Giovanni Borgia

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A young Giovanni Borgia.

Giovanni Borgia (March 1498 – 1548) was the son of Perotto Calderon and Lucrezia Borgia, and a member of the Assassin Order.

Biography

Early life

Giovanni as a baby, wrapped in the Shroud.

"Lucrezia is pregnant! This is a complication we did not need!"

―Perotto, upon discovering Giovanni's conception.

Giovanni was secretly born in Rome to Lucrezia Borgia, the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI, and a courier by the name of Perotto Calderon, who was an undercover Assassin. Upon his birth, however, he was malformed, and was expected to die within a few days. In a drastic attempt to save his son's life, Perotto broke out of prison (in which he was being held due to the discovery of his affair with Lucrezia) and escaped to Agnadello. There, he knew the Assassins were guarding the Piece of Eden known as "the Shroud", which Perotto thought would be able to heal his son. Upon arriving there, having slain both brother Assassins and Borgia soldiers along the way, Perotto asked the Shroud to heal his son, which it did, despite its initial protests. The child would live, but be forever mentally unstable.

Giovanni being trained at swordplay by Cesare.

"Papà tells me that Roma is not safe for me. He says people want to hurt me. They want to hurt our family. When I ask him why, he says because they know we are better than they are."

―Giovanni, regarding his early childhood.

As Perotto was executed by his Brothers for having broken all three tenents of their Creed, Giovanni wound up in the hands of his uncle, Cesare Borgia, who he was told was his father.

Giovanni was trained to be cruel by both his father, and the latter's friend Micheletto Corella, though he rejected many of their "teachings" and only grew to fear and hate them. As his father was often away, Giovanni was allowed to spend time with his "aunt" Lucrezia, who enjoyed their bonding, but was often saddened by seeing her son raised in such a harsh environment.

Giovanni holding the Apple.

Giovanni's grandfather also allowed him to "play" with the Apple of Eden, taking notes when he discovered that Giovanni had the ability to turn his thoughts into reality with the power of the Apple. Simply by willing it, he was able to create an image of an eagle out of thin air.

Giovanni made use of this skill as a means of defending himself once, when he was five. Upon being taken out for a "lesson" with Micheletto, he witnessed the assassin kill an old man, simply to teach Giovanni the cruelties of the world. Afraid, Giovanni used the Apple (which he had taken from his grandfather in secret) to create an illusion of Cesare to scare Micheletto. However, when Cesare discovered this, Giovanni was punished.

Giovanni also made use of another of the Apple's power, albeit accidentally, when he stumbled upon Fiora Cavazza sneaking around his home, seeking to steal the Piece of Eden for the Assassins. Thinking she had come to play, Giovanni snatched the Apple and gleefully ran with it, calling for Fiora to catch him. Fearing that he would alert the guards of her presence, Fiora told him to stop and attempted to take the Apple from him. However, she was frozen in place by its power, and was ultimately caught by Cesare, who had been woken by the commotion. Giovanni fearfully asked his father what he would do with her, but he simply sent the boy from the room and told him he would hurt her.

Becoming an Assassin

Giovanni using Eagle Vision.

"I hate Papà. Nonno only cares about the Apple. Zia is always sad. I want to run away from them! I want to live somewhere else."

―Giovanni, contemplating on running away from home.

Eventually, Giovanni planned to leave his life of fear behind. After he received a letter from a courier pigeon, sent by an unknown individual, he was even more encouraged to do so. Making sure that he wasn't seen, he went to the meeting place by a fountain, and (as instructed) used his "other eyes" to recognize the individual from the crowd.

Giovanni followed the man as he ran across the rooftops, until he finally reached an alleyway, where he was abruptly halted by two dirty men, who attempted to rob him. The individual leapt down from above and plunged his hidden blades into both men, rescuing the boy. The individual then introduced himself as Francesco Vecellio, who turned out to be the former understudy of Giovanni's biological father, Perotto.

Giovanni happily agreed to Francesco's offer to bring him "to live with his Brothers", and was thus taken in and trained into the Assassin Order.

Journey to Mexico

Giovanni on Cortés' ship.

"My hunt continues. We must find these relics of a previous world."

―Giovanni, regarding the Pieces of Eden.

In 1519, Giovanni was secured a position aboard Hernán Cortés ship, which was to sail towards the New World. Though posing as a chronicler and astrologer, Giovanni had been tasked by the Brotherhood to recover a Piece of Eden from the city of Tenochtitlan.

After a lengthy search examining multiple idols and artifacts, Giovanni discovered that the Piece of Eden was a Crystal Skull in the possession of an Aztec priest, who used it as part of a human sacrificial ritual. During the uproar that followed the Spaniards' witnessing of such a brutal sacrifice, Giovanni killed the priest and took the relic for himself.

Finding out the Skull's purpose

Upon returning to Europe, he brought the Crystal Skull to Bombastus, a member of the Assassin Order, to divine its purpose. However, they couldn't manage to discover how to use the Crystal Skull, and the other members of the Order started to doubt Giovanni's abilities.

About twenty years later, in 1542, Giovanni's long studying of the Skull resulted in Giovanni hearing someone speak to him in a strange language, and soon after seeing a man dressed in a Chinese garb.

Consus

Giovanni and Consus, spying on Fiora and Cesare.

"Consus is standing next to me. He is watching. He does not speak much. Papà tells me he is not real, but I see him."

―Giovanni, regarding Consus.

From an early age, Giovanni suffered several Bleeding Effect-like symptoms, likely as a result of being healed by the Shroud. He would often dream of the memories of Assassins past, including those of his father, and Marcus Junius Brutus. Because of these hallucinations, he once almost stabbed Cesare while sleepwalking, thinking himself to be Brutus, and his father to be Gaius Julius Caesar. However, he was caught and subsequently punished by Micheletto.

Throughout his childhood, Giovanni would also have delusions of seeing a nonexistent being, whom he befriended and called Consus. This being often spoke into his head and gave him advice, even once allowing Giovanni to read a letter given to him, though the boy himself did not know how to at the time.

Though of questionable origin, Consus seemed to be in favor of the Assassins, or simply against the Templars. Giovanni's grandfather would ask him about this being, and if he could speak with him, but Giovanni would simply answer that Consus wasn't there, as he "does not play when Nonno is around." Additionally, Consus advised Giovanni to go with Francesco to join the Brotherhood, and also attempted to convince him to give the Apple to Fiora when she had come to retrieve it for the Assassins.

Though he did not appear to continue these hallucinations later in life, he did not forget. Upon bringing the Crystal Skull to Bombastus, he met a madman who, upon seeing him, called out to Consus; causing Giovanni to demand him for an explanation of using the name, though he received none.

Trivia

• Giovanni has come in contact with at least three Pieces of Eden; The Shroud, the Apple of Eden, and the Crystal Skull. This is the most Pieces of Eden that any one character has been known to encounter.
• Giovanni is one of the few members of the Borgia family to not be associated with the Templars.