Ankh

"This cross is like a key which allowed a Traveler to pass through the Gates of Eternity..."

- Lucius talking about the Ankh to his son.

The Ankh was a Piece of Eden capable of healing the sick, and temporarily resurrecting the dead. It also acted as a recording device, storing the mannerisms of a living person and being able to return those mannerisms to a corpse.

Initially used by the Egyptian goddess Isis to resurrect her husband Osiris and to help Egyptian pharaohs, the Ankh was later transported to Rome after having been looted from a pyramid. There, the Ankh wound up around Lugdunum, in the hands of the Assassins, who held on to it despite Templar attempts to take it.

The Ankh was later rumored to be located in central Europe, but was not known to have been recovered.

Egypt
The Ankh was originally owned by Isis, who used its mystical powers to protect the kings of Egypt from harm. After Osiris passed away, Isis used the Ankh to resurrect him for one more night of intimacy; an act that led to the conception of Isis' son,.

Roman Empire
200 years later, the Ankh was recovered from a pyramid by Roman plunderers, who sold it to a merchant. The Ankh switched hands many times, before eventually ending up in Rome.

At one point, the Ankh came into the hands of the Alaman Assassin, Accipiter. He then passed it on to Aquilus, who brought it back home to his father Lucius. Lucius locked it in a box, but the very same day, he was killed by his associate Caïus Fulvus Vultur, a secret member of the Templar Order, who stole the Ankh for himself.

Aquilus later retook the Ankh from Vultur when he killed him in Rome. Later, when Aquilus was studying the Ankh with his wife Valeria, they were arrested by Roman soldiers, who took the Ankh from the couple. After an assault on the convoy by Accipiter, Valeria was able to reclaim the Ankh from one of the dead soldiers.

On Accipiter's request, she took the Ankh with her and hid it somewhere, due to Accipiter himself being in the middle of a war.

Germany
During the 14th century, the Brothers of the Cross, a Templar organization, traveled across Europe to offer protection from the. Lukas Zurburg, a German Assassin, suspected them to be after the Ankh, which was rumored to be located in central Europe at the time.

In 1350, the Brothers of the Cross and Lukas both disappeared.

Trivia

 * The Ankh, also known as the Key of Life or Crux Ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic representing "eternal life". It was often worn by Egyptian gods and pharaohs.
 * The Ankh was said to carry the Mark of the Messenger inscribed on it.