Priest (Animi Avatar)

This article is about the Animi Avatar. You may be looking for Savonarola's lieutenant or Scholars.

"Grown tired of listening to people's confessions, desperate to see the world in which mankind lives, the Priest made himself an angel of death. After spotting his target, he makes the lost sheep kneel before him and gives them salvation with his Holy Blade."

―Ubisoft description.

The Priest (real name: Ristoro) was an Animi Avatar used by Abstergo Industries to train recruits in their Animi Training Program. He used a holy dagger as his weapon, which was a blade that could retract into the hilt.

Unique Moves

The Priest had several unique moves:

(Low Profile, Back)

The Priest walks up to his target from behind and removes his holy dagger, before lifting his weapon up high and driving it down into the base of his victim's neck, causing them to go limp and fall to the ground as their nervous system is punctured.

(Low Profile, Front)

The Priest casually walks up to his target and stealthily removes his holy dagger, before bending forward and thrusting the blade of his weapon upward into his victim's abdomen, puncturing their heart through their ribcage and killing them instantly.

(High Profile, Front)

The Priest runs up to his target and knees them forcefully in the stomach, winding them and causing them to bend forward as they try to regain their breath. He then unsheathes his holy dagger and stabs downward, piercing the vertebrae at the base of the neck and sending his victim crumpling to the floor, heavily paralysed and bleeding out.

(High Profile, Back)

Approaching his target from behind, the Priest kicks them in the back of their legs, making them kneel, before removing his holy dagger one-handedly and stabbing them in between their shoulder blades. With this, the blade pierces into his victim's nervous system, paralysing them, and the Priest then leaves them to die as they fall forward.

(Bench Kill)

Walking up to his seated target, the Priest grabs them by the back of their head and forces it downwards, so they are leaning forward and facing the floor. Following this, he removes his holy dagger from its case with one hand, whilst holding his other hand up in the air in a gesture of benediction, before mercilessly stabbing them inbetween their shoulder blades. As the strike paralyses them and sends them slumping to the floor, the Priest leaves while they die from exsanguination (blood loss).

(Aerial Kill)

The Priest leaps from above a rooftop and takes out his holy dagger in mid-air. As he lands on his target, he sinks the blade of his weapon into their upper back, before removing his dagger from his victim's body and leaving them on the floor for dead.

Customization

The Priest could also be customized in different ways:

Colors:

• Basic: Pale white.
• Extra 1: Red.
• Extra 2: Blue.
• Extra 3: Dark green.

Gear:

• Advanced: Added hood (not worn), a black undershirt which is visible at the neck, an added gold trim around the black stripe of the top, bottom of robes are black with gold trim, and the bottom consists of two parts buttoned together.
• Superior: The small wooden cross necklace is replaced with a larger golden cross necklace, embedded with 3 red rubies. The right arm has a shorter sleeve and an altered glove, robe top is changed to black with golden trim to match the bottom of the robe, and the belt and left glove are given a gold trim.
• Elite: Added a golden stole around shoulders that extends below the waist.

Trivia

• While the Priest's picture shows him wielding a crucifix as a weapon, the Priest in the Animi Training Program actually uses a weapon similar to a gravity knife. This differs from the other characters, as their concept art shows them wielding the weapons they use.
• One of the Priest's unique executions, specifically the Low Profile, Back assassination, is reminiscent of human sacrificial rites throughout the ancient world, such as those of the Mayan and Aztecan cultures.
• A similar move to one of the Priest's kill animations was performed by Ezio Auditore if he attacked an unarmed enemy with a short blade.
• The Priest wore the same clothes as the Master of the Sacred Palace, though they differed in color.

Gallery

• 
  The Priest's colors in the Animi Training Program.
• 
  The Priest's gear in the Animi Training Program.
• 
  Official artwork for the Priest (Animi Avatar) and Ristoro.

Source

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood