Dusk-roamer

Dusk seems to have been a significant time of day for many of the peoples of Middle-earth, perhaps because it is a time of transition, of in-betweens — just as Middle-earth itself could be seen as a place of in-betweens. Dusk seems to have been especially meaningful for the Elves and the Dúnedain. Wandering companies of Elves could sometimes be seen at dusk or in the evenings; and the Sindarin, or Grey Elves, of the First Age were the Elves of Twilight, belonging fully to neither the light of Valinor nor to the darkness Morgoth laid on Middle-earth. In the Second Age, the Dúnedain of the North had the heart of their realm of Arnor in Emyn Uial, the Hills of Twilight on the shores of Lake Evendim; and as the centuries passed they were becoming more like Middle-men, who unlike the Men of the West had not sought the light across the Sea, yet nor had they fallen under the shadow of Sauron’s dominion like the Men of Darkness.

Here, then, is a wanderer in the twilight, a dusk-roamer, tinnurandir. Her traveller’s attire is coloured in the shades of clouds in the evening sky: dusky roses with highlights of golden sun on white, all fading into silvery shadows. Her mantle is embroidered with the first emerging stars of evening. Thus clad, she slips quietly through the fading light of dusk like a cloud near the horizon, touched by the light of the sinking sun from below as the cloak of night descends gently from above.

I won this heinous cloak some time ago in a lottery and wanted to see if I could 1) successfully incorporate it into an outfit and 2) make myself like it. Happily, I think I succeeded at both! It’s still not my favourite cloak, but I really do like the way it works with these rosy colours. I actually had a lot of fun going full-on pink, but my favourite discovery when putting this outfit together was how the soft greenish-grey colour of the shoulders closely matches the little central portion of the skirt on the leggings. This is one of the few outfits were I really had no lore- or story-based foundation in mind, I just started with the pieces and began matching things up, and then worked backwards to find a lore perspective; so it was a really different and fun process for me.

• Head: Traveller’s Hood (purchased — LOTRO Store), rose
• Shoulders: Elven Traveller’s Shoulder Pads (crafted — tailor T3; or purchased –Rivendell light armour vendor; or looted — world drop/general), washed
• Back: Cloak of the Northern Lights (purchased — LOTRO Store), burgundy
• Chest: Pristine Dwarf-make Armour (crafted — tailor T5; or purchased — Thorenhad light armour vendor), rose
• Hands: Gloves of the Vicious Proclamation (bartered — Tinnudir Wardens of Annúminas quartermaster/Rune-keeper’s goods), burgundy
• Legs: Elven Skirmisher’s Leggings (crafted — tailor T4; or purchased — Rivendell medium armour vendor; or looted — world drop/general), burgundy
• Feet: Ceremonial Shoes of the Poet’s Heart (bartered — skirmish camp cosmetics quartermaster/Moria cosmetic clothing – light), white

Tips: The Gloves of the Vicious Proclaimation have a similar appearance to Lindir’s Gauntlets (quest reward — Trollshaws [36] The Riddle-finder). The shoes in this outfit have the same appearance as the ones from the other level 60 Mines of Moria instance cluster light armour sets and the Shoes of Lothlórien (crafted — tailor T6/Galadhrim reputation).