Followers of Romulus
- "A place in heaven awaits those who serve the wolf!"
- ―A leader of the Followers of Romulus.[src]
The Followers of Romulus, also known as Secta Luporum[1] (English: Sect of the Wolves), were adherents of Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome, whom they worshipped as a god.
According to legend, Romulus and his brother Remus were raised by a wolf, and as a result, were said to be half wolf and half man. In tribute to this, the Followers' attire included a skinned wolf pelt.
Appearance
The Followers of Romulus were portrayed as powerfully-built, rather brutish men covered in wolfskin pelts, who attacked viciously in large packs.[2]
They were armed with various short blades and throwing knives, and tended to growl and snarl when in a fight. When killed, and often before attacking, they howled like a wolf.[2]
Being quite athletic and acrobatic in a fight, they commonly employed a unique fighting move, a spinning slash attack. This move was not performed by any other, aside from Ezio Auditore himself (with his hidden blades).[2]
The Followers were also adept free-runners, as the lairs that they occupied required such skills to traverse. Additionally, they often attacked in ambushes, hiding above or in tunnels before springing onto their prey in large numbers.[2]
Borgia Alliance
- "This band of false pagans has been terrorizing the city for months and driving the people into the arms of the church."
- ―Niccolò Machiavelli.[src]
The leaders of the Followers were paid by the Borgia to do their bidding, and as such, the Followers were mainly used to cause fear in the civilians, and send them into the arms of the Catholic Church, with later orders including having the followers specifically target the Borgia's enemies, the Assassins.[2]
However, the Followers themselves were misguided, with their leaders commanding them in the name of Romulus, despite not believing in his mystical existence themselves.[2]
Lairs
- Main article: Lairs of Romulus
In Rome of the early 16th century, the Master Assassin, Ezio Auditore, was able to enter the Followers' lairs, each of which were located below a famous landmark in Rome. By traversing them, he was able to find out more about the Followers, and obtain their scrolls, which were located in shrines deep within their hidden enclaves.[2]
By exploring and completing all six of their lairs, Ezio was also able to obtain six keys. These unlocked the Followers' secret treasures, the unbreakable armor and dagger of Brutus, which the Followers had taken and hidden, under the impression that they had belonged to Romulus himself.[2]
Each of the six keys were also accompanied by a scroll, which, when combined, told the story of how Brutus and certain other Assassins had plotted the murder of Julius Caesar. In the scrolls, it was written that Brutus planned to hold the first meeting under the Colosseo, where he found one of the vaults of Those Who Came Before.[2]
Trivia
- In certain art (their Database image, and the image featured above), the Followers are depicted with a heavy weapon or a pair of short blades. In-game, they use only a single short blade.
- The Followers are relatively weak opponents, and can only perform slight damage to a single block of Ezio's health, rather than removing the block entirely. They also possess one of the weakest resistance in the game.
- The Followers often use throwing knives before directly attacking, have unique death cries and display unique attack animations.
- In the Collector's Edition of the Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Complete Official Guide, the Followers of Romulus are labelled as Wolfmen.
Gallery
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A Follower of Romulus guarding the lair in Nero's Golden Palace.
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Two Followers startled by the death of another.
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A Follower used as bait for an ambush.
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The Followers' ambush in the Colosseo lair.
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Ezio fighting a pack of Followers in the Cloaca Maxima. -
A leader of the Followers of Romulus.
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References
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