Siege of Viana

"How did you find me?"

- Cesare Borgia "Mario Auditore led me here"

- Ezio Auditore

In 1503 Rodrigo Borgia, Grand Master of the Knights Templar died of poison, and with his death Rome was fully liberated from the Borgia rule. Soon after his fathers death Cesare Borgia, commander of the Papal Army, was arrested by the new Pope, Julius II. In 1504 Cesare was exiled to Spain and imprisoned at the Castle of La Mota, Medina del Campo, from which he escaped and joined his brother-in-law King John III of Navarre.

The Siege of Viana
After Cesare's arrest and exile to Spain, Ezio, who remained in Rome, was discussing this with his closest friend Leonardo da Vinci. Ezio believed that Cesare remained a threat even with his arrest. Leonardo encouraged Ezio to use the Apple to see into the future. Ezio did so and left Rome for Spain immediately after using the Apple of Eden.

When Ezio finally tracked Cesare down in Viana, Spain in 1507, a siege on the town had commenced, as Cesare, commanding King John's army of 10,000 men, had planned to win the battle, gain the support of the French again and take back Rome.

When Ezio arrived at Viana the battle had already started as the soldiers fought each other on the battlefield and cannons destroyed the Castle, town and countryside region he wasted no time and charged into battle. Ezio found Cesare alongside his men on the battlefield and without hesitation he charged towards Cesare. Cesare was able to block the Assassin's attack, but Ezio was still able to overpower Cesare, but was stunned as a wave of cannon balls attacked the area. Regaining conciousness, Ezio began to pursue Cesare and rode through the Viana warzone on horseback trying to reach what was once an olive field. Eventually, cannonballs kill his horse, forcing him to travel on foot. Ezio, being attacked constantly by waves of soldiers on both side of the conflict, made his way towards the castle wall and Cesare who battled on top. Ezio climbed a siege tower to the top and began the battle with the former Papal Captain-General.

Confronting Cesare
After finally reaching Cesare at the castle wall the two men battled for the first and last time. Cesare attacked with his sword and pistol, but Ezio was able to overpower Cesare by breaking of pieces of his armor with the Hidden Blade. He eventually pinned Cesare down and told him that a true leader empowers the people he leads. He then decided to leave Cesare in the "hands of fate" and threw him off the castle wall.

thumb|350px|right|Siege of Viana and Cesare death

Aftermath
After Cesare's death, Ezio returned to Roma and reunited with the other Assassins. Ultimately deciding the Apple was too dangerous for the hands of man, Ezio would later seal the First Apple away in Juno's temple beneath the Colosseum.

Trivia

 * In the story trailer for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Ezio and Cesare are seen confronting each other alone on the castel wall, but this scene never happened in the actual game and was most likely a deleted scene from the finshed version of the game.
 * Although the Siege of Viana is where Cesare Borgia died in actual history, there is very little recorded information on the event, and is somewhat a historical mystery in terms of the outcome and important specific details, such as the amount of troops involved.