Red Thread - Chapter 1

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<span style="font-size:160%;color:#6e1b37;text-align:center">\ Chapter 1 - A Shadow</span> There's been a shadow sitting in the corner of my eye for three days now. "Do you want the pork bun or the chicken today?" The shadow doesn't move, it doesn't get bigger or smaller, but I can't look at it directly or it disappears. It always comes back though. Slinking, walking on long thin tendrils of smoke, settling in the edges of my vision like it means to stay. "I'll take the pork, thank you." I'm pretty sure it's watching me. I just don't know //why//. Well, actually, that's a lie. I’m pretty sure I do know. <div> "Hari-ah, you look tired today. Maybe you should have some of my ginger soup too, <span class="tooltip">nene.</span>" <span class="tooltiptext">''Nene'': A term from Shu Bhai meaning 'little sister' or 'young girl/woman'. Used by older siblings to address their younger sisters, but also by non-family members as a friendly or affectionate title.</span> </div>I look up at Mrs Hulyn, the shopkeeper who pretty well keeps me alive. Her face has the kinds of lines engrained by a lifetime of love. For her family, her grandchildren, her tiny shop that squeezes almost impossibly between two residence buildings. Love for food, for ingredients which she barters for all over town at ungodly hours. She even seems to have a little love to spare for foolish customers like me — who might not know how to cook, but do crave food from their homeland. <div> "<span class="tooltip">Oba-sa</span>, you always say I look tired." It's eight pm and I only just finished work. I //am// tired. I've been pawing through the insides of a new grain tender model that has been sent for peer review. (Of course my staff leader only gave me three days to do it. The guy has the smile of a cat and the soul of a snake.) <span class="tooltiptext">''2. Oba-sa: 'Oba''' is a term from Shu Bhai meaning 'grandmother' or 'older woman', used by family members, but also by non-family members as a friendly or affectionate title. '''-sa''' is an honourific used to indicate respect. Typically not used for family members.</span> </div>\ "You looked tired this morning too! You are always my first customer. You young people these days work for too long." "Hang on," I protest. "Don't you start work at three am?" "If you start every day with my ginger soup then you will be able to keep up, but you must learn to rest too." "I really feel like this is a case of the pot and the kettle," I mutter. Mrs Hulyn ignores me. Probably on purpose. It happens as she hands over my buns, (the pork, and a raspberry custard for later). Reaching out, my fingers accidentally brush against the red thread hanging from her heart and gently drifting over the counter. //Shock.// A zap. Like touching directly on a live wire -- lightning slipping up my hand and sizzling through my brain before I can even process the thought of moving away. A vision fills my whole mind in an instant. <div class="indent" style="padding-left:40px;">//It's Mrs Hulyn.//</div> <div class="indent" style="padding-left:60px;">//She's walking her youngest grandchild to school. //</div> <div class="indent" style="padding-left:80px;">//She gets distracted waving to a neighbour as they make their way down the stairs of their residence block,//</div> <div class="indent" style="padding-left:105px;">//and she trips--//</div> I pull away. A hot rush of nausea fills the back of my throat. "Nene? Oh honey I do think you are sick, should you sit down?" "No," I swallow, trying to block out the image of Mrs Hulyn's body crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, her wailing granddaughter nearby. "I'm fine." I refocus on Mrs Hulyn's worried face. "I just, ah, I didn't get enough sleep last night." "Aih, you young people, you don't value your sleep enough. You'll get sick if you don't sleep on top of all this work-work!" "Yeah, yeah I probably will." I glance down at the thread. It lies there innocently enough. She can't see it, of course. But I can. The thing is, Mrs Hulyn is old. Her thread will unwind soon enough. Merge back into the tapestry. (At least, that's what the nuns say happens after death… I figure they might as well be right as anything. I've watched how threads fray and fade out of sight when a person's mortal time ends.) I used to worry that the stories about people's spirits going on after their mortal lives weren't true. That because I saw threads fade -- that it meant people just vanished out of existence, rather than one day reforming. But then… I saw someone's thread cut. I've only seen it once. The memory still gives me chills. It was about a year ago. Some jacked-out subLine gang member was on the street near my work. Everyone was inside, waiting for the city guard to show up. I was on the ground floor, (way too close, stupid-close) but I felt safe because my own thread was strong, untouched by danger. I was so self assured! (So dumb.) The guy was chasing someone else, he had some kind of weird-as old fashioned looking weapon. An ornamented blade on the end of a short spear; it had a weird sort of tinge to it, like a kind of metal I'd never seen before. The two men fought and the gang guy just shoved that weapon right into the other guy's heart, not more than 20 metres from me. I saw it, the guy's thread -- healthy, strong, no sign of its near end, just //cut//. Ended. Snapped. Over. The weapon sliced it right through. At the time I'd nearly fainted. Luckily people around me thought it was, you know, because of the horrible gruesome murder, not the jangling clang of //wrong// which happened when that thread was cut. My head split with pain, my teeth ached, and I could see an overlay in the world around the dead guy, as a million other connecting threads went black and died off from where the man's future was supposed to lead. It was like a hole had just been torn in the universe. Luckily the city guard had managed to get the murderer from a distance with a stun lock. The weapon got confiscated and we all got sent home. I spent the rest of the day huddled in my Hab, clutching the loo and throwing up. All in all, the experience was pretty formative (read: wildly traumatic) and I had decided that no matter how tragic, threads unspooling the normal way was definitely how the universe was meant to work. The alternative was… well, 'heinous' is probably the best way to describe it. So, point being, I really don't need to be bothered that Mrs Hulyn seems to have her own unwinding very close in her future. It's an inevitability for us all. But… "Here nene, I'm pouring you some soup now. You have a little drink before you go -- warm you up and get you stronger for your walk." People die in a million different ways. I've seen enough death in my life to know that the method of how someone goes is a dice-roll at best. Maybe some people (i.e. the rich…) get to roll with better odds, but overall it's very rarely nice or kind. It certainly doesn't work out that the better a person is, the nicer death they have. But… for someone as impossibly giving as Mrs Hulyn to die like that… plus leaving her grandkid probably haunted by the memory for life… It just doesn't feel fair at all. "Oba-sa," I say, and I feel the air around me tremble a little. //I shouldn't be doing this.// <div class="choice">[[Be honest and tell her that I have a bad feeling about her fate|Chapter 1.2a - Be Honest]]</div> <div class="choice">[[Lie and tell her about seeing a bad fortune in her stars|Chapter 1.2b - Lie]]</div>

