Category: Reviews

No-one familiar with fantasy in Second Life can be unaware of Elicio Ember and his magnificent work as both a content creator and as a world-builder – notably at the annual Relay for Life in Second Life Fantasy Faire event. For over seventeen years, through his brand, Cerridwen’s Cauldron, Elicio has redefined fantasy and sci-fi landscapes, architecture, and décor in Second Life. From towering bioluminescent forests to elegant elven spires, through unique science fiction elements to modern décor amenable to any home, as well as avatar wearables, his work is synonymous with fantasy, traditions, beauty and quality.

I’ve actually covered his creations as a part of my coverage of past Fantasy Faire events, and in its own right through his store, Cerridwen’s Cauldron, which has always been an inspirational joy to visit. And it is to the store I returned recently, as Elicio invited me to partake of a new chapter in his creativity, as he prepares to formally open it in a brand new iteration at a new location on April 10th, 2025. As with his past store, it will be part of a wider narrative through the provision of a ground-level realm; however at the time of writing this piece, the latter was still in development – and as such, will be subject to a future article. Together, both store and ground-level setting will form Caer Awen.

To appreciate Cerridwen’s Cauldron to the fullest, it is necessary to dip into Celtic – and particularly Middle Welsh – mythology.

Cerridwen (or indeed, Ceridwen), pronounced Ke-RID-wen, not seer-ID-when or any variation thereof, was an enchantress closely tied to the Llyfr Taliesin (Book of Taliesen) and in some tales to the birth of Taliesen himself, and most particularly for giving birth to the beautiful Creirwy, one of the three most beautiful maids of the Isle of Britain, and her hideous brother, Morfan (literally “sea crow”), who is tied to the Arthurian legend. To compensate for her son’s hideous and dark form, Cerridwen sought to imbue him with great wisdom and poetic inspiration, turning to her magic cauldron in order to do so.

That cauldron contained Awen, the inspiration; the breath (or muse) gifted to poets, bards, artists and musicians, and itself born of the three elements of rebirth, transformation, and inspiration (which, quite outside the scope of discussion here, ripple out towards ides of the Holy Trinity), and which also marked Cerridwen as the pagan goddess  of said elements.

Caer (Kair), meanwhile, also has Old Welsh roots, symbolising a fort of stronghold. It can also be used to indicate a citadel, and it is this connotation that is found within Caer Awen – meaning Citadel of Inspiration – and  the name suits the new build perfectly.

Like previous Cerridwen’s Cauldron builds, it sits within the sky as a realm unto itself. As a store, it is laid on around the four cardinal points, each corresponding to an element: North = Earth; East = Fire; South = Air and West = Water, and Elicio’s creations are gathered (with some nods towards convenience) in respect of these elements. So, for example, water plants and underwater items can be found within Water, whilst land plants in Earth, and so on. Each section is clearly signed, as are the aisles within it, the entire layout intended to encourage creative thinking as one explores Elicio’s work.

Around the outer extremes of the store areas setting out some of the items for sale as dioramas. These might both further inspire and offer little tales of their own. Footpaths are clearly laid out, whilst individual items for sale are beautifully displayed, rather than just shown as images on a vendor, thus allowing visitors to fully appreciate the and  – again – feel the breath of inspiration as to how and where they might be used.

Central to all of this is the Citadel itself, comprising a central circular structure rising into the sky and with the Landing Point at its base level. It is surrounded to the North-East, South-East, South-West and Nort-West by four square-based towers. These occupy plazas which in turn sit between two cardinal elements apiece, allowing the themes from the two elemental areas to flow together, watched over by corner-placed spires.

Rising higher than the domes topping the central structure, the four towers each reflect one of the guiding cardinal elements. Nor do they stand alone; they are connected one to the next by graceful skywalks with elegant crystalline forms, with high balconies, while glass-floored walkways connect them to the central tower. Within each of them long stairways gracefully climb their inner walls, passing by their balconies to reach the upper skywalk and thus providing access to the upper reaches of the central tower.

