The Master over Lore and Life

I made this outfit a very long time ago, as Celebindil was of one my first characters made. Some of the pieces are different from before to make the overall look more brutal. 

With Celedindil, I wanted a rather different approach to the term "Lore-master." I was looking through the Auction House and found an amazing breath-taking head piece which really interested me. Needless to say I bought it on the spot. Then I started picking out outfit pieces from all over the Auction House. To me, this really looked like a Lore-master gone berserk. Back then, I was desperate to finish the outfit and bought almost any piece that fit the colours well enough, as you can see from the boots especially. But I still liked it enough to keep it until this day. It's almost like a relic from my past in LOTRO. 

When I had characters like Eadyth and Isenbran up at the upper quarter of levels (75-100), I was thinking of deleting Celebindil and making a new Lore-master, but thinking back on the many hours I've spent repeating Attack At Dawn for weeks just to level him up to level 50 to begin Moria (as that was the only other expansion/quest pack I bought). I told myself that if I could survive that long on him, then he couldn't be bad enough to delete. So I let him stay.

Of course, I got him through Moria, and Enedwaith and Dunland after that. He didn't seem too bad a character to play, but I started dying a lot quicker and more frequently than before. I was so put off by this that I thought of deleting him once again, but then I tried switching to yellow line, pushing my pets to do all my dirty work for me. It worked out for some time, until I missed being able to destroy a whole crowd of enemies at once with Ring of Fire.

Back to red line I switched, and it was then that I realised how poetically perfect this outfit was. This light armoured character has been through a lot of change and potential defeat, but after a lot of change he comes out stronger than ever, and all this is reflected in the new armour he wears today. Much more metal and plate compared to before, and definitely some stronger boots, as well as much more powerful weapons.

After all this, I thought it was only appropriate to call him the Master over Lore and Life, as he ultimately defied me, his creator, when I wanted to kill him off. After all, would you not think him to be Death himself if you saw this demonic being riding toward you casting spells of inferno and storms left and right?

Head: High Officer's Helm (grey);

Shoulders: Vibrant Campaign Pauldrons of the Rider (walnut brown);

Back: Supple Scholary Cloak of the Wold (umber);

Chest: Combative Eastement War Armour (sienna);

Hands: Superb Campaigners Gloves (black);

Feet: Vibrant Westfold War Boots (black).

Sindar in Sunshine

Even the magical elves need to unwind and indulge in Hobbit hobbies from time to time, and what better time to do so than the Summer Festival. Of course, a new summer-themed outfit is in order. I know this is late, but I already had a scheduled order of outfits up to Halloween, so I hope this outfit isn't too irrelevant. 

Erinil, guardian of Eriador, looks out at the home of the Hobbits not to defend them, but rather to find the 5 missing items (especially that damn teapot which, though unknown to her, is behind her somewhere). Also, she scouts for the numerous crashed kites she has to collect as well as for the groups of overheated patrons she has to cool off by spitting water at, a deed she feels is unhygienic and would be considered rude by her kin, but she does it anyway. 

But all that fishing is tiring, leaving Erinil in a state of hunger and thirst. Unfortunately, the Eating Contest is only open to Hobbits, making her decide she has to run around when nobody is looking and sneak a sip of the ale and a bite of the bread. Her defense: elves already behave themselves throughout the year, so let her have some fun for a few weeks. 

I made this outfit based around the design of both the cloak as well as the cosmetic shield she uses (I'm sorry I forgot to take the pictures of her weapons). I had the shield kept in a vault of an alt for a long time, waiting to be used in an outfit, but when I made Erinil out of boredom and was throwing together an outfit, I noticed that the Summer Festival had a perfect cloak to match the shield. One piece came after another and this was the end result.

Usually, I don't like how narrow cloaks are on tall female characters, which is why I don't play many tall females - Eadyth usually carries a quiver, and cloaks seem okay on Brina. But for some strange reason, I really like the look of cloak on Erinil. I think it has to do with her battle stance (another thing I forgot to take a picture of. Sorry!). But it's amazing how the slightly blue tint of the dyeable part matches so perfectly with the helm as well as the shield. I think it's close to Belegaer Blue.

Head: Ceremonial Helm of the West-tower (orange);

Shoulders: Shining Shoulder Guards (orange);

Back: Cloak of the Summer Sun (white);

Chest: Westement Battle Armour of the Vigilance (sienna);

Hands: Ceremonial Gauntlets of the Quiet Step (orange);

Feet: Lesser Cry of the West Boots (rust).