Assassin’s Creed: Unity CG trailer shows off rescuable female character

So wait, Assassin's Creed: Unity has female characters?

Ubisoft today released a brand new CG trailer for Assassin's Creed: Unity showing Arno racing against time in order to prevent the beheading of Elise, a character "central" to Unity's story.

"As an independent young noblewoman, Elise is determined to secure her place in the Templar dynasty amidst the chaos of the French Revolution," Ubisoft said of the new character. "Her quest leads her to cross paths with Arno and establish an unlikely bond with him."

While the quite impressive trailer is designed mostly to showcase Arno — you know, the whole damsel in distress thing — Elise will be featured in a new paperback by Oliver Bowden from Penguin Random House. Also titled "Assassin's Creed Unity," the story "examines an era when the divide between the rich and poor is at its most extreme, and a nation is tearing itself apart." The story is told from Elise's perspective and follows her and Arno as they are drawn into the centuries-old battle between the Assassins and Templars.

I get it. You can save them. You can write about them. You just can't play as them.