Alan Jacob

"I always have a plan."

―Alan to Jan van Aert, 1725.

Alan Jacob was a Grand Master of the Knights Templar operating in Southeast Asia in the early 18th century and a successful businessman, holding high-ranking positions in the Far East Company and the East India Company.

By 1725, Alan served as the Far East Company's representative in the Portuguese colony of Macau, and used his position as a cover to search for a set of three Pieces of Eden located in Southeast Asia. As the Templars in Britain desired Edward Kenway's death, the Grand Master orchestrated a plan to simultaneously eliminate the Assassin and use him to find the artifacts he desired.

While the Templars lured Edward to Macau, Alan became caught up in a conflict between fellow businessmen Jan van Aert and Sun and their mutual rival, Lee Huiyin. Alan formed an alliance with Jan and Sun to sabotage Lee's company for their personal benefit, but their efforts were thwarted by Edward.

Following the end of his alliance with Jan and Sun, Alan shifted his focus back to the search for the Pieces of Eden. Taking advantage of Edward's own quest for the artifacts, Alan decided to let the Assassin find them on his behalf while secretly tailing him with the help of his spy, John Young, who had befriended the Assassin. After Edward retrieved one of the Pieces from Burma, John stole the artifact and delivered it to Alan.

Biography

Alliance against Madam Lee

"The Far East Company invested a fortune in this venture! It can't end like this..."

―Alan complaining to Jan van Aert and Sun about the failure of his plan, 1725.

In February 1725, Alan collaborated with Sun, the head of the Hualien Trading Company, and Jan van Aert, the Chief Navigator for the Dutch East India Company, to sabotage a rival trading company led by Lee Huiyin and benefit their own respective businesses in the process. To this end, they hired Shimazu clan ninja led by the Templar Shimazu Saito to eliminate Lee at her own residence, the Mandarin's House.

Alan being tailed by Edward Kenway

After the ninja failed to kill Lee, Alan called an emergency meeting with Sun and Jan at St. Dominic's Church to discuss their next course of action. On his way to the meeting, Alan was unknowingly followed by the Assassin Edward Kenway, who had protected Lee from the ninja. Observing the meeting from a balcony, Edward listened to the three men's conversation and suspected one of them of being a Templar.

To cripple Lee's company, Alan came up with a plan that would require him, Sun, and Jan to work together more closely and combine their respective companies' resources. While Sun was going to use his connections with the Shimazu clan to have the ninja continue attacking Lee's operations, Jan would have the Dutch Navy detain Lee's ships in the Macau harbor.

Seeing that Sun and Jan were hesitant to follow his lead, Alan tried to entice their cooperation by showing them a "treasure" he had acquired, which he promised would bring them unprecedented wealth. Having convinced the two to do as they had been told, Alan then left the church in order to prepare for the next step of his plan.

As it turned out, this plan was to frame Lee's company for trafficking opium, which was labelled as contraband by the Macau authorities. Seeking to aid Lee, Edward followed Alan to one of his convoys, which he then tailed to a basement in an alley where Alan's men were unloading the opium. Upon discovering the true nature of their cargo, Edward was disgusted by the Far East Company's drug trafficking and sought to end their scheme. He staged a raid on one of their ships being used to smuggle the opium into Macau, ultimately exposing the company's drug trafficking and leading to the ship being detained by the Dutch Navy.

Alan meeting with Jan and Sun at the harbor

Following this, Alan met with Jan and Sun at the harbor, where he furiously accused the former of betraying their agreement and attempting to sabotage him, despite Jan claiming he had no choice in the matter. Their fight was broken up by Sun, who suspected that Lee had somehow learned about their plan and had sabotaged it. He then offered to help Alan recover the confiscated opium shipment, and reminded him and Jan that they could not end their alliance until they had dealt with Lee.

Quest for the Pieces of Eden

"You are to survey them at a distance as to avoid detection. After all, a hound is of no use to me... if it loses scent of the prey."

―Alan ordering his man to follow Edward, 1725.

Despite Sun's promise to recover the seized opium shipment, he was ultimately unable to do so due to Edward's interference, resulting in a major loss of profit for the Far East Company. Alan later retaliated by using his company's influence to blacklist the Assassin's recently-established organization, the Zhang Wei Union, so that its members would not find any clients to hire them.

Around this time, Alan learned about the lost Khmer city of Angkor, which was rumored to house a Piece of Eden. He subsequently had his company begin recruiting people for an expedition in Southeast Asia with the goal of finding Angkor and retrieving its treasure.

Alan being informed of Edward leaving Macau

When the Zhang Wei Union's members left Macau aboard the Fenghuang to pursue a lead to the location of Angkor's Piece of Eden in the Philippines, Alan was informed of this by one of his spies. Rather than stop them, Alan intended to have the Union members lead him straight to Angkor's treasure, comparing them to a hound who leads the hunter to his prey. He then ordered his spy to survey them at a distance to avoid detection.

After tailing the Fenghuang for weeks, Alan was informed by his spy that the Union members were approaching their destination: Burma, where another Piece of Eden was located. Remarking that their pursuit had come to an end, Alan gave the order to prepare their fleet to set sail so they could commence their "foxhunt."

In Burma, while Alan's fleet attacked the Fenghuang, his spy, John Young, who had befriended Edward and accompanied him for the entire duration of his journey, betrayed the Zhang Wei Union and stole the artifact recovered by Edward from the Shwedagon Pagoda. He subsequently delivered it to Alan, alongside the exact location of Angkor's Piece of Eden, which had been revealed to Edward in a vision.

Personality and traits

"When hunting a fox... it is not the hunter who chases the fox on foot. Instead, the hunter's hound goes after the fox on his behalf."

―Alan explaining his philosophy of having others do the heavy work for him, 1725.

Alan was a greedy businessman who sought to increase his company's profits by any means necessary. As such, he was not above breaking the law or sabotaging his rivals for his personal benefit. His greed went so far that he did not care who suffered in order for him to further his ambitions, as shown in his willingness to engage in opium trafficking even if it meant ruining countless lives in the process.

Alan with his hound

Alan was the self-proclaimed mastermind of the alliance against Madam Lee, coming up with most of the group's plans. Although Jan van Aert and Sun were distrustful of him, he knew how to persuade them to follow his lead by appealing to their own avarice. A skilled tactician, Alan knew how to achieve his goals by doing as little work as possible, usually relying on others to do the heavy lifting for him. This was shown in his decision to let Edward Kenway lead him to the Pieces of Eden.

However, Alan was also prone to anger, mainly whenever things did not go according to his plans. After his company's ship was detained by the Dutch Navy, he quickly blamed Jan for his plight and accused him of betraying their alliance.

Behind the scenes

Alan Jacob is a character introduced in Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple.

Etymology

Alan is an English name originating from the nomadic Iranian people known as the Alans, who settled in Western Europe during the Migration Period. The name Jacob is of Biblical origin, with the meaning being either 'he who grasps the heel' or 'supplanter'.

Gallery

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  Close-up of Alan
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  Alan meeting with Jan and Sun to discuss about Madam Lee
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  Alan promising Jan and Sun unprecedented riches
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  Sun breaking up Alan and Jan's fight
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  Alan's spy reporting back to him

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple

References

de:Alan Jacob fr:Alan Jacob