Love and the Lake, on Ignis

We are halfway through the current Safari season, so of course, it's already time to start thinking about the next one! If you're interested in showing the HG Safari tour group,  get in touch with Thirza Ember ono OSGrid, but first, read this page for Safari Hosts, it explains in excruciating detail how the trips work, what to expect from the group, and will help you avoid common pitfalls. That said, we have plenty still to see on this season, and our tour of Borderlands on Ignis Fatuus Grid was a treat! The HG Address is, as always, at the end of the post.

Nadir Rae

Best sellers in the 21st century are often fantasy and romance novels, adventures, and life hack books - and ever more frequently audiobooks, as people like to be read to, rather than read. The Middle Ages were pretty much the same! The legends around Viviane, Merlin, Arthur and all the gang of the Round Table are a mixture of magic, love stories and battles, with a lot of contemplative allegories mixed in. Nadir has perfectly captured this on her build, which is as large as it is full of detail. As always, we only had an hour to see it, and so of course there's more to go back and revisit.

We arrived at the church by a great waterfall.

Max Well [fr→en]: good evening to all of you, thank you for coming

Dings Digital: I can see myself live on TV, hooray

Arriving by torchlight on Borderlands

You too can see yourself on live TV if you come on Safari, as Lifted Pixel aka Jessica Pixel often livestreams our events on Youtube - here is yesterday's visit, as seen through her eyes.  The arrival point is an old church, it's the place where Nadir and Max had their big wedding ceremony, so it holds many memories for the virtual as well as representing the departure point in the journey around the region's story. Nadir gave everyone a torch on arrival.

James Atlloud: Thank you for the torch

Venus Love [fr→en]: watch out for the wigs lol

Tosha Tyran: yeah, I already tried to set Mal on fire... but he seems to be of stone

Forest.Azure: i'm very naked... and no face

Venus Love: lol yes forest 

Tosha Tyran: I thought that was your costume

The sunken chessboard on Borderland

On hand to welcome us were Nadir Rae and Max Well. Max you'll remember from a dozen different Safari visits (remember Phaedra?), and we have already encountered Nadir's rich and beautiful art, last September, on Spirit of Life.

This build is inspired by the story of Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, and a figure from the legend of King Arthur. You may think of the stories about Arthur and Merlin as belonging to England and Wales, but they form part of the folklore of France too, in particular Brittany. 

Venus Love: hicks please stay away from my hair, I just left the hairdresser lol

LadyKa Ramel: C'est mort, le brushing, Vénus, lol

hicks adder: ha oups

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: Dear friends Max and I are delighted to welcome you to the Borderland sims. As you can see, right at the bottom of the waterfalls at a level quite rare on open sim

Thirza Ember: yes, i have never seen a waterfall like that

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: Playing on the homonym with the Greek hero, the legend of King Arthur makes this knight Palamedes, the instructor of his comrades in arms with this game that he brought back from the Orient and thinks of the game as an initiatory journey which is part of the quest for the Grail.

Thirza Ember: let's hope we don't burn the church

Hicks Adder:  A flame in a church... that ended badly last time... cf Notre Dame

Venus Love [fr→en]: it's beautiful

Ankh Senaton: yes and nice furnitures too

Inside the church

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: Let's go together across this bridge to get to know:  Among the figures highlighted in the Arthurian cycle, , one of the most endearing is that of the Lady of the Lake, assimilated to the fairy Viviane, or Nimüe, the magician of the forest of Brocéliand in Darnantes and Briosque (the towns in which many fairy species such as dragons lived) You will undoubtedly come across some species between land and water

... past this splendid dragon...

,,,down the stairs and past this dark wall (to see an even funnier gif of this part of the build, join the HG Safari Discord server )

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: Viviane has a privileged contact with water, symbol of the invisible world. A young girl sings... Viviane, a woman with a lively mind and great beauty, charms Merlin, Water fairy, protector of the knight Lancelot, Viviane masters the enchantments and knowledge of nature. Throughout Arthurian legend, Viviene protects the Knights of Arthur.  It is near the Barenton fountain that Viviane meets Merlin. Out of love, he teaches her his magic and builds her a crystal castle that sinks into the lake, to protect it from profane eyes. Maybe we'll find out one day! The crystal embodies purity and innocence, the lake which shelters it refers to the invisibility of the wonderful world. and 

Then round the corner, we come to...the hall and library of King Arthur. It's a room of spells and wisdom, history and art.

