League of Assassins

The League of Assassins is an organization comprised of highly trained assassins, as the name suggests. It was founded by Al-Faith in 413. Al-Faith was the first bearer of the Ra's al Ghul title - a title that was then passed on to all future leader of the League. The League is based out of, and trains their members in Karan Shah, Nanda Parbat.

The League lasted for over a millennium, and was disbanded after Nyssa al Ghul took over, as she then believed that no one else should be held prisoner.

### 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 are very devoted to Ra's al Ghul as many of them have killed themselves for the League, allowing Ra's al Ghul 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.

### 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 that Ra's al Ghul had a fondness for them. 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.

### Weapons

The League tends to be very old-fashioned in many of its ways. They 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".

They also used old-fashion 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.

## Traditions

### New Names

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.

### Signature Weapons

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 Merlyn, Nyssa al Ghul and Oliver Queen used a bow and arrow, Maseo and Al-Owal used a sword, Sara Lance used a bo-staff, and other several members use tomahawks and truncheons.

### Vial of Cyanide

The League's members are sent out with a vial of cyanide that kills the user quickly in the event they are captured to prevent interrogation.

### Rumours

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 at the time, even though they weren't able to confirm the rumors. Malcolm used the League's resources to learn that Oliver Queen has an illegitimate son named William Clayton.

### Revenge

The League claims to help people struggling with negative emotions such as anger and help them forge it into something new. Many of their members came to the League because they couldn't cope with themselves. Most 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. For example, Malcolm Merlyn's need for vengeance for his wife, Sara Lance's love and concern for her family, and Maseo's friendship and loyalty towards Oliver Queen.

### Weddings

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. League marriages can be annulled with the use of a Horchis Dagger.

### Leadership

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.

### Notable Members

* Al-Faith
* Damien Darhk
* Malcolm Merlyn - Al Sa-her
* Oliver Queen - Al Sah-him
* Sara Lance - Ta-er al Sahfer
* Nyssa al Ghul
* Thalia al Ghul
* Thea Queen

## History

### Creation

The League of Assassins was founded in 413 by a man called Al-Fatih after he was visited by Mar Novu. The League were terrified of another group of assassins called the Longbow Hunters.
In 909, the future leader of The League unleashed cholera on Alexandria, Egypt, as a final step into become Ra's.

### Disbanded

After Malcolm Merlyn and Nyssa al Ghul's followers started a battle in Washington, DC, the ring was destroyed and the League was disbanded. The remaining members of the League formed Thanatos Guild, led by Athena, who years later were killed during one of Oliver Queen's missions during the crisis.