Hunting for dragons on Sunday

I have never been a prolific blogger and nowadays weeks can go by before I post an update. However, it is strangely comforting to see how many people visit my blog even when I am not here. I see the top search terms people use to reach Cyberloom and every Sunday brings in the dragon hunters. Out of consideration for these folk I decided it was high time to pay a visit to Grendel’s Children and see what new dragon creations Flea Bussy may have conjured up of late. I found the Fae Dragon and, for the astonishingly small sum of 5 Linden dollars, I acquired a box of no less than nine dragons! Today’s post (written especially for the Sunday Dragon Hunters) shows off just one of these new fiery pets, the Fae Dragon ‘Anise’. The enchanting and mysterious Al Naifah in Second Life provides the location for these dragon photos.

Note to Sunday Dragon Hunters: Fae Dragons are relatively small dragons, imagine a Komodo dragon with wings for a sense of its size.

 

Note to Sunday Dragon Hunters: Fae Dragons are undoubtedly successful dragons due to their smaller size and their natural camouflage.

 

Fae Dragon 'Anise' posing for photographs on location in Al Naifah

 

Flea Bussy's Fae Dragon 'Anise' seen flying off into the sunset.

Note to Sunday Dragon Hunters: Double click the pictures to see the Fae Dragon details more clearly.

 

The happy jellyfish tree

Pitcher Plants growing at the base of soror Nishi's 'Tree of Trees' on display at IBM C in Second Life

soror's Tree rising above the clouds like a happy jelly fish heading off to a party

Scotti the Dragon visits soror's tree

soror Nishi's 'Tree of Trees' takes off into the moonless night

Note: Doubleclick images above to see them enlarged

For more information about soror Nishi’s Tree of Trees visit Doubledown’s Take

Location in Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/IBM%20Exhibit%20C/126/131/174

Slideshow on flickr created by the artist herself:

Steam Wyrmling visits the strange land of Pteron

 

Steam Wyrmling visits the strange land of Pteron

 

Some time ago I purchased a superb steam dragon avatar at the Isle of Wyrms. To be more precise I acquired what is called a Steam Wyrmling created by Daryth Kennedy. Daryth also built the impressive  Isle of Wyrms location in Second Life where you will find a range of dragon eggs for sale in the Wyrms cathedral. If you wish to study these particular dragons more closely then pay a visit to the dragon wiki known as Encyclopedia Draconica.  (You can see the variety of dragons available at Wyrms Cathedral on the Limbo Dragon Species page.) One of the coolest features of Daryth’s dragons is the almost unlimited ability to change their external appearance by altering the color of their wings, scales and horns etc. And what better place to show off a Steam Wyrmling than in kei514 Flow’s strange land of Pteron? Pteron is a mysterious location with small satellite areas floating high above the main Pteron land mass. The first landing location you come to is rather reminiscent of an aquarium that needs a good clean, everything is a mottled green and it has a lonely abandoned feel. You have the option to teleport to Pteron’s satellites (each one worth exploring in its own right). For this post I explored the green palace which comprises the largest Pteron island. I adjusted my Steam Wyrmling by cladding it in bronze and gold armor, helping it to stand out against the Pteron surroundings. I encourage you to explore this other-world ruin, there are hidden rooms and surprises located throughout its maze-like sprawl. Perhaps you can even solve the mystery of what alien species once lived in the palace of Pteron and its satellites?

 

PTERON under the night sky

 

 

Steam Wyrmling with bronze and gold armor

 

 

Steam Wyrmling under the Pteron Lagoon

 

 

PTERON built by kei514 Flow

 

Earlier Cyberloom posts about the Isle of Wyrms: ‘Opening an Isle of Wyrms’ Part One and Part Two.

Homage to Steampunk and Bryn Oh

Steam wyrmling and Bryn Oh's mayfly sculpture

Bryn Oh’s Robo Insects are on display in virtual Vienna’s Natural History Museum in Second Life. Cyberloom went to pay homage with avatar dressed as a steampunk dragon and soon began to feel ‘at one’ with the virtual sculptures. Then, after communing with the ‘Mayfly’ exhibit (above) started to think the Robo-Insects needed to be set free… liberated into the thin virtual air of Second Life. However, dear reader, reason prevailed and Cyberloom switched avatars to view the rest of the exhibition as a more ordinary avatar (wearing steampunk clothing) and somewhat less prone to the emotional over reactions of steam dragons and steampunk robots.

Close-up of rhinobot sculpture

Cyberloom inspects Bryn Oh's jellytronics

Closeup: Bryn Oh's steamclock

Inspecting the Retelevise

Beautiful steam wyrmling (or dragon) created by Daryth Kennedy and available from the Isle of Wyrms in Second Life.

Wraith Dragons

Gravois Dragon by Wal Krugman

Visit WRAITH and Lady Dragoness at the Wraith Dragon Temple in Second Life to see some fantastic dragon statues.  I have featured my favorite here, the Gravois Dragon created by Wal Krugman.

Close up (showing teeth) of Gravois Dragon statue by Wal Krugman

There is much to see on the island with its landscape of  woods and clearings, gazebos, ruins and long arching foot bridges set against a backdrop of  mountains. You can wander around and see a considerable array of dragon statues.

Gravois Dragon statue ( Wal Krugman states that the statue will ' temp-rez on your land using one prim only'.)

The Lady Dragoness sells a natty line in crowns and coronets for ladies. I also saw a fine piece of  head gear for male avatars called the Dragon Warrior Helm (image below shows the display in the Lady Dragoness Sanctuary).

Dragon Warrior Helm available at the Lady Dragoness

I also discovered, while wandering the island, that Wal Krugman has created a line of wearable dragons that can perch on your avatar’s shoulder. I purchased one and now I  am waiting to see how my other pet dragon Spit Wrath deals with the company…

Spit Wrath on the left and new tiny gold dragon on the right. (That is a painting in the background not Wraith and Lady Dragoness island, though the island does resemble the painting in some respects.)

Opening an Isle of Wyrms: Part 2

Shadow Dragon on display

Dragon Cult Investigation Update! Inside the spectacular cathedral on the Isle of Wyrms in Second Life™ you will find an array of finely decorated dragon eggs created by Daryth Kennedy. When you touch an egg a list of options appears on your screen, and the chosen dragon materializes for just a few minutes. Each dragon egg provides three stages of dragon evolution, you can select hatchling, wyrmling or dragon.

Now, if you decide you want to own a full scale Isle of Wyrms dragon you are in for a surprise (wyrmlings and hatchlings are available). Just because you have enough Lindens to buy an adult dragon does not automatically mean you have the right to possess one of these magnificent avatars! As far as I can understand you must attend an Isle of Wyrms Hatching Event but these are only held four times a year! You register to purchase the dragon of choice, and this will then enter you in a dragon lottery (no guarantees just keep your claws crossed). The registration process is somewhat complex to learn but you will soon discover that Isle of Wyrms dragons, wyrmlings and hatchlings are all very charming and helpful, so just ask for assistance.

The good news for anyone interested in entering the lottery, a Hatchling Event is coming right up! On March 19th (the Vernal Equinox) to be precise.

Close-up look at 3 Dragon eggs on display in the Isle of Wyrms cathedral

Bast Dragon on display

Bast Dragon Egg

Shadow Dragon Hatchling

Cathedral, dragons, wyrmlings, hatchlings and dragon eggs all created by Daryth Kennedy.

Slurl to Isle of Wyrms http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cathedral/124/91/102/

∞

Opening an Isle of Wyrms…

Isle of Wyrms Cathedral created by Daryth Kennedy

 I thought that the Isle of Wight in the UK had set up its own virtual replica when I saw avatars in Second Life™ wearing   ‘IOW’ tags. However, it turns out this is actually a reference to the Isle of Wyrms. I then heard that there was a cathedral there, and assumed the Isle of Wyrms to be one of the many religious locations found in Second Life. (Anyone interested in learning more about religious sites in Second Life will find Danni Ohara provides an excellent introduction as guest blogger on Gany’s take on any life.) Last week I finally teleported over to take a look for myself and discovered that the Isle of Wyrms is an entire island devoted to dragons! The cathedral itself houses a range of splendid dragon eggs, and this begs the question… is this the site of a dragon cult? Nothing for it but to go undercover as a dragon investigator! 

Isle of Wyrms Cathedral (entrance)

Isle of Wyrms Cathedral in rain cloud

Small balls of fire!

Dragon fire problem.

Spit-Wrath my pet dragon is not house trained yet, at least his particle effects are not. I had decided to experiment with Spit-Wrath’s options, and opened up the note card that had accompanied his egg (at the time of purchase). I clicked on his head after selecting ‘Aggressive – set avatars on fire’, and caused a fire to rage just above my avatar’s hair. When I walked away the fire continued to burn, but now it hovered above where my avatar had been sitting. I tried editing, and deleting it, etcetera, before I realized I had a particle effects problem. (I also wondered when I might feel the urge to set other avatars on fire?)

I have encountered this particle problem once or twice before. This time last year I had a snowflake generator (a freebie) that sent giant, pretty snowflakes swirling all across the shared island (I was unable to not stop it for days). This is not the way to make friends and influence people in Second Life, as it can slow down the server, causing headaches for other local avatars. (Avatars with headaches, there’s a thought… a new spin on Social Presence Theory?) Most people exploring Second Life encounter this little problem sooner or later. I have wondered whether it is a trick played on newbies, and folks who can’t resist a freebie? In this case, the note card that came with the dragon did not give me directions on how to put out the dragon fire once ignited.

As it’s getting close to Christmas, and I am filled with Christmas spirit (plus wanting a break from writing rather turgid papers) I am posting this solution to help other folks manage runaway particle effects problems.

To stop an unwanted particle effect select View from the top menu bar, then click on Beacons.

This will open your beacon dialog box and show the particle effect generator, in this case that red ball in the middle of the flames

Click on the now revealed particle generator then hit delete, and the whole effect will vanish!

Mission accomplished! All that remained after my dragon-fire was the smell of burnt Tiki house, plus the annoying sound of a virtual smoke detector buzzing in the background. I waved a synthetic magazine at the detector, and opened the simulated windows to let imagined air into my artificial room. And all was well with my 3D make-believe world!

Spit-Wrath the dragon culprit!

Dragon Sage Smoke and Fire Proof Jackets

Hatching the dragon's egg

I waited 21 days for this dragon’s egg to crack open. I read that they are best kept at room temperature, away from radiators or bright sunlight. At night the egg would glow and emit a high pitched squeak, and it became sizzling hot on the day the egg finally broke open. When the egg cracked there was a blood curdling screech that seemed to come from the egg rather than the pathetic looking wrinkled occupant.

Posing with Spit-Wrath my pet dragon created by Vilem Beaumont

The baby dragon is cute in an ugly way and appears happiest perching on my shoulder. (I am not sure if it can fly yet.) I found that whenever I took the small creature off my shoulder it had a temper tantrum that involved firing spitballs of red hot lava (hence its name Spit-Wrath). This shoulder perching has become less of a problem since I found a fire resistant leather jacket (an acquisition that has improved the quality of life for us both). Now when it sneezes, or burps, my clothing just smolders slightly. (The leather jacket also protects me from its needle sharp claws.)

Spit-Wrath has a constant stream of smoke coming out of its nostrils, this smoke has a pleasantly mild perfume reminiscent of burning sage. The one problem with this dragon sage smoke is that it gets in my eyes and makes them water so for the time being I have opted to wear goggles.

Here be Dragons

Here be Dragons - Dragon avatars created by Verkin Raven

Visit Seawolf Monsters – Here be Dragons to see the superb European Mountain Dragon avatars created by Verkin Raven. Verkin has created 3 versions of the dragon Juvenile, Mature and Ancient. These dragon avatars are to be found in a remote corner of Second Life, the land of Aggro.

Adult dragon avatar and smoldering forest (dragon by Verkin Raven)

The dragons stand on the edge of a charred and still smoldering forest. A large display board is positioned near the dragons showing off the extensive array of dragon accessories available to you (should you purchase one of these dangerous monsters). This display also provides links to an external wiki Seawolf-Monsters:Dragons (Seawolf-Monsters.com also design boats as you will see from their wiki.) The scenery of Aggro is stunning, and includes the fabulous floating island of Weyr. See below for more images.

Floating rock island named 'Weyr' designed by Zwagoth Klaar

Closeup of the mysterious 'Weyr'

Ancient Dragon at Aggro

Ancient dragon foot showing Verkin Raven's attention to detail