Unexpected Common Interests

Thorin's Hall greenhouse at dawn

Norvtia's favorite place in Thorin's Hall is not the Inn with its ale or the forges with their heat. The place she steals away to think and dream is the greenhouse.  It is here she met an adventuring elf named Gelmirian who was surprised to find a (female!) dwarf loving the serenity of flowers and trees. Gelmirian was even more surprised at Norvtia's curiosity, thoughtful questions, and genuine friendliness without a hint of distrust or hostility. These two quickly became friends, and before heading off to her next adventure Gelmirian offered to serve as Norvtia's patron in learning forestry and woodworking. Norvtia gratefully accepted as her twin Norvti is more keen on seeing her married than master of a craft!

Blue Ceremonial Dress

This is a beautiful dress, particularly for those with blue eyes.  I expected to use a different cloak since the golds are of different tone, but the navy pieces went so well together that I really like the flow of the outfit. In the picture below, you can see how in the right light, the gold bands on the sleeves actually match the cloak.

Full Details:

Chest: Ceremonial Dress

navy non-dyable cosmetic Summer Festival barter item, no min. level required

Back: Cloak of the Shining Star (navy)

2011 Anniversary cosmetic barter item, no min. level required

Summer Riddle

Question: What is at the end of the rainbow?

 Answer: A Pale Golden Summer Horse!

For more details on the outfit check out this post.

Summer Festival 2011 Scrapbook (Week 2)

The festivities continued into the second week with several notable moments!
First off, Luivia made her first trip out of the Shire in order to claim her prize for winning the horse race in Michel Delving.  She was understandably nervous, but she followed Gelmirian's directions to the letter and didn't get lost once on the way to Hengstacer Farm.

Luivia in Breeland on her new horse!

Luivia also stopped in Bree on her way home, and what should be her first sight in the "Big City" than a trio of performing hobbits!

Bree is not just for the Big Folk

Back in the Shire, Gelmirian attended many more Taste of Hobbiton races, and she's pretty sure Gladdy Chubb Baggins is the overall champion.

Daffadilly and Burdy filling their faces on a hot, hazy day.

During all those races, she earned enough tokens for this year's festival mount. Needless to say, she then worked hard to find an outfit to match.

Posing next to the new summer hammock.  For details on the outfit, check out this post.

What a great week of festivities!

Summer Festival 2011 Mount Outfit

This outfit took a while. I tried all sorts of various green-themed outfits. Then I tried other colors in all sorts of raiment, and finally this red robe surpassed them all. The bright hue of robe matches the brightness of the green and yellow tack, and the robe, tack, and boots have similar swirls.  The white plume of the hat matches the whiteness of the horse, and the gilded brown echoes the leather of the tack.

Full Details:

Head: Plumed Hat (gold)

quest reward for classes that wear light armor (Introduction), no min. level required

Chest: Elven Robe of Might (red)

monster drop, light armor, min. level 30

Hands: Elven Cotton Gloves (gold)

Expert (T3) Tailor recipe, light armor, min. level 22

Feet: Elven Leather Boots of Vigour (red)

monster drop, light armor, min. level 30

Aurë Entuluva

Darkness hung heavy over the land.

Gelmirian is now Einior (Founder) and  Tûr (Leader) of the kinship Aurë Entuluva.

Gelmirian has a soft spot for new adventurers, particularly young females of any race who are just starting to spread their wings and sharpen their talons.  She first noticed the plucky Luivia during her travels through the Shire and quickly procured her services as cook.  Lately she's begun mentoring/partnering with a few others, and she realized that with her growing network, she could form a kinship.
  
The name of the kin comes from the story of the fifth battle against the forces of Morgoth. Here is an excerpt from the Silmarillion:

"Last of all Húrin stood alone.  Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Húrin cried: 'Aurë entuluva! Day shall come again!' Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive [. . .] Great was the triumph of Morgoth . . ."

Once again in Middle Earth darkness is encroaching upon the great and the small. Gelmirian remembers how dark the night can become before daybreak, and so she takes up the ancient cry. Aurë entuluva!

Low-Level Outfitting: Festival Cosmetics

In an earlier post, I suggested hauberks as one way to start outfitting at lower levels.  Another way is by bartering festival tokens for cosmetics.  These festival cosmetic items have no minimum level restrictions and many can be dyed for personal outfits.

In the example pictured here, Luivia models the Short-sleeved Summer Tunic and Pants, which is available for 12 summer festival tokens. For a different look than the default green, I dyed it a vibrant blue and added my favorite Hobbit accessory, the bounder cap. To finish the look, I dyed one of the festival cosmetic cloaks. I could have added something to the shoulder slot as well, but that seemed a little warm for a summer outfit.

Full Details

Head: Bounder's Cap (orange)

quest reward (Quest: Joining the Bounders), light armor, min. level 3

Chest: Short-sleeved Summer Tunic and Pants (Ered Luin blue)

summer festival cosmetic barter item, no min. level required

Back: Golden Tree Summer Cloak (Ered Luin blue)

summer festival cosmetic barter item, no min. level required