Cantata
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 sibling. Are you friends or rivals?
- Romance! Or not. Romance 1 of 4 possible love interests, 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, and you are adopted into a friend’s family. 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.
About the Artist
The character illustrations are all commissioned works done by the extremely talented Isabela Zaneti, the same artist who did Viatica. I am so grateful to her for bringing my characters alive and I encourage you to check out her website!
Content Warning
This story is intended for mature audiences. Possibly triggering topics present in the story include blood, violence, death (including child death), trauma & PTSD, mature language, sexual content (optional), classism, sexism, bigotry, and the persecution of a fictional people. Be advised, you are also pretending to have a disability for at least half the story.
The music is intentionally loud in certain parts of the story. This is to mimic the noise and emotions that the MC is experiencing, as sound is an integral feature of your race. It may be uncomfortable for some readers, so please read with caution.
Disclaimers
“Cantata” is a low fantasy IF loosely based on the Italian Renaissance period, with a steampunk edge. While I took inspiration from real world cultures and languages - most notably Italian, Latin, Greek, and Turkish - the world is still my own and not intended to be historically accurate.
If you’re enjoying Cantata and interested in extra content, or would just like to support me, please visit my ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/firandfireweed
Development log
- Cantata Chapter 2 is Live!2 days ago
- Cantata Update is Live!3 days ago
- Update News9 days ago
- Minor Update58 days ago
- New RO Artwork!59 days ago
- Cantata is Live!70 days ago
Comments
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That was amazing! I can't wait to read more <3
Thank you!
The update was fantastic! Can't wait for the next chapter!
Thank you so much!
I just found this demo, and this game is AMAZING. I'm a long-time lover of text-based games like this, but this was like next level. The story, the world-building, not to mention the music changing with each page, it's all so incredible. You can really see the hard work that went into this. I look forward to what's coming next.
Thank you so much!
Im really enjoying this so far! Excited to see more of the world and ROs, and also if my protag's fox buddy (she named him Tellus) dies i will be very very sad :(
Oh my goodness, you named your fox Tellus?! 🥹😭 Don’t worry, nothing is going to happen to fur baby!
Oh thank goodness, haha. And yeah, my MC (Lumen/Wil) wanted to make sure to always remember him :(
❤️❤️❤️
Already loving it; I'm looking for personality customization, so i appreciate that u did a little more than Viatica, although it was great to have any at all! mind you I 💗 Viatica. I can just tell that you're evolving and I'm a fan 🤓, as always!
Thank you! Viatica was definitely more linear and more static in many ways. I am trying to be more conscious of player choices in this one so I’m glad I succeeded. I’ll keep striving to make progress in that regard, thank you! ❤️
hi.
so i played the demo and what can i say? i still like your writing style and also like the story and characters. i know i repeat myself, but i liked Viatica and also like Cantata.
i really liked the pet scene; the one where MC´s pet sleeps ontop of Jonah reminded me of the "dad dont want pet/family still gets it/dad & pet:..."-meme.
one question (and this one is not specific to this IF): in many other If´s there are a differnet between a braid-hairstyle and a braids-hairstyle, but whenever i google it, i get the same result for both: a similar one to Calliope´s hairstyle. so what exactly is the difference between those hairstyles. sorry for asking you this question, this one was always one who i had once i encountered it ingame, but never remembered to actually ask.
also im probably romance Corinne; to me she seem quite interesting and fits to my more vengeful MC.
anyways im excited for the next chapter and had fun reading chapter 2.
Hello, and thank you for reading both stories! Jonah is definitely that pet dad. 😂
As far as the braids, I can’t speak to other IFs but for mine it’s the difference between singular or plural: a single braid (like Shadowheart in BG3 if you’re familiar with that) or multiple braids, like Calliope.
Hope that helps clarify!
yes, thank you for your answer.
i cried, i hate you
but i love what you have here, truly beautiful.
😅
FINALLY CHAPTER 2!!! I was so disappointed on April fools but it was worth waiting
❤️
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA i been waiting for chapter 2 and you did not disappoint !! i loved finally getting to meet the characters <333 good luck w/ writing !!
Thank you!!
So happy for the update! But why would you make me choose between a ferret and a fox? T_T
Also, wanted to let you know, you can't scroll on the save screen on mobile. I can only see 5 of the save slots and I can't get to the bottom to export my save.
Hahaha, sorry the pet choice is hard! 😅
Hmm, debunking that mobile bug will be tricky. I’m using a template and I have to admit I only understand just the bare bones of Sugarcube. But I’ll try to fix that, thank you for bringing it to my attention!
Wow!!wowie!!! omygod!!! where do i even begin?? this update was so.. siehsuheijimun!!! /vpos
i do have to admit, tellus was just like a whatever character when i first met him but with this update. the beads.. oh my soul aughheundhns.. tellus i love you come back to me💔 but its ok.. we have bayram and bayram makes everything right in the world >:3 i love bayram his design is amazing and he's so incredibly stupid (i swear i have a tendency to pick characters kind of like bayram as ro's no idea why) 🙏/pos all the ro's are gorgeous and i have no doubt that i'll do multiple playthroughs to romance them all ^_^ (calliope's def my next pick
the way that you portray grief is so incredibly poetic and amazing and i love it oh so much!!! :d not to get to comfortable or anything but i am cuban but i moved to america when i was very young and accustomed to the culture way to quickly, and i didn't get to experience enough of my heritage i feel. i of course didn't experience the same thing that mc did but it feels rather familiar, but i still feel way more disconnected from my culture than i would be. and i really love the way you encompassed that feeling <3 (ps. i'm also trans and the way that you portray that feeling of like "i don't understand why they hate us, we haven't done anything wrong" is so visceral(?) and i feel very familiar with i
anyways my mc! oh he is so silly and incredibly joyous (he is not joyous he's like a nervous dog) I LOVE YOU LUMEN (Loralei :3) EUSGSUS AND HIS SILLY LITTLE FERRET NAMED NIALL (Can u tell I picked ferret bc Ferret was the first one i romanced in Viatica >:) /hj)
This is very long so TLDR: I loved this update!! The way you portray emotions is amazing and your writing only gets better, I can't wait so see more of Cantata and maybe even more stories from you in the future :))
(I do apologize if any of this ramble was confusing or possibly even sounded offensive I'm just very bad at explaining 😔)
Thank you for this comment! It wasn’t offensive at all; on the contrary, it made me smile!
Thank you for sharing your own personal experience. I’m sorry to hear about your struggles with your own culture and identity. I’m glad my story resonated in such a way; to be that personal for someone is the greatest compliment I could receive. ❤️ I hope you take care of yourself and stay safe!
Beautiful work as always thank you !
You are quite welcome! ❤️
Why are they all so fine- okay I was like "man is tellus not an option?" (obvs like not when we're kids but like as a love interest) then [SPOILERS] happened and I was like. oh. i see now. okay.
Afraid not, but it makes me happy to see all the love Tellus gets. But the four you’ve got may be hard enough to choose from! 😉
i really enjoyed viatica and i'm loving this too!! your worldbuilding is always so lovely :') chapter 2 was a treat. thank you for your hard work!!
You are so very welcome! Thank you for reading my work!
legit don’t know if I want the badger or a ferret. Badgers are super cute and very much like a protective chuwawa and ferrets are like cute little hyper active puppy’s uggh it’s so harddd to choose
edit: I picked the badger
Yay, a badger fan!
This is so fun and so well written! I can't wait to see more!
Thank you!
Chapter 2 was AMAZINGGGGGGGG please i need MORREEEEEEE
Glad you liked it! I’m trying to keep to a quarterly schedule so the next update should be June/July-ish.
Oh awesome! Thanks for letting me know!
After chapter 2 Corrine is definitely the RO I'm romancing. Great as usual.
Happy to see love for Corinne! Glad you enjoyed it!
Man, amazing. Loving the ROs for a hundred different reasons and idk how I am gonna pick. Also my fox friend is perfect and I love him-
Thank you!
seems the idea that you lost all your Aura made you crumble, eh? 😉
jokes aside...UHM WOW OK I HAVE LOTS OF WORDS AND THATS GONNA BE A PROBLEM WITH MY JUMBLED THINKING
uhm ok so like....After meeting all the ROs...i love them all...Theyre so amazing...But Vincente......*Shoves him in my pocket and runs away before anyone else can have him while giggling* (Jk..maybe :3 ) again jokes aside, MAN do you make absolutely YUMMY ROs (Seriously its scary how absolutely YUMMY they all are, and we just met them)
UH OUR LITTLE FURRY FRIEND?! i had to replay to choose all three of the options, But the fox is 100% my favorite (I named him Mr. Wigglebutt 😻😻)
and uh that scene after we uh...yknow get found out real quick..and everything else...almost cried AGAIN 😾
AND WHAT THE FUCK WHY DID YOU MAKE TELLUS EVEN CUTER BY GIVING US THE LITTLE ACCESSORY?? RESPECTFULLY FUCK YOU 💔💔💔 MY FUCKING HEART HAS SHATTERED INTO BILLIONS OF DUST PARTICLES💔💔💔 I WONT FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS💔💔
if you actually took the time to read all that..ignore any spelling mistakes its literally 11:56pm and ive only got 4 hours of sleep with no naps😅 you gained a lot of your Aura back fir, but until i can have Vincente for myself only, you don't have it all (kidding kidding i swear.. maybe)
Erm, thank you? 🫣😅 I’m glad you enjoyed the update! I wanted to introduce the beadwork, and seeing all the love for Tellus made him the perfect, if bittersweet, choice.
