Siege of Viana

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Cesare: "How did you find me!?"

Ezio: "The Apple you stole from Mario Auditore led me here."

—Ezio and Cesare, 1507

In 1503 Rodrigo Borgia, Grand Master of the Knights Templar died of poison courtesy of his son Cesare Borgia, and with his death Rome was fully liberated from the Borgia rule. Soon after his fathers death Cesare Borgia, commander of the Papal Army, was arrested by the new Pope, Julius II. In 1504 Cesare was exiled to Spain and imprisoned at the Castle of La Mota, Medina del Campo, from which he escaped and joined his brother-in-law King John III of Navarre.

The Siege of Viana

After Cesare's arrest and exile to Spain, Ezio Auditore - who had remained in Rome - was discussing the possibility of Cesare still being a threat with his closest friend Leonardo da Vinci at the Assassin stronghold of Tiber Island. Ezio believed that Cesare remained a threat even with his arrest, and wanted to do something about it despite not being able to at the present. Leonardo then encouraged Ezio to use the Apple to see into the future. Ezio did so, despite his own initial protest, and left Rome for Viana, Spain immediately afterwords.

By the time Ezio arrived at Viana the battle had already started, as the soldiers fought each other on the battlefield and cannons destroyed the Castle, town and countryside region he wasted no time and charged into battle. Ezio found Cesare alongside his men on the battlefield and without hesitation he charged towards Cesare with his Hidden Blade at the ready. Cesare was able to block the Assassin's attack, but Ezio was still able to overpower Cesare, however he was stunned as a wave of cannon balls attacked the area.

Regaining conciousness, Ezio began to pursue Cesare and rode through the Viana warzone on horseback trying to reach what was once an olive field. Eventually, cannonballs killed his horse, forcing him to travel on foot. Ezio, despite being attacked constantly by waves of soldiers on both side of the conflict, made his way towards the castle wall and Cesare who battled on top. Ezio climbed a siege tower to the top and thus began the battle with his greatest nemesis.

Confronting Cesare

After finally reaching Cesare at the castle wall the two men battled for the first and last time. Cesare attacked with his sword and pistol while also calling in groups of soldiers to attack Ezio, but Ezio was able to defeat all of the soldiers and overpower Cesare by breaking off pieces of his armor with the Hidden Blade. He eventually pinned Cesare down and told him that a true leader empowers the people he leads. Cesare, enraged and fearing for his life, repeatedly shouted that no mortal man could kill him, but Ezio then decided to leave Cesare in the "hands of fate" and threw him off the castle wall, thus killing his most hated nemesis.

thumb|350px|right|Siege of Viana and Cesare's death.

Aftermath

After Cesare's death, Ezio returned to Rome and reunited with the other Assassins. Ultimately deciding the Apple was too dangerous for the hands of man, Ezio would later seal the Apple away in Juno's temple beneath the Colosseum.

Gallery

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  Cesare Borgia in Viana, Spain.
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  Ezio Auditore in Viana, Spain.
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  Cesare Borgia grabbing Ezio Auditore's arm as he tries to assassinate him.
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  Ezio charging towards Cesare, throught the Viana warzone.
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  A unconscious Ezio amoung the dead bodies of the Viana battlefield.
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  Ezio standing alone in Viana.

Trivia

• In the story trailer for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Ezio and Cesare are seen confronting each other alone on the castel wall, but this scene never happened in the actual game and was most likely a deleted scene from the finshed version of the game.
• Although the Siege of Viana is where Cesare Borgia died in actual history, there is very little recorded information on the event, and is somewhat a historical mystery in terms of the outcome and important specific details, such as the amount of troops involved.