Javier Mondragón
Javier Mondragón (born 2000) is a childhood friend of Owen Meyers, as well as a descendant of the Master Templar Shay Cormac, his grandson Cudgel, the Tlaxcaltec warrior Chimalpopoca, and the Icelandic skald and Hidden One Thorvald Hjaltason. In 2016, he was part of a group of teenagers recruited by Sebastian Monroe to search for the pieces of the Trident of Eden, attracting the attention of both the Assassins and Templars.
After meeting and receiving basic training from the Assassin Griffin, Javier was offered the opportunity to join the Brotherhood. Following Griffin's sacrifice during the group's conflict with Isaiah, who sought the Trident for his own ends, Javier received the Assassin's Hidden Blade and considered accepting his invite, but decided to wait until the time was right.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Childhood friends with Owen since third grade, Javier began distancing himself from his friend after Owen's father, arrested for robbing a bank, died in prison. As Javier was hiding his homosexuality, he wanted to avoid dealing with Owen's issues on top of his own. Around 2015, however, Javier came out to his family who were ultimately accepting, which allayed his fears that their Catholic and Baptist backgrounds would mean otherwise, but his brother Mani ended up in jail after assaulting a man for calling Javier a slur.[1]
Introduction to Monroe[edit | edit source]
About a year later, Javier was approached by Owen, who asked for help in proving his father's innocence. Owen wanted to use a clandestine Animus owned and modified by the mysterious Monroe to relive his father's memories of the bank robbery. Although Monroe revealed that he could not help Owen due to the limitations of the Animus and that of his own DNA, Javier's curiosity led them into using it anyway.[2] Together, the pair experienced the genetic memories of their respective ancestors, who met during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.[3][4]
During the session, Javier felt the power of one of the Pieces of Eden firsthand when Hernán Cortés used it on his ancestor Chimalpopoca. The discovery of clues potentially leading to the Trident of Eden also attracted the attention of both the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order.[5]
Search for the Trident of Eden[edit | edit source]
The Faith prong[edit | edit source]
Monroe gathered Javier and Owen, along with Natalya Aliyev, Sean Molloy, Grace and David Collins, revealing that they all had Assassin and/or Templar ancestry and that they shared what he called "Genetic Memory Concordance," as their ancestors had come into contact with Pieces of Eden.[6] He asked them to go into the Animus to find a Trident of Eden, the same one Javier and Owen had seen before, in the New York City draft riots in 1863, promising that he would hide it so the Assassins and Templars would leave them alone.[7]
Under the tutelage of Monroe and thanks to the modification he had made to the Animus, Javier relived the memories of his Templar ancestor Cudgel Cormac, while the other members of the teenage group were looking for clues in the lives of their own ancestors.[7] As a result of using the Animus, Javier began to feel the influence of the Bleeding Effect, with Cudgel's mind attempting to influence him to kill Owen.[8] Ultimately, it was Grace, through her ancestor Eliza, who determined that the dagger was in Ulysses S. Grant's house.[9]
However, the use of an Animus did not go unnoticed by the Templars, and a team of agents was sent to capture the teenagers.[10] Only Owen and Javier escaped, thanks to the talents they had acquired using the Animus, while Monroe disappeared. Upon getting to safety, the boys were unsure of what to do and decided to wait. While talking about their recent experiences, Owen pressed Javier on why he was being distant, to which Javier came out to Owen.[1]
Around midday, they were approached by an Assassin who had previously rescued Owen from an Abstergo agent, Griffin, who revealed that he had found them thanks to the tracker in their Abstergo motorcycle, which he promptly ripped out. He then inquired as to what they were doing with Monroe, suspecting they were after a Piece of Eden. Earning a moment to talk privately, Javier refused to trust the Assassin but Owen, determined to rescue their friends, insisted they could trust the Creed and told Griffin what they had learned. When Griffin insisted that they accompany him, Javier outright objected.[1]
Deducing that they had either Assassin or Templar ancestry, Griffin told them to use Eagle Vision to confirm whether he was trustworthy or not, which Owen did. After Owen divulged that both he and Javier had seen the dagger, Griffin said that they would be the best men to identify it. When Javier questioned why they should help him, Griffin named conquerors from across history who had obtained Pieces of Eden and used them to gain power, threatening people's free will, hence why he wanted to hide it. Once assured of the confidence of the two teenagers, he promised the Brotherhood's help to prove the innocence of Owen's father.[1]
