Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (الطائر ابن لا أحد in Arabic) is main protagonist in Assassin's Creed, as well as the ancestor of Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Desmond Miles. His first name, "Altaïr", means 'Bird of Prey' or 'Eagle'. His last name Ibn-La'Ahad means "Son of None".

Early Life
Altaïr was born to an unknown couple, consisting of a Christian woman and a Muslim man. During his childhood his parents left Masyaf for unknown reasons, though Altaïr felt little at their departure due to the nature of the Assassin order. Prior to the events of the series, Altaïr trained under Al Mualim and quickly rose among his brethren in skill. This caught Al Mualim's eye and favor, and Altaïr was eventually promoted to the rank of Master Assassin.

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
Altaïr's backstory before the events revealed through Desmond Miles' memories. In the prequel, Altaïr is still a high-ranking assassin who is tasked with recovering an artifact known as Chalice. On his way to find it, he has to acquire three keys and fight off Templars. It is later revealed that the Chalice is in fact a woman named Adha, but she is kidnapped by Templars under the leadership of 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 has he eventually succeeded or heard of her again is unknown. In Assassin's Creed II, 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
"You're wrong. And that's why you must be put to rest."

- Altaïr to Jubair

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Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
Some point after the events of Assassin's Creed, Altaïr travels to the island of Cyprus in an attempt to eliminate the remaining Templars. This is also mentioned in one of the Codex Pages in Assassin's Creed 2.

Legacy
It is known that after Bloodlines, Maria bore at least two children with Altaïr, as the codex mentions he will have her talk with their sons. Also before his death, he wore a new armor, the same armor that would one day be worn by his descendant Ezio Auditore da Firenze as his Master Assassin Armor. This armor is the symbolic color of black, signifying the upper most rank in the Assassin Order. His death is unknown, but it is likely he either died in battle or in old age with his children and Maria watching over him as he passed away. It should be noted however that in his last entry into the codex he remarks about his temptations and his ability to call for the Apple and use it to extend his life, as he states "I know the knowledge is there." The fate of Altair remains unclear.

Assassin's Creed II
At the point in which Assassin's Creed II begins, Altaïr has been dead for hundreds of years. However, it is known that he left a Codex that his descendant, Ezio, will find. In it, he left a secret map which reveals the locations of Pieces of Eden scattered all over the world.

It is also shown that Altaïr bore at least two children with Maria, the templar woman who took Robert de Sable's place in Jerusalem during the first Assassin's Creed.

Altaïr's armor is accessible in the game, but acquiring it is not necessary for completing the story. It is available to the player after exploring six Assassin`s Tombs and collecting the seals therein. When brought to the vault in the Villa Auditore, all six seals will open a gate, behind which lies Altaïr's armor.

You can also get a Altaïr costume in the game from the Uplay store for 30 points. Curiously, Ezio also loses Altaïr's missing finger while wearing the clothes.

Characteristics and personality
Altaïr is an ancestor of Desmond Miles and his memories are encoded into Miles' DNA. Abstergo Industries abducted Miles in order to use the Animus on him, which would decode his genetic structure and extract vital information from the memories of Altaïr, in a project bent on New World Order. Altaïr is a master assassin instructor, capable of extraordinary acrobatic feats, a master of social stealth, fully adept in the application of the deadly arts, and a member of the Assassins' Order. Near the beginning of the game, he is demoted to the Assassins' Rank of Novice and removed of all his equipment save for his robes. In order to regain his status, he must publicly assassinate nine men who are involved in exploiting the war hostilities in the Holy Land.

Altaïr travels between the four cities (Jerusalem, Masyaf, Damascus, and Acre) to kill his victims. His extensive knowledge in the deadly arts are without question at the level of an instructor, able to infiltrate any fortification completely unnoticed, brush shoulders with a primary assassination target without alerting them to his hostile presence and strike from any direction, a testament of his undeniable mastery over "Hiding in Plain Sight", showing his understanding of the "" and the importance of the second tenet. Altaïr, bound by the second tenet of the "" has mastered the ability to become one with the crowd, so that his deadly presence and approach is masked entirely from his intended target. His ability to blend in and appear as just another face in the crowd, makes it much more possible to get in extremely close to a target and silently assassinate them using the Hidden Blade without alerting the immediate surrounding environment. Whether investigating or silently assassinating, Altaïr constantly remains anonymous out of his instinctive assassins nature, remaining anonymous for Altaïr is second nature, very briefly exposing himself to the public's eye preparing (even though very rare and extremely short in length and for good reason) to strike during a public assassination of one of "The Nine", and even public assassinations do not guarantee Altaïr's exposed appearance, he is a master assassin instructor and is highly skilled in adapting to changing situations and the changing environment, knowing all too well in how to still maintain control in the constantly dangerous and changing environment, possession of such sharp perceptional skills carries over into how he reads the crowd for any slight sign of danger. Sharp sense of awareness, will aid Altaïr greatly in survival moving about the dangerous cities, and kingdom throughout the Holy Land. As stated Altaïr's acrobatic skills help in both assassination and escape, he uses these skills to strike from many different locations and directions, mainly from affront, above, and behind when performing public assassinations which have all been recorded in virtual history according to entry wound. Altaïr's assassination expertise is unquestionable, seeing how he can appear from the crowd undetected, and quickly kill anyone he focuses on silently, then blends immediately back into the crowd. During primary assassinations Altaïr clearly knows the meaning of subtlety. Altaïr stalks the district most affected by the targets corruption, obtaining information on where and when he will be so that he may plan to properly strike. Using that knowledge better prepares for the opportune moment to strike.

