Thaddeus Gift
- "You think they'll reward you in the end? The Grand Masters?...What a load of bollocks! That's what I thought at first, but the secrets they promised were always just around the next bed...never now, never here. Your life, lived in the shadows, at the level of whispers, what does it mean in the end if you have no people?"
- ―Gift talking to the Black Cross, 1927.[src]
Thaddeus Gift (died February 1927) was the Grand Master of the British Rite of the Templar Order, and the father of Darius Gift. They were both members of the Gift family, an ancient family of British Templars active on the island since the 12th century, when the Knight Templars acted openly.
Biography
Very little is known about his early life, except he was inducted into the Templar Order and made his way to rise into the rank of Grand Master. However, at some point, he disregard his duties and began to embezzle money and tarnish the Order's reputation.[1]
Death
On a night in 1927 February, at the Café de Paris, Thaddeus met with an associate, Whitwell, who owed money to Thaddeus. Gift threatened the man's life and implied that a delay was possible if Whitwell "brought" his wife, Melissa, to meet him. Once Whitwell left to retrieve his wife, Gift received a calling card, which had the image of a black cross. Worried, he ran out of the nightclub before meeting Mrs. Whitwell and told the chauffeur to get his driver. However, as he entered his car, he was immediately taken from the hood of his car by a chain from above.[1]
Shooting at his attacker, Gift briefly escaped but noxious gas appeared in the streets. He made his way to a phone booth as the Black Cross, Albert Bolden, approached him. There, the Black Cross accused him of stealing from his fellow Templars and using their contacts to embezzle money, tarnishing the reputation of the whole Order with his actions. Thaddeus admitted that his actions were for his son and that the Grand Masters were never share their true knowledge. Nevertheless, Bolden slit his throat and removed his Templar ring finger before leaving his body on the street.[1]
Legacy
The posthumous revelation of Thaddeus' corruption tarnished his prestigious family's reputation, with only his son and the Master Templar Ferris attending his funeral. His death also revealed that his high living resulted in substantial debts with Darius losing his place in his university and becoming poor.[1]
After their inquisitor killed Gift, The Nine sent Thaddeus' own son in China, to unknowingly deliver his father's finger to Chiang Kai-shek.[1] Thus, they wanted to let the General know that a position of Grand Master was now free and thus to offer him to succeed Sun Yat-sen as the Grand Master of China, but also to show him the consequences of betrayal.[2]
Gallery
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Close-up of Thaddeus Gift
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Assassin's Creed: Templars — Templars 1
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Templars — Templars 5
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