Tomb Raider Legend Story

The Story of Tomb Raider Legend focuses on Lara's search for her mother and the sword Excalibur.

Notice: Legend is essentially a reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise and makes very few references to any prior games and the storyline is standalone. There are, however, a few "Easter Eggs" referencing the previous games as well as the two feature films.

Gaming's most famous heroine makes her triumphant return in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend! Lara Croft travels the globe in search of an ancient artifact and is pitted against rival forces...

Eidos

Lara Croft's search for a South American relic changed course dramatically when she meets a dangerous figure from her past, and she finds herself in a race to recover one of history's most famous artifacts.

tombraider.com

Lara's Adapted Biography

At the age of nine, Lara survived a plane crash in the Himalayan mountains that led to the death of her mother. After miraculously surviving a ten-day solo trek from the crash site to Kathmandu, she spent the rest of her childhood under the close tutelage of her archeologist father — the late Earl of Abbingdon, Richard Croft.

At the age of 18, after the death of her father, Lara inherited the Croft estates and became Countess of Abbingdon. Since then she has been credited with the discovery of some 16 archeological sites of international significance.

Lara Croft has been hailed both as an Archeological Wunderkind and a glorified Treasure Hunter, depending on who’s speaking. There are thousands of rumors surrounding Lara’s exploits, invariably involving the unexplained or outright unbelievable. Lady Croft herself is rarely available for comment, which further adds to the fog of mystery that surrounds her life and work.

Consequently, Lara Croft continues to be the focus of wild speculation and intense debate. Idealized and vilified in equal measure, she is perhaps one of the most fascinating and enigmatic figures of our times.

Legend Booklet, Page 2

The Himalayas

When Lara Croft was just nine years old, the executive jet carrying her and her mother crashed into the Himalayas, leaving them as the only survivors. After taking shelter in the ruins of an ancient temple, Lara discovers an ornate stone dais holding a sword. Unwittingly activating the ancient artefact, Lara watches in horror as her mother vanishes in front of her eyes. Devastated, she left the pink book behind, in which the directions of how to open the portal were written.

Tiwanaku, Bolivia

"Anaya telephoned today. She heard a rumor about an ancient temple in Bolivia that contains an ornate stone dais. It could be the one I'm looking for. I'm setting out first thing in the morning."

in-game

Years later, Lara, with the help of Zip and Alister, travels to the ancient civilization of Tiwanaku in Bolivia, following a tip from university peer Anaya Imanu. Lara attempts to find an ornate stone dais similar to the one in Nepal. She soon runs into James Rutland and his mercenaries on the edge of Lake Titicaca, where the dais is situated. Old memories are brought back to haunt Lara as Rutland implies that her deceased friend Amanda Evert is still alive. After an intense battle, Rutland as well as most of the mercenaries escape in the helicopter. Left alone, Lara then examines the stone dais and finds that it is similar to the one in Nepal. A sword must be placed into the slot of the dais in order to activate the portal. Desperate to understand what happened to her mother, Lara decides to retrieve the sword.

Climbing Exercise

• Zip: Y'know, I think you forgot your climbing gear on purpose!
• Lara: What would give you that idea?

[She grabs the edge of a crevice, but the rock brakes and Lara falls. She quickly finds a new place to hang onto.]

• Lara: Really, Zip, it's like going up a set of stairs, only far less boring.
• Zip: Yeah? Well I wanna throw up every time you look down... Hey, Alister's back! [To Alister] Grab a headset.
• Lara: Back so soon? From Florence, wasn't it?
• Alister: Decided on Genoa at the last minute. My dissertation will never see daylight at this rate, but never mind that. What are you doing in Bolivia?
• Lara: Ascending.

On Top of the Plateau

• Zip: Do me a favour and check your PDA?
• Lara: It still works if that's what you're wondering.
• Zip: Cool! They said it was water-proof. You should be able to swim with it no problem. Unless you eat it. Then you'll have to wait an hour.

The Ruins of Tiwanaku

[Through her binoculars Lara looks at a ruin.]

• Lara: Isn't she beautiful? I'm falling in love all over again.
• Zip: You say that to all the ruins.

Paraíso, Peru

Lara meets up with Anaya at the village, and after an attack from the mercenaries, whom Rutland sent to stop them, they manage to reach the tomb in Paraíso, where a tragedy befell Lara and her friends many years ago. When Lara was a student on an archaeological excavation, a mysterious demon was released which killed most of the team except for Amanda and Lara. Amanda managed to seemingly destroy the demon by removing a mysterious glowing red stone from a wall. This, however, left to a cave-in. In their attempt to escape, the cave was filled with water and Amanda was buried in falling stones and boulders.

In the present, Lara discovers that her old friend had apparently escaped and learns the legend of Tiwanaku's Queen. The Queen rose to power after meeting a shaman with a magical staff and was shortly brought to paradise by a woman in a lake after an epic final battle, the culmination of a struggle for power. Lara realizes that the tomb of the Queen of Tiwanaku is linked to Bolivia, the incident in Nepal when she was a child and possibly even Arthurian Legend. Later on, she learns about the sword piece that is believed to be a part of the Excalibur. To her surprise she realizes that the artefact she is hunting has already been discovered, and is in the 'care' of Yakuza boss Shogo Takamoto, who had it stolen from Waseda University.

