| Ruby Travers | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical information | |
| Born |
October 1739 |
| Died |
July 1776 (aged 36) |
| Political information | |
| Affiliations | |
| Appears in | |
Jackie Charlotte
- "Smugglers and murderers are neglected by the powers of society. We are being guarded, like a villain of the people. What would you call a Templar?"
- ―Ruby to lady Concord, telling her why she deserves to join the ranks of the Assassins
Ruby Travers was a LGBT Assassin, and one of four lieutenants in Caribbean that obeyed the Templar-turncoat lady Concord. She was the granddaughter of the former head of the Assassin bureau in Nassau: Upton Travers. As a lieutenant, Ruby was the overseer of the city of Nassau when the Assassins regained power in 1773 – after they lost it in 1770. But they lost it again to the Templars in 1776 when she was killed by Callum Kerr.
Biography[]
Early life[]
- "I have struggled to make my family proud, but it is never enoguh. I will be a disgrace in their eyes. "
- ―Ruby's journal, 1758
Being born outside of marriage by Upton's daughter, Ruby was soon trained in the ways of the Assassins by her mother and grandfather. The Assassins was in charge of the city, so Ruby had no limits. When Edward Kenway removed a group of outlaws in the early 1700s, the mansion was under no guard: since then it had served as the base of operations for the Brotherhood. Ruby was born and raised in these surroundings, and was expected to be the new master of Assassins – forcing to live up to a high expectations from her grandfather.
Upton's daughter was the result of a one night stand with a prostitute that died during childbirth. The daughter of Upton, Jackie, had carried Ruby with a drunkard that drowned short time after he became known with the fact of Ruby's existence. Forced to not be a failure in the eyes of God, Upton's granddaughter was married to a merchant that was loyal to the Assassins. Ruby fled her home when she became known with this fact. She refused to marry a man just because he was loyal to their cause – much to the anger and disappointment of Upton and Ruby's mother. Ruby fled Nassau at the age of 21 in 1760, vanishing from the records. With Ruby gone, her mother now needed to find another way to find a successor. Her mother, Jackie, chose to build a farm for her father on the other side of the New Providence island – giving him peace and an easy life at the end of his journey. Jackie built herself a brothel, and took the name Jackie Charlotte.
A new life[]
- "I have nothing left for my mother or grandpa. I was never good enough for them. Now they can pay: they will never see my face again in in the city of Nassau"
- ―Ruby's journal, 1760
Turning to the life of lawlessness, Ruby broke all ties with her family. Firstly, Ruby did not wanted her family to be involved in her breaking of the law – that much they deserved; secondly, Ruby wanted no contact with them either. She needed time to find out what she wanted. Her grandfather had got Jackie – Ruby's mother – outside of marriage, and Jackie had got Ruby outside of marriage too. Just since they had not got their children inside the eyes of God, Ruby needed to be married.
Ruby knew her grandfather had been a smuggler in his younger days. He had told her many times what he did for the sake of humans that needed money. He was a speciality wholesaler: he "found" resources that could be sold to the citizens of Havana through the salespersons. It was illegal, but the authorities at that time was too corrupted to help the normal people of Nassau. Ruby thought with herself: "I will be a smuggler. I can help people in need, by supplying them with what they need." But Ruby knew that helping Nassau in broad daylight, would lead Jackie directly to her – and she did not want that. Ruby hired a man to serve as her bookkeeper, and could organize the operations: he would serve as the face. So, if Jackie or Upton tired to locate her, they would end up with the bookkeeper.
But even if Ruby now lived as a smuggler – and lived at the edge of the law – she still wanted to aid the Assassins' cause. Therefore, Ruby used her time to attack ship that was under Templar influence and sent the goods to the bookkeeper's hideout in Nassau. He sold this goods to people on the black market; the money went to build an orphanage: children who was left by their parents – or felt them be controlling – could come to the orphanage. The bookkeeper had hired a woman named Lucy to take care of the children. The surplus from the black marketing was used on hired men and women to control the streets of Havana – and in this way protecting the citizens.
Josiah Cockram, Ruby's bookkeeper
When Ruby one day returned to Nassau in 1768 – there was some document's that needed Ruby, and the man that was to be delivered the papers needed to see Ruby in person – she approached the base of operations. She had disguised herself as a merchant when she saw a woman dressed as a prostitute. He had red hair, and flowers in her hair. Jackie stood in front of her. Her mother. Ruby asked Jackie what she did there. The bookkeeper answered instead: "I am terribly sorry. When she came in here, she asked me to be inducted into the Assassin Order. I thought she was you for a moment, and referred to her as – "
Jackie interrupted: "He thought I was you – my daughter. He referred to me as Ruby Travers. I knew he had some sort of contact with you now. And here you are." Jackie wanted to hug Ruby, but she refused to accept it. "I never want to see you, mother!" Jackie was stunned. Ruby continued: "You and grandpa wanted me to be married. You felt that I needed to not step where you had stepped wrong. So, I left. If you did not wanted me as I was – or what I would become – and trust me to take my own decisions, you did not deserved me – neither of you." Ruby told the bookkeeper to fetch the papers she had come to sign, then she continued teaching her mother: "I have been quite a success without your help, mother. I lead my own network, and we support the Assassins. Grandpa was a smuggler, so you can tell him I am carrying his legacy further." The bookkeeper came with the papers, and Ruby signed them. Before leaving the building, Jackie tried to talk sense to her daughter. On her way out, Ruby yelled: "I never want to see you again, mother! You stabbed me in the back – you did not defended your own daughter's rights to choose a husband. Goodbye … forever!"
When the man that was to collect the papers came into the shop, Jackie was still there. "I'm here to collect the papers, Mr. Cockram." The bookkeeper came with them. "Where are the boss? Did she signed these?" Jackie said: "I can endorse that Ruby was here, but she left."
Templars[]
- "I am a smuggler and Assassin. Accept me, or fear me."
- ―Ruby before killing a Templar victim
Still operating as a smuggler in the Caribbean, Ruby spent her time by exploring the seas and rob ships. She had left her life, and lived like she wanted: she acted like a pirate. It would soon be time for her to get her a family of her own, but that never happened. Ruby had seen her mother in Nassau in 1768, and in early August 1770 Ruby got a letter from her bookkeeper:
To Ruby Travers
It hurts me to tell you this, but I am the only one who knows where you are. Your mother, Jackie Charlotte has passed away. She did not die in her bed with nurses taking care of some sort of illness. No, she died by the hand of a woman of Order. And you know what I mean, not an Assassin, but a Templar. The woman's name was unknown, but she was just as skilled as an Assassin – meaning that she possibly was an Assassin turncoat. I have arranged with the burial, so all you need to do is come back to Nassau. Deliver your last respects to your mother. Your grandfather, Upton Travers, does also much likely not have long to live either. Solve your family-problems.
– JC, your bookkeeper
Ruby chose to destroy the letter. Her ties with the family was destroyed, and she did not wanted to restore it either. Her mother backstabbed her, her grandfather saw her as a disgrace. Ruby therefore decided to close the chapter named Travers. She hired another man that could act in her stead in any case that needed her to go to Nassau. Ruby spent her time by attacking ships that was under Templar influence. When she did not did this, she operated from her own bureau in Mariguana Island. From the bureau, Ruby made sure the Creed's enemies was eliminated. Even if she did not wanted to have more with her family to do, that did not meant she could not try to make an honorable cause proud of her. She targeted people like the Spanish Templar Margarida Estanyol and her associates to get the Creed to new highs.
