Being an Assassin was the only life he knew. While he questioned Al Mualim incessantly, he still only had his guidance and the Creed to go on—as well as what he saw with his own eyes. Increasingly, he was beginning to see things were not so simple as he thought. He thought of Garnier de Naplouse's dying words. He had seemed so sane and so sure of his cause. Yet, his horrific work on kidnapped slaves spoke otherwise.

"I do not know what those people or places are—or your way of life, for that matter. But you spoke of protecting innocents. Never forget to do that."

The first part of the Assassins' Creed ordered them to stay their blades from innocents. Altaïr had broken that rule, among others, when he skirted the fine line between killing a possible snitch or finding another path around him. Al Mualim had everything taken from him and made him start over in rank, but Altaïr still had enough pride to continue fighting for ideals he was more sure about. Those who could not defend themselves against corrupt guards or tyrants had an ally in him. It made him friends among common folk and vigilantes, but it also made him enemies.

"It will set you apart," he warned. "You may even be persecuted for it."