Lara Croft (Legend Timeline)

For Lara Croft in other continuities, see Lara Croft disambiguation page

"Well this is a tomb, I'll make them Feel at home."

- Lara Croft

Lara Croft, 11th Countess of Abbingdon, is an English archaeologist, explorer, and protagonist of Crystal Dynamics' first reboot timeline of Tomb Raider games.

Unlike her original series counterpart, Lara's adventures were fuelled by much more than just the thrill of adventure. Lara blamed herself for the disappearance of her mother and worked to discover the truth of what happened to her, as well as preventing the destruction of modern civilization on several occasions, by facing off against power hungry deities.

Early Life
Lara Croft was born in Surrey's Parkside hospital to Lady Amelia Croft and the notorious archaeologist Lord Richard Croft, the late Earl of Abbingdon. Between the ages of three and six, she attended the Abbingdon Girls School, where it quickly became clear that she was an exceptionally gifted child.

At the age of nine, Lara and her mother were in the Croft's private jet over the Himalayas when lightning struck the engines and caused the plane to crash land. Her mother and Lara were the only survivors at the time. When exploring a nearby temple, Lara inadvertently triggered a mysterious portal, to - as we later find out - the future, by touching a sword. Lara's mother, misunderstanding the person on the other side - Amanda Evert, who was, in the future, talking to Lara - pulled out the sword and vanished to supposedly Avalon. Lara, then alone, walked to Kathmandu, to escape the horrors of the plane crash. When she arrived in Katmandu she went to the nearest bar and made a polite telephone call to her father asking if it would be convenient for him to come and pick her up.

After the loss of her mother, Lara received private tutoring, part of it from her father, who took her on some of his expeditions.

For six years following the plane crash, Lara rarely left her father's side, traveling around the world from one archaeological dig site to another. During this period she was ostensibly given a standard education from private tutors, but it would probably be more accurate to say she was her father's full time apprentice.

Lara suffered another tragic loss at the age of 17, her father went missing in Cambodia. Extensive searches by the authorities and Lara herself turned up human remains that could not definitively be identified. Since Lord Croft's body was not officially recovered, Lara could not directly inherit the Croft title and was thrust into a bitter family feud over control of the Abbingdon estates with her uncle Lord Errol Croft. Lara eventually won the legal battle and took possession of her inheritance, including the title of Countess of Abbingdon which she inherited from her father and became 11th Countess of Abbingdon, but at the cost of a deep rift in the Croft family that left her estranged from her living relatives.

Search for the Scion
In Calcutta, Lara Croft is approached by Larson, who introduces her to Jacqueline Natla, who wishes Lara to find a piece of an artefact called the Scion, located in the Peruvian mountains. Lara, having searched unsuccessfully for such an artifact with her father in the past, agrees to go.

In the Peruvian mountains, Lara finds a tomb belonging to the Atlantean king Qualopec. She discovers that he was one of three Kings (the Triumvirate) who ruled Atlantis before it sank. Lara leaves with a piece of the three-part Scion, but notices movement from what had appeared to be a statue of Qualopec before the tomb collapses. Shortly after, Lara is confronted by Larson, who attempts to take the Scion piece from her. After knocking him out, she discovers that Natla has sent Pierre Dupont, another archaeologist, to find the next piece. Lara breaks into Natla's office and finds evidence that the next piece of the Scion is located in St Francis' Folly in Greece.

Lara departs to Greece, and finds the second piece of the Scion in the depths of a tomb. While Lara studies the empty coffin of Tihocan, the second member of the Triumvirate, Pierre ambushes Lara, forcing her at gun point to give up her piece of the Scion. After Pierre takes the piece Lara tries to take him by surprise but he escapes with the Scion piece in hand, only to be killed by guardian centaurs outside of the tomb. After defeating the centaurs, and joining both pieces of the Scion, Lara sees a vision,and it reveals the location of the third and final piece of the Scion: Egypt.

Lara travels to Egypt, and successfully retrieves the third piece of the Scion. After assembling all three pieces, Lara's earlier vision becomes much clearer. In Lara's visions two of the three Kings, Tihocan and Qualopec, are sentencing the third one, revealed to be Natla, to imprisonment. Natla, after releasing Atlantis' own army against itself in an attempt to bring about what she refers to as the Seventh Age, is imprisoned in the crystalline structure for a thousand years.

With Lara in a trance, Natla steals the Scion and has Lara restrained by her three henchmen. Lara escapes and follows the departing Natla on a motorbike, managing to sneak onto Natla's departing boat. Lara follows Natla into a desolate mine and kills Larson when he tries to stop her. Visibly shaken, Lara then confronts Kold and Kid, who end up killing each other in the skirmish. Lara then travels to the top of the Atlantean pyramid and confronts Natla.

Not long into the confrontation with Natla, Lara realizes that Natla's plan is to resurrect the army of Atlantis. Natla attempts to convince Lara to stop opposing her and become immortal like her. Lara destroys Scion instead and is then tackled by Natla, who falls into the lava while Lara uses her grappling hook to survive. Lara, thinking Natla dead, tries to escape, being confronted by a giant mutant along the way. She is soon confronted by an angry Natla, severely burnt, but unimpeded in ability. After a confrontation, Lara collapses a pillar supporting the pyramid onto Natla, trapping her under the collapsing pyramid. Lara escapes and sails away in Natla's boat.

Hiring Help
Some time later, Lara hires Zip as tech support and Alister Fletcher as a research assistant. Renovating part of the main hall to serve as Zip's office. Additionally, Zip provides Lara with new gadgets such as her grapple gun, field camera, enhanced binoculars and custom PDA. Alister provides Lara with field support, giving her information via radio.

Seeking Excalibur


Lara Croft is telephoned by Paraíso based friend Anaya Imanu who informs a Stone Dais has been discovered in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. Lara remembers to when she was nine years old following the plane crash she survived with her mother uncovered a Nepal Temple in the Himalayas containing an ornate Stone Dais accidentally activated by her which sucked in her mother and was consequently the day she vanished forever.

Lara comes across mercenaries patrolling the interior ruins of a few minor Tiwanaku Temples. Lara eventually comes to the central still in tact Tiwanaku Temple and enters to find within it the reported found Stone Dais.

There with is a man by the name of James Rutland who is accompanied by a handful of the mercenaries revealed to be his. James, in a conversation, shows Lara a piece of a sword and mentions her believed dead friend Amanda Evert.

Lara, following this, decides to go to Paraíso and to the dig site of which her, the believed dead Amanda and a group of confirmed dead college friends made a digsite at. Lara organizes for Anaya to meet her in Paraíso and the two rendezvous at the Statue in the Paraíso Market Place.

There James Rutland's Mercenaries show up and attack. Anaya takes off in her jeep and a handful of Rutland's pursue her. Lara catches up on a stolen motorcycle and eliminates the pursuers. Lara then boards Anaya's jeep and the two arrive at the dig site.

Lara recounts what happened to her, Amanda and their college friends at the dig site. Lara, then on present day, enters through a watery passage into the dig site and uncover what really happened. Upon discovering that Amanda may not have died, Lara sets out to recover Excalibur's pieces and to stop Rutlands Plans.

Lara then travels to Japan to meet a yakuza leader, Takamoto, to find the next excalibur fragment. Takamoto refuses to give the artifact to Lara, and runs away, but Lara chases him. After a long fight between the two, Lara takes the fragment and discovers that whoever wields it has a certain power.

Lara goes to Ghana, for the next fragment, only to find out that James Rutland already has it. After another fight, Lara takes the fragment and travels to Siberia for the hilt of Excalibur. She discovers that Amanda is there, researching Tesla's experiments. Amanda also has the hilt, and works with Rutland. Lara fights the Unknown Entity that killed her colleagues in Paraíso, learning that Amanda controls it, Lara instead takes the hilt and runs.

Lara is told by Zip that the next piece of the sword is probably in Cornwall, England, They travel to a dilapidated tourist attraction that is claimed to sit on the final resting place of King Arthur. Searching the premises, Lara discovers that King Arthur's Tomb is in fact there, the entrance to which is hidden behind a fake burial chamber to throw off suspicion. Lara makes her way to King Arthur's Tomb, battling a giant Sea Serpent on the way. She takes the piece but discovers that Rutland's mercenaries captured Zip, she hurries to save him, narrowly evading the Serpent again.

Lara travels now To Nepal, for the last two fragments, one being the necklace Lara's father gave to her mother, and the other being in the Stone Dais her mother disappeared at. After forming the Excalibur, and wielding one of the most powerful weapons, Lara goes back to Bolivia, finding James and Amanda together. Lara kills James, but Amanda transforms into a more powerful wraith, but Lara defeats her too. Lara then activates the Stone Dais, creating a portal to the past. The person Lara's mother was talking to through the portal was actually the Lara from the present, Amanda screams towards the portal for Lara to take out the sword, her mother hears that and does it, causing her disappearance.

Lara is enraged, having blamed herself for what happened to her mother, but Amanda had truly been at fault, Lara demands to know what happened to her mother threatening to kill Amanda if she doesn't tell her. Amanda states that her mother is alive, having been transported to Avalon. Lara knocks Amanda out and leaves, to begin to search for another way to find Avalon.

Hunt For Helheim
Lara is searching for Avalon, hoping it will lead her to an explanation for the disappearance of her long lost mother. Underneath the Mediterranean Sea, Lara discovers an ancient temple designating itself as "Niflheim", one of the many Norse underworlds. Deep within, she recovers one of Thor's gauntlets, after a lengthy battle with Amanda Evert's mercenaries and an encounter with an imprisoned Jacqueline Natla, on Amanda's ship. Natla tells Lara that the Norse underworld, Helheim and Avalon are one and the same and that she will need to find Thor's Hammer to open the Underworld and find her mother. Lara soon discovers that she will have to find Thor's other gauntlet and his belt if she wants to find and wield the hammer. Natla provides Lara with a starting point for her search in this quest – coastal Thailand.

In Thailand, Lara doesn't locate the next gauntlet, but she finds evidence that her father had found it there and removed it before he died. She also discovers a message that reveals that her father and Natla had been working together at some point and that the relationship had not ended well. Lara ponders for a moment why her father would have signed the messaged with his full name, Richard James Croft, as that had always been how his own father addressed himself. Lara realises where her father hid the missing gauntlet and heads home.

Back at the Croft Manor Lara heads into the Croft family crypt, and finds a switch on her grandfather's grave, which leads to a secret passage. Lara follows the passage and discovers her father's secret office, and within it, Thor's second gauntlet. On her way back, the passageway is rocked by a massive explosion, and the house is engulfed in flames. Reaching the main hall. Zip tries to shoot Lara and claims that she detonated the bomb, after using the retinal scanner to open the safe. When Lara heads to the burning security office to review the security footage, she encounters her doppelgänger who shoots Allister, and effortlessly bests her in hand to had combat before escaping. Lara tries to tend to Alister, but he dies after telling her that he would see her in Avalon.

Lara takes Alister's body outside to a waiting Zip and Winston, who had witnessed the Dopplganger escape, and demand to know what is happening. Lara explains that she had encountered such a creature years before on Natla's secret island, meaning Natla was to blame for the destruction of her home and eath of her friend. Lara tells them that she's heading to Mexico to find Thor's belt. Zip is enraged that Lara is continuing her quest, but Lara assures him that she needs the belt to weild the Mjolnir, and Mjolnir would be needed to kill Natla and avenge Alister.

In Mexico, Lara finds both Thor's Belt and some ancient pictographs linking the weapon in Helheim to Jörmungandr, a mythical Norse sea-serpent, brought about by the seventh age. Her next stop are ruins on Jan Mayen Island that correlate to Valhalla. It is here that Lara finally recovers Thor's Hammer. In the meantime, Zip has managed to track Amanda down to a sister-ship of the one Lara sank earlier. Armed with Mjolnir, Lara boards the vessel and interrogates Natla once again. Natla provides Lara with the coordinates of Helheim, but points out that Lara does not know the Ritual of Odin, which is needed to open its gates, so Lara reluctantly strikes a bargain with Natla and frees her from her cell.

They rendezvous in the outer chambers of the Helheim complex, deep below the Arctic Sea. With the ritual performed, Lara is able to use Mjolnir to open the gates of Helheim. Along the way, Lara discovers the horrifying truth of her mother's fate – she has been turned into a thrall, thus Lara remorsefully shoots her. Natla reveals the true extent of her manipulation of Lara, also revealing that she was the one who killed Lara's father. Natla goes, leaving the doppelgänger to kill Lara, but Lara is saved by Amanda. It is revealed that the Midgard Serpent was a Norse metaphor for the many tectonic divisions that encircle the world, beneath the seas. The doomsday device was built upon the most unstable junction of these lines and its activation would cause massive volcanic activity across the whole planet and the destruction of most of humanity. Lara successfully destabilizes the device and strikes Natla with Mjolnir, sending her down into the pool of deadly eitr below. Lara and Amanda escape together using the dais, like the one that brought Lara's mother to Helheim, teleporting back to the temple in Nepal. Lara and Amanda part, realizing there is no point in holding onto their grudge. Lara says goodbye to her mother one final time.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lara becomes intrigued by the Aztec legend of the battle between Totec, the Guardian of Light and his enemy Xolotl, the Keeper of Darkness. Totec's followers were slaughtered, however he was still able to defeat Xolotl by trapping in The Mirror of Smoke. Lara manages to uncover the location where she believes the mirror to be and embarks on another expedition.

After several weeks of searching the jungle, Lara uncovers the temple which houses the Mirror of Smoke, however, she was followed by a local warlord named Vasco, who also sought the mirror, however he didn't know about the curse (or didn't believe it) and released Xolotl who killed him and his men.

Xolotl's return causes a statue of Totec, to reveal itself as the real Totec, who has been guarding the mirror and waiting in the even of Xolotl's return. Xolotl taunts Totec and leaves, preparing to conquer the earth. Totec warns Lara that the only way to stop Xolotl, is to imprison him in the mirror once more and return him to the pedestal, before dawn.

The make their way through the temple, fighting off Xolotl's henchman and creatures. Xolotl is impressed by Lara's skill and comments that she will make a good servant, however she brushes him off and he leaves, after threatening to make a robe from her skin.

Lara and Totec make their way through various tunnels and caverns in an attempt to catch Xolotl, overcoming his numerous traps and legions of followers. They finally catch up to Xolotl in his stronghold and battle him, managing to defeat him. Totec once again seals Xolotl in the mirror, and the duo rush back to the pedestal where the mirror was held. Totec tells Lara to return the mirror, saying that it is his destiny to stand guard over the mirror. Lara returns the mirror to it's pedestal, and Totec turns into a statue once more. Lara says goodbye and departs. She ponders how long it will be until someone else finds the mirror, and asserts that it should stay lost.

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
After competing with her rival Carter Bell to try and get the Staff of Osiris from a tomb in Egypt, they release the god Set from its imprisonment. They both get marked with his sign causing the goddess Ahmet to hunt them down. Teaming up with the gods Isis and Horus they finally manage to reimprison Set back to the underworld, which also released them from their markings.

Skills and Abilities
Lara is shown to possess abilities far beyond that of even a peak human being. She is extremely athletic, using her Olympic gymnast like acrobatics to scale tall structures and can perform flips and somersaults after jumping several meters in the air. She has excellent balance and coordination, as she regularly lands on thin ledges, sometimes with her hands.

Lara is known for being extremely fast and agile.

Lara is incredibly strong and powerful. She can lift and push boulders that weigh a several dozen tons with no effort at all. She has enough leg strength to jump several meters in the air and several meters across and could likely jump even greater distances.

Lara is also extremely intelligent. She possesses a fantastical amount of knowledge relating to ancient civilizations, cultures, creatures and artifacts, many of which she discovered by herself in her comparatively short time as treasure hunter. Her resourcefulness and superior intellect has always been a key factor in searching for untold riches beyond human comprehension.

Like the original Timeline, Lara is a very talented marksman. Lara's main weapons are her dual Pistols. However she is very capable of using, Shotguns, Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns and Spear Guns.

Combined with her gymnastics and marksmanship, Lara makes an exceptionally skilled martial artist and combatant, usually managing to take down multiple enemies effortlessly.

Personality
Although Lara is very serious about her job, it doesn't stop her from being quite sarcastic and quick with witty remarks. Lara is also quite reckless, often and intentionally "forgetting" safety equipment for mountain climbing.

Initially, Lara does not wish to kill anyone, and is saddened by the loss of human life, especially after killing Larson, Her first Human kill. However as the timeline progressed, she becomes much more willing to kill in order to defend herself, and even takes on some vengeful tendencies.

Despite these traits, Lara has a vulnerable side of her where she's kind and compassionate but she's also stubborn, headstrong, determined, and fearless. Lara is also extremely intelligent and level headed, usually remained calm, even in the most dangerous situations.

Discoveries

 * Atlantean Scion
 * Excalibur, Lancelot's Shield and Ghalali Key (2006),
 * King Arthur's tomb (2006),
 * Niflheim, the Norse Underworld (2008),
 * Helheim/Avalon (2008),
 * Thor's Gauntlets - Járngreipr (2008),
 * Thor's Belt - Megingjord (2008),
 * Thor's Hammer - Mjölnir (2008),
 * Eitr Stone (2008)

Portrayal
Keeley Hawes voiced Lara for most of the continuity Legend, Anniversary and Underworld along with Beneath the Ashes and Lara's Shadow, as well as the two spin off games, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. Abigail Stahlschmidt voiced Lara in Lara Croft: Relic Run.

Charlotte Sparey provides Lara's voice as a child.

Models
Lara was portrayed by two models for marketing purposes.
 * Karima Adebibe 2006-2008
 * Alison Carroll -2008

Legend

 * Bolivia - Tiwanaku
 * Peru - Return to Paraíso
 * Japan - Meeting with Takamoto
 * Ghana - Pursuing James Rutland
 * Kazakhstan - Project Carbonek
 * England - King Arthur's Tomb?
 * Nepal - The Ghalali Key
 * Bolivia - The Looking Glass
 * Croft Manor

Anniversary

 * Croft Manor
 * Peru - Mountain Caves
 * Peru - City of Vilcabamba
 * Peru - The Lost Valley
 * Peru - Tomb of Qualopec
 * Greece - St. Francis Folly
 * Greece - The Coliseum
 * Greece - Midas's Palace
 * Greece - Tomb of Tihocan
 * Egypt - Temple of Khamoon
 * Egypt - Obelisk of Khamoon
 * Egypt - Sanctuary of the Scion
 * Lost City - Natla's Mines
 * Lost City - The Great Pyramid
 * Lost City - Final Conflict

Underworld

 * No Illusions
 * The Path to Avalon
 * Niflheim
 * The Norse Connection
 * God of Thunder
 * Realm of the Dead
 * The Remnants
 * Bhogavati
 * The Ancient World
 * Puppet No Longer
 * Protected by the Dead
 * The Unnamed Days
 * Xibalba
 * The Midgard Serpent
 * Land of the Dead
 * Gate of the Dead
 * Valhalla
 * Rituals Old
 * Helheim
 * Yggdrasil
 * Out of Time

DLC Levels

 * Beneath the Ashes
 * Lara's Shadow (Cameo)

Trivia

 * This version is a composite, of The Original Timeline and Top Cow's Comic Book timeline. Taking inspiration from both.
 * Due to the spinoff titles such as Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, this is the first time where two separate timelines are still being developed; as Temple Of Osiris takes place in the Legend Timeline and was released after Tomb Raider (2013), which started a new timeline.