In Pursuit of Truth

In Pursuit of Truth was a virtual representation of one of Basim Ibn Ishaq's genetic memories relived through the Animus.
==Description==
Basim set out to save Alamut and discover the true meaning behind Qabiha's words.
==Dialogue==
After being rescued by Nur, Basim approached his friend to be by his side during his final moments.
*Nur: My horse... below... she is yours now. Good luck, my friend.
*Basim: Nur... Our patrols, our training... it feels like a lifetime ago.
After sorrowfully reminiscing about his and Nur's friendship, Basim departed from the cave and took Nur's horse to ride towards Alamut and save the Hidden Ones from the invaders.
*Basim: Steady... steady, girl. All is well. All is well. Your master left you in my care.
As he rode to the Hidden Ones' camp, Basim reminded himself of the main reason he had come to Alamut in the first place.
*Basim: Our temple... Whatever lies beneath, I must see it for myself... no matter the cost.
He then found corpses littered about, Hidden Ones and Abbasid soldiers alike.
*Basim: All this blood... and death... is this what Qabiha meant by "preparing the way"? Nehal, please be safe, wherever you are.
Basim soon came across some burning debris blocking the road, forcing him to abandon his horse and continue on foot.
*Basim: Ya ilahi... (Oh my God...) No way through... except maybe up.
As he arrived at the camp, Basim found it in flames and Abbasid solders holding several Hidden Ones captive, including Mentor Rayhan.
*Basim: Some of my clan still live. Mentor Rayhan among them.
While Basim got closer to his captured brethren, eliminating all soldiers in his path, one of the Hidden Ones was executed and their captor began gloating to Rayhan.
*Kabeer al-Jund: For all your reputation, I must say, I expected a far stronger response to our presence here. "Mentor", they call you. Is that so? And what exactly is it you teach here, eh? All I see are dead men and women. Men and women who thought you had something to offer them. To teach them. And now, when these final few need you most... you choose silence.
The Abbasid captain turned his attention to his other captives.
*Kabeer: Do you hear that? Your "Mentor" could tell us what we want to know. He could spare your lives, yet chooses not to. I am not a cruel man. But I am impatient. Show yourselves, and you will have a fighting chance of seeing tomorrow. No? Then... let us see what your Mentor values more. His secrets, or his students.
Eventually, Kabeer became annoyed with the Hidden Ones' continued silence and ordered his men to execute a captive.
*Kabeer: The Mentor has chosen silence. So be it.
Basim recognized the Hidden One that had just been killed and expressed remorse while Kabeer resumed his gloating.
*Basim: Tabban! I need to quicken my pace. They do not deserve to die.
*Kabeer: One thing I never understood about your kind... With all the killing you are famed for, why do you always wear white robes? There I go again, wasting my breath on a man who wishes to say nothing, no matter the cost, no matter the blood on his hands. Perhaps your disciples will enlighten me! Tell me what I wish to know, and no more need die this day. Surely there is one among you who knows what we have been sent here in search of. Why my men have fought to claim your temple. Come, speak with me! Tell me of it!
Now angered by the Hidden Ones' refusal to speak, Kabeer signaled towards one of his men to execute another captive.
*Kabeer: No one? I see. You there. Carve up another. See if any secrets spill out.
*Basim: My brothers, my sisters... this has nothing to do with them. I cannot leave them to die.
Turning his attention back to Rayhan, Kabeer continued to taunt the Mentor.
*Kabeer: Stoic until the end. Rayhan, was it? What shitty tales will be told of Rayhan the Silent? None. None at all. So indulge me! Do none of you care to ensure some legacy for your pathetic kin before they are all wiped out? What in your temple is so coveted by those who sent us? The first one to speak will survive the day. La jadwa. (Useless.) Kill them.
The soldiers executed the last Hidden One prisoner.
*Kabeer: Keep your secrets, you pathetic kalb (dog). Those I serve have far more... fascinating methods of making you talk. That is the choice you have made. No matter. I get paid either way. Let us hope you at least keep some wine up here.
*Basim: Quick. Silent. Unseen. That is my best chance... and theirs.
Dismayed by the loss of his students, Rayhan finally opened his mouth to speak.
*Rayhan: Do as you will.
Basim proceeded to attack Kabeer and his men, killing them all and rescuing Rayhan.
*Basim: Suqhan lakum! (Death to you!)
The Mentor, surprised by Basim's unannounced return to Alamut, greeted him.
*Rayhan: Basim! What... Alhamdulillah! I do not see any others. Come, help me out of these restraints. Basim? What are you doing? Free me.
Basim freed his Mentor.
*Rayhan: Basim, how... I thought you were in Baghdad. Where are the others? Roshan?
*Basim: I came alone. For the same reason these men did. I know the truth, Mentor. About the temple and what it shelters. Our enemies told me as much. They urged me to seek it, because only I could.
*Rayhan: You...? Thus the Order used the Tahirids to decimate Alamut. Because you... you are their key.
*Basim: To what? What are you protecting that is worth all this bloodshed?
*Rayhan: Ancient ground. For generations, it has been our duty to watch over it. Defend it from the Order, who seek to exploit its secrets. The temple houses its entrance but, Basim, even though it is forbidden... I have searched. There is no means to access it.
*Basim: Then I will find a way myself.
*Rayhan: You must not. It is what the Order wants, don't you see? If what we protect should fall into the wrong hands...
Basim interrupted, convincing Rayhan that he would keep the Temple contents to himself and out of the Order's reach.
*Basim: It will fall into mine. Look around you. At what the Order is prepared to unleash upon us.
Rayhan reached his hand to his eyes, conflicted in his decision.
*Basim: If I can gain the knowledge they seek, it can be what finally gives us an edge in this endless war.
Hearing Basim's words and convinced that his justification made sense, Rayhan nodded in approval for him to seek out the Temple.
*Basim: This is the way forward. For the Hidden Ones.
Basim took his leave. On the way to the Temple entrance, he saw a Hidden One held hostage by a soldier. Basim killed the soldier, saving the Hidden One.
*Hidden One: Shukran, Basim.
Basim approached the cave leading to the Temple, the same cave where Basim had been inducted into the Brotherhood long ago.
*Basim: The Temple... Let us finish this. Nothing and no one shall get in my way. Not when I am this close.
Heading inside, Basim saw a lone solder crouching down. He effortlessly killed him.
*Basim: It will take more than you to stop me.
Basim found more soldiers stationed at the Temple entrance.
*Basim: More of them ahead. Suffice to say I am on the right path.
*Soldier 1: We should not be here. Our orders were to secure the temple, not to—
*Soldier 2: Not to enter it, I know! Damn the orders! You saw what we've fought through to get here. The men we've lost! You think we will gain anything once our masters acquire what they seek? You think we will be rewarded? Of course not. Whatever it is they want in here... it must be worth a fortune. Think of all the land you could buy. And the [servants!
*Soldier 3: Will you both shut up! Just find it, quickly. We will all think a lot more clearly without you two bickering like a pair of idiots!
Basim eliminated all of the soldiers, leaving him alone to find the Temple entrance.
*Basim: Now, to see if I can achieve what these intruders could not.
Basim approached a rock wall and activated his Eagle Vision, noticing a strange symbol, identical to the one shown to him by Nehal in Anbar.
*Basim: What magic is this? Wait... I know this symbol. (deep breath)
He placed his hand on the symbol, causing the rock wall to discard its disguise and reveal itself as a large, distinguishable door. Basim, sensing something was wrong, dodged a throwing knife before it could impale his head. Turning around, he was dismayed to learn that it was none other than his former master Roshan, who kept her word that she would end Basim's life if he decided to pursue the Temple.
*Roshan: I warned you what would happen.
*Basim: (deep breath)
*Roshan: Last chance.
