Haytham Kenway

"Order. Purpose. Direction. No more than that. It's your lot that means to confound with this nonsense talk of freedom. Time was, the Assassins professed a far more sensible goal: that of peace."

- Haytham to his son.

Haytham Kenway is the main antagonist of Assassin's Creed III. He is the Grand Master of the Templar Order and the father of the Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton, also known as Connor.

Haytham also acts as the protagonist and player-controlled character of the first three sequences of Assassin's Creed III.

Biography
Born the son of an Assassin named Edward Kenway, he was taught the necessary skills for an Assassin, where he remained, for a short part of his life. He was recruited into the Templar Order at a young age by Reginald Birch, who in 1754, ordered him to attend a play at the Theatre Royal in London to kill an Assassin named Miko, who was thought to hold the key to unlocking the treasure of "Those Who Came Before". After completing the task, he was tasked to leave for Boston on the Providence, with a list of Templars who where willing to help him in his new mission. During the trip, he helped avert a mutiny by killing their ringleader, an Assassin named Louis Mills, who was placed on the ship with orders to avenge Miko's death.

Upon reaching Boston, he is greeted by Charles Lee, who proceeds to help him perform acts which aides him to gain the Templars' trust. Gaining the trust of the Mohawk, after helping free them from captivity, and killing a slaver named Silas Thatcher, in the process, he comes upon a woman named Kaniehti:io, or Ziio for short who agrees to help him under the condition that he kills Edward Braddock, a former Templar. After successfully killing him during his expedition, he then travel's to the Temple, but discovers he is locked out. Depressed, he declares his love for Ziio, sleeping with her, leaving shortly before the birth of their son, Ratonhnhaké:ton,, returning to Boston to induct Lee into the Templar Order, revealing to the player that he/she was playing as a Templar.

Haytham was present in Boston in 1770 with an agent who was watching as the civilians began to revolt against the British soldiers due to the various taxes the Crown had put into motion. As the crowd began to get worse, he sent one of his agents to the rooftops to provoke the troops to open fire. Unaware that his agent was being followed by his own son. When the agent was killed by Connor, Charles Lee shot his pistol into the air, the soldiers began to open fire on the civilians, but Haytham pointed out his son to one of the leading soldiers. As they chased Connor, Haytham and Charles departed.

After both William Johnson and John Pitcairn died at Connor's hand, Haytham instructed Thomas Hickey to murder George Washington after Lee was turned down for Commander and Chief. Hickey's plan was foiled by Connor who exposed him while he was running a counterfeiting ring in New York. Both men were captured and thrown into Bridewell Prison. He accompanied Lee to the prison, where Thomas was released from a cell next to his son, to be moved to a different part of Birdewell. Haytham reprimanded Hickey, and told Charles to handle things from here as he left the prison. During the time of Connor and Thomas' imprisonment, Haytham and Charles managed to convince the judge to execute Connor rather than put him on trial. However, Haytham had a last minute change of heart and decided to save Connor from his execution. When the Assassins failed to cut the rope, Haytham threw a knife that severed the rope and saved Connor.

Years later, during his search for Benjamin Church - who had betrayed the Templar order - he encountered his son, Connor, for the first time. Their aligned goals lead to the formation of a temporary and uneasy alliance, but when Haytham attempts to use information of Washington's massacre of the Kanien'keha:ka tribe to sway Connor's opinion, Connor accuses Haytham of being manipulative and they part ways.

The pair meet one final time in New York, during Connor's pursuit of Charles Lee, this time as true enemies. After a lengthy brawl, Haytham ultimately meets his end at Connor's blade, finally admitting to his son that he was proud of him.