh:羽毛]]

Latest revision as of 17:38, 3 December 2025

Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of Assassin's Creed Origins: Desert Oath.

This article has been identified as being out of date. Please update the article to reflect recent releases and then remove this template once done.

"Each feather is a victory; they must be collected and chronicled, not consigned to the heap of history."
―Rayhan in a letter to Fuladh Al Haami, 862.[src]-[m]
An eagle's feather

Feathers are integumentary structures distinctive of certain archosaurs such as dinosaurs, particularly their avian descendants. Feathers provide insulation, waterproofing, flight aid, and can also be help in camouflage or communication. Throughout human history, feathers have been used for aesthetic, practical, and ritual purposes.[1]

Among the Assassin Brotherhood, feathers were of particularly high importance and, at various points in their history, were used by the Brotherhood's members during their assassinations to mark the death of a target.

Structure[edit | edit source]

Feathers are typically composed of a center shaft with interlocked barbs branching out from the shaft to create a stiff vane. The barbs of downy feathers are not interlocked causing them to be much softer.[1]

Human usage[edit | edit source]

Classical Greece[edit | edit source]

The Mysteries of Hedone, a cult active in Greece during the Peloponnesian War, used feather-collecting as part of their initiation ritual,[2] though the historian Herodotos believed it a futile endeavor that no one should emulate.[3]

Ptolemaic Egypt[edit | edit source]

"May the Hidden One walk beside you. The lord of the Duat awaits."
―Bayek to Gennadios prior to sending him to the Duat, 48 BCE.[src]-[m]

In Ancient Egypt, feathers, particularly those of eagles and herons, were used in various rituals. The inhabitants of the Siwa Oasis believed that the hearts of the dead would be weighed against the feather of Ma'at to determine the soul's fate in the afterlife. If the heart was equal to or lighter than the feather, the soul could pass on to the Field of Reeds; otherwise, it would be devoured by Ammit.[4]

Bayek using a feather to send Gennadios to the Duat

During his hunt of the Order of the Ancients, the Medjay Bayek of Siwa used feathers to send his targets to the Duat for Osiris to judge in accordance with Egyptian mythology.[4] After Bayek founded the Hidden Ones alongside his wife Aya, this practice was quickly adopted by the members of their organization.[5] Although the practice's original purpose was lost over the centuries, it nonetheless remained an integral part of the Hidden Ones' identity.[6]

Abbasid Caliphate[edit | edit source]

"Our tradition of the feather comes from Egypt. They represent the feathers of Ma'at. The feathers of the heron were dipped in the blood of the targets. These would be left for the Lord of the Duat to judge. It is important we remain humble and know our place in the process. We are messengers of justice and not the final judges."
―Fuladh Al Haami, 862.[src]-[m]

In 862, Fuladh Al Haami, a member of the Alamut Hidden Ones, explained the origins of their practice of dipping feathers in their targets' blood to a new initiate, Basim Ibn Ishaq. Fuladh claimed that, although the tradition had lost its original meaning, it nonetheless served as an important reminder that the Hidden Ones were only messengers of justice, and not the final judges.[6]

Basim dipping a feather in Ning's blood

During his hunt of the Order of the Ancients in Baghdad, Basim was given a heron's feather ahead of each major assassination, which he would stain with his target's blood and return to the Hidden Ones bureau as proof of the target's death.[7] All the feathers would then be collected and sent back to Alamut to be chronicled and preserved; as the Mentor Rayhan once remarked, this was because each bloodied feather symbolized a victory for the Hidden Ones.[8]

Third Crusade[edit | edit source]

"I have heard a feather is lying on top of Abu'l Nuqoud's head. Maybe I could help you, but I have a mission myself."
―An Assassin informant to Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, 1191.[src]-[m]

For the Levantine Assassins during the High Middle Ages, similarly to the Alamut Hidden Ones, feathers were used to either grant an Assassin permission to kill a target or prove that the assignment had been completed.[9] They could also be used to warn potential targets about how vulnerable they were, as was the case when Umar Ibn-La'Ahad infiltrated Saladin's camp and laid a feather on the Sultan's pillow.[10][11]

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad receiving a feather at the Damascus Bureau

After investigations on the target had been completed, Assassin bureau leaders would give the chosen Assassin a feather, allowing them to proceed with the actual mission. Upon killing his target, the Assassin would stain the feather with the blood of the slain, and present it to the Bureau leader.[9] Among Assassins, the phrase "having a feather on one's head" meant a mark of death. For example, an informer in Damascus once commented that "a feather laid on top of Abu'l Nuqoud's head", implying that the Merchant King was marked for assassination.[12]

Renaissance[edit | edit source]

"Ezio, look at her. I still can't get her to talk! She spends all day and night in front of those feathers Petruccio used to collect. She can't let him go."
―Claudia Auditore to her brother, regarding their mother, 1478.[src]-[m]

As he was sickly and often confined to bed, Petruccio Auditore once asked his brother Ezio to collect feathers for him. Though Ezio asked him what they were for, he only said it was a secret to be revealed in time,[13] but obliquely suggested that they were meant as a present for their mother Maria.[14]

Ezio giving Petruccio a bundle of feathers

Unfortunately, Petruccio never had a chance to tell Ezio what the secret was, as he was murdered alongside their elder brother Federico and father Giovanni the immediate next day. Maria was struck particularly hard by his loss and she remained silent for years,[15] only breaking it to quietly pray over Petruccio's feather box that she kept in her room in Monteriggioni's Villa Auditore, in mourning for her lost child.[16]

In an effort to resolve this, Ezio sought to collect feathers, both in memory of his brother and to coax his mother into speaking again. As he traveled across Italy, he gathered and placed any feathers he found into a box in his mother's room.[17]

Maria's box of feathers

After Ezio had collected 50 feathers, his uncle Mario spoke with him about what he was doing, suggesting that he should give up in what he believed to be a wasted effort. After collecting 100 feathers, however, Ezio's efforts were rewarded. Maria spoke again for the first time in years, thanking Ezio for not giving up on her and presenting him with a cape that bore the House of Auditore crest.[18]

In his later years, even after the siege of Monteriggioni, Ezio continued to collect feathers in Rome, particularly those found on landmarks throughout the city. He placed these feathers in a chest at the Tiber Island headquarters, which resembled the box that had once been kept in Maria's room.[19]

American Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]

"The Clan Mother has asked us to gather materials for tonight. We'll start with the feathers. We can scout the area for bird nests from up there."
―Ratonhnhaké:ton to Kanen'tó:kon, 1769.[src]-[m]
Connor laying a feather on Achilles' coffin

In 1769, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon gathered three eagle feathers from nests near Kanatahséton at the request of their village's Clan Mother.[20] During the course of the American Revolutionary War, Ratonhnhaké:ton could also collect other feathers across the Frontier in memory of his village.[21]

Over a decade later, during the funeral of his Mentor Achilles Davenport in 1781, Ratonhnhaké:ton laid a feather on his coffin.[22]

Modern times[edit | edit source]

Before the Great Purge, an Assassin safehouse disguised as a dry-cleaners used photographs of feathers, coupled with the codeword "Rafiq", as proof of identity. However, the Templars, with the help of Daniel Cross, used this information to identify and raid the safehouse.[23]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

Assassin's Creed II
  • Collecting all 100 feathers unlocked the achievement "In Memory of Petruccio".
  • If Ezio placed all 100 feathers at once in Maria's feather chest, the cutscene with Maria occurred before the one with Mario.
  • If one were to begin collecting feathers in Florence before arriving at Monterigionni, the Animus would still provide the message stating that feathers could be returned to Maria's room there.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed III
  • All feathers were found in the Frontier, and a map detailing their locations could also be bought from general stores.
  • Collecting all feathers unlocked the outfit Ratonhnhaké:ton wore before becoming an Assassin.
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
  • Jacob and Evie Frye used handkerchiefs to mark successful assassinations rather than using feathers.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • A feather left in Saladin's tent
    A feather left in Saladin's tent
  • Maria's feather chest
    Maria's feather chest
  • A Templar holding a picture of a feather
    A Templar holding a picture of a feather

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Feather on Wikipedia
  2. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Lost Tales of Greece – The Hedonistic Method
  3. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Floating conversations
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Assassin's Creed: Origins
  5. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Hidden Ones
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A New Beginning
  7. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage
  8. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Notes from Basim's travels: "Don't Forget the Feathers"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Assassin's Creed
  10. ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade – Chapter 3
  11. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Database: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad: "Saracen Siege of Masyaf"
  12. ↑ Assassin's Creed – Stealth Assassination (Abu'l Nuqoud)
  13. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Petruccio's Secret
  14. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Renaissance
  15. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Last Man Standing
  16. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Practice Makes Perfect
  17. ↑ Assassin's Creed II
  18. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Floating conversations: "A Mother's Grief"
  19. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  20. ↑ Assassin's Creed III – Feathers and Trees
  21. ↑ Assassin's Creed III
  22. ↑ Assassin's Creed III – Legacy
  23. ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Fall (TPB)

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pt-br:Pena zh:羽毛

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