Staves of Eden

"Better in the hands of the Earth, than in the hands of Man."

- Mario Auditore regarding the Staff after being lost during the Renaissance.

The Staff was a Piece of Eden. Known throughout history by names such as the Papal Staff or the Russian Imperial Sceptre, the Staff of Eden was used by various Egyptian Pharaohs, Roman Catholic Popes, and Russian Tsars.

Powers
Designed to control men's minds and bodies, it has a cradle in the headpiece where an Apple of Eden can be placed, in order to enhance its mind control effects. This conjunction of two Pieces of Eden can also be used to open the door to the Vatican Vault.

Its bottom end is sharpened, and can be wielded as a spear in combat. It also grants the possessor the ability to conceal his presence entirely, and the ability of levitation; though whether these are physical effects, or simply manipulations of the viewers' perceptions, remains unknown. It also had, somehow, the ability to change its shape, as its appearance had changed to various different forms over the course of time.

When Nikolai Orelov approached the Staff in 1908, he heard several voices emanating from it, namely voices of the past, playing almost like recordings, speaking things such as "Always the fighter", “Adam, I have it”, “Just like your father”, and “Eve.”

History
The earliest known use of the Staff seems to be by the prophet Moses, who used its powers of illusion and mind control to "part" the Red Sea, and free the Israelites from Egypt.

It is also known to have been used by the Pharaoh Shabataka, who used it to rule over Ancient Egypt in the early 7th century BC. It was likely used by various pharaohs before and after him.

The next known user is Alexander the Great, who led a united Greek army into Asia. Possibly he acquired the Staff in Egypt, and he probably lost it when he was poisoned by the Assassin Iltani in 323 BC.

It was later kept by John the Baptist. who was a prophet and religious leader who baptized Jesus Christ (who himself owned at least one Piece of Eden). It would then pass into the hands of the first disciple of Jesus, Saint Peter, who would establish Christianity and become the first Pope. It is assumed that the Staff circulated through the hands of the Roman Catholic Popes until it was used by Rodrigo Borgia, who became Pope Alexander VI in 1492 so that he could use the Staff to gain access to the Vault.

In December 1499, the Assassin Ezio Auditore infiltrated the Sistine Chapel to confront Rodrigo, and a fight ensued, during which the Staff was wielded as a spear- or halberd-like weapon against Ezio. Eventually Ezio defeated the despairing Rodrigo and used the Staff (combined with the Apple) to enter the Vault.

When leaving the Vault, Ezio tried to remove the Staff from the center of the room, where it was secured in the Vault floor. Upon doing so, Ezio activated machinery making the Staff descend underground, despite Ezio's efforts to retrieve it.

It was seemingly somehow recovered at some point afterwards, as it had come into the possession of Tsar Alexander III as of 1888. On October 29 of that year, while returning home to Petrograd, the Tsar was attacked by Assassin Nikolai Orelov. After the Royal Train derailed, he threw the Staff to Orelov, challenging his assailant to attack him with it.

The Tsar subsequently repelled the assassination attempt, leaving with the Piece of Eden still in his possession. After his death, it was passed on to his son Tsarevich Nicholas II, but was later secretly stolen by Grigori Rasputin.

In the summer of 1908, members of the Assassin Order contacted Tesla, offering a chance to get back at the Templars. Using his mastery of electricity and the Wardenclyffe Tower, Tesla broadcast destruction into the facility, creating one of the largest explosions in history (more than 2,000 kilometers of forest were flattened and it is estimated that the explosion had a force of more than 30 megatons of TNT). This explosion obliterated the research facility and the Staff within.

The explosion was a complete Assassin victory. The explosion destroyed the Staff and injured only one Assassin, Nikolai Orelov. Orelov later returned to Anna, barely alive, muttering that the Staff was destroyed. The Templars, however, would not discover the truth behind the explosion until 2012.

The Staff wasn't completely destroyed, though, and there was at least one shard that still existed. This shard somehow came into the possession of Rasputin. In 1917, even after Rasputin's assassination, Orelov, having learned of the shard's existence from the Tsarevich and concluding that even a fragment of the Staff would be a threat, dug up Rasputin's body and retrieved it. It is unknown what happened to the shard after this.

Owners

 * Those Who Came Before (? - ?)
 * Moses (? - ?)
 * Shabataka (? - ?)
 * Alexander the Great (? - ?)
 * John the Baptist (? - ?)
 * Saint Peter (? - ?)
 * Pope Alexander VI (1492 - 1499)
 * Tsar Alexander III (? - 1894)
 * Tsar Nicholas II (1894 - 1908)
 * Grigori Rasputin (1908)

Trivia

 * It is possible to kill Rodrigo Borgia without triggering the cinematic cutscene while in the Sistine Chapel. Similarly, the Staff can be knocked from his hand using a Heavy Weapon. After this, it can be wielded though none of its powers can be used.

Forms
Over the course of time, the Staff had changed to take on different forms.