Assassin's Creed

Thus, the Isu are the true mythological and scientific foundation of the Assassin's Creed universe. They explain the existence of the Pieces of Eden, influenced human evolution, left technologies scattered throughout the world, and continue to affect events thousands of years after their civilization disappeared.
Ultimately, the Isu represent one of the franchise's greatest ideas: an extremely powerful civilization disappeared, but its creations, knowledge, and conflicts continued to live on through humanity. The war between Assassins and Templars, therefore, did not begin simply as a political dispute between two human organizations. It is, in large part, a consequence of an Isu legacy that continues to shape the past, present, and future of humanity.

The Pieces of Eden are one of the main reasons for the war between Assassins and Templars. The Templars wish to use these technologies to establish order and control over humanity, while the Assassins seek to prevent these powers from being used to eliminate free will.
Some Isu managed to survive in different ways. Juno, for example, preserved her consciousness and later attempted to return to the world through technological systems. Aita, Juno's husband, also had his consciousness involved in experiments related to the survival of the Isu. Minerva and other members of the First Civilization left behind messages and mechanisms intended to guide future humans.
Other important characters have an even more direct connection to the Isu. Aletheia, for example, played a significant role in the story of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Basim Ibn Ishaq is extremely important because his existence is directly linked to the reincarnation of an Isu consciousness known as Loki. Similarly, Eivor has a connection to the Isu Odin, making his story much more complex than it initially seemed. The Isu are also related to the workings of the Animus. Modern technology developed by Abstergo is capable of accessing human genetic memories, and these memories carry information from thousands of years of evolution. The study of these memories has allowed modern humans to discover more and more about the Isu.

The Isu also had internal conflicts. Not everyone agreed on how to deal with humans or with the problems that threatened their civilization. Among the most important Isu characters are Juno, Minerva, and Jupiter, who belonged to a group responsible for trying to save their species from a huge catastrophe.
This catastrophe became known as the Great Catastrophe, caused primarily by enormous solar activity. The Isu realized that a solar storm could destroy their civilization and began developing different methods to survive. One of these was to build underground facilities and systems capable of protecting or preserving certain forms of life.
Another extremely important project was Project Aurora, related to attempts to predict and prevent future catastrophes. The Isu also developed methods for preserving consciousness and transferring it to artificial systems. These technologies would be important thousands of years later.
Despite all efforts, the Great Catastrophe devastated the Isu civilization. A large portion of the Isu perished, and their society collapsed. The few survivors gradually disappeared, while humanity managed to survive and subsequently became the dominant species on Earth. However, the Isu left behind vast amounts of technology scattered across the planet. These objects became known as Pieces of Eden. Among the most famous are the Apples of Eden, capable of controlling or influencing human beings; the Staffs of Eden; the Sword of Eden; the Trident of Poseidon; and other artifacts with extraordinary capabilities.

The Isu, also known as the First Civilization, Precursors, or Those Who Came Before, are an ancient, extremely advanced species that existed on Earth long before modern humanity. They are fundamental to the story of Assassin's Creed, as virtually all the franchise's great mysteries—the Pieces of Eden, the Animus, the origin of certain human abilities, and the war between Assassins and Templars—are directly or indirectly related to them.
The Isu possessed a civilization technologically far superior to that of modern humans. They developed advanced knowledge in genetics, artificial intelligence, energy, matter manipulation, and the transfer or preservation of consciousness. Despite being presented as almost divine beings, the Isu were not true gods: they were an ancient, mortal species that possessed extraordinary scientific knowledge.
Modern humans were created or modified by the Isu to serve as a kind of workforce. Among their characteristics were the ability to learn quickly, reproduction, and greater resistance to certain influences from the Pieces of Eden. However, humans initially did not possess the same autonomy they have today. Many were controlled through Isu technologies, especially artifacts known as Apples of Eden. This situation changed when some humans began to resist. One of the most important events was the rebellion of Adam and Eve, who stole an Apple of Eden and escaped the control of the Isu. The rebellion eventually escalated into a larger conflict between humans and their creators.

Inside the Grey, Layla encounters the consciousness of Basim Ibn Ishaq, a former member of the Hidden Ones and a key character in the history of Valhalla. Basim reveals that he possesses a much deeper connection to the Isu. Layla and Basim work together to stop the anomalies that threaten Earth. The plan works, but Basim manages to escape the Grey, while Layla decides to remain in that environment to help an entity known as The Reader perform calculations aimed at preventing future catastrophes.
After that, Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane find Basim in the modern world. Using the Staff of Hermes, he recovers his body and returns to modern society. Basim then shows interest in using the knowledge gained through Eivor's memories and seeks to contact William Miles and the Assassins.
Thus, Assassin's Creed's Modern Day evolves from a simple story about a man named Desmond reliving ancestral memories into a much larger plot involving Abstergo, Assassins, Templars, Animus, Isu, Pieces of Eden, planetary catastrophes, and genetic manipulation. The present acts as a bridge between all eras of the franchise and shows that historical events are not just stories of the past: their consequences continue to directly affect the current world. In essence, Modern Day represents the continuation of the age-old war between freedom and control. The Templars seek to use the technology and knowledge of the past to shape the future, while the Assassins try to prevent any organization from gaining absolute control over humanity. And, with Basim's arrival in the modern world, the story opens a new phase even more connected to the mysteries of the Isu and the future of humanity itself.

Modern history shifts once again in Assassin's Creed Origins, with the arrival of Layla Hassan, a brilliant researcher who previously worked for Abstergo. In 2017, Layla and her colleague Deanna Geary are sent to Egypt to retrieve Bayek of Shiva's sarcophagus. Layla disobeys orders and uses a portable Animus to access the memories of Bayek and Aya, discovering that they were the founders of the Hidden Ones, the predecessors of the Assassin Brotherhood.
Abstergo sends a team to eliminate Layla after her disobedience, but she survives. At that moment, William Miles, leader of the Brotherhood, appears and offers Layla the opportunity to join the Assassins. She accepts and begins to use her scientific knowledge against the organization that previously employed her.
Next, Layla uses the Animus to investigate the memories of Kassandra, a mercenary from Ancient Greece, and discovers information about Atlantis and the Isu. She also obtains the Staff of Hermes, an extremely powerful artifact that prolongs her life and becomes fundamental to later events. During Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the modern narrative begins to involve Eivor's memories and again the Isu. In the present, Earth begins to suffer anomalies related to changes in the planet's magnetic field. Layla follows clues that lead her to Eivor's body and uses the Animus to investigate his memories. She finally arrives at the Chamber of Yggdrasil, where she connects her consciousness to the Grey, a kind of digital environment created by the Isu.

After his escape, Desmond joins a Brotherhood cell led by William Miles. Alongside Lucy, Shaun Hastings, and Rebecca Crane, he once again uses the Animus to explore the memories of his ancestors. This time, he relives the life of Ezio Auditore, an Assassin from the Italian Renaissance. These memories allow the Assassins to uncover important information about the Templars, the Pieces of Eden, and an ancient civilization known as the Isu.
The major event of the modern era occurs in 2012. Through Ezio's memories and other discoveries, Desmond learns that Earth is threatened by a massive solar catastrophe. The Isu had left messages and systems prepared to try and prevent similar events. Desmond manages to access one of these systems and, by choosing to activate it, prevents global destruction. However, his decision also has significant consequences for the future. Ubisoft considers Assassin's Creed III the conclusion of Desmond's story, transforming the series' present into a broader universe independent of its original protagonist.
After Desmond's death, Abstergo continues to utilize the Animus. The company begins transforming genetic memories into entertainment products through Abstergo Entertainment. This allows ordinary people to experience commercial versions of the memories of former Assassins and other historical figures. At the same time, the company continues searching for secret information hidden within human DNA.

