Desmond Miles

"After what those Templar bastards put me through, I'm ready, willing, and able."

- Desmond agrees to join the Assassins.

Desmond Miles (born 13 March 1987) was a traveling hermit, and a descendant to various lines of ancestors who had sworn their allegiance to the Assassin Order, which included individuals such as Aquilus, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

In September 2012, he 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, in order to acquire a map detailing all "Pieces of Eden" spread across the Earth.

Eventually escaping with the aid of Lucy Stillman, Desmond once again used an Animus to explore the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, so as to learn his skills and the ways of the Assassins through the bleeding effect.

Early life
"You have any idea what it's like to be trapped in a place, knowing there was a whole world out there I'd never get to see?"

- Desmond to Lucy about his childhood.

Desmond was born in an Assassin hideout near the Black Hills (west of Rapid City) in the United States. Known as "the Farm", the hideout was an off-the-grid compound with a population of about thirty people, all leading a nomadic lifestyle.

Desmond's training along with the other children of the Farm was extremely intense, often scaring him. He was also instructed to always be wary of their enemies, but as he got older, he became bored by the war stories of the Assassins and Templars, and underestimated Abstergo's influence over the world. Finally concluding his parents to be little more than conspiracy freaks, he decided to leave the compound.

On his sixteenth birthday, Desmond ran away from the Farm. His training proved to be useful, as he was able to outrun and avoid the Assassins pursuing him. Desmond traveled through "the badlands" and hitchhiked for some time. Someone eventually advised him to go to New York City, so Desmond left for the city and blended into the crowds.

Desmond eventually got a job as a bartender at Bad Weather, mostly likely due to his looks. Wanting to avoid the Assassins, Desmond never used his real name, and used only cash to purchase items. Over time, he tried to start a new life, but began to miss his family and old friends.

Desmond was eventually found by Abstergo, traced through a fingerprint needed for a motorcycle license. He was kidnapped by the Templars, who brought him to an Abstergo laboratory in Italy.

Kidnapped by Abstergo
"I'm not an Assassin... not any more."

- Desmond to Warren Vidic.

In September 2012, Desmond was held captive in the Abstergo facility for use as a test subject in the Animus, a device that could read the memories of people's ancestors through the "genetic memory" passed through their descendants' DNA.

At first, Dr. Warren Vidic attempted to pry the information he wanted from Desmond's mind, but was met with failure. While Desmond claimed to be nothing more than a bartender, Warren revealed that they knew of his history as an Assassin, forcing Desmond to finally admit his past life.

Warren and Lucy told Desmond that they were trying to access a certain memory, but Desmond's subconscious was resisting their efforts. Warren warned Desmond that if he refused to assist them, they would induce a coma, continue their work, and leave him to die when they had finished. Without much of a choice, Desmond agreed to help them.

Desmond was made to explore the genetic memories of his ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad - a member of the Assassin Order during the High Middle Ages. He did so over several days under the Templar's watchful eye, but during the nights, Desmond was given a code that allowed him to open his room's door and explore the lab he was being held in, accessing the Animus computer and (after stealing Warren's pen) gaining access to Warren's personal computer.

Through e-mails, Desmond learned much about Abstergo, and about the Animus subject preceding him, Subject 16, who had suffered from the Bleeding effect due to prolonged exposure to the Animus. Eventually, with the aid of Lucy, the Assassins learned of Desmond's capture and attempted to liberate him, with the gunfire of their assault being heard through an intercom device.

After the rescue attempt failed, Warren boasted that those Assassins were, in fact, the last of the group Desmond had escaped from, their desert hideout having been previously destroyed. When Warren left, however, Lucy reassured Desmond that that compound had been found deserted and that his parents had "probably escaped." During this discussion, Lucy revealed herself to be an undercover member of the Assassins.

Desmond eventually achieved Warren's goal and discovered the locations of numerous Pieces of Eden. Three executives of Abstergo Industries then ordered Desmond's execution, but his life was saved by Lucy's intervention, as she asked them to keep Desmond alive in order to re-access his memories if necessary.

After the executives left, Desmond realized that he was able to use "Eagle Vision", an ability he shared with Altaïr, which he had picked up through the Bleeding effect. Using it for the first time, he saw Warren's and Lucy's true allegiances, as well as countless scrawled messages and puzzles on the walls and floor of the main laboratory, and his own quarters.

Escape to the Hideout
After Desmond spent some time alone in the laboratory, Lucy suddenly returned, covered in blood and demanding Desmond to get into the Animus before Abstergo discovered what she had done. Desmond, rather confused, agreed and managed to sync with the closest genetic match between himself and Subject 16 recorded in the Animus’ memory core. Inside the Animus, Desmond experienced the birth of another of his ancestors, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. He was pulled out abruptly, however, so that they could both make their escape.

The two of them were quickly spotted by Abstergo's security, though Lucy was able to react fast enough to lock a door and keep the guards from reaching them. Unfortunately, they were forced into an engagement with two more security personnel, who Lucy promptly dealt with, astonishing Desmond, and allowing them to continue undetected. The two soon entered an elevator, that led down to a large open room filled with office blocks, which housed a large number of Animi.

As Desmond followed Lucy through the maze-like walkways between the blocks to avoid the guard patrols, they eventually reached the back of the room. Lucy attempted to enter a code into the locked door of another elevator, but it was rejected, prompting Desmond to instinctively call upon his recently acquired Eagle vision. Seeing the buttons necessary for the code, Desmond successfully unlocked the door on his third try. Once in the car park underneath the building, the two were halted by more of Abstergo's guards, but were able to defeat them and escape.

Arriving at one of the Assassins' hideouts, Desmond was introduced to two more Assassins – Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane – who had previously worked with Lucy. Lucy told Desmond that they wanted him to be trained as an Assassin, which could be achieved in a matter of days, thanks to the Bleeding effect. Doing so required him to learn through the ancestor that he had synchronized with Subject 16, Ezio Auditore. Desmond agreed to help almost immediately, which surprised Lucy. He was then quickly plugged into the Animus 2.0, and began reliving Ezio's memories.

After learning the skills of an Assassin through Ezio's memories, Desmond was retracted from the Animus, partly to test his retention of the memories, but also to prevent the mental degradation that Subject 16 had suffered, after being in the Animus for an extended period of time.

Tasking him with initiating security protocols around the hideout, Lucy left it to Desmond to figure out how to reach them through the use of his Eagle vision and new-found free running skills. Just as he began, however, he started suffering vivid hallucinations of the Third Crusade era. At first, the visions were short, and were nothing to worry about, but after completing the task, Desmond was incapacitated as the visions became more real.

Taken back to medieval Acre by the Bleeding effect, Desmond once again followed the memories of Altaïr, though this time, without using the Animus. Through the vision, he discovered that Altaïr and Maria Thorpe had conceived a child, who was to be Desmond's next ancestor after Altaïr.

The next day, Desmond had recovered from the experiences and returned to the Animus, neglecting to tell his Assassin teammates about what had happened. He continued to watch the genetic memories of Ezio Auditore, despite at one time being thrown out by "corrupted memory sequences."

Eventually, the team learned that Ezio's nemesis, Rodrigo Borgia, had become Pope Alexander VI in 1492, so as to gain access to both another Piece of Eden, the Papal Staff, and the Vault. As Ezio entered this Vault, he was confronted by a "goddess" hologram, who called herself Minerva.

Minerva warned the Assassins of the end of the world, recounting the story of the war between "Those Who Came Before," and their human subjects. The Assassins were shocked when Minerva addressed Desmond by name, confusing even Ezio, and revealed that she was in fact talking to Desmond through Ezio. Mere moments after, Desmond was quickly pulled out of the Animus, and upon seeing the three rushing to collect their belongings, realized that the Templars had found their location.

As he climbed out of the Animus, Lucy tossed Desmond a hidden blade with the Assassin insignia on the bracer, and asked for his assistance in covering their escape. Making their way into the warehouse, they were confronted by Warren and several Abstergo security guards, all of whom were intent on reclaiming Desmond.

The two eliminated all of the Templars that assaulted them, with Desmond – now fully synchronized with Ezio and possessing all of his abilities – masterfully using his hidden blade to kill many of the guards himself. With his entourage defeated, Warren was left to confront Desmond on his own; though he opted instead to retreat, promising that their victory was only temporary.

The four Assassins then fled north, with Desmond being hooked up to the Animus inside the van so he could continue to search through his memories for anything useful. Meanwhile, the other Assassins began to discuss the nature of Minerva and her speech.

Hiding in Monteriggioni
"What if I can't stop the visions? How long before I start painting symbols on the walls?"

- Desmond to Lucy about the Bleeding effect.

After the Abstergo attack on their warehouse base, the Assassins traveled to Monteriggioni, one of the last Assassin safehouses in Italy. As the Templars were actively searching for them, and were analyzing the environment using cell phone towers, they were forced to set up underground, in the Sanctuary under the Villa Auditore.

Whilst searching the grounds of the Villa Auditore for a way into the Sanctuary, Desmond – through the Bleeding effect – saw a vision of Ezio in the past, who led him to a high, narrow ledge and leapt off. Desmond immediately followed suit, performing his first-ever Leap of Faith into a pile of hay. Desmond and Lucy then made their way to the Sanctuary, via the tunnel used by Ezio and the villagers of Monteriggioni during their escape after the Borgia attack on the town in January 1500.

As the two of them passed through the tunnels, Desmond saw more visions, which worried him, and made him wonder if he would eventually "start painting symbols on the walls." Lucy then scolded him, telling him not to joke about his condition, and reminded him that Subject 16 was dead and that he needed to focus.

When the two reached the Sanctuary, Desmond saw another vision of Ezio, who seemed to have visited it in his old age. Before he opened the door to Mario Auditore's office, Desmond noticed the numbers 1419, 1420, and 1421 written on the walls, which he pointed out to the other Assassins. Shaun theorized the numbers to refer to dates; however, he admitted that he needed to do further research.

After the team set up, Desmond became in charge of bringing electricity into the Sanctuary by inserting devices of Rebecca's construction into four electrical power boxes located around Monteriggioni, which would allow them to accumulate small amounts of power from each source. After that, he continued with his regular Animus sessions.

Obtaining the Apple
After finishing in the Animus, Desmond and the others learned that the Apple of Eden was hidden under the Colosseo. Upon traveling to Rome, the group separated, with Desmond climbing through the ruins of the Colosseum. As he headed deeper, he saw several visions of Juno along the way, until he eventually arrived at the Santa Maria Aracoeli. There, he unbarred the door for the other Assassins.

Upon synchronizing his DNA with a strange pedestal, several levers and structures lowered from the church's ceiling, and Desmond started climbing his way up. Along the way, more visions of Juno appeared, and she explained that the Vaults were made as the only proper places to hide away knowledge. Desmond eventually reached a structure with a lever, where he saw a vision of Ezio lowering the lever. As Desmond also lowered the lever, another pedestal rose from the ground, and Desmond made his way down.

Once again synchronizing his DNA with the pedestal, Desmond activated an elevator that took all of the Assassins down to the chamber below, which held the Apple. Desmond ran around the chamber and lowered several levers, all the while seeing visions of Juno scattered around the chamber. Finally, the stairway leading up to the Apple was raised, and the Assassins noticed several symbols being projected around the room as they walked up to the Piece of Eden.

However, as Desmond took the Apple of Eden from its pedestal, Juno's voice was heard, saying that Desmond's DNA had activated the Apple. Juno then took control of Desmond's body, and forced him to stab Lucy in the abdomen with his hidden blade.

After collapsing in the Colosseum Vault, Desmond was taken away by the Assassins. Having slipped into shock - and eventually, a coma - his unconscious body was recovered, and transported to an unknown location.

Desmond was placed back into an Animus by William Miles and another, unidentified person. During this session, Ezio and Leonardo da Vinci were seen to have discovered a smaller vault in Rome. When Ezio's DNA activated the vault, a set of coordinates intended for Desmond were projected: 43 39 19 N 75 27 42 W. After reliving more memories, Desmond's condition worsened, and he entered a comatose state.

Exploring the Black Room
Desmond's exposure to the Apple and his grief over stabbing Lucy caused Desmond to slip into a coma. In order to prevent Desmond from becoming a vegetable, William Miles ordered Rebecca to "send" Desmond into the Black Room-- a safe mode of the Animus where Desmond could remain conscious and fight his way out of his coma.

Upon first waking on Animus Island, Desmond quickly ran into Subject 16's own consciousness which was also absorbed into the inner working of the Animus. Sixteen explained that Desmond needed to continue living his ancestor's memories until they had nothing left to show them-- this moment was called a "synch nexus". Once Desmond found it, the Animus would be able to separate his conscious from Altair and Ezio, and he would wake up. He also coldly remarked that if he hurried, Desmond could go to Lucy's funeral. Desmond was then bombarded with flashbacks of stabbing Lucy, realizing what he had done. Desmond was deeply hurt by what he did, but he proceeded into the memories of Ezio in order to wake up.

After finishing the first sequence of Ezio's adventures in Masyaf, Desmond began eavesdropping on a conversation between his father, William, and Rebecca. William was examining the Apple, which made Rebecca nervous. William explained that he didn't think he had the proper genes to use the Apple, and Rebecca guessed that Desmond did. Desmond was then pulled out of the memory corridor and back to Animus Island, where Sixteen explained that the Animus had detected him leaving the safe mode and pulled him back to the island, acting as a failsafe program to try and keep his mind as intact as possible. He also told Desmond he would keep the Animus distracted to stop the machine from thinking he was a virus and deleting him.

Whenever he collected enough data fragments as Ezio, Desmond could enter strange narrow doorways, leading him into a situation where his mind was now wandering the physical inner workings of the Animus and being able to manipulate the environment as he explored. He recounted his past from his birth at The Farm, running away to the city of New York and finding his job as a bartender before eventually being captured by Abstergo. Waking up on the island again some sequences later, Desmond heard 16's idea of leaving with him until he found a new body, claiming he had grown tried of being trapped in the Animus. Desmond refused, prompting 16 to accept that he'd had his chance to escape. A short time after this, 16 asked Desmond if he ever had regretted anything in his life. He admitted that he wished he'd been more patient with his family about being an Assassin and wondered about whether things would've been different with Lucy if things had turned out differently. With a thanks, 16 disappeared.

Being pulled out a third time, Desmond was confronted with the sight of the island disintegrating around him. 16 proclaimed gleefully that the Animus had scheduled them for deletion, gripping onto him as the ground beneath his feet began to fracture. With 16 claiming that he was saving him and screaming for him to leave, Desmond retreated into the Black Room once again to escape.

During Ezio's final memories in Altaïr's library, Desmond watched as the Assassin began to try and talk to him. He urged Desmond to make sense of all the questions and suffering he had been through in his life, bringing his story to an end and pushing Desmond into the synch nexus. It was here he was confronted by another member of the First Civilization, Jupiter. He explained to Desmond about the many Vaults they had built around the world and how each had been dedicated to saving the planet from the coming apocalypse. Despite their failure, that central Vault survived and was located in New York. With the message passed onto him, Desmond woke from his coma in the back of a van with Rebecca, Shaun and William standing above him. As his arm glowed faintly blue and he noticed the Apple now in their possession, he said he knew what they had to do next.

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 as 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 make jokes, although they rarely elicited a good reaction. After his emancipation from Abstergo, Desmond's demeanor became considerably more relaxed, and he spent a noticeable amount of time conversing with Lucy. However, he began to question his sanity after experiencing the Bleeding effect.

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, Desmond developed an extra-sensory ability called Eagle vision.

Later on, after willingly exploring the memories of his other ancestor, Ezio, 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.

Since fully synchronizing with Ezio, Desmond has been able to use all of the abilities his ancestor could in real life, notably in free running across Monteriggioni and the Colosseum.

Trivia

 * According to the Assassin's Creed game manual, Desmond has an A+ blood type.
 * Desmond is modeled after Francisco Randez and voiced by Nolan North. Curiously, Randez also used to be a bartender before he became a model. This may have inspired the makers of the game to give Desmond the same profession.
 * The etymology of Desmond's name "the world" (or "man of the world" in Celtic) is not related to either of his ancestors', whereas Altaïr's and Ezio's names pertain to avians; Altaïr's being "the flying one" and Ezio's "eagle."
 * Desmond's surname "Miles" is the Latin word for "soldier." This name suits him however, as he wanted to leave his parents' watchful eyes to see the rest of the world outside the compound, and refers to his role in saving the world from destruction.
 * Desmond is a descendant of Those Who Came Before and humans. Proof of this is his Eagle vision, a product of the unification of those two races, which also led to the birth of the first "Assassins," Adam and Eve.
 * Desmond possesses the same scar on his lip as his ancestors Altaïr and Ezio, though how Desmond acquired it is unknown.
 * Desmond's eye color has changed multiple times. In Assassin's Creed they were golden, in Assassin's Creed II brown, and in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, when he enters Subject 16's virtual maze, they turn blue. This is best seen during the dialogue between him and Subject 16.
 * Desmond Miles is related to Subject 16, though their exact relation is unknown.
 * Desmond carries a tradition within his family in terms of loosing their first love interest. Altair and Ezio were in love with Adha and Cristina respectfully by the Templars and  Savonarola's soldiers, Desmond was liked by Lucy and was killed by Juno in the Collessum Vault.

