#ituo

[johnlouisif]

ITUO Chapter Three Public Release

I am copying here my announcement from the COG Forums:

The loyalist route of Chapter 3 has been released to the public! You can still play the usurper and regent routes on the public demo, but they will end at the end of Chapter 2. Before I continue working on the other two routes, I'm going to do some major spring (Summer?) cleaning, so stay tuned for some polls and specific feedback requests.

In this chapter, experience:

A battle with Rade Mozoroff

The slow assemblage of the lords

Romantic reunions, developments, and angst

In traditional ITFO style: horrific violence

I hope it's worth the wait! I'm personally quite happy with how it all turned out, I think the endless rewriting and tinkering has led to a final product much improved compared to the first two chapters. Any and all feedback would be appreciated as well!

The link to the Forum Page can be found here, and the link to the public demo can be found here.

I hope you all enjoy!!!

[schlozo]

I have a theory that this will happen in the next update

I, the Unbroken One by @johnlouisif

[spicycakes]

Darin (feat. Velinor) sketch from I, the Forgotten One by @johnlouisif

[johnlouisif]

I love the new chapter! And I'm so excited to meet Kateryna! Can we know more about her? 🫶

I'm excited to introduce her! A little nervous, too, admittedly. But if her route ends up unsatisfying by its conclusion, then I can shift her introduction to earlier chapters during editing.

Kateryna, as she is conceived now, going to very feminine. Her introduction will feature her riding a warhorse in a noblewoman's dress at the head of a thousand northern soldiers. She will be helped down from her horse by her giant, mute cousin, who serves as the muscle of her operation.

I want her, whether romanced or not, to serve as an example of balancing the desire for femininity with the realities of rulership, assisting a F!MC who may be insecure with her own femininity reconcile the two halves of her life. In romance, she will explicitly be seeking the female Marshal as a romantic interest, finding the rumors of a warrior woman to be deeply fascinating, in a similar manner to Milon Janowitz of all people. After an initial gesture which the lesbian MC may react to, it will encourage her future courting. The route will have to move quicker than the others, but the Marshal is also in a much better mental space, so it should work. Fingers crossed.

[johnlouisif]

I, the Forgotten One, Short Story 5: “A BRIEF ACCOUNT of PEOPLES, TOWNS, and CITIES beyond the RIVER TENTUM by the SCHOLAR Q. MATIUS AUGURIUS”

I don't know how many people know this, but I'm a huge fan of ancient literature. I have been reading through Plutarch's Parallel Lives recently, and have gotten it in my mind to write a similar style work in the world of I, the Forgotten One.

It's not a very emotionally gripping short story, but I had a shocking amount of fun writing it, and I think I captured the archaic tone and non-existent fourth wall of translated Greek/Latin quite well. It's available to any tier of paid patron on my Patreon.

[johnlouisif]

3/23/26 Writing Update + Big Sneak Peek

Not a whole lot exciting to report. I'm still systemically hunting down and filling in placeholders. Good news: most of the major ones are done--save for the Obren romance variants, which I'll fill in last. The major battle variants are done, but I'm honestly not quite happy with them. Something to fix in my spring cleaning update, likely.

Additionally, I've released a 2500 word sneak peek on Patreon, containing two larger romance scenes with Milon and Lada respectively. The Lada scene is considerably more... dramatic, I'd say? More serious, at least. It's the first private encounter between the MC and Lada in the book so far. Milon and the MC have their dramatic moment earlier.

Here's a brief snapshot of the Lada route:

You fall asleep in Lada's bed, and it is the most blissful sleep you've ever had. Yet waking up beside her, and having the first sight be that of her smile, is a greater bliss indeed.

And... of the Milon route:

"Cyclops..." you murmur without thinking. "Sorry?" he asks. "Cyclops," you repeat. Milon, confused, opens his eyes and leans away. "Watch. Try focusing on my eyes," you explain, putting your forehead against his again. "One. Three. One. Three." "What? I don't get--oh." He practically drops you before he steps away and groans. "Cyclops," you state. "I'm trying to be sappy and romantic." He sounds actually upset as he plops down on the bed. Without thinking, you follow him, sitting right beside, worried that you've actually wounded the man.

[johnlouisif]

1/11/26 Writing Update

Going well. Going big. Going scary. The scene that was supposed to be the brief, early first maybe *quarter* of the chapter is now 20,000 words and only halfway done. Very bad. But also good--because I like how it's going and find it compelling.

I'm going to be releasing this chapter's demo early in chunks/paths as they're ready and posting them to Patreon. The full chapter will obviously still be released publicly, but since it's going to be a long long while since it's ready, I think it's a worthwhile reward for Patrons and gets me some seriously crucial early feedback before I cement the path of the story.

[johnlouisif]

4/19/26 Writing Update: Grunt Writing Done FOR REAL THIS TIME.

I finished the grunt writing for Chapter Three of ITUO originally on 3/30/26, but I was extremely iffy on the entire first 27,000 word chunk, which was the primary battle. I have since spent the last 20ish days working on a complete rewrite of this section.

I am now finished with this major rewrite, and am back into the editing process. Still a decent bit more to do, but I'll keep everyone posted when the demo is ready.