Laureano de Torres y Ayala a Duadros Castellanos, marqués de Casa Torres (1645 – 1722) was a Spanish military officer who served as Governor of Florida from 1693 to 1699, and Governor of Cuba on two occasions between 1707 and 1716. Secretly, he was also a member of the Spanish Rite of the Templar Order and later became the founder and only Grand Master of the West Indies Rite, reigning from circa 1673 until his death.
Inducted into the Order in his twenties, Torres was tasked by the Templar counsel to find the Observatory, an Isu site located in the Caribbean which allowed users to remotely observe people anywhere on the globe. Believing the Observatory could be used to further the Order's cause by spying on and blackmailing world leaders, Torres used his position as governor to find local allies who would aid him in the search for the site, establishing the West Indies Rite in the process.
After a failed attempt to capture the Sage Thom Kavanagh, who could lead the Templars to the Observatory, in 1673, Torres was given another chance to succeed four decades later, when he learned of another Sage, Bartholomew Roberts. Although Roberts also managed to escape his grasp, Torres remained undeterred in his mission and spent the next few years searching for the elusive Sage while simultaneously attempting to restore order to the Caribbean by riding it of both pirate and Assassin influence.
However, the Grand Master's plans were thwarted by the pirate-turned-Assassin Edward Kenway, who interfered in his search for the Observatory, initially out of a selfish desire to use the site for personal gain, and later to prevent the Templars from abusing its power. Despite Edward's actions decimating the West Indies Rite, Torres still managed to locate the Observatory and led an expedition there in September 1722. However, this was all for naught, as Edward killed the Grand Master inside the complex before he could put it to meaningful use.
Biography[]
Early life[]
The son of the nobles Tomas de Torres y Ayala and Elvira de Quadros Castellanos, Laureano de Torres y Ayala was born in 1645 in Seville, Spain, but was raised in Madrid. He joined the Spanish Army in his late teens[1] and, at some point while serving, was introduced to the Templar Order, eventually joining the organization in his twenties.[2]
Circa 1673, Torres was tasked by the Templar counsel to find the Observatory, an Isu site located somewhere in the Caribbean which would allow the Order to further their cause by spying on world leaders to ensure there would be "no more secrets among men".[3] Traveling to the West Indies, Torres came into contact with the Sage Thom Kavanagh, who was in the employ of Peter Beckford at the time.[4] Although Torres tried to speak with Kavanagh later that evening, a group of Assassins, led by the Mentor Bahlam, attacked Torres' men and escaped with the Sage.[5]
Using his Templar connections,[2] Torres was later appointed governor of the Spanish territories in Florida, a post he held from 1693 to 1699. He subsequently returned to Europe to participate in the War of the Spanish Succession.[1]
In 1708, Torres was appointed Governor of Cuba, a position he held until he was arrested on charges of corruption in 1711. He was eventually acquitted of these charges and managed to win a re-election bid two years later. During his tenure as governor, Torres made various lasting improvements to the colony, including the fortification of the island's defenses and kick-starting tobacco production, which strengthened the economy of both Cuba and the Templar Order.[1]
Search for the Observatory[]
By 1715, Torres had established a strong Templar presence in the Caribbean and found several allies willing to aid him in his search for the Observatory, including the French smuggler Julien du Casse, the British privateer Woodes Rogers, and the Assassin turncoat Duncan Walpole.[3]
Torres explaining the Observatory to his fellow Templars
Duncan contacted Torres via letter and expressed his desire to join the Templars, having become disillusioned with his Brotherhood. Seeing this as an opportunity to deliver a crippling blow to the Assassins and procure further information on the Observatory, Torres arranged a meeting with Duncan, who was to bring maps that detailed the locations of Assassin bureaus in the West Indies, as well as an empty blood vial.[6]
Along with du Casse and Rogers, Torres plotted to use the Sage Bartholomew Roberts, who was in their custody, to gain access to the Observatory, in order to control the European Empires from behind the scenes. Unbeknownst to the Templars, however, Duncan had been killed by the pirate Edward Kenway, who stole his identity and arrived in Havana to collect the reward initially promised to Duncan. Oblivious to this, Torres formally inducted "Duncan", Rogers, and du Casse into the Templar Order, before explaining his plans to them.[3]
The next morning, the four met again at Havana's docks, where they took Roberts into their custody. However, while escorting the man to Torres' mansion, the group was attacked by Assassins. Edward managed to save Torres from his assailants and recapture the Sage, who had fled in the confusion. Torres then paid Edward for his services and dismissed him.[7] However, Edward was unsatisfied with the amount he had been paid and decided to free Roberts from Torres' prison, seeing an opportunity for greater gain within the Observatory.[8]
Torres interrogating Edward
Although Edward was able to access the prison, he found that Roberts had already escaped. Torres then appeared in the company of du Casse and several guards and, having deduced Edward to be an impostor, asked for his true identity, but to no avail. After Edward denied having freed Roberts, the Grand Master ordered that the pirate be imprisoned aboard the Spanish Treasure Fleet and taken to Seville for having killed Duncan Walpole.[8]
Hunting the Sage[]
In November 1715, Torres spoke with the Dutch slaver Laurens Prins about Bartholomew Roberts, but was unsuccessful in discovering the Sage's location.[9] The following year, he retired from the post of governor and turned his attention to charitable functions, such as building hospitals.[1]
While the Observatory remained Torres' primary concern, the disruption of the Templars' naval activities by the Assassin Samuel Bellamy also became a matter of concern. In January 1717, the Grand Master secretly met with British pirate hunter and fellow Templar Francis Hume, asking him to intensify his efforts to stop Bellamy and his pirate associates, thus preventing more harm to the interests of the Templars.[10]
Edward and Torres in Punta Guarico
Weeks later, Prins contacted Torres and claimed to have Roberts in his possession. Torres gathered an appropriate amount of gold to secure Roberts' ransom and sailed towards Kingston, stopping at the fort of Punta Guarico along the way. Edward Kenway soon learned of the large sum of gold and overran the fort, discovering Torres calmly sipping tea in the war room as the fort burned. However, instead of simply taking the treasure, Edward decided to use Torres as bait in a plan to locate Roberts and once again try to learn the location of the Observatory.[11]
Together with Edward, Torres arrived in Kingston and met with Prins, walking with the Dutchman through the city's streets. Discussing politics, slavery, and war along the way, the two eventually came to a stop, where Torres tried to bargain with Prins. However, the slaver had spotted Edward and the Assassin James Kidd tailing them, and both men fled while the two pirates fought off a group of soldiers.[9]
Two years later, in May 1719, Torres was in Kingston once again, this time meeting with Woodes Rogers and the newly converted Benjamin Hornigold to discuss another attempt to locate Bartholomew Roberts. After learning that Hornigold had sent two of his men, Josiah Burgess and John Cockram, to the African island of Príncipe in search of the Sage, Torres left and returned to Cuba.[12]
However, during their conversation, Torres insisted that his fellow Templars store a drop of their blood in a vial, as an oath of loyalty to their Order, which would later be sent to a Templar warehouse in Rio de Janeiro via a Portuguese fleet. The other Templars agreed and gave their blood with the understanding of it not being used,[12] though Torres himself secretly submitted the blood of his bodyguard, El Tiburón, instead of his own.[13] Edward Kenway would later recover these blood vials, alongside Bartholomew Roberts.[14]
Torres and Rogers interrogating Edward
In November 1720, Torres and Woodes Rogers learned that Edward had been imprisoned in Port Royal, Kingston after being betrayed by Roberts, and traveled to the prison to interrogate him. As the men observed the sentencing of Mary Read and Anne Bonny, Torres and Rogers made what Edward perceived as veiled threats towards his estranged wife Caroline Scott-Kenway. They then offered the pirate his freedom in exchange for the Observatory's location, but Edward refused to talk.[15]
After warning Edward that Rogers could only prevent the British from executing him for a time, the two Templars left and Edward was returned to his cell. Although Torres and Rogers managed to delay Edward's sentencing for five more months, the pirate was ultimately freed by the Assassins and escaped from Port Royal before the Templars could obtain the information they were after.[15]
Death[]
- Edward: "You would see all of mankind corralled into a neatly furnished prison, safe and sober, yet dulled beyond reason and sapped of all spirit. So, aye... with everything I've seen and learned in these last years, I do believe it."
- Torres: "You wear your convictions well. They suit you..."
- —Edward and Torres in the latter's last moments, 1722.[src]-[m]
In 1722, the Templars finally located the Observatory in Long Bay, Jamaica.[16] Despite having long since retired from his post as governor, Torres still commanded respect and admiration from the people of Cuba and was able to gather a few regiments of Spanish troops for an expedition to Jamaica.[1] Cautionary of the Assassins, who had already killed Bartholomew Roberts[17] and made an attempt on Woodes Rogers' life,[18] Torres decided to leave El Tiburón and a decoy of himself in Havana to deceive the Brotherhood.[13]
On 1 September 1722, Torres' expedition arrived in Long Bay, and the Grand Master's troops massacred the guardians of the Observatory and set their village ablaze. As he accessed the Observatory, Torres unintentionally activated a series of deadly security measures which killed most of his men. Shortly after, Edward Kenway arrived and confronted the Grand Master,[16] having deduced Torres had sailed to Long Bay after eliminating both his decoy and El Tiburón in Havana.[13]
Torres' final moments
Upon dispatching the last of Torres' soldiers using the Observatory's defenses, Edward climbed around the chamber and managed to reach the Grand Master, who lamented that Edward had wasted his potential by joining the Assassins and that the two could have worked together towards a greater goal. Unfazed by Torres' words, Edward leapt down and struck the Templar with his Hidden Blade.[16]
As he lay dying, Torres reminded Edward that he ended up a man with nothing, but the latter retorted that killing Torres righted his own wrongs and criticized the Templars' goal of controlling humanity. Briefly taken aback by Edward's newfound convictions, Torres complimented the Assassin on the strength of his belief in mankind's right to be free, and passed away moments later.[16]
Legacy[]
- "Since the loss of Grand Master Torres, the underworld of Havana has been in the grip of the mad Scot Assassin Rhona Dinsmore. Dinsmore is old, but well protected. I fear there may be no Rite established here until her Brotherhood is eradicated. I fear the West Indies may be lost to us."
- ―Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer, 1750.[src]-[m]
With Torres' death, the West Indies Templars were wiped out and the Assassins maintained control of the Caribbean for the next several decades. By the 1750s, the Templars had still been unable to rebuild their presence in Havana, prompting the Spanish Templar Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer, who visited the city in search of a Precursor box, to remark that Torres' loss was a crippling blow to the Order and that the West Indies Rite may not be revived until the local Assassins had been dealt with.[19]
In 2014, the Abstergo Entertainment employee Jean-François Brunet sequenced the genetic memories of Torres and pitched a potential virtual feature for the Helix starring the Grand Master. However, the company's CCO Melanie Lemay rejected it, saying she found the idea of an entire virtual feature about Torres to be the "single most boring pitch" ever suggested to her.[20]
Personality and traits[]
A courteous man, Torres had an impeccable charm. He believed in an enlightened plutocracy where the best and brightest could thrive regardless of circumstances and upbringing, and was notably the only Templar to have treated Edward Kenway with a substantial amount of respect heedless of his class, while his compatriots had a more notable tendency to mock and belittle Edward, mainly due to his station, and for his initial lack of ideals.[21]
Torres and his fellow Templars toasting their schemes
Torres held disgust over the practice of slavery, and even his questionable assertion that to "enslave a man's mind and [their] body will follow on naturally" may or may not have been a clever way to talk Woodes Rogers out of participating in such a practice.[12] He was utterly convinced in the Templars' purpose to guide the fate of civilizations, and had the capacity to respect the Assassins' strength of conviction, even if he personally disagreed with their beliefs.[16]
Torres was also notably less ruthless than his fellow Templars. He not only stopped El Tiburón from beating Edward more than was absolutely necessary,[8] but also sought to spare him a second time, albeit for a price, when he was captured and imprisoned in Port Royal.[15] The only times when he was shown to behave otherwise was when his soldiers slaughtered their way through the Observatory's guardians,[16] and when he deceived his compatriots about the contents of his blood vial.[12][13]
Behind the scenes[]
Laureano de Torres y Ayala is a historical figure and character introduced in the 2013 video game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, where he was voiced by the Canadian actor Conrad Pla. Historically, Torres died in Havana, Cuba around 1725.[22]
In some memories, his name was erroneously misspelled as "Laureno" and "Loreano".
Torres' database entry lists his year of death as 1721 instead of 1722.[1]
Etymology[]
Torres' surname, "Ayala", has origins in the Basque language, meaning "hillside pasture". It could also refer to a small town in northern Spain. "Torres" translates to "Towers", while "de" and "y" are Spanish words meaning "of" and "and", respectively.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Black Flag
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Pirates
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Memories
- Assassin's Creed: Identity (mentioned in Database entry only)
References[]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||