Ezechiel Denzel was a former slave turned free man as well as a member of the Assassins during the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. Ezechiel and his fellow Assassins freed many slaves throughout their time and were influential in fighting hate groups after the Civil War.
| Ezechiel Denzel | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical information | |
| Born |
Unkown, sometime in 1837 |
| Died |
Sometime in 1919 (82) |
| Political information | |
| Affiliations |
Assassins Union Army (1861-1865) |
| Real-world information | |
Early Life[]
Ezechiel Denzel was born to two slaves named Abigail and John in 1837, and like all slaves on the plantation he was born on, bore the last name of the slave master, Robert Denzel. The plantation Ezechial was born on was located in Petersburg, Virginia and Robert Denzel was a cruel owner who didn't care for any of the people labeled his "property". Robert's wife, Anna however, was a kind-hearted woman who actually saw the slaves as humans and would make sure to deliver water to them every two hours to the dismay of her husband. Until he was nine years old, Ezechiel's main job as a slave was to care for Robert's children, a job that was common for most slave children on the plantation and Ezechiel found himself becoming friends with some of them. When he was seven years old, Ezechiel one day went outside to visit his parents who were working in the fields and exchanged some words with them, only to be interrupted by Robert asking Abigail, Ezechiel's mother for help with something and led her in a nearby shed. Ezechiel and John looked at the two of them and the look on John's face told Ezechiel that something awful was going to happen. A few moments later, Ezechiel and John heard Abigail screaming and crashing going on in the shed the two of them had been in and everyone in the fields stopped working for a moment to hear what was happening, then immediately went back to work. Ezechiel began to run to the shed, but was halted by his father, John who told him that to stand up to master Robert was a death wish. Ezechiel accepted defeat and did nothing as the noise in the shed continued. When Robert finally got out, John decided to ask him what he did in there. Robert reacted violently, accusing John of trying to stand up to him and pulled out his revolver. Ezechiel was helpless to do anything as Robert pulled the trigger and John fell to the ground. Anna rushed over to Ezechiel and quickly pulled him away from John's body and hugged him in an attempt to comfort him which did help Ezechiel. Anna brought Ezechiel inside and told him there was a change to be made to his life.
Running Away[]
After the death of his father, Ezechiel was left with no parents as his mother, Abigail never spoke due to the shock suffered from being assaulted by Robert. Anna, Robert's wife decided to make Ezechiel full-time house butler until Robert put a stop to it and forced him to work the fields, a job that would push Ezechiel to the limit. When the two had free time, Anna would secretly teach Ezechiel how to read and write and when asked why, she told him he'd learn in time. The next few years were full of Ezechiel learning to read, working the fields, which would almost turn deadly during cotton season as Robert had a strict rule: all slaves were required to pick 150 lbs of cotton a day or else they'd get whipped, and Ezechiel was almost whipped to death after picking just 148 lbs of cotton. When Ezechiel was healing from the brutal whipping, he was seventeen years old and Anna told him he was ready. Ezechiel asked her what she meant and she filled him in, there was a secret group who stood for freedom of men and she told him that he had great potential to be one of them. Ezechiel had strength from years of hard labor, speed, and intelligence from all the years of learning to read and write and Anna told Ezechiel that he would need to run away to the north and join them soon as Robert would one day kill him. Ezechiel was shocked and excited at the same time and asked how he'd get there, to which Anna gave him a list of names that would help him to freedom and called it the Underground Railroad. Ezechiel then asked what would happen to his mother, to which Anna said she would keep an eye on her. Ezechiel spent the next few weeks gathering food and other supplies for his journey to freedom. On August 7, 1854 Ezechiel visited his mother one final time to tell her goodbye and hugged her as she said nothing like always. Then Ezechiel visited Anna one final time and thanked her for all she'd done for him the past few years and the two embraced each other and Ezechiel began his journey to freedom.
Journey to Freedom[]
Ezechiel spent his next few days mostly traveling by night as it would be harder for his master to find him. Ezechiel also stayed with some of the names given to him by Anna for a few hours at a time to hide from slave catchers. Although is was hard work, Ezechiel was determined to reach Philadelphia and join this faction that he had learned about. On one day, Ezechiel was walking on a nearby trail in broad daylight when someone stopped him and demanded to see his papers if he was a free man. Ezechiel had none to give him, and when the an stepped closer to him, Ezechiel punched him in the face and stole his horse. Ezechiel rode the horse a few miles but was confronted by a group of slave catchers including Robert, his old master. Ezechiel kept his head down and rode like hell for several miles, all the while with Robert and his men starting to shoot at him with their guns. Ezechiel's horse was somehow able to dodge the bullets, but one of them struck home and Ezechiel fell forward a few feet as his horse collapsed under him. Robert and his men dismounted and surrounded Ezechiel. Ezechiel drew his knife that had been given to him and was ready for a fight. Robert struck first by trying to punch Ezechiel, to which Ezechiel dodged and stabbed Robert in the stomach, causing him to fall over. Ezechiel then grabbed Robert's gun and killed all of the others quickly before turning to Robert. Robert held out his hand, pleading for his life, but Ezechiel knew that if he let Robert go he would just keep pursuing him, so Ezechiel shot Robert in the head and decided to keep the revolver and stole another man's rifle along with some ammo and a hat to disguise himself and protect him from the sun. Ezechiel then stole one of the horses and rode it to the rest of the journey. Ezechiel eventually reached Philadelphia and started to look for those Anna had told him about.
Joining The Assassins[]
Ezechiel arrived Philadelphia, a city so full of life more than he'd ever seen in his life. However, as Ezechiel made his way to the city, he knew that even though he was free, he wouldn't be accepted by some of the locals as some of them yelled slurs to him and would glare at him as he walked by. Ezechiel's list of names given to him by Anna contained a Quaker family in Philadelphia that would take him in, and they did. The Anderson Family were devout Quakers and they fed and sheltered Ezechiel for a time and helped him find a job as a carpenter. After Ezechiel spent some time getting used to new life, he began to look for the people he came to find. The Andersons told Ezechiel that the group he was looking for were called the Assassins and drew him a symbol that he could search for it in the city. Ezechiel searched every part of the city and asked the locals who were willing to talk to him if they knew what the symbol was or what it meant, they didn't. Then one man told Ezechiel he'd seen the symbol at a nearby church, so Ezechiel went there in search of it. Ezechiel arrived at the church and looked everywhere for the symbol, and after hours of searching found it on the back wall of the church from the outside. Ezechiel went up to it and was confused as to how it would help him locate the Assassins, but as he stepped away from the symbol, he heard doors opening and turned around to find two pieces of the ground opening up to reveal a stairway. Ezechiel was stunned and then made his way down the stairway, and when he got down he found several people, some dressed in white robes gathering around a table. The people turned around and drew their weapons and demanded why Ezechiel was there and how he found them. Ezechiel explained everything about his desire to join them and his backround. The people lowered their weapons and one man walked up to Ezechiel and said his name was John Alexander, mentor of the Assassins and welcomed Ezechiel to the Assassins. Ezechiel spent the next few hours telling the others about his journey and all skills he had. The Assassins were impressed with Ezechiel's bravery and courage, and that night indicted him into the Assassin Order, being the first runaway slave to do so.
Assassin Training[]
Meeting A Conductor[]
Ezechiel's days for the next few years consisted of learning the nature of the Assassins, fight training, and climb training. One day in 1857, Ezechiel was called upon by John, Mentor of the Assassins who told him of a mission that could very well be his official marking of a Master Assassin. John told Ezechiel of a woman known as Moses who was helping slaves in the south escape by going there directly and bringing them north. Ezechiel was intrigued and asked if she had any other names, to which John told him that he'd need to find out for himself and told him where to meet her, at the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland, a slave state. Ezechiel did as he was told though the thought of laying his eyes on a slave plantation, the places where he'd bore the scars on his back. The place where he was forced to work for hours a day with no thought given to his well being. The place where a white slave owner assaulted his mother was a great burden he wasn't looking forward to see again, but followed orders. On November 9, 1857, Ezechiel found himself at York, Pennsylvania waiting for Moses to show up. At 4:30 PM that day, a young woman wearing a hat came up to Ezechiel asking him for his name, and he gave it. Moses warned Ezechiel of the mission and how it could be their end, Ezechiel was up to the challenge if she revealed what her real name was, to which she revealed herself to be Harriet Tubman, and ex-slave herself. When that was revealed, Ezechiel felt up to the challenge.
Helping The Conductor[]
Ezechiel and Harriet waited until 6:00 PM to get to the people they were going to free, Harriet's brother-in-law. The two reached the plantation as the sun went down, just as the slaves were finally allowed to go in their cabins and sleep. Ezechiel looked around to see if the slave master was there, and he spotted the man whipping a teenage-looking boy. Ezechiel got up and wanted to charge at the man, but was held back by Harriet, who told him that while it was indeed hard to listen to, they had to be discreet or else they and maybe some other slaves would be killed. Ezechiel accepted defeat under the promise that they would take the boy with them, to which Harriet said yes. At around 8:00 PM, Harriet made a real-sounding bird call, and it was answered by another coming from one of the slave cabins, followed by some of the family members sneaking outside and going to them. When the family got to them, Ezechiel immediately asked them if they had seen the boy that got whipped by the master, and they told them he was sleeping just next to them and he was still alive. Ezechiel sneaked his way to the cabin the family had come out of and kept his eye on the manor in case the master came out. After several intense seconds, Ezechiel reached the cabin, and was shocked to only see the young boy who got whipped and approached him. Ezechiel gently placed his hand on the boy's shoulder to wake him up and asked him if he had a mother, to which the boy explained that his mother had been sold years ago. Ezechiel reassured the boy, who he found out his name was William, that he would be safe as he and Harriet would take him to the north. Ezechiel slowly found a way to carry William comfortably for him, which ended up being a fireman carry. The process of getting William up on his back was not an easy one as William would often grunt in pain if they moved too fast. When Ezechiel got William on his back, he walked outside to seeing the slave owner walking around, rifle in hand. Ezechiel quickly stepped back into the cabin for cover and urged William to remain quiet. After a few minutes of the slave owner pacing around and asking if anyone was there, he started to check the slave cabins, putting Ezechiel in a panic. Ezechiel carefully placed William down on the bed he had been laying down on and stood up onto the wall by the door. Eventually, the slave owner stepped in, gun raised and Ezechiel grabbed the rifle and pushed the man up against the wall and the two struggled for a time. Ezechiel then punched the man in the gut and simultaneously drew his dagger and stabbed the man in the chest, killing him. Ezechiel once again picked up William in the fireman carry and made his way to Harriet. Ezechiel carried William the whole way back to the north and awaited his Assassin indictment.
Becoming an Assassin[]
Although Ezechiel and Harriet had gotten the family and William out of there, they still had to run all the way back to Pennsylvania, as well as get William treatment for the whipping he'd received from his master. Harriet told Ezechiel after he had told her that he hoped the Assassins would be able to help William that they weren't going to Pennsylvania, they were going to Canada. Ezechiel was stunned and asked Harriet why they were going all the way to Canada, to which Harriet explained that the recent Fugitive Slave Act allowed owners of slaves to search Northern states to, so Canada was the only place that they could bring slaves to safety. Ezechiel asked how would William reach that far without succumbing to his injuries, to which Harriet wasn't sure of. Along the way, when the group was six miles from Pennsylvania, Ezechiel decided to tell Harriet that he would go back to the Assassins to get William treated, to which Harriet was okay with as she preferred to guide slaves by herself and wished Ezechiel luck. The next three hours were of Ezechiel repeatedly assuring William that he'd be okay, that he would be free soon, even though Ezechiel sensed that WIlliam was already beginning to slip away. Somehow, the two arrived in Pennsylvania alive at the crack of dawn, Ezechiel assured William once again that he was safe while out of breath. When William didn't answer, Ezechiel also noticed that the beating of his heart, as well as the moving of his chest had slown drastically. Ezechiel ran every foot back to the Assassin headquarters. When he made it, Ezechiel yelled that wIlliam needed help, and a few Assassins immediately began to work on William, finally giving Ezechiel a chance to rest. After a few minutes of resting, John went up to Ezechiel and asked him what happened, to which Ezechiel explained everything. John was impressed and ordered Ezechiel to take a break, and Ezechiel di so with pleasure. A few hours later, Ezechiel checked up on one of the Assassins working on William and asked her how he was doing, to which she revealed that William would survive, but barely. Ezechiel was relieved to hear that and was able to rest assured for the rest of the day. Later that day, Ezechiel was called into the Assassin chamber, where he was officially indicted into the Order, and was gifted the hidden blade, as well as a machete for melee combat. Ezechiel was proud of himself and looked to the future.
Brewing of a Conflict[]
The next two years were full of Ezechiel training with his new weapons like the machete and rope darts, as well as getting more practice in parkour and free running. As the 1850s came to an end, so did the relationship with the North and South of the US over the issue of slavery, with the Assassins supporting the North for their views on freedom. In 1859, the Assassins were visited by a man named Frederick Douglass, an ex-slave and famous abolitionist who had since become a close friend and ally to the Assassins. Douglass informed the Assassins of an upcoming raid on Harpers Ferry in Virginia, led by a man named John Brown. The reason Douglass informed the Assassins on this was that he himself refused to take part in the raid, but he knew the Assassins would want to go. Another reason why was that Douglass suspected Templar activity brewing in the South, and wanted the Assassins to investigate. Ezechiel volunteered immediately, and John gave the approval. Ezechiel got the details from Douglass on where to go, and he did at the potential price of his freedom. Ezechiel met up with John Brown a few days later, already with his militia ready, which was full of people of all different colors. Ezechiel asked John what he'd be doing on the raid, to which John told him he'd take part in the direct assault on the armory to get guns. Ezechiel understood and rested up for the raid.
The Raid[]
The night of October 16, 1859 came and with it, the raid on Harpers Ferry. Ezechiel joined the militia on infiltrating the town as snipers watched over them. The group was able to get to the armory and got the weapons needed, with Ezechiel grabbing a Henry Repeating Rifle and got enough ammo for a small war. Suddenly, a shot range out, and a free black man was the first casualty. Ezechiel reacted quickly and shot in the same direction, killing Hayward Shepherd, a free black man himself. Ezechiel was stunned as to why someone of his race would fight for the same people who had owned and beaten so many of their brothers and sisters, but carried on. Eventually, more of the townspeople came out and put the militia under fire, Ezechiel himself killed three of them with his new rifle, causing him to be sick to his stomach whenever his finger would pull the trigger. The group was pinned down in the armory, and an enemy militia had captured the Potomac River bridge, cutting off the groups chance of escape. Ezechiel saw an opening, and told John Brown of a nearby engine house they could use as cover, getting the respect of him in the process. The group rant o the engine house and for the rest of the day, fought the townspeople. When the group finally got a break, Ezechiel realized that he had killed 29 people, he stumbled around after he realized that and felt nauseous. Did he really kill that many? He did, and it left him miserable. Ezechiel eventually snapped out of it when the US military sent in troops, putting the group under fire once again. The standoff went on for hours, Ezechiel would go from window to window, shooting at the troops, killing many. Ezechiel at one point noticed something odd about one of the soldiers. He wore a Templar cross, and he had some kind of ring with strange markings on it and it glowed slightly. Ezechiel tested to see if he was seeing what he was really seeing, and shot at the man three times, all of which had no effect on him even though they were direct hits. Ezechiel knew what it was and waited for the perfect opportunity to get up to him and kill him with his hidden blade. That chance would come later when US Marines were about to breach the door, and that one soldier walked to the side. Ezechiel said one last goodbye to John Brown, who urged him to go on and that he'd be safe. Ezechiel broke through a window, and ran like hell to the soldier he'd seen.
Weapons From Another Time[]
Ezechiel got up and took a look around, he saw the one soldier he'd seen was trying to walk away in a low-key fashion. Eventually though, he'd get away and Ezechiel would miss his chance, so he began to sprint after the man. Once the soldier noticed Ezechiel chasing him, he bolted, not caring if someone saw him. They were a good ways away from anyone to actually notice them, but the dark of the night made it hard for Ezechiel to keep track of where the soldier was. Suddenly, Ezechiel was knocked off his feet for the soldier had punched him in the chest. The man drew his pistol and fired, but Ezechiel dodged quickly and sweeped him off his feet. Ezechiel got on top of the man and threw several punches at his face and landed a few blows. The man saw an opening and punched Ezechiel hard in the face, breaking his jaw. Ezechiel recovered quickly due to the adrenaline and drew his machete. The soldier drew his sword and the two fought viciously for several minutes. Ezechiel would hack and slash at the soldier tirelessly, but the soldier was trained in sword combat, and had better ways of fighting back. Ezechiel pushed the man back a few feet after the two locked weapons and pulled his revolver, and fired at the man's head, nothing happened. The bullet disappeared as a green wall of sorts flickered and the man charged at Ezechiel with sword drawn. Ezechiel thought quickly and stepped to the side before the man could make contact and stabbed him in the abdomen with his hidden blade. The man stumbled to his knees and Ezechiel interrogated him. The soldier revealed that the Templars had powerful friends and their plans were to use black slaves to recreate the First Civilization's practice. Ezechiel had learned of the First Civilizations from his fellow Assassins, but didn't know enough to really understand what they were. Ezechiel then asked the man what the Templar's next plan, but the man just told Ezechiel to go to hell before succumbing to his wounds. Ezechiel went to the ring the man had been wearing and took it, the Assassins would want to learn about it.
Learning The Truth[]
Ezechiel brought the ring to John, telling him everything the soldier had told him. John was shocked at the Templar's plan but was relieved that they had a Piece of Eden at their disposal. Ezechiel then asked John what the First Civilization was and what it meant to both the Assassins and Templars, to which John explained everything. Ezechiel was intrigued on the history that the world had never even noticed existed. Ezechiel told John that something was happening, the Templars had plans, the U.S. Government had plans, the South had plans, but the Assassins didn't. John understood and said he was going to call a meeting of the Assassin Elders and asked Ezechiel to join them, to which he accepted. The meeting began with the five Elders meeting: Thomas Easton, a free black man with ties to both Northern and Southern abolitionists. Emily Sanders, a woman from wealthy back rounds who was the key financier for the Assassins. Antinanco, a Lakota man who was the stealthiest of the Assassins. Nicholas Adams, a former soldier with ties to the US military. And finally, Benjamin Jameson, who was the melee fighting instructor for the Assassins. The Elders along with Ezechiel joined together to discuss the Order's future. Ezechiel had found a piece of Eden for them, but they didn't know how many the Templars, but judging by the Soldier's explanation on how the Templars were planning to recreate the First Civilization's slavery practice, they knew that they had quite a few at their disposal. So the first step was to find how many pieces of Eden the Templars had then take as many as they could. They also needed to find out the network of leaders the Templars, but they already had them. The five Templars that were leading them included, Searlas Alaois, a slaver living in Virginia who provided the Templars with black slaves. Ruaridh Murdo, a banker stationed in New York, the man who supplied the Templars with every dollar they had. Lucas Fritz, a politician that worked with both Northern and Southern politicians and was the chief informant for them. Theo Edric, the second-in-command, as well as recruiter for Templar mercenaries. And finally, Jerrard Gale, a slaver himself who personally held an Apple of Eden. With the names written down, the Assassins settled that they needed to be gone, and Ezechiel volunteered to do so, to which they said they knew no better man than he. With his mission settled, Ezechiel prepared for a journey that he knew would take him years to complete.
Severing Ties[]
The first target the Assassins decided to go after was Lucas Fritz, the politician. Ezechiel received as much information as he could on where he might be going and how many men may accompany him. Ezechiel wanted to wait till Lucas was traveling in the North as he couldn't risk being recaptured in the South, but Lucas was to be stationed in the South for at least the next three years and the closest North he'd be was in Maryland. Ezechiel decided that if the Assassins were to make sure the Templars couldn't interfere with the upcoming election, he'd need to kill Lucas in Maryland. On April 1st, 1861, Ezechiel arrived in Baltimore, Maryland and began his search. After walking the cities for a few days full of eavesdropping on the locals for information, Ezechiel heard of a man who was to be meeting with President James Buchanan at a ball that night to discuss trading deals. The man described in the conversation matched Lucas' description and Ezechiel thought on how he could kill him there. Ezechiel decided to disguise himself as a wealthy landowner to infiltrate the party, but first he needed the invitation. Ezechiel scoured the city once more to find any of the people mentioned in the conversation, and found them. Ezechiel pick pocketed the man and got ready for the ball that night. That night, Ezechiel, disguised as a landowner, got into the party and conversed with some of the guests to blend in. In the middle of the party, Ezechiel noticed a man walking in with some guards following close behind him, it was Lucas and Ezechiel knew it. Ezechiel casually walked around to tail Lucas and saw him give some documents to a serving boy at the party and whispered something to him and walked away. Ezechiel decided to follow the servant boy, as those documents would prove useful. Ezechiel followed the boy outside to a secluded part of the Presidential courtyard when the boy stopped, turned around and saw Ezechiel. Ezechiel simply asked the boy what he was doing, the boy responded "Bringing an end to your kind!" The boy than charged at Ezechiel with knife in hand. Ezechiel stepped back before dodging the boy's oncoming attack. Ezechiel extended his hidden blades and fought with the boy for a few seconds, before killing him with a stab to the heart. After giving the boy his last rites, Ezechiel took the documents and went back to the party. Once inside, Ezechiel looked around feverishly for Lucas. When Ezechiel found Lucas, he saw Lucas saying some things with President Buchanan. Ezechiel got closer to hear what they were saying, and only heard things on trading with Britain. Ezechiel was relieved that the president wasn't allied with the Templars, so he focused on the mission at hand. Ezechiel then tailed Lucas when he left the president and stopped when Lucas went into a private room. Lucas went in the room and his guards stood outside the closed door. Ezechiel walked up to them and killed them both with his blades and entered the door. Lucas was stunned at Ezechiel walking in, and Ezechiel didn't even blink when he stabbed Lucas in the chest with his blades. Ezechiel asked Lucas what his plans were, but Lucas refused to say anything and died. Ezechiel gave Lucas his last rites and left with the documents, now the Assassins had information.
War Begins[]
Learning a Plan[]
Ezechiel traveled back to Philadelphia with the documents in hand, he hadn't read them as he wanted John to see it first. Ezechiel arrived back at the Assassin headquarters on April 7th, 1861 and immediately went to John with documents in hand. John congratulated and praised Ezechiel for his deed, saying it would cripple the Templar's political influences. Ezechiel accepted the praising and prompted John to read the documents, so he did. John read through the documents for a while almost an hour, Ezechiel began to think that there was nothing important at all on those documents, but the gasp that came from John told him that wasn't the case. Ezechiel asked John what was wrong, and John explained to Ezechiel that the Templars already used their political powers to arrange for a bombardment over a Union-held fort called Fort Sumter. Ezechiel was shocked as he knew that if that were to happen, civil war between North and South would be imminent. John then told Ezechiel even worse news, telling him it would be happening on April 12, it was the 7th that day, and the distance from Pennsylvania to South Carolina would take at least four days by horse. Ezechiel told John he was leaving and got a horse without question and rode like hell to South Carolina.
Bombardment[]
Ezechiel rode non stop for a few days, only getting 9 hours of sleep over the course of those four days. Though tired, Ezechiel refused to get rest until he got to the fort. Eventually, Ezechiel entered South Carolina, then took a boat to the fort at 8:00 PM on April 11. When he arrived, Ezechiel was immediately questioned by the soldiers stationed on why he was there, to which Ezechiel insisted he needed to talk to the captain of the fort, saying he had important information. The soldiers eventually budged after Ezechiel's relentless insistence and took him to Robert Anderson, Fort Sumter's captain. Ezechiel was brought to Anderson's quarters and was told he could say what he needed. Ezechiel informed Anderson that a Confederate attack was imminent. Anderson scoffed at the notion, stating that the odds of a Confederate attack on the fort was 1 billion to 1. Ezechiel insisted that the attack was happening the next day, begging him to listen to him. Anderson didn't budge however, and kept challenging Ezechiel's claims. Ezechiel finally decided to give up on trying to insist as he was tired after four days of non stop riding. Anderson however, saw Ezechiel's fatigue and told him he could sleep in the barracks with the soldiers for the night, but was expected to be gone the next morning. Ezechiel reluctantly obeyed and stumbled to the barracks, where he immediately collapsed into sleep. Ezechiel woke abruptly early the next morning to a mortar striking the fort. Ezechiel scrambled out of the bed he'd been sleeping in and joined the soldiers in getting out and manning the cannons. Ezechiel stepped outside to complete chaos, cannons would hammer into the fort every two minutes, all the while screaming and pieces of the fort would erupt into the air. Ezechiel sprinted to assist a group of two soldiers man a cannon. Ezechiel's job was putting the cannon balls in the cannon itself while one of the soldiers would rotate to aiming position, and the other soldier firing the cannon. The chaotic carnage continued throughout the day, Ezechiel didn't know if their cannons actually hit anything or anyone, but he was focused, pumped with adrenaline. Eventually night came, Ezechiel was stunned that time came by so quickly, and he and the two soldiers he'd worked with were allowed to take the night off. Ezechiel got some food, making Ezechiel realize he hadn't eaten since the day before and was starving. Ezechiel also bonded with the soldiers he'd manned the cannons with, William and Ryan. The night still had the occasional cannon strike, but Ezechiel was able to get some sleep. Morning came and with it, more chaos. Ezechiel found William and Ryan and they manned the same cannon as the day before. The day went on like the previous, with Ezechiel along with William and Ryan firing the cannon at whatever they could. The entire fort fought back all the while, falling apart from all the cannon fire, but all hope vanished when the central flag of the fort was shot down at 1 PM. Ezechiel felt sick to his stomach when the flag went down. Robert Anderson then came outside and called Ezechiel over, Ezechiel walked over to him and Robert started off by apologizing to him for not taking his claims seriously. Ezechiel understood and forgave Robert, but Robert immediately told Ezechiel that he needed to leave. Ezechiel asked why, and Robert explained that they weren't going to win the battle and if Ezechiel was found the Confederates, he'd be sold back into slavery and told him he arranged a boat for him to use. Ezechiel protested, saying he could still help, but Robert had none of it, even threatening Ezechiel that he'd have his soldiers force him out if that's what it took. Robert reluctantly went to the boat and traveled back to Philadelphia with civil war officially beginning in America.
Cutting Off Funds[]
The Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers for the Union army to fight the recently founded Confederate States of America. The Assassins used what little political influence to try to win over Lincoln to their side, with the president as an ally, the Assassins could get their hands on some much needed information. Ezechiel made it back to Philadelphia and asked the Assassins what their next move was, the war had begun and they needed to do something. Ezechiel and the Assassin council had a meeting, and they decided on taking out Ruaridh Murdo, the banker stationed in New York that supplied the Templars with every cent they carried. Ezechiel planned to move out on Ruaridh in the coming months, knowing he'd have to miss out on the war that he wanted so desperately to take part in. Ruaridh was living in a mansion in the outskirts of Albany, a relatively quiet and peaceful town, but Ezechiel knew that there would be guards stationed there, but the question was how many? On August 7, 1861, Ezechiel rode out to New York, still planning on how to proceed.
Second Target Killed[]
Ezechiel arrived in New York on August 9, 1861 and it took him 12 more hours to actually reach Albany. Tired and exhausted, Ezechiel stayed at an inn in Albany, where he slept like a log for the whole night. The next day, Ezechiel got up and made his way to Ruaridh Murdo's mansion, making sure to be a stealthy as possible, not wanting Murdo to know the Assassins were hunting him. Ezechiel found that the mansion was very big, with four floors at least, and with a lot of guards as expected. Ezechiel counted 70 guards at least, but didn't see Murdo himself. After searching for a few minutes, Ezechiel spotted Murdo walking back to his house with a duck in hand, most likely returning from a hunting trip. Ezechiel was relived to find him, and decided that night was the night to strike. Ezechiel spent the rest of the day training for the assassination of yet another Templar. At 8:00 Pm that night, Ezechiel made his way to the Murdo mansion. Ezechiel took cover behind a stone close to the house, where two guards stood in front of a nearby door, Ezechiel threw a rock at a nearby tree, sending one of the guards to investigate. While one of the guards was away, Ezechiel sprinted towards the other and killed him with his hidden blade before hiding his body in the nearby woods. Ezechiel wated for the other guard to come back, killing him when he eventually did. Ezechiel placed his ear on the door to listen for any movements or sounds, when he didn't, Ezechiel picked the door lock and made his way inside the house. Ezechiel went room to room on each floor of the house, always in stealth, looking for Murdo. Ezechiel was forced to kill 9 guards along his way to find Murdo, a task that Ezechiel knew would force him to hurry before anyone found the bodies. Ezechiel eventually found Murdo inside his private study, then carefully closed the door and locked it without much sound. Ezechiel then spoke to Murdo, announcing it was his time to die. Ezechiel stabbed Murdo in the stomach before he had time to say anything and told Murdo his plans were over. Murdo asked Ezechiel what he knew of his work, to which Ezechiel responded that he knew his fellow Templars were supporting the Confederates. Murdo scoffed, telling Ezechiel that the Templars had ties to both the Union and Confederacy, it was the Assassins who only supported one side. Ezechiel brushed that statement off, stating that as long as the Templars die, it made no difference. Murdo laughed at Ezechiel, stating that he had no idea what he was saying, and was confused. Ezechiel didn't want to admit the confusion he felt, he believed that the Templars only supported the Confederates, but if they also supported the Union, then they must've had cells everywhere. Ezechiel didn't waste anymore time of conversation and stabbed Murdo once more in the chest, killing him. Ezechiel gave Murdo his last rites and left, with new confusion in his mind.
In Need of Allies[]
The Civil War in America progressed and with it, the need for the Assassins too have an ally inside the government. The Assassins did support the Union and its promise of freedom to black slaves, so it was the right move to get allies there. Ezechiel came back to Philadelphia one day after taking a little break from Assassin work in 1862. When he got there, Ezechiel was met by the Assassin council debating their next move when they noticed Ezechiel standing by the doorway. The Elders welcomed him back and explained their troubles, the Assassins were able to get spies inside the government and were able to learn about the war and how they could prevent Templar activity. The Assassins then informed Ezechiel some more news that utterly shocked him, President Abraham Lincoln possessed a Piece of Eden called the Apple, and if they could win Lincoln over to their side, they'd change the tide of the war in their favor. Ezechiel agreed and sat down to discuss what to do next. The Assassins decided to send Emily Sanders, the financier for the Assassins along with Ezechiel to Washington DC to meet with the President and ask him on how they could have his support. On March 7, 1862, Emily and Ezechiel arrived at DC to take part in a private meeting with the President. Ezechiel was sweating, out of both nervousness and excitement to the fact that he was going to meet the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The two arrived inside and some guards escorted them to the President's meeting room. Ezechiel and Emily entered, and Ezechiel's breath was almost taken away at just the sight of President Lincoln, who turned around and greeted them in a surprisingly high voice, welcoming them to the white house. Emily and Ezechiel sat down and began the conversation. The conversation with Emily informing Lincoln about the Assassins and how they stood for peace and freedom, and the Templar's philosophy of order and control. Lincoln at first was skeptical at the idea of two secret groups locked in a secret war spanning across centuries, even believing that the whole meeting was just a fluke. However, Emily and Ezechiel were somehow able to convince Lincoln of the existence of both the Assassins and Templars and of their knowledge of Lincoln's Apple and how they both wanted it. Lincoln was then asked by Emily and Ezechiel if he would give his Apple to them, they were the most trustworthy people to entrust it to. Lincoln refused however, stating that he didn't fully know if he could trust the Assassins, a statement that made Ezechiel say to Lincoln that he did support the abolishment of slavery, and the Assassins supported freedom, therefore he had good reason to trust the Assassins. Lincoln then sighed deeply and revealed to Ezechiel the truth, telling him that if there was a way to keep the U.S. together without abolishing slavery, he'd do it. Ezechiel didn't know what to think, but Lincoln did say he did indeed support freedom however. After some silence, Lincoln decided that he'd give his Apple to the Assassins, under the condition that they lead the Union Army to three victories. Ezechiel promptly agreed and declared that the task would be done. Ezechiel and Emily left to Philadelphia, where Ezechiel got ready to take part in a war that would change history.
Time of War[]
First Battle[]
It was April 6, 1862 and Ezechiel had made his way to Hardin County, Virginia to assist the Union army in a battle against the Confederates. President Lincoln had given the presiding commander Ulysses S Grant the message that Ezechiel was sent to help. Ezechiel had heard many things about Ulysses S Grant, how he was a talented general who had much influence in Washington, it was truly an honor to fight for him. Ezechiel at first wasn't specifically assigned to anything as the army kept black and white soldiers separate, so Ezechiel spent much of the early hours cleaning his rifle while ignoring the endless words of hate given to him from Union soldiers. Suddenly, at around 7:30 AM, Union soldiers from the patrol came running back to the fort, some with gun shot wounds in their bodies and they told General Sherman that the Confederates were advancing. Ezechiel quickly got up with his rifle in hand and got in the defensive positions. The Confederates came marching and Ezechiel along with the other soldiers began firing at the soldiers in grey. Every time the bullets pierced their skin, Ezechiel's stomach would turn and flip in nausea, but eventually he got used to it and kept firing his rifle at the never stopping Confederates. The day dragged on with Confederate offenses being pushed back by Union defenses and that night, Ezechiel was finally given a rest from the chaos he had been forced to suffer through. Ezechiel spent the night getting to know some of the soldiers that actually would speak to him and he was able to make friends. Before Ezechiel got some sleep, General Sherman addressed the soldiers, stating that another Union regiment would join theirs in a counterattack going on the next day. Ezechiel went to sleep quickly after realizing how tired he really was. Ezechiel slept soundly until he woke up in the middle of the night to one of the soldiers screaming at the top of his lungs at Ezechiel before being stabbed through the head by a bayonet. Ezechiel was helpless to do anything as the same Confederate who had killed the soldier raised his gun at Ezechiel and fired. Ezechiel jolted awake with a yelp, feeling immense relief over the fact that it was simply a dream. Ezechiel awoke without anymore nightmares the next day and joined the regiment he'd been assigned to and readied himself for the counterattack.
Counter Attack[]
The next day came and Ezechiel woke up ready to fight. Ezechiel learned that he would take part in the counterattack to the Confederate positions. Ezechiel joined a unit going to the fight at around 7:00 AM and readied himself for more fighting. They arrived and were met with a large blaze of musket fire. Ezechiel took cover with several other Union soldiers behind a fallen carriage and returned fire. Fighting continued for hours and before 10:00 AM, Ezechiel guessed he had killed at least 23 men. The men Ezechiel killed weren't only men, they were also young boys, some as young as fourteen. Ezechiel felt sick to his stomach at the thought of a child having to experience such cruelty, would take a true monster to force on to someone. At 10:00 AM, the Confederates began to push back the Union troops, who had begun to lose many soldiers leaving Ezechiel with no choice but to take part in the retreat. Ezechiel and the other soldiers made it back to the checkpoint, leaving Ezechiel with disappointment that they hadn't been able to beat the Confederates. Later in the day however, Ezechiel heard that the Confederates had issued a full retreat after losing over 10,000 men. Ezechiel joined in the celebrations that night, knowing that that battle was just one of many he'd need to partake in.
Gettysburg[]
Ezechiel spent the next few months contemplating which battle to help the North take part in. The Assassins had ears everywhere and would only tell Ezechiel of battles that were close and that would help gain Lincoln's trust. Eventually on August 30, 1863, Ezechiel got word of a battle that was scheduled to take place at Gettysburg, Philadelphia and also heard that Searlas Alaois, the main slaver for the Templars would also be in attendance of the battle. Immediately after hearing the news, Ezechiel got a horse and road as fast as lightning to Gettysburg. Ezechiel arrived in the early hours of July 2, 1863 to Gettysburg. It didn't take Ezechiel long to notice the cannon and musket fire that thundered throughout the air. Ezechiel then found a base of Union soldiers a few minutes later and made his way to the commander of the base. Ezechiel met George G. Meade a few minutes later and gave him the letter from President Lincoln gifted to him that explained Ezechiel's presence there. Meade treated Ezechiel with respect, something the other soldiers hadn't shown him, and informed Ezechiel that the men on the right flank needed help and to get there right away. Ezechiel loaded his rifle and sprinted to the right flank. Ezechiel arrived in ten minutes to the right flank and took cover from the onslaught of bullets that whizzed past him as he arrived. Ezechiel got up slightly to see the enemy, and could only see fog from the endless cannon and fire. A Union soldier then pulled Ezechiel down, stating that the only reason he should stick his head up is if he had a deathwish. Ezechiel thanked the man, but didn't bother to get close to him, he'd done that with plenty other soldiers, and they either got killed or left. The rest of the day was mostly uneventful with hearing the shots of cannons, eating, and reading. At 4:00 PM, just as Ezechiel thought he'd probably not see any action that day, Confederate soldiers began to jump over him and attack the unsuspecting Union soldiers. Ezechiel drew his machete and killed four Confederates before they even took notice of him. Before he knew it, Ezechiel was surrounded by six southern soldiers. Ezechiel dodged two bayonet attacks and killed the confederates performing them by forcing one to stab the other, while the other one was forced to shoot his comrade. One confederate charged at Ezechiel with his bayonet, and Ezechiel pushed the musket up in the air before it could pierce him and stabbed the confederate with his hidden blade. The final three charged at Ezechiel with their bayonets raised, Ezechiel thought quickly and pulled his revolver to kill two of the soldiers before decapitating the third with his machete. The brutal fighting lasted for 45 minutes and consisted of Ezechiel killing the confederates with a combination of his machete, revolver, and dagger. When the fighting finally stopped, Ezechiel took a breath and finally relaxed for the first time that day and later that night, got some sleep to prepare for the next day.
Pickett's Charge[]
Ezechiel woke up the next day at around 10:00 in the morning. He was sore from sleeping on the uneven ground of Gettysburg and got up to look around the battlefield. As he got up, another man pulled him down immediately, stating that Ezechiel must've had a deathwish if he stood up. Ezechiel spent the day sitting around doing nothing, that is until 1:00 PM, when the Confederates began to bombard the Union positions. Ezechiel scrambled to cover, but there seemed to be none as every time he would run to one direction, the ground would blow up from the cannon ball in front of him, and the other was no better. Ezechiel in the chaos heard a commanding officer shouting for the soldiers to man the cannons and Ezechiel sprinted to do just that. Ezechiel reached a cannon manned by two others and this time was in charge of picking where to fire. Ezechiel's first target was a Confederate cannon crew on a hill nearby and aimed the cannon to them. Ezechiel gave the command to fire and the cannon did just that, then Ezechiel's eyes were full of fire of the resulting explosion. Instead of feeling guilt, Ezechiel this time felt a rush of energy and for the next two hours ordered the men to fire the cannons with enthusiasm. At 3:00 PM, the cannon fire subsided, and about 12,000 Confederate soldiers marching toward the Union positions, doing it slowly and with no intention to either protect themselves or fight back. Ezechiel grabbed his rifle and joined the big pile of soldiers at the nearby fence and waited. As the soldier waited for the Confederates to get in range, Ezechiel spotted his target, Searlas Alois, the slaver riding a horse into battle. Ezechiel knew this was his golden chance to prevent the Templars from using black slaves to fuel their plans, and Ezechiel aimed his rifle right at Alois' head. The enemy got in sight and the soldiers began to fire at will, and the resulting smoke from the muskets blurred Ezechiel's vision. Ezechiel cursed in frustration, but knew that Alois had no chance of surviving this day and joined the soldiers in fire at will. Ezechiel didn't know or care what he was shooting at, he just shot his rifle into the huge plume of smoke form the muskets, killing at random. Eventually, the Confederates got close enough for hand to hand combat, so Ezechiel drew his machete and fought a killed at random. Some time later, Alois emerged to the fence, saw Ezechiel and drew his sword and charged at him. Ezechiel dodged the incoming swing from the sword and swung his machete at Alois' stomach, only for it to be deflected by his sword. Ezechiel spun around swung his machete at Alois' head, but Alois ducked and swung his sword at Ezechiel's foot. Ezechiel jumped to dodge the sword, put fell over in the process. Alois stepped on Ezechiel's hand hard until he let go of his machete. Alois then got on top of Ezechiel and began to strangle him. Ezechiel tried with all of his strength to get Alois' hands off of him, but he was already losing consciousness. Before he completely blacked out, Ezechiel extended his hidden blade and stabbed Alois in the neck. Alois let go of Ezechiel, allowing him breath as he held at his throat to stop the blood from leaving him. Ezechiel caught his breath and declared that the Templars would now no longer have slaves to do their work, to which Alois scoffed, stating that the Templars had an endless supply of plans, and would succeed without him. Ezechiel gave Alois his last rite, before stabbing him in the heart with his hidden blade, killing him.
Receiving The Apple[]
A few weeks after the battle of Gettysburg, Ezechiel, still haunted by the images he'd seen there, wrote a letter to President Lincoln telling him that he had completed his task of aiding the Union in three victories. And with that, the President must keep his promise and deliver the Assassins his Apple of Eden. Ezechiel received a letter a few weeks later that stated that Lincoln would have to wait for six months at the very most to find a good time to do so. The letter stated that now Lincoln was siding with the Assassins, that painted a large target on his back for the Templars. Ezechiel and the other Assassins understood and Ezechiel decided to take a break from all of the fighting in the Civil War. Four months passed and Ezechiel finally received a letter from Lincoln stating that he was going back to Gettysburg to make a speech for the fallen and instructed Ezechiel to do the same so he could give the Apple to him. Ezechiel was hesitant to go back the land of nightmares, but ultimately decided to do so as he needed the Apple for the Assassins. On November 19, 1863, Ezechiel arrived back to Gettysburg. Walking through Gettysburg brought so many horrors in Ezechiel's mind, he was almost brought to tears of the horrors that didn't stop replaying in his mind. Somehow, Ezechiel arrived at the place where a big audience had gathered to hear the speeches. Ezechiel looked for Lincoln and found him in the middle of the crowd of political officials. After three hours of listening to the speeches, Lincoln finally got up to make his speech. Ezechiel was eager to hear what the President had to say, expecting it to be at least an hour long. The speech that Lincoln was anything but long, it was probably only less than two minutes long. Although its shortness, the speech sent Ezechiel's tears to flow, just by how the President was willingly making his speeches short and he picked the right words. Lincoln had talked about how the Founding Fathers had wanted to make a land of freedom, and how that freedom was being tested. Lincoln ended the speech by stating that the soldiers who had died wouldn't be for nothing, "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." After the speech was complete, Ezechiel met with Lincoln a few paces away from the crowd. Upon there, Ezechiel complemented Lincoln on the speech, but Lincoln apologized for Ezechiel. When Ezechiel had asked why Lincoln was apologizing to him, Lincoln said that it was because Ezechiel had been forced to endure much cruelty in his life, from being helpless to do anything as his mother was assaulted and his father murdered, to fighting in a war for freedom. Ezechiel insisted that it was his pleasure and thanked Lincoln for his words. Lincoln then reached for his pocket and produced the Apple of Eden, urging Ezechiel to finish what he started.
End Of War[]
Finding A Plot[]
Two years passed after Ezechiel fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and he was relieved to not be required to fight in the war anymore. Ezechiel now had the time to try to find the last two Templar Targets on his list: Theo Edric and Jerrard Gale. Since Theo was the second-in-command, the Assassins knew that if they found Theo, they'd find Jerrard. Ezechiel tracked them endlessly in an attempt to stop whatever plans they had. On April 7, 1865, Ezechiel heard word of a man that matched Edric's description near Washington DC who was acting mysteriously as in taking notes outside of the White House. Ezechiel got horse and rode to DC to see if the descriptions were true. Ezechiel arrived in DC on April 10, 1865 and decided to start at the White House and ask around for the man. Ezechiel found seven people who were willing to speak to him and got their description of the man, once again matching Edric's description. Ezechiel asked the people where he went, and they all gave him certain directions of where they think he went, but not an actual address. Ezechiel got to the last known location of Edric and stopped, confused as what to do next. Ezechiel then decided to climb the tallest building near him and scanned the area, finally finding a place that would be a good hideout. The place Ezechiel spotted was the picture perfect for a group with a plan: not too far away from the White House, but close enough to see the people gathering outside. The place had also been abandoned after a fire had burned it down years ago. Ezechiel did a leap of faith to the ground and emerged from the haystack he'd landed in, and made his way to the building. Ezechiel got to the entrance of the building and found it locked, another sign that someone was there. Ezechiel backed up a little then charged at the door and bursted it open. Inside the building were about six men, including Edric. Edric demanded to know who Ezechiel was, to which Ezechiel simply extended his hidden blades. Realizing who Ezechiel was, Edric threw a beer bottle at him before bolting. Ezechiel dodged the bottle and killed the other five men with his blades. Ezechiel made his way outside and found Edric still sprinting away. Ezechiel gave chase to Edric which lasted for four minutes. Halfway into the chase, Edric turned around and shot his revolver at Ezechiel, who just barely dodged it. Ezechiel pulled out his own rifle and shot at Edric multiple times, missing all of them. Ezechiel continued to give chase to Edric who had turned a corner at one point, Ezechiel followed him and was met to Edric punching him in the chest upon impact. The punch and fall from it knocked the wind out of Ezechiel, giving Edric his chance to try to kill him. Edric grabbed Ezechiel, picked him up and head-butted him before punching him the stomach two more times. Edric pulled out his revolver once again and aimed it at Ezechiel's head. Ezechiel used what little energy he stilled had and sweeped Edric of his feet. Ezechiel then got on top of Edric and punched him in the face once before all his other attempts were blocked. Ezechiel then extended his hidden blades and brought it to Edric's throat. Edric pushed Ezechiel's hand back with every inch of strength he had, but Ezechiel proved too strong and Ezechiel stabbed Edric's throat. With Edric dying, Ezechiel got off of him and demanded to know what the Templars were planning, to which Edric told Ezechiel to go to Hell before succumbing to his wounds. Ezechiel looted his body and produced a note. Ezechiel read the note and when that was done, he immediately ran back to his horse and rode to hell back to Philadelphia to inform the Assassins about the Templar's plan to kill Lincoln.
Death Of An Ally[]
Ezechiel arrived back to DC in the late hours of April 13, 1865. While on his way, Ezechiel had heard the Civil War that had torn the US apart had finally ended. Ezecehiel arrived at DC at 4:00 AM on April 14, 1865 and immediately went to the White House. After waiting a few minutes to get inside of the White House, Ezechiel told the guards there that he needed to speak with President Lincoln immediately, but was told by the guards that President Lincoln was in Virginia and was expected to return later that day to watch a play called "Our American Cousin". Ezechiel asked if there was an inn nearby he could sleep at as he hadn't slept in three days, he then went to it and slept like a log for hours. Ezechiel awoke abruptly and could tell it was late, he checked the time and it was 9:58 PM, way past the time President Lincoln was supposed to arrive at Ford's Theater. Ezechiel scrambled out of his bed and sprinted to Ford's Theater. Upon arriving, Ezechiel could see that the line was too long to wait out, so he decided to climb in. Ezechiel found an open window and climbed up the walls to the window, it was around 10:14 PM. Ezechiel got inside and found himself in a dressing room for the actors, however no one was there. Ezechiel snuck around and opened a nearby door to a balcony that overlooked the stage. Ezechiel scanned the entire room to see where Lincoln was, Ezechiel then spotted Lincoln to his right overlooking the play with his wife next to him. Ezechiel began to walk to the president, when suddenly, a man wielding a knife and small pistol walked up behind Lincoln and aimed his gun at Lincoln's head and fired. Ezechiel, with tears in his eyes, witnessed the man then stab Major Rathbone in the forearm and jump down onto the stage. Ezechiel wanted with all his heart to do something, but simply couldn't. Ezechiel had just witnessed a man whom he respected with above all get killed. Ezechiel left the building with a tear in his heart as he made his way back to the Assassin's hideout.
Manhunt[]
Ezechiel came back to the Assassins in great shame and sadness. The Assassins felt the same when he told them of President Lincoln's death, the man they'd supported through the war for his promise of peace. John, the mentor of the Assassins, declared that for now, all focus would be on finding John Wilkes Booth and bring him to justice before they dealt with Jerrard Gale. Weeks passed with no sign of Booth, but the Assassins knew that the US Government would also stop at nothing to kill Booth and the Assassins helped in any way they could. Ezechiel spent those few weeks in shame since he did nothing to help at all. Benjamin Jameson, the Order's melee instructor, was able to help Ezechiel by reminding him that those things happen, sometimes we simply can't do anything in time of need. Ezechiel began to feel better and eventually chose not to dwell on that terrible night, even if it left it's scars. On April 25, 1865, Ezechiel was in Virginia in the hunt for Booth. Ezechiel had been tracking Booth for four days now and knew he was hot on his trail. At about 12:30 PM on April 25, Ezechiel was the path that a few people said a man matching Booth's description was taking. As Ezechiel was combing the countryside of Virginia, he found little clues to his whereabouts, that changed at 1:15 PM. Ezechiel was walking walking along a road devoid of people, until he saw two men walking in the direction towards him. Ezechiel thought little of it and put his hand on his revolver in case things got nasty, although black slaves were now free, that didn't mean they were safe from hateful southerners. Ezechiel walked past the two not looking at them in the eye, only looking at them when one of them spit on the ground near Ezechiel. Ezechiel turned to look at them and was shocked to see that one of them was Booth. "Looking for some trouble, boy?" Asked the second man, Ezechiel simply replied no, to which the second man told him to watch his back. Ezechiel waited until the two men were out of earshot, then turned around and followed them. Ezechiel kept silent and used the trees nearby for cover if they turned around. Ezechiel had this chance to kill Booth, then the Assassins could focus on stopping the Templars. After following Booth and the second man for thirty minutes, the second man turned around and unloaded four shots from his revolver to Ezechiel. Ezechiel took cover behind a nearby tree and waited for him to stop shooting. Eventually, Ezechiel heard the running footsteps of the two men and gave chase. Ezechiel chased the two men for twelve minutes, occasionally shooting at them with his revolver and the two men doing the same. After a few minutes of running, the two men bolted right into the woods, and Ezechiel followed them. Ezechiel followed them for as long as he could before losing them in the endless cluster of trees. Ezechiel searched around for a bit, to no avail. Suddenly, the second man came out from behind a tree and whacked Ezechiel in the face with a large stick, knocking Ezechiel off his feet. Ezechiel was too shocked to prevent the two men from beating him mercilessly with batons they had with them. After the two beat Ezechiel, the second man went to Booth, asking if he brought an extra rope, Booth said he didn't. The second man, whom Booth identified as David Herold, was disappointed and thought of just killing Ezechiel where he was, but chose to leave him, let him die a slow death. Booth and Herold ran away to an unknown destination, leaving Ezechiel writhing in pain. After 45 minutes of laying in pain, Ezechiel somehow got up and continued his pursuit, he didn't care if he was injured.
Justice[]
Ezechiel walked for miles, following the footprints. The task proved difficult due to the injuries Ezechiel suffered from the beating at the hands of John Wilkes Booth and David Herold, but it only made his fire for their deaths burn brighter. Eventually in the late hours of April 25, 1865, Ezechiel was simply too exhausted to keep going on and decided to find a place to sleep. After wandering around for little bit, Ezechiel found a relatively comfortable pile of hay laying on a fence of a tobacco farm and decided to sleep there. Ezechiel laid back and slept like a log for hours. Suddenly, Ezechiel could hear shouting not far and awoke abruptly to find that it was midday and he turned around to see many Union Soldiers surrounding the very farm he was sleeping near. Ezechiel limped to the soldiers and asked one of them what was going on, to which the soldier said that they believed John Wilkes Booth was in the barn. Ezechiel was shocked and asked what he could do to help, to which the soldier said there wasn't much as Booth wouldn't come out. Ezechiel witnessed soldiers go up to the barn and light it on fire, and the whole barn began to burn in seconds. Ezechiel could then see Booth walking around in the barn and raised his pistol. His hands were shaking, his body ached from the beatings, and Booth was far away. Ezechiel aimed and pulled the trigger as the soldier next to him did the same. Ezechiel then saw Booth fall and two soldiers dragged him out. Ezechiel and the soldiers didn't know which bullet hit Booth, but Ezechiel decided to give the credit to the soldier, named Boston Corbett. Ezechiel and Corbett walked over to where Booth was lying and heard him uttering his last words as he looked at his hands, "useless, useless." Booth died and Ezechiel said to himself that Lincoln was now at peace. Ezechiel then turned around and began to walk back to Philadelphia, the Assassins could now focus on finding Jerrard Gale.
Final Target[]
Ezechiel spent the next few months searching for Jerrard Gale, a task that was hard to do because since Jerrard had no money left, he always kept low. Even though all of Gale's men were dead, which stripped him of his power, the Assassins found him no less a threat and continued to the hunt for him. On February 17, 1866, Ezechiel was walking around Pennsylvania as he was tasked to patrol the city as some other Assassins traveled across the country for Gale. Ezechiel found the job boring, but was loyal to the end. As Ezechiel patroled the city as instructed, he couldn't help but get the feeling he was being watched by several men across the city. Ezechiel tried to dismiss these thoughts as just tourists taking in the people of the city, but that feeling slowly began to leave him as he saw more and more people staring at him. At one point, Ezechiel had made his way to a largely scarce section of the city and found himself surrounded by several men on rooftops and in the streets aiming their guns at him. Ezechiel looked around in a circle to take in his surroundings, but before he could make a move, Jerrard Gale walked partially in the circle flanked by two guards. Ezechiel sarcastically commented that Gale had been busy, to which Gale said that he had indeed been busy getting men to help him kill Ezechiel. Ezechiel asked what was going to happen to him, to which Gale laughed before saying that they were going to make sure he suffered before death. Ezechiel stubbornly told Gale that he wouldn't die on that day, instead Gale would. At that moment, Ezechiel raised his pistol and shot Gale in the stomach while simultaneously dropping several smoke bombs to confuse the guards. Ezechiel immediately climbed onto a nearby building to avoid the storm of bullets that echoed in the location he was in. Ezechiel made his way to the top and scanned around. Ezechiel saw six men in total across the rooftops, loaded his rifle and prepared for war.
Final Target Killed[]
Ezechiel aimed his rifle at the sniper on the roof directly across from him and fired. Ezechiel didn't even stop to look if the man had actually died, he just pushed on the lever on his rifle and aimed to the person closest to him and fired. Ezechiel was about to reload his rifle when a bullet whizzed past him, barely missing his jaw. Ezechiel turned his head to the right and saw the first man he'd shot at aiming his rifle, causing Ezechiel to duck behind a nearby chimney. Ezechiel sat behind the chimney as an onslaught of bullets began to rip the chimney apart. Ezechiel once again dropped some smoke bombs to distract the guards and sprinted away from the incoming bullets. Ezechiel locked on his target, drew his machete and charged at his target. Ezechiel charged up to one person and drove his hidden blade into his throat, then threw his machete at a nearby guard without blinking. Ezechiel left the first to die as he ran to the second guard, retrieved his machete and charged at two others. Ezechiel reached the two and swung his machete at one while the other swung his rifle at Ezechiel. Ezechiel was able to duck in time and took to opportunity to swing his machete at the man's knee while inserting his hidden blade in the jaw of the other. Ezechiel drew his rifle again and exchanged bullets with the last person on the rooftop before killing him. Ezechiel decided to leave the guards on the ground and pursue Gale, whose trail wasn't hard to pick up on with the trail of blood. Ezechiel spent the next 45 minutes tailing the trail of blood left by Gale, knowing that the Templar's end was nigh. After 45 minutes of searching, Ezechiel was shocked to find that the trail led him to a nearby park, and that Gale was just sitting on a bench alone, no guards in sight. Ezechiel just decided to sit down next to Gale. As Ezechiel sat next to Gale, Gale cursed Ezechiel and all the Assassins, stating that their pursuit of freedom can never be satisfied and that even though his end was soon, the Templars would rise again like always. Ezechiel just chuckled and agreed that indeed the struggle between the Assassins and Templars was far from over, but he was willing to spend his life fighting for it. Gale said nothing and Ezechiel pulled him closer, then stabbed him in the chest with his hidden blade before giving him his last rites.
Reconstruction[]
Ezechiel took the Apple that Gale had and immediately brought it back to John and the other Assassins, finally declaring that the Templar's hold over America was over for now. The Assassins were thrilled about this and decided it was time to make Ezechiel a Master Assassin in their ranks, a title that Ezechiel accepted graciously. After being promoted, Ezechiel decided to move somewhere else, namely in the South to make sure that the Freedman were safe from hate and bigotry. Ezechiel ultimately chose to stay in Tennessee as he had heard of a group of people who had a racist worldview and used violence to get their goals met. So on September 12, 1867, Ezechiel left for Tennessee to start a new life.
Defending The Innocent[]
Ezechiel arrived in Tennessee on September 23, 1867 and was able to purchase a house near the countryside, also making sure it was close to at least three plantations that housed Freedman. Ezechiel spent the first couple of weeks getting to know not just the freedman, but also some of the other friendly folk both black and white and Ezechiel started to understand that not all southerners were racist bigots. Ezechiel also decided to spend his 30th birthday not celebrating it, but instead teaching a group of freedman how to read and write just as his former master's wife had done for him all those years before. One day Ezechiel and a freedman named James were walking along the countryside road when they noticed three men in white hoods were following them from a distance. Ezechiel feared that they were members of the hate group he'd heard of and asked James if they were, to which James said that they were indeed them. Ezechiel placed his hand on the holster of his revolver and James hastily told Ezechiel that that was a death wish. Ezechiel just decided not to fight James on this one and the two kept walking, this time at a faster pace. The three men kept on following them while taunting them and Ezechiel and James then started running. The three men kept chasing them until at one point, Ezechiel turned around and punched one of them in the face. The other two took out their batons and swung at Ezechiel, one of them even hit Ezechiel in the rib. James rushed in and pushed one of them away while Ezechiel extended his hidden blade, grabbed the first man he'd punched and held the blade to his neck. Ezechiel told the two others that he would continue to protect all men that were free. The two men said they would leave them alone Ezechiel let the other man go. Ezechiel hesitated, he didn't want James' opinion of him change, so he let the man go, knowing he'd come to regret it.
Justice[]
Ezechiel woke up the next day in pain from the hits he'd received. His vision was blurry from the hot weather and his stomach was in knots from fear for James and if he was okay. Ezechiel stepped outside to see how his crops had grown and noticed that the crops that had begun to grow were gone. Ezechiel also noticed a piece of paper was nailed to a nearby tree. Ezechiel seized it and it said that some people had his friend and if he wasn't there at the ninth hour of morning, he'd be killed. Ezechiel panicked as he noticed it was half past the eighth hour and frantically searched for the address given to him on the note, rifle in hand. Ezechiel reached the destination after several minutes of running frantically and was greeted to a body with a sack over their head. Ezechiel didn't need to lift the sack off of the body to know it was James. Ezechiel dropped to his knees next to the body weeping openly for his fallen friend. Ezechiel looked after a few seconds and noticed several people wearing white sack-like masks that were open around the eyes. Ezechiel was filled with panic as he knew that they were the hate group he'd heard of, and prepared for a fight. Ezechiel raised his rifle and shot the one closest to him, loaded another round and kept firing. Some of the others pulled out their own firearms and shot at Ezechiel. The shootout lasted for fifteen intense minutes, in which time Ezechiel killed five of the members. The final two people charged at Ezechiel with knives in hand. Ezechiel drew his machete and blocked the initial attacks from the two for a few seconds. After deflecting one knife attack, Ezechiel drove his machete in the person's chest, killing him immediately. Ezechiel then turned to the final person, who was now filled with fear, but Ezechiel felt no pity as they felt none for him or any other freedman. Ezechiel decided to just draw his revolver and shoot the man in the head, killing him instantly. Ezechiel then turned to James' body, picked him up and brought him back to his family, where they buried his body and Ezechiel gave him his last rites. Ezechiel spent the night thinking about how even though he and so many other people risked their lives and fought in a grueling war to keep the country and cause change. However, there was no change, freedman barely had any rights and Ezechiel that night decided to do something drastic that would for sure cause change.
Change[]
Ezechiel traveled back to Philadelphia, the Assassin's main headquarters in America, and the place that held the Apple Ezechiel had taken from Jerrard Gale. Ezechiel was welcomed with open arms by his fellow Assassins and he was thrilled to see old friends. Ezechiel requested a meeting with the Assassin council to discuss his plan, a request that was immediately granted. Ezechiel began the meeting of the council by describing the injustice and hatred freedman were forced to endure in the South, even though the North won the war then proposed his plan. Ezechiel's plan was to use the Apple to help Presidential Candidate and Union general Ulysses S. Grant become President. The reason why Ezechiel wanted to do this is because he and a group called the Radical Republicans had plans to actually cause change in the South and protect the rights of Fredmen. John, the Mentor of the Assassins initially protested the idea, stating that it lined up too much with Templar philosphy rather than Assassin. Ezechiel knew this and explained that he had thougth of different ways to cause change, all of which wouldn't work, only the Apple was the answer. Some of the council members began to agree with Ezechiel's plan, so John decided that the ten members including Ezechiel would vote. Ezechiel's plan received seven of ten votes, and thus won the majority. John accepted this and gave Ezechiel authorization to use the Apple. On November 3, 1868, Ezechiel went to the White House, dressed up with the Apple in his jacket and waited for the people to begin voting. Once the voting process began, Ezechiel secretly pulled out the Apple and the entire world froze as golden lights shined everywhere and Ezechiel used the Apple to manipulate the poeple's minds into voting for Grant. After the process was done, Ezechiel unfroze time and walked away satisfied, change would finally come.
First Vote[]
Four years passed and it was now 1872. In the four years of Grant's election, changes had been made. Ezechiel had moved back to Tennessee, Union officials were established in the South, and troops were sent to make sure the laws made were being followed, the 14th Amendment of the Constituion had also been passed, giving African-Americans the right to vote. Ezechiel and his fellow Freedmen were thrilled at the news and they were kept safe from harm due to the troops stationed. On November 5th, 1872, Ezechiel led a group of about thirthy Freedman to the local town inn where voting would be taking place. Ezechiel and several of his colleagues brought their weapons as they would be entering a bigoted part of town. As the group entered town singing John Brown's Body, several people eyed them with pure and utter hate, causing Ezechiel to keep his finger on the trigger on his rifle in case something bad went down. The group entered the inn, where the innkeeper rudely asked them what they all wanted, to which Ezechiel simply stated they were there to vote and ordered Repulican tickets. The innkeeper then said that they didn't have Republican tickets, just Democrat. Ezechiel was unimpressed with his attempt to get them to leave and stated that they would all wait. The innkeeer told Ezechiel that it would be a long wait, to which Ezechiel simply scoffed and claimed they would wait. A few minutes of silence passed and Ezechiel could feel the tension in the room and decided to break the tension by stating that he and all of those with him minded dying a whole lot less than everyone else. The innkeeper then said he'd look for the Republican tickets, and found them and Ezechiel and the rest of the men voted. Ezechiel felt that even though change actually happened, he didn't feel any different. Ezechiel shrugged those thoughts off and awaited for the future.
New Chapter[]
5 years had passed and Ezechiel's life had changed for the better. He and his friends were able to actually live in peace and not with fear and Ezechiel continued to serve the Assassin Order loyally. One day in 1877, Ezechiel was in the local market picking up some seeds for his crops when he heard a newsie kid shouting the headline of the local newspaper. Ezechiel went up to the kid and bought the paper and what it said made his stomach curl. The newspaper said the newly-elected President Rutherford B. Hayes had removed all Union troops from Southern states along with all the hand-picked officials in something called the Compromise of 1877. Ezechiel was filled with worry for him and all his friends as with no military, the people in the hate group he'd fought before would be free to do as they pleased. This caused the ever aging Ezechiel to lose sleep from paranoia and would carry a gun with him everywhere he went, something he didn't need to do for years thanks to the soldiers. Ezechiel's next encounter with the hate group would also be his final one. It was 1878 and Ezechiel was preparing to go to bed when he suddenly heard a woman screaming hysterically. Ezechiel grabbed his weapons and ran to where the screaming was, eventually finding several people wearing the group's clothes holding torches. Ezechiel then heard a gunshot, and saw a man fall dead. Ezechiel walked up behind two members and stabbed them in the head with his hidden blades, drew his pistol and shot the one who killed the innocent man. The others turned to Ezechiel and began to swarm him, beating him with batons. Ezechiel managed to kill three more of them and finally got more space to pull out his pistol and emptied all six of his bullets into the remaining members. Ezechiel went up to the woman and told her to run as more were sure to come, he also promised to taker her husband's body back to her after getting to safety. The woman agreed and ran to her home, leaving Ezechiel wondering what to do. A few minutes later, a man walked by Ezechiel and after seeing the dead bodies around him, began to shout hurtful things to Ezechiel for killing them. Ezechiel told the man that all of the people he killed killed him friend, then showed the man the body of the woman's husband. The man wasn't impressed, stating that it was a good thing the husband was killed. That final comment made Ezechiel snap, walking up to the man and punched him in the face. The man crumpled to the ground and Ezechiel knew he should've stopped then, but he didn't, he kept on beating up the man while he was down. After a few seconds of kicking and puching the man, Ezechiel pulled out his pistol, reloaded it, and put it to the man's head. Ezechiel was about to shoot the man, but came to his senses just in time, realizing that killing him would break one the Creed's Tenets: Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent. Ezechiel stumbled back from the man and looked at his hands, wondering what he had become. Ezechiel brought the man back to his house, healed him up and left him in a bed to rest. Crushed by his own aggression, Ezechiel decided to go into self-imposed exile.
Moving West[]
Ezechiel packed his things and prepared to leave his Tennessee home and head to the west. Ezechiel didn't know where exactly he'd go, but he just wanted to get out before he hurt and innocent and tarnish the name of the Assassins. Ezechiel also wrote a letter to John, the mentor of the Assassins saying that Ezechiel was confused and decided to temporarily leave the Assassin Order, also stating that John didn't have to worry about Ezechiel for awhile. One June 2, 1877, Ezechiel got a horse and began his journey West. Ezechiel had made his decision a few days before, he decided to move to Kansas to begin a new life by taking advantage of the Homestead Act that had been passed by congress years prior. On June 17, 1877, Ezechiel arrived to Kansas and picked out a spot to start his farm. The next five years were made up of Ezechiel successfully farming his land and eventually earning a deed, allowing him to keep his land for free. In those five years time, Ezechiel also met a woman named Jesse and the two eventually were married and had four children together. Ezechiel spent the rest of his life devoted to his family and always making sure they came first.
Later Life and Death[]
On August 13, 1898, Ezechiel, now 61 years old, decided it was time to visit Philadelphia one more time so he could visit his old friends in the Assassins and leave the Order properly. Ezechiel arrived at PHiladelphis on August 28, 1898 and found the old building the Assassins used as their hideout, and went inside. Upon entry, Ezechiel was confronted by two young men who asked what he wanted, to which Ezechiel revealed his identity and named all the members of the council in his time to prove it. The two young men immediately brought him to the mentor John, who was still alive to the surprise of Ezechiel. When Ezechiel was brought into the room John was in, John immediately went up to Ezechiel and hugged him after shaking his hand in greeting. The two old friends caught up with each other before discussing the exile Ezechiel put himself through. John revealed that after receiving the note, he was sad to hear the news, but still understood and was proud that Ezechiel chose exile over breaking the Creed's tenets. John then offered Ezechiel a chance to re-enter the life of an Assassin, to which Ezechiel declined. When John asked why, Ezechiel said he was now purely devoted to his family and felt that being an Assassin wasn't the life for him anymore. John understood and wished Ezechiel the best of luck for the future. Ezechiel thanked his friend and took off his hidden blades and set them on a nearby table. Before Ezechiel left, John gave Ezechiel a necklace with the Assassin insignia so that he would always remember his life as an Assassin, to which Ezechiel graciously accepted. Ezechiel spent the next twenty raising his children into the people they grew up to be and eventually told them of the Assassin's existence and how he was one for a time and said it was their choice if they wanted to join, to which they all declined doing. Ezechiel accepted their decisions and when they all grew up and moved out, Ezechiel got true rest for the first time in a very long time. Ezechiel died peacefully in his sleep at some point in 1919 and the cause of his death remains a mystery. When his funeral was held, a man dressed in white robes visited ad put a feather on top of the coffin Ezechiel was buried in and gave Ezechiel his last rites. No one knew it, but that man was William, the first slave Ezechiel helped escape all those years ago who had become a member of the Assassin Order and wanted to repay Ezechiel for the good deeds he did in his life.
Trivia[]
- "Ezechiel" is the Latin form of "Ezekiel" which is used in some versions of The Vulgate, which is a Latin translated version of The Bible
- "Denzel" is variant of "Denzil" which was the name given to the members of the Holles family starting in the 16th Century