Haytham Kenway

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Haytham Kenway (1725 - 1781) was the Grand Master of the Templar Order in Colonial America, from 1754 until his death in 1781. Born to the Assassin Edward Kenway, Haytham was converted to the Templar cause by Reginald Birch. After being sent to America to find a First Civilization storehouse and establish a permanent Order in the New World, Haytham became the Grand Master of the American Templars. He fathered the Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton with the Mohawk woman Kaniehti:io, and was an ancestor to Desmond Miles.

Biography

Early Life

Haytham was born in Great Britain to the Assassin Edward Kenway, and trained as an Assassin until defecting to the Templars at cause of Reginald Birch while he was young.

Young Adult

After training and becoming an official Templar, Haytham would do the work of his Templar Conspirators, mostly focusing on objects and materials of TWCB. At one point in his early adulthood, Haytham worked with Edward Braddock, who eventually leaves the Templar Order after slaughtering innocents. In the year 1754, he attended a play at the Theatre Royal in the Covent Garden to kill a man holding a 'precursor' artifact, known as the 'key'. After the assassination, he fled the Opera House and met once more with his co-conspirators. From there, he was chartered a ship for Boston, known as the Providence, to locate and open the a TWCB storehouse in the region, as well as set up a Templar control over the colonies. With his list of Colonial Templars, he left England.

Aboard the Providence

On the second day of his journey, Haytham got into a fight with some of the Crew members, Hector Graves being the main attacker. After defeating him and the other man, he was taken back to the Captain's Quarters to speak with the Captain. He learned that the other crew members may have been planning a mutiny, and was asked to investigate to insure he would survive to the Colonies.

On the twentieth day of his journey, he began his investigation by order of the Captain. After asking the Cook and Doctor about information regarding peculiar actions, he was referred to a man named James. James told him that crew members had been gathering above deck and quietly conversing about things that he believed "boded ill". After a splashing sound was heard, Haytham went below deck and discovered that barrels had been thrown overboard.

On the thirty-third day of his journey, Haytham spoke with the captain about painted barrels being thrown over daily, determining that they were a marker to leave a trail for another ship. Seconds later, a boat was sighted that attacked the Providence. Following, the captain sent him below deck, where Haytham killed Mills with a sword. After the kill, he went to explain to the Captain before leading the ships into the storm ahead.

During the storm, Haytham secured the rigging of the Providence before flying the foremast to quicken the ship's motions. After lightening snapped the main mast and left James hanging from a rope, Haytham continued to quickly save James just as the attacking ship had sunk as a result of being struck by lightning.

On the seventy-second day, Haytham reaches Boston, where he meets his first assistant and recruit, Charles Lee, who gives him a short tour of the city. During the tour, Haytham meets Benjamin Franklin, discovering that some of his Almanac's pages are missing. He also meets his first partner, William Johnson, at the Green Dragon Tavern, as well as Thomas Hickey.

Early Boston

Now the grand-master of the Templar Order in the Colonies, Haytham first works to unite his new partners. After meeting Johnson, he learns that William is missing some of his work from a robbery. Leaving to find Johnson's man, Hickey, another man on the list, Haytham searches for those responsible. After finding Hickey and getting an explanation, Haytham, with the help of Charles and Thomas, infiltrates a Mercenary Fort until finding the papers. After finding the papers, he and Thomas kill off attacking soldiers until the papers are delivered.

Learning that the research would not be useful in the situation, Haytham went to find his other partners, starting with Benjamin Church. After he went to Church's home, he learned that there had been a raid, and that Charles had been taken. He then followed to conduct an investigation with Charles where he eavesdropped on neighbors' conversations. The first one informed Haytham that Charles had been taken somewhere in Northeastern Boston. Following that, he went to a higher point of Boston to view the area for other prospects. The second eavesdrop informed him of relatively nothing, and was a conversation between two redcoats. The third, also a conversation of redcoats informed him that Church was in debt to someone, and that a man named 'Cutter' was with whatever group was with them, and that they planned to torture or kill Benjamin. The fourth, between two civilians, informed Haytham that the group that took Church had taken him to the top of a hill, at a fort that had a doctor.

After getting the information, he met once more with Charles to locate Church near the water-front beside the fort, slipping by undetected to a locked door at the edge. Silently, he stole a key off of one of the nearby regulars and opened the door to the building. Going inside with Lee, he found Church tied to a chair, surrounded by a few regulars and being 'interrogated' by a man named Silas, who was in charge of the nearby Fort. After Silas left, Lee and Haytham silently killed the soldiers and Cutter before freeing Church and going back to the Tavern.

Next, he went to retrieve the next man, John Pitcairn, from Braddock at the Copp's Hill Battery inside of Boston. After having sneaked in with the help of Lee, he located Pitcairn near the end of the fort, speaking with General Braddock about mistakes. When Haytham attempted to take Pitcairn with him, Braddock refused, and sent him and Charles away. Later, he quickly tricked Braddock and his men into a dead end and slaughtered most of them, humiliating the General before he stole Pitcairn either way. He followed to take Pitcairn with him to the Tavern and speak with his partners.

After gathering his new co-conspirators, Haytham planned an infiltration on the fort run by Silas. The reasoning was so that he could free the native slaves so that he could discover where the TWCB storehouse was. Locating a convoy, he and his partners ambushed it, slaughtering all of the regulars and dressing in their garb. Using the idea of a Trojan Horse, he sneaked his men into the fort, freed the slaves within, killed the fort's General, and had Silas shot by Church.

The Storehouse

Six months after the death of Silas, Haytham had successfully had his partners track down a woman that they had freed in the attack, a native who had appeared to have some sort of command. In the snow, he located her by following tracks she had left behind, and chased her through the Frontier on the ground while she ran through the trees. When he finally caught up to her, they spoke about the 'key' and if she knew where the storehouse was. Telling him to meet her at a nearby hill, she left, and he eventually followed.

When he met her at the hilltop, she told him about soldiers in the nearby tavern that wished to drive her people away, and that they were led by Edward Braddock, the Bulldog. He suggested that they stop the soldiers, coming up with a plan to kill Braddock. After entering the tavern, he began eavesdropping on some regulars, which informed him of Braddock's plans to go on an 'expedition'. The second group of regulars he listened to informed him that Braddock was already at the 'advanced' camp, preparing to fight French soldiers. Just as he attempted to leave the tavern, he was brought into a bar-fight with some of the regulars, making short work of them with a minor face injury. The woman, Kaniehti:io, quickly cleaned it for him. She then left, telling Haytham to meet her at the camp.

Haytham quickly followed, meeting the woman outside of the British campsite while deep in the blizzard. Sneaking into a supply cart, he hid inside until entering the walls of the fort. After getting into the camp, Haytham silently went through the camp, breaking the two cannons before starting to eavesdrop on a conversation between the young George Washington and a Regular officer. Listening, he learned that Braddock refused a truce to end the French and Indian War, and was rallying troops before he would take a trip to Fort Duquesne, and that a copy of the plans was inside of the Command Tent. Haytham quickly stole it and left the fort, taking them to Kaniehti:io and discussing a plan to ambush the soldiers beside the Allegheny(or Monongahela) river.

A few months later, Haytham rallied his co-conspirators to met with Kaniehti:io near the edge of the river. After speaking with her a bit, they wait in the hiding point while they wait for Braddock and his men. Creating a quick plan of deception, Haytham goes and assassinates one of the regulars, taking the man's outfit to hide within it and sneak up to Braddock's side. Witnessing Braddock kill one of his men, he waited a moment before riding close to the General. Following a failed attack from one of the other men, the Bulldog rode off and Haytham was forced to ride after him. When a tree fell before Braddock, he fell back, allowing Haytham to catch up with him. Just as he was about to shoot, Washington killed the horse beneath him. To save him, Kaniehti:io tackled Washington from his horse, and Haytham rose to chase after Braddock again on foot. Haytham chased him until he was able to assassinate him. After killing him, he took Braddock's ring from his finger and went with Kaniehti:io to the storehouse.

Reaching the storehouse, Haytham attempted to open the door with his key, unable to do so because it was the incorrect precursor. Then, he had a romantic moment with Kaniehti:io. Following, he met with his co-conspirators again, plotting the future of the Templar Order in the Colonies, and inducting Lee as a Templar. Later, he would have another moment with Kaniehti:io, which would lead to the birth of Assassin Ratonhnhké:ton.

Equipment and skills

Haytham was a capable freerunner, able to stealthily climb the inside of an opera house with little effort. He was also an avid planner, able to quickly come up with infiltration techniques that could cripple a group. As well as that, he was an intelligent speakr. He also possessed two Hidden Blades as well as the rare ability of Eagle Vision.

Trivia

• Haytham's name is connected with an eagle, continuing the eagle motif set by Aquilus, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Aveline de Grandpré and Nikolai Orelov.
• Like some of Desmond's ancestors, the meaning of Haytham's name relates to his character:
  • "Haytham" is an Arabic name meaning "young eagle."
  • "Kenway" is an Old English name meaning "brave royal fighter."
• Haytham has an eagle symbol on his jacket's left cuff, and what appears to be a broken, rusted Assassin insignia on his right bracer.
• Haytham is the first playable Templar in the Assassin's Creed series, and the first to wear a hat instead of the symbolic white hood of the Assassins, the second being Aveline de Grandpré.
• He is the second known ancestor of Desmond to be a Templar, the other being Maria Thorpe. Contrary to Maria, Haytham was an Assassin first and then joined the Templars, while Maria left the Templars for the Assassins.
• Haytham's hidden blades are unlike those of previous ancestors, as well as Ratonhnhké:ton. His lay closer to the sides of his wrists, sliding out more against the sides of his hands.
• Haytham is the second known Templar to perform a leap of faith, the other being Francesco de' Pazzi.
• In the mission "Infiltrating Southgate" in Sequence 2, the partners that you work with are displayed with assassin insignia's over there heads, despite being Templars.
  • The inclusion was most likely added to determine which soldiers were yours, since they were wearing Redcoat disguises.

Gallery

• 
  Haytham speaking with captain of The Providence.

Reference

• Assassin's Creed III