What If?, Vol. 1 - What If Ezio Auditore Was Executed With His Family?

The Assassin’s Creed series is no stranger to fan theories, and today we are going to explore a rather forgotten plot twist that could have forever altered the story of Assassin’s Creed II. Those who played the game vividly remember the cruel betrayal that a once-considered friend to the Auditore family - Uberto Alberti, the Gonfaloniere of Firenze - lying about receiving documents proving Ezio’s family's innocence, before proceeding to allow them to be executed by the noose. However, Ezio’s entire life could have never happened if he chose to take the kindness Uberto had pretended to give, when delivering the documents to his residence. Uberto offers Ezio a place to spend the night at his home, with the Spaniard and bonafide Templar, Rodrigo Borgia, lurking in the background. If Ezio chose to spend the night at Uberto’s, it is very likely Ezio is arrested and hanged alongside his brothers and father. Ezio refusing this offer prevented disaster to someone who would become mentor of the Assassins Brotherhood and a living legend.

The theory of this is that Rodrigo Borgia and Uberto were planning to betray the Auditore family all along, and if Ezio had accepted Uberto’s offer, he would have died with his family to the noose. The story of the Brotherhood would go like this if Ezio had died and never became an Assassin. First of all, the Brotherhood would be weakened without the Auditore family. They would be forced to rely on others to aid them. Without the leadership Ezio would provide, the Templars would succeed in their goal to overtake Rome and the rest of Italy. The Templars find overwhelming strength with Rodrigo Borgia's leadership and later being elected as Pope of Rome. This gives the Templars control in the Papal States and the Chair of Saint Peter's. The influence the Pope gains over his rule of Rome, included with the shared power of the Templars, the Assassins are overwhelmed and the Brotherhood crumbles without the guidance Ezio would bring. The Templars and Rodrigo Borgia successfully win their ancient battle against their bitter rivals.

Another aspect of this theory, is that the Templars and the Borgia family expand their reach to the rest of Italy, invading countries with Assassin presence, then starting a hunt for the Templars to take out and eliminate any remaining Assassins. The Brotherhood in Constantinople becomes the next target, and their mentor Yusuf Tazim is killed in an unfair fight with Rodrgio Borgia’s son, Cesare Borgia. Cesare profits from his Father's power status, and uses their control over the Roman Papacy to further empower the Templars, as they seek to kill remaining Assassins, who have gone into hiding with no realistic plan to recover, and challenge this new Templar regime. The Assassins attempt to stage a comeback down the line, but the damage the Templars have inflicted on the Brotherhood, causes them yet another defeat, and there are only a handful of Assassins left across the at the time known world.

The theory continues with a revival attempt in secrecy to resurrect the Assassin Brotherhood, without alerting the almighty Templar order. The Assassins turn to Ezio’s sister, Claudia Auditore, to lead their attempt of a comeback, and grow powerful enough to challenge the Templars. Many former Assassins hideouts were ransacked and exterminated following the purge of Assassins across Europe, the Middle East & Asia. Claudia stages an attempt to gather the remaining Assassins in different locations across the world and create a home base in Florence. The Templars are too focused on their power and their victories, to notice the increasingly high number of Assassins popping up across Italy. Claudia starts an Assassin underground unit where living Brotherhood members and recruits, can safely travel Italy and into other parts of Europe. Claudia is several years older from the events of Assassin’s Creed II, and she uses the legacy that her Father Giovanni left behind to rebuild the Brotherhood, and when the time is right, give the Templars a run for their money.

Finally, the Assassin Brotherhood is rebuilt and strong again, and all this happens without the Templars being aware. The order could not believe the Assassins could rebuild after their purge, and pay no attention to the possibility of a return. Once strong again, Claudia and her Assassins take on the Templars, who of late are without their Grandmaster and Pope of Rome, Rodrigo Borgia, who died after eleven years in his papacy in 1503. The Templars scramble and look to his son, Cesare, to lead the Templar order, but under whose leadership the order is weak, the Grandmaster's son having shown no dedication to the order, only serving himself, his own goals and lust for power. Claudia stages a fight against the Templars, coming out victorious. Cesare is captured and imprisoned, while the Templars start to fall in the same downfall that once plagued the Brotherhood. Claudia remains the lead of her Assassins, and the memory of her fallen family gives her strength to carry on and push forward.

After over a decade, his sister Claudia finishes the work her family started, and creates a world free of the Templar control. The Brotherhood gets daily recruits, consisting of both civilians wishing to fight or former Templars who have atoned to their crimes and accepted their faults, but Claudia and the Brotherhood offer a place for reformed Templars despite their mistakes. The Brotherhood thrives under Claudia’s control and once again Italy, and the known world, knows peace once more without the oppressive Templar order. Ezio’s death before he started his life as mentor of the Brotherhood, is redeemed by his own family, and despite over a decade of purging the Brotherhood and overwhelming Templar control, they have rebuilt a powerful movement, taking the time to strengthen different parts of the known world, that were once victims to the Templar regime. However, behind the scenes, the remaining Templars begin to plot a rebuild, and achieve the same success the Assassins had with their comeback. They are led by a ruthless, yet mostly unknown person seeking revenge against the Brotherhood, and so starts the long process of rebuilding themselves in the fashion the Assassins achieved, and the plan is underway to restore the Templar order to its former glory. They did it once in 1307, King Philip IV of France erradicating the order and executing Grandmaster Jacques De Molay, the order dead to the public, forcing them underground, and having prepared for this all along. They can do it again...

Stay tuned for more What If? articles and stories, exploring how the Assassin's Creed timeline could have looked different, had other key events played out differently!