<<if settings.achievements>><<notify 3s>>Achievements active!<</notify>><</if>>Ultrices in iaculis nunc sed augue lacus. Duis ultricies lacus sed turpis tincidunt id. Amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim diam. Sodales ut eu sem integer vitae justo eget magna. Amet justo donec enim diam vulputate. Turpis egestas sed tempus urna et. Erat imperdiet sed euismod nisi porta lorem mollis aliquam. Quis varius quam quisque id diam. Ultricies mi eget mauris pharetra et ultrices. Nulla at volutpat diam ut venenatis tellus in metus. Accumsan sit amet nulla facilisi. Libero nunc consequat interdum varius sit. Sit amet tellus cras adipiscing enim. Urna et pharetra pharetra massa. Libero justo laoreet sit amet cursus sit. Mattis aliquam faucibus purus in massa tempor nec. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et. In nisl nisi scelerisque eu ultrices vitae auctor eu. <div class="choice">[[next - pronoun setting|3]]</div>

<<if settings.achievements>><<notify 3s>>Achievements active!<</notify>><</if>>Elementum nisi quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae. Ullamcorper dignissim cras tincidunt lobortis. Dictum varius duis at consectetur lorem donec massa sapien. Eu scelerisque felis imperdiet proin fermentum leo. Massa id neque aliquam vestibulum morbi blandit. Nec dui nunc mattis enim ut tellus. Rhoncus dolor purus non enim praesent elementum. Ante in nibh mauris cursus mattis. Nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis. Orci sagittis eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris. At risus viverra adipiscing at in tellus integer. Ultrices neque ornare aenean euismod elementum nisi quis eleifend quam. <div class="choice">[[next - pronoun setting|3]]</div>

Insert achievements here

<<if settings.achievements>><<link "Achievements">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Achievements"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("achievements").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</link>><</if>> <<link "Relationships">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Relationships"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Relationships").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</link>> <<link "Skills">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Skills"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Skills").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</link>> <<link "Glossary">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Glossary"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Glossary").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</link>> <<link "Credits">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Credits"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("credits").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</link>>

<span style="font-size:200%;color:#6e1b37">\ ''Characters and Relationships''</span> Throughout Hari-ah's journey you'll meet some key people and have the opportunity to develop relationships with them. This page records the status of those friendships and romances. <<if ndef ($MetDarien or $MetPlum)>>\ <span style="color:#737373">You have yet to meet any of these characters, but don't worry, you will soon. </span><</if>> <<if def $MetDarien>> <span style="font-size:160%;color:#6e1b37">\ ''Darien Silverblade''</span> Darien is a mysterious sword-wielding woman with steel in her eyes, but a charming smirk, and ARMS. She has short dark hair that does that effortlessly-gorgeous-disheveled thing, green eyes, and some sort of red line on her face, starting in a pool below her left eye and traveling down her cheek. <</if>> /* Darien Friendship */\ <<if def $MetDarien>><span style="font-size:120%;">''Your friendship with Darien is:''</span> <<if ($DarienFriendship gte 90)>>The bond of a lifetime. You and Darien are fast-friends and almost nothing could shake it. You trust her with your life and she with yours. <<elseif ($DarienFriendship gte 70)>> Close friends. You don't know many people you know and trust like Darien, and she clearly feels the same. You treasure this relationship. <<elseif ($DarienFriendship gte 60)>>Friends. You're still getting to know each other but Darien is a huge help and has already saved your life! You have a good feeling about her. <<elseif ($DarienFriendship gte 50)>>Neutral. You don't know each other that well yet. Darien seems like an interesting person but she's hard to get a read on. <<elseif ($DarienFriendship gte 40)>>Cautious. You and Darien haven't really clicked. She's no doubt a strong warrior but you're not fully sure of her motivations. <<elseif ($DarienFriendship gte 20)>>Chilly. Darien has her priorities and you have yours. Trusting her would be unwise. <<elseif ($DarienFriendship gte 1)>>Hostile. You wouldn't trust Darien as far as you could throw her. She's hiding things from you and she is a loose canon to boot. <</if>><</if>> /* Darien Romance */\ <<if def $MetDarien>><span style="font-size:120%;">''Your romance with Darien is:''</span> <<if ($DarienRomance gte 90)>>\ True love. You never dreamed you would ever love someone like this, have the fortune to have someone love you back just the same way. It must be destiny. Fate? Hah. But... it feels so true. <<elseif ($DarienRomance gte 80)>>\ Lovers. It's easy to get lost in her eyes, and she loves it when you do. You would never have thought almost getting murdered over and over might bring you love, but heck, you're not complaining. <<elseif ($DarienRomance gte 70)>>\ Romantic. You feel all fuzzy when she looks at her, she looks at your mouth kinda often, you like it when she does that flippy thing with her sword. <<elseif ($DarienRomance gte 60)>>\ Saucy. It seems like she wants you, and you kinda like her, so where to from here? <<elseif ($DarienRomance gte 50)>>\ Flirty. Darien likes to flirt, and smirk, and wink. Does it mean anything though? There's a part of her which always seems reserved. <<elseif ($DarienRomance gte 40)>>\ Uncertain. Sometimes Darien says things that are a bit flirty, and sometimes you say things which maybe sound a bit flirty, but did you mean it? No idea. You kinda feel like it might just be for the show of it. <<elseif ($DarienRomance gte 20)>>\ Awkward. You two don't really click that way. <<elseif ($DarienRomance gte 1)>>\ Non-existent. That's not your vibe and that's okay.<</if>><</if>>

By Pathweaver

Red Thread

An interactive story

<<set $Chaos to 0>> <<set $Order to 0>> <<set $DarienRomance to 50>> <<set $DarienFriendship to 50>> <<set $PlumRomance to 50>> <<set $PlumFriendship to 50>> <<set $SkillStealth to 0>> <<set $SoftFooted to 0>> <<set $BlendIn to 0>> <<set $SkillThread to 0>> <<set $FateDreamer to 0>> <<set $VisitFate to 0>> <<set $CarefulWeaver to 0>> <<set $TugThread to 0>> <<set $Chapter1_1 to false>>

<<widget "are">><<switch $plural>><<case true>>are<<case false>>is<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "were">><<switch $plural>><<case true>>were<<case false>>was<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "s">><<switch $plural>><<case true>><<case false>>s<</switch>><</widget>>

select your pronouns: <div class="choice">[[plural - they/them|4][$plural to true,$they to "they"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[singular - he/him, she/her, xe/xem|4][$plural to false,$they to "she"]]</div>

