Aveline de Grandpré

"I stand with those who stand with me. I lure my prey through the guise of a lady. I escape unnoticed through the veil of a slave. And though I may conceal my identity, one thing is certain: commit injustice in this world, and I'll send you to the next. I am Aveline de Grandpré, I am an Assassin, and I fight for liberation."

- Aveline de Grandpré.

Aveline de Grandpré (1747 – unknown) was an Assassin of French and African heritage, who lived in the area of New Orleans during the middle of the 18th century. She is an ancestor to Subject 1.

Born to the wealthy French merchant Philippe Olivier de Grandpré and an African slave by the name of Jeanne, Aveline was raised in a comfortable and privileged environment. In 1759, after having lost sight of her mother, she mistook another woman to be her parent and reached out to her, attracting the attention of a group of slavers. However, she was rescued by an Assassin called Agaté, who recruited Aveline into the Assassin Brotherhood and became her Mentor.

By the age of 18, Aveline became aware of a slave trafficking operation being ran in New Orleans by a high-ranking Templar, known only as the "Company Man". After eliminating various of his subordinates, she was led to New York, where she sought the aid of Kanien'kehá:ka Assassin, Ratonhnhaké:ton, known by his adopted name of Connor.

With his help, Aveline discovered the Company Man had been her own stepmother, Madeleine de L'Isle, all along. Following a short confrontation in the de Grandpré mansion, Aveline fled to the bayou to inform Agaté, with disastrous consequences. She then returned to Madeleine, pretending to go along with her induction into the Templar Order, before she assassinated all the members present, thus finally ridding New Orleans of Templar influence.

In 2012, her genetic memories became the basis of a publicly released video game named Liberation, which was developed in partnership by Abstergo Entertainment and Ubisoft.

Early life
"On seeing her, he falls to his knees. He says he is ashamed. He begs forgiveness for keeping me enslaved all this time. He vows to grant us both our freedom."

- Jeanne, reflecting in her diary about Philippe's reaction to the birth of his daughter Aveline.

Aveline was born in 1747 to Philippe Olivier de Grandpré, and his African bride, Jeanne. Granted freedom along with her mother at birth, Aveline grew up in a caring and considerate environment, protected by her father's wealth and influence within the city. Although her father married Madeleine de L'Isle in 1752, Aveline and her mother Jeanne were allowed to stay at the de Grandpré mansion.

In 1759, whilst Aveline was accompanying her mother through the city, Jeanne mysteriously vanished after Aveline had let go of her hand in pursuit of a loose chicken. Chasing the animal for quite some distance, Aveline eventually lost it, having ended up at a slave auction. She briefly observed the slave trader, before she left to find her mother, using the alleyways to evade the sight of the slavers surrounding the stage. Aveline eventually found her way back, only to reach out and touch the wrong woman, who had been dressed in the same attire as her mother.

This mistake caught the attention of the city guards, who mistook Aveline for a slave child that was harassing someone. Confused, Aveline looked around for her mother again, before a guard roughly pushed her to the ground, arresting her. Shortly afterward, an escaped slave by the name of Agaté freed her from their possession, and recruited her into the Assassin Order, becoming her Mentor.

Rescuing Thérèse
"My brothers have vanished. Then my aunt [...] They ain't escaped as you say. They're taken."

- A slave, informing Aveline of the recent disappearances.

In 1765, Aveline set out during one night, a nightmare having ruined any chance at further sleep, where she received word from her trusted friend, Gérald Blanc. His letter alerted her to a plantation from which slaves were reportedly escaping, prompting Aveline to investigate. After ascending the Saint Louis Cathedral to scout out a dressing chamber, she hid inside a cart that would take her to the estate.

In her guise of a slave, Aveline managed to infiltrate the plantation's grounds and discovered that the slaves were not so much escaping as being outright taken. She subsequently climbed to the highest point of the estate, in the hopes of finding clues that led to Thérèse, a young slave that had been the latest to disappear. Led to a barn, Aveline found and freed Thérèse, but the duo were quickly intercepted by the plantation owner's son and his guards.

After overpowering them, Aveline escorted her companion out of the plantation, following which she returned home to seek the aid of her stepmother. Managing to convince the initially cross Madeleine, Aveline was then sent to buy traveling clothes while Thérèse was being tended to. After the young slave had been brought to safety by Madeleine's contacts, Madeleine assured Aveline she would aid her if similar situations ever arose in the future.

Assassination of Governor d'Abbadie
"The Order... is... the... future. The... the Templars will keep our colony... French."

- Governor d'Abbadie's final words.

That same year, Aveline visited her father's warehouse, where she overheard him complaining to Gérald about disappearing shipments, and resolved to uncover the cause. After Gérald's meeting with her father's business partner proved fruitless, Aveline decided to bribe her way aboard the ship from which the goods had disappeared and met the vessel's captain, Carlos Dominguez. In her guise as a lady, Aveline easily charmed the captain and, while he was distracted, managed to slip away with some documents detailing the location of the merchandise.

Aveline later met with Gérald, who told her that some of the documents she had stolen mentioned a known Templar, Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer. Additional information revealed that he was present in Louisiana and was working with its French governor, Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie. Intent on discovering what the two men were up to, Aveline infiltrated the governor's mansion during a social soirée.

Navigating the mansion's hallways, Aveline eavesdropped on a meeting between the governor and de Ferrer, who talked about the plans of a mysterious individual referred to as the "Company Man". She also discovered their deal to ensure d'Abaddie remained as governor, provided he smoothed the hand-over of the colony to the Templars and supplied de Ferrer with workers for a secret Templar operation. Aveline subsequently assassinated the governor, who claimed in his final words that the Templars would keep the colony under French influence.

Conflict in the Louisiana Bayou
"Deep in the bayou, a dangerous impostor spreads real roots [...] Who is this impostor, and what are his affiliations? This, you will need to uncover."

- Agaté, informing Aveline of the arrival of an impostor in the bayou.

The following year, Aveline received word from Agaté and traveled to his hideout in the Louisiana Bayou to meet him. There, she was informed that a man impersonating the deceased François Mackandal, an Assassin and Mentor to Agaté, was attempting to overtake smuggling operations in the bayou. After receiving additional training in the use of a blowpipe, Aveline set out to uncover the imposter's identity and his affiliations.

On the advice of Agaté, Aveline traveled to the settlement of the smugglers Roussillon and Élise Lafleur, arriving just in time to save them from some of Mackandal's followers. In return, Élise reluctantly helped Aveline to navigate the bayou in search of Mackandal's men. After eliminating both of his followers' encampments, Aveline and Élise uncovered a sacred ceremony being held by Mackandal on the Eve of Saint John, though the exact location remained unknown.

With the help of the Houngan of San Danje, Aveline managed to track Mackandal down to Lake Pontchartrain, where she discovered that his real name was Baptiste and that he was in league with de Ferrer. Hidden nearby, Aveline overheard his plans to poison the nobles of New Orleans, then force Agaté out of hiding and finally deliver him to de Ferrer, who promised Baptiste membership into the Templar Order in return. With the aide of Élise, who distracted some of Baptiste's underlings, Aveline snuck closer as the ceremony began.

Aveline confronted Baptiste, but was hit by his poison dart as she attempted to kill him. However, she managed to recover from the poison due to an antidote she had ingested beforehand, allowing her to overpower Baptiste's bodyguards and eventually, Baptiste himself. In his final words, he revealed that he had personally known both her mother Jeanne, and her Mentor, Agaté. Upon returning to Agaté, however, Aveline did not mention what she had discovered, as she did not fully trust her Mentor, given that he had kept this information hidden from her.

Louisiana Rebellion
"This Spanish "gouverneur" has placed so many restrictions on trade, even plantation owners are practically "begging" for an excuse to riot."

- Gérald, about the laws implemented by Spanish governor Antonio de Ulloa.

The same year, the Spanish governor and Templar adviser Antonio de Ulloa arrived in New Orleans. In 1768, he placed strict trade laws and restrictions over the colony in order to benefit the Templar Order. In response, French Creoles rebelled against de Ulloa's regime, creating unrest in New Orleans.

While on one of her trips to the warehouse, Aveline happened upon a scuffle between civilians and Spanish soldiers. Saving them from the better-armed soldiers, she learned of the vagrants and slaves that had been disappearing recently, but was unsure how to prove the involvement of the Spanish. Aveline then met with Gérald at the warehouse, where she received a special parasol and was informed of a business rival, monsieur Bouché, that had been slandering the de Grandpré's reputation, impacting sales.

After having dealt with the detractor, Aveline journeyed to the bayou to consult Élise on the recent disappearances. Despite their efforts, they were unable to uncover where the slaves were going, though they did manage to confirm the Spanish were involved. Back in New Orleans, Aveline decided to go after governor de Ulloa, from whom the directive was most likely coming.

De Ulloa had taken shelter in La Balize from the rebels, prompting Aveline to incite a massive riot and then destroy a military vessel of the Spanish fleet, in an effort to draw him out. With the Spanish governor preparing to leave La Balize, Agaté called Aveline to Saint Peter's Cemetery, where he gave her the order to kill de Ulloa, to prove her loyalty. With an elaborate ambush, Aveline managed to take out the envoy and, upon interrogating the governor, learned that the slaves taken from New Orleans were being transferred south, to Mexico.

Against Agaté's orders, however, Aveline chose not to kill de Ulloa, allowing him to flee the city in return for a lens used to decipher encoded Templar documents, a map leading to the worksite at Chichen Itza and the promise of de Ulloa to go into exile. This merciful act continued to harm Aveline's already damaged relationship with her Mentor.

Journey to Chichen Itza
"You find pieces of the Prophecy Disk, saving me the effort... If you weren't my enemy, I would take you for my friend! Our aims must not be so different for all the help you give me."

- De Ferrer, explaining the similarity of his and Aveline's goals.

A year later, Aveline traveled to Chichen Itza, once again disobeying Agaté's explicit wishes, in order to unravel the mysteries of the slave trafficking operation. While there, she encountered Thérèse, the slave Aveline had previously rescued from captivity, who, along with various other slaves, seemed perfectly happy to be at the worksite. Despite this, not all slaves were enthusiastic about their predicament, with a few even rebelling. Aveline freed one such slave, procuring a whip in the process, and found out that a woman named Jeanne was stationed at Chichen Itza.

Convinced it was her mother, Aveline investigated and found evidence that her mother was indeed there. Among pages found from Jeanne's diary, Aveline discovered a map detailing the location of an ancient artifact deep within a cenote. With this in mind, Aveline navigated the underground cave system and uncovered ruins from the First Civilization, unearthing a fragment of the Prophecy Disk, an ancient artifact.

Moments after obtaining the fragment, Aveline was met by de Ferrer, who had reached the ruins by blasting through a rock wall. Though she managed to kill him and his underlings, Aveline was unable to give him his last rites, with the cave rapidly collapsing due to de Ferrer's explosives, forcing her to quickly make her escape. At the end of the tunnels, she found her mother, Jeanne. However, this reunion was short-lived, as Jeanne, realizing that Aveline was an Assassin, refused to disclose any information to her and fled the mines.

Tracking Vázquez
"I am aware. He bribes Spanish troops. But I already have plans to outwit them. I will use their superstition against them."

- Agaté, on his plans to outsmart the Spanish soldiers in the bayou.

After her escapades at Chichen Itza, Aveline returned to New Orleans in 1771 and continued her search for the identity of the Company Man. Heading to the warehouse, she spoke to Gérald, who informed her that, despite the Spanish putting in place new laws that would ease Aveline's efforts, Spanish soldiers were raising havoc in the bayou. Reunited with her weapons, Aveline set out to chase down a lead, in the hopes of uncovering who these soldiers were working for.

Upon investigating, Aveline discovered that a man by the name of Vázquez was using Spanish soldiers to seize control of the bayou. Fearing he would eventually learn the location of Agaté's hideout, Aveline hurried to her Mentor's hut and warned him of the danger. Under his instruction, Aveline followed Vázquez's soldiers to each voodoo checkpoint set up by Agaté, silently poisoning enough of the Spanish troops so that the rest believed they had fallen under a curse and subsequently fled.

Following this, Aveline met with her smuggler allies, who informed her that Vázquez was attempting to divert a supply ship. In response, Aveline disabled the lighthouse on Lake Pontchartrain, causing the ship to run aground on a nearby island. Afterwards, Aveline and the smugglers set out to plunder its cargo. Along the way, they successfully defeated Vázquez's guards and reached the ship, where Aveline discovered documents, containing orders to reclaim the worksite in Chichen Itza. Fearing for her mother's safety - and perhaps hoping to find the second half of the Prophecy Disk - Aveline returned to Mexico.

Return to Chichen Itza
"I traded one enemy for another. And they will not rest until they have what they seek."

- Jeanne, on the Templars' pursuit of the Prophecy Disk.

In 1772, Aveline returned to Chichen Itza to locate the second half of the Prophecy Disk. Upon arriving there, she made peace with her mother, who asked her to retrieve the second piece of the artifact, so that she might finally be free from the prying eyes of the Templars. Aided by a map from Jeanne, Aveline found her way to a lone canoe that would allow her to navigate the cenote's rapids.

Upon reaching a waterfall, Aveline was forced to abandon the canoe and briefly continued on-foot, traversing a large rock formation that allowed her entrance into the underwater network. Exploring a range of underwater tunnels, some of which were filled with traps, she eventually came upon a tall chamber filled with rubble. After ascending it, Aveline found the entrance to a large room constructed by the First Civilization, where she acquired the final piece of the Prophecy Disk.

Afterwards, Aveline returned to her mother with the artifact and offered to take her back to New Orleans. However, Jeanne decided it was best to stay behind and take care of the community in Chichen Itza, which was free of Templar influence, thanks to Aveline's intervention. Promising to remain in contact, Aveline then returned to New Orleans.

Aiding George Davidson
"Futile murder... beautiful death. She... will make you suffer."

- Vázquez, on the identity of the Company Man.

A year later, Aveline's father fell ill, though she continued in her quest to uncover the identity of the Company Man, Louisiana's head Templar. At the request of Madeleine, her stepmother, Aveline helped a slave named George escape New Orleans and travel to the bayou. Upon arriving there, she asked her smuggler allies if they could help provide George safe passage through the swamp, but Élise and Roussillon were already in the process of delivering supplies from the Spanish to American Patriots fighting in the Revolutionary War and were facing opposition from rogue Spanish soldiers.

However, with the aid of Aveline and George, the smugglers managed to deter the troops, allowing them to reach their destination with their cargo intact. While conversing, the Patriots mentioned Vázquez, who wasn't very keen on the arrangement between the revolutionaries and the Spanish governor, causing Aveline to resume her hunt for the Templar. Before leaving, she asked the Patriots if they would allow George to accompany them to the North, to which they agreed and accepted him into their ranks.

From there, Aveline returned to New Orleans and spoke to Gérald, hoping to learn more information on Vázquez. However, several of Gérald's informants had been recently killed off, giving the pair little to go on. They decided to attend the Capitán's Ball, a prominent soirée, in the hopes of finding Vázquez there. After locating the Templar, she charmed him and lured him to a quiet corner, where she assassinated him. However, to Aveline's surprise, Vázquez revealed that he was not the Company Man, and that Louisiana's head Templar was in fact a woman. That same night, her father passed away.

Journey to New York
"Who do you serve? And do you really think yourself free? "Charity should begin at himself," Miss Aveline."

- Officer Davidson, about Aveline's position as an Assassin.

In the winter of 1777, Aveline traveled to New York to locate a Templar named Officer Davidson, intent on prying the Company Man's identity from him. Assisted by her Assassin ally Connor, Aveline uncovered the location of her target, a nearby fort. After having neared the stronghold, encountering some resistant Loyalist troops along the way, the pair decided to split up.

While Connor distracted Davidson's guards, Aveline discreetly infiltrated the fort and confronted the Templar in the watchtower. To her shock, Aveline discovered that his true identity was George, the slave she had helped flee north. Leaving her to fight his underlings, George fled the tower and locked Aveline in, forcing her to climb all the way up and escape through the broken roof. Despite the obstruction, Aveline managed to foil George's escape and finally uncovered the true identity of the Company Man from him: Madeleine de L'Isle, her stepmother.

Severing ties with Agaté
"Oh, what have I wrought? I should have stayed with your mother. You should have been my child. Raised as a daughter, not twisted into this... monster!"

- Agaté, reflecting on his relationship with Aveline's mother.

Aveline returned to New Orleans and confronted Madeleine, who did not deny her accusations and admitted that she had known all along that Aveline was an Assassin. Furious, Aveline refused her order to stay and ran outside, only to face her guards. After a brief skirmish, Madeleine reappeared, dissuading Aveline from further resistance, and lamented the fact that they had to argue.

Following this, Madeleine insisted that she genuinely loved Aveline, especially since she wasn't able to bear children herself. She continued, stating that Aveline had been kept alive in order to eliminate the unethical elements of her Templar circle, such as de Ferrer, an obvious ploy to persuade Aveline to join the Templars. Pointing to the broken relationship between Aveline and her Mentor, Madeleine argued that their aims were the same and offered that Aveline join the Templars, to finish what she started.

After this, Aveline made her way to the bayou and told Agaté of her situation. However, her Mentor could not accept his failure to protect his student, and, believing that Aveline had aligned herself with the Templars, attacked her, calling forth illusions of the Templars she had slayed. Even so, Aveline defeated the hallucinations and chose to spare his life, but Agaté, unable to live with the humiliation, dove from the very top of his treehouse to his death.

Confrontation with Madeleine
"It does not work! [...] All these wasted years... A lifetime of sacrifice and -- We have all the pieces, I am certain of it. Unless..."

- Madeleine realizing she'd fallen for Aveline's ploy.

Aveline made her way back to New Orleans and gave Agaté's necklace, which she had obtained when she unsuccessfully attempted to save him, to Madeleine, as proof of his death. Madeleine then inducted Aveline into the Templar Order and took the two halves of the Prophecy Disk from her. However, upon the artifact failing to work as Madeleine had expected it to, she grew frustrated, allowing Aveline to strike, as her induction was merely a ruse to destroy the Templars from within.

Aveline assassinated all of the Templars present, leaving Madeleine for last. As she lay wounded, Madeleine asked Aveline why she would betray her as she had. Aveline coldly retorted that she had two parents whom she truly loved, and that Madeleine was not one of them. She then blamed her for killing her father with her "care" and her tonic, secretly, for enslaving her mother, and for her intention of making Aveline a slave to the Templar cause.

To this, Madeleine insisted that it was for the greater good of humanity, as work had always been the "divine purpose" for which they had been created. In response, Aveline defiantly claimed that she would never be forced to serve another and assassinated Madeleine afterwards. Following this, she recovered the Prophecy Disk and used the locket her mother had entrusted her with to activate it, which projected a hologram of beings from the First Civilization, who spoke about Eve briefly in a conversation before it ended.

Recruiting Patience Gibbs
"A friend sent me -- Connor. He will offer you safety and training."

- Aveline attempting to recruit Patience into the Brotherhood.

In 1784, Aveline traveled to Goat Island on the request of Connor, with the intention of locating Patience Gibbs, an escaped slave, and recruiting her to the Assassins. Due to Aveline's name being known among the slaves, he hoped she might be more successful than he had been.

As she searched for Patience's rebel camp, Aveline came across a slave being harshly interrogated by a pair of guards. After dispatching them, she found out Patience's camp had been discovered and subsequently taken over, with Patience herself having been taken prisoner. Freeing the captured slaves, Aveline was eventually advised to track down the Patriot captain, which she did.

Under pressure, he revealed Patience had been taken to Fort Washington for interrogation on the orders of a Templar doctor named Edmund Judge, who also happened to be Patience's former master. Making it to the outskirts of the fort, Aveline witnessed Patience being taken in and sent to jail after she refused to hand over her mother's charm, a mysterious artifact.

Aveline infiltrated the fort via a set of underground tunnels and freed Patience, but the latter refused her help and attempted to escape the fort on her own, only to be recaptured by Judge, who forced her to give up the charm. As Judge left his men to dispose of Patience, Aveline came to her rescue, before cornering Patience at a cellar where Judge fled to. After explaining her intentions, Aveline agreed to help Patience recover her charm in exchange for her allegiance.

The two women navigated the tunnels leading to Newport Tower, where they confronted Judge, who had failed to properly activate the artifact, and killed him. Retrieving her charm, Patience revealed she had kept a crucial piece necessary to activate it. Following this, she demonstrated the charm's function; it allowed her to "see into all things" for a few seconds, as exemplified by her finishing Aveline's sentences, before accepting membership into the Assassin Brotherhood.

