British Rite of the Templar Order

"You have not encountered cunning or danger until you have faced a British Templar."

- Miko, 1751.

The British Rite of the Templar Order is the Rite of the Templar Order based in the United Kingdom.

Anglo-Saxon England
During the early 6th century, the leader who would later come to be known as King Arthur was a member of the Order of the Ancients. He came into possession of Excalibur, one of the Swords of Eden, used it in defense against Saxon invaders, and became King of Britain. However, he was later betrayed by those he loved, which led to his death.

Crusades
As the Order became public known in Europe as the Knighly Templar Order, the Templars could act in plain sight as a military force in Holy Land for the Crusades and as a bank service in Europe. During the 12th century, they constructed the Temple Church in London as their head quarter. At the same period, members of the Gift family from were active members of the Templar Order.

At the end of the 12th century, Maria Thorpe joined the British Rite and went to the Holy Land during the Third Crusade to serve the Grand Master of the Templar Order Robert de Sablé. In 1191, she was his body double to foil an assassination attempt organised by the Master Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. As the Assassin discovered the trick, he decided to spare her life. After the death of the Grand Master by the same Assassin, Thorpe worked under the order of Armand Bouchart, a Master Templar who had the control of Cyprus. During the attack of Acre by the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins, Bouchart let Thorpe be capture by Altaïr, who was at this moment the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins. As she saw the wrong that the Templars did in Cyprus during her journey with Altaïr, Thorpe defected the Order and joined the Assassins and married Altaïr.

First Barons' War
During the 13th century, the Templar Order was well implanted in England with the reign of John Lackland, with some of its members acting as advisors to the English King, whom they turned into their pawn. But the plans of the Templars were countered by the British Assassins, who rallied the English nobility against John's tyrannical rule during the First Barons' War. Led by Robert Fitzwalter, the Assassins were determined to end the rule of the Templars, and allied themselves with the French Crown, who backed the rebellion against King John.

Hundred Years' War
After the public disbandment of the Templar Order in 1312, the British Templars worked in the shadow. Even if their power was weakened for a century in Europe, the Templars continued to act on the political field.

In the middle of the 14th century, the Houses of Valois and Plantagenet entered in war for the Crown of France beginning the Hundred Years' War. The Templars backed the English kings as the Assassins was with the French rulers. In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes gave the Crown of France to the English King Henry V only after the death of the current King of France, Charles VI. But as the Henry died two months before the King of France, Charles' son, proclaimed himself as the king Charles VII of France. The English placed Henry VI, Henry's son, as king of France but due to his young age his uncle, John of Bedford, a member of the Templar Order, became the regent of France. John defeated numerous time the French troops until the arrival of Jeanne d'Arc, an Assassin's ally who was in possession of a Sword of Eden, an Isu relic which granted charisma to his wielder. As she crowned Charles VII in Reims and won battles, the Templars saw her as a treat and captured her during the Siege of Compiègne in 1430, recovering the Sword for the Order in the process. Bedford sent Jeanne to a ecclesiastical court in Rouen where the French Templars condemned her for witchery.

Fighting for the Crown of England
During the late 15th century, the Templars made attempts to obtain the English throne. However, their plans were thwarted by Henry VII, as he imprisoned Lambert Simnel and had Perkin Warbeck hanged. In November 1503, the Templar Margaret of York and her co-conspirators were killed by a group of apprentices from the Italian Assassins sent by their Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who aided King Henry VII.

Afterwards, several Templars instigating riots over Margaret's death but were killed by the apprentices. One of the Templars revealed that their Order had infiltrated Henry's Star Chamber. Later, a group of Englishmen signed Borgia documents, the infiltrators were killed by the apprentices who had searched for them.

On 19 July 1553, the Templar-affiliated Mary I ascended the throne of England and Ireland following Henry VII's death. As a monarch, she used violent attempts to restore Catholicism as the state religion of England, burning hundreds of Protestants at the stake in the process. She was killed by the Assassins on 17 November 1558 for her tyrannical rule over England and Ireland.

Starting the Age of Reason
In the 17th century, the Templars in Europe wanted to forget the Dark Age of the Order when Rodrigo Borgia was Grand Master. During his leadership, the Templars only searched power for their own benefits. The Templars rethough their role as advisors of the rulers and no more as rulers themself. To achieve this, they used and influenced the works of intellectuals such John Locke, Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon to make philosophy and rationalism flourish in society to advance their goals. This period saw the scientific revolution, the beginning of empiricism and liberalism.

The Kenways
During the 18th century, the Templars recruited British merchants and tried to take advantage of the economical growth of the British Empire. In Bristol, the Templars Emmett Scott and Aubrey Hague founded the Trade Organization, an association of merchants protected by their Order, and destined to put the Bristolian commerce under their control. After Scott's daughter, Caroline, married Edward Kenway against Scott's wishes, he ordered the members of the Trade Organization to burn the farm of the Kenways, to prevent his daughter from coming back to the old couple after Edward's departure to the Caribbean Sea in 1712.

In 1714, the Templars at the East India Company had learned of Duncan's ties to the Brotherhood. At the, Henri Spencer, Esquire, a member of the company's Court of Directors and a Templar, according to his Mentor, Phillip Randall, was spotted by Duncan. From there, Spencer was tailed to a tavern, the Master Assassin decided to strike up a conversation with him, during which it became clear that Spencer was indeed a member of the Order and knew of Duncan's own allegiance. In spite of this, the exchange proceeded peacefully; after Spencer had departed, Duncan followed, intending to assassinate him.

Spencer was pursued by the Assassin via the rooftops and eventually Duncan leapt upon his target, who made no move to escape. With a Hidden Blade to his throat, Spencer explained that he wanted to recruit the Master Assassin for the Order. Convinced that the Templars would allow him to attain the fame and fortune he desired, Duncan accepted and met up with Randall the next day to accept the assignment, intending to use it to sabotage Assassin operations before officially joining the Order.

The burning of his parent's farm, the death of Caroline caused by her father's arrogance and his joining to the Assassin Brotherhood explained why, when he returned to Bristol in 1722, Kenway decided to settle the score with the Bristolian Templars. After having killed Scott and Wilson, Kenway went after Matthew Hague. Kenway was prevented from killing him by Robert Walpole, a neutral party who negotiated a truce between the Assassin and the Hagues, while moving Kenway to London.

By the mid-18th century, under the leadership of Reginald Birch, the British Rite held a leading position among the various Templar Rites. Birch became acquainted with the Assassin Edward Kenway in 1723. Knowing of Edward's research on First Civilization sites, Birch intended to steal the man's journal. Ten years later, Birch began to court Jennifer as a pretext to visiting the Kenway Mansion. Interrogating Edward's son, Haytham who unintentionally gave the location of the journal. Jennifer discovered that Birch was a Templar and Edward cut his ties with Birch.

In 1735, Birch orchestrated an attack on the Kenway household, hiring five mercenaries of his Templar brother Edward Braddock to kill Edward and obtain the journal. During the attack, Edward killed one of the mercenaries before be kill by a pointy ear mercenary. Two others they kidnapped Jennifer and killed several servants of the mansion. The last mercenary was killed by Haytham but he was knock out by his father's killer. After the Assassin's death, Birch recruited Haytham in the Order, but hid his part in the assassination of his father. He promised to Haytham to find his half-sister, so the pair began a five year journey in Europe and Birch began to teach the Templar ideals to Haytham.

Search for the Temples
With the journal in his hand, Birch began scouring the globe, investigating several leads to the Precursor artifacts and sites. In 1738, Birch inducted Lawrence Washington into the Templar Order; Washington later rose in the ranks and became a Master Templar. Reginald tasked Washington with locating the precursor sites, but to no avail. Unimpressed with his progress, along with the newly established Colonial Rite, Reginald sent another of his agents, Colonel George Monro, to further their efforts. In 1744, Haytham Kenway performed his first assassination in Liverpool, killing a greedy merchant to protect the interests of the Templars.

In 1750, Monro recruited Christopher Gist, a frontiersman who was tasked with exploring the west colonies, as well as strengthening the Templars' relations with the indigenous tribes in order to secure alliances and commercial lanes. At some point, Gist encountered a young thief named Jack Weeks who attempted to pickpocket the explorer. Despite Weeks being caught in the act, Gist was impressed by his skill and audacious attitude, and took him on as an errand boy; Gist later began tutoring him upon the suggestion of Monro. A year later, Gist and Jack were inducted into the Templar Order.

The same year, Washington learned that François Mackandal, Mentor of the Haitian Assassins, had obtained two powerful Precursor artifacts, the Precursor box and the Voynich manuscript, which aided the Brotherhood in locating several Precursor sites, with one located in Port-au-Prince. Lawrence traveled to Haiti and tracked down Vendredi, one of Mackadnal's students who had indirectly triggered a massive earthquake.

When Vendredi attempted to escape the site, his legs were caught near a crevasse under falling debris. Washington promised to aid him if he in turn revealed Mackandal's location. Vendredi reluctantly agreed, but Lawrence then slit his throat. Washington then traveled to Mackandal's camp and managed to steal the Precursor box and manuscript. Traveling by sea, he was pursued by Adéwalé. However, Washington was able to evade him upon reaching New York.

In 1773, just prior to the American Revolution, the British warship Windermere sailed around the Bahamas carrying a mysterious shipment of Templar interest. The ship and her fleet were destroyed by the Aquila, a Colonial Assassin ship under the command of Ratonhnhaké:ton and Robert Faulkner. Later that same year, the Leviathan, another British warship, attempted to sail from the Bahamas to England with an important Templar emissary, but it too was destroyed by the Aquila.

During the 18th century, the Templars were able to gain complete control of London and kept it under their thumb well into the 19th century.

French Revolution
In the years leading up to the French Revolution, the British Templars became worried about the political and societal turmoil growing in France and by the rising power of the reformist faction in the Order of their French counterparts. As such, the Carrolls, a high ranking family of the British Order, took it upon themselves to eliminate the wife of the traditionalist Grand Master François de la Serre. De la Serre's wife had the ear of her husband and, although moderate, was herself a reformist.

While the Carrolls' attempt on Julie's life failed, their assassin left a clue of their involvement, which prompted Élise de la Serre to travel to London, years after her mother's death of consumption. During her trip, the Carrolls discovered that Élise, as the future French Grand Master, wasn't herself a staunch supporter of the monarchy and of the old Templar ways, and so tried to kill her. However, their daughter, May, was killed instead and Élise fled with the help of her childhood sword master, the British Templar Frederick Weatherall.

At the eve of the French Revolution, the British fears came true when François was killed by the reformist Templars loyal to François-Thomas Germain, who became the new Grand Master of the French Templars. Later, as Élise tried to claim back her birth right and avenge her father, the feud between her and the Carrolls prevented her from counting on any help coming from the British Templars, who had been turned against her by the vengeful parents.

Starrick Industries and loss of power in London
By the 1860s, under the leadership of Grand Master Crawford Starrick, the British Rite had brought under their control almost all forms of governance within the city of London, while the political, medicinal and scientific fields were being guided by the Earl of Cardigan, Dr. John Elliotson, and Dr. David Brewster, respectively. The acquisition of Pieces of Eden fell to Lucy Thorne. The city's economic infrastructure, comprising the transport network, the factories, and the financial institutions, fell under the sway of Pearl Attaway, Rupert Ferris and Philip Twopenny, the Governor of the Bank of England.

Moreover, by paying off criminals to form their own gang, the Blighters, and installing their own as their leaders, under the supervision of Maxwell Roth, the Templars had also taken almost complete control of London streets and boroughs, and operated a monopoly on organized crime in the city.

In Croydon, the Templar business Starrick Industries built the Ferris Ironworks and another base for experiments on Pieces of Eden. By 1868, the twin Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye assassinated Templars there: Rupert Ferris and David Brewster, before traveling to London.

Despite, or perhaps thanks, to this control, the British Rite during this time worked to maintain order in the city, albeit under their guidance. However, the Templars suffered losses as members of their inner circle were assassinated one-by-one by Jacob and Evie Frye, which in turn impacted the infrastructure of London. Following the near-total collapse of the British currency after Philip Twopenny's death, Crawford Starrick increased the wages paid to his workers in order to stave off the effects of inflation, and maintain his grip on the workforce.

Following the death of the Earl of Cardigan, Roth decided to rebel against Starrick and teamed up with Jacob to accomplish this. However, their alliance quickly shattered when Jacob realized Roth was willing to go to such extremes as bombing a factory full of child laborers in order to disrupt Starrick's production lines.

Left as the last member of the British Rite, Starrick accelerated his plans to obtain the Shroud of Eden, and eliminate the ruling class of England. However, his plans were thwarted by the Frye twins and with Starrick's death, the British Rite had been brought to an end.

Despite Starrick's death, lower-ranking Templars of the British Rite scrambled to replace their leadership. One such faction attempted to regain their power by committing acts of terrorism against London, but those attempts were thwarted by the Assassins.

The Templars, led by Brinley Ellsworth later aligned themselves with the British Indies Company in attempting to stop Duleep Singh from reclaiming his birthright as Maharajah. Their plots involved stealing India's gold to attempting to frame Singh for stealing the Koh-i-Noor, but their plots were thwarted by the Frye twins. Ellsworth's true allegiances were exposed to Singh after the Assassin destroyed his factory concocting sleeping gas. Later, when Singh confronted Ellsworth, rather than let Evie Frye assassinate him, he chose to let Ellsworth live.

Modern times
By 1927, under the leadership of Grand Master Thaddeus Gift, Gift corrupted the British Rite by stealing from his fellow Templars and using their contacts to embezzle money, tarnishing the reputation of the whole Order with his actions. The corruption lead to the The Nine ordering their feared inquisitor, the Black Cross, to execute him for his crimes. In February, in London, the Black Cross, Albert Bolden, tracked him across the streets of the city, the Black Cross eventually slit his throat and cut out his Templar ring finger. Leaving him dead in the street.

The Templars plotted World War II, a Templar plot devised to create their New World Order. Using Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the the United Kingdom, as their secret puppet. And worked with Adolf Hitler, in order to orchestrate the transfer of a Piece of Eden.

From 1979 to 1990, Margaret Thatcher was manipulated by the Templar shadow-company Abstergo Industries while she held the position of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. During her reign, she installed Boris Yeltsin, another Templar puppet, as Russia's new president.

Members
Hundred Years' War Renaissance
 * John, Duke of Bedford
 * Margaret of York
 * Perkin Warbeck

Golden Age of Piracy
 * Christopher Condent
 * Hilary Flint
 * Aubrey Hague
 * Francis Hume
 * Samuel Parris
 * Benjamin Pritchard
 * Henri Spencer, Esquire
 * Emmett Scott
 * William Stoughton
 * Wilson

Georgian and Colonial Era


 * Reginald Birch (Grand Master; 1735-1757)
 * Edward Braddock (Left)
 * May Carroll
 * Peter Carroll
 * Mrs. Carroll
 * Benjamin Church (Colonial Rite)
 * Francis Cotton
 * Christopher Gist (Colonial Rite)
 * John Harrison
 * Thomas Hickey (Colonial Rite)
 * William Johnson (Colonial Rite)
 * Haytham Kenway (Colonial Rite)
 * Charles Lee (Colonial Rite)
 * George Monro (Colonial Rite)
 * John Pitcairn (Colonial Rite)
 * Crimson Rose
 * Samuel Smith
 * James Wardrop
 * Lawrence Washington
 * Frederick Weatherall
 * Jack Weeks (Colonial Rite)
 * Man O' War captain

Victorian Era


 * Pearl Attaway
 * Argus Bartlett
 * Rose Bartlett
 * Phillip Beckinridge
 * Thomas Blackroot
 * Louis Blake
 * Johnnie Boiler
 * Wallace Bone
 * David Brewster
 * Alexander Burnes
 * Hattie Cadwallader
 * James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan
 * Cavanagh
 * Charlie
 * Martin Church
 * Ada Cobleigh
 * Clyde Cobleigh
 * Edgar Collicott
 * Crimson Rose
 * Eveline Dipper
 * Harold Drake
 * Tom Eccleston
 * John Elliotson
 * Brinley Ellsworth
 * Rupert Ferris
 * Francis Fletcher
 * Josephine Fletcher
 * Lilla Graves
 * Beatrice Gribble
 * Samuel Hargrave
 * Hardy
 * Other Hardy
 * Kent Jekyll
 * Raphael Jekyll
 * Rexford Kaylock
 * Walter Lavelle
 * Victor Lynch
 * Marchant
 * Malcolm Millner
 * Peter Needham
 * Bloody Nora
 * Pearce
 * "Big" Pete
 * Myrtle Platt
 * Octavia Plumb
 * Benjamin Raffles
 * Reynolds
 * William Sleeman
 * Smith
 * Crawford Starrick (Grand Master; ?-1868)
 * Cletus Strain
 * Chester Swinebourne
 * Edith Swinebourne
 * Lucy Thorne
 * Philip Twopenny
 * Robert Waugh

Modern Era
 * Ferris
 * Thaddeus Gift (Grand Master; ?-1927)
 * Darius Gift
 * Simon Hathaway

Allies and puppets
Middle Ages
 * John, King of England

Renaissance
 * Alexander VI
 * Cesare Borgia
 * Lambert Simnel
 * Mary I of England

Colonial Era
 * Duncan Walpole
 * Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer
 * Élise de la Serre
 * Benjamin Franklin
 * George II of Great Britain
 * Jim Holden
 * Julian
 * Tom Cobleigh
 * Tom Smith

Industrial Revolution
 * Samuel Liddell Mathers
 * Maxwell Roth

20th Century
 * Winston Churchill
 * Margaret Thatcher

Appearances

 * Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – Assassins Guild
 * Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy
 * Assassin's Creed III
 * Assassin's Creed: Forsaken
 * Assassin's Creed: Black Flag
 * Assassin's Creed: Rogue
 * Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
 * Assassin's Creed: Underworld