Builder's chamber.

It took several hours at last Saturday... I always had expectancies to portray Father Karras in colors, but it was shelved again and again. Enough! Let it be done NOW, at this opportune moment, when my current 'in progress' artworks has bored me a little bit.

In my opinion, this Mechanist's leader takes a special position among technocratic villains. Unlike other leaders of techno-forces, he remains in human physical form until the end of storyline. Lord Dread, strogg Makron, AI's Shodan and Skynet, dr. Kapek, agent Smith and even sith Vader - all of them was either machines-at-all or some persons, who has been turned into machine step-by-step with electronic prosthesis's. In same time Karras'es mind and thoughts was even more alien to common people, then any of aforementioned badasses. Perhaps, main reason for this anatomic conservatism is insufficient maturity of Mechanist's technology. After all, Thief world is world of steampunk. This means that Mechanist's machinery was always limited by poor basis. Even advanced medieval world is still medieval. Obviously, Mechanist's chief considered any of his own inventions still too rough and primitive for using it as his own body part. Maybe, Karras'es superior creations were almost ready to arise, but this event was prevented by sinful Garrett (damn it!).

Still, any self-respecting adept of technocracy must be personified in some kind of mechanical form. No matter what. For Father Karras, this part was played by his personal protective Chamber - one of the modules of grandiose Soulforge Cathedral. Alas and alack(!) - this Chamber is canonically presented only twice. First time - in the last game mission, and second time - in final cutscene. One variant of environment looks quite different from other. Moreover, directly in game you can explore this room only one way - through turbid window, from where it looks small and differs a lot from cutscene's version.

One thing I can be sure - Chamber's remarkable functionality. Garrett even didn't try to infiltrate inside - it is notable fact! Maybe jedi knights can do it with their metal-carving lightsabers - but it is just a cheating! Most important - this Chamber give for Karras ability to stay indoor almost eternally. But even in position of anchorite, Karras stay efficient as mechanical engineer. Inside his iron fortress, he can receive assistance from Builders Children any time he need it. In sum, I can insist that this Chamber is not single room, but rather big construction which consists of many rooms and halls. High difference between two canonical representations of Chamber affirms my guesswork. That's why I had to imagine up what is missing in residence of the most righteous of all villains.

Music for the mood: Raison d'Etre - Metamorphe