The Mystery of The Box and The Voynich Manuscript
An ancient artifact created by the First Civilization, capable of interpreting and translating First Civilization language, most notably written in the Voynich manuscript.
An illustrated codex hand-written in First Civilization writing, and a Piece of Eden. Commonly believed to have been written around 1405, the artifact was previously in the possession of Emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire, though four of the manuscript's pages wound up in the hands of Governor Peter Beckford of Jamaica by the early 18th century. After they were taken from the Beckford estate, the pages were scattered across the Caribbean, until they were eventually collected by the pirate-turned-Assassin Edward Kenway between 1715 and 1722.
In the following decades, the Assassins and Templars alike learned of the connection between the manuscript and the mysterious Precursor box, one of the only devices that could translate its incomprehensible text. In 1755, the inventor Benjamin Franklin was the first known human to properly use both pieces in tandem, electrifying the box with lightning. It was during this experiment that the Assassin Shay Cormac discovered the location of a hidden First Civilization vault hidden underneath the Carmo Convent in Lisbon, Portugal.
In 1839, the Mentor of the Indian Assassins, Hamid, tasked Arbaaz Mir with the recovery of a map from the Voynich manuscript detailing information on the Koh-i-Noor diamond, during their quest to protect the artifact from falling into the British Templars' hands.
In 2013, Abstergo Industries warned memory research analysts at Abstergo Entertainment, who were assigned to relive the memories of European subjects during the 15th and 16th centuries, to look out for the Voynich manuscript during their Animus sessions, especially for its supposed connection to the English philosopher Roger Bacon.
The manuscript is named after book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased it in 1912. It is theorized that the Voynich manuscript may have been sold to Rudolf II by John Dee. Another theory suggests that the manuscript was written by Edward Kelley, who could speak with members of the First Civilization through his Crystal Ball.
The map Arbaaz acquired features the Voynich manuscript pages Folio 70r and 75r, as well as drawings of the Koh-i-Noor, two Apples of Eden, a Memory Seal and symbols found on Marcus Junius Brutus' drawing of the Colosseum Vault and on throwing knives wielded by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore.
By November 1524, the Precursor box was in the possession of the Italian Assassin Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, in his villa in Tuscany. The Chinese Assassin, Shao Jun, who had travelled there seeking Ezio's advice on resolving the problems in her homeland, was given the box and told that it would aid her.
Ezio stated that she should only open it if she were to lose her way. The box remained in the possession of the Chinese Assassins for about a hundred years after Jun's death. It was believed that they sent it to Acapulco with the Manila galleons.
By 1735, the Precursor box ended up in the possession of the French Templars, who were transporting it on aboard a galleon to Port-au-Prince, to be given to Bastienne Josèphe. However, the fleet transporting the artifact was attacked by the Assassin Adéwalé, who retrieved the parcel that contained the box from the Templar admiral. In July 1737, he eventually handed it to Bastienne.
