The Primgraph: Fantasy Faire 2011 - Day 9

Another record day for the Faire! L$579,363 lindens or $2367 USD.
The silent auction raised $1100 USD. Khyle was BACK in jail, along with Marcus & Searlit; combined bail over $500 USD! Alia's beautiful story came to a moving end. And all day the sims teemed with people buying your magical wares. The final day will be a stretch to make our goal of $20,000 US. And once more our Captain asks us to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. I'll do my best and I know you will too. Go Relay! - Zander Greene, Friends Fighting Cancer.

We step across the threshold from the land of dreams and find ourselves in Enchanted Mysts as night falls. A low mist rolls about our ankles as our eyes adjust to the dark (A personal preference but I enjoyed Enchanted Mysts on a night setting). It is a warm spring evening and the light perfume of flowers carried on the fresh night air calms the body and mind, and yet there is a sense of unease about this place, a palpable tension...

After yesterday's fun-filled romp through Fantastical and Magical we leave with a sugar high to end them all, but where we find ourselves next is starkly different. Enchanted Mysts creates a decaying, high elven society where there is something afoot, perhaps we will find out what on our journey.

Day 9 - Enchanted Mysts
(http://slurl.com/secondlife/Enchanted%20Mysts/65/128/23)
Words by Beq Janus
Photos by Judith LeFevre

Enchanted Mysts is the westmost sim on the ring of eight Fantasy Faire sims, to the south we have Fantastical and Magical form where we have just entered, and to the North lies the Forest of Light where this journey began nine days ago.

We entered from the south at the eastern edge of the sim and we follow the path leading us west.

To the north lies an expanse of lake, overgrown gardens, crumbling statuary and pretty ornamental wells but for now as ever we will focus on the pathway.
As we enter the first store, by Falln Angel, a high pillared, grey, mausoleum style building. We find a small book discarded on the floor and upon touching it, we are given a note, a peculiar love letter.

The next store lies just across the path where we find a table standing outside offering a free glass of absinth. As we partake of the offer, we notice a line of similar tables stretching along the street ahead and, out of curiousity, we pick up the note on the table that explains the gift.
We learn that there is to be a coronation, that the princess Ilear is to become Queen. It seems then that the city is preparing to celebrate the momentous event, so where is the party atmosphere?

Inside the store, another book, another piece of information.....

Enchanted Mysts creator and sponsor Alia Baroque has created an interactive tale within the sim, and as it turns out later reaching beyond the bounds of Enchanted Mysts to the Fantasy Faire sims that lie beyond. The tale is a mystery that is serialised in 5 chapters, a new chapter being published each day. As we are now at the end of the Faire, all the chapters are published, but the tale is still there to discover if we wish. We have, in fact, stumbled across days one and two already. The tables and drinks outside the stores were part of chapter 1, a simple inducement to shop, a welcoming gesture. With chapter 2, we discover that the princess has vanished an evil threat looms. The little books in all the shops give us fragments of the story, the history of what has gone before. Though we are now at the end of the Faire, I will not spoil the tale with a solution, though be warned I do summarise the events here, suffice to say that with each store that you visit a book can be found and a piece of the background uncovered.

We wend our way along the cracked marble flags that make up the pathway here, heading west, carefully examining each store for its clues. The stores here are fairly strongly themed and predominantly Fae or related, though not exclusively so. In Enchanted Myths, we can find clothing, skins and animations alongside landscaping items such as forests and statues. Each store is presented in a similar sombre looking structure. A full list of all the merchants supporting the Enchanted Mysts sim can be found on the Fantasy Faire Vendor list page

All around us are signs of decay and neglect. One imagines that the most recent monarch has been somewhat less than attentive to the needs of this land.

We turn north, with the pathway, and see the soft glowing blue crystals that adorn the elegant teleport gazebo.

Immediately to the west of this is Alia's store, Fallen Gods, and as we might expect it is part store, part story. Here we find a group of concerned citizens who each give a hint or plea for your assistence when touched. On the floor, we find a large book bound in turquoise - the Book of Myst.

During the execution of the tale, the book was updated each day with a new chapter, it now lies completed and can be bought for free. Normally at this point we would detour and observe the rest of the sim and its non-retail elements, however the fabric of the sim is interwoven with Alia's tale and we have a quest to complete, we must visit each store. The pathway outside continues north before turning east and finally entering northwards into the Forest of Light, the stores continue to line the streets as before, but as the story fills out heads we are increasingly drawn to the mysteries of the inner part of the sim.

Having visited the stores and collected the background clues, and doubtless a number of exciting goodies to unpack when we finally return home, we look at chapter 3.

Entitled 'The Choice', it is a call to us all to attend the 'Jail and Bail' session held for Alia on the Enchanted Mysts sim. The jailing "scene", now passed into the history of the event helped towards Day 6's total of more than half a million linden dollars at the conclusion of the jailing a powerful ally is released to fight the evil Utmah who is threatenign the princess. A new character then appeared in the Fallen Gods store. "The Fallen", the ancient god of the Mysts, now released from the stone form he has been trapped in by the geneorsity of our donations.

The story has told us the Utmah once a trusted, friend of a former king turned to evil and masquerading as the guardian orb has been waiting for the right blood to be passed before growing in strength and destroying the land. The blood captured in a legendary petal is another part of our quest.

"Utmah was waiting all those eras for the promise of King Alameides that one day a Queen will carry the blood to make him mortal and rule again over the Continent and Realms, he will destroy us all, you must stop him!" - The Fallen, Chapter 4 of The Book of Mysts

And so it is that Chapter 4, scatters us to the sims of Fantasy Faire on a quest to find the embassies of the Enchanted Mysts wherein lie runes that will help us locate the essence, the orb that has been lying in wait. Those who succesfully complete this challenge and find all the clues will be rewarded with a unique gift, the shimmering orb avatar, and of course as we hunt through the sims for the secret runes we undoubtedly drop linden dollars into the numerous gift bearing vendors and help support the cause that underlies this all.

Chapter 5 brings us back to Enchanted Mysts for the coronation, the conclusion of this tale. Through our efforts the evil guardian, Utmah has been prevented from achieving his goal.

Starting back at the teleport gazebo, we walk east along a statue lined avenues towards the lake. A crumbling, badly damaged bridge leads out to the centre of the lake and in the days before the final chapter, apparently served no purpose. But now a new platform has been called forth from the waters and, smiling happily from the coronation dais, in the midst of the lake, we see the new queen Ilear, smiling back.

As we approach, a small red petal catches our eye and we are granted the gift of a special face tattoo for discovering the blood petal. However our eyes are on the podium and the words it carries.

The tale of Ilear, of Enchanted Mysts is an allegory for the fight against Cancer. As we have followed the tale, we have ourselves helped in this fight and the podium is full of further prizes available for a minimum donation of 1 linden, to thank us for our help.

I will end this report and in turn our journey through this wonderful Faire with the epilogue from the tale that unfolded in Enchanted Mysts. Thank you for journeying with me on this tour and remember, that whilst the Faire ends here, for now at least, the Relay continues with a number of exciting events in May. Keep reading Prim Perfect and the Primgraph to make sure you are up to date with all the latest news.

Long Life and prosperity to our beloved Princess Ilear, reappeared safe on Mysts after the Evil being of the name we will erase in History chased her. The Crowning Celebration will take place where the Evil Guardian Orb awaited for Eons his blood payment, to sign for the Future a New Era of Hope and Nobility with our new just crowned Queen Ilear. By spreading Hope with your pure essence you neutralized Utmah and he places no threat anymore. This is the beginning of a new Era and all thanks to you.
Cancer waits patiently, his essence is dormant for ages to wait for the right blood and insinuate its evil. Just our patient research, just the unity of all our efforts and just our hope can help our world to get rid of this evil for a New Era without Cancer.

This story is real, a story of people who suffer, a story of people who struggle for a cure and still the ending is not clear.
If you wish THIS story to have a good ending and help, if you do NOT like the story we are living right now then donate to the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life, even one Linden can help.