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[starshinedragon]

SSO Rewritten: SPRINGVALLEY

Fan written main storyline (Update)

Previous Part: Winterdale https://www.tumblr.com/starshinedragon/736955792328146944/sso-winterdale-fan-written-main-storyline?source=share

Map of Springvalley:

Life Warden Trees of Springvalley:

Story design:

-> Part of SSO Rewritten (my writing project of the whole story of SSO until defeating Garnok). You can find the story related posts with the tag "sso rewritten" -> This is the updated version of an old post, that takes place after the Winterdale part. -> Phases 1-2-3 is the main story so far (Harvestlands), phases 4-5-6 is the Winterdale parts in the previous post, phases 7-8-9 are the Springvalley parts written in this post.

-> The area of Springvalleywas established in the Star Stable Spring Riders game and I added elements from SSO (rangers, druids, a lightwood, etc) to fill in the empty places. The focus characters of the Springvalley main storyline are Jessica and Elise (as the main opponents), Anne (as she is Jess' rival), Jordan Jet (from the Spring Rider game), Life Warden Trees and Vala witches (eg. Sive). The thematic guide for the Springvalley story is the dark corruption spreading in the valley and the final confrontation of this phase is cleansing the Cursed Forest and the witches' castle.

So saddle up and get ready for the adventure!

PHASE 7 – Opening Springvalley

PART 1: Resurrection

-> At the end of the Winterdale Storyline, the Soul Riders managed to win back Pandoria and banish Garnok from there. A new reputation opens: Pandoria. We can access all of it again, but it is in ruins. Ydris kind of forgives the druids, since his world was saved, and begrudgingly agrees to help and direct the restoration of Pandoria. Ydris becomes the faction leader and sends MC and the Soul Riders to all kinds of quests. 

-> MC is summoned to the Secret Stone Circle. The Soul Riders, Ydris, and some druids are waiting for you there and tell you that you are going to restore Pandoria and cleanse it from Garnok’s corruption. MC, Fripp, Ydris and Anne open and stabilize the Path of the Winds, the portal at the edge of the Circle, that now leads to the central part of Pandoria. The team rides through and you set up base in the main structure of Temple Ruins, a building similar to the ruins you saw in Starshine Legacy 3’s Pandoria.

-> For your first quests you are to secure that island. They ask you to help set up the base, and cleanse Garnok’s (dark blue) corruption from the land and creatures. You explore the island and find three portal sites you have to activate. With Anne’s help MC opens the way to the other three islands. You report back to the druids and unlock the map of Pandoria. 

-> You are sent to explore a new Pandoria. In the Harvestlands storyline (live SSO) we can only access two areas: the crystal cave island where Anne was imprisoned and the island with the winding paths and many plants under it. The crystal cave is also not accessible anymore if you have already completed those main story quests. In the Winterdale storyline (SSO Rewritten) we banish Garnok from Devil’s Gap to Pandoria, thinking it is a good plan, but we soon realize it was a mistake. During the quests when we banish Garnok from Pandoria (back to his spaceship prison at the bottom of the Jorvik Sea) we access the two areas from live SSO again: the crystal cave and the winding paths. Here, in the beginning of the Springvalley storyline, new areas of Pandoria become accessible. Ydris sends you to explore all of the areas: you unlock all 4 map parts of Pandoria after completing the quests. The now accessible areas are:

1. The Botanical Gardens: this is the winding paths currently accessible in live SSO. The Pandoria botany dailies send you here, to find the plant they want (see the names of Pandorian plants below!). The area now has pathways to make it easier to find your way, some lamps with wisps in them and some decorative fences and benches, as well as Pandorian critters and creatures hanging out there.

2. Crystal Peaks: the second zone from live SSO, the island where Anne was imprisoned in the crystal. This area now has some plains and various wild Pandorian horses running around. Zee watches over this island and sends you on quests to help the wildlife there.

3. Temple Ruins: a reskinned and upgraded version of the area you walk with Anne, when you find Concorde in Starshine Legacy 3. This is the main base of Pandoria now. Ydris, some druids, and those who help restore Pandoria hang out here. From here, three portals lead to the other three accessible Pandorian areas.

4. Rune Island: where the Soul Riders went so seal their power runes in the last map of Starshine Legacy 4. Reskinned and upgraded, the stone circles of the seals are now the training arenas for each power. These are where you will get and practice your new soul rider powers.

Entrances to Pandoria: -> Secret Stone Circle: the Path of the Winds portal leads to Temple Ruins (central part). -> Random daily portal to Pandoria: still leads to the Botanical Gardens. -> Five Horse Valley: leads to Crystal Peaks, like during the saving Anne storyline.

-> Races: each island has multiple races. There are simple cross country runs around landmarks. There are butterfly and wisp collection races, a catch Pandorian rays race (like the catch rabbits one), a garden race, etc.

-> Pandorian Quests: after exploring Pandoria to unlock the maps you can access all quests and dailies on every island and Jorvik. The daily quest that can appear on each island is when you are sent to cleanse sites of umbrasyan (Garnok’s) corruption. Quests by zones:

1. Jorvik: pink cracks and lost beasts. All kinds of pandorian creatures had appeared on Jorvik as the veil between worlds got torn in the confrontation with Garnok. MC and the Soul Riders are sent all over Jorvik to clear the Pandorian cracks, and capture and return beasts to Pandoria.

2. Temple Ruins: You help set up the magical defenses of the base in dailies like rune carving and rune ciphers. You investigate and locate sites of gathering corruption and dispel them. Ydris figures out a way to stop the Pandorian scars’ spread on Evergray and he joins the camp too.

3. Crystal Peaks: Zee oversees this island. Many Pandorian wild horses (magic horses, unicorns, etc) roam the plains and valleys here. The caves are where the druids and Ydris collect the most powerful magic crystals from. MC is sent to cleanse corrupted crystals and horses, to befriend the magic horses and also on fetch quests.

4. Rune Island: Rhiannon hangs out there with some druids who are interested in the magic of the circles. Here you meet Amryn, a Pandorian humanoid like Ydris. She had survived the destruction of Pandoria by living a nomad life (much like Evergray during his wanderings in the pink world). She came back because she felt a dark presence gather in these parts. Mc befriends her and she and Rhiannon teach MC some new magic. MC is taught how to use their star powers to heal sick horses, how to use visions to spy on the enemy, you use sun powers to dispel darkness and corruption and fight with lightning to destroy shadow seekers.

5. Botanical Gardens: there are both some druids and capran-like Pandorian cratures here. You unlock the Pandorian botany dailies: they send you to ride around in the gardens and find them 3 different types of plants each day.

-> At the end of the storyline with the Pandoria faction, Ydris discovers a Remnant of Garnok (a dark tentacle) that threatens to attack, corrupt and destroy what we had achieved so far. With the help of Ydris, Zee, Evergray, Rhiannon and Amryn, a plan is formed: to complete a ritual that dispels the Remnant forever. MC and the Soul Riders are sent to gather four rare materials across the islands on four consecutive days.

-> With Lisa, MC goes to the Botanical Gardens to find the Cyclamen Starflower. With Linda you explore Temple Ruins to find a special, ancient runestone, the Eclipse Cypher. With Anne, you go to Crystal Peaks to find the strongest Pandorian Crystal yet, the Aphelion Gemstone that glows light blue. With Alex, you go to Rune Island, carve a magic wand out of a nettletree branch and infuse it with lightning magic, creating the Fulminus Wand (Alex just calls it the Boomstick).

-> MC brings these four ingredients to the Temple Ruins, where you set up the ritual to dispel the Remnant. Ydris draws a complex magic circle combining star, moon, sun and lightning magics and stands in the middle conducting the ritual. The Soul Riders stand on the circle’s four point, paired with each of the other characters: Zee, Evergray, Rhiannon and Amryn. You start the ritual and the Remnant of Garnok attacks.

-> You have to use the powers you learned recently to stop the Remnant from stopping the ritual. The Remnant summons shadow seekers which you have to shoot with lightning to dispel. If it hits one of the characters with its shadow attacks, you use the star circle to heal them. You dispel spots of corruption from the ground using sun magic. For the moon ability check, the Remnant curses MC using a rune sealing all your other abilities until you dispel it. You get rid of the curse by finding the same rune around you, like the rune ciphers in Hollow Woods. You have to hold out for some minutes and once the progress bar completes, Ydris directs the power of the ritual to you and MC destroys the Remnant. The shadowy tentacle bursts into sparks of light and you are rid of it for good. You have fully restored Pandoria.

