Edward Ken-away

About

Edward Kenway was born on 10 March 1693 in Swansea, Wales,[1] the second child of Bernard and Linette Kenway. His older sister had died during infancy, and so Edward never got the chance to meet her or learn much about her, as his parents tried to avoid the subject.[4] When Edward was ten years old, his family relocated to a farm in Bristol, in Southwest England.[1] However, the pastoral life did not agree with Edward and he became a well-known troublemaker in his adolescence.[4] At the age of seventeen, Edward met Caroline Scott, daughter of a tea magnate, who intervened on his behalf during an altercation outside the Auld Shillelagh tavern, in which Edward was defending Rose, one of the Scott family's housemaids, from being raped by Tom Cobleigh. Edward immediately fell in love with Caroline and asked her to meet again sometime, but she refused, as her father would not allow such a breach of social etiquette after having already promised her to Matthew Hague, the son of a prominent East India Company executive.[4] Despite their differences in social status, Edward still pursued his love for Caroline.[1] Through Rose, Edward learned that Caroline often visited Bristol's port every week. Hoping to attract her attention, Edward recruited a young street urchin named Albert to present Caroline with a bouquet on his behalf. As the boy set off, Edward realised too late that Albert was a thief who intended to steal Caroline's purse.[4] As Edward moved forward to stop Albert, the thief successfully snatched Caroline's money, but in the process was noticed by her nearby suitor, Matthew, and his hulking bodyguard, Wilson, who caught the criminal and proceeded to beat him. Finally reaching the scene, Edward subdued Wilson before forcing Albert to apologise. Drawn to his fearless conduct, Caroline met Edward that night outside his house.[4] Setting out for a midnight stroll, Caroline explained to Edward how the thought of becoming Hague's wife, and what society expected her to do after the marriage, sickened her. At the same time, she knew that starting a relationship with Edward would incur the wrath of her father upon them both. Despite the looming threat of Emmett's imminent anger, the couple maintained a secret relationship for the next several months. They finally married in 1712.[4] Caroline's father, Emmett, disapproved of the marriage and disowned his daughter without providing a dowry. Deprived of the Scotts' wealth, Caroline and Edward settled on the farm of Edward's parents, who quickly became fond of Edward's young wife, who tried her best to acclimate to her new life. However, dissatisfied with his life as a farmer and his inability to offer a privileged life to his wife, Edward failed to meet his marital obligations and assiduously frequented the taverns of the area.[4] During a night of drinking, in late 1712, Scott approached an inebriated Edward in a tavern and offered him a deal, sending Caroline back to him by leaving her in exchange for a large sum of money. Scott tried to convince him to accept his offer, but Edward fainted before giving an answer and his father-in-law took him to the Kenway farmstead, where he took the opportunity to show his distraught daughter what a bad husband Edward was.[4] The next day, Scott received a visit from Edward, who refused his offer and proposed another deal to him. In accordance with his own plans, Edward was going to try to make his fortune as a privateer in the West Indies and promised not to return to England until he became rich. To Scott, who wanted the marriage to end, Edward pointed out the fact that the odds were great that he would die at sea, making Caroline a widow able to marry again, and that Scott could also take advantage of his absence by trying to turn Caroline against her husband.[4] announced his departure to Caroline, who left the farm and returned to her parents' home, angry with Edward's decision. However, on the night of Edward's set departure, Scott sent Wilson and some members of the Trade Organisation, including Tom Cobleigh and his associate Julian, to set fire to the Kenways' farm while Bernard and Linette were sleeping inside, to prevent Caroline from ever coming back to them.[4] With Edward's departure being delayed, he returned to the farm in time to warn his parents and tracked the arsonists, but was knocked out and put on his departing ship by a hooded Wilson, who assured him that no more harm would come to his parents if he respected his pact with Scott. Despite Edward having managed to save his parents, his father disowned him for all the trouble he had brought upon the family.[4] Distraught, Edward sought revenge on the Cobleighs, killing Julian in the process. Before Edward could interrogate Tom, however, the latter was killed by Wilson. Edward then tried to engage Wilson, but was bested by the more experienced swordsman. Knocked unconscious by Wilson, Edward found himself aboard the Emperor, the ship he was intended to sail on.[4] Life as a privateer Sailing on the Emperor Sailing under the Emperor, Edward was often harassed by his more experienced and hardened peers, especially the brutish sailor Blaney. Initially bullying Edward as a means of asserting his superiority, Blaney came to genuinely hate Edward for not fearing him.[4] The Emperor's captain Alexander Dolzell soon foresaw that the War of the Spanish Succession was soon coming to a close, meaning that privateers would be put out of business. Dolzell announced his plans to turn to piracy to his crew, and offered those who decided not to partake in piracy safe passage home. Before Edward, not willing to become a pirate, could join those like him, he was stopped by his fellow sailor Friday. Edward then saw the sailors who wanted to leave the crew thrown overboard.[4] In January 1713, Edward participated in the Emperor's capture of a British merchant ship named the Amazon Galley, and was assigned along with Blaney to guard the ship's captain, Benjamin Pritchard. Edward recognised the ring that Pritchard was wearing which matched the ring worn by Wilson. Pritchard offered Edward answers in exchange for his safety, but he was soon executed by Dolzell's blade.[4] the same time, the privateer Edward Thatch and his crew came to the rescue of the Amazon Galley, still loyal to the British Crown. Seeing that they were outnumbered, Blaney decided to mutiny against his former crew, killing first mate Trafford before moving in on Edward. However, Thatch took a liking to Edward and instead proposed a brawl to decide who should join his crew, pitting Edward against Blaney.[4] While the larger Blaney was physically stronger than Edward, the latter's smaller size outmanoeuvred the brute. Although Edward landed several good hits on Blaney at the beginning, Blaney soon got the upper hand and eventually drew a blade. However, because Blaney broke the rules by using a weapon, he was quickly shot dead by Thatch. Edward, as the victor, joined Thatch's crew.[4] Under Thatch's tutelage aboard the Sea Dog's Bite, Edward learned how to properly wield a sword as well as a pistol. He was also guided by Thatch's own mentor, Benjamin Hornigold. Edward remained in Jamaica for six months until the Treaty of Utrecht in early 1713, which effectively ended all conflict between the major empires. As a result, British privateers were no longer needed or tolerated in the West Indies, causing the Sea Dog's Bite's crew to find themselves out of work and turn to piracy.[4] Eager to prove himself to his new crew, Edward decided to lead the search for a Spanish shipwreck rumoured to house treasure and went to Kingston alongside a group of fellow pirates. There, they found a Spanish sailor who knew the shipwreck's location and, after protecting him from the British captain Blount, who sought the same prize,[5] escorted him back to the Sea Dog's Bite.[6] Escaping Kingston, the sailor informed Edward and his fellow crew members of the shipwreck's location in the Bahamas, but the pirates were beaten to their destination by Blount and his men, who made off with the treasure chest.[7] Finding Blount's camp nearby, Edward's group infiltrated it and recovered the chest,[8] but before the Sea Dog's Bite could escape, it was attacked by Blount's ship.[9] While Edward defended the vessel from the boarding British soldiers, he tasked three of his fellow crewmates to board the enemy ship and eliminate Blount. The pirates were ultimately successful and, with their assailants dead, the Sea Dog's Bite's crew was able to claim the Spanish shipwreck's treasure as their own.[9] Sometime later, Edward and three fellow pirates set out to recover their friend Garnet's ship, which had been stolen by the pirate crew of Captain Cliff. Meeting with Groggy Bill, a former member of Cliff's crew and old acquaintance of Edward's, the pirates convinced him to tell them about Cliff's whereabouts.[10] Arriving at Cliff's hideout, Edward decided to search for the captain while the others attempted to find the stolen ship. However, they discovered that the vessel had been destroyed in a fight between Cliff's crew and the Royal Navy, who sought a map allegedly leading to a vast treasure.[11] Not wishing to return to Garnet empty-handed, Edward and the others attempted to recover the map from the British captain Stewart, but he managed to escape.[12] After finding Stewart's camp, Edward's group took advantage of an assault by Cliff's vengeful crew to infiltrate it, only to witness Stewart running away into the jungle.[13] Following him, the pirates arrived at a strange vault, where they confronted Stewart and his men. After eliminating them, they found that the vault contained no treasure, though Edward suspected that it was more valuable than it seemed and believed it would be safer for their nascent Pirate Republic if the vault was forgotten about.[14] Around January 1714, Edward met the pirate captain Abel Bramah when he arrived in Nassau. Despite Thatch's instant dislike of the man,[15]Edward opted to join his crew, working aboard Bramah's ship, a brig named the Jacobite.[16] June 1715, the Jacobite attacked a passing vessel which proved to be too much for the crew to handle. With their captain dead, Edward took the helm and did his best to keep the ship afloat. While the pirates emerged victorious thanks to the storm, the ship's magazine caught fire and exploded, sinking the ship. Shipwrecked in Cape Bonavista, Edward met the only other survivor, an Assassin named Duncan Walpole, whose ship the pirates had attacked.[16] Washing up next to Edward, Walpole was wounded by the shrapnel from the magazine's explosion. He offered to pay Edward for passage to Havana. Edward agreed upon the condition of immediate payment, and advanced towards Walpole. Concerned, the Assassin drew his pistol, but it misfired due to wet gunpowder. Walpole fled, and Edward pursued him through the jungle, taking an interest in Walpole's Hidden Blade. Cornering Walpole, Edward quickly dispatched the wounded Assassin.[16] Looting Walpole's body, Edward found a letter from Governor Laureano de Torres y Ayala of Havana, detailing Walpole's intended defection to the Templar Order. Oblivious to the implications of the letter, Edward donned Walpole's Assassin robes but was forced to discard the broken Hidden Blade, and collected a set of maps and a crystalline rectangular prism which were to be delivered to Torres for payment.[16] While looking for a way to leave Cape Bonavista, Edward encountered a group of British soldiers harassing a merchant named Stede Bonnet, whom they believed to have been one of the pirates involved in the earlier battle. After dispatching the soldiers, Edward introduced himself to Bonnet using Walpole's name and accompanied him to Havana.[16] Upon arrival, the two travelled to a local tavern to meet with Bonnet's contact, where several thugs recognised Edward as a pirate and provoked him into a fight. After dispatching the men, Edward was forced to flee as Spanish soldiers entered the tavern and began to chase him.[17] While he was able to escape, the Spanish turned on Bonnet and seized his ship's holdings, including the package meant for Torres. Edward infiltrated the Spanish fort to recover the package before going to the intended meeting with Torres.[18] Edward carefully maintained his charade as he conversed with prospective Templars Woodes Rogers, whose wife had met Duncan, and Julien du Casse. Du Casse equipped Edward with a new pair of Hidden Blades and requested that Edward show them some Assassin techniques in action. Picking up on hints from du Casse and Rogers, Edward was able to replicate the moves with relative accuracy.[19] When Torres eventually arrived, Edward presented him with the maps and the prism he had collected from Walpole. Torres then inducted "Walpole", Rogers and du Casse into the Templar Order before explaining his plan to locate an Isu site known as the Observatory, which the Templars believed would allow them to monitor every person in the world and learn all their secrets. Uninterested, Edward took the opportunity to pickpocket the Templars as they discussed their plans.[19] The four then travelled to the city docks to retrieve a man named Bartholomew Roberts, an alleged Sage who knew the Observatory's location. On the way back to the governor's house, they were ambushed by Assassins and Roberts fled, though Edward managed to chase him down and retrieve him. As Roberts was led away, Torres gave Walpole's intended pay of 1,000 reales to Edward for a job well done.[20] Later, meeting with Bonnet, Edward complained about the pay he had received, believing it was insufficient. He then resolved to discover the Observatory's location and sell it to the highest bidder, and realised he would need the Sage's assistance. He infiltrated the prison where Roberts was being held, only to find the Sage gone and the Templars, having discovered his ruse, waiting for him.[21] For robbing them of Walpole's valuable expertise, Torres had Edward imprisoned on a Spanish Treasure Fleet ship heading for Seville to deliver him to the British Templars in London.[21] Edward managed to escape confinement with the help of a similarly imprisoned Adéwalé, then they freed and recruited several other prisoners before stealing one of the fleet's ships. The impromptu crew narrowly managed to sail away before the entire fleet was sunk in a storm.[22] Edward decided to name his newly acquired ship the Jackdaw and, realising that hardly any of his new crew would accept Adéwalé as captain, dubbed him quartermaster. After a brief excursion to Abaco Island, where he hunted some animals to craft himself a new holster,[23] Edward sailed to Nassau with his new ship, where he introduced Adéwalé to three of his old associates: Edward Thatch, James Kidd, and Benjamin Hornigold. Edward then moved throughout the British-occupied town, freeing imprisoned pirates to recruit as crewmen and weakening British control over the island.[24] With that complete, Edward began working with Hornigold and Kidd to carry out lucrative missions, plundering ships with the former,[25] and raiding a nearby plantation with the latter.[26] Thatch later shared with Edward his concerns about protecting their newly formed "Pirate Republic" from British recapture, and proposed a plan to take a particular Spanish Galleon to better protect the nascent revolutionary state.[27] At his request, Edward located and tailed the Galleon to Great Inagua, only to learn that the ship was owned by none other than Julien du Casse.[27] Reasoning that du Casse could not be allowed to live and spread news of his escape, Edward approached the cove through the jungle, snuck aboard du Casse's ship and assassinated him, before deciding to take over Great Inagua for himself.[28] Months later, in March 1716, Edward was visited at his new base by James Kidd, who congratulated him on his victory and brought him to a Mayan stela in the jungle, telling Edward to use "the light of life" to uncover the treasure to which it pointed. Kidd then showed Edward an underground tunnel leading to the du Casse manor and the special armour locked away there.[29] Trying out a key he had taken from du Casse, Edward saw that he required four more to unlock the armour. Kidd suggested that the keys could be found in the possession of four Templars sent to attack the Assassin bureaus whose locations had been compromised by Edward when he delivered Walpole's maps to Torres. Although Kidd advised that this was an opportunity for Edward to fix his mistake by warning the Assassins, the latter was only interested in the keys.[29] After they finished touring Great Inagua, Kidd returned to his ship and left the island, requesting that Edward meet him in Tulum in several weeks, as he had more to show him there. Talking with Adéwalé afterwards, Edward expressed his doubts regarding Kidd's intentions but set a course for Tulum.[29] Tulum, Edward found himself having to sneak through the jungle to meet with Kidd, as the area was heavily guarded by Assassin forces. Upon their eventual meeting, Edward was set upon by Ah Tabai, who demanded to know why Edward had sold their location to the Templars and attacked the Assassins in Havana.[30] Kidd diffused the situation by telling Ah Tabai that Edward had "the Sense", and requested leave for them to enter a nearby temple. After claiming that he would recognise Bartholomew Roberts if he saw the man again, Edward was granted access to the temple with Kidd.[30] While explaining the nature of the Assassin-Templar conflict and the Creed, Kidd led Edward to an antechamber containing a sculpture of the Sage. Edward originally claimed that it did not resemble Roberts at all; however, as he and Kidd completed an associated puzzle, layers of the sculpture were removed to show a better likeness underneath. Astonished, Edward confirmed that the statue perfectly resembled Roberts.[31] When Edward and Kidd exited the temple, they found the Assassin base under siege by British troops. After conferring with Ah Tabai, Kidd handed Edward a blowpipe. Edward then aided the Assassins in their fight, freeing several who had been captured by the soldiers and earning the appreciation of Ah Tabai. However, considering the damage he had caused through negligence, Ah Tabai decreed that Edward was not welcome in Tulum any longer.[32] Before Edward left, Kidd explained to him in more detail what both the Assassins and the Templars strived for and how he had come to join the Brotherhood. He also told Edward that he could help the Assassins complete their contracts in return for monetary rewards, and showed him a locked door which could be opened by Mayan keystones like the one they had found in Great Inagua, claiming that a treasure lay behind it.[32]

Personality

1. Charm and CharismaEdward is incredibly witty, flirtatious, and easygoing. His natural charisma allows him to easily command the respect and loyalty of his crew, and he effortlessly mingles with famous historical figures of the Golden Age of Piracy, such as Blackbeard.2. Ambition and SelfishnessUnlike previous Assassin's Creed protagonists driven by revenge or noble family duty, Edward starts his journey purely for personal gain. He craves a life of luxury and infamy, believing that wealth is the only way to prove he is a "man of quality" to his family and those who looked down on him. For much of the story, he exploits the war between the Assassins and the Templars simply for profit.3. Aversion to ResponsibilityEdward values freedom above all else, which heavily mirrors the core philosophy of the Assassins, but he struggles with the heavy responsibilities that functional freedom requires. He often flees from emotional commitments and struggles to maintain a stable home life, leaving his wife behind to chase his ambitions in the Caribbean.4. A Deep Capacity for GrowthEdward's story is ultimately a profound redemption arc. His reckless pursuit of treasure leads to the tragic loss of his closest friends and loved ones. This immense guilt and grief force him to reflect on his actions, realize the emptiness of wealth, and embrace the principles of the Assassin Brotherhood.

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