The Kavanagh Family was a wealthy Anglo-Japanese family that played an important role in the Assassin-Templar War during the late 16th century and the early-mid 17th century, with members of the family serving on both sides of the conflict. Specifically the late Tudor period and early Edo period. The family were also an ancestor line of Jin Chen through his mother.
History[]
Humble beginnings[]
The Kavanagh family's oldest known members were the Irish fisherman Finn Kavanagh and his wife Katherine. The couple settled down in Waterford, Ireland and had three children - Thomas, Arthur and Ciara, born in 1555, 1558 and 1563 respectively. In 1566, Arthur befriended a noble boy named James O'Connor and the two became inseperable. However, tragedy struck when Arthur was unable to save James from drowning in a flooded cave during a thunderstorm in 1570. Blamed by James' father, the Kavanagh family were forced to flee to North Yorkshire, fearing what would happen to Arthur if he was captured.
Encountering the Assassins[]
Finn resumed his career as a fisherman, but now had aid from his two sons once they were old enough. In 1577, Arthur returned home from a night of drinking, still wracked by the guilt at being unable to save James. He found his home in flames and the bodies of his family outside of it, James' father had tracked down the Kavanagh family and murdered them in retribution for James' death. O'Connor planned to bring Arthur back to Ireland and torture him, and eventually kill him. Before being taken away, Arthur was rescued by the Assassin Aleria Sinclair who was assigned to kill O'Connor, a Templar.
Following their encounter, Arthur was wracked with guilt and a sense of no direction in his life. This would lead him to returning to Aleria in London and express his desire to join the Assassins. Arthur was officially inducted that same year and his training was to be carried out by Aleria. During this time, Arthur and Aleria entered a romantic relationship.
Preservers of Humanity[]
In 1581, Arthur had been assigned to assassinate the Templar Henry Wriothesley and retrieve a Piece of Eden. After assassinating Wriothesley, Arthur encountered the Preservers of Humanity - a group that opposed the Assassins and Templars, losing the Piece of Eden in the process. Following this encounter Arthur was assigned to investigate this group.
In 1582, Arthur would discover that the group was founded by James O'Connor's younger brother, Kieran, who despised the Assassins and Templars, and sought revenge against Kavanagh. For the next five years, Arthur hunted O'Connor and sought to eliminate him in hopes of fracturing the Preservers of Humanity. Eventually, Arthur would successfully kill O'Connor in 1587 and learn of the existence of the Armor of Ares, which was being sought after by the Preservers in order to wipe out the Assassins and Templars.
Following this, Arthur would begin a new mission; to locate the Armor of Ares and keep it from the hands of the Preservers.
A new generation[]
In October of 1587, Arthur and Aleria would marry and settle in a mansion purchased with Aleria's fortune in Westminster. Their daughter, Rose, would be born in September 1588 and their son, Lonan, in August 1590. Rose and Lonan's Assassin training would begin in 1596 and 1598, and they would be inducted into the Brotherhood in 1606 and 1608, respectively.
Activity in Japan[]
In 1612, Lonan would Assassinate the Preserver and Duke of Mantua Vincenzo Gonzaga and uncover the location of where the Preservers had sent the Shield of Eden thirty years prior, in Japan. Returning to the Brotherhood with this information, Arthur shares it with his father who then sets to head to Japan via the merchant John Saris. Lonan would accompany Arthur to Japan, arriving in 1613.
During their time searching for the Shield, Arthur and Lonan would also aid the Japanese Brotherhood during the Siege of Osaka. Assassinating the Templar Kimura Shigenari in the Battle of Wakae, Lonan then learned of the location of the Shield - in Osaka Castle, having been moved their by the Templars after taking it from the Preservers. The next day, Arthur and Lonan would be present at the Battle of Tennōji in order to retrieve the Shield. Alongside the Japanese Mentor Mashashi, Arthur and Lonan infiltrated the castle where Lonan would encounter Kinoshita Nobuyoshi (then known as Toyotomi Kunimatsu), he helped the boy escape certain execution at the hands of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Arthur, Lonan and Mashashi would find and retrieve the Shield, however it was revealed that Mashashi's right hand man Ito Ichiro was an informant and secret member of the Preservers of Humanity. Ichiro killed Mashashi and then Arthur, framing Lonan for these deaths. Lonan was forced to flee but not without receiving life threatening injuries before escaping with the Shield.
Lonan would then be found and rescued by the noble Takao Mariko, who would tend to his injuries and nurse him back to health. Mariko's father was a Templar and informed the Grand Master Shimazu Tadatsune of Lonan's Assassin background, Tadatsune would offer Lonan sacntuary within the Templar Order who initially declined. However, upon learning he would need support and resources to enact his revenge, Lonan would later join the Templars 8 months later. During this time, Lonan also re-encountered Nobuyoshi and brought the orphaned boy into the sanctuary of the Templar Order. Around this time, Rose and Aleria were notified of Arthur's death and were told the skewed events of how it happened, believing Lonan was the killer. Rose subsequently travelled to Japan to get some answers.
