Templars

The Templar Order, known also as the Order of the Knights Templar, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon and the Order of Solomon's Temple, is a monastic military order-turned-corporate conglomerate that was born out of the Order of the Ancients. The Templars seek to create a perfect world, although their interpretation thereof directly contrasts with the ideals of their sworn enemies, the Assassin Brotherhood.

Whereas the Assassins assert that utopia can someday be achieved through a gradual process of learning tolerance and mutual understanding, Templars classically insist that human nature is too prone to corruption for this to be a possibility. Key to their dream is the imposition of a New World Order, and they envision that true peace can only come when all of humanity is shepherded by an enlightened society of people—in their eyes, them. Because of this conflict in ideology, the Templars became involved in a covert war against the Assassins, spanning millennia and continuing into the modern era. The Templars have also become enemies with the Instruments of the First Will, a cult who have sworn their lives to restore the Isu's rule over humanity.

Organization
Similar to the Assassin Brotherhood, the Templar Order's rules consists of three tenets: Originally, the title of Grand Master officially denoted the head of the Templar Order. Indeed, during the Middle Ages when the order's existence was public knowledge, the Grand Master was projected as their sole supreme commander. However, as the organization spread across the globe, establishing branches in virtually every country, the title of Grand Master came to designate only the leader of regional factions called Rites.
 * 1) "Uphold the principles of our order and all that for which we stand."
 * 2) "Never share our secrets nor divulge in the true nature of our work."
 * 3) "Do so until death, whatever the cost."

Beneath the Grand Master of each Rite are nine ranks, with immediate subordinates being the high-ranking Master Templars. In order following the Masters are the Seneschals, Advisors, Commanders, Preceptors, Knights, Warriors, Clerics, and finally, the Disciples. These ranks parallel a similar system of hierarchy among their mortal adversaries, the Assassins.

Inner Sanctum
To maintain cohesion of the Rites as components of a centralized entity, the Inner Sanctum was formed. Consisting of an elite group of nine Templars, the Inner Sanctum harbors direct knowledge of all of the order's plans and is the nucleus from which orders are relayed to the other Rites. Their number, nine, reflects a convention that dates back to at least the Third Crusade, when nine leading Templars coordinated closely to seek after the Apple of Eden in Solomon's Temple. In modern times, since the foundation of Abstergo Industries as a public front for the order, the Inner Sanctum simultaneously serves as Abstergo's Board of Directors.

Outer Temple
The Inner Sanctum, in turn, is classified as one of two parts of the order, the other being the Outer Temple. Whereas the Inner Sanctum is privy to all the affairs of the order, being responsible for them, the Outer Temple comprises all other Templars, all of whom are kept in the dark of the full details and extent of the order's operations.

Guardians and The General of the Cross
Although the Inner Sanctum acts as the executive arm of the Templar Order, even they are not its paramount leaders, for they are ultimately subservient to the Guardians and the General of the Cross, the latter of whom is the true head of the Templar Order. Every major decision of the Inner Sanctum must be passed to the Guardians for review, who in turn relay them to the General of the Cross for the ultimate grant of approval. Accordingly, the General possesses the sole power to veto any significant action or plan the Inner Sanctum seeks to undertake.

Under normal circumstances, even the Inner Sanctum does not know the identity of the General of the Cross, a secret so strictly guarded that only the Guardians are permitted knowledge of it. As a result, the Guardians are the bridge between the Inner Sanctum and the General of the Cross, the medium through which communication between the two exists. There are three Guardians, and as witnessed in the case of the Guardian Alan Rikkin who also served as Chief Executive Officer of Abstergo Industries and chairman of the Inner Sanctum, a Guardian may hold another office at the same time.

Council of Elders
Apart from the Inner Sanctum and the Guardians, there exists a Council of Elders which wielded some authority over even the Guardian Alan Rikkin. Among the Council's functions is the power to dissolve Abstergo Foundation based on whether they believe the subsidiary is a worthy investment or a waste of resources.

Black Cross
The Black Cross is a title bestowed upon the members of a branch within the Templar Order tasked with keeping the Grand Masters of the various Rites in line with the Templar Code and ideals.

Secret inquisitors only answering to the Inner Sanctum's orders, the agents were authorized to use any means necessary, even deadly force, to take down corrupted members of the Order. A Black Cross' secondary mission was to track Pieces of Eden for the Inner Sanctum.

Deadly enforcers acting as an independent morality police force of one man, very few individuals wore the title of Black Cross across the centuries though the Bolden family line counted many among their number.