Category: Wanderings

As the name suggests, these are my wandering around SecondLife. For more Sci-FI focused locations Click HERE.

Vortex of Lust – Part 1

I came across Vortex of Lust through a post in the Cyber Alliance discord server,which included the description below.

The refugium known as the Vortex has a wide variety of geographic features, from the familiar to the fantastic.

The centre of it all, both proverbially and literally, is the Free Market, which rests on a floating platform anchored to a derelict mass of rock that floats above the surface.
Above the Free Market the Battleship Aurora rests collided with another splinter of levitating rock, hosting a portal to the Floating Islands, a place of beauty and mystery high above the Vortex.
The surface is a wild and dangerous place with frozen seas, endless mazes of tunnels, treacherous swamps and far more treacherous inhabitants. Travelers to the surface should be well prepared.

This description had me very intrigued and the images more so. The locations appear to range from steampunk through urban and into cyberpunk, dressing for this place could be a challenge!

Given the mention of battleships and ice lakes I thought a full body protective suit seemed the best option, along with a few survival accessories.

First view on arrival

I like a clear uncluttered landing point with clear signage and as little surplus stuff as possible. The Vortex has this, however it also has a lot of information to be shared prior to entering the RP area. Most of this relates to the HUD used here, which auto-attaches as soon as you accept the regions Experience permissions. There is a new players area that talks you through it all. Once you go through there you are guided to an are that tells you about the multiple locations here.

The New Player Area

The different locations

You leave this are via the Vortex at the centre.

You emerge through the Vortex into a new area that feels quite steampunkish at first glance.

A rather impressive portal
You arrive here through the Vortex

This is the area known as  Central Market. Despite modern aspects like the grage door and submarine, inside things are quite antique or industrial.

Behind the garage door is a study type room with old book cases and antique desk, but with a full tech suite upstairs.

Heading over to the submarine it only seems to serve one purpose, the local jail.

Around the corner I find signposted The Jolly Harbor Tavern and The Surface, I take the Tavern first. I reminds me of Drune Diesel in atmosphere for some reason, maybe that’s due to the piano in the corner, but looks like an interesting place to roleplay.

Now to explore in the other direction towards “The Surface”, following the signs direction I see a crashed plane and crane above some kind of gantry.

There’s also a buildy to the left that I thought I’d check out first, I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of the machinery is, but the other peice of hardware in the room hints at some not-so-innocent activities.

Carrying on my journey I head towards the gantry to see what awaits, a lift that descent to the surface.

At the bottom is an interesting place that looks like it’ll be fun to explore, you can see in the first snap that the place extends quite some distance before the view is obstructed by trees, which instantly makes it feel more mysterios.

Since the Central Market is essentially in the middle of the region, in terms of elevation, there’s also the airship Aurora to be explored above. There is a similar lift next to the submarine that takes you there.

I’ll show you some more of the Surface and Aurora roleplay areas in Part 2.

Click Here for Part 2!

Landing point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Vortex%20of%20Lust/59/124/3017

Website: https://www.vortex-of-lust.com/

Discord: https://discord.gg/6n7VmeRKtB

Outfit Credits:

This post was featured on the SecondLife Community Blog on 6th August 2021.

Ancient Order of Centaurs

Following up on my previous posts featuring my new Centaur avatar and the Centaur Parade, I’ve come to visit the Ancient Order of Centaurs (AOC) .  Although today I visited as a different “Taur”from Jinx called the Felintaur, which has the body of a large feline instead of a horse and was kindly donated to the Blogger room.

You arrive at a large circular landing point with four exits leading in different directions.

Arrival point

I opted for the one located directly behind me because I saw something interesting in the distance.

There was an intruiging arch that seemed to be mad of some large creatures rib cage over the path.

The AOC grounds cover four regions styled in a High Fantasy medieval appearance. There are long winding woodland paths everywhere connecting all the various places.

 Leading to some lovely places to see and explore. Some of which are available to rent, I only spotted the “Private Property” outside the first one on the way *out* however.

No fantasy location would be without an abandoned castle..

If you want a nice aerial view over the place, there’s a handy lift:

There’s even a market where you can shop for many things Centaur related that I may well be returning to soon.

As usual with my blogging photo trips it’s not usually good for SLT so no-one around, but they do have regular meetups, a timetable is located at the landig point. I think I’ll try and make it to one of those at some point in the near future.

Landing point http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Centauria/127/130/30

Credits:

  • Feline body: Jinx : Felitaur – Jinx Store
  • Feline coat applier: FF2021 SE1 Felitaur Applier – Event Exclusive
  • Human body: Maitreya Lara
  • Human Body skin: HEL female + Fallen Gods Inc. FF2021 Exclusive
  • Tattoos: Nefekalum Tattoos – Thisbe (Silver) – Mid Summer Nights Dream Event
  • Hair: Raven Bell – Nereid Hair – Raven Bell Mainstore

The Time Machine

Relaxing in the balcony lounge of the Old Caladar club she ponders on recent events. There’s been a lot of visitors in outlandish or just plain strange garb lately in the City. Not that she can talk, her attire for attending the club tonight was perhaps better suited to a performer than an customer, but the management didn’t object so long as she kept buying drinks. She wonders where all these strangers come from and where they go to afterwards, not many of them seem dressed for travelling a great distance. Has some mad professor actually managed to make some kind of time travel device? Maybe it’s not so reliable, since the visitors have been seen to vanish into thin air, as if sucked out of existence..or back to their own time perhaps?

Location: The Old Caladar , Drune Diesel

Credits:

Items From Engine Room

  • Hair: Raven Bell – Celeste
  • Hat: Insomnia Angel . steampunk top hat
  • Gloves:..Silvery K..:*SteamDiva Bento Glove
  • Shorts& Blouse: *:..Silvery K..:*SteamExplorer

Others:

 

Drune – Diesel City

Another Drune installation is here and what a difference it is! A mix of Steampunk but with some newer tech thrown in. Just looking at the vehicles parked on the streets it’s quite a range from the Batmobile to worn out hovercars. It feels like your walking through multiple genres and time periods at once, but it really works.

The landing point is very appropriately located in an airship, I had an explore of the docking area building before takig the elevator down to the ground level.

Arrival in Airship bar

Like other Drune builds there are lots of lights everywhere, but not this time the neon of the cyberpunk styles of the past incarnations. There’s lots of shiny metal everywhere that reflects the light and making the place feel brighter, but then darker in the shadowy areas. Lots of the buildings are accessible and not just facades, as we’ve come to expect form a Drune build, attention to detail.

When you step out the tunnel from the elevator, you come to the first of many vehicles lining the streets. I did my usual routine of making a circuit of the streets to get my bearings and found some surprises.

By the time I reached the garae I was only about a quarter of the way around the block. I see some steps and explore and it’s here that I find there appears to be two levels of roads, since I found myself back on tarmac at the top.

Then I started seeing how many doors would actually open, as expected of Drune build, plenty.

Radio station – City Radio

Cinema

Private investigator – Deckard & Associates

Pub – The Garrison

Club – Old Calabar

Hotel – Cortez

One thing I did notice was absence of an aerial walkway area that have been included in the last two cyberpunk builds. Maybe simply because it wouldn’t have been appropriate in 1940’s era, but then neither would hovercars. Overall another fantastic build that anyone should visit and explore, whatever genre you’re into.

One last note a quiet little waterfront spot I found for those that enjoy misty sunsets, if you can find your way there (when using Region Shared Environment).

Landing Point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blissful%20Summer/204/123/2835

Credits:

Usually I like to wear something in-theme when exploring places, I really wasn’t sure what would class as DieselPunk. So it’s even more of a mix and match than normal this time!

Durty Feckers

Ava entered the village and had a look around, inevitably it being an Irish village, there were two establishments, a pub an a pie shop.

The pub was conspicuously empty

The pub however was mysteriously quiet except for some rowdy tourists outside, A little exploration found a gypsy wagon, also empty.

An empty gypsy wagon

An old stone cross marked the edge of the village, beyond which she could see a tower bathed in green light, a path of glowing clover leaves leading the way.

Onward she went inside and looked in wonder upon the rainbow-drenched cauldron.

A rainbow-drenched caulron surrounded by glistening water

After several moments of wonder, she sees another small light coming from a small arched opeing in the wall.

An enchanting grove lies behind the tower

Beyond she found an enchanting candlelit grove. Perhaps the village resident have all been spirited away?

Come be enchanted by the lovely little village, Ireland.

(The pub did start to get a crowd at a later hour, so come for that too!)

Arrival Point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wensley/63/188/26

 

Golgothica – Wagons Wickermen and Windmills

At the end of my last post about Golgothica I mentioned returning to check out the chapel and the windmill. Well..I’ve done that and wow there was so much I missed out!

First I had a glance inside the suspected tavern, lovely little place, more on that later..first the chapel.

You have to head down the side of the tavern that lets you reach a bridge across to the rather spooky-looking place.

Crooked headstones are all around as you enter, a brief glance at a few before finding the entrance to the building at the near end.

Entering the Chapel the roof as fallen in which lets in beautiful shafts of light, making it feel quite serene.

Heading back the way I came between the houses I come across what would appear to be the front entrance to the tavern and take a better look. It’s small but ideally cozy for a small community to socialize in the warm together.

I come to the front of the tavern

Very cozy, just what you need with all the horrors outside.

Carrying on through the town I come across some wagons, it appears there are gypsies are in town, or is it maybe a permanent arrangement?

In the distance I’m expecting to see the windmill that I’d seen from walls of the castle on my last visit, but no. What I see instead is the entrance pillars of a stone circle!

I hasten along and something else catches my eye beyond the stones on the coast side, which is the appropriate place for a Wickerman.

The reason I’m so excited? One of my favourite films is The Wickerman (1973 original obviously,not that crap remake that doesn’t even deserve the name from 2006.)

I re-enter the stone circle to try out the ritual animations the altar there has to offer, before heading out the far side in search of the windmill.

Nice ritual pose

Lots of detailed props

A Sense of forboding

When I found it though it was a little bit of a shock inside. It’s suitably atmospheric, with some great props, enough to give me an uneasy feeling to get out.

Atmospheric props

The fact you can’t avoid stepping inside a circle might bother some people.

I’m no stranger to folks putting pentagrams upside down and stuff, they think it’s cool and scary (this is no criticism of the place,but of a stereotype portrayed in films), it’s fitting for a build like this and plays to the horror movie stereotype well. I stepped into the windmill and realised I’d inadvertently stepped right into the middle of a chalked circle on the floor. Something never to be taken lightly, so I made a prompt exit.

As I emerge I see a large statue of a werewolf attacking its victim. This feels a little out of place for some reason, not seeing any other references to such so far. Passing the statue I step into the light of a fire, in the middle of the gypsy camp from the opposite side.

Statue of a werewolf with it’s prey

I enter the camp and it feels very cozy

While I look around I again realise I’m in the middle of something, this time a massive pentagram. Not so worrying as a circle, provided its oriented correctly and I didn’t get any bad vibes off this one.

There’s also some fun things in the tents, including a gypsy dance one..

After my trekking around I felt in need of a brief rest so I headed to the windswept beach and walked for a short distance before I found a cozy campfire and a lovely view of the sea.

Arrival point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blissful%20Summer/131/128/3047

Previous post: Golgothica – Enchanting Woods and Layrinthine Castle

Outfit Credits:

Sunset Exercise

Taking a walk up onto the snowy hilltop and doing some training exercises was very relaxing for her, helped clear her head. The setting sun and moonrise gave such a beautiful light to move gracefully in, the brisk wind chill, but refreshing. Although little did she know her exercise would have a more brutal ending than usual.

