Viva Ered Eithel & Long Live Taure Rhun!

Ered Eithel at nighttime.  The Dragon Temple can be seen in the distance.

The Elves of Mystara rebuilt their home after the destruction of Taure Rhun, with the aid of several other nations.  Aid came primarily from the Dragonkin, and with a significant assist by the Mer and the Humans.  The new city has been named Ered Eithel - which means 'mountain wellspring' in Elvish.

Unlike the very cozy and bohemian treetop buildings of Taure Rhun, Ered Eithel is made of stone, built to last centuries, like the Dragon Temple seen in the background above.  I was instrumental in obtaining that help, and as my reward I was invited to join the Tyaro - the diplomatic corps of the Elves, even though I am human.

Not a meeting in the Ladies' Room... a meeting in the Dragons' Lair!

As Sha'Quessir, an ally of the Elves, I have been welcomed and have been able to contribute to the reconstruction effort.  I was given responsibility over procuring supplies, and with that came the idea to seek the Dragons' aid.  The Da'Ariv, or the Queen of the Dragons, Vanthadriel Tobor Ma'Jakar, was gracious and I would say even eager to help.  As a result of this cooperation, the Elves formally gained another ally in the Dragonkin.

Vanthadriel, the Da'Ariv of the Dragons

The construction was rapid, as aid came in from many sides.  Queen Nna of the Mer and King Declan of the Humans pledged significant amounts of help with supplies.  Absalon's traders also helped, sending a few of their men to help with construction.  Even the fat bastard that told me to piss off when I went to order the supplies...!  Anyhow, it finished quickly and the finished product is simply breathtaking.

Ered Eithel at nighttime, the palace and the temple are shown, as is the guard house and the entrance.

The effort by all was incredible.  Not long after the destruction, the mages started terraforming the land, raising it up to the mountain upon which the city currently sits, creating mystical waterfalls that lend to the city's name.  The Great Tree was also moved back to its place at the center of the city, the key vestige to the heritage of the Elves.

The Great Tree sits in the center of the square.

A few structures are very noticeable in town - the Temple, which was absent before, has been given a prominent place.  Also new is the foundry, so that the Elves can now make their own special weapons.  The library got a significant upgrade, with much more space.  The most noticeable and enjoyable difference is the Vanya Sulie, which is enormous and rivals the Royal Oak for space, but is unmatched in beauty.  The Vanya Sulie has an enormous balcony facing the eastern waters, large enough to support a dragon or two in their full form.

The Vanya Sulie, center.  In the distance, Wolf Mountain, the Healer's Temple and the Kokarri Enclave.

It is all breathtakingly beautiful, isn't it?  I will get some daytime pictures to show off here and there.  It is sad that the old village, with its quaint bohemian charms, was destroyed.  But like a phoenix, the Elves have arisen from the ashes... stronger, with new, powerful allies and an appropriate home to match.

Frolicking on Frivolity

Two posts in a month?  Heavens!

Well, there will actually be another.  But you'll have to wait for that one...

But yes, this is my second post, dedicated to my other new sweet ride, which I have christened with the name Frivolity.  It's just a fun little F name that follows my alliteration scheme.  It means the state of being frivolous... in the sense of playfulness, that is - not anything derogatory.

The Francoise Jacques model from Trudeau is truly glorious, much like its inspiration, Gloriana, a racer from 1891.  It has such elegant lines, and those five sails make me want to bite my hand, they are so pretty.  I really couldn't resist her.  I had to have her!  Which is why I ended up buying not one, but two boats, the other being Namaarie, my Trudeau New York 30.

It's been a pleasure to be back out on the water.  I promise I won't be away for so long.  Now that I have these two beautiful new yachts, it's unlikely I will be gone so long.

It's Up To You, New York

Here's something I haven't actually written about in a while: Sailing.

This blog used to be dedicated to sailing and exploration, but then that darned roleplay bug bit me HARD and I've been lost in Mystara ever since. But what a glorious time I've had!

Well, that put me behind the times when it comes to my fleet of yachts. I decided to check out the latest from Trudeau, and sure enough there are new things abounding. Now, I don't own every single one of Jackie's yachts. But I do have quite a few, and it saddened me to see that many if not most of them are now considered obsolete, and their only hope of seeing sales is through a redesign. It tempts me to box them up, but I can't bring myself to do that yet.

What I could bring myself to do was buy something new. I had a dilemma: get the party boat or the pretty boat? The party boat is actually the New York 30. The pretty boat (as if they aren't all pretty, but this one is very very pretty) is the Francois Jacques, named after a beloved SL sailor who recently passed away.

There are distinct benefits to both; New York has a crew of 4, and also sleeps 4 in the cabin. The FJ is a more intimate experience, with a crew of two, sleep space for two, and its five sails are a glory to behold.

Which one to choose? Great googly moogly!

Well, I resolved my dilemma the easy way. I got both! Muhahaha.

Please welcome Namaarie, my lovely new New York 30. The name means 'farewell' in Elvish. Fitting, I guess, considering what I've been up to for the last few months. It also continues my trend of naming boats using some form of alliteration.

It's a wonderful ride, and the crew positions are great. I christened it with a couple of friends, and we had a grand old time. It really is great for a party boat, having 4 of my friends along for the ride, it will be so much fun. My only complaint was the motor, being really slow. I may sail lazy sometimes, but not THAT lazy!

I couldn't be more pleased with Namaarie. It's beautiful and I love love love the size of the crew. I definitely intend to have more parties.

The Great Elven/Greenskin War

Had a fantastic weekend full of combat, heroics and pathos.
Cristalle went to live with the Elves several months ago, when the corruption in Stromness reached a frenzied boiling point. Although she still owns the general store, she has been happy to be living among the Elves.
This weekend, however, war came to Taure Rhun and it was destroyed by the Orcs and the Kokarri.

It was a surprise attack, and even though there had been rumors of it, it was still a surprise when it occurred. They brought a troll, which destroyed all the buildings, as well as their artillery.

Cristalle actually got a nasty burn on her arm thanks to a Kokarri witch, Calida. There were some small victories, though. Daewin has two of them on his belt:

And we did manage to save the Great Tree - through massive magic to move it.
But for now, the Elves are scattered and largely homeless. They have set up camp, though around the Great Tree.

The process of rebuilding is starting. We are getting help from the dragons. The humans... well, that's a long story in and of itself. We are not asking for it and we do not need it. And they will be amazed. In the meanwhile, we heal...

Still Inworld!

I've been very caught up in roleplaying in Mystara. I haven't taken a lot of pictures but I do have some. For example, my Halloween costume for this weekend's masquerade ball put on by the humans:

There has been some heavy roleplay for my character, one particular storyline that has been very fruitful for a number of different areas and characters, involving my abduction and torture. We just had the trial of the criminal:

And some incredible healing rituals. Alarra (Erana Destiny) has some of the best props!

Learning how to fight has been good. I'm now taking up archery:

And there are lots of little things in my roleplay world that make it rich. A little child that has adopted me as her auntie; political intrigue; and maybe, just maybe, a potential love interest?
It's been a load of fun.

Enjoying Mystara

Going to Mystara has been another renaissance in my second life. I have actually been playing quite a bit! I made a character for Cristalle and have recently made a second character called Nerai. Here is Nerai:

I haven't been posting much because I've been getting to know Mystara and really haven't sailed or swam too much. Yes, there is a mer culture in there, but all the action really is on the land. Even the mer folks are on land when they can be. I am not going to go into detail about the characters now. Maybe later! But I just want to say that I'm having great fun. Oh, and I also want one of the new Trudeau New York sloops. That is all.

Into Mystara

I decided to check out the Realm of Mystara, a very heavy roleplaying area. Mystara is a two-sim region with expansive waterways. I put on an observer tag so I could move around unimpeded, but that didn't seem to be a problem since most people were on land or in the sky. I only encountered a couple of mer folks under the water.

I landed in the Mystfolk Lagoon and found my way to the Merbrary, a Mer Library with an expansive set of notecards hidden in bookcases of shells. The cards contained information about Mer natural sciences, social sciences, and law and politics. I couldn't stomach reading the court transcripts, though. It was way too long, and it was too late at night for me to stomach reading a whole lot of something about nothing.

It was useful to read many of the other notecards, though. I found an actual map of the waterways. They seem to love ruins in this town. Witness:

The Dark Ruins:

The Light Ruins:

The Shallow Ruins:

With the Shallow Ruins, it really is shallow: you can't swim in the water surrounding the ruins. If by some chance you got there via boat, your boat would be stopped at the submerged steps if you had a keel. Only a catboard with a retractable centerboard has a chance at navigating that water, and even then it's so shallow that it's not very likely. There is also a secret cave behind the waterfalls at the Shallow Ruins.

There is some cool artificial life at the Shallow Ruins. A couple of birds caught my eye. They looked incredibly real.

Another thing that the designers of Mystara love is waterfalls. There are a few of them around, and they are lovely.

Lilypad Falls:

Another set of falls:

I think there are at least two more, not including the one near the Shallow Ruins and the one near the Shadow Market, as seen in the first picture. They are all beautiful. I especially loved hanging out at Lilypad Falls. It is the most beautiful spot I saw above the water, without exploring further on land or in the sky.

There is a lot more to Mystara. It has multiple levels of beauty and intrigue built into the environment. It is a prime example of a lovingly made fantasy roleplay environment. I cannot imagine how many hours it took to build it. I will come back and observe, probably as a human, so I can see the rest of Mystara's exquisite wonders.

Late Posting

I'm a little late but I wanted to post a few pics from my cruise with the Leeward Cruising Club last week. LCC is the offspring of the Mowry Bay Cruising Club, a group of folks who just want to sail for fun without racing. I appreciate this group, because I'm not a racer. I just sail for fun, and I don't race. I know my limits and right now, they don't include racing. :)

Instead of driving, I decided to hop a ride with Chaos Mandelbrot on his T-12. Along for the ride are Jane Fossett and Francois Jacques. We were a fabulous crew, hiking to help reduce any heeling. I was a little slow sometimes, though, since I was busy looking for good camera angles to take interesting pictures.

I haven't done anything like this for a while, since I wasn't really in SL very much. I hope that life will continue to permit me to do these kinds of cruises in the future.

Mermaid Life

I've been in SL a little more frequently, but not too too much. One reason why I haven't really posted here is because I got myself a mermaid outfit after my last scuba trip, and have discovered life as a mermaid. It's a natural progression, I suppose, since I love the water.

I've played with the look a bit; I want to get a good skin that is green, but doesn't look like I just put a green overlay on top of my existing skin. So far, I haven't found anything like that yet. I tried blue at first, but it just didn't work out. Then I decided green would be better but I'm still not happy. That's going to be a work in progress. You just have to look at my flickr to see what else I've done with the look. I just bought some gills because I was too lazy to make some of my own. They aren't yet pictured, but they will be, eventually.

I didn't realize that there was a mer subculture in SL. It's pretty cool, so far. I've met some nice people while swimming out in the waters as a mermaid. I've gone swimming in some places designed for mer folk. The Haven of Rogues and Haven of Mermaids sim complex seems to be a pretty strong center for mer culture. There are mer groups and one person is kind enough to publish a newsletter for mer folks. I haven't gotten into any of the roleplay for it yet, but I'm a little leery of that. A search inworld turned up a lot of D/s mer stuff and I really hate the idea that being a mermaid is just another kink in SL's BDSM scene. There must be more to it than that. I guess, in time, I will learn.

In the meanwhile, I will continue to explore, either by boat or by tail, the waters of SL. I recently made a very cool trip around Gaeta with a friend. I know, I'm remiss for not posting pics. I will probably just do it again and take some pics next time. There is plenty to see, both privately owned and Linden owned like this Leviathan skeleton in the middle of a sea on Nautilus continent. Don't be fooled by the picture! There is more to see under the water. Details like these make the world so much more enjoyable.

Scuba Duba

I was too tired to post the other part of my travels last night. I decided to go scuba diving! I enjoy scuba in SL. I would love to learn it in real life, but in SL I can look sooo much better doing it. Ha!


I went to a place called Airithia to dive. I found it through SL's search engine. Airithia is a lovely complex of spas, shops, and fun things to do: surfing, tubing, swimming and scuba diving. There are nice cuddle spots all over the sim.


It is a nice sim, very fun. Being somewhat disconnected from SL for a while, I have no real idea how popular it is. It does have some traffic, but the numbers weren't all that much from what I saw. I am afraid that like all other labors of love, it too will be lost in a matter of time.


On to the scuba diving!

The ad in search said that I could swim with mermaids. Well, that's a bit of false advertising. There were places where I could pose as a mermaid, but no mermaid bots or sculpted mermaids to be found. The only mermaids I saw were in ads at one of the shops. Too bad.

I did enjoy playing a mystical harp that I found. It plays Ave Maria and the Moonlight Sonata. If I had a mermaid outfit on, it would have been perfect.


There is a pretty cool sunken ship under the water. If you swim through it, you will find some romantic poses to get your underwater kink on. I passed on that.


I did find a pretty neat glowing grotto with a lot of fish. That's where the top photo came from.

No sunken ship site would be complete without some lost treasure. I found plenty of pirate booty. Arrr!!


After all was said and done, I took the time to explore the island. That water slide in the aerial overview shot above is not as fun as it appears. You can't just hop on the vehicle and slide down, you have to drive it like a car to get down the slide. It needs better physics.

But one nice feature is the fire pit, where you can roast some marshmallows. It sits amid a field of flowers and some kind of ancient monoliths.


It was a fun trip, and I enjoyed getting out and seeing something different. We need to support the people who make these beautiful destinations for us to explore.

Getting Around

Today, I decided to sail a completely different area. I went to Mowry Bay and started sailing Oriel, my Trudeau One, around the mainland continent of Sansara. Sansara is one of the older continents that existed before the massive land boom of 2007 and the subsequent land gluts. It's got a certain charm to it that some of the newer places just don't have.


It's nice when you have communities that respect the water, and don't place ridiculous obstructions in your way. That is not to say that I didn't meet upon any obstructions, but there is an obvious respect for the maritime nature of this section of the continent here.


Sailing Sansara was a unique pleasure. Generally speaking, it's unobstructed. Unfortunately, there isn't an abundance of ocean sims like with Corsica and Gaeta, but there are protected channels so that you can sail around the sims. Even then, sometimes what stops you is the shallow water. I got stuck a couple of times because my keel just couldn't take the shallowness. When traveling mainland inlets, you need a catboat or some other boat with a small keel or retractable centerboard.


I really enjoyed the trip because there is some really unique architecture here. And I enjoyed the diversity of the builds; it inspires creativity. When diversity works to create character instead of vulgarity, it's very powerful and touching.


It is a sincere pleasure to explore SL this way. Now we just need more people committed to maintaining a cohesive world, without excessive abuse of property rights. I am thankful to those who make the coasts beautiful and allow us to wonder at the beauty without wondering how to get off your banlines.