The Life of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (Part 4 of 4): Legacy

Altaïr was born into the Assassin order, lived as an Assassin and died as an influential mentor of his order. He is still remembered today by the Assassins as one of the greatest mentors of their order and by the Templars as one of their greatest enemies. Here I will reveal the legacy of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad because his story does not end with his death.

The Codex 

Ezio Auditore handing a codex page to Leonardo da Vinci

Altaïr's codex was eventually passed on to Marco Polo but unfortunately the Templars had their eyes on it. An Assassin, Dante Alighieri was ordered to transport the codex from Italy to Spain, where hopefully it would be safe from the Templars. Unfortunately his ship was attacked by pirates payed by Templars to retrieve the Codex. Dante's apprentice, Domenico, quickly broke the spine of the Codex and hid the pages but he was unable to save Dante's life from the pirates.


Domenico later took the name Auditore and constructed the villa Auditore in Italy.  Domenico's descendant, Ezio Auditore later found all of the pages of the Codex. Leonardo da Vinci, who was friends with Ezio, used the Codex to build the weapons designed by Altaïr. These weapons were then used by Ezio in his quest for vengeance against Rodrigo Borgia and the Templars. Ezio was later revealed to be the legendary prophet fabled in the Codex. He used his eagle vision to reveal a map hidden by Altaïr on the Codex pages, a map that showed the location of the vault, a first civilization temple that held a message that would prove invaluable in saving the world in 2012. The Codex pages were once again separated during a Borgia siege on the Villa Auditore. Some are now held by collectors, who are most likely Templars.

The Armour of Altaïr

Ezio wearing the armor

The light and almost indestructible armor created by Altaïr was later sealed in a sanctuary built beneath the Villa Auditore. It could only be retrieved with six seals, which were hidden in Assassin Tombs across Italy. Ezio Auditore eventually managed to retrieve the armor, which he used for a few years.

Ezio later lost the armor during the Borgia Siege of the Villa Auditore. However he did somehow manage to retrieve it, sometime after 1507.






The Five Keys and the Library 
In the later years of his life the mentor of the Italian Assassins, Ezio Auditore, later traveled to Masyaf. His goal was to enter Altaïr's library and discover the knowledge locked within. When he arrived however he found Masyaf overrun with Byzantine Templars and the door to the library locked and in need of five seals to open it.

Ezio discovers the body of Altaïr

In search of the five keys to the library Ezio traveled to Constantinople. The Templars also searched for the keys, believing the library would lead them to a powerful place known as the grand temple. Ezio retrieved the keys and each one allowed him to see a pivotal memory in Altaïr's life. He used the keys to open the library, where he found Altaïr's remains and an Apple of Eden, which held a message for Desmond Miles left behind by the first civilization.

Desmond Miles
Centuries later in 2012 a descendant of both Ezio and Altaïr, Desmond Miles, was kidnapped by Templars and forced into a machine known as the Animus, which allows it's user to read genetic memories past on from their ancestors. Inside Desmond relived the memories of Altaïr on his quest for redemption for breaking the three tenants of the Assassin's Creed in 1191. Eventually through Desmond, the Templars saw the map of the pieces of Eden that was revealed to Altaïr by the Apple of Eden after he killed Al Mualim.

Desmond Miles looks at a statue of Altaïr in the Villa Auditore

Through the bleeding effect, a side effect of the Animus that caused your ancestors reality and abilities to bleed into your own, Desmond adopted Altaïr's eagle vision, an enhanced sixth sense. After joining the Assassins Desmond later relieved Ezio's memories and trained to be an Assassin, carrying on his long legacy.

As Desmond's condition worsened due to the bleeding effect, he was plagued by visions of the third crusade, passed on to him by Altaïr. Eventually he collapsed and relived the conception of Altaïr's son and his ancestor, Sef Ibn-La'Ahad. After entering a coma Desmond was forced to relieve the memories of Ezio on his quest to to find the keys to Altaïr's library and by extension the memories Altaïr imprinted onto the keys. Through Ezio Desmond witnessed a message from the first civilization passed onto him through Altaïr's Apple of Eden.