PART 2: The Violet Fog – Dark Rider Elise’s introduction questline

-> The forces of good couldn’t enjoy their victory for long. A suffocating violet mist covers the island. The lakes and rivers are frozen over, shadow seekers roam the night. An eerie atmosphere covers Jorvik. Before you start this questline a window will pop up asking if you are ready to start it, as the story will start a Jorvik-wide event and most NPCs will temporarily disappear. They come back once you have completed this questline. You click Yes, I’m ready. (This is a single event. Even though it is divided into four days, you don’t need to wait a day to do the next one, you just get a black screen and the game tells you a day passed.)

-> The screen goes black, „The first day” title appears and you hear a sound of magic being used. MC wakes up in their home stable. Your first quest is to do a round of stable care for the horse you are riding (doesn’t matter if you did it already, it is for the immersion). Next, you remember that Avalon wanted to meet you and you leave the stable. Outside it is dark, despite it being the morning and you are greeted by a thick, violet fog. The people are confused, but not yet panicking. The soundtrack has changed to playing the dark and mysterious ambiance anywhere you go.

-> You hear the magic sound again and a shockwave sweeps through Jorvik. Your horse rears and people panic and run to their houses. You ride to Avalon. He tells you that all of Jorvik is covered by the violet fog and that it blocks both magic and technology. This means no quick communications and the Valedale spiral leading to the Secret Stone circle is also blocked. The spymaster arrives in a panic, telling MC and Avalon that people have started to disappear. His critters told him that if they get lost in the fog they vanish. The Soul Riders get here as well and Avalon takes the lead.

-> Avalon tells MC and the Soul Riders that the druids prepared for something like this. He tells you to gather the people of Valedale who haven’t vanished yet and meet him at the door in the Hollow Woods. You do that and he opens the door. It leads to a bunker similar in design to Stonecutters’ Vault and Fripp’s study. Avalon tells you it is protected from magical attacks. The people hide inside and MC and the Soul Riders are tasked to go sort out the other bunkers. The plan is to split the bunkers among the Soul Riders, get the people to safety, and meet up the next day.

-> You ride together, leaving a Soul Rider at each bunker. First, you go to the Starshade Woods through Northlink. The Soul Riders remain at the door to open it as Avalon showed you, while MC rides around to gather people. Some you can find, and some have already vanished. You get the people into the bunker and Alex stays with them.

-> Next you go to Goldenhills, and try to find the people and Linda stays with them. After gathering people in Epona, Jorvik Stables, and Jarlaheim, Lisa stays to guard them in the Greendale bunker. You gather the remaining NPCs from Silverglade and Moorland and leave them with Anne in the Moorland bunker. Alone, you return to Avalon to the Hollow Woods bunker. The screen goes black as the day ends.

-> „The second day”. MC rides to Silverglade Village, where you agreed to meet. The Soul Riders made it as well. The cutscene shows a shadowy rider watching you from afar. You are in the middle of talking when you feel an eerie presence. Black lightning crashes down in the middle of the group and everyone freaks out. Shadow seekers appear and you have to flee. MC manages to lose their pursuers in Valedale. You talk to Avalon and he sends you to the other bunkers to check on the Soul Riders. You ride to Moorland to check if Anne has returned, but she hasn’t. You search for the Soul Riders all over Jorvik, riding to certain places indicated on the map. You cannot find anyone and return to the Hollow Woods bunker to sleep.

-> „The third day”. Avalon sends MC to check on the other bunkers. There is a snowstorm in Dino Valley. You find that Northlink is infested with shadow seekers and you cannot go through. Linda hadn’t returned to Goldenhills but the people needed supplies. You ride to Cape West and bring them some. The Greenwoods bunker is ok, but Lisa isn't here. You collect supplies from Jarlaheim for them. MC feels a dark presence following them, cutscenes sometimes show the silhouette of the dark rider, watching you from afar. Moorland is also ok, but Anne hasn’t returned either. When you ride in the fog, sometimes you can see aurora up high, a single wisp flying around, or lightning strikes and hear thunder in the distance.

-> MC rides back towards the Hollow Woods. In the forest, you walk into an ambush set by the mysterious dark rider. Dark lightning almost hits you, and MC flees out of the forest into Everwind fields. The fog thickens so much, that you can't see more than a meter ahead. The single wisp appears and you follow it. The wisp leads you out of the fields, to your bunker. You go to sleep.

-> „The fourth day”. You leave the bunker and the wisp is waiting for you there. the Moorland runestone. Moonlight illuminates the stone and MC touches it, and has a vision of one active runestone in Jorvik (one with five runes). You have to find it. The quest sends you to check some other 5-rune stones first and finally, you find it in behind the Jorvik Stables. You have a new vision there: it shows you riding to the Secret Stone Circle and using magic to dispel the mist.

-> The dark presence finally reveals itself. The fog gathers and a dark rider materializes. She is wearing the dark rider outfit in violet and rides a quick-looking dark horse with a blond, almost white mane and tail. She says „Greetings, worm. I am Elise Samassa, Dark Rider Nihili, and this is the strongest horse in Jorvik, Acheron. Now that we are acquainted, it is time for you to face oblivion, like your pathetic friends, chosen of Aideen.” MC attacks her, releasing a lightning bolt, but magic is so weak in the fog that she easily deflects it. You decide to flee and get to the Secret Stone Circle to dispel the fog. The longest race leading through the island commences.

-> You are chased through the island by the cloakrider, following the wisp, while the rider tries to stop you using magic. You escape Jorvik Stables, and run through Jarlaheim, Greenwoods, the bridge, Moorland, Everwind, Hollow Woods, and Valedale. You enter Dino Valley for the first time since the fog fell. The Icengate is blocked, so you ride to Ashland, down the Frostfire pass, through Coldstone forest, Sharshade Woods, and up Starshine Mountain. You jump the broken bridge.

-> Cutscene: MC stops their horse and watches how the dark rider does the same on the other side of the bridge. Like in Starshine Legacy 1, she can’t follow you into the circle. She removes her hood: the introduction of Elise, the 4th Dark Rider. She says „Enjoy this victory, because ultimately it means nothing. You might have won the battle, but the war has just begun. And you pathetic servants of Aideen better prepare, because I will bring down upon you hell itself. And so it begins!” She raises an arm and you hear the magic sound that summoned the fog for the third time. Thunder rumbles and it gets much darker, the fog thickens. You barely see enough to get to the center of the circle.

-> MC goes to the middle of the Circle and activates the runes, but doesn’t know what else to do. The wisp is still hovering next to you. You investigate the rune: it shows the other four Soul Riders and you call out for their help. The wisp hovers over to one side, moonlight and aurora appear and lightning strikes the last one. A faint glimmer appears in the middle as the darkness around you approaches. You use your rune stick at the glimmer. The four Soul Riders materialize around you and together you use your magic to disperse the fog. Cutscene: people rematerialize in cities and the one refugees leave the bunker. The Druids celebrate and you get rewards.

PART 3: Opening Springvalley

-> The next day you are called to the Circle again to talk to Fripp and the druids. Before the meeting could start, the Spymaster appears, telling you that druids from Springvalley arrived and need your help. He leads them in front of the council. They tell you that darkness attacked Springvalley, a dark rider wreaks havoc there, Nihili. Elise really didn’t waste any time. Her power summons umbrasyan corruption, her dark power infuses the land and she woke up the witches inhabiting the Morrinweals as well. It is chaos in the valley and the druids alone are not enough to fight her. They ask for your help. You agree to go, but Fripp warns you that you have to improve the defenses of Harvestlands and Winterdale first. The two druids wait in the Circle until you complete the Runestone Upgrade Questline.

-> Runestone upgrade questline: MC gets a message, that Fripp wants to meet you in the Secret Stone Circle. He tells you that you all have to prepare for the war to come, and Elise will be a tough enemy. The druids have to bolster their defenses the best they can, and the first step is to strengthen the Circle. The runestones around the circle only had ceremonial purposes (meaning they had some power, but they were mostly just pretty), but now you have to make them into proper magic runes, that will protect the place. You are sent to go talk to Ydris about how to use the Pandorian language as a magic weapon.

-> Linda comes with you. MC and Linda meet Ydris in Pandoria, and he sends you all over the pink world to look at the runestones there. He made those to protect the islands. Linda remains in Temple Ruins to study his books. You get a new page in your notebook labeled Pandorian language and have to collect the drawings on all of the runestones in Pandoria. When you are done collecting the inscriptions on one island, you go to Ydris, who tells you the meaning (plus Linda tells you the Pandorian phonetic pronunciation if you are interested). Once you collected all of the runestones and meanings, you unlock the last page, which is the Pandorian runic and phonetic alphabet and dictionary.

-> MC and Linda return to the Secret Stone Circle, where Fripp, the druids, and other Soul Riders are already waiting for them. They talk about which runes should be used where. MC has to choose the correct runes to be carved in the 10 stones of the circle.

-> The druids decide to remake the runestones with the help of Conrad. MC is tasked to meet him, offer the job, and bring Conrad to the Circle. He will work on the project for 10 day (a day for each of the stones). You have to complete the quest he gives you each day for him to finish a stone. Those will be simple fetching quests: he needs a special carving tool from Stonecutter’s Vault, needs you to check out a stone in Pandoria again to make sure the shape of the rune is correct, wants a dessert from Aideen’s plaza, etc. You get the stuff he wants and he will get to work. The next day he is done and your first quest is to use your magic to activate the runestone he made. After that you get the usual fetch quest, get him his stuff, he gets to work, the next day you activate the runestone, and so on.

-> While this is happening, the rune recarving side quests become available. MC will be going around Jorvik, looking for all the old, not working runestones. You need to carve them into one of the Pandorian words you learned. For each quest, you grab the carving tools and find the runestone. Once you click it, it will give you a choice IN PANDORIAN about what you want to carve. Using your notebook you have to choose the correct thing to carve- For example, it will give you the runic options for “leaf”, “blue”, “defense” and “laughter”. If you choose the wrong one, you get a funny punishment: if you choose blue, the stone turns blue, if you choose leaf, a bush grows around the stone, and if you choose laughter, MC will keep laughing. You have to choose defense (after you figured out the correct rune combination). You replace every runestone in Jorvik this way with a useful inscription, which keeps evil forces away from the area, so the violet fog incident will not be repeated.

-> After 10 days, Conrad is done. When you return to the Circle, you activate the last runestone and the whole circle flares up with magic. Astral Crown awakens truly (Fripp was only able to wake her power before, not her consciousness), and thanks you for waking her by giving her enough power and helping her protect the Circle.

-> Now that Harvestlands and Winterdale are sufficiently protected, MC and the Soul Riders are ready to depart for Springvalley. The two druids are Sienna Springleaf, the leader of the Everspring druid village, and her horse Solaria, a palomino, and Lorelei Moordusk, the leader of the Thistlebranch druid village, and her horse the black Shadowsong. They arrived by taking the Seaside Road from Bayridge to Anvil Woods, barely managing to sneak past the Dark Core Barricade. Initially, we plan to enter Springvalley that way. Anne is excited to be back home at her family’s manor.

-> MC, the Soul Riders, Sienna, and Lorelei ride to the Seaside Gate. The two druids have the key and they open it. Linda casts a magical shield around the group that makes you invisible and you ride slowly and stealthily, trying to remain hidden. It seems like you can pass the Barricade unseen, when a cutscene triggers. Katja and Elise are standing on top of a lookout tower of the DC Barricade. Katja uses her scrying powers to detect Linda, she says „Got you, little Soul Rider. Elise, now!” She casts black lightning towards the mountain. The scene cuts back to your group, right when Alex spots draconium barrels hidden up the mountain, among the rocks. She shouts „Watch out!” and the black lightning hits the barrels, bringing down the whole mountainside. Your group has to turn around and flee the rockfall. The road in now blocked by huge rocks, you can’t enter Springvalley that way. Now your only option is the Wolf-pass, which is not used for a reason. In the final cutscene, Elise looks over the destruction satisfied, and says „Bye-bye Soul Riders. I hope you like the present I left for you in the mountain pass”.

-> You meet up with the team in the Rimefang Woods, near the mouth of the Wolf Pass. You ride through carefully, your Kallter wolf coming with you. The pass is similar to the gorge of Aideen you go through in the Light Ride quest. Everything seems fine, but is is eerily quiet and you have a bad feeling about it. Anne spots a patch of corruption and the familiar violet fog starts to seep into the canyon. You hear wolf howls and the Kallter wolf growls. Dire wolves appear high on the canyon walls and in front of you, blocking the path. Their eyes glow with Garnok’s dark blue corruption. Anne steps forward, saying „Enough is enough. No Dark Rider will keep me from my home!” She starts to channel sunlight. Lisa says „Quick, MC, we have to help!”. You join the spell. The wolves attack, running toward the team, horses freak out. Right before they reach you the spell completes, and an explosion of light burns away the corruption from the canyon and the wolves. They are dazed, your Kallter wolf walks up to them, and they sniff and greet each other. They leave and let you pass. The team crosses the Winter Mountains and arrives in Rockville. You get your 100 SC for finishing a phase.

PHASE 8- Jessica and Elise

PART 1: The Jet Syndicate and Von Blyssens

-> For now, you quickly ride through Rockville and get to the windmill in the middle of Seabreeze Meadows where you were to meet the druids. Lorelei leaves halfway, she has to go back to Thistlebranch Village and invites you to come and help, once you are done with Everspring. Sienna leads the team to the windmill, but no one else is there. We find signs of a recent attack by Elise and follow the hoofprints of the fleeing druids towards Everspring Plateau. We race to the Cliffside Mountains and spot the fleeing druids. Cutscene: they are chased by shadow seekers, black lightning strikes, and corrupted vines. Sienna gets ahead of the Soul Riders, trying to help her people. She runs into the pass after them, leading to Everspring Plateau. Before MC or the Soul Riders could follow her, the corrupted vines close the pass. You stop your horses and see Elise and Jessica standing on a ridge above you, laughing. They dissipate into dark smoke and fly away. 

-> You have to cleanse the corruption of the battlefield here. By the time you are done, the Cliffside rangers appear to ask what the hell was that. You try to explain and they kind of buy it as there are no more signs of corruption, just the battlefield. You say it was a lightning strike and they accept it saying that there was some weird weather recently in Springvalley so why not.  MC and the Soul Riders ride back to Rockville.

-> Jordan Jet greets you in Rockville, saying she has heard that you are an excellent rider, and invites you to take part in the dressage and other competitions of Springvalley. She tells you of the two main equestrian factions here: her Jet Syndicate ruling Rockville, Bayridge, and Beauvista, and the Von Blyssen riders of the manor. She recognizes Anne and tells you that she’s not going to keep you anymore, as you would probably want to go with your friend to the Von Blyssen manor, but you are welcome to come back anytime to ride in her syndicate.

-> Introduction to the Von Blyssen Manor: The team follows Anne to the Von Blyssen Manor. It is managed by Eva Von Blyssen, Anne’s mother, who used to be a soul rider. You explore the manor and unlock dressage training and reputation dailies. You see the trails in the woods, the riding arenas, and the stables of the manor. You can’t yet cross the river as the bridge to Suncrown Island with the conspicuous golden tree is blocked by a closed gate. At this point, the dressage in SSO receives a huge upgrade, dressage becomes available at the Baroness', Pine Hill and Shoreline Riding Arenas and a Dressage Championship opens.

-> Exploring Springvalley: You are sent to check out the Shoreline Equestrian, where the great dressage competitions of Springvalley are held. It is solely a competition center, designed similarly to the Baroness’ racetrack. The main dressage arena is the upgraded version of the one where you do dressage at the end of the Spring Riders game. Here you meet some nice Jet Syndicate riders. They have a rivalry with the Von Blyssen riders, and both factions would like to win the Great Dressage Trophy. Both factions are very sportsmanlike, whichever loses, they don’t get bitter, congratulate the winner, and are happy that they took part even if just for the experience. Since Anne’s been gone, the trophy was won by the Jet Syndicate’s best rider, Jasmine, Jordan’s niece. Anne vows to win it back with Concorde.

-> Next MC goes alone to explore the Jet Syndicate villages. You meet the people of the villages and the crew of the stables, explore the places, and unlock local quests. You also unlock the Rockville, Bayridge, and Beauvista Championships (normal, cross-country ones, the only dressage championship is at Shoreline). You meet the rangers of Cliffside and Highmarsh station. Cliffside Station is north of Beauvista, in the red pine forest (from the Spring Riders game) and their leader is Jace Morrin. They oversee north of the Seabreeze Meadows and the Cliffside Mountains. The Highmarsh Station oversees south Seabreeze and they are led by Alys Morrin, sister to Jace. They are the descendants of the ancient Morrin family, that ruled over the Morrin Meadows since Jon Jarl’s age. You still cannot enter either Everspring Plateau to the west or Morrin Meadows to the east (both the pass and the bridge are blocked by corrupted vines).

-> Unlocking the Von Blyssen gardens: They are located on the side of the manor facing the river and on the little island in Suncrown river. In style, they are similar to the Silverglade Manor’s gardens. MC meets Anne’s mom in Silverglade Manor. She tells you that she has recently met the Baroness and she likes what the gardeners did there in the garden. She sends you to invite them to fix the Von Blyssen Manor’s gardens as well and train her new gardeners. You meet them and they say that they need a day to prepare and pack up their equipment. The next day you have to give one of them a lift on horseback to the Von Blyssen gardens, while the other takes the car with the driver, the Baroness, and Anne’s mom. There they (and MC of course) start to clean the gardens and train the new Von Blyssen gardeners. They are the siblings Amara and Andreas (Amy and Andy). You help them fix the gardens, and the siblings become the groundskeepers of the Von Blyssen gardens.

-> Jessica appears: It is time for the big competition in Shoreline between the Von Blyssen Manor and the Jet Syndicate. You compete in the place of Anne for the Von Blyssens because Concorde is still too inexperienced to take part. MC is tasked to win the grand trophy. You go through three rounds of dressage tests. They are moderate level tests and you need your starter or another dressage horse for this. MC almost wins, but the last rider is Jessica and she and Erebos absolutely destroy you. MC and Anne witness the victory ceremony as the Great Dressage Trophy is won by the Jet Syndicate and given to Jessica Jet. Even the other Syndicate riders are not happy about this and Jordan Jet is shocked. While Jess passes her, she says: „Well, mother? Aren’t you proud of me? I’ve defeated the Von Blyssen bastards for you!” She rides away with the trophy laughing.

-> MC and the Soul Riders speak to Jordan in her house in Rockville. The trophy is ominously sitting in the Great Hall there. Jordan tells you she had a daughter who disappeared long ago and she didn’t know Jess was back, even that she was alive and what she has become. She just dropped the trophy here and left again without a word, destroying the good friendship between the Jet Syndicate and the Von Blyssens. Lisa says this smells like Elise’s plan. Jordan asks you to try and repair the relationship between them and the Von Blyssen riders.

-> Anne’s comeback: She is the only one good enough in dressage to beat Jesica. She plans to train and get Concorde good enough to win the trophy back. Jess is going to compete again in the next grand dressage competition against Anne. Even though both the Von Blyssens and Jordan know what she’s become, they can’t stop her from taking part in it. She has been training with her dark horse Erebos for a long time, and Anne is having a hard time. Corcorde is still young and magically aged up, she still has a lot to learn is dressage. Anne has also just gotten her back and is afraid, that Jessica will hurt Concorde to win if they manage to be better, than Jess.

-> Helping Anne’s training: Concorde’s dressage knowledge appears as a reputation bar and you have to complete it for Anne to have a chance against Jess at Shoreline. The daily you get changes every day: one day you complete a dressage course, while Concorde and Anne watch, the next you go on a trail ride race with them, etc.

-> The Competition: Once you max the bar, the day of the competition comes. You meet up in Shoreline Equestrian. The first day Anne and Concorde arrive and settle in the stables. You are tasked to help Concorde get comfortable: bring her food, give her a bath, etc. Jess and Elise are also there, and you have to make sure they don’t get to sabotage Anne (for example they switched the good apples for Concorde for rotten ones, made the horse shampoo disappear, made the water dirty, hid Anne’s stuff all over the place, etc.) The second day the actual competition happens. They stopped making mischief, but are now using evil magic and runes to sabotage Anne. This time Jessica rides first. While Anne is riding her round you „fight” against Elise and Jess: they will run around drawing dark runes, that harm Anne and Concorde, you have to follow her unseen and dispel them. You succeed and Anne wins back the trophy, which Jordan is happy to hand over to her. Jess and Elise angrily ride away, promising this is not over.

PART 2: West- Everspring Valley

-> Next up is opening Everspring Plateau. Jace Morrin, the leader of the Cliffside Rangers sends you a message that they have an injured druid who came from the west. You ride to the station and find Linda and Lisa already there, trying to heal him. MC is sent to gather some herbs, and you manage to heal him enough that he wakes up. The druid tells you Elise attacked Everspring Village and completely closed off the plateau with her dark magic. You have to find a way to go there and help. Lisa says you should take a boat and the druid tells you that the plateau has a port: Shark Point. MC agrees to meet the Soul Riders in Shoreline Fishing Village the next day (dayblocker).

-> The next day when you ride to the shore, you get a cutscene of Elise summoning a dark storm over the bay. You see the black clouds, thunder and lightning strike every minute, wild winds blowing the trees on the shore. You meet the Soul Riders at the village. Linda suggests that MC and Alex try to dispel the storm, but your magic can’t affect it. You are tasked to ride around in the fishing village and try to find a captain who will take you to Shark Point through the storm. You ask every captain, but they are not willing to sail out with five horses in a storm. You are about to give up and look for another way when one approaches you. The old man says he overheard you and asks if the storm is some kind of witchcraft. He’s seen weird stuff in Jorvik and wouldn’t be surprised. He takes pride in being the only one who is brave and skilled enough to sail through storms and says his ship is the only one that could stand a storm like this. You get the horses on board and sail out.

-> Cutscene of the ship sailing through the storm. The team lands in Shark Point and they ride up a winding path to the Everspring Plateau. It is similar to South Hoof, as it is a relatively flat, elevated area, but it is covered sparsely by an oak forest and blossoming bushes, the Monarch Woods, and framed by hills and mountains. Usually, the woods are full of colorful butterflies. A small river originates from Pegasus Spring and creates the Butterfly Lake, and the druid village is in the middle of the lake. Right now, however, the whole plateau is covered in the strange violet mist Elise used before. As the team rides through it, shadow seekers start to chase you. You race through the unfamiliar woods and get separated. MC alone arrives in the druid village as the race ends. You realize that the Soul Riders were once again claimed by the violet fog.  

-> Everspring village and the druids were not claimed by the fog. There is a shield made of light around the village that keeps the dark out. The power to keep them safe comes from a Spark of Aideen that the druids are protecting. It is a magical spark of light contained in a polished light pink gemstone. Sienna Springleaf welcomes you and she tells you that Elise wants the Spark and she made the fog trying to steal it. MC tells her they know how to dispel the fog but they need the Soul Riders back. Sienna stays in the village to help protect it, you ride out in the fog alone. The butterflies are momentarily gone from the forest, shadow seekers patrol in their place. You find the wisp (Lisa) in the northern forest, the moonlight (Linda) in the southern part of the Monarch Woods. You ride up to the Pegasus Spring to find the aurora (Anne). The place has a rearing statue of a pegasus where the water erupts from the mountain. The lightning strike (Alex) is at the highest peak of Everspring, which is in the hills above Shark Point. You use your her magic to dispel each one and the two race back to the village. Once all five of you are there, you use your magic and the Spark of Aideen to dispel the violet fog. Cutscene: Elise and Jessica appear (in dark rider uniform) in the woods and send the shadow seekers against the shield. The Soul Riders and MC manage to dispel the fog before the creatures reach the shield. The magical explosion of light burns away the shadows. Acheron and Erebos rear up and the dark riders gallop away. The woods become bright again and the butterflies return.

-> Now you are free to explore the Everspring Plateau. They send you to cleanse the Garnok effect that grips the vines blocking the pass leading from Seabreeze to Everspring. You clear the path, return to the village, and unlock the reputation dailies for the Everspring druids. You get two races here: the Pegasus race and the Butterfly race. You meet the Life Warden tree of the plateau: Everbloom Elm, who gives you several random flowers each day if you say hi to her. The Everspring plateau is a lightwood: you have an additional Motherstone here and you can collect light, similar to the Hollow Woods and Starshade Woods. At the north edge of the plains, you discover the broken Suncrown bridge that will lead to Summerplains in the future. To keep Elise from summoning the violet fog again, you recarve the protective runestones of Springvalley as you did in Harvestlands and Winterdale.

PART 3: The Sun Queen

-> The Von Blyssen gardeners, Amy and Andy call you to come immediately. They say they need you because you know a lot about the „weird stuff” of Jorvik. They show you signs of weird corruption spreading in the garden. This time it doesn’t look Pandorian or Umbrasyan, it is the vala’s magic. You trace the corruption to the gate leading to Suncrown Island where the golden crowned tree is. Anne arrives to help you. She has the key to that gate and opens it for you. The gardeners tell you the same corruption attacked the Von Blyssen vineyard and the whole eastern valley, that is why the gates were closed.

-> You inspect the tree and realize that it is a Life Warden, currently being suffocated by the dark magic of the vala witches. It was attacked by corruption coming from the cursed forest in the northeast. Anne’s mom arrives and tells you that the golden three is called the Sun Queen. She protects the Von Blyssen Manor and makes the plants grow extraordinarily well, so they must save the tree. She asks you to find a way to cleanse the corruption and save the Sun Queen.

-> MC goes to ask Fripp and find out if there is a way to save the tree. Historically, Life Wardens who fell to the darkness were cut down, but Anne’s mom wants you to save it since it makes the manor, gardens, and vineyards bloom with life. Fripp directs you to the Everspring druids as they are the best in plant magic. Sienna tell you about the ritual that could be used to save the Sun Queen. Unfortunately, the specifics of the ritual were lost centuries ago. Luckily, she knows which tree was saved by the ritual: the Silent Poplar, on top of Firgrove Mountain. MC and Sienna meet there and talk to the tree to find out how the ritual was done. Poplar tells you that the last time it took all four Soul Riders, the chosen of Aideen and a powerful magic source to save him.

-> Fortunately, the Everspring druids have the Spark of Aideen that can be used to save the Sun Queen. But Sienna is reluctant to give it to you as it would leave the village vulnerable and it can get stolen by the dark riders. As MC and Sienna argue, Everbloom Elm shakes off petals and enters the conversation. She tells Sienna to help save her sister and while the spark is gone, she will guard the village. Sienna agrees, but she is holding on to the gem containing the spark and she also brings many druids as escorts and wants all four Soul Riders to come as well.

-> Race to the manor: from Everspring Village to Von Blyssen Manor, the whole group rides together to keep the Dark Riders from getting their hands on the gem. Sienna was right to worry as halfway there, in the Seabreeze meadows all four Dark Riders ambush you. The Soul Riders and druids stay there to hold them off. MC and Sienna ride on and she gives you the gem to get to the Sun Queen at all costs. You continue to race towards the manor. Cutscene: the Soul Riders and druids are successfully keeping the four Dark Riders from chasing you. Anne manages to hit Elise with a beam of light, which reveals that she is just an illusion. Katja laughs and mocks the Soul Riders and the real Elise is catching up to MC.

-> You complete the race and almost reach the gate of the Von Blyssen Manor. Cutscene after you cross the finish line before the manor: Anne’s mom covered the walls in protective runes, so Elise couldn’t come in. She decides if she can’t have the spark then no one shall: she shoots dark energy at you to destroy it and you. Sienna jumps in front of the spell to protect you and is crystallized, just like Elisabeth was (but as a figure on a rearing horse). You reach the manor and Elise is kept outside by the runes. She retreats.  

-> The Soul Riders arrive, as the other Dark Riders also retreat with Elise. The Sun Queen is in a really rough shape, she barely has any light in her leaves anymore and they are drying and falling down. The five of you perform the cleansing ritual on the Life Warden tree. For a second, it looks like it failed, but then the light gets stronger and burns away the vala corruption. The tree is cleansed and she thanks you for saving her from the suffocating darkness. She tells you that the source of this darkness is the great castle up in the mountains in the cursed forest. She will now use her powers to cleanse the land around her from this darkness. In an explosion of brilliant light, the gardens are cleansed as well as most of the vineyard, and the spell that turned Sienna into crystal is broken.

-> MC returns the spark of Aideen’s magic to the Everspring druids. After that, you go back to the Von Blyssen gardens, where you meet Anne’s mom under the tree. She agrees to open the gate to the vineyard and sends you to help out there. She opens the other gate for you leading to the eastern part of Springvalley. MC goes over the bridge to the other side of the Suncrown River and into the vineyards. You have unlocked the Cursed Forest Area and you get your 100 SC as it is the end of a Phase.

PHASE 9- The Vala and Morrinweald

PART 1: East- The Cursed Forest

-> First you are sent to help the Von Blyssen vineyard. MC and Anne help cleanse it from the grasping vala vines, corrupted thornbushes, and other aggressive flora. You and Anne clear out the whole vineyard, get the grapes growing and wine production started again. You unlock the vineyard race. Anne opens the other vineyard gate for you, leading to the Morrin Meadows and you can leave the vineyard.

-> You can explore the rest of the eastern valley now and meet the druids and rangers trying to keep the corruption in the forest. First, you meet the Morrinweald station rangers. This station is led by Saoirse (seer-sha) Morrin, Jace and Alys’ mother. Saoirse knows about magic stuff happening and her rangers are close with the druids. MC tells her that they are here to cleanse the corruption. For this, Saoirse is willing to unlock the gate on the bridge below the Old Morass – the way to Highmarsh station.

-> She also tells you of the druids in the forest in Thistlebranch Village, led by Lorelei Moordusk. Unfortunately, the druids’ village is deep in the forest, and it is dangerous to go in there alone as the wildlife in the forest tend to attack you. Saoirse tells MC about the vala witches of Caer Cailleach and warns you to not go near their castle unless absolutely necessary. She suspects, that their dark magic did something to the druids as no one hasheard about them for weeks. Saoirse wants to go check on them. MC is invited on the mission to go into Morrinweald, to Thistlebranch village and see if the druids are okay.

-> Slowly and sneakily the group goes through the dark forest, avoiding all signs of the Vala. You arrive in the village and find that everyone is okay, but the whole place is asleep. A strange pollen cloud covers the village, coming from exotic looking, vibrant flowers. Before you too fall asleep, you have to ride through the village and stomp all the flowers with your horse. The village wakes up. Lorelei welcomes you with a better late than never.

-> You are introduced to the village and the forest. You unlock the dailies to help them and a race, where you run over the sleepy flowers. You help cut back the vala vines trying to cover the village. In the last quest, Lorelei thanks you for the help in front of the whole village, when Sive, matron of the Vala Witches appears. She says „This is our forest. You are not welcome here! Leave, or face the consequences!”. Then she recognizes you, but she is strange, different. You know Sive from Devil’s Gap and try to reason with her. She says that she has to do this to keep the balance and keep her sisters safe. She leaves. Mc realizes that the Vala witches are not simply causing the corruption to spread, they are victims to it as well.

PART 2: Enemy of my enemy

-> The Soul Riders suggest that we should try negotiating with Sive. The first step is to go to Moorland and Goldenhills to invite Mrs Holdsworth and Pi to help us against the bad witches. MC and the Soul Riders meet with Mrs H and Pi in Thistlebranch village and ride towards the castle. On the way, Elise and Jess ambush us, but the Vala also attack. The witches try to kill both the good and bad guys, we have to work together to escape the forest. Race in the forest, jumping over vines and dodging rabid animals to escape.

-> Jessica tells us that this corruption is not their work. They also want to get to Caer Cailleach. Since our goals align, the good guys agree on a truce with the Dark Riders. Our goal is to try and find a way to cleanse the forest, and stop the corruption from spreading. The gods only know what the DRs are planning to do in the witches’ castle. Jessica tells us about a hidden path leading up to the castle  starting where the Claymore fence and the Aurora Mountains meet.

-> We fight off the corruption together. MC, Anne, Elise and Jessica work together to clear and cleanse our way to Caer Cailleach. Each day, we clear another part of the path leading there. After 5 days, we finally reach the castle, but the gates are closed and Valas are patrolling all over the walls. The next quests are stealth missions to explore the castle, like when we were sneaking through the DC platform. MC discovers the source of the darkness: a corrupted Life Warden tree, the Twilight Oak. In a cutscene, we witness Sive performing a ritual, where all the witches draw power from the tree.

PART 3: Helping the Vala

-> The next 3 days we work with Mrs Holdsworth and go to the Fort Maria library to learn more about the castle, the witches, and how to defeat them. On the fourth day, we meet with Elise and Jess in front of the gates, hiding from the Vala guards. The Dar Riders want to convince us that the witches cannot be saved anymore, they have a plan to exterminate the Vala. We don’t trust them anymore. MC has been learning about the history of the witches and realizes they were originally corrupted by Garnok. Now that they are uncontrollable and inconvenient to the Dark Riders they just want to get rid of them. We want to help the Vala and cleanse the Twilight Oak. The plan is to perform the ritual we used to cleanse the Sun Queen. We must get to Caer Cailleach and use it on the sacred source of the Vala’s power, the Twilight Oak. We hope that it is enough to free the witches from the festering corruption.

-> We borrow the Spark of Aideen from Everspring Village once again. However, the spark is too detectable, especially in the dark forest, so we have to enchant it first with a magical camouflage spell. Pi can do it if we collect some ingredients for her (she sends us all over Jorvik and asks for very weird stuff. She gets it done and we set off on our mission.

-> The final conflict: MC and the Soul Riders meet up under the castle. MC helps all four of them sneak into the throne room, where Twilight Oak is. You spot Elise and Jess nearby, they also picked this day to come and destroy the tree and the Vala. They bring the gates down with their Shadow and Darkness powers combined and incapacitate the witches, putting them into stasis with shadow magic. MC, Anne, and Alex run down to the courtyard to fight them. Tin-can, Concorde and MC’s horse run in, we mount up. Linda and Lisa start the cleansing ritual.

-> In the meantime, a small boss fight commences- MC against Jessica. Jess surrounds them with a shield and summons a dozen shadow seekers that circle around them, while Elise casts a spell to gain control over the corruption affecting the tree. We have to dispel the shadow seekers and Jess’ shield to stop Elise from finishing the spell. We succeed and race them through the castle to the throne room. Stalemate, as neither the DRs or SRs are willing to give up their position, attacking or guarding the tree. We can’t do the ritual and hold off the Dark Riders at the same time.

-> Mrs Holdsworth and Pi arrive, flying to the castle using flying brooms. They cast a shield and hold off Elise and Jess while we perform the ritual and cleanse the Vala and the tree. The magic wave that happens then dispels the shield. Elise is about to kill Pi and Holdsworth, but Sive saves them, and uses her magic to teleport them away from the castle. Cutscene: they fall into the ocean with the island in sight and start to swim back. à We talk with Sive. She thanks us for saving her people and her forest from the corruption. You unlock the Vala reputation quests: cleaning up the castle, cleansing the forest and the animals, races. Once you are at max reputation, Sive gives you the quest to look for a legendary horse of the forest. This is the 3rd free magic horse grind: you are tasked to go into the Morrinweald to look for the horse, find hoofprints, find their favorite places, gather special grasses they eat, etc. Once you complete the rep, you get a free horse: Nightshade, the Vala magic horse. You get 100 SC for finishing the phase.

TO BE CONTINUED!

THE OTHER PARTS:

SSO Rewritten 1st Part: Winterdale https://www.tumblr.com/starshinedragon/736955792328146944/sso-winterdale-fan-written-main-storyline?source=share

SSO Rewritten 3rd Part: Summerplains https://www.tumblr.com/starshinedragon/726343248992419840/sso-rewritten-full-story-series-summerplains?source=share

[natduskfall]

The Beginning of the End

Contains negative "critique", or more precisely, my thoughts and observations, of the newest story quest. Might be interesting, might not be.

Fripp says that the spymaster’s squirrels have reported three Drakonium shipments being simultaneously abandoned. And that’s it? Couldn’t they also tell us who abandoned the shipments, and if any Dark Riders were spotted? And how did they not notice that the abandoned shipments were empty?They must know what a full shipment looks like, what types of containers Dark Core uses. They must have noticed the goons taking the shipments to unusual places, maybe they even spy on G.E.D.‘s mining operations, and see Dark Core loading the shipments. They must know the usual routes. They also could have checked to see if there actually was any Drakonium nearby.

It bewildered hen Alex yelled at everyone to stop. Like chill Alex, we’re just having a discussion, we’re not about to attack each other.

Linda’s comment about there being six of us confused me a lot initially, because there’s only 5 of us soul riders, eight of us if counting Fripp, Avalon, and Evergray.

Alex discourages Anne from creating portals, but is okay with her performing an allegedly hard and elusive spell nobody has mastered or performed in a very long time?

“I won’t bother you anymore with my jumbled thoughts.” …… brother in Aideen you just told me you had some thoughts to share with me. I really wish I could spend more time with Fripp, talk more with him. He might be such an amazing character if there was more to him.

“The future of Jorvik rests on your shoulders.” Gee, thanks.

The “Fripp teleporting away” cutscene was very weak.

I honestly was under the impression that the Drakonium shipment trap was set up to allow Dark Core access to the Library, so they could get to the Brambletween. I had not realised that there is now an army of druids there. So now I wonder why Fripp walked out on us when he didn’t need to go back to protecting the Library.

When the runestone appeared from the ground I thought it was the island itself trying to talk to me. I was a little disappointed to find out that it was a message from the druids.

Also, why did Alex and Anne waste time going to the Singing Yew to talk to me rather then just texting me and going straight to Valedale.

The Drakonium is already all unloaded from the trucks, even tho the Dark Riders want to take it further towards Valedale. And how are Lisa’s healing and Linda’s visions supposed to do anything to stop the Dark Riders?

How big is the Drakonium blast radius?

I’m so glad the writer had Alex ask such an interesting and valid question.

I honestly am conflicted about about the Oil Rig. Android or human, I still feel sorry for the goons. And what about other workers, like Lisa’s dad, or maintanance divers? But also, shouldn’t the Drakonium have been teleported to wherever G.E.D. mines it?

I think that Dark Core can already sue the pants off the druids for destroying and stealing their property.

I actually felt worried that Mr Sands might have died or been hurt. Then I thought that maybe he had been suffering for some years under Garnok’s influence, and this way he could be free, and Darko could take over. And then I was relieved that nothing happened to Mr Sands.

Mr Sands must have other oil rigs, he is an oil tycoon. I still wonder if he had the foresight to stop any drilling that might have been going on on the DC rig (If there was any), so that he wouldn’t lose the oil.

It was cool to see the hostility between the Dark Riders. I always had a feeling like they might actually hate working with each other, and that their working relationship might be strained.

Cool, so the Gate/portal is actually called the Hadal Gate. I wonder if Darko was working on it. It’s a shame it got destroyed.

I really thought the ending cutscene was happening in Wildwoods, but I suppose it’s not. The animation of Sabine swinging the hammer was kind of whack, but the animation Erissa had when she jumped out of the portal???? And her idle???? CHEF’S KISS. But the difference in quality of the cutscenes in one quest that takes a few minutes to finish is jarring.

Now I wonder where Erissa’s Dark Horse is, and what happened to the one Darko made.

I don't like how the writers introduce these new concepts, such as spells, rune warning messages. New rules. Things that are useful for only that one quest, and are never mentioned again. It's nice to have more material for fic writers, but it also would be nice if those spells and concepts would reappear. They either change their mind and abandon that concept or direction, or they forget, or it takes them so long that they're now going in a completely different direction and that thing they introduced is no longer needed or canon.

Overal, I think it was a somewhat okay quest. I think the writing was meh. So were the cutscenes. But I'm just glad that things are slowly moving somewhere. I'm elated that we finally have the fourth Dark Rider, and that they finally showed us some behind the scenes stuff going on with Dark Core. I'm glad they let Dark Core get the upper hand, or also progress with the story.

I wonder if SSE has their game documented. I don't know much about gamedev, but apparently developers use their own wikis to teep track of factions, items, characters, places, narratives... everything in the game. And It seems like SSE either doesn't have one that is up to date, or they just don't have one at all from the previous years, and are now working on a new one?

The name of the quest has me wondering if SSE is perhaps itching to wrap the main story up fast, so they can focus on the horses, outfits, and tack. That is a scary thought.

[bellassoblr]

live Bella reaction after the last part of the quests

it's the way she tried to blast the sh!t outta jessica for me

[toadriders]

wish i could’ve gone to närcon this year :(((

being in my dark rider sabine cosplay at 2023’s summer närcon was one of the best experiences i’ve had and i hope to do it again one day 🙏

hoping to make another star stable cosplay one day, i just don’t know which character it’d be 😭 i do prefer having my face covered up and/or appearing genderneutral, but I can’t really come to think of any SSO designs that match that, especially out of the updated designs

[lynnemoonsong]

IDK, maybe it's just me (and take this with a grain of salt, bc I've been playing SSO since 2017 and only recently started engaging in the fandom after lurking for years), but I do not recall the thirst for Sabine and people shipping their characters with her being anywhere near as prevalent when she still looked like this:

Were there Dark Core and Dark Rider fans before then? Absolutely.

But SSE was definitely not pushing Sabine in their marketing when she still looked like that, let alone making official posts about how hot she is to pander to her fanbase.

Furthermore, a quick search on AO3 filtering for fics written from 2012 - 2021 (excluding crossovers & only searching for complete works) prior to Sabine's character model update (in 2022) only results in 3 fanfics. Excluding crossovers and filtering for all works brings that number up to 5 works.

Which means that the 33 complete fics written featuring her [using the same "exclude crossovers" + "complete works only" parameters when searching] (5 of which are not tagged as Sabine/Reader or Sabine/Original Female Character fics) were all written from 2022 to present post-Sabine model revamp. And the majority of those are Explicit rated Sabine/Reader or Sabine/OFC fics. I'm sure that if one were to include crossovers and WIPs there would be a lot more results.

So yes, there is a significant jump in the amount of fanworks centered around Sabine after her 2022 revamp compared to the amount of fics featuring her when she still had her Starshine Legacy model.

For the record: I'm not saying fans can't be horny for her, because fandom doing fandom shit in fandom spaces is one thing.

But it's entirely another for the company itself to be pulling this and feeding into Sabine's fanbase in a way that SSE simply does not with any other character in the game. Not even Ydris. And focusing on Sabine to the exclusion of the other Dark Riders or even the Soul Riders. SSE itself will make social media posts (Twitter, Instagram, usw.) on how hot Sabine (an older teenage girl / adult woman) is, when the primary demographic for Star Stable Online is 6 - 14- year-old girls.

