Sorrow, Paper Dinosaurs (Flickr) – click any image for full size
Sorrow is the name of an atmospheric region designed by The Lollipop Kids, led by Voshie Paine. This is a place with a tragic back story (as told by the introductory note card), something which is perhaps reflected by the sombre, rain-heavy skies with their scudding, grey clouds.
This was, we are told, once a happy estate, built on money and handed down through the generations until tragedy came upon the last of the family line. Not anything supernatural, you understand – this isn’t a story purely confined to the Halloween season – but events sufficient to cast a pall over the region and give rise to the name by which it is known.
Sorrow, Paper Dinosaurs (Flickr)
Visitors arrive at the edge of one of the two larger island making up the region, and are greeted by a heavy downpour. The rain is so dense it turns the lightning into irregular flickering of great sheets which briefly illuminate different parts of the surroundings, revealing a broad expanse of water behind the landing area and, through the dimming rain, the dark outline of another landmass on the far side.
Before the visitor lies a pathway, offering a route to the steady lights of a nearby house just visible through the rain and trees. Here can be found comforting shelter from the rain in what I assume is the cosy home of the family who were once employed as servants on the estate. Just inside the door sits a samovar, offers piping tea to warm the insides after the rain, and food is offered in the little conservatory kitchen.
Sorrow, Paper Dinosaurs (Flickr)
Beyond the house and further around the sweep of the island, sits a barn where horses graze and sheep give out the occasional plaintive bleat, as if commenting on the persistent rain. From here, more details of the island across the water can be seen, sometimes limned by the flash of lightning reflected in countless raindrops to form another bright sheet of light across the sky. However, if you want to cross the water, you’ll have to follow the shore you are on back to where a grey boat sits at the end of a small dock (sit in the middle of the boat to row it across the water).
The second island marks the location of the estate’s main house and is, if anything, riven with even more rain. Another track leads up through trees tall and aged, some so old they appear to be dying, to the main house. Or what remains of it. No longer in its prime and cleared aged, it moulders slowly, decaying from the inside out, the memories of the tragic events that transpired here now its only occupants.
Sorrow, Paper Dinosaurs (Flickr)
The final island in the region is by far the smallest. It also requires the row-boat to reach it, and is the location of a little encampment, brazier bravely trying to fight off the rain and heat a tall pot of coffee – although I think the pot of stew cooking alongside it might be a little watery to the taste!
As noted, Sorrow offers an atmospheric place to explore, although the volume of rain might impact viewer performance, so some graphics tweaking might be required. However, the atmospheric beauty of the region cannot be denied, the rain and windlight settings combining to give a very real feel of walking through a heavy rain storm on a dark night. The back story also adds a further layer to explorations, making Sorrow a more than worthwhile destination for those who enjoy exploring SL and taking pictures.
SLurl Details
- Sorrow (Rated: Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 