Thursday, November 22, 2012

Crimson Pirates: Humble Beginnings

I've noticed way too many groups in Second Life wither and die or grow to the point that no one knows the history behind the community and culture that was built.  Being one of the early members of the notorious Crimson Pirates in Caledon, I thought it was important to chronicle the saga of those who don the "Bunneh Roger".  This is the first in what will be a series of posts, highlighting the founding and history of the CP.

The Crimson Pirates formed as part of a smuggling ring out of Constantine Castle in Caledon Southend.  Rachire Wulluf was the captain then, running his Crimson Fang I in and out of the Castle on various rather shady runs, while under the protection of the Castle's owner, Lord Wrath Constantine.

Constantine Castle at SouthEnd


When Lord Constantine "acquired" the center of the Caledon Firth in Middlesea, Wulluf and the Crimson Pirates found a centralized hub, surrounded by plenty of open sky and water to run weaponry and other sundry supplies to their buyers.  While tourists were welcomed by the new Duke of Middlesea, Lord Constantine, little notice was made of those who disappeared after haplessly stumbling upon areas that were better left unseen below the island.

Smugglers' Dock under Middlesea Castle
 
Duke Constantine surveying the evening's swag
 
Times were good for the Crimson Pirates and their leaders.  Because they were operating with little notice, the hauls were enormous.  Wulluf and Constantine were also well paid for staying discrete as far as the names and holdings of their clientele.  Needless to say, Caledon's Firth was well supplied with firepower, kittehnip, and rum--but they had bigger visions.

It was during this time that two ladies entered the picture.  Ger Udimo was a (mostly) quadruped tigress who periodically transformed into a raven haired beauty with a penchant for creative ballistics.  Wulluf was enamored and quickly, the Crimson Pirates' base in underground Middlesea was transformed into a home for the new couple. 

There was one problem with this arrangement.  Wulluf's former mistress, Aettrynne the Firth Witch, had a front row seat of the new love affair and was not pleased.  As they took their vows to partner, she also vowed to get her revenge.

Her first weapon of choice was her young student, Aevalle Galicia (moi!).  Daughter of a fae goddess and Cath Palug, an Irish changling cat demon, Aevalle certainly had powers, but after being abducted by Aettrynne as a child, she had been shaped into the little priestess that served the Firth Witch well.  Aevalle was to be a ticking time bomb--get in and seduce those in charge of Middlesea and then pull them apart from within.

Fate had another plan however.  Once Aevalle met Duke Constantine, her heart was his.  After several months, they made their partnership official and the Crimson Pirates earned its first two female protectors.

~~End of Humble Beginnings~~
~~Coming Next...Aettrynne Seeks Revenge, Middlesea in Flames, and Spreading Out with Rum~~

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Caledon Machinima Mania

Caledon has a long history of machinima, from both the uber creative residents in its midst and non-residents who view the nation as a jewel of SL.  When I first moved into Caledon, the place for machinima was Penzance with it's Caledon Studios nestled under the Hollywood-style Penzance sign in the hills.  Oolon Sputnik was the mastermind behind the Studios and gifted us with memorable classic Caledon movies which were doubly poignant as they were used for fundraising for Relay for Life.







 
 
 
Not all of the Caledon Studios videos were for entertainment, though.  Mr. Sputnik captured Caledon history with this video of our Guv'nah Desmond Shang terraforming the then baby sim of Wellsian (a place that I have a particular soft spot for).
 
 

 
 
 
Caledon's Armed Forces have had their share of machinima work done over the years as well.  Once upon a time, the RCAF dogfight footage was collected and archived via film.  A couple of examples can be seen below.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The Caledon Fire Brigade even got into the act with this short film, documenting a fire in Caledon Moors.
 

 
 
 
Visitors to Caledon sometimes can't resist capturing the aura of the place to document their travels (some even decide to settle here!).
 
 

 
 
(I'm partial to this one--that's my first Caledon home and Mr. Bingle on my roof at about 1:45!)
 
 
 
Finally, last year, I threw my hat into the ring of creative machinima making, using the Caledon Cavorite Mines in Moors as the setting for "They Came for the Cavorite".
 
 

 
 
Hopefully machinima makers will continue to document Caledon using this form or get inspired from Caledon to create their own fictional films.  We have the history--now let's carry on into the future.  Make masterful machinimas merrily! :D
 


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Back to the Beginning: Revisiting Caledon Prime

To kick off this blog, I figured I'd take a short tour around the sim that started it all in Caledon, the sim "locals" call Prime.  Who would have thought that when Desmond opened Caledon with this one sim back in 2006 that it would grow to a size of fifty sims at its largest?

I have to start any visit to Prime at my "pet project," Aether Education and Travel Bureau.  Having done tours in Second Life and beyond for nearly 4 years, I've amassed a lot of tour cards (understatement)--Aether is where they're housed in-world, along with pictures of the locations. There's also a Caledon Air Transit (CAT) terminal just behind the building which is nice for those wanting to tour the nation by air.

Funny story about this location--when I first arrived in Caledon, I saw an open meter right behind the Caledon Welcome Center and I paid it, excitedly shooting off a notecard to a Desmond Shang, letting him know how excited I was to be a new resident.  Well, the open meter was a mistake, but Des managed to put me in touch with a few people and I settled under the floating mountain in Morgaine.  It took about two years and multiple tenants, but eventually I finally got that first parcel I noticed in Caledon, the one in Prime nestled right behind the Caledon Welcome Center. :)




Right across the way from Aether stands the Prime location of retailer lassitude & ennui.  L & E is a long time fixture in Caledon--the first time I came across them was in their old Mayfair location (circa 2008).  They specialize in Victorian Steampunk fashions and are worth a looksee (visitors can pick up a free box of shoes!).




To the south, visitors will find Fable Gardens and the entrance to the Caledon Primtionary stage.  The area on the ground is nice and relaxed, looking out over the sea under Steam SkyCity, but on Friday nights at 6pm slt, the place comes alive with the weekly Primtionary games, hosted by AV Parabola.




Further down the southern edge of the sim is Ordinal Enterprises.  Ordinal Malaprop is one of the founding members of Caledon and, any Caledonian worth their salt must have at least one of her firearms (usually several)--it's like a right of passage.




Right across from Ordinal Enterprises is the Vannevar Bush Reading Garden, hosted by Caledon Library founder and head librarian, JJ Drinkwater.  The Reading Garden is, of course, focused on books and the love of reading.  One of it's tongue-in-cheek features is the Inter-Library Loan, a book slinging catapult.





Walking north along the eastern side of the sim, visitors will come across RavZstein Cove Gardens, currently outfitted for the haunting season.  The Gardens here have a great view of the islands to the east, including Loch Avie and Llyr.




Not far from RavZstein Cove Gardens, visitors can find the Virtual Kennel Club Dog Park, another long standing Prime feature.  The dog park allows patrons to adopt virtual dogs and play with them on the various obstacles stationed around the park.  It's a fun way to spend a bit of time, plus you get to take home a virtual furry pal. :)




We end this short tour just shy of where we started, at the Caledon Welcome Centre.  Sponsored by the Caledon Library, the Centre offers newcomers and visitors information about Caledon, it's culture and it's history.  It's also a comfy spot to just hang out with a few friends and chat.






Exiting out the back door of the Welcome Centre leads to...tada!...the Aether Education and Travel Bureau.  See?  Full circle. :)