Aguilar de Nerha

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Aguilar de Nerha (1455 – 1526) was a Master Assassin and Mentor of the Spanish Brotherhood of Assassins. He is an ancestor of Callum Lynch through the maternal line.

Aguilar played a prominent role in the Brotherhood's fight against the Spanish Inquisition, who acted under the direction of the Templars. He thwarted an attempt by the Grand Inquisitor and Master Templar, Tomás de Torquemada, to acquire an Apple of Eden in order to bring Spain completely under Templar control.

Biography

Early years

"His family were Assassins. They were burned at the stake by the Templars, Torquemada... and the black knight you saw, Ojeda."

―Sofia Rikkin to Callum Lynch on Aguilar's past, 2016.

Aguilar was born in 1455 to two members of the Assassin Order. Despite this, Aguilar did not officially join the Spanish Brotherhood until his parents were burned at the stake by Tomás de Torquemada and Ojeda as part of the Inquisition. Even so, he was initially rejected by the Brotherhood, as they felt he was too angry and full of vengeance to properly begin training. Eventually, the Brotherhood's Mentor Benedicto and Master Assassin Maria saw something in Aguilar and convinced the Brotherhood to accept him. During his childhood, Aguilar was a close friend of Máximo Barrosa, whom he later recruited into the Brotherhood after his own training.

Aguilar being formally inducted into the brotherhood

Aguilar began his was training with Mentor Benedicto with Maria as his sparring partner before being formally inducted into the Order in 1492. As part of the ceremony, his ring finger ceremonially amputated. During his training, Aguilar also grew close to Maria, his sparring partner, and the two began a romantic relationship.

Aguilar's first mission was to spy on a meeting between Torquemada and his top enforcer, Ojeda, during which he learned that King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile had given command of the Spanish army to the Grand Inquisitor and that the Templars were about to set a new plan in motion. Meeting with María, the senior Assassin tasked Aguilar to gather other Assassins and set a new base of operation in an abandoned fortress of the Sierra de Cazorla, from which the Assassins harassed the Templars. In line with this mission, Aguilar also investigated and pursued the Inquisitor, Gustavo Ramirez, hoping to eliminate him. However, Ramirez always seemed to be one step ahead of the Assassins and continued to elude Aguilar and the other Spanish Assassins.

Rescuing the Prince

Aguilar and the Assassins before ambushing the Templars

Later, the Spanish Assassins needed to ensure the safety of Prince Ahmed of Granada, the son of Sultan Muhammad XII of Granada, whom the Templars were searching for in order to use as a ransom for the Apple of Eden they knew to be in the Sultan's possession. Together with María, Benedicto, and a number of other Assassins, Aguilar ambushed a Templar force led by Ojeda in a small Andalusian village where the Prince had been hiding. It was at this same conflict that Aguilar finally located Ramirez and eliminated him. Despite the Assassins being outnumbered and eventually overpowered, both Aguilar and María managed to escape the village with the Prince, though they were quickly pursued by Ojeda and a number of his soldiers. The pursuit lasted some time, but eventually Aguilar, Maria, and Mentor Benedicto were apprehended after saving the Prince and were imprisoned by the Templars.

Escape through Seville

Following their arrest, the surviving Assassins were transported to Seville, where they were denounced as heretics and sentenced to be burned at the stake by Torquemada. In the presence of the king of Aragon and Queen of Castilla  Aguilar watched as Ojeda lit the pyre beneath Benedicto’s feet, burning him alive. Despite this, however, Aguilar was able to escape his bonds and engaged the Templars as they closed in. He also freed María and together, the two Assassins made their escape through the streets of Sevilla.

Aguilar performing the Leap of Faith

Once more pursued by Ojeda and his soldiers, this time across the rooftops of the city, the Assassins made their way to Seville Cathedral, which was under construction at the time. They managed to eliminate many of their Templar pursuers in the process, before finally making their escape by climbing the cathedral’s scaffolding and performing a Leap of Faith into the streets below.

Retrieving the Apple

With the Prince now in the hands of Torquemade and Ojeda, Muhammad XII surrendered his capital, Granada, to Torquemada's forces. As the Templars entered the city both Aguilar and María made their way to the Sultan's palace, watching from above as the Sultan reluctantly handed over the Apple in exchange for his son's safety before they made their move.

Dropping smoke bombs into the room, both Assassins quickly eliminated many of the Templars, before Aguilar captured Torquemada and claimed the Apple. Unfortunately, Ojeda had managed to apprehend María. Now in a stand-off, Ojeda promised to release Maria once Aguilar returned the Apple to Torquemada. Aguilar was on the verge of agreeing, which would have gone against his vows and commitment to protecting the Apple of Eden, however, before he could act, he witnessed María take her own life with Ojeda's blade to prevent him from betraying the Creed.

Enraged by her death, Aguilar engaged Ojeda in combat but was gradually overcome by his opponent's sheer strength. It was only after he had been knocked to the ground and was lying next to Maria that Aguilar managed to gain the upper hand. In her final breath, she signaled to Aguilar and using María's launchable Hidden Blade, struck Ojeda in the chest, giving Aguilar the advantage he needed to kill defeat and kill him. With Ojeda dead, a heavily wounded Aguilar was forced to make his escape through the tunnels beneath the palace as Torquemada opened the locked door of the room to the rest of his men.

Escaping through the tunnel and making his way outside to a bridge, Aguilar was eventually surrounded. Torquemada stood above him, trying to convince him the fight was over and he should surrender the Apple of Eden, but once more he escaped by performing a Leap of Faith into the river far below.

Following the events in Granada, Aguilar realized that the Apple would never be safe from the Templars if it remained in Spain. He made his way to Palos de la Frontera in Huelva, where he charged Christopher Columbus, an ally of the Spanish Assassins with protecting the Apple. [1]

Aguilar: "Assassins have died for this. Protect it with your life."

Christopher: "I am a friend of the Creed."

Aguilar: "Take it to your grave."

Christopher: "I swear."

—Aguilar entrusting the Apple to Columbus, 1492.

Aguilar handing the Apple to Columbus

Following this major event, Aguilar continued to serve the Assassins. He gained the rank of Master Assassin and eventually became the Mentor of the Spanish Brotherhood. He died in 1526 at the age of 71, having fathered at least one child during his lifetime.

Legacy

Aguilar appearing as a ghostly vision to Callum

Aguilar's actions ensured the Apple of Eden would remain hidden from both humanity and the Templars, for many centuries, having given it to Columbus, who kept the Apple with him until his death.

In 2016, Abstergo Industries began a search for the Apple, which they believed to have been buried with Aguilar. To this end, they searched his burial site but did not find it. The Templars recovered his gauntlets in the process and brought them to the Abstergo Foundation "Rehabilitation" facility in Madrid.

In October of 2016, Abstergo located the last known descendant of Aguilar, Callum Lynch (born 10/21/1979) who was surrently a death row inmate of Texas, and had his execution by lethal injection faked. Fabricating a story about his help and participation in an "Aggression Study", they forced him to relive his ancestor's genetic memories through the Animus 4.3. Callum was outfitted with Aguilar's Hidden Blades (so as to enhance synchronization), and through several Animus sessions (one which nearly killed him), the location of the Apple was eventually revealed, causing it to fall into the possession of high-ranking Templar Alan Rikkin.

At the end of the final Animus session, Aguilar would later appear as a ghostly vision to Callum along with many other Assassin ancestors including French Assassin Arno Victor Dorian, his mother Mary Lynch, and finally his father Joseph (who had been killed in another room just prior to this occurrence) ultimately convincing Callum to embrace his Assassin heritage. Particularly startling and revealing was that before she was dragged from the Animus chamber, Sofia Rikken saw among these ancestors, a woman who resembled her mother dressed in Creed robes. The implications of such a sighting raises many theories about Sofia's mother whom she described to Callum Lynch as being "killed by an Assassin...like your mother." Additionally, given the near-obsession of Alan Rikken in his attempts to eliminate the Creed once and for all with the Apple of Eden becoming secondary to this, it surely makes one question the circumstances of Sofia's mother's death. I also raises the possibility that if Sofia's mother was seen in the Animus with Callum Lynch's other Creed ancestors, could Sofia and Callum be related?

Callum, joining with Abstergo detainees/Assassin descendants Lin and Moussa, would utilize the equipment being kept at the Abstergo facility to escape, as the facility was being purged and it is assumed the other detainees were killed. The three, under-estimated by Rikken, would infiltrate the Templars at their Grand Hall in London some days later where Callum Lynch, now doned in Assassin robes, killed Alan Rikkin, reclaiming the Apple.

About the same year, Abstergo Entertainment uses the resources to make a downloadable content for Identity Project.

Personality and characteristics

Aguilar was a committed member of the Assassin Brotherhood, dedicated to preserving free will and fighting against the evil Knights Templar. He also possessed a deep understanding of the political climate in 15th Century Spain and knew Tomás de Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition had to be stopped. Aguilar was a firm believer of the doctrine of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, and followed his most fundamental teachings.

Equipment and skills

Aguilar fighting Inquisition soldiers while exhausted

A capable fighter, Aguilar could handle himself against multiple enemies in both armed and unarmed combat, wielding a range of weapons including swords and spears with great skill. Additionally, he proved to be proficient at archery, using a bow and arrow to deadly effect in both long and close range combat. Aguilar was also proficient with throwing knives, and when thrown could create opportunities for striking first. Owing to his agile reflexes, Aguilar could also strike twice in one attack.

Like many Assassins, Aguilar was also adept in freerunning, being able to move across the rooftops of Seville quickly and creatively, ducking in and out of buildings and dashing across ropes in an effort to lose his pursuers. He also mastered the Leap of Faith, using it on two occasions to escape his enemies. In addition to freerunning, he could also use construction lifts to propel himself to higher ground, navigate ziplines to reach lower ground, and climb walls.

Equipment-wise, Aguilar possessed dual Hidden Blades as his primary weapons, one of which was equipped with a grappling hook. He also had three throwing knives and smoke bombs at his disposal. With his Hidden Blades, he could assassinate enemies from the air or from concealed hiding places. As Mentor of the Spanish Brotherhood, Aguilar possessed a personal sword he used in combat. The robes Aguilar wore showed Moorish influences, being adorned with beads and embroidery.

Behind the scenes

Callum Lynch is a character from the game Assassin's Creed: Rebellion, and the film Assassin's Creed. He is portrayed in film by Michael Fassbender.

Trivia

• "Aguilar" is a Spanish surname meaning "relative to eagles." "De Nerha" is potentially a misspelled form of "De Nerja," which means "From Nerja," which is an Andalusian town.
• Despite the fact that Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad redesigned the Hidden Blade to eliminate the necessity of removing one's ring finger, Aguilar still undergoes the process per the traditionalist customs of the Spanish Brotherhood.
• The Black Knight, Ojeda, was responsible for the deaths of nearly everyone close to Aguilar: His parents, his Mentor Benedicto, and his mate Maria.

Gallery

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  Promotional art of Aguilar
• 
  Promotional art of Aguilar
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  Another portrait
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  Aguilar's family tree
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  The concept art of Aguilar de Nerha in Identity
• 
  Aguilar as he appears in Rebellion

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed (film) (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization
• Assassin's Creed: Identity – Movie Update
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide (2nd edition, mentioned only)