Kukubara The Archivist

A place where I can post my sky content, theories, screenshots, and adventures. Feel free to ask anything!

[kukubaras-light]

Sky: Children of the Light Lore Theories- [A thread]

Wasteland Journal: What did the lookout scout see? Part 1.

⚠️Spoilers⚠️ for wasteland spirits and locations ahead.

When you first enter the flooded dunes of the place we call The Battlefield in Golden Wasteland, we are absolutely stunned by the shift in tone.

[ Disclaimer, these are simple theories I've put together with a mix of Sky community theories and some of my own investigation, and as time of posting, nothing in this post has been confirmed by TGC. ]

First Thread: Context-

A common understanding in the Sky theory community (found in the official discord server and a few blog posts, we are very small and committed) is that the Golden Wasteland was an industrial complex to produce and provide resources to the greater Sky civilization.

This theory is rooted in the similarities found in the Graveyard Broken Temple and the final temple in hidden forest.

Now, I can go in to further detail as to why the community feels that these temple like structures are factories/industrial complexes, and my personal theories on what exactly was produced in another post dedicated to the Hidden Forest, but for now, let's stick to the Lookout Scout.

Humoring me and the industry complex theory, I've concluded that the Golden Wasteland wasn't just a production complex, but specifically a power plant of some sort.

Throughout the Wasteland, from the Golden Wastelands itself to the Shipwreck (not the Ark) you will find a network of pipes that seemed to transport water to and from locations. My theory is that the factories in Wasteland refined the resource transported from The Hidden Forest to the Graveyard temple, and the water was used as some sort of coolant, cleaner, or at least a moderator.

You can even see some pipe work on the distant temples, and other factories.

The entire wastelands are covered in a sour water that seems to have been long contaminated and stagnating between the time of the ancestors and our Sky kids. Broken and clogged pipework litters the landscape, passing through each of the "temples", and destroying the landscape so it's inhospitable to all light dwelling creatures.

Part 2, the layout, following shortly.

[kukubaras-light]

Wasteland Journal: What did the Lookout Scout see? Part 2.

The Layout of the Wastelands.

(I have to do this in multiple parts because of the image limit per thread)

I was always fascinated by The Golden Wastelands. It's probably the realm I always default to when I need to do an extra candle run. When I'm not flying through on autopilot, I'm always discovering something new.

One particular area that's always gotten me excited was The Graveyard. It's the first place you'll encounter a krill, the broken factory, and of course... The reservoir.

"Reservoir?" You ask, and I'm so happy you asked. The Graveyard. Specifically-

-this krill infested place. Let me explain.

The Graveyard has some really unique constructed and natural features. The whole place is a bowl shape. To the left of the entrance are natural juts of earth, and to the left are some wall structures.

Most notable...

Next to the pipe that is the shipwreck entrance is a dam. I don't have the image space, but if you can brave the krill, you will find massive inoperable power gems (similar to the ones found on two player doors in Prairie, or the doors, and temple irises, in Forest). This tells me that this dam either opens and closes... or rises and lowers to control the water level.

It's a flood gate. Similar to what's found on IRL dams.

Now, what's on the other side of this dam? Well, my imaginary captive audience~

~the shipwreck of course.

What does this mean?

It means that there used to be a LOT more water in this area, and in the broken temple wastes. The Broken Temple area was once elevated on constructed pathways leading to the factory in graveyard. The factory, the temples, the walk ways, everything is made of stone, and over time sunk into the sand.

The only place elevated location is at the top of the stairs in Graveyard leading to the Wasteland Elder's Temple.

The issue? There's another factory on the way temple, and pipework networking across the landscape.

What does this have to do with the Lookout Scout?

So, I answer with this, what did he see that caused him to sound the alarm?

Coming in part 3 tomorrow.

[kukubaras-light]

Wasteland Journal: What did the lookout scout see? Part 3.

(I also forgot to mention, at the top of the Graveyard exit stairs, when you approach them from high above, you can see another gate at the top of the stairs.)

Hello old friend. Let's see if we can figure out your story.

The first time I played Sky, the Battlefield probably held the most tension. No krill in sight but I just knew they were coming. The music stops, and you're greeted with a foggy landscape and then... The shield.

So, let's establish our cardinal directions. From the Elder's Temple is north, the Shipwreck exit is east, and the first shield is south-southeast, the dunes are west.

Now, let's establish one other thing.

That is a spear shaft jutting out the of shield. Whoever attacked these defenders with both, A. Large. And B. Armed with similar weapons to the Wasteland Elder, if not the Wasteland Elder's spears itself.

A lot of critical IRL power plants will have a military base with standing armies protecting the factory. Especially nuclear power plants.

Let's establish a timeline of events. Spike barricades have been built around the Wasteland temple's entrance, and the Wasteland Elder is ready for an invasion. Our first thought would be krill, the only threatening "enemy" found in the game, but krill don't wield spears. Whoever is going to attack, they're armed, and they're like the ancestors if not, are the ancestors.

All civilians and laborers have been called to evacuate while the army stands their ground.

Did the scout see the army arrive? I don't think so. See, when activating the scout, the temple is already destroyed.

He's moving around already broken rubble. The battle has been raging. He's been sneaking around, trying to stay hidden from the battle raging below. He peers over the edge, ensuring that none of the enemy soldiers spot him.

So, something prompted the scout to climb the broken temple. At the top, just before freeing his spirit, he's looking east to the pipework leading to the Shipwreck, likely where the army came from. Then, when you activate him he looks south-southeast towards the shield. Pauses as he looks in horror, then alerts the men at the battle station... South-southeast isn't the battle, but the reservoir.

It could be another approaching army... or it could be the destruction of the refinery. He's seeing, essentially, a Chernobyl of Sky. Pipes are overloaded, after all, these power plants likely power the pumps and the floodgates. Power networks are overloaded, pipes burst, both fresh water and contaminated, and all of the water from the Shipwreck's sea comes flooding into the battlefield. He tried to alert them, but it was too late, for water even filled the Elder's Temple. Enemy and guardian of the temple alike washed away in the flood. The Elder didn't even get a chance to see what the alarm call was about, he thrust his spear and was washed away.

I theorize that whatever caused Eden, also caused the power surge in the Golden Wasteland. Whatever was closest to Eden's mountain, from The Vault of Knowledge, to Golden Wastelands was destroyed.

Without power, the rest of Sky slowly died off. The other factories textured into the OOB skybox abandoned, if the workers didn't die in the initial power surge. The Valley of Triumph, formerly a bustling city, was left in ruin. Those who survived tried to live humble lives, but the civilization died with those factories and the community of ancestors eventually dwindled away.

Thanks so much for reading this far! If you have any theories you want to me take a look in to or cover, feel free to throw a request in my asks. Any critiques, questions, or ideas of your own, go ahead and add to the thread! I'm considering making a little hobby YouTube channel covering Sky theories, so if you'd be interested in seeing that, lmk!

This took WAY to long for a mobile game, between taking pictures and working around tumblr's image limit, my brain is mush. I almost got krilled! And I'm too nice not to help someone burn a tree if they ask, even if it's the forth time I've done it today... but TGC just has a way with me.

My next theory will cover the production cycle both natural/and manmade in The Hidden Forest.

[kukubaras-light]

Sky: Children of the Light Lore Theories- [A thread]

Wasteland Journal: What did the lookout scout see? Part 1.

⚠️Spoilers⚠️ for wasteland spirits and locations ahead.

When you first enter the flooded dunes of the place we call The Battlefield in Golden Wasteland, we are absolutely stunned by the shift in tone.

[ Disclaimer, these are simple theories I've put together with a mix of Sky community theories and some of my own investigation, and as time of posting, nothing in this post has been confirmed by TGC. ]

First Thread: Context-

A common understanding in the Sky theory community (found in the official discord server and a few blog posts, we are very small and committed) is that the Golden Wasteland was an industrial complex to produce and provide resources to the greater Sky civilization.

This theory is rooted in the similarities found in the Graveyard Broken Temple and the final temple in hidden forest.

Now, I can go in to further detail as to why the community feels that these temple like structures are factories/industrial complexes, and my personal theories on what exactly was produced in another post dedicated to the Hidden Forest, but for now, let's stick to the Lookout Scout.

Humoring me and the industry complex theory, I've concluded that the Golden Wasteland wasn't just a production complex, but specifically a power plant of some sort.

Throughout the Wasteland, from the Golden Wastelands itself to the Shipwreck (not the Ark) you will find a network of pipes that seemed to transport water to and from locations. My theory is that the factories in Wasteland refined the resource transported from The Hidden Forest to the Graveyard temple, and the water was used as some sort of coolant, cleaner, or at least a moderator.

You can even see some pipe work on the distant temples, and other factories.

The entire wastelands are covered in a sour water that seems to have been long contaminated and stagnating between the time of the ancestors and our Sky kids. Broken and clogged pipework litters the landscape, passing through each of the "temples", and destroying the landscape so it's inhospitable to all light dwelling creatures.

Part 2, the layout, following shortly.

[kukubaras-light]

Wasteland Journal: What did the Lookout Scout see? Part 2.

The Layout of the Wastelands.

(I have to do this in multiple parts because of the image limit per thread)

I was always fascinated by The Golden Wastelands. It's probably the realm I always default to when I need to do an extra candle run. When I'm not flying through on autopilot, I'm always discovering something new.

One particular area that's always gotten me excited was The Graveyard. It's the first place you'll encounter a krill, the broken factory, and of course... The reservoir.

"Reservoir?" You ask, and I'm so happy you asked. The Graveyard. Specifically-

-this krill infested place. Let me explain.

The Graveyard has some really unique constructed and natural features. The whole place is a bowl shape. To the left of the entrance are natural juts of earth, and to the left are some wall structures.

Most notable...

Next to the pipe that is the shipwreck entrance is a dam. I don't have the image space, but if you can brave the krill, you will find massive inoperable power gems (similar to the ones found on two player doors in Prairie, or the doors, and temple irises, in Forest). This tells me that this dam either opens and closes... or rises and lowers to control the water level.

It's a flood gate. Similar to what's found on IRL dams.

Now, what's on the other side of this dam? Well, my imaginary captive audience~

~the shipwreck of course.

What does this mean?

It means that there used to be a LOT more water in this area, and in the broken temple wastes. The Broken Temple area was once elevated on constructed pathways leading to the factory in graveyard. The factory, the temples, the walk ways, everything is made of stone, and over time sunk into the sand.

The only place elevated location is at the top of the stairs in Graveyard leading to the Wasteland Elder's Temple.

The issue? There's another factory on the way temple, and pipework networking across the landscape.

What does this have to do with the Lookout Scout?

So, I answer with this, what did he see that caused him to sound the alarm?

Coming in part 3 tomorrow.

[kukubaras-light]

Sky: Children of the Light Lore Theories- [A thread]

Wasteland Journal: What did the lookout scout see? Part 1.

⚠️Spoilers⚠️ for wasteland spirits and locations ahead.

When you first enter the flooded dunes of the place we call The Battlefield in Golden Wasteland, we are absolutely stunned by the shift in tone.

[ Disclaimer, these are simple theories I've put together with a mix of Sky community theories and some of my own investigation, and as time of posting, nothing in this post has been confirmed by TGC. ]

First Thread: Context-

A common understanding in the Sky theory community (found in the official discord server and a few blog posts, we are very small and committed) is that the Golden Wasteland was an industrial complex to produce and provide resources to the greater Sky civilization.

This theory is rooted in the similarities found in the Graveyard Broken Temple and the final temple in hidden forest.

Now, I can go in to further detail as to why the community feels that these temple like structures are factories/industrial complexes, and my personal theories on what exactly was produced in another post dedicated to the Hidden Forest, but for now, let's stick to the Lookout Scout.

Humoring me and the industry complex theory, I've concluded that the Golden Wasteland wasn't just a production complex, but specifically a power plant of some sort.

Throughout the Wasteland, from the Golden Wastelands itself to the Shipwreck (not the Ark) you will find a network of pipes that seemed to transport water to and from locations. My theory is that the factories in Wasteland refined the resource transported from The Hidden Forest to the Graveyard temple, and the water was used as some sort of coolant, cleaner, or at least a moderator.

You can even see some pipe work on the distant temples, and other factories.

The entire wastelands are covered in a sour water that seems to have been long contaminated and stagnating between the time of the ancestors and our Sky kids. Broken and clogged pipework litters the landscape, passing through each of the "temples", and destroying the landscape so it's inhospitable to all light dwelling creatures.

Part 2, the layout, following shortly.

[kukubaras-light]

The True Homie

I talked up The Silent Friend, and how they're the backbone of Sky but let's take a moment to appreciate the reason you keep playing.

You probably don't play together every day. Likely, you only see them once a month in the game at all, but when you two end up in the same server, you two are flooding the chat.

They're easy to hang out with, and helpful, and you two get in to enough trouble that real memories are made on your 5x3 screen.

For me, it's my OG Claws. Also a mod for my Sky discord server, they're the lore junkie tired vet who's seen all kinds of shenanigans in sky.

[bonus pics]

[kukubaras-light]

Some serious cowboy vibes going for me rn.

[kukubaras-light]

The Silent Friends

I love Sky's social system. The game does wonderfully to incentives interaction and engagement between friends from heart trades, quests, mobile batteries, and candle runs shared between each other.

But something that's not talked about as often is the Silent Friend. They're abundant when you're a moth just figuring out the culture and vibe, showing you winged light locations, and hidden spirits. Maybe a quick call to show you some hidden wax so you can truly master candle runs.

As you earn your cosmetics and weather a few seasons, you make friends and rely on them. You bicker about AIPs, and season glitches. Maybe vent to babble about IRL things, I think some of my favorite political discussions have happened in sky tbh.

Then, after a while, you start to run alone again. Enjoying the simplicity of the game without worrying how you're going to chat and fly at the same time, server merges, chat glitched, or your friend going idle right when the krill spots you. Company is enjoyed but not necessary to appreciate the game. Candle runs are a part of your routine, and occassionally, you see someone like you. Someone who knows the ropes, and maybe even has a better handle on it than you.

There's no pressure to send a friendship candle, you two just plod along, minding yourselves and eachother. Emotes to celebrate a particularly difficult obstacle course. Sing calling to make sure your power is full.

In a small way, I value silent friends more than constellation friends. Not that I don't adore my friends. They're the reason I still play this game. No, it's in the way that they are the unspoken lifeblood of the game.

Quietly guiding terrified moths through Eden as they realize exactly what they got themselves in to, flying down and collecting them up when they're knocked off the path. Swooping out of nowhere to help you burn that tree in Graveyard. Or in this case, waiting at the next torch as I stumble my way through the prophecy trials trying to collect my winged light.

Pretentiously, I like to think of them as the people who pull over on the road to give you a ride to the gas station when you're car breaks down. Or the person who grabs your sleeve when you're not paying attention to the crosswalk light.

The stakes are different, but the essence is there.

Then, with a cheer, a bow, you part ways and never see them again... and I think there's something special about that.

[kukubaras-light]

Spoilers for Eden

I'm a huge fan of the Orbit updates. It looks like they cleared out a lot of the clouds and gave more distinct structure to the area leading out in to orbit.

[kukubaras-light]

I made a prediction when the Season of Prophecy came out that TGC was getting more ambitious with their tasks.

Season of Dreams was ambitious, but underwhelming. There were a lot of concepts I liked, but there just wasn't enough substance.

I think, this season, they really outdid themselves. The cosmetics are great as always, but the Season Quests were really good collaborative efforts.

The spirits are very endearing.

I felt a lot more connected with the quest giver.

And how can we not love all of the hidey holes and small activities with the Tree House. Hidden chat tables, diving boards, swing sets, the mantas, jelly's, and light mushrooms.

I really really love this season.

[kukubaras-light]

⚠️ Heads Up PSA ⚠️

In this most recent patch update, it looks like they patched the the home button with the emote menu UI. It doesn't work to avoid krill anymore either from the cog menu or emote menu.

As always, Nastymold has our backs and she posted a nice tutorial on other options for avoiding krill that's nearly as effective. Fly safely, and keep your winged lights

[kukubaras-light]

TFW you can't remember if your prey is airborne or waterborne :/

[kukubaras-light]

Sometimes you just catch things in Sky that really aren't intentionally as fun as they are.

Here are some outtakes. From accidental pictures flicked at the right time to in game bugs features we love.

[kukubaras-light]

God I can't help but stop and admire the lighting in this game. It's so so good.

[kukubaras-light]

We all have different names for the different krill that we come across.

This one, in shipwreck, gives me the most trouble.

Of course, there's the first krill you meet. I call her Josey. Such a confined space makes it difficult to avoid her glare unless you know what you're doing. There's krill that lurks around the graveyard tree, Nanette, Louise, and Jumper, and they likely have some of the most pings on me of all the krill on the game. And of course, there's the final krill in Eden, Dusty, who patrols the dust storm nearly impossible to avoid if you're taking the traditional route. In all likeliness, Dusty's red glare is following you right into the hall of light and you pray you timed it right, followed by a breath of relief as you rush into the chamber and her eye flickers blue and moves away.

But the one at the shipwreck has given me the most trouble due to my own recklessness. I used her to practice my mid-flight dodging before the krill's AI update. She was the last one I bothered to memorize the routine of simply because I underestimated how much trouble she was going to give me.

Once, she greeted me just as I entered the shipwreck area because the server merged at a bad time. I was going on a wing light run and she managed to knock about 6 out of me.

She is my great humbler. Her name is Peggy and Peggy is a bitch.

[kukubaras-light]

The office is one of the best places to snap clear sky pics.

[kukubaras-light]

I love sneaking out of the temple in sky, because it's some of the best places to explore OOB. There's a lot of treats in Valley of Triumph when you slow down and poke around.

[kukubaras-light]

Hey y'all, so Sky has been nominated for best art direction in the 25th webby awards. I love this game and I'd love to see them win this award, but it's a tight competition.

If you'd like to vote, submit it here!

[kukubaras-light]

An image I forgot to add to my hidden forest collection.