Treasures of Britain

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The Treasures of Britain were a set of twelve Welsh artifacts hidden throughout the country of Britain sometime during the 6th century. Their locations were later encoded through clues written in verse pointing to the hiding places and accompanying tablets made from Precursor material inscribed with an image of the artifact. The tablets were keys to a mechanism that secured the thirteenth treasure, the Sword of Eden Excalibur, which was kept within the Isu Barracks under Stonehenge accessed through Myrddin's Cave.

History

By the 870s, eleven of the tablets were scattered across Britain, some concealed in various locations and some in the possession of Zealots working for the Order of the Ancients. These tablets were later collected by the Viking shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan and brought to the mechanism, where she found the twelfth tablet already in place in order to claim the Sword.

Treasures

Tablet image	Name	Clue	Location
	The White-Hilt of the Sword of Rhydderch Hael	Alone I rot in inky black; The end of a shadow-maze; In the hand of one born well; I blaze with boundless flame	Grime's Graves
	The Horn of Brân Galed from the North	Here lies a thirsty Giant, His mouth in need of a drink. Quench his thirst tenfold; to obtain his precious trinket.	An Old Cellar in Essexe
	The Chariot of Morgan Mwynfawr		Kept by the Zealot Heike
	The Halter of Clydno Eiddyn		Kept by the Zealot Woden
	The Knife of Llawfrodedd Farchog		Kept by the Zealot Hrothgar
	The Cauldron of Dyrnwch the Giant		In the Santlache Mine
	The Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd	If a brave man sharpened his sword on the whetstone, then the sword would certainly kill any man from whom it drew blood. If a cowardly man used the whetstone, his sword would refuse to draw blood at all.	In Deoraby Spar Cavern
	The Coat of Padarn Beisrudd	Only a stout and fearless heart; Finds the scarlet robe; Darkness is your cloak; And light will be your shroud.	In Wocig in Hamtunscire
	The Crock and the Dish of Rhygenydd the Cleric	A bountiful feast awaits; The bold, unfaltering step; Beware foul fowl and beast; Revenge is the dish they serve.	In Wiccan's Cave in Eurviscire
	The Chessboard of Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio		Within the Cave of Trials
	The Mantle of Arthur in Cornwall		Within Red Lichen Cave in Hamtunscire
	The Hamper of Gwyddno Garanhir	N / A	Isu Barracks under Stonehenge in Hamtunscire

Behind the scenes

In actuality, Welsh mythology holds that there are thirteen treasures, and does not consider Excalibur to be among their number. Instead, either Rhygenydd the Cleric's Crock and the Dish were considered two separate treasures, or they were seen as two parts of a set while the final treasure was alternately the Mantle of Tegau Eurfon, which would fully clothe a loyal wife, or Eluned's Stone and Ring, which granted its wearer invisibility like Arthur's Mantle.

Furthermore, not all of the treasures date back to Arthurian Britain. Rhydderch Hael was active with his sword 50 years after Arthur, and Morgan Mwynfawr lived about 200 years later, making their tablets' inclusion in the locking mechanism anachronistic. Even stranger, the icon for Gwenddoleu's chessboard appears to be a stylized berserkr rook from the Lewis chess set which dates to the 12th century, more than 500 years after what is commonly accepted as Arthur's reign.

The game also marks the locations of eight of the tablets with the singular "Treasure of Britain" even though the treasures themselves do not make an appearance, but dialogue suggests that they might once have only to later be cut and replaced with the tablets instead.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first appearance)