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The Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins,[6][7][8] also known as the French Brotherhood of Assassins,[9] was the Guild of Assassins located in France which had existed since at least the 1st century CE as a branch of the Hidden Ones.
Originally operating in Roman Gaul, after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, many local Hidden Ones elected to stay in the region, unlike their counterparts from Britain, who retreated to Cologne.[10] The Hidden Ones continued to maintain an active presence in the newly-formed Kingdom of Francia and, in 870, helped their Egyptian brethren stop the Snake-Eaters, a group working with the Order of the Ancients to control the Silk Road.[1]
Reformed as the Assassins during the Middle Ages, the French Brotherhood played an instrumental role in the public disbanding of the Templar Order in 1307, breaking the power of their nemesis in Europe for over a century.[11] Another major act of the guild was the training of the peasant girl Jeanne d'Arc to fight the Templars and the English Army during the Hundred Years' War, using her unusually high concentration of Isu DNA to wield a Sword of Eden in battle.[12]
In 1593, the French Assassins stole the original Shroud of Eden from the French Templars. During the Labourd witch-hunt of 1609, the Brotherhood prevented the Templars from recovering the artifact, sending it to the New World.[13]
During the 18th century, the guild was led by a Council which had a strong influence across the world, having ties with the government and military of the Ottoman Empire, preparing the foundation of the guild in North America, and constructing the flagship Aquila for its navy.[14] Before the outbreak of the French Revolution, the Assassin Charles Dorian and later the Mentor Mirabeau made a controversial attempt to end the Assassin-Templar War through an uneasy peace with the Grand Master of their Templar counterpart, François de la Serre. The murders of the two leaders by members of their own factions showed the difficulty of this project even if the Assassin Arno Dorian and the Templar Élise de la Serre tried to honor the work of their fathers.[15]
During the French Revolution, the Assassins strove to moderate the revolution and steer it in a peaceful direction against the manipulations of the radical Templars led by François-Thomas Germain. As the Templars executed the former King Louis XVI and instigated the Reign of Terror, the Assassins tried to prevent any more bloodshed while fighting the Austrians and royalists to reestablish the monarchy. Thanks to the initiative of Arno and Élise, who turned the public against Maximilien de Robespierre and killed Germain, the Brotherhood eliminated the Jacobins, ending the Reign of Terror.[15]
In the 19th century, the Assassins were greatly involved in French politics, preventing the assassinations of both Bonaparte emperors,[16][17] sending Jules Brunet as a liaison for the Japanese Brotherhood,[18] protecting Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, and supporting the Paris Commune in 1871. In 1889, the Brotherhood was manipulated by the Templar Konstanze von Visler into almost blowing up the Eiffel Tower to frame them as terrorists, but the plot was prevented by the Assassins Pierrette Arnaud and Simeon Price.[19] During World War I, like the other European Brotherhoods, the French Assassins were pulled in every direction so that the Order could have a presence in every theatre of war.
In 2000, the Parisian Brotherhood, like many other guilds around the world, was wiped out during the Great Purge led by the Templar Order.[4] In 2014, a new headquarters was established in Paris by the Assassin and Initiates member Eric Cooper.[5]
History[]
Roman Gaul[]
Establishment[]
Around the 1st century CE,[2] a branch of the Hidden Ones was formed in the province of Roman Gaul, establishing bureaus in Lutetia, Champlieu Ruins, Diodurum Ruins, and Gisacum Ruins.[10]
Securing the Ankh[]
At some point during the 2nd century, the Hidden One Lugos established his own brotherhood known as the Liberalis Circulum, which operated throughout the territories of the Roman Empire.[20] By the mid-3rd century, the Liberalis Circulum had grown to include members from the various provinces of the empire, including Gaul. The group was primarily based within the city of Lugdunum, where they were led by the Gallo-Roman Lucius.[21]
Aquilus in General Gracchus' tent
In 259 CE, Lucius' nephew, the Aleman general and Hidden One Accipiter, found the Ankh, a Piece of Eden, after it had resurfaced in Germania, and Lucius arranged for the artifact to be given to his son, Aquilus. Aquilus was also tasked to assassinate three targets who held high positions within the Empire: Senator Caius and Generals Titus and Gracchus.[21] However, Gracchus learned about Aquilus' intentions after being informed of Caius' and Titus' deaths, and so when the Hidden One confronted him in his tent, he stabbed and left him for dead.[22]
Aquilus was saved by a timely attack on Gracchus' camp by Accipiter's Alemmani forces, who defeated the Romans and found Aquilus' unconscious body. After being nursed back to health by Accipiter, Aquilus was given the Ankh by cousin and returned to Lugdunum, where he gave the artifact to his father for safekeeping.[21]
At Lucius' villa, Aquilus met Senator Caïus Fulvus Vultur, an old friend of the family, and told his father about his failed assassination of General Gracchus. Lucius suspected that Faustinus, the bishop of Lugdunum, had betrayed them by revealing their plans to their enemies, and so Aquilus decided to interrogate him. Before Aquilus' departure, he was informed by his father about the Ankh's powers, which he described as a "temporary resurrection".[21]
Aquilus interrogating Faustinus
Making his way to Faustinus' home, Aquilus woke him up in the middle of the night and threatened to kill him for his treachery. After Faustinus stated that he had no choice and that Emperor Gallienus had forced him to expose the Liberalis Circulum's plans, Aquilus demanded to know who his collaborators were. Faustinus initially claimed that he had acted alone, but upon being beaten up by the Hidden One, he betrayed the identity of his accomplice: Vultur. Taking advantage of Aquilus' surprise, Faustinus attempted to flee, but was promptly killed by the Hidden One with a throwing knife to the back.[21]
Aquilus subsequently rushed back to Lucius' home to inform him about Vultur's treachery, but arrived too late, as he found his father dead and the Ankh missing. Upon further inspection, Aquilus found his father's servant Weke, who had been mortally wounded and only managed to utter a few words before passing away. Just then, a maid came up and revealed that Vultur had killed both Lucius and Weke and stolen the Ankh, causing Aquilus to vow revenge.[21]
Aquilus tracked Vultur to his villa in Rome, where he eliminated him and his guards and retrieved the Ankh, taking it back to his home in Lugdunum. During this time, the Alemanni planned to ransack the city, but the Iberian Hidden One Cuervo convinced Accipiter to negotiate a deal with the Prefect of Lugdunum instead, in order to preserve the Liberalis Circulum's interests. The Prefect of Lugdunum agreed to pay Accipiter a significant tribute in exchange for sparing the city, but later ordered the arrest and execution of Aquilus and his wife Valeria.[20]
Aquilus' death
After learning about his cousin's plight, Accipiter attempted to save Aquilus and Valeria, but only managed to rescue the latter, as Aquilus was executed by Roman soldiers. With the Ankh now in Valeria's possession, Accipiter requested that she hide it in a safe place, claiming that he was too busy with his conquests to do so himself. Valeria ultimately hid the artifact within an altar erected to the memory of her late husband.[20]
Departure of the Roman Hidden Ones[]
- "With the departure of the Brotherhood in Britannia following the death of Imperator Honorius, our work here in Paris is at an end. The cold wind that blows across Britannia has reached our shores as well. As Magister Vitus said, we must leave and regroup to focus our attention where it is most needed."