And I make the ROs yummy for me, too, cause I’m self indulgent, lol. 😉
Had to extinguish the flames of everyone's ire? 😂
We got RO love back to back! Seeing our lovely Viatica crew once again and then meeting our new beloveds! I would jump into a burning building if it meant Corinne saves me again 💜💜.
Thanks for the chapter, Fir! Keep doing what you do, amazing work as always.
(Puts away pitchfork)
ill gladly jump in a fire with you if it meant Corinne saves us both (and or vincente 😻💕)
Lol, thank you, Power!
GOD YES I'M THE FIRST TO READ THE 2ND CHAPTERRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE THE FACT THAT VINCENT CAN SIGNNNNNNN
YAAYAYYYYAAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYYAYAYYYAYAYAYAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAAYAYAYYAAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYA
YAY.
lol I'm just so happy with this update.
Hi Aura! 👋 You were speedy, lol. Glad you liked it!
Ok so when I first saw the announcement I was like "oooh cool! just on April Fools whata coincidence" but THEN just as I was about to click the game I realized it was indeed April fools day, nuh uh uh, you didn' catch me, i read teh comments first and realized my suspiscion was right!
the oneshots were still epic tho, I liked the one where they played DnD
I’m glad you liked them! You should retry the update again now. 😏🤭
I can't even be mad at the prank you pulled on us all. I mean, I was vaguely expecting it, so I can't even be surprised either.
In fact, I do not care because I'm over the moon about oneshots. Double Heron content? Wholesome content with Bear??GETTING TO SEE HOW THE CHARACTERS ARE WHEN DRUNK!??
And best, best of all, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS!?!?
In the back of mind I always wondered what class the Viatica characters where to play if they ever did. And this answers my question!!
Even though you've punked us, I'm eternally grateful for this update! It made me feel so much better even though I've been suffering from the punishment for getting an F on my birth certificate, periods. Thank you for this, though some people may be a BIIIITTT mad at you, haha
Heehee, thank you Cosmo! The D&D one is my fave, but I had so much fun writing all of them. I’m glad they were appreciated! And double Heron is always a good day. 😏
I’m getting impatient myself so there’s a very good chance of this getting updated tonight, lol. Check back soon!
Concept seems very interesting, I will have to come back once the april fools update is removed as I couldn't even try the game because of the april fools screen.
Look forward to trying it out in a few days! :)
yesss welcome to the cantata party! its amazing (and fucking sad) for one chapter currently(you will have a 90% chance of crying)
if you havent-100% Read The authors first story Viatica (the chances of crying in viatica is the same)
dont mind any spelling mistakes i just woke up💔
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you, I’ll check Viatica out!
Give it another day, 2 days tops! I’ll have the story updated by then. Thank you for checking it out!
I FORGOT TODAY WAS APRIL FOOLS IM GONNA FUCKING- BSJBSBBSBUSUHSBUAUAJBHBSBHAHXDBSSAJHZ
anyways i loved the short stories for our Viatica friends (Heron and Ferret my beloved💕💕) even if part if my soul was ripped from my body (not in a good way)
loved the bar one honestly ("im speaking in cursive and its fucking elegant" im using this even though ill never drink 😼)
anyways im 100% going to cry now (joking obviously...)
have a good day everyone and dont come checking on me please i need my main character moment
also what the actual FUCK did we do to you for that last short story with bison and fawn?! i feel hurt, betrayed, attacked, and many more big words i dont remember.
Lmao! Yorbb, your comments are killing me! 🤣 But it was nice seeing them all together in happy times, right? 😁
i must admit....It WAS nice seeing them all together and happy, even if my heart shattered into billions of dust particles
i will add: You definitely Lost all your aura points for this, But im sure you'll gain them back again with the next update💕💕
I KNEWWWW IT!
Still a very pleasant surprise!
(I still can't believe the ending of Language Lessons)
That was a tribute to an old comment on the Viatica page. It still makes me laugh!
I'm so hurt rn
me too. saw the announcement during morning and was really excited the whole day and wanted to do a calm reread with snacks. now im sitting here in little disappointment...
while i can see the joke here, in my opinion a april fools joke should be somewhat obvious, which to me this wasnt.
[and no, im not hating, guess this is just my small rant, since now my plan for the eveneing is ruined...]
I can't believe I fell for this wtf 😭
BUT STILL LOVELY ONE SHOTS I LOVED THEM ALL
BUT THE LAST PART WAS SO ILLEGAL. YOU BROUGHT FAWN AND BISON BACK WHEN YOU KILLED THEM IN CANON. I WILL NEVER GET OVER THEIR DEATHS THIS IS CUREL 💔💔💔💔💔
i say we storm into wherever our dear favorite author is with pitchforks and torches and maybe we'll get Fawn and bison back in viatica
🫣
I'm ready. Let's do it 🔥🔥🔥🔥
But… but… now you can imagine them living on together in another time and place!
I get it, though, lol. I needed to see them one last time myself, too. ❤️
FUUUUU IT'S NOT THE SAME THO 😭😭😭💔💔💔💔 JUST IMAGINING WHAT THEY COULD'VE HAD IS KILLING ME SOMEONE MAKE A FANFIC OR AU OR SMTH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔
idk if this will help but after the death of Ivan and till from alien stage i just started imagining theyre alive and happy and have a totally normal family together and whenever i saw ANYTHING mention they werent alive i blocked it out my memory like the normal person i am(joking obviously)
So just try that? :3 (also i got my friend to help us storm our darling authors place so get your pitchfork and torch ready >:3 )
I will try my best to imagine they never died 😞
(AND YES LET'S GO! PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES READY!!!)
I don't think I've ever hated something I love so much.
This response! 🤣
I didn’t even question it. I walked straight into the trap. April Fools’ has never hit me this hard. 😔
🤭😇
A betrayal of the highest degree! How dare you grace us with tales of beloved characters
Lol! Glad it was a good consolation prize. 😅
This made me laugh I half expected an April fools joke when i saw the release date lol
🤭😇
The timer for when I’m gonna explode is ticking. Only chapter 2 can stop it.😔
I neeed to meet Corinne!! I wish I could just pause my life until chapter two comes out cause wdym I have to actually get up and start my day without chapter 2 of cantata💔
Lol, sorry, Bat! Just a couple more days!
Noooo, 😂 not even April yet.
Lol it’s still March 31 for me, too, but I had no patience! I was like, well, it’s April 1 somewhere in the world right now! 😂
You would be correct. April 1st here and I STILL fell for it!
huh.
You really trolled us didn't you?
I literally had a thought about why the update was coming on April fools dayyyyyyy but then I thought our dear author was too kind but I guess nottt [kidding, I loved all of them... CAN YOU GIVE US SOME MORE ROMANTIC ONES WITH ALL CHARACTERS... My top three ROs are 1. Heron, 2. Robin, 3. Lion.
Thank you for this blessing in the form of a troll.
Hahaha, glad it wasn’t too bad of a prank! I really enjoyed writing these characters in a more relaxed setting, so there may be more snippets in the future. 😁
yeyyyyyy
Wow lol
UPDATE A DAY EARLY WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE SUCH GENEROUSITY 🙏 anyways ima go read that now.. Heh😼
Edit: So i died btw /nm (The oneshots r so amazing i love bear he's the silliest guy)
FAWN AND BISON... CRASHING OUT..
Lol, I was too impatient, I’ve been giggling devilishly all morning! 😈
I’m glad you liked the one shots and had a good humor about it! 😅🥰
Just a few more days... A few more...
I'm foaming at the mouth, I swear
I'm so, so excited to meet the ROs. Been seeing so many intrigued by Vincente, which understandable, in all honesty. But where's my Bayram love????
Hi Cosmo! Yay, a Bayramancer! I originally wasn’t going to introduce Bayram till much later; he’s in a completely different nation after all. But he needed screen time, too, and I’m really happy with the way the scene came out. Can’t wait to share it!
I'm usually turned away by characters described as shameless flirts. ^_^'
AGH just saw the update news and CANNOT WAITTTT
cannot wait to meet the ROs! (Totally not planning on kidnapping Calliope and Vicente, So uh you won't need to keep an eye on them! :)💕)
and a little furry friend?! WBSBHJSJBHABJABHJJU
Lol, I’m glad you’re excited, thank you! Vicente and Calliope will be happy to meet you, too. 😏 I hope the meetings live up to expectations!