Author: Inara Pey

In looking at places in Second Life to visit, I was surprised to note that it’s been just over four years since my first (and until this point, only) visit to Kat Luna’s (KatieLuna – or KitKat as she was then known) setting of Seaclaid. Back then, it was a place offering a welcome to all creatures of fantasy: fae folk, dragons, lycans, vampires, etc., as well as ordinary mortals (see: Seaclaid’s fantasy setting in Second Life). However, I lost track of it shortly thereafter. Whether this was because the setting simply vanished from Second Life (as is oft the way of things),  or simply because of my own tardiness (in which case, an apology to Katie), I know not.

Fortunately, I recently discovered that Katie is now offered a setting dressed for the winter season in the form of Elphyne: Winter’s Breath. Located within a Full region she has called Seaclaid, and which makes use of the additional Land Capacity bonus available to such privately-held regions, it is a wonderfully seasonal setting mixing touches of whimsy, fun and art into its overall design and offer activities for visitors to enjoy.

Glide across glistening skating ponds, feel the thrill of horseback rides through frosted trails, and join the laughter at cosy sledding stations. Twinkling lights and festive delights surround you, creating memories as unique as falling snowflakes. Embrace the enchantment—come play and explore.

– from Elphyne: Winter’s Breath’s Destination Guide entry

The whimsy is on display the moment visitors arrive, the Landing Point being located right next to the finish line for a most unusual race; one which also appears to have just arrived within the region, the participants emerging from a nearby tunnel in a sudden burst of pushing (and in one case, slithering, assuming the the mice and their form of transport are also part of the race) dash to cross the line, as adult mice push their little ones in sleighs, cheered on by appreciative spectators.

This end of the race stands at the junction of cobbled roads which offer a means of exploring the region, be it on foot or on horseback – a rezzer nearby will assist you with the latter. In fact the junction hides the fact that all the roads are essentially all branches of the same route, diving here, coming back together there, and so on; a route that both circumnavigates most of the setting and also offers a branch cutting through it, those providing a practical route of exploration.

Follow it as it points to the west and you’ll quickly pass by the upper end of a chairlift rising from the lower lands to the north, they pass between the well-spread trees of a wood and a cosy arbour-style cabin watched over by a little group of patchwork critters. After this, the road tuns north and reaches a bridge where Santa may have had a mishap: a red bag of presents and goodies lies in the road.

Perhaps Rudolf misjudged the climb out from the little town below and failed to gain sufficient altitude to clear the bridge railings, and the resultant bump knocked the sack free of the sleigh; or maybe the sack wasn’t properly secured to start with, and fell to the ground without Santa noticing. Either way, the misfortune that brought it to ground, quite literally, has turned into good fortune for a trio of seasonally-hatted squirrels as they abscond with some of the sack’s contents…

Beyond the bridge, the road sweeps around a shoulder of the hills to descend to the lower aspects over the setting, doubling back on itself and then turning eastwards once more. Here, it passes between a town square set out for a seasonal carnival and the local train station, the bridge just crossed carrying the road over the tracks that run alongside the station’s little platform.

A little further on, the rod hits another junction,  splitting itself. Turn right, and you’ll be able to follow it and it winds back up to the Landing Point, passing by way of another junction as it does so. Turn left, and the road will take you north once more before making yet another sweeping turn southwards, climbing once more as it does so and passing a grand (private) house and passing back over the railway line via another bridge and then making its way back to the Landing Point as well.

Within all this there is much to see: the little touches of whimsical fun with the setting’s furry denizens, the opportunity to ride the Ferris wheel at the carnival or take the chair lift up from the town and then grab a sled from the rezzer at the upper station and ride it back down the slope (and you can obviously opt to take the slope more sedately, rights the chairlift down).

Then there is the frozen lake for skating, complete with a warm lodge alongside it for relaxing before the warming fire, hot spring to bathe in, dancing to be had within the town square pavilion  and the local pub where something might be had to warm the insides! Meanwhile, the art I mention can be found both within a small gallery just across the bridge from where the squirrels are making off with their loot, and also among the trees of the setting for those who go a-wandering off the roads.

With Santa crooning in the town, deer, rabbits and bear o be found in the woods and places to sit and pass the time both indoors and out, Elphyne: Winter’s Breath makes for an engaging winter-time visit.

SLurl Details

• Elphyne: Winter’s Breath (Seaclaid, rated Moderate)

The last time I wrote about Maasya’s Wo Qui Non Coin (or WQNC for short) was nigh-on a year ago, when Maasya presented a Japanese shrine caught in the midst of winter (see: Visiting a Japanese shrine for Christmas in Second Life). As WQNC has had a habit of vanishing from Second Life from time-to-time (indeed, the time I wrote about it prior to December 2023 was in January of that year – and it vanished practically right after I’d published my little write-up!), I lost track as to what might have happened with it.

However, WQNC is currently back in Second Life, and appears to have been so since around the start of November. At the time of my December visit, it once more offers a Japanese winter and temple scene as it did back in December ’23 – but this time on a much grander scale, Maasya once more having upsized to a Full region – and one leveraging the Land Capacity bonus. As such, this iteration of WQNC is able to offer a lot to take in, from the streets and alleys of a small town through to summit-topping temples and winding paths of cut stone, to a hidden place in which to hide from the world.

And cats. Lots of cats (which suits me just fine, as I’m currently the human for 2.5 cats (the half being a semi-feral stray I’ve been trying to gently win over for the last 5-6 months, but we’re still at the point where he will come in for food – as long as he doesn’t have to travel further into the house than the dining room – and will only suffer my presence within 3-4 feet of him when I have a food bowl in my hand!

However, as it took 18 months to fully gain the trust of an abandoned cat living in the rough the last time I did this, I’m confident we’ll get there this time around as well – eventually!

But back to WQNC. Surrounded by an off-region mountain range, the setting might be considered as has having two distinct but fully intertwined elements to its design. To the east, there is the low-lying townscape, with also extends westwards along the southern  edge of the region; to the north there are the highlands forming a wall of rock against which the town in part huddles, and which extends a broad, stepped plateau southwards along the western side of the region, offering a further shoulder of rock to protect the town.

The Landing Point sit below this mountain, on the south side of the region where the local rail line reaches the town’s little single-platform station.  Slightly elevated, the station appears to be the line’s terminus, the two-car commuter train perhaps about to set off eastwards once more and dive into the tunnel burrowing through a rocky shoulder sitting in the south-eastern corner of the region. Whilst nowhere near as high as the northern-western summit, these rocks do extend a flat finger north, on which has been built two small apartment blocks.

The latter seem to hint at one of the region’s little secrets: that seem to be the residences of local tenants. Whether they are for rent or have simply been decorated by friends of Maasya, I’ve no idea; but the multiplicity of owners for the furnishing within the caused me not to pry further so as not to invade privacy. The same appeared to be the case with some of the small houses within the town itself (notably those directly below and across the street from the apartment buildings), so again, some care might be required when wandering through the town.

Not that wandering shouldn’t be done; there is a richness of detail within the little streets and alleys deserving of discovery, indoors and out – including one or two little SL stores selling their wares tucked away here and there among the bars and eateries and other establishments. So do take your time exploring.

It is also through the town that on can reach some of the ways up into the snowy northern uplands. One of these makes its way up to the Neko shrine devoted to cats, and where some of the local felines might be found enjoying the warmth of an oil heater. Another makes it way up and long the foot of the flat-topped summit before climbing over the northern hills and plunging down to where the aforementioned hideaway can be found.

To reach the summit, however, one must take the steps opposite the entrance to the train station. These wind their way upwards, guarded by lanterns, stone cats and saplings, first reaching an outthrust shoulder of a plateau. With a stream flowing swiftly by to one side and what looks like a natural hot spring on the other, this area is home to the Mishima Jinja – although the spirits it hosts are not exactly of the deity kind!

The path upwards continues on the far side of a bridge spanning the stream, arriving at another terrace from which the final ascent to the top of the mountain might be made via the imposing straight stairway that rises as if to the heavens. At the top and at last, visitors come to the temple and shrines. The last time I saw the temple, back in December 2023, it was home to a dragon. Now surrounded by the waters of a large man-made pool, it houses an impressive carving of three snakes.

From this lofty vantage point, one is afforded views  down over the town below. There is also a further stairway down to another plateau. This is home to the waters of a large circular pool, which one might meditate before on a padded bench (and perhaps give the legs a bit of a rest before challenging them with the walk all the way back down to the lowlands once more!).

One of the things I really like about this iteration of WQNC is the use of muted colour. From sky through rocks to buildings, muted tones are used within the expanse of grey sky and rock and off-white clouds and snow. Reds and greens and blues are, for the most part, pushed towards the darker, more faded / aged end of the spectrum. As a result, where a fuller, rich colour is used – be it on a shop sign, the leaves of a tree, the paper of a lantern, even the sides of a drinks vendor or child’s toy – it literally pops out at you with a sense of warmth to offset the the surrounding winter coldness. Marvellous!

SLurl Details

• WQNC (WoQuiNonCoin, rated Moderate)