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He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
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I wanted to ask you something. Which is… what's your name? The title of this article is conjecture. Although the subject of this article is canon, no official name for it has been given. |
A set of three Pieces of Eden were located in Southeast Asia. Consisting of a crescent amulet, a lantern-shaped orb, and a lotus disk, the three artifacts varied in the abilities they granted to wielders, but when brought together, their power rivalled that of some of the strongest Pieces of Eden.
In 1725, all three artifacts became the target of various factions seeking to use their power for their own ends, including the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who instead wished to keep them out of the wrong hands. Aided by the members of the organization he founded, the Zhang Wei Union, Edward eventually succeeded in his goal, and the Pieces of Eden were hidden once more.
In 2023, the artifacts' existence was re-discovered by Abstergo Industries through the genetic memories of Edward relived by his descendant, Noa Kim. After escaping from Abstergo, Noa and his allies, including the former Templar Shimazu Sei, continued the Zhang Wei Union's mission of safeguarding the Pieces of Eden, and embarked on their own quest across Southeast Asia to retrieve the artifacts and keep them out of Abstergo's reach.
Owners[]
- Complete set
- Crescent amulet
- Ferdinand Magellan (April 1521)
- Mad monk (until 1725)
- Rajah (1725)
- Edward Kenway (1725)
- Shimazu Saito (1725)
- Fenghuang crew (1725)
- Sultanate of Sulu (1725)
- Xialun Qing (1725)
- Xue Yan (1725)
- Edward Kenway (1725)
- Xiao Han (1725)
- SS Ourang Medan crew (1940s)
- Noa Kim (2023)
- Yuki (2023)
- Noa Kim (2023)
- Shimazu Sei (2023)
- Sigma Team (2023)
- Abstergo Industries (2023)
- Lantern
- Monks from the Shwedagon Pagoda (until 1725)
- Edward Kenway (1725)
- Yun Pyeong-Gyu (1725)
- John Young (1725)
- East India Company (1725)
- Noa Kim (2023)
- Shimazu Sei (2023)
- Noa Kim (2023)
- Lotus disk
- Shimazu Saito (18th century)
- Sigma Team (2023)
- Abstergo Industries (2023)
Functionality[]
- "The first artifact has the power to control people's minds... and contains all knowledge of mankind's past, present and future. The second artifact is used to control the powers of the first. As for the third and final artifact that we'll find in the forgotten temple... it serves to spread the other two artifacts's immense power far and wide. Its reach could stretch across an entire continent... perhaps even to the ends of Earth."
- ―Edward Kenway explaining each Piece of Eden's powers and purpose, 1725.[src]-[m]
While created with the intent of being used together, each of the three Pieces of Eden possessed its own set of abilities that made them formidable in their own right.[2]
The three artifacts combined, transmitting a signal
The crescent amulet possessed powerful mind-control abilities, which affected humans and animals alike,[3] could create realistic and tangible illusions,[4] and was said to contain "all knowledge of mankind's past, present and future."[2] This was in part because the artifact could be used to access the Nexus and view possible future timelines.[5][6][7] The amulet could also temporarily reanimate dead bodies,[8] and grant enhanced physical strength and endurance.[9][10] All of these powers came with a great risk, however, as long-time possession of the amulet corrupted the wielder's mind.[11][12][10]
To counter this, the lantern could heal all forms of psychic damage, and granted greater control over the amulet's powers. When used together, the two Pieces of Eden allowed the wielder to view events from any moment in time: past, present, or possible futures.[13] The lantern also featured its own illusionary and time-based abilities; it could conjure various apparitions in an attempt to protect itself, and create a Synch Nexus between individuals existing at different points in time.[14]
The final artifact, the lotus disk, functioned as a transmission device. Its main purpose was to spread the other two Pieces of Eden' power across large distances.[2]
History[]
Early history[]
Created at some point during the Isu Era,[15] knowledge of the set, its location, and its powers were lost following the Great Catastrophe in 75,000 BCE, which wiped out the Isu civilization.[1]
Age of Exploration[]
- "Official annals of history contend that Magellan voyaged to the other side of the world... ostensibly to discover gold and spices. But in fact... that was not his true purpose. [...] He coveted an artifact instilled with a power that could only be described as godlike... A forbidden fruit, the stuff of sorcery capable of granting any wish. In short... the relics of Those Who Came Before."
- ―Hendrik, on Ferdinand Magellan's quest for the Pieces of Eden.[src]-[m]
Ferdinand Magellan finding the crescent amulet
By the early 16th century, two of the Pieces of Eden were located in the Philippines, with the crescent amulet hidden on the island of Cebu and another artifact in the possession of Lapu-Lapu, the chieftain of Mactan Island. In 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived on Cebu to search for the amulet and converted the island's population to Christianity in the process.[15]
After finding the Piece of Eden, Magellan was informed by Cebu's chieftain Rajah Humabon of the other two artifacts and attempted to seize the Piece of Eden in Lapu-Lapu's possession. However, Lapu-Lapu used the artifact's power to defeat the Spanish troops under Magellan's command and personally killed the explorer. With Magellan's death, knowledge of the set became lost once again for the next two centuries.[15]
Golden Age of Piracy[]
By the early 18th century, one of the Pieces of Eden was rumored to be located in the former Khmer capital of Angkor. Investigating the legend, the Dutch navigator Hendrik learned about Magellan's own search for the artifacts from a monk at the Basilica del Santo Niño in Cebu, but the monk refused to disclose the fate of Magellan's "treasure" following the explorer's death.[15]
Hendrik eventually found Angkor and its Piece of Eden, but could not retrieve the artifact and was later killed in Macau in 1725.[16] That year, various parties, including the Templar Order and the British Assassin Edward Kenway, sought to find Angkor and its "treasure", and used information from Hendrik's sea log to aid their search for the lost city.[15]
Struggle for the crescent amulet[]
After being arrested in Manila while traveling to Cebu to investigate a lead they had found, Edward and the members of his Zhang Wei Union discovered that one of the Pieces of Eden, the crescent amulet, was in the city. It was wielded by a monk, who used it to control the masses and instigate a riot against the Governor-General of the Philippines.[17] Edward and his ally Shimazu Saito confronted the monk, who used the amulet's powers against them,[18] including resurrecting his followers after they were killed,[8] and conjuring illusions of himself and an oni to attack the pair.[4]
Edward Kenway trying to take the amulet from the monk
While Saito was eventually defeated, Edward overcame the artifact's powers, forcing the monk to flee. He tried to slow down the Assassin, using the amulet to tamper with his Eagle Vision and command several civilians to attack him, but was soon cornered. As Edward attempted to take away the amulet, the monk used the artifact on him,[19] causing Edward to experience several visions of the past and the future.[5]
With Edward's body temporarily paralyzed, the monk tried to seize this opportunity to kill him, only to be struck by a spear thrown by Rajah, the leader of a Visayan resistance against the Spanish colonists. Finishing off the monk, Rajah claimed the amulet for himself, intending to use it to end the foreign occupation of his people's lands.[5]
During his brief occupation of Monkey Island, Rajah used the amulet to brainwash many of the natives and recruit them to his cause.[9] He also used the artifact to empower his warriors and sent them to eliminate any "foreign trespassers" that set foot on the island, including the members of the Zhang Wei Union.[20] However, Rajah's men were ultimately defeated by the Union members,[9] forcing the Visayan chief to leave the island and head to Cebu.[21]
In Cebu, Rajah retrieved one of Hendrik's sea logs, which had been hidden within Ferdinand Magellan's cross, and used the amulet to decipher its encrypted contents, learning the whereabouts of the other two Pieces of Eden.[22] During his fight against Edward at Fort San Pedro, Rajah used the amulet to summon illusions of countless Filipino warriors that overwhelmed the Assassin.[23] However, Edward used his Phantom Blade to separate Rajah from the artifact, defeating him.[24]
Edward using the amulet against the Chinese Assassins
Edward subsequently seized the amulet, and escaped Cebu after fending off an attack by the Chinese Assassins Xiao Han, Liu Qing, and Xue Yan, who sought the Piece of Eden for their own ends.[25] When the amulet started to corrupt Edward, Saito forcefully took it away from him and placed it in a chest, which was kept aboard the Fenghuang.[10]
