Fantasy Faire is SecondLife’s largest gathering of fantasy designers, enthusiasts & performers. A week of commerce, special events, music & fundraising over ten SIMs, created specifically for this event. All proceeds go to “Relay for Life” and the fight against cancer.
Date: 3 May 2014 Location: The NeoLondon Cathedral of Air and Darkness and the Castle of Lord Coat and Lady Zee [NeoVictoria SIM]
Produced By: Myomy Ohmai
Players: ValentineAdler Resident as Valentine ‘Val’ Adler, Tarquin Evermore as Samuel Bellamy, LucindaJaneStrathmore Resident as Lucinda Jane Strathmore, Bertrand Emerald as Professor Heironymous Timmons, TheFireOfLife Resident as Lord Coat, ReynaDuncan Resident as Timmon’s Robot, Akai Scorpio as Seito Akai, Trinity Ralior as Lady Zee.
Event Description:
In NeoLondon [NeoVictoria SIM]. Val Adler, Auditor of the Sidhe Empire and Watcher of the Cathedral, gathers the citizens together to search for the robot. They confront Lord Coat and his doxy, the mysterious Lady Zee. During the confrontation, Professor Timmons escapes the planet with his robot in tow.
The roleplay continues tomorrow … join us at 6:00 PM, SecondLife-time when we bring the story to Asperatus (or just tune in to this page for the update)!
“Alright.. you.” He focused on Sam, speaking a bit loudly and clearly in case his hearing was dulled. still. “Where did you hear this conversation?”
Professor Heironymous Timmons scrambles to find the tools needed to quickly repair the robot, knocking several unrelated tools on the ground. “Come on, where’s that blasted… Here it is!” He switches out a damaged piece of plating with frightening speed, then sealing the seam with wax for waterproofing. He had to get out of here in a hurry. Infamy is only worth it if you live to read the headlines!
Distant clamoring from the lab? Suspicious, the serpent rose and slithered his way towards the lab, pushing the door open. “Timmonssss…? What issss all thissss.. noisssse? Issss there more progressss?”“Yes, yes!” he says, sounding even more unhinged than usual. “The plan unfolds quite well, but now we must make haste! The forgetful ones have remembered us now, and they’re surely coming! Just look what they did to my creation!!!!” Lord Coat snarls “I can hold them off… Finish it, Timmonssss… Finish it and get out while you can. If you go through the dungeon, stick to the wallssss and the ssentinalssss ssshould leave you alone. … “DO NOT DISSSSAPPOINT ME….”Valentine ‘Val’ Adler glances up to nod at Lucinda, when he sees a figure hugging the shadows of the edge of the woods. You.. Have you come to fight? Did a fox send you?” His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Perhaps he was overlooking the possibility of there being more enemies than expected. Seito replies: “No, no. I was in the tunnels, gathering ingredients.” He gestures with the hand holding the roots, his skin shiny with moisture, looking much like a tight fitting glove. He quickly stuffs the roots into a pouch on his belt, “Mine….” He then shakes his head again. “No, no one has sent me. I am on my own business, yes.”Timmon’s Robot begins its calculations…instantly having a destination ready for the Professor. “This unit is sufficiently repaired. Ready to depart” Lifting off of the table, Joints creaking as it moves…jumping off the table, making a loud thud. It walks to the exit …”Must go now”“Ah guestssss, sssso lovely to have you. Had I have known there would be ssso many of you, I would have prepared a ssspread. Or, at leassst tea.” His ton was mocking as he stared at the men. “How can I ssssserve you… gentlemen?”Professor Heironymous Timmons follows the robot out of the lab, leaving everything but a bag full of tools behind. So fortunate that Lord Coat had volunteered to hold off the townsfolk, this plan was working even better than expected!The Auditor stepped forward first to greet the Lord of the house. “Lord Coat.. also known as.. the demi-god Xiuhcoatl.. I am here to accuse you of endangering the lives of the entirety of this town.. of this planet, and of conspiring with other parties to overthrow the Empire. What have you to say for yourself?”“Hmm.. What makessss you think I have anything to do with that? Perhapssss I’ve merely had a houssse guessst to while away the lonessssome hoursss..” Even he wasn’t convinced of that lie, as he tilted his back to let out a bellowing laugh. “You have no proof of these accusations, Auditor!”Her sharp shark-like teeth caught the candle light as she pushed open the doors. A sharp gust of cold air would accompany her and a slight scent of flowery decay floated on the air. “Oh…hello there”“He has been attempting to overthrow the Empire, Madame. This is no longer a matter of jurisdiction. I will take him into custody, whether you cooperate or not.” Val spoke firmly, blue eyes darkening to a charcoal grey.“Kill him and my jurisdiction is removed. I will take you all across the veil. He has attacked you first, I cannot protect him, take him where you must. If he dies as a result of this, I take you all.”Lucinda Jane Strathmore takes advantage of the commotion downstairs to sneak into the lab and do some digging.
Date: 2 May 2014 Location: The NeoLondon Cathedral of Air and Darkness [NeoVictoria SIM]
Produced By: Asil Ares
Players: Suzi Yao as Timmon’s Robot, Asil Karu as Cerridwen~in~chains, ValentineAdler Resident as Valentine ‘Val’ Adler, Tarquin Evermore as Samuel Bellamy, LucindaJaneStrathmore Resident as Lucinda Jane Strathmore and Juliana Swordthain as Lady Juliana
Event Description
In NeoLondon [NeoVictoria SIM]. Timmon’s robot is released from the Castle Lab, breaks the wards to a door and enters the Cathedral. The resourceful Sam attempts to stop it, but not before it injects Strand motes into the organ that controls the power center; they begin to interfere with Cerridwen’s ability to feed energy to the City. Lights start to go out, running water ceases to flow.
Cerridwen alerts the Auditor, advising if the power plant in the Cathedral were to go silent, the Empire would send some people in a big hurry. Some very very scary people. Val Adler shares this information with the group and Sam shares what he discovered at the castle the previous evening. They go in search of more clues, leaving Cerridwen in flames, attempting to understand the true nature of the threat.
The roleplay continues in NeoVictoria today … join us at 6:00 PM, SecondLife-time or tune in tomorrow!
As it approaches the door, the air grows still and warm, a heat haze starts to shimmer the closer you get. The door seems to hold a flaming glow, leaving it wonder, “Will you be burnt? Touch the door and it will open; how fares your hand?” Ignoring this emote the robots moves forward to the door and with one large swing of its arm smashes open the door and clambers inside the Cathedral.Making it’s way over towards the organ of the power centre it thrusts a robotic arm into the organ. The Strand motes stream out of it’s arm flooding into the organ’s central force.Golden wings rose from his back as he dove down the spiral staircase to go to the side of his charge. “Cerridwen!!”Her hands and feet begin to glow from white to blue. She sees Valentine hovering before her and her eyes are wide and she holds her hands out for him to see, “Something is affecting me …it is like, … like …” her voice is hollow, never has she sounded more like a machine.Aware of some lowly beings coming towards it, the robot removes it’s construct armature from the control and swings round to face them.Another strike from the first attacker makes the robot swing round at it with the limb that’s left and at the same time sprays motes into it’s face and the celestial’s direction while still screeching at a deafening pitch. Pushes forward once again towards the entrance to the cathedral, it makes its escape.Valentine ‘Val’ Adler fell backwards at the force of Cerridwen’s energy, looking up from behind his shielding arm to peer at the great machine. “Cerridwen.. what.. what has happened to you..? What…”Her voice picks up the pace a bit. “You must learn more about this crude clockwerk; track it down! Take the ones who linger here and hunt that creature down before …the warding that djinn placed on the Queen’s portrait is consumed and we are exposed.Come with me, we must track down that bot!” His voice was determined, his eyes filled with an unusual blackness, “That is, if you value your sanity, and your lives..!The motes from the robot enter one of the secondary systems of the central core, flowing through the aether currents like an invading virus. They hit the central core and she begins to feel her body temperature rise.Her energy bubble begins to glow and she is almost impossible to discern; a ghostly female shape in an inferno of energy.Myomy is sitting at her desk in her office, scrutinizing artwork for the new edition of the society pages when the lights go out. In the sudden dark, she sits bolt upright, listening for sounds that might explain the blackness.
This is your first year sponsoring Fantasy Faire. What made you decide to become a sponsor?
Asil Ares as “The Synthetic” One of the major arcana in the Steampunk Tarot.
Asil Ares: Virtual worlds fascinate me and I find Second Life™ particularly compelling, because its content is created by its players …SL doesn’t have to be a creatively passive user experience. But, the grid is vast and it can be difficult for people to find their niche. Big well-run events, like Fantasy Faire or Burning Man or the Second Life™ Birthday Community Celebrations, are ways to bring like-minded people together and help them find connection.
What makes Fantasy Faire especially compelling is that it is fund-raising for a really important cause: Relay for Life and the fight against cancer. Every year I go to the Faire and every year, it just gets better. Last year was one of the best SL events I’d ever seen; I was determined to get involved. The members of the NeoVictoria Roleplay Group agreed, so we decided to sponsor one of the steampunk fairylands.
How did you begin roleplaying in Second Life? How did NeoVictoria come into existence?
The NeoVictoria Project …a steampunk experiment in machinima and dark roleplay
There are all kinds of roleplay communities in SL, and yes …the ones that get most of the press are salacious. However, the one that first caught my attention was created around a unique post-apocalyptic world replete with demons, angels, vampires and the occasional human. I’m writing about The City of Lost Angels, created by Suzanna Soyinka.
I stumbled upon this immersive storyworld and its addictive combat meter via an article on open sourcing; I loved playing RPGs in school, so decided to check it out. It took about three months to totally reel me in!
“Kwekwe Turned” A machinima by Asil Ares
It amazed me, how much time and energy the residents of these communities invested in their characters and roleplays. As is often the way, I found myself joining several clans (or factions) in different subscribing SIMs. I became very close with some of the players, including my dear roleplay “cousin” Kwekwe Karu, who wrote a wonderful short story about how our characters met. This backstory became the source material for my first serious machinima, “Kwekwe Turned”.
Mask’d Ball at the Castle
After that, it was only a matter of time before I learned I needed the technical control of a full SIM to shoot machinima the way I wanted to make it. And then, the desire to expand that vision into a community began to take hold. That’s how NeoVictoria, as a SL simulation, formed in my mind. I’ve always loved Steampunk, so when I dreamed about creating a world, it was those kinds of images that came to me. And I loved the possibility of a community whose roleplay isn’t lost once the scene is over. The NeoVictoria Project™ is very much a mixing of those themes and desires.
What can we expect of NeoVictoria during the Faire? Will you be roleplaying in Asperatus? Are the visitors welcome to join in or is it more a performance?
Poster for “The Revenge of Professor Timmons”
Visitors can expect some nice gifts to be found in Mrs. Chickenstalker’s Apothecary and Dry Goods Emporium (that’s the name of our store on Asperatus). And they can look forward to some exciting and engaging roleplay, which they are most welcome to join!
The story NeoVictoria will play at the Fantasy Faire is called “The Revenge of Professor Timmons.” In it, the professor has built a treacherous robot, which damages our town’s power center. They then make their escape to Asperatus. We townsfolk chase after these miscreants, so there will be lots of excitement, fighting in the streets, and general mayhem going on. In the end, we will capture the bad guys, and there will be a great big celebration on Friday, 9 May (with Gabrielle Riel of Radio Riel fame as our live DJ). After which, we will return the evil doers to NeoVictoria to receive their just desserts.
For those interested in keeping abreast of developments, or who plan to join us in roleplay, we’ll be posting alerts and daily updates to our page on the Fantasy Faire website.
What calls you to fantasy and steampunk? When was the first time you encountered the genres and realized you enjoyed them?
Asil Karu and Cabbage in Sidhe Park
I fell in love with fantasy when I learned to read. My grandmother had all the Andrew Lang fairy books and one of my earliest memories is turning the pages of those ancient books to wonder at the pictures. As for Steampunk, I think I always was one, though I didn’t really understand it as a movement until I read Bruce Sterling‘s excellent essay, “The User’s Guide to Steampunk“.
Do you have a favorite Faire memory? What are you looking forward to most this year?
I don’t remember what year it was, I just remember it was the first place I saw the work of Elicio Emberand it both amazed and delighted me. As a roleplayer, I’m most looking forward to “The Revenge of Professor Timmons“, but as a visitor, it’s The Faery Court that I plan to see as soon as the gates open.
Date: 1 May 2014 Location: The Castle Lab [NeoVictoria SIM]
Produced By: Asil Ares
Players: Asil Emor as Timmon’s Robot, thefireoflife Resident as Lord Coat, Bertrand Emerald as Professor Heironymous Timmons, Studio Yue as Magus Hellwalker, Tarquin Evermore as Samuel Bellamy, Edwardian Halberstadt as Jkr. Eduard von Halberstadt, Kitiarafox Resident as Kit and Khyos Resident as Khyos.
Event Description
In NeoLondon [NeoVictoria SIM]. We meet Professor Timmons, working on his robot in the laboratory at the top of the castle where he has reverse engineered the Strand technology he’s found. He’s in conversation with Lord Coat; his sponsor. They discuss their plans to destroy the Sidhe Empire by unleashing an army of murderous robots throughout the worlds of the Sidhe empire.
The Professor wakes the robot with a mysterious liquid and then shows Lord Coat how this construct, using Strand motes, is able to unmake a small lamp containing a human soul. Meanwhile, in the tavern, conversation turns to the seldom seen Lord Coat and Sam Bellamy determines to do some reconnaissance; he overhears enough of their plot to send him in search of Magnus.
The roleplay continues in NeoLondon today … join us at 2:00 PM, SecondLife-time or tune in tomorrow!
The Castle of Lord Coat in NeoLondon townProfessor Heironymous Timmons connects the oiling tube to the still, silent robot lying on the table before him. Red oil flows through the tube and into the robot’s systems, coating every gear.Lord Coat was slow to approach the table with the bot, and looked down into its face. “Good to ssssssee thissss sssspace being put to usssse, Professssor.”Professor Timmons and Lord Coat wait for the Strand motes within the construct to react.Deep within the construct, millions of tiny machines began to stir in earnest. They whisper a secret language of ones and zeros, sharing bits of information as they take ownership of this new vessel.Samuel Bellamy stood up he was determined to get a sight of the goings-on. Now to see if Sam can avoid any guards set up in the castle.Samuel Bellamy: Super Fennec ears go! He wasn’t near the door. Sam didn’t need to be to overhear the conversation.Professor Heironymous Timmons grins in satisfaction as the robot walks forward. He sets the lamp down and steps back from it. “Now you know what to do, don’t you?” the professor says as if speaking to a child. “Show us your power!”The runes which hold the souls in place have never been broken, nor can they be; the rune is the word and that word cannot be unsaid once it is spoken. But, they have a weakness built into their making …they do not last forever, they cannot; that is the promise of the Soul Caster’s Guild, each soul gives a bit of its eternal life for a certain period of time and then it set free. The motes pull the energy from the lamp faster … faster still … they resonate that the same frequency as the soul within and they consume its power, speeding up the time that the rune records. Seconds become days, then years. The construct’s metal skin begins to glow as its takes in 80 years of power in a few moments.Lord Coat couldn’t help but step back and take a long look at the Professor. These eccentrics, he thought, so unnerving. “Well, I’m ssssure we could come up with ssssomething jussst asss effective. Mayhapssss not precissssely sssso evident.” He dismissed politely. “Believe me, they will know their reckoning.But pleassse, do tell me again of you’re feud with thissss backwater world.”Professor Heironymous Timmons quivers with a mix of nervousness and outrage. “You mean you’ve forgotten already!? How could you forget the headlines! ‘Local scientist discovers breakthrough advance soul cage utilization!’ Oh yes, you wouldn’t remember, because they never got published!Lord Coat laughs uproaringly, taking flight to glide around the room, his voice suddenly booming and foreboding – echoing several voices at once. “Timmonsssss.. I have only sssseen one bot disssmantle one lamp.
1 May (Thursday) Scene 1: from 5PM to 10PM, SL-time | SCENE COMPLETED. In NeoLondon [NeoVictoria SIM]. We meet Professor Timmons, working on the robot in the Lab at the top of the castle; he’s reverse engineering the Strand tech he’s discovered. He’s in conversation with Lord Coat; his sponsor. They discuss their plans to destroy the Sidhe Empire by unleashing an army of murderous robots throughout the worlds of the Sidhe empire.
2 May (Friday) Scene 2: from 3 PM to 6 PM, SL-time | SCENE COMPLETED.
A robot is released from the Lab and enters the Cathedral. It injects Strand motes into the organ that controls the power center and they begin to interfere with Cerridwen’s ability to feed energy to the City. Lights start to go out, running water ceases to flow. Cerridwen alerts the Auditor, advising if the power plant in the Cathedral were to go silent, the Empire would send some people in a big hurry. Some very very scary people.
3 May (Saturday) Scene 3: from 5 PM to 10 PM | SCENE COMPLETED .
Val gathers the citizens together to search for the robot. They confront Lord Coat. During the confrontation, Professor Timmons escapes the planet with his robots in tow.
Event Producer: Myomy Resident (aka Myomy Ohmai)
4 May (Sunday) Scene 4: from 1 PM to 4:30 PM In NeoLondon [NeoVictoria SIM]. SCENE COMPLETED.
Lord Coat is encouraged to reveal the professor’s first stop: Aspertus. The hunt is on!
Event Producer: Myomy Resident (aka Myomy Ohmai)
5 May (Monday) Scene 5: Time 6 PM to 9 PM. In NeoLondon [NeoVictoria SIM] & Mrs. Chickenstalkers Apothecary and Dry Goods Emporium [Asperatus SIM]. | SCENE COMPLETED.
