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WOOHOO!! So excited to read this one, thank you Shiro!! <3

Heya, can someone give me a biiit of a story teaser? Or. Premise? Anything?

I'm considering trying out this VN, but not knowing anything about the story is sliiightly putting me off >.>

This game has me clawing at the walls of my mind prison LET ME OUT-

Man, the first time I heard a vocal track? Completely enraptured. You guys clearly know your way around a cinematic experience; first the band demo, then the Salty Dog show! Goddamn, y'all keep blowing me away with how far you're able to do with RenPy's limited engine.

Not that I wouldn't have enjoyed the game without the extra pizzazz, the writing alone was enough to have me invested enough to play each of the routes. But it does make for an occasional pleasant surprise :) (which is sorely needed considering some of the  absolutely tragic material in here T_T  Hilariously, I am listening to Sam's theme while writing this. Certainly fitting the part of a tragedy...)

I couldn't stop reading now if I wanted to. These little threads you've set up connecting each route have just started to become visible at this point (end of 0.15.2), mostly pertaining to a certain character who keeps showing up in each route who definitely knows more than he lets on and is most likely much older, too...

Hasn't shown up in Hiro's route yet, as far as I recall, but considering his track record, we're bound to see him eventually. I just hope he doesn't shake Grey too much when he does... (favourite route so far btw! I hope we get to see more of him <3)

Anyway, I feel I've rambled for long enough. This is a top quality piece of art you guys have made, and I know we'll all be incredibly blessed to see it fully realised. So, thank you for making it :D

now if you'll excuse me, i need to play the next 2 updates i apparently missed-

It does include some romance in the periods of downtime between the main plot, but the plot is still usually centre-stage.

Yeah, the art threw me off too at first, ngl. But its real strength is its narrative and sound design, with pretty strong character writing too! The art didn't end up mattering as much because it really served the setting well instead of simply being appealing, and the story already had me hooked >.>

(If you're gonna play it though, DEFINITELY wear headphones.)

I've literally had DREAMS about this magic system, this has GOT to be made into tabletop somewhere !!

Ooh, these are some fun questions. I may not have the answers, but I kinda wanna speculate a bit, if you don't mind :3 (Obvious *spoiler* warning for anyone reading)

1) The first two I unfortunately have no solid answers for. For Moon's reincarnation cycle, I can't recall if it was ever stated in-game...but the way I see it, it was either the effect of Moon's truest wish given form through Ablaze, or simply a gift from Mother Earth. 

It's not really clear how people are born in this universe. Though Zerek said something about sapient beings all being creations of Hers to give nutrients to the world through magic -- lived experiences, expressing their limited individuality for a time, before ultimately returning back to Her when they expire. If She shapes and controls each life in the before and after stages, there's no reason She couldn't imbue a soul with the power to retain its original identity after death. 

So if this form of reincarnation is some sort of divine blessing, there's no reason it couldn't happen to others. Granted, all this is assuming She is an active entity, and not just some Law of Nature -- though I'm inclined to believe She is, considering every time a character appears to go underground, we hear a beating heart and are surrounded by red...

If it's the result of Ablaze...I couldn't be sure. So far as we know, there are no limitations to this power other than the caster's own Will. "By the strength of the caster's will, the World surrenders what's needed." 

But the embers we've seen derived from Ablaze have never had a duration of more than a few minutes. Even Luke's, with an additional heavy cost, didn't have persisting magical effects (unless you'd count the crystal in Max's spine). So, having the will and desire to craft something with effects decades into the future would require some immensely specific conditions, if such a feat were achievable.

But who knows? Ablaze holds the power to defy fate after all, and our reference points for embers are pitifully few, so it could easily be either explanation (in my opinion. If you see any plotholes, I'd be happy to hear your perspective!!)

2) The same applies: it'd really depend on what controls these cycles to begin with. A nigh infinitely powerful wish, or an omnipotent god?

3) I believe it would be the former. Unless the circumstances required to bring someone back from corruption prevent such a thing from occurring, like it was for Burry's brothers (Though, seeing as they're all attached to his soul, they'll likely go back through the cycle once he dies, either way). Everyone else goes through the same cycle, after all, going off of what Thistle said.

4) We don't know why people forget corrupted individuals, nor what causes corruption to begin with. But seeing through it has everything to do with human mana, and it's power of Truth. (Unless you do what Burry did, I guess, but it's safe to say he's an exception.) My best guess for corruption as a whole is that it's caused by a loss of identity of the soul while in the material plane, completely severing it from Mother Earth as a result. 

I'm not sure what could trigger this loss of identity...an unnatural imbalance of others' experiences over one's own, perhaps? (Going off of how Max nearly corrupted when his mana crystal leaked. No idea what's going on with those dark shards, though. (side note: were all of them based on the dagger Alon created? Because I could've sworn Rudy was corrupted before he made it..?))

That would explain why monsters are always made up of multiple different types of mana. And only human Truth could see through all that excess, to the true soul. Hypothetically, at least. As we've seen, there are still special circumstances that must be met to recover someone from corruption. But human mana is always needed.

5) From the Observer's dialogue, it seems his future vision shows him one path that is fixed, which can only be changed through Ablaze, which is why he expresses frustration at Alon's Ablaze, since it diminished the chance at the future he dove into occurring. After which, it shows him a different path, which he can seemingly work to adjust for, based on what happened during Zerek's escape.

Make's me wonder what's weaving the fate he's reading from? Since I doubt he's making it himself.

6) God I hope so!! Alon's route involves our first appearance of the cats in the present; maybe we'll get to see Tharros and Samsun in the flesh! I hope we get to see what they look like at least, whether that's in-game or just in dev posts.

The Cooper route I'd be pretty surprised if we never got, if it's not already a part of new game+ (Alon's route), considering the red paw still has one section missing at "The Call to Honor". (technically two since the 3rd route appears to be missing -- in terms of filling in the red paw, at least -- but I'm chalking that up to a visual error)
And that's ignoring his giant crush on Luke xD

If anything, he seems the most fitting to teach us how to inspire the dogs we encounter on the way to the control tower...but, that "perfect route" could just as easily be Alon's.

...I may have run a little long there....whoops >.>

Cooper 100% approve...if he got a cut of the profits

someone better fill him with milk throw him against a wall slurp it out- /ref

Yeah...there were definitely some huge lag spikes during all my choices during combat -- especially as the fight progressed. I'm glad that's getting addressed with this update.

Super excited to hear from you guys again! Hope this game isn't burning anyone out so much anymore =w=

(Also to anyone just looking to engage more with the community, join the discord! It's still very much active, if not as alive as it was, say, a year ago ^^;)

Haven't read this yet but my word does this concept already have me hooked.

And it's (largely) episodic?? So I can pick it up anytime??

SIGN. ME. UP.

Didn't mention Adastra or Lyre...but I didn't want to bloat the list lol

I KNOWW!! I'M SO SAD IT'S OVER ToT

Personally the ending didn't leave me completely satisfied, though I can't really nail down why. I still loved it though!

I've only been here for the last couple updates, but I really fell in love with this game. I am SO ready to see this story's conclusion after the fiasco that was last update ToT

I personally chose to elect Einar, since Rasmus' grudge against...the mole leader, whatever their name was, might lead him to make brash invasion decisions against a largely chill race. Along with sacrificing the farming workforce to do so (not literally but there won't be many working on the farms).

That, and Rasmus is still rather young. While Einar may have wanted to lose, I feel like it would be beneficial for him to carry the burden of Leader for a bit longer, at least until the next election, while Rasmus gains a better understanding of the importance of all roles in the village, as well as what's at stake with every decision...learning precisely why he can't make brash decisions that could come at the cost of people's wellbeing. 

Not to mention, he seemed a lot less angry about losing than Jurgen was. I wouldn't put it past him to have persuaded people personally to vote for Rasmus as soon as Einar's priorities fell out of his favour.

Furthermore, it's not like Rasmus can do nothing in the meantime, he just won't have the final call on big decisions. Though I think it's safe to say he's got a significant seat at the table at this point, and is making an effort to get more educated on everything (with him studying after completing all the main story content). Let's just hope Jorgen doesn't try to groom him to share the exact same views further down the line...

Man, this along with Shelter are the finales I'm most excited for!!

Especially after the tragedy that was the last build ToT

It's been so long...we're so ready for this..!

you can see what the letters actually are in the 'history' section of the menu. It's still mostly key-smashes, though you can definitely see some words in it at the end.

Fanfic writers: GO!!

Chapter 5 for this might be the episode 3 of PMMM ToT (iykyk)

12 hours might just be for the first two acts lmao (or less)

But I mean, a lot of FVNs are just HUUUGE time sinks (Shelter, Soulcreek, Tennis Ace, Killigan's Treasure, Password...) -- even the linear ones!

Which makes sense considering the often above 100k wordcount of these novels (which would, on average, take 7 hours to read through if it's just text)

Something about the lineless, painted art style draws me in. 

Same thing with Echo too -- I guess this just really works with darker stories. Not that this has gotten terribly dark yet, though it seems to be getting there...

Hey look! It's book man!

Not currently implemented yet, I believe. But maybe in a few months...

Hey so maybe I shouldn't have gone off the beaten path for my first route >.>

Alfy, my boy...

I don't know if i even have the motivation to go after the others after that ToT

30 mins in and I've already had multiple laughing fits holy shit-

Man I hope this thing doesn't turn into some angst-heavy tragedy or something, haha... (genuinely don't know what's in store >.>)

He got that autistic rizz fr /j

No, he just has the almighty power. Of supportive parents.

Love how Cooper is still the main poster boy for this page lmao

Like. New players really have NO IDEA what they're getting themselves into...

I mean er- enjoy travelling across the desert with ur angsty wolf bf while you teach him normal people skills :D

Unironically been listening to this ost nonstop just having the game open in the bg while i do something productive. This is a godsend <3

You had me at chapter 20 is 120,000 words, because holy shit guys, some entire visual novels aren't even that long! I'd be worried if you didn't space everything out with that amount of content, honestly.

So glad to be hearing from you guys again! I always end up coming back to this game every few months for its intricate writing (and of course, to see our beloved Minotaur husband <3) so seeing an update was a very pleasant surprise :D

As much as I'm anticipating the new chapter and QoL updates though, I also hope you guys are pacing yourself for what seems to be a herculean task!-- Lest you burn yourselves out, and working on this becomes an unpleasant ordeal.

We don't mind the wait, especially if you keep us posted relatively often

It seems idealistic to expect smooth sailing from here on out, but nevertheless, I'll remain optimistic and eager to see what your efforts cook up! <3

Burry went through Ablaze to save his brothers, Rune went through Ablaze to save himself, Alon went through Ablaze to create his own future, and Luke went through ablaze to save Max. Max himself does not have an Ember (So likely has never reached Ablaze), though he has the most experience with Luke's abilities.

His route gains extra content after obtaining a specific item...though he does seem to play a decently significant role in Alon's route, so keep your hopes up!

He already has his own CG, no? Two, actually. Unless you mean in his ~true form~

Huskies will get what they want or deafen everyone in the room =w=

I doubt Teak will get his own route -- more likely simply an option to save him after you've done everything else in the game. Same with Thistle.

Cooper...I mean, I hope we'll at least get a confession from him. And perhaps a 'special' scene but...maybe that's wishful thinking >.>

[POTENTIAL SPOILERS]

Does this answer your question? It's missing Human but that "nature" is definitely a spoiler.

If you also want racial abilities: Canines have Canine Empathy; they can read each other's minds and communicate over long distances mentally. The height of this is Pack Mentality, where 2 or more individuals become basically one entity, with shared senses and skills.

The others we know less about since the main characters are all Canine, but we've seen Luke burn each kind of mana, so I'll just say what those effects were:

Feline - gives the user piercing strikes and enhanced reflexes

Ungulate - gives the user increased strength and resistance

Rodent - Allows access to the user's 'Holding Seal'

Saurian - Heals the user

Avian - Allows flight

This seems familiar...a certain...fox, maybe?

Nature? Do you mean like, species (feline, saurian, ungulate) or magic type? bc for species, it is...literally just a quick google

No, no it is.

Noooo my dongs! What have they done to you??! 

It should've been me T_T

Considering it seems like an ember is a product of a person's Ablaze -- usually their first, except for Alon who didn't have the necessary mana for an ember at the time -- that would seem to be correct.

Alright! So fyi, we get info on Ablaze in the latest update.

I was very wrong: Albaze is above Embers in terms of the casting hierarchy. And the crystals are not unique to Luke, Alon uses them as well. I suppose we've just never seen another character go ablaze..?

But anyway. The newest update is HEAVY on the worldbuilding, so, don't miss it!