Dante Moro

Dante Moro (1460 - 1486) was the personal bodyguard of Marco Barbarigo, and a member of the Templar Order.

Dante was once the captain of the Venetian city guard, and was also an heir to one of the most prestigious and affluent families in Venice.

Biography

Captain of the guard

Being the only son of Doge Christoforo Moro, Dante was born into nobility, and was given advantages in life due to his social standing as a result. Eventually, he would become the Captain of the Venetian Guard, and the sole heir of the prestigious Moro family. By the age of twenty-five, Dante was happily married to a woman by the name of Carlotta, and a close friend to Marco Barbarigo whilst in his position of Captain.

Betrayal

Desiring Dante's wife, Carlotta, for himself, Marco Barbarigo organized an attempt on Dante's life. Sending his agents to kill Dante, they managed to stab him four times, despite Dante being a proficient fighter. Dante suffered three body wounds, and was left with a knife stuck in his head.

Although the weapon was embedded in his skull, Dante proved to be more than Marco's agents could handle, barely escaping the encounter with his life. While he had miraculously survived, Dante was left with severe brain damage and the mind of a child.

From there, Marco tricked Dante into annulling his marriage in Carlotta's presence, and thus, achieving the goal he had hoped for. He also convinced Dante to become his personal bodyguard, with Dante proving effective in his new employment.

Work as a Templar bodyguard

"We should move a little faster. I feel eyes on us."

―Dante, advising the Templars for their safety.^[src]

On September 14th 1485, Dante, along with Marco, met with fellow Templars Silvio Barbarigo, Carlo Grimaldi, and Rodrigo Borgia in the Piazza di San Marco. The meeting was held to discuss the plans to murder the Doge.

Dante spoke little during the meeting, concentrating instead on keeping the other Templars safe. More than once, Dante moved the group along to avoid prying eyes and ears, though it proved a futile impediment to deter Ezio Auditore from eavesdropping from the surrounding rooftops and crowds.

Dante later met with Silvio at the Carnevale festivities, in which he fought Ezio hand to hand to win a golden mask. Although the two fought fiercely, Ezio's skills proved better and Dante was bested. However, Silvio cheated for Dante to win by bribing the Master of Celebrations, and so the mask was awarded to Dante to prevent Ezio from entering Marco's private party.

Later, while Dante was heading towards the Doge's party, Ezio managed to distract him with the aid of Sister Teodora's courtesans, which provided him enough time to pickpocket the mask from Dante. Upon discovering the loss of the mask, Dante arrived at the party along with other guards.

Attempting to look for Ezio, Dante scoured the crowd of partygoers. Despite his best efforts, Dante failed, resulting in Marco's death at Ezio's hands. After Marco's death, Silvio hired Dante to be his bodyguard, and Dante subsequently helped his new master to occupy L'Arsenale.

Death

Ezio planned to kill Dante and Silvio and helped a condottiero, Bartolomeo d'Alviano, attack L'Arsenale in 1486. During the attack, Dante led the Templar troops, and fought with Bartolomeo and Ezio.

With Ezio and the condottiero arrayed against him, Dante and the Templar supporters were defeated. However, Silvio recalled Dante to the city docks, and, as they were about to board a ship, Ezio assassinated the two with both of his hidden blades before they could reach the ship.

In his final moments, Dante disclosed to Ezio that the Templars meant to sail for Cyprus, right before succumbing to his injuries. Following Dante's death, Ezio recovered a letter from Dante's corpse. The letter was from Dante's ex-wife, Carlotta, and in it she apologized for marrying Marco, and told Dante she would find a way to restore his mind.

Personality and characteristics

"He's saved my life on two occasions, though he's not much of a conversationalist."

―Marco commenting on Dante.^[src]

Following the traumatic attempt on his life, Dante did not retain much of a personality. When he spoke, it was in short, gruff sentences focused on a single task: the advancement of his master's goals.

Dante also followed orders unquestioningly, always obeying his master and any superiors in the Order. He was extremely loyal and dedicated, constantly working to keep his brothers safe and putting his own life at risk for their safety.

Dante was also a capable fighter, being able to hold his own against Bartolomeo and Ezio. In battle, he was a strong fighter able to endure and withstand attacks from his opponent.

Final words

Ezio: What's happened here? Why the boats? I thought you sought the Doge's seat.
Silvio: Just a distraction. We were meant to sail...
Ezio: Sail where?
Silvio: I'll never tell.

Silvio dies.

Dante: Cyprus is their destination. They want... they... want...

Dante dies.

Ezio: Non temete l'oscurità – accettate il suo abbraccio. Requiescant in Pace. (Fear not the darkness – but welcome its embrace. Rest in peace.)

Trivia

Dante wields a Labrys axe, and fights much like a Brute.
In the novel, Ezio shoots Dante in the face with the pistol on the deck of the Templar ship. The text of Carlotta's letter to Dante is reproduced in the novel as well.
Dante differs from the other assassination targets in the game, as he is not deliberately a Templar. Simple-minded, Dante would not be in control of his actions and therefore can not be held accountable for them. Assassinating him was therefore a breach of the first tenet of The Creed, but Ezio was not bound by the tenets until he was inducted into the order.
Dante is the only assassination target not to have a portrait in Ezio's room.
Dante is also the only assassination target to be younger than Ezio in Assassin's Creed II.
The database entry for San Giobbe states that Dante was the only son of the Doge, Cristoforo Moro, who supposedly disowned him in 1468 after losing his title as Venetian Captain of the Guard. This would not be possible, as Dante would only have been eight years old in 1468. Also, when Dante was born, Cristoforo would have been nearly 70 years old.
If the player is confronted by Dante after stealing the mask, the player cannot kill him, nor disarm him (except for a two-handed weapon's special attack). This is also the case after the party where Marco is killed, with Dante being on a bridge nearby.