Order of the Ancients

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"We men and women of the Order of the Ancients are the natural arbiters of the world. Let all those who oppose us perish in pain. We are everywhere, and we are eternal."

―Motto of the Order of the Ancients.

The Order of the Ancients, also known as the Order of Ancients, the Snake, the Masked Ones, and derisively as the Order of Heretics, was a secretive religious collective which operated throughout the ancient world. It was founded in 1334 BCE by the Egyptian Pharaoh Smenkhkare, who not only strictly revered the Ancient Ones, but also upheld a strict supremacist view of them and sought to use the Pieces of Eden in order to politically and religiously shepherd humanity into recreating Isu societies on Earth as well as revive the Isu.

Throughout their entire history, the Order of the Ancients held dominion over major empires in the known world. The reach of their members extended to military leaders, religious elders, scholars, nobles, ealdormen and philosophers, as well as criminal masterminds. While the Order was virtually unopposed in its dominion over humanity during the first several centuries of its existence, several individuals and groups would eventually rise to fight against its tyranny, most notably the Hidden Ones in 47 BCE, who would thereafter wage a centuries-long shadow war against the Order.

With the rise of Abrahamic religions and the decline of polythetic religions across Europe and Asia, the Order began to decline and were eventually mostly wiped out in 878 CE in a campaign orchestrated by the Grand Maegester of their branch in England, King Alfred of Wessex, who reviled the Order's ideals and beliefs, believing them to be sacrilegious to the one God preached by Christianity. With the Viking expansion into England, Alfred manipulated Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan into unknowingly wiping out the Order in England, fulfilling his dreams to reform the Order into one that was more compatible with his religious principles. This became the basis for the eventual foundation of the Order of the Knights Templar.

Despite repeated persecutions, remnants of the Order still existed elsewhere in Europe, such as Ireland and France, but were eventually eliminated, disappeared or were absorbed into the Templar Order. In 2020, given the similarities in theological beliefs, the Assassin Shaun Hastings theorized that the Order of the Ancients could have been a predecessor organization to the seemingly-collapsed modern day secluded religious organization called the Instruments of the First Will.

History

Classical Antiquity

Early years

"The Order of the Ancients. A powerful secret group who have controlled Persia across the reign of countless kings."

―Darius on the Order, c. 429 BCE.

The Order of the Ancients was founded by the Pharaoh Smenkhkare around 1334 BCE, with the original aim of identifying and exploiting ancient Isu technologies. Having discovered the Isu vault Eeyoo Sekedoo Aat, Smenkhkare eventually had his own tomb connected to the vault in order to keep it hidden. The Order spread across Egypt before expanding into nearby Persia, where it sought to manipulate and control the Achaemenid Emperors. By the 5th century BCE, the Order had grown into a powerful organization that had influenced the reigns of generations of Achaemenid rulers, including Darius I and his son, Xerxes I.

By the time of the Second Persian Invasion of Hellas—during which the famed Battle of Thermopylae took place—the Order of the Ancients had long been in partnership with the Cult of Kosmos. Though both operated independently of one another, their aims often aligned, and as a result, both groups sought to install Xerxes I as overlord in Greece. Despite this partnership, however, the Order was unaware of the Cult's part in instigating the Peloponnesian War, a conflict which brought chaos to the region, much to the disdain of the Order.

Pursuit of Darius

Xerxes I assassinated by Darius

Eventually, the Order's existence and activities were discovered by the Persian elites Artabanus, Amorges, and Pactyas during Xerxes I's reign. Allying with other elites, they formed the "Protectors of Persia" resistance group to oppose the Order and successfully assassinated Xerxes in 465 BCE. The Ancients then turned their attention to Xerxes' son Artaxerxes I, who had succeeded his father as king. When Artabanus planned his assassination, fearing the potential for another puppet, Amorges betrayed his friend and joined the Order, hoping to use their resources to create a better future for Persia.

After Amorges foiled and exposed Artabanus' plan, the latter was branded a traitor and was forced to flee Persia with his family, adopting the new name Darius. Meanwhile, Amorges rose to become a leader of the Ancients and dispatched the Order of Hunters sub-branch led by Pactyas to find and eliminate his former friend. After losing most of his family to the Hunters, Darius managed to lose their tail and escaped to Greece with his son Natakas.

Their pursuit of Darius notwithstanding, the Order of Hunters' objective shifted to eliminating the "Tainted Ones", human descendants of the Isu possessing enhanced strength and abilities, which caused them to be seen as a threat by the Ancients. By the 420s BCE, Pactyas and his Order had successfully hunted a number of Tainted Ones throughout Persia and other regions.

Activities in Greece

Around 429 BCE, the Order of Hunters traveled to Makedonia, Greece in an attempt to eliminate the Spartan misthios Kassandra, a Tainted One who had made a name for herself during the Peloponnesian War. In Makedonia, they allied themselves with a group of Spartans in order to root out the misthios, while the Order's existence was discovered by a group of mercenaries who were searching for Kassandra themselves. This group also uncovered correspondence between members of the Spartan army and the Order, as well as a planned ambush they decided to interfere with, thinking that would bolster their fame and allow them to join Kassandra's crew aboard her ship, the Adrestia.

The mercenaries later fought the Order again, this time with the aid of Darius, who had taken refuge in Makedonia and warned them more members were nearby before leaving to check on Natakas at their camp. Upon arrival, though, Darius and the mercenaries found the camp ransacked and Natakas missing. Darius warned the mercenaries that he worked better alone, but the group ignored him and followed Darius, intent on helping him deliver retribution to the Order for the ambush.

Following the Order's trail to a cave they were using as a hideout, the mercenaries eliminated all the Spartans and the two Order members they encountered there until reaching a central cavern. There, they saw six Order members and a Spartan ekdromos gathered around the restrained Natakas. Unbeknownst to them, Darius had also tracked the Order to the cave and had hidden behind a stalagmite deep in the cavern. As the mercenaries approached the Order, Darius dashed from his hiding place to flank the group.

Using the distraction created by the mention of his father's name, Natakas knocked down the Order leader. In response, another Order member and the ekdromos engaged the mercenaries in combat, but was killed. The Order leader stood up to retaliate when Darius came from behind and stabbed them in the neck with is Hidden Blade. Before dying, the leader taunted Darius, boasting that they had called for Pactyas and his Hunters. The mercenaries then invited the two to join Kassandra's crew, which Darius declined. However, Natakas was intrigued, and as they left the cave, the mercenaries regaled him with the warrior's deeds.

The Order's Persian Elite confronting Kassandra and Natakas

Expanding their activities into Greece came with risks, however, and the Order's leadership became concerned that the Cult of Kosmos, who controlled much of Greece's aristocracy, might become aware of their existence. As such, strict orders were given to their member Echion. To draw out Kassandra, the Order of Hunters sent an anonymous letter to Kassandra to visit the village of Potidaia in Makedonia, a plan which succeeded. Pactyas started a fire in the village, which drew the attention of both Kassandra and Darius' son Natakas. Confronting both Kassandra and Natakas, Pactyas ordered the acolytes to eliminate them both, an attempt which failed.

Despite this, Pactyas continued to expand the Order's operations in Makedonia, recruiting people into their cause and deploying wolfs around the region. The Order also penetrated high parts of Makedonian leadership and began to command local troops. Kassandra, working with Natakas and Darius, dismantled the Order's operation, eliminating Pactyas' lieutenants and destroying the Order's camps across Makedonia. As such, Pactyas resorted to eliminate Kassandra by manipulating the Macedonian population. Using a child to lure the misthios to a swamp containing a tree filled with numerous hanged individuals, Pactyas attempted to manipulate Kassandra with the family members of the victims.

Pactyas' confrontation with Kassandra

With that plan failing as well, Pactyas was confronted by Kassandra in a forest and was defeated. Fleeing to a nearby cave in the hills, Pactyas made his final stand before eventually being defeated by Kassandra. With the arrival of Darius and Natakas, Pactyas revealed Darius real identity as his former partner and his actions to Kassandra, before finally being killed by Darius' Hidden Blade. With Pactyas' death, the Order's influence in Makedonia was eliminated.

Downfall of the Persian branch

With Pactyas' failure, Amorges made the decision to travel to Greece himself to hunt down Darius. Posing as an elderly merchant named Orontas, he tracked Darius and his son Natakas to Achaia, where they planned to depart east from the port city of Patrai. To disrupt his plans, he appointed Phila, and the Order of the Storm to blockade the port city with her fleet and instruct her men to look for Darius and Natakas. Kassandra released several stranded people in the Cult of Kosmos fortress Teichos of Herakles and leading them to safety in Boura with Kleta. While in Achaia, the Order developed a new weapon, a ship-mounted flamethrower called Chimera's Breath, though their attempts at building and installing it on the Skylla failed after its chief engineer Gyras defected. Kassandra then installed it on the Adrestia and used it to break the naval blockade. Phila escaped her destroyed ship and was defeated by Kassandra.

Amorges confronted by Darius and Kassandra

With Phila's defeat, Amorges brought down the entire order on Dyme, Natakas' and Kassandra's home. Amorges brought the remainder of its fleet, the twins known only as "the Immortals", and an army to kill the family. The army managed to burn most of the village, though Kassandra arrived in time to kill both of the Immortals, but was too late to stop Natakas from being killed or her son Elpidios from being captured. She and Darius pursued them to the Order's stronghold in the Greek World, Messenia. Kassandra and Darius, with the help of an Athenian general, worked to destroy the Order's influence in Messenia. Eventually Kassandra and Darius lit several fires in Messene to lure out the guards. With the General's distraction, Kassandra was able to reach Amorges. Amorges was killed by Darius and told them the location of her son. Kassandra then hunted down the rest of the Order of Dominion.

Ptolemaic Egypt

Search for the Siwa Vault

By the 1st century BCE, the Order had a solid foothold in Egypt, holding a number of high ranking positions in the during the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes. Pothinus served as a eunuch within the royal court while Berenike served as the Nomarch of Faiyum. Around this time, Pothinus recruited Lucius Septimius, one of the Gabiniani stationed in Egypt to protect the pharaohs, into the Order. During the late Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, the Order ruled Egypt from the shadows by exploiting the young pharaohs, especially Ptolemy XIII, as their puppet.

Following the death of Auletes in 51 BCE, his children Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra succeeded him as pharaohs, co-ruling the kingdom. Seeing this as an opportunity to gain further power, the Order attempted to persuade Cleopatra to their cause, though this plan ultimately failed. After discovering that the Queen was not as easy to handle as her brother, the Order instigated the expulsion of Cleopatra from Egypt in 49 BCE. They chose Ptolemy, knowing that Cleopatra was a much more cunning ruler and a better strategist than her younger brother, who was more interested in the superficiality of power and was easily swayed by them. By this time, the Order in Egypt was led by Flavius Metellus, a high-ranking general who served alongside Julius Caesar.

The Order with Bayek and Khemu in the Siwa Vault

At some point, the Order discovered a vault beneath the Temple of Amun in Siwa, which they believed to be connected to the Apple in their possession. Given said belief, several of the Order's members journeyed to the vault in 49 BCE and attempted to unlock its mysteries. They kidnapped the Medjay Bayek and his son Khemu, bringing them to the vault entrance, believing them to either know something about the vault or be able to open it. The Order had figured out that the Apple was one part of the key, and apparently believed the Medjay bloodline to be the other part.

As it turned out, their attempts were in vain; neither Bayek or his son had knowledge regarding the vault, nor did the vault door react when they placed the Apple in Khemu's hands. Before they could further interrogate the Medjay, they were interrupted by the news of Ptolemy XIII's awakening, and of his desire to come to the Temple of Amun. Most of the Order members present left, leaving Bayek and Khemu within the chamber, telling them to open the door. With Khemu's aid, Bayek freed himself and attempted to fight off the Order, though Khemu was killed in the process.

Hunted by the Medjay

Bayek corners Rudjek

Having failed to open the vault, the Order abandoned their search and left the village. They appointed Medunamun, who used the cryptonym the "Ibis" and served as the Oracle of Amun in the temple, to remain in the village, giving him the Apple in order for him to learn more about the relic. Later that year, Bayek went on a quest of vengeance against the Order, seeking revenge for his son's death. In 48 BCE, he located Rudjek, the Nomarch of Saqqara Nome and a member of the Order who went by the cryptonym of "Heron", hunting him to the Bent Pyramid. Bayek knocked out Rudjek's personal bodyguard Hypatos, cornering Rudjek in the tomb. Rudjek attempted to retaliate with a throwing knife, but the Medjay blocked it with Rudjek's mask before shoving it into Rudjek, killing him with the blade embedded in it.

Eudoros and Pothinus plan their next move

At the same time frame, Bayek's wife Aya of Alexandria also began her own quest to hunt down her son's killer. She enlisted the aid of Cleopatra's follower Apollodorus to locate the members. She eventually located Actaeon and Ktesos, two members of the Order who operated in Alexandria. For her actions, she was declared wanted by the city's Phylakitai Gennadios, who worked with another member and the Royal Scribe, Eudoros. Alarmed by these events, Eudoros and Pothinus wrote a letter to Medunamun in Siwa, informing him of their relentless influence on Ptolemy and reminding him to act with caution. However, Medunamun fell to Bayek, who had returned to Siwa following his assassination of Rudjek and bludgeoned the oracle to death with the Apple of Eden. As a result, the Order's possession of the Apple was handed over to Bayek.

Taharqa assassinated by Bayek

Eudoros himself was later hunted down to the Bathhouse of Alexandria by Bayek, who believed that he had eliminated the last of its members. In reality, the Order remained strong and its members still controlled key regions of Egypt, with Khaliset in Giza, Hetepi in Memphis, and Berenike in the Faiyum. Meanwhile, Taharqa sought to expand the Order influence in Sapi-Res Nome by reclaiming the city of Letopolis from the consuming desert, using his role as steward as a façade. Despite so, he failed to eliminate Bayek, who proceeded to assassinate him in the Temple of Horus.

Alliance with Julius Caesar

In late 48 BCE, Pothinus and Septimius conspired to assassinate Cleopatra in Herakleion. Septimius made use of his previous affiliations to the Gabiniani, recruiting Venator and his men. Venator stationed an arsonist to enter the palace through the docks, with an archer stationed at a nearby tower and the soldier Alexus infiltrating the palace through a disguise. However, one of the Venator's men, Livius, was captured, which led the Queen to discover the plan. Bayek was thus sent by her to eliminate the assassins, thwarting the plan. In a last ditch effort to eliminate Cleopatra and her followers, Venator and his men confronted them in the courtyard, but were defeated.

Bayek and Aya discovering the aftermath of Septimius' assassination of Pompey

At the same time, the Order also learned of Pompey's newly formed alliance with Cleopatra to reclaim the Egyptin throne. To prevent this from happening, Septimius was sent to find Pompey, due to his previous service under the general in 67 BCE. After Pompey and his troops landed northwest of Herakleion, Septimius and his men abushed the general, slaughtering all his men. After doing so, Septimius cut off Pompey's head and brought it back to Alexandria, intending for Ptolemy to use it to gain an alliance with Julius Caesar instead.

