Assassin apprentice

"Let me repay your kindness with action, Assassin. If you will have me, I will join your cause."

- An Apprentice to Ezio, during 1511.

The Apprentices were members of the Assassin Order, training to become fully fledged Assassins. During the Renaissance, they were also known as the Assassin Recruits - citizens who have joined the Order at the behest of Ezio Auditore in Rome and Constantinople, both to strengthen the Assassin Brotherhood's presence in the region and simultaneously combat the Templar threat.

High Middle Ages
"Someday I will have a child – such is the way of our Order."

- Altaïr's reflections on his family in the Codex.

An Apprentice was usually born into the Order, with either one or both of their parents being an Assassin, as was the case with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Abbas Sofian, and would begin their training from a young age, progressing through several tiers before being promoted to the rank of Assassin. The Levantine Apprentices primarily trained in the Masyaf fortress, which was also the Assassins' headquarters in the region, often attacked by both Crusaders and Saracens alike during the Crusades. Under the leadership of Altaïr, the Assassin Order was rebuilt, with new techniques created and rules and restrictions undone. Using knowledge gained from an Apple of Eden to do so, the Levantine Assassins were eventually spread to different locations around the globe - an effort to make the Assassin Order a more global organization - with the techniques developed by their Levantine brethren, becoming widely incorporated to many other Assassin branches in the process.

Rome
Having witnessed the overwhelming odds that the Assassins faced in Rome, as well as the oppression of the people by those serving the Borgia, Ezio convinced Niccolò Machiavelli, that they would require loyal soldiers, with the strength and courage to face the forces of Cesare Borgia. Machiavelli reluctantly agreed, and Ezio's recruitment efforts began.

The first novices were recruited during 1501, shortly after the rescue of Caterina Sforza from Castel Sant'Angelo. Ezio traveled throughout the city, assisting the citizens wherever and whenever he could. He found many either terrorized, or fighting against the city guards. Upon doing so, he would offer each citizen the chance to join the Brotherhood and, should they accept, he would send them to Machiavelli to officially be made an Assassin recruit. The Apprentices subsequently devoted themselves to learning the ways of the Assassin Order, driven by the desire for revenge against the Borgia for oppressing the city and its people.

The Brotherhood steadily grew over time, operating with multiple Recruits, male and female, whom were instructed in combat, free running, pickpocketing, blending and other skills necessary for them to become fully fledged Assassins. Operating from the Tiber Island headquarters, the apprentices were often sent on contract missions across Europe and Asia, in order to improve their skills, gain first-hand combat experience and aid the Assassin cause. When not on assignments, the Apprentices would support Ezio directly, coming to his aid when called upon.

One such occurrence happened after Ezio's visit to the thieves' guild headquarters. He and La Volpe learned that the Borgia knew about Volpe's spies, an occurrence which Volpe used to affirm his previous suspicions of Machiavelli's treachery, given several questionable acts that Machiavelli seemed to be involved with. Volpe refused to lend Ezio the help of his thieves to save Pietro Rossi from being killed by Micheletto Corella, Cesare's personal assassin. This forced Ezio to enlist the aid of his recruits instead. Micheletto's plan was to infiltrate the play that was to be held at the Colosseum. Ezio followed him, and had his Apprentices eliminate Micheletto's men, so that they could take their places. Disguised, the recruits and Ezio successfully infiltrated the Colosseum and foiled Micheletto's plan, with the Assassins protecting their leader from the Borgia guards, as Ezio moved Pietro to safety.

The Apprentices were also involved in the Assassination of the Templar Agents, an event during which several key figures, that ensured the continued oppression of Rome by the Borgia, were eliminated. Malfatto, who was responsible for murders of several courtesans in the Centro district, and Silvestro Sabbatini, a slave trader involved in kidnapping people who were interferring with the affairs of the Borgia, were killed by Ezio's recruits, rather than Ezio himself. A team of Apprentices led by Francesco Vecellio, also eliminated Rocco Tiepolo, Cahin, Caha and Baltasar de Silva while working with Fiora Cavazza, a courtesan and a traitor to the Borgia.

Constantinople
"The people here are quite sick of these Templar attacks. Can you turn on your charms and find us a few more recruits?"

- Yusuf, asking for Ezio's help in recruiting new Assassins.

In Constantinople, Ezio was able to recruit Apprentices for the Turkish Assassin Guild, in a similar manner as he had done in Rome a few years previously. Some recruits were citizens that Ezio helped out by completing certain tasks, while others were saved from the Byzantines. Once recruited, Ezio could send the recruits out on contract missions in the Mediterranean, eroding Templar influence in key cities and eventually retaking these cities for the Assassins. Ezio could also assign up to five recruits to be stationed at a reclaimed city, helping the Assassins maintain control and protecting the city from the Templar forces.

Some citizens required that Ezio demonstrate his speed and prowess in a race or pickpocketing challenge, while another sought Ezio's help in protecting his family from the Byzantines. Other tasks involved such things as winning a fist fight, or helping a woman eliminate the Templars that destroyed her shop.

Mobilization
During his own missions, Ezio was able to have up to six Apprentices support him. They would commonly operate in pairs or alone, and were often called upon to perform Arrow Storms (wherein they would fire arrows upon any target from above), to engage in direct combat with an enemy, or to perform assassinations. Each time, Ezio would signal the Apprentices to strike by raising his arm and clenching his fist.

When operating without their Mentor, the Apprentices would move in teams, led by a single Assassin appointed by Ezio. Together, they would complete missions across Italy (such as Rome, Florence, and Venice) as well as the rest of Europe and beyond (including Constantinople, Lisbon, Barcelona, Moscow, Paris, London, Cologne, Vienna and Calicut). One such team was led by Francesco Vecellio, and notably featured Cipriano Enu, who specialized in archery, and the stealthy Tessa Varzi, who was skilled with poisons. The team participated in the Defense of Camerino, the rescue of several prisoners Cesare Borgia was to execute merely for his entertainment, and the protection of astronomers Novara and Nicolaus Copernicus. Though the Apprentices would not always survive these missions, should they succeed, they would return with greater skill and experience, as well as money and items that they had obtained during their travels.

Likewise, while in Constantinople, Ezio could send his recruits out to cities in the Mediterranean (including Alexandria, Algiers, Athens, Bursa, Damascus, Genoa, Jerusalem, Lisbon, Madrid, Marseille, Rhodes, Tripoli, and Tunis) to complete contracts. At first, the cities were controlled by Templars; only by sending Assassins into the city could the Brotherhood erode the Templar influence and eventually reclaim the city for the Assassins. Once reclaimed, Ezio could channel some of his income into these cities to improve their infrastructure, which in turn provided him with additional money and supplies. Assassins stationed at reclaimed cities would also receive extra training.

Due to the absence of Sultan Bayezid II, the Byzantine Templars' influence in Constantinople grew to a point, where the Byzantines were able to take over several Assassin Dens located in the city, using them as staging grounds, locking down the surrounding area and preventing Ezio from restoring the city, but eventually he was able to reclaim several of the Dens. Such activities didn't go unnoticed however, and for every reclaimed Den, there was a possibility of the Templars attacking one that was already under the Assassin control. If such an event occurred, Ezio once again relied on his Recruits, coordinating the defense of a contested Den from an adjacent rooftop, supporting the recruits with the hidden gun if he saw the need to, but otherwise concentrating on tactics and placement of the Apprentices.

Equipment and skills
The Apprentices during the Third Crusade primarily wore generic white robes. Under Al Mualim's rule, each rank of Assassins had their unique set of robes, with Al Mualim himself dressing fully in black. However, after Altaïr consolidated power in the Brotherhood, the rank-based clothing was discarded, with all Assassins wearing the same set of standard robes, while Altaïr himself continued to wear his Master Assassin robes for the majority of his life. The Levantine Assassins were the first Assassin branch to use most of the techniques later adopted by other Assassin branches, including air assassinations, ledge assassinations and assassinations from hiding spots; all of which were invented by Altaïr and Malik.

Nonetheless, the Levantine Assassins wielded no special equipment, only primarily being equipped with a hidden blade, swords, a short blades, and throwing knives, with the amount of weaponry depending on the rank of the Assassin. On very rare occasions, an Assassin was allowed to use two hidden blades; however, only a limited amount of Assassins were given this privilege, as the materials required to create a hidden blade were scarce at the time.

The Apprentices during 16th century were trained in a wide variety of skills and weaponry, including all the weapon types used by the previous Assassin generations, as well as heavy weapons, long weapons, crossbows, poisons, guns and explosives. They were also capable of fighting on horseback. Unlike Ezio, the Apprentices could use their pistol in conjunction with a heavy weapon.

The Apprentice's armor and weaponry could be customized however they chose, allowing them to decide whether they would specialize in attack, defense, or both. Typically, an Apprentice began with basic leather armor, eventually adding several more pieces. As they advanced through the ranks, the armor became reinforced with metal parts. Eventually, a Recruit would resort to using a set of plate armor, before attaining the rank of Assassin. At that point, the Apprentices were granted the Assassin armor, which combined the lightness of leather set and durability of the plate armor.

Apprentices were also given trainee robes to wear to show their affiliation to the Order. Although these were all identical, standard white robes, they were permitted to dye them a variety of colors. Once inducted into the Order as full Assassins, they were given white Assassin robes, similar to those of Ezio's own. The Ottoman Assassins were rewarded by a set of robes reminiscent of those of their leader, Yusuf Tazim, and a kijil upon completing their training and achieving the rank of Master Assassin.

During a Den defense, recruits were equipped with several types of weaponry, such as crossbows, rifles, bombs, and utilized stationary weapons mounted on barricades, which were used to slow the Templar advance on the Den. Some also preferred to go directly into melee combat with the enemy, while others relied on air assassination.

Promotion
"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine. The wisdom of our Creed is revealed through these words. We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins. Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

- Ezio, during the initiation of an Apprentice.

During the Third Crusade, at the rank of Servant, the Apprentice would receive their Hidden Blade, and have their left ring finger amputated, as a way of ensuring their commitment to the Order, and for the weapon to function properly. The practice of amputation was eventually amended by Altaïr once he attained the position of Mentor, as he saw it as a way that the Templars could exploit to identify the Assassins. The Hidden Blade mechanism was also modified to function properly without the need to remove the ring finger.

During the 16th century in Rome, upon completion of their training, an Apprentice was formally inducted into the Assassin Order as a fully fledged Assassin. A ceremony would be held within the Tiber Island headquarters, where, as per tradition, the Apprentice's left ring finger would be branded, and they would perform a Leap of Faith from the top of the building, into the Tiber river. In Constantinople, the recruits progressed in similar manner, moving through several tiers of training and completing guild contracts. A strong enough force of Assassins sent to a city could free it from the Templar control, allowing for greater support of Ezio's efforts in Constantinople.

The Constantinople guild did not held initiation ceremonies like its Roman counterpart. Instead, once an Apprentice reached the rank of Assassin, they could be assigned as a Den Master to one of the seven Assassin Dens in Constantinople, where they would continue their training to eventually gain the status of Master Assassin. Usually during this training period, an Apprentice discovered information concerning a Templar agent operating in the area. The assassination of the agent would mark the completion of their training, and promotion to the rank of Master Assassin. Their training and experience allowed them to subsequently defend their Dens from any further attack attempts by the Templars.

Trivia
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
 * Each Apprentice's appearance and name is randomized. However, their gender is dependent on the location of the map from which they are recruited.
 * When sending Apprentices on a mission, even when the odds of success are 100%, sometimes it can fail regardless, and the Assassins used for that contract may be lost.
 * Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy includes several memories that correspond to the guild contracts in Brotherhood.
 * An Apprentice, Vitellozzo Vitelli, shares the name with an Italian condottiero, who was also a friend of Bartolomeo d'Alviano.
 * When managing contracts in the Tiber Island hideout or via Pigeon Coops, the map of Europe features modern political boundaries.
 * Though a Recruit receives white robes when they reach the rank of Assassino, any changes made to their outfit color before attaining the maximum rank, will still be visible on the underside of their capes.
 * If both an Assassin and Ezio try to assassinate the same target, they will both appear to leap on him in high profile, but Ezio will then promptly teleport onto the next closest guard, killing him as well.
 * It is possible to kill Apprentices with the Apple of Eden, if they are caught within the affected area.
 * Apprentices can sometimes be heard saying "Requiescat in pace," among other such phrases to dead enemies when a skirmish is won.
 * Apprentices receive no damage from falling, even from the top of the Castel Sant'Angelo. Also, if a guard pushes an Apprentice into water, they will not die, but simply return to the Tiber Island hideout.
 * Even if all the recruited Apprentices are normally female, the recruits in the mission "Exit Stage Right" always appear as male.
 * The Apprentices will never travel alongside Ezio. Once all the targets in the area are dead, they will run out of sight and vanish.
 * Even if all other Apprentices have achieved the rank of Assassino, during in the Initiation Ceremony, all of them will use their Recruit attire.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations
 * The appearance of the Apprentices in Assassin's Creed: Revelations can be customized further, by allowing them to wear hoods and masks. The mask can't be worn without the hood however. The hair color of females can change if their uniform color is changed too.
 * If a recruit is raised to the rank of Assassin, they will not die in battle. Instead, they will be "injured" and unavailable for combat or missions for 20 minutes.
 * Seven out of thirteen available Apprentices can attain the rank of Master Assassin. This involves completing a two-parter mission for each Apprentice, in which they eventually eliminate a Templar Agent.
 * Unlike in Brotherhood, only one assassination of a Templar Agent, Vali cel Tradat, is essential to completing the story in Revelations.
 * The Initiation Ceremony is no longer present, even when an Apprentice attains the Master Assassin rank.