The Dorian Fan Universe Family Crypt is a crypt located along the eastern wall of Pere Lachaise Cemetery, not far from the Communard's Wall in Paris. The crypt houses the sarcophagi and urns of the more prominent members of the Dorian Family of Assassins from 1860 up until the year 2013.
Origins and History[]
The crypt was constructed in 1805 as the cemetery began to expand. While his wife Elise de la Serre was away in Constantinople, Arno Dorian was given a tour of the crypt by a friend of his. Impressed by the size of the crypt, Arno purchased the crypt for 500 Francs. Upon her return from Constantinople and whilst pregnant with their daughter Juliette, Elise was impressed with the grandeur that the crypt had to offer. The crypt remained in their name until Arno and Elise had passed away in 1860 and 1861 respectively. They were both interred by their children Francois and Juliette at the head of the crypt. Under Francois and Juliette, the façade of the crypt was entirely redone, adding two statues of Arno and Elise in their Master Assassin robes on the outside of the crypt's entrance. Under the watch of Alana and Gabrielle, a quote was added, which said 'We are Dorians. We have heart, resilience and grit, and no one can take that away from us.' After this change, the crypt's façade would remain unchanged throughout both World Wars, sustaining minimal damage during the raid by Abstergo Industries in 1966.
The crypt's interior contains the sarcophagi of Arno Dorian and Elise de la Serre at the back of the crypt. Along the crypt's left wall rested Juliette Marie Dorian, her husband Samuel, and prominent members of the Brotherhood from her side of the family such as her daughter Alana Rose Dorian and her granddaughter Vienna. On the right side of the wall rested Francois Charles Dorian and his wife Marie, along with their children Gabrielle and Michel, and other prominent members of the Brotherhood on his side of the family such as Alexandra Dorian and Isabelle Allard. It was the side of the crypt that got damaged the most in the altercation between Isabelle, Vivian, and the Abstergo agents, with Francois and Gabrielle's paintings and sarcophagi being damaged in the fray.
Burial Tradition[]
This would start a tradition of the children burying their parents in the crypt. The tradition itself began with Alana and Gabrielle burying Francois and Juliette on the right and left sides of the crypt respectively. The tradition itself would last until as Alexandre and Margaux Andreu would bury Isabelle in 2013 and have requested themselves and their children to not be buried in the crypt, as it was at full capacity and they did not want to expand its interior.
Raid by Abstergo Industries[]
On December 19th, 1966, the Dorian Family Crypt was breached by agents of Abstergo Industries in order to retrieve DNA samples from Alana Rose Dorian, which would be used to view her memories to search for the Gauntlet of Eden due to them coming into contact with one. Isabelle Allard and Vivian Cadieux-Foden were on the scene immediately to prevent the theft of the DNA sample, but failed once the agents beat Vivian within an inch of her life after beating her all over her body and throwing her into caskets. With Vivian’s hands pinned behind her back and an agent’s foot on her neck, the agents informed Isabelle to stand down or else Vivian would die. Isabelle let them pass at first before assassinating one of the agents from behind. Catching wind of their fallen comrade, the agents propped Isabelle up by her collar and threw her into her mother’s casket, rendering her unconscious and escaping with the DNA sample, which was brought back to Dr. Warren Vidic. After the break-in, Isabelle and Vivian took the responsibility of fixing the crypt and creating a system with a strong chain, lock, and key, which would be given to a member on both sides of the family: One key in England and one key remaining in France. The crypt can only be accessed by the members holding a key.
After the raid in 1966, Isabelle and Vivian cremated each body in the crypt, giving each family member an urn that commemorated their lives.
Notable Burials[]
- ARNO VICTOR DORIAN (1768 - 1860) (A)
- ELISE DE LA SERRE (1768 - 1861) (A)
- FRANÇOIS CHARLES DORIAN (1799 - 1886) (AF)
- MARIE ALBERTINE (1801 - 1890) (AF)*
- JULIETTE MARIE DORIAN (1808 - 1900) (AJ)
- MICHEL DORIAN (1831 -1911) (F)
- GABRIELLE ELISE DORIAN (1838 - 1929) (AF)
- ALBERT ANDREAS RICHARDSON (1833 - 1868) (Ashes were interred in 1935 with Alana Rose Dorian) (J)*
- ALANA ROSE DORIAN (1840 - 1935) (AJ)**
- ALEXANDRA MARIE DORIAN (1889 - 1939) (AF)
- ANNABELLE DOREEN DORIAN (1860 - 1940) (AF)
- CAVAN SAMUEL RICHARDSON (1866 - 1950) (AJ)
- VIENNA VICTORIA DORIAN (1866 - 1953) (AJ)
- JOSHUA PETER ROSS (1891 - 1971) (J)
- LILLIAN ELIZABETH PETERSSON (1893 - 1975) (AJ)
- ISABELLE MIRANDA ALLARD (1920 - 2013) (AF)
(A) - Assassin (F) - Francois' side of the family (J) - Juliette's side of the family (AF) - Assassin on Francois' side of the family (AJ) - Assassin on Juliette's side of the family * - indicates spouses buried with their loved ones. ** - Alana's body was temporarily interred.
Trivia[]
- Each Assassin burial inside the crypt has a hand-painted portrait of the deceased as well as mementos and memorabilia.
- Each Assassin burial contains a brief description on how they served the Brotherhood.
- Each body is preserved remarkably well, yet it is unknown what embalming agent was used in preserving the bodies. They are buried in their Master Assassin robes untill 1966, where the bodies were cremated.
- Each body is buried in a sarcophagus with a glass lid.
- The crypt is twenty feet underground, it takes two flights of stairs to get to the underground.
- The crypt is still lit by a gas lamp to this day. The gas lamp system was installed in 1888.
- Margaux Andreu (b. 1954), is the current member of the household who holds the key to the crypt on Francois’ side. Mariana O’Rourke (b.1960), granddaughter of Lillian Petersson, holds the key for the crypt on Juliette’s side of the family.
- Despite being an honorary member of the Dorian Family, Vivian Cadieux-Foden rejected a spot in the crypt, stating that better people deserve to be buried in the crypt than her.