Author: Inara Pey

I was back on my jaunt around the Mainland once more, seeking cafés and coffee houses that offer neat little corners of the Second Life experience. Once again I found myself I Heterocera, but this time south of the atoll compared to my previous visit to take in Hi Cafe.

My destination this time was Storywood Sanctuary, the work of the Wild Abundance team founded and led by Aphiris Moris (Aphiris Mercury).

Welcome to Storywood Sanctuary! Here, you’re invited to wander through lush landscapes, dream under the shade of ancient trees, and savour a freshly brewed coffee. Enjoy the magic of this haven, where every corner holds a story.

– Storywood Sanctuary greeting

Located just to the north of Mock Heather Road and not far from the lake on the south side of that road, Storywood Sanctuary is one of two locations designed by the Wild Abundance team in close proximity to one another (I’ll be covering the other in an upcoming piece).

Covering a little over 6,000 square metres, the spot is – as the name suggests – literary themed, focusing on stories and books, and is LGBTQIA+ friendly.

The Landing Point sits within on a trellis-covered deck bearing the location’s name and where books and a table covered in the pages of a manuscript further hint at the setting’s theme. Just mind you don’t wake up Francine as she sleeps close by!

From here, a path winds through the setting, meandering past little motifs and details related to books or hinting at stories. These are nicely done with, for example, The World of Christopher Robin leaning against a tree stump on which a bear is asleep (possibly from enjoying too much honey?); while just off the path, a large copy of Mary Poppins has fallen open to allow three carousel horses to fly out, recalling a scene from the book (and perhaps more vividly, Disney’s take on the book). Feel free to sit on any of the horse for a photo.

In addition, on the approach to the coffee shop it is possible to see the stone figure of a little girl who might be taken as a certain Alice. Not too far from her and mottled by sunlight, is a glass coffin beneath a tree. Roses grow under its cover, but the reference to a certain story by the Brothers Grimm is clear.

Along with these motifs is much else to please the eye. There’s the friendly garden troll under the bridge, the flowering books along one bank of the stream and vying for attention with the butterflies made from printed pages. There are animals and birds to be found throughout; there’s tree trunk offering the chance to take and share stories, and more.

Obviously, there are places to sit throughout, from the library / reading room alongside the Landing Point deck all the way through to the coffee shop (and beyond), with some of quite interesting designs (three particularly in keeping with the book theme).

Not all the places to sit are on the ground or necessarily obvious (again, one of the very booked themed places might not appear to be so but for the brazier with its little fire sitting in front of it) – so taking a good look around as you follow path around the setting is recommended 🙂 .

Beyond the coffee shop is a further garden space available for wandering, a rutting track forming a loop around it while flowers of a more exotic nature grow and a forest carousel turns in time to fairground music, whilst the laughter of children (or wood nymphs?) might be heard by those with local sounds enabled.

Cosy and charming, Storywood Sanctuary is a place that does exactly what its name implies: takes you into a garden of stories and present a setting in which sanctuary from the pressures of daily life might be found.

Slurl Details

• Storywood Sanctuary (Sabra, rated Moderate)

Over the years there have been places within Second Life that have called me back to them again and again, either to write about or simply to enjoy. Currently, one of my favourite places where I find I can do both is Pususaari, the Full region held and designed by Lu and Leelou Von Perkle (Lu Carrillo and LeeLou Graves respectively).

Since it first appeared in SL as a Homestead region design, Pususaari has always been a place of beauty and romance, changing with the seasons but always remaining true to its core.

Pususaari is a peaceful island made for wanderers, photographers, dreamers, and curious hearts. Since 2025, it has been a place to explore soft meadows, quiet beaches, animals, hidden corners, old stones, cosy places, and little scenes waiting to become your next story. Come alone, with a friend, or someone special — slow down, look closer, and feel at home.

– Pususaari’s Destination Guide entry

For this iteration, Pususaari takes the form of a rugged island with a Mediterranean touch to its architecture. With beaches to the south to particularly catch the Sun and split by a sheer-walled headland, the island sits under a perfect EEP setting (so viewing the region under its Shared Environment is highly recommended).

The Landing Point sits on a wide terrace overlooking the broader of the two southern beaches. It shares the terrace with a large villa serving as a patisserie-come-office-come art gallery (upper floor). There is plenty of outdoor seating on the terrace, whilst steps to one side climb up to the island’s main plateau and the farm occupying its west side.

Steps also sit on the other side of the villa, these descending to a flat, paved shoulder of the island, home to the Tipsy Crane tavern (a very appropriate reference to other parts of the island, as will become clear) and the Pususaari store. The latter offers three very reasonably-priced collections of animals: otters (14 in the pack), cats (again, 14 to a pack) and puffins (17 to a pack).

All of the packs are offered with both Blinn-Phong and PBR materials and are copy / modify. When exploring the island it is possible to come across the cats and otters and get a real appreciation for how delightful and well-made they are.

From the terrace serving the inn and souvenir store two further sets of steps, one to the southern side of the beach, the other to the beach as it runs up the eastern side of the island toward the northern cliffs.

While there is open ground to be reached beyond the souvenir shop, the best way to reach the uplands of the region is either by following the east beach to where aged steps start to climb up the slopes of the escarpment, or take the steps from the main terrace up to the farm and the go onwards from there.

The farm points westwards and is small, but still has a field for dairy cattle and two for growing crops – corn, in this case. Beyond the fields, the land opens up into a wide paddock, home to horses and donkeys, a swing in the shade of a large oak tree offering a place to sit.

