Glyphs

Glyphs are encrypted messages that can appear on different places in Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed 2, created by Subject 16. In the first game they appear shortly before Desmond falls asleep and near the end. You can also find them in the Animus 2.0. Just before Subject 16 died, he left messages in the original Animus to tell anybody who finds it an important secret. The only way somebody would find these is to solve the puzzles relevant to the information given. There are a total of 20 glyphs found in Italy. Each provides, whether through Subject 16 or the coded messages hidden in some files, snippets of backstory to the Templars and Pieces of Eden.

Truth Files

File Number	Location	Solution	Story/Secret Messages
Truth File 1 - In The Beginning	While standing on a roof, it’s on a wall	Solve the puzzle by choosing the paintings with an apple in them	Subject 16 explains that everything he's been told is a lie and has split 20 codes in the animus, and along the way, the truth would be revealed.
Truth File 2 - Sixty-Four Squares	While standing on a roof, it’s on a wall at Ospedale Degli Innocenti	Solve the puzzle more easily by rotating the circle puzzle pieces from smallest circle to the largest
Truth File 3 - Descendants	While standing on a roof, it’s on a wall	Solve the puzzle by highlighting the circular object in each photo	Pigpen cipher on the photo of Roosevelt reads "The Masons brought it across the sea. George Washington passed it on". George Washington was a member of the Masons, along with a number of the founding fathers, who supposedly they were the Knights Templar reborn. Morse code on the photo of Houdini reads "They hit him in the stomach". This is reference to the fact that after he was hit in the stomach for a trick, he died of a ruptured appendix. Morse code on the photo of Gandhi reads "The bullet hit him in the chest".
Truth File 4 - Infinite Knowledge	While hanging from the roof, it’s on a wall at Villa Auditore	Solve the puzzle by taking the hints literally	Hexadecimal cipher on the photo at Brest reads "Antikythera Mechanism, much older than 150 B.C.E." Caesar number cipher on the photo at the US civil war reads "Ancient city, Rajastan, Inda, irradiated by PoE". Binary code reads "Sumerian. Me 23.".
Truth File 5 - Instruments of Power	In the bottom dwellings of Santa Maria Assunta, it’s on a wall near pillars	Solve the puzzle by choosing the paintings with a sword in them, then, in the next set, all those with a staff
Truth File 6 - Brothers	While standing on a roof, it’s on a wall at Torri Dei Salvucci	Solve the puzzle more easily by rotating the circle puzzle pieces from smallest circle to the largest, while keeping an eye on the two outer layers that will connect	Morse code text reads "Templar texts adapted by Mr. Smith" The Templar emblem is revealed as the Mark of Cain, showing Cain to be the first Templar.
Truth File 7 - Keep On Seeking, And You Shall Find	While standing on a roof, it’s on a wall at Torre Del Diavolo	Solve the puzzle by choosing the paintings with red in them, this can be done in any order
Truth File 8 - Martyrs	While standing on a roof, it’s on a wall at San Lorenzo	Solve the puzzle by finding the Pieces of Eden (success is indicated with a sound). Then putting the flame over Joan on the world map. And finally, by moving Rasputin’s photo to the top of Czar Nicholas II’s photo	Binary code on photo of Czar Nicholas II reads "17th July 1918". This date was the day the Czar and his family were killed off. Binary code on painting of Joan of Arc reads "30th May 1431" The day Joan was burned at the stake. It is revealed that the Templars stole the Sword from Joan of Arc.  Rasputin stole the Staff from Czar Nicholas II.
Truth File 9 - Hat-Trick	While standing on a roof, it’s on a wall at Mercato Vecchio	Solve the puzzle by taking the hints literally, with the last one being 6=1 Since i can't type in the next block over, i'll have to type what i need here: According to the letter, JFK was a planning on giving the people of the US the right to vote to something, so the templars decided to kill him and extract #3 at the same time
Truth File 10 - Apollo	While standing on a roof, it’s on a wall at Monte Oliveto Maggiore	Solve the puzzle by not looking for the Eagle Apollo lander on the moon. When found, it’s best to rotate the layers of the puzzle from the inside out until they all align, but note that inner layer 1 rotates on its own despite being connected to layer 4 as well in one instance, same story for layer 6. Lastly, the Piece of Eden is on the Moon’s surface.	Pigpen cipher reads "Johnson was one of them. The bees drone too. Follow the money." The title of the Moon photo reads "Apollo 11 photograph released to public". Underneath it reads "Original unreleased negative". The flag of the USA contains the Abstergo logo. The white flag contains the Templar emblem.
Truth File 11 - The Inventor	While standing on the floor, it’s under a stone arch at Antico Teatro Romano	Solve the puzzle by highlighting the light bulbs. After that highlight the middle of the photo above the doorway. Then highlight Nikola Tesla’s lap.	The picture of Wardenslyffe contains 3 quotes of Tesla's Caesar cipher in the picture of Tesla's lab reads "He used it to develop a bottomless source of energy. Telefunken Wireless Station".
Truth File 12 - Titans of Industry			Morse code reads "They used it to make Tesla go insane. The organization took his research. Alien property, custodian office".
Truth File 13 - "I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds"
Truth File 14 - Bloodlines
Truth File 15 - Guardians
Truth File 16 - The Cavalry
Truth File 17 - The Bunker			Cipher reads "His double was killed in his bunker"	Near the bottom left of the picture, it'll read RIP in the magnified area
Truth File 18 - Synapses
Truth File 19 - The Fourth Day
Truth File 20 - The Origin of the Species

Notes

The puzzles are not necessarily in the same places here. For example, when we found the glyph at the Mercato Vecchio, we were on Truth File 17, (The Calvary), not Truth File 9, (Hat Trick). But this is helpful when trying to find locations.

Despite what order you find the glyphs in, the story behind it of Subject 16 and the puzzles will be shown in its correct order, so even if you found Glyph 20 first, the puzzle will relate to Glyph 1. If you, for example, then found Glyph 10, it will then relate to Glyph 2, and so on. Also if you are unsure as to where to find the Glyphs, go to the Animus menu page, then database, and finally locations. Specific location pictures have a Glyph symbol in the top left corner. It will tell you where you can find them (and the Assassin's Tombs) in each area.

List of Glyphs

This list of glyphs is in no particular order:

• Japanese Tori Gate
• Chinese Writing (前事不忘，后事之师, literally "Not forgetting the past, a teacher in the future", meaning "Learn from past experience")
• Nazca Line: The Monkey
• Eye of Horus
• Omega
• Butterfly
• Twin Pagodas
• Step Pyramid
• Macchu Picchu
• Eye of Providence
• Hebrew Writing (עולם הבא, meaning "The World To Come")
• Mt. Fuji and the Sun
• 12212012 Barcode
• Nazca Line: The Spider/Ant
• The Apple and Pyramid of Eyes
• Pyramids of Giza
• Pentacle/Pentagram
• Nazca Line: The Hummingbird
• The Mandelbrot Set
• The Trefoils

Trivia

The number on Glyph #4 (the barcode) is actually 12/21/2012, which is the date that some believe to be the end of the world.[1]