"The barbarians envy the boundless prosperity of the Roman Empire. While most attack out of sheer wickedness, some submit in awe and admiration. The latter may not be civilised but that is precisely why they can be trusted."

Chapter 2 - Imperial Allegiance

Mount Kamen, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russian Federation

Lara Croft woke up at 8:00 AM on 28-12-2015 punctually according to her iPhone 6s Plus alarm clock. She briefly cleaned her mouth with a tiny toothbrush and toothpaste from her backpack. Lara then turned on the combat-net radio transceiver and rugged military laptop while eating 2 packs of buttery biscuits with chicken liver pâté and chocolate bar from her "Russian Special Forces 24 Hour Mountain Ration". The pâté was smooth, creamy and very savoury with an unique iron taste. Unfortunately, Lara had to control her ration intake because she still needed to save it for later meals. There was nothing new from the radio except the continuous paranoiac ramblings regarding no enemy visuals and the high possibility of potential ambushes. This was bad news since it implies that all Trinity occupied Soviet Installations were on high alert and it would be very difficult to infiltrate them. According to the strategic map from the rugged military laptop and complementary radio transmissions, Trinity was unable to enter the mining tunnel network because they were either completely flooded or collapsed. However, they successfully transformed 3 major former Soviet sites into their stronghold in the last 24 hours:

Terminal & Dormitory was the most heavily fortified as their operation headquarters. Although it was the closest to Lara's current cave position, it was still on the other side of the mountain and would take approximately 3 hours to walk there.

Weapons Research & Disposal Facility was under heavy investigation because it was believed to contain a mysterious cancelled Soviet bio-chemical weapon of mass destruction - codename "Persey-6". Trinity aimed to acquire it for further study. This facility was in the farthest mountain valley and could take 4 days to reach on foot.

Observatory was converted into a gigantic radio signal jammer tower-station. It covered the entire Mount Kamen, completely severed its connection from the outside world and vice versa. This strategic facility single-handedly turned an already isolated countryside into a secret frozen killzone. This facility was less far away but still taking at least 2 days to reach.

Lara sighed, "None of these looks easy but what choice do I have? Any journey has to start somewhere. Terminal & Dormitory is my only logical option."

She then put on her backpack, grabbed the custom SR-3MP and set off at 9:00. Unfortunately, she had to leave the combat-net radio transceiver and rugged military laptop in the cave because they were too heavy. Excessive weight and space demanding equipment would only hinder movement, particularly when you need to cross mountains and stealthily infiltrate enemy military camp.

Lara eventually arrived at a cliff which could overlook the Soviet Terminal & Dormitory at 12:00 noon. Feeling exhausted from 3 hours of hiking under full military gear, she leaned against a rock and sat on the ground to relax. Lara took out her binoculars and carefully observed the site. All the formerly abandoned sentries and fortifications were now garrisoned by Trinity troopers. There were numerous M2 Browning machine gun nests; LLR 81mm and Hirtenberger M12-1111 mortar fire support position; Mistral ATLAS double launcher systems and Oerlikon GDF. They were carefully deployed in ground or elevated positions that coordinated with various sandbags, barbed wires, barricades and minefields to create all-angle crossfire killzones. Although the facility did not have any armoured personnel carriers, it was stationed with 7 Iveco LMV and 2 NHIndustries NH90. They were all armed with Heckler & Koch GMG.

"Bloody hell… I just want to find Ana and acquire some additional clues about finding Kitezh if lucky. I don't expect to play Metal Gear Solid.", Lara mumbled awkwardly.

"And that's why you should leave.", a calm and authoritative voice suddenly came out of nowhere from Lara's 4 o'clock direction. The line was said in English but had a very heavy Southeastern Serbian (Torlakian dialects) accent. Lara immediately froze. The sound of the man implied that he was only a few metres away from her. It was too late to grab her custom SR-3MP or pull the MP-443 Grach from the leg holster. Lara had little room to manoeuvre either since there was a rocky slope on the left and a cliff in front of her. She was completely screwed and there was no way to pull stunts. With a heavy sigh, Lara put down the binoculars and slowly raised her hands as a sign of surrender. She turned around and instantly jaw-dropped to see a man dressed like a Late Medieval Balkan Orthodox soldier or Military Saint… with a custom Zastava M72 in his hands. The light machine gun was attached with M76 handgrip, 75 round drum magazine, OKP-77 and suppressor.