The main part of the plateau uplands is given over to a large and quite eye-catching body of water bounded by a sweeping arc of grass and wildflowers running from the farm and around the east side of the water.

This lake-sized body has been made into a summer home by red-crowned cranes (hence the reference in the inn’s name), which are happy to share the water with the local otters (and vice-versa). Humans are welcome as well, as there is a cosy little waterside open-fronted shack to one side of the water. Just behind this more steps climb up to the highest point on the island, crowned by standing stones.

The north side of the water forms a shallow arc of waterfalls dropping away to the lowlands. This lowland area is again quite spectacular and can be reached by following – you guessed  🙂 – steps leading down from the horse paddock.

The waterfalls have created a further pool of water where more cranes and their young might be found, and which is largely separated from the sea by a wide sweep of land where tough grasses and flowers grow and trees brave what must be at times be rough weather, going by the one that has fallen. There are several places to sit tucked away here, including one among local seals.

The waters from the falls find their way to the sea via a narrow channel they have forced over time, including through an out-thrust of rock which now forms a high arch under which the waters pass. As they do so, they also pass an old fortification, now deserted save for a lone piano within, as it sits facing the sea.

Further falls drop away from the highland lake, these facing due north and separated from the others. Headlands on either side of them mean the sea below is potentially a deadly mix of eddies and powerful undercurrents as the tide and waters from the falls mix.

Throughout all of this there are multiple places to sit, high and low. They encompass a large beach house on the eastern sands together with a pergola dipping its toes into the tide; another pergola sitting right at the end of the headland separating the two southern beaches; and another summer house on the smaller and more isolated of these two southern stretches of sand. Oh, and the latter can be reached by following the tunnels carved through the intervening headland (and which also connect to the northern lowlands).

As well as places to sit – singles and couples poses liberally mixed throughout – there are also wooden signs dotted around offering the chance to dance. And, of course there are the Pususaari cats. They are quietly spread throughout the island, keeping an eye on all that is going on (even if one does appear to be more interested in the ducklings swimming in the inland waters and carefully remaining outside the reach of swiping paws!).

As I’ve noted, Pususaari has become an established favourite of mine, and with each iteration, Lu and Leelou continue to produce the most remarkable locations to visit. Long may it continue!

Slurl Details

• Pususaari (Bisous Island, rated Moderate)

Deception is a Full private region designed by Ashaki Hunt (who also appears to be a fan of Cica Ghost 🙂 ) with the assistance of Angelique Haven and Dandy Warhlol (terry Fotherington) on behalf of region holder NiaMarie Simons.

Come enjoy a walk through the Redwoods of Deception. It’s all about relaxing, enjoying nature, and visiting with friends. Stop by the Inn for a game of Cheesy! All are welcome. From the Inn, you can catch the Train to the Valley of Stones and visit the castle ruins.

– Deception Destination Guide entry

This sounds nice and relaxing – almost ordinary. However, Deception is anything but ordinary; there is an eclectic randomness about it that makes it just that little bit different. Not strange or bad or anything like that; quite the reverse in fact. A clue as to why this feeling of quirkiness might make itself known perhaps lies in the region’s About Land description:

A home for those oddities who think friendship, laughter and joy are important necessities in life. Wander around and enjoy a day lost in Deception. 

– Deception About Land Description

Fairly rural in styling – there is what might be regarded as a little hamlet to the north-east of the region – the region folds into itself a potpourri of architectural styles from ancient to modern; so much so that it is nigh impossible to pin down when – or where  – Deception might be.

Turn one way, and it appears as if the setting might be in France; turn another and it might be in the wilds of the North of England or in Scotland at a time when noblemen held sway and lived in great castles. Meanwhile, a (mostly) single track railway line runs around the edge of the region, around which a little diesel car might travel.

Then there’s the fact that within Deception, Jack Sparrow metaphorically rubs shoulders with electric cabs and powered tricycles (by Cica Ghost), where it is possible to run into strange creatures in the woods and huge crows looking ever so slightly worried about  – something and a Nessie-like creature swims the waters while Neolithic standing stones bear African masks. Everything seems to be a melting pot of ideas and elements.

And yet it all works – and quite charmingly so.

Tall mountains surround the setting, adding to the feeling that this is a place cut-off from the world at large, where time flows differently, allowing all of its different facets to exist together and its quirks and oddities to manifest peacefully.

Which is not to say there is no normality to be found – all of the buildings, despite their different geographical styles, are naturally furnished; between the various points of habitation / history within the setting, the landscape unfolds as would many others. Trees give shade to open fields where horse roam, rowing boats bob gently on inland bodies of water; paths offer routes of exploration, gardens offer places of retreat, horses peacefully graze, and so on.

The region is a home role-playing on Saturdays at 13:00 SLT. I didn’t come across specifics of what form this might take during my travels across the region, outside of a book providing information on non-player characters at Greystone Manor, but given the overall eclectic mix of ideas and subjects within Deception, it could be an interesting and fun experience.

As noted above, games tables are to be found at ground level (as is a playable game of garden chess). More are to be found via a neatly hidden-without-being-hidden teleport trapdoor. Also awaiting discovery is the “invisible rope climb” – where it goes (or not) is up to you to discover 🙂 . Just look for it very close to the Landing Point.

In all, Deception is – and pardon the play on words – deceptively engaging. It offers something slightly different in tone and design without going overboard in the name of being “different” and without losing any of its photogenic nature.

Slurl Details

• Deception (rated General)