Hello everyone!

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is DarkSyner. I am a self proclaimed writer and have been for around six or so years. Illyriah is the fifth VN project I have worked and probably the third one that has gotten as far as it has. I don't expect to get much recognition or much else out of this. I mainly wanted to do this for fun and to work out some unwanted feelings concerning things in my past life. I have felt writing has been the best avenue to work them out. I hope I can not only learn new things about myself but provide a much better story for you all to consume. It's a win win for the both of us.

I started off in the Doki Doki Literature Club modding scene. My first story wasn't that well received. To put it best it was highly polarizing. I felt so remorseful about how it turned out I chose to take it down. I know now that artists shouldn't take down their work. But we all start somewhere, right? Stumble around for a bit until we find something that clicks. I have found myself on a journey like that since 2021 after I put DDLC modding behind me. It took a handful of candid discussions with some close friends to find what clicked for me. And now it's clear to me that writing has been my avenue for expression.

I have already been working on Illyriah and its story for the past ten months before coming to Itch. I have written a few storyboards, write a few scenes and drafts for the full script along side some concept art. I sat down to try and pinpoint where my shortcomings were with my previous work to try and rectify my past mistakes. I have worked on a few other failed projects that either didn't make it, or barely saw the light of day. I hope this time around things can be different. As I said I hope to learn more about myself and continue to improve my craft. I hope I can meet new and wonderful people. Learn new things. Maybe even learn a new engine. But I'd rather not get ahead of myself.

I have three goals with this project that I would like to achieve.

1. Work out my feelings concerning some of my past demons.

2. Build a world that is as magical and mysterious as when I first played Dark Souls.

3. Make good on a promise I made to a friend.

I know that probably sounds vague or mushy. But it's what I set out to do. Will I succeed? I don't know. But I am willing to try, fail, and try again. I don't expect much in terms of monetary support, but in the coming days I will get setup to receive donations if anyone wants to leave a tip.

I plan to make this VN fully available on Itch.io and Steam if it is possible for free. I don't plan on charging money for this. Again if you want to tip I won't stop you.  As development continues I may open up a Discord for constructive feedback, questions, suggestions, and criticisms you all may have. I look forward to working on this tomorrow, and the day after that. I hope to see you there.

-DarkSyner