Assassin bureau

"Be sure to visit the city's Assassin Bureau when you arrive. I'll dispatch a bird to inform the Rafiq of your arrival. Speak with him, you'll find he has much to offer."

―Al Mualim to Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, 1191.^[src]^-[m]

An Assassin bureau was a command center used by the Assassin Order, most often located within cities where they also served as safe houses. Their primary function was to act as bases of operation through which missions could be processed and overseen. Bureaus typically doubled as shops as well. More than mere fronts for the Assassins, these stores would trade in genuine merchandise such as silks,^[1] carpets,^[2] and pottery,^[3] or offer services like tailoring,^[4] generating income for the Brotherhood.

A tradition that dated back to at least the 1st century BCE, bureaus were an integral component of the Assassins' operational structure.^[5] Throughout the ages, not all Assassin Guilds utilized the bureau as an administrative unit, at times relying on other organizational methods such as dens,^[6] but the system remained in use into the 20th century.^[4] It was indefinitely rendered obsolete after the Great Purge of 2000 which decimated the Assassins and forced them to rely almost exclusively on mobile cells.^[4]^[5]^[7]

History[edit | edit source]

Ptolemaic Egypt[edit | edit source]

The first known bureau was founded in Memphis, Egypt,^[8] sometime between 47 and 44 BCE, not long after the Medjay Bayek and his wife Aya co-founded the Hidden Ones.^[9] By 43 BCE, Aya had established another bureau in Rome's Pantheon district.^[8]

By 38 BCE, a third bureau was established in the Sinai by one of Bayek's first Hidden One recruits, Tahira.^[10] The Sinai bureau notably had a secret exit that backed onto mountains.^[11] Unfortunately, the bureau was destroyed by Roman soldiers in a fire attack,^[12] and the Hidden Ones of Sinai fled to the mountains of the Arsinoe Nome,^[13] where they set up a new bureau.^[11]

At some point before 30 BCE, a bureau was established in Alexandria. This bureau would be immortalized as the location for the final synod of the Hidden Ones presided by Amunet as documented in The Magas Codex.^[14]

Roman Empire[edit | edit source]

The Roman Hidden Ones that operated in the province of Britannia between the years 100 and 430 CE had six bureaus. These were located in Ratae, Londinium, Venta Belgarum, Eboracum, Camulodunum, and the Temple of Ceres.^[15] Another branch of Hidden Ones operated in Roman Gaul around the same time and established four bureaus near the Seine, one in the cities of Champlieu, Diodurum, and Gisacum, which were all centered around their main base in Lutetia itself.^[16]

Shortly after the death of the Western Roman Emperor Honorius in 423 CE, magister Vitus wrote to the Hidden Ones stationed at the Ratae bureau, warning them that Britain would be imminently unstable due to the local tribes who harbored ill sentiments towards them having filled the power vacuum left by the departing Roman legions. Reasoning that it would be better to restart the branch later rather than suffer the loss of its members to unnecessary bloodshed, he ordered that the letter's recipient immediately evacuate and move their headquarters to the German city of Cologne and join forces with the local chapter.^[17]

Within the year, word of the evacuation reached the Hidden Ones in Gaul who had experienced similar misunderstandings themselves with the local Gallic tribes. Seeing the situation was untenable, the magister known only as "C. C." wrote to the surrounding bureaus from Lutetia and ordered all Hidden Ones to hide the three keys necessary to unlock the Lutetia location, seal the rooms, and likewise abandon Gaul until such time had passed that they could safely return and resume their fight against tyrants and the Order of the Ancients. Before closing their letter, C. C. informed the Hidden Ones that Vitus had extended an invitation from Cologne, adding that they too would join any who were willing to travel to Germania. While the majority of C. C.'s orders were carried out, a few Hidden Ones refused to abandon their posts and decided to stay in Gaul to continue their work on a more individual scale.^[18]

Middle Ages[edit | edit source]

Golden Age of Baghdad[edit | edit source]

In the early 860s, the Hidden Ones of Alamut expanded their reach from their fortress into Baghdad,^[19] where they established several bureaus to serve as bases of operations in the city while fighting the Order of the Ancients' influence.^[20] Initially maintaining only one bureau in the south of the Harbiyah district, the Hidden Ones soon founded additional bureaus in the Abbasiyah and Karkh districts, as well as one in the Sharqiyah sub-district of Karkh.^[21]

Each Baghdad bureau was led by a Rafiq, who assisted their fellow Hidden Ones with their tasks and were often the ones to sanction an assassination. The bureaus included accommodations for any visiting Hidden One, and a notice board where various contracts were posted. They also included a workshop for one of the Banū Mūsā brothers—Abu Jafar, Ahmad, and Al-Hasan—to work on their inventions and gadgets, which were given to the Hidden Ones to aid them during their missions.^[21]

Viking Age[edit | edit source]

By 870, some earlier Hidden Ones bureaus still operated, like in Alexandria and Rome. In Constantinople, the bureau was led by the Alamut Hidden One Basim ibn Ishaq, while the Frankish Hidden Ones established a new bureau in the Bon Berger, a tavern in Chinon. That year, a caravanserai bureau in Antioch was attacked by the Snake-Eaters, a group allied with the Order of the Ancients. Basim asked the help of the bureaus of Chinon, Alexandria, and Rome, but only the first two could send members. As they routed their enemies from the city, the Antioch bureau was rebuilt while the Frankish and Egyptian Hidden Ones eliminated the Snake-Eaters in Chang'an, where they established another bureau.^[22]

In 873, Basim and his apprentice Hytham established a bureau in the Norse settlement of Ravensthorpe in England.^[23] Because of Hytham's severe wounding in his attempt to assassinate Kjotve the Cruel,^[24] Basim assigned him to oversee and upkeep the bureau. Inside the office, Hytham kept scrolls detailing missions and members of the Order of the Ancients. To combat the Order's reign in England, Hytham often received letters from a "Poor Fellow-Soldier of Christ", who relayed information on key assassination targets in the cities of Lunden, Jorvik, and Wincestre.^[25]

Later, the Hidden Ones opened an additional bureau in Lunden. Disguised as a tavern called the Hawk's Nest, it was run by the Hidden One Marcella of Rome.^[26] Around the same time, Adelaïde was tasked with re-establishing the old Londinium bureau, where she met and trained two potential Hidden One recruits: the Viking Niels Gunnarsson and the young copyist monk Edward.^[27]

During the 870s, the shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir, at Hytham's request, explored the abandoned Hidden Ones bureaus in England and recovered pages of the Magas Codex, contracts for assassinations, and letters between the members of the bureaus.^[17] After sailing to Francia in 885 to assist the second Viking siege of Paris, Eivor took time to visit all the ruined Gallic Hidden Ones bureaus and recovered the keys to the Paris office, where she retrieved Charlemagne's short sword Joyeuse from a chest that had been secreted away. As she left the premises, she indirectly met the Frankish Hidden One Abbo Cernuus under the alias "AC" by way of a letter he left on the ground after she had entered the building.^[18]

Crusades[edit | edit source]

Bureaus were widely used by the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins, with cities such as Acre, Damascus, Jerusalem,^[28] and Tyre^[29] having one per district. Bureaus acted as sanctuaries for members of the Assassin Order, where they could physically and mentally prepare themselves for assignments, allowing them to replenish their supply of throwing knives, sleep, or meditate. They also provided Assassins a place to wait for the appropriate moment to strike or for the dust to settle following an assassination.^[28]

Inside each bureau resided a leader who held the rank of either Rafiq or Dai. These leaders coordinated local intelligence, directing Assassins toward key leads discovered during their investigations. Once the strike had been planned and approved by the bureau leader, an Assassin was given a feather to soak in the blood of their target as proof of their success.^[3] The exterior of these buildings was typically discreet, resembling common construction without obvious windows or doors. Access was primarily achieved through an entrance located on the roof.^[28]

A main chamber served as the entrance hall to the bureau and functioned as a small living area comprised of two fountains, potted plants, and several pillows and carpets. This space allowed Assassins to rest before and after their operations. The walls were decorated with hanging carpets and the Assassin insignia, while the ceiling featured a grated opening that acted as the entrance into the bureau.^[28]

Some bureaus featured additional comforts; the Acre bureau's walls were lined with books, while the Damascus bureau contained a chess set. To maintain the sanctuary's secrecy, the roof entrance was equipped with a grated panel that could be closed to ensure the location remained concealed from city guards, thereby preventing any potential violation of the Creed.^[28]

The bureau leader's chamber was adjacent to the main chamber. From behind a desk, each leader addressed those who sought their counsel while overseeing the Assassin Order's operations in that respective city. Located behind the desk were bookshelves and closets where registries of assignments were kept. An agarwood burner was often situated on the desk for fragrance. Across the room, a raised walkway held weapons, books, and other items intended to assist Assassins in their work.^[28]

Renaissance[edit | edit source]

Before Hülegü Khan ordered the destruction of Masyaf^[30] in retaliation for their part in assassinating his grandfather Genghis Khan,^[31] the Levantine Assassins' Mentor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad sent the brothers Maffeo and Niccolò Polo to establish new guilds and bureaus around the Mediterranean Sea, such as in Italy and Constantinople, where Assassin presence had waned.^[30]