- ―C.C. in their letter to the other Hidden Ones.[src]-[m]
In 423 CE, following the departure of the Hidden Ones of Britannia for the bureau in Cologne, the Hidden One known as "C. C." ordered the evacuation of the Gallic Hidden Ones to join their British brethren in merging with the local Hidden Ones in Germania. They sealed the Lutetia bureau and hid the keys in the other bureaus. Some Hidden Ones refused to leave Gaul and stayed active in the province for centuries.[10]
Middle Ages[]
Mission on the Silk Road[]
By 870 CE, the Hidden Ones had established a bureau in Chinon. That year, Basim Ibn Ishaq, the leader of the local branch of Hidden Ones in Constantinople, sent letters to other guilds requesting their aid to investigate the Snake-Eaters, a group that protected merchants along the Silk Road but had begun to extort money and attack those who did not pay for their protection. The Frankish Hidden Ones Oisel and Matthias answered Basim's call for help and traveled to the Levant.[1]
In Antioch, Oisel and Matthias met Basim and his apprentice Hytham, as well as a group of Egyptian Hidden Ones consisting of Jessamyn, Kalim, Rashid, and Sihem, who had similarly arrived to help. While Basim and Hytham returned to Constantinople, the Frankish and Egyptian Hidden Ones decided to follow the Snake-Eaters' trail along the Silk Road and eliminate the group. They eventually arrived at a citadel controlled by the Snake-Eaters, where Oisel and Matthias confronted the group's leader Dunya while the Egyptian Hidden Ones covered them.[1]
However, the Snake-Eaters ambushed the Hidden Ones, and the Franks were presumed dead while their Egyptian brethren were forced to retreat. Oisel, having survived, later rejoined the group for their final assault on the Snake-Eaters' headquarters in Chang'an, during which Dunya and all of her followers were killed. With the Snake-Eaters dissolved, Oisel remained in Chang'an with Jessamyn to establish a Hidden One bureau before eventually returning to Francia.[1]
Activities in Francia[]
After the death of Charlemagne, Emperor of the Carolingian Empire and a leader of the Order of the Ancients, in 814 CE, the Hidden Ones recovered his sword Joyeuse, hiding it in the Lutetia bureau's ruins.[10]
The Lutetia bureau opened in the 9th century
In 886, the Hidden One Abbo Cernuus operated under the alias "AC" as he killed Frankish guards who were tasked to open the Lutetia bureau by the Bellatores Dei's leader, Isidore Mercator. During his mission, Abbo saw the jarlskona Eivor Varinsdottir, an ally of the Hidden Ones in England. The Hidden One decided to let her recover the keys to reclaim Joyeuse, and left a letter to Eivor explaining that the Hidden Ones were still active in Francia.[10] During his patrol, he also maintained the integrity of the ruined Abbey of Saint Germain by killing Viking invaders and a captain sent by Mercator.[23]
Through Reda, the Hidden One Alexandre Douce offered a contract to eliminate a Frankish soldier in order to expand the Hidden Ones' influence. Eivor accepted the contract and succeeded in assassinating the target.[24]
By the mid-11th century, the Hidden Ones had been reformed as the Assassin Brotherhood and tracked the successor of the Order of the Ancients, the Templar Order. In Normandy, an Assassin received a contract on a Templar target.[25]
Destruction of the Knights Templar[]
In the 12th century, the Assassins installed a sanctuary under the Île de la Cité in Paris, serving as a nerve center for the tunnels across the city. When the Sainte-Chapelle was built, the Assassins began using the building as a secret entrance.[26]
In the early 14th century, the Assassins manipulated King Philip IV of France to destroy their arch-enemies, the Templars, who at the time had taken the guise of a knightly monastic order. Guillaume de Nogaret, the Mentor of the French Brotherhood and councilor of King Philip, poisoned Pope Benedict XI and had him replaced with Clement V, who unknowingly served the Assassins. The Templars were subsequently branded as heretics, and their Parisian stronghold was attacked by the King's forces on 13 October 1307 with the help of Assassins disguised as Flemish mercenaries.[11]
Thomas de Carneillon during the attack of the Temple
During the attack, Thomas de Carneillon tried to steal the Codex Pater Intellectus and a Sword of Eden belonging to the Templar Grand Master, Jacques de Molay. The Assassin was stopped by a Templar Knight who hid the two artifacts in a secret vault before being killed by de Carneillon. De Molay was captured during the attack and burned at the stake alongside sixty other knights on 11 March 1314.[11] However, unbeknownst to the Assassins, nine Templar leaders had gone underground and continued their work in secret, despite the public disbanding of their Order.[27]
Later, de Carneillon became the Mentor of the French Assassins and tracked the last Templar remnants in Europe.[9] After his death, his armor became a heirloom for the Brotherhood, kept in a vault under the Île Saint-Louis and given only to Assassins who did a great service for the Brotherhood and for France.[28]
Hundred Years' War[]
- "Rumors have been swirling about a Maid of prophecy for years. I have investigated them all. Most are liars, memorizing the story and adhering to it, hoping to get a little bit of coin and some fleeting fame. But the stories about Jeanne were different."
- ―Yolande of Aragon to Gabriel Laxart, 1429.[src]
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Houses of Plantagenet and Valois fought for the Crown of France during what would come to be known as the Hundred Years' War. Around 1429, the Brotherhood's Mentor was Queen Yolande of Aragon, mother-in-law to Charles VII of France. As France was under the control of English Templar John of Bedford, the Assassins tried to establish Charles as the true king of France. Yolande tasked her apprentices to find a woman who would deliver France per prophecy.[12]
Jeanne d'Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
The Assassin and noble Jean de Metz met a young woman, Jeanne d'Arc, who desired an audience with the king at Chinon to liberate France from the English as the angels had said to her. Believing she was the Chosen One of prophecy, Jean began to train Jeanne and her cousin Gabriel Laxart to become Assassins. Jeanne had heard the voice of Consus, an Isu whom she believed was a messenger of God. Later, she recovered Jacques de Molay's Sword of Eden and the Heart, another Piece of Eden which unlocked the full potential of the Sword. With these, Jeanne led the French Army to many victories against the English. Later, she liberated Orléans and was present for the crowning of Charles VII in Reims.[12]
Jeanne was captured by the Templars during the siege of Compiègne in 1430. The Templars took the Sword of Eden and judged Jeanne for witchcraft. The Assassins rescued Jeanne by replacing her with Fleur, a former prostitute who had become Jeanne's protégé. To thank her, Jeanne gave Fleur the Heart as she went to the stake. After this, Jeanne cut her ties with the Brotherhood and lived with Laxart.[12]
Early modern period[]
Renaissance[]
In the early 16th century, King Louis XII left Paris and quarrelled with Ferdinand II of Aragon over the ownership of Naples, leaving his foreign ministers in charge. However, the king was unaware of their ties to the Templars and the House of Borgia, and the ministers began to target the religious reformist Desiderius Erasmus.[29]
To escape the plague, Erasmus had planned to hire a carriage out of town, but the Templars disguised themselves as travelers and offered him a ride. With Erasmus' life in danger, the French Assassins and a team of Ezio Auditore's Italian apprentices tracked them down and killed all of the guards. After rescuing Erasmus, he told them that the Templars were holding another Assassin captive.[29]
Following this, the Assassins tried to find their Brother, who had been captured by the men working for the Borgia. A group of Italian Assassins sent from Rome by Ezio were able to receive information from corrupted ministers about the Assassin's whereabouts, and tracked down Archbishop Georges d'Amboise before interrogating him. He revealed the names of the ministers associated with the Templars, whom the Assassins later disposed of.[29]
After that, the Italian Assassins rescued the French Assassin from the manor he was held in, but he eventually succumbed to his wounds. Before passing away, he informed his Brothers that he had only revealed false information to his torturers, and warned his rescuers to be wary of the House of Orsini, who had ties to the Templars.[29]
In 1511, King Louis XII acted on Marseille's threats of secession motivated by the French Assassins and ordered his army to banish all Assassins from the city. Aided by Ottoman Assassins sent from Constantinople by Ezio Auditore, the combined Assassin force hindered the army's efforts, though without violence. After discovering that King Louis had been influenced by the Templars, the Assassins eliminated his advisors, freeing Marseille of Templar influence.[30]
During the 16th century, the seals which opened Thomas de Carneillon's vault were broken and dispersed across Paris.[28] The seer Nostradamus wrote clues leading to the seals' locations.[15]
Labourd witch-hunt[]
In 1593, the Assassins Isaac du Queyran and Florine stole the original Shroud of Eden from the French Templars. When Florine nearly died while giving birth to her daughter Margaux, Isaac used the Shroud to save her life. The Assassins then entrusted the artifact and Margaux to Catherine, a healer living in the Landes in southwestern France.[13]
In 1609, the Master Templar Pierre de Lancre, appointed as an Inquisitor during the Labourd witch-hunt, sought to recover the Shroud and captured Catherine along with her daughter Ermeline and Margaux. As Catherine refused to talk, she was burned at the stake. The Templars kept Ermeline hostage while Isaac took the Shroud and saved Margaux, training her as an Assassin.[13]
While the Assassins planned to save Ermeline, the Templars attacked them, killing the Assassin leader Avicenne and taking the Shroud, which they later gave to their member François Ascair. Isaac was captured by the Templars and burned at the stake. During the riot, an Assassin tried to eliminate de Lancre but the Templar La Morguy killed the Assassin. In the meantime. Margaux joined Fabrizzio Auditore and other Assassins to storm the Castle of Saint-Pée. Fabrizzio and Ascair killed each other in a duel while Margaux secured the Shroud and went to the Americas with the artifact.[13]
Age of Enlightenment[]
In 1690, the French Mentor sent Louis-Joseph d'Albert de Luynes and three other Assassins to recruit a skilled epeeist and singer, Julie d'Aubigny. Due to d'Albert's misogynistic comments, the swordwoman refused the offer and attacked them. Later, the Master Assassin Maréchal recruited and tutored d'Aubigny to hone her acting skills.[31]
By 1721, the French Brotherhood was led by Mireille. When her lover, the legendary highwayman Louis-Dominique Cartouche, was captured and sentenced to death, Mireille bribed the executioner to fake his death. She subsequently recruited Cartouche into the Brotherhood and trained him.[32] When he grew old, Cartouche gave his memoirs to an Assassin who took the name of Cartouche, continuing his work. Later, another Assassin took the mantle of Cartouche and his diaries.[33]
By the mid-18th century, the French Brotherhood was led by an Assassin Council which sent John de la Tour to the Thirteen Colonies in North America to expand the Assassins' network. In 1740, de la Tour became acquainted with Achilles Davenport, who had been assigned a similar mission by the Mentor of the West Indies Brotherhood, Ah Tabai.[34]
