A Felicitous Festival to You!

Aries (renamable) and his traveling companion spend another year stuck in a busy port town during yet another Celestial Celebration. While Aries isn't a fan of the festival itself, it provides an opportunity to join a sailing crew and at last continue his quest to learn more about the Celestial beings and the truth behind why he was born with a Celestial mark.

Things take a turn, however, when Aries meets a woman who is as desperate to leave the city as he is but remains as trapped and stuck as he feels. 

Will Aries be able to help this woman return home by the festival's end while also securing passage for his companion and himself? Or will he be continually stuck, forced to perpetually dwell on his tragic past?

Celestial Signs is a visual novel about living with grief, creating kindness in an unkind world, and finding a place for love and acceptance. It explores the relationships between Aries and the various people that enter his life as well as his tumultuous relationship with his past and himself.

Demo Update Features

• 34,500+ words
• Nameable MC
• Branching Scenes
• 2/3 of the Full Game
• Colored Sprites for Core Cast
• the beginnings of a romance...

Content Warnings

Click to View CW

• nightmares including fire, death, and body horror imagery
• fantasy racism / species poaching
• ableist comments
• brief mentions of drowning and killing

On a journey to research the Celestial beings, Aries (renamable) is currently delayed in a port city, searching for transport.  

Although perpetually exhausted, Aries feels deeply for others and is always quick to help. He is a mage with an affinity for earth magic.

Mari has been Aries’s traveling companion for the past four years and is a free-spirited trouble maker.

They enjoy practicing fire tricks and showing off what they have learned. They are cautious of strangers but carefree with friends.

 

Shellsea is a mute woman Aries meets the first night of the Celestial Festival.

Although she walks on land, she cannot be away from the sea long. She is desperate to find the clamshell necklace that was stolen from her and to return home.

Silas is a sailor whose last crew came down with scurvy and quit the moment they touched solid ground. 

As a descendant of the Celestials, Silas has an affinity for air magic. Although she acts informal and nonchalant, her wisdom is not to be understated.

Writing and coding by pamsdrabbles (bluesky)

Sprites, characters, and concepts by Val (tumblr)

Detailed Assets Credits:

Music

• Barcarole in Blue Moon Night by 秦暁
• Dandelions Harp by quadraslayer (freesound_community)
• Dramatic Diary; Breath, Tenderly; and The Summer Holidays of Calm Villa, by 蒲鉾さちこ / Kamaboko Sachiko
• Planetarium, Sleeping Tomb, The Road of Trial, and To the Distant Sky by Heitaro Ashibe
• Farm Celtic Song by マニーラ
  
• Mountain Path in a Crater by MAKOOTO
• Smile Garden by shimtone

SFX

• Fire_Forest_Inferno.aif by Dynamicell -- License: Attribution 3.0
• Baby goat bleating by jsbarrett -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Bleating goats by seenms -- License: Attribution 4.0 
• Large Animal Running by bevibeldesign -- License: Attribution 4.0 
• R01-01-Long Sustained Wood Crash.wav by craigsmith-- License: Creative Commons 0
• Beach - Calm Waves - Water - Nature Sounds by JuliusH

Images

• Diner - Photo by Shelby Cohron on Unsplash 
• Bedroom with Warm Tones - Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
• Rustic Courtyard - Photo by Gavin Donohue on Unsplash
• In the gardens of Chatsworth House UK - Photo by Martina Jorden on Unsplash
• Library - Photo by Jonathan Francisca on Unsplash
• Lantern Festival - Photo by Di Weng on Unsplash
• Narrow Alley - Photo by 五玄土 ORIENTO on Unsplash
• A shorter breakwater in Montevideo, Uruguay - Photo by Carlos Marcelo Martinez on Unsplash 
• Santa Barbara Wharf - Photo by Tran Nguyen on Unsplash
• Brown Rock Formation - Photo by Patrick Adcock on Unsplash
• Docked Ship - Photo by Deval Parikh on Unsplash
• A Group of People Walking Down a Street under Lots of Lanterns - Photo by Arthur Tseng on Unsplash
• Estrellato de Estrellas - Photo by Veronica Silva on Unsplash
• Room with Fountain - Photo by Valentin Lacoste on Unsplash
• Dining Room - Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
• Alley in Gion, Kyoto - Photo by Daniils Petrovs on Unsplash
• Walk of Lights - Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash
• Aries and Musca Borealis by Sidney Hall
• Aries Icon created by Freepik
  
• Smoke Textures by Resource Boy

Code

• Snowfall - Ren'Py GUI by tofurocks, bobcgames, theominute, and npckc

This game acts as a character-focused prequel story to a much larger action-focused adventure. In Celestial Signs, Aries forms the party that will join him for the rest of his adventure. While Celestial Signs is a visual novel, the main story is planned to be a 2D RPG, including combat mechanics, side quests, and a deeper understanding into Aries's past and the Celestials.