Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (الطائر ابن لا أحد in Arabic) (born 1166) is the main protagonist in Assassin's Creed, as well as the ancestor of Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Desmond Miles.

Early Life
Altaïr was born to an unknown couple, consisting of a Christian woman and a Muslim man. During his childhood, he left his parents at Masyaf in order to join the Assassins order. He was then trained and raised by Al Mualim and quickly rose among his brethren in skill, gaining status with his teacher and eventually becoming Master Assassin and Instructor. Altaïr states that he never really knew his parents as a child, as he was constantly training. When they died he felt thier deaths like the deaths "of a stranger."

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
Altaïr's backstory before the events revealed through Desmond Miles' memories, Altaïr is still a high-ranking assassin who is tasked with recovering an artifact known as Chalice. In order to find it, he had to acquire three keys and fight off Templars, killing many of them on his way. During his adventures, he also managed to temporarily protect Acre from the siege and even discovered a traitor amongst the Assassins. It is later revealed that the Chalice is in fact a woman named Adha, but she is kidnapped by Templars under the leadership of Lord Basilisk.

Altaïr succeeds in killing Basilisk, but is unable to save Adha, who is taken away by ship. Altaïr yells that he will find her, but whether he succeeded or heard of her again is unknown until Assassin's Creed II, where one of the Codex pages reveals that he later caught up to Adha and had found her corpse. In the text, Altaïr states that he held her corpse and exacted vengence on those that killed her. It is hinted that he loved her, and her death deeply hurt him. The circumstances of Adha's death are not made clear.

Assassin's Creed
"A small sacrifice to save many. It is necessary."

- Altaïr

1191, in the midst of the Third Crusade, three Assassins – Altaïr, and the brothers Malik and Kadar – were sent by Al Mualim to explore the catacombs of Solomons Temple in Jerusalem to intercept an artifact the Knights Templar are searching for. After progressing through the catacombs, Altaïr breaks two of the tenets of the Assassin's Creed, confident in his mastery as an Assassin. Finally, upon seeing the arch-enemy of his Order – Robert de Sable – Altaïr attempts to slay the Templar Grandmaster, but is easily thwarted, and thrown from the temple, leaving Malik and Kadar trapped with the Templars. Upon returning to Masyaf Altaïr informs Al Mualim of his failure to acquire the Templar treasure and was being lambasted when Malik returns alive with a bloodied arm and with the artifact, alone. Before any further action can be taken, the Templars attack Masyaf, taking the village and besieging the castle; Altaïr leads the defense of the castle, sneaking behind the Templar army and unleashing a torrent of felled tree logs; crushing the Templar army. Once the attack was over, the matters of his actions in the Temple Mount were addressed once again. Altaïr, having broken all three tenets of the Creed, failing to acquire the Templar treasure and causing the death of a brother and the incapacitation of other, is deemed a traitor to the Creed.

Al Mualim judges before the whole order, and stabs him in the stomach with a dagger.

Altaïr then wakes up from his 'sleep of the dead' and questions Al Mualim of his survival, the Grandmaster answering only that "…[Altaïr] saw only what [Al Mualim] wanted him to see…". Stripped of rank and possessions by Al Mualim, Altaïr was given a chance at redemption; starting as a novice once again and hunt down the traitor within Masyaf who had allowed the Templars entrance. Successfully, Altaïr returns to Al Mualim and is rewarded with the return of his Hidden Blade and longsword. Once again officially a member of the Order, Altaïr is offered an exchange; the lives of nine men for the life of his own.

The Nine
Altaïr starts his quest, leaving Masyaf and riding through the kingdom on horseback to Damascus, location of the first target, Tamir. Arriving there, he goes to the local Bureau and asks permission for the assassination. The dai denies it, ordering Altaïr to first gather information about his target. Going through the city's poor district, Altaïr interrogates informants, pickpocket letters and maps and eavesdrop on conversations around him, acquiring the lcoation of the target. Returing to the Bureau with this info, he receives a permission for the kill and a white feather, to be wet in the victim's blood as proof of the murder. In a plaza of the market district, Altaïr witness Tamir slaying a bussiness partner, and kills him while he does a round around the tends. Returning to the Bureau, Altaïr is directed to Al Mualim again, who congratulates him by the accomplishment and rewards part of his equipment back. Altaïr the leaves to the other cities, Jerusalem and Acre to his next targets.

