Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Witches of the Moors

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Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Witches of the Moors (French: Assassin's Creed: Fragments – Les Sorcières des Landes) is a French novel by Adrien Tomas. It was released in France on 20 January 2022. It is the third and final novel in the Assassin's Creed: Fragments young adult series by 404 Éditions. The novel is set in 17th century France during the Labourd witch-hunt of 1609.

Official synopsis

The following content was translated from French by Soranin.

Dive into the Inquisition and witch hunt in the heart of the French Landes with Assassin's Creed! 1609. The Inquisition is raging in Europe, massacring thousands of men and women on charges of witchcraft. Raised in the Landes region of France, Margaux and Ermeline, 16 and 17 years old, are initiated into the practices of healers to follow in the footsteps of their adoptive mother, Catherine. While her youngest sister flourishes in this simple life, between hunting and apothecary, Ermeline dreams of something else, of settling in town, far from the forests of south-west France. This peaceful life comes to an end when Catherine, denounced for witchcraft by a patient, is taken to Bayonne with her eldest daughter to Pierre de Lancre, a master inquisitor and Templar in search of an artefact belonging to said witch. When she refuses to talk, the Templar burns her alive, in front of Margaux, who had managed to flee and hide, and in front of Ermeline, whom he keeps as a hostage and manages to coax. Margaux, distraught, is taken in by Nicodemus, an Assassin close to Catherine, who will secretly train her in the Creed, while the anger of the French people rumbles against the Inquisition. Separated, the two sisters will have to mourn their happy youth, but also make choices about which path to take and which destiny to join. Assassin or Templar? The path of blood, or the path of the heart?

Summary

Prologue

In 1609, at Bayonne:
Running within the Château-Vieux, Judge Pierre de Lancre held his documents and settled in to escape the heat. Impatient, he waited inside the castle while going his directives for the day such as acquiring troops and studying the land where his task leads him. From the documents, he hopes to find what the courts may have overlooked from its testimonies and statements. However, most proved to be made of petty feuds and rivalries. Assessing them, he wants to interview the condemned at the castle's dungeons and to discern the true stories from the fake ones.

As judge, Pierre knows that his rule would be paramount due to his decisions on administering fatal judgments on the so-called "witches". He sees that anyone who strays from the traditions and law will need to disappear. While reading, he soon feels the hand of fellow judge Jean d'Espaignet, whom he despised for his two-faced demeanor. In public, d'Espaignet holds a firm grasp on the law, but in private, he was a drunk and idiotic in his profession. Jean's disregard for etiquette and chastisement leads Pierre to be enraged whilst in his proximity.

Tasked by King Henry IV, both Pierre and Jean were tasked to be inquisitors in Bayonne to settle these "ungodly" matters. The region of Labourd was their destination and noted to be mainly made of women, due to their men working overseas. However, Jean admits that he will not be able to go due to the king's order to have him mediate a situation with Spain. Elated, Pierre feigns congratulations and wishes Jean well. Jean states that he wished to stay but knows Pierre is more than capable to do the job.

After Jean bids him farewell, Pierre smiles and knows his fellow Templars' plans worked to stir conflict between Spain and France worked. Alone at the helm, he now has free rein over Labourd and the upcoming trials.

Chapter One

TBC

Gallery

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  French cover