"The Empire is dying. Everyone knows it; they just won't talk about it. Every time the red moon comes, the shades wipe out more towns and villages, and thousands of people die. It's only getting worse. The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if next time they breach the walls of one of the free cities, and maybe then we'll all finally be ready to admit the truth: it's over for us.
But maybe not even then. I tell you, these people are in such denial. You know what they say? They say, 'Have faith. God will save us.' Will He? I'm not so sure. In fact, I think He's made it pretty clear He does not give a damn about us. He could've saved us
centuries ago. Why the wait? To test us? C'mon, let's be serious now. The first red moon came, and what did He do? He gave us Fire. He said, 'Here, this'll protect you.' And then -
poof! - He vanished. Hasn't been heard from since. He
left us. Left us to fend for ourselves. That's what people don't realize. That is the thought they will not let themselves have.
And, listen, it's not like I don't get it. It's
hard to admit you've been abandoned. It's more comforting to believe there's someone out there who cares about you, who'll show up in your time of need. But there isn't. There's no one. It's just
us. The sun is going down, and all we got here at the end of the day is each other. So, I guess that'll have to do."
We Carry the Fire is a visual novel set in a world that is slowly ending. Every few years after the new moon disappears from the night sky, it will return red, and when that red moon is full every town, village, and city in the Empire will be attacked by spectral monsters called Shades. The only weapon the people have in their defense is Fire, an ever-burning white flame believed to be a gift from God Himself.
Players follow Ashe, a young person whose red eyes mark him as an outcast. When a new red moon appears, Ashe volunteers to deliver Fire to a remote farming village that would otherwise be destroyed under the full moon. This mission will be particularly dangerous because it requires him to cross the Forest, a mysterious wilderness believed to be home to spirits and monsters of myth.
But Ashe will not face these dangers alone. He is joined by a party of other outcasts like himself: Blaise a former knight excommunicated from her order for an alleged heresy; Kol, an Alfar of the Forest exiled from his clan for breaking a taboo; and Luz, a magical prodigy expelled from her university for stealing secrets from restricted texts.
The trials they encounter in their journey will push each of them to their breaking point, and to overcome them they must face things they had tried to keep in the past.