Now it is fourth year – and thus appropriately titled Shadowfell IV – the setting has also been expanded with a fourth region, with all four being Full regions utilising the Land Capacity bonus available to such.
As with all of the Calas themed builds, this is one in which it is very important visitors note at least some of the guidelines regarding a visit, all of which can be found at the landing point – with the most important perhaps being:
- Make sure you Used Shared Environment (via World → Environment).
- Enable local sounds and make sure you have particles visible.
- If you are on a PBR viewer,
- If you are running a non-PBR viewer, make sure Advanced Lighting Model is active, and if your system can manage it, do make sure Shadows → Sun/Moon + Projectors is enabled.
For those familiar with past iterations of Shadowfell, much of the first three regions (Mist, Mist II and Mist III) present a familiar setting and walks. These include the boat tour close to the main Landing Point, the caverns with their experience-based teleport up to the Darkfell setting in the sky, the gardens of Shadowfell, the swamp and ruins, the floating platforms, the creatures and touches of Tolkien I’ve covered in both my 2023 reporting on Shadowfell and my 2024 short video, which I’m taking the liberty of embedding again below.
However, none of the above means these regions should be skipped be returning visitors, there are plenty of new touches and twists worth discovering as one follows the trail(s) northwards through the regions. As such, making your way through all of the regions remains the recommendation.
But it is the newest region in the setting, Mist IV, which is the focus for me in the rest of this piece. It is here that the City Ruins of Shadowfell can be found, together with the Elven Flyer and the magnificent Temple of the Moons.
The Elven Flyer offers another touch of Tolkien, the flyer in question being called Star of Eärendil II – a reference to Eärendil half-elven, forbear of Aragon, who carried the Silmaril Morning Star on his brow as he sailed across the sky (The Silmarillion). Like Eärendil’s voyages across the skies of Middle Earth, Elven Flyer also takes to the air, providing an airborne tour of the newest region within Shadowfell, with occasional dips into the Mist III region. Flights take roughly 17 minutes, and have the novelty of having people ride the winged boats whilst floating (both singles and couples).
The Temple of the Moons and city ruins also offer an interpretation of Tolkien’s legendarium. In Middle Earth, the elves departed “into the west” from Mithlond, the Grey Havens. Here, the Temple of the Moons is described as serving a similar purpose: From which the elves sailed to distant lands, although the reasons for the sailings are different: in Tolkien’s tales, the elves departed because their time in Middle Earth had drawn to a close; within Shadowfell we are informed they departed “before the darkness came”, thus giving Shadowfell a touch of its own mythology.
The temple itself rises from close to the centre of Mist IV, sitting on an island which appears to be of artificial construction more than a natural formation. A single channel of water points north and west to the open sea, presumably the route by which departing elves started their journey to those distant lands. Multiple bridges connect the temple’s island with the surrounding land and gardens.
The towers of the temple rise almost to match the surrounding trees, steps rising to meet the ground level of the structure, the stapes guarding two tall amphora which suggest they might once have been for illumination rather than being filled with liquid, although if so then their fires have long since been extinguished.
Behind the amphora, two tall statues of (presumably elven) warriors stand with their backs to the walls of the temple. They appear to be guarding a floating egg sitting within the first level of the temple. Stairways up to this egg lie on the far side of the central tower relative to the guarding statues. Touching the egg either by approaching via the stairs or from below, will teleport visitor to the upper level of the temple, revealing the reason for its name in the sky to the west – a sky where a dragon also flies.
The moons also cast their light down onto an open space with a pond, a number of naturally raised seating circles (and a woodland throne!), standing stones and a stage area with is back to the sea. This appears to be a second event space, complete with an Intan dance system, so I presume some of the events planned for Shadowfell will be taking place here, although the schedule of events, available at the Shadowfell Pavilion only mentions the latter as an events venue.
As always, the regions of Shadowfell are packed with details and characters – not all of the latter necessarily monstrous or wicked or born of darkness. The Darkfell does continue its Alien-esque leaning whilst offering a couple of new additions (or maybe I’m simply misremembering from visits in past years).
Travel through the setting can be aided through the use of landmarks available through the Shadowfell information notecard, or by keeping an eye out for the Journey Cloths scattered throughout the setting. However, I strongly exploring on foot and working your way around the various paths in order to experience Shadowfell to the fullest, with the boat tour and Elven Flyer helping to ensure you don’t miss anything. Those who enjoy musical accompaniment with their explorations should enable the local music stream, which features a selection of music curated by Ty.
Shadowfell remains one of the highlights of the Second Life Halloween season, and should not be missed by anyone who enjoys Halloween or has a love of fantasy. I gather than further elements might be added whilst the regions remain open, so return visits through October for both the events and additional exploration might be in order!
As always, my thanks to Ty, Truck and the Calas team for the invitation to explore and for all that they do for Second Life through Calas Galadhon, Shadowfell and their Christmas settings.
SLurl Details
- Shadowfell IV (Mist, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 