Ezio Auditore da Firenze

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"Niente è vero, tutto è permesso."

―Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze (1459 - ?) is the protagonist of Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed II: Discovery. He is an ancestor of Desmond and a descendant of Altaïr, as well as being the latest known link between the lineages of Subject 16 and that of Desmond.

Character Biography

Assassin's Creed: Lineage

Ezio portrayed by Devon Bostick.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze, is a young member of the Florentine Nobility and the second son of Giovanni Auditore, an Assassin. He is ignorant to his father's true profession, and his hereditary duties. He has slight skills at playing chess, and he is "learning fast" according to his mother (though he lost against his older brother, Federico).

Plot

Ezio Auditore da Firenze's story begins moments after he exits the womb of his mother, Maria Auditore. Originally it seemed like Ezio was a stillborn, but after his father arrives the newborn begins to move his limbs and cry. Giovanni Auditore, his father, welcomes Ezio into the world and bestows his name upon him. We rejoin Ezio years later during a rousing pre-fight speech, addressing his friends. Ezio is holding one side of a bridge against Vieri Di Pazzi and his men, whom insult the House of Auditore, and Ezio's mother and father personally. Reprimanded gently by his elder brother, Federico and his father, Ezio becomes more involved with his family's affairs. He would then sleep with Cristina Vespucci that night. His father, Giovanni, and another man, Uberto Alberti are discussing secret matters that Ezio can't make sense of, but seem urgent. Eventually, guards raid Plazzo Auditore and arrest Giovanni, Federico, and Petruccio, leaving just Maria and Claudia at the home. Ezio delivers evidence that can prove his family's innocence to Uberto, who promises to defend them at the hearing. But it turns out Uberto is a traitor who destroyed the evidence and sentenced the three Auditore men to death. Swearing vengeance, Ezio has to hide his mother and sister and learn the ways of the Assassin. He is first taught stealth by Paola of the Courtesans, mainly in survival in the streets. After assassinating Uberto, apparently a city official in charge of the law, Ezio has to balance his life between assassinations and protecting his sister and mother, who refuses to speak after Ezio's father and brothers were murdered. Now wanted in Florence, Ezio has to flee Florence to Tuscany with his family to the Auditore villa. He meets up with Uncle Mario, whose mercenaries save his family from an attack by Vieri and his men. He is taught basic combat, by his Uncle Mario, of the Mercenary faction and agrees to continue his father's work as an Assassin. For the next 23 years, he works as an Assassin, killing off the Templars responsible for the deaths of his father and brothers. Rodrigo Borgia, the leader of the Templars, starts to become aware of his movements, and tries to protect the other Templars. However, all of them die by Ezio's hands. Two of Ezio's last targets, Silvio Barbarigo and Dante Moro, reveal that he and the rest of the Templars were going to sail away. When Ezio asks Silvio where they were planning to sail to Silvio refuses and dies. Dante Moro, who reveals that they were planning to sail to Cyprus and was going to tell Ezio why, but he dies before he can finish his statement. Later on, Leonardo da Vinci informs Ezio that one of the Codex Pages reveal that only the Prophet can open the Vault. Ezio finally learns that Rodrigo Borgia arrived at Venice and was receiving a package from Cyprus. He believed that Rodrigo was expecting the arrival from the prophet and tries to find a way to infiltrate and prove Rodrigo wrong. Ezio assassinates the deliverer and dresses in his armor. He is able to infiltrate the delivery, and told Rodrigo that the Prophet does not exist. Rodrigo laughs and tells Ezio that he, Rodrigo Borgia, was the prophet. Ezio fights Rodrigo and many other guards for the package. All of Ezio's past allies arrive and reveal that they are Assassins as well. After defeating Borgia, he flees the area and the Assassins tell Ezio that Rodrigo is not the prophet, but Ezio may be the prophet. Ezio is initiated into the Assassins Order that night. At the end of the game, Ezio travels to Rome to assassinate Rodrigo Borgia, who has now become the Pope, the most powerful man in all of Italy, if not all of Europe. Ezio traverses through the walls and towers of Rome and eventually reaches the Sistine Chapel, where he seemingly assassinates Borgia without being seen. To Ezio's suprise, Borgia arises with the Staff and attempts to kill Ezio and everyone else in the chapel with the Staff. Ezio had the Apple, and was able to resist the Staff's power. A suprised Borgia taunts Ezio and challenges him to a duel. Summoning four clones, Ezio duels Borgia. It appears that Ezio defeats Borgia, but Borgia uses the Staff to turn himself invisible and takes the Apple from Ezio. Borgia then lifts Ezio in the air with the Staff and stabs him, but Ezio was able to survive and using his Eagle Vision, he finds and faces Borgia one last time. The two fist fight, and Ezio emerges victorious, and uses the Staff and the Apple to access the Vault. Inside the Vault, he is greeted by a 'goddess' who identifies herself as Minerva. She explains to Ezio the true history of humanity and her race and warns that humanity is 'due for a second round'. Strangely though, she seems to be talking to another person, even though only Ezio is in the room. When Ezio asks her this, she admits that she does not wish to speek to Ezio but through him, as he is the Prophet. At the end of her speech, she says, "The rest is up to you... Desmond." A confused Ezio demands to know who Desmond is, but Minerva disappears and Ezio's story ends there.

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery

Sometime in late 1491, Antonio asks Ezio to pay him a visit. When Ezio arrives, Antonio is accompanied by man named Luis Santangel. Luis asks if Ezio will protect his friend, Christoffa Corombo (Christopher Columbus), who is currently on his way to meeting with Rodrigo Borgia. Seeing this an opportunity to kill Borgia himself, Ezio agrees. But Borgia is a no-show and has sent one of his own agents to the meeting to murder Christoffa. Ezio halts the attack just in time and is quickly entangled in a Templar plot to steal a mysterious atlas from Christoffa. With this atlas the Templars hope to establish a secret trade route to the Orient ... or so their cover story goes. Ezio travels to Spain to find out the Templars' new plans and to rescue a number of Assassins imprisoned by the Inquisition.

Background

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Young Ezio being approached by a guard (a Brute) after protesting at his fathers and brothers execution.

Ezio is a young Florentine nobleman who lives during the 15th and 16th century. Unlike Altaïr, he is a seducer, and easily blends with any social class. He comes from an affluent background and has many friends until a life-changing event, wherein he and his family are betrayed, victims of a conspiracy that takes his father's, elder brother's, and younger brother's lives. Forced to protect his mother and his sister Claudia, his remaining family, he becomes an Assassin, exacting vengeance on the conspirators who betrayed his family, his first victim, the one who sentenced his father's and brothers' public execution, Uberto Alberti. From that day on, Ezio and the rest of the Auditore family are considered criminals and traitors, and he flees Florence to the safety of his ancestral home in the Tuscan countryside. Ezio is helped not only by his uncle Mario, but also Leonardo da Vinci, who becomes his best friend and his personal engineer, as well as Niccolò Machiavelli, Lorenzo de' Medici and other famous Renaissance figures.

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Ezio conversing with Lorenzo de Medici

Ezio will travel across Italy to various locations like Venice, Tuscany and Rome. In Assassin's Creed II, all players will live approximately 23 years of his life from when he was 17 years old (a Novice), to 40 years old (a Master Assassin), or 1476 to 1499.

After he returns from Spain, he sealed his piece of Eden under the statue of Altair at the Villa. It is also speculated that Ezio does in fact have the ability to live forever due to the Staff's powers. Another popular rumour is that Ezio meets Altair at least once through out his life.   

Equipment and Skills

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Ezio assassinating two guards at once with the Dual-Hidden Blades.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze is a highly skilled assassin (when a Master Assassin) equaled only by his ancestor Altair . He is so skilled that to several fields of combat (fistfighting, hidden blades combat etc)  or free-running, he is superior even to Altair. He is able to use a variety of weapons including two hidden blades, allowing him to assassinate two enemies simultaneously. Combat is also available with the hidden blade, as when countering an enemy, Ezio will kill the enemy, whether by stabbing repeatedly in the chest/stomach, or stabbing in the head. He can also steal (and use) several enemy weapons such as axes, hammers, maces, spears, halberds and two different sword types (one and two-handed). Ezio is also able to use Leonard Da Vinci's flying machine in some parts of the game, gaining altitude from bonfires set throughout the city by his allies. Ezio will gain many upgrades from Da Vinci on his wrist gauntlet like a wheel lock firearm concealed near his left hidden blade, and a poison needle inside one other hidden blade. Ezio possesses the ability to use Eagle Vision while moving. He can visit Blacksmiths to purchase weapons and armors including Helmschmeid and Metal Plate, or tailors to customize the colors of his clothing. After obtaining all six seals from hidden Assassin's Tombs, Ezio can open the locked gate to Altair's Armor inside the Villa Monteriggioni, created by Altair after the defeat of Al-Mualim. It is easily the best armor available in the game, giving much more health and resistance points than any prior suit or piece, and it is unbreakable.

The Codex pieces alludes to the possibility of the armor being forged from, or including parts of, the Golden Fleece - which could be a Piece of Eden. Considering that the armor is unbreakable, this is likely. The Sword of Altair can also be bought from the Monteriggioni blacksmith any time after the eighth scenario.

Trivia

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Ezio's database picture

• The Italian name 'Ezio' derives from the Greek word 'Aetos', which means "Eagle", similar to Altaïr whose name means "The Flying One".
• Unlike Altaïr (who had his ring finger removed as a commitment to make way for the Hidden Blade), Ezio has all ten fingers. A modification to the Hidden Blade made sometime after Altaïr defeated Al-Mualim spared Ezio's left ring finger. Leonardo Da Vinci deciphers a Codex Page written by Altaïr on which said modification was illustrated. Instead of said removal of the ring finger, Assassins now have a mark burned into the ring finger as a sign of their lineage.
• It is stated in the Philosophical Codex that after Altaïr defeated Al-Mualim at the end of the first Assassin's Creed and became the leader, the Assassins were forced to realize the scope of their fight against the Templars, and had to abandon many of their traditions: like the removal of the ring finger or the ban on using poison, in order to survive.
• Ezio uses a wheel lock firearm, a type of weapon that Europe didn't start developing until the very late 1400's and early 1500's, sometime during the Italian Renaissance, making this weapon most likely one of the very first of its type to appear in Europe. Thus, many in-game citizens do not know what the weapon is. The earliest firearms were single shot and took time to reload, so will most likely be only used as a last resort weapon. Leonardo Da Vinci didn't create the firearm mentioned, but found instructions to make one from a Codex page, meaning Altaïr was the one who invented the Hidden Gun. Through knowledge gained from the Apple of Eden. Also note that Da Vinci created some of the first modern wheel lock pistols, so this could be a shortened version of one.
• Ezio's face in Assassin's Creed II seems to be a mixture of Desmond's (Francisco Randez) and Devon Bostick's from Lineage .
• It would appear as though Ezio is unaware that he of his lineage to Assassins or that he is a descendant of Altaïr, despite learning about Altaïr in Monteriggioni and what kind of assassin he was, he never truly understands why he is such a successful assassin himself.
• Ezio is 40 years old in 1499 (15 years older than Altaïr's age in 1191); the same age as his father when his father died in 1476.
• If you move the camera to a certain angle in the game, Ezio's face has barely aged, except for the beard, even if you played through 20 plus years of his life. His voice does deepen and mature through time, though.
• It seems that his father's Hidden Blade has survived over almost 500 years (from 1499 to 2012) since Desmond is seen using a similar looking one at the end of the game.
• The scar on Ezio's mouth may have been acquired after the mission "Boys Will Be Boys", when Vieri De Pazzi threw the rock at his face during the first memory sequence
• If you look at Desmond's face and Ezio's, they have an identical scar on their mouths(this also applies to Altair).