Arno Dorian

Arno Victor Dorian (1768 – unknown) was a French-Austrian Master Assassin active during the time of the French Revolution.

An orphan who blamed himself for the death of his adoptive father, Arno sought redemption by joining the Assassins in 1789 and working to expose the true instigators of the Revolution, whilst also avenging him in the process.

Biography
Born to an Austrian mother and a French Assassin father, Arno was raised in a noble household in Versailles; due to his upbringing, he was well educated, having access to tutors and books.

However, in 1776, when Arno was eight, his father was murdered. He was subsequently adopted by François de la Serre, the Grand Master of the French Templars, out of respect for his enemy; he raised Arno alongside his own trouble-making daughter, Élise. Wishing not to corrupt the memory of Arno's biological father and bring his pupil to the Templar Order, Élise's father kept his Templar involvement a secret from the young boy.

Despite this, the Grand Master died some years later in a similar manner to Arno's birth father – murdered – during a coup orchestrated by another Templar. Wracked with guilt and blaming himself, Arno sought out the Assassins to find redemption, through discovering his adoptive father's murderer and the motivations leading to his death, as well as to help those suffering injustice.

Personality and characteristics
With his troubled past, Arno set out on a quest to find redemption, using this goal to help others in the turbulent time of the French Revolution. As a newcomer to the Assassins, he was prone to questioning their typical approach and age-old beliefs, but was aided in the field by his stealthy and ruthless nature.

Arno was witty and charismatic but also no-nonsense, which fed into his sharp sense of humor, falling back on it whenever he felt emotionally vulnerable. Due to the fact that he was well-educated, Arno often quoted classical books, though his noble upbringing did not prevent him from cheating at card games.

Equipment and skills
Arno often wore a dark blue hooded coat, waistcoat, and breeches with leather gaiters, rather than the stockings which were fashionably popular in his time, though he was not adverse to altering his outfit to blend in or gain an advantage in combat.

In regards to weaponry, Arno used the Phantom Blade – a wrist-mounted crossbow that fired poison darts – as well as a French cutlass and a multi-barreled pistol. A dynamic leader and a skilled swordsman, he stopped at nothing to uncover the truth about the forces controlling the Revolution for their own gain.

Trivia

 * Arno's name is a derivative of German Arnold and French Arnaud. Its old German origin is Arenwald, meaning "eagle power", from arn "eagle" and wald "power" or "governing". Victor is Latin for "conqueror", while Dorian is a Greek name meaning "gifted".
 * Arno is the third of four playable characters not to be related to Desmond Miles, with the first being Aveline de Grandpré, the second being Adéwalé and the fourth being Shay Cormac.
 * Arno is also the second playable Assassin to develop a romantic attraction towards a Templar, the first being Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad with Maria Thorpe.