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Wolves are canine predatory animals found in Europe, Asia, North America and formerly North Africa.
History
Legend has it that a she-wolf protected the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. During the Renaissance, the Followers of Romulus wore wolf skins to emulate their god. They also placed wolf skulls on the entrances to their Lairs.[1]
The Templars also saw the potency of wolf symbolism to the Assassins' preoccupation with eagles. Baltasar de Silva and Fiora Cavazza dubbed their Assassin-styled protégé "Il Lupo" ("The Wolf").[2]
During the French and Indian War, Haytham Kenway encountered a pack of wolves while searching for Kaniehtí:io. Their son Ratonhnhaké:ton became adept at hunting wolves, trading their pelts, meat or teeth for money. When he and Robert Faulkner came to Oak Island looking for William Kidd's treasure in 1777, they were attacked by wolves.[3]
In an alternate reality, Ratonhnhaké:ton drank the Tea of the Red Willow and became one with the Spirit of the Wolf. He gained the ability to turn invisible, and the power to summon wolves to attack his enemies.[4]
Trivia
- Templars are often likened to wolves in memory names such as Wolves in Sheep's Clothing or In the Wolf's Lair.
- Contrastively, Daniel Cross derided the Assassins as a "family of wolves" in Assassin's Creed: The Chain.
- In winter, wolves can be seen attacking cattle on Warren and Prudence's farm.
Gallery
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Concept art of wolves -
Rendering of wolves eating a deer -
Database image of a wolf
References
Moral ambiguity
- "What follows are the three great ironies of the Assassin Order: (1) Here we seek to promote peace, but murder is our means. (2) Here we seek to open the minds of men, but require obedience to a master and set of rules. (3) Here we seek to reveal the danger of blind faith, yet we are practitioners ourselves."
- ―Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex[src]
Despite their relative benevolence to the majority of Templar activities, many Assassins expressed discomfort with their Order. When Desmond Miles was rescued by the Assassins, he assumed they were the "good guys", but Shaun Hastings advised him to "not get carried away", reminding him their function was to kill people. Rebecca Crane acknowledged "it's not ideal. And taking a life is never easy. But sometimes there's no other way. Sometimes, Desmond, people have to die for things to change."[1] Desmond's ancestor Connor tried to avoid killing William Johnson, and when he had to, he told his Mentor Achilles that "I thought it might bring clarity. Or instill a sense of accomplishment. But all I feel is regret." Achilles comforted him, explaining to "hold fast to that. Such sacrifices must never come lightly."[2]
Both Desmond and Lucy Stillman fell out with their leader William Miles: his cold demeanour and the harsh training he put them through since childhood led Desmond to regard his father as a "[prison] warden" rather than a father.[3] Lucy defected to the Templars after being sent to infiltrate them, telling Clay Kaczmarek that William was "using" them and claimed "he doesn't think about the lives he's hurting. We aren't people to him."[4]
Nikolai Orelov served the Order to please his father, with whom he had a negative relationship. When he left, he felt "I began as a crusader for change and now I am no better than a common grave-robber."[5] When the Assassins in the FBI began holding his family hostage to make him give up his secrets, he opined to his son Innokenti "These are not honourable men, Kenya. They are killers. They live by old laws which apply only to them and then call themselves heroes." However, Orelov was also brutal towards his son when training him to fight the Assassins. Viewing these events via his genetic memory, Orelov's great-grandson Daniel Cross deemed the Assassins "a family of wolves, opportunistic, savage. They'll turn on each other at a moment's notice: they're anarchists. And anarchy can never lead to a unified world."[6]
Connor expressed disdain for the Assassins' secrecy, an opinion shared centuries earlier by some Assassins under Altaïr's leadership, who disagreed with him taking the Order back underground. Altaïr wrote "They grow angry, insisting it is a mistake to shroud ourselves. They say it slows our work. But they do not understand the risks. To expose ourselves now would be too dangerous. I fear we would be branded madmen and attacked."[1]