Personality and characteristics
"I seek liberty and freedom, not for myself, but for those whom such fundamental rights are denied. I am their shield, their sword, their only hope. The roads I travel are dark, but they bring me closer to the light."

- Aveline de Grandpré.

As she grew, Aveline developed into an independent and strong-willed woman, who was often torn about the values she had inherited from her parentage, which compelled her to form her own core beliefs. Since a young age, Aveline began to notice the contrasts in society – wealth and poverty, freedom and slavery – and as an Assassin, she firmly strived towards securing humanity's freedom and imposing justice, with a vehement stance against enslavement.

As a nobleman's daughter, Aveline was expected to be dainty and polite, an act she dutifully upheld in front of her father, whom she loved very much. In truth, she held little interest in frivolous parties or potential husbands, being a very work-oriented person. In some ways, she appeared to be more at home in the bayou than New Orleans, relishing in its "scent of action" after having been away for a long time.

Due to her being pulled in either direction by the Assassins and Templars, she questioned whether fighting as an Assassin was the right thing to do or not. While in New York, she asked her fellow Assassin, Connor, if he ever questioned their ideals; he responded without taking side with either faction, but rather explained that he trusted in his own abilities to distinguish right from wrong.

Equipment and skills
Aveline was a skilled freerunner, able to climb trees and swing from one to another, as well as scale cliff faces or other natural elements. She could move through the cityscape just as easily, and was able to slide under or vault over obstacles within urban environments. After acquiring a whip in Chichen Itza, Aveline was able to cross even larger gaps, using it to swing from beams that were out of reach.

Accompanying her capacity to move fluidly, Aveline was able to wield several different weapons - including a whip, firearms, swords, knives and axes, a blowpipe and Hidden Blades. Her ability to dual-wield various combinations of these weapons allowed Aveline to take out multiple enemies in a short amount of time. Aveline also possessed the extra-sensory ability referred to as Eagle Vision, allowing her to identify enemies, allies, targets, hiding spots and clues.

Aside from her weapons, Aveline possessed three distinct guises that she could make use of, composed of the Lady, Assassin, and Slave, all possessing their own advantages and disadvantages. Dressed as an Assassin, Aveline would automatically be notorious to some extent, making the Assassin outfit unfit for missions that required stealth. However, it was the most suited to navigation, as well as combat, giving Aveline access to her entire arsenal.

In her Slave outfit, Aveline was able to blend into the poorer masses of New Orleans and remain undetected by executing menial tasks, such as moving boxes or sweeping the floor. Her ability to incite riots compensated for her lack of armor, which made her weaker in combat. Accompanying this, as a slave, Aveline was able to freerun, though her notoriety would automatically rise every time she did so, making the persona more suitable for ground-based missions.

Finally, the Lady outfit allowed Aveline to use charm and bribery to achieve her goals, although it severely limited her weaponry and prevented her from freerunning. Aveline later received a parasol designed by her friend and ally, Gérald Blanc, that had the ability to shoot small poison darts from its tip, similar to her blowpipe. As the daughter of a nobleman, Aveline had also been taught to dance and play the piano.

Trivia

 * Aveline possessed similar characteristics to Desmond Miles and his ancestors, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze, namely the same scar on their upper lip, and the ability to use Eagle Vision. Despite this, she had no known biological connection with Desmond or his lineage.
 * Aveline is the first female protagonist in the Assassin's Creed series and one of two playable characters to have worn a hat instead of the symbolic white hood of the Assassins (the other being Haytham Kenway), though it retained a beak-shaped tip.
 * However, an Assassin hood could be purchased from tailors and equipped on Aveline's Assassin persona.
 * The name Aveline is a diminutive form of the name Avila, itself from Germanic element avi, the meaning of which is uncertain, but thought to be "desired". Similarity to the Latin avis, "bird", is a coincidence. "Grandpré" is a name formed of the French words grand, meaning "great", and pré, meaning "meadow".
 * While concept art depicts Aveline as having green eyes, they appear to be dark brown in Assassin's Creed III: Liberation.
 * The developers toyed with the idea of making Aveline Ratonhnhaké:ton's love interest in The Tyranny of King Washington, but the idea was dropped as the characters' motivations and personalities were considered to be too different.