User:Crookandcharlatan/Sandbox2
- "Take these carrier pigeons for example. Each one sent from Machiavelli bears the name of an important Templar in Roma. Eliminate them and you will have more of an impact than a battle ever could."
- ―Pantasilea to Ezio Auditore.[src]
Assassination contracts were assignments given to the Assassins, marking one or more individuals as a threat and ordering their elimination. The details of these contracts were generally sent via carrier pigeon or couriers.
History
Middle Ages
Under the leadership of Rashid ad-Din Sinan, word of the intended target was sent to the Rafiq present within the target's city or region. Novice Assassins were then sent out by the Rafiq to investigate the plans, routines and surroundings of the intended target, amassing information that could be crucial to the actual assasination, which would be carried out by an Assassin of higher rank.[1]
Before said assassination was carried out, the Assassin would be judged on the value of their knowledge and, if deemed sufficient, handed a feather marker that would serve as proof of their success when dipped in the target's blood. Master Assassins, due to their skill, were not obligated to meet with the Rafiq after the investigation had been completed and could immediately proceed with the elimination of the target. Although rare, investigations and assassinations were sometimes carried out by the same person, as was the case with the disgraced Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.[1]
Renaissance
Before his induction into the Order, Ezio Auditore da Firenze carried out assassinations for Lorenzo de' Medici in the cities of Florence, Tuscany, Romagna, and Venice.[2] When he was a Master Assassin living in Rome, contracts were provided by Niccolò Machiavelli and relayed to him through Pantasilea Baglioni. Ezio could also provide contracts of his own for his Assassin recruits, so that they gained the experience necessary to progress through the Assassin Order.[3][4]
Age of Empires
Upon being introduced to the Assassins in 1716, the pirate Edward Kenway was persuaded by James Kidd to work assassination contracts in the Caribbean for monetary reward. The people targeted by the Assassins were not limited to Templars, but also included cruel slave traders, corrupts officials and criminals of all sorts.[5]
In 18th century New Orleans, Aveline de Grandpré would occasionally carry out assassinations on the order of her Mentor, Agaté, who left messages for her in the Saint Peter Cemetery. These missions were meant to sabotage the Templars' attempts to gain power within the region, eliminating new recruits or vital enemy contacts. Similarly, Aveline would receive contracts from Gérald Blanc's informants, targetting various corrupt Templar business rivals active in the city. By eliminating them, more shops became eligible for renovation, so that slaves could attain steady employement.[6]
Edward's grandson, Ratonhnhaké:ton, carried out assassination contracts given to him through couriers, who identified the locations of Templars nearby, allowing him to complete them in his own time. He also gave his recruits contracts to fulfill, gaining them experience as they provided aid during the American Revolution.[7]
Trivia
- In Assassin's Creed II, during Memory sequences 13 and 14, as well as the succeeding free-roaming sequence, these contracts were still available, even though Lorenzo de' Medici had already died by that point. As it turned out, Ezio was also tasked to assassinate associates of various characters who had been dead for years by then.
- In "Hunting the Hunter," the attacking guards bore Medici colors.
- If Ezio looted the scarecrow target afterward, it yielded a set of keys.
References
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