Vala

 

The Devil's Gap intrigues us all since day one of the Harvest Counties gates being open. The place can boast on many 'attractions' straight from a horror movie, which can be backed up by several reasons, starting with a name that gives you goosebumps with which the gap has been baptised by the residents, and ending with overheard rumors spoken in an uncertain, low whisper. However, we might find the other bottom of this history and it'll be yet another lesson to teach us that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Devil's Gap is not the main character of this post though, I'm going to write about a group of women called Vala for whom the place is undoubtedly important; who cause fear in Jorvik's residents because they were misunderstood.

2018 - that's when we outrightly first heard of Vala and their connection to the gap. Back then Jorvik Fashion Weeks were still organized at the mall and the non-player characters present on the event loved to share some gossip going around the island. Buck, Jill and Juck had much to say about the cursed place and its linkage to the ancient witches.

 

One of characters confirming the weird things happening in the Devil's Gap is Buck. He states that the place is haunted and is connected to witches that existed thousand years ago. The boy's courageous nature let him visit the gap and record a video of the paranormal activities, however his hardships were for nothing because the recording was taken down from JorTube. We won't see the video, but Buck describes the phenomena as: 'odd lights, weirdos in hoods, talking horses...'. Well, nothing from that list is news for us!

We're all aware that Jack is rather laid back. Even a huge pile of paperwork to look through on his desk will not ruin the fun for him, so especially some gossip about haunted places will not make him start caring. He says the Devil's Gap can't be dangerous, however he confirms there were first jorvegian witches living there in the past.

 

Jill, who provides us with most fun facts, is a sister of Jack and his total opposite: thoughtful, competent, serious. She doesn't mention any hauntings, everything she says seems to be sensible. She states that on the area of the gap lay caves sacred to Vala, and they're significant for archeologists. Apparently Vala women have been really important for Jorvik but have been consistently ereased from the island's history.

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 The topic of the first jorvegian witches arose again last year, during quests with Maya and her family farm. When we pay Dorith Jarlasson a visit, the old woman makes theories about the reason for barrenness of the area around Unfortunate Dews farm. According to Dorith it's caused by the location of the place - it stands right in the shadow of the Devil's Gap. The lady mentions that the witches still live in the gap and both their anger and power of their curse are rising all the time. Who is the person that they can't give forgiveness to? It's Jon Jarl who felt too confident when he discovered the island and decided to destroy Life Wardens and a forest located on the Forgotten Fields. It's fair to say that the Jarl had no respect for Jorvik's native people and its nature.

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The most certain and extensive information we got about Vala is from a travel guide at the game's 10th birthday.

Starting our trip at Jon Jarl's tomb, the woman tells us about both good and dark sides of the ruler. It's true the most important legacy of Jorvik's culture comes from the times times of his reign, but it is Jorvik's native residents that had to pay the highest price. Jarl's troops either killed or banished the island's people: the Kallters, the druids and, of course, Vala. It's no surpirse that the witches are angry with Jon Jarl.

 

I think everyone knows those mysterious and distinctive sculptures of a hooded person, weird creatures and dried up tree behind. That's our next stop - the guide makes a theory that the sculpture could be connected to Vala. It's even older than Jon Jarl's tomb.

 

And back to Vala's most important place -  the Devil's Gap. The trip guide calls it a sacred place for those women. Although they were not respected by people in the past, they are still appreciated by their sisters, other witches, who leave offerings such as a sachet with herbs or a letter to Vala on the gates of the gap.

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What's inteesting is that we already know how Vala witches look. On last Halloween Star Stable published a comic on their Instagram. It tells the story of the Galloper Thompson wherein one of the witches had an important role. Jon Jarl, who after discovering Jorvik started noticing the presence of the natives, got worried his claims to the island would become unreasonable. He decided to give Gunnar Thrymson (Thompson's real name) an order to crash a runestone. In the moment of carrying out the order Galloper Thompson met a mysterious woman, whose purpose was to protect the island and its magic, and made a sentence on himself - 'you will never die by human hands'. We could say it was like a gift from the witch, but seeing Gunnar's further fate, we can agree that nothing good came out of this.

Here's another drawing by Elli, person who draws comics for Star Stable, for a better look:

https://ellipuukangas.tumblr.com/post/667037976776310785/you-will-never-die-by-human-hands

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It's fair to say that Galloper Thompson's fate from before he literally lost his head, is strongly connected to the mysterious women of the Devil's Gap. The plot of his futher (un)life has been developed during the last Halloween too, when we got to meet an unknown character during the quests. On the icon the person looked like a druid, but considering the things they said and the place where they went after, we could guess the character belongs to other native group from Jorvik: to Vala (thank you for reminding me of these quests, Elsa ♥).

Is Galloper Thompson's quest to get back at Jorvik's colonizers?

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 Most people stay away from the Devil's Gap, the residents are scared of the consequences of venturing into those areas. However now we know it's not some random paranormal phenomena happening in there, it's just because the witches feel bitterness and distrust towards people. Hmm - feel or felt? Are Vala witches still alive? Are they still protecting their land or is it just the curse that brought the bad reputation to the gap? Maybe it's their souls that can't leave our realm, because they can't accept the harm they've endured and can't rest in peace?

I am not at all surprised by Vala's attitude towards people. The newcomers showed a complete disrespect for both the indigenous people and the nature they wanted to protect. They were brutally deprived of their homes, and apparently, looking at the fact that they were being erased from the pages of history, they were very inconvenient for someone. Was it because of Jon Jarl himself, who wanted to hide the dark side of himself and his power?

 

I hope our character will play a big part in giving this group of women the respect they deserve and showing that not all people are bad. I think we have a very interesting plot to play through in the future, and by reading the news on the SSO website, I think we'll start it sooner than we think! On August 17th, an update called 'The Quest - One of Our Witches' will be released. The description on the website reads:

Now reunited, the Soul Riders must learn more about this mysterious force that has taken Jorvik by storm and instilled fear in Pi. They soon learn more than they ever expected, sending them on a journey to unridden grounds in hopes of finding an old friend who can help. What they don’t expect is to make a new friend, and come face-to-face with both old and new enemies. The stakes are higher than ever as new forces are added to the mix of magical Jorvik, each wanting the same thing for very different reasons. Let the adventure begin!

Both old and new enemies, new forces are added to the mix of magical Jorvik? Will Vala finally awake and make themselves acknowledged?

One more thing puzzles me. Did Valedale get its name from this group of women? The village is very much associated with Druid magic, so it could be a way of honoring their memory, especially since the mysterious statue I have already mentioned above is for now, outside of Silverglade, only located here. Right now we can only speculate, but I can't wait to find out more about this!

 

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Fun fact: Another statue, potentially representing Vala, in Starshine Legacy is also located inside the Pine Hill Mansion. I wonder if when this area comes to the game, the statue will also be included ...

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Let me know what you think about the whole plot about Vala! Sending you warm hugs and see you on the Jorvik's trails ♥