Master Templar

Master Templar is one of the highest possible ranks that can be attained by members of the Templar Order, which serves as an equivalent to their counterparts in the Assassin Order. In the absence of a Grand Master, a Master Templar holds the authority to lead one of the organization's branches on behalf of another Rite's Grand Master.^[1]

Master Templars in modern times are granted the privilege of accessing the Inner Sanctum of the Templar Order, and involving themselves in top secret affairs, as well as joining the Operations division of Abstergo Industries.

History[]

Order of the Ancients[]

Main article: Magus

Main article: Maegester

Prior to the establishment of the Templar Order, certain Order of the Ancients members who presided over branches of the organization held specific titles, which could be seen as equivalents to the Master Templar rank.

ACOD LotFB Protector of Persia - Kassandra Confront Pactyas — Pactyas, the Magus of the Order of Hunters, confronting Kassandra

In Persia during the 5th century BCE, the Order of Hunters and Order of the Storm were each led by a Magus (Pactyas and Phila, respectively), while the Order of Dominion had three Magi: Gergis and the twin brothers known as The Immortals, who answered directly to the Order's leader, Amorges. During the Peloponnesian War, all five Magi were killed by the Spartan misthios Kassandra, who was targeted by the Order due to her nature as a "Tainted One".^[2]

In the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England during the 9th century CE, each sect of the Order was presided over by a Maegester, who was answerable to the Grand Maegester. In the 870s, there were five active Maegesters: Gorm Kjotvesson, who led the Wardens of War; Derby, who led the Wardens of Law; Tatfrid, who led the Wardens of Wealth; Blaeswith, who led the Wardens of Faith; and Fulke, the leader and sole member of the Wardens of Relics. All Maegesters would eventually be assassinated by the Viking shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir at the request of her Hidden One allies, diminishing the Order's presence in England.^[3]

Renaissance[]

The first known Master Templar was Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada,^[4] who led the Spanish Rite of the Templar Order and, under the influence of the Italian Templars' Grand Master Rodrigo Borgia, persecuted countless Assassins during the Reconquista.^[5] Torquemada also sought the power of the Shattered Staff of Eden, a Piece of Eden, but despite managing to assemble all of the artifact's components, he was killed by the Assassins before he could put it to meaningful use.^[6]

Circa 1609, the judge Pierre de Lancre became a Master Templar of the Parisian Rite and served as the chief inquisitor during the Labourd witch-hunt.^[7]

Colonial era[]

By Invitation Only 6 — Lawrence Washington meeting with his fellow Templars

In 1738, Lawrence Washington joined the British Rite of the Templar Order and quickly rose in the ranks to become a Master Templar. Grand Master Reginald Birch subsequently placed him in charge of the search for the Grand Temple and other Isu sites in North America, and Washington became the de facto leader of the Templars in the British colonies. While his search was largely unsuccessful, Washington notably managed to steal two Isu artifacts – a Precursor box and the Voynich manuscript – from the Saint-Domingue Assassins in 1751.^[8]

After returning to the colonies, Washington entrusted the box and manuscript to his fellow Tempars Samuel Smith and James Wardrop for study, though after several months, the two had been unable to unlock the artifacts' secrets. While hosting a meeting with Smith, Wardrop and Jack Weeks at his Mount Vernon estate in July 1752 to learn about their progress, Washington was killed by the Colonial Assassin Shay Cormac, depriving the Templars in the colonies of leadership.^[9]

Four years later, Shay abandoned the Assassins after becoming disillusioned with their search for Isu sites, which he felt recklessly endangered countless innocent lives, and circumstances led him to become an ally of the Colonial Templars. In 1758, Shay was officially inducted into the Order and would thereafter help the Templars eliminate the Assassins' presence in North America,^[9] an act which saw him being elevated to the rank of Master Templar.^[10]

Reconciliation 3 — Madeleine in her Master Templar outfit

In 1747, a teenage Madeleine de L'Isle was recruited to the Templar Order and used her newfound connections to sabotage the company of the New Orleans merchant Philippe de Grandpré, in order to marry him and get close to his placeé Jeanne, who was in possession of an artifact known as the Heart of the Brotherhood.^[8] For her ruthlessness and cunning, Madeleine was promoted to the rank of Master Templar in 1764^[11] and established the Louisiana Rite, leading it on behalf of the French Templars under the alias "Company Man".^[8]

During her reign, Madeleine organized a slave trafficking operation to procure workers for the Templars' excavation site in Chichen Itza, where the Order searched for an Isu artifact called the Prophecy Disk. She also sought to groom her stepdaughter Aveline de Grandpré for membership in the Order, and took advantage of Aveline's secret Assassin affiliations to further her own goals. When Aveline eventually discovered Madeleine's identity as the "Company Man" in 1777, the Master Templar tried to convince her to join forces, only to be double-crossed and assassinated by her stepdaughter, ending the Louisiana Templars.^[12]

Early modern era[]

Around 1839, William Sleeman became a Master Templar of the British Rite and was sent to India to lead the local Templars after the death of his predecessor, Francis Cotton. Under Sleeman's leadership, the Templars of the East India Company searched for various Isu sites and artifacts throughout Asia, but faced opposition from the Indian Assassins, in particular Arbaaz Mir, who succeeded in stealing the Koh-i-Noor from Sleeman during an altercation in 1841.^[13]

ACS Overdose 10 — Crawford Starrick, a Master Templar who rose to become Grand Master

During the mid-19th century, Crawford Starrick rose through the Order's ranks to become a Master Templar and, eventually, Grand Master of the British Rite.^[14] Under his leadership, the Templars expanded their reach to every major corner of industrialized society, from the highest official to the lowest criminal. However, Starrick was opposed by the few remaining Assassins in London, namely Henry Green and the Frye twins, Jacob and Evie, who eventually killed the Grand Master during his quest for a Shroud of Eden, freeing London from Templar influence.^[15]

By 1927, the Shanghai Rite was led by a council consisting of three Master Templars: Coxworth, Joffre, and Tatsumi, with Grand Master Stirling Fessenden presiding over them.^[16]

Contemporary era[]

In the 21st century, the Master Templar title is reserved for members of the Inner Sanctum, although not all members necessarily need to have attained the rank.^[1]