User:Crookandcharlatan/Sandbox2

"I stand with those who stand with me. I lure my prey through the guise of a lady. I escape unnoticed through the veil of a slave. And though I may conceal my identity, one thing is certain: commit injustice in this world, and I'll send you to the next. I am Aveline de Grandpré, I am an Assassin, and I fight for liberation."

―Aveline de Grandpré.

Aveline de Grandpré (1747 - unknown) was an Assassin of French and African heritage, who lived in the area of New Orleans during the middle of the 18th century. She is an ancestor to Paul Bellamy.

Born to the wealthy French merchant Philippe Olivier de Grandpré and an African slave by the name of Jeanne, Aveline was raised in a comfortable and privileged environment. In 1759, after having lost sight of her mother, she mistook another woman to be her parent and reached out to her, attracting the attention of a group of slavers. However, she was rescued by an Assassin called Agaté, who recruited Aveline into the Assassin Brotherhood and became her Mentor.

Taught and trained by Agaté, along with Gérald Blanc, her father's accountant, Aveline grew into her role of an Assassin, fighting to defend the oppressed slaves of New Orleans. At the age of 18, she became aware of a high-ranking Templar, known only as the "Company Man", operating in New Orleans and set out to uncover his identity.

In her hunt for this Templar, she discovered the transit of large groups of slaves to a work camp in Chichen Itza, engineered by the Templars to unearth the Prophecy Disk, a First Civilization artifact. Journeying to Mexico, she managed to obtain a fragment of the artifact before the Templars did. While there, she also encountered her lost mother, Jeanne, who ran away in fear from her daughter upon her discovery that she was an Assassin.

Aveline later found evidence that made her return to Chichen Itza, where she reconciled with her mother. After acquiring the second piece of the Prophecy Disk, Aveline went back to New Orleans and continued her quest for the Company Man's identity, at one point seeking the aide of Kanien'kehá:ka Assassin, Ratonhnhaké:ton.

With his help, Aveline discovered the Company Man had been her own stepmother, Madeleine de L'Isle, all along. Following a short confrontation in the de Grandpré mansion, Aveline fled to the bayou to inform Agaté, with disastrous consequences. She then returned to Madeleine, giving her the pieces of the Prophecy Disk and pretending to go along with her induction into the Templar Order, before she assassinated all the Templars present, thus finally ridding New Orleans of Templar influence.

Biography

Early life

"On seeing her, he falls to his knees. He says he is ashamed. He begs forgiveness for keeping me enslaved all this time. He vows to grant us both our freedom."

―Jeanne, reflecting in her diary about Philippe's reaction to the birth of his daughter Aveline.

Aveline was born in 1747 to Philippe Olivier de Grandpré, and his African placée bride, Jeanne. Granted freedom along with her mother at birth, Aveline grew up in a caring and considerate environment, protected by her father's wealth and influence within the city. Although her father married Madeleine de L'Isle in 1752, Aveline and her mother Jeanne were allowed to stay at the de Grandpré mansion.

In 1759, whilst Aveline was accompanying her mother through the city, Jeanne mysteriously vanished after Aveline had let go of her hand in pursuit of a loose chicken. Chasing the animal for quite some distance, Aveline eventually lost it, having ended up at a slave auction. She briefly observed the slave trader, before she left to find her mother, using the alleyways to evade the sight of the slavers surrounding the stage. Aveline eventually found her way back, only to reach out and touch the wrong woman, who had been dressed in the same attire as her mother.

This mistake caught the attention of the city guards, and despite her cries for her mother, Aveline was pushed to the ground by the slavers, who had mistaken her for a slave child. Shortly afterwards, an escaped slave by the name of Agaté freed her from their possession, and recruited her into the Assassin Order, becoming her Mentor.

Assassination of Governor d'Abbadie

"The Order... is... the... future. The... the Templars will keep our colony... French."

―Governor d'Abbadie's final words.

In 1765, Aveline visited her father's warehouse, where she overheard him complaining to his employee, Gérald Blanc, about disappearing shipments, and resolved to uncover the cause. After Gérald's meeting with her father's businesspartner proved fruitless, Aveline decided to bribe her way aboard the ship from which the goods had disappeared and met the ship's captain, Carlos Dominguez. In her guise of a lady, Aveline easily charmed the captain and, while he was distracted, managed to slip away with some documents detailing the location of the shipment.

Aveline meeting with Gérald in the warehouse

Aveline later met with Gérald, who told her that some of the documents she had stolen mentioned the Templar Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer, who was present in Louisiana and working with its French governor, Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie. Intent on discovering what the two men were up to, Aveline infiltrated the governor's mansion during a social soirée.

Navigating the mansion's hallways, Aveline eavesdropped on a meeting between the governor and de Ferrer, who talked about the plans of a mysterious individual referred to as the "Company Man". She also discovered their deal to ensure d'Abaddie remained as governor, provided he smoothed the hand-over of the colony to the Templars and supplied de Ferrer with workers for a secret Templar operation in Mexico. Aveline subsequently assassinated the governor, who claimed in his final words that the Templars would keep the colony under French influence.

Conflict in the Louisiana Bayou

"Deep in the bayou, a dangerous impostor spreads real roots [...] Who is this impostor, and what are his affiliations? This, you will need to uncover."

―Agaté, informing Aveline of the arrival of an impostor in the bayou.

Aveline in conversation with Élise and the witch doctor in San Danje

The following year, Aveline received word from Agaté and traveled to his hideout in the Louisiana Bayou to meet him. There, she was informed that a man impersonating the deceased François Mackandal, an Assassin and Mentor to Agaté, was trying to overtake smuggling operations in the bayou. After receiving additional training in the use of the blowpipe, Aveline set out to uncover the imposter's identity and his affiliations.

On the advice of Agaté, Aveline enlisted the help of the smugglers Roussillon and Élise Lafleur and began navigating the bayou in search of Mackandal's men. After eliminating both of his followers' encampments, Aveline and Élise uncovered a sacred ceremony being held by Mackandal on the Eve of Saint John, though the exact location remained unknown.

With the help of a witch doctor from San Danje, Aveline managed to track Mackandal down to Lake Pontchartrain, where she discovered that his real name was Baptiste and that he was in league with de Ferrer. She overheard his plans to poison the nobles of New Orleans, then force Agaté out of hiding and finally deliver him to de Ferrer, who promised Baptiste membership into the Templar Order in return.

Aveline facing Baptiste in the bayou

Aveline confronted Baptiste, but was hit by his poison dart as she attempted to kill him. However, she managed to recover from the poison due to an antidote she had ingested beforehand, allowing her to overpower Baptiste's bodyguards and eventually, Baptiste himself. In his final words, he revealed that he had personally known both her mother Jeanne, and her Mentor, Agaté.

Upon returning to Agaté, however, Aveline did not mention what she had discovered, as she did not fully trust her Mentor, given that he had kept this information hidden from her.

Louisiana Rebellion

"This Spanish "gouverneur" has placed so many restrictions on trade, even plantation owners are practically "begging" for an excuse to riot."

―Gérald, about the laws implemented by Spanish governor Antonio de Ulloa.

The same year, the Spanish governor and Templar adviser Antonio de Ulloa arrived in New Orleans. In 1768, he placed strict trade laws and restrictions over the colony in order to benefit the Templar Order. In response, French Creoles rebelled against de Ulloa's regime, creating unrest in New Orleans.

Aveline and the business rival

While on one of her trips to the warehouse, Aveline happened upon a scuffle between civilians and Spanish soldiers. Saving them from the better-armed soldiers, she learned of the vagrants and slaves that had been disappearing recently, but was unsure how to prove the involvement of the Spanish. Aveline then met with Gérald at the warehouse, where she received a special parasol and was informed of a business rival, monsieur Bouché, that had been slandering the de Grandpré's reputation, impacting sales.

