Edward Kenway

Born: 10 March 1693. Swansea, Wales, Kingdom of England.

Species: Human.

Database entries: Edward Kenway (Black Flag). Edward Kenway (Initiates). Edward Kenway (Identity). Edward Kenway (Rebellion).

Affiliations: Emperor crew. Sea Dog's Bite crew. Republic of Pirates. Jackdaw crew. Templars: West Indies Rite (unwittingly). Assassins: West Indies Brotherhood, British Brotherhood.

"For years I've been rushing around, taking whatever I fancied, not giving a tinker's curse for those I hurt. Yet here I am... with riches and reputation, feeling no wiser than when I left home. Yet when I turn around, and look at the course I've run... there's not a man or woman that I love left standing beside me."

Edward James Kenway is a major protagonist in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, specifically serving as the titular overarching protagonist of the Kenway Saga. Edward is a Welsh-born British privateer-turned-pirate and a member of the West Indies and British Brotherhoods of Assassins. He is the father of Jennifer Scott and Haytham Kenway, who became the founder of the Colonial Rite of the Templar Order, and the grandfather of Ratonhnhaké:ton, a prominent Colonial Assassin. Through this line, he is an ancestor of William and Desmond Miles, as well as Victor Flores Castillo and Noa Kim. Born to humble farmers, Edward always sought to acquire riches and fame. He became a privateer for the Royal Navy early in his life and, once accepted, found himself stationed in the West Indies. However, an abrupt end to the War of the Spanish Succession and the promise of gold, glory and fame eventually seduced him into a life of piracy. It was during this quest that Edward first encountered the Assassins and Templars, and became embroiled in their struggle. In 1715, Edward was imprisoned on the Spanish Treasure Fleet but escaped with the pirate Adéwalé and other prisoners. Stealing the ship El Dorado, Edward rechristened her the Jackdaw and became its captain. He later established his base on the island of Great Inagua while helping the Republic of Pirates. Over the next few years, Edward struggled with the internal conflict that arose from his desire for fame and riches—through finding the Observatory—and his duty to his friends. After losing nearly all of his closest friends, he realized the folly of his quest for glory. He subsequently joined the Assassins, hunted down the Templars in the region, and entrusted the Observatory and his hideout in Great Inagua to the Brotherhood. After a decade in the West Indies, Edward returned to Britain and received a pardon from Robert Walpole. He soon acquired an estate in London and married Tessa Stephenson-Oakley, with whom he fathered Haytham. He quickly joined the British Assassins, rising up to the rank of Master Assassin and, eventually, co-leader of the Brotherhood alongside Miko. Continuing his work as an Assassin, Edward researched the Isu, traveling around the world in search of more sites like the Observatory, and kept his research in a journal. During his travels, he found several Pieces of Eden, including a Shroud of Eden that he later hid in the Tower of London. During the Peloponnesian War, after the Cult of Kosmos had been defeated by the Spartan misthios Kassandra, she saw a vision of Edward and all the Assassins that would follow her legacy in fighting against chaos. This vision alluded to the war that would continue for centuries afterwards between the Assassins and the Templars. Edward Kenway was born on 10 March 1693 in Swansea, Wales, the second child of Bernard and Linette Kenway. His older sister had died during infancy, and so Edward never got the chance to meet her or learn much about her, as his parents tried to avoid the subject. When Edward was ten years old, his family relocated to a farm in Bristol, in Southwest England. However, the pastoral life did not agree with Edward and he became a well-known troublemaker in his adolescence. At the age of seventeen, Edward met Caroline Scott, daughter of a tea magnate, who intervened on his behalf during an altercation outside the Auld Shillelagh tavern, in which Edward was defending Rose, one of the Scott family's housemaids, from being raped by Tom Cobleigh. Edward immediately fell in love with Caroline and asked her to meet again sometime, but she refused, as her father would not allow such a breach of social etiquette after having already promised her to Matthew Hague, the son of a prominent East India Company executive. Despite their differences in social status, Edward still pursued his love for Caroline. Through Rose, Edward learned that Caroline often visited Bristol's port on a weekly basis. Hoping to attract her attention, Edward recruited a young street urchin named Albert to present Caroline with a bouquet of flowers on his behalf. As the boy set off, Edward realized too late that Albert was a thief who intended to steal Caroline's purse. As Edward moved forward to stop Albert, the thief successfully snatched Caroline's money, but in the process was noticed by her nearby suitor, Matthew, and his hulking bodyguard, Wilson, who caught the criminal and proceeded to beat him. Finally reaching the scene, Edward subdued Wilson before forcing Albert to apologize. Drawn to his fearless conduct, Caroline met Edward that night outside his house. Setting out for a midnight stroll, Caroline explained to Edward how the thought of becoming Hague's wife, and what society expected her to do after the marriage, sickened her. At the same time, she knew that starting a relationship with Edward would incur the wrath of her father upon them both. Despite the looming threat of Emmett's imminent anger, the couple maintained a secret relationship for the next several months. They finally married in 1712. Caroline's father, Emmett, disapproved of the marriage and disowned his daughter without providing a dowry. Deprived of the Scotts' wealth, Caroline and Edward settled in the farm of Edward's parents, who quickly became fond of Edward's young wife, who tried her best to acclimate to her new life. However, dissatisfied with his life as a farmer and his inability to offer a privileged life to his wife, Edward failed to meet his marital obligations and assiduously frequented the taverns of the area. During a night of drinking, in late 1712, Scott