Ebon Light is an indie romance visual novel for PC developed by Underbliss. The full version was published on itch.io on November 9th, 2019.
It follows the story of Alenca Goffil (a customizeable main character) who mistakenly consumes an ancient elven relic.
Ebon Light contains examples of:
- Absolute Xenophobe: Lalari is an entire empire of humans like this, not that non-humans not in danger of being subjugated by them care much. The empire has an appalling level of social disparity between its poor and its rich, and women don't fare much better, leaving very few people at all jealous of the citizens who get to live within its borders.
- Absurdly Cool City: Sitre is rumored to be a beautiful, technologically advanced utopia.
- Ambiguous Situation: The origins of the docks explosion; the most common interpretations are that either Duliae, the Cuthintal, or Gawloyes was behind it, but a definitive answer is never given, and
the developer has kept carefully mum about it. - Badass Army: A fierce army is a valuable army, and as a country with no valuable export but iron, most of Gha'alias population is funneled into it's military to form a mercenary army.
- Blessed with Suck: Consuming Cuthintal could possibly grant ability to wield a powerful "magical" weapon. But it could also lead to madness, death, or slavery.
- Burial at Sea: The typical method of disposing of bodies on Gha'alia, a tiny island with little free space.
- Cast Full of Pretty Boys: Though not all traditionally pretty, the male cast are all certainly easy on the eyes.
- Civil War: A fracture has been growing in Gha’alian Forces for years only to grow to a full scale uprising by the end of the game.
- Constructed World: Gha'alia is located in the Great Pillar Ocean, in the world of Caleare. There are mentions about various races populating it, both humanoid and not, as well as their varying cultures and/or myths surrounding them.
- Cultural Posturing: The average Gha'alian doesn't think much of humans, or really any people weaker then them.
- Evil Is Angular: Our protagonist can take note of sharp spires and spikes in the Gha'alian architecture.
- Forever War: Corcanda. Once beautiful land of poets, now in a ruin laden by unending battle.
- Hero with a Unique Name: Heroine’s default name can be changed to anything.
- Immortality Begins at Twenty: The particular breed that is Gha'alian elves are this; they can die of old age, but most die in battle long before then. At this point, it's unclear if Gha'alians even know what the natural lifespan is for them.
- Immortal Procreation Clause: Lonre is considered unusual among Gha'alians, having three children in the span of twenty years.
- Land of One City: Justified. Gha’alia is an island with limited living space.
- Older Than They Look: Aging slows for them at around twenty, and the oldest Gha'alian we meet is around three hundred and does not look anywhere close to that.
- Perma-Shave: Gha'alian elves don't grow facial hair.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: A cultural convention of Gha'alians. Criis, the people of Crimson Lake, are this as well.
- Purple Is Powerful: The Cuthintal, which manifests as a purple cloud, and Duliae, who wears a variety of purple clothing.
- Put on a Bus: Subverted. The villain tries to do this to the main character to get her out of his hair. It doesn't go how he planned and it turns into The Bus Came Back.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Many Gha’alian have black hair, and a bone-white complexion.
- Really 700 Years Old: Gha'alians are extremely long lived elves.
- Rivals Team Up: Haron and Duliae. Neither of them hide their dislike for one another, but with a common goal they can at least suffer each other’s presence.
- The Pretty Guys Are Stronger: Played straight. Gha'alian elves are stronger than humans, and thus a large percentage of the population are employed in their military forces.
- Spikes of Villainy: When Alenca looks out her window in Gha’alia for the first time, she notes tall spires on the buildings; Crystal Spires and Togas they are not.
- Superior Species: Gha'alian elves are able to see better in the dark than humans, are much longer lived, and are implied to be physically stronger, taller, and have more endurance.
