Paying Respects

Paying Respects was a virtual representation of one of Ezio Auditore's genetic memories, relived by Desmond Miles in 2012 through the Animus.

Description
Ezio explored the Auditore Family Crypt in Monteriggioni, and discovered both the memoirs and final resting place of his great-great-grandfather Domenico Auditore.

Memoirs
Throughout the crypt were seven stone plaques that were engraved with the memoirs of Domenico.

Venice, 1296
"I was raised in a small house by the Venetian lagoon, within sight of the rough foam-capped waves of the sea. When I was barely old enough to walk, I became a sailor, navigating the Atlantic first as an apprentice and then while carrying cargo for my father's patron, Messer Marco Polo. It was a good life."

Ashore
"One day, while ashore in the harbor looking for work, I fell in love. She was barely twenty, but when I looked into her eyes, the whole world was reflected back, clearer and brighter than the sun. After that, I still went to sea, but my heart remained on land with the girl, who had become my wife, and our young son."

Birthright
"One afternoon that summer, Messer Polo called me in his study. My father was already there, beside an older man, dressed in a strange hooded cape, watching us.

''At that moment everything about my life changed, my father told me that he was an Assassin. Removing his ring, he showed me a strange marking on his finger, explaining that our family came from an ancient order that protected and defended mankind.''

''He paused, and then, when I didn't speak, Messer Polo stepped forward. He told me that the stranger in the hood would teach me, and in return I would carry him across the to Spain. And so began my apprenticeship with Dante Alighieri, one that was to destroy every bit of happiness I would ever have."''

A Mentor
"In preparation for our voyage, Messer Alighieri met with me repeatedly. At first, our meetings were about purchasing supplies, but soon they became about higher things about life, love, honor and justice.

''He taught me that society was set up in such a way as to control its members, to stop us from thinking, from seeing. Soon, I could look past all laws and illusions. I understood that mankind was being used by its rulers, that we, the people, deserved freedom.''

''It was then that Dante began showing me pages from a book that Messer Polo had brought back from the palace of the great Genghis Khan. The manuscript, the Codex, was about our order, the Assassins."''

An Unexpected Farewell
"Our planned voyage never took place. While returning to to pick up the remainder of his belongings, Dante died. Dismayed at the loss of my mentor, I went to inform my father and Messer Polo of the sad news. Before I could even speak, I was ushered into the study, and my father, his face white, locked the door behind me.

''Shocked, I listened in silence as he spoke. Dante intended to take the Codex to Spain where it would be safe. But he was being watched. The enemy of the Assassins, the Knights Templar, still existed.''

''I recalled the stories he had told me of the Templars, and it all became clear. Dante had been murdered. The Templars knew about the Codex and they knew about us. Shaking, my father told me to take the Codex and leave for Spain at once with my wife and child.''

''As Messer Polo ushered me out the door, he handed me a small piece of paper with a number on it. With this number, I could draw on his credit, more than I had ever seen in my life, at any bank in Italy."''

At Sea
"We set sail that night, the ship filled with cargo to sell in the markets at Barcelona. At first, all was well. Then, to avoid a coming storm, we laid anchor in the harbor. Cloaked in darkness, the pirates came. I didn't see them until they were already boarding my ship.

''I hid my family in the hold. Pulling out the Codex, I ran the worn leather cover through my hands, then, I broke the spine. The pages slid silently onto the floor, I scattered them into the chests, boxes and containers I was carrying to market.''

''The men who found us were drunk, I could smell it on their breath. When they asked for the Codex, I knew who had sent them. Holding back my rage, I said I had thrown it overboard.''

''They started to laugh. Two held me down, still grinning, while the rest cut off my wife's clothes. She begged for mercy until her voice gave out. Once they were done, they threw her into the sea.''

They took my cargo and sunk my ship, and left me, adrift, clinging to a piece of railing.

''I made it to the beach with my son. My wife's body washed up on shore the next morning with the tide."''

A New Name
"I never saw the sea again.

''Making my way to Florence, I rented a small room and then visited the bank. I had memorized Polo's account number.''

''With the vast sum I now had at my disposal, I went to Venice in disguise to find my father. I returned to Florence the next day. Both Polo and my father were already dead.''

''From that moment forward, I collected treatises on architecture, studied the classics and took vocal lessons. I adopted the name Auditore, impersonating a noble at the Florentine Court. Accepted as one of their own, I took on the trappings of the nobility and constructed this villa for me and my son.''

''And then, I hunted them. I raised my son to fight, to find the Codex, and to kill Templars. Together, we would regain the honor of my wife and avenge the death of my father, two debts that would never, that could never, be repaid.''

''To the Auditore that reads this, remember that you are not a nobleman. You are not one of the deceivers, you are one of the people. Avenge us!"'' - Domenico Auditore

Outcome
Ezio navigated the crypt and discovered the burial chamber of his great-great-grandfather.

Trivia

 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Desmond Miles and Lucy Stillman passed through the Auditore Crypt, which caused Desmond to say "You know, when I [as Ezio] came here last–"
 * The entrance to the crypt was missing in the first Memory sequence of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. However, when Desmond explored Monteriggioni outside the Animus, the entrance was present.