Category: Second Life

Purple Moon Ashes is a Full private region developed as a public space encompassing fantasy and magic, designed by Elguaje70 and DjDDB. It drew my attention after I noted it in the Destination Guide due to the use of items created by Elicio Ember, whom regulars to the pages will know, is both a close friend and a creator of elven-themed designs I never fail to find gorgeously attractive.

Surrounded by off-region hills, Purple Moon Ashes is a setting which becomes increasingly more attractive the longer one spends time within it – although I would note that the Shared Environment available at the time of my visit differed substantially from the EEP settings used in the Destination Guide entry for the region and – in my personal option – didn’t display the region at its best. This being the case, and after a little experimentation, I opted to use one of my personal “fallback” EEP settings for the photographs shown here.

It is a pleasure to invite you to explore this wonderful Purple Moon Ashes, a place where magic lives from the first moment you arrive; enjoy the dragon ride and the gondola ride. Come and discover how much more magic you can experience.

– Purple Moon Ashes About Land Description

The core of the region comprises a circular lake dominated by a central water / ruins feature which includes two large stone water serpents gushing water from their mouths. Three circular dance floors extend out over the lake from the surrounding largely circular, land enclosing the waters. Each of these platforms is placed roughly equidistantly around the circumference of the lake and each offers two points of access to the shallow waters, allowing visitors to walk to the central feature if they so wish.

Outside the lake, the land surrounding it offers multiple points of interest, all neatly linked by footpaths and flower trails.  The Landing Point sits on a plateau on the north-west quadrant of the region and is home to one of the teleport boards offering quick links to the major locations within the region (although I recommend using your pedal extremities to explore!) and the dragon ride mentioned in the About Land description. It also hides the region’s secrets below it – but I’ll leave it to you to discover the way into them 🙂 .

There are two ways down from the top of the plateau, each utilising elements created by Elicio. One runs gently down to the western side of the region, before a glass footpath directs explorers south and then east, where it is possible to climb the long finger of a rising promontory, which itself turns back to the north as it comes to the eastern side of the setting.

The second way down from the plateau is on its north side, passing by way of a large dance area build atop a smaller plateau of rock rising from the sea. Steps from here descend to join another glass path lain among the wildflowers as it travels eastwards to reach a large domed pavilion at it furthest extent, and beyond which the trail becomes one of grass and flowers.

It is this second route down from the plateau which offers one of the opportunities to take one of the region’s gondola tours (just to the left of the raise walkway from the last set if steps descending from the plateau). These tours are point-to-point, and so also allow visitors to reach specific destinations within the region. Boats are suitable for singles or couples, and sitting in a gondola will display a dialogue box of the destinations available from each embarkation point.

As each tour ends at the embarkation point for another, it is possible to use them in sequence to view the region, hopping from one boat to the next at each stop. It is via these gondolas that the narrow spit of land running along the north side of the region is best reached (“Forest Love”).

There is a good degree of repetition across the region in terms of statues and architecture – unicorns large and small, benches with statues, winged fairies spouting water, Elicio’s elven arches and glass walkways, stone gazebos with giant daisy-like places to sit within them, etc. These all work thematically and act as motifs for the region, offering opportunities for the imagination to invent suitable backstories for the setting.

Also to be found through the setting are multiple places to dance, including couples poseballs tucked away here and there as well as the more familiar dance systems hanging in the air over the more obvious dance locations. From the advertising I caught during my visit, I gather the region is also home to live music events. Details of these, I assume, are available through the local Group – but it appears this requires contacting either Elguaje70 or DjDDB in order to join.

With places to sit scattered throughout (including about the sail vessel and within the aforementioned caves), Purple Moon Ashes provides multiple reasons to not only explore, but also to relax and unwind within its borders. The local sounds are not intrusive, and the setting lends itself to a wide variety of EEP options.

In all, a visually engaging and charming visit.

SLurl Details

• Purple Moon Ashes (Purple Moon, rated Moderate)

Back in July I received an invitation from Dama (Damatjo Magic) to visit her Homestead region of Dutch Coast, and I’m embarrassed to say it’s taken a better part of a month for me to take her up on the offer.

The majority of the region is offered as a largely public, low-lying sandy island, dotted with birch, eucalyptus, oak and aspen, the upper reaches of the island (such as they are), carpeted with grass and flowers, providing spaces for the local sheep to graze.

I say the “majority” of the island is open to the public, because there is a private house on the south side, sitting on a large deck and exhibiting something of a Tuscan style to it.

This is one of two private residences in the region, the other sitting on a little island tucked into the south-west corner of the region and which is, I believe, Dama’s private home.

Outside of these, two other buildings are to be found on the main island, both of which appear to be open to the public. I’m not 100% sure on this, but I didn’t see any privacy notices associated with either.

The Landing Point sits towards the east side of the island, just above the eastern beach as it runs north-to-south, dotted with places to sit – including a beach shack and a small pier. Arcing around to the southern side of the island, the sands become separated from the sea by rocks in the run towards the private house mentioned above.

To the north, the beach passes around the larger of the two houses which appear open to the public. From here the sands carry on to the second beach house, where rocks once again separate the sand from the sea as the coast runs along the west side of the region and back towards the private house.

The rocks may look desolate, but they are home for a pod of seals that have chosen them as a place to bask in the sun.

Such is the design of the island that exploration is a simple matter of wandering on foot and appreciating the landscape and wildlife. There are plenty of places for sitting and passing the time for those who so wish, and there are a lot of little details to be appreciated throughout.

Easy on the eyes, with a sunset style of EEP settings and rounded-out by a subtle soundscape, Dutch Coast is an easy, gentle and calming visit. My thanks to Dama for the invitation!

SLurl Detail

• Dutch Coast (Nevaeh’s Rest, rated Moderate)