Call me Fir | She/her/bruh to my kids | Author of “Viatica” and “Cantata,” both IFs available on itch.io | Curious about my recent colorectal surgery and health journey? Follow my side blog @fir-bag
This is the intro post for my WIP, “Cantata.” Read my completed IF, “Viatica,” here on itch.
DEMO on Itch
KO-FI | PATREON | ASK GUIDELINES
Questions about fan fiction of my work and what’s permitted? Please read my STATEMENT HERE.
A low fantasy IF loosely based on the Italian Renaissance period, with a steampunk edge.
SYNOPSIS
The story is set in Saleste, a vast empire with a long history of expansionism and colonization. Within the empire, technically citizens but not, are the Iredicci. The Iredicci can hear and feel the cordis, the harmonic pulse that connects all living things, and they connect to it through song. Iredicci have excellent hearing, but their defining feature is their voice—they have an echo to their voice, a resonance of two pitches at once.
A simple, nomadic people, the Iredicci were traditionally welcome in all corners of the Saleste Empire. But as steam technology progressed and the push for new resources grew, a prejudice developed against them. Over the years they stopped being welcome. Eventually, their travel was restricted, and the Iredicci were forced to live in settlement camps.
You are one of the Iredicci, born into such a camp. The elders sing songs of past travels and wonders you have never seen. Ever the optimists, the elders tell you to take heart. To be thankful you are among friends and family. That things can’t possibly get any worse.
Until they do.
Historians and politicians would call it The Proelium, a righteous battle against the traitorous Iredicci. What it really was, was the systematic genocide of your people. In one night, soldiers attacked every settlement camp across the empire. No one was spared—not the elders, not the children, not your mother.
It was mere whim that you snuck out of camp that evening, a mischievous escapade with a friend that ironically saved your life. You are taken in by your friend’s family and kept safe. But with survivors being hunted and killed, you must conceal your identity. So, you pretend to be deaf and mute.
Journey through the empire of Saleste and beyond. Grow from a child into an adult. Make friends, lovers, allies, and enemies. How will they react when your secret comes to light? Will you abandon your song in favor of machine? Join the rebel forces against the tyrant regis? Will you heal the wounds of the realm and restore balance? Or plunge it further into chaos?
FEATURES
Play as male, female or nonbinary—you’ll be able to choose your pronouns independent of your body type.
Customize your character’s appearance and personality.
Choose your attunement/proficiency with the cordis. This choice will heavily influence gameplay, affecting combat, weapon specialization, character interactions, and problem-solving situations. Choose wisely!
Create 2 character names: your birth name and an alias. The Iredicci have culturally unique names, so your birth name will be limited to a preset selection. But you will go by an alias of your own choosing for most of the story.
Develop your relationship with your adopted sister. Are you friends or rivals?
Romance! Or not. Romance 1 of 5 possible love interests, including a late addition, secret RO! Or choose the platonic route with the best of friends.
Save a wild animal from a hunter’s trap and gain a steadfast companion. Because fur baby.
THE MC
The game begins with you at age 7. When you are 12, your camp is slaughtered during The Proelium. With your voice and heightened hearing identifying you as Iredicci, you pretend to be deaf and mute in order to hide your heritage. The main game occurs 13 years after The Proelium, when you are 25.
ROMANCE OPTIONS
Calliope Cato (she/her)
The inventor/artificer, Calliope can build and fix any machine. She is 2 years younger than you, petite, with gold eyes, rich brown skin and black hair in multiple braids. Her hair and clothes are adorned in rings, belts, and pins which double as tools. She carries a man’s cane sword with her everywhere, which she wields in a fight along with a hand crossbow. She’s curious, optimistic, excitable, and easily distracted by her many projects, but much of that is to keep her mind occupied. In quiet moments when she thinks no one is looking, you glimpse a profound sadness on her features.
Corinne Xenakis (she/her)
The leader of the rebels, Corinne works to overthrow the monarchy and aid the surviving Iredicci where possible. She is 6 years older than you. She is tall, with long, sandy brown hair usually worn in a messy bun or loosely braided bun, hazel eyes, and beige skin tanned by the sun. Quiet, serious and aloof, she feels a tremendous responsibility for those under her command. Corinne is a contradiction—she has the grace and manners of a noblewoman, yet fights with military precision that is uncommon for females of noble lineage. She is deadly when double wielding her flintlocks or axes. While not cold, she is not overly familiar or friendly with anyone, and very tight-lipped about her past. What does she guard so fiercely behind her armor?
