France

The French countryside

France is a prominent country situated in Western Europe, and shares a border with both northern Italy and northeastern Spain.

History

Lugdunum

Aquilus overlooking Lugdunum

After his confrontation with general Gracchus, the Assassin Aquilus traveled back to Lugdunum to bring The Ankh to his father Lucius.

When he arrived in Lugdunum, he met up with his father and a friend of the family, Senator Caius Fulvus Vultur. After having dinner, Aquilus told his father that they had been betrayed, and Lucius told him to go and see Faustin. Aquilus immediately went to find Faustin and after a brief interrogation, Faustin betrayed his accomplice: Senator Vultur.

When Aquilus went back to his house, he found his father dead and the Ankh stolen. One of the maids told him the senator had fled the city.

Middle Ages

During the Crusades, French soldiers, along with English and German troops, descended on the Holy Land to participate in the Crusades. French Templar knights were among the most dangerous fighters of the day, though many were assassinated by the Levantine Assassin Altair ibn La'Ahad.

In 1307, King Philip le Bel was heavily in debt to the Order of the Knights Templar. He was manipulated by the French Assassins into disbanding the Templars by accusing them of heresy. King Philip arrested hundreds of Templars, and burned their Grand Master Jacques de Molay at the stake, driving the Order back underground.

In the 1400s, Jeanne d'Arc acquired the Sword of Eden, and led French soldiers to victories in the Hundred Years' War. In 1431, she was captured and executed by the English, while opportunistic Templars took the Sword.

Renaissance

Paris during the Renaissance

During the Renaissance, France was ruled by King Louis XII from his capital in Paris, though he was drawn away from the throne by his military conquests. During his absence, he left his foreign ministers in command, not knowing that they were working for the Borgia.

The French Army was employed alongside the Papal Armies by Cesare Borgia in order to unite Italy under one banner.

The Assassins from the Assassins Guild in Rome discovered that these ministers were targeting one of Rodrigo Borgia's enemies: Desiderius Erasmus. Erasmus was eventually imprisoned by the Templars, though the Assassins soon arrived to free him. Erasmus then told them of a member of their Brotherhood, also being held captive.

They tracked down Georges d'Amboise, Louis' chief advisor, who provided them with a list of ministers who he believed to be in league with the Borgia. They killed three of them, uncovering information about the whereabouts of the imprisoned Assassin.

The Assassins then made their way to the manor where their brother was held captive, and managed to reach him after a long fight. They discovered that, even though he had been tortured severely, he only gave the Templars false leads. He also warned them to be wary of the Orsini before he died.

Twenty years later, Giovanni Borgia and Maria Amiel travelled to Paris to obtain a portion of the Book of Abraham. They also travelled to Troyes, where the Templars were officially founded. There, Giovanni killed a Templar nicknamed the Viper.

Colonial Age

France, in competition with Spain and England, sought to build up their Empire by capturing territories in Africa and, to a lesser extent, the West Indies.

Revolution

France aided the Thirteen colonies during the American Revolutionary War: the Marquis de Lafayette served as George Washington's aide-de-camp from 1777, and the French Navy under Admiral De Grasse's command aided the Americans.

Lafayette described Paris at the time as "the most beautiful city in all the world [...] full of art and culture, women and wine," but acknowledged "she is sick on the inside, black and rotting." Ultimately, various issues led to the French having their own revolution in 1789.

Modern times

A Parisian alley

From 1804 to 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte was the Emperor of France. He was known to be a great military commander, and his success in his conquests were the result of the use of a Piece of Eden.

Sometime during the late 19th century, Samuel Liddell Mathers, one of the founders of the Hermeticists moved to Paris with his wife, where he had Aleister Crowley become a member of the Inner Circle. He also met one of the Secret Chiefs in Paris, who turned out to be the Templars.