Dings Digital: ah books, wonderful

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: young Lancelot, on the death of his father, King Ban of Bénoic We sometimes associate Avallon with ancient Atlantis, a sim on Ignis Fatuus definitely exists.  Viviane must make him the “best knight in the world” She taught arts and letters, the liberal arts to Lancelot, instilling in him wisdom and courage

These rooms have so many lovely little details, be sure to find the pen that writes by itself, and the cats by the birdcage...and also the good eats! 

James Atlloud: Is it polite to dine with torch in hand?

Lifted Pixel: use it to heat up a bite

 Hicks Adder [fr→en]: I don't think so

Thirza Ember: it's a sporch, a cross between a spoon and a torch

Much of Borderland was built taking inspiration from a painting which you will find inside this building, which is a nice circular piece of creativity. 

The round table, a Tudor reproduction of which you can still see today, in the city of Winchester, is an important part of the build. Why is it green?

 Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: Finally, according to a medieval, Arthurian and alchemical legend, an emerald is said to have fallen from Lucifer's forehead during his fight with the archangel Michael. Let us remember that Lucifer, the most luminous of God's angels. After the loss of this stone, Lucifer was condemned to wander miserably until he found the emerald again. This stone would have the power to transform all those who touch it, and make them immortal.

Venus Love[fr→en]: knights of the round tableeeeeee let's taste if the wine is good!!!

Lavia LLavine: the wine is delicious.

Hicks Adder [fr→en]: A toast to the Queen of the Forest of Broceliande

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: Several legends report that the Grail is a vase carved from Lucifer's emerald. With a little imagination, we can therefore associate Emerald Table and Grail. Hence its presence at the center of the round table.

Ankh Senaton: ha ok, I was wondering what it was in the center 

James Atlloud: Oh ! is the grail here?

We took a quick look at the courtyard, with the golden eagles, which represent an episode in the story between Merlin and Viviane (bit of jealousy going on there) and then back to the lakeside, to see Excalibur! 

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: It is also Viviane who gives the sword Excalibur. Be careful because on these waters floats the character of Nimué, a very ancient witch, who can kill you with a single blow.   

Dings Digital: or she will seduce us

Thirza Ember: or that too Dings... we live in hope I guess

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]:  Nimué is the name of another young priestess who seduces Kevin the Bard (successor to Merlin). From here you can see the fairy island where a sleeping dragon keeps watch!

James Atlloud: The bard's name is Kevin?  Oh I see Nimué

Ankh Senaton-> en: she reminds me of someone walking on the water 

Forest Azure: she wants your crocs !

Thirza Ember: the Holy Crocs of St James

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: Turbulent waters invite us to observe this universe, would this be a reminder of Trismegistus and his emerald table.... let's check together if what is above is similar to what is below ...I invite you to even follow, it's all right

And bloosh, under the water. A whole other world, full of statues and allegorical tableaux.

Dings Digital: awesome place

Forest Azure: oh wow!

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: The seabed that we can observe plunges us into a timeless place where the present, past, and future come together. Let's take this moment together because it is rare to approach a world of silence

There's so much more to see here than we could fit into our hour visit, including dancing dolphins, mystical lights and underwater caves, this fishing boat, where it looks like they sunk just when they finally caught the big shark... or maybe that's what sunk them?

Nadir Rae: [fr→en]: It sometimes happens that wanting to catch a bigger fish takes you to unsuspected depths!

And just like that, our time was up. 

 lifted pixel: it's just as expansive under the water as above! wonderful work!

Bink Draconia: thanks for the tour

Dings Digital: wonderful and impressive sim. so much imagination and detail

Forest Azure: ty so much!  see you all next week

Mal Burns: thanks - still a huge undiscovered areaq

Ankh Senaton: Thank you Nadir.Rae2 I will come back to see better without too much lag ;) 

lifted pixel: time to turn into a pumpkin! see yall next time! have a wonderful day in the metaverse :3

HG Address:  hop://ignis-fatuus.no-ip.biz:8002/Borderland/125/124/27