What a wonderful time the Ride for Joy proved to be! Music, friends new and old, conversation, laughter, taking delight in creativity, being silly together (don't knock it -- full-grown adults don't get much chance for that these days), ...

We gathered, as planned, in a small clearing in the woods to the north east of the main island, near the sea. There was an air of excitement as one by one friends linked in, loud 'Shorahs!' echoing around the trees.

After a quick count of the crowd, and we decided to take the risk of creating instability in the Channelwood area and travel there together (the number was just on the edge of what could prove tricky, but we didn't really want to split up). Paislee had earlier moored a sloop capable of carrying us on the first stage of the journey, so we ran across to the fishing harbour in the north west and boarded.

Once we had sorted out the inevitable 'Avie overboard' problems (this is the Guild of Healers we are talking about) and everyone who wanted to be was seated, Paislee handed the ship's wheel to me and the journey commenced.

We very quickly hit a strangely strong current as we were trying to leave the coastal waters of Devokan -- the Bermuda triangle has nothing on this! The ship became invisible, various people were thrown into the water (I gather from comments that this was one of the points of holding Joy Rides ), others were left floating in mid air, while I found myself constrained to vertical movement only -- fine if flying, not so good for sailing.

A quick link out and back in restored some sort of control, albeit from the ship's deck not its wheel (odd that), and I finally managed to anchor the ship on the northern side of the windmill island. At that point we all took to the small boats moored there.

It was magical to see the sailboats weaving through the Channelwood trees; Lord Chaos's excellent choice of music captured and enhanced the feeling of joy.

We then abandoned the boats to explore the different levels of walkways. As usual, climbing the spiral staircase was a challenge. In the huts, several tried basket weaving; some started dancing. I went outside to one of the open gathering areas high in the trees, and was surprised to see the Devokan Flyer buzzing the area. Quin had come back for some more supplies, seen the activity in Channelwood, and decided to find out what was going on. I boarded the Flyer to quickly catch up with his news and to tell him mine, and we flew back to park the ship at the Cove.

The next stage of the journey was to explore the main island by sea and land, so we re-gathered in the rocky area near the chapel. Some took to the sailboats once more; others decided they had had enough dunkings for one day and explored by foot. We eventually headed for the Keep, where I have made my home.

The various facilities were duly admired; then we headed for the balcony on the top floor to start on what was meant to be the final part of the journey -- to the Sky Bone Cage. Sorting out how to use the Bubble Flyers made by Shenn proved difficult to some (for some reason Lord Chaos kept trying to fly the 'rezzer' rather than the actual vehicle; given its razor-sharp edge this must have been uncomfortable).

Another lovely sight -- the Bubble Flyers with their cargo of friends floating over Devokan, up to the Sky Bone Cage. There, some danced, others chatted, some quietly enjoyed the views of the island below.

Towards the end of the evening a few of us went on to the Lost Pages of Myst built by Shenn and Aleah; I am awestruck by what they have created. To visit it, use the linking stone near Quin's caravan in the wood, or find a Devokan elevator station (a small stone booth with an obvious red button to press) and choose 'Lost Pages' when ready.

As Dot mentioned above, over the weekend I returned to the village to obtain fresh supplies -- now safely stowed in the Devokan Flyer's ample storage facilities.

I was pleased to see my house restored to its former eccentric glory.

Late last night, I returned to my base camp in the newly discovered area. I'm prepared to stay for some time now.

Having ascertained that the land is stable and safe, perhaps even for explorer colleagues (provided they take suitable precautions), I will add a portal destination to the Devokan Nexus to facilitate travel here. While using the Flyer has a certain flair and style about it, it takes an aeon to reach this area -- it really is in the upper reaches of this world.

Here is an extract from my notes.

Quote:

The area seems to be an abandoned industrial complex, possibly for mining, powered by capped geothermal vents.

The terrain is rocky, barren, desert-like, although there is a small oasis of green to the north-west. Was this originally a rest area for the workers?

Various machines are labelled using numerals to base 25. How do these numbers relate to those on the keypad found in the south-west?

What does the Monitoring Room in the north actually monitor?

In conclusion: This intriguing area will repay closer scrutiny.

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OOC: To go there directly, here is the SLURL: Selenitica

Having now visited the area myself, I can confirm Quin's report. Here's a photo I took while flying above the area to try to get my bearings. According to Quin, duststorms can blow up in a matter of minutes.

Quin has managed to use the keypad to gain access to a small underground area. It does look as though this is an old mine.

There we found a Tesla-style transporter which took us to what seems to be the main mine. Judging from my HUD coordinates, this is probably in a small rocky satellite orbiting above Selenitica. The tunnels here are quite extensive and seem fairly robust.

Using the Tesla transporter was very uncomfortable -- it shakes your innards horribly, so much so that some people have been known to scream (mentioning no names). I have therefore replaced it with a modern, more civilised GoMa elevator system.

While exploring outside the main tunnels, Quin has found some old machinery. He will be trying to get it up and running again over the coming weeks. So if things sound different each time you visit, that is why. Don't venture outside the tunnels though -- we're not sure yet what was being mined.

OOC post: Both 'Inspired by Channelwood' and the main island itself seem to be popular as photo-shoot locations. Searching for 'Devokan' on Google Image and on Flickr unearthed a few photoblogs and photo streams. Here's a sample.

Dork Barzane (5 Aug 09: landscapes): http://dorkacaminante.blogspot.com/2009/08/devokan.html

rikoko eweing (10 Aug 09; landscapes): http://www.flickr.com/photos/rikokoewing/sets/72157621999267514/

Miro Collis / ffabris (23 Aug 09; digital art of the village): http://www.flickr.com/photos/ffabris/3850745104/in/set-72157621955777357/

Yuko Wise (2 Sept 09; exploring the village): http://yuko.slmame.com/e724437.html

Hatsue Watnanabe (21 Sept 09; digital art): http://www.flickr.com/photos/hatsuewatanabe/3939927755/

Ngel (24 Sept 09; sky and water reflections): http://www.flickr.com/photos/ngelvella/3950600314/in/photostream/

Mimien Little (25 Sept 09; portraits using village locations as backdrops): http://mimitica.slmame.com/e740075.html

soaha (5 Oct 09; record of explorations): http://www.flickr.com/photos/soaha/3984889646/

Alia (13 Oct 09; digital art): http://www.flickr.com/photos/alia_qunhua/4008523986/

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My favourites are those by Miro, soaha and Alia. You can see Miro's artwork hanging over the fireplace in the Keep.

I am pleased to report that I have managed to get part of the machinery working again. When I pressed a switch on the control panel I was checking out, the result was loud sounds of gears meshing and metal parts scraping against each other.

Once the deafening noise had finished echoing around the mine tunnels, I returned to the Selenitica surface. A previously unknown brick building had appeared in the centre of the main plain, complete with walkways to the east, south and west; these had broken through the existing walkways.

The building is on a base raised on four telescopic pillars. The base seems to be of the same material and design of the stands of the urns scattered throughout the area, albeit on a more substantial scale of course. I have not yet worked out what purpose the urns serve. The building itself is empty.

I'm returning to the village for a couple of days. I need to consult some books in my library.

It seems that the building was not the only thing affected by Quin's work on the machinery. The walkways themselves have suffered, some being broken off mid way, others collapsing and even disappearing. (Why do things always collapse when Quin is around?)

Associated with the central building is a series of fresh walkways using a system of metal grid paths supported by chunky brick pillars. These look as though they can be changed at a moment's notice. I suspect the central walkways might slide out from the base of the building -- some form of security, perhaps?

One thing about the building that Quin failed to check: the telescopic pillars. The hydraulic system used to extend them was damaged. I've built a temporary brick structure to keep the building in place.

Dot wrote:

Why do things always collapse when Quin is around?

Creative destruction? Destructive creativity? Reverse engineering?

It might be an unhappy coincidence, of course.

By the way, while talking of collapsing buildings, who used the Flyer while I was working in the Library? It is safer to land it in the Cove rather than in the middle of the village.

