Volkonir Moroti (Eccentriaverse)

Prince Volkonir Moroti of Cortascius / Vincent "Vinny" Amadeus Mason is a superhero in the Eccentriaverse of Dozerfleet Comics. A Cortascian by birth, he is slightly enhanced over the average human being by his bond to the EccentriaCore of his birth planet. In spite a since-broken spell having kept him preserved to being physiologically hardly a day over 30, he is technically over 400 years old when he begins protecting Bozeman, Montana from the Gwirdons.

He was originally portrayed by John DeBruyn in the promotional materials for the canceled 2008 film Volkonir, and his toy form was first depicted in the trailer for that film.

Immediately before
Tensions between Mighty Cortascia and Gwirdonia, the two nations competing for dominance on Cortascius, had already begun to heat up dramatically by the 1560s. Their proximity, along with the fact that the wicked-but-cautious King Thrutchigor of Gwirdonia had passed away, led to his son Gwirmalesh replacing him on the throne. Gwirmalesh was a very angry soul; but was also usually careful and calculating. This put the latest king to rise to the throne of Cortascia, King Morlikus, in a difficult position: to maintain peace between two spiritually opposite kingdoms and worldviews!

The nations' animosity toward one another grew even faster, after the abusive relationship between Hobanik Peddleton and his lover, Silnya Semaphry, resulted in the former raping the latter in 1586. Lady Silnya served in Morlikus' court faithfully, often acting as a squire for the knights and as an assistant to the Master Weaver Grinodos. She was hesitant to press charges against Hobanik - on behalf of their unborn child. On March 9th of 1587, Silnya gave birth to her son: Editrab Peddleton. She begged Hobanik to see a priest, and to get counseling - and to discuss marrying her lawfully. Instead, a disguised Hobanik conspired with a young commander Hiktomoph of the Gwirdon army to steal the Stone of Bovinil Peril. Not recognizing the attackers due to their elaborate disguises, Silnya and Grinodos fought valiantly in their efforts to prevent the stone from falling into evil hands.

However, Grinodos tried to create enough of a link to the Stone for himself that he'd always know its location via clairvoyance, by way of his link with the Stone to the EccentriaCore. His desperate efforts to save the Stone, however, led to it being lost somewhere on Earth. The theft party fled, vowing that they'd travel to Earth and find it one day. Grinodos vowed to do whatever was necessary to recover the Stone, lest it should come in contact with bovine life on Earth. However, Morlikus urged Grinodos and Silnya to remain on Cortascius a while longer. Partially, because he still needed them. And partially, because he felt that it would be best for Editrab.

As time went on, Silnya began to suspect that her lover was a traitor. However, she was unable to prove anything. Even so, she shared her concerns with Queen Wontisha. Wontisha made note of it; though Morlikus was hesitant to act on a mere hunch, when there was no concrete evidence. The king and queen, while discussing the attack on the Stone of Bovinil Peril, were convinced that the thieves were not in their right minds. After all: any bull, cow, buffalo, or similar animal that absorbed the Stone into itself would become a nigh-unstoppable force that would be very difficult for anyone short of God himself to control, let alone some random thieves! Or even Gwirmalesh! The two settled into bed, convinced that the thieves would make another mistake and be caught. On that night, they became physically romantic.

Early life
On February 23rd of 1589, the queen gave birth to her and Morlikus' only child: a son they named Volkonir. His birth time was equivalent to 5:45 AM of Mountain Standard Time on Earth. Given the complexities of maintaining Cortascia, Morlikus always sought to keep his own luxury to a minimum - and to ensure that young Volkonir wouldn't ever grow too spoiled. Around the time that the prince turned 11, he noticed his world becoming a darker place. The nearby Gwirdon kingdom was becoming more and more aggressive. The shaky truce between Morlikus and Gwirmalesh was crumbling. It was also in that year of 1600 that Volkonir's mother, Queen Wontisha, first began showing signs of physical illness.

The war begins
Gwirmalesh's plans to instigate the war to destroy the presumptuously-named Mighty Cortascia were moved up beginning in the spring of 1601, when Volkonir was only 12. The condemned Liquinwur serial killer Marzwhatti escaped from prison, where he was awaiting execution for his crimes. He led the knights of Cortascia's elite guard on a chase through the hills, eventually stranding them through his trickery. As they sought to escape their predicament, he attacked a garden located near the borders between Cortascia and Gwirdonia. Young Volkonir attempted to save Princess Gwantina, whom he had befriended in spite the mistrust between Morlikus and Gwirmalesh. However, Marzwhatti was able to toss him aside effortlessly. The monster murdered Gwantina right as Cortascians and Gwirdon Leaders arrived. Volkonir begged either side to do anything, but none could grab hold of the sneaky monster.

Gwirmalesh then tried to use Trenzekoit to stop Marzwhatti; only to see Marzwhatti trick a Cortascian lesser knight into having his armor's chestplate deflect Trenzekoit's attacks. With Trenzekoit's own weapons used against him, the kaijin began randomly sending out flash attacks on Gwirdon and Cortasican alike. The two armies flailed about in their temporary blindness, in an effort to either stop Marzwhatti or at least calm Trenzekoit down. This led to a Cortascian solider accidentally stabbing a Gwirdon leader, and to the Gwirdons quickly retaliating. The Cortascians attempted in vain to sue for peace, and the armies were soon fighting each other.

Volkonir and Gwantina fled toward Castle Gwirdonia, in the hopes that they could explain to Gwirmalesh that Trenzekoit and Marzwhatti were out of control - and were confusing the armies into fighting each other, and losing sight of their original goal of recapturing Marzwhatti. However, Hiktomoph ambushed Volkonir from behind, leading a confused Gwantina to beg for her father to stop bullying her friend. Gwirmalesh instead revealed his evil plans for Earth's future to Volkonir, while urging Gwantina to watch and learn. He promised to keep Volkonir alive, but as a permanent prisoner. Cortascia's time had come.

While Hiktomoph restrained Volkonir and Gwirmalesh continued to lecture, Marzwhatti was able to sneak into the castle. He killed Gwantina when she and Gwirmalesh's backs were turned, with both Hiktomoph and Volkonir unable to react in time. A shocked and devastated Gwirmalesh demanded Hikotomoph attack Marzwhatti, allowing Volkonir time to escape before being detected. Marzwhatti eventually retreated; leaving Gwirmalesh furious that he and Hiktomoph had both failed to see this attack coming. Gwirmalesh blamed Morlikus for Gwantina's death, knowing it was the failure of Morlikus' dungeon crew to properly secure Marzwhatti that led to the princess being murdered. At that moment, Gwirmalesh vowed to destroy Cortascia to avenge his daughter - no matter what it took!

Volkonir retreated back to Moroti Castle, warning first his mother and then later, his father, of what he'd witnessed inside Castle Gwirdonia. War was coming. Marzwhatti started it. Gwantina was dead. It was as much Gwirmalesh's fault for trusting Trenzekoit as it was anyone else's. But the Cortascians were being blamed. In his wrath and hatred, Gwirmalesh nearly forgot about Marzwhatti. Moving up his plans to attack and destroy Morlikus' legacy was what most mattered. Volkonir felt sorry for Gwantina's passing; but couldn't forget the sight of Gwirmalesh and Hiktomoph's true evil shining through. Their betrayal made the prince bitter.

Meanwhile, Gwirmalesh advanced his secret plans to house his Fearollphéist (kaijin) in suspended animation - along with a growing number of his troops, which he deemed fit to have hibernate until "the time was right" to conquer Earth. Trenzekoit was the first of these ordered to have the suspension tried on him, as punishment for his role in moving up the timeline of war with Cortascia.

Grinodos feared that it wouldn't be long before more monsters like Trenzekoit would become staples in Gwirmalesh's assault on Cortascia. Because of this, he decided to show Morlikus his secret weapon: a framework of object storage and summoning within the Eccentriacore's BEP essence that he was able to craft via his bond with the Eccentriacore: the Tapestry. The time would soon come to make use of it, in order to craft knights that could go above and beyond what the normal guardians of the kingdom could do. Only the most worthy should become the Elite Knights of Cortascius. But they'd need their armors, their connections, and any accessories associated with this to be "woven" into this "Tapestry." Thus, "Weavers" would be necessary. Grinodos vowed to teach Weaving to as many students as he could, should something happen to him. Morlikus himself soon became Grinodo's top student; with Volkonir learning only a little bit about Weaving himself. Wontisha also tried to learn, in case anything happened to her husband.

Rise of the Argon Vole
It took only a few months before Jobaras was revealed. Marzwhatti was still not seen anywhere. But as various Gwirdon Treaders started being loaded into their suspension pods, Marzwhatti and his sister Ezhnelli were able to sabotage the pods that they were set inside of - to secretly detonate and free them a few years ahead of Gwirmalesh's timetable. They took the place of two Treaders, going unnoticed as they entered their hibernation pods.

Meanwhile, Hiktomoph and several Treaders led an assault on the cathedral where Grinodos was housing the Stone of Bovinil Peril - hoping to reverse-engineer it to create their own version of Perco-Wand to aid Gwirmalesh in the future with multiversal conquest! Grinodos put up a fight; but he wasn't saved until Morlikus finally revealed himself to be the Argon Vole Cortascian Knight. In spite fighting valiantly, Morlikus was unable - even with his newfound powers - to protect Grinodo's chambers entirely. Secret vortex portals started being generated between Earth and Cortascius at numerous points - including one located by the Pool of Healing, which could undo Gwirmalesh's evil magic to all who entered its waters. Worse: the Stone of Bovinil Peril fell through one of these portals! The portal was several feet high in the air, however, making it unclear where the stone landed.

Hiktomoph, upon realizing his failure, retreated. However, Morlikus and Volkonir were devastated to learn that the stone must never come in contact with any bovine-like creature. Now that it was missing somewhere on Earth, the kingdom of Cortascia no longer had control over this. Morlikus was able to fight back a later attack by Jobaras on the kingdom, but not kill the monster. Studying to become a Weaver at his age had cost Morlikus time to physically train. He needed stronger knights - younger ones - to do most of the battlefield work. He would remain the Argon Vole until he was convinced a worthy successor could be found. Volkonir asked if he could be the next Argon Vole Knight; but Morlikus was convinced that the Argon Vole was not a good fit for the prince. Instead, when he was convinced that Volkonir was ready for it, he'd make Volkonir a knight that could do many things that the Argon Vole couldn't. The Argon Vole was a prototype. Better Elite Knights needed to exist in its place.

The early Knights of Cortascius
As Morlikus became increasingly distracted by the rigors of running his kingdom at war, and by trying to find the source of Wontisha's failing health, he desperately sought out who the next Elite Knight should be. His answer came in early 1602, when woodsman and physician Horzhed Crimazol proved his worth as a warrior, doctor, and more. Saving the king's life after an ambush involving Scairpnathair, Morlikus and Volkonir brought Horzhed before Grinodos to have him become the Red Serpent Knight. However, it soon became obvious that the part-time Argon Vole and part time Red Serpent weren't enough. Full time knights were needed to assist.

Editrab's father finally betrayed his son to Gwirmalesh; and the boy was tortured and groomed until he became Tarantrum. Silnya was unable to save her son from this; but she was able to save Horzhed from an ambush. Volkonir began to confide in Silnya, as Wontisha was often too sick to spend time with her son. With Morlikus' blessing, Volkonir joined Silnya and Horzhed on a quest to meet up with the scout Reelo Rumastik, to learn what his special request was regarding a confrontation with Hiktomoph in the Cave of the Amethyst Boar. Reelo was unclear, but promised Horzhed that he knew what had become of Horzhed's missing family of years earlier.

The team found themselves ambushed by some Gwirdon Treaders, but quickly fought them off. Volkonir's impressive swordplay - and ability to use a sword to deflect the kaijin Sneachtine's fire and ice attacks onto Treaders - convinced Horzhed that the boy should be trained to become an Elite Knight by Grinodos. Reelo was finally able to join the fight, and met up with the others to send the remaining Treaders into retreat. Horzhed was able to defeat Sneachtine, mostly due to his friends risking their lives to distract the monster long enough for him to land a fatal blow. A final joiner in the battle that Horzhed didn't expect was none other than his long-missing sister: Vantina. However, she wasn't the same.

After disaster struck in the past and claimed the lives of Horzhed's parents, he lost track of his sister. Vantina was recovered by the Budantir family, and adopted by them. However, they were captured by Gwirdon forces. They were tortured, and were experimented on. But due to a stroke of bad luck, most of the qualities of creating the Raccglow twins became exclusive to her adoptive brother: Rakstafril. As "Raccglow," her new brother embraced his transformation, and became a loyal puppet to Gwirmalesh. Vantina escaped before further tests could be done to her, and she discovered that she was now a vampire. She was hesitant to return directly to service in the court of Morlikus, as she was uncertain a vampire would be accepted in their ranks. Instead, Vantina found shelter with Reelo. It wasn't long before Reelo asked for her hand in marriage, and the two eloped.

Horzhed was confused that one of his greatest allies had secretly married his sister; but welcomed Reelo to his family all the same. However, the need for more Elite Knights grew desperate. Volkonir suggested that his friends meet before Morlikus and Grinodos, to discuss which ones could become which new Knight to assist Horzhed.

On February 9th of 1603, Morlikus and Grinodos gathered around with the declared Elite Knights of Cortascius, in order to bestow titles. Reelo was quickly made the the Silver Ferret Knight. However, Grinodos warned that he would need time to test for compatibility with Vantina's new physiology. An attack commenced, and this led to Horzhed and Reelo being called out to service. Morlikus thought it best to keep the Tapestry-powered knighthood clan in the family; and suggested that the new Crystal Swan powers be given to Vantina. This was in spite of Grinodos' suggestion that Silnya should become the Crystal Swan Knight. However, the powers quickly began rejecting Vantina. Grinodos suggested the Amethyst Boar Knight as a backup; but would need time they didn't have to find a workaround to make it compatible for vampire use.

Vantina relinquished her claim to the Crystal Swan, urging Morlikus that it would be okay for her to wait longer. Morlikus noticed Silnya and Volkonir's courage, helping out Reelo and Horzhed with the onslaught in spite no powers. Wontisha argued with Morlikus that as close as Silnya has been with the others, she has almost as much right to claim family ties as did Vantina. Morlikus relented, allowing Silnya to become the Crystal Swan Knight.

Prince and squire
The Knights of Cortascius quickly became heroes in Cortascia; but time was running out. Wontisha's health was failing, and Grinodos' need to find a workaround for the Amethyst Boar Knight was distracted by his need to track down the Stone of Bovinil Peril. On January 16th of 1604, Queen Wontisha died in the king's arms. Gwirmalesh's kaijin and kaiju grew in threat level, requiring regular knights and the elite team to work overtime to hold back Gwirmalesh's assaults. Meanwhile, managing the kingdom's economy and learning weaving from Grinodos took a lot of Morlikus' time. The frustrated king suggested that the best place for Volkonir to be under the circumstances, was in hiding. On March 23rd of 1604, Morlikus urged the 15-year-old Volkonir to go incognito - as Silnya's squire.

Volkonir agreed to this arrangement, saying that Silnya was becoming a surrogate mother to him already. On top of this, he wanted to assist Silnya in recovering her lost son Editrab. Meanwhile, Hobanik used the fact that Silnya was operating as a foster mother to Volkonir as grounds to claim to Editrab that he'd been "replaced" in his mother's life. This filled Editrab with jealousy, making him play further into Gwirmalesh's hands.

Fall of the early Knights
The Knights of Cortascius began to experience several victories; but Gwirmalesh had plenty of reserve resources. The arrival of Diabloq posed a special threat to the Knights, being able to hold his own against the Tapestry in spite not having a direct link to it. Diabloq quickly rose in ranks among the various kaijin in Gwirmalesh's army; as he was very successful at staging multi-front assaults that would keep the Knights from standing united in one place. In early April of 1606, Morlikus realized that the time was wright for Volkonir to become a knight officially. Silnya needed an equal ally to work alongside; not a squire to defend. With Grinodos' help, Morlikus revealed the Golden Lion Knight powers. Volkonir hesitated; but embraced the powers once he had bonded with the sword that came with these powers: Selshon.

As Morlikus feared, however, the Golden Lion Knight was too little, too late. Later that same month, Horzhed fell in battle to Diabloq, on April 28th of 1606. Diabloq took Horzhed's Red Serpent mogriffer for himself, then went into a suspended animation pod. The dragon Strumpule began rampaging Cortascia in Diabloq's place. On July 8th of 1607, Reelo Rumastik was slain by Strumpule. Silnya and Volkonir arrived to assist Vantina, who risked her life wielding the Silver Ferret powers to keep them away from Strumpule. The dragon retreated after suffering several blows. However, the Knights knew he'd be back.

The rise of Strumpule convinced Morlikus that he also needed to set the sights of Cortascians on Earth; to have a backup plan in the wake that Cortascia and Castle Moroti should fail. The Silver Ferret Mogriffer was put inside a wall in the castle, so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands the way the Red Serpent had. Cortascian plants were assigned to Ireland, England, and a few other countries, in order to ensure that relics and other items of the kingdom could be collected to rebuild it with. Volkonir and Silnya engaged in a daring mission to recover one of Gwirmalesh's pods, so it could be reverse-engineered. Grinodos was put in one of the reverse-engineered pods, and sent to Earth. Should the Golden Lion be detected on Earth, or the Stone of Bovinil Peril, Grinodos would be revived.

With the Red Serpent and Silver Ferret Knights gone, and the Amethyst Boar Knight experiment a failure, Morlikus realized he was quickly running out of options. A messenger from Gwirdonia warned the Cortascians that Gwirmalesh wanted them to live to see his pending conquest of Earth. As such, he intended to use his new wand, Swivertik, to transform all of them into enchanted inanimate objects. Only the Pool of Healing would be able to undo the spells cast on them. However...not all of them would be able to find the Pool of Healing. Volkonir was ready to strike the messenger down; but Morlikus urged him not to. Volkonir and Silnya were allowed to live in the castle again; but were put in charge of wall duty. They were secondarily to defend the Candle of Hope - the symbol of Cortascian supremacy in the land. Should the candle be extinguished, it would indicate that Cortascia had truly fallen.

Defeat on Cortascius
A pod development arms race began between the kingdoms, as Gwirmalesh initiated the Great Inertia that would protect the castles - but keep most things in their vicinities within in a stasis. This spell was to ensure that when the Revival was cast to undo the Inertia, the kingdoms would resume just as they had been left - and not overrun with weathering and weeds. Morlikus knew that this could work both ways: if by some chance Cortascia won the war on Earth, then Cortascians could initiate the Revival. But then, they'd have to race to conquer and hold Castle Gwirdonia and Castle Moroti, before the Gwirdons retook their kingdom. In the mean time, both sides needed to preserve their teleportation tech inventions, their knowledge of the EccentriaCore, their knowledge of the Tapestry, their troops, elements of their culture, etc.

Morlikus in particular feared that moving the battlefront to Earth was the only way to win the war. He feared it was only a matter of time before the current state of Cortascia was overrun. Gwirmalesh, still a young king, was still way too powerful in his bond to the raw EccentriaCore - and way too skilled in his EccentriaMagic! The siege on Castle Moroti finally occurred on May 15th of 1608 - a day ahead of when Morlikus suspected it would! The Gwirdons that weren't already on Earth held nothing back in their assault on the castle. Gwirmalesh himself, wielding a Swivertik enhanced by EccentriaCore-bonded gems acquired from the Cave of the Amethyst Boar, set quickly to work with transforming Morlikus' subjects into enchanted objects - some perfectly preserved by the Great Inertia, and some imperfectly. The imperfect ones needed to fear being freed from the spell; for being set free would cause them to rapidly age according to how long they had been in their object forms!

Volkonir and Silnya made a heroic last stand to defend the castle; but they were soon overrun. Strumpule got a lucky strike, hitting Silnya hard enough to send her Crystal Swan armor retreating back into the Tapestry. Gwirmalesh wasted no time turning her into a statue with the assistance of Swivertik; and then banished the Statue of Semaphry into a pit / cavern not far from Yellowstone. Volkonir continued fighting alone, wounding Strumpule into retreat. However, he was too late to stop Hiktomoph and Mogabir from overpowering Morlikus. With Swivertik waving, Gwirmalesh transformed Morlikus into an enchanted wooden medallion - a necklace decoration known as the "Trinket of Morlikus" - to be worn by the evil Gwirdon king as a living trophy.

Volkonir may have beaten Strumpule back; but not without doing so at the expense of exhausting himself and his Golden Lion powers. As he demogrified, he was ambushed from behind. Swivertik transformed him into an enchanted plush toy, one resembling a lion. Gwirmalesh banished Volkonir to Ireland. The Gwirdon king taunted Volkonir that in spite numerous vortices existing on Earth, Volkonir would never be able to find the one that would send him to the Pool of Healing. The Inertia was cast. Cortascius had fallen. Gwirmalesh then readied his troops to prepare for transfer to the lair beneath the mountain they had found on Earth. A few Leaders and Treaders would be allowed out of their pods every so many years, to check on human civilization and technological advancement. When the time was right, the Gwirdons were to arise from their pods - and were to begin their conquest of Earth!

Journeys across the Earth
Volkonir became determined to right the wrongs that had been done. However, his desire to undo his own failure became a driving obsession. He knew the Gwirdon's plans involved waiting for the "right moment" in the evolution of Earth technology. Therefore, he knew that his own strategies would need to be similarly adapted. He discovered that very few on Earth knew much about Cortascian life - and even fewer were interested in knowing! The EccentriaCore's power reached to Earth; but few bothered with it. Earth was mostly ignorant of it. Volkonir all the same tried to learn as much as he could about his new world. At the same time, he attempted to stay out of sight to avoid anyone too dangerous. This led to him developing a very scrambled perception of what societal norms were, as his predicament interfered with healthy mental and emotional development.

He knew his task to restore the Mighty Kingdom would be several-fold: First, he needed to figure out where the vortex to the Pool of Healing was. Next, he needed to find a way inside of it. If need be, he needed to be tossed into it by an Earth human that he could trust. After this, he knew he'd need to figure out where the Gwirdons were hiding, somehow. He had to intercept them while most of them were still asleep in their suspended animation pods, and kill them before they had a chance to wake up! Once successful in that goal, he knew he'd need to locate Gwirmalesh's pod, and reclaim the Trinket of Morlikus - even at the expense of risking another battle against a Swivertik-wielding Gwirdon king! Restoring Morlikus and ending the Inertia were only the beginning. He would then need to recover Silnya - and pray that she had a perfect encasement. If not, she'd rapidly age and die, putting the Crystal Swan mogriffer in jeopardy! Volkonir would then need to find a new team of Elite Knights: first to save the Earth, and then, to restore the Cortascian throne!

His task of staying out of sight of untrustworthy humans, however, led to him often spending years at a time hibernating in attics. However, not interacting with the world only furthered his confusion on learning social norms, as he gained a sort of "Rip Van Winkle" complex every time he did so. Volkonir was watchful though, and optimistic that technology would catch up to Gwirmalesh's goals before too terribly long. Even so, Volkonir's memories became jostled regarding everything happening in his toy form. Only his memories of Cortascius remained crystal clear. Before the year 2000, however, Volkonir would only feel confident enough to ask 38 different individuals for help in locating the vortex to the Pool of Healing. Only about six of them proved even slightly helpful. Even so, he knew that he needed to persist. Failure could lead to Gwirmalesh conquering his universe - and putting the greater multiverse at stake!

Marzwhatti resurfaces
One of the storage rooms beneath what became known as Chestnut Mountain ruptured, with several hibernating Treaders and at least two kaijin being killed in the blast. Marzwhatti and Ezhnelli escaped their pods in July of 1902, damaging equipment that would be needed to preserve various Gwirdon Leadrers -including Gwirmalesh himself - in their prime. The Lirquinwur siblings made haste to being their campaigns of spreading chaos anew. Ezhnelli chose to target the eastern hemisphere for her brand of mayhem, and allowed her brother Marzwhatti terrorize the west - each developing their own games for this mayhem. They would meet once a year to review their tactics, and come up with new schemes. Given that they were able to slow their own aging down dramatically by the EccentriaCore alone, the two believed they could live another 300 years. That would equal 300 years of mayhem they could inflict, in their own signature ways!

Gwirdon leaders began striking a deal with anyone corrupt in US government that they could, in order to embed their agenda into the government. But their primary selling point was in convincing their contacts that they were justified - by virtue of hunting down the Lirquinwurs! Even so, the hunt for these mischievous sibling monsters would have to be a secret war. The plans - and the public which was to be ruled over - would only be jeopardized by letting Marzwhatti or Ezhnelli's existence become common knowledge. Even so, this didn't stop Volkonir from noticing - and eavesdropping on - a meeting in 1912 that revealed the FBI was made aware of the Lirquinwurs' existence. This news disturbed Volkonir greatly. If the Lirquinwurs were loose on Earth, it might force Gwirmalesh's hand prematurely! And that would spell disaster for Volkonir's own plans to rescue Morlikus and restore Cortascius! Volkonir briefly set aside his quest for finding the vortex to the Pool of Healing, so he could instead seek out the Pod of Grinodos. A master Weaver would be needed, if Volkonir were to have the resources to stop Marzwhatti and Ezhnelli before they became the priority of Earth governments!

The Stone of Bovinil Peril located
See also: The Bison

Alas, more bad news struck. In late July of 2002, some archeologists investigating an area unwittingly unearthed the Stone of Bovinil Peril. Their handling of it sent out a shockwave, which awakened Grinodos. But before Grinodos could retrieve it, the stone was purchased by HanomCorp in Montana. The delivery truck was sabotaged by road pirates, however, and the stone was once again lost - in the fields of Nebraska. The captain of that gang, Martha Imbellia, had no idea what the cargo aboard was. The stone fell along the roadside, where it attracted the attention of a bison. Lured in, said bison ate the stone- and was transformed into an ijoju. The transformation occurred on the evening of August 8th of 2002. Amidst his quest to find a way to stop the Bison from rampaging humanity, Grinodos lost sight of his other mission: to relocate the descendants of the missing Cortascians. As such, Volkonir found that he couldn't rely on Grinodos for help in finding the vortex to the Pool of Healing.

Learning of the murder of Kelina Averes
See also: The Blue Face Film Strips

As Volkonir learned more about the "dark web," he was able to find Cortascian conspiracy theory websites that were hidden from mainstream view. Confused as to why the subject of Cortascius was deemed a forbidden topic for the mainstream web at the time, he used whatever resources he had to learn what Marzwhatti and others were up to - and to keep track of Gwirdon activity. In early April, however, he learned about Marzwhatti raiding a house near Grand Ledge, MI. The evil Lirquinwur had been playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a very confused young photographer named Kelina Averes. Finally getting bored of playing games with her, Marzwhatti ambushed and murdered Kelina - and left her little sister Katie severely traumatized, but still alive. Volkonir declared that killing Marzwhatti would have to be added to his list of goals for restoring Cortascius. No one was safe, so long as the Lirquinwur siblings still breathed!

Adventures in Big Rapids

 * February 7th, 2008 - Vinny learns of the vortex's location.
 * February 12th, 2008 - Vinny mistreated by hair salon staff.
 * February 15th, 2008 - Vinny finds lodging on a shelf inside Biggby.

Attempt #43

 * April 12th, 2008 - Katie Averes refuses to help Vinny
 * April 13th, 2008 - Vinny finds a way to return north.

Breaking the spell

 * April 14th, 2008 - Vinny returns to Big Rapids.
 * April 15th, 2008 - Vinny befriends Dereck
 * April 16th, 2008 - Dereck is exposed to the Gwirdons. Must go into hiding.  Vinny reveals that Cassie has a crush on him.  Dereck urges Vinny to seek Cassie's help.
 * April 17th, 2008 - Dereck leaves town for a day. Makes connections with Hanom.  Hanom, intrigued by Dereck's claims, asks for evidence of the prince.  And will provide the prince with transportation to Montana.
 * April 18th, 2008 - Vinny is about 419 when the spell is broken, with Cassie's help.
 * April 19th, 2007 - Vinny learns secretly how to ride a motorcycle.

First journey to Texas

 * April 21st, 2008 - Kayla, almost 16, abducted.
 * April 22nd, 2008 - Distress call. Kayla's situation makes it to Hanom's radar.
 * April 23rd, 2008 - Vinny uses motorcycle and other tools Hanom gave him. Buys a storage bag from Wal-Mart and a helmet.  Buys a Biggby mug.
 * April 24th, 2008 - Vinny leaves for Texas.

Cyber warrior

 * April 27th, 2008 - Percolation Wave storm sends a clone of Vinny to a cyberpunk dimension.

Meeting Kayla

 * April 28th, 2008 - Kayla and friends try to escape from Gwirdon captors. Get help form Volkonir.  Kayla and Vinny first lay eyes on each other; and are instantly enamored.  But don't speak, and are soon concerned again with the tasks at hand for each.
 * May 3rd, 2008 - Kayla threatened by judge over her having missed a week of school. Kayla argues she was kidnapped.  Judge doesn't care.

