Deer Country App

[theflyingone]

Character Base

• Character Name: Altaïr ibn La-Ahad
• Age: 25 (or 26 because Ubisoft can't count)
• Canon/Canon Point: End of Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (2009).
• Items Coming Along:

• Clothes (Assassin outfit and leathers)
• Hidden blade
• Longsword
• Knife/short blade
• Set of 15 throwing knives
• Apple of Eden

• Content Warnings for Character: abuse (emotional, mental, physical, verbal) to adults and minors from a mentor/father figure, death, deception (and its arts), emotional suppression (personal and systematic), finger missing, grief, historical events that influenced modern-day conflicts, holy war, manipulation, mind control, murder, ptsd

Unmarked spoilers for Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines follow.

Character Background

• History: fandom.com entry

"Nothing is true; everything is permitted."

This maxim is subject to a wide array of interpretations. The maxim as Altaïr understands it can best be summed by Al Mualim's Socratic questioning:

Al Mualim: What is the truth?
Altaïr: We place faith in ourselves. We see the world the way it really is, and hope that one day all mankind might see the same.
Al Mualim: What is the world then?
Altaïr: An illusion. One we can either submit to, as most do, or transcend.
Al Mualim: What is it to transcend?
Altaïr: To recognize nothing is true and everything is permitted. That laws arise not from divinity, but reason. I understand now that our Creed does not command us to be free. It commands us to be wise.

Tenets of the Assassin's Creed:

1. Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent.
2. Hide in plain sight.
3. Never compromise the Brotherhood.

Altaïr lived in the 12th century, during the High Middle Ages and the events of the Third Crusade. Most of his cultural influence will have come from the concurrent Islamic Golden Age, and anything European travelers might have brought over with them. However, his worldview is aligned with the Assassins for whom this series of historical fiction is named. They view themselves as apart from society. The Assassins chose not to take either side of political squabbles. They recognized not divine rule, but the practicality of laws, which in the end are mutable. Their main goal was peace, in all things. They saw the world as an illusion, and did not submit to it, instead seeking out the truth for themselves.

• Core Relationships:

Al Mualim: Emotion was a weakness in the leader Al Mualim's eyes. Assassin parents were not allowed to be emotionally close to their children. Altaïr saw Al Mualim as the closest thing to a father. When we first met Altaïr, it was clear from his struggle for Al Mualim's approval and the quick excuses he tried to make about his mistakes that he had experienced years of emotional deprivation. Despite his lack of patience and questioning of Al Mualim's methods, he was eager for his approval. He could not regret the only life he knew. Al Mualim's betrayal rocked Altaïr's foundation. It filled him with bitterness, sorrow, and the fear that he might become like the one who taught him everything he knew: manipulative, controlling, selfish, dishonest with close ones.

Malik Al Sayf: Altaïr's brashness in Solomon's Temple cost Kadar's life and his brother Malik's arm. Throughout the game, Malik acted as Altaïr's conscience and greatest critic. When Altaïr did whatever he wanted or was surly, it prompted several acerbic exchanges. Malik only called Altaïr a rank that fit his behavior, not his skill. Just before leaving for his last target, Altaïr finally apologized to Malik, owning up to his inflated pride and mistakes. Malik, having already observed Altaïr's change of heart and actions, said Altaïr was no longer the man he once was, and therefore had nothing to apologize for. Malik also confessed to jealousy having a part in his own actions. Altaïr's first friend and equal in a long time was hard-won. When it looked as though Al Mualim had betrayed the Assassins, Altaïr trusted Malik with this knowledge. When Malik hesitated to take drastic action due to his unwavering loyalty to the Creed extending to Al Mualim, Altaïr urged him to seek his own evidence in Jerusalem while he rode for Masyaf. When Altaïr became Mentor, he named Malik his second in command and would place the Levantine Assassins in his hands should he have business elsewhere.

Maria Thorpe: He spared Maria Thorpe, disguised stand-in for the Templar Grandmaster Robert de Sable, because she was not one of his nine targets, though she was a Templar and trying to kill him. Altaïr was looking to do away with needless murders, and he was impressed and curious about the intelligent, formidable fighter who shamelessly bucked tradition as a woman in her position as Robert's steward. After Altaïr assassinated Robert, Maria fell into disfavor with the Templars and blamed Altaïr for it. During his missions related to an Archive in Cyprus, Altaïr endeavored to turn Maria to the Assassins' side, not using her like Robert, but with frank respectful discussion. She escaped multiple times to try to rejoin the Templars or simply make her own way. This was trouble of course, but a few instances of her sharp tongue and crass wit had him suppressing his amusement. In the end she had to see with her own eyes the Templars' treachery and how much she disagreed with their idea of peace through control to work with Altaïr at last with a budding alliance, and later friendship.

Character Personality Through Key Moments

The most striking aspect of Altaïr's personality throughout the first Assassin's Creed is how dramatically it changes. The once arrogant and brash fighter exchanges his pride for wisdom, discretion, reminds himself of the compassion he extended to friend and foe, and confronts the terrifying truth that he has more in common with his sworn enemies than he wanted to admit.

However, some aspects remain the same: He is still a young(ish) man with something to prove, a humanitarian, hardworking, insatiably curious, and a firm believer in killing a few key people for the greater good. He has always been passionate about a person's right to free will, disillusioned by the holy wars, prone to emotional excesses tied up with his desire to protect others, and longing to overcome his stunted emotional growth when maintaining personal relationships. He is just prideful and self-destructive enough to believe that if he works hard enough, he can turn the tide of the bloodbath in the Holy Land, or at least safeguard all the things and people he cares about.

(2+) Positive Experiences:

Altaïr was constantly questioning everything, from the laws of society, to Al Mualim, to the threads that bound his nine targets together as—he would later find out—Templars. It was Al Mualim who taught him to question the world, and Malik who counseled him to never know, only suspect. Altaïr places trust only in what he sees with his own eyes. He has little patience for the manipulation of himself or others. He would become frustrated at Al Mualim's reticence and speaking "in circles." He even risked Al Mualim's death threats when he demanded to know more about the men Al Mualim had sent him to assassinate. He did not know for sure if his master would kill him for that insolence. He said he "took a leap of faith."

Altaïr is habitually to-the-point. He demanded (later, asked politely) information quickly, and gave large amounts of information back succinctly, not stopping to make small talk. He demonstrates extensive observational skills that help profile his targets, and there is a lot of information (visual, cultural, psychological) he must retain. During his hunt for the nine Templars, Altaïr completed all reconnaissance as directed, normally the job of several people. The goal of the game's parkour mechanic—getting from point A to B as swiftly and efficiently as possible—complements Altaïr's focused directness.

It is strongly implied through the game's system that Altaïr followed the Creed very closely—first to regain his rank and keep his life, then because he felt remorse for his mistakes. Altaïr began to see his own arrogance reflected in the cruel men he was sent to kill, and he "learned what becomes of those who lift themselves above others."

Part of the Creed forbids the killing of innocents, but Altaïr took it a step further, going out of his way to save civilians being tormented by the corrupt guards who were supposed to protect them. This puts him at odds with the law. A staunch believer in free will, he cannot tolerate the oppression of others.

Though emotionally stunted and generally standoffish, Altaïr is not without a sense of fun. His job requires he complete missions with as much stealth as possible, but he also loves a good sword fight, as evidenced by his occasional shit-eating grin when successfully dispatching several opponents in a row. He conducted more than just business on rooftops. A few years after his canon point, c.1196, it is revealed that Altaïr has no qualms about passionately conceiving his children outside on high towers—in enemy territory.

(2+) Negative Experiences:

The old Altaïr regarded fighting and killing as ways to show off his skill. As Al Mualim's favorite student, he had a long way to fall. He initially responded to his demotion with anger, especially when those low in rank tried to help him. He cut their words short, saying they were in his way. He claimed he could do everything himself without their help. Both Al Mualim and the Bureau leaders spend half the first game berating Altaïr for mouthing off and being reckless. Altaïr had a habit of turning his head and avoiding someone's eyes when they scolded him, like an indignant teenager. He attempted to work together with people in cooperation like he once did, but he had to regain their trust. He is a changed man now, but sometimes his impatience or imperiousness flares up.

He still has difficulty connecting with people on a personal level, despite his empathy for them. He has trouble putting into words doubts and insecurities, even when in the company of someone close. We do not see the Levantine Assassins greet each other with much physical affection, such as the (bro)hugs common among men of the time and place. Altaïr harbored affection privately. His time with Adha a year before the events of Assassin's Creed had him considering laying down his blade. After her murder, he responded to inquiries about her whereabouts with silence. Though Altaïr killed the Templars responsible, revenge did not bring him peace (nor is that a good coping mechanism). He still wakes from nightmares of the terrified face she wore in her last moments.

Altaïr could not bring himself to destroy the Apple despite its dangers and seeing what Al Mualim had become through it. As Altaïr confides to Maria, he is consumed by an insatiable curiosity about its mysterious origins and the knowledge it gives. The Apple and Al Mualim are linked in Altaïr's mind as representations (and very real dangers) of becoming like the man who sought to control the Holy Land with the Apple's powers, including mind control, the antithesis of the free will the Assassins stand for. Altaïr even once used it to calm an angry mob in Limassol and give them new orders. Because of its nature as a much-sought-after artifact, he must be secretive with it. Because of its temptation to give knowledge and power he should not have, even if his intent is to use it to better the world, he will tend towards studying it against the advice of those closest to him.

When faced with the cruelties people inflict on others, his heart grows cold. He kills people when diplomacy and education fail and his high respect for life must make an exception. He seeks peace, but pursues it with violence. He promotes free thinking and warns of the dangers of blind faith, but requires unwavering obedience from his Assassins. Despite ruminating on the dichotomies and contradictions of the Assassins' way over the years even as he passed on these teachings, he is prepared to embody many opposites simultaneously.

Deer Country Attributes

• Canon Powers:

• Eagle Vision is a hereditary sixth sense that can be activated while standing still and uninjured. This intuition shows people's true intentions at that moment, in the form of auras, and color-codes them. Thus, it can see auras through illusions and disguises (but not walls). If there is a specific target he's looking for, the ~murmuring background voices~ will come from that direction. When he moves or gets hurt, it deactivates, but there's still a residual glowing aura about people for a short bit.
• Apple of Eden: ancient artifact that can create tangible illusions, control human minds, reveal its repository of information, look into possible future outcomes using the theory of probability, and impart knowledge of formulae and practices surpassing those of his time. In the hands of someone with less Isu genes, it can drain life and potentially alter behavior (as seen with the violence Swami inflicted on himself).

• Blood Type: Paleblood
• Omen: Ruya, female martial eagle
• Blessed Day: September 10
• Patron Pthumerian: Never Mind
• Blood Power Manifestation: Addition. Canon power will be intact and more powerful, so I'm nerfing Paleblood abilities to be directly proportional to how Corrupted he is. All part of my plan to give him various unhealthy temptations (blood magic, Corruption, the Apple). What he starts dabbling in first highly depends on what info he learns coming in and what threats he encounters, but weaponizing hallucinations is probably on his shortlist.

Writing Samples

One: Deer Test Drive cw: almost drowning, nudity, uncontrollable hallucinations
Two: How he might behave walking in his own dreams. "It may not look like it, but there are locks and keys here." cw: grieving and separation from a spouse, emotional suppression, finger missing, mention of: abuse (emotional, mental, physical, verbal) from a mentor/father figure, manipulation, trauma
Three: Network post where he mistakes bikers for warriors. cw: mention of police profiling and brutality.

The Player

• Player Name: Tea
• Player Age: 18+
• Player Contact: TeaMergency or PM
• Permissions: Here.

Other Characters

Izuku "Deku" Midoriya | My Hero Academia
Link to Character 1 overall AC: https://doeit.dreamwidth.org/1530.html?thread=236282#cmt236282