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The following pitch is a direct sequel to my previous one, Assassin's Creed Imperium. Armada is set, animus wise, in the Age of Discovery, in the Portuguese Empire, when it became the first global empire in the history of the world, a feat achieved irl with templar money and agents.
This story also continues the story of the vigilante/assassin Sara, which you can read the first part in the same linked post. It will help understand this sequel's modern day narrative.
PROLOGUE: 16th century.
David's ship returning from India
Leading said ship is our main character, David, a young but already experienced sailor and comander and ship captain due to early training in his life. He joined the Armada not specifically for love of country but for love of exploration.
He is not a lazy man, he intends to seek and to explore beyond his borders. Despite that, joining the heavily authoritarian and hierachical naval military was not his main wish, for his desire was to get a ship of his own and explore the known and unknown world.
The ship is attacked by pirates and we have to fend them off. A bit of action and to learn the naval combat and movements. Nothing major.
David arrives in his hometown of Lisbon.
ASSASSIN'S CREED ARMADA INTRO PLAYS
Renaissance Lisboa
MODERN DAY PART 1
Modern Day starts with Sara, the modern day character sitting in front of a psychologist. But there's more to this. Screen cuts to black and we return to the classic modern day experience.
After the events of Imperium, Sara, a vigilante now turned assassin and with fantastic animus skill retention, after experiencing the life of her ancestor Sirius, a roman hidden one, she is now in the meantime hunting down Abstergo agents and becoming a better assassin.
Together with Shaun and Rebecca, providing support, she now has considerably more means to track down and target templars.
After the events of Imperium she decides to further research her lineage. She goes back in the animus and activates a DNA chain that we are following.
But I'd like to divide modern day in two timelines: The present, NOW, that is whats happening now, after the story ended. And the MODERN DAY PROPER: The classic modern day experience, with waking up from the animus and going on missions. In essence, it's a flashback. I think you will understand eventually why i choose two timelines..
NOW: Sara is sitting in front of a psychologist. She wants to unburden herself and starts talking about assassins and templars and her role in that fight. By now the reader must think wtf she's gonna tell her the secrets of the assassins?
MODERN DAY PROPER : Sara gets into the animus to learn more about her lineage and explores the life of David, a portuguese sailor and commander in the 1500s.
Sara taking down a templar guard, with her classic assassin hoodie
ACT 1
As David arrives he is ordered to attend a meeting with King Manuel I and his most trusted military general Afonso de Albuquerque, aka Caesar of the East. Trusted now...This was mainly due to Afonso Albuquerque's influence in the royal court as he was David's mentor in the Armada and, just like Manuel I, a high ranking Templar in the national order.
Arriving in Lisbon
David, in normal circumstances, would attend such reunion accompanied by plenty of other soldiers, to be honored by the king, but his close relationship to Albuquerque, as his protegee, grants him an audience with the king to discuss the recent developments in the Indian Ocean.
It becomes clear in this meeting that the task of holding a global empire is much more suited, on a purely utilitarian way, to Afonso, than the king himself. The true power of the Empire was constructed by the armada general
David is praised by the king and he exits the reunion with Afonso who tells him to later meet him in his house.
David has little patience for royal audiences
In this first act, we get to meet David's friends and get to know him even more and the city. This first few missions reflect the vibrancy of the city. "Chaos, culture, it all happens inside this walled city. Lisbon only asks one thing of us, one thing only. To be truly available to experience it all," David says.
David is a man of intense curiosity and luscious desire to experience life. As such he displays a natural aptitude for the arts. Painting, reading, philosophy. But to paint the world isn't enough, he had to live it, hence training to be a sailor and eventually reaching commander, albeit this last part by accident.
He nonetheless displays some inflammatory tendencies such as a not so soft proto-atheism, or (a?)gnosticism. In truth, he's a rather obsessive person. He needs to dull his thoughts with educational things, with discovery or he will be destroyed by them.
David then meets with Afonso in his own house. Afonso tells him he's been "ordered" by the king to go to India and expand the empire. In truth, Afonso is quite glad he's leaving Lisbon and going to where the action is.
The trade routes are still up for grabs and they're vital for the finances of the nation. That said, he mentions how there are other goals for his voyage to India connected to occult templar issues.
He mentions his disapointment in David's refusal to join the Templars when invited, despite knowing the inner workings of the order and its purpose. But David is far to much of a freedom lover to accept that. Joining the Armada to please his family was too much effort already.
He loved the breath air of the sea in his face. Just not the hierachical nature of the Armada, which was heavily Templar controlled.
Afonso is more of a father to him than his own but he is also more cold. He condemns David's lust for the unnatached adventures he intends to seek, knowing he could be so much more than a simple armada commander.
He tells him how the only thing that matters is the Empire. Not personal glory. Not family. Not petty ambitions. The empire. They could build a dynasty that would last a thousand years or collapse, like the Romans did. He wants David to become the man he can be, not later but now.
As the player progresses in the city, David realizes how much it has changed. The global capital is now actively persecuting people openly. The inquisition is burning so called atheists and agnostics by the thousands. And David was one of them...a man of the arts, he was always more interested in the naturalistic explanations for the world than those provided by authority.
Eventually tho, David starts to cause too much problem. He starts helping people persecuted by the state and he becomes an annoyance to the royal guard. He liberates slaves. He helps the poor. The interesting thing is that he keeps denying its for social purposes.
He claims these to be happy accidents. Of course they aren´t. Deep down he isn´t the irresponsible man he can be at times. He is an empathetic character, that reminds me of Bayek. The situation reaches its peak when he tries to stop an inquisition burning.
David taking down templar guards
With Afonso de Albuquerque now in India, and the King being jealous of his success, and knowing power rests on those who own it, not claim it, he decides to take revenge on his protegee who had been giving him all the reasons the king needed.
The guards arrest him. They tell him he no longer has Afonso's protection to protect him now. He is also accused of heresey for his past atheistic admissions and his love of the arts and painting is considered to be sinful since it was not for the glory of God.
The templars hold a tight grip over the city. David manages however to escape. He talks with his friends about what can be done. Having been friends for long, and also members of the provocateur art industry, his mates are also being targeted by the templars.
The situation is more developed but essentially, this is a full on man hunt on anything that could essentially defy religion. A friend of his suggest they join the assassins. But David's intention is to leave the country, not devote himself body and soul to a monastic order.
He decides it's time to recruit a crew and steal a ship. He manages to capture and steal a ship and he then escapes the city and goes to India. He goes back to India because he had fond memories from his time there with the Armada, despite already showing objection to the colonization.
MODERN DAY PART 2
MODERN DAY PROPER: Sara can take her time outside of the animus if you want. And investigate templar activities in a mini mini mini open world in Lisbon, HQ of the assassins
NOW: Sara continues to talk to the psychologist. She talks about how she used to work for Abstergo. She confesses she used to suffer from (chronic) pain. She sent her job curriculum to Abstergo to work in Animus Research because the thought of reviewing memories sounded amazing but her health prospects provided a challenge.
She got rejected at first but immediatly got a job offer from them, rescinding their previous denial, which was surprising to her. They even offered her a cure for her problem, unnafordable to her pockets but not for Abstergo. She accepted and after she was cured she went to work to the animus research division. Too good to be true
ACT 2
Arriving in Goa
David has arrived in Goa. But not before making some stops, fully realizing now the extent of the grip the Empire had in Asia. He considers the possibility that he should at least give fair warning to the brotherhood of assassins of upcoming plans of the empire.
But he doesn´t intend to do more. He just wants to be fully free. But he can´t deny a sense of morality in him that compels him to do the right thing, like then..
He commences his investigation into the brotherhood of Goa, by performing local tasks and trading favor for favor until he finally gets the location of their hidden base. He goes there and he meets the assassins. He explains his story until then. For someone trying to deny his more empathetic, kind side, he sure goes through a lot of trouble to help people he never met before.
With the info he provided the assassins being true and the effect of his good actions towards the city, It becomes fully clear he's just trying to help the people there.
At his own pace tho. He is not an assassin, for now, but he will aid them as they will help as well. Every assassin in the bureau is tasked with specific tasks. David is, however, still very much green in his sense of responsability for now.
He stumbles into responsability due to his own inner deep will to do good and to recognize it.
There are now fundamentally two lines of narrative. David as time goes on gets deeply engrossed in Goa's life, and by extension the assassin brotherhood (being just an ally) just like other India regions as he explores the country in search of the second narrative main quest line:
to uncover the truth about the mysterious goal Afonso mentioned. This too however lacked the sense of urgency a mission like that requires. His focus was more on adventure. But this would change.
As a result of him helping assassins at times, David is confronted in these lands with the Portuguese Empire. Old friends he had now become his enemies. And he witnesses the birth of a true global power as Afonso continues to expand the conquests in Asia.
Goa, however, is the real prize and David knows this. He warns the templars this might be the next step for the Empire. They must protect the city.
Afonso de Albuquerque was a terror of the Oceans. Not only an extraordinary leader, also a great fighter
Quest by quest, David would become a more sympathetic freedom fighter of the Indian Ocean, along with his assassin friends and portuguese friends sympathetic to the anti empire cause. The former irresponsible man was turning into the principled man Afonso always believed he could be. Just on different teams..
His memories of a loving gigantic Lisbon now replaced by the eternal forests and blue beaches of India. The years would pass as David dismantles operations of the Empire and continues to seek information about the hidden goals of the Templars, beyond simple expansion.
While Sirius, the roman hidden one, in Imperium, was a man consumed by his hatred of the natural world, David is a man deeply innebriated by it. Civilization to him means a great deal. The idea of an empire envolving millions of creeds and people does not hurt his ego, as he was also respectful of culture and humanity's natural desire of freedom.
But the reality of the oppressing regimes, constituting around the world would intensily touch a nerve for him. A nerve that would motivate him to fight for everything and everyone to be able to experience the world has he has in the past.
An oister at the disposition of man, willing to be enjoyed, amidst its recurrent flaws. Despite all, he's an optimist. He wishes everyone looked at the world with his joy. To recognize its beauty. Money never interested him much. His passion was discovery and humanity..
But it is time to meet Afonso again. He too goes on a journey of his own. Afonso is the true mastermind behind the Empire. He believes he who enacts military power has the power. A king is nothing but a glorified paper pusher. And he holds the entire Armada at his hands.
He also believes a true man is a man that gets his hands dirty. That gains the respect of his men. This is how civilization flourishes. By leading example.
Afonso's philosophy
In a way, him and David are two sides of the same coin. Both are natural, charismatic leaders. Both deeply value civilization and despise chaotic anarchy. But they differ in how they believe peace should be achieved and they differ, essentially, on the role of culture in society.
David is immersed in it, having the mind and soul of an artist and appreciating other cultures while Afonso believes culture is a justification to war. If yours is better, you should enforce it. A pure means for violence.
That said, Afonso is not someone that ignores the cruelty of his actions. In fact, deep down he knows he is a bad man, tho he believes he is fighting for an ultimate peaceful goal that will render his actions justifiable. But until then, his actions are abhorrent.
And if he does not achieve his goail, they will remain perpetually abhorrent. He knows that. He doesn´t hide from that like most cliche villains do. But he also believes that civilization only progresses if men do the things other men cannot.
As a believer in God, he feels he is sacrificing his own soul in order for others to experience a better world in the far future, as a result of his actions. He feels this is the highest form of sacrifice. To sacrifice your humanity for the improvement of the world's future, by force if necessary.
And as David would continuosly undermine the Empire, Afonso would be enraged. Because if his cruel actions do not achieve his intended desire, then his soul will beforever damned. They would have been for nothing.
But how do we know all this? Because Afonso and David would finally meet. They'd talk about all this again. This time David wouldn´t hold back, No longer was the protegee afraid to say his mind absent of shame, to his old military mentor.
Afonso would nonetheless display one first and final sign of care towards his former apprentice, He'd tell him he received news of his reputation being destroyed back in Lisbon and he assures him he had nothing to do with that. He sympathizes. He tells him men of principle shall never taste the feeling of acceptance.
Afonso asks David to apologize to the Empire for his recent actions against it. That he wil intercede in his behalf and save him from the death penalty. David answers simply but bluntly. "This war ends when the Empire grants me their forgiveness". They shake hands, knowing they part as enemies.
Afonso talking about him and David
MODERN DAY PART 3
MODERN DAY PROPER: Sara once again exits the animus. She talks to Rebecca and Shaun. They ask if she's feeling fine. She says yes. Phiscially she is telling the truth. But emotionally, not so much. Her actions in Imperium are taking its toll. Yes, she did what she had to do. But she also destroyed a facility to escape. How many people were there. How many innocents did she kill?
NOW: She continued talking about her past with the psych. She got cured by Abstergo. And she started working on the animus research project. It was here she understood, she wasn´t playing memories obtained by Abstergo.
The DNA was her own, her ancestors. She was being used. As soon as she realized this, she tried to escape. Abstergo wouldn´t let her. With the skills learned in the animus she managed to flee...Started to investigate Abstergo and found that corruption and deceit was the norm.
The fact that she had assassin lineage shocked her too back then.. She decided to become a vigilante, with the help of the obtained skills, learn more of her past and take down Abstergo.
By now the player is wondering if she has lost her mind, telling everything to a simple psychiatrist in the present.
ACT 3
It would now be Afonso's turn to go on the attack against the assassins and David. He would systematically hunt down members of the brotherhood as he prepared to attack Goa, the final step to solidify the Empire's claims in India.
Weakening the Armada
David continues his search for the hidden goals by chasing down rumors and wandering amidst lies and partial truths. Finally, a hint. The true goal for the planned invasion of the city of Goa might be an hidden temple within it protected by the assassins.
David asks the assassins about the temple. They claim to be the protectors of it. They, for long, denied its existence. They trust David now, even tho he met with the enemy and let him live (they do not know this. This is to show David's ocasional hypochrisy. He is a flawed man). This must be what Afonso seeks.
Months later and the Empire is ready to attack Goa. They know the portuguese armada is the strongest in the world. But they will hold Goa. They must. The assassins must hold.
Hours before the battle. Tense environment in the Island... the troops are ready to fight the Empire. Soldiers and assassins, sing before as they drink. They look to the sea, waiting for the ships to appear in the horizon.
The mentor of the brotherhood goes to talk with David. He tells him that he is not their saviour. That they dont need an outsider to save them. But he has been their friend. And for that he is thankful for everything he has done.
And for that, if he wants to, he can become an assassin. David recites the creed in the presence of grateful friends, just as he is grateful. For taking in an outsider from the nation that attempts to colonize them. He is now an assassin, albeit he has a long journey ahed of him.
And the war for Goa begins. WIth Indian forces being decimated
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David vs \"Golias\"
The Armada destroys most of the Indian ships and enters the island. The ground battle ensues.
But they too are too much. The armada now has the upper hand. Afonso de Albuquerque takes land as well to join his armies in the fight. After countless men, women and children are slaughtered, he orders the immediate surrender of the city leadership. No looting will be permitted by his army, this he promises. And despite his cruelty, he is a man of word.
Afonso tells the assassins to stand down
David has managed to evade capture. The next few missions happen in portuguese controlled Goa as we liberate prisioners. Finally, the leaders of the city are to be sentenced to death. The assassin mentor of Goa that made David a recruit, is beheaded by the portuguese authorities as David attempts to save him. He was too late.
MODERN DAY PART IV
MODERN DAY PROPER: Sara exits the animus to relax. But there's no time for that because Shaun has located a mysterious man connected with the Templars, the same that appeared in Imperium. This was a man that held enormous power within the Templars but they knew very little of his life.
Sara prepares for the mission, knowing if she gets the chance she will not repeat the last mistake made when she saw him. This time she will kill him.
Sara jumps to the rooftop of the building where the man is.
Sara infiltrates the building and it appears to be empty. But then she finds a room. She enters it. And she can´t believe what she sees.
An entire room filled with dozens of people hooked to a single central animus. All silent. Eyes forcefully open.
Shaun tells via comm to get out fast but the comms are cut short.. A man appears behind her. A bit old. Strong british accent. The same from Imperium. The mysterious man. "Hello, Sara." he says. "What is this" she asks with anger filling her completely.
Sara points her arrows at the mysterious man
Progress. He answers. She points her arrows at him but immediatly the sound of guns being loaded is heard. Guards all over the place have her on their sight. "I won´t bother you with academic theories on futuristic technology.
Nor will I ask you to join me on my quest. To force you to work for us, after already doing that, would not achieve our goal. Ironically, we need the freedom that rages in you to further our goals. You will lead us to them without realizing it.
That would be far too cliche and I respect you quite a lot, my dear. After all, what you've witnessed here wouldn´t be possible without your help." She demands an explanation and he gives her one. After she escaped Abstergo when she worked for them, they still had several lineages of her stored.
But not her to experience it. So they've hunted down lost DNA from her ancestors. But her lineage is so important they couldn´t find enough dna or sometimes it was damaged. So, they tracked down people that were descendants of people that interacted with ancestors of hers.
They had to track down many people to achieve decent results. To basically experience the memories of those who interacted with her ancestors in the hopes they witnessed the same things her ancestors did, regarding major discoveries of pieces of eden.
"But again, I won´t bother you with theories. You're no longer needed, for this part that is... The results are quite decent. For everything else you still have your role to play...as we all do."With the guns still pointed at her, he starts to exit the room, but before he does he tells her she should research her lineage further.
She'd find a certain Eve, from those Adam times, indeed, to be quite the familiar character. Not even they at Abstergo could play her memories. As he enters the elevator, she tells him she will kill him.
He tells her this is no way to thank the man that rid her of her chronic pain problem and offered her a job when Abstergo wanted to shut her down, not realizing her potential. She asks him what was the point of this interaction. He tells her it is inevtiable she will end up working again for the templars. He's "seen it". The elevator closes, screen fades to black.
Sara returns to the HQ and tells them everything, while feeling an absurd amount of guilt for not being able to save those people. She does return to the facility but its empty then. After a while she goes back to the animus to distract herself from the anguish.
Sara as she returns to the assassins base
NOW: Sara is with the psychologist. She is silent, apparently not mentioning this later part of the modern day proper. The psych asks her if she will say anything. She asks her if survivor's guilt ever goes away. The psych answers that one must learn to handle it.
That we often place blame upon ourselves to feel control. To feel that we lways have control over those things and if we fail its because we weren't good enough to hold the line but it isn´t true.
ACT IV
A long after the Goa battle, David and the surviving assassins are now reduced to a fraction of what they were. Goa has been taken and the Empire is now stronger than ever. Intel has told them that the Templars haven´t been able to open the temple door there. At least there's that.
David is in one of the few territories they still have left safe. He is absolutely drunk and he collapses. He feels like absolute failure. He should have killed Afonso when he talked with him years ago. The destruction of Goa is on him. He devises a plan with the assassins.
They will request the help of the Turks to attack Goa, who are already interested. For this they will have to help them too in a few missions. They must convince them they have a chance of winning the city, even tho David, knowing Afonso and the fleet, knows there is no chance.
He is essentially lying to pursue his goal of stoping the templars. Sacrificing men to stop the Templars from accessing the Temple. He wonders if he's no different than Afonso.
The Turks attacking the Portuguese Armada, believing they have a chance at victory. They do not.
The disarray caused by the Turkish attack allows the assassins to reach Goa and make a run for the temple. They arrive there, but it's heavily guarded. A by now heavily skilled David takes down the enemis with the help of his friends. Optional objectives for saving locked up assassins being tortured for information.
ACT 5
The door is open. An explosion blew it wide open. The assassins enter it. Afonso, in battle, is warned that the temple has been breached. The room inside the temple seems rather small. Suddenly it starts to move, and the room turns out to be a giant elevator.
It goes down and it reveals a giant underground city.
Underground Isu city
Similar to the Room in Imperium but more like an actual city. There is an apple of Eden standing at the entrance to another big door. It seems to be the only artifact there.David takes it.
Afonso now has reached the underground city and is stunned at what he sees. With the apple in his hand, making lights, David doesn´t know what to do. Afonso tells him to give him the piece. He argues he doesn´t have the will to wield it. To unlock absolute power.
He shoudln´t have said this. David looks to the apple, to the rest of the underground city, to all the knowledge that would lay at the hands of the templars if he were to give up now. He, like Afonso, has sacrificed countless lifes in pursuit of a goal.
The portuguese assassin looks to the apple, it starts to become very luminous...David looks at Afonso and everything explodes. Everything collapses.
David survives. David looks at Afonso. He appears dead. The apple is yet intact. All other assassins are dead and Afonso might as well be. David walks out the collapsed ruins to the city of Goa, he walked and walked throughout the underground of the city and came out the other side of it and then witnesses the effect of the battle. The turkish armada destroyed.
The portuguese one in very bad shape but nonetheless victorius. He looks yet again to the apple and the device appears to communicate with him in a way. Telling him of the past and future. All of this in less than a full second for David. Sara's animus glitches .
It appears to receive encrypted messages that spell out when decifred !BEWARE OF THE MAKERS OF ALL! The apple appears to basically turn off for good and is ruined. David runs through the city center to find his assassin friends but most are dead. The few alive flee the city, now in full portuguese control after the last threat was disbanded.
A long time after that, and after learning Afonso survived his wounds (historically, this is necessary), David tracks down Afonso. This time he won´t escape. He tracks his ship off the coast of Goa, now a major port city for the "Império".
Afonso could fire if he wanted. But he talks with David from his boat. He talks about how they haven´t seen each other in years. How what happened in the temple nearly killed him and how, in the grand scheme of things it mattered little. David answers, taking the apple from him mattered a lot.
And he knows it. "So, what now? We finally put an end to this feud, here in this calm waters? Do you know the city of Goa now salutes my rule? I brought them stability. Prosperity. In the end, thats all people want."
"In the end, what I want is to walk away from the sea. To find a life of peace, the peace i was denied and that, when I could have it, I denied myself." They stare at each other. Afonso, I repeat, could have attacked right at the beggining. And, to be fair, so could have David.
Who's gonna fire the first and last cannon. The armada is ready to attack by Afonso's signal. He doesn't. He can´t bring himself to kill David. Afonso looks from his ship to the assassin ship, to David. Afonso is a cruel man but he loves David as his son. David loves him too in a way, as his father.
David turns his back, seemingly giving up. He closes his eyes. But then he says, lowly, fire. Both ships go down in a mutual suicide of sorts. Does David join Afonso in his watery demise?
MODERN DAY PART 5
MODERN DAY PROPER: Sara exits the animus. She starts to ponder what it all meant.
This, for Sara, offered little answers about her lineage, only more questions. Such is the case of the second game in a trilogy. Was Sara truly a descendant of Eve like the templar leader argued? What was that message sent via the apple?
NOW: (a while after the events in the animus and outside missions) The psych asks Sara what she learned from all this. The psych does so, in a very reluctant way. Sara says this: "All of this happened a few days ago. I'm not sure about the full extent of what I've learned. Certainly not much about my lineage.
I did learn about my past. If I've made peace with it? What's peace but a confusion between two wars? No, I didn´t gain peace. But I gained..claritiy. I know who I am. And after all I've been through...that heals. One person can´t change the world. But one person is a world. And everyone I help with my actions from now on...that heals. Thank you for allowing me to be honest."
As the psych was ready to say pretty much nah sis you crazy, Sara tells her she gained clarity from something else as well. Regarding her (the psych). Because that's the thing. The psych knows exactly who Sara is. She never thought she was crazy. How could she. The psych is a templar agent. And she was on Sara's list.
Sara gets up, tells her this, that she knows, activates her hidden blade, and kills her. She defeats the guards outside and escapes graciously.
She is now fully an assassin, not just a recruit. She has embraced the killing aspect of it. And she will use that, to find more about to find more about the Templar leader, to find more about her lineage and the importance of that, and, above all, to fight for a just world, with the balanced lessons provided by Sirius, her pessismistic ancestor, and David, her more optimistic ancestor.
Ready to take down templars
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