Observing, and moving silently about the large crowds that usually gather within the kill zone as only a "blade in the crowd". Altaïr strikes without flaw or mercy making him very efficient in the exact moment of the strike. Highly educated upon the politics involving the Crusaders and Saracens and their religious philosophies, this educational training will help Altaïr in better understanding their territories, and the numerous factions within. It will give better perspective on perhaps why men choose certain paths in life and as the Assassins better know themselves and understand not to judge their targets but embrace their perspective on what they call justifiable action, but to put it after our own philosophy of "peace in all things". For any who threaten our cause will die under the shining sun in public. Altaïr knows that when the opportune time presents itself to strike, he must not show mercy to the target for their politically sanctioned death will ensure peace returns or so our philosophy depicts it when taught. Altaïr's social mastery ensures that low-profile kills performed while hiding amongst the crowd will succeed, allowing him to eliminate any guards patrolling the streets. Altaïr is a master at anonymous travel and the silent approach, when moving about the city streets seeking out his target Altaïr moves with the crowd as the crowd, then at the moment to strike his target, he moves as a cloaked white ghost. To get caught in the crowd with Altaïr silently stalking you is imminent death. It is as if the target is lost in a heavy and thick fog shrouding a forest of death, only its a sea of people moving about in different directions until one of those sudden bumps turns out to be the sharp Hidden Blade being extended into one of your vital organs. During escape such skills come in handy for quickly seeking high ground or space between the encroaching city guard. When ranked a novice, Altaïr was ordered to start tracking his targets personally by Al Mualim. He showed that, in combination with social stealth mastery and tracking knowledge, blending into the crowd and becoming simply another face in the crowd allowed Altaïr to carry out his assassination target investigations more easily.

His social stealth expertise helps when dealing with Crusaders and Saracen guards. When moving about a city looking for a highly public figure marked for assassination one must never call for attention, it runs the risk of possibly breaking the second and third tenet within the "". Altaïr is trained extensively on how to traverse the city disguised as a holy scholar. Dressing as a scholar allows the silent eagle assassin to get close enough to a target without raising suspicion before striking. Scholar robe disguises aid in assassinations due to the simple facts they happen in broad daylight within the open public for the people to witness and spread news of its happening and the disguise masks your true appearance and intentions. This disguise also makes travel easier as scholars have less restraint within the cities, and applying the proper mannerisms to aide the disguise helps that much more. Through experience and instinct Altaïr keenly observes the environment remaining alert at all times to the extremely active guard presence that surrounds him.

Equipment and skills
Like other assassins Altair is trained in stealth assassination techniques, hand to hand and weapons combat, blade throwing, climbing, urban acrobatics, eavesdropping, interrogation, and pick pocketing.

Altaïr's most interesting weapon is the Hidden Blade--a weapon similar to a katar, which 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. This amputation was part of the initiation for becoming an assassin of the Hashshashin sect. Altaïr also uses a combination of throwing knives, a sword, the Hidden Blade, and his fists. The throwing knives are very useful for taking down archers. Use of the sword is slower than use of the dagger, of which is fast and light and can be used in tandem with the throwing knives. However, attacking with the sword is much more damaging to the enemies than when using the dagger. Altaïr also uses an ability called "Eagle Vision," a sort of "sixth sense" that lets him see people's intentions. Guards appear in red, allies in blue, citizens with information in white and assassination targets in yellow.

Behind the Scenes
The name Altaïr is an Arabic word, which means "The Flying Eagle". In interviews, the game's producer, Jade Raymond has stated that while in mid-air, Altaïr's shadow resembles that of an eagle. This is because of his attire, which 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 no-one', reflecting his mysterious origins. It has been revealed by Raymond that his father was a Muslim and his mother a Christian. His appearance is remarkably similar to Desmond's, only a few scars seeming to separate their appearances at first glance. His rebellious nature and mission failure would lead to his severe demotion, placing him on the same level as a raw initiate to the Assassin Order. That same attitude cost Malik his left arm, as well as the life of his brother Kadar at the beginning of the story. As the situation progresses and Altaïr listens to the final words of his assassination victims, listening to their revelations involving them and their justified corrupt deeds within the Holy Land and their cities, his attitude changes and he becomes less impetuous, overconfident, demanding, arrogant, self-centred and impatient, learning to perceive more between the lines and actions of the world while drawing upon the teachings of the "Assassins Creed". Near the end of the conflict, all of his brash and rebellious nature, has vanished behind a demeanour of calm, focused, driven, humble, more patient and higher wisdom of understanding. But with this he learns what it is the "Assassins Creed" truly means, and recommends of him as an Assassin.

Trivia

 * Jade Raymond, producer of Assassin's Creed, revealed during an interview at the Ubidays 2007 that Altaïr was born to a Muslim father, and a Christian mother.