Cold Fairyland at the end of the world

Hi! It's been a long time coming but I'm excited to share the Chapter 5 alpha demo! Thank you for your patience and enthusiasm :) Please read until the end. Without fail I get questions that are answered in this post almost immediately after publishing it aha

I'm calling it an alpha demo because, and not to get all sad and lame, after the death of my family member I did not feel like adding more to my plate (aka beta testers). Writing took up much of my time already and it just hasn't been the right time to include other people into the process. Of course, that must change, and I will be getting beta testers soon now that the alpha is out. As always, the chapters are subject to change and improve as time goes on.

So with that said if there are errors im all ears! I will try to be as timely as possible.

NOTE: if you're band tier sub from late march to april expired, please send me a message so I can send you my email and send the demo. In the email be sure to add your email, subscription tier and proof! *If not proof then I can use your email to search it up!* Band tiers will get it immediately + fan tiers will be put on a list to get it in May!

This story contains graphic violence (including optional scenes of torture, murder, coerced harm to others and graphic depictions of post-mortem body preservation), animal cruelty, substance use, profanity, optional explicit sexual content (including scenes with extremely dubious consent) choking, bondage, bdsm, mentions of mental illness, depictions or references to child abuse and neglect, and dialogue or opinions expressed by fictional characters that may be perceived as offensive or insensitive. These views are solely those of the characters and do not reflect the beliefs of the authors. They are included to serve the narrative and portray the story’s setting authentically. Player discretion is advised.

Narrowly escaping the ritualistic purpose of your existence and the coven your sire drained you into as a child, you are now on the run for your (un)life through a world that wants nothing more than to kill you and allow your corpse to sink into the biomechanical carcass that makes up this reality -- and that's before they realize you're a blood-sucking abomination of nightmares past. What's worse, your sire succeeded in leaving you one last gift before you managed your mad dash to freedom. There is something growing inside of you, a wriggling mass that you don't even pretend to understand, because the one thing you do know is far more important; if it hatches from the egg that is your body, you will die. Again.

In the beginning, you're simply running without a direction -- let alone a plan -- but being in the right place at the right time lands you a helping hand to point you towards what will be your goal; a madman, a genius, a technological marvel, a gratuitous mass of wire and vein. A lifeline. He holds the potential to remove the occultist monstrosity growing in your guts, and you're more than willing to pay whatever price that will find you once you find him. You're joined by a small entourage of outcasts and miscreants, all with their own desires for the man at the end of this road. None of you trust the other, and for good reason, they especially mistrust you.

You're on the clock. Whether you'll get got by the coven-mates your sire sends to retrieve you, the numerous lunatics that wander and reign this techno-concrete-hellscape, or by the thing seeping between the layers of your skin is yet to be seen.

Yours is not a story of revenge, nor triumph, nor justice. It is of the one defining trait that you are still in possession of. The one tendon that ties you to the rotting remains of your humanity; the primal instinct to survive.

Play as the host -- a 59Y/O vampire who lives in the eternal body of a young adult, playable as a man, woman, or a non-binary individual. In the end, identity holds no value.

Escape your sire and his coven, both of which have been your home prison since you were killed and turned as a young child. Outrun the retrievers he sends your way, along with the memories of the things he did to you. Don't worry, I've left you a physical reminder.

Explore an unapologetically disgusting world where it is hard to find where the organic begins and the technology takes over. Perhaps there is some beauty that can be found in the macabre. You are what it eats.

Meet your three companions, each distinct in a world where standing out only serves to paint a brighter target on your back. Befriend them, romance them, drain them for all they are worth.

You were one of the “lucky” few to have been sired from an elder vampire, and your abilities reflect that. Decide how they will manifest themselves, along with how you feel about it. There is no hiding what you are.

Find the man… thing… that supposedly has the ability to save you from certain death. Get this thing out, before it comes out by itself.

You're in this to survive, but that doesn't mean you have to be a monster in anything more than just name. Determine your outlook on this rotting place and its not-quite-decaying inhabitants, and decide how much of you still remains. Soon enough, you'll realize how little there is to save.

You hold something great. Something terrible. Something that will consume the world and birth it anew; but the first birth must come from skin, and sinew, and muscle, and bone. Unimaginable greatness awaits you, puer. How long do you believe you can avoid the inevitable?

The only thing that ties you together is a mutual desire to remain more than a heap of flesh and the man(?) you're working with one another to find. They know what you are -- most of what you are -- and are varying levels of willing to be a source of sustenance in exchange for the protection your inhumane abilities grant. Whether you view them as an invaluable source of companionship or blood bags you simply cannot afford to lose is entirely up to you.

-> SEBASTION Unrelenting, unwavering, with a chip on his shoulder and a compass in his hand... in his hand. He promises not to dig a stake into the empty cavity of your chest for the sole reason that you saved his life. He's watching you carefully -- he notices when you watch him back. -> FAUST You technically have met shortly before your official introduction, but the circumstances were poor and the result even poorer. She's used to the violence of this wasteland, however, and is willing to just treat you as another of its many threats. And yet, she has a habit of lingering. -> TAINT Sadistic, uncontrollable, and passionately savage, the priest almost jumps at the opportunity you present -- you can't tell if he's absolutely insane, or if this is just what the world has come to. He is carnage incarnate, and he revels in it. His grin promises that it hurts; do you want it to?

Do not forget the seed inside, lutum. They cannot know what it is they water.

Things get gross -- this is not a story for the faint of heart nor stomach. Its narrative relies heavily on unavoidable themes that are horrific in nature in both its background and foreground, and includes acts that you as the main character can commit during you and your companions long road to salvation. Specific warnings include but are not at all limited to; EXTREMELY PREVALENT BODY HORROR, GRAPHIC DEPICITIONS OF VIOLENCE INCLUDING MUTILATION/DISMEMBERMENT/ABUSE, INHUMANE EXPERIMENTATION AND GROSS SCIENTIFIC/MEDICAL MISCONDUCT, RELIGIOUS AND RITUALISTIC MUTILATION/SACRIFICE/TORTURE, GROOMING FOR THE PURPOSE OF INDOCTRINATION, BASTARDIZATION OF CATHOLICISM AND OCCULT PRACTICES, EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT INCLUDING THE IMPROPER PRACTICE OF UNSAFE SEX/SADOMASOCHISM/UNLABELED KINK, TRAUMA REGARDING SEVERAL TYPES OF ABUSE, PREGNANT-ADJACENT THEMES THROUGH THE LENSE OF UNCONSENSUAL ELDRITCH INCUBATION, and VAMPIRES. Please keep in mind that several of the warnings regarding violence are committed by and against children and animals.

NOTABLE GAME MECHANICS

There are certain mechanical choices that I feel necessary to address before I begin publicly producing this story.

-> SANGUISUGA is a semi-linear IF with a heavy focus on story, lore, and characterization. There are some branching paths, but there is far more of an emphasis on your experience with the story as it progresses with you. This ruined world will go on, even if you do not.

-> There are no personality stats. Simply put, I don't like them. I've seen them utilized well in certain instances, but I often feel that they limit the players ability to express themselves in fear of not getting a certain boost in a certain statistic that determines whether an NPC views them as calculating or impulsive, despite the fact that you may react differently in different situations. Instead, there is an increase in player-controlled responses and reactions, with the player character having a few select traits pre-set (most notably being; you're scared shitless.) However, your actions do have consequence.

-> All three companions are gender-locked. I understand the discontent that may come from this decision -- especially with there being two men and only one woman -- but I ultimately settled on this decision less for the sake of easier coding (though that certainly played a part) and more because I wanted them to feel like fully actualized people living in this world, rather than potentially just being seen as possible love interests for the player character. There are certain parts of their backstories, personalities, and responses to story beats that play varying levels of relevancy to their gender. All three are playersexual and hold equal levels of importance to the story at large.