Ephyra
The Ephyra is a fictional horse breed that is available in Star Stable Online.
Timeline
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| February 16, 2023 | The Ephyra is revealed in a teaser image on the social media accounts of collaborating game masters and prominent players.[1] |
| March 1, 2023 | SSO states on their news page that the Ephyra will be released March 8th.[2] |
| March 6, 2023 | A trailer of the Ephyra is posted on SSO's social media accounts. [3] |
| March 8, 2023 | The Ephyra is released for a limited time of three weeks.[4] |
Description
"Long ago, two tears slipped from Aideen’s eyes to land in a mountain pool. The tears trickled through water and over rocks, forming crystals along the way. When the tear-infused water reached Mistfall, it splashed over two horses passing beneath a waterfall and sprayed their coats with powerful Jorvegian crystals. The dazzling Calder and Ephyra emerged from the cascade!
Ephyra’s rare coat sparkles with blue crystals that channel and amplify peace and harmony. Ephyra’s sensitive and intuitive temperament will inspire patience and kindness in her rider. Seek joy and balance with Ephyra’s energy today!
Ephyra can disguise herself as a silvery blue dun Paso Fino."
Unique Features
Color Changing
The Ephyra is a magical horse with the special ability to change colors. When the player presses the "h" key or the magic horse icon on the horse's character sheet, the horse will change from its neutral colors to its natural (magic) colors and vice versa. The horse will not change colors during races or while the player is unmounted.
The Paso Largo
Note: The horse must reach level 7 to perform this gait.
While most breeds in SSO only have five gaits, the Ephyra has six. This special gait is called the Paso Largo. To make your horse do this gait, the horse must be walking. The player then must hold down the Shift key and then simultaneously hit either the up arrow or the 'w' key. The Calder will then begin to perform the special gait. During this gait, the horse cannot move to a faster gait or jump. To stop the Paso Largo, simply slow your horse down like you would with any other.
The Classic Fino
Note: The horse must reach level 7 to perform this move.
The Ephyra can perform a special move called the Classic Fino. The animation can be activated by pressing the spacebar, but only when standing still, otherwise the horse will jump instead of performing the move.
The Reining Slide Stop
While all of the horses in star stable will technically come to a "Hard stop" if the player presses the "X" button when in a full gallop, the Ephyra has a special stop method found in western reining. When it is in full gallop, and the player goes for a hard stop, the horse will instead perform a "Slide stop."
Colors, Pricing, and Location
The Ephyra is sold for 950 SC. It is sold by Gary Goldtooth and comes in one variation.
Note: This horse is released for limited periods of time and is not always in the game.
- Natural color: Blue/Grey roan with iridescent blue gems and glowing blue ombre mane and tail
- Neutral color: Silver Blue Roan
Trivia
- The Ephyra uses the Paso Fino model.
- The Ephyra was released as a pair with Calder.
- The Ephyra, like most other Magic Horses, cannot have its hairstyle changed.
- While the Ephyra's neutral coat is described in the game description as a "silvery blue dun" this is incorrect for two reasons:
- The dun gene on a black horse is typically known as either a black dun or a grullo/grulla.[5] Even with the roan gene, common nomenclature refers to the coat as a grulla/grullo roan.[6]
- While the Ephyra has a dorsal stripe, it lacks any other true dun factors such as dorsal barring, leg barring and mottling, ear tips, ear edging, frosting, shoulder stripe, and cobwebbing.[7] This would make the Ephyra a "false dun" caused by countershading. [8]
- At night, the mane and tail have a slight glow effect.
- The name Ephyra comes from a nymph of the same name. Her name either means from the town of Ephyraia (Corinth) on the Isthmos, or means "fiery", from the element φυρα (phyra) [9]
- While the Ephyra is described as female within the in-game description, players can still choose to label the horse as a stallion or gelding in the customization settings.
References
- ↑ Siri Snowing, “❗️SPOILER ALERT❗️” Instagram, February 16, 2023, accessed April 2, 2023, https://www.instagram.com/p/Cout-KYNcwb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
- ↑ "Prancing Ponies Promenading!" Star Stable. Star Stable Entertainment, March 1, 2023. https://www.starstable.com/en/article/13207.
- ↑ Star Stable, “Meet Calder & Ephyra 💎| Star Stable Magic Horses ✨,” March 6, 2023, Trailer, https://youtu.be/4EqPGVMU1SE.
- ↑ "The dazzling Calder and Ephyra!" Star Stable. Star Stable Entertainment, March 8, 2023. https://www.starstable.com/en/article/13235.
- ↑ “What Is A Roan Horse? Compare To Other Roaning Patterns,” Horses And Us, accessed March 6 2023, https://www.horsesandus.com/what-is-a-roan-horse/#the-roan-pattern-over-different-coat-colors.
- ↑ “Roan Zygosity Test,” UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, accessed March 6, 2023, https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/roan.
- ↑ “Dun Register,” Dilutes Australia, Dilutes Australia Ltd., accessed March 6, 2023, https://www.dilutesaustralia.net/dun-register.html.
- ↑ Wikipedia, s.v. “Dun Gene: Dun Mimics,” last modified December 17, 2022, 05:52, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dun_gene#Dun_mimics.
- ↑ Aaron J. Atsma, “Ephyra,” Theoi Greek Mythology, accessed March 1, 2023, https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheEphyra.html.