A game by A Moonless Night
A year after parting bitterly, a young woman called Antheia is convinced by her grandfather to pay a visit to her estranged brother, Soren, at the Temple of Koruna, where he has been studying to improve his healing skills. Having never left the village before, she obliges reluctantly.
However, she is startled to find upon arrival that Soren has already left with a mysterious woman.
In a desperate bid to reunite with her brother and make amends, she employs the drunkard mercenary Blanche as an escort and winds up in the affairs of two soldiers on the hunt for a kidnapped princess.
Meanwhile, in the capital city of Maeden, there are rumours of an uprising on the horizon …
The country is Elowyn, a land revelling in nineteen years of peace since the conflict with Zenmyr to the west. Despite the years of harmony, Greatlord Balthar, the country’s ruler, maintains an expansive army. His daughter, Katherine, acts as emissary to Zenmyr in order to preserve and improve the alliance.
In the years since the conflict, technology from Zenmyr has trickled over the border, allowing warriors to wield basic battle magic by equipping their weapons with arcanic Shards, where once they would have had to rely on arcanists, or those born with the ability. However, there are no Shards that can harness healing arcana, a rare gift. In spite of the popularity of Shards, healers and arcanists are still regarded with fear, although most towns employ a healer to take care of their wounded.
History
A respected general and the Greatlord’s Master of Arms, Garth, returns to his home village of Roe after the Zenmyr-Elowyn conflict to discover that one of his wartime flings has unexpectedly borne him twins and left them on his doorstep. Not wanting to leave them out in the cold, he takes them in, intending to take care of them for the night and then give them away in the morning. However, his father, Edda, convinces him to take a year’s leave from the army to look after them and promises him that he will raise them in his absence.
One year turns into seven, and Garth cannot delay his return to the army any longer. He leaves the twins, Antheia and Soren, in his father’s care and returns to Wendolyn Castle.
Despite being bitter over the absence of their father, the twins grow up well under Edda’s guidance. Antheia becomes accomplished with a short sword and bow and Soren attempts to teach himself to control his rare gift: the power to heal.
During their teenage years, the village is plagued by raids from numerous bandit groups. Antheia helps fight them and Soren heals the village’s wounded.
The bandit raids decline over the years, and then eventually stop. One evening, Soren, now eighteen, reveals that he is departing to live and study at the Temple of Koruna. He explains that he wants heighten his healing powers but cannot do this without guidance from another healer. Antheia accuses him of abandoning her just like their father, and Soren blames her for being selfish and holding him back.
The two twins part in anger, and do not speak for a year.
One year turns into seven, and Garth cannot delay his return to the army any longer. He leaves the twins, Antheia and Soren, in his father’s care and returns to Wendolyn Castle.
Despite being bitter over the absence of their father, the twins grow up well under Edda’s guidance. Antheia becomes accomplished with a short sword and bow and Soren attempts to teach himself to control his rare gift: the power to heal.
During their teenage years, the village is plagued by raids from numerous bandit groups. Antheia helps fight them and Soren heals the village’s wounded.
The bandit raids decline over the years, and then eventually stop. One evening, Soren, now eighteen, reveals that he is departing to live and study at the Temple of Koruna. He explains that he wants heighten his healing powers but cannot do this without guidance from another healer. Antheia accuses him of abandoning her just like their father, and Soren blames her for being selfish and holding him back.
The two twins part in anger, and do not speak for a year.
Main Characters
Antheia
Hometown: Roe
Age: 19
Weapon: Sabre / Composite Bow
Antheia is a serious young woman who is well-versed with a blade and bow. She was raised predominantly by her grandfather after her father left when she was seven years old, and she never knew her mother. Her grandfather, the village blacksmith, taught her everything she knows. She is the self-appointed protector of her village; originally, she wanted to enlist in the army, but as the years have gone by, she has grown too comfortable to leave.
Growing up, she and her twin brother, Soren, were inseparable, but they parted on bad terms and she has felt very guilty about this. A year after he left the village to study at the Temple of Koruna, she decides to pay him a visit, only to discover that he left a few days earlier with a mysterious woman.
Soren
Hometown: Roe
Age: 19
Weapon: Rod
Soren has great potential as a healer. He has always had the raw talent but never the chance to master his skills due to the lack of knowledge in the village. He should have left when he was younger to train at the Temple of Koruna, but he didn’t want to leave Antheia behind. However, as he got older he realised that he was wasting his time in the village when he could be training and helping others in need.
He and Antheia had a big fight when he was leaving. She said he was a traitor just like their father and he blamed her for being selfish and holding him back.
Blanche
Hometown: Fort Engel
Age: 34
Weapon: Glaive / Morningstar
Blanche is a mercenary and head-hunter for hire from Fort Engel. Antheia employs her to help her find her brother.
Moody, sarcastic and sharp-witted, she travels the land in search of work. Her work usually varies, from assassination and hunting wild beasts to parcel delivery and accompaniment; anything’s fair game for Blanche, as long as she gets paid. She is rather notorious amongst the towns (and pubs) she visits as the mercenary that will do any task, not matter how gruesome or undesirable (and also notorious for sleeping with her clientele). At first she was motivated by the rush of danger, but she has become tired since then and simply wants money to fund her drinking problem.
She is hardly ever sober, but she is a better swordswoman that way; when she becomes absolutely rotten, however, she has a habit of either offending, killing or bedding people.
Merrin
Hometown: Unknown
Age: 23
Weapon: Staff
Not much is known about Merrin, except that she is beautiful and charismatic. She is the mysterious woman that Soren was seen leaving the Temple with.
Toll
Hometown: Wendolyn Castle
Age: 24
Weapon: Longsword / Longshield
Toll is an impetuous young man who has been betrothed to Greatlord Balthar’s daughter, Princess Katherine, for about five months, although he has never spoken to her before. His father and Greatlord Balthar have been planning their wedding since Katherine was young; they want to unite two of the oldest, most powerful families. He is proud of his noble heritage and upbringing, although it sometimes seems like he is boasting.
He has trained to be a knight since he was eleven. He met Wes on one of his first days at the academy and they have been friends ever since. He is valiant, if a little naive, and a fine swordsman, and always thinks of others before himself. He is a hopeless romantic at heart.
When Katherine is kidnapped, he immediately volunteers to go rescue her. He pictures himself as a knight in shining armour rescuing the damsel in distress.
Wes
Hometown: Wendolyn Castle
Age: 26
Weapon: Battle Axe / Javelin
Wes was born to a large family in the poor district of Maeden and spent many years getting into trouble, avoiding the Greencloaks and gambling every obol. His father was killed in a bar fight when he was young, so he helped his mother raise his six younger siblings. His mother dying from dragonpox was the catalyst for him joining the army—he decided he needed to do something to protect his family with both his parents gone.
Wes met Toll in the army and they have been inseparable ever since. He has been married for about four years to a woman named Leila, the daughter of a merchant, and they have a young son together. They live with Wes's youngest siblings. Wes is very protective of his family and friends, almost to a fault.
He is practical and logical, which is great for keeping Toll grounded, but can come across as quite domineering. He often prattles off unsolicited advice, although his heart is in the right place. He doesn’t like to think outside of the box and can miss obvious solutions.
Spoiler
Shards
Weapons
Plants
Shops
The main kinds of shops in Elowyn are General Stores, Shardworks, Armour Shops and Weaponsmiths, Healers, and Inns.
Quests
Encounters
Loot
Travelling Merchants
- Equip Shards to give your characters elemental skills, or arcana.
- Mature Shards at the Shardworks to access more powerful skills.
- The skills you use through Shards consume AP, or Arcana Points.
Weapons
- Each character has access to two different weapons.
- Upgrade your weapons at the Weaponsmith to access more powerful skills.
- Your weapon skills consume SP, or Skill Points, which regenerate each turn in battle.
- Weapons can be swapped in battle instantly.
Plants
- During your travels, you will pick up different plants—these appear randomly on each map and regenerate over time. Marigolds can be used to make Marigold Potions to heal your health, and Aconite can be used to make Aconite Cordial to restore your arcana, and more.
Shops
The main kinds of shops in Elowyn are General Stores, Shardworks, Armour Shops and Weaponsmiths, Healers, and Inns.
- General stores sell healing items and general goods. They only buy back general goods and loot. They can make potions for you using the plants you’ve found.
- Shardworks sell and mature Shards. They only buy back Shards.
- Armour shops sell the different kinds of armour. They only buy back Armour.
- Weaponsmiths are generally found inside Armour Shops. They upgrade weapons and sell Hammers.
- Healing in Elowyn is still regarded with some fear, so Healers often set up shops at the back of town. They can heal your wounds for a small price—the greater the injury, the higher the cost.
- Inns are places for receiving optional Quests.
Quests
- If you stop by the local inn or tavern, you’ll be able to accept Quests. Such quests could include slaying dangerous beasts, collecting loot, delivering messages, and more. (not available in the demo, sorry)
- Keep track of your main and optional quests in the Quest Journal.
Encounters
- Encounters in Vermilion are random, but you are given a warning just before one is about to happen. If you have an Agares Token in your inventory, you can skip the battle.
Loot
- The beasts you encounter drop different loot of varying value. The loot can be sold to shops or travelling merchants.
Travelling Merchants
- If you are lucky, you might come across travelling merchants while on your adventure.
- Merchants sell a range of goods—some might sell junk, and some might sell some very valuable things.
v1.3 released 2 Feb 2018
Please note that this game contains mature themes and may not be suitable for younger audiences. The demo should take about 2–3 hours, depending on your playing style.
This game uses the font Footlight MT Light. Please ensure you have it installed.
Download here
v1.3 - No RTP
Download here
v1.2 - RTP included
Update 29 Jan (v1.1): Forgot to include a couple of charsets; they're in the download now.
Update 1 Feb (v1.2): Added a missing sound file.
Update 2 Feb (v1.3): Added a fix for Modern Algebra's Animated Parallax script.
Spoiler
I tried making on-screen encounters for this game and didn't enjoy it, so hopefully this is a nice compromise.
Unfortunate timing ...
A scene from the intro.
"There better not be frickin' zubats."
Victory march!
If you ever want to know anything, ol' Gramps has the answer.
Murky cave water and well-placed boxes.
Slummin' it.
Blanche will probably only come onto you, like, four times.
How else will they get supplies in a secluded mountain temple?
Brah.
Everybody has problems, doesn't mean you have to be a crybaby about it.
Everyday he's hustlin'.
These waves are animated irl and I'm super proud of them.
Yeah, I suck at drawing animals, wanna fightaboudit.
Don't trust the police.
You can upgrade your Shards at the local Shardworks, so long as they're qualified.
