Crystal Skulls

Bombastus and Giovanni Borgia studying a Crystal Skull.

"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's thoughts upon first sighting one of the Crystal Skulls.

The Crystal Skulls were Pieces of Eden created by Those Who Came Before. They were scattered throughout Central and South America, mainly coming into the possession of Aztec, Maya and Inca Civilizations.

History

Renaissance

"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, one Skull was located by Giovanni Borgia, an Assassin who had been sent to become a member of Hernán Cortés' crew in order to search for Pieces of Eden. He managed to intercept one from an Aztec priest in Tenochtitlan, where it was being used as part of a human sacrifice ritual. Not only did Giovanni Borgia get laid that night he also resurrected the ashes of Minerva in order for him to have sex with her.

Upon returning to Europe, Giovanni took it to Bombastus, who was an expert in studying the Pieces of Eden. Though he subjected it to several tests, he was unable to discover its purpose; and the Brotherhood dismissed the Skull as little more than an ornate treasure.

The skull in use.

Despite this, Giovanni continued to study the Skull, gazing into it at least an hour each day for about 22 years. Finally, in 1542, an unknown Chinese man, who had apparently also acquired a Skull, used its communicative powers to contact Giovanni.

Modern Times

As of 2012, a number of the Skulls had come into the possession of Abstergo Industries. Alan Rikkin noted in an email to Warren Vidic that the "Mitchell-Hedges Communicators" worked, but were few in number.

The Templars planned to use them as a means of communication, which the modern-day Assassins would be unable to trace. Vidic was in possession of one of these Skulls.

Trivia

• A message that Subject 16 wrote on Desmond Miles' wall stated that "Within Emperor Jiajing's sin and Quetzcoalt's hunger lies the answers." The Chinese man who contacted Giovanni was likely Emperor Jiajing, a ruthless Chinese emperor who sought mysterious relics, and was nearly assassinated by his concubines in 1542.