<<liveblock>>$they <<are>> happy. $they <<were>> sad. $they run<<s>> down the road. <</liveblock>> <div class="choice"><<link "She/her Pronouns">><<set $they to "she">><<set $plural to false>><<update>><</link>></div> <div class="choice"><<link "He/him Pronouns">><<set $they to "he">><<set $plural to false>><<update>><</link>></div> <div class="choice"><<link "Xe/xem Pronouns">><<set $they to "xe">><<set $plural to false>><<update>><</link>></div> <div class="choice"><<link "They/them Pronouns">><<set $they to "they">><<set $plural to true>><<update>><</link>></div>

<span style="color:#cc3366">Red Thread</span> is an in-development interactive fiction game by Pathweaver Productions. Written by Moana Moran. Copyright 2022. Find out more about <span style="color:#cc3366">Red Thread</span> on our website https://pathweaver.productions/red-thread . If you would like to get updates when future chapters are released, you can sign up on the site for our newsletter. ''Twine templates and macros credits'' <a href="https://www.motoslave.net/sugarcube/2/docs/">Sugarcube 2 Documentation</a> <a href="https://github.com/ChapelR/custom-macros-for-sugarcube-2">Chapel - custom macros collection</a> <a href="https://github.com/cyrusfirheir/cycy-wrote-custom-macros">Cycy's custom macros</a> <a href="https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_tooltip.asp">Hover Text</a>

<h3>StoryInterface</h3> The StoryInterface special passage, used by creating a special passage titled StoryInterface, allows you to override the default UI layout of Sugarcube. At its most basic, it consists of a div with the id "passages" that displays the data from your passages on the screen, as shown in example 1. You can add more complex layouts by adding more elements to this passage, such as menu bars, splash screens, headers and footers, as shown in example 2. Defining these divs is as simple as adding the necessary HTML to the StoryInterface passage; however, note that if a div is assigned a "data-passage" property, you should not add content to it within the StoryInterface passage. This property assigns a passage to that div. In example 2, the div with the id "ui-bar" has the data-passage property "UIBar", meaning it pulls its content data from a passage with the same name. These designations are case-sensitive. If you're just starting out with Twine/Sugarcube, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the language and the UI before working with StoryInterface. ''Example 1'' {{{<div id="passages"></div>}}} ''Example 2'' {{{<div id="ui-bar" data-passage="UIBar"></div>}}} {{{<div id="passages"></div>}}} {{{<div id="footer" data-passage="Footer"></div>}}} This will create a layout with three basic elements: the UI bar, the passage, and the footer. Content for the UI bar is found in the UIBar passage; likewise with the Footer passage & div. <h3>Accessing the UI functions</h3> Using StoryInterface by nature removes the built-in UI bar and the links contained within (Saves, Settings, Restart etc); these can all be replaced using their relevant APIs. The most common & useful of these are listed below. These commands can be placed inside links or buttons. {{{UI.saves() - opens the save UI}}} {{{UI.settings() - opens the settings UI}}} {{{UI.restart() - restarts the game}}} {{{Engine.backward()/Engine.forward() - undoes the previous action and returns the player to the previous passage/moves the player forward one action}}} Similarly to the above, you can use {{{<<back>>}}} to create a button that automatically undoes the last action, or {{{<<return>>}}} to return to the previous passage without undoing any variable changes made. <h3>Dialog functions</h3> You can set up dialog options to pop up upon clicking a link or button, which allows you to share information with the player without adding a new passage to the player's history or changing the state of the game. In order to do this, you need to set up the Dialog box, tell it what passage contains the content you want to display, and optionally, add a title. {{{Dialog.setup("Dialog Box Title");}}} {{{Dialog.wiki(Story.get("PassageName").processText());}}} {{{Dialog.open();}}} Any of these commands can be used in the default layout as well as StoryInterface - if you want extra save buttons, back buttons etc. <<back "Return">> <<link "Settings">><<script>>UI.settings();<</script>><</link>> <<button "Saves">><<script>>UI.saves();<</script>><</button>>

<<set $Chapter1_1 to true>> <<set $Chaos += 1>>\ <<notify 3s>>Glossary updated<</notify>>\ "Oba-sa…" My stomach lurches. There's no way she's going to believe me. "This is going to sound crazy but…" I lean closer across the counter, trying my best to ignore how my skin is feeling like it's sizzling slightly. "I can't explain how I know this, but you need to watch out for stairs in the next week or so." "Nene?" Mrs Hulyn looks shocked, but not as baffled as a local might be. She's from Shu Bhai like me, and old enough to be my grandmother, so she's pretty superstitious. I've never told a soul about my gifts. My parents know there's something weird about me but they're usually either too nice or too polite to bring it up in conversation. It's not like I think I'm going to be hunted down for being a witch either… Well. That only happens in Aluivian, the country one over from this one, and only for people much more overtly weird than me. It's more… that I don't understand this, and I can't expect other people to either.<<set $Know_WitchHunters to true>><<set $Loc_Aluivian to true>> "I'm so sorry, I just…" I scramble for something reasonable to say, but all I have is something close (but not too close) to the truth. "I just have this feeling something terrible might happen." It feels a little like opening my chest for inspection, saying this, but I think I can trust her. Mrs Hulyn hesitates, looking worried. I bite my lip, reach across the counter and press my hand to hers. "Please," I say. There's a heavy, painful pressure in the air, and it pops just as Mrs Hulyn nods. "Alright dear, I'll make sure to be careful." In front of me, Mrs Hulyn's thread vibrates and burns bright red, a tingling sound echoing lightly through the air. I don't even need to touch it to know. It's got the colour and bounce of a thread with many more years in it now. I grab onto the counter and try to smile through a wash of dizziness as the world rearranges around us. Threads shifting and intertwining and feeding into each other to make space for a changed fate. Then, just as I'd almost forgotten about it, in the corner of my vision, the shadow stiffens. It looms up large for a split second, as if eager and surprised, then as fast as a blink it scuttles away and out of sight, leaving my mind free from observation at last. //Well fuck.// <div class="choice">[[Next|Chapter 1.3 - Danger]]</div>

<<set $Chapter1_1 to true>>\ <<set $Order += 1>>\ <<notify 3s>>Glossary updated<</notify>>\ I've gotta make this sound believable without her knowing I'm standing here literally seeing how she dies. I scramble for a reasonable lie. "You know… the moon is in the fifth quarter this month…" I say tentatively. Mrs Hulyn's face lights up. She's old fashioned, and she loves to gossip about fortunes. I continue as if I have thought about any of this stuff since I lived with my mother. "I read this morning that people with your stars should be wary of heights. Take extra care on uh… stairs and bridges and stuff." There's a bright, metallic tang on my tongue. Mrs Hulyn's face takes on an interested look. "Oh? I hadn't seen that anywhere." //Believable lie, Hari-ah! Believable lie!// "Ah, yeah! I've um… got one of those really good books at home. You know, from the old country." Mrs Hulyn's suspicions are instantly cleared. She's from Shu Bhai like me, and takes any knowledge handed down from the 'old country' (before the 'Accords' which filled Shu Bhai with what my father calls 'filthy colonisers' and the government calls 'cultural partners',) seriously. Mrs Hulyn nods with a conspiratorial air. "Aih! I see! Well, thank you for telling me, nene. I will make sure to be careful." //Welp. I'm already in this deep.// "Do be really careful Hulyn-oba, please, especially in the next week or so." Something about my tone must give something away, because Mrs Hylyn gives me a close look, peering uncomfortably deep into my eyes. "Alright dear," she says, more serious than usual. "I'll remember." There's a tingling noise which comes from nowhere in particular, and yet everywhere at once, and Mrs Hulyn's thread vibrates and burns bright red. I don't even need to touch it to know. It's got the colour and bounce of a thread with many more years in it now. I grab onto the counter and try to smile through a wash of dizziness as the world rearranges around us. Threads shifting and intertwining and feeding into each other to make space for a changed fate. Then, just as I'd almost forgotten about it, in the corner of my vision, the shadow stiffens. It looms up large for a split second, as if eager and surprised, then as fast as a blink it scuttles away and out of sight, leaving my mind free from observation at last. //Well fuck.// <div class="choice">[[Next|Chapter 1.3 - Danger]]</div>

<<notify 3s>>Glossary updated<</notify>>\ I reach down slowly and press my fingertips to my thread. Flashes. Light. Emotion. I close my eyes but it doesn't help to stop the deluge of colour and sound and information which flows through my mind. Hurtling through a thousand futures so quickly it's only a nauseating blur. //Take a deep breath. Concentrate!// Slowing my breaths deliberately, I try to sort through the blur to find my own, my near-future, the source of this desperate warning. <div class="indent" style="padding-left:40px;">//I see myself. Walking up to the door. It's open. It shouldn't be. It's dark inside. The lighting is off. I hesitate, but I step inside the door. The vision smears with colour and black for a moment. There's a shiver in the shadows of the room. A flicker of light, on something shimmering. Gold? Then a shock, a slice, and OH…//</div> <div class="indent" style="padding-left:60px;">//Black. Wretched. Severing. ''Wrong''.//</div> I pull out of the vision, pressing my hand to my mouth to stop the urge to vomit. There's something in my mo-hab which shouldn't be there. Which shouldn't //be// at all. I look down at the platform's controls. I could run… but… I don't like to think that I'm particularly special, but I would have to be a total idiot to think this is random. That shadow meant something. And now there's someone (something?) inside my home. If whoever, whatever, is in there knows where I live, they could know where I work too. Where am I going to go? Can they find me anywhere? I bite my lip. //Think like an engineer, Hari-ah!// I don't have enough information. I could run, but where to? And for how long? I might be running forever! If I could just find out more… Who is in there. Why they're after me… The platform's doors are closed in front of me. I peek out the small window, trying to not be obvious. I can just see through the bleary glass that down the accessway, the door to my room does seem to be open. //Oh gods…// I glance down at my thread. "At least I have one advantage…?" I whisper. My thread has been warning me this whole time. I //could// try to sneak down the access, not be seen, and listen into the room, see if anyone was in there saying anything. Rely on my thread to warn me if I get too close to danger. Maybe, that way, I could get some kind of clue as to what was going on. Alternately… I could do something I've only done sort of by accident before… See, the thing is, every person has their life-thread: big and red and stemming from their heart out into the world. Into the Mother's tapestry, I guess. Their fate. But as well as that, there are thousands of other threads around us all the time; the vase teetering on the edge of a shelf, a bird getting buffeted by wind, the stretch of the earth waiting for an earthquake to release tension, the slow age of time on a painting. All of these things create our world, everything connected to everything else around it. I first started seeing the threads when I was a kid, and really started to see people's fate-thread when I was a teenager. It was terrifying at first. (To be honest, it still is some days.) Magic isn't exactly a foreign concept; people talk about it often enough, although most people in the big cities like to pish-posh whether it's real or not. Back in Shu Bhai it is pretty accepted. There was a witch in our town who could cure any sickness with the herbs she sang to, and once a year there was an Entrancer who would come and dance for the ocean spirits near our town, to ask for the next year of plentiful harvests -- I'd seen with my own eyes the shimmering spirits lured from the sea by the dancing. But I'd never, not once in my life, in all the books I'd got my hands on, or in any conversation with the nuns, had I ever heard of someone who had the gifts that //I// had. For a long time I'd thought I was just hallucinating. Had worried that I was going mad. But one of the nuns in the temple near my home had reassured me, told me that the gods choose to bless the Mother's creations in many different ways. She told me that I should listen to the Mother, and seek to understand how my gift could help others. (She also assured me that she and my family would tell me if I showed any real signs of going mad, which to be honest was more comforting than the rest of her words combined.) As I've gotten older the gift seems to be getting stronger. More than just seeing where a person's red life thread is going, I've been able to follow the other threads too. And even more than that… The thing about 'fate', about the tapestry, is that it doesn't just go forwards. Everything is connected. The present and the future are built on the past. The earthquake becomes the thing that finally topples the vase. The wind is only buffeting the bird because the bird is flying after someone shooed it off their balcony. Time may move forward, but 'fate', whatever that really means, goes //both// ways. Sometimes, just lately, I've been able to use a thread to see not just the future, but the present and past as well. To follow threads through the tapestry wherever they connect. //Perhaps, if I focus, I can use my gift to see who exactly is in my mo-hab by following it //backwards,// rather than forwards. // All of these thoughts tumble through my head in a matter of seconds as I peer nervously through the window. My thread is still tugging at me with an unsteady tremor of //wrong// and //danger//. I've got to make a call before whoever, or whatever, is in my mo-hab notices me. <div class="choice">[[Sneak down the accessway and try to get information [+Sneak Skill]|Chapter 1.5a - Sneaking]]</div> <div class="choice">[[Follow the threads to see if there's information in the past [+Thread Skill]|Chapter 1.b - Past Threads]]</div>