Vicente Aloi (he/they)
The bastard prince, Vicente is calculating, ruthless and driven. They are the same age as you, and they, too, lost their mother the night of The Proelium, though under different circumstances. But while you were adopted into a loving family, he is the unwanted son of the regis, trained to be a lethal tool. He has long, midnight blue-black hair, icy blue eyes, and high defined cheekbones. The edges of a tattoo are barely visible on his neck above the collar of his doublet… wings, perhaps? It’s beautiful. He’s beautiful, though you’d never tell him for fear he’d take his rapier to your neck simply for looking. Will your plans align with his, or are you merely another pawn in his schemes?
Bayram Durmaz (he/him)
The son of the Aydem, the matriarchal leader of Tinebaille. Bayram is 4 years older than you. He has golden-honey skin, light brown eyes, and dark brown, tightly-curled hair that he usually wears back in a ponytail or half ponytail. He is tall and broad, muscular but not toned, with a rounded edge to his stomach and chest. A sprawling, colorful tattoo, the mosaic artwork of his people, covers the entirety of his back. He is boisterous, bold, and a shameless flirt. With his young sister bearing the weight of succession, he’s been free to explore the islands to his heart’s content, and is familiar with every bay, inlet, and harbor. He is equally skilled at wielding a spear, sailing a ship, and charming hearts.
CLICK HERE for a master post of all the fun, flavor text options in the story thus far. These are mostly insignificant, not plot affecting, and only for funsies.
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I'm sure you've heard it a million times already but I hope you are doing well and healing nicely! We're (we as in all of us fans) are so glad you're okay and getting better! Rest is important so I hope you're getting as much of it as you can!
I just wanted to write a few nice things, despite being (VERY) nervous about sending this haha. 😸
I love your work so so so much and im so inspired by you and I hope one day I can learn to write as well as you do! I've always dreamed about becoming an author but gave up due to my lack of talent. But everytime I come back to one of your stories it always sparks something in me and I consider getting back into writing.
Viatica was the first IF I read and introduced me to the many, many stories that I could include myself into. It forever holds a special place in my heart and I constantly go back and reread it. (I romance Lion in every playthrough 🥹) And Cantata is just as amazing! I cannot wait for the next chapter and have been thinking, and dreaming, about it nonstop since chapter six was released.
all I can say is thank you for all the work, passion and love you put into these stories. Take care!!! 🩷🩷🩷
Ayy, thank you so much for this lovely message!! It makes my heart happy knowing you reread Viatica. 💕
I sincerely hope you continue writing. Do it for yourself, for the love of it. And there’s no better way to improve your craft than actually doing it. Believe me, the first version I wrote of Viatica (when I was 19) was so cringe. I’ve thought about sharing it on Patreon but I’m kinda terrified, lol. 🫣 The point is that I didn’t always write as I do now, so don’t be too hard on yourself. I gave up writing too, because life. Now here I am nearly 30 years later and loving it. 😁
I am so blessed by this community and the support I’ve gotten from readers and fellow authors alike. I stopped writing Cantata a little before my surgery, so I went 5-6 weeks without writing anything. I don’t know about other authors but a break that big makes it difficult for me to get back into the groove. But messages like this help immensely, so thank you! 🫶🏻
getting to call Jonah made me genuinely tear up. I love how good you are at writing family dynamics, because I can actually really feel the affection through the written text of the game. anyway if anything more happens to Jonah or any other member of our family Im going to go and singlehandedly kill the Regis himself ❤️
I love this because most asks I read have been about Thaleia and calling her mom. I don’t get many from people who went this route. But something about calling Jonah papa and watching that big man melt makes me melt, too. ❤️
And don’t worry, I’ve done enough to the Sideris parents, I think. Writing the end of chapter 4 about wrecked me so I know I don’t have it in me to do worse. 😅
Hello! Just wanted to say I love both your IF's and you're doing a great job! I have a question: is Corinne's name pronounced Cor-een or Cor-inn because I've heard both.
(On an unrelated note, I named my MC Aria and am currently feeling extremely proud of myself lol.)
Sending love and prayers for your recovery, I know from experience that surgery is not fun!
Hello anon! Thank you for your kind words. 💕
It’s pronounced Cor-inn. And Aria is a perfect name choice for this story!
oh my, thank you so much for the kind words! admittedly the attention is a bit overwhelming, I mentioned the last time I had posted my art publicly was many years ago and that was to my tiny instagram where my two friends were the only ones that saw it lol. but seeing how nice this community is made me want to take a shot at it here, too, and I'm glad I did even if it was nerve-wracking!! 😵💫🫣
As for yapping about my MC, let's see... Lumen was a very high energy, outgoing, bubbly kid, but after the Proelium his personality did a full 180. He became shy and taciturn, and rejected anyone who'd tried befriend him. Around the Sideris family, he lived like he was walking on eggshells, so as not to make himself more of an inconvenience/burden than he already perceived himself to be.
Over time he started opening up again, and while he isn't nearly as outgoing as he was, he is friendlier to those he does interact with. He does come across as rather stoic though, since he doesn't openly express himself a lot anymore. His brain has overcorrected from "only react when appropriate" to "never react to anything ever." He often has to consciously remember to express himself even with those he's able to speak freely with.
Lumen's still a gentle soul (most of the time) and usually merciful, however there is also a part of him deep down that is very angry at the injustices towards the Iredicci, and if it weren't for his positive support system to reel him back in, he'd have been a lot more stabby about it.
His voice claim is Matt Mercer as his role as Shigure from Fire Emblem Fates. I'm including this because I need more people to be aware that the GOAT Matt Mercer can sing. Now go listen to Shigure's version of Lost in Thoughts All Alone 🫵
I'm gonna end it here before this gets too much longer. I ended up having a cut quite a bit out since I'm 90% sure I greatly exceeded the ask character limit, oops lol. But thank you again for the compliments, thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings, and I hope the rest of your recovery time goes smoothly!! 🦐🦐🦐✨
I’m so glad you got over the initial fear and shared your art! I’m honored that my IF was the thing to make you post publicly again. ❤️
The community IS amazing, full agree! I’ve been very fortunate to have such an engaging and thoughtful readership. And I’m still a little shell shocked that I even have a fanart community, lol.
Lumen sounds wonderful and honestly, he sounds a little like an MC I’d play. I love the quiet, taciturn types that open up once they’ve let you in. And 💯 Matt Mercer is the GOAT, amazing voice actor. Nice choice!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Hey Fir!! So I'm working as a veterinary intern at the moment and I was at an animal shelter in rural India seeing some animals + how they're cared for.
I was on a walk with the head vet and she casually mentioned that they have palm civets and I actually just started buffering.
I said hi to one of them and gave him some snacks. He was so fluffy :3
The palm civets have escaped the narrative!
Omg, that is so cute! I love that you were able to pet and feed one, I’m a little jealous! And what a wonderful job you have! ❤️
Tellus asking about MC while Thaleia is healing and getting to know the MC they never knew is so heartwarming and Tellus, that is very cute of him.
Right?! I loved the idea of Tellus sitting with the Sideris fam without MC. Like, they’re basically his family too, as they were such a welcome addition to the accord. And since Iredicci culture puts a lot of importance on extended family and community, he naturally would have gravitated to them, even if he resents it.
just want to shout out the water-attuned+chess hobby flavor text combo for mc, it truly sparks joy. like ohh so you like controlling the battlefield for work AND for fun, ok little miss survivors guilt to control freak pipeline💙 10/10 no notes
Hahaha, I never thought about this but I love it!
When writing, I have to think big picture and account for a lot of choices and customization, so I don’t normally see these parallels you find on individual playthroughs. I love hearing all the ways you bring these aspects together to create your unique MCs!
And as a bit of a control freak myself, Fir approves. 👍🏻
Hi! I already commented on chapter 6 when it came out on ko-fi so I'm not going to repeat myself, but now that I can actually talk about it publicly, I'd love to ask a question (though feel free to ignore it since technically it's about the NEXT chapter, I guess).
So, previously, before the mission, we got to decide if MC plans on revealing their secret to the group, and could come to a decision when talking with their family. But ultimately, considering all MCs decided not to tell anything - be it at all or "yet" (with the decision to tell them AFTER the mission and what not), I'm curious if we'll also get the option to decide how MC feels about the cat being out of the bag now, and will we be able to express specific feelings on the fact it wasn't revealed in optimal conditions but because of the crisis and the fight and what not? I can imagine my MC being a bit like "welp, that's done. Good I guess? A bit offended that I didn't get to tell them normally...".
Also, it's funny, I've been thinking I'm glad Coda is alive in relation to that specific thing too? It's dumb, but back when he was supposed to be dead, it would have meant that when the MC revealed their secret, willingly or not, them and their family would have been the only people who had kept it previously, so the "potential betrayal" felt by the rest of the group would have been more "focused" on MC's family. But now, with Coda being alive, a long-time comrade ALSO kept the secret, so it's more "split". Obviously my MC wouldn't necessarily have that kind of self centered thoughts about that matter, but I can't help but notice that angle as an "outside observer".
Hi Konoi!
I hadn’t really thought about it but I can definitely try to include a little flavor text around that! Between the reactions to being Iredicci and all that entails, to the reactions to MC hurting themselves and the aftermath of the destruction, there’s a lot of ground to cover. 🥴
I’ve started writing chapter 7 now and the sheer amount of questions that will come up in conversation has me 😵💫
It's really hard choosing a favourite between Bayram and Tellus... Someone that's forward and has large muscles, or childhood friend that calls you dear one??? All things I love equally
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Kween, this is gorgeous! Look at my beautiful babies! 😍🥹
I love the shading and their postures and everything about it! And what a cute idea for a conversation, because it would feel like an inside joke that poor Calliope doesn’t get. 😭
Oh wow, I love Lumen! He looks absolutely amazing, I love the detail in his clothing! And Honey (love the name) is adorable. 😍
I love that you animated the scene with Vanilla/Lemon. That is precious! 🥹❤️
Btw, in your tags you mentioned wanting to yap about your MC… if you tag your art #cantata fanart there’s a whole community of friendly Cantata art warriors who will see and chat over your art with you! And feel free to yap in my inbox. I have a backlog of asks and may not respond, but I love reading about individual MCs. 😁
I hope everything and your recovery are going great! ♥
I just wanted to tell you that I too I'm going through a journey of health in regards of my intestine & colon and seeing your posts made me feel less alone and less frighten in a way to my possible operation too.
Plus both Cantata and Viatica are helping me in this journey so thank you.
Truly, thank you for your amazing works and words.
I hope and wish you all the best. ♥
Oh my goodness, hoping for the best for you, too! ❤️ I hope things aren’t as severe in your case and that you can avoid surgery; but if not, it’s really not as scary and overwhelming as I first thought it’d be. I won’t lie and say it’s easy, but it IS manageable. 💪🏻 The most difficult part has been the healing and forcing myself to take it slow. 🥴
I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I created a side blog specifically for my health journey at @fir-bag. I go into more detail there and can answer specific questions. No pressure, though!
I’m so glad to hear my works are helping you through this difficult time. Thank you for this kind message. Take care of yourself, and I wish you a happy and healthy life! ❤️
hi fir!!!
i think you mentioned one of your kids does artfight, right? as an artfighter myself, would they be ok with dropping their user? id love to see what fir's spawn's artstyle looks like 😌😌🪻and mayhaps consider attacking them if i can!
(an attack in artfight terms. not a literal attack i am a pacifist at heart thankfully 🕺)
hope the after-surgery pains get a bit less painful every day!! and also i hope the happiness stays longer when it comes <3 rereading viatica and cried quite a lot, ty firzies
Hi JB! Yes, my son participates in art fight! This is his card and his link.
ATTAAAAAACCKKK! 🤺⚔️
An art gifting game
No, but seriously, I asked first and he was happy to share. Thanks for asking! ❤️
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
I was at a pub quiz the other night (side effect of being British) and the question that came up was asking about where the term " a Coda" comes up in a piece of music; the start, middle or end. We were supposed to be answering but I was too distracted thinking about Tellus/Coda and how I had no idea his new name was a musical term 😂 Cantata brain rot is real!
Your answer should have been: the start and the middle. Coda comes up in the start, then you kill him, then you bring him back in the middle. 😉😂
