Vatican Vault

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The Vault

The Vault is one of the "Temples" left by "Those Who Came Before", located underneath the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The exact purpose of The Vault and the other Temples is still unknown.

Entering The Vault

It appears that the only way to enter The Vault is by means of combining two Pieces of Eden, held by a chosen descendant of Those Who Came Before, most likely a member of the bloodline of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Recognized as "The Prophet", Ezio Auditore da Firenze was able to enter The Vault by using the Staff in conjunction with the Apple of Eden. Rodrigo Borgia was unable to enter The Vault. It is uncertain whether Borgia would have been able to do this, as Ezio killed him before he had the chance to attempt it. This invokes the theory that only Altaïr's bloodline can enter The Vault.

Inside The Vault

The floors, walls and pillars of The Vault are covered in glyphs that only appear as Ezio moves near them because as Those Who Came Before knew, he possessed Altaïr's supernatural gift of Eagle Vision, and was therefore deemed worthy to see the images as The Prophet. It was thought by Borgia and the Templars that The Vault contained God in "His divine form". Unbeknownst to all, The Vault contains a holographic projector. Minerva, who appears through this device, explains that she is part of a highly advanced race that existed before mankind, Those Who Came Before. She explains that her race had created humans, but soon faced rebellion thereafter. Glyphs on the wall confirm this, showing an Egyptian hieroglyphic with a God holding a Piece of Eden as humans charge toward him with weapons.

According to Minerva, the Temples were built by "those who knew to turn away from war," presumably those who did not fight or did not want to fight in the war between the humans and Those Who Came Before. The reason for this was an unknown catastrophe, presumably a large solar flare, that significantly damaged the Earth and killed off most of both species. Those in the Temples worked to protect the world, and Minerva tasks Desmond Miles (speaking to him through Ezio) with locating the other Temples to avert another cataclysm.

Minerva's Speech and Message to Desmond Through Ezio

thumb|left|300px|Minerva's Message To Desmond

"When we were still flesh, and our homes still whole, your kind betrayed us... we who made you. We who gave you life. We were strong but you were many, and both of us craved War. So busy were we with earthly concerns, we failed to notice the heavens, and by the time we did, the Earth burned until naught remained but ash. It should have ended then and there but we built you in our own image. We built you, to survive, and so we did. Few were our numbers (your kind and mine). It took sacrifice, strength, compassion, but we rebuilt, and as life returned to the world, we remembered to ensure this tragedy could not be repeated. But now, we are dying, and time will work against us. Truth turned into myth, and legend. What we built, misunderstood. Let my words preserve the message and make a record of our loss. But let my word also bring hope. You must find the other temples, built by those who knew to turn away from war. They wanted to protect us, to save us from the fire. If you can find them, if their work can be saved, so too might this world. Be quick for time grows short, and guard against the cross, for there are many that will stand in your way.
It is done. The message has been delivered. We are gone now from this world, all of us. We can do no more... The rest is up to you... Desmond."

Minerva's message implies that the Vaults contain some sort of assistance or research in saving the world from a repeat of the Catastrophe that occurred before.

Notes

• During Minerva's speech, a glyph of step pyramids with what appears to be a Piece of Eden hovering over it appears on the wall. This could mean that another Temple is located in South America or a ziggurat in Mesopotamia or even the ancient Temple of Borobudur in Indonesia.