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{{Era|Organizations|Ancients|Instruments}}
{{Era|Organizations|Ancients|Instruments}}
{{Update|''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' and ''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]''}}
{{Quote|May [[Juno|she]] guide us into the Grey!|The Instruments of the First Will's creed.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag|Noob's personal files}}
{{Revamp}}
{{Quote|May she guide us into the Grey!|The Instruments of the First Will's Creed.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag|Noob's personal files}}
{{Faction infobox
{{Faction infobox
|name =  
|name = Instruments of the First Will
|image = Instruments.png
|image = Instruments.png
|founder = [[Juno]]
|founder = [[Juno]]
|locations = Worldwide
|locations = Worldwide
|religion = *Worship of Juno
|religion = *Worship of Juno
*Isu paganism<ref name="ACV">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files#Physical notes|Layla Hassan's personal files]]: "The Order of the Ancients"</ref>
*[[Isu]] paganism<ref name="ACV">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files#Physical notes|Layla Hassan's personal files]]: "The Order of the Ancients"</ref>
|predecessor = [[Order of the Ancients]] (possibly)<ref name="ACV"/>
|predecessor = [[Order of the Ancients]] {{c|possibly}}<ref name="ACV"/>
|notable =  
|notable =  
*[[Master Spy]]
*[[Master Spy]]
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|active = Until August 2018<ref name="Guide Ch8">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]'' {{c|2nd ed.}} – Chapter 8: Modern Day: "Other Factions and Unaffiliated Individuals"</ref>
|active = Until August 2018<ref name="Guide Ch8">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]'' {{c|2nd ed.}} – Chapter 8: Modern Day: "Other Factions and Unaffiliated Individuals"</ref>
}}
}}
The '''Instruments of the First Will''', also known as the '''Juno cult''',<ref name="Guide Ch2">''Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide'' {{c|2nd ed.}} – Chapter 2: The Precursor Civilization: "Cults Dedicated to the Isu"</ref> was a secretive polytheistic religious organization who worshipped the [[Isu|First Civilization]] as their deities. A [[Sage]], a reincarnation of [[Juno]]'s Isu husband [[Aita]] in [[human]] form, often held a prominent position within the Instruments of the First Will.
The '''Instruments of the First Will''', also known as the '''Juno cult''',<ref name="Guide Ch2">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]'' {{c|2nd ed.}} – Chapter 2: The Precursor Civilization: "Cults Dedicated to the Isu"</ref> was a secretive polytheistic religious organization who worshipped the [[Isu|First Civilization]] as their deities. A [[Sage]], a reincarnation of [[Juno]]'s Isu husband [[Aita]] in [[human]] form, often held a prominent position within the Instruments of the First Will.


A collective secret society that drew membership and resources from within both the [[Templars]] and the [[Assassins]], their primary mission was to revive their Isu deities, most notably Juno, and allow them to rule [[Earth|the world]] in deference to mankind's origin as a First Civilzation slave race.
A collective secret society that drew membership and resources from within both the [[Templars]] and the [[Assassins]], their primary mission was to revive their Isu deities, most notably Juno, and allow them to rule [[Earth|the world]] in deference to mankind's origin as a First Civilzation [[Slavery|slave]] race.


The Instruments of the First Will became an enemy in common between the Assassins and the Templars, whose brief alliance in August 2018 to counter the Instrument threat dismantled the cult when Juno's "[[Resurrection Day]]" plot was undone and the Isu was assassinated. Though the cult was effectively neutralized by their upheaval, their impact continued years afterwards, as the Assassin historian [[Shaun Hastings]] later referenced them in 2020 when musing over the Templars' precursors, the [[Order of the Ancients]].
The Instruments of the First Will became an enemy in common between the Assassins and the Templars, whose brief alliance in August 2018 to counter the Instrument threat dismantled the cult when Juno's "[[Resurrection Day]]" plot was undone and the Isu was assassinated. Though the cult was effectively neutralized by their upheaval, their impact continued years afterwards, as the Assassin historian [[Shaun Hastings]] later referenced them in 2020 when musing over the Templars' precursors, the [[Order of the Ancients]].
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==History==
==History==
===Origins===
===Origins===
The exact origin of the Instruments of the First Will is unclear. [[Project Anthropos]] was initiated during the [[Isu Era]] with directions that humanity should be considered instruments of the Isu, not their offspring.<ref name="DatabaseReconstructedData003">''Assassin's Creed: Valhalla'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files]] – SecureShare: "PRE_trslt_Canterbury.odt <v. 1 by antony>"</ref> Juno herself had begun amassing followers among her own people before the [[Great Catastrophe]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' – ''[[The Fate of Atlantis: Judgment of Atlantis]]'': [[Isu codex|Isu codex: Musings on Juno's Expulsion]]</ref> Former [[Abstergo Industries]] employee [[Sebastian Monroe]] spoke of the cult around 2016 and pointed out that the rumors held that the Instruments of the First Will were a secret faction from within the Templars.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods]]''</ref>
The exact origin of the Instruments of the First Will is unclear. [[Project Anthropos]] was initiated during the [[Isu Era]] with directions that humanity should be considered instruments of the Isu, not their offspring.<ref name="DatabaseReconstructedData003">''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' – [[Layla Hassan's personal files]] – SecureShare: "PRE_trslt_Canterbury.odt <v. 1 by antony>"</ref> Juno herself had begun amassing followers among her own people before the [[Great Catastrophe]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' – ''[[The Fate of Atlantis: Judgment of Atlantis]]'': [[Isu codex|Isu codex: Musings on Juno's Expulsion]]</ref> Former [[Abstergo Industries]] employee [[Sebastian Monroe]] spoke of the cult around 2016 and pointed out that the rumors held that the Instruments of the First Will were a secret faction from within the Templars.<ref name="ACLD:FotG">''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods]]''</ref>


In 2020, the Assassin historian Shaun Hastings theorized that there may be a connection between the Instruments and the Order of the Ancients, the Isu-worshipping precursor of the Templars, due to their common reverence of the First Civilization as well as sharing much of the same theology and philosophies. Shaun even went as far as to point out the fact that the Instruments of the First Will are far more likely to be a proper reincarnation or successor of the Order of Ancients than the Templar Order.<ref name="ACV"/>
In 2020, the Assassin historian [[Shaun Hastings]] theorized that there may be a connection between the Instruments and the [[Order of the Ancients]], the Isu-worshipping precursor of the Templars, due to their common reverence of the First Civilization as well as sharing much of the same theology and philosophies. Shaun even went as far as to point out that the Instruments were far more likely to be a proper reincarnation or successor of the Order of Ancients than the Templar Order.<ref name="ACV"/>


===During the First World War===
===World War I===
In 1916, a war nurse who was a member of the cult and her associate were taking soldiers' blood in ''"[[Blood vial|odd looking cubes]]"'' for an unknown purpose. [[Winston Churchill]] recommended to the [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] [[Lydia Frye]] to silencing her and her associate, which the Assassin did. Another member, a spy, was detained by the [[British Army|British Military]] in the [[Tower of London]]. He started making fanatic claims about the Assassin's Brotherhood, so Churchill suggested it would be in Lydia's best interests to silence him. He eventually broke out and tried to escape. Lydia sneaked into The Tower of London and tricked the guards into murdering him.<ref name="ACS">''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – {{Cite|16 Sept 2022. Memories needed}}</ref>
[[File:ACS Master Spy.jpg|thumb|170px|left|The Master Spy]]
In 1916, in [[London]], a [[World War I|war]] nurse who was a member of the Instruments and her associate were collecting [[soldier]]s' blood samples in ''"[[Blood vial|odd-looking cubes]]"'' for an unknown purpose. After catching wind of their activities, [[Winston Churchill]] tasked the [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] [[Lydia Frye]] to eliminate the nurse and her associate, which the Assassin did.<ref name="Apothecary Twins">''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[The Apothecary Twins]]</ref>


After ridding much of the spies' strongholds and weapons, Lydia eventually tracked down the spies to their main hidden hideout. After she killed the [[German Rite of the Templar Order|German Templar]] spies, the [[Master Spy]] appeared and began to battle her while "calling out" to his beloved. After a short fight, he was forced to escape by using a flash grenade and flew to the cult's main stronghold. At the Stronghold, the Master Spy had all of his followers burn up all of their things relating to Juno or the Isu. After catching up to the Master Spy surrounded by his followers in a Stronghold, she killed them all. Churchill thanked her for this service to [[United Kingdom|Britain]].<ref name="ACS"/>
Another Instrument, a spy, was detained by the [[British Army|British Military]] in the [[Tower of London]]. He started making fanatic claims about the Assassins, so Churchill suggested it would be in Lydia's best interests to silence him. The spy eventually broke out and tried to escape, but Lydia infiltrated the Tower and tricked the guards into murdering him.<ref name="The Magpie">''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[The Magpie]]</ref>


===Infiltrating and hacking Abstergo===
Ridding much of the spies' strongholds and weapons, Lydia eventually located their main hideout. After she killed the [[German Rite of the Templar Order|German Templar]] spies, their leader, the [[Master Spy]], appeared and began to battle Lydia while calling out to his "beloved." After a short fight, he was forced to escape by using a flash grenade and fled to the cult's main stronghold.<ref name="The Master Spy">''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[The Master Spy]]</ref>
In operation around 2013, one of the Instruments of the First Will's primary agents was head of Abstergo IT, [[John Standish]], who was also a Sage. During his time at the [[Abstergo Entertainment]] office in [[Montreal]], John distributed the collective's manifesto throughout the building via {{Wiki|QR code}}s on sticky labels. John provided the Assassins with intel through a [[Noob|research analyst]]. He also got the analyst to hack into confidential folders regarding Abstergo data regarding the Precursors and Templars.<ref name="ACBF">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]''</ref>


However, Abstergo got wind of the hackings and detained all of the research team. John Standish, not wanting to expose himself, reassures [[Melanie Lemay]], the acting head of the [[Sample 17 Project]], that he would find the hacker within a week's time. Meanwhile, he gets the research analyst to go to the main servers to wipe out evidence of the hackings. His true intentions were to provide Juno, now a digital being, with the research analyst's body so as to transfer her essence into.<ref name="ACBF"/>
At the stronghold, the Master Spy had his followers set up a bonfire to destroy all of their items related to Juno or the Isu. However, he was tailed by Lydia, who proceeded to kill the Master Spy and all of his remaining followers, ending their operations in London.<ref name="The Master Spy" />


Juno was weak from being in the servers and was not strong enough to shift her essence into the analyst's body, thus foiling John's plans and enraging him. He went insane, exposed himself as a Sage and injected a non-lethal amount of poison into the analyst. John was killed by the Abstergo security team and the analyst eventually recovered from the poisoning.<ref name="ACBF"/>
===Spanish Civil War===
In 1928, [[Rufus Grosvenor]], a Templar and former follower of the Master Spy, found the ex-[[Black Cross]] [[Albert Bolden]] in a [[China|Chinese]] [[opium]] den and tried to blackmail him into surrendering the [[Koh-i-Noor]], a powerful [[Piece of Eden]], by threatening to inform the Order of his survival. However, Bolden refused and managed to flee while Grosvenor had his back turned. Undeterred, the Instrument pursued Bolden across the world for nine years, until he eventually learned the location of Bolden's family and killed them to lure the Black Cross into a trap.<ref name="ACUp 7">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 7|Issue #07]]</ref>


===Locating the Shroud of Eden===
After successfully stealing the Koh-i-Noor from Bolden, Grosvenor decided to locate a person with a high enough concentration of Isu DNA to activate the Piece of Eden. In 1937, during the [[Spanish Civil War]], he encountered the British Assassin [[Norbert Clarke]], who had been sent to assist a [[Spanish Brotherhood of Assassins|Spanish]] [[Assassin cell]] fighting alongside the [[Republicans (Spanish Civil War)|Republicans]].<ref name="ACUp 7"/> After tricking Clarke into committing suicide, Grosvenor stole his identity and met the Assassin cell in [[Barcelona]], whereupon he began manipulating its leader, [[Ignacio Cardona]].<ref name="ACUp 6">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 6|Issue #06]]</ref>
In 2015, [[Master Templar]] [[Alvaro Gramatica|Álvaro Gramatica]] desired [[Shroud of Eden 2|one]] of the [[Shrouds of Eden]] in his attempt to vastly accelerate the progress of his [[Phoenix Project]]. [[Juhani Otso Berg]] and [[Violet da Costa]] managed to recover the Shroud from the [[Buckingham Palace]]'s [[Buckingham Palace vault|vault]], after [[Sigma Team]] repelled the Assassin interference. After handing the Shroud to Álvaro, Violet—secretly an Instrument of the First Will—spoke to Juno informing her that the Shroud was in Abstergo's possession. Though Violet expressed fear of the danger that might befall Juno should anyone discover her plans, Juno reassured her that she had achieved her mission admirably and that she would save the world.<ref name="ACS"/>
 
[[File:ACUp Grosvernor with the Assassins.JPG|thumb|250px|Grosvenor and the Assassins witnessing Cardona and Bolden's arrival]]
After a fight broke out between the Republicans and communists and the Assassins were unsure of who to join, Grosvenor convinced Cardona to use the Koh-i-Noor to "calm" them. Cardona tried using the artifact but passed out moments later and was subsequently carried to safety by Bolden, who had been following Grosvenor's trail.<ref name="ACUp 6" /> Meanwhile, Grosvenor, still under the guise of Clarke, convinced the rest of Cardona's cell, including his lover [[Glaucia Acosta]], to join his cause and they headed to a run-down [[church]] in the countryside.<ref name="ACUp 7" />
 
There, Grosvenor and the Assassins were confronted by Cardona and Bolden, who had joined forces to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor. In a last ditched attempt to activate the Piece of Eden, Grosvenor gave it to Cardona, who managed to resist its control and unleashed a series of animal-like apparitions and energy that destroyed the church. Grosvenor and Acosta survived the confrontation and subsequently fled to the [[United States]], believing the Koh-i-Noor to have been destroyed.<ref name="ACUp 8">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 8|Issue #08]]</ref>
 
===Infiltrating Abstergo===
By 2013, the Instruments had managed to infiltrate the Templar company [[Abstergo Industries]] through one of their agents, [[John Standish]], a Sage. During his time as head of the IT department at the [[Abstergo Entertainment]] offices in [[Montreal]], John distributed the Instruments' manifesto throughout the building via {{Wiki|QR code}}s on sticky labels. He also provided the Assassins with intel through a [[Noob|research analyst]], and later got the analyst to hack into confidential folders containing Abstergo data about the Precursors and Templars.<ref name="ACBF">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' – [[21st century conversations#Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag|Modern day]]</ref>
 
[[File:AC4 John Injection.png|thumb|250px|left|John Standish attempting to poison the analyst]]
However, Abstergo caught wind of the hackings and detained the research team. John, not wanting to expose himself, reassured [[Melanie Lemay]], the acting head of the [[Sample 17 Project]], that he would find the hacker within a week's time. Meanwhile, he freed the research analyst from their cell and ordered them to go to the main servers to erase evidence of the hackings. His true intentions, however, were to provide Juno, now a digital being, with the analyst's body so as to transfer her essence into.<ref name="ACBF" />
 
Weakened by being in the servers, Juno was not strong enough to transfer her essence into the analyst's body, thus foiling John's plans and enraging him. He went insane, exposed himself as a Sage and injected a non-lethal amount of poison into the analyst before being gunned down by Abstergo security. Meanwhile, the analyst eventually recovered from the poisoning and was cleared of all accusations against them, as evidence found on John's computer implicated him as the hacker.<ref name="ACBF" />
 
===Retrieving the Shroud of Eden===
By 2014, Abstergo had become aware of the Instruments' existence and sought to paint the organization as a crazed cult in order to keep their knowledge of the Isu away from the public conscience.<ref name="ACU DB08">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Database: 08. Public Relations Primer]]</ref> At the same time, the Templars hoped to use the Instruments to acquire various Pieces of Eden and other Isu artifacts, though [[Juhani Otso Berg]] suspected that the reverse was also true and that the Instruments were using Abstergo to further their own goals. Suspicious about what these motives may be, Berg assigned [[Violet da Costa]] to investigate the cult, unaware that the latter was a member of the Instruments herself.<ref name="ACRG">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[Numbskull's personal files]]: "Sigma Team's Most Wanted – The Cult"</ref>
 
[[File:ACS Stay With Me 8.png|thumb|250px|Violet delivering the Shroud to Gramática]]
In 2015, the Templar [[Álvaro Gramática]] desired [[Shroud of Eden 2|one]] of the [[Shrouds of Eden]] in order to vastly accelerate the [[Phoenix Project]]'s progress. Juhani Otso Berg and Violet da Costa managed to recover the Shroud from [[Buckingham Palace]]'s [[Buckingham Palace vault|vault]], after [[Sigma Team]] repelled a group of Assassins also seeking the artifact. After handing the Shroud to Gramática, Violet spoke to Juno, informing her that the Shroud was in Abstergo's possession. Though Violet expressed fear of the danger that might befall Juno should anyone discover her plans, the Isu stated that Violet had played her part well and that she would save the world.<ref name="ACS">''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[21st century conversations#Assassin's Creed: Syndicate|Modern day]]</ref>


===Pursuing the Assassins===
===Pursuing the Assassins===
In 2017, [[Jasdip Dhami]] had defected to the Instruments of the First Will due to him becoming disillusioned by the Assassins and the Templars' methods and ideology. He told Bishop that he opposed the idea of using initiates in their "[[Assassin-Templar War|eternal war]]" with the Templars. He ambushed an Assassin cell in Hong Kong, while the Assassins were trying to break into an Abstergo Industries to find information regarding the Phoenix Project, and murdered all of the Assassins present there, aside from [[Charlotte de la Cruz]] who had tried to escape Dhami but he pursued her and fought her on top of [[Guernica Moneo|Moneo]]'s vehicle.<ref name="Uprising">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – {{Cite|8 Dec 2021. Individual issues needed}}</ref>
By 2017, the Assassin [[Jasdip Dhami]] had defected to the Instruments after becoming disillusioned with the Brotherhood's tactics, in particular their use of the [[Initiates]] in their "[[Assassin-Templar War|eternal war]]" against the Templars.<ref name="Assassin Intel 3">''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – ''[[Jack the Ripper (DLC)|Jack the Ripper]]'' – [[Database: Assassin Intel 3]]</ref> In February of that year, Jasdip and other Instruments ambushed an Assassin cell in [[Hong Kong]], while the Assassins were trying to break into an abandoned Abstergo building to find information about the Phoenix Project.<ref name="ACUp 1">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 1|Issue #01]]</ref>


During the fight, an Instrument managed to injure Moneo with a shruriken and the van crashed. Charlotte interrogated Jasdip but both of them had to flee before the authorities arrived. Jasdip then ambushed the Assassins [[Kiyoshi Takakura]] and [[Arend Schut Cunningham]] in Abstergo Entertainment Facility in Montreal. Jasdip manages to decapitate [[Felix Oladele]], an [[Animus]] Specialist and the Assassins' primary objective. Jasdip fought the two Assassins and manages to heavily wound them both. Before Jasdip could deliver the killing blow to Arend, Kiyoshi shot Jasdip in the back. Jasdip then tried to flee through the window, but fell of the window cleaner's mobile.<ref name="Uprising"/>
[[File:ACU Charlotte Dhami Fight.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Jasdip Dhami attacking Charlotte]]
The Instruments murdered all of the Assassins present, except for [[Charlotte de la Cruz]], who managed to [[Leap of Faith|leap]] from the building, though Jasdip chased her, resulting in a fight atop [[Guernica Moneo]]'s van. During the fight, an Instrument managed to injure Moneo with a [[shuriken]] and the van crashed. Charlotte tried to interrogate Jasdip to learn who he was serving but both of them had to flee before the authorities arrived on the scene.<ref name="ACUp 1" />
 
Jasdip later ambushed the Assassins [[Kiyoshi Takakura]] and [[Arend Schut-Cunningham]] at the Abstergo Entertainment facility in Montreal, where the Assassins hoped to find [[Felix Oladele]], an [[Animus]] specialist. The Instrument decapitated Oladele and engaged Kiyoshi and Arend in a fight that led to both Assassins being heavily wounded. Before Jasdip could deliver the killing blow to Arend, Kiyoshi shot him in the back, causing the Instrument to fall off the cleaner's mobile he was standing on.<ref name="ACUp 3">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 3|Issue #03]]</ref>


===Encountering the Black Cross===
===Encountering the Black Cross===
After the Master Templar Juhani Otso Berg began to suspect that there is a splinter cell within the Templar Order, he took up the mantle of the [[Black Cross]] in an attempt to discover them. His search landed him to [[Berlin]], [[Germany]], where he caught up to [[Heinrich Hart]], a man he believed to be an Assassin spy. After a brief struggle with him, he deduced that he is not an Assassin. After momentarily recovering, Heinrich Hart proclaims that he was not a Templar either but rather "her" instrument, before setting off an explosion which killed 170 people.<ref name="Uprising"/>
After Juhani Otso Berg began to suspect the existence of a splinter cell within the Templar Order, he took up the mantle of the Black Cross in an attempt to discover them.<ref name="ACUp 1" /> His search led him to [[Berlin]], [[Germany]], where he caught up to [[Heinrich Hart]], a man he believed to be an Assassin spy. After a brief struggle, he deduced that Hart was not an Assassin. Hart then proclaimed that he was not a Templar either but rather "her" instrument, before setting off an explosion which killed 170 people, including himself.<ref name="ACUp 2">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 2|Issue #02]]</ref>
 
[[File:ACUprising Berg confronts Hart.JPG|thumb|250px|Berg confronting Heinrich Hart]]
Berg survived the explosion and fled back to his safe house. Later, he ran into the Assassin [[My'shell Lemair]] in [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] and the two reluctantly worked together to investigate the financial and investment irregularities within their respective Orders. The Instruments ambushed Berg and My'shell during their investigation, but the Templar was able to single-handedly kill five Instruments before collapsing.<ref name="ACUp 4">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 4|Issue #04]]</ref>
 
Jasdip Dhami, who had survived his encounter with the Assassins in Montreal, arrived and grabbed Berg, threatening him to end his investigation into the Instruments' affairs or else he would kill his daughter [[Elina Berg|Elina]]. Meanwhile, Guernica Moneo, who was secretly a mole for the Instruments, tried to assassinate Charlotte de la Cruz while her mind was briefly trapped inside [[the Grey]], but he was discovered by [[Galina Voronina]] and subsequently taken captive by the Assassins in order to be interrogated.<ref name="ACUp 4" /> The Instruments would later send a strike team to silence Moneo and, though they succeeded in mortally wounding him, they were all killed by My'shell in an explosion.<ref name="ACUp 11">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 11|Issue #11]]</ref>
 
