Ah Tabai

"From within and without come enemies and allies alike. Nothing in life is guaranteed, except surprise..."

- Ah Tabai.

Ah Tabai (1660 – unknown) was a Mayan Assassin during the early 18th century, and a Mentor operating in the Caribbean. His noteworthy students included Mary Read, Duncan Walpole and Adéwalé.

Early life
Born in the 1660 to the Assassin Bahlam, Ah Tabai spent the entirety of his youth with the Order. In 1673, he briefly met the Sage Thom Kavanagh when his father brought the man to the Assassin compound, and subsequently traveled with them to prepare the Sage for his journey to the Observatory.

By 1705, Ah Tabai had a son, but the child died before his tenth birthday.

Mentor of the Caribbean Assassins
By 1713, Ah Tabai had risen to the rank of Mentor. That year, rumors began circulating of the appearance of a new Sage and Ah Tabai, believing it was the Assassins' duty to protect the Observatory, sent word to various Assassin outposts in an attempt to track the man down. However, two years later, the effort had yielded no results.

Prior to 1715, Ah Tabai met Mary Read in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and elected to take her on as a student. In early 1715, Ah Tabai also met the Assassin Duncan Walpole, who requested to train under the Mentor directly. Over the course of the next few months, Ah Tabai came to regard Walpole as one of his most trusted colleagues.

In June of that year, the Caribbean Assassins received word that a Sage - Bartholomew Roberts - had been captured by the Templars and was being transported via prison ship to Havana. Ah Tabai tasked Walpole with gathering Assassin forces throughout the region and launching an assault on the ship.

It was only after Walpole left the Brotherhood's base in Tulum that Ah Tabai learned of his defection to the Templar Order. However, the full extent of Walpole's betrayal was not realized until later: after a failed attempt by the Assassins to recover the Sage via ground assault, it was discovered that a Walpole had intended to present a blood vial and maps marking the location of Caribbean Assassin bureaus to the Templars. Instead, they had been delivered by the pirate Edward Kenway.

Quest for the Sage
Ah Tabai was present when Mary brought Edward to Tulum in 1716, and demanded to know Walpole's location. Edward admitted to killing the man in the midst of a confrontation. Although he expressed no sorrow at Walpole's death, Ah Tabai confronted the pirate for having killed the Assassins sent after the Sage, and for unwittingly providing the location of Assassin bases to the Templars.

Mary informed her Mentor that Edward had "the Sense", and that he had met the Sage, staying Ah Tabai's hand. After confirming that Edward would recognize the Sage if he saw the man again, Ah Tabai allowed Mary to escort Edward into a temple to see if a bust of the Sage within resembled Roberts.

When the two returned, the village had been seized by British soldiers sent by the Templars. After Edward worked to free both Assassins and his own crew, Ah Tabai noted his noble actions, but remarked on his arrogance, stating that he had not earned the right to wear the Assassin robes he had taken from Walpole. Ah Tabai declared Edward absolved of his actions in Havana and elsewhere, but said he was not welcome in Tulum.

Welcoming pirates
In 1720, Ah Tabai met with Edward's quartermaster, Adéwalé, after the man was forced to abandon his captain in Long Bay, Jamaica. Disillusioned with the defunct Pirate Republic in Nassau, Adéwalé was in search of a nobler cause and spoke with Ah Tabai at length, inquiring about the nature of Assassin Order. Pleased with what he learned, Adéwalé joined the Assassins, and Ah Tabai took him on as a student.

Several months later, news reached Tulum that Edward was imprisoned in Port Royal, along with Mary and Anne Bonny. Adéwalé and Ah Tabai devised a scheme to rescue the three, and Ah Tabai himself traveled to the prison to execute it.

Releasing Edward from a outside of the fort, he offered the man safe passage in return for assistance in rescuing Mary and Anne. Though they successfully saved Anne, Mary died as a result of sickness from childbirth in the prison's unsanitary conditions. When Edward brought her body to Ah Tabai's boat, Ah Tabai presented him with the Assassin robes taken from Walpole, saying that while he had not earned them, they suited him.

After drinking heavily to drown his sorrow at Mary's passing, Edward returned to Tulum at Adéwalé's request. Having come to terms with his flaws, Edward asked Ah Tabai to help him redeem himself, as Mary's dying wish had been for him to make amends and join the Assassins.

Ah Tabai acknowledged Mary's high opinion of Edward, and the two briefly conversed about the principles of the Order, with Edward offering his perspective. Though admitting it was an undeveloped one, Ah Tabai nevertheless encouraged him, saying that it was a significant step up from the man he had met seven years before.

The two were interrupted by a Spanish attack on the island, which Edward assisted in repelling. Following the battle, Ah Tabai assigned Edward three assassination targets: Woodes Rogers, Bartholomew Roberts and the Templar Grand Master, Laureano de Torres y Ayala.

Fight at the Observatory
After Edward killed Torres in the Observatory in 1722, Ah Tabai arrived and congratulated him before inserting the Crystal Skull which powered the Observatory back into the armillary sphere. He declared that the Observatory should remain sealed until such time as the next Sage was found.

Edward then revealed that when he last visited the Observatory with Roberts, there were hundreds of blood vials present that were now gone. He promised to help recover them after he returned home to Bristol to see his wife, Caroline. Remorsefully, Ah Tabai handed over a letter which had arrived for Edward a week prior, informing him of the death of his wife and the existence of his daughter, Jennifer Scott.

Before reuniting with his daughter, Edward offered Ah Tabai and the Assassins the use of his Manor on Great Inagua. Although Ah Tabai believed, as Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad had, that the Order should decentralize and live with the people it sought to protect, he readily accepted the offer.

Trivia

 * "Ah Tabai" is the name of a Mayan god of hunting and protector of animals.

Reference

 * Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag