Harvestmath Series - Stylish Drake-slayer

Combining a love of the lore, my anticipation for the second Hobbit film, and a current obsession with the Harvestmath season cosmetics, I found myself making this outfit. It started with the Gown of Autumn Nights, but it wasn't exactly about the color at first. The pattern on the hem and at the waist of dress is what grabbed my attention in the most unusual way. If you look closely (even at the set matching Cloak of Autumn Nights) this is supposed to be some sort of intertwining leafless tree montage. Instead, I saw a forest burning brightly, and after a chain of freely associative thoughts, I found myself thinking of a dragon's fiery breath.

Dragons and drakes, at least what I've seen of them, have a substantial number of sharp body parts for defensive purposes (talons, horns, sometimes the elaborate ridges that travel down the neck and to the tail) and that was something I felt I had to capture. The more pointed pieces I could find, the better. My search led me to an old favorite, the multilayered Song-protector's Shoulders. Six folds and six points laying upon the shoulders...I couldn't be happier! As I combined that with the sharpest circlet around, the Balladeer's Hat, the outfit neared perfection. And for good measure, I tossed the Wyrmscale Proctector's Cloak into the mix!

Determining the location for screenshots was the worst part of the process. How many places in Middle-earth have drakes or dragons? I certainly can't get very far in Draigoch's Lair by myself. So, that left me with the Helegrod Drake Wing, Enedwaith, and a handful of remote and dangerous locations in Angmar. As this is more of a Harvestmath series, I needed a place to capture the mood....so Angmar it was. The scenery was dark, utterly dreary, and monotonous, which forced me to take these screenies in three rocky areas nowhere near each other. (If you're a less than level 60 I wouldn't advise going to these places alone...you'll encounter drakes with 6k to 23k morale in large groups.) Considering the atmosphere, I think these came out rather well.

TIP: It's been a long time since I've done any sort of nighttime photo session. Keeping with the spirit of Halloween, I wanted to do this at night. Without a substantial amount of natural light, whether it's from the sun, torches, or lamps, it's difficult to take clear pictures. Using Alt+F10 will toggle a personal light with three settings making it easier when alternative sources aren't available. I don't remember the correct order, but each time you hit that shortcut, your character will be illuminated from the front, the back, or the light will be switched off. This only works at night by the way! At dawn, the game will temporarily disable this feature until dusk!

Head: Balladeer's Hat (Purple, Moria instance cluster light armor medallion barter)**

Shoulders: Song-protector's Shoulders (Purple, Ost Galadh Minstrel class vendor)

Back: Wyrmscale Proctector's Cloak (Purple, T7 tailor Wyrmscale Cloak recipe - Draigoch scales required!)***

Chest: Gown of Autumn Nights (Purple, Harvestmath Festival token reward)

**Cosmetically available from the skirm camp cosmetic vendor under "Moria -- light armor"

***Cosmetically available from Lalia's Market for 100 Mithril Coins (very pricey!)