Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex

The Codex are documents left behind by Altaïr, containing cryptic messages. In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio takes the Codex papers to Leonardo da Vinci, who interprets them, and creates weapons using guidelines encrypted on the Codex. In order to complete Assassin's Creed II, the player must collect all 30 pages from the Codex. If the player doesn't have all the Codex once they are ready for Memory Block 14, all remaining pages will appear on the map.

Codex Pages

page 1

I have spent days with the artifact now. Or has it been weeks? Months? I can no longer be certain...

The others come from time to time - offering food or distraction. They say I should seperate myself from these studies... Malik has even suggested I abandon them entirely. But I am not yet ready to turn away. This Apple of Eden will be understood. It must be...

Is it a weapon? Is it a catalogue? Is it somehow both? 'He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow...' The philosophy of such a  statement I can understand... But for it to be true - literally true? A society that waged wars with ideas and information in place of steel and swords...

Its function is simple. Elementary, even. Dominion. Control. But the process... the methods and means it employs... THESE are fascinating. Those subjected to its glow are promised all that they desire. It asks only one thing in return: Complete and total obedience. And who can truly refuse? It is temptation incarnate.

I remember my own moment of weakness when confronted by Al Mualim, my confidence shaken by his words. He, who had been like a father, was now revealed to be my greatest enemy. Just the briefest flicker of doubt was all he needed to creep into my mind.. But I vanquished his phantoms - restored my self confidence - and sent him from this world. I freed myself. But now I wonder... Did I really? For here I sit - desperate to understand that which I swore to destroy.

This is why the Apple has a tale to tell. I sense the flickers of something - great and dangerous... we are all at risk. It is my duty to do something bout it. I must not - cannot - turn away until I've found the truth.

Pages 11 to 20

Page 11 Attis.  Dionysus.  Horus.  Krishna.  Mithra.  Jesus.  Similar stories color their lives.  Too similar, I think.  Divine birthright.  Persecution.  Disciples.  Miraculous acts.  Resurrection...

How is it possible?

Perhaps it isn't... Merely a single story told over the ages?  Borrowed then changed to fit the times? Evolving as our tools and language do?  Is this tale borne of fact or fiction?  A bit of both?  Could these figures be the same person - their life extended and transformed by a Piece of Eden?

Al Mualim spoke of Jesus as a real person - a mortal who had mastered the arts of manipulation.  But what if he was wrong?  If these men are real - and if they have walked amongst us many times before - does it mean they'll come again?  Perhaps they are here now?  So many questions, and every day, even more...

Page 12

Page 13

Page 14 Man seeks dominion over all that he encounters. I suppose it a natural tendency for us to aspire towards mastery of our surroundings. But this should not include other human beings. Every day more and more are pressed into service - by deception or by force. Others, though not so firmly imprisoned, are made to feel as if their lives are worthless. I have seen the ways in which men persecute women. Heard the cruel words hurled at those who come here from other lands. Watched as those who believe or act differently are made to suffer...

We discuss such things often - watching as we do from the spires of Masyaf. What can be done to stop this? To encourage tolerance and equality? Some days we speak of education, believing that knowledge will free us from immorality. But as I walk the streets and see slaves sent off to auction - my heart grows cold. When I see the husband hurl abuses and stones at his wife, insisting she exists only to serve him - my fists clench. And when I see children torn from their parents so that another man might profit - sent off to suffer beneath the desert sun and die...

...On these days, I do not think that dialogue will make a difference. On these days, I can think only of how the perpetrators need to die.

Page 15

Page 16 The Apple is more than a catalog of that which precedes us. Within its twisting, sparking innards I've caught glimpses of what will be. Such a thing should not be possible. Perhaps it isn't. Maybe it is simply a suggestion. How to know? How to be sure?

I contemplate the consequences of these visions: are they images of things to come - or simply the potential for what might be? Can we influence the outcome? Dare we try? And in so doing, do we merely ensure that which we've seen?

I am torn - as always - between action and inaction - unclear as to which - if either - will make a difference. Am I even meant to make a difference? Still, I keep this journal. Is that not an attempt to change - or perhaps guarantee - what I have seen?

Page 17

Page 18 We are obligated to hide. To be silent. To shape the course of history in secret. But some of my brothers and sisters disagree. They grow angry, insisting it is a mistake to shroud ourselves. They say it slows our work. But they do not understand the risks. To expose ourselves now would be too dangerous. I fear we would be branded madmen and attacked. So it goes. So it always has. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that men do not learn by being told. Instead they must be shown. They must make the connections themselves. If I say unto a man, be kind, be tolerant, be of an open mind - these words will wither and die long before they've affected change. It would be a waste. And so we must maintain our course...

Page 19 Legends speaks of a golden fleece. Could the two be related?...

...I have further refined the metallurgic process, allowing for the production of a suit of armor the likes of which the world has never seen...

...It is possessed of great strength, yet so light as to allow complete freedom...