===Finding the Koh-i-Noor===
Back at the Instruments of the First Will's headquarters, Violet da Costa scolded Jasdip Dhami over his brutal treatment of Berg, since he was her friend and she also believed that he could be recruited to the Instruments' cause. Jasdip argued back, claiming that Violet had no right to decide who joined the Instruments and would live to see [[Eden]] reborn, as that privilege only belonged to their goddess, Juno.<ref name="ACUp 4" />


Berg survived the explosion and flew back to his safe house. The Assassin [[My'shell Lemair]] and Berg began a full scale investigation of the financial and investment irregularities within their own Orders. The Instruments then ambushed the Templar Otso Berg and Assassin Lemair, which Otso Berg knocking the Assassin out before engaging the Instruments, killing five of them with his bare hands before collapsing.<ref name="Uprising"/>
[[File:ACUp Jasdip introduces Elijah to Instruments.png|thumb|250px|left|Jasdip introducing Elijah to the Instruments]]
At that moment, Juno appeared to her lieutenants on a monitor and stated that she needed the Koh-i-Noor from Charlotte de la Cruz. Jasdip then guided [[Desmond Miles]]' son [[Elijah]], a Sage, to a crowd of awaiting Instruments, where Jasdip informed the ecstatic Instruments of their goddess' success. The Instruments' recent operations had forced the Templars, namely Berg, to unofficially ally themselves with the Assassins, in particular Charlotte's cell, in order to take down the Instruments.<ref name="ACUp 4" />


Jasdip Dhami, who had survived and recovered the fall, grabbed Otso Berg and stated to him that he no longer wished to avenge his sister, but to serve his New God. Before the Instruments fled the scene, Jasdip warned the Templar Otso Berg to stop his investigation in the Instrument's affairs or else he would slaughter his daughter, before lifting Otso Berg up and tossing him over a guard rail. An [[Erudito]] member who was secretly a member of the Instruments attempted to assassinate Charlotte when her mind was briefly trapped inside [[The Grey]], but he was discovered by [[Galina Voronina]] before he could assassinate Charlotte, then was brutally restrained and interrogated by her, to no success.<ref name="Uprising"/>
Later, after the Instruments discovered the location of Álvaro Gramática's [[Abstergo Industries Australia facility|secret lab]] in [[Australia]], where the Templar was working on the Phoenix Project, a strike team of Juno's followers as well as Elijah and their prisoner, [[André Bolden]], traveled there. Upon their arrival, the team, led by Violet and Jasdip, discovered that Gramática had succeeded in sequencing the Precursor genome before revealing themselves to the dumbfounded scientist. Violet then stated that they were there for the Phoenix Project, so as to create a new clone body for their mistress.<ref name="ACUp 8" />


=== Back at the Instruments' Base ===
Not long after, Jasdip led another strike team to the Spanish countryside in order to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor from its burial site. Fighting both Charlotte's team, who had also tracked down the Piece of Eden, and the guardians appointed by Ignacio Cardona and Albert Bolden to protect the site,<ref name="ACUp 9">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 9|Issue #09]]</ref> the Instruments were ultimately successful in their mission and managed to escape with the Koh-i-Noor after Charlotte activated it.<ref name="ACUp 10">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 10|Issue #10]]</ref>
Back an the Instruments of the First Will's HQ, da Costa argued and scolded Jasdip Dhami over his brutal treatment of Berg, since he is her friend and she also believed that she could recruit Otso Berg to the Instrument's cause. Jasdip Dhami stated that it is not her right who gets to join the Instruments of the First Will and that privilege only belonged to their god, Juno. He even stated that only Juno gets to decide who gets to see [[Eden]] reborn once more.<ref name="Uprising"/>


At that moment, Juno appeared to her lieutenants on an overhead large monitor and stated that she needed the [[Koh-i-Noor]] from Charlotte. Dhami then guided [[Desmond Miles]]' son [[Elijah]], a Sage, to a crowd of awaiting Instruments, where Jasdip informed the ecstatic Instruments of their God's success. The Instrument's recent operations have forced the Templars, namely Berg, to unofficially ally themselves with the Assassins, namely Charlotte's crew, in taking down the Instruments.<ref name="Uprising"/>
===Resurrection Day and downfall===
[[File:Juno. .png|thumb|180px|Juno's new body]]
In August 2018, Álvaro Gramática, taken hostage by the Instruments, used his knowledge of the Precursor genome to create a new Isu body which Juno could inhabit. The process involved extracting somatic cells from Elijah due to his high concentration of Isu DNA, and then using strands of the Shroud of Eden to accelerate the maturation rate of the Isu fetus, transforming Juno into an adult Isu within 24 hours.<ref name="ACUp 10" />


Later, after the Instruments discovered the location of Gramática's secret lab, where the Templar was sequencing the DNA of the Isu, a strike team of Juno's followers as well as Elijah and their prisoner, [[André Bolden]], travelled there. Upon their arrival, the team, led by da Costa and Dhami, discovered that Gramatica succeeded as he was bragging about his genius, before revealing themselves to the dumbfounded scientist. Da Costa then stated that they were there for the Phoenix Project, so as to create a new clone body for their mistress.<ref name="Uprising"/>
While maturing, [[Consus]] appeared to Juno and told her that she would never win. While Juno claimed that she had her body and the Koh-i-Noor and that she had been inside Charlotte's head, Consus stated that Charlotte's will was greater than Juno's and it was the reason she would ultimately lose. Upon reaching maturity, Juno spoke with Gramática and commented how disgusted she used to be with vocal cords, until she did not have hers for millennia, before ordering to be let out of the vat she was in.<ref name="ACUp 11" />
[[File:Juno. .png|thumb|291x291px|Juno's new body.]]


===Juno's Resurrection Day===
At the same time, Charlotte's team and Juhani Otso Berg launched an assault on the Phoenix Project facility, seeking to prevent Juno's resurrection and eliminate the Instruments. Outside the facility, Jasdip Dhami greeted Berg and boasted about Juno's inevitable return to power, only to be shot with a sniper rifle by Galina Voronina. The Assassins and Berg then fought their way through the Instruments' forces while Charlotte attempted to assassinate Juno, but was incapacitated by the Isu's powers.<ref name="ACUp 12">''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Uprising 12|Issue #12]]</ref>
Meanwhile her Instruments began finding a way to receive the [[Koh-i-Noor]] and bring along Elijah, who contained First Civilization DNA due to being a Sage. The Instruments invaded and took over the laboratory of Gramatica, as well as took him hostage. Gramatica extracted First Civilization genes from Elijah's bone marrow to [[Phoenix Project|create an Isu fetus]], after which he used the power of a few strands of the Shroud of Eden to accelerate the maturation rate of the Isu fetus, transforming Juno into an adult Isu within 24 hours.
[[File:Juno's energy.png|thumb|220x220px|Juno's Powers.]]


While maturing, [[Consus]] appeared to Juno and told her that she will never win. While Juno reassured him that she has her body, the Koh-i-Noor and she has been inside Charlotte's head, Consus stated that Charlotte's will is greater than Juno's and it is why she will loose. Upon reaching maturity, Juno spoke with Gramatica and commented how disgusted she used to be with vocal cords, until she did not have hers for a millennia, before deciding to be let out of the machine.
Fortunately, Elijah, who had decided to betray the Instruments for killing [[Elijah's mother|his mother]], came to Charlotte's rescue and handed her the Koh-i-Noor, allowing her to trick Juno with an illusion of Consus and guide her fellow Assassins and Berg to her location. Charlotte then killed Juno with her [[Hidden Blade]] just as the Isu became aware of the deception, though not before she fired an energy beam in anger, which ended up killing Gramática.<ref name="ACUp 12" />
[[File:Juno's death.png|thumb|216x216px|Juno's demise. ]]


Juno emerged out and discover her new energetic powers. She used her new powers to subdue and eliminate most of her opponents and even subdue Charlotte in a telekinetic hold. But suddenly she was approached by Consus' spirit ad he mocked her lack of growth and stubborn immaturity. Ultimately, Violet's fears were proven right when Elijah took his revenge on his mother's murderers, and was the one using the Koh-i-Noor to make Juno think she had won, when in reality she was speaking to a coffee mug. Upon escaping the illusion, she demanded Elijah hand over the Koh-i-Noor, only to be shocked as he set her up and gave Charlotte an opening to assassinate Juno by thrusting her [[Hidden Blade]] through Juno's throat.
[[File:Juno's death.png|thumb|200px|left|Juno's demise]]
While Elijah escaped with the Koh-i-Noor, the Assassins – barring Charlotte – and Berg fled the facility and were confronted outside by the remaining Instruments led by Violet. After informing her of Juno's fate and revealing that he had called a Templar strike team for backup, Berg grabbed Violet's gun and killed her with it. He then detonated a high-caliber explosive to destroy the facility, though this inadvertently killed Charlotte, who failed to escape in time.<ref name="ACUp 12" />


The remains of Juno were most likely destroyed when Otso Berg exploded the facility. Juno's high ranking follower, Violet was executed by Otso Berg for her blasphemy against humanity. The rest of Juno's instruments were mostly arrested by the Templars and the remaining Assassins had fled the explosion of Alvaro Gramatica's facility. By this time, Elijah had long fled with the Koh-i-Noor in his hands.<ref name="Uprising" /> After their central deity was killed, the religion quickly crumbled and disbanded.<ref name="Guide Ch8" />
After the destruction of the Phoenix Project and the death of their central deity, the Instruments quickly crumbled and disbanded.<ref name="Guide Ch8" /> The few members that survived were hunted down over the following months by Berg and the Templars, ensuring that by October 2018, the Instruments were no more.<ref name="ACOD">''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' – ''[[The Fate of Atlantis: Fields of Elysium]]'' – [[21st century conversations#Assassin's Creed: Odyssey|Modern day]]</ref>


==Ideology==
==Culture==
===Foundations and Memberships===
===Foundations and membership===
Being an religious organization that holds a strict supremacist view of the Isu, the members of the Instruments of the First Will believe that humanity should submit to and worship the First Civilization once more. Their primary purpose is the release of Juno's essence from her imprisonment and create a new body for her essence to inhabit and re-enter the physical world.<ref name="ACBF"/> The cult's highest-ranking member was a Sage twice throughout history, first with the Master Spy in WWI,<ref name="ACS"/> and then John Standish in 2013.<ref name="ACBF"/>
Being a religious organization that held a strict supremacist view of the Isu, the Instruments of the First Will believed that humanity should submit to and worship the First Civilization. Their primary purpose was the release of Juno's essence from her digital imprisonment and creating a new body for her essence to inhabit.<ref name="ACBF"/> On at least two occasions, the cult's highest-ranking member was a Sage: first the Master Spy during World War I,<ref name="The Master Spy"/> and then John Standish in 2013.<ref name="ACBF"/>


===Religious Belief System===
Throughout their history, the Instruments have drawn membership from both the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order. Notable Templars who became members of the Instruments of the First Will include the Master Spy,<ref name="The Master Spy"/> Rufus Grosvenor,<ref name="ACUp 7"/> and Violet da Costa,<ref name="ACS"/> while the only known Assassins to have joined the Instruments are Jasdip Dhami and Glaucia Acosta, after they both became disillusioned with the Brotherhood's [[Assassin-Templar War|cause]].<ref name="ACUp 4" /><ref name="ACUp 8" />
 
===Religious belief system===
{{Quote|We submit ourselves to eternal servitude in service of a grander fulfillment. We submit the world to itself it being a product that feeds life to life and death to death.|John Standish, 2013.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag|Noob's personal files}}
{{Quote|We submit ourselves to eternal servitude in service of a grander fulfillment. We submit the world to itself it being a product that feeds life to life and death to death.|John Standish, 2013.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag|Noob's personal files}}
Unlike the Assassins and Templars, who both view the Isu as nothing more than a technologically advanced precursor race, the Instruments saw them as deities to be worshiped. Their theological beliefs were similar to the zealous views of the [[Order of the Ancients]], who similarly worshiped the Isu as gods.<ref name="ACV"/>


Unlike the Templar Order or the Assassin Brotherhood, who both view the Isu as an extremely advanced precursor species to humanity, the Instruments instead view the Isu as deities to be worshiped. Their theological beliefs are similar to the zealous views of the Order of the Ancients. The Instruments of First Will wish to take over the world so as to turn humanity into slaves for the First Civilization.
The Instruments believed that the Isu, particularly Juno, would establish a [[New World Order]] by which all of humanity would live progressively and happily under her absolute rule. The members of the cult were often very fanatical in pursuing their goals, with one member, Heinrich Hart, taking his own life in a suicide bombing that killed 170 people in total.<ref name="ACUp 3" /> The Instruments displayed a general contempt for all human life, believing that humanity was misguided and that Juno would only save those she deemed "worthy" enough to serve her<ref name="ACUp 4" />


They believe that the First Civilization, particularly Juno, will establish a [[New World Order]] by which all of humanity will live progressively and happily under her absolute rule. The members of this cult are often very fanatical. Examples of this are Heinrich Hart's suicide bombing, which killed 170 people, in the name of Juno. While their primary goal has always been to revive Juno into a physical vessel so as to allow her to take over the world. <ref>{{Youtube|Y1-CEHSGcxs|Darby McDevitt Part 1/2 <nowiki>|</nowiki> Philosophies, AC4 Deleted Scenes, The Writing Process <nowiki>|</nowiki> The Assassin's Den|UCfB8dJdMxEofkcybwAskjqQ|Loomer}}</ref> It is still speculated that they also wish to resurrect other members of the Isu race as well. Despite these speculations, in one of the breach memos, it did state that they would revive the Isu race as well.<ref name="ACU">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Database: 14. Security Breach Memo]]</ref>
While their primary goal has always been to resurrect Juno in a physical form so as to allow her to take over the world,<ref>{{Youtube|Y1-CEHSGcxs|Darby McDevitt Part 1/2 <nowiki>|</nowiki> Philosophies, AC4 Deleted Scenes, The Writing Process <nowiki>|</nowiki> The Assassin's Den|UCfB8dJdMxEofkcybwAskjqQ|Loomer}}</ref> it was speculated by Abstergo Industries that the Instruments also sought to revive other members of the First Civilization and would do so if presented the opportunity.<ref name="ACU DB14">''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' – [[Database: 14. Security Breach Memo]]</ref>


====The Pieces of Eden====
====The Pieces of Eden====
Juno has commissioned her followers to find various [[Piece of Eden|Pieces of Eden]] so as to use them for her ultimate goal. The Instruments of the First Will have infiltrated Abstergo Industries, the Templar Order and various Assassin Cells, so as to get close to the Templars' and the Assassin's Pieces of Eden. Juno seems to regard the Shroud of Eden as a necessary tool for her rebirth into the physical world.
Juno commissioned her followers to find various Pieces of Eden so as to use them for her ultimate goal of taking over the world. The Instruments infiltrated both Abstergo Industries and the Assassin Brotherhood in order to get close to their respective Pieces of Eden, as well as use their resources to track down more. Of particular interest to Juno were two Pieces of Eden: the Shroud, which would allow her to be reborn in the physical world,<ref name="ACS" /> and the Koh-i-Noor, regarded as one of the most powerful Pieces of Eden, which had belonged to Juno back during the [[Isu Era]].<ref name="ACUp 4" />
 
===Infiltrating the Assassins and Templars===
Members of this cult has infiltrated both the Assassins Brotherhood and the Knights Templars and are extracting resources from both of them to further progress with their goals. Examples of this are Violet da Costa, who is also a high ranking Templar Knight and a secret member of The Instruments of the First Will. There is also one known Assassin, Jasdip Dhami, who defected to the Instruments of the First Will and is hunting his former Assassin allies and possibly Templar allies.
 
So far at least two known Instruments have infiltrated Abstergo Industries. One of them is a Sage John Standish who had infiltrated Abstergo Entertainment in Montreal, Canada and the other is an engineer, Heinrich Hart, who had infiltrated an Abstergo Branch in Berlin, Germany developing experimental technologies, such as his electrical whip.


===Post-Mortem Belief System===
====Post-mortem belief system====
It is their firm belief that after their death, Juno will reward them by allowing their essence into The Grey, a post-mortem paradise like realm. It is stated by Juno that her loyal followers will live on happily forever.
It was the Instruments' firm belief that after their death, Juno would reward them by allowing their essence to enter [[the Grey]], where their consciousness could live on happily forever.<ref name="ACBF" />


==Members==
==Members==
Line 114: Line 139:
*[[Elijah]] {{c|Sage; betrayed}}
*[[Elijah]] {{c|Sage; betrayed}}
*[[Heinrich Hart]]
*[[Heinrich Hart]]
*[[Stephen Heggenes]]
*[[Guernica Moneo]]
*[[Guernica Moneo]]
*[[John Standish]] {{c|Sage}}
*[[Isaiah]] {{c|betrayed}}
*[[Isaiah]] {{c|betrayed}}
*[[Richmond]]
*[[Richmond]]
*[[Stephen Heggenes]]
*[[John Standish]] {{c|Sage}}


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" widths="180">
AC4 Sticky Note.png|One of the sticky notes spread around the Montreal office
AC4 Sticky Note.png|One of the sticky notes spread around the Montreal office
IFW emblem.png|All the sticky notes found form the Juno symbol
IFW emblem.png|All the sticky notes found form the Juno symbol
Line 132: Line 157:
==Appearances==
==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Unity]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Uprising]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]'' {{c|2nd ed.}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' – ''[[The Fate of Atlantis]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]'' {{c|2nd edition}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' {{mo}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Scroll box|content={{Reflist}}}}
{{Isu}}
{{ACIV}}
{{ACIV}}
{{ACS}}
{{ACS}}
{{ACUprising}}
{{ACUprising}}
{{Isu}}


<!--Interwiki links-->
<!--Interwiki links-->
[[es:Instrumentos de la Primera Voluntad]]
[[es:Instrumentos de la Primera Voluntad]]
[[fr:Instruments de la Volonté Première]]
[[fr:Instruments de la Volonté Première]]
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[[zh:第一文明的仆从]]
[[zh:第一文明的仆从]]


 
[[Category:Instruments of the First Will| ]]
[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Cults]]
[[Category:Cults]]
[[Category:Secret societies]]
[[Category:Templar-affiliated groups]]
[[Category:Templar-affiliated groups]]
[[Category:Assassin-affiliated groups]]
[[Category:Assassin-affiliated groups]]
[[Category:Instruments of the First Will| ]]
[[Category:Secret societies]]

Revision as of 23:29, 16 August 2024

"May she guide us into the Grey!"
―The Instruments of the First Will's creed.[src]-[m]

The Instruments of the First Will, also known as the Juno cult,[3] was a secretive polytheistic religious organization who worshipped the First Civilization as their deities. A Sage, a reincarnation of Juno's Isu husband Aita in human form, often held a prominent position within the Instruments of the First Will.

A collective secret society that drew membership and resources from within both the Templars and the Assassins, their primary mission was to revive their Isu deities, most notably Juno, and allow them to rule the world in deference to mankind's origin as a First Civilzation slave race.

The Instruments of the First Will became an enemy in common between the Assassins and the Templars, whose brief alliance in August 2018 to counter the Instrument threat dismantled the cult when Juno's "Resurrection Day" plot was undone and the Isu was assassinated. Though the cult was effectively neutralized by their upheaval, their impact continued years afterwards, as the Assassin historian Shaun Hastings later referenced them in 2020 when musing over the Templars' precursors, the Order of the Ancients.

History

Origins

The exact origin of the Instruments of the First Will is unclear. Project Anthropos was initiated during the Isu Era with directions that humanity should be considered instruments of the Isu, not their offspring.[4] Juno herself had begun amassing followers among her own people before the Great Catastrophe.[5] Former Abstergo Industries employee Sebastian Monroe spoke of the cult around 2016 and pointed out that the rumors held that the Instruments of the First Will were a secret faction from within the Templars.[6]

In 2020, the Assassin historian Shaun Hastings theorized that there may be a connection between the Instruments and the Order of the Ancients, the Isu-worshipping precursor of the Templars, due to their common reverence of the First Civilization as well as sharing much of the same theology and philosophies. Shaun even went as far as to point out that the Instruments were far more likely to be a proper reincarnation or successor of the Order of Ancients than the Templar Order.[1]

World War I

The Master Spy

In 1916, in London, a war nurse who was a member of the Instruments and her associate were collecting soldiers' blood samples in "odd-looking cubes" for an unknown purpose. After catching wind of their activities, Winston Churchill tasked the British Assassin Lydia Frye to eliminate the nurse and her associate, which the Assassin did.[7]

Another Instrument, a spy, was detained by the British Military in the Tower of London. He started making fanatic claims about the Assassins, so Churchill suggested it would be in Lydia's best interests to silence him. The spy eventually broke out and tried to escape, but Lydia infiltrated the Tower and tricked the guards into murdering him.[8]

Ridding much of the spies' strongholds and weapons, Lydia eventually located their main hideout. After she killed the German Templar spies, their leader, the Master Spy, appeared and began to battle Lydia while calling out to his "beloved." After a short fight, he was forced to escape by using a flash grenade and fled to the cult's main stronghold.[9]

At the stronghold, the Master Spy had his followers set up a bonfire to destroy all of their items related to Juno or the Isu. However, he was tailed by Lydia, who proceeded to kill the Master Spy and all of his remaining followers, ending their operations in London.[9]

Spanish Civil War

In 1928, Rufus Grosvenor, a Templar and former follower of the Master Spy, found the ex-Black Cross Albert Bolden in a Chinese opium den and tried to blackmail him into surrendering the Koh-i-Noor, a powerful Piece of Eden, by threatening to inform the Order of his survival. However, Bolden refused and managed to flee while Grosvenor had his back turned. Undeterred, the Instrument pursued Bolden across the world for nine years, until he eventually learned the location of Bolden's family and killed them to lure the Black Cross into a trap.[10]

After successfully stealing the Koh-i-Noor from Bolden, Grosvenor decided to locate a person with a high enough concentration of Isu DNA to activate the Piece of Eden. In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, he encountered the British Assassin Norbert Clarke, who had been sent to assist a Spanish Assassin cell fighting alongside the Republicans.[10] After tricking Clarke into committing suicide, Grosvenor stole his identity and met the Assassin cell in Barcelona, whereupon he began manipulating its leader, Ignacio Cardona.[11]

Grosvenor and the Assassins witnessing Cardona and Bolden's arrival

After a fight broke out between the Republicans and communists and the Assassins were unsure of who to join, Grosvenor convinced Cardona to use the Koh-i-Noor to "calm" them. Cardona tried using the artifact but passed out moments later and was subsequently carried to safety by Bolden, who had been following Grosvenor's trail.[11] Meanwhile, Grosvenor, still under the guise of Clarke, convinced the rest of Cardona's cell, including his lover Glaucia Acosta, to join his cause and they headed to a run-down church in the countryside.[10]

There, Grosvenor and the Assassins were confronted by Cardona and Bolden, who had joined forces to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor. In a last ditched attempt to activate the Piece of Eden, Grosvenor gave it to Cardona, who managed to resist its control and unleashed a series of animal-like apparitions and energy that destroyed the church. Grosvenor and Acosta survived the confrontation and subsequently fled to the United States, believing the Koh-i-Noor to have been destroyed.[12]

Infiltrating Abstergo

By 2013, the Instruments had managed to infiltrate the Templar company Abstergo Industries through one of their agents, John Standish, a Sage. During his time as head of the IT department at the Abstergo Entertainment offices in Montreal, John distributed the Instruments' manifesto throughout the building via QR codes on sticky labels. He also provided the Assassins with intel through a research analyst, and later got the analyst to hack into confidential folders containing Abstergo data about the Precursors and Templars.[13]

John Standish attempting to poison the analyst

However, Abstergo caught wind of the hackings and detained the research team. John, not wanting to expose himself, reassured Melanie Lemay, the acting head of the Sample 17 Project, that he would find the hacker within a week's time. Meanwhile, he freed the research analyst from their cell and ordered them to go to the main servers to erase evidence of the hackings. His true intentions, however, were to provide Juno, now a digital being, with the analyst's body so as to transfer her essence into.[13]

Weakened by being in the servers, Juno was not strong enough to transfer her essence into the analyst's body, thus foiling John's plans and enraging him. He went insane, exposed himself as a Sage and injected a non-lethal amount of poison into the analyst before being gunned down by Abstergo security. Meanwhile, the analyst eventually recovered from the poisoning and was cleared of all accusations against them, as evidence found on John's computer implicated him as the hacker.[13]

Retrieving the Shroud of Eden

By 2014, Abstergo had become aware of the Instruments' existence and sought to paint the organization as a crazed cult in order to keep their knowledge of the Isu away from the public conscience.[14] At the same time, the Templars hoped to use the Instruments to acquire various Pieces of Eden and other Isu artifacts, though Juhani Otso Berg suspected that the reverse was also true and that the Instruments were using Abstergo to further their own goals. Suspicious about what these motives may be, Berg assigned Violet da Costa to investigate the cult, unaware that the latter was a member of the Instruments herself.[15]

Violet delivering the Shroud to Gramática

In 2015, the Templar Álvaro Gramática desired one of the Shrouds of Eden in order to vastly accelerate the Phoenix Project's progress. Juhani Otso Berg and Violet da Costa managed to recover the Shroud from Buckingham Palace's vault, after Sigma Team repelled a group of Assassins also seeking the artifact. After handing the Shroud to Gramática, Violet spoke to Juno, informing her that the Shroud was in Abstergo's possession. Though Violet expressed fear of the danger that might befall Juno should anyone discover her plans, the Isu stated that Violet had played her part well and that she would save the world.[16]

Pursuing the Assassins

By 2017, the Assassin Jasdip Dhami had defected to the Instruments after becoming disillusioned with the Brotherhood's tactics, in particular their use of the Initiates in their "eternal war" against the Templars.[17] In February of that year, Jasdip and other Instruments ambushed an Assassin cell in Hong Kong, while the Assassins were trying to break into an abandoned Abstergo building to find information about the Phoenix Project.[18]

Jasdip Dhami attacking Charlotte

The Instruments murdered all of the Assassins present, except for Charlotte de la Cruz, who managed to leap from the building, though Jasdip chased her, resulting in a fight atop Guernica Moneo's van. During the fight, an Instrument managed to injure Moneo with a shuriken and the van crashed. Charlotte tried to interrogate Jasdip to learn who he was serving but both of them had to flee before the authorities arrived on the scene.[18]

Jasdip later ambushed the Assassins Kiyoshi Takakura and Arend Schut-Cunningham at the Abstergo Entertainment facility in Montreal, where the Assassins hoped to find Felix Oladele, an Animus specialist. The Instrument decapitated Oladele and engaged Kiyoshi and Arend in a fight that led to both Assassins being heavily wounded. Before Jasdip could deliver the killing blow to Arend, Kiyoshi shot him in the back, causing the Instrument to fall off the cleaner's mobile he was standing on.[19]

Encountering the Black Cross

After Juhani Otso Berg began to suspect the existence of a splinter cell within the Templar Order, he took up the mantle of the Black Cross in an attempt to discover them.[18] His search led him to Berlin, Germany, where he caught up to Heinrich Hart, a man he believed to be an Assassin spy. After a brief struggle, he deduced that Hart was not an Assassin. Hart then proclaimed that he was not a Templar either but rather "her" instrument, before setting off an explosion which killed 170 people, including himself.[20]

Berg confronting Heinrich Hart

Berg survived the explosion and fled back to his safe house. Later, he ran into the Assassin My'shell Lemair in Geneva, Switzerland and the two reluctantly worked together to investigate the financial and investment irregularities within their respective Orders. The Instruments ambushed Berg and My'shell during their investigation, but the Templar was able to single-handedly kill five Instruments before collapsing.[21]

Jasdip Dhami, who had survived his encounter with the Assassins in Montreal, arrived and grabbed Berg, threatening him to end his investigation into the Instruments' affairs or else he would kill his daughter Elina. Meanwhile, Guernica Moneo, who was secretly a mole for the Instruments, tried to assassinate Charlotte de la Cruz while her mind was briefly trapped inside the Grey, but he was discovered by Galina Voronina and subsequently taken captive by the Assassins in order to be interrogated.[21] The Instruments would later send a strike team to silence Moneo and, though they succeeded in mortally wounding him, they were all killed by My'shell in an explosion.[22]

Finding the Koh-i-Noor

Back at the Instruments of the First Will's headquarters, Violet da Costa scolded Jasdip Dhami over his brutal treatment of Berg, since he was her friend and she also believed that he could be recruited to the Instruments' cause. Jasdip argued back, claiming that Violet had no right to decide who joined the Instruments and would live to see Eden reborn, as that privilege only belonged to their goddess, Juno.[21]

Jasdip introducing Elijah to the Instruments

At that moment, Juno appeared to her lieutenants on a monitor and stated that she needed the Koh-i-Noor from Charlotte de la Cruz. Jasdip then guided Desmond Miles' son Elijah, a Sage, to a crowd of awaiting Instruments, where Jasdip informed the ecstatic Instruments of their goddess' success. The Instruments' recent operations had forced the Templars, namely Berg, to unofficially ally themselves with the Assassins, in particular Charlotte's cell, in order to take down the Instruments.[21]

Later, after the Instruments discovered the location of Álvaro Gramática's secret lab in Australia, where the Templar was working on the Phoenix Project, a strike team of Juno's followers as well as Elijah and their prisoner, André Bolden, traveled there. Upon their arrival, the team, led by Violet and Jasdip, discovered that Gramática had succeeded in sequencing the Precursor genome before revealing themselves to the dumbfounded scientist. Violet then stated that they were there for the Phoenix Project, so as to create a new clone body for their mistress.[12]

Not long after, Jasdip led another strike team to the Spanish countryside in order to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor from its burial site. Fighting both Charlotte's team, who had also tracked down the Piece of Eden, and the guardians appointed by Ignacio Cardona and Albert Bolden to protect the site,[23] the Instruments were ultimately successful in their mission and managed to escape with the Koh-i-Noor after Charlotte activated it.[24]

Resurrection Day and downfall

File:Juno. .png
Juno's new body

In August 2018, Álvaro Gramática, taken hostage by the Instruments, used his knowledge of the Precursor genome to create a new Isu body which Juno could inhabit. The process involved extracting somatic cells from Elijah due to his high concentration of Isu DNA, and then using strands of the Shroud of Eden to accelerate the maturation rate of the Isu fetus, transforming Juno into an adult Isu within 24 hours.[24]

While maturing, Consus appeared to Juno and told her that she would never win. While Juno claimed that she had her body and the Koh-i-Noor and that she had been inside Charlotte's head, Consus stated that Charlotte's will was greater than Juno's and it was the reason she would ultimately lose. Upon reaching maturity, Juno spoke with Gramática and commented how disgusted she used to be with vocal cords, until she did not have hers for millennia, before ordering to be let out of the vat she was in.[22]

At the same time, Charlotte's team and Juhani Otso Berg launched an assault on the Phoenix Project facility, seeking to prevent Juno's resurrection and eliminate the Instruments. Outside the facility, Jasdip Dhami greeted Berg and boasted about Juno's inevitable return to power, only to be shot with a sniper rifle by Galina Voronina. The Assassins and Berg then fought their way through the Instruments' forces while Charlotte attempted to assassinate Juno, but was incapacitated by the Isu's powers.[25]

Fortunately, Elijah, who had decided to betray the Instruments for killing his mother, came to Charlotte's rescue and handed her the Koh-i-Noor, allowing her to trick Juno with an illusion of Consus and guide her fellow Assassins and Berg to her location. Charlotte then killed Juno with her Hidden Blade just as the Isu became aware of the deception, though not before she fired an energy beam in anger, which ended up killing Gramática.[25]

File:Juno's death.png
Juno's demise

While Elijah escaped with the Koh-i-Noor, the Assassins – barring Charlotte – and Berg fled the facility and were confronted outside by the remaining Instruments led by Violet. After informing her of Juno's fate and revealing that he had called a Templar strike team for backup, Berg grabbed Violet's gun and killed her with it. He then detonated a high-caliber explosive to destroy the facility, though this inadvertently killed Charlotte, who failed to escape in time.[25]

After the destruction of the Phoenix Project and the death of their central deity, the Instruments quickly crumbled and disbanded.[2] The few members that survived were hunted down over the following months by Berg and the Templars, ensuring that by October 2018, the Instruments were no more.[26]

Culture

Foundations and membership

Being a religious organization that held a strict supremacist view of the Isu, the Instruments of the First Will believed that humanity should submit to and worship the First Civilization. Their primary purpose was the release of Juno's essence from her digital imprisonment and creating a new body for her essence to inhabit.[13] On at least two occasions, the cult's highest-ranking member was a Sage: first the Master Spy during World War I,[9] and then John Standish in 2013.[13]

Throughout their history, the Instruments have drawn membership from both the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order. Notable Templars who became members of the Instruments of the First Will include the Master Spy,[9] Rufus Grosvenor,[10] and Violet da Costa,[16] while the only known Assassins to have joined the Instruments are Jasdip Dhami and Glaucia Acosta, after they both became disillusioned with the Brotherhood's cause.[21][12]

Religious belief system

"We submit ourselves to eternal servitude in service of a grander fulfillment. We submit the world to itself it being a product that feeds life to life and death to death."
―John Standish, 2013.[src]-[m]

Unlike the Assassins and Templars, who both view the Isu as nothing more than a technologically advanced precursor race, the Instruments saw them as deities to be worshiped. Their theological beliefs were similar to the zealous views of the Order of the Ancients, who similarly worshiped the Isu as gods.[1]

The Instruments believed that the Isu, particularly Juno, would establish a New World Order by which all of humanity would live progressively and happily under her absolute rule. The members of the cult were often very fanatical in pursuing their goals, with one member, Heinrich Hart, taking his own life in a suicide bombing that killed 170 people in total.[19] The Instruments displayed a general contempt for all human life, believing that humanity was misguided and that Juno would only save those she deemed "worthy" enough to serve her[21]

While their primary goal has always been to resurrect Juno in a physical form so as to allow her to take over the world,[27] it was speculated by Abstergo Industries that the Instruments also sought to revive other members of the First Civilization and would do so if presented the opportunity.[28]

The Pieces of Eden

Juno commissioned her followers to find various Pieces of Eden so as to use them for her ultimate goal of taking over the world. The Instruments infiltrated both Abstergo Industries and the Assassin Brotherhood in order to get close to their respective Pieces of Eden, as well as use their resources to track down more. Of particular interest to Juno were two Pieces of Eden: the Shroud, which would allow her to be reborn in the physical world,[16] and the Koh-i-Noor, regarded as one of the most powerful Pieces of Eden, which had belonged to Juno back during the Isu Era.[21]

Post-mortem belief system

It was the Instruments' firm belief that after their death, Juno would reward them by allowing their essence to enter the Grey, where their consciousness could live on happily forever.[13]

Members

  • Juno (central deity)

20th century

21st century

Gallery

Behind the scenes

The Instruments' emblem is the symbol of the asteroid 3 Juno, the symbol itself is meant to be a scepter topped with a star. The emblem can also be seen in The Lost Archive memory The Truth.

Appearances

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Assassin's Creed: ValhallaLayla Hassan's personal files: "The Order of the Ancients"
  2. 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide (2nd ed.) – Chapter 8: Modern Day: "Other Factions and Unaffiliated Individuals"
  3. Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide (2nd ed.) – Chapter 2: The Precursor Civilization: "Cults Dedicated to the Isu"
  4. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaLayla Hassan's personal files – SecureShare: "PRE_trslt_Canterbury.odt <v. 1 by antony>"
  5. Assassin's Creed: OdysseyThe Fate of Atlantis: Judgment of Atlantis: Isu codex: Musings on Juno's Expulsion
  6. Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods
  7. Assassin's Creed: SyndicateThe Apothecary Twins
  8. Assassin's Creed: SyndicateThe Magpie
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Assassin's Creed: SyndicateThe Master Spy
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #07
  11. 11.0 11.1 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #06
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #08
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Assassin's Creed IV: Black FlagModern day
  14. Assassin's Creed: UnityDatabase: 08. Public Relations Primer
  15. Assassin's Creed: RogueNumbskull's personal files: "Sigma Team's Most Wanted – The Cult"
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 Assassin's Creed: SyndicateModern day
  17. Assassin's Creed: SyndicateJack the RipperDatabase: Assassin Intel 3
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #01
  19. 19.0 19.1 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #03
  20. Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #02
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #04
  22. 22.0 22.1 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #11
  23. Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #09
  24. 24.0 24.1 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #10
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 Assassin's Creed: UprisingIssue #12
  26. Assassin's Creed: OdysseyThe Fate of Atlantis: Fields of ElysiumModern day
  27. Darby McDevitt Part 1/2 | Philosophies, AC4 Deleted Scenes, The Writing Process | The Assassin's Den on the Loomer YouTube channel
  28. Assassin's Creed: UnityDatabase: 14. Security Breach Memo


es:Instrumentos de la Primera Voluntad fr:Instruments de la Volonté Première pl:Narzędzia Pierwszej Woli zh:第一文明的仆从