Cyril of Rhodes

"You are meddling in affairs far outside your understanding."

- Cyril to Ezio's pupil.

Cyril of Rhodes (unknown - 1511) was a member of the Templar Order, formerly associated with the Eastern Orthodox church. He was hunted by the Assassins in the early 16th century as part of Ezio Auditore da Firenze's training of Assassin recruits in Constantinople; Cyril's death was the capstone assassination for one of Ezio's recruits, as well as sealing the Assassin influence in one of Constantinople's districts.

Later, in 2012, his genetic memories were used as an Animi Avatar by the Templar company Abstergo Industries, for the training of their Animus recruits, under the title of the Deacon.

Early history
"Is it any wonder that I should turn to men with more honor, more courage, and more vision? I regret nothing."

- Cyril's last words.

Cyril of Rhodes was originally a priest for the Eastern Orthodox church. After being publicly shamed and humiliated by the Patriarch of Constantinople for "actions unbecoming the Eastern Orthodox Faith," Cyril spent a decade plotting revenge against his former masters. No longer a believer in the doctrine that he once espoused so passionately, he used his nominal position in the church to erode it from within, in order to further the Templars' ideology.

The plot
As Cyril made plans to kill the Patriarch, an Assassin apprentice heard of these rumors and told the Italian Assassin Mentor, Ezio Auditore, upon being made master of the Bayezid North Assassin Den. Despite this, the rumors only specified a Templar operative working in the nearby district, and since they did not know Cyril's exact identity, the pair both began their search to find out who the operative was, eventually coming across a member of the church that Cyril was a part of. There, the contact described Cyril of Rhodes, his history and whereabouts.

Forthwith, Ezio and his apprentice arrived at the location their contact had described and came across a group of people matching the given description. Since they all looked alike however, Ezio attempted to use his Eagle Sense to locate Cyril from the other two similarly dressed individuals. It was too late, however, as his apprentice had acted in haste, already striking the wrong man and giving Cyril the chance to escape with his life intact.

The assassination
Once his apprentice had gained sufficient experience, Ezio brought the recruit to continue the hunt for Cyril. When they went to visit their contact, the pair discovered him to have been murdered, killed by the Templar in order to silence him. With this in mind, Ezio used his gift to follow Cyril's tracks from the body. Finally spotting the deacon consorting with civilians, Ezio decided that his apprentice needed to create a diversion so that he could follow Cyril unnoticed.

Following his orders, the recruit ran up and stole Cyril's pouch, starting a chase between the two, with Ezio following closely behind. The apprentice led Cyril to a small balconied area near to the city's Thieves Guild before revealing their allegiance to the Assassins. With anger in his voice, Cyril proclaimed that he would not let an Assassin stop him from achieving his goal and attempted to fight off the apprentice, but Ezio was quick to kill the man with his Hidden Blade before he could harm anyone else.

Final words

 * Cyril: What do you hope to hear, Assassin? That I regret my associations? Never. Rome abandoned us in our time of need, the west turned a blind eye to the Ottoman juggernaut. Is it any wonder that I should turn to men with more honor, more courage, and more vision? I regret nothing.
 * Ezio: Requiescat in pace (Rest in peace).

Trivia

 * Cyril is a name derived from the Greek word kyrios, meaning "lord."

Reference

 * Assassin's Creed: Revelations