Assassin's Creed Initiates: The Reformer - Altair's Story
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 | 1 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1165-01-11 - THE EAGLE’S BIRTH
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad was born into the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins to a Muslim father, Umar, and a Christian mother, Maud. His mother died from complications during childbirth, leaving Altaïr to be raised by his father alone.
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 | 2 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1176-08 - SARACEN SIEGE OF MASYAF
After two attempts on his life, Saracen leader Salah Al'Din raised a force of ten thousand soldiers and marched on the Assassin fortress at Masyaf, determined to end their threat to his life once and for all. His uncle Shahib failed to convince him to join forces with the Assassins, but Al'Din was not swayed from his ardent desire for revenge.
While the Saracens constructed siege engines, the Assassins weighed their options. While some recommended killing Salah Al'Din, Assassin Mentor Al Mualim preferred a more subtle approach. He sent Umar Ibn-La'Ahad to infiltrate the Saracen camp with the mission to lay a feather upon the sleeping body of the Saracen leader. He hoped this would send a crystal-clear message that Al'Din was vulnerable at any time. While Umar successfully delivered the feather, he was discovered and was forced to kill a nobleman.
After a few days of fighting with casualties rising on both sides, Shahib approached the fortress to negotiate with Al Mualim.
Shahib presented his terms to the Assassins: Give up Umar to find peace. If not, face a prolonged siege leading to inevitable destruction. Al Mualim refused so Shahib revealed they had captured an Assassin spy, Ahmad Sofian. The spy would be the first to die in the renewed conflict.
Umar convinced Al Mualim to let him take Ahmad's place and accept responsibility for his failure. The Mentor reluctantly agreed and Umar walked calmly towards his executioners as his son Altaïr cried out for him. Umar's dying wish was that Al Mualim take Altaïr as his disciple so he could be trained as an Assassin.
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 | 3 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1176-08 - THE GHOST OF AHMAD SOFIAN
For two days, Altaïr was tortured by the fevered cries of Ahmad Sofian, the man he held responsible for his father's death. Wracked with a fever from his treatment at the hands of the Saracens, Ahmad could only cry out the name of Altaïr's father, Umar, as he was attended to by his son Abbas.
One night, Altaïr woke in the middle of the night to find a gaunt, pale Ahmad standing over him. The man simply said, “I'm sorry,” before drawing a dagger across his own throat. Terrified, Altaïr ran to Al Mualim, who swore him to secrecy. The mentor decided to tell the Brotherhood that Ahmad had fled, so that Abbas would not be tainted with the shame of his father's suicide. Altaïr wondered why Abbas could not know the truth, but promised Al Mualim to keep the secret.
The next day, Altaïr and Abbas were placed in quarters together and began their training as Assassins. Abbas was confident that he would be reunited with his father soon, but Altaïr was reunited with Ahmad for many nights to come, as he suffered from nightmares about Ahmad and the red smile at his throat.
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 | 4 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1177 - BROTHERS NO MORE
Altaïr and Abbas trained together in the ways of the Assassins and grew very close. However, Altaïr began to notice his friend had become withdrawn, lost in despair about whether or not his long-lost father would return. Altaïr believed that if Abbas knew the truth about his father's death, then it would bring him short-term pain but a lasting sense of peace. One night, Altaïr finally revealed that Ahmad had committed suicide in his room, but Abbas said nothing.
The next day, Abbas demanded that he and Altaïr be allowed to train with real swords instead of the wooden training ones. In a fury of tears, Abbas viciously attacked Altaïr, knocked him down, held a knife to his throat, and demanded that he take back the lies he had told the night before. Left with no other choice, Altaïr conceded and told Abbas that he had lied. Both boys were thrown into Masyaf's cells for a month, but when they emerged, Abbas was punished again, as his training was extended for another year.
Abbas grew to hate Altaïr, and in turn, Altaïr began to pity Abbas, and the two were never friends again.
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 | 5 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1189 - THE YOUNG MASTER
Returning from travels to find Masyaf overrun by Templars, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad fought his way up to the fortress stronghold, killing Templar soldiers and rescuing villagers along the way. He was greeted at the gates by Haras, a traitor who had facilitated the Templar attack, who was holding Al Mualim, the Brotherhood's mentor, hostage.
Altaïr climbed his way into the fortress, assassinated the traitor from above, and saved Al Mualim. In return, Al Mualim elevated him to the rank of Master Assassin at the age of 25, making Altaïr the youngest Assassin to attain that rank.
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 | 6 - JERUSALEM // ISRAEL // 1191 - THE THREE TENETS
Altaïr, an arrogant Master Assassin of the Levantine Brotherhood, was sent to Solomon's Temple by his mentor Al-Mualim to investigate a recent Templar discovery. He was joined by the brothers Malik and Kadar Al-Sayf.
Altaïr killed an elderly man near the entrance to the tunnels that led beneath the Temple Mount. While such a gesture impressed the young Kadar, Malik chastised the Master Assassin for not following the first tenet of the Brotherhood, “Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent.”
As the three Assassins entered deeper into the underground passageways leading to the Temple, they came upon a large chamber displaying a golden chest. The Assassins wondered if it was the fabled Ark of the Covenant.
Several Templars entered the chamber, led by Robert de Sable, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Altaïr, ignoring Malik's warnings and breaking cover, confronted the Templars. He failed to kill de Sable and was thrown through a damaged portion of the Temple. Its collapse blocked him from helping the brothers fighting for their lives against the Templars.
Left with no other options, Altaïr fled Solomon's Temple and returned to Masyaf in failure.
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 | 7 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - COLD COMFORT
Altaïr returned to Masyaf and was met at the village gates by Rauf, a fellow Assassin, who directed him to the fortress to report to their mentor Al Mualim. At the fortress gates, Altaïr had a short meeting with a less-friendly face, his bitter rival Abbas Sofian.
Al Mualim was eager to hear of Altaïr's mission, but quickly became angry when he was presented with excuses instead of the treasure. As Altaïr informed the mentor of the deaths of Malik and Kadar, an injured Malik made a surprise entrance by staggering into the room.
Malik vehemently accused Altaïr, stating that the mission would have been successful had the Master Assassin not broken all three tenets of the Assassin's Creed. Malik also revealed that he managed to retrieve the treasure, at the cost of his brother Kadar's life.
Before Al Mualim could administer any punishment, a Templar force that had followed Malik from Solomon's Temple began to lay siege to Masyaf. Al Mualim ordered his Assassins to drive the invaders from their home.
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 | 8 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - GUARDIAN
Altaïr headed to the village to confront the Templars invading Masyaf. Rauf asked him to keep them occupied while he organized a rescue for trapped village citizens. Altaïr fought his way to the gates of the village, killing Templars until he heard Abbas relay Al Mualim's order to retreat into the fortress.
Altaïr returned to the fortress gates and saw the villagers huddled in the courtyard. Rauf beckoned him to join him in the fortress's tower and told him to stand upon a wooden platform high above a rocky landscape below.
Robert de Sable emerged from the Templar force and demanded that Al Mualim return the artifact stolen from him. Al Mualim refused, and answered de Sable's threat of a prolonged siege with proof that the Assassins had no fear of death.
On cue, Altaïr, Rauf, and a third Assassin executed a Leap of Faith off the platform and landed in bales of hay placed below. The third Assassin missed his jump and broke his leg, forcing Rauf to tend to his wounds and silence his screams of pain to avoid discovery.
Altaïr crossed a series of wooden beams placed across the gorge that led to a tower behind the Templar force. He climbed to the top of the tower and used his sword to loose a pile of heavy logs that crashed down into de Sable's army, forcing them to retreat.
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 | 9 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - THE SLEEP OF THE DEAD
Despite having successfully routed the Templar attack that followed from the ill-fated investigation of Solomon's Temple, Altaïr was chastised before the entire Brotherhood by Al Mualim. Judgment was passed on the Assassin and Al Mualim stabbed Altaïr in the stomach with a dagger.
When he awoke from the "sleep of the dead", Altaïr was stripped of his rank and possessions as further punishment. However, Al Mualim offered him a chance at redemption.
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 | 10 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - MASUN THE TRAITOR
As a novice again, Altaïr had to prove his abilities to Al Mualim once more. As a Master Assassin, Altaïr had others track his targets for him, but now had to carry out his own investigations. His first mission was to find the traitor in Masyaf who opened the gate for Robert de Sable and the Templars and bring him to the mentor for questioning.
Altaïr was met at the fortress gates by a Masyaf informer, who instructed him to begin his investigation at the village market where they first spotted the traitor. The Assassin eavesdropped on a conversation during which he discovered that a man named Masun was the one who opened the gates for the Templars, but he did not act alone. Masun exchanged letters to his accomplices, using the village's basket weaver as a courier.
Altaïr found the nervous basket weaver who had just received a new letter. He followed the weaver and pickpocketed the letter. The Assassin found Masun, the herald, near the cypress tree in the village. Masun was blaming the attack on Al Mualim, claiming that their mentor had betrayed them all. Altaïr trailed the herald to a secluded spot and then beat a confession out of him. Masun admitted to serving the Templars and opening the gates at the request of a man named Jamal.
Altaïr brought Masun before Al Mualim, who gave the herald a last chance to repent. When Masun refused, Al Mualim executed him with his sword.
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 | 11 -MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - HUNT FOR THE NINE
Following his disgraceful actions at Solomon's Temple, which led to his demotion, Altaïr was given a chance to climb the ranks of the Brotherhood once again by Al Mualim, who instructed the Assassin to hunt down and take the lives of nine Templars in exchange for his own.
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 | 12 - DASMASCUS // SYRIA // 1191 - THE SMITHS OF SOUK AL-SILAAH
Altaïr rode to Damascus and met the Rafiq of the local Assassin bureau. He then worked through the Poor District of Damascus to gain information on his first target, Tamir, a black market merchant who sold weapons to Crusaders and Saracens alike.
Altaïr discovered that Tamir planned a meeting with his merchants in the Souk Al-Silaah to discuss an important sale, the largest he'd ever arranged, with enough weapons to arm nearly a thousand men. To meet this order, Tamir pushed the merchant's guild to produce the arms through both violence and bribery. This prompted some of the merchants to reach out to Abu'l Nuquod, the Merchant King of Damascus, to explain their predicament.
Altaïr decided that the meeting would be the ideal time to strike, as Tamir would be too preoccupied with his work to notice his approach.
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 | 13 - DAMASCUS // SYRIA // 1191 - SUCKLING AT THE BREAST OF WAR
Altaïr waited for Tamir to appear at a courtyard in the Souk Al-Silaah, and watched while his prey berated an old merchant for not being able to deliver a shipment of weapons on time. When the merchant suggested Tamir was asking for too much, Tamir responded by stabbing him repeatedly and leaving the body in a fountain as a warning to the other merchants.
As Tamir wandered the Souk to bully the other merchants, Altaïr found his moment to strike and killed his target. As he lay dying, Tamir cursed Altaïr and his kind and warned him that he was but one of many, who were working for a cause higher than mere profit.
Altaïr returned to the Rafiq at the Damascus Bureau, who praised him for his success and lamented that the other Assassins still held him in such poor regard before suggesting that he report back to Al Mualim in Masyaf.
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 | 14 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIGNIFICANCE
Al Mualim was impressed with Altaïr's first success. Altaïr spoke of Tamir's last words and asked if there was more information that he needed to know. Al Mualim replied that Altaïr's mistake was knowing too much, and would withhold information until he decided that he needed to know more.
He returned Altaïr's short blade and gave him two new targets, one in Acre and one in Jerusalem.
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 | 15 - ACRE // ISRAEL // 1191 - THE GOOD DOCTOR
Altaïr traveled to Acre and reported to the aging Rafiq at the local Assassin Bureau. His target was the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalier, Garnier de Naplouse. During his investigation, he learned that Garnier hid behind the walls of the Hospitalier fortress, tending his patients one by one. Naplouse had a reputation for being a madman and a butcher, as witness claimed that his patients were not sick when they entered, but were made to suffer once under his care. Several of de Naplouse's guards had abandoned their posts and no one was allowed to enter the Grand Master's personal work space save for scholars.
The Assassin found a puzzling connection between de Naplouse and Tamir, the arms merchant he killed in Damascus, and a second man in Jerusalem who was sending him patients. Altaïr found the connection to Jerusalem particularly odd, because the two cities were occupied by opposing forces.
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 | 16 - ACRE // ISRAEL // 1191 - THE PRISONS OF THE MIND
Altaïr made his way to the entrance of the Hospitalier Fortress and saw a patient attempting to escape, screaming for help. Garnier de Naplouse emerged from the hospital and attempted to soothe the struggling man. The patient accused de Naplouse of stealing the souls of the other patients. De Naplouse calmly ordered his guards to break the man's legs to prevent another escape.
Altaïr entered the hospital and killed the doctor. Before dying, Garnier lamented that his work to help his unfortunate patients would be undone with his death. Although his patients were grown adults, their minds were not, and he had hoped to repair that mental damage, though his progress was slowed when the Assassins stole the Piece of Eden from them. De Naplouse died believing that he was helping the people under his care.
Altaïr tried to talk about de Naplouse's attitude towards his work, but the elderly Rafiq was not interested in analyzing the situation any further and ordered the Assassin to return to Masyaf.
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 | 17 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - BASER THINGS
Altaïr reported the death of Garnier de Naplouse to his mentor Al Mualim and expressed his doubts that the doctor was a torturer as they first believed. Al Mualim replied that leaders would resort to any tactics to gain the support and loyalty that they needed and suggested that de Naplouse was drugging his victims into servitude.
Altaïr regained the use of throwing knives and set out towards Jerusalem.
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 | 18 - JERUSALEM // ISRAEL // 1191 - A POWERFUL SLAVER
Altaïr went to Jerusalem and was surprised to find a bitter Malik Al-Sayf posted to the Jerusalem Bureau. They exchanged harsh words before Altaïr set out to learn more about his next target, a slave master named Talal.
The Assassin learned that Talal was the leader of a group of slavers who operated out of a barbican in the north of Jerusalem's Rich District. He kept to the shadows and used his men to bribe guards to turn a blind eye to his activities. Talal held his slaves in a warehouse and inspected them daily before sending them off to Acre. The slaver was known to flee at the first sign of trouble, with his loyal men covering his escape, so that he could put distance between himself and any attackers and fight with his bow toand arrows.
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 | 19 - JERUSALEM // ISRAEL // 1191 - THE JOURNEY
Altaïr decided to strike before Talal could send his next caravan of human livestock. He entered Talal's warehouse and was taunted by his prey as he ventured further into it. The Assassin made his way deeper into the warehouse, past cages of pleading captives, while Talal insisted that these people were not captives, but being prepared for a journey.
Altaïr finally came face-to-face with Talal, who was disappointed that he could not convince the Assassin of the nobility of his work. His guards attacked Altaïr, who killed them before following his prey up to the roof of the barbican before chasing him through the streets of Jerusalem. Altaïr managed to catch up to Talal and end his life.
Talal was confident that his so-called “Brotherhood” would survive his death and died before revealing any more about his allies. Instead, Talal lamented that the “lepers, addicts, and whores”, who he said were unfit for slavery, would no longer be cared for, and insisted that he was not selling them, but saving them.
Altaïr returned to the Assassin Bureau and was confronted by Malik who was furious that the death of Talal had raised alarms all over the city. Altaïr attempted to remind Malik that they were on the same side and then returned to Masyaf.
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 | 20 - MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - NOTHING IS TRUE
Altaïr reported the death of the slaver to Al Mualim. The Assassin asked his Mentor why Talal would use people unfit for service as slaves and soldiers. The old man replied that although training weaker people takes more time and effort, they would be rewarded with loyalty.
Altaïr thought about this perception as he made his way towards his next target.
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 | 21 -MASYAF // SYRIA // 1191 - THE SECRETS OF THEIR SINS
Al Mualim expressed gratitude that three of the nine targets were dead, but warned Altaïr that his work had just begun. He informed his pupil that King Richard was moving south towards Jerusalem, and that Salah Al'Din was stationed at Arsuf to wait for him. Altaïr asked if he should kill them both and end the Crusades once and for all. Al Mualim dismissed the idea, stating that killing the two leaders would unleash thousands of aimless, bloodthirsty soldiers onto a helpless populace.
Instead, Al Mualim gave Altaïr three new targets: Abu'l Nuqoud, the wealthiest man in Damascus; Majd Addin, the regent of Jerusalem; and William de Monteferrat, the Liege Lord of Acre.
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 | 22 - DAMASCUS // SYRIA // 1191 - THE MERCHANT KING OF DAMASCUS
Altaïr's next target was Abu'l Nuqoud, otherwise known as the Merchant King of Damascus. The people of Damascus hated the Merchant King for spending their money on extravagant parties held in his palace. Altaïr decided that the best chance to strike was to infiltrate one of his feasts and wait for him to emerge and address his guests.
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