VORTEX COLLABORATOR: Nikolas, August 28th, 2023
Translated by: Stefania
Note: Non Spoiler Review, but a full Story Summary follows
Overview
Published by Hachette Heroes in September 2021, Assassin’s Creed. Le livre dont vousêtes l'Assassin - La route de la soie(Assassin’s Creed. The book in which you are the Assassin – The Silk Road) is the first gamebook of the franchise.
It’s an interactive novel in which the reader, playing the role of the protagonist, goes through the story by making choices. These choices can depend on the free will of the reader or be tied to a variable (e.g. owning a certain object, succeeding in a certain battle, etc.). Depending on the alternatives, it will be possible to obtain special objects, obtain specific information and finish the events according to five different endings.
The gameplay is based on references between paragraphs depending on the choices made/assigned and the desynchronization in case of invalid choice or death in a fight. The combat system involves an exchange of blows through references to specific paragraphs or the picking of specific images (at the bottom corners of the pages) to determine the effectiveness of the attack. Both contenders (protagonist and enemies) have a health bar (endurance) that can be reduced through successful hits. There’s also a "stealth damage" (dégâts de furtivité) bar and the possibility of acquiring gear.
The plot
The story has five sequences and follows the story of
Oisel 11 Literally “little bird”.
, a young Hidden One of Moorish origin at the service of the bureau in Chinon. Accompanied by his brother Matthias and his bird of prey Alouette, Oisel will travel from Antioch to the eastern borders of the Silk Road to eradicate the threat of a local branch of the Order of the Ancients.
Oisel is asked by his brothers, Matthias and Aline, to go to the pigeon coop with them to receive a new mission. The three challenge each other to reach the finish line first to show off their skills. Oisel (or, better, the reader) can choose the path to follow, which will lead him, winner or loser, to the roof of the inn with the pigeon coop.
At the inn they get involved in a fight with a local thug. At the end of the altercation, Mahaut, leader of the bureau of Chinon, arrives. Together, they reach the pigeon coop and Mahaut takes out a scroll containing a message from
Basim 22 The text contains a hidden message that the reader has to find.
, the Levantine Hidden One in charge of the bureau of Constantinople. It’s a call for help, sent to both the Egyptian and the Frankish Brotherhoods.
Mahaut decides to help his Levantine brother, sending only Matthias and Oisel, the latter mainly for his knowledge of oriental languages passed down by his father. Aline, on the other hand, is sent to the Norse lands, due to her studies of the Viking language.
Leaving Mahaut and his companions behind, Oisel heads out of town to see Gwen the falconer and recovers his bird of prey,
Alouette.33 Meaning “lark”.
As ordered, Oisel leaves Chinon together with Matthias to reach Antioch. There, they discover that the city is in the hands of a military group, called the Snake-Eaters, providing protection to the merchants in exchange for payments and obedience. Although the Hidden Ones seem to have disappeared from the city, the two companions manage to find a clue of Basim's presence: a symbol of the Brotherhood in a mosaic.
Note
On this occasion, Basim is called "mentor of this city". However, it’s not clear whether this title refers to the real position of Mentor of an Antiochian brotherhood linked to the Silk Road, or it is just a synonym for the leader of the Antiochian bureau.
Sequence 2: Bazaar of Antioch
Oisel and Matthias are looking for new clues to find Basim. A first clue, in the area of the bazaar, is a coded message ordering not to approach a certain area of the city and to stay near the bazaar. In fact, the two discover that people tend to avoid certain neighborhoods.
The search for new clues leads them to the Snake-Eaters barracks, where they discover that troops have been mobilized to investigate some incidents, probably caused by Basim.
Back at the bazaar, Oisel and Matthias learn of the Snake-Eaters's violent ways of collecting the protection tax and how they are not well liked by the people of Antioch. However, the meeting with a merchant allows them to discover that the militias do not venture into the northern district due to the probable presence of "someone who could be hostile to them".
During their exploration of the city, the two young Hidden Ones discover a Hidden Blade and an ointment for wounds. However, it appears that soldiers are patrolling the streets, likely looking for Basim.
Antioch
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Thanks to the clues collected, Oisel and Matthias reach a building with the symbol of the Hidden Ones on the door. The two young men manage to sneak in through a hidden entrance. Once inside, they discover that they have indeed found the AntiochBureau, but there is no trace of Basim. In fact, the bureau appears to have been abandoned, and all evidence of his presence destroyed.
