Set (Original Timeline)

"I am the shadow across the sun. I am the bringer of plagues. My wrath will consume all lands and shall be ceaseless!"

- Set

Set (also Seth or Sutekh) is the Egyptian god of evil, chaos and the desert. He is often represented as being a large human with the head of a jackal.

Set returns in Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, once again as the main antagonist in this sequel to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.

Protector of Ra
Ra, the creator god, often travelled on his solar boat through the underworld. His greatest enemy, the serpent god Apep, would often lurk and wait to attack Ra. Set and other defenders accompanied Ra to protect him on his journey through the Duat. During this, Apep did indeed attack but it was Set who repelled the serpent by impaling a spear into him.

The Murder of Osiris
For a time, Egypt was once ruled by gods. The god Osiris was the son of Geb and Nut. His siblings were Isis, Set and Nephthys. Osiris was also married to Isis and Set to Nephthys. Osiris was the ruler of Egypt and Set was jealous of Osiris, desiring to rule Egypt himself. Whilst Osiris had left Egypt for a time leaving Isis to rule, Set plotted to kill Osiris upon his return. When Osiris did return, Set held a banquet where he presented a beautiful casket. Whoever could fit inside the casket perfectly would be gifted with the beautiful object. When it was Osiris' turn to try, he fitted in perfectly. Set shut the lid of the casket and, with the help of the other attenders who were in fact his allies, sealed Osiris inside and threw the casket into the Nile.

When Isis heard of this, she immediately began searching for the casket. When she located it, she brought it back to Egypt with her, hiding it in some marshes. However, Set, who was hunting that night, discovered the casket. Angrily, he unsealed it and chopped up Osiris' body into fourteen pieces, scattering them. Isis and Nephthys, then began searching for the pieces. They recovered all pieces save for one and resurrected Osiris. It was during this that Osiris and Isis conceived a son. Horus, god of light. Osiris is then embodied as the god of the dead.

Isis raised Horus in secret. Osiris would return sometimes to give Horus guidance and instructions. When Horus was old enough he summoned the gods to hear his case for the throne of Egypt.

Battle for the Throne
Ra expressed his fears that Horus was too feeble to rule Egypt and Set argued that only he was strong enough. Set grew angry that Isis was siding with Horus and demanded that the case be taken elsewhere, without her. The gods traveled to an island. Isis, disguising herself as an old woman, bribed the ferryman to be taken to the island. Arriving on the island, Isis took on the form of a beautiful widow and approached Set, telling him a story that was not unlike the scenario of her murdered brother and husband, Osiris. She told Set that she needed a champion and that her husband had died leaving her to tend the farm. Isis then told him that a stranger had come to turn them out and her son protested but the stranger threatened to hurt him. Set was outraged and told the widow that he would be her champion. Isis then revealed her true identity. Set had condemned himself.

Set would still not accept defeat and took the gods back across the river to some mountains where he challenged Horus to fight as hippopotamuses, deep in the river. However, Isis attempted to intervene by casting a spear at Set. But she could not tell the two creatures apart. The spear hit Horus. Isis retracted the spear and this time successfully impaled Set. Horus then fled into the mountains. Set later discovered Horus and gauged out his eyes before burying them. The goddess Hathor then discovered Horus. She restored his sight and told the other gods what Set had done.

Set then challenged Horus to one final duel, using stone boats. Horus cheated. Set's boat sank immediately. Horus' boat was made from pine, clad in plaster to look like stone. Set, once again posing as a hippopotamus, sank Horus' boat. Despairing that a judgment may never be reached, Osiris appealed with Horus but Ra disagreed, still siding with Set as he had done throughout the case. Osiris then threatened to let the demons from the realm of the dead run loose in the land of the living. Ra could not argue with this and Horus became the new ruler of Egypt. Set had finally been outwitted and rulership of Egypt taken from him. For his wrongdoings, Set was to be imprisoned.

Imprisonment
"Set, ruler of evil, will again be free at the turn of a distant millennia."

- Semerkhet

In 2900 BC, Set was outwitted by his nephew Horus in a long battle for the throne of Egypt. At the Valley of the Kings within a secret tomb, Set arrived accompanied by his priests where Horus, his high priest Semerkhet and the other priests were waiting. Seemingly of his own free will, Set submitted to his fate and got inside the iron-maiden sarcophagus. Semerkhet activated the mechanism of the sarcophagus that would impale the deity. After the electrified lid shut, Set's blood poured out of jackal-headed channels and into some drains leading off into another chamber. Horus then placed his amulet onto the chest of the coffin. A prophecy was set in motion, explaining why Set had been so willing to accept his fate. A prophecy that he would once again return in a distant millennia seeking vengeance on the world.

The Prophecy Fulfilled
"So you have found and opened the tomb of Set. This does not bode well."

- Jean-Yves

On the 26th December 1999, Lara Croft raided Set's tomb and discovered the burial chambers where Set had been imprisoned thousands of years ago. She prized the Amulet of Horus from the sarcophagus thus setting in motion the descent of Set where he would gradually approach Earth to be free to walk amongst the mortals once more. It was only when exiting the tomb that Lara had discovered what she had done. Considering what Lara had seen in the past, she had no reason not to believe in the amulet's claims of Set's return. Lara now had to travel across Egypt in an attempt to find information of how to repel Set. With her former mentor Werner Von Croy and eventually Set's apparitions on her tail, Lara was in a race against time to defeat Set before the turn of the millennium in less than five days time.

Seeking the Armour of Horus
"I merely require the armour that you hold in your possession."

- Set

During her time in Alexandria, Lara had collected the Armour of Horus, components required in order to summon Horus at his temple beneath the Great Pyramid to defeat Set. She returned to her friend Jean-Yves' study to discover that he had been abducted by Von Croy and that they were headed for Cairo. Lara hastily leaves to pursue them. During the journey there, a swarm of locusts ensnares Von Croy's car and it is here that Set possesses Lara's mentor. At Cairo, Set holds Jean-Yves hostage at the citadel of Saladin. In time, Lara arrives there and frees her friend, allowing him to escape. Her business not yet over, she needs to reclaim the amulet which she had earlier lost to Von Croy. In the crypt, Lara discovers Von Croy there accompanied by four jackals. His eyes are red and his skin off-colour. It is not Werner's voice that comes from his lips either, it is in fact the loud whispery voice of Set. In return for the armour, Set promises to grant Lara ultimate power and dominion over all humanity. Lara declines and quickly takes the amulet which controls the closing mechanism of the crypt, sealing Von Croy inside with the jackals. With little time left, Lara heads over to Giza and the Temple of Horus.

The Ceremony Performed
"With his amulet and his armour he is once more poised to battle and defeat Set."

- Semerkhet

At last reaching the statue of Horus with all of the components required, Lara begins the process in which Horus shall be summoned. From the Orion constellation, the spirit of Horus in the form of a hawk comes swooping down from the heavens and straight into his likeness, the statue of Horus, on Earth. However, a swarm of locusts find their way into the cavern and surround the statue. It explodes, forcing the spirit of Horus to flee, knocking Lara to the ground in the process. The amulet falls into the surrounding water. Recovering, Lara does not see Horus before her but Set. With great golden wings and legs like that of a horse, Set is exhumed as he beckons Lara to come forth and bow before him before he extinguishes her apparently worthless life. Lara does not give in and avoids the bolts of lightning that he throws at her. She reclaims the amulet and begins escaping the cavern, constantly avoiding the little bursts of lightning. Lara manages to get to the top and she sees a trapdoor with a receptacle for the amulet on it. She puts the amulet inside and the door closes, sealing Set away once again for all eternity.

Rule of Chaos
When the god Osiris was the ruler of Egypt, his brother Set also desired dominion over the country. After murdering Osiris, Set had that dominion. He enslaved the other gods. But when Egypt was no longer sufficient for him he disappeared into the land of the dead to muster an army to one day take the entire world.

Return
Over a millennia later, Lara Croft believes she is the first to arrive at a recently uncovered temple dedicated to Set, god of chaos. However, an up-and-coming archaeologist called Carter Bell was there first. They both were searching for one relic in particular. The Staff of Osiris.

However, upon removing the staff, they discover that the temple is also a prison used to contain the gods Horus and Isis; nephew and sister of Set. The time is now ripe for Set's return as he unleashes his armies of the dead. Lara, Carter, Horus and Isis unite in order to prevent Set from reshaping the world in his own image.

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
When Lara encounters Set on the final level of the game, he is able to shoot small bursts of lightning at her including one large ball of lightning that can set her aflame. With his horse-like legs, Set can run at a fast speed. He is also capable of flight and can execute a special attack when Lara's health is low. Set reaches for Lara's throat and holds her above the ground effortlessly with one hand, choking the life out of her. He then drops her to the ground.

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation

 * Burial Chambers (sarcophagus and statue)
 * Sacred Lake (statues)
 * Temple of Horus

Tomb Raider: Level Editor

 * Playable Tutorial Level (statue/non-canon appearance)

FMV 05

 * I am the shadow across the sun. I am the bringer of plagues. My wrath will consume all lands and shall be ceaseless.

Cutscene - Crypt 01

 * We have it, the ancient Ceremonial tablet. Take it and prepare it, and see if the Croft woman has arrived with our armour.

Cutscene - Crypt 02

 * Come in, Lara. I have been expecting you. Come to me, child. Do not fear your old colleague. I merely require the armour that you hold in your possession.
 * I will grant you vigor as those around you fall, you shall command the ultimate power: that of life or death over those you choose at your side and in return they will bow at your feet and give worship.

FMV 11

 * My weak cousin is once again returned to the stars. It is I who shall rule over this world once more. Come forth and you may bow before your god before he extinguishes your worthless life.

Trivia

 * In Prima's guide for Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Set is mistakenly called Horus in the final level. Many guides make this mistake.
 * Despite being associated with jackals in the game, Set is not actually a jackal headed god. In Ancient Egypt, Set has the head of an unknown animal that is often referred to as the 'Set Animal'. The Jackal is actual the animal associated with Anubis, the Egyptian god of death.
 * Oddly, this incarnation of Set seems to be modeled after Anubis.
 * Core Design spells Set's name as Seth in the game which means it is pronounced as 'Set'. Both 'Seth' and 'Set' are correct and are pronounced in the same way.
 * In the penultimate FMV of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Set claims that Horus is his cousin. This is untrue as Horus was at first his brother, then later nephew in Ancient Egypt.
 * Set's FMV model was reused for that of a statue in one of the cutscene segments in Tomb Raider on the Game Boy Color. The model remains virtually unchanged save for the head and the texturing.
 * Set is mentioned in the novels, Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power and Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze. The author of the latter appears unaware that Set appeared as a main antagonist in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.
 * The image of Set appears in Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness in the form of Werner Von Croy's Jackal Walking Stick.
 * Set is mentioned in the description of the Horus Idol in Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Here, it says that Set and Horus were brothers.

Appearances

 * Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (First appearance)
 * Tomb Raider: Level Editor (statue/non-canon appearance)
 * Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (jackal walking stick)
 * Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power (mentioned only)
 * Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze (mentioned only)
 * Tomb Raider: The Action Adventure (jackal walking stick)
 * Tomb Raider: Anniversary (mentioned only)
 * Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris