Masun

Altaïr: "You betrayed us. We, who called you brother and kept you safe from harm."

Masun: "I did what I believed was right. And if you must kill me for it, so be it. I am not afraid to die."

—Altaïr interrogating Masun, 1191

Masun (died 1191) was a resident and preacher of the village of Masyaf who secretly became a zealous devotee of Templar ideology, believing that the Assassins and their leader, Al Mualim, were "madmen" who denied the people their freedom.

To that end, he conspired with an Assassin named Jamal to open the village gates for the Knights Templar during their attack on the settlement in 1191. Following the repelling of the invasion, Masun was identified through the investigation of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, who apprehended the traitor while he was preaching to the villagers. Brought before Al Mualim in the fortress's study, Masun remained defiant and refused to renounce his new-found faith, leading the Master of the Assassins to personally execute him with a sword.

Biography

"I see the way you look at me. Hear the things you say! A traitor! I'm not a traitor! It's Al Mualim who's betrayed us! You'll see! Soon, all your eyes will be opened to the truth! We stand upon the threshold between this world and a new one! A better place, where all might live as equals! But men, like Al Mualim, would see this dream destroyed! Today's attack was but the first, and more will follow unless you repent! Give up your wicked ways. Rise up against the madman of Masyaf! See through his lies!"

―Masun preaching to Masyaf, 1191

A resident of Masyaf, Masun eventually came to reject the leadership of Al Mualim, whom he denounced as a "madman" whose lies sought to destroy the dream of a better world. Convinced that he stood upon the threshold of a "new world"—one devoid of war, fear, and pain, where all might live as equals—Masun became a fervent convert to the Templar ideology. Operating as a mole within the village, he conspired with Jamal, a member of the Assassin Brotherhood who had also secretly aligned himself with the Templar cause. To maintain their subversion, the two utilized a local basket weaver as a conduit for their correspondence, ensuring that the details of their betrayal remained hidden from the Order's watchful eyes.

When the Templars arrived at Masyaf in 1191 in pursuit of the Apple of Eden that had been seized by the Assassin Malik Al-Sayf within the Temple of Solomon, Masun fulfilled his role in the Templar conspiracy by opening the village gates for the invaders. He acted upon a specific signal sent by Jamal in a letter—delivered by the basket weaver shortly before the assault—which contained the order to permit the enemy entry. This allowed the Templars to lay siege to the village and fortress, but the assault was repulsed when Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad triggered the release of massive logs from the fortress ramparts, crushing the Templar forces and breaking their advance.

Following the failed assault, Masun expressed fear in his correspondence that his subversion had been discovered and that he could no longer meet with his accomplice. To protect their conspiracy, he ceased direct contact with Jamal and penned a letter urging the Assassin to flee to Damascus, directing him to a cache of coin hidden near a dead cypress tree to facilitate his escape. Despite the danger of being exposed, Masun resolved to remain in Masyaf, believing it his duty to help the populace and rally them against Al Mualim, whom he denounced as a "madman" who denied the people their true freedom.

In the hours following the battle, word of Masun's betrayal began to spread among the populace; at least one villager had witnessed him opening the gate, though many remained silent out of fear, suspecting he had a powerful accomplice within the fortress. However, Al Mualim, the Mentor of the Assassins, chose to delay the traitor's arrest. Al Mualim had demoted Altaïr to the rank of novice as punishment for breaking the rules of the Creed, and his penance was performing simple tasks intended for novices. To that end, Altaïr was tasked with finding the traitor to prove he still remembered how to be an Assassin.

Al Mualim executing Masun

The Assassin's investigation proved quite easy: after hearing two villagers in the village market talk about Masun's treachery, he pickpocketed the last letter Masun wrote to Jamal from the basket-weaver. Following the directions in the letter, Altaïr found Masun himself standing on a stage at the center of the village, crying out to the people to rise against the "madman" of Masyaf and see through his lies. Upon interrogating Masun in a secluded area, the man revealed his allegiance to the Templars, as well as the identity of his accomplice Jamal, to which Altaïr brought the traitor back to Al Mualim's study. There, Masun was given a final chance to repent, though the man remained defiant and insisted he held only the truth in his heart, prompting the Mentor to execute him by stabbing a sword through his neck.

Personality and traits

Al Mualim: "I offer you a chance to repent. To renounce the evil in your heart."

Masun: "It is not evil in my heart, but truth! I will not repent."

—Masun just before his execution by Al Mualim, 1191

Masun fervently believed in the Templar cause, claiming that their goal: to forge a new world devoid of war, fear, and pain, where all might live as equals, was noble. To him, the ideals of the Templars represented an irrefutable truth, stating even at the moment of his death that it was not evil in his heart, but truth. For this reason, his loyalty to the dreams of the Templars was unwavering; he remained proud of his actions and only regretted that the Templar attack on the village had failed.

Such was the extent of his convictions that he abandoned all caution to publicly preach to the people of Masyaf, urging them to rise against the "madman" Al Mualim and see through his lies. In Masun's mind, although this dangerously exposed him to the Assassins, it was the correct course of action because he believed he was doing what was right for the people. He remained defiantly faithful to the Templars to the very end, refusing to repent or yield; his claim to Altaïr that he was unafraid to die for his beliefs proved true when he faced Al Mualim's blade without fear.

Trivia

• The name Maṣūn (مصون) means "well-protected" or "safeguarded" in Arabic.
  • Ironically, the news of Masun's treachery was easy to discover, as it required only a letter to find out about, as opposed to the lengthier investigations that Altaïr had to perform for his later targets.
• In Assassin's Creed, Masun is the only person that Altaïr does not kill after an interrogation, as all of the others are executed with the Hidden Blade shortly after the Assassin has extracted all the information he can from them.
• Masun's character model is identical to that of the other Templar heralds that are interrogated by Altaïr in Jerusalem and Damascus.
• Masun's arrest and execution is not detailed in the Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade novel, with his and Jamal's betrayal omitted entirely, and Altaïr traveling directly to Damascus for Tamir's assassination after his demotion.
• Masun's decision to publicly preach before all of Masyaf to advocate the Templar cause against the Assassins is ironic as in his letter to Jamal, he initially stresses that his betrayal must not be discovered. In the very same letter, he then contradicts himself by declaring his intention to rally the villagers against the Assassins.

Gallery

• 
  Masun preaching to the villagers
• 
  Altaïr interrogating Masun
• 
  Masun, defiant before Al Mualim

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed