Glyphs

Glyphs are encrypted messages that appear when using Eagle Vision in various locations in Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II. They were created by the late Subject 16 as his final message to the world.

Glyphs and various messages can be seen towards the end of Assassin's Creed, drawn in blood. These same glyphs are then repeated in Ezio's memories in Assassin's Creed II, left by Subject 16 before his death. There are a total of 20 glyphs to be found in Italy. In Assassin's Creed II, before she and Desmond flee from Abstergo Industries, former Abstergo employee and Assassin, Lucy Stillman copies data from the Animus, to be used in the Animus 2.0, an Animus utilized by the Assassins. It is later discovered that the glyphs were originally hacked into the Animus by Subject 16, and copied into the Animus 2.0 by Lucy, albeit accidentally.

In order to ensure security, Subject 16 locked each file with a series of puzzles, with each set of puzzles relevant to the content of the encoded message within the glyph.

Each of the glyphs contain messages from Subject 16 (the messages are either voice files or are messages encoded within images in the glyphs. These messages contain snippets of information about the Knights Templar and the roles that the Pieces of Eden have played throughout human history. Each glyph also contains a small piece of a video that combine after successfully unlocking all of the glyphs, revealing a final video that Subject 16 calls "The Truth." Regardless of which order the glyphs are located in, the order of the puzzles required to unlock each one will remain the same. As areas with glyphs are discovered, they will be added to the Animus 2.0 database, with specific symbols in a manner similar to the Assassin's Tombs.

Maps
From left to right are the maps for; Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Romagna and Monteriggioni.

Truth Files
 1=In The Beginning Location: Florence, San Marco District; facing south on the roof of La Rosa Colta. Solution: Look for the Apple in each painting. They are: The Fall, Hercules in the Garden of Hesperides, Atalanta and Hippomenes, Judgement of Paris, and Idun and the Apples. Information: Subject 16 states that "everything we've been brought up to believe is a lie." He goes on to explain that he has hacked the Animus, and split The Truth into 20 different, encrypted codes. 2=Sixty-Four Squares Location: Florence, San Marco District; facing north on the eastern rooftop of the Ospedale Degli Innocenti. Solution: Rotate the circles until the form a coherent image. Sometimes rotating the thickest circles first makes understanding the correct positions of the smaller ones easier. Information: Subject 16 shows that many famous historical leaders, including George Washington, Queen Elizabeth, and Napoleon Bonaparte possessed one of the Apples of Eden at one time, and then passed them down. 3=Descendants Location: Florence, San Marco District; Facing west on the northern lower roof of Santa Croce. Solution: You have to find the Piece of Eden embedded in each photo. Use the Infrared to find a small, mechanical orb. The first one is below Roosevelt's knee; the second is just below Houdini's head, and the last one is atop Gandhi's staff. Information: The photo of Roosevelt contains a message in a "Pigpen" Cipher, which reads: "The Masons brought it across the sea. Georrge Washington passed it on." Washington was a member of the Free Masons, along with many other founding fathers, and the Masons are often believed to have ties to the Knights Templar. The photo of Houdini has a message in Morse Code, which reads "They hit him in the stomach." Houdini died after he was hit in the stomach for a trick, which ruptured his appendix, suggesting he was killed for his Piece of Eden by the Templars. The photo of Gandhi contains another message in Morse Code, this one reading "The bullet hit him in the chest." Due to Gandhi's beliefs about personal freedom, it is likely that he was, while not necessarily an Assassin, most likely not a Templar. 4=Infinite Knowledge Location: Florence, Santa Maria Novella District; On the south face of the northern bell tower of the San Lorenzo Church. Solution: Like the previous puzzle, you need to find the Apple of Eden in each photo. The first is inside the bazooka barrel on the shoulders of the soldier; the second is by the kneeling soldier's helmet on other opposite side of the street; the third is on one of the bayonets just to the right of the center of the photo; and the fourth is the flaming apple the being in the upper right is holding in its hand. Information: The photo at Brest contains a Hexadecimal Cipher that reads "Antikythera Mechanism, much older than 150 B.C.E." The Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient device believed to have been a sort of mechanical computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. This suggests it may have something to do with the Ones Who Came Before. The US Civil War photo has a Caeser Number Cipher; "Ancient city, Rajastan, India, irradiated by PoE." The next image has a binary code that reads "Sumerian, Me 23." A Me was a decree of the gods, and Me 23 represented the "divine concept" of weaponry (likely a Piece of Eden). 5=Instruments of Power Location: Florence, Santa Maria Novella District; Facing east in the northeast corner of the Mercato Vecchio courtyard. Solution: For the first puzzle, select images containing swords (Perseus, Greece; Attila the Hun, Eurasia; Sigmund, Norse; King Arthur, Britannia; Joan of Arc, France). For the second, select images containing Staves (John the Baptist, Jerusalem; Alexander the Great, Macedonia; Shabataka, Egypt; Peter, Jerusalem; Moses, Egypt). Information: Subject 16 explains how many famous warriors of antiquity, such as Atilla the Hun had possession of the Sword of Eden, and how wise men such as Moses possessed the Staff of Eden, and that these relics were passed down through the generations. 6=Brothers Location: Monteriggioni; Facing south on the southwest corner of Villa Auditore. Solution: For the first picture, twist Ring One 2 times to the left; then twist Ring Two 3 times to the left. Twist Ring Four 1 time to the right, and Ring Five 3 times to the right. Then spin Ring Three around to complete the picture. For the second picture, twist Ring One 2 times to the left, twist Ring Two 3 times to the left; then twist Ring Four 1 time to the right, and twist Ring Five 3 times to the right The spin Ring 3 around to complete the picture. For the third picture, twist Ring One 3 times to the left, twist Ring Three 1 time to the right, twist Ring Four 5 times to the left, and twist Ring Five 1 time to the left. Then spin Ring Two around to complete the picture. For the fourth picture, twist Ring Three 1 time to the right, twist Ring Five 2 times to the left, twist Ring Four 2 times to the left, and twist Ring Two 6 times to the right. Then spin Ring One around to complete the picture. Information: The Templar Emblem is revealed to be the "Mark of Cain," showing that not only was Cain the first Templar, but that Abel was actually killed due to his possession of a Piece of Eden. The Morse Code message reads as "Templar texts adapted by Mr. Smith." This, and Cain exclaiming that he is "Master of Mahan," implies the Mormon version of this event is true, or, at least, the most accurate. 7=Keep On Seeking, And You Shall Find Location: Tuscany; facing west in the curved tunnel at the rear of Antico Teatro Romano. Solution: In the first puzzle, look for the four paintings with Red Robes, and the one painting with a snake and tree. They are: Joseph, Egypt. c. 1700 B.C.E.; Jason, Greece. Prehistory; Jesus Christ, Jerusalem. c. 30; David and Goliath, Valley of Elah. c. 970 B.C.E.; Christ Disrobed, Jerusalem. c. 30 In the second puzzle, highlight and ID the area to the right of Jesus' legs. A beeping sound will alert you when you are close. Information: 16 reveals that Jesus Christ possessed a Piece of Eden, called "The Shroud," that gave its user the power of resurrection; he was killed by the Templars in their attempt to gain possession of it. 8=Martyrs Location: Tuscany; on the east face of the Monte Oliveto Maggiore tower. Solution: You need to select and ID certain portions of each picture. Use the beeping sound as a guide to the exact location where you need to scan. For the first, look around the center of the staff; for the second, search the lower portion of the sword. Once that is done, use the cursor to pick up the flame and then move onto the Joan of Arc painting in the lower left. Finally, move together the remaining two images in the upper right to complete this glyph. Information: The photo of Czar Nicholas II has a message written in Binary that reads "17th July 1918." This was the day the Czar and his entire family were murdered. There is another Binary message on the painting of Jean d'Arc that reads "30th May 1431;" the day she was burned at the stake. This glyph reveals that the Templars stole the Sword of Eden from, and then killed, Jeanne d'Arc. It also states that Rasputin stole the Staff of Eden from Czar Nicholas II. Without the staff to control the populace, the Russian Revolution occurred. 9=Hat Trick Location: Tuscany, San Gimignano; facing north on top of Torre del Diavolo. Solution: Find the hidden objects in two pictures then crack the code. Move the cursor over Houdini's abdomen to reveal a hidden Piece of Eden and scan it. You'll hear a heart beat race as you get closer. Then move the cursor over Gandhi's heart to reveal another Piece of Eden. Scan it. Lastly, enter the password 312 to complete this puzzle. Information: According to the letter, JFK (John F. Kennedy) was planning on expanding the franchise to all citizens of the United States (likely referring to the ), something the Templars opposed, prompting them to kill him and take his Piece of Eden in one fell swoop. Oswald was trained in the use of the first two "Pieces of Eden," which he used to make a "Phantom" in order to create a distraction (the phantom was made to appear on a part of the map marked with an X; the infamous "Grassy Knoll"). The letter also poses another man being in the conspiracy by the name of "Z", possibly Abraham Zapruder. 10=Apollo Location: Tuscany, San Gimignano; facing south in the gap between the Torri dei Salvuci. Solution: Solve three puzzles. First you need to find the hidden lunar lander. It's located out in the blackness of space, just to the lower left of the moon. Then you have to complete a spinning image puzzle. Twist the rings in the follow order (inner ring is called Ring 1, outermost ring is called Ring 5): Twist Ring Five 6 times to the left; twist Ring Two 4 times to the left; twist Ring Four 3 times to the right; twist Ring Three 5 times to the left. Then rotate Ring One around until the puzzle is complete. Once that is done, find the Piece of Eden which is hidden in the shadow of the flag on the left. Information: A Pigpen Cipher reads "Johnson was one of them. The bee's drone too. Follow the money." "Johnson" likely refers to Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy's Vice-President. Him being "one of them" seems to imply he was a Templar. The title of the Moon photo reads "Apollo 11 photograph released to public." Underneath it reads "Original unreleased negative." When scanned, the US Flag contains the Abstergo logo, and the white flag contains the Templar Emblem. This means that the Templars went to the moon for some reason, likely for a Piece of Eden. 11=The Inventor Location: Tuscany, San Gimignano; facing east at street level in Santa Maria Assunta. Solution: Begin by moving the cursor across all the light bulbs to turn them all on. Now complete the next two puzzles. For the first puzzle, highlight the small picture directly above the center door. For the second, turn Infrared on and then scan Tesla's lap to find the Piece of Eden. Information: The picture of Wardenslyffe contains three quotes of Tesla's;there is also a Caesar Cipher in the picture of Tesla's lab that reads "He used it to develop a bottomless source of energy. Telefunken Wireless Station" "It" is most likely a Piece of Eden. 12=Titans of Industry Location: Romagna, Forli; facing east above the west colonnade of San Mercuriale. Solution: For the first puzzle, enter the password "240" then touch all the light bulbs with the money cursor to deactivate them. For the second, simply ID the glowing orb in Edison's hands. For the third, enter the following Symbols: Information: A message in Morse Code reads "They used it [the Piece of Eden] to make Tesla go insane. The organization took his research. Alien Property Custodian Office." The second letter says that Henry Ford sent the fourth PoE to a man by the name of "H," which appears to be Hitler, since there is mention of a war starting soon. It also implies Ford and the Templars organized the Holocaust, as he says "Lord knows, that kind of purge will be good for Europe." Ford was well known as an Anti-Semite. 13=I Am Become Death, The Destroyer of Worlds Location: Romagna, Forli; on the north face of the Avamposto Veneziano Lighthouse. Solution: Enter the password below. Then ID the red button with the cursor. After that, move the highlighter around to the bottom of the screen and use the sound to locate the code just above the bottom, just to the left of the middle. Information: The letter refers to an individual called "O," and implies that the Templars were behind the creation of the Atomic Bomb. Mr. "O" is most likely J. Robert Oppenheimer, a.k.a. The Father of the Atomic Bomb, meaning his is either a pawn of the Templars, or a Templar himself. 14=Bloodlines Location: Venice, San Polo; facing west beneath the east end of Ponte di Rialto. Solution: Select the five paintings that portray the character in an entangled position. (Danae Visited by Zeus; Jupiter and Io; Leda and the Swan; Cupid and Psyche; Rape of Europa) Information: Subject 16 indicates that Those Who Came Before were the original inhabitants of the earth, and that the Assassins are the result of cross-breeding between the two. 15=Guardians Location: Venice, San Polo; facing east between the dome and bell tower of San Giacomo di Rialto. Solution: First, solve the ring puzzle by doing the following (inner ring is Ring 1, outermost ring is Ring 5): Twist Ring Three 2 times to the right; twist Ring One 4 times to the right; twist Ring Four 5 times to the right; twist Ring One 5 times to the left; twist Ring Two 5 times to the left; then twist Ring Five 5 times to the right. Then, simply move the cursor over the targets on the map to activate them. Information: The message shows that the various Tyrants listed were killed by the Assassins (point of interest: Cleopatra was listed as one of the Tyrants, and she was the target of Iltani, one of the assassins in the Sanctuary). The Cipher painting, once solved, shows Ivan the Terrible, the first Czar of Russia, holding his dead son. Historically, Ivan killed his son in an argument by striking him on the head with his staff. 16=The Cavalry Location: Venice, San Polo; facing east on the rooftop of Gilda del Ladri di Venezi. Solution: For the first puzzle, place the cursor over the word "Tunguska," without hitting any other word on your way there; after that, place the cursor over the staff, then drag the staff to the portrait. Information: It reveals that the Tunguska Explosion that occurred in 1908 was caused by Nikola Tesla, working for the Assassins, who tried to destroy the Staff of Eden as a strike against the Templars. 17=The Bunker Location: Venice, San Marco; Facing up on top of Torre dell'Orologio, above the clock. Solution: Enter the following password: Then locate the Assassin symbol on the upper right corner of the upper right building. Information: One Cipher reads "His double was killed in his bunker." Near the bottom left of the picture, when highlighted, the letters RIP appear. The Templars were succesful in their World Government Takeover after WWII. The "C" in the letter is most likely Winston Churchill, implying he is a Templar; though WWII seems to have been a huge victory for the Templars, the Assassins did manage to kill Hitler and take PoE 4. 18=Synapses Location: Venice, San Marco; facing up in an open section near the top of Campanille di San Marco. Solution: Enter the password below, then move the cursor over the eight neurotransmitters to light them up. Information: The file shows that Those Who Came Before created humanity as a slave race, genetically programmed to be susceptible to control by the Pieces of Eden. It also indicates that no human, barring some genetic flukes (likely the Assassins) can resist the Pieces of Eden, as it physically affects the brain. 19=The Fourth Day Location: Venice, Castello; facing north on top of Scuola di San Marco. Solution: Pick the five pictures that focus on the sun (Nazca Textile. c. 200; Aztec Calendar Stone. 1427; The Eastern Gate. 1816; Book of the Dead. c. 1310 B.C.E.; Sistine Chapel Ceiling Fresco. 1512). Then find the small image of Earth, located way between the middle and the lower left side of the sun. Information: Explains that in order to stop this future event (i.e. the return of Those Who Came Before to enslave humanity), all Pieces of Eden must be found and used together. 20=The Origin of the Species Location: Venice, Castello; facing east on top of San Pietro di Castello. Solution: Solve the ring puzzle (innermost ring is "Ring 1," outermost ring is "Ring 5"): twist Ring Five 10 times to the right; twist Ring Four 2 times to the left; twist Ring Three 2 times to the right; twist Ring Two 5 times to the right; and then twist Ring One 3 times to the left. After that, select the eye at the top of the picture. When asked to enter a password, use any three glyphs; there is no real password. Then, move the cursor over the skeleton to realign the bones into a man. Information: The file indicates that the Templars planted false fossil evidence for human evolution, so as to hide the truth of humanity's history. 