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The Assassin's Creed

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2022-03-16 16:05:29

What Is The Creed?

The Assassin's Creed, often referred to as the Creed, was a code and guiding philosophy of the Assassin Order upheld from the High Middle Ages until the modern era. It restricted unnecessary slaughter of innocents, preserved the reputation of oneself and of the Order, and was meant to create peace not only within the world, but within the individual.

The Creed began to take shape in 38 BCE when the Medjay Bayek of Siwa and Aya of Alexandria, co-founders of the Hidden Ones–a predecessor to the Assassins Brotherhood–enforced a veil of secrecy over their order. The Assassins had been handing the Creed down orally from generation to generation, ensuring that its message was delivered to and upheld by every member of the Assassin Order. Al Mualim, one of the Mentors of the Order, once remarked that "[they] are nothing if [they] do not abide by the Assassin's Creed".

In the ancient Codex of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, it was stated that the Creed cannot be killed, even if all of its followers were. He went on to explain that the Creed was an idea, and even if all records of it were destroyed, it could eventually be reinvented by another.

The Three Tenets

Stay Your Blade From The Flesh Of An InnocentHide In Plain SightNever Compromise The Brotherhood

The Creed mainly emphasized three simple moral tenets that focused on ensuring a successful mission, mastery of emotions, and the safety of the Brotherhood.

"I would not have drawn attention to us. I would not have taken the life of an innocent."

―Malik Al-Sayf at Solomon's Temple

The goal of the Assassins was to ensure peace in all things. The Assassins believed that political assassinations and the death of the corrupt would bring peace and a true sense of security to the common people. Slaying innocents and civilian bystanders who did not need to die could spread strife and discord, in addition to ruining the name of the Assassin Order itself. It also prevented them from achieving their higher purpose, as a precise killer instead of an indiscriminate butcher. This tenet was implemented by Bayek after Gamilat, the leader of the Nabatean rebels in the Sinai Peninsula, used the slaughter of innocents as martyrs to recruit more people to the cause.

"Let the people mask you such that you become one with the crowd."

―Al Mualim.

Be unseen. The Assassins' aim was to get close to their target stealthily and escape just as quickly. In more ancient times, Assassins aimed to perform ostentatious, awe-inspiring assassinations, usually in public.

The greatest illusion from such an assassination was that the Assassin seemingly materialized from nowhere, killed a corrupt public figure, and vanished into the depths of the crowd or environment. If an Assassin was spotted while stalking their target, the supernatural effect would be diluted, and it became more difficult for the Assassin to reach his target.

"Its meaning should be obvious. Your actions must never bring harm upon us – direct or indirect!"

―Al Mualim chastising Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, 1191

The actions of one must never bring harm to all. If an Assassin failed in their duty, and was captured or chased, they must never commit any action or say anything that could be tied back to the Brotherhood, or bring harm to any member of it.

The Three Ironies

"Do we bend the rules in service to a greater good? And if we do, what does it say of us?"

―Altaïr's Codex, page 4.

The three great ironies were observations that had been noted as early as the Roman Empire, and described the contradictions between the Creed and the actions of the Assassins who followed it. They were:

The Assassins seek to promote peace, but commit murder.

The Assassins seek to open the minds of men, but require obedience to rules.

The Assassins seek to reveal the danger of blind faith, yet practice it themselves.

Though seemingly hypocritical, the ironies did not undermine the Assassins' cause. Rather, they demonstrated the way in which they embraced contradiction, "that one may be two things – opposite in every way – simultaneously." Another core part of the Creed is the importance of knowledge, which allows one to learn and advance. This was reflected on by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad when about to kill a target who was ordering a mass burning of books.

The Maxim

"Our Creed does not command us to be free. It commands us to be wise."

―Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.

"Nothing is true; everything is permitted" was the Creed's maxim and primary guideline. The phrase was created during the 11th century by Hassan-i Sabbāh, the first recorded leader of the Assassin Order.

Al Mualim taught Altaïr that the maxim commanded the Assassins not to be free, but to be wise. Altaïr later explained that for a person to abide by the maxim, they had to transcend the illusion which was the world, and to "recognize that [...] laws do not arise from divinity, but reason".

Ezio Auditore da Firenze once spoke of the maxim at length with Sofia Sartor, who found it rather cynical. However, he told her that the maxim was not a doctrine to be followed, but merely an observation of the world, explaining thusly:

"To say that nothing is true, is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile, and that we must be the shepherds of our own civilization. To say that everything is permitted, is to understand that we are the architects of our actions, and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic"

This maxim was spoken by all Assassins present at every new Assassin's induction into the Order, and in its original Arabic by Ezio as he presided over each ceremony when in Rome.

Arno Dorian, a member of the French Brotherhood, ruminated that the maxim merely served as a guide and a warning, rather than as a principle meant for an individual to follow, having witnessed directly how ideals led to dangerous extremism, elaborating that:

"Ideals too easily give way to dogma. Dogma becomes fanaticism. Only we can decide whether the road we walk carries too high a toll. All that we do, all that we are, begins and ends with ourselves."

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2449112298

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