Disclaimer: We own neither Tomb Raider, Lara Croft or any characters associated with the games, movies or books. Neither do we own Hades or Persephone or any other Greek myths.

Author’s Note: Explaining why I wrote ‘we’ in the disclaimer rather than ‘I’, this story has been co-written with my friend, Joey, who doesn’t have an account on this site. He will be credited for his work : )

Lara Croft; Tomb Raider: Quest for the Hades Artefacts.

Prologue.

Long ago in ancient Greece the balance of power was kept stable by the Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus. The divine leaders each had their own area of expertise, their own task in keeping the world secure. They too were governed by a hierarchy, ruled by Zeus, the King of the Gods, and his Queen, Hera. As King, Zeus was Lord of the Earth and Sky. He had two brothers; Poseidon, Lord of the Sea, and Hades, Lord of the Underworld.

Legend had it that Hades fell in love with Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, a half-blood Goddess appointed by Zeus to take care of the Earth. Persephone, startled by his attentions, refused him. Hades was not accustomed to being refused anything and kidnapped her, taking her back to the Underworld.

He knew that if any food passed her lips while she was there she would be forced to stay. But her unhappiness kept her from eating. Meanwhile Demeter made a plea to Zeus, asking him to help her get her daughter back. Zeus agreed to help after hearing Demeter’s story, but told her that the rule concerning Underworld food still applied. Hoping that Persephone hadn’t eaten anything, Demeter hurried to the Underworld. Hades had neglected to tell Persephone and had tried to tempt her with fine dishes. Although she was too ill at ease to think about eating, hunger eventually won and Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds.

When Zeus found out that Persephone had eaten without realising that she would have to stay, he made a compromise; because she had eaten six seeds, she would stay six months with Hades in the Underworld and six months on Earth with Demeter. Demeter would have to be satisfied with the arrangement. When Persephone was with her she was happy and the Earth was in bloom. But whenever her daughter went down to the Underworld, Demeter mourned and the Earth turned to winter.

Persephone slowly grew to love Hades, but she was unhappy away from Demeter. He loved her too much to see her so upset and therefore decided to let her go. Not wishing her to forget him, he gave her a magic mirror that would allow her to look back on him.

Persephone took it, but when she got home she hid it away and never used it, as its magic intimidated her. Years passed and Demeter, although given an unusually long life, eventually died of old age. Persephone was heartbroken and felt quite lost. She had no mother on Earth and she couldn’t go back to Hades in the Underworld. Miserable and alone, she broke a shard of glass off the mirror and killed herself. For this sin, she could not be with Hades. Instead she was sent to Tartarus, the worst part of the Underworld for the worst people, supposedly for eternity.

The mirror itself was lost.