Numa Al'Khamsin

Numa Al'Khamsin, better known as El Cakr, was a member of the Egyptian Brotherhood of Assassins. Some time in the mid 14th century, he came into contact with the Scepter of Aset.

History

Early life

Numa Al'Khamsin was raised in Alexandria by his Assassin father, and followed him in his travels, notably to the Temple of Philae. Numa later became an Assassin himself and took on a young boy, Ali Al-Ghrabe, as his own disciple, teaching him the way of the Assassins. At some point Al'Khamsin also earned the nickname of El Cakr, which he preferred to his true name.

Thief of the Scepter

In 1340, Al'Khamsin was summoned by an Assassin Elder and traveled on the Nile from Alexandria with his apprentice to the Island of Philae in order to meet the old man. Once there, he followed the old man in the Temple of Aset, where the man showed to him some wall painting of Aset and revealed to the younger Assassin that the Assassins had played a role in the fall of the previous dynasty of Egyptian Sultans a hundred years earlier, by giving to the rebels a Piece of Eden, the Scepter of Aset.

Since then, Egypt has experienced a period of prosperity under the leadership of the Sultans of the new dynasty, but the Scepter had recently been stolen by unknown assailants who had left behind them only the fragment of a dagger handle. To Khamsin, who wondered if the theft of such an object of decorum was so important, the old man also revealed that the Scepter had real powers, as its wielder was imbued with great charisma and influence. The elder then entrusted him with the mission to retrieve the Scepter and Al'Khamsin returned on the boat where his apprentice was waiting and headed for Cairo, where the Scepter had been stolen.

On the boat, while Khamsin was in the process to examining his only clue, Ali had the idea to extrapolate from the incomplete emblem present on the dagger fragment and showed to his master his drawing, from which El Cakr recognized without difficulty the Templar cross.

Tracking the Templars

Two days later, in Cairo, not knowing where to find the Templars or even if the Piece of Eden was still in the capital, Khamsin went to a Hammam in search of information. Engaging the conversation with the regulars, the Assassin pretended to be a soldier of the Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad coming from Alexandria in order to strengthen the security after the theft of the Scepter. Claiming a closeness to the other men he revealed to them that the stolen Scepter was a fake and that by reinforcing its security the sultan wanted to deceive and fool the thieves into thinking that their plot was a success while the Scepter was safe.

One of the men, Hasdin Al-Bellal, suddenly feigned fatigue and concern for his wife in order to leave the Hammam in hurry; El Cakr slipped away discreetly in order to follow him on the roofs of Cairo as night fell. Unknowingly following the man to the opulent house of Bachir Al-Djallil, Numa Al-Khamsin heard his apprentice coming behind him. Asking why the young boy had followed him, Ali showed his impatience to learn more from his master by blackmailing Al-Khamsin into a trade, the promise of taking Ali Al-Ghrabe with him to the house in exchange for the information that the boy had gathered on Al-Djallil during the day. Feigning outrage, Khamsin accepted the trade and learned from Ali that Al-Djallil was a wealthy silk merchant who was also infamously known for having raped and killed dozens of girls with complete impunity, before breaking his promise to his impetuous apprentice.

Witnessing the departure of Al-Bellal, El Cakr sprang on the roof of the house and entered inside Al-Djallil's estate in order to fulfill his mission and to get the answers he was seeking. The Assassin neutralized Izmir, the servant of his target and captured Bashir, to whom he ordered to be silent under the threat of his Hidden Blade. Khamsin tied the merchant to a chair and began to torture him by threatening to cut off his fingers and inflicting cuts on his flesh. Ultimately, the associate of the Templars submitted and the disgusted Numa Al-Khamsin killed him after he had told him that the Templars and the Scepter were on their way to Karnak.

Trivia

• Numa is an Arabic name meaning "beautiful, pleasant." Al'Khamsin is an Arabic term that translates as "the fifty"; it is used to describe a sere Spring wind from the desert, blowing in Egypt, understood as "the wind of fifty days."
• El-Cakr, الصقر, is Arabic for "the hawk, the falcon." Usually, it is transliterated as Saqr.

Gallery

• 
  Numa without his hood

Reference

• Assassin's Creed 4: Hawk