Charles Lee

"You are nothing. A speck of dust. You and all your ilk. Living in the dirt like animals, oblivious to the true ways of the world."

- Lee to Ratonhnhaké:ton.

Charles Lee is the secondary antagonist of Assassin's Creed III. He is a soldier in the British Army and a member of the Templar Order, eventually rising to Grand Master following the death of his master; Haytham Kenway.

Charles is also the deuteragonist of the first three sequences of the game, but following the death of Edward Braddock, his true loyalties are revealed to the player.

Haytham's Story
Charles Lee was a Templar ally operating within the American Colonies. He is first seen in Haytham Kenway's story, where he introduces Haytham to Boston and helps him gather up the Templars necessary to take over the colonies. Prior to Haytham's arrival, Lee had already found William Johnson and brought him to the Green Dragon Tavern. Later, Lee and Haytham, along with Thomas Hickey, go to retrieve Johnson's stolen research to him (it was taken by Assassin mercenaries). Later on, he was to help Haytham find Benjamin Church, who had been kidnapped by Silas Thatcher, a slaver. He and Haytham rescue him from Silas' enforcer Cutter, bringing him to the Green Dragon. John Pitcairn was the last Templar to collect, so they go to Edward Braddock and find him yelling at John for deserting (he was here under orders of Commander Amherst, but didn't really have any proof). When Lee and Haytham appear, Edward states that it was bad enough that his superiors allowed Lee to be available, but they said nothing about Pitcairn. While escorting him through Boston, Lee throws poop at Braddock to lure him into a dead end, where Haytham and Lee and Pitcairn fought and murdered all of Braddock's men, sparring Braddock himself.

Later, the Templars attack Silas' fort in Boston to save some Native American slaves (one of them, Kaniehtí:io, would become important later). The Templars "Trojan Horse" their way into the fort, killing all the guards, as well as Silas. Later on, when winter comes, Lee and Haytham go to find Kaniehtí:io, finding her in the snow. Lee winds up shooting a wolf so as to save their Native friend, but she hears and flees. Haytham sends Lee back to Edward Braddock's command, while Haytham would ally with Kaniehtí:io (calling her Ziio, due to her name being hard to pronounce), discover Braddock's assembly of the "Braddock Expedition" to force the French out of Southern American Colonies. However, Haytham and Ziio, along with many Native American allies and Templars, attack the expidition and Lee even helped, despite being IN the expidition. After Haytham had murdered Braddock and gone to find the Grand Temple he was looking for, he expresses his discovery to his fellow Templars. He then states that it was about time to make Charles a full member of the Order. Haytham inducts Lee into the Templar Order; this is the moment when the player discovers that Haytham and his allies were Templars (it was thought that he was an Assassin at first).

Meeting Ratonhnhaké:ton, overseeing the Templars' operations and Hickey's assassination plot
Later in the game, Lee and several Templars were sent by George Washington to find Kaniehtí:io's village and speak with the leaders. Lee winds up running into a Native American child (Kaniehtí:io's son, Ratonhnhaké:ton) and demands the village's location, but he refuses to tell. He later burns the village, killing Kaniehtí:io and several others. Years later, a teenage Ratonhnhaké:ton swears leadership to the Assassin's Creed. His first target is William Johnson, who sought to buy his people's land. Later, he kills Pitcairn and becomes an ally in the Continental Army. Ratonhnhaké:ton (no known as "Connor Kenway") meets Charles Lee during a meeting in Philedelphia, wanting to kill Lee, but he didn't remember the man. Connor travels to New York to find Thomas Hickey, who sought to murder George Washington so that Charles Lee would be promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Connor and Hickey were both arrested for counterfeiting, then he sees in Bridewell Prison that Hickey was to be let out by Lee and Haytham. Instead, Lee has Hickey stay under arrest until Connor is sentenced to execution. They even went as far as framing Connor for the assassination plot, as well as the murder of the warden. It was at this point that Lee realized that Connor was the arrogant Native boy all those years ago. Connor was given a public execution, with Lee himself there to hang Connor. However, unbeknowest to anyone, Haytham had decided to throw a knife at the noose, freeing Connor. He then uses this opportunity to take an Assassin Hatchet and murder Hickey before he could kill Washington.

Connor and Haytham's arguments
When Haytham makes an alliance with Connor to catch Benjamin Church (who had betrayed the Templar Order), Connor reveals that his mother died long ago because of Charles "and everything he does, he does by [Haytham's] command." However, Haytham had given no such order. The two argue many times over Charles Lee's trust. It was soon revealed to both Connor and (supposedly) Haytham that Washington had sent Lee to burn the village all those years ago. He later tries to sabotage the outcome of the Battle of Monmouth, with Washington discovering this and disgracing him, making him useless as next-in-line to the leadership of the Continental Army. He seals himself inside Fort George in New York and was sent away by Haytham shortly before Connor had ordered the bombardment of the fort. After Connor had murdered Haytham that night, Lee was promoted to Grand Master of the Colonial Templars. This makes him the game's last Assassination target.

As Grand Master from 1781 to 1782, the year of his death
Connor tried approaching Lee during Haytham's funeral, but Lee sees this and has him held by minions. Lee proclaims that before he would kill Connor, he would burn down his home, his village, murder the "founding fathers" and only then will Connor be allowed to die. Lee leaves for Boston in an attempt to flee the country, supposedly to escape Connor. However, he had found Lee at the long pier and chases after him through a burning ship. While Connor was wounded in the chase, Lee askes why Connor persists when he can't win. The Assassin then says "Because no-one else will!" and shoots Lee in the stomach. The both of them had survived, with Lee taking a ferry up the Charles River. Connor gets passage and finds him at a tavern. Neither were in any condition to fight, Connor had many weapons, Lee had none. He accepts his end, then the Native Assassin stabbed Lee, snatching his Piece of Eden necklace and leaving. Lee's death had ended the Templars' influence over Colonial America.

Personality
Charles Lee, throughout most of his life, was a veteran warrior and commander from years of military service in the French and Indian War and American Revolution. In his youth, Lee was dedicated, enthusiastic and keen. To this, William Johnson commented that he was "a good lad, if a bit earnest". All of this changed as he rose through the Order's ranks to become second-in-command. Unlike his fellow Templars (with the notable exception of Hickey), Lee was far from noble and honorable, appearing instead as vengeful, impulsive, violent and slightly power-crazed.

In his pursuit to gain more power, he also became ruthless, vindictive and cruel. This was evident by his strong political motivations and demand for higher pay. Furthermore, his arrogance manifested into violence and contempt for others; for example, he had disgust for the Kanien'kehá:ka people, calling them human refuse, and he also slandered and criticized Washington with passion.

Despite his long, successful career and military prowess, Lee lacked charisma and was not leadership material. This was evident by how the Congress and Continental Army viewed him: eccentric, vulgar, slovenly in appearance and greedy. As a result, Lee constantly plotted and competed against Washington to seize his command. However, Haytham had strong faith in Lee's ability, loyalty and understanding of the Templar vision for a New World Order.