Eagle
Eagles are large birds of prey primarily found in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia, and are categorized under the bird family Accipitridae.
Eagles play an important role to the Assassin Brotherhood, in that many of the Order's outfits and weapons bear resemblance to eagles, and the birds swarm around View Points which the Assassins use to navigate their surroundings and perform Leaps of Faith from. In this regard, the Assassins dubbed the sixth sense that belonged to some of their members as "Eagle Vision."
History
Jupiter, a member of the First Civilization, wore a helmet that resembled an eagle. This became his representative animal when he was worshipped by the Greeks and Romans.
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad was named after the brightest star in the Aquila constellation; he acknowledged this by designing the door to his library to resemble the constellation. Only by placing the Memory Seal keys in the etchings of the constellation would the door to his treasure room open.[1]
Ezio Auditore da Firenze collected eagle feathers for his younger brother Petruccio. After his death, Ezio continued to collect feathers in memory of his brother, placing them in a box in his mother's room at the Villa Auditore; this tradition continued following the siege of Monteriggioni, in a box at the Tiber Island headquarters.[2][3]
The Kanien'kehá:ka revere eagles, and use their feathers in coming-of-age rites. During his coming-of-age, Ratonhnhaké:ton communed with Juno with a Crystal Ball, and the two spoke in the form of eagles. This conversation set Ratonhnhaké:ton on the path of joining the Assassins.[4]
In an alternate reality, Ratonhnhaké:ton underwent a vision journey where he communed with the spirit of the eagle, gaining the power to turn into one and fly short distances.[5]
Trivia
- According to Jade Raymond, the series' eagle symbolism came about when the Assassin's Creed creative team realized the Assassin's predatory nature was akin to a bird-of-prey. Realizing this, they designed the character's robes to resemble an eagle and named him Altaïr.[6]
- The names Aquilus, Ezio and Haytham are associated with eagles or flight.
- Ironically, the eagle's cry heard throughout the series is, in reality, the cry of a red-tailed hawk.