Reader, I am in love with the House of Wisdom. Who wouldn't be? A vast palace of books with thick walls, beautiful ceramic window inlays and plenty of what the Californian real estate industry would refer to as an enviable indoor/outdoor flow. In the 9th Century, when Assassin's Creed Mirage is set, the House of Wisdom was one of the biggest libraries that had ever existed, mounted like a jewel inside a ringed city, Baghdad, that was on its way to being the largest city in the world. All of the Golden Age is visible here: the love of learning, of curating the lessons of the past but also looking to the future. Criers invite people for what amounts to TED Talks on astronomy, on the use of the astrolabe. Celebrity poets argue in the courtyards. Political intrigue is everywhere you look. Everybody has heard a rumour about something or other. There's a whole hierarchy of learning, both academic and, hmm, more illicit, to be navigated.
I love it. But what I think I love more is the immediate environment the House of Wisdom lies within. Surrounding the House is a lovely scholarly part of town, leafy climbing vines and cool honeyed brick, all lit by a clear morning sun. The shops scattered around the House, all angled lines and blind turns, are filled with stacks of books, shelves of books, books lying splayed on tables next to fruit and bowls of spices. I wandered here, mid-mission, for an hour yesterday, with no aims other than drawing it all in, all this detail and character. And I was rewarded, of course, as Assassin's will always reward the distracted. I found a bookcase with a secret behind it. I found a tall building with astronomical contraptions on the roof.
So. After the wild RPG sprawl of the previous few entries, Mirage is set in Baghdad at the height of the Golden Age. It's a more compact focus, and the city itself is more than deserving of the miniaturist's eye which the smaller Assassin's games can turn on their subjects. A great library is always a pleasure, but scattering the streets around it with books and scientific doodads is a real delight. It speaks to the city itself, coursing with intellectual curiosity and richness.