Deorsa

Deorsa
Biographical information
Died	1297 Iona, Scotland
Species	Human
Political information
Affiliations	Assassins Scottish Brotherhood

Deorsa (died 1297) was the master-spy of the Scottish Assassins during the early stages of the First War of Scottish Independence.

Biography

Early life

Not much is known about Deorsa's past, other than, when he was younger, almost failed his first kill due to a mistake. He nevertheless carried it effectively.

Time in Dalkeith

In late April 1296, Deorsa arrived at a tavern in Dalkeith to meet the Norwegian mercenary Sören to retrieve the Child of Fal Fillan after Sören had been hired by Deorsa and the Brotherhood to bring him and his twin sister Ailéas into their fold. Shortly after arriving at Dalkeith, Deorsa got into the nerves of Sören, as the latter hadn't informed him of the presence of Cornavii and the Lann Fala, who were after the boy. After meeting Fillan, Deorsa informed Sören that since James of Crannach couldn't come to pick up Fillan, the mercenary and his group would have to directly deliver Fillan to the headquarters of the Brotherhood at Scone, much to Sören's chagrin. After promising to double his reward for delivering the boy, Sören relented and promised to deliver Fillan to Scone. Cheerful, Deorsa departed with the intention to scatter false leads across the region so as to prevent the group from being followed further.

For the following weeks, Deorsa would continue to appear across Dalkeith, often being busy or investigating on the Brotherhood's behalf. In those weeks, Deorsa warned Sören that the English Army had set up a camp not far from Dalkeith, which inspired Sören to conduct a raid on the camp so as to slow the English. For the raiding party, Sören selected Kyle Macdougall, Edan and Fillan, which angered Deorsa, as he believed the boy wasn't ready for something like that. In the weeks before the raid, he tried to dissuade Sören from bringing Fillan along, making one final attempt just moments before the raid, however, Sören was adamant and, having realised he wasn't going to convince him, he let him leave with the group.

On 1 May 1296, Deorsa encountered Fillan after the raid and congratulated him after his first successful kill, telling him that he was progressing nicely and that in some Gaelic cultures it was considered a rite of passage for becoming a man. When Fillan admitted that Sören helped him with the kill, Deorsa told him that that was nothing to be ashamed of, telling Fillan about the first kill he had to make in his youth. When Fillan asked Deorsa what the Brotherhood wanted from him, Deorsa advised him to be more quiet about the subject and that not even he knew what the Brotherhood wanted with him. He then advised him to enjoy Bealltainn, but also to get away from his mercenary friends as soon as possible, much to Fillan's disgust.

Arrival at Scone

Several weeks after Bealltainn, Deorsa encountered Fillan again when he arrived to Scone Abbey. He greeted him in a friendly way and then proceeded to question Fillan about his current state, as Deorsa had heard that he had killed a man in Leith, which Fillan confirmed. After telling Fillan information about Cornavii and that killing that man was unwise, Deorsa was driven away by fellow Assassin William Wallace, who sent him to verify they had all the information they needed.

Later that evening, Deorsa, along with William, Amy Comyn, and Abbot Thomas of Balmerino answered all of Fillan's boiling questions and his link to the Brotherhood to the massacre of his clan, after telling the boy that he could choose to join the Brotherhood. Deorsa commented that they distasted extortion and would not force him to join them. As such, William stated that there would be another meeting tomorrow and that Fillan had until then to decided whether to join the Brotherhood or not.

On the following day, Fillan announced his intention to join the Brotherhood, to which every council member nodded in agreement. However, after explaining the advancement of the English Army and the current state of Scotland, Thomas decided that Sören would be the one to train the boy in the ways of the Assassins. Deorsa was furious, declaring that Sören was no longer part of the Brotherhood and that his journey with the boy proved that Fillan would be in danger. Thomas, however, did not back down and everyone except Deorsa agreed to let Fillan train with Sören to join the Brotherhood.

Action at Lanark

On early Spring 1297, months after the ransacking of Scone, Deorsa arrived at Beann Eallair on orders from Thomas and William to check on Fillan and his training, which judging by the boy's new attitude and physical appearance, was going smoothly. Afterwards, while having dinner with the mercenary and the young Assassin, Deorsa explained not only how the English had progressed their invasion over the past few months, but that William wanted Sören and Fillan to join him at Lanark in three weeks at the beginning of spring. They need to cause a revolt against the English garrison stationed there to distract them from obtaining the Stone of Destiny and to set off the spark of rebellion across all of Scotland. After the team decided to go to Lanark, Deorsa was pleased and declared that they would depart right away.

