- "The worm has grown a spine... now he's a snake."
- ―Arno describing la Touche, 1791.[src]
Aloys la Touche (unknown – 1793) was a former tax assessor who became a member of the Parisian Rite of the Templar Order during the French Revolution.
Initially an enforcer for the Roi des Thunes at the Cour des Miracles, la Touche advanced up the Templar hierarchy after his master's assassination. He was later sent to Versailles to spread the Reign of Terror by carrying out mass executions.
Biography
Working for the Roi des Thunes
- Beggar: "Please, no! I've done all I can, it's the times! No one wants to-"
- La Touche: "His Grace doesn't care about excuses. He cares about results. If you can't make your quotas, he makes... adjustments. Doctor, cut his foot off."
- —La Touche punishing one of the beggars, 1791.[src]
Before the French Revolution, la Touche was part of the middle-class and worked as a tax assessor. However, after discovering that 10,000 livres had been stolen from King Louis XVI's treasury and reporting this to his superior, la Touche was dismissed from the office and charged with bribery.
Unable to find employment elsewhere, he became frustrated with the aristocrats controlling the administration of the kingdom, believing that they were more interested in personal profit than doing their jobs. Disillusioned and disgraced, la Touche joined the Cour des Miracles, where his newfound cruelty and his knowledge of the economy helped him become the right-hand man of the Roi des Thunes.
While at the tavern one night, he was approached by Charles Gabriel Sivert, who had heard the tales la Touche had been telling about his new master. The Roi des Thunes' subsequent involvement in the murder of Grand Master François de la Serre led to both men being recruited into a radical faction within the Templar Order, with at its head the self-proclaimed Grand Master François-Thomas Germain.
As a result, the Cour des Miracles became a way of funding the Templars, with the rising quotas being viciously enforced by la Touche; those who did not meet the required amount were crippled to inspire more pity from Paris' citizens. On January 19, 1791, la Touche made his rounds as usual, following which he returned to his clinic.
Upon arriving there, la Touche concluded something was amiss and quickly hurried inside. Shortly thereafter, he was confronted by the Assassin Arno Dorian, who used shackles attached to a nearby wall to restrain the Templar. Fearing for his life, la Touche quickly succumbed to Arno's demands and gave up the location of the Roi des Thunes.
La Touche reporting to the Roi des Thunes
After the Assassin's departure, la Touche managed to free himself and rushed to the catacombs to warn his master, who ordered his enforcer to lead a search party and eliminate Arno. However, when la Touche actually came across the Assassin, he sealed himself behind a gate and pointed Arno in the direction of the Roi des Thunes, before fleeing the sewers. His master was subsequently assassinated and control over the Cour des Miracles passed to the Marquis de Sade.
Enforcing the Reign of Terror in Versailles
- "So, this is what France has come to. Parasites bleeding the Revolution dry."
- ―La Touche overseeing a public execution, 1793.[src]
A month or so later, la Touche met up with other high-ranking Templars at the Hotel de Beauvais to discuss their next move with Germain. When Marie Lévesque expressed her concerns that they were being targeted by Chrétien Lafrenière, he informed her that an Assassin had been manipulated into killing the man. La Touche then fetched Frédéric Rouille, whom he berated for having a prisoner thrown out of a window, noting that it could alert someone to their meeting with Germain.
Germain explaining la Touche's task
After the Grand master had laid out his plans and prepared to leave, la Touche trailed after him and asked what he needed to do. He was subsequently introduced to and placed under the command of fellow Templar Maximilien de Robespierre, with the intent of spreading the Reign of Terror in Versailles once the revolution had sufficiently radicalized. La Touche would go on to arrest and execute dozens of people, causing him to be feared and hated among the populace.
In late 1793, la Touche held another public execution, condemning the prisoners for being traitors to the revolution. In actuality, most of them were merely guilty of stealing bread to feed themselves and their families, but the Templar ordered them brought forward anyway. To his surprise and horror, however, the first prisoner was Arno himself, who quickly broke free and stabbed la Touche with his Hidden Blade. From his memories, Arno discovered Robespierre's ties to the Templar Order and marked him as his next target.
Trivia
- In the internal files of Assassin's Creed: Unity, he is named "Treville la Touche".
- In the Unity novel, la Touche was referred to as one of the "Crows", albeit a later addition to them.
Gallery
Reference