The Apple is more than a catalog of that which precedes us. Within its twisting, sparking innards I've caught glimpses of what will be. Such a thing should not be possible. Perhaps it isn't. Maybe it is simply a suggestion. How to know? How to be sure?
I contemplate the consequences of these visions: are they images of things to come – or simply the potential for what might be? Can we influence the outcome? Dare we try? And in so doing, do we merely ensure that which we've seen?
I am torn – as always - between action and inaction - unclear as to which – if either - will make a difference. Am I even meant to make a difference? Still, I keep this journal. Is that not an attempt to change – or perhaps guarantee – what I have seen?
Location: Mideast of Monteriggioni
Of all the things I've seen, none troubles me more than the image of the flames... Pillars so tall they seemed to pierce the heavens. The ground rumbled and shuddered. Mountains split and crack. Great metal towers splintered, their innards strewn about the ground... And everywhere there was screaming. A chorus so terrible that even now I feel its echoes still.
What is this madness I have seen? Is it them, I wonder? Those who came before... Is this where they went? Into the fire? Into the dust? Perhaps this destructive power is what the Templars seek. That they might hold it over us a command devotion. What hope would we have, then, if they held such darkness in their hands – that they could murder the world...
Location: Northeast Forli (Romanga)
We are obligated to hide. To be silent. To shape the course of history in secret. But some of my brothers and sisters disagree. They grow angry, insisting it is a mistake to shroud ourselves. They say it slows our work. But they do not understand the risks. To expose ourselves now would be too dangerous. I fear we would be branded madmen and attacked. So it goes. So it always has. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that men do not learn by being told. Instead they must be shown. They must make the connections themselves. If I say unto a man, be kind, be tolerant, be of an open mind – these words will wither and die long before they've affected change. It would be a waste. And so we must maintain our course...
Location: West Santa Maria Novella (Florence)
Legends speaks of a Golden Fleece. Could the two be related?...
...I have further refined the metallurgic process, allowing for the production of a suit of armor the likes of which the world has never seen...
...It is possessed of great strength, yet so light as to allow complete freedom...
...I alternate between wonder and fear. Here we have crafted something that will surely change the face of warfare, making those who wear it nigh invincible...
Perhaps it was a mistake to create these pieces. I think it best to erase the formulae. What if it were to fall in the hands of our enemies? The risk is too great...
Location: Mideast of Castello District (Venice)
I have studied the ancient pagan faiths that came before this more recent obsession with a single, divine creator. They seem to have focused more on the fundamental forces at play in the world around us and less on arbitrary moral rules...
The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. The tides ebb and flow. Grass grows, withers, dies, and then in time, emerges from the ground once more. The air turns warm then cools and back again. Some hidden energy keeps us fitted to the ground and pulls us back when we attempt to leave it.
Each of these movements was represented before by a god or goddess. Each force given face, but recognized as something distinct and powerful. Which is not to say there were not connections between these forces – a pantheon of individual spirits – of rules. Invisible hands guiding the progress of the world around us.
And so here there was an attempt to categorize, study, explain, and understand the way things work – even if it was flawed. But no more. Now we are asked to succumb to a far more simplified explanation. How naive to believe there might be a single answer to every question. Every mystery. That there exists a lone divine light which rules over all. They say it is a light that brings truth and love. I say it is a light that blinds us - and forces us to stumble about in ignorance.
I long for the day when men turn away from invisible monsters and once more embrace a more rational view of the world. But these new religions are so convenient – and promise such terrible punishment should one reject them – I worry that fear shall keep us stuck to what is surely the greatest lie ever told.
Location: Southeast of the Villa Auditore (Monteriggioni)
A schematic for an altered Hidden Blade, to be used as an injection needle. Various plants and roots have been drawn around it.
One may cultivate extracts from various plants found throughout the region. More exotic species can sometimes be obtained from traders and travelers, but their properties are less documented and require further examination.
Traditional alchemical implements can be used to distill the poison. Care should be used as certain poisons can be absorbed through exposed skin. Many are those who have lost their lives to carelessness.
One's blade should be hollowed according to the specifications listed herein. Deviation may create fractures within the metal, causing the blade to weaken and possibly break.
Location: From Lorenzo de' Medici (Florence)
What to make of this map? It appears to contain the entire world. Not flat as they claim, either, but round – like a ball. Like the Apple. But how is such a thing even possible? Stranger still are the lands it shows – great patches of the unknown. The unexplored. SO many places yet to be discovered... Are there men there? Are they like us? And if not – different how? I should like to know the answers. Perhaps – in time – I'll have the chance to travel. To chart a course and make my way to these distant lands...
