League of Assassins

The **League of Assassins** was a secret organization of highly trained assassins founded by Al-Fatih in 1013 and led by him and other bearers of the Ra's al Ghul title. They train their members at Nanda Parbat. The leader of the League will always assume the title of "Ra's al Ghul" from their predecessor.

## Overview

### Purpose

The League's purpose is to hunt down and kill people deemed a danger to society and the world at large, and has done so for many years, resulting in thousands of deaths and thus keeping the balance, that Mar Novu implied Al-Fatih must keep, or else the world would be in jeopardy.

### Training

All of its members go through a harsh and bitter course of training that leaves its trainees either dead or at the peak of human physical condition, so much so that they rarely feel pain itself. They are trained in the arts of swordsmanship, archery, stealth and killing in both the quickest and most discreet methods or the most painful and drawn out ways. They are also trained to be able to escape from any prison. All of its members also seem very devoted to Ra's as many of them have been seen killing themselves for the league, allowing Ra's to kill them simply for him to train himself, carrying out his orders without question, and protecting him at the cost of their own lives. A League member once stated that, the "will of Ra's al Ghul is our own!".

### Code of honor

The League has a deep code of honor and those who violate the code are hunted down and killed. They appear to send their lower ranked members first before deploying their more skilled fighters if their person of interest is not yet been brought to justice. Members of the League have only one way of being freed from their oath: either by death or by being released. Being released from the League is extremely rare, as only two members have been; Sara Lance and Malcolm Merlyn, indicating the Ra's had a fondness for them. Sara Lance is the only member to have been released twice; once in 2014 by Nyssa al Ghul, and by Ra's al Ghul in 1960. If a League member is killed in cold blood, the League will kill 50 civilians per day until the guilty party admits to their crimes and is brought to justice. However, those who commit crimes against the League or break its principles are allowed a trial by combat in a fight against Ra's himself, though most of them seem to be afraid to fight him and choose death upfront. When the trial does take place it is upon a mountain that can only be reached by a long and rigorous climb that some do not even survive. Furthermore, all members of the league are given a new name of their choosing to be addressed by. Their only known place of establishment is Nanda Parbat.

### Communication methods

The League tends to be very old-fashioned in many of its ways, including communication methods, such as invisible ink that is made visible when exposed to a flame and signal messages, smoke to show location, and their sense of justice. They also prefer bows and arrow, staffs, and other weapons from medieval times. Al-Owal is the only known member to use firearms, as other members have referred to guns as "a coward's weapon".

### Traditions

The League's members choose new names in the Arabic language; upon their entrance into the League as a way to distance themselves from their past life and be reborn into something new. It appears that learning this language may be a requirement of membership, as many League members (even those whose native language is not Arabic) have been shown speaking it.

Each member has his/her signature weapon. During the course of their training members train to master all kinds of weaponry, but eventually specialize in one weapon and that will be the one they will carry with them at all times during their missions. Malcolm, Nyssa and Oliver used a bow and arrow, Maseo and Al-Owal used a sword, Sara used a bo-staff, and other several members have been seen using tomahawks and truncheons.

The League's members are sent out with a vial of cyanide that kills the user quickly for members to use in the event they are captured to prevent interrogation. They are also very efficient in finding information, even something as faint as rumors of Malcolm Merlyn fathering an illegitimate child, something Malcolm himself wasn't aware of until recently, even though they weren't able to confirm the rumors. Malcolm likely used the League's resources to learn that Oliver Queen has an illegitimate son named William Clayton.

The League's members have very efficient and fast forms of transportation, having gone to and from Star City and Nanda Parbat in relatively short periods of time.

The League is stated to help people struggling with negative emotions such as anger and help them forge it into something new, meaning at least a few of their members came to the League because they couldn't cope with themselves. Most if not all members go through a process of reprogramming by stripping their former identities while embracing their new name. Their former identities became a memory, though some members do have parts of their former selves within, Malcolm's need for vengeance for his wife, Sara's love and concern for her family, and Maseo's friendship and loyalty towards Oliver.

The League has their own traditional weddings in Nanda Parbat. Members are allowed to be married to another though it's rare. This type of wedding is exclusive to Nanda Parbat and not known to other societies. Members who attend the wedding would gather together and raise their swords up and allow the bride to pass through. To seal the union, the priestess would get a hand from the bride and from the groom, she would put them together to complete the union. The most recent wedding is between Oliver and Nyssa, though it has been annulled. League marriages can be annulled with the use of a Horchis Dagger.

According to Ra's al Ghul, the League adheres to the request of the current Ra's al Ghul, even renouncing killing, if he so chooses.

Each member is given a quick and painless suicide tool to use in the event they are captured to avoid giving information to the enemy. They are also apparently brainwashed to obey every command from Ra's al Ghul, including committing suicide. Whether this programming was undone when the League disbanded has not been clarified.

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