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OOC: OPEN SIGNUPS - Assassin's Creed: Shambhala OOC
Sign-Ups: CHARACTER INDEX - Assassin's Creed: Shambhala Sign-Ups
Long ago, in the time of gods and men, there existed powerful artifacts known as the Pieces of Eden. Some of these artifacts could control human behavior while others could perform actions that bordered on magic. These artifacts were crafted by a race of ancient beings known as the Isu, or the Precursors.
Either way, these Pieces of Eden began to influence men since before recorded history, and with these Pieces power's exposed two groups began to form.
The first were the Templars, a group of people who believed that the Pieces of Eden were the key to human perfection. A perfect world, cleaned of all sin as free will would be completely eliminated from humanity, allowing for the Templars to mold the world in their image as all would obey they the dogma they set forth for them. To obtain the Pieces, the Templars formed a military-like organization, eventually assimilating themselves into the Roman Catholic Church for a long period of time. In the end, the Templars became a massively wealthy, multinational corporation known as Abstero Industries.
However, were it not for their rivals, the Templars would have succeeded long ago.
Born from outcasts, the Assassins rose in various forms before truly organizing into their modern strata in the 12th Century. They are driven by a series of three tenets, called the "Assassin's Creed." The tenets state that a member of the Assassins shall "stay their blade from the flesh of an innocent," "hide in plain sight, be one with the crowd," and "never compromise the Brotherhood." The Assassins sought to protect the free will of humanity, their mission continually to prevent the Templars from using the Pieces of Eden to enact their plans. As such, the Assassins became self-appointed protectors of the Pieces of Eden, doing their best to ensure that the Templars would never rise to realize their plans.
But the Templars are still adamant in their pursuit, refusing to give up even in the modern day as many locations of the Pieces have been lost to the sands of time. However, there lies one solution.
Blood holds the key.
Thus one encounters an age-old question- how does every living being on Earth share their species' instincts, a mysterious collection of primal knowledge and urges without ever have undergone such experiences themselves. So why does instinct exist? How can people know what they've never experienced?
The solution is in a person's blood, specifically their DNA. Instinct is derived from a principle known as genetic memory, where an ancestor passes on their memories to their descendants, with the latent access to these preserved memories constituting an individual's instinct.
It was thus that the Templars began to invest in researching genetic memory, eventually creating a device known as the Animus (plural Animi) that would permit any user to access the memories of their ancestors. By tracking down the living descendents of various Assassins, the Templars utilized the Animus to locate various artifacts and learn about the inner workings of their enemies. As such, the Templars began to track down other Assassins through genealogies, as the only ways to enter the Assassins Order is to be born into it or to be inducted into it be another Assassin. Many of those who were born into the Order resisted captured by the Templars, although this led to their own demise and the removal of their blood from their corpses. While the Templars could have others experience the memories of ancestors through the Animus Omega, such a process was highly unreliable unless an extremely versatile mind took to the chair. The Templars found it imperative to take any and all measures to ensure their success.
But, as the Templars adapted, so did the Assassins.
The followers of the Creed followed their tenet of hiding in plain sight, disguising various bunkers and meeting-places in commonly accessible buildings. Assassins themselves also began to take on an alias to protect the truth of their true name and family, to keep the innocent safe. Assassins took what they needed and mastered their skills not only with the blade and body, but with technology, learning to engineer massive cyber attacks and hack into even the most secure servers to gain information that their Order needed. Most importantly, they took this tenet and infiltrated Abstergo Industries, with agents ready to kill those who suspected them and learn of the Templars' plans, as well as "lose" an Animus or two here-and-there.
The Templars, however, responded in kind. Using their agents, the Templar Order sought to kill the Master Assassins and the Mentors- those who lead the Order and trained others, presented with the twin hidden blades as a symbol of their ability and strength. Without the experience and wisdom of these leaders, the Templars believed the remaining Assassins would falter under the weight of grief and their lack of understanding in their Creed. As such, some of the few remaining Mentors went into hiding in a hidden bunker only a few select Masters and apprentices knew of. The only viable solution was to permit younger and younger Assassins rise to the rank of Master and induct others into the Brotherhood.
One such Master is a twenty-five year old man named Shaun Connolly, codenamed "The Archivist."
Shaun was a seemingly normal young man. A student of biology researching the theory of genetic theory with his professors in his spare time, Shaun received the opportunity to have a laboratory internship at Abstergo Industries when he was twenty years old. Seizing the opportunity, Shaun was able to work on Animi although he was never subjected to them, even being given access to an Animus Omega model for his own private use. Utilizing it, he witnessed various memories until he came upon one of his ancestors, an Englishman by the name of Edward Longshanks, an Assassin during the War of the Roses.
From there, Shaun began to take time to research into the Creed while he wasn't working at his internship, the Brotherhood eventually learning of his actions and sending one of their Assassins to abduct him where Shaun was welcomed with (somewhat forcibly) open arms.
The Master Assassin Isaiah Luther, also known as "The Philosopher," took Shaun under his tutelage along with his two other apprentices. From there Shaun dedicated himself to the study of the Assassin's history and the age-old conflict with the Templars. Immersing himself in the ancient knowledge of the Order that was available to him, Isaiah granted Shaun the codename of "The Archivist," name that proved true as Shaun had much more difficulty adapting to the physical aspect of becoming an Assassin as opposed to the academic and philosophical aspect, having been not trained from a young age like many born into the Brotherhood. In time during his apprenticeship, Shaun became an agent for the remainder of his internship in Abstergo as well as a part-time job in their laboratory the following year, bringing various Animi and Templar data to the Brotherhood until he was discovered.
That was the first time Shaun had to take someone's life, using a guard's shock baton. Upon returning to his Master with the news, Shaun received his first hidden blade, advancing in rank amongst the apprentices.
Shaun was took to the Creed and was able to hide in plain sight long enough to finish his Bachelor's Degree at the age of 22, taking various additional classes in order to graduate in the fall. That winter he was fully inducted into the order, taking a Leap of Faith. From that point Shaun was sent to work with his Master and continue in his training in the Assassin's bureau in Springfield, Illinois, near a secret Templar training facility.
After a year of watching and investigation, the bureau was tasked with the infiltration and destruction of the facility. The Philosopher was in charge of the mission while the Archivist was appointed to be his second while they were accompanied by five other Assassins. The facility in question was a five-story building on a small campus disguised as an old automobile factory. Entering through a skylight in the eastern end of the building, the first two Assassins, followed by the Philosopher, took out the guards and began to secure the area while two more Assassins went to place various explosive charges throughout the building, leaving the Archivist and one other Assassin to locate and access the computer mainframe.
Heading north, the two Assassins took out a pair of guards protecting the master computer, the Archivist soon pulling out a USB drive as he released a massive cyber virus into the Abstergo network after downloading all of the available data and using a low-grade EMP grenade to disable the Templar servers located in the adjacent server room.
Exiting with the other Assassin, the Archivist kept to the shadows as he saw his Master and the other Assassins being surrounded outside by the Templars who had managed to find them before the explosive charges could be activated. Sending the other Assassin back to the bureau with the precious cargo. Making his way back to the rooftop where the Assassins had left some of their supplies, the Archivist opened a briefcase that contained a modular rifle system. Assembling into sniper configuration and attaching a suppressant, the Assassin trusted in his training as he emptied the only two clips of sniper rounds they had, taking down enough of the Templars to get his fellow Assassins enough room to start fighting. Pulling out the pieces of his longsword, he assembled his blade and made his way up the fray, joining in as two of his brethren fell, leaving himself, two apprentices, and his old Master. The Philosopher spoke up in a grizzled bass, fighting with his collapsible quarterstaff.
"Archivist! Where's the objective?!"
The Archivist would respond in a low baritone, utilizing his hidden blade as well as his longsword.
"It's safe, on the way to the bureau!"
"Good!"
After a few moments, the four managed to ascend to the rooftop, out of the eyes of their enemies as they spoke in hushed tones.
"Shaun, I need you to take these apprentices back to the bureau and don't look back."
"Master, what are you saying?"
"I need to stay behind to activate the explosive before they find them. My blood to protect yours and for the Creed. Now go!"
"Master…"
"I said go!"
And so, taking the other two apprentices, four of the seven Assassins returned to the bureau as the elder Master Assassin sacrificed himself in order to do what needed to be done, refusing to compromise the Brotherhood.
After the Assassins' headquarters were informed of the mission, Shaun was called to come before the regional Mentor, one of the leaders of the Assassins Brotherhood. It was in that moment that the USB was delivered so the intelligence could be shared with Assassins around the country after backup copies were made in the bureau in Springfield. In that meeting, Shaun was promoted to be a Master Assassin, taking the second hidden blade as a symbol of his new rank as he rose to take his fallen predecessor's place.
True to his code name, the Archivist became one of the foremost experts in the Brotherhood regarding the Pieces of Eden and the histories of the Assassins and Templars. In this time he took on a few apprentices himself, some born into the Brotherhood and some brought into it, and came responsible for some other Assassins as well.
On 12 January, 2021, during the second term of the Trump presidency, the now 26-years-old Shaun Connolly awoke in the middle of the night, seeing a foreign chat room.
>>We work in the dark.
>>To serve the light.
>>Welcome, Archivist. I am the Navigator.
>>You're one of the Guardian's men, aren't you?
>>Correct. The Mentors have a mission of the utmost importance for you and your cell.
>>Must be pretty important for them to use the Blackroom Server to communicate this.
>>Yes. Be warned, if any information leaks of your mission reaches the Templars it could severely damage your chance of the success. Do you wish to proceed?
>>Do I have a choice?
>>Fair enough. The Templars have been targeting Mentors and Master Assassins, draining the corpses completely of their blood and spinal fluid, especially in Asia. Along with what other intelligence they've gathered, the Brotherhood has learned that the Templars are seeking the Koh-i-Noor.
>>The Fountain of Light? The Templars must be pretty confident or desperate to seek that out. Or both.
>>I'm sure you know the consequences if they obtain it. Your mission is to prevent the Templars from finding the Koh-i-Noor and harnessing its power.
>>Do we have any information on the Templars seeking it?
>>A courier will provide you a USB drive containing all the information we have in regards to this mission at Chicago-Rockford International Airport. Do not take any grenades or firearms, the Mentors have arranged for you to be provided them as well as transportation when you arrive in Bombay.
>>Bombay? I thought we had a strong presence in India.
>>Not as of late. All we can get through are your hidden blades and what melee blades you can hide on your person and in your bags. You will find the airplane tickets printing off in the bunker.
>>Anything else?
>>No. Good luck, Archivist. Remember, nothing is true.
>>Everything is permitted. Farewell, Navigator.
Getting dressed and noticing it was roughly three in the morning and that their flight left around nine, the Master Assassin ran his hands through his hair and ruffled it, yawning loudly as he made a mug of black coffee using his Keurig machine, chugging half of it down before he began to pound on the doors of the other Assassins, seeing to it that they all woke up.
"RISE AND SHINE, SLOWPOKES! We have a new mission from the Mentors! Everyone get out of bed and be in the common room dressed by three o' clock! That gives you all a little more than ten minutes! Let's get a move on, the fate of mankind, as always, is in our hands here!"
The Master Assassin then made his way into this common room, making a large pot of coffee as he stood in front of the television, leaning against its stand.