The man was in his late 30s, about 185 cm tall with a heavy muscular build. Apart from the medium full beard and olive skin tone, he looked like Henry Cavill's Superman - pitch-black wavy quiff and crystal blue eyes. This man was not only handsome and attractive but also represented the pinnacle of classic masculinity. His mere presence emitted an awe-inspiring aura of absolute courage and vigour. Yet, the most eye-catching part was this man's unique mix of Late Medieval and Modern equipment. He wore a whole set of ice grey armour: conical brimmed chapel-de-fer helmet (kettle hat) with a small Serbian Cross tip; "mirror" klivanion with a small sculptured icon of Christ Pantocrator in the centre, reinforced by lamellar gorget, "Varangian Bra" chest harness, pauldron and pteruges (on shoulder and waist). The full set of holy armour was baptised by fire, forged in battle and blessed by God. It was marvellously engraved with sacred Greek and Church Slavonic calligraphy. The heavy weight, structured textures and rugged marks proved its battle hardern nature. The man's gloves and boots were in dark grey while the tunic, trousers and knee-length cape were all in snow camouflage. Over the armour was a green Smersh Tactical Chest Rig; attached with various pouches of magazines, hand grenades, water bottle, gas mask, radio; and a paramerion with scabbard.

As a hardcore Byzantophile, Lara was overwhelmed by the stunning beauty and absolute superiority of Orthodox military aesthetics. It instantly turned her on like an obsessed fangirl. Her face was red hot with the heartbeat of a Formula One. It was a miracle that Lara did not faint on the spot from excitement.

'Oh my Gosh! That's Byzantine lamellar armour! So hot!- So beautiful! This guy is literally a physical manifestation of all those Orthodox Military Saint frescoes. And that Medieval-Modern equipment crossover is the most awesome thing that I have ever seen! Where is my iPhone? I need to take a picture now- No! Stop! Stupid! Stupid! Control yourself Lara! This guy is fully armed and you don't know his intention or allegiance yet. So calm the fuck down, dammit!'

The man misinterpreted Lara's excitement as a trigger-happy expression. He spoke again in his warm and polite voice to defuse the non-existent tension, "Relax, lady. I mean you no harm. In fact, you should leave this place before it is too late."

Lara took a deep breath, calmed down and replied with a stoic face, "I can't do that. I came here for something important.", Lara replied with a stoic face.

"Find a woman called Ana and the lost city of Kitezh?"

"How do you know?!", Lara's poker face instantly shattered. She was not a good actor.

The man chuckled, "You have no idea how loud your mumble is."

"Oh… Errr…", Lara blushed in embarrassment and pouted, "You do know that's inappropriate to eavesdrop on a lady, right?"

"A lady won't kill 2 Trinity spec ops soldiers in a blink of an eye.", the man answered with a neutral smile but the tone was stern. The conversation atmosphere suddenly shifted dramatically into absolute seriousness. The duo was done playing verbal games.

"I killed them to survive. I suspect you did too."

"Agreed. However, I must warn you. Whatever you are looking for, you should give up and return now. It is not safe here."

"Like I just said, I can't do that. There is something that I must do and I can't give up now. Nothing can stop me."

"Even going to certain death?", the man threatened and switched the safety of his custom Zastava M72 to fully automatic in a slick motion.

"All death is certain.", Lara sternly responded as she took a cowboy dual stance, ready to quickly draw her MP-443 Grach from the leg holster at any moment. Even having 0% chance, Lara was ready to fight till the bitter end.

The vigorous response took the man by surprise, "What makes you so persistent? You don't look like a woman with nothing to lose."

"The Divine Source."

The man raised an eyebrow, "You sound exactly like Trinity. Yet, something tells me that you are not them. I wonder why you would choose this path?"

The man was very sincere with an aura of comfort, warmth and righteousness. Despite not even knowing his name and having only met for a few minutes, Lara subconsciously trusted the man and decided to tell the truth, "… When I was young, it was just my father and me. He was an archeologist too. In his last years, he was obsessed with myths about immortality. Of course, on one believes him… including me. Our last conversation was a fight. He… was then assassinated by the Trinity under the staging of suicide. I didn't know the truth then and thought I could just move on but…"

"Something else happened.", the man paid earnest attention to her story.

"And I saw something that I thought was impossible. It changed everything. I realised my father was right. He died alone and broken… but he died for something."

"So you believe the Divine Source is real?"

"I honestly don't know. But if there is any truth to it, I have to find out. It… it needs to be researched and studied. It could make a difference to the world. It's not something to be hidden away."

"... You are not a very religious person, ain't you?"

"It is a bit complicated. Although I was infant baptised and raised as an Anglican, I never cared about its practice. I am actually very invested in Orthodoxy but only about its history and aesthetics. I knew little about its actual theology though."

"Umm… very interesting… I think you need to understand that some knowledge was too sacred for us mere mortals to seek or understand. The Divine Source is like the Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil. God purposely deploys it on Earth as the ultimate test for Human faith, to see if we will cross the line to get the Forbidden Fruit. The temptation of curiosity is not always correct. You will face severe consequences if you give in. All you need to do is to have faith in God and suppress your sinful desire.", the man explained with a sad smile.

"No… no way… This… this cannot be so…"

The man continued like a benevolent father, "I guess there is no need to hide the truth now… This test is also the reason me and my brothers are obligated to guard the Divine Source until the Second Coming. You and the Trinity are mere examinees, we are the invigilators, and Jesus Christ is the ultimate judge. Passing this challenge is simple. You just need to walk away and pretend you see nothing."

"...", Lara was extremely disappointed and instantly fell into depression. All the struggles and hardships were meaningless. She should have just given up all along instead of wasting time and endangering herself in a fruitless suicidal adventure. However, Lara quickly realised what the man's lines implied, "Wait! So you are telling me that God is real! The Divine Source is real! Athanatoi is also real and you are one of them! You guys are the true Last of the Romans! Right?!"

"Yes, indeed. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Mihajlo Lazarević - Gospodin of Niš, Kentarches of Athanatoi and Stratēgos of Kitezhopolis."

Lara suddenly jumped in ecstasy, left hand on the cheek, right hand pointed at Mihajlo and cried like an obsessed BTS fangirl, "You- You are him! Oh my God! I saw you! I know you! You are on the frescoes of Manasija Monastery, Hagios Demetrios, Zemen Monastery and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Novosibirsk! I can't believe I can meet the most loyal companion of Iákovos face to face! You are real! You look so much more awesome than all those frescoes combined. The weight, texture, armour, equipment, aesthetics, face-"

"Errr… please calm down lady. While I am glad that I have a fan, I must ask how you had access to those frescoes. They should be in the most restricted church areas that no unauthorised personnel can enter- Ah, I get it. You just sneak your way in, am I right?", Mihajlo facepalmed.

"Yes! And don't worry, nobody got hurt. Anyway, I am Lara Croft - Countess of the House Croft in Surrey, England. I am also a hardcore historian and archaeologist of Byzantine Studies! You can just call me Lara."

"A pleasure to meet you, Lara", Mihajlo nodded in acknowledgement and extended his right hand for a handshake. Lara gladly accepted and held it firmly. Despite being obstructed by layers of glove fabrics, the man's hand gave Lara a very strong sense of security.

As they let go of their hands, Lara redirected the topic back to the Divine Source, "My original intention is to find and study the Divine Source, make it public to prove my father's works and restore my family's prestigious fame. I guess they cannot be done now?"

"That's correct."

"But what if I just look around?", Lara suggested, "Ya know, just take a casual sightseeing tour in the Kitezh ruins and the storage location of the Divine Source. I won't take any photos, write any records or examine them. I will immediately leave once I am done and keep the experience as absolute secret to my grave. Is that ok for you?"

"It is actually… reasonable…", Mihajlo said after deep thought, "My brothers may not like it but I can arrange your wish. However, I will escort your tour 24/7 and you need to help us defeat Trinity first."

"Sure! I am in. Any specific details?"

Lara's extreme enthusiasm had taken Mihajlo completely by surprise. He continued, "You should ask the terms first before you accept… Anyway, you have to pledge a vow of loyalty to the Roman Empire and serve us obediently as Englinovarangoi mercenary until the Order Of The Holy Trinity is utterly cast out from the Exarchate of Kitezhopolis."

"Wait, so apparently just a pair of ice axes are enough to make me an English Varangian Guard? I have Anglo-Norman ancestry, ya know? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to assign me as Latinikon?"

"Longer names are more badass, don't you think?", Mihajlo replied humorously as he pulled out the Holy Bible and Cross from his back pouch. They were magnificently gilded and decorated with precious gems. He continued, "Your Oath will be a contact with God, so take you time to decide-"

The explanation was cut short as Lara fervently announced, "I, Countess Lara Croft of Surrey, promises to be forever loyal to the Roman Empire. I shall carry the ancient zeal, devotion and martial prowess of the Englinovarangoi to evict the false believers out of the Exarchate of Kitezhopolis. I fought not for my own ambitions but the glory of God and the welfare of the Holy Orthodox Church. In testimony of this, my solemn promise, I kiss the Words of the Holy Gospel and the Life-creating Cross of my Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord."

With the oath done, Mihajlo snickered, "You are so much more devoted to our cause than I expect."

"Never underestimate the zeal of a Romaboo. Anyway, when and where do we start our campaign?"

"We are going to assault the Terminal & Dormitory tonight at 4:00 pm. Right now, we should go back to our fortress-headquarters first. We will discuss the details of the plan when we get there-"

"Wait, assault? I mean no offence but… the Trinity troops are armed to the teeth with multiple armoured vehicles and carefully planned killzone. Direct frontal assault is suicidal even if you Athanatoi are immortal…", Lara suddenly realised that she just overstepped Mihajlo's command and instantly apologised, "Oh- sorry! I don't mean to cross the line-"

"No, it's ok. You signed up as a proud Englinovarangoi, not a janissary slave warrior.", Mihajlo reassured with a sincere smile and explained patiently, "To answer your concern. Yes, we already know how dangerous the trinity stronghold is since we have 24/7 surveillance. That's why we will incinerate the Terminal & Dormitory into a sea of hellfire with white phosphorus artillery barrage first. Only then will we assault- Well, more like casually walk in to clean up the survivors… if they were unluckily enough to survive the flesh-melting burns."

Mihajlo's warm voice and relaxed expression made the sentence extremely uncanny. It sent a frozen chill down Lara's spine. Her pacifist self-reflection last night was now officially a time-wasting joke. Bloodshed was unavoidable. Moreover, if the Exarchate of Kitezhopolis was going to kill everyone in the Terminal & Dormitory, then how was she supposed to find Ana. She may already be a burning carcass or a screaming disfigured creature, begging for death. Lara thus suggested with great uncertainty, "Maybe there are alternative methods…"

Mihajlo completely misinterpreted Lara's line as "alternative methods for treating the survivors". He comforted her for all the wrong reasons, "We are doing them a favour by ending their suffering swiftly. But if you enjoy taking time to torment your victims, I won't judge."

"What?- No! No! That's not what I mean! I just want to say that…Um…", Lara struggled to find a good excuse for abolishing the white phosphorus barrage plan. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she came up with the idea of being a United Nations Peacekeeper. She explained hastily, "Using white phosphorus and executing the wounded are both war crimes against humanity. We can't do that! This is madness!"

"Madness? More like warfare in its purest form. No mercy, no respite. Furthermore, it can't be a war crime if you win the war or leave no witnesses to tell the tale.", Mihajlo earnestly explained with 300 IQ facts and logic of a Balkan Intellectual giant, obliterating the hypocritical International Criminal Court in mere seconds.

"Emm… I… Ya know… Can we just not do it?... Please?", Lara made a desperate plea.

"Why? You can murder people in cold blood but can't stomach a few war crimes? I find that hard to believe."

The moral high ground excuse just imploded instantly. Lara sighed and decided to tell Mihajlo the truth, "It's a bit complicated… You see, I have seen many horrible things… Killed many people too… Maybe 450? 470? I don't know since I have already lost count-"

"I hate to interrupt but that is insanity. How can someone your age engages in such mass murder?"

Lara cringed for the term but she always knew it was the truth. Although she only killed those who deserve it, she was still a mass murder. She literally killed as many as 470 Solarii Brotherhood cultists in a single week in Yamatai 2 years ago. This was an insane achievement that could make every Yugoslav War criminal blush in love. Lara swallowed the harsh truth pill and continued, "That's a story for another time. My point is: while I only kill to survive, the blood in my hands have already rendered me emotionless regarding enemy death count. You can drop a Tsar Bomba now for all I care, as long as there are no innocent people. The problem is…"

"Ana."

"Yes… That woman is like a mother to me but I found out she is actually a Trinity Summus Thesaurarius last night. Something just doesn't add up and I must find her for explanations. I don't want to do anything that I may regret. Even if Ana has to die, she deserves dignity… not being burnt to death in such an agonising way."

"I see… So you want an alternate way for the operation?"

"Yea…"

"I will not change the original plan of white phosphorus artillery barrage and the proceeding assault because every minor detail is already planned to perfection…", Lara was about to protest but Mihajlo continued with a twist, "However, I can add an additional infiltration operation before it. There will be just two of us sneaking in. We will confront your Ana and decide her fate, then leave and proceed with the original plan. How does it sound to you?"

"Excellent! Thank you so much! Thank you for doing this! You have no idea how important Ana is to me! I own you and I will never forget it!", Lara was overjoyed and bear-hugged Mihajlo tightly. The Stratēgos returned the gesture by only politely tapping her shoulder with his left hand,

"It is inappropriate for a lady to have too much physical contact with another man. Anyway, you are welcome. Don't make me regard this."

"You won't, I promise.", Lara said as she finally released the hug in a joyful blush. Not only was her plea approved, she could also feel the sensation of Mihajlo's armour. Talkin' about killing two birds with one stone. Lara then pointed at her Trinity combat radio and explained, "By the way, I captured this from a dead Trinity soldier last night, so as a set of combat-net radio transceiver and military laptop from their patrol rally point. I think the latter 2 can be very useful for your operation but I left them in one of the caves behind due to weight difficulties."

"Don't worry, I have already taken care of it."

"Great- What? How? When?"

"I was surveilling the Trinity movement until you pulled a little stunt to raid those expensive military electronic equipment. You hide the 2 corpses in the most obvious brush so I carry them away to the depth of the forest, as well as trashing that patrol rally point to stage it like an animal attack. After you left the cave this morning, I immediately seized the equipment and dispatched some troops to study it while I followed you here. The rest is history."

"I don't even know if I should be afraid of you being a stalker or your insane efficiency..."

"Stalker? Really? Then I guess you need to outlaw military reconnaissance and target acquisition.", Mihajlo then grabbed his own combat radio and spoke in flawless Greek-Macedonian dialect, "Control, this is Stratēgos Mihajlo. We have a fresh Englinovarangoi mercenary recruit-"

"Wait, stop. How can you recruit a new soldier out of nowhere- Ah… I get it. It is that young woman, right?", the radio replied in native Greek-Constantinopolitan dialect. The voice was deeply masculine, smooth and extremely charismatic like addictive fine wine.

"Confirmed. Her name is Lara Croft. She is willing to help us in exchange for a simple sightseeing tour in the old ruins."

"... We will discuss this in detail when you return to the fortress-headquarters. What is your ETA?"

"Emm…"

"Please tell me you ain't planning something with her…"

"That's right. We are going to infiltrate the Terminal & Dormitory now."

"You what?! What about our original plan?"

"It will stay exactly the same. Everything will proceed according to plan with no interference. Just see my new tag team mission as a side question before the operation."

"What if you cannot get out of the Terminal & Dormitory before the scheduled artillery barrage? You want a friendly fire feast?!"

"Just unleash them as if nothing happens. I will find a way to avoid them. By the way, dispatch Yūḥannā and Nadia to provide me long distance sniper overwatch."

"Nadia? Are you sure? She is still green even as a spotter."

"She has already proven herself in Pripyat last year. This will just be a pop quiz for her."

"... Alright then, we will do it your way. Stay safe and I will keep you posted, brother. Control out."

With that said, the radio transmission ends. Lara thus asked Mihajlo as she gathered her equipment, "So… What's the plan?"

The Stratēgos answered back in English with his heavy Southeastern Serbian accent, "We will sneak into the Terminal & Dormitory now through an old hidden pathway. Just follow my lead, do exactly what I say and we will be fine. Ok?"

"Yea, got it.", Lara replied with a thumbs-up.

"Good, let go."

The duo then proceeded to fast-rope down the cliff and move cautiously towards their destination...

Footnotes

1. Lamellar and plate gorget are most commonly found in Late Medieval Balkan Orthodox military frescoes.

2. Late Medieval Balkan Orthodox military frescoes are absolutely beautiful but suffer from various degrees of anachronism due to the archaic sacred art traditions. Starting from the mid-14th century, wealthy Greek/Serbian/Bulgarian nobles started to equip expensive but advanced Italian made plate armour imported from Genoa, Milan and Venice. They thus fought in the same fashion as the typical fully armoured elite Western European knights, utilising devastating mounted shock tactics and powerful charges. However, common soldiers still retained certain Byzantine aesthetics.

3. The original Varangian Guards were made up of Rus' people and other Scandinavians. However, the 1066 Norman Conquest of England resulted in the mass exile of Anglo-Saxon warrior-nobility. They joined the Guard unit, progressively influenced it since the 11th century and eventually dominated it by the 13th century. These Anglo-Saxon Guardsmen were called "Englinovarangoi" (English Varangians). Since all Varangian Guards used the iconic Dane axe, they were also addressed as "Pelekyphoroi" (axe-bearers). Moreover, 15th century Guardsmen might likely use poleaxes and longswords.

4. The Eastern Romans addressed all Catholic Western European mercenary knights under Imperial employment as "Latinikon" (Latin). Just like the Varangian Guardsmen, some Latinikon settled in Byzantine Greece and fully integrated into local society. They played crucial roles in both the Imperial military and administrations.