Assassin’s Creed Mirage: Who are the Isu?
Ubisoft The Isu are an essential part of Assassin’s Creed lore and are often found to be the root cause of everything. Here’s what you need to know about the Isu heading into Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
While the Assassin’s Creed series is seemingly centered around the Assassin’s war against the Templars, another faction has been hiding in the shadows pulling the strings of both groups to suit their own agenda. This is the Isu, an ancient technologically advanced civilization of near godlike beings who occupied the earth before humanity did, had a hand in our evolution, and are set to return in Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
Even though the species is mostly extinct due to a massive solar flare that barely spared humanity, the Isu has still managed to manipulate events throughout history using time-manipulating technology, reincarnation, and careful planning. Some members of the species are benevolent and aim to preserve humanity, while others are vicious and selfish, wishing to enslave humankind and will stop at nothing to bring back their race. Before we jump into Assassin’s Creed Mirage, here’s what you need to know about the Isu.
Ubisoft Who are the Isu?
The Isu have been worshipped as gods by humanity since the dawn of time, which is exactly what many of them planned would happen. The various pantheons of gods in the ancient world, such as the Greek, Egyptian, and Norse gods were all, in fact, real members of the Isu race, and even though many of them were dead, they still retained a lot of influence over humanity.
Some members of the Isu, knowing they would be killed in the solar flare, planned elaborate schemes that would see them reincarnated as humans, or they uploaded their consciousnesses to various Isu supercomputers – including the Animus. Here they would lie dormant until activated by the Assassins, Templars, and various other figures throughout history.
That way, they could either guide humanity and prevent them from suffering a similar fate, or plot their eventual return. Some Isu ensured they’d live on just to stop other members of the race from returning and trying to conquer the planet, while others simply wanted to live again and harbor humanity no ill will.
The Isu in Assassin’s Creed
The Isu were originally revealed at the end of the first Assassin’s Creed game in a twist that confirmed that they were the creators of the Apples of Eden, the artifacts that the Assassins and Templars had been fighting over. Games like Assassin’s Creed 2, its sequels, and Assassin’s Creed 3 expanded on their lore and showed how different members of the Isu had been pitting the Templars and Assassins against each other for centuries.
Many members of the Assassins, such as Desmond Miles and Layla Hassan carry Isu DNA, as did their ancestors. This allows them to make use of special superhuman abilities like eagle vision, or commune with animals, as well as various other gifts. It also means they can interact with Isu technology, learn the secrets of the past, or even on occasion, the future.
During the climax of Assassin’s Creed 3, protagonist and assassin Desmond Miles is confronted by the consciousnesses of Isu goddesses Minerva and Juno, both encouraging him to do different things as a new apocalyptic solar flare looks set to wipe out humanity. Minerva advises Desmond to allow the flare to hit the earth, killing millions, and for him then to lead humanity into a new future free of the Assassin/Templar war and Isu interference.
Juno however advises Desmond to activate an Isu shield that will protect the earth from the flare but will kill him in the process, and release her – a malicious tyrant who plans to subjugate humanity – from her imprisonment. Desmond chooses to save humanity and sacrifice his own life, confident in the knowledge that humanity, and the Assassins, will deal with Juno or any other Isu that threatens them.
Ubisoft Isu in Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Of course, there have been many games since Assassin’s Creed 3, and the story has progressed far from that point, but the Isu continues to be involved and used as a major plot device. Covering the entirety of the lore up to the present would take a very long time! However, the Isu race will be very important to the story in Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
That’s because, in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, we learned that Eivor and Basim are both, in fact, reincarnated Isu, with Eivor being Odin and Basim being Loki. By the end of the Valhalla DLC, Basim, who had been trapped in an Isu prison during the Viking Age is released by Layla Hassan and begins working with the Assassins to uncover more of Eivor’s genetic memory, as well as his own.
In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, we’ll learn Basim’s backstory about how he joined the Assassins originally, and likely how he discovered his true identity as the Norse god of mischief and powerful Isu known as Loki. This means we’ll also be playing as a reincarnated Isu for the majority of the game, in the past and in the present settings.
For more Assassin’s Creed Mirage content check out some of our below guides:
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