[WIP] Chains of Destiny: Book One (~827k words) - Last update: 2026/05/31

No, no, I’m really thankful for the feedback, seriously. I actually hadn’t thought of some really obvious variations, like the sparring scene, for one :sweat_smile:. And there are a lot of places where I can add this kind of split, too, so you’re genuinely helping me out a lot. I really appreciate it! :blush:

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My MC deals with his trauma by shoving it under mask of his old carefree/jokester attitude, adopting Juna things like her horse, obsessively training since that day, and being even more overprotective of his baby sister.

But that trauma is there deep down. He still has nightmares, and no longer views the world positively as he did as a child. On the battlefield, that joyful mask will probably disappear and he’ll end up a harsh and cold commander unafraid to kill his enemies. He’ll protect the men under his command, but he won’t sugar coat things or shy away from reality of war. He has to survive, keep Zenon safe, and return home to his family.

He’s a battle hardened soldier in attitude since that incident. He just hid how much that day changed him to not worry his family.

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Kind of taking the opposite track. My MC, while still wearing (and preferring) her dresses and magic, has gone entirely stoic and quiet (as much as can be in my choices,) cut her hair short (and yes, trains at every opportunity she’s not trying to learn magic) and has distanced herself from everyone other than Nemio, with the idea that it won’t hurt them as much when she’s gone that way. I do wish I could have her show her teeth more, just as I wish the mentorship relationship with Nemio was one that could be more evident (particularly as the crush route is and is taking up so much space in some player’s minds.)

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Nice. It’s cool we can develop our mc’s and their trauma coping mechanisms so far. It will be fun to see how my MC continues to evolve now on the battlefield and as a commander. I hope for more magic training to. Going for that magic swordsman type fighter myself.

I’m stuck on who to romance though. I want to end with Zenon…but he’s kinda boring so far…I hate to say. But maybe he’ll develop to on the battlefield as well. Barnabas may steal me, though. We shall see. :rofl:

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There’s at least one more male LI to go, and I think two more female? So I’m holding out hope!

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Probably doesn’t even need to be asked, but do you plan on eventually covering what exactly the entity that seems bound to Nemio is?

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Hey! Yes, of course, it’ll all be revealed in time.

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I just finished the demo and wanted to say you’ve done an amazing job and it’s been forever since I’ve gotten attached to characters that are just absolutely amazing!!! Keep up the good work!!! :grin:

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No problem, though I will say that I don’t expect an update that chunky to come out within a few days, let alone a month or two if it sidelines too much of the rest in the meanwhile. Padding updates tend to be less important than forward momentum ones, since it’s always possible to go back and add it later, if needed.

The check for the trauma stat really must have been too high initially, because I operate my MC about as negatively as possible, and he was acting more or less normal, and like he was all set to face his responsibilities unbent to the gales, so to speak. Even directly telling that one general “this isn’t what I would choose” doesn’t really push how severe the background noise is for the MC. Not yet, at least.

Given he tries to run from the birthday party at every turn, he may have missed a boost or several for that hidden stat, though.

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Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it!:blush:

For now, I’m planning to add at least some of these suggestions (like the sparring scene variations) with the release of Chapter 3. The bigger changes, though, like the split between a more traumatized MC and one who’s trying their best to look forward, might take more time (but I’ll be putting more focus on that while working on Chapter 3). That part I may push to a later update, depending on how smoothly work on Chapter 3 goes, so we’ll see!

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Can’t wait for chapter three

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I quite like the variety of ways the trauma can be defined. My gal has been working herself to the bone in combat training and said she wanted to be a soldier, so the appointment was perfect for her. That said, she is very much not looking ahead and getting past it. She is very much defined by it, and I really hope (and have confidence, given the writing so far) that she’s in for some hella angst once we start taking losses in battle.

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I obsessively follow the tumblr for updates. I can’t stop. ive fallen down a rabbit hole of the CoD universe!
P.s. if u ever nd beta testers lmk!

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Thank you for the offer! I’ve saved your name, and if I need beta testers, I’ll be sure to message you. :blush:

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I gave Iris a fake name but she still used my real name. :sweat_smile:

A similar issue when I gave Ling a fake name, she doesn’t introduce herself, yet the game jumps to calling her “Ling.”

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Thank you for the heads up! :blush: I’ll look into it and upload a fixed version today.

Edit: I just uploaded a new version that should fix this issue + added a few lines (not much, just around a 100 words) to make that part a little smoother.

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I played another route today, and in Chapter 1, I realized that the “puppy dog eye” option is grayed out unless you have +1 Charisma. I don’t think that was the case earlier.

Is this intentional? While I didn’t test every dialogue option, it seems to be the only one that allows you to hang out with Juna.

(Also ty for the story! I’m really enjoying it.)

Edit:

I don’t think the changes are “live” because I’m still getting Iris calling me by my og name and the game still refers to Ling as “Ling” even if she hasn’t introduced herself yet.

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I’m glad you’re enjoying it! :blush:

Yes, it’s intentional. However, the first option (“Your grin widens. Perhaps you can ‘convince’ him to let you stay for a while longer.”) also allows you to stay with Juna, though it comes with some personality stat changes as a tradeoff.

Ah, yeah, sorry, I fixed something in chapter 2 for some reason and didn’t realize it was an issue in chapter 1. Should be fixed now!

Can you tell me at which choice you encountered this issue? I’ve checked the code, and all of them should, in one way or another, tell you Ling’s name now. Also, did you load a save or start fresh? Updating the variables can mess with saves, so it’s always recommended to start from the beginning whenever there is a new version.

ch 1 blacksmith

The blacksmith grunts. and I’ll make it my best work yet," he counters, not missing a beat.

Juna nods, tilting her head to the side. and you’ll make it the prettiest, too."

(Missed quotation marks)

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Hey, thank you for the heads-up! :blush: I’m guessing you picked the spear, since I checked the code and noticed that the counteroffer price was missing for that option. It should be:

The blacksmith grunts. “Ten and I’ll make it my best work yet,” he counters, not missing a beat.

Juna nods, tilting her head to the side. “Ten and you’ll make it the prettiest, too.”

I’ve uploaded a new version that fixes this issue.

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