By the late 15th century, the Spanish Brotherhood had only one known bureau in the northern part of the country. Located outside the city of Burgos, it was headed by Diego de Alvarado,^[32] an Assassin who would ultimately betray the Brotherhood for his own gain.^[33]

In 1512, a team of Assassins established a new bureau in Venice after taking control of an old Templar stronghold.^[34]

Golden Age of Piracy[edit | edit source]

During the early 18th century, the West Indies Brotherhood had bureaus spread throughout the major cities in the Caribbean, which varied in size and appearance. The bureaus in Havana and Kingston held at least one building and had a surrounding courtyard or walls; the Nassau bureau consisted of a small collection of buildings; and the Cayman Islands' "ghost" bureau had no defined buildings or areas to speak of. Each bureau was led by a Master Assassin, who was responsible for overseeing all Assassin activity in their respective city.^[35]

After killing the Assassin turncoat Duncan Walpole in 1715,^[36] Edward Kenway obtained and sold a map detailing the four bureaus' locations to the local branch of Templars operating in the region,^[37] unwittingly putting the Assassins stationed there in danger. Edward eventually traveled to the four bureaus and made amends for disclosing their locations;^[38] in doing so, he assisted the bureau Masters in various ways, in return for a collection of keys that would grant him access to a set of Templar Armor.^[39]

Seven Years' War[edit | edit source]

The Colonial Assassins during the mid-18th century primarily operated out of the Davenport Homestead, but they also maintained a number of bureaus throughout the British and French Colonies, namely in New York, Albany, Lac Eternel, Two Bends, and Halifax. Because the Colonial Brotherhood worked closely with the local criminal gangs, who supplied them with information and manpower, these bureaus doubled as gang headquarters.^[40]

During the Seven Years' War, the Assassin-turned-Templar Shay Cormac cleared all of the Brotherhood's gang headquarters with the assistance of the British Army, to put a stop to the gangs' activities and cripple the Assassins' information network.^[40]

Victorian era[edit | edit source]

In the mid-19th century, the British Brotherhood had a bureau in the Whitechapel district of London, which was headed by the only Assassin left in the city, Henry Green. Because of the Templars' strong presence in London at the time, the bureau was disguised as a curiosity shop to avoid detection by the Blighters, a gang allied with the Templars. From the bureau, Henry maintained contact with his allies in the city,^[41] as well as the British Assassin Council, whom he petitioned for help against the Templar threat.^[42]

Following the arrival of the twin Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye in London in 1868, they helped Henry eliminate the Templar presence in Whitechapel and claimed Rexford Kaylock's train hideout, which became the Assassins' new base of operations.^[43]

Russian Revolution[edit | edit source]

By 1918, the Russian Brotherhood had a bureau in Moscow. That year, the Assassin Nikolai Orelov was sent to the bureau after his retrieval of a Precursor box and rescue of Anastasia Nikolaevna, in order to report back to the Mentor. While waiting, Nikolai overheard a discussion between two Assassins and learned about the Brotherhood's plans with Anastasia, prompting him to escape from the bureau in order to rescue the girl from the experiments she was about to be subjected to.^[44]

Modern times[edit | edit source]

By the year 2000, an Assassin bureau disguised as a dry-cleaners was located in Philadelphia and used photographs of feathers, coupled with the codeword "Rafiq", as proof of identity. Using information from the Assassin turncoat Daniel Cross, the Templars discovered the bureau and raided it, massacring all the Assassins inside.^[4] Countless other bureaus across the world were similarly targeted by the Templars, forcing the Assassins to abandon their safehouses and abolish the system of bureaus altogether.^[5]

List of known bureaus[edit | edit source]

Egypt

Imperial Rome

Rome bureau^[8]

Roman Gaul

Roman Germania

Cologne bureau^[17]

Sub-Roman Britain

Abbasid Caliphate

Byzantine Empire

Constantinople bureau^[22]

Carolingian Empire

Chinon bureau^[22]

Tang Empire

Chang'an bureau^[22]

Anglo-Saxon England

Crusader states

Damascus bureau^[28]
Acre bureau^[28]
Jerusalem bureau^[28]
Tyre bureau^[29]
Antioch bureau^[22]

Reconquista Spain

Burgos bureau^[32]

Renaissance Italy

West Indies

Colonial America

Albany bureau^[40]
Halifax bureau^[40]
Lac Eternel bureau^[40]
New York bureaus:
- East Farm bureau^[40]
- Greenwich bureau^[40]
- King's Farm bureau^[40]
- Lower Manhattan bureau^[40]
- Stuyvesant's Farm bureau^[40]
- Waterfront bureau^[40]
Two Bends bureau^[40]