For all its shortcomings,Assassin’s Creed Miragehas been applauded for taking the franchise back to its action-adventure game roots. It shows a whole other side to Basim, gives players a fun sandbox to explore, and shows the Hidden Ones in ways that feel nostalgic, all while being brand-new. One of the earliest characters introduced for the game wasRoshan, Basim’s mentor, and on November 21, fans can learn more about her whenAssassin’s Creed Mirage: Daughter of No Onereleases.
Game Rant recently read an advanced copy of the novel and spoke with Maria Lewis, author ofAssassin’s Creed Mirage: Daughter of No One. We talked a lot about Roshan, as well as the story structure, some of the plot elements, franchise Easter eggs, and more.The following transcript has been edited for clarity, brevity, and spoilers. There should be no MAJOR spoilers ahead, but key elements of the novel are discussed.
Q: Could you tell me a little bit about your experience with the Assassin’s Creed franchise prior to this novel?
A:Well, I’m a huge history nerd and I have always loved stories in that space, especially ones that dance and flirt around real-world events while simultaneously telling their own stories. Whether you’d sub-genre that as historical fantasy or alt-fantasy, whatever it is, Assassin’s Creed is the benchmark to which all others aspire, in my opinion. The world-building was the first thing that hooked me, as it’s so immersive and detailed and well-researched from game-to-game, property-to-property, but also … at its core,the narrative about free will versus controlis quite complex, more than just your standard good versus evil yarn. So – long story short – been a big fan from afar.
Q: Could you walk me through your research process, in ensuring the novel was as historically accurate as possible, as well as accurate to the Ubisoft timeline?
A:Oh my gosh, truthfully that was the most daunting part of taking on this project: my fear of not being able to do as good of a job taking the audience into the world as the games do. But ultimately, I’m one person compared to the hundreds who work on those projects for yeeeears, so I had to set the fear aside and just try to do the best job I possibly could while still trying to tell a story that felt compatible to modern audiences.
My background is journalism, so primary sourcing has always been one of my go-to resources when I’ve set other works in times outside the current one, whether that be in the film and television space or textually. Thankfully, I have written a few historical fiction novels before, namely The Rose Daughter, so that was good training in terms of knowing what I needed to achieve here, establishing where the gaps in my knowledge were, then figuring out ways to fill them: whether that was speaking to an expert directly orreading historical accounts.
Q: The House of Wisdom and how it ties into Roshan’s life is quite remarkable. Could you talk a little bit specifically about the research and creation of it?
A:Oooof, I could have fallen down such a research rabbit hole with the House of Wisdom honestly. I think there’s very much this Western narrative that all great inventions came from that part of the world when the reality is not only did the majority of them come from the Middle East, but specifically within this one, geographical structure. In its simplest form, it was a massive library that is credited as the birthplace of mathematics, algebra, ophthalmology, modern astronomy and so, so much more. There’s also evidence they were quite progressive for the time, with there being no religious, gender, or racial boundaries about who could enter the premises and study, so long as they were as excited about the pursuit of knowledge as everyone else.
That’s partially why it birthed so much work of intellectual significance: people with different beliefs and backgrounds were encouraged to examine and argue each other’s ideas. Ultimately, it was a place that was destroyed (as so many institutions like this were), but given whenRoshan’s story was taking place and where she was in Baghdad, it felt like a wasted opportunity not to incorporate it in some way.
Q: Structurally, there are two stories at play in Daughter of No One that come together full circle at the end, but having two alternating storylines about a single character seems like a risky structure, one that does pay off though. How did you settle on this story structure as opposed to something more straightforward chronology-wise, and what benefits do you think it brings to the table?
A:Firstly, thank you! I’m glad you think that it pays off because, yes, it is absolutely a risk structuring the novel that way, but I thought it was important for a few key reasons. Stylistically, I wanted it to have a point of difference from the otherAssassin’s Creed novels, where at the very least it felt like I was trying to do something new and not copy what my peers before me had done. The other reason was because I didn’t know if Roshan would ever get this much real estate again! Like, this business is unpredictable, and these stories are big and expansive. There are a lot of balls to juggle so, hypothetically, if this was the only time Roshan got to be the lead character in her own story, I wanted to color in as much of that as possible. The dual timelines mean you get to spend as much time with her as possible, not just as a woman, but as a girl, as a teenager, as someone who is still figuring it out.
Q: What sort of challenges did writing this part of Roshan’s life entail, as most readers will have played Assassin’s Creed Mirage and know what she’s like in her older years via AC Valhalla’s crossover?
