The Creed as the only authority the Brotherhood acknowledges — the philosophical framework that makes the Assassins something other than another faction seeking power. Kings claim divine right. Popes claim divine mandate. The Creed claims neither — it is a set of principles about the conditions for human freedom, and the Brotherhood exists to defend those conditions. The fear it generates is the fear of something that cannot be bought, bribed, or incorporated.

Answering only to the Creed is also Ezio's answer to Leonardo's question, to Machiavelli's question, to everyone in the game who wants to understand what the Brotherhood is for. Not for the Assassins' power. For the conditions under which no one has to submit to the Borgia.