approached an inebriated Edward in a tavern and offered him a deal, sending Caroline back to him by leaving her in exchange for a large sum of money. Scott tried to convince him to accept his offer, but Edward fainted before giving an answer and his father-in-law took him to the Kenway farmstead, where he took the opportunity to show his distraught daughter what a bad husband Edward was. The next day, Scott received the visit from Edward, who refused his offer and proposed him another deal. In accordance with his own plans, Edward was going to try to make his fortune as a privateer in the West Indies and promised not to return to England until he became rich. To Scott, who wanted the marriage to end, Edward pointed the fact that the odds were great that he died at sea, making Caroline a widow able to marry again, and that Scott could also take advantage of his absence by trying to turn Caroline against her husband. Scott agreed to Edward's offer, and the latter announced his departure to Caroline, who left the farm and returned to her parents' home, angry with Edward's decision. However, on the night of Edward's set departure, Scott sent Wilson and some members of the Trade Organization, including Tom Cobleigh and his associate Julian, to set fire to the Kenways' farm while Bernard and Linette were sleeping inside, in order to prevent Caroline from ever coming back to them. With Edward's departure being delayed, he returned to the farm in time to warn his parents and tracked the arsonists, but was knocked out and put on his departing ship by a hooded Wilson, who assured him that no more harm would come to his parents if he respected his pact with Scott. Despite Edward having managed to save his parents, his father disowned him for all the trouble he had brought upon the family. Distraught, Edward sought revenge on the Cobleighs, killing Julian in the process. Before Edward could interrogate Tom, however, the latter was killed by Wilson. Edward then tried to engage Wilson, but was bested by the more experienced swordsman. Knocked unconscious by Wilson, Edward found himself aboard the Emperor, the ship he was intended to sail on. Sailing under the Emperor, Edward was often harassed by his more experienced and hardened peers, especially the brutish sailor Blaney. Initially bullying Edward as means of asserting his superiority, Blaney came to genuinely hate Edward for not fearing him. The Emperor's captain Alexander Dolzell soon foresaw that the War of the Spanish Succession was soon coming to a close, meaning that privateers would be put out of business. Dolzell announced his plans to turn to piracy to his crew, and offered those who decided not to partake in piracy safe passage home. Before Edward, not willing to become a pirate, could join those like him, he was stopped by his fellow sailor Friday. Edward then saw the sailors who wanted to leave the crew thrown overboard. In January 1713, Edward participated in the Emperor's capture of a British merchant ship named the Amazon Galley, and was assigned along with Blaney to guard the ship's captain, Benjamin Pritchard. Edward recognized the ring that Pritchard was wearing which matched the ring worn by Wilson. Pritchard offered Edward answers in exchange for his safety, but he was soon executed by Dolzell's blade. At the same time, the privateer Edward Thatch and his crew came to the rescue of the Amazon Galley, still loyal to the British Crown. Seeing that they were outnumbered, Blaney decided to mutiny against his former crew, killing first mate Trafford before moving in on Edward. However, Thatch took a liking to Edward and instead proposed a brawl to decide who should join his crew, pitting Edward against Blaney. While the larger Blaney was physically stronger than Edward, the latter's smaller size outmaneuvered the brute. Although Edward landed several good hits on Blaney at the beginning, Blaney soon got the upper hand and eventually drew a blade. However, because Blaney broke the rules by using a weapon, he was quickly shot dead by Thatch. Edward, as the victor, joined Thatch's crew. Under Thatch's tutelage aboard the Sea Dog's Bite, Edward learned how to properly wield a sword as well as a pistol. He was also guided by Thatch's own mentor, Benjamin Hornigold. Edward remained in Jamaica for six months until the Treaty of Utrecht in early 1713, which effectively ended all conflict between the major empires. As a result, British privateers were no longer needed or tolerated in the West Indies, causing the Sea Dog's Bite's crew to find themselves out of work and turn to piracy. Eager to prove himself to his new crew, Edward decided to lead the search for a Spanish shipwreck rumored to house treasure and went to Kingston alongside a group of fellow pirates. There, they found a Spanish sailor who knew the shipwreck's location and, after protecting him from the British captain Blount, who sought the same prize, escorted him back to the Sea Dog's Bite. Escaping Kingston, the sailor informed Edward and his fellow crew members of the shipwreck's location in the Bahamas, but the pirates were beaten to their destination by Blount and his men, who made off with the treasure chest.[7] Finding Blount's camp nearby, Edward's group infiltrated it and recovered the chest, but before the Sea Dog's Bite could escape, it was attacked by Blount's ship. While Edward defended the vessel from the boarding British soldiers, he tasked three of his fellow crewmates to board the enemy ship and eliminate Blount. The pirates were ultimately successful and, with their assailants dead, the Sea Dog's Bite's crew was able to claim the Spanish shipwreck's treasure as their own. Sometime later, Edward and three fellow pirates set out to recover their friend Garnet's ship, which had been stolen by the pirate crew of Captain Cliff. Meeting with Groggy Bill, a former member of Cliff's crew and old acquaintance of Edward's, the pirates convinced him to tell them about Cliff's whereabouts. Arriving at Cliff's hideout, Edward decided to search for the captain while the others attempted to find the stolen ship. However, they discovered that the vessel had been destroyed in a fight between Cliff's crew and the Royal Navy, who sought a map allegedly leading to a vast treasure. Not wishing to return to Garnet empty-handed, Edward and the others attempted to recover the map from the British captain Stewart, but he managed to escape. After finding Stewart's camp, Edward's group took advantage of an assault by Cliff's vengeful crew to infiltrate it, only to witness Stewart running away into the jungle.[13] Following him, the pirates arrived at a strange vault, where they confronted Stewart and his men. After eliminating them, they found that the vault contained no treasure, though Edward suspected that it was more valuable than it seemed and believed it would be safer for their nascent Pirate Republic if the vault was forgotten about. Around January 1714, Edward met the pirate captain Abel Bramah when he arrived in Nassau. Despite Thatch's instant dislike of the man, Edward opted to join his crew, working aboard Bramah's ship, a brig named the Jacobite. In June 1715, the Jacobite attacked a passing vessel which proved to be too much for the crew to handle. With their captain dead, Edward took the helm and did his best to keep the ship afloat. While the pirates emerged victorious thanks to the storm, the ship's magazine caught fire and exploded, sinking the ship. Shipwrecked in Cape Bonavista, Edward met the only other survivor, an Assassin named Duncan Walpole, whose ship the pirates had attacked. Washing up next to Edward, Walpole was wounded by the shrapnel from the magazine's explosion. He offered to pay Edward for passage to Havana. Edward agreed upon condition of immediate payment, and advanced towards Walpole. Concerned, the Assassin drew his pistol, but it misfired due to wet gunpowder. Walpole fled, and Edward pursued him through the jungle, taking an interest in Walpole's Hidden Blade. Cornering Walpole, Edward quickly dispatched the wounded Assassin. Looting Walpole's body, Edward found a letter from Governor Laureano de Torres y Ayala of Havana, detailing Walpole's intended defection to the Templar Order. Oblivious to the implications of the letter, Edward donned Walpole's Assassin robes but was forced to discard the broken Hidden Blade, and collected a set of maps and a crystalline rectangular prism which were to be delivered to Torres for payment. While looking for a way to leave Cape Bonavista, Edward encountered a group of British soldiers harassing a merchant named Stede Bonnet, whom they believed to have been one of the pirates involved in the earlier battle. After dispatching the soldiers, Edward introduced himself to Bonnet using Walpole's name and accompanied him to Havana. Upon arrival, the two traveled to a local tavern to meet with Bonnet's contact, where several thugs recognized Edward as a pirate and provoked him into a fight. After dispatching the men, Edward was forced to flee as Spanish soldiers entered the tavern and began to chase him. While he was able to escape, the Spanish turned on Bonnet and seized his ship's holdings, including the package meant for Torres. Edward infiltrated the Spanish fort to recover the package before going to the intended meeting with Torres. Edward carefully maintained his charade as he conversed with prospective Templars Woodes Rogers, whose wife had met Duncan, and Julien du Casse. Du Casse equipped Edward with a new pair of Hidden Blades and requested that Edward show them some Assassin techniques in action. Picking up on hints from du Casse and Rogers, Edward was able to replicate the moves with relative accuracy. When Torres eventually arrived, Edward presented him with the maps and the prism he had collected from Walpole. Torres then inducted "Walpole", Rogers and du Casse into the Templar Order before explaining his plan to locate an Isu site known as the Observatory, which the Templars believed would allow them to monitor every person in the world and learn all their secrets. Uninterested, Edward took the opportunity to pickpocket the Templars as they discussed their plans. The four then traveled to the city docks to retrieve a man named Bartholomew Roberts, an alleged Sage who knew the Observatory's location. On the way back to the governor's house, they were ambushed by Assassins and Roberts fled, though Edward managed to chase him down and retrieve him. As Roberts was led away, Torres gave Walpole's intended pay of 1,000 reales to Edward for a job well done. Later, meeting with Bonnet, Edward complained about the pay he had received, believing it was insufficient. He then resolved to discover the Observatory's location and sell it to the highest bidder, and realized he would need the Sage's assistance. He infiltrated the prison where Roberts was being held, only to find the Sage gone and the Templars, having discovered his ruse, waiting for him. For robbing them of Walpole's valuable expertise, Torres had Edward imprisoned on a Spanish Treasure Fleet ship heading for Seville to deliver him to the British Templars in London. Edward managed to escape confinement with the help of a similarly-imprisoned Adéwalé, then they freed and recruited a number of other prisoners before stealing one of the fleet's ships. The impromptu crew narrowly managed to sail away before the entire fleet was sunk in a storm. Edward decided to name his newly-acquired ship the Jackdaw and, realizing that hardly any of his new crew would accept Adéwalé as captain, dubbed him quartermaster. After a brief excursion to Abaco Island, where he hunted some animals to craft himself a new holster, Edward sailed to Nassau with his new ship, where he introduced Adéwalé to three of his old associates: Edward Thatch, James Kidd, and Benjamin Hornigold. Edward then moved throughout the British-occupied town, freeing imprisoned pirates to recruit as crewmen and weakening British control over the island. With that complete, Edward began working with Hornigold and Kidd to carry out lucrative missions, plundering ships with the former, and raiding a nearby plantation with the latter. Thatch later shared with Edward his concerns about protecting their newly formed "Pirate Republic" from British recapture, and proposed a plan to take a particular Spanish Galleon in order to better protect the nascent revolutionary state. At his request, Edward located and tailed the Galleon to Great Inagua, only to learn that the ship was owned by none other than Julien du Casse. Reasoning that du Casse could not be allowed to live and spread news of his escape, Edward approached