#infernal engine

Hi hi! Thank you very much <3

OK, I had to sit on this one a good long while to think about it because I've been kinda doing like the game does and hand-waving it but I love some technical drawings and such (and I HAVE wanted an answer too, at least for my own writing/art) - SO, continuing off of this idea here, that her heart is indeed an engine-shaped engine who's vents are intertwined with her bloodstream:

If we look at her at skin-level, based on what we see in game (which I will stick to as canon here) she still is pretty well put together despite scar tissue. There is a distinct scar along her left breast however, and I think if we peel away skin, underneath you'll find a metal pannel that replaces ribs, sculpted to fit among the muscle. It's why her chest goes 'clang' when she thumps it. The aperture for it is bolted to her ribs and sternum (which have not all been replaced but are serving as anchor points.) Presumably it locks into place enough that she is not loosing the integrity of her ribs that are now missing chunks there, and the muscle loss is managable. The door simply swings open to give relatively easy engine access with... minimal impact to Karlach's strength and endurance.

How is it accessed? Well... uh, she just gets her claws and fingers in there real good and gives it a tug - pulls and pops right open. That high pain tolerance comes in handy. It takes a bit to heal up but that's what spells and potions are for.

Some further thoughts:

Karlach still has relatively intact tits as an act of Zariel's vanity. She is of her blood, after all, and while some scars make her dog look all the meaner, she wouldn't maul her entirely (I... really don't think they're as perky as her in-game model though, sorry).

We'll assume infernal iron has similarly sterile properties to titanium in this application, or perhaps it's simply her new internal temperature that keeps her from abscessing.

The cladding that Damon provided her went around the engine or it's components more directly than this hatch, and she reached in and poked around to get it where it was supposed to be. She's not used to servicing herself (usually relying on an infernal mechanic for a tune-up) but does know what feels right or wrong.

These sketches are from Damon's notes trying to sort things out as best he can with her engine upgrades.

There's a heavy level of 'a lot of infernal magic was involved to make this happen and maintain long-term stability' but also it is Mad Max style shit so it's a li'l gross and quite mean.

The panel can be felt under the skin if you press around it, and while day-to-day it's fine and doesn't really bother her she doesn't like being poked around it (gentle touch is good). Occasionally the scar tissue will ache into her neck and shoulder though.

Of course this is just my own thoughts, I've seen other ideas that are both gentler and meaner that I like, and I think anything works given setting.

Mama K 🔥

But, she has her Infernal Engine right? That literally boils her blood and is like a furnace in her chest, so that made me think of those awesome pyro-entertaining people.

Minthara(Mimfara, I so lovingly call her in an awful British accent) is a close second.