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.

Desmond Miles (born 1987) is the main protagonist of the main installments in the Assassin's Creed series and the descendant of a long line of ancestors who swore 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 Templars – 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 Animus (the improved Animus 2.0) to explore the memories of another ancestor of his, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, so as to learn the ways of the Assassins much faster 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 an Assassin "hideout" in the desert known as "The Farm", an "off the grid" compound with a population of about thirty people, much like the city of Masyaf, where he was destined to be trained as an Assassin. He was frustrated by his parents' explicit instructions not to leave the compound, and believed them to be overly concerned and paranoid. On his 16th birthday, he finally fled, "wanting to see the rest of the world." He later told Lucy Stillman that he had no regrets over leaving his parents, because as far as he was concerned, they were little more than his "wardens", and to him the Farm was his "prison". After leaving the Assassin compound, he went into hiding for nine years. While keeping a low profile, he eventually became a bartender. Aware of the Templars, and wanting to avoid both them and the Assassins, Desmond never used his real name and used only cash to purchase items. However, he was eventually found, traced through a fingerprint needed for a motorcycle license, and was kidnapped and brought to the Abstergo laboratory in Italy.

Kidnapped by Abstergo
"I'm not an Assassin... not any more."

- Desmond Miles to Warren Vidic.

In September 2012, Desmond Miles was kidnapped by Abstergo Industries, a pharmaceutical company and front for the Templars, 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. Whilst Desmond claimed to be nothing more than a bartender, Vidic revealed that they knew of his history as an Assassin, forcing Desmond to finally admit his past life. Vidic and Lucy Stillman told Desmond that they were trying to access a certain memory, but Desmond's subconscious was resisting their efforts. Vidic warned Desmond that if he refused to assist them, they would induce a coma, continue their work, and when done with Desmond, leave him to die. Without much choice, Desmond agreed to help them.

Desmond was made to explore the genetic memories of his ancestor Altaïr – a member of a clan of Assassins active during and after the Crusades, specifically Altaïr's experiences during the year 1191 – and does so over several days under the watchful eye of Vidic. During the nights however, Desmond discovered that he was able to explore the lab he was being held in, accessing the Animus computer and, after stealing Warren Vidic's pen, gaining access to his personal computer. Through e-mails, Desmond learned of the previous Animus subject, Subject 16, who had suffered from a "bleeding effect" due to prolonged exposure to the Animus, as well as tidbits of information from the outside world. Eventually, with the aid of Lucy, the Assassins learned of Desmond's capture and attempted to liberate him, with the gunfire of their assault being heard through an intercom device, although the rescue attempt failed. Vidic boasts that those Assassins were in fact the last of the group he escaped from at 16; their desert hideout having been previously destroyed. Lucy's actions, however, suggested otherwise, and when Desmond asked if Lucy knew anything about his parents, she responded by saying that she didn't know, but that they "probably escaped." During this discussion, Lucy revealed herself to be an undercover member of the Assassins. Desmond eventually achieved Vidic's goal and discovered the location of numerous Pieces of Eden. Executives of Abstergo Industries then ordered his execution, but his life was saved by Lucy's intervention, who asked 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 ancestors Altaïr and Ezio, seeing Vidic and Lucy for their true allegiances, as well as countless scrawled messages and puzzles on the floor of the main laboratory.

Escape to the Hideout
"Wait! Why aren't I following Altaïr? Oh, shit..."

- Desmond discovering his lineage.

After having spent some time alone in the laboratory, Lucy suddenly arrived, covered in blood and demanding Desmond to get into the Animus before Abstergo would discover what she'd done. Desmond, rather confused, agreed and managed to sync with the closest genetic match between himself and Subject 16 recorded in the Animus’ memory core. Inside the Animus, he experienced the birth of another of his ancestors, Ezio Auditore. He instantly got pulled out, though, and both make their escape.

They were quickly spotted by Abstergo security and after Lucy locked a door to keep the security guards from getting to them, they turned the corner and were forced into an engagement with two more which Lucy quickly ended, allowing them to continue on stealthily. The two soon entered a glass elevator that led down to a large open room filled with office blocks that housed a large number of Animi. Following Lucy through the maze-like walkways between the Animi to avoid the guards patrolling the room they stealthily made their way through to the back, although Desmond's questions about the Animi are met with silence and Lucy telling him to "shut the fuck up...please." Upon reaching the keycode locked door of another elevator, Lucy tried to enter a code but failed, to which Desmond instinctively called upon his recently activated Eagle Vision to see the code and after successfully entering it. Lucy questions Desmond about how he knew what code to enter, which he could not give a proper answer, showing his obliviousness to the Bleeding Effect as they safely entered the elevator and rode it down. Once in the car park underneath the building, the two were halted by yet more of Abstergo's guards, but were able to overcome them and escape.

Arriving at one of the Assassins' hideouts, Desmond was introduced to two more Assassins – Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane – who have worked with Lucy over the years. Lucy told Desmond that they wanted him to become trained in the ways of the Assassin – 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 the ancestor that Desmond had synched with Subject 16 to find in Abstergo's Animus, Ezio Auditore. Desmond agrees to help almost immediately, which surprised Lucy, and was 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 an extended period of 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 new-found free running skills. Just as he began, however, he started suffering vivid hallucinations of the Crusader era and the Italian Renaissance. At first the visions were short, and were nothing to worry about, but after completing the task, Desmond was incapacitated as the visions became more real.

Taken back to medieval Acre by the bleeding effect, Desmond once again followed the memories of Altaïr, this time without the use of the Animus, and discovered Altaïr and Maria Thorpe conceived a child, Desmond's next ancestor after Altaïr.

The next day, Desmond had recovered from the experiences and returned to the Animus, neglecting to tell the Assassins what had happened. He continued to watch the genetic memories of Ezio Auditore, despite at one time being thrown out by &quot;corrupted memory sequences&quot;. Eventually, they learned that Ezio's nemesis, Rodrigo Borgia (Grand Master of the Templar Order), had become Pope Alexander VI in 1492 so as to gain access to yet another Piece of Eden, the Papal Staff, as well as 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 "god" hologram 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 was in fact talking to Desmond through Ezio. Mere moments after, Desmond was quickly pulled out of the Animus, and upon seeing the three rushing to collect their belongings, realized that the Templars had found their location.

Immediately after getting out of the Animus, Lucy tossed 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 appeared, flanked by Abstergo security officials with the intent of reclaiming Desmond. The two Assassins killed the Templars that assaulted them, with Desmond – now fully synchronized with Ezio – masterfully using his Hidden Blade to kill many of the guards himself. With his entourage eliminated, Vidic was left to confront Desmond on his own, but instead retreats, promising that their victory is only temporary. The four Assassins then fled north, and Desmond is hooked up to the Animus inside the van and told to continue to search through his memories for anything useful. Meanwhile, the other Assassins begin to discuss the nature of Minerva and her talk.

Monteriggioni
After the Abstergo attack at the end of Assassin's Creed II, the modern day Assassins traveled to Monteriggioni in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood to set up their new base. The Templars were actively searching for them and were analyzing the environment using cell phone towers, so they had to set up underground, in the Sanctuary under the Villa Auditore. Whilst searching the grounds of the Villa Auditore for a way into the Sanctuary, Desmond – through the bleeding effect – saw a vision of Ezio in the past, who led him to a high, narrow ledge and leaped off. Desmond immediately followed suit, performing his first-ever Leap of Faith into a pile of hay. Desmond and Lucy made their way to the Sanctuary underground via a tunnel used by Ezio and the villagers of Monteriggioni to escape after the attack. As they passed through the tunnels, Desmond saw more visions of Ezio and the villagers escaping, which worried him, making him wonder what would happen "if (he) can't stop the visions – how long until (he) started painting symbols on the walls." Lucy scolded him, telling him not to make light of his condition, and reminded him that Subject 16 was dead, and that he needed to focus. Desmond and Lucy used glow sticks to see in the tunnel, due to the lack of power. By this time, Desmond wore a Hidden Blade with three straps attaching it to his arm, although he wore no bracer with it. When the two reached the Sanctuary, Desmond saw another vision of Ezio, who seemed to have visited it in his old age. Before he opened the door to Mario's office, Desmond noticed the numbers 1419, 1420, and 1421 written on the walls, which he pointed out to the other Assassins. Shaun theorized the numbers to refer to dates, however he admitted that he needed to do further research. After the team set up underground, Desmond became in charge of bringing electricity into the Sanctuary by inserting a device of Rebecca's construction into four electrical power boxes, that would allow them to accumulate small amounts of power from each source. After that, he continued with his regular Animus sessions.

After finishing in the Animus, Desmond and the others learned that the Apple of Eden was hidden under the Colosseum. Upon traveling to Rome, the group separated as Desmond then tried to find a way for the others to get inside the Colosseum without needing to climb. Once they met up again, Desmond activated an elevator that took all of them down to the Apple's chamber. However, as he takes the Apple of Eden from its pedestal, Juno's voice is heard, saying that Desmond's DNA had activated the Apple. Juno then took control of Desmond's body, and forced him to stab Lucy in the abdomen with his hidden blade.

As Desmond starts to go into shock, he is returned into the Animus by two men of unknown affiliation whose voices can merely be heard.

Characteristics and personality
Desmond has an uncanny resemblance to both Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze, being the descendant of the two. Although they have very little in common about their personalities. Being a discreet individual, he does not wear extravagant clothing, and is accustomed to a white hooded jacket, jeans, and black sneakers. Interestingly, if raised, the hood exhibits a beak-like feature similar to Ezio's and Altaïr's.

In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, his attire differs drastically. He now wears a white hooded jacket with a red collar with little wings sewn on the back of it (though it no longer has an eagle beak-like hood), with a black shirt sporting an image of an eagle underneath. His sleeves are rolled up to reveal a black, tribal tattoo where the Hidden Blade should be. He is also equipped with a sling backpack, and a hidden blade without a bracer. Plus, he has gotten a little more paler.

Desmond was a gruff and cynical individual, who held a serious outlook on life. This was mainly due to him being aware of the Templars and Assassins since his youth, although he was initially unaware of Abstergo Industries being a Templar company. Despite this, he was not above jesting about 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 he spent a noticeable amount of time conversing with Lucy. After experiencing the bleeding effect, he is more doubtful of his sanity, as with what happened to Subject 16.

Equipment and skills
Being that Desmond was trained during childhood as an Assassin, he was proficient in basic reconnaissance skills, such as eavesdropping and pickpocketing. After about a week of being forced to relive the memories of his ancestor, Altaïr, Desmond began to experience the bleeding effect, and developed an extra-sensory ability called Eagle Vision. Later on, after willingly exploring the memories of his other ancestor, Ezio, Desmond learned how to free-run and use weapons. Not long afterwards, he was able to easily fend off a Templar attack with Ezio's combat skills.

Since synchronizing with Ezio, Desmond has been able to use all of the skills and abilities his ancestors could in real life. These skills may be used during the tests in the warehouse and the escape in Assassin's Creed II (where Desmond displays his agility and fighting prowess respectively), and during missions and whenever the player decides to leave the Animus and go into Monteriggioni as Desmond in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

Trivia

 * Desmond is modeled after Francisco Randez and voiced by Nolan North. Curiously, Randez also used to be a bartender before he became a model. This may have inspired the makers of the game to give Desmond the same profession.
 * Desmond possesses the same scar on his lip as his ancestors Altaïr and Ezio had, though how he acquired it is unknown.
 * Desmond and Altaïr share the same age during the first game, both being 25 years of age in 2012 and 1191 respectively.
 * Desmond is a descendant of Those Who Came Before and humans. Proof of this is his Eagle Vision, product of the unification of those two races, which also led to the birth of the first "Assassins", Adam and Eve.
 * Desmond has an A+ blood type.
 * Desmond's history shows that he never wanted to be an Assassin, nor does he have the skills yet before the second game to be one; as Shaun puts it "you didn't even try to escape." However in the graphic novel, included with the limited edition of Assassin's Creed, he does call himself an Assassin, and shows skills of stealth and lethality.
 * Desmond acquires a Hidden Blade at the conclusion of Assassin's Creed II. The original owner of the blade is uncertain, but its bracer is identical to the one Ezio Auditore inherited from his father, Giovanni Auditore.
 * The etymology of Desmond's name "the world" (or "man of the world" in Celtic) is not related to either of his ancestors, whereas Altaïr's and Ezio's names pertain to avians; Altaïr's being "the flying one" and Ezio's "eagle." His surname "Miles" is also the Latin word for "soldier." The name suits him, however, as he wanted to leave his parents' watchful eyes to see the rest of the world outside the compound, and refers to his role in saving the world from destruction.
 * Should the player achieve full synchronization in sequence 8 of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Desmond will appear as a playable skin in the Animus. The Animus states that the Desmond body was uploaded from the Animus memory banks. Despite only wearing one hidden blade, double kills are still possible.
 * Interacting with the statue of Altaïr in the Sanctuary at any point during the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood storyline will trigger Desmond to say "Hey, wassa-matta-you, Altaïr?", followed by Rebecca reprimanding him for being racist. This can be done as many times as the player wants after the cutscene.
 * In early images of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Desmond is seen with a beard identical to Ezio's. It is unknown why the beard was present then, and was later removed.
 * Despite being equipped with a hidden blade throughout Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Desmond only uses it twice; the first in the Auditore Family Crypt, to lower a platform for Lucy, and in the Colosseum Vault, to stab Lucy.
 * During the beginning of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, when Desmond and Lucy are traversing the secret entrance to the Sanctuary, the two will engage in a brief argument as to how to cross a ledge. Demond suggests that one of them give the other a boost into the air to reach the ledge, however, Lucy refuses. This is a reference to the game Uncharted 2, in which the protagonist Drake, who is also voiced by Nolan North, must often launch his female companions with a boost to get around certain obstacles. Later, Lucy and Desmond also begin using a catapult jumping technique exactly like that seen in Uncharted 2 to cross gaps in the path.
 * At the end of Assassin's Creed II, Desmond is able to perform the climb-leap ability, but in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, this ability is removed, and his climbing speed mirrors that of Altaïr's.
 * In Brotherhood, Desmond is practically invincible outside of the Animus, as he is able to survive, unharmed, from a fall from any height.
 * An exact replica of Desmond's shirt in Brotherhood (as well as one in an alternative color) can be purchased from UbiWorkshop.

Video
thumb|480px|left|Real Life Storyline: Desmond Miles, Lucy Stillman and Warren Vidic thumb|left|482px|Gameplay Video of Desmond

Notes and references
Desmond Miles