American Brotherhood of Assassins

The Colonial Assassins were the Brotherhood of Assassins located in the British colonies of North America, which later became the United States. They were based at the Davenport Homestead in Massachusetts.

During the American Revolutionary War, the Assassins largely supported the colonies' bid for independence and helped them win many battles, though they were not beholden to them, assassinating Templars in the Continental Army or preventing casualties in the British Army.

Early history
Not much is known about how or when the Brotherhood was formed. Sometime between 1501 and 1503, the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze sent a group of Assassins to find a map to the New World, and they decided to establish a presence in the colonies before the Templars did.

Establishment
Ah Tabai, the Mentor of the Caribbean Assassins, was known to have had several contacts with Assassins in the British colonies. Around 1740, Ah Tabai sent his student Achilles Davenport to establish a Brotherhood in the North American colonies. There, Achilles met John de la Tour, an Acadian Assassin operating on behalf of the French Assassin Council. De la Tour was attempting to build a network of information which would help identify threats against the colonies. De la Tour theorized that the New World would contain various Precursor sites and artifacts.

During the Battle of Louisbourg in 1745, de la Tour sacrificed himself to save Achilles from the attacking British troops. Before Achilles left, de la Tour appointed him Mentor of the Colonial Brotherhood. Under Achilles' direction, the Davenport Homestead was built, serving as the headquarters of the Brotherhood. By this point, the Brotherhood had gained allies in the English and French empires as well as the indigenous tribes. Achilles maintained correspondence with other Assassin guilds across the colonies and the globe, including the British, Caribbean, French, Spanish and Haitian Brotherhoods. Additionally, they had Assassin allies in Stockholm.

By 1746, the Brotherhood strengthened in their ranks with the recruitment of several colonists, especially Liam O'Brien, who became Achilles' first student and protégé. With his help, Achilles managed to induct several prominent members into the Brotherhood. Among the first was Louis-Joseph Gaultier, Chevalier de la Vérendrye, a French naval commander who had strong connections with the French Army. Through Chevalier, the Assassins gained allies among smugglers as well as pirates. Le Chasseur, an informative spy, became acquainted with the Brotherhood at this point, lending his aid in their efforts.

Another recruit was Kesegowaase, a native mercenary whose influence allowed the Assassins the support of several warriors, hunters and scouts, further strengthening their forces. Hope Jensen was recruited in 1747 and tasked with creating a network of organized crime in New York, with her gangs soon spread out across the city.

By 1748, Shay Cormac, a former sailor, was inducted for his knowledge of seamanship, and in time became renowned as the second best sailor in the Colonial Brotherhood. Later that year, Achilles extended an invitation to join the Order to Maria van Antwerpen, however, she declined due to her commitment to serving the Dutch Army.

The Colonial Brotherhood was aided by the French Council, who by 1749, had constructed a ship named the Aquila which was primarily meant to serve as the Assassins' naval fleet. Around 1750, Achilles served as captain of the Aquila, during which he subsequently rescued Robert Faulkner, a veteran sailor; grateful for his help, Faulkner offered his services in creating a shipping route which would connect the Colonial Brotherhood with the European branches of the Order, with the aid of Chevalier.

In 1751, Faulkner began investigating two shipping companies the Levesque and de L'Isle families, suspecting that they were affiliated with the Templar Order. By 1753, Faulkner was appointed quartermaster of the Aquila. Around this point, the Assassins expanded their forces out to the open sea, with several of their Order captaining ships in the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1751, Miko, a member of the British branch of the Order, wrote a letter to Achilles, in which he stated his approval of the Colonial Brotherhood, while simultaneously giving Achilles a warning of the threat the British Rite of the Templar Order posed to the American colonies. Achilles also received a letter from Rhona Dinsmore, detailing that she had been seduced by Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer. Rafael managed to steal several Yucatán Peninsula maps which held the location of the Chichen Itza temples. Rhona requested that Achilles eliminate Rafael if he was given the opportunity.

Precursor search
The same year, François Mackandal, Mentor of the Haitian Brotherhood, came into possession of two First Civilization artifacts, the Precursor box and manuscript. With both artifacts in hand, the Assassins were able to pinpoint the locations of several First Civilization temples, including one in Port-au-Prince. Vendredi, one of Mackandal's students, was sent to investigate the site, but indirectly triggered a defense system, which caused a massive earthquake to occur. Vendredi himself was caught under a falling debris while attempting to escape the temple, and approached by the Master Templar, Lawrence Washington, who took possession of the artifacts and slit Vendredi's throat.

