Aguilar de Nerha

Aguilar de Nerha (1455 – 1526) was a Master Assassin and Mentor of the Spanish Brotherhood of Assassins during the 15th and 16th centuries. He is an ancestor of Callum Lynch, who relived his genetic memories in the year 2016, through the maternal line.

Early years
Aguilar de Nerha was born in 1455 to two members of the Assassin Order. Despite this, Aguilar did not officially join with the Spanish Assassins until after his parents were burned at the stake as part of Tomás de Torquemada's Spanish Inquisition. During his childhood, Aguilar was the close friend of Máximo Barrosa, whom he later recruited into the Brotherhood after his own training. Aguilar was trained by Mentor Benedicto before being formally inducted into the Order in 1492. As part of the ceremony, he had his ring-finger amputated as was traditional among the Assassins of old. During his training, Aguilar also grew close with his sparring partner, Maria, and the two began a romantic relationship.

Aguilar's first mission was to spy on a meeting between Torquemada and his top enforcer, Ojeda, during which he learned that the King and the Queen had given command of the Spanish army to the Grand Inquisitor and that the Templars were about to set a new plan in motion. Meeting with Maria, the senior Assassin tasked Aguilar to gather other Assassins and set a new base of operation in an abandoned fortress of the Sierra de Cazorla, from which the Assassins harassed the Templars.

Rescuing the Prince
Later, the Spanish Assassins tried to ensure the safety of Prince Ahmed of Granada, the son of Sultan Muhammad XII of Granada, whom the Templars were searching for in order to ransom him against the Apple of Eden they knew to be in the Sultan's possession. Together with Maria, Benedicto, and a number of other Assassins, Aguilar ambushed a Templar force led by Ojeda in a small Andalusian village where the Prince had been hiding.

Despite the Assassins being outnumbered and eventually overpowered, both Aguilar and Maria managed to escape the village with the Prince, though they were quickly pursued by Ojeda and a number of his soldiers. The pursuit lasted some time, but eventually Aguilar was cornered and imprisoned by the Templars.

Escape through Seville
Following their arrest, the surviving Assassins were transported to Seville, where they were denounced as heretics and sentenced to burn at the stake by Torquemada. In the presence of the king of Aragon and queen of Castille, Aguilar watched as Ojeda lit the pyre beneath Benedicto’s feet, burning him alive. Despite this however, Aguilar was able to escape his bonds and engaged the Templars as they closed in. He eventually managed to also free Maria and together, the two Assassins made their escape through the streets of Seville. Once more pursued by Ojeda and his soldiers, this time across the rooftops of the city, the Assassins made their way to Seville Cathedral, which was under construction at the time. They managed to eliminate several of their Templar pursuers in the process, before finally making their escape by climbing the cathedral’s scaffolding and performing a Leap of Faith into the streets below.

Retrieving the Apple
On 2 January 1492, at the urging of the Italian Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze - who also happened to be in Spain at the time - Muhammad XII surrendered his capital, Granada, to Torquemada's forces. As the Templars entered the city both Aguilar and Maria made their way to the Sultan's palace, where they stood watch as the Sultan reluctantly handed over the Apple in exchange for his son's safety, before they made their move.

Dropping smoke bombs into the room, both Assassins quickly eliminated many of the Templars, before Aguilar captured Torquemada and claimed the Apple. Unfortunately for the Assassin however, Ojeda had managed to apprehend Aguilar’s lover, Maria. Ojeda promised to release his captive once Aguilar returned the Apple to Torquemada; Aguilar reluctantly agreed, but before he could act, he witnessed Maria take her own life with Ojeda's blade to prevent him from betraying the Creed to save her life.

Enraged by her death, Aguilar engaged Ojeda in combat but was gradually overcome by his opponent's sheer strength. It was only after he had been knocked to the ground that Aguilar managed to gain the upper hand, using Maria’s launchable Hidden Blade to attack Ojeda and render him defenseless to Aguilar's strikes. With Ojeda dead, a heavily wounded Aguilar was forced to make his escape through the tunnels beneath the palace as Torquemada opened the locked door of the room to the rest of his men.

Aguilar was eventually surrounded on one of the bridges leading from the city, but once more escaped by performing a Leap of Faith into the river far below.

Securing the Apple and later years
Following the events in Granada, Aguilar realized that the Apple would never be safe from the Templars if it remained in his possession. He made his way to Huelva, where he charged Christopher Columbus, an ally of the Assassins in Spain, with protecting it.

Aguilar continued to serve the Assassins, eventually gaining the rank of Master Assassin and later became the new Mentor of the Spanish Assassins. He died in 1526, having fathered at least one child during his lifetime.

Legacy
Aguilar's actions ensured the Apple of Eden would remain hidden from humanity for many centuries, literally having been taken to Columbus' grave. However, in 2016, Abstergo Industries located the last remaining descendant of Aguilar, Callum Lynch, and had his execution by lethal injection faked so they could have him relive his genetic memories through the Animus 4.3. In this way, the location of the Apple was eventually revealed, causing it to temporarily come into the possession of high-ranking Templar Alan Rikkin; not long after, Callum assassinated Rikkin and reclaimed the artifact.

After Callum had finished relieving Aguilar's memories, Aguilar would later appear as a ghostly vision along with his other Assassin ancestors, ultimately convincing Callum to embrace his Assassin heritage and fight along with the other Assassins in the facility.

Personality and characteristics
Aguilar was a committed member of the Assassin Brotherhood, dedicated to preserving free will and fighting against the Knights Templar. He also possessed a deep understanding of the political climate in 15th century Spain and knew Tomás de Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition had to be stopped.

Equipment and skills
A capable fighter, Aguilar could handle himself against multiple enemies in both armed and unarmed combat, wielding a range of weapons including swords and spears with great skill. Additionally, he proved to be proficient at archery, using a bow and arrow to deadly effect in both long and close range combat.

Like many Assassins, Aguilar was also trained in freerunning, being able to move across the rooftops of Seville quickly and creatively, ducking in and out of buildings and dashing across ropes in an effort to lose his pursuers. He had also mastered the Leap of Faith, using it on two separate occasions to escape from his enemies.

Equipment-wise, Aguilar possessed dual Hidden Blades as his primary weapons, one of which was equipped with a grappling hook. He also had throwing knives and smoke bombs at his disposal. The robes Aguilar wore showed Moorish influences, being adorned with beads and embroidery.

Trivia

 * Despite the the fact that the Levantine Mentor, Altair Ibn La-Ahad, redesigned the Hidden Blade so as to not require the removal of the ring finger, Aguilar still goes through the process of removal and commitment to the Creed.
 * Aguilar, and his modern day descendant, Callum Lynch, are both portrayed by Michael Fassbender in the Assassin's Creed motion picture.
 * "Aguilar" is a Spanish surname meaning "relative to eagles". "De Nerha" is potentially a misspelled form of "De Nerja", which means "From Nerja", with being an Andalusian town.
 * Aguilar was buried with his Hidden Blades, which would later be recovered by Abstergo Industries and used during Callum's Animus sessions to enhance synchronization.
 * Aguilar, his descendant Callum, and Maria all wield their primary hidden blade on their right hand wrist in the Assassin's Creed film. Whether this was standard practice of the Spanish Assassins or a select few is unclear.

Appearances

 * Assassin's Creed: The Movie (first appearance)
 * Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization
 * Assassin's Creed: Rebellion