Brinley Ellsworth

"You can't just walk this Earth like a free man. You are nothing more than a trophy, a stag's head above the mantelpiece. You have caused enough commotion as it is. It's time to put an end to this."

―Brinley to Duleep Singh, 1868.

Brinley Ellsworth was a member of the British Indies Company and the British Rite of the Templar Order during the Victorian era. A childhood friend of Maharaja Duleep Singh of the Sikh Empire, he later attempted to have Singh killed in order to crush India's independence, but his efforts were thwarted by the Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye.

Biography

Early life

Brinley was born in India to English missionary parents, who endeavored to convert Indians and restore peace to the new colonies. In 1848, his father, Franklin Ellsworth, tasked Brinley with keeping watch over a young Duleep Singh. The two became fast friends, but were separated when Duleep was later exiled to England.

Brinley stayed in India, where he eventually became an apprentice to a government official of the British Indies Company. His new duties consisted of keeping the peace by preventing another rebellion and ensuring Britain stayed in control of its colony. Around this time, Brinley was secretly recruited into the Templar Order.

Plotting against the Maharaja

Brinley: "The Logins', the Company, they all wanted your silence! Whether you spare me or end me, you won't escape the fate they have planned for you."

Duleep: "It seems you have learned nothing of India, of its people... But killing you? That is something I cannot do. It would make me no better than that cursed, oppressive company you work for."

Brinley: "You will die as you were raised, Singh. You will never be more than a trophy of war."

—Brinley and Duleep following the former's defeat, 1868.

In 1868, the British Rite under Grand Master Crawford Starrick was dismantled by the British Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye, who were both acquaintances of Duleep. The remnants of the Rite wrote a letter to Brinley in India, requesting his aid to thwart Duleep's attempts at restoring Punjab independence from the British Empire.

Traveling to London, Brinley reunited with his childhood friend at Buckingham Palace and secretly tried to keep him distracted while an assassin shot him from afar. However, the sniper missed and was quickly caught and eliminated by Jacob and Evie Frye, who learned about the Templars' and the British Indies Company's plot to assassinate Duleep.

Brinley defeated by Evie Frye

After the Assassins and Duleep worked together to sabotage the Templars' and the Company's operations, Brinley personally confronted Jacob and Evie and revealed himself as the mastermind behind the recent attacks against the Maharaja. A furious Duleep subsequently arranged a meeting with Brinley in the Lambeth cemetery, during which the Templar positioned several Blighters around the cemetery to kill the Maharaja. However, Evie eliminated the Blighters and disarmed Brinley with a throwing knife when the latter pulled a gun on Duleep.

Defeated, Brinley claimed that his superiors desired Duleep's death and that they would achieve their goal regardless of what happened to him. Feeling that killing Brinley would make them no better than the British Indies Company, the Maharaja convinced Evie to spare the Templar and allowed him to leave, though not before Brinley gloated that Duleep would never see his people again and that he would die as he had lived: as a "trophy of war".

Gallery

• 
  Brinley reuniting with Singh
• 
  Brinley attending a gala at the Tower of London
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  Brinley ordering his men to deal with Evie
• 
  Brinley attacking Singh
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  Singh offering Brinley his hand
• 
  Brinley insulting Singh before leaving

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate – The Last Maharaja