Isu beacon

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This article is about the beacon found in Japan. You may be looking for the ancient beacons found throughout England.

The Isu beacon was an ancient device of Isu origin that could be used to unlock the entrance to a vault in southern Wakasa, Japan. It functioned as a compass that would glow and lead its wielder to one of the thirteen glyphs needed to activate the vault's door mechanism.

Owners

• Isu (until c. 75,000 BCE)
• Kane and Kinu (1582)
• Fujibayashi Naoe (1582)
• Yasuke (1582)
• Eamon Hathaway and Nirmala

Functionality

The beacon was a small, hand-sized trinket that resembled an ordinary amulet. However, when in close proximity to one of the glyphs, it would glow and emit light particles that guided the wielder in the glyph's direction. Once the user interacted with the glyph, the corresponding symbol on the vault's door would be "activated" and begin glowing; only by activating all thirteen symbols could the door be opened.

History

In 1582, the beacon was found by Kane and Kinu, a pair of wandering outlaws and ashigaru deserters, who had heard stories of a treasure allegedly hidden within the vault. Seeking the treasure for themselves, the two struggled with finding a way to open the vault's door, despite having come across clues about the locations of each of the thirteen glyph symbols. As Kane and Kinu argued and blamed each other for their ineptitude, the passing kunoichi Fujibayashi Naoe and samurai Yasuke overheard their fighting and approached them, and were told about the treasure.

Believing the pair could help them, Kane and Kinu gave the beacon to Naoe, who proceeded to locate one of the glyphs nearby. As she and Yasuke returned to the door to find the corresponding symbol activated, Kane and Kinu, tired of living on the run, offered them a deal: in exchange for their scrolls containing clues to the remaining glyphs' locations, they asked to join Naoe and Yasuke's league, the Kakushiba ikki. The pair reluctantly accepted, and kept the beacon, which led them to the remaining glyphs.

Once all the symbols were activated, Naoe and Yasuke returned to the vault door, which interacted with the beacon and opened itself, allowing the pair to explore the vault's contents.

Yasuke kept ahold of the beacon, until he and Naoe came across the Black Crosses Eamon Hathaway and Nirmala, who came to eliminate them but also sought for the location of The Observatory. After learning of Yasuke's possession of the beacon from both Kane and Kinu, Eamon and Nirmala fought against Yasuke alone and stole the beacon after badly injuring him. They soon headed towards the temple in southern Wakasa and opened it after finding all the glyphs. Inside, Eamon managed to use the beacon as a key after destroying the statue of Kassandra and placing it into the stone that was beneath it.

Upon their investigation, Eamon soon discovered the artifact and saw that it was another type of temple entirely. When Nirmala was nearly bested by Naoe, who followed them along with her ally Rufino, he joined her and bested Naoe. However, Yasuke soon came and aided Naoe, and together they managed to defeat the Black Crosses. Recovering the beacon, all three Kakushiba ikki members left the temple. Yasuke then broke the beacon into pieces, threw them inside the cave, and ultimately shut the door indefinitely.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Story Drops (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Featured Events