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Accused of the murder of her one-time mentor, Werner Von Croy, Lara becomes a fugitive on the run. Following notes left by
Von Croy, Lara ends up in a race to recover artifacts before the secret alliance whose destiny it is to take over the world
and revive a fearsome biblical creature known as The Nephilim.
Pieter Van Eckhardt is the main villain in Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness. He was a 15th Century evil alchemist who created
a powerful weapon called the Sanglyph. To keep the Sanglyph safe, Eckhardt split it into five pieces and hid each piece behind
five paintings he created, depicting evil images.
Eckhardt grew ever more evil and powerful through alchemy. He eventually created an order known as The Cabal, which consisted
of an alliance between five powerful alchemists including Eckhardt. He eventually prepared to resurrect an extinct cross-angelic
race known as the Nephilim, which is the reason why he created the Sanglyph. He believed that through using the Nephilim he
would gain power over the world. Because of his intentions, an order called the Lux Veritatis was born to stop Eckhardt and
the Cabal. The other members of the cabal eventually were all murdered by Eckhardt to retain the secrets they held. The Lux
Veritatis acquired the Periapt Shards, ancient weapons of light that were used to make the Nephilim race extinct in biblical
times. The three shards were used against Eckhardt, who became trapped in a state of paralysis. The Lux Veritatis (led by
Brother Obscura) sealed Eckhardt in a deep pit and left him there for 500 years. The seal on Eckhardt would only last if the
three Periapt shards remained combined. Brother Obscura then confiscated the five paintings that contained the pieces of the
Sanglyph. He painted religious images over the evil ones and hid each painting separately at hidden locations throughout the
land. The paintings were christened the Obscura Paintings. A copy was made of each painting. These copies were known as the
Obscura Engravings. Each copy contained an encoded map to the location of the original painting.
During 1945, something happened and one of the shards became separated from the other two. It is a possibility this happened
because of an event linked to World War II. Eckhardt was freed and escaped the pit in which he had spent the last 500 years
in pain. He vowed revenge against the Lux Veritatis and revived the Cabal basing it in his hometown of Prague. The new Cabal
became devoted to hunting down any members of the Lux Veritatis. Eckhardt also managed to obtain the Periapt shard that had
been separated from the other two, which still remained in the possession of the Lux Veritatis. He hid this shard in his old
laboratory, deep underground beneath the Strahov, the headquarters of the Cabal.
After he hid his shard, Eckhardt and the Cabal set out to reclaim the five Obscura paintings, in order to acquire the
Sanglyph. By the time Lara had become involved in the plot, the Cabal had already attained three of the five paintings. Eckhardt
then hired Werner Von Croy to find the last two. Von Croy did learn of the location of the fourth painting beneath the Louvre
from the Obscura engravings, but he never informed Eckhardt, because by that time, Von Croy had learned of the true, evil
side of Eckhardt and his intentions. Von Croy then asked for Lara Croft to assist in finding the paintings despite her hatred
towards him for leaving her to die after the end of The Last Revelation Although Von Croy was murdered, Eckhardt was not responsible.
Lara found the two remaining paintings in Paris and Prague, which Eckhardt then reclaimed from her before retreating to
his old laboratory under the Strahov. He then started to finish what he started five hundred years ago--reviving the Nephilim
race. The Cabal had retrieved the last Nephilim specimen from Turkey: a Nephilim body which had been named "the Sleeper".
To revive the Sleeper, Eckhardt needed body parts, which he harvested from the victims he killed using his powerful glove.
During the final confrontation in his laboratory with Lara, Eckhardt starts the process of reviving the Sleeper. He battles
Lara using the Sanglyph, but he is eventually killed by Karel, his right-hand man in the Cabal, who stabs Eckhardt with the
third Periapt Shard right through the forehead. Karel revealed himself to be the last surviving/living Nephilim and that all
the people who have helped Lara died at his hands to avoid the destruction of the Sleeper. He then offers Lara to join him
in his resurrection. Lara refuses, and decides to put an end to it by using Eckhardt's glove upon the Sleeper--thus destroying
it and possibly Karel.
After killing Karel, Lara returned to find Kurtis and his Chirugai blade. She only found the blade, which led her to the
direction of somewhere else. Smiling subtly, she followed the direction and disappeared into the darkness.
Characters
Kurtis Trent
Kurtis Trent, ex-Legionnaire and adventurer, was born on June 26 1972 in Salt Flats, Utah, USA. When he was only three
years old, Kurtis was trained by his father Konstantin as a Lux Veritatis initiate, an ancient order now being ruthlessly
hunted down by Eckhardt and the Cabal. At sixteen, Kurtis underwent the most intense stage of his Lux Veritatis initiation.
Upon reaching nineteen, he disappeared and joined the Foreign Legion, changing his name to Trent. He stayed hidden within
the Legion for five years but was constantly assaulted by bizarre events linked to the occult. It is here he adopts the nickname
"Demon Hunter."
In 1996, Kurtis left the Foreign Legion and began freelancing with a variety of mercenary and semi-legal agencies under
the direction of Martin Gunderson. He collects word from his father, but never sees him alive again. In 2001, Konstantin is
murdered by Eckhardt. Spurred on by his death, Kurtis receives two talismanic items, the Periapt Shards and the terrifying
Chirugai blade - a discus-like glaive made of Ferilium. He then embarks on a mission to overthrow Eckhardt. Kurtis Trent crosses
paths several times with Lara Croft, British archeologist and world renowned adventurer, and they join forces in Prague to
combat the Cabal and Eckhardt. He is badly wounded while fighting a mutated form of one of Eckhardt's scientists, Kristina
Boaz. His fate is officially unknown, as the open-ended Angel Of Darkness did not get its sequel. Although, as Kurtis was
said to play an important role in the Angel of Darkness trilogy, it's likely he survived.
Pieter Van Eckhardt
Eckhardt a 15th century black alchemist who appears in Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, and is the main villain of
the game. He created a powerful weapon, called the Sanglyph, which he split into five pieces. These pieces were then hid behind
five paintings that he created, all of which were evil images.
Brother Obscura sealed Eckhardt into a deep pit and was left for 500 years. Brother Obscura took the five paintings, and
painted religious images over the evil ones. Each of the paintings were hidden sperately at different locations throughout
the land. These paintings where then christened the Obscura Paintings. Copies were made of each painting, each of these copes
contained a map to the original painting. These copies were known as the Obscura Engravings.
Throughout the game Eckhardt and the Cabal are trying to get hold of each of the five Obscura paintings, so that they
can awaken that last of the Nephilim race, a body nicknamed the Sleeper. Lara Croft believes Eckhardt is the Monstrum serial
killer that has been haunting the streets of Paris and murdered her one-time mentor, friend and rival Werner Von Croy. She
defeats him at the end of the game, but in a surprising twist it turns out it was not he who killed Von Croy, but the shape
shifting Nephilim and Eckhardt's right hand man Joachim Karel. Karel turns on Eckhardt and kills him with one of the Periapt
Shards.
Werner Von Croy
Lara's former mentor. He is murdered by the Monstrum at the start of the game.
(For more about Werner,visit The Last Revelation page.)
Louis Bouchard
Looking every inch the gangland czar he claims to be, the wide-collared, slightly paunchy (but nevertheless impossing)
Louis Bouchard is responsible for running illicit operations throughout the French capital. His jovial nature can snap into
rage at the click of a synapse, and he has a reputation for large sale ruthless and opportunistic violence, despite never
being convicted of a crime.
After learning of Bouchard in Von Croy's journal, Lara Croft goes in search of him for weapons and equipment. Although
he does not give her anything, he does point her to crooked pawnshop owner Daniel Rennes and tells her of how The Monstrum
has attacked and killed many of his men. Later after Lara's escape from the Louvre, Bouchard shows up and offers her a lift
to Von Croy's apartment, setting her up for a trap with a highly trained hitman known as "The Cleaner". Lara kills
him and tracks Bouchard to Prague, where he explains how he has been working for a man named Pieter Van Eckhardt - head of
an organization known as the Cabal and none other than the Monstrum himself. While Lara goes to find information on the final
Obscura Painting at a police crime scene, Bouchard becomes the latest victim of the Monstrum and his body is found locked
in a celler upon Lara's return.
Marten Gunderson
The chiseled cheekbones and broad shoulders of this veteran soldier allow him to impose his will on his underlings without
uttering a word. A veteran of countless conflicts around the world, Gunderson is now fully committed to running a clandestine
organization known as the Agency. His organization, a thinly disguised mercenary recruitment service, provides specialized
forces for anything from basic security to al-out invasions. He has been spotted in the company of Eckhardt.
While Lara Croft was searching for the Obscura Paintings deep in the Hall of Seasons, Gunderson lead the assault on the
Louvre Galleries in an attempt to seize the painting. He was later in charge of controlling an outbreak in the bio-dome located
deep within the Strahov Fortress after an outbreak occurred when Lara shut off the power. Despite the rest of the Cabal being
killed at the end of the game, Gunderson's fate remains unknown.
Joachim Karel
With a shock of blond cropped hair, and a corporate legal mastermind within is furrowed brow, Joachim Karel's Paris office
oversees the investments of a new world order known as the Cabal, as well as its recruitment drives. In addition, he takes
particular delight in protecting his client's interests in the worldwide arena, and is a legal scholar not to be trifled with.
Karel first appears in the game during a secret meeting between the Cabal members after the bombing of Rennes' Pawnshop
as Eckhardt reveals the locations of the last two Obscura Paintings. Later, he is seen with Eckhardt observing Lara Croft
and Kurtis Trent's newly formed alliance, and gives his concerns about whether they will find the last painting in the Vault
of Trophies. After Lara defeats Eckhardt, Karel confronts her and stabs his former employer with a Periapt Shard. It is here
he reveals he is not human but one of the few surviving Nephilim - a race of creatures descended from the union of mortals
and angels, long believed to have been extinct. As a result of this, he has the power to shape-shift; it is during his showcase
of this ability that he reveals he has helped Lara Croft along the way as various characters. He offers her a chance to be
part of a new order in the world, but Lara turns him down. As he prepares to kill her, Lara destroys The Sleeper - a Nephilim
specimen that could bring about the resurrection of the Nephilim race - which causes the entire chamber and the machine holding
the Sleeper to explode. While Lara escapes unharmed, Karel's fate is unknown and to this day is presumed dead.
Dr.Grant Muller
This poorly and once-jocular man now has little time for amusement. Running the research programs for the dubious World
Pharmaceuticuls Commission takes up all his available time. Based in Rome, Muller also heads the botanical research wingof
the Strahov Complex in Prague and has been seen conversing with Marten Gunderson on more than one occassion. Muller's considerable
taents and currently giving local authorities cause for more than a little concern.
Muller is first seen in a secret meeting after the bombing of Daniel Rennes' pawnshop, in which discusses Pieter Van Eckhardt
the locations of the remaining two Obscura Paintings. Later in the game, he is confronted by Lara Croft in the Bio-Dome research
facility within the Strahov, where he boasts about Eckhardt's promise of immortality when the Nephilim rise and other delusions
of granduer. When power to the facility is cut, Eckhardt comes to Muller demanding what is going on, but it isn't long before
Kristina Boaz informs Eckhardt of the escape of the Proto-Nephilim - an experiment she was supposed to have disposed of. Unwilling
to accept failure, Eckhardt orders Muller to sent in his pet - a spider-like pod, to take care of Boaz. After Lara obtains
the final Obscura Painting, Eckhardt releases a mutant hybrid of Boaz and the pod on her and Kurtis Trent, but before leaving
orders Gunderson to dispose of Muller for his failures. Thrown into the arena below, Muller is killed by the mutant Boaz.
Kristina Boaz
Originally based in Argentina, Boaz became the head of the corrective and remdial surgery at the Strahov Psychiatric Institute
in Prague - a facility of which little is known. Subjects have been reported entering the building complex, but have not been
seen or heard from since. One item to note: Boaz's already grimazing visage was horribly disfigured from scars she suffered
after a horrific plane crash in 1987.
Boaz is first seen in a secret meeting after the bombing of Daniel Rennes's pawnshop, in which Pieter Van Eckhardt discusses
the locations of the remaining two Obscura Paintings. Later in the game, Lara Croft learns from Cabal researcher Dr.Grant
Muller that Boaz was responsible for the failed Proto-Nephilim project, while Kurtis Trent discovers she was in charge of
the experimentation of the Sanitarium inmates. After an outbreak occurs after Lara shuts off power to the complex, Boaz informs
Eckhardt that the Proto-Nephilim has escaped and is on a rampage in the psych ward, despite Eckhardt having ordered the creature
be disposed off long ago. As a result of her failure, he terminates her employment by sending her off a balcony and into the
jaws of a spider-like pod. Later on, Eckhardt sets loose Boaz on Lara and Kurtis - now a mindless creature merged with the
evolved spider pod. It is here that the player must defeat Boaz as Kurtis. After defeating the main body, Boaz emerges from
the pod with torn clothing and dragonfly wings, her skin now gone revealing a rotting skeleton-like form. Kurtis defeats Boaz
once more, but as he turns his back she stabs him in his back and through his chest. With his last remaining strength, he
throws his Chirugai and beheads her.
Margot Carvier
A historian an academic at the Louvre Department of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Carvier is a stern woman involved
in recent archaeological diggings beneath the Louvre galleries. She is both a friend and colleague of Professor Werner Von
Croy. She lives alone in an apartment near Paris's industrial district.
At the start of the game, Lara must make her way to Carvier's apartment to learn more about Von Croy's research on the
Obscura Paintings. Depending on the choices made during the conversation between the two characters, players are able to obtain
Von Croy's journel from Carvier, or must search for it themselves. In the following level, Parisian Ghetto, Lara learns that
Carvier was murdered by the Monstrum from a local prostitute named Janice.
Janice
A local prostitute who shares some useful information to Lara regarding the recent (and rather shady) goings-on in the
Parisian Ghetto.
Pierre
Owner of the resteraunt Cafe Metro. He agrees to help Lara find Bouchard in exchange for a box he left at the 'Le Serpent
Rouge' nightclub.
Bernard
The former janitor of the 'Le Serpent Rouge'. He agrees to help Lara find Bouchard in exchange for a box he left at the
'Le Serpent Rouge' nightclub.
Francine
Pierre's ex-girlfriend. She helps Lara get into the graveyard of St. Aicard's Church.
Willow Tree Herbalist
Owner of a herbalist store in the Parisian Ghetto.
Daniel Rennes
A pawnbroker back in Parisian Ghetto, specialist in blackmarketeering. Gets killed by Pieter Van Eckhardt.
Anton Gris
Boxer trainer, friend of Louis Bouchard. He owns a boxing studio (set inside a church) which doubles as an entrance to
Louis Bouchard's underground lair.
Thomas Luddick
A seedy, discredited reporter who has been tracking what he thinks are Mafia activities in Prague. In fact he's had the
bad luck to cross the Cabal, who protect their operations ruthlessly. Later in the game Luddick is killed by Eckhardt unmercifully.
Locations
Paris
Lara meets with Werner in his Parisian apartment before he is murdered in front of her. Now a prime suspect, Lara lays
low in the back alleys, finding adventure in the most unlikely places: a nightclub called Le Serpent Rouge and the famous
Louvre Galleries.
Prague
Lara hunts for clues in the apartment of an affluent art dealer, known as Mathias Vasiley, who was recently murdered by
The Monstrum. The Strahov is the stronghold of the evil organization behind The Monstrum killings, also located in Prague.
Lara gains access through a blundering journalist, desperate to expose the organization. The Strahov Fortress is made up of
different areas, including a bio-research facility, an underwater research facility, a mental institution (the only Tomb Raider
levels to be played from another character's perspective) and a secret tomb called The Vault of Trophies. Physically it is
a large industrial complex and appears to be fronted by some kind of transport operation.
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