Assassins Creed (Creed of the Brotherhood)

Descriptions of key items

As you read the story if there's any items you don't know or are intrigued to know more about just comment it and I will put them in here.
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Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex
"Altaïr's Codex" for short

"A guide to the inner workings of our order – its origin, purpose and techniques. Our creed, if you will."
―Mario Auditore describing the Codex.

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex was a personal journal written by the Master Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, following the death of his Mentor, Al Mualim. It documents his explorations into the Apple of Eden he possessed, and it offers an autobiographical view of his life and various assassination-related articles.

History

Middle Ages
Shortly after the death of Al Mualim, Altaïr began writing the Codex. Throughout most of his life Altaïr wrote about important aspects of his life in his journal, including the ongoing war between the Assassins and Templars, his philosophy on life itself, his personal opinions regarding God and religions in general, and more importantly information obtained from the Apple of Eden.

Altaïr was able to improve the Assassin Order's methods of assassination, including the use of poison, as well as invent several weapons, one of them being the Hidden Gun. Eventually, near age 92, Altaïr completed the Codex.

During the Mongol siege of Masyaf in 1257, Altaïr bequeathed the Codex and five seals to Niccolò Polo for safe keeping. Two days later however, a Mongol raiding party intercepted Niccolò and his brother as they were fleeing, and took possession of the Codex.
Years later, the Codex was passed back into the possession of the Polo's when Niccolò's son, Marco, retrieved it from the court of Kublai Khan. Marco in turn handed it to the Assassin Dante Alighieri, who passed it into the safe-keeping of his apprentice, Domenico Auditore. The Codex was eventually and deliberately broken apart and scattered whilst aboard a ship in Otranto harbor, so as to prevent its capture by drunken pirates hired by the Templars.

Renaissance

The Codex being gradually reassembled
After the pages of the Codex were scattered, the Assassins attempted to bring them together, but by 1478 were only successful in locating six pages. In this year, however, Ezio Auditore took up his father's duty as an Assassin and, by 1499, had succeeded in locating and bringing together all thirty pages scattered across Italy. Each page was encrypted, and the only persons capable of deciphering it were Ezio's late father, Giovanni Auditore, and Ezio's friend, the artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci.
Hidden in the Codex was a prediction of the arrival of a "prophet" who would bring together two Pieces of Eden to open the Vault, as well as a map of the world marked with the locations of various Vaults. After the Borgia siege on Monteriggioni, the Codex was once more separated.

Modern era

By the early 21st century, the Codex pages had once again been separated; many pages resided in the hands of private collectors, likely Templars, whilst some were on display in public museums, such as one on display in a library in Florence. Alan Rikkin had a copy of Altaïr's codex in his office in the Abstergo Foundation Rehabilitation Center.

Apples of Eden

This Apple of Eden will be understood. It must be... Is it a weapon? Is it a catalogue? Is it somehow both?"
―Altaïr's Codex, page 1.

The Apples of Eden were sphere-shaped pieces of technology created by Isu. Having long outlived their creators, the Apples are featured prominently, although cryptically, throughout recorded history as the cause of several 'divine' and 'superhuman' events; these included the Trojan War, the parting of the Red Sea, and Adam and Eve being cast out of Eden.
During ancient times, the Order of the Ancients and the Hidden Ones referred to the Apple of Eden as the Orb.