Voldo

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Voldo
Game series	Soul series
First game	Soul Edge
In-Universe Information
Age	50
Birthplace	Palermo, Italy (Kingdom of Naples at the time)
Birthdate	August 25, 1541
Blood type	A
Weapon	Dual Jamadhar Katars
Weapon name	Karma & Mara (Soul Edge) Shame & Blame (Soul Calibur) Manas & Ayus (later games)
Fighting style	Original Style
Family	Parents, deceased Four brothers, killed through warfare Master, Vercci (deceased)

Voldo (ヴォルド, Vorudo^?) is a fictional character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. Voldo made his first appearance in Soul Edge and has returned for all the following sequels.

Voldo is easily recognizable by his strange and unique style of play. Voldo's moveset is based on attacks that bends and twist Voldo's body in unnatural ways, making him an extremely unpredictable fighter. He also has many stances that compliment his odd style, like his Mantis Crawl in which he stands on his four limbs face-first. Even his neutral stance has him waving his body slowly to both sides.

Another recognizable feature of Voldo is that he has no spoken dialogues, just grunts and hisses. This is explained in the game's universe because of his isolation in his dead master's tomb, which has led him to lose his sight and become insane, often hearing his master speaking to him in his mind. Later games has hinted that Vercci's voice could be produced by Soul Edge itself, but no official confirmation has been made.

Voldo first appeared in Soul Edge, offering the first insights of his unpredictable play style and mannerisms. Later, in the sequel, Soul Calibur, he gained many of his staple moves and traits that would later stay in his reappearance during following games Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III. He is one of the few characters to have been present in every version (either arcade or home) of each game in the series. Voldo remains one of the most known characters in the series because of his unique style and unpredictability.

1 Game's History
2 Weapons
3 Trivia
4 Series' Appearances
5 External links

[edit] Game's History

Voldo's Edge Master Mode in the first game on the series, Soul Edge, revealed his past as the right-hand man of Italian weapons merchant Vercci, known as the Merchant of Death due to his business with the Spanish Armada. Vercci desired Soul Edge to form part of his collection of rare weapons, and Voldo stood as the head of the expeditions in his search, even contracting the services of the feared Spanish Captain Cervantes de Leon, and later accompanied Vercci when he decided to take the search personally. When word came that the Italian Wars broke on Italy and that Vercci's possession were the first targets, Vercci grew mad. He moved his fleet, his only remaining possession, on an unhabited island off the coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea and dug a 50-mt deep shaft that would serve as his tomb and vault. Voldo would later be instructed to slay the sailors that helped in the construction to avoid the location of Vercci's Money Pit to be revealed, then later shut himself with his deceased master. The Money Pit would later become Voldo's staple stage, featuring in every game in different locations like the main vault (in Soul Edge) or the Top Tier (in Soul Calibur II). Voldo would remain sealed underground, turning himself into the guardian of the tomb and slaying those who ventured to steal, making rumours of the island, its treasures and its "ghost guardian" spread around the globe. Years later, Voldo would hear his master's voice commanding him to search Soul Edge once again, making him leave the tomb once again in search of it.

In his second appearance in the sequel Soul Calibur, it is stated in his profile that Voldo's search of Soul Edge ended a failure, and he returned to the Money Pit to find it flooded by a storm. After saving what he could, Voldo remained inside for the 3 year span between both games, later to reemerge from the pit following a woman with the essence of Soul Edge, Ivy, who tried to find leads on the sword for herself.

The profile on his next appearance, in Soul Calibur II, states how Voldo returned to the Money Pit after taking Yoshimitsu's katana, mistaking it for Soul Edge due to its evil aura, only to find years later an intruder with Soul Edge fragments. Voldo realized it was not Soul Edge and set outside on a new search, collecting fragments while seeking it.

His latest appearance in the 4th game, Soul Calibur III, states he, during one of his periodic visits to the Pit, found the tomb ransacked and the sword he mistook for Soul Edge stolen alongside the fragments he collected in his travels. Since the thieves were apparently interested in Soul Edge, he decided to track and force them to reveal any information of the sword they know. He also came to realize he was someday to die and leave the pit unprotected, so he also started to search a worthy succesor, which his ending states could be Lizardman.

[edit] Weapons

Karma & Mara

A pair of katars attained by Vercci during his journey across the seas. They are valuable pieces of art, but from the fact Voldo choose them as weapons, it's safe to say that they are also deadly weapons. They possess a heavy blade and a robust design.

Shame & Blame

Vercci collected treasures from all around the globe, but he favoured katars brought from India as weapons. Shame & Blame are one of the dozens of pairs of katars found in the tomb. They were used, even after Vercci's death, to hunt down intruders, and even when bathed in blood they stay as stunning works of art. The design of the blade is good for defense.

Manas & Ayus

A pair of katars found by Vercci himself after setting his fleet in search of Soul Edge. They were used by Voldo since his death. They are both valued as fine works of art and well-balanced weapons. -cat claws -tonfana scissors -gillotine(ultimitate weapon in sc3) tamborines(joke weapon in sc3)

[edit] Trivia

The World Championships for Soul Calibur II, held in Cannes, France, was won by Aris using Voldo in both the team and singles competition.
In Soul Calibur III, characters created with the Dancer class can use a discipline called "Soul of Voldo." Using this discipline removes spoken words from their dialogue.
Voldo's nickname in both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur is "Hell Guardian".
Voldo's Destined Battle in Soul Calibur is Ivy. His Destined Battle in both Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III is Yoshimitsu.
He appeared in the "Fashion Police" pages of GI. They made cracks at him like 'Madonna did this years ago, end it!' or 'Who called Satan's gardener?'.