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He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning recent or upcoming releases from the Assassin's Creed series. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
- "The sword is not of this earth. It binds men to it who might otherwise be disloyal."
- ―Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyonobu about Oda Nobunaga's Sword of Eden.[src]
The Swords of Eden were sword-like artifacts created by the First Civilization. These Pieces of Eden seemed to grant their bearers great power and leadership, and were most commonly used by influential humans in war and conquest.
Several conquerors and heroes in human history had been in possession of a Sword of Eden. Their users appeared to be capable of negating the effectiveness of illusions created by Apples of Eden,[1] translocation, a form of echolocation akin to Eagle Vision, and the ability to project energy blasts at their foes.[2]
History
Antiquity
The first known human user of a Sword of Eden was Perseus, who, in Greek mythology, was said to have slain the Gorgon Medusa using the weapon.[3]
During the 5th century, a Sword came into the possession of Attila the Hun, after a shepherd unearthed it and gave it to him. With the Sword, Attila ravaged Eurasia during his reign, and over time the weapon became known as the Sword of Mars or the Sword of Attila.[3]
In the late 5th to early 6th century, Arthur pulled a Sword of Eden out of a stone, naming it "Excalibur", and used it to become King of Britain.[3]
During the late 6th century, a being claiming to be the Norse god Odin, disguised as a beggar, plunged a Sword into a tree called Barnstokkr, stating that whomever was able to pull it free would receive it as a gift. Only the warrior Sigmund proved able to do so, and subsequently claimed the Sword as his own.[3]
Middle Ages
Genghis Khan with a Sword of Eden
During the early 13th century, the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan led his Empire through mass expansions into the West. The Mentor of the Levantine Assassins, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, suspected Genghis Khan of wielding a Piece of Eden, presumably a Sword.[3] Altaïr's son, Darim, and the Mongolian Assassin Qulan Gal killed Genghis Khan in 1227.[4] The artifact remained in Mongol hands however, and Hülegü Khan used it in his conquests of the Levant during the 1250s, notably during his attacks on the Assassin strongholds in Alamut and Masyaf.[1]
By the early 14th century a Sword was in possession of the Knights Templar. After the Templars were branded as heretics in 1307 by Pope Clement V, and the Parisian Temple was attacked by King Philip the Fair's forces, Grand Master Jacques de Molay entrusted his advisor with hiding the Sword and the Codex Pater Intellectus, a book written by de Molay.[2] The Sword was briefly in possession of the Master Assassin Thomas de Carneillon, who attempted to steal it along with the book during the attack on the Temple.
De Molay's advisor placing the Sword on a statue
However, the Assassin was defeated in combat with the de Molay's advisor, who used the Sword's power to project an energy blast at de Carneillon, before hiding both artifacts in a vault beneath the Temple, where it remained entombed for four centuries.[2]
In the early 15th century, a French peasant girl, Jeanne d'Arc, discovered a Sword and took ownership of it during the Hundred Years' War, entering into the war on the side of the French forces. Becoming into a heroine of her people, Jeanne led the French to many victories over the English and their allies. However, she was eventually captured by Burgundian soldiers and handed over to the English. The Templars then burned her at the stake, in order to take possession of her Sword.[3]
Feudal Japan
In the later half of the 16th century, a Sword of Eden wound up in the hands of the Japanese warlord Takeda Shingen. With the power of the artifact at his disposal, Shingen began making his way to the capital of Kyoto to conquer Japan. Several months after routing Tokugawa Ieyasu's army at the Battle of Mikatagahara, Shingen was killed in a raid led by Ieyasu's vassals, the Assassin Hattori Hanzō and Honda Tadakatsu. The artifact was eventually obtained by Ieyasu's ally, Oda Nobunaga, who in turn used it to conquer the lands of other warlords. When Nobunaga's vassal Akechi Mitsuhide betrayed Nobunaga and attacked him in Kyoto, Nobunaga was killed by the Assassin Yamauchi Taka and the artifact was transported to China by Liu Yan.[1]
French Revolution
In 1794, during the French Revolution, the Sword hidden in the Parisian Temple was acquired by François-Thomas Germain, the Grand Master of the extremist faction of the Templar Order. Germain used the Sword during his fight with Arno Dorian and Élise de la Serre. The Sword was damaged in the confrontation, shattering and emitting a shockwave which killed Élise and mortally wounded Germain himself. Following the event, the Sword ended up in Arno's possession, though while it no longer possessed its former powers on account of the damage caused in Élise's final charge, it remained as one of the most powerful weapons in Arno's arsenal.[2]
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