Javier and Owen accompanied Griffin to a storage locker, where the Assassins informed them of how the Brotherhood had nearly gone extinct in 2000 because of a Templar sleeper agent and how the Templars had slaughtered even their defenseless families. After they equipped themselves with a variety of weapons, Griffin refused Owen's request to wear a Hidden Blade, saying he would have to swear allegiance to the Brotherhood and the Creed, which Javier found to be harsh.[11]
Javier and Owen then listened as Griffin received a video call from Gavin Banks telling him that the Dagger was actually one of the prongs of the Trident of Eden. They took a private plane to New York, and from there took the road to Grant's estate. However, a third party, whom they assumed to be Monroe, had beaten them and had already left with the artifact, leaving the place totally empty.[11]
Before they left, three Abstergo helicopters landed near the estate. Despite Griffin's order not to engage them, Owen destroyed two of them with an EMP grenade. After escaping to safety, Griffin scolded Owen for disobeying his order and threatened to renege on his promise if it happened again. He then reminded the boys that there were two prongs left to find and that Abstergo believed Javier, Owen, and their friends to be the key to finding them. He offered them a choice to carry on, stating that he would die to defend their free will. Though Javier desired to drop out, Owen affirmed his commitment.[11]
The Fear prong[edit | edit source]
For the next few weeks, Griffin taught Javier and Owen basic combat and freerunning, before being forced to scuttle their safehouse, as an Assassin informant, Rothenburg, had tipped them that a Templar strike team was on its way. This time, Griffin permitted them to engage the enemy, before they took a series of taxi cabs to evade the Templars. Eventually reaching a new safehouse, they were greeted by Rebecca Crane, who had set up an Animus for Owen.[12]
While Griffin was supervising Owen's Animus session, the Assassin reluctantly let Javier leave the safe house, but the teenager stole his car to break into the police warehouse where Owen's father's case file was stored. Upon Javier's return, Griffin scolded him for risking their safe house's location and informed him of the three tenets of the Creed, saying he was lucky he had not compromised the Brotherhood. Though Javier protested that he was not an Assassin, Griffin stated that sooner or later a side would have to be chosen.[13]
Once Owen was out of the Animus, having learned nothing about the second prong's location, Griffin informed him of his friend's reckless actions. Owen soon searched through the evidence, eventually finding a spit sample that contained his father's DNA from after the robbery, though Griffin stated they would first have to get access to a Helix and the Abstergo Cloud to view his father's genetic memories.[14]
Griffin then contacted Gavin Banks for any intel from Rothenburg, only to learn that the informant had gone dark, leaving Griffin's only recourse to rescue the other teenagers from the Templars' captivity. Owen and Javier insisted on coming with him, reasoning that the others would not trust the Assassin. After equipping themselves with pain grenades and laser arrays, Griffin drove them to the Aerie, where their friends were being kept, and taught them how to avoid the security systems. Unfortunately, just as Javier and Owen were able to zipline over the security grid, they were separated from Griffin as an alarm went off.[15]
Luckily, the two boys were able to get into the building by threatening a Templar named Cole before sedating her. Eventually, Javier and Owen made their way to the garage, where they found Templars having cornered Natalya and David. After a brief engagement, Owen was pinned down by gunfire, forcing Javier to leave him behind, and he took his two friends to safety in a high-tech car belonging to the Templar Isaiah. Upon exiting the Aerie, they encountered Griffin, whom Javier passed the wheel to. They then learned that Monroe had also staged a rescue attempt and that he and Owen had been left behind.[16]
Upon returning to the safe house, Griffin desired to vacate the place immediately, believing Owen would be interrogated with drugs or have Helix analyze his DNA. He then contacted Gavin, who informed him that Rothenburg was displeased with the raid and had nearly broken off contact before revealing that Isaiah was planning an expedition to Mongolia. With their safe house secured for the time being and Isaiah not ready to leave for several days, Griffin asked Natalya if she would go back into the Animus to locate the second prong. Natalya agreed on the condition that he take them all to Mongolia. Though Griffin insisted it wasn't his call to make, Javier suggested she be allowed to talk to Gavin and assured his friend that the Assassin would keep his word. While they took a few hours to rest so Natalya could be ready for the Animus, Javier explained the reason for them being drawn into the Assassin-Templar War when Natalya took notice of Owen's father's casefile.[17]