With both artifacts in the Templars' possession, the Assassins worked to reclaim them. In 1752, Achilles assigned his Assassins to locate them. In the same year, Shay and Liam had been assigned a mission to aid Chevalier and his men. However, the group was ambushed by British soldiers, with some smugglers being taken as hostages. While Chevalier tended to his troops, Liam and Shay infiltrated the enemy camp, saving the hostages. With the threat dealt with, the Assassins gained a ship called the Morrigan, which Shay commandeered as his personal vessel, strengthening the Assassins' naval capabilities.

In March 1752, Achilles assigned Shay to locate the artifacts stolen by the Templars. As Shay, Liam, and Chevalier met with Le Chasseur, they've learned Lawrence Washington was supposedly in possession of them. The Assassins traveled to Mount Vernon to intercept a package meant for Washington, which contained a prototype air rifle, rather than First Civilization artifacts. Shay claimed the weapon and subsequently infiltrated Washington's manor, just as the Precursor box and Voynich Manuscript were entrusted to the Templars Samuel Smith and James Wardrop. Following the meeting, Shay assassinated Washington and escaped.

In 1754, the Assassins hired a group of mercenaries to steal a chest owned by the Templar William Johnson, containing his research on the First Civilization sites in the region. A group of Templars led by the newly arrived Haytham Kenway attacked the fort where the research was being held and recovered it. Before departing, Haytham warned a surviving mercenary to inform his masters their time was over.

By May of that year, the Assassins located Samuel Smith after his return from Europe, tracking him down and pursuing his ship, the Equitas, to the island of Terra Nova. Heading ashore, Shay manged to assassinate Smith and reclaim the Precursor box. Two months later, James Wardrop had been located in Albany during the Congress taking place there, and was assassinated in Fort Frederick. Following his death, the Assassins recovered the manuscript, and enlisted the help of Benjamin Franklin in order to figure out how to operate the Precursor box. After recovering Franklin's confiscated tools, Shay and Hope helped him to conduct an, which powered the Precursor box and caused it to project a holographic display of the globe with several First Civilization temples marked on it, including one in Lisbon, Portugal.

The following year, Achilles lost his wife Abigail and son Connor to typhoid fever, weakening his resolve. Later, the Assassins devised their next move at Two Bends; Achilles tasked Shay with traveling to Lisbon to retrieve the Piece of Eden located within the temple.

With Liam occupied, Shay reached Lisbon in November. Upon arriving, he entered the Carmo Convent and successfully activated the mechanisms to open a hidden vault beneath the structure, locating the Piece of Eden. Upon touching the artifact, Shay indirectly triggered a massive earthquake. Shay narrowly managed to escape with his own life, but the earthquake took the lives of thousands of innocents.

Shay returned to the Davenport Homestead and angrily confronted Achilles, naming him responsible for the destructive earthquake. Shay informed Achilles about the Precursor temples and compared him to François Mackandal. Achilles insisted to being unaware of this and protested, sending Shay out of his study. After some contemplation, Shay infiltrated the Homestead and stole the Manuscript, only to be confronted by Achilles. After a brief struggle, Shay attempted to escape, only to be pursued by his former allies. Chevalier launched several mortars on the Homestead, causing Shay to be cornered near a cliff. Though Hope attempted to appeal to him, Shay refused and was shot by Chevalier, causing him to fall into the water. Though thought to have perished, Shay was rescued by Colonel George Monro, a high ranking member of the Templar Order.

The same year, the Assassins hired Benjamin Franklin for producing new weapons and toxic gases with the intention to poison the population of New York. Their plans were canceled by the Templars and Shay Cormac, which at this moment, didn't know he worked with his former enemies.

In August 1757, after the Siege of Fort William Henry, a group led by Kesegowaase ambushed George Monro and his unit but Shay arrived to protect him and successfully escaped from his former allies. At this moment the Assassins learned that Shay was alive and he became a target.

Later that year, the Assassins with the French Army attacked an Oneida village who was friendly with the British Army. Shay and the British army saved the village. In November, Kesegowaase and Liam, with an army, stormed Albany. At this moment Monro prepared the defense of the city and Shay gave him the manuscript to be sure hit was in safe hands. Kesegowaase assaulted the fort but was killed by Shay with a Puckle gun. During the battle, Liam mortally wounded Monro, stole the manuscript and left the Templar in a house in flame.

In October 1759, Achilles, Liam, Hope and Chevalier were reunited in New York and prepared the expedition for the next Precursor site. Hope promised she could reproduced the Franklin's experience. Shay, who listened the reunion, informed the Templars who organized a heist which involved the gangs then the authorities stormed the Hope's mansion. During the battle Hope and Liam used the box and the manuscript and found the next Temple, in Arctic. Liam left the manor with the two artifacts. Hope shot Shay who was spying behind a window, took his gas mask and tried to poison him. The former Assassin escaped from this trap but received a poison dart threw by Hope. For saved his life, Shay killed Hope and drank the antidote. In her last moment Hope didn't blamed Shay for killing her, as she knew she gave Liam enough time for flew New York.

Achilles and Liam went to the Arctic with the manuscript in the search of the Temple. In the same time Chevalier hid the Precursor box and served as a diversion for leading Shay on a wrong lead in North Atlantic. The Morrigan and the Gerfaut engaged a naval combat in a blizzard. The Templar's sloop incapacitated the Assassin's Man O'War and Shay defeated Chevalier during the assaulted. Shay discovered that Achilles and Liam were already in North and Chevalier taunted him with the fact he made "a good distraction". Shay threw the captain in the cold water.

In march 1760, Achilles and Liam arrived in Arctic with a group of Assassins. The two last leaders of the Colonial branch enter in the cold cave. In the same time the Morrigan arrived. Haytham Kenway and Shay infiltrate the Assassins lines to arrived before the Assassin to the Temple. Liam an Achilles found the artifact. Liam would took it but Achilles stop him, as he realized that Shay was right at the beginning. At this moment Shay and Haytham arrived and confronted the two Assassins. After a brief argument, Liam tried to shoot Shay but Achilles prevent him and the heat of the moment, Liam dropped the artifact which triggered a seismic activity. The Templars and Assassins ran to the exit. During the escape, Liam and Shay fought and they fell in a waterfall. Liam was mortally wounded and blame Shay for his treason. Shay replied that he want to save the word. In his last breathe Liam expect that was a good one. Shay took the manuscript on the corpse of his old friend. After this Haytham and Achilles fought and the Templar disarmed the Assassin and was ready to kill him. At the moment Shay demanded to show mercy to his former Mentor, if he died the Assassins would continued to search the Temple. Haytham accepted but he shot Achilles in the right shin, leaving him crippled for life, as this he would never forgot what happens.

Decline
After the events of the Arctic Temple, the Templar began a massif purge against the Colonial Assassin. In 1763, the Templars launched an attack on the Assassins in the colonies and the Brotherhood was all but destroyed. All members of the chapter were hunted down and killed, except for Achilles, who was captured and tried by the Templars. However, confident that they had broken his spirit, the Templars set Achilles free on the condition that he abandon the Assassins' cause and live quietly in his manor. Five years later, the Templars destroyed the Aquila, and first mate Robert Faulkner had the ship towed into the Homestead's bay.

Revival
In 1769, the Kanien'kehá:ka boy Ratonhnhaké:ton, Haytham's son, was directed by Juno to join the Assassins. He convinced Achilles to begin training him after preventing mercenaries from seizing the Davenport Manor, and after a year of training – including how to captain the Aquila with Faulkner as his first mate – Ratonhnhaké:ton joined the Brotherhood. He also invited civilians like Godfrey, Terry and Lance O'Donnell to live and work on the Homestead, providing materials and crafting equipment he would need.

By 1773, Ratonhnhaké:ton, who had adopted the name of Connor upon Achilles' suggestion, began to recruit locals and immigrants into the Order, starting with Stephane Chapheau – a chef from Boston during the time that William Johnson had his men exorbitantly tax the people of the city. Both Chapheau and Connor participated in the Boston Tea Party, where they deprived the Colonial Templars of certain funding.

He also recruited Duncan Little and Clipper Wilkinson, after helping them respectively stop a gang terrorizing North Boston and forceful military drafters. Following this, Connor sent his men to stir up rebellion in other colonies, staging tea parties in New Jersey and Maryland.

In July 1774, Connor assassinated Johnson who had found others ways to finance the purchase of iroquois' territories. Connor learned that the Templars wanted to protected the Iroquois from the colonists. The Assassins discovered a letter from the British Major and Templar John Pitcairn who asked to destroy the Patriots weapons and powder.

American Revolution
In April 1775, the Assassins believed that Pitcairn wanted to kill Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Connor went toLexington with Paul Revere to warn them and prepared the defense of the city. During the Battles of Lexington and Concord Connor led the Patriots against the British regulars of Pitcairn. The Templar flew the battle after heavy looses. After the begining of the American revolution, the Continental sieged Boston and during the Battle of Bunker Hill Connor killed Pitcairn. In his last moment he revealed that he didn't want to kill Adams and Hancock but negociated the peace. On his body, Connor found a letter which ordered the assassination of George Washington.

With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Assassins primarily sided with the Patriots. Initially, they aided in the capture of Fort St-Jean, but soon recognized the people of Quebec did not want independence and worked to prevent the misguided generals Richard Montgomery and William Thompson from conquering Canada. The Assassins also worked to relieve Boston during the city's, providing food and protection for civilians while helping Henry Knox transport artillery to , ending the British occupation of the city.

In July 1776, Connor went to New York to kill the the Templar Thomas Hickey, who was tasked to assassinate Washington. During the chase Connor and Hichey were arrested and send to the Bridewell Prison. In the prison, Connor was charged by the Templars for the plot to kill George Washington. Achilles and the Assassins went to New York to save Connor the day of his execution. One of the Assassins fired an arrow, helping to sever the noose, which later allowed Connor to escape and assassinate Hickey. Connor, who suspected another plot to kill Washington, wanted to warn the Commander about the existence of the Assassins and the Templars. But Achilles refused believing it would weakened Washington and the Continental Army. Afterwards, the city fell to the British despite the Assassins' help in winning the.

Around this time, Connor visited and aided Jacob Zenger in ending martial law, and stopped a conspiracy to spread in the area damaged by the Great Fire with Jamie Colley, further assisting Deborah Carter in ridding the countryside of a Templar merchant hoarding food supplies to later sell them at inflated prices; as a result, the Brotherhood was strengthened greatly by these three recruits.

In 1777, Connor left the Homestead to join Valley Forge and revealed the Assassin-Templar War to Washington. But in the campement, Connor was tasked by Washington to find missing supllies stole by the Templar Benjamin Church. During his investigation, the Assassin met his father, who also tracked Church for betraying the Templar Order. The father and the son established a truce and killed Church in Martinique.

In July 1778, Connor broke ties with Washington, after his father reaveled that Washington ordered the attack on Connor's village which led to his mother's death, but also a new attack. Connor also broke the truce with Haytham because that his father hid the truth about his mother's death all along. Connor killed the Continental's messengers and stopped the Kanien'kehá:ka before the conflict could begin. But Connor must kill his friend Kanen'tó:kon who was manipulated by the Templar Charles Lee. During the Battle of Monmouth Connor helped the Continental Army to fold after Lee sabotaged their defenses.

Few days later, the Assassins killed George Dorrance after learning he was responsible for displacing several Iroquois villages. Regardless, the Assassins continued to aid the Patriots as the war shifted to southern colonies like North Carolina and Georgia. They became particularly wary of a dangerous cavalry officer named Banastre Tarleton, and did everything they could to protect American officers who risked engaging him in battle.

The Assassins also remained active up north. Connor aided the French Navy in the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781, allowing him to enlist their help in the attack on Fort George in New York. Later Achilles died of illness and Connor became the leader of the Colonial Assassin. In New York, Stephane, Deborah, Duncan and Jacob came to aid the Marquis de Lafayette in clearing the tunnels to the fort where Lee was hiding. In the fort, Connor was injured by the bombardement. He met Haytham who informed him that Lee flew and he began to fight his son. During the combat Connor killed his father.

Connor's apprentice wera also sent to Yorktown, where they infiltrated and sabotaged British fortifications to ensure a relatively quick surrender with limited casualties.

The following year, Connor assassinated Charles Lee, who had been attempting to build his own army to surprise the Founding Fathers in the wake of the armistice.

Post-American Revolution
After the resolution of the American Revolutionary War, Connor shifted his efforts towards strengthening the Colonial Brotherhood, in order to bolster the Assassins' presence of the newly liberated colonies.

With this in mind, Connor attempted to recruit Patience Gibbs into the Assassin Order, a marooned slave leader who escaped from her former master, the Templar doctor Edmund Judge. However, Patience's stubborn attitude proved too difficult for Connor to handle, to which he later asked his fellow Brother Aveline de Grandpré from New Orleans to assist, due to her familiarity with and reputation for liberating slaves. While an arduous process, Aveline succeeded in this affair, leading to the assassination of Judge and Patience's agreement to join the Assassin Brotherhood, following which the pair traveled to Connor's manor on the Davenport Homestead.

In March 1804, Connor sent a request to Eseosa, a member of the Haitian Brotherhood, to receive additional training for his role in the oncoming revolution. He willingly accepted this offer and traveled to the Davenport Homestead.

Techniques
The Colonial Brotherhood were trained in stealth, eavesdropping, swordsmanship, marksmanship, hand to hand combat as well as free running, pickpocketing, lock picking. In terms of equipment, most of the Colonial Assassins wielded Hidden Blades, swords and pistols, while some also utilized rope darts.

Their naval fleet grew vast and had many Assassin ships spanning the colonies.

Largely the assassination techniques were the same as previous branches such as the Turkish or Italian branches, except they trained themselves to use the foliage and height of the bushes, cliffs and trees as an advantage over tall buildings.

After the revival by Ratonhnhaké:ton, the Brotherhood had become more diverse and specialized, such as apprentices' skilled use of small melee weapons. Native American weaponry were also utilized, even by non-natives, such as Jacob Zenger's use of Native American warclubs. Unlike the previous generation, the Assassins were known to carry two flintlock pistols. Each Assassin was also taught new skill-sets by other members, such as setting ambushes and the tactic of disguising themselves as soldiers to escort Ratonhnhaké:ton by guard patrols. The Assassins were also trained for the use of the Assassin flag ship, the Aquila, for contract missions.

Appearance
The Colonial Assassins did not have formal robes or uniforms to wear or specific colors like other branches tended to have. Most chose to take on the appearance of civilians, though exceptions existed in high-ranking members such as Hope, Kesegowaase, Chevalier and Liam, who wore hoods and elaborate robes. After the revival of the Brotherhood, new recruits did not wear robes or hoods, with only Ratonhnhaké:ton remaining as one wearing traditional hooded Assassin robes.

All Colonial Assassins had their pistols and melee weapons visible on their person. Metal armor was not worn during the Colonial period, but some Assassins utilized leather armor from hunting animals. The branch also adopted the practice of concealing the entire Hidden Blade mechanism under the sleeves of their clothes, rather than strapping it over them, further improving Assassins' ability to blend with the crowd.

Members

 * Atasá:ta
 * Pierre Bellec
 * Deborah Carter
 * Stephane Chapheau
 * Jamie Colley
 * Shay Cormac
 * Michael Crawley
 * Achilles Davenport
 * Eliza
 * Robert Faulkner
 * Caleb Garret
 * Patience Gibbs
 * Hope Jensen
 * Joe
 * Kesegowaase
 * Duncan Little
 * Liam O'Brien
 * Ratonhnhaké:ton
 * William de Saint-Prix
 * Benjamin Tallmadge, Sr.
 * John de la Tour
 * Varius
 * Louis-Joseph Gaultier, Chevalier de la Vérendrye
 * Clipper Wilkinson
 * Jacob Zenger
 * Unidentified Mentor
 * Unidentified assassin (1852)
 * Unidentified assassin (1920's)

Allies:


 * Adéwalé
 * Alsoomse
 * Samuel Adams
 * Gérald Blanc
 * Emily Burke
 * Le Chasseur
 * Aveline de Grandpré
 * Ulysses S. Grant
 * Kaniehtí:io
 * Henry Knox
 * Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
 * Fillan McCarthy
 * Duncan McGill
 * John O'Brien
 * Israel Putnam
 * Paul Revere
 * Benjamin Tallmadge, Jr.
 * James Mitchell Varnum
 * Gaspar Velasquez
 * George Washington
 * Otho Williams