An old friend from The Meeting Place has joined us in Devokan. Mat, who is an artist, has moved into the Lighthouse. He is a very bubbly person -- full of fun, and ideas. He's already come up with an excellent suggestion that we hope to get going over the next couple of months -- details to follow. Paislee is excited by the possibilities.

Yesterday evening, Mat showed me around his new home, and I duly admired his concept art for a game he and some friends had developed a while back. We stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, and a new friend, Holli, came up to join us.

While we were chatting away about plans and possibilities, I noticed something odd on my map HUD. There was someone there, but instead of being indicated by a green or yellow dot (for general person and known friend respectively), this was a deep blue dot.

I excused myself from the conversation, explaining what was happening. I normally like to go to greet and welcome visitors to the island, and so went across to where they were. The visitor was a Linden (i.e. one of the employees of Linden Labs), dressed ready for Halloween as the Grim Reaper. They made no acknowledgement of my greeting, instead prowling around the area in front of the Inn.

I shrugged, and returned to the others.

A moment later, I noticed that the blue dot on the HUD had been joined by a second. Since it seemed they were busy, I decided not to disturb them a second time. But I found the incident intriguing.

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By the way, during the course of conversation, Mat confessed to having used the Flyer and landing it next to the lighthouse. So that mystery is solved. I promised Mat to give him a lesson on using the Flyer's warp facility -- it makes parking it so much easier!

OOC post: The visit of the two Lindens might be connected with the fact that Devokan is now featured in the SL official Destination Guide!

http://secondlife.com/my/whatnext/destinations/category.php?c=hotspots

Ah, sorry. Slight technical difficulties with getting on here... Anyway, yeah, I've been around Devokan a bit recently. Well, more than a bit. It's been a rush, finding my way back to unfamiliar places. Though I suppose that's phrased wrong. Ah well. You can call me the new girl, I suppose. In many ways, though in some ways not so much... Sorry, off on a tangent. Terrible habit. Anyway, I've been exploring Devokan and Selenitica in what free time I've been able to pull myself away from my studies. Sorry if I've stepped on any toes around and about. That's life though, I suppose.

OOC: And again, congrats on the feature, Dot. 8D

_________________
Carpe Quab!
HolliTal (Call me Holli, please)
KI# 00069301

Now I've had a glimpse at what it might be like to live in a suddenly popular tourist destination!

We've had streams of visitors over the past week -- mostly in ones or twos, fortunately, so it hasn't been too bad.

Some came to relax and enjoy the music, some to explore. Nalates, for example, has been adding notes of her findings on the village noticeboard -- it makes interesting reading.

While I was working in Selenitica, Christian Walter turned up. He mentioned Selenitica's mini-moon, and as we looked up, we saw it eclipse the sun. (That was a huge surprise!)

Quinquifid has come down from Selenitica for a few days to help out in the village (that's why the Flyer is back in the Cove). He was most gratified that Holli was interested in some of his books and has lent her a few, even taking them out to her place at Granelda's.

It seems that one difficulty the new visitors have had is to understand some of the background to Devokan.

In an attempt to familiarise them with key places and people, I have just installed a new steam-driven "Devokan Information Point" next to my house and close to where the visitors first link in.

I believe further reference material will shortly be made available in Dot's office on the top floor of the Keep.

A note for future reference: I am no longer allowed in the mine tunnels accessible from Selenetica by myself unless I really have nowhere to be. Ended up walking in circles for forever yesterday. Got my bearings today and scooted out. Either that, or I need to see if a compass works up there. There's a thought, I guess. Need to look into that anyway...

_________________
Carpe Quab!
HolliTal (Call me Holli, please)
KI# 00069301

I know what you mean, Holli.

I try to keep track of where I am by listening to the different machinery sounds -- which ones I can hear, whether they are louder or softer, that sort of thing.

Wandering round there reminds me of a Tangerine Dream concert I went to way back in the 70s.

By the way, I found the topology of that maze interesting. It has loops, yet you can still completely traverse it by walking along the wall. I wouldn't have thought that possible (because it isn't for two-dimensional mazes).