The whisper of runestones

My arts, stories, theories, original characters and other things from the Star Stable Online universe🌿

[intheferns]

🍁Important announcement🍁

Perhaps someone noticed that the design of this blog has changed. I've been thinking for a long time about how to combine my forest drawings and various sso things into one whole, and I've realized that it would be more convenient to separate them. Now these pages will be completely dedicated to sso, as it was originally intended. But if you're interested in seeing more of drawings dedicated to nature and animals, you can come here sometime🌿

[elfdotter]

hot off the press!

[pixelhorses]

Okay sure, Take away anything that makes a Festival unique

Yes the beast were a bit annoying during races or while doing certain quest, but it was still a very cool idea. Couldn't they just make the repellent spray more affordable / a reward for festival quests?

[intheferns]

A soul shard

[im-kuku]

Photo of the previous generation of Soul Riders </3

Oh, the memories...

Full size picture of them below, click expand

I'm really happy with how this turned out<33 I think it conveys the relationships between the riders really well but in a subtle way :D (Well, the relationships I've imagined them to have per my headcanons xd) Feel free to share how you think they got along at the time this picture was taken xDD

[intheferns]

I love them so much 🤍

[intheferns]

I miss her a little

[intheferns]

My girls! 🤲

I added Stardew to Asya and I'm probably going to stop here. I really love the old sso art style, but unfortunately, it's difficult for me to draw it :,)

[pandoricpies]

There is such a morbid tension now in the current state of the storyline.

Sands is gone - I hesitate to say 'dead', but at least gone for the time being. Darko has seemingly taken over DC operations and the whole of the continuing fight for Garnok's release.

We knew where Sands began and ended, for the most part. We knew what his morals were and that they were indeed existent, however fucked up in nature they were. Point is, he had some level of care for his ex-wife and family (and the new line that was updated a couple of years ago as we fly away with Justin on the starter "Now that HE (Garnok of Darko?) has seen you, you will never be safe on this island" just further leads me to believe that Sands was starting to 'wake up' from the trance Garnok had put him in). Sands also had a clear motive for his actions - doesn't make them right, but losing a loved one and spiraling is something anyone can acknowledge.

Darko on the other hand, is a complete unknown. Of course we know generally that he seemed much more extreme than Sands - he was the one who kidnapped Anne and threw her into 'hell', who attempted to murder Justin (in one of the most brutal ways possible), he was behind the Dark Horse serum experiments and the creation of the Nightmare Institute. Although this is more personal theory than anything, I really think Darko was either some sort of doctor or scientist before his stent with DC. Creating an institution for the study of what is essentially a mind and body-altering drug/steroid? There is so. much. potential. with his character.

All that being said, Darko is a much scarier villain than Sands could've ever been. Yes, I know he was a major creep in the older comics and SSL, but we have that motive there for him; we don't have one for Darko.

Darko is a wild card. We know he's willing to go to extreme lengths, but we don't know just how far he's willing to go, yet. I do hope they spend time working with and developing his character rather than just making him some goofy write off in the end. I love the game's concept of 'girl power' which was a fairly new concept in the video game sphere in the early 2000s, but unlike in SSL where the girl's had actual challenges that they overcame, SSO has started to go down the route of every other opposing character being completely incompetent so no real challenge is presented. We've seen the power the Soul Riders have - let them have actual challenges in the story.

[intheferns]

Oh my goddess, YES!

[toruq]

[intheferns]

Asya in my art style and Asya in the old sso/ssl art style ☀️

[intheferns]

The talking squirrel

[silverkit]

PART 1

[This is a collection of my Pandoria headcanons and homebrew worlbuilding. There is a lot of text, so prepare yourself.]

TIME

Explaining time to a pandorian is like explaining carbonated water to a fish; illogical, unneeded and it hurts their head. And believe me, I’ve tried explaining many times. Pandorians exist outside of time, but what does that even mean? They move and talk just like humans do, but once you enter their dimension… you wish you hadn’t. Your vision starts to swirl and legs begin to move in a zig-zag patten even though you’ve never asked them to do that. As a person used to being drunk on two bottles of mead, I find that experience quite familiar. Once you get used to it, it’s bearable. My many years spent in this dimension have somewhat adapted me to the environment, although it comes at a cost (see:  PANDORIC SICKESS).

Pandoria works on simple logic – if it can happen, it will. Which means, not simple at all. Although every being lives linearly, one might find themselves looking at a tree that has not been there before. Your friend is twice as tall as you, yet you are stuck as a teenager for another eternity. So on and so forth. My visits to Pandoria have been particularly confusing. As a being used to the frames of time, I’ve felt as though I spent two weeks walking around, yet when I came back my tea was still piping hot!

I’ve asked a fellow traveller, a witch searching for supplies in the pandoric wilderness, of what she thinks about this anecdote. She said “My only concern is to come back home before my ten year old kids leave for university”.

SPACE

Pandoria is ever changing, but it follows a general structure that the locals have named and written down. The maps are a crude representation of Pandoria; in reality it warps and bends and twists and pulls as each non-existing second passes. No living thing is able to capture that on paper.

The Islands –> space for all living beings. Much like planets in space, they drift in the infinite expanse of shining lights (I haven’t been able to deduce what the lights are. Are they stars? Other islands? The chaotic energy of Pandoria?)

The Infinite Down –> once you fall, there is no hope for you. You will fall for eternity or until your lungs give out. The difficult environment influenced several species to develop flight, such as flying manta rays, formless pandorians and shadow seekers.

The Space Between –> once you cross the portal to Pandoria, you need to pass through a foggy, deserted place. That is the Space Between. It acts as a gateway between time and space; a moment of complete stillness.

Navigating Pandoria is nigh impossible. Each island is moving around like a big, everlasting kaleidoscope. Every time you enter a portal, you end up in a different location. When you want to go back to the previous island, you might discover that there is an empty space left instead. No matter if you are human or pandorian, you are forever lost. That is why pandorians choose one of two ways in life; some stay in one place their whole life and others travel from island to island, never to return home. (I was relieved when I’ve learned that there is a free shelter system in Pandoria. I’m so happy I don’t have to abandon hot showers!) I call them the settlers and the drifters. Pandorians have their own names for them; the direct translation would be “the one who stays” and “the one who travels”.

It’s difficult to live in a place so chaotic, even for equally chaotic beings, but at least they get to choose their fate. Throughout my journey I’ve travelled to many cities and met many amazing people, but I am unable to return to them again. I feel kinship with the drifters, missing home even though you are doing what you love. When I finally came back to Valedale, I hugged my brother as hard as I could.

There is only one known way of going back to a specific location; the Keystones. They lead to one singular island. A rather unremarkable island on its own, but it has collected quite the collection of pandorian and human activity. No one knows why the Keystones were built. Fripp is being weirdly silent about it…

The “kaleidoscope” nature of this place has made communication nigh-impossible. Thus, the difference between the Islands’ scientific development is striking. You can travel from an Island straight out of a sci-fi book to a rural village. Drifters try to bring different inventions across the land, but there are infinitely more Islands than there are people. Traveling through Pandoria is like a game of roulette – you never know what you’re going to get!

PANDORIC SICKNESS

While exploring this realm is very fascinating, with each visit my health has been slowly declining. As of writing this, I am unable to return there ever again. Beings from Earth are not accustomed to an existence outside of time. Their bodies and minds deteriorate each time they think about the absurdity of breathing backwards. The pandoric sickness, as I have dubbed it, starts in the mind and travels through the nervous system until your entire body is completely covered in pink.

I've made a simple and effective list to make your trip suck a bit less:

First and foremost, it attacks your eyesight – eyes are windows to your soul and Pandoria wants to swallow it for breakfast. When you are overwhelmed, cover your eyes and pray for the best.

Direct contact with pandoric energy worsens the effects; just avoid touching anything you don’t know the exact properties of, otherwise your limbs will be next in line for amputation.

Avoid cuts and bruises, the sickness clings to open skin. Many people in contact with pandoric energy discover that their old scars have suddenly started to glow pink. You don’t want that to happen, trust me.

Remember to cover your nose when you venture into the wilderness. You can easily take care of a scratch on your hand, but you can’t sneeze out microscopic particles from your lungs.

Don’t eat unknown plants. Just don’t.

THE GARNOK CONUNDRUM

Garnok reigns terror on Jorvik and He reigns terror in Pandoria. Ever since the Dark Riders have started to raise Him from the dead, Pandoria got the short end of the stick. Islands upon islands have been sinking into the depths of the Infinite Down. What we know on Jorvik as pandoric cracks are massive tears in Pandoria’s surface. I’ve met many pandorians who fled to Jorvik in fear of being next. The soul crushing fact about that is; you can find your way out of Pandoria, but it’s impossible to return to your home island when you go back.

It’s been happening more and more in recent years. I hope the new generation of Soul Riders will succeed where we could not.

[intheferns]

hehehe

[alkeila]

[numberoneavalonfan]

There are so many ways that the Nottsoren could reproduce and i don't know which one is the worst. Do they lay eggs? Do they give birth? To caterpillars or already moth-horses? Do they pupate? Maybe they're born as normal-looking foals and THEN pupate into moth hybrids?

[windforestsso]

The mare isnt pregnant for long. Instead they give birth to an relative small larvea.

The larvea than eat untill it is big and fat, create a cocoon and then is in it for months. Out comes a moth foal!

The witches takes the Cocoon and make their clothes from it.

Its rougher than normal moth silk but still very durable. Perfect to make witch clothes out of it.

[numberoneavalonfan]

YES!!! I APPROVE THIS!!!

[intheferns]

I've been thinking about drawing a reference for Asya for a long time, but... I still can't decide on the color of her clothes. Asya loves the forest and hiking, and green feels like "her" color, but I also really like how bright she looks in the old starter set!

I like options 1 and 3 right now, but I'm still not sure 🤔

[intheferns]

Liminal space