Matter Of Perspective: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

The Assassin’s Creed series isn’t a stranger to Matter Of Perspective, in fact the idea conflict between Assassin’s & Templars is how this feature began last April. However this entry won’t really be focusing on the different reasons as to why the sides go to war, but on a character who doesn’t care who wins as long as he gets what he wants. The character who predates this war and has fragmented memories of a time before. This article is about Aita, who is reincarnated as Bartholomew Roberts & John, and their own actions during the fight between Templar and Assassin.

The introduction of the Sage character to the Assassin’s Creed universe is a huge plot point as you’re essentially looking at reincarnation of a member of the First Civilisation, Aita, who was Juno’s husband and a victim of an experiment gone wrong with only the option of reincarnation to save him. This process manages to shatter many memories but as each incarnation walks the earth those slowly piece together, which eventually leads to Roberts who knows the purpose of his existence and John who tries to execute the plan.

Let’s begin with Aita who died during the war between humans and the First Civilisation in an attempt to save both sides from the disaster that eventually all but wiped out his kind. During this time he started to share Juno’s disdain for humanity and what she believed was a betrayal by a species against their creators. After all you’re trying to make sure all of life manages to survive an impending global disaster but there are so few resources available to the cause as the humans are distracting and killing those who could help. You can’t help but see why Aita hates humanity, as this new species is so short sighted that they won’t look at the big picture.

Then as time goes on, and Aita is reborn in different times, that hatred rebuilds itself because despite the long passage of time humans are still fighting though now with each other. As Aita you’d see this and realise that the humans had no plan should the war have ended through its natural course instead of abruptly due to the near extinction level event, they just wanted to get rid of the First Civilisation no matter what the cost. Now they have this new war going on to decide just exactly how to run the world even though it seems to be kind of working anyway. Not perfectly but there’s progression.

So this time Aita just manipulates both sides to help him and Juno, who wants to properly return and run the world. In the beginning of Black Flag Roberts, Aita’s incarnation at the time, is captured by the Templars but then eventually escapes thanks to the help of the Assassins. Does Roberts care that one side engaged the other to save him? No he doesn’t as he shoots at Edward and runs off to become a pirate captain. Why doesn’t Roberts care that the Assassin’s risked a lot to save him? Because they have served their purpose for  now and he doesn’t need them.

“Ah… that all Men are sheep. And that an old wolf like me deserves every ounce of blood he draws.” – Roberts

This is a key character trait of Aita/Roberts as the story goes on as he fights both sides for a while. It can easily be argued that thanks to the knowledge he has that Roberts is the only truly free character while the rest all squabble and negotiate over the petty things. He only has one goal and that is to find the Observatory and then free Juno so that they can be reunited and run the world how they believe it should be run. In a way they’re no different to the Templars or Assassins, but they also are because they are of a race that was incredibly advanced and had pretty much designed the perfect world, an Eden if you will.

Death doesn’t faze Aita/Roberts because he knows that he will just be born again in a different time to carry on his work, and it’s why he is such a dangerous character. Where humans have that fear of death, the end of their personal existence, it is removed for Aita, and that leads to dangerous behaviour like fighting and enraging anyone of no particular use after he is done with them. He does it to Edward when he tries to kill him in the Observatory, and he does again in the modern day.

The modern day Aita, now going by the name John, is interesting because he picks a side to manipulate and help him. He chooses the Assassin’s and gives them information in exchange of being close to the Templars at Abstergo. Here he uses the various systems to try and bring Juno into the world, by befriending the modern day character to help him and then when that use is expired to try and help Juno take the body as a vessel for her own. This fails and John goes insane realising he tried to execute that plan during the wrong incarnation. So instead of brooding he does what is required and gets himself killed, because then when he is reborn it’ll be like waking up after a night’s sleep instead of waiting decades for a natural death.

Aita is an interesting antagonist because he isn’t tied to either the Templar or Assassin cause, just that he wants to be reunited with his wife and bring a new peace to the world. The human war is a tool he uses and manipulates to reach that goal, because to him both Templars and Assassins are just foolish children.