Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad

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Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
Assassin's Creed series
First appearance	Assassin's Creed (2007)
Voiced by (English)	Philip Shahbaz (Assassin's Creed) Cas Anvar (Revelations)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese version)

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (Template:Lang-ar, meaning "The Bird, Son of no one") is a fictional character in the Assassin's Creed series. He serves as the protagonist of Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles, and Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines. He also appears as a playable character in Assassin's Creed: Revelations and some other games. He was named after the brightest star in the constellation Aquila, which was known symbolically as "The Eagle." Altaïr is an ancestor of Desmond Miles.

Description

He is an Assassin, whose birthday is January 11, 1165 and who lived during the third Crusade. The name Altaïr (الطائر) means "The Bird" in Arabic and is subject to a huge misunderstanding by people who want to believe it means "The Eagle". However, in Arabic, al-Nisr (النسر) is the correct translation of the eagle. The name ibn La-Ahad means "Son of no one" in Arabic, although the accuracy of the translation is heavily questioned. Additionally, Ben Reeves of Game Informer adds that the "name of the top assassin [...] is also the name of a star in the constellation Aquila – Aquila being another name meaning eagle.

Character background

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (1165-1257) was born to Umar Ibn-La'Ahad and his wife, Maud, who died of complications during childbirth. Umar was later executed by the forces of Salah ad Din when he was revealed to have participated in a disastrous mission to assassinate the ruler, which resulted in Umar killing a nobleman who had caught him. He allowed himself to be executed and the last thing he heard was the voice of his son crying for him.

As the years passed, Altaïr grew to be a skilled Assassin, but was very arrogant. He once led the retaking of Masyaf after Al Mualim, the mentor of the Order, was captured, which earned him the respect of his fellow Assassins. He was then sent on a mission to Solomon's Temple to recover a hidden artifact. The mission was a failure as Altaïr broke the tenets of the Order and left his fellow Assassins to face the Templars alone after he was thrown from the room by Robert de Sablé. Altaïr fled to Masyaf to report his failure but was followed, resulting in Masyaf being attacked by the Templars. The Assassins were able to fend off their enemies, but Altaïr was punished by being stabbed by Al-Mualim.

Altaïr later awoke and discovered that he had been stripped of his rank, but was told by Al-Mualim that he would be able to recover it if he could kill nine Templars in the Holy Land. Altaïr was able to assassinate the first eight and discovered that his last target was Robert himself. He made his way back to Jerusalem where he met Robert. However, as he removed the helmet of the Templar, he found out that he had not faced Robert but a girl. He allowed her to live and she told him that Robert had made his way to Arsuf. Altaïr followed and finally killed Robert, who revealed that Al Mualim was actually using Altaïr to obtain the Apple of Eden, a powerful artifact left behind by the First Civillization. Altaïr returned to Masyaf, where Al Mualim confirmed what Robert had said. Altaïr, aided by a number of other Assassins, fought his way to Al Mualim, who had used to the artifact from Solomon's Temple to enslave the people of Masyaf. Altaïr and his mentor battled each other and Altaïr finally killed him, taking his place as mentor.

After these events, Altaïr eventually began to study the artifact, known as the Apple of Eden, and recorded his findings in a journal known as the Codex. He also married Maria Thorpe, who was the decoy of Robert de Sable, after he convinced her to defect to the Assassins. He had two sons, Darim and Sef. During this time, Altaïr used what he had learned from the Apple to create new techniques and innovations for the Assassins to use. He later journeyed to Mongolia with Maria and Darim to assassinate Genghis Khan. They returned ten years later to discover that Abbas, Altaïr's rival, had usurped control of the Order. Abbas tried to force Altaïr to give him the Apple, revealing that Sef had been executed and told that Altaïr had ordered it. Angered, Altaïr used the Apple but Maria told him to stop, resulting in her being stabbed by one of the Assassins loyal to Abbas. Altaïr and Malik fled Masyaf and Altaïr fell into a deep depression. Years later Altaïr retook the Order with the help of Assassins led by Tazim Al-Sayf, the son of Malik.

He began rebuilding the Order, splitting it up into small "guilds" located around the world and began construction of a large library hidden under Masyaf, sealed by five keys containing his memories. When Venetian explorers, Niccolo and Maffeo Polo arrived in Masyaf after they were invited by Altaïr and Darim, he told them of his experiences and put into action his idea of dividing the Assassins into smaller groups with their help. Later, Masyaf was attacked by Mongols and Altaïr helped the explorers escape by using the Apple to fend off the attackers. He then divided his books by giving some to the Polos and sending some to Alexandria. He also gave the Venetians the memory keys to the library, before sealing himself into the library along with the Apple, saying goodbye to Darim, and recording one last memory on a key he kept with him. Finally, he passed away.

Centuries later, around 2012, Abstergo Entertainment, the modern-day branch of The Templars that feature in the modern-day storylines in the series, looked into the life of Altaïr, but decided not to make a Videogame or movie about him like with Assassin's Creed: Liberation.

Appearances

In the Assassin's Creed series

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Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles takes place during the year 1190 and the Third Crusade, which sees the Crusaders armies clash with Saracens for control of the Holy City. The game takes place before the events of the original Assassin's Creed. Altaïr is tasked by Al Mualim to find and retrieve a sacred object: The Chalice. It is said to have the power to unite under one flag all the factions of whatever side possesses it – either the Crusaders or the Saracens – and end the Third Crusade in victory for one side or the other. But the Chalice is too powerful an object to be left in the hands of men alone – it must be found and destroyed quickly. After learning that the Chalice is kept in Jerusalem, Altaïr manages to arrive before the Templar leader, Robert de Sable. There, he successfully rescues the Apple of Eden from a group of Templars. There it is revealed that the Chalice is a woman named Adha, the woman Altaïr knew and had feelings for before the events of game. From her, he learns that the Templars have paid off Harash, the second-in-command of the Assassins, to betray the Brotherhood. Altaïr then plans to attack Alep (the assassin fortress), kill Harash, and run away with Adha – but after making his way through Harash's assassin guards and killing him, Adha is kidnapped by Robert and taken to the Templars' port in Acre.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines takes place between the events of the original Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II. The game is set on the island of Cyprus, taking the player to two of its cities, Limassol and Kyrenia. Altaïr has traveled to Cyprus from the Holy Land (the setting of the first game) in order to assassinate the last remnants of the Templars. Bloodlines includes more face time with Maria, the female Templar that was spared by Altaïr in Assassin's Creed. Altaïr captures Maria as a prisoner, but she escapes, before being captured again by Altaïr. In the novel Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade, Altaïr and Maria's relationship is more fully explored. They are married and have two sons: Darim and Sef.

In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Altaïr creates a massive library hidden beneath the Masyaf fortress that supposedly has information that can tilt the scales in the war between the Templars and the Assassins. Ezio discovers that that five locks seal the door to the library, and that five 'Masyaf keys' must be found in order to open the library. Whenever Ezio finds a Masyaf key, he inadvertently accesses one of Altaïr's memories – deliberately stored inside each key. As Ezio discovers more keys, the memories inside them are further along in Altaïr's life; for example, in the final key, there is a memory of Altaïr in his early 80s, returning to Masyaf to kill Abbas. When Ezio finally enters the Masyaf library, however, there are no books or writings in the library. There is only the skeleton of Altaïr, holding the sixth Masyaf key, and the Apple of Eden on a pedestal at the back of the room. Ezio chooses to leave the apple, having "seen enough for one life".

Other appearances

• In Academy of Champions: Soccer, Altaïr appears as a playable character.
• In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Altaïr's outfit is available with the "Lost Archive" DLC and he appears as a playable character in certain missions.
• In Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Altaïr's outfit is unlockable through a UPLAY download.
• In Assassin's Creed III, Altaïr's outfit is available by completing all of the constraints in the main story.
• In Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Altair's outfit is unlocked by having Uplay data from one of the previous Assassin's Creed titles (it does not matter which previous AC title it is only that there is Uplay data of a past Assassin's Creed game present).
• In the video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, player character Solid Snake can disguise himself with Altaïr's outfit.
• In the video game Prince of Persia (2008), Altaïr's outfit is unlockable for the Prince to wear.
• Altaïr's outfit also appears in the video game Rayman Raving Rabbids 2.
• In the video game The Saboteur, the player can obtain an Altaïr trophy.
• In the video game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, there is an Easter egg which shows a dead Altaïr in a haystack.

Reception

In 2008, The Age ranked Altaïr as best character on Xbox consoles. In 2011, Altaïr was named as the 1st top video game character by the Guinness World Records.

IGN nominated and gave the award Altaïr for their "Stars' 2007 Badasssss!" award. In 2008, Mikel Reparaz of GamesRadar ranked him as the best assassin in gaming. That same year, IGN's Jesse Schedeen listed Altaïr as one of the fighters they'd have in their ultimate fighting game, saying he was a slightly more realistic and efficient version of the Prince from Prince of Persia. In 2009, he ranked first on FHM's list of most memorable hitmen in gaming.

IGN, using results from a reader's poll and comments, also listed Altaïr as the most overrated video game character, calling him to a "poor man's Prince of Persia" and declaring him a two-dimensional, very formulaic character.

References

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