Assassin's Creed's Modern Day is the part of the narrative that shows the continuation of the war between Assassins and Templars in the contemporary world. Although much of the franchise takes place in historical periods, the modern story reveals that the conflict never ended. The Templars survived and began using business, technology, politics, and science to increase their influence, while the Assassins continued to act secretly to defend free will. The main modern Templar organization is Abstergo Industries, a gigantic corporation that serves as a front for the Order's activities.
The modern story began in a particularly significant way with Desmond Miles, a descendant of several historical Assassins. In 2012, Desmond is captured by Abstergo and taken to a facility where scientist Warren Vidic uses the Animus, a machine capable of accessing the genetic memories of his ancestors. Through it, Desmond relives the experiences of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, his ancestor who lived during the Third Crusade. Abstergo initially presents the process as scientific research, but its true objective is to locate information related to the Pieces of Eden.
Desmond discovers that Abstergo is not simply a technology company. It is controlled by modern-day Templars, who intend to use the knowledge found in ancient memories to locate extremely powerful artifacts and expand their control over humanity. However, Lucy Stillman, an Abstergo employee secretly linked to the Assassins, helps Desmond escape.

In the modern era, the Brotherhood continues to exist, but faces enormous difficulties. The Templars have transformed their influence into large corporations, primarily through Abstergo Industries, while the Assassins have remained hidden and used modern technology to combat their enemies. At one point, the organization suffered the Great Purge, an attack that nearly destroyed its global structure and forced the survivors to return to clandestinity.

Therefore, the Assassin Order is not simply an organization of secret warriors. Within the Assassin's Creed story, it represents an ancient tradition dedicated to the defense of free will, spanning different names, cultures, and eras. From the first rebels against the Isu, through Darius, Bayek, Aya, Altaïr, and Ezio, to the modern Assassins, the organization maintains a central idea: no individual or institution should possess absolute control over humanity. This philosophy is precisely what sustains the secret war against the Templars throughout the franchise's history.

During the Third Crusade, in 1191, the Brotherhood appears as the Assassin Order that players are familiar with. Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad is one of its most important members. After making mistakes that threatened the organization itself, Altaïr embarked on a journey that led him to uncover a conspiracy involving the Templars. His experiences also contributed to transforming and modernizing the Brotherhood itself.

Centuries later, during the Italian Renaissance, Ezio Auditore became another of the organization's greatest leaders. In Assassin's Creed II, Ezio joined the Brotherhood and helped expand it throughout Italy. In Brotherhood, he went on to lead a larger organization in Rome, recruiting new members and coordinating operations against the Templars linked to the Borgias.

The Assassins also developed their own technologies and methods. The Hidden Blade became their most famous symbol, constantly improved over the centuries. Altaïr contributed to its evolution, and later Leonardo da Vinci incorporated new functions into the models used by Ezio. Another characteristic element is the so-called Eagle Vision, a special ability used by several members of the Assassin tradition to identify people, threats, and important information. Its manifestation varies from character to character throughout the story.

The Hidden Ones were the direct predecessors of the Assassin Order. Bayek remained in Egypt and helped build the organization, while Aya, who went by the name Amunet, traveled to Rome and established an important branch. In this way, the organization began to spread beyond Egypt and started operating in different territories.
The philosophy of the Hidden Ones began to be structured through rules that would later become the famous Assassin's Creed. The organization advocated that members should work secretly, avoid endangering innocents, and prevent tyrannical individuals or governments from completely controlling the population. The idea was not simply to eliminate anyone considered an enemy, but to target those who represented a significant threat to freedom.
Over the centuries, the Hidden Ones developed an increasingly organized structure. They created secret offices, established informant networks, and began recruiting and training new members. By the 9th century, during the events of Assassin's Creed Mirage, the organization had become a significant clandestine force in the Middle East, maintaining numerous offices and preparing new members to operate secretly. It was also during this period that the organization began to resemble the classic form known to players. The fortress of Alamut became an important center of the Brotherhood, while other bases, such as Masyaf, later gained great importance. Members wore distinctive clothing, maintained secret identities, and worked among the population without revealing their true nature.

The Assassin Order, also known as the Assassin Brotherhood, is one of the central organizations in the Assassin's Creed universe. For thousands of years, its members have secretly worked to defend humanity's free will and combat organizations that attempted to control people. Their main historical enemy is the Templar Order, whose philosophy prioritizes order and control. Thus, the conflict between the two groups primarily represents the clash between freedom and control.
Although the organized Brotherhood emerged much later, its roots go back to extremely ancient times. Ubisoft itself presents Adam and Eve, human beings who rebelled against the Isu and stole an Apple of Eden, as examples of the first humans who fought against the control imposed by the First Civilization. Thousands of years later, different individuals and groups continued to resist rulers and organizations that sought to dominate humanity.
One of the first characters directly associated with the tradition of future Assassins is Darius, a Persian who lived in the 5th century BC. He conspired against King Xerxes I and used an early known version of the Hidden Blade. Darius was not part of the formal Brotherhood that would later emerge, but his actions, methods, and legacy helped establish elements that would be incorporated by the Assassins. The true foundation of the organization occurred in Egypt in 47 BC, when Bayek of Shiva and Aya of Alexandria created the Hidden Ones. Initially, the two were involved in a fight against the Order of the Ancients, a secret organization that sought to control political power and use Isu artifacts. After realizing that fighting individuals in isolation would not be enough, Bayek and Aya established a permanent brotherhood that could protect people from the shadows.

One of the most important moments occurred during the American Revolution, when Haytham Kenway led the colonial Templars. He attempted to use the conflict to establish a new power structure, while his own son, Ratonhnhaké:ton (Connor), became an Assassin and fought against his father's plans. This situation demonstrates that the conflict between the two organizations is not simply a struggle between "good and evil," but also a clash between two completely different philosophies.
In modern times, the Templars increasingly abandoned the traditional image of knights and began to operate through economic and corporate structures. The greatest expression of this transformation is Abstergo Industries, a gigantic conglomerate used by the Templars to exert global influence. Abstergo also developed technologies such as the Animus, allowing the study of genetic memories and the investigation of past events.
Abstergo Entertainment, in turn, uses this research to transform ancestral memories into entertainment products. In this way, the Templars manage to influence not only governments and companies, but also how the modern population views history. Therefore, the Templar Order represents one of the greatest forces in the Assassin's Creed universe. Its fundamental objective is not simply to destroy the Assassins, but to create a completely organized and controlled society, believing that this would bring peace and stability to humanity. The great conflict of the series arises precisely from this question: is it better to live in a free world, even if chaos exists, or in a perfectly organized world, but with limited freedom? It is this opposition between freedom and control that maintains the war between Assassins and Templars for thousands of years.

The main characteristic of Templar philosophy is the belief that excessive freedom breeds chaos. For them, human beings possess desires, ambitions, and tendencies that can provoke wars, violence, and instability. Therefore, they believe that an organized society needs leaders and institutions capable of controlling and guiding people. Haytham Kenway summarizes this view by arguing that the Templars seek to offer humanity "order, purpose, and direction."
However, not all Templars share exactly the same interpretation of this philosophy. Some believe that humanity should be organized through strong governments, institutions, and political influence. Others adopt extremely authoritarian methods and advocate for much more absolute control. This difference can be observed in characters such as Haytham Kenway, who has a relatively pragmatic view of the Order, and François-Thomas Germain, who represents a much more radical interpretation.
To achieve their goals, the Templars seek to influence governments, religions, armies, businesses, and other institutions. Throughout history, members of the Order have been linked to power structures such as empires, monarchies, religious organizations, and political groups. The fundamental strategy is to control events indirectly, placing influential people in strategic positions. Throughout history, the organization has also undergone several structural changes. There were Grand Masters, responsible for different regional rites, as well as other hierarchical positions. In modern times, leadership has become more centralized through the Inner Sanctum, a group formed by the most important Templars in the organization.

The Templar Order, also known as the Order of the Knights Templar, is one of the two main secret organizations in the Assassin's Creed universe. For thousands of years, the Templars waged a secret war against the Assassins, or their predecessors, primarily disputing how humanity should be governed. While the Assassins champion freedom and free will, the Templars believe that humanity needs order, discipline, control, and direction to achieve a stable society.
The origin of Templar ideology is much older than the creation of the Knights Templar themselves. In the series' universe, their predecessors include the Order of the Ancients, which arose in Ancient Egypt and sought knowledge related to the Isu, the ancient civilization that existed before modern humanity. The Ancients believed that the Isu possessed superior knowledge and abilities and sought to use their artifacts to increase their influence over humanity. Over the centuries, different organizations continued this tradition until the formal emergence of the Templars.
The Order of the Knights Templar was officially recognized in the 12th century. In the Assassin's Creed universe, however, this transformation did not signify the birth of the ideology, but a reorganization of a much older tradition. The Templars established a powerful presence in the Holy Land and quickly came into conflict with the Assassins, who also operated in that region. The rivalry between the two groups became one of the greatest constants in the franchise's history.

However, Abstergo's plans faced resistance from the Erudite Collective (Erudito), a group of hackers that sought to expose the manipulations carried out by the company and reveal to the public the information that had been censored.
Abstergo Entertainment also intended to expand its system through genetic sample collection sites. People could provide genetic material to the company, allowing it to access new ancestral memories. Researchers would analyze these memories and select those deemed interesting or profitable for future productions.
In 2018, the company produced the mobile game Assassin's Creed Rebellion, based on the memoirs of the Spanish Assassin Aguilar de Nerha. This is considered the last known product of Abstergo Entertainment within the chronology presented by available sources. In short, Abstergo Entertainment is much more than a simple video game company. It represents one of the most intelligent ways used by the Templars to exert influence over modern society: transforming true memories into entertainment and, at the same time, controlling the historical narrative that reaches the public. While Abstergo Industries operates on a much larger scale—involving technology, science, finance, and other sectors—Entertainment acts directly on popular culture, allowing the manipulation of history to be consumed by millions of people without them even realizing it.

This manipulation is evident in the way the company portrays the war between Assassins and Templars. Because Abstergo Entertainment is linked to the Templars, content related to the Assassin Order, the Templars, or the ancient First Civilization, the Isu, may be censored or modified. In certain productions, historical events may be altered to conceal the true existence of the two organizations or to present the Templars in a more favorable light.
One of the company's first major projects was Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, based on the memories of the Assassin Aveline de Grandpré. Later, the company began to explore memories recovered from the DNA of Desmond Miles, known as Sample 17. These memories allowed Abstergo to investigate historical periods associated with Desmond's ancestors. Among the main projects derived from this research were productions related to Edward Kenway, a pirate and ancestor of Desmond. The company intended to transform his memories into entertainment products, including a game called Pirates of Nightmares and a film called Devils of the Caribbean. Abstergo also investigated the memories of other historical figures, including the pirate Alonzo Batilla, through projects aimed at locating information and possible hidden treasures. Another important undertaking was the Identity Project, in which the company analyzed genetic memories associated with different Assassins throughout history. The goal was to find periods, characters, and events that could be transformed into new products.

Abstergo Entertainment is a subsidiary of the giant Abstergo Industries, a company that serves as the main modern front for the Knights Templar in the Assassin's Creed universe. Officially created in 2010, its most important operational headquarters are in Montreal, Canada. Although it appears to be simply an entertainment company specializing in video games, films, and other media, its true function is much more strategic: to use human genetic memories to influence how the population knows and interprets the past.
The company that would later become Abstergo Entertainment was already active as a software developer during the 1990s. After its official creation, it began working directly with information obtained through Animus technology, transforming ancestral memories into experiences for the public. Its most important technological product is the Animus Omega, a commercial version of the Animus adapted for the entertainment market. The idea was to allow consumers to experience pre-processed versions of genetic memories through games and other forms of media.
The great differentiator of Abstergo Entertainment is that its products are not simply invented stories. The company can use real genetic memories, analyze them, edit them, and transform them into marketable experiences. This gives the Templars an extremely powerful tool: while the public believes they are merely consuming entertainment, Abstergo can control which historical information will be presented and which will be hidden.