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Lightened Heart, Heavy Weight

After successfully transitioning the Titan Syndicate to new leadership and reentering civilian life for the first time in decades, one may be tempted to think that Volpes finally let himself relax. Everyone knows that his muscle, strength, and enduring vitality come mostly from “chemical assistance”, and he longer needed to look tough for the sake of his reputation.

(Author’s Note: Monthly check-in with the Syndicate’s new leadership is coming soon. Remember to extend Volpes an invite to the meeting.)

And yet, almost daily he finds himself in the Magistrum’s training center, putting himself through the drills and regimes that his husband often put him through in their days as literal partners-in-crime. I’ve even seen him face off with my dear protege in sparring sessions.

(Author’s Note: Edmund’s training has been notably accelerated since Volpes’s joined the staff. Doubtless it helps to have someone around he doesn’t need to hold back against.)

I’ve asked him a few times what keeps him motivated, and I’ve received a couple of different answers. On one occasion, he told me that his husband would never forgive him if he neglected his body. On another, he said that he needed to be a good example for his students, and that even alchemists need to take care of themselves.

And while I suspect there is truth to these statements, I submit that there’s a far simpler answer under the surface. I’ve gotten to know Volpes, both from personal interactions after recruiting him and while assembling the dossier I used during my investigation. Much of his trauma comes from the abuse he faced as a young man living in the corrupt city-state of Oplentis. He formed the titan syndicate largely to protect others who suffered that same abuse.

But the way I see him smile as he trains, pushing himself as hard as he can, I imagine he is in dialog with that young man from decades past. I imagine that he tells that child that he’ll grow up to be a man capable of loving and being loved in return.

A man that he could respect and admire.

– excerpt from the notes of Rabrandt “Enigma” Cyanis

I purchased this YCH from Marsel-Defender in November of 2024, and it serves as a great excuse to write something approaching an epilogue to The Case of the Titan Syndicate.

Fully rehabilitated, Volpes still carries with him the pain of his younger days. But he’s learned to channel it towards something positive, and to love himself for who he is.