It is within this upper level that Cerridwen’s Cauldron will host events – starting with the formal opening party on Sunday, April 13th commencing at 18:00 SLT. Called the Celestial Fae Court, this space is the social beating heart to Caer Awen’s stunning beauty, replete as it is with more of Elicio’s creations.

But in all honesty, words are not enough to describe anything here; the new Cerridwen’s Cauldron store is more than a place to visit (and make purchases!); it is a place to be tasted and savoured first-hand.  The build itself is utterly magnificent, with detail throughout that captures the eye and wraps itself around and over areas that might not ordinarily be seen – so free-camming is recommended. It is also a place that, conversely, should be navigated in first person if possible, thus allowing its beauty to unfold and blossom whilst following paths, turning corners and climbing stairways.

It is also a place that should be seen using the Shared Environment and with local sounds on for the fullest experience. Sounds change not just in the different elemental areas, but also with a passage of time from day to night. And the arrival or night brings its own beauty as glow and colour spring from plants and garden and crystals, adding further immersion to a setting already so rich and detailed.

As noted, the formal party for the opening is on April 13th, but the store should be available to the public from April 10th. I highly recommend that should you arrive during the region’s daylight hours, you stay until night arrives (the region follows the standard 4-hour day / night cycle, with three hours daylight and one hour of night) – or make a point of returning to see it during the hours of darkness – you will not be disappointed.

Do be sure to visit and immerse yourself in Elicio’s creativity and vision, and I’ll be back with more as the ground level setting opens up later in the year.

SLurl Details

• Caer Awen, Cerridwens Cauldron (rated Moderate)

In May 2024, I visited  TheNest: Sunbird, a Full region design leveraging the available Land Capacity bonus, brought together by Second Life partners Adam Cayden and Lya Seerose with the assistance of Tessa (Tessalie). Offering a mix of public spaces and private rental properties, I found the setting photogenic and engaging (see: A Sunbird’s Nest in Second Life).

Since then, a year has come and gone, and Lya and Adam have most recently been engaged in re-working the public spaces within the setting, and they extended an invitation to me to hop back to the region  – now called TheNest: Sunbird Featherwish – and have a wander.

Visit our serene town nestled in the mountains. Enjoy the peaceful streets and their enchanting views, explore our cosy rentals, and marvel at the natural beauty surrounding you, from the smallest blossom to the tallest tree. Come immerse yourself to the tranquillity of a rural paradise, where every corner is alive with the vibrant colours and scents of spring.

– Adam Cayden writing about TheNest : Sunbird Featherwish About Land

The broad design of the region remains as it was during my May 204 visit: the lowland areas open to the public, gradually climbing back to the highlands where the private rentals sit, all nice and clearly separated from the public areas to help avoid accidental trespass.

Within this design, the township presented at the time of my previous visit has been beautifully supplanted by a location rolling multiple ideas and themes together to present a genuinely delightful sense of small village /town intimacy which could so easily be found almost anywhere in Europe.

As with the previous iteration of the setting, the village / town is pedestrianised – but that’s as far as the similarities go. Now split between elevations linked by broad cobbled footpaths and sweeping steps and stairways, the town presents at its lower extremities access to a cosy beach with the local tram station sitting alongside it. From here, the steps rise under the arches of a high bridge buttressed at either end by hexagonal towers topped by small formal garden / sitting spaces.

Continuing up the steps and under the bridge brings visitors to a local ice cream parlour and its outdoor seating overlooking the tramway below, as the tracks departs the station to pass overland along the edge of of the region before vanishing into a tunnel. Also across from the ice cream parlour sits a little bakery offering treats and its own outdoor seating area, this overlooking small gorge fed by tumbling falls with open meadowlands beyond.

Between ice cream parlour and bakery, the path rises and sweeps past the local tea house, then rises again to arrive at the village / town square – or rather, circle! Here there is so much to see – as there is on the way up (including the local feline welcome committee tucked away and keeping an eye on things), so time dallying and exploring is recommended.

From the town it is possible to join the country walk as it arcs around the woodlands directly below the private rentals sitting up on their clifftop perches offering grand views of all that les below. This path eventually descends down to the meadowlands mentioned above, and which themselves can be reached from one end of the bridge also previously mentioned.

