Rarius

Hmmm. How much should I say about Rarius? It is not new. I am catching up on my chronicle of work by posting this now. The chronology can be seen in the list on the right of the blog. Top listings are recent. Bottom listings are oldest.

First of all I should mention that since I lack the ability to role play (I'm just one of those "what you see is what you get" people) I am immediately disqualified from being Gorean. I can't pretend to be one so I am not one. It keeps me out of the whole "joining" aspects of most genres. That's why my avi is just a guy; not a beast of the forest, not a warrior, not a prince, devil, merman, dragon, faerie, beam of light, Mr. Spock, the Tick Tock Man, samauri, demon (succubus or otherwise), caveman, greek god, roman god, lightning rod, water sprite, private eye, king, queen, knight, one quarter of a barber shop quartet, slave, member of the militia, evil scientist, or teapot short and stout. I'm just me.

I still am curious about all the above and what makes someone want to do these things. I like to listen and pass no judgement. I like to understand. Gor is probably one of the most misunderstood, so I had to know. After reading the first couple of books their fascination with beauty fascinated me.

I met an outstanding woman by the name of Emily Darrow who helped me learn. She was open to every question I had and gave me insightful answers. Most importantly she did not judge me for not understanding and she did not fault me for my lack of role playing ability. She is a rare person, I think.

Through reading the books of Gor and through Emily's tutilage she and I concluded that what is missing in SL Gor is cherishment. She had gone through enough false masters - those who wish only to abuse another human being - that she was on the verge of disillusionment. Gor, for those who haven't read the books, cherishes its slaves and holds their beauty in high regard above all other beauty. Gor is a savage world, but slaves are beaten or abused no more than most people on Gor, and they are never humiliated. It just isn't done.

As I listened and learned I began to understand. We surmised that what SL Gor needs, aside from the education of the populace on what Gor is, is a cultural artifact they can call their own. The artifact should express what it is to be Gorean. It should express beauty as Goreans see it.

The word "Rarius" means "Warrior" in the Gorean language. It is one of the five high castes. The color that represents the Warrior caste is red.

The picture here consists of a pair of cuffs on the left, earrings in the middle, and the collar on the right.

Slaves don't wear earrings so I haven't made these generally available.

The Gorean symbol on all these pieces is a pearl, representing the counter-earth planet, a drop of blood coming from it to represent the brutality. The brutality rains upon the castes, with the exception of the highest caste. The priest kings are represented above the planet, as are its three moons of differing orbits. A stylized "G" accompanies.

The dina, or slave flower, adorns the collar, as does the double kef symbol hanging from the collar. As has been supposed, yes there are hidden meanings and much more subtle symbolism throughout. The kef and "counter" kef are one example to consider.

Spanning the front of the collar and linking sword hilt to sword hilt is a sturdy chain, probably too small to see in this picture. It arches over the worlds as a reminder of how high the calling of servitude is on Gor.

Rarius, the collar, although it is handsomely priced, has enjoyed a very small but devout following of those who actually cherish another. For their understanding of what Rarius is I am grateful to them. The cuffs and collar come without scripts but are modifiable so anyone can add their favorite scripts. They also come without textures, as you might expect from me by now.

My short foray into Gor cost me a couple of dear friends who are anti-Gorean. It was their opinion I shouldn't "dabble" in that with which they disagree. Although I am sad to have lost them, I guess they have a different idea of friendship than I do and I wish them well.

I am very happy that Rarius exists. I thank you Emily. It could not have been so without your patient ways with me.

Ode to Caledon

To continue my previous post, "Beginnings of an Ode", I'd like to show some final photos. The set comes in a rainbow of colors so I'll show pieces from various combinations.

If you're interested in having some, well they're free. But you have to go to Caledon and talk with either Desmond Shang or Pym Sartre to find out how to get them. :)


The set still has a black and white version.


The butterfly shown here comes as 1) a brooch 2) a hair ornament and 3) as a spinal attachment pendant to the chest-attached 240+ prim necklace. The butterfly is 100 prims. The high primcount is very much because of the inlay I used and explained in my previous post.

I like the way the individual pieces turned out. They look a lot better in-world. Here's the necklace (Amber version):

The bracelet turned out a little different, and is pretty unique, I think.

This is the rose and amber version. Again, all these come in a huge variety of colors. I think I have 8 color combinations done so far. Six have gone to Caledon already. The new ones will follow as I get every four or so different combinations done. But each takes a while to recolor. Occasionally, pretty much intentionally because I've looked very closely at both butterflies and flowers before, you'll notice an odd coloring malformation - a very slight genetic glitch. I carried that over and had fun with it.


The earrings turned out pretty cute.





These are part of the navy and emerald set, obviously.



I think the ring is all that's left to show. Here is the amber version:


It's going to be hard to tell how many different colors they'll eventually be in. I'm really not going to say. I think it'll be a blast for anyone to try to collect them though. :)

Remember - Pym Sartre and Desmond Shang. They're the only ones who know how you can get these free pieces of jewelry.

This was very much fun to make. I'm more relaxed now and even shed my suit and wore coveralls for a couple of days.

I don't know yet what I'm going to make next. I guess it's time to go dancing.

Beginnings of an Ode

I started on this this morning (about 5 hours, since I went to bed very early last night and got up very early this morning). It is going to be the centerpiece of a necklace.

This piece has been waiting too long and was by request of a very dear friend back in January. Or was it December? Not only have I been feeling somewhat guilty of neglecting my dearest friends for the recent goings on, but I also needed a bit of levity myself.

On one hand there is the beauty of gold and ivory. I have been lost in that for quite a while now with Little Jimmy Brown then with the tiara. Another matter entirely is the beauty of nature, which is where I have decided to get lost now. I already decided on a name for this piece with the butterfly, which will also be its theme.

The name will be simply "Ode".


It is still very early, but I think if I can make it nicer than the black and white you see here, then by the time I add color to it, it should be even better. At this moment, as little as I've thought about it, I intend to make it available in a multitude of colors because I think colors will be an obvious highlight.

I have some butterfly collections in frames I got from an oddities shop. I layed one down under my worktable and made the worktable semi-transparant so I can have a constant reminder of the anatomy of a butterfly while I work. That is the shadow you see in the background. As you can see I may or may not follow it, but it's nice to have there anyway just because.

A technique I am using in this, which I've used before but haven't seen anywhere else, is inlay. One prim is cut the exact size as the opening in another prim and used to fill the gap. In a simple sample of inlay, each of the ovals you see here are actually two or more - one inlaid in a cut in another. I kind of like the way it can be used to create highlights, as in the more complex "spiral tails" of this butterfly. As the piece progresses (it is nowhere near done) I will take advantage of that and create some much more detailed inlays than I have in this first pass. For a long time I have wanted to see what could be done with the technique in the SL building engine. That is where my mind will be for a little while - and also lost in some beautiful music that will be telling me how to lay out every next prim.

One thought I am grappling with is whether or not to leave the butterfly at two dimensions (flat) or if I should raise its wings. I trust I will know when I need to know.

Some may ask if it will be limited or unlimited. Generally, almost always, if a piece is inspired by a person then that piece is limited. Little Jimmy Brown and Trapeze were the exceptions. This one is inspired by Nature and therefore will be Unlimited.

It will probably end up unpurchasable. That is to say "earned not by money", as is another set I have out there somewhere. I will let time reveal what I mean by that, or you can ask one of the scholars of my work what it must mean.