Category: Reviews

Golgothica’s story has yet to be written … The detailed, rich mysterious, Gothic landscape will hopefully inspire those who come here to discover with others what it’s story is and why things are as they are. It is an open book, the first chapter is a simple description of the place and the locations. But who lives here, what they do, and why, is in the creative minds of those who come to dwell here?

So reads, in part the introduction to Golgothica, the latest region-wide setting that has sprung forth from the eye and imagination of Hera (Zee9). Sharing the same Full region as the latest iteration of her famous Drune cyberpunk environment (which sits high in the sky overhead), Golgothica is – and I say this without any hyperbole – a simply magnificent build.

Located on the ground level of the region and reached via the main landing point that also offers a way to the current iteration of Drune, the setting is presented as a medieval style coastal town or village, with a small wharf, numerous houses and places of commerce, a church that at first glance appears to perhaps be under repair, and with outlying farmlands, woods and roads that cross the countryside while the high walls and towers of what might at first be taken as a mighty castle rise to the west, dominating the skyline.

It all looks typically Middle Ages on being seen for the first time – it is only as visitors explore, that the darker side of the place, caught in the growing shadows of twilight, starts to reveal itself. The local inn, for example, carries the name The Slaughtered Lamb and has hanging over its door the image of a severed wolf’s head on a pike; thus neither name nor sign are particularly welcoming – although inside, all is undoubtedly cosy.

And what is one to make of the Romany camp  at the edge of town, the caravans carefully arranged around a stone pentagram lain within the ground, or the riverside statue seeming to celebrate the blood lust of werewolves? What sinister rites might be performed out at the henge where fires burn – one within the rune-inscribed round stone at the centre of the henge, and the other at the feet of the great wicker man watching over the ancient stones, apparently awaiting someone to occupy its woven form…

A walk in the opposite direction to the henge raises further questions: what has happened to the local church?  A visit to it will reveal that rather than being in a state of repair, it has in fact been left to ruin, with nature slowly claiming it as a place of her own, all former signs of devotion long removed saved a single statue – and even that is far from saintly.

Across the waters of the local stream, the woodlands add to the mystery, strange lights illuminating the tree trunks, casting haunting light across glades that offer the unexpected, from statutes to shrines that hint towards unnatural acts.

Then, beyond this all sits the castle that is in fact a monastery – at least according to the map that can be obtained at the main landing point, or which is automatically delivered as visitors land aboard the vessel moored at the village quayside, and which marks the start of all journeys through the setting. With its foreboding walls and towers and great gates, it has all the look of a fortification designed to keep people out, rather than welcoming them in for worship, whilst the shape of the many watchtowers that line its walls imply something of a far eastern influence.

Caught against the setting Sun in the default environment for the setting, this great complex is no home to the chanting of your usual monks, Gregorian or Buddhist, however; although it is clearly the seat of some form of learning, given the Maester’s library on the upper level of the southern keep-like structure.

Instead, this appears to be a place where deities of a more forbidden kind are paid homage, as can be witnessed by the Bosch-like murals in the sleeping cells of those who reside here and through the design of the main chapel. And what of the dungeons lying below that chapel, what do they say of those who might occupy them – and the fate that might awaited them?

Two interlinked elements are always apparently within Hera’s builds that makes them ideal for visitors and role-players alike. The first is narrative: all of Hera’s builds from the 2019-XS pre-Drune, through Drune (covered numerous times in these pages) to the likes of Venesha and on to Golgothica carry within them threads of narrative and imagine just waiting for those coming into the region to pick them up and follow them or weave them together.

The second is attention to detail that both helps to strengthen these threads and gives the more casual visitor touches to be appreciated. Take, for example the beehives behind the mead house; a small detail they might be – but an important one. After all, what is mead without honey, other than water with some added fruit for taste? Add to this the fact that the major structures within Hera’s builds are of her own design, thus making each setting genuinely unique in form and character.

I have yet to be disappointed in any of Hera’s designs; they never fail to to engage, surprise and enamour. However, with Golgothica I cannot help but feel she has created something very special, perhaps her most engaging, immersive design to date. I’ve no idea how long Hera intends to keep Golgothica open – I suppose that very much depends on her creative spark – but it is quite genuinely not a setting to be missed. or avoided.

SLurl Details

• Golgothica and Drune main landing point (Blissful Summer, rated Adult}

 

Designed by Julia Dagger (JuliaTrouble) and occupying a Mainland sky platform The Redwoods offers people a chance to escape to a corner of Second Life devoted to nature in the form of a setting that might have been lifted from southern California’s Sequoia National Park.

It is a location that is exceptionally easy on the eye where, thanks to the design and the sound scape, it is possible to genuinely lose oneself in a sense of being deep within Nature’s realm. It’s also – on the surface at least – easy to explore; but as with many things in Second Life, actually holds a secret.

Tucked into the south-east corner of the setting and almost entirely ringed by cliffs, the landing point offers a map marking the the park and its trails. While in keeping with the sense of being within a national park, this map and the others like it aren’t really necessary, as the trails through the landscape are clearly and pleasantly laid out, complete with logs to form natural steps down and over the slopes and undulating ground.

A short distance from the landing point, the path divides, one arm running both north and west to where the lake sits, an open space within the the tall sequoia trees, both fed by and feeding the park’s streams. Around the lake’s shores can be found benches on which to sit, and a camp site tucked into the shade of the trees, while a boat and a deck offer over-the-water places to sit as well.

The second branch of the track runs along the edge of the stream that feeds into the lake, and which is in turn fed by waterfalls to the north-east. This stream largely splits the land in two, separating the main trails through the trees from the park’s lodge.

An expansive structure, reached by way of two bridges over the stream, the lodge offers indoor and outdoor seating and the kind of information counter one might expect in such a place. It’s a cosy place to rest and / or appreciate the local comings and goings and is overlooked by a small cabin sitting on a square block of rock. With no visible means of getting up to it, I assume the latter is a private retreat, rather than a further space for visitors to spend time, and so we didn’t investigate it further.

As noted above, the setting is easy on the eye and easy to explore, whether on foot or on the back of a wearable horse – but it does have a secret, one that is best found on foot. Tucked away completely out of sight is a little bar. Of an unusual design, you’ll have to search for it to find it, and I don’t want to give its location away. Suffice it to say, walk as far as you think you can, and then go through the precipitous curtain beyond the log camp – just mind the first step!

In days when we can too easily feel as if home life is closing in around us, and walls too close for comfort, The Redwoods offers a sense of pushing those walls back and presenting us with a chance to appreciate woodland walks and the sensations of witnessing sunlight through high branches, the call of clear flowing water always close by.

In short, it presents a sense of freedom and escape, whether you wander the trails, sit in one of the camp sites our tuck yourself away within a hammock under the trees, thus making it a perfect visit.

SLurl Details

• The Redwoods (Cha, rated Moderate)

Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens.

– The Greater Good, University of California, Berkeley

Modern life means we tend to always be on the go, both physically an mentality.  If we’re on on our way from something, we tend to hurrying to something else; if were not thinking about tomorrow, we’re reviewing yesterday; we have very little time in which we allow ourself to simply be in the now.

With the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still raging around the world, even with the bright promise of vaccines and a growing confidence that it can at last be brought to ground and controlled, life has been and remains even more chaotic and stressful, both as we carry concerns about the pandemic and concerns for ourselves, our families and our income whilst also become impatient for a future where we can resume more “normal” lives.

Hence why perhaps now more than ever  we need the means to escape daily pressures and find room to simply be – and Second Life with all of its potential for freedom of expression, creativity and so on, can be an ideal channel through which we can do this. But even so, we all tend to spend our time in-world doing things and staying occupied; we rarely take a moment to be Mindful of ourselves, to be aware of what our bodies are experiencing and what we are thinking and feeling in the moment we are experiencing them.

It’s easy to stop noticing the world around us. It’s also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living ‘in our heads’ – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour.

– Professor Mark Williams, Oxford Mindfulness Centre

The Centre for Mindfulness is an environment created within Second Life to help anyone who wishes to regain their sense of balance and self. The work of Cythe (Cytheria Teardrop) with the assistance of Anna Timmerman, the Centre has recently completed a relocation to a sky platform over Cythe’s Full region (which has the the added Private region LI bonus), to provide the complete experience for those wishing to re-centre themselves.

An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. That might be something as simple as the feel of a banister as we walk upstairs.

– Professor Mark Williams, Oxford Mindfulness Centre

Ringed by mountains that suggest it might be located within the highlands of Japan or the mountains of Nepal or Tibet, the setting offers the ideal environment for those who wish to de-stress, either on their own or through scheduled events (details of which can be found on the Centre’s website and on the information board at the the in-world landing point).

In terms of its design, the platform is divided into a number of areas,  all of which can be reached via the landing point’s teleport station  or on foot – but I very much recommend the latter, as it presents far more of the location’s natural beauty. Located within a Zen Garden watched over by a seated Buddha, the landing point offers circular walks to be enjoyed in their own right as a means to lose oneself in the act of walking.

This garden also offers paths to two of the centre’s facilities  – the Soul Meet, within its walled garden, and the Peaceful Minds pavilion sitting over a pool of calming water. Both of these play host to events at the Centre – at the time of my second visit, a class in meditation was taking place within the pavilion, underlining the fact that whilst in the virtual realm the Centre is very much about our condition in the physical.

Another important part of mindfulness is an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen moment to moment. It’s about allowing ourselves to see the present moment clearly. When we do that, it can positively change the way we see ourselves and our lives.

– Professor Mark Williams, Oxford Mindfulness Centre

Beyond the gardens, a bridge reaches out to a peak offering the opportunity to perform simple yoga exercises alongside your avatar at the Happy Stretch gazebo – just follow the information boards on the gazebo’s walls. The bridge also provides a view down over a crater-like lake. Reach via path, stair and walkway and sitting on the the waters of the lake is the Tranquillity Bath, where your avatar can rest and you can  learn about the restorative power of the Osen.

Across the ridge of the gardens and to the east, is a second body of water. Reached via a walk along the ridge and between tress, it is home to the Dreaming Buddha, it is a place where swan boats can be ridden in a perpetual circle while you turn your thoughts inward and in peace.

Also close to the landing point is the Coin Store. To encourage participation in the Centre’s activities, visitors can earn CfM coins and exchange them for selected items. While I’m not sure the idea of involvement for reward is entirely in keeping with a genuine desire to reach a state of Mindfulness, I do understand the reason for including it; Second Life has more than enough to distract the mind and keep it occupied, that having a means to entice return visits can only help with on-going participation.

With space to explore, room for centre staff and what looked to be additional facilities waiting to come on-stream together with a full schedule of events open for anyone to join in, The Mindfulness Centre has a lot offer open minds. My thanks to Malburns for pointing me towards it by way of The World of Yana.

SLurl Details and Link

• The Centre for Mindfulness (Niuka, rated Adult)
• Centre for mindfulness website