Category: Reviews

Update, September 2021: Elvion has relocated and expands – see: Elvion expanded in Second Life.

Elvion, the homestead region design by Bo Zano (BoZanoNL) has always been a place to which I’m drawn. Since its inception and through several iterations, it has presented a haven of natural peace and beauty in Second Life that can smooth both troubled mind and upset heart, and which never fails to offer the eye and camera much to see and appreciate.

As far as I can recall, Bo has tended to keep his designs to the ground level, but with the iteration I visited at the start of June, he’s made use of the space available overhead as well and the ground level environment. The result is a setting of three distinct parts, each complete unto itself whilst also joining naturally with its companions to offer visitors much to see and appreciate – and even more space to reflect.

The ground level of the region presents a setting that in part echoes past Elvion designs in terms of general landscape and the mix of land and water, but which is nevertheless unique in its presentation, sitting as a small, low-lying island, the partial region surround suggesting it might be part of an small archipelago.

This island, rich in summer greens and the bright colours of wild flowers, is home to the main landing point that sits to the the south-east, watched over by a mature pelican and young goat. Two large buoys are stranded on the shore here, rusting and fading under the Sun. Their position raises the question of whether they might have been deposited by some past storm that tore them from their anchor chains or if they were simply abandoned by human hands, their work out in the channels beyond the island long since finished.

A path leads the way up from the landing point to where an A-frame house sits as a quiet retreat, places to sit and appreciate the view both on its raised deck and among the flowers growing around it. This house is, together with a small gazebo / pergola sitting closer to the landing point and overlooking the rocky shoreline, pretty much the only sign of human habitation to be found on the island, allowing its rugged beauty to be fully appreciated.

The path from landing point to house will lead visitors past one of the region’s little pug dogs that have in the past been named after either the Three Stooges or members of the Rat Pack (along with other animals found in past Elvion iterations), but who sits unnamed here, keeping an eye on the region’s information givers and pointing the way to the teleport signs.

Set as a group of wooden signs, these provide access to the two sky settings within the region at the time of my visit.

Touching Forest will carry you to – unsurprisingly – a woodland setting. It’s a place in the blooms of spring and colours of summer that could so easily be pictured as a further part of the island, the A-frame house waiting to rise back into view if you just wandered far enough in the right direction through the surround mist.

At the same time, however, those surrounding mists, the ruins and the trails winding over the the grass and rocks to a domed stone gazebo and the falls and water that lie beyond it, present the feeling that its is genuinely an altogether different place to the island; somewhere altogether more mystical.

Walking the path from the landing point and its ruins to –  and beyond – the waterfalls and their streams, I felt I was wandering into some corner of Westeros or perhaps a forgotten outlier of Imladris, such is the deep sense of  place bound within the setting that encourages the imagination to take flight.

Dreamland, the highest of the settings in terms of general elevation offers a similar connection to both forest and the island through its landing point, which sits within a ruined abbey, and the surround rich foliage of trees.

But step beyond the confines of the old walls, and you find you have been transported somewhere entirely different: a place where desert and grasslands intertwine – but whether it is a place where prairie meets dustlands or veldt meets desert’s  edge, is entirely up to you.

A thatched cottage and nearby windmill give a slight European lean to the setting, but at the same time, were a herd of cattle to come through the scrubby grass, driven by weather-beaten cowpokes, they would be at all out of place.

And certainly, for those with wearable horses, this is a location with more than enough room for riding, whilst those seeking places to sit and reflect, cogitate or enjoy the company of another, there is also plenty here to be found.

Beautifully conceived and executed, Elvion remains a joy to visit and behold.

SLurl Details

• Elvion (Quiet, rated Moderate)

I’ve been a little preoccupied with various things of late, which means some of my blogging has been slipping. I’m not sure when the preoccupations will decrease to a point where I’m back to a more regular cadence of posts (the usual two a day at least), but in the meantime I am still trying to chug along with reports and articles on art and places to visit.

All of which brings me to Bluebell Coast, a Homestead region designed by Christina Riolz (Christina Hammerer) and John Dee Riolz (JohnMcFluff), which takes as its full title: A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast, which the couple describe thus:

The Ayrshire Coastal Path- Be ye Man or Bairn or Wumman, Be ye gaun or be ye comin, For Scotland’s Pride no Scotland’s shame, Gether yer litter and tak it Hame!

