- "It's better to live for your country than to leave it."
- ―Alexander Nevsky.[src]
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky (30 May 1220 – 14 November 1263) was a Russian Prince, and later a Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. Nevsky was a deft military tactician and an emphatic leader who rose to legendary status on account of his military victories over the German and Swedish invaders. He became Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1252 and chose to pay tribute to the powerful Golden Horde, this alliance keeping the medieval Russia from being a Mongolian target.
While Nevsky was never identified as a Templar, his somewhat improbable alliance with the Khans confirmed that he was at least an ally of the Templar Order. It was on his way back from visiting the Golden Horde that Nevsky was confronted by the Mongolian Assassin Nergüi, who questioned his alliance to the Horde. Nevsky responded that he obeyed the Khan only to keep his country safe.
In the brief struggle that followed, the Assassin dealt the prince a mortal blow. In his final moments, Nevsky confessed that his father's poisoning by agents of the Khan had fueled his contempt for the Mongolians, and that both he and Nergüi had shared a common enemy.
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