Along the way to Lanark, the mercenary group grew tired of Deorsa and tied him up to a donkey for the remainder of the journey. Two weeks later, on May 1297, Deorsa arrived along with the group to a forest at Lanarkshire where they were to meet with William and the Assassin apprentice James of Crannach. As William untied Deorsa, he lashed out at the group for having tied him, but later expressed admiration and marvel for William's revolt plan. When he asked when the action would take place, William responded that it would take place today, much to Deorsa and Fillan's surprise. As the Assassin spy lamented not having time to scout the region to make sure they were no setbacks or Lann Fala soldiers waiting for an ambush, William responded that time and surprise was of the essence and Sören took the side of his former apprentice, which angered Deorsa, stating that he didn't wish to work with the mercenary, until William stopped their bickering and asked Deorsa to get into position.

After returning to the encampment with Sören and his group, Fillan introduced his sister to them, who he had rescued from the English garrison. She also told them about how the man that saved her, Sir Bradley Dacre, was contacted by someone from the Brotherhood with information regarding Fillan. Deorsa, however, did not recall having spoken to anyone named like that, but he did remember a certain Sir Bradley who was rescued by an Assassin-affiliated clan. Angered by the lose of a possible ally, Deorsa got mad at Sören, stating that if they had given him time to scout Lanark, he could've gained access to such information. Yet, he also shared Fillan's terrible realization, something Sören had been saying for months; there was an Assassin among the Brotherhood who was double-crossing them for the Templars. Deorsa stated that, while they had had the theory about a traitor floating for a long while, they thought the attack on Cranshaws that Sören and Fillan experienced was conducted with intelligence from the south. However, the more recent attack on Scone had proved to the Assassins that the intel the Templars were receiving was too advanced to be a coincidence, as such, the group decided to search for the traitor along on their journey through the Highlands.

Unifying Scotland

Two weeks later, on orders from William Wallace, Deorsa and Sören's group were to go into the territory of the great Scottish clans in the south to spread the word about the recent revolt at Lanark as well as to unify them against the British, while he and James lead the charge of the revolution onto Scone and several other English-occupied locations in Scotland. Under Deorsa's blessing, Fillan gave his twin sister the other Sword of Fal, and Deorsa informed that, should she desire, she could join the Brotherhood with her brother. After arriving at Dunstaffnage fort of the Macdougall clan, Deorsa told Fillan that Kyle Macdougall, his close friend, was the daughter of the leader of the clan, Alexander. After telling the boy Kyle's backstory, he also deduced that the reason the English were attacking a location so far up north with no supply lines established was because the Templars had somehow figured out where the Stone of Scone was being taken to; Iona.

Deorsa later participated in the ensuing battle at Dunstaffnage, taking out English soldiers with his two daggers. After the battle, Deorsa raged at Sören that it was imperative that they got to Iona before the Templars did so as to safeguard the Stone of Fal. Sören, Deorsa, Fillan, Ailéas and Moira then proceeded to leave the fortress and headed for the northern beach besides the castle, where they hoped to find boats that would take them to the Isle of Mull from which where they would be able to get to Iona. Sören, however, did not join them, as he was planning to travel alone to Iona, so as to reach it faster.

Soon after arriving to the island, Deorsa commanded the others to follow him in stealth. After reaching a clearing, the group found a wounded James and some of Wallace's soldiers who explained to them that the English got to Mull before and ambushed them. After asking if this were all the soldiers left, James confirmed so. Faced with this revelation, Deorsa asked if they had any horses left, to which James answered that they only had three, which was perfect in the eyes of Deorsa, stating that they would travel in pairs and that James and one of the wounded soldiers would accompany them to Iona. After spotting a garrison of English soldiers near the bay of the island, Deorsa drew his daggers and commanded the group to charge against the garrison.

Death

After defeating them, the group grabbed a boat so they could sail to Iona, however, when they arrived, they realized that Cornavii was already in possession of the Stone of Destiny. After a few taunts to Cornavii and a failed attack by Sören, Deorsa was stabbed in the neck by James, who was revealed to be the traitor working for the Templars.

Personality and traits

Deorsa was described as being an imposing man, being just as tall as Sören, with a black robe and hood that covered much of his body. The robe was embroidered with markings that indicated he was an important man. He was described as being bald and having big, wide eyes. Like most Assassins, Deorsa was skilled in freerunning and he carried a set of dual curved-hilt daggers

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Highlands Children