Guest: Keeper of the Forgotten Fortress by Thoargile

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Somewhere in the cold Misty Mountains, to the north of Rivendell, stands an ancient fortress. It has been standing there for many human lifetimes, covered by ice and snow. Some say that elves built it in the time of constant wars with goblins, but after that it has been left and forgotten. The only inhabitants here are two dwarfs and an elf-scout. From fortress' tall walls he oversees surrounding icy fields, looking for any sign of Enemy's presence. And if he'll find one... he'll send a message to Rivendell with a dove, and will carry out his duty - to the end. Because he is the Keeper of the Forgotten Fortress.

Thoargile has already created two amazing lore-inspired outfits, and now I proudly present you third one. It's my fault it hasn't been published earlier, because it took me a very long time to sort out my e-mails after the big blogging break and I'm just slowly discovering precious guest submissions in my mailbox. Enjoy it, as I have! :)

Please let us know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simly rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Golden Host Coat, white dye (T6 crafted)
Legs: Leggings of the Brazen Call, white dye (Moria level 60 captain teal set; also available as champion and guardian set parts with very small differences in looks) 
Shoulders: Vibrant Assault Pauldrons of Théodred, white dye (T7 crafted)
Hands: Tawarwaith Gloves of Power, white dye (T6 crafted)
Feet: August Vibrant Boots of the Golden Wood, white dye (T6 crafted)
Back: Cloak of the Dreamflower, white dye (Quest: Vol. II, Book 7, Chapter 9: The Worries of Lord Celeborn)

Guest inspiration: Haldir by Thoargile

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."

Haldir, in The Two Towers

Haldir's role has been much bigger in the LoTR movie trilogy compared to the books, especially in The Two Towers. His deeds in the Battle of Helm's Deep have inspired Thoargile to create an outfit using Haldir's movie appearance and action figures as models:

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

 The Realm of the Jedielfqueen

I was very happy to receive this guest submission, because about a week ago, I was working on the same theme for Eragith, a reader who asked for Haldir themed outfit for his elven hunter. This is outfit I designed for him:

Unfortunately, the "Haldir leggings" (as I dare to call them) are part of Moria heavy classes' set and only champs, captains and guardians can barter for them (as they come from the class trainer). Unfortunately, Eragith doesn't have any of these, so we substituted these leggings with Sellsword's ones and he claimed he will level up a champion just for the sake of getting the "Haldir leggings" :)) [This is no longer true, see important note below.] About a week later, I received Thoargile's amazing submission and now I am so glad Haldir can come to life on this blog!

Thoargile's outfit is even more suitable for an elven hunter than mine, because it features more significant elven elements. My version includes more plate and is much heavier, therefore it's questionable if it allows enough agility so important for a bowmaster.

Important note: Thanks to Thoargile I've found out that the leggings are barterable not only from class trainers in The Twenty-first Hall (who are class restricted), but also in Shadowed Refuge from Heavy armour trader. You can get these "Haldir leggings" for only 3 Medallions of Moria, no matter what class you are!

Thoargile's Haldir outfit consists of:
Chest: Golden Host Coat of Knowledge, crimson dye (T6 crafted)
Legs: Leggings of the Brazen Call, red dye (Moria level 60 captain teal set; also available as champion and guardian set parts with very small differences in looks)
Head: Ceremonial Town-Saver's Helm, crimson dye (Skirmish barter - Rift cosmetics)
Shoulders 1: Aermal, crimson dye (Drop from Barad Gúlaran; also available Elven Steel Shoulder Guards from Rivendell heavy armoursmith)
Shoulders 2: Nestadbellas, default dye (Quest: Volume III, Book 4, Chapter 10: Herdsmen of the Starkmoor)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Swift Arrow, crimson dye (Mirkwood level 65 hunter purple set; also available as T6 crafted August Gloves of the Golden Wood)
Feet: (August) Boots of the Golden Wood, crimson dye (T6 crafted)
Back: Sturdy Elven Quiver, crimson dye (T2 crafted)

Guest inspiration: Doom of Arvedui by Thoargile

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Arvedui was the last King of Arthedain and father of the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain. His fate is a sad one. Soon after Arvedui's rise to throne, Angmar attacked, driving the Dúnedain away. Gondor sent help in the form of a great fleet, but it came too late: Arthedain was destroyed, and Arvedui fled to the Ice-bay of Forochel. Círdan, the great elven mariner of Lindon sent a ship north to rescue him, and, against the advice of the Snow-men of Forochel, Arvedui boarded it and was drowned. Along with him, all the elves on board perished in the freezing sea. Except for one...

Author of this outfit told us his story: "Thoargile survived what others could not - the frozen fields of the Forochel and deadly cold of the harsh winter. He was lucky to kill a bear and sewed some warm clothes – in other case he would have perished too. On other screen he stands near the wreckage of the ship, looking at the horizon and hoping to see another ship, coming for him. The Eldar of Forochel. He’ll be alright, I hope :)"

I adore this submission. Recently, I've been getting a lot of very beautiful lore-inspired submissions and I am speechless in front of so many great outfit ideas. Thoargile developed story from LoTR lore into his own and took amazing screenshots to illustrate atmosphere of an elf struck by loss of his fellows, but having hope for better tomorrow. His outfit is stunning and I (not so) secretly hope he will submit more soon! :)

Chest: Robe of Vigor, Evendim blue dye (world drop; shares appearance with Robe of Viisaus available in store or from epic storyline: Vol. 1, Book 13 -- Chapter 4: The Hand of Angmar)
Head: Ceremonial Wandering Bard’s Helm, white dye (Skirmish barter - Rift cosmetics)
Shoulders: Vibrant Assault Pauldrons of Théodred, white dye (T7 crafted)
Hands: Ceremonial Leijona Gloves, Evendim blue dye (T5 crafted)
Feet: Ceremonial Ajokoira Shoes, Evendim blue dye (T5 crafted)
Back: Cloak of the Boar, default dye (Fall festival)