Patience Gibbs

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"The charm he took belonged to my mother. It gave her strength and foresight, as it did her mother before her. As it did me. Without it, I am blind."

―Patience Gibbs.

Patience Gibbs (1768 - unknown) was the teenage leader of a band of escaped slaves, as well as the carrier of a mysterious charm. At the age of 16, she was recruited into the Assassin Brotherhood by Aveline de Grandpré.

Biography

Early life

"There is a girl of uncanny strength and wit: Patience Gibbs [...] I have attempted to recruit Patience for the Brotherhood, but she will not allow me to approach her with help."

―Connor detailing his recruitment effort in his letter to Aveline.

Patience was born into slavery in Newport, Rhode Island, but even from an early age, she rebelled against her fate. Some time before 1784, Patience's mother died, causing a mysterious charm to be passed down to her.

When slavery was abolished, Patience could not accept that minors such as herself would be obligated to serve out their "contracts" until they reached the age of maturity and escaped her master, Dr. Edmund Judge, with a small group of slaves. Following this, she set up a camp on Goat Island, where she kept them safe using her mother's charm.

During this time, she was approached by the Kanien'kehá:ka Assassin Connor, who recognized her potential and wished to recruit her into the Brotherhood. However, Patience refused to establish contact, instead focusing on chartering a ship for her and the slaves.

Imprisonment

"Jail her. Discipline her as you must. But remember, I'm paying you to keep her alive. I must have that charm."

―Judge ordering Patience's imprisonment.

Despite Patience's efforts, the rebel camp was eventually discovered by Judge's guards and subsequently ransacked. While Patience herself was brought to Fort Washington, where Judge stayed, the rest of the slaves were detained in small groups and interrogated about the whereabouts of Patience's artifact, albeit with little success. At the fort, Patience was imprisoned for further interrogation on Judge's orders.

However, Patience was soon freed by French-African Assassin Aveline de Grandpré, whose aid had been requested by Connor. Distrustful of the female Assassin, Patience bolted, but was apprehended while trying to escape the fort. Judge, having had enough of her antics, held her at gunpoint and demanded she hand over the charm, which she reluctantly did.

Leaving Patience to be disposed of by his guards, Judge exited the fort and journeyed to Newport Tower. With the aid of Aveline, who finally caught up, Patience managed to survive and fled as soon as the fight was over, forcing Aveline to chase after her again. Eventually the pair came to an agreement, with Patience promising her allegiance if Aveline helped her recover the artifact.

Retrieving the charm

"You did not think I'd give up all my secrets so easily?"

―Patience revealing her ruse to Aveline.

The two women descended into the tunnels leading to Newport Tower, learning to work together to overcome various obstacles. Although Patience and Aveline managed to intercept Judge on his way to the tower, his men managed to deter them, allowing him to escape. Eventually the pair reached the tower, where they heard Judge reciting a hymn in an attempt to activate the artifact, to no avail.

Choosing to flank him, Patience managed to distract Judge, allowing Aveline to deliver a killing blow. Retrieving her charm, Patience revealed she had kept a crucial piece necessary to activate it. Following this, she demonstrated the charm's function; it allowed her to "see into all things" for a few seconds, as exemplified by her finishing Aveline's sentences, before accepting membership into the Assassin Brotherhood.

Personality and characteristics

"I will protect myself."

―Patience refusing Aveline's help.

Possibly as a consequence of her past as a slave, Patience was quite self-reliant, or desired to appear as such, rejecting both Connor's and Aveline's aid in situations where she may have benefitted from it. She was also prone to making rash decisions, especially when she was without her charm, which she appeared quite dependent on. Despite her fairly straightforward attitude and loud mouth, Patience could also be cunning, tricking Judge by only giving him half of the charm, effectively rendering it useless.

Trivia

• For reasons unknown, Patience possessed a pair of Hidden Blades at the time of her recruitment by Aveline.

Gallery

• 
  Patience being restrained by Judge's men

Reference

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag