If Ezio's story signified the rise of the Assassin Order during the Italian Renaissance, then Edward Kenway's bloodline signified the Templar Order's growth in England and the New World. Assassin's Creed's pirate-turned- Assassin tried to live a quieter life following the events of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, but Edward's past would come back to haunt him, leading to a betrayal that would send ripples through the history of the world into the modern-day.
Once Edward reunited with his daughter Jennifer, he set sail to the mainland to settle affairs from before he was a privateer. During his travels, he married the daughter of the man who would sell him their manor in London. The family lived a quaint life in the city, and Edward fathered a son, Haytham. Even at an early age, Edward taught Haytham the Assassin ways and how to fight, making sure to strengthen his mind by educating him on thinking for himself.
While Haytham was still young, Edward met a young man named Robert Birch. As he got to know his family, they returned to his home, where a mugger accosted them. Robert immediately pounced on the man with the intent to kill him before listening to Edward's demands to spare his life. When Kenway asked Haytham what he thought of the events, he replied that he would have let him go as well. Edward, proud of his response, gifted his son a sword that would later be the catalyst for his demise.
For two years, Birch would become a more prominent visitor of the Kenways in his attempts to court Jennifer. However, Jennifer, aware of the war between Assassins and Templars, learned that Birch was a member of the latter and brought this to Edward's attention. Angered by the news, Birch and Kenway shared harsh words before Robert stormed off. Little did Edward know that Birch had already gotten what he needed. By manipulating Haytham into showing Birch the sword his father gifted him, he inadvertently revealed the location of his father's notes on the civilization that had created the Pieces of Eden the Assassins and Templars have been after even in the present day.
Birch later sent intruders to raid and burn down Kenway's home, where they killed several servants and kidnapped Jennifer. Edward went downstairs to confront the intruders and, after a lengthy sword battle, was stabbed in the chest and killed instantly. Haytham would later be taken in by Birch and trained at a young age in the ways of the Templar Order, heavily impacting future titles. Haytham would be seen in Assassin's Creed: Rogue and Assassin's Creed III as the Templar Grand Master of the Colonial Rite and father to another Assassin, Connor Kenway.
The loss of Edward Kenway affected not only Haytham's future but also his daughter's. Following her kidnapping, she had little contact with her brother and stayed indoors, becoming a spinster in her later years. Edward Kenway's death never properly reflected his life as an Assassin. His unceremonious demise by a shocking act of betrayal will forever be a tragic ending to a swashbuckling hero.