Laureano de Torres y Ayala

"A body enslaved inspires the mind to revolt. But enslave a man's mind and his body will follow on naturally. Efficiently."

- Laureano de Torres y Ayala regarding the difference between slavery and the Templars' goals to Woodes Rogers.

Laureano de Torres y Ayala (1645 – 1722) was the Spanish Governor of Florida from 1693 to 1699, Governor of Cuba on two occasions between 1707 and 1716, and the Grand Master of the Templar Order in the Caribbean.

Early life
The son of the nobles Tomas Torres y Ayala and Elvira de Quadros Castelanos, Laureano de Torres y Ayala was born in 1645 in Havana, Cuba, but raised in Madrid, Spain. Torres joined the Spanish army in his late teens and was later appointed governor of the Spanish territories in Florida, a post he held from 1693 to 1699. He then returned to Europe to participate in the Spanish war of Succession.

In 1670, Torres came into contact with the Sage Thom Kavanagh, who was in the employ of Peter Beckford at the time. Although Torres tried to speak with Kavanagh further that evening, a group of Assassins, led by the Mentor Bahlam, attacked Torres' men and escaped with the Sage.

In 1708, Torres was appointed governor of Cuba, a position he held until he was arrested on charges of corruption in 1711. Torres was eventually acquitted of these charges and managed to win a re-election bid two years later. During his tenure as governor, Torres' made various lasting improvements to the city, including the fortification of the island's defenses and kick-starting the tobacco production. During this time, he took on the brutish man known as El Tiburón as his personal bodyguard.

Search for the Observatory
"Let us find the Observatory together. For with its power, kings will fall, clergy will cower, and hearts and minds of the world will be ours."

- Laureano de Torres y Ayala, 1715.

At some point, Torres was entrusted with the task of locating a First Civilization site known as the Observatory. After two decades of searching, Torres was contacted by Duncan Walpole, a treacherous Assassin that desired to join the Templar Order. Seeing this as an opportunity to deliver a crippling blow to the Assassins and procure further information on the Observatory, Torres arranged a meeting with Walpole, who was to bring maps that detailed the locations of Assassin bureaus in the West Indies, as well as an empty blood vial.

Along with fellow Templars Julien du Casse and Woodes Rogers, Torres plotted to use the Sage Bartholomew Roberts, who was in their custody, to gain access to the Observatory, in order to control the European Empires from behind the scenes. Unbeknownst to Torres however, Walpole had been killed by the pirate Edward Kenway, who arrived in Havana to collect the reward initially promised to Walpole. Oblivious to this, Torres formally inducted 'Walpole', Rogers and Du Casse into the Templar Order, before explaining his plans.

The next morning, the four met again at Havana's docks, where they took Roberts into their custody. However, while escorting the man to Torres' mansion, the group was attacked by Assassins. Kenway managed to save Torres from his attackers and recapture the Sage, who had fled in the confusion. Torres then paid Kenway for his services and dismissed him. However, Kenway was unsatisfied with the amount he had been paid and decided to free Roberts from Torres' prison, seeing an opportunity for greater gain within the Observatory.

Although Kenway was able to access the prison, he found that Roberts had already escaped once more. Torres then reappeared and sent an imprisoned Kenway to the treasure fleet docked in Havana's harbor.

Relocating the Sage
In November of that year, Torres spoke with the Dutch slaver Laurens Prins about Roberts, but was unsuccessful in discovering the man's location. However, in 1717, Prins contacted Torres and claimed to have Roberts in his possession. Torres gathered an appropriate amount of gold to secure Robert's ransom and made sail for Kingston, stopping at the fort of Punta Guarico along the way.

Edward Kenway had learned of the large sum of gold and overran the fort, discovering Torres in the war room. However, instead of simply taking the treasure, Kenway decided instead to use Torres as bait in a plan to locate Roberts and once again try to learn the location of the Observatory.

Together with Kenway, Torres arrived in Kingston and met with Prins, walking with the Dutchman through the city's streets. Discussing politics, slavery, and war along the way, the two eventually came to a stop, where Torres tried to bargain with Prins. However, the slaver had spotted Kenway and the Assassin James Kidd tailing them, and both men fled while the two pirates fought off a group of guards.

Two years later, in 1719, Torres was in the city once again, this time meeting with Woodes Rogers and the newly-converted Benjamin Hornigold to discuss another attempt to locate the Sage. After learning that Hornigold had sent two of his men, Josiah Burgess and John Cockram, to the African island of Principe, Torres left and returned to Cuba.

Pursuit by Edward Kenway
"You wear your convictions well. They suit you..."

- Torres' final words, to Edward Kenway, 1722.

In 1722, the Templars finally located the Observatory in Long Bay, Jamaica. Torres left El Tiburón and a decoy of himself in Havana and made sail for the complex. Now an Assassin, Kenway tailed El Tiburón through Havana's streets before arriving at Castillo Morro, where he killed both El Tiburón and the decoy before heading to the Observatory.

However, Torres had accessed the facility before Kenway had arrived, activating a deadly series of security measures that killed most of his men. After eliminating the surviving soldiers, Kenway then climbed around the chamber before leaping down on Torres from above, killing the Grand Master with his Hidden Blade. With his dying words, Torres complimented the Assassin on the strength of his belief in mankind's right to be free.

Trivia

 * Torres' surname, "Ayala", is of Basque origin, meaning "hillside pasture". It could also refer to a small town in northern Spain. "Torres" translates to "towers", while "de" and "y" are Spanish words meaning "of" and "and", respectively.

Reference

 * Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag