- "You think they'll reward you in the end? The Grand Masters?... What a load of bollocks! That's what I thought at first, but the secrets they promised were always just around the next bed... never now, never here. Your life, lived in the shadows, at the level of whispers, what does it mean in the end if you have no people?"
- ―Gift talking to the Black Cross, 1927.[src]
Thaddeus Gift (died 1927) was the Grand Master of the British Rite of the Templar Order, and the father of Darius Gift. They were both members of the Gift family, an ancient family of British Templars active on the island since the 12th century, when the Knight Templars acted openly.
Biography[]
Early career[]
Very little is known about Thaddeus' early life, except that he was inducted into the Templar Order like his ancestors and eventually rose to the rank of Grand Master. However, at some point, he became disillusioned with the Order's goals and began using his poistion to embezzle money, tarnishing the Order's reputation.[1]
Death[]
One night in February 1927, at the Café de Paris, Thaddeus met with an associate, Whitwell, who owed him money. Gift threatened the man's life and implied that a delay was possible if Whitwell "brought" his wife, Melissa, to meet him. Once Whitwell left to retrieve his wife, Thaddeus received a calling card, which had the image of a black cross.[1]
Panicking, he ran out of the nightclub before meeting Mrs. Whitwell and told the chauffeur to get his driver. However, as he entered his car, Gift was immediately taken from the hood of his car by a chain from above. Shooting at his attacker with a pistol, Thaddeus briefly escaped but noxious gas soon appeared in the streets. He made his way to a phone booth and tried to call his son, but before Darius could pick up, the Black Cross, Albert Bolden, revealed himself and confronted Thaddeus.[1]
After the Black Cross accused Gift of stealing from his fellow Templars and using their contacts to embezzle money, Thaddeus admitted that his actions were for the benefit of his son. He then tried to convince his assailant that the Grand Masters were using him, as they would never share their true knowledge with him, and finally begged for his life, offering to give the Black Cross anything he wanted if he spared him. However, the Black Cross claimed that Gift had nothing to give him and used a Templar pin to slit his throat and remove his Templar ring finger before leaving his body on the street.[1]
Legacy[]
The posthumous revelation of Thaddeus' corruption tarnished his prestigious family's reputation, with only his son and the Master Templar Ferris attending his funeral. His death also revealed that his high living resulted in substantial debts, with Darius losing his place in his university and becoming poor.[1]
After their inquisitor killed Gift, the Templars' Inner Sanctum sent Darius to Shanghai to unknowingly deliver his father's ring finger to the Kuomintang's leader Chiang Kai-shek.[1] This act was meant to inform the general that a position of Grand Master was available and that he could succeed Sun Yat-sen as China's Grand Master if he agreed to join the Order, while also showing him the consequences of betraying the Templars.[2]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
References[]
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