In other words, whoever you are, whether you’re coming or going, here’s a part of Scottish pride to be enjoyed and photographed – just make sure you take your litter home with you!

Split by a stream running out to sea from a rocky pool that is  in turn fed by modest falls that drop from an upland area (and which are mirrored on the seawards side, this is region that captures some of the lowland coastal regions of western Scotland, wild and grassy and – here at least – rich in bluebells.

With the main landing point a little off-centre to the region, this is a place that is easy on the eye and easy to explore. dusty paths offering the key routes over the grass. Typical to the Scottish lowlands, this is a place with dry stone walls, the ruins of ancient fortifications and ruins – one of which is suggestive of a former religious centre.

To one corner of the region sits a thatched crofter’s cottage. A nearby tractor suggests it is a working house, but the views across the region offered from from its windows and grounds are picturesque and more than make up for any daily chores the owner(s) may have to perform.

With beaches lying along its borders, this is a haven for wildlife and wildfowl – seals rest from fish hunting, watched over by a pelican, for example; whilst seagulls keep an eye on everything.

Getting around on foot is easy enough, the majority of the land undulating gently but not enough to make walking around tiring. But for those who prefer, horses and bicycles are available, with the horses capable of carrying two. Those of a romantic disposition are also welcome to make use of the many dance systems awaiting discovery, one of which is awaiting discovery within The Cave Inn – which is not your typical pub.

Rich in subtle detail, with plenty of opportunities for photography, A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast makes for an easy, engaging visit.

With thanks to Shawn Shakespeare.

Slurl Details

• A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast (Chandrakala, rated: Adult)

So this is going to be a little different to my usual offerings under the Exploring Second Life tag in this blog, as it is not exactly about a “typical” region visit, nor is it a product review. However, a photo posted by Loverdag at the end of May sent me scurrying across the grid to pay a visit to a commercial build by creator Del-ka Aedilis (karport).

I say “scurrying” because I’ve been immersed in all things Tolkien since the days of my childhood, firstly via having The Hobbit read to me as a bedtime story, and then discovering The Fellowship of the Ring when I was a (very precocious) 12 (I would pass a pun here about Tolkien’s writings being Hobbit-forming, but I’ll leave that to one side). This being the case, I was hardly going to pass up the opportunity of dropping into the community of Men laid low by Smaug the dragon: Esgaroth – or Lake-town – on the waters of the Long Lake east of Mirkwood and south of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain.

This Laketown (to use the name given to the rezbox-enabled build) appears to be based on the visualisation of Esgaroth as seen within Peter Jackson’s (overly drawn-out) film trilogy of The Hobbit, rather than anything based on Tolkien’s own drawings of the town (which were more akin to neolithic pile dwellings than anything, whereas Jackson’s visualisation allowed for a far more adventuresome setting).

From the watchtowers overlooking the pier and drawbridge linking the town with the shore, through to what appears to be the  house belonging to the Master of Lake-town, this is an exceptionally creative and flexible build that utilises both original mesh by Del-ka Aedilis and incorporates full permission kits from the likes of IvanBenjammin to fully capture the tone and spirit of lake-town as seen in Jackson’s films.

Set within surrounding mountains that are both too numerous to be foothills of Erebor and too close to the the flanks of the Grey Mountains or the Iron Hills but which are nevertheless a perfect setting in which to show of the town, this Laketown is ideal for photography – as Loverdag demonstrated. Even moreso, for those with the space (the build tops out at around 1,736 LI out-of-the-box and covers an area of 196 x 107 metres), this is a build ideal for any medieval or fantasy role-play, whether or not any gold, kings-under-the-mountain, dwarves or dragons are concerned.

Materials enabled, the build is supplied partially dressed with reeds and (I believe) various waterside items – boxes, barrels, etc.). Even tho the buildings are all unfurnished, its hard not to wander the boardwalks around an connecting them and here the sounds of commerce and domestic life going on along the wharves and behind the wooden walls.

I’m not sure how long this demonstration version of Laketown will be available – the build is apparently available at an introductory price of L$7,499 until the end of June, so perhaps it might poof after that, I’ve no idea. However, for the photographer among us, it does make for an engaging and photogenic visit!

SLurl Details

• Del-ka Aedilis Laketown (Lumilux, rated Moderate)