Desmond Miles

"I'm a bartender, for Christ's sake! What do you want me to do, teach you how to mix a martini?"

- Desmond to Vidic and Lucy Stillman.

Desmond Miles is the main protagonist of the Assassin's Creed series and the descendant of a long line of ancestors, who swear their allegiance to the Assassin Order. He is initially forced to use a machine, called the Animus, created by Abstergo Industries – the modern front of the Knights Templar – to relive the memories of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad during the Crusader era, in their quest to locate the "Apple", a Piece of Eden.

Eventually escaping with the aid of modern day Assassins, Desmond once again uses an improved version of the Animus to explore the memories of his second ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, so as to learn the ways of the Assassins in a much quicker way than normal.

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 Miles was born in 1987 at an Assassin "hideout" in the desert, an "off the grid" compound with a population of about 30 people, much like the city of Masyaf, where he was destined to be trained as an Assassin. However, at his 16th birthday, Desmond fled the hideout, claiming that "he wanted to see the rest of the world", tired of his paranoid hippy parents and the inability to leave the compound. He later told Lucy Stillman that he had no regrets over leaving his parents, because as far as he was concerned, they were his "wardens". At some point after leaving the hideout, Desmond became a bartender. Aware of the Knights Templar, and wanting to avoid both them and the Assassins, Desmond never used his real name and used only cash to purchase things. He was eventually found, however, traced through a fingerprint needed for a motorcycle license and was brought to the Abstergo laboratory.

Assassin's Creed
"I'm not an assassin&hellip; not anymore."

- Desmond Miles to Warren Vidic.

In September 2012, Desmond Miles was kidnapped by Abstergo Industries, a pharmaceutical company and front for the Knights Templar, for use as a test subject in the Animus, a device that can read the memories of Desmond's ancestors through the "genetic memory" left behind in their descendants' DNA. At first Warren Vidic, attempted to pry the information he wanted from Desmond's mind, but was met with failure due to Desmond’s subconscious lack of confidence in accessing that specific memory. As such, Desmond was forced to move back to an eariler memory that he could access and move forward from there; this then allowed Desmond to simulate the experiences of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Whilst he claimed to be nothing more than a bartender, Vidic reveals that they knew of his history as an Assassin, forcing Desmond to finally admit his past life. Vidic and Lucy Stillman tell Desmond that they're trying to access a certain memory, but Desmond's subconscious is restraining. Vidic warns Desmond that if he refuses to assist them, they will induce a coma, continue their work, and, when done with Desmond, leave him to die. Without much choice, Desmond agrees to help them.

Desmond was made to explore the genetic memories of his ancestor – Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, a member of a clan of Assassins during the Third Crusade, specifically Altaïr's experiences during the year 1191 – and over several days does so under the watchful eye of Warren Vidic. During the nights however, Desmond discovers that he is able to explore the lab he is being held in, accessing the Animus computer after stealing Warren Vidic's pen, gaining access to his personal computer. Through these e-mails, Desmond learns of a Subject 16 who had begun suffering from a "bleeding effect" due to prolonged exposure to the Animus, as well as titbits of information from the outside world. Eventually, with the aid of Lucy, the Assassins learned of Desmond's capture and attempted to liberate him, the gunfire being heard through an intercom device, although the rescue attempt failed. Vidic boasts that those Assassins were in fact the last of the Assassin; their desert hideout having previously been destroyed. Lucy Stillman's actions, however, suggest otherwise, and when Desmond asks if Lucy knows anything about his parents, she responds by saying that she doesn't know, but that they probably escaped. During this discussion, Lucy reveals herself to be a undercover member of the Assassins.

Desmond eventually achieves Vidic's goal, and discovers the location of numerous Pieces of Eden. Executives of Abstergo Industries order his execution, but his life is saved by Stillman's intervention, who asks to keep Desmond alive in order to re-access his memories if need be. After the executives leave, Desmond suddenly accesses the "eagle vision" of his ancestor Altaïr, seeing Warren and Lucy for their true allegiances, as well as countless scrawled messages and puzzles on the floor of the main laboratory.

Assassin's Creed II
"Whoa... Alright, wasn't expecting that..."

- Desmond discovering the birth of his lineage

At the beginning of Assassin's Creed II Desmond is still being held within the laboratory at Abstergo, continuing directly from the last game from a couple of hours. Lucy suddenly arrives, covered in blood and demanding Desmond to get into the Animus before Abstergo discovers what she's done. Desmond, rather confused, agrees and, inside the Animus, experiences the birth of another of his ancestors, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a joint ancestor of his and Subject 16's. He is quickly pulled out, though, and both make their escape.

They were quickly spotted by Abstergo security forces and forced into an engagement which Lucy quickly ends, allowing them to continue on stealthily. The two soon enter a large open room filled with office blocks, and lined with a large number of Animus machines, although Desmond's questions about them are met with silence. Desmond once instinctively called upon his recently activated Eagle Vision when, at the door to an elevator, a password was needed that Lucy did not have. Once in the car park the two are halted by yet more Abstergo guards, but are able to overcome them and escape.

Arriving at the assassin's hideout, Desmond was introduced to two more Assassins – Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane – who have been working with Lucy over the years. Lucy told Desmond that they wanted him to become trained in the ways of the Assassin, and thanks to the Bleeding Effect, they could achieve this in a matter of days, although it required him learning the ways of an Assassin through a new ancestor; Ezio. Desmond agrees to help almost immediately, and is quickly plugged in the Animus 2.0.

After learning the ways of the 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 from being in the Animus for too long at a time. Tasking him with initiating security protocols around the Assassin hideout, Lucy left it to Desmond to work out how to reach them through the use of his Eagle Vision and newfound Free Running skills. Just as he begun, however, he started suffering vivid hallucinations of the Crusader era. At first the vision were short, and that they were nothing to worry about, but after completing the task Desmond was incapacitated as the visions became more real. Taken back to Acre, Desmond followed the memories of Altaïr once again, this time without the use of the Animus, and watches as Altaïr and Maria Thorpe conceive their first child, Desmond's next ancestor.

The next day, Desmond had recovered from the experiences and returned to the Animus, neglecting to tell the Assassins what had happened. He continued the watch over the genetic memories of Ezio Auditore, despite at one time being thrown out by a "corrupted memory sequence". Eventually they learn that Ezio's arch-nemesis, the Templar Grandmaster Rodrigo Borgia had, in 1492 become Pope Alexander VI, so as to gain access to yet another Piece of Eden, the Papal Staff and the Vault. As Ezio's story began to conclude, Desmond and the Assassins watched deep within the Vault beneath the Vatican. Ezio found himself confronted by a hologram-esque "god" who called herself Minerva; Minerva warns the Assassins of the end of the world, as well as retelling the story of the war between "Those Who Came Before", and their human subjects. The Assassins are shocked when Minerva addresses Desmond by name, confusing even Ezio, and it is revealed that Minerva is in fact talking to Desmond through Ezio. Desmond is quickly pulled out of the Animus, though, seeing the three rushing to collect their belongings, the Templars having found their location.

Immediately after getting out of the Animus, Lucy tosses Desmond a Hidden Blade with the Assassin's emblem on it, and asks for his assistance in covering the escape. Making their way into the warehouse, Vidic appears, flanked by Abstergo security officials with the intent of reclaiming Desmond. The two assassins fight off the Templars with Desmond, now fully synchronized with Ezio, masterfully using his Hidden Blade to kill many of the guards. With his entourage eliminated, Vidic is left to confront Desmond on his own, but instead retreats, promising that their victory is only temporary. The four Assassins then flee north, and Desmond is hooked up to the Animus inside the van and told to continue to search through his memories for anything useful. As Desmond's hooked up, the other Assassins begin to discuss the nature of Minerva and her talk.

Characteristics and personality
Despite his amazing resemblance to both Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Desmond has very little in common with either of them. Although he was born into the Assassin Order, Desmond fled early on and lived his life independent from them; keeping to himself much of the time and preferring to stay off the radar. The only recorded incident of Desmond actually publicly appearing was for a fingerprint needed for a motorcycle license, which in turn allowed Abstergo Industries to locate him. A discreet individual, Desmond did not wear extravagant clothing, preferring only a white hooded jacket and jeans. Interestingly, when up, the hood exhibited a beak-like feature similar to both Ezio and Altaïr.

Desmond was a gruff and cynical individual, who held a serious outlook on life, having been aware of the existence of both Templars and Assassins all his life, although he was unaware of Abstergo Industries being a Templar company. Despite this, he was not above jesting over 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 spent a noticeable amount of time flirting with Lucy.

Equipment and skills
Being that Desmond was trained in his childhood as an Assassin, he could already eavesdrop and pickpocket. He was already a competent fist fighter too. After about a week of being forced to relive the memories of his ancestor, Altaïr, Desmond began to experience the effects of the Bleeding Effect and developed the extra-sensory ability: eagle vision. Later on, after willingly exploring the memories of another ancestor: Ezio Auditore, Desmond learned how to free-run like an assassin. Not long afterwards he was able to easily fend off a Templar attack with Ezio's combat skills. Desmond is now able to fight with a Hidden Blade and mace-like weapons. It can be assumed that Ezio's sword skills were carried over too.

Trivia

 * He is modeled after Francisco Randez and voiced by Nolan North. Curiously, Francisco Randez also used to be a bartender before he became a model.


 * Desmond possesses the same scar on his mouth as his ancestors Altaïr and Ezio did. He also looks a lot like both of them and he is 25 years of age in 2012, the same as Altaïr's age in 1191.


 * Desmond's clothes are similar to those worn by both Ezio and Altaïr, albeit in a more modern style. He has a hood (although it is not worn over his head), and his jacket is white - similar to Altair's robes, and Ezio's clothing, which is originally referred to as "Assassin White". Concept Art of him with his hood up show that it has the "eagle-beak" shape his ancestors' clothes had.


 * Desmond acquires a Hidden Blade at the conclusion of Assassin's Creed II. The original owner of the blade is uncertain, but it shares the same design as the one Ezio inherited from his father, Giovanni. Perhaps the design became the standard use for Assassins after Ezio defeated Rodrigo Borgia.


 * Desmond obtains Eagle Vision from Altaïr, and his fighting and free-running skills from Ezio through the Bleeding Effect in the Animus.


 * The etymology of Desmond's name ("The World") is not related to either of his ancestors, whereas Altaïr's and Ezio's names shared similar kind of meanings; Altaïr's being "The Flying One" and Ezio's "The Eagle".