Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

Hiraeth Beach occupies around a half of a Full region held by Philippe Bruraf – VOID (bruraf), the other half being taken up with his club THE BLOCK, of which more anon.

I came across it via the Destination Guide earlier in August, and decided to hop over and have a look. What I found was a natural expanse of coastline carrying with it memories of places I’ve visited in the physical world whilst itself remaining a place firmly rooted in the imagination.

Hiraeth Beach is a secluded coastal escape where sea, wind, nature and forgotten history meet. Wander along wild shores, explore ancient ruins and a mysterious temple, discover hidden places beneath the sea, or simply find a quiet spot overlooking the horizon. Hiraeth is a Welsh word for a longing for a place that feels like home, even if you have never known it. More than a beach, Hiraeth is a place to explore, photograph, or simply slow down and breathe. Some places are visited. Others are remembered.

– Hiraeth Beach Destination Guide Description

I’ve spent many a happy hour over the decades walking the sands of places like Bamburgh on the coast if Northumberland, on spring, summer, autumn and even blue-skied winter days when the tide had retreated to expose broad, wets sands, the wind is fresh and clean and the worries of the world are a lifetime away.

Whilst a castle is noticeably absent from Hiraeth Beach (unlike Bamburgh!), there was something about it which immediately put me in mind of those walks, particularly when taken in the early morning. At the same time the setting is suggestive of more far-off places; a feeling most likely heightened by the Kuromatsu pines growing along the back of the beach and out along its headlands and the presence of a stone Buddha’s head.

This is a place with a sense of both age and patience: ruins mark part of the coastline, casting a more Mediterranean feel to it (and hint at the temple remnants lying beneath the ebb and flow of the sea), whilst fishing nets are strung as if awaiting unwary fish carried inwards by an incoming tide.

There are numerous places to sit found scattered along the length of the beach whilst the temple ruins under the waves can be reached via a teleport board.

There are some small niggles with the setting; elements in the form of the privacy surround around the nightclub setting intrude into the western skyline. Whilst not a major inconvenience, once noticed, they do tend to distract when in view; given that he nightclub venue is wreathed in a darkness that largely hides them from within it, it’s hard not to question the necessity of their presence.

The other is that the above aside, Hiraeth Beach is ideal for photography, but the lack of rezzing rights (even with local Group membership and / or Auto Return enabled) might be a limiting factor some seeking to capture themselves using the setting as a backdrop.

Meanwhile, the nightclub – THE BLOCK, as noted above – is connected to Hiraeth Beach via a road tunnel at the northern end of the region. Passing through this tunnel in either direction will transition visitors through the two local Share Environments – and both of the locations really should be seen using their respective environment settings.

THE BLOCK is a world away from the tranquillity of the beach, being something of a post-apocalyptic setting, complete with a fallen Statue of Liberty. It is located in what amounts to a concrete compound guarding a fortress-like warehouse, the ruins of streets on two sides. Inside, the club is an almost psychedelic tour de force of lighting (hence the reason for viewing it under its Shared Environment) and industrial design, all of it highly effective. Events are held both within the club and in the courtyard of the compound Thursday through Saturdays – details via the local Group; and I gather some events are additionally held out on the beach as well.

I’m not a great person for clubs in SL, but I did find the lighting and design of THE BLOCK appealing. Camming around also suggested that some expansion to the club spaces is underway, if currently off-limits to public access. As such a return to see what else develops here might be in order.

Hiraeth Beach and THE BLOCK are two very different locations joined by a single designer / builder. Very different in looks and appeal, they equally work together as locations to visit and experience.

SLurl Details

Glendell is rated Moderate

• Hiraeth Beach Landing Point
• THE BLOCK Landing Point

Linden Lab recently indicated that they would be carrying out various small-scale projects to improve part of Second Life Mainland following the decision not to close the Gaeta 1 continent. Various aspects of this work are now in progress, as numerous Second life users have noted through the forums and elsewhere.

One location in particular where improvement has long been requested has been the 12-region estate of the Linden Memorial Park, located off the north coast of Corsica.

For those not familiar with the Memorial Park regions, they were established in 2009 as a place where Second Life residents who have passed away in the physical world could be remembered by their SL families and friends. While its active life was relatively short – the Lab ceased accepting requests for new memorials to be added to the Park in July 2011 – it has remained a part of Second Life, whilst looking increasingly aged.

While there have been various attempts to revitalise the regions (I think I’m correct in saying the last being in 2020, although my memory is hazy on this), it now appears it is subject to improvement, with the first phase of the work now complete, as recently noted by Oatmeal Linden in a comment added to a request made via the Feedback Portal, and which Miro Collas pointed me towards.

Hello everyone! We have made some cosmetic updates to the regions in Linden Memorial Park. This is the first part of the revitalization efforts for this project.

We are still reviewing updates for the Day of Remembrance Garden. The original build in remains in its current location for now, with scripts disabled to prevent damage to or loss of the existing content. We hope to be able to provide a means to continue to leave messages and record the account names for those we’ve lost before the end of this year.

We are also exploring enabling the addition of new stand-alone memorials.

– Oatmeal Linden, August 21, 2026.

This work appears to be focused on general landscaping, with elements designed and used in some of the Bellisseria themes being given new purpose in updating the general look of the park.

For example:  rock forms used within the Stilt, Houseboat and Newbrooke Linden Homes themes been used to redress key areas of the Park, such as the waterfalls surrounding the Greco-Roman style circular Shrine of Remembrance. Meanwhile, trees and shrubs from the Sakura, Newbrooke and Chalet themes have been used to refresh the woodlands and many of the plants throughout the parklands.

For those who have not previously visited the Park, the Shrine, sitting upon its artificial island, forms the Landing Point for the Park, with three sides of the lake fed by pairs of waterfalls, and the 4th (at the time of writing at least) be a single fall.

A bridge crosses the waters on the north side of the Shrine’s island to offer a way up to the Memorial Gardens, a set of five tended plots arranged in the form of a cross with the names of those being remembered rising from the flowers therein.

Exploration of the Park can be carried out by following the paved paths running around and through most of its regions, or simply by wandering freely. The former pass many of the larger memorials placed within the Park between 2009 and 2011 as well as some of the more general contemplative areas – such as the Hyper Mole memorial garden. Wandering freely, meanwhile, particularly through the woodlands might bring visitors to various ruins and memorials such as the  LDPW Mausoleum.

With the Highgate Monument, Winterspire and Derran Moor regions in the south-east of the Park largely devoid of landscaping outside of the coastline (as is San Michele to the north-west), it appears the Memorial Park has room to expand. If so, what form the expansion might take could be a further point of interest for future visits.

At Oatmeal notes in their update, scripts within the Park regions remain inactive for the time being. Nevertheless, the facelift carried out so far greatly increases the beauty of the regions without either overwhelming them or replacing the original builds of the Shrines, monuments, etc. The fact the work has been carried out (albeit  seemingly paused as of the writing of this piece) makes the Memorial Park well worth (re)visiting. My thanks again to Miro for the poke about the update!

Slurl Details

All Park regions are rated General.

• Linden Memorial Park

I’ve been reporting on the BluShock Coalition on-and-off since 2021. Led by the redoubtable Fazzy Constantine (Faisel Constantine), BluShock have been exploring future worlds through world building and role-play, their story unfolding like the seasons of a continuing sci-fi series as it moves from world-to-world (and occasionally confines itself to life on small outposts or deep space cruisers).

Since my last time spent visiting them in July 2025, the group has renamed itself Cerbshock, and they have most recently arrived on a new world – Planet Terralyth, located in the Andromeda galaxy – and Fazzy extended a subspace invitation for me to explore this world ahead of it being made public.

In Cerbshock, the universe is basically yours to explore. Check out amazing new planets loaded with beauty and mystery. Dive into a gripping story where your decisions actually matter—pushing your morals and testing how far you’re willing to go. Every choice counts, making your journey completely one-of-a-kind.

– From the Cerbshock website

Occupying a Full private region, Terralyth has been designed by Fazzy with the assistance of Zeth Ryder (Zeth Starlight) and artist CK (Ceakay Ballyhoo). To say it is a truly impressive build would be an understatement.

At first glance, there is a faintly Panadora-ish feel to the planet: densely forested and with great fingers of rock pointing skywards with winged creatures circling them. However, unlike James Cameron’s world, Terralyth remains rooted in physics: no floating islands turning a blind eye to Newton and Einstein. Instead, what we do have is an environment that is immersive and which stands both in the long tradition of and tribute to the work of Noah Constantine (NoahLion), who was for so long the group’s world-building genius.

Planetary Database: Terralyth Designation: Habitat 1 Region: Heleus Cluster, Andromeda Galaxy. Classification: Super-Earth with extreme axial inclination. Surface Temperature: Approximately 30–35°C. Surface Gravity: Approximately 1.15–1.20 Earth standard. Environment: Tropical jungle and elevated rainforest. Atmosphere: Breathable, dense and humid. Natural satellites: One, unusually large. Habitability and lifeforms: Confirmed, with outstanding environmental concerns under investigation.

There are a few ground rules – pardon the pun – visitors are asked to observe when visiting. These can be found at the Landing Point and are not onerous – in essence, keep to the ground level, keep clothing / look PG and don’t try accessing restricted areas.

One point I will make (outside of the usual “best viewed with a PBR enabled viewer”) is that you might need to occasionally extend Draw Distance up to around 350-360 metres to get some of the off-region elements to render if you wish to see the setting as intended. However, given the overall design, the emphasis here is very much on “occasionally”. Whether or not you opt to have Shadows enabled is entirely up to you – but do have local sounds enabled.

There are a couple of routes for exploration leading away from the shuttle pad Landing Point. These routes might at first appear limited; the landscape, whilst lush, has been cleaved open as if by a giant’s axe, resulting in deep gorges and paths that sometimes end in long falls. However, such appearances are deceptive. Spans of rock reach across some chasms (some at giddying altitudes!), with the fallen trunks of trees great bridging others, their positions along trails begging the question: was their gap-spanning toppling fortuitous or designed?

Planetary Database: Terralyth Terralyth is a large, Earth-like world characterised by dense tropical jungles, towering rock formations, deep valleys, elevated landmasses, and extensive networks of rivers and waterfalls. Its warm, humid atmosphere supports an exceptionally diverse biosphere, including widespread bioluminescent flora and fungal life. The planet possesses an unusually slow and highly inclined rotation. Across the primary jungle regions, both the Sun and moon follow shallow paths along the horizon, rising only slightly before gradually disappearing into the planet’s dense atmospheric haze.

That this world was once inhabited is clear: some of the paths are clearly well-worn and ancient, and there are ruins awaiting discovery. Then there is the no small matter of the futuristic monolithic tower. Now apparently the base of operations for the Cerbshock team, it does not appear to be of human design – so who might have been responsible for its construction and what might have been its purpose? Such are the rich opportunities for role play to be found here!

As to the life forms present and how much of a threat they may pose – well, that is again a matter of conjecture on my part. They appear to be a mix of herbivore (or possibly omnivore) in the case of the shadowbull. The lean and powerful bloodstalker with its claws and teeth, however, has all the hallmarks of being a carnivore of the hunting variety – so you have been warned!

It also appears as though the Cerbshock veterans are not the first human / alien alliance to venture to Terralyth. Tucked away within the planet are all the signs of an existing human-involved presence; possibly one intent on planetary exploitation going by the markings  on what appears to be their planetary transport. Are they the reason for the reports of pirate activity noted in the Cerbshock planetary database? Quite possibly – if you’re a role player and curious, then all the more reason for you to consider joining the Cerbshock team and finding out.

Planetary Database: Terralyth Preliminary surveys have identified traces of ancient structures across several elevated plateaus and within caverns exposed by tidal erosion. Their origin remains unknown. Several ruins appear deliberately positioned along the paths followed by the Sun and moon, suggesting that Terralyth’s unusual celestial cycle held significance to the planet’s former inhabitants. Recent reports have also indicated possible pirate activity within the region surrounding Terralyth. These reports remain unconfirmed, and no direct evidence has been established linking the activity to the planet itself.

Terralyth is excellently conceived and executed. Even if you are only paying a visit, there is plenty to see; if you’re looking for an immersive, science fiction oriented role play, then it and the Cerbshock team have a lot to offer. In the latter regard, the official website (or Codex) is extremely informative (and also quoted here!), and includes notes on how to join.

Speaking purely as a visitor, I enjoyed wandering / camming and poking around; and even if “Blood Stalker” isn’t the official name for the carnivore – I really think it should be; sums the rascal up perfectly in terms of his looks and actions! 😀 .

My thanks to Fazzy (as always!( for keeping me informed as to BluShock / Cerbstock adventures and worlds – and best wishes to the team as this chapter in their adventures opens!

Further Details

• Habitat 1 – Planet Terralyth (Cedwin, rated Moderate)
• Cerbshock Codex