A journey into the woods
rees whispered to each other and the wind sung to the swallows, who flew and ducked high in the air. In the wayside there were many joyous flowers to be found; Poppy and Chicory and Ribwort Plantain. The meadows were covered with dandelions, and their little brothers and sisters, Cat’s Ear and Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, were sprinkled over the land like raindrops. Busy bees buzzed around, trying to collect as much nectar from all these flowers as they possibly could.
On a day like this, Luc had set out into the woods. He was determined to find what he was looking for: the secret beehives of his father.
Because of this he had brought someone with him, for he knew he could never find it by himself. Benjamin Miller, who knew these woods better than anyone (except perhaps the deer), was sure to know where to look.
They quickly left the village behind them and when they had been walking among the trees for a while already, Benjamin asked:’How would you know there are beehives in these woods when you’ve never even been there?’
‘Someone told me about it,’ Luc muttered. ‘Look, can you teach me the way to the beehives?’
‘Sure.’ Benjamin said, but eyed him curiously.
They followed the tracks of deer, who had made a little path because of all the times they had walked there. Sometimes they would come across a special tree, and then Benjamin would turn left or right. It were signs that told him where to go.
After they had walked another mile or so and had even come across a pond (Luc didn’t know any lakes other than the water between the hills, so he was very surprised), Luc noticed some activity. All around them there as a faint buzzing sound.
‘Why, I believe we’re there!’ Benjamin said happily. ‘Is this what you’re looking for?’
‘I think so,’ Luc said. The sight of all those bees made him feel a little uneasy.
Benjamin was either not the tiniest bit afraid, or hid it very well, because he walked to the hives without cringing and inspected them. He whistled softly between his teeth. ‘Looking quite messy, hmm, usually, it’s spic and span. Why did you want to see them, Luc?’
‘I.. I wanted to know if they were real.’
Benjamin burst out laughing and Luc felt very embarrassed. ‘As real as you and me, lad! My, why would you ever think the beehives in the woods were not real? They’ve always been here.’
‘About the way to the beehives, can you give it to me one more time, mister Miller, please?’ Luc said, quickly changing the subject.
Benjamin eyed him curiously, again.
‘So I know how to get here again if someone doesn’t believe me,’ he explained.
‘Sure, lad..’ Benjamin said insecurely. ‘Well, look, you know where to start, right? After the last field of sheep, you enter the woods. You go South for a while, cross a field, and back into the woods. And you keep the hills on your right.
Then, when you get at that little pond (remember? It isn’t more than a puddle, really,) you walk around the lake and turn left at that tree I showed you. Now you’ve got the hills at your back.
Well after that, you walk about a quarter of a mile Eastwards until you get at the fallen trunk, then you leave the deer trail and enter the grove, you cross the little heather clearing and there you are.’
Luc nodded slowly, trying to remember everything.
‘It’s not that hard, really. If you follow the deer track most of the time, you’re okay. You’ll remember the signs when you see them.’
Benjamin looked around and rubbed gleefully in his hands. ‘Unless you want to unravel some other secrets, I think we should better go. It’s almost time for dinner.
I say, Luc, lead the way!’
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I saw a link to your blog from Windlebridge - I’m intrigued by this society you have here - it’s situated in the middle ages?
Simstate — March 12th 2009 @ 14:30
Hi Simstate! Welcome to Tinn. :) Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment!
Yes, Tinn takes place in the Middle Ages. I like a simple way of living and having farmers and green villages.. and I found those things in the Middle Ages. It is dear to my heart. If I were doing a proper Middle Age scenario, it would probably include the Black Death.. But I don’t think I will do that. I will stick to the everyday life, because I love reading about that myself! And I love my village too much for pestering it with a plague. :)
I checked out your Sim State blog, it looks great, and huge too, with all those families from the Mega-hood. It must be a special kind of nice though, to play with all those Sims who already have a history that you didn’t make up. I haven’t played with the Maxis families much, but I’ve been reading lots of stories about them lately and I really like the feel those have. Yours seem to have that too. :)
I liked how you write a little story for everyone. It seems to fit, as well. Good job.
Nimi — March 12th 2009 @ 22:32
!!!!!
MaDame — March 14th 2009 @ 17:24
I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time now, so I just wanted to say hi..so, hi!! I’m glad your neighbourhood is still OK, and I really like the way you write your updates..btw, I have found that sack of potatoes you mentioned in your last post..http://www.4eversimfantasy.net/themeantiquekitchen1.htm..oh, and I apologize for those exclamation points posted above under my name, something was wrong with my account..
oh, and if something is wrong with my English, it’s because English is not my mother tongue, I’m not retarded, hehehehehe…
MaDame — March 14th 2009 @ 17:30
Hi Madame! Although you are familiar already I still want to say: Welcome to Tinn! I’m really glad you decided to step up and say hi. Hi! *waves*
Thanks for the kind words, and for the potatoes! Homey clutter is always useful.
I don’t mind the exclamation marks, they made me giggle. :)
English is not my first language either, by the way, and I totally don’t mind some errors. I’m sure I make a lot myself. (If you read everything from the beginning, you can notice my English improving, haha.)
May I ask, out of interest, where are you from? :)
Nimi — March 14th 2009 @ 20:47
Hi again! to answer your question, I’m from Croatia, a small country on the Adriatic sea, just across Italy..
MaDame — March 15th 2009 @ 19:18
Ah.. Croatia. From everything I’ve heard and seen, that must be a beautiful country. :)
Nimi — March 15th 2009 @ 19:25
Yes, it is..well, you’ve probably heard of our coast, it really is beautiful..unfortunately, I don’t live on the coast, I live waaaay up in the east..where are you from? If you’re in Europe, you should definitely come and visit.. btw, I’m using a different user name, since MaDame isn’t my favourite perfume anymore and Jelena is my actual name, heheheee..=)))
Jelena — March 16th 2009 @ 13:56
Jelena is a very nice name.
Yes, I did mostly hear about the coast. But I also did research on the inlands, we wrote a paper about an imaginary trip through Europe some time ago and our journey led us through Croatia. I recall we ‘went’ from Zagreb to the coast, and then to Greece. The coast again, a long, long way from the east.. But when I glance about a map of Croatia, I see many big lakes in the east, and large forests, too. That must be great as well :) I have been in the Czech Republic once and the forests there were real forests, with enormous trees and all, nothing like here. :)
I live in Holland! A very flat, wet, rainy country. And small, too. Haha. I’d love to visit Croatia one day..
Nimi — March 17th 2009 @ 20:28
Oooooh, Holland! I have a cousin there, she and her family moved to Holland during Homeland War in 1991…. and yes, there’s lots of lakes and forests in the east, the area is completely flat so it’s great for field trips and such..oh, and thanks for the compliment….
Jelena — March 17th 2009 @ 20:53
Oh, and I can only imagine how rainy the weather is in holland..my cousin lives in a place called Vooethuzien (or something like that) and she’s always sooo happy when she comes to Croatia since the weather here is mostly sunny( especially on the islands)..
Jelena — March 17th 2009 @ 20:56
Hahaha. How funny! I can imagine it’s wonderful when you return to your home country and it’s way sunnier there. Makes home all the more special!
Completely flat? Then you must be familiar with that.. Funny. I am always amazed by hills and mountains, in particular when I see a picture(or sometimes shots in the news) taken in a city where you can see the mountain range behind, like low rolling clouds. People seem to find that normal but I can’t really imagine how it would be.
Vooethuzien? Lol, you don’t know how hilarious that sounds in Dutch xD It’s probably spelt a little bit differently, like Voethuizen (which literally means Foothouses, so it would be an odd name for a place, but anyway.)
I just googled ‘voethuizen’ and a different name came up: Voorthuizen. That seems more likely and normal! It’s pretty close to where I live, too..
Nimi — March 18th 2009 @ 18:14
Hello! I’d just like to say that I am absolutely enchanted by your little village! It’s really beautiful and well done, organised with dedication. Congratulations! I’m especially a fan of the behind-the-scenes posts, the more the merrier!
I did this challenge a while back, although I didn’t get very far because my laptop crashed, taking all my files with it to computer hell :( I’m about to take the big step and *try* to download the huge amount of CC I lost…there is some good medieval CC out there! Ahh, it will be a hard task. A lot of your CC looks like the stuff I used to have (it’s great, isn’t it?) but you have extras as well! Where is it all from?
Anyway! I will soon be re-doing this challenge. Any handy tips for me? Like how to get over the first round where every family is having hoards of screaming babies, how to make the time go quickly? Or even just organisation and taces! You really are the master, along with Leila.
Thanks for the great medival world with all it’s inspiration,
Simo
Simon — April 15th 2009 @ 13:30
Hi Simon!
Thank you for the lovely comment! And so long, too. It’s making me feel all warm inside. I just have to write a novel of an answer back, even if I actually am supposed to be very busy with school today..
(Be forewarned.)
It’s too bad your computer crashed! Must have been a real blow. Have you lost much work? I suppose when you’ve just begun there wasn’t much progress to lose, but the setting up requires a lot of work too.
My computer crashed too, a while ago, and though I didn’t lose the village itself, I did lose all the medieval CC. So when I set out to hunt it back, I only downloaded those I knew I liked or needed. Which means I will be able to help you with that :)
First of all, let me tell you that it is really handy to organize your Downloads folder in different folders. If you are starting again anyway. Which is what I did with the medieval folder and it is way more organized than the modern folder, hehe.
I use a number of Default Replacements, let me list them for you..
- Horse carriages as taxis etc
- Swaddled babies
- Maternity clothing
- Wooden dinnerware
- Country roads
- A list of names that newly generated NPC’s pick from
- A mod that makes the vehicles invisible when in NH view
- And a default skintone.
These are all things to please the eye and make it seem medieval, of course. Phaenoh at MTS has some interesting things.
As for building, I suggest Galileas and corvidophile2’s walls, windkeepers windows and doors and Shakeshaft’s glassless windows. All are at TSR, but you can also find them at the booty.
As for clothing, iamliz13 at MTS has some really great ones which I am sure you have found already, and Zoej, Midsimmer Nights Dream and the Dark Project won’t be surprising for you either, I think. :) Allaboutstyle has a few theme pages, don’t forget the ‘historical undies’ section. Also, Gara’s Sims Boutique has some nice tunics for men, like Dorus wore in the early days.
For furniture you should check the Sims Design Avenue and Tarox, and overall: search for ‘medieval’ at TSR and MTS, really..
Phew. That’s about it. If you are interested I would be willing to get the links for you, but I think you would be able to find a whole lot on your own. ;-)
I really am honoured by you placing me next to Leila as far as taxes go. My tax system is very incomplete, unreliable and far from professional, haha. So I’m afraid I can’t really help with that. Also, if I knew how to make the time pass quickly, I would definitely have done that.. I am a really slow player because I get distracted by the internet whenever I have time on the computer.
Anything that I would change if I started anew, has to do with neighbourhood planning.. Pick a ‘flat’ terrain (flat where the houses will be), place the houses close to eachother, build row houses and a village centre. (Ingeli is a great inspiration for things like this.) And build a farm. A big farm.
Yes, that would be my advice to you. Give all the families a purpose, a special function in the village as a whole. Make a farmer (or more) that can supply everyone, make a baker, a flowerman, a priest, a shopkeeper, or any jobs you can think up. (If you make up some good ones, let me know, I need some more myself ;-)) That would make a hood organised, and every family would have it’s own special thing to do.
As for the hoards of babies, you could try starting Prosperity-style and have already established families, instead of newly-wed couples. You could end up with really interesting families, that already have older children or with no adults at all. It would stop the babies popping out everywhere. But you should make sure that all the kids you create, will have someone to marry someday. Or not, if you prefer. But it would be sad to have lots of Sims that can’t marry. ;-)
I wish you lots of luck and laughter with your new start. I am very glad I inspired you. :)
Nimi
Nimi — April 15th 2009 @ 17:26
Woah! Thank you very much for the detailed response :)
Last time round I just had lots of good clothes and furniture CC, but i can tell that all these defaults will work wonders. I’ve already started downloading! But my kingdom won’t be up for a while yet.
So when I move my Medieval folder out of the Download’s folder, it will no longer show up in game, for when I want to play my normal sims?
I noticed your name is Iris, that’s one of my favourite names for a girl! And you’re from Holland, i LOVE Europe, you’re so lucky. I’ve been to Czech Republic, France, England and Italy in Europe. It’s so full of rich history! Australia is boring in comparison
Well, thank you very much, I must get back to downloading :P
Simon — April 16th 2009 @ 05:13
Hahaha, when I started writing I just couldn’t stop :D
The defaults help very much with the right atmosphere, if you like everything to be pretty and match and if you are into that kind of thing.
Exactly, it won’t show up, that is the wonder of it. The game will load quicker and if you don’t need it anyway with your modern Sims, it’s really useful. I place the folder next to the Sims icon on my desktop, so I know which one is loaded and which hood I should play. Be careful not to load the wrong hood, because then everything will be changed into the items the cc was cloned from! And if you make a back-up, don’t forget the folder not currently loaded. It’s how I lost mine. *headdesk*
Oh, really? That means that you like my name which is nice and a compliment.. Thank you. Or perhaps I should thank my parents. I like my name too. It is derived from a goddess who was a messenger between heaven and earth and travelled along the rainbow. So it means rainbow. :)
Speaking of names, the paperboy in Tinn is called Simon Herald. He is a really nice boy. I think I put up some pictures of him a while ago.
