Mentor (2000)

They call me many things: Murderer. Cutthroat. Thief. But you may call me Mentor. This article is about a subject that lacks an official name and is known only by its nickname, title, or alias.

"No one ever gets to meet the Mentor. No one knows where he is or even what he looks like. Some of the guys think he's made up. Oz, the Great and Powerful."

―Hannah Mueller describing the Mentor to Daniel Cross, 2000.

The "Mentor" (died 2000) was the highest authority of the global Assassin Order during the late 20th century. An elderly man, the Mentor's years of service to the Assassin cause had imbued him with a worldly wisdom that allowed him to see the greater picture, and coordinate the activities of the Order.

To avoid the eyes of the Assassins' ancient enemies, the Templars, the Mentor remained on the move and frequently traveled between a number of offices across the world. Such was the Mentor's devotion to remaining undetected that he acquired an almost mythic reputation, with many of his fellow Assassins disputing whether he even truly existed.

During a face-to-face meeting with up-and-coming Assassin, Daniel Cross, at his facility in Dubai, the Mentor was betrayed and killed by Daniel, a Templar sleeper agent who had been behaviorally conditioned to infiltrate the Assassin Order and slay their leader.

Biography

Guiding the Order

"I must always be three steps ahead of our enemies to ensure that power is balanced and not abused. [...] I must be everywhere at once, forever vigilant."

―The Mentor

The Mentor rose to his position some time prior to the year 2000. As the leader of the entire Order, the need for secrecy was his highest priority, and he thus led the Assassins from a distance. Over time, he became something of a legendary figure to his followers, who, unsure of whether he even existed, likened their enigmatic leader to the fictional Wizard of Oz.

The Mentor monitored the activities of different corporations and countries, and gathered the necessary intelligence to help history develop through free will, not by force or dictation. His offices contained large libraries, as well as screens streaming news reports from around the world. He was once described to be a "strategic super-genius", as he could use this information to see the bigger picture, and direct the Assassins accordingly.

As the world approached the dawn of the 21st century and a new millennium, the Mentor focused on the United States presidential election. With intelligence that the Templars planned to bring their puppet into office, the Mentor began preparing countermeasures as early as 1998.

Daniel Cross

Daniel: "I feel like every step of my life has led me to this moment."

Mentor: "We all have our purpose, Daniel. Yours is becoming clear to you. It's a very good thing you're on our side. You're very special."

—Daniel meeting the Mentor

In 1998, the Mentor finally caught word of Daniel Cross, a young man with an unknown connection to the Assassins, and who was convinced he had "heard" the Mentor calling for Daniel to find him. This drove the young Assassin to seek out the Mentor, and receive some explanation of the constant visions he had of the genetic memories of his great-grandfather, Nikolai Orelov. As Daniel described it, "I've seen how humanity began and I've seen our potential, but only he can unlock it."

Over the next two years, Daniel visited the scattered Assassin camps all over the world, ignoring the others' insistence that his efforts to see the Mentor were futile. By 2000, the Mentor was impressed by Daniel's persistence, as well as interested in the visions he was having. He thus sent his men to retrieve Daniel, and bring him to his current residence in Dubai.

The Mentor rousing Daniel from his memories

Though Daniel asked if the Mentor had called for him, the Mentor admitted that the voice Daniel had been hearing was "within", and not his own. He then told Daniel that he was eager to learn about him, since he seemed to be someone "of very unique value". Wishing to see Daniel experience one of his visions, the Mentor instructed him to count down from 100 in Russian, the language of his ancestor. Daniel obeyed, and the Mentor was fascinated to hear him relive another of Nikolai's memories.

After Daniel's sense of the actual world returned, the Mentor showed him his offices. The two discussed the nature of the Assassins, and their role in the modern world, with the Mentor explaining the responsibilities that came with his position. When the Mentor mentioned that one of his responsibilities was selecting a successor, Daniel was flattered, claiming that he was honored, and wouldn't let him down. The Mentor was amused at his assumption, and simply said that he had potential, but still had much to learn.

Assassination

"I thought you were better than this..."

―The Mentor's final words to Daniel

Daniel assassinating the Mentor

In the brief time they spent together, the Mentor decided to personally conduct Daniel's official initiation into the Assassin Order. However, when he presented the newly inducted Assassin with his old ceremonial Hidden Blade, Daniel suddenly turned the weapon on the Mentor himself, stabbing the Assassin leader in the throat.

Unknown to either of the two, Daniel was a Templar sleeper agent, who had been subjected to behavioral conditioning designed to influence him to infiltrate the Assassins, seek out their leader, and kill him when given the chance. Confused and bleeding, the Mentor slumped to the floor of his office, realizing that the Templars were "smarter than the Assassins thought." After lamenting that he had thought Daniel to be better, the Mentor succumbed to his injuries.

Personality and traits

"Give a man a chance to act honorably, without manipulation, and he usually will. For the sake of humanity, we have to believe that."

―The Mentor

The Mentor in his Dubai office

By the year 2000, the Mentor was an elderly man whose appearance was indicative of his years. His hair had grayed and his face was lined with wrinkles. He dressed in white, a color long associated with the Assassins.

Though he had been physically removed from the daily actions of the Assassins, the Mentor remained in possession of his ceremonial Hidden Blade, which he stored in a glass case within his Dubai office. The Mentor also kept at least one dog, which resembled a German Shepherd.

The Mentor took pride in the legacy of the Assassin leaders that preceded him, and viewed his duties with solemnity and reverence. Since each Mentor trained their chosen successor, and imparted upon them their accumulated knowledge, the Mentor described himself to be a "living conduit" of the Mentors before him, who possessed the "sum total of their experience and knowledge".

He held an understanding of human nature, and was aware of both genetic memory and the theoretical technology capable of accessing it. The Mentor also quickly recognized Daniel Cross' mysterious visions as an instance of the Bleeding Effect.

The Mentor was an avid reader, and kept a substantial collection of books at his office in Dubai, including The Will of the Universe by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. He also elected to decorate the interior of his offices with several statues of notable figures from Assassin history; among them Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Iltani, and Marcus Junius Brutus.

Gallery

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  The Mentor speaking with Daniel
• 
  Assassins discovering the Mentor's body

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: The Fall (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game (mentioned only)