Category: Reviews

It’s been some three years since my previous visit to Green Story, the Homestead region held and designed by Dior Canis. I hadn’t meant to leave so long a time between visits, so a nudge from fellow blogger and photographer, Miu (MiuMira) to hop over and visit came as a welcome reminder.

Overall, there is a tendency among many public regions that change appearance within Second Life to follow the passage of the northern hemisphere seasons of the physical world. As such, I always find a certain pleasure in settings that buck this trend – a nice summery location when most are showing us the many faces of winter, for example.

Such is the case with the current iteration of Green Story, which opts to present a rich wintertime setting to offset all the summer spots we can enjoy across Second Life. It carries with it just the smallest hints of the end-of-year holiday season.

Caught under a night-time glittering with unnumbered stars and from which snowflakes infinitely fall to blanket the ground, this iteration of Green Story retains a familiarly semi-rugged design found within previous versions, but which is completely unique.

Overhead, the Milky Way arches across the sky, its bright ribbon cutting the sea of stars in twain whilst also itself being split by the dark shadow of the Great Rift running through the middle of its arc.

With highlands and rocky peaks running along the east side of the region, the Landing Point sits tucked into the lee formed by the shoulders of these highlands, and within a little gathering of buildings clustered around a clock tower and alongside the local tram line. It is here that the little hint of the winter holiday season might be found, in the form of a little kiosk store, while a couple of the other buildings forming cosy places for sitting and chatting.

A little to the west the land gives way to open waters, a string of street lamps curving along the line of the coast to suggest the water has overwhelmed a local footpath or road.

Off this coast and set directly against the arch of the Milky Way lay the shadowy forms of a tall tower and thin, stubby finger of a three-storey townhouse linked by a set of wooden decks.  How you reach this is up to you, but the tower offers both bungee jumping and the opportunity to drift around the region in the air.

Another opportunity to travel the region lies to the south, where a horse rezzer might be found close to the tall form of a windmill (do remember to turn off your own AO before sitting on the rezzed horse!). Not far from the rezzer, the land starts its eastern climb, wooden walkways and stone steps rising to a shoulder of rock and one of the many sitting areas found throughout the region.

Overseen by one of the many cats found throughout the setting as they keep an eye on things, this shoulder of rock within its campfire is not the highest point in the region people can explore. To the north can be found a shelf of rock looking out over the open waters, it is reach extended by a high wooden deck which points a finger out over the lowland and snowy shoreline below.

This plateau is home to a small recording studio and more places to sit. It is perhaps reached via an uphill walk to the mid-point of the highlands, and then crossing an elevated bridge spanning an overgrown gorge, before climbing onwards from there.

However, how you choose to explore is up to you. While there are one or two rough / unusual elements to the setting (a couple of the building were floating just clear of the snow beneath them on my visit, and an entire cabin appeared to be magically (intentionally or otherwise, I’ve no idea) balanced on the very topmost little branches of a tree), there is no mistaking the many opportunities for photography to once again be found within Green Story.

In all another engaging visit!

SLurl Details

• Green Story (rated: Moderate)

Located in the north-east of Sansara sit the natural realm of Sawrey Forest. The work of Valerian Kronfeld, this full region offers a range of connected settings linked via teleport boards and teleport portals, each with its own identity, with some folding within them common themes.

The main element is Sawrey Forest itself, located on a sky platform and presenting a single, contiguous setting off woodland, rugged cliffs and rocky uplands. The Landing Point is tucked into the south-west corner of the location, which also presents the first of the teleport boards providing access to the other locations waiting to be explored.

Welcome to Sawrey Forest! This mystical woodland invites you to embark on enchanting walks through extensive trails. Discover secluded spots perfect for cuddling with loved ones or simply relaxing in nature’s embrace. Whether you’re seeking adventure or a peaceful retreat, Sawrey Forest offers a serene escape for everyone. Come explore the beauty and tranquillity!

– Valerian Kronfeld, describing Sawrey Forest

A sign points the way “to the Forest”, and the start of a series of paths and trails winding through the trees and snake around the rocky uplands. Along the way are further signposts pointing the way to the principle destinations of interest waiting to be found.

The main paths are gravel and easy to follow, with bridges crossing streams, and grassy or semi-paved paths take over where the gravel fades. As well as these, there are zip lines for quick crossings between elevated points and those lower down (and also a ladder in one place!), helping people to get around.

Such is the design, the paths meander and turn through the forest in such away as to make any visit a delightful exploration, with the various locations within it cleverly set-out so as to be somewhat invisible from one another, with the walks between them suggesting of greater distances between them.

The places tucked into the forest include The Tower, rising against the cliffs marking the north-west corner of the setting, a cosy round room sitting at its top, under a pinnacle roof and offering views across the landscape. Then there are the tree house and the tree cottage (which are two very different places!); a walk up to the high plateau with the lake below it; and the mystically-named Magic Piano and Gaia, among others.

As to which order a person encounters these when exploring is entirely a matter of choice, the paths and trails dividing and coming together to offer different routes of exploration. Along the way there are places to sit under the trees, alongside the waterfalls, etc., bright bursts of flowers, rounded out by local birds, fish and wildlife.

The majority of additional locations offered require the use of the teleport board at the Landing Point. There is a strong oriental theme linking several, with a spiritual theme also present. The one exception to the need to use the teleport board comes in the form of the Caves – which can be reached from the board or via a teleport portal waiting to be found within the forest.

Given my love of the Far East, it should come as no surprise that I was particularly drawn to Zendo, with its large body of water bounded by rocks and bamboo thickets. A meditation centre sits on a hill overlooking the lake, which is crossed by three bridges hopping their way over two little stepping-stone islands. This is matched by the Zen Garden, again with open water and open-air walks and the opportunity to play board games.

My personal choices aside, all of the additional locations reached via the teleport board (and which extend down to the ground level) offer their own attractions, large and small. All of which makes Sawrey Forest an engaging visit.

SLurl Details

• Sawrey Forest (Sawrey, rated General)

Back on May 2022, visited The Wylde, a quarter-region design by Jazaar Silvermoon (Jazaar Heartsong) and AmiandAeon Silvermoon (AmiAndAeon), presented as a public garden for people to visit and appreciate as it sat alongside – but entirely separate from – their private home (see: A walk in The Wylde in Second Life).

Since then, Jazaar and AmiandAeon have acquired the rest of the Full region on which their home and The Wylde stand, allowing them to expand the latter whilst also offering a second public space to visit, which they’ve called The Nightgarden. The latter is both separate from The Wylde with its own Landing Point, but also connected to it – at least it is for those who are observant and willing to explore carefully! With the expansion, Jazaar kindly sent me an invitation to pay the region another visit.

The landing Point for The Wilde remains on the west side of the region, immediately adjacent to one of the gates and walls marking Jazaar and Ami’s home, which occupies the south-west corner of the region and is not open to public exploration.

The public path heads north, very quickly branching into a Y to offer two choices of exploration. Which you opt to take is entirely up to you. One leads the way through the trees to where a small cuddle deck sits out over the waters of a brook (and more), the other offers a meandering path through the woods with multiple discoveries to be made along the way.

As I noted when writing about The Wylde in 2022, there is a mystical look and feel about it, with the paths offering much to see – rabbits, unicorns in a hidden meadow (where people might also dance), statues, ponds, gazebos, streams – all of which allow the setting to speak for itself as it unfolds before the eyes as one wanders. Luminescence hangs in the air and graces exotics plants, teardrop lanterns hang from boughs, and the density of trees and shrubs ensure you’ll want to keep a keen eye in order to observe everything.

Depending where you wander, you explorations may be aided by the timely intervention of a bridge to span a stream or body of water – or you might find stepping stones to help keep your feet dry. Rotating rings of stone blocks, a bubbling cauldron and statues of fae folk and (perhaps) pagan deities add further mystery and magic to the setting. The centre highlands are dominated by two large structures, a mystical rotunda sitting between the stubby peak of a frosted mounted topped by an eleven garden. There are at least two routes up to the rotunda (one passing under a Fantasy Faire “gate”) – but again – I’ll leave you to find them!

The Nightgarden is, as already noted, the latest addition to the setting. Occupying the south-east quarter of the region, it stands both on its own as a place to visit via its own Landing Point, and as a place which can be explored alongside of The Wylde, to which it is connected by hidden paths (one of which I found and will say only this: bridges here don’t only span a gorge, they might also heave beneath them a part hidden in plain sight and which doesn’t end at a waterfall).

Welcome to the Nightgarden, a mystical world of starlit serenity. Follow the paths, explore the phosphorescent flora, bask in the waterfalls from the floating islands, and discover the portals that lead you into even more discoveries.

– From The Nightgarden’s About Land description

Surrounded by steep rock, The Nightgarden offers a deep water lake which can almost be circumnavigated, the shoreline awash with luminescent plants and rich foliage, as  blue water tumbles from islands of rock floating overhead. Some of this pools in depressions atop the cliffs prior to tumbling down one more, some falls directly into the lake. Strange plants also float above the deep waters, sharing the air with the rock islands – the largest of which has a garden of its own waiting to be visited – and lanterns.

Watching over this is a house of glass, an arboretum rich in exotic, glowing flora. It stands back against the cliffs, inaccessible save via the teleport boats, one moored on the waters of the lake, the other serenely moored against the arboretum, each with an touch-teleport ring mounted upon its deck. Nor do things end there; below the waters is a further realm, again alive with colour and filled with detail, just waiting for people to slip below the waves and explore.

Throughout all of this – The Wylde and The Nightgarden alike – are many places to sit and relax, cuddle, dance and generally lose yourself. Well worth visiting and exploring.

SLurl Details

Club of Friends is rated Moderate.

• The Wilde
• The Nightgarden

Jim Garand and his SL partner PaleLily have re-developed Jim’s Homestead region of Grauland to present another photogenic setting with hints of mystery and story to tickle the imagination.

This iteration of the setting offers no themed title. However, the overall look of the setting blends characteristics seen within past builds to offer what might be called industrial-artistic, bringing together multiple elements into a unified whole. In places it comes across as familiar, but when taken as a whole is new and unique to itself.

For this iteration, the region has been split into two, north-to-south, the larger western portion of the setting home to the Landing Point and a large, abandoned industrial facility, part of which straddles the waterway and appears to have once been used to load / off-load barges.

The smaller and lower eastern side of the setting is dominated by the remnants of a brick-built lighthouse which presumably once helped guide vessels into the channel between the two landmasses. With most of the steel lantern house now gone and holes blasted in tits sides, the ruin look as if it at some point faced a bombardment of some sort, making the lighthouse an interesting feature.

Also on this smaller spit of land are concrete cubes, some solid and some hollow and with large holes cut into their sides. Those familiar with past Grauland builds may well recognise them as a familiar artistic piece; they do the same here, whilst mixing in one of those elements of mystery narrative the imagination might want to chase: who set them there and why?

Then there is the question of quite what was manufactured in the industrial units – or what they have may have been used for, and why does the warehouse still appear to be in use?

However, among the larger settings are smaller vignettes which tickle the imagination. What are the cars in field, and who brought them to this isolated place? Why does one have a windscreen that looks like some tried to shoot the driver? Who is using the “club room” on the ground floor of one of the buildings – and who has turned the upper floor into an adult-like film set? Is it s one-off use, or is the place now a sight for illicit film-making? The more you explore the more the opportunities to ask questions of yourself and create little stories.

Right across the island there are dozens of opportunities for photography, together with plenty of places to set and pass the time – and again, contemplate suitable back stories for all you can find. The places to sit are widely varies, from the wooden deck with its sun loungers and the pool rings and floats inviting people to try the water, to the chairs up on the catwalk over the big tanks.

Another fascinating and engaging build from Jim and PaleLily.

SLurl Details

• Grauland (Liberia Isle, rated Adult)