Templar Admiral
When Ruby one day boarded a fleet that was under Templar influence, she killed the Templar Admiral. The Admiral could reveal that people like Ruby would not last long in Cairbbean. The Templar Rite in New Orleans had hired a woman named lady Concord to hunt down the Assassins. She had an army supported by the soon-to-be Grand Master Madeleine de Bullion, so taking her down would not be easy. Ruby wanted more information, but the Admiral spit in her face and laughed himself to death. A letter on his person revealed that the Admiral answered to a man named Jean-Baptiste de Orpheus. Fleeing the fleet of the Templar Admiral – a storm was approaching the battlefield – Ruby and her associates decided to spend their time in locate de Orpheus. Ruby now spent the time by tracking down her new enemy. She had no idea that the Templar Order now had started the event to be known as the Purge of Assassins.
The Lady and the Hunter[]
- "I have fled from my past, now I want to – I need to – face it."
- ―Ruby's journal, 1772
In 1772, Ruby and her associates still not had managed to kill de Orpheus. Instead they had lost close allies to the Assassin cause. All of them had been murdered by the Templar Eric Rackham – a descendant Jack Rackham. Philippe de Bullion, Claude Chevalier, Edward Read, Mr. Thomas and Carlos Blanc was all men that had supported them or had been Assassins themselves. Ruby therefore tasked her two supporters, her bookkeeper and her advisor to track down the Templar. This never happened however. He was always protected by the hand of Templars. He was always beyond their reach. With the death of Claude Dimanche later that year, the remains of the Brotherhood was stunned. No one managed to find out who the killer was, but she had a strong feeling it was lady Concord. Even though she had never seen her, Ruby imagined Concord to be a madwoman dressed in all black – something like the Assassin turncoat Shay Cormac. Ruby sent a letter to her sister in the Brotherhood: Delaware Dinsmore. Dinsmore needed to be aware of this Concord – she would most likely kill Dinsmore just as she got the chance.
In 1773, Ruby and her associates was been known with the fact that lady Concord was a Templar turncoat. Songui, a high-ranked Assassin, wanted to test Concord in her loyalty. He could tell during a meeting between the two and the Taínos, that Concord had truly turned from the Assassins. He had accepted her in 1772, but Ruby refused to belive it until 1773. She wanted to test Concord's loyalty: she had killed her mother, Jackie. So, Ruby went back to Nassau to get rid of Eric Johnson – a high-ranked Templar that was a friend of Margarida Estanyol. She knew that Margarida's brother was a turncoat of the Assassins, and patrolled the fort in Nassau – and he needed to be removed, also with Johnson.
Lady Concord in her Assassin robes
Meeting lady Concord in a provisional camp in the swamps of Nassau, Ruby was surprised to meet Concord. She was dressed in Assassin robes, and with the accessories of one too. Surprised by this fact, Ruby felt herself attracted to her – not only that Concord came so prepared, but also by her charm and looks. Concord had arrived in Nassau with a man she presented as Condor Apito. The two Assassins shaked hands, and they returned to the tent of Ruby. Here they lay a plan to infiltrate the fort and kill Eric Johnson. Inside the tent, Ruby presented her second-in-command to Concord and Apito: William du Môtiers. After the usual presentations, it was time to lay plans. Whilst the mercenaries Ruby had hired would attack the gates of the fort, the Assassins would crawl up towards the northern tower. From here, Ruby and Condor was to locate and kill Margarida's brother, El Cazador. Meanwhile, lady Concord would get down to the barracks in the central part of the fort: There she would kill Eric Johnson. William interrupted by saying that after James Puckle had invenvted the Puckle gun, the fort in Nassau had four of these: two at the gates, one in the northern tower, and one in the southern part of the fort. This meant that in order that the soldiers was not to use these guns on the mercenaries, Ruby and Condor needed to destroy these. Meanwhile, Concord would take out the one on the southside. When this was done, Condor would hide while Ruby would go back to the tower and use the Puckle gun. When she gave the sginal – lifting her hand, signalizing she was ready – Condor would use a grenade to destroy the gates. In this way, the mercenaries would get inside – led by William. Condor would fight off snipers while Ruby would use the Puckle gun to shoot on El Cazador, Margarida's brother. When Condor was done with the snipers, he would help the forces on the ground, aiding William.
