Vally (Vally Lavender) and Benny Vortex recently invited me to preview the latest region design to spring from Vally’s imagination: Pulau Lintea, which has been brought to life by an exceptionally talented team of designers.
And when I say talented team, I genuinely mean that: Pulau Lintea is the work of Konrad Rune – famous for his partnership with Saskia Rieko in producing many outstanding region designs inspired by physical world locations under the Natthimmel brand (and which I’ve covered at length down the years!) -, Benny (Benny Vortex) – creator of both [Refuge] and The Great Mother (both of which you can read about here and here) -, and Art Oluja (Artistik Oluja), known for her outstanding soundscapes. Together they have produced an atmospheric, immersive and captivating setting which is utterly stunning and has its roots in the physical world.
It takes as its backdrop a desire Vally has long held as one she would like to bring to Second Life. Unfortunately, the physical world decided to interrupt her plans prior to her Angels coming to her aid, as she noted to me:
After I closed Sojourn region that Terry [Fotherington] designed, I was full on intending to rebuild it myself. I knew I wanted something Indonesian inspired. But before I could get started, I became ill and am having some health issues. I was about at the end of my rope mentally before I could even begin.
Konrad was the first to come to my aid, offering to build the region for me, and then Benny stepped up as well. They are my Angels #1 and #2. Konrad then recruited Art to work with Benny on the soundscapes here. She is my Angel #3.
Vally describing how Pulau Lintea came into being
In particular, the name of the region takes inspiration from Pulau Lentea, a tiny (just 8.5 square kilometres in area) island which forms part of the Wakatobi Regency within the Banda Sea within the Indo-Pacific waters and known to ecologists and divers for its rich marine biodiversity.
Whilst the region may not be physically based on that island, the two share some common traits, helping to draw them together somewhat. Both are, for example, almost entirely encompassed by sandy beaches; both have wetlands, they each share a relatively low maximum elevation (around 20 metres at the highest point of Pulau Lentea), and much of their landmass is covered by lush canopies of foliage.
Given the talents involved in the region design – Konrad and Benny both being known for balancing setting with overall environment – it is essential when visiting that you have Use Shared Environment enabled, and local sounds on. The former obviously allows the region to be seen in its intended lighting, whilst the latter captures not only the ambient sounds one might expect from such an island design, but also Art’s broad, atmospheric and beautifully subtle soundscape which shifts, grow, fades and changes as you explore, giving further depth to the region.
Those familiar with the Konrad’s work will know he has a fondness for weaving back stories into his region designs, and such is the case with Pulau Lintea. This story is offered at the Landing Point in printed form and as a notecard for those who care to read it – and I recommend doing so for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it obviously does much much to instil a sense of place for the region; secondly it forms the prologue to a much broader tale concerning the setting – but more on that later!
In the 9th century, long before maps carried names and borders, Pulau Lintea was known only by the sailors who followed the winds across the Banda Sea. They called it Lintea Sawa: the island that listens, because its shores seemed to echo every whisper of the ocean. The island was small, wrapped in mangroves and guarded by reefs so sharp they could slice the belly of a careless prau. No kingdom claimed it. No sultan sent tax collectors. It belonged only to the sea, and to the handful of families who lived in stilted huts above the lagoon.
Among them was Sira, a young girl of the Bajo people. Her family lived mostly on their boat, drifting between Lintea, Tomia, and Binongko, following the migrations of fish and the moods of the monsoon. But Lintea was special to Sira. She believed the island had an old spirit, watching over those who respected the sea.
– From the back story for Pulea Lintea
The Landing Point sits just south of the region’s centre. It is located on a tongue of sand extending out from the substantial bulk of the land as it rises to the north and east, and a smaller a mass to the south and west.
Whilst not insubstantial and home to a fair amount of flora, this spit of land is under a tireless assault on both sides by the tide (provided by Benny, using Cube Republic’s excellent Coastal System, which I reviewed here) such that it would seem to only be a matter of time before the two larger masses become islands in their own right as the sea lays complete claim to the space between them.
Boardwalks connect the Landing Point deck with both land masses, so which you decide to explore first is up to you. As this is a preview piece, I’m not going to say too much on what to look for – there is a lot to see and discover, and I don’t want to spoil the enjoyment of doing so.
What I will say is that Benny, Konrad and Art have toiled hard to create a living, breathing setting; the flora and fauna are entirely in keeping with the part of the world on which the region is based (yes, I appreciate the wading elephant is African – but as I’ve noted elsewhere, SL doesn’t really offer much in the way of “wild” Asian elephants), and trails and ancient stone steps help guide the feet while exploring, helping visitors to find most of the hidden delights.
Some of the latter take the form of very obvious ancient ruins, the great stone lamps of which have been repurposed to illuminate the various boardwalks – or perhaps the boardwalks have been laid over trails once cut and flattened by the builders of the ruins? But there are hidden locations to be found as well.
Konrad uses his own meshes throughout many of his region designs, giving all of them a unique look and feel, and such is the case with Pulea Lintea. The rock stacks, temple ruins – even some of the flora and fauna – are all by Konrad. The most stunning –to me – of these elements are the tall, knobbled spires of rock rising from the shallows around parts of the coastline. Eroded by wind, waves and salt, in the region’s twilight they stand like groups of guardians protecting the land.
Throughout all of this, Benny has woven a rich ecosphere of plants, wading birds, water fowl and more, with Art breathing life into the entire setting with 140 unique sounds, from ambient and atmospheric chiming and chanting which grows and fades as one explores, to the very natural crunch and hiss of footfalls on fallen sticks and sand.
The entire setting sits wonderfully between a setting Sun and an oversized full Moon. But rather than overwhelm the setting’s natural feel and sense of life, this huge Moon increases both, adding both romance and mystery to Pulau Lintea.
As noted, there are some hidden spaces to be found within Pulau Lintea. One of these lies within Pulau Lintea’s damp depths and carries with it a possible sad tale of its own. Beside it in the water lies a recording device (and I’m being intentionally vague here to make you look 🙂 ). It is via this device that you can hear the complete tale of Pulau Lintea; just make sure you have media enabled in your viewer (the film camera icon, top right of the desktop viewer) and work your way left-to-right along the buttons of the recording device to listen to the unfolding story.
I make no secret of my love of the Natthimmel builds; they have been and are some of the most captivating in Second Life – and I always look forward to visiting the latest iteration. However, with Pulau Lintea, Konrad, together with Benny and Art, has created something genuinely spectacular, and for which Vally can feel justifiably proud. The images here simply do not do it justice – so please do be sure to pay a visit and experience the magic for yourself.
My thanks to Vally and Benny for the invitation to preview, and to Vally, Konrad, Art and Benny for their time when I was visiting.
Pulau Lintea Grand Opening
- When: from 10:00 SLT on Sunday November 8, 2026.
- Music: 10:00-11:30 SLT: Booka B; 11:30 SLT onwards: Konrad Rune
- Suggested attire: casual.
Please note: Pulea Lintea will not be available to public access until the grand opening.
Slurl Details
- Pulau Lintea (rated: Moderate)
