Masyaf Key

The Masyaf Keys, also referred to as the seals or keys of Altaïr, were a collection of five Isu Memory Seals containing information and memories from the Levantine Assassins' Mentor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. When brought together, the keys could grant access to his library beneath the fortress of Masyaf,Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade which during the early 16th century was sought out by both the Assassins and the Templars.
==Owners==
*Isu (? – ?)Assassin's Creed II
*Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (all keys; ? – 12 August 1257)
*Niccolò Polo (all keys; 12 August 1257 – ?)
*Manuel Palaiologos (one key; c. 1509 – March 1512)
* Ezio Auditore da Firenze (four keys; 1511 – March 1512)
*Ezio Auditore da Firenze (all keys; March 1512 – April 1512)
*Ahmet (all keys; April 1512)
*Ezio Auditore da Firenze (all keys; April 1512 – June 1512)
*Ottoman Assassins (all keys; June 1512 – ?)
==History==
=== Altaïr's discovery===
Following the deaths of his wife Maria Thorpe and youngest son Sef, and his deposition at the hands of Abbas Sofian, Altaïr entered into exile in the Assassin fortress of Alamut. During this time, Altaïr was directed to an Isu temple underneath the fortress by his Apple of Eden, where he found a number of Memory Seals.
Taking six seals for himself, Altaïr researched the artifacts and discovered their ability to store recorded memories. He would subsequently imbue the seals with his own memories, which he intended to serve as a message to future Assassins, though he was unsure exactly for whom or why.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Passing the Torch
Following his return to Masyaf in 1247, Altaïr began construction of a secret library underneath the fortress and used five of his Memory Seals as the keys. In 1257, as Masyaf came under siege by the advancing Mongol Empire, Altaïr passed the five keys and his codex to his guests, the merchants–turned–Assassins Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, who promised to hide them. The two then escaped from the Mongols with the help of Altaïr's other son Darim and safely arrived in the city of Constantinople, where they hid the keys and founded an Assassins Guild, though they lost Altaïr's Codex to the Mongols along the way.
===Ezio's acquisition ===
In 1509, the Byzantine Templars recovered one of the keys, which had been hidden underneath Topkapı Palace, after an earthquake struck the city. The Templars also found Niccolò Polo's journal, which contained further information on the keys and Altaïr's library.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Wounded Eagle Believing the knowledge inside the library could lead the Templars to the Grand Temple, their Grand Master Ahmet placed Manuel Palaiologos in charge of an expedition to find the other four keys,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Escape and ordered Leandros to lead a regiment of Byzantine remnant soldiers to occupy Masyaf.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Hangman
That same year, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Mentor of the Italian Assassins, learned of the existence of Altaïr's library and the keys after reading a document left behind by his late father, Giovanni. Curious and driven by a desire to obtain answers about his Order, Ezio left Rome in 1510 and arrived at Masyaf in early 1511, encountering Leandros and his men, who took him captive. After a long struggle, Ezio managed to escape and kill Leandros, from whom he acquired Niccolò's journal.
Following this, Ezio journeyed to Constantinople and started his search for the keys, eventually finding one underneath Niccolò's old trading post.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Yerebatan Cistern By that point, however, the trading post was inhabited by the Venetian bookseller Sofia Sartor; with her assistance, Ezio was able to decode a map showing the locations of all the keys in Constantinople.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Quid Pro Quo
With every key that Ezio recovered,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Galata TowerAssassin's Creed: Revelations – The Forum of the OxAssassin's Creed: Revelations – The Maiden's Tower he found himself reliving a significant moment in Altaïr's life and learning more about the Levantine Mentor's struggles.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Mentor's KeeperAssassin's Creed: Revelations – The Mentor's WakeAssassin's Creed: Revelations – A New RegimeAssassin's Creed: Revelations – The Mentor's Return In time, Ezio recovered all five keys, including the one that the Byzantine Templars had in their possession,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Last of the Palaiologi and returned to Masyaf in order to open the library.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – A Homecoming
Inside, Ezio found no books or weapons as he and his Templar enemies had believed they would, but the skeleton of Altaïr, holding his sixth and final Memory Seal. As Ezio took the artifact, it showed him the final moments of Altaïr's life, including the fact that he had hidden his Apple of Eden inside the library.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Lost Legacy Ezio then went to retrieve the Apple, but recalling all the suffering it had brought Altaïr, ultimately decided against it and left it inside the library.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Message
Having reached the end of his journey, Ezio also decided to retire from his life as an Assassin and start a family with Sofia Sartor. During a brief visit to Constantinople in June 1512, the couple sold Sofia's bookshop to the Ottoman Assassins, and also entrusted them with all six of Altaïr's Memory Seals. The Assassins went on to hide them beneath the bookshop, within the Yerebatan Cistern.
===Modern times===
By 2013, Abstergo Industries had learned about the Masyaf Keys and their use by Altaïr to convey a message to Ezio, though not their whereabouts. In an embedded file that was later recovered by an Abstergo Entertainment employee via hacking, the keys were listed among the few known Memory Seals in existence and were speculated to still be functional.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Noob's personal files – Abstergo Industries: "Crypto-History: Artifacts"
==Behind the scenes==
The markings on Memory Seals are similar, if not identical, to a symbol shown in the Vatican Vault at the end of the 2009 video game Assassin's Creed II in the mission "In Bocca al Lupo". When Minerva spoke of the Temples, she showed Ezio an image of a step pyramid, above which was a symbol resembling one of the keys.
==Gallery==
Keys of Altair Concept.JPG|Concept art of the keys by Martin Deschambault
ACR Masyaf Key.png|Ezio holding one of the Masyaf Keys
ACR_Galata_Keys.png|The Masyaf Keys in the Galata headquarters
ACR_Ezio_reliving_memory.png|Ezio reliving the memory stored within one of the keys
A favour 5.png|Ezio and Yusuf gazing at a Masyaf Key
Escape 6.png|Ezio with the final Masyaf Key
Exchange 1.png|Ezio packing the keys up for the exchange
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade 
*Assassin's Creed: Revelations
*Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel
*Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag 
*Assassin's Creed: Rebellion – The Ottoman Connection 
*Assassin's Creed: Where's the Assassin? 
==References==
Category:Isu technology
Category:Precursor relics