Taking the Hobbit to Isengard

One of our officers Larth chose to host an event today – taking the hobbit (level 10 Carielia – thief extraordinaire) to Isengard!

We took a lovely foot tour of several areas, starting at about midnight (game-time), journeying into the dawn, and arriving at our destination during the early part of the day.

Overall we were successful, Carielia made it to the gates. Sadly as we were taking down the troll gate guardians, she was sniped from the side by one of the white-hand – earning a one-way trip back to Bree.

We were happy with these results, as my goodness the aggro range of a lvl 10 character past the Lone-lands is incredible! It took us about 1hour 30min, with some time spent taking a scenic tour through Dunland 😀

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I hope you enjoyed our journey as much as we did!

Midsummer Reveler

Midsummer is upon Middle Earth and with it comes the Great Wedding!  Finally, Aragorn and Arwen are able to tie the knot 🙂  And with this wedding comes a whole new festival complete with lots of goodies.  Anmorata is no stranger to celebration when the time is right, and the time is definitely right now!

While this festival comes with it’s own FIVE separate horses, I chose to mount match some new cosmetics with an older one – the Lasgalen Spring Steed.

There is also a wine-tasting emote, which was one I HAD to have!

A bit later on, Anmorata could be found in a shady corner making tipsy toasts to the newlyweds…  very very tipsy…

And of course Absinthe had to be dressed for the occasion too.  She was mostly kept in the stable though and spoiled with fresh hay, grains, and apples, as the crowds filling Minas Tirith were no place for a war steed who likes to gallop.

Anmorata is wearing:
Head: Circlet of Fresh-picked Flowers in Dark Mossy Green
Shoulders: Dunland Caretakers’s Patched Mantle in Dark Mossy Green
Back: Bridal Veil, undyed
Chest: Arwen’s Dinner Dress in Dark Mossy Green

Absinthe is wearing:
Head-piece of the Hunting Steed
Caparison of the Hunting Steed in Ranger Green
Tail of Lasgalen Spring
Lamp of the Northern Herald
War-steed’s Leggings of Winter’s Light

I hope you are all enjoying the new festival!  There is plenty to do, and to collect depending on if you like cosmetics, steeds, emotes, housing, or all of the above 😛  It’s certainly brought me back to Middle Earth for the moment 🙂

Colorful Autumn Nights

The Trollshaws is an area that abounds with both beauty and danger.  The dramatic cliffs, colorful leaves, and babbling brooks all are quite striking.  However this land abuts the Ettenmoors, home of trolls and other fell monsters.  And sometimes these dire creatures venture into the Trollshaws, making travel hazardous for the unwary.  The elves of nearby Rivendell are often on patrol and have several outposts, but they always welcome a trusted friend to help out.

Anmorata is wearing:

Chest – Lesser Claw of the West Breastplate in Imladris Fallen Leaf
Legs – Ceremonial Wandering Bard’s Leggings in Imladris Fallen Leaf
Gloves – Gauntlets of the Grey Mountain Elite in Imladris Fallen Leaf
Feet – Dwarf-smith’s Boots in Imladris Fallen Leaf
Shoulders – Expeditionary’s Embossed Mantle in Imladris Fallen Leaf
Back – Cloak of the Autumn Wood (hoodless) in Imladris Fallen Leaf
Weapons – Soaring Bow of the Depths and Lethal Edge

Absinthe is wearing:

Caparison of the Eldar Autumn in Rust
Sunflower Headpiece in Rust
Sunflower Tailpiece in Black
War-steed’s Leggings of Winter’s Light

Unsurprisingly, Absinthe was displeased that our shots of her rearing at night turned out so badly (dark horse head against a dark background just does NOT work).  The lantern effect only is useful for humans/elves/dwarves/hobbits/beorns, not mares, it seems…  So we compromised and selected a shot of her rearing at dawn, with all the lovely colors that dawn brings.  And those colors are light enough to show off her beautiful black coat to it’s best advantage 🙂

The Road to Lake-town

Andrys needed to take a journey down to Lake-town from Dale.  The road is not always safe, but the views are to die for (sometimes very literally)!

