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"Thus, to any and all who have read this and understood little; be not upset. For there is more Mysterie than Sense in the World, and our only Purpose is to endure it!"
―The closing words of Thom's final message, 1706.[src]-[m]

Thomas "Thom" Kavanagh, Jr. (1652 – 1706) was a Boston native and a Sage, a reincarnation of the Isu Aita. At an early age, he discovered that he was different from other people, and struggled with his condition for his entire life. This amplified itself once Kavanagh became caught up in the struggle between the Assassins and the Templars.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Thom Kavanagh was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1652,[1] to middle-class parents Elizabeth and Thomas Kavangah.[2][3] From an early age, Thom was distinguished from other children, in both appearance and behavior. By his own account, he was often the subject of much wonder and speculation to both his parents and other adults he came in contact with.[2]

Thom was also afflicted with strange visions of beings "in great flowing robes" from another time; visions that began when he was four years old[4] and subsisted throughout his entire life. The most common of these apparitions involved a woman he called "beloved" and two others, who all spoke of ways to avert a coming crisis.[5]

At fourteen, Thom was apprenticed to a master carpenter by the name of Jonathan Davenport, a slave owner,[6] who would later provide good reference for Thom during his travels in the West Indies.[7]

Eventually, Thom felt that his skill had progressed sufficiently over the course of his apprenticeship, and decided to go out to sea and put his skills to good use.[6]

In Jamaica[]

Thom traveled south from Boston, making his way down the coast and through the Bahamas, experiencing the adventures and hardships of a sailing life. During his travels, his visions increased in number and intensity, and he began hearing voices outside of his reveries.[8] During this time, he also had a revelation regarding "The Code of Lyfe", or human genetic make-up, which he noted as having no precedent in modern philosophy.[9][10]

Carrying a letter from Davenport, Thom was able to secure a job with the famous Peter Beckford the Elder, a plantation owner in Jamaica who had amassed a fortune through his business.[7] Thom worked with him for an unknown amount of time, until the arrival of the Templar Laureano de Torres y Ayala to Beckford's estate in 1673. In his first meeting with Torres, Thom immediately sensed something amiss.[11] After another of his reveries, Thom discovered a note from Torres, claiming "you have the exact likeness of a man my colleagues have longed to meet" and requesting an audience. Thom wondered about this message and the offer for some time until he was aware of a battle outside.[12]

The Assassin Bahlam made his way to Thom's room, shot him with a potent sleep dart,[12] and took him to the Assassin stronghold at Tulum, where he awoke days later.[13]

The Observatory[]

Thom spent some time living with the Assassins in Tulum, learning that he was one in a long line of men known as Sages, a select few who had the power to locate and open a hidden complex known as the Observatory.[13][14] This explained the Templar's eagerness to find Kavanagh, as well as his multiple visions and memories. When he asked if Bahlam would "steal away his memories as well," Bahlam told him that the memories were Thom's alone, and the choice to share them was his.[14] A day after Bahlam's explanation, Thom informed him that he planned to leave Tulum and search for the Observatory; Bahlam and his son Ah Tabai helped him gather supplies for the journey before they parted ways.[15][16]

Over a year later, Thom located the Observatory in Long Bay, Jamaica,[16] and spent the rest of his life there living with the compound's Taino guardians.[17] He died late in 1706 and was buried a short distance away.[18]

He wrote messages detailing parts of his life and sent them via bottles to the sea. Between 1715 and 1722, those messages were eventually recovered by the pirate and eventual Assassin Edward Kenway. The last of these bottles was placed over Kavanagh's grave near the Observatory after his death.[19]

Personality[]

Thom Kavanagh was a man deeply troubled by his status as a Sage, as he was very different from other persons.[5] He was kind and sympathetic as he wrote letters describing his life and how he coped with his dual life, hoping that other people with the same affliction as he would find and use them to better their lives.[1][18]

Trivia[]

  • Kavanagh was indirectly mentioned in a conversation between Kenway, Torres, Woodes Rogers, and Julien du Casse in the memory "Mister Walpole, I Presume?", when du Casse commented that "It has been forty-five years since anyone has seen a true Sage", though Thom's letters mention Torres meeting him in 1673, closer to forty years.

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black FlagThom Kavanagh's letters: #1
  2. 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #2
  3. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #3
  4. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #4
  5. 5.0 5.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters
  6. 6.0 6.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #6
  7. 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #10
  8. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #7
  9. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #8
  10. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #9
  11. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #12
  12. 12.0 12.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #14
  13. 13.0 13.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #15
  14. 14.0 14.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #16
  15. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #17
  16. 16.0 16.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #18
  17. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #19
  18. 18.0 18.1 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Thom Kavanagh's letters: #20
  19. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
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