By Becky Shamen
Before exploring and writing about adventures in Second Life, one
must first discover that they exist and where they are located. The
best tools, I've found, are the Destination Guide at secondlife.com
and the World Map, found at the website and also within the viewer.
Both of these tools played a part in finding the sims for this article.
My home in SL is on Sunweaver Bay, which is on the West side of a collection
of 8 connected sims. There are two maps available in the viewer. The
mini-map is like a people radar, showing nearby avatars as green dots
if they are at the same elevation as you. If they are at a higher elevation,
the dots turn to ^, if lower v. If the dot is a friend, the radar blips
are shown in yellow. The radar also shows, in low resolution, objects
and builds and ground texture. Most objects are black, but the ones
you own are shown as blue. The Map does not give accurate locations
of avatars, because it is not updated as often as the mini-map, but
does give a better look at the sim detail. When zoomed in, it is like
viewing the sim from an airplane. When zoomed out, it is like a satellite
view of large areas of SL. If you know the size of a building, you can
find the distance to any point on the sim. Knowing that a sim is 256
meters square, you can find the distance to other nearby sims.
Using
my map, I discovered a large group of connected sims, which were only
1.75 miles West from my home. I made a mental note to go and explore
them, at a later time. As I looked for my next place to explore and
write about, I opened the destination guide, in the "Fantasy, Adventure"
category. In the list provided, four of the places turned out to be
located in the same area I had found so close to home. Naturally, I
decided it was time to explore them.
Before going to visit, I like to make a detailed map, to help find
my way around and then use as an illustration in the news article. To
make the maps, I first zoom out to show the whole group of sims and
capture a screen shot, to use as an index. Then I zoom in, for greater
detail, and make shots of each of the sims. I then combine them all
into one big map, using the index to get them back in the right locations.
These large maps are way too big to upload inworld, because SL limits
textures to 1024 pixels in height and width. To upload them, a copy
has to be resized, so that neither dimension exceeds the limit. On each
map, I place the name of the area, such as Blake Sea or Caledon.
For
the name of this 39 sim area, I searched, but could never find a name
for the collective area. In getting to know the people and places, I
asked everybody I met if they knew the name. None of them knew the answer.
I got invited to a party, where I met and friended the king of Asgeir,
who's name is Asgeir Askvigg, I asked if he knew the name. He said it
didn't have a name, so perhaps I should be the one to give it one. With
this in mind, I began thinking of names that might fit the overall theme
of the area. Several names came to mind, but I kept asking each person
I met if they knew the name. On Elven Quest, the last of the sims I
explored, I met a Lady elf and had a long chat with her. She explained
that, originally the sims were organized by "The Builders of Arda"
but over time they had become less connected to each other. She suggested
that perhaps some Elven words might make a good title, like Vedui, Vanwen
(greetings, hello). Having found all the people friendly and helpful,
I thought that was a great idea, so I named it "Vanwenia," meaning "hello place."
Vanwenia is made up of several realms and a few individual, residential
sims. The largest realm is called The Dragon Empire of Uhre and is loosely
based on E.E. Knight's 'Age of Fire.' Kingships are on a per sim basis.
I met and friended two kings, Cromm Slade of Dragon Lolth and Asgeir
Askvigg of Asgeir. Cromm's wife, Eva, is Queen of Singing Woods and
there is a bridge connecting their sims. Dragon Lolth and the Empire
of Uhre, shown outlined in red on the map, were the first sims I explored.
Sometimes I walked, or flew, from sim to sim, but to save time, I
usually used my map to TP. The first time I TPed to Asgeir, I found
myself on a large, flat ground, covered with grid lines. In my radar,
I saw a green blip approaching at great speed. This turned out to be
a lady named Armix Portal. She seemed very upset that I was there, asking,
"How did you find this place?" and "Who gave you the LM?"
I was not on the ground level of the sim. It was a sky platform, with
a template texture, that she used for building houses. When I explained
who I was and that I was writing a story about the area, her mood became
more friendly. She TPed to the ground and sent an offer to TP to there.
It was Armix, the next day, who got me invited to a party. There I met
the king. Asgeir is a viking themed sim, with snow covered ground and
log buildings. It was late night, when I was there, and nobody else
was there, so I took a quick look around and headed to the next sim.
To the West is Uhre Belegaer Sea. On the map, I noticed that all of
the sims in this Empire are connected by water routes. I could have
rezzed my sail boat and toured them all by water, but, already dealing
with lag, I decided to fly north to Uhre Lava Dome.
The ground at Lava Dome is all black, basaltic rock, with rivers of
molten lava and multiple volcanic cones. I flew around, selected the
tallest cone and headed for the top. Remembering that I had chickened
out, on my Route 66 tour, I decided, this time I would land in the caldera.
As I stood on the boiling magma, I noticed a large, green, sculpted
dragon was begining to take shape. It was standing in front of a cave
entrance, with an iron gate protecting it's contents. Thinking that
the dragon would be no threat, until fully rezzed, I tip-toed past and
clicked on the gate. That action put me right inside the dragon's lair.
The walls and columns were richly decorated with scrollwork and the
floor was covered with gold nuggets, coins and colorful gems. I expected
to find a prize here, but a quick inspection revealed none, so I went
back out.
Now, standing behind the dragon, who did not seem to notice
me, I saw that he had a saddle on his back. I clicked on it and found
myself mounted in the saddle. The page up and down and arrow keys gave
me full control of my new steed. Within moments, after take off, I realized
a photo of my flight would go perfect with this article, so I paused
and posed for the camera. I began to wonder if the dragon was able to
cross into other sims, or if it would poof at the border. Nothing ventured,
nothing gained, I had started out on foot, so headed for the border
to test my theory. The dragon made it across the boundary, to my delight,
so I used it for a dragon's eye view of several more sims, pausing here
and there to zoom my cam down on points of interest.
The total area of the lands I call Vanwenia is around two and a half
million square meters. It would take months to get to know the lands
and people. The scenery is some of the richest I have ever seen and
it is dotted with more unique castles than you can count. The people
are as varied. It's like being in the places in a Tolkien book. All
of the people I met and talked to were friendly and helpful. I asked
many questions regarding the divisions of Kingdoms, Realms, Empires
and Alliances, but this Gordian knot awaits an Alexander to cut through
it.
On the map, I have outlined a few of the realms, to give a rough
idea of them. I pray the residents will forgive me, if I have got a
few lines in the wrong place. The same goes for the names of each of
the sims. The names used on the map came from the destination guide,
but the residents may have their own names for them. An example of this
is Asgeir, the Viking sim, which is known to the locals as Midgard,
or the Northern "Great Alliance", parts of which are called
the Torgan Kingdom. There are many groups that can be joined, such as
Knights, Rangers, Mages,and Healers. You can engage in combat RP, or
stay neutral. There are a variety of avatar types to be found, but note
that furries are permitted in some areas, but not all of them. My advice
is, until you've learned the rules, keep your visor down and your ears
and tail tucked in.
I had a wonderful time exploring and can assure you, if you have a
taste for fantasy, in this place, you can live Happily Ever After.
Becky "Sha" Shamen
