Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates for the week ending Sunday, April 26th
This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Current Release version version 6.4.0.540188, dated April 15th, promoted April 20th. Formerly the EEP RC viewer – NEW.
It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.
Sunday, April 26th
14:00: Stories at Kultivate’s Spring Art Show
Kayden, Cale, Willow and Dubhna take the stage on Water Haven as part of Kultivate magazine’s Spring Art show with an hour of stories to amuse and delight. Live on Stream.
18:30: The Secret Garden
Caledonia Skytower continues this classic of children’s literature by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published in 1911, at the Golden Horseshoe in Magicland Park.
Orphaned after losing her parents in a cholera epidemic, young Mary Lennox returns to England from India, entering the care of her uncle Archibald Craven, whom she has never met.
Up until this point, Mary’s childhood had not been happy; her parents were selfish and self-seeking, regarding her as a burden over which they were not obliged to hold much responsibility. Not overly healthy herself, she is as a result a temperamental, stubborn and unmistakably rude child – and her arrival at Misselthwaite Manor and the relative gloom of Yorkshire’s weather does little to improve her mein.
Her disposition also isn’t helped by her uncle, who is strict and uncompromising, leading to Mary despising him. But her uncle’s story is itself filled with tragedy, particularly the loss of his wife. As she learns more about her uncle’s past, so Mary learns about a walled garden Mrs. Craven once kept, separated from the rest of the grounds and which, since her passing has been kept locked by Mary’s uncle, the door leading to it kept locked, the key to it buried somewhere.
Finding the missing key and the now hidden door, Mary enters the garden, and her passage into it starts her on a journey of friendship and discovery, one that leads her to the thing she never really knew: family.
Monday, April 27th 19:00: The Higher Space
Gyro Muggins reads Jamil Nasir’s 1996 novella that mixes science and magic.
Bob Wilson is a lawyer with a house in the suburbs, a beautiful wife, and a predictable life. Then he agrees to represent a neighbourhood couple in what looks like an open-and-shut custody case.
But no sooner do the Wilsons take in fourteen-year-old Diana Esterbrook than Bob must ask himself some troubling questions. Is Diana a computer genius or a dangerously disturbed adolescent? Why is his house being bugged? Who is the mysterious man in black? And what about Diana’s birth mother, a convicted kidnapper just released from prison?
Wilson’s quest for answers will lead him to an enigmatic private detective, a meek professor with dreams of immortality, and finally to the secrets of a discipline called Thaumatomathematics a strange blend of magic and science where death becomes the key to beatific ecstasy.
Tuesday, April 28th:
12:00 Noon: Russell Eponym, Live in the Glen
Music, poetry, and stories in a popular weekly session at Ceiluradh Glen.
19:00: The The Sleeper and the Spindle
A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.
On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom.
This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.
With Willow Moonfire.
Wednesday, April 29th, 19:00: A Nun in the Closet
What do two Benedictine nuns, a secretive man-on-the-run, a Tibetan monk, three hippies, members of the Mafia and children of migrant workers have in common? Why, A Nun in the Closet, of course.
When a cloistered monastic community of nuns inherit an old house with 150 acres in up-state New York courtesy of a mysterious benefactor, they are at a loss as to what to do. Sister John and Sister Hyacinthe are therefore dispatched to give the property the once-over and report back. A simple enough assignment, except neither Sister is entirely prepared to deal with all that they find.
From hippies on the lawn to suitcase stuffed with money sitting at the bottom of a well, disguised cocaine and a wounded man who has hidden himself in a closet to avoid Mafia hitmen, not to mention strange apparitions in the night, It might have been better had Sister John and Sister Hyacinthe remained cloistered in the abbey.
But it is amazing what two nuns can achieve armed only with their faith and boundless energy – up to and including a shocking revelation or two about ghosts, gangsters – and murder.
Join Caledonia Skytower as she reads Dorothy Gilman’s 1986 mystery.
Thursday, April 30th 19:00: Stone Angels – Stories of the Gothic South
With Shandon Loring. Also in Kitely – grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).
Congratulations to Seanchai Library!
Beginning on March 8th, with the conclusion of their Death on the Nile series, Seanchai library has been accepting donations for Fantasy Faire to both sponsor a region in the Fairelands and to continue to support the matching fund for events. With the help of pledged matching funds from Gloriana Maertens (honoring the late Thea Dea) and Caledonia Skytower (honouring the late Jimmie Warnell) the Seanchai Community not only equalled the funds raised in 2019, but far surpassed it, raising a stunning L$165,000 in just a few weeks.
Fantasy Faire 2020: Isle of Shadows
That’s around US $600, every penny of which will be matched and multiplied – so it could easily become US $1200 – or more. It makes Seanchai Library among the highest paying individual sponsors in Fairelands History. So please be sure to take time yourself this week to visit both Fantasy Faire and the Isle of Shadows, sponsored by Seanchai Library There you will find entertainment and plenty of reasons for you to donate to Relay for Life of Second Life and the global work of the American Cancer Society.
We broke our fast before the Sun had cast its first orange light across the broken walls and towers of Siren’s Lore, our guide having told us we must pass through the the Spirit Valley during the light of day, for our next place of rest lay on the valley’s far side, and at the end of a long journey. And so we passed beyond the wooden pathways of the city across the rugged lands beyond, our guide telling of the first place we would encounter, and how it came to have its mysterious name of Spirit Valley of Kuruk.
His tale sounded both wondrous and fantastical: bear warriors, ancient gods and and transformations. And yet we all knew that the Faireland realms held mysteries and wonders, so it was with excitement rising in my heart that we reached the pass that marked the start of the descent into the valley. At first I saw little worthy of the breathless tales our guide related, the path winding downwards, morning mists hiding the far side whilst fir trees at first screened or view of its deep floor.
Fantasy Faire 2020: The Spirit Valley of Kuruk
But then we rounded a rocky curve and caught sight of the valley’s broad bowl, the path now clinging to the side of its rocky face. But it was not this breath-taking view that held our eyes; for there seated at the side of the road was a great brown bear, it’s fur tufted and arranged around its neck like a collar of office. On seeing it, my kinsmen cried aloud and reached for their bows, but our guide stayed heir hands. Cool black eyes regarded us, and our guide instructed us to pass the bear in single file. As we did so, the great beast raised its forelegs slowly, paws outward as if in blessing as we passed, and I heard the rumble of its voice, chanting deeply.
I could scarce keep my eyes from this marvellous beast until it was carried from view by a bend in the trail; but as I regarded the valley once more, so I saw more of these strange bears, watching us from high perches, including one that stood upon a wooden trestle, banners draped behind it, its fur painted and arranged into a headdress. I found myself caught in the gaze of a great chieftain or perhaps a medicine leader, who watched our progress even to the valley floor.
Fantasy Faire 2020: The Spirit Valley of Kuruk
It was here that we paused to eat, a procession of children marching to us from a nearby village. They bore platters of fruit and jugs of water for us to partake, as our guide informed us these were the Grizzly Cubs, who follow the path of the Great Bear Tribe, and defend the spirits of the valley and its healing ways.
The children said nothing as we ate, but sat with us as we ate. Afterwards, they walked to either side of us as we climbed the long path, passing the painted mouths of caves our guides said we should not enter, least too much time pass and we fail to arrive at the night’s destination at our appointed hour. As we reached the pass that would carry us into the lands beyond the valley, a slender boy came to each of us and indicated we should bow in turn as he painted symbols on each of our foreheads, our guide telling us not to wash or otherwise remove them until after the Sun had set.
Fantasy Faire 2020: The Spirit Valley of Kuruk
Beyond the valley the land changed quickly, rocks giving way to verdant grass and tall trees warmed by a rich afternoon Sun. At length we came to high curtain walls, their stones faced and well-fitted. Guardsmen hailed us from square towers draped with the Banner of Elemaria, and our guide went before us so that we might be allowed access to this walled realm of which I had heard so much.
Formed by the the elements – air, earth, water and fire all working in equal measure at the Edge of Time -, Elemaria lay as the Home of Nature, the elements present throughout its landscape, each having given of its best to create a place wherein harmony rules, and men, women and creatures live in peace, tending the land and creating a kingdom where all can find welcome and peace.
Fantasy Faire 2020: Elemaria
And so we passed along the grass-edged paths and between tiled-roofed homes and stores of Elemaria’s citizens, all of whom greeted us warmly or, on seeing the painted marks of the Grizzly Cubs upon our foreheads, with a degree of reverence.
Around trees and over streams we passed, drawing ever closer to the great castle the rose over this pleasing land, until we at last came to a paved circle marked by three arches. Here we were met by the royals of Elemaria, tall and fair folk of great grace and beauty, descended from the first people to enter this lands and peacefully occupy it to live in harmony with nature.
Fantasy Faire 2020: Elemaria
They greeted each one of us in turn, taking each of us by the forearms drawing us close as we each gripped theirs, until forehead lightly touched forehead. Then one each paired with us, and by twos in a line, we climbed the stone stairs up to where a garden of water and blue-hued trees lay before the towers of the castle, the roar of the falls that fell true and sheer from these gardens bringing an end to conversation until we passed over the gardens atop arched bridges to pass within the walls of the castle. Here the sound of the water passed behind us, to be replaced by music as light and warmth greeted us within those high, dressed walls.
And so we arrived in Elemaria, the length of our journey soothed by the music, and the grace and beauty of our hosts who guided us to our quarters high within the castle, treated as royalty even though they who served us and welcomed us to their banquet later, were themselves of high office.
Fantasy Faire 2020: Elemaria
Spirit Valley of Kuruk designed by Loki Eliot and sponsored by Spyralle, Little, Big Designs, Team ACTS, Totally Tinies. Featuring stores by: Attitude is an Artform, Atomic Kitties, Cerridwen’s Cauldron, Cheval D’or|Elysian, CHIMAERA, Designs by Isaura, Dinkie Boutique, Fantavatar & Moonstruck & Lilith’s Den, Icaland ind, Peeps Dinkies, Prehistorica: The Dawn Kingdoms, Stytchwytch Designs, Tiny Inc., and Twisted Whiskers & Dinkie Duds.
Elemaria by Bee Dumpling & Solas Enchantment and sponsored by Silvan Moon Designs, Secrets of Gaia. Featured stores: ABADDON ARTS, Ab.Fab skins and Fantasy, :: ANTAYA ::, =ED= Eagle Designs, FaceDesk Creative Creations, Flying Horse Head Studios, Gecko Creations & ~Soraida~, God Mod, Laminak, Last Ride, Stardust, Star Journey, The Elven Forest, The Wooly Pig, TRB – A Woman’s Touch, Unity Maxim, Valkyrie Designed, and .Viki.
Total raised by the end of the Faire’s third day: L$3,779,514 (US $15,118).
Fantasy Faire is now well under way for 2020, the gates to the Fairelands having opened on April 23rd. In writing my shorthand guide to the the event, I was drawn again and again to Zander Green’s pre-opening letter to all those who participate in the Faire every year. So much so, that my shorthand guide risked getting sidetracked in thoughts surrounding Zander’s words. Instead, I decided it might be better to offer those thoughts in a separate piece.
Since 2009, Fantasy Faire has offered many reasons for people to come together and share their time and company in raising money as part of global Relay for Life activities. But this year, perhaps more than the previous 11, Fantasy Faire offers three particular reasons to relay that can apply to each and every one of us who spend time within Second Life.
The first is aligned to the cause of overcoming cancer in all of its forms. This is the campaign for which the Fairelands were born from the mists of imagination in 2009, and it is campaign which has – as Zander reminded us – achieved a tremendous amount:
This year, over seven hundred souls will work to summon the Fairelands back from the Somnia Caligo, the Mist of Dreams and twenty thousand will come as visitors to those summoned shores. Small numbers still, when you consider our world is home to 7.8 billion people.
Yet, sometimes the smallest numbers carry the most weight. Certainly, that is true in the Fairelands …
For example, 0.13% is – I’m sure you would agree – a very small number. But as always, context is king. So, to understand just how large that number actually is we first must consider the equation that yields that solution.
By the end of the 2019 season, Fantasy Faire’s total amount raised placed us as the 82nd most successful Relay For Life team on Earth [and] in 2019, there were a total of 63,270 Relay For Life teams worldwide …
Put another way, last year the Fairelands were in the TOP 0.13% of all Relay For Life teams, not just in Second Life but all across the globe.
That is how much weight a small number can carry. That is how much good a small group of people can do.
In all, and through to the end of 2019’s event, Fantasy Faire has raised a stunning US $358,000 for RFL and ACS. That’s an incredible amount considering the Faire exists for just a handful of days each year. It speaks directly to the nature and hearts of all who attend, shop and donate. The money raised has gone on to support those stricken with cancer and their families and care givers through the Unite States and beyond, and most recently has helped give birth to the work of the Kenyatta National Hospital Hope Hostel.
A US $2 million project, the Hope Hostel provides 156 beds for those seeking cancer treatment at KNH, Kenya’s largest public referral hospital with comprehensive cancer treatment facilities, together with support and resource facilities for family members and carers. Its existence means that those coming to the hospital from all corners of Kenya, and who might otherwise be unable to afford accommodation and care during treatment, can have somewhere safe, clean and secure to stay during their treatment sessions and where they can receive advice and support during their stay.
Kenyatta National Hospital Hope Hostel
In adopting the Hope Hostel as a focus for fund-raising at Fantasy Faire 2028, Fairelanders and Second Life Relayers were able to make a lasting difference to many cancer sufferers and their families in Kenya, as evidenced by a letter to Fairelanders written ahead of 2019’s Fantasy Faire by Kristen Solt, Managing Director of the ACS
Global Health Initiatives Programme.
Thanks in large part to Relayers in Second Life, we’ve been able to launch the Patient Navigator program at KNH which in the last year has given FOUR THOUSAND Kenyans access to better information and assistance. Think about that number for a moment: four thousand people! Ask yourself how many family members they each have. How many friends and loved ones? There are tens of thousands of people in Kenya today whose lives are already better because of you.
– Kristen Solt, ACS Global Health Initiatives Programme Managing
Director, April 13th, 2019
By joining in with this year’s Faire, all of us can help further work like this, helping cancer sufferers and those close to them the world over.
The second reason to relay in 2020 lies with the currently global situation. Because of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, events around the world are being cancelled – including those for RFL. Remember that in 2019 alone, there were 63,270 RFL teams around the word raising money for ACS; in 2020, few will be able to operate with the same zeal in raising funds. This means that for 2020, Fantasy Faire and RFL of SL are at the very forefront of fund-raising for ACS, as Zander again pointed out in his letter.
Right now, with so many RFL events around the world facing cancellation because of the dangers of Covid-19, ours has become one of the few that can proceed as planned. Our community has never been more important. Four million Relayers around the world are looking to us to carry the baton for them. A world full of cancer patients, survivors and caregivers turn their eyes to us. The American Cancer Society has asked us to be their Standard Bearer.
Fantasy Faire 2020: AutumniumThat’s why for 2020 it doesn’t matter if you would otherwise categorise yourself as being Bored With the Ring or would rather play Monopoly than watch Game of Thrones or would rather wear a Starfleet uniform with your pointed ears than accompany them with a pair of faerie wings, your presence – your willingness to give L$ – at Fantasy Faire, really is important. By giving of your time and becoming a Relayer perhaps for the first time, you will be helping Fantasy Faire and RFL of SL rise to the call from those 4 million global relayers in continuing to raise funds for ACS and its world-wide projects.
And the third reason? Simply this: by bringing so many of us together from so many backgrounds and parts of the world in a place where we can feel safe and share in a vision of hope and experience one another’s joy, friendship, support and more, the Faire stands as a reminder that the current times of fear and concern will pass; that there will again be times when we can gather with family or with friends or with neighbours and enjoy their company, love, and friendship once more.
So whether you are a journeymen of Fairelands past or a neophyte about to enter into them for the first time, here are three reasons for you to Relay in 2020. Which leaves me only to say – stay safe, stay virtual – and between now and May 10th, 2020, see you at the Fairelands!
The 23rd edition of Lab Gab live streamed on Friday, April 24, featuring Rider Linden, Ptolemy Linden and Euclid Linden, who between them form the core team behind the Environment Enhancement Project (EEP), officially released by Linden Lab on Monday, April 20th.
The official video of the segment is available via You Tube, and is embedded at the end of this article. The following is a summary of the key topics discussed and responses to questions asked.
Rider Linden is a Senior Software Engineer who has been with Linden Lab for just over five years – although his familiarity with Second Life goes back beyond that, as he is one of the many personnel LL have recruited from the ranks of Second Life users. He was responsible for initially defining the EEP project. He then went on to develop the viewer controls for EEP, taking considerable feedback from users along the way, as well as working with the rendering team during the project’s development. More recently, he has transitioned over the the simulator team, working on that side of the SL and routinely attending the Simulator User Group meetings.
Ptolemy Linden and Euclid Linden are more recent hires at the Lab, both are working on the rendering side of Second Life. Both have been Lindens for around 6-7 months, and have really cut their teeth as Lindens whilst working on EEP. Neither was a resident prior to joining the Lab, and both are now looking forward to tackling more graphics-related work within the viewer.
Euclid, Rider and Ptolemy Linden will be joined Strawberry Linden to discuss EEP
What Is EEP?
EEP is a set of environmental enhancements for Second Life that supersede th use of Windlight XML files. The primary aim of the project was to make lighting / atmospheric / water environments easier to create and use within Second Life and extend the ability to customise them to the parcel level. In brief EEP:
Uses environment objects that you can keep in your inventory and / or share with others – including selling (subject to the SL permissions system) via in-world stores and on the Marketplace.
Provides parcel-level control of environments.
Allows up to four different, independently controlled sky layers.
Allows custom textures for the Sun, Moon and clouds.
Provides an extended day cycle of up to 168 hours (thus allowing a 7-day, 24-hour day / night cycle to be defined, for example).
Means that as environments settings are simulator-side, and so by default are automatically seen by anyone using any EEP enabled viewer on entering the region / estate / parcel.
Still allows the use of “personal” settings seen only be the use applying them, for the purposes of photography, machinima, etc.
Provides additional LSL controls for environments.
EEP Q&A
Unresolved Issues
EEP was promoted to release status with 75 issues on the viewer listed as “unresolved” (viewer version 6.4.0.540188). Will LL continue to work to resolve these?
LL was focused on clearing what were considered to be major / severe issues with the system before releasing.
Remaining issues are viewed as annoyance / edge cases rather than things that prevent EEP from being used. These will be cleared up as time allows, but not within what might be considered a dedicated EEP project at this point in time.
The exception to this will be any issue which proves to be a continuing problem for users in trying to use EEP, and which becomes a source of widespread forum complaint and / or the subject of bug reports.
Can the EEP UI Elements be Reduced in Size?
Several of the EEP UI elements take up a lot of screen real estate. Can these be reduced in size in future viewers / altered so that they can be resized by users?
There is a wider project at the Lab to revisit a lot of the viewer UI.
The EEP UI elements will like fall under this work.
Can EEP Settings be Applied via a Drop-down List, Rather than Attached?
No, as they are contained in inventory assets.
However, there is another broader than EEP project to look at inventory in general, and providing the means for users to preview EEP items which may, as it matures, help.
Does EEP Affect Teleports / Region Crossings?
(Asked as a result of the April 21st issues, which were not EEP related, but part of wider Internet issues within the United States).
Not at all.
The simulators have been supporting EEP for over a year thus far.
The additional data carried through TP / region crossing due to an applied EEP asset is minimal.
Transitions in EEP are handle very fast, and shouldn’t interfere with physical region crossings in vehicles [it has been noted at Simulator User Group meeting that if you are travelling fast enough to pass from region to region to region before EEP can fully transition from the first the the second environment, it will skip the second and go directly to rendering the third].
Will In-World Objects Need Updating to Look Right Under EEP?
A lot of time has been spent by the Lab trying to ensure that EEP renders objects as closely as possible to how they look under Windlight.
It’s note entirely one-to-one in all situations, and there may be some subtle differences. However, the hope is that for the majority of objects, EEP shouldn’t present a significantly different look.
If there are significant breakages in how some object look, the request is for creators to raise a bug report JIRA on them (and provide a sample to the Lab, if possible / requested).
How Can EEP Settings / Object be Created? Can they be Sold?
EEP settings / assets can be created in inventory with EEP-enabled viewers and experimented with.
For EEP viewer, the Library includes a group of settings (Library → Environments) that can be copied to Inventory and then edited and experimented with / used.
Creating a new EEP asset via the + button (1) or via right-clicking on the Settings folder and the selecting the required asset type from the create menu > My Settings option (2)
For more information on creating and using the EEP editors see:
Yes, absolutely, you can sell your own EEP assets if you wish, both through in-world stores and via the Marketplace.
Can I Use My Old Windlights with EEP?
Windlight settings cannot be used directly with EEP. Windlight used XML files external to the viewer; EEP uses settings contained with SL inventory assets.
Windlight settings can be imported into EEP however.
Use the Import button in the edit floater to open a file picker and select the windlight to be imported
Will There Be More Rendering / Graphics Improvements for SL?
Rendering enhancement are on-going (e.g. via the Love Me Render project, which periodically releases RC viewers with rendering updates and fixes).
Id there is something specific you would like to see, please raise a feature request for consideration.
WILL SL Ever Have A New Rendering Engine?
Second Life cannot really adopt a commercial rendering engine, as the platform is too highly adopted to the user-generated content in-world.
However, as noted, it is actively being worked on for improvements, and this includes removing legacy code where it is no longer required.
An example of this is the EEP viewer code removes the ability to turn off the basic shaders in the viewer.
There are certain imperatives that are driving some system changes related to the rendering engine – such as Apple discontinuing support for OpenGL.
Trying to re-engineer SL to use a commercial engine also simply doesn’t make sense, as it would mean “throwing away” all that has been developed so far and practically re-engineering SL from the ground up.
Our first view of the Fairelands – both our goal and the true start of our journey – came as our vessel approached the Isle of Shadows. It was perhaps not an auspicious start to our pilgrimage: the masts of sunken ships lay scattered amongst the rocky teeth that broke the surface of the waters leading to the inner bay; but our Captain assured us that the route to anchor was known to him, and as the clouds parted, our spirits lifted at the sight of the great vessel floating among them, held aloft by the form of a great dragon – Fairechylde!
Of course tales of this great flying ship had reached our homelands – where many considered it little more than a myth – but to see it now and after so long at sea, renewed our spirits, and we gathered on the deck as our ship slowly drifted into the bay, its anchors breaking the surface of the waters. Boats were lowered, and we were carried ashore aboard them, the entire crew eager to climb the ladders and steps that passed up through the raised hull that formed the moorings for Fairechylde, eager to avail themselves of the sky-ship’s welcome.
As much as we felt the same wish, and to seek the great caverns rumoured to be here, our path lay in a different direction. A guide awaited us on the the shores of the bay, ready to guide us onwards, across the high wooden bridge to where a stone path lay across the broken lands to where the high walls of our first destination lay, wreathed in afternoon mist.
Fantasy Faire 2020: Isle of Shadows
Passing over the bridge, we paused to look back at the bay and our ship, the Fairchylde floating above, before the road dipped into the vale beyond, carrying us past a tiny town formed from the trunks and stumps of trees. Whilst lights were starting to shine from little windows, we saw no sign of who lived within these strange small houses – the inhabitants perhaps driven indoors by the sound of our clumping feet and the hoof-falls of our mounts – and I was filled with a desire to wander down along the stone paths that ran from trunk to trunk, but with the lowering Sun approaching the horizon, our guide insisted we moved onwards.
And so at length we came to those high walls. Imposing from a distance, suggestive of great strength, I expected them to be watched over by armoured guards, our way forward challenged. But as we drew close, it was clear the walls had long since become broken, gates long ago gone, and so we passed unhindered into the realm of Siren’s Lore.
Fantasy Faire 2020: Siren’s Lore
Once a great and powerful city, Siren’s Lore stood through the ages as a beacon of beauty and power, a haven to all who came to her gates. A place close to the seas, the gods of which were revered by the city’s people. Then it had been a place of great commerce, where sea and land met harmony.
But that was before the Fall, its reason lost in time, but it left the city broken, towers and buildings crumbling, the streets vanishing beneath the waves. And yet the citizens survived, and whilst the glory of the city’s former build was forever lost, so was a new Siren’s Lore born; a place where the Protectress still stands watch over the city’s remains and the the merchants, patrons and visitors who walk the wooden paths that have been lain to replaced the once sunlit streets that ran straight and true.
Fantasy Faire 2020: Siren’s Lore
For Siren’s Lore, both lost and found, is once again a place of commerce, and we passed by many shops offering all manner of goods. It is also a place rich in mystery, and magical ruined beauty, all enhanced, I left as we passed along the wooden paths as the Sun reached the horizon and cast long shadows across the overgrown ruins of what might once of been a great palace or fortress.
And so it was that we came to the end of our first day within the lands of the Faire, strangers to these realms, yet welcomed, ushered to a place of refreshment and rest, where we could renew ourselves with a peaceful night’s sleep unbroken by the roll and creak of an ocean bound vessel. And as I settled upon my pallet in readiness for sleep, my mouth still tingling at the exotic taste of the foods we had been offered, I wondered what strange places we might find as we continued our journey on the morrow.
Fantasy Faire: Siren’s Lore
Isle of Shadows designed by Aelva & Emme Eales and sponsored by Seanchai Library.
Siren’s Lore designed by Syn Beresford and sponsored by Petrichor and Elysion. Featuring stores by: Ars Hokori, Belle Epoque, Celeste, Dragon Magick Wares, En Pointe, Harshlands, Living the FantaSea, LuluB!, Poet’s Heart & Mermaid Treasure Boutique, Poseidon, [QE] Designs, Romin Creations, RVi Design,[][]Trap[][], Valkyr RP, Voodoo, and Witchcraft.
