Natalya Aliyev
Natalya Aliyev (born 2001) is an American teenager of Russian, Kazakh, and Mongolian descent, tracing her lineage back to the Italian opera singer Adelina Patti and the Mongolian Templar Bayan. In 2016, she was 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.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Early life[edit | edit source]
At some point, Natalya's parents and grandparents wanted her to be a musician and paid the Russian violin professor Krupin to teach her. However, she was not a good musician and eventually abandoned music.[1]
Recruited by Monroe[edit | edit source]
In 2016, Sebastian Monroe contacted Natalya and offered her the chance to relive her grandparents' memories when they fled Soviet Kazakhstan. Later, she was brought to a warehouse with five other teenagers: Owen Meyers, Javier Mondragón, Sean Molloy, and the siblings Grace and David Collins.[2]
Monroe explained to them the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars, and the Pieces of Eden they fought over. He revealed that they were researching the Trident of Eden, and that each of the teenagers' ancestors had been in contact with one piece of the Trident. Finally, he explained that he wanted to retrieve it before the Assassins or Templars in order to hide it.[2]
To do so, Monroe put the teenagers in the Animus, where they experienced a simulation of the New York City draft riots in 1863. Natalya relived the memories of Adelina Patti and felt anxious when the latter sang before a large crowd.[1] During the riots, Adelina was protected by Tommy Greyling, Sean's ancestor, and fell in love with him while, at the same time, Sean grew to have a crush on Natalya.[3][4][5]
Once the group learned the location of the prong,[6] an Abstergo strike team attacked the warehouse and kidnapped almost all the teenagers except for Owen and Javier, who fled on a bike. Natalya and the others were led to the Aerie and introduced to Dr. Victoria Bibeau. Then, they encountered Isaiah, who talked to them about Abstergo and the Templars' real goals of enforced peace.[7] Natalya was the most distrustful of the Templars and isolated herself, ignoring Sean when he tried to speak to her. Victoria then came to the group and asked if they had ever wanted to go to China.[8]
Working for the Templars[edit | edit source]
Thanks to Abstergo convincing her parents to let her perform memory research through the Animus, Natalya remained at the Aerie for the next few weeks.[9] However, she soon grew concerned about Isaiah's extreme supervision over Sean, who relived Tommy Greyling's memories about chasing a Templar named Alice in London over an important document.[10]
Natalya's worries grew when Sean experienced an abrupt termination of his session. Checking on him, she accused Isaiah of abusing Sean with the Animus, but when Isaiah offered the group to stop their sessions, they all agreed to continue. Frustrated, Natalya was later consoled by David and Grace, who revealed that they were on her side but feigned obedience to avoid creating problems for themsleves until they determined the Templars' true motives.[11]
When Sean came to them saddened after his recent simulation led to an apparent dead end, Natalya and the Collins gave their opinions of how Greyling may have followed Alice on a ship leaving London. With this, Sean convinced Isaiah to let him explore Greyling's memories one last time, determining that Alice had destroyed the manuscript and then committed suicide. While Isaiah thanked Sean, Natalya demanded an apology for Sean's overuse of the Animus, to which the Templar concurred before letting them all go.[12]
Search for the Fear prong[edit | edit source]
Later, Natalya started exploring the memories of her Mongolian ancestor, Bayan, in search of the second prong of the Trident of Eden. However, the experiences of war began to take a toll on her as she became exhausted.[9] As time went by, Natalya became more and more disaffected with the Templars' goals.[13]
After learning that David had left his room unescorted and that he had heard the Templars may kill Owen and Javier, Natalya became more distrustful of Isaiah and even Monroe.[14] Upon witnessing her ancestor coming close to the prong,[15] she and her friends were given curfews by Victoria and Isaiah, who had learned about David's incursion. Yet, Natalya stated to David that she did not believe Isaiah should have the prong.[16]
One night, Monroe caused a blackout at the Aerie in an attempt to rescue the teenagers,[17] while the Assassin Griffin, Javier, and Owen simultaneously mounted their own rescue mission.[18] While Isaiah and his men engaged in a fight against Owen, Monroe, and Javier, Natalya and David were left inside a vehicle commandeered by Monroe. However, Monroe and Owen stayed behind, leaving Javier to drive Isaiah's high-tech car, which Natalya and David were in, out of the Aerie.[19]
After picking up Griffin and losing their pursuers, the group returned to the Assassin's hideout. As the teenagers caught up with each other, Natalya learned that Owen's Chinese Assassin ancestor, Zhang Zhi, was the one Bayan had caught after the assassination of Möngke Khan. Afterwards, learning that Natalya's ancestor had been in contact with the prong, Griffin asked for her help to determine its location. She agreed on the condition that they all go to Mongolia, and a reluctant Griffin allowed Natalya to speak with the Assassin leader Gavin Banks about her terms.[19]
Continuing to explore Bayan's memories, Natalya purposefully desynchronized upon reaching her ancestor's induction into the Templar Order, which angered Griffin. Though Natalya protested that she did not want any involvement in the Assassin-Templar war, Griffin stated that a side had to be chosen eventually and that her hesitancy would likely get her killed. The group then packed up for Mongolia, with Natalya promising to find the Khan's tomb once they got there.[20]
Natalya and her friends traveled to China via cargo plane, where they met the Assassin Yanmei, who provided a private jet for the journey to Mongolia, only to be shot down by the Templars.[21] Surviving the crash, the Assassins 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, after which the Templars began heading in the opposite direction of the tomb.[22]
Upon reaching the spot where Natalya had desynchronized, she still refused to give up the location of the tomb, refusing to trust the Assassins due to their absolute obedience to the Creed. However, Yanmei explained to her the three ironies of the Creed and that it did not command the Assassins to be obedient but to think for themselves. Natalya eventually led the Assassins to the tomb, but as they began digging, she tricked Javier into showing her how to operate his crossbow pistol and used it to incapacitate Griffin and Yanmei with sleep darts.[23]
Though stunned by Natalya's betrayal, Javier accepted that she was not yet ready to trust the Assassins and assisted her in the excavation. They were soon joined by Owen, Grace, David, and Monroe, who had just escaped the Templar camp, and they all began digging together. Unfortunately, just as they uncovered the tomb, Isaiah showed up and took them captive.[23]
As Isaiah entered the tomb, the Assassins regained consciousness and attacked, at which point Javier used a smoke bomb to cover his friends' escape. Unfortunately, Isaiah soon emerged from the tomb with the Fear prong and used its powers on everyone. He then fatally stabbed Yanmei when she tried to attack him, and declared that he was no longer a Templar before ordering his men to follow him, leaving Natalya, her friends, and the Assassins alone.[24]
Upon reaching the Abstergo camp, 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've respected her principles. Soon after, Victoria arrived at the camp, having just learned of Isaiah's betrayal and that he was also in possession of the first Trident prong. When the Templars drew their weapons upon hearing that the Assassins were present, Natalya reasoned that the two sides needed to work together before Isaiah destroyed both Orders. In response, Victoria and Griffin agreed to a ceasefire until they defeated Isaiah and recovered the third prong, which Victoria believed to be in Scandinavia.[24]
Search for the Devotion prong[edit | edit source]
The Collective Unconscious[edit | edit source]
Dismayed and angered over Yanmei's death, Natalya secluded herself until Owen began talking with her. Despite her resistance, Natalya let her guard down around him.[25] After Victoria informed them that only Javier and the Collins had ancestors who had interacted with the third Trident prong,[26] Owen and Natalya connected over their distrust of the Assassins and Templars. Soon, Monroe came and offered another way to help. Explaining how they could go into a memory of their shared "collective unconscious", Monroe prepared the Animus for them to access said memory.[27]
Warned of the dangers, Natalya and Owen started their adventure within this new memory and were told by a mysterious voice that the only way forward was to break through faith, devotion, and fear. Finding a configuration of a forest, they ventured inward, only to be chased by an enormous snake.[28] While the snake grew, the two teenagers managed to run and hide from it. As Natalya tried to jump over it, she caught its attention and the snake attacked her. Swallowed whole, Natalya found herself inside the creature and walked forward, causing her to start falling. Fortunately, the snake disappeared and Natalya found herself next to Owen, who helped her up. Soon, the two came across a new path of red stones and followed it.[29]
After being joined by Grace inside the simulation, the group followed the path towards the top of a mountain, where they met a dying man and his dog companion.[30] When the man asked them to find his dog a new companion, Owen agreed immediately. After the man passed, Owen stayed with the dog, who refused to leave, while the girls went back on the path.[31] They were later joined by Owen and the dog and stayed at a crossroads, where they met various travelers who were interested in taking the dog but were deemed unworthy. Soon, a female wanderer passed and was intrigued by the dog but was initially rejected. However, upon Owen's insistence, the wanderer agreed to take the dog, who found its new companion.[32]
With their second trial passed, Natalya, Owen, and Grace realized that the challenges they had faced were based on fear and devotion, and continued onward towards the final trial based on faith. Venturing up a new mountain, they came across two hard choices on the way up. When Grace ultimately decided on a steep trail, rather than the other trail with a light and a rope, they all followed. However, the trail became an abyss, which almost led to Natalya giving up and falling. However, Grace and Owen saved her and continued on their venture. Making it to the top, they witnessed a dome emerge from the mountain.[33]
Entering a corridor, Natalya and the others heard the same voice that had greeted them when they first accessed the simulation, and saw a glowing woman who introduced herself as Minerva. Minerva soon told them of her kind's own hubris leading to their downfall and the extinction of her people. She noted that humans survived and thrived among themselves, but the artifacts her kind had left behind were too destructive, especially the Trident. After Minerva claimed that the teenagers' challenges had provided them with a "shield" against the Trident, the simulation ended.[34]
Mission to Sweden[edit | edit source]
After Javier and David's Animus sessions determined the Devotion prong to be in Västerås, Sweden,[35] Griffin went to retrieve it, with Natalya, Owen, and Grace accompanying him while Javier and David stayed with Monroe to access the same "collective unconscious" memory. After a long night, the group flew to Sweden,[36] where they all followed Grace's lead since she remembered where her ancestor Östen Jorundsson had buried the prong. Discovering that the artifact had since been exhumed and put on display at a museum, Griffin and Grace went to survey the building while Natalya and Owen stayed behind.[37]
When Grace and Griffin returned, they informed Natalya and Owen that Isaiah was nearby and that they had to act quickly. Waiting until nightfall, the teenagers remained hidden while Griffin infiltrated the museum to steal the prong. However, he was attacked by Isaiah's forces, drawing the teens into action to save him. While Owen and Grace fought Isaiah's men, Natalya lifted an injured Griffin and they all fled to safety. Hiding near a stream, Griffin knew he would not survive and gave his Hidden Blade to Owen so he could pass it to Javier. He then succumbed to his wounds while the teenagers reluctantly left the Assassin's body behind and returned to his car.[38]
At the car, they realized that they had forgotten the keys before Isaiah and his men surrounded them. Cornered, Isaiah had Cole take the prong from Grace before reprimanding them for their feeble efforts. After Owen in turn mocked Isaiah and mentioned that he and his friends had accessed the "Ascendance Event", Isaiah decided he could not risk the teenagers interfering with his plans and lined them up to be shot.[38]
When Isaiah aimed his gun at Owen, the van Poindexter drove out between them as Owen grabbed both girls back. Sean then revealed himself as the driver and told his friends to jump into the van while they all dodged the incoming gunfire. Driving away, they spoke with Victoria over a video call and updated her on Griffin's death and Isaiah's acquisition of the prong. Victoria then chartered them a jet, allowing Natalya, Owen, Grace, and Sean to return to the Aerie to regroup with the others.[39]
Defeating Isaiah[edit | edit source]
Placing defenses and traps around the Aerie, Natalya and the others waited for Isaiah's incoming assault. Paired with Monroe, she readied herself once Isaiah and his forces attacked. Although their traps and defenses worked, Isaiah and his men still managed to breach the facility. As Natalya and the others were cornered inside the garage, Isaiah arrived and ordered his men to execute everyone.[40]
Suddenly, Sean challenged Isaiah to a duel and told him that he knew his fears. With this challenge, Isaiah used the Trident against the teenagers, inflicting them with nightmares. However, Owen managed to break the illusion and told the others to accept theirs fears, allowing them to overcome the Trident's powers. When Isaiah tried using the Faith and Devotion prongs, the teenagers again displayed immunity to them and attacked Isaiah head-on. After disarming him, Javier delivered the killing blow with Griffin's Hidden Blade.[40]
With the Trident left on the floor, Victoria reached for it but Natalya grabbed it first. With the help of the others, they held onto the artifact and experienced a surge of power, which led to the Trident being seemingly depowered. When a shocked Victoria asked what they had done, Natalya responded that they had saved the world.[40]
In the aftermath, Natalya and her friends were taken back home to their families as Victoria promised that the Templars would not interfere with their personal lives. Entering her home, Natalya was greeted by her grandparents, who asked what had happened with her work program for Abstergo, to which she responded that the program was temporary and had just ended. After her grandfather remarked that she was too good for them, Natalya reassured her grandparents that they did not have to worry too much anymore.[41]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Tomb of the Khan
- Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods
References[edit | edit source]