Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex

The Codex of Altair was a document created and maintained by Altair Ibn-La' Had sometime after he had recovered and first experienced a piece of Eden. He considered it dangerous knowledge, but necessary. Within its pages were many philosophical observations as well as strategic and technological advancements. His main motivation in creating the document was to help him understand and document what the pieces of Eden were exactly, as well as to serve as a resource for future sons of his order. Mentioned in its pages alongside Altair's multiple philosophical insights, are his incidents of giving into temptation, and peering into the apple on multiple occasions. He does this mainly out of fear, fear for his order and mankind's ability to utilize free will, what he sees only reassures him of the need to use the apple for his own means. In doing so he is able to craft new alloys and lightweight materials, make several advancements to the mechanics of the housing of the hidden blade, as well as being the in game cannon creator of black powder and the miniaturized gun within the hidden blade. Altair ultimately regrets doing this, as peering into the future has revealed to him no changes in the ultimate fate of humanity. Altair also struggles with the temptations of the apple, often contemplating misusing it, which eventually leads him to leave the Apple of Eden on the island of Cyprus sometime during his mid-late life.

Altair makes multiple references to an unseen threat other than the Templars. he also details his observations of the warlord Genghis Khan's conquests, fearing he is a Templar conspirator and sensing a Piece of Eden Altair quickly prepares a mission to the near east to investigate, although he is ripe with age at this point and can only act as an advisor to the young assassins he has tasked with the work. It is not know what became of this, only that all the evidence points to Altair giving the codex to the team of or lone assassins tasked with investigating Genghis Khan, the details are lacking on the results the only thing that is know to be fact is that Genghis Khan's successor, Kublai, the fifth Khan was in possession of the codex in the late 13th to early 14th century. He returned it to Marco Polo in the early 14th century while Polo was serving in his court. Upon Polo's return to Italy it comes back into the possession of the author's kinship, as the Father of the Patriarch of the Auditore who was born in 1296( the son not the father) on the south shore of the Venetian Lagoon as per information given in the Crypt of the Auditore, serves as Polo's Aide De Camp and closest advisor. He is an ancestor to subject 16 and not to Desmond, as there bloodlines have not been merged until the birth of Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, whom fathered a common relative and was the earliest known relation of both Desmond and Subject 16.

This unnamed relation of Subject 16 and Ezio became assigned to Dante Alighieri for training within the order of the Assassins. This student teacher team was tasked with taking the codex to an Assassins stronghold in Catalonian Spain somewhere near Barcelona for safe keeping. Unfortunately Dante was murdered in Ravenna before they could depart and the unnamed Patriarch was forced to proceed alone. Templar paid pirates raided his ship in the Port of Otranto, raped and murdered his wife, and left he and his son marooned. He hid the Codex within his cargo which the pirates looted and unknowingly scattered the pieces of the Codex all about the Mediterranean. Little did he know the villa he created in disguise in Monteriggioni on his return to Italy would one day house the completed Codex, thanks to his descendant Ezio.

At some point, an Assassin spilled their own blood to encode a hidden map within the codex, of all the know locations of the pieces of Eden, as well as locations of Assassins strongholds or Pieces of Eden hidden by the Assassins already, of the 30 pieces on the map 5 have Assassin symbols encompassing them, suggesting that these have been entombed or hidden by the order. During the 15th century, Ezio Auditore Da Firenze reassembles the codex and stores it in his family villa in the fortress town of Monteriggioni. What became of the codex is unclear, other than the fact that it was scattered with one piece known to be housed in the National history museum in Florence, and others in private collections, most likely Templars by the year 2012.