Elves Gone Wild: Orwood Castle
Castles aren’t exactly a rare thing in Second Life. “A man’s home is his castle” is, more often than not, taken quite literally in a world where erecting a fortress is hardly more difficult than building a bungalow. However, there are some builds that stand head and shoulders above the rest.
The Elven Tower in Orwood is one example of such an exceptional build. I ran across it, like many things I’ve seen in SL, completely by accident, after a physics mishap tossed me several sims away from my workshop. (To my neighbors in Drawbridge: I apologize for the giant smoking crater. I’ll have someone in to fix that in a few days.) I looked up, and the distinctive outline of the tower immediately caught my eye.
Entranced, I flew closer, and I was tickled to see that it got more and more detailed as I approached. The whole build is superbly constructed and textured, with an architectural flair that is both familiar and alien at the same time. I could easily believe that it had been constructed by elves.
Apparently, elves have a thing for Celtic knotwork. Lots of Celtic knotwork, on pretty much every available surface. This sort of embellishment could have been done badly, but in this build, it fits and adds to the splendor.
One thing I noticed about this tower is that, unlike many castles I’ve seen in SL, it was obviously built with the assumption that its residents can fly. There are no stairs or elevators between levels, and at least from a cursory examination, no teleporters. I suspect there is at least one hidden teleporter, because there is a central room that appears to have no other means of ingress. But overall, it’s remarkable to see such obviously medieval architecture designed with flight in mind.
The build has breathtaking vistas when viewed from almost any angle, thanks in no small part to a graceful suspension bridge between the islands. There are gathering spots throughout the build, and all manner of little niches to explore. This combination of immersion and practicality is rare and hard to pull off successfully.
