Brussels

Brussels is a central region and capital of Belgium.

History

16th century

Just before his death in 1519, Leonardo da Vinci, afraid of possible interception, hid encoded information with trusted friends scattered around Europe under express instructions to destroy it should the Assassins not be able to contact them within a month of his death. After a first round of clues was uncovered by the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins in the cities of Florence, Venice and Rome, they then contacted the local Brotherhood chapter at Grenoble, passing alongside it a letter from Leonardo. Leonardo's letter about Brussels informed the Assassins that after Hieronymus Bosch's death some years prior, his most famous work, The Garden of Earthly Delights, was bought and was being kept in Brussels. His ally in the city, a great traveller staying near the main town square of Grand'Place, was awaiting the answer of a riddle involving the painting. Having received the quest, the local chapter sent agents to four landmarks to investigate.

The seat of the House of Orange, the Palais de Nassau, proved well-guarded, though the Assassins prevailed in combat. After waiting for the commotion to die down, they explored the palace further and found Bosch's painting, preparing a sketch of it for later use.

Sent to the Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule, an Assassin's investigation into da Vinci's quest was temporarily put aside when they caught a priest violently beating children. Quickly killing the abusive man, they heard from the children that they were orphans who had been taken in by the priest only for him to use them as a way to release his rage. One of the orphans, Peter, thanked the Assassin and offered to become an informant for the Brotherhood. Returning to their original purpose, they searched a room to right, locating a confusing manuscript containing a reproduction of Bosch's painting with an attached riddle fragment.

The inspection at the church of Notre-dame du Sablon was calmer. Examination of the holy scriptures near the altar revealed some annotations made by the priest that could help in figuring out the riddles and one of the monks in the church subtly motioned for the Assassin to follow him, leading him to a stained glass window and pointing to a swan, another hint.

At the bustling Grand'Place, the Assassins had a number of possible leads to follow. At a fabric shop off the square, one Assassin overheard a merchant boasting that his artisans had been inspired by the The Garden of Earthly Delights for their latest creation, and managed to retrieve a fragment of the riddle from the location. In the open air market, another boasting merchant was claiming to have figured out the secret behind the painting, with his information being kept in a nearby wooden chest. Picking the lock on the chest allowed the Brotherhood to acquire another riddle fragment. A hustler playing dice proposed a gamble where he would give information if the Assassin managed to win his game, having mentioned he knew about the painting at the Palais de Nassau. Impressed by the Assassin's skills, the hustler hands them a piece of paper witht the missing enigma fragment. Climbing up the tower of the town hall for a better look at the Grand'Place, allowed for the Assassin to locate a building with a swan adorning its façade.

The Assassins headed to the Maison du Cygne, where they finally met da Vinci's ally, the theologian Desiderius Erasmus. Erasmus congratulated the Assassins on locating him, but required them to tell him the secret of the painting to prove that Leonardo had been correct in placing his trust on them. Puzzling out the solution based on the information they had collected, they tell Erasmus the answer. Nodding in agreement with the explanation, he disappeared into the building and quickly returned, handing them the translucid sheet with a line Leonardo had given him for safe keeping.

19th century

By 1854, after a run in Rome, the Aurora Equestrian Troupe soon performed in the region as its acrobat Pierrette Arnaud mentioned Simeon Price's name in her performance, hoping for a response to find him.

By 1870, the Austrian Templar Countess Konstanze von Visler found a residence at Château Aarden in Brussels and corresponded with French Templar Victoire L'Estocq about the new government they were setting up for a war-torn Paris. However, her correspondence was caught by the French Assassin, who sent the British Assassin Simeon Price to track down Konstanze. When he arrived, they spoke and came to an understanding, which resulted into a temporary truce between the two. The truce dictated for Konstanze to learn about the Assassins' ideology while the Templars stopped manipulating the French government.

For the next three years, Konstanze and Simeon grew close to each other and learned about each other, but their conversations ran their course after discussing both of their organizations' ideals and beliefs for awhile. During one of the meetings, the Château Aarden's host and butler Lambert tried to kill Simeon on Templars' orders but was killed in response. Konstanze was told their alliance needed to be severed and apologized for the attack. Before Simeon could leave, Konstanze grabbed him and kissed him passionately, which Simeon reciprocated. After spending the night together, Simeon decided to leave Brussels to escape Templars' sight on him.

However, Konstanze joined him on his escape and agreed to leave the Templars and learn from the Assassins besides Simeon. By September 1876, a trained Konstanze was given her first mission back in Brussels and infiltrated King Leopold II of Belgium's international confernce of global exploration. Her target was Maynard Poole, a Templar cartographer, and to retrieve any possible map of the Pieces of Eden. Within two months, she killed Poole but privately met with the King and acquainted herself with explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Unknown to her, she was watched by Zurich founder and Assassin Henri Escoffier, who reported his findings to Simeon.

Modern era

A meeting of the Templar Council of Elders was held in the city on 6 June 2014, after having been delayed by six months in order to coincide with the 40th G7 summit also occurring in the city. A memo on the event was sent out by Doctor Álvaro Gramática in a Public Relations Primer that was also then intercepted by the Assassins and Initiates.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Unity (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: The Last Quest of Leonardo da Vinci
• Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot