Deathless Ones



The Deathless Ones are soldiers who were once part of the Deathless Prophet's ancient order, where they have devoted their eternal lives to guarding the Divine Source. These soldiers, like the Prophet himself, have real immortality and superhuman capabilities.

They are also much more stronger, faster, and durable than a normal human being, comparable to the Stormguard soldiers. Lara Croft encounters them in the ancient ruins of Kitezh. They are also equipped with ancient, durable body armors, advanced technological resources of their time and ancient weaponry. Their ranks consists of many of Deathless soldiers, possibly numbering beyond several thousands.

Origin
The Deathless Ones were the Elite Guardians and Soldiers of Kitezh, with each of them receiving extreme training and warfare expertise. They were tasked with being the primary defense and security force of Kitezh.

Siege of Kitezh
However, during the Siege of Kitezh, the Prophet in a turn of desperation, turned thousands of his Elite Soldiers and Guardians into Immortal Warriors also known as Athanatoi. These Guardians are almost successful at defending Kitezh, but when they saw that their defeat was approaching, the turned their weapons towards the massive ice on the mountains and fired. This resulted in them bringing the massive ice from the mountains down upon the city, killing all of the Mongols and the citizens of Kitezh. The Trinity envoy did manage to survive, only to be slaughtered by the Immortal Guardians of Kitezh. The last remaining survivor of the Trinity soldiers went into hiding deep within the city and began to study the Deathless Ones.

The Last Survivor
The Last remaining survivor of the Trinity envoy was trying to find a way out of the entombed city and stockpiled weapons and supplies for this purpose. He took note that the Athanatoi were patrolling the streets of Kitezh, killing off any survivors, even if it was one their own people. He took note of something supernatural about them.

He tried to kill a lone Athanatoi, only to his horror as the Athanatoi turned into ash in an instant. The tired Trinity survivor grew tired and fell asleep near the ashes. However after a short while he woke up and saw that the ashes had disappeared and in their place was the body of the Athanatoi he had killed earlier. When the Athanatoi woke up, the Trinity survivor quickly killed him, this time the soldier gave him a silent promise of return before turning into ash again. This time the Trinity survivor fled the area and went into another hiding spot in Kitezh.

He also took note that they were not only learning from their previous mistakes, but their power and skills are also beginning to adapt, each time they are reborn anew. The Trinity survivor came to a conclusion that no matter what he tries or anyone tries, these being will never die. Calling them a mockery to all of God's creations, he states that now he understands the true nature of the Divine Source. He realized that whomsoever has gazed at the Divine Source, became immune to death at the cost of their humanity and moral compass.

After processing all this information, he realized that if a small heretic like the Deathless Prophet and his Deathless Army can cause such an atrocity, such as the destruction of Kitezh, he feared and even realized that Trinity would do thousand times worse, should they ever gain such power. He decides to it would be for the benefit of mankind is such a divine artifact was left here, entombed and lost forever. He makes plans for his final attempt at escape, but also gets wounded before his escape attempt. It is evident that he was not successful at his escape attempt and died in the entombed icy city of Kitezh, leaving behind his notes as a warning should someone else finds the entombed city of Kitezh.

Powers & Skills

 * Divine Empowerment: The Prophet raised an army by training them & granting them their power through exposure to the Divine Source. As a result they have certain supernatural powers.
 * Immortality: Being empowered by the Divine Source, they are, in a sense, the "Living Dead", have an unlimited lifespan, being able to survive centuries. They also cannot die. If they should die, they self-resurrect from as in a very short timespan, hence the reason for them being called "Deathless".
 * Regeneration: They can regenerate from non-fatal wounds. Jacob a.k.a the Deathless Prophet himself has regenerated from bullet wounds many times. Even without their armor, the Deathless Ones still take a very significant amount of damage to be actually killed, despite their inevitable revival shortly.
 * Self-Resurrection: Despite their regenerative abilities, they can still be killed if their necks or heads are harmed severely, which at this point they can die. Oddly, when the Deathless Ones die, they burn up and turn into ash instead of lying on the ground like a corpse. This is also proven by a Trinity survivor who states that despite him killing the same men many times they will revive in a very short timespan. This lead him to conclude that no matter how he tries to kill them, they will not die as they are not human anymore, calling then a mockery of all of God's creations. One letter from the Trinity survivor says that the recently killed Deathless One had given a silent 'promise of return' to the scribe before turning into ash.
 * Superhuman Stamina: Since they are immortal, they have no need of air, sleep, water or food for survival. They also never tire at all.
 * Heightened Strength: The Deathless soldiers exhibit strength and muscle power much higher than a standard human, such as when one soldier was able to lift Lara Croft with one hand.
 * Heightened Endurance: In battle, the Deathless soldiers can wield heavy weaponry, full body armor, and fight for extended periods without tiring. They also have a high threshold for pain.
 * Heightened Speed: They are shown to be able to move around areas more quickly than a normal human, despite them having incredibly heavy and thick armors, as well as large and heavy weaponry which they use with such ease and agility.
 * Altered Eyes: The Trinity Survivor even claimed to have seen the "blue fire" in their eyes, giving him a hint that these beings were not human.
 * Warfare Expertise: Since they are highly skilled warriors, fighters, swordsmen, marksmen, craftsmen, tacticians & trackers. They also show proficiency in coordinating their attacks.
 * Superior Combatants: They are remarkable swordsmen, shield-men, hand-to-hand combatants and archers. They are capable of using their ancient Byzantine Weaponry with remarkable proficiency. Despite Trinity most elite soldiers possessing advanced combat skills state of the art military technology and weaponry, they were still all wiped out b the Deathless Ones with their ancient Byzantine weapons and advanced combat skills.
 * Superior Athleticism: Unlike Lara, who despite being an expert at mountaineering and climbing, the Deathless Ones can climb tall structures with their hands with remarkable speed, despite their heavy body armor and without the use of any tools.
 * Superior Coordination: Like most ancient military armies, they are very calculated, coordinated and well led. They are very resourceful, as they have managed to build up, weaponize and equip themselves for centuries to come.
 * Byzantine Weaponry: They have been stocking up and creating technologically advanced equipment of their time for centuries. These include swords, shields, archery equipment, armory, catapults and most notably, Greek Fire vessels.
 * Byzantine Armor: A type of dark metal thick armor that they wear, with each having the Prophet's insignia on it. These armors, despite being incredibly ancient are still much more advanced than the body armors of the 21st century. These armors allow the Deathless Ones enhanced durability and much greater protection from even the most strongest of firearms. The Armor is also equipped with various furs suitable for a winter environment.
 * Greek Fire: Their most powerful weapons are Greek Fires. These do not stop burning until they have destroyed everything they were set out to burn. Greek Fire cannot be stopped by water or sand. Greek Fire is bluish in color and completely smokeless, thus giving it the illusion of Holy Fire.

Trivia

 * It is uncertain what the Deathless One's look like under their helmets, even if you break them in the game with a headshot their faces are covered by full face chain mail. Only their eyes can be seen. However, the Trinity survivor mentions them to be having skin as white as milk and their body's extremely cold.
 * They use Greek Fire in their clay grenades, this weapon was once used by the Eastern Roman's, because of its difficulty to be put out and burned even on water they used it in their naval fleets. In the game Lara says it was made with Sulphur (which causes fire to turn blue and burn hotter) but historians still question how it is made.
 * Their warfare march is Roman, when sneaking through the Kitezh ruins Lara witnesses the march that is controlled by a Deathless One dressed like a general, it includes standard-bearers. Soldier's who carry the army flag on the tip of a spear.
 * Deathless One's have high resistance to fire thanks to their usage of Greek Fire, unlike the Trinity soldier's they don't react much when on fire and will continue to pursue Lara. Though this may be due either due to their supernatural power or their Elite Kitezh Armor.