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Cannot find Herodotos line re: feathers and Hedonists in their Lost Tales arc. Maybe line not written?
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{{Update|''[[Assassin's Creed Origins: Desert Oath]]''}}
{{Update|''[[Assassin's Creed Origins: Desert Oath]]''}}
{{Quote|Be sure to remind the Bureaus in Baghdad to return every bloodied feather and mission report to Alamut. Each feather is a victory; they must be collected and chronicled, not consigned to the heap of history.|Rayhan in a letter to Fuladh Al Haami, 862.|Assassin's Creed: Mirage|A New Beginning}}
{{Quote|Be sure to remind the Bureaus in Baghdad to return every bloodied feather and mission report to Alamut. Each feather is a victory; they must be collected and chronicled, not consigned to the heap of history.|Rayhan in a letter to Fuladh Al Haami, 862.|Assassin's Creed: Mirage|A New Beginning}}
[[File:Feather AC2.png|thumb|250px|An [[Eagles|eagle]]'s feather]]
[[File:Feather AC2.png|thumb|250px|An eagle's feather]]
'''Feathers''' are {{wiki|integumentary systems|integumentary}} structures distinctive of certain archosaurs such as dinosaurs, particularly their [[Bird|avian]] descendants. Feathers provide insulation, waterproofing, flight aid, and can also be help in camouflage or communication.  
'''Feathers''' are {{wiki|integumentary system|integumentary}} structures distinctive of certain archosaurs such as dinosaurs, particularly their [[Bird|avian]] descendants. Feathers provide insulation, waterproofing, flight aid, and can also be help in camouflage or communication. Throughout [[human]] history, feathers have been used for aesthetic, practical, and ritual purposes.<ref name="Wiki">{{WP|Feather}}</ref> Among the [[Assassins|Assassin Brotherhood]], feathers were of particularly high importance and, at various points in their history, were used by the Brotherhood's members during their [[assassination]]s to mark the death of their targets.
 
Throughout human history, feathers have been used for aesthetic, practical, and ritual purposes. Among the [[Assassins|Assassin Brotherhood]], feathers were of particularly high importance and, at various points in their history, were used by the Brotherhood's members during their [[Assassination|assassinations]] to mark the death of their targets.


==Structure==
==Structure==
Feathers are typically composed of a center shaft with interlocked barbs branching out from the shaft to create a stiff vane. The barbs of downy feathers are not interlocked causing them to be much softer.
Feathers are typically composed of a center shaft with interlocked barbs branching out from the shaft to create a stiff vane. The barbs of downy feathers are not interlocked causing them to be much softer.<ref name="Wiki"/>


==Human usage==
==Human usage==
===Classical Greece===
===Classical Greece===
The Mysteries of [[Hedone]], a cult active during the [[Peloponnesian War]], used collecting a feather as part of their initiation ritual.<ref name="ACOD">''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' – ''[[The Lost Tales of Greece]]'' – [[The Hedonistic Method]]</ref>
The Mysteries of [[Hedone]], a cult active during the [[Peloponnesian War]], used feather-collecting as part of their initiation ritual,<ref name="ACOD">''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]] – [[The Lost Tales of Greece]]'' – [[The Hedonistic Method]]</ref> though the historian [[Herodotos]] believed it a futile endeavor that no one should emulate.{{Cite|15 March 2019}}


===Ptolemaic Egypt===
===Ptolemaic Egypt===
[[File:GennadiosQuestScreenshot.png|left|thumb|250px|Bayek using a feather to send Gennadios to the Duat]]
[[File:GennadiosQuestScreenshot.png|left|thumb|250px|Bayek using a feather to send Gennadios to the Duat]]
In [[Egypt|Ancient Egypt]], feathers, particularly those of [[Eagle|eagles]], were used in various rituals. The inhabitants of the [[Siwa|Siwa Oasis]] believed that the hearts of the dead would be scaled against the feather of [[Ma'at]] to determine the soul's fate in the afterlife. If the heart was equal or lighter than the feather, the soul could pass on to the [[Aaru|Field of Reeds]]; otherwise, it would be devoured by Ammit.<ref name="ACO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref>
In [[Egypt]], feathers, particularly those of [[eagle]]s, were used in various rituals. The inhabitants of [[Siwa]] believed that the hearts of the dead would be weighed against the feather of [[Ma'at]] to determine the soul's fate in the afterlife. If the heart was equal to or lighter than the feather, the soul could pass on to the [[Aaru|Field of Reeds]]; otherwise, it would be devoured by Ammit.<ref name="ACO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref>