Leaving the bureau, Oisel and Matthias come across four Hidden Ones from Alexandria: Kalim, Rashid, Sihem and their guide, Jessamyn. The Alexandrians are the only ones, together with the two Franks, who have answered Basim's call. Jessamyn then offers to lead Oisel and Matthias to the Levantine assassin, in a caravanserai outside the city.
Finally, Oisel and Matthias meet Basim, who explains the emergency situation that prompted him to ask for help from the brotherhoods of Egypt and France. Basim suspects, although he doesn’t have proof, that the Snake-Eaters may be a group affiliated with the Order of the Ancients.
Coming from the East, they mostly belong to the Sogdian people. They set up a series of caravanserais along the Silk Road, offering protection to merchants, in exchange for money and control. Basim has managed to limit their power in Antioch, but he assumes that their threat extends far beyond the city and that they aim to control the entire Silk Road. In fact, whoever controls that portion of the world has access to innumerable knowledge and can influence the progress of nations.
During the meeting, Hytham also appears and informs Basim that the Roman Brotherhood cannot send help. Basim therefore decides to send the six young Hidden Ones who have answered the call to eradicate the plague of the Snake Eaters along the Silk Road, whereas he will return with Hytham to Constantinople, where other challenges await.
Sequence 3: The start of the Road
The six Hidden Ones infiltrate a caravan led by a certain Kazem, from whom Oisel learns the rudiments of the Sogdian language, which he already partially knows thanks to his father's teachings. Kazem tells the story of his people, how the Sogdians are merchants, how their culture grew thanks to the trade with China and how their power collapsed with the advent of the Samanid kingdom.
The Hidden Ones manage to obtain some information on the Snake-Eaters thanks to the confession of a thief, a former merchant reduced to poverty by the military organization. The man says that the Snake-Eaters force the merchants to pay taxes and to stop only at their caravanserais. The group, which comes from the East, has a base in a fortress on the Silk Road.
During a night sortie, Oisel, Matthias and Jessamyn engage a patrol of Snake-Eaters and take a prisoner. From the latter they learn various information about the Sogdian people and the Snake-Eaters. The Sogdians are nomads who, for the most part, profess Mazdaznan (Zoroastrianism) and follow the way of Asha. As people who knew the regions of the Silk Road well, the Sogdians were capable defenders of the caravans, which they protected without asking for any payment. However, at a certain point in history, one of them had the idea of exploiting the wealth obtained from donations to create their caravan and build their own caravanserais.
The Snake-Eaters are a group of Sogdians who had united a decade earlier to make the Road secure. They are currently led by
Dunya 44A name meaning "the world or the world of the living", but which can also be inspired by a plateau in Tajikistan, called Bam-i-Dunya, or "roof of the world".
, the granddaughter of their founder, with the aim of monitoring progress, guiding it during specific times and in specific places.
Obtaining this information, the six Hidden Ones head to the fortress of the Snake-Eaters. Once inside, Oisel and Matthias confront Dunya. The woman reveals that the goal of the Snake-Eaters is to control the Silk Road to maintain order in the world and lead it gradually towards progress, choosing times and ways to provide wealth and knowledge.
In the clash with the leader of the Snake-Eaters, Oisel loses Alouette, killed by Dunya, and is forced to flee the fortress, leaving his friend Matthias to deal with the woman.
A short sequence follows in which the reader will experience the events from Matthias' point of view.
The Frankish Hidden One survived the confrontation with Dunya, but he’s now her prisoner. The woman, fascinated by the boy's temper, invites him to discuss their respective ideals.
Dunya shows how noble the goals of the Snake-Eaters are. Thanks to their protection, everyone can enjoy precious goods from the East. The violence of the Snake-Eaters is a necessary evil to maintain security and ensure progress, unlike that of the Hidden Ones, which only leads to chaos.
The sequence ends with Matthias full of doubts.
Tomb of Wirkak
Source: Wikipedia
Sequence 4: The desert
Oisel, who managed to escape from the fortress of Dunya, wanders through the desert, certain of the death of Matthias, in search of his companions in Alexandria. Tired and wounded, first he finds himself facing the attack of wild dogs, then he meets a mysterious woman who offers him a drink and, finally, he finds shelter from a sandstorm inside an ancient tomb, where he comes into possession of a
strange armor.55 Obtainable by solving a puzzle.
One night, he dreams of Aline and discusses with her the righteousness of Mahaut's behavior and, more generally, of the Brotherhood, which acts for the good but with questionable means (the answer to these questions will vary according to the reader's choices).
After a long wandering, Oisel finds his companions, discovering, however, that Matthias is not with them. The Alexandrians reveal that they have discovered that the Snake-Eaters are actually linked to the Order of the Ancients. Their founder was a Sogdian, a worshiper of ordering divinities, who united several tribes under a single banner.
Sequence 5: Chang’An
The group of Hidden Ones reaches Chang'An, at the far east of the Silk Road. The city, judging by the red banners, appears to be the primary base of the Snake-Eaters.
Chang'an
Assassin's Creed Dynasty
Oisel is stopped by a trio of people interested in his armor which, in their opinion, appears to be "neither from here... nor from there". He is thus taken to the villa of a noblewoman who has a drawing of the motifs adorning the armor made. Finally, Oisel can leave.
Together with his companions, he improves his gear, seeks allies and plans a way to storm the castle where Dunya resides. The methods of the attack will vary according to the choice of the reader, opting for a more direct or stealthy approach. Whichever approach you chose, the people of Chang'An will rise up and Oisel will face Dunya and meet, surprisingly, Matthias. However, the outcome will vary depending on the choices made previously and will lead to 5 different endings:
Ending 1: One friend less
Oisel manages to kill Dunya and flees with Matthias from the castle. However, his friend is tormented by doubts: the Brotherhood is not too different from the Order, both resort to violent methods to impose their vision of the world. Thus, Matthias decides to leave Oisel and seek his own way to improve the world without resorting to violence. However, he will carry the Hidden Blade with him…
Following their victory, Oisel and the Alexandrians dismantle the last remnants of the Snake-Eaters, setting up a bureau in Chang'An. Once the Brotherhood is strong enough, Oisel leaves for the West.
Ending 2: Peaceful Mentors
Matthias has betrayed the cause of the Hidden Ones and joined Dunya. Oisel manages to kill her and wound his friend. Matthias confesses that his betrayal is due to survival and doubt. Dunya would have killed him if he hadn't joined her, but at the same time he began to question the Creed of the Hidden Ones, self-contradictory and bearer, regrettably, of suffering. However, Oisel manages to make his friend come back to his senses. Together they get rid of the remaining pockets of the Snake-Eaters' resistance, rebuild Chang'An, and establish a local bureau.
Once the mission on the Silk Road is over, the two set off again for the West. Matthias has regained his faith in the Hidden Ones thanks to Oisel, but the latter, instead, begins to question his own beliefs, no longer sure that he can still act as he did before.
Ending 3: Mentor from far away
Matthias has not betrayed the Hidden Ones and, together with Oisel, faces Dunya, badly injuring his leg though. Finally, Dunya is killed.
Together, they dismantle the Snake-Eaters and rebuild Chang'An, establishing a bureau of the Hidden Ones there. Matthias, who has lost the use of his leg, decides to stay in the East, as mentor of the new local Brotherhood. Oisel, on the other hand, decides to return to France.
Ending 4: Future Mentor
Matthias hasn’t betrayed the Brotherhood, but instead deceived Dunya. The woman is pierced by the blades of both the Franks Hidden Ones. Matthias is convinced of the ideals of the Hidden Ones, he reprimands Dunya telling her that the security that the Order provides is only an illusion without freedom.
Oisel manages to dismantle the Snake-Eaters organization in two months thanks to the information that Matthias recovered during his imprisonment. Finally, he sets off again towards the West - it’s not clear whether with or without Matthias - self-confident, with the experience of a "master Assassin".
Ending 5: Bitter Assassin
After a bloody duel, Oisel kills Matthias, as his old friend has betrayed the Hidden Ones. Together with the Alexandrians, he rebuilds Chang'An and establishes a bureau for the Hidden Ones.
Jessamyn returns to Alexandria, while Rashid and Sihem remain in Chang'An to lead the new Brotherhood.
Oisel, tormented by the death of Matthias, thinks of returning to France. At Jessamyn's suggestion, he leaves the traitor's Hidden Blade in Chang'An, destining it to one of the new apprentices.
Finally, he sets off again, with sadness in his heart and wavering convictions.
Information and curiosities
Influences on a dynasty
From the gamebook, and specifically in paragraph 147, we learn that the Order of the Ancients influenced two Frankish kings, namely Charles the Bald and Pepin II.
Louis the Pious
Source: Wikipedia
Charles the Bald, son of Louis the Pious and grandson of Charlemagne, was King of Provence, Aquitaine, Italy, the West Franks and Emperor of the Romans. He was Charles the Fat's predecessor on the Frankish and Imperial thrones.
Pepin II is instead the name of two Frankish kings: Pepin II of Herstal (640-714), great-grandfather of Charlemagne, dux et princeps francorum, who unified the Frankish kingdoms; and Pepin II of Aquitaine (823-864), great-grandson of Charlemagne and king of the Franks of Aquitaine, before his uncle Charles the Bald.
With this information we can see how the influence of the Order of the Ancients on the Frankish kingdom – or at least on the Carolingian dynasty – has been constant. If one considers Pepin II of AC La Route de la soie as the great-grandson of Charlemagne, then the Order had a role at the Frankish court for at least five generations (Charlemagne > Louis the Pious (possibly) > Lothair (possibly) > Louis II the Younger (cf. Valhalla) > Charles the Bald).
The fact that in AC Valhalla: The Siege of Paris the influence of the Order on the Carolingian rulers passed to the Bellatores Dei could be a clue that the Order has lost strength thanks to the rise of the new Christian-style organization.
The Sogdians
These people inhabited a region of Central Asia which currently includes Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Their presence in these regions is very ancient, but they were subjugated several times by Western powers such as the Achaemenid empire, then the Macedonians, the Seleucids, the Greco-Bactrian kingdom and so on.
Approximate location of Sogdia
Source: Wikipedia
They played a vital role in the trade on the Silk Road, but also had an important military influence in the imperial China of the Tang dynasty (An Lushan himself – a member of the Order of the Ancients and military leader – was part Sogdian).
Their main religion was Zoroastrianism, but some of them also professed Buddhism or Nestorian Christianity, until their complete conversion to Islam at the end of the Samanid empire.
In AC: La route de la soie, the Sogdians, and especially the collective of tribes of the Snake-Eaters, follow the way of the
Ashas66 From Asha (Truth, Cosmic Order), a primordial force emanating from Ahura Mazda.
, i.e. a Zoroastrian moral way based on the triple path of good thoughts, good words and good deeds to create a world of happiness and peace.
The Snake-Eaters: the name
The book never explains the origin of the name of this Sogdian group. It’s a mysterious name, quite dissonant with the symbolism that sees the snake as the emblem of the Order of the Ancients (Egyptian branch), but also of the Cult of Kosmos.
The name Snake-Eaters could be taken literally, and therefore indicate the eating habits of some groups of Sogdians (a characteristic that cannot be found either historically or in the book). Perhaps this specific collective of tribes adopted this diet through close contacts
with China.77 According to Huainanzi, snake meat was appreciated by the Cantonese.
If we want to interpret the appellation in a metaphorical sense, then the name "Snake-Eater" could refer to their Zoroastrian faith (which sees the snake as a symbol of evil); it also can be a reference to their hard life between the steppes and the desert, which therefore made them able to survive in hostile environments, feeding - in theory - even on snakes; or to their role as protectors of the caravans from the dangers of the desert.
The Snake-Eaters: the origins
The novel provides some insight into the founder of the Snake-Eaters and the times of their founding. In paragraph 058, we find out that the group was formed ten years before the events of the novel (therefore around 860) to protect the merchant caravans. In paragraph 173, the founder is revealed to have been a Sogdian hero who had married a wealthy woman from Chang'An. In paragraph 113, Dunya, granddaughter of the founder, reveals that her grandfather taught her the art of combat and that he was a Sogdian hero who had formed an important connection with the Chinese authorities and died defending their country.
The information provided by the novel is quite detailed, but never reveals the identity of the founder of the Snake-Eaters. After various research, apparently there isn’t a historical figure wholly fitting the description.
Throughout history, the Sogdians actually made Chang'An a major foothold and forged ties with the Chinese authorities, especially under the Tang dynasty. We know that An Lushan (of Sogdian and Göktürk blood), before the rebellion, was a military governor under the Tang. And even after An Lushan's betrayal, some Sogdians fought in defense of the Chinese emperor, such as the Nestorian priest Yisi.
Several Sogdians bore the title of sabao, meaning "guardian" or "defender", originating from the Sogdian word s'rtp'w (caravan leader). Many of these people acted as intermediaries between the Chinese government and the Sogdian merchants. Two of them, An Jia and Wirkak, are famous for their tombs in Chang'An. Furthermore, we have a tomb epitaph mentioning Wirkak’s wife and his death in Chang'An.
Unfortunately, however, the figures of these sabao, which closely resemble that of Dunya's grandfather, date back to three centuries before the – theoretical – foundation of the Snake-Eaters. Furthermore, the Sogdian officials who are closest to the date provided by the novel (such as Mi Jifen, 805 CE, or Li Su, 817 CE) were Nestorian Christians and not Zoroastrians. The only one - to my knowledge - that would fit the timeline (d. 866 CE) would be He Hongjing, who was actually a general who fought for the Chinese empire. However, nothing is said about a possible wife of Chang'An, nor that he had particular contacts with the Sogdian caravans.
So, barring new revelations or more specific historiographical research, we can assume that the founder of the Snake-Eaters was modeled on the figures of the Sogdian Sabao, without being identified with any of them specifically.
It’s interesting, however, to note how this mysterious Sogdian, with his organization, managed to bring the city of Chang'An back into the hands of the Order about a century after its
defeat.88 The city was - theoretically - freed from the influence of the Order with the defeat of An Lushan and the Golden Turtles, at the end of the events of Dynasty.
An Isu armor?
If you make a certain choice within the story, Oisel will find himself in a tomb consisting of an antechamber and a burial chamber. The latter is surrounded by smooth stone walls cut at a sharp angle. A circular plate, at the bottom,
Rings and Dragon Cycle
Fonte: Wikipedia
has three panels: one depicts a crowd sheltered from the sun under a tree, the second is damaged and only has buttons, while the third shows the bas-relief of some nomads looking at the sky with their hand on their heart.
Once the third panel is unlocked, by solving a puzzle, the tomb will open surrounded by rays of light and Oisel will find a mummy wearing an armor in excellent condition and made of bands tied to each other.
The details of the tomb clearly indicate that this is an Isu site. However, it doesn’t appear to be identifiable with any real site, despite the fact that the Silk Road is lined with ancient tombs. The "funerary beds" of the Sogdian nobles actually recall the description of the burial chamber, where we can find the body hidden behind panels decorated with bas-reliefs. However, none of the Sogdian tombs appears to have panels describing the scenes presented in the book.
We have to point out that it’s not certain that the Isu tomb is necessarily inspired by the Sogdian tombs. This could be older and perhaps belong to some Sogdian hero (such as Prince Divashtich of Panjikent, who had a fresco of a knight in banded armor in his palace), or to a mythical character (such as Rostam, Persian mythical hero, whose story is painted in the same palace in Panjikent, Tajikistan).
As for the armor, its description doesn’t refer to any known Isu armor - generally they are not made of connected bands, but of overlapping plates - but rather recalls the Chinese lamellar armor.
However, the Sogdians too used lamellar armor. An example of this is the (incomplete) one found near Tashkent which recalls the lamellar tunics represented in the Cycle of the Rings and Dragons (also in Panjikent), a fresco showing the clash of two pairs of fighters (two of them with the hilt decorated with a ring and the others with a dragon decoration).
Therefore the identity of the mummy in the tomb (Isu or human?) and the nature of the armor (Isu artifact or built thanks to Isu knowledge?) remain a mystery. Let’s also add the strange paragraph in which Oisel is taken to the house of a noblewoman of Chang'An, where a drawing of his armor is shown, without any further explanation.
Conclusion
AC: La Vie de la soieis a novel that doesn't want to bring big changes to the franchise, but simply add new and interesting elements to the lore. The fact that Oisel, in all five endings, returns to France, and that Aline, after a brief initial appearance, is sent among the Vikings, hints at the possibility of a sequel (or at least that one was planned).
Despite the mysteries that still surround some parts of the novel, we can hope that future productions such as Jade, Mirage or Daughter of No One, which could include connections with the Silk Road, take into account what Mathieu Rivero narrated in this story.
ABOUT NIKOLAS
Translator from French and novelist. His love for Myth and History has led him to become passionate about Assassin's Creed since the release of the first chapter. For years he’s been following the evolution of the franchise with enthusiasm, both in the main chapters and in its various incarnations in the expanded universe, with particular interest in the representation of historical events and their reinterpretation within the narrative universe.
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