A rift-ship takes the NeoVictorians to Aspertus. They settle on top of Mrs. Chickenstalker’s Emporium (yes, it’s a chain). Also, good opportunity here for someone to RP a sky pirate and captain of the ship.
Event Producer: Asil Karu
6 May (Tuesday) Scene 6: Time 6 PM to 9 PM. In Mrs. Chickenstalkers Apothecary and Dry Goods Emporium and around the town [Asperatus SIM]. | SCENE COMPLETED.
NeoVictorians familiarize themselves with the City. They seek out the local broadcaster to create public service announcers advising there is a reward for anyone who can bring them the robot. They wander the streets, asking people if they’ve seen the robot. [Because we’re allowed to interact with the shoppers, it provides entertainment beyond just a bunch of stores in a neat looking setting; that’s how we contribute to the Relay For Life.]
Event Producer: Asil Karu
7 May (Wednesday) Scene 7: Time 6 PM to 9 PM.
In Mrs. Chickenstalkers Apothecary and Dry Goods Emporium and around the town [Asperatus SIM]. | SCENE COMPLETED.
The robot tries to hide from the NeoVictorians. When a NeoVictorian confronts it, it attacks. Opportunities here for players to have some ‘red-shirts’ die! Alerts continue to go out on the radio, advising people about the threat
Event Producer: Asil Karu
8 May (Thursday) Scene 8: Time 6 PM to 9 PM. In Mrs. Chickenstalkers Apothecary and Dry Goods Emporium [Asperatus SIM]. | SCENE COMPLETED.
Professor Timmons is found. After interrogation at Mrs. Chickenstalkers, he’s persuaded to give them a tool that will let them catch the robot.
Event Producer: Asil Karu
9 May (Friday) Scene 9: Time 5 PM to 10 PM. | SCENE COMPLETED.
In Mrs. Chickenstalkers Apothecary and Dry Goods Emporium [Asperatus SIM]. SCENE COMPLETED.
NeoVictorians track down the robot and capture it. The city rejoices and they host a huge party at Mrs. Chickenstalker’s. [Gabrielle Riel of Radio Riel will live DJ the event from 6 PM to 9 PM, SL-Time!]
Event Producer: Asil Karu
10 May (Saturday) Scene 10: Time: 6 to 9 PM. In Asperatus. | SCENE COMPLETED.
NeoVictorians await the prison ship that the Auditor has arranged and prepare to return to NeoLondon. Prison ship arrives; the Professor and his robot are put on it. The captain agrees to drop the NeoVictorians back on NeoLondon, as their airship is no longer in dock.
Event Producer: Jhaesoph Foxdale
11 May (Sunday) Scene 11: Time: 1 to 5 PM, SL-time. In NeoLondon. | SCENE COMPLETED.
The robot escapes when they enter orbit and prison ship crashing in NeoVictoria. Now there are a bunch of convicts roaming the streets! [And our next SIM-wide begins.]
The NeoVictoria Roleplay Group presents “The Revenge of Professor Timmons“, a roleplay adventure produced exclusively for Fantasy Faire 2014.
The Story | A renegade aristocrat and an evil scientist with revenge on their minds are using illicit Strand-world technology to create a murderous clockwerk automaton. After damaging the power-center of the NeoLondon Cathedral, they decamp to Planet Asperatus and the NeoVictorians follow to bring them to justice!
Your Invitation | Please join us, the NeoVictoria Roleplay Group, for this very special series of roleplay events. Beginning on 1 May 2014 in NeoVictoria SIM, we’ll be bringing the story to the Fairylands on Monday, 5 May, when our intrepid band of roleplayers land in the sky-city of the Fairylands: Asperatus! Roleplayers …look for the group tag “NeoVictoria@Asperatu” if you want to roleplay with us in the Fairylands and bookmark this webpage for daily updates as the story progresses.
About The NeoVictoria Project® | Avatars, steampunk, roleplay and machinima; that’s the NeoVictoria Project in a nut-shell. A unique dark roleplay environment crafted with a Steampunk aesthetic, we welcome mature people searching for a supportive and collaborative community. The goal of The NeoVictoria Project® is to create a virtuous circle where roleplay becomes filmed story.
In our unique storyworld, the Sidhe (fae) never faded, but worked with … some would say ruled over …their human charges until the Sidhe Empire spanned the known universe. So many races exist: faeries, demons and clockwerk constructs (powered by gears and magic), humans, vampires, werebeasts and celestials. All held against the ravages of time by magic, intrigue and human ingenuity. Intriqued? Visit our public website for more!
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