After having dealt with the detractor, Aveline journeyed to the bayou to consult Élise on the recent disappearances. Despite their efforts, they were unable to uncover where the slaves were going, though they did manage to confirm the Spanish were involved. Back in New Orleans, Aveline decided to go after governor de Ulloa, from whom the directive was most likely coming.

The Spanish military vessel being destroyed

De Ulloa had taken shelter in La Balize from the rebels, prompting Aveline to incite a massive riot and then destroy a military vessel of the Spanish fleet, in an effort to draw him out. With the Spanish governor preparing to leave La Balize, Agaté called Aveline to Saint Peter's Cemetery, where he gave her the order to kill de Ulloa, to prove her loyalty. With an elaborate ambush, Aveline managed to take out the envoy and, upon interrogating the governor, learned that the slaves taken from New Orleans were being transferred south, to Mexico.

Against Agaté's orders, however, Aveline chose not to kill de Ulloa, allowing him to flee the city in return for a lens used to decipher encoded Templar documents, a map leading to the worksite at Chichen Itza and the promise of de Ulloa to go into exile. This merciful act continued to harm Aveline's already damaged relationship with her Mentor.

Journey to Chichen Itza

"You find pieces of the Prophecy Disk, saving me the effort... If you weren't my enemy, I would take you for my friend! Our aims must not be so different for all the help you give me."

―De Ferrer, explaining the similarity of his and Aveline's goals.

Aveline in the jungles of Chichen Itza

A year later, Aveline traveled to Chichen Itza, once again disobeying Agaté's explicit wishes, in order to unravel the mysteries of the slave trafficking operation. While there, she encountered Thérèse, a slave Aveline had previously rescued from captivity, who, along with various other slaves, seemed perfectly happy to be at the worksite. Despite this, not all slaves were enthusiastic about their predicament, with a few even rebelling. Aveline freed one such slave, procuring a whip in the process, and found out that a woman named Jeanne had been stationed in Chichen Itza.

Convinced it was her mother, Aveline investigated and found evidence that her mother was indeed there. Among pages found from Jeanne's diary, Aveline discovered a map detailing the location of an ancient artifact deep within a cenote. With this in mind, Aveline navigated the underground cave system and uncovered ruins from the First Civilization, unearthing a fragment of the Prophecy Disk, a First Civilization artifact.

Aveline inside the First Civilization ruins

Moments after obtaining the fragment, Aveline was met by de Ferrer, who had reached the ruins by blasting through a rock wall. Though she managed to kill him and his underlings, Aveline was unable to give him his last rites, with the cave rapidly collapsing due to de Ferrer's explosives, forcing her to quickly make her escape. At the end of the tunnels, she found her mother, Jeanne. However, this reunion was short-lived, as Jeanne, realizing that Aveline was an Assassin, refused to disclose any information to her and fled the mines.

Tracking Vázquez

"I am aware. He bribes Spanish troops. But I already have plans to outwit them. I will use their superstition against them."

―Agaté, on his plans to outsmart the Spanish soldiers in the bayou.

After her escapades at Chichen Itza, Aveline returned to New Orleans in 1771 and continued her search for the identity of the Company Man. She spoke to Gérald Blanc, who told her that someone was bribing Spanish soldiers.

Upon investigating, Aveline discovered that a man by the name of Vázquez was using Spanish soldiers to seize control of the bayou. Fearing he would eventually learn the location of Agaté's hideout, Aveline hurried to her Mentor's hut and warned him of the danger. Under his instruction, Aveline followed Vázquez's soldiers to each voodoo checkpoint set up by Agaté, silently poisoning enough of the Spanish troops so that the rest believed they had fallen under a curse and fled the bayou as a result.