Javier, Griffin, Natalya, and David traveled to China via cargo plane. During the flight, Griffin revealed to Javier that he had been discussing with Gavin to officially induct him into the Brotherhood. Javier was intrigued by the idea of joining an organization where he could belong and agreed to think on it. When they arrived in China, they met with the Assassin Yanmei, who provided a private jet for the journey to Mongolia. However, on the way to Möngke Khan's tomb, the jet was shot down by the Templars.[18]
Surviving the crash, the Assassins and the teenagers confirmed the location of the Abstergo camp. As they made their way to the tomb on foot, David went towards the Abstergo camp, believing a series of lights were signalling him that Grace was there but was being held captive by the Templars.[19]
Upon reaching the spot where Natalya had desynchronized, she still refused to give up the location of the tomb, refusing to trust the Assassins for their absolute obedience to the Creed. Yanmei convinced Natalya to lead them to the tomb, but as the Assassins started digging, Natalya tricked Javier into showing her how to operate his crossbow pistol before using sleep darts on the Assassins. Natalya then convinced Javier to assist her in continuing the excavation, stating that the Trident did not belong to either the Assassins or Templars.[20]
During their excavation, Javier and Natalya were joined by Owen, Grace, David, and Monroe, who had just escaped the Templar camp and began assisting them. As they caught up on what had happened to them, Javier learned from Owen that Isaiah had allowed him access to the Helix to view his father's genetic memories with the spit sample, which showed the Assassins framing him. However, Monroe had insisted the memory was falsified to show Owen what he wanted to see, an opinion Javier also shared. Owen took it to mean that Javier was considering his father to be guilty, to which the latter protested that he wouldn't have stolen the evidence if he didn't think otherwise. Unfortunately, just as they managed to open the tomb, Isaiah arrived and took the group captive.[20]
As he entered the tomb, the Assassins regained consciousness and attacked Isaiah, at which point Javier used a smoke bomb to escape. Isaiah soon emerged from the tomb with the Fear Prong and used its power on everyone, declaring his defection from the Templar Order. Javier and Owen were the first to feel its power, the former hallucinating his family insulting him for his sexuality. Isaiah then killed Yanmei when she tried to attack him, before ordering all the Templars to follow him, leaving the teenagers and the Assassins.[21]
The group headed to the Abstergo camp, with Griffin carrying Yanmei's body. Upon reaching their destination, Natalya felt regret for not telling the Assassins the tomb's location earlier, but Griffin reminded her that people die in war and that Yanmei would have respected her principles. When the Templar Victoria Bibeau arrived at the camp, the teenagers went to speak with her while Griffin remained hidden. Having learned of Isaiah's betrayal, Victoria informed them that Isaiah had also acquired the first prong. The Templars drew their weapons upon hearing that the Assassins were present, but Natalya reasoned that both sides needed to work together before Isaiah destroyed both Orders. Griffin and Victoria agreed to a ceasefire until they defeated Isaiah and recovered the third prong, which was in Scandinavia.[21]
The Devotion prong[edit | edit source]
Back at the Aerie, Monroe and Victoria determined that the Collins and Javier were the only ones with ancestors who had come into contact with the Trident's Devotion prong.[22] Entering the memories of the Icelandic skald Thorvald Hjaltason, a member of the Swedish Hidden Ones,[23] Javier experienced the Battle of Fýrisvellir and they all determined that Thorvald had ultimately given the prong to Östen Jorundsson, the Collins' ancestor, to hide it away.[24]
With this information, Griffin agreed to go to Västerås, Sweden, where Östen had buried the prong, and to bring Owen, Natalya, and Grace,[25] who had acquired a "shield" from Minerva after their experience in the "collective unconscious."[26] Meanwhile, Javier stayed at the Aerie with David and followed Monroe to experience the same "collective" memory.[25]
When Owen, Natalya, and Grace returned to the Aerie, accompanied by Sean, they revealed that Isaiah had killed Griffin and seized the Devotion prong. Knowing that Isaiah's arrival was imminent, the group began preparing to defend the Aerie from Isaiah's attack. Owen spoke with Javier in private and handed him Griffin's Hidden Blade, which the Asssassin had insisted he receive, claiming Javier had earned it.[27]
Defeating Isaiah[edit | edit source]
Together, the group laid traps around the Aerie, especially on the roof to prevent helicopters from landing. Adopting the same tactics Thorvald had used to hinder the march of Styrbjörn the Strong's army, Javier placed rigged traps within the forest. Once all the preparations were complete, the teenagers, Monroe, and Victoria regrouped in the atrium to await Isaiah's arrival.[28]
Soon, helicopters arrived, and Javier and Owen headed to the roof, dodging gunfire and shooting down one of the helicopters. However, their plan nearly killed them and their allies due to the helicopter crashing into the Aerie, forcing them to retreat to the garage. Fighting side by side with Owen, Javier held his own against Isaiah's men, but soon their numbers began to overwhelm the group. As they were cornered further into the garage, Isaiah entered and ordered his men to kill everyone.[28]
Suddenly, Sean challenged Isaiah to a duel and affirmed that he knew what he feared. Aggravated, Isaiah used the Fear prong on all of his enemies. However, upon Owen's acceptance of his fear, Javier and the rest followed suit. Although Isaiah used the Trident's remaining prongs, Javier and his friends managed to overcome its power and then attacked Isaiah. Together, they injured Isaiah and separated him from the Trident, before Javier delivered the killing blow using Griffin's Hidden Blade. With the rest of his friends, Javier then grabbed the Trident, and after a surge of energy transferred from them to the artifact, the weapon was apparently depowered.[28]
Per Victoria's promise, Javier was later taken home and left untouched by the Templars. Although his family welcomed him home, Javier knew they still worried about what had happened. While given time to talk to them, Javier kept Griffin's Hidden Blade in a box and held onto a note from Monroe. Recalling the message, he burnt the note and knew he would be ready when the time was right.[29]
Ancestry[edit | edit source]
Javier's ancestry traced back to Thorvald Hjaltason, a member of the Hidden Ones during the 10th century.[30] He also had ties to the Tlaxcaltec Maya, as he was a descendant of the warrior and commander Chimalpopoca, who initially defended his homeland against Hernán Cortés.[5] Most notably, he was a descendant of the Irish Cormac bloodline, making Shay Cormac, his son, and his grandson—nicknamed "Cudgel"—his ancestors. All three were Assassin Hunters who served the American Templars during the 18th and 19th centuries. Upon reliving Cudgel's memories inside the Animus, Javier noted that he had always assumed that his mother was of Irish descent, implying that Javier's relation to the Cormac family came from his matrilineal line.[7]
Some of Javier's ancestors, like himself, were directly involved in the Ascendance Event, an occurrence orchestrated by the Isu Minerva. Over the course of history, multiple bloodlines converged—either knowingly or unknowingly—shaping the fate of the Prongs of Eden.[26]
Due to the Assassin and Templar lineage running through his veins, Javier inherited some Isu DNA, enabling him to use Eagle Vision. However, his abilities were far weaker than those of his friend Owen Meyers.[16] His ancestry intrigued the Assassin Griffin, who was unfamiliar with Thorvald and believed that Javier's bloodline gave him the potential to become a great Assassin.[23]
Personality and traits[edit | edit source]
During his Animus session, Javier was confused by the feelings of his heterosexual ancestors, notably the physical attraction Chimalpopoca felt for Hernán Cortés' lover, the beautiful Malinalli.[5] He also possessed a reckless streak, as evidenced when he broke into the police warehouse for Owen's father's casefile.[14]
Initially distrusting the Assassins, Javier slowly found a kinship with them, finding a measure of honor in how they singularly focused on their targets and did not indiscriminately kill innocent bystanders simply because they were in the way. Upon being offered membership in the Brotherhood by Griffin, Javier considered joining them, believing the Assassins could provide him a place to belong, where he didn't need to hide his homosexuality.[18]
Skills and equipment[edit | edit source]
After reliving Cudgel Cormac's memories in the Animus, Javier quickly gained all of his ancestor's skills through the Bleeding Effect, which served him well during the search for the Prongs of Eden.[10] Alongside Owen, he was further trained in basic combat and freerunning by Griffin.[12]
Upon joining the Assassins, Javier equipped himself with a crossbow pistol that shot darts laced with a neurotoxin, knives, and several types of grenades, as well as a specialized suit that hid his heat signature.[11]
Javier possessed Eagle Vision, though it was not as advanced or proficient as Owen's.[16]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Tomb of the Khan
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods
References[edit | edit source]