Joining HanomCorp officially

 * May 5th, 2008 - Vinny goes to work for Hanom full time.
 * May 7th, 2008 - Kayla's bus attacked by Gwirdon Treaders. Kayla flees to draw the Gwirdons away from her classmates.  As they give pursuit throughout town, Kayla gets creative about how to take them down.  Police catch her fighting the Gwirdons.  She's arrested, and the Gwirdons that don't flee are put down on the scene.
 * May 8th, 2008 - Judge sentences Kayla to ten days at Tom Green County Jail.
 * May 9th, 2008 - Kayla moved to protective custody section, because she won't stop talking about the Gwirdons.
 * June 8th, 2008 - Hanom proposes eventually enrolling Vinny in classes at Montana State University.

Vinny's first apartment

 * August 4th, 2008 - Vinny moves in to Kagy Village Apartments, so he can have some sense of normalcy in his life, and not feel like a lab rat. His work, plus Hanom's kindness, allow him to pay the rent.

Enrolling at Montana State University

 * August 22nd, 2013 - Vinny, after five years of working for Hanom and monitoring Gwirmalesh and Hiktomoph's activities around town, enrolls at Montana State University. Goes into a political science degree, with a goal to minor in language studies.  Hanom realizes that Vinny must be a 3/4-time student rather than a full-time student, as this allows him time to work shifts, defend Bozeman as the Golden Lion Knight, and still sleep.
 * Hanom also rents out a room for Vanessa, and one for two of his scientists.


 * February 23rd, 2016 - Vinny turns 427 at 5:45 AM MST.

Saving Kayla

 * May 2016 - Vinny helps break Kayla out of prison.

Tracking down lost Cortascians and relics

 * May - August 2016 - Majority of season 1 of Volkonir


 * August 2016 - Kayla goes into mechanical engineering, given her past experience with auto parts smuggling and with race cars. Carlos chooses a history program with a museum studies minor, to validate his love of archeology.  Vinny continuing his education.  As the two scientists sharing an apartment are ready to get homes, and one is getting married, Hanom rents out the room so that Kayla can live there.  He puts her name on the lease, so she can make partial rent payments.  Carlos gets Vanessa's old apartment, as Vanessa rents a small home in town.

Sorisenshi buys HanomCorp

 * September 2016 - April 2017: Season 2 of Volkonir

Defeating Gwirmalesh

 * June 2017: Volkonir: Rise of Semaphry

The new Knights of Cortascius

 * August 2017 - May 2019: Knights of Cortascius and Percolation Warriors.

Percolation Warriors

 * August 2017 - May 2019: Knights of Cortascius and Percolation Warriors.

Personality
Volkonir is a generally optimistic soul; but has grown to understand that a universe where Gwirmalesh's influence can still be felt will always be a dangerous place. He does tend to wallow in self-pity in his toy form, as he grows frustrated with his 400 years of imprisonment and with so few willing to help him. After being restored, however, he becomes very driven to discover the Trinket of Morlikus and take it to the Pool of Healing, believing that restoring his father to the throne will restore Cortascius itself.

He was an eager understudy to Lady Semaphry, and even came to view her as a surrogate mother after the death of Queen Wontisha. As a result, he came to view Editrab as a brother, even after Editrab was transformed by Gwirmalesh into the monstrosity Tarantrum. This leads to Volkonir showing Tarantrum a level of compassion and mercy that he normally doesn't display for any of Gwirmalesh's other kaijin.

He is somewhat ignorant of certain Earth culture and social norms, in spite being trapped on Earth in toy form for approximately 400 years. Worse: He hasn't dated anyone since Cortascius - something that Kayla helps him with. His lack of awareness of certain social cues also makes him oblivious to much of Kayla's flirting, resulting in her becoming frustrated in her efforts to seduce him into her bed. It's not that he's not interested in her; but that he is too sexually innocent to recognize seduction cues. He does reveal later that he does care about her a lot, and she reveals that he's more to her than just a fun night fantasy.

Volkonir has never been very good at watching his own back, making him vulnerable to attacks from behind. He has, however, demonstrated a bloodthirsty side for enemies that have especially harmed him or tried his patience. He often taunts them by offering them one of two really awful fates to choose from, showing at best a false mercy. He also has threatened General Hiktomoph, going so far as to say he'd "gouge out his eyes, all 3,000 of them!"

While generally naive on certain topics to begin with, he will play dumb to an extra degree on the campus of Montana State University, in the hopes that this will convince other students that he's too dense to be the Golden Lion Knight. Vinny is almost always up to protect those he loves from Gwirdon threats, and will become laser-focused on completing a mission. In spite his usual cheery demeanor, his past failures on Cortascius haunt him frequently.

Inspiration
The earliest inspiration for Volkonir as a character dates back to January of 2008, in the spring semester at Ferris State University, for a video production class. Five years earlier, in the middle of January of 2003, the Dozerfleet founder was enrolled in FILM 118 class at Lansing Community College. Most of the class wanted to make fantasy or high-fantasy-themed videos. The Dozerfleet founder was the only one who primarily wanted to make a horror film instead. However, unlike the others who considered slashers or zombies to be the de-facto horror style, the Dozerfleet founder was opting for an American J-horror / space fantasy fusion. That project ultimately became The Blue Face Film Strips. While Blue Face presented a very interesting premise, its greater world remained largely unexplored and unexpanded for several years after its release.

As January of 2008 approached, the new film class at Ferris began to feel very quickly like a repeat of FILM 118. Since most of that class wanted to make horror films, and the Dozerfleet founder had already made a horror film in 2003, he opted to make a fantasy film instead - to explore the fun of role reversals.

The initial idea presented in class was to used a stuffed toy in the place of a frog, and have a modern retelling of The Frog Prince be told. But instead of the girl marrying the prince after he gets kissed, he turns into a henshin hero after she throws him at a pipe. He then saves her from his mortal ancient enemies, before he finds her a date with someone else to show his gratitude. He afterward promptly vanishes, leaving the heroine who saved him more confused than anything else.

The prince needed a marketable name, preferably something that hadn't been trademarked elsewhere already. This was inspired by the fact that Liquidon Ethereteel and Neone Delft in Stationery Voyagers were both originally named "Liquilight" and "Neoni." Their names were changed after the discovery of Liqui-Lights pens, as well as the revelation that there was already an anime character named "Neoni." A repeat of that was not desired. Initially, the character was to be named "Prince Volkri" in paper drafts. But other entities at the time - including a porn site - used that name. To avoid bumping into those, "Prince Volkri" was quickly renamed to "Prince Volkonir."

The prince's concept borrowed ideas heavily from Saban's Masked Rider, to the point that King Morlikus' beard was just a dark black version of King Lexion's beard, and Selshon was intended to have similar functionality to the Electro Saber / Revolcane. The Gwirdon Treaders were originally intended to be a merger of Gwirkers from a Golden Toad story idea from the 90s, along with the Maggots from Masked Rider.

Volkonir's squire disguise, which he was wearing when defeated by Gwirmalesh wielding Swivertik, was not figured out in development of the mythology until 2017. Instead, the initial script called for him to still be wearing his prince outfit when liberated from toy form. Costume parts for his toy form were kitbashed together, mostly from clothes found at the Goodwill of Big Rapids. Selshon's original prop model, likewise, was a toy sword from the since-defunct K-Mart of Big Rapids.

Evolution of characterization
Depiction of Vinny's personality has varied amidst drafts.

The "jerk-with-a-heart-of-gold" era
A draft script for the canceled 2008 Volkonir film depicted him as a perpetually angry and vengeful, but also depicted him as panicked and desperate to fulfill his mission. He behaves in a rude and entitled manner toward Cassie when he first meets her; even arguing that she "may as well" help him out, given that her friends ditched her. Therefore, she had no excuse not to help him. In spite his insistence on not having time for formalities, he feels compelled to give her heavy exposition when he suspects she won't help him. He also expresses a higher level of arrogance in this early draft than he has shown since then; but has also been shown to be much more efficient.

He claims that the two Gwirdon Treaders still chasing him are "the only ones left," but that they "can't get their spells right." He also mentions urgency of getting to the Granger Center to access a "Realm of Healing," which would become the Pool of Healing in later revisions. He also discusses a longing to wield his "Ice-and-Roast Saber" once again, to finish the Gwirdons off. This was a conceit he expressed before revisions named the sword "Selshon." Gwirmalesh as the wielder of the "Evil Wand" (later named "Swivertik") that Volkonir was so afraid of was not acknowledged by Volkonir until revisions came in 2015. Likewise, it wasn't until 2015 that he would officially adopt the alias while on Earth of "Vinny Mason." Toy Volkonir also warns Cassie to avoid the hair salon across the street from Big Rapids Cinema.

The Gwirdons' "Realm of Evil" (later revised to Castle Gwirdonia) had a portal hidden somewhere inside the hair salon, and implied that the salon owners themselves were "pure evil." The salon was effectively equated with being a portal to Hell. The demonization of that particular salon has changed very little since then, except to be downplayed in emphasis in later works   by simply minimizing or else avoiding discussing it.

"Emo" Volkonir
Volkonir's mean and snippy persona was drastically toned down almost immediately following the original draft script. In the trailer, which was released about a month later in the same year, Volkonir's entitle jackass persona was replaced with an almost one-track-minded warrior looking to have himself restored. He is heavily introspective, and consumed with nostalgia for his old world and way of life. In the original film version of Volkonir Journals: Attempt #43, Volkonir was depicted as highly introspective and mopey, to the point of being seen as having an "Eeyore complex." What sets him apart, is his determination to accomplish his goals, in spite of his clear bout with depression.

Contemporary Volkonir
His canonical portrayal as a complex being began with early draft material for Rise of Semaphry back in 2015. The canonization of his persona in its present form came with 2017's Volkonir Meets the Power Rangers.

Appearance
Volkonir has always been intended to have a look similar to his current Sims 4 form. The somewhat similar brunette variant look for him was directly inspired by then-volunteer actor and Ferris student John DeBruyn, who has since gone on to be a tutor in Japanese language studies for Grand Valley State University.

The toy form for Volkonir was initially modeled after a January 2008 New Year's celebration smiley face plush available at Wal-Mart, modified to remove its hat. This remained Volkonir's default toy form until around early 2017, when he was issued a new look of a toy lion plush - to show that Gwirmalesh wished to make mockery of the Golden Lion powers. This new form was rendered from Photoshop edits of a Sims 4 clip, wherein the original toy in the game screenshots was a teddy bear. The bear was modified ever so slightly in shape, its ears made sharper-tipped, and given a mane, to make it better resemble a lion.

Much of Volkonir's look, and that of his accessories, involves considerable nods to The Sims 4 and to various henshin TV shows, especially those in the history of Saban Entertainment in the 1990s. The Golden Lion Knight armor was modified from a default knight armor available for Sims in The Sims 4: Get Together. The glowing red effects of the Golden Lion emblem's eyes, nose, and mouth, as well as the glowing red helmet eye lights, were done to show that the Tapestry adds some sort of electrical power to the armor. This could be interpreted as either a nod to MCU War Machine, or to Green Hunter Beetleborg Rolland Williams from Big Bad Beetleborgs.

While less cartoonish in portrayal, Volkonir's socially awkward efforts to blend in as "Vinny Mason" are a reference to Dex Stewart from Saban's Masked Rider. The Golden Lion Cycle, modified from a Sims 4 motorcycle design, is a non-sentient nod to Chopper from that same show. In spite Selshon having some versatility like that of He-Man's Sword of Power, it was ironically not inspired by it. His relationship to his father Morlikus, however, is a reference to both King Duncan's relationship to Adam in He-Man and to King Lexian's relation to Dex in Masked Rider. The Golden Lion Mogriffer is modeled to look like a mix between a Zeonizer morpher from Power Rangers Zeo and the Ecto-Accelerator Belt from Masked Rider, but with a medieval Christian cross etched into its design. Volkonir's heavily-implied Celtic ethnic heritage is a nod to Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog.

Gallery

 * -|Golden Lion Knight=
 * -|Civilian=
 * -|Toy Volkonir=

Trivia

 * Volkonir isn't the first character in Dozerfleet's lineup to have the motif of needing a rich mentor / sponsor, being disadvantaged somehow, losing his family, needing to make new friends to assume his hero form again, having power-ups to his form, gaining a girlfriend / fiancee sidekick, and taking inspiration from Saban's Masked Rider at points. Replox, the hero of Replox: Abstract Foundations, was already doing all of this - a whole seven years prior to Volkonir being drafted.
 * However, Volkonir could be modified in design to the point of being a viable character on his own. Replox was entirely made in reference to the 1996 Rubik's Snake.  Marketing him for profit commercially at the time would have required special licensing from Seven Towns Ltd.  This is why Volkonir remains pending as a for-profit novel series, whereas Replox: The Series was abandoned.  This made Replox: Abstract Foundations a one-time deal, with the novel released as a free download.


 * Volkonir's PercoRods in Volkonir and the Knights of Cortascius are inspired by the Jens' Percolation Wands in Camelorum Adventures, after the Jens teach Hanom how to be better at making Percolation tech.


 * The only power Volkonir has ever safely augmented to his own, outside of using the Crystal Swan as a plug bay, was the Dragon Shield in the semi-canonical crossover Volkonir Meets the Power Rangers. Both Volkonir and the Rangers expressed confusion over how this was able to work so easily.


 * Mogriffers like Volkonir's work similarly to other henshin talismans, such as Power Ranger morphers. The way he can conceal them in bodily hammerspace generated by the Tapestry is most similar to the way that the Zeonizers in Power Rangers Zeo operate.


 * While Volkonir may have some superficial visual similarities in his Prince Volkonir form to Prince Adam, Vinny cannot use Selshon the way Adam can the Sword of Power. Selshon can do many things; but it cannot serve as a substitute mogriffer.  The Golden Lion Knight and He-Man are not interchangeable concepts, even if their host bodies have some common traits.


 * Using a damaged mogriffer poses the same risks as a Power Ranger using a damaged morpher, as shown in Power Rangers in Space and Power Rangers Operation Overdrive. Henshin talisman dependence poses inherent risks, no matter the particulars of the meta source.


 * As is speculated on in the series Death Battle, Power Rangers' access to the Grid influences their suits. The Grid produces an energy field around their suits that takes damage for them, allowing them to survive blows that would kill or seriously injure anyone else.  But the morph state only holds up to a certain threshold.  If it takes too much damage, an unmorph will occur.  Vinny's mogrification into his armor via the Tapestry operates on similar principles.  Thus, taking too much damage will leave him without his armor, and make him especially vulnerable.


 * In Volkonir Meets the Power Rangers, the Morphin' Grid can act as a substitute Tapestry. However, while still way more durable than most of the Rangers, Vinny feels himself getting weaker the longer he is in the Rangers' world.
 * Only Marlquaanites and other Gerosha Multiverse beings bonded to the Marlquaan can remain equally strong in a foreign timeline as in their native timeline. All Eccentriaverse and Dromedeverse powered beings get weaker the longer they are in a foreign timeline.
 * The XomiaFaeCore is arguably the least reliable meta power source, as it took very little time for Lemon Witch to become almost powerless in the Teen in Terror Life pocket dimension. Volkonir, by contrast, would have remained competently powerful in that same world for at least twice as long.


 * If the Percolation Wave makes a clone of Vinny and the Golden Lion armor to be native to a different timeline than the Eccentriaverse, that clone will use the native meta power source without the gradual weakening process that the original is vulnerable to.


 * Knight mogriffer failsafes are similar in concept to how the Golden Power Staff in Power Rangers Zeo was primarily attuned to Triforian physiology, making it dangerous for Jason Scott to be the Gold Ranger for too long.
 * Likewise, Volkonir being the "Golden" Lion but using dark green as a base color is inspired by both the original Green Ranger's color scheme and by the Zeo Gold Ranger using black as a base.
 * The Golden Lion Knight having red eyelights in his helmet and a green base can also be seen as a nod to Big Bad Beetleborgs, wherein Rolland Williams had a Green Hunter armor that used green as a base, had red eyelights, and had an accent color of silver. Likewise, Carlos as the Red Serpent Knight has yellow eyelights, like Jo had.  However, Kayla's Crystal Swan has blue eyelights, and uses a bluish-white base with sky blue trims for armor color.  Making blue heroines a lighter shade than male blue heroes is also a common tokusatsu trope.
 * The knight theme is merely an acknowledgment of Volkonir's time period, and in keeping with the fantasy theme that was chosen for the original TV production class wherein which he was first developed. His somewhat Celtic heritage, however, is a slight nod to Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog.


 * It is assumed that in the Marvel Gaming Fanfic Universe, the Power Cosmic (or whatever else granted the Cosmic Rays the power to give the Fantastic Four their abilities) would somehow bond to Volkonir and keep his Golden Lion powers alive. However, this would leave him vulnerable to being controlled by Galactus.  His armor will take longer to recharge between sessions - and will drain much faster.  The longer he is in a foreign timeline, the less efficient he will be.
 * All Cortascian Elite Warriors have this same issue.

Volkonir in gaming
Volkonir is playable in The Sims 4, and the Gallery has downloads of him available - including no-CC varieties that are assured to be PS4-friendly. Whether found alone or with his friends as they looked during Volkonir: The Series, he is shown as a Sim going by the alias of Vinny Mason. He was promoted as an attraction for The Sims 4: Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff, especially in an ad for OBRL that was released to YouTube in the summer of 2020, as part of The Merre Edition. His Vinny Mason form was set up to reappear later on, in the Volkonir Story Pack. That latter pack was set up to include his armor, some CC or links for a few of his accessories, as well as whatever would be needed to depict a few of his allies and enemies.

The instruction manual for OBRL also references Cassie Helm, though she doesn't appear in the pack. While she and Dereck are available on the Gallery, there are no plans to patch them into OBRL. Instead, in 2021, OBRL received The Sherpa Patch and The Relisted Patch. These patches added new folder icons, as well as making Unlisted available outside the Gallery and putting Matt Kamrowski's Sherpa Sheriff character into the game. Listed below are requirements for the no-CC version of Vinny as a Sim: