Ankh

"This cross is like a key which allowed a Traveler to pass through the Gates of Eternity..."

―Lucius talking about the Ankh to his son.

The Ankh is an artifact believed to be a Piece of Eden, though recent research by Abstergo Industries disputes its authenticity. It was said to have the capability of healing the sick, and temporarily resurrecting the dead. It would also act as a recording device, storing the mannerisms of a living person and being able to return those mannerisms to a corpse.

Initially used by the Egyptian goddess Isis to resurrect her husband Osiris and to help Egyptian pharaohs, the Ankh was later transported to Rome after having been looted from a pyramid. There, the Ankh wound up around Lugdunum, in the hands of the Liberalis Circulum, a group of Hidden Ones, who held on to it despite attempts by the Order of the Ancients to take it.

The Ankh was later rumored to be located in central Europe, before eventually returning to Egypt in possession of the Templar, Armen Kazan, before evidently becoming lost in Paris. In 2014, Juhani Otso Berg traveled to Essen in search of the artifact but, without any reliable evidence of its existence, he and Violet da Costa dismissed the stories of the Ankh as a hoax perpetuated by the Assassins to send them on a wild goose chase.

Owners

• Isu (? - ?)
• Isis (? – ?)
• Roman looters (1st century)
• Slave trader (1st century)
• Lugos (2nd century)
• Accipiter (259 CE)
• Aquilus (259 CE)
• Lucius (259 CE)
• Caïus Fulvus Vultur (259 CE)
• Aquilus (259 CE)
• Valeria (259 CE)
• Helena Blavatsky (1868)
• Armen Kazan (1869)
• Art Hennighan (November 1869–September 1870)
• Lebrun (September 1870)

History

Egypt

The Ankh was originally owned by Isis, who used its mystical powers to protect the kings of Egypt from harm. After Osiris was murdered by his brother Set, Isis used the Ankh to resurrect him for one more night of intimacy; an act that led to the conception of Isis' son, Horus.

Roman Empire

During the mid-1st century, the Ankh was recovered from a pyramid by Roman looters, who sold it to a slave trader. The Ankh switched hands many times, until it ended up in Lugos' possession, however, Lugos' ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea, not before he could leave a message stored in the Ankh, revealing his position, and that he carried the Scepter of Aset as well. Somehow, the Ankh eventually ended up in Germania.

In 259, the Ankh came into the hands of the Aleman Hidden One Accipiter. He then passed it on to Aquilus, who brought it back home to his father Lucius. Lucius locked it in a box, but the very same day, he was killed by his associate Caïus Fulvus Vultur, a secret Order of the Ancients member, who stole the Ankh for himself.

Valeria holding the Ankh

Aquilus later retook the Ankh from Vultur when he killed him in Rome. Later, while Aquilus was studying the Ankh with his wife Valeria, they were arrested by Roman soldiers, who took the Ankh from the couple. After an assault on the convoy by Accipiter, Valeria was able to reclaim the Ankh from one of the dead soldiers, though the attack resulted in Aquilus' death. On Accipiter's request, she took the Ankh with her and hid it somewhere, due to Accipiter himself being in the middle of a war.

Germany

During the 14th century, a Templar organization called the Brothers of the Cross traveled across Europe to offer protection from the Black Death. The German Assassin Lukas Zurburg suspected them to be after the Ankh, which was rumored to be located in central Europe at the time. In 1350, the Brothers of the Cross and Lukas both inexplicably disappeared.

19th century

In 1868, Helena Blavatsky met the British Assassin Simeon Price via an out-of-work opera singer who had attached himself to Blavatsky. Desperate for money, Blavatsky sought to offer her mystic services to Simeon, claiming to have knowledge of Simeon's prior return of a stolen heirloom to a family and offered to help him locate things through her supposed connection to the spirit realm. She offered the Ankh but the next day, Helena's face went white when Simeon mentioned it as someone stole it from her.

In 1869, the Ankh was in the possession of the Templar Armen Kazan, who led a group of fellow Templars into a cave at the end of railroad line made by late Templar Albert Hawkins. Finding a slab matching the Ankh's size, Kazan placed it inside and waited for the Piece of Eden to activate. However, Kazan and most of the Templars were killed by the British Assassin Pierrette Arnaud, who was subdued and restrained by her former captor Art Hennighan. The Ankh was soon active, while at the same time, fellow Assassins Gamal Sabry, Safiya El-Nadi, and her mentor Simeon Price came to aid her. Meanwhile, one of the pictures on the cave's wall came to life and it was a horse, which almost ran over Arnaud, Hennighan and Price.

After their brief quarrel, Hennighan ran from the Assassins' grasp, took the Ankh, and chased after the horse. After injuring the horse, Hennighan had the Ankh and the horse and escaped his enemies by the water. By 1870, Hennighan made his way to Paris and found refuge with French Templar Virgile Donat. However, their plans to use it with the Engine of History were haltened by the war between France and Prussia. At some point, Hennighan left the Ankh with fellow Templar Lebrun while he fled with other Templars to Tours.

Advised by Hennighan's former lady, Austrian Templar Countess Konstanze von Visler contacted French Templar Victoire L'Estocq to inform them to smuggle the Ankh out of Paris as soon as possible. By air balloon, Lebrun was tasked to carry the Ankh out of Paris while killing his guest, Simeon Price. However, Price overpowered Lebrun and killed him, but not without throwing him and the Ankh from the basket of the air balloon. By 1871, although Lebrun's body was recovered, the Ankh was nowhere to be found.

Trivia

• The Ankh, also known as the Key of Life or Crux Ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph representing "eternal life". It was often worn by Egyptian gods and pharaohs.
• The Ankh was said to carry the Mark of the Messenger inscribed on it.

Gallery

• 
  The Ankh and its powers
• 
  Aquilus speaking with his father
• 
  Lucius speaking through the Ankh
• 
  Vultur attacking Aquilus with the Ankh

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed 2: Aquilus (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed 3: Accipiter
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot