Mentor

"The Mentor's role is to oversee and coordinate the actions of the Order in the pursuit of harmony through free will."

―The Mentor in 2000 about his role.

The title of Mentor was given to leaders in the Assassin Order who had obtained an extraordinary amount of skill and wisdom, as well as trained several Assassin apprentices. During modern times, the title referred to the leader of the entire Order.

These Assassin leaders were assigned to lead the branches of Assassins spread around the globe, who were awarded with the unofficial title of Mentor once they had trained a specific number of apprentices and received a high amount of skill and wisdom.

During the 20th century, the title of Mentor had become official and singular, with only one single Mentor leading the entire Assassin Order. The Mentor acted as a living conduit for all his predecessors, possessing the sum total of all their knowledge and experience, which was passed down from Mentor to Mentor.

History

The first known usage of the term Mentor was during the Crusades in the Levant, where the leader of the Levantine Assassins Rashid ad-Din Sinan was most commonly referred to by that name. His successor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, was given the same title upon succeeding him, and his efforts to spread the influences of the Assassin Order made him the most legendary and respected Mentor of the entire Order.

In 1227, Altaïr's long-time rival Abbas Sofian staged a coup d'état against Altaïr, resulting in the Levantine branch falling under Abbas' leadership and Altaïr's self-imposed exile. Usurping the title of Mentor, Abbas tyrannically ruled the branch and its headquarters of Masyaf with a disregard for the Creed, until he was killed by Altaïr in 1247, marking the return of Altaïr's rule as Mentor.

In August 1503, Ezio Auditore da Firenze was promoted to the rank of Mentor of the Italian Assassins for his exploits against the Borgia family. He held this position for several years, and also acted as a leader and teacher to the Ottoman Assassins during his time in Constantinople. He resigned as Mentor upon returning to Italy from the Ottoman Empire in late 1512, and assigned Lodovico Ariosto to become his successor as Mentor.

As of 1511, a descendant of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Iskender, held the position of Mentor of the Egyptian Assassins. Around this time, Iskender received aid from Ezio Auditore da Firenze after having been taken arrested and imprisoned.

By the late 19th century, one Mentor heavily involved himself himself with the Russian Assassins' efforts to depose the aristocratic rule of the Russian Royal House. In 1888, he assigned Nikolai Orelov to assassinate Tsar Alexander III while the latter was travelling from the Crimea to Saint Petersburg. Later in 1908, the Mentor once again handpicked Nikolai Orelov to retrieve the Imperial Scepter, one of the Staves of Eden, from a Templar research facility in Tunguska.

During the 20th century, the entire Assassin Order was united under a single Mentor. By 1998, an unknown individual was leading the Order as the Mentor, though his name and location were always kept secret - even though the Assassins themselves - for safety reasons, staying mobile to avoid being located. In November 2000, the Mentor invited Daniel Cross into his secret Dubai headquarters after having monitored his actions for two years, believing him to be a worthy apprentice. Daniel Cross, whose brain had been unknowingly experimented upon by Abstergo Industries and had been imprinted with an impulse to kill the Mentor, assassinated him after having been rewarded with a hidden blade. The Assassins were thrown into disarray and forced underground, and the mantle of leader was eventually picked up by William Miles.

Known Mentors

• Rashid ad-Din Sinan[3] Levantine Assassins, ? - 1191
  Rashid ad-Din Sinan
  Levantine Assassins, ? - 1191
• 
  Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
  Levantine Assassins, 1191 - 1257
• 
  Abbas Sofian
  Levantine Assassins, 1227 - 1247
• 
  Ezio Auditore da Firenze
  Italian Assassins, 1503 - c. 1512
• 
  Lodovico Ariosto
  Italian Assassins, c. 1512 - ?
• 
  Iskender
  Egyptian Assassins, ? - ?
• "The Mentor"[2] Entire Order, ? - 2000
  "The Mentor"
  Entire Order, ? - 2000