Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals

Tomb Raider: The Ten thousand Immortals is a novel by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent, released on October 20th 2014, depicting the events of Lara's life directly after her adventures in Yamatai. It centers around her quest for the iconic Golden Fleece.

Story
As Lara and Sam attempt to get back to their previous life, it is clear that both are having trouble adapting to life in the everyday world of their London flat. Lara suffers from anxiety, flinching at noises and having panic attacks. The situation becomes more complex as the hospital phones Lara, telling her that Sam has suffered an overdose and has allegedly attempted suicide, Leaving a note for Lara:


 * "Dear Lara,


 * My very best friend!


 * It's all too much!


 * I know that you understand. you were there. I don't think that I can bear it any longer. You saved me once, but I don't believe that I can be saved again. I don't think I can be saved from Her. It isn't your fault. Know that I don't blame you. I just can't live with what happened at Yamatai.


 * Your true friend through all eternity,


 * Samantha Nishimura."

Lara stays with Sam at the hospital, but unfortunately her friend seems only to refer to herself as "Himiko". Lara panics and returns home, looking for help from "The Book"; a historical log book which had passed hands many times before coming into her possession. After research, she discovers the legend of the Golden Fleece and seeks help from her father's friend Professor Cahalane. He refers her to a professor of antiquities at Oxford, St. John Babbington, whom she arranges to meet. On her way, she feels suspicious of being followed on her train, and befriends a group of students.

At her meeting with Babbington, she discovers that the fleece legend derives from an old method of gold panning with fleece in Colchis. He then invites her to attend relevant lectures for the week. After taking him up on his offer and attending the lectures, she meets a post-graduate American student called Kennard Montez, who is researching Colchis. She spends more time with him to find out more about Colchis and the fleece myth. He refers her to a man in Paris who may be able to help uncover the secrets of the Fleece, and she embarks immediately.

Once in Paris, Lara is kidnapped by some men and is brought before Ares, the leader of a organization who has eyes everywhere. Ares is interested in the Golden Fleece and found out that Lara was investigating it, that's why she was there, to tell him about what she has discovered. After a short talk, Lara manages to escape, without knowing that it was all Ares's plan. Once safe, Lara carefully searches the internet about this Ares, and she not only finds the name of Ares's organization, "The Ten Thousand Immortals", but she even discovers that he appears in photos dated back in the 1860s.

Lara then meet Menelaou, the man Kennard was speaking of. Pleased by their chat about Yamatai and Lara's quest for Sam, Menelaou gives Lara what should be a piece of the original Golden Fleece. Menelaou even suggests that the artifact has real thaumaturgic abilities, but to be on its full power, it must be reunited with the golden statue. Shortly afterwards they are attacked by The Ten Thousand Immortals. Menelaou is killed, but Lara manages to escape once again.

Trivia

 * Even though Crystal Dynamics considers the book canon, it is considered non-canon (or to be an alternate Universe) by fans, given that it contradicts events that happened in the comics, Such as:
 * Lara's meeting with Professor Cahalane, which couldn't have happened, since in the comics, Cahalane was murdered, only a few weeks after Lara returned from Yamatai, though Lara states that Yamatai had happened a year previously to a Parisian shopkeeper in the book.
 * Lara has no knowledge of Trinity; despite being targeted by them in the comics.
 * There is no mention of Alex's sister Kaz, living with Lara and Sam, despite moving in with them between issues 10 and 11 of the comics.
 * It makes no sense for Lara to be shocked by Sam being possessed by Himiko, if the book takes place a year after Yamatai, given that Sam had been contained to a mental ward, after assaulting a man due to Himiko's influence a mere couple of months, after returning to Yamatai.
 * In the second arc of the comics, Secrets and Lies, Lara encounters Trinity but has no knowledge of them, asking Kaz who Trinity is even though she had meet them first in The Ten Thousand Immortals.
 * In the paper copy of the book, there is a section where Crystal Dynamics explicitly set the events of "The Ten Thousand Immortals" after the game and before the comics. So, it's pretty clear that the infamous line that breaks the canon is a simple error, where the word "year" should be replaced with "month". (Although the issue of Lara not remembering Trinity in the second comic arc remains.)
 * It is mentioned on page 319 that Lara had a concussion. One of the symptoms of concussions is memory loss from induced head injuries. In order to bypass the continuity error of Lara's lack of knowledge on Trinity in the comics, the implications of Lara's concussion caused by her fight at the end of the book may be an explanation.