From above, a resonant CRACK of sound comes. Mrs Hulyn and I both wince and look up. "Aih!" Mrs Hulyn exclaims, "Since when did the forecast say there were thunderstorms coming?" I shift from foot to foot. //That's because there// weren't //any, dammit.// //Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.// Unexpected weather? Unlikely. It's probably been about two years since I haven't just //known// what the weather was going to do in the day. Or whether my port shuttle would be late, or if someone was going to spill tea on me. As a general practice, I try not to touch my own thread -- it feels weird, and who wants to live their life being paranoid about knowing what's happening next? Despite that though, more and more these days, some things I sort of just intuit without even needing to pay attention. //And I'm pretty sure there weren't any clouds in the sky ten minutes ago…// I send a scowl up at the threatening thunderstorm. //Is that my fault?// //No no… that can't be… // … //Right?// … //Probably just coincidence.// I feel unsettled all the same, like there's a weird shiver around the corners of the world. //Dammit dammit dammit.// "You better get home nene, you'll get soaked when those clouds come down." "Yeah, you're right oba-sa. Thanks for the buns." "Hurry yourself on now!" Mrs Hulyn waves me off, and I turn to head towards home. My mo-hab is fitted up in a residence block only a few streets away, winding through the low-markets. My parents set me up with it before I came to the city. It's in Shu Bhai style. Big white zehex stone blocks, which back home help to keep us cool in the summer, and don't get slippery even when the beach gets a little high and sneaks into our homes. Of course, across the ocean here in southern Kcet, keeping cool is hardly a priority. Since moving to Mveunin City, I've had to add four sun lamps into my mo-hab just to stop myself from wilting. <<set $Loc_ShuBhai to true>><<set $Loc_MveuninCity to true>><<set $Loc_Kcet to true>> Another crack of lightning breaks the sky into sharp relief for a split-second, followed near-instantly by a greedy rumble of thunder, and the rain arrives. Tumbling down in thick, heavy sheets. Around me my fellow late-night commuters let out various sounds of dismay. "Sorry sorry sorry," I mutter under my breath. The feeling of something being //wrong// is still with me. It's never been this bad before if I changed fate a little. //I guess saving someone's life might not be a //little//, but it still feels weirder than it should. I think. // And what on earth was that //shadow//. The way it reacted when I changed things… And then it //left//. Where did it //go?// I finally arrive at my res-block and I quickly slip into the access-way and onto the delivery platform, punching in the code for my floor and mo-hab number. The familiar electric hum of the platform, lifting me up eight floors, should be a comfort after the weirdness of the evening, but that tremor in my spine is just getting worse and worse. The platform reaches my floor with a soft chime, and is about to slide across the accessway to my door when that tremor becomes a clanging, ringing jangle through my whole body. <span style="font-family:Nanum Brush Script"><span style="font-size: 32px">Danger!</span></span> I slap the buttons to still the platform. Gasping for air against the horrible feeling. Something's wrong. More than just world-wrong. Something to do with //me//. I look down. Floating out from the centre of my chest, my own thread, red and shining, is vibrating with an urgent warning. //Dammit.// I take a half-step towards the edge of the platform, towards home, and my whole thread twists violently in the air. There's something… at home? Something bad. I reluctantly look down to my thread, floating forward into invisible potential, and humming with a strange distress. I //really// don’t like touching my own thread. The feeling is almost like pressing your fingers under your own skin. But… That warning. That fear. //That shadow.// <div class="choice">[[Touch the thread|Chapter 1.4 - Touch Thread]]</div>

<<set $MetDarien to true>>\ <<set $SkillsActive to true>>\ <<set $SkillStealth += 1>>\ <<notify 3s>>Skills Active!<</notify>>\ I press the button to activate the doors, wincing as they hiss open. When, after a painful second, no one leaps out of the open door of my mo-hab, I gingerly step out onto the accessway. Remembering the many nights as a child when I stayed up past my bedtime reading and snuck through the house guiltily trying to avoid waking my parents, I step carefully down the way, quietly placing each foot before transferring my weight to it. My stomach is locked tight with nerves, and I'm trying to breathe as quietly as possible, but it feels like a noisy gasping as I creep up to the door and wait, listening for anything within. There's silence for a moment, then a rustle, and a voice. "Are you sure this is the right house?" "Yessss. I have been watching." The words are strange. They don't sound like they are in Trade Tongue, but despite that, the sounds seem to convey meaning in my mind. One voice seems to be a man, stern sounding, and the other is sibilant and low. "The girl always returns home after seeing the old woman. Alwaysss the same." "Good, we've been waiting too long to sort this issue already." "Issssue," the sibilant voice sneers, "what are you going to do with this 'issue' when you catch her? Kill her?" "Not yet. Lady Cleareye wants to confirm for herself whether the girl is the avatar." The sibilant voice rises, sounding angry. "I know what I ssssaw! She changed a fate, in front of my eyesss she did it!" "Hmph," the man sounds haughty, unimpressed. "Like we're going to take the word of a ghost. I'm not going to kill some random mortal solely on the word of a nasty little haunting." //Ghost??// I mouth the word to myself. The other voice hisses. "If you don't intend to kill her, then why do you have that… thing… with you? Surely your people think it's an… abominationnnn? Even I wouldn't dare to walk about in the open with such an objeccckt." It makes a sort of clicking noise, somewhere between laughter and a nervous sound. The other man harrumphs. "As if a creature like you would be able to get your hands on such a thing. "It's insurance," he sounds sort of defensive, "just in case. It can't be helped. If she has become powerful in her gifts, this might be the only way to kill her and keep her dead." The sibilant voice laughs, nasty and low. "Hypocrite…" Despite the fear clutching at my throat, my mind is equally awash with curiosity, and I dare to peek just the tiniest bit around the doorway. I take in the scene in a second. There are two figures inside, one is a man, tall and narrow-faced, and the other is //the shadow from before// -- crouched now in some sort of tangible shape underneath my dinner table! Before I can think any more of that strange sight, my eyes catch on what the man has in his hand. My stomach lurches and all the hairs stand up on my arms. //No!// A slender haft, and then on the end, in shimmering gold, a slightly curved blade, reminiscent of a hook. It's a spear in the same style as I've seen before -- years ago when a man was murdered and cut loose from the tapestry right in front of my eyes. //A thread-cutting weapon.// I must have made some sort of horrified noise, because the man and the shadow both look up towards the door. "Did you hear that?" the man says sharply. //Fuck!// I'm so afraid I'm dizzy with it -- that weapon so dreadfully familiar from my nightmares -- and I stumble frantically away from the door. Not fast enough though, as the shadow slides out in front of me. "It's her!" the shadow cries, its hazy voice ringing down the accessway. I back away, but the man is already striding out of my hab, gripping the weapon tight. "Stop right there, mortal!" he commands. "You've got to be kidding me," I croak, staring at the spear. I start to turn to run, knowing it is probably too late, even as the man raises the spear high before starting to strike down at me. Time seems to be running slower than usual, but I know it won't help, that there is no way I am going to be fast enough, that that black-snap death is coming to tear my life out of the weave. Then there is a smudge of movement in the corner of my eye. Black, but different from the shadow, with a flash of red and green. //Clang!// Sparks fly. In front of me, a new person stands with their back to me, and a silver sword is parrying the fall of that awful spear. The two strangers hold in place for a breath, then the new figure drops and rams a short, powerful kick to the stern man's torso, shunting him back several steps, knocking him down and into the shadow as he moves. The person turns just a little towards me. It's a woman, I think, with short-cropped black hair half falling in her eyes. She's tall and broad shouldered, in a short-sleeved tunic which bares strong, muscled arms with black vambraces covering her forearms. She looks me up and down, her eyebrow lifted, there's something hard in her eyes, but she smirks anyway. "Cute," she says, observing me. Not quite in a nice way. In a, 'this tiny rabbit is cute but also a pest I may have to murder' way. //Or maybe I'm reading into it too much.// "You should probably run," she says. Her voice is low and husky. "I'll deal with this." She points her thumb back at the man and the shadow. She has a thin line of red which runs from beneath her left eye and down her face. It could be a tattoo but… something about it… something about her… feels just a little familiar, and she doesn't quite look exactly like a… person? I take a step back. Who the hell //is// this woman, and why is she here!? "Like, now," she says, making a little shooing motion. Behind her, the man is standing back up, his face red with anger. I take another step, then pause and stammer, "Um, be careful of that blade. It will kill you like… extra dead."<<set $DarienRomance to Math.clamp($DarienRomance + 1, 0, 100)>><<set $DarienFriendship to Math.clamp($DarienFriendship + 1, 0, 100)>> Her hard look softens, just the tiniest amount. "I know. Thanks for the heads up. Now run." She turns back to the man, who is coming forward now. He snarls at her, "How dare you! Traitor!" The woman spins her silver sword casually in her hand, dropping into a ready stance. "I'm pretty sure that's my line," she says coolly. I can't stay to hear any more, I turn and run, as fast as I can. The sounds of clanging metal and the hissing of the shadow creature hang behind me even as I launch myself onto the platform and slap the door-shut button. I get a glimpse of the woman and the other two -- exchanging blows in a fight so fast I can't even follow their movements -- before the hum of the platform starts me down towards the ground floor. "What the //hell// was all that!" I cry as I slide past floor after floor. The woman's words echo in my ears, 'Run!' she'd told me. As the platform reaches street-level I burst back out into the still-torrenting rain and do exactly that. I run. ~...~...~ To be Continued... Follow Hari-ah's adventures and unlock her skills and romances in the full release of //Red Thread//. Sign up at https://pathweaver.productions/red-thread for release updates!

