Blaugust #08: Centuriad Project

Brief. This is my current science fantasy epic. It's going to be a visual novel that's mostly focused on a large-scale war and naval combat, though it's not exactly naval because it involves flying ships. It's going to be pretty long, I'm looking to make it a few 'volumes' of story. It will also have five love interests. 

Premise. It has been a 100 years ever since the Shift, a disaster that caused the earth to move and crush everything in it's way. Millions of lives were lost and past empires ascended to the sky, to live in hovering cities and traverse the skies in ships powered by the 8 winds. A war wages between factions and powers. You are Songbird, a never-graduating member of the most prestigious academy. You come from a background of people who are ostracized so you have no one to rely on. Your only dream is to sail on a wind-engine ship as a navigator. In the weirdest way, you are recruited to serve as a second navigator on one of the most renowned ships, the Rose Concord.

Setting. I'm still working with naming everything, it's not going well.  Adara is the man empire which you serve. Many cities fall under it's jurisdiction and it also has many allies. It's main opponent is Kaer, who operate through the sky using new technology, Firestone ships. Nothing is as it seems.

Main Cast. So, Songbird is just a nickname for the playable character, they use they/them pronouns by default and though they actually have an physical appearance that I have planned out, it's not super important right now. Obviously Songbird's personality is determined by the player.  Songbird is more attuned with the wind than many others, which is their special skill for which they were recruited aboard the Rose Concord.

Seon. Captain. Highly competent and revered, Seon is not a traditional captain within the Adaran fleet. He does not pay too much mind hierarchy within his ranks and is always in the action unlike many others of his affluent background. Despite his polite and friendly nature, it's actually impossible to tell what he's thinking. In fact, he actually has many enemies. He is very encouraging of Songbird but impersonal during their first meetings but the more the story progresses, the more you will see through his cracks.

Kalise. Prince. A disgraced prince, the previous Adaran emperor was killed but his wife and son were spared. They lived among the royalty as decorations. Kalise is flirty, self-assured, and a charmer. But that's really just a reflection of his role in the court, hanging on by any means necessary. He's obsessed with proving people wrong about their assumptions of him. That's his first attitude towards Songbird, that they have him pegged wrong and are no better than everyone else.

Demir. Mechanic. Demir is a cyborg-like person. Parts of his real body are within a metal casing. It's powered by Firestone and other magic stuff. All his sensations are dull, and pure imitations. He's not talkative at all and keeps to himself. Much of his past is a mystery with seemingly only one person knowing who he was before, Birut. Demir has an unbreakable shell, but he's a natural protector so he gets Songbird out of trouble even when he doesn't want to.

Neven. Soldier. A mysterious, highly capable faster, and an opponent... at first. You can't really believe a word he says. First, he uses Songbird for his own purposes but his true motives are not simple or selfish.

 

Ronan. Scientist. Something really bad happened to Ronan, he's become mute and easily scared. Before that he was a scholarly kind of guy who lived in a commune of researchers. Did he know something he wasn't supposed to? Though all Ronan knows at first is fear, he eventually finds a method of communication with Songbird. 

 Helia. Chief Navigator. Your, Songbird's, mentor. A functioning alcoholic, sort of a optimistic nihilist, Helia acts like he doesn't take most things seriously but he does.

Birut. Chief Engineer. A confident, sarcastic, and bossy lady. Demir's only known friend.

Enrem. Chief Officer. Second hand to the Caption, he's a stickler for rules.

Jaske.Cook. A happy-go-lucky easy-going guy.

Oferis. The Priest. Actually the medic of the ship, but also a practicing priest.

Inspiration. There's a steampunk thing going on here for sure. Treasure Planet, Stardust, and Bioshock Infinite. The scope of the adventure from certain movies and games is something I really want to explore as well. Stuff like Assassin's Creed: Black Flag and Sinbad (2003). The otome aspect is something I really liked in the Hakuoki series and Sweet Fuse. I think a lot of otome games do really lack in making truly interesting and flawed love interests and giving the player agency, so I'd try to do a little more there.

Notes. These blog posts are getting more and more incoherent by the day. Sometimes life is just like that. Anyway. Do you like visual novels? 

☆ Finny ★