British Brotherhood of Assassins
The British Assassins were the British Brotherhood of Assassins, having existed at least since the early 13th century.
Their earliest known actions were their support of the baronial uprising during the First Barons' War from 1215 to 1217. However, the Master Assassin William of Cassingham, operating independently from the Brotherhood, supported King John, refusing to side with the French-supported barons.[1]
The Order still existed in the early 18th Century and had a Mentor within the ranks as well as various other senior members. Around 1700, an Assassin sailor introduced Duncan Walpole into the Brotherhood. Duncan eventually became a Master Assassin, though his immoderate temper and arrogance was seen as a liability to most of the Order. This lack of loyalty led to Duncan defecting to the Templar cause and began corresponding with Laureano de Torres y Ayala.[2]
In 1714, Duncan was tasked with meeting Ah Tabai, Mentor of the Caribbean Brotherhood. After learning the locations of the Assassins' presence in the West Indies, Duncan sailed aboard the HMS Intrigue, with the hope of joining the Templar Order. This plan was faltered after his ship attacked the Jacobite, shipwrecking Duncan and a pirate named Edward Kenway, who ultimately killed Duncan at Cape Bonavista.[2]
Around 1722, Edward Kenway himself became an Assassin after sailing to London, where he raised his son Haytham to become an Assassin from an early age. The following years, Edward conducted his searches of the First Civilization sites. Through his findings, he discovered Temples located in Italy, as well as the hidden library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Additionally, Kenway attempted to find the location of the Grand Temple and thus recorded his research into his personal journal.[3]
Edward became acquainted with Reginald Birch in 1723 who, unbeknownst to him, was the Grand Master of the British Templars and secretly planned to acquire Edward's journal in his ultimate goal to finding the Grand Temple. He succeeded in this endeavor in 1735, when Birch hired a group of mercenaries to kill Edward.[3]
In the mid-18th century, the British Assassins were struggling to combat their Templar counterparts, whose Grand Master, Reginald Birch, spearheaded the search for First Civilization sites, and was aided by his skilled protégé, Haytham Kenway.[4]
Members
- Samuel Bellamy
- Robert Fitzwalter
- Annie Horniman
- Edward Kenway
- Moina Mathers (Left of own accord)
- Miko
- Louis Mills
- Bernard Ruddock (Excommunicated)
- Duncan Walpole
- William of Cassingham (Independent)
Allies