What is a King to a God, and what is a God to a non-believer?
DEMO ☥ PINTEREST
This game is geared for mature audiences and as such is strictly 18+.
Ancient shackles bind you to the mortal realm, a soul severed from a home lost to the sands of time. A curse on you, a blessing for those who take command; Who wouldn't like to own a God?
You're the highly revered deity of fortune. Or you were, five thousand and eighty-two years ago. Now you're nothing but a glorified plaything to one of the most powerful families in the world. Every demand you must fulfill, no matter how vile or self-serving. The illusion of choice is all but shattered, there's nothing you can do to change it.
Or is there?
It takes a simple thing for something to shift. A fragment from the past, an ageless, flickering hum of power that unfurls the hands of fate and unearths buried sparks of hope. No one would've thought that an ancient sherd would hold the first hint to your freedom, a warm, familiar sensation of your soul locked in a tomb somewhere where no mortal has stepped in well over five thousand years.
Let's hope the decay doesn't take you before you find your way back home.
☥ FEATURES ☥
Two separate sides to customization; The one mortals perceive, and select parts of your true form. Choose names, appearances, gender, pronouns, sexuality, romantic orientation, and more.
Shape the personality that starts to re-emerge after being dulled for the better part of history. Reconnect with yourself, and get in touch with memories and feelings you lost so long ago.
Experience a character-driven story full of twists and turns that eventually determine how each of the three endings play out.
Romance one (or two) potential love interests from a cast of characters; A shunned archaeologist, a primordial God, the reincarnation of a priestess, or the mysterious man you can't quite place. Or don't, it's up to you.
And last but not least: Don't let the decay reach your heart. Every change of fortune has consequences, and mindfulness is encouraged. This game does have bad endings.
☥ CAST OF CHARACTERS ☥
Zain/Zaina Tharset ∆ M or F, 28
"You're my birthright, and I'd sooner have you dead than let you make a fool out of me."
Z is your charge. Loud, obnoxious, and entitled; They don't care about your feelings or protests. Every desire that leaves them only serves them alone, and it's on brand for most of the charges you've had before. In simple terms, Z is not a good person, and the more time you serve under them, the less you believe they have any redeeming qualities.
Like everyone in the family, Z has warm brown skin with golden undertones, and eyes in light shades of brown. Their hair is naturally curly and shaved on the sides, leaving a strip of hair on the top and back, like a fashionable mohawk. Zaina's hair reaches the middle of her shoulder blades, while Zain's stops at the nape of his neck.
Being bound to them is painful, but you have no choice. Trying to retrieve your soul will be an ordeal, and it might not be worth the agony.
Rami Tharset ∆ M, 28, RO
"Just because the world has forgotten you, forgotten them, doesn't mean I will."
Rami is the twin brother of your current charge. Kind and humble, it's difficult to imagine him a part of the Tharset family on count of how different he is from that pit of vipers. He keeps to himself, usually holed away in a library or study where he digs into the history of, well, you. Or the ancient world you came from. This has caused the rest of the archeological community to shun him, the name of your old empire nothing more than a myth and a glorified fairy tale.
Rami shares his family's warm brown skin tone, and the black curly hair that's usually a messy mop that sits on top of his head, unstyled and naturally chaotic. It reaches just the stop of his ears, and is shaved in the back. Light brown eyes that are quite blurry without his glasses, but the gold-tinted pilot-framed lenses fit him nicely.
He's one of the few friendly faces you face in the Tharset circle, and you curse your misfortune that you couldn't have him as a charge instead.
Maluset ∆ M, N/A, RO
"For all I am, all I have controlled, still I could not keep you safe. Forgive me, old friend."
The God of the Night, and everything that you have left of an age and life long forgotten. While the rest of your pantheon faded one by one, he remained. You've always known Maluset as a calm presence, a steadfast and unperturbed God that never let himself be shaken, by mortals or his siblings.
While Mal prefers manifesting as his animal motif - a jackal made of black marble and eyes like consolidated galaxies - he does have a human form too. If he must appear mortal, his skin takes the color of what the mortals of your time had; bronzed, medium brown with a golden undertone. His hair would be jet black and curly, medium length, and he likes it naturally tousled by the winds. If necessary, he'll let his eyes appear dark brown in color, but he prefers the starlit skies in them instead.
He's been a constant in your life, at least until he disappeared three centuries ago. You know he's still out there since the realm where you take shelter is his, and it hasn't yet disappeared.
Rory Ewing ∆ F, 23, RO
"I can't remember, but your face, it stirs something in my heart. Why? Who was I to you?"
Rory is a new acquaintance to you, but there's something very familiar about her. She might just be a student now, her curiosity bringing her close to you, but you can feel an old connection whenever she's close by. Her voice reminds you of prayers long ago, even if her modern vernacular is closer to 'damn, that shit's the bomb' than hymns sung in your praise. Then again, reincarnation has a way of changing people.
It doesn't, however, change appearances. Back in your day, Rory's vessel was a traveler from the north; Her skin was light beige, rosy in its undertones. Her hair was thick and a subdued red, woven into an intricate braid that hung over her shoulder, reaching her midriff. Her eyes were also uncommon to you; pale green, vibrant but ghostly.
She doesn't remember you, and maybe that's for the best. Her new self is a stark contrast to who she was, and you don't think she'd enjoy the idea of donning priestess garb over the punk-rockish getup she wears now.
Taz Arian ∆ M, 34, RO
"Funny, isn't it? How some people seem familiar, even when they shouldn't be."
Taz is... Someone. He appears out of nowhere to join your journey, his knowledge of old ruins and tombs handy but somewhat worrying when he shouldn't even be able to see you. There's a strange thrum of power coming from him whenever he speaks, and you swear you've met him before, but where? It might be easier to find out if he didn't deflect and flirt his way out of things, but it does help with mortals that can't see you.
His appearance is nothing extraordinary; Dark brown hair that's held up in a bun, and you could assume it reaches his shoulders when loose, the loose curls pulling it a tad shorter. His eyes are light in color, almost golden in the right light, glinting with mischief. His skin is weathered, and golden bronze in color, with an intricate tattoo of an eagle spanning across his chest. He also sports a short beard, which gives him a rogueish look.
There is something about him that tugs at your memories, but you can't catch that thread of remembrance for long enough to recall him. Still, he doesn't seem to mind and resorts to teasing you instead.
So the answer to the ask about how Maluset would react to MC being freed only to fade away has me very interested in MC's extended history with the Tharsets, which I'm sure will be explained in the future, but I'm also curious if there are/were other pantheons of gods, and if so, would the pantheons have known about each other? (The line of thinking leading to this being that if Maluset and MC are all that remain of a dead pantheon, wouldn't a newer pantheon want to, you know, prevent another extinction event?)
i'd like to think there were other pantheons, like the norse, greek, egyptian, etc. but they were very territorial and never interacted with one-another. old religions like that have had their deities gone for a while as well though, so no meeting them. the new gods of this age (because i'm not willing to cross the lines to write about modern religion) are so far removed and have new ways of operating. they don't care about old deities like mal and mc, seeing them as ancient relics of a time long forgotten. technically just letting them fade in peace tbh. it's inevitable. or at least they'll go dormant until the end of times, if we're talking about the primordial mother antepmat.
another extinction event is unlikely though, because of major spoilers i can't reveal yet. let's just say that old grandpa here (mal) is... uh... out of shape? yeah let's go with that lol. he really needs a long nap. and mc is not strong enough to do it, not after all the years of having their powers used for the tharset gains.
oh shit they found the sekhemnetu empire, cool (also weird thing to suggest to me, news page. i don't do archaeological research for this book. spooky.)
Thinking about mc wearing a really dark night blue suit that has golden thread in the seams and golden eyeliner
catch mal placing a little starlight for effect because then they nearly match in color scheme <3 well, except for the eyeliner, but gold suits mc better than black, definitely. regal af.
a suit would go hard on an ancient being too, there's just something about an immortal vessel from a time long gone donning modern clothing and looking every bit as powerful as they did back then. chef's kiss.
Mc having blood tears would be rad for that breakdown moment or biting their lip to hold the tears in until their lip starts bleeding instead
ohh, that'd have an impact! i was entertaining the idea that mc's tears would be golden since that's pretty apt for the deity of fortune. also because i just love the visuals of it.
and mc struggling not to cry and biting themselves to bloodshed? beautiful. forced to forgo their emotions for so long that they fight them when they come back is pretty rad, i like it.
