Getting interactive with the empress...

After following some Flash tutorials and getting more and more confused, I decided that the best way to ward off a feeling of frustration and powerlessness is to focus on the actual story I wanted to tell. What I came up with is a story inspired by Mihail Sadoveanu`s The Golden Bough novel. Given the fact that we are supposed to use stills and that the story takes part in Byzantium, I thought I might use mosaic or iconic like stills to tell the story. But what is the story about? We start off as Kesarion Breb, an apprentice of the Dacian high-priest who is chosen to become the next leader of the cult of Zamolxis (don`t get excited about the names, it will get better). Before that, he is given a mission: he is to leave the refuge of the sacred Kogaionon mountain and embark on a journey that finally takes him to Constantinople in order to find out the answer to the high-priests question: does the new religion, Christianity, that is getting more and more people to renounce their old beliefs, bring people closer to the truth and make them lead a virtuous life.

Once he arrives to Constantinopole, he finds the city to be indeed one of extreme contrasts: decadence and icons, Christianity, ascetism, virtue and corruption, cosmopolitanism and age old wisdom gathered from every culture and violent outbursts of religious fanaticism and violence...all find their place on the streets and in the Imperial court of the city. At the time of his arrival, the capital has been through a major religious conflict between the iconoclasts and iconodoules, both having rallied powerfull and influential supporters. Empress Irina, an iconodoules, has emerged victorious and has decided to choose a bride for his son, the prince Konstantinos, that would further strenghten her and her parties position. Instead of the proposed alliance with Rotruda, Charlemagne`s daughter, she wants to find a Greek bride for his son, one that can thus be more easily manipulated. Having caught the attention of influential people at the court, you are made to choose between helping Irina find a bride, or be labelled a suspect and a possible enemy.

Having found Maria, the daughter of a pious man in one of the provinces of the empire, you face yet another dilemma: bring her to the court and watch her be the victim of all the intrigues or leave her in her town but know you have mingled with destiny and with the chance to remind the Byzantines of the power of virtue through the life and sacrifice of this girl.

As we get back to Constantinople, the scene is set for another major conflict. This time, prince Konstantinos, after getting bored of his new wife and wanting to get back to his debauch ways and finding his mother pushing him out of the scene to claim all power, becomes the leader of the former defeated party of the iconoclasts, and the clash between mother and son for the throne begins.

I hope I can get all the necessary details of the story into the project. What I have here is also a scheme of the choices the user would make to advance the story.