Winter's Wings

Another year has come and gone in LOTRO. The Yule Festival's here (running from December 12, 2019 to Janurary 8, 2020) and it's a time of year marked by mirth and warmth, celebration, charitable acts, and the comfort of friends and family. Keep an eye on global channels, the forums, and social media for special seasonal events! Secret Santas and kinship parties are very popular through New Years. This is when I temporarily slow down with Material Middle-earth, as there are a variety of events to enjoy!

With the start of Yule Festival, I also break out the cold weather outfits. This latest appearance uses two of the Ice Flower skins, available at Frostbluff for the first time. They're a delightful reskin, and a more universal one in my opinion, of the Fall Festival's Autumn Traveller cosmetics. With a larger variety of color, they boast a greater flexibility and are easier to mix with other sets. And this year, I made another warm and feathered appearance suited to adventuring in inclement and often snowy regions, drawing on skins from various regions of Middle-earth.

Eastemnet Steel

There are times that I put myself through the craziest things for an outfit, especially when it comes to choosing a screenshot location.Originally, I intended Forlaw to be my location, but that didn't work as planned for this little level 37 Warden. Imagine what it was like running through Enedwaith, Dunland to the Gap of Rohan, through the Westemnet, and almost all of the Eastemnet when everything had a substantially larger aggro radius, was mounted, and had the guaranteed ability to one-shot a character as low as this. With zero Mithiril Coins left, I had no choice.

On my first attempt, I died just outside of Elthengles to a pair of wolves' pincer attack. I was very grateful to respawn in the Trollshaws, considering I'd be back in Sandson's Farm if it were a chicken session play. On my second attempt, I made it to the eastern border of Wildermore, but there were too many roaming ranged and mounted creatures. Instead, I backtracked a bit and safely made it to Harwick. Definitely better to settle for what I already had and not push my luck. I really wanted a snowy background for this!

The Gloaming

Oh, the memories working with these base colors! The last time I worked with black and orange, I was creating my Thrang-themed series and it's a difficult color scheme to coordinate effectively. Recall my "Silver Dawn" outfit from two weeks ago? The one featured this week is the near opposite, the dusk to that dawn theme. It took close to a week to complete this, even if it's a bit over the top.

The biggest obstacle was finding gear that was orange with areas that could be dyed black or black gear with areas that could be dyed orange. That brought to mind the Reforged Rift gear from the Summer Festival and the Ceremonial Gloom-bane set from the Cosmetics vendor at the skirmish camp. The former wasn't an option, as I missed the festival and had none of those skins. The Gloom-bane set worked somewhat, but it was too plain looking. If I'd wanted a simple black and orange outfit, they'd have worked...but I wanted to add another splash of color. That left me with very little outside the various crafted or bartered gear from the Mordor expansion. I found the "Pathfinder's Artifice" recipes, the ones that cost 75 silver signets to acquire and require a Fragment of the Gorgoroth Dungeons to craft, ideal. By default, they come with deep purple undyeable areas and look great when dyed black or orange. I was lucky to still have those fragments in storage. Whereas the "Silver Dawn" outfit had a lot of lightly colored, soft, and rounded pieces, this outfit, in the end, embraced a dark, harsh, and jagged look.

Silver Dawn

This outfit was actually inspired by Hymne of Cosmetic LOTRO. Having seen her use the Jacket of the Wild Hills in this outfit, I felt the desire to do the same. Originally, I started with a similar color scheme as my base, keeping the jacket lórien gold to match the braided celtic knot pattern.  However, no matter what I did, I couldn't get anything to match the chest very well. Days of trying new skins, only to run into the same exact problem--serious clipping. Not just movement clipping, but stationary clipping. The Jacket of the Wilds is one of the bulkier pieces and doesn't exactly sit skin-tight on the body. It was so frustrating that I almost tossed in the proverbial towel and moved on.

Sword and Sorcery

I hope everybody's been enjoying LOTRO's Fall Festival this year. I've been a bit of a busybody myself between daily attempts at getting the Painted Skeleton Steed from the Haunted Burrow's not-so-secret chest, touching up future outfits, and preparing for tomorrow's server fashion show on Gladden, Frights of Fancy. In a way, I was glad the past week has been like this. It's given me time to focus on everything LOTRO and clearing my "Countdown to Minas Morgul" checklist. I can't wait to see what gear skins we're getting! I've imagined there will be plenty of spooky-looking ones! And speaking of something spooky...

Travelling in Comfort

Having been away for the entire summer, I found myself out of practice making outfits upon my return in September. Really out of practice. However, one good thing came out of my absence. I haven't relied so much on the current contents of my wardrobe. Instead, I've been looking though my cosmetic storage mules and trying to use (or throwing away) pieces I've either rarely used or not used at all. I've even gone out of my way to craft often ignored recipes for new material. The combinations have been interesting, to say the least. This was actually the first outfit I'd created when I returned, but it was pushed back due to the stream of autumn, Halloween, and Minas Morgul themed attire.

For a couple of outfits, I went back to exploring classic cosmetics. The majority of the pieces here were from the Rise of Isengard expansion. This outfit, in fact, was partially inspired by the release of Isengard on the Legendary Servers. And it can be recreated, except for the shoulders, on those very servers! (I'd recommend the one of the shoulder wrap pieces from the SoA sets, in that case. Maybe even Gwir-palvais!) Overall, it has a wonderfully casual and simple look, fitting in well while roaming Middle-earth. It works well on the light armor classes, even in combat.

An Autumn Fashion Show

Autumn is my favorite time of year. On one hand, there's the cool crisp air, freshly picked apples, and the symphony of colors as the leaves fall from the trees. All images of peace and relaxation. On the other hand, there's the tricking and treating, conjuring spooky images and atmospheres, and wearing costumes ranging from the lighthearted and adorable to the gloomy and ghastly. And then there's my favorite event--LOTRO's Fall Festival and all of the wonderful rewards that come with it. Each of the outfits below features a barter reward from the festival.

As some of you may know from Twitter or the Issue #132 of the Beacon, Rangers of the West, is hosting the server-wide fashion contest, Frights of Fancy, on Sunday, October 27th. Both Makaia of Style of Middle-earth and myself will be presiding as judges. There are two main categories--"Scariest Outfit" and "Autumn-themed Outfit." We also had a third theme planned, the "Look-a-Like," but after much debate, it was dropped from the program. This part would have had players dressing up like major characters from the lore, specifically from the time period between The Hobbit and Return of the King. Seeing as Gladden's not the busiest server, we didn't want to risk having too few people for too many categories. (This could be brought back if we have enough interest on the forums! *cough cough*)

Even though I can't enter the contest, I plan on dressing the part on my Minstrel and changing outfits with each theme. The first outfit, featuring an elegant red dress, falls into the Autumn one. The second outfit, featuring a black dress embroidered with barren branches, fits in the Scariest one. (This is a modified version of an old outfit.)  And the third outfit? This is my interpretation of Eowyn, for the scrapped Look-a-Like, before she secretly joins the ranks of the Gondor-bound Rohirrim.

Enjoy the festivities! I hope to see many fellow Gladdenites at next weekend's fashion show!

Head: Circlet of Fresh-picked Flowers (Sunset Orange, Farmers Faire barter reward)
Shoulders: Songmaster's Shoulders (Orange, bartered from the Minstrel class trainer in Ost Galadh)**
Back: Cloak of the Autumn Sun (White, Fall Festival barter reward)
Chest: Long-sleeved Summer Dress (Red, Summer Festival barter reward)***

**Shares same skin as the Shoulder of the Lady's Grace, bartered from the Minstrel class trainer in Lothlórien for an elf-stone from Dâr Narbugud.
***Sunset Orange is a wonderful alternative to red. The dress looks slightly, but noticeably brighter.

Visions Unseen

"And here in Rivendell there live still some of his chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power."

          ― The Fellowship of the Ring, "Many Meetings"

I've been reading the LOTR books again and this passage spoken by Gandalf caught my attention. It speaks of two worlds, the Seen (the one in which corporeal beings exist) and the Unseen (the one in which non-corporeal beings exist). Very few beings had the ability to cross between the realms--namely the Valar, Wizards (the Maiar), and the Elves who once lived in Valinor. The Ring-wraiths could also exist in both worlds simultaneously, though I'm not quite sure if the wraith-world they exist in qualifies as the Unseen. The One Ring also had the ability to draw the wearer into the wraith-world. At the very least, these realms were similar. And within the Unseen realms, the beings that freely walked them appeared differently. The spectral man-like forms of the Nazgul would be one example. The brilliant white aura manifesting itself around certain Elves like Glorfindel, which Frodo saw as he was succumbing to the Morgul-steel's curse, would be another. In Jackson's film interpretations, this aura also manifested itself around Arwen and Elrond. As interesting as this was, not much else is mentioned by Tolkien regarding the Unseen realm and it remains a largely speculative subject.

Memories of the Last Alliance

It was exciting to come home on Wednesday evening and discover that The Minas Morgul expansion was available for pre-order. I wasn't expecting it so soon since the Vales of Anduin region hasn't been out very long! I did pre-order the expansion almost immediately that night, wanting to get my hands on all those new cosmetics, steeds, and the Stout-axe race. I'd known we'd be exploring the Morgul Vale, specifically, Minas Morgul itself, and I was hoping we'd be returning to explore other areas of Mordor, like Nurn (that gate in southeastern Talath Úrui was such a teaser!) It turns out that wasn't the case. After watching Friday's Q&A stream, I learned about "Mordor Beseiged," the other area mentioned on the expansion page.

As it was explained, we'll be playing a character living through the final year of the Second Age, specifically during the Siege of  Barad-dûr. If I understood MadeOfLions correctly, Mordor Besieged acts as a sort of session play styled zone, allowing us to retain our character's skill sets and appearances while experiencing someone else's narrative. Certainly an interesting way to tell the new story! Though specific details weren't revealed, I hope the Siege of Barad-dûr's addresses the end of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, the deaths of Anárion, Elendil, and Gil-galad, the temporary defeat of Sauron, Isildur's acquisition of the One Ring, and the numerous sorties between Sauron and the Alliance.

Pastel Brilliance

My, it's been a long time since I've uploaded an actual outfit. The summer kept me unusually busy, preventing me from investing any quality time in LOTRO and leaving me a backlog of outfits. However, it gave me the chance to gradually complete the Cosmetic Weapons Project. I haven't anticipated giving it any major updates in the future, except for new crafting recipes or when new vendors with swords and shields are added. It took over a year to add 1000+ images to that database! I'm glad it's finished, but there was an unforseen cost. I've almost used all of my free storage on Blogspot. That means I'll be cutting down on outfit images, starting today. I've even considered removing some from earlier entries as well, just to extend the life of Material Middle-earth.

Storage issues aside, there have been a handful updates to LOTRO in my absence. I've barely started Vales of Anduin and I very much need to complete it. Since the number of Embers rewarded from Skarhald dailies were reduced, I'll need the Vales dailies to supplement them. I often convert those extra Embers to Figments for cosmetics and housing items. And that brings me to the next topic. The Curator NPC. With the end of the Summer Festival, that particular vendor vanished. I was saddened to hear that, as I was still collecting those items. I wish that SSG had announced the Curator was a seasonal NPC months earlier...or at least from the very start. But now we have Rowan Raspberry...and new cosmetics to collect!

Heavy Shield Skins, Part 2

The second installation of the heavy shields collection embodies bartered shields, world drops, and dungeon chest rewards.

Algraig Heavy Shield of Resilience - Bartered from the Grey  Company reputation vendors in Enedwaith

Eoscyld - To be honest, I'm not sure if this is a world drop. This is  a level 50 shield, which means it could drop randomly from creatures  in the Carn Dum, Urugarth, or Rift raid instances. Or it could be loot  from one of the bosses within those instances. Being an old item,  details on this have vanished over time. Sergeant-at-arms' Heavy Shield of Eruilan - Bartered from the  Skirmish Camp

Heavy Shield Skins, Part 1

The first installation of the heavy shields collection showcases the crafted ones.

Anórien Battle Shield - Crafted from the Anórien Battle Shield  recipe

Combative Eastemnet Battle-shield - Crafted from the Eastemnet  Battle Shield recipe

Warden's Shield Skins, Part 2

The second installation of the Warden shields collection embodies bartered shields, world drops, and dungeon chest rewards. The largest shields are towards the end.

Beleaguer - I believe this drops from the Stone-biter and  Shadow-eater chest in The Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu. It's unlisted on  the Wiki, but the U7 patch notes and that it sits in my inventory  confirms its existence.

Blackroot Strong Warden Shield - Reward from the quest A Dark Pact Blackroot Tempered Warden Shield - Reward from the quest A Dark  Pact

Warden's Shield Skins, Part 1

The first part of this collection focuses upon crafted shields for the Warden.

Anórien Skirmish Shield - Crafted from the Anórien Skirmish Shield  recipe

Balanced Iron Warden's Shield - Crafted from the Balanced Iron  Warden's Shield recipe

Light Shield Skins, Part 2

The second installation of the light shields collection embodies bartered shields, world drops, and dungeon chest rewards.

Algraig Light Shield of Perseverance - Bartered from The Grey  Company reputation vendor Lórien Light Shield -  Bartered from the Galadhrim rep vendor in Talan Fanuidhol  Saelthann - Bartered from The Grey Company reputation vendor

Blackroot Tempered Shield - Rewarded from the quest A Dark Pact

Light Shield Skins, Part 1

This is the beginning of the light shields collection. Part one, simply put, focuses on LOTRO's crafted shields.

Aegis of Stonehelm - Crafted from the Aegis of Stonehelm recipe

Anórien Campaign-shield of Might - Crafted from the Anórien Campaign Shield recipe

Cosmetic Shield Skins

Many of these traditionally held shields also share the appearance of the back slot shields, which is why they look familiar. This collection also features some unique skins that can't be found anywhere else and require some minor effort to obtain or completing lengthy reputation grinds.

As for the replica shields here? SSG had reinstated the original level 65 Ost Dunhoth loot pools with one of the 24.1.X patches to coincide with Mirkwood's release on the Legendary servers. There is the possibility those can also be obtained from that raid, but this is unconfirmed.

Battle-shield of the Mark - Bartered from the Defenders of Minas Tirith

Bingo's Serving Platter - Bartered from Bert Bartelby in Michel  Delving after finishing the entire Bingo quest chain

"Back Slot" Cosmetic Shield Skins

It gives me great pleasure to continue the next phase of the Cosmetic Weapons Project by introducing the long-awaited shield categories! One section will be released every day from today, Sept 7 through Sept 14. Today's feature focuses upon the shields that replace cloaks by using a character's back slot. There aren't very many that fall into this section, but they make a great role-play alternative for two-handed wielders, allowing them to continue displaying their shields during combat, while riding steeds, or while simply walking around non-combat areas.

Pack of the Anorien Autumn - Barter reward from the Fall Festival

Shield of Anfalas - Reward from the Shields of the Valiant box bartered from the Keeper of Mysteries vendor

Blog Update

Greetings everybody!

I apologize for my absence. I've been very busy this summer juggling a ton of RL events and 50-60 hour work weeks, leaving me little free time. Although I currently have no upcoming outfits, I still pop my head into LOTRO every now and let everyone know I'm still alive and well. I don't exactly know when I'll be able to create more outfits, but I'd assume that my life will resume some normalcy come September. *fingers crossed* I barely had time for LOTRO's Summer Festival this year, but it was enough to burn my Badges of Taste for most of the new cosmetics.

I know some of you have also asked me questions through the contact form. I also apologize for the lack of replies. I've seen your messages and I have a post-it note stickied to my PC monitor to respond ASAP. That'll happen over the next week or so. (And please check your junk folder every now and then after messaging me...I've had reports of my replies going directly there.)

I have some good news, though! I've slowly been working on the upcoming shields section for my Cosmetic Weapons Project. Having taken well over 100 screenshots before this grueling summer started, I've been able to at least format the pictures for upload. I still have to type all of the text and code the HTML pages for them. I also don't know when I'll have those entries up, but they are definitely on the way!

Thank you so much for your patience!

~Nath

And in the meantime, please enjoy this small selection of outfits, each worn by a different model over the years. Simply click on the picture and follow it to the appropriate outfit!

Dreadweaver's Bane - A LOTRO Fan Fiction

Greetings, readers of Material Middle-earth! I wanted to try something different today. Rather than talk about the outfit itself, I've decided to share a story inspired by both my appearance and the location. One Mirkwood quest in particular, A Dangerous Lair, was a major influence in this literary experiment. And I also pulled some tidbits from others for atmosphere. It may not exactly be LOTR-appropriate, but it feels right for LOTRO.

I'm about ten years out of practice with story writing and I know it's not perfect, but I hope it's enjoyable!

     Lanael looked above her, rubbing her eyes, and fixed her gaze upon the ceiling. She heard the skittering and scratching as something moved across the roof. There were moments when she was unable to pinpoint the exact source, the sounds nearly drowning out the crackling coming from the hearth. At least one foul creature had climbed upon the Haunted Inn's roof and for what purpose, she had no idea.
     "The woods are rife with poisonous spiders," spoke the tall, grey-clad Malledhrim Sentry pacing around the Haunted Inn's common room. "At night, they are especially active, lurking in the darkness of the trees. Sometimes, they crawl along the rooftop, hoping to catch the guards unaware. They are a threat, truly, to our efforts here."
     "So that's what that is. Have you located their nest?" she asked boldly, before yawning. The wooden chair she'd tried sleeping in hadn't been very comfortable. It was unbalanced and wobbled every time she'd shift positions.
     "The Dreadweaver's Lair is to the southwest, a short distance past the road leading to Ost Galadh."
     "Why haven't you destroyed the nest?" Lanael crankily pressed, irritated by the lack of sleep. "Surely, the small host you've gathered here can remove that threat."
     The sentry stopped pacing, growing quiet. He looked around, noticing a party of adventurers conversing over a small meal in the adjacent room. He slowly approached the inquisitive elf, the tension rising in his lowered voice, his fist clenched. "We are not as well off as it seems. Our numbers have grown smaller. Elves and orcs alike have been taken by the spiders plaguing us from the south. Scouts that have been sent north to Dannenglor haven't returned. Shades and other foul beings attack from Audaghaim, across the eastern bridge. There is no one to spare to destroy the nest."
     Lanael paused, finding it difficult to speak. The sting of his words had caught her off guard. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." she whispered as she looked down, unable to look in his eyes.
     He guided her to a wooden bench across from the roaring hearth and sat down beside her. "My apologizes. It wasn't my intent to speak so harshly. You didn't know. You were never meant to come here. One of our scouts saw you bound for Ost Galadh as the sun was setting and guided you here for your own safety. The woods are especially dangerous after dusk, as you have just learned."
     As they sat there silently and stared at the slowly diminishing flames, the scratching sounds overhead faded. The crackling of the fire and soft, indistinguishable voices from the adjoining room filled the inn once more. Slowly realizing the relative silence, they sighed collectively.
    "If you'll excuse me, I must check on my injured companions in the cellar. Another was poisoned by a spider the night before last," said the sentry as he rose from the bench. He began to walk away, stopped mid stride, and he turned around briefly. "And, if I may be so bold, I'd suggest getting some rest, now that the inn is quiet once more. You'll need to be alert when you travel in the morning. Sleep well."
 

Unfinished Appearances & Outfitting Reflections

Every now and then, I've made an outfit that leaves me with mixed feelings. I've let those sit for a few weeks then revisit them and reassess the work I've done. Sometimes they've made it to this blog. Sometimes they haven't. Sometimes an outfit's sat there indefinitely because something feels off, but has the potential to be finished without any indication as to how. And that would be this outfit. The Watchman of the Northern Lands, which was posted last month, was the redesigned product. I still have this original version saved to an outfit slot, still not quite sure what to do with it, but my hopes of completing it have dwindled. Since Material Middle-earth is a blog for outfit ideas, I've uploaded it should someone want to make something out of it.

Ancient Master

My absolute favorite staff has always been the Staff of Storied Past. Although recently introduced through the LOTRO Store, this staff has been in the game's coding for years. Originally, it was called the Lore-master's Staff of the First Age (level 58). In my decade of playing LOTRO, I've never seen this staff drop. Nor have I seen any other First Age weaponry from level 53-58 drop. It's still a mystery, but I've never known the reason why these beautiful weapons weren't introduced into the loot pools. Luckily, the developers at SSG introduced some of those skins to the LOTRO Store as limited time items, appearing for approximately one week every couple of months. I purchased this staff on its initial release day.

Finally, I had the chance to make an outfit revolving around it. It was an interesting approach too!

Watchman of the Northern Lands

Stationed at the stone fortress of Gondamon, this solitary dwarf patrols the northern region of Ered Luin. He does his best to keep the roads clear of danger. Between the port of Kheledûl to the east and the stronghold of Sarnúr to the west, both controlled by the rogue Dourhand clan, and the encroaching goblins of Rath Teraig to the south, his duties also require constant vigilance. That, however, is not his only task. He also guides adventurers and travelers following the roads between the dwarven settlement of Thorin's Hall and the elven port town of Celondim. Every mile of the route is committed to memory. He's willing to share with them a lifetime of survival skills to ensure their safe passage, should they need to leave the path and venture through the cold wilderness.

Thrang's Weapon Skins Collection

The Thrang's Armory Box was introduced during Mordor expansion and contained a set--though not a complete one--of weapons with special visual effects. When these are used as cosmetic overlays, a trail of embers flows from the glowing areas while moving. Although some don't glow as much as others, the trail density is consistent. Some classes have the ability to equip at least two different skins and each displays its own ember trail.

With the exception of the two-handed sword, Thrang's Sword, these weapons can be obtained from any Keeper of Mystery in Mordor. Spend 1000 Figments of Splendor for a Thrang's Armory Box, which allows you to select one skin.

Unfortunately, there are no rune-stones, javelins, or crossbows in this set.

Thrangs's Mace

Thrang's One-handed Axe

Master of Raven-lore & Happy Anniversary

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.

Halberd Skins Collection, Part 2

Halberds, weapons exclusive to the Captain class, were never a major priority for me. Only one of my Captains used them, and that alt of mine was retired after the trait trees released. As such, the first part of this collection wasn't very extensive. Now that I've had time since last year, I've tracked down multiple skins through recipes. This should make this weapon category feel fuller.

Unfortunately, I've decided to no longer ask for alternative ways to obtain skins listed here. I've grown tired of repeating that this was my personal collection and not a complete collection. Thank you to those that have helped list alternative names. Those contributions have been greatly appreciated! However, a handful of players haven't been so helpful and ignored the request to not list skins that I haven't included here, stated on the main CWP page. I've been very tolerant of comments, replies, and private messages that have no so politely informed me or argued with me over what I've missed. In the almost seven years Material Middle-earth has been around, I've never had to moderate comments to this degree. Without going into specific examples, I've decided to close comments on all of the CWP entries for the forseeable future. I may enable them again once I've completed my work.

Defender's Halberd - Crafted from the recipe of the same name

Barbed Executioner

The Barbed Executioner is one of my more interesting outfits. I figured I'd try pairing two distinctly different sets of armor skins and see what I could create. The "Mordor's Bane" and "Mordor's Vanguard" gear from the High-enchanter seldom gets used outside their own sets. Most of those pieces were darkly colored, covered in scales, rivets, shingled plates, and spikes, creating a unique aesthetic. And then there's the dwarven-themed cosmetics from U23, covered in celtic knot-like patterns and intricately weaved leather interlaced with detailed and highly decorated steel. It was a challenge attempting to mesh these styles together and, even though it's not the most realistic appearance, I was satisfied with the result.