<<set $MetDarien to true>>\ <<set $SkillsActive to true>>\ <<set $SkillThread += 1>>\ <<notify 3s>>Skills Active!<</notify>>\ I close my eyes. //Concentrate!// I take a deep breath, let it out, take another, then open my eyes, not looking with my vision, looking with that //feeling// inside me which connects me to fate. There are thousands of threads all around me. In every colour you could imagine and some you can't. Red and grey and gold and sapphire. The colour of dawn and the colour of midnight. Some sparkling like stars, full of potential, some dull and flat -- an unlikely fate. I reach out my hand and touch my own thread, ever so lightly, and reach forward to touch a yellow thread which is passing me and going down the hall to my doorway -- where the two threads meet. Still touching them both, I turn my head back, looking at where that yellow thread came from. With a careful hand, (as steady as I can make it with bubbling panic in my chest,) I whip my hand backwards along the yellow thread, thinking //follow// as hard as I can. My vision blurs with light and colour, and I feel a tug in the centre of me, pulling me along the line of the thread as it connects with others, ends some, begins some, crosses and separates. It holds though, and I follow it to its inception. There, a mass of other threads converge, and a shadowy past unfolds before me. I see a dimly lit room, with several shapes slowly coalescing into figures as the vision stabilises. The first looks like a man; tall, and narrow-bodied, with grey hair shot through with unnaturally bright yellow streaks. He's speaking to a different figure who becomes clearer as they approach the man. This one appears to be a woman. She's smaller, petite and with elegant, pixie-like features, but she somehow gives off the impression of coldness, and strength -- something about the haughty way she carries herself and the sumptuous fall of the beautiful robes she wears like a character out of a whisp-tale. Her hair is mostly a pure twist of silvery grey hair, held up in an elaborate coiffure around her face, but is marked by a shock of white at one temple, and black at the other. Both figures look slightly… alien, something about the way they move and the colours of their skin and hair… something makes them not look quite like other people. The woman is talking. I have to focus hard to hear the words. "--leave quickly now, we don't want to lose the scent again." "Of course my lady," the man replies, bowing his head. Both of them are talking in a strange way; their words don't //sound// like Trade Tongue, or Shu Bhaian either, for that matter, but for some reason the words seem to make sense to me anyway. The woman looks down and sneers. It's only then that I notice that //the shadow// from earlier lurking beside the man, huddled low and simpering. "And make sure you confirm it's really her before you dispatch her," the woman says. The man scoffs, "If it isn't, surely it doesn't matter if we cut out a random mortal." "Don't be a fool," the woman snaps. "Our absence from court will already have been noted by some, we can't afford to attract further attention by killing mortals for no good cause. Especially with the current… pro-mortal sentimentalities at court. And if you use //that//, that Clan might take particular notice." The woman gestures to something in the man's hand, and I strain to see what it is. The light hits it as the man turns, and somewhere, back in my body, my breath freezes in my lungs. It's a spear, short-handled but tipped with a wicked, curved, golden blade. Even if the look of it wasn't enough, I would know what this weapon was by the shiver of //wrong// which emanates from it. I've seen one of these before. It's a thread-severing blade. The jolt of fear that hits me shakes my connection to the yellow thread, and I go tumbling back through the lines of fate and time and back into my body, hitting both my thread and the yellow one uncomfortably as I fall back into myself, and I get a flash -- instead of backwards, forwards, to where the yellow thread stretches to my home. The man and the shadow are in there, searching through my things, and they both look up with a start, as if alerted by something. The shadow skitters towards the door, and the man is quick to follow. My mind slaps back into my own body painfully. Dazed, I'm barely able to look up to where the man and the shadow are spilling out of my room and into the accessway. The man turns towards the platform and gestures with the spear. "There she is!" I gasp for air. I've never pushed that far into the past, never on purpose and never for that long. My whole body is shaking and my vision is crackling in and out of focus as if lightning is breaking through my eyes. I try to reach for the platform's buttons to send me back down to street-level, but I can't make my limbs move no matter how hard I try to convince them. The man and the shadow slam up against the platform's doors. "Filthy mortal," the man sneers, even as he's putting the blade edge to the door seam and starting to lever the doors open. "How dare you think you have a right to use the gifts of the gods!" I collapse against the back of the platform's walls. //I am so fucking done for!// But there's a flash of green light just as the man wedges the doors open, and a terrifying CLANG of sound. I peek my eyes open, not even aware of when I shut them, and see that, instead of me being very dead, there's a new figure standing right in front of me, facing the other man, and a slender, silver sword is blocking the fall of the golden spear. The person does something quick with their wrist which sends the spear skittering out of the man's hand, back down the accessway, and he disengages to scramble after it, the shadow backing away from the new person. The new figure turns to look at me. They appear to be a woman, tall and broad shouldered, with short cropped black hair half-falling in her eyes. She's dressed in a short-sleeved tunic which bares strong, muscled arms and vambraces which cover her forearms. She has startlingly green eyes, and below the left one, a red line pools underneath the eye and drips in a straight thin stripe down her face. Her gaze travels up and down me, and she looks sort of slightly surprised. "You might want to be careful using that skill, sweetheart," she says after a second. Her voice is low and husky. "Handy for me to find you, but it also means everyone within a few xi can feel you at it." A few steps away, the man has gathered up the spear and is advancing angrily. "Do you have any idea what you're getting involved in, child?" he snaps at the woman. The woman tips her head towards the man and spins her sword in her hand lazily. "As far as I can see it -- doing your job for you?" "Arrogant!" the man snaps, and lunges at her. They trade blows frighteningly fast, the woman spinning and sliding in what looks like a fluid, effortless dance, while the man jabs the spear in sharp, precise movements. He doesn't seem to be able to get a hit on her though, and the deadlock breaks when she flips into a spinning kick from a low stance, kicking him hard his core, and he gets pushed back down the accessway, tumbling into the shadow as he goes. The woman looks back to where I am pinned, still frozen with fear. There's an angry, bright light in her eyes, a sheen of sweat along her brow, and she has a wild grin on her lips. "You're going to need to run. I'll keep him busy." She slaps the 'exit' button on the platform, and gives me a nod. "Be careful, and don't let anyone find you." "Who are you?" I manage to squeak out. "Me?" She gives me a piercing look -- for that second her face is hard, and analytical, sizing me up -- but then she shrugs and winks at me. "I suppose I'm here to save you or something." <<set $DarienFriendship to Math.clamp($DarienFriendship + 2, 0, 100)>> She slips out of the platform just as the doors are closing. As the platform descends, I can see her going blade-to-blade with the man once more. It only takes a few seconds for the platform to reach street level, and as it does I give myself a hard slap to both cheeks. //Get it together Hari-ah!// My legs are still a little shaky, but it seems like the stakes are basically 'run, or die', and I don't fancy dying today. So, breath caught in my throat, I run. ~...~...~ To be Continued... Follow Hari-ah's adventures and unlock her skills and romances in the full release of //Red Thread//. Sign up at https://pathweaver.productions/red-thread for release updates!

