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The Liberalis Circulum (English: Circle of Liberals) was a subgroup of Hidden Ones active throughout the territories of the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE.[1] It was founded by Lugos, and its members operated in even the far reaches of the Empire such as modern-day Spain and Germany.
History[]
Early formation[]
The Liberalis Circulum was founded around the 2nd century CE by the Roman Hidden One Lugos, who later traveled to Egypt to recover two Pieces of Eden, the Ankh and the Scepter of Aset, which had been found in a pyramid by Roman plunderers. However, while carrying the two artifacts aboard his ship back to Rome across the Mediterranean Sea, a terrible storm opened an enormous waterway within the ship, causing it to sink. Before his demise, Lugos recorded a message with the Ankh, detailing the ongoing events and lamenting the failure of his mission.[2]
Hunt for the Ankh[]
By 259 CE, a group of Liberalis Circulum members, led by Lucius, operated out of the city of Lugdunum in Gaul. That year, Lucius' nephew, the Aleman general and Hidden One Accipiter, found the Ankh during his travels in Germany, and Lucius arranged for the artifact to be given to his son, Aquilus. Aquilus was also tasked to assassinate three targets who held high positions within the Roman Empire.[3] However, as Aquilus attempted to eliminate his final target, General Gracchus, his intent was discovered and he was stabbed in the chest by his own target.[4]
Fortunately for Aquilus, after he had passed out from his wound, Gracchus' camp was attacked by Accipiter's Alemanni forces who defeated the Romans and found the Hidden One's unconscious body. Upon being nursed back to health by Accipiter, Aquilus was given the Ankh by cousin and returned to Lugdunum, where he gave the artifact to his father for safekeeping. However, the Ankh was later stolen by Caïus Fulvus Vultur, a Roman Senator and secret member of the Order of the Ancients, after he had killed Lucius.[3]
Aquilus tracked Vultur to Rome, where he eliminated him and his fellow conspirators and retrieved the Ankh, taking it back to his home in Lugdunum. During this time, the Alemanni planned to ransack the city, but the Iberian Hidden One Cuervo convinced Accipiter to negotiate a deal with the Prefect of Lugdunum instead, in order to preserve the Liberalis Circulum's interests. The prefect agreed to pay Accipiter a significant tribute in exchange for sparing the city, but later ordered the arrest and execution of Aquilus and his wife Valeria.[2]
After learning about his cousin's plight, Accipiter attempted to save Aquilus and Valeria, but only managed to rescue the latter, as Aquilus was executed by Roman soldiers. With the Ankh now in Valeria's possession, Accipiter requested that she hide it in a safe place, claiming that he was too busy with his conquests to do so himself. Valeria ultimately hid the artifact within an altar erected to the memory of her late husband.[2]
Legacy[]
By the 21st century, the Liberalis Circulum was remembered as one of the early incarnations of the Assassin Brotherhood. In 2016, when the rogue Templar Sebastian Monroe explained to his team of teenagers a brief overview of the Assassin-Templar War, he claimed that the Assassins traced their roots back to the Liberalis Circulum.[1]
Members[]
Behind the scenes[]
Presented in the accusative case, the Latin name Liberalis Circulum is grammatically incorrect because the nominative form of Liberalis Circulus should have been used.
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed – The Ankh of Isis Trilogy (ambiguously canonical appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants (mentioned only)
References[]
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