Werner Von Croy (Original Timeline)

Werner Von Croy is an Archaeologist from the Tomb Raider game series. He was Lara Croft's mentor. He was born in Vienna, Austria in 1940.

When Lara was 16, Von Croy took her on a journey to Angkor Wat in Cambodia for her very first adventure in a training level at the start of the game in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. Werner wanted to find an old artifact "Iris" which was hidden in the temple. His leg was hurt during the search and he used a Jackal Walking Stick afterwards. Croft reluctantly abandons Von Croy in order to escape (she would have been crushed to death by falling rocks if she tried to rescue him).

They meet again later in the plot, in the present day, now as enemies, seeking the Amulet of Horus. During the game, Von Croy is possessed by Set, making his and Lara's rivalry grow even larger. When he tries to save her life at the end of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Lara hesitates, as she believes he isn't trustworthy, and is apparently killed, and the game ends with Von Croy paying his respects to her.

In Tomb Raider Chronicles, stories were told of Lara's past in which she steals the Iris from Von Croy in his high-tech American business headquarters called Von Croy Industries (VCI). At the end of the game a cutscene plays with Von Croy and a digging team finding Lara's backpack in the ruins, picking up from the end of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.

Between the events of The Last Revelation and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, Lara and Von Croy have an encounter which is not featured in the games. They once again disagree and become enemies, until Von Croy invites Lara to his apartment in Paris, where he is murdered by a mysterious monster, and The Angel Of Darkness begins.