Tomb Raider: Genesis
Prologue
The Innocent's Loss
Like the dew on the mountain,
Like the foam on the river,
Like the bubble on the fountain,
Thou art gone, and for ever!
-Sir Walter Scott
The Crash
10:21 P.M.
The Himalayas
The plane soared in the air like a metallic bird, its turbines churning the snow flying through the sky in the blizzard. Lara Croft looked down from this view and to her drawing of yeti with hearts attacking a village. Her mother's arm around her was comforting and warm. "Just because no one's ever caught one, doesn't mean they're not real," Lara said.
"This is very true," Amelia Croft said, "but perhaps they don't wish to be found. I've heard they're rather fierce."
"Yeti only look fierce," Lara defended, "they probably don't like being so cold all the time. I shouldn't like it either."
"You'll never have to be cold my Lara, if you don't want to be," Amelia said, kissing her daughter's forehead. Lara relished in this thought as she looked out the window. An orange glow was coming from the wing. "Look!" she exclaimed, when a massive tremor shook the plane. Lara and her mother fell out of their seats, tumbling to the floor. As Lady Croft stood up, she asked, "Henry, what's happened?"
"Lady Croft, please sit down!" the pilot answered. Amelia sat her daughter in a seat by the windows. Lara looked up at her mother with a worried look and asked, "Are we going to crash?"
Amelia answered, "Not unless it's absolutely necessary," then took a seat opposite Lara. A suitcase rocketed past and into the cockpit. The copilot was yelling into the radio as the plane began to shake harder. Lady Croft looked down, then back to Lara. "Close your eyes darling," she said, sadly.
"I don't want to close my eyes," Lara said. The plane dipped down steeply as the copilot screamed into his radio. There was a jolt, a storm of white and shattered glass, and then darkness.
The world around her was a red and black blur. The smell of smoke and fire was nauseating. As Lara regained consciousness, the blurry face of her mother appeared. "Are you alright, darling?"
"Yes mother," Lara said, lifting her head. The fuselage was hot and smoky. It was like she was in a furnace. Amelia had a strand of dark hair and a very worried look over her face. "Come on darling," she said, unbuckling Lara's seatbelt. The plane made a loud groaning noise, and as Amelia lifted Lara out of the chair, a large, fiery piece of metal and insulation landed in her seat, which quickly ignited. She held Lara close to her in one arm, and grabbed a suitcase in another. They ran out of the fuselage as several small explosions occurred in the cockpit. Lara and her mother fell into the snow outside of the plane. It was cold and wet, the direct opposite to the inside of the metal death-trap. "Lara, are you alright?" the familiar voice of her mother asked.
"Fine mother," Lara answered. She stood up and grasped Amelia's hand. "Where are we going?"
"There," Amelia said after a brief pause. She pointed to a small ice cave in the mountainside. They rushed inside as more explosions occurred in the plane. Amelia opened the suitcase and took out Lara's overcoat, scarf, and hat, and gave them to Lara. "Bundle up darling," she said as Lara put on the clothes. Amelia herself took out her overcoat and pulled it on. "Try and sleep," she said, laying down in the snow. Lara laid down against the wall and uncomfortably slept.
The next morning was bright and clear, the complete opposite to the snow storm of the night before. Lara Croft was wet and cold after sleeping in the ice cave. As she and her mother stepped out into the light, Lara gasped. A few miles away, over the cliff where the plane had crashed, was a massive temple. "Look!" she said. She had only seen temples in books and pictures her father had brought from his expeditions, but had never before seen one in reality. "Can we go there mother?" she asked, excited. Amelia examined it and sighed.
"It looks safe enough," she said, "but it's quite the journey."
"I can make it," Lara exclaimed. Amelia chuckled.
"Alright, we'll head out," she said. Lara and Amelia climbed several hills past the fuselage until they came to an incline. They carefully climbed down until they came to a sinkhole in the ground. There were remains of the temple located around the perimeter of it. Lara and Amelia climbed down into the pit and saw a path beyond a small stream. Though it was no river, the stream had a slight breadth to it that seemed fairly difficult to overcome. "How will we get across?" Lara asked. Amelia looked up and down, then nodded slightly.
"We'll have to jump," she said, "I'll go first, and then you jump into my arms."
"Are you sure about this?" Lara asked.
"It's the only way," Lady Croft answered. She got as close to the river as she dared and jumped. She landed gracefully on the other side. "Come on darling," she said, reaching out to her daughter. Lara breathed deeply and jumped.
She felt the warm embrace of her mother's arms around her. "See? You did it," Amelia said. Lara looked back and saw that she was very close to the river. "Come along, we're almost there," Amelia said, and they continued into the tunnel.
The whole path was covered in ice, and Lara found it very difficult to walk along it. It was very dark, and one had to be careful of falling down. They came to a small wall, which Lara and Amelia climbed over. Another icy path led to a large staircase. Lara was the first to enter and gasped at what she saw.
The whole room was vast, and the floor seemed to be falling apart. Large lamps on the ceiling hung freely, and bits of snow would fall now and then into the abyss below. They were on a huge balcony overlooking the structure. They climbed down a stairwell and came to a brick landing. "We need to start a fire," Amelia said, "Lara, could you find something to start it with?"
"Certainly," Lara answered. She turned and walked along the broken floor towards the other side of the temple. The ancient floorboards creaked and wailed, as if a slight touch caused them great pain and weakness. There were two large scales alongside a massive pillar with an open doorway. Lara walked inside and descended the stairwell. She gasped at the sight.
The room was massive, with several stone pillars around a ring, with a stone dais in the center, and a black, metal rod sunk into it. Lara stepped up to one of the pillars and touched it. It sprang open with a green glow, and then returned to normal, a different pattern on it than before. "Lara! Have you found anything for the fire?" she heard her mother call. Lara, entranced by what she saw, walked up to the rod. A corpse of a man slouched near the dais did not convince her to walk away. As she neared, she thought the rod resembled the hilt of a sword sunk into a stone. She heard her mother's footsteps, and heard her call her name. Lara reached out and touched the black hilt, and the earth shook.
The hilt rotated in the dais and sunk in deeply. The room began to cast a mysterious green glow, and rings began to rise from the ground. "LARA!" Amelia cried, grabbing Lara and pulling her back. The rings formed around the hilt and a green glow formed in the center. "Stay back!" Amelia cried, "my God. What is it?"
"There's something in the light," Lara said, looking in awe at the formation.
"Stay there," Amelia said. She walked up to the phenomenon, where voices echoed in the dark. "What? Who are you?" she asked. The voices responded inaudibly to Lara's ears. "What-- what about my daughter?" she asked, worried. "She meant no harm!" A new voice was then heard- an angry one.
"What's happening, mother?" Lara asked, "what are they saying?"
"OH GOD!" Amelia cried, and grabbed the hilt. There was a giant burst of green light, and Amelia was gone. "MOTHER!" Lara cried. She ran up to the empty dais. It was perfectly serene. Green glowing dust fell lazily to the floor. She searched around the room, and ran up the stairwell. "MOTHER!" she shrieked. The words resounded across the empty temple. She ran back down to the dais and stared.
Lady Amelia Croft, Lara's mother and friend, was gone.