Since days seldom remembered, the Dwarves of Erebor have shared a special friendship with an ancient, wise, and unique breed of ravens. These ravens resided at the aptly named guardhouse of Ravenhill, built upon the Lonely Mountain's southwestern ridge, approximately five hours journey from the Mountain's gate. They also had the ability to speak Westron, the common language of Middle-earth. In chapter fifteen of The Hobbit, it's vaguely inferred by Balin that the dwarves also have the ability to understand raven-speech. However, it's never explicitly stated if they've retained that ability, lost it, or if the dwarves have been away for so long that they're simply out of practice. The only named person to have remained in proximity of Ravenhill was Dís, Thorin's younger sister and Tolkien's only female-identified dwarf, who functioned as caretaker.
Not much is specifically known about the ravens of Ravenhill. During the days of King Thrór, here resided the well-known raven Carc and his unnamed wife, a brief tale recounted by Thorin after Smaug's death. Having been away from The Lonely Mountain for nearly 170 years, he learns that Carc has died and the ravens are now lead by his son, Roäc. Roäc, as his father before him, functioned as a messenger. To Thorin and his company, he delivered glad tidings and portents of death. And at Thorin's behest, he spread word to Dáin II of the Iron Hills. And after that, as far as I've been able to tell, the ravens remain unmentioned in the lore.
Between Update 23, the U23.X patches, and the game events since October 2018, I've been curious about the introduction of bird-themed and feathered cosmetics. We've seen the addition of the Cloak of the Autumn Wanderer from the Fall Festival, the Vestments of the Northern Skies from the Yule Festival, the Wise Wanderer cloaks from the Traveller's Quartermaster, and the Hooded Cloak of Roäc from the Adventurer's Quartermaster in Skarhald. It wasn't until I'd encountered the last item named in that list that the gears started turning. I'd heard Roäc mentioned somewhere, but couldn't remember precisely where. Luckily, I have access to The Tolkien Companion, which lets me look up people, places, and things by name. I found Roäc, Ravenhill, and Carc all mentioned, each with a small description and some references to The Hobbit, where I obtained the majority of the research I've shared in the opening paragraphs.
And it was that research, along with the library found within The Lonely Mountain, that inspired the outfit of a dwarven scholar pictured here. And this scholar is studying to become a master of raven-lore, learning the history of their feathered friends and, quite possibly, their language as well.
It's not often I perform such significant research, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me. There was an opportunity to dig deeper into the mythology and get the answers I'd sought. I've developed a better and more informed understanding of the connections between the dwarves and ravens. I've also learned that Tolkien drew his inspiration from various sources, most notably from Celtic and Norse mythology. And I've also come to learn that ravens were often associated with darkness, death, prophecy, and warfare, which is consistent with Tolkien's representation. Some of that was also incorporated into this outfit. At least the dark colors anyway!
And one more important piece of news!
Happy 7th Anniversary to Material Middle-earth!
On April 21, 2019, this blog officially reaches this milestone...and that's definitely worth celebrating! I've never maintained something for this long. Thank you to everyone that's followed and supported me along the way!
Head: Reinforced Soothing Cap of Stonehelm (Black, drops from the Grey Mountains instance cluster)**
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Grey Mountain Stalwart (Black, bartered from the Adventurer's Quartermaster in Skarhald for figments)****
Back: Cloak of the Autumn Wanderer (Umber, Harvest Festival barter reward)
Chest: Soothing Waistcoat of Stonehelm (Black, drops from the Grey Mountains instance cluster)***
Hands: Light Gauntlets of the Grey Mountain Stalwart (Black, bartered from the Adventuter's Quartermaster in Skarhald for figments)****
Feet: Medium Nadhin Boots (Black, bartered from the Medium Armor Quartermaster in Dol Amroth)*****
**Although the skin listed is the teal light helmet, the purple light helms share the same appearance.
***Although the skin listed is the purple light chest, the teal light chest also shares the same appearance.
****Also commonly drops from Adventurer's Steel-bound Lootboxes
*****Can drop randomly from any creature on the post level 50 landscape.
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