- "Knowledge is power, and – as I understand – you want to be all-powerful?
Obtain your knowledge, knave – and may you be devoured by it. " - ―Maria to her killer, 1736
| Maria Nomiki | |
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| Biographical information | |
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| Died | |
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Assassins |
Maria Nomiki was a Greek Master Assassin operating on the island of Cyprus a few years before the reign of the Mediterranean Templars. She was also the biological mother of Khayri Amjad.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Maria Nomiki was born in the city of Athens, Greece by a courtesan and an unknown sailor. Raised in the scenes of prostitution, Maria soon learned what was the different of love and lust – seeing how her mother was treated by her customers and procurer. Wanting to free herm mother from the chains of prostitution, Maria began to sell her own body – using her money to help her mother.
The customer[]
As a 21-year-old, Maria had a customer who made her pregnant with her future son. Giving birth to Khayri, Maria decided to leave the boy with Maria's mother, the courtesan: Maria did not want her son to live a life in shame. However, now supporting both her mother and son, Maria spent all of her days at the brothel's bedchamber – too weak and too exhausted to leave.
When Maria one day saw the customer which had made her pregnant entering her chamber, there was little to trace of exhaustion. She locked the door, not allowing other courtesans or the procurer to enter the room. After doing this, she started yelling at him: she asked how he dared to return to the brothel – and to the woman – whom he had impregnated. The man answered that if he knew about the child, he would bring both of them with him. Maria now stated: "I want you to take us with you this instant." The man answered that he would – but in that case, he wanted to marry her. Maria answered that she would not do so, being attracted to women. She also felt it rude to just expect she would marry him like that. The customer was stunned for a minute, but then he said that he would bring the son with him – but he would free Maria by sending her money, and buy her out of the courtesans' guild.
Assassin-affaires[]
Initiation[]
Now as a free woman, Maria began working at an establishment in the outskirts of Athens. Maria soon learned that her customer had hired som men and women to guard Maria's shop. When Maria one day took one of the women in glancing at her, she asked who she – and who her fellow guardsmen – were, and why she was staring at her. The woman answered she was an Assassin – so were the men supporting her – and explained that she felt attracted to Maria. After explaining who the Assassins were, and what they did to the society, Maria decided to join. She wanted to free the world from corrupt men and women who only sought to control those who were 'less worth'. Maria was recruited into the Greek Brotherhood at the date of 13th of May, 1729.
Cyprus []
As an Assassin, Maria spent her time by hunting Templars who suppressed men and women of the Mediterranean. At some point, she was stationed at the island of Cyprus. Along with the female Assassin who initiated her in 1729, Maria had to locate a library that belonged to the Templars. The books carried several secrets of the Templars. Also, she had to remove the occult Templar Hacer Stavros. After she killed this one and her puppets and allies, the city of Kyrenia fell into the hands of the Assassins. Establishing an Assassin guild in the city, Maria and her lover – the female Assassin – began to expand their influence. In 1734, Maria and the Assassin had driven the Templars from the island. However, the library was not to be found, and Hacer did not reveal it either.
Tunis []
In 1733 however, Maria had received news of a Templar conspiracy in the city of Tunis. Her son was in the city, guarded by the customer which created him. Maria landed in the city, with her lover back in Kyrenia. She knew where to locate her former customer – and her son's father – at the great tower where white smoke was raising to the skies. Maria just arrived in time to warn her former customer, and to take her son from the city. However, the customer was killed just days after, so with the Templar turncoat Aziz Mubin.
The Campaign[]
The tomb[]
Three years after the fall of Tunis, Maria and her lover prepared for a new campaign such as the one in Tunis. News of Templars laying Assassin-affiliated villages in ruins, soon reached the ear of Maria. By reports of surviving Assassins, the Templars seemed to seeking for the library Hacer Stavros had guarded. However, Hacer was a symbol of the Templars' knowledge, so Maria felt it necessary to stop this from happening. The grave was a inside a Templar-tomb, and could therefore be filled with secrets belonging to the Order. The Assassins had not buried Hacer, but Maria had been told so by a Templar turncoat. The man knew where the location of the grave were, but he could not remember which one. Furthermore, the turncoat could add that all of the Templars buried there, had been buried with their own diary and a book of the occult. Bringing these news to her lover, Maria told the Assassin and the turncoat to find the graves and plunder them for any books the Templars could use. The Greek Brotherhood had already stationed some mercenaries at the grave, but only Assassins should know about what was inside there. Only one Greek Assassin guarded the place, and she had not touched it.
The following day, Maria got the bad news: just as her lover and the turncoat had left the city, they had been attacked by Templars; an errand boy – affiliated with the Assassins – who lived close to the graves of the Templars, could also tell that other Templars had killed the mercenaries set there by the Assassins to guard the place. Maria alarmed the mercenaries in the city of Kyrenia to look for the Templars. She knew who it was: Constant Lavoie and Philippe-Hugues Bertas. These men had destroyed the Tunisian Brotherhood, as told through later reports done by Assassin spies.
The rest of the day, Maria spent on mourning.
The Templars []
Already the following day, Maria saw something was wrong. Orhan Demir, a military face working for the Templars, had summoned the Ottoman army stationed in Kyrenia. Usually, Orhan would stay inside the fort, but now he was wandering around in the streets of the Assassins' hideout. Maria ordered him killed by her followers, but the men and women stated that he had a little battalion of soldiers around in the borough. If they killed him, they would attack the Assassins – taking them out one by one. Of the 30 Assassins' and their mercenaries operating in the borough, the Templars had 3 soldiers per Assassin-affiliated person – a total of 90 soldiers, outnumbering them by 2/3. Of the Assassins, only five operated in this city: Maria and four others; one Assassin could bring down approximately 5–7 targets without getting noticed. Still, the Assassins was surroneded and in the Templars' grip. The only thing they could do was to bring the Sense of Eden out of the city. Maria gave this task to her son, Khayri. Granting the boy the powers of the Sense, Khayri hid the necklace under his shirt and said goodbye to his mother. As a final gift, she gave him money she had put aside for him. He could now use them as he fitted, but – as she told him – he had to use much of it to buy his way back to Greece.
Maria and her fellow Assassins repeated the principles of the Creed before they walked up to the hight of the tower – the base of operations. From the tower, Maria and her followers executed the leap of faith. While Maria was falling, she heard a bang – then a scream. Landing in the haystack below her, Maria soon saw that one of the Assassins had been shot in the abdomen, failing to falling correctly: causing the impact with the ground as the Assassin's death. Maria ran out of the haystack, climbing the wall. Upon the roof, Maria saw a sniper that reloaded his gun. Maria figured out this one had killed one of the Assassins. Maria ejected her hidden blade and ran towards him. The guard noticed the sound, but was too late. Maria pushed the blade through the man's chest before slicing his throat with a knife she got from the waist. Rising from the corpse, Maria soon saw a second sniper – he pointed at her. Maria was just in time to throw her knife into the guard's head. Maria then followed three soldiers to the Templars. The soldiers talked long with two of the Templars before they walked, along with the latters, to the artillery. At the artillery, Maria saw Orhan with a man looking like a scientist. Maria carefully slipped down the walls and stalked the Templars as they talked. Maria could now place the threats and their task: the monk, Constant Lavoie, was to find the Sense of Eden along with the books in the library; the scientist, Philippe-Hugues Bertas, had come to investigate the Sense; Orhan was here to crush the Assassins – and in this way retake Kyrenia.
Death[]
Before Maria managed to kill the three Templars before their deeds were executed, the three remaining Assassins had arrived at the scene. They did not see Maria investigating, and ran ran up to the soldiers to kill them. Orhan quickly ordered the soldiers to fire the cannons. The cannonballs flew through the air and destroyed the tower of the Assassins. As a signal, several snipers come out in the windows and pointed their guns at the Assassins – the mercenaries was either killed, busy fighting other or supporting in the Assassins' attack. Several of the Templars' soldiers came up from the sewers and surprised all of the Assassins and their acolytes. Maria used this opportunity to attack, even though she was furious over the other Assassins' foolishness. Constant Lavoie saw her movement and told Bertas to leave, as he was in no condition to fight. Maria drew her sword and lifted it towards the monk. Out of the blue, the monk lifted his right arm. Just as Maria's sword touched the Lavoie's sword it broke to several pieces: only the hilst was whole. The monk drew forth a pistol and shot her in the abdomen. Everything became black.
Awakened again by a scream, Maria was shocked to still be alive. The monk and Orhan had executed the mercenaries however. Only the four Assassins – the three and Maria – was kept alive. The monk studied each of them; Maria could not see his eyes however, because of the hood he carried. He had reloaded his pistol, apaearently, because he pointed it at the first of the Assassins. He pointed it to his skull. The monk asked Maria: "Where are the library? The books in the tomb were more or less useless for the Order now, we have so much knowledge thanks to people like monsieur Bertas. I'd also like to know where you scumbags have hidden the Sense. I'll count to three, Assassin. Tell me where these things are, and I will consider to let you live. One. Two. Three." Maria watched as Antonis fell to the ground, bleeding from his head. The monk repeated the procedure at the two next Assassins. Constant was now in front of Maria. Maria stated: "Knowledge is power, and – as I understand – you want to be all-powerful? Obtain your knowledge, knave – and may you be devoured by it." When Constant Lavoie in front of Maria, he lowered his pistol. "Honestly, I knew I wouldn't get the answer out of you like that. But I know a way. Orhan." The Templar walked up to his superior. "Bring me the head of Khayri Amjad, the son of now deceased Fareed Amjad and the soon-to-be deceased Maria Nomiki." Orhan was known of following orders. Maria knew this, and busted out with it, fearing for her son's life: "The library are to be located some place in the mountains close to Kyrenia. Khayri carries the Sense around his neck." The monk grinned towards Maria. "I knew you would cooperate, Assassin." Constant lifted the pistol and fired.
Relationships[]
Assassins[]
(ally)
(former customer)
(ally)
(ally)
(ally and lover)
(ally)
Targets[]
(d. 1734)
(not killed)
(not killed)
(not killed)
Family[]
(son)
Trivia[]
- Maria is a derivation of the Hebrew name מִרְיָם (Miryam), the meaning of which is uncertain; various possibilities include "sea of bitterness", "wished for a child" and "rebellious". It might also be derived from Egyptian terms mry, meaning "beloved" or mr, meaning "love".
- Nomiki is derived from the Greek νομικος (nomikos) "relating to the law".
- Ironically, Maria Nomiki are portrayed by Maria Thorpe.
- Both of them carries Maria as their given name.
- Maria was lesbian.
- Even if Maria was lesbian, she brought her own family further because of being raped serving as a courtesan.
- Maria always looked at the females when she cleansed her body for a new customer.
- Maria known she was attracted to women after a female customer had shown her the meaning of love – and not lust.
- Maria was a feminist.
- Similar to the Ottoman Assassins, Maria used a tower as the meeting point for the Assassins. Similar to the Rooks, she used a borough as her headquarter.