Lann Fala

The Lann Fala (English: Bloody Blade or Bloody Blades) were an elite group of Templars led by Cornavii, specializing in stalking and killing.

Recognizable by their red cloaks, the Lann Fala served as the Order's strong arm in England and Scotland during the time of the First War of Scottish Independence, having been created some twenty years before. Though siding with the English in that conflict, the group included members of other nationalities.

History

The Lann Fala formed after a sucessful Templar attack at the Assassin stronghold of Beinn Eallair, seeking to complete what they had started and hunt down all of the members of the Scottish Brotherhood of Assassins. Many clans of Assassin allies, like the one of twins Fillan and Ailéas were decimated.

During the massacre at Berwick, the Lann Fala tracked down two of the Children of Fal to the home of Alastair Aitken. While three members searched the house, Cornavii interrogated the old tailor, who refused to admit that he knew who they were searching for and was killed for his silence. They pursued Fillan and Ailéas through the city, with one member eventually catching Fillan, though he was crushing by a fiery beam from a collapsing building, allowing the young man to escape. From that point on, the Lann Fala made finding the twins a question of honor.

Later, at the village of Cranshaws, Cornavii provided reinforcements after a number of English soldiers died by the hands of Sören and his mercenaries.

A short time after, Cornavii met with Bradley Dacre to inform him that the army would go to Scone and recover some important objects, the location of which they had learned thanks to an informant behind the enemy lines. The Lann Fala then launched an attack at Scone Abbey, seeking the Stone of Fal but also encountering Fillan. A confrontation between Cornavii and Sören ensued, with both men injuring the other. Upon noticing some of his men were dead and others were fleeing, Cornavii disappeared among the flames of the nearby forest. They managed to take the stone back to England, though that was revealed to be a replica.

With the successive victories of the English, the Templars became more and more present in Scotland, by the way of the Lann Fala. They took advantage of the disunity among the Scottish clans to act freely and with impunity. During the winter of 1296, the Lann Fala kept after William Wallace, who was carrying the real Stone of Fal, but he managed to evade capture.

In May 1297, the Assassins killed two of the allies of the Lann Fala, William Heselrig and Bradley Dacre, both of whom were at Lanark. While Wallace and James of Crannach dealt with the first, the second was the target of Fillan, who found out that Dacre had been keeping his sister safe. The twins' reunion was cut short when a Lann Fala member discovered them both, loudly complimenting that the information they'd received was good and that by killing Dacre, Fillan had saved him time. Ailéas managed to stab him in the neck and the twins fled the garrison.

At some point, the informant infiltrated in the Brotherhood managed to relay that the Stone of Scone was being taken to Iona and the Templars, along with the English, launched attacks at Dunstaffnage, at the Isle of Mull and at Iona proper.

On the way to Iona Abbey, a group composed by Deorsa, James of Crannach, Fillan, Moira and Ailéas, noticed a number of corpses of Scottish warriors, English soldiers, and Lann Fala members scattered around. Upon arriving at the abbey, they saw the Stone abandoned by the entrance to the building, with Cornavii and two other Lann Fala members nearby. Sören attempted to assassinate Cornavii before he could use the Stone of Fal, but James warned the Templar and killed Deorsa, revealing himself to be the mole. After a short fight, Ailéas managed to kill the traitor while Moira killed one of Cornavii's men. The twins, working together, managed to dispatch the other before Cornavii drew the energy of the Stone towards him, which he then used against Moira and the twins, incapacitating them with painful visions.

Fillan was able to break through the illusions and attacked Cornavii, drawing his attention and allowing Ailéas and Moira to recover, with Ailéas joining in the fight against the Templar. Cornavii kept using the Stone during the fight, both to create openings in their defense or to dodge fatal blows, letting the energy around him explode to form a blinding shield. Moira told Ailéas to strike the Stone with her Sword of Fal, which she did while her twin kept Cornavii occupied, causing an explosion of energy that knocked them all to the ground. The twins then killed the leader of the Lann Fala.

Known members

• Cornavii (leader)
• James of Crannach

Allies

• Edward I of England
• William Heselrig

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Highlands Children