Haha I am very lucky to live in Holland where it’s completely flat and half of the country is below sea-level, so if the global warning leads to flooding I’ll practically live at the beach. But apart from that it’s really nice, you are right. Lots of history. And I also love England. :)
Is Australia really that boring? Just like America, I suppose the ‘modern’ people came later in history when they discovered it, and before that there were some native inhabitants who must have had an interesting history too.. But I don’t know much about that, I’m afraid.
Oh, there I go again! I do love to ramble. :D
Well anyway, you’re welcome and have fun on your downloading spree. I’d love to see what you’re going to do when you establish your hood.
Nimi — April 16th 2009 @ 22:22
I love a good ramble as well! They’re very fun :D
I have just recently downloaded masses of CC, nearly using up all the internet bandwith for the month (hehe). I think I will soon be ready to get cracking, although it will be a slow process as i’m in my final and most important year of school. Soooooo much homework…*dies*
I am considering defaults. I had them last time, although they made my peasants look too healthy haha :P And I used some really fancy normal CC skins for my nobles…I don’t know If i can be bothered to re-download all those skins…and not to mention eyes and hair as well! I guess this time round I’ll have less CC but be more organised because of inspiration from Kingdom’s like your as well as others.
Yes I remember seeing some pics of Simon Herald :P
I suppose Australia does have its history….I just find it boring, I’ve always been attracted to Europe, the land of my ancestors, but oh well. Yes we have natives caleld Aborigines or Indiginous Australians. They were in Australia for about 40,000 to 60,000 years before white people settled…there is actually some horrific history, of Australia’s white founders being very racist to the Aborigines. It remains a controversial issue til this day.
Ahh there I go on a ramble!
Why thank you for saying you’d like to see the outcome of my Kingdom. I didn’t have a blog last time, it seemed so daunting, but I guess I’ll try it out! In my mind I’m already starting to work out some names. What do you think of ‘Haldermar’ for the Royal family? I also have several cool Noble/Merchant/Peasant names as well.
Thanks,
Simon
Simon — April 19th 2009 @ 13:04
P.S.
What specific default skins would you recomend? I know of a few but it’d be cool to broaden my options :)
Simon — April 19th 2009 @ 13:05
Oh, great! Rambling is nice.
Haha, oh aren’t downloading sprees so addicting! Be careful, we’re only halfway through the month ;-)
I see your problem though. I’m also getting more homework every day, even though I’m still two years away from graduating High school. I can only imagine what it’s like in the final year *dies too*
Default skins can really crack a hood up. In Tinn I’m using HP’s Idolatry of Flesh skins, but I’ve been very tempted by other, more cartoony skins lately, that don’t differ very much from the Maxis skins. I’ve put them all in game to compare them with eachother to see which one I like best, but I haven’t been able to yet. If I do I probably won’t put use it in Tinn, I’m so used to HP’s on those Sims now. The other skins I am contemplating are made by Fantasyrogue, smjoshsims and xel_squirgle_ox, all at livejournal.
It’s great to hear that I inspired you, not only to set up a kingdom of your own but also to handle the organization gently. It’s something I learned after I set up my own kingdom, so I’m glad that you are realizing it *before* you do, so you can start right. :)
Oh, that’s dreadful indeed. Then again, horrible things happened everywhere in the world. You can’t escape it, it seems. But I can understand why you like Europe. Here, there actually were villages and farmers and nobles and churches and everything in the medieval society. That’s the thing I really like myself. I was flicking through a children’s book the other day which held maps of the world in medieval times, and it told about all kinds of civilisations in America and China and Africa, and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. But Australia was nowhere to be seen.
I don’t mind you rambling at all, in fact I like it ;-)
You should start a blog. It’s fun to see what other people are up to and peek into their games. You don’t have to have a story, you could also just share behind the scenes stuff or whatever. That might be even more fun and more relaxed, too, because you could just share whatever you happen to be doing.
I like the name Haldermar, even though the middle r sounds foreign and strange in my tongue. Does it mean anything in particular? I personally like my last names to mean something, from a profession to a flower to just any object. (Like Curtain.) Especially because in the Middle Ages, people didn’t really have last names like we do, they were just a recognizable addition to their common first names, like John the Baker or John who lives at the gate.. Of course, the game works differently and we have to adapt to the game. But that is why I like names derived from nature. :)
Now I am curious as to what your other names are..
Anyway, have fun and good luck with dabbling your school work and Sims fun.
(oh god I had no idea I’d written such a ramble :D)
Nimi — April 19th 2009 @ 17:10