"You are nearly identical," he agreed, "though you have more scars. You are more brash, then, where she is more subtle. Both useful approaches. Often brashness is necessary when subtlety goes unnoticed.

"But to answer your question." He met Jacob's eyes with curiosity. He'd already heard from Evie that the codex, in some form, had survived for all of the intervening years, and that the years were many. "I am Altaïr of Masyaf, and this place has the odd ability to draw people from many times and many worlds. There are some even farther ahead than you."