...I alternate between wonder and fear. Here we have crafted something that will surely change the face of warfare, making those who wear it nigh invincible...

Perhaps it was a mistake to create these pieces. I think it best to erase the formulae. What if it were to fall in the hands of our enemies? The risk is too great...

Page 20 I have studied the ancient pagan faiths that came before this more recent obsession with a single, divine creator. They seem to have focused more on the fundamental forces at play in the world around us and less on arbitrary moral rules...

The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. The tides ebb and flow. Grass grows, withers, dies, and then in time, emerges from the ground once more. The air turns warm then cools and back again. Some hidden energy keeps us fitted to the ground and pulls us back when we attempt to leave it.

Each of these movements was represented before by a god or goddess. Each force given face, but recognized as something distinct and powerful. Which is not to say there were not connections between these forces - a pantheon of individual spirits - of rules. Invisible hands guiding the progress of the world around us.

And so here there was an attempt to categorize, study, explain, and understand the way things work - even if it was flawed. But no more. Now we are asked to succumb to a far more simplified explanation. How naive to believe there might be a single answer to every question. Every mystery. That there exists a lone divine light which rules over all. They say it is a light that brings truth and love. I say it is a light that blinds us - and forces us to stumble about in ignorance.

I long for the day when men turn away from invisible monsters and once more embrace a more rational view of the world. But these new religions are so convenient - and promise such terrible punishment should one reject them - I worry that fear shall keep us stuck to what is surely the greatest lie ever told.

Pages 21 to 30

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Page 25

Page 26 I have the answer now. I know the truth. I shall not touch that wretched thing again. Best that no one do, now or ever. I have tried - at last - to destroy it, but it will neither bend nor break nor melt. Oh the irony - I am certain if I asked, the Apple would tell me what need be done. But even this promise is insufficient. Always it holds one more gift to give. I must refrain. So it shall be sealed. We will take it to the island - once theirs, now ours. There is a treasury there - hidden well - and it shall have to suffice. Risky to separate myself from the artifact that others may discover it. Riskier still to keep it close. In time I will be tempted. I am weak. We all are. Who wouldn't be? Oh, the things I have seen... The tale is here - inside the text. Not between the lines but beneath them. Where only our eyes might peer. Go and see it for yourself. That you might succeed where I and the others have failed. Time marches on - bringing with it new discoveries and developments. And so at least one day the doorway might be opened and the message delivered. They will have their prophet.

Page 27 We are growing larger. More make their way to our fortresses every day. Men and women. Young and old. From different lands. Of different faiths. Each tells a similar story - of having discovered the first part of our creed: that nothing is true.

Too often, though, the revelation undoes them. They lose their morality, certainty, security. Many are driven mad. We must guide them. Help them to heal. Their minds must not be filled with more fairy tales, but with knowledge instead. Let them have answers - and let those answers be difficult and complex. Such is life.

Page 28

Page 29 A dark tide rises to the east - an army of such size and power that all the land is made quick to worry.  Their leader is a man named Temujin, who has adopted the title Ghengis Khan.  He sweeps across the lands, conquering and subsuming all who stand in his way.  Whatever his motives, he must be stopped.  Were I younger, I might attempt to undertake this work in secret - as I suspect the presence of a Piece of Eden.  But those days are years gone, now.  The mantle must be passed.  It is time she and I spoke with our sons.  We will travel there together, that they may be tested and that this threat might be stopped.

Page 30 Soon I shall pass from this world. It is my time. All the hours of the day are now colored by the thoughts and fears borne of this realization. I know that the elements of my body will return to the Earth. But what of my consciousness? My identity? That is to say - what of ME? I suspect it will end. That there is no next world. Nor a return to this one. It will simply be done. Forever.

Our lives are so brief and unimportant. The cosmos cares nothing for us. For what we've done; Had we wrought evil instead of good. Had I chosen to abuse the Apple instead of seal it away. None of it would have mattered. There is no counting. No reckoning. No final judgement. There is simply silence. And darkness. Utter and absolute... And so I have begun to wonder - might there not be a way to stop - or at least delay - death's embrace?

Surely the ones who came before were not so frail and feeble as we. But I have sworn to be done with the artifact. To not gaze into its core. Still: faced as I am with the prospect of my end, what harm is there in one last look...

Description

The Codex of Altaïr was a document created and maintained by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad sometime after he had recovered and first experienced the Piece of Eden. He considers the knowledge obtained as a 'necessary evil'. 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 Altaïr'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 canon inventor of black powder and the miniaturized gun within the hidden blade. Altaïr ultimately regrets doing this, as peering into the future has revealed to him no changes in the ultimate fate of humanity. Altaïr 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.

Altaïr 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 Altaïr 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 known what became of this, only that all the evidence points to Altaïr giving the codex to the team of or lone assassins tasked with investigating Genghis Khan.

It is possible that the statue dedicated to the assassin that shot Khan's horse is, in fact, one of Altair's sons.