FF – Assassin's Creed

Undisclosed

Warnings: Possible spoilers for Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Also, largely inaccurate dates because I really don't want to go back into the game and dig through it.
Characters: Ezio Auditore
Summary: Letters to Leonardo.

A/N: No Leonardo in AC:R. I refuse to accept it. Refuse. There is no way Ezio doesn't treat Leo on the same level as Claudia, especially after so many decades.

Constantinople, March 1511.

Constantinople is a spectacular city. A scholar on board the ship showed me the side that rests on Asia, and the other half that sits in Europe. It is an amazing meeting of two continents, and the streets are rife with colours and exotic beauty. It might disappoint you to know that art merchants are far and few, but conversely, bookstores here have sprouted all over the city, and the love of knowledge flourishes.

I have met with Yusuf, a good man who leads the Assassins here. The Ottomans have made adjustments to the hidden blade, designing a hook to fit it. It is quite an ingenious design, and if Yusuf wills it, I will have a copy of the blueprints sent to you.

Of course, if you were here as well, then I could just show you.

Constantinople, April 1511

Your design of the parachute is remarkable. I have used it many times already, and sometimes out of a sheer need to feel the joy of flight. You may laugh, my dear Leonardo, but the sky is an elusive mistress that continues to seduce me, and it is with much regret when I look upon it from the ground that I cannot take to it often.

I watch it, Leonardo, watch the skies and dream about the exhilaration of flying uninhibited. I think about being an eagle, because the view is unrestricted, unlike that of one from a viewpoint. It takes me away from the fighting and away from the conflict, and it keeps me amidst a peaceful meander.

I long to take flight, and I long to return to the skies.

Constantinople, April 1511

The Ottomans use a special range of weapons known as bombs. The basis of the crafting is simple – A shell, gunpowder, and a special element for the area effect. It is a clever and useful idea, allowing the Assassins to be able to strike from afar.

I know that you are an advocate of peace, Leonardo, but I wonder what you and your brilliant mind may make of it.

Constantinople, May 1511

I have met a good lady by the name of Sofia, and she very much reminds me of you. A person of intellect and immensely in love with books, I think the two of you would get along well. She is helping me locate the hidden books of Niccolò Polo, and it reminds me of the days where I would seek out Codex pages, and you would decode them.

How young we were then! To think that three decades have passed since. Except, Leonardo, that you always appeared wiser beyond your years, and still surprisingly youthful despite the wisdom.

When I stood at the Golden Horn today, Leonardo, I think of the possible bridge that would have been here. It is a shame, I think, that your design had been rejected, for it would have been a marvellous addition to the city. Believe me when I say that if it were up to me, I would gladly have it erected at any cost.

Constantinople, July 1511

Treachery is always ubiquitous in waters no matter how peaceful or strife. The Borgias were a single, united family that was guided by a similar goal.

But what if, instead, there was a common ideal, for the greater good, but each man had a different idea on how to reach that? I think that is the basis for man's desire for power, and the Pieces of Eden supplement that.

I wish the world, in reality, could be more like the visions of the leaders of peace. The scholar that I have met on the ship turned out to be the Prince Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire.

Old as I am, Leonardo, it is meeting characters like him that make me think that it is time to pass on the torch.

Masyaf, September 1511

The Keep is still as spectacular as it was, several months ago. As always, it is yet another piece of the world that I know you will love.

How is France treating you, my dear friend? I have heard that you have grown close with Prince Francis. It is, if anything, a blessing to know that a man such as himself has become associated with you, for I think your thoughts are of those that will help shape a better future. For one reason or another, I think he and Prince Suleiman mark the start of a new era, one which represents hope and beauty.

I am going into retirement, Leonardo, and I shall have my robes kept away in a locked chest, as my father had once did. Firenze beckons me toward her once again, and I think it would make for good closure.

Still, I am thinking of a visit to you, and if you would so kindly grant me the generous hospitality as you have always shown me, then I most hope that my next correspondence to you will not be by letters that have never been sent, but in person.