| Caleb Edwards | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical information | |
| Born |
4 March 1629 Maidenhead, Berkshire, Kingdom of England |
| Died |
1715 |
| Political information | |
| Affiliations |
Assassins (1647-51) (1661-1715) Parliamentarians (1648-1658) |
Caleb Edwards (4 June 1629 - 1715) was an English merchant and member of the English (later British) Assassin Brotherhood, serving as Mentor in the late 17th century until his death. He was also the descendant of several notable assassins including; Leonius and Orri Uffison.
He was most active during the English Civil Wars, the Commonwealth that briefly followed and during the reign of Charles II.
Although he remained unaware for his formative years, Caleb's family had a long lineage in both the Assassin Brotherhood and Templar Order, with his father, Duncan, and two brothers, Thomas and William, being members of the former, his father holding the rank of Master at the time of his death.
During his life, Caleb came into contact with at least two Pieces of Eden, one of which is presumed to be the Apple of Eden 2, which he located in London beneath the Temple of Mithras, the other, one of the Staves of Eden that was once in the possession of King Cnut.
He also played a pivotal role in the capture and execution of Charles I of England and Oliver Cromwell's subsequent rise to power, as well as being a key figure in destabilising the English Templar Order; before their resurgence in the 1670's.
The life of an Assassin certinally didn't come naturally to Caleb, as he initially found their teachings archaic and their rules overbearing. Soon after officially joining the Brotherhood their was a discord between himself and the members of the Council; and his reckless behaviour, disregard for the creed and his desire to aid the Parliamentarian forces eventually lead to his dismissal from the Brotherhood, although he was later reinstated after a ten year absence and eventually became the driving force behind uniting the European Brotherhoods and expanding the Colonial Brotherhood.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
The youngest of three brothers, Caleb was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire on March 4th 1629, to parents Duncan and Catherine Edwards, where he lived until 1645. Since age 8, he played a roll in his parents trading company along with his two brothers, buying, selling, trading and collecting both domestic and exotic antiques, artefacts and rare minerals.
Raid of Brunswick Manor[]
On the eve of his sixteenth birthday, Caleb's father had taken his son hunting in the forests surrounding Maidenhead in order to catch a deer for his birthday feast, as was family tradition. During their hunt they were interrupted when they were informed by a local that their family manor was ablaze and being raided. Caleb and Duncan quickly returned home to find what they had been told to be true. Upon arrival they were attacked by the aggressors but were quickly dispatched by Duncan and Caleb using their hunting weapons. Duncan then ordered Caleb to go into town and get help, whilst he ran into the blaze to attempt to save his wife and sons.
Caleb disobeyed his father and instead followed him into the blaze, also wanting to help rescue his family. Upon entering this house through the upstairs balcony he was immediately confronted with one of the intruders who attacked him on sight. Lacking a weapon, Caleb managed to disarm his attacker and eventually killed him. It was whilst he was inside the manor that Caleb discovered that he possessed Eagle Vision as he strained to see though the thick smoke. Using his newfound ability he was able to locate his mother who had died before he arrived having being stabbed several times.
He carried his mothers body out of the house where he found his father and his brothers fighting a new wave of attackers. Outnumbered, they were eventually overwhelmed and captured. After the fighting subsided several hooded figures entered the grounds of the manor. One of the men began questioning Duncan. When he remained silent, the man began executing the captives by slitting their throats starting with Thomas and then William. When Duncan still didn't divulge any information, Caleb burst from his cover to intervene, but was shot by one of the hooded figures. He was dragged in front of his father and watched as he to was executed. The soldiers were ordered to leave the badly wounded Caleb with the hooded man claiming "Death would be a welcome relief."
The next morning Caleb awoke confused and still badly wounded. That morning Caleb buried his family in the manors gardens, and after acquiring supplies and weaponry he was able to track the raiding party out of the town, a pursuit that eventually took him to London.
Killing Maurice of the Palatinate and Joining the Brotherhood[]
Upon arrival in London Caleb collapsed from his wounds and exhaustion, falling from his horse. He was taken in by a local man and his wife who treated his wounds. Caleb rested in the care of the couple for several days before finally awakening.
He immediately set about trying to pick up the trail of his families' murderers and began his investigations in the centre of London, visiting the cities taverns and brothels to see if there was any word of the attack. His search eventually proved successful when he found one of the assailants drunkenly bragging about the treasures he had stolen from the manor.
After a brawl, Caleb questioned the man as to whom he worked for and who killed his family. The man claimed he knew nothing but was aware that one of his superiors boats, HMS Defiance was docked in the Thames.
Caleb located the boat and acquired its manifest. He discovered its Captain was Maurice of the Palatinate and that it was due to set sail to the West Indies, carrying many of the stolen artefacts and relics, in a few days time. Caleb returned to the couple that took him in, who were happy to accommodate him whilst he planned his attack.
On March 18th Caleb returned to the Thames docks and was successful in killing Maurice. Before he died Maurice spoke to Caleb of his "Order" and warned Caleb that "your kind will be crushed under the coming empire."
When making his escape, Caleb's inexperience showed and he soon found himself cornered and outnumbered by the city guard. Before he could be arrested however, Assassins Robert Easton and Anne Gardner, who had been shadowing Caleb since his arrival in London, intervened and escaped with Caleb.
Later that day Robert and Anne brought Caleb to the English Brotherhood's London headquarters, located beneath a public house, were he learned of his families heritage, the ongoing war with the Templars as well as his fathers work to locate and protect Pieces of Eden. When he was brought before the Council where Robert and Anne made a case to induct Caleb into the Brotherhood as an Apprentice, due to his families standing and natural ability. Although this was debated, all five members of the council unanimously agreed that Caleb would receive the rank of Novice citing his age and lack of experience and formal training.
Civil War Years[]
Wanting to prove himself Caleb was keen to begin his training immediately and was assigned the mentorship of Robert and Anne who were both eager to train the son of their former master. For just under a year, Caleb honed his physical and mental skills under the tutelage of Robert and Anne and received full schooling on the practices and teaching of the Brotherhood and its Creed. During this time he also took part in many reconnaissance and support missions for the Brotherhood. One such mission surrounded the St.Edmunds Witch Trails, where he had a brief encounter with Templar Mathew Hopkins.
Siege of Oxford[]
In 1646, Shortly after his seventeenth birthday he is sent on a mission to Oxford to establish communication with an Assassin who has been trapped in the city by an ongoing siege. Upon arrival Caleb is stopped by the Parliamentarian forces at the cities gates and is introduced to Thomas Fairfax, leader of the Parliamentarian forces. Caleb convinces Fairfax to release him on the grounds that he will help them break the siege.
Inside, Caleb learns that the Assassin, James, has been tailing Prince Rupert of the Rhine on the suspicion of his involvement in the Templar Order. He also learns that Prince Rupert is the brother of Maurice of the Palatinate. Incensed by this information, Caleb, despite his superiors orders, rushed to allow Fairfax entrance to the city as promised and headed for Oxford Castle, in which Rupert was located.
Amidst the confusion caused by the Parliamentarians, Caleb managed to slip through the castles defences and into the keep, where he located Rupert conversing with a hooded man. Caleb eavesdropped on the meeting and learned the Templars were trying to locate a Piece of Eden in order to establish a global superpower.
Caleb pounced on his opportunity and attempted to confront Rupert, but was quickly surrounded by the soldiers stationed in the keep when he moved from his hiding spot. Rupert ordered his men to kill Caleb; however before they could the James, who had followed Caleb inside in an attempt to stop him, intervened, killing several of the guards. Caleb quickly armed himself and ran towards Rupert, but was stopped when a shot from a canon burst through the wall of the keep and knocked both men off their feet. In the confusion Rupert, the hooded man and his servant all managed to escape.
James and Caleb dispatched the remainder of the soldiers and quickly escaped the castle before more arrived.
Upon his return to London, Caleb was lambasted by the Council and his fellow assassins for unnecessarily compromising a brother and putting his life in danger. James's willingness to forgive Caleb for his actions as well as his testimony to Caleb's effectiveness in combat, eased the Council's judgement. He was also redeemed when he revealed what he overheard regarding the Templars plans to acquire a Piece of Eden. Upon hearing this news, the Council refocused their attention on locating Pieces of Eden and reassigned their top Assassins; including Robert and Anne, to locating and obtaining such items.
Whilst in London, Caleb met William Walwyn and Richard Overton, two anti-monarchy supporters of the Parliamentarian cause, and helps with the distribution of their books and pamphlets. Caleb is prompted by Walwyn and Overton to use his skills to aid the Parliamentarian cause.
Caleb remains in London for a number of months under the watch of the Council and continues to perform information gathering tasks. In August 1647, Cromwell arrives at the boarder of London and is met by resistance from Royalist Members of Parliament, who try and raise an army against him. Spurred on by his political inclinations, Caleb, with the help of Walwyn and Overton, sabotaged the MP's plans and prevented a serious opposition forming, allowing Cromwell to enter the city and storm the Palace of Westminster. Cromwell expresses his gratitude towards Caleb and explains he's heard tales of the Siege of Oxford.
First Assassination[]
By late 1647 the Council had learned of several Templar agents in the country had been specifically tasked with obtaining Pieces of Eden. One such Templar was witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins. With the Brotherhood already spread thin, the Council opts to reluctantly assign Caleb his first target. That evening Caleb rides to Newmarket, where Hopkins was last seen headed.
A day later Caleb arrived in Newmarket and went to meet with the Brotherhood's informant in the towns public house. When he arrived he found a man, of the informants description, lay badly beaten in the alleyway. Before he passed, the informant managed to tell Caleb that he believes Hopkins plans to free King Charles I from the Parliamentarian army.
Caleb immediately goes to the Parliamentarian camp on the South boarder of the town, but was denied access when he requested to visit the king. Caleb then infiltrated the camp and found the tent that the King was being held in, with the side slashed and all the attending soldiers dead. Caleb managed to track Hopkins out of the camp and into the next field where he eventually managed to assassinate him. Before he died, Hopkins claimed he knew nothing about Pieces of Eden and worked for the Templars merely because they paid well. Caleb recovered an unusual disk-shaped object from Hopkins, before restraining the king and handing him back to the Parliamentarians.
Caleb returned to London and reported his success to the Council, although he did not to mention the artefact he recovered. The council granted him a promotion to Apprentice for his success.
Caleb initially decided to independently investigate the object, although this did not prove fruitful. He instead sought out the assistance of John Aubrey, a noted philosopher and neolithic historian, and leaves the object with him to study. In the meantime Cromwell requested Caleb's assistance with a developing problem and asks that he ride with him to Hertford.
Allying with Cromwell[]
In Hertford, Cromwell and Caleb are met by Thomas Fairfax and his battalion, within which there is talk of mutiny. Cromwell and Fairfax task Caleb with finding out more about the mutineers and their plans to overthrow Fairfax.
Caleb discovered that Colonels Thomas Gainsborough, Thomas Harrison and Robert Liburne are the ringleaders of the mutiny and reported back to Cromwell and Fairfax. Upon hearing this Cromwell and Fairfax ask Caleb and a group of officers to ride with them into the ranks of the turncoat soldiers. They do and, with swords drawn, arrested several members of the army and forced the rest to pledge loyalty to Fairfax. Cromwell selected Private Richard Arnold from the mutinous ranks and ordered he be shot as an example to the rest. Caleb came forward as executioner and shot the Private in the back of the head.
Impressed with his commitment and previous endeavours, Cromwell asks Caleb to join his personal guard. Caleb accepts the offer and becomes an enlisted officer in the New Model Army.
Caleb spent most of the next year in service with Cromwell's guard; taking part in battles and sieges across the country by Cromwell's side, although he did still perform his duties to the Brotherhood in a muted capacity. By December of 1648, he had arrived back in London and aided Colonel Thomas Pride in expelling the last of the Royalist Members of Parliament from the Houses of Parliament, confirming King Charles I's fate.
Attack on the Brotherhood[]
During this time Caleb returned to Aubrey to see if any progress had been made concerning the artefact. Aubrey told Caleb he believed that the artefact was linked to Stonehenge, due to its age and unusual craftsmanship, however he admitted that its purpose remained unknown.
This time Caleb decided to present his findings to the council, however upon arriving to the headquarters, a consignment of gunpowder barrels, planted by Templar agents, detonated. Caleb rushed into the building and tried to rescue as many as possible, however as much as 60% of the Assassins' force was lost and three of the five Council members died in the attack.
Caleb is ordered by the remainder of the Council to find out who was responsible for the attack and assassinate them. He immediately went to work and soon discovered that the powder kegs were stamped with East India Company insignia, originating in Surat, and arrived in London aboard the HMS Integrity.
Caleb boards the ship and finds correspondence with the Templar seal in the captains cabin. The letters included a map indicating several locations in London where powder kegs were to be placed, including the Brotherhood hideout, the Palace of Westminster and the Palace of Whitehall. Caleb returns to the council and is assigned the remainder of the able Assassins to deal with the threat. They are able to do so, however they are unable to locate any explosives in the Palace of Whitehall.
Later that month, Caleb took a small group of assassins and attended the execution of Charles I, fearing it would be the location of the final bomb. His fears were confirmed true when several Templar agents attempted to rush the scaffolding with lit grenades in an attempt to light the kegs that had been smuggled underneath; however, Caleb and the assassins managed to kill the agents and disarm the grenades in time.
Caleb noticed a carriage hastily leaving the area and gave chase. He tailed the carriage to the Royal Exchange where stockbroker Solomon Rooke was ushered into the building. Caleb infiltrated the Exchange and found more of the stamped barrels in storage. He found and interrogated Rooke about his involvement in the attacks. Rooke declared his allegiance to the order and mocked of the assassins childish worldview, before Caleb assassinated him and escaped.
Caleb reconvened with the Council and reported his success. He told them he thought it wise to inform Cromwell of the conflict between Assassins and Templars so that he might aid them in their fight. The Council strongly advised him not to claiming the opposite would be more likely. Caleb also raised the issue of the artefact he had recovered and told the Council of Aubrey's research. Not wanting to delay, they immediately ordered Caleb to go to Stonehenge and investigate. Caleb asked Aubrey to join him and the pair headed out later that day.
Investigating Stonehenge[]
Upon arrival, the artefacts purpose became no more apparent; however, using Eagle Vision, Caleb managed to deduce that the device was used to focus the light from the setting sun from one of the outlying stones onto the central tablet. After placing the device atop the stone, the suns rays revealed a rough map of prehistoric London emanating from the central tablet. Caleb made a note of the map and returned to London, leaving Aubrey to further research the stones.
Back in London Caleb managed to to deduce that the map indicated there was something located on the site of St.Paul Cathedral. Under the cover of darkness, he entered the cathedral and discovered a secret passage concealed by the main altar. The passage developed into a series of ancient tunnels and walkways beneath the city that eventually lead to the Temple of Mithras.
Caleb entered into the temples main chamber where he was presented with visions of centuries old events depicting a group of Assassins entering the temple and venturing inside. Caleb followed the spectres deeper into the temple until he reached a large chamber with a sealed door; where he witnessed one of them place a memory seal on a pedestal outside.
When Caleb touched the seal, his DNA activated it and revealed the memory of the Assassin Leonius; a member of the ancient Roman Brotherhood. The memory showed Leonius and his men placing an Apple of Eden inside the vault and sealing it in. In the memory, Leonius spoke of the Apples god-like power and destructive nature and explained he'd made several seals in the hopes that future generations might learn from history and that one of his kin might learn how to use the Apples power for good. Caleb, however, was unable to find a way to open the vault and returned to the Council with the memory seal.
The Council explained to Caleb that the seal was an ancient device used to store memories for the purpose of transmitting them across generations. Agreeing that it was the duty of the Brotherhood to recover such pieces of history, the Council gave Caleb a mandate to seek out and recover the other seals.
Excommunication[]
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Years away from the Brotherhood[]
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Reinstatement to the Brotherhood[]
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Legacy[]
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Personality and Characteristics[]
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