Arriving at Jerusalem's Bureau, Altaïr is harshily received by Malik, that Bureau's new leader. Malik then sends him to the investigations, returning when he has the necessary information. After receiving the permission and the feather, Altaïr enters Talal's slave complex, but is ambushed by his followers. Dispatching of them, he chases Talal throughout the rooftops and streets, finally catching up to him and putting a hidden blade on his neck.

Altaïr returns to the Bureau, reports to Masyaf and then goes to Acre, where Garnier de Naplouse is to be killed.

At Acre, he meets the Bureau leader and gather info about his target, then receives the feather and permission for the kill. Infiltrating Garnier's hospital, Altaïr watches him make the rounds on his patients and strikes him from above. A city wide alert is issued, and after escaping from the hospital and hiding in the Bureau, Altaïr returns to Masyaf to a talk with Al Mualim.

Gaining another part of his equipment back, Altaïr proceeds to Damascus to finish off the merchant king, Abul Nuqoud. After investigating and receiving the feather from the Dai, he proceeds to the merchant's palace where a party is being held. Infiltrating the palace, Altaïr arrives at the Abul's speech, where he order his archers to shoot on the guests he calls "false friends and liars". The assassin proceeds up the palace from the courtyard, kill the archers and stalks upon the roof of Abul's sacade. Falling down and taking out his bodyguard, Altaïr proceeds behind the Merchant Kings and stabs him, ending the massacre. The palace and the town are set on full alert, and Altaïr escapes the palace while losing his pursuers. Arriving at the Bureau, he reports success and move to Masyaf and then to Acre.

At Acre, Altaïr is set to kill Richard the Lionheart's nephew, William of Montferrat. He discovers that William is receptioning Richard, and infiltrates his fortress at the seaend of the city. Killing the Marquese of Montferrat, Altaïr leaves to city to Jerusalem.

At Jerusalem, Altaïr finds his 6th target, Majd Addin. The unlegitimate ruler of Jerusalem, he personally kills the people he judges criminals. During of his public executions, Altaïr blends thorugh the crowd and jumps up to Addin at the stage, killing him and running from the guards afterwards. Once the alert is cleared, Altaïr returns to Masyaf.

With most of his weapons back, Altaïr leaves for Acre again. His 7th target, Sibrand, was a Teutonic leader paranoid with fear of assassins, what were made only worse by the recent murders and rumors thorughout the land. Reporting to the Bureau and investigating, Altaïr goes to the port district, where he watches Sibrand kill a scholar under accussion of being a assassin and retires to his docked ship. Altaïr navigates through the ports morons and docked boats, arriving at the side of Sibrand's ship and striking him down. The alert was sounded, and after escaping, the eagle moves to Damascus.

Damascus, where Jubair al Hakim, Head Scholar of the city, is burning every book in the city. Altaïr gathers information about his whereabouts and move in for the kill, but finds that Jubair and all his followers dressed alike. Searching each of the burning books points, Altaïr metodically takes down one by one, eventually killing Jubair. Leaving for Masyaf After escaping, Altaïr prepares for his 9th and final target.

Robert de Sable, Grand Master of the templars, was in Jerusalem for the funeral of Majj Adin. Gathering inteligence for the strike, Altaïr proceeds to the cemetery, but a ambushed is unveiled. He enters in a sword fight with Robert and his men, and the Templar runs away while Altaïr kills the last guard. In pursuit, Altaïr charges at de Sable from behind, and when preparing to deliver the final blow, his helmet falls off. Ataïr stares at shock realizing it's a woman, not de Sable who is beneath the mask. Sparing her live for being a innocent and a decoy, Altaïr leaves for Arsuf, the location where the girl reported Robert where to be found.

