Bayek

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Bayek of Siwa (86 or 85 BCE – unknown) was the last Medjay active in ancient Egypt and one of the founders of the Hidden Ones, an organization that would later transform into the Assassin Brotherhood, alongside his wife Aya.

Bayek and his wife took a leading role in the civil war between Queen Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII, a conflict that saw them at odds with the Order of the Ancients.

Laying the groundworks for the Hidden Ones during this struggle, Bayek and Aya formed bureaus in Memphis and Rome from which they would spread their influence throughout the Roman Republic, helping to fight for the freedom of the people against the Order's desire for control.

Biography

Early life

The son of the Medjay, Sabu, and his wife Ahmose, Bayek hailed from the town of Siwa, where he was viewed as a local hero. He was the last of the Medjay, an old Nubian Egyptian order which had become obsolete under the rule of the Greek Ptolemies, and as such was the respected protector of his community. In the rest of Egypt, however, he was viewed as an inconvenient relic by those in power.

Bayek later married an Alexandrian woman named Aya, who moved in with him during their youth and trained in the arts of the Medjay. Together, they had a son named Khemu.

At one point, Bayek also became a close friend of Hepzefa, a fellow Siwan. He was also well acquainted with Menehet, a priest of Sekhmet in Yamu whose children treated Bayek as a loving uncle. Bayek also occasionally raced against Claridas, who later left Siwa and live in Kanopos under the name Sennefer.

Khemu's death

In 49 BCE, five members of the Order of the Ancients travelled to Siwa and kidnapped Bayek and Khemu, bringing them to the entrance of an Isu vault beneath the Temple of Amun. The Order showed Bayek a relic and demanded him to open the vault due to his experience as the Medjay. Bayek, however, had no knowledge about the vault. Before the Order could interrogate Bayek for more information, the pharaoh Ptolemy XIII arrived at the temple. Khemu stole a knife and succeeded in freeing his father, who attempted to take down the members. He was subdued by one of the members, who deflected his attack and causing him to stab Khemu in the abdomen, killing him. Before Bayek could respond, he was knocked unconscious by the masked men.

Quest for vengeance

Khemu's death drove Bayek to hunt down the members of the Order of the Ancients, one by one. Aya was unable to cope with the loss of her son and returned to Alexandria where her cousin Phanos the Younger lived. Bayek however began searching for information about the Order throughout Egypt. During his absence, Hepzefa took over his Medjay duties and looked after the town. After a whole year of searching, he discovered the identity of one of its members, Rudjek who was the Nomarch of Saqqara and used the cryptonym The Heron. Bayek hunted Rudjek to the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, were he crossed path with Hypatos, Rudjek's bodyguard. Bayek knocked out Hypatos despite being seriously wounded and confronted Rudjek, who threw a knife towards the Medjay. Bayek however dodged the attack with Rudjek's mask and slammed it with the knife through the Nomarch's head, killing him instantly.

Having killed the first member of the Order, Bayek left the pyramid and resume on his journey to pursue the other members. Along the way, he passed out from his injuries and was found by Nefertari, the chief healer of Nitria, a natron mine in Saqqara. Nefertari brought him back to the town and patched his wounds. In the midst of confusion, Bayek left the mine when he woke up and embarked on a long journey back to Siwa.

A few months later, Bayek was confronted by Hypatos in the outskirts of the town above an Old Kingdom tomb, determined to seek vengeance against the Medjay for leaving for dead in the pyramid. In the midst of their fight, Hypatos repeatedly slammed the floor, collapsing the floor and causing both him and Bayek to fall to ruins below. As neither were incapacitated by the fall, they resumed the fight, with Bayek offering a truce. Hypatos refused the truce in the name of honor, eventually falling to the blade of Bayek.

Bayek later navigated his way through the tomb and when he reached the exit, he discovered his friend Hepzefa fighting a group of soldiers who served under Rudjek.

Return to Siwa

After dispatching the soldiers, the Medjay duo rode back to Siwa. Bayek was told of the disruptions to his home vilalge brought upon by Medunamun, a member of the Order known as The Ibis, who had established the Temple of Amunas his base of operations. The two returned to Hepzefa's home, where Bayek began his preparations to hunt his next target. The village healer, Rabiah later arrived and persuade Bayek to rest and allow her to treat his injuries.

Before confronting Medunamun, Hepzefa urged Bayek to strengthen himself with upgraded armor & gear. To do so, Bayek helped Benipe, the blacksmith in Siwa. to regain his tools from Camp Shetjeh.

After helping the local Siwans, Bayek confronted Medunamun who, unapologetic of killing Khemu, was bludgeoned to death by Bayek with a sphered relic the former was studying. Having freed Siwa from Medunamun's tyranny, Bayek returned to Hepzefa for information of Aya's location. Hepzefa directed Bayek to the Great Library in Alexandria and seek a statue of Serapis.

Finding Aya

After crossing the desert, Bayek arrived in Alexandria, seeking Aya in the Great Library by a statue of Serapis. There, Bayek was greeted by Phanos the Younger, a playwright and Aya's cousin. Phanos explained the reason for Aya's absence and escorted Bayek to a garden shrine where he located a hidden entrance to Aya's hideout. Aya greeted Bayek passionately after a year of separation. Aya informed Bayek of the two members of the Order she had killed Actaeon, known as The Vulture whom she hunted and Ktesos, known as The Ram who tracked Aya to her home after killing Actaeon.

Aya showed Bayek a royal papyrus with the Snake's emblem, linking the Ptolemic Court to the Order. Aya attained this intelligence from Apollodorus who, on behalf of Cleopatra, had spies tracking the Order. Bayek was not trusting towards Cleopatra due to her ousting, but decided to trust Aya's judgement. Aya entrusted one of the two relic hidden blades, who belonged to the Persian proto-Assassin Darius, to Bayek to assassinate the last member of the order, whom they believe to be The Snake who killed Khemu. Due to her assassination of Actaeon and Ktesos, Aya was pursued by the Phylakitai of Alexandria, Gennadios, entrusting Bayek with the task eliminate him as well.

Hunting Gennadios and the Snake

Leaving the hideout, Bayek discovered the whereabouts of Gennadios, who was based at the Akra Garrison. Upon finding and assassinating Gennadios, Bayek was warned by the dying phylakitai that his men the Phylakes would hunt for him throughout Egypt for his actions.

After assassinating Gennadios, Bayek infiltrated the Royal Palace in search of the The Snake. Heading to the room of the Royal Scribe, Bayek discovered and unlocked a locked chest, finding letters addressed to Medunamun, which stated he was keeping Pharaoh Ptolomy XIII under his control, and Gennadios was questioning the Alexandrians of Aya's whereabouts. Certain that Eudoros, the royal scribe, was the Snake who was present at the Siwa Vault, Bayek headed to the bathhouse where Eudoros was known to frequent.

Entering the Bathhouse, Bayek navigated the ceiling and discovered where Eudoros was located. Bayek attempted to assassinate Eudoros from the ceiling, which he failed as Eudoros resisted his attack and attempt to drown Bayek, until the latter triggered his hidden blade; amputating his ring finger and killing Eudoros. Before dying, Eudoros remarked that the Snake would never die. Bayek would exit the bathhouse. cauterizing his wound from losing his finger with a fire stick. Having gotten rid of Gennadios and Eudoros that he believed to be the last member of the Order, Bayek returned to Aya atop the Paneum. Having felt some sense of closure, the two would later share a night of passion.

Meeting Cleopatra

After sharing a night of passion, Bayek was uncertain that Eudoros was the last member of the order though Aya assured him the Order ended with Eudoros. Bayek remained unsettled, leading Aya to suggest meeting Apollodorus for more information. On Aya's guidance, Bayek headed to the Hippodrome in the Kanopos Nome, meeting a informant of Apollodorus. The informant directed Bayek tp head to the Kanopos lighthouse after sundown to meet Apollodorus. There, Apollodorus enlisted the Medjay's help to rescue Damastes, another informant and recover a scroll meant for Phoxdias, a Nauarchos in Cleopatra's navy. Having retrieved the intel and rescuing Damastes, Apollodorus invited Bayek to his personal estate to meet the queen, where Aya was guarding Cleopatra. Cleopatra, along with the High Priest of Ptah from Memphis, Pasherenptah, were introduced to Bayek. She explained that the Order of Ancients were responsible for her brother's power and her exile.

The Snake was revealed to refer to the Order as a whole while Eudoros's position was The Hippo. Apollodorus' spies had discovered four new names : The Scarab who terrorized the Nile Delta with violence and sand, The Hyena who terrorized sacred Giza with death and disappearances, The Lizard who terrorized Memphis with misery and sickness and The Crocodile who terrorized the Faiyum Oasis with fear and oppression. Cleopatra orders the Siwans to find and assassinate the four names now learned. Bayek and Aya agree to take the night as lovers, and come the morning as hunters. Bayek relieves his old Medjay badge for Cleopatra's new golden badge.

Personality and traits

Before the tragic death of his son Bayek was shown to a caring and loving father and husband, as well as a dutiful protector of his home of Siwa. He was shown to have a lighthearted and jovial nature, as well as a strong sense of responsibility and duty for those who needed protecting. He also seemed to be very knowledgeable about the Ancient Egyptian religion and would often teach his son about them, while also explaining the world around him. His relationship with his wife was very stable, despite her Greek heritage and his strong belief in the ways of the Old Egypt.

After Khemu's death, Bayek's sole focus became to hunt down those who were responsible, not to rest until everyone involved had paid with their lives. While he took priority on hunting down the Order of the Ancients, he would stop to help those in need, showing that he still took his role as a Medjay and protector seriously.

While he maintained his friendly nature around close friends and people that he trusted, he was equally cold and ruthless toward those he considered to be his enemies. Bayek showed no sympathy toward those who prey on the weak and defenseless, especially innocent children. Although he was driven to kill the members of the Order, Bayek was not incapable in sympathizing with his targets or feeling guilty for his actions. Learning that Khaliset had lost a child caused Bayek to empathize and take pity on her, leading him to pray that Khaliset be reunited with her daughter in the afterlife after he killed her. Another example is that after assassinating Taharqa, Bayek sadly apologized to his son Kawab, showing remorse for robbing an innocent child of his father.

Although Bayek was very proud of his homeland and pursued the ancient paths of his country, he had no prejudices against strangers and their culture and simply wished that Egyptians and non-Egyptians would coexists as equals. He would get disgusted at both non-Egyptians and Egyptians alike, who further insisted on strife and hatred towards each other, like the Caretaker´s Cult, a group that terrorized the Greeks living in Egypt.

Equipment and skills

As a Medjay, Bayek was highly trained in the art of combat, and he utilized a variety of weapons that included the khopesh, spear, and bow. He also possessed a shield to defend himself against enemies' attacks and wielded the signature Hidden Blade for low-profile assassinations. Aside from this, Bayek was an expert in stealth and freerunning.

Bayek had a symbiotic relationship with his eagle, Senu, which aided him in reconnaissance thanks to his Eagle Vision. Unlike later Assassins such as Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Desmond Miles, Bayek's Eagle Vision was far more literal in the sense that activating the ability allowed him to see through the eyes of Senu.

Trivia

• Bayek is a play on the hieroglyphic word for "falcon" or "vulture". This is keeping in tradition of the protagonists' names being associated with avians.
• Bayek possesses a small scar on his upper lip, a feature he shares with later Assassins such as Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Aveline de Grandpré and Desmond Miles.
• Bayek is probably the only character in the series to admit that he is afraid of something; in his case, it’s snakes.
• Alongside Io:nhiòte, Bayek is one of the two known individuals gifted with Eagle Vision who displays the ability to telepathically see through the eyes of animals, in their case eagles.

Gallery

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  Concept art of Bayek
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  Another concept art of Bayek
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  Concept art of Bayek on a horse
• Concept Art of Bayek with Senu on a camel
  Concept Art of Bayek with Senu on a camel
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  3D Models of Bayek
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  Closeup of Bayek's face
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  Bayek during the Alexandrine Civil War
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  Bayek
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  Bayek's burial potrait

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Desert Oath (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Origins

References

de:Bayek von Siwa es:Bayek fr:Bayek de Siwa it:Bayek nl:Bayek pl:Bayek pt-br:Bayek ru:Байек uk:Байєк zh:巴耶克