Following this, Aveline met with her smuggler allies, who informed her that Vázquez was attempting to divert a supply ship. In response, Aveline disabled the lighthouse on Lake Pontchartrain, causing the ship to run aground on a nearby island. Afterwards, Aveline and the smugglers set out to plunder its cargo. Along the way, they successfully defeated Vázquez's guards and reached the ship, where Aveline discovered evidence that resulted in her decision to return to Mexico.

Return to Chichen Itza

"I traded one enemy for another. And they will not rest until they have what they seek."

―Jeanne, on the Templars' pursuit of the Prophecy Disk.

In 1772, Aveline returned to Chichen Itza to locate the second half of the Prophecy Disk. Upon arriving there, she made peace with her mother, who asked her to retrieve the second piece of the artifact, so that she might finally be free from the prying eyes of the Templars.

Aveline exploring the underwater caves

By following a map she received from Jeanne, Aveline found her way to a canoe that was left inside another cenote and used it to navigate the caves, until she was forced to abandon it. Exploring a range of underwater tunnels, some of which were filled with traps, she eventually came upon another chamber constructed by the First Civilization, where she acquired the final piece of the Prophecy Disk.

Afterwards, Aveline returned to her mother and offered to take her back to New Orleans, but Jeanne decided it was best to stay behind and take care of the community in Chichen Itza, which was free of Templar influence, thanks to Aveline's intervention. Promising to remain in contact, Aveline then returned to New Orleans.

Aiding George Davidson

"Futile murder... beautiful death. She... will make you suffer."

―Vázquez, on the identity of the Company Man.

A year later, Aveline's father fell ill, though she continued in her quest to uncover the identity of the Company Man, Louisiana's head Templar. At the request of Madeleine, her stepmother, Aveline helped a slave named George escape New Orleans and travel to the bayou. Upon arriving there, she asked her smuggler allies if they could help provide George safe passage through the swamp, but Élise and Roussillon were already in the process of delivering supplies from the Spanish to American Patriots fighting in the Revolutionary War and were facing opposition from rogue Spanish soldiers under the command of Vázquez.

However, with the aid of Aveline and George, the smugglers managed to deter Vázquez's troops, allowing them to reach their destination with their cargo. There, Aveline asked the Patriots if they would allow George to accompany them to the North, to which they agreed and accepted him into their ranks.

Aveline charming Vázquez at the Capitán's Ball

From there, Aveline returned to New Orleans and spoke to Gérald, hoping to learn more information on Vázquez. However, several of Gérald's informants had been recently killed off, giving the pair little to go on. They decided to attend the Capitán's Ball, a prominent soirée, in the hopes of finding Vázquez there. After locating the Templar, she charmed him and lured him to a quiet corner, where she assassinated him. However, to Aveline's surprise, Vázquez revealed that he was not the Company Man, and that Louisiana's head Templar was in fact a woman. That same night, her father passed away.

Journey to New York

"Who do you serve? And do you really think yourself free? "Charity should begin at himself," Miss Aveline."

―Officer Davidson, about Aveline's position as an Assassin.

File:AC3L SC Aveline and Connor LR.png

Aveline and Connor facing Loyalist troops

In the winter of 1777, Aveline traveled to New York to locate a Templar named Officer Davidson, intent on prying the Company Man's identity from him. Assisted by the Kanien'kehá:ka Assassin, Ratonhnhaké:ton, also known by his adopted name of Connor, Aveline uncovered the location of her target, a nearby fort.

After making their way there, the pair split up; Connor distracted Davidson's guards while Aveline discreetly infiltrated the fort and confronted the Templar in the fort's watchtower. To her shock, Aveline discovered that his true identity was George, the slave she had helped flee north. Leaving her to fight his underlings, George fled the tower and locked Aveline in, forcing her to climb all the way up and escape through the broken roof. Despite the obstruction, Aveline managed to foil his escape and finally uncovered the true identity of the Company Man from him: Madeleine de L'Isle, her stepmother.

Severing ties with Agaté

"Oh, what have I wrought? I should have stayed with your mother. You should have been my child. Raised as a daughter, not twisted into this... monster!"

―Agaté, reflecting on his relationship with Aveline's mother.

Aveline returned to New Orleans and confronted Madeleine, who did not deny her accusations and admitted that she had known all along that Aveline was an Assassin. Furious, Aveline refused her order to stay and ran outside, only to face her guards. After a brief skirmish, Madeleine told Aveline that she'd be sacrificing herself for nothing.

Following this, Madeleine insisted that she genuinely loved her and that Aveline had been kept alive so far in order to eliminate the unethical elements of her Templar circle, an obvious ploy to persuade Aveline to join the Templars.

After this, Aveline made her way to the bayou and told Agaté of her situation. However, her Mentor could not accept his failure to protect his student, and, believing that Aveline had aligned herself with the Templars, attacked her, calling forth illusions of the Templars she had slayed. Even so, Aveline defeated the hallucinations and chose to spare his life, but Agaté, unable to live with the humiliation, dove from the very top of his treehouse to his death.

Confrontation with Madeleine

"In the service of humanity! In Work, the purpose for which you were created. We were created! The highest purpose."

―Madeleine, attempting to convince Aveline that the Templars' work benefited the greater good.

Aveline made her way back to New Orleans and gave Agaté's necklace, which she had obtained when she unsuccessfully attempted to save him, to Madeleine, as proof of his death. Madeleine then inducted Aveline into the Templar Order and took the two halves of the Prophecy Disk from her. However, upon the artifact failing to work as Madeleine had expected it to, she grew frustrated, allowing Aveline to strike, as her induction was merely a ruse to destroy the Templars from within.

Aveline assassinated all of the Templars present, leaving Madeleine for last. As she lay wounded, Madeleine asked Aveline why she would betray her as she had. Aveline coldly retorted that she had two parents whom she truly loved, and that Madeleine was not one of them. She then blamed her for killing her father with her "care" and her tonic, secretly foxglove, for enslaving her mother, and for her intention of making Aveline a slave to the Templar cause.

To this, Madeleine insisted that it was for the greater good of humanity, as work had always been the "divine purpose" for which they had been created. In response, Aveline defiantly claimed that she would never be forced to serve another and assassinated Madeleine afterwards. Following this, she recovered the Prophecy Disk and used the necklace her mother had entrusted her with to activate it, which projected a hologram of beings from the First Civilization, who spoke about Eve briefly in a conversation before it ended.

Personality and characteristics

"I seek liberty and freedom, not for myself, but for those whom such fundamental rights are denied. I am their shield, their sword, their only hope. The roads I travel are dark, but they bring me closer to the light."

―Aveline de Grandpré.

As she grew, Aveline developed into an independent and strong-willed woman, who was often torn about the values she had inherited from her parentage, which compelled her to form her own core beliefs. Since a young age, Aveline began to notice the contrasts in society – wealth and poverty, freedom and slavery – and as an Assassin, she firmly strived towards securing humanity's freedom and imposing justice.

As a nobleman's daughter, Aveline was expected to be dainty and polite, an act she dutifully upheld in front of her father, whom she loved very much. In truth, she held little interest in frivolous parties or potential husbands, being a very work-oriented person. In some ways, she appeared to be more at home in the bayou than New Orleans, relishing in its "scent of action" after having been away for a long time.

Due to her being pulled in either direction by the Assassins and Templars, she questioned whether fighting as an Assassin was the right thing to do or not. While in New York, she asked her fellow Assassin, Connor, if he ever questioned their ideals; he responded without taking side with either faction, but rather explained that he trusted in his own abilities to distinguish right from wrong.

Equipment and skills

Aveline using her whip to swing from a merchandise lift

Aveline was a skilled freerunner, able to climb trees and swing from one to another, as well as scale cliff faces or other natural elements. She could move through the cityscape just as easily, and was able to slide under or vault over obstacles within urban environments. After acquiring a whip in Chichen Itza, Aveline was able to cross even larger gaps, using it to swing from beams that were out of reach.

Accompanying her capacity to move fluidly, Aveline was able to wield several different weapons - including a whip, firearms, swords, knives, a blowpipe, a tomahawk, a sugar-cane machete and Hidden Blades. Her ability to dual-wield various combinations of these weapons allowed Aveline to take out multiple enemies in a short amount of time. Despite her light build, she was able to take on people larger than herself, as well as large animals, such as alligators.

Aveline, disguised as a slave

Aside from her weapons, Aveline possessed three distinct guises that she could make use of, composed of the Lady, Assassin, and Slave, each possessing its own advantages and disadvantages. Dressed as an Assassin, Aveline would automatically be notorious to some extent, making the Assassin outfit unfit for missions that required stealth. However, it was the most suited to navigation, as well as combat, giving Aveline access to her entire arsenal.

In her Slave outfit, Aveline was able to blend into the poorer masses of New Orleans and remain undetected by executing menial tasks such as moving boxes or sweeping the floor. Her ability to incite riots compensated for her lack of armor, which made her weaker in combat.

Aveline bribing a guard

Finally, the Lady outfit allowed Aveline to use her charm and bribery to achieve her goals, although it severely limited her weaponry and prevented her from freerunning. Aveline later received a parasol designed by her friend and ally, Gérald Blanc, that had the ability to shoot small poison darts from its tip, similar to her blowpipe. As the daughter of a nobleman, Aveline had also been taught to dance and play the piano.

Accompanying this, Aveline possessed the extra-sensory ability referred to as Eagle Vision, allowing her to identify enemies, allies, targets, hiding spots and clues.

Trivia

• Aveline possessed similar characteristics to Desmond Miles and his ancestors, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze, namely the same scar on their upper lip, and the ability to use Eagle Vision. Despite this, she had no known biological connection with him or his lineage.
• Aveline is the first female protagonist in the Assassin's Creed series and one of two playable characters to have worn a hat instead of the symbolic white hood of the Assassins (the other being Haytham Kenway), though it retained a beak-shaped tip.
  • However, an Assassin hood could be purchased from tailors and equipped on Aveline's Assassin persona.
• The name Aveline is a diminutive form of the name Avila, itself from Germanic element avi, the meaning of which is uncertain, but thought to be "desired." Similarity to the Latin avis, "bird," is a coincidence. "Grandpré" is a name formed of the French words grand, meaning "great", and pré, meaning "meadow."
• While concept art depicts Aveline as having green eyes, they appear to be dark brown in Assassin's Creed III: Liberation.
• The developers toyed with the idea of making Aveline Ratonhnhaké:ton's love interest in The Tyranny of King Washington, but the idea was dropped as the characters' motivations and personalities were considered to be too different.
• Aveline will be available for three PlayStation-exclusive missions in the upcoming Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

Gallery

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  A render of Aveline's Slave outfit
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  A render of Aveline's Lady outfit
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  Concept art of Aveline's Lady outfit
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  Early concept art of Aveline
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  Concept art of Aveline
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  Concept art of the Bayou Hunter outfit
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  Aveline on a rooftop in New Orleans
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  Aveline overlooking the city of New Orleans
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  Aveline and Connor in New York
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  Aveline fighting Spanish soldiers in Chichen Itza
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  Aveline engaging a group of soldiers in New Orleans
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  Aveline using her whip to combat a group of soldiers
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  Aveline wielding the Assassin Tomahawk
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  Aveline navigating the Louisiana Bayou in a canoe
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  Aveline wrestling an alligator
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  Aveline, as she appears on the cover art.
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  Promotional art of Aveline and Connor
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  Promotional art of Aveline in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
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  Aveline in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
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  Concept art of Aveline in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, showing her with the blowpipe