British Brotherhood of Assassins

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The British Brotherhood of Assassins was a Guild of Assassins based in the British Isles which had existed since at least the late 9th century as a branch of the Hidden Ones. In the 13th century, this Guild took a part in the First Barons' War against the King John Lackland.

In the 18th century, the British Brotherhood knew its peak under the leadership of Edward Kenway and Miko before the two were assassinated by the British Rite of the Templar Order. Then, the Guild lost his grip on London and relocated in Crawley, acting more carefully against the Templars who were well implanted in the Empire. In the middle of the 19th century, the actions of the twin Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye diminished the Templar's influence on London, permitting to the Guild to regain strength in the country.

Like many European Guilds, the British Brotherhood was very active during the World War I sending Assassins on the front and in seats of power. In 2000, the Guild was nearly wiped out like the entire Assassin Brotherhood during the Great Purge led by the Templar Order, leaving only a few members alive.

History

Early history

Before the 5th century CE, a precursor incarnation of the British Brotherhood was established by the Hidden Ones in Roman Britain. During the Barbarian Invasion, the magister and Hidden Ones Vitus oversaw the evacuation of the Hidden Ones from England.

Circa 870's, the Levantine Hidden Ones Basim and Hytham were tasked by their Mentor Rayhan to established a new chapter in England. The two had accompanied the Viking Eivor to England and used their settlement as their bureau.

Wars for the Crown

First Barons' War

The earliest known actions of the British Branch as the Assassins was its support of the French-supported baronial uprising against the King during the First Barons' War from 1215 to 1217. Led by Robert Fitzwalter, the Assassins were determined to end the despotic rule of King John, who they knew was nothing but a pawn of his Templar advisors.

However, the Master Assassin William of Cassingham, operating independently from the Brotherhood, led a guerrilla force supporting the King, firstly because he refused to side with the French but mainly because he was a staunch supporter of John's son, Prince Henry.

Tudor Era

On 23 November 1503, a team of Assassins sent by the Italian Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze arrived in London to assassinate the Templar ally Margaret of York who claimed the throne of England. As the Templars tried to lead a rebellion against the King Henry VII, the Assassins killed the Templars and discovered that they had infiltrated the Star Chamber. Investigated on the matter, the Assassins exposed the Templar allies to the King, you granted the Assassin with a seat in the Star Chamber.

On 17 November 1558, the Assassins killed the Queen Mary I of England as she allied with the Templars and also became allies of her successor Elizabeth I of England.

Involvement in the New World

Salem witch trials

In 1692, the British Assassin Thomas Stoddard went to Salem in Massachusetts to find a Pieces of Eden. He arrived in the city during the witch trials. With the help of another Assassin Jennifer Querry, they liberated from a prison Dorothy Osborne, a young girl who was possessed by the Isu Consus. This act enraged the Templars William Stoughton who ordered to the villagers to capture the Assassins.

Once captured, Stoddard and Querry were interrogated by Stoughton who threatened to hurt Querry's son, David. But at this moment, Osborne was possessed by Consus. Querry tried to free herself and Stoddard but she was killed. Osborne committed suicide in the fire to don't serve the Templars. Furious, Stoughton tried to kill Stoddard, but the Templar was shot by Parris. The Assassin convinced Parris to let him and David left the city.

Contact with the Caribbean branch

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 were 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.

In 1714, Duncan was tasked with meeting Ah Tabai, Mentor of the West Indies Brotherhood. After learning the locations of the Assassins' headquarters in the West Indies, Duncan sailed aboard HMS Intrigue, with the hope of joining the Templar Order. His plan began to unravel after HMS Intrigue attacked the Jacobite, shipwrecking Duncan and a pirate named Edward Kenway, who ultimately killed Duncan at Cape Bonavista.

In 1722, Edward, who had become affiliated with the Caribbean Assassins, eventually joined the British Brotherhood after sailing to London. He quickly ascended to the rank of Master Assassin and, alongside Miko, effectively became a co-leader of the branch. Together, the two managed to bring great stability to the Brotherhood, creating vast connections throughout London ranging from the noble high society to the criminal underworld. This further expanded their forces and presence and thus managed to diminish the Templar threat in the country. Outside of London, Miko began searching all over Europe for Pieces of Eden whilst making connections and providing his aid to the various regional branches.

Over the following years, Edward continued his research, utilizing his commercial activities to locate First Civilization sites across the globe; he discovered several Temples located in Italy and Alamut, as well as the hidden library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad at Masyaf. Additionally, Kenway attempted to discover the location of the Grand Temple and thus recorded his research into his personal journal.

At some point during his travels, Edward discovered the Shroud of Eden, a powerful Precursor artifact capable of healing fatal injuries. Upon learning of its power, Edward elected to keep the artifact hidden and thus concealed the artifact in a case constructed by the First Civilization which would be accessible only to a key of the same design. In order to ensure its secrecy, Edward stored the artifact underneath the Tower of London and placed the key within a secret room above the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Additionally, Edward donated his ship, the Jackdaw, to the Brotherhood, expanding their forces out to the open sea. He kept the vessel's wheel for a hidden compartment in his manor which inside held a Precursor artifact designed to open the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, as well as the detailed history of the London Assassins. Edward raised his son Haytham to become an Assassin from an early age.

In 1723, Edward became acquainted with Reginald Birch who, unbeknownst to him, was a member of the British Rite of the Templar Order. Birch planned to acquire Edward's journal, with a view to locating the Grand Temple himself. Birch succeeded in this endeavor in 1735, when a group of mercenaries hired by Birch killed Edward and obtained his journal.

Struggling against the Templars

During the mid-18th century, the British Brotherhood was at a disadvantage with their limited manpower and resources, and struggled to combat against their Templar counterparts. ^{[citation needed]} After the death of Kenway, Miko attempted to lead the Brotherhood to his best efforts. At some point Miko became acquainted with Achilles Davenport, Mentor of the newly established Colonial Brotherhood. In 1751, Miko informed him that Reginald Birch had begun searching the world for various Pieces of Eden that would defiantly aid the British Templars in their search for the Grand Temple. More importantly, they feared that Birch would send his deadliest agent, Haytham Kenway, to the colonies. With this message, Miko was sent on an assignment in Corsica, but not before promising to contact Achilles as soon as possible.

By 1753, Miko had arrived in Corsica and was assigned to protect Lucio Albertine, a codebreaker and ally to the Order. However, with Corsica in the midst of a revolution, the two resided in an encampment along with several rebels fighting for independence against Genoa. One June night, their camp was attacked; while Miko fought against the Genoese soldiers, Lucio attempted to escape, only to be kidnapped by Haytham Kenway. With haste, Miko caught up and engaged Kenway in battle. Despite a valiant attempt, Haytham managed to fend Miko off. After climbing a rope, Miko was forced to end his pursuit of the Templar, for fear of falling to his death. Before he ended the chase, Miko promised Haytham that the two would encounter each other again, but only one would survive.

At some point after returning to London, Miko was entrusted with the Grand Temple Key. In 1754, Miko, accompanied by his nephew, attended a performance of The Beggar's Opera in the Theatre Royal. During the play, Haytham navigated through the theatre and assassinated Miko, taking possession of the key.

Following Miko's death, the Brotherhood tasked Louis Mills with pursuing Haytham and eliminating him. To execute his plan, Mills boarded the Providence posing as one of its crew members, and secretly threw marked cargo overboard each night, leaving a trail for the Assassin vessel, the Aquila, to pursue the Providence.

The plan failed, however, as Haytham managed to kill Louis in a duel. Shortly after, the Aquila appeared in pursuit of the Providence, lured by Mills' trail of cargo. Haytham persuaded Samuel Smythe, the captain of the Providence, to sail through a brewing storm in order to lose the pursuers. During the storm, the Aquila was heavily damaged and forced to abandon the pursuit. Following this, the London Brotherhood began to largely diminish in numbers until their presence was almost completely eradicated from London by the growing British Templars who managed to seize control of the country, and began to serve as a centuries-long decline of the Assassin Order.

Industrial Revolution

Liberation of London

Main article: Liberation of London

During the 19th century, the British Brotherhood was led by an Assassin Council, forming a more structured and ordered branch that attempted to solve matters in a more methodical approach. Ethan Frye joined the Brotherhood alongside his wife Cecily; the pair became high ranking members who undertook missions for the Brotherhood operating in Crawley. Some point later, Ethan rescued a local mill worker, George Westhouse, from robbers near a riverbank. Grateful for his aid, George subsequently joined the Brotherhood with Ethan and Cecily acting as his mentors, tutoring him in methods of the Assassins.

Henry Green was assigned as the leader of the weakened Assassins stationed in London where he became acquainted with George Westhouse. During this time, Henry was able to make several connections throughout London, gaining resourceful information and considerable allies. Among his allies were Alexander Graham Bell, an inventor whose ingenuity aided the Brotherhood and Frederick Abberline, Chief Inspector of the London Metropolitan Police Service whose aid became beneficial for keeping the Assassins' activities secret from the populace.

The Templars were led by Crawford Starrick, who held a stranglehold on London's industry, gangs, boroughs and social classes. Green petitioned the Council for aid but was declined, as the Council felt that Starrick's empire was too powerful to defeat, and any Assassin who felt otherwise were encouraged not to intervene. In 1868, the twins Jacob and Evie Frye, who were born into the Brotherhood, decided to defy the Council and moved to London. While there, the two worked to eliminate the oppressive Templar presence. Jacob created a gang called the Rooks to combat the Templar-controlled Blighters.

However, the Frye twins had diverging goals; Jacob simply wanted to kill Templars, neglecting that their deaths would affect the citizenry, whereas Evie focused all her efforts on locating the Shroud of Eden. Ultimately, the twins agreed to work together one last time to stop Starrick from killing the ruling class of London and obtaining the Shroud. Following Starrick's death, the Fryes reconciled their differences and agreed to continue working together.

Autumn of Terror

Main article: Whitechapel murders

With the defeat of the Templars, the British Brotherhood began to recover and rebuild their ranks. Evie later married Henry Green and moved with him to India subsequently joining the Indian Brotherhood. Jacob remained behind in London to strengthen the Assassins' presence and thus recruited several initiates into the Brotherhood, among them a young apprentice named 'Jack the Lad' whom Jacob liberated from Lambeth Asylum and was described as 'reckless and roguish'.

In 1873, Jacob traveled to India visiting his sister and brother-in-law Henry alongside Jack as well as several of his new initiates in order to train in the fear tactics of the Indian brethren.

In 1888, one of Jacob's apprentices, known only by the name Jack, developed an extremist view of the Assassins' mission. Eventually, Jack usurped control of the Rooks from Jacob and killed anyone sent to deter him. Radicalizing his followers, Whitechapel, the center of Jack's operations, descended into a cesspool of crime and depravity.

Jacob sent Assassins disguised as prostitutes after Jack, and he brutally killed them all, thereafter using the pseudonym "Jack the Ripper". Jacob was later captured by Jack, but not before the Master Assassin sent a letter summoning Evie back to London. Evie went on to assassinate Jack's underlings before tracking him down and putting an end to the Ripper, saving Jacob in the process. To avoid public exposure of the Brotherhood, Evie requested Inspector Frederick Abberline to cover up the Ripper's death, and he agreed to do so.

Infiltrating the Golden Dawn

A year before Jack's crimes, the Assassins learned that the Templars funded Samuel Liddell Mathers, a man who had the Book of Abraham, for the creation of an occultist group. The Brotherhood sent Mina Bergson to pretend to take interest in Mathers and spying him. At the end of the year, Mathers founded the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn with William Wynn Westcott and William Robert Woodman. In 1890, another Assassin and Mina's friend, Annie Horniman, joined the Golden Dawn. The same year, Mina married Samuel and took the name of Moina Mathers. In 1891, Woodman was killed by a hitman who worked for his associates. With Woodman dead, Samuel took the leadership of the Order. The Assassins wanted that Moina left the Golden Dawn but she refused and left the Brotherhood.

Becoming the Seeress of the Golden Dawn, she could communicate with Woodman's spirit. Around 1896, Westcott and Samuel fought for the leadership of the Order. Westcott was forced to leave and Samuel was the last founder of the Golden Dawn in place but he lost the Book of Abraham after this event. In 1900, while he was in Paris, Samuel met the Secret Chief, a Templar, who explained to him that their partnership was over because of Woodman's assassination. Later, the other members defied Samuel's authority and in 1903 Samuel was expelled from the Golden Dawn and the Order collapsed.

Conflicts of 20th century

World War I

Many British Assassins such as Sam Crowder and an assassin medic, enlisted in the army during the war. On the Christmas truce of 1914, the assassin medic treated wounded British soldiers while German artillery hit the British trenches. As the British and German troops fraternized, the medic assisted the German general and member of the Templar Order, Erich Albert, with saving the life of a wounded German soldier. Following this, Albert showed his ring to the medic. In return, the medic revealed the Assassin brand on his finger and killed Albert with his Hidden Blade before the Templar could react.

In 1916, at the behest of Winston Churchill, the assassin Lydia Frye, Jacob Frye's granddaughter, eliminated a German spy ring operating around Tower Bridge. The spy ring was led by a Templar Master Spy, who was killed by Lydia. In exchange for her services, Churchill promised Lydia that he would do what he could for the enfranchisement of women when he had returned to parliament after the War.

Spanish Civil War

In 1936, the British Brotherhood sent Norbert Clarke to eliminate an entire Templar branch in Tallinn which succeeded. The following year, an Assassin cell led by Ignacio Cardona in Spain requested the Brotherhood to sent at least a dozen assassins to aid them in the Spanish Civil War. The British Brotherhood however, sent only Norbert instead.

World War II

During the Blitz in September 1940, Eddie Gorm, a descendant of a lineage of Assassins, was contacted by the American Assassins Boris Pash and Julia Dusk to infiltrate the atomic program of Nazi Germany. After two years undercover as an officer of the SS, Gorm blew his cover when he took in hostage the Dr. Werner Heisenberg who revealed to him the construction of the Die Glocke for the Uranprojekt.

After this event, Gorm officially joined the Brotherhood and was sent to Vemork on 27 February 1943 to stop the Uranprojekt. While infiltrating the base, he was captured by the Templar Obbergruppenführer Gero Kramer. Gorm was placed in Die Glock, a machine powered by Apple of Eden capable to read the Genetic memory of an individual and its ancestors. Kramer wanted to explore the memories of Gorm ancestor to uncover new Pieces of Eden to create weapons for the Templars. After starting the machine, Die Glocke exploded and the British commandos attacked the base. To protect him, Kramer sent Gorm in a basement with the scientist Nikola Tesla who was abducted by the Templars to construct Die Glocke. Dusk infiltrated the place and rescued Gorm.

The 15 July 1943, with the information given by Tesla, Gorm and Dusk went to Książ Castle in Poland to recover the Apple while a team of Assassins led by Pash stormed the castle. Gorm killed Kramer and Dusk recovered the Apple before reuniting with Pash after the mission. During their meeting, Gorm met Tesla who explained to him that Pash wanted to use the Apple for the Rainbow Project and worked with the Templars. As Pash tried to explain that he made an allegiance with the Templars to stop the war, he wounded Gorm who tried to stop him. To impeach Pash to recover the Apple, Dusk armed a hand grenade in a fail attempt to destroy the Piece of Eden, killing in the process. Pash took the Apple leaving Gorm wounded.

On 28 October 1943, onboard the USS Eldridge in Philadelphia's shipyard, Pash and his Templar ally, John von Neumann, launched the Project Rainbow: by using the Die Glocke and the Apple of Eden, they tried to travel in time to stop the war before it began. Gorm, no more an Assassin, infiltrated the ship and killed Tesla as he believed that Pash wanted to use his knowledge to create an Atomic bomb. After Pash revealed his plan to Gorm, the former Assassin committed suicide.

Modern Times

In 2000, like many other branches of the Assassins, the British Brotherhood was wiped out by the Templar during the Great Purge.

In 2010, the Junior History professor Shaun Hastings was introduced in the Brotherhood after he was abducted by Abstergo Industries, the front of the modern Templar Order, for having leak documents about their wrongdoings. He became the historian, data-analyst and technical support for the Assassins.

In October 2015, Hastings and the American Assassin Rebecca Crane went to London and infiltrated the office of Isabelle Ardant, the Head of Historical Research Division of Abstergo and a member of the Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order. While searching for information on Pieces of Eden, the two Assassins downloaded the memories of Jacob and Evie Frye to their Initiate who will experience its in the Helix to find the Shroud of Eden. to ambush Ardant but they were caught by the Templars Juhani Otso Berg and Violet da Costa but they escaped the office in extremis. As the Initiate located the Shroud under Buckingham Palace, Hastings and Crane went in the vault with the Russian Assassin Galina Voronina. As they saw that the Templars taking the Shroud, the Assassins launched an attack. Hastings killed Ardant but the Assassins fled the place as Crane was hurt and Templar reinforcement arrived, leaving the Shroud to the Templars.

