The fight between good and evil is one of the most prominent themes in fiction, video-games included; and in the Assassin's Creed series it is a subject that several times is explored within a multi-faceted prism. Quite a few of its characters, both heroes and villains, sometimes reach a point where they may cross the line between the two sides, even if it is not completely and consciously intentional from their part. While it is more usual for a villain to momentarily express a more mild attitude, it is the good guys who eventually either turn evil or act in ways that could be characterized as such, that are more fascinating to examine. But how much evil a good character has to do so as to be considered a villain - and, similarly - when does a villain reach that point which will make him look less evil? In this article, I will elaborate on this theme, going through the evolution of Shay Cormac, Achilles Davenport, Charles Lee and Haytham Kenway, who all play a most important part in Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed: Rogue, either as protagonists and antagonists or as supporting characters.

Although initially we did not know yet about Shay Cormac in Assassin's Creed III, as Rogue was released at a later date, we could still see all the consequences of his actions in the course of the game, which means that Shay's story was already part of the Assassin's Creed lore, even before the appearance of him as a character and his game as a complete story; similarly to how, when III was released, we were introduced to Haytham Kenway without knowing about Edward, yet there were several features that our hero had, hinting to all the facts that were revealed in Black Flag: in spite of being a Templar, Haytham had two hidden blades, one of which also proudly featured the Assassin symbol on its cuff; he also had the eagle vision and the ability to swan dive from extreme heights into haystacks or heaps of snow. So clearly Edward's story had already been set as a background to that of Haytham, long before we had the chance to know about it with Black Flag. 

Similarly, Shay's story had apparently been planned out already as a later release, and quite possibly as a much longer and richer game, but it got sped up to co-incide with Unity for all the technical and practical reasons that we know. This could also explain why the open world in Rogue is so vast with so many areas to explore and with so much extra stuff to discover, when the plot itself is limited to only six sequences and does not take long to complete; while covering the full map (to be more precise, the three full maps) of the game takes considerably longer, and it involves way too many areas that we do not have the opportunity to visit during the progression of the story. Assassin's Creed: Rogue is very unique in the series, not only because its protagonist is a Templar, but also because it gives us the chance to witness the other side of things through the eyes of someone who joined the Templar Order consciously, following his own free will, without having been brainwashed beforehand.  

Shay starts off as an extremely gifted Assassin who, however, seems to be looked down upon by his fellow Assassins, even by his good childhood friend Liam. Being Irish, he is considered an outsider by default, although noone blatantly tells him in the face; but Le Chevalier, for example, never loses the chance to belittle him. Incidentally, Liam is Irish too, but it looks like he is respected in the Brotherhood a lot more than Shay is, probably because he does not express his objections as often as his younger friend. It becomes clear from very early in the game that Shay has his own perception of things, and it is hinted that many times he would disagree with the tactics of the Assassins. However he truly and sincerely believed in their cause, which is why he kept on serving the Brotherhood the best way he could. Shay was an excellent Assassin, showing great skill, insight and intelligence; he could successfully carry out any mission he was tasked with in spite of his young age, and he would always be willing to do even more. However, he was not only an efficient killer; Shay was also interested in the procedural works of the Brotherhood, a subtle detail which hints that, if things had not turned out for him the way they did, he would undoubtedly had made a fine potential leader in the future. When the other Assassins leave to train or pass the time, he stays back to listen to the crucial information that Adewale has brought for Achilles; not out of curiosity, but because he is deeply interested in the mechanics of the Assassin cause and its deeper motives and complex strategies.

Being a thinker, he had a trait that would always distinguish him from the other Assassins in his circle. Not that the others were not thinkers as well; but Shay had a tendency to keep things to himself and contemplate quite often, being rather solitary as a person, although it is clear than he had a strong bond with Liam and was in good friendly terms with Hope as well. But as it becomes clear later, neither Le Chevalier nor Kesegowaase liked him; something that had already been hinted early on in the story. Shay respected Achilles, but felt that the leader of the Colonial Brotherhood did not trust him enough, making him feel even more an outsider. This condition, however, had an unexpected positive side-effect: thanks to it, Shay was able to make his observations objectively and discern both the good and the bad side of things. Because for the Assassins under Achilles's leadership, all the decisions and actions of their leader were correct and could never be questioned; but Shay, as an outsider, could instantly see something that was wrong.

 

 

The tragic incident in Lisbon, which marked Shay's decision to go against the Assassins and subsequently betray them by joining the Templar Order, was a most crucial example of this. Causing the ravaging earthquake that destroyed the city and killed so many people was a tragedy that would scar him for the rest of his life, even when, years later, he felt that he had somehow made amends. Shay was convinced that Achilles was somehow aware of the destruction that would follow by removing the artifact from the foundation of the temple and that regardless he did not care, because his superior aim was to keep the artifacts away from the Templars, no matter the cost. Although he was not exactly right, because Achilles, at that point in his life at least, would never deliberately cause the loss of innocent lives, he did have a point, in that the Colonial Assassins and their leaders would most of the times choose to act with regard to how they would weaken the Templars, ignoring other factors and consequences that could prove devastating. When he confronted Achilles about the Lisbon incident, the leader's reaction did not help ease the young man's mind, neither did the aggression with which both he and the other Assassins chased Shay when they found out he had stolen the manuscript and was going to destroy it. 

 

Shay was a good man, and he remained good even after joining the Templar Order, when he typically switched to the side of evil, given the circumstances, proving that, at the end of the day, good and evil are very fluid notions. As a Templar, he was a ruthless killer; but he was so as an Assassin too. As an Assassin, he would kill people who were harming humanity, but this did not make the act of murder less of an act of extreme violence. We can see how he starts having moral doubts when, during his time as an Assassin, he is sent to murder a man who is dying due to an illness, and then another one who is too powerless and weak to be able to defend himself. Then it was a Templar who saved his life, when the Assassins left him for dead in the freezing cold ocean; Colonel Monro took him under his wing and helped him get back on his feet, offering him a second chance in life. 

 

The limits of good and evil almost cease to exist in Shay's case, because, as contradicting as this may sound, he never loses his humanity, even when his actions look evil. For what it's worth, his decision to abandon the Assassins was the result of him feeling responsible for the loss of innocent people. One could argue that he cannot be good when he kills good people like Adewale and Charles Dorian; but he does what he does consciously, following the guidelines of the Templar Order which he serves. As an Assassin, he would have done the same, acting against his Templar enemies. And he did maintain a certain amount of respect and love towards Achilles, considering how he convinced Haytham to spare his former mentor's life, a development that, in the long run, affected the lives of many people.

 

When the main plot of Assassin's Creed III starts, after the introductory memories with Haytham are completed, we find Achilles crippled but alive, as a result of Shay intervening at just the last moment, and saving him from Haytham's fatal blow, while the Brotherhood of the Colonies is almost non-existent. All this, we had the chance to know later, watching the finale of Rogue, but now, having at our disposal the linear timeline of the events, we can put the pieces of the puzzle together easily and without confusion. After his dramatic confrontation with Shay and Haytham in North America, which resulted in him becoming crippled after Haytham shot him, Achilles returned to his homestead while the Assassin Brotherhood had been dismantled, since Shay had killed all of its leaders. He locked himself in the manor, refusing to communicate with the locals, while from time to time he was being targeted by poachers, some of whom may have been even sent by the Templars to rid of him. 

 

 

Achilles is, by default, on the side of good; but he abruptly switches to the side of evil when he allows his personal bitterness to overcome him. After Connor finds him, and Achilles agrees to take on his training, we are presented to the secret Assassination wall in the homestead's basement, which features the portraits of all the important Templars that have to be eliminated for the Colonial Rite to be defeated for good. Normally, Shay's portrait would have also been among them, but we do not see it anywhere, probably because, deep down, Achilles felt that he owed Shay his life. Haytham, from his part, being so smart and perceptive, takes care to never mention Shay to Connor, not only because Shay is an extremely valuable member of the Order who needs to stay alive, but also because Haytham knows that, no matter how determined or strong Connor may be, chances are he would never get alive out of a fight with a killer so skilled and experienced as Shay. He was essentially protecting both from each other. In a similar manner, he took care to keep Charles Lee away from Connor, not only because Charles was the one whom the Templars wanted to plant as the US President - which was the main, typical reason - but also because he wanted to avoid a confrontation between the two, which could possibly end in Connor's demise. Knowing Connor's obsession with killing Charles and the latter's spite against the boy, Haytham wanted to keep both of them away from each other, again to ensure, for as long as he could control it, that they would be safe. Although he went to Fort George presumably determined to kill Connor and save Charles for good, he was all the while divided between his duty as the Grand Master of the Colonial Rite and his instinct which would constantly withhold him from killing Connor.

 

Achilles holds a grudge against Haytham for crippling him by shooting his knee as well as for taking Shay in the Templar Order, and his feelings are justifiable up to a point; but they cease being justifiable when he starts poisoning Connor's heart, brainwashing the boy into killing Haytham while cruelly dismissing the blood bond between the two and acting as if it does not matter at all, going as far as to literally arm Connor's hand, essentially turning him into a mercenary and sending him to kill Haytham because he is unable to do it himself due to his condition. Mind you, when Connor confessed that he wants to kill the Templars so as to avenge the destruction of his village, Achilles scolded him for being motivated by his personal vendetta instead of merely wanting to fight for justice; and then we see how Achilles himself is guided almost entirely by his own personal vendetta against Haytham. It is interesting, however, that Connor, in spite of looking rather determined to take his own revenge, is quite reserved and reluctant when it comes to actually doing it, considering how he did not want to kill William Johnson after destroying his merchandise, pretty much to Achilles's disappointment; and when later he did it because he felt he had no choice, he still had regrets about it. His only weak point was his hatred for Charles Lee, whom he was hunting relentlessly due to the false belief that Charles was responsible for the burning of his village, a belief that gradually turned into an obsession for Connor.

So it looks like history is repeating itself for the Kenway boys, as Connor is being brainwashed by Achilles almost like Haytham had been brainwashed by Reginald Birch. After losing his wife and son, Achilles never let anyone in his life again; and he finally accepted to help Connor because he realized that the boy was in fact the only one capable of eliminating the Colonial Templar Rite. Not because he was stronger than the local Templars, but due to the blood bond that connected him with Haytham: Achilles was experienced and insightful enough to realize that the only person who had any luck in killing Haytham would be his own son, because there was a 50/50 chance that Haytham would literally allow Connor to kill him, refusing to end his son's life. And in the end this is exactly what happened: Haytham removed his hidden blade so as to not kill Connor, sacrificing himself instead. He had long before realized that the path he had taken in life was essentially a constant point of no return, and even if he wanted to change route, it would have been impossible after all that has happened.

 

Connor is at a very innocent state when he sees Haytham for the first time in Boston, and you can clearly see in his eyes that he would love to go talk to him; for a few fractions of seconds their opposite alliances do not matter for Connor, neither does the fact that Haytham is a ruthless killer, responsible for the chaos in Boston. Yet Achilles keeps on the same cold, blunt attitude, not empathizing at all with the boy's confusion. Connor is too young at that point to think with logic; he has just left his village, finding himself in a big city that he had never seen before nor imagined that could exist, and on top of that, he sees his father for the first time in his life, just a few steps away from him. As the story progresses, there are a few scenes where we literally see how Connor instinctively longs to get closer to Haytham - at some point, he grabs Haytham in an attempt to push him away from an imminent attack, in a manner that simulates an awkward hugging; and Haytham is the only person whom Connor allows to touch him without the slightest sign of displeasure. 

If it was not for Achilles's spite, and maybe if Zhiio was alive, Connor might have been able to outsmart his destiny and eventually reach a point of compromise with Haytham. But every time that he mentioned this possibility to Achilles, the latter would dismiss it with absolution, leaving no space for an alternative solution other than killing Haytham. Of course all this does not mean that Achilles was not a good man; on the contrary, while he was the leader of the Colonial Brotherhood and his mind was still clear and just, he acted with mildness, caution and care. This is evident in how he treats Shay at the start of Rogue, even gifting him his favorite pistols. Still, he made a mistake in not trusting Shay with vital information concerning the Brotherhood and its missions, making the young man believe, and quite possibly rightly so, that he was not being considered an equal among his brothers. This was a constant thorn that bugged Shay, since he felt that while he was offering his services unconditionally to the Brotherhood, he was being treated with mistrust and skepticism in return. 

Although Shay is not present in Assassin's Creed III and he is not mentioned at any point throughout the game, the story is in fact incomplete without factoring him in. If he had not intervened and instead had let Haytham kill Achilles in North America, Connor's story would have taken a different route. Similarly to how if he hadn't killed Charles Dorian, things would have unfolded much differently for Arno in Unity. This means that Shay's role had been crucial and determinant in both stories, functioning like a train track switch, and setting the paths of Connor and Arno off route, subsequently forcing both boys to remain subjugated to a forced destiny during their childhood and their early youth; but while Arno used his wits to carve his own path even though he was following the commands of a rather headstrong branch of the Brotherhood, Connor was unable to find his way until it was too late to change his fate, because he lacked the proper guidance in his early years. Arno might have lost his dear father at a very tender age, but he was lucky to grow up under the care of François de la Serre, who was an honest and just Templar and never attempted to brainwash Arno into joining the Order, even protecting him by keeping him away from Templar gatherings so as to avoid exposing the boy's gifts and thus putting him in danger. And then Bellec, until he chose to violently purge the French Brotherhood, had been a fine and just mentor for Arno and provided him with all that was necessary so as to always depend on himself and on his own instinct. But Connor switched abruptly from the calm, untainted state of his native village to the environment of an embittered man who partly used the Assassin cause as a means to fulfill his revenge.

Arno learned to think on his feet from a very early stage, and while he maintained the innocence in his heart, he was able to discern evil in its root. Which is why he was quick to confront Pierre Bellec as soon as he realized that the latter was not operating on the side of good; and although it was painful for him, since Bellec was his mentor, he eventually killed him, because what Bellec was doing was harmful not only for the Brotherhood but for Arno himself as well. Contrary to Connor, who let himself get wholly affected by Achilles's obsessions and from a point and on, he would marginally sway to and fro, almost not acting out of his own will. Even after killing Haytham, he refused to let himself express how he truly felt; although we see him shaving his head as a sign of mourning for his deceased father, and back at the homestead, he has written "Sakataterihwáhten" under Haytham's portrait which means "I made a mistake", having also added three question marks beside it, clearly unable to find a reason why Haytham had to die except for the never-ending feud between the Assassins and the Templars, still then while facing a devastated Charles Lee at Haytham's funeral, he again put on a cold facade, as he was still under the influence of his mentor's poison. Even his own obsession with hunting down and killing Charles Lee, which proved to be unjust and pointless after a certain point, had also been reinforced by Achilles's brainwashing. 

Charles, on the other hand, worshiping Haytham for years, feels that he has nothing left to hope and live for after his death; and although he seems to want to save himself from Connor's rage, in the end he literally begs the boy to end his life, not with words but with his bitter smile in one of the most powerful and heart-breaking scenes of the series. Charles was never an evil man by default; he had a trait that made him tend to bow to, flatter and serve authority, but we can't be sure if this was an inherent feature of his character, or it was born when he saw Haytham for the first time at Boston's harbour. It is more than clear that he was instantly mesmerized by Haytham's charm as soon as he met him, and from that moment and on, he spent the rest of his days following him around and blindly serving him, eventually turning himself into the ideal future puppet politician that the Templars wanted for the US Presidency.

Notably, until he is officially accepted in the Templar Order and when he is not running after Haytham, Charles can be seen discreetly standing at the side whenever he is present during a meeting, most of the times with his back to the Templars, as they discuss crucial details about their missions. On a few occasions, Haytham himself nods to him to move to the side, and Charles obeys without protesting, essentially accepting his limited role in all this and waiting patiently for his loyalty to be properly recognized. Something that happens much sooner than even he would expect, and it is also worth mentioning that, although he was a smart and efficient man in his own merit, he was happy to just exist by Haytham's side, acting the part of his henchman if necessary, keeping an enigmatic silence and a rather reserved nobleness up to a certain point before transforming into a ruthless man, led by his frustration and despair. 

Charles Lee goes through a very complex transformation as a character, which, interestingly enough, is reflected in his physical appearance as well. While for the rest of his partners the years pass in a most normal way, leaving natural marks on some of them (Benjamin Church, John Pitcairn and William Johnson just age without losing their physiognomy), not affecting others much (Thomas Hickey maintains the same drunk face of a rascal, only older) or even favoring them (Haytham gets even more charming and attractive as years pass), time seems to gradually take its toll on Charles - a change that is much more symbolic than it is physically meaningful. The clarity and light of his eyes are replaced by a foggy, blurred gaze; his rich, shiny black hair gets thinner; transformations that go hand-in-hand with the change in his once mild and mellow demeanor that gradually tears off, letting out a cruel, sadistic and marginally paranoid side. His harsh and relentless manner is first shown during his very first meeting with little Connor at the Mohawk village, then we see an even more cruel version of it when he visits the boy in prison, and it is fully exposed, together with his overwhelming desperation, while confronting Connor at Haytham's funeral. 

 

What is the real cause of this change, never becomes too clear; the most obvious explanation could be that deep down he always wanted to do something grand, but lacked the self-confidence and maybe the means to achieve it; therefore when Haytham and the Templars of the Colonies picked him as the best choice for the position of the future US President, he felt that luck finally smiled at him and from that point and on, he did not care anymore about showing a good face to the world; he just waited patiently until the time came for him to rise to glory. But maybe things were not that simple for Charles, as apparently he had more personal issues to deal with. The real Charles Lee was quite temperamental, and this feature is aptly depicted in the game with the obviously unstable and insecure character of his fictionalized version. His constantly growing and unhealthy emotional attachment to Haytham could explain a good deal (if not all) of this gradual change and his physical transformation, considering that he probably saw no reciprocation whatsoever - or at least not to the degree or of the kind that he desired. His resentment for Zhiio and, later, for Connor as well, together with his glaringly obsessive devotion to Haytham, are more signs that this could very well be the case. 

Haytham's good looks and his charismatic personality are vital elements in the way that he affects the people around him, just like Edward did with his brilliance and physical gifts. But while Edward was too innocent and too focused on other things to use his attractiveness to achieve his goals, and he charmed others without even realizing it, Haytham did so very consciously, to the extent that after a certain point, this "strategy" became for him as natural as breathing. Charles Lee was his most obvious "victim", but at least Haytham was planning to reward him with a grand office, so all the emotional turmoil that Charles had been going through for so many years would have found some kind of compensation. But this never happened, due to Haytham's death and the elimination of the Colonial Rite. And this development again goes back to Shay Cormac who, by stopping Haytham from killing Achilles, inadvertently caused Haytham's death years later, affecting Charles Lee's fate as well in a crazy domino effect.

Although Haytham is not a villain / antagonist by nature, he obtains that role in Connor's story, since he belongs to the Templar Order; because in Rogue's story, where we see everything through Shay's point of view, Haytham is on the side of good. In spite of his extreme cruelty, however, he is character whom you can easily love, because of his captivating and compelling personality; also because his more positive elements are also shown, and especially after you get to know the tragic story of his family and his own dramatic path in life. Having inherited both the noble grace of his mother and the stunning looks of his father, he trained to become a ruthless killer under Birch's never-resting eye; the fact that he is as handsome as he is cruel, is a murderous combination, which makes him even more intimidating and fearsome.

Haytham was born in a loving environment, growing up under the guidance of a father who adored him and offered him everything, but whom he lost too soon, while his own character was still unshaped. He confesses in his journal that he loved Edward fiercely, something that indicates that if his father hadn't met his tragic premature end, Haytham would have moved on in his youth following Edward's guidance with devotion, before setting out to the world to carve his own path as a just and honorable Assassin. But even for this, we cannot be completely sure. He was too young when he was left alone, and Birch's influence had been so defining then, that even Haytham himself could not tell with certainty what his true nature was. Haytham's case is very interesting, because although it is clear that he was not born evil, for most part of his childhood, adolescence and early youth he grew in conditions that he could not control and which were irreversibly leading him to a path that he probably wouldn't have chosen himself, but this is something that neither he nor we will ever know. His character was shaped in an environment that was forced on him, so whether he would have chosen the side of good or the side of evil following his own free will, is something that noone can tell for sure. 

What is certain, however, is that for a big part of his life the two opposed elements, the good and the evil, were always in conflict in his heart and mind, and we can see these contradicting sides as soon as his story begins: he rushes to save the sailor who is about to fall in the stormy sea, while moments before he intimidated the ship's captain by coldly exposing his hidden blade towards him, and earlier he looked more than convincing when he assured Mr Smythe that he would cut his head off the next time that the captain would dare to threaten him. During his part of the plot, there is a constant switch from one side to the other, as we watch him treating Zhiio with gentleness or being very kind to Charles, while at the same time he kills his enemies or suspected adversaries in cold blood and without the slightest remorse. 

When we come across him again in Connor's part of the story, his good side seems to have shrunk so much that it is practically non-existent, showing only extremely feeble sparks of kindness the few times that he calls Connor "son" and during his final moments when he admits that, in a way, he is proud of what Connor has become. And again, we can never be sure if he is being sincere in these moments or he is once more attempting to manipulate Connor. Haytham is extremely intelligent, and throughout his life he made use of his brilliant mind to achieve malicious ends. But this was not a development that happened overnight and with a light heart: earlier, he had learned that Birch was responsible for Edward's death and the gloomy fate of his sister, and he had taken his revenge on him after having freed Jenny as well; he had also gone through the painful incident involving his friend Jim Holden, which triggered another extremely vindictive but justified action from his part. It is crucial to consider such events when examining Haytham's character, as they further intensified his conditioned cruelty and gradually diminished his good elements, eventually turning him into the cold-blooded murderer that Birch always wanted to make him, his most characteristic habit being to ruthlessly kill his victims just as soon as they stopped being useful to him.

