It’s that time of year again, worlds collide, stories intertwine and people from across the fantasy lands come together to fight a common foe. Yes it’s the Fantasy Faire, which opened it’s doors for the fifth year today despite a host of obstacles laid at the door of Linden Lab but undoubtedly the work of the nefarious Unweaver.
Normally, I start our trips around the Faire at the Fairelands Junction, the jumping off point to the various Fantasy worlds that form the Faire as we see it. However this year, in recognition of the relaunch of the Quest For The Golden Prim (QGP), we will begin out journey in the Explorer’s club, which can be found in the Lotus Valley Dream region.
Quest is a webcomic that once graced the pages of PrimPerfect’s sister publication the Primgraph, and which sealed it’s first volume when the Primgraph closed its presses and which is soon to launch with renewed vigour and an updated format back into the world of Second Life and beyond. This year the Faire brings eight wonderful fantasy landscapes, packed with shopping and fun. Each region is unique and yet a part of the whole, the Fairelands fantasy continent. We shall visit each in turn, travelling clockwise through the Fairelands.
And so we begin… The heady smell of cigar smoke, laced with something sweeter and heavier greets us as we enter the world famous Golden Prim Explorer’s Club (Oriental Branch). Two enormous polished foodogs stand guard as we walk through the gallery of great adventurers to the luxurious and space interior of the club. All around we find adventuring paraphernalia, treasures brought from far off lands by members of the club. We could choose to stay a while and discover the secrets of the club. But for now we will head out into the world and earn our place at the clubhouse with our own adventures.
Outside we find a beautiful oriental springtime, Lotus Valley Dream (by Marcus Inkpen/ Sharni Azalee). It is written that the spirit world touches the material plane, here in this garden of bonsai trees and waterfalls surrounding an ancient pagoda. With such mystical elegance everywhere you look, this is a place to still your mind and connect with the magic within. Marcus and Sharnee are perhaps better known to many as “The Looking Glass” and are also the sponsors of this region, their store taking pride of place at the top of the steps that lead down to the lily pond below and its stunning red Chinese dragon.
The stores are wonderful stylised pagodas set among the most gorgeous cherry blossom, in these stores, as well as the explorers’ club you will find the likes of Hoofit, Ezura Xue, Falcon Rose, Raven’s heart and Demons & Angels, all featured creators supporting the Faire this year. Full details of the region with a complete list of stores can be found on the Fantasy Faire web page for Lotus Valley Dream.
Tomorrow, we head off to a very different land to Lotus Valley but one beloved of children and dentists alike, Ravenshard by Mayah Parks.
Watch your step in the meantime. Kiana Writer, owner of MadPea games crossed the path of the tinies of Ravenshard and was imprisoned almost before the Faire had opened its doors. Only the generous support of her friends secured her release, and raising a wonderful 80,000 Linden dollars for our cause in the process. I caught up with a clearly distressed and shaken Kiana shortly after her release, dazed and exhausted she could do little more than repeat a single word, Unia. Unia? Whatever could it mean?
Prim Perfect 