#sso druids

[noheadthoughtsemptyig]

Mom Elizabeth Sunbeam please come back to me

[corinne-eaglebridge-sso]

The Mission Team are members of the Keepers that have been specifically trained to be able to complete special missions. These missions include (but are not limited too) closing Pandoric cracks and dealing with Pandoric corruption, saving captured spy-animals, and disrupting enemy operations. This group differs from others in that their operations are less centralized to the Hollow Woods: mission team members live all over Jorvik - although they do first train in Valedale - and are expected to be on-call 24/7 for any mission assignments in their area, although this may lighten the more team members live in a certain region. The training process is intense and it is an incredibly demanding task; not many who enter the training program make it through to full membership, and team members often switch to less stressful positions after they finish their mandatory five years, or even fully retire afterwards. Still, their job is crucial and they are highly regarded by the community.

This team is actually decently sized if you were to gather them in one location, but it is uncommon for any region in Jorvik to have more than 3 active members at a time - and if there are many in one area, some members will likely move to less covered areas to balance it out. About 70% of team members end up leaving the team at the earliest date, which is after 5 years. About 3% of those that leave the team retire completely, the rest often taking positions in other groups.

About 5-15% of people that enter the training program become full members. Some years have more graduates than others, but it always tends to be around these statistics. Training takes a minimum of two years, and a new group starts training each year. The trainees live in Valedale full-time during training, and there is no maximum age for when someone can start training, although there is a minimum age of 18.

The training could be described as a physical and magical bootcamp that takes multiple years, which is the main reason for the high dropout rate. Part of the training is to be able to ride without tack, as well as with faulty and/or sabotaged tack. Some missions might be urgent and won't leave time for someone to tack up properly or completely, but team members are expected to be able to ride as if they were fully tacked up and warmed up anyways. The mission team members are always highly skilled riders and have strong bonds with their horses.

[gladewood]

sometimes i remember the keepers of aideen canonically sacrificed (or at least attempted to sacrifice) someone to the motherstone in valedale

[intheferns]

How to decipher a squirrel's message

Just random scetches from my sketchbook🌱

It's convenient when you have your own postman squirrel

[mortiflyer]

me when i thought i liked star stable more when it was older and of shittier quality because that's when everyone said it was better and then i took time away from the fandom space and realized i was a) in like third grade when the game was "old" b) genuinely love the new updates, quests, and horses

[writingonjorvik]

Hey yo! I've started importing B Team Druids over to AO3. I am backdating this import for my personal records (I like tracking when I wrote things), so it will not show up in recent. This is not a promise that I'm back to writing it, it's just going to be available on AO3 now too. I'm currently going back through it for some light edits, so expect more chapters to show up in batches on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Ok, bye!

[thegh0sting]

Finally posting some art!

This is my first print-sized piece and it took me 2 whole days to finish, the damn thing is so big and I was fighting for my life with several different things (the lighting and background painting) But it's all worth it in the end because I absolutely love it <3

Characters featured from left to right are my oc Amaruq and her horse Tamannuk of the Moon circle, Gunnar and Morrigan from the SSO comics by Elli, and finally Yrsa and her horse Ālka of the Lightning circle (belonging to the lovely @crawlingwithmagg0ts)

Expect to see so much more of all of these characters, because I adore each and every single one of them

[freyofthewoods]

Lines for Frey are done! Just need to color her and get Darkdancer's done then his colors and pull together the character sheet!! Very excited to get her slowly moving forward here.

[jorvik-chronicles]

🔮 ⤷ The Sun & Moon Sisters

The Sun and Moon representatives in the Sisterhood are definitely fascinating - their clear polar opposites in name seem to also be what also draws them the closest together. Looking at the relationships between the Sun and Moon Sisters from other generations of Soul Riders, not just from the current Sisterhood, is also interesting because we can look at the parallels as well as the differences and why these exist.

This is sort of a follow-up to this really cool post from @that-sso-raven about Anne and Linda's relationship and why it thrives the way it does. I found a screenshot I took of it and wanted to add my own stuff because it got me all excited >:)

I have tagged and linked all artwork used in this post, but please PLEASE let me know if you would like it removed! I will take it down immediately :)

Warning: Spoilers for Helena Dahlgren's novel The Legend Awakens, as well as general background information found in the Catherine's Memories quests in SSO.

Anne & Linda:

Let us begin with a statement that validates the strength of the Sun Sister and Moon Sister's relationship:

Anne shook her head. "They were in school when I took off. I have no idea where they are now. Or, well, I did talk to Linda. I think. She didn't say anything specific, but I'm afraid that she's in danger. It's hard to explain. We have a bond, she and I. I noticed that when I was there, in Pandoria. She was able to reach me somehow." “The sun and the moon are strongly allied,” Elizabeth nodded seriously. The Legend Awakens, Helena Dahlgren (Chpt. 26)

During The Legend Awakens, Anne explains that she was able to have a conversation with Linda during her search for Concorde in Pandoria. During this time, Linda had passed out in Pine Hill Mansion and sought refuge on the dark side of the moon to hide from Sabine. Somehow, through her unconsciousness, she was able to find and communicate with Anne, despite her being in another reality entirely. Though Anne wasn't able to see her, Linda was able to provide support to her Sun Sister at a time when she most needed it, leading her to use her reassurance and successfully bring Concorde back to the Secret Stone Circle.

The fact that Anne and Linda were able to communicate clearly, not only when one of them was barely keeping herself alive, but also in completely different dimensions, is such a fascinating ability that the two of them share. Whilst it isn't confirmed whether or not this would be possible between Linda and any of the other Soul Riders, presuming that this has something to do with her Soul Sight abilities, the fact that it not only happened but also their circumstances drastically improved because of it only shows just how powerful the Sun and Moon bond is when tested.

It could also be valuable to note how only the Sun and Moon Sisters have magically enabled communication abilities. The Lightning and Star Sisters appear to have seemingly offensive and defensive skills, whereas the Sun's portal-making and the Moon's Soul Sight are often used as a mix of the two, perhaps also enhancing their communication skills with each other.

Concorde & Meteor:

I won't say that this is a strong point, but I think that it's cool to point out. Both Meteor and Concorde are both true to a metaphor of flying. Meteor, obviously, after a meteor, and Concorde after the airliner. Star Stable Wiki also notes:

Concorde's name is a variation of the French name, Concordia, meaning "harmony" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of harmony and peace. Star Stable Wiki, Concorde

Furthermore, their relationship seems particularly important, especially when Concorde is reincarnated as a foal. Meteor is often described as an older and wiser horse, often like a brother or "old uncle" (as stated by Linda in The Legend Awakens). The pair's relationship really is a sacred one and appears much more closely bonded than any of the other partnerships between the horses. Throughout recent quests, Concorde has been referred to as "little sister" by Meteor, which only adds to their harmonious relationship that their relationship is just so representative of the close Sun and Moon Circle alliance.

Elizabeth & Caroline:

Unfortunately, not a lot is known about Caroline as a character, though there are a few hints about her position as the Moon Sister of the previous generation of Soul Riders that Elizabeth Sunbeam was a part of in Catherine's Diary.

Because we read about her from either Catherine's perspective in her diary or Eva's perspective in Shadows Over Jorvik, it's hard to form a clear picture of what her relationship was like with Elizabeth, though of course, it was short-lasting following the demise of that particular Sisterhood and the suspected death of Caroline after her disappearance.

In all fairness, there isn't much to point out. It seems they had a stable relationship but there isn't anything particularly special to point out in regards to their magic or relationship. Presumably, they held the same ability to contact each other in various places in a similar way to how Anne and Linda did in the second book, but whether this was used or not cannot be known.

Honestly, I really hope that we get to know more about that Sisterhood as a whole, but especially about Caroline and Sigry.

References and Image Credit:

Soul Riders: The Legend Awakens by Helena Dahlgren

Star Stable Wiki, Concorde

Star Stable Wiki, Soul Rider

Catherine's Diary, various parts

Anne & Linda Artwork by the incredibly talented @toruq!

Various in-game images were taken by me.

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If anyone has anything to add to this, please let me know! :) I wish this post had a lot more to talk about, but as of right now, these are the only things I could find to say. I just love the Sun/Moon relationship and I think it's super cool >:)

Thank you for all of the welcome reblogs on my intro post, too! It was really kind :))

As stated above, I have tagged and linked all artwork used in this post, but please PLEASE let me know if you would like it removed! I will take it down immediately :)

🔮 ⤷ Maya (they/he)

[butterfly-headquarters]

been listening to epic the musical waaaaaaay too much sooo

SSO Greek mythology AU anyone?

[sadie-wolfdawn]

👀👀👀

[dorianwolfforest]

Now, I'm not one to make preposterous, outlandish claims, but isn't there meant to be a portal back right around there

[gladewood]

evergray sees vendela and has a level of sympathy for her, because he recognizes some of his younger self in her extreme dedication towards the druid's cause, ramped up even more since shes a soulrider herself.

[intheferns]

4. Squirrel

At first I wanted to draw Fripp, but changed my mind. Instead, the Spy Master and his squirrels appeared here🐿

[starshinedragon]

Ydris doesn't care about space or time or reality, he can have jawas watching the show if he wants to

[jorvikzelda]

I’m not really sure how to break this to anyone but today’s side quest gives 1800 player XP