A:She’s a character that people have met in the games obviously, but she’s not someone they know if that makes sense. The intention of the novel, for me, was trying to flesh out this character as more than just a stoic badass, which I think is so often the box people want to shoveStrong Female Charactersinto. I’ve worked extensively in the IP world before, namely with Marvel and DC Comics, and usually, the characters I’ve been writing in those instances already have pre-established backstories and decades of canon.
In contrast, Roshan didn’t. Even though she has been around for a while, the specifics of who she is and where she comes from were scant, and I was really, really excited about the opportunity to help shape the canon for a character like this. There were things that were pre-established obviously, so it was an odd and interesting process to work backward and construct how those elements might come to be.
Q: Roshan is very detail-oriented and observant, with her shortcomings with these skills often leading to bad scenarios like her arrest. Could you talk about balancing her skills of observation with her failure within this?
A:The Roshan we meet in the games is a Master, right? She’s one of the best of the best. There’s a good chunk of time between when the novel ends and when we pick up with her in the games, so for herskillset to be believable in Mirage and Vahalla, there needs to be growth. She has to begin from a place of relative inexperience – as a girl – where really her only skill is a will to survive and resourcefulness.
Then, it’s slowly, building her abilities throughout the course of the novel, so that by the time she first meets theBrotherhood, you understand why she’s such an enticing prospect even before she has had their training and mastered their gifts. I think that’s interesting, giving a character somewhere to go rather than just presenting them as fully formed, and hopefully, the readers feel like Roshan’s journey is earned by the end of the novel.
Q: Roshan’s second sense is often described in ways very similar to Eagle Vision? Could you perhaps confirm if this is the case and, if so, what it was like turning this popular game mechanic into a writing element?
A:There were a series of what I call ‘no-benders’ given to me by Ubisoft, things that had to be included in the story one way or the other, and it was the ‘how’ that was negotiable. That was one of them, along with the inclusion of the Harbor Master storyline, so you set those things out on the plan, see how they correlate with what’s already established in theAssassin’s Creed world, then find ways to represent them that are engaging textually. What works visually in the games doesn’t always translate to the page and part of my job is to verify that sparkles within the chosen medium.
Q: The book seems to imply, but not outright state, that [SPOILER] is the one who had her arrested, as he bypassed her senses. Why leave this element up in the air?
A:Not sure if Ubisoft will let me answer that so…I will leave that question up to them and hopefully remain unfired. [Laughs]
Q: Roshan’s entire life seems to be based on Quid Pro Quo, something she remarks in the book too. Why was it like this for her, at this time?
A:It’s the era, man. Africa and the Middle East during that period, like most parts of the world, were challenging places to survive, let alone thrive. If you were a woman? Times that equation by a lot. As a young woman, the way Roshan has managed to get by is something for something: she performs a service in return for another. I felt like that was a practical and realistic way for her to navigate the world up until the point she meets the Brotherhood, as it would contrast sharply with their selfless nature and therefore be appealing to her.
Q: Roshan’s female identity is at the core of this novel and her development. What do you hope female readers and fans of Assassin’s Creed can take from Roshan?
A:As a fan of Assassin’s Creed, I’m always looking for versions of myself or hunting down representations that appeal to me in those stories (if there’s a Pasifika yarn coming, someone hire me?). I know a lot of otherfemale Assassin’s Creed fansfeel the same, so weaving those elements into the story was as much for them as it was for me. Being a woman is to be at threat, both then and now, so there’s always an element of danger to your survival and everyday existence that needed to be represented in the story. Yet there’s also beauty in it too, which I wanted to show not just through Roshan but through the other types of women she meets in the novel like Azadeh and Nafanua. I didn’t want Roshan to be a woman alone, I wanted the story to be populated with women: young, old, heroic, villainous … you know, just like the real world.
Q: She often misses or seeks out that female sisterhood element too, from missing the Wives to Maryam. Do you think this element prepares her for entry into the Hidden Ones, eventually?
A:It was important to me to show the various ways women could survive in a world like this outside of fighting. The House of Wisdom wasn’t the only place that admitted women, there were female scholars, scientists, and mathematicians at institutions all over. There were women who understood the value of their bodies and wielded that into powerful, profitable businesses. There were female rulers who flexed and saw global powers flinch in response. Again, it was critical to color the novel with different types of women. Capable, fearsome warriors? Absolutely. Yet also those who had skills outside stereotypically masculine traits like combat and what could Roshan learn from those women, whether it’s a practical skill or something as vital as empathy.
Q: Her relationships with men like Bakhit and Advi are complex too, and her levels of trust and distrust vary from individual to individual because of a woman’s general role in society at this time. What was it like capturing those relationships, and are there any lessons, you feel, in them today?
A:Oof, again – tricky! It’s a tough line to balance, the one between being historically accurate and being hyper-aware that you’re writing for a modern audience. I was very much using Ronin as a pop cultural touchstone when writing the book and, while that story is quite simple in its construction, what makes it so riveting is that every relationship is complex. There are layers within layers. That was something I was very much attempting to pull off here because I think that’s quite human too: things aren’t straightforward in life and people rarely are either.
Q: Roshan is often terrified of, but definitely in awe of, the stranger and his abilities, including how long he has watched her (evident by the recovery of her weapons). Could you talk about balancing this love/hate aspect of their early relationship?
A:At the point in the story where she first meets him, she has survived and overcome a lot. Roshan thinks she’s very accomplished and skilled in her own right, which she is, yet then here comes this person who shakes up her entire worldview and redefines the possibilities of what could be out there. Here comes someone who shows her just how little she actually knows, how small she is the grand scheme of things. It’s terrifying and exciting and alluring all at once, so hopefully that came across.
Q: Of the various relationships and employments she undertakes in Daughter of No One, which do you think was truly the most formative for her?
A:It’s hard to overstate how much of a superpower literacy is, now but especially back them. If you could read and write, let alone factor in calculations of any kind, you had a huge advantage in life especially as a woman. So her time in theHouse of Wisdomis formative for that reason, yet so too are her experiences with Maryam as she got to experience other cultures and gain compassion for other people by spending time walking in their shoes.
Q: The moniker, Daughter of No One, puts her on the same level as Altair, the Son of No One. This puts high expectations on Roshan’s entire character arc and her entry into the franchise. Did this add any more challenges to her writing?
A:Maybe for writers down the line [LAUGHS]. I had the lower-stakes job of building a Roshan who could be ready for the Brotherhood rather than a Roshan who was already actively in it. The Daughter Of No One moniker was a ‘no-bender’ handed down to me from Ubisoft, so I expect they have some plans and schemes up their hidden dagger sleeves …
Q: Speaking of connections, there’s a nice little Easter egg in the novel connecting one character to Assassin’s Creed Dynasty. What was it like making this connection, and are there any others you wished you could make in this novel?
A:I’m so glad you picked up on that! I wanted to weave so many more in there, but I was also conscious of not ostracizing new readers and making the novel just inside winks and jokes. I spent a lot of time – probably too much time, actually - looking through the manyAssassin’s Creed media propertiesto come up with a list of potential characters and events that could work within the timeframe of this novel. Assassin’s Creed Dynasty leapt out to me immediately, as I thought it was brilliant and so thoroughly researched, so I specifically created the [SPOILER] to link back to the events of that story. There are a few others I don’t want to spoil for readers, but perhaps maybe pay attention to Nafanua’s dialogue and backstory in the future … perhaps.
Q: Daughter of No One ends in 824, where Assassin’s Creed Mirage picks up in 861 (give or take). Should players expect any resolution to the final mystery introduced in the novel in the game, or is that perhaps being saved for another novel?
A:That’s up to Ubisoft and the readers, I would say. But I loved spending time with Roshan and I wanted to be really intentional about ending the novel at the point where she joins the Brotherhood because I think the majority of what we’ve seen is her deeply entrenched and established within it. Understanding the journey that led to that decision makes her a more nuanced character, I feel, and as an audience member, I think there’s some great conflict to be mined during those early years in the Brotherhood and atAlamut.
Q: Is there anything you’d like to add as a wrap-up to the interview? Something maybe my questions didn’t touch on?
[END]
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage
WHERE TO PLAY
Play as a cunning young street thief seeking answers in this majestic Middle Eastern open world. Experience the home of the original Assassins in this exciting new narrative-driven, open world adventure. 15 years since the first Assassin’s Creed redefined adventure, experience the franchises' trademark parkour and stealth like never before - in Assasin’s Creed Mirage. In this smaller scale, back to basics Assassin’s caper, you play Basim, a young street thief seeking answers. Roam the richly-detailed, reactive and vibrant streets of 9th century Baghdad, uncovering the mysteries of the past as you fight to secure your future. Stalk the shadows. Become the ultimate assassin.
