Idhrellach - Lanael of Gladden

From time to time, I like to set some guidelines for a particular outfit--something completely elvish, perhaps dwarven, or even make something entirely in leather. This time, I decided to ignore all new skins released between Rise of Isengard and the current expansion, Helm's Deep. I hadn't started posting my outfits until June 2012, about seven months after RoI had been released. Even though it had taken me a while make it to level 75, I hadn't anticipated cosmetic blogging would be in my future and I sold or discarded most of my gear. I thought it'd be fun to play the "what if?" game, wind the clock back to when Helegrod and Dol Guldur were the end-game content, and see what I could create.

You might not have noticed, but for the past year I've been using at least one piece of gear from the post-Mirkwood expansions in almost all of my outfits. Those skins are fresh, unique, and truly add distinction to a character's attire. Due to that, I avoided most of the old world cosmetics. For example, many of the robes shared the same SoA-style skins and so did the wrap-around cloth shoulders. Even most of the boots were slight variations on a theme. However, it's a refreshing change of pace to revisit them.

Using a mix of cosmetics from both the Rift and Helegrod, I was able to create something elvish in appearance while maintaining a scholarly air. And to further ground its elvish heritage, I named this outfit Idhrellach, derived from the Sindarin words "idhren," meaning wise, and "lach," meaning flame. If you are curious as to its equivalent in Quenya, it would be this: Nólanárë, is taken from the words "nóla," meaning wise (though literally translated as learned), and "nárë," the female version of the word flame (nár is the masculine).

Thanks to a co-taught Tolkien college course I had taken back in 2008, I was able to gain some insight into both the Sindarin and Quenya languages in terms of grammar and phonetics. Even though that part of the course had been brief, I carried that bit of knowledge with me. Both languages are beautiful, though I find Quenya to be more pleasing on the ear.

And I still recall our commencement speech for the class being read aloud in Quenya. Oh how I wished I had asked for a copy!

Head: Ceremonial Hat of the Elder Days (Crimson, skirm camp cosmetics vendor - Rift light armor)
Shoulders: Ceremonial Shoulders of the Elder Days (Crimson, skirm camp cosmetics vendor - Rift light armor)
Chest: Ceremonial Robe of the Learned (Crimson, skirm camp cosmetics vendor - Helegrod light armor)
Feet: Radiant Westernesse Shoes (Crimson, T5 Tailor recipe)
Special: Rune-keeper's Satchel of Dagor (Crimson, Rune-keeper class vendor)**

**The satchel is for RKs only, and not required for this outfit. I've only pictured it here as a prop.