Anaya Chodary

Anaya Chodary is a member of the Templar Order. Formerly working as a hacker in London for Abstergo Industries, she was promoted in 2016 and moved to the Aerie. She is also the girlfriend of Simon Hathaway, a member of the Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order.

Biography

Early life

At some point, Anaya Chodary was inducted into the Templar Order and came to work as a field agent for Abstergo Industries. Anaya later left the field and became a member of a team of White Hats working under Rodrigo Lima, ethical hackers searching for vulnerabilities in Abstergo network in order to improve its security.

Anaya worked in the office of Abstergo in Paris before being assigned to London. While in Great Britain, Anaya met Simon Hathaway and the two Templars became romantically involved in 2004. However, they later ended their relationship because neither of them had time for the other due to their jobs. Despite their amicable breakup, Anaya secretly continued to harbor feelings for Simon.

Reconnecting with Simon

In October 2016, having not spoken in several months, Anaya unexpectedly ran into Simon while he was talking with Victoria Bibeau. After meeting her ex-boyfriend, Anaya decided that it was time for a change and applied for the post of Director of Information Security in Montreal.

After Abstergo Entertainment contacted her three days later, she met with Simon to let him know that she was potentially about to move to North America. Later, while she was celebrating with her coworkers in a fancy restaurant getting the job, the Templar witnessed a private meeting between Abstergo CEO Alan Rikkin and Victoria. The next day, as she was lunching with her future replacement, Benjamin Clarke, in the Abstergo cafeteria, Anaya once again stumbled across Simon, who was waiting for Victoria and invited her to join them. After Victoria arrived, Anaya discreetly probed the Canadian on her meeting with Rikkin, telling her to try Bella Cibo, but Victoria acted as if she had never been to the restaurant.

Some time later, under the pretext of wanting to eat fish and chips one last time before her departure, Anaya invited Simon to a pub in order to warn him about Victoria's lie. She then told him how she had spotted Victoria meeting with Rikkin, prompting Simon to reveal to her the nature of his work: that he was exploring the story of Jeanne d'Arc through the memories of his own ancestor, looking for clues on a Sword of Eden, and that he planned to explore the genetic past of Templar bloodlines to find more Pieces of Eden and forgotten secrets about their Order and the Assassins. He also revealed that he had remarked strange things lately, such as people disappearing around him and being replaced by strangers. Anaya told him that she wanted to inspect his apartment, where she quickly discovered surveillance equipment while continuing to play the act of two lovers hooking up.

Later, after Simon confronted Victoria about her lie, she revealed to him that Rikkin had only sent her to keep an eye on him and to report any signs of instability. Trusting Victoria, Simon then called Anaya with a burner phone to inform his friend about what he had learned. He also asked her to hack into the Animus server in order to discover if anyone tampered with the database and to make copies of his findings.

Helping Simon

The next day, Anaya contacted Simon to let him know that, just like he suspected, the Animus servers were indeed compromised. She then set up a discreet meeting in the London subway, where she told him that the hack originated from her own office and that she suspected her new coworker Benjamin Clarke to be a mole of Rikkin. Later, after Simon and Victoria discovered the hidden truth behind the "death" of Jeanne d'Arc in the Animus, the three of them met in Hyde Park. Decided to reveal to the Order the secrets that Rikkin was trying to prevent him from finding out, Simon asked for the help of his two fellow Templars.

During the night, Simon and Victoria downloaded the data from the servers while staying in contact with Anaya through earbuds. After Victoria's departure and as Simon was stealing the Sword of Eden entrusted to him by Rikkin for his studies, Anaya informed him that armed men were coming to kill him from every direction. However, thanks to the memories of his ancestors, Gabriel Laxart, the Master Templar escaped the strike team by performing a Leap of Faith from the roof of the building. During the following days, Anaya continued to help Simon while he was on the run, sending him numerous false legal documents and helping him to reach Rouen, where he hoped to find the missing core component of the Sword: the Heart.

Ten days later, Simon revealed the wisdom of Jacques de Molay to his peers and was cleared by the Inner Sanctum of the accusations brought against him. After he discovered that Jeanne d'Arc had survived and eventually found her way back to her lover Laxart, Simon called Anaya in the middle of the night, asking her to give their relationship a second chance. She accepted, telling him to come to her flat.

At the Aerie

Despite her promotion to Director of Information Security for Abstergo Entertainment in Montreal, Anaya later came to work at the Aerie. There, she served as the technician assisting Victoria Bibeau in her work with a group of teenagers, recruited due to their bloodlines having multiple contacts with Pieces of Eden throughout history. Staying in vocal contact with them while they were in the Animus, the Templars' goal was to determine which ones of their ancestors had been in contact with the artifacts during their lifetimes.

First, Anaya assisted Grace Collins while the teenager relived the memories of the gold trader Masireh, her ancestor in West Africa. After discovering that Masireh was a dead end, Anaya moved to Sean Molloy, her voice guiding the young man while he explored the memories of his Viking ancestor, the legendary Styrbjörn the Strong. Later, as Sean confirmed that Styrbjörn had indeed been in contact with a prong of the Trident of Eden, Anaya inexplicably fell silent before being replaced by the voice of Isaiah.

Personality and traits

Anaya has shoulder-length black hair with a cherry-red streak in it. Having a petite frame, Anaya is also of a dark-skinned complexion.

Skills and equipment

Anaya is an accomplished white hat hacker and forger of legal documents. She is also fluent in French, having used it extensively while she worked in Paris. When she applied for the job at Abstergo Entertainment Montreal, she was eager to use her French skills once again.

On Simon's third day of his task, Anaya met with him wearing a navy blazer over a cream silk blouse with trousers accompanied by a pair of conversative earrings.

Behind the scenes

Anaya Chodary is a character introduced in the 2016 novel Assassin's Creed: Heresy, written by Christie Golden.

Etymology

Anaya is a feminine given name with multiple origins. In Arabic, it means "care" or "protection," often interpreted as "guardian." In Hebrew, it derives from Anaiah, meaning "God answers" or "God has shown favor." It is also found in Sanskrit, where it is interpreted as "caring" or "compassionate."

Chodary is likely a variant of the South Asian surname Choudhary or Chowdhury meaning "holder of four responsibilities", a title of honor used in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Adapted from the Sanskrit čatus (चतुस्) "four-way, all-round" and dhurīya (धुरीय) "undertaking a burden", it historically referred to community leaders or landlords, especially under the Mughal and British systems. It often denotes ancestral authority or landownership.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Heresy (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Tomb of the Khan