Sorry if this is a spoiler, but I was curious if there are any wishes that MC is unable to grant, i.e. how genies typically have the "no wishing for more wishes" rule.
there are plenty of limits, yes! (can you hear mc grumbling that "they're not a genie" in the background)
some examples;
what mc can't do:
directly affect natural disasters (i.e they can't stop a wildfire with a flick of their wrist, but they can switch fortunes so that rain starts falling. also can't stop an earthquake but instead they can make sure that the foundations of a house don't crumble.)
grant ill or good fortune against other deities (duh) or people with sekhemnetu blood, except the one who makes the wishes (i.e, the entire main cast). z is going to hate it.
while they can make people disappear (as seen in the demo) they can't directly kill someone with, say, a heart attack or anything. they only send them elsewhere, so to say. it's a borrowed power. that's all i can say within the spoiler range lol.
they also can't affect people's free will. if those people in the cafe didn't want to follow the change in misfortune (as seen with the sense of forgetting something, the phone calls), they wouldn't be forced to. house possibly on fire? you don't need to answer that call, but wouldn't you feel compelled to?
anything that has to do with materializing or dematerializing something. no changing physical attributes either, they're not in control of the human physiology.
anything to do with so-called "teleportation". still gotta take a plane to the destinations with the humans, sadly. only shifting in and out of two different realms (or memories) for this celestial being.
more will surely come up in the game as i get to them, but mc is not a magician lol. they just shift odds, align coincidences, that sort of stuff.
I cant help but imagine Mal setting the world on fire if the last remnants of his people (MC) were to, let's say, not survive being released of their binds and oh I dont know, die as the other gods did when it turns out they no longer have the power to sustain themselves on their own-
i mean mc is the one and only reason he's fighting for his soul not to wane, so to say. you should see what he did last time he lost mc, an entire civilization went extinct in the span of maybe five minutes. might just happen again if one isn't careful.
How would the ROs react to seeing the MC cry for the first time? Especially if Mc never done it in front of them.
it sounds kinda silly but rami would probably fight back tears too because he's witnessed the hardships mc has been put through and he gets it. if given the okay, he'd definitely hold them and let them cry for as long as they need and hide his own tears.
rory would start fussing immediately, telling them that it's okay and she's there if they need a shoulder. she'd offer to sing something calming and sweet to get mc to think about happier thoughts, and keep it up until her voice disappeared or mc felt better.
taz wouldn't know what to do, he doesn't deal with intimate displays of such sort. still, he'd offer a tissue and a few friendly words, maybe give them a little squeeze on the shoulder if they will it. could also sit near them in silence, as a grounding presence.
mal would use his divine powers to cocoon them in a veil of familiarity, the scents of his domain, the warm sand, the crisp summer-nights air, the very familiar blooming jasmine. if allowed, cradle their face in his hands and wipe the tears as they fall.
ok ive never sent an ask before but i had to say: i read your demo for the first time tonight and im chewing on the bars of my enclosure rn. im already hooked, it's so interesting, keep up the great writing, i can't wait to see what comes next ^^
aw, you're chewing on the same invisible bars as the mc! bonding moment. i jest (because i can't for the life of me take a compliment like a normal person), thank you! can't wait to have my laptop back in working order, there's so much yet to write.
I don't know if the outfit you get is affected by choices or I just have a different definition of skimpy, but... why is everyone talking about skimpy outfits? My MC got a long tunic. That's not skimpy.
ah, probably because they should all be kinda revealing, but i completely forgot to edit the tunic option a bit to make it feel a bit more... bad? editing to be done here and there, the first draft is a bit disjointed at the moment lol. the intention will be that all the outfits feel a bit ill-fitting and cold, impractical even, without going too far over the line.
On that skimpy outfit. How do the Ro's feel about us wearing it? 🤔
rami hates it since it's not chosen by mc voluntarily. besides, it's kind of theatrically egyptian too, and his history nerd brain is having a hard time since the sekhemnetu were never proven to hail from said country.
rory actually thinks it looks pretty! could use more dark tones and maybe a bit more edge, but mc looks good in it. she'll love whatever mc wears though, and will always try adding a little leather to it.
taz thinks it's hot. though you could be wearing a sack of potatoes and he'd still think it's hot. learning that it's for someone's wicked pleasure? not hot. though he won't say anything straight up, the needling z would get is extensive.
maluset would silently seethe and consolidate the darkness across mc to give them actual clothes since he dgaf what z thinks. have his anger stat high enough and he'll curse z to have sand in every crevice of their body for the rest of their life.
Do ROs have a romantic experience? And what about the sexual experience?
Also how would they feel if Mc didn't have any?
ohh, a question like an onion, many layers here.
taz has the most sexual experience, but is woefully behind on his romantic exp. doesn't commit, you know, moves around too much. he'd be a bit spooked if romanced by a mc with no experience, and it'd take him some time to agree to, uh, share his experience.
rory has been in a bunch of short-term romantic and sexual relationships, but they never last. she doesn't mind the failed relationships either, and wouldn't care one way or another if mc had no experience; that's what's so fun about life. learning and finding what you like, and she'd love helping them explore.
rami is the most inexperienced of the bunch with, pardon my french, zero game. so oblivious to flirting that even if someone had tried, he wouldn't notice unless it was really on the nose. he'd actually find it relieving if mc didn't have any experience because hello?? that's an honest to god (heh) deity? also intimidating but it's okay!
and maluset has eons of experience in both. he's had wives, husbands, and spouses, both mortal and immortal, long before the mc even rose to divinity. he has had kids who have faded before mc's bloodline even started. if mc was inexperienced, he'd probably already know and it would change nothing; he'd be immensely honored to be the first.
if you're not following my main blog (which you should, i make funne joek sometimes lol) then you should know that my kitten massacred my charger cable to the laptop and i've yet to get a replacement.
in lieu of an update, here's a concept piece about how you would've met maluset for the first time in game. it's scrapped now for something better (hopefully) but it's still an okay piece of writing if i do say so myself. think it was some sort of a fever writing so let's not look too close okay.
It's cold. The mansion is always cold, of course, but this feels unnatural. Like the sun itself blotted out, a chill that seeps into your bones, a freeze after submerging in icy water.
No. You stop your steps and scan your surroundings. The mansion is quiet as well, void of the hustle and bustle of the maid always scurrying around. Something has shifted.
"What the fuck is going on," you hear the voice from atop of the grand staircase, the keeper of your chains aggravated as they tie the sash around their bathrobe. "What the fuck did you do?" They hiss, each step down the staircase filled with anger, theyr eyes on you in accusation.
But you didn't do this, did you? A cursory glance at your hands, and they're shaking. Why? Why can't you stop them? A tug at your heart could be anything; fear, exhaustion, panic, but those are emotions you've long buried. No, there is something else too. A familiarity, a longing, you felt it for the first thousand years, but it has since lain dormant.
"I-" you begin, interrupted by the rumble you feel underfoot. It's minimal at first, barely there for you to sense, but it grows stronger, stronger, until a vase perched on a side table crashes into the floor.
The heir grabs onto the bannister and curses. Another figure falls against the bannisters upstairs, a familiar, exhausted visage now with frantic eyes looking across the room, eyes meeting yours in question.
It peaks and recedes, slowly, shakes becoming tremors, and tremors becoming subtle vibrations. The heir stomps up to you with a finger raised, but they get no word out before Rami is down the stairs and grabs their arm. "Wait, do you see -"
"Rami, you're my brother, but I will break every single one of your fingers if you so much as touch me aga-" and he does, grabs them by the head and turns them to look at the front entrance, the massive windows that show an opulent garden outside.
Or they should, but there is nothing. Only darkness.
Oh. You feel the realization creep up your neck like a soft desert breeze, warm in midst of the cold that has otherwise settled. It cocoons you like your mother's hugs, protective, adoring. Alive.
"What the fuck," the heir offers eloquently yet again, bare feet stomping to the door and yanking it open. Light that should spill out from the open door sits still at the threshold. "That's not normal," Rami mutters, but you can only stare into the abyssal darkness.
At the sand collecting at the porch, grains coming together to form a vortex before it solidifies into a figure.
The heir stumbles back with a cry, landing on their behind as they scurry back. You stand still, hands ny your side, but you want to reach. You want to welcome an old friend, but you get no chance.
He's here. After so many years, he's here. The robes fall effortlessly over his shoulder, the moving glitter of starlight the only differentiating element from the darkness beyond. A divine vision clad in shadows, the human features swirling as if not keen on being in that form. You see the galaxies in his eyes consolidate into an iris, the full weight of it set on the heir sprawled in the ground.
"Ashar tehk nuḥ senet akhet."
Your breath stutters at the inhale. It's been so long since you heard your tongue spoken, the words like an old-forgotten hymn you thought you'd never hear again.
I have come to retrieve the one you have stolen from me.
You could think he came for a relic, or anything else of material value. The spark of hope you've nursed flares to life when he turns his eyes to you, the vastness behind them softening as he takes you in, his shoulders easing only a fraction. Another gust of a warm breeze flows over your cheek.
