The Many Faces of Isu Loki: A Comprehensive Guide to Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s Intriguing Story

Jinni, Nehal, and Basim… They are the three main figures whose identities are shrouded in mist. The interpretation of who they are holds the key to unravel the Assassin’s Creed Mirage story. This post will explore the hidden story plot, which is also the main plot of the game, by analyzing the plot structure and the three main characters in Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

Key Takeaways:

1. Assassin’s Creed Mirage story interwoven plots: Baghdad and Alamut.
2. The identity of the jinni and Nehal: the dark and the bright side dwelling in Basim.
3. Who is the Isu locked up in the vault? Loki or Fenrir?

The story structure of Mirage: The journey in Baghdad and the journey within

Assassin’s Creed Mirage story has two major parts and three main locations. The story lines consist of the elimination of the Order members and the revelation of Basim’s identity. All the plots mainly go on in Baghdad, while the prologue and the ending happen in Anbar and Alamut.

To understand the core idea of the game, we have to focus on the analysis of the latter part, the revelation of Basim’s identity. The value embedded in Assassin’s Creed Mirage is to unveil the past, embrace the past, and finally, forgo the past. This idea drives Basim to embark on his assassin’s journey and brings closure to the story. It is also what Roshan keeps reminding Basim of again and again.

“You do not have to look to the past, to know who you are. Who you can be.”– Roshan

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The prologue and the end: a closely connected structure

While the main gaming time will be in Baghdad, most of the answer to Basim’s identity lies in the beginning and the end.

The investigation of Baghdad’s Order member interplays with the hidden line of Basim’s identity exploration, but only loosely woven until the death of Qabiha (“The Head of the Snake“). Qabiha drops hints about the unique ability that Basim possesses but Roshan kills her before she can reveal more. However, you can trace this hint back to the prologue, when Basim can wake up whatever it is in the ancient artifice.

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At that point, both Roshan and Qabiha understand what Basim is capable of doing from the prologue mission in the Winter Palace. That’s why Roshan recruits Basim as a Hidden One, but the Order does not take any measure to secure Basim as their asset.

Before the final revelation, you might feel a bit unconvincing in the prologue as to the reason for recruiting Basim when he fails to steal of the artifice out of recklessness. Why would Roshan want to recruit him (other than a plot arrangement for the hero)? One major reason is that Basim has come into touch with the artifice and seen something. That is something that Roshan wants to know about, his ability to see into the artifice. If you can recall, Roshan asks fervently about what Basim saw after he woke up at his home.

Another thing that you may notice is why the jinni in Basim’s nightmare is so important. Compared to the closely interwoven plot, the jinni is almost the only thing that links Basim’s identity revelation to the artifice. The investigation of the Order’s members seems to be political. But the side quest from Nehal about the secret shards and the constant appearance of the jinni after the assassinations remind you there might be a more mystic layer of the story. That would require a thorough analysis of what the jinni is.

Jinni I: The hidden story plot about the jinni

The jinni’s first appearance in the game is nothing more than a shadow, like a looming danger in the darkness of Basim’s dream. At first, it seems to embody a mental problem manifesting through nightmares. It could mean something that Basim tries to run away from or something Basim fears in his past. Nothing suggests that the jinni carries any other meaning other than, maybe the dark side of Basim’s nature that he needs to either embrace or overcome.

That’s why it is a bit odd to see Nehal and Basim mention the jinni from time to time. Because it is like they are talking about something that only exists in the dream during the daytime. A bit ridiculous and out of place…

Even if to discuss the jinni as something that represents the past, it does not sound solid until the end of the game. The game basically does not tell us anything about Basim’s past life before he becomes a Hidden One, other than the fact that he is a thief. Certainly nothing traumatic or dark about this life of stealing. So what can this past be about?

Jinni II: The jinni as the haunting past

The game reveals the truth about the jinni in the last part of the temple in Alamut. Besim opens the gate with his blood and enters the temple. The ruins tell the story of a vault keeping an Isu inside. The jinni may be the manifestation of this locked-up figure.

This connection also echoes the images of what Basim sees in the artifice. A man is hitting the other man to the ground. The results of the beating and the torturing in the vault are shown and presented through the jinni. It is a crooked figure, covered in bandages. The final scene of Basim acknowledging the identity of the jinni also symbolizes the moment he acknowledges his past (as Isu Loki, not Basim).

Interestingly, the jinni is a kind of creature that can be either good or evil and a presence that is between an entity and a spiritual existence. It does make sense that the jinni does not turn into a final boss. As you can imagine, it is more like a wisp of spirit and a haunting past for Basim. The jinni is supposed to haunt, but not to deal any critical damage.

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Nehal I: The “fake” presence

Just like the jinni, Nehal’s identity remains a secret until the temple scene. Only after that, you may realize that so many moments and details before are actually quite telling of what Nehal is.

Similar to Basim, the game does not offer much information about Nehal’s past, other than Basim’s statement. More than once, Basim claims Nehal to be his best friend, but that’s it. There are no other side quests or characters to tell more about Nehal’s story or to testify to her existence. However, her presence in the whole gameplay is so natural, that you won’t come to the stage of questioning whether she’s a real existence or not. Thus, compared to the jinni, Nehal is much more of a surprise when at the end we see her in the vault.

She is only a companion from Basim’s imagination. Also, she is another manifestation of the locked-up figure, leading Basim to discover his past, and his identity.

Nehal II: Piecing up the information about Nehal

With the knowledge of Nehal’s true identity, so many clues and puzzles suddenly make sense and can be added up. From the very beginning of the game, it was Basim, not Nehal, killing the Caliphate. When Nehal claims that she will be behind Basim in the Grand Library, of every step he takes, that is actually practicable because Nehal is within Basim and part of Basim. Later in Alamut, when Basim passed out and one of the Hidden Ones rescued him in the cave, Nur said no one was with Basim. Basim assumed that Nehal escaped, but the truth is that Nehal was never there.

The plot hides Nehal’s identity so carefully in the story and her presence is so natural that it is almost impossible to tell ahead that she is only from Basim’s imagination. However, step by step, Nehal leads Basim to challenge Roshan’s instructions and insist on knowing himself by opening the temple.

Nehal appears to be a more positive companion, contrasting with the jinni. If the jinni is there to intimidate as the dark representation, Nehal symbolizes the positive light in Basim’s life. As Basim left the jinni in the past, he still clings to Nehal and acknowledges her as something he will not give up as part of the past (both in the Grand Library and at the temple).

Is Assassin’s Creed Mirage a quest for self-discovery or father-son salvation?

Who is Isu Loki, the figure driving the inner plot of Basim’s adventure? And who exactly is the figure locked up in the vault? Because the game does not state clearly or offer more clues about this. There are two possible interpretations of all these identities shrouded in mysteries:

1. The person locked up is Loki.
2. The person locked up is Fenrir, Loki’s son.

Loki used to be locked up by the gods in Norse Mythology when the gods were tired of his abuse and decided to lock him up to save everyone’s trouble. If so, both the jinni and Nehal are manifestations of Loki, the person locked up in the vault. Basim is also the reincarnation of Loki. Thus, the final scene is how Basim discovers his past as Loki and comes to peace with his being tortured in the past as Loki.

The other possibility is that the person in the vault is Fenrir, Loki’s son from the union with Aletheia. According to the prophecy, Fenrir is to slay Odin. Because of this prophecy, Fenrir was locked up by Odin until he escaped when he was a teenager. Later, Fenrir was once again held in custody in Lyngvi. The one-eyed Isu imprisoned Fenrir for life. After that, Loki has been trying to find ways to free Fenrir and save the heavily wounded Aletheia. By uploading his mind to the human gene pool, Loki can have another chance to save Aletheia, and maybe to free the son as well.

In that case, you can interpret Basim’s adventure back to the temple as a father’s attempt to save the imprisoned son, after eons. It would be a more fascinating interpretation that the jinni is the haunting nightmare and obsession of saving Fenrir, and Nehal represents the bright side of Fenrir and the father-son relationship. That’s why Nehal is from the past, but it stays with Basim even after the temple.

Both interpretations have their grounds. The second interpretation will create more tension among the main characters. In comparison, it will be a bit bland and boring if the jinni, Nehal, and Basim are all representations of Loki.

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Conclusion: What is unsolved in Assassin’s Creed Mirage?

The final part of the game only tells the revelation, not the power. Two questions are left unsolved:

1. What consequences are there for Basim to know his identity and what the jinni is?
2. Why does the Order want Basim to know about the temple so much? Do they presume something powerful is hidden in the temple?

There are not many clues in the final part of Alamut. It seems that it would be easier to tell the ins and outs with more clues. The ending of the Assassin’s Creed Mirage appears to be a bit of a rush. But the revelation of Nehal’s identity certainly achieves its surprising effects.

The story of the Assassin’s Creed Mirage is fascinating at the end when the jinni, Nehal, and Basim confront each other. It is also at this pivotal point that the game reveals its core value of the game. Basim’s growth may not be from his past as Basim, but from his bravery of severing himself from Loki’s fate and destiny.