Prologue

Author's Note

This is a work of fiction for pure entertainment purposes. It does not promote any nationalism or religious fanaticism; nor does it attempt to slander/mock any real-life historical figures or faiths. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental. In this fanfiction, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church are engaged in centuries of secret religious war regarding the Divine Source. Unlike the canon, it is truly Divine and directly connects to God. The plot is loosely based on "Rise of the Tomb Raider" and "Shadow of the Tomb Raider". As the summary implies, it emphasises Kitezh as an Eastern Roman Imperial enclave and the mystic bastion of Orthodox Christianity. It also depicts the Trinity as a stalwart Roman Catholic military order. This story aims to deliver a better historical, religious and military themed reading experience. Most canon background settings and characters will thus receive an overhaul. For example:

1. Lara Croft speaks in a very heavy Surrey accent, also known as "Queen's English".

2. Lara's original radio cannot intercept Trinity communications since military transmissions are encrypted to be completely inaccessible/unintelligible to outsiders.

3. Jacob will be addressed as his original Greek name Iákovos. He is not the Deathless Prophet but the Deathless Archpriest/Protopresbyter/Exarchos. His canon Syrian "tomb" is now more of a church ruin.

4. Sophia is not related to Iákovos.

5. The Deathless Ones will be addressed as their original Greek name Athanatoi (Immortals). They used a mix of Late Medieval and Modern equipment.

6. Remnants are replaced by Exkoubitores (Sentinels). They are mortal Siberian village communities allied/bonded with Athanatoi.

7. Trinity's official name will now be "Order Of The Holy Trinity" and (technically) has no connection with the Cult of Kukulkan.

8. Konstantin and Ana are Croatian Catholics.

9. The official language of Trinity is Latin; Athanatoi and Exkoubitores are Greek and Church Slavonic.

This prologue covers the events before the in-game "Siberian Wilderness" chapter and explains background contexts/settings. Lara Croft travelled across Eastern Europe and the Levant. She infiltrated the forbidden and hidden areas of various Orthodox churches to examine their secret frescoes regarding clues to find Kitezh. She recorded several audio journals to analyse her investigations.

Journal Entry #1 - 13/11/2015

Serbian Orthodox Frescoes Analyse - Manasija Monastery

Despotovac, Republic of Serbia

…Iákovos was born as Charalambos Angelos in Constantinople in 1160 AD. His family usurped the Komnenos and started Angelos dynasty of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1185. The latter quickly proved to be one of the worst dynasties in Byzantine history with a series of extremely incompetent Emperors. Frustrated by earthly depravity, young Charalambos took a vow of celibacy and became an Orthodox Priest in 1190. He took the new name Iákovos to shed his worldly royal identity. He was a zealous champion of Orthodoxy and travelled across the Balkans to fight against the heretical Bogomils. Along the righteous journey, he became blood brothers with Mihajlo Lazarević - a Serbian gospodin (lord) born in 1168 from Niš in the Grand Principality of Serbia. Iákovos later went to Levant in pursuit of further spiritual guidance in 1197 and accidentally discovered the Divine Source in 1198. Iákovos met Jesus through gazing into the sacred artifact. He wished to further follow Christ by sharing his burden in this sinful mortal world. The Son of God was moved by Iákovos's purity. He thus granted the humble priest immortality, the miracle power of healing others and complete immunity to sickness. However, he could still feel pain and hunger. The ever-loyal Iákovos immediately reported his divine encounter, newfound powers and submitted the Divine Source to Ecumenical Patriarch John X Kamateros of Constantinople. The latter was overjoyed, declared Iákovos as the "Deathless Archpriest/Protopresbyter" and kept the sacred artifact within Hagia Sophia. With the unconditional support of the Byzantine Orthodox Church, Iákovos preached and performed miracles across the Balkans, Anatolia and Levant, earning other titles of "Deathless Unmercenary" and "Deathless Wonderworker"...

Journal Entry #2 - 17/11/2015

Antiochian Greek Orthodox Frescoes Analyse - Unknown Hidden "Oasis" Church Ruin

Damascus Governorate, Syrian Arab Republic

…Iákovos' deeds only enraged Roman Catholic Pope Innocent III. They fundamentally consolidated the Eastern Orthodox Church and Byzantine Commonwealth which erased their willingness to cooperate with the Latin West, destroying any future possibility for Orthodox-Catholic reunion. The road to hell was paved with good intentions. Pope Innocent III organised the Order of the Holy Trinity in early 1202 to prevent any further East-West Schism. This secret military order was under direct Papal command with absolute obedience. They aimed to protect a Catholic oriented ecumenism by all means necessary. Acquiring the Divine Source would be their most crucial step to ultimately establish a united Church under the Roman Papal hegemony. The knights of Trinity thus ambushed Iákovos on his way to Damascus in late 1202. They killed Iákovos and quartered his body on the spot after finding no Divine Source. The horrified local Antiochian Greek Orthodox Christians carefully buried his body parts inside this church, only to find him fully resurrected after 3 months. The Deathless Archpriest proceeded to stay and help the locals for a few more months before returning to Constantinople to defend his home city against the Crusaders in the 1203 Siege of Constantinople. The Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church thus painted these frescoes to commemorate such a divine miracle…

Journal Entry #3 - 21/11/2015

Greek Orthodox Frescoes Analyse - Hagios Demetrios

Thessaloniki, Hellenic Republic

…During the 1204 Sack of Constantinople, Iákovos valiantly defended his Empire against the Crusaders and Venetian invaders. The knights of Trinity confronted Iákovos again but were unable to slay him. They thus used child hostages and decapitated the sympathetic Priest when he was distracted. Luckily, the bodies and Divine Source were recovered by the fleeing Ecumenical Patriarch John X Kamateros. Iákovos was fully resurrected when they successfully reached Didymoteichon in Thrace. During sleep, the old Patriarch saw a Divine vision about a frozen secret Eastern Roman city-fortress called "Kitezhopolis" in uncharted North Asia. It was built by immortal saintly warriors from scratch with the sole purpose of guarding the Divine Source ever vigilantly. He told Iákovos about the vision, illustrated it on paper and advised him to travel North-East to fulfill the vision. The Deathless Protopresbyter agreed since the Divine Source was entrusted to him by Jesus Christ and he must protect it from evil at all costs. Iákovos thus mustered Orthodox Christian volunteers across Eastern Europe and Mediterranean to join his expedition. His blood brother Mihajlo was the first to answer the call; followed by numerous commoners, clergies and petty/minor nobles. Despite struggling to consolidate the fragmented positions, all the post-Fourth Crusade Eastern Roman rump states offered precious assistance. Emperor Theodōros I Komnēnos Laskaris of the Empire of Nicaea further granted Iákovos the title Exarchos (Exarch). He was authorised to establish and rule Kitezhopolis under the ancient Imperial jurisdiction status of Exarchate. Loyal Imperial ally - Grand Prince of Serbia Stefan Nemanjić the First-Crowned also provided the Deathless Wonderworker with vast funding and material support. Fearing a huge horde of participants would repeat the same mistake of the People's Crusade in 1096, Iákovos valued quality over quantity and carefully selected 100 zealous Orthodox Christians, including Mihajlo as his entourage. They consisted of 30 Greeks (Romans), 20 Serbians, 10 Bulgarians, 8 Romanians (Vlachs), 4 Georgians; Arabs of 7 Syrians, 3 Lebanese, 2 Palestinians, 2 Jordanians and 2 Egyptians; Varangians of 8 Kievan Rus', 3 Anglo-Saxons and 1 Dane. They were the best warriors, intellectuals, artisans and practitioners of the entire Byzantine Commonwealth. After ensuring their unwavering faith and courage; Iákovos led them to gaze into the Divine Source to meet Christ Pantocrator. The Son of Man approved and granted the 100 guardians immortality as the Athanatoi. They could feel pain and hunger just like Iákovos. However, their time for regeneration and self-resurrection was twice slower. They also could not heal others. These were compensated with superhuman stamina, strength, endurance, reaction time and dexterity thrice stronger than even the greatest Varangian Guard champion. Athanatoi were thus literally the Herculean supersoldiers of the Akritai in Digenes Akritas. Their sole purpose in life from now on was to guard the Divine Source at all costs until the Second Coming. Iákovos was the commander-in-chief while Mihajlo was the second-in-command. They were a brotherhood bonded by faith, duty, honour and loyalty…

Journal Entry #4 - 25/11/2015

Bulgarian Orthodox Frescoes Analyse - Zemen Monastery

Pernik, Republic of Bulgaria

…After gathering sufficient supplies and equipment; the expedition of 101 immortals set off from Ahtopol with a large Viking longship in 1205. Before bidding John X Kamateros farewell, they took an oath to stay in touch with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and forever loyal to the Eastern Roman Empire. The expedition sailed across the Black Sea and Sea of Azov; entered the Don and Volga River; and eventually ventured into Siberian River Routes. Along the voyage, they encountered numerous indigenous Turkic, Tungusic, Uralic Siberians. Iákovos was able to Christianise many of them peacefully through passionate evangelisation and healing miracles. A total of 3000 loyal Slavs, Turks and Siberians joined the expedition progressively along the journey. They eventually reached the Putorana Plateau in 1210. With skillful land surveying, divine guidance and hints from John X Kamateros's vision; they decided to construct Kitezhopolis at the foot of Mount Kamen. With superhuman immortal warriors and unwavering faith, the scared and marvelous city-fortress was finished in 1230. Although it's official regional name was "Exarchate of Kitezhopolis", local Siberians simply called their new home "Kitezh". Its flag was similar to the flag of Surdulica, except the centre white twelve-petaled rose was replaced by a huge golden double headed eagle. The city quickly flourished as the sole economic and cultural centre which attracted mass immigration across the entire Siberia, boosting the total population from the original 3101 to about 40000. When the rumours of a wealthy Siberian trading city suddenly emerged out of nowhere across Europe, the Trinity became suspicious and paid the Mongols to investigate the region who eventually arrived at Kitezh in1239. Blinded by greed for treasures, the Mongols did not report back and presumed to attack on their own. During the heat of the siege, a series of missed/botched shots from Mongolian trebuchets accidentally triggered an avalanche in the surrounding mountains. It eradicated the entire Mongol army and killed most citizens of Kitezh. Without any replies from the Mongols, the Trinity could only conclude the rumour was just an exaggerating travelogue by merchants. They dropped the case, believing that the Divine Source was somewhere around the Mediterranean region. The remaining Kitezh survivors quickly recovered with the help of Iákovos and Athanatoi. To avoid any unwanted attention and future tragedy, they decided to never repopulate the region again or rebuild the city apart from some key structures. The loyal mortal survivors were vigorously trained by the Athanatoi and reorganised as the Exkoubitores. They built various agricultural villages around Mount Kamen - serving as outposts and sentries to monitor unwanted visitors, rally points for potential attacks and disguise themselves as an "ordinary" countryside community. Both Athanatoi and Exkoubitores would coordinate attacks together and take turns to garrison different locations. They were thus inseparable and resolute battle brothers…

Journal Entry #6 - 18/12/2015

Concerning The Order Of The Holy Trinity

Croft Manor, Surrey, England

…The Trinity troops that showed up in the hidden "oasis" Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church ruin a month ago were no mere mercenaries. They had a Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion that directly executed operations in the sovereign territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. They completely bypassed the local Syrian Armed Forces and the US-UK funded Syrian Free Army undetected. This implied that they were elite special forces that possessed highly advanced stealth vehicles and technology. All Trinity soldiers were armed to the teeth with the most professional loadouts. They were equipped with Ops-Core Future Assault Shell Technology (FAST) Helmet and Peltor Comtac III; desert camouflage uniform, Combat Integrated Releasable Armor System, gloves, knee pads and combat boots; pistol holster, combat knife sheath, hydration pack, various pouches for different supplies and gadgets. Their service rifles seemed to be VHS-D2 CT with VHS-BG. Other weapons included USAS-12, CETME Ameli, HS .50 M1 and Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm Recoilless Rifle with various attachments. Trinity carried on their Medieval Roman Catholic military order legacy and traditions. Troopers communicated in Ecclesiastical Latin and addressed each other as "Frater" - meaning "Brother". Their commander was an awestruck masculine man in his early 40s. He had dark dirty blonde hair, a scar on his left cheek and stigmata on his hands. The commander's mere presence emitted an aura of zeal, cunning, authority and ruthlessness. He also had a very heavy Croatian accent when speaking English. The Trinity made the Solarii Brotherhood back in Yamatai look like the Dalai Lama in comparison…

Journal Entry #5 - 22/12/2015

Russian Orthodox Frescoes Analyse - Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Novosibirsk)

Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

…As the enclave of the Eastern Roman Empire, the remnant of Kitezh was isolated but did not adopt isolationism. Instead, they were very active in reconnecting with their homeland in the Balkans. Various Athanatoi were deployed in cross continental reconnaissance missions each year to gather the latest information of the world. They successfully reconnected with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire in 1264. Iákovos was granted the title "Deathless Enlightener". Kitezh later became closely associated with the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1349, Russian Orthodox Church in 1607, Church of Greece in 1836 and Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church in 1903. They provided Kitezh with the latest weapons, equipment, technologies, fundings and various material support. If Kitezh called, these 4 Churches would answer with unconditional help. However, only a few selected clergy and individuals know of its existence. Together with its extremely isolated and remote geography, it was still nigh impossible for secular authorities to find Kitezh. After the Russian Civil War, the connection between Kitezh and other Churches was completely severed. Iákovos thus provided sanctuary for White Army soldiers; intellectuals during Soviet Great Purge; clergies and laymen during various anti-religious persecutions; Red Army deserters during WW2; escaped Gulag prisoners in post-WW2. During the Cold War in 1964, the Soviets finally established proper regional control and set up mining operations to extract copper and uranium. When they were depleted in 1971, mines were converted into chemical weapon waste disposal facilities. Through careful disguise, the Soviets only viewed the Athanatoi and Exkoubitores as "moronic backcountry rednecks". Except for a few drunken fighting incidents, the Exarchate of Kitezhopolis was basically left alone and stayed hidden in the plain sight. The Soviets eventually abandoned their bases and left in 1986 due to severe military budget cuts, wanting nothing to do with the "worthless frozen wasteland". The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a total victory for the faithful. The Exarchate of Kitezhopolis was finally able to reconnect with the rest of the Eastern Orthodox world, particularly the aforementioned 4-allied Churches. As a sign of good will, Kitezh unconditionally gifted them numerous precious relics. Such selfless generosity further strengthened their unbreakable bond...

Footnotes (regarding actual history, terminology and settings)

1. Pope Innocent III was furious regarding the 1204 Sack of Constantinople and excommunicated all involved crusaders.

2. Hellenes/Greeks self-identified as "Romans" before 1821. Both terminologies are interchangeable in this fanfiction. To a large extent, all Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Balkans were also called "Romans".

3. Serbia was under the heaviest Byzantine influence among all Orthodox nations. It was generally a loyal and close ally to the Eastern Roman Empire despite occasional wars.

4. The military aesthetics and tactics of Late Medieval Greek-Byzantine, Serbian and Second Bulgarian Empire were all extremely identical due to mutual influences.

5. The "Byzantine Commonwealth" terminology only applies to the Orthodox Eastern Europe.

6. Romanians were called "Vlachs" before 1859. Both terminologies are interchangeable in this fanfiction.

7. Some Varangian Guardsmen settled in Byzantine Greece and fully integrated into local society. Their mixed-blood descendants would continue to serve the Eastern Roman Emperors until the 1453 Fall of Constantinople.

8. Calling Arab Christians simply as "Arabs" is a misleading over-simplification as the terminology is more of a linguistic identity rather than an actual ethnic one. All Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Arabic speaking world are called "Romans" even till nowadays. However, the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and Jerusalem also subscribe to the Arab identity while Alexandria only self-identifies as Greeks. They use both Greek and Arabic as their universal liturgical languages.

9. It was nigh impossible to realistically establish and maintain a mountainous city of 40000 populations in Late Medieval Northern Siberia. The region just completely lacked population bases, resources and economic values.

10. The Mongols never reached Northern Siberia.

11. The Soviet gulag system was abolished in 1960. However, forced labour camps still existed until 1987.

12. Trinity soldiers are based on the Shadow Company character models from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered. They will have different camouflage uniforms throughout the story.