- For the antagonist of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, see Set (Legend Timeline)
- "I am the shadow across the sun. I am the bringer of plagues. My wrath will consume all lands and shall be ceaseless!"
- ―Set[src]
Set (also Seth or Sutekh) is the Egyptian god of evil, chaos and the desert. He is often represented as being a large human with the head of an unknown animal, that is typically referred to as the "Set Animal." though in game, he is heavily associated with Jackals.
He is the main antagonist of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.
Biography[]
Protector of Ra[]
Set impales Apep.
Ra, the creator god, often travelled on his solar boat through the underworld. His greatest enemy, the serpent god Apep, would usually lurk and wait to attack Ra. On one occasion, Set and other defenders accompanied Ra to protect him on his journey through the Duat. During this, Apep did indeed attack and it was Set who repelled him by impaling a spear into the serpent.
The Murder of Osiris[]
For a time, Egypt was once ruled by gods. The god Osiris was the son of Geb and Nut. His siblings were Isis, Set and Nephthys. Osiris was also married to Isis and Set to Nephthys. After his father, Osiris was the ruler of Egypt. Set was jealous of his brother, desiring to rule Egypt himself.
When Osiris had left Egypt for a time leaving Isis to rule, Set plotted to kill Osiris upon his return. When Osiris did return, Set held a banquet where he presented a beautiful casket. Whoever could fit inside the casket perfectly would be gifted with the beautiful object. When it was Osiris's turn to try, he fitted in perfectly. Set shut the lid of the casket and, with the help of conspirators, sealed Osiris inside and threw the casket into the Nile.
When Isis heard of this, she immediately began searching for the casket. When she located it, she brought it back to Egypt with her, hiding it in some marshes. However, Set, who was hunting that night, discovered the casket. Angrily, he unsealed it and chopped up Osiris's body into fourteen pieces, scattering them. Isis and Nephthys then began searching for the pieces. They recovered all pieces save for one and resurrected Osiris temporarily. It was during this that Osiris and Isis conceived a son. Horus, god of light. Osiris is then embodied as the god of the dead.
Isis raised Horus in secret. Osiris would return sometimes to give Horus guidance and instructions. When Horus was old enough he summoned the gods to hear his case for the throne of Egypt.
Battle for the Throne[]
Set and Horus.
Ra expressed his fears that Horus was too feeble to rule Egypt and Set argued that only he was strong enough. Set grew angry that Isis was siding with Horus and demanded that the case be taken elsewhere, without her. The gods traveled to an island. Isis, disguising herself as an old woman, bribed the ferryman so that she may be taken to the island. Arriving there, Isis took on the form of a beautiful widow and approached Set, telling him a story that was not unlike the one of her murdered brother and husband, Osiris. She told Set that she needed a champion and that her husband had died thus leaving her to tend the farm. Isis then told him that a stranger had come to turn them out and her son protested but the stranger threatened to hurt him. Set was outraged and told the widow that he would be her champion. Isis then revealed her true identity. Set had condemned himself.
Set would still not accept defeat and took the gods back across the river to a mountain range where he challenged Horus to fight as hippopotamuses, deep in the river. However, Isis attempted to intervene by casting a spear at Set. But she could not tell the two creatures apart. The spear hit Horus. Isis retracted the spear and this time successfully impaled Set. Horus fled into the mountains. Soon, Set discovered Horus and gauged out his eyes before burying them. The goddess Hathor was the next to discover Horus. She restored his sight and told the other gods what Set had done.
Set challenged Horus to one final duel, using stone boats. Horus cheated. Set's boat sank immediately. Horus's boat was made from pine, clad in plaster to look like stone. Set, once again posing as a hippopotamus, sank Horus's boat. Despairing that a judgment may never be reached, Osiris appealed with Horus but Ra disagreed, still siding with Set as he had done throughout the case. Osiris then threatened to let the demons from the realm of the dead run loose in the land of the living. Ra could not argue with this and Horus became the new ruler of Egypt. Set had finally been outwitted and rulership of Egypt taken from him. For his wrongdoings, Set was to be imprisoned.
Imprisonment[]
- "Set, ruler of evil, will again be free at the turn of a distant millennia."
- ―Semerkhet[src]
Set accepts his fate.
In 2900 BC, Set was outwitted by his nephew Horus in a long battle for the throne of Egypt. At the Valley of the Kings within a secret tomb, Set arrived accompanied by his priests where Horus, his high priest Semerkhet and the other priests were waiting. Seemingly of his own free will, Set submitted to his fate and got inside the iron-maiden sarcophagus. Semerkhet activated the mechanism of the sarcophagus that would impale the deity. After the electrified lid shut, Set's blood poured out of jackal-headed channels and into some drains leading off into another chamber. Horus placed his amulet onto the chest of the coffin and a prophecy was set in motion, explaining why Set had been so willing to accept his fate. A prophecy that he would once again return in a distant millennia seeking vengeance on the world.
The Prophecy Fulfilled[]
- "So you have found and opened the tomb of Set. This does not bode well."
- ―Jean-Yves, to Lara Croft[src]
Set's unwilling benefactor, Lara Croft.
On 26th December 1999, Lara Croft raided Set's tomb and discovered the burial chambers where Set had been imprisoned thousands of years ago. She prized the Amulet of Horus from the sarcophagus thus setting in motion the arrival of Set where he would gradually approach Earth to be free to walk amongst mortals once more. It was only when exiting the tomb that Lara had discovered what she had done. Considering the many strange things Lara had seen in the past, she had no reason not to believe in the amulet's claims of Set's return. Lara now had to travel across Egypt in an attempt to find information of how to repel Set. With her former mentor Werner Von Croy and eventually Set's apparitions on her tail, Lara was in a race against time to defeat Set before the turn of the millennium in less than five days time.
Seeking the Armour of Horus[]
- "I merely require the armour that you hold in your possession."
- ―Set, to Lara Croft[src]
A possessed Von Croy.
During her time in Alexandria, Lara had collected the Armour of Horus, components required to summon Horus at his temple beneath the Great Pyramid in order to defeat Set.
Lara returned to her friend Jean-Yves' study to discover that he had been abducted by Von Croy and that they were headed for Cairo. Lara hastily leaves to pursue them. During the journey there, a swarm of locusts ensnares Von Croy's car and it is here that Set possesses Lara's mentor.
At Cairo, Set holds Jean-Yves hostage at the citadel of Saladin. In time, Lara arrives there and frees her friend, allowing him to escape. Her business not yet over, she needs to reclaim the amulet which she had earlier lost to Von Croy. In the crypt, Lara discovers Von Croy there accompanied by four jackals. His eyes are unnaturally red and his skin off-colour; and from his lips comes the whispery voice of Set. In return for the armour, Set promises to grant Lara ultimate power and dominion over all humanity. Lara declines and quickly takes the amulet which controls the closing mechanism of the crypt, sealing Von Croy inside with the jackals. With little time left, Lara heads over to Giza and the Temple of Horus.
The Ceremony Performed[]
- "With his amulet and his armour he is once more poised to battle and defeat Set."
- ―Semerkhet, speaking of Horus[src]
Set, having just prevented Horus' arrival.
At last reaching the statue of Horus with all of the components required, Lara begins the process in which Horus would be summoned. From the Orion constellation, the spirit of Horus, in the form of a hawk, comes swooping down from the heavens and directly into his likeness, the statue of Horus, on Earth. However, a swarm of locusts find their way into the cavern and surround the statue. It explodes, forcing the spirit of Horus to flee, knocking Lara to the ground in the process. The amulet falls into the surrounding water. Recovering, Lara does not see Horus before her but Set. With great golden wings and legs like that of a equine, Set is exhumed and he beckons Lara to come forth and bow before him before extinguishing her apparently worthless life. Lara does not falter and avoids the bolts of lightning that the deity throws at her. She reclaims the amulet and begins escaping the cavern, constantly avoiding the little bursts of lightning. Lara manages to clamber up to the top and she spies a trapdoor with a receptacle. She puts the amulet inside the ankh-shaped receptacle and the door closes, sealing Set away once again for all eternity.
Abilities[]
When Lara encounters Set on the final level of the game, he is able to shoot small bursts of lightning at her including one large ball of lightning that can set her aflame instantly. With his equine legs, Set can run at a fast speed. He is also capable of flight and can execute a special attack when Lara's health is low; reaching for Lara's throat and holding her aloft with one hand, choking her before dropping her to the ground.
In-Game Appearances[]
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation[]
- Burial Chambers (sarcophagus/statue)
- Sacred Lake (statues)
- Temple of Horus (last apparence)
Tomb Raider: Level Editor[]
- Playable Tutorial Level (statue/non-canon appearance)
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness[]
- Von Croy's Apartment (jackal walking stick)
Quotes[]
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation[]
FMV 05[]
- I am the shadow across the sun. I am the bringer of plagues. My wrath will consume all lands and shall be ceaseless.
Cutscene - Crypt 01[]
- We have it, the ancient Ceremonial tablet. Take it and prepare it, and see if the Croft woman has arrived with our armour.
Cutscene - Crypt 02[]
- Come in, Lara. I have been expecting you. Come to me, child. Do not fear your old colleague. I merely require the armour that you hold in your possession.
- I will grant you vigor as those around you fall, you shall command the ultimate power: that of life or death over those you choose at your side and in return they will bow at your feet and give worship.
FMV 11[]
- My weak cousin is once again returned to the stars. And it is I who shall rule over this world once more. Come forth and you may bow before your god before he extinguishes your worthless life.
Trivia[]
- In Prima's guide for Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Set is mistakenly called Horus in the final level. Many guides make this mistake.
- Despite being associated with jackals in the game, Set is not actually a jackal headed god. In Ancient Egypt, Set has the head of an unknown animal that is often referred to as the 'Set Animal'. The jackal is actually the animal most commonly associated with Anubis, the Egyptian god of death.
- Oddly, Last Revelation's incarnation of Set seems to be modeled after Anubis, with the exception of the square-tipped ears, which are a characteristic of Set.
- In the game, Set's name is spelt "Seth", the most common version of the god's name. "Set" is the original Ancient Egyptian name. Both are pronounced "set".
- In the penultimate FMV of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Set claims that Horus is his cousin. This is untrue as Horus was at first his brother, then later nephew in Ancient Egyptian mythology.
- Set's FMV model was reused for that of a statue in a few of the cutscene segments in Tomb Raider on the Game Boy Color. The model remains virtually unchanged save for the head and the texturing.
- Set is mentioned in the novels, Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power and Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze. The author of the latter appears unaware that Set appeared as a main antagonist in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.
- The head of Set appears in Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness in the form of Werner Von Croy's Jackal Walking Stick.
Gallery[]
FMV Screenshots[]
Promotional Artwork[]
Renders[]
The Official Fact Files[]
Appearances[]
- Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (First appearance)
- Tomb Raider: Level Editor (statue/non-canon appearance)
- Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (jackal walking stick)
- Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power (mentioned only)
- Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze (mentioned only)
- Tomb Raider: The Action Adventure (jackal walking stick)
Sources[]
- The Official Lara Croft Magazine
- Tomb Raider The Official Fact Files: Issue 15