Assassin's Creed

 * Desmond and Altaïr share the same age during the first game, both being 25 years of age in 2012 and 1191 respectively.
 * Desmond's history shows that he never wanted to be an Assassin, nor does he have the skills yet before Assassin's Creed II to be one; as Shaun puts it "You [Desmond] didn't even try to escape." However, in the Assassin's Creed: Graphic Novel included with the limited edition of Assassin's Creed, he does call himself an Assassin, and shows skills of stealth and lethality.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

 * The Animus machine, during the tutorial segment, refers to the subject viewing the memories as Subject 17, which was the subject number given to Desmond during the events of Assassin's Creed. Although likely, Desmond's presence in Bloodlines is highly debatable, due to time conflicts between Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II.

Assassin's Creed II

 * Desmond acquires a hidden blade at the conclusion of Assassin's Creed II. The original owner of the blade is not mentioned, but its bracer is identical to the one Ezio inherited from his father, Giovanni. However, it is very unlikely that Ezio's bracer was passed down to Desmond, as Ezio replaced it upon traveling to Rome.
 * Although only given a hidden blade, this is not the only weapon Desmond can use, as he can disarm and use his opponents' tactical batons when defending the Hideout.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

 * Interacting with the statue of Altaïr in the Sanctuary at any point during the storyline will trigger Desmond to say "Hey, wassa-matta-you, Altaïr?", followed by Rebecca reprimanding him for being racist, and then Lucy rebuking them both for wasting time. This can be done as many times as the player wants after the cutscene, only without any responses from the others.
 * In early images, Desmond is seen with a beard identical to Ezio's. It is unknown why the beard was present then, and was later removed.
 * Surprisingly, Desmond's climbing resembles that of Altaïr rather than Ezio's, considering he has spent more time training through Ezio's memories than Altaïr's.
 * During the beginning, when Desmond and Lucy are traversing the tunnels to get to the Sanctuary, the two will engage in a brief argument on how to climb a small wall. Desmond suggests that one of them gives the other a boost into the air to reach a ledge, however, Lucy refuses. This is a reference to the game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, in which the protagonist Nathan Drake, who is also voiced by Nolan North, must often launch his female companions with a boost to get around certain obstacles. Later, Lucy and Desmond also begin using a catapult jumping technique exactly like that seen in Uncharted 2 to cross gaps in the path.
 * Desmond is practically invincible outside of the Animus, where he is able to survive, unharmed, from a fall from any height.
 * Despite being equipped with a hidden blade throughout the story, Desmond only uses it twice; the first in the Auditore Family Crypt, to lower a platform for Lucy, and the second in the Colosseum Vault, to stab Lucy.
 * Should the player achieve full synchronization in Sequence 8, Desmond will appear as a playable skin in the Animus. The Animus states that the Desmond model was uploaded from the Animus memory banks. Despite him only wearing one hidden blade, double kills are still possible.
 * An exact replica of Desmond's shirt (as well as one in an alternative color) is available from the Ubiworkshop online store.
 * Desmond's t-shirt design had changed in development of the game. In screenshots, the eagle on his shirt is facing towards Desmond's right, but in-game, the eagle faces towards Desmond's left.
 * If Desmond fails to return to the Sanctuary after 10 minutes, he will reappear back in the Sanctuary with no ill effect.
 * After Desmond is given the watch and earpiece by Lucy, he will continue to wear it even after returning to the Sanctuary for the duration of his stay there. Despite this, the watch and earpiece will still be located on the counter where Desmond received it.
 * If the player last used medicine and has it saved in a quickslot before exiting the Animus, Desmond will be able to have the medicine as well, with of course, no effects. The process of using the medicine as Desmond can be repeated until there is no longer any medicine in Ezio's inventory.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

 * As far as Desmond's appearance in his subconscious state, he now wears a black hoodie with a white shirt, which is the opposite of what he wore in Brotherhood (white hoodie, black shirt). He no longer wears his courier bag or wristband/watch, and his hidden blade appears to be removed. He also appears much older than in the previous games.
 * A replica of the black hoodie that Desmond wears in Revelations is available from the UbiWorkshop site, along with the white hoodie from Brotherhood and two other versions that are not exact replicas.

Notes and references
Desmond Miles Desmond Miles