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“Savior of the Downtrodden”

This piece from Deriaz back in late October of 2020 would go on to mark a turning point for me and my creative works. He did an excellent job helping my finalize Volpes’s design, adding his own creativity to the concept I had laid out for him to create something with staying power.

Allow me to be blunt: Volpes was designed, from the ground up, as fetish fuel. I see no reason to pretend otherwise. I love muscles, muscle growth, and brainwashing, so I wanted a character that catered to those interests.

But at the same time, I wasn’t willing to let him be exclusively a fetish object. I started tinkering with the character, to build a backstory and history for him that would explain why he became that kind of villain that I envisioned. Though this piece was finished in October of 2020, the truth is that I had much of this planned out (in a rough form) for at least a year prior. I had my heart set of Deriaz doing the art for him, and I was more than happy to wait for my opportunity, accepting nothing less than perfection.

That’s why although certain details of his description have been tweaked, the core concept has remained largely the same. I already had time to bounce ideas off of friends and develop the character well before this art piece was even in its rough stages. He would become the villain for my story: Enigma’s first major adversary.

Below is the excerpt that went with this piece, setting the stage for what was to come:

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Transcription:

Enigma takes great pride in the plane he calls home, and its history as a world of refugees looking to forge an existence for themselves despite the odds. From its humble beginnings, many would say it has flourished into a rich and robust society. But of course, as the planeswalker is all too aware, no world is perfect, his own included.

Once, there was a young pup who was relentlessly bullied by bigger kids for his comparatively scrawny frame, growing up destitute. Despite the torment, the boy knew he had one advantage over his “peers”: A talent for the alchemical. Since all, even the poorest, are afforded an education courtesy of the Magistrum, he nurtured his skills well into adulthood, eventually developing a formula to transform himself into a titan among men. Finally, at long last he would have the respect that he had long been deprived.

It was at this moment, during his rebirth, that certain thoughts entered the mind of the alchemical prodigy. Others too must be suffering from the same torture that drove him ever onward, and they could benefit from the same concoction. It was then that he realized that he had created a great equalizer, one which could be sold to those oppressed masses to give them the edge they needed to fight back against those who would bring them down.

Yet, the newly-enhanced titan pondered further: What happens if the tormented become the tormentors? What if the very same people he saves come along somewhere down the line to steal the formula and bring him right back down, where he started? In an instant, his thoughts turned dark. It would be easy to solve that problem. All he would need to do is add a few ingredients to the solution, ensuring that those he “uplifts” would never think to stab him in the back. Achieving this clarity of thought, the mastermind began the task of altering his magnum-opus to its new specifications before letting it loose upon the world.

Time and seasons pass, and a humble dock worker, recently let go from his place of employment, hears a rumor about a new upstart who will hire just about anyone to work for him. Those under his employ appear to be stronger and healthier than they were before, fully committed to the work they do. Intrigued, and without many other options, he seeks out and discovers his potential new employer, setting up a meeting with this so-called “Savior of the Downtrodden”.

That afternoon, at the appointed time, he enters into an office where he encounters a fox lounging in his chair, a glowing blue phial in hand, flowing robes leaving his torso exposed for the world to see. A slight smirk begins to show upon the titan’s face, as the worker kneels down, begging for a position.

Whatever name he went by, what his weaker self went by, has been lost to the annals of rumor and speculation. “Volpes” is his name now, and he is all too eager to bring another into the fold, tightening his grip on the world that wronged him all that time ago.

Volpes might not have the psionic abilities of everyone’s famous planeswalking detective, but he equally as cunning. And with many under his influence, some more obviously than others, he may prove to be a challenge for the mind mage should their paths ever meet.

A fate which is more likely than it might seem.