 

The incident with the three officers at Fort George depicts Haytham's cruelty and relentlessness more accurately than any other, even before we see him in plain action in that sequence. Haytham and Connor have just attacked a group of soldiers who had been keeping guard, securing the meeting of three British officers in the grounds of a burned church. After eliminating the guards, Haytham captures the three officers, but as he is tying the hands of the last one, the first manages to escape. Haytham orders Connor to run after him, which the boy does, not with much willingness, somehow sensing, albeit very vaguely, what will follow. He then chases the officer and catches him, leading him to Fort George, as Haytham commanded earlier. As they are approaching the entrance of the Fort, the officer starts panicking; although moments before he cursed at Connor, he now begs him to set him free, adding with a trembling voice that if he steps inside the Fort, he will be a dead man. Unaware of the extent of his father's murderous nature, Connor tells the officer that they will just ask him a few questions, so there is nothing to worry about. Right then, Haytham shows up, and the panic in the officer's eyes and the way he steps back terrified although he knows there is no way out of this situation, all this shockingly contrasting with Haytham's stunning figure and his noble beauty as he grabs the officer's arm with an enigmatic grin while the officer instinctively leans towards Connor, literally make time freeze at that point. It is obvious that the guard knows very well who Haytham is, and he also knows how merciless and remorseless he is, which is why he attempted to escape in the first place.

Once inside the Fort, the terrified officer is put to sit between his two colleagues who look suspiciously quiet and not moving at all, and soon we realize why, it's because while Connor was out in the streets chasing the last officer, Haytham did not waste any time; he inquired the other two, got the information that he wanted from them and immediately after, he summarily cut their throats. Still fostering the vain hope that he might survive the same nightmarish ordeal, the officer gives Haytham all the details that he wants to know, which are the same things that his dead colleagues have already told him. Promising that he will then set him free, Haytham instantly cuts the man's throat as well with his hidden blade, much to Connor's shock.

Occurring at a crucial point in the story, this chilling incident confirmed - because we had been given hints up to that point anyway - that Haytham had already been notorious for his ruthlessness and cruelty. There was nothing that could stop him, and he was afraid of nothing; noone could mess with him and make it out alive, and once he blacklisted a person, that person was sure to meet their death. The only times when he actually showed mercy were the moments when he killed his victims, as he made sure their deaths were instant and quick. And the only person who could actually defeat him was Connor, but not because he was stronger than Haytham. Connor was very strong, but Haytham had incredible physical strength in spite of his delicate build and light movement; and there was no way Connor could have matched him; but by removing his hidden blade during their final, fatal confrontation, Haytham ensured that he would give Connor a fighting chance. And proud as he was until the end, he would have never allowed himself to succumb to any other blade, than that of his own son; in any other case, he would surely have succeeded in cheating death.

 

In the long course of the Assassin's Creed Saga, these four characters are probably the most fascinating in terms of how they balance between good and evil, either due to the circumstances or because of their own perception of the world. Their evolution is extremely interesting, as is the way in which the actions of each one of them affect, directly or indirectly, the development of the others - especially how Shay Cormac's choices practically defined the fate of the other three, as well as the future of Connor and Arno, either directly or indirectly; and they all prove that nothing is ever absolute or clear-cut and, most of all, that good and evil are relative notions and much closer to one another than one would imagine. 

Walpole, Conway, Kenway and Black Sam Bellamy

During the eventful beginning of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, the pirate of our hearts Edward Kenway, ex-privateer and currently a sailor on a pirate brig called The Jacobite, survives a nasty naval battle and the even nastier sinking of his ship and finds himself on an idyllic tropical beach with white sand, palm trees and the crystal waters of the sea full of the remains of his fellow sailors and well as of those that were on the HMS Intrigue, the hostile frigate that attacked his brig. Very soon he realizes that he is not alone on that beautiful beach, as there is one more survivor, who not only was sailing on the HMS Intrigue, but he was the one who assassinated the captain of Edward's ship and would surely have killed more sailors had the Jacobite's magazine not detonated, which caused the sudden explosion and subsequent sinking of the brig. 

Edward and Duncan on the idyllic Caribbean beach

Heavily hurt but still resilient, the stranger, knowing that Edward is a pirate, asks him - well, more like, he demands - to help him get to Havana, which was his original destination, by offering a considerable amount of money. Sensing that he does not have any gold on him, however, Edward approaches the man to discuss the offer further. Although Edward's attitude is not really hostile, the man gets defensive and threatens to shoot him, only to find out that his pistol is temporarily jammed due to its exposure in the water. 

Duncan threatens to shoot Edward

He throws away the gun in a fury and runs away, and a long and rather exciting chase ensues, through a flourishing forest with vibrant tropical flowers, rainbow-bathed waterfalls, lovely lagoons and harmless fauna, while Edward makes failed attempts to convince the stranger that they could work together and get to Havana by helping each other out. The other guy becomes more hostile and even shoots Edward (thankfully our hero is only grazed by the bullet), obviously by using another pistol; the chase then becomes even more stressing until they reach a clearing where they have a face-off during which Edward is forced to kill the man on the spot, in clear self-defense.

Edward searches the dead body of his mysterious assailant

By searching the items that he was carrying, Edward finds a letter addressed to the now dead assailant. His name was Duncan Walpole and he was on route to meet the Governor of Havana in order to give him a couple of maps and a glass cube of major importance, in exchange for gold. As it is revealed from the letter, the Governor had never seen Mr Walpole, so he did now know how he looked like, an information that instantly gave the ingenious Edward the idea to assume the man's identity and present himself to the Governor as Duncan Walpole so as to claim the dead man's promised reward. Stranded and without any resources as he was at the coast of Cape Bonavista, this looked like the only possible way out for him. So he puts on Duncan's outfit, takes the cube, the letter and the maps, and sets for Havana.

