User blog:Kaloneous/Desmond Miles - The Story So Far and His Role in Assassin's Creed III

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The Beginning
 "My name is Desmond Miles, and I am an Assassin. I am an Assassin."

Desmond Miles

Foreword: A note to all readers
This blog should be taken more as an opportunity for discussion in a much underappreciated aspect of the series and upcoming game Assassin’s Creed III. I will try my best to present the information as accurately as possible and offer my thought (when speculative I will say so in terms of the game) on the role of Desmond Miles in the game.

Given the sheer scale and depth of history of this unique and often misunderstood character, I will try to present the facts in a fun and concise manner and relate as much as possible to what I believe we will see in the game. Be warned before reading on that this is going to be a very long and detailed blog so please do not focus on that in the comments. Be warned there may be spoilers for those who have yet to play the previous games or seen the more recent trailer releases.



What we know of Desmond so far
Desmond Miles (born 1987), also known as Subject 17 of the Animus Project, was a descendant of numerous familial lines that had sworn an allegiance to the Assassin Order; including individuals such as Aquilus, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Ratonhnhaké:ton.

By age 16, Desmond became tired of living in hiding and aspired to pursue his own dreams. Using the minimal training of Assassin skills he had obtained, Desmond fled from the Assassin compound he had grown up in and managed to travel from to New York City, where he found employment as a bartender in a successful nightclub.

In September 2012, Desmond was kidnapped and incarcerated at Abstergo Industries, a Templar organization, and forced into a machine called the Animus to relive the memories of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. It was their aim to acquire a map that detailed many "Pieces of Eden" spread across the Earth, which Desmond was reluctantly successful in doing. Following this, he managed to escape Abstergo with the help of Lucy Stillman, an undercover Assassin, and joined an Assassin cell in Italy which consisted of herself, Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane. Once again utilizing an Animus, Desmond relived the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, in order to improve upon his newly obtained skills.

Eventually, with the knowledge gained from Ezio's memories, Desmond and his Assassin cell obtained the location of Ezio's Apple of Eden, which was located underneath the Colosseum.

Though successful in obtaining the artifact, Desmond's body was taken over by Juno, a member of the First Civilization, and was unwillingly forced to stab Lucy. As a result of the shock, Desmond entered into a coma which sent him into the Black Room, theoretically the "safe mode" of the Animus. With help from the clone of his Abstergo predecessor Clay Kaczmarek, "Subject 16", Desmond was able to regain consciousness, and found himself located in New York once more.

Ancestry
Desmond Miles came about from many different lines of Assassins through both sides of his family. As a result, Desmond had a higher concentration of First Civilization genes in his DNA than most other humans, which allowed him to properly wield the Pieces of Eden, which the First Civilization had initially created so that only their race could use them.

Desmond's most distant known ancestor was Lucius, a - Assassin. His son and fellow Assassin, Aquilus, was next in line in Desmond's ancestry, alongside Aquilus' wife Valeria. Lucius and Aquilus were also members of the Liberalis Circulum, an Assassin organization, and were closely related to the Ankh, a First Civilization artifact that was wielded by Isis.

During the High Middle Ages, Umar Ibn-La'Ahad and his wife would become Desmond's ancestors, and were both members of the Levantine Assassins under the leadership of Al Mualim. They had one son, Altaïr, who became one of the most legendary Mentors of the Assassin Brotherhood. Following them, Altaïr and his wife Maria Thorpe conceived two children, Darim and Sef, Desmond's next ancestor. Next, Sef married and had two daughters, who moved to Alexandria after his death at the hands of Swami.

Desmond's ancestry also extended to Renaissance Italy, where his ancestor Domenico Auditore founded the House of Auditore in Monteriggioni with his son, Renato Auditore. Two generations later, Desmond's ancestor Giovanni Auditore da Firenze was born, a leading figure in the Italian Brotherhood. Giovanni and his wife Maria gave birth to his next ancestor, Ezio, who like Altaïr before him would become one of the Brotherhood's most renowned Mentors. Late in his life, Ezio married an Ottoman-born Venetian woman named Sofia Sartor, who became Desmond's ancestor after conceiving one of their children, a daughter named Flavia.

As well as these individuals, During the 18th Century, Haytham Kenway, an English Assassin and a Mohawk woman would become Desmond´s ancestors. They later had a son named Ratonhnhaké:ton who would be raised among his mother's tribe and become the next ancestor of Desmond. He was heavily involved in the Assassin-Templar conflict during the American Revolutionary War.

Characteristics and personality
Desmond was a gruff and cynical individual, who held a serious outlook on life. This was mainly due to him learning of the Templars and Assassins in his youth, and even of their connection to Abstergo, as he was educated to their power and reach during his childhood at the Farm. However, he grew to disbelieve this, eventually dismissing what he was taught as paranoid delusions – and his parents as "conspiracy freaks" – until he was kidnapped and brought to Abstergo.

Despite this, he was not above jesting about his situation, and would occasionally crack jokes, although they rarely elicited a good reaction from anyone. After his emancipation from Abstergo, Desmond's demeanor became considerably more relaxed, and he spent a notable amount of time conversing with Lucy. However, he began to question his sanity after experiencing the Bleeding effect.

After Lucy's death and learning of his detainment in the Black Room, Desmond was overcome with grief and remorse. While trapped in the Black Room, he reflected on his life, his family, and his choice to not be an Assassin. However, Desmond eventually found closure while recalling his past and learning from Ezio and Altaïr's final genetic memories; he came to realize that his easier times were over, and that he had to face the fact that he was an Assassin and not to shy away from it.

Equipment and skills
As Desmond was trained during childhood as an Assassin, he was proficient in basic reconnaissance skills, such as eavesdropping and pickpocketing. After about a week of being forced to relive the memories of his ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Desmond developed an extra-sensory ability dubbed Eagle Vision.

Later on, after willingly exploring the memories of one of his other ancestors, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Desmond learned how to free-run and use weapons. Not long afterwards, he was able to easily fend off a Templar attack with Ezio's combat skills and later performed his first Leap of Faith without hesitation.

Since fully synchronizing with Ezio, Desmond had been able to use all of the abilities his ancestor could in the modern era, most notably in free-running across Monteriggioni and the Colosseum.

Videos
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Closing Thoughts
Well, if you made it this far I'd like to thank you. This took a lot of time and effort to plan and prepare but if it receives even a moderate amount of interest then it will have been worth it because I'd love to hear what the community thinks about Desmond’s role in the series and what it all means for Assassin's Creed III.

Whether you are a newcomer or a long-time fan, we are all drawn to this series for our own reasons. For me, Desmond’s story has been the part I have most looked forward to. He has grown throughout the series and I have no doubt that he will have his time to shine in Assassin's Creed III. Love him or hate him, Desmond Miles has been an integral part of the series so far and this is his final journey. For such an great series, I hope he becomes as awesome as I hope he will be. :)

My Theories
There are always more questions but speculating can be fun too. Here are some of my theories for AC3.
 * Unresolved issues with his father, William Miles will come to a boil in Assassin's Creed III.
 * Desmond will learn the truth about Lucy, and confront his dad about it.
 * Daniel and Desmond will face off against one another. Both will utilize their Assassins skills to their peak. (at least I hope this happens because it would be epic!)
 * And of course, Desmond and Eve’s descendant will finally meet.

What do you think of Desmond and what his role will be in Assassin's Creed III?