Assassin Order/Bio & Battles

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

- The Creed.

The Assassin Order' or Assassin Brotherhood, also known as Liberalis Circulum (Circle of Liberals) during Roman times, or Hashashins during the High Middle Ages, was an organised order of assassins and sworn enemies of the Templars, against whom they fought a continuous, secret war, throughout the entirety of recorded

Whereas the Templars strove for the power to save humanity from itself by controlling free will, the Assassins fought to ensure the survival of free will, as it allowed for the progression of ideas and the growth of individuality.

The Assassins, if not the order itself, had existed since at least 456 B.C.E., throughout the Roman era, the Middle Ages, the Italian Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution and into the 21st century.

The order believed in a strong set of values that strictly governed their way of life. They never kill innocents, compromise their fellow assassins, and always attempt to remain stealthy while on mission. These tenets permeated every aspect of daily life, as well as their fight for "peace in all things." The Assassins carried out their duties through political, strategic assassination, in the hope that killing one individual would lead to the salvation of thousands. The Assassins believed that they fought on the behalf of those who did not possess the abilities, resources, or knowledge to speak against those that abused their power.

Prologue
“King Richard, this war MUST end now.” Altair told the English king, increasing the volume of his voice at the seemingly peaceful meeting. The two leaders were conferring in the courtyard of Richard’s castle in Acre. “Grand Master, the end of this war is not my decision. I’ve already told you that I’ve tried to persuade the Pope, but all I can do is withdraw my army. The rest of the Christians, however, are not under my command. His Holiness is the only to control the rest of the kingdoms.” Altair sighs, hoping that this could have ended peacefully. “If this is so, then the Pope is our target.”

Richard immediately stands up and draws his sword. “You dare threaten the Pope of the Catholic Church? You could make this escalate into something even more disastrous than before!” Altair simply gets up, causing the room full of guards to charge at him, swords ready. The screech of an eagle is heard, and suddenly five other white-robed men attack from various angles.

Two jump from the rooftops, air assassinating two guards. Another two run from in the crowd gathered there, thrusting their hidden blades into the men closest to them. The last one emerged from the shadows and closed the gates, locking out any support they would’ve gotten. Altair calmly draws his sword, his face shadowed by his cowl. “Richard, we are going to leave. I respect you as a great leader, so I wish to leave you alive.” Richard makes a heavy swing at Altair, but the Assassin just parries the sword and uppercuts him. Richard flies back into the table, out cold. The six assassins look at the Crusaders, who have started to chop through the gates. “We are no longer welcome. We must return to Masyaf to prepare the defenses before our journey to Rome.” The six men climb back to the rooftops, leaving the chaos of Acre behind them.

Two weeks later……..

A courier rides down a road alone, his horse walking calmly. He makes turn to see a man in green clothes, longbow on his back and long sword on his hip. “Hello, good sir. Welcome to Sherwood Forest, the beautiful scenery close to the town of Locksley. At the order of our good Sheriff, to pass through here is required a small toll.” The courier draws his dirk, preparing to defend his purse. “Sir, you dare to challenge me?” The man sighs, drawing his long sword.

He whistles, and a volley of arrows appears from the trees, several landing in front of his horse. The man remains unfazed as five other Merry Men climb down from the trees. Several draw swords and walk up to the courier. “There e’ is! Get ‘im!” All seven men look to see five knights charging at the, swords drawn. “I knew something was wrong. It’s an ambush.” Robin loads an arrow from his quiver and loads it on his bow. He shoots it, the arrow thudding into the chest of a knight. He falls off his horse, rolling into the dust of the road. The four remaining knights dismount and grab their shields. Little John takes his longsword and blocks it. He parries the knight’s sword and finishes him with a chop. Two more Merry Men approach a knight, War Hammers in hand. They swing, knocking the noble into the ground. Robin draws his Rondel Dagger as a knight swings his mace into his bow. He then thrusts the small dagger into his neck. The last knight gets onto his horse and flees, abandoning his comrades. The courier still sits mounted on his horse. “Which one of you is Robin Hood?” Robin, still standing in the middle of the road, asks “Who wishes to know?” The courier simply pulls out a letter, the seal of King Richard on it. Robin grabs the letter from him, reading it carefully. His face turns from seriousness to concern, to sheer terror. “Lads, grab your gear. The Pope needs us. He is going to be assassinated.” Battle Assassins:

Merry Men:

Altair walked through Rome, fully armed. Breathing in slowly, he begins to scale up a cathederal. Altair examines his surroundings, examining the best route of attack. He nods to himself, and then jumps into a cart of hay below. He jumps out of the cart and bumps into a group of men.

"Excuse me." "Don't worry bout it."

As Altair walked away, Robin Hood and his Merry Men continue walking through Rome. "It's nice to casually stroll through the city and not worry about defending yourself." he comments as he smiles warmly at a guard. The guard waves in reply, and lets them into Saint Peter's Square. The six men kneel as they face the Pope, bowing with the utmost respect. The Pope nods, and the men stand. "Your Holiness, we are here to guard you in case these assassins attempt to strike." The Pope and the Merry Men mount up, and the Papal guards surround them.

Ten minutes later.....

Altair stands with his assassins on the rooftops, watching the processions as the Pope secretly flees for his life. Altair looks at two of them, pointing to the hay stack. They perform a Leap of Faith, landing without notice. "Listen, you two shall stay up here. We shall distract the guards, and when the Pope flees, strike." The two assassins nod, preparing for battle. Altair climbs down, unnoticed. He uses the wall as a springboard, launching himself at a guard. As he assassinates him, he gets up and throws a knife at the Pope. It misses, hitting a mounted Merry Man in the neck instead.

As the Merry Men dismount, the two other assassins come from the crowd, sabers drawn. Robin aims his longbow and launches an arrow at one. The arrow lands solidly into one's neck, ending life ebbing away with his blood. The five remaining Merry Men draw their longswords. Altair parries a thrust from Robin, and slashes his saber. Robin blocks with his buckler, and chops with his longsword. As the two leaders continue to clash their swords, a Merry man swings his War Hammer at the assassin. He counters with his Short Blade and slashes an artery on his lower leg. He ducks under the other Merry Man's sword strike and thrusts the Short Blade into his stomach.

As the Merry Man bleeds out, he swings his hammer under his opponent's legs, sending him to the floor. He finishes him with a strike to the forehead and proceeds to slip away. The Pope and his remaining guards have begun to flee. Altair pulls out a small pouch, and throws it onto the ground. Smoke covers the area, and Robin, his men, and several guards begin to cough as Altair climbs onto the roofs. Robin sees them, and launches an arrow at them. He misses, and sprints to catch up with the Pope. Robin and the remaining Merry Men catch up to the Pope just as an assassin attempts to air assassinate him. The three men fire in unison, turning the Assassin into a pin cushion.

Altair and his last assassin stand on the roof, suppresed by a rain of arrows. Altair points to a rafter on the other side of the roof, and the other assassin crawls over. Altair then rolls onto a merchant shop below the roof and throws a set of throwing knives, all three hitting a Merry Man. Robin draws back his bow, preparing to kill the chraging assassin. But he hears a loud scream as he turns and sees the other assassin over the Pope, his hidden blade covered in blood. Robin turns his bow on him, but feels a sudden pain in his knee as a loud BANG! is heard. He falls to the ground, and Altair hides a smirk he lowers his arm. The assassin tackles the other Merry Man, and the two assassins go to the rooftops. The Merry Man pursues, and they lead him to a church. As the two assassins face the Merry Man and the guards, church bells ring as scholars walk out of the church. The two men blend with ease, making an undiscovered escape.

WINNER: Assassins!

Expert's Opinion
Voting went towards the Assassins because of the fact that the Merry Men were outmatched weapon wise and in the environment. While their archery was a deadly factor, they couldn't overcome the training, stealth, and brutality of the Assassins.

To see the original battle, votes, and weapons, click here.

Battle vs. Ranger Corps (by Deathblade 100 and Red Krystals)
Assassins:

Rangers:

Castle Araluen, Araluen Fief

Gilan watched the group of five white robed men with suspicion. He'd seen them moving around the city throughout the past five days. Frowning, Gilan turned back to his office before sighing. Being Ranger Commandant had a lot of responsibility and that paperwork wasn't going to get itself done.

That afternoon

Ezio and his four assassins left the city in a crowd. Detaching from the rest of the group, the Assassins turned off into the nearby forest to set up camp. They had been scouting out the city to find traces of Templar influence and had recently found evidence that the king of Araluen, Duncan, had been in contact with members of the Templar order in the Arridi city of Al Shabah. Ezio and his men sat down to plot out their assault.

Next day

As Gilan and four other Rangers, whom he had called to the city, split up and started to patrol the streets for the five assassins, a crossbow bolt arced down from a building and hit a Ranger in the neck. As the two Assassins scattered, one of the Rangers sent a grey shafted arrow from his longbow and pierced one of the Assassins in the back of the heart..

Gilan turned and noticing Ezio and one of the assassins heading towards the castle, called another Ranger to assist him. The Ranger who was pursuing one of the assassins, chases him into the nearby forest. Hearing rustling, the Ranger pulls the cowl of his distinct mottled cloak over his head and settles into the dense foliage.

An assassin getting chased by a Ranger runs down a nearby alleyway before jumping off both walls before landing behind his pursuer and cutting him down with a strike from his longsword. A glint of brass reached the corner of the assassin's eye before, a striker came flying into the side of his head. A throwing knife made its way into the assassin's neck. The Ranger retrieved his knife before linking back up with Gilan to stop Ezio.

In the forest, the assassin started to head back towards the city confident he had managed to throw off his pursuer. As he makes his way to the edge of the forest, two grey shafted arrows came out of the shade. The assassin threw himself out of the way of the projectiles. Drawing his short sword, the assassin swung down at the Ranger, who quickly drew both his Saxe and throwing knives and crossed the blades into an 'X' shape. The assassin recoiled and noticed his sword's blade was dented from the impact. Just as he processed this, the assassin felt a burning sensation in his ribs before collapsing. The Ranger withdrew his Saxe Knife and headed back into the city.

As the remaining Rangers ran up the spiral staircase in one of the castle's tower, a thrust from a short sword kills one of the Araluens. The second last Ranger quickly fires three arrows at the wall of the stairs, wounding the second last Assassin. Gilan drew his longsword and swapping it into his left hand, curved the blade up the stairwell and punctured the assassin's armour. The second Ranger ran up the stairwell, only for Ezio to plunge the Sword of Altair through the Araluen's armour and into his heart.

Gilan runs up the stairs longsword drawn and clashes with Ezio. The two exchange blows before, Gilan disarms Ezio of the Sword of Altair. As Gilan moves in for the kill, Ezio rolls out of the way of the downwards strike and, unsheathing it in the process, drives his Hidden Blade into the Ranger's neck.

Ezio kneels down to the dead Ranger's side and, retracting his Hidden Blade, mutters "Requiscat in Pace", before retrieving his Sword and going off to eliminate his primary target.

Expert's Opinion
While the Ranger Corps had the better long range weapons, their least effective overall arsenal meant they couldn't match the more effective Assassins.

To see the original weapons, battle and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Ninja (by Wassboss )
TBW

Expert's Opinion
TBW

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.