And from my perspective, it's solely because Sabine's character was revamped to look "hot" and ambiguously brown. Plus adult players attracted to women going "muscle mommy, step on me". (When this is not a dating sim game and SSO doesn't even have a dating mechanic. I digress.)

That being said, interesting that between the Dark Riders and the Soul Riders, SSE has revamped all but maybe one of the Dark Riders to have darker skin and more masculine-looking clothing + gender-neutral names (i.e. Sabine and Jessica/Jay's redesigns) when they are the villains. Yet the Soul Riders only have Linda (Pakistani) and maybe the player character... and all the NPC Soul Riders are still given the same clothing types as any other female character in the game. Add in that with additional lore in the comics and novels with the Dark Riders not being human but still playing into negative stereotypes in their design choices about people of color...

That is Not Great.

[starbornsoulrider]

Intro Post (finally)

hiya! I'm Wren. he/they, nonbinary, pansexual star stable player who got sucked into this silly horse game by accident. I am the self proclaimed no. 1 Darko hater (/silly) and also huge lover of the Soul Riders they're one of the big reasons I stuck w/ the game (and as of late I've been hyperfixating on the Dark Riders just as much tbh)

my main server (as of rn) is Watermelon Beach but I'll hop from time to time. I'm a pretty socially anxious person so if u meet me in game don't expect me to talk very much pls, i'll say hi to you tho

in game my name rn is Blake Crazyfrog but when and if the name change update drops i'll probably be changing that to Haley Starborn. speaking of which, lemme introduce you to my main SSO OC: Halo! quick summary of their backstory: one day, they washed up on the shores of Moorland with little to no memory of who they were, just an inner longing to return to the stars and a mysterious connection to one of the horses at the nearby stables. thus begins their journey to adapting to life on earth, navigating their way around Jorvik's mysteries, and growing into the role as the fifth Soul Rider.

^ one of my bingles of all time ft. their starter and soul horse, Babyboy, who is also typically my main horse in game. don't ask me how many horses I have I lost count a long time ago but its at least over 100 by now. not all of them are canonically owned by Halo but I haven't fully decided which ones are yet.

typical dni rules, just don't a bigot or asshole and we're cool. also if you're like. an avid hater of the soul riders or something please like. avoid this blog that's partly for my own comfort and also you probably wouldn't enjoy it here anyway.

i mostly post screenshots but i also post art! sometimes. when I feel like struggling through the pain of drawing horses. art posts will b tagged with #my art

you can find more info about Halo here!

home stable: Valedale

lvl: 24

[ryefieldsshiningsun]

reblogging from my art main blog

me when i ride western with the dressage horses in silly game

[windforestsso]

Everytime I see the old Star Stable games map or the full Jorvik map that sse hinted to (could still be changed after all) I really want to see more areas open up.

They have given us wild woods so the new areas arnt completely forgotten, just not a priority. I just really want to see the other places up north.

So this post is mostly dedicated to see how much more needs to be updated and my thoughts about it.

I will seperate area, as in landscape, and settlements as they are usually updated at different times.

Settlements:

Cape West Fishing Village - I hope they dont change too much with Cape West, I just really like the vibe the village have.

Goldenleaf Stable - might be upated along side Cape West. But gives it its own notible mention.

Jorvik Stables - Like with Cape West, I hope it doesnt get too big of a change. As its from the orginal Starshine Legacy games it has too much memory. But they did complelty change soul riders and dark riders, so who knows...

Jarlaheim - One of the most asked places to be updated I think. I do wonder what SSE will do with it. Personally Im not that into it. I just like the wall and it being on different levels. I dont mind if they do a big change to it.

Cresent Moon Village - Bit of a forgetten place. But hey, Scott is from there.

New Hillcrest - I think New Hillcrest can wait to be updated last. It doesnt look that bad.

Dew's Farm - I dont know if we ever going to make it liveble again or if it will just be updated ruins.

The Unfortunate Dews farm - with the ancient tree restored the ground should start to heal. I wont be surprised if there will an update like with the baroness race track where the farm will be updated alongside a quest to fix it up and have the Dew family move in.

Jaspers Pumpkin Farm - Maybe it will be updated alongside Cape West or it will be silently updated. Its not alot going on there.

Valedale Village - I love for it too look like it did in the comic.

Wolf Hall Inn - not much going on here either. But it will be updated to fit the style at some point.

Areas:

Im not sure if they will bother updating the landscape of some areas, SSO might stop with the updated texture and plants and wont do more.

Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur - defenitly up there on the wish list players have for being updated. It really need a good update.

Hidden frozen valley- I will keep these two areas separate for now, they have a little difference vibes from eachother.

South Hoof Peninsula - the area have new plants and 3d grass but the ground and rock textures are still the old ones.

North Harvest counties - the area around Jorvik stables and Jarlaheim is so tight that if they are going to change the landscape it will most likely be together with the town or/and stable. As for the forgotten fields, do it really need a big update?

Western Epona - I dont really mind this place. Maybe just round some corners and update some items.

Eastern Epona - I would love to see an updated swamp. As long as they keep it mystic.

Theres probably more areas people can talk about. But these are what I could think about.

Feel free to mention your own opinions.

[sleepymabel]

it's so weird to me how many star stable fans are so up in arms about the devs updating the game and switching out old assets to support a viable future for it because of nostalgia but none of them ever talk about the way bigger problem under the same umbrella; there is no way to replay the story of the game without making a whole new account and paying like 60 bucks. the amount of new characters ive made just to play the very limited but free beginning of the game over again is devastating. how is this just. the way it is. i want to know what the hell all those quests i did when i was 13 actually was about again. spy squirrels? detective figuring out who stole those god damn chickens? climbing up the firgrove mountain and something about a song at night??? the WALKING ON WATER PLAYING THE HARP THING?!?! oh my god the election of jarlaheim. opening epona! that guy getting kidnapped and then unkidnapped! whatever happened in the big forest over mistfall!!!! all of marleys siblings having different quests or something? a wedding? the vineyard and the basement flooding. sticking it up to mr kembell several times i think?? the dog named disco or techno or something? rabbit mans long lost love... sending his love letter by canon!!!! traveling to the oil platform in a FRIDGE. James committing fraud? theft? idk he did it all. James falling asleep (?) because of the dark riders???? or something? trying to save justin several times but we just kinda went in there and had a little conversation and then walked out again. over and over again. OUR HORSE HAD WINGS ONCE?!???!?! and it talked to us!!!! several! random! times! WE TALKED SOMETIMES!!!! NOT IN A 'choose 1 of these 2 options' WAY BUT A LITERAL TEXT BOX OF YOU SAID THAT (?????) WAY!?!?!??! okay that makes no sense but alas. pandoric portals! what the hell was up with evergray how did we even meet him! oh my god and what was the thing with ricky winterwell and the new hillcrest stable almost being sold?? why did fripp almost die?!??? what was up with the buttergoods and what about that one nice brother??? what was darko even doing again. derek being the most useless mailman ever but we love him anyway. that old lady getting addicted to some scary pole riding game and made a race out of it out in buttfuck nowhere mountains because okay. us doing said death trap pole bending race because we needed the game for something???? some big conspiracy about the mistfall water and GED was stealing it or something and raptor was involved? what the hell were we even doing in dino valley

[alinasteelcrest]

ao3 finally gave me an account smh

Here's Alina's version of events, mostly (but probably not entirely) following the worldbuilding of dark-rider-pr's Riders of Fallen Dawn apocalypse AU.

The first two parts are already posted to tumblr, they've received minor edits, but this third chapter is entirely new.

I don't think I'll be adding every update here, but I'll post this one just to share the link >w>

[andxlusian]

i survived long covid !! (i think)

(i can finally post the actually finished blog)

i would like to apologize for the lack of content since december!! i've been really struggling to finish any of my projects that are star stable related. between the several month gap of soul rider quests and the drama with the developers i'm genuinely starting to hate this game. the bugs make the gameplay really unpleasant and feels more like a chore to play for more then a few minutes. which, frankly, sucks. it's a cruddy feeling knowing you're losing interest in a game you've played religiously for the last five years.

that being said, i've decided i'm gonna start posting a bit of different content in between sso posts. it'll mainly consist of wild horse island doodles, since it's a game i've found some peace in. everything will stay horse game centric tho <3

anyway, i wanted to share kara and dagon's updated reference + some mini bios! they haven't changed too much, but i feel like it's a healthy practice to give them fresh shiny new refs every now and then !! i'll be posting some designs and sneak peaks for my dark rider!au fairly soon, so if that's something you're interested, feel free to stick around !!

[sso-montana]

1, 4, 13, and 25 for the Asks? :3

Hello Hi Hello ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

01. When did you first start playing Star Stable Online? Did you fall in love with it from the beginning, or did you stumble upon it again at a later date and chose to stick around?

-> as far as I remember I started playing some time in 2015 or maybe 2014, I'm not too sure anymore lol. I only know it has to be around that time period since I got star rider in 2015 and had only played for a few months or a year at best when I did. The reason I started was because I watched let's plays of it on youtube (shoutout to Zaaap and Alicia Snowdaughter) and decided to give it a try and basically fell in love right away.

04. Which Horse was your first purchase? Do you still own that horse, and what did you name it?

-> my first ever purchase was one of the old friesian sport horses, the oreo one to be exact. her name is sapphireprincess and no, I haven't sold her. I don't think I'll ever sell one of my horses because I name them after things/characters I like and I'm emotionally bound to them

here a picture of my beautiful girl and me before the character updated where I wanted to take some nostalgia photos for sentimental value

13. What is your character's name? Do you wish to change it, if the function ever makes its way into the game?

-> her full name is Montana Opalheart which is also her ingame name. And surprisingly no, I don't want to or am planning on changing that. Fun fact it was actually generated by the randomize name thing and I stuck with it because it sounded pretty. 10/11 year old me didn't know a lot of english BUT she did know what heart meant and opal is the same in english as in german and to this day I, too, think it's a pretty name c:

25. Do you prefer Aideen & the Druids, or Dark Core & Garnok? Are you neutral/indifferent? Do you like both?

-> Iiiiiiiii don't think I prefer either of them? The idea of summoning space cthulu because some old man is still salty about his girlfriend dying isn't exactly my cup of tea (tho I have to admit, I admire the dedication. mayhaps would do the same). That doesn't mean sending teenagers into other dimensions that could kill them and basically putting the weight of 'it's your duty and responsibility to save the world' on their shoulders is. Dark Core can go fuck themselves and so can the Keepers of Aideen. The only one on the list I prefer is Aideen. Homegirl just wanted to make sure there are people who can protect the island she created I'm sure she didn't intend on them being kids instead of adults.

[gameinfoxtbr]

Star Stable Gift Codes

Star Stable Gift Codes: If you’re a fan of Star Stable Codes, you’ll already know how exciting it is to visit the magical world of Jorvik, have your horse, and participate in quests and adventures. You might have even raised your expectations by this point… but what if you could ramp up your gameplay even more? Gift codes stand in as a solution for that! These codes will help you unlock tons of rewards such as Star Coins, Sports outfits, tack sets, etc. Below is a curated list of the latest Star Stable Redeem Codes Free that you can redeem for some fantastic rewards. 🌟

GameInfoX Star Stable Gift Codes 🌟 What is Star Stable? Celebrating 11 years of making the world of Horses a little bit healthier, Star Stable continues hard at work to deliver an immersive horse-loving experience through its massively multiplayer game where players can explore a huge world, take care of horses, and embark on fun quests. The game has a great story, a sweet landscape and you can get close to your horses. We keep you updated with all things Star Stable, such as the Star Stable Guide with all guides and tips for new players, in the Star Stable Guide.

GameInfoX 🎉 Redeem These Promo Code Star Stable for Exclusive Rewards! - SHEISALIVE - Redeem this gift code for 45 Star Coins (New) - SPOOKYSEASON - Redeem this gift code for 20 Star Coins - CRIMSONTOP - Expires Oct 16th, 07:00 UTC - SPOOKYSEASON - Redeem this gift code for 20 Star Coins - CRIMSONTOP - Redeem this gift code for Outfit - togetherforever - Redeem this gift code for 150 Star Coins - PEASANTHAMPUS - Redeem this gift code for 20 Star Coins - CELEBRATION – Unlock exclusive rewards - Slayeth – Get the Cottagecore full tack set to style up your horse 🐴 - 13THBDAY – Dress up in a fun Birthday Sweater to mark the 13th anniversary of Star Stable Redeem Codes Free 🎂 - MEDIEVALMADNESS – Redeem this for unique medieval-themed outfits 🛡️✨ - HAPPYSUMMER – Treat your horse to a Jollyhoof Treat for being your faithful companion all summer long ☀️ - CLOSERTOTHEHORSE – Get 15 Star Coins to boost your in-game savings 💰 Image Suggestion: A close-up of a horse and rider bonding, symbolizing the strong player-horse relationship. - NOONENEEDSME – Add 15 Star Coins to your inventory instantly! - PLEASELEAVEMEALONE – Another code for 15 Star Coins to keep your adventures going! - FR1PP0FF – Surprise! Get 15 Star Coins 🎁 - IMONVACATION – Take a break and grab 15 Star Coins for your holiday spending 🌴 - IMOUT – Another 15 Star Coins to keep your adventures rolling 🐾 - THISISTHEWORST – Things may seem tough, but here are 15 Star Coins to brighten your day 😅 - PERSONALREDEEMCODEGENERATOR – Get 15 Star Coins with this funny code 🤖 - POTOFSTARC0IN5 – You’re in luck! Grab 50 Star Coins from this pot of gold 🌈💰 - MORERAINBOW52WIN – Here’s 25 Star Coins to add a splash of color to your game 🎨 - 5UNANDRA1N – Collect 15 Star Coins to stay prepared for any weather 🌦️ - FOURWHOLEDANCES – Dance your way to 25 Star Coins 💃 - NOQUESTIONSJUSTCHOPPING – Get 20 Star Coins without any questions asked! - HIPPESTQUICKEST – Collect 15 Star Coins and stay on trend 🕶️ - VIVALAPINTA – A grand reward of 50 Star Coins awaits you! Viva la Pinta! 🌟 - JORVIKVIBES – Feel the Jorvik vibes with 15 Star Coins 🎵 - GROOVYPONY – Your groovy pony gets you 10 Star Coins 🐴🎶 Image Suggestion: A fun, colorful horse and rider enjoying their time in the game with their stylish new tack. - FLASHDANCE – Gain 5 days of Star Rider status and enjoy premium access 🚀 - GIDDYUP – Saddle up and redeem 60 Star Coins to go on even more adventures 🌍 - DOESNOTEXIST – It exists! Here’s 40 Star Coins as your reward for finding this code 💡 - DARKESTRIDERS – Brave the darkness and earn 60 Star Coins for your efforts 🌑 🌟 How to Redeem Your Star Stable Gift Codes? Redeeming your Star Stable gift codes is super easy! Just follow these steps: - Go to the Star Stable login page. - Then go to the redeem code page in your account settings. - Any of those mentioned above works as an entry code. - Enjoy your rewards instantly! Pro Tip: Don’t forget to check your e-mail and Star Stable’s social media pages for the latest updates and codes. If you want to stay updated on everything Jorvik, why not check out the Star Stable News Page as well?

GameInfoX ✨ Get More from Your Star Stable Adventure! You can always expect Star Stable to keep the excitement of riding a horse alive with frequent updates, new features, and ever-fresh gift codes. To get the best horses and gear for your game, and get the best out of your game in general, be sure to read the Star Stable Character Tier List. All you strategists out there will find the Star Stable Guide a great companion to the huge game world of Jorvik.

GameInfoX For the full Star Stable experience, don’t forget to check out the Star Stable Developer and how the game continues to grow and evolve. 🎁 Tips for Using Star Stable Codes Effectively - Be Quick: Some gift codes are time-limited or only available for a short period. Keep an eye on social media channels and newsletters for new codes before they expire. - Use in Combination: Star Stable allows you to stack rewards, so redeeming multiple codes in one go can greatly boost your Star Coins and gear stash. - Keep Checking: New codes are released frequently, especially during game events, holidays, or major updates like new quests and horses. Bookmark the Star Stable game for insider tips. Final Thoughts on Star Stable Gift Codes Gift codes in Star Stable are a fantastic way to enhance your in-game experience, providing you with Star Coins, exclusive outfits, tack sets, and much more. Remember to redeem these codes before they expire, and stay connected to the game's updates for even more fun rewards! Whether you’re dressing up your horse in the latest gear or exploring new adventures with extra Star Coins, these codes are here to add a sparkle to your Star Stable journey! 🌟 Word Count: 1300 Read the full article

[erisartz]

MEET THE NEW UPDATED DARK RIDERS!! 🥳🥳

I really love how they turned out, also if u guys didn't notice I finally have a NEW style that I'm kinda obsessed with lol 😆

What do you think about the updated dark Riders?

[adelaideoldburg]

“Ehem, yes I would like to call this meeting to order. Today we will be discussing why Justin Moorland deserved an update before some of these other bitches. I will start. Firstly-”

[xgoldenlatiasx]

I’m hoping that when we finally meet the fourth dark rider, her personality is “sweet and charming on the outside but on the inside she’s manipulative and likes to cause problems on purpose”

so basically this meme: