Shay Cormac, a former member of the Assassin Brotherhood, turned to the Templar Order after a disastrous mission led him to question the Assassins’ motives. He became a dedicated Templar, hunting down his former allies.
Shay Patrick Cormac’s story is central to the plot of the video game “Assassin’s Creed Rogue.” Born to an Irish immigrant family in New York, Shay was initially a member of the Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins. His disillusionment with the Assassins began after a mission in Lisbon, where he was tasked with retrieving a Piece of Eden, an ancient artifact. The mission ended in tragedy when the artifact’s removal triggered an earthquake that destroyed the city and killed thousands of innocents. Horrified by the consequences and the Brotherhood’s disregard for the loss of life, Shay defected from the Assassins.
Stealing a manuscript vital to the Assassins’ cause, Shay was pursued and ultimately shot by his former allies, but he survived. Rescued by the Templars, he was nursed back to health and eventually joined their ranks, believing that their methodical approach to controlling the world was more responsible than the Assassins’ pursuit of freedom at any cost.
As a Templar, Shay played a pivotal role in weakening the Assassin Brotherhood. He hunted down and eliminated several key members of the Assassins, significantly reducing their influence in the colonies. His actions also led to the Templars gaining control of the Pieces of Eden, which they intended to use to enforce order and stability.
Shay’s transformation from an Assassin to a Templar is a unique narrative in the “Assassin’s Creed” series, as it presents the conflict between the two factions from the opposite perspective, challenging the player’s perception of right and wrong within the game’s universe. His journey is one of moral complexity, as it explores themes of betrayal, redemption, and the gray areas between the Assassins’ and Templars’ ideologies.