Assassin's Creed 10 is the tenth issue of the Titan comic book series Assassin's Creed. The comic, written by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery with art by Ivan Nunes and Neil Edwards, was released on 20 July 2016.
Publisher's summary[]
Cuzco is under attack from the invading Conquistadors, and Quila and Don Pardo Gonzales [sic] face a bitter fight to reach the Emperor-God before the city falls. For Charlotte, the clue she's been searching for is finally revealed, but it leads to a bigger surprise than she could ever have imagined![1]
Plot summary[]
1536: Ayar professes that he loved Quila, and he still does. He promptly defeats the men surrounding her, aiding her and Pardo's escape. They immediately set out to warn the Emperor of the plot, but Pardo elects to remain behind in solace before offering them his horse Felipe. Upon arriving at the capital, they manage to sneak inside using the horse as a distraction. Searching the fortress, Quila comes across the Emperor with Ayar's father. Knocking aside a cup she suspects is poisoned, a fight ensues where Pardo reappears to assist. The Emperor is saved, and Quila becomes official messenger for him. Pardo says that she would always be welcome to join the Brotherhood, but to use the password "Don Gonzalo Pardo" amongst them.
2016: Charlotte rises from the Animus, calling out the password. She immediately logs in to a PC, and uses it on the Erudito page. Sure enough, it works and a set of coordinates in Argentina are shown. She agrees to meet the Templars as requested, leaving Galina and Kody to escape. However, as the Templars arrive, an armed force of cartel open fire eliminating them all. Galina explains that she brokered a deal with the cartel, and they could not leave without Charlotte as she is one of the team.
Taking a flight to Argentina, the three find a gentleman holding a calling card for "Don Gonzalo Pardo" and are led to a secluded room with a woman at the end of a long table. As the Assassins finally come face to face with Erudito, Charlotte realizes that the woman is in fact her grandmother Florencia![2]
Supplementary material[]
The jewel of the Inca Empire—The rise and fall of the city of Cuzco
Just over 11,000 feet above sea level, high in the Peruvian Andes, lies the city of Cuzco. Now a bustling metropolis with half a million inhabitants, it has a rich history spanning centuries and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Nestled in a high mountain valley on the plain left behind by an ancient glacier, it was perfectly placed for access to all parts of the region, as well as being easy to defend.
The site upon which the city of Cuzco stands was first inhabited as early as 900 BCE, but the city did not really begin to take shape until the arrival of the Killke culture, who occupied that particular region of the Andes from 900 – 1200 CE. Archaeological dating suggests that a fortress was constructed in around 1100 CE. Further investigation uncovered the remains of a temple, roadway, and aqueduct system, suggesting that, though now overshadowed by the Inca city that grew up around it, this site has always been a center of fairly advanced communities.
When the Inca arrived in the area in the 13th century, Cuzco became the capital of what was to be one of the most advanced civilizations in the medieval world. The city itself was built to a fairly rigid plan, constructed around four highways leading to the four quadrants of the empire. It had two main sectors, the hurin and the hanan. The hurin were the two southern sectors of the empire, while the hanan were the two northern sectors. These were then subdivided once again to delineate the four provinces of the empire. A road from each of these sectors of Cuzco led to the corresponding quarter of the empire. This precise planning suggests there is little truth in the legend that the city was planned and built in the shape of the sacred puma!
As a model of urban planning, Cuzco remains exemplary. The city was organised into very clearly designated areas, with religious and government buildings accompanied by housing for the royal families and elite members of the society, forming something of a residential complex. This is separated from the more mundane areas, but those too were clearly delineated, with sectors for agricultural, artisanal, and industrial production forming the surrounding neighborhoods. The center of the city was dominated by two large plazas covered in sand imported from the coast—the Huacaypata (Terrace of Repose) and the Cusipata (Fortunate Terrace) and were the sites of religious and state ceremonies. Overlooking the plazas was the carved stone throne of the King on a raised platform, called the unsu. The plazas also had a giant stone basin covered in gold into which was poured chicha beer. Dominating the scene was the spire, the Sunturwasi, the tallest structure in Cuzco.
The most impressive building in the city was the Coricancha, the home of the temples (wasí) built in honor of Inti, the sun god; the moon goddess Mama Killa; the creator god Viracocha; the goddess of Venus; the thunder god Illapa; and finally, a temple dedicated to Cuichu, the god of rainbows. Each temple housed a statue and art and relics related to them. The Coricancha was also called the Golden Enclosure, and was considered by the Inca to be the centre of the world. Built from huge stone blocks, It demonstrated the fine masonry skills the Inca are known for, as the stones were neatly slotted together and held without mortar. The one storey temple buildings were thatched, and the doors were covered in sheets of gold. The Temple of the Sun, for the god Inti, was lined with over 700 sheets of beaten gold, while Mama Kilya's temple was lined with sheets of silver, to symbolize the tears of the moon.
Another structure of note in the city was the fortress Sacsahuaman, built by the Emperor Pachacuti. It was thought to have been initially constructed from mud and clay, before being transitioned into a stunning example of the famous Inca skill with stone. With four architects named as designers, it was built by 20,000 people. The Inca Empire had a system of mandatory public service called mit'a which enabled them to build their civic facilities, such as roads, temples, and this fortress. All able-bodied citizens were required to perform a certain number of days service throughout the year. As the wealth of the empire meant that a family could survive very comfortably if only farming for 65 days, the rest of the year would be devoted to mit'a in various forms.
At its height, the city of Cuzco had 40,000 inhabitants, with a further 200,000 living without the city walls. The rapid expanse of the Empire across the Andes meant that an estimated 10 million people were controlled, rigidly, from the city. This inevitably led to tension and rebellions, such as the war in Ecuador that occurred when the second city of the Empire was established in Quito. It was this tension that the Spanish Conquistador Pizarro exploited when he sacked the city and destroyed its splendor. The arrival of the Europeans on the continent also meant the arrival of previously unknown diseases, such as smallpox, which spread rapidly and is thought to have caused the deaths of 65-90% of the population. This confluence of events is ultimately what led to the fall of Cuzco, and, by extension, the end of the Inca Empire.
Cover gallery[]