During his hunt of the [[Order of the Ancients]], the [[Medjay]] [[Bayek]] of Siwa used feathers to send his targets to the [[Duat]] for [[Osiris]] to judge in accordance with [[Egyptian mythology]].<ref name="ACO" /> After Bayek founded the [[Assassins|Hidden Ones]] alongside his wife [[Amunet|Aya]], this practice was quickly adopted by members of their organization.<ref name="THO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – ''[[The Hidden Ones (DLC)|The Hidden Ones]]''</ref> Although the practice's original purpose was lost over the centuries, it nonetheless remained an integral part of the Hidden Ones' identity.<ref name="A New Beginning">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' – [[A New Beginning]]</ref>
During his hunt of the [[Order of the Ancients]], the [[Medjay]] [[Bayek]] of Siwa used feathers to send his targets to the [[Duat]] for [[Osiris]] to judge in accordance with [[Egyptian mythology]].<ref name="ACO" /> After Bayek founded the [[Assassins|Hidden Ones]] alongside his wife [[Amunet|Aya]], this practice was quickly adopted by members of their organization.<ref name="THO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]] – [[The Hidden Ones (DLC)|The Hidden Ones]]''</ref> Although the practice's original purpose was lost over the centuries, it nonetheless remained an integral part of the Hidden Ones' identity.<ref name="A New Beginning">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' – [[A New Beginning]]</ref>


===Abbasid Caliphate===
===Abbasid Caliphate===
Line 29: Line 27:
===Third Crusade===
===Third Crusade===
[[File:DBL feather.png|thumb|left|250px|Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad receiving a feather at the Damascus Bureau]]
[[File:DBL feather.png|thumb|left|250px|Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad receiving a feather at the Damascus Bureau]]
For the [[Levantine Assassins]] in the [[Middle Ages|High Middle Ages]], similarly to the Alamut Hidden Ones, feathers were used to both grant an Assassin permission to kill a target, as well as for them to prove that the assignment had been completed.<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref>
For the [[Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins|Levantine Assassins]] in the [[Middle Ages|High Middle Ages]], similarly to the Alamut Hidden Ones, feathers were used to either grant an Assassin permission to kill a target or prove that the assignment had been completed,<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref> but also could be used to warn potential targets about how vulnerable they were, as was the case when [[Umar Ibn-La'Ahad]] infiltrated [[Saladin]]'s camp and laid a feather on the Sultan's pillow.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade]]'' – Chapter 3</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]'' – [[Database: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (ACI)|Database: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]]: "Saracen Siege of Masyaf"</ref> After [[investigation]]s on the target had been completed, Assassin bureau leaders would give the chosen Assassin a feather, allowing them to proceed with the actual mission. Upon killing his target, the Assassin would stain the feather with the blood of the slain, and present it to the Bureau leader.<ref name="AC"/> Among Assassins, the phrase "having a feather on one's head" meant a mark of death. For example, an [[informer]] in [[Damascus]] once commented that "a feather laid on top of [[Abu'l Nuqoud]]'s head", implying that the Merchant King was marked for assassination.<ref>''Assassin's Creed'' – [[Stealth Assassination (Abu'l Nuqoud)]]</ref>
 
After [[investigation]]s on the target had been completed, [[Assassin bureau]] leaders would give the chosen Assassin a feather, allowing them to proceed with the actual mission. Upon killing his target, the Assassin would stain the feather with the blood of the slain, and present it to the Bureau leader.<ref name="AC" />
 
