Tessa Kenway

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

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"Your mother has more pluck than any man I've ever met, Haytham, like a lioness in pursuit of her prey. A sight as bloodcurdling as it was awe-inspiring."

―Edward Kenway describing Tessa to their son.^[src]

Tessa Kenway (née Stephenson-Oakley; died 1747) was an English noblewoman and the second wife of the Assassin Edward Kenway. Through her marriage, she became the step-mother of Jennifer Scott and the mother of Haytham Kenway, as well as the paternal grandmother of Ratonhnhaké:ton. Through this line, she was an ancestor of William and Desmond Miles, Victor Flores Castillo,^[1] and Noa Kim.^[2]

Biography[]

Meeting Edward Kenway[]

Born into the noble Stephenson-Oakley family in England, Tessa was the daughter of a wealthy landowner.^[3] In 1723, she met Edward Kenway when the former pirate retired to London and was introduced to Tessa's family by Robert Walpole.^[4] Edward rented out one of her father's houses, but Tessa later decided to help him buy his own home and to find the necessary servants.^[3]

Tessa and Edward eventually fell in love and, by late 1724, were married. The couple planned to move in together into their new mansion on Queen Anne's Square alongside Jennifer, Edward's daughter from his first marriage.^[5] Tessa's family disapproved of the union, leading to them becoming estranged.^[3]

Journey to Singapore[]

"I sail halfway around the world to come to your rescue, and this is the thanks I get?! God, how you frustrate me at times, Edward! But am I ever glad to see that you're all right..."

―Tessa to her husband during their reunion, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

ACFT - Tessa talking to the Assassins — The Assassins informing Tessa of the plot against Edward

In January 1725, before Tessa and Edward could finalize their move, the latter revealed that he had to travel to Macau on some urgent business. Without much warning, Edward bid farewell to Tessa and left on his journey, promising to return home as soon as possible.^[5] Not long after her husband's departure, Tessa was visited at the Kenway Mansion by three Assassins. After correctly deducing that she was Edward's wife, one of the Assassins told Tessa about a conspiracy to have her husband killed, much to her concern.^[6]

Inviting the Assassins into her home for tea, Tessa learned that the trio had been sent by Edward's friend Adéwalé. The Assassins gave Tessa more details about the conspiracy and asked her to recommend a reliable messenger to send word of the plot to Edward. However, Tessa, feeling she could not trust a stranger with her husband's safety, volunteered to deliver the message herself.^[7]

Tessa subsequently boarded a ship sailing to Southeast Asia, where she searched for Edward, eventually managing to track him down to Singapore. However, after disembarking, Tessa discovered that Jennifer had secretly stowed away on her ship. Following a brief argument, Jennifer ran away, wishing to find her father by herself.^[5]

ACFT - Saito meeting Tessa — Tessa meeting Shimazu Saito

While looking for her step-daughter, Tessa instead came across Edward, who had gotten into an altercation with two sailors after leaving a pub. Tessa broke up the fight by firing her pistol and angrily confronted her husband for leaving her in London for months only to wander the streets of Singapore drunk. As a large crowd gathered around them to watch the scene, Tessa calmed down and embraced Edward, expressing her relief to see him safe.^[5]

After Edward suddenly collapsed, Tessa caught her husband and was approached by the samurai Shimazu Saito, whom Edward introduced as his friend; however, Saito quickly corrected him, insisting that they were just "business associates". Saito explained that Edward was not feeling like himself and Tessa asked the samurai to find Jennifer, providing her with a description of the girl. Saito accepted and left to search for Jennifer while Tessa carried the weakened Edward to her lodgings.^[5]

There, Tessa took Edward to rest and looked after him while telling him about the reason for her journey halfway across the world. Concerned for her husband's well-being, Tessa then demanded to know everything that had happened to Edward since they had last seen each other.^[7]

ACFT - Tessa hugging Jennifer — Tessa embracing Jennifer

Not long after, Saito returned with Jennifer, having saved her from a group of pirates who had pursued her. While Jennifer apologized for running away, Tessa was relieved to see her step-daughter unharmed and embraced her before thanking Saito for finding her. She then took Jennifer to see Edward, though while the two hugged each other, Tessa noticed that Edward was feeling unwell and asked Jennifer to let him rest.^[7]

After Jennifer left, Edward confessed to Tessa that he blamed himself for leaving his family in London and leading his new companions on a pointless quest that had only brought them misery. As Edward questioned what was the point of any of his actions if he could not protect his loved ones, Tessa snapped him out of his depressive mood. She told him that this was not the first time he had faced challenges which made him question himself, that his actions meant something to her and Jennifer, and that she knew her husband was not someone to be easily defeated by his failures.^[7]

As Edward regained his resolve, Tessa began to get intimate with him, telling her husband that she had spent too many "lonely nights" since his departure. Edward was unsure if his body was up for the "challenge", but Tessa continued to seduce him and they ended up spending the night together.^[7]

ACFT - Extra passenger — Tessa telling Edward about the "extra passenger" she picked up

The following day, Tessa and Jennifer bid farewell to Edward and Saito, who boarded the Fenghuang to resume their journey across Southeast Asia. As they parted ways, Edward apologized for having to leave his family once again and promised to return home as soon as his mission was over.^[8]

Tessa, understanding, told Edward not to worry as she knew what to expect when she had married him. She then remarked that she might have picked up an "extra passenger" in Singapore and that Edward could expect a surprise when he returned home, though Edward did not understand what she meant. After watching the Fenghuang depart, Tessa and Jennifer also left Singapore, returning to London.^[8]

Losing her family[]

On 4 December 1725, Tessa gave birth to her and Edward's son, naming him Haytham. During Haytham's childhood, Tessa treated her son with unequivocal affection, until the night before his tenth birthday in 1735. On that fateful night, five mercenaries broke into the house to steal a journal in Edward's possession. During the attack, Tessa was almost murdered by one of the mercenaries but was saved by Haytham, who killed her assailant.^[3]

Despite escaping with her life, Tessa lost both her husband and her home in the attack, as the mercenaries murdered Edward and set the manor ablaze. Jennifer was also kidnapped during the attack, leaving Tessa alone with Haytham. Now seeing her son as a killer as opposed to the innocent boy he had been prior to the assault, Tessa agreed to leave him in the care of Reginald Birch, one of Edward's senior property managers and a friend of the family, unaware that Birch was the Grand Master of the British Templars and the one responsible for the attack.^[3]

Later life and death[]

While Haytham travelled with Birch across Europe, allegedly to search for Jennifer, Tessa remained in London to oversee reconstruction of the manor.^[9] She would pass away twelve years later in June 1747 after suffering a fall, a fact which Haytham was made aware of during a meeting with Birch in Prague.^[10]^[3]

Personality and traits[]

Edward: "I should have known since I first laid eyes on you. You're a far more formidable woman than a wretched pirate like me deserves."

Tessa: "Just thank your lucky stars and count yourself blessed... to have found a wife with the patience of a saint."

—Edward and Tessa, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

ACFT - Tessa with a pistol — Tessa holding a pistol

Despite her noble upbringing, Tessa had a fiery personality and was not afraid to get into physical confrontations to protect her loved ones. This was evidenced by the fact she carried a pistol on her person at all times, which she could fire with marksman-level accuracy.^[5]

After meeting Edward Kenway, Tessa was immediately smitten with the Assassin and pursued his affection for months, until Edward finally came to reciprocate her feelings. To this, Edward would joke years later that Tessa had been like "a lioness in pursuit of her prey" from the moment she had laid eyes on him; usually resulting in an annoyed reaction from Tessa or even a clout.^[3]

Against her family's wishes, Tessa eventually married Edward and became a loving wife to him and an attentive and caring step-mother to Jennifer. While she could at times be frustrated by Edward's actions, especially when they required her to get him out of trouble, she cared for her husband and was always relieved when he came out unharmed.^[5]

Despite Jennifer not being her own flesh and blood, Tessa nonetheless loved and treated her like her own daughter. However, she could at times be overprotective of her, which led Jennifer to run away from Tessa in Singapore.^[5] When the girl was returned unharmed by Shimazu Saito, Tessa was overcome with relief and joy and thanked Saito for finding her step-daughter.^[7]

ACFT - Tessa embracing Edward — Tessa embracing Edward

In addition to looking after Edward, Tessa also acted as his main pillar of support, always being there to encourage her husband and raise his spirits whenever he felt down. When a despondent Edward expressed regret for abandoning his family and leading his companions astray, Tessa quickly snapped him out of it and helped him regain his resolve by encouraging him to be the man she had fallen in love with; one who learned from his failures instead of letting them defeat him.^[7]

After the birth of her and Edward's son Haytham, Tessa took on the role of a doting mother, treating her son with unequivocal affection. She frequently played with him, assisted him with his lessons, and always kissed him goodnight. However, after the fateful attack which claimed Edward's life, Tessa came to see Haytham in a different light once he took his first life.^[3]

Believing her son to be a cold-blooded murderer and not the innocent boy she had raised for ten years, Tessa allowed Reginald Birch to become his guardian and subsequently tried to distance herself from Haytham as much as possible. By the time of her death, Tessa had completely lost contact with Haytham, who as a result remained oblivious to his mother's fate for weeks.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Tessa Kenway is a character introduced in the 2012 novel Assassin's Creed: Forsaken by Oliver Bowden. Although she was depicted in several pieces of artwork in the community-oriented project Assassin's Creed: Initiates, she would not make her first physical appearance until the 2023 webtoon Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple.

Etymology[]

The name Tessa is a shortened form of Teresa, which is possibly derived from the Greek word θερίζω (therízō), meaning "to harvest or reap", or from θέρος (theros), meaning "summer". Another possible origin of the name is the Latin word terra, meaning "earth".^[11]

The first of Tessa's maiden names, Stephenson, is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen";^[12] Stephen in turn is derived from the Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), a name originating from the Greek word στέφανος (stéphanos), which means "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame".^[13] Tessa's second maiden name, Oakley, is of English origin and means "oak clearing".^[14]