There were several Meet & Greet sessions at Fantasy Faire for NeoVictoria, the one I was able to attend was on 29th April and it was pretty busy! Quite a few of the existing members were able to attend, so the varied collection of interested players were able to get plenty of answers to any questions they had. I believe we may well have gained a few new players for our community!
Fantasy Faire Folk: Cassiopeia
Visitors may think that the large serpentine statutes around Cassiopeia are just that, statute. They would be wrong.
The statues are meant to be a warning reminder of the planets largest natural predator. Although they have not been seen for a long time and have almost become myth. Yet the evolutionary evidence of the humanoid population cannot be denied, having dark patterned skin that would allow them to blend into natural terrain like a chameleon.
Evidently the humanoid population did not evolve from apes.
Custom dictates bright coloured clothing only be worn in private, going against this is frowned upon particularly by older generations. They say all stories are based on a grain of truth and the same can be said for customs originating from necessity. In this case it was survival.
A question that remains unanswered though is why each serpent statute is accompanied by what those of Earth would call an Angel? Do they represent an alien race? Perhaps a visiting race that destroyed the serpents, to allow the humanoids to thrive. Were they guardians against the serpents, or their keepers? The answers are no doubt long lost.

Credits:
- Spacesuit:Space Cadet Bodysuit by {REC} at Agra Adara, Fantasy Faire
- Skin: Wild Space Skin Set from Stargazer Creations at Autumnia, Fantasy Faire
- Hair: Raven Belle – Luxe Hair (at Engine Room event)
Location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cassiopeia/124/128/65
This fictional piece was written for Fantasy Faire 2020 Faire Bloggers Challenge “Faire Folk”
Fantasy Faire 2020: A different perspective
At the Faire last year I wandered rather aimlessly, I followed the Bubbo Owls storyline and one day I went to a NeoVictoria meet & greet, apart from that I didn’t explore much. It was that meet that would change my perspective, I just didn’t know it at the time.
This year I was at the planning meetings and discussions of what NeoVictoria may do at their meets and discussed what items they would be offering for sale and as gifts. It was this last part that was most relevant, I volunteered to make a freebie gift.
On the evening of the Wednesday before the Faire began I was invited to the “Backstage” group so I could Rez the item for visitors to purchase.



On the Thursday morning I logged back in to have an explore.
It was surreal being in the Faire before it opened. My previous experiences had always been of bustling regions full of people. As usual I didn’t really have much of a plan of what I wanted to see, I just knew I had about 3 hours before the Faire opened and there would be people everywhere. I just wanted to see as much as I could before the masses arrived.
Since the NeoVictoria store is located in Auxenio’s Pass steampunk region, that’s where I started. When I stepped outside I was blown away by the surroundings. I started walking the paths to see what I found.


With the regions being mostly empty except for store owners making final tweaks to their displays and other creators taking the time to wander, it was blissfully quiet.


I stuck mostly to the paths, with occasional detours, wanting to try and see as much as I could in the time I had. Traveling mostly clockwise around the Faire, I took in the sights of the created locations. Each one mind blowing or boggling in their design. I got about half way around before I ran out of time, but I had a large collection of snapshots taken as I went around. Here are some of my favourites.
Now I look forward to exploring the rest of the Faire!
Outfit Credits:
- Corset: Steampum Corset with Pocketwatch by Meli Imako with Texture by C.C.M.G
- Boots: Female Huntsman
- Leather Trousers: Larry Lace Top Leather Jeans
- Hair: A&A Guilia Reds (Alli&Ali)
- Body: Maitreya Lara 4.1
- Skin: -{The Attic}- Anjelica – Natural (Alabaster)
- Shape: Zyra Anna (modified)
Fantasy Faire 2020 Intro
So it’s this time of year again Fantasy Faire is upon us. Another week and more of exploring beautiful location, roleplay and shopping in aid of Relay for Life in Second Life.
Last year I visited the Faire and for the first time was able to follow their week-long roleplay storyline. That was great fun and I wrote about it in my Bubbo Owls post. This year it appears the RP is called the Grizzly Cubs and I look forward to following this years adventure.
As I’ve mentioned previously, last year I attended a Meet & Greet with the lovely folks from the NeoVictoria Project. I submitted a character and became an official member of the community. They’re holding similar Meet & Greet sessions this year, so I shall be present for at least one of them to help out. I’m also possibly providing a freebie to be given out at the NeoVictoria location at the Faire.
What else is new this year is that I applied to be one of the Official FF Bloggers. However the applications are now closed and my names not on the list. I suspect this is probably due to the quality of my regular images, admittedly lower quality, but it’s usually because they’re un-staged and my focus is the RP or story. (I’ll be remedying that for the Faire) So instead I’m going to try and complete some of their Blogger Challenges which I’ve copied below:
Faire Folk – create a character from the Fairelands
My New Shiny – show off a shop that is new to you
I Remember – reminisce about previous Fairelands
Faire Life – blog and report about Faire events
The Emblem Project – take a picture with the Fantasy Faire Emblem in your favourite Faireland
All sound fun things to do, combined with following the Cubs RP I just hope I have the time to do it all!
Official Faire Website: https://fantasyfairesl.wordpress.com/
NeoVictoria planning for Fantasy Faire 2020
On the 1st of April I attended a Townhall meeting of the NeoVictoria roleplay members to discuss ideas of what we/they will be doing for Fantasy Faire 2020.
It was last year that I met with them at their Meet & Greet events at the FaireI wrote about it in this post.
I won’t spoil things by revealing the plans, but there was talks of possible roleplay ideas, freebies and sale items for the charity the Faire supports. They’ll be finalised and released in due time, but they’ll be a lot of fun if everything comes together as planned!
Liddell Correctional Facility – The Zap-Zap chair
(Dear Reader, I’d love to know what brought you to this page, that’s getting regular hits despite its age. Please leave a comment or see the contact info on About page. I’m genuinely curious!)
A while ago I applied to RP at Liddell Correctional Facility (LCF) which you can read about in this post.
They didn’t technically accept my application, since the character role of Bounty-hunter was unsustainable. However I was able to participate in a storyline into which my character would fit: they had a mass escape.
My story centred around the tracking of an inmate by the name of Jessica May.
In the process of her escape she had taken my friend Megan Sommers, a prison guard, as a hostage.

I went to the prison to offer my services in locating Jess and Megan, they were both very keen on the idea OOCly.
Now I’ve recently tried to not use too many chat logs in my posts, they can be tedious to read, but I will include some here in places as well as summerising.
RP Scene 1: Tracking
At the prison I met with an officer by the name of Frank Timberwood l and played out using some information from him and one of their computers to locate the GPS on Megan’s phone and her car, since Jess had conveniently for me, used that as her getaway vehicle.
[01:32:02] Ava Delaney looks around for a bell or buzzer to get someones attention,finding none she calls “anyone here?”
[01:32:53] Ava Delaney turns and sees an officer outside the glass doors to the yard
RP Scene 2: Hunting
The location of Megan’s car was in a rather rundown part of town, the only place showing any signs of life was a tatty looking bar with a couple of probable prostitutes loitering outside.


Unsurprisingly I found Jess inside having a celebratory drink enjoying her newfound freedom, but no sign of Megan.
Jess hadn’t thought to leave the car somewhere further from where she might be found. This confirmed what I’d been told, that while Jess was psychotic murderous bitch, she wasn’t too bright.
(I should clarify here for those not so familiar with RP, that I am referring to the fictional characters described personality, created by their typist. Most definitely Not calling the real-life person behind the keyboard stupid.)
There followed an inevitable confrontation in the bar where I was too bold and ended up taking a gunshot in the chest as a result. Thank heavens for modern bullet proof vests.
Jess bolted out the door and met an accomplice, by the time I was up on my feet and able to pursue the pair of them had quite a head start.
I came in sight of them again near the waterfront where they were already in a boat, seems Jess might not be so smart but her unknown accomplice was.
I fired a few shots at them but I couldn’t risk killing Jess because I didn’t know where Megan was and the boat was too small for her to be onboard.
So I made a call on the radio I’d borrowed from officer Timberwood to update him and suggest they call the coastguard to follow them.
[06:25:15] Ava Delaney stands on the rocks looking out over the harbour as her quarry escapes. She takes out the radio she got from Frank and switches it on “Calling officer Timberwood, this is Ava Delaney. I have an update on Jessica May. Over”
That unfortunately became the last part of the chase I was able to play out, but not the end of the story. Due to a combination of timezone differences and the inconvenience of the Christmas holidays, I was unable to make it to the locating Megan or the Capture of Jess stages of the storyline. Which was very disappointing.
However I did make a visit to Jess at the prison after her capture. When I was supposedly dropping off an application to become a guard at the prison, which never happened, but also to gloat a little. Although obviously I was not too pleased about getting shot, I conceded that I was pushing my luck in the situation resulting the damage to my rather expensive vest.
As you may have seen from Jess’s prison record above she was a Death Row inmate. This meant her escape and subsequent re-capture didn’t really change her sentence, just delayed it a little while.
I was unable to attend the event but I have some pictures taken on the day, provided by Jess. You can see however that they are quite thorough and take it very seriously.
The original date scheduled for her execution was 16th of January 2020, in the end the (Roleplay) Death of Jessica May by electrocution (or “zap-zap chair” as the group call it) happened on 15th of February 2020.
Jess has since created a new character to play at the prison, which is fairly common in these situations. The new character may well have a different temperament, attitude and definitely a different appearance. Just as an actor plays a character in a movie or play.
Return to the Jungle: Korat Village & Trading Post
As I mentioned I would in a previous post I returned to the Taluna continent which is styled to represent the Southern Jungles of the planet Gor.
It is made up of 7 regions and they are described as follows:
Here, dwell the tribes of the:
• Toki Aka’am Taluna,
• Veck En Taluna,
• Wa Ngao Taluna,
• WildingsHere you will find refuges:
• Korat Trading Post,
• Village of Korat.Seven lands comprise the Taluna Continent. Three are Safe Lands, places for healing, rest, and learning. There is no forced collaring and absolutely no threats of violence will be tolerated in Safe Lands. These are:
• Jungles of Gor
• Korat Cove
• Jungles of MistThe remaining four lands allow full Gorean role play. Prior to combat and capture, some Role Play (RP) must be conducted. These are:
• Jungles of Schendi (Southern Jungles)
• Jungles of Ushindi
• Jungle of Sheba
• TMPThe Korat Trading Post is a non-combat Safe Zone (as all trade points are, by Gorean custom). All taverns are non-combat.
I arrived at the Kort Village landing point since that was the landmark I had from years past.
I wandered up into the village where I saw various gorean food props for sale
among a number of straw huts
There is also a 2 storey building that seemed a bit out of place. I wandered around but that was pretty much all there was to see here. I headed back down to the dock where I had arrived. Where I found a small boat that I’d missed when I arrived.
Sitting in this ferries you along the coastline to Korat Trading Post
(Remember to stand up as soon as you arrive or the boat will vanish and drop you in the water!)
I entered the main trade area where there were a number of trade carts as you cross through the main area before you come to a number of buildings including a tavern and a healers premises. You can see here there are a number of signed entryways heading into the jungle.
The fact there is a second seaward entrance, makes me wonder which way the region owners actually intend for you to arrive. But either way these places provide plenty of opportunity for RP for those that don’t want to play “pew, pew” with bows and arrows in the jungle.
Exploring the outskirts of Lydius
I headed to Lydius again to try and give it a better explore and see if I could meet anyone new. This time I opted to enter via the safer seaward side (docks are always safezones in SL Gor).



This way I might explore in relative safety.
Beyond the dock gate I found quite a sizeable area of land



I headed for the gates of the city, but they were unsurprisingly locked.


Since there was evidently no-one home I decided to explore the other buildings in the area, one of which turned out to be a tavern.
Inside a girl was dancing for her Master
I went and introduced myself and joined him in a vacant chair

His girl by the name of Roxanne, made me a drink while I chatted with the man,Dirk.

I talked with him of where I was based across the river and of my recent encounter at the other city gate. He told me of who I might contact to get a key to the city gates and that there were homes available inside, so I may consider that.
He then escorted me safely to the city gates since he was returning to his home inside.

A risky reminder and a timely encounter
As I mentioned in my last post one of the risks of being female in SL Gor RP is the risk of being captured. I experienced a prime example of this very recently.
To the rear of the tavern building I’ve adopted is a bridge leading into the woods.Crossing the bridge takes you into the next region over and through the woods is a path leading to a city, by the name of Lydius.


Previously I’d had a look around but not RPed with anyone there, however my friend Sigmond the Healer is based there.
I could see on the map there was someone there at the back of the city, so I thought I’d go knock on the door and say hello.

However while I was stood knocking on the gate, someone came up behind me. I turned to greet them and it transpired they did not have my best interests at heart. Below is a transcript of the RP.
[04:40:51] Maddock Bracken (maddock) found himself in the company of fortune this day . . a lone woman inside the gates could be a challenge . . but here, he found one outside the gates, alone and unknown . . he closed upon her, thick dark hands reaching to grasp her[04:43:26] Ava Delaney (avadelaney) takes a step back ” looking at his outstretched hand “What are you doing? I’m not some wench you can lay your hands on, I live in the fort just to the north”[04:44:47] Maddock Bracken (maddock) paces her as she steps back . . the firm gate and stone wall soon making itself a barrier to her escape, leaving her words unanswered, he locked a firm grip upon her arm[04:45:39] zCS # [Mod] Estinie Resident [RP] logged into the region.[04:45:40] Long Range: Estinie Resident [94m][04:46:43] Ava Delaney (avadelaney) thinking since she’s agains the gate she may as wel try getting someones attention again and hammers the wood “Anyone home!”[04:47:02] East Gate Door L shouts: AvaDelaney Resident knocks loudly at the door ♫[04:47:33] Maddock Bracken (maddock) grabs the other arm, pulling them behind her, he wrenches them into the small of her back .. drawing out rope[04:47:46] Ava Delaney (avadelaney) shouts: Anone Home in there?![04:47:50] Rurik (Estinie) shouts: Coming!

As soon as Rurik announced himself, my would-be captor departed with great haste. No exit RP, like maybe “hears the voice of the guard and backs away” or something, he just ran. Given the contents of his profile he only had capture and more on his mind. This is the kind of behaviour that gives Gor RP a bad reputation.
To say I was fortunate in IC terms that Rurik came along is quite an understatement. Because despite his dubious intentions, my would-be captors actions would have been legitimate in the RP setting.

I was once captured when I was new to Gor, it wasn’t much fun, but was a bit of a mix up due to my newness and was resolved rather promptly. It was shortly after that time I switched from playing a fair-game panther girl character to Free Woman Inn keeper.
While my assailants RP was mostly legitimate it would have been debatable. Free Women in Gor have a high status and given the location, he was being very reckless.
For a comparison to the real world, it would be something like abducting a minor celebrity from outside a police station at gun point when there’s a SWAT team inside. That’s the level of nerve (or stupidity).
That’s not my ego regarding the value of my person, it’s based on the way Free Women are depicted in the Gor book series. Here are a few quotes to illustrate my point:
“A free woman is inordinately precious. She is a thousand times, and more, above a mere slave.” (Players of Gor, p.92)
(Taken from this page on Gor-now.net)
The search for friends: Into the Jungle
The next stop after the Ikeri became surprisingly convoluted. I intended to visit the camp of a tribe I had known as the “Veck ‘En”, however as with other places, the landscape had changed quite a bit. I followed the path from the arrival point, but I ended up at waterfront.
It’s common for a trade area with a bell being what you arrive at first when approaching such a camp. I could see where it was but there was no immediately visible way of reaching it without getting wet. However the camp was clearly empty.
So at this point what I had intended to be an IC (In-Character) meet with whoever may now inhabit the camp, became an OOC (Out of Character) tour of the nearby regions.
An old friend by the name of Angel was in the nearby camp of the Wa Ngao, she TPed me across to her.
She then took me on a tour of the nearby places, given my character history as a Tavern Keeper, first stop was the Drunken Oak Tavern. Accompanied by a not-so-suble “which is currently without a keeper” remark which I found rather amusing.
When I posted my Tavern Fire RP (which can be found towards the end of Part 1 of my Gor story) via Notecard among the SL Gor community I had a number of offers of Taverns that were in need of keepers. So it shall be interesting how many I get as I attempt to re-connect with people.
Then we passed through her tribes territory
Until we came to a border crossing in to the neighbouring tribes territory, the Sa Jesuil.
By this time I admit I was rather lost, the camps and a trading station cover 4 regions in a 2×2 square layout. The paths in between the various camps zigged and zagged in an irritatingly pointless fashion, except perhaps if they were like that for defensive purposes I thought. When I queried this, I found out that a lot of the areas were non-combat, RP only.
Once we were out of the maze and back to one of the docks, there was a sign, showing which areas were combat or RP areas.
I think to do this place with it’s numerous and varied inhabitants justice and make sense of it, I shall have to return. Next time however starting from each of the 4 regions landing points. The fact it has large RP-only areas quite appeals to me, since one off-putting thing about Gor RP for me is the constant risk of capture. For many players in SL Gor combat,raiding and capture RP is their main draw to it,but not for me.