the cove through the jungle, snuck aboard du Casse's ship and assassinated him, before deciding to take over Great Inagua for himself. Months later, in March 1716, Edward was visited at his new base by James Kidd, who congratulated him on his victory and brought him to a Mayan stela in the jungle, telling Edward to use "the light of life" to uncover the treasure to which it pointed. Kidd then showed Edward an underground tunnel leading to the du Casse manor and the special armor locked away there. Trying out a key he had taken from du Casse, Edward saw that he required four more to unlock the armor. Kidd suggested that the keys could be found in the possession of four Templars sent to attack the Assassin bureaus whose locations had been compromised by Edward when he delivered Walpole's maps to Torres. Although Kidd advised that this was an opportunity for Edward to fix his mistake by warning the Assassins, the latter was only interested in the keys. After they finished touring Great Inagua, Kidd returned to his ship and left the island, requesting that Edward meet him in Tulum in several weeks' time, as he had more to show him there. Talking with Adéwalé afterwards, Edward expressed his doubts regarding Kidd's intentions but nonetheless set a course for Tulum. In Tulum, Edward found himself having to sneak through the jungle to meet with Kidd, as the area was heavily guarded by Assassin forces. Upon their eventual meeting, Edward was set upon by Ah Tabai, who demanded to know why Edward had sold their location to the Templars and attacked the Assassins in Havana. Kidd diffused the situation by telling Ah Tabai that Edward had "the Sense", and requested leave for them to enter a nearby temple. After claiming that he would recognize Bartholomew Roberts if he saw the man again, Edward was granted access to the temple with Kidd. While explaining the nature of the Assassin-Templar conflict and the Creed, Kidd led Edward to an antechamber containing a sculpture of the Sage. Edward originally claimed that it did not resemble Roberts at all; however, as he and Kidd completed an associated puzzle, layers of the sculpture were removed to show a better likeness underneath. Astonished, Edward confirmed that the statue perfectly resembled Roberts. When Edward and Kidd exited the temple, they found the Assassin base under siege by British troops. After conferring with Ah Tabai, Kidd handed Edward a blowpipe. Edward then aided the Assassins in their fight, freeing several who had been captured by the soldiers and earning the appreciation of Ah Tabai. However, considering the damage he had caused through negligence, Ah Tabai decreed that Edward was not welcome in Tulum any longer. Before Edward left, Kidd explained to him in more detail what both the Assasins and the Templars strived for and how he had come to join the Brotherhood. He also told Edward that he could help the Assassins complete their contracts in return for monetary rewards, and showed him a locked door which could be opened by Mayan keystones like the one they had found in Great Inagua, claiming that a treasure lay behind it. Determined to acquire the Templar armor locked away in Julien du Casse's former manor in Great Inagua, Edward decided to hunt down each of the four Templars attacking the Assassins' bureaus in the region in order to take their keys. His first destination was the Cayman Islands, where the local bureau leader, Opía Apito, was initially distrustful of Edward and challenged him to a hunting competition. After Edward proved himself by winning the contest, Opía allowed him to help and asked him to meet her at a nearby fishing village. There, Edward eavesdropped on a conversation between some of the villagers and learned two names, Lucia Márquez and Vargas, before stealing a ledger revealing the latter's address. Arriving at Vargas' home with Opía, she and Edward inquired about Lucia's whereabouts, prompting Vargas to flee. Edward chased him to his ship, where he defeated and then interrogated him, learning that Lucia was headed to the Isla de la Juventud. With the location of their enemy known, Opía took Vargas' ship and told Edward to meet her on the island. To draw Lucia out of hiding, Edward and Opía attacked her men, eventually prompting the Templar to reveal herself and confront Opía. While the Assassin goaded and distracted Lucia, Edward approached his target from behind and assassinated her, taking her Templar key. His first destination was the Cayman Islands, where the local bureau leader, Opía Apito, was initially distrustful of Edward and challenged him to a hunting competition. After Edward proved himself by winning the contest, Opía allowed him to help and asked him to meet her at a nearby fishing village. There, Edward eavesdropped on a conversation between some of the villagers and learned two names, Lucia Márquez and Vargas, before stealing a ledger revealing the latter's address. Arriving at Vargas' home with Opía, she and Edward inquired about Lucia's whereabouts, prompting Vargas to flee. Edward chased him to his ship, where he defeated and then interrogated him, learning that Lucia was headed to the Isla de la Juventud. With the location of their enemy known, Opía took Vargas' ship and told Edward to meet her on the island. To draw Lucia out of hiding, Edward and Opía attacked her men, eventually prompting the Templar to reveal herself and confront Opía. While the Assassin goaded and distracted Lucia, Edward approached his target from behind and assassinated her, taking her Templar key. Edward headed to Kingston next, where the local bureau leader, Antó, was not at all pleased to learn that Edward had sold his location to the Templars and tasked him to make amends by locating some of his captured men. After Edward explained his motives for being there, Antó convinced him to help him free his men in exchange for the Templar key once they found it. When the Kingston bureau came under attack, Edward helped Antó and his men to defend it. Antó apologized for having nothing to reward Edward with, but the pirate told him that the Templar key could wait as he wanted to exact retribution upon the person responsible for the attack. Learning that his target was Kenneth Abraham, a British officer and Templar who had been engaged in a long-standing conflict with Antó's Maroons, Edward tailed one of Abraham's men to find his location and assassinate him. On Abraham's body, he found the Templar key he sought. Edward later went back to Havana, where he found the local Assassin bureau being headed by his old acquaintance, Rhona Dinsmore. With the bureau under attack, Edward helped Rhona fight off her assailants before explaining his motives for being there. As Rhona had been injured during the attack, she tasked Edward to investigate the Templars who were behind it and directed him to the market. There, Edward witnessed a thief pickpocketing a guard and decided to give chase, eventually tackling the thief and recovering from him a stolen map. Returning to Rhona, Edward discussed with her the map he had acquired, which showed the locations of several gunpowder storehouses. Revealing that the storehouses belonged to a Templar named Hilary Flint, who was running an arms race against her, Rhona tasked Edward to destroy Flint's gunpowder reserves to sabotage his operation. After Edward did so, Rhona decided to eliminate Flint and came up with a plan to distract him whilst Edward approached him from behind to deliver the killing blow. The plan was successful and, with Flint dead, Edward claimed his Templar key. Edward's final destination was Nassau, where he met with who he believed to be the local bureau leader, Vance Travers. Vance told Edward that the Templar key he sought was in the possession of a Templar named Upton and that he could keep it if he assassinated him. Tailing two of Upton's men, Edward found his target but just as he was about to assassinate him, he discovered that Upton was Vance's brother and the true bureau leader of Nassau. Learning he had been deceived, Edward was informed by Upton of his feud with Vance, which had begun when a Chinese pirate named Jing Lang seduced Vance and convinced him to kill Upton and steal his half of a treasure map the brothers had acquired, so that Vance and Jing could claim the treasure for themselves. At Upton's request, Edward tailed his brother to confirm his suspicions of Vance's betrayal. Upon being informed that Jing was a Templar conspiring to murder him and that Vance was helping her, Upton tried to drink his sorrows away, forcing Edward to escort him to safety. Once Upton had sobered up, he decided that his brother had to die alongside Jing, and asked Edward to assassinate them both. Edward did so, recovering a Templar key from Jing in the process. With all four Templar keys in his possession, Edward returned to Great Inagua and obtained the Templar armor. By January 1717, Edward was back in Nassau, where he witnessed the arrival of Charles Vane and Jack Rackham, who had decided to join the Pirate Republic. After welcoming the new members alongside Thatch, Edward learned from Vane that Torres was residing in a fort with a sizable amount of gold that Vane aimed to steal. Undercutting him, Edward quickly sailed to Torres' location and captured the fort. Inquiring about Roberts, Edward learned that the Sage had been captured by a Kingston-based Dutch slaver named Laurens Prins, who was ransoming him to the Templars. Edward decided to use the opportunity to reach Roberts himself, and coerced Torres into aiding him. When they arrived in Kingston, Edward started to tail Torres, only to discover James Kidd was also pursuing Prins, intending to assassinate him. Reluctantly, Kidd agreed to Edward's request not to assassinate Torres and Prins until they uncovered the Sage's location. Despite being detected, the two eventually tracked Prins to his manor in the north of the city. Edward agreed to aid Kidd in the infiltration and the assassination of Prins. Kidd, noticing that they would not be able to get far through stealth alone against such a heavily guarded complex, elected to act as a distraction. Removing her bandanna and reddening her lips, Kidd revealed herself to be a woman. Edward quickly overcame his confusion and, using "Kidd's" distraction, snuck into the manor's gardens and assassinated Prins. Moments later, Edward was surprised to find Roberts free from confinement and holding "Kidd" at gunpoint. Roberts revealed that he was working for Prins, but was not surprised to hear about his betrayal. Shooting the alarm bell, Roberts made his escape, followed shortly by his two would-be rescuers. After escaping Prins' property and regrouping with "Kidd", Edward requested her real name. She told him it was Mary Read, and that if he informed anyone of her true identity, she would "unman" him. Edward respected Mary's wishes and agreed to keep her secret. The following year, in 1718, word reached Nassau of a general pardon for all pirates being issued by Woodes Rogers, the new Governor of the Bahamas. Thatch and Hornigold disagreed on how they should address the situation; the former favored the use of force to keep the Pirate Republic alive, the latter a period of quiet to turn prying eyes away from Nassau. Hornigold stated that without proper care, including medicine for the sick, Nassau was not worth attempting to save. Edward agreed with Hornigold and elected to procure some medicine in a way that did not draw British attention. Remembering the storm that had sunk the Spanish Treasure Fleet, he suggested searching the wrecks for any medicine that might have survived. After purchasing a diving bell for the Jackdaw, Edward met with Thatch at the site of the sinking. There, he was unexpectedly reunited with Stede Bonnet, who had turned to piracy and joined Thatch's crew. Using the bell, Edward explored the sunken fleet and retrieved a crate of medicine from the wrecks; unfortunately, the medicine had not survived three years at the bottom of the ocean. Disappointed, Thatch left, but was shortly pursued by Edward. Soon enough, Edward learned that Thatch had attacked a British Man O' War in an attempt to gain some medicine, and was now in trouble. Sailing the Jackdaw to his location, Edward managed to relieve Thatch of his predicament and took control of the Queen Anne's Revenge, before disabling the Man O' War and plundering the cargo. However, because the amount of medicine they had acquired was small, Edward suggested they travel to Charles-Towne—whose stamp adorned the medicine crates—to retrieve more. On his way to meet with Thatch near Charles-Towne, Edward ran into Bonnet, who had left Thatch's crew and was now a pirate captain in own right. Bonnet thanked Edward for the courage he had inspired him and told him that their friendship had been his most treasured find on the seas, before departing. This would be the last time the two pirates saw each other before Bonnet's death later that year. Arriving at Charles-Towne on 28 May 1718, Edward was surprised to see the Queen Anne's Revenge brazenly off shore with hostages aboard. Thatch revealed that he had spent eight days there, waiting for the medicine to be delivered, but that the crew he had sent ashore a week prior to retrieve it had not been heard from since. Edward set out to retrieve the medicine personally. After discreetly guiding the Jackdaw through the bayou, Edward snuck ashore and forcefully obtained the key to the storeroom holding the medicines. He returned to Queen Anne's Revenge with two crates, as well as the means to make more. Thatch congratulated him, but then revealed he would not be returning to Nassau, instead choosing to retire while he still had time to enjoy it. Shortly after Edward's return to Nassau, the city was blockaded by the Royal Navy. Woodes Rogers came ashore to publicly announce the general pardon being offered to the pirates, but warned that, for the time being, they were restricted to the island regardless of their answer. Hornigold and his crew elected to accept the pardon, whilst Vane angrily rebuked it. Meeting with Vane, Edward decided the time had come to leave Nassau. He proposed using a fireship to ram the British blockade, and went to gather the gunpowder while Vane retrieved the pine pitch. After procuring the gunpowder, Edward returned to Vane, who was still in the process of retrieving the pitch. While there, the two overheard that Rogers' associate, Commodore Peter Chamberlaine, had decided to ignore the Governor's orders and was set to destroy the pirate fleet that very night. Vane suggested Edward kill the Commodore before he could order the attack. Edward agreed, made his way to the Commodore's warship, and assassinated him. With Chamberlaine dead, the pirates made their move. Launching the fireship at the British fleet, they punched a hole in the blockade and escaped the area, heading for Edward's base in Great Inagua. Meeting with Mary Read in Great Inagua, Edward stated his intentions to try and bring Thatch back to the West Indies. He then set sail for Ocracoke, where Thatch had retired to, in order to make the attempt. When he arrived, he found Vane angrily giving up on his attempts to bring Thatch back to the Pirate Republic; Edward reluctantly accepted that Thatch had no intention of returning, and instead decided to help him celebrate his retirement. As a parting gift, Thatch informed Edward that he had learned about a man named "Roberts", who was working on a slaver ship called the Princess. Edward gratefully accepted the information, but soon spotted a local man acting suspiciously. Edward followed the man through the outlying jungle until he met with a British officer. Eavesdropping on their conversation, Edward heard the two discussing Thatch's reputation. Eventually, they reached a clearing overlooking the village and one of the men launched a flare. Within moments, a nearby British fleet bombarded Ocracoke with mortars, destroying the town and many of the ships in the docks. Edward hurriedly made his way back to the Jackdaw, where he once again met with Thatch, and the two attempted to escape. They succeeded in disabling and boarding the attacking Man O' War, but were soon overwhelmed. Thatch was surrounded and decapitated by the British, whilst a shocked Edward, who had tried and failed to fight his way to Thatch's aid, was thrown overboard. Deeply shaken, Edward returned to the Jackdaw and eventually fought his way free of the attacking fleet. Edward returned to Great Inagua and, disheartened, informed Vane of Thatch's death. Soon enough, a decision was made to pursue the Princess and learn the location of the Observatory. As such, both Edward and Vane traveled south in search of a slave ship. Once they had located one, both the Ranger and the Jackdaw launched their attack. Quickly overcoming the vessel and capturing its captain, the crews of the two ships learned that the Princess regularly sailed out of Kingston. However, before their next move could be decided, Vane and Edward found themselves surrounded by Jack Rackham and the rest of the mutinying crew. The two captains were thus marooned on Isla Providencia, where Vane grew distrustful and nonsensical after a few months, blaming Edward for all their troubles and threatening to kill him. As Vane fled, Edward pursued him into the jungle before being surprised by a stack of muskets and grenades Vane had happened upon. Sneaking through the ruins, Edward managed to get behind Vane and disarmed him, before leaving him alone on the island. Upon his return to shore, Edward took advantage of the timely arrival of a fishing schooner and used it to return to Great Inagua. There he found Mary Read and Adéwalé waiting, an incarcerated Rackham in tow and the Jackdaw safely docked. Edward returned to his pursuit of Roberts. With Adéwalé's help, he learned that the Princess was due in Kingston soon, and that Torres was in the city with Hornigold in attendance. Listening in on their conversation, Edward learned that Hornigold had sent one of his ships to Príncipe, where Roberts had last been seen. Hornigold soon spotted the Jackdaw in the harbor and deduced that Edward had been following them. Edward came out of hiding to berate Hornigold for his betrayal, whereupon he was beset by Torres' soldiers. Not wanting to waste time, Edward escaped the soldiers who engaged him and, upon his return to the Jackdaw, set course for Africa. In June 1719, Edward and his crew arrived in Príncipe to find the crew of the Princess dead or captured by Hornigold's Templar associates, Josiah Burgess and John Cockram. As Edward searched the remains of their encampment, he came upon Roberts hiding there. After a tense discussion, Edward and Roberts made a deal; Edward would kill the Templars and free the crew of the Princess in return for Roberts leading him to the Observatory. Edward then completed his end of the bargain, assassinating Burgress and Cockram. In order to show Edward the Observatory, Roberts deduced that he would have to acquire blood vials. In September, the pair infiltrated a Portugese fleet to recover the vials from its figurehead, a Man O' War called the Nosso Senhor da Compreensão. Equipping the Jackdaw with a Portuguese flag, the pirates managed to get close enough to the Man O' War for their crews to ambush it. While Adéwalé took the Jackdaw to safety, Edward and Roberts fought off the rest of the fleet and found the vials. With this, Roberts arranged to meet Edward near the Observatory, while taking the Man O' War for himself and renaming it the Royal Fortune. Later, Edward met with Roberts off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, but soon discovered he had been followed by Hornigold. Edward gave chase and disabled Hornigold's ship, forcing it to beach on a nearby island. Going ashore, Edward managed to evade Hornigold's crew and several British sailors, sneaking behind his old friend before assassinating him. The two had a brief, heated exchange as to the nature of Hornigold's betrayal before he succumbed to his wounds. After making sure no one else had followed him, Edward returned to Roberts at Long Bay, and together the two traveled inland towards the Observatory. As the area was heavily protected by indigenous guardians whose presence made it impossible for his crew to reach the Observatory, Roberts instructed Edward to clear a path whilst he and his men followed behind. Eventually, the group reached a black geometric structure that Roberts identified as the Observatory, which he recalled from a previous life. He then promptly killed his crew, shocking Edward, but Roberts assured him that while his men would have not been able to cope with seeing the inside of the Observatory, he suspected Edward was made of "sterner stuff". As they made their way to the main chamber, Roberts explained the true nature of the Observatory: to project what the target was seeing in real-time; however, it required a sample of the target's blood kept in a vial to properly function. To demonstrate, Roberts inserted a vial containing the blood of Jack Rackham, who was currently overhearing "James Kidd's" attempt to recruit Anne Bonny into the life of piracy. He then inserted a vial containing the blood of Woodes Rogers, who was discussing the Observatory with Torres. Edward quickly realized the true reason for the Templars' interest in the Observatory: with just the tiniest amount of blood from each member of the British, Spanish and French governments, the Templars would be able to spy on, blackmail and effectively rule these Imperial governments from behind a veil. However, Edward's interest still laid in financial gain, and he expressed excitement that he and Roberts could become "masters of the ocean". At that moment, Edward was suddenly struck by Roberts, who had no further use for him with the guardians neutralized. As Edward fell into a chasm below and vowed revenge on Roberts, the Sage took the Crystal Skull that powered the Observatory, intending to use it for his own ends, and sealed Edward within the facility. Edward eventually managed to locate a passage out of the complex but, in his escape, he was impaled on a sharpened branch and fell down a long slope. Reaching the beach, he stumbled towards Roberts, but was too badly wounded to defend himself against the man's crew. An amused Roberts then told him that the Jackdaw had fled, and he decided to take advantage of the large bounty on Edward's head, turning him over to the British authorities. In November 1720, after over a year of imprisonment in Port Royal, Kingston, Edward was made to witness the sentencing of Mary and Anne for the crimes of piracy, though the two managed to stave their execution by announcing that they were pregnant. During the trial, Edward was approached by Torres and Rogers, who offered him his freedom in exchange for the location of the Observatory. Edward refused and was returned to a gibbet. Five months later, in April 1721, Edward was freed by Ah Tabai, who had traveled to Port Royal in order to free Mary and Anne. He offered to ensure Edward's safe passage from the prison should he aid in their rescue, an offer Edward readily accepted. Edward infiltrated the prison and, after a brief visit to both Jack Rackham's gibbeted body and a delirious Charles Vane in a prison cell, succeeded in finding Mary and Anne and assassinating the guards posted at their cells. However, Mary was gravely ill due to giving birth in the prison's unsanitary conditions; despite Edward's attempts to carry her to freedom, she could not make the escape. Asking Edward to make amends for his past and change the course of his future, she died within the prison walls, and Edward carried her body to the shore. Edward handed Mary over to Ah Tabai, who stated that, while he still had not earned them, the Assassin robes Edward had taken from Walpole many years before suited him. He then returned the outfit to Edward before departing with the pregnant Anne. Following Mary's death, Edward fell into a deep state of despair, drinking heavily and hallucinating. In his hallucinations, Edward was beset by apparitions of Rogers, Roberts, Caroline, and Mary, among others. The former two mocked him, and Caroline and Mary berated his lust for gold and personal glory over anything else. Eventually, he awoke near the Kingston docks, hungover. Standing over him was Adéwalé, who returned the Jackdaw to his care, resigned as his quartermaster and urged Edward to visit the Assassins in Tulum. When Edward arrived at Tulum, he found the village ransacked, with many men and women badly injured. Adéwalé arrived, stating that this was the ongoing consequence of Edward's actions from six years previously. He confirmed his resignation as Edward's quartermaster, expressing his distaste for working with a man so obsessed with his own gain, and revealed that he had joined the Assassins to pursue a nobler cause. Edward agreed that this lecture was not unwarranted or unfair. Reflecting on his actions since coming to the Caribbean, Edward noted that he had achieved his goal: he was now a rich man. At the expense of others, he had achieved the financial prosperity he desired; yet in doing so, he had lost nearly everyone he cared about. Hearing this sincere self-reflection, Ah Tabai approached, reassuring the pirate that it was not too late to change his ways. Wishing to honor Mary's final request, Edward asked the Mentor to help him make amends for his past misdeeds. The two men walked for a while, discussing the Assassins and the true meaning of their Creed. This time, Edward did not take the maxim at face value, and instead reflected on the wisdom hidden behind the words. This impressed Ah Tabai, but before they could converse further, Tulum was once again beset by Spanish troops. Despite Ah Tabai's reservations, he realized that Mary had seen something in Edward, and so chose to place his trust in the man. Handing the aspiring Assassin a set of rope darts, Ah Tabai and Edward worked together to clear the jungle of Spanish troops, before Edward snuck aboard their ship and assassinated the captain. With the attack repelled, the Mentor declared that Edward had been absolved of his past transgressions, and welcomed him into the Brotherhood. Edward, Adéwalé, and Ah Tabai then discussed their next move: the removal of Rogers, Roberts, and Torres. In the interim, Edward spotted Anne, leaning broken against a tree. Learning that her newborn child had not survived, Edward found camaraderie with Anne in the wake of their friends' deaths. He eventually offered her the position of quartermaster in Adéwalé's steed, which she accepted. Around this time, Edward finally unlocked the temple door in Tulum which Mary had shown him years ago, after collecting enough Mayan keystones. Behind it, he found a set of Mayan Armor created using scavenged Shards of Eden which could deflect bullets, and claimed it for himself. Travelling to Kingston, Edward and Anne visited the bureau leader Antó to inquire about Rogers' location. Antó suggested that Edward infiltrate a party Rogers was hosting in the guise of Ruggiero Ferraro, a visiting Italian diplomat marked for death by the Brotherhood. Edward agreed and assassinated Ferraro, taking his outfit, which granted him access to the party. Once inside, he positioned himself on a bench and waited for Rogers to pass by him, at which point he struck the Templar with his Hidden Blade. Before he left, Edward pried from Rogers the location of Bartholomew Roberts: Príncipe. In February 1722, Edward traveled to Africa once more in pursuit of Roberts, arriving at the very same stronghold that had held his target captive years before. Roberts attempted to flee aboard the Royal Fortune, but the ship was soon disabled by the Jackdaw. After boarding the enemy vessel, Edward dueled Roberts and emerged victorious upon impaling his opponent with a rope dart. In his final moments, Roberts remorsefully remarked that perhaps Edward was indeed the one "she" had sought, and that he wished he had only had time to open the door to the Temple. Before Edward could get any more answers, Roberts passed away, requesting that his body be destroyed to prevent the Templars from acquiring it. Edward respected Roberts' final wish and threw his body into the ocean, while also taking possession of his Crystal Skull. With Roberts dead and the Crystal Skull that powered the Observatory in-hand, Edward traveled to Havana to assassinate Torres, his final target. He found the city in lockdown, as Torres had anticipated his arrival. With a drop of Torres' blood, Edward tracked the Grand Master through the city to a fort in the north. He infiltrated the fort and assassinated Torres, only to find the man he had slain was actually a body double wearing Torres's clothes. Edward was then set upon by El Tiburón, Torres' bodyguard, whose blood had resided in the vial under Torres' name. After a prolonged fight, Edward succeeded in killing El Tiburón and escaped the fort. Regrouping with Anne and Havana's bureau leader Rhona Dinsmore, Edward was informed that Torres had left the city earlier that day, and deduced that the Grand Master was on his way to the Observatory, oblivious to the fact that Edward held the prize he sought. Returning to the Observatory once more, the Jackdaw fought its way past the Grand Master's escort and its captain went ashore. Edward, accompanied by Anne, again made his way through the jungle, eliminating Torres' soldiers and freeing the guardians they had captured, before entering the Observatory.[74]

Inside the facility, Edward was set upon by the Templars, but made full use of the complex's defenses, which had activated in responses to the Crystal Skull's removal, to dispose of them. Freerunning through the Observatory's ever-changing and disjointed architecture, Edward managed to reach Torres, and struck him down. As he lay dying, Torres reminded Edward that he ended up a man with nothing, but the latter retorted that killing Torres righted his own wrongs and criticized the Templars' goal of controlling humanity. With his last breath, Torres expressed his respect for Edward's newfound convictions. With the Grand Master dead, Edward returned to the Observatory's central device to find Ah Tabai, Adéwalé, and Anne waiting for him. Together they returned the Crystal Skull to its rightful place and vowed to seal the Observatory once more. Ah Tabai then suggested Edward aid in the search for the missing blood vials, which had been removed since Edward's last visit. Edward agreed, but stated that he would return home to mend his relationship with Caroline first. Remorsefully, Ah Tabai handed Edward a letter which had arrived from England a week past. The letter stated that Caroline had died two years prior from smallpox and her father's negligence, and revealed that Edward had a daughter, Jennifer Scott.

Edward Kenway, the protagonist of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and its 2026 remake Resynced, is physically defined as a 6'4", 220-pound muscular Welsh pirate with blonde hair and striking blue eyes. His look blends rugged, salt-of-the-earth seafaring aesthetics with a practical take on classic Assassin gear. He has medium-length, sun-bleached blonde hair that he keeps tied back into a practical low bun. He sports a rugged, sandy-blonde stubble/scruff beard. He possesses strong, angular features, fair skin with a bit of a weather-worn look from years at sea, and a notable scar running vertically across his right eye. He is often described as having a "devilishly handsome" or "pretty boy" rough-and-ready appeal.