Mathias

For the character in Angel of Darkness, see Mathias Vasiley."Everything I've done, I've done to survive! How many lives have you taken to do the same?"

- Mathias

Mathias, also referred to as Father Mathias, is the secondary antagonist in Tomb Raider and an inhabitant of the island. He is also the writer of the Diaries of a Madman. He is roughly in his late 50's.

He was first seen patching up Sam's leg, presenting himself as a survivor from another wreck as he listens intently to Sam's story about the Sun Queen and her Stormguard.

Background
Mathias was initially stranded on the island in 1982 when his plane crashed into the waters near the island. While searching for a means to escape the island, Mathias discovered the mythical Japanese Kingdom of Yamatai and discovered the power of the Sun Queen Himiko, Yamatai's long-deceased ruler. As the years passed, Mathias indoctrinated other survivors into his cult, the Solarii Brotherhood, with complete obedience to him as they worshiped the Sun Queen. The Solarii built a city near the Queen's palace while Mathias searched for the key to unlocking her power and escaping the island. As the years passed, Mathias grew insane, believing himself to be the sole means to reincarnating Himiko while claiming to hear her in his sleep.

Arrival of the Endurance
In 2013, the salvage ship Endurance entered the Dragon's Triangle with an expedition searching for Yamatai. A violent storm split the Endurance in two and beached the vessel. Mathias located one of the survivors, Samantha Nishimura, as well as encountering Lara Croft at the same campsite. Tending to her injuries and listening to her stories of Himiko and the Stormguard, Mathias realized that she was a potential descendant of the Sun Queen and the key to her reincarnation, and his escape. As Lara slept at the campsite, Mathias kidnapped Sam and imprisoned her in the Solarii base. Lara later attacked the base and helped Sam escape to the other survivors. Mathias discovered Lara and Conrad Roth attempting to escape via a summoned helicopter, only to witness Himiko's power knock the helicopter from the sky with a sudden lightning strike. Mathias attacked the crash site with two other Solarii, whom Roth managed to kill before Mathias tossed a hatchet through the air at the two, killing Roth. Mathias later played on the ego of Dr. Whitman, another Endurance survivor, convincing him to assist in recapturing Sam during an attack on the survivor's beach camp. He again played Whitman's ego against him to distract a pair of Oni, allowing him to slip into the Monastery with Sam and leading to Whitman's death.

Death
Mathias begins the ritual to transfer Himiko's soul into Sam's body, but Lara arrives and fights her way through the remnants of the Solarii as well as the Stormguard. As she attempts to stop the ritual, Mathias shoots her bow from her hands and attacks her. Lara defends herself, wounding Mathias in the shoulder with a shot from his own discarded pistol. Mathias is then shot several times by Lara, who is dual-wielding pistols, and falls from the ritual platform to his death in the chasm below.

Trivia

 * Mathias bears a similarity to Resident Evil 4's primary antagonist, Osmund Saddler, in general appearance and mannerisms.
 * Albeit their motivations were very different, Whereas Saddler wanted to rule the world outright, Mathias was only seeking a way to leave the island, (however his idea of releasing the Himiko would also have lead to the world being conquered.)
 * As his insanity worsened, Mathias had no problem disposing of any of the Solarii that fail to follow any of his orders. In-game dialogue reveals that any who disobey Mathias are executed on the spot or are left to be found and disposed of by the Oni. Lara witnessed Mathias execute one of his own men during the escape from the Solarii base when he hesitates to open fire on the bridge with cannons out of fear of hitting the other Solarii.