This article will consolidate the recaps for all the games in the Assassin's Creed series.
Spoiler alert: This page contains unmarked plot spoilers. Read at your own risk.
In addition to the surface conflict, the two sides are fighting over artifacts left behind by an ancient civilization known only as The Ones Who Came Before. They had a glorious First Civilization that was destroyed in some sort of catastrophe, and they left behind bits of their technology — known as the Pieces of Eden — which, among their other uses, can enslave the minds of humans. The Templars want these to cement their control over humanity. The Assassins want to keep the Templars from getting them.
The modern day incarnation of the Templars is a MegaCorp known as Abstergo. Using technology reverse-engineered from the Pieces of Eden, they have built a device called the Animus, which allows its users to relive their Genetic Memory in a holographic projection. They employ this device to research the lives of individuals who had contact with other Pieces in order to discover their locations. However, the Pieces of Eden have their own purpose: to communicate a final, crucial message from the First Civilization.
His captors are a Templar Master by the name of Warren Vidic, who is the principal author of the Animus program, and Lucy Stillman, a scientist who knows the ins and outs of the Animus and appears to be sympathetic to Desmond's plight. As Desmond works in the Animus, she secretly helps him access internal Abstergo emails revealing what seems to be an Assassin scheme to rescue him. There are also cryptic references to a Subject Sixteen, who was his predecessor in the Animus program — he is Subject Seventeen. Sixteen apparently went insane through overexposure to the Animus and committed suicide.
Desmond relives the rise to fame of a Persian Assassin named Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad who lived during the Crusades. At the start of the story, he is brash and arrogant, and violates the Assassin's Code on a mission to retrieve one of the Pieces of Eden for his master, Al Mualim. He is stripped of his rank after a symbolic death and forced to relearn his trade by killing nine targets assigned to him by Al Mualim. Each is a Templar who has committed vile acts in the furtherance of their cause. The final target is Robert de Sable, a vicious killer who leads the armies of the Crusades on behalf of King Richard.
In each mission, he hears things from the mouths of his victims that cause him to doubt the rightness of his cause. After killing eight of the templars, De Sable decides to approach Richard with a proposal to unite with the Saracens to crush the assassins who've been killing leaders on both sides. Reaching Richard's army in time, Richard forces Altair and De Sable into combat to have "God" decide who speaks true about the ills the other intends. Upon defeating De Sable, Altair learns the truth: his master is also a Templar who used Altaïr to eliminate his rivals for power. Returning after this, Al Mualim uses the Piece of Eden to control the minds of the whole village (aside from a few who resist), and then attempts to use the Piece of Eden to control Altaï but fails. Altaïr fights and defeats him, and when he holds the Piece of Eden, he is astonished to see a vision of the entire planet, with the locations of the other Pieces of Eden marked on it.
Vidic pulls Desmond out of the Animus, having discovered the information that he sought. Desmond is told that he will be killed, since he's no longer needed, but Lucy convinces Vidic that he might still have value if the locations of the Pieces of Eden don't pan out. They leave him alone in the lab, when Desmond makes an astonishing discovery. Altaïr's Eagle Vision — his ability to see things beyond the perception of other people — has somehow communicated itself through the Animus to him. He sees cryptic messages written on the walls, floor, and ceiling of the laboratory, apparently in blood. The game ends.
Desmond's Eagle Vision comes in handy as they make their way out of the lab, and on the way to a secret hideout they meet Lucy's allies: a Playful Hacker by the name of Shaun Hastings and a Wrench Wench by the name of Rebecca Crane. Lucy gives Rebecca the memory chip she stole from Abstergo's Animus, which contains not only Desmond's memory sequence but also that of Subject Sixteen, Desmond's predecessor in the Animus program. Sixteen apparently left encrypted messages in the Animus that only Desmond can recover.
This time, Desmond is exploring the memories of a more recent ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Born to a wealthy Florentine banker, Ezio enjoys a carefree youth until the dirty politics of Italy catch up with him and his father and brothers are framed and executed for treason. Obeying his father's last request, Ezio opens a hidden chest and discovers a set of Assassin robes and gear. Thus begins his initiation into the Order.
Making his base in the villa of Monteriggioni, Ezio embarks on a long journey through the cities and political intrigues of Renaissance Italy on his quest for revenge. He takes down the Pazzi family first, his family's direct murderers, and moves on to other noble families implicated in the conspiracy. Along the way, he befriends a number of august historical personages, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Caterina Sforza. He also discovers the subtle machinations of the Templars behind it all.
The trail ultimately leads to Rodrigo Borgia, the would-be Pope. He is a master Templar and seeking to gain control of several Pieces of Eden, among them the Apple of Eden (a different one than Altaïr's) and, it turns out, the Papal Staff. Ezio manages to intercept the Apple and recover it instead. He prepares to face Rodrigo but before he can do so, all of the people who have helped him over the years reveal themselves as Assassins and officially induct him into the Order.
Outside the Animus, Lucy and the other Assassins express their concern for Desmond's well-being. The Bleeding Effect is rapidly granting him Ezio's skills but he is having hallucinations and other symptoms of excessive Animus use. The various Assassin cells around the world are being hunted down by a concerted effort from Abstergo and time is running out. Their only hope is to discover the location of Ezio's Apple of Eden so they can prevent Abstergo from acquiring it.
Ezio confronts Rodrigo Borgia, now Pope, in the Vatican. Rodrigo has the Papal Staff, but Ezio has the Apple, and a battle of mystic forces ensues. Despite Rodrigo's treachery, Ezio prevails, but the fires of his quest for vengeance have cooled and he elects to spare his foe's life.
The Staff and the Apple combine to open a secret vault beneath the Vatican built by The Ones Who Came Before. Inside, Ezio finds not the treasure or wisdom that he hopes for, but a holographic projection of a member of that ancient race. Calling herself Minerva, she addresses Desmond himself, using Ezio as a conduit. She tells him of an ancient cataclysm that befell the First Civilization and warns Desmond that he has only a short while to locate the other Vaults before such a disaster will happen again.
In the epilogue, Abstergo attacks the Assassins' hideout and Desmond confronts Vidic one more time as he uses his newfound skills to defeat Abstergo's security forces. Vidic retreats, but the Assassins flee to seek a new hiding spot to continue their search for the Apple.
Back in Renaissance Italy, Ezio returns to Monteriggioni, bearing the Apple and victorious in his conflict with Rodrigo Borgia, but confused over the meaning of the cryptic message he found beneath the Vatican. He is given little time to relax, as the villa suddenly comes under siege by an army under the command of Cesare Borgia, Rodrigo's son. Cesare has come to reclaim the Apple. In the ensuing battle, Ezio is wounded and his uncle Mario is killed by Cesare. Ezio heads for Rome to avenge Mario's death, but passes out from his wounds.
He awakens in Rome, having been brought there by an unknown person. He discovers a city that has fallen into despair and corruption under the crushing influence of the Borgias. The Assassin presence there is minimal and its economy is in shambles, while Cesare lives in pomp and debauchery and plots to conquer all of Italy. Consulting with Niccolo Machiavelli, Ezio determines that the best course of action is to undermine Cesare's base of power by reclaiming Rome from his control.
Over the course of months, Ezio recruits new Assassins to revitalize the Brotherhood. He renovates local businesses and recruits to his side the Mercenary Guild, the Thieves' Guild, and the Courtesans' Guild. He finds his old friend, Leonardo da Vinci, forced to build machines of war for the Borgias, and sets out to destroy them and burn the plans. He finds Cesare's allies and financial backers and kills them. He also confronts and uproots a pagan cult fomented by the Church in order to drive people into its arms.
By the time Cesare returns to Rome, his power is broken, his armies are leaderless, and his money is gone. He appeals desperately to his father for aid, but this time Rodrigo has had enough. He attempts to poison Cesare, but his sister Lucrezia (who is also Cesare's lover) reveals the plot. Cesare murders Rodrigo with his own poisoned fruit and then attempts to seize control of Rome using the Apple. Ezio, however, has been watching the whole time and beats Cesare to it. Using the Apple, he singlehandedly crushes Cesare's remaining forces until the would-be tyrant is arrested for treason by the new Pope.
Ezio has defeated his enemies yet again, reclaimed the Apple, and stands atop a revitalized Rome. Accordingly, the other Assassins now name him the Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood. He has one task left, however. The Apple has shown him that Cesare will escape his imprisonment. Ezio sets out to hunt him down, and finally confronts him years later in Spain. In the ensuing battle, he throws Cesare off a wall.
That is the end of Ezio's fight, but not Desmond's. He views one final memory: of Ezio sealing the Apple in a vault beneath the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli. With all the signs and portents giving them a mere seventy two days until the catastrophe of which Minerva spoke in the previous game (and not coincidentally, the launch of the Templars' Mind Control satellite), Desmond's team travels there and discovers the vault.
Inside, Desmond alone can see and hear visions of another representative of The Ones Who Came Before. Calling herself Juno, she talks of their society creating humans and attempting to bestow upon them their powers of Knowing, but succeeding only partially. She tells Desmond that he is not ready, but that he must go forth and find the remaining member of their triumvirate before time runs out. When he touches the Apple, she takes control of his body and forces him to stab Lucy with his Hidden Blade. Desmond falls into a coma, and the remaining Assassins, shocked and grief stricken but with no other options, put him back in the Animus to protect his psyche while they ponder what to do next.
Desmond dives back into the life of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Now in his fifties, Ezio has become weary of the constant struggle against the Templars and seeks a deeper truth. Following the clues in a letter written by his father, Ezio travels to Masyaf, the ancestral home of the Assassins, in the hopes of finding Altaïr's hidden library, in which he is said to have stored all his accumulated wisdom. What he encounters, however, is a nest of Templars who are also attempting to unlock the library, in search of the location of what they call the Grand Temple, which they believe to house the most powerful of the artifacts of The Ones Who Came Before. The keys to the library were sent off by Altaïr in the hands of the Polo family and their locations were recorded in his journals.
The trail of the five Masyaf Keys leads Ezio to Constantinople at the height of its power and influence. There he meets an affable Master Assassin by the name of Yusuf Tazim, who offers to show him around the city and enlists his aid in restoring the power of the Assassins in their endless battle against the Templars. He also meets a young scholar and prince by the name of Suleiman, whose father and uncle are squabbling over the succession of the Sultanate. Finally, he encounters a comely librarian by the name of Sofia who aids him in his search for Polo's journals, and who rapidly engages his romantic attentions.
Each Key turns out to be more than just an inert object. As Altaïr grew in his understanding of and communion with his Apple of Eden, he learned how to use it to accomplish amazing feats, such as recording his memories in special artifacts, like a miniature Animus. Ezio uses the Keys to experience those memories as Altaïr, seeing his life before and after the events of the first game. Ezio witnesses Altaïr's first rise to prominence among the Assassins, the aftermath of the death of Al Mualim, his schism with another Assassin named Abbas who usurped control of the Brotherhood, and finally, his return to Masyaf with the accumulated wisdom of decades and his determination to pass on his legacy.
Back in Ezio's time, the schism between the Ottoman Turks and the Byzantine Templars threatens to engulf Constantinople in all-out civil war, and to find the Keys, Ezio must not only restore the Assassins to prominence, but also unroot the Templar conspiracy that festers at the heart of the city. In the course of doing so, he mistakenly assassinates a captain of the Janissaries who was secretly working to undermine the Templars. Ezio resolves to continue his work and travels in disguise to the hidden city of Cappadochia, where he finds and kills the leader of the Templars, Manuel Palaiologos, and recovers the last of the Keys.
No sooner has he done this, however, than Suleiman's uncle, Ahmet, appears, and reveals himself to be a Templar as well. He has learned of Ezio's interest in Sofia and will hold her hostage for the Masyaf Keys. Ezio rushes back to Constantinople to find Sofia missing and Yusuf killed in her defense. He rallies the Assassins and they storm the Armory in revenge for Yusuf's murder, but Ahmet still holds Sofia. Ezio bargains for her life, but after freeing her, gives chase to Ahmet. In the ensuing battle, Ezio recovers the keys, but before he can kill Ahmet, his brother Selim shows up and does the deed himself. Sofia and Ezio leave to return to Masyaf.
In the meantime, Desmond has been exploring the Animus Island and has discovered memories of his own past locked away. In exploring these and speaking with Sixteen, he has learned more about himself and has resolved many of the troubles of his life and his conflicts with his Assassin heritage. However, the Animus has been trying to keep itself stable by deleting corrupted data, and Sixteen is unable to hold it off any longer. He sacrifices himself so that Desmond can enter his memories one last time.
Ezio and Sofia have returned to Masyaf to unlock Altaïr's library. The keys match patterns in the constellations engraved on the door, and it opens. Ezio enters, to discover a barren vault, empty of books but housing only the remains of a single Assassin... Altaïr himself, clutching one final Key. Using the Key, Ezio witnesses Altaïr's final moments, wherein he sealed himself into the Vault along with his Apple, to await Ezio's coming centuries later.
Ezio hesitates to take the Apple, but it illuminates anyway. Ezio realizes that his purpose, once again, has been to act as a conduit for the mysterious Desmond that Minerva spoke to so long ago. Weary of his life as an Assassin and the endless search for truth that has come to this, he discards his Hidden Blades and his sword, but the Apple is not done. Completing Altaïr's and Ezio's memories has unlocked the Synch Nexus and bridges the gap of time, allowing the final representative of The Ones Who Came Before, Jupiter, to speak directly to Desmond through the Animus.
Jupiter explains that his people attempted to save the world and its people from a cataclysmic solar flare seventy five thousand years ago, but failed. The Vaults were constructed to house their experiments, and all their accumulated knowledge was transmitted to the Grand Temple. It is now up to Desmond to go there and unlock its secrets in an attempt to prevent the Earth's population from being wiped out again, in the present day. Freed from the Animus, Desmond awakens to see not just Shaun and Rebecca standing over him, but also his father, William. They have arrived at the Grand Temple, and Desmond now knows what they need to do.
Also from his time in the animus, looking at Clay's (Subject 16) memories, Desmond finds out that Lucy was Evil All Along, and had turned to the templar cause during her time undercover, so that killing her stopped her from taking the apple to the templars for their own plans.
The Animus takes Desmond back to 1754 London, in the person of a British gentleman named Haytham Kenway. Haytham is at a theater, ostensibly to attend the Beggar's Opera, but in reality to assassinate someone. He sneaks backstage and flawlessly carries out the execution, retrieving an inscribed amulet from the body and making his way out of the theater in the ensuing chaos. Haytham takes the amulet to his fellows, who identify it as American in origin. They believe that a Precursor site may be in the region and that the amulet has something to do with it. Haytham takes ship for America.
On board the Providence, Haytham is approached by the captain, who is concerned about a possible mutiny. He tracks down the suspects but can find no solid information except that someone is dumping painted barrels overboard. He deduces that this is a trail meant to mark their course for a pursuer just before the ship is ambushed by another vessel. Below decks, it is revealed that there is no mutiny, only a lone man using it as a red herring to lure Haytham into a trap. Haytham defeats his attacker and the Providence sails into a storm to lose its pursuer, which founders.
Arriving in 1755 Boston, Haytham meets a young and aspiring Charles Lee, who is not yet a member of his circle but helps him recruit a number of personages to his expedition: William Johnson, a financier and explorer; Thomas Hickey, a mercenary; John Pitcairn, a military commander; and Benjamin Church, a surgeon. Together they hatch a plot to locate the Precursor site, which is hidden somewhere in the lands of the Kanien'kehá:ka Mohawk tribe.
Their plan involves rescuing a number of Natives from captivity at the hands of a slave trader named Silas, counting on their gratitude to establish friendly relations. In doing so, Haytham meets a young woman named Kaniehtí:io, Ziio for short, who grudgingly befriends him in return for his aid. She needs him to kill Edward Braddock, a ruthless and murderous British general with whom Haytham has had an association in the past.
Haytham does as asked, and after Braddock falls, Ziio takes him to the Precursor site, which we recognize as the Grand Temple. However, his amulet alone is not enough to open the door, and in his despair he finds comfort in her welcoming embrace. Afterwards, he returns to his fellows and determines to establish a new branch of the Order in the Colonies, and to induct Charles Lee into that Order... the Templar Order. It turns out that Haytham was a Templar all along.
Many years later, Kaniehtí:io has borne and raised a son. Named Ratohnhaké:ton, he is welcomed into the Mohawk tribe despite his half-British ancestry, but the encroaching colonial expansion threatens his village. In the forest one day, he encounters Charles Lee, who leads an expedition to burn out his people. Ratohnhaké:ton swears vengeance on Lee on the spot, and chases him back to his village to find it in flames and his mother dying.
Years later, the teenage Ratohnhaké:ton is restless, anxious to fight against the Colonists despite his elder's warning that his people must remain neutral. She hands him a Precursor artifact that grants him a vision — Juno, who tells him to seek out the Assassins in order to fight against the Templars; else they will find and destroy his tribe and everything he has sought to protect.
He travels east and finds an old man by the name of Achilles Davenport, the last of the American Assassins after a Templar purge years before. It takes some convincing, but Achilles finally agrees to train him. Achilles tells him of his father, now Grand Master of the Templar Order in the Colonies, and charges him with defeating Haytham and his fellows. It is Achilles who bestows the name Connor on the young boy, reasoning that he can pass for a Spaniard or Italian (both of whom are better than a Native or a Negro).
In Boston, Connor bears witness to (and fails to prevent) the Boston Massacre, and falls in with Samuel Adams and his Patriots. The fires of revolution are stirring. On his return, Connor learns of another asset that the Assassins hold in reserve, a ship named the Aquila — the same one that pursued Haytham Kenway on the Atlantic crossing some fifteen years prior. Connor helps refit the Aquila and learns to captain her.
Now grown into his full Assassin rank, Connor is thrust headlong into the nascent American Revolution. His quest, to seek out and kill the Templars, meshes with the Patriots' quest to free their land, but the alliance is not an easy one. Connor first attempts to stop the plans of William Johnson to buy his people's land, which embroils him in the Boston Tea Party. Johnson remains undaunted, however, and Connor is forced to find him and assassinate him at his estate in the Frontier.
Next is John Pitcairn, who is trying to quell the rebellion before it can fully start. Connor rides with Paul Revere to warn the Patriots of the British march on Lexingon, and holds the line in the battle of Concord. He then helps stop the British shelling of Bunker Hill so that he can get a clear path to kill Pitcairn.
Two Templars have fallen, but Connor has learned of a plot to assassinate George Washington himself, in an attempt to get Charles Lee promoted to commander of the Patriot army. Thomas Hickey is the man chosen to do the deed, but in cornering him, Connor himself is implicated in the conspiracy and imprisoned. Connor tries to break out of his cell and kill Hickey, but is confronted by Lee, who recognizes him as the boy whose village he attacked years ago and promises to have him framed and executed in the plot to kill Washington. Connor escapes hanging with the aid of his Assassin recruits and kills Hickey in the nick of time.
Connor is now faced with the challenge of defending George Washington against further plots. The Patriot Army's supplies have gone missing during the brutal winter at Valley Forge, and while tracking down the thief, he comes face to face with his father. Haytham spares Connor's life and offers to team up with him to find and kill Benjamin Church, who has betrayed the Templars to pursue his own interests. Connor and Haytham each attempt to recruit the other to their cause while they hunt Church; the hunt itself is more successful than their uneasy alliance.
Also during all this time, Connor has been hunting the Randolph, Nicholas Biddle's ship, which has been terrorizing various towns across America, harming civilian and loyalist alike, while also serving the Templar cause by playing both sides for personal gain. Finally finding his hideout in the Caribbean, (and getting ambushed by a man o' war fleet) Connor defeats his fleet, assassinates Biddle, and sends the Randolph to the bottom of the sea.
Connor returns to Washington's side, doubting his ability to kill his father, but ready to begin the hunt for Charles Lee in earnest. What he finds instead is a threat to his people's existence coming from an unexpected source: George Washington himself. It seems that Washington seeks to drive out the Native tribes who are allied with the British, and Haytham has been concealing this information in a attempt to manipulate Connor. He breaks with his father and hunts down Washington's messengers, but must also stop his own people, goaded by Lee, from provoking a conflict. In the process he is forced to kill his childhood friend, Kanen'tó:kon. He returns with news of Lee's betrayal and has to help fend off a Loyalist attack on Monmouth, but Washington refuses to have Lee executed. Connor leaves in disgust.
Resolved now to find Charles Lee on his own, Connor enlists the help of General Lafayette, and stages a naval assault on the fort where Lee is hiding. Stunned by a cannon blast, Connor unexpectedly confronts his own father, who is now determined to kill him in order to protect Lee. In the ensuing fight, Connor defeats Haytham, but Haytham doesn't have the amulet anymore and Lee is still at large.
Connor finally tracks down Lee in the docks of New York, but in the ensuing chase, Connor receives a crippling injury. He manages to shoot Lee, however, who flees, with Connor staggering in pursuit. The two mortal enemies at last confront each other at a tavern in the Frontier. They share a drink, then Connor knifes Lee, finishing him, and takes the amulet.
Still in great pain, Connor returns to his tribe's village to find it abandoned, with only the Piece of Eden left behind. He receives another vision from Juno, congratulating him on his success and instructing him to bury the amulet where none will find it. He chooses a grave on the Davenport estate — the grave of his namesake, Achilles' son Connor, who died the same year that Ratohnhaké:ton was born. This ends Connor's story.
Meanwhile, outside the Animus, Desmond and company have been using their idle time to track down the locations of three power sources that they need to fully activate the Grand Temple. The first is in a New York office building. Desmond breaks in and is unexpectedly confronted by a Templar agent named Daniel Cross. Cross was turned long ago and used to purge the modern Assassin order; he was also experimented on in the prototype Animus, which damaged his mind thanks to the Bleeding Effect. Desmond stuns Cross and flees.
The second power source turns up in a stadium in Brazil. Abstergo has learned of the Assassins' interest in them and is seeking to recover all it can, but this one is still reachable. Desmond travels there and evades Abstergo security, only to once again confront Cross. He retrieves the second power source and escapes, but Cross remains alive.
With time running out, William, Desmond's father, attempts to retrieve the third power source from Egypt, but is captured and taken to Abstergo's headquarters in Italy where Desmond himself was held not long ago. Vidic, Desmond's former captor, offers to exchange William for the Apple of Eden that Desmond holds, which is the key to their world domination schemes. Desmond openly invades Abstergo, hoping to fight his way to his father. He confronts Cross yet again, but before Cross can kill Desmond, the Bleeding Effect finally drives him mad and he flees in confusion. Desmond kills him, then finally faces Warren Vidic. Rather than hand over the Apple, Desmond uses its power to compel Vidic's security guards to kill first him, then themselves. He walks out of the building with his father and the final power cell, leaving a trail of dead Templars in his wake.
Having learned the hiding place of the key from Connor's memories, all the pieces are now in place to activate the Grand Temple. Through exploring it, Desmond has learned much of the First Civilization and their efforts to save the world seventy five thousand years ago. All along, Juno has been a presence, urging him along but also showing her disdain and even naked hatred of humanity. When the key is used and Desmond faces the final mechanism, the truth is revealed. Juno betrayed Minerva and Tinia, hiding her consciousness in the Grand Temple, intending to manipulate the future not to save the world for humanity's freedom, but to use its salvation as a means of dominating humanity, recreating the First Civilization with herself as its overlord.
Minerva states that it is too late to save the world otherwise; the Assassins and Templars have squandered their chance, but if they allow the destruction to take place, Desmond and his fellows may hope to preside over a new civilization where they can undo the mistakes of the past. However, they do this in the knowledge that humanity will eventually fall to fighting and corruption yet again. Desmond chooses Juno's vision, and sacrifices his life so that the planet will be spared. Juno, however, has been unleashed.
The main portion of the game takes place in Louisiana near the end of the French and Indian War, where France's defeat caused the city of New Orleans to be taken over by the Spanish government. The citizens were upset over the transition from French to Spanish control and Spain's new occupation within the city. However, in 1765, the French governor Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie made a negotiation with Templar Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer to stay as governor of New Orleans. This plot was later uncovered by Aveline, who infiltrated the governor's mansion and assassinated him.
Following this, de Ferrer made another deal with a man named Baptiste, who was hoping to defect from the Assassins to the Templar Order. Baptiste took on the identity of the recently deceased François Mackandal, as a ruse to attract followers to his cause. His plan was to poison New Orleans' nobles and take control of smuggling operations within the Louisiana Bayou, although his sole purpose was actually to force Agaté, Assassin and mentor to Aveline, out of hiding in the bayou. His plot failed however, as Aveline tracked Baptiste down, killed his followers and assassinated the false Mackandal.
In 1766, the Templar Antonio de Ulloa arrived in New Orleans, to serve as the Spanish governor. However, he left control of the area to French officials and allowed the French flag to remain over the city. Two years afterwards, he made strict trade restrictions and set up a covert slave-trading operation to transport slaves to a Templar worksite in Mexico, creating a rebellion among French officials and the citizens of New Orleans.
Agaté ordered Aveline to assassinate de Ulloa to eradicate Templar presence in New Orleans. Aveline ambushed de Ulloa's carriage and confronted the governor, who told her that slaves had been taken to Chichén Itzá. However, Aveline spared his life and let Ulloa leave the city, in return for a lens used to decode Templar documents and a map leading her to the Templar worksite in Chichén Itzá. Aveline's act of mercy destroyed any trust Agaté had in his student, as she had disobeyed his explicit orders.
Aveline disguised herself as a slave bound for Mexico and made her way to the Templar worksite at Chichén Itzá. Whilst there, she came across a defiant slave who mentioned that Jeanne, Aveline's mother, was stationed in Chichén Itzá. Aveline investigated thoroughly and uncovered a page from Jeanne's diary and a map that lead to an artifact located inside a cenote. Upon exploring this cave system, she came across an ancient chamber filled with ruins from the First Civilization, along with a fragment of the artifact she was searching for, known as the Prophecy Disk. Aveline then encountered de Ferrer, and killed him and his men. She was reunited with her mother, who warned her not to let the disk fall into Agaté's hands.
Two years later, Aveline returned to New Orleans to find that a man by the name of Vázquez was using Spanish soldiers to seize control of the bayou. She suspected him to be the head Templar of Louisiana, a.k.a. the Company Man, who de Ferrer had mentioned in Chichén Itzá. After retrieving the final piece of the Prophecy Disk in Chichén Itzá, Aveline went back to New Orleans once more to begin her quest in freeing slaves in the city. Her stepmother, Madeleine de L'Isle, became aware of her work and asked her to help a slave named George escape north. Whilst escorting him through the swamp, she met with her smuggler allies Élise Lafleur and Roussillon, helping them to deliver supplies to American Patriots who were fighting in the American Revolutionary War. Vázquez attempted to stop Aveline and her allies by sending Spanish soldiers their way, but Aveline defeated them and ensured George and the supplies reached their destination. After returning to the city, Aveline attended a governor's ball under disguise and managed to get close to Vázquez and assassinate him. However, to her surprise, Vázquez revealed that he was not the Company Man. Following this, Aveline learned that her father, who had been ill for some time, had died.
In 1777, Aveline headed to the New York Frontier, and teamed up with the Assassin Connor to find a Templar officer who was working for the Company Man. She discovered the officer to be George, the same slave she had freed years before, and the Company Man was none other than Madeleine. After confronting her stepmother at her mansion, Aveline traveled to the bayou and met with Agaté to inform him of her discovery. Agaté was unable to accept his failure and believing that Aveline had sided with the Templars, attacked her. Aveline overpowered him and attempted to convince him to leave Louisiana for his own safety, but Agaté could not live with the humiliation and instead chose to dive to his death. On realizing this, Aveline quickly attempted to save him, but only managed to grasp his necklace which tore away from his neck.
Following her mentor's death, Aveline saw her situation as an opportunity to infiltrate the Templars and eradicate it from within. Upon returning to New Orleans, she made her way to the Saint Louis Cathedral and gave Madeleine Agaté's necklace to show her allegiance. Following this, she was inducted into the Templar Order by her stepmother. Aveline then gave her the two halves of the Prophecy Disk, which Madeleine placed on an altar and added another piece to hold the two fragments together. However, she could not make sense of the scrambled messages within. Aveline saw this as her moment to strike and reclaim the Prophecy Disk. She eliminated all the Templars inside the cathedral and assassinated Madeleine.
Now alone inside the cathedral, Aveline stepped up to the altar where the Prophecy Disk had been placed. She connected the locket she wore around her neck, which once belonged to her mother, to the artifact, causing it to display a holographic recording detailing a message from the time of the First Civilization. This message recounted the election of Eve as the leader of the rebellion during the Human-First Civilization War.
Part 1: The Infamy:
The episode began with Ratonhnhaké:ton asleep near a riverbank in the Frontier, wearing an animal spirit outfit. Ratonhnhaké:ton was then awoken by his mother, Kaniehtí:io, who alerted him to a threat in the forest. He followed her, questioning why she was alive and what had happened. Eventually, they came upon a Bluecoat patrol attacking the villagers. After dispatching the Bluecoats, a woman warned Kaniehtí:io that King George was looking for her. Kaniehtí:io led Ratonhnhaké:ton to the top of the hill, while he questioned the surroundings, and why the woman referred to George Washington as "King."
As they reached the top of the hill, they witnessed a group of Bluecoats forcing the Concord townspeople into the church and barricading the door. The Bluecoat leader demanded that the people inform him of the location of Kaniehtí:io. As they insisted that they did not know her location, the Bluecoats set fire to the church. Ratonhnhaké:ton and his mother quickly ambushed Washington's men, and liberated the townspeople, only for a cannonball blast to kill the group before they could escape.
Later, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kaniehtí:io returned to Kanatahséton, where they met another Bluecoat attack. King Washington, accompanied by Benedict Arnold and Israel Putnam, killed Ratonhnhaké:ton's mother with a scepter containing an Apple of Eden. Ratonhnhaké:ton fought Washington, only to be defeated by the Apple's power, and was later shot and stabbed with a musket by Washington. Afterwards, he slipped into a state of unconsciousness.
When Ratonhnhaké:ton awoke in a cave, five months had passed and the Clan Mother told him what happened. She noted that he wasn't surprised about the news of his mother's death, saying that he took her murder very well. Ratonhnhaké:ton was then tasked by Oiá:ner to climb the Red Willow, pick its virgin branches, and drink the willow tea. He heeded her instruction, and visited the Sky World, where he encountered his animal spirit, which gave him the power to become invisible at will, as well as summon a group of wolves to ambush his enemies. Shortly thereafter, he was requested by one of his fellow tribesmen, Kahionhaténion, to assist in finding and rescuing his brother, Teiowí:sonte. The two tracked down a group of Bluecoats, and discovered that Teiowí:sonte was to be executed along with some of his fellow tribesmen. Once they have been rescued, Ratonhnhaké:ton's returned to Oiá:ner for further instructions.
When he returned to their hideout, he discovered all of the villagers had been killed, and a dying Oiá:ner. With her dying breath, she told him to kill Washington, as well as Israel Putnam and Benedict Arnold, finishing what his mother started. Ratonhnhaké:ton tracked down Putnam to the encampment in Valley Forge, and tailed him to one of the Forts in the frontier, where Benedict Arnold was stationed. Ratonhnhaké:ton made his way inside the fort and assassinated Arnold. Before he died, Arnold told him to find Benjamin Franklin in Boston and free him. While Ratonhnhaké:ton was confused by Arnold's words, Putnam approached from behind, and knocked Ratonhnhaké:ton out with his pistol. When he awoke, Ratonhnhaké:ton found himself captured and bound in a slave cart heading for Boston. Putnam revealed his intentions of taking the command of Boston from Franklin.
Part 2: The Betrayal:
Ratonhnhaké:ton awoke in a cell, and was soon approached by Washington, Putnam and Franklin. Washington was greatly surprised to see the man whom he had shot point blank to be alive. Putnam offered Ratonhnhaké:ton as a gift, much to the King's delight and Franklin's dismay. Franklin attempted to shift the attention to one of the rebels that he had captured, but Washington was not interested. He ordered both prisoners to be executed, along with several citizens taken at random. Franklin objected to the idea, but backed down once Washington called him out on his doubts. Afterwards, the King told Putnam that if he can deal with the rebels in Boston, Washington would grant the command of the city to him, on account of Franklin losing his conviction.
After Washington left, Ratonhnhaké:ton used his powers to trick the guards into opening his cell. After escaping and locking the guards inside, he found that the rebel whom Franklin mentioned was Kanen'tó:kon. After freeing his friend, Ratonhnhaké:ton went into an adjacent warehouse to search of his equipment. Kanen'tó:kon went with him, and found a vial which contained the tea made from the leaves of the Red Willow, and argued with Ratonhnhaké:ton about the benefits of drinking it. Seeing no other option, Ratonhnhaké:ton opted to drink the tea instead of Kanen'tó:kon, which caused him to go on a Sky World Journey once more.
After drinking the tea, Ratonhnhaké:ton was transported to the Sky World again. There, he met another spirit animal, the eagle. Ratonhnhaké:ton saw some bobcats trying to harm the eagle's nest and helped to defend it. After fending off the bobcat attack, the eagle granted him the power of Eagle Flight.
Ratonhnhaké:ton woke up next to Kanen'tó:kon in the warehouse. Kanen'tó:kon told him that the Bluecoats had found them and sounded the alarm. Ratonhnhaké:ton used his new power to leave the room, and dispatched the Bluecoats outside. Benjamin Franklin entered the warehouse with his men, who began searching for Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon, while Franklin left. After eliminating the opposition and leaving the warehouse, the pair caught up to Franklin, who sent more of his men to stall them while he tried to escape. Ratonhnhaké:ton gave chase and eventually caught up with Franklin, while Kanen'tó:kon stayed behind to fend off the Bluecoats.
Franklin seemed confused and questioned Ratonhnhaké:ton's words. The two were interrupted with a sudden appearance of Washington, who used the Apple to attack Ratonhnhaké:ton.
Ratonhnhaké:ton avoided Washington's attacks, and used his new-found abilities to fight him. Washington used the Apple to collapse the ground beneath Ratonhnhaké:ton, who used Eagle Flight to leap between appearing platforms to escape. As he did this, enormous phantoms of Washington and Kaniehtí:io began to torment him. When Ratonhnhaké:ton landed on the final platform, it collapsed and caused him to fall into an abyss.
Ratonhnhaké:ton awoke in an alleyway, far from where he caught up to Franklin. He was soon found by Kanen'tó:kon who introduced him to Samuel Adams, the leader of the rebels in Boston, and they left for a safehouse. There, Adams explained his rebels were planning to leave Boston or his rebels would be crushed. However, he wanted to rescue some prisoners, but feared Franklin would ambush them.
Ratonhnhaké:ton explained he was planning to hunt down Franklin, so Adams suggested he visit a local tavern to gain information on his whereabouts. Despite the presence of suspicious Bluecoats, Ratonhnhaké:ton blended in by playing a board game, and overheard a soldier complaining about a message he had to deliver from Franklin to Putnam. Tailing the soldier, Ratonhnhaké:ton pickpocketed the letter and read that Franklin intended to meet Putnam at the docks, and then quietly returned it in the messenger's satchel.
At the docks, Ratonhnhaké:ton watched as Franklin was informed that Putnam refused to meet him, and had been replaced by him as governor of the city. Franklin noticed his sentinels had been taken out, so Ratonhnhaké:ton loosed his arrows to prevent him from escaping. The injury once again released Franklin from the Apple's spell, and Ratonhnhaké:ton took him to Adams's safehouse. The rebel leader was outraged, and wanted Franklin killed, despite his protests that he wanted to atone for what he did.
Ratonhnhaké:ton convinced Adams to spare him due to the intelligence he could provide, at which point Franklin disclosed the king had returned to New York to deal with Thomas Jefferson's rebels there. Kanen'tó:kon mentioned a sympathetic captain stationed at Boston Neck could help them leave the city and join Jefferson. Franklin said he would help enter Washington's palace, but Adams bitterly refused his help.
Adams's rebels left Ratonhnhaké:ton and Franklin in the city. The Assassin was more receptive to Franklin's help and set off on errands to craft a key to Washington's palace, retrieving a special metal from the blacksmith David Walston and plans Franklin had given a soldier at the tavern. There, Ratonhnhaké:ton sat down to play a game with the soldier, who gloatingly Putnam had started a rumor that a captain at Boston Neck was sympathetic to the rebels, and that they had been massacred. Angered, Ratonhnhaké:ton struck the soldier and beat up the others relaxing at the tavern before retrieving the plans. He verified that Adams had been killed by Putnam and presumed that Kanen'tó:kon was dead as well.
With time running out, Ratonhnhaké:ton returned to Franklin to inform him, and noted they would have to leave by sea. Franklin knew of a ship they could use, and Ratonhnhaké:ton stole a Bluecoat uniform for Franklin to wear while he escorted him. They found Robert Faulkner, who struck out at Franklin for confiscating the Aquila from him. After explaining Franklin's change of loyalties, Ratonhnhaké:ton promised to return Faulkner's ship if he gathered a crew to sail to New York.
After taking out the snipers guarding the Aquila and untying the ship's moorings, Ratonhnhaké:ton led the crew Faulkner had gathered in a charge on the pier. He held off soldiers firing at the sailors as they swam to the drifting ship. Putnam showed up with Kanen'tó:kon, threatening to execute him if they did not surrender. Ratonhnhaké:ton surprised him by using his animal powers and assassinated him. He listened as Putnam expressed regret for not fighting off the Apple's influence, and then died. The two warriors subsequently dove into the pier, dodging gunfire.
As the Aquila arrived in New York Bay, Kanen'tó:kon expressed regret for suggesting to Putnam that Ratonhnhaké:ton would escape via the docks while being tortured, but Ratonhnhaké:ton did not mind. Faulkner declared they were in sight of the city, and the two men gazed in awe as they looked upon Washington's New York Pyramid for the first time.
Part 3: The Redemption:
As the duo gazed at the fortress, the king's fleet launched an attack on the Aquila. After taking the wheel and destroying the enemy ships, Ratonhnhaké:ton ordered they take the flags from the wreckage to infiltrate the lower bay. There they destroyed more of Washington's ships until they ran out of ammunition, so Ratonhnhaké:ton ordered everyone to evacuate while he rammed the ship.
Franklin was swept ashore, where he was confronted by King Washington. Franklin refused to come under his power again, but the king revealed he wanted to kill him instead. Kanen'tó:kon tackled Washington off his horse, knocking his scepter aside, but the king's guards came to his rescue, firing repeatedly at the warrior, killing him. Washington recovered his scepter and returned to his palace.
Ratonhnhaké:ton soon came and found Franklin kneeling over Kanen'tó:kon's body, and resolved to undertake another Sky World Journey. He encountered the spirit of his mother once more, protesting his decision to defy her for a third time, and journeyed to meet the spirit of the bear, which granted him the strength to shake the earth.
Franklin watched over his unconscious body. When Ratonhnhaké:ton awoke, Franklin noticed his eyes had turned an unnatural blue. The two separated to find Jefferson's forces, but reunited when they found his rebels, buoyed by the destruction of the fleet, had launched an attack on the palace courtyard. Their offensive was faltering, so Ratonhnhaké:ton used his new power to cut off Washington's reinforcements, and opened an escape path for Jefferson's men.
Ratonhnhaké:ton introduced himself to Jefferson, and met with him afterwards in an alley. Jefferson explained they need the civilians to join the rebellion, and directed him to assassinate John Fitzwilliams, an official hoarding food supplies. After killing Fitzwilliams, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Warren distributed food to the hungry masses, winning their support. Washington responded by making a speech declaring an invasion of England, but Ratonhnhaké:ton's continued acts of civil disobedience gained more support for the rebels, convincing the civilians to attack their military oppressors.
Ratonhnhaké:ton gave the signal to start the assault on Washington's palace by working with Godfrey to detonate the lighthouse in Fort George. The following morning, as chaos raged throughout the city, Franklin gave Ratonhnhaké:ton the key to Washington's throne room. Entering the palace, Ratonhnhaké:ton used his freerunning skills and animal powers to find Washington, while deducing from clues how his mother had stolen the scepter from him. Eventually, he found the king atop the pyramid, surveying the raging battle beneath him. The Assassin offered to spare the king if he gave him the Apple, recognizing he was a victim of its corruptive influence, but Washington refused.
In the ensuing fight, Ratonhnhaké:ton broke the four corners of the stained glass ceiling, causing them to fall: a wounded Washington slumped into his throne and died. Ratonhnhaké:ton approached the Apple, when spectres of Kanen'tó:kon and his mother appeared urging him not to claim it. Finally, a vision of himself, wearing the Assassin robes, appeared demanding he take it.
On touching the Apple, the illusionary timeline collapsed, freeing Connor and Washington. After aggressively glaring at each other, Washington picked up the Apple and gave it to Connor, declaring he did not want it. Connor was also reticent about possessing such a powerful artifact, so the commander suggested sealing it in a weighted bag and dropping it into the sea.
Afterwards, Connor took the Aquila out to sea to dump the Apple. Meanwhile, Washington sat in his office when the Apple generated one final illusion of a man suggesting the commander crown himself king, to strengthen the new republic. Having seen what he became in the other world, Washington defiantly dismissed the notion, at which point the man disappeared.
Your boss, Melanie, tells you that Abstergo is producing their first film and seeks to build on the recent success of pirate-themed properties by delving into the memories of one Edward Kenway, a key participant in The Golden Age of Piracy. Edward's story is interesting because he was an unprincipled rogue and because his life intersected that of some more famous pirates, like Blackbeard, Ben Hornigold, Jack Rackham, etc. Of course, they'll "edit" his story to cut out the rougher edges of his character that "may not appeal to modern audiences". You enter your cubicle and begin your work, but not before discovering mysterious sticky notes around the office that, when decoded by your portable communicator, reveal the apparent ravings of a madman who is obsessed with a First Civilization woman who can only be Juno.
Back in the early 1700s, Edward Kenway's story begins when he is employed as a lowly pirate crewman and his ship comes under attack. When his captain dies, he takes the helm and barely survives the engagement, but his ship is sunk. He swims ashore and encounters another survivor, an oddly dressed man with a particular disdain for pirates. They fight, and Edward comes out the victor. He discovers in his enemy's robes some odd weapons and a letter identifying him as Duncan Walpole, a member of the Assassin Brotherhood on a mission to Havana to deliver certain items to its governor, with the promise of a substantial reward. Not one to pass up a lucrative opportunity, Edward dons the robes and takes passage with a merchant named Stede Bonnet whom he rescues from English soldiers.
In Havana, it's clear that Edward has something of a reputation as a rowdy and as a pirate, and he has a difficult time avoiding unwanted attention as a result. After helping Bonnet recover his goods from some robbers, he finally arrives at the governor's mansion and meets a number of interesting people, such as Woodes Rogers, an English aristocrat, and Julien du Casse, a French arms dealer. They welcome him as a new convert to their "order" and ask him to demonstrate his Assassin skills, which Edward bluffs his way through. When they finally meet with Torres, the governor, it turns out that he's a Templar Grand Master and that they are there as new inductees. Duncan Walpole, Edward's assumed identity, is a defector from the Assassins who brings both maps of their locations in the Caribbean and information vital to locating a precursor site known as the Observatory, which contains an artifact allowing its user to spy on anyone, anywhere in the world. The key to the enterprise is a mysterious figure called the Sage, who shows up in multiple eras, and whose latest incarnation, a man named Bartholomew Roberts, is in Templar custody.
Edward is no fool — he recognizes immediately that a man with control over the Observatory would rule the seas and be the most successful pirate in history, whereas if the Templars controlled it, they could shut down him and his kind forever. He therefore resolves to capture this Roberts for himself, but his disguise is penetrated and the Templars send him off on a prison ship. He breaks free with the aid of a former slave named Adéwalé, and the two of them capture a brig to escape from the storm that causes the rest of the fleet (the famed Spanish Treasure Fleet) to founder.
Edward travels to Nassau, home of the fledgling Republic of Pirates, and finds Edward Thatch and Benjamin Hornigold planning exactly how that enterprise will come to pass. They welcome Edward as a fellow captain and teach him the art of piracy aboard his newly christened Jackdaw. Edward also meets a slight but oddly wise individual named James Kidd who recognizes his Assassin outfit and plants barbs in Edward's conscience about the path his actions are leading him down.