Edward with Duncan Walpole's Assassin uniform

What Edward did not know was that Duncan Walpole was an Assassin, just about to betray his Brotherhood and join the Templar Order, in which the Governor of Cuba belonged as well, being also the Grand Master of the West Indies Rite. Unaware of this crucial detail and completely ignorant about the existence of Assassins and Templars (they are secret societies, after all), Edward eventually reaches Havana and makes his acquaintance with the Governor, introducing himself as Duncan Walpole. During the meeting, he learns about the existence of the Observatory, a sacred place that carries a rare and special treasure but the location of which is unknown, and only one man, called the Sage, knows where it is. 

Edward in lively Havana

The sham works perfectly, and Edward gets his reward; however later, due to a series of miscalculated and hasty moves, his deceit is exposed and the Governor, furious not only because of having been deceived but also because Edward had killed a very promising and skilled future Templar, who also knew secrets of the Assassin Brotherhood, therefore would have been additionally valuable for the Order, has him captured and sends him off on a prisoner ship. From that point and on, our hero takes his fate in his own hands, manages to free himself with the help of Adewale, an escapee slave from Trinidad, steals a brigantine which he calls The Jackdaw, becomes a pirate captain and sets sail for Nassau, where a group of pirates who were his comrades during his privateering days had established an independent Republic state. A succession of adventures follows, during which Edward gets to know about the Assassin Brotherhood, realizes that he has all the gifts and skills that could make him an Assassin too, meets the Mayan Master Assassin Ah Tabai, who used to be Duncan's mentor and now feels betrayed and is skeptical about accepting Edward in the Brotherhood; he painfully parts with some of his friends one way or the other, and he eventually manages to locate the Sage, who turns out to be fellow pirate Bartholomew Roberts. Edward subsequently reaches the Observatory with him, only to fall in a nearly lethal trap that results in a bounty being put on his head and him ending up imprisoned in a Jamaican jail. 

Laureano Torres threatens Edward in the prison grounds

Because he is a pirate, because of the bounty but mainly because he refused to cooperate with Laureano Torres and his associates by not revealing the location of the Observatory, as part of his punishment he is locked in a cage for several hours each day, both as a deterrent for the other imprisoned pirates, but mainly in order to have him weakened and hopefully make him talk. This routine is repeated for several months until one day Ah Tabai sneaks in the prison grounds, still unsure about accepting Edward in the Brotherhood, but nonetheless willing to help him escape. Just before this happens, the guards who are responsible for keeping an eye on the prisoners in the cages take their positions and they start gossiping and mocking Edward for the unlucky state in which he found himself. As part of their cruel teasing, they call him Walpole, bringing back memories of how it all began; and they deliberately misspell his own name by calling him Conway.

Edward in captivity

There is a very interesting connection between these two names, Walpole and Conway, especially since they are heard the one after the other in the same context, with Edward's real surname being the link between them. Duncan Walpole, the "devilishly handsome" traitor of the Assassin Brotherhood, shares the same surname with Horace Walpole (1717-1797), politician and writer who authored the "Castle of Otranto" (1764), which is considered the first Gothic novel. Long before Gothic literature became popular through the writings of the Victorian era writers, Horace Walpole wrote his eery, chilling novel narrating the story of a family haunted by an accursed prophecy. Walpole himself was a restless spirit, and took on several professions throughout his life, but he was rather solitary, he never married and his closest friend to whom he was also strongly (and probably suspiciously) attached was a cousin of his, named Henry Seymour Conway (1721-1795).

Horace Walpole (by Rosalba Carriera, left) and his cousin Henry Conway (right)

So see how Walpole and Conway, the names with which the guards call Edward, are already connected to each other. But there is one more connection, which again ties them with Edward Kenway. Henry Conway, an army general who had taken on several military operations and was also involved in politics, did marry unlike his cousin and although he too was attached to Horace since they came together for the first time at Eaton College. His wife, the young widow of an Earl, was called Caroline, sharing the name of Edward's wife in Black Flag.

Edward and Caroline in one of the story's flashbacks

Just like her real-life namesake, Black Flag's Caroline was also born in a wealthy family, and her romance with and subsequent marriage to Edward was frowned upon by her parents. For its own part, this fact connects Edward to the real-life pirate captain Samuel Bellamy, also known as Black Sam Bellamy, a London-born buccaneer, who operated in the West Indies during the Golden Age of Piracy and whose personality and life story seem to have been a major inspiration behind Edward's character. 

 

Captain Samuel Bellamy, by Gregory Manchess

 

Before becoming a pirate and while serving the Royal Navy as a privateer, Samuel Bellamy was engaged to a girl named Mary Hallet, whose family disapproved of their romance. In order to prove himself worthy and become wealthy enough, Samuel turned to piracy, after connecting with Benjamin Hornigold and Edward Teatch (or Thatch, the famous Blackbeard, to whom Hornigold was a mentor). Mary was pregnant when he left, something that Samuel ignored, exactly how things turned out for Edward; but unlike Caroline, who gave birth to Jennifer, Mary suffered a miscarriage. All these facts share many similarities with Edward's life adventures, as does the sinking of the real Spanish Treasure Fleet in 1715 during a disastrous storm, a historical event and the incident that in Black Flag gave Edward the chance to become a pirate captain: while sailing in the waters of the Treasure Fleet's wreckage looking for gold, just like lots of others buccaneers and pirates who had rushed to the site for the same purpose, Bellamy and his friend Henry Jennings eventually joined Hornigold and Blackbeard's pirate crew, similarly how Edward, after surviving the hurricane, in which the Treasure Fleet sunk, sailed to Nassau to reconnect with his old comrades, the very same Benjamin Hornigold and Ed Thatch, with Adewale and his newly acquired crew on his Jackdaw.

 

The Jackdaw sailing away from the sunken Treasure Fleet

 

Although he soon became legendary, Samuel Bellamy rarely resorted to violence, which is why he was fondly nicknamed Prince of Pirates and Robin Hood of the Sea. He was a strikingly beautiful young man, just like Edward; only he had black hair - pretty much like Duncan Walpole; and he used to have his hair tied back in a queue, ditching the wig that was a trend until then - a stylistic modernity that post-humously earned him the nickname Black Sam Bellamy (because he would show off his black hair). As we see in the game, both Edward and Duncan have their hair tied back; and they are both very handsome and attractive, like the real-life captain. It looks like several characteristics of Samuel Bellamy were split between the two characters, which makes their fatal meeting in the Caribbean Sea and the fact that they essentially became one person for the brief time during which Edward impersonated Duncan, even more interesting and intriguing. 

 

Samuel Bellamy (by Don Maitz), Duncan Walpole and Edward Kenway

Furthermore, when during the dialogue with Stede Bonnet on the latter's ship after their meeting, Edward comments that most pirates prefer to sail in the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola, he is making a tribute to Samuel Bellamy in fact, as it was in that exact refererred location where the real-life pirate captain spotted the Whydah Gally, a grand slave ship which was carrying big amounts of gold, valuable materials and a large number of slaves. Bellamy went on to capture the ship and eventually claimed its ownership, becoming its captain. Incidentally, the name of Edward's ship, The Jackdaw, alludes to Samuel Bellamy's ship, as the Whydah is also a bird species. The original captain of the Whydah was the real-life Dutch buccaneer Laurens Prins who, in Black Flag, appears as the slave trader who had employed Bartholomew Roberts before attempting to sell him to the Templars. Captain Bellamy became the richest pirate in history, but this came with the biggest cost: he lost his life during a storm in which his ship was caught, after having plundered several other vessels and collected a big amount of gold from them. The Whydah went down and he was drowned with most of his men just off Cape Cod, when he was only 28 years old. Duncan Walpole was killed by Edward at the age of 36, and Edward was murdered when he was 42. They all died young, sharing the tragic fate that so often accompanies both heroes and villains, real and fictional alike. 

The Gothic and Victorian Affinities of Contemporary Horror Games

In the dark and twisted world of the villains in horror games, of the powerful evil characters who pull the strings from the shadows until they eventually make their grand appearance, there is one very special category that usually stands out, that of the evil masterminds who share a strong and unhealthy attachment to the past of their families. Whether their ancestors were glorious or not, most of the times does not matter, as what these complex personalities do is to appear as living representations of their illustrious past, something that, however, rarely - if not at all - gives justice to their noble past. The environments in which these people live, corrupted both literally and metaphorically, are characterized by the presence of gothic and Victorian-era elements which further support the pomposity of their owners and, occasionally, their sadistic tendencies.

The now iconic Spencer Mansion in the very first Resident Evil and its subsequent remakes is one such memorable case. The vast, intimidating villa, with its hidden passages, secret corridors, locked rooms, secluded gardens and spooky basements, is a most characteristic example of an environment that essentially stars in the story where it appears, as the lead characters, Chris and Jill, find themselves trapped inside the house almost as soon as the game begins, with no obvious way out as the area just outside the main entrance is guarded by bloodthirsty dogs. All other exits seem to be locked and getting out requires a long and suspenseful search for keys, mutli-functional objects and puzzle solving, as well as battling dangerous enemies that roam the mansion's grounds. Everything in the villa is vintagey, including its decoration, furniture and other items, but its most creepy feature is the absence of any other human beings, except for our protagonists.

Somewhere in the twisting corridors of a nearly separate wing, there is a vitraux portrait of a girl who once used to live in that place. This was not many years ago, but the vitraux depicts a woman dressed like she comes from a very distant era, alluring to a nostalgic - significant for the house's once human inhabitants - Victorian style, something that matches the overall atmosphere of the mansion and reaches the limits of tragedy when it is revealed that Lisa, the beautiful girl of the portrait, now wanders around the countryside outside the villa in the form of a terrifying, mutated creature. 

Locked in his vast, mazey castle, Ramón Salazar of the original Resident Evil 4 is a sad remnant of his aristocratic and once distinguished family, contemplating the glory of his ancestors while doing very little to live up to their example. The whole area where the castle is located, together with the village close to it and several other installations, seems to be lost in time altogether: the houses look like they belong to at least half a century back and there are farming systems that are made of defunct materials; but it is in the castle grounds where the whole "lost-in-time" eery feeling is intensified, as the heavy, rich decoration comes to contrast with the corruption that runs in all its halls, creating a chilling, unsettling atmosphere.

Salazar himself likes to dress like a gentleman of centuries back, although his whole attitude is not gentlemanly at all. Just like his residence, his appearance as well is a huge guise, like an attempt to make the other people, whom he basically hates, see him like he would have liked to be: an esteemed aristocrat with an illustrious past and an even more impressive present. Instead, he is a caricature of all this, something that is mostly intensified by his nasty demeanor, his innate sadism and the fact that he never felt accepted by his family. 

This last element was not so evident in the original game, but it is of major importance in the recent remake, where Salazar is presented as much more cruel and sadistic, also carrying a stigma which, apparently, he was never able to get over: it is hinted that he may have been his mother's illegitimate son, if you take notice of certain things that he yells out during Leon's final battle with him, and the fact that there are a few portraits in the castle that may be confusing as to who exactly all these ancestors were and what their relationship to Ramón might have been. Setting aside the tragic aspect of this, as a fact it also relates to stories of the Victorian era, about illegitimate children and lost families.

Equally his revamped castle in the remake features extravagant objects and overwhelming decoration, always inspired by a past where Gothic and Victorian elements were prominent. Notably all the portraits that can be seen on the walls are of people that belonged to past eras; and all the paintings depict dark and gloomy landscapes, and even disturbing, morbid scenes with a strong gothic element as well.

Alfred Ashford of Resident Evil: Code Veronica has some things in common with Ramón Salazar, albeit he is much more dangerous because, thanks to his rank as an army officer, he can additionally handle weapons excellently. Alfred appears dressed in an old-fashioned army uniform with a red jacket adorned with medals and white pants; we can't know for sure if the medals are his or belonged to his ancestors, but it is obvious that he too, just like Ramón, is a delusional, paranoid man who refuses to connect to reality as it is, something that has an explanation, since he may have always been marginally insane, but he completely lost his mind after the "death" of his beloved twin sister, Alexia.

Alfred lives in a lush vintage mansion which, in spite of its undeniable charm, is quite cold and eery, due to the gothic-like decoration which sometimes reaches the limits of grotesque and kitsch. There is too much gold all around, as well as huge, intimidating statues that mostly have negative or unpleasant connotations. Like Ramón's castle, the Ashford Mansion as well is a maze of twisting staircases, hidden passages, secret doors, lethal traps, complete with a well-concealed path to a secluded private manor, the Ashford palace, which used to be the residence of Alfred's family. Both villas share the same eery atmosphere, which makes wandering in their grounds a living nightmare.

When Alexia eventually wakes from her slumber and makes her appearance, we see her dressed in a luxurious but very vintage fashion, with a long purple dress, white silk gloves that go over her elbows and exquisite, precious jewellery, evoking the image of ladies in century-old portraits as well as heroines of Victorian novels and Romantic poetry.

Notably, as can be seen in the screenshot above, the family portrait behind her depicts the patriarch of the family, Alexander Ashford, Alexia herself and Alfred. All three are again dressed in a vintage fashion, and the overall style of the portrait is following guidelines of family portraits of the past.

James Marcus, the twisted scientist from Resident Evil Zero who experimented on his students in the most appalling ways, appears as a young man with long hair who is wearing a long, white gown, pretty similar to those worn by men in the distant past. Albeit operating in the mid-60ties mostly, Marcus has a fascination with the old times, something that is also evident from several objects found in his lab. It is notable that details on his outfit, specifically the shape of the collar, resembles leeches, which were part of his experiments before he became the terrifying Queen Leech himself.

Much less creepy in appearance, but quite unsettling as a personality, Donna Beneviento from Resident Evil: Village walks around dressed exactly like a mourning Victorian lady, a look that is preserved also in the huge portrait that decorates one of the walls of her old-fashioned residence. The house itself has several vintage objects, and even mechanisms that are not particularly modern (like the elevator leading to the basement the technology of which is rather old), but you could say that is more or less a typical village house which has not modernized itself enough yet. Donna herself, however, as a presence and appearance, is the exact incarnation of the gothic and Victorian affinities of horror games, maybe more than any other villain similar to her.

In the same spirit, the coach that the Duke can be seen driving near the end of the game, transporting Ethan to the altar to fight against Miranda and save Rose, looks eerily like a Victorian hearse, complete with its black horse and the lanterns to light the way in the darkness.

Taking place almost entirely inside an insane man's mind, The Evil Within is comprised of images that are mixtures of past and present, of memories and a distorted reality, and as such its environments defy any normal perception of how they truly are, if they even exist for real. Once trapped in Ruvik's twisted game, Sebastian constantly finds himself, scene after scene, in places that do not make sense, as they seem to be lost in time and space. Starting with the village where all the houses are old, derelict and deserted, including the narrow spaces with the vintage mirrors that work as passages back to the safe haven, nearly all the areas that Sebastian has to cross are a tangle of elements that could never co-exist in real time.

As the story approaches its tragic revelation, the environments become more and more unsettling and confusing, as Ruvik's memories get mixed with the memories of his victims, creating a nightmarish and nauseatic space where everything is messed up and which offers no obvious way out. Old buildings, vintage installations, objects from the past, all thrown together in places that seem to carry a significance for the people involved, yet all this is too blurred to even make sense. 

In the heart of all this, Ruvik's family mansion finally comes to the foreground, appearing as a compelling villa with both gothic and Victorian elements which of course come together with the unavoidable atmosphere of fear and disturbing mystery. Drowned in fog, in the center of a rotting garden, Ruvik's home turns out to be the beginning and the end of his life's tragedy.

But most of all, The Evil Within's Gothic and Victorian affinity is shown in the characters themselves: after Sebastian solves one of the phrenology puzzles in the secret room behind the fireplace in the bedroom of Ruvik's parents and gets back out in the room itself, he has a vision of Ruvik standing over the dead bodies of his mother and his father, whom he had just killed with his own hands. Both his parents are dressed in a fashion going centuries back.

And like in Donna Beneviento's case, the Victoriano family showcases all its Gothic and Victorian gloominess in the portrait that depicts its four members, dressed like they come straight out of a novel by Wilkie Collins or Charles Dickens.

This peculiar mix of past and present is one of the most charming elements of horror games, as its roots go back to classic thrillers, both of literature and cinematography. For the environments specifically, think about novels like Rebecca or Bleak House, where the mansions as ambiences play a major role in both the development of the stories and the overall feeling of uncertainty and fear. Such emblematic fictional settings are a constant point of reference in contemporary horror fiction, video games included; and so are their lead characters, equally protagonists and antagonists. As to why in video games it is always the villains who choose to present themselves as figures of the past, maybe it is because for most of them it is by default impossible to exist among people, as they all carry huge traumas that they cannot or are not willing to even try to heal, and their attachment to the old times keeps them secluded in a world of their own, while at the same time distinguishes them from the masses that they usually despise as well.