The following day, the Assassins made their way to the fort. They parted with William du Môtiers and began to sneak aside of the wall, killing each soldier that was patrolling with their hidden blades. Killing the snipers at the northern tower, Ruby loaded the Puckle gun and made herself ready to fire. She saw El Cazador talking to some soldiers, learning them how to use the hidden blade: he tried to make some Assassin-skilled soldiers himself – but that would not last for long. When the Puckle gun was ready, she and Condor made their way to the Puckle guns at the gate. They sabotaged these, and Ruby made her way back to the tower. Meanwhile, Lady Concord and Condor eliminated the snipers. When Ruby was ready, she gave the signal. Condor ran back to the gate, leaving Concord to take out the remaining snipers. Condor took a grenade from his belt and threw it on the ground, in front of the gates. With a boom, the hired mercenaries and their leader ran into the fort. Lady Concord used this opportunity to go into the barracks. Soldiers ran to the Puckle guns, trying to shoot the mercenaries. When they tried to fire, the Puckle guns exploded into the soldiers' face.
A shadow killed one of the mercenaries. Ruby saw El Cazador using his hidden blades to kill his enemies. She aimed her Puckle gun to fire at El Cazador. The moment before she was to fire, Ruby heard a trapdoor open. She ignored it, but was shot in the shoulder for that. This resulted in that when she was to fire at El Cazador, the shot hit the wall. El Cazador saw where the shot came from and began to crawl up the tower. Ruby drew her axe and ran up to the soldier that had came. Behind him come two brutes and a captain. Approaching the soldier, Ruby used her axe to split his head. Whilst the body fell to the ground, Ruby grabbed the soldier's pistol and aimed for one of the brutes. The bullet went through the head of the man. The captain ordered the second brute to attack Ruby, and so he did. The Assassin grabbed the brute on the belt that was wrapped aorund his torso, and threw him behind her. The brute fell to the ground, and Ruby threw her axe, wounding the soldier in his spine. When she turned, the captain had drew his pistol and shot towards Ruby. She waited for the shot. The captain's hand was shaking – afraid of missing. He shot. Ruby went to the left. The bullet went past her. She grabbed the brute's axe. Turned to the captain. She hooked his legs. The captain fell. The axe went down. Blood was spilled.
Ruby rose from the corpse of the British captain. He blood ran like a river all the way to a pair of boots in leather. Ruby saw up on the well-dressed Assassin-turncoat El Cazador. He pulled down his hood, and showed Ruby his face. He spoke on broken English: "I want you to see my face when you die, Asesino." El Cazador ejected his hidden blades, and ran up to Ruby. Ruby lifted the axe. El Cazador understood what she was going to do, so he took the blade and made ready to stab Ruby in the head. She blocked with the axe. Ruby used the foot to hook El Cazador. The turncoat saw the axe coming down, and he rolled away. When Ruby hit the rock, El Cazador stabbed her in the arm. The woman screamed in pain. The man grabbed the axe and swung it towards Ruby – who had fallen some steps behind. The Assassin jumped behind, and the turncoat swung anew. This time Ruby fell to the ground, avoiding the axe. She grabbed the sword of the fallen soldier and sliced the El Cazador's trousers. The man lost his weapon and took to the wound. He snapped quick out of it however. Ruby ran towards El Cazador. He was to eject the hidden blade, but then he remembered that he had lost for some past moments. Therefore he went down to the ground and rolled away the sword from Ruby. She was angry that her enemy managed to flee her attacks, and decided to grab the hidden blade El Cazador had used. She ran to the weapon and spinned around with it. She threw it into the chest of her attacker, and he fell to his knees. Ruby dropped the sword, and grabebd her personal axe from the soldier she had killed earlier. She put it back in her belt and walked up to the turncoat. El Cazador knew he had lost. The blade was stuck in his chest, and must have hit one of his lungs. He was in no condition to fight anymore. Ruby stopped before her attacker and sat down on her knees. Ruby said on English: "I hope you find peace now, senior." She kissed El Cazador on the mouth. Despite the fact he just had tried to murder her, Ruby now saw that El Cazador would be a perfect husband for her. Whilst they kissed, Ruby took the blade out of the Templar's chest and sliced his throat.
