Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Affiliation
* Assassin Brotherhood
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**Ezio Auditore da Firenze** was a Human male who lived on Earth in the 15th and 16th centuries. He was a Florentine nobleman during the Renaissance and, unbeknownst to most historians and philosophers, the Mentor of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins, a title which he held from 1503 to 1513. He is also an ancestor to William and Desmond Miles, as well as Clay Kaczmarek. Overall, he was one of the least known Assassins in history despite being, in retrospect, one of the most important people in human history. He would guide the Italian branch of the Assassin Brotherhood, the ancient peacekeeping and free-thinking order and sworn enemies of the Order of the Knights Templar.

A member of the House of Auditore, Ezio remained unaware of his Assassin heritage until the age of 17, when he witnessed the hanging of his father and two brothers, Federico and Petruccio. Forced to flee his birthplace with his remaining family members - his mother Maria and sister Claudia - Ezio took refuge in the Tuscan town of Monteriggioni, at the Villa Auditore.

After learning of his heritage from his uncle, Mario Auditore, Ezio began his Assassin training and set about on his quest for vengeance against the Templar Order, and their Grand Master, Rodrigo Borgia, who had ordered the execution of his kin.

During his travels, Ezio managed to not only unite the pages of the Codex, written by the famed Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Mentor of the Levantine Assassins, but also to save the cities of Florence, Venice, and Rome from Templar rule.

He ensured the future travels of Christopher Columbus to the New World, liberated Rome from Borgia rule, and prevented the rise to power of Ercole Massimo's Cult of Hermes, helping spread the Renaissance and Assassin ideals of independence and free will throughout Italy.

In the years that followed, Ezio began a quest to rediscover the lost history of the Order. Traveling to the aged fortress of Masyaf in order to learn more of the Assassins before him, he discovered it overrun with Templars and made his way to the city of Constantinople to uncover the location of the Masyaf keys which, as he discovered, would unlock the fortress's fabled hidden library when brought together.

A decade later, Ezio had retired and resided in a Tuscan villa with his wife, Sofia Sartor, and his two children; Flavia and Marcello. Some time after helping teach the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun the ways of the Order, Ezio died of a heart attack at the age of 65, during a visit to Florence with his wife and daughter.

## Early life

Ezio was born in Florence on 24 June 1459, as the second son of Giovanni and Maria Auditore. He appeared to be stillborn, but, after some words of encouragement from his father, he began to cry, leading his father to call him a "fighter".

Up until the age of 17, Ezio lived a life of luxury amidst the members of the Florentine noble class; he was apprenticed to the renowned banker Giovanni Tornabuoni, who worked alongside Giovanni Auditore's banking business, but was all the while unaware of his father's allegiance to the Assassin Order.

In the year 1476, Ezio, his older brother Federico, and friends of the family fought with Vieri de' Pazzi and his gang. Just before the fight, Ezio received a gash down across his lip – caused by Vieri throwing a stone – which would scar, and remain for the rest of his life.

During the brawl, Ezio pummeled several members of the opposing gang, but Vieri managed to flee the scene before Ezio could do anything to him. After lootingseveral people left unconscious by the fight, the two brothers ran across the rooftops to find Ezio some medical help for his injuries.

After the doctor tended to his wound, a church nearby caught the eye of the brothers, and Federico suggested a race. Ezio won, as he managed to reach the top quickest, and together the two looked out over the city. Despite Federico's disapproval, Ezio made his way to the home of Cristina Vespucci and spent the night with her.

Though caught by Cristina's father the morning after, Ezio fled from a group of pursuing guards before meeting with his father at the Palazzo Auditore. Giovanni scolded him, but later softened, admitting that his son's actions reminded him of his own youth. He then asked Ezio for his assistance in an errand later in the day.

Once Ezio had returned home, Ezio's little brother Petruccio asked him if he could collect eagle feathers from the rooftops, with the promise to return to bed afterwards, as he was ill. After a tiring search for feathers, Ezio returned them to his younger brother, though Petruccio was secretive about their purpose.

Later, Ezio found his sister Claudia in a distraught state, crying on a bench in their home after discovering her boyfriend, Duccio de Luca, had been unfaithful. After obtaining his whereabouts, Ezio tracked down and beat Duccio, before warning him to stay away from his sister.

Upon returning to the palazzo once more, Ezio's mother secured his services in picking up some paintings from a young artist that she patronized, Leonardo da Vinci. On the walk home, Leonardo struck up a conversation, beginning a friendship between the two young men that would last throughout their later lives.

## Auditore execution

After finishing the errand for his mother, Ezio returned to Giovanni, who requested that he deliver two letters to contacts of his in the city, before retrieving a third letter from a pigeon coop not far from the house.

Ezio agreed, and after two odd encounters with the people he'd delivered the letters to, Ezio retrieved the note from the pigeon coop only to witness guards running across Florence.

Ezio returned home to find his home ransacked, his father and brothers missing, and his mother and sister hiding. Learning that city guards had been ordered to arrest Giovanni and all of his sons, Ezio made his way to the Palazzo della Signoria, where his father and brothers were being held.

Climbing the building and speaking to his father through his cell window, Ezio was instructed to find a chest hidden in his office, take everything out of it, and deliver a sealed letter to Uberto Alberti, Gonfaloniere of Florence and a close friend of the Auditore family. Doing so, Ezio found his father's Assassin robes, a broken Hidden Blade, and a letter containing details of a plot against the city of Florence and the Auditore family.

Ezio brought the incriminating documents to Uberto, and was assured that his family would be released the following day, when the information was presented as evidence of their innocence. Ezio then traveled to the home of Cristina Vespucci, where he spent the night once again.

The next day, Ezio returned to the Piazza della Signoria to find Uberto presiding over the execution of his family.

Giovanni declared their innocence, citing the information given to Uberto as evidence, but the Gonfaloniere denied any knowledge of such information. Ezio shouted that Uberto was lying, but his efforts to prevent the execution were ultimately in vain.

Ezio could only watch helplessly from the crowd as his father and brothers were hanged. When he attempted to charge the gallows to avenge his kin, Uberto ordered the city guards to kill him.

At the urging of one of Giovanni's friends, a thief, Ezio fled the Piazza della Signoria and sought shelter in a brothel run by the sister of the Auditore housemaid, a courtesan named Paola.

## Exacting revenge

Paola, who – unbeknownst to Ezio – was an Assassin herself, agreed to assist Ezio in his quest for vengeance, teaching him how to survive in the city as an outlaw through pickpocketing and blending in crowds. She further directed Ezio to Leonardo da Vinci to repair Giovanni's Hidden Blade, though she did not notice that Ezio was being watched.

After Leonardo repaired the blade, a guard banged on the door and ordered Leonardo outside before trying to beat Ezio's location from him. Ezio realized something was wrong and crept up behind the guard, assassinating him.

After Leonardo had thanked him, Ezio sought out and assassinated Uberto in the courtyard of the Basilica di Santa Croce, during Andrea del Verrocchio's latest exhibit.

Once he had made his way into the courtyard, Ezio attacked Uberto in a frenzied rage, stabbing him multiple times in the chest, before proudly proclaiming the survival of the Auditore family, through him.

After killing Uberto, Ezio took the documents that the Gonfaloniere had concealed from him and his father, as well as a letter from Uberto meant for his wife and son. Ezio decided that he would see to it that she received the letter, not wanting to sink to Uberto's level.

## Early years as an Assassin

### Discovering his heritage

Now the most wanted man in Florence, Ezio fled the city with his mother and sister in the hopes of making their way to Spain, stopping beforehand at the Auditore family's villa in Monteriggioni for shelter.

As they neared the town, the three were accosted by Vieri de' Pazzi and his followers, but were saved by the timely arrival of Ezio's uncle, Mario Auditore, and his mercenaries.

Mario informed Ezio of the existence of the Assassins, in an obvious attempt to induct him into the Order. He spent some time teaching Ezio swordplay, and revealed that many of his ancestors, including Giovanni, were members of the Assassin Order.

However, Ezio refused his ancestry, wishing only to continue his journey to Spain for his mother's and sister's safety, with the help of the skills Mario had taught him.

Enraged, Mario left Monteriggioni for the city of San Gimignano, where Vieri had been located, in an attempt to relieve Monteriggioni of continual assaults by the Pazzi's minions. Guilt-ridden and knowing his presence was a primary reason for the ongoing attacks, Ezio traveled to San Gimignano to accept Mario's offer.