Lonan would spend the next year hunting down and eradicating high ranking members of the Brotherhood, weakening their presence in Japan. Rose arrived in Japan in 1617 and confonted Lonan regarding their father's death, unsatisfied with Lonan's version of the events the two fought. Believing her brother murdered Arthur, Rose prepared to kill him which forced Lonan to kill her in self defence, much to his dismay.
In 1619, after Lonan had severely weakened the Assassins strength in Japan, the Templars launched an full scale assault on the Assassin headquarters in Honshu. Lonan subsequently killed Ichiro and retrieved Ares' sword, which he had failed to acquire from him a year prior. In the aftermath, Lonan spared his former best friend Hashimoto Kenshin, warning him to not attempt to rebuild the Brotherhood. A month later, Lonan would depart Japan to locate the final piece of the Armor of Ares and eradicate Preserver presence wherever he found it. Before leaving, he shared a night of passion with Mariko which would lead to the birth of their son in 1620.
A new hope[]
In 1627, Takao Hayato, Lonan's son, would encounter Hashimoto Kenshin shortly before the death of Mariko as a result of a deadly illness she contracted. Kenshin would take the two of them back to his estate where Mariko would be treated, following her death Kenshin would become Hayato's unofficial guardian. 4 years later, Hayato would learn of the existence of the Assassins and Templars before eventually requesting to be trained by Kenshin - after a year of asking, Kenshing reluctantly agrees to train him. In 1637, Hayato would officially be inducted into the Brotherhood.
In 1635, Lonan would successfully retrieve the Chestplate of Ares but had it removed from him at the hands of the Preservers who had attacked him. Lonan and Nobuyoshi would spend the next few years searching for the Chestpiece within Japan.
Shortly after, the Shimabara Rebellion would begin and Hayato would learn that the Templars orchestrated the war playing a part on both sides. Hayato involved himself in the conflict, taking part in the Siege at Hara Castle where he would assassinate the Templars Itsakura Shigemasa and Mori Sōiken who fought on both sides of the conflict. Meanwhile, Lonan would kill Grand Master Shimazu - believing he had lost his way as a result of the atrocity caused at the Siege at Hara. Following this, Lonan then became Grand Master himself having never divulged the true nature of Shimazu's death.
Three years later, Hayato would assassinate Hosokawa Tadatoshi and Mukai Shōgen Tadakatsu. He subsequently learned that they had located the Chestplate of Ares which had been sent off to China by the Preservers as a gift of good faith to Sun Chuanting, a Ming military leader attempting to crush a rebellion in China. Hayato attempted to stop the shipment and retrieve the Chestplate, however he failed and was subsequently captured by the Templars before being condemned to death. However, he was recused by an associate of Kenshin and managed to escape.
Following this, Hayato travelled to China and aided the Chinese Brotherhood in their support of Li Zischeng's campaign to overthrow the Ming dynasty.
A family broken[]
Hayato failed to assassinate Sun Chuanting during the Battle of Nanyang in 1642, his search continued well into 1643 where he would eventually encounter his father. After a brief moment of tension, the two ultimately realised their goals aligned and born of their curiosity with one another, the two elected to enter a temporary truce. Together, the pair tracked Sun to Tongguan in Shaanxi where Hayato would assassinate the Preserver general during the Battle of Tongguan. However, they learned that Sun had sent the Chestplate away, knowing that the Shun rebels were getting closer to overthrowing the Ming empire. The Assassin and Templar were set back to square one.
In 1644, Lonan received information that the Chestplate is currently within the possession of the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjan, another Preserver. As well as this, he also learns of an upcoming negotation between Li, Zhu and his ministers. Lonan and Hayato attend these negotiations but they eventually fall through with Li threatening to attack Beijing. The next day, Hayato and Lonan make their way to the palace during the attack in order to find out the location of the Chestplate before Zhu is killed. The pair come upon Zhu killing his family out of mercy and Hayato assassinates Zhu, preventing him from killing his daughter Princess Changpin. Hayato and Lonan inquire where the Chestplate is and learn that Zhu had hidden it, buried on a small hill beneath a pagoda tree in what would be the modern day Jingshan Park.
Making their way there, the pair recover the Chestplate but quickly realise that their truce has now ended. Lonan attempts to convince Hayato to abandon his loyalty to the Assassin cause but the son refuses to back down. Reluctantly, the two engage in a brief duel but Hayato manages to escape with the Chestplate and returns to Japan. During Hayato's voyage, Nobuyoshi orders an assault on the Hashimoto estate, killing Kenshin in the process. Upon returning to Japan, Hayato finds Kenshin's body. Devastated and angered by this loss, Hayato embarks on a revenge quest against the Templar Order for the next three years, weakening their ranks.
In 1645, Hayato assassinates Miyamoto Musashi and learns of the location of Lonan and Nobuyoshi. He also recovers evidence of the Templars' various schemes and attempts to depose the Tokugawa shogunate. During this time, Lonan and Nobuyoshi become aware that Hayato is hunting them and the Grand Master promptly sends his apprentice away, along with the Sword and Shield of Ares in order to carry on their plan of locating Isu shrines in Japan so they can harnass the full power of the Armor of Ares. Eventually, in 1646, Hayato notifies the Tokugawa shogunate of Nobuyoshi's treachery and they subsequently attack the Templars' main base of operations in search of him. During this attack, Hayato infiltrates the Templar base in search of Nobuyoshi and the two Armor pieces but instead encounters Lonan.
The two engage in a duel where Hayato successfully kills Lonan before moving on to search for Nobuyoshi. A year later, Aleria learns of the news of her son's death and passes away a few weeks later from broken heart syndrome - unaware of her grandson's existence or his involvement in Lonan's death.
Securing the Brotherhood's revival[]
In 1647, Hayato tracks down Nobuyoshi and confronts him within an Isu shrine in Bungo. Hayato kills the Templar Grand Master, deals a crippling blow to the Templar Order in Japan and following Nobuyoshi's, the Assassin retrieves the remaining two Armor pieces. Hayato spends the next five months, eliminating the Templar remnants in Japan - leaving them in a state of oblivion.
With his goal accomplished, Hayato realises that the power of the Armor was too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands and decides to hide them away. Hayato buries the three Armor pieces at the Hashimoto estate and what would become Tokyo and Kyoto by the 21st century. Following these events, Hayato would go on to revive the Japanese Brotherhood and marry a noblewoman, siring a daughter named Mei. By 1685, he would become Mentor to the Japanese Brotherhood which had since been restored to its former glory.
Legacy[]
The members of the Kavanagh family each had their own significant impacts on the Assassin-Templar War. Arthur's presence at the death of James O'Connor and Aleria Sinclair killing Mr. O'Connor unwittingly led to the creation of the Preservers of Humanity by Kieran O'Connor, which would become a consistent threat to the family for generations. Following his encounter with them in 1581, Arthur investigated and uncovered the existence of the Preservers of Humanity. Assassinating Kieran O'Connor, the Preservers' first leader, in 1587 led Arthur to discovering their goal to eliminate the Assassins and Templars with the Armor of Ares' memory manipulation properties. Arthur would then subsequently travel the world in search of the Armor of Ares in order to keep it from Preserver hands, and assassinate any members he came across in his travels. Arthur also uncovered a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I at the hands of the Preservers in 1585, he played a significant role in preventing it - allowing Elizabeth to reign for 28 more years.
Lonan's actions in Japan resulted in the destruction of the Japanese Brotherhood in 1619, allowing the Templar Order to have a more dominant presence in Japan for decades to come. Through this, Lonan also eliminated the Preserver presence within the Assassin Brotherhood when killing Ichiro. Lonan also successfully retrieved two pieces of the Armor of Ares for the Templars, the Shield and the Sword, in 1615 and 1619 respectively. His actions furthered the Templar goals of utilising the Armor of Ares' abilities in establishing their New World Order. In 1619, Lonan continued his father's work to search for the final piece of the Armor of Ares, and eliminate any Preservers of Humanity he encountered during his journeys. During the Siege of Osaka, Lonan aided the Assassins in supporting the Tokugawa shogunate in eliminating the Toyotomi clan.
Hayato was responsible for crippling the Templar influence in Japan by the end of 1647, directly undoing the work of his father several years prior and leaving the Templars to fall into a state of oblivion until 1868. Following this, Hayato reconstructed the Japanese Brotherhood recruiting and training several recruits which allowed it to rebuild its numbers and flourish well into the 21st century. In addition, Hayato fought in both the Shimabara Rebellion and the Shun rebellion against the Ming dynasty, he was responsible for the failure of the former and aided in the Shun's success against the Ming. Through allying with his father and assassinating the Ming Emperor, Hayato was able to recover the Chestplate of Ares in 1644 and later acquire the remaining two pieces by killing Kinoshita Nobuyoshi in 1647. Hayato would subsequently separate the three Armor pieces and hide them throughout Japan. This would keep the Armor of Ares from Templar and Preserver hands for the next four centuries, Hayato unwittingly accomplished what his grandfather had set out to do in 1587.
At some point, Hayato would marry a noblewoman and sire a daughter, Mei, carrying on the Kavanagh bloodline. Throughout the following centuries, the Kavanagh bloodline would prosper and eventually extend to Chen Xiu and her son Jin by the 21st century, becoming their last living descendants. At some point, both the modern day Templars and Preservers would learn of the Kavanagh family's repeated interactions with the Armor of Ares and sought out their descendants in order to locate the Armor's current resting place.
In 2022, the Assassins would catch wind of the Templars' interest in the Chen family and, having lost knowledge of the Preservers' existence, believed that the Kavanagh family had the answers to uncovering the Preservers' existence. Recruiting Jin, he would relive the genetic memories of Arthur, Lonan, and Hayato, re-discovering both the Preservers' and Armor of Ares' existence which allowed the Assassins to recover the three pieces and keep them out of the Templars and Preservers' hands.
Members[]
- Finn Kavanagh
- Katherine Kavanagh
- Thomas Kavanagh
- Arthur Kavanagh
- Ciara Kavanagh
- Aleria Sinclair-Kavanagh
- Rose Kavanagh
- Lonan Kavanagh
- Takao Hayato
- Mei