Jabal

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"Then I give you leave to go. End the life of de Montferrat that we may call this city free."

―Jabal, giving Altaïr permission to assassinate his target

Jabal (Arabic: جبل) was a member of the Assassin Order, the bureau leader of Acre, and a Rafiq.

Biography

Before Altaïr lost his Master Assassin rank at Solomon's Temple, Jabal - like all other bureau leaders - used to give him the information necessary to assassinate his target, rather than make him search for it himself.

However, this changed as Altaïr was stripped off his ranks, to be Novice once more, learning the ways of assassination and stealth through gathering information. Thus, Jabal and the other bureau leaders constantly pushed Altaïr to find out as much of his target as possible, trying to cleanse him from the arrogance that also caused him to fail at Solomon's Temple.

First visit

When Altaïr's had to assassinate his first target at Acre, Garnier de Naplouse, Jabal seemed impressed as the former Master told him he had already gathered enough information to safely go through with his mission. The bureau leader continued his interrogation of the assassin, eventually giving him permission to go, saying: "Remove this stain from Acre, Altaïr. Perhaps it will help cleanse your own.", obviously hinting at the assassin's failure that had caused him the strip of his ranks.

Second visit

The second time Altaïr came to visit Jabal during his Hunt for the Nine, to assassinate William de Montferrat, Jabal greeted the assassin, telling him word had spread about his deeds. The Rafiq then mentioned that Altaïr seemed sincere in his desire to redeem himself, already hinting that he previously lost trust in the assassin when he first heard of the his failure. He then told Altaïr what he knew of the target, before letting him go to search for information himself.

File:Jabal.png

Altaïr taking the feather from Jabal.

Later the Master Assassin came back to Jabal, telling the bureau leader what he had found out about his target. Jabal heard him out, eventually giving him leave to go, handing him the feather. Altaïr assured him he'd be back after assassinating his target.

Third visit

At Altaïr's third arrival, to assassinate Sibrand, Jabal seemed to be in a less joyful mood than he had been before, nodding sagely as the Master Assasin mentioned Sibrand's name. When Altaïr told the rafiq he had already learned much about his target, Jabal seemed obviously impressed, but pushed the assassin to tell everything he knew, before handing him the feather, warning him to be on his guard. However, when Altaïr turned to leave, the Rafiq apologized for doubting the dedication the Master showed to the Assassins' cause. After Altaïr reassured him it was himself who erred, and that Jabal owed him nothing, the rafiq let him go, wishing him safety as he left.

Characteristics and personality

Jabal tended to always be in a jovial mood; mentioned is that his eyes twinkled as he greeted Altaïr back into his assassins' bureau, also looking up as the former Master Assassin visited his bureau for the first time, pleasantly greeting him with a joke: "A little bird told me you'd be paying a visit.", refering to the messenger pigeon Al Mualim sent. He also seemed slightly easily entertained, as he smiled at this joke and let go of the pigeon, watching it with amused eyes.

He appeared to be very old - having a fully greyed beard - but still aware as to what exactly was going on around him; already knowing of Altaïr's failure at Solomon's Temple the first time the assassin had come to the Acre Bureau.

Later, as Altaïr was about to assassinate Sibrand, Jabal apologized for his mistrust in the dedication Altaïr showed to the Assassin cause, showing that there's more than just his humorful appearance.

Trivia

• Jabal's name was only given Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade, in Assassin's Creed he is only referred to as "Rafiq".
• "Jabal" (جبل) [jah-bahl] Translates to "Mountain, hill or slope".

Source

Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade