Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. Sorry if Lara's mansion doesn't appear as it did in the games. It's been a while and I can't remember did she have a study or not.
Please please review if read.
Findings
Kurtis stormed out of his after Winston had told him where Lara's study was. The older man followed with much slower pace muttering somehing to himself. He watched the younger man hurrying through the upper hall trying to reach the study as fast as he could.
Kurtis almost ran the rest of the way not minding the pain it caused him. Whe he entered the study he was greeted by a sight that made him stop. She had a library of her own. His gaze was fixated on the bookcases and the enormous treasure stored in them. He saw old books, new books, thin books, thick books, used books and books that looked untouched. Kurtis had never been a fan of reading at least not some dime novels. He had found the myths and legends interesting. None of Lara's books looked like they were brought here only for reading. They were her source of information, her channel to the world unseen by the eyes of normal people.
He took a book out of bookcase very slowly like expecting Winston to stop him but the older man only stood in the doorway and looked at Kurtis. He held the book for a while looking at its thin leather covers that had suffered from the years of use. Obviously it had been dear to her...still was, Kurtis corrected himself. She wasn't dead, she couldn't be. Kurtis opened the book and on the first page faces of a elderly man and woman agreeted him. With them was a young girl who was perhaps ten years old. For some reason it was a black and white photo but he knew at the very instant he laid his eyes on her who she was. It was a scrapbook. He tried to make out the text of the article but years had taken their toll and only a few words could be seen. Kurtis didn't need to know about the early years of her life but he wanted to. There were only a couple pictures of her childhood. There were many empty pages that had apparently once held articles. Someone had ripped them of.
Kurtis turned a page and found himself looking at grown-up Lara with an older man who the text said was Werner von Croy. Von Croy. Kurtis had heard about him, read about him. Wasn't he one of the victims of the monstrum? Lara had told him in Prague that she had personal reasons. Was he her personal reason? Quickly Kurtis went through the article which was about von Croy and her apprentice. He had been her mentor. The article didn't say how long they had worked together or how long they had known each other. Slowly Kurtis closed the book and put it back in its place.
"Where does she keep her research?", Kurtis asked turning to face Winston who still stood in the doorway like waiting a permission to move. The butler simply nodded toward the bookcase nearest to him.
The bookcase in question wasn't very large one but still contained lots of books. All of the books were neat although some of them had a sign or two from the touch of a human hand. They were probably in some sort of an order. He took a book from the bookcase and opened it. A letter written in beautiful handwriting stared back at him. Correspondence. He realised he knew some of the people the letters were from but most of them were from von Croy. All of the letters were treated
with utmost carefulness and they looked like something from today's mail. He skipped von Croy's letters and looked at the latest ones. Ones she'd gotten before leaving to Egypt. Most of them were from friends or so he thought but they had received the same kind of treatment like the ones asking ger to retrieve certain artifacts. She had treated them with love she felt toward her lifestyle, love she felt for archaelogy. One of the latest letters was from someone from Turkey he hadn't heard before. At a first look the writer of the letter seemed to be a nutcase. He wanted Lara to find something that existed in one of their legends about the fight between light and darkness. The letter said something about betraying one's own race because of hatred. The handwriting was really messy but Kurtis was able to make the most out of it.
The artifact the man had wanted Lara to find was the Shadow Katana. In the letter he said he was a collector but Kurtis doubted this. The Shadow Katana. No. It meant nothing to him. He had never heard of it. Kurtis couldn't let the letter be. Something in it bothered him. It was the land. Turkey. The Nephilim and Turkey had a connection between them. The Nephilim were based in Turkey. The question was had Lara found the matter interesting enough to research it? Quickly Kurtis laid down the book and started to go through the others. Most of them were scrapbooks but some of them contained her writing and sources. From the seventh book he found what he was looking for. It wasn't much. Just a small article of an ancient burial chambers that had been raided. What surprised him was the fact that the burial chambers wasn't located in Turkey but in Israel. The raiders had been killed by something even the most skilled doctors couldn't explain. There were some pictures about writing that they had discovered on the walls. It wasn't the language of the Nephilim. The words were in Hebrew. He himself didn't understand the language very much or to be frank never really tried to learn it. All of his childhood he had spent practising and reading languages long gone and forgotten like the one of Nephilim.
Lara had translated some of the words below the article.
"Beneath the darkened heart lies the shadow
in which dwells the evil and destruction
...the blade of the forgotten world..."
That was all there was. Kurtis didn't know if it was all that had been written on the walls but apparently it was all that could be seen from the pictures. He turned a page but there was nothing about the Katana there. He turned the page back to skim the article through once more thinking he might've missed something but there was nothing. Not a slightest bit of information that he hadn't already read. It wasn't what was on the page that got him interested. His breath was coming out as steam again and the skin under his fingernails was turning slightly blue. He grasped the book as if he was scared to let go. His fingers were pressed tightly against the fragile paper. Something was laid on his hand and the disqusting feeling of coldness and death came back to him. It was death that touched his hand or at least the toucher was dead. Its hands cupped his chin and made him look at the page. Slowly like the someone was writing for the first time letters started to form making the sentences whole.
"Beneath the darkened heart lies the shadow
in which dwells the evil and destrucion
the soul of a saviour carries
the blade of the forgotten world
in its hands is locked the freedom
the salvation of the damned earth"
"In the blade of the shadows lies the power
in the heart of the monster lurks the truth
the purest of souls shall claim the victory
in the abyss of a heart
shall the goodness glow
and the monsters of old perish and bow"
"On the mound of the crosses three
the evilest spirits roamed free
light came through the hand of the chosen one
sending the beasts to another world
the blade was strucked and one more scream
filled the vile winds of destiny"
He went through the text again noticing that the burial chambers were dated at the first century but somehow it was still linked to the Shadow Katana. Hell...he didn't even know why he was interested about the thing. He knew...he just didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that something long gone had reached out to him to deliver a message.
The message was the poem written in the walls of an ancient burial chambers. After he had skimmed it through enough times most of it was clear to him. In the very first century this had taken place...and there was only one mound with three crosses. Golgata. He hadn't liked religion classes in scholl but he had at least heard that much. He did something he knew Lara wouldn't appreciate. He ripped of the page containing the words and the article. Guess it was time to visit Israel.
Please please review if read.
Findings
Kurtis stormed out of his after Winston had told him where Lara's study was. The older man followed with much slower pace muttering somehing to himself. He watched the younger man hurrying through the upper hall trying to reach the study as fast as he could.
Kurtis almost ran the rest of the way not minding the pain it caused him. Whe he entered the study he was greeted by a sight that made him stop. She had a library of her own. His gaze was fixated on the bookcases and the enormous treasure stored in them. He saw old books, new books, thin books, thick books, used books and books that looked untouched. Kurtis had never been a fan of reading at least not some dime novels. He had found the myths and legends interesting. None of Lara's books looked like they were brought here only for reading. They were her source of information, her channel to the world unseen by the eyes of normal people.
He took a book out of bookcase very slowly like expecting Winston to stop him but the older man only stood in the doorway and looked at Kurtis. He held the book for a while looking at its thin leather covers that had suffered from the years of use. Obviously it had been dear to her...still was, Kurtis corrected himself. She wasn't dead, she couldn't be. Kurtis opened the book and on the first page faces of a elderly man and woman agreeted him. With them was a young girl who was perhaps ten years old. For some reason it was a black and white photo but he knew at the very instant he laid his eyes on her who she was. It was a scrapbook. He tried to make out the text of the article but years had taken their toll and only a few words could be seen. Kurtis didn't need to know about the early years of her life but he wanted to. There were only a couple pictures of her childhood. There were many empty pages that had apparently once held articles. Someone had ripped them of.
Kurtis turned a page and found himself looking at grown-up Lara with an older man who the text said was Werner von Croy. Von Croy. Kurtis had heard about him, read about him. Wasn't he one of the victims of the monstrum? Lara had told him in Prague that she had personal reasons. Was he her personal reason? Quickly Kurtis went through the article which was about von Croy and her apprentice. He had been her mentor. The article didn't say how long they had worked together or how long they had known each other. Slowly Kurtis closed the book and put it back in its place.
"Where does she keep her research?", Kurtis asked turning to face Winston who still stood in the doorway like waiting a permission to move. The butler simply nodded toward the bookcase nearest to him.
The bookcase in question wasn't very large one but still contained lots of books. All of the books were neat although some of them had a sign or two from the touch of a human hand. They were probably in some sort of an order. He took a book from the bookcase and opened it. A letter written in beautiful handwriting stared back at him. Correspondence. He realised he knew some of the people the letters were from but most of them were from von Croy. All of the letters were treated
with utmost carefulness and they looked like something from today's mail. He skipped von Croy's letters and looked at the latest ones. Ones she'd gotten before leaving to Egypt. Most of them were from friends or so he thought but they had received the same kind of treatment like the ones asking ger to retrieve certain artifacts. She had treated them with love she felt toward her lifestyle, love she felt for archaelogy. One of the latest letters was from someone from Turkey he hadn't heard before. At a first look the writer of the letter seemed to be a nutcase. He wanted Lara to find something that existed in one of their legends about the fight between light and darkness. The letter said something about betraying one's own race because of hatred. The handwriting was really messy but Kurtis was able to make the most out of it.
The artifact the man had wanted Lara to find was the Shadow Katana. In the letter he said he was a collector but Kurtis doubted this. The Shadow Katana. No. It meant nothing to him. He had never heard of it. Kurtis couldn't let the letter be. Something in it bothered him. It was the land. Turkey. The Nephilim and Turkey had a connection between them. The Nephilim were based in Turkey. The question was had Lara found the matter interesting enough to research it? Quickly Kurtis laid down the book and started to go through the others. Most of them were scrapbooks but some of them contained her writing and sources. From the seventh book he found what he was looking for. It wasn't much. Just a small article of an ancient burial chambers that had been raided. What surprised him was the fact that the burial chambers wasn't located in Turkey but in Israel. The raiders had been killed by something even the most skilled doctors couldn't explain. There were some pictures about writing that they had discovered on the walls. It wasn't the language of the Nephilim. The words were in Hebrew. He himself didn't understand the language very much or to be frank never really tried to learn it. All of his childhood he had spent practising and reading languages long gone and forgotten like the one of Nephilim.
Lara had translated some of the words below the article.
"Beneath the darkened heart lies the shadow
in which dwells the evil and destruction
...the blade of the forgotten world..."
That was all there was. Kurtis didn't know if it was all that had been written on the walls but apparently it was all that could be seen from the pictures. He turned a page but there was nothing about the Katana there. He turned the page back to skim the article through once more thinking he might've missed something but there was nothing. Not a slightest bit of information that he hadn't already read. It wasn't what was on the page that got him interested. His breath was coming out as steam again and the skin under his fingernails was turning slightly blue. He grasped the book as if he was scared to let go. His fingers were pressed tightly against the fragile paper. Something was laid on his hand and the disqusting feeling of coldness and death came back to him. It was death that touched his hand or at least the toucher was dead. Its hands cupped his chin and made him look at the page. Slowly like the someone was writing for the first time letters started to form making the sentences whole.
"Beneath the darkened heart lies the shadow
in which dwells the evil and destrucion
the soul of a saviour carries
the blade of the forgotten world
in its hands is locked the freedom
the salvation of the damned earth"
"In the blade of the shadows lies the power
in the heart of the monster lurks the truth
the purest of souls shall claim the victory
in the abyss of a heart
shall the goodness glow
and the monsters of old perish and bow"
"On the mound of the crosses three
the evilest spirits roamed free
light came through the hand of the chosen one
sending the beasts to another world
the blade was strucked and one more scream
filled the vile winds of destiny"
He went through the text again noticing that the burial chambers were dated at the first century but somehow it was still linked to the Shadow Katana. Hell...he didn't even know why he was interested about the thing. He knew...he just didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that something long gone had reached out to him to deliver a message.
The message was the poem written in the walls of an ancient burial chambers. After he had skimmed it through enough times most of it was clear to him. In the very first century this had taken place...and there was only one mound with three crosses. Golgata. He hadn't liked religion classes in scholl but he had at least heard that much. He did something he knew Lara wouldn't appreciate. He ripped of the page containing the words and the article. Guess it was time to visit Israel.