Location: Northeast San Gimignano (Tuscany)
The Arabic reads: North(هاجم)=Attack, East(تسلق)=Climb, South (ءبر)=Across, and the West (قطر)= Diagonal
Location: The Villa office (Monteriggioni)
Some days I miss my family... or at least the thought of them. I never knew my parents well, despite them both having lived within these walls. It was our way. Perhaps they were sad, though they showed no sign – it was not allowed.
For my part, so much of my youth was spent in training, there was little time left to reflect upon the separation. And so when they were finally lost to me, it seemed no different than the passing of two strangers. Al Mualim had been as my father, and his was a weak and dishonest love, though at the time it seem enough – better, even. Or so I thought.
Someday I will have a child - such is the way of our Order. And I will not make the same mistake. Nor any who call themselves an Assassin. We shall be allowed to love our children – and, in turn, to be loved. Al Mualim believed such attachments would weaken us – cause us to falter when our lives were on the line. But if we truly fight for what is just, does love not make such sacrifice simpler – knowing that we do so for their gain?
Location: South Forli (Romanga)
Location: The Villa office (Monteriggioni)
I have the answer now. I know the truth. I shall not touch that wretched thing again. Best that no one do, now or ever. I have tried - at last – to destroy it, but it will neither bend nor break nor melt. Oh the irony – I am certain if I asked, the Apple would tell me what need be done. But even this promise is insufficient. Always it holds one more gift to give. I must refrain. So it shall be sealed. We will take it to the island - once theirs, now ours. There is a treasury there – hidden well - and it shall have to suffice. Risky to separate myself from the artifact that others may discover it. Riskier still to keep it close. In time I will be tempted. I am weak. We all are. Who wouldn't be? Oh, the things I have seen... The tale is here – inside the text. Not between the lines but beneath them. Where only our eyes might peer. Go and see it for yourself. That you might succeed where I and the others have failed. Time marches on – bringing with it new discoveries and developments. And so at least one day the doorway might be opened and the message delivered. They will have their prophet.
Location: Southeast of Dosuduro District (Venice)
We are growing larger. More make their way to our fortresses every day. Men and women. Young and old. From different lands. Of different faiths. Each tells a similar story – of having discovered the first part of our creed: that nothing is true.
Too often, though, the revelation undoes them. They lose their morality, certainty, security. Many are driven mad. We must guide them. Help them to heal. Their minds must not be filled with more fairy tales, but with knowledge instead. Let them have answers – and let those answers be difficult and complex. Such is life.
Location: East of San Marco (Florence)
Success! We have found a way to alter the structure of the hidden blade so that it can be used to launch small projectiles. It is capable of grievous damage – even from great distance. I confess, the means by which I came about the discovery was... risky to say the least. But I have found that in small doses, and with a focused mind, the Apple can be used without ill effect. Or so I hope.
The knowledge of projectile combat is not new to us, having been observed amongst our Eastern neighbors. But their weapons were much larger – and insufficient for our needs. I have now found a way to miniaturize their designs, embedding their fiery weapon into a form that can be worn on the wrist.
We have also refined the formula for combustible powder, such that common ingredients might be used. This is a dangerous bit of knowledge and it is best shared with only our closest allies...
Location: From Carlo Grimaldi (Venice)
A dark tide rises to the east - an army of such size and power that all the land is made quick to worry. Their leader is a man named Temujin, who has adopted the title Genghis Khan. He sweeps across the lands, conquering and subsuming all who stand in his way. Whatever his motives, he must be stopped. Were I younger, I might attempt to undertake this work in secret - as I suspect the presence of a Piece of Eden. But those days are years gone, now. The mantle must be passed. It is time she and I spoke with our sons. We will travel there together, that they may be tested and that this threat might be stopped.
Location: South of San Polo District (Venice)
Soon I shall pass from this world. It is my time. All the hours of the day are now colored by the thoughts and fears borne of this realization. I know that the elements of my body will return to the Earth. But what of my consciousness? My identity? That is to say - what of ME? I suspect it will end. That there is no next world. Nor a return to this one. It will simply be done. Forever.
Our lives are so brief and unimportant. The cosmos cares nothing for us. For what we've done; Had we wrought evil instead of good. Had I chosen to abuse the Apple instead of seal it away. None of it would have mattered. There is no counting. No reckoning. No final judgement. There is simply silence. And darkness. Utter and absolute... And so I have begun to wonder – might there not be a way to stop – or at least delay - death's embrace?
Surely the ones who came before were not so frail and feeble as we. But I have sworn to be done with the artifact. To not gaze into its core. Still: faced as I am with the prospect of my end, what harm is there in one last look...
Location: East of Monteriggioni's countryside
