Traces of Ink

A Tang-era exile story

Traces of Ink is a PC story game set in the Tang dynasty. You play someone who has survived on shady odd jobs until a young woman pays a ransom to save you and brings you into her noble household. You become her guard, but the household is later brought down by a political case, and you’re sentenced to exile in Lingnan.

The story draws on an account in Zizhi Tongjian: the official Wei Xuantong is framed for treason by the magistrate Zhou Xing, who has the Empress Dowager’s favor. Wei is ordered to die at home, while the Chi clan, implicated through its ties to him, is exiled. The game follows your character and the Chi household’s fall against this historical backdrop.