- El Cazador: "My sister always knew we two would end in battle."
- Ruby: "It seems so, but now it is time to lay down your head and rest, my love."
- El Cazador: "But I have yet so much to achieve; so much to discover; so much to do for the Templar Order."
- Ruby: "You should have done it before you arrived in Nassau."
- El Cazador: "So it seems. What a pity. We had so much untold."
- Ruby: "Indeed. We had."
El Cazador succumbed to his wound.
- Ruby: "Know your actions this day have made a soldier out of a run-away smuggler. Thank you."
Ruby closed the eyes of El Cazador, leaving the area. As a memory of him, she took his hidden blades to suit as her own belongings.
Returning to the battlefield, Ruby joined forces with Condor and William. The two men was covered all in blood. The British military was outnumbered and the commander of the fort ran to the flag pole to raise the white flag. His troops surrendered, and the mercenaries yelled in joy. With the battle over, the commander came down to the Assassins. Ruby could not see any trace that he belonged to the Templar Order when he gave his goodbyes to lady Concord – whom had much blood on her arm with the hidden blade. The commander and his soldiers left the fort, leaving for the harbor. They all left with a brig, never to return. Ruby told the mercenaries to celebrate. Lady Concord summoned Condor, William and Ruby. All four went into the barracks. The body of a man lay outside, and Concord never wanted to mention someone to get rid of the body – Ruby did that.
Inside the building, lady Concord told the Assassins that she was responsible for the death of several Assassins and their allies during the Purge. She had chose to leave the Templars for the reason that they wanted peace through control, and the Assassins wanted freedom through guarding the humanity. Now, as an Assassin, Concord wanted to be accepted by the other Assassins, and wanted to know if they trusted her enough to have a part of the Assassin Order.
- Condor: "Aye."
- William: "Aye."
- Ruby: "Aye."
At some point later, Ruby traveled to Great Inagua to swear her allegiance to Concord as the new Assassin Mentor, so did the rest of the Caribbean Assassins.
Death[]
In 1776, the truth that Concord was an Assassin, came forth to the Templars. The Grand Master Madeleine de Bullion. Ruby was afraid of that the Templars would destroy the little the Assassins had managed to rebuild. The Templars had almost full control of Caribbean already, but not entirely. Ruby and her associates knew it was only a matter of time before the Templars would make Concord pay for her crimes. Under a meeting between Ruby, Condor, lady Concord, Dinsmore, Songui and Eric Rackham – the last-mentioned had joined in 1773 – there was discussed what to do. It was a fact that Madeleine needed acolytes to bring the Assassins to their knees. The Assassins needed to stay a low profile if they wanted to keep what they had built. So, Dinsmore was to keep the Templars occupied in Havana; Songui was to make the different Taíno-tribes to stay their blade from the high-ranked Templars; Condor needed to recollect the Apple of Eden that was lost to Jeanne de Orpheus in 1774, and bring it to Ruby; Ruby was to escort people and objects out of the Caribbean – important allies or puppets needed to stay alive. Ruby was tasked to bring the Apple of Eden to Mentor Claudette de la Vérendrye of the Canadian Brotherhood – the Templars had still not get foothold up there.
Still operating from the bureau on the island of Mariguana Island was soon informed of the death of her friend and bookkeeper: Josiah Cockram. He had been on his way to a meeting when some new-established Templars had beaten him to his death. The Assassin guarding over Nassau – William du Môtiers – was unaware of the Templars, and immediately began a hunt after them. William had told this in person to Ruby – and this was the last time they saw each other. Ruby's advisor, Frederic Johnson, lived with her in the bureau. This made them grow a close relationship, which took a quick end when the bureau was attacked in July 1776.
Some smugglers had just arrived on the island, and they had executed some transactions when Frederic come and told he had spotted a ship with blue sails with French lilies approaching. It sailed under the French flag and Templar flag. He did not know if the ship was friendly or enemy, but Ruby knew. She told the smugglers that the meeting was over, and that they needed to flee the island. She would meet them in Tulum the next month if she managed to escape. The smugglers did not understood, but they did not wanted to leave. They wanted to stay by her side. If she was to be killed, the smugglers did not wanted just to go to another employer. Ruby and Frederic made their way to the giant rock that was on the island. From here, they could use the new-installed canon to fire at the enemy's crew when they docked.
Callum Kerr
When the Gazelle docked at the island, the crew was led by a man dressed in brow robes and a green hat. Frederic found the outfit strange, but Ruby knew that was the outfit of the Templar that had killed the American Assassin Roderick Roberts – a man that was like a reincarnation of the Creed. Ruby and Frederic had told the smugglers to hide themselves until they saw the canon ball. Ruby gave the order to fire – and wanted to kill the Templar, so the canon was pointed on him. The sound alerted the Templar, and he avoided the ball. The smugglers knew this was the signal, and ran from their hiding spots. Ruby wanted to kill this man. The past few months, messages of the death of the other Assassin-lieutenants was killed; and all of them was killed by this Templar: Callum Kerr. So Ruby ejected her hidden blade, and used parkour to get down from the rock to the beach.
Ladning on the sand, Ruby used her hidden blade to some crew-members of the Gazelle, before approaching Callum Kerr – who just now killed another one of Ruby's smugglers. When he saw her waiting for him, Kerr did not hesitated. He drew his weapons and ran towards Ruby. He threw his dirk at her. She on the other hand stepped to the right, and the dirk made it's way into the bole of the tree behind her. Ruby drew her axe and was ready to deliver the deathblow by leading it into Kerr's neck. Instead, Kerr used his pistol to shoot Ruby in the shoulder. The Assassin did not expect it, and was wounded. Falling to the ground, Ruby saw Kerr walking up to her, ready to end her miserable life. But he did not get there. Frederic had come from the rock and now he used a pistol to shoot Kerr in the leg. When Frederic approached Kerr, the two was rolling a few meters from Ruby. Frederic tried to choke Kerr, but the Templar used his hidden blade to stab the smuggler in the throat. Ruby was filled with new anger: her family had backstabbed her, her fellow-Assassins was killed, her close relations was removed. Ruby rose from her place and grabbed her axe anew. When Kerr saw Ruby running towards her, he fired the pistol at her again: her leg. She moved on. Her arm. She moved on. The stomach. She moved on. The shoulder. She moved on. Kerr had no more shots left. Just as much as Ruby did not have any powers left …
Relationships[]
Family[]
The Travers-family
(mother)
(father)
Purge-Assassins[]
Assassins that Ruby knew and worked with during the Caribbean Purge.
The Follower
(lieutenant)
Templars[]
Enemies of Ruby that was Templars.
(Assassin)
(enemy)
(target)
(nemesis)
(Grand Master)
Others[]
People that stood Ruby close in some way.
(bookkeeper)
(advisor)
(second-in-command)
Trivia[]
- Ruby Travers' bookkeeper, Josiah Cockram, carries the name of the pirate hunters Josiah Burgess and John Cockram.
- Ruby Travers' advisor, Frederic Johnson, shares the last name with a Templar named Eric Johnson. Despite their similar names, Frederic relation to Eric - if any exists - is unknown.
- The only thing that hints to Ruby's sexual orientation as bisexual is when she first meeting lady Concord in Nassau in 1773. She says she feels attracted to her. But she kisses El Cazador, meaning that she was also attracted to men.
- The name Travers comes from English and French place name that described a person who lived near a bridge or ford, or occasionally as an occupational name for the collector of tolls at such a location. The place name is derived from Old French traverser (which comes from Late Latin transversare), which means "to cross".