In late 2016, the Assassin descendants Callum Lynch, Moussa and Lin escaped from the Abstergo Foundation Rehabilitation Center in Madrid and went in London to infiltrated a Templar meeting in Holborn Hall. Lynch killed Abstergo CEO and Templar Grand Master Alan Rikkin before the Council of Elders and recovered the Apple of Eden in his possession.

In late 2018, after recovering the Spear of Leonidas and Herodotos's Lost Histories, a team of Assassins composed of Layla Hassan, Victoria Bibeau, Kiyoshi Takakura and Alannah Ryan installed in London to resume their research of the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus. Collecting DNA sample on the Spear, Hassan used an Animus to experience the memories of Leonidas' grand-daughter and descendant of the Isu Kassandra, a misthios who participated in the Peloponnesian War and was in contact with the Staff. When Hassan discovered the location of the Atlantis on the island of Thera through Kassandra's memories, the team left the hideout to go in Greece. They left a USB drive to infect Abstergo devices in case they discovered their hideout.

Techniques

The members of the British Brotherhood were trained in the methods of stealth, eavesdropping, marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, freerunning as well as pickpocketing and lockpicking.

During the 18th century, the two co-leaders Edward Kenway and Miko were known to utilize Hidden Blades, swords, pistols alongside the cane-sword which over the following years became a significant weapon for the British Brotherhood due to the weapon's concealed usage and efficiently which was passed down through the following centuries.

The British Assassins utilized throwing knives and cane-swords as well as smoke bombs and Hidden Blades.

During the 19th century, the standard Hidden Blade acquired two new insertions. These included a rope launcher and the ability to fire hallucinogenic darts; firing a dart into an open flame would result in a poisonous gas cloud, allowing the Assassin to eliminate multiple enemies from a distance.

While in London, Jacob and Evie Frye were introduced to Kukris, brass knuckles, revolvers and voltaic bombs. During the 20th century, Lydia Frye would continue using some of these weapons.

Members

Migration Period

• Vitus

Viking Age

• Hytham (Levantine Brotherhood)
• Basim (Levantine Brotherhood)

Middle Ages

• Robert Fitzwalter
• William of Cassingham (independent)

Colonial era

• Thomas Stoddard
• Jennifer Querry
• Samuel Bellamy
• Edward Kenway
• Omar Khaled
• William Lowndes
• Rose Galloway (betrayed)
• Miko
• Louis Mills
• Phillip Randall (Mentor; c.1714)
• Bernard Ruddock (excommunicated)
• Duncan Walpole (betrayed)

Victorian era

• Cecily Frye
• Emmett Frye
• Ethan Frye
• Evie Frye
• Jacob Frye
• Annie Horniman
• Annie Chapman
• Catherine Eddowes

• Jack the Ripper (went rogue)
• Moina Mathers (left of own accord)
• Jayadeep Mir (Indian Brotherhood)
• Mary Ann Nichols
• Michel Reuge
• George Westhouse
• Elizabeth Stride

World Wars

• Robert Burton
• Sam Crowder
• Lydia Frye
• Eddie Gorm
• Medic
• Norbert Clarke

Modern times

• Shaun Hastings

Allies and puppets

Renaissance

• Elizabeth I of England
• Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Italian Brotherhood)
• Henry VII of England

Colonial era

• Lucio Albertine
• Monica Albertine
• Nicolas Fatio de Duillier
• Jones
• Isaac Newton
• Robert Walpole

Industrial Revolution

• Frederick Abberline
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Nigel Bumble
• Charles Darwin
• Charles Dickens
• Benjamin Disraeli
• Agnes MacBean
• Karl Marx

• Nellie
• Florence Nightingale
• Clara O'Dea
• Duleep Singh
• Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom
• Ned Wynert

20th Century

• Ignacio Cardona (Spanish Brotherhood)
• Winston Churchill

Trivia

• In the non-canon modern part of the French comics, the Assassin cell based in London is composed of Stella Crow, Jonathan Hawk, Nancy and Steve.

References

fr:Assassins britanniques ru:Британские Ассассины zh:不列颠刺客兄弟会