Nevertheless, the plan failed when Caesar instead chose to side with Cleopatra, who managed to infiltrate the palace with the help of Apollodorus, Aya and Bayek. Furious with this decision, Pothinus and Septimius planned to trap Caesar and Cleopatra in Alexandria with secret orders from the Flavius, while also imprisoning Roman emissaries at the Akra Garrison. While in the Tomb of Alexander the Great, Flavius secretly recruited Caesar with the aim of having him as the figurehead of the Order.

Bayek viciously beating Septimius

However, Caesar was able to escape the siege with the help of Aya, who lit the fire at the Lighthouse of Alexandria to alert Caesar's fleet, while Bayek escorted the general to the lighthouse with a chariot. A year later, Pothinus and Septimius joined Ptolemy XIII in a battle at the Nile Delta in a final attempt to rid Egypt of Cleopatra. Ptolemy ultimately drowned while trying to flee and Potinus was killed by Bayek, while Septimius was spared from being killed by Bayek on the orders of Caesar, who declared that Septimius would be punished under Roman law.

Return to the Siwa vault

Using his influence, Flavius was able to convince Caesar to spare Septimius and allow him to serve alongside the general. In addition, with the crowning of Cleopatra as sole ruler of Egypt and as Caesar's ally, the Order now had the power of the two powerful empires at its disposal, and convinced Cleopatra to release Aya and Bayek from her services.

Flavius unlocking the vault in Siwa

Flavius and Septimius then resumed the Order's goal of unlocking the Siwa Vault, infiltrating the Tomb of Alexander the Great to retrieve Alexander's personal Staff of Eden, which they believed was connected to the Siwa Vault. After stealing the Apple of Eden from Apollodorus and distracting him with soldiers, Flavius and Septimius travelled to Siwa, using the Apple to enthrall and disable Siwan villagers. Left unopposed, Flavius combined the Apple and Staff, successfully unlocking the Vault and caught a glimpse of a globe projected within. Having learned of its contents, Flavius took the Apple with him back to Cyrene, while Septimius took the Staff to Alexandria.

Along his return through Cyrenaica, Flavius used the Apple to further spread his influence amongst the Egyptian and Greek residents in the region, before basing himself at the Temple of Mars at the Akropolis of Cyrene. There, he was confronted by Bayek, who had learned of his location with the help of Praxilla and Diocles. Despite making use of the Apple and its abilities, Flavius was defeated by Bayek and the Apple was once again reverted to the Medjay's possession.

Roman Empire

Septimius with Caesar

After Ptolemy's death, their choice to shift their support to Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, the latter giving them leverage to expand their influence throughout the Roman Republic. The Order also played a significant role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Meanwhile, Septimius reached Alexandria and returned to Rome with Caesar, serving as his right-hand man. A new branch of the Order was thus established in the Roman Republic, and the Staff was handed over to the Order. To ensure that the Order remain in power in Cleopatra's kingdom, Caesar appointed the general Gaius Julius Rufio as the leader of the Roman troops in Egypt, using the Sinai as the main base of operations.

By 44 BCE, Caesar had crushed much of his competition in the civil war and was to be declared Dictator of the Republic. Aya, who now formed a group of Hidden Ones to oppose the Order, recruited the Roman senators, including Cassius, Brutus, his cousin Decimus Junius Brutus, and Servilius Casca.

Caesar assassinated by Aya

At the Theatre of Pompey, Septimius was confronted by Aya at the arena while Caesar attended a meeting at the curia with the senators in attendance. After being mortally wounded by Aya, Septimius revealed to her the fate of the Staff in his possession and that Caesar was their "Father of Understanding". Left defenseless, Caesar was assassinated by Aya from behind and stabbed by the rest of the Senators.

Following's Caesar's death, the mantle of leader of the Order was taken by his adoptive son, Octavian. Octavian allied himself with Mark Anthony to eliminate the assassins responsible for the dictator's death, leading to the Liberators' civil war and the last war of the Roman Republic, consolidating his power as Emperor.

The Order continued to support and influence later Roman Emperors, such as Caligula. Because of this, on 24 January 41 CE, the Roman Hidden One Leonius assassinated Caligula with a dagger in an underground corridor beneath Palatine Hill.

Early Middle Ages

Arthur pulling out Excalibur

In the early Middle Ages, the Order of the Ancients spread their influence to new regions of the world through the Roman expansion. By the 6th century, they had reached the British Isles, where one of their leaders, Arthur Pendragon, used a Sword of Eden known as Excalibur to fend off Saxon invaders and become King of Britain.

By the 8th century, the Order also had a foothold in East Asia, and they later managed to establish influence in Scandinavia and Great Britain by the 9th century. At same time, their oldest Persian chapter still held power over the region from the Abbasid Caliphate's capital of Baghdad, though it faced heavy opposition from the Levantine Hidden Ones and so was one of the last major cells in operation.

Tang dynasty

The Golden Turtles, a sect of the Order based in Tang China

By the 8th century, the Order had spread into the Tang dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. The Chinese branch of the Order, known as the Golden Turtles, exerted an influence in the royal court through Empress Yang Yuhuan, who placed her trust in the officials and Order members Yang Guozhong and An Lushan. However, internal friction between both members led to the formation of the splinter faction called the Yeluohe, which was personally headed by Lushan. Eventually, An Lushan rebelled against the Emperor and established his own state, proclaiming himself as Emperor of Yan.

The Silk Road

At some point during the 9th century, a member of the Order of the Ancient of foreign origin unified various Sogdian tribes under his rule, creating the Snake-Eaters. His aim was to take control of the riches, new ideas and technological innovations passing through the Silk Road, which at the time was the main way of exchange between the Occident and the Far-East. Under his rule, the Sogdians reached new prosperity and his organization came to rule the city of Chang'an.

By 870, following the death of her father, his grand-daughter Dunya became the new leader of the Snake-Eaters and began to expand in the Levant, sending men to take control of Antioch. However the Hidden Ones countered her actions and tracked her back, first to her stronghold in Sogdia then to Chang'an, where the Snake-Eaters were eventually crushed.

Constantinople

Gaining an alliance with Emperor Basil I, the Order led by Isaac assisted him gain sole control of the city of Constantinople. The Order also influenced the emperor to plot an assassination against his own son Leo by convincing him that Leo was the illegitimate son of former co-emperor Michael III. In 867, the Order was enlisted to kill Leo and released two vipers into his room in the palace's children's wing. However, the Hidden One Hytham thwarted their plot while operating undercover as Leo's Varangian guard. Plotting another attempt, Isaac communicated with their inside man Theodore, Leo's tutor, to aid on an assault on the emperor's palace. However, he received a bribe from Leo's nurse Anna and realized she knew too much. Thus, he ordered his members to kill both Leo and Anna during the attack.

Realizing Hytham to be another issue, the Order paid two Varangian guards, Steros and an associate, to kill Hytham in his sleep. However, Hytham survived the attack and killed one of them in process while the other fled. The next night, the Order attacked the children's wing while many of the guards were poisoned thanks to Theodore. However, the Varangian guard leader Thyra of the Eagle Clan and Hidden Ones Hytham and Basim Ibn Ishaq held off the assault and saved Leo.

With the attack having failed, the Order and Isaac set a trap to capture the elusive Basim at an abandoned building. However, their trap captured Hytham, who was interrogated about Basim's location. Almost nearly killing the Hidden One, the Order was suddenly attacked by Basim and Thyra, who nearly killed everyone except Isaac, who escaped. With the alliance falling apart, Isaac planned another plot during Basil's Hippodrome race. After Basil had an accident during the race, the Order immediately attacked the imperial family's box and kidnapped Leo, only to blunder into the trap set up by the Hidden Ones, who rescued Leo and killed the Order culprits and Isaac, effectively ending the alliance between them and the emperor.

Northern Europe

In the late 9th century, the Order of the Ancients' new leader in England, King Alfred of Wessex, had inherited the position from his brother, the late Æthelred. He greatly despised the Order's polytheism, though, and privately vowed to destroy them for their blasphemous views of the world. Aligning his Christian upbringing with elements of the Order's goals, Alfred declared the Father of Understanding as the one true God of the universe. He then sought to create a new "Universal Order" which would be bound with strict Christian principles. Rather than indulging personal greed for knowledge and power, the new organization was to be strictly dedicated to establishing peace by spreading harmony and progress through improving each other's and society's lives.

Alfred explaining his reasons for betraying the Order to Eivor

With this declaration, the Order of the Ancients members in England were hunted down by the combined efforts of the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan, a Hidden Ones ally, and Alfred himself, the self-proclaimed "Poor-Fellow Soldier of Christ". Throughout Eivor's time in England, the Order's presence and influence across England were greatly diminished.

However, the Order remained active, as the remnants continued their practices with support from the Church and their new allies, the Descendants of the Round Table. This partnership ostensibly was to help them acquire the Sword of Eden Excalibur from Eivor's hand in order to abuse its power across the isles and puppeteer a king deemed worthy of the blade, though the Order also wanted the weapon to further their own agenda. In their joint effort, the Order and the Descendants soon found themselves following the new Hidden One Niamh of Argyll, who soon stole the sword from the Norse jarlskona. Despite their forces, their task to capture Excalibur failed and they witnessed the sword's apparent "destruction" at the hands of Niamh's allies, Hytham and the Norse seeress Valka. Nevertheless, the Order was still functioning after failing to acquire Excalibur.

Besides their partnership with the Descendants, the Order continued to forcibly convert communities away from paganism, either through the Church or abducting women from their homes and enslaving them under their philosophy. However, their influence over Cote came to an end once Niamh of Argyll killed Order member, Father Deoric.

Culture

Foundations and membership

"I have served them and your beloved Egypt. And I'll be rewarded in the Afterlife. An eternity of drinking and whoring with my brothers."

―Lucius Septimius, explaining his dedication to the Order, 44 BCE.

The Order of the Ancient's foundations heavily rely on their supremacist view of the Isu and their strong desire to shepherd humanity into recreating Isu societies on Earth by leading humanity using the wisest and strongest members of society.

A mask worn by members of the Order's Persian branch

Around the Peloponnesian War, members of the Persian sect carried a necklace featuring the Faravahar emblem of the Achaemenid Empire with a stylized wings design. They were also known to occasionally wear prósōpon masks, though this never happened in the presence of the Cult of Kosmos members who had adopted these masks as part of their own uniform. By the 9th century, the Persian Order had adopted cryptonyms derived from Mesopotamian mythical creatures and transitioned to wearing ornate bronze face masks, with the warlord Wasif al-Turki's disguise being very similar to the mask made of Naram-Sin, grandson to the ancient Akkadian Empire's king Sargon.

By the time Egypt had been under the control of the Ptolemaic dynasty over one thousand years, the Order comprised of various men and women at the upper echelons of the ruling class; these individuals retained positions of power and, for the most part, were involved in political, religious, economic, and military proceedings. Like their older Persian brethren, the members of this Order branch also symbolically wore identical masks, headdresses, and robes when they met in congress—a visual display of their loyalties. Each key member of the Order was responsible for their own sphere of influence within Egyptian society and they were scattered all over Egypt, due to the antiquated constraints of communication and transport.

Despite the friction in 9th century England cause by the Viking invasion, the Order accepted members from all walks and classes of life, whether Anglo-Saxon or Norse, but adopted a hierarchy system of being led by a Grand Maegester with five Maegesters, while the remaining members were either of the Palatinus or Preost rank. Within this sect, members carried a silver medallion featuring an embossed Yggdrasil. Likewise, members of the Chinese sect of the Order known as the Golden Turtles carried a turtle badge as their symbol.

Cryptonyms

While not universal among all branches of the Order nor with an overarching theme, many members adopted cryptonyms that they went by when corresponding with each other. Members active within Achaemenid Persia had cryptonyms generally relating to their role within the Order. Members in Ptolemaic Egypt used animals representing various deities. Members in the Abbasid Caliphate used mythological creatures from Mesopotamian folklore. Members in the Heptarchy used various everyday tools and items.

This custom fell out of favor after the reorganization into the Templar Order but can possibly be seen in the designations used for the avatars in the Animi Training Program.

Ideology and Goals

"The masses are the cattle of the gods, driven by the herdsman's whip."

―Hetepi, explaining the Order's views on humanity, 48 BCE.

During the Greco-Persian Wars, the Order was primarily situated in Persia and had influenced the reigns of centuries of Achaemenid Emperors. Members of the Order believed their work to be divine and that few hundreds had to be sacrificed for tens of thousands to achieve long lasting peace and prosperity. The primary aim of the Order during the 1st century BCE was to bring back a strong dynastic power, equal to that of previous dynasties which had ruled during the glory days of Ancient Egypt, prior to the arrival of the Ptolemies. ^{[citation needed]}

This was reinforced by the belief that the pre-existing system had been founded on order, on the divine power of the Pharaohs. In this perspective, the Order was looking for means of control, be they political, religious, military or cultural, to regain what had been lost. In addition, they also had people looking for the secrets of the past, such as the Pieces of Eden, and how to unlock said secrets' potential.

By the 9th century, the Order of the Ancients gained a more stronger political standing in Northern Europe. During this time, they began to heavily invest in researching the Isu and occult lore, more strictly revering their trinity of deities as well as accumulating wealth, manpower, weapons, and resources in order to further expand their influence.

Isu Paganism

Members of the Order's Egyptian branch gathered for a ceremony

Unlike most of the people in the ancient world, the Order of the Ancients followed a tritheism religion and were not fully polytheistic nor monotheistic. They did believe in a spiritual afterlife where their devotion to the Isu will be rewarded and their strict reverence of three deities, namely, the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom, and the Sacred Voice.

The Order of the Ancients were also known for their strict supremacist view of the Isu and these views allows them to make a fetish out of searching for and using the Pieces of Eden. Their worship for their Trinity of Deities would be conducted in secluded temples which were not assessible or known of by the polytheistic and the monotheistic people of those times. For instance, during the 9th century in England, the abandoned Temples of Mithras located around the Roman ruins of England served as their base of operations, a place for them to conduct their worship and as repositories for their secret wisdom, such as the ones in London and Winchester.

One member of the Order, Fulke, believed that these beliefs were based on the Gnostic texts from before the Nicene Creed, and as such took a strict dislike to Abrahamic religions in general. The Order of the Ancients were also aware of Juno's imprisonment as well as the existence of Aita's Sages. The Order members were even well versed in how to identify Sages, even though their descendants, the Templar Order, were not. With the capture of Sigurd Styrbjornsson, the Order also became aware of other Isu Sages as well.

Despite the Order of the Ancients' strict supremacist view of the Isu, the Order of the Ancients had a less than favourable view of Tainted Ones, humans who directly descended from the Isu. This was because they feared them and strongly believed that the Tainted Ones have the power to oppose them and burn down their centuries of work. However, they were not opposed to recruiting Tainted Ones into their organization, with one such member, Phila, even rising to the rank of Magus in the Persian branch of the Order of Ancients due to her enhanced abilities and strategic brilliance.

Members

Ancient Egypt

• Smenkhkare (founder)

Achaemenid Empire and Greece

Magi are marked with an asterisk. (*)

• Ianthe

Order of Dominion

Main article: Order of Dominion

• Amorges (The Tusk of Persia)
• Gergis* (The Herald)
• The Immortals*
• Artazostre (The Silence)
• Dimokrates (The Destroyer)
• Gaspar (The Gatekeeper)
• Pithias (The Architect)
• Harpagos

Order of the Storm

Main article: Order of the Storm

• Phila* (The Tempest)
• Augos (The All-Seeing)
• Megakreon (The Unbreakable)
• Nestor (The Formidable)
• Sophos (The Broker)

Order of Hunters

Main article: Order of Hunters

• Pactyas* (The Huntsman)
• Akantha (The Deceiver)
• Bubares (The Conspirator)
• Echion (The Watcher)
• Konon (The Fighter)
• Phratagounè (The Keeper)
• Timosa (The Physician)
• Order Elite

Ptolemaic Egypt

• Actaeon (The Vulture)
• Berenike (The Crocodile)
• Eudoros (The Hippo)
• Flavius Metellus (The Lion)
• Habibah (The Medicine)
• Hetepi (The Lizard)
• Khaliset (The Hyena)
• Ktesos (The Ram)
• Livius

• Lucius Septimius (The Jackal)
• Medunamun (The Ibis)
• Pothinus (The Scorpion)
• Raia
• Rudjek (The Heron)
• Taharqa (The Scarab)
• Theotimos

Roman Empire

• Ampelius (The Administrator)
• Augustus
• Caïus Fulvus Vultur
• Julius Caesar
• Gaius Julius Rufio (The Leader)
• Ptahmose (The Mason)
• Tacito (The Executioner)

Celtic Britain

• Arthur Pendragon

Tang China

Eight Zhuguo ^{[citation needed]}

• Dugu Jialuo
• Emperor Gaozu of Sui
• Empress Zhangsun
• Wang
• Yang Su
• Yuwen Tai
• Zhangsun Wuji

Golden Turtles

Main article: Golden Turtles

• An Lushan (defected)
• Bian Lingcheng
• Gao Lishi
• Li Linfu
• Wang Chengye
• Wei Fangjin
• Yan Zhuang
• Yang Guozhong
• Zhang Yizhi

Yeluohe

Main article: Yeluohe

• An Lushan
• Duan Ziguang
• Gao Miao
• He Qiannian
• Li Qincou
• Shi Siming
• Sun Xiaozhe
• Yan Zhuang

Frankish Empire

• Charlemagne
• Louis II of Italy

Central Asia

• Dunya (The Invincible)

Abbasid Caliphate

Leading members are marked with an asterisk (*).

• Mas'ood Al-Ya'qoob* (Al-Ghul)
• Zahra (Al-Zarik)
• Hassan (Al-Azhdaha)
• Fazil Fahim al-Kemsa* (Al-Rabisu)
• Javed (Al-Kullulu)
• Suhail (Al-Anqa)
• Ning* (Al-Pairika)
• Jasoor ibn Basil (Al-Rukh)
• Nadir ibn Havid (Al-A'eshma)
• Wasif al-Turki* (Al-Mardikhwar)
• Makira (Al-Si'la)
• Qabiha* (Al-Bahamut)

Byzantine Empire

• Isaac
• Arman

Anglo-Saxon England and Scandinavia

Maegesters are marked with an asterisk. (*)

• Æthelred I, King of Wessex (Grand Maegester)
• Æthelwulf, King of Wessex (Grand Maegester)
• Alfred the Great (The Father) (Grand Maegester; until 878)
• Harald Bluetooth
• Fulke (The Instrument)
• Offa of Mercia
• Ælla of Northumbria
• Lerion
• Stowe (The Connection)
• Deoric
• Cyrus
• The Adder's Son

Wardens of War

Main article: Wardens of War

• Gorm Kjotvesson* (The Keel)
• Vicelin (The Compass)
• Avgos Spearhand (The Arrow)
• Frideswid (The Leech)
• Leofgifu (The Scabbard)
• Hunta (The Baldric)
• Kjotve (The Axe)

Wardens of Law

Main article: Wardens of Law

• Derby* (The Vice)
• Audun (The Vault)
• Grigorii (The Needle)
• Ingeborg (The Firebrand)
• Gunilla (The Adze)
• Tata (The Dart)
• Eanbhert (The Vellum)

Wardens of Wealth

Main article: Wardens of Wealth

• Tatfrid* (The Lyre)
• Herefrith (The Crozier)
• Wigmund (The Tang)
• Gifle (The Ash-Spear)
• Mucel (The Lathe)
• Patrick (The Anvil)
• Havelok (The Billhook)

Wardens of Faith

Main article: Wardens of Faith

• Blaeswith* (The Rake)
• Ealhferth (The Seax)
• Selwyn (The Gallows)
• Hilda (The Quill)
• Beneseck (The Bell)
• Heika (The Sickle)
• Yohanes Loukas (The Oil)

Zealots

Main article: Zealots

• Beorhtsige (Joy-Canker)
• Bercthun (War-Hedge)
• Callin (Long-Sorrow)
• Cola (Cniht-Scribe)
• Cudberct (Eel of Earth)
• Eorforwine (Molten-Innocence)
• Heike (Raven-Banquet)
• Horsa (Frown-Hoard)
• Hrothgar (Rat-Lord)
• Kendall (Blood Brewer)
• Osgar (Sword-Cloven)
• Redwalda (Dire-Scop)
• Wealdmaer (Geld-Remover)
• Woden (Pagan-Hole)
• Wuffa (Death-Boon)

Allies and puppets

Achaemenid Empire and Ancient Greece

• Darius I of Persia
• Xerxes I of Persia
• Artaxerxes I of Persia
• Hystaspes of Persia
• Cult of Kosmos
• Followers of Ares
• Darius II of Persia
• Agis of the North
• Aias the Clean
• Atos the Beast Caller

• Exadios the Backbreaker
• Gaia the Fist
• Hirpes the Sordid
• Kephalon the Thinker
• Proktos the Moon King
• Theos the Stargazer
• Ariston
• Gyras
• Hylas
• Rhode

Qin dynasty

• Qin Shi Huang

Ptolemaic Egypt

• Alexus
• Bion
• Cheops
• Cleopatra
• Diovicos
• Gennadios
• Hypatos
• Kensa
• Leander
• Marcellus Asina

• Melitta
• Ptolemy XIII
• Sefetu
• Sumi
• Suphia
• The Butcher
• The Guardian
• Tjanefer
• Tjuyu
• Viridovix

Roman Republic

• Adras
• Agrippa
• Jibade
• Magnus
• Venator

Roman Empire

• Caligula
• Faustinus

Tang Dynasty

• Li Longji
• Yang Guanghui
• Yang Yuhuan

Abbasid Caliphate

• Al-Mutawakkil
• Dogan bin Arslan
• Kabeer Al-Jund

Byzantine Empire

• Basil I
• Steros
• Theodore
• Ursina

Anglo-Saxon England and Scandinavia

• Descendants of the Round Table
• Aelwyn
• Alrek
• Bjarke Broadside
• Cuthbert
• Edward, Earl of Westenra
• Erland
• Eivor Varinsdottir
• Fulke's Champion
• Galinn
• Goodwin
• Harriet
• Hilde
• Hrolfr Kjotvesson
• Hussa
• Kaija

• Kiarr Rawbone
• Oija
• Paul
• Randwald
• Red Hand
• Rikiwulf
• Roscoe
• Saer
• Steinolfur
• Taras
• Thora
• Wigbert
• Wigmund's Lieutenant
• Wimbald
• Wolf Clan
• Wolfrich

Behind the scenes

The aliases of the Order's Egyptian branch during the Ptolemaic era are representations of various deities in Egyptian mythology:

• The Crocodile (Sobek)
• The Heron (Bennu)
• The Hippo (Taweret)
• The Hyena (Wepwawet)
• The Ibis (Thoth)
• The Jackal (Anubis)
• The Lion (Maahes)
• The Ram (Khnum)
• The Scarab (Khepri)
• The Scorpion (Serqet)
• The Snake, the Order's collective name (Apep)
• The Vulture (Nekhbet)

The masks and associated headdress the Ptolemaic-era members wore at their meetings were crafted with icons related to divinity and sovereignty within Egyptian mythology: the double feather crown (swty) evoked Amun, and as usual, was adorned with a solar disc and uraeus, and their masks had the braided postiche, a fake beard related to Osiris. In similar fashion, the serpent in their group insignia wears the pschent, the double crown, symbolizing the Order's desire to rule all of Egypt.

The Order's symbol and name of "the Snake" contrasts the Assassins' association with the eagle. Appropriately, the ankh that accompanies the crowned snake hieroglyph resembles the cross pattée of the Order's future incarnation, the Knights Templar.

Gallery

• 
  The insignia of the Persian branch of the Order
• 
  The Adrestia flying a stylized Faravahar after defeating Nestor's ship
• 
  The necklace held by members of the Order's Persian branch
• 
  Kassandra fighting against an elite guard of the Persian branch of the Order
• 
  The symbol of the Snake, another name for the Egyptian branch of the Order
• 
  Concept art of an Egyptian member of the Order
• 
  The Egyptian branch of the Order
• 
  A snake curling around a mummified pharaoh's head
• 
  A Golden Turtles meeting
• 
  The turtle badges held by members of the Golden Turtles
• 
  The Persian branch of the Order in the 9th century
• 
  The insignia of the Angolo-Saxon branch of the Order
• 
  The medallion held by members of the Order's Anglo-Saxon branch

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed III (indirect mention only) (retroactive)
• Assassin's Creed: Origins (first appearance)
  • The Hidden Ones
• Assassin's Creed: Origins – Desert Oath
• Assassin's Creed: Origins comic
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
  • The Mask of the Ibis (mentioned only)
  • The Hunter's Hounds
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (mentioned only)
  • Legacy of the First Blade
• Assassin's Creed: Dynasty
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
  • Dawn of Ragnarök (simulation only)
  • Shared History
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Blood Brothers
• Assassin's Creed: The Imperial Jade Seal – Prophecy of the Emperor
• Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Sword of the White Horse
• Assassin's Creed: The Golden City
• The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One (mentioned only)