In Town

• Lara: They don't seem so keen on visitors these days...
• Zip: But hey, you're the one with the guns.
• Lara: You can't blame me for knowing how to accessorize. Any word from Anaya?
• Zip: She said she'll meet you at the statue in the marketplace.
• Lara: At least we'll have our privacy.

Planning the Next Move

• Lara: Zip, did you speak to Takamoto?
• Zip: Eventually. He didn't want to see you so I reminded him how much you hate the word no.
• Lara: I'm a horrible conversationalist.

Tokyo, Japan

Lara's journey takes her to Japan, where her media mogul friend Nishimura assists Lara in finding Takamoto so that she can negotiate. Nishimura arranges a party for them to meet. Takamoto, however, ruins the party and refuses to negotiate, since he bears grudges with her over an incident some years ago. He orders his henchmen to kill Lara as he escapes. Lara kicks of her shoes and rips of the side of her dress while taking cover from the henchmen's fire. Lara overpowers all the henchmen after a thrilling fire-fight. Barefoot and now in a ripped and revealing dress, Lara Croft is told by Nishimura that the only way to get Takamoto is through the construction site. He advises her to be careful and gives her the elevator pass to the roof. Lara ascends to the roof and swings over to Takamoto's apartment. Takamoto refuses to let her see the sword and leaves Lara to deal with his men. Lara eventually tracks Takamoto down to the roof of his penthouse, where she witnesses for herself the terrifying power of the sword fragment. Nonetheless, she manages to overcome Takamoto and retrieve this first artefact. The level ends with our barefoot heroine climbing up a wooden ladder into Nishimura's helicopter.

Talk with Nishimura

[Referring to Takamoto]

• Nishimura: He is a very dangerous man when his interest differ from yours.
• Lara: You'd be amazed how persuasive I can be. Even with dangerous men.
• Nishimura: I am convinced. I am dangerous too, you remember. But please, enjoy the party while you can and good luck.

Meeting with Takamoto

[Lara returns into the main hall after meeting Nishimura and sees Takamoto's goons firing at her. She jumps behind a bar. A goon heads to the bar, thinking Lara is a sure target. Lara stands up holding her pistols and kills the goons]

• Zip: Where'd you get those?
• Lara: Basic etiquette: never arrive at a party empty-handed.
• Nishimura: Takamoto has no doubt returned to his penthouse. Do not follow him, Lara, his men will be waiting.
• Zip: His lobby's a death trap. I know you're into those, but it's not really a winning option.

Outside the Office Building

[Lara shoots an explosive barrel and destroys an area]

• Zip: Nishimura's gonna bill you for that.
• Lara: It's not a party until something gets broken.

• Zip (to Alister): Man, I don't know what she's thinking. She's crazy!
• Lara: I can hear you, you know, and it's a tad distracting.

[Lara is outside and looking at a tall building]

• Lara: What a lovely evening to be outside.
• Zip: Uh oh, you know what that means.
• Alister: I'll get the Dimenhydrinate...

Ghana

After being rescued by Nishimura, Lara proceeded to Ghana to chase Rutland, since he possessed a sword fragment. It was unknown where this sword fragment was found. She soon tracked him down to a mysterious, ancient temple hidden behind a spectacular waterfall. Strangely, her father had been here, since he had left a pendant behind. When she finally found Rutland, he told her about something called the Ghalali Key, believing it to be in Lara's possession. The Ghalali Key was probably found in this temple. Lara has no idea what he was talking about and this frustrated him. Rutland then attacked her using his sword fragment. Retrieving his sword fragment, Lara hastily left and received news from Zip and Alister that Amanda had searched her manor for the Ghalali Key whilst she was in Ghana. Both of them were alright, though.

Arrival

[Lara arrives in Ghana and looks at a beautiful waterfall]

• Lara: If all else fails, I can get into the postcard business.

Run in with Rutland

[Lara has just opened the temple door in Ghana. Rutland notices her.]

• Rutland: Lara. You're a busy beaver aren't you.
• Lara: Oh look, it's Rutland.
• Lara: Fancy dropping down for a chat then?
• Rutland: Only if you can shoot this far.
• Lara: You know long distance relationships inevitably come to an end.
• Rutland: I'd wish you luck with that but... er... ya' know.

In the Temples

[Lara manages to make an ancient trap mechanism work]

• Zip: Congratulations, you've had your wish-- the place is a deathtrap.
• Lara: It needed a woman's touch.

Kazakhstan

Lara came to a military base in Kazakhstan near the Soviet lab, where Rutland's men were quickly killing off the soldiers so that they could have control of the entire place. From there, she travelled in a motorcycle, and then on top of a train to an abandoned Soviet lab in Kazakhstan where experiments on a sword fragment led to its closing down fifty years ago. Lara caught up with Amanda, who is clearly still angry about being left behind in Paraíso. Lara quickly went after her and found her doing experiments on the third sword fragment. To Lara's horror, Lara realized that Amanda had become insane and she had used the stone to control the demon which killed their friends in Paraíso. She also realized that Amanda wanted to use the sword for her own selfish purposes. Lara fought it off and recovered the sword fragment from the Soviet machinery, destroying the entire lab in the process. Amanda managed to escape from the laboratory before it fell apart.

In the Laboratory

[Lara uses the Tesla power core to blow open a door]

• Zip: Oh, man! now THAT'S how you open a door! They should have worked on mass- marketing this tech! Tesla was a genius.
• Lara: I prefer door knobs.

Cornwall, England

Following a map on the back of a shield also recovered from the Soviet lab, Lara's adventure surprisingly brings her home to England. She discovers the real King Arthur's tomb in Cornwall hidden under a tacky and now-derelict King Arthur tourist attraction, along with the fourth and final sword fragment. Lara realized that Arthur and his knights brought the fragments of Excalibur to locations across the world influencing the destinies of various civilizations, and that the entire court of Camelot actually existed. After battling a sea serpent-like creature, which was probably assigned to protect the place, hundreds of feet underground, Lara returns home to figure out how to put the sword back together. Lara realizes that the previously unknown Ghalali Key was in fact a pendant given to her mother by her father. It is also the one that her mother had with her when their plane crashed into the Himalayas.

[Lara is in the King Arthur Museum and notices a button. A voiceover babbles about King Arthur and the Sword]

• Zip: Press that again - it's like electroshock therapy for Alister here!
• Lara: I like to think it keeps him sharp.

• Zip (to Alister): Coward. (To Lara) Don't worry Lara, I still got an eye on you. Probably won't be able to hear each other too well when you're underwater though.
• Lara: There is a God.

[Lara needs to get across an area with the floor set on fire]

• Zip: No way your long jumping that!
• Lara: No, I'll have to make my own path, but it might have been worth trying just to hear you lads squeal about it.

Nepal

Lara was thus forced to return to her past once again, as she tracked down the wreckage of the plane she was on in Nepal and recovered the Ghalali key before the plane fell off the cliff. She then returned to the temple where her mother lost her life, reassembled the sword, Excalibur, and using its awesome power to escape. Determined to use it onto the stone dais in Bolivia, she quickly returned with the sword.

• Zip: Once again we find ourselves on top of a mountain with no climbing gear.
• Alister: And I doubt any of that snow and ice is stable. You should keep moving before it brakes on you.
• Lara: I have done this before, you know.

• Zip: It's usually someone else's past you're digging into.
• Lara: That's where you're wrong, Zip - this has always been what it's about.

• Lara:Good advice Zip, you do look after me.
• Zip: You *and* Winston, he signs the checks.

Bolivia

Lara returned to the stone dais in Bolivia, where Amanda, Rutland and their mercenaries were waiting for her so that they could steal the sword away from her. In an effort to stop them from blocking her way, Lara cut through Rutland's men and unintentionally killed Rutland himself. Amanda rushed over to him, and he passed away in her arms. Feeling sorry for what Lara had done, she tried to patch up the things between both of them and suggested both of them to use the sword together. Furious, Amanda refused to listen and released the demon once again, this time merging with it. With the help of the Excalibur, Lara defeated the creature once and for all.

[Lara arrives in Bolivia Stone Dais]

• Lara: Everyone between me and the stone dies.

Following the directions from her book (It was again unknown how she got it) and opening the portal once more, Lara understood what happened with her mother, as she looked into the mirror of light and saw her. Lara realized that the mirror spans time and what she is seeing is her mother just moments before she was gone by removing the artefact. Her mother told Lara (not recognizing her) to leave her daughter alone and that she "meant no harm". Amanda wakes up and shouts at Lara to pull out the sword or it will explode. As Lara's mother heads this, she pulled out the sword, the same as she did all those years ago and the dais exploded. Lara, to her utmost shock, realized that Amanda was the one who 'killed' her mother.

[Lara puts Excalibur in the Stone Dais]

• Amelia: What? Who are you?
• Lara: Mother, it's Lara, your daughter
• Amelia: Daughter? What about my daughter?
• Lara: Don't touch the sword!

[Amanda awakes]

• Amanda: Take out the sword!
• Lara: What? No! Mother. Mother listen to me.
• Amanda: Everything will explode unless you pull out the sword!

[Amelia pushes the sword]

• Lara: No!

[The Stone Dais explodes]

• Amanda: Idiot! You ruined everything!
• Lara: All these years I blamed myself for my mother's death, but it was you, you killed her.
• Amanda: Killed her? She is not dead. She is where I was supposed to go.

Furious, Lara shot around Amanda to get answers, and Amanda gave in and said that her mother was in Avalon and not dead, where Amanda had wanted to go. Amanda then decided that since Lara would not believe her, she is wasting her breath. Lara knocked Amanda out, saying "From this moment, your every breath is a gift from me." Lara then left the place, now believing what her father thought and was extremely determined to make sure that she was able to get to Avalon and save her mother.