Abbas Sofian (8 December 1166 - 1247) was Mentor of the Hashshashin from 1227 until his death in 1247. He was a former student of Rashid ad-Din Sinan and later studied under his training partner Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, who was his sworn enemy since childhood. He eventually killed his family and took over the Assassins, and he remained in charge for twenty years, until he was killed in the first usage of a pistol.
Biography[]
Abbas Sofian, born in 1166, had a rather rough childhood. His father Ahmad Sofian - captured by the Saracens in 1176 and tortured to the breaking point - vanished from his son's life when he was still a boy. Assuming he had been abandoned, Abbas fell into a deep depression, which only his friendships and devotion to his mentor, Al Mualim, could ease.
But all this changed a few years later when his friend and confidant, Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, passed on what Abbas assumed what was the cruelest of lies: that Abbas's father had betrayed the Assassin Order while under interrogation, and later killed himself to escape his shame. Infuriated, Abbas refused to believe this hard, unvarnished truth - a truth Al Mualim refused to corroborate or deny. So from that point forward Abbas regarded Altair as a liar and a deceiver - a man too devious and reckless to follow the Creed's more austere tenets.
As he grew into adulthood, Abbas matured into a skilled and respected Assassin, but his personality always left something to be desired. Humorless, with almost a fetishistic passion for the Brotherhood, he loathed both Al Mualim's favoritism, as well as Altair's loose interpretation of the Creed. But he remained a loyal servant for many years, always hiding his gnashing contempt for his former friend.
Staying silent was difficult, however, and over the course of Altair's precipitous rise ot the rank of Master, and later Mentor, Abbas found himself filled with a crippling hatred he could barely contain. It was only a matter of time before he burst. In 1192, when Altair became Mentor after killing Al Mualim, Abbas refused to believe that Al Mualim was an ally of the Knights Templar, and threw Altair from a hill when he attempted to burn the body of Al Mualim to make sure that it was not a phantom; it was taboo for an Assassin to burn a corpse. As the Assassins in the crowd fought each other, Abbas took the Apple and held it from a tower, but the powers consumed him and drained his energy. After disarming the pro-Abbas assassins, Altair saved Abbas from the powers of the Apple, and hid it away again.
Over time, Abbas continually acted against Altair. In 1226 he refused to send reinforcements to the Assassins on Cyprus, letting it fall to the Templar Order once more, and he had Sef Ibn-La'Ahad killed in 1228. When Altair and his wife Maria Thorpe met with him at Masyaf that year to inquire as to why Sef had died, Abbas told him that he would surrender the truth if Altair gave Abbas the Apple. Altair offered the Apple, but he used it against Abbas' henchman Swami when he told Altair that Abbas had told Sef that his execution was ordered by Altair himself, and he died believing that he had betrayed him. Altair used the Apple to kill Swami, but Swami killed Maria first. Abbas told his men to attack Altair, saying that he was possessed, and he fled from the fight.
With Altair fleeing to Alexandria with the rest of his family, Abbas enjoyed the leadership of the Assassin Order in Masyaf. However, as he grew older he also grew insane, calling out for his father, and when Altair returned to Masyaf, many of Abbas' men defected to join Altair.
Death[]
Altair killed no one except for Abbas' captains; his men paved the way for the elderly Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, whom their praised as Mentor. Abbas was at the top of the Library stairs, defended by two guards, when he confronted Altair. Altair drew a hidden gun, a new invention, and shot Abbas in the chest in its first usage. Abbas was told that his father died reclaiming his honor, and Abbas told Altair that if there was another life, he would want to see his father and later come to Altair.