Lydia Frye

Churchill: "If you could put your considerable talents to good use at Tower Bridge, you would have the thanks of a brave, but beleaguered nation."

Lydia: "I would settle for the right to vote."

—Lydia to Winston Churchill, 1916.

Lydia Frye (born 1893) was a member of the British Brotherhood of Assassins, the wife of Sam Crowder and the granddaughter of Jacob Frye. During World War I, Lydia operated in London, protecting the city from Templar machinations. At the request of Winston Churchill, she tracked down and eliminated a spy ring affiliated with the German Empire that were led by a Sage.

Biography

Early life

Born into relative comfort, Lydia was initially reluctant to join the Brotherhood like the rest of her family, choosing to focus on her studies instead. Through her education, she nevertheless realized the extent of the Templars' influence throughout the world. This, coupled with the loss of friends and family to the Assassin-Templar War, led Lydia to eventually accept her Assassin heritage and join the fight against the Templars.

As her parents were frequently absent, engaged in missions for the Brotherhood abroad, Lydia turned to her grandfather and her grand-aunt, Evie Frye, for training. From them, she learned to analyze situations and plan accordingly, yet also stay flexible enough to improvise when things went awry.

At some point, Lydia fell in love with fellow Assassin Sam Crowder, whom she married shortly before the outbreak of World War I. While her husband, like many British Assassins, eventually enlisted in the army, Lydia remained in London, in order to protect the city against German spies and the British Rite of the Templar Order.

World War I

Churchill: "Currently, there's a new group, unlike anything I've seen before. Theirs is a fanatical, almost religious, fervor."

Lydia: "And you believe that I'm the woman to flush them out."

—Winston Churchill requesting Lydia's help to eliminate the spy ring, 1916.

Lydia talking to Winston Churchill

In 1916, at the behest of Winston Churchill, Lydia infiltrated and eliminated a German Templar spy facility in Tower Bridge. She later sought out, on his request, the rest of the group and their leader, known only as the "Master Spy", that Churchill deemed to be a pressing matter of national security and which he had been unable to broach with the government due to the lack of sufficient evidence. In exchange for her services, Churchill promised Lydia that he would do what he could for the enfranchisement of women once he had returned to parliament after the War.

After eliminating the Master Spy's followers and stealing the sensitive information they had procured, Lydia was eventually able to track down her target and confronted him at his hideout in the city. The Master Spy managed to escape to another stronghold, but Lydia infiltrated it with the help of Churchill's men and assassinated her target, who turned out to be a Sage. She then met with Churchill, who thanked her for the great service she had done to her country before they both returned to their own affairs.

Personality and traits

"That's not very polite."

―Lydia to a British soldier who aimed a gun at her, 1916.

Lydia was originally uninterested in the Assassin-Templar War and her Assassin heritage, but after discovering the extent of the Templars' influence and losing friends and family to the Templars, she decided to join the Brotherhood to fight against them. In time, she also grew to care about the enfranchisement of women and became an advocate of women's right to vote.

Lydia aiming her pistol

Having been trained by both her grandfather and great-aunt, Lydia was the perfect blend of a fearless brawler and a stealthy Assassin, and she was as likely to carefully plan ahead of her missions as she was to go for a heads-on approach. Possessing both Jacob's sense of humor and Evie's wit, Lydia was shown to frequently joke about her circumstances but nevertheless take the situations she found herself in seriously.

Skills and equipment

Soldier: "The gun is yours. Mr. Churchill assures me you have operated one before."

Lydia: "Mr. Churchill is wrong. But I have pointed at things before."

—Lydia to a British soldier prior to mounting an anti-aircraft gun, 1916.

Lydia was equipped with the same model of Hidden Blade and the same arsenal that her mentors had used nearly fifty years prior. Specifically, she used a kukri identical to the one previously used by Jayadeep Mir as well as an M1877 "Lightning". Lydia possessed the skills of both her brawling grandfather and her stealthy great-aunt and like them, she possessed the rare ability of Eagle Vision.

Behind the scenes

Lydia Frye is a character introduced in the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, where she is playable in several memories set during World War I through a glitch in the Helix caused by Juno. She is voiced by Canadian actress Lisa Norton.

Lydia was referred to as "Miss Frye" by Churchill, suggesting he was unaware of her status as a married woman. Alternatively, Lydia could have kept her family name, rather than take on that of her husband.

Sometimes, likely as a result of oversight in development, allies will refer to Lydia as her grand-aunt, Evie. For example, when rescuing allies during a spy hideout mission, allies will respond "How's it going, Evie?" upon being freed.

Etymology

Lydia is a name of Greek origin, derived from the word Luddia (Λυδια), which means "from Lydia", a region on the west coast of Asia Minor. Frye is a derivative of the English word free.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Lydia's introduction
• 
  References for Lydia's outfit
• 
  Lydia's profile picture in the Helix database
• 
  Close-up of Lydia
• 
  Lydia inspecting the body of a Templar spy
• 
  Lydia using the rope launcher to scale Tower Bridge
• 
  Lydia assassinating two spies
• 
  Lydia manning an anti-aircraft gun

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Collection
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game