Shwedagon Pagoda

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

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Monk: "The Great Pagoda of Shwedagon. The third pagoda to be erected in the history of all cosmos... and the first in our human realm."

Saito: "A wonder to behold, indeed. I see how it came by its renown as the Golden Temple."

—A Buddhist monk and Shimazu Saito discussing the pagoda, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

The Shwedagon Pagoda, also known as the Golden Temple, is a sacred Buddhist temple in Yangon, Myanmar. Standing at over 112 m (367 ft) tall, it is Myanmar's second-tallest stupa after the Shwemawdaw Pagoda, and the country's fifth-tallest structure.^[1]

Secretly, the pagoda was also the location of a lantern-shaped Isu artifact, one of the three Southeast Asian Pieces of Eden, which had been kept there for centuries.^[2]

History[]

Early history[]

According to legend, the Shwedagon Pagoda was built more than 2,500 years ago—while the Buddha was still alive—which would make it the oldest Buddhist stupa in the world. However, the first mention of the pagoda in Myanmar's royal chronicles dates only to 1362/63 CE.^[1]

In 1608, the pagoda was plundered by the Portuguese explorer Filipe de Brito e Nicote,^[3] who stole its 300-ton Great Bell of Dhammazedi. However, while attempting to escape with the bell on a raft across the Bago River, the load's weight broke the raft and the bell sank to the bottom of the river, where it became lost to time.^[1] Following this incident, security around the Shwedagon Pagoda greatly increased, with a number of guards patrolling the area day and night.^[4]

Golden Age of Piracy[]

ACFT - Edward and Saito parachuting — Edward and Saito parachuting onto the pagoda

In 1725, the British Assassin Edward Kenway saw in one of his visions induced by the crescent amulet that another Piece of Eden was housed within the Shwedagon Pagoda.^[2] Edward and his fellow Zhang Wei Union members subsequently traveled to Yangon and met a group of Buddhist monks who knew of the artifact hidden inside the pagoda. Believing that it was safer to give the Piece of Eden to the Union members than risk having it fall into unworthy hands, the monks helped Edward and his companions infiltrate Yangon in disguise.^[4]

As the pagoda was closed to visitors at the time, the Union members devised a plan to infiltrate it without alerting the guards. Using the Celestial Chariot, a hot air balloon built by Yun Pyeong-Gyu, Edward and Shimazu Saito flew over Yangon at night and parachuted onto the pagoda.^[4] They then entered the temple through a hole in the roof and found the Piece of Eden at its center.^[5]

After Edward and Saito left the pagoda through a secret tunnel, the guards were alerted to the theft of the Piece of Eden and began searching for the culprits. Fortunately, Edward and Saito were able to escape unnoticed with the help of the Buddhist monks, who handed them disguises to allow the pair to blend in with them. Edward then thanked the monks for their assistance and promised to return the Piece of Eden to the Shwedagon Pagoda once he was done using it.^[6]

Modern times[]

In 2023, while hiding out in Singapore, Doctor Shimazu Sei, her bodyguard Yuki, and the Assassin Nathan Zhang learned about the Piece of Eden housed within the Shwedagon Pagoda through the genetic memories of Edward Kenway relived by his descendant Noa Kim.^[2] Hoping to use the artifact to cure Noa of the crescent amulet's corruption, the group traveled to Yangon, but they were unable to enter the pagoda as the temple was currently undergoing renovations; the military was replacing the golden panels on the pagoda's outer walls, to prevent them from being stolen.^[5]

ACFT - Sigma Team shootout — Nathan and his men fighting Sigma Team

At night, while Nathan and his men attacked the soldiers as a distraction, Sei and Noa—who believed himself to be Edward due to the Bleeding Effect—infiltrated one of the nearby pagodas. There, they found a secret underground tunnel leading to the central temple and used it to reach their destination.^[5] However, as they approached the Piece of Eden, the artifact created illusions based on Sei and Noa's deepest fears and desires, intended to test their wills and determine whether they were worthy of claiming the Piece.^[7]

While Sei eventually succumbed to the guilt she felt for the numerous deaths she had caused during her work for Abstergo Industries over the years,^[7] Noa overcame his desire to learn the truth about his father and his family's roots. After he declared that he would start following his own path instead of looking into the past for answers, the Piece of Eden created a Synch Nexus between Noa and Edward, allowing the two to briefly speak across time.^[8] Noa then claimed the artifact and escaped the pagoda with Sei.^[9]

Meanwhile, Abstergo's Sigma Team also arrived at the temple, seeking to capture Noa and Sei and acquire the Piece of Eden in their possession.^[8] Yuki, Nathan, and his men engaged in a shootout with the Sigma Team members, which caused considerable damage to the Shwedagon Pagoda and the surrounding area. Although several Sigma Team agents managed to enter the temple, they arrived too late, as Noa and Sei had already fled with the Piece of Eden through a hidden passage.^[9]

After being informed by Sei of her and Noa's location, Yuki drove to pick them up alongside Nathan. The group then left Yangon and went into hiding at a safehouse outside the city, taking advantage of the chaos left by Sigma Team in their wake to slip away unnoticed.^[9]