From "Asassin" to "Berserker"—Interesting News Behind "Assassin's Creed"

"With the matter and leave, hiding merits and fame." - In the comic "Assassin's Creed·Dynasty" set against the Anshi Rebellion of the Tang Dynasty, the author quoted Li Bai's "The Knights' Walk" to praise the assassin Li E's ambition and fitness posture.

("Assassin's Creed Dynasty" based on the Anshi Rebellion of the Tang Dynasty)

No one is unfamiliar with the word "assassin": whether it is Jing Ke, who was brave enough to sacrifice himself in history and assassinate the King of Qin, or the profession with high mobility and explosive output in MOBA games; "assassin" has left us with the impression of our extraordinary skills, coldness and fatality.

However, in the Assassin's Creed universe based on real history, the word "assassin" does not simply represent mercenaries employed by others to assassinate targets. In this article, I would like to talk to you about the interesting stories behind the game "Assassin's Creed".

1. Assassin: I have nothing to do with "ass"

There is a widely circulated joke on the Internet: the toilets of medieval castles were placed on a cliff, so the assassins would climb up from the sewage outlet when the nobles were in the toilet and assassined... Because of this "one-time" assassin, the word "assassin" in English is composed of "ass" and "in". I wonder if you feel the chrysanthemums hurt slightly when you see this (manual funny)?

(Intent shown in the "hard core" toilet in the middle ages)

Although this statement sounds reasonable and well-founded, the word "assassin" in English really has nothing to do with "ass". Its origin is the Nicharis, also known as the Assassin Sect, which existed in Persia and Syria at the end of the 11th century.

The founder of the Assassin School was Hassan Sabah, a Persian. After learning the teachings of the inner school in Egypt, he bought (some say forcibly occupying) a mountain castle in 1090, and used it as a base to establish his own sect, promoting the religious theory that he was regarded as heresy. So, how can the preaching of religious doctrine be related to "assassination"? This means that we have to mention the tough methods of the founder of the Assassin School.

(Founder of Assassinpai: Hassan Sabah)

To achieve his missionary purpose, Hassan began to train his own assassin group. It is said that Hassan's training for these assassins often starts by selecting thirteen or four-year-old boys, and then brainwashing them to believe that they can go to heaven if they die for themselves. So the assassins under Hassan were extremely fierce. At that time, most of the separatist regimes in Islam were subject to individual dictatorship, so if their leaders were assassinated, the regime would suffer a devastating blow. The Assassin faction used this to expand its sphere of influence.

(Rashiddin Shinnan, one of the main sources of inspiration for "The First Generation of Assassin's Creed")

In addition, the inspiration for "The First Generation of Assassin's Creed" is largely based on the Assassin leader, Rashiddin Sinan, who assassinated several crusaders and senior Muslim officials. The Assassin members of this area also fought with the Crusaders at the Banya Fortress, the then anti-Frank Crusade front.

2. Knights Templar: "The scapegoat" in the Crusade

In the story system of Assassin's Creed, "The Templar" is an opposing group that competes with the "Brother of Assassins", and it appeared very early. In "The First Generation of Assassin's Creed" set against the crusades, the purpose of the crusades was to form a fictitious crusade to find the lost "golden apple". In real history, the appearance of the Knights Templar later than the crusades. After the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1098, Christians embarked on a vast pilgrimage journey, but this pilgrimage path was full of dangers and the safety of pilgrimage could not be guaranteed. So someone proposed to set up a monk's association to protect the pilgrims.

This proposal was approved by the then King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II, so they established a base in the Alxa Mosque. Because this temple is the site of the legendary temple of Solomon, the monk will be named "The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and Solomon's Temple."

(Aqsa Mosque, located in Jerusalem, the "holy land of the Three religions")

Later, the monks were recognized by the Pope and the Church, and were granted privileges, and their members also expanded from the initial nine to more than 20,000 at their peak.

The Knights Templar had many real estate in the early stages of its development. Later, they launched fundraising activities to control trade between the East and the West, and engaged in banks and commerce. So they accumulated a lot of wealth at that time. We all know that the Crusades consumed huge amounts of manpower, material resources and financial resources; and when the Crusades failed, the French kings at that time were already in debt. As the creditor of the king, the Knights Templars had a considerable amount of wealth, so they were naturally envious and hated by the king.

(A member of the Templars was stolen from 15th century French hand-painted illustration)

So, King Philip IV of France secretly ordered the elimination of the members of the Knights Templar, interrogated them, and stolen them. Because the Knights Templar logo was that two people rode a horse, and the red cross, the French king used this to convict them of their homosexuality. (Christian doctrine resists homosexual love) As a result, one of the most famous knights fell like this.

(Two people ride a horse, representing the "poverty" spirit of the Knights Templar, but it has become a false charge that the French king has claimed)

III. GalleComparing Pirates: "public and private" bandit group

In "Assassin's Creed: Black Flag", the protagonist Edward is a down-and-out British young man. Because he was unwilling to be a poor life, he voluntarily became a pirate. Although Edward in Assassin's Creed is a fictional character, the fact that he went to be a pirate because of his poverty was a microcosm of the social reality at that time.

The rise of pirates in the Caribbean started from Columbus' discovery of America, and Europeans flocked to the Americas to extract wealth. The Caribbean Sea was between Central and South America, and it was the only way for Europeans to travel between Europe and America at that time. There are many islands here, suitable for hiding wealth and building strongholds; therefore, ships carrying treasures and sailing towards Europe naturally became the "hot commodity" in the eyes of Caribbean pirates.

Where did the pirates of the Caribbean come from? A large part of them were poor peasants who traveled from Europe to the ocean to the Americas, hoping to make a fortune. However, after they arrived in America, most of the things they could do were just sailors on the ship, with difficult conditions and extremely low wages. Therefore, the pirates who were in the profit-making industry at that time naturally attracted the interest of many people.

(Female Pirate Head-Elizabeth I)

In addition, the reason why pirates were "publicly run" bandits was because many pirates at that time were certified and funded by European countries, and even had "pirate licenses" issued by the state. Among them, the more famous one is the Queen Elizabeth, who took the lead in "robbing": she openly recruited pirates, issued certificates to them, and mainly ransacked Spanish ships. Therefore, later generations gave her the nickname "female pirate leader".

(The well-known pirate skull flag, its official name is "Jolly Roger Flag". The "black flag" in "Assassin's Creed Black Flag" refers to it)

IV. Spartans: The gay "Maraka" berserker

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is set in the Peloponnese War. The two protagonists available for players to choose from are Spartan. The public's perception of the city-state of "Sparta" is largely derived from the movie "Sparta Three Hundred Warriors" and some other Spartan warriors: for example, "Penson" in "League of Legends".

(The protagonist of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Cassandra and Alixios)

Wearing a "T-shaped" helmet, a red cloak, brass grace, holding a spear and a round shield, and her naked body is covered with strong and strong muscles... Although the iconic outfits of the Spartan warriors are domineering, a large group of naked men gathered together to fight, which inevitably makes people feel shy and thoughtful while feeling a lot. Therefore, people often call Spartan warriors "brother warriors".

Sparta and Athens are the two most famous city-states in ancient Greece. The former is powerfulIt is famous for its strength and strict discipline, which is praised for its prosperous culture and democratic system. However, the two city-states that once formed an alliance to resist Persian invasion became tit-for-tat with the growth and oppression of Athenian power, which eventually triggered the Peloponnese War headed by these two city-states.

The Peloponnese War ended with Sparta's victory. Although Athens was in a period of high prosperity in political and cultural heritage at that time, it was still defeated by Sparta's "simple and crude" super combat power. Many people are still skeptical about whether the Spartans are really as powerful as the legend describes it.

(The world famous painting "Leonida at Hot Spring Pass"

However, in the Battle of Hot Spring Pass, Spartan King Leonida stepped forward and led one of the few warriors to resist the Persian army until he died in battle, but his integrity was an unquestionable heroic story. "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" starts with the Battle of Hot Springs, which is magnificent and heroic; it can be regarded as one of the most impressive game openings.

Conclusion:From the lonely smoke in the desert of Jerusalem, to the frozen miles of the Nordic secret realm; from the linear process driven by the plot, to the open world of free exploration. The "Assassin's Creed" series always finds a point of fit between historical stories and game plot development, telling the unique story of assassins fighting for freedom under different cultural backgrounds. Everything is empty, everything is acceptable. Let us look forward to the arrival of the main story of "Assassin's Creed" based on Chinese culture!