Rafik

Rafik was a silk merchant of Damascus and a member of the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins, who served as the local Rafiq during the time of the Third Crusade.
==Biography==
In 1190, Rafik was contacted by a fellow Assassin, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, one morning in the midst of advertising his Chinese silks to a crowd of women. Rafik was unimpressed by Altaïr's indiscretion and vexed by the young Assassin's brash way of addressing him. Berating Altaïr for his behavior, Rafik proceeded to test Altaïr by commanding him to kill a man at the large gate at the end of the street. Altaïr eliminated the man with ease, redeeming himself in the eyes of Rafik, who thus allowed him into the Assassin bureau.
When Altaïr explained his search for the Chalice, Rafik related that the previous men sent by Al Mualim had all failed this mission with the exception of one that was subsequently hunted down near Alep by the Templars. He suggested a wealthy oddities merchant by the name of Tamir as a prime lead, as that man was closely associated with the Templars. However, with Tamir's residence heavily guarded, Altaïr realized that a detour was necessary. Rafik, having anticipated this, advised Altaïr to seek out Misbah, an acquaintance of Tamir on Lowend Street.
Once Altaïr had successfully interrogated Tamir, he returned to Rafik to inquire about Fajera, a dancer that Tamir claimed to possess knowledge of the keys to the Temple of Sand. Rafik found this amusing and directed Altaïr to Market Street where the circus was located.
Later, when Altaïr arrived in Tyre and met with Hamid, a carpet merchant and a rafiq of that city, he mentioned that he was sent by Rafik as a way of discreetly informing Hamid that he was indeed a fellow Assassin.
==Trivia==
*Rafiq, رفيق, is an Arabic word meaning "friend."
*Rafiq is a rank within the Assassin Order. Assassins that held this rank generally served as field contacts for a particular city, providing information and direction to any Assassin that operated there. As the rafiq of Damascus coincidentally possessed a given name identical to his title in the Assassin Order, his name "Rafik" can be mistaken to not be his name at all. However, in-game dialogue reaffirms that Rafik is indeed his name, as Altaïr, in Tyre when speaking with Hamid, refers to him as "Rafik, the silk merchant of Damascus" and all other references to the character lacks a grammatical article. Moreover, it is worth noting that Altaïr addresses all rafiq in the game as "Keeper" rather than rafiq, implying either that Rafik and Hamid did not hold the rank of rafiq despite being bureau leaders of their respective cities, or that the title was rendered with the word "Keeper" instead in that particular game.
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
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Category:Individuals
Category:Egyptians
Category:Merchants
Category:Assassins
Category:Levantine Assassins
Category:Assassin bureau leaders