#trogg

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With Tails proving popular right from his introduction, there was a big demand on StC to give him his own solo adventures. We know this, because we’ve seen the letters in Speedlines and sometimes they even mentioned it in the Control Zone. The people wanted more Tails. Perhaps that demand for Tails was what pushed StC more into becoming a purely Sonic comic, instead of the catch-all SEGA games comic it started out as With that demand for Tails came the task of coming up with an on-going plot for Tails stories that could be returned to time and time again. This task was first given to writer Nigel Kitching, who came up with the idea that Tails originally came from another dimension called the Nameless Zone, where high fantasy creatures and wizard foxes were plentiful. Also yes, they came up with wizard foxes independently of Archie’s Merlin. It’s kind of amazing how both the comics thought that Tails needed more connections to wizards

So while Archie Sonic is pretty well-known for giving Knuckles all the out-there extra lore and extended family, in StC, that honour went to Tails. I mean… kinda! We didn’t actually see anyone in the Nameless Zone who we know for a fact was related to Tails, but that sure seemed to be where all the foxes and Tails lore were

How it started

In issue 16, an ominous portal that would soon become a familiar sight opened up, summoning Tails to the Nameless Zone. A place he was familiar with, even if the audience wasn’t. There, he’d meet two of the Enchanter Kings (there’s a third one too, but he doesn’t show up until later), characters who we actually know very little about, despite them being possibly the most frequently appearing characters in these stories. We never learn why they’re kings or what their connection to each other is, but we do know that they seem to be in charge and they’re honestly not very good at that. But what they are good at is passing the buck to Tails, so he can deal with things

You see, maybe mail privacy doesn’t exist here, because these guys read letters Tails sent to his family in which he made himself out to be the big hero of Mobius. Now, by the time the comic ends, Tails has become a big hero of Mobius, but at this point, he was a kid harmlessly bigging up his achievements to his family after setting out on his own. That misunderstanding led to Tails being summoned here again and again to fight dangers too much for anyone other than a hero like Tails to deal with

First order of business was to fight a guy called Trogg. While the Nameless Zone went through a cycle of villains, Trogg was at least somewhat recurring, for reasons we’ll get to. The first time they fought, Tails managed to beat Trogg when they both fell off a bridge and only Tails was able to fly. But a win’s a win, right? After this, Tails was sent back home, but it wouldn’t be the last time he’d come to this place

Also, they gave him some magic armour that he only wears for these stories, even though they kind of forget about it later on

How it went

Tails was called back to the Nameless Zone to solve their problems for them several times over the course of the series. Eventually, Tails’s solo stories would end up being written by Lew Stringer, who gave Tails more adventures on Mobius itself, but much of Kitching’s Tails stories were set here The next time Tails was called to the Nameless Zone it was to rescue the third Enchanter King, Shirob, who was apparently kidnapped by the goblins when Tails was young, but recently made contact with them again with a plea to be rescued

For this adventure, Tails teamed up with a guy called Errol Blackthorn, who’s painted as a brave warrior, but ends up mostly being a professional hostage. There isn’t anything that interesting about Errol. In fact, the most interesting thing about him is probably that he’s the brother of the more interesting Morain, but I have a soft spot for him purely because he’s a fantasy twunk and I think he should kiss Elias Acorn

Errol and Tails come to respect each other more during their quest. It also turns out that Shirob was actually transformed into Trogg, the villain from the first story. But he gets better. Not in this specific story, but later on

Other adventures include when Tails was tasked with rescuing two fox cubs who’d been kidnapped by the goblins for a fox hunting storyline. But more importantly, these really out-of-place-looking centaur creatures briefly appeared and became canon to StC lore

Knuckles also came along once! This was the only time any of the other mobian cast would join Tails in the Nameless Zone and after it was over, Knuckles agreed to keep Tails’s secret. Not even Sonic ever got to go to or even find out about this place

This adventure would also see the introduction of Errol’s sister, Morain, who’s probably the better known character from these stories, despite not appearing in that many of them. Morain is a warrior too, but gets kidnapped less than her brother does and is incredibly happy to have a fight. It takes her considerably longer to warm to Tails than it did for Errol to warm to him

While most of these stories were written by Kitching, we did get one look at the Nameless Zone under Stringer’s pen when he wrote a backstory for Tails covering how he first learned to fly in this continuity. It featured a bully called Witless Chris, who probably wanted to get back at the world for having a name like that. Tails was able to use his new-found flight to save his bully from being kidnapped, because Tails is a good person, as we all know

How it ended

It ended with what sadly turned out to be a false promise, through no fault of the writer. After a long hiatus from the Nameless Zone, in which Tails had many other adventures on Mobius itself, he was called back there by Morain herself for one final adventure. The goblins had built a castle on the foxes’ land, where they were believed to be holding Errol and the Enchanter Kings hostage. The truth was that only Errol was being held hostage, as he didn’t agree to go along with the latest goblin king’s plan to form a coalition with the Enchanter Kings

This story ends on a cliffhanger, where we don’t know what decision was reached and Tails has to leave in a hurry. There was supposed to be another story in 1999 that would team Tails up with Morain again and presumably continue this plot thread, but with StC falling more and more into reprints, that story sadly never saw the light of day. Tails would go back to Mobius and have a few more of his own adventures after this, but he never got to find out what happened to his family or the other foxes :( 

Were there any unused future plans from the StC writers?

I mean… very clearly there were other plans. The sad thing is, I don’t know what they are. The main Sonic wiki is lacking where the Nameless Zone and its residents are concerned and the StC wiki includes stuff from StC-O that makes it a bit confusing to sift between canon and fan-comic. There may well have been something said about it on Kitching’s defunct Yahoo group, since it seems like the sort of plot point he would’ve talked about, but if there was, I can’t seem find it having been saved anywhere else like some nuggets of information from that Yahoo group have been

I often say “it’s a shame we don’t know more about what was planned for this [character/concept]” but with the Nameless Zone, I really, really mean it. We were lucky that several of the on-going plots were able to be steered to something of a conclusion when StC ended, even if it might not have been the ones that the writers originally had in mind (e.g. Shortfuse’s fate, Super Sonic and Sonic merging again), but there’d always be some areas that weren’t able to be covered and the Nameless Zone is one of those. While it’s a bit of a shame that, say, Windy Wallis got away never to be seen again, it feels a bit more pressing that the fate of Tails’s birthplace was left up in the air. The last time Tails saw Morain and Errol, he had no idea what was going to happen to them beyond being let out of the castle or if they’d even be safe after that

While I’d obviously have liked dozens more of these stories, I’d have settled for one that just wrapped up this situation with the goblins and whatever that ceremony they were so keen on would’ve entailed

What would I personally have liked to see next for the Nameless Zone if StC continued?

Oh whoops, kind of already answered that, didn’t I? But let’s go into more detail anyway:

First up, a conclusion to the last story. Whatever Kitching had planned there, that’s what I’d want to see, but if I was coming up with my own version, I think it’d be most fitting to have Tails able to come back to the Nameless Zone during that ceremony that was mentioned. Naturally, the goblins would have something evil planned that Tails and Morain would overcome. Knowing those goblins, they were probably trying to turn everyone into goblins again. I’m on the fence about if Errol should be kidnapped again or if we should let him have this one and actually be part of the story all the way through Once the goblins have been ousted once more and everyone is safe, you know what? Maybe it’s time the Enchanter Kings were called into question. These guys have a seriously bad track record. Even if they were trying to keep everyone safe and were being strong-armed into going along with what the goblins wanted, their choices haven’t exactly helped the people of the Nameless Zone. Maybe it’s time to take a leaf out of pre-boot Archie Sonic’s Kingdom of Acorn and have the monarchy become more of a government. Or at least a fellowship or round-table of some sort, because that’d feel fitting to the fantasy setting. Of course, Morain and Errol would be involved, maybe that Shaman Warpull guy from one of the stories, and if Tails was involved, that’d give them another excuse to have him sometimes come back here to deal with this stuff

You know what’s one concept I could take or leave?

Sonic finding out about the Nameless Zone I can see the appeal of it and it’s not as if I have a problem with that. It does seem weird that Tails would keep such a big secret from Sonic, even if it’s one that spiralled bigger than Tails intended. There are definitely stories to be had along the lines of Sonic finally getting to go there and everyone learning the truth, but by that point, Tails is genuinely enough of a hero both on Mobius and the Nameless Zone for it to not matter. It’s no longer a lie. That’d give Tails and the whole Nameless Zone arc some closure and I guess maybe that’s why I’m not so bothered about it? I like the Nameless Zone being an on-going subplot for Tails. I like that Tails has this thing that’s just his and not tied to any of the other characters. So if it’s just eternally something for Tails that’s separate from Sonic, then that’s fine with me as well I mean, to counter that, you could easily say that Sonic finds out about all this and is cool with it, but Tails keeps having adventures in the Nameless Zone anyway. That could definitely work as well. Maybe that’d even be the ideal conclusion. But even knowing that, I don’t feel a pressing need to have Sonic find out about it? I don’t know, this is something that I don’t have a big explanation for

What if it was in other Sonic media?

I meant what I said. Errol and Elias should kiss each other. Nah, it doesn’t have to be about Elias cheating on Meg. Maybe Elias & Errol could be exes or childhood crushes who didn’t work out or maybe Elias could still be with Meg and they have an open thing going on with Errol that she’s cool with. Eh, maybe it’d even be easier to come up with an StC version of Elias who’s single. I know Sally already has a younger brother in StC, but she gives me such middle sibling energy anyway, so give her an older brother too

Speaking of Archie, I don’t have a specific plot in mind, but I feel like it’d be a shame to not bring Merlin Prower into the mix somehow, since this would basically be the perfect setting for him. Tails’s family in the Nameless Zone were always off-screen, so who’s to say that Merlin isn’t part of it?

Because I am obsessed with him, and, in my mind, they're his disaster of a found family, and DC doesn't appreciate them enough.

The grinding gears of industry sometimes catch and mangle that which gets caught in them. Laborers working in factories to reproduce barely understood wonders and soldiers ordered into dangerous ruins to drag out bloodied arkentech, paid for in lives. When blood runs into the dirt, the lords and would-be tyrants do not care.

Fortunately, there are some who do. Skilled artificers who feel the warmth of empathy and seek to aid those who have lost so much. They build back lost flesh and torn sinew in gleaming steel and venting steam. While they cannot entirely replace what has been lost, they can give those injured a new lease on life.

Iron Knuckles are those who have spun this injury into a calling, bringing hammering fists down upon the monsters and villains of the world. As long as the engine in their chest spins, they will not give up on saving others from what they have suffered.

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The IRON KNUCKLE is a vagabond class for ICON, written by Ikiry0! You can find the class here!

23.09.12