In the Sultanate of Sulu, the Fenghuang's crew members were betrayed by their ally Jan van Aert, who had made a deal with Sultan Badarud-Din I, promising to deliver the amulet into his hands. While the crew was imprisoned, the chest containing the amulet was stored in a warehouse until the sultan's arrival.[26] The Zhang Wei Union members later escaped confinement and tried to recover the amulet, but were forced to fight Xiao Han, Liu Qing, and Xue Yan, who also arrived in Sulu.[27] During the chaos, the Union's doctor Xialun Qing retrieved the amulet, but she was killed by Xiao Han, who seized the artifact and escaped alongside his fellow Assassins.[7]
Xiao Han subsequently placed the amulet in a chest to avoid succumbing to its corruption,[28] and presented it to his ally, the businesswoman Lee Huiyin. Having deciphered Hendrik's sea log recovered by Xiao Han, the pair learned about the other Pieces of Eden's whereabouts, and decided to retrieve Angkor's artifact first.[2] Before their expedition to the lost city, Lee secured an alliance with the Nguyễn clan of Đại Việt, telling them about the Piece of Eden in her possession and promising that it could be used to conquer all of Indochina.[29]
Theft of the lantern[]
Despite the loss of the crescent amulet, Edward continued to suffer from the artifact's lingering effects. One of the visions he experienced revealed the location of the second Piece of Eden—the lantern—in the Shwedagon Pagoda, a sacred Buddhist site in Yangon, Burma.[28] He and his fellow Zhang Wei Union member subsequently traveled there to retrieve the artifact, with Edward and Saito using the Celestial Chariot, a prototype hot air balloon, to infiltrate the Shwedagon Pagoda.[30]
John Young stealing the lantern
As Edward touched the Piece of Eden, it briefly transported his mind centuries into the future, allowing the Assassin to speak with his descendant, Noa Kim. After Edward assured Noa that he would keep fighting for the future,[14] he took the artifact and escaped Yangon alongside Saito, aided by a group of Buddhist monks. The Assassin thanked them and promised to return the artifact to the pagoda once he was done using it.[31]
After regrouping with Yun Pyeong-Gyu and John Young, Edward gave the Piece of Eden to the former to study while they sailed back to the Fenghuang.[32] However, John, who was secretly a Templar double agent, stole the artifact and took Yun hostage before confronting Edward and Saito. After revealing that the Templars had promised him a way to resurrect Xialun Qing using the Piece's powers, John escaped with the artifact when the group's ship and the Fenghuang came under attack by the East India Company.[33]
While attempting to deliver the Piece of Eden to Grand Master Alan Jacob, John's ship was intercepted by the Fenghuang, allowing Saito and several crew members to board it. In the resulting fight, Saito confronted John and tried to recover the artifact,[34] but the latter tricked her with an empty bag. The Zhang Wei Union members were subsequently forced to retreat as Alan's fleet arrived and attacked them,[35] and the East India Company retained possession of the Piece of Eden.[36]
Safeguarded by the Zhang Wei Union[]
- "Well, I guess some things you really can take with you to the grave."
- ―A Templar, following Abstergo's retrieval of the lotus disk from Saito's grave, 2023.[src]-[m]
Eventually, the Zhang Wei Union succeeded in securing all three artifacts, whereupon they split them up to protect them. While the crescent amulet was hidden in the sea near the Strait of Malacca,[37] the lantern was returned to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon,[28] and the lotus disk was taken by Saito back to her home country of Japan, where she would ultimately be buried with the Piece of Eden after her death.[38]
Modern times[]
Recovery of the amulet[]
- "Based on the data extracted from the test subject, as summarized in your report... we've managed to locate the artifact discovered by Edward Kenway in the Philippines. I assume you're familiar with the SS Ourang Medan. The data shows a perfect match to a failed attempt to retrieve the artifact during Abstergo's early days."
- ―A Templar higher-up to Shimazu Sei, on the crescent amulet, 2023.[src]-[m]
In the 1940s, Abstergo Industries, the front company of the Templar Order, located the crescent amulet in the Strait of Malacca and dispatched the SS Ourang Medan to recover the Piece of Eden. However, the mission ended in failure when the ship and its entire crew mysteriously vanished.[37]
Noa Kim finding the amulet within the Ourang Medan's wreck
In 2023, the Templar Shimazu Sei re-discovered the amulet's location through the genetic memories of Edward Kenway relived by his descendant Noa Kim, who had been abducted by Abstergo. After Sei contacted her superiors to inform them of her discovery, they ordered Noa's termination, believing he had outlived his usefulness.[37] However, Sei disagreed and secretly made a deal with the Assassin Nathan Zhang to ensure Noa's safety and that the amulet was kept out of Abstergo's hands.[39]
Noa and Sei's bodyguard Yuki were subsequently sent to recover the amulet and used a diving bell to descend to the Ourang Medan's wreck. After becoming separated from Yuki during their search,[40] Noa found the amulet, but its powers and the Bleeding Effect that Noa was suffering from caused him to experience visions of Edward's memories. Overcoming the hallucinations, including an apparition of Bartholomew Roberts, Noa took the amulet and returned to Yuki.[41]
After using the amulet to repel a shark that attacked them, Noa began succumbing to its effects, leaving him in a weakened state, and was brought by Yuki to Sei, whereupon the amulet was placed in a briefcase.[3] This briefcase was taken by Yuki when she, Noa, and Sei later escaped from Abstergo with Nathan's help and traveled to a Zhawang Corporation safehouse in Singapore. There, while Noa recovered from the amulet's effects, Sei decided to track down another Piece of Eden that could cure him by reliving the memories of her ancestor Shimazu Saito.[12]
Retrieval of the lantern[]
After discovering the lantern's location in the Shwedagon Pagoda, Sei, Noa, Yuki, and Nathan traveled to Yangon to retrieve the Piece of Eden. While Nathan and his Doom Eagle thugs engaged in a shootout with the soldiers guarding the pagoda as a distraction,[42] Noa and Sei infiltrated the temple and came face-to-face with the lantern, which made them confront their deepest fears and desires to prove that they were "worthy" of claiming it.[43]
Noa taking the lantern
Sei was met by apparitions of Mitsuko Nakamura, Yuki, and a Shimazu clan member and, though she managed to overcome her feelings of worthlessness with encouragement from a vision of Saito, she eventually succumbed to the guilt she felt for the numerous deaths she had indirectly caused during her work at Abstergo.[43] Meanwhile, Noa was forced to fight an apparition of Edward before the Piece of Eden offered to give Noa the answer to his life's biggest question: the mystery of his roots. However, he refused and stated that he would start following his own path instead of looking into the past for answers. This response satisfied the lantern, which allowed Noa to claim it.[14]
Now holding both the amulet and the lantern, Noa began using the two artifacts to explore Edward's memories without the need of the Animus. He later decided to entrust the lantern to Sei while he kept the amulet, to reduce the risk of Abstergo seizing both Pieces of Eden in the event they were captured.[31]
Before long, while infiltrating Yangon's harbor to steal a seaplane so they could flee Myanmar, Noa and his allies were confronted by Abstergo's Sigma Team.[44] Yuki sacrificed herself to buy the others time to escape, but this proved insufficient,[45] forcing Sei to use the amulet to subdue the incoming Abstergo agents and allow Noa and Nathan to flee with the lantern.[32]
Race for the Forgotten Temple[]
- "We've secured two of the three artifacts. And by retracing Saito Shimazu's steps using the genetic information obtained from Sei Shimazu... we now know the location of the third artifact as well. [...] A full survey of the Forgotten Temple is currently under way, and our engineering team is working on a prototype to replace the missing second artifact."
- ―Extract from an audio file recovered from Abstergo's internal network, 2023.[src]-[m]
After securing the crescent amulet, Abstergo had their scientists experiment on the Piece of Eden to find a way to control and amplify its powers, so that they would no longer require the lantern. Meanwhile, the captive Sei was forced to relive Saito's memories in the Animus, leading the Templars to discover the lotus disk's location within Saito's grave. Sigma Team subsequently recovered the artifact from the tomb.[38]
Abstergo experimenting on the amulet
During this time, Abstergo aimed to find the "Forgotten Temple", an Isu vault in Angkor where the three Pieces of Eden were meant to be brought together so their full potential could be unlocked, allowing the Templars to establish their vision of a New World Order by enslaving humanity. However, an alliance between the Zhawang Corporation, the Assassins, and DedSec opposed Abstergo's plans and sent Noa to assassinate Sei and prevent the Templars from extracting more information from her.[38]
Noa chose to save the doctor instead, whereupon he used the lantern to try and cure her Bleeding Effect. However, Sei's mind was too damaged and she slipped into a coma-like state. While waiting for Sei to awaken, Noa used the Brahman 3.0, an Animus model developed by the Zhawang Corporation, to continue exploring Edward Kenway's memories and track down the Forgotten Temple before Abstergo.[46]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
References[]
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