Shattered Eagle: Fall of an Empire (WIP) [340k words | Small Content Update 02/10/2025]

[Beezlebub]

Two millennium!

[heartheater]

@Oreven

First we have the “news” that Scilla was assasinated. The fact that Julia and the Prefect had prepared lines in advance was peak hilarity. I can only imagine them in a tent at night debating what lines to deliver when they hear the news.

your example makes me think of theatre kids who are memorizing their lines last minute lol. the fact that imperial favor increases the more theatrical you are with it too makes me feel like julia is one (even though she wouldn’t be) and like the MC’s going off-script mid-play

[Oreven]

@heartheater

the fact that imperial favor increases the more theatrical you are with it

Julia loved my Oscar-worthy performance so much that she broke the stat.

It also seems that the barbarians don’t particularly like me. I wonder why? I only blamed them for my assasination. No biggie, really.

[Azan]

I decided to check something off my list that I had been recommended to do and make a tumblr for Shattered Eagle. It’s pretty basic right now, but you can find it here.

[wenus]

Controversial opinion but I really like Titus. He’s kinda sweet, especially if you’re nice to him lol

[Paulo]

It’s funny how this IF can turn someone away from a specific RO based on where they are in the story:
I have always had an interest in Ceto, but after realizing that I would have to stand against the barbarians to get close to Ceto, it left me quite unmotivated lol

It’s strange, but I just can’t stand against the barbarians and support their enemies, because it’s extremely obvious that the barbarians’ enemies are prejudiced enemies. No one in this story is good, in fact everyone is horrible, but prejudice is something I can hardly support, and it’s even strange to support this as a male MC, since he also suffers from a type of prejudice

Anyway, this is the first time this has happened to me, so I wanted to comment on it hehe

[bl00dragon]

He do be a character for whom our perspective would completely change depending on our actions. If you don’t sleep with Julia he’s… still a naive oaf of a man, but a decent person so long as you’re not an asshole to him.

@Paulo

I have always had an interest in Ceto, but after realizing that I would have to stand against the barbarians to get close to Ceto, it left me quite unmotivated lol

I am under the impression that while it’s easier to get with Ceto on the Consul path it’s not impossible if you’re not. You can still make Ceto part of the council and that probably counts for something later down the line, even if you don’t get the first interactions with her as a result of allying with the barbarians.

[Paulo]

@bl00dragon

Tenho a impressão de que embora seja mais fácil entrar com Ceto no caminho Consult, não é impossível se não o for. Você ainda pode tornar Ceto parte do conselho e isso provavelmente contará para algo mais tarde, mesmo que você não consiga as primeiras interações com ela como resultado da aliança com os bárbaros.

I hope this is possible, I’m genuinely curious to know what Ceto is like as a RO or character, but it’s difficult to explore more about her being forced to stay by Consul’s side

[Paulo]

In fact, totally random I know, but I realized that the deeper we delve into the plot, the more the fall of the empire seems inevitable, maybe it can survive somehow, but staying complete seems almost impossible
This looks like it’s going to be interesting hehehe

[Azan]

@Paulo

I hope this is possible, I’m genuinely curious to know what Ceto is like as a RO or character, but it’s difficult to explore more about her being forced to stay by Consul’s side

Ceto is in an alliance with the Consul, though I would also add that if you speak with her at the end of Chapter II she explains her plan to turn the tables on the Consul and offers you a place in it. This still requires aligning with the Consul in Chapter I, though.

It may still be possible to work with Ceto on some level (and romance her) despite allying with the Legate…however that will be a long and difficult tight rope for the MC to walk as the interests of the Senate and the Foederati are bitterly opposed to one another.

[Oreven]

“I know the Witch-King wants to destroy our civilisation, Prefect, but what about those filthy barbarians?”
“I know the Witch-King wants to burn Iudia to the ground, Prefect, but what about my peoples’ plots of land?”
“I know the Witch-King wants to turn Kyro into rubble, Prefect, but what about this cool-as-hell towers made of funny stuff?”
“I know the Witch-King wants to destroy everything we hold dear, Prefect, but what about my damn Key?”
“I know the Witch-King wants to drown the streets of Kyro in Iudian blood, Prefect, but what about peoples’ rights?”

I’ll let you guess who’s who. In no way am I making fun of them. The Witch-King is sooooo far away, after all. So what if he destroyed an empire, and tore down its capital’s walls with incomprehensible magic? He’s just a show-off. Yes, Sir. In no way he is actually a grave threat. X Y Z group, on the other hand…

[Paulo]

@Azan

Ceto está aliada ao Cônsul, mas eu acrescentaria também que se você falar com ela no final do Capítulo II, ela explica seu plano de virar o jogo contra o Cônsul e lhe oferece um lugar nele. No entanto, isso ainda requer alinhamento com o Cônsul no Capítulo I.

If the MC accepts the plan, can he ally with Legacy? If so, I think I can handle this necessary evil hehe

[Paulo]

@Oreven

Vou deixar você adivinhar quem é quem. De forma alguma estou zombando deles. Afinal, o Rei Bruxo está tããão longe. E daí se ele destruiu um império e derrubou os muros de sua capital com uma magia incompreensível? Ele é apenas um exibicionista. Sim senhor. De forma alguma ele é realmente uma ameaça grave. Grupo XYZ, por outro lado…

That’s why I’m starting to think that most of the IF endings will involve the fall of the empire, is impossible to stay upright with so many ignorant people ignoring a guy who has magic who has the power to have an army and overthrow empires

[Okaymusician446]

If the MC can ally with Ceto and get rid of Consentia does that also mean the MC can ally with Consentia and get rid of Ceto?

[Azan]

@Oreven

I’ll let you guess who’s who. In no way am I making fun of them. The Witch-King is sooooo far away, after all. So what if he destroyed an empire, and tore down its capital’s walls with incomprehensible magic?

It’s very human to ignore the potentially existential threat of tomorrow in favor of the petty feuds of today. Especially when everyone’s only ever heard of that distant threat, and the people they hate are right in front of them…

@Paulo

If the MC accepts the plan, can he ally with Legacy? If so, I think I can handle this necessary evil hehe

Ally, no, but on any route you can always avoid being hostile to the other faction and attempt to compromise by giving them concessions. It’s why the option to side with the “opposing faction” despite having allied with the other is available in many of these decisions. Of course, weakening your allies’ power has obvious drawbacks, so it’s a matter of which your character is willing to do.

@Okaymusician446

If the MC can ally with Ceto and get rid of Consentia does that also mean the MC can ally with Consentia and get rid of Ceto?

Of course. Ceto and Consentia are allies, but they have a complicated history and represent the heart of the class conflict in Iudia. Consentia sees Ceto as a power hungry criminal, and Ceto sees Consentia as an pompous parasite. Both make it clear to the MC when speaking alone that they are only aligned with the other until the senatorial faction has triumphed and the “time is right.”

@Paulo

When you say ally with the Consul in the first chapter, do you mean not giving the sacred fire to the barbarians?

@Paulo The alliance branching occurs when you go to either the Senate or the Barbarians after speaking with Darius in Chapter I. You can ally with either regardless of the Holy Fire decision (though that will have consequences) but you will need to apologize or bribe them to overlook that.

[Paulo]

@Azan

Ally, no, but on any route you can always avoid being hostile to the other faction and attempt to compromise by giving them concessions. It’s why the option to side with the “opposing faction” despite having allied with the other is available in many of these decisions. Of course, weakening your allies’ power has obvious drawbacks, so it’s a matter of which your character is willing to do.

I understand, I understand, and I’m sorry if I’m asking too many questions, but I want to know everything he ;-;
When you say ally with the Consul in the first chapter, do you mean not giving the sacred fire to the barbarians?

[Joao_Victor]

@Azan

Even so, there actually is a transmasculine character already in the game, but he isn’t Iudian.

Who? Is he already been introduced?

[Azan]

@Joao_Victor

Who? Is he already been introduced?

Grimhilt, one of the barbarian kings that appears in Chapter II if you visit the Legate. Gruthungian gender roles are decidedly different from Iudian ones, which comes into play there.

[stsword]

My character is pro barbarian primarily for pragmatic reasons- We wouldn’t be using the barbarians if we didn’t need to. So we need the barbarians.

Abusing the barbarians we are dependent on could never ever possibly go wrong. /s

Ergo the Empire needs them loyal, and for them to be loyal they need to be happy and that happiness needs to come from a mutually beneficial relationship with the Empire.

So my guy wants the barbarians to be happy, loyal, and on the road to being citizens because that is what is best for the Empire.

[Oreven]

@Azan

It’s very human to ignore the potentially existential threat of tomorrow in favor of the petty feuds of today.

Which is why I love this IF to bits. It’s so darn realistic. To have a story where the threat of the Witch-King is the sole focus of the story would be trite. Instead, you play a person who must deal with a world that breathes, and has its own history and characters. The mistakes of the past haunt the present. Iudia is so vulnerable to the Witch-King in part because the system upon it was built had in-built “defects”. Said defects grew proportionally with its borders — the greater Iudia became, the greater its faults became.

Now, if Iudia is to fall to the Witch-King, it would be 50% because Witch-King stuff, and 50% because Iudia shot itself in the foot, repeatedly, for the last decades.