Arno Dorian

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning recent or upcoming releases from the Assassin's Creed series. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. This template should be removed from the article three months after release.

This article is about the French-Austrian Assassin. You may be looking for the Tuscan waterway.

Arno Victor Dorian (1768 – unknown) was a French-Austrian Master Assassin active during the time of the French Revolution.

An orphan who blamed himself for the death of his adoptive father, Arno sought redemption by joining the Assassins in 1789 and working to expose the true instigators of the Revolution, whilst also avenging him in the process.

Biography

Born to an Austrian mother and French Assassin Charles Dorian, Arno was raised in a noble household in Versailles. Due to his upbringing, he was well educated, having access to tutors and various books.

However, in 1776, when Arno was eight, his father was murdered by Shay Cormac. He was subsequently adopted by François de la Serre, the Grand Master of the French Templars, out of respect for his enemy. He raised Arno alongside his own daughter, Élise. Wishing not to corrupt the memory of Arno's biological father and bring his pupil to the Templar Order, François kept his Templar involvement a secret from the young boy.

Thirteen years later, Arno found himself in no end of trouble, having lost his father's watch in a card game and stole it back. When his angry pursuers chased him back to the de la Serre mansion, François attempted to mediate the situation, assigning Arno to assist his butler, Olivier, with whatever chores he would assign, which was cleaning the horses for François' carriage ride to meet Élise. But as soon as François set off, his servant, Perrault, tried catching up to him, revealing to have a letter of great importance, which Arno volunteered to deliver. Unfortunately, the same men who accosted him before he could reach François. Though he bested his attackers, he was forced to flee when guards found him. Returning to the mansion, Arno decided to slip the letter under the door to François' office.

Arno later infiltrated a palace party held in Élise's honour, due to not being invited, and managed to steal a romantic moment with her, before being forced to sneak out when the guards came knocking. Unfortunately, Arno came upon two men mortally wounding François. One of the attackers, Charles Gabriel Sivert, called out to the guard, who immediately assumed Arno was responsible for François' murder and he was subsequently imprisoned in the Bastille.

After his first night in prison, Arno discovered that one of his fellow cellmates, Pierre Bellec, stole his watch and briefly dueled him for it, before drawing attention to mysterious drawings in the cell corner. Bellec then dragged him to the corner, realizing he possessed Eagle Vision. Once Arno introduced himself, Bellec revealed that his father was an Assassin, before returning the watch. Bellec spent two months training Arno in combat.

One day, the Bastille came under attack from a civil uprising, compelling Arno and Bellec to escape. Before parting ways, Bellec gave Arno a medallion, saying it would lead him to the Assassins, and took a leap of faith. Arno did likewise when a group of guards cornered him.

Arno later tracked down Élise, who assumed he was responsible for her father's death. Arno pleaded that he was innocent and tried to tell her about her father being a Templar, only to learn that she already known and she too was part of the Order. She then showed him the letter he was supposed to deliver. The anonymous sender, "L", was trying to warn François that someone within the Templar Order was planning on betraying him. A distraught Élise then sent Arno away. Wracked with guilt and blaming himself, Arno sought out the Assassins, discovering their headquarters underneath the Sainte-Chapelle. He was then inducted into the Brotherhood and vowed to hunt down François' murderers to redeem himself for his failure.

Arno met with the Assassin Council to discuss his lead on the Templar Grand Master, however he was directed to the ceremony chamber. Arno attempted to update the council but they silenced him and cast judgment on him, the council did not approve of what they believed was a personal vendetta for revenge and his affiliation with Élise. The French Council declared that Arno was banished from the Brotherhood and was no longer welcome, he was fortunate that they would not punish him further.

Arno left the Sanctuary and Paris to live at the De Le Serre villa in Versailles where he gained a reputation for being the village drunk.

After the death of Élise and Grand Master François in the Temple, Arno lived in Versailles and was met by the former Assassin Ruddock, an acquaintance of Élise. Ruddock gave Arno a letter that Élise had written in the event of her death explaining a number of her actions and directing him to find her chest of keepsakes, she only asked that Arno allow Ruddock to keep a pack of letters that she had been given by Jennifer Scott on her trip to London, which would allow Ruddock to gain favour with the Assassin Council and rejoin the Creed.

Arno agreed to honor her wishes and took Ruddock's address and told him he would be in touch once he had obtained the letters and Élise's chest, Arno also agreed that he would endorse any efforts he made to win favor with the Assassins. Arno traveled to the Maison Royale where he met Élise's teacher Mr Weatherall and was given the chest as promised, but the visit soon turned sour.

Ruddock had followed Arno and betrayed him, attempting to finish a ordered kill by the English Templars, he was killed by Mr Weatherall before he could shoot Arno.

Arno stayed with Élise's friends in the years after her death, having been invited to stay by her former maid out of respect to her mistress, Arno also tried to keep out of the sight of Assassins hoping to keep out of the war between them and the Assassins, the Truce that Élise's has so hoped for had failed and he no longer wanted to be part of the war.

Personality and characteristics

With his troubled past, Arno set out on a quest to find redemption, using this goal to help others in the turbulent time of the French Revolution. As a newcomer to the Assassins, he was prone to questioning their typical approach and age-old beliefs, but was aided in the field by his stealthy and ruthless nature.

Arno was witty and charismatic but also no-nonsense, which fed into his sharp sense of humor, falling back on it whenever he felt emotionally vulnerable. Due to the fact that he was well-educated, Arno often quoted classical books, though his noble upbringing did not prevent him from cheating at card games.

Equipment and skills

Arno often wore a dark blue hooded coat, waistcoat, and breeches with leather gaiters, rather than the stockings which were fashionably popular in his time, though he was not adverse to altering his outfit to blend in or gain an advantage in combat.

In regards to weaponry, Arno used the Phantom Blade, a Hidden Blade equipped with a wrist-mounted crossbow capable of firing a variety of darts, as well as a variety of different swords and a multi-barreled pistol. A dynamic leader and a skilled swordsman, he stopped at nothing to uncover the truth about the forces controlling the Revolution for their own gain.

Romantic life

Adopted by François de la Serre, Arno grew up along with the former's boisterous daughter, Élise. Viewing her more as a friend than a sister, his feelings for Élise eventually graduated to a reciprocal love as they matured.

Trivia

• Arno's name is a derivative of German Arnold and French Arnaud. Its old German origin is Arenwald, meaning "eagle power", from arn "eagle" and wald "power" or "governing". Victor is Latin for "conqueror", while Dorian is a Greek name meaning "gifted".
• Arno is the third of four playable characters not to be related to Desmond Miles, with the first being Aveline de Grandpré, the second being Adéwalé and the fourth being Shay Cormac.
• Arno is also the second playable Assassin to develop a romantic attraction towards a Templar, the first being Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad with Maria Thorpe.
• Arno was mentioned in Assassin's Creed: Rogue, in a message from Melanie Lemay to one of the Abstergo Entertainment employees, regarding research into Arno's genetic memories. Young Arno also appears at the end of the game in Shay Cormac's final memory.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Arno
• 
  Rear concept art of Arno
• 
  Concept art of Arno's customization options
• 
  Promotional art of Arno and Élise
• 
  Promotional art of Arno firing the Phantom Blade
• 
  Arno overlooking Paris
• 
  Arno killing a guard
• 
  Arno crouching on a rooftop
• 
  Arno stalking a target
• 
  Arno performing an air assassination
• 
  Arno utilizing the Phantom Blade
• 
  Arno engaging several guards with a lance