However, my descriptions of the setting are beside the point: such is the love and care that has been poured into the region, a visit is mandatory by anyone appreciating SL region designs. The detail is simply exquisite throughout  – from the cats watching over things and all the easily-missed details tucked into some of the public buildings and in the little alleys and gaps between some of them, to the details scatter along the countryside pathways and trails parks and walks. Throughout everything, there are multiple paces to sit and pass the time and several romantic little points for people to enjoy.

Perhaps the best way to appreciate the setting is to click the Scenic Route sign at the Landing Point and take the teleport down to the tram station. From here, you can work your way up through the town much as I have described – but with the option of turning left on climbing the steps up from the ice cream parlour, then following the signed path around to one of the hexagonal towers and then over the bridge. Just be sure that, whichever route you choose – up through the town or over the bridge to the meadowlands, take your time and keep your eyes open lest you miss something along the way!

A genuine delight to visit – and if you’re looking for a home it SL, it might just be the place to tickle your fancy. either way, why not take a look for yourself?

SLurl Details

• TheNest : Sunbird Featherwish (Pyxee Hollows, rated Moderate)

I’ve covered the region design work of Elo (WeeWangle Wumpkins) a number of times in these pages, both in terms of regions she has landscaped on behalf of others (such as Persephone Smythe (LeriaDraven) – see here) and in her own right, perhaps most notably – but by no means exclusively – with The Forgotten, which I originally blogged in April 2022 and again in January 2024.

While The Forgotten has since closed, its memory, in some ways at least, is carried on within The Quieting, a homestead region design by Elo which opened in March 2025. It abuts the home of Aardvark Animesh Pets & Animals, the store operated by Elo’s SL partner, Dash Phantom, with whom she landscaped that region.

Although I’ve not met Elo, we appear to have a lot in common: a slightly whimsical / crooked sense of humour, an love of cats, books and fantasy, and an adoration of nature and natural settings. In fact, such is the beauty, whimsy and humour of The Quieting, that a simple description of the region just is not enough; it is a place deserving of careful exploration and observation, because it folds so much into itself. In this, it carries on the spirit of The Forgotten, and the words I used to describe that setting hold true here as well:

This is a place that offers itself as a book; the landscape seamlessly flowing from shore to shore … leading the visitor through vignettes and elements which stand as chapters to a story, each one unique unto itself but also joined to those which came before and which follow after, their tales combining to draw the explorer onwards as the words flowing across written pages draw the reader deeper into their narrative. 

In fact, it is not unfair to say that whilst having its own unique personality, The Quieting has enough about it – the over-large full Moon that seems to reflect the light and colours of the clouds passing below it, the ritual stone circle with its central glowing crystal, the use of ruins – that those who recall The Forgotten will immediately sense the flow of unity between the two settings, even as The Quieting unfolds its own delights and stories.

From the Landing Point, located alongside a body of water that cuts deeply into the east side of the region, it is possible to strike out in several directions. Eastward, across a log bridge, offers a path through cavern rich in crystals and a tunnel to the beach, or if you prefer – a path up to the headland above said cavern and southward to where a little bookstore / reading corner sits within its own terrace. From there it is possible to pass through an avenue of trees and reach aged ruins enclosing a garden – a place also to be reached by stepping westward from the Landing Point and then heading south across the grass.

Further to the west, beyond the greenhouse kitchen (where there appears to have something of a mishap!), it is possible to reach a pair of little cottages and, close by, the remnants of anther ancient structure huddled in a bowl of land alongside the walled and flower-carpeted walk to the local chapel standing within a darkly humorous (Here Lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a .44 – No Less, No More) as well as quite touching. Above both chapel and ruins, sitting on the crown of a hill might be found a large greenhouse and yet more ruins which sit well-like in the hill, thick mist filing its deep.

Meanwhile, south of the cottages, the land rises to woodlands in which the noted ritual ring resides, surrounded by an almost mystical fog, reached via paths from both the grasslands and the high walls and walkway connecting the setting with Aardvark.

Each of these locations – and the all points between offer their own stories, touches and humour. Some of these – the mentioned greenhouse kitchen, the mandrakes of folklore finding themselves the subject of unwanted attention from an Eagle, the goofy / homely charm of the bookshop / reading corner (keep an eye out for the chicken having a frank exchange with a bespectacled mouse).

Others might be more easily missed (whilst you may spot the piglet taking to the air in a makeshift balloon basket – will you spot the red-coated (and red faced!) individual about to bring piglet back to Earth with – if not a bang, then certainly a rata-tat-tat?!). Or how about the hang-gliding mouse, or the snide-looking llama almost daring you to blame it for the broken state of the chair next to it; or how about the little beagle behaving like a virtual interpretation of Greyfriars Bobby? And that’s barely scratching the surface of all that is waiting to be seen here.

The fact is, The Quieting offers multiple vignettes, large (such as the ruins and their garden, the chapel and its graveyard) to the very small which sit both within the larger settings and entirely on their own (again, keep your eyes open as you follow the path around the base of the hill covering the cavern and tunnel, for example, or the opportunity to take to the air by a whimsical means).

Marvellously brought together, rich in details (and I haven’t really mentioned much of the wildlife scattered around, The Quieting is a richly engaging visit.

 SLurl Details

• The Quieting (rated Moderate)

In June 2023 I dropped in to Tripty’s (triptychlysl’s) Reality Escape. At the time, it celebrated some of my favourite things: coffee, a good book, somewhere to curl up and appreciate both, and a pleasant setting in which to enjoy all three (see: Books, Coffee and Chairs in Second Life, oh my!). Chance recently caused me to make a return to see what might have changed – and it made for an enjoyable visit.

Remaining as a full region a Full region, Reality Escape still offers those three comforts – coffee, chairs and books – all wrapped within a photogenic environments caught under a custom EEP sky (although I’ve opted to use one of my own in the images herein so that you might enjoy Tripty’s).

Comprising four islands (with a couple of little outcrop islets), with two clearly separated one from the other and the remaining two hugging the coast of the largest, it is a serene place where gulls circle lazily and, if you use the Shared Environment, contrail-like ribbons divide the sky, seemingly left by airliners passing high overhead in silence and with little interest in the haven below.

The largest of the islands is home to the setting’s Landing Point, located on a deck raised over the land and bordered on three sides by wooden buildings. One of these forms a coffee house and another a reading room-come-music lounge, and the third a greenhouse. Part of this deck extends over the water to form a landing stage for a ferry – suggesting more land might not be too far away.

A narrow brook runs under the main deck, north-to-sea, technically making the island not one but two. As it passes under the deck, so it feeds a vibrant little garden visible from the tables set out on the deck, whilst steps lead down to the boulder-and-shingle shoreline.

A second deck extends to the south, in turn providing access to the rest of the island as it offers a series of walks and trails across itself.

Which of these paths you follow is up to you – but make your way far enough eastwards, and you’ll find further decks providing seating and access to the two small littoral islands, themselves connected by both decking and two imaginative little bridges.

Another bridge spans the water north to the second of the large islands.

Long and low, this island is largely given over to grassland and shrubs – and a few trees.  It is here, among the supports holding up the region’s name, that a memory of Books, Coffee and Chairs can be found in the form of artistically arranged and suspended chairs. The view back towards the main island, when seen under the Shared Environment is almost dream-like, and can be appreciated from some of the chairs.

The beauty of this setting is in the serenity I mentioned earlier; wherever you wander, there is a sense of peace and natural beauty. From little camp sites to bubbling brook and flashes of flower blooms among the grass and rock, to the pools of bright wildflowers and Sakura in bloom, everything just feels right.  And throughout it all lay a plethora of detail which further brings the setting to life.

With multiple places to sit, indoors and out, its multiple trails to follow and little touches to be discover – even the the donation taker in the greenhouse is likely to bring a smile to the faces of visitors, this is a setting to be savoured. A perfect escape from the realities of life.

But don’t just take my word for it – go and see for yourself.

SLurl Details

• Reality Escape, rated Adult