As she descended the slope toward the village she heard snarling and animal cries of distress. She drew her knives again wishing perhaps she should have brought something more substantial, but hadn’t expected to need it.

She followed the sounds into the undergrowth to find a pair of wolves attacking a stag, one already down. She curses, the wolves shouldn’t be getting so close to the village.

A brief scuffle left one dead wolf and the other on the run. She turns to check on the stag and is relieved to finds it gone. There’s no blood trail on the ground, so thankfully it can’t have been badly injured.

She glances at the bodies on the ground, she’d need some help shifting the deer carcass, so for now she picks up the wolf and heads back to the village. They’d have to have to gather a hunting party to track down the pack before fresh snow buried the tracks.

Location:Vargsangen

Related location blog post from my previous visit: Vargsangen

Outfit Credits:

From Enchantment: Viking Saga Event:

  • Clothes: [JANGKA] VIKING Outfit Red
  • Boots:[JANGKA] VIKING Boots Brown
  • Headband: *Rainbow Sundae* Hilda Headband – Silver
  • Face tattoo: Nefekalum Tattoos – Algiz
  • Armwear: * Estrid * Black ArmWarmers (gatcha)

The rest:

Golgothica – Enchanting Woods and Layrinthine Castle

Golgothica is the creation of Hera, mastermind behind the Drune series of Distopian Cyberpunk cityscapes and unbeknown to me til recently, Goatswood that I wrote about briefly before.

The landing point for both Drune: Babalon and Golgothica is now in a skybox, where you choose a TP pad to either.

I usually take my pictures in a single visit but that didn’t work out this time. On my return visit however I saw a well-known figure.

Ground arrival is on a ship

When you get to the ground you arrive on a ship, but wait, who is this? The infamous Inara Pey!

I find the infamous Inara Pey at the prow

She was occupied so I went about my way, down onto the dock.

I went right and up the steps, heading down the street opposite, which seems to a strange green light at the far end.

As I proceed through the dark streets mor becomes visible, there’s a small stream at the end of the road and the light seems to be coming from the far side.

Unfortunately no bridge,so looks like I’ll be getting wet feet.

Not deep water, but enough to be unpleasant I’m sure.

Across the stream I come onto a a path that leads to either side but not towards the lights. What kind of explorer sticks to paths anyway? I push on into the woods looking for the source of the mysterious light.

Who needs paths?

Here I find a number of beutiful little scenes, first a pool watched over by a statue of what may well be the forest deity, Pan.

A forest pool, watched over by Pan

Then another light leads me on into the undergrowth and I come across a natural stone altar covered with candes and flowers.

A rustic altar in a small clearing

From here I can also see some tall columns among the trees and investigate, where I find a much more formal and ornate altar and worship space.

A more formal, but overgrown sacred space.

Beyond the pillars a stone building and torch light can be seen, so I push on out of the woods and up onto the path.

Entrance to the castle, complete with hanging cages outside

Through the gates I go, to find an abandoned cart and only one place to go, up the ramp to the right.

The path leads up and to another gate at the top before opening into a larger open space with lots of possible choices of where to explore.

Another gate of which you will see many, leads you inside.
Plenty of choice where to explore

This is somewhere you can easily get lost, so I won’t deprive you of that joy! Instead I’ll let you find your own way and show some of the places you may find.

There’s a LOT to see here at Golgothica and I have just explored a part of it. You can see in the centre of the picture below the ship where arrived and the woods I came through. Maybe I’ll come back and visit the windmill and the chapel-like building on the opposite corner.

Aerial view of Golgothica from near the NW corner of the region.

Arrival skybox: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blissful%20Summer/131/128/3047

Outfit credits :

Persepolis Docks

In my last post about Persia – The Immortals I only briefly mentioned the harbour, featuring just a view from above. This wasn’t because there’s nothing down there, more that it didn’t seem to fit into the flow of the post. This is because there doesn’t seem to be a way to get down there on foot. I did however explore and snap it, so in the spirit of completeness, I’m sharing those now.

Obviously since this is SL and no path, I did the Lemming thing and just jumped off the wall.

I landed among some wooden barricades, so was grateful I wasn’t wearing their combat hud or that might have hurt!

There’s various marine props about the place, as well as more barricades. This put me in mind of a “Raid Dock” found in SL Gor,but that’s where the similarity ends thankfully.

At the seaward end of the dock is a gangplank leading across to galleon.

The view toward the sea is a beautiful purple sunset
The looming galleon is stricken on the rocks

I crossed the plank to have a brief look inside. Not a lot to see, a bed and some other homely furniture.

Don’t get any ideas about this being a nice quiet spot for a cuddle though, the bed is linked to the hull of the ship, so you can’t sit your avatar on it.

Arrival: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sky%20Atoll/20/82/53

Outfit Credits:

Persia – The Immortals

This place is beautiful shadow-draped historically styled region based on ancient Persia of 550B.C.

Arriving through some undergrowth to the bottom of a set of steps drenched in shadows of statues cast by purple moonlight, it has got to to be one of my favourite region arrivals for quite a while.

As you proceed its pleasantly free of clutter, just a few boards, but not intrusive, before you come to your ride.

Ride a horse benefits: Fuel Efficient, Environmentally Friendly,Can drive you home when drunk!

Just click the horse and choose a name from the menu to get your own horse to ride. I picked “magic” because that’s how the place feels. You proceed by walking through a multi-layered veil into a dark but open space.

When you go through it’s such a view, dark and mysterious. To the left is the top arches of an arena, some steps ahead and to the right a small plain leading to a river.

At the top of the steps is a sign reading:

  • Raid Field
  • Arena
  • Shops
  • Rezz Zone.

Seeing the word “Raid” I decided I’d check that later and headed to the right towards the the intruiging palm trees and buildings.

The word “Raid” suggests caution is in order.

Heading towards the distant lights there are buildings and palm trees.

Down a gentle bank is a paved collanade following the path of a dry stream bed. Across the here are a few small homes, some of which are for rent.

Having seen all there was in this area I backtracked towards the steps and the arena.

Aerial view of the Arena

I headed down the steep steps and onto the cobbled path below, passing the entrance to the Arena. The next thing tou see is an imposing temple, which I’ll investigate later, there’s a more impressive view ahead.

What caught my attention ahead were two rather large bridges arching over an impressive harbour scene.

I took the nearest bridge and crossed to the other side where there is a row of various shops. These sell an assortment of appropriately themed weapons and RP props. I headed left towards the harbour mouth until I came to a guard (npc) blocking your way. Mainly because there’s nowhere else to go except back the way you came, or steps onto the roofs of the shops.

Back at the other end of the row there is a narrow but passable slope that used to get back down to the plains.

The bottom of this slope leads me towards the temples, so time to have a look inside. It’s rather imposing from the outside, with steps on either side of the entrance leading up to it. Inside its suitably gloomy in kind with the surroundings, lit by torches near the altar. It does have the feeling of reverence you often experience at religious sites, although I can’t really explain how that works in a virtua space.

Strangely however it’s for rent..but I couldn’t find any kind of residential accommodation thereabouts.

I stopped to meditate for a little while before leaving, because back outside there’s only one structure I’d not explored yet, the Arena and I’m not the fighting type.

A few moments editation before leaving the temple

Fortunately at this time of day there were no combatants about so it was a peaceful visit to this place of violent sport.

This is an amazingly beautiful region to see and wander around. If you want to join in their Roleplay there is a group joiner at the landing point as well as a vendor for their free combat system called “URA Kombat”.

Update 12th Feb: Wondering about the harbour? Check out the follow-up post: Persepolis Docks

Arrival: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sky%20Atoll/20/82/53

Post featured on the SecondLife Community Blog on 11th February 2021.

Outfit Credits: