"I cannot seem to leave my past behind me. I started this act of my life so late, Sofia. I knew I would not have time to do everything. Now I worry I don't have enough time to do anything."
— Ezio
Assassin's Creed: Embers is an animated short by Ubiworkshop set in the Assassin's Creed universe. It details the final days of the legendary Master Assassin Ezio Auditore.
After the events of Revelations, Ezio has retired from his former life to live in peace and raise a family with Sofia in the Tuscan countryside near the city where he was born and raised, Florence. Age has finally caught up to the former Assassin, and he feels his time on this world grows short. His life takes a turn for the less mundane when it is interrupted by the sudden arrival of a female Assassin. The young Shao Jun desires his guidance on how best to lead and rebuild her order in China. However Ezio wants nothing to do with the lifestyle he put behind him.
The short was included with both the signature and collector editions of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Shao Jun is an Assassin and skilled in both unarmed and sword fighting.
- Even more frightening is that, by this point, Ezio is an old man and is unable to run as well as he used to; he has difficultly catching up with them. Had Shao Jun been an enemy out to hurt Flavia instead of an ally, it would have been easy for her to just run away with the girl.
- Ambiguous Situation: The person who sits down next to Ezio in his final moments definitely seems to have some sort of knowledge of Ezio based on his demeanor, but nothing is explicitly spelled out.
- The Apprentice: Before the events of Embers, Jun was this to her mentor before he was killed and now seeks Ezio's guidance to rebuild her order.
- Big Fancy House Ezio's Villa/Vineyard. Turns out he kept all that money players collected in the games.
- The Brute: The Mook with the portable cannon. Getting stabbed in the eye barely slows him down.
- Black Cloak: Shao Jun wears one, even during the day. It makes her look dangerous when she first appears.
- Book Ends: Ezio's life started in Florence. It ends in Florence.
- Born into Slavery: Shao Jun reveals her mentor saved her from this life after she was born into being one of the Emperors concubines. The Emperor also had the tendency to slowly torture his concubines to death.
- Continuity Nod: Embers is full of nods to familiar features of the games. The sweeper dropping a broom at the beginning, walls with clear climbing routes up them (including staircases of sheet-covered boxes), common NPCs walking around (e.g. the architect in Florence, who could be seen in Rome in Brotherhood) as well as a few noticeable sound effects. Machiavelli is also mentioned.
- Cool Old Guy: Ezio is 65 by this point and still a badass.
- Cool Sword: Jun's weapon of choice is a jian.
- Eye Scream: Ezio leaps from the roof of his villa, stabbing The Brute in the eye. It barely even slows him down.
- Feeling Their Age: In the house fight Ezio kills three guys with a Goddamned fire poker, but promptly follows up his awesome flip-throw move by grabbing his back and gasping a little.
- Go Out with a Smile: Ezio dies in his home city watching his beloved wife and daughter happily go about their shopping near-by with a broad smile on his face.
- Grand Finale: To the entire "Ezio Trilogy", showing what happened to Ezio and Sofia after the events of Revelations.
- Grumpy Old Man: Ezio is initially dismissive and irritable towards Jun, not interested in her youthful enthusiasm.
- The Hero Dies: Ezio, who the player has followed for three whole games, dies a peaceful death watching his wife and daughter. Interestingly enough it was implied that the last person Ezio talked to before his death was a Templar.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: Shao Jun is terrible at blending in, as are her pursuers. One wonders what they teach the Assassins in China. One possible justification is they are clearly not natives and blending in is pointless given they stick out like sore thumbs.
- Incurable Cough of Death: The elderly Ezio suffers from reoccurring coughing fits.
- Improvised Weapon: Few, but an Assassin could wield a poker with such deadly effect.
- The Last Dance: Embers refers to Ezio's "fire" burning one last time before it goes out for good.
- Living Legend: Ezio has gained much renown among his fellow Assassins despite his retirement. Shao Jun and her mentor traveled all the way from China seeking his help.
- Old Master: Even with his best years behind him, Ezio is still able to hold his own against men a fraction of his age. Even better than Shao around a third of his age. To compare, Ezio takes out five with relatively little effort and she struggles with two.
- The Mentor: The reason why Shao Jun sought out Ezio is for his wisdom. He has guided two branches of the order to prosperity and glory against their enemies. Ezio eventually accepts this role in the end, passing on his words of wisdom to her.
- Passing the Torch: In the final act, Ezio hands over his wisdom to the young Shao Jun and also gifts her a small box. The contents remain a mystery.
- The Purge: Jiajing managed to kill or drive out most of the Chinese Assassins, hence why Shao Jun is in Italy.
- Retired Badass: Ezio, now an old man, has lived his life in peace, away from his Assassin days. And he still puts up one hell of a fight.
- Shown Their Work: In several Asian cultures, including Chinese, white is the color of death, not black. Jun's black outfit is her cultural equivalent of the European Assassins' white. The people after her even wear white masks.
- Super Window Jump: Played straight when an elderly Ezio dives through a glass window to escape attackers. He's not wearing any of the suits of armor he's collected over the years when he does this.
- Translation Convention: Ezio's Italian and Shao's Chinese are rendered as English. And unlike most installments, the Animus is completely absent in Embers.
- Young and in Charge: Shao Jun intends to rebuild and lead the Assassin Brotherhood in China, despite being only nineteen. This is because her mentor died while on the way to Italy.