Featuring the Soaring Halberd of the Depths

Andrys is wearing:

Chest: Invader’s Reinforced Chestplate in Crimson

Feet: Boots of the Anorien Field in Crimson

Gloves: Isterons Steel Gloves of the First Age in Red

Shoulders: Shoulder Guard of the Reclaimed City in Crimson

Back: Recovered Cloak of the Crossroads in Crimson

Head: Reclaimed Circlet of the Healers in Crimson

Soaring Halberd of the Depths

 

War Steed Glawar is wearing:

Red Guard Elite Caparison (undyable)

Burglar’s Halter in Crimson

Warden’s Leggings in Crimson

Guardian’s Gear (undyable)

 

While I rarely use full helms, I found that this helm does go with the outfit quite well.

Head Alternative: (full helm) Dornhador’s Helm in Crimson

Thank you for reading!  Poor Andrys died several times during this photo shoot, as his level is a bit lower than ideal for the location.  But the muse of fashion must be served, even if it is with blood occasionally 😛

Fallohide Warrior of the Eorlingas

What?!?  None of the above title makes sense you may say, how can a hobbit be a warrior of the Eorlingas?  But wait, what about the famous (or infamous) Meriadoc Brandybuck, the one who was Esquire to King Theoden?  Ah-ha!  Now things make a bit more sense.  The Eorlingas knew that a short stature sometimes hosted a brave warrior heart.  And that is the case here with Delphinia.  Trained since her youth in the ways of the warden by the elves, she is a fierce warrior in her own right.  Add in her war steed Calyx and she is well-nigh unstoppable, a true Rider of the Eorlingas!

Delphinia and Calyx often ride the wide open plains of The Mark, and one of her preferred times is as the sun is setting.  The colors of the fading sun dye the skies with many shades of red, orange, and yellow – slowly fading to darker purples and blues as the sun fades completely for the night.  Clear skies or rain however, nothing will prevent this small warrior from protecting the crofters from evil.

Delphinia is Wearing:
Head – Ceremonial Hat of the Written Word in Black
Shoulders – Ornate Pauldrons of the Dunland Swordsman in Black
Chest – Malak-Zudur in Evendim Blue
Hands – Gloves of Resolve in Evendim Blue
Pants – Leggings of the Learned Stag in Black
Spear – Warden’s Piercer
Javelin – Strike Against the Darkness
Shield – Wildermore Combat Shield of the Soldier

Steed Calyx is wearing:
Warden’s Halter in Evendim Blue
Warden’s Caparison in Evendim Blue
Minstrel’s Leggings in Evendim Blue

This outfit has been around for a long time!  This is what Delphinia was wearing in her introduction post, and the only real change was the color of Calyx’s steed armor (I had it in Ered Luin blue at that time, since then I did buy the color pack that included Evendim Blue).   I was also able to use weapon and shield skins that fit the outfit, but neither of those were present in the original screenies.  Enjoy!

Storied Traveler

Magieriel is heading home to Lothlorien for a visit.  As she was just visiting the recently recovered libraries of Moria, her route takes her through the dangerous beauty of Nanduhirion before she crosses the Nimrodel into the shade of the Mallorns.

 

Magieriel is Wearing:
Chest – Tunic and Trousers of the New Bloom in Sea Blue
Feet – Boots of the Laketown Watch in Sea Blue
Hands – Astaldo in Sea Blue
Shoulders – Pauldrons of the Gallant Commander in Sea Blue
Head – Ceremonial Hat of the Written Word in Sea Blue
Sword – Daellang
Staff – Staff of Storied Past

I’m back from a short hiatus!  While I feel late to the party, I did have this outfit planned for quite some time.  I’m just glad my fellow fashion bloggers used very different outfits to go with the Storied LM staff – and I hope you all enjoy my take on an outfit based on this most gorgeous of staves <3.

A Sunny Sunday Stroll

The Shire is full of lovely places to see and visit, being a vibrant region full of folks who love their homes and the land.  When not out adventuring Delphinia enjoys walking though the gardens and wild places.  Today’s stroll takes place in the memorial gardens of Michel Delving as she is in town visiting friends.

 

Delphinia is wearing:

Chest: Cuirass of Moonlight in Crimson

Legs: Threadbare Leggings of the Dunland Healer in Crimson

Shoulders: Elegant Silk Mantle in Violet

Hands: Gloves of Resolve in Violet

Head: Wide-brimmed Spring Hat in Crimson

 

Delphinia hopes you enjoyed joining her on her walk through the gardens!

Rusted Warrioress

Many long years of hard battle have turned this former maiden into something far more harsh and hard.  Her formerly shiny steel armor shows its age and the stains of many fights.   She keeps her face covered, as her past beauty has faded and she now shows the signs of dire battle, sleepless nights, and friends lost.  She finds that anger often rules her now, even though she was not always this way.   Riding her faithful war-steed across the lands is one of the few enjoyments she finds in this world now.  Perhaps some day she will return home, but for now she must wander alone with her past.

The Warrioress Wears:

Chest – Forge-crafted Armour in Umber

Legs – Temper-Crafted Leggings in Umber

Head – Balanthol in Rust

Shoulders – Reforged Rift-Defender’s Shoulders in Rust

Feet – Reforged Rift-Defender’s Boots in Rust

Hands – Reforged Rift-Runner’s Gloves in Rust

Cloak – Cloak of the Boar in Rust

Swords – Mirrored Ancient Steel Sword of Combat

 

War-steed Outfit:

Harness of the Harbinger in Rust

Head-piece of the Northern Herald in Umber

Sunflower Tail-Piece

War-steed Leggings of Winter’s Light

 

I thought about setting this somewhere more foreboding, as the tale of the rusted warrioress is not a happy one.   However the faded colors of the Iron Hills coupled with the iron-rich waterways made me settle on there for my location.  The inspiration for this was Karazgar, I find his story a rather fascinating one (and those little piles of rust that are the only signs of him when you first start tracking him).  I hope you enjoyed the screenies, next one up should be a happy hobbit!

Spring Anniversary!

So, four years ago today I made my first post on this blog.  And my how the time as flown!  I have grown and learned – looking back at some of my earlier screenshots makes me cringe a bit, but they were the best I knew how to do at the time.  I like to think I’ve learned and grown over the years 😉

Also approaching is the anniversary of LotRO.  I’m looking forward to not only the new adventures in this years anniversary festival, but the new adventures that await us in the Vales of Anduin and beyond!

And last but not least, this time of year is also important to many religions, especially here in the northern hemisphere as winter has finally released us and the season of spring is really starting to get going.  So I decided just to do a couple themed spring/easter screenies to celebrate my own blogiversary, the LotRO anniversary,  and the season – thank you all for being along for the ride 🙂

 

Delphinia is wearing:

Exquisite Short-Sleeved Dress in Sea Blue

Circlet of Fresh-Picked Flowers in Sea Blue

Carrying the Basket of Colourful Eggs

An Ethuin Evening in Ered Luin

I didn’t follow my normal routine on this one.  Usually I create an outfit for the character, then if interested I create a war-steed outfit.  This time I decided I wanted to mount-match an older Spring Festival steed, one which didn’t even have war-steed cosmetics!  I feel I did pretty well, mixing and matching a bit, trying not to use the same pieces used by other bloggers for spring ensembles (and trust me, that was hard as some of the other long-term bloggers have so much awesome stuff!).

Please enjoy as Anmorata and her friends enjoy the warm Ethuin evening breezes in Ered Luin 🙂

Anmorata is wearing:

Sleeveless Dress of the Moth in Lavender

Circlet of Fresh Picked Flowers in Lavender

Mantle of the North Ithilien Woods in White

Lasgalen Spring Pack

Carrying Foxglove and Iris

Playing Gleowine’s Harp

 

She is riding the Steed of Ethuil

 

Absinthe was a bit jealous that another steed was featured, so she demanded her own custom spring outfit 😉  She also insisted that her photos be taken at dawn, just to be different.  She really liked this caparison, even though it’s greens didn’t match the dress very well.  Oh well, hard to argue with a mare when she’s being marish 😀

Absinthe is wearing:

Trellis-weave Caparison

Sunflower Headpiece

Tail of Lasgalen Spring

War-steed Legging’s of Winter’s Night