<span style="font-size:200%;color:#6e1b37">''Your Skills''</span> <<if ndef $SkillsActive>> Your skills are not yet active. Progress the story to unlock Hari-ah's skill-trees.\<</if>> <<if def $SkillsActive>>\ When you earn 'Thread' or 'Stealth' points in game, you can choose to add them to the skill areas under Thread or Stealth skills. A Stealth point can go into any of the Stealth skills, and a Thread point can go into any of the Thread skills, but only once. Once you've made your choice your decision is fixed, so consider your choice before you press the add button. <span style="font-size:160%;color:#6e1b37">\ ''Thread Skills''</span> Hari-ah's natural abilities mean that at times she can potentially succeed at any of these skills below, but the chance of success will depend on how much you've invested in her 'growth' in a skill tree, and on chance. Acquiring particular skills will reduce or eliminate the chance element for specific actions. <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f">\ ''Sense Fate''</span> Sense the fate of yourself and those nearby. <span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span> <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f">\ ''Fate Dreamer''</span> In your dreams, visit those whose fates are unusually caught between one strong outcome and another. Influence the outcome to ease the tension in the Weave. (Automatically acquired when more than two points are assigned anywhere within the Thread skills tree.) <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f">\ ''Visit Fate''</span> Increases your ability to see others' fates, both past and present. <span style="font-size:90%">Current points in tree: <<print $VisitFate>> <<if $SkillThread gte 1>>Add point: <<button "[+]">><<set $VisitFate to Math.clamp($VisitFate + 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<set $SkillThread to Math.clamp($SkillThread - 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<script>> Dialog.close(); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Skills").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>><</button>><</if>>\ <<if $SkillThread lt 1>><span style="color:#737373;">You currently have no points to assign.</span><</if>></span> ''Level 1'' -- you can successfully concentrate and travel to the past of a person nearby. (Requires one point in Visit Fate) <<if ($VisitFate gte 1)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 2'' -- you can successfully concentrate and travel to the present of someone connected to something or someone nearby. (Requires two points in Visit Fate) <<if ($VisitFate gte 2)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 3'' -- you can successfully concentrate and travel to the past or present of anyone that has a connection to you or something or someone nearby, even if that connection is vague or tenuous. (Requires three points in Visit Fate) <<if ($VisitFate gte 3)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f">\ ''Careful Weaver''</span> Increases your ability to change fates without generating threat. <span style="font-size:90%">Current points in tree: <<print $CarefulWeaver>> <<if $SkillThread gte 1>>Add point: <<button "[+]">><<set $CarefulWeaver to Math.clamp($CarefulWeaver + 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<set $SkillThread to Math.clamp($SkillThread - 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<script>> Dialog.close(); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Skills").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>><</button>><</if>>\ <<if $SkillThread lt 1>><span style="color:#737373">You currently have no points to assign.</span><</if>></span> ''Level 1'' -- threat generation when changing fates is reduced by 20%. (Requires one point in Careful Weaver)<<if ($CarefulWeaver gte 1)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 2'' -- threat generation when changing fates is reduced by 40%. (Requires two points in Careful Weaver)<<if ($CarefulWeaver gte 2)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 3'' -- threat generation when changing fates is reduced by 60%. (Requires three points in Careful Weaver)<<if ($CarefulWeaver gte 2)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f">\ ''Tug Thread''</span> Increases your ability to change fates successfully. <span style="font-size:90%">Current points in tree: <<print $TugThread>> <<if $SkillThread gte 1>>Add point: <<button "[+]">><<set $TugThread to Math.clamp($TugThread + 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<set $SkillThread to Math.clamp($SkillThread - 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<script>> Dialog.close(); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Skills").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>><</button>><</if>>\ <<if $SkillThread lt 1>><span style="color:#737373">You currently have no points to assign.</span><</if>></span> ''Level 1'' -- increases your chance of successfully changing a fate by 20%. (Requires one point in Tug Thread)<<if ($TugThread gte 1)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 2'' -- increases your chance of successfully changing a fate by 40%. (Requires two points in Tug Thread)<<if ($TugThread gte 2)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 3'' -- increases your chance of successfully changing a fate by 60%. (Requires three points in Tug Thread)<<if ($TugThread gte 3)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> <span style="font-size:160%;color:#6e1b37">\ ''Stealth Skills''</span> Hari-ah has some unpleasant people to avoid, and will need to get better at not being seen or heard. Investing in the skills below will mean Hari-ah has a better chance of successfully avoiding detection in key moments of the story. <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f">\ ''Soft Footed''</span> Your experience with being sneaky makes it harder for people to hear your movements. <span style="font-size:90%">Current points in tree: <<print $SoftFooted>> <<if $SkillStealth gte 1>>Add point: <<button "[+]">><<set $SoftFooted to Math.clamp($SoftFooted + 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<set $SkillStealth to Math.clamp($SkillStealth - 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<script>> Dialog.close(); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Skills").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>><</button>><</if>>\ <<if $SkillStealth lt 1>><span style="color:#737373">You currently have no points to assign.</span><</if>></span> ''Level 1'' -- you're sneaky, you're quiet, you're probably not going to fall on your face and make a huge sound. Probably. (Requires one point in Soft Footed) <<if ($SoftFooted gte 1)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 2'' -- you're getting good at being quiet. Someone would have to really be paying attention to hear you at all. (Requires three points in Soft Footed)<<if $SoftFooted gte 3>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 3'' -- STEALTH QUEEN. No one is going to hear you. A mouse isn't going to hear you. A creature with giant ears isn't going to hear you. Banger. (Requires five points in Soft Footed)<<if $SoftFooted gte 5>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f">\ ''Blend-in''</span> Your experience with being sneaky makes it harder for people to see you sneaking about. <span style="font-size:90%">Current points in tree: <<print $BlendIn>> <<if $SkillStealth gte 1>>Add point: <<button "[+]">><<set $BlendIn to Math.clamp($SoftFooted + 1, 0, 5)>>\ <<set $SkillStealth to Math.clamp($SkillStealth - 1, 0, 5)>>\<<script>> Dialog.close(); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Skills").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>><</button>><</if>>\ <<if $SkillStealth lt 1>><span style="color:#737373">You currently have no points to assign.</span><</if>></span> ''Level 1'' -- you're getting a feel for sneaking without being noticed. Blend in with the shadows, that sort of stuff. (Requires one point in Blend In) <<if ($BlendIn gte 1)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 2'' -- you're getting good at not being seen. Most people wouldn't spy you at a glance. (Requires three points in Blend In) <<if ($BlendIn gte 3)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> ''Level 3'' -- CAMOUFLAGE MASTER. Even in broad daylight no one is going to notice you. It's all about attitude. Walk like you belong. (Requires five points in Blend In) <<if ($BlendIn gte 5)>><span style="color:#cc3366">[Acquired]</span><</if>> <</if>>

give me some stealth <<set $SkillsActive to true>> <<set $SkillStealth += 1>> <<set $SkillThread to + 1>>

<span style="font-size:200%;color:#6e1b37">''Glossary of World Information''</span> Red Thread is set in a world similar, yet also unlike our own. This section records information you find out on your journey. <<if def $Loc_ShuBhai>> <span style="font-size:160%;color:#6e1b37">\ ''Countries''</span> <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f">\ ''Shu Bhai''</span> A country in the east of Aoh, set on the equator, the country is hot and sunny, and the geography consists of large expanses of shallow waters, and hills made of a particular type of rock call zehex which resists erosion. Most homes and structures are carved into hillsides of the rock, and almost all transport is done via boat. The people of the country live primarily off the plentiful and sustainably farmed shellfish and the abundant reeds which grow in the shallows. The reeds provide both a nutrient-rich core, and a outer shell which can be easily converted to textiles and several other useful materials.<</if>> <<if def $Loc_Kcet>> <span style="font-size:120%;color:#5e182f"> ''Kcet''</span> One of the most powerful countries in Aoh. Kcet is positioned in the centre of the various continents of Aoh, and shares a land border with Alluvian. Kcet is extremely focussed on technological development, and is a trading hub. The country has one of the highest disparities between rich and poor in the world, with a large criminal underbelly which syphon technological power off the central lines.<</if>> <<if def $Loc_MveuninCity>><span style="font-size:160%;color:#6e1b37"> ''Locations''</span> ''Mveunin City'' The capital of Kcet. A bustling metropilis on the coast. The city is a hub of modern trade and development. <</if>> <<if $Chapter1_1 is true>> <span style="font-size:160%;color:#6e1b37"> ''Terms and Phrases''</span> ''Nene'': A term from Shu Bhai meaning 'little sister' or 'young girl/woman'. Used by older siblings to address their younger sisters, but also by non-family members as a friendly or affectionate title. ''Oba-sa'': '''Oba''' is a term from Shu Bhai meaning 'grandmother' or 'older woman', used by family members, but also by non-family members as a friendly or affectionate title. '''-sa''' is an honourific used to indicate respect. Typically not used for family members.<</if>>