Papal Staff of Eden
The Papal Staff, cataloged by Abstergo Industries as Piece of Eden 34, was a sceptre used by several Popes to exert their will over the Christian church. A Staff of Eden originally created by the First Civilization, the Staff was lost to history in 1499.
Owners
- Isu (? – ?)
- Moses (13th century BCE – ?)
- Shabataka (? – 705 BCE)
- Alexander the Great (? – 323 BCE)
- Order of the Ancients (47 BCE – ?)
- John the Baptist (? – 30)
- Saint Peter (30 – 67)
- Rodrigo Borgia (1492 – 1499)
- Ezio Auditore da Firenze (1499)
History
The prophet Moses used the Staff's innate powers of illusion and mind control to "part" the Red Sea, freeing the Israelites from Egypt. Shabataka, the second Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, used this staff to rule over Egypt and Kush between 714 BCE and 705 BCE.[1]
John the Baptist used this staff to start his ministry. After John, the Staff passed into the hands of the first disciple of Jesus, Peter, who helped to establish Christianity and became the first Pope.[1] It is assumed that over the next fourteen centuries the Staff circulated through the hands of the Roman Popes, until it was seized by Rodrigo Borgia, who had became Pope Alexander VI in 1492 so that he could use the Staff to gain access to the Vatican Vault.[2]
On 28 December 1499, the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze infiltrated the Sistine Chapel to confront Rodrigo, and a fight ensued, during which Rodrigo wielded the Staff as a spear against Ezio. Eventually, Ezio defeated Rodrigo and used the Staff (combined with his Apple of Eden) to enter the Vault.[3]
When leaving the Vault, Ezio tried to remove the Staff from the center of the room where it was secured within the Vault's antechamber floor. Upon doing so, Ezio activated machinery that made the Staff descend underground, despite Ezio's efforts to retrieve it.[4]
Powers
Designed to control men's minds and bodies, the Papal Staff held a cradle in its headpiece where an Apple of Eden could be placed, in order to enhance its mind control effects. This combination of two Pieces of Eden could also be used to open the door to the Vatican Vault.[3]
The Staff's bottom end was sharpened, and could be wielded as a spear in combat. The artifact also granted the possessor the ability to conceal their presence entirely, and the ability of levitation; though whether these were physical effects or simply manipulations of the viewers' perceptions remains unknown.[3]
Gallery
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Peter with the Staff -
An Apple of Eden affixed to the Staff -
Rodrigo Borgia using the Staff -
Ezio Auditore using the Papal Staff to open the Vatican Vault
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Assassin's Creed II – Glyph 5: "Instruments of Power"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Assassin's Creed II – In Bocca al Lupo
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Mass Exodus
