Desmond Miles POV
I relived the life of my ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad in the Animus 1.28 at Abstergo Industries Philadelphia facility. In early 1191, Altaïr and the brothers Malik and Kadar Al-Sayf were tasked with retrieving an artifact from the Templars in Solomon's Temple. After progressing through the catacombs, Altaïr broke. two tenets of the Assassin's Creed, but arrogantly dismissed the warning against his actions, confident in his mastery as an Assassin.
Finally, upon seeing the archenemy of his Order - Robert de Sable - Altaïr broke another tenet; risking the safety of the Brotherhood. Having attempted to slay the Grand Master of the Knights Templar after making his presence known, Altaïr was easily thwarted, spared on purpose by Robert and thrown from the temple, leaving Malik and Kadar alone with the Templars. Altaïr escaped from the temple and Jerusalem to report his failure to the Order.
Upon returning to Masyaf, Altaïr was kindly greeted by Rauf who told him Al Mualim waited to hear how the mission went. At the fortress gates, Abbas and Altaïr exchanged several insults and threats before Altaïr informed Al Mualim of his failure to acquire the Templar treasure and was lambasted for it. Soon after, Malik returned with the artifact, alive but alone, and with a heavily injured left arm, shouting at Altaïr, blaming him for Kadar's death. Before any further action could be taken, the Templars attacked Masyaf.
While the Templars were attacking the village, slaughtering its inhabitants, and besieging the castle, Altaïr and several groups of Assassins ran to defend it. Altaïr killed many attacking Templars, and thought of staying and fighting until he was defeated, thereby redeeming himself for his actions at Solomon's Temple. However, thinking it would be a waste, he retreated to the fortress along with the other Assassins because they were being overwhelmed by the Templars. Along with Rauf and another Assassin, Altaïr led the defense of the fortress. Performing a Leap of Faith and sneaking behind the Templar army, Altaïr unleashed a torrent of felled tree logs, crushing the Templar army and driving them away from Masyaf.
Once the attack was over, the matters of his actions in Solomon's Temple were addressed once again. Altaïr, having broken all three tenets of the Creed, failing to acquire the Templar treasure, causing the death of a brother and the incapacitation of another, as well as being responsible for all who had died in the Templar attack, was deemed a traitor to the Creed. Al Mualim declared this judgment before the entire Order, before stabbing Altaïr in the stomach with a dagger.
Altaïr awoke from his "sleep of the dead" and questioned Al Mualim of his survival, with the Mentor answering that Altaïr had only seen what he had wanted him to see. He then stripped Altaïr of his rank and possessions as alternate punishment, though also offered him a chance for redemption.
Starting as a novice once again, Altaïr was tasked with hunting down the traitor within Masyaf who had allowed the Templars entrance. Successful, Altaïr returned to Al Mualim and was rewarded with the return of his Hidden Blade and sword. Once again officially a member of the Order, Altaïr was offered a trade; the lives of nine men in exchange for his own.
Altaïr started his quest, leaving Masyaf and riding to Damascus in pursuit of Tamir, his first target. Arriving there, he traveled to the local Assassins' Bureau and requested permission for the assassination. The Rafiq denied him, ordering Altaïr to first gather information about his target.
Going through the city's poor district, Altaïr interrogated informants, pick-pocketed letters and maps, and eavesdropped on conversations around him, ultimately acquiring the location of his target. Returning to the Bureau with this information, he received a pass for the kill and a white feather to be dipped in the victim's blood, as proof of the deed.
In a plaza of the market district, Altaïr witnessed Tamir slaying a business partner and killed him as he examined the nearby stalls. Returning to the Bureau, Altaïr was told to return to Al Mualim, who rewarded him for this first step on the road to redemption and granted him a piece of his equipment back. Altaïr then left for the other cities, Acre and Jerusalem, to pursue his next targets.
Proceeding on to Acre, Altaïr met with the Bureau leader to gather the information about his target - Garnier de Naplouse, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalier. Learning that Garnier was located in the Hospitalier hospital in the city's Poor District and was trafficking men from other cities to Acre for him to experiment on, Altaïr infiltrated the hospital.
There, Altaïr found one of Garnier's prisoners running away from his captors. After the fleeing man was caught, Garnier ordered his guards to break the prisoner's legs to prevent him from making another escape and had him brought back to his quarters. Garnier then returned to his usual routine of checking his patients and was eventually struck down by Altaïr.
With his dying breath, Garnier revealed that he had used the Apple of Eden to conduct his experiments, but after its loss, his progress had slowed. He was also convinced that he was helping the people he experimented on, causing Altaïr to question his own opinion on Garnier's experiments.
Arriving at Jerusalem's Bureau, Altaïr was harshly received by Malik, that Bureau's new leader. Reluctantly, Malik sent him on his investigations and received him once again when he returned. After obtaining the permission and the feather, Altaïr entered the slave complex of his target Talal but was ambushed by his followers.
Dispatching them, Altaïr chased Talal across the rooftops and through the streets, finally catching up to him and putting a hidden blade in his neck. Altaïr returned to the Bureau and reported to Al Mualim once again. Gaining another piece of his equipment back, Altaïr once again had to return to all three cities to take out new targets.
Altaïr returned to Damascus to eliminate Abu'l Nuqoud, known as "the Merchant King." After investigating and receiving the feather from the Rafiq, he proceeded to the merchant's palace where a party was being held.
Infiltrating the palace, Altaïr arrived shortly before Abu'l Nuqoud began his speech, lambasting his guests for their intolerance and ignorance, before revealing he had poisoned the wine that was being served. As a number of the revelers fell to the poison, Abu'l Nuqoud ordered his archers to eliminate the rest.
Through the panic of the crowd, the Assassin scaled the palace walls, killing several archers in the process, and managed to climb onto the roof above his target. Jumping down and killing the Merchant King's bodyguard, Altaïr chased down and assassinated his target, once again setting the city on full alert, before losing his pursuers. Returning to the Bureau, he reported his success, before returning once again to Masyaf.
In Acre, Altaïr was tasked with the death of William of Montferrat, regent of the city and a lieutenant of Richard the Lionheart. Meeting once again with the Bureau leader, Altaïr gathered information on his target in the city's rich district and learned that he was to meet with King Richard later that day.
Approaching as William and Richard quarreled outside the city fort's walls, he waited for the King to leave, before infiltrating the castle via the fortress walls. Waiting until William had finished berating his men for their perceived failures and had dismissed his guards, Altaïr struck from above, killing the Marquese of Montferrat. As usual, Al Mualim was informed, and Altaïr left the city for his next target in Jerusalem.
Within Jerusalem, Altaïr found his sixth target, Majd Addin; the illegitimate ruler of the city, who personally acted as judge, jury, and executioner. During one of his public executions, Altaïr made his way through the crowd and onto the stage where Addin stood, killing him and saving an imprisoned Assassin who was mere moments from death. Fleeing from the guards, Altaïr returned to Masyaf.
Rewarded with another rank and equipment, Altaïr demanded Al Mualim of the truth behind connections between his targets. Al Mualim revealed to him that all nine of his targets were members of the Knights Templar and that the treasure Malik had liberated from Robert de Sable held the power to control the minds of others. Content with this new information, Altaïr left for Acre and Damascus once again.
Altaïr's seventh target was present in Acre. The target, named Sibrand, was the Grand Master of the Knights Teutonic and paranoid with fear of the Assassin that had hunted down his Templar brethren. Reporting to the Bureau and investigating, Altaïr traveled to the city's ports, where he witnessed Sibrand falsely accusing a passing scholar of being the Assassin before cutting him down. Afterward, he retired to his ship.
Altaïr navigated through the ports and docked boats, arriving on Sibrand's ship and striking him down. Once again, the alert was sounded, though Altaïr managed to escape once more. After giving the Rafiq the feather marked with Sibrand's blood, Altaïr left for Masyaf as always.
In Damascus, Jubair al Hakim, Saladin's head scholar, had begun burning every book in the city in an attempt to wipe the history of the land. Traveling to the Bureau, Altaïr gathered the information, received his feather, and moved in for the kill.
Jubair stood flanked by many followers, all dressed in identical clothing; fortunately for Altaïr, however, his previous investigations had shown him where Jubair would be, and what he looked like. Before long, the scholar joined his Templar brothers in death, and Altaïr escaped the city guard to report his success to the Rafiq.
Returning to Masyaf, Altaïr had only one target remaining; the Grand Master of the Knights Templar himself. Altaïr discussed this with Al Mualim, where he explained that the Piece of Eden was essentially temptation given form. Al Mualim explained that Robert did seek peace like the Assassins, though through means of force by using the Apple. Altaïr concluded that Robert's death was the only way to end the Templar's quest for control.
Robert had apparently arrived in Jerusalem to attend the funeral of Majd Addin, in a show of mutual cooperation between and friendship between Saracen and Crusaders. Gathering intelligence for the strike, Altaïr presented this to Malik, who now realized Altaïr was a changed man and changed his attitude towards him. Arriving at the cemetery Altaïr, hid among the crowd, he was instead singled out and ambushed by the Templars, who had anticipated his arrival. Engaging the Templars and Saracen guard in battle, he fought them off one by one.
During this fray, Altaïr defeated Robert and removed the helm, however, to his horror, he discovered the person to be a decoy. At first believing it to be sorcery, the shock of seeing the woman standing before him soon wore off. He soon learned from her that Robert had used the time she had given him to travel to Arsuf, in the hopes of uniting the Saracens and Crusaders against the Assassins.
Sparing her life as she was not his target, Altaïr returned to the Bureau and revealed the deception to Malik, who had recently come to believe that Altaïr had truly repented for his past crimes. Malik suggested to Altaïr that it was best he return to Masyaf, and enlighten Al Mualim to the development, but Altaïr refused, citing time to be lacking.
He accused Malik of hiding behind the Creed and refusing to see what he did not wish to see. Suggesting Malik search for answers in Solomon's Temple, Altaïr made his departure from the city and rode directly to Arsuf.
Arriving at Arsuf, Altaïr discovered that the engagement between the Crusader and Saracen forces had commenced. Fighting his way through the battlefield, engaging Saracen and Christian troops alike, Altaïr arrived at Richard's camp, only to be mistaken for making an attempt on the King's life.
Denying this, Altaïr informed the Crusader leader of Robert's treachery, as well as that of his followers. Though de Sable persistently denied the accusations, Richard was unconvinced.
Leaving the decision to God, Richard ordered a trial by combat to determine the truth. Altaïr fought de Sable and his Templar elites, cutting them down and striking the Grand Master in the throat.
With his dying breaths, Robert revealed to Altaïr that Al Mualim was, in fact, a Templar and that Altaïr had been an unwitting pawn in his quest to hoard the Apple and eliminate the others who knew of its existence. After this, Richard congratulated the Assassin on his success. As the two discussed their views on peace, Richard allowed Altaïr to leave Arsuf. Altaïr hurried to Masyaf to discover the truth about his master.
Arriving at Masyaf, Altaïr found the villagers in a hypnotized trance, who acknowledged Al Mualim as the one who had "led [them] to the light". Progressing up the hill towards Masyaf, Altaïr encountered a group of hypnotized Assassins who, bent as they were to Al Mualim's will, attacked him. Left with no other option, Altaïr engaged in battle with them and managed to slay them all. However, another wave of Assassins entered the fray, heavily outnumbering and threatening to overwhelm him.
To his luck, Malik and several Assassins aided him by throwing knives at the Assassins, killing some and causing the rest to flee. Meeting with Malik, Altaïr requested him to distract the hypnotized Assassins outside of the fortress so that he could reach Al Mualim without much trouble. Agreeing to his request, Malik and his men left Altaïr to infiltrate the fortress.
Searching for his former Master in the fortress garden that Al Mualim referred to as "Paradise," Altaïr only found himself caught and bound by Apple's power. Seeing Al Mualim on a balcony overhead, he demanded an explanation from him. Al Mualim then revealed that he had used the Apple recovered at Solomon's Temple to both ends the Crusades by eliminating the leaders, and to control the minds of the people to attain their obedience; ensuring utter and absolute peace.
Ending his explanation, Al Mualim used the power of the Apple to create an illusion of the nine Templars Altaïr had killed, who attacked the confused Assassin. Defeating them one by one, Altaïr was once again bound by the Apple's power. By this point, Al Mualim confronted Altaïr personally and created multiple copies of himself to aid in his fight. Faced with this second illusion, Altaïr took the defensive, striking them as they attacked one by one.
As Altaïr finally singled his Master out, Al Mualim bound him once again. There, he explained to Altaïr that though he sought peace like Robert, he wanted Apple to himself, thus the Templar needed to die. Altaïr questioned why Al Mualim had not that used the Apple on him, and Al Mualim explained that he had tried and failed due to Altaïr's mental strength.
At this, Altaïr and Al Mualim dueled for a final time. Despite a lengthy battle, Altaïr managed to finally defeat his Master and down him with his hidden blade. Altaïr then listened as his Master spoke his final words, challenging Altaïr's strength of character and ability to destroy the Apple. As Al Mualim died, the Assassin watched as the Apple rolled from his lifeless hand, before activating itself.
Altaïr was eventually joined by Malik and his men and stood before the vast holographic image that projected from the orb: a map of the world indicating the location of various other Pieces of Eden.