Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
Altair is the playable character of Assassin's Creed. He is a master assassin, capable of extraordinary acrobatic feats, and a member of the Hashshashin sect (also known as the original assassins of the world). His objective is to kill nine men who are involved in a conspiracy against the holy land. Altair travels between the game's three cities on a black horse and kills his victims with a variety of weapons.
The name Altair is an Arabic word, which means "the flyer" or "the bird." In recent interviews, the game's producer, Jade Raymond has stated that while in mid-air, Altair's shadow resembles that of an eagle. This is because of the design of his attire, which includes a point at the front of the hood (to resemble a beak) and cuts through the back of the outfit (to resemble tail feathers).
Altair's most interesting weapon is a mechanical dagger that it used for close-range assassinations. It is mounted on the inside of his left hand gauntlet, and when deployed, extends between his middle and pinkie figners through the space left by his amputated ring finger. This amputation was part of the initiation for becoming as assassin of the Hashshashin sect.