Greek fire

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"Tales from the West tell of a substance called Greek fire, whose flames cannot be doused with any volume of water, only serving to intensify its fury instead!"

―Yun Pyeong-Gyu, 1725.

Ezio using Greek fire

Greek fire was a powerful Byzantine incendiary weapon that was a closely guarded military secret. Its true composition remains unknown to this day, despite multiple theories. Famously, it was reputed to burn more fiercely on contact with water, making it particularly valuable in naval warfare.

History

Antiquity

A precursor to Greek fire was used during the Peloponnesian War in the 5th century BCE, with the Boeotian flamethrower being used at the Battle of Boeotia and later at the Battle of Delium. Additionally, the Cult of Kosmos was manufacturing their own Boeotian flamethrowers at the Ancient Stronghold on Lemnos.

The Adrestia using the Chimera's Breath

Around the same time, the Order of the Storm, a branch of the Order of the Ancients led by Phila, were looking to create their own Greek fire-fueled weapon, commissioning the Achaian engineer Gyras to design a naval-mounted delivery system called the Chimera's Breath. However, the plans were recovered by the misthios Kassandra, who installed the weapon on her own ship, the Adrestia, and used it to break the Order's blockade of Greece.

Prior to 47 BCE, another precursor to Greek fire was developed by the Roman architect Vitruvius. After realizing its potential for destruction, Vitruvius hid the formula to prevent the weapon from ever being produced, but Agrippa, a general serving under Flavius Metellus, eventually discovered it and began mass producing the weapon for the Roman army. Vitruvius sought the help of the Medjay Bayek of Siwa to recover the formula and destroy the stockpiles of Greek fire already produced, which he did.

Middle Ages

Greek fire was first used by the Byzantine Emperor Leon III's army, when enemy vessels laid siege to Constantinople in the year 717. In the battle, the napalm-like substance burned through the enemy fleet, forcing them to call off their attack and flee west. Likewise, the Abbasid army used Greek fire, employing Naffatah soldiers equipped with grenades and siphons.

In the 9th century, Endubis, a former general of the Aksumite Kingdom-turned-cult leader, lined the walls of the Church of Abuna Yemata with Greek fire. When his stronghold came under attack by the Hidden Ones Fuladh Al Haami and Roshan and their allies, Endubis ignited the substance, opting to destroy the church rather than let it fall to the invaders.

Greek fire being used during a Den Defense

In 1507, during the Siege of Viana, the defenders used Greek fire against the attacking forces led by Cesare Borgia. Four years later, the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore used Greek fire in order to destroy several ships preventing him from leaving Constantinople. The Ottoman Assassins also mounted Greek fire weapons along the barricades they used to defend their dens from Templar attacks.

18th century

In 1725, the Chinese Assassins Xiao Han, Liu Qing, and Xue Yan carried bombs filled with Greek fire, which they used while boarding the Zhang Wei Union's flagship Fenghuang. The engineer Yun Pyeong-Gyu recognized the substance from the stories he had heard about it and instructed the ship's crew to use sand instead of water to extinguish the flames.

Yun producing Greek fire

After repelling the Chinese Assassins' attack, Yun was able to reproduce the formula for Greek fire inside his laboratory, which the British Assasasin Edward Kenway recognized from the Brotherhood's records. He then suggested making a stop at Java to acquire petroleum, which would allow them to produce larger quantities of the substance.

Fortunately for the Zhang Wei Union, the trip to Java became unnecessary after Yun stumbled upon a warehouse filled with barrels of petroleum during the crew's imprisonment in Manila. Following the crew's escape, Yun had these barrels loaded onto the Fenghuang, allowing the engineer to resume production of Greek fire. Xialun Qing used her knowledge of alchemy to assist Yun, remaking that the process was similar to the distillation of alcohol.

The two inventors later used Greek fire to fuel one of their creations, the Celestial Chariot, a prototype hot air balloon. However, the substance's highly flammable nature proved to be a drawback in this case, when the Greek fire spilled into the balloon mid-flight, causing it to catch fire and resulting in its destruction. Later, Yun built a second Celestial Chariot which had its burner installed above the balloon's basket to prevent a similar accident from occuring again.

Greek fire being used against Jeong's fleet

While in Cebu, Yun found another application for the substance and invented Greek fire bombs, which upon being fired from a cannon, created thick flames on the water's surface, preventing ships from passing through. The Fenghuang's crew used these bombs to repel an attack by Admiral Jeong's fleet, allowing them to sail to safety and escape Cebu.

Later, Yun invented Greek fire flamethrowers, which the Zhang Wei Union made use of during a battle against the Rattan Shield Company and Shimazu clan ninja; trapping the ninja by creating a wall of fire around them and allowing the Union members to eliminate them.

Greek fire flamethrowers were also installed on Yun's turtle ships, which were used during the Zhang Wei Union's battle against Admiral Jeong's fleet off the coast of Indochina. Thanks to the vessels' armor plating, which made them near-invulnerable to cannon fire, the turtle ships were easily able to breach Jeong's blockade and then put their flamethrowers to devastating use, setting most of the enemy fleet alight.

Gallery

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  The Chimera's Breath installed on the Adrestia
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  A Boeotian flamethrower
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  Bayek discovering stockpiles of Greek fire
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  An Abbasid Naffatah soldier
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  Concept art of the Greek fire cannon
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  Concept art of the Greek fire mechanism
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  A Greek fire cannon
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  Siege weapon equipped with a Greek fire siphon
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  A Greek fire bomb
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  The Zhang Wei Union using Greek fire flamethrowers

Behind the scenes

Greek fire proper was invented sometime in the 7th century by the Byzantines although it had antecedents. It stopped being mentioned in historical records by the 12th century but variant recipes for the mixture still called Greek fire existed at least until the 16th century.

The Greek fire flamethrowers built by Yun Pyeong-Gyu are modeled after the Fierce-fire Oil Cabinet, an incendiary weapon first utilized in China in the 10th century CE.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations
• Assassin's Creed: Origins
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
  • Legacy of the First Blade
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey novel
• Assassin's Creed: The Golden City
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A Soar of Eagles