I would like to ask a question is it possible for MC to have an open trade with both factions at the same time secretly building up the defence and also building up an army to conquer smaller islands before betraying both factions and expand into their lands so that the MC can also become a powerful chief
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In my last play-through:
I made the decision to open the docks to both sides
Whether it remains this way or not is unclear - most likely will shift with events that happen in the future.
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@violet_dewinter Hypothetically? Just The Osprey, but considering who Baltasar is, it would be a huge blow to the entire fleet, and they’d lack particularly-effective leadership without him. If the challenger were not Iskendi, most of the crew would probably not recognize their authority, and so while the ship would be theirs, they would not necessarily have anyone to sail it.
@Ender1 Not really. Choosing whether to open up/focus on trade vs. focusing on building up military resources is kind of an either/or situation. You can do both over the course of the game, but that will end up meaning that neither is done to full effectiveness. So the specific track you’re asking about isn’t possible. The proportions in which you build up your military versus merchantile power will make a difference, but you can’t get all the benefits of both; the Cine don’t have the time and resources for that.
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So basically it’s a race against time then?
That’s kind of why my character wants the weather control doodad.
“You have two options. Mutually beneficial trade, or saying hello to Mr Tornado.”
Make it too much trouble for the empire to bother with, and with the nature of the Iskandi, keep attacks to the occasional skirmish I figure.
And giving my tribe the time to build up the navy so we aren’t entirely reliant on magic weather control defense.
I wonder though, am I the only one wondering how many Iskendi would move to our island for refuge considering the way non mages are treated like dirt? I very much doubt that Pan is the only one ever to get fed up with the situation.
Heck, the island could be a refuge for Iskendi who are tired of being at war with the Empire, too.
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That’s… Actually what I was planning on doing in my playthrough. I don’t want to be seen as a weak leader bending the knee to either one of the warring factions and I’m personally going after the weather control thing to help improve my civilization while building up the defenses and trading for valuable items that can be used for the benefit of the tribe. At this point, I’d rather be safe than to be sorry considering the threats that both the Empire and the Iskendi presents to the tribe. And both of them are expecting us to turn against one of them but I’d rather be pragmatic in this situation by carefully considering the prospects of joining one of them or just go at it with my own tribe.
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I’d really like to do beta testing when it’s done and I love how they can flirt with almost everyone just why not daghan is he too old?
If I had to guess, Daghan is still torn up about his wife dying in a battle with the Cine’s enemy in the north.
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Daghan gives me uncle vibes.
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Strictly speaking Daghan is the father of one of the ROs – that presumably the MC grew up with one way or another – so yeah, definitely uncle/vaguely familial vibes. Add also the fact he’s the husband of your mom’s bestfriend so I would imagine he’s part of the “extended” family
And telling Cormac you’re interested in his father? Awkward to say the least :))
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What is the inspiration behind Castulia and the Iskendi? How much of Castulia originally belonged to the Iskendi?
Great work so far! I really like your writing and the different cultures.
Now I do not know if somebody has already broached this question, however it seems highly unlikely this will be an option due to the might of both Castulia and the Iskendi, but could you somewhere down the line choose to keep the tribe away from both factions making it a 3 way war? In doing so maybe even keeping out if it until you see an opening and basically finessing your way into the most powerful position of the 3?
I doubt that they would even leave us alone even if they got their own war going on. From what I do understand, the general would prefer that you help them when it comes to the Navy warfare and would leave you alone if you did. The Iskendi seems to be hell-bent on gaining more land and power to challenge the Empire for power in the area. We’re probably going to end up being forced into their war one way or another but I do believe that we do have a chance to beat the both of them. How? With the Eye, we could control the weather and the seas. Anyone who holds it puts their civilization into a far more powerful position and there’s no doubt that if it does exist, both the Empire and the Iskendi would be spending their resources just to get their hands on it.
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Keeping in mind that these are very loose inspirations, Castulia is something like ancient Rome, with touches of Greece thrown in (the Lanceae, for example, are Spartan-inspired). The Iskendi are even less directly based in anything, but their names are typically Turkish.
Iskendis was a fairly small, but importantly-located province. Coastline is always valuable territory, and the Empire seized it for the strategic advantage of that rather than any large landmass or resource production.
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I’ve finally finished the interlude! And, wow, you guys have outdone yourselves. All the chances to interact with characters were amazing, especially Roise, who is as incredible as ever. I love how much we’re able to customize our relationship with our mother.
Plot-wise, what my captain is really hoping for at the moment is a chance to destroy the Eye of Maros. She’s thrown her weight firmly behind Castulia; with the Eye gone, the Iskendi don’t stand a chance against the Empire. That said, the Eye is way too powerful to leave in the hands of someone as cunning as Adriana, or really any human. It’ll be too much of a temptation for warlike captains among the Cine and unscrupulous bandits all along the coast. If it’s not too spoilery to ask, what would our companions think of destroying the Eye?
Pan: It’s admirable to see Pan admit they’ve grown past that burning desire for revenge , plus it makes sense - I think you’ve mentioned on Tumblr that they’re the oldest of the companions. It’d be interesting if we could have a talk with Pan later about degrees of assimilation into Castulia - are there any Iskendi traditions they or their family have managed to retain?
Cormac: I’ve noticed that he tends to seek the captain’s approval a lot, so it’s nice to see him in a role he’s happy with, even if he doesn’t seem to realize just how good he is at it. There could be potential to steer him towards a life of teaching the clan youngsters instead of reaving. Maybe even a martial academy, if he’s willing to train Castulians! (And, ooh, I’d actually love to see what he and Sangarinus could come up with together in that regard). I do feel like he got a bit shafted in comparison to the other companions - everyone else gets either significant backstory or plot hooks laid out - but I loved the chance to spar with him, and our conversation afterwards. It’s moments like these that really sell the special bond between our captain and their second.
Aisling: I’m really proud of her decision to share the journal with us: it says a lot about how much more confident she’s become as a mage, and how much she trusts the captain as well. Her crush on Izzy is adorable.
Izzy: speaking of, I’m not sure Aisling realizes how much of a vicious streak Izzy has. My captain is fine with it - it’s a useful trait to have in a subordinate - but I could see it becoming an issue in her relationship with Aisling, maybe when we raid Esdras’s house if we take the first option Izzy proposes .
Sangarinus: “ I’m not…always quite right .” This broke my heart. Even more heartbreaking than that is when we comment on how hard Lancea training must have been, and he immediately pinpoints the hardest part as how hard it is to relate to someone outside the Lancea. Not the physical hardship or the deprivation, but the loneliness.
I love how you’re deconstructing the trope of the elite soldier trained from childhood, both through his PTSD and how his personality is decidedly not what you would expect. There’s a quote I read somewhere: “life made him strong, but he kept himself gentle.”
“ Not…I know what a pass is .” Proud of you, sweetheart.
“I… am not right-handed .” I cracked up at this part. I can totally see Balthasar yelling, “Never cross wits with an Iskendi when death is on the line!”
My favorite part of this interlude overall was seeing how much our companions have grown in confidence and/or come to trust us over the brief time that’s passed. Close runner-up: Elif. That girl is adorable, I hope we see her again. As always, many thanks for the wonderful game, Kurokiku and August!
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love all your hard work you put in to this
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Just want to pop in and say how much I love the new updates. It’s been really long since I’m so immersed in story, thinking the best for clan, MC crews, relation with others, that disastrous artifact, and especially dad last moment. Like seriously, I can’t believe I cried because of it.
There going to be many spoiler-ish things here, so I might as well hide details it:
Aisling dream/vision certainly going to be useful, the vision vague but it certainly very foreshadowing(I think that the name?)
That vision/dream about artifact certainly interesting. I don’t know why but I have feeling that artifact is more dangerous than it seem, even though it already dangerous. I just can’t wait to get it destroyed.
I’m also worried about Izzy, because I fear that frustrated light on the bed, surrounded by shadow, is Izzy, sure hope it’s not. At least my MC agree on initiative, not the destructive one. (Sorry if you don’t like the code viewed by the way!)
That dream about lion though, is what I’m most concerned about. It seems to be event that bound to happen no matter what. Maybe a fact that the one who cut change from man to woman (and probably vice versa) is group? Though I really not sure who and why they do it… I just hope it’s not mom or MC companions 
I also want to say how I appreciate the really many possibilities in the game(got to love that scene where MC who too flirty have to pay for what they did to their companions heart 
). It’s been awhile since I play work that have many possibilities and still have great qualities.
The only suggestion I can think of, is to have MC be on Divio for awhile. MC time in Divio is really short, and I would like to get know the island more, and of course, the clan. It’s good to get know more or/and (re)bond with people my MC have risked her life several times for. Like come on, she already gone from dangerous place to another dangerous place, give the gal a break.
Will look forward for more knowledge about the clan previous place in North and update! (And sorry for the long post!)
Edit:
Almost forgot:
Pan is officially my favorite character now.
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Sorry for the brief period of silence everyone, but I think I’ve got just the thing to make it up to you.
Chapter 6 is up for playing/testing now. A very busy period kept us from finishing it as quickly as we’d like, but it’s done now. It should read as a fairly short chapter, likely because the majority of the scenes in it are completely different based on some player choices made so far. Lots of different paths that can be taken through this one, so we hope you enjoy.
Next up will be a side quest for Izzy for those who accepted it, and after that we’ll move towards the big adventure.
As always, if you haven’t yet, go check out our tumblr page linked at the top after you’ve played. There’s lots more discussion there, extra tidbits, and even some seriously awesome art.
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The scene where izzy is coming out of the bararcks when you go look for her after agreeing to give them a ship looks like it doubles up.
I get this:
Undoubtedly Izzy has been as occupied as anyone on the island, but she can probably make some time for you, if you find her at the right moment.
and it goes on to say how Aisling and Izzy are swapping languages, and the fate of the slaves.
Then it jumps to
The negotiations didn’t go all that well, forcing you to give up one of the clan’s ships so that the slaves might have a chance at their freedom.
and much of the previous exposition is repeated.
Not quite sure where the repetition is occuring but hopefully those quotes will let you track down the right scene files.
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Mwahhhhh! I wanna die! My latest save was deleted! And my other save is from chapter 3!