The pirates are having troubles of their own. Faced with increased aggression from the English navy, they resolve to capture a galleon to use its fearsome armament in defense of Nassau. They are successful, but Edward is forced to hunt down and kill du Casse, who can identify him to the Templars. du Casse has a key that opens one of a series of locks in a remote island hideout, which Edward claims for his own. The other keys similarly belong to prominent Templars whom he must hunt down in order to acquire the armor sealed behind the door. Kidd invites Edward to Tulum to find out more about the Brotherhood whose robes he is wearing.
You are pulled out of the Animus at this point to attend a meeting with Melanie's boss, Olivier, who congratulates you for the ongoing success of your research into the pirate experience they are trying to produce, but is apparently under orders from his bosses at Abstergo Industries (the actual Templars) to focus on locating the Observatory. You are also contacted by a mysterious figure named John, the head of IT for the company, to whom you were introduced previously while he was fixing your workstation. He asks you to hack into some computers and deliver the data to a courier in the lobby. You comply, and discover that the courier is none other than Rebecca Crane, a member of the Assassin cell that Desmond Miles was a part of in the previous games. Her compatriot, Shaun Hastings, is posing as a barista in Abstergo's lobby. note After this odd encounter, you may use your limited security clearance to hack more computers, but otherwise must return to the Animus.
On Tulum, Edward finds the home of the Assassin Brotherhood, which appears to be thriving. Kidd shows him a series of ancient Mayan artifacts that reveal, among other things, the face of the Sage — Roberts, whom Edward so recently met. How can so many men all wear the same face down through the centuries? It's a puzzle that Edward doesn't have time to solve, as the Assassins, having learned of his presence, are not happy to see him. Ah Tabai, their Mentor, tells Edward that the maps he sold to the Templars contained the locations of all the Assassin outposts in the Caribbean, and that they have now begun to fall under attack. To redress this crime, he must now help them fight off the Templars. Edward has no particular interest in their cause, but is certainly willing to do jobs for them for sufficient payment. Kidd is disgusted with his amorality but seems willing to let him pretend to be an Assassin in the hopes that he might develop a conscience.
Edward continues to seek Roberts, and thereby the Observatory, and discovers that he's currently in the custody of a Dutch slaver named Laurens Prins. Seeking to capture Roberts for himself, he runs afoul of Kidd again, who is on a mission to kill Prins for the Assassins. They work together in a teeth-clenched fashion, with Edward persuading Kidd to hold off on killing Prins until they can get their hands on Roberts. In the course of infiltrating Prins' manor in Kingston, Kidd reveals "himself" to be a woman named Mary Read, surprising Edward. With the aid of her distraction, Edward is able to kill Prins, but Roberts escapes.
Back at Nassau, all is not well with the Republic of Pirates. With no real local economy and no access to goods other than what they can steal, the pirates are wasting away of idleness and sickness. There's dissent among their leadership, some of whom wish to seek the King's Pardon. Blackbeard resolves to acquire medicine at any cost, and recruits Edward to assist him, first by diving in a shipwreck, then by raiding shipping, and finally, directly from the source in Charles-Towne. Under cover of Blackbeard's siege of the city, Edward sneaks in and recovers the medicine, providing a temporary reprieve. Blackbeard, however, has had enough of his life of piracy and plans to retire.
You are pulled from your Animus work to attend another meeting, but it's interrupted by a call from Abstero. John takes the opportunity to give you increased security clearance in order to hack more data, but also delivers some bizarre threats that indicate that he may not be entirely sane. You overhear an argument between Olivier, Melanie, and Abstergo over the project's creative direction and steal data directly from Olivier's computer. Again, Rebecca is waiting for it in the lobby. You continue to find sticky notes with lunatic ravings.
In the past, Nassau has come under siege by the English navy, led by Woodes Rogers, who offers the King's Pardon to all pirates there as an alternative to being hanged. Hornigold and some others accept. Charles Vane, on the other hand, refuses to have the terms of his freedom dictated to him and hatches a plot with Edward to break the blockade by blowing it up with a fireship. First, however, Edward must assassinate the Commodore of the English fleet, who is going behind Rogers' back and intends to sink the entire pirate navy via bombardment. Edward and Vane succeed, but the pirates are now divided and on the run.
Edward seeks out Blackbeard to enlist his help, but during his retirement party, he's betrayed to the English by a spy and dies in combat. Reminiscing with Charles Vane, Edward discovers a lead on Roberts' location; he's being held on a slave ship named the Princess. He and Vane seek out the Princess together, and succeed in capturing her, but Jack Rackham, tired of Vane's abuse and bloodlust and Edward's haring off on wild schemes, stages a mutiny. Edward and Vane are marooned on an island, where Vane goes mad, blaming his former friend for all his troubles. Edward is forced to fight him, but refuses to kill, instead leaving him beaten and raving while he escapes the island. Rackham, for his part, failed miserably at running the Jackdaw, and Edward gets his ship back.
Edward returns to Havana in search of information about Roberts' whereabouts and overhears a conversation between the turncoat Hornigold and Governor Torres leading him to Principé on the African coast. The Templars have sent former pirates to capture the Sage, but Edward kills them instead and befriends Roberts, witnessing the rise of "Black Bart", who will turn out to be one of the most fearsome and reckless pirates on the seas. Roberts' plan is to steal a Portuguese galleon to be his flagship while he sets off in search of the Observatory, but along the way Edward must deal with Ben Hornigold, who has tracked him down and must now be killed.
You exit from the Animus again, this time to find yourself in a cozy but stark prison cell. Melanie tells you that, along with all the other Animus researchers, you are a suspect in the rash of hacking that's been occurring in their building. John offers to help clear the records of your involvement, but only if you help him break into Abstergo's mainframe. Doing so, you are unexpectedly confronted with the holographic face of Juno. As it turns out, she's supposed to possess your body in order to reincarnate herself. Fortunately for you, she is not strong enough to do so, and John raves furiously in disappointment. You are left with no choice but to return to the Animus.
True to his word, Roberts leads Edward to the Observatory, which turns out to be a First Civilization site as promised. His blood and knowledge are keys to disabling its various defenses. Inside is revealed a device, housed in a crystal skull, that can see through the eyes and hear through the ears of any being whose blood is captured in a vial and inserted into it. This revelation, along with the entire First Civilization narrative, astonishes Edward, but he has little time to sort through the confusion, as Roberts betrays him and sells him to the authorities for the bounty. In Kingston, Edward witnesses the trial of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, whose executions are stayed due to pregnancy, but is himself also sentenced to imprisonment and execution.
He only escapes with the aid of the Assassins, who need his help rescuing Bonny and Read. As he breaks back into the prison, Edward sees Rackham's hanged corpse and finds Vane a raving lunatic in a prison cell. The women are freed, but it is too late for Read, who contracted an illness during childbirth that she dies from in Edward's arms. This sends him into a bleak pit of drunkenness and despair wherein he hallucinates about Roberts and about the futility of his life's ambitions. He emerges from this nadir a man intent on seeking forgiveness for his actions and finding a new path, which he at last achieves in the embrace of the Assassin Brotherhood.
The stage is set for the finale. Bartholomew Roberts, Woodes Rogers, and Laureano Torres must all die for their crimes and to protect the Observatory from misuse. Edward hunts each of them down as a true Assassin, but finds Torres an elusive target, as his presence in Havana is an impostor laying a trap while the real Torres seeks the Observatory. Edward defeats Torres' brutish lieutenant and goes after his final enemy. He overcomes the Observatory's now active defenses and assassinates the Templar Grand Master in front of the device he sought for so long. Edward now knows that the Observatory contains a power too great for any man to control, and he, Adéwalé, and Ah Tabai resolve to seal the site away so that nobody else may find it, unless a Sage should come again.
In the modern world, you awaken from the Animus one more time to find "John from IT" standing over you menacingly. You hadn't seen his face before; now that you do, you realize that it's the same as Roberts' — John is another reincarnation of the Sage, and his obsession over Juno is because he's her long-lost husband and really, really thought that this time he could be with her in the flesh. This provokes him to a murderous rage, but Abstergo security intervenes in the nick of time and shoots him dead. You recover from the drug he injected you with, and Melanie tells you that your name has been cleared since John helpfully framed himself for the hacking. You can go back to work, with undetectable top security clearance and the Assassins giving you a congratulatory speech as well as a promise of future missions. You also get to preview Abstergo's first public trailer for "Devils of the Caribbean", a hilariously awful piece of corporate schlock.
RL enters the Animus one last time to witness the epilogue of Edward's story, as he greets a ship sailing into Great Inagua bearing... his daughter, by the wife he left behind in Wales, who is now dead. She is unusually worldly for her age and engages in a lively and intelligent conversation with her father as the two of them sail to England to begin a new life. After the credits roll, we are treated to a closing scene at the same London opera house where Assassin's Creed III opened. Edward, a prosperous and respectable gentleman, fends off suitors for his daughter while doting on his young son... Haytham.
After waking up, Adewale sees a woman about to be executed by a slave overseer- after appropriating a machete, he kills the overseer, freeing the woman before venturing into Port Au Prince, where he hopes to find Bastienne Josèphe, the person the package is meant for. After tailing someone to get to her brothel, Adewale overhears a conversation between Bastienne and Governor de Fayet, Adewale agrees to help Bastienne by finding Augustin Dieufort, but holds the package meant for her. Adewale uses a contact at a plantation to find a Maroon hideout, which is under attack. After helping hold off the attackers- and killing would be escapees- Adewale teams up with Augustin to free as many slaves and Maroon warriors as he can- now armed with a blunderbuss.
Soon after, Adewale and Augustin team up to take a new ship- the Experto Crede- and Adewale uses it to attack slave ships and rescue the inhabitants. When he returns to Port Au Prince, Bastienne gives Adewale a tip to infiltrate the Governor's mansion, where he learns of an expedition soon to depart. Adewale later learns that the expedition will be used to map the world by learning the circumference, and will be partially used to smuggle goods. Adewale wishes to use the opportunity to send in literate Assassins and Maroon soldiers- as the expedition needs literate slaves- to learn its secrets for the benefit of the Brotherhood and the Maroon.
Despite her hesitance at helping Adewale, believing him to be "a tempest of 'opportunity' and 'imagination'," that would leave her to pick up the pieces, Bastienne forges a manifest to allow slaves who followed Adewale's cause to join the expedition. On the way, Adewale defeats several pirates hoping to plunder off the expedition. Later, Bastienne calls out Adewale for his apathy towards the French growing more terrified against the Maroon revolution, cracking down on the slaves Adewale can't rescue. He attacks a slave ship, which is damaged by one of the escorts, boarding it and rescuing some slaves before more ships sink the slave ship- with Adewale barely escaping with his life. He vows afterwards to Bastienne and Augustin that the Governor will die for his actions, in accordance with the Creed and for the people who died on the slave ship.
Adewale launches an attack on the Governor's mansion, slaughtering dozens of guards in a Roaring Rampage of Revenge before killing the Governor with a branding iron he had just been using to torture a slave with. Adewale is merciless, driving his machete into De Fayet. Adewale admits to De Fayet that he has never wanted someone to suffer in death as much as he does the Governor, before killing him. Adewale says his goodbyes to Bastienne and Augustin, finally giving the Templar Box to Bastienne before leaving Port Au Prince due to him no longer being safe there. Roll credits.
The Modern Day plot begins one year after the events of Black Flag, with a new unnamed player character (Nicknamed "Numbskull") who works for Abstergo Entertainment. While investigating the memories of Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin working in the North Atlantic during the French and Indian War, they inadvertently trip a hidden memory file that corrupts the Abstergo servers. With the building being put into lockdown, the player is recruited by Melanie Lemay to continue exploring Shay's memories in an effort to clear the system.
Shay is a new recruit to the Brotherhood of Assassins, working under Achilles Davenport. Achilles sees potential in him, but Shay develops an insubordinate streak that frustrates his mentors. Believing that taking a more active role in the Brotherhood's affairs will temper his impetuousness, Achilles orders Shay with his newly acquired ship the Morrígan to track down a Templar cell that has been deciphering a Precursor artifact revealing the locations of several Pieces of Eden. The artifact, in the form of a wooden box, had been stolen from the Assassins following a massive earthquake in Haiti some years before. With the help of Benjamin Franklin, a Piece of Eden is located in Lisbon, and Shay is tasked with retrieving it.
However, Shay has begun questioning the Assassins' motives after seeing their refusal to engage in dialogue with the Templars, and takes no satisfaction from killing an already-dying Templar commander, Lawrence Washington. His doubts come to a head in Lisbon, where his attempt to retrieve the Piece of Eden triggers an earthquake which destroys the city. Noting that similar events occurred in Haiti, Shay is horrified to learn that Achilles and the Assassins intend to pursue the remaining Pieces of Eden, and steals a manuscript necessary to interpret the artifact and flees, while the Assassins give chase. Confronted on the edge of a cliff at the homestead, he decides to commit suicide and bury the manuscript in the depths of the Atlantic rather than let the Assassins reacquire it. Just as he jumps, fellow Assassin Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye shoots him in the back, although Shay goes on to believe that it was his best friend Liam's doing.
Shay is rescued by a passing ship and taken to New York City. Once he recovers, he uses the skills he learned from the Assassins to drive out the city's criminal gangs. His actions attract the attention of George Monro, the city's governor, who offers Cormac the chance to help rebuild the city. Indebted to Monro, Shay assists the British Army in their early campaigns against the French, and discovers that Achilles' chapter is supporting the French war effort. Monro reveals himself to be a Templar, and despite being aware of Shay's previous loyalties, he offers him a place within their Order. Shay accepts, but Monro is killed shortly afterwards during an attack on a British fort. Shay is then formally inducted by the Templar Grandmaster, Haytham Kenway.
Shay reveals to Kenway his belief that the Pieces of Eden sought by the Assassins are not weapons, but instead are being used to hold the world together, and he pledges to stop his former allies before they cause another catastrophe. His efforts lead to the deaths of several senior figures in the Brotherhood, including his mentor figure Hope Jensen, until only Achilles and Liam remain. On discovering that the pair are headed for another Precursor temple in the Arctic, Shay immediately pursues them. Inside the temple, Haytham and Shay confront Achilles and Liam over their actions, but Achilles' attempts to prevent bloodshed causes Liam to destroy the Piece of Eden by accident, causing another earthquake. While Haytham pursues Achilles, Shay and Liam fight throughout the temple, until the two fall off a waterfall, with Liam not surviving the fall. He arrives in time to persuade Haytham to spare Achilles, arguing both on a moral ground (That they are no better than the Assassins if they cannot show mercy) and a practical one (Achilles' testimony will stop the Assassins from trying to locate other Precursor Sites). Haytham nonetheless cripples Achilles as a precaution by kneecapping him.
With the Colonial America branch of the Assassin Brotherhood all but destroyed, Cormac is tasked with locating the artifact that was used to find the Pieces of Eden, as Achilles had passed it to other Assassins prior to his Arctic voyage. Cormac's twenty year search eventually leads him to Versailles, where he discovers it under the care of Charles Dorian; father of Arno, the protagonist of Assassin's Creed Unity. Cormac kills Charles and takes possession of the artifact, taunting the dying man with the promise that while the American Revolution ended Templar influence in the Americas, a new revolution may yet hold promise.
In the present day, Numbskull reconciles Shay's memories and navigates through several memories focusing on Shay in Paris before he assassinated Dorian. Under the direction of Otso Berg, a senior Templar leader, they upload them to the Assassin network, revealing how close Achilles Davenport came to destroying the world. The result is almost instantaneous, with the Assassins thrown into disarray and, as revealed in Unity, retaliating by hacking into the Abstergo's systems and destroying all of the company's Precursor samples as well as causing several of their servers to melt down. As reward for their actions, Numbskull is presented with a choice; join the Templar Order, or die. The game fades to black before a choice is made.
In 2014, a random player of Helix (a gaming device produced by Abstergo that allows access to many different genetic memories) named "The Initiate," plays through a memory of the sacking of the Paris Temple, and the capture of Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay, in 1307. During the sack, de Molay entrusts another Templar with a sword and a book, which the Templar hides within a French crypt. The memory then fast forwards to de Molay's death at the stake, and his curse towards King Phillip IV and Pope Clement V.
At this point, two Assassins (Bishop and Deacon, who is Shaun Hastings) hijack the memory sequence and implore the player to join them as an initiate. The Assassins provide an internal Abstergo video memo, in which Abstergo describes the capture of a Sage who contains precursor DNA (which is in a triple–rather than a double–helix). Also in the video, Abstergo goes into detail regarding the Phoenix Project; whereby, Abstergo hopes to compile a whole precursor genome for unclear purposes. The Assassin contact provides access to another memory segment and directs the new initiate to locate another Sage, whose corpse they hope to recover.
The memory then segues to Versailles in 1776, as Arno Dorian, a French nobleman's son who speaks in a British accent for some reason, meets Elise De La Serre, daughter of the Templar Grand Master. After his father is murdered at the palace, the Grand Master De La Serre adopts Arno despite knowing his father was an Assassin; information to which Arno is oblivious. The story then skips forward 13 years, to Elise's initiation into the Templar order in 1789. Arno is given a message to deliver to De La Serre, but puts it in his office in order to sneak into the party to meet with Elise. After meeting her, Arno sneaks out, and finds De La Serre murdered in a courtyard. Arno, mistaken to be De La Serre's killer, is captured by the gendarmerie and imprisoned in the Bastille. There, he finds apocalyptic writings on the wall through Eagle Vision and impresses a fellow prisoner, the Assassin Bellec, with his fighting skills. Bellec invites Arno into the Brotherhood when they escape during the Storming of the Bastille.
Arno returns home first and is turned away by Elise, who reveals that the message Arno was supposed to deliver to her father was a warning of his impending murder, and reveals herself as a Templar. Arno, after drinking himself into a stupor, joins the Brotherhood and over the course of 2 years, becomes a full assassin. In time, he asks permission to find and eliminate the other Templars involved in De La Serre's death, beginning with Charles Sivert whose name he heard the night of the assassination, and then followed by his co-actor La Roi de Thumes ("The King of Beggars"). He is granted his request by Mirabeau, who was attempting to broker peace between the Orders with De La Serre. During the course of his investigation, Arno rescues François-Thomas Germain, a silversmith being held hostage by the Templar Grand Master Lafreniere. After killing Lafreniere, who was actually the one trying to warn De La Serre, Arno runs into Elise and realizes that Germain is the Sage, as well as the one who ordered De La Serre's murder. The Brotherhood Council begins to question Arno's loyalty as he acts rashly in his pursuit of De La Serre's killer.
Realizing that Germain's plot is intended to spark a mass revolt against the King of France, Arno assassinates two more central figures, an officer organizing a prisoner revolt (Captain Frederic Rouille) and another who was hoarding food (merchant Marie Levesque) to create the impression that the nobility was squandering resources as France starved. Arno also crosses paths with Napoleon Bonaparte, an artillery officer, while searching the Tuileries Palace for letters from his mentor Mirabeau to King Louis, which the Templars could use as an excuse to purge the Assassins' agents across France. Bonaparte later helped him in taking down Captain Rouille, who served under his command during the September Massacres of September 1792. During this time, Arno saves Elise and convinces her to parley with the Brotherhood, as she confesses her own faction of the Templars are being killed by a schism led by the Sage. Mirabeau agrees, hoping to gain a massive favor from the potential future Grand Master of the Templars, and is murdered by Bellec, who intends to purge the Assassin leadership for beginning to agree with Templar beliefs. Refusing to join him, Arno fights Bellec in a knockout sword duel throughout the church the Assassin HQ is under, and escapes from the food riots and the assassination of Levesque shortly thereafter with Elise in a hot air balloon. Arno confesses he still loves Elise.
With the Revolution in full swing, Arno tracks Germain to the execution of King Louis XVI, but chooses to stay and protect Elise rather than pursue him. Elise rejects him for the decision, and Arno is exiled from the Brotherhood for ignoring orders to pursue his personal vendetta, causing him to fall into a drunken depression. Arno languishes for several months before he is found in Versailles by Elise who convinces him to return as Paris is tearing itself apart during the Reign of Terror. Arno returns to Paris and, with Elise's help, discredits the reputation of Maximilien de Robespierre, whom Germain, now Grand Master of the Templars, had placed in charge of maintaining chaos during the Revolution. After Arno and Elise find Robespierre, who had locked himself in his office in an attempt to avoid arrest, Elise shoots Robespierre in the jaw and makes him write down the location of Germain.
Arno confronts Germain at the top of the Temple, only to find he now has the Sword of Eden. The fight eventually ends in the same Templar crypt in which the game began, where Arno strikes Germain only to have the Sword blow him backwards and trap him under rubble. Elise first attempts to help Arno out of the rubble then goes ahead to take on Germain by herself, but as Arno gets the rubble off of him and runs to protect Elise the Sword explodes, killing Elise and mortally wounding Germain. Arno then kills Germain, who in his memories confirms he is the Sage and that he wanted to purge the Templar Order of all who had forgotten the teachings of de Molay.
The game closes with Arno explaining how his understanding of the Creed has changed, and promising to watch over Paris and keep Elise's memory alive. Years later, Arno, having become a Master Assassin, recovers Germain's skeleton from the Temple and places it in the Catacombs of Paris, much to the relief of the Initiate's Assassin handlers, who are now confident that Abstergo won't be able to find it.
One week after Germain's death. Arno, still feeling devastated over Elise, finds refuge in Saint-Denis (at the time, known as Franciade). He is contacted by the Marquis de Sade at a tavern, who requests his help in finding the manuscript of Nicolas de Condorcet, hidden in the tomb of Louis IX beneath the city, in exchange for a ship that would take Arno to Egypt. Arno at this point is highly apathetic concerning the Assassin conflict and France's political future, and wishes to pull a Screw This, I'm Outta Here.
During his search, Arno encounters a group of tomb raiders, led by Captain Philippe Rose, a subordinate of Napoleon Bonaparte, who wishes to retrieve the artifact located within a Precursor temple, buried under the city's church. He also finds that the manuscript has been stolen by a child thief, Léon, who was captured by the raiders. Arno rescues Léon and retrieves the manuscript, but declines to help him stop the raiders. His resolve softens after an encounter with a vision of Elise, as well as hearing Léon's pleas.
After discovering the location of the temple, and retrieving the key from one of Napoleon's officers, Arno finally manages to open the door to the temple. He is then ambushed by Rose, who attempts to take the artifact for himself. Arno survives the ambush, and makes it to the artifact before Rose and his men. After killing Rose, Arno retrieves the artifact, a head-shaped lantern containing a spherical Piece of Eden, and uses it to repel the raiders and escape the temple. He later meets de Sade at the tavern and delivers the manuscript as promised. Finally, Arno decides to stay in France, and contacts the Brotherhood to deliver the Piece of Eden to Egypt, far away from Bonaparte's reach.
In the present day, an Assassin Initiate is contacted by Bishop and is tasked with reliving the memories of twin Assassins, Jacob and Evie Frye, to find a Piece of Eden hidden in London. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Shaun have infiltrated an Abstergo facility and, against orders, decide to spy on a secret Templar meeting.
In 1868, Henry Green, real name Jayadeep Mir, son of the Indian Assassin Arbaaz Mir, writes to the Assassin Brotherhood begging for aid, explaining how the Brotherhood in London has fallen, leaving the city at the mercy of the Templar Grand Master, Crawford Starrick, who controls both London's industry and criminal underworld, and who plans to seize control of Britain and, through its holdings, the world. Outside of London, the Frye twins begin their work, with Jacob assassinating a corrupt factory boss, Rupert Ferris. Evie infiltrates a lab owned run by David Brewster and Templar Occultist, Lucy Thorne. Inside, Evie finds Brewster experimenting on a Piece of Eden and assassinates him. Brewster tells Evie that Starrick knows of a second, more powerful Piece of Eden when the first Piece of Eden becomes unstable and explodes, forcing Evie to flee. With their missions successful, the Frye twins decide to disobey orders from the Brotherhood and head for London. In the present, Rebecca and Shaun spy on a meeting between Isabelle Ardant and Alvaro Gramatica. Rebecca and Shaun attempt to capture Isabelle but she had anticipated the ambush, revealing that former Sigma Team leader and Master Templar, Otso Berg, and Violet de Costa were there to intercept the two assassins, but Shaun and Rebecca are able to escape by a small window.
In the past, the Frye twins arrive in London and meet with Henry Green, an old acquaintance of their father. They have differing ideas on how to liberate London; Jacob advocating that they take the fight straight to the Templars, while Evie advises they find the Piece of Eden first. They both agree to begin liberating the various boroughs of London by defeating Templar-controlled gangs, sabotaging Templar-controlled businesses, assassinating high ranking Templars, and building up their own criminal gang called the Rooks. Along the way, they enlist the help of various people including Charles Dickens, Frederick Aberline, Alexander Graham Bell, Florence Nightingale, Edward Hodson Bayley, and a young Arthur Conan Doyle.
Jacob decides to investigate the mysterious "Soothing Syrup" that Starrick has been distributing all across London and is slowly poisoning the populace. He meets Charles Darwin, who is also investigating the syrup. Together, they destroy the factory producing the syrup and interrogate Richard Owen. Owen informs them that John Elliotson has been manufacturing the syrup. Jacob and Darwin then head to Lambeth Asylum, where Jacob assassinates Elliotson. Next, Jacob decides to assist Pearl Attaway, one of Starrick's competitors in the omnibus business. He sabotages Starrick's omnibus company and assassinates its boss, Malcolm Milner. However, Milner warns Jacob that Starrick and Attaway are cousins and that Attaway is a Templar. In response, Jacob assassinates Attaway. Jacob then learns of Templar banker Philip Twopenny's plot to rob the Bank of England and steal its gold reserve. With Aberline's assistance, Jacob breaks into the Bank and assassinates Twopenny. Jacob then heads to Parliament to prevent a Templar plot to assassinate British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who is pushing to pass the Corrupt Practices Act. Jacob assassinates the mastermind, The Earl of Cardigan. Jacob is then contacted by Maxwell Roth, the leader of the Templar-controlled gang, the Blighters. Roth offers to betray the Templars and form an alliance with the Rooks, which Jacob accepts. After assisting Roth in several missions against Starrick, Jacob breaks off the alliance when Roth tricks him into bombing a building full of children. Jacob infiltrates Roth's headquarters at the Alhambra Theatre and assassinates Roth.
Meanwhile, Evie looks for the Piece of Eden, managing to steal an Assassin journal from Thorne. Analyzing the journal, Evie discovers that it refers to the Shroud of Eden, a Piece of Eden that can heal any injury. She follows the trail of clues to the mansion of Edward Kenway, where she finds a map detailing the locations of all of the Assassin vaults hidden in London. Her search leads her to famous landmarks such as the Monument to the Great Fire of London and St. Paul's Cathedral. She obtains the key needed to access the Shroud's vault, but it is stolen by Thorne. Evie then heads to the Tower of London, where the vault is located and assassinates Thorne. Thorne explains the Shroud is not in the Tower and claims that the Assassins have no idea of the true power of the Shroud before dying. Green believes the real vault is hidden in Buckingham Palace, and enlists the aid of the Maharajah Duleep Singh to find the schematics for the building. Unfortunately, the Templars manage to seize the schematics first. In addition to her hunt for the Shroud, Evie also helps correct the unintended consequences Jacob's assassinations cause such as medicine shortages, a transportation crisis and currency inflation.
With all of his lieutenants dead, Starrick moves to retrieve the Shroud personally. Throughout the latter part of the game, the twins different views on approaching their time in London comes a boiling point when Jacob and Evie get into an argument over Jacob's recklessness and Evie's apparent inaction. Henry warns the Frye twins that Starrick plans to break into Buckingham Palace, steal the Shroud, and kill all of Britain's heads of church and state. The Frye twins agree to work together to stop Starrick before putting an end to their partnership. The twins infiltrate a ball being held at the palace, where they meet Queen Victoria and Starrick himself. Starrick beats them to the vault and obtains the Shroud for himself, which grants him superhuman strength and regeneration from wounds. Working together, the Frye twins and Green manage to defeat and kill Starrick. After the battle, Jacob and Evie return the Shroud to the vault, reconcile their differences, and agree to continue working together. In recognition of their deeds, Queen Victoria knights the Frye twins and Green.
In the present, with the location of the Shroud confirmed, Shaun, Rebecca, and Galina head to the vault. Unfortunately, Otso Berg, de Costa, and Ardant beat them there, and despite the Assassins ambushing them, the Templars manage to escape with the Shroud and Rebecca is shot and wounded. Hacking Isabelle's computer, the Assassins find out the Templars plan to use the Shroud to construct a living Precursor. The recording also shows that Juno is secretly manipulating certain employees within Abstergo from behind the scenes to sabotage the company, and has her own plans for the Shroud.
The story begins in 1888 with Jacob meeting a journalist named Weaversbrook, who Jacob warns not to publish Jack's letters as he wants to spread fear in London. He then receives word of another murder and goes to investigate. Jacob goes after the Ripper, who begins following him before eventually attacking. As the Ripper pursues Jacob, it is revealed that he knows Jacob personally, and possesses Assassin abilities. After escaping, Jacob reaches his lodgings, but the Ripper arrives and attacks again, with Jacob apparently being killed.
Following the incident, Evie returns from India where she is greeted by police inspector Frederick Abberline, who informs her that Jacob is missing and is presumed dead. He also tells her that she may be the last Assassin in London, and the only one capable of stopping the Ripper. After finding Jacob's lodgings, Evie takes some non-lethal fear tools used by the Indian Brotherhood. She also deduces that the Ripper is in fact one of Jacob's Assassin Initiates. Afterwards, she kills the Ripper's lieutenants who have been aiding in his crimes and frees a number of prisoners he had been keeping hostage. All the while, the Ripper stalks Evie.
With more murders occurring, Evie is pressured to find the Ripper quickly; after the Ripper's final murder, Abberline makes it plain unless she delivers the Ripper, he won't be able to stop her from being arrested for the crimes. She reexamines all of his old crime scenes and finds hidden clues that lead to him, as well as learning the fact that all of the women he murdered were Assassins. She later finds a message left by the Ripper, which reveals that he never forgave Jacob for failing to protect his mother from being killed by Starrick's men. Evie deduces that the Ripper is waiting for her at Lambeth Asylum, where he was imprisoned before Jacob recruited him into the Brotherhood. Meanwhile, the Ripper returns to the Asylum and murders his former tormentors. Evie arrives shortly after the Ripper and kills him in battle. Afterwards, she finds Jacob imprisoned and tortured, but still alive. With the Ripper dead, Abberline agrees to cover up the Ripper's identity as an Assassin in order to protect the Brotherhood.
In 1491 Andalusia, during the Granada War, Aguilar de Nerha is accepted into the Assassins Brotherhood. He is assigned to protect Prince Ahmed of Granada from the Spanish Inquisition (front cover of the Knights Templars). In 1986, adolescent Callum "Cal" Lynch finds his mother killed by his father, Joseph, a modern-day Assassin. Gunmen led by Alan Rikkin, CEO of the Templars' Abstergo Foundation, arrive to capture Joseph, who convinces his son to escape.
In 2016, Cal is sentenced to death for murdering a pimp, but his execution is faked by the Abstergo Foundation, which then takes him to their research facility in Madrid. He is told that the Templars are searching for the Apple of Eden, in order to eliminate violence by using the Apple's code to control humanity's free will. Sofia, Alan's daughter and the head scientist, reveals that Cal is a descendant of Aguilar, the last person confirmed to be in possession of the Apple. She puts Cal in the Animus, a machine which allows him to relive (and the scientists to observe) Aguilar's genetic memories, so that Abstergo can learn what he did with the Apple.
In 15th-century Spain, Aguilar/Callum and his partner Maria are deployed to rescue Ahmed, who has been kidnapped by the Templar Grand Master Tomas de Torquemada, to coerce Ahmed's father, Sultan Muhammad XII, to surrender the Apple. Aguilar and Maria intercept the Templars, but are overpowered and captured by Torquemada's enforcer, Ojeda. Cal is quickly pulled out of the Animus by Sofia.
Cal encounters other Assassin descendants held captive at the facility, most of whom are suspicious of his motives, with the exception of Moussa, the descendant of an 18th-century Haitian Assassin named Baptiste and a key leader. Cal begins experiencing hallucinations, dubbed "the Bleeding Effect", of both Aguilar and Joseph. Cal and Sofia build a rapport during their sessions; she confides that her mother was likewise murdered by an Assassin, sharing his hatred of the Brotherhood of which his father is a member.
Back in the Animus, Aguilar and Maria are scheduled for execution but he manages to free them, leading to a rooftop chase in which they escape through an Assassin "Leap of Faith". Cal's mind reacts violently to the session and he is temporarily paralyzed. When Cal learns that his father is also at the facility, he confronts Joseph, blinded by his forced exposure to the Animus, over his mother's death. Joseph informs him that the Bleeding Effect will allow modern Cal to possess Aguilar's combat abilities. He also learns that his mother was an Assassin, and she chose to die by Joseph's hand rather than be forced into the Animus. Unconvinced, Cal vows to destroy the Assassins by finding the Apple. Meanwhile, Alan is pressured by a Templar Elder, Ellen Kaye, to shut down the multibillion-dollar Animus Project because they have already "won ... people no longer care about their civil liberties ... they're content to follow", leading Sofia to question her father's true intentions.
Reaffirmed by his encounter with his father, Cal willingly enters the Animus once again, whereupon Aguilar and Maria ambush a meeting between Muhammad and Torquemada. They succeed in killing the Templars and retrieving the Apple, though Ojeda captures Maria in order to force Aguilar to surrender it. Instead, Maria chooses death, and stabs herself on Ojeda's blade. Aguilar kills him and escapes through another Leap, the force of which causes the Animus to violently malfunction. Aguilar gives the Apple to Christopher Columbus, who promises to take it to his grave. When Moussa and the modern Assassin prisoners start a riot in order to escape, Alan orders the facility purged. Abstergo security kills Joseph and most of the other prisoners.
Cal stands in the Animus chamber and is met with the projections of a number of his Assassin ancestors, including Aguilar, Arno Dorian, Joseph and his mother, while Sofia glimpses the projection of an Assassin identical in appearance to her. Persuaded by his mother, Cal embraces his Assassins' Creed and, having fully assimilated Aguilar's memories and abilities, joins Moussa and two other surviving Assassins in escaping the facility using a collection of ancestral weapons from past Assassins.
Having retrieved the Apple from Columbus' burial vault, Alan and his followers converge at a ceremony in a Templar sanctuary in London to celebrate their triumph. Inside the sanctuary, a disillusioned Sofia meets with Cal, who has come to take the Apple, and she reluctantly allows him to act. Cal retrieves the Apple, killing Alan in the process. While Sofia vows revenge against Cal, the Assassins depart, vowing to once again protect the Apple from the Templars.
In the present day, Layla Hassan, a researcher at Abstergo's Historical Research Division and former friend of Sophia Rikkin, is tasked along with her friend and co-worker Deanna Geary with finding and retrieving an artifact in Egypt. However, she instead finds a tomb containing the mummies of ancient Assassins Bayek and Aya. Hoping to find any relevant information that would secure her a position in the company's Animus Project, Layla decides to relive both Bayek and Aya's memories using her modified Animus without telling her superiors, despite Deanna's protest.
In 49 BCE, Bayek, a respected Medjay in charge of protecting the Siwa Oasis, is abducted along with his son Khemu by a group of five masked men to an underground vault in the Temple of Amun. The masked men give Bayek a golden orb and demand that he use it to open a secret Vault. Khemu helps Bayek escape, but during the struggle to kill one of the masked men, Bayek inadvertently stabs Khemu in the chest, killing him.
One year later in 48 BCE, Bayek has exiled himself from Siwa in order to track down the five masked men to take his revenge. He finds the first one, Rudjek "The Heron", and kills him. Bayek then returns to Siwa to kill the local priest Medunamun, "The Ibis", who has been torturing Siwans for information to open the same vault. After killing Medunamun, Bayek then heads for Alexandria, where Aya has been tracking another of the masked men. Upon meeting Aya, she reveals that she has already killed Actaeon "The Vulture" and Ktesos "The Ram", leaving only one target left, "The Snake". Aya also reveals that she has been working with Apollodorus the Sicilian and Cleopatra to uncover The Snake's identity. She gives Bayek the first Hidden Blade, which he uses to track down and kill Eudoros, whom he believes to be the "Snake" in a bathhouse. Killing Eudoros costs Bayek his left ring finger, cut off from the same hidden blade to kill his target.
Bayek remembers Eudoros' words and begins to have doubts. He decides to meet with Apollodorus and Cleopatra for answers. Cleopatra tells Bayek that she was ousted from the throne by the masked men, who call themselves the Order of Ancients and seek to control all of Egypt by using Ptolemy as their puppet. In addition, there are more members of Order than the five Bayek and Aya had already killed: "The Scarab", "The Hyena", "The Lizard" and "The Crocodile". In fact, Eudoros was actually "The Hippo", and the name of the Snake is used to refer to the Order as a whole. Confronted with this new information, Bayek agrees to become Cleopatra's Medjay and assassinate the remaining members of the Order. Bayek tracks down and kills all of them while Aya convinces Pompey the Great to ally with Cleopatra.
In the present, Layla and Deanna are attacked by Abstergo soldiers for failing to check in with the company. Layla kills her attackers using an old Hidden Blade in the tomb, but Deanna is captured and executed. Swearing revenge, Layla returns to the Animus, determined to complete her mission.
Bayek receives a letter from Aya explaining that there are two more members of the Order, "The Scorpion" and "The Jackal", who are members of Ptolemy's royal guard and the likely culprits responsible for Khemu's death. He finds out that Lucius Septimius is the Jackal and tracks him, but is too late to stop him from assassinating Pompey. With no other options, Cleopatra has Bayek and Aya help sneak her into the palace to meet Julius Caesar. Cleopatra impresses Caesar and secures his support. Bayek kills Pothinus, "The Scorpion", but is stopped from killing Septimius by Caesar. Aya watches Ptolemy get eaten by crocodiles when he tries to flee across the Nile.
After the end of the civil war, Cleopatra takes the throne as Pharaoh. Septimius becomes an advisor for Caesar and Cleopatra cuts ties with Bayek and Aya. This causes Bayek and his supporters to realize that Cleopatra and Caesar have now allied themselves with the Order. Realizing his mistake in supporting Cleopatra, Bayek gathers his allies to form a brotherhood to counter the Order and defend the free will of the common people. Bayek and Aya realize the Order showed a strong interest in the tomb of Alexander the Great, which they investigate. There, they find a mortally wounded Apollodorus who warns them that Caesar's lieutenant, Flavius, is "The Lion" and the true leader of the Order. He and Septimius had taken the Orb and a Staff from the tomb and are heading back to Siwa for the Vault.
Upon returning to Siwa, they find the Vault already opened. Bayek tracks down and confronts Flavius, who bears the activated Apple of Eden, but kills him, avenging Khemu's death. Bayek returns to Aya, who has recruited Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger and Gaius Cassius Longinus to their cause. She plans to head to Rome with Brutus and Cassius to assassinate Caesar and Septimius. Bayek and Aya part ways but form the foundation of the Assassin Brotherhood when they both swear to protect the world from the shadows. Upon their separation, Bayek drops his eagle's skull charm, a necklace of Khemu's, into the sand which leaves an impression, becoming the icon of their new Brotherhood.
After this, Layla wakes up from the Animus to find William Miles, present day Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood watching over her. She accepts William's offer to work with the Assassins, but stops short of actually joining them. The two depart for modern-day Alexandria.
In Rome, Aya confronts Septimius, who wields the Staff of Eden and she kills him. She then fails to correctly infiltrate the Roman Senate and assassinates Caesar. Later, she meets with Cleopatra and warns her to be a fair ruler or she will return to assassinate her. Afterward, Bayek and Aya (now calling herself Amunet)[b] begin recruiting and training other Assassins as they build the Assassin Brotherhood in Egypt and Rome respectively.
During the Battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas leads the Spartan army against a Persian charge. The battle is won, but Leonidas is informed by a captured enemy soldier that the existence of the mountain path has been revealed to the Persian army, which is moving to surround the Spartans by morning. Nevertheless, Leonidas resolves to hold off the Persian advance.
In the present, Layla Hassan recovers the Spear of Leonidas and together with Victoria Bibeau, extracts the DNA of two individuals from it, the siblings Kassandra and Alexios. With help from the Assassins, Layla picks one of the siblings (the "Misthios," canonically Kassandra) and activates the Animus to find the location of the Staff of Hermes.
The Misthios started as a young Spartan child, raised by their parents Nikolaos and Myrrine, and inherited the Spear of Leonidas from Myrrine as one Leonidas' descendants. However, one day, both the Misthios and their sibling are thrown off a mountain due to an oracle's prophecy, with the Misthios being dropped by Nikolaos himself. The Misthios survived the fall and fled to the island of Kephallonia, where they grew up performing odd jobs until the Peloponnesian War begins.
The Misthios is approached by a wealthy man named Elpenor, who hires them to assassinate "The Wolf of Sparta". The Misthios later discovers that the Wolf is Nikolaos himself and confronts him. Nikolaos admits that he regrets what he had done, but did so for the good of Sparta. The Misthios has the choice of executing or sparing Nikolaos, and finds out that Nikolaos is actually their stepfather and that Myrrine is in danger. The Misthios confronts Elpenor, who reveals he knew Nikolaos was their stepfather and wanted him dead in order to drag out the war. He then offers another job to assassinate Myrrine, but the Misthios refuses and Elpenor flees. The Misthios then travels to Delphi to ask the Pythia the whereabouts of Myrrine, where they encounter Herodotos, who recognizes the Spear of Leonidas the Misthios carries. Upon meeting the Pythia, the Misthios is warned about the Cult of Kosmos, who seek to kill them and their family. The Misthios further investigates the Cult by assassinating Elpenor and using his disguise to infiltrate a Cult meeting. They find that the Cult plans to take advantage of the war to seize control of all of Greece, and that their enforcer Deimos is in fact the Misthios' sibling, now brainwashed to follow the Cult's orders.
The Misthios continues on their journey all over Greece, clearing out Cult corruption from both Sparta and Athens and befriending powerful Greek figures such as Perikles and Aspasia. They are unable to stop Perikles' assassination at the hands of Deimos, but are able to reunite with Myrrine and find their true father, Pythagoras. Myrrine and Pythagoras explain that they conceived Alexios and Kassandra to preserve Leonidas' bloodline, as he and his descendants have a special connection to Precursor artifacts, such as the Spear of Leonidas. Pythagoras tasks the Misthios to recover several Precursor artifacts needed to permanently seal the hidden Precursor city of Atlantis so that its knowledge cannot be misused by enemies like the Cult. Afterwards, the Misthios manages to avenge Perikles' death by assassinating his political rival, Kleon. Depending on the Misthios' actions, they can convince Deimos to abandon the Cult and rebuild their family with Nikolaos, Myrrine, their sibling, and their new stepbrother Stentor living happily together in their old family home.
With war averted and the Cult virtually eliminated, the Misthios heads for the Cult's secret meeting place under the Temple of Delphi to destroy the Precursor pyramid the Cult was using to influence Greek politics. Touching it, they receive visions of future conflicts to come before destroying the pyramid. Aspasia then arrives and reveals that she was the original leader of the Cult but disagreed with its actions as its members became more corrupt, and she thanks the Misthios for destroying the Cult. The Misthios has the option of killing or sparing Aspasia, but cuts ties with her regardless. Finally, the Misthios collects all of the artifacts needed to seal Atlantis, and activates a recording from the Precursor Aletheia who pleads with the Misthios and Layla that Precursor knowledge and technology is not meant for humans and must be destroyed in order for humans to reach their true potential. Pythagoras reluctantly passes the Staff of Hermes on to the Misthios, dying in the process. The Misthios then continues their adventures.
In the present, Layla uses the data from the Animus to find Atlantis and activate it. As the Assassins analyze the data within, Layla is shocked to find the Misthios, kept alive until modern times by the Staff of Hermes. The Misthios warns Layla that the world needs a balance between order and chaos, the Templar Order and Assassins respectively, and either side prevailing over the other will result in the world's doom. The Misthios also explains that Layla is the prophesied one who will bring balance to order and chaos and gives her the Staff of Hermes, sacrificing their life in the process.