The Aquila, flagship of the Colonial Brotherhood's navy
Together, the two Assassins worked to establish a new Brotherhood in the colonies, and the French Council aided their efforts by commissioning the construction of a ship called the Aquila.[14] In 1745, during the Battle of Louisbourg, de la Tour sacrificed himself to allow Achilles time to escape the battle; he subsequently became Mentor of the growing Colonial Brotherhood.[35] In 1749, the French Assassin Nicolas de Saint-Prix sent a letter to Achilles informing him of the completed construction of the Aquila, which would become the flagship of the Colonial Assassins.[14]
Pierre Bellec, a French colonial soldier who served during the Seven Years' War, discovered his Assassin lineage and eventually joined the Brotherhood in 1756. Around 1762, Bellec left the military and traveled to France, narrowly escaping the Templars' purge of the Colonial Brotherhood.[36] Joining the French Brotherhood, Bellec trained the guild's apprentices, including Charles Dorian, whom he took under his wing.[37]
In 1759, the Assassins acquired the Café Théâtre on the Île Saint-Louis. The coffee house served as the Assassin's intelligence-gathering front as well as an entry point for their sanctuary. Over the years, other establishments, such as the Café Procope, gradually supplanted the Café Théâtre in prominence.[6]
During France's involvement in the American Revolutionary War, the French Assassin William de Saint-Prix was sent to aid the Thirteen Colonies.[38]
Mirabeau and the Assassin Council
In 1776, Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, who would become a political leader of the French Revolution, joined the Brotherhood and became a trusted acquaintance of Charles Dorian.[39] Mirabeau eventually took a seat on the Assassin Council, which also comprised Pierre Bellec, Sophie Trenet, Hervé Quemar and Guillaume Beylier, and rose to the rank of Mentor, governing over the Brotherhood.[26]
The same year, Beylier was contacted by the Haitian Assassin Eseosa, who requested aid in organizing a slave revolution in Haiti. Due to their own present situation, the French Assassins were unable to provide reinforcements, although Beylier maintained a correspondence with Eseosa.[40]
Charles Dorian being assassinated by Shay Cormac
In December 1776, Charles Dorian attended a secret Assassin meeting at the Palace of Versailles to receive a Precursor box for safekeeping. However, as he left the meeting, Charles was assassinated by the American Templar Shay Cormac, who took possession of the box.[41] Charles' son Arno, orphaned, was adopted into the household of the Templar Grand Master François de la Serre, who did not try to indoctrinate him into the Order out of respect for his father's memory.[42]
After Charles' death, Bellec spent several years investigating mysterious cryptic glyphs and hidden messages, getting himself incarcerated in several prisons where he could study the glyphs.[43]
French Revolution[]
Truce with the Templars[]
Mirabeau meeting with Grand Master de la Serre
During the Estates-General of 1789, the Grand Master François de la Serre sought to establish a truce between the French Templars and Assassins. Mirabeau, also attending the Estates-General, supported the idea, leading to a time of relative peace between the two factions.[44] Shortly after, de la Serre was killed by the Templars Charles Gabriel Sivert and the Roi des Thunes, on the orders of the excommunicated Templar and Sage François-Thomas Germain. De la Serre's ward Arno Dorian was accused of the murder and imprisoned in the Bastille, while Germain became the new Grand Master and began plotting to stage a revolution in France.[45]
During his imprisonment, Arno met Pierre Bellec, who offered him a chance to settle the score with de la Serre's killers by joining the Assassin Order. Following their escape from the Bastille during a storming of the prison by the citizens, Arno sought out the Assassins and was inducted into the Brotherhood, hoping to make amends for his indirect role in de la Serre's murder.[43][26]
At the beginning of the Revolution, the Assassins helped the people of Paris by providing access to food which was hoarded by Joseph Foullon de Doué.[46] On 5 October 1789, during the Women's March on Versailles, the Assassins protected Théroigne de Méricourt from the Templars who attempted to make the march more violent against the royal family.[47]
The Women's March on Versailles
After the first months of the Revolution, Mirabeau negotiated with King Louis XVI to maintain a peaceful revolution, and also allow him to pay off his debt. With the truce maintained by Mirabeau, the Assassins were not allowed to attack the Templars and could only fight smugglers and thugs. By the 1790s, the Café Théâtre had fallen into near-ruin, becoming a rundown bar, more likely to host a second-rate bawdy comedy show than an impassioned debate.[6]
In late 1790, the former Minister of Finance, Jacques Necker, stashed vast sums of cash and valuables in various locations around the Bièvre to influence the Revolution. While he prepared to leave France, Arno Dorian stole his stash for the Brotherhood, even paying Necker's right of way with his own gold.[48]
By January 1791, the Brotherhood had sent three Assassins to track down the Roi des Thunes, the leader of the Cour des Miracles, but without result. Among them, Brasseur was killed by the Roi, who took his pistol and kept his body as a decoy.[49]
Near the Sainte-Chapelle, Pierre Bellec and Arno eavesdropped on a meeting between the Templars Charles Gabriel Sivert and Arpinon, who were extorting money from both the nobility and clergy. Bellec assassinated Arpinon and Arno proceeded to loot a book from his body, revealing that Sivert would be at Notre-Dame. With this information, Mirabeau decided to end the truce and authorized Arno to assassinate Sivert.[50]
Hervé Quémar and Arno Dorian standing before Thomas de Carneillon's armor
The Council also granted Arno stewardship of the Café Théâtre, allowing him to use the place as his residence. With the help of its manager, the Assassin Charlotte Gouze, Arno restored the building to its former glory. The Assassin fencing master Augustin Grisier trained Arno in the café to further his skills. During his stewardship, Arno protected the Café from Les Actes des Apôtres, a group of royalists led by Renard. After being informed by Master Quemar of Thomas de Carneillon's sealed vault, Arno solved the Nostradamus Enigmas, opening the vault and claiming de Carneillon's armor for himself.[28]
After assassinating Sivert at Notre-Dame, Arno saw in his memories that the Roi des Thunes had helped him kill de la Serre and that he was connected to Aloys la Touche.[51] For his success, the Council granted Arno the title of Assassin along with a Phantom Blade, and sent him to kill the Roi des Thunes. While planning to attack la Touche at the Cour des Miracles, Arno ran into the Marquis de Sade, who advised him to follow la Touche instead. After interrogating the Templar, Arno learned that his master, the Roi, hid in the catacombs.[52]
Arno reporting his findings to the Council
Arno proceeded to assassinate the Roi des Thunes, recovering Brasseur's pistol in the process. From his target's memories, Arno learned that de la Serre's killers had not acted alone and answered to the new Grand Master. Upon showing a Templar pin recovered from the Roi's body to de Sade, the Marquis informed Arno that it had been crafted by a silversmith named Germain.[49] Bringing the pin to the Council, Arno was permitted to resume his investigation and Beylier authorized him to keep Brasseur's pistol.[53]
When Arno met Germain, the latter pretended to be a captive of Chrétien Lafrenière, whom he accused of being the new Templar Grand Master and the one responsible for de la Serre's death.[53] Without the permission of the Council, Arno destroyed Lafrenière's weapon stock and subsequently assassinated him. However, the Assassin learned that Lafrenière had been one of de la Serre's closest allies and had tried to warn him about his imminent murder.[54]
Futher discovering that Lafrenière planned an attack on the Hôtel de Beauvais, Arno reported his findings to the Council, who reprimanded him for going against the Creed and choosing his own targets. However, Mirabeau decided to let Arno continue his investigation, and the Assassin proceeded to infiltrate the Jacobin Club at the Hôtel de Beauvais, where the Grand Master and his followers were holding a secret meeting. Eavesdropping on the meeting, Arno learned that the Templars were planning to stir up more chaos in France and kill Élise, de la Serre's daughter.[55]
Arno and Élise appearing before the Council
Arno intervened and saved Élise,[56] then brought her before the Council in the hopes they would be able to re-establish the truce between the Assassins and Templars. Most of the Council opposed the idea but Mirabeau was willing to discuss. While Arno and Élise investigated Germain, whom the former learned was the new Grand Master,[57] Bellec poisoned Mirabeau to prevent the truce, which he saw as going against the Brotherhood's core beliefs.[37] After discovering Mirabeau's body, Arno and Élise searched for the culprit, leading them to the Sainte-Chapelle.[58]
There, Arno confronted Bellec, who tried to justify his actions, citing previous purges the Brotherhood had gone through and how the Assassins had always returned from the brink of extinction, stronger than before. The Master Assassin then invited his apprentice to join him in his crusade to purge the Assassin leadership he saw as weak and complacent, but Arno refused and fought Bellec. When the latter tried to shoot Élise, Arno stopped him and reluctantly killed Bellec. Following the deaths of two of its members, the Council punished Arno and removed him from the Germain investigation while also declining the truce with Élise.[37]
Fall of the Monarchy[]
During the summer of 1792, the people were starving because of the actions of the Templars Flavigny and Marie Lévesque, who stole the food which entered Paris, intending to create riots in the city. Théroigne de Méricourt, with the help of a team of Assassins, found the food and distributed it to the people, before the Assassins eliminated Flavigny and her thugs.[59]
Arno receiving his mission from the Council
On 10 August, the people stormed the Tuileries Palace after the announcement that the Austrian and the Prussian armies would help to restore the power of King Louis XVI. The Council tasked Arno Dorian with infiltrating the palace and destroying the correspondence between Mirabeau and the king, in fear that if someone published the letters, the Templars would attack the Assassins across France. Arno succeeded in his task and burned the letters before escaping the palace through a secret exit alongside Napoleon Bonaparte. During their escape, the pair witnessed Frédéric Rouille enter the king's office in search of the documents.[60]
On 2 September, at the beginning of the French Republic, a spy ring led by the Comte de Gambais informed the Austrian forces about Paris' defenses with the plan to attack the capital and restore the monarchy. One of the spies was trapped by Georges Danton and several guards, but he managed to kill the guards and engaged Danton in combat. A team of Assassins saved Danton and killed de Gambais and his spy ring.[61]
During the same month, Arno and Élise de la Serre continued their investigation into François-Thomas Germain without the knowledge of the Council. Arno killed Frédéric Rouille in the Grand Châtelet during the September Massacres and learned that Marie Lévesque planned to incriminate the royals in the hoarding of food.[62] He foiled her plans and assassinated her during a party at Luxembourg Palace.[63] His next target was Louis-Michel le Peletier, who had condemned King Louis to death during his trial. When Arno killed him in the Palais-Royal, he learned that Germain would be in attendance at the execution of the king.[64]
Germain and his guards confronting Arno
Arno and Élise confronted Germain at the execution, but he escaped in a carriage. Élise ordered Arno to follow Germain but the Assassin stayed behind to protect her from Germain's guards. After they lost the Grand Master, Élise ended her partnership with Arno when the latter defended his actions by claiming that he cared about her safety more than killing Germain.[65] When the Council learned what had happened in the Place de la Révolution, they accused Arno of pursuing a personal vendetta and expelled him from the Brotherhood.[7]
In 1793, France began to fall under the control of the Templars. In June, after an insurrection of Sans-culottes led by the Commander General of the Paris National Guard, François Hanriot, the Girondists were under house arrest. The Assassins rescued them and helped them leave the city.[66]
A month later, General Marcourt and a group of fellow Templars planned a coup d'état in order to accelerate the Revolution, but one of the conspirators, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, was in fact an ally of the Assassins and informed the Brotherhood of Marcourt's plot. When Marcourt organized a tournament to recruit men for the coup, the Assassins infiltrated it and killed Marcourt and all of his co-conspirators.[67]
In August, the Assassins tried to rescue Marie Antoinette, who was imprisoned in the Conciergerie, but a Templar agent, Jean Gilbert, revealed the plot. He would receive recognition for his action but was killed by an Assassin sent by the Council.[68]
Reign of Terror[]
Didier Paton discovering the Templar Order
In September 1793, Germain and Maximilien de Robespierre installed the Reign of Terror to eliminate all enemies of the Revolution and achieve their "Great Work". In November, Didier Paton, a spy working for Robespierre, uncovered the Templar Order's existence. Oblivious of the fact that his master was a Templar, Paton informed him and was condemned to death while his notebook was confiscated. The Assassins recovered the notebook, which contained the names of many Templars, and saved Paton from the guillotine. After this, Paton joined the Brotherhood.[69]
Later in February 1794, the Templars planned to use Jacques Roux and his Enragés to seize Paris and create chaos to further the Terror. A team of Assassins was sent to kill Roux, who was imprisoned in the Salpêtrière Hospital, but they failed and were imprisoned in the asylum. A second team rescued the first and succeeded in killing Roux.[70] Following Roux's death, one of his lieutenants organized a riot against the government but the Assassins eliminated him and foiled the plot.[71]
Georges Danton and his allies being sent to the guillotine
On 5 April, Georges Danton and other Indulgents were sent to the guillotine after being accused of treason by Robespierre. The Assassins wanted to rescue their ally but Danton refused, believing his execution would ruin Robespierre's reputation. Instead, Danton asked the Assassins to protect his friends who were being targeted by Robespierre's men.[72]
In May, the population of Paris wanted to remove the ashes of Mirabeau from the Panthéon after they learned about Mirabeau negotiating with the king. The Assassins, fearing that the Templars would expose the Brotherhood's secrets if they accessed the Assassin crypt underneath the Panthéon, infiltrated the sanctuary and removed the relics of their late Mentor.[73]
On 27 July, the Templars were dealt two major blows when Germain was killed by Arno Dorian inside the Temple after he had mortally wounded Élise de la Serre;[74] and Robespierre was arrested by the National Convention and executed.[75] Following Robespierre's death, Théroigne de Méricourt and a team of Assassins stormed the Jacobin Club and killed the last remaining Templars who were planning to escape France. This event ended Jacobin influence on French politics and the Reign of Terror.[76]
End of the Revolution[]
- "The Creed of the Assassin Brotherhood teaches us that nothing is forbidden to us. Once, I thought that meant we were free to do as we would. To pursue our ideals, no matter the cost. I understand now. Not a grant of permission, the Creed is a warning."
- ―Arno Dorian reflecting on the Assassins' Creed following his reinstatement, c. 1794.[src]-[m]
Arno preparing the Apple of Eden for the Brotherhood
On 7 August 1794, an Assassin was contacted by Arno Dorian, who had recovered an Apple of Eden from an Isu temple underneath the Basilica of Saint-Denis. The former Assassin gave him the Piece of Eden and tasked him to send it to the Mentor Al Mualim in Cairo, to protect the artifact from Napoleon Bonaparte.[77] For this act and also for his assassination of François-Thomas Germain during his excommunication, the Council reinstated Arno in the Brotherhood, bestowing him the title of Master Assassin.[74]
In October, Arno and another Assassins helped escort the funeral procession carrying Jean-Jacques Rousseau's remains as it passed through Saint-Denis. When the procession came under attack by raiders hired by an unknown benefactor, the Assassins eliminated the raiders and made sure Rousseau's remains safely reached the Panthéon in Paris.[78]
In 1795, the Assassins wanted to save Louis XVII of France, who was a hostage of the Templars. Arno rescued the hostage, only to discover that he was a servant of Louis XVII and that the real prince had passed away. Nevertheless, the Brotherhood believed the information the man possessed might prove useful.[79] In the late 1790s, the Templars infiltrated the Council of Five Hundred in an attempt to restart the Reign of Terror, but Arno foiled their plans and killed the Templars.[80]
On 24 December 1800, a team of Assassins rescued Napoleon Bonaparte from an assassination attempt organized by royalists and killed the group's leader, François-Joseph Carbon.[16]
19th century[]
Second French Empire[]
By 1855, the Brotherhood had expanded their influence with multiple bases around Paris, including one underneath the Gare de l'Est. The team underneath the Gare de l'Est consisted of Amira Benyamina, Michel Moulin, and Henri Escoffier. That year, they met and welcomed the deserted soldier Simeon Price, training him as an Assassin. Within the year, Price was inducted into the Brotherhood by Benyamina[81] and given a Hidden Blade by Escoffier.[82]
On 14 January 1858, Price looked for any clues and sightings of the "Magus" or his puppet, Felice Orsini, at the opera theatre of Rue le Peletier, but found nothing. However, once Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie de Montijo arrived, a series of bombings occurred, with the Emperor and Empress as their targets. Luckily, the French acrobat Pierrette Arnaud and Price worked together to stop a bomb from being thrown. However, Arnaud was knocked out as Price held onto the casing and aided Arnaud.[17]
Afterwards, Price brought Arnaud to the Gare de l'Est and discussed her presence in Paris. Despite some hostility, Price reluctantly offered to train Arnaud as an Assassin.[82] However, training went sour as both tried and failed to decipher the Magus' identity. Later joined by Benyamina and Moulin, dots were connected as Michel mentioned Oscar Kane's presence in Paris to look for the Eye. Although the Assassins were doubtful of Kane's involvement, Arnaud remembered being told by a woman she had spied on that a man called "Mr. Waistcoat" had been spotted days before the bombings. Shocked, they all realized that Kane and the Magus were the same person.[83]
In 1868, the Brotherhood sent French Army officer Jules Brunet to assist their Japanese brethren in defending the waning Tokugawa shogunate from the Templar-backed Imperial Court.[18]
In the spring of 1870, the Brotherhood was investigating the whereabouts of both the Austrian Templar Art Hennighan and the Ankh. Now the leader of the French Assassins, Michel Moulin aided Simeon Price in his search for Hennighan by sending him to assassinate the Templar Virgile Donat. Before his death, Donat revealed that the Ankh was being used for the Engine of History. However, Moulin worried about the pressures of incoming war,[84] and assigned Price to take Fabrice Sabourin and Jules Sabourin to cut down telegraph lines. Yet, it was all for naught as France soon declared war on Prussia.[85]
While the war raged on, the French Assassins returned to their old base at the Gare de l'Est and saw the Second French Empire fall as Napoleon III abdicated his throne. Price was assigned to transport the Empress Eugénie de Montijo out of Paris while telling Pierrette Arnaud about Countess Konstanze von Visler's contact with the French Templars and how most Templars were relocating to Tours.[86]
Following his advice, Arnaud stationed herself there. Later, Moulin organized an attack on the Prussians at Le Bourget, in order to compel the government to finally take action. On 27 October, Price and the Assassins took over the commune from the Prussians for the French. However, after three days, they were forced to retreat as no reinforcements had been sent. Moulin and Price then looked at the messages from Madame Charpentier's pigeon coops and uncovered corresponence between the French Templar Victoire L'Estocq and Konstanze von Visler. As a result, Price was sent to find and confront the countess.[87]
While traveling by hot-air balloon, Price was attacked by its engineer Lebrun, who was a Templar assigned to transport the Ankh. During their scuffle, Price threw Lebrun overboard along with the Ankh, then leapt from the falling balloon.[88] Walking to Tours, Price found a note to meet at a café. While he waited, Arnaud noticed him from the rooftop but saw a sniper as well. Confronting the sniper, Arnaud saw that it was Hennighan and began a cat-and-mouse chase. Ultimately, she gained the upper hand and killed the Templar. As Price caught up with her, they discussed setting up a heliograph to communicate with Moulin in Paris while Price left for Brussels to confront Konstanze.[89]
Belle Époque[]
Nearly two decades later, the French Brotherhood were on the lookout for the renewed Templar Konstanze von Visler, who had betrayed the Zurich Brotherhood after her first mission as an Assassin.[90] By 1889, Simeon Price resided in Montmartre and was assigned lesser tasks by the Assassins,[91] due to having become an outcast after falling in love[92] with Konstanze and vouching for her.[93] One of his tasks was to kill the Templar gang member Centime, which was completed with haste and mercilessly. The next day, he was met by Fabrice Sabourin, who had recently joined the Assassins. Fabrice informed Price that Konstanze was in Paris and how he and others had been tasked to assassinate her.[91]
Knowing better, Price tracked the countess to a hotel and investigated her room. However, he was found by Fabrice, before they both heard someone escaping through the window. Price jumped out of the window and caught up with the escapee, but saw that it was a young girl serving as Konstanze's decoy. Meanwhile, the Assassins found a puzzle box and brought it back to Moulin and his wife Mary Fitzpatrick. The Assassins solved the puzzle and found a correspondence between Konstanze and another Templar stating that the Engine of History was nearing completion and the Assassins would be wiped out. They later saw a picture of the construction site of the Eiffel Tower behind the note.[91]
Price immediately sent a letter to Pierrette Arnaud to inform her of Konstanze's plans,[94] and later received her and her ward Spider Wallin. Together with the other Assassins, they planned to bomb the Eiffel Tower to stop the Engine. Alone with Price, Arnaud told him that Konstanze had to die for her deeds. However, while the others readied themselves, Arnaud kept thinking and called Anne Blunt to share the news of Ada Lovelace's notes. After the call, Arnaud realized the lines from the notes were of a prediction method developed by Ada for horse races. Putting all the clues together, she deduced the Assassins were walking into a trap as the Templars intended to frame them as terrorists for bombing the tower.[95]
While racing to stop Moulin's plan, Arnaud was shot by Konstanze but was saved by Spider. Spider promised to inform the Assassins while Arnaud awaited the police to aid her.[95] Elsewhere, while the Assassins planted the explosives, Price noticed Konstanze and the decoy enter and climb the tower. Confronting them, Price was introduced to the girl, Gisela, whom Konstanze claimed to be their daughter. Nevertheless, Price chased after the girl while injuring Konstanze by throwing a knife into her leg. At the summit, Price was soon put into a motionless state as Gisela used an Apple of Eden against him. Fortunately, Spider wrestled her down and told Price about the Templars' true plan.[19]
Realizing the truth, Price turned to an incoming Konstanze and set down a handkerchief with the countess' initials on it. As they fought, Price held Konstanze against an iron pole with his blade. Hesitating, Price was pushed by Gisela, unintentionally causing the blade to slice Konstanze's neck. Defeated, Konstanze and Gisela escaped using their gliders, though the former succumbed to her injury. Meanwhile, Price and Spider sent a Morse code through the lights atop the tower to the Assassins below, allowing them to prevent the explosives from detonating at the last moment. With the day saved, the Assassins proceeded to remove the bombs, though they found no sign of Konstanze's body or Gisela. Nevertheless, the Brotherhood had successfully prevented the Engine's prediction from coming true.[19]