Among Assassins, the phrase "having a feather on one's head" meant a mark of death. For example, an [[Informants|informant]] in [[Damascus]] once commented that "a feather laid on top of [[Abu'l Nuqoud]]'s head," implying that the Merchant King was marked for assassination.<ref name="AC" />


===Renaissance===
===Renaissance===
{{Quote|Ezio, look at her. I still can't get her to talk! She spends all day and night in front of those feathers Petruccio used to collect. She can't let him go.|Claudia Auditore, regarding her mother, 1478.|Assassin's Creed II|Practice Makes Perfect}}
{{Quote|Ezio, look at her. I still can't get her to talk! She spends all day and night in front of those feathers Petruccio used to collect. She can't let him go.|Claudia Auditore, regarding her mother, 1478.|Assassin's Creed II|Practice Makes Perfect}}
[[File:Petruccio's secret v (1).png|thumb|250px|right|Ezio giving Petruccio a bundle of feathers]]
[[File:Petruccio's secret v (1).png|thumb|250px|right|Ezio giving Petruccio a bundle of feathers]]
As he was sickly and often confined to bed, [[Petruccio Auditore da Firenze|Petruccio Auditore]] once asked his brother [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio]] to collect feathers for him. Though Ezio asked him what they were for, he only said that it was a secret, which he would reveal in time.<ref name="Petuccio's Secret">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Petruccio's Secret]]</ref>
As he was sickly and often confined to bed, [[Petruccio Auditore da Firenze|Petruccio Auditore]] once asked his brother [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio]] to collect feathers for him. Though Ezio asked him what they were for, he only said it was a secret to be revealed in time,<ref name="Petuccio's Secret">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Petruccio's Secret]]</ref> but obliquely suggested that they were meant as a present for their mother [[Maria Auditore da Firenze|Maria]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance]] ''</ref> Unfortunately, Petruccio never had a chance to tell Ezio what the secret was, as he was murdered alongside their elder brother [[Federico Auditore da Firenze|Federico]] and father [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze|Giovanni]] the immediate next day. Maria was struck particularly hard by his loss and she remained silent for years,<ref name="Last Mand Standing">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Last Man Standing]]</ref> only breaking it to quietly pray over Petruccio's feather box that she kept in her room in [[Monteriggioni]]'s [[Villa Auditore]], in mourning for her lost child.<ref name="Practice Makes Perfect">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Practice Makes Perfect]]</ref>
 
After the murder of Ezio's father, [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze|Giovanni Auditore]], and his two brothers, [[Federico Auditore da Firenze|Federico]] and Petruccio, his mother [[Maria Auditore da Firenze|Maria]] was struck to silence for years.<ref name="Last Mand Standing">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Last Man Standing]]</ref> She would only remain praying over Petruccio's feathers in [[Villa Auditore#Maria's room|her room]] in the [[Villa Auditore]], in mourning for her lost child.<ref name="Practice Makes Perfect">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Practice Makes Perfect]]</ref>
 
In an effort to resolve this, Ezio sought to collect feathers, both in memory of his brother and to coax his mother into speaking again. As he traveled across [[Italy]], he gathered and placed any feathers he found into a box in his mother's room.<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref>
 
[[File:AC2-featherbox.png|thumb|250px|left|Maria's box of feathers]]
[[File:AC2-featherbox.png|thumb|250px|left|Maria's box of feathers]]
After Ezio had collected fifty feathers, [[Mario Auditore]] spoke with him about what he was doing, suggesting that he should give up in what he believed to be a wasted effort. In an attempt to have Ezio turn his attention to other matters, Mario also let him know that a new weapon, the [[Condottiero War Hammer]], was waiting for him at the [[Monteriggioni]] [[Blacksmiths|blacksmith]].<ref name="AC2" />
In an effort to resolve this, Ezio sought to collect feathers, both in memory of his brother and to coax his mother into speaking again. As he traveled across [[Italy]], he gathered and placed any feathers he found into a box in his mother's room.<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref> After Ezio had collected 50 feathers, his uncle [[Mario Auditore|Mario]] spoke with him about what he was doing, suggesting that he should give up in what he believed to be a wasted effort. In an attempt to have Ezio turn his attention to other matters, Mario also let him know that the new [[Condottiero War Hammer]] was waiting for him at the [[Monteriggioni]] [[blacksmith]]. After collecting 100 feathers, Ezio's efforts were rewarded. Maria spoke again for the first time in years, thanking Ezio for not giving up on her and presenting him with a [[cape]] that bore the [[House of Auditore]] crest.<ref>''Assassin's Creed II'' – [[Floating conversations]]: "A Mother's Grief"</ref> In later years, even after the [[siege of Monteriggioni]], Ezio would continue to collect feathers in [[Rome]], particularly those found on landmarks throughout the city. He placed these feathers in a chest at the [[Tiber Island headquarters]], which resembled the feather box that had once been kept in Maria's room.<ref name="ACB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>
 
After collecting one hundred feathers, Ezio's efforts were rewarded. Maria spoke again for the first time in years, thanking Ezio for not giving up on her, and presenting him with the [[Assassin's Creed II Outfits#Auditore cape|Auditore cape]].<ref name="AC2" />
 
In later years, even after the [[Siege of Monteriggioni|fall of Monteriggioni]], Ezio would continue to collect feathers in [[Rome]]; particularly those found on landmarks throughout the city. He placed these feathers in a chest at the [[Tiber Island headquarters]], which resembled the feather box that had once been kept in Maria's room.<ref name="ACB">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>


===American Revolutionary War===
===American Revolutionary War===
[[File:Legacy 7.png|thumb|250px|right|Connor laying a feather on Achilles' coffin]]
[[File:Legacy 7.png|thumb|250px|right|Connor laying a feather on Achilles' coffin]]
During one instance in 1769, [[Ratonhnhaké:ton]] and [[Kanen'tó:kon]] gathered feathers from nests nearby [[Kanatahséton]] at the request of the [[Oiá:ner|Clan Mother]] of their village. During the course of the [[American Revolutionary War]], Ratonhnhaké:ton could also collect other feathers in memory of his village.<ref name="AC3">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''</ref>
In 1769, [[Ratonhnhaké:ton]] and [[Kanen'tó:kon]] gathered 3 eagle feathers from nests nearby [[Kanatahséton]] at the request of their village's [[Oiá:ner|Clan Mother]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Feathers and Trees]]</ref> During the course of the [[American Revolutionary War]], Ratonhnhaké:ton could also collect other feathers across the [[Frontier]] in memory of his village.<ref name="AC3">''Assassin's Creed III''</ref> Over a decade later, during the funeral of his [[Mentor]] [[Achilles Davenport]] in 1781, Ratonhnhaké:ton laid a feather on his coffin.<ref name="Legacy">''Assassin's Creed III'' – [[Legacy]]</ref>
 
During the funeral of his [[Mentor]] [[Achilles Davenport]] in 1781, Ratonhnhaké:ton laid a feather on his coffin.<ref name="Legacy">''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Legacy]]</ref>


===Modern times===
===Modern times===
Before the [[Great Purge|fall of the Assassin Order]], an Assassin safehouse disguised as a dry-cleaners used photographs of feathers, coupled with the codeword "[[Rafiq]]", as proof of identity. However, the Templars, with the help of [[Daniel Cross]], used this information to identify the safehouse and launch an assault.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: The Fall]]''</ref>
Before the [[Great Purge]], an Assassin safehouse disguised as a dry-cleaners used photographs of feathers, coupled with the codeword "[[Rafiq]]", as proof of identity. However, the Templars, with the help of [[Daniel Cross]], used this information to identify the safehouse and launch an assault.<ref>[[Assassin's Creed: The Fall (TPB)|''Assassin's Creed: The Fall'' (TPB)]]</ref>


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Proximity to a feather was signaled by a 'shimmering' sound effect identical to the ones heard near [[treasure chests]], [[glyphs]] and [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex|Codex pages]], as well as the [[decipher fragments]] in ''[[The Lost Archive]]''.
*Proximity to a feather was signaled by a 'shimmering' sound effect identical to the ones heard near [[treasure chest]]s, [[glyphs]], and [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex|Codex pages]], as well as the [[decipher fragments]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''{{'}} [[Assassin's Creed: Revelations downloadable content|downloadable]] expansion ''[[The Lost Archive]]''.
;''Assassin's Creed II''
;''Assassin's Creed II''
*Due to his death, it was never revealed why Petruccio collected the feathers in the first place; although a line from the [[Assassin's Creed: Renaissance|novelization]] suggested that they were meant to be a present for his mother.
*Collecting all 100 feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed II achievements|achievement]] "'''In Memory of Petruccio'''".
*Collecting all 100 feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed II achievements|achievement]] "'''In Memory of Petruccio'''".
*If Ezio placed all 100 feathers at once in Maria's feather chest, the cutscene with Maria occurred before the one with Mario.
*If Ezio placed all 100 feathers at once in Maria's feather chest, the cutscene with Maria occurred before the one with Mario.
Line 69: Line 51:
;''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood''
;''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood''
*Collecting all 10 feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood achievements|achievement]] "'''In Memoriam'''".
*Collecting all 10 feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood achievements|achievement]] "'''In Memoriam'''".
*After Sequence 4, a map detailing the locations of all the remaining feathers could be bought from any [[Art merchants|art merchant]].
*After Sequence 4, a map detailing the locations of all the remaining feathers could be bought from any [[art merchant]].
*Maria's feather chest was an [[Monteriggioni artifacts|artifact]] that could be found in modern Monteriggioni by [[Desmond Miles]].
*In 2012, [[Desmond Miles]] could explore [[Monteriggioni]] and find Maria's feather chest, which counted as one of the [[Monteriggioni artifacts]].
;''Assassin's Creed III''
;''Assassin's Creed III''
*All feathers were found in the [[Frontier]], and a map detailing their locations could also be bought from [[general stores]].
*All feathers were found in the Frontier, and a map detailing their locations could also be bought from [[general store]]s.
*Collecting all feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed III outfits#Kanien'kehá:ka Outfit|outfit]] Ratonhnhaké:ton wore before becoming an Assassin.
*Collecting all feathers unlocked the [[Assassin's Creed III outfits#Kanien'kehá:ka Outfit|outfit]] Ratonhnhaké:ton wore before becoming an Assassin.
;''Assassin's Creed: Syndicate''
;''Assassin's Creed: Syndicate''
*[[Jacob Frye|Jacob]] and [[Evie Frye]] used handkerchiefs to mark successful assassinations rather than using feathers.
*[[Jacob Frye|Jacob]] and [[Evie Frye]] used handkerchiefs to mark successful assassinations rather than using feathers.
;''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey''
*The [[Hedone|Hedonists]] also had a ritual of collecting feathers. [[Herodotos]] believed it a futile endeavor that no one should emulate.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
ACISaracenSiege.png|A feather left in [[Saladin|Salāḥ ad-Dīn]]'s tent
ACISaracenSiege.png|A feather left in [[Saladin]]'s tent
ACTF Feather.jpg|A Templar holding a picture of a feather
ACTF Feather.jpg|A Templar holding a picture of a feather
</gallery>
</gallery>
Line 89: Line 69:
{{AC}}
{{AC}}
{{AC2}}
{{AC2}}
[[pt-br:Pena]]
[[pt-br:Pena]]
[[zh:羽毛]]
[[zh:羽毛]]

Revision as of 06:40, 10 March 2024

Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of Assassin's Creed Origins: Desert Oath.

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"Be sure to remind the Bureaus in Baghdad to return every bloodied feather and mission report to Alamut. Each feather is a victory; they must be collected and chronicled, not consigned to the heap of history."
―Rayhan in a letter to Fuladh Al Haami, 862.[src]-[m]
An eagle's feather

Feathers are integumentary structures distinctive of certain archosaurs such as dinosaurs, particularly their avian descendants. Feathers provide insulation, waterproofing, flight aid, and can also be help in camouflage or communication. Throughout human history, feathers have been used for aesthetic, practical, and ritual purposes.[1] Among the Assassin Brotherhood, feathers were of particularly high importance and, at various points in their history, were used by the Brotherhood's members during their assassinations to mark the death of their targets.

Structure

Feathers are typically composed of a center shaft with interlocked barbs branching out from the shaft to create a stiff vane. The barbs of downy feathers are not interlocked causing them to be much softer.[1]

Human usage

Classical Greece

The Mysteries of Hedone, a cult active during the Peloponnesian War, used feather-collecting as part of their initiation ritual,[2] though the historian Herodotos believed it a futile endeavor that no one should emulate. [citation needed]

Ptolemaic Egypt

Bayek using a feather to send Gennadios to the Duat

In Egypt, feathers, particularly those of eagles, were used in various rituals. The inhabitants of Siwa believed that the hearts of the dead would be weighed against the feather of Ma'at to determine the soul's fate in the afterlife. If the heart was equal to or lighter than the feather, the soul could pass on to the Field of Reeds; otherwise, it would be devoured by Ammit.[3]

During his hunt of the Order of the Ancients, the Medjay Bayek of Siwa used feathers to send his targets to the Duat for Osiris to judge in accordance with Egyptian mythology.[3] After Bayek founded the Hidden Ones alongside his wife Aya, this practice was quickly adopted by members of their organization.[4] Although the practice's original purpose was lost over the centuries, it nonetheless remained an integral part of the Hidden Ones' identity.[5]

Abbasid Caliphate

"Our tradition of the feather comes from Egypt. They represent the feathers of Ma'at. The feathers of the heron were dipped in the blood of the targets. These would be left for the Lord of the Duat to judge. It is important we remain humble and know our place in the process. We are messengers of justice and not the final judges."
―Fuladh Al Haami, 862.[src]-[m]
Basim dipping a feather in Ning's blood

In 862, Fuladh Al Haami, a member of the Alamut Hidden Ones, explained the origins of their practice of dipping feathers in their targets' blood to a new initiate, Basim Ibn Ishaq. Fuladh claimed that, although the tradition did not hold the same meaning as when the brotherhood was first founded, it nonetheless served as an important reminder that the Hidden Ones were only messengers of justice, and not the final judges.[5]

During his hunt of the Order of the Ancients in Baghdad, Basim was given a heron's feather ahead of each assassination, typically by a Rafiq, which he would then dip in his target's blood and return to the Hidden One bureau as proof of the target's death.[6]

Third Crusade

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad receiving a feather at the Damascus Bureau

For the Levantine Assassins in the High Middle Ages, similarly to the Alamut Hidden Ones, feathers were used to either grant an Assassin permission to kill a target or prove that the assignment had been completed,[7] but also could be used to warn potential targets about how vulnerable they were, as was the case when Umar Ibn-La'Ahad infiltrated Saladin's camp and laid a feather on the Sultan's pillow.[8][9] After investigations on the target had been completed, Assassin bureau leaders would give the chosen Assassin a feather, allowing them to proceed with the actual mission. Upon killing his target, the Assassin would stain the feather with the blood of the slain, and present it to the Bureau leader.[7] Among Assassins, the phrase "having a feather on one's head" meant a mark of death. For example, an informer in Damascus once commented that "a feather laid on top of Abu'l Nuqoud's head", implying that the Merchant King was marked for assassination.[10]

Renaissance

"Ezio, look at her. I still can't get her to talk! She spends all day and night in front of those feathers Petruccio used to collect. She can't let him go."
―Claudia Auditore, regarding her mother, 1478.[src]-[m]
Ezio giving Petruccio a bundle of feathers

As he was sickly and often confined to bed, Petruccio Auditore once asked his brother Ezio to collect feathers for him. Though Ezio asked him what they were for, he only said it was a secret to be revealed in time,[11] but obliquely suggested that they were meant as a present for their mother Maria.[12] Unfortunately, Petruccio never had a chance to tell Ezio what the secret was, as he was murdered alongside their elder brother Federico and father Giovanni the immediate next day. Maria was struck particularly hard by his loss and she remained silent for years,[13] only breaking it to quietly pray over Petruccio's feather box that she kept in her room in Monteriggioni's Villa Auditore, in mourning for her lost child.[14]

Maria's box of feathers

In an effort to resolve this, Ezio sought to collect feathers, both in memory of his brother and to coax his mother into speaking again. As he traveled across Italy, he gathered and placed any feathers he found into a box in his mother's room.[15] After Ezio had collected 50 feathers, his uncle Mario spoke with him about what he was doing, suggesting that he should give up in what he believed to be a wasted effort. In an attempt to have Ezio turn his attention to other matters, Mario also let him know that the new Condottiero War Hammer was waiting for him at the Monteriggioni blacksmith. After collecting 100 feathers, Ezio's efforts were rewarded. Maria spoke again for the first time in years, thanking Ezio for not giving up on her and presenting him with a cape that bore the House of Auditore crest.[16] In later years, even after the siege of Monteriggioni, Ezio would continue to collect feathers in Rome, particularly those found on landmarks throughout the city. He placed these feathers in a chest at the Tiber Island headquarters, which resembled the feather box that had once been kept in Maria's room.[17]

American Revolutionary War

Connor laying a feather on Achilles' coffin

In 1769, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon gathered 3 eagle feathers from nests nearby Kanatahséton at the request of their village's Clan Mother.[18] During the course of the American Revolutionary War, Ratonhnhaké:ton could also collect other feathers across the Frontier in memory of his village.[19] Over a decade later, during the funeral of his Mentor Achilles Davenport in 1781, Ratonhnhaké:ton laid a feather on his coffin.[20]

Modern times

Before the Great Purge, an Assassin safehouse disguised as a dry-cleaners used photographs of feathers, coupled with the codeword "Rafiq", as proof of identity. However, the Templars, with the help of Daniel Cross, used this information to identify the safehouse and launch an assault.[21]

Trivia

Assassin's Creed II
  • Collecting all 100 feathers unlocked the achievement "In Memory of Petruccio".
  • If Ezio placed all 100 feathers at once in Maria's feather chest, the cutscene with Maria occurred before the one with Mario.
  • If one were to begin collecting feathers in Florence before arriving at Monterigionni, the Animus would still provide the message stating that feathers could be returned to Maria's room there.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed III
  • All feathers were found in the Frontier, and a map detailing their locations could also be bought from general stores.
  • Collecting all feathers unlocked the outfit Ratonhnhaké:ton wore before becoming an Assassin.
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
  • Jacob and Evie Frye used handkerchiefs to mark successful assassinations rather than using feathers.

Gallery

  • A feather left in Saladin's tent
    A feather left in Saladin's tent
  • A Templar holding a picture of a feather
    A Templar holding a picture of a feather

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Feather on Wikipedia
  2. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Lost Tales of Greece – The Hedonistic Method
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Assassin's Creed: Origins
  4. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Hidden Ones
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A New Beginning
  6. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed
  8. ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade – Chapter 3
  9. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Database: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad: "Saracen Siege of Masyaf"
  10. ↑ Assassin's Creed – Stealth Assassination (Abu'l Nuqoud)
  11. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Petruccio's Secret
  12. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Renaissance
  13. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Last Man Standing
  14. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Practice Makes Perfect
  15. ↑ Assassin's Creed II
  16. ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Floating conversations: "A Mother's Grief"
  17. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  18. ↑ Assassin's Creed III – Feathers and Trees
  19. ↑ Assassin's Creed III
  20. ↑ Assassin's Creed III – Legacy
  21. ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Fall (TPB)

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