At Arsuf, Altaïr fights his way through hordes of Saracen and Christian troops, eventually reaching Robert, and discovers that he was trying to convince Richard the Lionheart to join forces with Saladin to destroy the Assassins. Altaïr tries to convince Richard of Robert's plot to overthrow him, but Richard doesn't know who to trust and lets God decide. Altaïr and Robert fight to the death, and Altaïr emerges victorious.

At his dying breath, Robert reveals to Altaïr that Al Mualim was, in fact, a Templar. Allowed to leave by Richard, he returns to Masyaf and finds out that the people of the town had been put in a hypnotic trance. making his way up to the fortress, Altaïr engages in a fight with Masyaf's hipnotized gaurds, heavily outnumbered. And suddenly, Malik and a few other Assassins arrive. Helping him clean out the house, Altaïr sends them to attack the fortress' back, creatinga distraction in order to him reach Al Mualim.

Reaching the castle gardens, Altaïr confronts his former master. Al Mualim reveals that he used the Piece of Eden recovered at Solomon's Temple to control the minds of the people and ensure uther and absolute peace, and that Altaïr's mission was to wipe out the remaining Templar leaders and end the crusades by sabotaging both sides. Out of the sudden, Altaïr is attacked by the nine men he'd kill, and defeats one by one. Realizing they were guards disguised as those illusions by Al Mualim, Altaïr charges at his former master, which also proves to be a illusion, teleporting around the place. Attacked by multiple copies of Al Mualim, Altaïr counters a sword hit and kills the real one, putting an end to the hypnotic trance. After hearing his last words, Altaïr takes The Apple from the side of his master's dead cold hand, and a holographic image of the Earth appears from the object into thin air, with the location of another Pieces of Eden highlighted. Malik arrives at Altaïr's side, and the memory log stops.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
After defeating de Sable, the remaining Templars flee from the Holy Land to Cyprus. an island in Greece. Altaïr leads an attack to Acre's port and meets Maria, who stayed behind. She joined him, and after seeing the events that unfolded, was convinced that the way of the Templars were not right. She and he traveled east, and a romance began.

Legacy
During the Cyprus' events, Altaïr began working on a Codex, a encrypted journal where he reported his discoveries and thoughts.

His relationship with Maria bore at least two children, and his discoveries from the Piece of Eden led to a complete revamp of the Assassin's ways.

Beside the intellectual findings, The Apple's knowledge taught him to upgrade the Hidden Blade mechanism, create a firearm and a nearly indestructible piece of armor, besides other technological advances.

In 2012, the Templar organization Abstergo kidnaps Desmond Miles, Altaïr's descendant, to "read" the memories encoded into Miles' DNA. Using the Animus, Miles "plays" though his genetic memory oversee by researchers Dr. Warren Vidic and Dr. Lucy Stillman in order to find a specific memory about the Piece of Eden for the Templar's project bent on "a New World Order". Lucy proves to be a modern day assassin as Desmond was been trained to be in his early life, and they both flee Abstergo.

The fate of Altaïr remains unclear.

Assassin's Creed II
At 1459, Altaïr had been presumably dead for hundreds of years. His Codex was pieced together by his descendant, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, which took it to Leonardo Da Vinci to decrypt it. Leonardo used the instructions there contained to upgrade Ezio's equipment, creating another Hidden Blade, a hidden Gun, a poison blade and many others.

Also, left in a locked chamber at Monterrigioni at the Auditore Villa, was located Altaïr's unique set of armor, which was unlocked by Ezio by recovering the 6 Assassin Seals that acted as keys found in legendary Assassin Tombs.

Characteristics and personality
Altaïr was raised at the Assassin's Fortress at Masyaf, and possessed of incredible skill, quickly rose among the ranks of the order. A cold and objective person, he fully devotes himself to the cause he choose to pursue.

He had a rebellious nature; he was impetuous, overconfident, demanding, arrogant, self-centered and impatient. After the failure at Solomon's Temple, being demoted to Initiate and sent after nine targets, Altaïr begun listening to the final words of his victims, their revelations involving them and their justifications for their deeds. As his mission progresses, his attitude changes and he start to perceive more between the lines and actions of the world while drawing upon the teachings of the "Assassin's Creed", prior a guide, now truly a creed. At the end of the conflict, all of his brash and rebellious nature had been put under control, and he became a calm, focused, driven, humble, patient and wise man.

With a body in perfect shape and a determination hampered by nothing on Earth, Altaïr was one of the most respected and feared Assassins on the Order, second only to the brotherhood's leader, Al Mualim.

After the death of Al Mualim, Altaïr took command of the Sirian branch of the Brotherhood. As Master Assassin and Leader of the Assassin's Order, he proved to be a great leader, a true student from Al Mualim, but not corrupted by the Apple's power.

Smart and dedicated, his studies and determination to ensure "peace in all things" made sure the order survived to fight for that for as long as it was necessary, as he understood that the new world would have no place for the current ways of the assassins.

Also, his cold personality did not upholded his emotions. Altaír is known to have fallen in love at least twice, with Adha, who unfortunally died and was avenged subsequently, and Maria, de Sable's suposed daughter, who became his lifetime partner, wife and was the mother of his children.

Equipment and skills
Altaïr was a master assassin and a instructor, capable of extraordinary acrobatic feats, adept of social stealth, and fully apt in the application of deadly arts.

Trained extensively, he was able to overcome any obstacle, human or terrain. No opponent were a match to him, and for the complete duration of the events at Assassin's Creed, he never received more than a superficial injury in all the countless heavily outnumbered battles he faced. He was able to get anywhere, climbing the tallest tower and jumping from the highest ledge without a hint of fear. Striking a target at the heart of Acre's fortress to slaying a high-ranking officer in front of a king, Altaïr was literally unstoppable.

Like other assassins;he was trained in stealth assassination techniques, hand to hand and weapons combat, blade throwing, climbing, urban acrobatics, eavesdropping, interrogation, pick pocketing and anything else that may help complete a mission. Besides the physical prowess, he also had extensive knowledge of the Holy Land politics and religion, which helped the assassins understand their opponents.

As a high member of the Order, Altaïr possessed a array of weapons at his disposal, comprised of a one-handed longsword, a short blade, throwing knives and the iconic Hidden Blade.

The Hidden Blade--a weapon similar to a katara-- is used for close-range assassinations. It is mounted on the inside of his left hand gauntlet, and when deployed, extends between the space left by his amputated ring finger. He flicks a trigger on a ring to make the blade appear where his finger had once been. The amputation was part of the initiation at the Assassin's sect, and it was used to ensure the commitement of whoever wielded it, giving a finger for a blade.

Altaïr also possed an ability called "Eagle Vision", a sort of "sixth sense", a strong feeling, instinct or intuition, that lets him see people's intentions. On the visual display of the Animus, guards appear in red, allies in blue, citizens with information in white and assassination targets in gold-yellow.



Behind the Scenes
The name Altaïr is an Arabic word, which means "The Flying One". In interviews, the game's producer Jade Raymond has stated that in mid-air, Altaïr's shadow resembles that of an eagle, beacuse his attire includes a point at the front of the hood (to resemble a beak) and slits through the back of the outfit (to resemble tail feathers). The second part of his name, Ibn-La'Ahad means 'son of none', reflecting his mysterious origins.

His face, as Desmond's, is modeled after canadian model Francisco Randez.

Trivia

 * Altair also has three different voices throughout three of the Assassins Creed games. His voice in "Assassins Creed: Altair's Chronicles" sounded a bit higher and not as deep as the original Assassins Creed game. His voice in "Assassins Creed: Bloodlines" had more of a Middle Eastern accent than the one in the original game. As no information has been revealed about this, the possibility of different sound encoding can't be disconsidered.
 * The Altaïr costume can be unlocked in the game Metal Gear Solid 4 by simply putting in the correct password at the extra's screen, or by having alert 50 times or below. It can also be unlocked for Prince of Persia (2009). Users have to register at the Ubisoft Website and then link that account to an Xbox 360 Gamertag or PSN screen name.
 * Altair's Outfit can also be used in Assassin's Creed 2. You can download it on UPlay for 30 Upoints. Ezio's ring finger will also vanish when this outfit is worn, as instead of "in-Animus real clothing" it is a virtual visual database skin from the original memories.