Modern times[]
In December 2000, the Templars initiated the Great Purge, which saw the eradication of many Assassin guilds worldwide, including the Parisian Brotherhood.[4] Despite this, the Assassins continued to operate in France and, in October 2014, a team led by Gavin Banks attacked an Abstergo Industries laboratory in Paris used for researching Isu artifacts and genetic material.[96] During the attack, the body of the Sage John Standish and the original Shroud of Eden were destroyed, hindering the progress of Abstergo's Phoenix Project.[97]
In November 2014, Eric Cooper set up an Assassin headquarters in Paris to help infiltrate a data hub for the Helix, Abstergo Entertainment's upcoming cloud-based game service.[5] By 2019, Gavin Banks had a hideout within Notre-Dame, which was destroyed when the cathedral caught fire on 15 April.[98]
Origins and appearance[]
At the beginning of the 14th century, some French Assassins, like Thomas de Carneillon, wore robes similar to the Master Assassin robe of the Levantine Brotherhood, with some differences, like the color and the leather hood.[11]
Arno Dorian in his Master Assassin robes
During the French Revolution, most Assassins, like Pierre Bellec, wore a white, yellow or black military uniform with a dark hood and a mask to conceal their faces. The female Assassins had shorter robes and, sometimes, wore masquerade masks. Other Assassins, like Masters Sophie Trenet and Hervé Quemar, wore leather robes. Arno Dorian, during his early years in the Brotherhood, wore a blue robe and later wore different robes. Masters Assassins of the French Brotherhood received an honorific robe.[15]
Most members of the Brotherhood were French people but some had other origins, like the Canadians John de La Tour[34] and Pierre Bellec,[36] or Guillaume Beylier[99] and Augustin Grisier, who had African heritage.[28]
Techniques[]
The French Assassins during the 18th century were trained in stealth, combat, and parkour, using most of the tactics created by the Levantine Brotherhood. Unlike other contemporary branches, they wore only one Hidden Blade but they developed a tactic for assassinating two targets with one blade.[15] In another departure from tradition, when an initiate became an Assassin, they received the Phantom Blade, a miniature crossbow incorporated in the Hidden Blade which could shoot projectiles or poison darts.[100]
An activated Phantom Blade
The French Assassins used a variety of weapons as part of their arsenal, ranging from crossbows,[1] swords, maces, long weapons, and axes, to various types of firearms like rifles, muskets, and pistols. Similarly to the Ottoman Brotherhood during the Renaissance, the French Assassins used different kinds of bombs to lure or cripple their enemies, including smoke bombs, cherry bombs, stun bombs, money pouches, and poisonous bombs.[15]
Members[]
- Roman Gaul
- Aquilus (Liberalis Circulum)
- "C. C."
- Lucius (Liberalis Circulum)
- Carolingian Empire
- Persecution of the Templars
- Thomas de Carneillon (Mentor; until 1323)
- Guillaume de Nogaret (Mentor; c. 1307)
- Hundred Years' War
- Jean de Metz
- John II of Alençon (defected)
- René of Anjou
- Yolande of Aragon (Mentor; c. 1429)
- Renaissance
- Avicenne
- Helene Dufranc (deserted)
- Florine
- Margaux
- Isaac du Queyran
- Age of Enlightenment
- Maréchal
- Mireille (leader; c. 1721)
- Nicolas de Saint-Prix
- William de Saint-Prix (Colonial Brotherhood)
- John de la Tour (Colonial Brotherhood)
- French Revolution
- François Auverlot
- Louise Auverlot
- Pierre Bellec (Colonial Brotherhood; betrayed)
- Camille Berteau
- Pierre Berteau
- Hubert Besy
- Guillaume Beylier
- Simon Bonhomme
- Guillaume Bourgeois
- Brasseur
- Jacques Cagnard
- Cartouche III
- Claude Chemin
- Angélique Chevrier
- Charles Chevrier
- Couillaud (betrayed)
- Geneviève Dalle
- Joseph Deshais
- Arno Dorian
- Antoine Faroy
- Antoine Fieve
- Nicolas Fribourg
- Paul Ganchard
- Pierre Gard
- Alexandre Garnier
- François Garnier
- Jacques Girard
- Gabriel Godin
- Charlotte Gouze
- Anne Grelet
- Augustin Grisier
- Pierre Guilbert
- Louise Harly
- Camille Hautcoeur
- Philippe Hélissant
- Marguerite Huet
- Claude Hure
- Catherine Imbert
- Charles Imbert
- Edmé Leblanc
- Simon Leblanc
- Laurent Lemaire
- Claude Lejeune
- Madeleine Leroux
- Marguerite Mignot
- Mirabeau (Mentor; until 1791)
- Paul Morot
- Didier Paton
- Hervé Quemar
- Élisabeth Roger
- Laurent Rousseau
- Germain Savin
- Thomas Simon
- Le Téméraire
- Sophie Trenet (leader; began 1791)
- Denis Varlet
- Second French Empire
- Jean-Baptiste Barbeau[101]
- Amira Benyamina[102] (Egyptian Brotherhood)
- Jules Brunet[18]
- Mary Fitzpatrick[101]
- Henri Escoffier[102] (Swiss Brotherhood)
- Michel Moulin[102] (leader; began c. 1870)
- Simeon Price[102] (British Brotherhood)
- Fabrice Sabourin[101]
- Sami Zidane[101]
Allies and puppets[]
- Roman Gaul
- Accipiter (Liberalis Circulum)
- Cuervo (Liberalis Circulum)
- Valeria
- Weke
- Carolingian Empire
- Farid (Iberian Hidden Ones)
- Hytham (Constantinople Hidden Ones)
- Basim Ibn Ishaq (Constantinople Hidden Ones)
- Jessamyn (Egyptian Hidden Ones)
- Kalim (Egyptian Hidden Ones)
- Rashid (Egyptian Hidden Ones)
- Sihem (Egyptian Hidden Ones)
- Persecution of the Templars
- Hundred Years' War
- Jeanne d'Arc (trained)
- Charles VII of France
- Fleur
- Gabriel Laxart (trained)
- Renaissance
- Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Italian Brotherhood)
- Fabrizzio Auditore (Italian Brotherhood)
- Age of Enlightenment
- French Revolution
- Second French Empire
- World War II
- Eddie Gorm (British Brotherhood)
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- Assassin's Creed III (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue
- Assassin's Creed: Unity
- Assassin's Creed: Unity novel
- Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Heresy
- Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Blade of Aizu
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Siege of Paris (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road
- Assassin's Creed: Fragments – The Witches of the Moors
- Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy
- Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot
References[]
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