I received an invitation to visit a further iteration of Endless: the Full private region featuring designs by Sombre Nyx and Jackson Cruyff – my thanks to Jackson for said invitation.
The last time I visited, Sombre had used a physical world location in New Zealand as an inspiration for her design (see: An Endless: Birdlings Flat in Second Life). This time around, she sticks with the idea of an antipodean location, but where it might be relative to you in the world is a matter of choice; the setting sits equally well in most northern / southern latitudes as thus could also be west or east as well, depending on your place in the world.
An island at the end of the world, where seething seas break against the rocks of the coast. Where craggy and low, rugged hills offer views to forever. Where rural life is quiet, but full, and nothing really matters but the moment.
– Endless: Antipodes About Land
As the About Land description indicates, this is a craggy, rugged location, one island among a small group. The flora on the island – mostly scrub and grasses, interrupted here and there by lonely trees – the one close-knit grouping of trees being mangroves sprouting up from the wetlands on the island’s eastern side. Such is the lie of the land and its blanket of flora, it gives no clue as to its possible latitude or longitude, although it is not unfair to say it is probably outside of tropical and most sub-tropical climes.
The arrival point lies toward the western side of the island, sitting on a shoulder of land separating two shallow bays with sandy beaches, one of which appears suitable for bathing, sheltered as it is from northern winds by a further high-shouldered promontory extending out into the sea. A footpath runs out along this headland, and also forms a track running eastward along the bluffs above the north coastline. As it does so, it crosses what appears to be the former course of a stream that once tumbled to the sea from higher ground, then descends towards the eastern coastal lowlands.
A wall has been build over the rocks of the coastline here, helping to ensure the sea and land remain separated and allowing the former to become a level setting for a homestead farm, complete with an orchard alongside it. The farmhouse has the look of having been long since been converted into more of a cosy retreat than a place of work (although the apples from the orchard are very clearly being cultivated / harvested); the integral barn is now a bedroom and outdoor decks provide additional living space – their presence suggesting the island perhaps does not suffer from too much in the way of really inclement weather.
This house is one of three on the island, the spines of hills separating it from its neighbours one of which lies on island’s far side, the other more directly to the south. A small, rough beach sits to one side of the farm, and the path continues from close bay, this time following the east coast as curves around a bay cutting deeply into the island, home to the wetland and mangroves mentioned above, and its mouth guarded by a small isle. Whether the studio is used by whoever occupies the little farmhouse or not is open to question, as the path continues on to the house on the south side of the bay, putting it within easy reach of the studio isle, whilst its design and décor perhaps suggest the aesthetic of an artist has been at work inside.
The remaining house is very much a place of work – a barn with tractor and feed for livestock, etc., lying just up the hill from it and a chicken coop betwixt the two. Whoever lives here likely owns the sheep found scattered across the island. As well as the sheep, the island is something of a home for birds, including herons and kingfishers as they carefully keep an eye on all the comings and goings across the land.
Such is the design of the setting, it is easy to arrive and just wander; however, there is also a ground-level teleport system (starting at the arrival point) to help guide people around the major points of interest for those who prefer. Rezzing is open for photography props, with auto-return set to 30 minutes – but do please clean up yourself if you use the option.
Jackson’s location – as with his past joint designs with Sombre – occupies a sky platform overhead. It takes the form of another rugged setting – perhaps part of one of the island seen off the coast of Sombre’s setting. A short walk from the landing point the land is cut through by a deep gorge, clearly formed by the erosion of the water pouring into it from one end, before making its way seaward but not quite entering open waters. Instead, a natural rocky breakwater block overland progress – but given the water simply hasn’t risen to overcome the barrier, one might assume there are submerged routes passing under the rock that allow it to escape.
This gorge gives the setting its name: Jack’s Canyon, and forms the focal-point for explorations. Invisible from ground level, it is a little like Rivendell, only opening to view when practically on top of it. Unlike Rivendell, the gorge has a man-made path in the form of a wooden board walk and ladder descending into it, the top of this walk forming a deck close to the one building in the setting: a small wooden cabin.
This route down into the gorge is overlooked by a further deck extending out from the west cliffs, whilst the seaward end is watched over by two tall rock formations, one of which also looks down on a small camp site sitting on a broad lip of rock and grass forming a step in the cliffs on the west side of the canyon (another little camp area occupies a further lip close to the bottom of the canyon as well). Wildlife in the form of bears, boars, wolves, foxes, cranes and eagles are to be found throughout the setting, all of which perhaps suggest this is a location more in the northern hemisphere – but wherever you choose to place it (if at all), there is no doubting its natural beauty. So much so, that even a time-traveller appears to have dropped in for a bit of a look around!
Like Antipodes, Jack’s Canyon includes a local teleport for hoping between the local arrival point and the canyon floor. However, this is not directly connected to Sombre’s Endless: Antipodes; both the ground level setting and the canyon are only linked via the common landing point in the region – hence why no SLurl earlier in this article – which must be pass through when moving between the two.
With both locations offering local sound scape and various opportunities to sit and relax and / or take photographs, they can be enjoyed individually or jointly – and my thanks again to Jackson for the invite!
SLurl Details
- Endless: Antipodes / Jack’s Canyon (Heraiki Bay, rated Adult)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 