Vacant Sky

I died once.

—Auria Edith

Vacant Sky is a free-to-download PC RPG made in RPG Maker XP by Project BC.

The first volume, 'contention', is split into three acts, which together tell the story of Auria, a girl who is murdered by a cop that would escort her to her father's house and then after entering "The Void", a world that exists within her mind, she wakes up in the middle of Alibaas, a spiritual land located across the world from the United Provincies, where she lives. In Alibaas she meets Serijala and Zaqris, two individuals willing ( well, Seri is at least) to help her find the way home since they both have to reach Banivia and Auria can find a ship there that will take her home. But then she finds herself being pursued by a mysterious organisation known as the Virad and while they are all running for their lifes, Auria discovers more about herself and untangle the secrets behind the Virad and the world she lives in.

It has an original story, entertaining characters, and a phenomenal soundtrack.

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Tropes used in Vacant Sky include:

• Action Prologue
• All of the Other Reindeer: Auria
• Anticlimax Boss: It is quite possible to kill Ejaro, nominally the final boss of the contention ending, in one hit (provided you buff yourself and it is a critical). Of course, the real "final boss battle" was Vastale] a few minutes earlier.
• Badass: Vastale, Weapon, Sandarga. Somewhat subverted in Weapon's case, as the lead designer of the game has said that he's more a case of someone trying to be a badass than an actual badass.
• Bad Dreams: Auria
• Blood Knight: Weapon
• Bonus Boss: In Act III. Darxinger's 2,000+ regen will make you tear your hair out, but Archetype Auria tops it with a 5,000+ regen. They can be more migraine-inducing than Ejaro.
• Break the Cutie: So far seems to a given with all female characters.
• Breather Level: After the extremely combat-heavy level 2 of the final dungeon, the third level contains absolutely no combat or puzzles. And in the Relinquish ending it leads right into the completely-empty final area and a bossless finale.
• Butt Monkey: Thy name is Rayonne.
• Children Are Innocent: Subverted with Auria
• Cliff Hanger: Act I
• Compelling Voice: Ejaro's main shtick. along with Fake Memories.
• Costume Copycat: In Act II, Vel takes the place of Seri during much of the Boris Island investigation.
• Cutscene Boss: Ejaro in the Relinquish Ending, despite having been a relatively easy Duel Boss anyways in the Contention (main) ending. It does make the scene more dramatic, but at what cost?
  • Also the Virad that Rien fights in the climax of Act II, presumably because she's tapping into powers that she doesn't use when under the player's control.
• Dark Action Girl: Seri in Act III, Rien(she mentioned petty ethics somewhere before showing her true power), and our own dear Auria(took control of the Virad in Act III)
• Deadpan Snarker: Auria, and Blaise to an extent.
• Doomed Hometown: Barely averted.
• Downer Ending: In Act III, one ending involves the city and people of Halo Locks being destroyed and another ending involves practically all the people of a city being absorbed by Vel, and both endings involve Auria going bye-bye forever.
  • I'll elaborate on this further, I just got all endings right here:
  • Contention ending, the main ending of Vacant Sky, Auria uses her Night Zero power kills tens of thousands of the city where Ejaro is at. She can't live with herself, so in this ending she goes to the Hall of Legends and never returns. This ending is a normal playthrough the game.
  • Resignation ending, which you get if try to fight Darxinger and lose. Auria basically becomes his immortal bride well for pretty much eternity, and Rayonne gets his soul stuck in to a demon for eternity as well.
  • Remission ending, in this ending Vel becomes jealous of Auria and Ray's relationship and as such she becomes a mana vampire for good. Vel becomes the final boss as she is the heart of the city, and when you beat her, Auria saves Vel by allowing herself to be consumed. Vel returns to her true self, Rayonne acknowledges he loves Vel for who she really is, and they resolve to try again after visiting Auria's grave. Also the population of Svavenholm may or may not have all their mana sucked out.
  • Resurrection ending, which you get if you don't get the extra allies like the game suggests. Auria gets captured and her soul sucked out by the Virad Lord. Before she dies, you hear Ray swearing vengeance against all Virad.
  • Relinquish ending. In this ending, you abandon Vel when she needs your help, and everyone abandons you after calling you out on it. In the end, Auria is stuck in the city cold and alone, with only ghosts to comfort her, and though she cannot die, Ejaro convinces her that she will using his power, and she collapses "dead" while leaving. Also, nothing is done to stop Halo Locks from sucking in the mana of countless innocent people and Auria uses Night Zero on a small village to avoid capture.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Vaqris
• Duel Boss: Several, including every Bonus Boss except Darxinger.
• Eviler Than Thou: More than a background event than anything, but the Virad and the Blackguards aren't the best of friends.
• Face Heel Turn: Auria, Blaise
• Facial Horror: Since Vel is half-orkan, she was discriminated against and someone burned down her house killing her mother, and leaving her with 3rd degree burn
• Fan Service: As one person put it when discussing Act II: "There is also a naked lesbian strip search scene." The scene serves little more purpose other than as fan service. Also repeated in Act III In one of the ending paths, Sandarga takes Auria's measurements to create a Virad suit for her
  • The hidden swimsuit title screens are very much this.
• Fiery Redhead: Largely subverted with Auria, who has red hair but stays generally morose and deadpan throughout, only occasionally driven to defiance by extreme circumstances.
• Flash Back: The ending of Act I features numerous flashbacks in the style of photographs.
• Gallows Humor: Sandarga in the Act I prologue.
• Game Breaking Bug: Whether intentional or not, several buffs including Regeneration and Rejuvenation have infinite duration in Act III; useful when you use them, but makes many bonus bosses nearly impossible or a Luck-Based Mission since their regeneration works faster than you can deal damage and never expires. Also, the very last bonus boss can't be fought due to a mapmaking error.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: Turns out Seri joining the Virad and coordinating a coup wasn't so peaceful like she expected.
• Gorn: We have the 2d version of it.
• Guide Dang It: Some of the hidden title screens fall into this.
• Last of His Kind: Ejaro is the last of the Viridian people, who were basically mana vampires.
• Les Yay: Subtle hints between Auria and Vel.
• Hannibal Lecture: Kasch, in Act II

Kasch: "Refusal to choose is in itself a choice! Even through inaction, you must accept responsibility for the consequences of your choice."

• Heroic Sacrifice: The Remission ending.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Auria gets more bloodthirsty as the story goes...
• Hopeless Boss Fight: In Act I, there is a fight near the end upon returning to East Naven where you battle five guards at once. This fight on its own is almost impossible to win, but if you somehow manage it, another wave is just called in.
• Idiot Hero: Rayonne
• Inexplicable Treasure Chests: Played with. There are a few treasure chests purposefully placed so that the player can see them, but are impossible to get to.
• Interface Screw: The third level of the final dungeon, full stop.
  • Also, bouts of static plague you at a few points in Act I apparently corresponding to Auria almost remembering things her other personality did and are used as a mechanic in one area of Act II (for totally unrelated reasons).
• Jerkass: Blaise, still even after he joins you, knowing full well he shot on faulty orders.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Blaise after seeing Vel's story agrees to adopt her and Rayonne, didn't see that one from him.
• Killed Off for Real: Mia, And in Act III Zaqris.
• The Lancer: Blaise in Act II.
• Love Triangle: Auria --> Rayonne --> Vel
• Master of Disguise: Vel. Covers Shapeshifting as well, since Act III reveals that due to her enhancements, Vel practically becomes a perfect clone of a person, down to the cellular level.
• Monster Arena: Void Arena. Bosses you have defeated throughout the game can be fought again once. However, due to an error, you can't fight the last boss Darxinger
• Multiple Endings: see Downer Ending up there, and thats a bit more than half of them.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Well to put this lightly Ray you moron, was it really a smart idea to kill a girl that was close to Auria.
• No Sidepaths, No Exploration, No Freedom: This was a common complaint about Act I. The game's designers realised this early on, and Acts II and III were made with more freedom in mind.
• Older Than They Look Rien is hinted at being older than she seems. Also, Auria's mother turns out to be about 2,000 years old.
• Player Punch: Several. One of the biggest ones must be the fact that you can't save Noe during your first playthrough. If you try, you will fight Darxinger and lose, triggering a Bad Ending.
• Please Put Some Clothes On: Auria says this to Vel in Act II.
• Rage Against the Heavens: Pretty much the reason why the experiments you find in Orkan mansion are all about. See The Reveal below to find out more.
• Reality Warper: Who knew Rien was one. Or we at least suspected.
• Shape Shifter:Vel
• Recurring Boss: Weapon. If you follow the Remission ending, you'll end up fighting him again for the third time.
• The Reveal: A Dungeon in orkan that happens to be in the mansion of the first black knight reveals several things *Takes deep breath*:
  • First: There is a memoir by an Atalya who is Vel's ancestor telling about his doubt on why the goddess chose a hertic like Dakura Maladorr as her champion. It turns out he was pretty much forsakened by everyone.
  • Second:Memoirs of Kortas Maladorr reveals information about her experiment into "purity" or rather turning humans into gods. The memoir tells that they've reached a point into making a fake, but the real good news is that they can go beyond 4 test subjects now. It goings to the next clip to reveal that after three years if experimentation they succeeded in putting a demonic seed into a female subject who will become the first archon. This has given them the hope that child born from a archon would make a great experimental value. After the archon gives birth to a boy, the demonic seed passes down from generation to generation as the they found the baby from the archon had the seed of his mom. It also seems giving birth is the only way for an archon to regain their mortality. after that was done they plan to re-experiement on her so they can get more archon babies out of it.
  • Third: The third memoir comes from Morus Vandir of orka detailing what happened after the great war. We know that Zezzorah is the first black knight Dakura Maladorr from Rien, but we also see insights on Morus cursing dakura for his betrayl and the reason they must keep it a secret. Later on after burying the body the Virad are taken over with a new leader whom is called Zezzorah, at first it was believe to be a title because Zezzorah never showed the face, but after killing Zezzorah again they confirmed that it was Dakura Maladorr brought back to life. After killing it a few more times Morus begins to question if Orka really had the goddess's favor on their side. After the second black knight managed to kill Zezzorah again, the Maladorr family offered to help keep Zezzorah dead on condition they be forgiven for all their crimes. And as it turns out to this day no one knows what or how, but Zezzorah is not walking anymore.
  • Fourth: The Memoirs of Lorria Maladorr(Dakura's mother) showing concern for her son as he's really smart, but also naive of the world. 7 years later Dakura returned to Orka unlike the many others. On his return he lost faith, but became closer to the goddess. Dakura brings pride to the people of Orka and especially House Maladorr by being chosen by the goddess Aisa as he champion. Dakura begins his heresy against the church, yet a majority still support him nonethless because of his overwhemling charisma. The memoir ends with his mother asking why did Dakura leave, and wants him to come back because she loves and misses him.
  • The last: Is Auria's mom, yeah so she's now revealed to be 2000 years old...The memoirs of Annelise Edith reveal she planned this from the start. Anneslise starts by explaining a few things to Auria and us. When she was young Annelise volunteered to become one of the first archons because that would mean she wouldn't die. At first it was great she watched all the people she hated slowly age and die, but also there came side effects. Some include nightmares, no idea how you got to this place or that, nightmares about being burned alive. After a while she couldn't hold grudges anymore since everyone always died so fast(of age not being killed), but with this all the friends, family, and lovers also died(again old age). She began to question what she became after repeated years of this. The only clause to the entire procedure was that Annelise should never have children, as it would cause her to become normal again. Then its revealed how and why they were made in the first place. It seems the only way House Maladorr actually kept Zezzorah dead was to seal his soul into the body of an archon. After 2000 years passed Annelise couldn't stand it anymore and conceived Auria, the child that made her mortal again, but at a huge consequence. Auria now carries Zezzorah's soul in her body, which explains her powers and why she's going to have a lot of issues with life and the virad in general. phew that took a while to do.
• Shut UP, Hannibal: Auria's response to the Hannibal Lecture mentioned above.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: Banette The same peaceful tune plays even after the massacre that happened
• Spin-Off: Vagrant Blood
• Split Personality: Auria and Mia
• Stepford Smiler: Vel projects a cheeky, friendly persona, but as Auria suspects, there's clearly something hidden beneath it.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Turns out Ray got through to Auria as she was going to nuke the town.
• A Taste of Power: You have control of the villains in the prologue.
• Took a Level in Badass: Rayonne
• Tsundere: Auria to Rayonne.
• Unexplained Recovery: Auria in Act I (maybe), and either Seri or Vanquish in Act II
  • Somewhat justified in both cases
• Useless Useful Spell: Inverted, especially with poison. Virtually every enemy and boss is vulnerable to every status effect, poison works proportional to the victim's health, and near the start of Act II Auria gets a poison-inflicting move for free (which deals respectable damage in its own right) and can purchase a "faster" one for one skill point. Two other party members get poisonous moves eventually to use in the times when Auria is absent. The end result is to utterly ruin any boss who doesn't have regeneration or healing, since you can just poison it and stall for a while.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Strangely enough. Vastale, dreaded lord of the Virad, gets wiped out in both of the main Act III ending routes in a single battle or, even worse, a cutscene. Lampshaded by Rien who says that in the end, Vastale had been a nameless fool who was tempted by power.
  • There's also never a boss fight with Sandarga, despite seeming like there should be.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Almost everyone, from party members to villains. Except Rien, who is Chaotic Selfish
• We Are Everywhere: Good God, where aren't there Virad?
• What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: The level names/subtitles in the final dungeon: Attachment to Life, Attraction to Death (with Trials of Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance), Eternal Punishment and Contention Core. This does an excellent job of masking the true meaning of the seals in Eternal Punishment until it's far too late.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Whatever happened to Seri and Zaq as they were escaping from the burning palace and from pursuing Virad. Also to Kasch after the party beat him.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Archons or rather Mia, Auria's mother, Auria herself is demonic and immortal, yet can be killed by demonslaying weapons like the ones Ray uses.