Galloper Thompson

Galloper Thompson is a legend told by Jorvegians for centuries. He can only be found during the Halloween event.

History[]

Before Thompson became the Galloper, he was a mere man - a man with no trace of Aideen's light inside him. Horses would avoid him at all cost... all except a black horse he brought with him from the east. The mare would allow nobody other than Thompson to handle her, and when the druids concerned about the mare's lack of Aideen's light tried to take her away from him, he went after them.

Later, during the uprising against Jon Jarl, he was said to be the last man standing after the traitors and the Great Jarl's servants met on a battlefield. It is also told that he acquired immortality sometime before the uprising and that the Jarl was jealous of him.

Jon Jarl then ordered Thompson to bring him the secret of immortality, but because of an unknown cause - either Thompson's effort to get the secret to the Jarl was sabotaged, or he decided to keep it for himself - he was sentenced to death shortly after that.

On the day of his execution, he still remained loyal to the Jarl, and when the executioner's axe came down, he stood up headless. He was carried away by his black mare while the Jarl's men ran away panicking.

After that, he became the Jarl's enemy - he patrolled the King's Road and killed anyone he saw as loyal to the Jarl.

To this day, sighting him is a sign of terrible things to come.

Main Story Quests[]

Galloper's story as told by Linda:

Galloper Thompson was originally a warrior in the fleet of Jon Jarl, and his name back then was Gunnar Thrymson! During the long and nearly catastrophic voyage from Scandinavia that led to the "discovery" of Jorvik, pirates from the baltic attacked the Jarl's fleet. During this epic sea battle, Thrymson rose to prominence, proving himself the hero who turned the tide and saved the Jarl's ship! In return, Jon Jarl gave Thrymson freedom and promised him riches.

Jon Jarl led the construction of the first settlement at Fort Pinta. Thrymson served Jon Jarl as a huskarl (a member of the bodyguard or household troops of a Danish or Anglo-Saxon king or noble. Basically right-hand-dude).

In time, the Jarl began to see Thrymson as the most trusted member of his court. The Jarl brought him everywhere as bodyguard and advisor.

When the colonists first arrived, they assumed that they had stumbled upon an unspoiled and uninhabited paradise. Soon this illusion was shattered, as the Jarl's men discovered runestones carved in an unfamiliar language and other signs of human presence.

Jon Jarl ordered Thrymson to destroy the runestones as he couldn't allow these monuments to challenge his claim to the island. Thrymson was nervous about destroying the mysterious stones in case he would offend some foreign gods, but his loyalty to Jon Jarl led him to follow his orders anyway.

Thrymson was sent out with a group of men to destroy the rune stones. After one of his men mysteriously died, the rest left out of fear. Thrymson tried his best and managed to topple a stone on his own. He then noticed he was being watched by a mysterious woman. She took an interest in Thrymson and promised him A GIFT - he would never die by human hands.

Thrymson returned to Jon Jarl to inform him about his men's defection and the small progress he had made when he was surprised to find the Jarl speaking with new faces - a group known as the Keepers of Aideen. Jon Jarl made peace with the "Druids", and Thrymson was no longer the favored companion.

A decade or so after the discovery of the rune stones. Jon Jarl ordered the construction of Jarlaheim. The royal stables were constructed at what would become known as Jorvik Stables. Because the Jarl was favored by the Keepers of Aideen, he was gifted many amazing horses. Strangely, no horse would let Thrymson near. At first, it was a joke among the men that he couldn't find a horse while everyone else came to bond with these amazing animals. But soon, it became clear that stronger forces were at work...

One of the Druids said that Thrymson carried a mark that made him unclean in Aideen's light.

Eventually, he found a horse - a wild black mare that everyone else thought unrideable and dangerous. She would let no one else handle her, and could not be stabled with the other horses.

Around this time, a rival Jarl attempts to challenge Jon for control of Jorvik. This challenger has a lot of support among those who felt as if Jon Jarls was forsaking their old ways by joining with these "Keepers of Aideen" and acknowledging their heretic goddess.

A bloody battle ensued, and Thrymson led the defense of Jarlaheim from the rebels. Luck was not on the Jarl's side, and all of Jon's men, except for Thrymson, died. A pyrrhic victory left Jon Jarl in charge, but despite his heroism, Thrymson became feared and hated for surviving when so many died. Some even claimed they saw him take a blow that should have killed him. Witchcraft was suspected.

Jon Jarl demanded Thrymson explain how he remained alive after the previous battle. He confessed his experience with the witch, and Jon Jarl, who had long been obsessed with finding immortality, became jealous and hungry for this gift. He demanded that Thrymson seek out the witch for him.

Thrymson eventually found the witch at Devil's Gap, and she told him that if he cleft a particular runestone by the stable in two, the Jarl would be rewarded.

The Jarl did as Thrymson asked, but rather than a blessing, he brought down a curse as the horses in the stable were driven mad, with one exception: Thrymson's black mare.

The Jarl, thinking Thrymson had betrayed him, ordered his former huskarl and friend be executed by beheading. When the axe fell, Thrymson's head rolled, but his body stood up! His horse ran up the ramparts, neighed and reared, and carried Thyrmson away.

After that, Jon Jarl made amends with the druids and committed to serving Aideen with renewed vigor. The headless Thrymson disappeared but would show up periodically in the frontiers of the north, where he would attack the Jarl's men before disappearing into the night.

Centuries later, no one remembered the true story of Thrymson, but his legend lives on as a sort of Bogeyman in Golden Hills Valley. English settlers mispronounced his name as Thompson, and the name stuck.

2021 Halloween[]

Galloper's story told by Linda, in 2021 Halloween Questline:

Vision of Brokentooth Island:

It begins... there is a mob, frightened and superstitious. They surround the stable. They are full of fear and anger. Soldiers move through the milling throng. They are there to take Galloper!

A young man stands in the stable with a great mare. It must be Galloper! His eyes are so green and bright! They are filled with grief. His arms are wrapped around the mare's neck.

He is whispering his goodbyes as the soldiers enter the stable. It is just Galloper and his horse facing Jarl's men. Galloper surrenders.

The horse snorts and screams her displeasure and fear as the soldiers take her away. She kicks the walls and stamps the floor. The soldiers recoil from her anger.

There is confusion! The mob churns and surges. A fire has broken out! Was a lantern thrown into the stable? Was a torch dropped? I cannot see clearly. The smoke and flames blind my view. The stables are ablaze! The horse is trapped!

The soldiers struggle to smother the flames. The mob has fallen back, stunned by the spectacle. The mare's screams of terror rise with the flames, matched by Galloper's howls of horror.

The flames are extinguished. A stunned silence has settled. Smoke and cinders still float in the air. Galloper has collapsed, overwhelmed by grief and shock.

Jon Jarl has arrived, surveying the damage. He stares long at the ruin, anger behind his eyes. His fury rises as he turns to confront Galloper, now slumped upon the ground.

Vision of Jarlaheim:

Galloper is being taken to a place of execution. He is surrounded by the king's men and townsfolk. They jeer and mock him, hurling insults and garbage at him.

Now, standing before the executioner's block, he seems unmoved to the words being spoken by Jon Jarl. Has he given up hope? No, there's a quiet intensity about him. The shock of his king's cruelty and the horrific death of his truest companion has marked him deeply.

Numbly, he kneels before the block. His lips are moving silently. What is he saying? The masked executioner raises his axe. Oh, I cannot look! The axe drops. His sad, green eyes have a slightly startled look, almost as if they see me.

Wait.. the once cheering crowd falls silent. Their faces stunned, filled with horror and alarm. Something is amiss. The body. Galloper's body is moving! It pushed itself up from the block, a green glow slowly engulfing his headless frame.

The crowd is in a panic! They struggle to run away... some of the soldiers stab at him, to no avail. Something else is happening! The crowd is being hurled aside.

It is the Shire! Its coat is even darker, so much that it seems to devour the very light. Its mane is so fiery and bright! A blinding apparition of shadow and flame! It strikes terror into the guards and townsfolk.

The few who were able to face the headless revenant are now broken and fleeing. Even Jon Jarl is nowhere to be seen!

Calmly and purposely Galloper climbs astride the Shire's sturdy back. Away they escape, galloping into the sky.

Fort Maria Diary[]

Galloper's diary from Fort Maria Library, read by Mrs. Holdsworth:

"...There I was, abandoned by all my men, left to do the work that I"m sure will rain misfortune down upon all of us, curse the Jarl!" - His tone sounds bitter, don't you think?

"It was mighty hard labor to go at the stones; good thing I had my splitting maul from Magnus, infused as it is with his special power." - Magnus Steiner, that's a name you Soul Riders are familiar with!

"And when one finally cracked under a ferocious blow, a woman, for I think it was a woman, did appear unto me." - A woman, you say? Or could it be...

"Whether she was called hence from the crack of the stone or had been watching my work I cannot say, she floated towards me with her hand outstretched, the antlers of a stag adorned her head, curls tumbled out from the hood of her cloak." - Yes it is, oh my!

"She was terrifying but I was too curious to feel afraid, and then she spoke and her words were..." - And that's where it ends. The rest of the page appears to be blackened by flame.

Appearances[]

Halloween 2016[]

Galloper Thompson could be found at various locations during the night. Once the character got sufficiently close to him, a cinematic would play out, and after that, they would be teleported to the home stable with a gift placed on the ground close by.

Schedule (Formerly used)[]

Halloween 2017[]

Galloper Thompson wasn't present during the Halloween event in 2017.

Halloween 2018[]

He returned in 2018, but could not be encountered in Jorvik anymore - he is present in the Galloper's Keep now. The ghosts of the Keep reveal interesting parts of his history.

Halloween 2019[]

Like in 2018, the Galloper was present in his keep.

Halloween 2020[]

Galloper Thompson was not present for the first week of the event as he was imprisioned in the Tower of Regrets by Ydris. The second week, Ydris decides to save him with the player as he could not stand the dead who were yearning for the Galloper. Players had to gather Galloper Thompson's regrets from the Haunted Trail Ride, which fully released the Galloper from his prison. He then gifted the player a walking pet spider.

Halloween 2021[]

This year, Galloper returns as the head of his keep. More is revealed about his and his horse's backstory in the questline where Linda and the player follow him through the Harvest Counties, seeing his memories along the way. At the end, his horse's name is revealed to be Morrigan.

Halloween 2022[]

Galloper is present again at the keep, and his horse was updated. This year's questline involves the story of Magnus Steinar and how he forged the Rúnhammar, a powerful hammer used to destroy magical items. Galloper used it to shatter runestones around Jorvik. According to Magnus, he seemed to lose a part of himself with every runestone he destroyed, until there was nothing left of him one day. The hammer was last seen with Galloper, but he does not have it anymore.

Trivia[]

During Halloween it is common for players to hear Galloper's Scream in the Goldenleaf Forest, this is a bug of his scream from previous years, and is there every year even when Galloper is not.
Galloper Thompson is based on the Headless Horsemen of old European legends, most commonly found in British, Irish, and German Folklore.
- Galloper Thompson's design takes direct inspiration from author Washington Irving's Headless Horseman from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which is itself inspired by the Irish Dullahan.
His "lack of Aideen's light" might mean that he is soulless.
It's hinted by Linda at the 2019 Summer Festival that maybe not everything the ghosts said about him the previous year was true.