Sword of Altaïr

The Sword of Altaïr was the personal sword of significant power wielded by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad through much of his life as an Assassin.

During the Renaissance in Italy and Constantinople, the Assassin, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, also made use of the weapon. Accompanying this, a pair of these swords could be wielded by the pirate Edward Kenway during the third Golden Age of Piracy.

Description
The sword was forged from a smooth, silver metal, with its cross guard shaped like an eagle's wings, and the pommel in the motif of an eagle's head. Along with this, the sword's hilt was wrapped in strong, dark brown leather for gripping, and was also stored in a leather scabbard, although this was only used by Masyaf guards and Altaïr himself.

High Middle Ages
Altaïr made good use of his sword throughout most of his early life as an Assassin. He wielded it with great skill and ease during missions such as the quest for the Chalice.

By 1191, Altaïr had reached the rank of Master Assassin and he instead made use of a Syrian sword with a curved blade and a golden hilt. However, this sword was taken from him, along with his armor, other weapons and status after Al Mualim demoted him to the rank of novice for breaking all three tenets of the Creed.

During his progression back into the higher ranks, Altaïr started with a basic sword similar to his personal one, though it lacked a cross guard. After he assassinated the first four of his nine assigned targets, another sword, this time with the cross guard shaped like an eagle's wings, was granted to him until finally, upon the seventh target, his personal sword was returned to him. The leather grip instead was replaced by a silver and light grey color with a tribal design. Altaïr used his sword once more in his battles until he finally rose again to the rank of Master Assassin, and the Syrian sword was awarded to him again.

Renaissance
During the Renaissance, Ezio Auditore was able to purchase Altaïr's sword from the blacksmith in Monteriggioni for 45,000 florins. He made good use of the weapon in his battles, especially during his fight with Rodrigo Borgia in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Ezio kept the sword with him and used it to fight off Borgia guards as he escaped the Vatican with his uncle Mario. After they returned to Monteriggioni, the Borgia attacked the town, and the sword was lost in the resulting turmoil, along with Altaïr's armor and Ezio's weapons that were fashioned from the Codex designs by Leonardo da Vinci.

Some time after establishing the Assassins Guild in Rome, Ezio was able to recover the sword once again after completing all five Guild challenges, although it is possible his recruits retrieved it for him. Equipped with the sword, Ezio wielded it against Cesare Borgia and his forces during the siege of Viana.

Ezio also took the blade with him on his expedition to Masyaf, and although the Byzantine Templars who captured him confiscated it, he escaped captivity, killed them, and eventually acquired the weapon yet again some time after he had allied himself with the Ottoman Assassins in Constantinople. The sword became available once he had completed the third series of the Guild challenges, again, possibly due to him having his recruits retrieve it.

Weapon statistics
* In the Animus 1.28, there were no Damage, Speed or Deflect statistics. Weapon strength was based on ranks, with the Sword of Altaïr being the third out of four.


 * 18th century Caribbean

Trivia

 * Appearance
 * The sword possessed two appearances in Assassin's Creed, which changed as Altaïr rose through the ranks of the Brotherhood. The lower-ranked sword possessed a leather wrapping on the hilt, while the higher-ranked version was completely silver.
 * The sword's appearance in Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, was that of the higher-ranked blade, while in Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, it was that of the lower-ranked one.
 * This sword was shorter in comparison to the other longswords Ezio used, with the entire sword being only a little longer than the length of his arm. Despite this handicap, Altaïr's sword was still the strongest weapon available in Italy.


 * Usage
 * In Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, many if not all of the enemy guards wielded a blade similar to the Sword of Altaïr.
 * During the memory "Follow The Money" in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, a guard drew and raised a sword identical to Altaïr's in order to threaten Egidio Troche.
 * Later in the same memory, a Papal Guard was also seen with a similar sword.
 * Assassin apprentices in Rome gained a sword that resembled the Sword of Altaïr upon reaching the rank of Assassin.


 * Other
 * Although Altaïr's sword was considered the most effective sword in Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the Syrian Sabre - which was among the least effective weapons in Assassin's Creed II - was the most powerful sword in Assassin's Creed.
 * The Sword of Altaïr was found in the "The Bull" stage of Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines. It was seen as an ornament in the Kantara Castle's Great Hall.
 * After buying the Sword of Altaïr in Assassin's Creed II, it could occasionally be randomly replaced with the Common Sword. In order to reacquire it, the easiest way was to simply go to the Villa's weapon rack and re-equip it.
 * It is unknown why the sword was available from the Monteriggioni blacksmith, since the sword would be assumed to have been available together with his armor once it was unlocked.
 * During the Cristina memories in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, for all the ones in which Ezio had a weapon, it displayed him with the Sword of Altaïr. This contradicted the Assassin's Creed II timeline, where the sword was only available for purchase from Sequence 9 onwards.
 * Upon completion of the third set of the Assassins Guild challenges in Assassin's Creed: Revelations and after the Sword of Altaïr had been acquired, it also appeared during the Memory Seal memories, and replaced the Syrian Sabre.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, the Sword of Altaïr was no longer the most powerful sword, being replaced in that function by Yusuf Tazim's kijil, which was unlocked by completing the Master Assassin mission The Deacon, Part 1. With that in mind, Altaïr's sword was displayed as having 5 Damage, 3 Speed, and 4 Deflect.
 * The sword of Altaïr was an artifact recovered in Assassin's Creed Revelations: Path to Revelations and bore the description, "Holding his weapon in my hands is enough to make me relive adventures of this legendary grand master."
 * A pair of swords resembling Altaïr's personal weapon were made available to purchasers of the Season Pass for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag as part of the Crusader & Florentine Pack. They were listed under the title "Altaïr's Swords".