Author: Inara Pey

It’s been three years since I visited Omerta, a Full region design by Lux Voxel leveraging the additional Land Capacity bonus. Back at that time, the location was called Omerta City (see: A silent city in Second Life), and presented an urban environment of considerable and well-placed detail. Since then, the region has been recreated by Lux as Omerta Island, centred on the Empire Hotel, a place I first dropped into in mid-2023, but didn’t actually get to blog about at the time. As such, correcting that oversight has been long overdue.

Offered as a hotel / vacation / entertainment destination within second life, supported by a detailed website and which has been given added depth through the use of AI NPCs, Empire Island offers the opportunity to mix relaxation and the potential for a little light role-play; and – for those opting to be a guest at the hotel – perhaps discover one or two little secrets.

Discover the unique charm of Empire Omerta by exploring our picturesque island and inviting hotel. Rent our hotel for your special events and join the Empire Omerta group for exclusive member-only benefits. Use our booking form to schedule your memorable stay with us. 

– The Empire Omerta website

From the outset, this is a location to be experienced rather than simply visited; the majority of facilities are open to the public, but there is also Group membership, which brings with it a range of additional benefits. These include: access to secluded member-only locations across the hotel and island, use of hidden entrances, additional curated experiences, participation in contests and raffles, exclusive narrations, and advance notifications of events and activities throughout Empire Omerta (which are also recorded on the calendar located on the region’s website).

To achieve all of this, excellent use of space is made within the region; the ground level is home to the hotel and the majority of its public facilities, with the more exclusive / restricted elements located in the sky. The hotel sits on a small island almost surrounded by tall mountains and wooded shorelines, a single passage offering a glimpse of open seas beyond, suggesting the hotel sits within a deep water bay cutting into the coast of somewhere.

Visits commence on a pier extending out from the east side of the island, giving the impression that one has just disembarked the hotel’s de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter moored at the pier with engine running, have just flown in. A short walk along and up the pier and boardwalk, passing through a small “arrivals” area and then a more impressive “gatehouse” to reach the hotel’s main entrance.

Passing through these will expose visitors to their first opportunities to become members at the Hotel – as noted, this is not required for casual visits (or for renting one of the hotel’s luxury suites), but it’s worth touching them just the hear the svelte tones of the greeter once more, if you missed it on arrival! And, obviously you can join at any time during a visit, should you wish.

The lobby of the hotel will bring you into contact with one of many AI NPCs to be found throughout – Vinny, the hotel receptionist, who will greet arrivals as they enter and can be engaged in light conversation and answer questions. The foyer provides access to the the hotel’s gift shop and library and, after passing through the hall providing information on the hotel’s services and details on the individually designed feature suites, visitors can find Vitali’s restaurant – also a destination in its own right, offering free seating of a “live” dinner service if a reservation is booked. The bar here is overseen by Jimmy, a fairly smooth-talking barman with a Sinatra-like sense of style and who’ll mix / pour you a drink / get you nibbles to feed on, when you select something from the menu.

It’s at the back of the hotel that visitors can find the elevators serving the hotel suites and sky-located facilities. The suits can be accessed free-of-charge for a 3-minute period to preview – although it is worth reading the descriptions for them found in the hall linking hotel lobby with the elevator / back of the hotel to get an understanding of their theme and features (those already rented are indicated here as well).

Staying in a suite provides access to all of its facilities, together with 150 LI with which to rez your own items, if required, with the daily rates again displayed in the hotel’s hallway. Room rental provides privacy and access to facilities and options exclusive to guests (hint: there are some hidden (adult) specialities waiting to be discovered  – particularly in the case of the Cardinalis, you’ll just need to be a bit of a bookworm (so to speak) to discover the secret.

The elevators also provide access to the hotel’s Dance Club (open to all) and facilities such as the spa (with sushi bar!), gym, cinema and casino which are restricted for members only use. Details on the various experiences to be found within the setting can be found on the website, which includes a glimpse of upcoming experiences as well.

My passion is creating unique experiences around the hotel for both individuals and couples to enjoy. I’ve been dedicated to custom work for years and I’m excited in curating experiences like Vitali’s, where I blend custom audio, scripting, graphics, and more to craft something truly special. 

– Lux Voxel, creator of Omerta Empire

Outside of the hotel proper is still more to be found and enjoyed by members, guests and non-members alike. These include a ribbon beach running around the south-east arc of the island’s coastline, sun decks and gazebos, a wedding chapel, reserved outdoor dining, a little art gallery / walk set between two glazed gazebos, and more. One of the more unusual is the outdoor venue, where a stage has been set-up in the space once occupied by a car wrecking yard, the sad remains of former cars and trucks now repurposed as a wall to help keep the wind out while the neighbouring water tower has also bee repurposed as a neat little romantic look-out point. The wrecking yard stage area is balanced on the south side of the island by another outdoor stage area located alongside the chapel.

Piers close the the one serving the hotel’s air taxi offer jet skis for use be group members, free diving into the water, fishing (catch and release!), all of which can be found at the Old Port, whilst the Tattoo Parlour to the rear of the hotel, and with is own street-side access,  includes an elevator that will deliver visitors to Lux’s Meshmafia in-world store. Also accessed separately from the hotel is the local photo studio, which includes rates for photoshoots ranging from a profile headshot through a couple’s scenic photoshoot to full wedding / event photoshoot.

Richly detailed, with friendly service – my sincere thanks to Lux for he welcome and support throughout my visit and his patience in answering my questions – Empire Omerta is a genuinely engaging Second Life location with a lot to see and enjoy, including a very active events calendar. Should you enjoy your time visiting and fancy indulging yourself over the upcoming Christmas holiday period, be sure to enquire about Empire Omerta’s Christmas Gala, featuring 3 hours of live entertainment!

Slurl Details

• Omerta Island (Omerta, rated Moderate)

With November upon us, it was time for me to make a return to Jim Garand’s Grauland; after Primary Colours, I was keen to see what new delectations his fertile imagination had cooked up for us, and was delighted to find that once again, he’s turn his attention to a sci-fi like setting.

My first question on arriving at Grauland / The Deity Machine, was whether I was somewhere on this planet or standing on another world. Certainly the rock beneath my feet and the scrub grass ground upon it looked Earth-like, as did the sea; but overhead the sky offered an otherworldly feel, as did the structure beyond the rock berm undulating across the land before me like some gigantic snake, standing stones raised along its back in imitation of  broadly-spaces spines.

This berm would have been easy enough to climb, but I turned south instead, walking over the scrub grass to where a cube-like  arch linked an arrow-straight walkway to the gentle slope of a stone-flagged causeway as it slips down into the waters, as if waiting for some form of aquatic vehicle to roll up out of the tide and park itself upon it.

The steel plating of the walkway points directly towards the main, but by no means only, structure within the isle: a gigantic pyramid-like structure raised up on the back of  an elevated terrace itself sitting upon a great square of precisely laid and cut stone flagstones. With broad stairways climbing up to huge openings cut within its cardinal sides, the pyramid is home  to an alien-looking device standing on its own plinth above darkened water.

It is fair to say that water plays an much a part in the design here as rock, metal and other materials. Channels of it parallel the walkway toward the pyramid, with more channels and pools sit on two sides of the the pyramid’s outer court of stone, whilst other strange artefacts sit over ponds of dark water of their own, as if drawing power from them.

One of these artefacts is to found among a set of accommodation units built below the mean ground level and reached via a stairway descending from the walkway. Containing human-style furnishings, these four identical units nevertheless carry that sense of the alien within them.  At that far end stand four pillars, information scrolling up and down each of their faces as if they might be digital Rosetta Stones, keys to unlocking a mystery .Perhaps they are – or perhaps not; there is information to be read upon them – but I will leave it to you to try to discern what might be meant and keep my thoughts to myself.

Beyond the pool in which these pillars stand, the path leads on between rock walls, passing the foot of a tall monolith of dark materials and gleaming teal light standing close to the shore, to come to what is the second largest surface structure in terms of area. Once again featuring water as a part of its central feature, it sits as the home of an artefact perhaps intended to focus the light of whatever sun illuminates this world and transfer it to where vibrant orbs of light appear to be rising into the sky.

Nor is this all; a further large structure sits alone on a small isle of rock to the north-east, both reached and surrounded by an elevated walkway, whilst sitting on the other side of the steel walkway crossing to the pyramid’s base sits a large hall with its own courtyard area. Within it, tables and seating with counters and a bar suggest it is a refectory for use by humans. But it is along the softly illuminated corridor leads away from one corner of this hall that visitors might find the setting’s most curious – and Roswell- like – secret, hidden alongside a military-style bunker with a washroom and dormitory.

No hints are offered as to what Grauland / The Deity Machine might be about; backstory and interpretation are left entirely to the imagination. The intriguing mix of age-worn stone steps and uneven paved footpaths and clean flagstones and futuristic / alien-like architecture suggest a place of both great age and yet technological use. Perhaps, as the name suggests, it is a location that has been revered down the aeons as a place imbued with the memories of gods or spirits, but which is now the home of digital memories of times and events.

Whether it is upon Earth or a world elsewhere in our galaxy is again a matter of personal choice; no clue lies within it as to which might be the case, although the presence of a very Earthly rowing boat might suggest the former over the latter; if humanity is capable of reaching other worlds, than most likely it has easier means of crossing bodies of water. But again, that’s for you to decide, if stories and narrative are your thing.

And if they are not – will, Jim has once again created a place ideal for photography, whether you opt to use the region’s supplied environment settings (as I have here) or opt for one of your own. So – enjoy!

SLurl Details

• Grauland (Liberia Isle, rated Adult)