Mario Auditore

"Don't you recognize me? It's a-me, Mario!"

- Mario reuniting with Ezio.

Mario Auditore (1434 - 2 January 1500) was an Italian condottiero and the ruler of Monteriggioni since 1454. He was also the Grand Master of the Assassin Order until his death in 1500.

Early life
Mario was most likely born in Monteriggioni, Tuscany, and was the elder brother of Giovanni, who was born when Mario was two years old. Mario came from a bloodline of notable Assassins, and thus also became one, starting his training at a young age.

When he was six years old, Mario played an important role in the Battle of Anghiari, where he alerted the condottiero Micheletto Attendolo to dust clouds over the road, signaling a surprise advance on the Florentines by the Milanese troops. The attack was stopped, and the Florentines won the battle.

In contrast for helping the Florentines, Mario spent most of his life defending Monteriggioni from the Florentines' persistent attacks to his city.

Ruler of Monteriggioni
In 1454, after Mario's younger brother Giovanni decided to move to Florence to pursue a career in banking, and after their father died, Mario became the lone ruler of Monteriggioni. Mario remained at the Villa Auditore, and exchanged letters with Giovanni to keep in touch. In one of these letters, Mario defended his decision to stay in Monteriggioni by writing that he "preferred fighting like a man, to filling out balance sheets." It is insinuated that he rarely saw the family after that.

Under Mario's rule, Monteriggioni had a time of prosperity. Mario opened several shops and guilds in the city and greatly increased the city's defenses, in order to withstand Florentine attacks. In 1454, he discovered a Florentine informant, Luciano Pezzati, living in Monteriggioni; thus he faced him and his men, alongside his own mercenaries.

Mario then dueled Luciano, barely defeating him, and had him dragged back to the Villa Auditore. From Luciano, he discovered that Florence was sending the condottiero Federico da Montefeltro to lead an attack on Monteriggioni. Due to Mario's leadership, the city was successfully defended and the invasion attempt was a failure.

Eventually, Luciano Pezatti confessed the truth behind the siege, that the Florentines had attacked in search of a mysterious artifact in Monteriggioni. Mario, curious as to what this might be, gathered his architects and historians, eventually discovering that, years before, the city well had once been drained and excavated.

Together with a miner and some of his men, Mario entered the well. While at first they did not find anything, Mario saw that the miner's flame was flickering while near the back wall, indicating the presence of an opening. Together, they pushed against the wall and found a hidden corridor, filled with various deadly traps. Members of their group lost their lives to them, and Mario himself was caught by a swinging pendulum trap, which blinded him in the left eye, and left him with a scar across his face.

Finally, despite their injuries, the group finally found a wooden box within the well, from which a presence told Mario's men that their "pain was temporary" and to "ignore it." Mario's men were certain that the presence would heal their wounds, but Mario thought that, as the box had been hidden for so long, there had to be a reason why it was there, and that opening it would be unwise.

At this, Mario's men rebelled, and he was forced to strike them down. Mario was curious as to what the box might contain, but he promised himself not to open it. Instead, he carried it to the Villa Auditore, ignoring the artifact's offers for him to be healed. After storing it temporarily within the villa, he summoned his brother pick it up, dismissing it as "the Brotherhood's problem."

Family reunion
In 1476, Giovanni and two of his sons, Federico and Petruccio, were executed under the pretext of treason, while in truth being executed by the Templars, the arch-enemies of the Assassins. In order to get to safety, Giovanni's remaining son Ezio escorted his mother Maria and sister Claudia out of Florence and towards Monteriggioni.

Just as the three neared Monteriggioni, they were ambushed by Vieri de' Pazzi and his soldiers. Mario and his mercenaries saved them, and he insisted that they accompany him back to Monteriggioni. There, Mario told Ezio of his Assassin heritage, and that he needed to be trained so that he could properly fight and defeat the Templars, as well as protect his mother and sister.

Mario then started Ezio's training to become an Assassin, teaching him combat skills, such disarming and countering skills, as well as taunts. In 1478, Ezio announced his decision to take Maria and Claudia to Spain, against Mario's wishes. Due to his pride in his Assassin heritage, he stormed off, and left for San Gimignano before Ezio could rethink his decision.

Feeling guilty, Ezio followed Mario to San Gimignano to aid him in killing Vieri de' Pazzi. When Ezio successfully assassinated Vieri and began to abuse the body, Mario stepped in and urged him to have respect for the dead. Then, addressing Vieri's body, he delivered a short monologue and shut the corpse's eyes.

When they returned to Monteriggioni, Mario's men celebrated the victory, and Mario himself showed Ezio the Sanctuary, an alcove for the memory of legendary Assassins, which was hidden under the villa. He also explained the importance of the Codex, a few pages of which he and Giovanni had collected and translated, before placing on the Codex Wall.

After having observed Ezio placing feathers in Maria's feather chest in an attempt to hearten his mother into speaking again, Mario finally intervened upon seeing Ezio place the fiftieth feather. He attempted to discourage Ezio from continuing something that Mario considered to be a "vain effort." Mario then left after informing him that he had left a new weapon at the city Blacksmith for Ezio to use.

Acquisition of the Apple
In 1488, Mario and some of the other leading Assassins met in Venice, planning to acquire the "Apple" from the Grand Master of the Templar Order, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, knowing that it was to be delivered to him that day. When they found Rodrigo, they saw that they had been beaten to him by Ezio, who was locked in combat with Rodrigo and his men.

The other Assassins rushed in to aid him, and after they defeated Rodrigo's guards and almost killed Rodrigo himself, the Templar leader ran for his life and left the Apple behind. Mario then revealed all present to be Assassins, much to Ezio's surprise. That same night, the group met atop a tower in the city, where Ezio was inaugurated into the Assassin Order.

After securing the Piece of Eden, Mario studied it alongside Niccolò Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Ezio. When the Apple was activated, Mario and Niccolò were both affected and collapsed, holding their heads. Ezio and Leonardo, however, remained unfazed, though blinded by the light.

At this, Mario recognized the Apple's great power, and urged Ezio to protect it by taking it to the Rocca di Ravaldino in Forlì, as that citadel was protected by their ally Caterina Sforza. As they departed, Mario also invited Leonardo to visit the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni.

Journey to Rome
In December 1499, Mario, Ezio and several other Assassins gathered in the Villa Auditore to find out the prophecy hidden in the Codex. After Ezio had arranged the pages, the group discovered that they showed a world map with locations of the Temples. Ezio concluded that the nearest vault was in the Vatican, and that Rodrigo Borgia had became Pope so that he could have easy access to the Vault and the Staff of Eden.

Ezio then left for Rome to assassinate Rodrigo and enter the Vault, while Mario and his fellow Assassins caused trouble around the city to distract the Papal army's attention. Ezio spared Rodrigo, but was able to use the combined Pieces of Eden to enter the Vault. After communicating with Minerva, one of Those Who Came Before, he left.

Afterwards, Ezio met up with Mario in the Capella Sistina, and the two fought their way back through the Vatican until they reached Tiber River. There, Mario encouraged Ezio to drop the Apple into the waters, but Ezio could not do it. Thus, Mario took the Apple and assured Ezio that he would keep it until the latter made his decision.

Siege of Monteriggioni and death
Ezio and Mario made it back to Monteriggioni by the afternoon of New Year's Day 1500. As they neared the gates, Ezio finished telling his uncle of what he had seen in the Vault, though Mario assured him that - as the foretold events were slated to happen in the future - they need not worry about it. Mario also told Ezio about the new cannons he had had installed across the city battlements.

As the two rode into town, they were cheered for by the townspeople for their victory in the Vatican. Mario returned to the villa, while Ezio began to enjoy the new abundance of time he had.

At dawn, on January 2, Claudia's birthday, Monteriggioni was besieged by the Borgia, under the command of Cesare Borgia. Mario quickly met Ezio, saying that he would keep the Apple safe with him and that Ezio had to stop the enemy's cannons, whilst he himself led a frontal assault on the Borgia.

However, Mario became wounded during the battle, and he attempted to flee back into the city, but collapsed at the city gate. He was soon followed by Cesare and his three lieutenants, and as he attempted to regain his feet, Cesare approached him and called out for Ezio's attention.

Holding the Apple in his hand, Cesare then shot Mario in the head as he lay beneath him, killing the Assassin as an "invitation" from Cesare's family to Ezio's to go to Rome. After Mario's death, the city was destroyed, the Villa Auditore was desecrated, and the Assassin Order was forced to relocate to Rome, under the acting leadership of Niccolò Machiavelli.

Personality and characteristics
Mario dressed in the flamboyant style of the Italian nobility of the Renaissance, sported long, dark hair that he slicked back neatly and had a scar over his left eye, which he was also blind in. He was a boisterous man and made no apologies for his passion for fighting and alcohol.

Mario cared deeply for his family, and was extremely proud of his Assassin heritage. From his letter to Giovanni and their differences in fighting styles, it can be assumed that he was often playfully critical of his brother, much like his nephew Federico was with Ezio.

The insignia of the Assassins was embroidered onto the leather of Mario's left shoulder pad. The Auditore coat of arms was also stitched onto the cape he wore.

Upon close inspection, one can note that Mario often placed his hand on the shoulder of the person he was speaking to, presumably as a sign of closeness or affection.

Trivia

 * When he first introduces himself, Mario exclaims to Ezio that "It's a-me, Mario!". This was intended as a reference to Mario from the Super Mario Bros. game series, who often says the same line.
 * Mario often calls Ezio nipote ("nephew" in Italian).
 * Mario was often referred to as ubriacone ("drunkard" in Italian) by the Pazzi.
 * Although Mario lived in the villa, you only get to see him during his scripted missions, or when you place your fiftieth feather in Maria's feather box.
 * A very rare glitch may occur in the memory "Homecoming." With Eagle Vision activated, Mario is occasionally not marked with blue; allowing him to be grabbed or attacked.
 * During Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Mario had greying hair, indicating that he had aged significantly.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, during the "Mass Exodus" sequence, you can harm or kill Mario without any penalty.
 * During his stay at the villa, one of the relics Desmond can find in the town is Mario's longsword embedded in a stone. This is possibly a reference to the Arthurian legend, "The Sword in the Stone."
 * In the novel of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, after the defense of Monteriggioni, Mario's head was cut off after he had been shot, and was shown to Ezio by Cesare Borgia during Ezio's escape from the tunnels underneath the Villa.