In the first Assassin's Creed game, Masyaf is the Assassin's Guild headquarters.
Masyaf is a mountain settlement in modern-day Syria and serves as the operational center of the Levantine Assassin Brotherhood. Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad returns there after missions to report to Al Mualim, the Brotherhood's mentor. The game presents Masyaf as a fortified community overlooking a dramatic valley.
The settlement is not one of the three principal cities where Altaïr conducts most of his investigations. Those major urban settings are Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. This distinction can cause confusion because Masyaf is central to the story, while the other three cities provide most of the historical missions. Masyaf also appears at important points in the opening and conclusion of the game, making it one of the series' most recognizable locations.