[GAME]

The Heartstone

A goddess fell. An island grew.

Long ago, in the Hush before the world, a gentle goddess was slain with a thorn of black glass. Her heart slipped into the newborn sea as one warm stone. Sand gathered. Soil followed. Forest rose. Souls called from beyond the world still wake upon that stone — the Heartstone — under a temple candle’s watch.

The thorn fell too, into the far west. Trees around it twisted black. That rot is called Gravewood now. Between the Heartstone and the Thornfall stretches one hostile island: farmland and fords, rope bridges and hidden bog paths, dwarven forges and orc stockades, and a volcanic crown where baby dragons nest.

Prove yourself on the First Shore. Sail for what comes next. There is no turning back.

Lore framed from the project’s Heartstone myth preview; atmospheric telling for the teaser.

The chain

Continent after continent. One way.

Finish an island’s questline and the next shore opens. Returning to a previous island demands a long quest of its own — back-and-forth travel effectively needs a team. This is chess, played across the sea.

I First Shore Where souls arrive
one way
II Next Crossing Boats earned, not given
one way
III+ Farther Shores No road home

The river and the bog split the First Shore so nobody can drag a mass lure across the map. Four river crossings. One hidden swamp path. No shortcuts.

The First Shore

Walk the island before you leave it

One city. One temple. Danger rising west of the Greywater and south of the Mire Line. Everyone walks — boats stay locked behind passage quests at the coastal outposts.

Harbor & Heartstone

The only town. Temple on the Heartstone, depot, Trading Hall between temple and harbour, lighthouse watching the sea route. Newcomers prove themselves before they sail.

Kingsfields

Farmland and barns ring the city — rats, wolves at the outer edge, and talk of raiders from the west. The easy start before the divides.

Northcape Shore

Gull Cliffs, the wreck of the Lantern, smugglers’ cellars, and rope spots at low tide. One of the early key-door quests begins among the rocks.

Whisperwood & Greyspine

Ancient grove and stone spine. Three ridge passes wall Gravewood’s rot from the east. Beneath the ridge: Dwarf Hollows and the Deep Forge.

Orc Marches & Southfen

Gorrum’s Teeth gathers war-bands on the dry grassland. Southfen’s bog holds Fenwatch, trolls, and the Drowned Chapel — and the Mire Line’s hidden paths.

Gravewood & Ashen Crown

Far west: thorn-rot, ghouls, witches who brew the island’s only potions, and a single watching eye behind an iron door. Southwest: ash flats and a caldera of baby dragons — the last test before the mainland.

The divides

Greywater — north–south river. Cross only at the Gorge Rope Bridge, the Tollbridge (troll toll on the west bank), Greywater Ford, or Fenwatch Bridge.
Mire Line — west–east bog and cliffs. No named roads through; only hidden paths marked by ground clues.
Outpost boats — Saltreed, Ranger’s Lookout, Blackrock Cove, Dragonwatch, Old Lighthouse. Each dock runs only after its passage quest.

What waits ashore

Weight. Venom. Lost mail. Skulls.

Scattered gear and candles on a wooden floor

Item physics

Everything has weight and a place. Drop a shield and it lands on the tile — anyone can pick it up. Corpses keep what they carried. Nothing vanishes into a menu.

Poison

Poison lasts two full minutes and shows on your status bar. Poison arrows let paladins wear down big prey from range. Carry a cure or plan your retreat.

Mail clerk at the night docks with sealed parcels

The mail clerk

Mislabelled letters go to the Dead Letter Office. Its clerk moves to a far-off spot every day — sometimes a boat. Only the sender can reclaim a lost parcel (fee rises with time). After seven days, leftovers become his junk stock. Track him and he becomes a secret depot.

PvP & red skull

Attack an unmarked player and you wear a white skull with a short protection-zone lock. Three unjustified kills within a day mark you red for a full day — and a red skull drops everything on death. Temples and depot halls are protection zones. No logging out while fight-locked.

Weathered notice board with pinned slips

Trading Hall & board

Face-to-face trade at tables between temple and harbour — no auction house. A notice board takes text-only buying and selling posts; “reply by mail” opens a letter to the poster (and falls back to the Dead Letter clerk when needed).

Death & the vigil

Death costs experience and skill progress. You wake at the temple under candlelight. Without protection, worn gear and your backpack can fall. Blessings and an amulet of loss can spare what you wear — a red skull spares nothing.

Gameplay loop

A day on the First Shore

01

Wake at the Heartstone

Respawn at the temple. Check mail. Skim the Trading Hall board. Top off food and rope before the gates.
02

Walk the divides

Pick a crossing — rope bridge, toll, ford, or Fenwatch — or hunt the Mire’s ground clues. No waypoints. No fast travel until a quest unlocks a boat.
03

Hunt, haul, haggle

Fight with weight that matters. Dropped loot stays on the tile. Drag a corpse if you must. Sell, trade face to face, or risk a parcel — and hope you labelled it.
04

Push a key-door

Five locked doors chain the island’s secrets: smugglers’ cellar, drowned crypt, deep forge, watching lair, ashen hatchery. Keys come from chests you reach on foot.
05

Make it home — or don’t

Race a poison tick. Watch for white and red skulls on the road. If you fall, the candle vigil waits. If you earn a passage, a boatman finally nods.

Torchlight captures

Gallery

Coming soon

From teaser to table

Now
Teaser hearth

This page — mood, myth, and the hooks. No public server yet. Watch the Discord for candle-light updates.
Next
Player site

A fuller home for [GAME]: download or browser play links when ready, fact sheet, and patch notes. Still invite-first.
Then
Community & closed alpha

Small key waves, weekend sessions, faceless studio voice. Feedback before any wide open doors.

Roadmap phrasing is a teaser simplification of an internal phased plan; dates and platforms are intentionally unset.

Common questions

FAQ

What kind of game is [GAME]?

An original old-school 2D MMORPG. Four vocations (knight, paladin, sorcerer, druid), real item weight, houses and plots, crafting, fishing, mining, party play, mail, and a map built so mass lures can’t cross the whole island.

Is there fast travel?

No — everyone walks at first. Boats at coastal outposts unlock through passage quests. Coaches and ferries stay locked until a later quest decides otherwise.

Can I go back to the First Shore later?

Leaving the first island is meant to be permanent for ordinary travel. The wider chain may allow return only through a long questline, and shuttling between shores is designed to need a team.

How does PvP work?

Protection zones cover temples and depot halls. Unjust attacks apply a white skull and a short PZ lock; three unjust kills in a day mean a red skull for a full day, and red-skulled deaths drop everything.

What is the Dead Letter clerk?

Mislabelled mail goes to him. He relocates daily. Senders reclaim from a personal lost-mail bin for a rising fee; after seven days, goods can land on his public junk counter. Clever players treat him as a hidden depot.

When can I play?

Closed alpha is the next public step — invite keys in small waves. This teaser collects interest only; nothing here creates an account or stores an email.

Will it be free?

Alpha and beta are planned free to play while we learn. Long-term pricing is undecided. No pay-to-win is a hard line.

Keep watch by candlelight

Closed-alpha rumors, island sightings, and Dead Letter gossip — gather with other travelers for [GAME].

Join the Discord

Placeholder link — replace with your invite URL.

Notify me

A mailing-list button for later. No form, no inbox capture on this static teaser — tap only bookmarks the intent.

Notify me when the boats open