Basim drew his blades, not backing down. Roshan in turn did the same. Master and pupil were to engage in a final duel to the death.
*Roshan: Very well.
*Basim: So it has come to this? Killing each other? Is this your idea of a brotherhood?
*Roshan: The brotherhood is unified. There is no place for those who would set themselves above it.
*Basim: Is that what you think I am doing?
*Roshan: Wake up, Basim! You walk the Order's path! The very people you swore to fight against. You're fulfilling their mission, endangering the very thing you swore to defend. Free will!
*Basim: And where is mine? How can I champion something denied to me? Your creed is flawed!
No matter how hard he fought, Basim could not break through Roshan's defensive stance, with the experienced Hidden One always parrying Basim's sword strikes and retaliating with a sword stab of her own. Basim noticed that Roshan might have a weak spot vulnerable to a stray throwing knife.
*Basim: There must... must be a way... to break her.Roshan's shoulder... it is unprotected.Take out the shoulder.Her shoulder... That is how to break her.Take out her arm, take out her blade.
Basim took out a throwing knife, either his own or by parrying Roshan's knives and taking them for himself, and hurled it at Roshan's unprotected shoulder, stabbing through her leather breastplate and considerably injuring her. She yanked out the knife lodged in her chest. Basim redirected Roshan's previous threat back to her.
*Basim: Last chance.
Roshan picked up her dagger and went on the offensive.
*Basim: I trusted you! I gave you everything I had and you lied to me. You knew. Since the night we fled Anbar, you knew my truth.
*Roshan: I only feared what it could spell. But I set my worries aside. I had to. You were but a young man, broken and alone. Desperate for guidance. Wanting to do good.
*Basim: I am still here!
*Roshan: No good can come from what lies beyond those doors.
As their duel drew to a close, Roshan dropped her dagger in the midst of their battle. Basim slashed the back of Roshan's leg, leaving her vulnerable to a swift kick, sending her to the ground. Basim sheathed his sword, readied his Hidden Blade and leapt up, using gravity's momentum to deliver a non-fatal stab to the chest. In no condition to fight and at the mercy of her former student, Roshan struggled to get up and could only slowly back away.
*Basim: Yield!
With Roshan backed against a pillar, Basim knelt down, repeating himself in a gentler, tearful tone.
*Basim: Yield.
*Nehal: Basim! Leave her. Come.
Nehal arrived, reminding Basim of what they had come to do. Basim then told Roshan that seeking the Temple's contents was important to him.
*Basim: I never wanted this. But I need to know.
*Roshan: I do not want to lose you to what you may find in there. You do not have to look to the past, to know who you are. Who you can be. You can choose, Basim! Put your faith in me.
*Basim: I tried. And in the end, you thought it best to control me. No different than our enemies.
*Nehal: Basim. Over here.
Basim went over to Nehal, who was right by the Temple door.
*Nehal: I... I know what this is.
Nehal took Basim's dagger from its sheath, and gestured Basim to give her his hand. They both sliced the palm of his hand. Briefly wincing from pain, Basim realized his blood was the way forward.
*Basim: The key...
He touched his bloody hand onto the door, causing it to light up and open. Basim and Nehal entered the temple, leaving Roshan behind as the door closed behind them.
*Nehal: She will follow.
*Basim: No. She cannot. You saw it yourself.
Basim approached one of the chambers containing the same disc-like objects he had seen at the Winter Palace.
*Basim: More of those objects. I wonder what truths lie within. What stories they serve to tell...
He redirected his attention towards the depths of the Temple.
*Basim: Whatever lies within carries grave importance. For the Hidden Ones, for the Order of the Ancients, for me. What have we walked into? Where has my path brought us?
*Nehal: You do not want to know why anyone was brought to this place.
The two headed deeper inside, and Basim was surprised upon seeing structures that looked nothing like what he had seen in the outside world.
*Basim: Are my eyes deceiving me? Are you seeing this? Nehal?
*Nehal: I am... I am here.
*Basim: Wherever we are, it was built long ago. To serve what purpose, I do not know.
*Nehal: I do.
*Basim: How?
*Nehal: I... I do not know.
*Basim: Nehal... you are worrying me.
Basim and Nehal freeran across the ruins, approaching a peculiar door with a glowing symbol.
*Basim: Nehal, look in here.
*Nehal: (shaky breathing)
*Basim: Nehal, please, talk to me...
*Nehal: No... No, no, no... no... no!
Basim touched the door, thereby opening it and revealing a machine resembling a cell-like object, which he expresses familiarity with.
*Basim: I know this place... Nehal?
He noticed Nehal was nowhere in sight. He then redirected his attention back to the cell.
*Basim: (gasp)
Sensing something felt off, he grabbed the knob on the cell and attempted to open it.
*Basim: Ugh!
The cell then opened, releasing steam.
*Basim: It... it cannot be.
To his horror, he saw Nehal bound in the cell. He then experienced flashbacks of his life up until that moment, realizing "Nehal" had never been real. All of her actions had been done by him instead, including the killing of Al-Mutawakkil, where he was the one who snatched his dagger and stabbed him in self-defense. Basim snapped back to reality as Nehal called out to him.
*Nehal: Hrgh! Enough! Let me out of here!
To Basim's confusion, Nehal was suddenly not in the cell.
*Basim: How... What... what are you?
*Nehal: Look! See for yourself!
Nehal suddenly appeared standing next to him, activating a Memory Seal, which displayed a holographic display depicting two unknown individuals, one who was a prisoner in the cell, and the other being a prison guard.
*Prisoner: srræsnos! dű hm làygw r zàrhàsi!
*Guard: Seylos!
The guard grabbed the prisoner and threw him out of his cell. The prisoner got onto his knees, before the guard slapped and kicked him.
*Basim: That is...
The guard wielded a dagger in one hand and knelt down to the prisoner, who was lying down in fear, mirroring one of Basim's nightmares with the Jinni.
*Basim: No!
A vision depicted Basim as his younger self as a street thief prior to becoming a Hidden One. He shoved the Jinni away, prompting it to retreat. At his breaking point, he angrily confronted the Jinni.
*Basim: Show yourself! You dare to hide from me now? After all you have put me through! Where are you?
Basim finally undertstood the Jinni's true nature.
*Basim: The jinni in my dreams. The figure from these visions. They are one and the same... Is this what I have been seeing? The memories of a life long ago? Are they mine? Is that why the jinni feels so real? My tormenter. The source of all that ails me. If this is so, then I must face you.
He then saw a depiction of his old thief friends in Anbar being hanged on poles.
*Basim: No... Why am I seeing this?
Suddenly, a depiction of Mas'ood Al-Ya'qoob in his Order robes and mask appeared in the distance, surrounded by a red glow, compelling Basim to approach him.
*Basim: This space... As I move through it, I see nothing but the memories that stir my soul. In these moments of adversity is when I felt the jinni nearest. That unrelenting fear. Paralyzing me in my weakest state.
As soon as Basim reached Mas'ood, he turned to sand and vanished while another apparition, this time of Fazil Fahim al-Kemsa, appeared farther away.
*Basim: I never understood what it was born of, or why it haunted me so. But I am beginning to remember. I am in a cold cell. Begging for it all to stop.
Similarly to Mas'ood, Fazil vanished after Basim approached him and, in his place, an apparition of Ning manifested itself in the distance.
*Basim: Who I once was may seek retribution. But if I am to move beyond this pain, then what I want is peace.
Once Ning disappeared, an apparition of Wasif al-Turki manifested itself not too far away.
*Basim: It is time to put an end to this.
Basim's vision suddenly became blurry and a giant rock formation appeared before his eyes, with a large door in front.
*Basim: The cell. My cell. I am nearly there. No going back...
Basim opened the door, now appearing in his attire as a Hidden One recruit. Walking forward, he nearly tripped and fell off a cliff.
*Basim: Agh! The jinni... I can hear it. (tense breathing)
He performed a Leap of Faith to descend the cliff.
*Basim: (steadying breath)
Landing safely, Basim, now with his older bearded self, came face-to-face with the Jinni that had tormented him all his life.
*Basim: I know you now. I see you for what you are.
Basim, now in his robes as a Hidden Ones initiate, approached the Jinni.
*Basim: A crippling memory from a past life.
Powerless to instill fear into its victim, the Jinni could only watch as Basim knelt down to it.
*Basim: (Steadying breath) And that is where you will remain.
He touched the Jinni, causing it to dissolve into sand. Appearing in his robes as a Master, Basim expressed relief that his nightmares were finally over.
*Basim: (deep calm breaths) It is over.
*Nehal: ...No, Basim. It is only the beginning. For us. For what lies ahead. A deeper understanding of the world we left behind. And our place in it.
Basim and Nehal approached each other. As they did so, their actions were mirroring each other, symbolizing they were two halves of the same person.
*Basim: All my life I wrestled with who I was. Who I was meant to be. And there you were. All this time. The side of me I resisted. A reflection of who we... once were.
*Nehal: Of who we shall be once more. There is so much that awaits us. A new world. Let me show you...
However, Basim realized that if he and Nehal merged as one, she would disappear forever. Sounding on the verge of crying, Basim asked if this meant having to part with his longtime childhood friend forever.
*Basim: I will never see you again, will I?
Nehal shook her head, confirming his question.
*Basim: Will I be... alone?
*Nehal: You are never alone.
With words of comfort and assurance, Basim and Nehal touched hands and dissolved into sand, which then spiraled upward into a singular point, symbolizing their consciousnesses merging into one. Sometime later, Basim woke up.
*Basim: (gasp) (catching breath) H-how...? How long has it been?
Basim emerged from the cave leading to the Temple, briefly blinded by the sun. Two Hidden Ones spotted him and went down to greet him. Rayhan looked at Basim, and both exchanged smiles with each other. Later that night, Basim walked alone, spotting Roshan and Rayhan talking. Disappointed in Rayhan supporting Basim's decision to seek the truth in the Temple, Roshan resigned from the Hidden Ones.
*Roshan: It is done. You made your choice. Now I make mine.
She took off her Hidden Blade and discarded it into the campfire. Beaten and broken, she left, refusing to look at her former pupil.
*Rayhan: Wada'an (farewell), Roshan bint-La'Ahad. It was an honor.
The Mentor turned his attention to Basim, requesting a meeting with him.
*Rayhan: Come, Basim. We have much to discuss.
*Basim: That we do, "Mentor".
The next day, Enkidu flew above Alamut, then dove down towards Basim, who was standing on the edge of a cliff. He reached out his arm for Enkidu to perch on. However, sensing that Basim was not the same as he had once been, Enkidu scratched his face with his talons and flew off, disowning him. Though briefly pained by the loss of his last remaining companion, Basim shrugged it off with a light smile. He then reflected on his reawakened memories.
*Basim: This memory I buried of this place... this prison, the torture I suffered here... it festered for years, in darkness and dreams... masked as a jinni, to haunt and hollow me... until it consumed my waking life. But I have faced my past. My pain. Embraced it. I shed my skin once, in another time, another place. But I am whole again. I remember. And as for those who thought to bind me... should any of them still walk the earth, I so look forward to our reunion. But until that day... a new world awaits.
==Outcome==
Basim saved Alamut and accepted the resurgent Isu memories from Loki, though not without consequences: his companion Nehal was revealed to have been a hallucination all along, his master Roshan left the Hidden Ones, and his eagle Enkidu no longer recognized him.
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Mirage
Category:Memories of Basim Ibn Ishaq
fr:En quête de vérité