Marcus Junius Brutus

"My brothers are eager for blood, but I am not certain I can spill it."

―Brutus, 44 BCE.

Marcus Junius Brutus (85 BCE – 42 BCE), commonly known simply as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic, and one of the earliest members of the Roman Hidden Ones, which would later transform into the Assassins. Most notably, Brutus held a leading role in the assassination conspiracy against the consul Gaius Julius Caesar, a leading member of the Order of the Ancients, in 44 BCE. He was also the first known human to discover the Colosseum Vault.

Following Caesar's assassination, Brutus and fellow Hidden One Gaius Cassius Longinus fled Rome to escape the political turmoil caused by their actions. Brutus went on to settle on the Greek island of Crete, laying the foundations for a new branch of the Hidden Ones to fight the island's tyrants. However, in 42 BCE, the Roman legions led by Octavian and Marcus Antonius clashed with Brutus and Cassius' forces in Philippi, Macedonia. Faced with certain defeat, Brutus committed suicide; his fellow Hidden Ones attempted to resurrect him with a Shroud of Eden, but were unsuccessful.

Biography

Early life

In 47 BCE, Brutus and fellow Roman Senator Gaius Cassius Longinus became two of the first members of the Hidden Ones, an early incarnation of the Assassins, after having been recruited by Aya. Both of them later met with Aya in Alexandria, where they made preparations to head to Rome and combat the Order of the Ancients' influence. When Aya's fleet was attacked by Roman ships, Brutus and Cassius arrived to assist her before resuming their journey to Rome.

Around 45 BCE, many senators began to fear Julius Caesar's growing power following his appointment as dictator. Aware of Caesar's connection to the Order of the Ancients, the Hidden Ones began leading a conspiracy against Caesar, recruiting forty senators and calling themselves the Liberatores.

Discovery of the Vault

"Dreams of the cavern again! I run my phantom hands along its walls and recognize every flaw. There is writing here, but I cannot read it."

―Brutus speaking of his dreams.

Brutus' drawing of the Colosseum Vault

For some time, Brutus' dreams were haunted by a mysterious cavern that he found himself compelled to find. Eventually, he was led to discover the sealed Isu vault hidden beneath what would eventually become the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara Coeli.

As he had been assigned by Cassius to devise a plan to assassinate Caesar, Brutus chose the Temple of Juno that preceded the vault as the Hidden Ones' meeting place. Whenever his co-conspirators left after their council meetings, Brutus would explore the cavern on his own, coming across what had supposedly drawn him to the location: "Whispers. Lights flickering through cracks in the earth. A doorway that is also a puzzle."

Eventually discovering how to gain entrance to the vault, Brutus was struck to awe by the "phantom radiance" of the otherworldly architecture, and found the "very pillars of [his] beliefs toppled." Upon approaching and activating the vault's pedestal, Brutus was shown Rome in flames; the aftermath of Caesar's assassination, which ultimately drove him into action.

Brutus would later write several scrolls describing his dreams and discovery of the vault, as well as include drawings of the chamber and its pedestal. Following the assassination of Caesar, Brutus also returned to the temple to store these scrolls, as well as his heirloom armor.

Assassination of Julius Caesar

"I relay my plan; some details are my own, but others driven by my visions. My contributions are practical: we will attack as a group to prevent escape and to ensure each of us is committed to this task. We will lure him to the Senate, where none of his allies may enter."

―Brutus planning Caesar's assassination, c. 44 BCE.

Brutus instructing Aya

In 44 BCE, Brutus brought Aya to Rome to explore the city and its surroundings. As they made their way across the rooftops, they tracked down a Roman orator, Magnus, who supported Caesar's ascension and attempted to manipulate the Senate. Brutus instructed Aya to assassinate Magnus at the right time, which she did with an arrow soon after.

After assassinating the orator, Brutus and Aya regrouped in a Roman bathhouse, where he reminisced about his past with Caesar, who he believed had become mad with power. They were later interrupted by Cassius, who informed them that Caesar refused to renounce the title of dictator, despite the "messages" they had sent.

Inspired and encouraged by the visions he had seen in the vault, Brutus devised the plan for the assassination alongside thirty-nine other senators. As dictated to him by his visions, Brutus scheduled their attack for the Ides of March.

That day, however, Caesar's wife Calpurnia attempted to convince him not to attend the Senate, delaying his arrival and leading the Hidden Ones to fear that the plot had been found out. Brutus persisted nevertheless, arriving at the Theatre of Pompey with Aya and Cassius, where they caught sight of Caesar with Lucius Septimius by his side. While Aya dealt with Septimius, Brutus and Cassius were instructed to delay and wait for Caesar at the Senate.

Brutus stabbing Caesar

Following Septimius' defeat and death, Brutus met with Aya outside the Senate, where he handed her a dagger given to him by Caesar, appointing her as the one to eliminate the dictator. Brutus later entered the building and attended the Senate with the rest of the senators. Following Brutus' instructions, Aya entered shortly after and delivered the first stab to Caesar.

The rest of the senators then followed, stabbing Caesar twenty-three times. Caesar resisted at first, but resigned himself to his fate upon recognizing Brutus, who delivered the last stab to the dictator, killing him. With Caesar dead, Brutus declared that the Romans were now free from the tyrant.

Fleeing Rome

"I can think of no one better to fix this place. You can start a new bureau here. Do it the right way. From the shadows. It is your home now."

―Brutus entrusting Aya to lead the Hidden Ones in Rome, 44 BCE.

After the assassination, the Senate passed an amnesty on the Hidden Ones, which was proposed by Caesar's friend and co-consul Marcus Antonius. Nonetheless, uproar among the population caused Brutus and the other Hidden Ones to go into hiding.

Aya, Brutus, and Cassius surrounded

After Aya was knocked unconscious during a fight on an aqueduct, Brutus and his fellow Hidden Ones found and brought her to safety in an aqueduct supply storeroom, where they treated her injuries. Aya, having seen the repercussions of the assassination, questioned Brutus' decision to kill Caesar in the Senate, pointing a knife to his neck. Cassius managed to interlude, convincing them of the need to leave Rome before Caesar's loyal followers found them.

As Brutus and the Hidden Ones continued their path on leaving Rome, they came across a senator who had taken part in Caesar's assassination, being surrounded by Roman citizens. Aya urged Brutus and the others to continue and head to Crete before going to save the senator. However, Brutus and Cassius refused to abandon Aya and later saved her from being eaten by a hippopotamus in an underground cavern. Starting a fire to delay their pursuers, Brutus and the others made their way through an exit, only to be confronted by Antonius and a group of Caesar's followers.

Brutus parting ways with Aya

The Hidden Ones fought their way through the guards, eventually overwhelming them and Antonius. Before Brutus could eliminate Antonius, Aya stopped him, suggesting to end further bloodshed. With the uproar slowly dying down, Brutus met with Aya one last time on an aqueduct, entrusting her to lead the Hidden Ones in Rome. Brutus was given a dagger by Aya to use in his journey and promised to one day return to Rome.

Sailing to Crete, Brutus established a local branch of the Hidden Ones on the island and worked to eliminate its tyrants as he had done in Rome. However, he was soon drawn back into conflict with Antonius, who now worked with Caesar's adopted son and heir Octavian to bring down the Liberatores.

Death

"Whatever power lies within this artifact, it has not returned our Brother to us. We close his eyes again. There is no sign that he had ever moved."

―The attempted resurrection of Brutus.

The Shroud being used on Brutus' body

Eventually, the armies of Antonius and Octavian clashed with those of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in Macedonia in 42 BCE. Faced with certain defeat, the Hidden Ones fled and committed suicide.

Following Brutus' death, his fellow Hidden Ones gathered in Philippi and tried to use the Shroud of Eden to bring him back to life. However, the Shroud was not capable of such restoration, and though Brutus opened his eyes and moved, he did not appear to breathe, and eventually fell still in a seeming second death.

Legacy

Not long after Brutus' demise, rumors circulated that he may have survived by faking his death and changing his name. In 1320, the author Dante Alighieri included Brutus and Cassius in his poem Inferno, the first part in his Divine Comedy. In it, they were condemned to the lowest circle of hell for killing Julius Caesar, despite the fact that Dante was an Assassin.

Ezio recovering Brutus' armor

Some time prior to 1500, the Followers of Romulus discovered the Temple of Juno, and found Brutus' armor and dagger within. They took the artifacts, hiding them in a chamber in the tunnels beneath Colle Palatino. The chamber was to only be opened with six keys, spread across various landmarks throughout Rome, hidden alongside the scrolls Brutus had written.

In 1503, a young Giovanni Borgia inadvertently relived some of Brutus' memories, due to them both having been exposed to the Shroud of Eden. Later that same year, the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze managed to obtain all six keys and retrieved Brutus' armor and dagger from its chamber.

By the year 2000, a marble bust of Brutus' head was located in the Mentor's office in Dubai, alongside statues of other notable Assassins such as Iltani and Ezio Auditore.

Behind the scenes

Marcus Junius Brutus is a historical figure and character first mentioned in the 2010 video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, before making his first on-screen appearance in 2017's Assassin's Creed: Origins and returning in its 2018 comic follow-up of the same name.

Historically, Brutus belonged to one of the oldest patrician families in Rome, Junius, long-time members of Roman aristocracy who believed they were direct descendants of the Roman goddess Juno. Somewhat fittingly, Brutus' ability to activate the Colosseum Vault's pedestal suggests that he was a descendant of the Isu and that he possessed a high concentration of Isu DNA.

Gallery

• 
  Sculpts of Brutus
• 
  Close-up of Brutus
• 
  Brutus meeting Bayek
• 
  Brutus with Aya and Cassius
• 
  Brutus declaring Caesar's death
• 
  Brutus leaving Caesar's dead body
• 
  Brutus holding the dagger given to him by Aya
• 
  Ezio Auditore wearing Brutus' armor

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: The Fall (sculpture only)
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Origins
• Assassin's Creed: Origins comic
• Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? (non-canonical appearance)
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)