| Kieran O'Connor | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical information | |
| Born |
16 January 1561 |
| Died |
11 April 1587 (aged 26) |
| Political information | |
| Affiliations |
House of O'Connor |
| Real-world information | |
| Appears in | |
Kieran O'Connor (1561 - 1587) was an Irish noble and a member of the British Rite of the Templar Order, as well as the founder of the Preservers of Humanity - serving as its Lord, a title held for the leader of the Preservers, in the late 16th century up until his death.
Biography[]
Born into wealth, Kieran was the youngest son of the House of O'Connor, an Irish noble family based in Waterford, Ireland - they were also Templars. Kieran harbored a close relationship with his older brother of 3 years and was devastated when the boy passed away in 1570 from drowning.
As told by his father, Kieran believed that a commoner boy and James' best friend, Arthur Kavanagh, was responsible for the death of James. Because of this, he developed a disdain for Kavanagh and common folk, holding the belief that the two classes should not interact with each other. As well as this, Kieran harbored a resentment toward both Kavanagh and his father since the latter spent the formutive years of Kieran's life dedicated to hunting down Kavanagh and his family, who fled to England. Kieran instead believed that him and his father should have been spending time together, working through their grief.
During this time, he was also being groomed to join the Templar Order which culminated in his official induction in 1577. That same year, he learned his father died at the hands of an Assassin after he had travelled to England to kill Kavanagh. Kieran was wracked with grief from losing both of his loved ones and quickly developed a hatred for the Assassin Brotherhood. Over time, Kieran would also grow disillusioned with Templar ideals, disagreeing with their methods of achieving world peace through domination. Kieran held firm the idea that humanity should simply be left alone.
This would lead to Kieran formulating the idea of opposing and interfering with both Assassin and Templar matters. He decided to remain a Templar so he could maintain his connections as well as remain up to date on their plans and goals. Kieran would eventually meet the ex-Assassin Ewan who would go on to become his first recruit and later right hand man. Over time, Kieran would also recruit likeminded individuals who were against the Assassins and Templars. Before he knew it, he had an entirely new organisation to lead - the Preservers of Humanity.
Prior to 1581, Kieran learned of the existence of a Piece of Eden dubbed the Armor of Ares which was said to be able to manipulate the memories of others on a global scale. Learning that the Templars had planned on using it to assert Templars as global rulers, Kieran devised a plan of his own - to locate this armor and use it to purge the Assassins and Templars.
When the Templars had located an armor piece, the Shield, in Hampshire, Kieran dispatched a group to retrieve it. After successfully doing so, he kept the Shield locked away in one of his homes and decided it would be safer elsewhere. This led to the idea of expanding the Preservers influence in different countries. But before doing this, he had a fellow Templar Edmund Campion framed for treason as he was investigating the Preservers and had grown too close to figuring them out.
Kieran personally attended Campion's execution on 1 December 1581 before travelling to France to expand the Preservers influence. Kieran spent several months there and recruited many members there, including the Prince Vincenzo Gonzaga. During this time he learned of two Assassins that were also investigating the Preservers and had already found out too much about their organisation. Kieran learned that one of these Assassins was none other than Arthur Kavanagh, seeing this as an opportunity to enact vengeance he had Gonzago, Ewan and other Preservers kill the Scottish Assassin James Crichton and pin the murder on Kavanagh. As well as this, he also pinned a "plot to assassinate Vincenzo Gonzaga" on him too.
Kavanagh was defeated and captured by Ewan before being transported to a dungeon in Italy. It was there when Kieran made his existence known to Kavanagh, revealing what the Preservers were and why he formed the group. Kieran did this, taking pleasure that Kavanagh would die with this knowledge not being able to relay it to his Assassin brothers. Despite Kieran's wish to see Kavanagh dead, the Kavanagh was freed by his fellow Assassins before he could reach trial in 1583.
In 1585, Kieran and other high ranking Preservers formulated a plan to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England who had become an ally of the Assassins. Kieran deemed it too dangerous for the Assassins to have someone with such power in their corner. Despite this though, his plot was foiled by Arthur Kavanagh and Aleria Sinclair in 1586.
At some point prior to 1587, Kieran had the Shield of Eden sent to Japan for safekeeping, having recruited some followers there as well.
By 1587, Kieran had planted seeds across Europe and even parts of Asia for the Preservers' expansion. Kieran set his sights for the New World and prepared to sail there alongside Ewan in April of that year, however he was tracked down by Kavanagh. After a lengthy chase which culminated inside of an abandoned warehouse, Kieran was assassinated by Kavanagh.
However, the Preservers expanded to such a point where it was able to grow beyond Kieran. Even in death, his work would be continued by thousands of likeminded souls.
Trivia[]
- Kieran is a boy's name of Irish origin and the Anglicized spelling of the Gaelic surname “O'Ciarán” (pronounced o keer-awn). Kieran means “little dark one” or “black-haired.” The irony here is is that Kieran was a redhead. O'Connor is an Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó Conchobhair (descendant of Conchobar "lover of hounds").