William Sleeman

"You've meddled with things that don't concern you or your kind! We should have ended this long ago, but we let your puny little Order slip through our grasp. Well, I aim to make up for that mistake, starting with you!"

―William Sleeman to Arbaaz Mir, 1841.

Sir William Henry Sleeman (1788 – 1856) was a British soldier and administrator in British India, as well as a Master Templar of the British Rite. Starting with 1839, he was placed in charge of Templar operations in the East India Company and used this position to lead the Order in the search for various Isu sites and artifacts throughout Asia.

Biography

Early career

Sleeman was born in Stratton, Cornwall in 1788 and joined the Bengal Army as a young man in 1814. He began his administrative career in 1820 and rose quickly in the military and his magisterial duties throughout the following fifteen years.

At some point, Sleeman joined the Templar Order and eventually rose to the rank of Master Templar. He actively searched for ancient artifacts on the Order's behalf and found dinosaur fossils in the Narmada Valley region in 1828. Although this discovery was of little interest to the Templars, it made Sleeman famous in the scientific community. He also met the Scottish explorer Alexander Burnes and recruited him into the Templar Order, gaining a valuable associate in his search for Pieces of Eden, including a Staff once in the possession of Alexander the Great.

Sleeman became known for his suppression of the Thuggee assassins in India between 1835 and 1839. While these actions were initially motivated by a belief that they were linked with the Assassin Brotherhood, he was never able to confirm this.

Hunt for the Koh-i-Noor

Arbaaz: "You have something that belongs to me, sir."

Sleeman: "Another Assassin, I presume. Are your friends with you?"

Arbaaz: "Hundreds. We own the place, Sleeman. Give me my jewel... and that box."

—Arbaaz Mir and Sleeman's confrontation inside the Tosha Khana, 1841.

In June 1839, Francis Cotton, the Templar leader in India, was killed during a confrontation with the local Assassins after having fatally poisoned Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire. Sleeman was appointed Cotton's successor and discovered notes about the Templar's activities, including a full dossier on the Assassin Arbaaz Mir and the presence of an Isu temple underneath the Maharaja's summer palace.

Inside a safe, Sleeman found a Precursor box and a set of documents related to its supposed powers, although the death of Cotton meant that he could do little to act on this information. Notes suggested that a power source was needed for the box and Sleeman believed that Arbaaz had stolen the Koh-i-Noor diamond, a powerful Piece of Eden, leading him to focus his efforts on tracking down the Indian Assassins located by Cotton in Amritsar.

Sleeman and Burnes discussing the Koh-i-Noor

In 1841, Sleeman located the Brotherhood's headquarters and led an assault which resulted in the successful retrieval of the Koh-i-Noor and the capture of the Assassin Mentor, Hamid. The Templars took both back to their headquarters in Amritsar, where Sleeman watched as Burnes interrogated Hamid to learn what he knew about the Koh-i-Noor. After failing to extract any information from the Assassin, Sleeman decided to return to the Isu site underneath the Maharaja's summer palace and use the Precursor box to unravel the Koh-i-Noor's secrets.

Unbeknownst to the Templars, they were secretly being followed by Arbaaz, who had rescued Hamid after following his blood trail and learned about the Templars' plans with the artifacts. However, Sleeman was still wary of the Assassins and ordered his men to guard the palace's entrance. Arbaaz managed to make his way past Sleeman's guards and followed him into the Isu temple, where several of Sleeman's escorts fell victim to the site's ancient defense mechanisms.

Sleeman firing his gun at Arbaaz

Upon reaching the centre of the temple, Sleeman used the Koh-i-Noor and the box to unlock a map showing the locations of more Isu sites across the globe, but was confronted by Arbaaz, who demanded the Koh-i-Noor while lying that he was accompanied by hundreds of Assassins awaiting to strike. Sleeman responded by firing his gun at Arbaaz, who dodged the shot and let it hit a Precursor structure instead. This triggered a chain reaction that caused the entire temple to collapse, although both Sleeman and Arbaaz managed to escape to safety.

War in Afghanista

"Step away if you will. You're quick, Assassin, but are you quick enough to dodge all our bullets? Now, remove your weapons. And no fancy little tricks."

―Sleeman capturing Arbaaz in Herat, 1841.

After the map he had unlocked showed him the location of an Isu temple in Herat, Afghanistan, Sleeman led British troops there to take over the citadel in the centre of the city and facilitate the Templars' search for the site. Discovering the temple to be located right under the citadel, Sleeman ventured inside accompanied by some of his men, while leaving the rest of his army to fight off an attack by Afghan forces trying to reclaim the fortress.

Sleeman capturing Arbaaz

Arbaaz, who had once again followed Sleeman, took advantage of the ongoing battle to make his way into the temple undetected and managed to beat Sleeman and his guards to the pedestal at its centre. However, he was forced to surrender when the Templars surrounded him and held him at gunpoint.

Before he could deal with the Assassin, Sleeman was called to deal with the Afghan uprising. Not wanting to lose their valuable prisoner or the artifacts, he trusted Burnes to look after them in Katasraj, Pakistan until his return. However, the Templars greatly underestimated Arbaaz, who escaped his imprisonment and later retrieved the Koh-i-Noor and the Precursor box from Burnes after besting him in combat.

Recovering the Precursor box

Sleeman: "Give me the box and the jewel... and I'll let her live."

Arbaaz: "Let her go first."

Sleeman: "No. The box AND the jewel. Toss them now."

—Sleeman bargaining with Arbaaz, 1841.

Following Burnes' failure to stop Arbaaz, Sleeman decided to take matters into his own hands. Knowing about the Assassin's relationship with Princess Pyara Kaur from Cotton's dossier, he returned to Amritsar and had his men take over the Maharaja's summer palace and hold Pyara hostage, hoping to exchange her for the lost artifacts.

Sleeman holding Pyara hostage while bargaining with Arbaaz

When Arbaaz learned the news from Hamid, he rushed to the palace to rescue Pyara, making his way past Sleeman's guards and eventually confronting him in the palace's main chamber. There, Sleeman summoned the last of his men to deal with the Assassin, but Arbaaz swiftly killed them. In a desperate last effort to obtain the Koh-i-Noor and the Precursor box, Sleeman then held Pyara at knifepoint while demanding that the Assassin hand over the artifacts.

As Arbaaz did as he was told and tossed the artifacts into the air, Pyara used her own concealed blade to stab Sleeman in his side, forcing him to let her go. The couple was then able to escape with the Koh-i-Noor, which Arbaaz had grabbed in the confusion, although the box was left behind, allowing an injured Sleeman to reclaim it for the Templars.

Legacy

In 1853, over a decade after Sleeman's encounter with Arbaaz, the Templar was brought up by in a conversation between the Assassin, his wife Pyara and Ethan Frye regarding Arbaaz's exploits, which was secretly overheard by a young Jayadeep Mir.

Behind the scenes

William Sleeman is a historical character first mentioned in the 2015 novel Assassin's Creed: Underworld. He subsequently appeared as the main antagonist of the 2016 video game, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India.

Gallery

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  Color variant concept
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  Concept sketches
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  Concept sketches
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  Development concept
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  Major William Sleeman
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  Arbaaz demanding that Sleeman hand over the artifacts
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  Sleeman being stabbed by Pyara

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Underworld (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India (first appearance)